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Battle Scars #1: Review

Nov 2019
Chris Yost, Scot Eaton

Story Name:

(No title given)

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Battle Scars #1 Review by (December 11, 2019)

Review: A first issue to raise all sorts of questions in the readers’ minds starting with…who is this new guy we’re supposed to be all concerned about? Marcus Johnson has already positioned himself as a hero, first in the war scenes and then by taking down a trio of Russian killers. And he has been shattered by the murder of his mother but he—and we—ain’t seen nothing yet. A gritty and violent episode in the new event is very well handled and Taskmaster especially looked scarier than usual. Tougher than usual too. And there’s an amazing last page reveal of Captain America, a true hero. More to come.

Comments: Bannered “Shattered Heroes.” Issue includes a note from editor Alejandro Arbona. The evil old guy is revealed in issue #5 to be Orion/Viktor Uvarov, head of Leviathan, baddie from SECRET WARRIORS #12 and following. The plot is credited to Cullen Bunn, Matt Fraction, and Chris Yost.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Battle Scars #1 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

During the fear that overwhelmed the world with the coming of the Serpent, madness breaks out among the combatants of the Middle East. In Afghanistan, US Army Rangers are fighting the Taliban with sheer panic motivating both sides. In the days after a deadly confrontation, Sergeant Marcus Johnson receives word that his mother has died….

Returning to Atlanta for the funeral, Marcus learns from the police that his mother was killed by looters during a riot; at the house, however, he discovers a shell casing from a Russian military weapon, the kind which would not be in the hands of local crooks. He is then fired upon by a sniper and attacked by a trio of burly Russian military men. He dispatches them with his Ranger training and is then hit in the shoulder by an arrow. Looking up, he sees Taskmaster….

Interlude: an elderly man (Orion, revealed later) hooked to life support is informed that they have found Marcus Johnson….

Marcus fights Taskmaster but is quickly outclassed. As the villain raises his sword to end the soldier’s life, Captain America arrives with a backup of SHIELD Agents to stop him….

Marcus’ Army sidekick Cheese also appears, though he didn’t make it into the synopsis. Nor did Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter, attending the funeral to get a look at Marcus.



Scot Eaton
Andrew Hennessy
Paul Mounts
Carl Pagulayan (Cover Penciler)
Jason Paz (Cover Inker)
Guru-eFX (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Captain America
Captain America

(Steve Rogers)
Nick Fury Jr.
Nick Fury Jr.

(Marcus Johnson)
Phil Coulson
Phil Coulson

(Cheese)

Plus: Orion (Viktor Uvarov).

> Battle Scars: Book info and issue index

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