Destro #2 // Review
There was an arms fair in the Republic of Darklonia. It should have been a totally respectable place to sell engines of mass death. Then the drones broke-in. One billion dollars’ worth of damage. Eighteen casualties. Worst of all...it tarnished the reputation of a certain chrome-headed arms dealer who has vowed revenger in Destro #2. Writer Dan Watters continues his focus on the G.I. Joe villain with artist Andrea Bressan and colorist Adriano Lucas. Watters’ focus on a war between arms dealers feels a bit more honest than Hasbro could have gotten with the characters when they were first introduced in the 1980s.
Destro claims that he wants revenge, but there’s more at work here. Xamot and Tomax are back in New York. They are addressing their Crimson Guard. Evidently they’ve been framed for the attack...by Destro. They think he wants an excuse to attack the twins and THEIR arms operation and isn’t afraid to do a little bit of damage to his own reputation in order to mobilize against his chief competitor. The two arms dealers are preparing to go to war with each other. Firepower will be expended. Lives will be lost. Time and money will be invested in eliminating the competition.
Watters does an impressive job of outlining the contrast between the two opposing dealers at the opening of the issue. Destro gives an outline of the Crimson Guard. The corporation holds one of the largest private armies in the world under the command of corporate leaders Tomax and Xamot. Then Tomax and Xamot give a brief outline of Destro’s operation. He sees business as a necessary means to wage war. The balance between opposing forces is cleverly drawn-up in a very well-executed outline that delivers some cleverly dark political-cultural satire in the process.
Watters is sharp enough to give Bressan more than enough room to commit some respectably dynamic visuals to the page. The equal and opposite balance between opposing villains is laid out on the page in visually appealing fashion . Bressan and Lucas manage some very iconic images of Destro in and amidst moments of explosive action. Lucas adds depth and atmosphere to a variety of different locations at different times of day. The conflict between Destro and his competitors is a big, international affair and that requires that a whole lot of different scenes need to have a central, driving pulse to them Bressan and Lucas keep everything running quite coherently through a remarkably crisp action drama.
The Energon Universe that’s being explored in a number of different titles seems like a next natural step for the tow big Hasbro franchises in the comics. The challenge is going to lie in keeping everything dynamic without getting it to sprawl hopelessly out of control. There are a great many different characters in both G.I. Joe and The Transformers that could drag the momentum conisderably. For now, everything feels perfectly well-executed in another enjoyable walk with a notable villain.
