Backlash (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1996.
Synopsis for "Fire from Heaven, Chapter 2 of 14"
Backlash, Dane, and Burnout are in the escape pod (see Fire From Heaven #1) which was damaged when jettisoned. Backlash struggles to keep it aloft but it's clear they are going to crash. At the last second, Backlash joins hands with both Dane and Burnout, and then the pod crashes. A Stormforce helicopter arrives to inspect the wreckage and doesn't detect any survivors, but Battalion of StormWatch is aboard and doesn't trust the sensors, so he instructs the pilot to land in the nearest clearing so they can take a closer look.
In Gamorra City, Taboo (Amanda) and Crimson (Jodi) are in a bar keeping tabs on Minotaur. Taboo wants to follow Minotaur to see if it will give them any leads on Cyberjack. A man walks into the bar and tells Minotaur to come with him on Kaizen Gamorra's orders. They argue, and it's revealed that the other man is named Aries. Crimson gets an uneasy feeling about Aries, who tells Minotaur they are to inspect a crash site and that the intruders may be former members of Team 7. Amanda recognizes this reference as Backlash's old unit, so they follow Minotaur and Aries out of the bar.
Back at the escape pod crash, we learn that Backlash was able to use his misting ability to turn all three of them into mist in order to survive, although it has left him severely weakened. Burnout says that if they'd only listened to him, he could have flown them all to safety. They discuss whether the others in the aircraft survived or not, and decide that regardless, the mission is to hit the lab and free Dr. Tsung, so they should head there anyway and hopefully meet up with any survivors there.
Taboo and Crimson have followed Minotaur and Aries to the roof of a skyscraper, where the latter climb into an aircraft and lift off. Crimson breaks from cover to stop them but a guard sees her and begins firing. In the fight, Taboo loses her footing and falls from the building. Crimson dives after her and catches Crimson, then batlike wings mysteriously sprout from her suit. Taboo is surprised but doesn't let on to Crimson that she didn't know what she was doing, although she is concerned that this isn't the first time the suit has taken control of her.
Kaizen Gamorra talks with Aries and says that there should be no holding back if they encounter Team 7, for they must not be allowed to interrupt his plans. But if they do, he has a backup plan for Team 7--one of their own will be their destruction. Cyberjack is revealed, trussed up in some new cybersuit and wired to machinery.
Taboo uses her newly discovered wings to fly herself and Taboo after the craft carrying Minotaur and Aries. They find the ship abandoned, but as they inspect it, they are ambushed by Gamorrans including Minotaur and Aries. Aries jumps Crimson but then seems to recognize her. The fight continues and Backlash, Dane, and Burnout show up to help. Taboo is captured by an unnamed woman who appears to be a female Minotaur, but then Dane impales her with his knife. The battle rages on and eventually it looks like Aries has beaten Backlash, but then Crimson tackles Aries using her superspeed.
On the moon, we see the Bounty Hunters activate some machinery which begins opening a portal so that Damocles can travel to Earth's dimension.
The battle on Gamorra continues, where we find that Jodi has somehow canceled out Aries' Gen-Factor. She's surprised to hear him mention Gen-Factor, but before she can put her thoughts to words, Aries decks her. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Minotaur has Taboo in his grasp, but then Backlash slices his arm off with his psi-whips! At that moment, an earthquake suddenly begins. Burnout flies to safety with Crimson and the unconscious Aries in tow. Backlash and Taboo are trapped by the fissures in the ground and the magma that is pouring out from them. Taboo leaps to safety, but Backlash is consumed by a wall of fire before he can make the jump. The others leave, thinking Backlash is dead. But then we see him dangling in one of the cracks in the earth. A hand reaches down to help him, and it belongs to Cybernary.
Appearing in "Fire from Heaven, Chapter 2 of 14"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Aries
- Borgia
- Kaizen Gamorra (John Colt)
- Minotaur
- Hunter-Killers
- Bounty Hunters
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Gamorra Island
- Utsuro Mountains
- Earth's Moon
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Originally published by Image Comics.
- This issue is part two of the 14-part "Fire from Heaven" crossover of the Wildstorm line of titles. The story continues in Gen 13 vol. 2 #10.
See Also