Divinity III #3 Review: Stalinverse’s True Villain Revealed!
By Matt Conner
The Stalinverse event heats up as Myshka’s Red Brigade takes on Ninjak and Toyo Harada, and the secrets revealed turn this story upside down!
Divinity III: Stalinverse #3
Written by Matt Kindt
Art by Trevor Hairsine
Published by Valiant Entertainment
Stalinverse Cover by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic
Stalinverse has twisted the Valiant Universe into a world where the Soviets have conquered the Earth. Myshka and Abram returned from a space mission with godlike powers. Their attempts to twist time overwrote Valiant’s very reality. And only Ninjak and Toyo Harada know what they’ve done. This week, they have to break Abram out of a psychiatric institution and get to the bottom of what exactly happened to their world. And the answer opens up a sinister secret.
The Red Guard, each member introduced in quick backups in one-shots like Komandar Bloodshot, finally find action this week. Praised as heroes in the background of the first two issues, they showcase their powers in a strike against traitors to the Motherland. Armored skeleton Deathless stands out in a chilling sequence as she hunts souls. These women come from Soviet folklore, like Baba Yaga, a welcome change from the Eurocentric Greek and Norse origins of most comic book mythologies.
Though the creative Communist makeovers of our favorite Valiant characters don’t appear this week, Kindt’s story still ties closely to the publishing line we love. In particular, he takes another look at Divinity’s origin story to pull out a genuinely scary twist. You won’t see it coming, but all the clues have been there.
American-Russian relations have taken a frightening national spotlight. Though this original trilogy started long before our President took any alleged phone calls, Matt Kindt and company know how to capitalize on the zeitgeist. Specifically, the scene where a villain suggests that Putin “make our country great again” will haunt me for years.
Get ready for the best chapter in one of Valiant’s best events yet. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Stalinverse Cover by Jeffrey Veregge