Predator [2023] #4 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 4, August 2023

Gorily depicting the traitorous Lucas receiving his just reward for betraying Theta Berwick on board the Sandpiper, courtesy of a Predator savagely skewering him straight through the chest with one of its razor-sharp claws, Ed Brisson’s script for Issue Four of “Predator” quite possibly caused many of the comic’s readers to momentarily cheer the cold-blooded Yautja on. In fact, it’s arguably not until the alien killing machine appears about to swoop upon a hapless Paolo Silva that this book’s audience will probably stop rooting for it; “The comms are down. Someone’s trying to keep us in the dark.”

Much of this disconcerting desire to see the extra-terrestrial tear into the likes of Isla and Kiyoshi Yaksubo stems from the pair’s utter contempt for the one person who both actually knows precisely what the technologically-advanced extra-terrestrials are capable of, and has beaten them in close combat a staggering amount of times. This incredibly misplaced hubris on the two soldiers’ part really makes them dislikeable, and this loathing only increases when the female Other Worldly Lifeforms Program (O.W.L.F.) trooper immediately blames her badly maimed rescuer for her husband’s aforementioned murder, even though it is her arrogance and ignorance which caused his ghastly demise in the first place.

Setting aside this almost palpable seething hatred for the would-be-hijackers, this publication’s multiple Joe Shuster Award-nominee is also good at quickly establishing the sense of trust any perusing bibliophile should have with the remaining survivors, as they repeatedly put their faith in Berwick's decision-making once she regains consciousness (and a new cybernetic right arm). This confidence is probably all the easier to bestow upon Allen, Omar, and Awja in light of the other humans’ shocking disloyalty. But it still helps establish a genuine sense of fear for these characters once it becomes clear a Predator is roaming Sandy’s corridors, and appears intent on massacring all the craft's passengers.

Likewise the artwork of Netho Diaz does a first-rate job of imbuing all the considerable cast with plenty of emotional energy and personality. Yaksubo appears particularly well-drawn, with the Japanese Defence Forces soldier repeatedly demonstrating his selfish, self-centred streak with canine-like snarls, and boorish, physical outbursts when his plans are questioned by the man’s two co-conspirators.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Pencilier: Netho Diaz, Inker: Belardino Brabo, Colorist: Erick Arciniega