”Fear… such a prison. Such a POISON.”
Creative Staff:
Writer: Gerard Way
Art: Gabriel Ba
Colors: Nick Filardi
Letterer: Nate Piekos
What They Say:
Fear is a prison.
Content: (warning, spoilers)
With the younger Perseus having merged with an enemy from the Umbrella Academy’s past, plus the added danger of the rest of their rogues gallery now free from Hotel Oblivion and running amok in the real world, you’d think for how droll as this arc has been, it would at least deliver come its climax.
And in some regards, you’re right.
Solely focusing on Perseus’ arc this issue, it has a solid foundation, takes its course throughout the issue, and has a satisfying conclusion come the issue’s end. From the get-go, Perseus is so self-righteous and overridden with power, that he sees himself as this unstoppable god. He’s able to make quick work of smaller-time villains and gain the respect of pedestrians in the area, only to meet his match with The Scientific Man, who in turn gets defeated once the Umbrella Academy makes their return. The problem here (besides the very visible parallels to The Incredibles) is that Perseus’ arc doesn’t mean much when you never had a chance to get familiar with him as a character beforehand. In the issues leading up to this, there is very little for readers to go on for Perseus. More often than not, we see him acting out of motives we’re either unaware of, or seem too minor and petty for us to care about. Perseus as a human villain is simply too unexplored for Perseus as a supervillain to feel justified.
What we do get does feel like the best material in this arc by a long-shot, though. Seeing Perseus immediately have to deal with The Scientific Man is a sight to see. Dozens of villains drop in this issue, and yet artist Ba is able to make each of them packed with years of non-existent lore through design alone. Furthermore, Ba is able to give Scientific Man this special sense of scale to him. He’s nowhere as large as characters like Spaceman, and yet his design is so simple yet effective. His showdown against Spaceman and the rest of the Umbrella Academy is short but thoroughly entertaining. I just wish the rest of this arc was at this same level.
In Summary:
Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion issue 6 delivers at least in terms of its fight. Seeing Scientific Man absolutely wreck the newly transformed Perseus and then continue to put up a decent fight against the Umbrella Academy is the closest this arc has gotten to having any sense of focus, and for that, I must give it praise. But when you get down to the particulars especially surrounding Perseus, the writing begins to feel flimsy and unearned.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 27th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
