My Rating
“The Eleventh Man – Part 02 of 03”
The entity must find a new host.
The Twelfth Man.
And time is running out.
Baron Winters and his mysterious fourteenth-century shaman must locate someone capable of accepting the supernatural burden before the entity consumes its current host. Unfortunately, the man strapped helplessly into the wheelchair is no ordinary victim.
He is former President Richard Nixon.
Heavily sedated and barely aware of the supernatural battle raging around him, Tricky Dick sits silently while Baron Winters attempts to determine his fate. Whatever has taken possession of Nixon cannot remain inside him much longer. Someone else must accept the entity, willingly or otherwise.
But who would volunteer for something like that?
Elsewhere
At White Technologies, celebrations are underway. The company has just received the coveted Best Computer Company of the Year award, and its revolutionary new gaming chip has transformed the business into one of the richest software companies in America, trailing only Microsoft.
The press wants an interview with the genius responsible for making it all possible.
Good luck with that.
Norman White speaks to no one.
Norman has lived without emotion for most of his life. Years of childhood bullying taught him that feelings bring nothing but pain. Happiness, sadness, anger, love—they are weaknesses that must remain buried somewhere deep inside.
No emotion.
No pain.
At least, that is what Norman tells himself.
Unfortunately, another influence has entered his life. A book promises answers to questions Norman may never have realized he was asking. Its pages offer knowledge, power, and perhaps a way forward.
The Malleus Maleficarum.
The Witches’ Hammer.
As Baron Winters desperately searches for someone capable of becoming the Twelfth Man, Norman White begins traveling down a considerably darker road. Coincidence?
When Baron Winters is involved, I seriously doubt it.
Will Winters find Nixon’s replacement host before time runs out? Why has the Malleus Maleficarum entered Norman White’s life? What exactly is the Eleventh Man searching for?
Why are rich kids always so messed up?
And can an ex-president be pardoned for demonic deeds?
Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
Yep, I can begin to understand why this second run of Night Force came to an end. There isn’t necessarily anything terrible about “The Eleventh Man.” Marv Wolfman’s writing remains solid, Baron Winters continues to be an interesting character, and the supernatural mystery has enough meat on the bone to keep me reading. The problem is that I’m beginning to wonder exactly where Night Force fits within the 1997 DC Universe.
Books such as The Book of Fate and Scare Tactics felt like they belonged to the same strange supernatural corner of DC Comics. Characters crossed paths, familiar names appeared, and you got the impression that something larger existed beyond the pages of each individual title. Night Force, on the other hand, continues to feel strangely isolated. Even the four-part “Convergence” crossover didn’t create much camaraderie between the various groups. Wolfman occasionally drops a familiar DC reference—the Daily Planet, for example—but otherwise Baron Winters might as well be operating in his own separate universe.
That isn’t necessarily a problem for a horror title, but by issue #10 I would have liked to see Night Force forge stronger connections with the other supernatural books surrounding it. Imagine Baron Winters crossing paths with Jared Stevens again, or some of these supernatural events attracting the attention of characters from elsewhere in DC’s darker corners. There was plenty of potential sitting on the table.
“The Eleventh Man” remains an interesting supernatural mystery, but part two doesn’t do enough to elevate the storyline beyond what we’ve already seen. Hopefully the finale has something nasty waiting around the corner.
For me, Night Force Vol. 2 #10 is another three-out-of-five-star issue.