Review: Fall of Cthulhu: Nemesis #3
Release Date: 17 June 2009
Writer(s): Michael Alan Nelson
Artist(s): Todd Herman
Cover(s): Jeffrey Spokes, Chuck BB
Colours: Digikore Studios
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
As the Nemesis chapter of Fall of Cthulhu heads toward its finish, all hell is about to break loose in Atlantis and it turns out Hadron (brother to King Levin) is in the middle of it. Will Levin and Hadron both trying to save Atlantis in different ways leave the city wide open to a direct attack from The Crawling Chaos himself? If not, he could just wait for the brothers to ruin Atlantis themselves with the way these two are going.
Nothing like siblings in positions of power to completely wreck a nation and its people! Especially when it’s two brothers in a chest-puffing contest with each other. While both Levin and Hadron truly want to protect Atlantis from the threat of the Nyarlathotep cult, each has distinctly different ways of wanting to do it. Levin simply wants to wipe them all out, in a public way, to make an example of them. Hadron, thinking that killing them would martyr them and make the cult stronger, would rather force them back into worshipping Vesh. Thus far, Levin has been letting Hadron take care of the cultists the way he wants to (while being a passive-aggressive weeny in his mistrust of his brother’s tactics).
Hadron seems to make a good show for his methods. He seemingly has re-converted the Nyarlathotep cult priest he captured last issue back. I say “seemingly” because I don’t buy someone changing up their entire belief system that fast, torture or not. I’ll buy that he’s just saying he believes in Vesh and only Vesh just to stop the pain. Hadron, on the other hand, is completely confident in his methods and its supposed results. He grants the former priest powers and sets him loose on his former flock.
I think the twist ending (which I saw coming last issue) wasn’t as “dun-dun-DUN” for me because of my not falling for the whole conversion bit. It all seemed way too convenient and a perfect way for Nyarlathotep to take down Atlantis and have the oracle from issue 1 to be right in her prediction on Hadron’s role in the destruction of Atlantis. I will admit, the tentacle action (FINALLY) when the temple was being sacked was fantastic! It felt like a really long wait for some of that to be happening. Other than that glimpse of something Cthulhu-esque, I am just not feeling this issue.
The thing that I don’t get is, if Levin is the king, the ruler of Atlantis, why doesn’t he just tell his brother, “Hey! I think you’re wrong in what you’re doing. And I’m king. So, we’re going to do this my way and you can shut your stupid face up about it if you don’t like it.” Clearly, he would say it in a more kingly, old-timey manner, but you get what I’m trying to say. I mean, what the crap kind of king is this guy anyhow? He’s going to let his brother take down the entire city!
I’m wondering how it’s going to wrap up, because at this point it feels like when you figure out the M. Night twist before half the movie is over; your like of the overall story depends on how the story ends.
Seriously, this oracle is such an awesome psychic that she should totally be joining up with Miss Cleo on a 900 number phone line. She really didn’t see this one coming? Wasted that bunny in the first issue for nothing.
