SAVAGE #4: A Conclusion That Could’ve Been Better (Spoilery Comic Book Review)

At long last, we come to the 4th and final issue of SAVAGE by Valiant Entertainment. And unfortunately, this issue is a bit of a disappointment compared to the previous issues.

To recap the previous 3 issues of SAVAGE: Kevin “Savage” Sauvage is just your simple boy who grew up on a dinosaur-infested island. He then managed to get back to modern-day London and becomes a social media celebrity. Then the dinos from his island show up and start wreaking havoc. Kevin stops them, but then some evil mad scientists kidnap him and hold him prisoner. Thankfully, a female scientist frees him, and he returns home. However, he is tired of being a star, so he runs away to an island retreat. Unfortunately, the dinosaurs then appear all over the world, wreaking even more havoc. All caused by those evil mad scientists, of course. Oh, and Kevin’s brother does a Face-Heel Turn out of nowhere. Fortunately, our savage hero becomes tired of his island paradise. He goes back to his hero life, and that’s where SAVAGE #4 picks up.

All issues of SAVAGE are by their creators Max Bemis, who serves as the writer, and Nathan Stockman, who serves as the artist. Triona Farrell is the colorist, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is the letterer. Marcus To did Cover A, Paulina Ganucheau did Cover B, and Peach Momoko did the preorder variant cover. SAVAGE #4 goes on sale from Valiant Entertainment on May 12, 2021. The issue is $3.99 at your local comic book shop.

Warning: spoilers for SAVAGE #4 below. If you want to read this comic, come back here after you have done that.

SAVAGE #4: Plot Summary

SAVAGE #4 actually doesn’t start with Kevin Sauvage, but his traitorous older brother Henry. It’s only after we learn his almost Freudian backstory that the point of view finally switches back to Kevin. After saving some random farm and its inhabitants from dinosaurs, he makes it back to London and reunites with Mae, the female scientist who had rescued him in the lab. Kevin also reunites with his brother, who reveals his traitorous nature and his kinda understandable reasons why he did it. Naturally, he and Kevin make up over it. And of course, this is naturally where Henry kicks the bucket via plot-induced death.

After that, Kevin goes on a berserk rampage against both the dinosaurs and the evil mad scientists in SAVAGE #4. Mr. Head Evil Mad Scientist tries to kill both Kevin and Mae, but they beat him by driving him into his own Stargate-style wormhole device. Kevin and Mae team up into a superhero duo (but not as a romantic relationship), and the Head Evil Mad Scientist is stuck on Kevin’s old dinosaur-infested island swearing vengeance against Kevin Sauvage. Also, he’s now a half-human, half-dinosaur mutant thanks to wormhole shenanigans, but that’s just icing on the cake here.

SAVAGE #4: The Good

SAVAGE #4 has more of the same humor that characterized the previous issues. For me, this is one of the highlights of the comic book series. The humorous moments are as absurd as they are genuinely funny. When you see a bunch of mutant armed dinosaurs making villainous monologues to a cow they’re about to kill, you know you’re in for some fun times ahead.

I also liked the way SAVAGE #4 developed Henry Sauvage’s character. He turned from a greedy bastard into a fairly likable character who we can relate with. You know, right before he was killed off.

Lastly, I did like that Stargate reference in SAVAGE #4. As a longtime fan of Stargate SG-1, I heartily approve. Even though this particular Stargate reference was to the original 1994 film by Roland Emmerich. I mean, granted, that movie served as a basis and prequel for the TV series, so technically speaking, it is still a reference to SG-1.

SAVAGE #4: The Bad

Okay, now for the bad parts: I’m not entirely pleased with the drama here. Particularly with the death of Henry Sauvage just as he was starting to be a likable character. I mean, I get that this is supposed to be a take on the classic superhero origin story where the hero’s loved one dies, which gives them the motivation to become a hero. But here, I feel like there was a lot more that could’ve been done with Henry Sauvage’s character before they killed him off.

My other beef is actually with Mae. It felt like the story was previously setting her up with a romance with Kevin Sauvage, but at the last moment, she reveals herself to like girls only. Now, as a yuri fan, I like any time yuri is in a work of media. But in this case, it felt a bit ham-fisted and add-in. There was no foreshadowing beforehand that Mae was into girls, and she doesn’t do anything that indicates that she likes girls even after her coming out. She just simply tells us she’s a lesbian, and that’s it. I feel like this could’ve been a much better reveal as a “Show, don’t tell” kind of thing. Just a suggestion.

Conclusion

SAVAGE #4 dramatically concludes the tale of Kevin Sauvage. However, I feel like some parts weren’t as good as they could’ve been. Ultimately though, this is still a fairly solid conclusion to a pretty entertaining comic book series. Seriously, there have been worse endings, in my opinion. If you agree, then check it out on Valiant Entertainment.

Source: Valiant Entertainment