Star Wars #5 (August 5): I don't have too much to say about this issue other than the fact that Soule reminds us just how little Luke actually knows about the Force. He tracks down Verla, the woman in his vision, and she's the one to tell him about Order 66. It really adds fuel to the fire when it comes to Obi-Wan and Yoda leaving Luke totally unprepared for his path as Jedi as a result of their commitment to secrets and lies.
Undiscovered Country #7 (August 5): Snyder and Soule pull back the curtain on the events shortly after the Sealing but, in typical fashion, we wind up facing more questions than answers.
First, we learn that the United States split itself into 13 sovereign zones. Every American could chose in which zone s/he wanted to live. If you wanted little to no gun laws, regulation, or taxation, you moved to Zone Destiny. If you wanted the opposite scheme, you moved to Zone Unity. At the state of his meeting with the heads of the 13 zones, the president informs the group that 74 percent of Americans approve of this "enhanced sovereignty."
However, Sam Elgin and his fellow Aurora members - including the Drs. Graves - rain on this parade. Sam opens a box to show a purple amphibian, the type of creature - though tamer - that we saw in Destiny. Elgin informs the group that nearly 20 percent of the bioengineering happening in Destiny is outside Aurora's advice. Representative Wyath - presumably the man we'll see become the Destiny Man - argues that they can pursue any strain they want to pursue as long as they meet their quota. This comment establishes that Aurora was approving at least some bioengineering, though we don't yet know for what purpose.
The president interrupts the argument, noting that Aurora was the one that shot the bullet that killed federalism. Elgin agrees but seems now to realize that Aurora was too optimistic in the assumption that the 13 zones would work together as a single "equation." He notes Zone Bounty is tasked with manning the nuclear pillars, but Aurora suspects it's siphoning off energy. The president suggests they make a full report in six months at the next meeting after the "cyclotronic generators" are operational. Elgin dissents, noting that, if the cyclotrons are abused in the same way as everything else, it could be catastrophic.
In other words, it's pretty clear now that we're dealing with a story about hubris. Aurora clearly thought that it could keep control over the project, but it got too unwieldy too quickly, which is particularly dangerous given the project itself is messing with nature and time (again, to unknown purposes). In the back pages, we learn that, in the initial days after the Sealing, chaos erupts in America as most Americans were unaware of the government's plans. Even if the president's later claim of high approval rates for the Sealing is true, it's clear that it takes a while to get everyone (or most everyone) on board.
In another flashback, Elgin talks about the initial dream, and it's clear that it isn't anything like the nightmare that the United States has become. How we got here is obviously going to be the most fascinating part of this story. It also is clear that it isn't just hubris on Aurora's part. Snyder and Soule are picking up a thread straight from current American politics, the whispered idea that we should just divide up the country. Snyder and Soule seem clearly set on showing us how that's going to look.
In the present, the team enters Unity, encountering a bleached-white landscape of trees with blue and red lines running around them. Tentacles attack the train, and the team barely escapes before it pulls the train down into the soil. Daniel starts to get the team going just as a cyborg emerges from the trees' shadows. It turns out it isn't a cyborg, though: "it" removes its mask and it's Dr. Elgin asking the team to save America.
Just like Gillen did in this month's issue of "Die," Snyder and Soule get going in earnest on this new arc after a lackluster previous issue. Janet and Chang are now actively seeking an exit once they get a chance, and Charlotte and Valentina commit to riding the figurative train to its final destination as they're tired of the half-measures they've been taking over the last few years. At this point, it makes sense that people are starting to make decisions and take sides. How much more information do you need at this point?
Dungeons & Dragons: Infernal Tides #5 (August 12): Despite my doubts, Zub manages to wrap up all the loose ends here.
Nerys joins the Bloodrovers as they enter the infernal war machines, which serves both their purposes: she gets to undo the chains, and they get the soul coins. An amnesiac Minsc lassos some sort of winged Nine Hells monster, and he and Nerys ride it to Elturel. Krydle's attempt to use the talisman from last issue to free Elturel fails: although he successfully uses it to get control over "Thavius Kreeg, High Overseer of Elturel" (who's actually Kreegor the Betrayer, a Zariel-worshipping devil in disguise), it turns out the contract is written on infernal parchment so only Zariel can destroy it.
When Zariel arrives, Krydle successfully goads her into attacking him and manages to get the parchment in front of her attack, destroying the pact. Aubree reminds an enraged Zariel that she was once "the Companion of Light," and the pain of the memory drives away Zariel. Elturel returns to its place on the Prime Material Plane, Aubree becomes a paladin of Torm and knight of the Hellriders, and Minsc seems to be regaining his memory. But, the issue ends with Krydle contemplating the infernal script on his forearm, so we'll see where the story goes.
