Most of issue one's strengths and failings remain. The annoyingly profane voice in Austin’s head keeps chiming in with ostensibly funny quips. This book doesn't do funny very well. The writing insists it's funny that Germans keep mistaking Austin for David Hasselhoff. This is about as funny as making Chuck Norris references. So, not funny at all. Worse for this action comic, the action beats are only mildly entertaining, lacking any emotional stakes. This still feels like a story out of time, with more dated stereotypes and an uncertain sense of place. Austin comes across as supposedly wary but demonstrably far too trusting for this spy story. After running from the organization that rebuilt him, Austin is far too eager to get involved with another organization. And his flight from the OSI is based on wild assumptions and a vague understanding of some poorly hidden secret files. I just don't feel his sense of betrayal is earned. What's more, his quest to uncover a secret cyborg army seems aimless. Austin doesn’t ask questions; he acts without real purpose. And yet it's all so familiar and rote it never feels appropriately suspenseful. You can virtually see the plot threads stretching out before you in neat, predictable lines. The one wild card is the video game tutorial fairy stuck in Austin's brain. But this issue does very little to move forward in that regard.
This issue is a slight improvement over the first, mostly due to more visually interesting antagonists. Beyond that, however, Fall of Man is bland at best.
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The Six Million Dollar Man: Fall of Man #2 Writer: Van Jensen Artist: Ron Salas Colorists: Mike Atiyeh and Caitlin McCarthy Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital
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