I'd have to say . . of all the Aftermath mini-series, I think I like this one the best. I think Matthew Sturges is doing a good job with the story, and I'm enjoying Freddie Williams II's artwork. The woman on the cover here is going to be the downfall of this little group that Immortus has put together here. She's called . . the Seductress. And her skills seem to be working on Mr Miller, the Human Flame. Immortus has sent his little band of misfits out to get some chemicals and stuff that he needs. Basically he has a formula that helps him live longer, and he's almost out. What they don't know is that for some reason Clayface seems to be after the same shipment. Luckily they don't have to fight him because the Army is protecting the shipment, and . . when they call for back-up . . John Stewart and Firestorm show up. They're more concerned about Clayface than the group of misfits that they don't even know, so . . they slip under the radar, and while John and Jason are busy with Clayface, Dot takes them out of the fray. But Clayface is more than willing to give them up. "Hey, I'm not the one you should be gunning for, you know. That Human Flame guy was after it, too. Why don't you go after him? After all, he's the one that got your green buddy toasted. I was an innocent bystander to that whole unfortunate business. He might have some new gizmos stuck on him, but he's still the same loser. And now he's running a crew of total losers, too." But I don't think we've seen the last of Clayface because the Army takes off with him, but . . their containment vessel . . it doesn't work. Anyways, during the course of the story, the Flame and the Seductress do some talking. Mike Miller lets it be known that he appreciates the upgrades, but . . he's only sticking around until Immortus turns off the pain receptors, and then . . he outta' there. However, while doing some snooping around, Immortus catches wind of their plan and confronts them. The Seductress quickly turns on the Flame, but he's not going to give up so easily. He tries to make a break for it, but in the process jumps out a third story window. Needless to say, the Human Flame is broken again. I'm sure Immortus will put him back together, but . . I'm also sure that he'll have him on a much shorter leash this time. I think the most interesting part of this story is watching this serial loser trying to get out of the hole that he's dug in his life. He can get all the 'gizmos' and 'upgrades' he wants, but . . he's still stuck in the same decision making process. So, he'll continue to be a loser. Even though he didn't choose his rescuer, in Immortus . . he's willing to try to use him to become a better villain. What's the definition of insanity? "You continue to do the same thing over and over again, but you expect a different outcome." Well, I think Mike is definitely caught up in that paradigm. I think it'll be interesting to see how he comes out of this series, as compared to how he was when he went in. But . . we won't know that for a few more issues yet. So, come along for the ride . . sit back, and enjoy.
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