War of Kings: Ascension #3 Review

WAR OF KINGS: ASCENSION #3
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by Wellinton Alves

While I think this was the best issue so far for War of Kings: Ascension, I still can't get past the idea that I hate the main character and almost every scene he is in is a negative to me. I'm not sure what it is about Chris Powell that grates on me, but I he's just not someone I want to read about for extended periods of time.

Now, that doesn't mean I don't like what Abnett and Lanning are doing in this issue or series. Far from it. I actually quite enjoy everything they've done with the Fraternity of Raptors and Talon and Razor, especially when combined with their dealings with Vulcan over in the main event book.

Both Talon and Razor are interesting variables that I would love to see explored more, but we've been treated to only the merest cameos of each in every issue so far in favour of showing what I consider to be a poor comic book trope - the inner mind struggle for dominance on the part of Darkhawk to wrest back control of his armour.

Speaking of which, he does just that in this issue. Shortly after Razor kills Lilandra (repeated from War of Kings), Darkhawk retakes control of his suit just in time to be faced with the grim reality that Gladiator is about to kill him for what Razor just did. It was a good spot to retake control from a storytelling standpoint, but the whole inner struggle trope practically screams out for these things and makes for predictable and a tad lazy storytelling in my opinion and is one of the reasons I really dislike this type of plot.

Verdict - Check It. Talon's and Razor's parts are still quite entertaining and worth checking out, but I'm not feeling anything that has to do with the actual main character of the book.

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