DCU Comic Book Reviews

SECRET SIX #5

Unhinged, Part Five: Twilight Of Sorrow

March 2009

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Nicola Scott

Inks by Doug Hazelwood

Cover by Andrew Robinson

Synopsis

In search for the get out of jail free card, Junior has taken Bane hostage.  Junior makes offer:  either he dies or his team dies.  Bane chooses that he will die.  Elsewhere, the Secret Six are recovering after being poisoned by Chesire.  They are still alive thanks to Jeannette, whose help at the hotel she owns, drove away the villains.  Now, Jeannette assaults Chesire to get the antidote.  Afterwards, the Six debate whether they should save Bane or not.  They vote with the decision by everyone by Scandal to leave Bane behind.  Just then, they realize more are coming after them.  The Six battle their attackers and win the fight.  Afterwards, they decide they need to go after Bane.  When they find Bane Ragdoll realizes that Junior his really his sister.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I like how the art and the word balloon strategically cover up Junior’s nipples.  Reminds me of the opening sequence of Austin Powers. 

Except for a small problem with the structure of the issue (discussed below), this was freaking terrific.  I love this series.  The entire scene of Junior torturing Bane with 508 bricks was both dark and disturbing and hilarious.  At first the idea of throwing bricks seemed stupid, but Simone and Scott made it work and I think it is a great idea (kind a like water torture but more painful).  The rest of this issue is brilliant stuff and the ending was a wonderful twist.  This is good stuff. 

In the first issue or so I had expressed concern that Simone was building up the character of Junior to the point where the ultimate reveal would fall flat because nothing can match the imagination of the reader.  Seeing Junior in this issue, I am not quite sure what to make of the final page.  I mean, I understand that Junior is Ragdoll’s sister and all that.  But while that information is a good twist to the story, the visual of Junior doesn’t quite measure up to the visuals of the character living inside a box and the underworld being completely terrified of her.  Again, maybe the preceding issues created unrealistic expectations of the monster in a box, but really Junior is nothing more than a female Ragdoll.  Granted, that information by itself is enough to sustain the narrative.  I guess Simone knew the visual could never match what she was writing, so she made sure to spice it up with a little family reunion. 

The structure of the comic confused me.  The ending to the last issue featured the Six getting poisoned.  We then see Chesire (who seems to have been wasted in the role given to her) angling from the roof of a building.  I actually flipped to the front to check the issue number to see if I had missed something.  Granted, everything gets explained, but Simone takes way too much time to get there.  In fact, given the story structure, it doesn’t seem like the poison has much effect on the Six other than to make them violently sick.  Maybe, I guess, that’s the problem I had; I thought the poison was designed to kill, not just make sick. 

How the hell did the rest of the team know where to find Bane?  Did I miss it?  It just seemed like they were in the hallway one moment and then confronting down Bane in the next.  I also don’t quite understand how Scandal was able to convince the others to rescue Bane.  Just because she said (or didn’t say) “please?”

I am curious to know exactly how DC arrived the decision to put Deadshot on the cover.  It would have been a little bit more appropriate to have Bane on the cover; I thought this issue showcased him more than it did Deadshot.

 

ïPREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXTð

Home ●  Blog ● Who Are We? ● Site News
Alive and Well since April 16, 2006

 DC Universe Reviews.  All Rights Reserved
  Characters, trademarks, brands are property of DC Comics

For problems or questions regarding this website, please contact our kindly webmaster.
Last updated: 08/06/11.