Isom # 2 Review *Heavy Spoilers*

 By Mark Rodriguez

Last time, Avery Silman, former hero Isom, was sent to find out the whereabouts of his sister's friend who vanished in the city. He runs into his old friend Darren Fontaino who is now a crime boss in the city and has several fights with one of his strongmen, an Except named Santwan. Now Avery returns to put on his old costume as he prepares for retaliation from Fontaino against him and his family. 

The story opens with Altona, Avery's sister, riding an elevator within the Projexus building she works at, looking distraught. Her co-worker notices and asks if she's nervous about the upcoming merger. Altona says she's fine and says this isn't their first buyout. The co-worker says he had an odd feeling about it and will later tell her about his findings.

Altona heads into her office at where there are some thugs waiting for her. Fontaino is sitting in her chair and says he figures she sent Avery after him. He asks how her daughter is doing. Altona gets angry and is about to dish out a threat but Fontaino smacks her to the floor and tells her she can't do anything. Fontaino says he saw Avery do some real athletic stuff and even take down his Except, Santwan and wants to know how he did it. Altona says she doesn't know what he's talking about. Fontaino takes out a gun when suddenly someone yells out to stop from outside. 

Suddenly, a man named Lincoln Eusebio, the founder of Projexus and his armed guards step in. Lincoln says Fontaino only made it that far because he let them, so he could see what they were up to. He also discovered and fired all of his hidden moles that were working for him. Before the thugs are escorted out, Lincoln socks Fontaino in the gut for laying a hand on of his employees. Fontaino says he really messed up, but Lincoln ignores his threats and have his men get them out of the building. Lincoln says he sent some guards to watch over Altona's daughter and they will bring her to them where they'll be safe. Since they now have a mutual problem, Lincoln wants Altona to tell him everything.

Years ago, we cut to some sort of comic convention that's been completely destroyed. Two con-goers are hiding under a table, not wanting to be caught by the thing that caused this. The table starts moving on its own, and it's shown to be lifted up by Isom, who tells them it's safe to come out now. 

The con-goers says the thing was too fast and they saw it kill one of the officers. Then everyone ran for the exit except those two, so they thought they were left for dead. Isom says he got there as soon as he could and figured there might be some people that didn't make it out yet. Isom turns to see the giant brute that caused all this, a monster called Chadran. Isom tells the con-goers to run for the exit.

Isom delivers a strong punch but Chadran doesn't flinch. He turns to see the con-goers running and chases after the woman wearing a superhero cosplay. Chadran chases after her and Isom follows to try to stop him. Chadran grabs the woman's cape and Isom hits in the back of the head before the monster can strike. Chadran falls forward and his weight injures the woman's legs, much to Isom's horror.

Isom tries the help the woman back to her feet and Chadran takes this chance to sock him across the room. Chadran then picks up the girl, ready to deliver the killing blow. Isom comes in with a flying punch to the back of the head, which does nothing but bloody up his own hand. Chadran then swings the woman into Isom, sending him flying back. Isom gets back up but he couldn't make it in time to stop Chadran from killing the woman.

Back to present day, Avery we relaying this story to Cedric, the man that made the Isom uniform. Cedric reminds him that evil doesn't go away and it becomes worse due to in inaction. He couldn't save the girl but if it weren't for him, the other guy that was with her would have died too. Cedric says he may not be his father, but the outfit does have his imprint on it and there are expectations to be kept. He says the next time he comes to visit him, it better be for more upgrades and not to quit a second time. Avery agrees to the deal.

Avery drives home back to the ranch and is surprised to see the security door was left open. As he steps inside, he sees glowing eyes in the darkness. He sees two large monsters that start to attack him. They say they know what he is, and Avery asks what they are. One of them drives their claws into Avery's shoulder. The creatures say they'll be seeing him soon. They burst into flames and slam their hands down onto the building. They vanish but now the area is on fire and Avery runs out. The building explodes behind him.

