Checkmate #24 - DC

I really enjoy this book. There isn't a whole lot of spy or espionage type books out there right now. I know. There's still a lot of super-heroes in this title. In fact Superman is one of the main characters this issue, but he's actually more of a supporting character. He doesn't have a whole lot of dialogue, and he's really just there for muscle. Well that and his presence forces the Checkmate staff to use non-lethal measures. The woman on the communication board lets the troops know, "You are weapons free. Use of lethal force has been sanctioned." But then Sasha, the Black Queen jumps in, "That's a negative." We get a picture of Superman flying across the page, and she says, "Believe me, I know. And on any other day, I'd be glad for the permission to shoot the snakes dead. But today . . . today I don't think it'll be a problem." They're going after the KOBRA base because they need some information. Pawn 502 broke his silence to bring it to them, and now they just need to confirm it. Basically they've piggy-backed on Luthor's Everyman project to create their own remote control metas. They've altered their DNA so that when activated they will gain enhanced strength and speed but it'll also amp up the subject's aggression to the level of psychotic, homicidal mania. Now they just need to find out how many people they did it to . . . 7,476,204. That's an awful lot of psychotic metas to let loose at the same time. Then, later on, they find out that it's all actually a diversion. There's a medical institute in the Hamptons that producing hybrid KOBRA babies. But all of the world's heroes and groups are busy, so they have to let loose the Rooks. I'm not sure what they are, but they look pretty ominous. I guess we'll just have to wait until next issue to find out just how big and bad they are. A fantastic story by Greg Rucka. I also really enjoyed the artwork of Eric Trautmann.