Ravage 2099 #5: Hot Hands

Ravage 2099 #5
“With These Hands!”
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Paul Ryan
Inkers: Keith Williams and Bud La Rosa
Letterer: Phil Felix
Colorist: Gina Going
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco
Released: Feb. 9, 1993

The last time we checked in on good old Paul-Philip Ravage, I ended by saying I shouldn't wait so long to cover issue 5. Ten months later, give or take, and that isn't the case, but I did find Ravage waiting right where I left him at the end of issue 4.

That's pretty literal – the opening page for this issue and the final page of the last one look nearly identical. But here we learn that in addition to glowing, Ravage's hands are throbbing and burning too.

Yep, after four issues of fighting the good fight against Alchemax and the Mutroids while armed with nothing but garbage and a bad attitude, Ravage has powers.

A quick recap of this Stan Lee-penned saga: after the higher-ups at Alchemax attempted to assassinate him for asking too many questions, Ravage dropped his hyphenated first name and most of the G's from his vocabulary and went underground. Fashioning weapons out of cast-off items, he went on the offensive against his former employers, prompting Alchemax muckety muck and budding serial killer Anderthorp Henton to enlist the aid of the Mutroids, mutated denizens of Hellrock. Their leader, Dethstryk, was eager to make sure the psychic Seeress' vision that Ravage was destined to defeat him didn't come to pass.

Ravage's ex-girlfriend/executive assistant Tiana was abducted to lure him to the island, where radiation levels are too high for ordinary humans to survive. When her protective suit was breached by Dethstryk, Ravage gave her his own, planning to go down fighting against the Mutroids.

But a mutated scientist named Ursell pulled him into a hidden lab to do science stuff so the radiation didn't kill Ravage. Instead, he apparently will never need a flashlight again.

Oh, and, according to Ursell:

He also describes the power as “raw kinetic energy,” invoking the power set for roughly 56% of new characters in the early '90s, exceeded only by guns.

Ravage is none too pleased, saying he's now “no better than Dethstryk – or his other shockin'* freaks!” He also laments the fact that he won't be able to touch anything. But good news: Ursell made him some special molecular gloves. Bad news: they'll only last for an hour.** Ursell says that will hopefully give him time to learn to control his powers, but that gets a lot more challenging when the Mutroids ttack again.

But, glowing hands or not, one thing Ravage is really good at is fighting. As he commandeers guns from the attackers, the scene shifts to where Dethstryk is getting his armor polished by multiple female Mutroids. The Seeress informs him that Ravage is still alive, sending him into a rage that winds up killing his armor buffers and the guards who come to see what all the fuss is about with his touch of death.

From there, we jump to Tiana, who is looking for some help against Alchemax. She spots Spider-Man (2099 version, of course) swinging overhead but can't flag him down, thus delivering on the cover's promise of “the briefest guest star appearance of all time.”

So she decides to seek out the only other ally she has – Dack, the kid whose father's death back in issue 1 set the whole series in motion. To rescue him from the poorly named Angel of Mercy Med Center, Tiana takes out a nurse with a nerve pinch and steals her uniform. The ruse lasts long enough for her to escape with the youngster.

Outside, they're spotted from a distance by what appear to be some giant shrimp in wrestling singlets. Dialogue and caption identify them as denizens of New Atlantis, led by Dragonklaw. They're trying to figure out how to breathe air and have their sights set on Tiana and Dack as test subjects.

Back on Hellrock, Ravage is having trouble with his eyes. He blames a blast tht came too close, but I wonder if he's getting more powers. With the Mutroids hot on their trail, he and Ursell retreat into a tunnel, where Ursell says he's been restoring an old airplane that can be their ticket off the island. We're deprived of a classic biplane escape, however, as a blast mortally wounds the insectoid scientist.

Starting to be overwhelmed by the Mutroids, Ravage heeds Ursell's dying plea to take the gloves off. His new powers turn the tide, taking down the 'troids and causing a cave -in. How will he get out? I'm guessing it involves blasting with his laser hands. But that's a story for next issue.

This series continues to entertain me through nostalgia-colored glasses. At least I think it's nostalgia, since I'm reading it for the first time. But Stan's delivering make-it-up-as-he-goes-along action that roars past various weaknesses.

Whether by design or not, Ravage's reaction to mutating is interesting. He casts himself as an outcast freak, even though his mutation – laser hands without any other deformation – seems mild compared to most of the Mutroids. I guess that could be due to their constant presence on the island. Either way, his perception of the Mutroids and himself is only skin deep, hardly becoming a paragon of heroism, but adding a potentially interesting flaw to a guy learning to be a hero.

Speaking of, as much as I am enjoying the story, I wouldn't say no to a change of scenery. I believe Stan is only scripting for a couple more issues, so I'd like to see his take on other parts of the 2099 world. Maybe Dragonklaw and his crew are a sign that that's coming.

I guess we'll find out with issue 6 in a few weeks. Or months. Maybe 2025.

*1 – Remember when the 2099 books tried to make “shock” the profanity of the future?

** - Should've gotten the extended warranty.