With the finale of Strange Adventures DC have now moved Captain Comet and Adam Strange over to the R.E.B.E.L.S. book.
The title is new to me, but its been getting a lot of acclaim, and with soaking up these two characters (especially Adam Strange), and a well-publicised upcoming Blackest Night tie-in, it seems obvious to me that DC is leverage the book as a cornerstone of their cosmic storylines.
The current story arc revolves around a reinvention of the classic DC menace, Starro. While I’m coming into the story late, I’m still managing to follow roughly what’s going on, as Starro has been revealed as an alien dictator who uses the evil mind-controlling starfish we’re used to, to enslave worlds. Brainiac 2 has been separated from LEGION somehow and is now being thrown together with a ragtag group to fight off Starro, to which end he’s now recruited Adam and Comet.
Interestingly here Adam is identified by Kanjar Ro as being from New Rann, so I guess the plot line of the secret survival of the Rannian population has been dropped. That’s understandable here though, given these are two characters coming into another ongoing storyline. I can always keep my fingers crossed for a mini-series down the line that tackles some of the dangling plotlines left by the Starlin series.
So far I’ve picked up this issue, and the Annual which filled in the backstory of Starro, and the series seems pretty enjoyable. I’m not that up on the history of LEGION or REBELs, so there’s going to be a bit of a learning curve, although so far I can see there’s going to be a lot of fun with Brainiac 2, who’s a complete git. I’m looking forward to the next issues in this and see where it goes. Of course, my main interest is with Comet and Adam Strange, but there’s a good story going on here, and like Peter Tomasi over in Green Lantern Corps, I can’t help but be impressed by how the writer is juggling an incredibly large cast.
