Omega Kids #3 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artist: Andrés Genolet

Colorist: Fer Sifuentes-Sujo

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Rod Reis; Salvador Larroca & Guru-eFX; Adam Pollina & Edgar Delgado

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 17, 2025

 

After Revelation detonated his gene bomb, the X-virus killed Humans or turned them into Mutants. But not everyone loves his Mutant Paradise. So Quentin Quire oversees a network of Mutant children who report any potential insurrection. Chief among the Omega Kids is his task force of psychic killers. He trains them to read their fellow Mutants' minds. If they find any intent to harm Revelation, they should punish miscreants in accordance with their crimes.

 

The Omega Kids seem like his replacements. But unknown to him, they've gone off the rails. Can Quentin rein in his elite squad? Or will these psychic warheads wipe out everyone in the Revelation Territories? Let's leap into Omega Kids #3 and see!

 

Story

Unlike Curtis Terrell Jr, Nell Widows, and Ayla Bozkurt, Bailey Quin hasn't entered her teen years. Unburdened by contemplating the type of person she may become, the eight-year-old acts on her inclinations. Tired of Quentin Quire's strict procedures and work ethic, she helps her friends lock him in a psychic projection. Then, with Curtis and Ayla's help, Bailey initiates a psychic relay program. While the kids relax and enjoy a modicum of peace beyond Quire's control, their minds automatically roam the Revelation Territories, killing anyone with a negative thought about their leader.

 

Tim Seeley intertwines all his plot strands in Omega Kids #3. Readers follow Bailey and her friends, the rebels Bailey told Quentin about, and Rachel Summers. But the story focuses on Quentin Quire, as he gradually awakens from his psychic stupor. As rebels, enforcers, and a Phoenix fight, he experiences a rude awakening. Quentin may process a myriad of intelligent thoughts each second. Still, it takes him a while to contemplate how he feels about what the Omega Kids did to him, what they’re doing to their fellow Mutants, and how to respond to their actions.

 

Quentin trained his psychic task force to follow his commands. But a cultural and age gap separated them. Now, Quentin realizes that he was a more effective teacher than he suspected. Unfortunately, Quentin balled them out when they acted on their instincts and rewarded good behavior with food. Still, he is surprised when the kids he trained like animals yearn to escape their leash.

 

Perhaps the greatest irony in Omega Kids #3 remains Quentin's unshakable belief in Revelation. His leader delivered a paradise where Mutants could live without being persecuted by Humans. Then, Quentin conscripts children into his secret police squad and punishes his fellow Mutants when they dare to think, talk, and act as they wish. 

 

 

 

 

Art

Andrés Genolet intersperses scenes of suffering mutants with the kids relaxing in a realm of mathematics. Some of the rebels who surround Quentin look more like Mutants than he does. One rebel could be Quentin’s clone, contrasting their vastly different outlooks. Then Rachel Summers’ fiery form appears above him. Her posture evokes a puppeteer directing Quentin’s movements.

 

Fer Sifuentes-Sujo shows Rachel as a reverse silhouette inside a purple shadow portrait of Quentin. Yellow, orange, and lavender tinge what she sees. After comparing Quentin and his team to Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, Rachel's tiny glowing form evokes Tinkerbell in Omega Kids #3. Yellow and red define Rachel's attire. Yet they also dominate those with whom Quentin identifies.

 

Travis Lanham places black uppercase letters in white balloons and boxes. Balloon shapes differentiate spoken dialogue from radio transmissions, psychic communication, and sounds of distress or surprise. The words grow bold for inflection, swell for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Sound effects accompany psychic attacks and reactions to psychic control in this disturbing story about people prioritizing causes over community. Thanks to Marvel Comics and Comic Book Dispatch for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Quentin Quinn has the paradise he envisioned. But he won’t let his fellow Mutants enjoy it. He forces children to be soldiers. And when they misbehave, he says, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Omega Kids #3 is a startling reminder that Humans often fight against the peaceful unity they claim to value, and ideological leaders can be the most self-absorbed of all.

