Originally published on Patreon
The first of the new Marvel Predator stories comes to an end with issue six, with a new issue one on the way to start a new story (why not keep the numbering? Or at least add a subtitle?). And after five issues of build up, of hyping up the fight that is to come between Theta and the Yautja that killed her family, the issue fails to live up to expectation.
The last issue saw the alien hunter board the ship that Theta is being held prisoner on, stalking the halls and killing the crew one by one. After some convincing this issue Theta gets freed and is given her gear back, organising a counteroffensive against the monster. Unfortunately, the hunter is smart enough to not walk into a large room filled with gun toting soldiers, and blows a massive hole in the side of the ship instead, killing almost everyone.
This leaves Theta to fight the monster on the snowy planet herself. And this is where things go from okay to kind of dull. The two of them are fighting in a snowy expanse, with nothing around them. There's no visual flair to the environment, nothing that makes the place look particularly interesting or dynamic. The fight itself is fairly simple too, and there's not really any moment that makes you think 'wow'. The fact that Theta doesn't beat the monster on her own either, and that another character shoots its several times and blows one of its limbs off takes some of the victory from her too and lessens the moment.
There have been times when this story has had the makings of something really good, the idea of someone who's grown up hunting Yautja, picking them off one by one, searching for their specific target is a great one. But the execution never really felt like it did that idea justice. I think part of that is down to Marvel seeming set on making their Alien and Predator stories six issues long and that's it. Theta and her story could have been a much bigger thing, she could have had several other adventures whilst building towards the final confrontation as part of a longer series (one that would have given more time for her character to be given the spotlight too), but instead we get a pretty quick, shallow, and kind of dull affair.
The artwork on the issue feels very similar too. There are times where the comic should look great, with some moments of action that could stand out as something a bit special; but it never really goes above okay. There are also a couple of times where characters look a little off, where their features or expressions don't quite fit.
I'm fairly disappointed in this first outing for the Predator franchise under Marvel. I was hoping for it to impress, but instead it is one where I'm glad that it's come to an end as quickly as it has, so that hopefully the next #1 they have set to release can try to do a better job.
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