X-O Manowar Volume 4

So he is as bullheaded as he has been in the past. Fighting within the group, misunderstanding of the world around and the changes. The hate and the fighting is only going to get worse. I am struggling to like him as a main character and really am of two minds whether I will continue with this series.

Okay, so, I've bought all of the new run of XO Manowar, I've been reviewing them on here. The biggest issue I've had so far, is that Aric has been made very bland. He is supposed to be a man out of time, 1600 years in his future, where his people are barely remembered. So far, he has been entirely unphased by EVERYTHING.This is the first book trying to rectify that. So, Aric brings his people back from Loam, the homeworld of the enemy Vine. They set the ship down in Romania, and basically claim an area of land. Naturally, this upsets NATO who send soldiers. His people start farming, and he ends up with a lady named Saana, who wore the symbol of his uncle. Things seem pretty okay for a bit, but..Aric goes to a museum, and studies the pieces of his culture that survived. Some wargear (helmets, armour, and notably his uncle's crown) when Gilad, the Eternal Warrior, interrupts him. They talk, and Gilad reminds him how Aric never really learned lessons well, that Aric was always about strength and the direct approach, no matter what the situation, which is the why he loses everyone around him. They fight, it's all very Highlander, and Aric espouses his own beliefs, while breaking Gilad's arm. Gilad stops him, basically saying that while yes, Aric won the fight, he also destroyed the very thing he was there for, and that he cherished the most. Aric in his shortsightedness, literally stepped on his uncle's crown, flattening and breaking it.Aric and Saana discuss their people's future from the comfort of bed, while Volo, the leader of the people on Loam takes some of his trusted dudes to the nearest town, they loot a grocery store and bring the food back. A helicopter flying a white flag goes to their settlement, and Aric shoots it down, but saves Alexander Dorian from it, who says they were trying to offer a peaceful solution, to move Aric and his people to America, in exchange for the ship they landed in. Aric refuses, saying that after all they had done, they were finally home, and did not want to barter that away.Volo brought food back from the grocery store raid, so instead of them farming, the people are all sitting around relaxing and eating. When Aric demands to know what's going on, Volo challenges him. A good argument is made, that if there is such food to just be TAKEN then why should they be working the land, like they did on Loam? Were they not free now? So why are they still toiling as though they were still slaves? This argument gets ignored entirely, as Aric's armour informs him that a missile is being launched at them. He flies off to stop it; it turns out to be a diversion, as the real attack is on his people. The attempted usurper and his squad go into the ship, and come out in the Wolf-class armours, easily beating the troops and tanks of the military. Another good argument is made, that while the people needed help, Aric was gone. So far the usurper has two good points on his side. Volo basically thinks he's won completely, Aric tells him that was merely the first battle... So, it doesn't fully rectify them making Aric bland, but it's a solid step on getting him to be interesting again. The biggest issue has been that Aric in this run has been entirely unphased by literally everything. He doesn't have any awe or compare what he sees to what he knew before. But this is at least giving him a purpose again.

The drawings are very good. The story flows well and the hero is frustrating due to his naivety. He needs to grow

Very good story and art. It's interesting to see Arick try to settle down in his homeland, and not understand that the days of doing things like that are long gone. It'll be interesting to see the further consequences of his actions.

Where we left off: The attempted Vine invasion of Earth has been defeated by the X-O Manowar armor and the sacrifice of Aric’s oldest friend. Aric looks to respond in kind, and travels to the Vine’s home planet of Loam to seek revenge. There, amidst the steadily increasing body count of Vine soldiers, Aric learns that he is not the only human on Loam. Descendants form the Visigoth people captured centuries ago have been living in slavery on the planet, along with other alien species also captured by the Vine. Aric liberates these people and crushes the Vine high command, installing in its place a government of peace, not conquest. Gathering the Visigoth descendants, Aric sets course to bring them back to Earth.Vol. 4 of X-O Manowar can best be described with one word – Transition. This arc is primarily used to setup events that will spill over into the next arc, as well as sets up the new series - Unity. New characters are introduced, as well as the whole new paradigm for X-O and the people of Earth. I love that Valiant is not afraid to deal with ongoing consequences from previous stories. The fact the Earth is now a ringed planet due to the sheer amount of wreckage orbiting the planet is a brilliant realization, as is the subsequent arms race kicked off amongst other nations to get the Vine technology… something that suitably increases the tension felt when Aric returns and declares Romania his.It is within this tension that we get a very enjoyable guest-star appearance… Gilad, the Eternal Warrior. Former mentor to Aric back in ancient times, he is the perfect candidate to come in and try and talk Aric out of his proposed takeover. However, that conversation does not go as planned, and Aric is quite resistant to anyone telling him what to do. It’s here that we see the shades of gray that is so prevalent in all the Valiant characters. Aric realizes he is extremely powerful now, and after everything he has gone through, plans to take back what he feels is rightfully his no matter what anyone has to say about it. As tough and experienced as the immortal Gilad is, he is no match for the sheer power of the X-O Manowar armor.It all escalates from there. Strife internal and external, as Aric must contend with discontent from within his own camp, as well as threats from the neighboring Russian army. Things are spiraling towards nuclear war, and other powerful forces are about to make their presence felt in order to stop this armored menace called X-O Manowar. Unity is upon us!