X-O Manowar #8 Review

 

X-O Manowar #8 Pre-Order Cover by Dave Johnson

In X-O Manowar #8, writer Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum ramps up the stakes for Aric of Dacia, his alien armor Shanhara, his adopted home city of New York City, and our modern world that he's vowed to protect. With our 5th Century Visigoth seemingly out of the picture, it's time for young Desmond Morris to rise up and defend New York City. Cut off from her armor, Shanhara counsels and guides him as he combats his fear.

Desmond may have lived with billionaire Troy Whitaker for a few months. He may owe the rebuilding of his neighborhood to the technological innovator. But now he realizes that Troy, a smart and visionary benefactor, is behind the singularity's attack on New York.

In Human terms, Troy Whitaker may be a genius. Yet everything the man touches, or seeks to improve, ends up strikingly different than before. Compare the way the singularity now manifests in New York City with how it looked on the floating mountains of Tibet in X-O Manowar #6. Penciler Emilio Laiso and inker Raffaele Forte portray this new, improved singularity not as thriving plant life, but all straight lines and sharp edges.

Desmond could have climbed down from the roof and rejoined his mother in their apartment. But Shanhara has a bead on Aric's location. So Desmond takes a deep breath, and ventures into the singularity-dominated streets.

While much of X-O Manowar #8 follows Desmond's hunt for Aric, Shanhara also reveals a secret history. She tells of battles she waged from within the armor during the events in X-O Manowar #5, 6 and 7. Doctor Tomorrow penciler and inker Jim Towe brings these sequences to life, aided by X-O Manowar stalwart colorist Ruth Redmond. 

Shanhara's version of events may not paint Troy Whitaker as wholly evil. Sadly, it appears he has acted in a duplicitous manner all along. Befriending Aric, and gaining access to Shanhara, were just steps toward his goal to upgrade human civilization.

When someone is as successful as Troy at accumulating money, power, and influence, what could be more natural than to wonder what he could do, if he alone steered humanity's course into the future?

The way Troy harnesses the singularity for his own ends reminds me of how Aric attempted to take control of Planet Gorin in writer Matt Kindt's previous X-O Manowar series. Aric--the son of a tribal king--and Troy--an industrial leader--share the belief that one wise and powerful person should rule the masses. 

 

Troy Whitaker could offer much technological advancement to humanity. Still, consider his promises in the above panel with how he uses the singularity to limit the freedom of New York City's citizens in the panel below.

X-O Manowar #8 offers readers an unprecedented insight into Shanhara, the sentient consciousness that inhabits Aric's powerful, alien armor. It also reveals the astounding way in which Troy Whitaker would use the singularity to steer mankind toward an upgraded tomorrow. 

This issue fuses golden age Science Fiction stories of a Jetsons-like future with newer ideas on how humanity might attain that, such as nanotech and the singularity.

 

For all its grand ideas, and its portrayal of future marvels, X-O Manowar #8 remains a very human story. It's the story of all of us, and for all of us. It's a story that asks what could we all accomplish, if we would only cast aside self-doubt, and truly, genuinely believe in ourselves.

Dragon Dave