I almost didn’t review this issue it was that disappointing. I looked at this issue and I couldn’t find anything that resembled its former self. There was nothing here that gave me those tingles of joy that I once had reading this series. Instead I was left with what felt like a hollowed attempt at recapturing that magic, but an utter failure at the same time. It’s almost as if Nick Spencer has forgotten who Madder Red is, much in the way that Fillmore has. In this issue Fillmore states that he dislikes guns and my mind instantly thought of the first issue in which he has a gang member shoot him… twice. That didn’t exactly come across as a dislike for guns, especially since Madder Red is beginning to seep out of Fillmore’s personality. I was a strange moment that stood out to me.

The only thing redeemable about this issue is a SPOILER. During a very boring exchange between Fillmore and the villain which is basically the entire issue, Ramira may have overheard that Filmore is Madder Red which makes him very nervous. She passes out from blood loss after that so it’s a mystery if she heard or not, but it was also bound to happen. How will she react? Who knows.

The villain was lame. The fact that it’s more of a computer virus than a person is lame. The entire angle was lame. It didn’t have that intensity of the first arc and the fact that suddenly everyone knows who The First is, was lame. I feel like everything that was shown in the past was a waste of time because it didn’t enrich the story in the least bit.

Will I be back for the third arc? Probably not. I think I’m going to hang up my hat with this issue. I actually feel bad that I encouraged people to jump on with this story arc. If I had known that it was going to go down in flames after the second chapter, I never would have. I still don’t understand how the first arc can be so damn good, but this second arc falls hard.

Score: 2/5 (the art saves it from the lowest score possible)

Writer: Nick Spencer Artist: Ryan Browne Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 1/22/14