Someone is really bad at Cat’s Cradle.
The Night Man #2
Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (November, 1993)
“Mangled!”
WRITER: Steve Englehart
PENCILER: Gene Ha
INKER: Andrew Pepoy
COLOR: Tim Divar & Foodhammer
LETTERER: Dave Lanphear
EDITOR: Chris Ulm
Johnny learns that he can’t sleep, but he doesn’t need it. So he goes on patrol as The Night Man and comes across a man in some kind of brace attacking a teenage boy. Night Man stops him, but the man calling himself “Mangle” escapes. Inspired by a conversation with his father, and based on some things Mangle said, Night Man visits J.D. Hunt, who tries to get him to get lost, but that conversation leads him to J.D.’s son, Guy. Guy tells him that Mangle was a former teacher who went insane and was injured in the asylum, forcing him to wear those braces. When Night Man confronts Mangle, Guy and his bodyguards show up with Guy giving Night Man advice on how to stop him. Mangle manages to escape and Night Man starts to realize someone is playing him.
What they got right: We get a good explanation for why superheroes wear their costumes. Johnny has some fighting experience but he is still figuring things out. He tries to get the first kid to reconcile with his parents, a noble thing.
What they got wrong: The fights are a bit close. You can make them out and that they’re fighting but the fights are all that interesting to watch.
What I think overall: Two issues in and this one of those I missed out on back in the day. Looking forward to more issues.
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