X-O-MANOWAR #8 – Review

In X-O-MANOWAR #8, available from Valiant Entertainment on November 17th, 2021, the city is covered with Troy’s nanite swarm, Aric is down for the count, and the only one standing in the way of world domination is… Desmond?

The Details

• Written By: Dennis Hopeless
• Art By: Emilio Laiso, Jim Towe, Raffaele Forte
• Colors By: Ruth Redmond
• Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
• Cover Art By: Rahzzah
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: November 17, 2021

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Was It Good?

Valiant describes X-O-MANOWAR #8 as the penultimate issue in the arc, so every mystery and chess piece you could possibly move around is where it needs to be leading up to the finale. If there are lingering questions or plot holes that need time to resolve, it all needs to happen quickly in the next issue or not at all. That said, there’s one big question (possibly leading to other questions) remaining that hasn’t yet been addressed up to now. That question is “Why?”.

[Some spoilers ahead for explanation]

Why does Troy want to take over the world? He has wealth, fame, and every luxury you could ever want. What’s in it for him beyond abject greed? In this issue you get a taste of what he does with that power when the nanites take over NYC, and to be blunt, it’s silly.

It’s only within the last few issues that we learned Troy is the one behind the singularity and the random nanite swarm attacks, but if he had such close and constant access to Shanhara through his relationship with Aric, why the deception? Why create floating islands to pretend the nanites are some (un)natural event? Why put on the PR stunts? If the goal was to get Shanhara in his lab so he could take over the AI, surely a smart man could come up with less ridiculously over-the-top deceptions to make it happen.

There’s a lot of “Why?” type questions that aren’t touched in this issue and will have scant time for attention in the coming finale. So, that’s a concern.

As for the actual story in this issue, it’s a mix of exposition dump from Shanhara about what happened and Desmond coming to the rescue. On the plus side of things, Shanhara’s exposition is a balanced mix of show and tell that explains what Troy has been secretly doing this whole time (again, no hint as to why). The answers we do get are satisfying and the “show” part of the “tell” is executed well.

Despite any concerns about the story, there’s no concern about the art team’s phenomenal work. Panel composition is visually unique, showcasing the art from the best possible angles. The character movements are fluid and dynamic, and the coloring, even in the darker panels, consistently pops.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

If you’re wondering what happened to Aric in this Desmond/Shanhara-centric issue, first read our recap in the X-O MANOWAR #7 review.

We begin with Desmond sitting atop a city building holding his portable orb that contains Shanhara’s (the real Shanhara’s) consciousness. Desomond can see the entire city is coated with nanites in crystalline form and the swarm has taken over every mechanical object and surface, but not people. Shanhara keeps uttering calming statements to Desmond who’s understandably freaking out. Their objective, she explains, is to get to Aric.

As they weave their way through city streets, we see the citizens are forced to walk and drive and work in complete lockstep according to Troy’s instructions through the nanites. Troy’s effectively taken full control of every aspect of the citizens’ lives, including little activities like walking. Shanhara is able to exert some control over nearby nanites to avoid detection as she/it directs Desmond to head to Central Park and Aric.

Along the way, Shanhara explains how Desmond was able to infiltrate the suit and create a copy of Shanhara’s source code to replace and mimic the X-O suit over the last few weeks/months. We conclude the issue with the secret of what makes Shanhara superior to Troy’s AI, how Shanhara managed to escape Troy’s control, and Troy’s latest attempt at flattery through imitation.

Final Thoughts

X-O-MANOWAR #8 fills in the blanks about Shanhara’s whereabouts for the last few issues and puts Desmond at the center of a city under complete control of a nanite swarm. The art’s great, and the large amounts of exposition are satisfying enough, but the motivation behind the villain remains a mystery.

Score: 7.5/10

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