Written by Robbie Thompson. Art by Stacey Lee. Color by Ian Herring.Published by Marvel Comics; June 10th, 2015.
Rating: 5/5
Worth the 3.99?: Been reading Silk? Then yes, absolutely. Haven't been? It's not the worst place to jump in but I highly recommend tracking down issue #1!
In the middle of the equal parts exciting and exhausting mega-event known as Secret Wars, the fifth chapter in the Silk storyline is a breath of fresh air (which is ironic given that Silk's story had her locked in a bunker with no fresh air for years.... but I digress).
A TOUCHING STORY
One of the reasons I've latched onto the Silk series, is because it manages to toe the line between small personal story and big superhero spectacle. Seeing Cindy struggling with how to go about this, unsure of whether to accept outside help, and regretting the past makes her real.
I was genuinely touched when J. Jonah Jameson stopped what he was doing to listen to and help Cindy Moon. We often think about JJJ as the one dimensional Spidey-hater, but this was another side of him and it's great to see that every now and again. His momentary switch from the nickname Analog to calling her Cindy is something a good human being does and Jameson gets to be that person, if only for a few pages. At one point, he tells Cindy that "It's okay to get help," and this moment is not lost on Cindy. Later in the issue, she is quick to call on Spider-Man as backup before going after Black Cat. Ah, if Jameson only knew that his words of wisdom inspired someone to call Spidey in for help...The little look back at her brother's fright at her transformation is another interesting point. Played against the Peter origin story that we're all so familiar with, the fear of the unknown that her brother feels, plays as a stark contrast to the secret double life that Parker led when he first got bit. All of these subtleties are smart writing on Thompson's part. It's the kind of writing that is good the first time through and gets better on the second read through. Not an easy feat.
BOSS BATTLE... FIGHT!
Black Cat has been hunting Silk for a few issues now and this was a sufficiently twisted way to get them to a face-to-face. I'd say Black Cat's continued journey from anti-hero to full on villain is complete with the kidnapping of a former employee's daughter just to get to a rival superhero.
The actual sequence leading up to and through the fight is good all around. After Spider-Man arrives, he questions Silk's choice to have Dragon-Dude there, questioning her choices mainly, I'm assuming, because of her lack of experience, but Silk holds her ground and believes he should be there. The three of them then jump knowingly headfirst into a trap.The battle plays out well and there's some cool lines and quips along the way ("That kitty cat is a butt!"), but it's the ending that hold the real twists. Black Cat almost becomes a red herring, as she is quickly displaced by what now seems to be the real Big Bad for Silk. An armorer who worked, briefly, for Black Cat rigged up her henchman to explode at the right moment so that he could kidnap Silk. The question is... who does he work for?
THEORY TIME - WHO KIDNAPPED THE MOONS?
The obvious first thought is Ezekiel Sims or someone he secretly worked for. All we really know about them is that they've been watching Cindy for some time and have kidnapped her family. To what end?
They could be taking a page out of the movie version of Amazing Spider-Man and perhaps her genetics are somehow important to a larger scheme at work. Or it could be much simpler and they could just be leverage. That would mean that they managed to kidnap the Moons and erase any trace of them all in the short time that Cindy had been out of the bunker (it's a while since she got out in terms of when her story was release but in universe, it wasn't too long ago).
NOTABLE MOMENTS
Silk's comment about whether Spider-Man "felt that" is a small piece of something interestingly different for Spidey. Someone in the world with the same power set could give him a truly powerful teammate. Being able to communicate via spideysense maybe?
Black Cat giving Silk that backhanded compliment of being B-list vs D-list was funny and it felt like the creators feelings on their own character. Seeming like a small time character, but in reality seeing her become very popular.
Silk calling Spider-Man her sidekick made me giggle.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Silk is a really great series. It's fun, simple in the best ways, and has a fresh, humorous voice that, at least for me, lands just right. Add on top of that Stacey Lee's exceptional and unique style (which I was excited to see back this month), and this issue is another chapter in a great ongoing title.
