By Mark Rodriguez
So I decided to hit up Amazon and track down the second issue of the Double Dragon comic series from Marvel. Well, the comic book version of the Lee Brothers train in the Dragon Dojo and have so-cheesy-it's-cool armor that they can summon by doing a high-five which gives them energy weapons and I guess better martial arts skills? The city is run by a super villain named Nightfall, who has super-powered henchmen working for him that have abilities like super speed and metal armor and such. Marion was kidnapped, but after the Lees managed to rescue her... they found out that this was all a diversion so that Nightfall can go to the dojo and steal their source of power. Now what will they do????
'Double Jeopardy' opens up reminding us of how Sensei guards the Dragon Force that resides in Billy and Jimmy Lee, which was originally meant for only one person at a time, but it doubles since the Lees were twins. Sensei lies in meditation and senses danger nearby, though he can't determine the source. Billy Lee steps in and suddenly attacks him. Sensei knows he's an impostor and suddenly the fake Billy turns invisible. Sensei can still feel his presence in the room, and the invisible fighter feels this is all the more reason to finish him off quickly. The attacker is surprised that Sensei can take so many hits, and the old man is finally defeated by a stomp on the back of the head. The attacker reveals herself to be a woman named Stelth. She can now steal the Dragon Statue and is sure Nightfall will pay any price to get it.
The Lees and Marion speed over to the dojo on their motorcycles (while Marion, being a policewoman and all, complains about the broken speed limit). Once they arrive they see the Sensei on the ground dying. He says he only has time to teach them one final lesson. Sensei explains that they are the current bearers of the Dragon Force power that has passed down from generations of noble warriors, and he was hoping to teach them everything about it, but his time has run out. He knows if they fight as one, they can unleash the full potential of these powers. He also asks Marion to be there for them and help guide them. He calls them his grandsons as he finally dies in Jimmy's arms.
Stelth delivers the Dragon Statue to Nightfall and she is paid in double due to killing Sensei. He says he can double her payment twice more if she can also kill the Double Dragons. Nightfall says it will take days of concentration to fully absorb the powers of the Dragon Force and will need to be left alone.
Later on, Marion is carrying off a large man in cuffs to the police station. The man is strong enough to break the handcuffs and try to attack her, but Marion quickly takes him down. Jimmy arrives to speak to her. Outside, Jimmy is still saddened by Sensei's death and Marion hugs him for support. He then suddenly kissed her, and she pushes him back saying he shouldn't have done that. Jimmy suddenly socks her out, revealing himself to really be Stelth is disguise. She then takes the form of Marion and hides the real one in the trunk of her hovercar.
Stelth-Marion arrives at the cemetery where Billy and Jimmy are mourning the loss of their master. She reminds them that without the dragon statue they have lost the source of their powers... and now every street gang and criminal they have brought to justice know that they are defenseless. The Lees figure out that this fake Marion is Stelth, which means the real one is in danger. Stelth leaves as the Lees are surrounded by countless thugs and criminals.
The Lees start fighting the bad guys, one in particular is another supervillain with glowing 'Death Touch' energy gauntlets, which Billy quickly kicks in the gut to avoid from touching his hands. The Lees continue the fight, but are starting to get worn out, and the bad guys know all they need is to get in a lucky shot to do them in. As they fight, Billy keeps talking and joking, while Jimmy berates him on this. They suddenly feel the Dragon Force flowing through them. Elsewhere, the Dragon Power leaves Nightfall's body and goes back into the statue.
Stelth-Marion watches the fight and is surprised that despite the incredible odds, the Lees are still winning. She states she hates a fair fight (so I guess she considers a couple hundred guys against two people a fair fight?) and she uses her powers to turn the bad guys into copies of the Lee Brothers. Though they're confused, the Lees continue to fight for 2 to three hours.
The fight is finally over, and from the three hundred or so bad guys, only two people are left standing... the Double Dragons themselves. However, they both consider that the odds are near impossible that both brothers would survive the fight so the other brother must be fake, possibly even Stelth in disguise. The two prepare to fight out to the death, while Stelth watches, as she plans to kill whoever is the last one standing.
My opinions
Well this issue sure didn't skimp out on the action, that's for sure. Even without the Dragon Force the Lees were able to take out three hundred thugs and criminals. That guy with the energy gauntlets kinda stood out among the others, they probably should thrown in some more super-powered crazies, though the crowd shots did show a lot of people with metal arms or cyborg eyes and the like. I honestly think it wouldn't have killed them to toss in Linda, Roper and Abobo in there among so many bad guys. Hell, give Linda an energy whip, Roper some glowing fists and Abobo some super strength if you feel the need to make them stand out, but use some of the actual thugs from the games, ya know?
I wasn't expecting the sensei to die so quickly, and I'm surprised that he somehow turned out to be the Lees' natural grandfather, and neither of them knew about it.
This issue's weird new villain is Stelth, who I assume is mostly naked with the black squares just randomly and constantly shifting all over her body. She seems to have the most variety of abilities, turning invisible, imitating people, making other people also change form. And I still don't know how the hell she got the giant-ass dragon statue over to Nightfall's place.
I'm still not clear on what the Dragon Force exactly is... or what it does. The Lee Brothers were more than capable of taking down three hundred bad guys with their own martial arts skills without the need of um..... super cheesy armor and weird energy weapons. So... what power do they really need? I mean even with the armor on they can't fly, have super strength or throw fireballs or anything.
I thought when they started glowing and Nightfall lost the power as it was flowing back into the statue, it meant the statue was going to send the power back to the Lees and it was gonna be High-Five Time.... but no, they just kept on fighting as their regular selves. So what exactly does this power do and what will Nightfall do with it?
