Stormwatch #16

If Indigo-1's words of wisdom that rage and love go hand to hand are true, then this is the greatest love of all.

Harry Tanner has become the Fourth Man Shadow Lord and has turned all of Stormwatch against Midnighter. He had to do this because he knew Midnighter would see through his lie almost immediately. I don't know what Harry Tanner has told the other three Shadow Lords. Perhaps they're simply so far above everything else that they don't really care what happens with Stormwatch on a day to day basis.

And then Midnighter found himself bested by Grifter in Grifter's comic book where logic and rationality go to die.

While Harry has easily convinced The Engineer of Midnighter's betrayal and turned Apollo against Midnighter by making him believe Midnighter never loved him and was only using him, Harry really hasn't made an effort to convince Jack and Jenny of his lie. So I speculated last commentary that it would be up to these two to figure out the truth. And by the third page, they're well on their way.

Is that The Fox who was turned into a portal by Harry Tanner?

And then Apollo catches up with Midnighter and the greatest of all lover's quarrels begins! Apollo definitely has the upper hand because The Midnighter's offensive options are limited. He doesn't want to hurt Andrew, so he's going to have to play defense for as long as possible. But Apollo is fast and strong and thoroughly pissed off.

The Engineer and Harry Tanner have a discussion as they speed off to watch Apollo kill Midnighter. And that discussion is Harry Tanner's downfall because he treats Angie exactly like he treated her while he was breaking her heart. Apparently no matter what the disguise or how good the lie, an asshole is always going to be an asshole.

One thing that's hard to hide is the irritation caused by dealing with an ex.

Harry Tanner, Shadow Lord, commands Apollo not to kill Midnighter yet. Instead they all transport back up to the Eye of the Storm where Harry Tanner can execute Midnighter properly. Why do the bad guys always stop the thing they most want done simply so they can witness it or say a speech before it or some other silly reason that will delay it just long enough for everything to go wrong? You bad guys suck at being bad guys! Finally Harry Tanner uses his new Shadow Lord powers (unless these are part of his sword creation powers) to blast Midnighter into nothingness!

Now you want it done nice and quick! Also note that this is yet another shoot your own dog moment. A lot of that going on in The New 52 the last couple of months.

Before Apollo can get around to killing his man, Jenny Quantum appears out of a wormhole with The Fox. Nobody would believe Midnighter when he said the Shadow Lord was Harry Tanner because The Midnighter is a psychopath. But The Fox's burnt out villainous corpse is a bit more convincing somehow when it points out the Shadow Lord is Harry Tanner. And if that isn't convincing enough, The Engineer explains that her nanites have determined that the odds of the Shadow Lord not being Harry Tanner are 350,000 to 1. So while everybody is now convinced that the Shadow Lord is Harry Tanner, it still might have been too late to save Apollo and Midnighter's relationship. I think the Midnighter is crazy enough to look past Apollo not trusting him and wanting to kill him. But I don't think Apollo will forgive himself as easily.

With the entire team against Harry Tanner, he doesn't stand a chance. Too bad the entire team isn't against him.

I guess the in-fighting is going to continue for at least another issue. The Earth is going to be destroyed while these assholes bicker amongst themselves!

The Engineer evolved during the confrontation with Harry Tanner, probably a result of her consuming the Neanderthal's Devolver in an earlier issue. Her evolution causes her to believe that Harry Tanner's vision of Stormwatch destroying super heroes is the way to go, so she turns on everybody else. Apollo and Midnighter retreat out of an airlock and into hyperspace.

Jack Hawksmoor continues to stand around ineffectually.

Stormwatch #16 Rating: +1 Ranking. I know I normally frown on super heroes beating up on other super heroes but this really is a well done and special case. Harry Tanner has been an evil prick from the beginning so he's really a Stormwatch villain. And The Engineers sudden switching of sides would be annoying except everyone has really been waiting for her to flip out because of her consumption of the Devolver. And since most of my views and beliefs aren't based on a foundational set of ethics but on taking each individual case and weighing it on its own merits, I can let Stormwatch off the hook for fighting amongst themselves. For now!