When Invincible Universe: Battle Beast last left off, our warrior was surrounded by a fleet of spaceships, intending to kill him once and for all. Naturally, Battle Beast picks up his weapons and starts cleaving a bloody swath of destruction through them. Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #3 also takes a unique approach to this fight, as it alternates between Battle Beast’s murder spree and the interior of his commandeered ship, whose computer is still hell-bent on killing him.
This setup lets Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley take a unique approach to how Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #3 unfolds. Half of it is a silent issue, and that’s where Ottley thrives: entire pages are dedicated to Battle Beast leaping through space and dismantling these ships. One page even has him ramming his head through a windshield and then tearing off a pilot’s head with his teeth! I’m surprised that Ottley can find new ways to dismember people and still make it look good.
Annalisa Leoni’s color work is a large part of what makes the issue a standout. Leoni splashes the pages with different hues; there’s icy blue for the vast void of space, an antiseptic white for the interior of the ships, and red splattered throughout – quite literally, since this comic is full of bloodshed. But the standout comes toward the end, which features a major forest full of lush green vegetation and creatures that vary in size, color, and shape thanks to Ottley. Each issue of Battle Beast only hammers home the fact that the Invincible Universe is far bigger than fans expected.
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The rest of the issue cuts between the pilots trying to kill Battle Beast, and the prince that he’s traveling with. These scenes let Kirkman flex his signature humor. The prince points out to the ship’s computer that if it wants to kill Battle Beast, there’s a better way to do it, while all of the other pilots slowly start to realize the horrible mistake they’ve made in trying to fight a creature called the Scourge of Twin Galaxies. One of the pilots yells out, “He ate my father!” Cue the response from the leader: “He ate all our fathers!”
But there’s another moment that stuck out to me, and it adds a little bit of tragedy to the book. After he slaughters the invaders and returns to his ship, Battle Beast is asked what exactly he did to these people to incur their wrath. He replies: “I can’t remember.” It’s the type of dark humor that Kirkman excels at, but at the same time it shows how tragic Battle Beast’s life is. His bloodlust has caused God knows how much chaos, and torn apart countless lives. No wonder he wants to die.
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #3 balances between bloody carnage and snappy dialogue, as it brings the Scourge of Twin Galaxies closer to his next foe. If this is the approach that Kirkman and Ottley want to bring to the series, then I’m all for it.
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