Before I get to the actual issue, I have to spend a bit of time on the cover of 52, Week 38. The illustration is as scary as it its cool. The first words that came to mind are cyberpunk, or I’d call it nightmare punk. The cover is of three of the four horsemen. You can tell from their looks that one is war, one is death, and the third may either be pestilence or famine.

We don’t get to the origin of these monsters until after checking up on Renee Montoya and her desperate attempt at trying to save Vic Sage, alias The Question. The writers are dragging out every sad breath this character breathes, and it’s painful to see a character who was so well developed and interesting at death’s door. Montoya is dragging the dying body of the question through the mountains in a desperate search to find Nanda Parbat. You pray that she finds it, but her chances look very thin.

The theme for this issue must be bad news because the project that the mad scientists were kidnapped for has been completed, and what they’ve come up with are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To be more specific, the Four Horsemen of Apocalips. With the genius of the DC universe’s most insane geniuses and Apocalyptian technology, something has been brought into the world that not even their creators are completely proud of. Apocalips is the God-like ruler of a ferocious planet, so anything born or created there is to be feared. These Horsemen have been created with one duty and one target in mind. When they do encounter their target, I will be right there to see how they try to defeat their prey, if they can even succeed at all.

Before you learn if Renee Montoya is successful in her quest to find The Question a miracle cure, we peek in on John Henry Irons’ niece, Natasha, and her realization that working for the evil Lex Luthor might not have been the best idea she’s ever had. Too little, too late, I’m afraid. This entry is part set-up issue, part emotion tugger, and I enjoyed having my emotions tugged at. I can’t wait to see what the the Four Horsemen can do and what the endgame is for the Renee Montoya and Question story. 

This week’s bio, if an android can have a bio, is about Red Tornado. Red tornado was once the creation of mad scientist TO Morrow- which fits in perfectly with this week’s 52 issue.