X has faced some tough foes in his vigilante career—but even Berkshire, Deathwish, and the Dogs of War were still regular humans! Now, a case of mistaken identity has pitted X against the immense (and immensely powerful) Archon . . . in a fight that will bring Arcadia to its knees!

BETTER OFF DEAD, PART 4

Picking up immediately from the end of the previous issue, Peter Winter has X on his knees with his hands around his throat, trying to take off his mask, but X has a few extra (no pun intended) tricks up his sleeve, in preparation for just such an event. The next several pages showcase some more of the brutally violent action that fans of this series have come to expect and appreciate, as X continues to fight off Winters’ men with a variety of weapons, until it finally ends up just being X vs. Winter hand to hand. The problem with that is that Winter appears to have superhuman strength and reflexes, in addition to be nearly impervious to harm. All the while Winters continues to taunt X, as though he knows X personally, although X acts like he has no clue what Winters is talking about.

In addition to his physical abilities, Winters’ biggest advantage is his wealth and powers. As the Feds surround the restaurant and prepare to move in, he simply has his men make a few phone calls and the Fed are suddenly given orders from higher up to leave the scene. X also has to deal with Carmine Tango, who is still sick from the poison Winters gave him last issue. It all ends with another explosive finale that sees X possibly reunited with Leigh, but is she still brainwashed against him, or has she recovered?

Once again I loved this issue, Duane Swierczynski continues to bring the heat with this series, excellently visualized by the pencils of Eric Nguyen and colors or Michelle Madsen. I am a tad concerned as the promo for the next issue says that it is tying into some Dark Horse crossover event, but it also swears that it shall remain accessible to regular X fans. I hope so. Nothing can kill the momentum of a great series than being forced to tie in to some big event, as I’ve seen countless times over the years from DC and Marvel. I’d hate for that to happen here. We shall see.

Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS

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