Throughout Behemoth, the creative team of Grant Sputore, Ryan Engle and Jay Martin have thrown a lot at their cast of characters, and by extension, the audience. Not only have these people had to deal with being swallowed whole by a massive monster, but they’ve also had to deal with the parasites living within the monster’s stomach and a potential savior being a cannibal. Now, the survivors have cooked up a desperate plan: take a bomb into the monster’s artery and blow itr up from the inside out.
It sounds desperate, but since the military is opting to use the nuclear option with this monstrosity, the desperate option becomes the only option. It also finally pulls everyone together: while Sara makes the bomb, Charles offers to dive into the creature’s artery. Med student Naomi, who comes up with the plan to blow the monster’s artery, helps Dev search for materials to make a makeshift bomb. It’s a far cry from the beginning of the series, where they were all at each other’s throats.
Sputore and Engle also give each of the survivors a big moment. Without spoilers, I can say that circumstances lead to Sara having to be the one to do the scuba dive/bomb deployment, and it leads to some of the most intense moments of Behemoth #4. Dev, once a proud and cocky salesman, ends up making a big move to protect the others. Even Elijah, the youngest, ends up defending Ayako, who’s been protecting him. In the same vein, the belly of the beast seems to throw literally everything it can at the survivors; not only are the parasites still out there, but it turns out they lay eggs.
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Martin brings all of this to life, and he’s saved some of his best work for last. One page features Sara getting a Gatling gun to work and mowing down a horde of parasites, while another is comprised of panels of Elijah grabbing a katana and hacking through them with a ferocity he hasn’t shown in a while. Not only is Martin highlighting the desperation and the fury boiling within the survivors, but he’s also making great use of the environment.
The one image that’s burned itself into my brain is when Sara is slowly swimming up into the creature’s artery, with a horde of parasites on her tail. Martin covers the entire page in red, with Sara’s silhouette being the one thing that stands out in a sea of blood. If that wasn’t unsettling enough, Frank Cvetkovic’s lettering showcases a steady “thump thump,” a dark reminder that she’s inside a living being.
Behemoth #4 ends its unconventional kaiju tale in style, showcasing how far its characters have come while pulling off the kind of insane climax you’d expect from this genre. Should this creative team reunite, I’d be more than happy to see what they can pull off. For now, I’ll wait and see what Sputore brings to theaters with Godzilla X Kong: Supernova.
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