Moon Knight 6
Ellis (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c) and Eliopoulos (l)
For questioning why this Mr. Knight character gets to do the police work, NYPD officer Ryan Trent is told by his superior that he's going to be a street cop for life. With this, the latest in a lifetime of people telling him he's not good enough, Trent decides that he can be better than Moon Knight and begins gathering information on the vigilante. Things quickly spiral and he begins to really loathe Moon Knight, changing his plans from "make something of myself" to "kill Moon Knight as the new Black Spectre, classic Moon Knight villain, then take his place and enjoy the love and admiration of just EVERYBODY." It's, perhaps, a bit of a "shoot first, ask questions never/why would you even think about questioning this plan" plan but BOY does Trent commit to it. His final act (in the plan and, spoilers, in life) is to rig up some car-bombs and lure Moon Knight to their location. He detonates them, though Moon Knight isn't caught in the blast, having sent his car ahead as a decoy, and ends up blowing himself up with his last bomb while Moon Knight tells him that Black Spectre, like, it seems, Trent, only ever wanted to be loved and that was his ultimate downfall. Moon Knight, on the other hand, doesn't want love from anyone, that the people who love him end up dying horribly, and that's why he always wins.
It's an appropriately dark ending for Ellis and Shalvey's last issue of the series and it does a phenomenal job of bringing their arc of six mostly unconnected single stories to a full circle. The story is interesting, Moon Knight plays his typical role as sort of a ghost in the issue and ends up, as in each issue, the only one to walk away (his logic at the end, then, is evidently infallible). Shalvey and Bellaire's art remains unbelievable and fit Ellis' tone perfectly. Just an overall great book and one of the best runs on a character I've seen in some time. Interesting side-note: Marvel seems determined to get the reader to stick with the book, addressing Ellis and Shalvey's departure and providing a four-page preview at the end of this book, which wouldn't be as weird if they hadn't plugged the four-page preview into other books (including ROCKET RACCOON and presumably others). Weird that they're so concerned the audience will jump ship. It reeks of backlash from fans upon learning Ellis and Shalvey were leaving. STILL, back to the matter at hand: great book, pick this and its preceding five up.
Total Score: 5/5
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 5
Kaare Andrews (w, a, c) and Caramagna (l)
Iron Fist begins to recognize the threat he faces as, of course, not his father but as The One, the final challenge a potential Iron Fist faces in their long line of challenges to ascend to the role of protector of K'un Lun (some day, SOME DAY, I won't have to look up how to spell K'un Lun). Look, that doesn't make it not weird since Danny killed The One in his own trial. Crushed and broken, Danny manages to escape only with the help of the K'un Lun elders, who whisk him out just in time to not be totally killed. Meanwhile, the messenger girl Pei continues to try to evade the dark forces following her with the help of Brenda who proves herself suddenly adept at many fighting styles (??) and escapes into the sewers carrying the chi of K'un Lun, though she inadvertently releases it and unleashes, it seems, Shou-Lao the undying (knew he wasn't dead...that's a joke, you guys) into the New York City sewer system.
Plenty happening but this issue almost acts more like catch-up, despite the incredible amount of action. Danny recaps a little what's been going on and we see just about everyone we've seen so far in Andrews' run. It ends up dragging the issue a little bit but I think it's probably worth it to kind of reset and show us where we are right now in a book loaded with pretty deep cuts into Iron Fist mythology. Still doesn't solve Danny's problems of totally broken fists and a lack of chi but I'm sure we're getting there, no doubt with Pei's help. Also kind of can't stand when characters suddenly whip out very convenient powers like Brenda did, though maybe that's building to something else too. Look, whatever, is what I'm saying. Still pretty good work and some stellar art from Andrews, as ever.
Total Score: 4/5
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