Let's Talk About ONCE & FUTURE #12
Once & Future #12 is officially out from BOOM! Studios. Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora continue to deliver an intriguing comic with absolutely amazing art. If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, you can head to your local comic shop for a physical one or go to digital outlets like comiXology if you prefer digital.
The veil between the Otherworld and the human world is thin, and as the story changes around Duncan and Gran, each foe becomes harder to defeat... and predict. They may be holding the line, but enemies both new and old are closing in fast, and even Gran and Duncan may not be prepared for what's next!
Picking up after the preview, Duncan’s mother Mary/Elaine actually runs to help Duncan and offers some magic as he goes about looking for a weapon. He dives into the lake and basically acts not only as Sir Percival, but thanks to Mary’s reading, a substitute Beowulf. While she’s doing this and Duncan is in the lake, Bridgette shows up demanding to know what the crap is going on. Mary says she’s no longer Mary nor Elaine but now she’s Nimue. The two women have kind of a heart to heart. Kind of. Bridgette is annoyed that Mary is helping Merlin and points out that in the end Nimue betrays Merlin. Meanwhile, Mary explains that the stories of Arthur and Beowulf have become intertwined for centuries. Mary finishes reading, Duncan acquires Excalibur and defeats Grendel’s mother, and then Mary gets away. Somehow Duncan loses Excalibur, but that’s not explained.
Duncan and Bridgette talk about how he may have to fight a dragon later, and Bridgette doesn’t know as much about Beowulf. He then goes and meets up with Rose, and you can tell that he’s just feeling down. He looks tired and defeated. Rose doesn’t ask him to explain and instead just kisses him. When is she going to get to do more?
Cut back over to Mary who’s talking with Merlin. Merlin has a really cool and creepy design in this comic. Well, Mary says that Duncan took the manuscript from her, but looking back, I don’t see that ever happen. Is she already betraying him with lies?
Bridgette then has some foreboding talk as one of the other residents’ daughter visits. The place is a mess, and things are not looking good.
Cut to Merlin and Arthur. The pair are looking for the Grail but apparently need Percival, Galahad, and Bors. We know who the first two are, but we don’t know Bors. Arthur asks Merlin if he’s found Bors, and it cuts away to the Prime Minister and someone else talking about some secret thing. It appears to be about the mystical hunters like Bridgette and Duncan, but we don’t get any true confirmation of that. The Prime Minister talks about opening a box, and I can’t help but wonder if Pandora’s Box is a real thing or if it’s more of a figurative language. Merlin then is seen saying, “Not Bors, but close enough.” He has a very evil smile as he says that, and I’m worried.
I like how Bridgette is getting phased out. She’s still useful, but her age is becoming more of a hindrance. Now, even her knowledge is becoming less helpful as more stuff from Beowulf is introduced. She’ll still be an important character, but it is interesting how she can no longer be the knowledge source for Duncan in this adventure.
