Captain Britain And Mi 13 #5

It's always going to be tough on a book which launched through a large crossover event to mark its own territory when that event is done. Now, while Secret Invasion certainly isn't done Captain Britain & MI:13's 4 issue association with it certainly is, and that raises the question as to whether it can survive on its own. Can I? On the very positive start from this issue, it certainly looks like it can.

#5 is effectively an Epilogue to book's Secret Invasion storyline and a Prologue to the book's first arc in its own right. But more than this it's somewhat of a rarity in modern Marvel comics, in as much as this is a genuine 'Downtime Issue,' and this allows for some strong character interaction and a good setup from Cornell for the rest of the series.

We get to see Spitfire discussing her Vampirism with Union Jack, and a visiting of John the Skrull's grave (And a shadowy presence in the background as that occurs). Faiza tries to reassure her traditional Muslim parents that working as a Government Superhero is a perfectly appropriate vocation in life. She takes the Black Knight with her for support. He tries to show them respect by talking to them in Urdu.

Only it's very old Urdu. The Urdu he picked up back in that storyline where he fought in the Crusades (And anybody who knows their history will probably figure out just why THAT'S so offensive).

But as the cover suggests this issue's biggest seller is the arrival of Blade into the ranks of MI:13 (Yes, he's British. Has been since his Origin in Tomb of Dracula). He's quite focused, fairly quiet, and the wet British weather is not doing any favours to that robot hand he gained a while back. But what's great about watching Cap and Wisdom showing him around the MI:13 complex is that effectively it's the reader being shown around with him. You get a real feel of how this team is going to operate - it's Superheroes backed up by live artillery, choppers and everything else which the British military has to offer. That's quite a prospect.

Fans of Cornell's Wisdom series from last year will be pleased to see an appearance by Sid Ridley - Captain Midlands, surviving member of the British Government's Region Super Soldier programme. He's appears on the comms to report a situation in Birmingham, but gets cut off. Remember all those demon types which Wisdom released in #3? Well, it looks like MI:13 are going to have to sort some of them out - which should give us some idea of this title's future direction.

The dialogue and story flow were pretty good, here. Very few complaints there. Unfortunately for Leonard Kirk fans this was an issue off on pencils, for him, with Pat Oliffe filling in. Oliffe does a remarkably good job of adopting the book's house-style. Sure, he's not as good AS Kirk, but it doesn't really distract, and keeps the book feeling the way that it should.

I would urge anybody who was perhaps on the fence about keeping with this title after Secret Invasion should give this issue a go. It's not intended to blow you away, but the character work is good and it's got a killer ending (Ha ha!). But seriously, a good issue and a sign of even better things ahead.