TITLE: Silk vol. 2, issue #2
YEAR: February 2016
COMPANY: Marvel Comics
Written by Robbie Thompson
Artist: Tana Ford
Color Artist: Ian Herring
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Assistant Editor: Devin Lewis
Editor: Nick Lowe
In 2014, in “The Amazing Spider-Man” issue #4, it was shown that after Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider (and he would eventually become “Spider-Man”), that same spider bit another student, an Asian American teen named Cindy Moon.
Unlike Peter Parker, she is able to create her own organic webbing and not sure how to control her newfound powers.
A man named Ezekiel came to help the Moon family in order to train her and after six years of training, she was locked up inside a facility to protect her and others from a person known as Morlun and the Inheritors.
She was eventually freed by Spider-Man seven years later and finds that her parents have moved away and now she wants to look for them. She becomes a crime-fighter but at the same time working for Black Cat, doing not-so-good things.
While I haven’t read many issues of “Silk”, I picked up a few issues during a Halloween sale as I was interested to see this character who was also bitten by the same radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker.
In issue #2, you have Silk trying to pursue her leads to a Goblin Gang, while working a normal job a the Daily Bugle during the day, superhero at night but also working for the Black Cat and not feeling good.
Also, she has gone without sleep, and her day doesn’t go well and someone sends a letter with the name “Silk” and thus knowing, someone who sent this, knows her identity and points her to an a location.
And when she goes to the location, she discovers goblin children and when they see her, they all try to attack her and before she is about to get pounced, some mysterious guy comes in an helps her out and then disappears.
While tired, she realizes she is to meet with Black Cat for another mission?
But why is Black Cat making her do these jobs and what happens when Peter Parker asks if Silk has gone bad?
For the most part, I don’t really understand the character much just with this one issue, nor does it really show Silk in action. But I do find the whole story of another student getting bitten by the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker quite intriguing. But I’m also curious because you don’t see Asian American characters getting their own solo series for a major Marvel comic book and now you have two, with Silk and Amadeus Cho of “Totally Awesome Hulk”.
As I have written before, there were not many Asian, let alone Asian American superheroes in the Marvel Universe and while a few were featured in “X-Men” and “The New Mutants”, I definitely felt it was a great step for Marvel Comics to include Asian American heroes and also given them their own series, so that was a plus.
Now whether or not she’ll get another series remains to be seen. The first volume had seven issues and the second volume that ended with its 19th issue. But an interesting character and look forward to reading more issues.