The Swords of Kali Part 3

"Clara Oswald is no more. I am death. I am destruction. I am Kali."

Writer: Robbie Morrison

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 18th June 2015

Printed in: DWC #5

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

In an attempt to save Clara from Kaliratha Thuggees, the Doctor has broken his golden rule of never helping supervillains, and has agreed to find the final sword of Kali, aided by Rani, a ruthless warrior seeking revenge against the Thuggees for killing her beloved. Meanwhile, thousands of citizens have moved to Haven, Sonari Scindia's 'perfect' new space-city, where something more sinister is afoot. And it seems Clara is not quite as safe as the Doctor had hoped, having become the host body for Kali: Goddess of Destruction!

Verdict 

Finally I am back! Finally. After a gruelling fortnight or so of solid revision for at least eight hours a day (on top of the probable 2-4 hours a day I was doing a month or two prior), today saw me complete my A2 exams with a whopping two and a half hour LA4 exam! Despite the length, which was only by a matter of seconds enough time, it was a wonderful paper to finish on and to be honest I can't really complain with how any of the exams went to be honest. There's no doubt I put the effort in as my usual daily dose of Who had to be put on hold for two weeks, except for the one instance of the third part of Blood and Ice because I just simply didn't have the time. Or even if I did I was just completely drained and to do a Doctor Who story I feel I need to be concentrating. So, as my exam paper was collected and I was let free from the exam hall, after leaving college campus for the last time I popped into WH Smith before jumping on the bus home and to my delight I picked up Doctor Who Comic and the latest figurine which is the wonderfully detailed Teller from Time Heist. Very impressive indeed! Just like the concluding part to The Swords of Kali. I really enjoyed the first two parts of this story and although I was hoping for the first full marks score from the comic, it ended in style. After the shocking cliffhanger of the last part where Clara was now the embodiment of Kali, I felt things jumped ahead maybe a tad too quickly. Instead of seeing a search for the final sword the Doctor simply arrived at its location on the first page. The explanation though was outstanding! This is why re-reading parts is crucial to fully understanding a story in my opinion as due to all that's gone on between issue I highly doubt I've had remembered that Tiger only found two monstrous corpses instead of the fourth sword. So here they all were, along with two alive monsters and the final sword two weeks before Tiger was set to arrive. Well, the Doctor can't go rewriting history now can he. I guess the monsters would have to die. I think it was great that the Doctor acknowledged that. He knew what was going to happen and it was brilliant linkage between parts. I really loved Priyanka and Rani in this segment of the story and the moment at the end was beautiful. After Rani lost her beloved, which in terms of the story would be about half a millennium ago, the pair seemed to embrace what they'd lost to come together. Priyanka had lost her father but now she had Rani. The mention of leaving her weapon for good was touching and it seems nice that Priyanka will be able to show Rani all that is new in the world. I doubt she'd understand the concept of a space-city but that's what was present with Haven. I liked how that had a purpose of its own - a collision with Mumbai. Scindia were on a wrecking path to feed the goddess through the necro-cloud. However, the Doctor had plans within plans, as Clara pointed out in the previous part. Even inside Kali, Clara was still hopeful that the Doctor would find a way to win. However, he had just as much confidence in his companion which was lovely to see. The fact that the Doctor had tinkered with the final sword of Kali by putting the sonic screwdriver inside to save the day instead of destroying it seemed like cheating but the way I imagined the Twelfth Doctor saying it just couldn't let me criticise too much. It seemed typical of this incarnation which I'm loving more and more. Series Nine can't come quick enough, but whilst his comic stories are of this quality they more than fill the gap! Overall, an excellent conclusion to the story. I look forward to the next!

Rating: 9/10