Scarlett issue 2

Publisher	Image Comics; Skybound Entertainment
First published	July 3, 2024
Cover date	July 2024
Written by	Kelly Thompson
Art by	Marco Ferrari
Colors by	Lee Loughridge
Letters by	Rus Wooton
Editor	Ben Abernathy
Continuity	Energon Universe

What depths will Scarlett have to face to prove her loyalty to the Arashikage?

Synopsis

Scarlett awakens to find herself tied to a chair, locked deep in the Arashikage stronghold. She uses a razor blade she had hidden in her abdomen to cut herself free before spotting a hidden message from Jinx: "Go. Hard." Taking this as a challenge, Scarlett gets the attention of one of the ninjas guarding her. The ninjas attack, but Scarlett is able to hold them off; during the fight, a nearby weapons case is smashed, allowing Scarlett to grab a sword and shurikens to defend herself. As she cuts through her foes, Storm Shadow watches from behind a one-way mirror. He halts the remaining ninjas and tells Scarlett to follow him. They pass by Jinx training and Scarlett recalls fond memories of their own time training years ago.

Storm Shadow invites Scarlett to have tea with him and asks why she wants to join the Arashikage. Scarlett tells him that there's no future for her in the United States military and she was hoping to use her skill set for something more meaningful. The Hard Master enters and tells her that while they are impressed with her skills, the Arashikage value loyalty, honor, and sacrifice above all else. As such, they've prepared a mission for her that will allow her to prove herself worthy of joining the clan: retrieval of an ancient weapon of "unusual origin" that was stolen from them by a yakuza group called the Mugenonami.

In Tokyo, Scarlett infiltrates the Sato building called "Tiger", decked out in a high tech white suit from the Arashikage. Scarlett deduces that this is a suicide mission that the Hard Master assigned her to because she was expendable. However, of all the reasons she has to see this mission through, Jinx is the one worth dying for. As she leaps down the building, a voice watching her on security orders the building to go into full lockdown.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in photos.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

United States military	Arashikage
Scarlett (1)	Arashikage ninjas (2) Storm Shadow (3) Jinx (4) Hard Master (5)

Quotes

"She's good. She's the only other woman I've seen here. Are there more like her here?"
"There is no one else like Jinx."

—Scarlett and Storm Shadow on Jinx.

Notes

Continuity notes

The weapon of "unusual origin" certainly hints at something tied to Energon or the Transformers.
The Hard Master notes that the Mugenonami have aligned with "an outside power" they intend to sell their weapon. Could this be Cobra? M.A.R.S.? Hawk's other team?

G.I. Joe references

Scarlett uses shurikens against the Arashikage ninjas, one of her trademark weapons from the original toy.

Covers (5)

Cover A: Scarlett raises a sword against the Arashikage, by Marco Ferrari and Lee Loughridge.
Cover B: Storm Shadow and Scarlett, by Karl Kerschl.
Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive): Connecting cover, by Gleb Melkinov.
Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive): Storm Shadow on explosion background, by Paolo Rivera.
Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive): Scarlett stands over defeated enemies, by Annie Wu.