The Crimson Hand

"This is the voice of justice!"

Writer: Dan McDaid
Format: Comic Strip
Released: December 2009-April 2010
Printed in: DWM 417-420

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Majenta

Synopsis

Intersol have searched the galaxy high and low for Majenta Pryce. They have finally found her, but what has she done wrong? Will her past threaten to destroy the whole universe and what will be her fate? The Crimson Hand reveals itself...

Verdict

The Crimson Hand was a great story to bid farewell to the Tenth Doctor in the comic strips and to conclude my reading of the graphic novel for which it is the titular story. It has been quite the epic run with the Tenth Doctor and Majenta and things finally came to an end here. After countless efforts of getting to Panacea, Majenta soon discovered just who she was before the events of Thinktwice and it turns out she was extremely evil. She had been a member of the Crimson Hand and this group sought to gain control of the Manus Maleficus which could literally reshape reality. It needed five mortals to control and with Majenta having once been part of the setup, her recent memory fix meant that the Crimson Hand required her once again. They knew early on though that she was not how she had once been and I liked how the Doctor saw the good side of her and actually seemed to be quite proud that she had one. He knew of her evil roots but that didn't change the way he thought of her and that was pretty evident by what he did at the story's conclusion. I thought the cliffhangers were pretty decent throughout this adventure but the one at the end of part three was outstanding. After seeing evidence of Majenta betraying Wesley in the past, it seemed like she had been using the Doctor all along and now was the moment she had betrayed him. But there was more than just betrayal as she had actually used the Manus Maleficus to destroy him and he seemed to literally tear apart. It was superb. I thought part four was intriguing and I was quite surprised by how much page time was devoted to purely Majenta and how she had given her home planet a new Crimson Age of prosperity. The population didn't like it though and she was genuinely hurt by that. She didn't understand. I did enjoy her relationship with Zephyr though and her arrival at the end of part one was a big surprise so that was good. I thought Finn Dargo was a good character and I loved the Doctor's reaction to the computer being called Justice. He found it incredibly funny. I thought the feel of the 2009 era of Doctor Who was well captured on the page and that was evident in the story's ending. Majenta had taken it upon herself to use the Maleficus to eradicate the Crimson Hand from existence and remove their grip on reality. Things would revert back to how they were but the strain would kill her. The Doctor wasn't going to let her die though and seemed to be bending his own rules to save her life. He used the Maleficus to bring her back despite early questioning whether he could be reunited with Rose, save Gallifrey and give Donna her memories back. It was a fitting way for the Doctor and Majenta to part and I thought the heroic nature of the Tenth Doctor's final moments in comic strip form were magnificent. Overall, a fantastic conclusion to both the graphic novel and the Tenth Doctor era of comic strips!

Rating: 8/10