Sigma (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1996.
Synopsis for "Fire from Heaven, Prelude 2"
This issue opens on another world, one ruined by toxic pollutants. A man is leaving his family to conclude experiments that may save his world, despite the objections of his wife who warns of the dangers of his work. We discover this man is Damocles, and his plan is to steal the resources from other planets to sustain his own. Sigma and other rebels break in to stop him, saying that it is morally wrong. A fight breaks out and the dimensional nexus is damaged, causing it to explode, destroying the world in a flash. Damocles survives, but his family does not, and he is driven insane. We then see Dr. Simon Tsung waking up from a recurring post-apocalyptic nightmare. As he drifts back to sleep, he says, "Damocles is coming."
Meanwhile, in a commandeered I.O. stealth craft, the members of Team 7 and Gen13 are racing toward the west coast to find Dr. Tsung, who took Gen-Factor extracts of them years ago. It seems they need these extracts or they will die (this is apparently explained in a previous issue, probably the Brothers-in-Arms storyline, but no reference is cited here).
The action cuts to the University of California, Berkeley, where we see Ethan McCain get distracted by a girl in chemistry class and burn himself with acid, but then the pain suddenly goes away. Later, as he walks around campus, we see he is being followed by Maggie Monroe, a detective hired by a Mrs. Carr for some unstated reason. Ethan goes home, where we find that he is the adopted son of Dr. Tsung and is helping him with experiments in the lab. We also see that some Gamorran Hunter-Killers are surveilling the house. Ethan gets into his virtual reality suit and enters the V.R. chamber, where Tsung sends various challenges at him--the last being a robot that looks remarkably like Damocles. It is implied that Tsung is training Ethan to fight Damocles when he arrives, but without Ethan's knowledge.
The Hunter-Killers detect a Gen-Factor spike from the V.R. training so infiltrate the house. A fight ensues and Ethan is surprised to find that he can still use his powers outside of the V.R. chamber. Then the Bounty Hunters show up and begin fighting the Hunter-Killers. The Sword shows up and kills the HKs, then approaches Sigma and Tsung. This last bit is the same scene as in Prelude 1, but from a different viewpoint.
Appearing in "Fire from Heaven, Prelude 2"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Celia Tsung (First appearance)
- Simon Tsung
- Victoria Tsung (First appearance)
- Zach McCoy (First appearance)
- Maggie Monroe (First appearance)
- Spenser (First appearance)
Villains:
- The Sword
- Bounty Hunters
- Hunter-Killers
- Damocles (Origin) (In a vision)
Other Characters:
- Gen 13
- International Operations
- Frank Colby
- Alicia Turner
- Team 7
- Seela Tsung (Damocles Universe) (First appearance) (Dies) (In a vision)
- Victoria Tsung (Damocles Universe) (First appearance) (Dies) (In a vision)
- Jocelyn Andrews (First appearance)
- Roland (Phone call only)
- Mrs. Carr
Locations:
- Damocles Universe (In a vision)
- San Francisco, California (Destroyed)
- Wildstorm Universe
- United States of America
- Berkeley, California
- University of California-Berkeley
- Berkeley, California
- United States of America
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Originally published by Image Comics.
- This issue is part two of the three-part Prelude to the "Fire from Heaven" crossover of the Wildstorm line of titles. The story continues in Deathblow #26.
Trivia
- One-Eyed Jack is flesh-colored instead of green-skinned.
- Jade has gray skin.
See Also