 

Rating 9.8/10

All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5 Review

 

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Von Randal

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: David Marquez & Marte Gracia; Meghan Hetrick; Guihiru; Francesco Manna & Mattia Iacono; Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado

Logo Designer: Stacie Zucker

Production Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Emerald Bensadoun, Martin Biro, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 10, 2025

 

Gwen Stacy is angry that swapping her symbiote for her former spider-powers led to Wes’ death. She’s upset that the symbiote sent Cindy Moon to the hospital. Gwen raged at her father when he tried to keep her from apprehending the symbiote. And she’s beyond vexed that the symbiote took over Fabian.

 

Gwen recognizes that, all too often, she’s relied on her anger like Linus clings to his blanket. She’s tired of acting first and thinking later (if it’s still necessary). But when her former symbiote takes over the inmates at Ryker's Island and makes the Army want to bomb the prison, should Gwen rethink her approach to problem-solving? Or, with so many lives on the line, is this the perfect time to forge a better way forward? Let’s thwip into All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5 and see!

 

Story

Carlos LaMuerto thought he could overturn the legal system and run New York City his way. Mayor Cage reacted by throwing him in Ryker’s Island and tossing away the key. Gwen’s former symbiote homed in on Fabian’s resentment over his father’s plight and empowered the new Black Tarantula to free his father. But the "alien goo" from outer space has grown in strength after Gwen wielded the powers of the Cosmic Cube. While it controls Fabian, the symbiote also infects the other angry prisoners in Ryker’s.

 

As her symbiote created this problem, Gwen feels responsible for resolving the crisis. But the symbiote knows how to combat her when she’s angry. So, when Spider-Man and Silk thwip by to help her, Gwen says, “I have a plan,” in All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5. When Spider-Man, Silk, and Agent Anti-Venom dismiss it as “barely a concept,” Gwen isn’t happy. 

 

 

 

Like Gwen and the inmates in Ryker’s Island, “Mr Military Man” is also unhappy. Agent Anti-Venom talked him into waiting to bomb the prison. But the clock is ticking, and he doesn't know these costumed "freaks." So, he's angry at himself for compromising his plan to protect the people of New York.

 

In Stephanie Phillips’ story, Gwen wants to be more proactive. She's tired of other people trying to run her life. Just as she made up flyers to form her own band, and then interviewed Cindy Moon before auditioning her, Gwen Stacy learns to be more like Hannibal Smith in All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5.

 

 

 

Art

A white glow surrounds scenes as Von Randal imbues Gwen’s idea with a Mission Impossible vibe. But the Spider-society and Anti-Venom’s current situation proves more frantic. After webbing the attacking symbiotes, Von Randal devotes one page to the teammates' initial distrust of her idea, and the next to Gwen sticking by it. Then the camera switches to Mr Military Man, as he confers with a subordinate. He gazes at a tablet and frowns.

 

Matt Milla injects backgrounds with an ever-changing palette of bright and energetic colors. The black fabric of the spider-suits shimmer amid their fast-paced thwipping. The black, gray, and green symbiotes with Rorschach-like faces evoke KISS fans from outer space learning of the band's retirement. The symbiotes' green tongues and glowing symbols form a link with the soldiers arrayed to exterminate them. Yet later, a figure adorned in black, pink, and purple offers Gwen hope for tomorrow in All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5.

 

 

 

Ariana Maher thwips uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons and boxes. Gwen’s thoughts appear as red letters in turquoise-outlined boxes. A thick line of turquoise underlines the words that locate us in time and space. The text grows bold and swells for intonation, while a scream threatens to burst a balloon. Sound effects fill the air as symbiotes shriek, and heroes “send the cure” to Ryker’s Island. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

The Cosmic Cube imbued Gwen Stacy with godlike powers. But it also destroyed her world. As she remakes her life on Earth-616, Gwen wants to make sure she’s in charge. So, Gwen addresses her father’s concern that donning her costume saps her joy by daring to believe she can change in All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White; Elena Casagrande & Annalisa Leoni; Martín Cóccolo & Dean White; Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 28, 2024

 

Three teenagers from New Jersey receive an invitation to an underground rave. But when they break the police tape and descend into the closed Long Island subway station, monsters attack them. As they back away, two costumed people block their retreat. Is this an underground masquerade? Did someone lure the teens to their deaths? Let’s grab our Halloween masks, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1, and find out!

