Pedro Hernandez is the Rookie, and he's nothing but trouble.
Writer | Mark Millar |
Illustrator & Inker | Valerio Giangiordano |
Colorist | Lee Loughridge |
Content Rating | Mature Readers |
Publisher | Dark Horse | 08.28.24 |
Spoilers Ahead
The pace has picked up even more in this second issue of Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery. The nominal villain's body now restored after being paralyzed by The Ambassadors, Nemesis needs to make good on his debt to Ensi Ur-Baba, the man who healed him. To do that, Nemesis needs a partner, and in proper Nemesis fashion, he gets his hands on someone as sick and twisted as he is.
Mark Millar remains a force within the comic book industry. While the first issue made it clear that Nemesis would be digging deeper into the character's analogous relationship with DC's Batman, there was no way it wouldn't get the signature vicious twist that's befitting of this franchise. Enter Pedro Hernandez, a young mass killer with a record a mile long ready to be sentenced in court. Except, a minion of Nemesis has provided Pedro with a means to escape, including a key for his cuffs and a gun hidden beneath his chair in the courtroom.
What follows is an excellent escape scene that feels like it was pulled right out of a movie. Even as far back as Captain America escaping a SHIELD helicarrier and riding atop a fighter jet in Civil War, Millar has had a penchant for orchestrating fight and action sequences that are highly cinematic. That hasn't changed a bit in Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery #2. Pablo's flight from the courtroom into Nemesis' waiting escape car, and the mayhem that ensues from there, is a sight to behold.
Of course, Millar is the writer, meaning he can only outline what he'd like to see on the page, so it was up to artist Valerio Giangiordano to bring the scenes to life. As with the previous issue, Giangiordano's art is a huge selling point. Characters have distinct faces and emote incredibly well, all without looking like traced photos, as some artists suffer from. What's more, Giangiordano's ability to extrapolate Millar's descriptions into panels that look like frames from movie scenes makes the action really stand out.
It's the quiet moments, however, that resonated even more in this issue. In particular, the dark mirror of Batman and Robin meeting in the shadows of the Batcave for young Dick to swear his undying oath to fight crime. Here, it's Nemesis and Pedro beneath some random grocery store where the former has one of his multiple hideouts hidden about. The iconography of the burning flame and the characters huddled in the dark perfectly evokes the events of Detective Comics #38, except in this case, it's two villains out to make the world a worse place. What's more, there's an ominous sense that Pedro is making a deal with the devil in a way that Dick did not, something we'll likely see play out down the road.
If there's any downside to the issue, it's that we don't get much from Pedro beyond being told he's a bad guy. Yes, we saw him do some violent things to escape from the courthouse, but in terms of personality, Pedro comes across as a fairly normal young person, not a monster the way Nemesis is. He seems wowed and impressed by the splendor of Nemesis' rich lifestyle, but in a way that's almost innocent and wholesome, which it's clear Pedro is not. I'm sure we'll get more of Pedro's personality in later issues, but it would have been nice to start laying out what makes Pedro tick so that we could more quickly become invested in him. Regardless, by the time Pedro suits up and is rechristened as the Rookie by Nemesis, seeing the pair in their costumes ready to raise some hell has me pumped for the next issue.
Meanwhile, back in San Diego, Andy is working on recovering from the damage done to him by Nemesis' men in the previous issue. With the help of a new helmet and gauntlets, Andy can see again and he even has enhanced strength and access to hard light constructs. It's apparent that he's filled with a burning desire to take down Nemesis for blinding him and leaving him for dead, and seeing how this thirst for revenge plays out will be interesting. Like Pedro, I wish we could get a little more about who Andy is, other than a nice guy that had something awful happen to him, but I trust Millar to get us there in due course.
An easy recommend, folks. If you're not reading Nemesis: Rogues Gallery, I question your official comic book fan status. This is what the funny books are all about.
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