Heroes Reborn #5: Review

Jun 2021

Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

Story Name:

The Pageant of the Masters of Nocturnal Artistry

Review & Comments

Rating:

Heroes Reborn #5 Review by Peter Silvestro (June 2, 2021)

Review: This issue is more fun than most as we get to see how Batman and Spider-Man have been combined to make this new Nighthawk. From Batman, we have the traumatic death of his parents (though Kyle was unloved by them), his brooding personality, his cave lair, his big black car, his work with a police commissioner, and the bulk of his enemies being incarcerated in an asylum. From Spider-Man there’s the rogues gallery, the alien black costume, the death of a partner in the past (with the Falcon substituted for Gwen Stacy), and Kraven’s Last Hunt. Green Goblin has been mashed up with the Joker, who wants Nighthawk to kill him, proving he has broken the hero. One detail that fits neither is that Kyle Richmond is an African American man. The whole bit is pretty clever and fun in a way most of the earlier issues weren’t. And in the second story, we find Black Panther will be part of the series. Only two more issues and a postscript to come.

Comments: First Story: Nighthawk has a display of trophies from fallen foes including Winter Soldier’s bionic arm, Silver Samurai's helmet, Baron Zemo’s Mask, Elektra’s sais, and Hate Monger’s hood.

Comments on tie-ins by RobFJ:-

This week's 2 tie-ins are back on the track set up by week 2 - they are both firmly tied in to this week's #5 and the life of Nighthawk.

American Knights

This shows an earlier phase in the relationship between Nighthawk and Commissioner Luke Cage as they faced gang boss Turk and the vigilante Daredevil (Matt Murdock, Priest of Mephisto) with help from Detectives Jessica Jones and Misty Knight.

Marvel Double Action

And an even younger Commissioner Cage is involved in the story of how Green Goblin killed Nighthawk's partner Falcon (except it's Nighthawk's attempt to save him that actually snaps his neck, as alternate history repeats itself). Harry Osborn is in there too, and Gwen Stacy before she replaced Falcon as Nightbird.

Admittedly last week's Young Squadron would have fitted here too with Miles Morales becoming the new Falcon.

And from the following week I've added ...

Night-Gwen

Gwen Stacy is a psychiatrist at the Ravencroft Asylum by day and Nighthawk's partner Nightbird by night. She's beginning a relationship with Detective Misty Knight but they both leave the date to investigate the same killing. NB thinks it's part of a spate of deaths which she believes is her arch-enemy the Jackal (Miles Warren) targeting people she knows. But it turns out it's psychotically-jealous Flash Thompson who's killed Warren and taken his place.
Commissioner Cage is here too. As are 3 members of Ravencroft's staff:- Dr Georgia Jenkins and 2 Night Nurses named Linda (Carter) and Christine (Palmer) - chars from the 1972 Night Nurse series, the last 2 of whom went on to further apps.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Heroes Reborn #5 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Dark, brooding hero Nighthawk defeats Kraven the Hunter who has donned the hero’s costume to prove himself the better Nighthawk; he leaves the baddie for Commissioner Luke Cage and the police to find….

Addressing Congress as Delegate from the District of Columbia on mental health reform, Kyle Richmond is called away and he sends in an LMD to take his place. Wearing his living black costume picked up on Battleworld, Nighthawk’s mission takes him to Ravenscroft Asylum where the worst of the worst supervillains are kept. He battles Bullseye, Sabretooth, Lizard, Deadpool, Black Skull (see issue #1), and Doctor Octopus (the latter controlling real octopi) to make it to the lair of the most dangerous of enemies: Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. The Goblin has Nighthawk’s partner Nightbird (Gwen Stacy) prisoner and he hurls her from the balcony. Nighthawk has a flashback to the Goblin’s throwing his partner the Falcon to his death from the top of a bridge and he catches Gwen in the nick of time—and discovers she has been exposed to the bad guy’s Goblin Gas. Gwen hurls shuriken and topples the villain from his perch. Nighthawk defeats two more henchmen (Scarecrow and Rhino) to race to the side of the critically injured Goblin. Even at this point the hero refuses to kill the Goblin, his vow being to show him the error of his ways. Goblin mentions liking this world better than the other one and (maybe) dies….

Back at his lair, Nighthawk discovers that one inmate at Ravenscroft had escaped hours before the riot; surveillance footage shows Maya Lopez being taken from her cell by Captain America and Blade….

“The Quest of the Ronin”
Writer: Jason Aaron. Pencils: Ed McGuiness. Inks: Mark Morales. Colors: Matthew Wilson. Letters: Cory Petit.
Synopsis: Ronin is in deadly battle with Nighthawk atop the Washington Monument and they plummet—but Ronin makes it to the ground safely then teleports away. He arrives in Africa, where he reveals himself to be T’Challa, the Black Panther. Captain America and Blade are there to invite him to join their team….