Challengers of the Unknown #3 – Christopher Cantwell, Writer; Sean Izaakse, Amancay Nahuelpan, Artists; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This book continues to be an intriguing, slow-burn mystery with each issue focusing on a different member of the Challengers as they investigate strange anomalies. This issue’s focus is on Walter Haley, better known as Prof – the “mad genius” of the Challengers. This charismatic scientist has been working with the Atoms at the fringes of the Atom Project, but has become increasingly worried about the strange quarantining of his fellow Challengers and the mysterious ailment of Kenn Kawa. He’s deputized with the Atoms by Mister Terrific to visit the primordial Dinosaur Island, where something odd has been happening – the land that never evolves has started evolving at an unnatural pace. And after landing on the island, the trio of geniuses is greeted not by ravenous dinosaurs (although those are there too) but by a pair of Cro-Magnons who now seem to be even smarter than the scientists meeting them.
The source of this strange phenomenon soon turns out to be a cosmic being who has been evolving the island deliberately – and claims to be the future version of Prof, giving him a hint of what he could evolve into. But we never see what’s under his mask, and he just seems a bit too manipulative for me to really buy exactly what he’s saying. He teases Prof with just enough knowledge of what he could achieve to set Walter off into becoming obsessive, leading the two Atoms to hold him off as he might not be in his right mind. The whole fiasco leads Mr. Terrific to cut him off from the highest security clearances before being quarantined with the rest of the Challengers. These issues fit a pattern, and there’s something going on – and Michael Holt definitely seems to be at the center of it. It’s an interesting format for a book, and one that is slowly unraveling a fascinating mystery.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
