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Especially if this technology had access to the inter-dimensional bleed
that regularly poured out problems and threats.
And if they could not understand it, surely they'd be sensible enough not
to use it. Right?
Of course they would.
And the resulting destruction proves too much for even the Authority to
handle, and millions of human and alien lives are lost. Tao's plan works better
than even he probably realized. As
a result, the Authority makes the decision we've all paid to see... they're
taking over the United States, because the current leadership has used up all
its chances. The most intriguing
thing about this decision is the fact that they do it with the full knowledge
that Tao was behind it. Sure, Tao
set the stage, but as John Lynch declares near the end, it was the government's
fault for taking such an obvious and risky bait. Just because Tao gave them the
technology, doesn't mean for a second that they wouldn't have used it had they
gotten it some other way. That the
Authority comes to the same conclusion is both refreshing, and also quite a bit
frightening. It will be very
interesting to see just how accountable the Authority will hold the country's
leaders once they take over, and exactly who will take the blame.
Something that many Wildstorm titles have is the claim that the President
is really one of the lower officials, so who will really take the fall?
The characterisation is
excellent. Tao comes across as very
cold and harsh, providing a counterpoint to Holden’s near guilt at the
carnage. Jack Hawksmoor is shown as
a true leader, while the Doctor finally gets over his problems with using his
powers. Here, he slows down time
for the evacuation, allowing countless lives to be saved. To see him use his powers so creatively, especially in light
of the painful reminder that he has limitations early on, is a real joy.
Sadly, we don’t really see much of the Sleeper team beyond the first
few pages, but, for those of us who don’t know them, it’s not a big loss.
Hawksmoor’s grief at the losses and his desperate search for someone to
blame struck a chord in me, although I’d have loved to see the discussion the
team held about the Coup
D'etat. The final page, the
Authority’s announcement to the world, is one of the most dramatic
cliff-hangers in comic-book-dom.
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