Reviews»Comic Books»X-O Manowar #37
XO_037_COVER-A_SEGOVIA
Kareem Ali 4.5

X-O Manowar #37

 

  • The good

    Action is pretty intense. Dead Hand's specimen blending has potential. Other armors making future appearances?

  • The bad

    Dead Hand's goal lacked Armor Hunter's knowledge on how to destroy armors. Some panels missing background artwork

  • The ugly

  • X-O Manowar #37 has Aric leading an army of Armors to stop the artificial intelligence, the Armor Hunters’ last resort known as Dead Hand, from destroying the Earth. They arrive just in time as they’re able to confront Dead Hand close to Mars where Aric tries to reason with it one more time. Dead Hand is perplexed about this because its automated protocol has it seeing its actions as saving life and it has never known the armors to protect life. But that’s what it’s witnessing as Aric was able to unite all the armors in this cause. Even though Aric points out to Dead Hand that by it destroying entire planets and solar systems it’s the one massacring life and not the armors. However, this logic falls on deaf ears as Dead Hand reveals its plan is to destroy life on the planets, which would eliminate all traces of the armor in existence, and then repopulate the universe using the samples it took from each planet. At this point, Aric sees there’s no other option but to fight and stop Dead Hand for good. Meanwhile on Earth, Colonel Capshaw has a team of the best astronomers monitoring this unknown body. They can’t explain why it was heading straight for Earth but suddenly stopped. They may not know what it is but they do know it must be sentient. Can Aric stop Dead Hand or is it right about the armors eventually destroying all life?

    XO_037_006

    Whether it’s this current story arc with Aric amassing an army of armors or the anniversary special that revealed Shanhara’s origin, it’s been an exciting time to keep up with X-O Manowar. And Dead Hand being a creation of the Armor Hunters as a contingency plan made clear how severe this threat was to Earth. And the unification of all the armors last issue was a truly intense moment. So I appreciated how this issue got right to the confrontation between the armors and Dead Hand because of all that was revealed. There wasn’t a delay in explaining Dead Hand’s goal, and it was an interesting dynamic to see it being in the role of destroyer of worlds even though it viewed the armors as such. Although I wondered how it was assumed by the Armor Hunters that Dead Hand could succeed in destroying the armors when it was already clear that even destroying a planet wouldn’t destroy an armor. Either way the action was pretty exhilarating as Aric would lead the charge against the seemingly endless supply of robots. And for the most part, Diego Bernard’s artwork was really good but I felt that the lack of background detail in some panels took away from making this battle feel truly epic. I know the robots looked exactly alike but in some panels they just seemed irrelevant or showed the limitations of Dead Hand. However, it was still a highly enjoyable battle, and seeing the different types of armors in action was a joy to see. And seeds were planted so it might not be the last time all the armors are seen together, based on Aric’s statement, made me think of all the potential storylines at some point in the future. And that’s because this one had such a satisfying ending that I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    X-O Manowar #37 is a satisfying conclusion to the Dead Hand story arc, and what it lacks in making Dead Hand feel like an imposing villain, it more than makes up for by showing the armors are a force to be reckoned with in the universe. Dead Hand’s goal is made clear and intriguing but the fact armors couldn’t be destroyed like that makes this ultimate plan even more questionable. The action is intense, and the hint about seeing other armors in the future is enough to get me excited for what’s to come.

     

     

    Release Date: 6/17/15

    Writer: Robert Venditti

    Artist:Diego Bernard

  • Rating ( 8.75 )
  • Total score 8.8

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