Review – Rai #6

I noticed something peculiar as I was reading Rai #6. There’s isn’t an awful lot of Rai in it. The nominal protagonist  doesn’t show up until about halfway through the book, and he’s gone after about six pages. The even funnier thing is that I only noticed because he was mentioned in passing by two of the other characters. It’s a testament, I think, to the cast and world that Matt Kindt and Clayton Crane have crafted. We’re only on issue 6, and there’s enough happening in enough different places that the titular hero can take a back seat to three different pairs of people whose paths he’s crossed, all of whom are conspiring against Father, the A.I. who governs New Japan.

The first are Momo and Izak, two pointed victims of the human utopia around them. Momo is a positron, one of the cyborgs grown to accompany humans, to provide them friendship, and to curb the desire to procreate on the overpopulated ship. Momo was awakened to consciousness by her master’s drug use, and liberated by his death. Izak is an alien, whose race was captured and enslaved by Father, intended to be used as law enforcement throughout New Japan. When their need for blood proved too powerful to breed out, they were cast to Earth, but Izak escaped to plan revenge. Both of these peoples’ very existence is illegal, and as such, they have the least to lose, the least patience, and the greatest inclination to violence.

The second is Dr. Silk and Spylocke, who’ve been plotting with Rai for several issues now. There’s not a lot to say about their meeting without giving things away. They’re keeping the wheels in motion that they began with Rai, and continuing to feel out there trust in one another.

The third is the teenaged Lula and her own new positronic companion. Lula’s brush with Rai got her asking questions, and when she learned that his knowledge of Japan had blind spots, her curiosity was piqued. She’s set out to map all of New Japan, but she’s almost certainly getting in over her head.

Two of my favorite things about sci-fi are the way it can help us understand the Other, and the way it can give voice to the voiceless. There’s plenty of both happening here. As the details of Momo’s slavery come into full view, her literal inability to speak mirrors the effect that fear has on an enormous portion of domestic abuse victims. A lot of robot stories examine the effects of slavery, servitude, and abuse, but Momo’s specific situation – an abused woman picking her life up after being freed from an abusive SO – speaks directly to a problem that affects over two million people in America alone. The issue also directly addresses the power of having even one friend in situation like that.

Meanwhile, Lula’s journey may pass the Bechdel test, but her scene is tainted by Momo’s. As she enthusiastically starts hatching dangerous plots with her companion, who has no choice but to comply, it muddles the entire scenario. As Lula aids the people who are steering toward the liberation of her positronic ally, that ally doesn’t get a say in whether she wants to help or not.

There’s one more thing happening here that I love, and that’s the ties to the rest of the Valiant Universe. You absolutely don’t have to be reading other books to enjoy Rai, but for people who know how long Doctor Silk’s been around, or people for whom the name “Livewire” rings a bell, there are a lot of deep questions raised by the world of New Japan. Not to mention people who remember that there are still folks running around on that ruined Earth, getting bombarded by nuclear runoff and gene-spliced alien rejects by the people living over their heads.

*Note: Valiant Entertainment did furnish a PDF preview copy of this issue for this review.

**Further note: I’m gonna go buy it Wednesday, anyway.