Avery's staff arrive on horses to see what happened. They ask about Sam and Avery says he didn't see him inside. One of them says they called Goodying since he'll get there before the fire department can. A woman patches up Avery's shoulder. He explains he saw these furry creatures with claws but they were standing upright. The woman sees that the animal wound he has is also a burn. Just then some drones arrive to put out the fire. One of Avery's men says that company's arrived and gets ready to draw his gun. A voice calls out telling him to let him do his job.

Goodying appears, he activates a helmet to form around his head and is control of the drones. He enters the building to make sure there is nobody left inside.

Meanwhile at the Alphacore Headquarters, the team discuss their recent run-in with Yaira. Bryan discusses that Yaira appeared a few years ago and after an altercation he decided to let her go. Valdez says for him to let her go, he must think she wasn't evil, and yet she dropped a man (Avery) from a high altitude onto a car. Valdez reminds Bryan that he hit her pretty hard so she'll be willing to return the favor. Bryan agrees and says it's concerning since Yaira is capable of putting up more than a fight. He says it seems they interrupted what she was up to, and their next move depends on exactly what that was. Valdez is the best with intel between the three, so she says she'll get on it. As she leaves, Bryan tells Braxwell that he's off to train. Braxwell studies the image of Avery after he was dropped onto the car by Yaira.

Goodying finished putting out the fire at the Silman Farm and tells Avery he salvaged as many valuables as he could. He asked what happened and Avery says he wouldn't believe him. Goodying says with his subscription he can afford a hypothesis for free but will have to pay extra for a full blown investigation. 

Avery tell him two beasts attacked him and their operations manager is missing. They set the place on fire and seemed to self destruct. Goodying wants to investigate this and gives him a free ointment that will help heal him up sooner. He also mentioned the security cameras watching over the place were destroyed and look very outdated. Avery says it's by design since those were the few types of cameras he could find that aren't tied to the cloud. Goodying says he understand but this means all the visual evidence has been destroyed. He tells him to send him a detailed email and he'll see if he can come across any matches.

Avery goes to his house and tries to get some rest on his couch. He's relieved the monsters didn't burn down his actual house. He gets a call from his sister, telling him that Fontaino went to see her at her job. She tells him that she's alright but Fontaino got her good. Lincoln tells him that his sister and niece are safe and he should come with them for protection as well as they formulate a plan. Altona tells him that Avery already hung up. Avery tries to keep calm but gets enraged, declaring he's going to kill Darren Fontaino.

Meanwhile at Club Mero, Fontaino tells his men to leave Eusebio to him. Even though things didn't go according to plan, the message was sent. Just then Santwan comes in, telling him he should know better than to summon him. Darren chews him out over how Avery was able to defeat him, even smashing him through a brick wall. Santwan says even though he hired him, he'd best watch his tone. Fontaino points to one of his men that has a customized gun designed to take someone like him down. 

Darren asks Santwan to tell him everything about Avery. Santwan says he's not paid for intel. Darren asks if Avery is an Except like Santwan and he repeats that he's not paid for intel. Darren gets angry and fires him. One of Darren's men asks him if that's a good idea and Darren tells him to shut up or he'll be fired too. He tells a woman at the club to send Jasmine to his office. 

Meanwhile at the Obertonic Arena, an episode of Monday Night Elevation is being aired. The next match begins as beloved wrestler Larry Shungite steps into the ring. Larry cuts a promo on how he's earned the title and had it taken from him. He demands the boss step out and tell everyone why he had it taken from him. The commentary says he's gone rogue. Lincoln is watching this on TV and his employees tell him it's time to go to their event. Lincoln turns off the TV and says he doesn't like these kinds of events, but it's business. He calls Atlona and tells her that he's heading off towards the event and will update her on how it goes. He tests the metal detector before he leaves and sets it off. One of his men says it must be serious since he never brings a gun to work. Lincoln assures he's not bringing a gun.

