#Rating the more well-known orcs and even including a comic recommendation

[elfdragon12]

Let's rate some orcs

Because I love orcs and have a number of Feelings about them and they tend to be portrayed wildly different across franchises. These are going to be franchises I'm more familiar with. Hopefully, we can find some orcs that will rank high.

My ratings will take into consideration visual appeal and variety. How big of an OOF factor is readily apparent will be taken into acount.

Anime (in general): 0/10

I'm just giving a blanket statement for the vast majority of orcs in anime. They tend to have super generic designs, very copy-paste, and... Like... They seem to be mostly used for terrible porn because... Apparently there are never any female orcs. It's gross. (These creators are COWARDS! Give me a big, green, beefy orc girlfriend! She can be my waifu!)

Kemono Michi: 3/10

Still the boring and basic anime orc design and I definitely don't care for those little horns, but their personalities aren't terrible. Also, more orc wrestling, please! (Side-note, there's a webcomic called Daughter of the Lilies and the orcs in that comic have horned eyebrow ridges that I think work very well for the design! It's been a while since I've checked up on it, but I really enjoyed what I have read.)

Neverwinter Nights: 5/10

I actually think the in-game sprites are pretty cute?? Not too much to say other than that. (If I was ranking half-orcs though, Daelan Red Tiger would be a 10/10, would definitely smooch. Xanos is fairly smoochable too, but one would probably have a slap slap kiss kiss romance with him.) The NWN games were based on D&D 3rd edition so orcs don't tend to be more than a basic bad guy.

Rankin-Bass's Return of the King: 6/10

While having a general look to them, it's not just a copy-paste orc horde and I appreciate that. Also, I don't know if you've heard Where There's a Whip, There's a Way, but these orcs know how to belt out a pretty good marching tune! I didn't remember it being that good when I watched it as a kid! However, these are also the same designs used for goblins in their take on the Hobbit, so... Who knows?? Kinda reflects how goblins and orcs are basically interchangeable in the actual book. Oops!

Bright: 3/10

This movie gave me a lot of Feelings and one of the only good ones is that I like the way the orcs look. However, I've given them such a low rating because the writing and world-building surrounding them is just Not Good. (Maybe, if you're going to heavily code your orcs as Black people and then use themes of racism and stereotyping, maybe give more than one of the 5 orcs not implicitly tied to the gangbanger lifestyle more than 3 seconds of screentime?! As I said, this movie gave me Feelings.)

Peter Jackson LotR: 4/10

A good variety of looks in these orcs with a unifying theme. Not a whole lot of personality to them besides EVIL though. (And, well, we can't forget that it was LotR pioneered the modern image for orcs--Tolkien didn't invent them--and just how he described them in a letter to someone else. Man definitely wasn't perfect.)

D&D: 4/10 (however, I will rate Wildemount orcs at a 10/10)

These orcs have... Been through a lot and have really changed over the years. (Language describing half-orcs in 2e is Yikes.) They only took the -2 Intelligence modifier away only as recently as Eberron and Wildemount strips away the explicit connection to Gruumsh and giving orcs more personal agency. Wildemount really does step it up! I do think the art for orcs in more the more recent 5e sourcebooks look a lot better and I think the official Nolzur orc minis do look pretty good.

Warhammer: 6/10

There's a ton of lore and I don't really know a whole lot of it. However, I do have some fondness for the orkz. Oh, they're so dumb, but that's also why their powers work--because they don't know any better. There is a certain audaciousness to them I rather like. As for their visuals, there's a lot of variety in these orkz. While they're not so smoochable, they are fun to look at.

World of Warcraft in-game: 5/10

Pretty sure WoW really kicked off the switch from pig-faced orcs to big, beefy, green people and I absolutely don't begrudge that. In the game itself, I can't say much. The difference between male and female orcs is really sad though. Maybe I want to see more female orcs that look like they could bench me with a single arm rather that "sexy woman with an hourglass shape, but green and a weird haircut".

And, because I feel like the vibe is different enough, here's a separate rating for~

World of Warcraft, movie/cinematics: 8/10

They really said "monster lovers, we got you" then Rihanna-winked. Very smoochable. We also get to see orcs across a moral spectrum, which is very nice. The difference between male and female orcs isn't quite as bad as the games as male orcs don't look so cartoonishly brutish and female orcs look bulkier. (Draka looks very nice.)

[comic-watch]

The Trinity has found Steve Trevor, but not the way they were expecting. Now Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman must stop Deimos and revert Steve back to human form. Read all about it in Trinity.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Trinity #21 Author: James Robinson Artists: Patch Zircher & Tyler Kirkham Colors: Gabe Eltaeb Letters: Josh Reed & Carlos M. Mangual Publisher: DC Comics

!!!Spoiler Warning!!!

