Panels 1-3: The riff with the overturned truck was inspired by the highway-ambush kickoff of the final act in the 2007 film The Kingdom, which is currently streaming on Netflix as I type this. Even if you’re “shaky-cam”-averse, I still recommend checking out (at least) that last part of the movie, which constitutes an impeccably well-constructed series of action scenes.

Yeahp, this scene is a callback to Thugboy’s shadowy past, as hinted at briefly earlier in Empowered vol. 3. The ponytail dude with the HK-logo hat, here, is supposed to be the foreground fella from that book’s previous glimpse of San Antonio-set mayhem.

Panel 4: Always buckle up, kids!

Panel 5: Uh oh. This can’t be good.

-Adam Warren