Magneto #5 – Review

By: Cullen Bunn (writer), Gabriel Hernandez Walta (artist), Jordie Bellaire (color artist)

The Story: “The war’s the only thing we can be sure of.”

The Review: Last month’s issue of Magneto felt very much like filler. The pace of this issue is not quite back to what it was, but it possesses something its immediate predecessor did not: a sense of purpose. Additionally interesting is a cryptic mention of last month’s events that may see my so-called filler become rather important.

Despite it’s slow pace, Magneto #5 is clearly an issue that will have significant consequences. The introduction of Briar finally provides this series with a supporting character for Magneto to play off of. Given the rather remarkable success that Cullen Bunn has had so far, it’s almost worrisome to see such a dramatic shift in the paradigm. I certainly don’t want to see another ‘badass and his support staff’ story, but thankfully that’s not the way it looks like we’re going.

Briar Raleigh is a fascinating character because she actually seems to be a match for Magneto, without straining credibility. This is a woman who walks up to the master of magnetism with slabs of sharp metal wrapped around her leg and feels confident she’ll walk out alive. Even more interesting is the fact that, while we learn more than Magneto does, it’s still very unclear what game Briar is playing. We see actions that hint at her motives, but they all can be taken a number of different ways. That mystery instantly makes her captivating.

Unfortunately building that mystery requires, at least in Bunn’s mind, toying with Magneto and the reader. There’s some great and surprisingly natural suspense in this issue, but it can make for a somewhat frustrating reading experience when so much space is taken up by this odd game of chicken they’re playing. It’s nothing new for noir inspired comics to devote a substantial amount of page space to snappy dialogue but I’m not sure that we needed separate panels of Briar walking to a drawer, finding alcohol, commenting on the alcohol, picking up said alcohol, pouring that alcohol, toasting, and drinking.

Magneto #4 – Review

By: Cullen Bunn (writer), Javier Fernandez (artist), Jordie Bellaire (color artist)

The Story: Magneto celebrates Memorial Day his own way.

The Review: With a sterling opening arc put to bed, Cullen Bunn’s Magneto now moves into different territory for its fourth issue, providing a one-off examination of where Erik goes, physically and mentally, between battles.

At this point a number of Bunn’s tricks are beginning to make themselves known. Especially only two weeks after the last issue of this series, it’s hard not to notice how many scenes there are of Magneto walking through dark corridors between the two. Likewise, it’s clear that one of the series’ trademarks is its methodical, almost procedural, way of documenting Magneto’s mission, methods, and kills. It does hurt the effect to see these devices called upon again so quickly, but they were effective for a reason.

While the Omega-Sentinels plotline is over, for now, this issue seems to say to its readers that the book will carry on with the same tone and flavor. One thing that Bunn excels at is imbuing his violence with purpose. Every move Magneto makes is calculatedly vicious in a way that very few stories even attempt. I still don’t think Magneto kills “on autopilot”, as an onlooker from issue 1 put it; indeed, it seems to me that it is actually of the utmost importance to him to be present and conscious of each strike and each murder. For Magneto, his power is a fusion of physical ability and focused will.

The dichotomy of these elements is the strongest part of the issue, as a retreat to an old hideaway reminds Magnus of the reasons he fights. The answer is fitting for a holocaust survivor and has a certain charm to it, though it might not be subtle enough for some readers.