Nathan and Marshall are finally ready to decide who gets to be Radiant Black! Too bad the aliens who created it have returned to claim their property. Your Major Spoilers review of Radiant Black #25 from Image Comics awaits!

RADIANT BLACK #25

Writer: Kyle Higgins and Joe Clark
Penciler: Marcelo Costa and Eduardo Ferigato
Inker: Marcelo Costa and Paul Daniel Santos
Colorist: Rod Fernandes and Raul Angulo
Letterer: Becca Carey
Editor: Michael Busuttil
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 19, 2023

Previously in Radiant Black: The Radiants were stolen. An empire, vaster than space, has come to claim them. The end of the world is here. The Catalyst War begins!

And amidst the chaos, Nathan and Marshall will make the biggest decision of their lives: who will be Radiant Black?

THE QUESTIONS WE’VE ALL BEEN ASKING

As Radiant Black #25 opens, Marshall and Nathan are recovering from the disastrous attack from space, and Nathan’s father has gone into full-on disaster prep mode. Our heroes are awaiting word from Radiant Yellow about when “he” will be arriving, but Yellow is busy trying to figure out which future is the most successful and how to get there. Interspersed with the boys’ discussions are high school flashbacks to when young angry punk Marshall and aspiring screenwriter Nathan rekindled their friendship after a couple of years of growing apart. When “he” arrives, we find that they are awaiting <001>, who finally explains to them where their four Radiants come from, and why the four Colossals have chosen to empower human hosts. All five Radiant-bearers are pulled into a telepathic conference call, with one implacable command:

Choose who will be Radiant Black.

Or else.

THE ANSWERS NOBODY EXPECTED

The back-and-forth discussion between Nathan and Marshall takes up much of the last third of the comic, and it’s another example of how unusual this book is. Not only does it all make perfect sense, but the decision manages to both be a surprise and make perfect sense. The secrets of the Colossals are also a bit of a surprise, finally setting aside the parallels to Super Sentai/Power Rangers for something much more sinister. The differences between the real world and the confluence of Radiants is also well done, providing an entirely different visual style and coloring to help the story along. Clever layouts make even the explanatory sequences dynamic, but the biggest action sequence is also the most dramatic of the issue (and includes unexpected betrayal by one of the players).

BOTTOM LINE: GOOD STUFF

In short, if you’ve been waiting for more background on what’s going on with the Radiants, the decision of who will finally be the permanent Radiant Black, or why there’s no Radiant Blue, Radiant Black #25 is the issue for you, and best of all, it’s well-drawn and compellingly written, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. Plus, there’s one reveal that I am not even going to HINT at, that kinda changes everything… again.

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RADIANT BLACK #25

83%

83%

Always Five, Acting As One

Your questions are answered, which in this case just means more questions, but there's a Catalyst War on the horizon. Well worth your time, especially if you've been looking for your basic jumping-on point.

• Writing

  8
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  8
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
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