ALIENS VS. AVENGERS #4: The Final Curtain

And here we are, at the end of all things…literally, well nearly. Hickman and the rest of the creative team deliver a conclusion to the series which fits a great deal of storytelling and action into the 40-odd pages of the final issue. I don’t know if the ending itself will satisfy everyone and I certainly felt myself asking for more as I read the last page but isn’t that what all great stories do? They pull you in, make you invest in what’s there on page and then end, leaving an ache for a continuation in the journey you have been part off for however many chapters.

Sinister’s diabolical scheme involving the xenomorph comes to it’s horrifying conclusion, but it’s Sinister and as always his blind spot is his massive ego and the creative team deliver what I can only call the most appropriate comeuppance for his arrogance, as the end goal of his plan becomes his complete undoing. The creature it produces is truly a thing of nightmares, not so much in it’s looks but in it’s additional mutant abilities which we’ll talk a little bit more about later.

Hickman and the team then use the middle of the issue to basically deliver on two fronts. The first is the rise and fall of the Wakandan Galactic Empire. It’s ten pages of story telling that concisely delivers how the Empire rises and ultimately, because of it’s success technologically, falls to the symbiotes because gate technology closes the distance between planets to nothing making them an easy target for the invasive xenomorph horde. The creative team then tie The Engineers into this part of the story, their arrogance and drive to burn all life they had created in the universe from existence meets it’s end at the point of the Wakandan sword but not before a harsh lesson is imparted. Save what you can. Burn the rest.

Which leads us to the conclusion of the story and a final showdown on Mars between the remaining pitiful few mutants and hero humans and the last vestiges of the Wakandan Empire who join them as they face of against the Sinister Xenomorph and it’s host. It’s an action packed last segment which see’s our heroes go toe to toe with xenomorph’s new leader which seems unstoppable until the creative team play their McGuffin card taking us back to the death of Tony stark and the ultimate fate of the Venomized facehugger from the beginning of this odyssey and a showdown between Sinister bred mutant xenomorph and Venomized xenomorph. If you’re expecting an ultimate moment of triumph, you won’t get one, the victory is a bittersweet, reflective moment as the creative team ultimately count the cost of victory in a dead universe. there is no real succor for their loss but between T’Challa and the recorded voice of Tony Stark there is a call to action and as an Avengers book, it’s a fitting one.

Now at this point you’re probably think it’s a pretty depressing last issue and while it is a somber affair the creative team don’t forget to make it an entertaining one. Sinister is entertaining in that camp arrogant way of his, Hickman gets a gold star for paraphrasing Ripley’s “Nuke the entire site from orbit” line and our heroes really do make a glorious last stand.

The art in every issue of this series has been nothing less than stellar. This last chapter is no exception. From the birth of Sinister’s horrifying diamond on the forehead red sinister Xenomorph, the rise and fall of the Wakandan Empire to the final confrontation on mars. Every single panel and page is a masterclass from Ribic and Svorcina in cinematic style storytelling. There is a gravitas and seriousness to every single page that, in the hands of a less capable or suited art team, would have made this whole affair seem hokey. But in this art team’s hands everything is has the feeling of an epic science fiction Greek tragedy with super heroes and alien monsters that sells Hickman’s script and lifts it to a level that earns it the rating I’m going to give it. The final confrontation is a brilliant action packed affair as the art team get to show off what a Xenomorph with mutant abilities can do and it’s gloriously terrifying as you get to see abilities you associate with some of your absolute favorite mutants be used in terrifying ways by the ultimate killing machine. Where else can you see a symbiote Venom Xenomorph take on a Mutant Sinister Xenomorph? Now read that sentence again. It’s the best comics nonsense possible delivered by the perfect creative team to do so. From deadly flesh rending close ups to epic cinematic explosions as Captain Marvel goes supernova, this creative team sets not a single foot wrong. Cory Petit has fun with the lettering box designs and sound effects that are superbly complimentary to the story through their actual design and there’s plenty of fantastic sound effects to round out a perfect finish to a perfect series.