Summary
Shadowland is under attack from Black Panther, Luke Cage and Falcon. Kingpin dispatches Typhoid Mary and Lady Bullseye to deal with the situation, Miyu is dispatched elsewhere. Miyu is revealed as Shuri sister of T’challa after spreading a bug into shadowland’s computer system. She then helps Luke and Falcon take out bullseye and Mary.
T’challa faces Kingpin who gets a call from the captured Miyu. T’challa reveals most of kingpin’s global operations have been unearthed by the local feds thanks to his computer virus and he can do so much more with a backdoor he installed. Kingpin defeated allows them to leave.
With his confidence back he meets with Murdock a week later to let him know he’s returning to Wakanda, he’s also carrying Sofija his partner with him. Before he departs he fights crime for one last night.
The Good
Jeft Palo art- I loved his work on the finale few pages involving T’challa and Murdock. Pity he didn’t do the whole book.
Characterization- David Liss get’s established well fleshed out characters like T’challa and Kingpin. Not since Doomwar in which he pioneered the shadow physics technology have I thought of him as one of the big brains in the marvel universe. Contingency plans, plans within plans, creation of devices, arsenals etc . I really dig David Liss rendition of T’challa! Kingpin as well gets expertly handled by Liss with enough humanity to make him akin to the complexity and humanity of Magneto under Claremont. All in all the personalities that carry the weight of the book where seriously spot on!
Cover- There’s this foreboding, dark and ominous thing that I really like about the cover.
Full Circle- As much fun as the frackass with Kingpin was I loved the epilogue where T’challa and Murdock meet again. It’s very reminiscent of how T’challa first arrived to operate in Hell’s Kitchen. They were the reason I’ve been following this book since day one. It marks the end of T’challa’s self doubt and the end of his journey here in America. It marks the handing back of the baton to Daredevil the real protector of hell’s kitchen. Long time fans will be happy to hear that he’s heading back to wakanda
Action- Lost of fisticuffs to keep action junkies happy.
The Bad
Predictable- Small nitpick but it was clear as day last issue that the masked “Miyu” was in fact Shuri princess regent of Wakanda. As a result the reveal lacked the punch it could have had.
Art- This was an action heavy issue and in some panels the art was decidedly stiff and lacked fluidity.
The Ugly
Here’s to David Liss, a talented writer who literally took T’challa to places both physically and mentally unlike any before. Thanks for the memories! 3.5/5