You must love a thinking man, a man who learns from his mistakes and devours his enemies. Yes Gilad is closer to defeating his enemy in issue 9 of “Wrath of The Eternal Warrior,†but is he also closing in on some truths from his past?
Thus far Robert Venditti’s story arc brings an element of Gilad’s past to a conclusion while, simultaneously opening up the reader to more questions. One important issue that has yet to be addressed is Gilad’s oldest son. When he was taken all those years ago by (as he is now referred to as the) Hiding Man, what happened to him? How was he killed? And more importantly why is he leaving an incessant trail of arrows? This labyrinth Gilad has finally figured out must have something to do with it. Still Venditti isn’t giving anything away. Instead, he refocuses your attention on the present battle, the one with an enormous amount of bloodshed.
Which brings the reader to the ‘shattered schemes’ that is referred to in this narrative. The subtitle alludes to and adds to the mystery of the Hiding Man’s agenda as much as Gilad’s ability to decipher his enemy’s plot against him. We know the Hiding Man will lose. The reader sees Gilad helping the last Rai in 4001. What is intriguing about this comic is what is happening in Gilad’s present. After all everyone believes him to be dead. As he continues to relentlessly resurrect himself who is protecting the Geomancers? Is this all a distraction?
Right now Gilad is on the verge of ending this vignette. And he does it with wit, irony and sarcastic banter. Told alongside the rich artwork of Raul Allen and Patricia Martin you see his frustration and the angst of his family he left behind. Even the dog has a part to play, everyone is used to tell this story.
Never forgetting the world he’s writing about Venditti continues to leave Easter eggs. There is a bigger mystery that is being amassed in the Valiant universe and with the Eternal Warrior off the board, you tend to think how it will affect the rest of the comic book titles. One thing is for certain as the Hiding Man gets closer to sacrificing his life the reader will wonder if he will turn on the person who is possible pulling his strings.
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