RECAP/REVIEW: A-Force #4 – “That’s Enough of Your Poison”
Our last issue had the members of A-Force running for their lives. In our penultimate issue we finally find out the identity of the traitor.
Let’s do it!
The galaxy girl lands her team safe outside the city of Arcadia. In a moment of sweetness amidst the chaos the A-Force newbie thanks the members of her team for the lessons she’s learnt; how to smile, how to fight, how to feel and how to forgive. Its galaxy girl’s innocent perspective helps the team see their strengths and helps She-Hulk forgive herself after Arcadia’s fall. Jumping right back into baroness mode She-Hulk quickly tells them about the magic she saw in the portal; it could only have been created by someone who can use magic from Asgard!!!
Back in Arcadia Loki is congratulated by the Thors for alerting them. She sits on the throne, crowned the new baroness (or according to her ‘queen’) of Arcadia. The use of shadow combined with the expression on her face really work well together to make her seem scary. I’m in two minds about the big reveal of Loki being the traitor. It’s a surprise as the comic didn’t give us any hints that Loki was the traitor and she has been portrayed as a valuable member of A-Force. At the same time Loki is the trickster goddess and is known for wanting the throne of Asgard so she was one of my first choices for traitor.
Loki believes she can make an Arcadia that can save everyone and is more than ready to bend the rules to do so (not a smart thing to say in front of the Thors.) While Loki is usually portrayed as someone who wants power this desire executed in a way here that gives her another dimension of character. She’s a mother figure to America and Nico, and it’s evident that some part of her really does care for the team—she doesn’t rejoice in Medusa’s death. She-Hulk tells Loki that she only wants power and no amount of self-righteous speech-making is going to change that.
It’s Nico that delivers the final blow, sending Loki flying. She tries to tell Nico that she did everything for Arcadia, for A-Force but Nico’s not having it. She kindly reminds Loki that the portals she created are what sent America to the Shield in the first place. I honestly can’t decide if Loki if being sincere or not. I’m tempted to believe that some part of her wants the best for Arcadia but I the lengths she went to become baroness say otherwise. Knowing that she’s been defeated Loki is ready to take everyone in Arcadia down with her. She shoots a green beam into the wall surrounding Arcadia letting everything that was being kept outside in.
For what may be the very last time She-Hulk calls out “A-Force Assemble!” and the team gather together to face the onslaught of zombies.
