Review: X-O Manowar #15
Creative Team:
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Lee Garbett
Color Artist: Moose Baumann
Inker: Stefano Gaudino
Cover Artists: Trevor Hairsine, Clayton Crain, and Ladronn.
How We Got Here:
Aric of Dacia was destined for great things as the heir to the Visigoth throne. He earned the respect and loyalty of his peers because of his ability on the field of battle. But the very ability he showed was also his greatest weakness. When his Uncle Alaric called his men to retreat after having unfavorable numbers in battle vs the Romans, it was Aric who charged ahead recklessly causing the deaths of many including his father. When he returned to his camp he learned that many of the women and children were abducted. Looking for revenge he led a small group for a sneak attack on the Romans. What they saw instead was aliens but instead of retreating to attack another day, Aric charged forward and his men followed along only to also be abducted.
Aric was imprisoned by an alien species known as the Vine. He, and the other Visigoths, became slaves with their only job to work the fields. Not fed, and worked past exhaustion many of them perished. Unwilling to die in such a fashion Aric, again, decided to fight instead of merely falling by the wayside. After striking back and escaping he bonds with the Vine’s sacred Shanhara armor. Aric escapes and returns to Earth only to find that centuries have passed and all of his people are gone. But now that he’s back on Earth he discovers that the Vine plan to destroy the planet as a way to get rid of his armor for good.
Aric with the Shanhara returns to space and takes his battle to, the Vine’s home world, Loam. The world has many slaves of different species from across the universe. Seeing a common foe, Aric finally steps into his role of leader and lead them to overthrow their masters. With everyone freed, Aric set his sights back to Earth. With a ship full of Visigoths he is finally read to find and claim a place as home.
The Issue:
With the threat of the Vine defeated, Aric and the formerly enslaved Visigoths head back to Earth. While entering the Earth’s atmosphere they draw the attention of the Military Extraterrestrial Recon Outpost (M.E.R.O.) who simply watch the spacecraft descend on Europe. When Aric lands the ship, the Visigoths exit and he proclaims for them to claim the land as their own.
Gilad Anni-Padda, the Eternal Warrior, upon seeing the arrivals confronts Aric. The two bond briefly over their shared past with the Visigoths. But now they find themselves on opposite sides as Gilad attempts to make Aric understand that he can’t simply claim land as his own. Refusing to listen, and claiming he is no longer an understudy of Gilad, Aric strikes back and the two begin to battle.
What I Liked:
Finally we’re seeing Aric coming back to Earth. With the Vine stuff behind us we have a chance to see the character really dig his heels into being a fish out of water. While Aric has matured into some kind of leader there still remains a brashness and naiveté in him. He goes from saving Visigoth people from their Vine enslavers on Loam to taking them back to Earth. What is amazing is that he already knows that everything is different on Earth. What was a culture shock for Aric when he first returned will be even more so for these people who have never been in control of their own lives let alone been on Earth.
While he wants to simply plant the Visigoth flag in Europe and claim it for these people captures the essence of Aric. Is it that he doesn’t understand the world has changed? Or is it that he doesn’t care and feels his power supersedes any rule in place? When he was abducted he was part of an attempt to overthrow the Roman Empire. So while technology has improved his goal hasn’t.
I also liked the confrontation with Gilad. Having Aric and Gilad know each other was a nice touch that avoided much banter where they simply felt each other out. Now we have two men who are out of step with their time. The difference being Gilad, the fist and steel of the Earth, has lived through the changes. The characterization of both was strong and true to each of them.
What I Didn’t Like:
Where Shadowman is picking up the momentum the same isn’t true for X-O Manowar. In fact it has taken a turn from being an exciting book to more of a middling one. The problem of this issue is the sheer lack of story told here. Robert Venditti has done plenty of good things in the title, but in this issue he is doing his best Brian Michael Bendis impression. A lot of the talking here could have been condensed and brought us directly into the combat that we were promised on the cover.
What I hope to see going forward with this title is more depth being added to the world. What we have so far is Aric being a man out of time. The fact that he is not only a man out of time, but practically Conan the Barbarian in an Iron Man suit presents a lot of interesting opportunities. The problem is this book hasn’t gotten the most out of it. There were flashes of this when he first returned to Earth and the ensuing encounter with Ninjak. There is potential here but now 15 issues in it is time for the book to start paying off.
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.
