Over the last howeverlong my interest in Stormwatch had waned to almost nothing. Where first I had been excited and hopeful for good work in that book, I've become bitter, and lower expectations cannot be found. And more recently, Black Panther, in AvX and in FF, has been becoming a character I can like again. With trade off of interests in place, Stormwatch was running out of second chances with me. But of course, as soon as I'm ready to write it off, I get the best issue since the two-issue fill-in.

By no means was it perfect, but it's easily above the quality of the majority of the series so far, and I'm not even entirely sure why. The painful infodump dialogue was still present (though thankfully reduced to a minimum), Midnighter and Apollo were still building a relationship that started with weird-stalkerness and must be developing almost entirely behind the scenes, and I didn't get nearly as much Hawksmoor as I deserve. Maybe it was that J'onn's tour of the team was a sort of mini-spotlight for everyone (highlighting who they are, their relationships, and their abilities), maybe it was just because I feel like this actually carries on the story of the team and not random other things, maybe because I think Harry Tanner makes for a good villain for this team, or maybe because I think the concepts that form this series that I was originally excited for seem to be getting used well. Or maybe it's because Martian Manhunter makes it all better (which makes me worry about the future actually). I even got something I had long stopped thinking I'd see, a handle on, or at least some less-vague examples of Midnighter's powers, plus, a surprisingly good excuse (I mean it's still dumb, but I'll give it to them for the effort) for the single dumbest part of a costume I've ever seen in my life, double plus, I got to see him in his coat. I wouldn't have believed it, but I have hope for this title again. BUT I NEED MORE HAWKSMOOR.

Best line goes to Midnighter.

Apollo: The chin spike...saved your life?

Midnighter: I saved my life. With the chin spike.

I'm intrigued about these other duties that J'onn said he had to see to.

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

@Buckshot: I would much rather have Harry Tanner and the Projectionest as members of the team than bad guys, also it annoys me that fans have moaned about MM not being in JL so much he seems to be swapping teams.

Why would you prefer them placed on the team? I personally like them as enemies because I feel a recurring enemy that's connected to the team is more compelling than random enemies every week, and the personalities of the two characters make them interesting together while their powers make them a challenge for their opponents. Also, I feel the bigger the Stormwatch team is, the less quality I'll be getting from each character. Is there something to suggest MM is joining the JL? I hadn't seen anything about that. If anything, judging from a previous issue of JL, that would be the last place he would go.

Loving Tanner as a bad guy!

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

@Buckshot: I would much rather have Harry Tanner and the Projectionest as members of the team than bad guys, also it annoys me that fans have moaned about MM not being in JL so much he seems to be swapping teams.

Why would you prefer them placed on the team? I personally like them as enemies because I feel a recurring enemy that's connected to the team is more compelling than random enemies every week, and the personalities of the two characters make them interesting together while their powers make them a challenge for their opponents. Also, I feel the bigger the Stormwatch team is, the less quality I'll be getting from each character. Is there something to suggest MM is joining the JL? I hadn't seen anything about that. If anything, judging from a previous issue of JL, that would be the last place he would go.

@Jonny_Anonymous: Valid perspective.