[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Neil Edwards
Inkers: Sandu Florea
Summary
As the squad tries to stop Zod from unleashing his army of Kryptonian criminals from the Phantom Zone, they get a surprise visit from Cyborg Superman and the Eradicator who have other ideas for the Kryptonian general.
Positives
What a great issue! Tons of action from start to finish, and that’s scratching the surface. For starters we get The Eradicator and Cyborg Superman in this issue. If you’ve been reading Action Comics, then you know that they were there to enlist General Zod to help them take out Superman. A great addition to the story as it definitely adds an unknown element to an already volatile situation.
If that wasn’t enough, Zod has unleashed the Black Vault, and with it, an army of Kryptonians. Williams does such a great job writing the story. With so many characters, everything flowed perfectly with such great pace that you were left wondering what was going to happen next.
The chemistry between Zod, Cyborg Superman and The Eradicator was fantastic. Zod is such a larger then life character, and Williams definitely made you feel that, even with Cyborg Superman and The Eradicator in the story.
Despite all the action, the comedy in this issue was just as good. Whether it was Killer Croc disappointed he couldn’t eat the ghosts, or Captain Boomerang being so adamant that his boomerangs did nothing, the timing was spot on.
Neil Edwards was new on this issue, and although you could see a slight difference in artwork then we’re used to, it was still pretty good. The action panels, the emotions were all there on every page.
Negatives
Only negative I could see is that I don’t understand why Zod didn’t take out the Squad and Waller at the end, and decides to leave her with a message instead. This is the same guy that removed a bomb from his brain. Also, given what happened to the Black Vault, I would have thought that he would have wanted revenge. Just didn’t seem like a Zod thing to do. Rather anti-climatic.
Verdict
Definitely a great read, and leaves room for a rather interesting future for the Squad.
