Rocketeer: Cargo Of Doom #3 Review


With one issue to go, Rocketeer: Cargo Of Doom #3 makes for quite a fast-paced issue. The time frame might feel a little forced, but there’s still enough content to keep readers invested, however.

The official description from IDW:

The mysterious cargo is finally revealed and Cliff will discover what demons will be descending on the City of Angels! It’s allaction as the Rocketeer must rise to challenges the likes of which he has never before faced. Meanwhile, what exactly is Peevy’s niece up to, and are her intentions as innocent as they seem?

By this point, the ‘cargo of doom’ has already been revealed as a bunch of dinosaurs, that the main villain wants to give jet packs. Needless to say the Rocketeer interrupted and not everything went to plan.

Whilst this is certainly interesting, it doesn’t feel long enough. To ‘fight’ – if you can even refer to it as that – between the Rocketeer and the villains on the ship is massively short lived. Obviously, giant dinosaurs are a bigger threat here, something Cargo of Doom #3 does a lot of building up to, but there is very little conclusion or final conflict here. Its all over very quickly. Then, the losing bad guy has what appears to be a sudden change of heart. It suits the confines of the story, but the writing and speed of this change of character makes it a little unrealistic or hard to believe.

As for the rest of the plot, Cargo Of Doom #3 continues the sub-plot regarding Betty and Sally. As with previous issues, I’m not sure if its even needed. It breaks up the main action, but it provides an obvious plot with little enjoyment; it simply covers old ground.

The real focus is, of course, the dinosaurs themselves. First of all, they look very plain. This is partially due to the older art style that creative team are trying to adopt. Whilst this certainly makes the title look like an older Rocketeer title, it means these dinosaurs aren’t as exciting or detailed as you would expect elsewhere.

Still, the sheer size of them is used to set up the final issue, as they’re a bit too big for the Rocketeer to simply beat down. That said, this issue also provides him with what looks to be an easy answer. Too easy, perhaps, but only the final issue will tell.

3.5/5

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