In Unity #3 writer Matt Kindt gives readers a intimate look into what it means to be in control of the X-O Manowar weapon and the toll it can take on those who control it. Livewire is the catalyst and not Aric, but his life is on full display, making Unity #3 a deeply interesting read.

Official description from VALIANT:
Enter: Livewire! On an airtight team of stone-cold soldiers, Amanda McKee is the one variable in the equation that equals absolute kill. Now, as the last woman standing against the unstoppable force known as X-O Manowar, the Harbinger Foundation’s most seasoned technopath has just added one new item to her resume — newest bearer of the X-O Manowar armor and the finger behind the trigger of the universe’s most powerful weapon. Watch out world, this means trouble.

While the heart of the issue is a history lesson of all those who have ever worn the X-O Manowar armor there is still plenty of action. The opening jumps right into the fray as Harada’s team and Aric and his warriors are plunging to the bottom of the sea. Ninjak and the Eternal Warrior fight to find an escape from seeming death. Livewire gets a full on deep immersion into Aric’s life from his bravery to his heartbreak while looking into her emotion past. It’s quite the ride both emotionally and psychically.

Kindt paints a painful yet heroic history of those fortunate to possess the armor but also exposes the inherent danger of such a weapon was under the control of some like Unity’s leader Toyo Harada. Kindt also brings Aric’s non-stop warrior mentality to the forefront as he will battle to his final breath armor or not. There is no reasoning, only completion of a goal, making his standoff with the Eternal Warrior a deeply tense match-up.

Even though Livewire, Harada’s most deeply loyal follower, now controls the armor there is so much more at play. Mind games and alliances are tested and shifted with the knowledge that the weapon is now within Harada’s grasp. Kindt makes the mental confusion and underhandedness palpable and dramatic. It’s so much more than just an action story now that Aric no longer is an immediate threat.

Doug Braithwaite does some great work on this issue with the action but also branches out in to some great panel work with the struggle Livewire has gaining control of the armor and dealing with emotional weight of her own past as well as Aric’s. Simply an overall wonderful piece of work and pacing.

Unity #3 hits on many levels, some surprising, but mostly in a very full and well rounded way. Kindt and Braithwaite make a great team on this title and it’s so much more than you might expect. Unity is really starting to hit it’s stride and if you haven’t checked this out then you are missing out on some great comic book storytelling and action. It pulls from so many influences within the Valiant Universe to make one of the best team books on the comic shop shelves.

4/5