Unity #3 Discussion

BugsySig · Post by **BugsySig** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:24 am

Wow. At first I thought this issue and XO #20 should have swaped places since it was focusing so much on Livewire in the armor, while the XO issue was a key chapter of Unity...but this finishes on such a crazy, awesome swerve. You knew it was coming, but not in that way.

My only question would be why hand over the armor once Livewire new what she knew? I suppose she hadn't fully realized the extent of Harada's dealings until afterward...a little time stamp on how long it was between those last two scenes would have been helpful.

Overall, a fantastic issue that totally changes the game for issue #4.

PS - This book is totally Secret Weapons. Sorry, Dino.

coachjamie · Post by **coachjamie** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:56 pm

I have only had a chance to read Unity so far and it was really good! I figured we would have Livewire in the Armour for a few issues. Not knowing all the past details, I am sitting here scratching my head at why she would hand the armour over. Seems she was having a tough time with it in her head I guess, with what Harada had just done to Airic and his people plus the other stuff she found out, and then she just handed it over. Very curious to see where things go from here.

String · Post by **String** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 3:52 pm

She was trying to reconcile what she had previously felt and had known of Harada with the actions and knowledge she received via the armor's effects. At the moment she gave over the armor, neither she nor the others were prepared to stop/prevent Harada. Maybe she wanted to be wrong about what she was feeling but the information she gleaned from the expansion of her powers only served to confirm her worst fears.

Either way, much better issue I thought. The ending was a great twist on the initial concept, looking forward to seeing what comes next (also towards seeing what is to become of Aric, who was left in a precarious position, I think, at issue's end).

vaevictis · Post by **vaevictis** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 4:46 pm

I thoroughly enjoyed this issue (and the arc). Loved the narrative and the art was top notch. Definitely loved the last few pages.

pixierosa · Post by **pixierosa** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 4:52 pm

String wrote:She was trying to reconcile what she had previously felt and had known of Harada with the actions and knowledge she received via the armor's effects. At the moment she gave over the armor, neither she nor the others were prepared to stop/prevent Harada.

Bingo.

She did have mixed feelings, but she knows Harada for what he is now. As String points out, strategically they needed to wait. Harada himself, along with the rest of his minions, wouldn't have let them leave with the armor. For all we know, she will be able to call it at will, and it will be able to break from Harada's safe. They're going back in to kill Harada, not regain the armor. Unity's new target is a different king.

coachjamie · Post by **coachjamie** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 5:32 pm

pixierosa wrote:
String wrote:She was trying to reconcile what she had previously felt and had known of Harada with the actions and knowledge she received via the armor's effects. At the moment she gave over the armor, neither she nor the others were prepared to stop/prevent Harada.
Bingo.

She did have mixed feelings, but she knows Harada for what he is now. As String points out, strategically they needed to wait. Harada himself, along with the rest of his minions, wouldn't have let them leave with the armor. For all we know, she will be able to call it at will, and it will be able to break from Harada's safe. They're going back in to kill Harada, not regain the armor. Unity's new target is a different king.

So who do you think will help the others take him down? You guys think Harada will take on the armour and will have it until the Armour Hunters come for it?

comicsyte95 · Post by **comicsyte95** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:18 pm

I thought the armor was cool but this issue showed even more potential for the armor.That alone was worth the price of the issue.I cant see why Aric shouldn't have some new abilities in the x-o armor in the future.

pixierosa · Post by **pixierosa** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:16 pm

Hmmm... if they were looking for partners to help take out Harada, Pete and company seem like good allies. It sort of seemed like they were getting ready to team up and attack right after the armor was secured in the vault, so I'm not sure if anyone else is involved. Livewire would have been capable of manipulating data and sending messages to Ninjak & EW about the plan, which is why they are ready to roll, but she could have contacted others. The question is whether or not Harada is aware yet. He was able to hone in on the nuclear warhead issue after Livewire discovered it -- not sure if he was reading it from her mind (wouldn't she be shielded by the armor) or it was close enough for him to detect. He's fallible. Will be interesting to see what comes of this.

bribri · Post by **bribri** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:51 pm

What about the impact on the tagline Valiant has been pushing for the series:

"To kill a king...they created an army."

