Borlock Picked the Wrong Person to Push

Borlock Picked the Wrong Person to Push Spoilers for Grimm Fairy Tales presents Code Red #1–5. Borlock gave me a pretty clear impression of what kind of person he was before I knew much of anything about him. He has Zoe Powers at knifepoint during the attack on HiboCorp. She tells him he doesn't have to do this. He agrees with her. Then he says he wants to and cuts her throat. That scene stuck with me. Zoe is already restrained. He has control of the situation. Killing her isn't some desperate move he makes because he's about to lose. He enjoys having that choice, and he wants her to understand that before he does it. He's an orc commander working to recover the Cyclops' Eye, and his troops come into a modern government facility with armor and guns. Britney is visibly surprised by that. She's fighting creatures she recognizes, but they're using equipment that belongs in the kind of operation HiboCorp is supposed to be prepared for. Add the possession happening inside the facility, and Borlock's people have a way through its defenses before Red even knows there's a fight outside her training room. He can also handle himself when somebody actually fights back. Red gets close enough to claw at his eyes in their first extended fight, and his eyes look clear again afterward. He catches one of Robyn's arrows. He cuts Red, gets her pinned, and takes his time enjoying the fight. He's dangerous enough that his confidence isn't entirely empty. But he still fails to bring back the Eye. That's where we see what his position actually amounts to. The people above him aren't impressed that he survived a fight with Red. They wanted the artifact. He's threatened with death if he fails again, and Ivory gets assigned to the operation with him. I like that the story lets us see both sides of that. To Zoe, he's the person holding the knife and deciding whether she lives. Back in front of his own leadership, he's another subordinate explaining why the job didn't get done. He passes that same fear down to his troops, warning them about what Her Majesty will do if they fail. He eventually gets a very ugly shot in on Britney with a heavy gun. That isn't the end of her, but it's a reminder that he doesn't need to win a clean sword fight to hurt somebody. He'll use whatever puts him in control. And then he makes the mistake that ends him. He hits Ivory and calls her crazy. She drives a knife through his head, takes over, and carries on with the operation herself. After all the fighting he survives against Red, it's someone on his own side who kills him. He apparently thinks he can treat Ivory the way he treats his troops and captives. She settles that very quickly. Alicia later confirms his death, so this isn't one of those scenes where he falls out of sight and we're left guessing. Borlock has enough strength and combat ability to be a real threat. He just never seems to learn much from the people who get the better of him. He enjoys hurting anyone he can overpower, takes orders from people who threaten to kill him, and finally pushes someone who is perfectly willing to follow through. That's the whole ugly little chain he lives in, right up until Ivory breaks his place in it.