With the Secret Empire dismantled, there is no longer a need for the underground resistance team of Secret Warriors. Or at least there wasn’t, until someone kidnapped a member of Inferno’s family… Your Major Spoilers review of Secret Warriors #7 awaits!
SECRET WARRIORS #7
Writer: Matthew Rosenberg
Artist: Juanan Ramirez
Colorist: John Rauch
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editor: Sarah Brunstad
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Secret Warriors: Comprised mostly of Inhumans, The Secret Warriors were assembled by Daisy Johnson to resist Captain America’s fascist takeover of the United States. During that occupation, Deadpool murdered Daisy’s mentor, Phil Coulson, under directly orders of Stevil Rogers, and the Warrior called Quake is quite unhappy with him…
THE FIRST TIME I HAVEN’T FOUND INFERNO DULL AS DIRT
We open with Karnak, the weirdest of the Inhumans and the last Royal Family members still on Earth, getting the tour of his new job working for Ennilux, a company run by Black Bolt’s son. Karnak’s disconnect from reality is getting more and more intense, but he still has the wherewithal to contact Moon Girl, Lunella Lafayette and touch base with her. In the wake of the Secret Empire, Lunella has lost track of Quake, but is still a genius-type person, bringing Inferno to her door asking for help. Bringing in Ms. Marvel, the threesome set out to find Quake, putting the band back together to find Inferno’s kidnapped niece, but Quake/Daisy is busy tracking Deadpool with the help of Bullseye. ‘Course, being a jerk, Bullseye turns on her just when it seems like she might win, putting her on the defensive, and allowing her former teammates to make the save…
ENERGETIC, WITH A WEIRD CAST
It’s a staple of comics to have a team decide that they’re done and don’t want to work together ever again, only to have circumstances pull them back in, Fredo Corleone style. It’s also really hard to do it well, as it’s kind of a massive cliché, but this issue makes it all work. Ramirez’ art is an odd fit for a superhero titles, but this team’s unusual nature helps to make it all work. I also appreciate the clear Ryan Reynolds-movie voice that Deadpool has in his scenes, and the easy interaction between Ms. M, Moon Girl and Inferno is cute teenage stuff, balanced against the strange voice of Karnak and Daisy’s quest for revenge. The Daisy subplot is the weakest part of the book for me, a slight mismatch that seems to have more to do with the TV continuity than the comics (but at least gets us a high-powered guest star in red pants.)
THE BOTTOM LINE: I LIKE IT
I’ve made fun of Marvel’s attempts to make “fetch” happen with The Inhumans, but the likeability of Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl do help this go down smoother, and while it’s not the next Kree/Skrull War, it is a solid comic in terms of both story and art. Secret Warriors #7 is a book that reminds me a bit of late-80s X-Men in what it wants to achieve with outcasts fighting in a world they never made, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. It might not hit all the marks, but it’s got some interesting things going for it, and I at least cared a little bit about Inferno for the first time ever…
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Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.