My Rating
“Speed Freak / Paranoid”
Somewhere over the swamplands of Alabama, an unmarked Blackhawk helicopter flies low and fast toward an undisclosed destination. Inside the cockpit, the pilot exchanges coded commands with the destination point while Cantrip’s men recount the operation from earlier that day. Back in the cargo hold, the hulking metahuman known as Gross-Out lies dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Or, at least, everyone aboard believes he is dead.
Then an enormous roar erupts from the monster’s throat!
Chains snap like plastic toys as the supposedly dead creature suddenly comes back to life. The crew jumps in shock as the ugly scab of a beast begins punching his way out of the flying prison. How the hell can he still be alive? Gross-Out took hundreds of rounds of small-arms fire and bled out! Within seconds, the floor of the Blackhawk gives way and the massive metahuman plummets toward the dark swamp waters below.
A quarter-mile away at the Crandall residence, Bart Allen stares through his bedroom window at the night sky. The young man from the future is fascinated by the opportunity to view the constellations from a 20th-century perspective. Suddenly, an orange fireball erupts overhead, snapping Bart out of his daydream. There’s action afoot! In less than a second, the 30th-century speedster known as Impulse rockets toward the Alabama swamp to investigate.
Meanwhile
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps, a poorly dressed Elvis impersonator strolls toward a lavish hotel on the Strip. Two bags of groceries dangle from the King’s hands as he passes the doorman. Sorry, buddy—no tip tonight. There are plans to be made!
First, however, somebody has to pay the bill. How thoughtful of Senator Ted Kennedy to “lend” his credit card for the occasion. What a fine, outstanding public servant! Inside, Arnold Burnsteel and Jared Stevens have much bigger problems to worry about. The secrets surrounding the R-Complex are beginning to unravel, and Fate may be needed for a rescue mission.
Will Impulse and Max Mercury help slow the hunt for a fellow metahuman? Can “Elvis” and Jared Stevens pull off a rescue mission against the R-Complex research base? Why is there a creepy severed head lying inside a box in an Alabama swamp? Seriously, what the hell is with the head?!? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
So, this is the first Plus one-shot that helps tie up the unfinished storyline from Scare Tactics. Being more of a Marvel guy, I went into this knowing almost nothing about Impulse or Max Mercury, much less their histories or power sets. Sometimes that’s the best way to discover a character. I didn’t have decades of continuity rattling around in my head or any expectations about how these guys were supposed to behave. I just jumped in—and this book was a blast to read.
The issue is essentially broken into two connected mini-stories. “Speed Freak” focuses on Gross-Out crossing paths with Impulse and Max Mercury, while “Paranoid” brings Arnold Burnsteel and Jared Stevens, aka Fate, into the growing conspiracy surrounding the R-Complex. Having just finished The Book of Fate, seeing Jared and Burnsteel again was a nice bonus. More importantly, the history behind the R-Complex is becoming increasingly interesting. What initially seemed like another shadowy government operation is developing into something much larger.
If you’re planning to collect Scare Tactics, I would definitely recommend tracking down the four Plus crossover issues that continue its story. Impulse Plus could have easily felt like a disposable crossover designed to sell fans another comic, but I came away wanting to know more about Impulse, Max Mercury, and especially the R-Complex. Damn it, DC—you’ve given me even more 1990s characters to research!