In this review of Planet Death #2, Corporal Scott finds himself in a tough situation after his entire landing party is wiped out on the way to destroy the alien weapon.
Planet Death #2
Writers: Derek Kolstad, Robert Venditti
Art and Main Cover: Tomás Giorello
Variant Covers: Ryan Sook, Jesse Lonergan, Joe Quesada, Michael Kaluta, Leinil Francis Yu
Page Count: 48 pages
Release Date: November 5, 2025
This review contains spoilers
As Planet Death #1 wrapped up, the landing party was in the process of being almost completely decimated. Corporal Scott has managed to survive, coming in two miles behind enemy lines, where he finds himself in a cave trying to light a fire to stay warm. The only problem is that the cave is home to a massive alien creature who doesn’t want him there, leading to a major brawl. Scott is able to come out victorious, but realizes too late that the creature was just trying to protect its unhatched offspring.
After leaving the cave, he has to traverse a hostile, frozen environment to complete his mission of destroying an alien weapon. It’s his only goal because once the weapon is destroyed, he can go home to his family. We see him come across another soldier, Hudson, who is on the brink of death. Scott takes a moment to talk to Hudson, finding out the names of his family members. He tells Hudson that he’ll carry their names with him, just as Hudson breathes his last breath.
With a new supply of scavenged weapons in hand, Scott detects an alien convoy in the distance. This convoy is carrying human prisoners. Thinking that a rescue will help to increase his odds of survival and completing the mission, Scott attacks the convoy, slaughtering the aliens in a bloody, grueling fight.
He frees the prisoners, who were part of the drop from ship forty-six, and equips them with a gun. Scott reiterates the point of destroying the alien weapon so they can all go home. The leader of this group, Douglas, in the final-page reveal, turns the weapon on Scott, telling him that they don’t want to go home.
Analysis
Writers Derek Kolstad and Robert Venditti go light on the dialog and heavy on the action in Planet Death #2. The few times when they give us dialog between human characters, it revolves around the importance of family and getting home to them. They do a good job of allowing us to feel Scott’s struggle with this through flashbacks. His anger at having to be on this planet comes through, but it’s not all about anger for this character. There’s a great moment when Scott realizes that the alien creature in the cave was just protecting its offspring and his regret comes across clearly.
Another interesting aspect of Planet Death #2 is that all alien dialog is written in the alien language. We have no idea of exactly what they’re saying, as there is no translation given. This may end up being inconsequential, as the action does a good job of telling the story.
There’s still not much detail that comes to light about the weapon. We aren’t to that point in the story. It could be an actual physical weapon of alien origin or it could be a living being acting as an aggressor to humans. The uncertainty is intriguing and helps to build the anticipation for future issues. I suspect we may find out a bit more in the next issue, although it’s not due out for several months (May 2026 according to the page showcasing issue 3). Bad Idea’s release schedule for this title is unconventional, with long periods of time between books, but the results are worth the wait.
The work in Planet Death #2 by artist Tomas Giorello and colorist Sunny Gho is fantastic. The details on each page bring the action to life. For an issue that relies more on visuals than dialog, it’s important that every panel delivers. Giorello’s linework and attention to detail does just that. Gho takes those drawings and supplies the right balance of cold tones in the environment with warm tones of battle to create a striking look. Fans of incredible artwork need to see this title.
Final Thoughts
Planet Death #2 brings brutal action, beautiful artwork, and a surprisingly emotional story to readers. While the period between issues is long, it is worth the wait to have this one on your to-read list. Have fun, comic lovers!
