Freedom Fighters #2

Freedom Fighters #2 (June 1976)
title: "Rampage!"
writer & editor: Gerry Conway
penciller: Pablo Marcos
inker: Tex Blaisdell
letterer & colorist: uncredited
letter column: Gerry Conway
cover: Dick Giordano

Order of Appearance: The three main characters all appear in one group scene on page one (left to right): The Ray, Uncle Sam, and the Human Bomb; Black Condor, Doll Man, and Phantom Lady appear on page 7

Guest Stars:  None

Supporting Characters:
NYC District Attorney David Pearson

Opponents:
Silver Ghost, King Samson, and their gang

Overall Summary: 
Three Freedom Fighters are forced to do the bidding of the Silver Ghost in order to save their fellow members, who he has turned to solid silver statues.  

Plot Summary:
In Manhattan, three members of the Freedom Fighters commit an act of vandalism against the subway system. Uncle Sam breaks through the sidewalk to get underground, the Human Bomb destroys one whole car, and the Ray blacks out all of the lights. Although police approach Uncle Sam top-side, as soon as the Ray and the Human Bomb return from their malicious mischief, all three of them escape. 

Safe on a nearby rooftop, the three remember how the Silver Ghost turned their friends Black Condor, Doll Man, and Phantom Lady into silver statues. They recall how he insisted that the three remaining Fighters had to help him before he would return their friends to normal. So that is why they are committing acts of vandalism; if they don't, the Silver Ghost will not save their friends. 

At the City Hall, District Attorney Pearson and Chief of Staff Olsen are fretting about what to do about the Freedom Fighters and the Silver Ghost when the Ghost himself breaks into the television networks to announce his ultimatum to the city of New York: he wants all of Manhattan (aka New Asterdam) returned to him, or he will cripple communications and transportation all over the island, and then take it over by force with the help of his allies, the Freedom Fighters. DA Pearson has no choice but to sign off a warrant for the arrest of the Freedom Fighters, with the order to "shoot to kill" if necessary. 

At the Van Zandt mansion belonging to the Silver Ghost, the Freedom Fighters are unaware that they have been named as accomplices to the villain. He and King Samson and their goons fly off to the New York City reservoir, where Silver Ghost intends to kill millions of people by poisoning it. The Freedom Fighters will not be accessories to murder, so they rebel. When Silver Ghost attempts to escape, the Ray not only catches him, but causes him to hit the water and electrocute himself. 

The Human Bomb analyzes the mechanical device that seems to have given the Silver Ghost the ability to turn people to silver, and he hopes to be able to reverse it and save his friends. After several hours of difficult work, his rewiring of the modulator is able to return their friends to life. 

Their happiness is short-lived, however, as the police arrive outside the Van Zandt mansion and order the Freedom Fighters to come out with their hands up, or else! 

Review: 

Compared to the CLASSIC that was issue #1, this story is disappointing. First of all, only three of our heroes are featured. It was a pretty gutsy move on Gerry Conway's part to only feature three of the six main characters, but I just don't think it works. The series JUST started, and you want to get the readers emotionally invested in the main characters. But here we are, not only do we not get to hang with half the team AT ALL, we don't get a whole lot of "we have to save our best friends!" angst from the main characters that might help us feel how important Phantom Lady, Doll Man, and Black Condor are, either! 

This type of story might have worked in an established team, like, say, the Avengers or the Justice League, where we already know how tight-knit the members are, but....can you actually imagine this type of story happening to the JLA or the Avengers? I would say not! They would have had some type of ace-in-the-hole to save themselves from this predicament. The whole premise is flawed, because it makes our heroes look like amateurs, and therefore the execution, no matter how good it might have been, has to be flawed by definition. 

Now, we eventually get to see a whole lot of Doll Man and his romance with the Earth-1 Martha Roberts, and Phantom Lady as the only female member of the group will never be shunted aside like this again, but I would argue that Black Condor never fully recovers from this issue's treatment. For the rest of the run he seems to be "that guy in the back." 

Although I think the story is flawed and not worth telling the way it is, I have no complaints about the art. I know Pablo Marcos more as an inker at Marvel, but he does some really good pencil work here. His characterizations are excellent, and his overall choreography is spot-on. I do see a few specific instances of inker Tex Blaisdell's "loose" inking style, but it doesn't take away from the story. I would have liked to have seen them continue, but (spoiler alert) this is their one and done issue.  

King Samson now looks completely different from either of the looks he was sporting last issue. In the real world this is because Ric Estrada is no longer the artist, but it seems like the editor could have managed to get the correct look to either the penciller or the inker before press time!  

Black Condor,  Doll Man, and Phantom Lady Moment 

These three Freedom Fighters do NOTHING for the entire issue. 

Therefore, their best (only) moment is when they literally come 

back to life on the last page of the story. 

Human Bomb Moment

The Human Bomb shows us that besides being a walking, 

talking explosive, he's also a pretty clever scientist!   

The Ray Moment

The Ray shines (ouch) more this issue than last, as he not only catches 

the Silver Ghost, but is responsible for taking him out. 

Uncle Sam Moment

Uncle Sam shows us just how strong he is by 

RIPPING a HOLE in the sidewalk.

You read that right. 

Best Moment

The affection that the Freedom Fighters hold for each other 

finally comes through as the Human Bomb and the Ray pray 

for the safe return of their fellow members.  

Worst Moment

This is more the writer's fault than the heroes, 

but the moment the three remaining Fighters agree to go along 

with the Silver Ghost is the moment you think, 

"What Would Batman Have Done?" 

And not in a good way.

Freedom Fanmail
This issue's letter column featured two letters about the debut of Freedom Fighters #1, with both writers commenting on Phantom Lady getting a boost in the super-powers department. Click to enlarge it for an easier-to-read version. 

Freedom of Information

• Each of the members appear on the cover. 
• The head of Uncle Sam on the DC ribbon on the top of the cover has been replaced by a running Uncle Sam, clearly taken from the pages of Justice League of America #107. 
• King Samson has lost his face mask, his hard-hat, AND his shirt in this issue. He is wearing a totally different uniform from what he was shown in last issue.  
• The police arrive at the Van Zandt mansion in order to arrest the Freedom Fighters and the Silver Ghost, but there is no explanation as to how the police would know that they were there. 

The Freedom Fighters

assembled by Len Wein