Avatar: The High Ground Volume 2 (Avatar, 2)

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The ship carrying Jake, Neytiri and Neteyam descends back to Earth, with RDA ships chasing after them. Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Spider's mother Paz Socorro had died during the assault on Hometree. James Cameron’s epic original story “The High Ground” continues in this graphic novel adaptation written by award-winning author Sherri L. Jake tries to motivate the humans, but Mary tells Jake that they're not guerilla fighters, that they don't have avatar bodies, that it is challenging to expect their children to grow up wearing masks their whole lives, and that re-integrating back into human society is tempting.

McCosker appears on a radio message to Ardmore saying the explosives on Pandora are disarmed and the Sully children have been captured. Knowing this day would come, Jake has trained his Na’vi warriors with a plan that should make it too costly for the humans to try again . They are soon found by McCosker who says they can be useful, however, he traps Spider and the siblings in separate rooms.I liked Volume 2 more than Volume 1, I liked the story, and I think it would have been great to see it on the big screen, but at the same time, Na’vi in space is too much right now for me. Akwey supports Jake's choice, though before the group can continue debating, it is noticed that Jake's children are gone, with the exception of Neteyam.

Now, about the story… I know Kiri has a connection to Spider, but she is pushing the “orphans” theme too much. As the Na'vi are in their shuttle, Jake and Neytiri are displeased to see that Neteyam has sneaked on board. But, any chain of events is only as strong as the weakest link, and in this case the weak link is human nature. The Samson fires missiles at the shuttle while they are over the ocean, causing its engines to fail and everyone prepares for a rough landing.

During Lo'ak's ikran training session, Lo'ak falls off a cliff, frightening Jake although Neytiri insists the danger is part of the trial. Knowing this day would come, Jake has trained his Na’vi warriors with a plan that should make it too costly for the humans to try again… if the plan works.

Meanwhile, Kiri and Spider head to the RDA's lab where they watch Jake's video logs from when he was a human. It is set before Avatar: The Way of Water and follows many of the characters introduced in the film such as Lo'ak, Kiri, Neteyam and Frances Ardmore. I don’t know what James Camero has planned for Spider in the future, but he has given him a lot of daddy issues. Downgraded to a 3 though because much of this takes place in space and it's hard to follow the action in the 2nd half of this.

Tuktirey, who is supposed to be a 7 year old girl, does not have her hairstyle and she is drawn very boyishly, even having a chest which appears to have some pecs. However, the comic's art has been somewhat criticized because of its constantly changing art styles, leading to some thinking the art was rushed. Her books have been listed as Amelia Bloomer, American Library Association Best Books for Young People, and Junior Library Guild Selections.

In one of the panels in the first volume, Neteyam has five fingers when he is supposed to have four. Jake's team tries to blackmail the RDA by threatening destroy Hell's Gate and several other structures on Pandora that the RDA desire to reclaim. Avatar High Ground takes you on a journey full of action and adventure again which we witnessed in the movie. With the second movie in mind, I moreover felt that the plotline in which Jake and Neytiri's children get captivated gets overused and annoying.The Na'vi begin training in zero gravity, although Jake refuses to let one of his boys fight in the upcoming battle. Smith is the award-winning author of YA novels LUCY THE GIANT, SPARROW, HOT SOUR SALTY SWEET, FLYGIRL and ORLEANS. The item listing offered a little background information including that it was based on an early screenplay for Avatar: The Way of Water that was not used, and that it would be released in three volumes.