Usually in comic books, characters spun out of events don't go far or are dropped as quickly as they rise. One character who has been in constant threat of that is Marvel's newest Spider-chick, Silk. Today on "Current Issues" we talk about this up-and-comers latest solo title.
Writer: Robbie Thompson
Artist: Stacy Lee
Cindy Moon/Silk was created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos in 2014's "Amazing Spider-Man #4". As revealed in an "Original Sin" tie-in story, Cindy was bitten by the same radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker, but rather than run off and become a superhero, Cindy was advised by a man named Ezekiel to remain in a bunker to be studied and hopefully cured of her powers. Cindy was in the bunker for thirteen years before Spider-Man let her free and saw as she became her own hero named Silk. After a dimensional headache of an event called "Spider-Verse", Silk went back to basics and got her own solo title.
Silk quickly establishes a status quo for this new character. Cindy works at a New York news station with Peter Parker's old boss J. Jonah Jameson who treats her with more respect because of her outdated way of reporting. As Silk, she fights crime regularly and between these two parts of her life she researches the whereabouts of her family who vanished after she escaped from the bunker. Ironically, Cindy uses the bunker as a home so she doesn't have to pay rent and she can be somewhere she is comfortable. Things get tricky when she crosses the path of newly appointed crime boss Selina Kyle/Black Cat and battles a dragon-themed minor villain multiple times. Being in New York and being Spider-Man's on-again-off-again girlfriend (they had an "animals in heat" situation) Silk runs into Spidey a few times and it becomes clear that their relationship isn't as personable as Spidey wants and Silk is too closed in to ask for his help. Currently, the "End of Days" event is apparently ending the Marvel Universe and Silk spends her last day finding her brother and embracing him.
Silk is several things: an Korean superhero, a female superhero, a faster and a better web-weaver than Spider-Man, a spin-off character with an actual personality, but above all she feels like a friend readers can invest in. By following her adventures you quickly start to feel for the character, you end up liking Silk as a person so much you want her to find her family. You would think with a character who's knocked boots with Spider-Man the desire readers want is for them to be together, but the book is about far more than your typical "I need to be my own person before I can be your person" type of story. There's an element of obvious recapping with the character as she is slightly out of this era. In her dialog she makes 90's references-Pokemon and Eminem-and her style of news reporting is done via notebook and pencil instead of laptop or tablet. There is a charm to Silk's character that easily carries readers onto her side. With the aforementioned dragon-themed villain, Silk actually ends up talking to this guy and learning he's a father and he commits crimes to support his daughter and that he isn't naturally bad. Silk does something most heroes don't by fixing crime personally. Now the art-howly Batcow, Batman-the art. The art for Silk is fantastic. There's a certain cartoony-almost Disney-design to the book, characters are expressive and bright and the proportions for even minor details like hair or facial markings is so well drawn. The book has unique coloration drawing from dark and bold colors and bright, better emphasized colors. I especially like the coloration choices for Silk herself because they make it a point to match her costume's colors with her wardrobe, her costume has teal/cyan colors with much black and hints of red and all those colors appear on her clothes when she's just a civilian. It's a very whimsical style for this uplifting character.
I'm am very grateful for how well this book was handled, personally I prejudged the character when she appearing in "Amazing Spider-Man" because her attraction to Peter made me think she was a new tagged-on love interest for Peter. Additionally, Silk is one of the many Spider-Women in current Marvel along with Jessica Drew, Anya Corezon, and the other universe version of Gwen Stacy, so I was afraid she'd just be lost in the cluster of spider-characters. Luckily, she stuck out and became more likable to me than any of those characters. I'd go so far as to say I enjoy this character more than Peter Parker/Spider-Man as of late. While it seems Peter has been stuck in an awkward "nobody knows what to do with me" state of adulthood, Silk is a character with a fresh start and room to grow. I'm confident that when this book returns after "Secret Wars" I will continue to praise this characters, despite my fear in what direction they may take her.
Thanks for reading!
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Cindy Moon/Silk was created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos in 2014's "Amazing Spider-Man #4". As revealed in an "Original Sin" tie-in story, Cindy was bitten by the same radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker, but rather than run off and become a superhero, Cindy was advised by a man named Ezekiel to remain in a bunker to be studied and hopefully cured of her powers. Cindy was in the bunker for thirteen years before Spider-Man let her free and saw as she became her own hero named Silk. After a dimensional headache of an event called "Spider-Verse", Silk went back to basics and got her own solo title.
Silk quickly establishes a status quo for this new character. Cindy works at a New York news station with Peter Parker's old boss J. Jonah Jameson who treats her with more respect because of her outdated way of reporting. As Silk, she fights crime regularly and between these two parts of her life she researches the whereabouts of her family who vanished after she escaped from the bunker. Ironically, Cindy uses the bunker as a home so she doesn't have to pay rent and she can be somewhere she is comfortable. Things get tricky when she crosses the path of newly appointed crime boss Selina Kyle/Black Cat and battles a dragon-themed minor villain multiple times. Being in New York and being Spider-Man's on-again-off-again girlfriend (they had an "animals in heat" situation) Silk runs into Spidey a few times and it becomes clear that their relationship isn't as personable as Spidey wants and Silk is too closed in to ask for his help. Currently, the "End of Days" event is apparently ending the Marvel Universe and Silk spends her last day finding her brother and embracing him.
Silk is several things: an Korean superhero, a female superhero, a faster and a better web-weaver than Spider-Man, a spin-off character with an actual personality, but above all she feels like a friend readers can invest in. By following her adventures you quickly start to feel for the character, you end up liking Silk as a person so much you want her to find her family. You would think with a character who's knocked boots with Spider-Man the desire readers want is for them to be together, but the book is about far more than your typical "I need to be my own person before I can be your person" type of story. There's an element of obvious recapping with the character as she is slightly out of this era. In her dialog she makes 90's references-Pokemon and Eminem-and her style of news reporting is done via notebook and pencil instead of laptop or tablet. There is a charm to Silk's character that easily carries readers onto her side. With the aforementioned dragon-themed villain, Silk actually ends up talking to this guy and learning he's a father and he commits crimes to support his daughter and that he isn't naturally bad. Silk does something most heroes don't by fixing crime personally. Now the art-howly Batcow, Batman-the art. The art for Silk is fantastic. There's a certain cartoony-almost Disney-design to the book, characters are expressive and bright and the proportions for even minor details like hair or facial markings is so well drawn. The book has unique coloration drawing from dark and bold colors and bright, better emphasized colors. I especially like the coloration choices for Silk herself because they make it a point to match her costume's colors with her wardrobe, her costume has teal/cyan colors with much black and hints of red and all those colors appear on her clothes when she's just a civilian. It's a very whimsical style for this uplifting character.
I'm am very grateful for how well this book was handled, personally I prejudged the character when she appearing in "Amazing Spider-Man" because her attraction to Peter made me think she was a new tagged-on love interest for Peter. Additionally, Silk is one of the many Spider-Women in current Marvel along with Jessica Drew, Anya Corezon, and the other universe version of Gwen Stacy, so I was afraid she'd just be lost in the cluster of spider-characters. Luckily, she stuck out and became more likable to me than any of those characters. I'd go so far as to say I enjoy this character more than Peter Parker/Spider-Man as of late. While it seems Peter has been stuck in an awkward "nobody knows what to do with me" state of adulthood, Silk is a character with a fresh start and room to grow. I'm confident that when this book returns after "Secret Wars" I will continue to praise this characters, despite my fear in what direction they may take her.
Thanks for reading!
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