You should have heard my tiny heart snap when I read that issue #6 ends the second arc of The Forged. Because even amid all the palace intrigue, what this arc has really been about is getting to know the whole squad. By now they’re almost like our close friends, and it’s been a refreshing change to explore and understand these warriors outside the confines of the battlefield. (And proof positive of the inventive sci-fi being handcrafted by the team of Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann, and Mike Henderson.)
But, as this issue proved, the fight may not be over, and we’re all the more invested in the interstellar chaos to come.
This issue felt like the first time we got some sustained narrative direction to counter all of world-building and character development. Again, without revealing too much, the team is the focus of a massive conspiracy around the very future of the Empire. Only it turns out that General Davian (the mastermind of the Unseen Hand that’s been guiding the empire, basically) is less of a foe and more of a catalyst for The Forged’s next big campaign. So, after my initial assessment, that’s a nice little turn, but it doesn’t mean the team’s exactly out of hot water, either.
Because while the bulk of the issue was about pushing the story forward, it did so in a way that maintained this arc’s deeply human tendencies. We get to see each of the squad in action against some potential assassins, and more than the visual magic that said encounters generated (more in that later), it once again showed the heart and personalities of these characters in a refreshing and deliberate manner. It was the issue where my connection to each member really crystalized, and you cheer them on in a way that feels wholly organic. Sure, their fates may be (mostly) clear, but caring so profoundly just demonstrates how much this arc has ingrained each of them in the hearts and minds of readers. It felt like the last tiny puzzle piece of humanity snapping into place, and from that sigh of relief we’re then thrust into the nice slice of hell. But it’s a hell we’re gleefully tackling right alongside the team.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
The aforementioned assassination parts are an easy enough encapsulation of why the team are so dang compelling. Seeing CrazyJo beat down a whole bar, or Push stealth-fight her foe with brutal efficiency, are shorthand for what make them such massive figures and why it’s so easy to understand and engage each character in new and novel ways. But there was just as much humanity provided in the subtext of much smaller moments. A small gaze from Victory in her, um, encounter with the Empress; the way the team cheers on Hap for her own after-hours pursuits; and even the scene with Victory and the Cassandras/seers — the devil is in the details, and it’s here that we see these people raw and utterly open to us.
And that kind of engagement doesn’t just happen with the team. The Empress, for instance, feels more layered in her approach — she’s wild and flirty, but there’s a deeper emotionality and sensuality in her movements. (And it extends the efforts to humanize this squad and not keep them as mere sci-fi fodder.) Even Davian comes off more real here than anywhere else in this arc, and that meant a lot as he moves from this 2D figure to a more substantial player in the warfare to come. This arc built this world up in new and dazzling ways, and this issue especially added in some much-needed brush strokes to give it a weight and power. It’s one of the reasons why caring about them became so much easier — there’s just so many moments to simply gawk and/or chuckle at.
So, yes, endings can be sad, even if there’s clearly more goodness coming down the pipeline. (Right?!) But I guess I mostly liked that this arc was only three issues. It gave us a nice break, and one where we can have fun and put all of our cards out on the table (or, most of ’em, at least). Then, whatever crazy combat-related hijinks come next, we’ll all be that much more invested in given this arc’s massive campaign for humanity. Let’s just not wait too long for the glorious third arc or I’ll really be a sad, sad little man.
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