 

Story

Ben Reilly and Janine Godbe are putting the past behind them. Their idea of making a fresh start is luring teens into confined spaces and robbing them. Freak and the vermin surprise the two antiheroes-turned-villains. Janine dons a mask of Frankenstein’s monster and battles the sewer denizens, while Ben argues that citizens should pay for protection. Freak and the vermin press Janine hard. So, after taking the teens’ money, Ben defends his girlfriend. But then Druig gets into his mind and wonders what he can make of it.

 

The Beyond Corporation corrupted Ben’s memories. Society imprisoned Janine for protecting herself against her abusive father. So, Ben and Janine reject society's laws, customs, and morality. They take what they want and live for today. As usual, someone gets in the way of their happiness in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1.

 

After recent setbacks, Druig hid beneath the surface and usurped another ruler's throne. Like Hammerhead, Druig needs a victory to rebuild his brand. As an Eternal, he craves diversion. Druig decides to make the spider heroes his playthings. Then Ben Reilly walks into his hands. Stripped of his memories, Ben seems an ideal instrument for his amusement. So Druig attaches strings and prepares for his puppet show.

 

Ben's descent into villainy bothers Kaine. Peter Parker's clones share a dark past. Kaine assumes the moral center of Steve Foxe's story about clones gone wrong, humans playing god, and gods manipulating their creations. Kaine discovers he has his work cut out for him. He watches the police remove vermin and Freak in body bags. Kaine had intended to help Ben embrace heroism again. However, the murders remind Kaine of how he once punished a society that rejected him. Even now, after he has embraced heroism, society has yet to welcome Kaine with open arms. 

 

 

 

Art

Andrea Broccardo imbues Hallows Eve and Chasm with attitude and swagger in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1. As Hallows Eve wades into the vermin crush, Chasm’s body language suggests he owns the world. As Chasm kills Freak and the vermin, perhaps they remind him of his demonic captors in Limbo. But then the background breaks into blocks, and unseen hands insert an ornate key into his head. The top of his skull hinges open, and webbing thwips out. When Ben and Janine relax in their new home, they look relieved of the burden of recovering Ben’s memories. Yet their boarded-up residence evokes the fake Church with a hidden Beyond laboratory that Peter, Misty, and Lizard sheltered in during Bloodhunt.

 

Brian Reber fills the air surrounding Chasm with glowing green light. Hallows Eve projects yellow and orange light as she fights the red Freak and brown vermin. Druig appears as a red mist before taking Human form. Then, red makes way for a flesh-covered face and green fabric. Kaine thwips through the greenish-brown subway in his red and black suit. He finds the teens hanging from glowing green webs. Blue light tinges the stone throne as Druig kicks away his cringing servant. Like him, the man groveling at his feet wears green.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and Kaine's white thoughts into red narrative boxes. Words embolden for emphasis and swell or change color for volume. Expressive sound effects relate vermin hisses, Freak's rage, and a grate being pulled away so a Spider-Pinocchio can take the stage in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Like Victor Frankenstein, the Jackal sought to improve on nature’s work by creating Kaine and Ben Reilly. Like Frankenstein’s ultimate man, the Jackal’s creations have killed others. Now, as Hallow’s Eve dons the likeness of Frankenstein's feared creation, another person follows in the two creators’ footsteps in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 Review

 

Writers: Derek Landy

Penciler: Ron Lim

Inker: Don Ho

Artist: Sara Pichelli

Colorists: Israel Silva & Travis Lanham

Letterers: Joe Caramagna & Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado; Ron Lim & Israel Silva; Mike McKone & Dean White; RB Silva

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 3, 2024

 

Thanos made his beloved Death into an Infinity Stone. Like the others, the Death Stone sought a person to inhabit. Sadly for Thanos, it wasn't him. Who are the Infinity Stone Bearers, and what do they have to do with Peter Parker? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 and find out!

 

The Infinity Watch Part 2

Story

Spider-Man is having a bad day. When he sees someone robbing an armored money truck, he realizes it's about to get better. Apprehending a villain gives him a chance to let off some steam. But will it ease his guilt over not saving a man’s life yesterday? In Derek Landy's story, Peter's not so overwhelmed that he asks Norman Osborn to boost his spider-sense. (In Norman's current mood, he probably wouldn't help anyway). But Fission was learning to use his powers. Perhaps Fission could have matured into a hero and used his powers to help others. But he won't get that chance because Spider-Man couldn't diagnose Fission’s malfunctioning tech before it overloaded.

