Review: X-O Manowar #5

 

X-O Manowar #5 Cover A by Rahzzah

Have you ever found yourself lost and alone? It's never easy to adjust when you lose your connection to your coworkers, friends, and loved ones. But perhaps the incapacity of a spouse strikes us hardest of all. This is the person you've linked your life with. The person you've decided to share your life with.

In X-O Manowar #5, writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum delves further into Aric's relationship with his sentient alien armor. Shanhara may not be his lover, but through all their adventures, she's been his trusted comrade in arms. Although Aric's sometimes tried to deny it, she's also proven to be his best and closest friend.

After being attacked by the nanite swarm, and with Shanhara strangely uncommunicative, Aric must fend for himself. 

Some people have unkindly called Aric nothing more than a barbarian in a suit of powerful armor. But despite the fact that he was born in the fifth century, he clearly picked up more than a few tricks fighting Roman soldiers on the battlefield. Consider the strategy he adopts, when he spies the wreck of an abandoned submarine nearby.

Thankfully for him, even though Shanhara cannot communicate, he can still draw upon her power.

Penciler Emilio Laiso injects a little whimsy to lighten the intense, explosive action.

"Whoa! What's up?" the sharks and fish seem to be asking.

As he races to save him in his one-man sub, billionaire Troy Whitaker is rocked by the explosion Aric and Shanhara caused. Whitaker may merely be employing a figure of speech here, but I'd like to think that this exchange reveals how he sees Aric.

As always, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's talents prove effective and impressive.

Aside from Aric's relationship with Shanhara, writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum also reminds us of the strong bonds he has forged with young Desmond and her mother. After the destruction of their home in Harlem, New York, billionaire Troy Whitaker has relocated them to his posh home in Malibu, California. 

He's even brought along the homeless woman Monica, who insists on finishing her rebuild of the family car that Aric tossed into the harbor in X-O Manowar #1. It seems she's become part of his family too.

 

As you can see, colorist Ruth Redmond continues to fill the pages of this series with her sumptuous, jaw-dropping color.

With each issue, we learn more about billionaire Troy Whitaker. In X-O Manowar #5, Dennis Hopeless Hallum demonstrates how differently Troy sees Shanhara from Aric.

While much remains hidden, writer Hallum throws out a few clues as to Troy Whitaker's age and upbringing. We'll also learn what drove Whitaker to build his technological and industrial empire.

The soldier's comments in the panel below also remind readers of another fan-favorite character who, sadly, no longer inhabits the Valiant Universe. Whether or not they serve as a nod to the past, they remind us of issues prolifically discussed in scientific circles when Troy Whitaker was deciding what to do with his life.

 

In X-O Manowar #5, you'll learn more about the nanite swarm that sought out Aric on Whitaker's yacht. You'll also receive an unprecedented glimpse of how Shanhara perceives the metamorphosis she's undergoing. Through it all, writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum continues to make allusions between Aric and a certain superhero-in-armor who inhabits another popular comic book (and movie) universe. 

 

 

In doing so, he illustrates the unique way in Aric and Shanhara trust in and rely on each other, and why Valiant fans love X-O Manowar so much.

Dragon Dave