As Lincoln and his men prepare to leave, a woman named Sally arrives. Lincoln asks her why she's working so late. She left the schematics in the office, as she wanted to look them over before she leaves. Lincoln says they'll be seeing Burnley later that night and asks if she considered his offer. She says she'll consider it as the offer is difficult to refuse. She says she'll keep them posted as she has some ideas they're going to love. As she heads off we see a trace of blue in her hair, hinting that Sally is Yaira. 

As Lincoln and his men drive off, his employee, Jason, asks if they should have brought along a team to tail them considered what happened earlier that morning. He reminds him that while Lincoln might be a respectable man in the city, that doesn't mean much to the disrespectful. Just then some of Darren's men drive up right next to them, saying their boss sends his regards. They open fire, but the car windows are thick enough to withstand the shots. Jason asks when he installed the upgrades, and Lincoln says he knows he was another mole and all of this was a set up to fish him out. 

Jason pulls a gun but Lincoln elbows him in the face. Lincoln deactivates the windshield emergency protection. Jason says he's going to kill them both, and Lincoln says he doesn't plan to die but he can keep his ride. Lincoln swerves the car violently and as it crashes, he leaps through the windshield.

Avery grabs his gun and puts on some shades as he's about to head out. Sam's wife shows up, worried about her husband not coming home that night. Avery will help out and they both head out to see Goodying. They soon arrive to Goodying's property and see an android that tells them that their vehicles will be cared for. The android unleashes platforms for Avery and Sam's wife to stand on. They hold onto the android as it flies them off to see Goodying.

Avery tells Sam's wife that the other day he went to see the security house where he was attacked by two beasts. Goodying says that there weren't any signs of Sam and his wife faints. The android takes care of her while Goodying discusses his findings with Avery. He says that he couldn't find a creature that matches the description of what attacked him, but he did find traces of Teracenagin in the blood trail Avery left behind. He explains it's a molecule not found in human DNA but every time he comes across it, it's tied to a particular type of creature.

Lincoln explains he once ran across underground creatures that have a similar makeup to what Avery encountered. Lincoln asks Avery if he remembers 'the great war of separation' which happened when they were both young. Avery says he at least knows the basics, Texas won and Bryan was the hero. Lincoln says paranormal creatures took advantage of the turmoil to make some moves. He says dozens of them were seen during the war. He said an earthquake rocked Central Mississippi which revealed a carcass and he was sent to investigate. Lincoln doesn't believe the earthquake was a coincidence. He needs to do more research but it will take days. In the meantime, there is somebody he wants Avery to meet.

Lincoln tells Avery to meet up with his greatest source of intel. She's not the type to talk over the phone and she lives off the grid, so he gives Avery a gold-colored card that will get him in. Lincoln says he should have more information by the time Avery comes back, and they will take of Sam's wife.

Avery heads home for some rest. He soon gets a box delivered to him that contains an upgrades version of Isom costume. It weighs a pound more than the older outfit but it's made of material that can absorb shocks from great falls. Avery suits up and heads out. 

Isom gets into his truck and drives towards the directions that Goodying gave him. His journey leads him to a castle. He runs across the bridge leading to it and calls out for whoever might be inside. There isn't an answer. He pulled out the golden card and asks what good it will do him. Suddenly a crow pecks the back of his neck and some wolves also showed up. Then a winged creature flies in and latches its claws onto Isom's shoulder. The creature picks him up and takes to the sky. Isom punches it and he's let go and falls into the castle's moat. As he gets out of the water, alligators follow him. One of him tries to bite him, and Isom grabs the gator and slams him down. 

Suddenly a woman named Syndee Bloodruth shows up, surrounded by her creatures. She tells him to stand down unless he wants to die. Isom says he's not fond of threats and she says she's not fond of him. Isom explains that Goodying sent him, and Bloodruth sees the golden card. He tells her about the beasts that burned down his security house and possibly took Sam. She knows of them and says she has been dealing with Hellians. She calls them such because they look like they could come from Hell. She explains every culture has its own hell, but they're all pretty much places full of fire where bad people go. She explains there are other planes of existence and realms that fit that description. Isom asks if she means other universes. Bloodruth says that's fictional nonsense and she refers to them more like other dimensions. 

