By Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann (Writers) and Ryan Sook (Art)
The Story: Mr. Terrific and a few of his subordinates, including a human teleporter and a sentient A.I. system, are holed up in a vault at Checkmate HQ; while under siege from hordes of Darkseid’s minions. Mr. Terrific stages guerrilla warfare by sending out his teleporter, SnapperCarr against Darkseid’s assets and resources. Things go from bad to worse when Snapper runs into Cheetah and is exposed to a virus that subdues his meta-gene, rendering him powerless. Mr. Terrific is then forced to make a risky tactical decision that pays off big and allows the remnants of humanity to have a fighting chance in resisting Darkseid.
What’s Good: In typical fashion, Greg Rucka spins a nice tale by relying on strong dialogue and subtle, but powerful, character sketches. The secret weapon unleashed at the end of the story, is a good symbol of the moral ambiguity that pervades the heroes’ desperate actions throughout the Final Crisis.
What’s Not So Good: It seems all the Crisis tales are crowded affairs, but this one, in its dim-lit, bunker based setting, takes the atmosphere to claustrophobic levels. Since this one-shot could be told in a few panels in the main series, the story is largely tedious and boring; and with the exception of the big reveal at the end, unnecessary.
In Conclusion: Much criticism has been leveled at the Final Crisis tie-ins for not being connected to the actual Crisis at hand. Though this book is indeed connected to the event, it seems a bit underwhelming. However, the new players on the side of the good guys spice up the playing field and should play a crucial role against the forces of evil, or at least make interesting cannon fodder.
Grade: C+
-Rob G.
Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: | DC, Eric Trautmann, Final Crisis, Final Crisis: Resist #1, Greg Rucka, Rodolfo Migliari, Ryan Sook
