Old Girl: War of Gods

"Sutekh is an enemy of all life/"

Writer: Nick Abadzis
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 23rd November 2017
Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 20

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby, Cindy

Synopsis

The grand finale of Year Two! The impossible has occurred, and an ancient foe, long since defeated, has returned again to plague the Doctor, the universe, and to threaten all of reality! Has Anubis fallen to the ways of his father, Sutekh... or has Sutekh found a way to transcend death? Whoever survives will head into Year Three forever changed!

Verdict

Old Girl concluded in great style with War of Gods and I really am glad to have finished it! Now, that's not at all because it was a bad story and as my rating reflects I very much enjoyed it. The only issue I have is with the publisher's behind Doctor Who Comic because with it only now being released tri-monthly, it really has taken me an age to complete the story. I started it way back in April so this really has been a long time coming. Thankfully though I was happy to find that Year Two finished very strongly and Sutekh was defeated once again. I thought the characterisation of the Tenth Doctor was superb with David Tennant's characterisation being captured wonderfully well. The relationship between Gabby and Cindy was terrific in this story and the moment that Cindy poured out her emotion and love for Gabby really was a touching moment. She wasn't proclaiming that she was in love with her but I liked, and was quite surprised, that Cindy's true intentions in travelling with the Doctor was so that she wouldn't be away from Gabby for an extended period of time. It wasn't about travelling the universe for her which I found quite extraordinary. Dorothy Bell got to steal the show in this finale which was great as I have really enjoyed her character in these Tenth Doctor comic stories. Her admittance that she was just wearing the face of youth was good and I loved how she used her position as the Hand of Sutekh to destroy him once and for all. The reveal that the Doctor was actually going to sacrifice both himself and the TARDIS showed you just how powerful Sutekh was and the threat he posed but given the option of Dorothy taking his place, something she would not be persuaded out of by Gabby, he managed to save the day without regenerating or perishing. Sutekh went on a bit of a rampage before his demise and the way he just obliterated the Dragon was quite horrifying. That was what he did to somebody who brought him the gift of the Doctor's companions so it showed that he was not one for compassion. The way the Doctor addressed Sutekh was brilliant and I loved how the latter addressed the Time Lord's regeneration. Even in voice and tone, the Doctor was still recognisable despite being in a different body. The epilogue, if you like, was most interesting and with the damage caused by Sutekh's destruction, the Doctor had been out cold for a few days. Dororthy had worked wonders for Anubis before her sacrifice and she had basically reset him. He was an Osiran but he barely remembered a thing and was dubbed Newbis. I quite liked that. As much as I have liked this story and the whole arc with Anubis and Dorothy, I do hope that Year Three takes us in a new direction. Overall though, a brilliant finale!

Rating: 9/10