Knight Takes King – Marvel Knights 20th #5 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The Marvel Knights have gathered outside the tower where this “Karen Page” says it all started. Meanwhile, Black Panther has already infiltrated the building. He stumbles upon a gathering of rogues (made up of Tombstone, Crossbones, Taskmaster, and Jigsaw), and it looks like he may not be enough to bring all four men down. However, a sudden quake throws it all off-balance. T’Challa gets the upper hand, and Doctor Doom decides it is time for he and Kingpin to depart.
Marvel Knights 20th #5 brings the story to its climax, as our Marvel Knights gather around the men apparently responsible for this mass amnesia and ensuing crisis.
T’Challa is still, more-or-less, the focal point of this issue. Much of the book follows his infiltration of Doom and Fisk’s facility and the fight that follows. We get more of how Doom and Fisk are working together in this, and, of course, Doom must reign supreme. Fisk is an amnesiac too; it’s unclear whether Doom is too, but it seems likely that he isn’t.
Before you write it off as another plot of Doctor Doom, the comic unites T’Challa with the other Knights, and Black Panther immediately attacks them. It seems that there is still more to it than simply Doom’s meddling. Plus, Karen Page is still unexplained.
Niko Henrichon returns as artist on #5, and he once again proves to be an ideal choice for the gritty noir vibe for which Marvel Knights is known. There is a lot of shading, a very stylized aesthetic for the heroes, and excellent detailing for the fight scenes. The color, with assists from Laurent Grossat, are impressive too. The shades and grading used drive home the feeling of a cold and cruel world standing before our heroes.
Marvel Knights #20th #5 advances the story in an intriguing fashion, bringing us to the cusp of what lies behind the mass amnesia and power moves that have followed. It’s a solid read and easily worth a recommendation. Check it out.
Marvel Knights 20th #5 comes to us from writers Donny Cates and Matthew Rosenberg, artist Niko Henrichon, color assistant Laurent Grossat, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artist Geoff Shaw with Rain Beredo, and variant cover artists Jae Lee with June Chung and Kaare Andrews.