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The Forged #6 brings to a close the second arc of the series and sets in motion an interesting chain of events. While it does this, however, the issue itself does it in an almost slapstick approach that balances out some of the darker beats; it is an over-the-top series and this issue exemplifies that.
A Comedy Of Errors
Comedy can take many forms and is sometimes hard to accomplish in a purely visual medium. But the creative team of Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann, and Mike Henderson do it with style. They take different aspects of comedy and sprinkle them into the various scenes, knowing when to pull back and to lean into it.
The opening of The Forged #6, for instance, uses an almost heist movie-esque structure for comedy. The Unseen Hand’s rebellious agents take action to take out Scimitar-3. While they explain to Davian what they are doing and how each member will be executed, we cut back and forth to them describing it and the action. The juxtaposition of people so confident in their plans with us seeing their plans fail in spectacular fashion is hilarious. For the team and for Davian this is deadly serious but for us the reader it plays out like when the heist goes wrong in a heist movie.
As with the characterization of the Empress as a kid in a candy store, the most overt slapstick comes from her time with Victory. The Empress bounces around the page like a rabbit and makes sexual innuendos with practically every panel, she even directly pounces on Victory in an overtly seductive manner that ends with Victory making a face out of the Looney Tunes.
Then when the attack happens against Victory, it plays out like those classic scenes of when a spy is in a relationship and is under attack but has to take a mundane call with their significant other in a movie. The two previous issues were focused on the interworkings of the Empire, its politics, and the crew winding down after a deadly mission.
Now in The Forged #6, we see that culminate in a comedy routine that I think perfectly demonstrates what The Forged is all about. Over-the-top sci-fi action that is on a drug trip.
Davian & Power Plays
On the serious side of things, outside the outrageous and hilarious comedy, is the clear power plays happening in The Forged #6. Davian made quite an impression with his introduction a few issues ago. He was a slithering snake, always ready to strike and always had the upper hand. But in The Forged #6 we see him on the back foot, and it brings out a certain charm in him.
He insults the rebellious members of the Unseen Hand with increasing vulgarity that borders on the comedic and then at the end of The Forged #6 he offers their severed heads as a peace offering to Victory and her team. This is a man who believes in order above all else, so to have colleagues attempt a coup of sorts makes him take a step back and analyze. He strikes us as the kind of person who attempts to take the path of least resistance, the pragmatic approach. This is why he has gone from believing Scimitar-3 should be eliminated but unsure how to do that effectively, to giving them a lead and helping them out.
In any political system, there are those who seek power, whether for good or for ill. Davian is neither of those, he is an opportunist, a pragmatist, and believes in duty within reason. Those are far more common than power-mad dictators and it’s nice to have essentially one of our major recurring characters be like this, it makes him a wildcard, unpredictable in his own way.
The Forged #6 Brings A Unusal Arc To A Close
The Forged #6 takes this very relaxed arc that is focused on characters and politics and adds a dash of comedy. It perfectly demonstrates the versatility of a pulpy story like this.
