"Two TARDISes. Two Doctors. Two Rose Tylers."
Writer: Jody Houser
Format: Comic Strip
Released: November 2021 - February 2022
Printed in: Empire of the Wolf #1-4
Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Eighth Doctor, Rose
Synopsis
When searching for his next adventure, the Eighth Doctor meets a strange young woman from another universe... Rose Tyler. He has no idea of the destiny they share, but makes it his mission to discover what brought her here, and how to get her home.
Meanwhile, the Eleventh Doctor is summoned by a mysterious empress plagued with visions of another life. It's Rose Tyler, but not the one he knows! Haling from an alternate timeline and trapped here alone, she has become a liberator, conquerer, and now empress. And when she finds out she's not the only Rose in this universe, something must be done...
All hail the Bad Wolf!
Verdict
Empire of the Wolf was a decent story to kick-start the 2021/22 comic era from Titan Comics! I liked the idea of celebrating 25 years of the Eighth Doctor, but the focus was far from being on just his incarnation. Having him meet the Eleventh Doctor was a very exciting prospect and I thought the moment where they met for the first time could have been better, but they did grow into some good chemistry as the story unfolded. Rose was fundamental to this comic strip in more versions than one and I liked the idea of her meeting two incarnations of the Doctor she hadn't interacted with before, and it's quite fun that they bookend the two versions she did travel with. I thought her reaction when the Eighth Doctor rocked out of the TARDIS was fun as that wasn't who she was expecting, and having Rose meet a Doctor that hadn't yet experienced the Time War was excellent and I think more should have bene made of it. I loved the artwork design of the Eighth Doctor's TARDIS console, but I thought it was severely lacking in presenting the whole console room and that's something I couldn't understand as there was a lot of white/blank panelling. The placement of this story for the Eleventh Doctor was good as he had just lost Amy and Rory in The Angels Take Manhattan, and his comment about not getting on with statues was terrific. His interaction with the TARDIS was lovely and I liked how he reacted when wanting a holiday but finding himself amidst a paradox. The characterisation of this incarnation was strong throughout and I loved his reaction to finding that Rose was back. I thought the explanations as to how Rose managed to travel from one universe to the other and then back again were pretty lacking, and I felt there was missed opportunity in this comic strip. I loved exploring that she and the Meta-Crisis Doctor had a child together and seeing Rose as the mother of a teenager was startling to think how much older she was! The Empress version of her was a less enjoyable character but it was fun to think of what could have been with a majestic version of Rose having subjects and an entire empire! Her spiel to the Eighth Doctor about everything she'd done regarding the Bad Wolf was very good, although she had a lot of confidence in his words about the earlier version not retaining memory during a paradox. D'Pau taking on the villain role was a fun twist after Rose faked being the Empress and tried to stop the invasions, and the cliffhanger at the end of part three with his alliance alongside the Sontarans was fantastic! But then things really sizzled in the final part which was unfortunate and I was honestly stunned at how little the Sontarans did. They did nothing at all! The same image of their army was used countless times which was frustrating and given their design I was hopeful that there would be some connection to Flux, but nothing was stated. It was underwhelming after such a good build and all of the ingredients on offer here. I just feel like this was a missed opportunity as it could have been something special! Overall, still a very worthy read and I liked that Rose pushed the Doctor into not wanting to travel alone leading into The Snowmen with his isolation, but this could have been very special.
Rating: 7/10
Grand one.
ReplyDeleteRose returns. She's one of the top companions.
Rose looks pretty with the empress dress. But she looks better with the t-shirt and trousers on. So sassy and warm, eh. So her. Hurrah. Enjoy how she warm up to the 8th and 11th Doctors.
Also, how Rose kept telling the two Doctors to stop quarrelling. Some past companions did so, but Rose was better; as if she were a mum scolding two naughty kids. A big LOL moment.
Although she want to get back to her famyly, Rose chooses to help stop her parallel self from conquering and destroying, showing her selfless and noble heart. She also chooses to fight by her parallel side, using martial arts to fight rebels.
The little betrayer was a jerk. And help show the empress the error of her ways. A monster of her forging.
The Sontarans appearing rock. A pity they zero did much. Woulda rock if they were from the Special Space Service; nice reference to The Invasion of Time and Peepshow.
Nice how Rose told the 11th Doctor to get a companion. And her kissing John Smith really got me.
Here's how I woulda done it:
ReplyDelete1. Rose would meet the War Doctor as well. Instead of being creep, she accepts him and warms up to him. she can smirk impress by how the old man's fiery but gentle and funny. And also say nice comments on his outfit.
2. Remember the poor Dalek Rose humanise. Somehow he can be alife and to'd become the first of Humano-=Daleks forge with Rose's help. And somehow they pop up to help especially to help fight the Sontarans.
3. Rose would enjoy the 8th Docotr's room.
4. Rose would comment nciely about the 11th Doctor's fez, a positive thing from the Orient.
5. One of the role Rose's Dalek can do be mention how Rose help him when many humans abuse him.
6. The Sontarans would be from the Special Space Service. Their leader would hold a swagger stick and be a group-marshal, and also double-cross P'Dau and use the swagger stick's blaster to slay him (a reminder Sontarans as him lack honour and break promises).
7. Lerox and Sontarans similar to himself would appear. Lerox can mention how Rose trust him when many humans prejurdyce his sort and how she help him and his group. He can even sword-fight the Sontaran group marshal.
8. The War Doctor can sword-fight.
9. Rose can show swordfighting talents.
10. Rose can switch back to her hoody and t-shirt and a bandolier during the fight.
11. The 11th Doctor can mention to the empress how Rose stop him from killing her humansie Dalek out of revenge, as a reason why he chose to help her instead of killing her.
12. Rose would wear a scarf.