Throughout the previews and the first couple issues one would think that tagline applied to Aric, not Harada. Nice twist.

bygranddesign · Post by **bygranddesign** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:36 pm

Yep Harada is the NEW King ... that needs to be dethroned

definitely a cool twist

But the thing that has me really intrigued and interested in ...is how will Aric eventually get back the armor?

It seems to me like Livewire is much better fit to wear the armor

She is obviously a much more stable person aka not a power hungry meat head 5th century Visigoth .. and she is a PSIOT with power over machines and her powers are stronger while wearing the suit. She seems like a great fit for Shanhara and her powers make the suit a stronger weapon!

The explanations I can think of is that Shanhara will just end up choosing Aric for some reason (fulfill some legacy or just a greater connection between the two that is important)

Or Livewire will reject the armor as she doesn't want the responsibility of that much power

DirtbagSailor · Post by **DirtbagSailor** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:37 pm

I'm so down with this issue. It's amazing, and as much as I had high hopes, it was even more.

lorddunlow · Post by **lorddunlow** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 1:51 am

Unity is quickly rising up my pull list. This book is so awesome. I love Livewire, but she would be too powerful with the suit. Awesome that her powers were augmented by the suit permanently.

hunter_peterson · Post by **hunter_peterson** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 2:41 am

bygranddesign wrote:Yep Harada is the NEW King ... that needs to be dethroned

definitely a cool twist

But the thing that has me really intrigued and interested in ...is how will Aric eventually get back the armor?

It seems to me like Livewire is much better fit to wear the armor

She is obviously a much more stable person aka not a power hungry meat head 5th century Visigoth .. and she is a PSIOT with power over machines and her powers are stronger while wearing the suit. She seems like a great fit for Shanhara and her powers make the suit a stronger weapon!

The explanations I can think of is that Shanhara will just end up choosing Aric for some reason (fulfill some legacy or just a greater connection between the two that is important)

Or Livewire will reject the armor as she doesn't want the responsibility of that much power

I think that Shanhara only cooperated with her because it realized she was a good person and wanted to reveal Harada's true face to her, with the power upgrade as a sort of reward. She's already hugely powerful without the armor now, especially given that she also seems to be capable of making super-technology too. She turned a basic video game into a psychologically scarring horror one with only her natural ability to modify machines. I think we may have our Reed Richards of the Valiant U now... but with Oracle-like surveillance penetration.

This, to me, is really interesting; if Shanhara was motivated in this way it is both sentient and knows about Harada. That supports it being future tech from the Faraway.

Also, this issue was kick-*SQUEE*! I would totally buy a Livewire solo series after this, if they could find a good hook for it. Can't wait for her to eventually meet Bloodshot!

comicsyte95 · Post by **comicsyte95** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 6:31 am

hunter_peterson wrote:Also, this issue was kick-*SQUEE*! I would totally buy a Livewire solo series after this

+1

coachjamie · Post by **coachjamie** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:35 am

I agree. I think a book centered around her would be cool as well. I guess we may have some more info about Aric next week with XO #21. Was a great twist in the story with Harada being the "king" now. Will be an interesting story arc with them trying to take him down.

nonplayer · Post by **nonplayer** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 9:02 am

Broke my rule of not reading previews. Check out the preview for xo 21 look at his hand. Looks to me xo armor and him share a more deeper conection that physically connects them. Sweek issue cant wait for more valiant..

Captain Craig · Post by **Captain Craig** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 10:42 am

WOW!!! VEI has a true masterpiece in this issue. This single issue goes into my top 5 of best single issues put out since the relaunch.