What You Need to Know: The Trinity has become the closest group in the DC universe, and together they have been trapped in a dream world, thanks to Poison Ivy, and even fought against Circe and her demonic Pandora Pits. No matter what the big team of DC gets themselves into, they know that their friends and allies have their back. Recently the Trinity had gone searching for Wonder Woman’s home island of Themyscira. They found a ship that was in distress and, as the good heroes they are,  went to save the crew. However, instead of saving anyone, a portal opens up and sucks the team into a magical world known as Skartaris. On arrival, Superman notices he is powerless, and Wonder Woman seems to be blind! The depowered trio have to fight through hordes and hordes of different mythical creatures before finding Warlords home and daughter as they are being raided by the evil Deimos’ army. The Trinity helps defend the city of Shamballah and then realizes that the land has aged them significantly. Warlords daughter Jennifer changes there age back to normal, then shows the team around the castle including a room full of familiar and unfamiliar technology that Batman was significantly interested in. Without getting many answers, Warlord sends the team home where they started debriefing the mission to Steve Trevor; an ARGUS member that has been longtime friends with Wonder Woman and the rest of the League. Before the team lets go of all their information they realize that all is not as it seems. Steve asks about the task force they found dead in Skartaris by name, which no one had mentioned before, and without another word, the team confronts the phony Steve Trevor just in time for Deimos to reveal himself. Deimos had captured Steve and tricked the Trinity and now they must search around for clues as to where he has hidden their friend. Batman had been investigating the Blue Strike task force team since they arrived back home. Batman had found encrypted data that each member of the team had to go find, and afterward, they found a guarded temple in the middle of a jungle in New Guinea. Guarding the fortress is a couple of orc-like creatures, one being Steve Trevor!

What You’ll Find Out: As the orcs come raging after the team they realize that this is a harder fight than first thought. Obviously, the orcs are just regular people transformed so the team has to hold back while fighting. Luckily, Batman had knock-out gas that put the orcs right to sleep so the team could search and rescue Steve and defeat Deimos.

The story transitions throughout the issue from current time to the last arc when the team was still in Skartaris. We get a little more detail as to what was said between warlord, Jennifer and the rest of the group. Warlord explains that his lack of morality stems from the need for survival on Skartaris.

The story flips back to the team infiltrating the jungle fortress and beating up a team of Blue Strike security. Together they break open a huge vault door and find what seems to be a trophy room. Like most comic book trophy rooms we find mostly mystical items and relics. Batman determines the artifacts are new and that they are a mix of magic and modern tech. The only answer he can come up with is that Blue Strike is mining Skartaris for its weapons and tech; the only question is, where is the security?

A small security team seems a little light for such a large secret, as a portal begins to show a huge army led by Warlord and his daughter. Flipping back to the computer chamber seen in the previous adventure, Batman and Jennifer walk together as Jennifer tries again to justify her earlier actions. Jennifer explains she used the Trinity as bait for Deimos and Batman doesn’t buy it, believing that Deimos is hiding from Warlord. Jennifer promises this isn’t true and that no matter where Deimos is, his evil follows. In the now, The team hears a voice before opening the portal for Warlord as Deimos finally reveals his true self to the team.

He immediately captures Superman and Batman with magic forces and sends orc Steve back into the fight against Wonder Woman. With doubt as to who the true bad guy is still lingering, the issue closes with Deimos getting closer to destroying the Trinity.  

What Just Happened? James Robinson, Patch Zircher and the rest of this creative team starts to head in the right direction as “Trinity” starts to wrap the Skartaris story up. This issue uniquely went back and forth in only two periods of time, and not truly enough to annoy the reader. A bit of detail is added to the earlier story from Robinson as we get to see inside the conversations between the patrons of Skartaris and the team. Each has their own speech bubble on the first page that gets further context in later conversations; showing how the conversations and events lead to the current actions of the team. I have gone on to complain about Robinson’s treatment of Superman and Batman and in some ways, I still argue that he can’t write these two characters well. Their interactions and one-liners are cringe-worthy and at some point, you have to wonder how dumbed down you can make these two characters. In another mindset, it almost reminds me of the bronze/silver age of writing, which can be taken as a compliment or insult depending on how you take it. In my opinion, it’s not the worst writing I’ve found in the industry, but definitely not the best either. The fight scene at the beginning is a fun ride and as always, the fights are the highlight of “Trinity” this issue. So it really takes a lot to say this issue is worth reading when there is only one fight scene. Yes, the fight against the orc Steve and the other Blue Strike members is the only fight scene we get other than a quick panel of the team rushing at security guards. Other than that it’s mostly a bunch of standing and walking around. Thank the lord, Zircher and the art team comes in to fill the bleak blanks left by Robinson’s story with amazing linework and color that highlights the team at their strongest. The fight against the orcs does look amazing and makes you wish there were more punches and kicks thrown around during this issue. Instead, we get some incredibly drawn Wonder Woman and an extremely detailed version of both Warlord and Deimos that bring chills down the reader’s neck.

Rating: 7/10.  

Final Thoughts: While I have wanted so badly to enjoy this last arc of “Trinity” James Robinson has truly made it difficult. At this point, I only read the title so I can warn fans of what “unique” taste you’d have to have in order to enjoy this title. I grade the title so highly due to the incredible art by Zircher and the fact that, as a child, you may actually really enjoy this easy-to-read story that, in one way or another, maybe kind of fun. For someone that has a love for these characters and their complexities though, I’d recommend staying away from it.

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook!

Love DC Comics? follow me @Austin_Braun on Twitter for other DC Comic reviews! Join our Age of Social Media Network consisting of X-Men, Marvel, DC, Superhero and Action Movies, Anime, Indie Comics, and numerous fan pages. Interested in becoming a member? Join us by clicking here and pick your favorite group!

REVIEW:  Trinity #21 (The Lies of Warlord and the Rise of Deimos) Any thoughts on the latest issue of Trinity? Read my review before the last issue comes out! The Trinity has found Steve Trevor, but not the way they were expecting. Now Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman must stop Deimos and revert Steve back to human form.