Expletive Deleted
07-19-2006, 06:11 PM
ETERNALS #2, Gaiman & Romita Jr., out today
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If last issue was about introducing the concepts and the characters, this issue was about getting all of them into position. It's pretty dense, so this is going to be kind of a long post.
We start out with Ikaris being tortured by the two Deviants (presumably), at the behest of some unseen master. They're trying to kill him, but it's not really working all that well.
Switching to Mark, we see that he's kind of out of it. He's starting to remember bits and pieces of who he really is, and he's unconsciously using super-speed. At a coffee shop, he meets Sersi and they instantly connect. It's a nice "meet cute" type scene.
Switching to Sprite, we see him doing an interview and avoiding the subject of who exactly his parents are. Then back to Mark, where he's being suspended by his boss at the hospital for letting Ikaris be taken away by the Deviants. Then over to Sersi, where she's talking about Mark with her friend from last issue. She decides to invite Mark to her Vorozheikan party. As she's chatting, she walks past a red-bearded (dare I say Zuras-like) panhandler spouting . . . relevant nonsense.
Back to Ikaris, his captors have moved past drowning, acid, and crushing and are now trying to smelt him. It's still not really working. He tries to psychically contact Mark, who's getting ready for the party, but Mark resists.
At the party, Thena and her husband have arrived and are chatting with the Vorozheikans. Mark arrives and flirts with Sersi. Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Druig plots with his cronies and reveals that the point of the party is to kidnap the prominent scientists attending (including Thena) and hold everyone else as hostages. After a bit more socializing, the kidnappers arrive and kill Thena's husband.
Over in the Deviants' layer, Ikaris has been strapped to a cyclotron and is being reduced to component molecules. As he's being disintegrated, he talks about the four Eternals at the party and says they should form a Uni-Mind. He also asks who his tormentors are working for, but they decline to say. Then he's gone.
Back at the party, Sersi and Mark start talking telepathically without really realizing what they're doing. Druig is double-crossed by the kidnappers who take the scientists and then decide to kill everyone else. As the bullets start flying, Mark's super-speed kicks in and he realizes what he's really capable of. Unfortunately he can't figure out how to do anything at superspeed without his speed-resistant costume and without hurting anyone.
The order to kill the hostages is given, and . . . cliffhanger.
Decent issue. Not as much fun as the first, since it's more mundane, but it's interesting to see things get moving.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
If last issue was about introducing the concepts and the characters, this issue was about getting all of them into position. It's pretty dense, so this is going to be kind of a long post.
We start out with Ikaris being tortured by the two Deviants (presumably), at the behest of some unseen master. They're trying to kill him, but it's not really working all that well.
Switching to Mark, we see that he's kind of out of it. He's starting to remember bits and pieces of who he really is, and he's unconsciously using super-speed. At a coffee shop, he meets Sersi and they instantly connect. It's a nice "meet cute" type scene.
Switching to Sprite, we see him doing an interview and avoiding the subject of who exactly his parents are. Then back to Mark, where he's being suspended by his boss at the hospital for letting Ikaris be taken away by the Deviants. Then over to Sersi, where she's talking about Mark with her friend from last issue. She decides to invite Mark to her Vorozheikan party. As she's chatting, she walks past a red-bearded (dare I say Zuras-like) panhandler spouting . . . relevant nonsense.
Back to Ikaris, his captors have moved past drowning, acid, and crushing and are now trying to smelt him. It's still not really working. He tries to psychically contact Mark, who's getting ready for the party, but Mark resists.
At the party, Thena and her husband have arrived and are chatting with the Vorozheikans. Mark arrives and flirts with Sersi. Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Druig plots with his cronies and reveals that the point of the party is to kidnap the prominent scientists attending (including Thena) and hold everyone else as hostages. After a bit more socializing, the kidnappers arrive and kill Thena's husband.
Over in the Deviants' layer, Ikaris has been strapped to a cyclotron and is being reduced to component molecules. As he's being disintegrated, he talks about the four Eternals at the party and says they should form a Uni-Mind. He also asks who his tormentors are working for, but they decline to say. Then he's gone.
Back at the party, Sersi and Mark start talking telepathically without really realizing what they're doing. Druig is double-crossed by the kidnappers who take the scientists and then decide to kill everyone else. As the bullets start flying, Mark's super-speed kicks in and he realizes what he's really capable of. Unfortunately he can't figure out how to do anything at superspeed without his speed-resistant costume and without hurting anyone.
The order to kill the hostages is given, and . . . cliffhanger.
Decent issue. Not as much fun as the first, since it's more mundane, but it's interesting to see things get moving.