Domino #2
Writer: Joe Pruett
Art: Brian Stelfreeze
Perfect Weapon: Part 2 of 4Day Eleven: Atlanta. We open with Dom scavenging through the already Police-ransacked er... apartment (It *looks* like a hotel. I don't know any apartments that use key-cards on the apartment doors themselves, but the inside is obviously an apartment) of the recently deceased hacker, looking for a back up of the data he had for her. And she finds it, in the fishtank. We'll ignore the fact that it seems to be a salt-water tank (from the looks of the fish) and not wonder what salt would do to a CD like that.
Then comes the ninja attack.
Honestly? I'm not sure *what* to think of these monk-guys at this point. They have hoods, they have swords, they have blue rectangles on their foreheads (which we didn't see last issue) and they don't wear shoes. Domino kicks their asses with a floor lamp. They have *swords, there are two of them, and they get beat by one woman with a floor lamp. I'm suitably unimpressed by these guys at this point, but that's okay. Dom asks the question we're all thinking. 'What the hell was that about?' I have faith, though, that this will be explained. Eventually.
Anyway, we cut back to Dom's hotel. (A side note, there's a street sign in this first panel that has arrows for 'Peachtree Rd, Peachtree St, Peachtree Ave, and Peachtree Cir. If you've been to Atlanta, this will make you snicker.) Jonathon is waiting for her. Cue my groan. I really didn't want to see this guy again. Apparently, neither did Dom, as she tells him to take a hike. I'm at least relieved that he really *must* be meant to be this annoying. They discuss what went down at the end of last issue whole Dom hits the shower. Ironic comment of the issue. "Can you handle the label 'mutant terrorist'?" She's been living with it for at least the last ten years. Yeah, I think she can handle that, Jonathon. Oh, and while she's in the shower, Jonathon happily copies the data on the disk she recovered. I am wholly unsurprised. It looks more and more like he's just using her.
Cut to the Florida Everglades, and a guy running through the swamp, chanting 'I'm dead!' over and over again. Ends up face to face with a 'gator, which, in turn, gets its eye stabbed out by a guy in a beret. Paramilitary of some sort, if I had to guess. We learn the 'I'm dead!' guy's name is 'Mallory,' and that he apparently poked his nose into some sort of National Security issue he shouldn't have. And then, Mr. Mallory, is, indeed, dead.
Back to the hotel, and Jonathon being an annoying bastard. Dom's pissed, because she thinks she's being taken for a ride. Doesn't feel the info she's getting is equal to the work she's doing, and I'd have to agree. At which point, Jonathon completely blows her off and says he has another mission for her to run. Dom is displeased. Dom is *very* displeased. And she tells him so, loudly. All I can figure is that Jonathon is the *only* lead she has, because despite how pissed she is, he basically says "We're leaving in the morning," and takes off. Did I mention I hate Jonathon? Anyway.
The jackass gone, she decides to take a look at the disk. It contains information on something called 'Project Armageddon' (who *names* these things, anyway?) that, apparently, has something to do with a 'Perfect Weapon' (so that's where the name comes from) that could waste civilization. Okay, this is not an original plot, but I can run with it, as I have an odd feeling it's not actually going to have anything to do with giant lazars, earthquake machines, or even Ultimate Nullifiers.
Cut to good old Jonathon doing spook work. Grr. I hate government suits. They're always up to no good, and so, it seems, is the case here, as he gets a search going through all government agencies, AIM and HYDRA, looking to substantiate the info he copied, and looking for any ties Domino might have to the project. As she found the same picture of the woman on the printout from the hacker on the CD itself, I'm guessing there's *definitely* a tie here.
Back to the hotel. Dom decides she needs a little help. So, she calls up Cable. Cable says he knows nothing about any 'Project Armageddon,' and that Dom's a big girl and can handle it herself. I'd be vaguely annoyed with him, but he does seem to be pinned down someplace, and I highly doubt Dom said actually said "I'm trying to find my mom, help me?"
Anyway, it's just as well. Cable's a few bricks shy of a load these days. At which point, she lets Jonathan know she knows he's been watching her the whole time. And then the ninjas attack again. Only this time they jump good old Jonathon, and frankly, I'm pleased about the whole thing. He gives them a pretty good run for their money, considering he's got less than full usage of his legs, again making me think these guys are really pretty pathetic. First they get beaten by a floor lamp, and now by a crutch. Granted, it's a crutch with a spring loaded point on the end, but still. The fight scenes are interspersed with Dom finding *something* in the information that convinces her that the woman really *is* her mom. Yay. And Jonathon, apparently realizing he's overwhelmed, blows himself up. Or at least that's how it looks. I can always hope.
All in all, not a bad issue. Less action than the last one, and it did have a (admittedly tasteful) shower scene for the fanboys. I'm starting to think it takes Stelfreeze a few panels to hit his artistic stride, because as in last issue, some of the art of the first few pages was kinda hinky. And I think he was using early Liefeld Cable for reference in the single panel he drew of Nate. It wasn't pretty. That said, we've got the weird kung fu monks, a secret weapon, and a colleague who's not all he seems to be. Oh, and that guy in the swamp.
I'd give this one a 4 out of five.