Sean McKeever gets to show off his greatest strength in this new mini. He's fleshing out a new character and making her really interesting and compelling.Rikki Barnes is about a blank slate for me, but I find myself liking her and hoping she can turn her life around. Rikki is the Bucky of the Heroes Reborn Earth, now stuck on the core Marvel U Earth. She's trying to make her way with off-the-books jobs and forged documents. What interests me about her is that she has forged those documents to enroll in school and attempt to get to know the version of her brother on this new Earth. I predict her palling around with her brother may lead to some awkward moments, since he's unaware of why she's sticking so close, but it is an original idea to be sure.
After being warned away from Bucky-Cap by the Black Widow (whose black leather suit was giving a wedgie, I guess!) Rikki tries to go it alone and investigate some odd behavior at her school. When a disparate group of students from different social strata team up to shape up the school, Rikki follows them into the school basement, where she's knocked around by some kind of wolf-man. Bloodied and sort of in shock, she retreats to her apartment to find a Nomad costume on her bed. I expected a guest-star on that final splash page, after all, nothing legitimizes a limited series like a guest-star, but I was pleasantly surprised that Rikki might be going it alone for a bit. She's a fun hero with a strong, likable personality. I actually think she'd be a perfect new member for the Young Avengers after this mini.
David Baldeon does a nice job showing Rikki's different moods throughout the issue. She's mopey and depressed in her "normal" life. She's excited and giddy while operating as Bucky. And she's happy and hopeful while attending high-school. This was a better comic than I expected.
Good
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