Silk has tried and failed to stop an evil witch from terrorizing New York. Now the witch is putting her grand plan into motion. What is the witch’s plan? And what’ll happen to the city, and the world, if Silk is too late? Find out in Silk #5, written by Emily Kim, drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa, colored by Ian Herring and lettered by Ariana Maher.
When we last saw Silk, she had been aged to an old lady as a result of having her âworship energyâ drained by a Korean witch known as a manyao. Becoming an old lady resulted in Cindy Moon having a hard time as a superhero and as an everyday person. However, Cindy soon learns the manyao is conducting a magical ritual at the museum exhibit where she was originally found. With a little help from J. Jonah Jameson, Silk races to the museum to stop the manyao once and for all.
Issue #5 begins with some amusing thoughts via Old Lady Silkâs internal monologue. One of this seriesâ strengths has been Emily Kimâs sense of humor, and it comes through as we see Silk gripe about how she could be knitting and playing word games if she didnât have to stop a resurrected Korean witch.
After barely managing to form a shield from her webbing, Silk is soon forced on the defensive due to her reduced strength. She also learns that the manyaoâs goal is to bring the kingdom of Joseon to the present so she can rule over it. Of course, this would wipe out the present day world in exchange.
Silk attempts to make the first strike against the manyao, but her punch is so harmless that the villain scoffs and asks, âWhat was that?â Without missing a beat, Silk replies, âIâm attacking you.â This exchange is funny even as the mayao smacks Silk into a table.
Even as Silk continues to get pummeled, it is a mark of her resilience that she keeps up the clever quips and internal monologue. At one point, she asks, âIs this seriously your best shot?â right before she gets a chest of drawers thrown at her.
Another notable aspect of the fight is Ariana Maher’s letters. The manyaoâs many hits against Silk are illustrated with colorful, blocky âSMACK!â and âBASHâ sound effects that contrast with Silkâs internal monologue and somewhat feeble attempts at fighting that generate smaller sound effects like âBonkâ and âThwip.â
As in previous issues, the lettering combines with Ian Herringâs colors and Takeshi Miyazawaâs art to create a lively action sequence. Blue and green panel backgrounds represent the impending ritual as well as the manyaoâs magical aura. Also, the camera angles enhance Silkâs powerlessness against the manyao, with Silk often looking toward her while struggling to get up from the ground.
In addition to displaying humor, Kim demonstrates a poignant and vulnerable honesty in her writing. In a single page, Silk explains to the manyao how sheâd been feeling lost and how aging overnight changed her perspective. Instead of worrying too much about her future, Silk decides to take Jonah’s advice from the previous issue and focus on what makes her happy now: peppermint bark being a superhero. In the best line of her current run, she declares, âMy life was already taken once. Youâre not taking what I have left.â
It is said that you have to lose something to find value in it, and this seems to be the case for Silk here. Although I was initially worried about Cindy defining her worth based on being Silk, this seems to be unfounded since she has been trying new things and strengthening her chops as a reporter.
By telling the manyao about her realization, Silk manages to lure her close enough to grab her necklace, which is the source of her power. Once Silk destroys it, her youth is restored and she can fight the manyao in earnest. However, she decides to extend one final olive branch to her first.
In the previous issue, Silk asked the manyao what she was going to do after draining the worship energy from her victims. Although the manyao didn’t respond at the time, Silk comes back to this by suggesting the manyao live in the present day and give herself a chance to turn over a new leaf.
While this isnât the first time Silk has empathized with a villain, this is the first time she has met one so similar to her. Both Silk and the manyao are Korean women who have been hunted for their special abilities. For a time, Silk was also metaphorically stuck in the past as she tried to adjust to life after imprisoning herself in a bunker for a decade.
Despite Silkâs moving display of empathy, the manyao refuses to take her offer. After one final confrontation that involves Jonah cheering Silk on while recording her on a smartphone, Silk knocks the manyao into the portal she made and puts her back in the past. The portal vanishes, the museum curator reappears safe and sound, and the battle is over.
The rest of the issue ties up some loose ends. Cindy returns to the apartment she shares with her brother, Albert, and they smooth things over. At the same time, all of the social media influencers who were aged by the manyao are young again. At Cindyâs job, Threats and Menaces, the reporters finally manage to publish a story about Silk before everyone else thanks to the footage from Jonah.
Speaking of Jonah, Iâve had a suspicion that he has known Silkâs true identity since Silk Vol. 0 (2021). As the reporters are celebrating getting footage of Silk, he says, âIt shows that you canât put a good reporter down, no matter how mature they get.â There is a chance that he is referring to himself, but I wouldnât put it past him to keep quiet about Silkâs true identity until Cindy says something.
Circling back to Cindy, she has something to celebrate as well. She has not only defeated the manyao as Silk, but has also written a news story that frames the manyao as a powerful woman the world wasnât ready for. Cindy also visits Ivaan and apologizes before giving him a kiss and the promise of another date.
The issue ends with Silk happily swinging through the city to head to a Korean language class to get in touch with her heritage. She is now more sure of herself and ready to embark on her next adventure.
All in all, this series was even more enjoyable than the previous one due to it being the most outrageous quarter-life and mid-life crisis. As a reader in their early thirties and a Silk fan in general, I found it fun and relatable because there are times when every adult feels the monotony of their life weighing on them. The entire comics team did a great job of taking this experience to superheroic heights while also keeping it down to earth, and I canât wait to see where Silk goes next.
Latonya Pennington
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
