Marvel Comics Presents (Vol. 2) #12 (Story 4)

Background

The new Guardian, Michael Pointer, is having trouble controlling his powers. They seem incredibly unreliable which might have something to do with his unpredictable emotions. After the collective mutant powers of all the de-powered mutants on Earth entered him, he destroyed his home town in Alaska, killing everyone he ever knew. Now in the Guardian suit and being forced to pay for his crimes, the Canadian government is doing their best to help him through his psychological issues. USAgent, the resident jerk on the team, doesn't like the situation very much and is being kept in the dark by the team's liaison; Agent Brown.

USAgent finally confronts Agent Brown, and with the aid of Arachne's daughter Rachel, will hopefully get some answers as to what has been going on with Pointer.

Story 'Weapon Omega (Part 12)'

A wounded USAgent has Agent Brown by the collar, now apparently sans bowtie. Rachel and USAgent are giving Brown a good talking to about trust as Pointer looks on looking like crap. Apparently Pointer had reached out to Rachel telepathically last issue (even though I could have sworn he was struggling with nightmares when she turned into a pod person), and the reason USAgent isn't suffering from the injuries he sustained from Pointer earlier is because Pointer used another power he apparently has to heal him. Oh, and Pointer used yet another power to hijack the security system and send the evil-doings going on in Canada to Tony Stark. Maybe the red and white on that Guardian suit represent the Swiss army.

Rachel's cellphone receives a text message, apparently a response to one she sent earlier, and suddenly Sasquatch and Arachne arrive into the middle of the confrontation. They do the obvious upon smashing through a wall into a room with a few heroes and armed guards, they stand around and enter into the conversation. Agent Brown convinces Pointer's psychiatrist, apparently the one in charge now, to pump Pointer full of more mutant energy. Pointer uses his psychic abilities to show his doctor the collective that live within him and she's left comatose.

Pointer confronts Brown and asks for an explanation before punching him. Apparently Pointer also has the power of not being patient enough to let someone finish a sentence. Brown professes his innocence and his determination to help Pointer, now apparently a mutant energy junkie. Michael refuses him and decides that he's had enough with Canada and heads back to Alaska. Although someone should fix that sign in front of Alaska, the North Pole is actually in...the North Pole.

General Comments

Well, it's finally over. The Weapon Omega story dribbles to a conclusion and we can only look back and shake our collective (like in the story!) heads in dismay. Although readership for the parent title has dwindled to a level that could be considered slightly above abysmal, I still feel a deep seeded patriotic duty to continue these reviews.

First off, let's talk about Michael Pointer. In my previous reviews for Omega Flight related titles, I've expressed some dismay for him. Well, I suppose I misunderstood the poor guy. In Weapon Omega, I made the mistake of assuming he would be a character and not a special plot device that urges things forward when necessary. Of course, since he's the main character of this story, that can be a bit of a problem. Pointer is more or less pulling powers out of his behind at this point, and for the sole purpose of plugging up obvious plot holes that would arise otherwise. Unfortunately, he didn't use any reality warping powers to cover the other plot holes in the story.

How did a therapist become such a high ranking player at C.S.I.S.? Is this an American thing that's mistakenly being applied to Canada? Are there a lot of therapists in the F.B.I./C.I.A. who are given access to high tech government equipment and allowed to control the flow of prisoners? I may not work for C.S.I.S., but I'm pretty sure things don't operate quite like that. Of course, Agent Brown and the aforementioned therapist seem to be the only ones on the base who aren't guards so maybe there are other problems here.

Also, why were Sasquatch and Arachne in this issue? I know Arachne said she was going to do something about something in issue 9, but she and Sasquatch show up to break down a wall and that's about it. They're literally standing around for the rest of the issue and I can only assume Arachne's inclusion was to force me to write a review of this title.

And that brings me to my final point, I think Mr. Koslowski wrote this final part specifically for me. It features Pointer abandoning his Guardian persona (something I've always wanted to see) and leaving Canada forever. However, he still takes the suit and basically ends the story with the message that the only good life he can live is one away from those maniacs north of the border. Maybe I'm just incredibly paranoid, or maybe my mind just really wanted to find an angle in this story that had some semblance of thought and effort, but I think Mr. Koslowski is telling me to go **** myself. If he is, I can only respond by saying that that would make this the best comic I've ever read in my entire life. An example of something being so up there in the insane meter, that it flips the scale and becomes brilliant.

Although I'm probably just being a little crazy myself. This comic will do that to you.

Overall Rating

A rock-bottom 0.5 webs. Of course, if my theory is true... shift that decimal place and turn it into a 5!