CLASS WARFARE

This is issue opens with the two dramatic cliffhangers from issue #2, Katharsis tried to attack wealthy (and crooked) developer James Cannon, only to be taken down by a squad of police, while the rest of the team when in search of the mysterious “weather witch”, who turns out to be Sarah RAINMAKER, formerly of GEN 13, a series that Gail Simone once wrote. The fight between Rainmaker and the Movement doesn’t go well (for them) initially. But when the misunderstanding is uncovered, and things calm down, Virtue attempts to recruit Rainmaker to the team, but she declines despite having similar goals. However, a moment between the two heroines suggests that this won’t be the last we see of Rainmaker in this title.

We also learn why the team sought out Rainmaker in the first place, as we see a homeless man being stalked and then slain by the Cornea Killer (whose face is hidden from us). He first selects his victims by making a small cloud appear over their head and beginning raining down upon them. It’s a pretty heart-wrenching scene as the poor man begs for his life. Without beating the audience over the head with a message, Gail Simone manages to use the scene to make a direct statement about how we view the homeless in our society.

Katharsis is taken to police headquarters, where several cops stand by as Cannon is allowed to brutalize her. Again, Cannon is highlighted as a sleazebag. Virtue confronts the police captain (named Meers) and offers a prisoner exchange, although Captain Meers appears to be unaware of Katharsis’ capture, and doesn’t take well to Virtue’s proposal. But, in another dramatic cliffhanger, Virtue reveals that she did not come alone…

As I said regarding the scene with the homeless man, there are several other scenes where Simone addressed various social inequalities via dialog between different characters by she manages to do it without sounding preachy. Everything feels natural to the story, including the fact that this is a multi-ethnic cast with women in prominent roles of leadership. THIS is how modern superhero comics should be written. If you still haven’t picked this title up, do yourself a favor and do so now.

The Movement #3