Predator #6 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 6, March 2023

Rather succinctly bringing this six-issue series to a conclusion, whilst simultaneously leaving matters open enough for some follow-up adventures, this final instalment to Ed Brisson’s “Day Of The Hunter” storyline probably still didn’t land quite as well with its fanbase as its New York City-based publisher had hoped. True, Theta Nedra Berwick does finally succeed in taking her revenge upon the Yautja who savagely slew her parents fifteen years ago. But the manner in which the ‘sole survivor’ achieves her lifetime ambition is arguably a little contrived and dissatisfying; “Hey. Over here! It’s me you want. I’m the one who’s been killing all of you b@$tards.”

For starters, the rather naïve and disconcertingly forgiving Paolo Silva suddenly saves his former prisoner’s life by wounding the latest Predator with a well-aimed laser-beam to the extra-terrestrial’s waist. This sensational shot by a dazed Chief Scientist who has literally just been blasted to the ground by his spacecraft’s catastrophic destruction, could admittedly have been aided by the hand-weapon’s targeting device. However, considering that the man fired at a target who was busy man-handling Theta at close quarters, this debilitating volley is debatably highly unlikely.

Furthermore, the Joe Schuster Award-nominee’s handling of Captain Ferrier is similarly unconvincing, with the Astar Industries Commander illogically blaming his captive for the destruction of his ship and crew, even though the young woman has been repeatedly warning him about a Yautja revenge attack since the moment she first regained consciousness. This complete disregard for the consequences of his own inaction makes the senior officer’s character utterly dislikeable, especially when he savagely strikes Berwick following his people’s demise at the hands of the killer extra-terrestrial, and resultantly many a bibliophile may well take some satisfaction in the man’s grisly death when he’s literally torn asunder just moments later.

Undeniably providing this edition of “Predator” with plenty of ‘bang for its bucks’ is Kev Walker, who imbues the comic’s numerous detonations with some insane-looking flare-ups which genuinely radiate all the forceful heat a reader would expect from such devastating blasts. Disappointingly though, the British illustrator doesn’t quite seem to ‘hit the nail on the head’ when it comes to pencilling the combatants’ final moments, with the alien appearing disconcertingly thin in silhouette and colorist Frank D’Armata perhaps going a bit overboard when it comes to obscuring the cast with almost impenetrable black shadows.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata