Imperium #12 has the Vine plantings revealing their true motivation behind the attack on Harada and the Foundation. It opens up with Lord Vine threatening Ingrid so she can open the door to Harada’s sleep chamber. She tells him that it’s impossible for her to do because the door only opens from the inside. This isn’t the Vine’s only angle of attack because their invasion force arrives dropping anti-psiot devices on the deck of the U.S.S. Bush rendering the remaining psiots on board powerless. And since Lord Vine already took out GraveDog’s operator he can’t use his abilities, however, he’s not completely powerless. Meanwhile, Tess continues her story about the long conflict with Harada. She tells how she believed he was dead for years after the last attack on his life until he showed up on TV one day. So she decided to approach him head on since she believed he would hunt down all the Vine plantings and kill them. Her plan was bold but also a bluff because she would tell him that the entire Vine race is protecting them with an army of creatures similar to the one that almost killed him. But that was decades ago and it seems as if all bets are off now.

Lord Vine’s role was less bloody this issue since he didn’t have nearly as much action as last. And considering all of the psiots on the ship were rendered powerless I would’ve expected him to have at least a small body count. However, what I least expected, great character development, was what ultimately ended up happening with him. I won’t give away any spoilers but the use of his previous incarnations as a means of exploring the potential in the character was a really good touch. It was a fascinating story and considering the twist with him, whether true or not, I have to say it made me appreciate the character a bit more.

So my main problem with this issue was that the other player in this entire conflict just wasn’t compelling and the motive was pretty weak in comparison to everything else in this series. It was truly forgettable and this story arc would’ve gone out with a whimper instead of the bang it was building towards if not for Tess as a redeeming character. The way the final events were brushed over felt strange in some ways if not confusing as to the way it actually unfolded. Thankfully this issue, and this story arc, had so much more going for it than that.

SUMMARY

Imperium #12 is an overall satisfying conclusion to the story arc due to Tess’s emergence with all her story revealed, and Lord Vine’s surprising character development. Pinter’s true motives are relatively weak and as a result the final sequence involving him is forgettable aside from the initial confusion about the way events unfold. However, there are enough entertaining story turns with significant developments that add to the overall series that has me looking forward to what’s next.

Release Date: 1/19/15
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artist: CAFU, Juan Jose Ryp