Michael’s search for who his new enemy reveals interesting parts of his past.
What They Say:
FLASH QUESTION: Who wants him dead now? (Besides everyone.)
The Review:
While convoluted at times in the first issue, largely because it was introducing all new characters and settings, The Outsider was definitely a dark horse book of the Flashpoint series as it dealt with different areas of the world while touching on the main storyline a bit. Michael Desai proved to have an interesting origin and has the capability of being both a good and bad guy by playing to the gray instead and focusing on the flow of information and how it can be manipulated. Between his look, his personality and the setting, The Outsider is definitely unlike other books. When it shifted to a bit of action it played out just as well and it made things clear to Michael that he has a new enemy to contend with, but it may be one rooted in his past as well. But unlike your classic villain, it doesn’t consume him as he instead deals with all his work while keeping up on this particular interest.
The past is a main focus for this issue again as probably close to half of it is given over to two main flashback point. The first one goes back to when he was working with a couple of gang leaders in Calcutta to deal with taking over the city. It’s brief since they want to show the fallout from it as Michael betrays them in the end and forces the two groups to merge under his control, thereby moving his own master plan forward. His play for power is rather straightforward and he approaches it in a calm and rational way while putting just enough force behind it to ensure that he will be listened to. While he was making plans for a long time, this is where things really got cemented for him in a more public fashion, at least within the gang world.
The flashback that I liked the most had an encounter between Michael and Black Adam back in the mid 1990’s when Michael was trying to secure oil drilling rights in his country. Considering the way Black Adam has been in the main timeline, it’s not a surprise to imagine he’s spending his life here keeping foreign interests out of his country. It’s a fun scene taking place on the roof of a moving train as Michael holds Iris captive in her human form using that as a threat for things. Michael having a plan to deal with Black Adam makes sense in that he’d have that before doing anything and it works out in a brutal fashion here while also showing us some of the past that Adam has shared with Cyborg before. What goes around comes around in an odd fashion. All of it does help to push the storyline in the present though, but really what we find the most interesting is Michael himself and how he’s manipulated events in pursuit of his goals.
Digital Notes:
This digital edition of The Outside from Comixology features just the first printing cover of the issue with no additional extras included in the book.
In Summary:
The opening issue of this miniseries was definitely interesting and this one adds more to the overall storyline that’s going on while expanding on more of Michael’s rise to power. His interactions with others are fun to watch because of his personality and attitude and seeing what he’s done over the years to cement his position adds a lot to his character. Of course, you know that some of those things from the past are going to try and come back to bite him in the ass in the present, but how successful they will be remains to be seen. There’s a lot to like here and it’s definitely an interesting original work, but it’s still uncertain how all of it factors into the main storyline itself and if it will have any impact on the core series.
Grade: B
