By Mark Rodriguez
The villain Nightfall has sent his assassin Stelth to kill the sensei of the Lee Brothers as well as steal the statue that contains the powers of the Dragon Force. Stelth also tricks the brothers into fighting each other, but Marion arrives to shoot the assassin's hand and save the Lees. Despite Nightfall's attempts to get the powers for himself, they would just go back into the statue. Now the dragon has some to life and seeks to kill its previous owners, Billy and Jimmy Lee!
The issue opens with an innocent couple being harassed by a ruthless street gang. They grab the girl, and when her boyfriends offers them money to back off, they say they're doing this for fun, not for money, and stab the guy. Just then the dragon swoops down and attacks the gang. It swoops down again and one of the thugs manages to stab it, but it only makes it angrier. The dragon takes all of the men, and the poor couple beg for their lives, thinking they're next. The dragon then flies off, leaving them alone.
Elsewhere a man meditates, trying to forget his past life involved with the Dragon Force. As much as he can, he can't shake the images of Billy and Jimmy becoming the Double Dragons, Sensei getting killed, the Less tricked into fighting each other, and Nightfall stealing the statue but failing to get its power. Sensing the dragon has come alive and is out of control, the man cannot ignore the past any longer and heads out.
At the police headquarters, Marion, Billy and Jimmy are studying all the locations where the dragon has been spotted and they're mostly crime filled areas. Jimmy feels it might be better this way since they were not worthy of its power and now it can serve justice without their interference. Marion tells them the dragon is going around killing people, and they have to do something about it. The Lees reluctantly agree that she's right and they all decide to head off to the Dragon Headquarters.
They fly off in the police... jetcar thing... and arrive at the headquarters where the Lees head for the roof. Up there, there's another plane called the Dragon's Wing. They fly off and follow the path of destruction left behind by the dragon and see it's on its way to the penitentiary. Marion points out that the prisoners there are already serving their time and don't deserve to be killed.
The Dragons find the dragon at the penitentiary and gather their
weapons, this time normal non-powered, swords, nunchucks and throwing
stars. They doubt they'd have better luck than the police have, but they
figure today is a good a day to die as any. Marion flies the jet as the
brothers hop off.
As they attack the dragon, the notice that the wounds heal almost immediately. The police start to open fire and the dragon attacks the brothers. The dragon howls and flies off, right where Marion is flying the jet. She fires off several missiles that Billy calls 'Dragons's Breath', and says it's napalm with just a hint of mint. The missiles hit their target and the dragon goes down. Jimmy says Marion has succeeded, but Billy says that if the dragon dies, the Dragon Force goes with it.
The police yell out that dragon is still alive and the Lees wonder what it will take to keep it down. The man from earlier arrives and tells them it will take less than what they're using...but more than what they've got. The Lees ask who he is, and the man introduces himself as Stan. Stan tells them they can't control power with power... they control it with spirit. Billy doesn't get it, but Jimmy does. The hold hands and focus their spirit. The dragon is confused but soon vanishes and its energy returns to Billy and Jimmy as they regain their epic 80's superhero outfits again. The power doesn't reside in the dragon, it resides in them.
Marian arrives and is glad that they're alright. The brothers say they owe it to Stan, but don't know how he would know about the Dragon Force. Stan tells them their mother taught him, she was the dragon before their sensei was. The Lees say they never knew their mother since she died during child birth. Stan the Man tells them that he know because he was married to her.... so that makes him their father. The brothers are shocked, but so would the readers... Stan Lee is the father of the Double Dragons?????
My Opinions
It was a decent enough issue. Not as much action as before, since there's only so much you can against a giant monster... but then again, not every issue can have the Dragons fight 300 bad guys for several hours non-stop. It was nice seeing them work together for a change, instead of constantly bickering over who's the better fighter or who gets to tap Marian. Yeah, there was a snappy remark here and there, but not enough to start a fight between the two. I noticed Billy feels criminals in jail shouldn't be killed since they're already serving time and might be rehabilitated... while Jimmy feels like 'they're evil, who cares if they die'. Maybe Billy is looking to score some points with Marion, since everyone seems so eager to fight to death otherwise.
The main thing about this issue is... well... Stan Lee. What...the...hell....? Yeah at first you notice the guy kinda/sorta looks like a younger Stan Lee (keep in mind this comic was made early 90's), the real kicker is when he called the Lee 'true believers'. I mean the only thing missing is him to yell out Excelsior!!! as a battle cry. 'nuff said.
That is just weird. I mean, was Stan Lee a huge Double Dragon fan? Did he play the NES version a lot in his free time? Sadly I guess we'll never know. I am still mourning his recent passing and while it seems they filmed some extra cameos for at least 2 more Marvel Films, it'll be weird seeing him knowing he's gone. I do kinda think though, that if Stan the Man was still with us, he probably would have forgotten that he was featured in this comic... and as the father of the Double Dragons of all things.