 

In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, Overtime is having a bad day. Fighting Spider-Man doesn’t make it any better. But then he realizes that Spider-Man is also hurting. So, Overtime abandons his long-term plans to ease his conscience and uses his Time Stone powers to help Spider-Man. In Derek Landy's story, Overtime can return to the same event multiple times without meeting himself. To paraphrase his conversation with Spider-Man, he can mess with the timestream without creating paradoxes. But even when he has part of his personal goal within his grasp, Overtime sacrifices his partial victory to help someone else. 

 

 

 

Art

Ron Lim and Don Ho help Spider-Man emerge from a four-panel page as skyscrapers rise to his left and motion lines streak through the sky to his right before the webslinger alights on a street light and crouches like Spidey The Hunter. Yellow police tape surrounds the broken concrete at the base of a pillar supporting an electronic billboard. Spider-Man's body language suggests more anger than amusement as the green-suited robber escalates from fisticuffs to a side-handle baton. Overtime's easygoing expression graduates to irritation, then anger when he realizes he won't accomplish his goal today.

 

 

Israel Silva lavishes a loaded palette of bright and attractive colors on Ron Lim and Don Ho’s action-packed panels in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. White-green energy mimics the circle on Overtime’s chest as he travels in time. Colors show depth and nuance as Overtime splashes through the wet streets, webbed Fission explodes in the rain, and the bird on the billboard changes expressions and postures. Joe Caramagna enhances Overtime's sacrificial journey with large, black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons, white letters in green narrative boxes, enlarged colorful words, and energizing sound effects.

 

 

 

The Death Stone Saga Part 2

Story

The Death Stone rejected Nighthawk and raised Phil Coulson from the dead. Nighthawk tries to connect with Phil, but the revived man's memories are fragmented. Unlike Star, Quantum, and Overtime, Phil Coulson doesn't understand what has happened to him. But Nighthawk isn't interested in what Phil Coulson might do once he gets his head together. Like Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Nighthawk wants to reshape the universe. But first, he needs all the Infinity Stones. (A shiny gauntlet would also come in handy).

 

Derek Landy’s second story in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 doesn’t feature our web-slinging hero. Still, it’s another story about people trying to rewrite the present to suit their preferred vision of reality. Nighthawk grows more desperate to accomplish his mission here than in the Thanos Annual #1. Perhaps Spider-Man could have talked Nighthawk into making a better choice in The Death Stone Saga Part 2. As things stand, shadows cover Nighthawk's path, and his journey may grow darker with time.

 

Art

Nick Fury’s son rises from bed, pulls on his eye patch, and enters the kitchen. He gazes through the window over the sink and drinks a glass of water. Nighthawk stands atop a crypt. Like Batman or Spawn, he gazes down at Phil Coulson, sitting on the ground between the upright headstones. Coulson resembles a broken man. Yet he soon rises to regard Nighthawk. Resolve washes through his eyes as the purpose that once drove him struggles to return. But then, Tahiti is a magical place.

 

Mattia Iacono casts Nick Fury’s early morning rising in soft blues and paints the graveyard’s sky aqua green. Coulson's dark suit and Nighthawk's black costume stand out amid the pale brown trees and gray memorials. Travis Lanham enhances Derek Landy’s second story in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 with large, black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons and white letters in blue narrative boxes. A shrunken final word suggests Phil Of The Dead's realization that he needs to get his head together fast if he wishes to pursue another celebrated political career.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Should we use our resources and skills to help people today or focus on correcting yesterday’s errors? Or is there a difference between the two options? In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, Overtime sets aside his plans to help Spider-Man, while another hero must decide if a second chance at life is worth fighting for.

