Radiant Black, Vol. 5: Crisis

Radiant Black

by Kyle Higgins, Marcello Costa (cover_art), Eduardo Ferigato (cover_art)

THE CATALYST WAR BEGINS! As an alien army vaster than the stars descends on Earth, Nathan and Marshall have to make the biggest decision of their lives: which of them will be Radiant Black? Two timelines will be tested in the trials of THE CATALYST WAR—and neither will escape unchanged!

RADIANT BLACK is a Massive-Verse series.
Collects RADIANT BLACK #25 A & B, #26, #26. 5, #27, and #27. 5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2024

Reviews

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

The big threat in this world has now made its purpose clear and things are officially under way. This volume tells a story in a way that’s brilliant and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. Through both paths, I’m rooting for and against both heroes and am weighing the pros and cons constantly, as well. This one has me thinking a lot and that’s a great thing! The dynamic of this storytelling layers very well in this volume and each path sort of builds and benefits from its counterpart. Really well done!

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Higgins ramps up the stakes as Nathan and Marshall are faced with picking who should have the Radiant Black power as The Catalyst War begins. A challenge has to be met and Higgins gives us two separate timelines and viewpoints from each of our lead characters in delivering an entertaining read.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like the characters and I have hopes for this pretty epic storyline..
Though it's a little frustrating with the two time lines...

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I still don't really know who the alien robots are or why they're attacking Earth, Crisis offers an interesting conceit as we watch Radiant Black fight the robots: two separate tellings of the same tale, one starring Marshall as the Radiant and the other starring Nathan. It's pretty neat to see the personalities of the characters play out in decision-making, leading to fairly different (and sometimes dark) conclusions.

So yeah, the storytelling here is fun, but I'm still thoroughly lost in the world-building. Kyle Higgins is better at creating characters than putting together a coherent epic saga.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

While still containing the core of friendship and trying to survive together and be superheroes we go way more sci-fi on this one. A huge battle with mostly nameless villains who are trying to take over the world and destroy it. I have to say the main plot doesn't do much for me but the deaths and friendship moments, are really good.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scary astral plane robots shouting at our protagonists has gotten a little old.

Also, the parallel narrative structure may be clever storytelling but it definitely saved time and effort for the artists, didn't it?

[Gonçalo Bernardes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radiant Black Volume 5!!

We have finally made it to the event all 4 previous volumes were teasing and leading up to, and so far it lives up to the hype!!

The war feels like it has horrible impact in the world, with this volume displaying the most bloody and explicit art yet in any of the books!! Speaking of, the art continues to be excellent. It’s a joy to read, so many pages inspire me, they are truly jaw-dropping.

The split timeline approach to the story is interesting, even though it doesn’t feel like the most necessary. I enjoy it quite a bit though, and truly appreciate the team trying to make each parallel issue feel different, with even the same moments being drawn differently in each issue. It’s confusing to think deeper as to why we are seeing both timelines play out when one of them will be chosen, hopefully they’ll both impact the story in some way? That’s how I can see it being worthwhile.

As for the story, I really enjoy it, some of the Existence crew’s dialogue can be a bit hard to follow sometimes, but the themes still pull through enough that this volume’s message intrigues me a lot.

Overall, it’s not my favorite out of the 5, but it’s a really good Radiant Black volume, and I’m really excited to see how the Catalyst War concludes, AND which timeline is picked!!

[Zedsdead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marshall and Nathan are forced to choose who will wield Radiant Black going forward. The chosen one must battle a force of extradimensional robots and ghostly supermonks to save the planet.

It's probably exacerbated by the time passed since I read v4, but I hate the weird doubletalking extradimensional robots stuff. Ya lost me, and it was uninteresting to begin with. I'm here for people dealing with the responsibilities and trappings and challenges of unexpected extreme power, but I guess Higgins is done with that.

He does write good dialogue--well, human dialogue, anyway--and there is a cool Schrödinger's Superhero thing going on, in which we get to see what happens if Nathan keeps Radiant Black and then if Marshall does.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dual protagonists literally splitting the story is intriguing, but ultimately sort of mixed in its impact. While its cool to see these what if alternate takes play out across the volumes, I do feel like I am getting less story. Bu the story is genuinely well written with bits of levity (post office) but predominately focusing on the serious nature of it all. Still not sure how its not all hands on deck for the majority of massive-verse characters seeing how the invasion is all over tv and such. I like that the writers are being bold, but I'm conflicted since it seems like they may be fumbling a crucial point in the story.

[Viktor Logi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying it!

It took a while but yeah, I like it.
It's definitely not perfect and I still have a huge problem with the character designs in Radiant Black (Everyone looks Identical and interchangeable)
But the story is progressing interestingly!
I look forward to seeing how the timelines will hopefully merge or converge or impact each other in someway.

I will probably pick up volume 6 when it comes out!

