“Untitled”
Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Luke Ross
Conan and Nyla are now prisoners of Imus Champion. They are hanging from chains when Champion comes with the Serpent Crown and scepter. He makes the chains disappear because with his new powers he can now control the minds of Conan and Nyla. He was supposed to have them sacrificed so Mephisto could be free. Only Champion feels he doesn’t need Mephisto anymore and can control the crown and scepter. He soon finds out that he can’t control it yet and losses his grip on the two. Conan is quick and knocks the crown off his head. A big fight ensues when Mephisto comes and takes Conan away. In a private conversation he feels that Conan is the only one who truly can control the power and in exchange for helping him, Mephisto wants Conan to free him. Conan naturally doesn’t trust the demon and refuses. So Mephisto returns him and decides to give up on Champion. Conan actually forces Champion to wear the crown and it’s power destroys him. Conan and Nyla go to a VIP surf and turf at a local casino to celebrate their victory.
The ending comes to a satisfying conclusion. Conan manages to overcome the power of the artifacts. Champion’s greed gets the better of him. Mephisto can’t convince Conan to side with him. I thought the series was well written. It had a fun plot that visits different places and Marvel characters. Nyla was a good sidekick. She showed a realistic humility at the end instead of a super Mary Sue. Yet she could hold her own and helped Conan in this wild quest. Luke Ross has very beautiful art which really made this series worthwhile. Nice to see some Marvel comics get it right.