Checkmate #25 - DC

I love what Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann are doing with this book. They've brought in so many little nuances and ideas. This issue we're introduced to the Rooks, which basically translates to Infantry. These are the soldiers that go in and do the dirty work should all the scheming and back-room deals not work out. I'm sure they have many more, but the 4 we meet this issue are . . Tyson Sykes aka Gravedigger, Cinnamon, Sebastian Faust, and Jungle Automatic Killer-Experimental - #6.1 aka JAKE. And these guys are serious business. Last issue there was the outbreak, all over the globe, of HYDRA converts. Much like in the way of the OMACS, lots of people, infected with a virus that turns them in to serpent-people, and also brain-washes them automatically into the KOBRA indoctrination, were "turned on". But really, it was all a smoke-screen to cover up thier real work in a medical clinic in the Hamptons. There, they were breeding 12 babies to be the future of KOBRA. "KOBRA is birthing their Messiahs. Over a dozen infants genetically engineered to destroy creation. We have a team on the ground. It's under control." Batman's concerned because they're infants. So he asks the Black Queen, Sasha Bordeaux, just exactly what it is they're going to do. "I told you . . it's under control." Is all she tells him. I like that even though Checkmate acts independently, they still have some . . "Honor Alpha"s . . Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman . . that kind of monitor them, and provide a sort of "checks and balances". It keeps them honest, and neutralizes, in most situations, the argument of the "ends justifies the means". In this instance, the Rooks accomplish their mission and they're standing over the cradles of the babies. We assume that they're going to kill them. Later on, we find out that they're going to test the theorem of "nature vs nurture". Since the blood-spells that are use to bind them are weak, Faust counters it, and we find the babies still in the cradles but now they're in a nursery at Checkmate. I thought it was a little overboard to show the Rooks actually holding the babies, but . . I guess that's how they chose to show the results of their mission. Like I said, I think Greg and Eric are doing a fantastic job with this series. I also like Joe Bennett's pencils. I wasn't overly thrilled with them at first, but he's really brought a style and feel to this book that is uniquely his. In the end . . that's all we can ask for.