Image’s hit super-team book continues! As Crosswind further ingratiates himself with the team, Gaijin finds her own loyalties tested.

If you read the previous issue then you say the big reveal on the final page, which showed exactly who Crosswind is working with in his secret plan to infiltrate and take down The Front Line. I’ll refrain from that spoiler, for those of you haven’t picked it up yet, or are possibly waiting for the trade. But this issue opens with a flashback showing how the two co-conspirators met. Then we get another big battle as the team faces off against a wacky new supervillain group, with a gimmick that I won’t spoil, but is very clever. And the team faces the media, and announce to the world that Crosswind is now an official member, and he gets a crash course on the realities of dealing with an intrusive press.

While the first issue spent more time on giving us a glimpse into the private lives of the various team members, this issue has more in-costume action. In addition to the big battle, Recluse and Gaijin team up to take down some dangerous smugglers who have a connection to Gaijin’s brother, unbeknownst to the team. Luminary and Punchline go hang out at the White House, and I was surprised to learn that Punchline is a woman. I thought her character was a male, so I guess I wasn’t paying attention. But in both her private and professional lives, she dresses very tomboyish. Helot and Vesuvius do some friendly sparring, in which Helot alludes to his feelings of being an outsider in this world. The overriding subplot of this issue is Recluse’s continuing distrust of Crosswind, and now he’s attempting to figure out Crosswind’s real identity and motivation.

Oh yeah, there’s also a possible alien invasion being planned.

So, another solid action-packed issues. There’s a lot of characters with a lot going on in this book. Writers Brian Jones and Jay Faerber do a pretty good job in keeping this accessible, although it still make take a re-reading or two of this issue, to make sure you catch everything. Mega-kudos got to artist Ilias Kryiazis for so deftly handling all of the action with his artwork. I’ll also mention that a couple of lines of dialog reveal that this series takes place in the mainstream superhero Image Universe, which I consider a good thing as it leaves the door open for possible crossovers and guest-appearances down the line. That is, assuming this team survives whatever Crosswind and his partner has in store for them…

This is shaping up to be another great fun superhero series. Chacebook rating: FOUR STARS

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