At this point, it was apparent the story being told by Lee, Choi, and Campbell was popular enough with readers to support an ongoing storyline. Because of this, Gen 13 #5 is both conclusion and prologue. We're closing the book, so to speak, on the origin story, and pushing out into the larger world. If issues 1 - 4 were gestation, issue 5 is the delivery. The only question is how hard that's going to be on the creators and readers alike.
When last we left our heroes, John Lynch had grown a conscience and decided to help the Gen-13 bunch escape from the International Operations Project Genesis facility. He led the teens to a trash chute which would get them to safety, then said he'd be along after he had settled things up with Ivana. Since a whole sixty days have passed for 1994's devoted fans (Gen 13 was released bi-monthly), best make sure to re-cap so we know the roster:
Now, if you've been following the story so far, you know that not only do Rainmaker, Burnout, and Freefall all possess the ability to fly, but that Freefall's powers literally allow her to alter anyone else's specific gravity. There's no reason at all why they have to go zipping down a trash chute like roller coaster cars decoupled from the track. But whatever, it sets us up for the first gag of the story as the five crash-land in a dumpster outside the facility:
As silly as it seems, I love this because it's the first time all five of these teens have actually gotten the chance to be teens. This panel is a very needed reminder that despite being super-powered, they're still kids, and they're behaving like it. Teamwork and learning how to function like Super-Powered Beings comes later.
After extricating themselves from the dumpster following some off-panel slapping, there's some indecision about what to do next. Burnout and Rainmaker want to regroup and head back into the facility. Considering they've had their asses handed to them at every turn thus far, who could blame them? Fairchild on the other hand thinks this is a bad move. Lynch didn't help them escape just so they could turn around and rush the front door. In her opinion, the best move they can make is to get as far away from I.O. as possible. There's just one problem:
Any time these kids manage to get outside the facility, someone or something shows up to haul them back. The first time, it was Threshold in disguise, guiding them into a trap. Next it was multiple squads of Ivana's Keepers. Now it's Threshold again, only this time he's trying a new gambit: forget Ivana Baiul; forget John Lynch; forget the Keepers, the Black Razors, and everything else associated with I.O.; let's conquer the world!
Since that's not about to happen, it's time for another action sequence. Five against one shouldn't be even remotely fair, and it's not . . . to the Gen-13 kids. While Threshold has been training his Gen-Factor abilities for years, his opponents have only just awakened theirs. As Lynch pointed out last issue, they have no concept of strategy. Because of that, they go at Threshold individually, like the mooks in a martial arts film. The results speak for themselves.
Burnout eats his own fireball.
Grunge loses an arm (don't worry, it's not permanent).
And Fairchild? Well, Fairchild winds up flat on her ass after a hair-pulling shoulder throw. Only her pride's wounded, but she also learns Threshold can read minds. How do you fight someone who knows what you're going to do before you do it? She can't just plug the controller into the second port like Solid Snake, after all. Hell, the PlayStation doesn't even exist. What's a girl to do?
The answer will have to wait--time to check up on Ivana.
Well, well, well . . . she's been a busy little bee, hasn't she? Freezing the rest of her test subjects so she can play with them at a different facility later. We won't see this gambit play out until later in the series, but it does open the doors for the Gen 13 spinoff DV8 in a few years, which will let Warren Ellis play havoc in the Wildstorm universe, but I'm getting way ahead of myself here.
As for "That voice," it belongs to Lynch. He can't let her take those kids, and he's personally going to shut down the Genesis program. Ivana offers Lynch a seat on the transport, with a promise to let bygones be bygones. She's happy to square things between them with director Craven so everyone comes out of this smelling like roses. Lynch counters he doesn't need Ivana for anything if he's the only one making reports. Ivana reminds Jack the only thing Craven cares about is getting his army of SPBs, and everything else, including the facility and even their own lives, are of secondary consideration. If Lynch doesn't like that? He'll have to kill her.
Lynch, unsurprisingly, is happy to oblige. However . . .
Ivana's got a killer body in more ways than one. Cords of razor-wire shoot forth from her fingertips, wrap themselves around Lynch's leg, and yank him to the ground as more blades peel out from her left arm. Ivana's bio-augmented herself to hell and back. Lynch might have bitten off more than he can chew.
