– Spoiler Review –
Bounty Hunters #33 doesn’t mess around with Inferno Squad’s arrival, which should put fans on the edge of their seat, especially after the cliffhanger at the end of this issue!
The law of diminishing returns applies even to stories and characters within them, which has largely been something to watch out for when villains can’t truly be defeated when they have plot armor. This was an early problem in the comics after Marvel took over, as how many times could our heroes run into Darth Vader between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and live to tell the tale without ruining Vader’s reputation? Thus was created Scar Squad, an elite group of stormtroopers, though they never felt like a worthy replacement because they just kept losing, making them an easy win for our heroes far too often. It’s a tough balancing act and I was curious how things with Inferno Squad would shake out in this series, and after Bounty Hunters #33, I’m happy to report they don’t fall into this problem at all, and are instead an effective, deadly group as fans would come to expect. In fact, we know after next issue their interference with the group leads to a shake up in the series’ main crew, so they’ll end up making a lasting impact too. Ethan Sacks has made sure fans of Inferno won’t be disappointed and fans of this series will be on the edge of their seats after their actions here.
Thinking they are safe after losing Inferno in the asteroid field last issue, T’onga still plays it cautious going out into the market around the station they’ve landed on. But Inferno Squad, led by Iden Versio, is watching, though Iden’s assessment of T’onga’s crew thinks a little too highly of the group, besides maybe T’onga and Losha, so she warns caution in how they approach them to get to Valance and wipe his memory banks. Of course Gideon Hask doesn’t agree, as he’s always a bit of a dissenter to Iden’s lead unless it’s his idea, while Del Meeko goes along with Iden’s plans, though listening to Hask might’ve been the more effective plan, despite how well Iden’s works out. See, Bossk and Valance are still working through their animosity for one another, resulting in a brawl inside the Edgehawk, which would’ve been the perfect time to strike instead of waiting. Regardless, T’onga breaks up their squabbles, separating the group: one bunch to fix the exterior of the ship, another the interior (Valance and Bossk’s job), and the last to go out and grab a new hyperdrive. Inferno strikes when the group slits up, so maybe Iden was right all along (and when isn’t she?).
T’onga has long become my favorite character of the series and she has tons of highlights this issue, as Sacks’ writing for her really pops off in entertaining ways. T’onga is clearly comfortable in the leadership role of the group now, ordering everyone around and no one questioning the orders, while she’s able to shut down the fight between Valance and Bossk since they actually listen to her. I love she puts them on cleanup duty for the mess they’ve created, as while I get Losha’s point they might mess things up more, T’onga makes an even better, hilarious point: one might finally kill the other and then they’d have less to worry about as a group. While the leader coming out in T’onga is a delight to see, it’s not the only great moment we have with her in Bounty Hunters #33. As she’s out to grab the new hyperdrive with 4-LOM, venting to the poor droid who doesn’t even know how to pretend to care, they’re attacked and T’onga finds herself face-to-face with Iden! The Inferno Squad leader is impressed with T’onga disabling her dart gun before she could shoot it off and wants to see if the bounty hunter leader’s reputation lives up to her research, so the two begin to duke it out. It’s a great bit of fisitcuffs and T’onga, throwing in some dirty tricks, is able to hold her own against Iden…until Hask arrives and knocks her out from behind. Iden might be unhappy she was interrupted, but they waste no time taking advantage of the moment, with Iden dressing up in T’onga’s cloak and them overriding 4-LOM to control it, so they can sneak into the group and get Valance! As I said earlier, Inferno Squad is a formidable group and the issue ensures they feel that way, especially since it ends with them sneaking up on an unsuspecting group of hunters distracted by their various jobs. Will the hunters manage to keep Inferno from Valance…and will some pay the ultimate price to do so?! We’ll have to wait until next month to find out!
Despite this all going down, the issue has enough time to catch us up with Vukorah, who saunters into the throne room of the Unbroken Clan, drink in one hand and a container full of treasure from the group’s vault in the other, and promptly tells those assembled she’s announcing her resignation! The group she called before her were actually planning to kill her, it’s the people we saw in #31 she’s been watching, and combine the constant death threats with the weight of her interactions with Losha, she might just finally be done with everything. Or it’s a ruse to throw them off guard and she takes them all down. Regardless, IG-88 breaks into the compound, as we know he has a bounty for her, and throws everything into chaos, and since this is Vukorah we’re talking about, she actually finds his appearance interesting, not frightening. Can’t wait to see her deal with IG-88!
Paolo Villanelli is back this issue, alongside Arif Prianto’s colors and Travis Lanham lettering, and while Alessandro Miracolo did a great job, it’s nice to have Villanelli back for Inferno Squad’s big full debut, especially as T’onga and Iden get into their brawl! Villanelli is a master of action scenes, and the tight way he draws most of T’onga and Iden’s fight makes it feel tough and brutal, the two women giving it their all, Lanham’s SFX punctuating the strength of their hits, the ferocity of their confrontation. And at the end of the fight, I liked how T’onga was a shade of blue, to highlight she’s knocked out cold from Hask’s dirty hit. I loved Villanelli’s range for T’onga on the page after she’d ordered 4-LOM to stop Valance and Bossk’s fight, as she’s simmering with rage, shouting when she shuts down Valance’s desire to still go after Cadeliah, Losa seemingly surprised behind her, but when she sneak hugs T’onga, the former’s face finds happiness again.
Here are a few other things:
- I’m really happy T’onga was so quick to shut down Valance wanting to focus on storylines from the past instead of looking to the future, as it feels like this is exactly what the series is doing, moving on and taking us in new directions soon.
- I won’t spoil it here if you don’t want to know who is going to be in the line-up next, but the one name I’m most excited about and doesn’t tell you too much is Durge!
- While Hidden Empire and Qi’ra’s Crimson Dawn storyline is over, whether you want it or not, there’s another crossover event on the horizon. I’ve been skeptical and still don’t know if this is the time and place, but the Marvel Star Wars Comics Panel at Celebration Europe 2023 introduced it and I’m intrigued: Dark Droids, where, “…a mysterious new threat called the Scourge corrupts droids, cyborgs, and everything in-between, spreading chaos throughout the galaxy.” Sounds like it could be fun, at least!
Bounty Hunters #33 entertainingly sets us up for a deadly, quick ending to Inferno Squad’s entrance in the hunters’ lives.
+ Inferno’s effectiveness
+ Cliffhangers abound
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
BOUNTY HUNTERS REVIEWS
War of the Bounty Hunters: #12 | #13 | #14 | #15 | #16 | #17 — Crimson Reign: #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 | #22 — The Raid on the Vermillion: #23 | #24 | #25 | #26 | #27 | #28 — Bedlam on Bestine: #29 | #30 | #31 | #32