Ryan White
Recap
Black Cat has always been an underappreciated part of the Marvel universe, in my opinion. Mainly because most of her best interactions come with Peter Parker. Their chemistry is so powerful that it is understandable why more people do not want to see her around any other characters. But her current run is interesting because she is still in the Spider-Man world, but she is the main character dealing with the symbiotes. The reason why Black Cat is such a good character is that she is very aware of who she is and what she is. Everyone knows it! And she owns it! Which is a great way to get a character over, and in issue fourteen we get a high-risk adventure that mixes all the great things about this character.
Review
This issue begins with a “You’re probably wondering how I got here?” page. I do not know why, but I have always loved movies or comics that start with that. It can be a bit of a trope, but I love it. Because with Black Cat, it fits her character. If she is not in danger, then the job isn’t big enough. This is my first time picking up this title, so the first thing I said was “WOW, this artwork is gorgeous,” and two, “Why in the blue heck is Black Cat in some kind of spaceship? Or airplane?” This was the hook to keep me reading.
We go back several hours to Cat’s meeting with Sue and Reed Richards. The Richardses explain how the world will be taken over in hours unless someone can get seeds off-world and bring them back. Cat, always up for a challenge, agrees to do it. Then she sees her way up to space in a very old-school space craft which she gawks at, but Reed tells her that because it is so old-school, no one will detect it.
Cat gets into the craft and shoots into outer space. The craft has an AI that is guiding her, and there is some funny banter between the two that adds to how well the Marvel universe knows the Cat’s shenanigans but also how well she knows the universe as well. Once we get to the next plant to check out the seeds she needs to steal, we are introduced to a priestess and a little kid, and the priestess is going on and on about how important the seeds are, and she keeps saying the same thing over and over. I do not know if the intention was to be funny here, but that is how it came off to me. I chuckled a bit.
Black Cat gets inside and almost immediately gets caught and must improvise, and because she doesn’t ask important questions to the Richardses, she does stuff that she does not need to do, like taking off her helmet and holding her breath. Even though the planet has breathable air for humans, or stealing the seeds with her helmet, dumps the seeds in the ship, then places the helmet back on with some goop still inside. The AI gladly tells her all of this when she gets back to the ship.
This leads to the nameless moon (belonging to the aliens she was stealing the seeds from) pursuing her and trying to shoot her down. Cat is supposed to meet the Richardses back on their satellite in outer space, but once they see her fly past being chased, they jump into action to help her, but it is a bit too late, and Cat has to make a choice to dump the seed on the symbiotes to save the world and find a way to land the plane and not die. We end this issue with her doing both, but the journey is far from over as this issue ends.
Final Thoughts
This is a very strong transitional issue as we get Black Cat interacting with other members of the Marvel universe she ordinarily wouldn't, all while staying true to her character and snarky attitude. The conversation with her and the AI was a highlight, and we never forget; even with all of the comedy in this issue, it never takes away the fact that the world hangs in the balance. This is a high-stakes mission, and Black Cat handles it the only way she knows how: with luck and nine lives.
Queen in black, Black Cat, 14, “Black Cat in space”
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
