A nod to Captain Caveman is always a welcome sight.
It’s a knock-down, drag-out fight to the death, folks. It feels like Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuiness should be doing commentary, as Team Space Ghost has their hands full with Team Herculoids.
Last issue, we saw how the brawl began as the Evil Collector seems to be directing traffic, and Space Ghost must confront Zandor and his stable of creatures to stop their path of destruction
Like issue #1, this issue opens with another flashback to what transpired on Amzot before the siege on the Galactic Federation. This transitions to where the battle seemingly left off, with both sides tearing into each other with reckless abandon.
The majority of the issue is an absolute slugfest, a battle royale of sorts. However, amid the battle, we see Dr. Diem, aka the Evil Collector, continuing to issue orders and emphasize the importance of stopping Zandor. In his pursuit of justice, Space Ghost is enraged by the invader’s power and brutality and doesn’t seem interested in questioning orders. This seems strange, as Space Ghost was previously skeptical of alliances, but this time it is different. We may yet discover why.
During the battle, Jace and Jan begin to suspect something is off, but the fighting intensifies and distracts them from their suspicions. During the fray,, they are given a weapon to turn the tide, but disaster strikes, leaving Space Ghost to believe the worst and Zandor to wonder whether his vendetta has a higher cost than anticipated.
>Without spoiling much, we loyal readers find out the fate of Space Ghost’s adopted children, and Zandor’s beloved wife and son. All the while, the Evil Collector continues his machinations behind the scenes, revealing a plot more nefarious than one could fathom!
As the battle continues, Space Ghost and the Herculoids’ manipulation becomes more transparent. In the first issue, it becomes clear that the villains manipulate two heroes into believing the other is an enemy. While this is an often-used arc in comics, it is always important to note how it’s told. Pepose, Lau, and crew do a masterful job in making readers care. When a story is “obvious to the reader but the hero is oblivious,” it’s crucial to hook with something unique and valuable. This succeeds by making readers care and feel urgency, yet despair, as two beloved heroes hurt each other. We don’t want to see them fight, but they do because they each fear the other. The level of fighting is also uncanny. One could imagine an anime-style clash much like Dragon Ball Super or Naruto with quake-like punches and world-shaking slams.
If neither Space Ghost nor the Herculoids let up, little of the Galactic Federation would be left.
