Last issue, our lead character, B., starts to remember his ancient past living in a village. He started his endless battles against warriors until they sack his village and he has his first death. In the present, he walked into the home of Diana, the researcher who is studying him. The cover of Brzrkr #5 by Lee Garbett has B. Shouting, colored red, and with a blood splattering. The Brzrkr story continues with Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney. The issue opens with a series of closeups of B. in some lab submerged. This shifts to Diana’s home, the interior lit by a fireplace, is soaked in orange colors by Bill Crabtree. Garney’s art has some of the thick blacks and line work of Frank Miller’s Neo-noir, but I also sense some Stan Drake in the face details. B. questions Diana about her past in numerous scientific disciplines, but wanting anonymity.
They listen to a song with the notes wrapped around them in borders and the lyrics large in the panels. Still, the song brings up images of his past through time, possibly something Diana detected with her instruments and replicated with the song. In the captions, b. Says that there is a desire for “it”, which he tells Diana is love. Then, B. leaves out in the rain. This shifts to the next day, the panels are splashed pink like a romance comic. Barbara gives him a solution to help him “relax” and then a needle to insert into his temple. The next panel is a splash of Brzrkr with countless wires attached to him. An almost Weapon X situation. Barbara in her monitoring room, activates a machine, a new protocol to bringing B. into an almost hypnotic state. This bring a memory of “79,990 years ago” for Brzrkr in the wilderness.
He is in a river and faces a massive cave bear. B. Turns to see a woman by the lakeshore, startled at the bear, his eyes flare blue. The bear roars and then runs away. The woman smiles. No names, not even the bear, whom I’m calling B. bear. Her tribe’s warriors have him surrounded by spears while she gives birth. We have a closeup of Brzrkr’s face and then we see that chains attached to horses have him drawn and quartered! He sees the child turned purple. An axe is swung at his head! The woman cries at the fate of the child and then becomes old Highlander-style. No Immortal can have children. He meets and holds hands with an Egyptian woman. She dies in childbirth. The fate of Brzrkr’s lovelife could be expanded in a film or series past a few panels. Then, we get a Conan-style harem. We get more stories, an Egyptian woman who also becomes elderly and leaves him alone.
An Asian woman meeting him wthile planting, the Berserker loses purpose as the planting withers. An African woman he kisses, she cries, and it fades to black. He calls the Berserker his ally. At a Japanese village, B. is in samurai armor, very much like Reeve’s part in 47 Ronin (2013). The youthful looks of the young woman turn old. Then, we have a monastery where Brzrkr tires to find solace, but all of the monks fall to age. At a Norse, icy battlefield, he has fallen with his axe as a swordswoman cries over his death. She takes him to a funeral pyre. He has not found the reason behind his existence, and only repeats, “…why…”., Barbara tries to reassure him. Then, his eyes burn blue and the chamber explodes! Brzrkr #5 gets us closer to this mysterious research project. Most likely the test subjects will die like his children since his immortality is only set for B. Zombie soldiers? I sense that if we get answers to questions, that we would have to see Brzrkr’s mysterious father, a Zeus and Hercules situation.
Four Protocols out of Five!
#Brzrkr, #KeanuReeves, #MattKindt, #RonGarney, #LeeGarbett, #BillCrabtree
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