Ask For Mercy: The Circle of Time #6 – Comixology Originals

Creative Team: Richard Starkings and Abigail Jill Harding

Welcome to a brand new edition of Parlay Points, the comic book review blog for the ODPH Podcast by way of Nerd Initiative.

For this entry, it’s season finale time for one of ComiXology Originals‘ most imaginative series. Ask for Mercy: The Circle of Time #6 by by Richard Starkings and Abigail Jill Harding brings a close to the (literally) time splitting tale that has taken readers on quite the ride. How do things fare for Mercy and Alizarine versus the evil Kroach? Let’s take a deeper dive and see how things wrap up this season.

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

Time Travel Can Be…Complicated

The story of Mercy is a complex one to say the least. Being selected to fight monsters spawned from pure evil, isn’t something that happens every day. Four seasons later, and Mercy’s life hasn’t slowed down since. This season has been a story on two fronts. Mercy’s allies, Ratmir and Jill Anderson, have been making plans while having a young girl named “Becky” in their care.

Becky’s big secret is she’s a younger version of Mercy! Unfortunately, when they made a time jump after escaping a tight situation, they missed the mark and landed 20 years off course in 2007. That said, Jill has taken it upon herself to start actions that should have big ramifications later.

Meanwhile, on the planet Tertiarus (& 65 years prior), a grown up Mercy and Tertiarus protector Alizarine have become entangled with space pirate Absolm Mooncrow while facing off with the Kroach. Alizarine makes a revelation of his connection with the Deathless and powers up Mercy and Mooncrow‘s crew by infusing them with dangerous energy. In the aftermath of the Harvester, this misfit group of warriors make a call to take down the infected Pantheon of Tertiarus before they make way to Earth and invade!

How It Starts

This issue opens up in Banbury, England in 2007, where Ratmir and Anderson landed. It is at this moment when Mercy (of this time) sees Budgie (a fan-favorite ally) lying beaten in the backyard of her grandmother’s house. Puzzled by what has happened, Becky asks Budgie what happened.

At this moment, the story shifts to the capital of Tertiarus as Alizarine is leading the heroes into battle. The looming battle weighs heavily on Alizarine. It was his meddling that caused the Pantheon’s initial downfall, and might provide forgiveness for his actions. With a thunderous cry, the battle has begun. The action is high paced and with stakes this high, readers will be locked in to see who’s left standing at the end.

Where It’s Going

Once inside the capital, Quinacridona and the Pantheon await Alizarine and his forces. It is as epic of a battle as readers should expect. There are many moments within these panels that give clarity to the mystery of Mercy. It is a small break in the action but plays a big part elevating the emotions running through the characters. Choices are made that have dramatic repercussions for everyone on Tertiarus and Earth.

When the smoke clears, the aftermath will completely change the course of of story. No spoilers here but trust me, there are some events that readers will need to brace for. The epilogue ties both season four stories together, and caps off a series that leaves a new status quo in its wake.

The Return Of A Flagship Character

Story Review

Starkings delivers on a finale that lives up to the hype. The battle of Tertiarus never stops from having the sense of grave consequences in store for Mercy. Readers can instantly connect with the pressure to secure victory at all costs. How events play out is a great bonus to where the story has moved. It’s not a happy ending in the traditional sense. The main characters involved on Tertiarus all make difficult choices for their causes. Starkings makes this finale a tragic tale in some sense but one wrapped in hope for the future of the franchise.

Artwork Overview

The visuals done by Harding gives the finale a strong aura for its conclusion. There are a few full panel pages that make a huge statement on the drama unfolding in those moments. Alizarine leading the charge into the Tertiarus capital is a defining example of this. Those moments stand out as key points to the story. These are balanced out by the emotional reactions to the events of the battle. At no point did the battle stray from delivering on its major points. The epilogue featured more reaction based images, but played into capping things off for this stage of Mercy and her story.

Final Point

Stakings and Harding pull out all the stops for the finale of Ask For Mercy season four. The storytelling and imagery gives readers a legendary conclusion of the battle for Tertiarus with high-paced action and a heartbreaking fallout. When it was all said and done, The Circle of Time made for a captivating story that all comic readers should check out.

Hit me up on ODPH social media and let me know what you thought of Ask For Mercy: the Circle Of Time #6. Thanks for reading Parlay Points on Nerd Initiative. Till next time…

Thanks For Reading!

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