Civil War II has finally taken control of much of the Marvel universe. Due to where many of the books are story-wise it's taken several of them a bit longer to get around to their tie-in issues, but most of the ones that are in some way related to the events are now either in their tie-in phase, or have passed through it, like this one. I didn't expect much to come of a Civil War II tie in with this book until I heard about the events of the first issue...which made me angry, of course, as it should've everyone else. You don't have to start an event off by killing someone, you know. Could just be a major threat and the event starts by getting everyone together. Just. Saying.
If you don't already know what it is, Civil War II is a spiritual successor to the original 2006 Civil War. Whereas that story had lots of action throughout it to try and keep the reader entertained, this has a lot of people moping around and killing one another until readers are finally getting to the action in the next issue...the fifth of eight. I say "readers" because I only read the Issue 0 and Free Comic Book Day issue and I had no interest in the event, anyway. Not only is it just an excuse to cash in on the latest "Captain America" film's title, but it's just another way for Marvel to do a soft-reboot only a year after they did a major relaunch.
On a side note: unlike Secret Wars where the ending of the book was sort of spoiled due to heavy delays, Marvel has outright basically told us the outcome of CW2 with various solicitations for October and such. Smooth.
So what's that got to do with Patsy Walker? Who is Patsy Walker, some of you may be wondering?
Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat (ha. ha.) is a longtime super-heroine of the Marvel universe. Her most famous stint is when she was a part of the Defenders. She sort of faded into obscurity the last few years until the character as a whole was revamped in the public eye due to Marvel's hit Netflix series, where the character appeared not as "Patsy" Walker, but as Trish Walker, played by Rachael Taylor. Trish Walker and Patsy Walker differ on more levels than simply hair color. Trish is a radio host and a very close friend to Jessica Jones, since the two grew up together.
Patsy Walker is a former comic book star and current heroine Hellcat, who uses magic as her ally. As such, she finds herself fighting more villains that use magic and sorcery as opposed to someone like Dr. Octopus.
Tonally, Patsy has had a major shift in this new series, which started last December. The writer, Kate Leth, and artist Brittney Williams, are clearly going for a more fun, relaxed series for the character. And it's worked well, with characters like She-Hulk, a new character Ian, and even Jessica Jones coming in to serve comedic and fun roles. It's a delightful book...though today's issue is not so much.
For today, an Avenger has fallen. And it's one very close to Patsy's heart.
For as much as I dislike when heroes are pointlessly killed off if for nothing but a shock death, I do like good aftermaths. She-Hulk has friends and family, and we need to see what happens to them. This book explores that fallout, and it does it very well without compromising the spirit of what this book has been for seven issues. It shows the tragedy that can befall a group of friends, but also the kinship that they've made over their journey together.
The cover is great, giving a taste for not only Patsy and Jen's relationship that they have but also showing the tone of what the series has been so far as well as what the tone of the book will be now. All of the images are goofy, as well as the more child-like artwork of Patsy and Jen in the bottom right corner, but the fact that this is all displayed like it's going up in memorabilia shows that it's someone in mourning of these fun times. It might not be a cover that pops out off the shelves but is one that captures the heart of the book.
We open with Patsy Walker waking up sometime in the morning/ night with a very bad sensation.
Yeah there is a conflict in tone here. On the one had this is a very sad situation we're about to see...but it's contrasted by the cute cat stuff all around her. I mean I get it, and it would be kind of strange for Patsy to not be living in these sorts of conditions. Still, an effective opening. It's not often we start off with something like this. Well, we do see Patsy in distress, but it's usually when she's in her small, cartoonish form.
She wanders about her apartment and is confronted by her Inhuman roommate, Ian Soo, a psychic. Ian is probably just having nightmares about this:
same as the rest of us. Ugh.
Patsy decides she needs to find Jen when they are interrupted by an old friend, Miss America!
I've always loved the design of Miss America. It's simple, like something anyone could make. But it has just the right amount of American spirit that you know she means business!
But yeah, America informs Patsy that Jen isn't actually dead, she's just in a coma! So...yeah, I guess someone at Marvel okay'ed that decision, because last we heard she was dead. Like, we saw the flat-line. Not sure what caused that ret-con, so I guess that this was just a fun little reveal.
