by Michael J. Foy

With Snake in the clutches of the Free Republic of Florida once again, we find him in a military camp with an explosive neck brace. With the nukes armed and the twins ready to go to war with the United States, will Snake be able to escape in time while also giving Florida a second chance?

As always, some spoilers may follow.

The highlights of issue three remain within the wacky characters and settings of the story. The artwork remains fun and colorful, moving along at a brisk pace. Much like the original film, Snake is almost always in motion, but it’s a move that could back fire in the long run if the writers aren’t careful.

A remaining issue is that the twins are never really that convincing to me. Later in the issue, there’s a fun moment when we get to see where and how the twins live. Their mansion is like something out of, “Blank Check”, (too old a reference? Google it!) Now, they supposedly fooled the public into thinking they have some kind of mental powers, but at no point is it ever elaborated on. Besides the fact that they have guns and a very determined bodyguard, they’re not at all intimidating. In the mansion itself they have adults captive in silly costumes, as their servants. It’s a funny idea, very “Twilight Zone”, but why these people don’t just slip a knife into these kids necks I’ll never understand.

Obviously Snake is going to do something about all this, but why must it be him? It would seem that the rest of the people could find a way to band together and overthrow a pair of thirteen year olds. WHy did they follow them in the first place? They may be armed and dangerous, but in this universe, Plissken is the only one left who seems to fight for his beliefs.

In the end, I’m still left hoping to better understand the universe at large in this series. It’s not bad or uninteresting by any means, but remains too vague. The other major question is about Snake himself. A true anti hero, his actions are close to the original film, but he seems to care even less about others this time around. I hope at some point we can get into his head a little and get a clearer picture of his thought process.

Overall, this Escape series remains an interesting read and I would recommend it for fans of the original film, but it’s still coming up a little short for my taste. With the tension building to what could be an explosive conclusion in the next issue, we’ll just have to hold on and see where this ride takes us.

Score: 3 Tyrannical Twins Out of 5