Eternal Warrior: Days of Steel #2
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The good
Good action. Introduction of twin makes premise more intriguing. Doubt about the choice creates potential to delve into the premise more
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The bad
Doesn't delve deeply into the lives of the twins to explore the question of the chosen one and just makes them radically different.
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The ugly
- Total score
Eternal Warrior: Days of Steel #2 has Gilad wondering if he made the correct choice for his mission to protect the chosen baby. It starts off with a Magyar soldier threatening to kill the mother and child in front of him unless he puts down his weapons. The father jumps in and even though he’s tossed to the ground easily, it forces the soldier to release the mother and child, giving Gilad just the opening he needs to kill the soldier. But that was the relatively easy part because when he tells the mother that he’s on a mission to protect the child, and that child will be a great warrior, she tells him that she actually had twins and they both have the mark on their face. And since Gilad can only take one child in accordance to the Geomancer’s words, he decides to take the child that has the more pronounced mark and not the one that showed more assertive behavior but had a less pronounced mark. He takes the child to a safe place to be raised by another family with Gilad keeping an eye over him without worrying about him being in danger. And as the years pass and Gilad attempts to teach this child how to fight he becomes concerned with whether or not he made the correct choice since the child has zero aptitude for fighting and swordsmanship. But what has become of the other child, and if Gilad did make the wrong choice, how could he possibly fix it now? Or is there more to this child then even he and the Geomancer know?
The first issue was a really solid start, and I was definitely impressed with Gilad. He seemed more in his element than during the Armor Hunter event and his use in Unity. And his connection to the Geomancer and attempting to figure out the importance of one baby were interesting story lines. And this issue revealing a twin was an unexpected twist and made the entire situation even more complex with Gilad’s choice being even harder. I liked this twist because it could potentially allow this series to delve deeper into its premise of what could make a child so special to have to be protected, and how this child’s monumental task could even be accomplished. And the twins couldn’t be more different with the one Gilad chose being into songs like a bard and completely unfamiliar with combat while the other, without Gilad knowing, was actually very adept in combat and able to defeat some Magyar soldiers even while a child. However the latter could also be seen as no different from all the current people fighting back against the Magyars over the years. So this issue definitely stresses the difference but in doing so almost makes Gilad’s involvement irrelevant, and doesn’t delve into the lives of the twins as much as I thought it would. But both Gilad and the Geomancer questioning the choice made things more intriguing, and not just about the situation but the Geomancer as well. And the story does progress painting somewhat of a clearer picture as to the meaning of the original message from the Geomancer with the type of cliffhanger ending that either way will leave an indelible mark on Gilad at this stage in his existence. I can’t wait to see what that is.
SUMMARY
Eternal Warrior: Days of Steel #2 makes the original premise even more intriguing by introducing twins with the same mark and completely different personalities but doesn’t delve into either one as deeply as I would have liked to see. It’s not that they become caricatures but a deeper examination of how a child could be chosen and what makes either one so special isn’t done, and some of the potential entertainment there is lost. It was interesting to see the Geomancer even wondering about the situation because it makes me curious about how these revelations work for him, bringing back to mind Gilad’s issues with his missions over these millennia. So I do wonder how things will unfold next issue as Gilad has to face the original choice he made.
Release Date: 12/2/14
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Cary Nord
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