Black Adam #6 Review

BLACK ADAM: THE DARK AGE #6 (OF 6)
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy

To start, a small correction from my previews of this book. DC listed it as 6 of 8 for some reason, causing a state of confusion and euphoria in me as I thought the best mini-series in years was being extended a couple more issues. Alas, it was never meant to be and the fact this series is over is the only flaw in an otherwise masterpiece.

Quick recap for those foolish enough to not pick this title up. Adam needs am amulet to allow Faust to ressurect his dead wife, Isis, whom he failed to revive once already. Adam has part of the amulet and just needs the last part to finish it. He's being pursued by the JLA and a covert agency with magic Rock of Eternity 'god killer' bullets. Last issue ended with Adam finding a platoon of god killer mercenaries waiting for him at the final amulet piece.

This issue begins with Black Adam, literally, tearing through the entire squad of mercenaries. The narrative during this is equisite, with Adam stating how he will paint this planet red if he has to to save Isis as he turns the arctic landscape into a bloodbath. The massacre ends with Teth walking over the ice as one of the men bangs on it from below before falling to his icy death.

However, one of the men lives, barely, and raises his gun and tags Adam with a bullet, much to his surprise, as reinforcements in helicopters fire on him. He escapes into the arctic waters with his completed pendant, but not before placing the bullet in a passing seal's mouth. As the tracer bullet rises, the mercs, JSA and JLA are waiting to strike as a seal sticks it's head out the hole in the ice.

With his pursuers thwarted, Adam makes his way back to Isis in human form so as to not waste anymore of her magic essence, which is temporarily giving him his Black Adam powers in lieu of his magic word.

However, as Adam enters the hometown of the Marvel family, he decides to take a pit stop. As he walks along the streets, he quietly spouts shop names and what have you in hopes of guessing his new word. He eventually stops at a small shop for food. Seeing the waiter preparing a child a Chocolate Egg Cream (it's a milkshake like drink), which has neither eggs nor cream in it, he decides to order one himself. As he orders, down comes the lightning. Yes, his magic word is Chocolate Egg Cream and he is now fully Black Adam again. The word, as childish as it sounds, makes perfect sense for that same reason - Billy Batson is a child and thinks like one.

Powers restored, Adam returns to Faust to revive Isis. It fails, as many expected, and before Teth can kill Faust, he points out he wasted too much of her essence and she's dead because of him. The scene is really well done and Adam is ever the tragic foil as he flies off screaming at his own failure.

However, Faust is a bastard of the highest order and replaced Isis' bones with those of Ralph Dibney, which is why it failed. Returning to the basement of the tower, he proceeds to revive the real Isis, who is apparently under his control, and uses her to open a doorway out of the tower, freeing him of his prison. The series ends with Adam making his way to the Khandaq Embessy, where he laments the loss of his wife and his complete failure, unawares of Faust's trechery.

To say this series wasn't epic on every level would be an outright lie. Many mini-series start strong and fizzle out or are constantly at the cusp of greatness, but never quite make it and many more are just plain bad. Black Adam delivered in every single issue and this final capped off one hell of a joy ride through the whirlwind that is Black Adam's tragic life. There are even hints of a possible sequel, as Adam didn't really stop that organization that chased him and we all know there will be hell to pay for Faust when Black Adam finds out about Isis. Hopefully this will be picked up upon after Final Crisis.

Verdict - Must Read. There's going to be a gaping hole in my monthly purchases and heart where Black Adam used to be. If you didn't follow this, I implore you to pick up the trade.

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