MARCO SPEAKS SPIDEY- King in Black: Return of the Valkyries #4 Review

Oh, boy, I’ve been following this tie-in series from the start, and we have finally come to its epic, emotional end. To be honest, I was not expecting for so much drama, and I don’t think my heart was prepared for all the feelings evoked in this masterpiece of a chapter. While the story still revolves around Knull, and his symbiote and space-dragon alien invasion, the real focus in this installment is the celestial and its ties with the protagonists. Our Valkyries are here for one reason and one reason only, to mess with the fabric of reality, drain the celestial of its power, and give peace and rest to the souls that are being trapped. It won’t be an easy task, not at all, especially with so much emotional baggage… I think I’m going to cry myself to sleep now.

King in Black: Return of the Valkyries #4

STORY BY: Jason Aaron, Torunn GrØnbekk

ART BY: Nina Vakueva

COVER BY: Mattia de Iulis, Phil Noto, Todd Nauck

THE LAST RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES!

Brunnhilde. Jane Foster. Dani Moonstar. Hildegarde. And the mysterious stranger who’s worn the title longer than any of them. The Valkyries are united, and at last they have a plan – but so does the King in Black. Every soul in existence is at stake – including the Valkyries’ own!

PROS:

• As mentioned in my introduction, there was so much cathartic emotion in this issue. The celestial tried all the dirty tricks in order to persuade Jane to its side. It brought back fakes of people in her past, people that she has lost tragically. One example was her teacher, who Jane mourned for years… then came Jimmy. It was a genius move on how Jane was able to determine that it was not the true Jimmy facing her now. The whole play on Humpty Dumpty and how Jimmy would never finish it correctly was a sneaky test to see if he is really Jane’s deceased boy. But tempting Jane with deceased loved ones did not work, and it shows the resilience of our hero, and the value of moving on in life.
• Another trick being played by the celestial was to try to fool Jane Foster with the allure of power. It used Sentry, the first tragic casualty of King in Black, as a way to show Jane the endless possibilities she can have if she just gives in to the calls of the celestial. She was offered the power of millions, which is literally the case with Sentry even though he is dead, and if she would join the dark side, she was promised that they could take down Knull together. She was promised to have the power of a god back… and one would think this is a very lucrative offer, even though she still currently takes the mantle of a Valkyrie. But Jane is not that kind of woman, and she will not needlessly sacrifice her morals for the taste of power being dangled in front of her by a fake Sentry.
• Speaking of Sentry, I know I have been dragging on about this for my past reviews of the earlier issues of the series, but finally the creative team gives Sentry some closure. He talks about how he somewhat remembered being used to tempt Jane, but he was not fully himself. But he finally came to terms with his fate, and Jane and her friends were finally able to free him from his spiritual imprisonment… so one can only dream about where Sentry will go next, and if he will return to the real world once more to do super-hero things. A part of me does not believe, or rather does not want to believe, fine REFUSES to believe… that this is the end for Sentry.

CONS:

• While this issue was definitely meant to focus on Jane, it seems that the other supporting characters were a tad left behind in terms of spotlight in this one, but it is still understandable because of the emotional heaviness the plot had to center around Jane.

FINAL GRADE: B+

I think Jane is very confident and sure of her place in the Marvel Universe right now. She has accepted her past, her losses, her state right now in terms of power and role, and it is that embrace of reality that makes this character such a strong woman. She is right about the two afterlives… dying is not only about moving on to the next realm or plane of existence… it is about the legacy and lives you leave behind, and sometimes, that proves to be even more important. Thank you, Marvel, for another wonderful, emotional journey through time and space.