Review: Hardware: Season One #3

Review: Hardware: Season One #3

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Brandon Thomas

Artist: Denys Cowan

Inks: Bill Sienkiewicz

Colors: Chris Sotomayor

Letters: Rob Leigh

Reviewed by: Seth Singleton

Summary

Hardware: Season One #3 is a harsh reminder that choosing to protect someone does not guarantee that person will offer the same protection in the future.

Positives — Blind Faith

Heroes and parental figures are larger than life to children. The love and support they offer can create a willingness to ignore the truth about who they really are. Hindsight often reveals the truth of their actions, but in the present, it is possible to still hope that someone who is loved and protected can be the person hoped and imagined.

Curtis Metcalf was a boy who had lost his father a short time before he met Edwin Alva. Alva gave Metcalf a future and rewarded his potential with opportunity and promises. Curtis thought he was special. He felt special. And that feeling helped him ignore enough that Alva could exploit and manipulate Metcalf.

Metcalf tells the story of Alva’s former partner and friend. The betrayal and trust that destroyed their relationship was the first step in Curtis’ understanding that he was being groomed to replace Alva’s confidant. But that when Metcalf grew into his new role he would also be the fall guy when Alva’s sins began catching up with him.

Positives — Allies and Old Friends

Metcalf has allies. Barraki Young and Tiffany Evans are both close to Curtis and now they are working together to save the man they know is under attack. First, Tiffany Barraki clears the air and makes sure that they are both on the same page about what they know and what is important and unimportant at the moment. Then Evans talks about what they are going to do next.

Alva does not know what to do next because it has been eleven days since anyone saw Curtis. Metcalf’s armor last registered a signal before he attached himself to a commercial jet. He then pinged a satellite in Columbia, but Alva’s man on the prowl believes that Metcalf is buying time and repairing his Hardware armor while he travels. He used the resources in an abandoned car repair shop in Brazil and has spent time in Ethiopia.

When Curtis seeks out an old friend and former partner of Alva’s he discovers how much they have both changed. And then, a phone call suggests that maybe things have not changed as much as Alva, Curtis, and others might wish or believe. Metcalf will have to make a choice about who he can trust and for how long that trust will last.

Finally, there is nothing like a hero that reflects the feelings we share. Starting a workout or a project or a night out without music is like trying to sing only in acapella. Some things need music, and when Curtis tells P.O.P. to turn on his “Hype Up” playlist on shuffle, play your own soundtrack and take off with Hardware.

Negatives

Look elsewhere reader. There are no faults to be found in this issue.

Verdict

Brandon Thomas is not just making the story up as he goes along. Curtis Metcalf and Edwin Alva are on a journey. One is trying to become the man he always believed he could be and the other is fighting to keep the appearance of a man he never was. Rob Leigh’s letters convey the weight of each man’s words and the emotions that are conveyed, while Denys Cowan captures the strain weighing on both men.

But the arrival of Metcalf in Singapore is the chance for Cowan to showcase beautiful shots of Hardware soaring in majestic flight. Bill Sienkiewicz sharpens the details with his inks and Chris Sotomayor brings out the rich depth of the night and the fiery flames from Hardware’s jetpack as the hero streaks across the sky. Open the newest issue of Hardware Season One and let your dreams take flight.