 

Rating 9.3/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Adam Kubert

Colorist: Frank Martin

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Adam Kubert & Frank Martin; Jan Bazaldua & Edgar Delgado; Salvador Larroca & GURU-eFX

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: June 12, 2024

 

Someone monkeyed with a man and created Wither. Wolverine wants to know who gave him superpowers that propelled him on an insane murder spree. Wolverine thinks Deadpool knows. But Deadpool’s left town. Wolverine tracks his frenemy to Russia, where he discovers that Deadpool isn’t himself anymore. He’s let the monsters who created Wither experiment on him. Can Wolverine cure Deadpool of his madness? Or will Deadpool forever be known as Wade Wilson The 3rd? Let’s extend our claws, leap into Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2, and find out!

 

Story

Wade has money. His abilities and antics grant him notoriety. His body heals injuries but can’t cure his cancer-ridden appearance. His looks drive people away. The way he draws solace in diversion, ditto. A man named Delta asks, “What if I could help you achieve your potential?” Wade agrees, but he fears change. So, he left “the world’s crappiest trail of breadcrumbs” for Wolverine to follow. Wolverine’s intrusion interrupts Delta’s experiment. So Delta asks Greta to teleport Deadpool (or WWIII) and Wolverine into the wilderness and transforms a sprint into a marathon. Like Queen Victoria, Delta's investors are not amused.

 

In Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2, Deadpool wasn't happy, but neither was Wolverine. Perhaps neither man can find fulfillment, given the lives they lead. But Wolverine finds purpose as he tends to WWIII. His selfless sacrifice demonstrates the difference between the two men. Wade tried to buy a meaningful life. But some things can't be given or purchased. Joe Kelly's punishing story puts science in the crosshairs. It asks questions. Can man improve on nature? Are we happiest when we work at our maximum potential? Or are we happiest when we can sit quietly and be one with nature and those around us? It's a divide as wide as the gulf between the Blue Wave and MAGA, and the story tackles presumptions associated with social and economic status.

 

Ultimately, Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2 is a tragedy. Science tried to give both men a new lease on life. Yet all it did was forge effective killing machines. There's a term associated with doing the same thing again and expecting different results. And that word is not sanity. But then, Delta’s earlier experiment produced Wither.

 

 

 

Art

Like Deadpool, Adam Kubert seeks a change in orientation. So Kubert turns the pages sideways to force readers to adapt or die. Or he works across two pages, taking readers on wide-screen narrative journeys. Drones follow this experiment, even when the participants travel from Delta's compound to a land far, far away. Spectators watch the gladiators fight and endure the elements as silhouettes standing before a Drive-In Movie Screen, not the comparatively diminutive high-def replacements in your local multiplex viewing room. Greta stands apart from the onlookers with her punk attire, green hair, and tattooed skin. Her black lips are small and delicate, even when covered with a burst bubble of gum. But when she opens her mouth, it hinges wide like a snake’s in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2.

 

Frank Martin demonstrates Greta’s power as disembodied pink lips that dwarf characters. Like Delta's affluent patrons, she eats people and spits them out. Pink and purple dominate pages as the colors portray the new power surging through Wade Wilson The 3^rd. The colors form smoke, rays of light, or tiny rectangles that hover around regenerating limbs. But the rectangles swarming around Delta are as fascinating as his purple veins. Is Delta a construct in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2? Can he even know himself if he's addicted to constantly changing circumstances?

 

Joe Sabino casts Weapon X-worthy lowercase black letters into white and colored balloons and boxes. Sound effects help us hear Greta’s teleportation and heighten fight scenes. Yet the red letters that accompany coughing pull on the heartstrings. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Delta entertains wealthy clients by experimenting on unhappy people. Like Doctor Moreau, he seeks to improve on the base model. But what will shape Wade Wilson's destiny more in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2? Wolverine’s pity or the impatience of Delta’s clients?

 

Rating 8.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Aliens: What If #4 Review

 

Concept: Paul & Leon Reiser; Adam F. Goldberg; Hans Rodionoff; Brian Volk-Weiss

Writer: Hans Rodionoff & Brian Volk-Weiss

Artist: Guiu Vilanova

Colorist: Yen Nitro

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Cover Artists: Phil Noto; Salvador Larroca & Guru eFX

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 5, 2024

 

Carter Burke is a driven man. He's got plans for everything. If only the universe would respect his plans! Instead, the Hadley's Hope situation spun out of control, and now Asteroid D350-L8 is following the same playbook. Another Queen has arrived to rock his little terraformed world. Can Carter escape another Xenomorph corporate takeover? Let’s grab our flamethrowers, leap into Aliens: What If #4, and find out!

