Batman #51: After last issue, I'm loath to trust King again, but I have to admit this issue is clever. He hints at the pain Bruce is feeling after the broken engagement by having Mr. Freeze tell a courtroom that he confessed to killing three women because Batman was different the night he found him: Freeze legitimately thought Batman would kill him. The twist is Bruce is on the jury, and he may agree with Freeze: he is the sole juror to question Freeze's guilt when they enter sequestration. In other words, Bruce's pain might not be directly addressed, but it's present throughout the issue, from Dick (acting as Batman) telling Gordon that Batman isn't doing OK to Bruce ripping a urinal off the wall of the court's restroom, a display of the rage he feels. I'm grudgingly intrigued.
The Weatherman #2: Holy fucking crap. We learn a lot in this issue. Nathan is allegedly Ian Black, a member of something called the Orca program. He and his team were sent to "win the war for Titan." Afterward, he joined a "mercenary group on the Venusian frontier," but his former commander, Jazen Jenner, recruited him into the Sword of God. He detonated the bomb that destroyed Earth. Later, a "fringe neuroscientist named Dr. Mirian Nyseth" helped erase and replace his memories; Ian Black became Nathan Bright. The problem is Jenner is looking to finish what he started, to destroy Venus and Mars so he can rid them of the same "evil" he felt was infecting Earth. But, the "springboard" protocol prevents Nathan from remembering his life as Ian; a telepath confirms he remembers nothing before the day of the incident. However, Amanda, in her zeal, almost breaks Nathan's mind in pushing him to remember, so they can maybe learn something helpful in stopping Jenner. (At one point, she dumps Sadie, Nathan's dead dog, on his shoulders.) Her commander, Fitch, reminds her that the lives of everyone on Venus and Mars are at stake. Shortly thereafter, the mercenaries seeking Nathan last issue attack the spaceship where they're located and Fitch's secretary detonates a bomb, destroying the ship. But, Amanda is able to spirit away Nathan just in time. Wow. Just wow.
The Wild Storm #15: Everything starts to unravel here as Bendix, John, and Miles try to control the situation but ultimately can’t (though John is probably the only one to realize that). Bendix sends a “Little Stick” of diamond crashing from orbit into IO’s Hightower station, destroying it. (Interestingly, Pennington confirms IO wasn't behind the incursion, but Bendix doesn’t seem particularly interested in who it was.) The Doctor cures the Mayor. He then remembers Skywatch experimented on him so he could survive as a slave in a polluted environment, presumably after the Khera destroy Earth. (It gets even more grim from here.) Slayton continues his killing spree for the Carer (i.e., the Khera inside him), and John finds Andrew Kwok, another Thunderbook subject. He’s abandoned the identity John created for him, getting plastic surgery and creating another one. As John has still (somehow) managed to find him, Kwok tries to kill John for fear John's already lead “them” to him, and John is forced to kill him first. Bendix seemingly confirms his plans during a rant to Miles, saying he has no problem using a Little Stick on IO’s building in New York because he just wants Earth to be a source for slaves for his breakaway civilization. For a reason I don’t understand, Miles agrees to let Bendix have back his Ground Division (presumably the part conducting the aforementioned experiments to turn people like the Mayor into slaves), though he’s seen his C.A.T.’s footage and bans Lucy Blaze from New York. (I’m not sure what the footage showed, but I’m assuming it has something to do with her assassinating Mitch, even though I don’t know how it would appear on C.A.T. footage.) Jackie says that Skywatch’s countermeasures to the bot attack have revealed their location, and Miles is surprised when Jackie suggests nuking them in space. But, it’s clear Jackie wants vengeance for Mitch, something she tells Miles she’s going to get. Finally, Pennington tells Zealot she has to leave New York and implies it’s not a bad thing since New York might not be there much longer. It goes to a larger point Pennington made a while ago, about how they’re all just edging closer and closer to open conflict and revealing themselves to the world. With nine issues left, we definitely seem to be going there.
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