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I was sadly disappointed in this book. I can't say what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.

This issue keeps the action train rolling and it is good.

This is an action-packed issue that reveals some of Woody's inner angst. While I had been having some trouble with Woody, this issue goes a long way to restoring the character in my estimation as it shows his funny-guy routine cracking. Not to mention the issue has an amazing ending with Woody crossing a moral line before both of heroes are defeated by an unknown enemy.

So this issue wraps up the previous arc and sets up the next one. The bad news? Well, the body swap arc silently fizzles as the two switch bodies back without much fanfare or even any real screen time. The good news is that there is a decent Amy Fishbein subplot and holy crap, the last three pages... they kill off their potential sidekick Taylor and bring back Magnum to act as a arch-villain. Now that's entertainment.

It's bizarre that Quantum had what was basically a superhero origin story before his actual origin story (spending two years training in the African wilderness after graduating from West Point) and yet it was Woody who suggested that they become heroes. 

I'm not sure that I'm in love with Woody's backstory. It seems that he's basically a guy who had a horrible, very had life and now that things are better he's decided to try and shallow and just enjoy life. It makes a little sense but it's just hard to get behind. Either Woody is far too internal and thus hard to connect with or he's actually shut the door on his past and lives only in the present which means he basically is the himbo he appears to be. 

Ah, too have "Doc" Bright back on the book. While Kobasick did a good job filling in last issue, I didn't realize until reading this issue how much the book relies on Bright's pencils. His clean style just fits in perfectly with Priest's stories and dialogues.

So is there more to Woody then meets the eye? Oh, yes. This issue reveals the rough and tough upbringing that Woody had after his parents divorced and Woody left the high-born snooby Connecticut life that he had with Eric (or Quantum, if you prefer). We saw him as a troubled boy and teen, dealing with his drug-addicted mom. But the question that I have is whether or not this past will be reflected in his future. While it helps to explain his carefree attitude, if it's not something that he struggles with than it's just decoration not real character depth.

Priest described this series as a drama about two best friends but I never really saw it that way. I kinda felt it was more of a drama about Quantum with Woody being there as his comic foil, but I have to admit that the explosive finale of this issue left me feeling a little bit for Woody. While I'm not sure it plays as a two-man show yet, it did at least make me think that there might be more to Woody than originally met the eye.

This is the first issue where I started to get the bigger picture of what Priest is doing in this book. While a lot of writers pose the question "what would happen if superheroes existed in the real world?" And they come up with several answers: they'd be feared, they'd be treated like superstars, the wanton destruction they'd leave in their wake, governments stockpiling them in a new-style cold war, et cetera. Priest asks "what would happen if superheroes existed in my life?"