Checkmate #26 - DC

This issue is the beginning of a new character, and a new story-line. The character is Chimera. Which is literally defined as - "any fabulous creature composed of incongruous parts", or - "an organism or mass of living cells incorporating diverse genetic patterns". Well . . that's what this guy is, in a nut-shell. He's actually a US soldier that's severely hurt in the battle-field. When they bring him in, they immediately put him in the program to develop the All-Weather Soldier prototype. But, some accidents are made during the process, and what they end up with is so much more than what they expected. " . . the subject is no longer even remotely PFC Adam Sharp. Firstly, his entire memory was erased . . from brain damage sustained in action before we even got to him. His appearance was . . accidentally further modified by the gene splicing itself. Altogether 320 different species were employed. The final results . . did not produce the prototype of the All-Weather soldier . . they produced something else . . tested against dozens of similarly fierce animals . . the subject takes on the aspect of every creature tested . . with ten times the strength and ferocity . . still possessing basic human intelligence, but able to transform physically seemingly at will . . always defeating his foe, always transforming back to his original shape . . we have a valuable new weapon." It seems he's emerged at the perfect time, because something is attacking across the globe. First in Venezuela, the Antarctica and now Beijing. We don't know what it is yet, but we do know that it's huge, fierce and completely oblivious to the human cattle that fall across it's path. Of course the scientist at Checkmate is opting to send in Chimera to deal with it. This issue, I thought, providing an interesting origin for our new character. It'll be interesting to see him in action, and to find out if things go according to plan. Which, you know . . just always happens. Bruce Jones is doing an incredible job with this book, and I'm really enjoying Manuel Garcia's pencils. I've said it before, but this book is so much better than it's previous incarnation. A fantastic effort by all involved.