The villain Nightfall has sent his assassin Stelth to kill the sensei of the Lee Brothers as well as steal the statue that contains the powers of the Dragon Force. Stelth also tricks the brothers into fighting each other, but Marion arrives to shoot the assassin's hand and save the Lees. Despite Nightfall's attempts to get the powers for himself, they would just go back into the statue. Now the dragon has some to life and seeks to kill its previous owners, Billy and Jimmy Lee!
The issue opens with an innocent couple being harassed by a ruthless street gang. They grab the girl, and when her boyfriends offers them money to back off, they say they're doing this for fun, not for money, and stab the guy. Just then the dragon swoops down and attacks the gang. It swoops down again and one of the thugs manages to stab it, but it only makes it angrier. The dragon takes all of the men, and the poor couple beg for their lives, thinking they're next. The dragon then flies off, leaving them alone.
Elsewhere a man meditates, trying to forget his past life involved with the Dragon Force. As much as he can, he can't shake the images of Billy and Jimmy becoming the Double Dragons, Sensei getting killed, the Less tricked into fighting each other, and Nightfall stealing the statue but failing to get its power. Sensing the dragon has come alive and is out of control, the man cannot ignore the past any longer and heads out.
At the police headquarters, Marion, Billy and Jimmy are studying all the locations where the dragon has been spotted and they're mostly crime filled areas. Jimmy feels it might be better this way since they were not worthy of its power and now it can serve justice without their interference. Marion tells them the dragon is going around killing people, and they have to do something about it. The Lees reluctantly agree that she's right and they all decide to head off to the Dragon Headquarters.
They fly off in the police... jetcar thing... and arrive at the headquarters where the Lees head for the roof. Up there, there's another plane called the Dragon's Wing. They fly off and follow the path of destruction left behind by the dragon and see it's on its way to the penitentiary. Marion points out that the prisoners there are already serving their time and don't deserve to be killed.
 |
| *sighs* here we go with the stupid superhero vehicles |
As they attack the dragon, the notice that the wounds heal almost immediately. The police start to open fire and the dragon attacks the brothers. The dragon howls and flies off, right where Marion is flying the jet. She fires off several missiles that Billy calls 'Dragons's Breath', and says it's napalm with just a hint of mint. The missiles hit their target and the dragon goes down. Jimmy says Marion has succeeded, but Billy says that if the dragon dies, the Dragon Force goes with it.
The police yell out that dragon is still alive and the Lees wonder what it will take to keep it down. The man from earlier arrives and tells them it will take less than what they're using...but more than what they've got. The Lees ask who he is, and the man introduces himself as Stan. Stan tells them they can't control power with power... they control it with spirit. Billy doesn't get it, but Jimmy does. The hold hands and focus their spirit. The dragon is confused but soon vanishes and its energy returns to Billy and Jimmy as they regain their epic 80's superhero outfits again. The power doesn't reside in the dragon, it resides in them.
Marian arrives and is glad that they're alright. The brothers say they owe it to Stan, but don't know how he would know about the Dragon Force. Stan tells them their mother taught him, she was the dragon before their sensei was. The Lees say they never knew their mother since she died during child birth. Stan the Man tells them that he know because he was married to her.... so that makes him their father. The brothers are shocked, but so would the readers... Stan Lee is the father of the Double Dragons?????
My Opinions
It was a decent enough issue. Not as much action as before, since there's only so much you can against a giant monster... but then again, not every issue can have the Dragons fight 300 bad guys for several hours non-stop. It was nice seeing them work together for a change, instead of constantly bickering over who's the better fighter or who gets to tap Marian. Yeah, there was a snappy remark here and there, but not enough to start a fight between the two. I noticed Billy feels criminals in jail shouldn't be killed since they're already serving time and might be rehabilitated... while Jimmy feels like 'they're evil, who cares if they die'. Maybe Billy is looking to score some points with Marion, since everyone seems so eager to fight to death otherwise.
The main thing about this issue is... well... Stan Lee. What...the...hell....? Yeah at first you notice the guy kinda/sorta looks like a younger Stan Lee (keep in mind this comic was made early 90's), the real kicker is when he called the Lee 'true believers'. I mean the only thing missing is him to yell out Excelsior!!! as a battle cry. 'nuff said.
 |
| A huge cameo years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe. R.I.P Stan Lee..... |
That is just weird. I mean, was Stan Lee a huge Double Dragon fan? Did he play the NES version a lot in his free time? Sadly I guess we'll never know. I am still mourning his recent passing and while it seems they filmed some extra cameos for at least 2 more Marvel Films, it'll be weird seeing him knowing he's gone. I do kinda think though, that if Stan the Man was still with us, he probably would have forgotten that he was featured in this comic... and as the father of the Double Dragons of all things.
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