Writer: Christopher Priest Artists: Sal Velluto (p), Bob Almond (i)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
PLOT: After Queen Divine Justice manages to free herself from the grasp of the Man-Ape, we see her take to the treetops in a bid to evade her pursuers. Meanwhile, T'Challa's plan to pose as a a man who has fallen under the influence of the drug Malice uses to bend the wills of men to her cause is disrupted when Monica & private detective Dakota North stumble their way into the middle of his deception, forcing him to end his ruse & directly confront Malice.
As the two battle we see T'Challa tells Malice that he is prepared to wipe her village in Wakanda off the map, if she does not hand over the antidote to the poison she's used on T'Challa's allies. As Malice's resolve begins to collapse we see she manages to make her escape, but before leaving she gives T'Challa the antidote he seeks. Meanwhile, Queen Divine Justice discovers that she has more control over Man-Ape & his followers than she ever expected.
COMMENTS: The climax to the Malice crisis is a bit uneven, in that while there are some moments that are highly clever, there are also a couple scenes that play out in a manner that just don't ring true. For example, the final battle between T'Challa & Malice has an extremely odd finish to it, as Malice suddenly becomes highly concerned about the possible ramifications that will result from her actions, when in all the previous issues she's acted like she could give a toss.
What's more, it's never made clear just what happens to her, as she appears to have escaped, but T'Challa acts like this is not a problem. Still, the action is quite exciting, and the subplot involving the Man-Ape is shaping up to a fairly engaging little plot, plus it ends with a highly unexpected twist that I can't wait to see play out next month. It was also nice to see Monica making herself a target of Malice's wrath, in a bid to save the life of another.
The way that the Black Panther manages to outmaneuver his enemies is always done in a manner so fiendishly clever, that one can't help but admire Christopher Priest's ability to make it appear that T'Challa was finally in over his head. However, personally there are times when I'd like to see T'Challa faced with an enemy who manages to do something T'Challa has foreseen, and taken measures to prevent.
It's getting so that T'Challa is almost infallible, and if every crisis is resolved with the revelation that T'Challa was a good little boy-scout, and had a countermeasure already in motion before the villain made their final move, then this book is going to become a bit stale, no matter how cleverly T'Challa manages to play his trump card. One way to do this is to pit T'Challa against a villain who doesn't act in a rational manner, or better yet have a mastermind who plays the game just as well as T'Challa does.
Sal Velluto & Bob Almond's work continues to shine, as this issue is full of scenes that one can't help but sit back & admire. The sequence where Queen Divine Justice has a conversation with Man-Ape is amusingly laid out, as she emerges from his massive fist, and the shot of the Wakandan vessel on page five is absolutely amazing. The scene where the two women discover evidence that Omoro is under Malice's thumb is also worth a smile, thanks to their expressions in the final panel.
The battle between Malice & the Black Panther is also a nicely energetic affair, with the vibrant coloring effects by VLM nicely contributing to the final product. The final page shot is also a fine piece of art, and I can't wait to see the Man-Ape in action, as he truly looks like he could cause T'Challa problems. On the other hand, the shot of the Thing on page twenty has me glad he's not a regular player in this title, as it's easily one of the ugliest renditions I've ever seen of the character.
FINAL WORD: As always this title remains one of the most intelligently written comics currently being published, but speaking as a fan who has been with the book since issue one, the climaxes are getting to feel a bit too familiar. We've seen T'Challa outmaneuver Mephisto, Nightmare, and Klaw. In fact the only real moment where T'Challa looked to have lost control of the game was during his conflict with Killmonger, and even here we saw he had a plan in place to ensure his victory.
Plus the way he manages to defeat Malice doesn't quite hold water when you consider that Malice was suppose to be highly disturbed, and as such T'Challa plan to threaten her into giving him what he was seeking should've been a complete failure.
