REVIEW: Harbinger, #23

The death of a Renegade raises new questions about Pete Stanchek's agenda in this solid issue.


[I]Full review [URL=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=7376]here[/URL].[/I]

I'm always happy when a Valiant title gets some much deserved love but I don't really agree with what the reviewer said:
[QUOTE]Flamingo's death is heroic but foolish. She leapt in without thinking, empowered as she was by her bond with her friends. Were her actions necessary? Ion would have splattered on Liberty Avenue before Zephyr, releasing his hold and allowing her to regain her levitation field, which she seems to quickly do anyway. [/QUOTE]
That's a weird assumption to make that Faith would've recovered quickly enough. Ion kept electrocuting Charlene up until the very end and then zapped right through her chest. It looked to me that the same thing would have happened to Faith if Charlene hadn't have been there to block him. So yes, in order to save her friend those actions were definitely necessary.

I agree with a certain amount of the sentiment, though. I really hope that this death was truly necessary for what's coming after it. It certainly wasn't something anyone was asking for.

[QUOTE=thewarning;154845]I agree with a certain amount of the sentiment, though. I really hope that this death was truly necessary for what's coming after it. It certainly wasn't something anyone was asking for.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I won't lie that I was a little disappointed that Charlene was the one he chose to kill off. Prior interviews talked about the emotional impact but choosing one of the characters with the least development was a little off putting. At least he didn't kill Faith cuz that would have been devastating.

It was a good read.
I feel we lost the wrong Renegade though.
Losing Charlene we lose a character who's upward growth as a person and powerset were yet to be fully explored. Who she could've been getting out of the life she'd been living.

Kris should've died. Her emotional ties to Peter and non-powered status would've helped the Renegades further see what their cause is for in more focus.

I'm just not sold on the necessity of losing [I]any[/I] of them. Not yet. Sure, we're two years in, but are we so cynical that the mindset is "Well, its getting to be about the time we'll have to kill someone to show that we're serious?"

I don't have any bad feelings, I just want to be reassured that this [I]had[/I] to happen in order to get the book to the next stage.

From what I've read Dysart wanted to show that these kids are way over their heads and realistically yeah I can't see them getting out of this scrap without casualties. They're untrained with no experience and they're lucky one of them didn't die from a friendly fire type situation.

[QUOTE=Captain Craig;156469]It was a good read.
I feel we lost the wrong Renegade though.
Losing Charlene we lose a character who's upward growth as a person and powerset were yet to be fully explored. Who she could've been getting out of the life she'd been living.

Kris should've died. Her emotional ties to Peter and non-powered status would've helped the Renegades further see what their cause is for in more focus.[/QUOTE]

That's exactly why it [i]was[/i] Charlene - she has had little-to-no development, really. Abused, sultry former-stripper who controls fire. Every other character has been fleshed out to an extra layer except her, so I felt it was always obviously going to be her once it was announced. The coda at the end of the issue was nice.

Kris is one of the most important characters in the story, especially given what happened with Peter and her early on. She keeps Peter grounded.

[QUOTE=thewarning;156787]I'm just not sold on the necessity of losing [I]any[/I] of them. Not yet. Sure, we're two years in, but are we so cynical that the mindset is "Well, its getting to be about the time we'll have to kill someone to show that we're serious?"

I don't have any bad feelings, I just want to be reassured that this [I]had[/I] to happen in order to get the book to the next stage.[/QUOTE]

On the flip side, do we need another Marvel/DC-esque title with invulnerable heroes and villains fighting for all eternity with no lasting consequences? I think not. I welcome characters dying (for good, hopefully -dark as that sounds!) because without any consequences there are absolutely zero stakes involved.

This was an incredible issue for the series. The death was not a "gimmick" or "throw away" designed to increase sales, but instead was part of the on-going struggle with natural consequences that has been in place since the first issue. Given Peter's attitude and that of his team, this tragic turn of events can only serve as an increased catalyst for their determination to save the world from Harada. Josh Dysart was as masterful as he has ever been in his telling of the story of his Harbingers and their struggles and deserves huge props in particular for this issue. And, the fact that "dead is dead" in the Valiant universe lends more gravitas to the loss unlike other comic publishers. Is dead good? No. But given the struggle and the foe they face in the series, it is a natural consequence and in this case was done extremely well. Congrats to Josh Dysart and the Valiant team on another outstanding issue.