The Hyperion Empire Part 4

"Doctor, we're about to be devoured by a bunch of pyromaniac zombies. Do something!"

Writer: Robbie Morrison 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 25th February 2016

Printed in: DWC 2.06

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Clara along with the help of UNIT and a fireman called Sam, are raged in a battle against the Hyperions and the deadly Scorched. With the Earth's sun set to be harvested sending the entire solar system into despair, will the Doctor be able to bring the Hyperion Empire down?

Verdict 

The Hyperion Empire concluded in brilliant fashion with this fantastic fourth and final part! Not only did it bring an end to the story but it also saw us conclude the first year of Twelfth Doctor comic strip adventures from Doctor Who Comic. Well, that may not be strictly true as for some ghastly reason they seem to have overlooked and bypassed a one part story by the name of Unearthly Things and although we have been given the bonus of Relative Dimensions in Tales from the TARDIS, I just don't understand the logic in skipping ahead of a story. After doing a little bit of my own research, I saw that it was set pretty much directly on from Gangland, which was a highlight of the first year, and then came this finale. It seemed to follow the format of the Tenth Doctor comic strip schedule by having a nice little one part story, in that case Echo, to break things up nicely before we headed into an epic finale. To be fair, that's what we got. Although the Twelfth Doctor segment of DWC is the only one yet to get a perfect rating (well, the Ninth Doctor hasn't quite got a run together yet so I'm not sure he counts by only having one story) but in doing so his segment has become the most difficult to pick a favourite story from. With the Tenth Doctor, The Weeping Angels of Mons stands out as the absolute highlight and for the Eleventh Doctor the best story definitely comes in the form of Space in Relative Dimension and Time. However, I think the Twelfth Doctor might just have a three way tie between this story, Terrorformer and Gangland. The adventures really have been that consistent which is a superb problem to have. I thought the story itself concluded very well and before I get into details I must say that I thought the artwork was nothing short of phenomenal. I've been meaning to mention it in my blog entries of the previous three parts but in this instalment it just escalated even further into greatness. It really was magical and when a story has artwork as good as this, it really does add a lot to a story. Just look how The Dragon Lord was effected by lacklustre artwork in Doctor Who Magazine or the comic strips that appear in just about every single issue of Doctor Who Adventures and the Doctor Who Annual. It really makes things that much better and although sometimes it shouldn't be the case, presentation is key. I think it's similar to the performance of an actor in an audio for example. If they're not trying then things definitely aren't as good as they should be and it does come across on the page here. As predicted in my blog entry of part three yesterday, Sam died in heroic fashion and I loved how the theme of him being a fireman continued right until the end. The way he asked Clara out as they were fending off the Scorched from causing them a smoky death was superb and to be honest I was quite surprised Clara declined. That must make the story placement somewhere close after the events of Dark Water/Death in Heaven. Clara's reaction to his death showed that she definitely felt something for Sam. Any other point in her life and they'd be on that date right now. The Doctor was excellent in this concluding part I thought and Peter Capaldi's brilliance really shone through on the page which is testament to Robbie Morrison as his characterisation returned to an outstanding level. There would be no more deaths and after acquiring the Vulkanite weaponry, an ice gun definitely seemed the right tool to bring down the Hyperion Empire. It was quite an epic and action packed conclusion but I loved how a story as destructive as this ended on an extremely positive and well, just lovely note. The Doctor saved a part of Jane's subconscious and although she couldn't be reunited with her family after becoming a Fusion Angel, she could at least comfort them and they would feel that she was there. Overall, the story as a whole was action packed and saw Earth devastated to the likes we haven't seen since The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Another excellent finale to year one. 

Rating: 9/10