X-O Manowar #4 Review: Yakiov In America

Cover A by Christian Ward

 

In X-O Manowar #4, writer Dennis Hallum shows us the instability of the dictator. Or at least, a would-be dictator. Having seemingly won in his insurgency movement, and secured his hold on the Ukraine, warlord Vlad Yakiov headed to the U.S., where he captured the mother and child who had taken Aric in. While it seems strange that a foreign military band could carry out such a move in downtown New York City, recent events in our nation's capitol remind us that nothing is impossible.

Here's the preview pages for X-O Manowar #4:

Unlike his adventures in the Ukraine, in which X-O Manowar battled one of Troy Whitaker's robots, and then took on Yakiov's forces single-handed, this time the full resources of Whitaker's technological empire are on Aric's side. As you can see, the resultant battle is spectacular.

Cover B by Paul Renaud

 

 Another development in the last issue was a radical change to Aric's armor. Whitaker found a way to increase the power of Shanhara, which again seems strange, given that the armor is a driven by a sentient alien, and even the extraterrestrial race The Vine never found a means of controlling it. But Troy Whitaker is a billionaire industrialist, and the ruler of a technological empire. If anyone on Earth can hack Shanhara, it makes sense it would be him.

Cover C by Kael Ngu

By far the biggest surprise from last issue was a strange nanite swarm that attacked, and nearly got the better of Aric. Did it come from the newly refunded Project Rising Spirit? Does it have something to do with all the nanites The Burned bled out of Bloodshot? Or does this storm, either remotely controlled or operating a gestalt entity, have origins we can only begin to imagine? While X-O Manowar #4 may not answer those questions, rest assured that this nanite swarm was in no way an isolated, one-time event.

 

Sword of Shanhara Incentive Cover by Michael Walsh

In these last four issues, writer Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum has given us a plethora of storylines, and introduced us to characters we want to see more of. While we may have to wait a few months until the next issue arrives, I suspect the wait will be well worth it.

 

Pre-Order Cover by Jim Towe

In the meantime, I plan on reading through all four issues a couple more times, searching each issue for clues, and enjoying the beautiful artwork by penciler Emilio Laiso and colorist Ruth Redmond. I invite you to accompany me on this journey into this new series of X-O Manowar, overseen by Senior Editor Heather Antos. That is, if you dare. 

Dragon Dave