As the first arc of Image Comics’ brilliant new sci-fi horror series W0RLDTR33, from multiple Eisner Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Nice House on the Lake, Department of Truth) and artist Fernando Blanco (Batman: Detective Comics, Midnighter and Apollo), comes to its shocking conclusion, secrets are revealed and the apocalypse begins. Part post-apocalyptic nightmare, part brutally violent slasher, mixed in with haunting art and brilliant commentary on humanity’s toxic relationship to technology and innovation, W0RLDTR33 #5 continues to impress and terrify.
Spoiler warning for W0RLDTR33 #5!
W0RLDTR33, which includes gorgeous color from Jordie Bellaire and dynamic lettering from Aditya Bidikar alongside Blanco’s art, is the latest in a long line of brilliant and disturbing horror comics from the legendary Tynion IV. From Something is Killing the Children to Department of Truth, Tynion IV has managed to weave tales of horrified desperation, bloody longing, and monsters crawling in the shadows, and W0RLDTR33 is no different, leaving the reader hanging on every word and image waiting for more.
Image Comics
MAJOR SPOILERS for W0RLDTR33 #5!
W0RLDTR33, for those who are unaware, is a prescient apocalyptic story that follows a group of former friends who must save the world from the “Undernet,” a hidden architecture beneath the regular internet that connects to another world, one that is attempting to destroy the human race for its own dark, mysterious purposes. The group of friends, led by technological innovator Gabriel Winters, discovered the Undernet back in 1999, using a private forum called “W0RLDTR33” to communicate about it.
Eventually they discovered the murderous intentions of the darkest dark web, and were able to stop its spread. Now, 25 years later, the Undernet has been discovered again, and it is up to Gabriel, his former friends, newcomers Ellison and Fausta, and secret agent Silk to take down the Undernet agent PH34R and stop the rise of the Undernet.
Image Comics
Unfortunately for humanity, they are already too late. The Undernet spreads through visual contamination, in some ways like Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation from DC Comics, corrupting anyone who views the website by exposing them to horrible visions of a demonic world, and a destroyed future. These viewers then inevitably go on a murderous rampage, and while W0RLDTR33 opens with Ellison’s brother murdering 60 people after being possessed by the Undernet, W0RLDTR33 #5 sees 75 active mass murders occur simultaneously, the first stage of the coming Undernet apocalypse.
The opening salve of W0RLDTR33 #5 sees Ellison another 25 years in the future (meaning the story is now jumping between 1999, 2024, and 2049), barely surviving in an apocalyptic future hellscape, attempting to stay alive and safe from PH34R and other corrupted Undernet agents. Clearly in the 25 years since Ellison was first exposed to the Undernet he has joined Gabriel’s crusade against the demonic corruption, taking a rebellious stance against the Undernet uprising. The choice to do a flash-forward at the end of wØrldtr33’s first major arc is perfect, raising the stakes of the Undernet threat beyond some mass murders into the fall of humanity, a vision of a brutal and technologically corrupted future.
Image Comics
W0RLDTR33 #5 also reveals the tragic and disturbing identity of the Undernet agent PH34R, unveiled as the younger kid sister of Gabriel named Sammi, who apparently viewed the Undernet and was corrupted 25 years prior, even though Gabriel attempted to shield her from the darkness. Sammi, who post-corruption desires to only be called PH34R, continues to be a truly terrifying villain, and a major part of the terror she causes is her casual nudeness.
PH34R’s naked body is shockingly asexual, separating herself from humanity by shedding the societal expectations of things like nudity or callous murder. Her unflinching exposure of her flesh to her brother only adds to the depravity and creepiness she exudes, transforming her into an otherworldly being, emphasized even more by Aditya Bidikar using a unique font for her speaking voice. Clearly Gabriel has been preparing for this confrontation for decades, and while PH34R assumes the Undernet has won, her older brother brutally grabs the sheet out from under her, using his vast connections to destroy all of the internet.
Image Comics
While this twist is most likely not shocking to many readers – how else do you stop a rampaging computer virus from spreading than by taking down its avenue of corruption? – it is still an impressive way to show Gabriel’s power and brilliance. As Gabriel tragically lays dying, shot at the hands of his corrupted sister, he apologizes to his former childhood friends about his lack of contact or apology. He acknowledges he feared how they would view him, but it is also clear he has spent every waking second since he first discovered the Undernet developing his company Angel, and his various tech connections, as a failsafe to take the Undernet down.
Gabriel’s death and his final admission of love for his best friend (and potentially former lover) Liam is bittersweet and beautiful, stunningly grounding the horrifying plot of W0RLDTR33 #5 in sorrow and grief. While his destruction of the internet may in part lead to a collapse of society, it has also slowed down the deadly spread of the Undernet’s corruption, staving off the full destruction of humanity for at least a few months. The issue ends with the reveal that the only website still available, for those who can find it, is W0RLDTR33, establishing a means for the anti-Undernet rebellion to plan, communicate, and fight back against the coming apocalypse.
Image Comics
As with all the previous issues, the art from Fernando Blanco with coloring by Jordie Bellaire is truly gorgeous, evocatively pulling the reader into all the different timelines while keeping them visually separate and unique. The violence is brutal yet strangely beautiful, and PH34R’s unique and altered way of moving throughout the world is expressed so clearly in the art, juxtaposing her nudity and confidence with the haltering anxiety of everyone around her. Of course, the award-winning Aditya Bidikar brings the perfect lettering to W0RLDTR33 #5, setting a pitch perfect tone through his altered speech bubbles, narration, and sound effects.
Image Comics
W0RLDTR33 #5 is a perfect end to a nearly perfect first arc, with James Tynion IV masterfully weaving together a story of corruption, tragedy, unending mystery, and potentially even hope into a unique vision of what’s to come. Tynion IV’s use of flash forward, and flash back, perfectly sets the stage for the next several arcs, hopefully exploring not only these characters past and futures, but also diving more into fascinating but more surface level characters like Detective Silk and Fausta. Grounded in gorgeous art from Blanco and Bellaire and stellar lettering from Bidikar, W0RLDTR33 #5 will continue to shock readers while promising even more amazing world building, and destruction, from Tynion IV in the coming issues.
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