X-O Manowar #18
Creative Team:
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colorist: Moose Baumann
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
The Issue:
Alexander Dorian gives one last attempt to talk Aric into taking asylum in the United States. This offer is once again refused as Aric lets him know that after claiming his people’s rightful home for the first time in centuries he won’t relinquish it. As Aric continues to talk he welcomes Alexander to stay with them. He goes to show his one time ally the work his people are doing in the fields only to discover they are relaxing by a camp fire.
Aric flies down asking his fellow Visigoths why they aren’t tending the crops and what they are eating. As he questions where they got the food from, Volo stands up to him. While the two argue over Aric’s relationship to his people armed soldiers move in waiting for the moment to fire on the invaders. Aric stops mid argument as he senses a missile being fired from a nearby submarine and he takes off to stop it.
Back at the camp the soldiers begin to fire on the Visigoths. Volo and a few other men take up battle armor left over by the Vine and kill all of the soldiers. Elsewhere, Aric destroys the very submarine that sent the decoy missile to get him away from his people. He returns to see that he is not the only Visigoth capable of defending his people.
All of this action is being observed by the Military Extraterrestrial Recon Outpost (MERO). The show of power by Aric impresses them, but Toyo Harada lets it be known that he has already been planning for this moment.
What I Liked:
I really like the dynamics. Aric is the bull in the china shop. He had no idea how the world worked when he lived in his own time so now he is extremely out of place. What is so interesting about his character is despite being under both the Romans and later the Vine he doesn’t attempt to rule in another way. Aric believes simply putting his people to work where their homeland was located is enough to be loved. He doesn’t understand that the only difference now is their location and overlords.
I also like the idea of Volo. The Visigoths weren’t exactly proud on Loam, but they lived their for centuries. Despite everything that was going on he was their leader and Sanaa was his woman. Now? He’s just another Visigoth and Aric now has his woman. So of course he carries some bitterness. What I found really interesting is how he is adapting to things and more capable of seeing the big picture than Aric. He has also adapted to things on Earth a lot easier. I really hope Volo stays around because he provides much needed opposition to Aric within the Visigoths.
What I Didn’t Like:
So, yeah. I like Volo, but I don’t like what happened in this issue with him after the argument with Aric. Aric then flies off to deal with the submarine and instantly Volo runs on the ship and comes out the the Vines body armor things. He jumps in and instantly knows how to operate the machinery. Not only that but so do the other men who thought he was going to be trapped inside. These are men who NEVER used machines before in their life. This was way too easy.
What I think would have been interesting is if he struggled before gaining control and the Visigoths faced some losses. He would then be able to blame Aric for the deaths of the people while being heroic at the same time. It wouldn’t have even taken that much more page space. It’s something that would add depth.
While overall I enjoy the work Venditti puts in on this series I am often trouble by the easy outs he gives characters in tough situations. This has happened throughout the series and it consistently deflates what is already a solid series.
Grade:
Coatesvillain
Just a guy who was into this nerd stuff before it's popular. Now that is I'm just happy I have people to talk about it with.