Bloodruth explains these creatures didn't get here through interdimensional travel, but they got here somehow. She dealt with one 50 miles North of her place and she wants them gone. She says her birds have taken interest in the caves in the mountains. She can't guarantee that Sam wills till be alive and asks what Isom can do. Isom explains he's dealing with a family emergency back home and he won't be dying before it's dealt with. 

Bloodruth mounts a winged creature and says he can hitch a ride with her if she can keep up. As she takes off, Isom runs and leaps up to grab onto the creature's leg and fly off with her. As they approach the caves, Isom lets go and take down one of the Hellians. They enter the cave and Bloodruth uses her powers to create a spark of light to help them see. The cave is crawling with Hellians and Isom starts to fight them off. 

Bloodruth says this is a colony and they should leave. Isom punches his way out of a pile of these creatures. He says these are the same creatures that burned his security house down. He says he'll search the cave for Sam, and Bloodruth can leave if she's scared. Bloodruth smirks and says to give her a minute. She summons her magic surrounds herself in flames.

One of the Hellians forms a fireball in his hand and tosses it at Isom. Isom runs right at side and dodges to the side to avoid the fireball. He keeps running and shoulder-tackles the monster to the ground. Several of the Hellians get together and start to toss fire, combining it into one big fiery blast headed towards Isom. Bloodruth blasts it away with her own fiery blast. Isom asks Bloodruth 'what are you?' to which Bloodruth also asks 'what are you?!'. 

The fight continues and one of the creatures grab onto Bloodruth and she can't break free. She kicks at its ankle. The monster falls on top of her and is about to bite her. Isom kicks it away. Bloodruth says she wants the creatures gone but that doesn't seem viable. She got what she came for but she will help Isom find any leads on his friend. As they head deeper into the cave, Bloodruth says she will leave if she gets overwhelmed again.

Isom and Bloodruth see an entire colony of Hellians. They also see a storage unit but it's on a high ledge. Bloodruth asks for a boost and Isom launches her up high. This draws the attention of the creatures. The army of Hellians start running towards Isom and he fights off their countless numbers. 

Bloodruth uses her powers to blow up a wall. She ventures inside it. He finds several dead men, but Sam is still alive. Sam says Avery must be causing the commotion outside and Bloodruth says he said his name was Isom. Bloodruth gets blood sample from the other men to later identify. They head back towards the ledge and we see that Sam has glowing markings on his back now. They see Isom fighting the monsters and Sam says there's no way he can fight them all. Bloodruth says he's buying them time but they need some way to get back down the ledge.

Bloodruth and Sam run off the ledge and she creates small constructs they can step down off of to break their fall little by little. They make it to the ground but Bloodruth is weakened by now. Isom is still fighting off the monsters and he tells them to go. Bloodruth and Sam make it towards the cave's entrance. 

Some of the defeated monsters from earlier get up and start to charge towards Bloodruth and Sam. Bloodruth's wolves charge towards the monsters and attack them. Sam says they can go back for Avery now. Bloodruth says there are only two wolves and she's glad he was smart enough to bring them here. Sam asks who she meant by 'he' and the huge winged creature lands and crushes the Hellian with its claws. Bloodruth and Sam mount the creature and she tells him the wolves can fend for themselves.

As the fight in the cave continues, one of the monsters grabs Isom from behind and starts to set itself on fire. Isom bends his legs and does a massive jump, taking the creature along for the ride. He kicks the beast off him so it can blow up on its own without taking Isom with him. As Isom escapes, the leader of the Hellians says he underestimated this human and he must be eliminated.

My Thoughts- 

Wow, that sure escalated quickly. Last issue kept things pretty much street level, superheroes aside. Now Isom finds himself in a cave fighting off exploding monsters from another dimension. This sure was an unexpected twist and shift in the story. I thought this came out of nowhere until I remembered that in the last issue Sam was confronted by something off panel. It's still a mystery why Sam and Avery in particular were targeted but I think we'll get more answers once Bloodruth identifies the other victims.

