The Pearl is dead, but now the Marshal wants to kill Nathan Bright. Can Amanda reach him in time to save him?

THE WEATHERMAN #6

Writer: Jody LeHeup
Artist: Nathan Fox
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 14, 2018

Previously in The Weatherman: The Pearl has Nathan Bright/Ian Black (terrorist) and is auctioning off multiple opportunities for people to virtually torture him. This goes against the deal he had with the Marshal, who helped capture Bright, and wanted to deal with him himself. Amanda also has tracked him down, but she has to fight her way into the studio against White Light, the mute albino assassin. As Nathan is tortured – live on TV – the Marshal drops from orbit with impeccable aim to cut the Pearl in half.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

We are at that point in The Weatherman #6 when all the characters and many of the plot points are finally coming together. It opens calmly with the President asking whether there are any leads on where the Pearl is broadcasting from. Then her own broadcast starts, and as she gives a speech that culminates in language about how stopping to violence is not the answer, this is juxtaposed over the bloody fight between Amanda and White Light. Amanda is the one who walks away.

We cut to the horrific scene in the Pearl’s studio where the Marshal has come for Nathan and cut down Pearl. He fights his way through a few armed flunkies while Nathan continues to suffer at the hands of Greta, the first virtual torturer. In this battle, poor Greta ends up caught in the middle and killed. As the biggest goon grabs the Marshal, he is taken out by Amanda. She talks to the Marshal, telling him that if he kills Nathan, many more will die. She wants to find the Sword of God and stop them at the source, but she cannot do it alone – she wants his help. And it turns out she spared White Light.

Then Nathan’s monitors start going crazy. Amanda grabs one of the bikini-clad assistants who is more than just eye candy – she understands that with Greta gone from the loop, Nathan is stuck in the virtual reality, dying. The only way out for him is to remember something of who he is, something that he can hold onto and use to come back. Amanda feeds him a dose of nemo.

Through the virtual flames he is experiencing, Nathan hears the voice of a man. The memories he flashes back to are those of Ian Black. He is with Sergeant Jenner at a checkpoint, and a car of separatists dries toward them. A warning shot basically turns into a massacre. Black protests this – these are people. Jenner claims they are animals and they don’t deserve life. I think this is a visceral parallel to things happening in our world today.

But it does the trick – Nathan comes back around, and does seem to be Nathan. About this time, Garren also arrives. Amanda pulls together this ragged coalition and they leave. Twelve hours later, they are in orbit and talking with Dr. Wetzel, who used to work with Miriam Nyseth, the memory expert, trying to get information as to her whereabouts. Nathan is recovering from his experience, and has decided finally to help her. Amanda is sticking to her word and working with the Marshal and White Light. Garren decides to stay as well. And where are they headed? They are going to Earth.

This is a heck of a close to Volume 1, and I found it very satisfying. We’ve now got several disparate characters with enough of a common goal for this coalition to make sense, and enough conflict that we know the story will be interesting. The creators assure us that Volume 2 will be out in the Spring of 2019 and I know I, for one, am looking forward to it.

FROM VIOLENCE TO UNEASY ALLIANCE

As we’ve come to expect, there are some powerful visuals in The Weatherman #6. The fight between Amanda and White Light is no-holds-barred and bloody. White Light relishes almost every minute of it, while Amanda is driven by anger and determination, and uses those to keep going even when she’s knocked down. This leads up to the incredibly bloody (but terrifically dramatic) scene of the Pearl, cleaved in twain. It’s a perfect, horrible moment when time stands still. As this happens, Greta’s chosen torture for Nathan is that he burns alive , with her as holy avenger, absolutely relishing the moment. (The stick with marshmallows is a particularly nice touch here.) It’s all violent, and vivid, and wonderfully climactic.

The flashback that Nathan has is also interesting. By now we know how practically everyone in the system feels about Ian Black, and now we finally get a brief glimpse into his life from his point of view. He’s been built up as a horrible person, and now we see he had some doubts about Jenner’s attitude – what happened? What’s really eerie to me is that I could see a touch of Nathan Bright in him. Of course, when we see Nathan being Nathan again, now we have to wonder how much of that is him and how much of it is hiding Ian behind a facade. In his more private moments, he has a truly haunted look on his face.

BOTTOM LINE: A STRONG CLOSURE

The Weatherman #6 brings us to a point where, finally, we can stop and breathe for a moment, as the characters finally can. It has been a satisfying arc, resolving some problems in unexpected ways, but setting up several options for the next volume. As horrible as it is, it is still really great storytelling.