Reviews»Comic Books»X-O Manowar #32
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Kareem Ali 5

X-O Manowar #32

 

  • The good

    Intense action during battle between Aric and Zahn. Story arc wraps up very well

  • The bad

    Inspection of extraterrestrial weapons not addressed

  • The ugly

    • X-O Manowar #32 has Aric and Zahn facing off in a life or death battle for armor superiority. It opens up with Zahn gloating to his secretary/mistress about his sneak attack on Aric successfully rendering him temporarily incapacitated. And since they have to stage this attack on Aric as them responding to his suit going haywire they have to put his helmet back on before landing the finishing blow.But they underestimated Aric and his armor, which responds to his call and takes out one of the Armorines. This gives Aric enough time to gather himself and go on the offensive.  The other two Armorines abandoned the plan knowing Aric will take them out easily, and that he does, and just in time for the surveillance feed to come back on. Aric informs the Colonel that this entire inspection was a setup to kill him. However, Zahn won’t be as easy to defeat as his Armorines, and prepares one last surprise for Aric. Does Zahn have what it takes to beat Aric or has his ego finally resulted in his demise?

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    I’ve been enjoying this story arc thoroughly from the way Zahn has been built up in contrast to Aric to how this has been tied to the aftermath of the Armor Hunter event. And it’s been intriguing to see how things have been unfolding since then with the U.N. And just the general atmosphere. But I’ve been waiting to see what made Aric and his armor so powerful since that event. So I wanted to see a demonstration of its capabilities for some time, and this issue delivers finally. When the armor’s helmet responded to Aric and took out one of the Armorines I was pretty excited from that. However, what would unfold next as Aric took the offensive was extremely impressive. I really enjoyed Diego Bernard’s artwork, and it wasn’t just the attention to detail but the way the intensity of the battle was captured. Whether it was Aric smashing a desk into one of the Armorines or Zahn smashing the ground with his armor, I could imagine the adrenaline flowing in this life or death battle. But it wasn’t just the artwork that made this issue so impressive but the culmination of the build up of the sharp contrast between Aric and Zahn. Zahn’s egomania was on full display and was his sole motivation in defeating Aric, while Aric’s years of battles and not treating any of it like a game was just a few of the differences. It made the conclusion of the battle more resounding. And in terms of the story arc concluding, everything was wrapped up in a satisfying manner. I won’t give anything away but even the situation with the U.N. choosing Zahn as the initial inspector was addressed as part of the bigger development. I was feeling good about this story arc when it started, and it delivered in a very big way. And now I can’t wait for the next X-O Manowar issue.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    X-O Manowar #32 is an electrifying conclusion to the story arc with the build up of the battle between Aric and Zahn being worth the wait. I’ve been looking forward to seeing Aric utilize his suit in a battle like this since the Armor Hunters event, and from the moment he takes the offensive to the end of the battle, I was on the edge of my seat. The artwork conveyed the intensity of it perfectly, and the story wrapped things up nicely. I’m feeling really good about future story arcs for X-O Manowar, and I can’t wait to see what’s next on the agenda.

     

    Release Date: 1/28/15

    Writer: Robert Venditti

    Artist: Diego Bernard

  • Rating ( 9.75 )
  • Total score 9.8

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