My Rating
“Beginnings and Endings”
Someone has planted a bomb inside the manifold of Marlon’s twin-engine Cessna. Somewhere high above the deserts of the American Southwest, the explosive detonates and sends the small aircraft crashing toward the ground. Marlon and his passenger, Matthew Ryans, somehow survive the impact, but their troubles have only just begun. A team of heavily armed mercenaries is already hunting them, and their orders are simple: shoot to kill.
Under the cover of darkness, Marlon and Matthew sneak through the desert in hopes of escaping their pursuers. Instead, they stumble across something even more unexpected—the original members of the Challengers of the Unknown! The elderly adventurers have arrived to investigate the mysterious plane crash, but Matthew immediately realizes something isn’t right. Two of these men supposedly died years ago when Challenger Mountain exploded. How can they possibly be standing here now?
It looks like it’s finally time for both generations of Challengers to put their cards on the table. The history of the original team begins mixing with the mysterious origins of their replacements, and some of those unanswered questions are finally getting answers.
What’s with all the plane crashes? Why do witnesses keep seeing strange lights before and after the incidents? How is a guy in his eighties doing backflips like an Olympic champion? What really happened to the original team after Challenger Mountain exploded? Collect the series to find out!
Review
Now we’re getting somewhere! Issue #8 finally reveals more about the origins of the new Challengers while also giving us a glimpse into what happened to the original team. After spending several issues wondering how all these characters fit together, I enjoyed watching the writers finally pull back the curtain. There are still plenty of unanswered questions, but at least some of the missing pieces are starting to fall into place.
I especially liked seeing the two generations interact. The original Challengers aren’t simply making a cameo appearance for nostalgia’s sake. Their history appears directly connected to the mysteries surrounding the current team, the plane crashes, and all those strange lights in the sky. There is a definite UFO flavor running through this storyline, which mixes nicely with the paranormal and horror elements the series has already established.
Pretty interesting stuff all around. Challengers of the Unknown can occasionally become confusing with its fragmented storytelling, but when the series concentrates on unexplained phenomena, strange science, and supernatural mysteries, it works for me. If you enjoy science fiction and horror comics with a healthy dose of UFO weirdness thrown into the mix, I would recommend giving this series a try. I’m definitely interested in seeing how “Last Days” wraps everything up in the next issue. Four out of five stars.