Summary
The shroud and Paladin wrangle for a bit and discuss there theories of each being the killer. They realize a common link is Mike Fortunado whose brother was killed. Paladin plans to rob him since he was hired by his brother and didn’t get paid, Shroud plans to track him down for interrogation. Misty meanwhile breaks into a hospital to examine the dead body and comes to a realization. At her office she tracks the recent rash of killing all across New York, murders of criminals slipping through the cracks for years. The hand appears before her telling her they will deal with this impersonation murderer themselves and she is not to interfere. She already knew they were not the killers and realizes Mike Fortunado may be next on the hit list. She calls him right before he’s killed so she rushes over. Elsewhere Silver Sable has to track down the killer of her target since she’s now been branded as a mercenary who kills her targets, meaning she won’t ever find work again. When Paladin arrives at Mike’s everyone is dead, Misty busts in and they have a standoff, she disarms him accusing him of framing DD and the hand for the murders. They don’t get time to discuss it as Mike’s men arrive with guns blazing!
The Good
Gorgeous Cover art!
Love the art! Misty knight has accurately portrayed black features while the rest of the cast is diverse enough that even without colors you can tell who’s on each page.
This side story is turning out to be a better read than the main book Shadowland. Paladin, Shroud, Silver Sable and Misty are all headed for collision course with the real killers and also the cross hairs of all the small mobsters still operating in the area. Good times ahead!
Misty’s detective skills also shine though along with her wide range of bionic arm abilities. The shroud makes for an interesting character to contrast the in your face misty, the joking Paladin and cold Silver sable. This team rocks!
The relationship between Iron Fist and Misty also gets some panel time which I loved! Her concern at this point about her pregnancy will tie directly into the new Heroes for hire series and the strain which will occur to her relationship with Danny. It’s clear she’s looking forward to having the baby and motherhood 🙁
The Bad
This story really has no bearings on the outcome of Shadowland. It’s a side story focusing on some of marvels lesser know superheroes, mercenaries and vigilantes which means the books appeal is limited.
The villains are just hand ninjas or people pretending to be hand ninja……it would have been cool to have a new original villain or anti hero going around killing these crooks, it would have added more “weight” to the situation.
No action really in this issue except a very brief skirmish between Paladin and Shroud.
The Ugly
3/5 solid