Slingers #10

Background

We learned that Johnny's mother was murdered by mutant zealots Nanny and Orphan-Maker. Years later, the two went after Johnny's father, whom they saw as a terrible parent to his mutant son. Ricochet escaped from Nanny in time to save his father from Orphan-Maker and afterward Mr. Gallo learned about his son's double life. He wasn't supportive.

Story Details

At a hospital, Dan Lyons lay in his bed sweating profusely. A figure emerged and asked if he was in pain. A hero like him should never be in pain. The figure asked if he had made peace with his life and settled his debts. Lyons soul was then taken screaming into Hell. Ricochet arrived at the hospital later, wanting to talk with Lyons. He hated his former mentor but wanted to know why he had believed in him. When he arrived, a nurse told him that Lyons had died.

Ricochet was next seen at the group's rooftop meeting place. After Hornet and Dusk arrived, Hornet handed over new disks that he had developed. He dropped one of them and was shoved away at the last moment by Hornet, saved from the explosion. Ricochet told them that he had gone to see Lyons and that he was dead. He also told them that "they" had gone to Eddie's room to get something. That's when Prodigy arrived with his red cape. Prodigy claimed that they must be difficult to kill, which amused a distant viewer.

The superhero billboard characters behind them began to come to life and the four of them were attacked by giant representations of Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and Beast. The group was soon on the run from the cutouts and tried to save nearby civilians. The cutouts captured and transported them to Hell, where they found the soul of the Black Marvel encased in a green crystal.

General Comments

By the time that Slingers #10 was being written, word must have arrived that the series was cancelled. It shows because the story is rushed and plot points from previous issues were ignored. We heard nothing about the gangbanger that Prodigy rescued, or what happened after Mr. Gallo learned that Johnny is Ricochet. The focus of the issue was to find a plot to end the series.

It's rushed, which is too bad. Prodigy showed up, seen by the whole group for the first time since they left him in the burning elevator shaft. They hardly responded as Ricochet was about to start talking, just before the billboard came to life.

I did enjoy the Y2K reference on the billboard behind Prodigy as he made his appearance. It's still odd to think of Y2K in the past tense. This series really is a time capsule.

Overall Rating

Harris did what he had to do with what little time he was given. Crisscross's art is still great.