In a nutshell:
A new Guardians of the Globe team is formed.
Synopsis:
Robot is invited to the United States Pentagon to oversee the formation of a new Guardians of the Globe team. After Mark’s birthday, he stops by the tryouts to see who makes it. The new team is comprised of Robot, Dupli-Kate, Rex Splode, Monster Girl, Shrinking Ray and Black Samson. Mark begins to date Amber. The Mauler Twins succeed in reviving the Immortal, who flies off in a rage.
Firsts:
Lots of new heroes in this one. We see the debut of Cecil Stedman and Donald Ferguson, the superhero government liaisons for the story going forward. It’s established here that the government will play more of a role in superhero affairs going forward now that the original Guardians are dead, as they were more independently operated.
The Lizard League, who serve as the generic goon army in the series, debut as well. Then we get heroes Shrinking Ray, Monster Girl, and Bulletproof who goes unnamed.
Notes:
Allen the Alien is on his way back to Earth. The Star Trek-rip-off crew will also return during various space adventures.
Eve and Mark bond a little while defeating the Lizard League. Later Eve visits Mark’s room, but finds him kissing Amber so she leaves.
Omni-Man is preparing to talk to Mark about something.
Inside Joke:
For his birthday, Mark and Nolan watch “Day of the Dead,” a clear reference to Kirkman’s other series, “The Walking Dead.”
Review:
This issue mainly serves to introduce a new roster for the Guardians of the Globe, so we get a lot of new potential heroes to explore. The standout in this issue is Monster Girl, who has an interesting mechanic of being a little girl who can turn into a monster. Her backstory and situation will be expanded on shortly in more tragic detail, but she has an effective introduction duking it out with Rex Splode. In the meantime, we get developments in the teen romance angle. Eve goes to visit Mark to find him kissing Amber, so it sets up our love triangle nicely. I have mixed feelings about Amber, but for now she’s fine as a way to advance Mark’s “growing up” story. And with Omni-Man seeking to have a talk with Mark and the Immortal back in play, things are heating up to turn Mark’s life upside-down real soon.