Back outside the facility, Threshold gloats while Rainmaker and Freefall hide, trying to put together a plan. Again, Threshold extends the offer to join him. Fairchild reminds Threshold that Ivana holds his leash, but Threshold laughs, explaining his relationship with Ivana was one of convenience. Once she awakened the rest of the Gen-Actives, Threshold's plan is to unite them into an unstoppable army, with himself as their commander. He digs into Grunge and Fairchild's brains, forcing them to kneel before him if they won't join him willingly.
To make matters worse, Bliss shows up to see what her brother's up to. Her attention is diverted by the unconscious Burnout, whom she decides will be her new plaything . . .
. . . but it's Rainmaker who winds up on top. The Apache stuns Bliss with an electrical shock, then puts her in a submission hold. Rainmaker's plan is to give Bliss to Threshold in trade for letting them all leave in peace. She's not above some collateral damage to make her point clear.
Back in Lynch vs. Ivana land, it looks like the bionic woman has the upper hand. Lynch is more than meets the eye himself though, and as alluded to in past issues (or as you know if you've read previous Wildstorm titles), he's got powers of his own to pull out in emergencies:
Suddenly, Ivana can't control her razor wire cords and they snug her up like a sneering bondage princess. Two of her flunkies drag her into the waiting helicopter and work to untangle her as they take off. She can't help getting the last word in though -- Lynch might have won the battle, but she knows his stamina tanks if he uses his powers, leaving him barely able to move . . . and (naturally) the facility's set to self-destruct in one minute. Lynch claims to have an ace up his sleeve, but whatever it is, he's got sixty seconds to produce it, otherwise the Genesis facility will really take him out with a bang.
The explosion is powerful enough to catch Threshold's attention, and he watches as Ivana and her science team abandon Project Genesis to the desert winds. Fairchild tells him it's over, but Threshold rounds on her, saying it's not over until he says it is. Right now, he's prepared to kill them all rather than admit he lost.
A spray of bullets gets his attention, and we see Lynch has arrived on the scene, delivered to the area by his team of Black Hammers. The next barrage, Lynch, says, will put Matthew six feet under.
Threshold, not impressed, asks what's to stop him from wiping them all out. Cue Rainmaker and Freefall, dragging Bliss in from stage right. Threshold, unwilling to risk the life of his sister, accepts the trade, but tells the group the matter isn't settled before flying off into the night.
Lynch, meanwhile, has effectively quit his job at I.O., but there's one little problem: they don't accept resignations, a fact Fairchild's father found out first-hand. With Ivana free to report Lynch's treason to Director Craven, he has little choice but to go on the run. Ideally, this would be with his new charges, keeping them safe and molding them into a team capable of taking on Threshold, Ivana, and whatever else I.O. throws at them. The five teens decide to stick together to see what happens, and the Grunge-man breaks the fourth wall to let us know the adventure ain't over yet! They got Gen13 #0 coming soon, and after that, the regular series will fire up in early 1995.
I know you can't wait!
The book closes with a couple pages' worth of letters (not all of them full of praise for the Gen13 team), and three piece of fan art. Two are relatively good (including one dynamite black-and-white piece by Bill "Nira-X" Maus), and one that seemingly re-casts Freefall as an over-the-hill, chubbed-up lot lizard. I dunno, what do you guys think?
Following this, there's a preview look at the forthcoming WildC.A.T.s animated series, with some storyboards, prototypes, sketches, and short write-ups on the people responsible for bringing the team to the small screen. Great stuff if you're into it, and that WildC.A.T.s series goes for serious bucks on DVD now.
As a wrap-up for this limited series, it's not bad: we still have plenty of questions to be answered, and the only thing that's really been resolved is the Project Genesis facility going up in smoke. Ivana's still out there, Threshold and Bliss aren't likely to go away for long, Lynch will be going it alone with none of I.O.'s muscle or technology to back him up, and these kids are going to have to figure out how to live together under one roof -- hard enough for five regular teens, much worse when they're all one super-powered snark-fest away from setting the house on fire, destroying it with a tornado, or just picking it up and dropping it somewhere else!
Final Rating:
out of !
Thanks for reading, and tune in next time when we take a look at Gen13 1/2, an exclusive book you could only get via an order form in Wizard #30 . . . at least until Image reprinted it themselves as Gen 13 -1 a short time later. There's a story behind that reprint too, don't you worry!