Timey-Wimeyest Ever
Creative Staff:
Story: Paul Cornell
Art: Neil Edwards
Colors: Ivan Nunes
Letterer: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
What They Say:
The Doctors come face to face with the shocking identity of their deadly foes!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having triggered a reality bomb—a device which takes a person down her timeline and changes one moment to kill her—the Doctors and their companions end up in a pocket universe created by the Voord, a hive-mind alien species who fought with the Doctor during the Time Wars. Much like the United States did with the Mujahideen during the Cold War, the Time Lords supplied the Voord with advanced weapons and tech to aid in their fight against the Daleks. Fearful that the Time Lords would take back the technology that made them so powerful, the Voord escaped into a pocket dimension—hiding themselves so thoroughly that they practically erased the knowledge of their existence from the known universe. Now they fashion to establish themselves as the new Time Lords, but in order to do so, they need to ensure that certain events transpire so their current leader will become their current leader. It just so happens that this leader is the Twelfth Doctor.
Now that might be a little confusing. The only thing more convoluted than a time travel plot is the summary of a time travel plot. The key to understanding this lies in the reality bomb. When triggered, the bomb moves across a person’s timeline, finding a key moment where a decision means life or death, and changes that decision so that the potential deadly timeline comes to pass. The Tenth Doctor refuses to save Wilf, grows a cold heart and becomes a galactic dictator only to be assassinated. The Eleventh Doctor decided to stay married to River Song instead of saving the whole of reality, and the Twelfth Doctor grew mad after being betrayed by Clara. This mad, lonely, cowardly version became the Voord’s leader, and because his existence is predicated upon a specific set of actions and events, he has manipulated time to ensure that the future where Twelve becomes him comes to pass.
As is the case with the majority of us, the Doctor proves to be his own worst enemy. This Alterna-Twelve knows all the tricks, all the strategies. Instead of just standing around and gloating, he acts immediately, sending the TARDIS away, binding his captives, and leading them to a chamber where their memories will be wiped and hypnotic suggestions implanted to ensure that Clara betrays Twelve and that Twelve descends into the cycle of loneliness and madness that leads him to this point.
Time travel stories are always about circles (perhaps this is why the Gallifreyan language is circle-based). The climax always leads to the beginning, and there’s something classic about that. One of the best aspects of this issue is that we can see the pieces falling into place, and the brilliant part is that the pieces were so subtle that they stood on their own, but now we see how they fit together into this larger piece they take on whole new meanings. For example, the museum that Clara enters where she sees the moment where the three Doctors meet was planted by Alterna-Twelve in order for her to gather the different Doctors together. I was already enjoying this story, but seeing the plot mechanics unfold make me appreciate it on a whole other level. I imagine I’ll get even more out of the story when I reread it in its entirety.
Another element that this comic does well is building tension. Admittedly, I’m the type to get caught up in a story and tend to uncritically accept the story logic until after it’s over, so this might just be me, but I think that Cornell and Co. have done a fantastic job of building suspense and crafting a story where we genuinely feel like the Doctors and their Companions are in serious danger. Part of this is due to a feeling of claustrophobia when we see the trap being sprung. Alterna-Twelve’s plan just seems watertight, and it throws just about everything we have read up to this point in a whole other light.
But part of it is also that certain points of the story are narrated by Gabby Gonzalez. Gabby brings a very grounded, human perspective to the story that we don’t quite get with Alice or Clara. Clara has been traveling with the Doctor for too long, and has adopted too much of his mannerisms and worldview, and even though Alice hasn’t been traveling with her Doctor as long, she has a slightly more steely temperament than Gabby. This is not to say that Gabby is cowardly or unworthy of traveling with the Doctor. She possesses just as much courage as the others, but she lacks confidence in her own abilities, which gives her a sense of vulnerability that the others lack. I imagine that will change once this adventure ends.
Naturally, we all know that the Doctor and his companions are going to survive this, but the quality of the writing and art do a great deal of the heavy lifting in suspending our disbelief, so I couldn’t help but feel anxious for these characters. It’s a feeling I enjoy that’s often lacking in stories about serialized characters, and it goes a long way in making this event feel more, well, eventful. The only question I have right now, other than how the hell are they going to get out of this, is who is the fourth Doctor of the title? Is it Alterna-Twelve, or will the War Doctor show up in the final issue? Hopefully it’s the latter, because I’d love to see him interact with the others.
In Summary:
Doctor Who: Four Doctors 4 does everything right. The art and the writing come together to craft an excellent story that manages to make me feel genuinely concerned about the characters and their chance to win. It also throws many of the events that occurred in the previous three issues into a new light, adding depth and richness to an already deep and rich story. I am going to be so sad to see this creative team go once issue five hits, but I tend to be greedy when it comes to good comics. Dr. Josh gives this an….
Grade: A+
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Titan Comics
Release Date: September 2nd, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
