Keeping a xenomroph alive inside a spaceship with only two people and an android looks like an even worse decision when space pirates show up.
Aliens: Defiance #9 (Dark Horse Comics)
Observations
- Fun fact: Space pirates dress like comic book bank robbers from the 1970’s.
- If you’re gonna throw down with Zula Hendricks, then you better send more than two goons.
- YEAH DAVIS! GET SOME!
- Zula is starting to sound a lot like a Weyland Yutani loss prevention officer.
- Not sure I like this plan, but it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.
The Verdict
On one hand, getting see an Alien Queen go on a murder spree against a bunch of space pirates is always good—especially when it’s being drawn by Tony Brescini.
On the other, the random space pirate attack feels like a very forced/contrived way to get us to a point in the story that had already felt inevitable.
And while I like the inner dialogue that Brian Wood is giving Hendricks about her decision, I’m not sure the parallel between the reasons for her and Weyland Yutani keeping xenomorphs alive is working. Instead of an interesting paradox, it makes Hendrick’s decision to keep the thing alive seem even more foolhardy than it already did.
That being said, there are a lot of gorgeously sequenced action scenes in this one, particularly once the Alien Queen is released and allowed to slaughter the red shirted plot devices. I also like how conflicted Hendricks is about her decision and the thought process she takes the reader through for making it.
Now that we’ve passed the point we all knew would come, it will be interesting to see what Aliens: Defiance decides to do with this wonderfully developed cast of characters. Whatever that is, though, it will surely involve a fight with an Alien Queen, which I think we can all agree is something to be excited about.
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