In this review of Gatchaman #3, Jun, posing as a Devil Star agent of Galactor, embarks on a dangerous mission to find the missing scientist. Will she be successful?
GATCHAMAN #3
Written by: Cullen Bunn
Art: Chris Batista
Main Cover by: Inaki Miranda
Variant Covers: Sanford Greene, Francine Delgado
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: September 11, 2024
This review contains spoilers
Gatchaman #3 begins not long after the Science Ninja Team saved Dr. Aoki and captured one of the Devil Stars at the end of issue #2. The Devil Star member stands on a cliff with Dr. Aoki in tow. A ship arrives to pick them up, but little do they known that the person in disguise is no other than Jun (aka Swan). As seen at the end of the previous issue, she has volunteered to go undercover as a Devil Star to infiltrate the Devil Stars base and hopefully determine the whereabouts of the other missing scientist that Galactor has been kidnapping.
Things seemingly go well in the beginning. However, crumbles appear as Jun struggle to enact tasks a Devil Star should know. They do, however, make their way to the Devil Stars’ home base where Dr. Aoki is taken away. The Stars attempt to settle down, but not before Jun makes one final, terrible mistake. This causes her cover to officially be blown.
A fight breaks out and Jun reveals her true form as the other members of the Devil Stars join the melee. Swan holds her own before making her escape. She then takes on Galactor Troops, holding her own against them as well. The Devil Stars return for another round, however. They injure her with a bullet to the right shoulder. Elsewhere, Berg Katse has learned of the infiltration. However, he uses this to his advantage, ordering another attack on Amegapolis. This puts the rest of the Science Ninja Team in a conundrum — save their teammate or save the city.
Jun, for her part, makes the decision for the team. She tells them she will hunker down and hide. They needed to save the city first. Worry about her afterwards. Little does she know that the Devil Stars are closing in on her.
Cullen Bunn does a wonderful job with Gatchaman #3 in focusing on Jun. From the first two issues, Bunn already presented her as a strong character. However, Gatchaman #3 shines a spotlight specifically on the Science Ninja Team’s sole female member. Granted, being the only female member, she was the obvious choice to go undercover. But Jun’s character is so strong here. Considering Ken had his time in the limelight with his solo one-shot, Bunn including Jun’s story in the main series is special, especially considering that it’s not over yet.
One thing that does not sit well with me is actually a great thought. Somehow, I feel that Cullen Bunn is setting us up for a swerve. We see at one point in Gatchaman #3 that Mara implores Dr. Nambu to allow her and her team to go out and help. This isn’t the first time this has. I have a feeling (sickening as it may be) that one or the other is going to turn on the Science Ninja team. I hope I am wrong.
As great as Cullen Bunn’s story has been in the series, it is the art from Chris Batista with colors from Carlos Lopez that continue to be the highlight of the series. As someone who grew up watching Battle of the Planets, I truly appreciate the feeling that I am watching a cartoon on TV. It is truly phenomenal how great these two artistic storytellers put their visual story on the page of this series.
One thing I found weird, are the covers used for Gatchaman #3. One would think that if the focus of the story is on Jun, one of the covers should have focused on Jun as well. The Swan cover was an 1:10 incentive cover for issue #1. I believe that was a bad move on editorial. This is not to say the covers are bad. They’re great. However, I have always been a proponent of the cover of an issue matching the story.
Final Thoughts
Gatchaman #3 does a great job in introducing a vital member of the series to readers not familiar with the mythos of the Gatchaman universe. If there was a request to make, it would be to tie the main series to the other Gatchaman stories better. However, on its own, Bunn’s universe is great.
Mad Cave Studios provided The Comic Book Spot with an advance copy of Gatchaman #3 for review purposes. Find more reviews here. If you would like to buy a copy of this title, and help support the Comic Book Spot at the same time, consider purchasing this book at Amazon, My Comic Shop, or at Things From Another World.
