Release Date: November 2008


"Who is Spartan?"

Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Pete Woods
Colours: Carrie Strachan
Letters: Wes Abbott
Assistant Editor: Kristy Quinn
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover by Pete Woods

"Missile Man: Stalking Horse- Part 1"

Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Wes Craig
Colors: Darlene Royer
Letters: Wes Abbott
Assistant Editor: Kristy Quinn
Editor: Ben Abernathy


Solicitation:
Artist extraordinaire Pete Woods (AMAZONS ATTACK, CYBERNARY) joins writer Christos Gage (STORMWATCH PHD, WILDSTORM: REVELATIONS) for a unique look at Spartan and how post-apocalyptic Earth has affected the resolute android. He’s been many things during his long existence on Earth " warrior, bodyguard, CEO " but what challenges does this astounding new world order hold for him?

A backup tale spinning out of NUMBER OF THE BEAST also begins with Gage and artist Wes (WILDSTORM: REVELATIONS) Craig at the steering wheel!


SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT
Synopsis:
Spartan has become frustrated with his role as leader of the Wildcats. As the current demands of the team pile up, Spartan begins to distance himself from the others. When Voodoo fails to get through to Spartan, she sends Nemesis to talk to him.

Spartan proceeds to recount his history which is obviously long and convoluted. He begins by telling of the Spartan Guard, the protectors of the aristocracy on Khera. They were modeled in appearance and fighting skill to one of Khera's greatest warriors, Yon Kohl. Yon Kohl was one of the survivors of the Kherubim ship that crash landed on Earth millennia ago. Yon Kohl adopted many names over the years that followed including the name John Colt during the twentieth century. Spartan tells Nemesis that he does not have the full personality of Yon Kohl but she begins to see evidence against his claim.

Spartan counters her disbelief by reminding her that during the Cold War John Colt joined Lord Emp, who at the time was working for the U.S. government. It was then that Colt joined Team One which included Majestic. It was during a battle against Helspont and the Daemonites that John Colt sacrificed himself to stop an impending nuclear holocaust.

Lord Emp attempted to save John Colt by downloading his persona into a Spartan unit he made. In order to give his new Spartan unit an affinity for humankind, he hired a human scientist who modeled Spartan's personality after his late son-in-law's.

When Nemesis questions why Emp didn't leave Yon Kohl's personality in Spartan, he tells her that Emp knew Kohl wouldn't be the same after the disastrous Team One mission. Kohl regenerated after the incident and become cold and sadistic. He had become the dictator Kaizen Gamorra. Majestic stepped in and put an end to the monster.

Spartan found that more of Yon Kohl's memories surfaced after Kaizen was dead which included feelings for Zealot. Nemesis finds this part amusing. She tells Spartan that the things of the past are not what matter but the things of the present. She states that agreeing to meeting with him was a bad idea and storms out.

But Spartan isn't alone for long as Voodoo shows up and reveals she listened to the whole conversation. She reminds him that he did rise above all the things of his past when Lord Emp asked Spartan to kill him and he turned over the Halo Corporation to Spartan. He tells Voodoo that it was the first time his destiny became clear, especially after absorbing Void's powers. He did what Lord Emp asked him to do and began using his position to make the Earth a better place. But even after Voodoo commends him for all the good he did, Spartan asks her why the world ended up the way it did. Voodoo can only remind him that having the power of a god and being a god are two completely different things.

Spartan also reveals that part of his frustration lies in the fact that when the new Void appeared, he lost all of his powers. But he was determined to bring the team back together which he did little by little until the The Reapers attacked. But Voodoo reminds him of how he shielded a huge portion of the city single-handedly as the Reapers went nuclear. She considered it a miracle that they were able to download him into a new body afterwards.

Voodoo tells him that he's been through so much that it's no surprise to her that he's more than a little shaken by it all. But she tells him the best thing he can do is still be himself, reminding him that she still believes in him as they share a kiss together; a kiss that is secretly observed by Maul who becomes distraught by the spectacle and leaves in anger.

"Stalking Horse-Part 1"
In post-Armageddon Delaware, a man who the locals call Missile-Man rambles on about he knows that Armageddon happened because of something that happened in 1945. A kid shows up offering him booze in exchange for the story Missile-Man claims to know.

Missile-Man recounts that he's not sure how he got his powers but when he did, he found he could fly and was impervious to harm. He joined the war effort after Pearl Harbor and got recognized by the U.S. after the war for his efforts. However, shortly after it became apparent that the government was becoming weary of the number of superhumans in the world.

But Missile-Man stayed on with them trying to do his part until he received orders to check out a crash in the desert. He arrives to find a crashed Daemonite ship.


Notes:

• This issue marks the first appearance of Missile Man.

• This issue is collected in the Wildcats: World's End-Book 1 trade.

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