Review: Armor Hunters #4 (Valiant Entertainment)
Armor Hunters #4 is the thrilling conclusion to Valiant’s epic crossover miniseries. As super team Unity reunite to stop the destructive Gin-GR, can this finale deliver a an ironclad conclusion or will it have one weak point too many?
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Doug Braithwaite
Price: £2.49/$2.99 from ComiXology, ComicsPlus and Madefire
After stopping the various threats around the world, the Unity team is finally reunited in Los Angeles to stop the destruction being caused by Gin-GR on the city. Even with all their power and the backing of M.E.R.O., Unity struggles to keep up with the threat of Primary Reebo and his team until the appearance of Aric and his X-O armor. Aric’s resolve to end this extraterrestrial threat is fueled by a beautiful speak from his wife, Saana.
“You know what I think? I think a Visigoth is someone you love. Someone you protect. Someone whom you would fight for to give them a better life. Whether you return or not, you must go to them, you must fight for them. Go now Aric of Davia. Be their king.”
After an all out fight between Unity and the Armor Hunters, Aric is impaled by Primary’s spear, but as Reebo gets ready to deliver the killing blow, Aric manages to gather his strength and deliver the coup de grace to stop Reebo and his hunters, but leaves him bloodied and dying on the ground in the aftermath of the battle.
What an amazing piece of writing! Robert Venditti has turned this event into one of the most exciting events we have ever had the pleasure of reading and this issue does not disappoint. Venditti manages to give every character that has been involved in this event a piece of the spotlight and that’s not an easy thing to do when there are close to a dozen characters involved.
The confrontation between Aric and Reebo is spectacular and really shows these two characters as two sides of the same coin. Aric has grown tremendously since he was first introduced in X-O Manowar #1, and he has really learned to own his place in this world. He is no longer a barbarian playing king, but finally proves to both himself and the reader that he is truly worthy of not only carrying the X-O armor, but that he is worthy of being a Visigoth king.
The dialogue is perfect and on point for every single character. The action is intense and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Throughout this event we knew that the final confrontation between our heroes and the hunters would come, and it was such a joy to see, it made me not want to finish reading this issue just so I could savor that moment longer.
It should go without saying that Armor Hunters has been some of Doug Braithwaite’s best work to date. There is so much packed into each panel I can only surmise that either Braithwaite is in reality part machine, or that he’s been given ample time to pencil this book right. From beginning to end, the line work looks polished and Braithwaite’s pencils are just as detailed in the action sequences as their are in extreme closeup shots.
His art is complemented so well by the amazing color work of Laura Martin, though that should come as no surprise as Valiant has some of the best color artists in the business.
