Alex fights an internal battle against Gill while the other World Warriors confront the Secret Society leader externally.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ken Siu-Chong
Art: Joe Ng
Colors: Espen Grundetjern
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
What They Say:
It’s one VS all, as Gill battles the combined might of over 30 World Warriors! But can even this army of mortal martial artists stop a rampaging god? The Hadokens, Sonic Booms, and Kikokens run wild in the penultimate chapter of the Secret Society Saga!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Gill’s tournament has gotten severely sidetracked! Ryu has given in to the Satsui no Hado and is currently Evil Ryu. Gill stepped in and used his cryokinesis ability to freeze the martial artist, and Gill has also since taken over the body of wrestler Alex! We start this issue on the Island of the Secret Society. Gill (using Alex’s body) is wreaking havoc on the gathered warriors, Alex’s old mentor Tom steps in as well and Gill actually withstands the combined might of several World Warrior attacks. The World Warriors are joined by Necro, who decides that these friends are something worth fighting for. As the warriors continue their seemingly fruitless assault on Gill, we are taken inside the mind of the frozen Evil Ryu.
This takes us to a dark area where good Ryu and Evil Ryu confront each other in battle. The dialogue between the two leads to the idea that Ryu needs to “fear himself no longer” and accept both sides of himself. As Gill prepares to obliterate the gathered warriors, the ice around Ryu breaks, revealing not Ryu or Evil Ryu, but the newly ascended Shin Ryu. Ryu has achieved balance between light and dark, and confronts Gill himself. During this battle, Alex’s consciousness wakes up within Gill and suddenly starts to take his body back. With a well placed Hadoken, Alex and Gill are separated, and Gill meets his seeming end when Ryu summons shades of Akuma and performs the Shun Goku Satsu (the Raging Demon), complete with the symbol appearing on his back. He claims that Gill has been sent to Hell, and leaps off because “I have one more fight left”. Ryu lands in Australia and calls for Akuma to show himself. Both men have reached their full potential, and as the issue ends, Ryu is met with the ascended form of Akuma-Oni! After this, we get a scene with Gill in hell, where Gill is confronted by demons and then meets Jedah Dohma, who tells him they can escape and reshape the world, which leads to a to be continued in Street Fighter Vs. Darkstalkers # 1.
In Summary:
Well, as one problem ends another begins! The Secret Society’s mad schemes seem to have ended with their boss, and Shin Ryu has left the island to confront Akuma. Gill made one heck of a last stand, withstanding attacks left and right. Ultimately Gill fell to his God Complex-He so believed he was destined to rule and that he was a God that Shin Ryu easily overpowered him. Alex was MIA as a character for most of the issue, since his body was possessed by Gill, but the other characters made up for that. Character development was shown the most with Ryu, though there are some new developments with Gill. Ryu has finally moved past the Satsui no Hado that has haunted him and almost stole his humanity, but he has finally achieved the balance he has sought for so long. It was that balance that allowed him to overcome Gill, but will it be enough to conquer Oni?
The art in this issue was great, and the writing has kept that greatness it has had throughout all the issues really. The tone here was both one of hope and of uncertainty. Gill is gone, which means the Secret Society’s scheme is over, but Ryu, at least, is not finished his path yet. It remains to be seen whether or not he can defeat Akuma/Oni, but I don’t think it will disappoint. This issue, like much of the rest of the series, was done so well, and the first tease here for the upcoming Darkstalkers crossover sends what I think is an ominous message for what is coming. The series has brought all the characters together beautifully, and their in game personalities are shown clearly here. I think this is one of the greatest video game based comics being written now, and this issue certainly didn’t tell me that notion was wrong. If it continues being this strong, Udon has got a real good thing going here. This is a book i would so recommend picking up if you are not already.
Grade: A
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Udon Entertainment
Release Date: October 26, 2016
MSRP: N/A
