The Moon is alive! The covert team of sci-fi Super Heroes known as Stormwatch must not only battle the Earth’s moon, but find a way to hide its monstrous metamorphosis from the rest of the planet! How? Uh, they’re working on it. Meanwhile, the recruitment of Midnighter goes poorly, and we learn why the Martian Manhunter is a member of the team.
‘Stormwatch’ #2 picks up all the way back at the Big Bang when Adam One was brought into existence, not knowing Who, What, Where or even a Pint is. This of course was just a glimpse of his Benjamin Button birth into the Universe; he was born an old man and gets younger as the billions of years of his life pass.
We the happy readers are then snapped back into the present where the Moon is alive. In the present Stormwatch is attempting to keep the rest of Earth oblivious to the Moon’s attack. By doing what they’ve done for centuries… protect the Earth.
While Adam One, Jenny and the Engineer (Angie) prep for battle and Angie tries to get Adam One to admit he should step down as leader of the team, the rest of the team (Martian Manhunter and Projectionist) attempt to recruit Apollo to join them. And since he interfered with Apollo’s recruitmen, Stormwatch is also trying to get the Midnighter to sign up too.
While these two groups are working to save Harry Tanner, the Swordmaster is in the belly of the Moon trying to get a gigantic tentacled eye to keep from taking over his mind. This creature in the Moon’s core is attempting to overtake Harry’s mind to infiltrate Stormwatch wearing a Harry Tanner suit. Too bad, for Blinky (my name for the Giant Eye) underestimates Harry’s powers and ends up turning over all the knowledge it holds of space and time.
As the team battles on Earth and in Outer Space rage on, there is something happening on the TNEK Farm in the middle of nowhere (get it TNEK… KENT spelled backward). The last three pages are not to be missed as they set up next month’s exciting continuation of Stormwatch.
Ok, so what was good about this issue? Fist the artwork Miguel Sepulveda & Al Barrionuevo do a great job capturing the epic nature of this story, and the character designs continue to grow and evolve. I loved the start of the book with the Big Bang, it plays in to the history of the Universe according to DC Comics quite well (all that was missing was the giant disembodied hand).
The story is good as well. I’m not sure how I feel about the infighting for the title of team leader. It is the biggest problem I have with the Legion of Super-Heroes lately and Stormwatch is not immune to annoying me with the forced drama and tension of a battle for the title of Team Leader. I would also appreciate it greatly if DC Comics would throw an old fashioned roll call into some of these team books, it can get a bit confusing when some of these new and Vertigo characters are being incorporated into the mainstream imprint.
Oh, one last thing (in honor of the late great Steve Jobs)… the Justice League International and Booster Gold make a great and understated cameo in this issue. I can’t wait to see how Stormwatch will continue to be incorporated into the the DCnU and to see how they will stay covert against the other super teams running around the Earth.
Verdict: Buy
Stormwatch #2
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artists: Miguel Sepulveda & Al Barrionuevo
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Cover: Miguel Sepulveda & Alex Sinclair
