Summary
Warning: contains spoilers forEternal Warriors: Last Ride of the Immortals#1!
Valiant’sEternal Warriors: Last Ride of the Immortals#1 turns a surprising genre mashup into a genius debut. The Eternal Warrior and his family are pillars of the Valiant Universe, and have been a key part of each of its incarnations. Now,as Valiant heads towards a line-wideResurgence, the Eternal Warrior returns in a new book mixing time travel hijinx with hard-hitting western action.
Eternal Warriors: Last Ride of the Immortals#1 is written by veteran Valiant scribe Fred Van Lente and drawn by Alvaro Papagiani. The book is split between two time frames: the American West in the 1880s and the present day. Ivar,one of the Eternal Warrior’simmortal siblings, brings the rest of his family back in time. The three find a “Wanted” poster, of three cowboys riding with Wyatt Earp, ofGunfight at the OK Corralfame.
The thing is: neither the Eternal Warrior nor his siblings have any memory of actually doing this, setting up a centuries-spanning mystery.
The Eternal Warrior Lives Up to His Name
The Eternal Warrior’s Life Span Opens Up Multiple Story Possibilities
Gilaad Ani-Padda, also known as the Eternal Warrior, is one of Valiant’s signature characters. Debuting in the first Valiant Universe in 1992, the Eternal Warrior is, as the name suggests, an immortal. Gilaad has two siblings: Aram and Ivar, both of whom also headlined Valiant titles.When Valiant rebooted their universein 2012, the Eternal Warrior and his kin got a new lease on life, as well as a sister, Vexana. Valiant also explained how they became immortal, something missing in the original series. This move helped humanize Gilaad and his family even more.
Eternal Warriors: Last Ride of the Immortalstakes advantage of Gilaad’s long life, placing him in the thick of a real-world incident.
The Eternal Warrior’s long life span allows him to live and fight in multiple eras.Over the years, Valiant has done just this, showing the Eternal Warrior in ancient Sumeria, Rome and Revolutionary Era America.Eternal Warriors: Last Ride of the Immortalstakes advantage of Gilaad’s long life, placing him in the thick of a real-world incident. The story of Wyatt Earp and what went down at the OK Corral is the stuff of legends, but it was also bloody and violent. The Eternal Warrior fits in well in this brutal and unforgiving era.
Eternal WarriorsSets Up Some Intriguing Temporal Mysteries
It Is Another Winning First Issue For Valiant Comics
Yet the beauty ofEternal Warriors: Last Ride of the Immortalsis that it is not simply just a Western, but that it also throws in science fiction. Gilaad’s older brother, Ivar, can travel through time, and he and his brothers quickly learn they are at the center of a temporal paradox. Now, the Eternal Warrior and his family must learn the truth about their time with Wyatt Earp, and make it back to their own time. This mixing of real-world events, time travel and cowboys makesValiant’sEternal Warriors:Last Ride of the Immortals#1 a great debut.
Eternal Warriors: Last Ride of the Immortals#1 is on sale now from Valiant Comics!
