Iron Cat #5 // Review
Tony Stark and Felicia Hardy are dealing with a bad problem that’s gotten worse. An adversary of Stark’s had been contacted by an angry ex-girlfriend of Felicia’s. Now, Felicia’s ex has gone missing due to actions by Stark’s enemy. When advanced tech and AI are involved, things are bound to get a whole lot worse before it’s all over in Iron Cat #5. Writer Jed MacKay wraps up his Iron Man/Black Cat team-up series with a satisfying final issue brought to the page by artist Pere Pérez. Color comes courtesy of Frank D’Armata. Black Cat and Iron Man might not have been a totally natural fit, but MacKay and company really bring it all together in the last chapter of an enjoyable comic.
Stark and Hardy are confronted by Madame Menace. She’s inhabiting one of Stark’s suits of armor. She’s ready to unleash some kind of serious death on both of them. They may have defeated her before, but that was with the aid of Black Cat’s ex. Now, the two of them have their hands full fending off an onslaught by an AI that has already managed to trigger a meltdown in every nuclear reactor Stark has. There’s no telling what else she might do.
MacKay launches the series into its finale with a climactic bit of action that doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for the kind of wit and sophisticated drama that MacKay is usually so good with. The stakes have reached a point where there isn’t room for much more than the inevitable resolution, which plays out pretty much as expected. The series is definitely moving in the direction of establishing Iron Cat as a completely new character who fused elements of Iron Man with elements of Black Cat, but without much more than that dynamic to keep things moving, the comic falters in its end.
The action sequence that concludes the series is given quite a bit of percussion thanks to the rendering of Pérez. The power of the energy being thrown around, the ghostly glow of the face of Madame Menace, and so much more are given impressive depth by D’Armata’s color. The issue looks good, and the flow of energy from one scene to the next feels remarkably fluid. Pérez and D’Armata work well together. With any luck, they’ll have a chance to do so again soon.
There’s some insight into the psyche of Stark, but the bulk of this comic is a further exploration of the personality of Black Cat. Felicia’s relationship with MacKay continues to be a fruitful one. Writer and character have worked together a lot over the course of the past couple of years. MacKay has fostered a very conscious progression in Hardy’s life that has made her one of Marvel’s most consistently interesting characters in recent years. Next up: Black Cat hangs out with an actress in a series co-starring Mary Jane Watson.
