Hopelessness begins to set in.
Creative Staff:
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Carmen Carnero, Terry Pallot
What They Say:
Scott and Corsair are stranded on an alien planet with no hope of rescue. The indigenous species are none too happy with them. Not that they’re very happy with each other, either. What bargains will need to be struck to get either or both of them out alive?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having so much time to just talk the last time around, the series provided for some good recap of a couple of key events both for Scott and for Corsair at this point that needed to be dealt with. It worked out the whole drug vs medicine thing rather quickly as well, which is good because I could do without a Corsair as an addict storyline amid them being marooned on an alien world with little hope of being rescued. The time the two spent together was really good to see, with no action associated with it really, as it helped to bring them a bit closer together but also expose some of the issues that are each facing, both as individuals and together with the situation at hand. Though Scott is definitely in that expected sixteen year old age range where things feel impossible a lot of the time, he at least backs it up with plenty of knowledge of where things have gone.
This installment gives us a little more action to it, but it’s mostly towards the end as the flying creatures that have been gathering and circling them for several days are getting more and more bold – and there are more and more of them. This ties into some of what Corsair is trying to teach Scott about how to handle a blade, a different approach to dealing with various situations, as opposed to his optic blasts. As powerful and useful as those blasts are, there’s something that’s still refined about swordplay in how it can deal with a situation and, in some ways, defuse it rather than escalate it. It’s not what Scott prefers to learn, being reliant on his blasts and all, but there’s also the fact that he sees it all as kind of pointless because it doesn’t look like they’re going to be rescued. And with the medicine supply running out for his dad, he doesn’t expect to get much in the way of training for much longer.
The dialogue is what drives events here overall, particularly as we see Corsair trying to edge Scott away from the easy route of just feeling hopeless about the situation. It’s not that there’s a lot to root for, but Corsair’s approach is one that keeps hope alive whereas Scott turns to rage. Or at least that’s what the Scott Corsair has known for so long did, which is enough of a kick in the pants to this Scott to try and not be the same man. That’s an interesting struggle in itself, knowing what you become and trying to be anything like it, but still finding yourself falling into that trap from time to time and being really afraid of it. Corsair does nudge things enough and we do see a faint ray of hope starting to come to light over the days that the book takes place, but the sense of despair is also growing as well.
In Summary:
This installment plays to similar themes as the previous issue, but it expands it well enough and tackles some different but connected areas for Scott. The dialogue between them is good as it feels more natural than I expected with what they have to cover, and it does get to the heart of the matter in a way that a marooned situation like this should provide the opportunity for it. The light action is decent but mostly forgettable, though the regular tastes like chicken nods are amusing, but the reality is that we’ve once again got a solid character and dialogue driven issue that works both characters well and really makes me appreciate this book far more than I expected I would as it deals with the father and son bonds and the young man facing a future he wants nothing to do with.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: August 27th, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
