Whilst the argument could be made that Whisper having a tragic past and being tortured over it got old several months ago, it’s finally relieving to have it revealed to us. It’s beat-by-beat predictable in how it happens with no real surprises in the story. Whisper was part of a team, as was the villain Mimic, all other members of the team are dead etc. What’s great about this issue though, is how they decide to tell the story.
The story-telling flashbacks are given an in-universe explanation to why they’re occuring – Whisper’s mask is a camera that keeps track of all the wearer’s movements that team-mates can call back. It’s quite clever as it means there are details that can happen but still keep Whisper’s quiet nature intact.
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The really impressive bit that came out of left-field was that all the flashback panels were drawn from the first person view of the wearer. Touches like seeing the corner of the blocks used to restrain the team at the start and the end of Whisper’s sniper rifle.
Throughout all of this, however, Mimic doesn’t really offer much in terms of an antagonist in his motives. He sells them out to Eggman and there doesn’t really appear to be much else in terms of subtlety or uniqueness with him to make him stand-out. Plus the final reveal in the final panel is a particularly cool moment that sets up things for the final showdown. As the cliche of Whisper’s past was revealed, it at least was done in an inventful way.
Tangle & Whisper #3 is available digitally and from comic shops.
