Skyman #3 continues the story of Sgt. Eric Reid, the new Skyman, as he flees his military handlers after discovering they’ve been running black ops missions using the suit while using his public image as cover. He never really had a plan when he took the suit and left as he deals with the shock of this revelation while flying but he gets an assist from Captain Midnight, who spots him and initially thinks he’s looking for a fight. But Skyman tells Captain Midnight what he just discovered about the Skyman Program and that he doesn’t know how far up the corruption goes in the killing of innocent men and women. And since he’s been flying for some time his belt is getting too hot and he’s getting exhausted. So Captain Midnight brings him back to his base and they chop it up for a bit. Captain Midnight decides to fix Skyman’s belt since it’s technology based on his work and he can make it better than it was before. But they don’t have all the time in the world as the military is hot on their heels as the jets sent out picked up their radiation signatures and know he’s with Captain Midnight. And with Captain Midnight having defeated the last Skyman it’s almost certain that the Skyman Program will be more prepared this time. Will the help of Captain Midnight and improvements to his belt be enough for Eric Reid to be free of the Skyman Program or is he in way over his head?

I enjoyed the first issue a lot but felt the second issue lost some of the momentum and the characters came off as less nuanced and incompetent in ways. The ending was very interesting and this issue starts off immediately with that and it was a relief that the two heroes didn’t get in a predictable brawl before teaming up due to an extremely simple misunderstanding. And Captain Midnight’s appearance in this issue was more than just a token appearance as he was crucial to modifying Skyman’s belt, and in doing so helped him get one step closer to freedom from the Skyman Program. His help and influence was suffice as it provided a way for Eric Reid to reaffirm his belief in heroes and see what he would ultimately have to become. However I still don’t have a good grasp on the Skyman Project in terms of the methods used or maybe it’s something that will be clearer in later issues. Again, this is my first series dealing with the Skyman Project but there was talk about them killing innocents and doing anything to achieve its goals but Eric Reid’s wife was just used to accept a phone call and not used as leverage in any way. And instead we’re given an all-out battle between Skyman, Captain Midnight and the military force sent to take them out, which is pretty impressive. This is the action that was lacking in the second issue and a much better airshow that leads to the introduction of new enemies and potentially raises the stakes of what could be lost for the Skyman Program based on what was shown about it in the first issue prior to Eric being selected. And if that’s the case then we could be in for an interesting ride even if the potential of the characters has been squandered to an extent.

SUMMARY

Skyman #3 is an enjoyable issue although I feel that the depth of the characters has been simplified compared to the setup in the first issue. However the story progresses well and it’s interesting to see how Eric Reid is becoming free of the Skyman Program while also relating to Captain Midnight. And with the developments at the end of this issue at least it’s guaranteed that next issue will have even more action but hopefully it takes advantage of the potential in the story of how this could permanently affect the Skyman Program. And if this is done then it could make up for some of the lack of character nuances and restore some of the potential of the new Skyman.

Release Date: 3/19/14

Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov

Artist: Manuel Garcia