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Lazarus: Risen #5 is a game-changing issue in the series. For literally years in the real world as well as in the fictional world, people have waited in anticipation to see the results of the Conclave War. Finally, the Carlyle’s have landed a decisive victory in a war that has seemed to have lost all meaning and become very personal for those involved. The world of Lazarus will not be the same ever again.
Seven Meets Eight
We finally get to see Forever and Eve interact in Lazarus: Risen #5 after much build-up. What I like most about this is how natural their interactions are. This shows you both the strength of Greg Rucka’s writing and Michael Lark’s art that they can convey such subtle nuances between two people who are virtually identical at a basic level. Even their names are a point of contention that they must walk a fine line of not invalidating the other but also acknowledging that they are clones.
In addition to the amazing interplay with them, Rucka and Lark introduce a way for them to communicate with each other via an encrypted network. Johanna knew about this and was willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Forever under Beth’s nose, which almost assuredly will come back to bite her. By having them interact more, we are able to see the differences in the way they process information. Such as Eve or now Eight’s understanding that she is just one in a long line of clones compared to Forever/Seven.
It makes me wonder if the cryptic message Forever got all the way back in the first arc about her not apart of the Carlyle’s was, in actual fact, a past version of Forever. Marisol admits to training what she assumes is all versions of Forever, even though it has only been four out of eight. This could have larger implications than it seems on the surface.
The True Head Of Family
The other major family interaction in Lazarus: Risen #5 is between Johanna and Malcolm. This bit was interesting because I have noticed that Malcolm seems to be getting more screen time in the past few issues than he has had in previous arcs. It’s clear that the Conclave War was Malcolm’s goal from the start but to what end? He has given up the Head of Family position to the next logical choice, Johanna, but that has come at a price, potentially a price he didn’t count on.
Johanna is a complex person; she is both the scariest person in the room and perhaps the most trustworthy of the Carlyle family that still associate with that name. Yet, I ponder whether her kindness to Forever and willingness to forgo some of the traditions upheld by the family for the sake of giving Forever and other Serf a little more freedom is just a façade. This is something that the conversation with Malcolm hints at. First, she keeps him out of the loop of a major decision and the wiping out of an entire rival family; then, she bluntly confronts him on his plans. She clearly feels threatened by her father; rather, he feels threatened by her is another question entirely.
But Malcolm is right, she has just taken a very big step, a bigger step than perhaps she realized. She has executed one of the families that founded this modern world. The blood on her hands will never wash away, and she has to live with it. The question is, can she?
The Massacre Of The Morray’s
Now the ending sequence of Lazarus: Risen #5 is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Every member of the creative team deserves applause for pulling off such an effective curveball of darkness, emotion, triumph, and loss at the same time. Nothing felt better than watching Forever casually glide through her enemies as though they weren’t even there with her elite Dagger team in order to bring the Morray’s to their knees. And the grin I had on my face when the Morray’s got their just desserts for what they did to poor Joaquim is an indescribable mix of sadistic happiness.
Yet Forever chooses is forced to do the unspeakable, turn the family against each other in more ways than one. Literally using one to kill the other in a sadistic twist of removing their will just like they did to Joaquim. Then she is forced to kill the one member of the Morray’s that wasn’t on board with what happened and even helped Forever gain access to the site. This was not a battle; it was a massacre. Forever was never kind; she was never good; she was grown to be a killer, a swift and efficient one at that. But the sheer brutality on display here shows just how much of a toll the Conclave War has taken on her.
Lazarus: Risen #5 Hurtles Us Closer To The End Of The Conclave War
This was a fantastic issue all around. The massive delays that last years, reformatting, and the worldwide pandemic have taken its toll on this series pace and momentum. But Lazarus: Risen #5 brings exciting developments in the Conclave War and excellent character progression to the table to show that this creative team still has it in them to make one of the best sci-fi comics out there.