So I decided to hit up Amazon and track down the second issue of the Double Dragon comic series from Marvel. Well, the comic book version of the Lee Brothers train in the Dragon Dojo and have so-cheesy-it's-cool armor that they can summon by doing a high-five which gives them energy weapons and I guess better martial arts skills? The city is run by a super villain named Nightfall, who has super-powered henchmen working for him that have abilities like super speed and metal armor and such. Marion was kidnapped, but after the Lees managed to rescue her... they found out that this was all a diversion so that Nightfall can go to the dojo and steal their source of power. Now what will they do????
'Double Jeopardy' opens up reminding us of how Sensei guards the Dragon Force that resides in Billy and Jimmy Lee, which was originally meant for only one person at a time, but it doubles since the Lees were twins. Sensei lies in meditation and senses danger nearby, though he can't determine the source. Billy Lee steps in and suddenly attacks him. Sensei knows he's an impostor and suddenly the fake Billy turns invisible. Sensei can still feel his presence in the room, and the invisible fighter feels this is all the more reason to finish him off quickly. The attacker is surprised that Sensei can take so many hits, and the old man is finally defeated by a stomp on the back of the head. The attacker reveals herself to be a woman named Stelth. She can now steal the Dragon Statue and is sure Nightfall will pay any price to get it.
The Lees and Marion speed over to the dojo on their motorcycles (while Marion, being a policewoman and all, complains about the broken speed limit). Once they arrive they see the Sensei on the ground dying. He says he only has time to teach them one final lesson. Sensei explains that they are the current bearers of the Dragon Force power that has passed down from generations of noble warriors, and he was hoping to teach them everything about it, but his time has run out. He knows if they fight as one, they can unleash the full potential of these powers. He also asks Marion to be there for them and help guide them. He calls them his grandsons as he finally dies in Jimmy's arms.
Stelth delivers the Dragon Statue to Nightfall and she is paid in double due to killing Sensei. He says he can double her payment twice more if she can also kill the Double Dragons. Nightfall says it will take days of concentration to fully absorb the powers of the Dragon Force and will need to be left alone.
Later on, Marion is carrying off a large man in cuffs to the police station. The man is strong enough to break the handcuffs and try to attack her, but Marion quickly takes him down. Jimmy arrives to speak to her. Outside, Jimmy is still saddened by Sensei's death and Marion hugs him for support. He then suddenly kissed her, and she pushes him back saying he shouldn't have done that. Jimmy suddenly socks her out, revealing himself to really be Stelth is disguise. She then takes the form of Marion and hides the real one in the trunk of her hovercar.
Stelth-Marion arrives at the cemetery where Billy and Jimmy are mourning the loss of their master. She reminds them that without the dragon statue they have lost the source of their powers... and now every street gang and criminal they have brought to justice know that they are defenseless. The Lees figure out that this fake Marion is Stelth, which means the real one is in danger. Stelth leaves as the Lees are surrounded by countless thugs and criminals.
The Lees start fighting the bad guys, one in particular is another supervillain with glowing 'Death Touch' energy gauntlets, which Billy quickly kicks in the gut to avoid from touching his hands. The Lees continue the fight, but are starting to get worn out, and the bad guys know all they need is to get in a lucky shot to do them in. As they fight, Billy keeps talking and joking, while Jimmy berates him on this. They suddenly feel the Dragon Force flowing through them. Elsewhere, the Dragon Power leaves Nightfall's body and goes back into the statue.
Stelth-Marion watches the fight and is surprised that despite the incredible odds, the Lees are still winning. She states she hates a fair fight (so I guess she considers a couple hundred guys against two people a fair fight?) and she uses her powers to turn the bad guys into copies of the Lee Brothers. Though they're confused, the Lees continue to fight for 2 to three hours.
The fight is finally over, and from the three hundred or so bad guys, only two people are left standing... the Double Dragons themselves. However, they both consider that the odds are near impossible that both brothers would survive the fight so the other brother must be fake, possibly even Stelth in disguise. The two prepare to fight out to the death, while Stelth watches, as she plans to kill whoever is the last one standing.
 |
| Everything is to the death with these guys. Did they just kill all those guys, or only knock them out? |
My opinions
Well this issue sure didn't skimp out on the action, that's for sure. Even without the Dragon Force the Lees were able to take out three hundred thugs and criminals. That guy with the energy gauntlets kinda stood out among the others, they probably should thrown in some more super-powered crazies, though the crowd shots did show a lot of people with metal arms or cyborg eyes and the like. I honestly think it wouldn't have killed them to toss in Linda, Roper and Abobo in there among so many bad guys. Hell, give Linda an energy whip, Roper some glowing fists and Abobo some super strength if you feel the need to make them stand out, but use some of the actual thugs from the games, ya know?
I wasn't expecting the sensei to die so quickly, and I'm surprised that he somehow turned out to be the Lees' natural grandfather, and neither of them knew about it.
This issue's weird new villain is Stelth, who I assume is mostly naked with the black squares just randomly and constantly shifting all over her body. She seems to have the most variety of abilities, turning invisible, imitating people, making other people also change form. And I still don't know how the hell she got the giant-ass dragon statue over to Nightfall's place.
I'm still not clear on what the Dragon Force exactly is... or what it does. The Lee Brothers were more than capable of taking down three hundred bad guys with their own martial arts skills without the need of um..... super cheesy armor and weird energy weapons. So... what power do they really need? I mean even with the armor on they can't fly, have super strength or throw fireballs or anything.
I thought when they started glowing and Nightfall lost the power as it was flowing back into the statue, it meant the statue was going to send the power back to the Lees and it was gonna be High-Five Time.... but no, they just kept on fighting as their regular selves. So what exactly does this power do and what will Nightfall do with it?
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