It was very strange to shift into creatures from hell when the story initially started with Avery trying to find Jasmine and finding out his old friend was now a crime boss. We still see a bit of that here, as the story opens with Altona being confronted by Darren, and later on we see an attempted hit on Lincoln's life. But for the most part, his story is pretty much in the background. I think from Avery's perspective, it's more important to save a good friend and employee of his than a woman he barely knows and has already told him to back off. He didn't completely forget, as he still mentioned having to deal with this, but it did seem that when you compare Jasmine to Sam, Sam's life was in more immediate danger.

We get to find out why Isom quit, and it does kinda make sense. It's tough trying to be someone that saves lives only to see someone get killed in front of you. I'm sure any doctor that had lost a patient can relate. I know superheroes in other stories sometimes don't make it in time to stop a building from exploding, but it's not too common they see a complete innocent get killed in front of them without them being able to stop it. 

However these kinds of things are something a hero has to face. I wonder if it was just this one instance that made Isom quit, or if he had already seen so much death during his superhero career and this one event was the one straw that broke the camel's back. 

It seems Avery's powers are pretty much super strength that he uses to enhance his athleticism and training. He also has super healing abilities. This issue made it much clearer that no one knows that Avery is an Except, and in this case it's lucky his powers aren't too outlandish that he can't find excuses to cover up whenever his friends notice anything off about him. Avery had to have gained his powers sometime past childhood as even his old friend Darren didn't know he's superhuman. One thing though is that Sam inadvertedly told Bloodruth that Avery is Isom and Sam saw him in his costume. We'll see where that leads.

I didn't expect to see Yaira and Alphacore here since I figured they were mostly cameos in the first issue to introduce the concept of them getting their own books. With Yaira apparently snooping around Projexus and Alphacore after her, they might still cross paths with Avery yet. 

Of the new characters, Goodying and Bloodruth take center stage. Goodying and Bloodruth are both investigators of strange and bizzare creatures in their own way. Goodying is more of a dashing detective, while Bloodruth is more of a witch with dark magic. Goodying is pretty much a hero for hire, while Bloodruth is more of a recluse. I want to see more of both of them. 

Chadran is more of a mindless beast as far as we can tell. It's too soon to tell what his story was, but I can only assume he went after that poor cosplayer because he confused her for the superheroine she was cosplaying as. Since the issue says 'First Appearance', we can only assume we can see him again.

Now for the nitpicks. There was a lot of great fighting action in this issue, even though this issue had another 'what's going on' moment. While not as glaring as the 'Avery/Santwan leaping at each other' scene, in this one it took me a while to figure out that Bloodruth sent flames to knock back the fire blast headed towards Isom. Or at least I think that's what happened?

The other nitpick was the glaring typo when one of Avery's farmhands called Goodying 'Goodyng'. The reason this was a bigger deal than the occasional typo was the fact that this is the first time Goodying's name is ever mentioned, so it took me a bit to figure out his correct name until we got the business card page. That brings me to another point, the odd filler. 

I get the appeal of epic splash pages, and while this comic delivers on that front, but did we really need 4-5 pages devoted to that wrestler guy before we got to the part that Lincoln was watching the show on TV? Unless Larry Shungite turns out to be another Rippaverse character, I don't see the point. There was also the part where Bloodruth was helping Sam get down one platform at a time. I get the first page that properly convey that, but did it had to take up all of the following page? That first panel could have easily have been them hitting the ground allowing the rest of the page to be devoted to other things.

Filler issues aside, Isom 2 was an enjoyable and action-packed read. Now Isom has two big problems to worry about, further retaliation from Fontaino and his men, and now this Hellian Monster Final Boss. We'll have to wait a while for Isom # 3 though as the next two campaigns coming up will be Alphacore # 1 followed up by Yaira# 1. Seeing that these guys made some appearances in this volume, I wonder how their books will affect the events of Isom # 3.