War of Kings #4

As with most events, the middle of this series slows down a little bit at its halfway mark. Unlike others though, War of Kings doesn't just follow the main characters while they plan for the final battle. In this issue we see how the war is affecting Black Bolt's and Vulcan's respective societies and how their reactions will shape the inevitable final battle.

As a matter of fact, Black Bolt doesn't even appear in this issue. The only Inhuman who shows up is Crystal and she sort of dissents from them. In one scene she reveals to Ronan the Accuser that the Inhuman's method of evolving the Kree will not work. That method is the main reason he decided to submit to the rule of the Inhumans and Crystal felt it was honorable as a person and a wife to let Ronan know. I like how Crystal wants to protect the people who are getting looked over by the governing body, but her actions are treasonous and, quite frankly, a little annoying in this issue. I hope Black Bolt gives her a good "talking-to" (Black Bolt fans will get that).

The other voice of this series is Gladiator's. His has been the more interesting of the two. First of all, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning write his internal monologue very poetically. Gladiator compares Lilandra to a fire that inspires him to act and his last line of the issue really hits hard. Of course he isn't much a talker though, so we get some really good action from him this issue. When Vulcan sends his secret ops squad to attack Lilandra, Gladiator quickly springs to action and beats the mess out of them in an immensely satisfying sequence of panels. I like seeing cool characters do what they do best, and that's what Gladiator does throughout this issue.

Vulcan takes up a fairly large amount of time this issue too. His panels don't work nearly as well as Crystal's and Gladiator's, however. In fact, they all seem out of place. I still don't understand the point of Darkhawk being in this series. First of all, he just shows up out of nowhere with an insane combination of abilities. Secondly, wouldn't Vulcan already have people who can do all those things? Darkhawk is a worthless addition to War of Kings.

As usual, Paul Pelletier's art is stunning. He really puts in a lot of detail and action in every panel. Spaceships, explosions, asteroids, people, and weapons are not only clear and visible, but also beautiful. His use of expressions are spot-on, as Crystal looks visibly distraught and you can almost feel Gladiator's anger and pain. Last but not least, his fight sequences are amazing to look at and easy to follow.

War of Kings #4 uses a clever way to slow down the pace of the series and gear up for the finale. Instead of seeing the hero and antagonist not do anything, we actually get to see others' reactions to the things they've already done. Abnett and Lanning's method shows us at that actions have consequences that must be addressed before anyone can actually win this war. Here's hoping Black Bolt can win over his people and right Crystal's undermining.