After being trapped on Monster Rock by the Justice League, Ethan Avery is forced to fight everyday for survival. With the League not being able to trust Avery to use Damage the right way, the only solution seemed to be dropping him in the middle of nowhere with an island full of creatures that make him feel as helpless as Damage makes everyone else feel. After encountering a man known as Congo Bill who can transform into a giant golden gorilla (yes, I’m serious), Ethan seems to have found another soul on the island. But can Ethan learn to survive the island? Or will a mysterious threat lurking there end him and the beast inside of him once and for all?
(Spoilers Incoming)
Ethan begins his day by being chased by three huge beasts trapped on the island. With Damage not being able to come out for a while longer, Ethan is stuck in his human form for the time being. As he continues to run, another monster bursts from the ground. As it seems Ethan has met his end, Congo Bill arrives and drives the monsters away. As Bill approaches, Ethan attacks him, blaming him for dropping him in with the monsters. Ethan tries to continue his attack but ends up being laid out by Bill. On the other side of the island, a mysterious woman appears and states that she is the mother of the monsters on the island, and that they will all be stronger together.
On a nearby beach, Ethan is woken by crashing waves. Bill throws him some fresh clothes that Batman dropped off for him. Bill explains that he is the game warden of the island, and he wants to help teach Ethan how to control Damage, to which Ethan gives a hard no. When Ethan says that he’ll swim off the island no matter how long it takes, a sea creature exiled to the island by Aquaman emerges from the water to trap him on the shore. Bill then tells him to chose if he wants to be a man or a monster. Shockingly, Ethan submits. As Bill begins to instruct him and teach him that he needs to be more man than monster in case Damage is ever gone, they are attacked. The three monsters from the beginning of the issue are back, but this time, they were combined into a giant hybrid beast. The creature quickly incapacitates Bill, leaving Ethan alone with the monster. As Damage fights to take control, Ethan denies the beast inside. He tries to fight off the monster with a giant branch but is also beaten into unconsciousness by the hybrid. At that moment, a monstrous woman appears stating that her name is Echidna, the mother of monsters. She states that soon, they will rule again.
Is it just me, or has Ethan become a little unlikeable? When the series began, he was a sympathetic character. He was trapped with a beast inside of him that he didn’t understand, but now, it seems he just wants to be rebellious for the sake of rebellion. However, now that he’s trapped with Bill on Monster Rock, surrounded by an army of monsters, he might want to start cooperating. With Echidna arriving to seemingly take over the world with a monster army, Ethan may need to get over himself and accept that some things require more than just Damage to fix. It was an alright issue, but with the end of the series approaching, I hope we get an ending that does more than fizzle the character out.