In X-O MANOWAR #6, available from Valiant Entertainment on September 22nd, 2021, Shanhara slowly recovers from its “coma” and assists with the rebuilding of Harlem, but something isn’t quite right with the world’s most powerful AI.
The Details
- Written By: Dennis Hopeless
- Art By: Emilio Laiso, Raffaele Forte
- Colors By: Ruth Redmond
- Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
- Cover Art By: Rahzzah (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: September 22, 2021
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Was It Good?
Did you ever get the feeling when reading a book that you accidentally skipped a chapter? Did you ever feel confused when binging a Netflix show because you mistakenly skipped an episode? That’s the feeling you get with this issue.
Confusion, disorientation, and deception reign as Aric slowly gets back into assuming his role as X-O Manowar when Shanhara’s behavior is practically rubbing his nose in the fact that something is off about the AI. And that’s what feels missing from this issue. There’s no hint or tease of what’s going on with Shanhara despite the cliffhanger at the end of the last issue. Readers are simply expected to put the faceless digital monsters inside a cube-shaped virtual construct aside and go on like everything is normal.
The story progression is made all the more baffling because Aric seems oblivious to Shanhara’s uncharacteristic behavior, chalking it up to recovery. When a powerful, virtual weapon is bonded to your mind for years, it’s reasonable to think you’d know when something isn’t right. Yet, the only person who is clearly able to pick up on a problem is the young neighbor, Desmond.
Shanhara is acting completely out of sorts. Everyone, except Desmond, is ignoring or unable to see something’s wrong. And the readers are, I suppose, supposed to go along with it. If you’re thinking this is a really long-winded way of saying this is a down point, you’d be correct.
On top of the bizarre (mis)characterization that everyone is ignoring, we have the problem of the nanite singularity that spawned out of nowhere, that everyone ignored until they couldn’t, and that seems to have no purpose beyond capturing Shanhara. Now, Troy and Aric are focused on learning more about the nanite swarms with little luck. When Shanhara, mostly back to full strength, interacts and “takes over” a nanite swarm, no explanation is given. Troy and Aric keep forging ahead while ignoring any investigation into how Shanhara was able to take over a swarm.
In short, this issue tries to get everyone to ignore everything until it’s convenient for the plot. There’s never a good thing.
Thankfully, the art by Laiso, Forte, and the team is very good. The colors are vibrant, the weirdly amorphous fluidity of Shanhara and the nanite swarms are extremely well done, and the set designs (mountains, low-Earth orbit, Paris) are beautiful. You could take issue with the writing, but the visuals are top-notch.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Don’t be like Aric and ignore everything that’s happened before now. First, read our X-O MANOWAR #5 review.
We begin with Aric, Troy, and the X-O gang relaxing at Troy’s compound while Shanhara continues to “heal.” Eventually, Shanhara becomes responsive and tries to clumsily and unsuccessfully re-bond with Aric.
Through a series of vignettes, we see X-O go on on short missions to aid in the repair of Harlem after the attack. The armor will suddenly switch into defensive combat mode when seeing a stranger or suddenly drop Aric out of the sky in mid-flight.
Later, Troy and Aric guide a drone into one of the remote nanite swarms (again, where did it come from?) to get readings or possibly a sample. The swarm easily envelops the drone, forcing the drone to self-destruct.
As time passes, Shanhara gets closer to “normal” and Aric decides to fly out to the same remote nanite swarm for a closer look. The swarm repurposed the damaged droid for voice capability and it informs Aric that it wants to talk. Aric isn’t interested in conversation and begins to attack. As soon as the swarm touches Shanhara, and it looks like X-O will be consumed, Shanhara uploads an override program to take control of the swarm. Again, how or why she does this is completely ignored by Troy and Aric.
We conclude the issue with Aric visiting another swarm in orbit, Shanhara’s override script not working as expected, and Aric making an unexpected trip to Paris.
Final Thoughts
X-O MANOWAR #6 is a story that has a lot of potential, but the writing doesn’t put in the work to craft a story that’s believable or makes sense. It presumes the reader is as willing to ignore key happenings just as much as the oblivious characters in the comic. That’s a shame when you consider the work the art team is putting in to produce a visually engaging comic.
Score: 6/10
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