Predator: Black, White & Blood hasn’t pulled any punches during its run, managing to keep the same concept of “Predators vs. humans and other forms of prey” that fuels the Predator movies, along with the same level of bloodshed. That being said, I wasn’t expecting Predator: Black, White and Blood #3 to go in the direction it did. Don’t worry, that’s a good thing!
First up is the penultimate installment of “Bloodwood” by Joe Kelly and Alvaro Lopez. Taking place roughly three years after the second part, we find Millie, now a teenager, and the Yautja called Lucky Boy forming a unique bond as he teaches her to hunt. Things take a drastic turn when Lucky Boy’s tribe comes to Earth, intending to bring him home…when Millie was expecting him to take bloody vengeance on the Bloodwood mining camp that enslaved them both.
Throughout “Bloodwood, Part 3”, Kelly and Alvaro hammer home just how different Lucky Boy and Millie are. She views him as an angel and as the person who’ll take vengeance on her behalf. He, on the other hand, is bound by the Yautja’s code, meaning that he’ll have to return home and face judgment instead of helping her. Naturally, this leads to a falling out between the two, but also an ending that promises more blood will be shed in Predator: Black, White & Blood‘s final issue. Alvaro leans into Mille’s transformation, giving her a redesign that features cobbled together weapons and a mask crafted from a skull; if it wasn’t for her red hair and human build, she could pass for a Yautja.
Marvel
“Make It Red” by Rebecca Roanhorse and Federico Sabbatini takes a different track, showcasing a Yautja that’s been captured and experimented on in Area 51. One of its brethren learns of its capture, leading to a violent rescue mission. Sabbatini doesn’t hold anything back – heads explode and are ripped off, limbs are cut off, entrails are spilled. Roanhorse’s script is also bookended by two scenes in a diner, with a Native American customer dismissing the reports of the Yautja’s carnage as mere myth. It’s a fun little nod, but I would have loved for this skeptic to actually see aliens with his own eyes to tie the whole thing together. Likewise, a line about using the Yautja as super soldiers needed more elaboration.
The final story comes with “Demon of the Deep” by Jim Zub, Pat Boutin, and Matt Milla. It starts off with a crew of pirates encountering a Yautja ship, but then things take an immensely wild turn. Kudos to Zub for going all in on that plot twist, and Boutin for bringing it to life, showcasing that there are worse things than alien hunters lurking in the sea. Milla keeps shades of green running throughout “Demon of the Deep”; the Yautja’s ship is encased in a neon green cloaking field, while the sea itself carries an emerald hue.
Predator: Black, White & Blood #3 swings for the fences in its penultimate installment, while still keeping the violence that defines the Predator franchise. There’s only one more issue to go, but I hope future Predator comics continue to explore different time periods or pit the Yautja against different foes.
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