 

Story

Carter is panicking. After the face-hugger impregnated Harold, Cygnus prepared to remove the Xenomorph from the miner and harvest the alien DNA. But the incubating alien got impatient. It burst through Harold's chest and tore the combat android apart. Carter had planned on getting a comparatively manageable Xenomorph drone. Instead, the universe gave him a Queen!

 

Carter does the first thing that comes to mind. He runs to his daughter’s quarters to whisk her away to safety. Instead, he finds Hiro Yu there. Carter bonded with Hiro over a mutual hatred for Hiro’s father, Shin Yutani. Hiro’s never won his father’s respect, but he’s promised to use his resources at Weyland-Yutani to help Carter cure his wife. But that doesn't mean Carter wants the scion of the man who exiled him to this rock as his son-in-law. Still, Brie’s only sleeping with Hiro to annoy him, isn't she?

 

In Aliens: What If #4, Cygnus, the illegal battle android Carter assembled in a scrapyard, is dead. Carter wants to protect his family. Hiro may be the son of Weyland-Yutani’s heartless CEO, but when the young man reminds Carter of all the other people who live on Asteroid D350-L8, Carter realizes he doesn’t want them to die.

 

Carter Burke never intends to hurt people. Yet he creates distance because he never has time for them. So he uses lies and manipulation to keep them close, but that doesn't win their respect or love. Carter mourns Cygnus even though Hiro points out that androids aren't alive. If Carter had spent less time making plans and profits for Weyland-Yutani, his daughter might have respected him. But he needs her and Hiro's help to protect everyone in his adoptive home. So, when his daughter and Hiro ask him to step up, Carter helps them confront the Xenomorph Queen in Aliens: What If #4.

 

Hope wasn’t enough last time. In Hans Rodionoff & Brian Volk-Weiss’ story, Carter wants to be a better man. He adopts a new plan. Along the way, Carter hopes to win his daughter’s respect. Who knows? Perhaps Carter Burke can find a way to reunite his family. If only the universe will respect his plans!

 

 

 

Art

Brie may enjoy mining Trimonite, but the dents and graffiti on her door suggest that Weyland-Yutani spends more on beautifying white-collar dormitories. His daughter's damp hair and the towel around her torso suggest she and Hiro showered together in Aliens: What If #4. While Carter struggles not to yank chunks from his full head of hair, Brie leans behind Hiro and clasps his shoulder. Her smile suggests that her father's belief about Brie’s motives may have some basis in truth. But Carter should take more note of Hiro’s stony expression. Hiro thought he’d found a partner who valued him. Instead, he found another father who disrespects him!

 

Guiu Vilanova energizes a page with small panels as Brie and Hiro suit up. Carter smiles as he straps into his chipped and sparking novice rig. He starts after the others in their Komatsu Kaiju mining rigs. But by the time they reach the lab, Carter pushes his Grokk-Primer NVC rig through the doorway before his daughter and Hiro. Any impishness fades from his face as Carter regards the torn body of his former android.

 

Carter invades the yellow miners’ dormitory in his brown suit. Carter eschews Brie and Hiro’s green coveralls and helmets for his management attire but accepts a pair of purple gloves. The lights on the yellow and gray mining suits produce glare on the visors. Installed lighting fills the mine with yellow, green, blue, and brown. Yen Nitro colors the Xenomorph webbing gray, while white dots evoke stickers proclaiming their freshness.

 

Clayton Cowles welcomes readers who saw Aliens during its original cinema run with large black uppercase lettering in white dialogue balloons. White letters in black narrative boxes with green borders locate readers in time and space. Colorful, energetic sound effects help readers hear mining rigs clank, flames erupt, and gases disperse. No one screams in Aliens: What If #4. Still, a hiss writhes through a dark cavern as Humans run through the Xenomorph Queen’s domain.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When the universe overturns his plans, Carter struggles to keep up with the kids, his daughter Brie learns more about herself and her family, and his new partner Hiro contemplates his future in Aliens: What If #4.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.