It’s Zillah versus Nubia for the power of Sekhmet! Once upon a time they were allies, but now they have been driven apart by a vindictive goddess. Can these women find peace and understanding in time to realize the real danger in front of them? Or is this the end of Nubia’s reign for good? Find out in the final issue of our miniseries! Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #4 is written by Stephanie Williams, penciled by Alitha Martinez, inked by Mark Morales and John Livesay, colored by Alex Guimaraes and lettered by Becca Carey.
The issue begins with Nubia arriving in Madagascar, at the ruins of the temple of Sekhmet. Soon after, a flashback occurs as Nubia reminisces about the first time she visited the temple in her past life as Princess Zahavah. Alitha Martinez’s art and Alex Giumaraes’ colors shine here, as do John Livesay and Mark Morales ink work.
In issue 2, we were treated to gorgeous images of Zahavah and her mother the queen, and that same beauty extends to Zahavah and the goddess Sekhmet. I especially like how authentically Black hair textures are shown on Zahavah and Sekhmet and how the gold hair adornments in Sekhmet’s hair contrast with her rich brown skin. It’s not often I see Black hair drawn by Black artists in superhero comics so I can’t help but drink Zahavah and Sekhmet in as they converse.
Zahavah states that she wishes to receive Sekhmet’s blessing in order to protect her loved ones, and the goddess promptly tests her by swiftly injecting her with venom. Zahavah is told to find the antidote somewhere beyond the tall grass and is given a choice of weapons to choose from.
One of the weapons offered is the double axe-head that Zillah now wields. Maybe when Zillah killed Azariah and stole his half of Sekhmet’s amulet, the weapons appeared to her by magic, not as a blessing but as a kind of dark reward for Zillah. Part of Sekhmet may have been pleased to see Zillah take revenge and so gave her weapons to pursue it further.
Going back to Zahavah, her weapon of choice ends up being a staff. She takes it and begins walking through the grass, which starts to make an ominous HISS sound. You’d think that there are snakes, but Zahavah’s enemy takes the form of skin-and-bone cats that whisper and try to make Zahavah doubt herself.
After gracefully dodging around the cats with many flips, Zahavah manages to make it to the antidote in the nick of time. Returning to Sekhmet, Zahavah receives the amulet from the goddess and is told that the goddess will call on her one day. This makes me wonder if Nubia and Zillah were intentionally drawn together so that Sekhmet could call on Nubia to get the entire amulet back.
Back in the present day, Zillah has arrived in another area of Sekhmet’s temple and muses how she intends to make the goddess return by extracting her blessing from Nubia. As resolute and stubborn as she sounds, I must say she looks beautiful under the moonlight shown here. I enjoy how the moonlight touches Zillah’s skin in blue tones.
Meanwhile, Nubia’s Amazon sisters are in Brazil helping with the rescue efforts that had to be done after Zillah’s robot attack in the previous issue. It’s nice to see the abilities of different Amazons highlighted here, from Clio’s kindness as she retrieves a teddy bear for a child to Bia’s visions of the future. Speaking of which, Bia has a premonition about Nubia and asks that they go to her, saying that even if she has to settle with her past, she shouldn’t deal with the fallout alone.
Back in Madagascar, Nubia and Zillah meet face-to-face again. Zillah’s bad intentions are foreshadowed with a close-up of her teeth, which resemble fangs. Nubia asks what Zillah wants and Zillah points to a riddle written in the ground, whose answer Nubia states aloud as, “Blood”.
Nubia tries to reason with Zillah once more, but Zillah is too filled with vengeance and anger. She feels that Nubia abandoned her and the people from her past life and only Sekhmet’s power can fill that void.
Nonetheless, Nubia draws her magic staff-whip to try and talk some sense into the reincarnated young woman she considered a sister. Yet Zillah draws her weapon and puts on her mask, declaring that she is now Neser and that the woman Nubia knew is gone. Zillah putting on the mask signifies that she is willing to give up her human name and identity in order to receive the power of the goddess Sekhmet. It is pitiable because Zillah has been hurt enough that she wants the power to erase that pain at the cost of hurting others. It also means that Zillah is now a threat that must be stopped by any means, including violence.
Nubia grimly starts to realize this as Zillah charges toward her and the two trade blows. Although Zillah manages to slash Nubia a bit, Nubia soon kicks away her mask and weapon. This allows Nubia to apologize to Zillah face-to-face one final time before she delivers the final killing blow.
The page on which this occurs has a blood red background with Nubia and Zillah depicted as shadows as Nubia stabs her. As she does so, Nubia firmly states that Sekhmet’s power wasn’t meant for either of them. Nubia had the power to protect others all along, but it took a loss and a whole new lifetime to realize it. Nubia represents some people who realize their potential with the help of community and a position of power, while Zillah represents those who don’t have the resources and opportunities to do so.
After Zillah dies, Nubia simply lays her down on the ground and prays she finds peace in her next life before Nubia’s Amazons catch up to Nubia. I wish Nubia would’ve given Zillah’s body a proper burial, especially given what happens next.
The issue ends as two mysterious goddesses converse before Zillah is revived. Judging from the peacock feathers of one of the goddesses and the way she is referred to as “an Olympian”, she is the goddess Hera. As for the other goddess, there is a chance she might be a modern incarnation of Sekhmet. The two plan to use Zillah to make the Amazons pay for their transgressions and their plans will unfold in Wonder Woman’s ongoing series.
All in all, this was a fabulous mini series that did a great job of bridging Nubia’s past life as Princess Zahavah and her present as Queen Nubia. Using Nubia’s previous solo mini series Nubia and The Amazons as a foundation and sprinkling a bit of the crossover fun from the “Trial of The Amazons” event, Nubia Queen of The Amazons has featured Nubia at her most magical yet.
Latonya Pennington
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
