Red Spike #1 – Review

By: Michael Benaroya & Jeff Cahn (creators), Cahn (writer), Salvador Navarro (art), Ifansyah Noor (colors), Josh Aitken (letters) & Dave Elliott (editor)

The Story: Two soldiers are turned into modern day “super soldier”, but nefarious interests may be behind the project.

Review: I’m dispensing with our normal “what’s good/what’s not so good” for this review just because I don’t have a lot to say about the comic.

The story is pretty straightforward: In the near future two soldiers are leveled-up via a process that stimulates their adrenal system in a controllable fashion.  Everyone knows that adrenalin can give a person some super abilities, but that it is a short-lived effect.  So, what if a soldier could “activate” the adrenalin in just their legs when they wanted to jump really high or their arms when they wanted to knock down a locked door.  I’ll be honest that I (personally) had a bit of trouble with this concept.  In my day-job, I work with emerging medical technologies and the fact that I couldn’t conceive any way to really do what the comic was suggesting gave me some trouble.  Sometimes less is more in these situations: Don’t tell how the super-soldier serum works because folks will pick at your science. Just say “scientists” gave these dudes some super soldier serum and get on with the story.

From there we see the soldiers out on their test run and taking down some bad guys.  They have a kinda buddy vibe as they’re jabbering to each other during the mission (that actually seemed really out of place for elite operators).  One of the soldiers is a little less under control than the other.   The ominous figures behind the whole Red Spike Project are both pleased that the soldiers are so badass and a little concerned about the control they have over the guys.

PREVIEW – Red Spike #1 (of 5)

RED SPIKE #1 (OF 5)

story JEFF CAHN,
art SALVADOR NAVARRO & IFANSYAH NOOR,
cover MARK TEXEIRA

‘ADRENALINE’

It’s been over 70 years since the world first began its research into creating a Super Soldier. In 2011, the United States successfully created not one, but two. The latest in US Black Ops, Project Red Spike discovered that through the manipulation and regulation of the adrenal glands the super soldier was one step closer. The first (surviving) successes of the program, two close friends Matt Cutler and Greg Dane, have been proven on the field to be everything that was wanting in the program. But what happens when an adrenaline regulator malfunctions? What happens should one man refuse to follow orders if he finds out the true price they had to pay for these abilities and goes AWOL? How do we stop him? What price becomes too high?