[John Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

The split storyline is an interesting idea but results in a lot of repeated moments, at least in this volume. Hopefully there are bigger differences in the next volume as currently there are about 4 pages that don't seem to be word for word with just a different character in the suit.

[Marcos “MSMDragon” · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story but it was definitely confusing and hard to follow at times.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does this series manage to maintain this degree of quality? Every volume i read i keep expecting to be like “Well, this was good but it's not as amazing as the previous volume” and it never happens. The writing is still fantastic, Marshall and Nathan’s relationship is so fascinating and the ways they support each other so interesting in how they reflect on themselves. The art continues to be incredible. The narrative goes into so many different directions whilst never being complicated. They reveal more about what the radiant is and how it works which sould destroy the mystery and eldritch feeling of them. But it if anything it makes them feel even older and eerie because we know what they are capable of and how they work.

And to top it off the film pulls a trick out of its arse that if it was in any other story would overbearing, confusing and self indulgent. But in this it works incredibly well in how it fleshes out the characters and we see each of the strengths and weaknesses of Nathan and Marshall and how they compare to one another. I’m so excited for what its building towards and the possible implications of what specifically is happening.

Fantastic comic 10/10

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your questions are answered, which in this case just means more questions, but there's a Catalyst War on the horizon. It'll be interesting to see where the next volume takes the new Catalyst War story arc. It appears as though Clark and Higgins are working the whole duplicate thing straight through the end of the arc. This volume is well worth your time, especially if you've been looking for your basic jumping on point.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit, I'm not entirely sure what I read here. We've got two timelines all of sudden! It's a stunning new direction, and I trust Higgins based on what he's offered so far. I'm intrigued to how it all comes together next issues.

There's perhaps a bit too much pointless fighting here, of the sort where all the robots and armies are so massive that you don't have any character, but when it gets down to our main characters, this continues to be fun.

[AviChaim Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every new addition to this series just kills it. I'm a huge RB fan and want to learn more about the Massive-verse. The different takes between Marshall and Nathan are different but I love the differences between each of their POVs. The art continues to look beautiful and the digitized creations from <001> are so cool! I'm trying very hard to not spoil anything from the book, just go read the whole series! Strongest volume so far! Highly recommend. Grade: A

[Will Fenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting concept....

And I think they ALMOST land it. However, without giving the central concept away, there's just something that doesn't quite click for me with the narrative tool they choose to use for this arc. The story is still great and the dynamic between Nathan and Marshall even stronger, but this time I don't know if that actually benefits the tale. However, can't wait to see how Vol 6 finishes!

[London Heady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every choice has a consequence. Every path is paved with someone's blood. How many people can one save? The looming question that will always be in that person's mind: could someone else have saved more?

Another classic volume of Radiant Black. The main story is so much fun and so gorgeous. I need more now.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the central idea of this volume, showcasing two diverging paths from a very important decision. Really unique in concept that really makes you think who is the better equipped to handle such a momentous situation.

Great artwork and great characters.

Excited to see how The Catalyst War concludes!

[Jaden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its definitely something. I do not at all understand the big thing they’re trying to do. Why they are attacking earth is sort’ve clear by the end of the book and i do like the storytelling of the dual timelines. But i was frustrated with who, where, and why.

Also the fights themselves were kind of unclear to me save for the character moments and decision making.

[Ziyad Baksh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Choices matter

Marshall and Nathan have to choose which of them get to be the sole Radiant Black. Higgins decided to do a split timeline, exploring each option. It's not a sustainable gimmick but it works here.

[Lewis Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

never seen a two timelines happening contemporaneously in a comic. good craic

[Martinio · Rating 3 out of 5]

One word: confusing! Kyle Higgins lost me here. The story telling is not strong in this volume and overall it could have been so much more epic than this non-consistent mess…

[Santiago Girón · Rating 4 out of 5]

he got good with his powers way too quick
good sci-fi tho

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting way to tell this story. Intrigued where it is going from here.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Previously, I reviewed the first half of the Catalyst War and was like, yeah, this is fine. Having now read the whole thing in its entirety, I am much, much more impressed.

At first the dueling narratives between the main book and the .5 issues seemed entirely incidental. What was the point, I wondered, in having two sides of the same war? Surely only one of them would prove to be 'right' going forward. And yes, that's true - but it turns out that the .5 issues are a very clever narrative device that writer Kyle Higgins uses to bring the war to an unexpected close, and along the way explores the differences between Marshall and Nathan, their approaches to being Radiant Black, and how quickly things can go wrong for them both.

It's very clever, very ambitious, and could have easily gone wrong, but instead proved to be a home run for me.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another great addition to a great graphic novel series. I love the way Higgins shows both choices in alternating chapters. This was intriguing and a great mechanism to pull the reader in and keep the suspense at an all-time high. I can't wait for volume 6!