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Valkyrie: Jane Foster #6: Review

Dec 2019
?, Pere Perez

Story Name:

Strange Aeons Part 1

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Valkyrie: Jane Foster #6 Review by (June 16, 2020)

Review: A corpse quoting Shakespeare? It’s just the beginning of a new (brief) story arc which assembles a team of medical superheroes to diagnose and treat a dying Death. This raises a few questions (“Who does Death’s makeup?” is suggested) which will be answered. Maybe. In the meantime, the Walking Dead make a guest appearance (not by that name, though), three lesser-known heroes share the spotlight, and Dr Gillespie becomes a real person for the first time. And no comical talking horse!

Comments: Linda Carter, Night Nurse, first appeared in LINDA CARTER, STUDENT NURSE in 1961 and NIGHT NURSE in 1972, where she was a regular nurse whose path did not cross with superheroes; her undercover job as medical assistance to the superpowered started in the original CIVIL WAR in 2007 and she has appeared intermittently ever since; her association with Dr Strange goes back to DOCTOR STRANGE: THE OATH in 2006. Cardiac was introduced in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #342-344 and has mainly appeared in Spider-Titles including a run in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN. Excalibur (Faiza Hussain) started as a regular in CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI:13 and has appeared mainly in X-Men titles in the USA. Manikin has been a regular in ALPHA FLIGHT since issue #43; this is his first appearance outside of that book. British pop singer Yazz and band M People are referenced. Al Ewing and Jason Aaron are co-writers.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Valkyrie: Jane Foster #6 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Working as morgue assistant to Dr. Rudy Gillespie, Jane Foster is there to see him quoting Shakespeare’s The Tempest while working on a recently deceased actor. Suddenly, with the words “and with strange aeons, even Death may die,” the dead man seizes Gillespie by the throat; Jane breaks the corpse’s arm as he calls on them to aid the dying Death. Gillespie, having deduced that Jane is Valkyrie (and insulted that she thinks he is stupid), tells her to go off on her mission. She transforms into Valkyrie before him, thanks him for treating the dead with respect, and heads off to visit Doctor Strange….

At home, Strange, having recently regained the use of his hands in DOCTOR STRANGE (2018) #19, is practicing card tricks. Val explains her errand and Strange conjures up the image of Death. It seems Death has a human form and thereby may be vulnerable to human weakness. So Strange sees the need to call in specialists….

Val and Strange visit a secret clinic where heroes can have their injuries tended to. They are greeted by Night Nurse (and Dr. Strange’s ex) who introduces them to three more recruits, heroes with medical backgrounds: Cardiac (Elias Wirtham), Excalibur (Faiza Hussain), and Manikin (Whitman Knapp). Val gives them her death stare, learning all about them. With the mission (and the guest stars) explained, Strange teleports them all to a dark dimension; Strange suggests that Night Nurse, with no special powers, should stay behind but she declines. They enter the dark forest and Manikin turns into his futuristic self, Highbrow, who detects movement around them—and then they are attacked by the zombie-like Death’s Minions. Manikin changes to his Homo Erectus form to fight and Excalibur gives her sword to Night Nurse to protect herself. The heroes are overwhelmed by numbers until Val realizes their enemies cannot fly so she tells Strange to levitate them away from danger. And then they see a glowing grim reaper figure who is the Death of Death, hovering over Death’s mansion….



?
Pere Perez
Pere Perez
Jesus Aburtov
Mahmud Asrar (Cover Penciler)
Mahmud Asrar (Cover Inker)
Matthew Wilson (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange

(Stephen Strange)
Night Nurse
Night Nurse

(Linda Carter)
Valkyrie
Valkyrie

(Jane Foster)

Plus: Cardiac (Elias Wirtham), Excalibur (Faiza Hussain), Manikin (Whitman Knapp).

> Valkyrie: Jane Foster: Book info and issue index

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