| SYNOPSIS: Jakita and Snow make their way into the Four Voyagers Plaza laboratories of the mysterious individuals known as the Four. Days earlier, in a small film room, Snow is briefed by The Drummer on exactly who and what the Four are. The story begins in 1945, when the American government managed to sneak Nazi Germany's top scientists, the rocket builders, out of the country and put them to work in America on the space program. And whereas the Apollo program to launch rockets to the moon was done for public consumption to much fanfare ("the Cold War glamor"), the covert work that these scientists focused on -- Artemis -- was way ahead of Apollo. Artemis, according to The Drummer, was "Cold War direct, striking the victories only their boss and our boss would ever know about....Artemis was the real glory." And in June of 1961, Artemis sent a crew of four (at least two of whom had Nazi connections) to the moon: physicist Randall Dowling, pilot Jacob Greene, flight engineer William Leather, and physicist Kim Susskind. They never made it. Waiting for them in space was something...unknown. And when their ship returned to Earth, its crew was no longer human. But by 1964, they were running Artemis, using its funding for their own agenda. At the end of the briefing, Snow is given a packet of information on the technology the Four have developed, and hidden from the rest of the world, over the years. (Planetary uncovered the information, and the Four's whereabouts, while going through files recovered at the military base on Island Zero, left by what Artemis had become. Sickened by the corruption, he needs no further prodding to go after the Four. They sneak into the building, override security measures to take the elevator to the top, and encounter William Leather, whose eyes and body radiate flowing blue electric fire. Easily overpowering Wagner and shrugging off Snow's powers, Leather leaves them alive, "because you amuse us." He is frank in explaining the Four's secrecy: "We're adventurers, and you can't all come along." Departing, he implies that Snow has evidently forgotten much about his own past, and warns that investigating the Four further might cost him a great deal. "What are your teammates not telling you? Who benefits from your lack of memory?" he says, ominously. Alone, Snow is left with much to think about. REVIEW: We ran into some bad people in the first few issues of Planetary, and some big secrets. But these are arguably the first soul-deep evil men we've encountered, and the first evidence of government corruption on a global scale. We can only guess at the secrets Planetary has uncovered, but the implications -- to say nothing of the Nazi involvement -- are disturbing enough. And the apparent selfishness, deception, and villainy of the Four bears out The Drummer's charge that, "they're the dark side of everything we do." Leather's bluntness to Snow further proves it. This is a scary issue for other reasons, as implications of unsavory elements in Snow's past, and Planetary's, and for that matter Planetary's handling of Snow ("What are they not telling you?") give us even more reason to worry than Snow's chat with Brass in Issue #5. How much can we trust Planetary? Is there anything behind Jakita's smile when Snow tells her he wants to kill the Four? What is the secret history of Elijah Snow?
In any event, this is a gut-wrenchingly fun, emotional ride. The dark history of the Four unfolds in tandem with Planetary infiltrating their secret headquarters, encountering monsters and wonders alike. We get the emotional kick, and alarm, of seeing Wagner coolly dispatched by the evil Leather, who then levitates easily across the lab to confront Snow, eyes blazing. We thrill to Snow's rather direct attack, and tirade over him. Great dramatic stuff -- the battle against evil writ on a large scale. Really, it's what comics are all about. | |  Random Thoughts: We've seen Planetary's Hulk; here's Planetary's Fantastic Four. Four Voyagers Plaza (Four Freedoms in Marvel's F.F.), the launch date of June 1961 (when Marvel debuted its series), the daring rocket launch into space (which encounters some sort of strange, cosmic effect), and then the Four themselves: Dowling is Reed Richards without the morality gene, the square-jawed pilot is Ben Grimm, and the young, blond Leather's electric energy powers are similar to that of the Human Torch. The fourth member is a blonde woman; no word yet as to whether she has a relationship with Dowling or not. One clever nod to the Fantastic Four shows up in an exhibit Jakita and Snow encounter, featuring three "Subterrans." In their first issue, the Marvel heroes encountered a race of creatures known as the Mole Men. If Jakita and Snow are Planetary's most powerful members, they shouldn't rush to encounter the Four again anytime soon. We learn more about the levels of Dowling's evil in Issue #8, and more about the Four themselves in Issue #10....and #12...and.... Another snowflake sighting in this issue -- two, actually. It took me a few trips through this issue before I figured out that the frame of the window Jakita is thrown through is a logo: "4". "Learning curve's steep on this one, so keep focused." No kidding. RATING: 10/10. The best issue of the series. This issue kicks an already intense series into overdrive. |
