Our two-part
story resumes, with Victor Stone in Africa, where a mystical rhino horn has
turned him completely human. Of course, as soon as he loses all his cybernetic
abilities is when he needs them most. An African warlord has enslaved whole
villages, and thinks nothing of sacrificing anyone’s life to fulfill his own
ambitions.
The story devolves into a
comic book version of the famous monkey’s paw fable: “Be careful what you wish
for.” One variation on film I saw years ago featured a widow wishing her
recently deceased husband were there, at which point the mortuary arrives with
his embalmed body. Realizing her wish was less than specific, she wishes he
were alive, only to see him writhing in agony for the embalming fluid in his
veins.
So Vic’s
sometimes-girlfriend Sarah lectures him on the advantages he had as Cyborg.
Maybe it hasn’t been long enough since his transformation in the Rebirth era,
but I would have thought he’d come to terms with his “non-conformity” long
enough that he didn’t need such a lecture. The story might have been easier for
me to swallow if it were set earlier in Cyborg’s career, but who’s to say it
isn’t? Maybe I missed that part.
This leads to a
confrontation with the magical powers of the horn, in a fight only Cyborg can
fight, and a bit of a deus ex machine role for the horn itself. It’s as if
Kevin Grevioux pulled classic elements from other stories, such as the girl
tripping while being chased by the bad guy.
Methinks he didn’t write
the story so much as he assembled it.
The art is lackluster.
Cliff Richards is fine with rendering the human form proportionately, but
Cyborg comes across as a man in a shiny metal body suit, rather than a
mega-mechanical techno-being.
All in all, the 2-issue
story seems weak and rushed. Perhaps as a 3-parter, it might have worked better
for me. This is Grevioux’s second issue after taking the place of John Semper
Jr. (a change I’m still not sure is permanent). But so far, neither writer has
wowed me; quite the opposite. Which makes me question the merits of a Cyborg
ongoing series.
Rating: 3/10