Whoever made the Sue Storm comparison isn't far off, maybe spot on. Would I be too bold to say Livewire could be the Wonder Woman of VEI now? The backstory we got, the rationale thinking, the emotional resonance she displayed, the logic and power upgrade make her a person of deeper ethical integrity now than we knew before. Also, you want her with you, not against you.

Mad props to Matt Kindt on the plotting and pacing of the arc to be able to pull back on the action and focus on the character with the ties and internal conflicting views of what is right vs how she sees him as, in some sense her savior, and now a monster.

Having read this and Harbinger #20 I can't help but think I know loosely where Unity #4 concludes, it's just the getting there. But Kindt clearly has a fun journey in store even if I am kinda spoiled to the ending having read H#20.

Bone-A-Fach-ee · Post by **Bone-A-Fach-ee** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:13 pm

Wow. This was the last book I read for this week, and what an issue! I though the others were great, and they were, but this was epic! I am so ready for a solo Livewire title. Holy buckets of win! Amazing.
Livewire's gotta get her own title. She just became super powerful this issue, she is going to be a major force in the Valiant Universe as well. Way too powerful not to be, unless this new power won't last? She is now officially a big dog.
Elveen? Stop weeping tears of joy, and let's hear your thoughts!

Carson · Post by **Carson** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:22 pm

This book was just perfect. I'm not going to even try to break down why. I love that Kindt was able to build the Livewire character so effectively in the middle of this multi character, global conflict. Just amazing work. Bravo!

Keith · Post by **Keith** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:38 pm

What can be said that hasn't already? This issue was amazing!

I imagine that now that Livewire has surrendered the armor, it will return to Aric due to the physical connection shared by his regrown hand. Assuming the armor gets free in the upcoming attack on Harada.

Again, fantastic read! Picking a favorite book of the month is going to be quite the challenge this month. Unity, Harbinger, Archer & Armstrong... all worthy candidates!

jmatt · Post by **jmatt** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 9:16 pm

pixierosa wrote:For all we know, she will be able to call it at will, and it will be able to break from Harada's safe.

She knows there is no safe that can hold the armor. She wants Harada to feel in control of the situation until they are ready to act. I'm still not convinced the armor won't respond to a call from Aric, though.

Great issue! Awesome arc! We have seen monumental events in the opening issues of Unity.

Shadowman99 · Post by **Shadowman99** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 3:47 pm

jmatt wrote:
pixierosa wrote:For all we know, she will be able to call it at will, and it will be able to break from Harada's safe.
She knows there is no safe that can hold the armor. She wants Harada to feel in control of the situation until they are ready to act. I'm still not convinced the armor won't respond to a call from Aric, though.

Great issue! Awesome arc! We have seen monumental events in the opening issues of Unity.

Jmatt has pretty much said exactly what I wanted to here, so I'm not going to parrot it.

Unity has just been amazing so far. Really has become *THE* Valiant book to read in my opinion.

SJS4 · Post by **SJS4** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 5:17 pm

I will go against the grain a bit and say the book was mostly "meh" for me. I don't find Livewire to be a compelling character at all.

Art is OK, but the way he draws Aric and Gilad makes them look oddly chubby.

I am going to go back and read the issue a second time, but the story jumped around a lot and some of the decisions the various characters seemed odd.

dornwolf · Post by **dornwolf** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 5:37 pm

The only real problem I have is that if the armour gave Livewire Arics memorys basically why wouldn't she return it Aric knowing that ultimately while hot headed he's trying to do the right thing and that it just sadly doesn't work in the current era.

BugsySig · Post by **BugsySig** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 5:49 pm

dornwolf wrote:The only real problem I have is that if the armour gave Livewire Arics memorys basically why wouldn't she return it Aric knowing that ultimately while hot headed he's trying to do the right thing and that it just sadly doesn't work in the current era.

Maybe that's her eventual plan.

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