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Magnus, Robot Fighter (Valiant)
Magnus, Robot Fighter: Invasion
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 4, 2022
For all their success, Valiant’s 90s explosion came before series were routinely issued as TPBs, so the collected editions run out quite quickly. In the case of Magnus Robot Fighter this is just as well, since the ideas also run out pretty quickly and we’re treated to shenanigans with (I assume) old 60s Magnus foes and a lot of Valiant’s future slang, which is less Nadsat, more Teletubbies. “Flook this”, you might say.
But before all that you get Invasion, an ambitious story which not only links Valiant’s 20th and 40th century continuity but also introduces Rai, who is… well, it’s hard to say what he is. He’s the “Spirit Guardian Of Japan” and has a big Japanese flag on his face and can do some kind of energy stuff, but mostly he spends his time moaning about having had to become Rai and feeling sad about leaving his wife and kid to do it.
Every fledgling comics line, even the successful ones, seems to have that one character who just doesn’t really work. Rai is Valiant’s Ant-Man; he looks to have been conceived because Japanese stuff was hot and there are a bunch of telling manga-esque and cyberpunk touches. Energy blades, man-machine interfaces, AIs and most obviously the fact that the entire island of Japan can turn into a space-going mecha lizard.
This is simultaneously the coolest thing in Invasion and the biggest sign of Rai’s problems. 80s Manga had plenty of substance but that was a bonus - people got into Akira because it looked cool as fuck. Rai, and Valiant in general, do not look cool as fuck. They look like what Jim Shooter wanted them to look like, namely comics that could be put out on schedule by dependable pros who knew how to tell a story. Yes, one of those pros was Barry Windsor Smith but most weren’t. Ironically, David Lapham, who got his start on Rai, later became a hot indie creator with his own idiosyncratic style, but at no point did he get good at making giant mecha lizards look awesome.
As a Magnus story, this just about works - the basic idea is that future Japan is also dependent on robots (or rather a single robot AI) but unlike Magnus’ North Am it admits it. Magnus is used as a dupe by a faction who want to end this situation, who are in turn being used by alien invaders, which is how we get to the underwhelming space battle with the country-sized mecha. At the end Japan’s robot AI sods off anyway leaving Rai with nobody to guard in his job (which he doesn’t want to do). The obvious next step does not seem to be “get his own series” and yet…
But before all that you get Invasion, an ambitious story which not only links Valiant’s 20th and 40th century continuity but also introduces Rai, who is… well, it’s hard to say what he is. He’s the “Spirit Guardian Of Japan” and has a big Japanese flag on his face and can do some kind of energy stuff, but mostly he spends his time moaning about having had to become Rai and feeling sad about leaving his wife and kid to do it.
Every fledgling comics line, even the successful ones, seems to have that one character who just doesn’t really work. Rai is Valiant’s Ant-Man; he looks to have been conceived because Japanese stuff was hot and there are a bunch of telling manga-esque and cyberpunk touches. Energy blades, man-machine interfaces, AIs and most obviously the fact that the entire island of Japan can turn into a space-going mecha lizard.
This is simultaneously the coolest thing in Invasion and the biggest sign of Rai’s problems. 80s Manga had plenty of substance but that was a bonus - people got into Akira because it looked cool as fuck. Rai, and Valiant in general, do not look cool as fuck. They look like what Jim Shooter wanted them to look like, namely comics that could be put out on schedule by dependable pros who knew how to tell a story. Yes, one of those pros was Barry Windsor Smith but most weren’t. Ironically, David Lapham, who got his start on Rai, later became a hot indie creator with his own idiosyncratic style, but at no point did he get good at making giant mecha lizards look awesome.
As a Magnus story, this just about works - the basic idea is that future Japan is also dependent on robots (or rather a single robot AI) but unlike Magnus’ North Am it admits it. Magnus is used as a dupe by a faction who want to end this situation, who are in turn being used by alien invaders, which is how we get to the underwhelming space battle with the country-sized mecha. At the end Japan’s robot AI sods off anyway leaving Rai with nobody to guard in his job (which he doesn’t want to do). The obvious next step does not seem to be “get his own series” and yet…
August 8, 2020
Really expands on the story well and might be the best Rai story written. Have to reexamine his Unity story to compare.
March 15, 2017
Magnus, Robot Fighter #5-8 from Valiant Comics in 1991 featured the first appearance of Rai, the guardian of Japan, who appeared in flip-books numbered #1-4 on the back side of the issue. The two storylines start separately, then come together in “Invasion.”
After the events of “Steel Nation,” Magnus temporarily finds himself among the Gophs, who live at the lower-class ground level of North Am in the 41st century.
An ambassador from Japan seeks his help; he is trying to end the Japanese dependence on “Granny,” a sentient computer that controls much of Japan. Fifty million Japanese live inside Granny’s host body.
Rai is Grandmother’s defender, and serves as the immune system for the giant robot, chasing away or destroying entities that would harm her. The role of Rai is passed from father to son, with powers granted by Grandmother.
The anti-Grannies have a weapon that will release Granny’s control of Japan, but too late they discover it’s meant to destroy her. They’ve been fooled by the spider aliens, who see Granny as the only thing standing in the way of their conquest of earth.
Magnus, Rai, and Solar, who appears to warn Magnus of the threat, must try to repair Granny and stop the invasion.
This is a pretty strong story overall, with interesting sci-fi concepts like a sentient nation-robot. The art is along the relatively clean and simple look that marked the Valiant “house style” at the time. Writer Jim Shooter manages to present information from each of the sides in the conflict in a compelling way, so that the reader is forced to think beyond the surface of the issue.
After the events of “Steel Nation,” Magnus temporarily finds himself among the Gophs, who live at the lower-class ground level of North Am in the 41st century.
An ambassador from Japan seeks his help; he is trying to end the Japanese dependence on “Granny,” a sentient computer that controls much of Japan. Fifty million Japanese live inside Granny’s host body.
Rai is Grandmother’s defender, and serves as the immune system for the giant robot, chasing away or destroying entities that would harm her. The role of Rai is passed from father to son, with powers granted by Grandmother.
The anti-Grannies have a weapon that will release Granny’s control of Japan, but too late they discover it’s meant to destroy her. They’ve been fooled by the spider aliens, who see Granny as the only thing standing in the way of their conquest of earth.
Magnus, Rai, and Solar, who appears to warn Magnus of the threat, must try to repair Granny and stop the invasion.
This is a pretty strong story overall, with interesting sci-fi concepts like a sentient nation-robot. The art is along the relatively clean and simple look that marked the Valiant “house style” at the time. Writer Jim Shooter manages to present information from each of the sides in the conflict in a compelling way, so that the reader is forced to think beyond the surface of the issue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews