The Trillion Dollar Kid #2 // Review
Tommy is having a problem with his robot. It’s trying to kill him. The fact that he also created sort of suggests a kind of horror that goes way back to the dawn of science fiction, but this isn’t science fiction. Not for Tommy, anyway. For Tommy this is a matter of life and death in The Trillion Dollar Kid #2. The writing team of Geoff Jons and Peter J. Tomasi concludes his Who are The Unbelievables? crossover event with an issue that is btought to page and panel by Stefano Simeone. The Unbelievables Universe reaches a kind of connected maturity in an issue that connects everything-up quite well.
Sterling is his name. He’s a super-powered robot who is a kind of a protector and servant. Tommy made him. And he considers Sterling to be one of his greatest creations. He’s arguably the only real family Tommy has and...he had to create him himself. The problem is that he’s not himself right now. Sterling is attacking Tommy when he should be protecting him. Thankfully, Tommy has made a few new friends who are helping him. He’s being aided by a demon, an angel and a high tech family from the future.
Johns and Tomasi are juggling a hell of a lot with this issue. So much of the script seems to be simply directing the flow of traffic between Hornsby, Halo and the Rocketfellers as the aid Tommy in his quest to try to rescue both Sterling AND himself from a computer virus of unknown origin. In light of how much is going on, it’s actually kind of impressive that Johns and Tomasi are able to keep the action moving in an issue that’s VERY action-driven. The stcript is well-modulated between the action, the drama and the ongoing Unbelievables saga.
Simeone does a good job of maintaining the frenetic chase that Johns and Tomasi are rendering in the script. Though there ARE relatively still moments in and within the issue, Simeone is able to keep the tension flowing from beginning to end. What’s more: he’s able to make it feel believable and consequential. This is quite an accomplishment given just how ridiculous the overall plot seems at times. There’s a grand sense of energy that sweeps across the page between stiller, more serious and seriously dramatic moments that assert themselves between the covers of a largely satisfying issue.
Johns and Tomasi have very big plans for the Unbelievables universe. Right now it might just be a couple of ongoing series, but there are a lot of ideas radiating out of different parts of the universe that are going to have to wait for quite some time to develop on the page. Tommy’s next destination appears to be heading towards a character who isn’t destined to meet her first full appearance until 2027. And there have been mention of quite a few other characters that all seem equally interesting, but they’re all going to have to wait to be introduced in time...
