Creators: Kelly Thompson (Writer), Marco Ferrari (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist), Rus Wooton (Letterer)
Story: Scarlett is now a prisoner of the Arashikage clan, reviewing her objectives (gain access to the stronghold, establish contact with Jinx, secure a possible weapon) and is planning her escape, having fully prepped (including keeping a razor in her abdomen). She is caught and fights off more ninjas before Storm Shadow stops it and takes her to a room (including a flashback scene of Scarlett training with Jinx) and inquires about what she is trying to do. She says she wants to find meaning again, feeling her skills aren't being used fully. The Hard Master arrives and says Scarlett can't join because while she has skills, she lacks loyalty, honour and sacrifice. They give Scarlett a mission to infiltrate a Yakuza controlled tower to steal back an Arashikage weapon of "unusual" origins to prove herself. Scarlett parachutes on top of the tower, sneaks in and, while detected, jumps down the shaft in the tower.
Writing: So this story is fairly short on plot, with the a good third of the issue dedicated to the main fight scene. Even so, we do get a bunch packed in here. Scarlett's objectives, more of her history with Jinx, Storm Shadow and the Hard Master introduced, and more mysteries (like mysterious weapons). I just hope that having a smaller section dedicated to the story doesn't become the norm for the series.
Art: Still looking good. And sometimes it's the little details that stand out. When Storm Shadow is having tea with Scarlett, he has a cup that demonstrates kintsugi (mending broken pottery with gold). The details of Scarlett's imprisonment and the follow-up fight are really nice. The worst part of the art is the helicopter Scarlett parachutes out of. Just seems like not a lot of effort was put into it.
Overall: A nice follow-up to the first issue, it doesn't disappoint with the action, with almost a third of the issue taken up with the fight scene with Scarlett fighting off more Arashikage ninjas. We get Storm Shadow in this issue as well and a bit more background on Scarlett and Jinx. While this issue was a bit lighter on plot, it does pack a lot in that space. I just hope this doesn't become the standard, as I feel a lot more could happen in the story in the space provided.
