On the Road to Kahndaq
Renee and The Question are on the road to Kahndaq seeking to find a connection between the country’s ruler and Intergang. But this isn’t your typical road adventure as the duo finds themselves in deep trouble.
A great deal of week fourteen is spent following The Question and Renee Montoya around Kahndaq seeking answers. Instead of finding a country oppressed by a tyrannical leader, they find a country full of joy and happiness. It seems the inhabitants think Black Adam and Isis are actually pretty good folk. But that doesn’t keep the two from their quest.
And their quest (after a short respite) leads them to a dead end – literally. Everyone in the Ridge-Ferrick import building has been slaughtered. Not wanting to stick around for very long, The Question instructs Renee to search quickly to find clues. Amid the blood are a pile of empty rat poison boxes. A big rat problem or something else? No answer this week, for as soon as they step outside the building they find themselves at the business end of a lot of guns.
The dialogue between Charlie and Renee is okay, but not as snappy as it has been in the past. They are either getting very used to one another, or the writers are having an off week. In light of what is going on in the real world, it is rather interesting for these Americans to really see how the locals react to their “evil overlord”.
This issue also picks up on the Steel storyline, whom we haven’t seen in almost a month. He’s been busy transforming, and busy finishing a new steel suit for his niece. John is obviously very upset over Natasha’s turn to the dark side and it is a touching moment to see him collapse, not under the weight of his steel body, but the weight over the guilt he feels. Just a few short pages this week to see what has been happening. Interestingly we get the first inkling of what Luthor plans to do with his self-made super heroes, with the media already dubbing them Luthor’s J.L.A.
The third story this week follows Will Magnus as he attempts to repair his Metal Men. Seems Mercury isn’t coming back as he had hoped, and even worse, Magnus is visited by the government. The feds tell Magnus they want the Metal Men for use as smart weapons. Doctor Magnus wants nothing to do with them, but before they can leave, one of the agents finds a bottle of Prozac. Is the good doctor a bit depressed? Is it because of his broken creations, or something else?
Magnus decides to visit T.O. Morrow, and we actually get a better look at the prison holding him. Instead of Iron Heights, this prison looks like normal suburb. A highly secure suburb as we discover when one of the inmates attempts to escape and is quickly taken down. Since we’ve been following 52 for a while, we know many brilliant minds are disappearing, and Morrow is not exception. His cell is empty, even though he was under constant surveillance. The only thing left behind is a note for Magnus that includes a bunch of machine code. Flashing back to something Morrow said in a previous conversation, he heads back to his lab, to continue his work.
Amazingly Mercury bounces back and appears to be as good as new. Is this due to the machine code Morrow left behind? Guess we’ll have to find out in a future installment.
As much as I like team Question/Montoya, I was a little disappointed in this issue overall. Perhaps it is better the two not get too familiar with one another. In one line, that could be a foreshadow of things to come, Renee says, “I swear before this is over I’m gonna hold his dead body in my hands.”
IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT
The Good
- Black Adam giving everyone a month off to celebrate
- Charlie transforming into The Question
- Monster guard dogs and cops hiding in ice cream trucks
- Responsometer
The Bad
- Renee’s a detective, a pile of empty rat poison boxes is a clue and she doesn’t get it
Week fourteen just didn’t have the suspense other issues have had, and doesn’t compare with last week’s shocker of an ending. I’m only going with 3 Stars this week.
