Broken Frontier

Jessica Drew learns the truth about who Hydra is and what it is that they do. And so the cat and mouse chase begins.

After settling the young Spider-Woman down, Nick Fury delivers the news of Hydra’s true agenda by showing Jessica video footage of a Hydra terrorist attack performed by her boyfriend--and then captive of SHIELD--Jared. Once the truth is out, Jessica flees, not knowing any longer who she is or her place in the world. But with talents such as hers, a life of obscurity is not in the cards.

Each time I open this book I am further reminded of the first season of the ABC television espionage drama, Alias. The lead protagonists are both women endowed with incredible and natural skills in the intelligence business, who begin their careers working for the bad guys when they think they are really working for the good guys. Each has a hard time coping with the truth as it is presented, but inevitably they will do what any good patriot in their position would do: become a double-agent in the name of a good cause even if it ruins their personal lives.

Alias has waned in quality since that first season (though I still love it), but Spider-Woman: Origin is in the meat of that aforementioned storyline. There are, of course, several points that set this comic apart from the T.V. show, not the least of which is the super-powered origins of Jessica Drew. Thankfully, for readers like me who have seen the parallels in these stories, Bendis and Reed are doing a great job of playing up that aspect whenever possible. They allow us to see what a frightened but powerful young woman Jessica is when she is backed into a corner by a battalion of Hydra agents. They also let us into her mind a bit, showing us that even the great Nick Fury has little power over Jessica’s resolve to stay away from the spy games. It is an affecting dichotomy that adds layers to an almost forgotten character who was nowhere to be seen just a few short years ago.

The Luna Brothers still aren’t doing it for me on art here. Joshua’s layouts and Jonathan’s colors and action sequencing serve well here, but the lines come across a little too sloppy. I complained in my last review about the latter’s inability to draw hands or feet better than your average amateur, so that was amplified here. Luckily, this issue seemed to have more distant or action shots to keep the focus away from the extremities. And as I said, those action shots were done quite well. I especially liked the use of blurring to indicate rapid movement; it gave the art an energy that has only been hinted at before.

This series has been solid since the beginning. If, like me, you are a story-first reader, it shouldn’t be too difficult to enjoy what you get here.