All in all, this series was my least favorite of the Baldur's Gate heroes' adventures. Given how high concept it was, we needed at least another issue dedicated to the actual conflict with Zariel, either by adding an issue or scaling back the time the heroes spent looking for answers in the initial few issues. With the team returning to Baldur's Gate, I'm hoping we get a more normal set of adventures so we can focus a little more on the characters themselves and how these last few weeks have affected them.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #4 (August 19): Sacks reveals that the scene that shocked Lash at the start of this series and goaded her into killing the Mourner's Wail heir is, in fact, a shocking one: he was trying to murder his pregnant lover, the Unbroken Clan heir. She tells Lash that they intended to escape together since their families wouldn't accept their child, but her boyfriend balked at losing everything for his girlfriend and unborn child. Later, we learn that Lash has raised the child and sent a message to Valance because she needs someone to make sure the child reaches adulthood since, if she does, she'll end the two syndicates' war. (Lash is dying of a disease, explaining why she left hiding now.) T'ongor's sister accepts Lash's reasoning and pledges to return to her wife...before Boba Fett kills her.
The Last God #8 (August 26): Holy shit, this issue is fucking intense. Kennedy Johnson is really stepping on the gas as we approach the end of this first volume. It reminds me of the first two issues, where every time you turned the page something insane happened. You can tell Kennedy Johnson has been building to this moment throughout the series, keeping the Dwarrows a mystery so that they're all the more terrifying when we encounter them. It's notable that both fellowship encounter them in this issue as they each prepare to climb the Black Stair.
In the past, the fellowship makes its way through a desolate mountain only to encounter a man frantically running in their direction. (Kennedy Johnson doesn't tell us what a man is doing in this area, so I wonder if we'll return to him.). He's killed by a flying hammer and the fellowship comes face-to-face with Dwarrows. It's the first time we meet them: they're not exactly dwarves, as I though they'd be. They're more like short ice giants, if you will. Speaking their language, Skol tries to ask them where the Black Stair is, but the pack's leader orders his fellows to attack. The fellowship makes short work of them, and the Dwarrows stop short when Skol uses magic, "like the Djorruk do." The leader informs them that they can't cross the Karkarok Mountains above-ground and agrees to lead them into the Abyssal Realm.
In the present, Cyanthe warns her companions that the Dwarrows are murderers and rapists. Valko notes that Jorunn was one of the fellowship, but Cyanthe denies that, saying they only said he was to secure loyalty from the Abyssal Realm. (In an example of pet peeve #2, we're first told about Jorunn on the introduction page.) Although he climbed the Stair with them, he was more into glory-hounding. With a final warning, the team enters the Abyssal Realm.
Returning to the past, the fellowship encounters a spectacular city, with a lava-filled, living tree-creature at its center; even Veikko is impressed. Skol informs her that Mol Kalakto built the place. She asks the pack's leader what the tree is, and he informs her that it's the demon Norduuk, who the God of the Forge chained. When she breaks free, the surface land will fall into the Abyssal Realm, the surface waters will quench the Godforge's fire, and Norduuk will rule the darkness. As they make their way through the Realm, Cyanthe encounters diminutive rock creatures with glowing eyes, one of whom begs her to save them. She's terrified when the Dwarrows capture them, but Skol wars her to keep quiet, since they need the Dwarrows' help to get through the labyrinthine Abyssal Realm.
The pack's leader -- who we now learn is Jorunn - brings them to the king, his father. The king agrees to help the fellowship by giving them Jorunn as a guide if they give them magic and the "fair-haired girl." Skol notes that's a non-starter, since Grey would eat them all, but gives them two gifts: the culling sieve, which will allow them to consume a creature's soul and life energy including magic if the creature has some; and a blade that Ruarc created that the wielder's own life fuels to kill his enemies. Later, at Cyanthe's urging, Skol asks Jorunn about the creatures. He informs them that they're the Djorruk: living statues whose magical-crafting gifts the Dwarrows want. Cyanthe loses her shit at this point, noting that they saved people form the Flowering Dead, but they're abandoning the Djorruk who asked for help. Tyr tries to calm her down, but, when he calls her "love," she tells him not to call her that and not to touch her. She pulls a knife on the team, telling them that they're no heroes, they're just "dancing to the songs people sing" about them.
In the present, the Abyssal Realm is dark and grey. In the ruins, Evindyr finds Ruarc's (now not-glowing) knife and, against Valko's wishes, keeps it. Cyanthe assumes the Flowering Dead have killed the Dwarrows, but she stumbles upon a partially broken Djorruk. It turns out he's the statue she first met. His name is Kolba and asks that they leave the Djorruk alone. When Cyanthe asks if the Dead destroyed the Abyssal Realm, he tells her that she did. The Dwarrows used the knife to enslave and kill the Djorruk ("as you knew they would," he adds). But, wanting more power, they tried the knife on Norduuk, changing them. The team is then attacked by a lava monster who's apparently Jorunn, underlining Kolba's point.
In other words, the title of this issue should be, "As if things couldn't get more depressing..." Kennedy Johnson is making it clear why Cyanthe is so bitter as he shows us the weight that she's been carrying with her all these years.
Also Read: Star Wars: Darth Vader #4 (August 12); Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies #2 (August 19)
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