Shadow of Maul: 3 : Hidden Figures
What is it ? : Brander Lawson is walking through a marketplace, buys some noodles to take away, and begins browsing some fruit, when he notices he is being followed. He has made a lot of enemies over the years so isn't sure who it is, but assumes it's something to do with the arms deal that he broke up last issue. Sensing someone behind him, he throws a fruit into their face as they fire, and miss. He takes out another, and draws his blaster noting that he was assigned a three man squad, two of whom are dead and one had gone missing, at least until now as he identifies his assailant as Fraxmoor.
Fraxmoor flees into the path of a speeder which knocks him down much to Lawsons annoyance as now he won't get answers.
Later Lawson arrives home, and shouts out for his son, Rylee, saying he's brought home noodles, but Rylee isn't present and Lawson sits holding his sons ball feeling alone when the door chime goes.
It's the interrogator from issue 1, Ruhl, who wants Lawson to come with him or he'll have the door blasted open. Lawson says he reported everything to the station, but Ruhl says witnesses say Lawson killed Fraxmoor, and another officer is missing. Lawson pauses to write a note for Rylee, but by the time he opens the door the police outside are laying unconscious, and Lawson recognises a large figure just before he is gassed as well.
He awakens hanging upside down in a warehouse, and Looti Vario is there in his power suit. Vario tells him that his son is safe, but that he knows this should worry Lawson and that's how he wants him, worried. He tells him that Ruhl and the other officers will wake up in a bar smelling of drink and missing their most recent memories. He tells Lawson that he didn't order Fraxmoor to attack him, and Lawson asks why Vario is doing this for him, only to be told that Vario worked out it was Lawson that told him about Nico Deemis' deal, telling him to do his job well, but not too well as he leaves.
Lawson struggles to free himself, when Two Boots enters having tracked him by his communicator, frees him dropping him on his head. Lawson says that internal affairs are after him, and the syndicates are after him, which may well be the same people, but he's going to figure out the rot in their department or end up in a cell.
In the Janix Scrapyards, a police officer is being helf for Maul, who uses the force to hold him above the molten metal, demanding he tell him about the security at Deemis' bank or he will lower him second by second towards the metal until he tells him. . . .
High Points : Again with the cyberpunk imagery as Lawson wanders the market buying noodles for him and his sons dinner, the neon lighting and food stands very much continues to remind of Blade Runner, and lends to the feeling this place is run down and corrupt while feeling familiar.
The issue does deal with Lawsons relationship with his son more than any other, that Vario tries to threaten his son, that he's trying to spend some time with his son, and doesn't even know where he is. It's hammering in that Lawson isn't a great father, ignoring his son much of the time and leading to his life being endangered. No matter how hard he tries to be a good father, he's just failing over and over again.
Although the issue doesn't take the story much further, only revealing another mole within the police department (the second within Lawsons 3 man team, which makes it feel more like they were assigned not to help him, but to make is easy for him to investigate (unless 2/3rd's of the police are actually corrupt)). But it helps build Looti Vario towards how we see him in the animated series, he's a gangster, very knowledgeable and quite smart (he's figured out Lawson tipped him off about Deemis' deal), but he's not as threatening as he thinks he is, and despite his power suit he's just not a threat.
Low Points : I'm really not sure what the purpose of Vario's capture of Lawson really is, storywise it's to connect the two characters and give them some backstory for the animated show. But really the only thing within the universe of the story that Vario does is tell Lawson some things that Lawson already knows, and save him temporarily from Ruhl's investigation (although once he's sobered up presumably Ruhl will just be waiting back at Lawsons apartment, or at the station for him, which is where Lawson ends up in interrogation I guess).
The encounter feels like Vario should give Lawson some massive clue in return for his help, which would lead the story on, but he just doesn't, so it leaves the encounter feeling pointless.
So what do you really think ? : While I like most of what happens in this issue, it does seem very brief and I came away unsatisfied that at the midpoint of the story we weren't getting any progress. The action at the start is good, the moment of silence as Lawson considers his relationship with his son is excellent, and while his capture by Vario is kind of pointless, it's done well enough and the dialogue is good. This issue is fine, but feels like the story is sagging a little in the end and they didn't have enough important stuff to keep this issue feeling a vital part of the story.
Final Words : Since no one except Two Boots knows for sure that Lawson was behind messing up Deemis' deal, I wonder who is behind Fraxmoor? And presumably the missing police officer that Ruhl mentions is the one captured by Maul at the end, although we're never told.
Score : 8/10
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