In Soulfire #5, the earth seems to be disintegrating slowly as Grace and her dragons continue to wreak havoc on the planet from Italy to New Zealand. From earthquakes coming in at 9.6 on the Richter scale to mass wildfires that threaten the hobbits have wiped out most of New Zealand’s beautiful forests (Nooooo! What will Peter Jackson do???), Grace is hellbent on destruction. The problem that Malikai and his friends run into is whether or not they agree that Grace can still be saved.
Unfortunately, the lack of cohesion on the answer to that question leads to some infighting in the group as Malikai insists that Grace is still in the creature that has now become a veritable demon of destruction named Oris.
The group continues to embrace the merging of technology and magic in their efforts to save the world from Grace/Oris, but Faye, the Queen of the Everlands, is not easily impressed and refuses to get on board with Mal and the gang. In her opinion, merging the two will change their world adversely. I get a feeling that one way or another Faye’s trepidation for the merger manifest itself in later issues. I just don’t know how or when, but I get the feeling she’s not just putting that info out there as an “FYI”.
To add insult to injury, Miya, the Rahtumi princess, returns to “help” the group, much to Malikai’s chagrin and Sarin’s utter delight. I still find Sarin to be insufferable, by the way. As Malikai and friends head out to battle Grace, she transforms revealing herself to be the terrifying Oris, indicating that Sarin’s belief that Grace is no more is right on the money.
Let’s talk about how awesome these dragons are for a moment. The destruction being wrought upon the Earth, whether it’s Venice sinking completely or the wildfires, comes from elemental dragons–water dragons, fire dragons, etc. I didn’t get enough time to see them in action, but watching the Statue of Liberty burn like a match was pretty telling of their strength.
Here’s the official synopsis for Soulfire #5:
SOULFIRE (vol 4) #5
J.T. Krul Story / Giuseppe Cafaro, Mike DeBalfo Art / Nei Ruffino – Colors Michael Turner¹s epic fantasy adventure surges forward into a bold new era! Malikai and his friends attempt to survive and defeat the onslaught of a deadly horde of destructive dragons. Meanwhile, the magical races of the Everlands might have to resort to the unthinkable in order to defeat them‹the fusing of magicŠwith technology! From veteran SOULFIRE scribe J.T. Krul, and featuring the amazing art of Michael DeBalfo along with fan favorite colorist Nei Ruffino, this is the SOULFIRE tale three volumes in the making! New and returning fans will NOT want to miss out as the biggest SOULFIRE story ever told continues right here!
SOULFIRE (vol 4) #5 is in stores May 15th, 2013!
Definitely check it out tomorrow. I felt that this issue was easy to follow and would be good for someone who is new to the series and picked up this copy out of curiosity. What do you think of Soulfire so far? What do you think will happen to Grace?