In the second issue of Alien: Paradiso, all hell has broken loose, and now we get to see how the 1% (and the resort’s unprepared staff) attempt to deal with it. This issue also delves a bit further into the backstory of one of the characters in the criminal cast, in the process revealing a surprising connection to Alien franchise lore. I won’t spoil the reveal here, but I must say that I commend writer Steve Foxe on how casually it’s played. Newcomers to the series should be able to take this backstory at face value without feeling like they missed something, as it gives a pretty succinct motivation for someone to turn to a “every person for themself” mentality, but fans will no doubt be surprised and intrigued by this tie to the past.
For the most part, however, this issue is spent allowing our main characters to get their bearings after the explosive reveal of the baby Xenomorph in the last issue. It can be a little frustrating to watch multiple characters try to puzzle out what’s happening while we’re well aware of the threat, but these scenes are broken up by the Paradiso’s security team trying their best to handle the outbreak. It goes about as well as you’d expect, but it also gives Edgar Salazar and Peter Nguyen an opportunity to go hog wild with the horror-action elements.
Marvel
It’s always a blast to see characters who are totally out of their depth attempting to fend off the Xenomorphs. In this issue, that results in some improvised weapons and a few moments of dark comedy. I’m not totally sure that I buy an improvised blowtorch doing this much damage to a rampaging alien, but it helps that we’ve seen Xenomorphs display a severe distaste for fire in the past (it’s just usually on a larger scale).
Outside of the cat-and-mouse vignettes, there are also some interesting new wrinkles to the story. As expected, our undercover agents are trying to figure out how to combat the threat without revealing their identities. This unfortunately sidelines them for much of the issue, but it does give them some fun dialogue to play with. Meanwhile, the staff of the Paradiso are given extra incentive to step up their game and assist in the fight against the Xenomorphs. This gives us some interesting banter and an amusing heroic moment for a member of the staff introduced in the previous issue, as well as ties in perfectly with the themes of the film series. The class divide and the ways in which the wealthy abuse people lower on the ladder have long been important elements of the franchise, and I’m interested in seeing how this particular subplot pays off.
Overall, Alien: Paradiso mostly keeps up the momentum in its second issue, though it does unfortunately put some of the plot threads from the first issue on the back burner. Still, the new twists and side-stories have me excited to check out the next chapter.
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