The Scorched #22 Review

 

Writers: Sean Lewis & Todd McFarlane

Artist: Stephen Segovia

Colorist: Ulises Arreola

Letterer: Andworld Design

Cover Artists: Mike Deodato, Jr.; Kael Ngu

Publisher: Image

Price: 2.99

Release Date: October 11, 2023

 

Spawn, She-Spawn, and the team confront Terminus. The Senator wields the Spear Of Longinus, stolen from the military base. His kin are on the way. Can the Scorched defend Earth against the Planet Eaters? Let's burn into The Scorched #22 and find out!

 

Story

Death refined Jessica Priest. It galvanized her in the pit. Redeemer, Monolith, and Medieval left her as she fought the virus. What gave her the will to survive was her daughter.

 

Motherhood—protecting a child she hadn’t raised--fueled her fight against Urizen in The Scorched #17. Seeing that Jessica’s daughter might become an orphan, Gaia spared She-Spawn. She also gave She-Spawn a new team. But then, Gaia is the mother of all. Who better to defend her planet than another mother?

 

Terminus was an emissary of the Planet Eaters. But power corrupted him. Nor can Gaia trust Spawn after he teamed up with Urizen in the last issue.

 

Sean Lewis and Todd McFarlane tantalize us with prophecies and potential futures in The Scorched #22. Did Gaia send the Planet Eaters to destroy Earth? Or was finding a champion to turn back the Planet Eaters always the plan? Perhaps Gaia changed her mind? If a woman can do that, why not a god?

 

Art

After a one-issue break to recharge his spawn batteries, Stephen Segovia returns to The Scorched. He delivers the ultimate battle between She-Spawn and Senator Terminus. The others fight, but only Spawn diverts the action from the contenders. The arrival of a space fleet signals a lull in the battle. But this window closes quickly. Terminus wields his sacred spear, yet his arm doesn’t transform like in earlier issues. Something Spawn sees startles him. Incredibly, one member of Jessica’s new team dwarfs even Monolith.

 

Combatants fight against a purple sky. Yet a yellow glow surrounds She-Spawn. Blood—both red and green—flies. Spaceships and weapons cut through the air, leaving a trail of colored light. Redeemer's sword shoots a yellow energy beam at Terminus’ blood beasts. Yet the most intense light—yellow and green—sparks from She-Spawn’s eyes. Her hair and suit match Spawn’s cape and another woman’s dress. These are a sample of the bold and rich colors Ulises Arreola wows readers within The Scorched #22.

 

Yellow words in brown narrative boxes guide readers through this titanic title fight, courtesy of Andworld Design. Black and red uppercase words dominate white narrative boxes with stylized arrows. Jessica and Terminus's dialogue balloons resemble those of ordinary humans--even though both are far more. Minimal sound effects accentuate the intense action. Their absence goes unnoticed amid this issue’s thundering action.

 

Final Thoughts

Still suffering from the virus that nearly killed her, She-Spawn battles the Planet Eaters and combats greed and blindness in The Scorched #22.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.