Written by Jim McCann
Illustrated by David LopezWho is hunting Marvel’s super spies? Espionage agents around the world are being assassinated, their covers blown, and governments’ intelligence & security capabilities devastated! The person behind it: an all-new Ronin! The next two super-spies targeted for death: Black Widow and Mockingbird! The wildcard determined to unmask the killer: Hawkeye! Let the game begin as Marvel’s spy community collides with it’s superhuman agents!
Jim McCann penning a short event-style mini starring Hawkeye and a “new” Ronin? Count me in! But what are my thoughts on the first issue while the Hawkeye and Mockingbird and Black Widow books go on temporary hiatus? Find out after the cut.
I was a bit luke warm on Hawkeye and Mockingbird, to be truthful. I thought New Avengers: Reunion was really intriguing, but the story from Hawkeye and Mockingbird never really got me. I decided to stick with Widowmaker though, because the concept intrigues me and I am really enjoying Lopez’s artwork. It looks like the streamlined storytelling works perfectly for the situation, because I enjoyed this one issue a lot more than I’ve enjoyed all of Hawkeye and Mockingbird and any of Black Widow so far.
As the story begins, we’re thrust into a spy thriller featuring a brand new organization and masked character bumping off spies one by one. While we don’t know who this Ronin is (and it’s plausible that we’ve never met him or her before), the character is already causing troubles with a hit list featuring both the Black Widow and Mockingbird. Of course Hawkeye, being the selfless hero that he is, thrusts all the characters into a mystery to discover what exactly is going on and who is responsible, and in the process only gets himself in a whole heap of trouble.
For all intents and purposes, this is pretty much a straight action issue. There are a few moments of deliberation, but a lot of it is action sequence followed by action sequence followed by … you guessed it! Action sequence. That alone works incredibly well for the story. This being a crossover/mini-event, streamlined to 4 issues over two months, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to slow down the pace one bit. McCann and Lopez in turn present these rather high octane sequences that would look absolutely great on a movie screen. It’s basically a Bond film with most of the travel time and discussion points cut out in order to fill the booksnow speeder chases and zip lines.
McCann’s plotting works really well for the issue, but the one thing rather noticeable is his use of humor. Given how Hawkeye and Mockingbird ended, the two once again pairing up didn’t seem to be something either of them really wanted to do. Given this new situation, Hawkeye does spend the majority of the issue making random/jokey remarks at odd times during a situation that seems like it would altogether just be stressful. While Hawkeye being a source of humor is not out of place, a Star Wars reference does seem to be the least likely thing one would spout off when their snowmobile is about to crash. The issue does read well regardless however, at a quickened pace with no real stalling points and enough intrigue and mystery to carry through to the next issue.
The best aspect of the comic has to be the visuals, though. Lopez has such a sleek style that with color is reminiscent of favorite artists like Jamie McKelvie or Becky Cloonan, and his take on the pages add a kinetic feel and energetic vibe to the story. Lopez really helps to quicken the pace visually and provide plenty of pretty art to feast your eyes on throughout. Of course, his Black Widow does look rather out of place next to all these young and vibrant characters. Black Widow kind of just seems like an old uncomfortable woman in a fur coat in her first appearance. But that’s a rather minor issue in a book that definitely stands out visually.
Those of you who have been following the Hawkeye and Mockingbird story will definitely want to check out Widowmaker. It’s a very smooth transition between books, and feels like a good continuation of Mockingbird’s spy life. McCann has a good take on the characters, even with his slant towards humor, and the story is enjoyable. The next issue will certainly be an interesting transition as writing and art duties shift, but for now this is a good entry point and continuation point for fans.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
