They have no memory of how they as a group survived an atrocity.Ĭhaykin also has a further axe to grind about rabid right wing American TV media in the wake of the 9/11 atrocity. It’s eventually clarified that a few extremely rich people, influential behind the scenes and generally unknown, are targets, and that five people have memories of all changing their names and buying a signet ring to commemorate the occasion and reflecting their new name.
Chaykin cuts the often oblique dialogue of people pictured with the constant TV commentary, and the screenshots of that further contain running text. Moreso than any Chaykin project for some while, there’s a narrative complexity to Stolen Moments, Borrowed Time, and anyone wanting the maximum impact can’t just skim read. The twist with his new Challengers of the Unknown is that they’re five people who’re not aware they’ve been programmed with the skills to survive the most dangerous situations. The results were not necessarily likeable personalities any more, but people who got the job done by prioritising the greater danger.
See recommendations for places where his iconoclastic approach had previously been applied. By 2004 there can’t have been many readers of DC’s old franchises unaware of what awaited in a Howard Chaykin reboot, which makes the outrage you’ll find in online reviews puzzling.