After the battle in Muria, Aspen and Chance finally reach the Russian base where Aspen’s brother Finn is being held. But what has happened to him?

FATHOM #6

Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Siya Oum
Colorist: Peter Steigerwald
Letterer: Zen
Publisher: Aspen Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 2, 2019

Previously in Fathom: There is trouble in the Blue as Aspen and Killian take on the tyrant, Gideon. He has the upper hand until Chance arrives and knocks him out. Against Aspen’s wishes, Killian then kills him. Aspen must leave to find her brother, and rather than leave the throne empty, Killian takes it. At the Russian base, tests of their new army with the power of the Blue are successful. As Chance and Aspen make the long trip to the Arctic, they come upon a Russian submarine. Aspen swims out to distract it, and it fires on her!

POLITICAL INTRIGUE AND ADVENTURE

Fathom #6 is a fascinating tale about loyalty and conflict. Being set, in large part, underwater gives it an interesting feel of secrecy and isolation. There’s room in this world for it to feel akin to our own, and include the mystical powers of the Blue. It’s a nice juxtaposition.

The book opens in the Russian sub, which finds its target to have simply…disappeared. They fire a few more torpedoes for good measure, and continue on their way. Chance, his smaller sub hidden, is distraught about the possibility of losing Aspen, but you cannot keep her down. When she turns into her water form, she is nearly indestructible. She rejoins him, and they resume their journey.

At the Russian Arctic base, Dr. Sokolov provides Finn a huge meal in celebration. He does not seem enthusiastic, but Finn is hard to read. He has become “real,” and the scientist gloats that Russia will now be able to take their “rightful place” as the supreme power on Earth.

Aspen and Chance arrive and infiltrate the base, subduing guards along the way. The Red Kite comes upon them, and Chance takes her on, leaving Aspen free to find her brother. Find him she does, and as she starts talking to him, she is attacked by one of the new Russian experiments. He is no match for her and their struggle is brief. She holds out her hand to Finn, to get him away, but he won’t go with her.

LOVELY UNDERWATER SCENES

The art in Fathom #6 is really pretty to look at. I’ll just say it right out – Aspen is lovely and sexy. She’s also pretty badass. I like that she can fight and is not afraid to put herself in harm’s way, but that she is also kind. She doesn’t want to kill unnecessarily, and she has a lot of compassion and emotional range.

I also like the design of their ship, which is more fanciful looking than the utilitarian subs that we have. It almost looks like some odd creature that should be living among the coral. And the underwater scenes have a good mix of looking otherworldly, but with enough recognizable touches that they look plausible.

There’s a great two-page spread where the panels alternate between Dr. Sokolov’s triumph of testing his new super-soldier (and his gloating), and Aspen and Chance sneaking into the base. Breaking up the soliloquy like this keeps the tension up and shows us that things are moving along. And the subsequent fights scenes are tight and action-packed, as you might expect with a tale of espionage.

BOTTOM LINE: THE RESCUE AND THE BIG PLOT TWIST

Aspen Mathews, in Fathom #6, is an interesting and powerful heroine. Her world is fascinating, and I like the way the story is progressing. The U.S. – Russia conflict feels very pertinent, and I like setting it against the conflict in the Blue as well. It’s a good balance between espionage and superpowers.