So it turns out Dragon-Man is not Hector, so that’s my bad. This issue, we learn the shocking identity of Dragon-Man, Cindy goes against Black Cat, and we get handful of guest stars. 

Silk #3: Choices

Writer: Robbie Thompson

Artist: Stacey Lee

Colorist: Ian Herring

Cover Artist: Dave Johnson 

Letterer: Travis Lanham 

Editors: Devin Lewis & Ellie Pyle & Nick Lowe

Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso 

Is She a Hero: The story picks up in the battle between Silk and Rage (Dragon-Man) that started at the end of last issue. Silk gets thrown around a lot and ends up trapped under a van. This triggers a traumatic memory with Ezekiel and an enraged Silk manages to throw the vehicle off herself. She removes Rage’s wings and proceeds to lay a beat down on him. He unmasks, begging her to stop. Cindy manages to calm down and learns that Rage is Harris Porter, a down on his luck single father. Cindy learns from Harris that Black Cat has been sending villains after her. She convinces him to apply at Alchemax (thank God she didn’t send him to Parker Industries) and is then confronted by Black Cat. Cat beats her down pretty quickly, but she manages to flee. While Cindy’s licking her wounds in her bunker, Peter shows up. Cindy doesn’t feel like talking, but Peter reveals he didn’t come to talk to her; he brought the Fantastic Four for that. 

I Think She Is: One of the things I like most about this issue is you could easily pick it up as a stand alone issue and not be lost. Sure, we start in the middle of a battle and it ends on a quasi-cliff hanger teasing an encounter with the Fantastic Four, but the story makes sure to catch you up on the important things. You learn who the villain is, who the mastermind behind the scenes is, what type of person Cindy is, snippets of her past with Ezekiel that in itself paints a fairly complete picture, and what corner of the Marvel Universe she fits in. It’s a nice teaser of a lot of aspects of Cindy’s life as Silk and if I was going off this issue alone, I would want to go back and read the previous two and continue with the series. 

I find that in this issue Cindy acts less like Spider-Man and more like Dick Grayson over in the DCU, back in his early Nightwing days. She’s still trying to figure out the type of hero she is, but she doesn’t shy away from what needs to be done. She rises to the occasion and when she’s close to losing herself, she’s able to pull herself back. She bemoans her situations, but there is a levity in the way she talks to herself and others. She uses her connections to try and help out someone down on their luck, akin to how Dick would use Wayne Enterprises to help people. There’s even the strained relationship with an older mentor in the form of Ezekiel. 

The issue is mostly made up of fight scenes (Silk vs. Rage, Cindy vs. Ezekiel, Silk vs. Black Cat) and Stacey Lee kills it this issue. The fights are easy to follow, thanks to a strong sense of motion in the art. Her web fingers is really starting to grow on me, it’s a nice visual distinction from Spidey.  Lee conveys a lot of emotion through Cindy’s eyes, like her surprise, her pain, and her rage. When Cindy lets loose against Rage, it’s wonderful to watch. Ian Herring uses reds to great effect for show of strength, but it’s how he uses darker colors and shadows to create a sense of claustrophobia when Cindy is pined under a van that really grabs me. 

Also, I would just like to note it was good to see Black Cat kick Silk’s ass. Silk shouldn’t be able to beat someone with as much experience/history as Black Cat on the first encounter. 

Verdict: This was a really good issue for Silk, taking a break from most of the Cindy Moon stuff to focus on her and how she handles her villains. The outcome of her fight with Harris Porter is one of the better instances of someone being a hero I can recall from recent Spider-Books. Last issue was pretty much set-up for future events, but this issue is focused on telling a story in the present and the outcome of this issue’s events does a much better job teasing future events. Stacey Lee and Ian Herring are as strong as ever and I look forward to their work on the Fantastic Four next issue.

Pros: 

• Focused on the present
• Awesome action
• Cindy comes off as a real hero
• Capable of standing on its own

Cons: 

• Identity of Rage underwhelming

B+