Obviously, to be in a coma is a terrible thing, but the situation loses a little bit of weight. She's "dead," basically (though you could argue that's how most super-heroes are going to be anyway). Now instead of Jen never coming back and the crew having to pick up where she left off, it's more like "she'll be gone for a while but she'll be back."
To the comic's credit they never state her real condition, so it's entirely possible that at some point down the road before this is over she could die. But they've already made the ret-con that she's in a coma, so it's unlikely they would simply double back on that.
Patsy convinces America to take her to see Jen, but leaves after explaining the remaining events of Civil War II #1. Easily the best moment of the series so far comes next, where Patsy is by Jen's side. It's quiet, somber, and very well-executed. Just those bottom two panels of her gripping Jen's hand are so well done by Brittney Williams.
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| I'm not crying. I just got a part of comic in my eye... |
The doctor comes in to check on Jen and informs Patsy that they were able to actually bring her back to life--must've had one hell of a defibrillator to bring a "Hulk" back. She's unsure how Jen will hold up and politely asks Patsy to leave, to which she complies after giving Jen another somber farewell.
The scene in the hospital is why I both hate and love moments like this. I hate that it takes a character nearly dying for us to finally get a quiet moment with the two friends, and that a character has to be nearly dead in the first place is another problem. But I love how it plays out, how well done everything it about is. While there aren't any jokes, that same colorful art-style is not compromised and we see that Patsy is not just a cartoon goofball all the time, she's a serious person that's taken a serious loss today. The next scene is another testament to that, but I get the feeling that all of this upcoming character development stems from this scene.
Patsy assembles a small crew of her friends the next morning to discuss the ramifications of Jen's death, including her bookkeeper friend Tom, the landlord Sharon, Angie another tenant in the apartment, and longtime friend of both Patsy and She-Hulk, Howard the Duck. Everyone shows how they deal with the grief before sharing a nice group hug.
They go out to reminiscence some more as we dive into a flashback of when Jen was training Patsy during her moments of need, both as a fighter as well as an adult.
It's here we finally see more of what the book has been like, but it also shows the relationship that the two have. Jen is clearly the older, wiser sister of the two while Patsy just wants to have fun, but has a bit of edge to her as well. She's bouncy, bubbly, and quirky. It was a smart decision to put this scene in atop the next one for the flashback, as this shows the two girls just hanging out and being themselves.
We also get to see more of the art-style that the book has had lately, as Patsy goes from her average size to the more anime-style feature she has in the bottom right panel where she yanks on Jen's hair. The way she's drawn you could almost hear her saying "Wassat" like a cat's hissing at something.
The two go out and punch a couple bad guys for a bit before going out for pizza, continuing the fun-loving humor of the book. Patsy snaps out of it and Sharon brings her over and informs her that with Jen out of the picture for now, the apartment is going to take a major hit unless they can find some more cash, so she and Patsy hatch a plan.
Patsy moves into Jen's office the following morning as a means of expanding the super-hero temp agency she started up in the first issue. Basically it's just a means for the dozens of New York-based heroes to find odd-jobs and make some quick cash. Jen helped Patsy found it, but Patsy has been doing most of the work throughout the series, even with some help from Jessica Jones.
After Sharon asks why Patsy isn't out there punching other heroes in the face (answer: she's smart and well-written right now), they spot a familiar face from outta the 90s!
Jubilee! Also probably trying to avoid this:
as much as possible! Ugh.
So yeah, Jubilee is around and is going to be helping Patsy out with the rest of the temp agency work, as teased in the preview for next issue.
And thus the comic comes to a close with a heartfelt reminder that while Jen Walters isn't around, she still has dozens of other friends and Jen's spiritual support to help her through this.
This comic is great. The circumstances around it are pretty putrid but the way it's handled is the best that it could be. Patsy and Jen's relationship is the highlight hear, though watching Patsy deal with this is another treat and really shows that behind the cute, childish attitude she may have is a woman that has experienced all that the world has to offer and is just tired, but will keep on going to make everyone else happy and help them.
This comic shows a community banding together out of love and respect for one another, something that not even the main-series titles seem capable of doing anymore. Perhaps they could learn a thing or two from their lighter counterparts?
Next time, our focus returns to the Valiant universe. X-O Manowar isn't an unfamiliar face around here, and his milestone 50th issue is coming up. What better way to celebrate than his first encounter with Valiant's greatest British ninja?
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