Radiant Red, Vol. 1: Crime and Punishment

Massive-Verse

by Cherish Chen, Cully Hamner (Cover Art), David Lafuente (Artist)

To her students, Satomi Sone is a diligent middle school teacher. To her fiancé and parents, she's the rock of the family. To the world, she's RADIANT RED, bank robber-turned-matter-absorbing superhero.

But when Chicago's criminal underbelly comes calling - not to mention the nosy reporter on her doorstep and the 2.5 million dollars in cash hidden in the air vents of her house - she's going to have to decide who she is, and quicklyï¿9;before the world chooses for her.

From writer CHERISH CHEN and all-star art team DAVID LAFUENTE and MIQUEL MUERTO comes a standalone story from the world of the Image Comics smash hit RADIANT BLACK!

RADIANT RED is a part of the MASSIVE-VERSE!

Collects RADIANT RED #1-5

WHAT IS THE MASSIVE-VERSE?
Kyle Higgins & Marcelo Costa's breakout hit Radiant Black took superhero storytelling to new heights. But Radiant Black isn't the only character inhabiting the MASSIVE-VERSE. There's a whole universe for readers to explore! Characters like Rogue Sun, Inferno Girl Red, The Dead Lucky and more yet to be revealed each of them has a different story to tell, different adversaries to face and they each occupy a very different corner of this shared universe. What are you waiting for? Now's the time to get into the MASSIVE-VERSE!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Adventure, Action

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2022

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK and now I think Satomi Sone is my favourite one of the Radiants? I hope this arc wasn't just a one-off!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice. I was surprised how much I liked this one. After reading Radiant Black vol 2 and finding it not quite as good as vol 1 and then finding Supermassive to be just ok, I thought this would be more of the same. Luckily, this ended up being pretty dope. Back in Radiant Black, we see Radiant Red aka Satomi, had a husband who got way too deep in gambling debt. After finding the Radiant Red suit, Satomi robs a bank for the money to handle the debt. Unfortunately, a criminal crew notices this and finds out who she is. They have now blackmailed her into joining their gang for this big heist. This made for some great story telling and an ending I didn’t see coming. Good stuff.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chen creates a more nuanced and detailed character with Red than the reader gets in Radiant Black. All right I just fact checked myself and the three interconnecting titles all have different writers.

So cheers to Chen for giving us a morally ambiguous character who does not turn out taking the choices that might have been expected upon hitting the for now final issue.

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-tells the events of the excellent fifth issue(?) of Radiant Black but fleshes out the details. That's a good thing; Satomi's backstory is definitely worth fleshing out.

It's as well-told the second time as it was the first time but the illustrator has difficulty with fight scenes, which are an unparsable mess.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent universe expansion from the world of Radiant Black, and driven by a female writer and protagonist and if anything, a more realistically based story than the aforementioned vanguard title. Really enjoyed this, though its dark and twisty and doesn't go where you might think, and there is little to no happiness to be found. Pragmatism drives the Red, and it never lets you forget it.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking the most interesting character in the series along for a bumpy ride, Radiant Red is the most compelling entry so far and accomplishes what it sets out to do. Satomi Sone stands out, though like the rest of the Radiants I don't think she's meant to be likable.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radiant Red is another book inside the Radiant universe and it's almost as solid as the rest.

Our main lead here is dealing with a lot. A partner who has a real addiction problem to gambling, her career kind of just stuck, and these new powers that she might have used to, um, rob a bank? This leads to people interested in her powers and a whole mess she's about to get involved in.

I think this works as a standalone, though if read Radiant Black there's a lot of cool callbacks to volume 1-2. I also think the character herself is interesting as she isn't as innocent as most superheroes are. She basically does what she must to survive, leaving her to do some, well, messed up shit to put it blunt.

The art is weird for me because sometimes I love it, the fights, and the world look. But the faces really do NOT match the dialogue at times, making sometimes angry faces look sad, or sad faces look happy, it's very off-putting sometimes to what the characters are saying.

But like most of the stories in this universe I'm heavily invested and want more. A 4 out of 5.

[aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love the Massive-verse so far! Radiant Black was a break out hit and Rogue Sun was great as well! I have Inferno Girl Red coming and can't wait to check out the others in the line when they come out. This one focuses on Radiant Red, the matter absorber. Satomi is a teacher who moonlights as a sometimes superhero and sometimes thief. When she finds out her fiancé is in deep debt due to gambling she decides to take matters in her own hands. She comes across a meteor that gives her powers and decides robbing a bank to be a good way to get the money. What follows is a great read and I can't wait for more!

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Radiant Red" is a fun fast paced Sci-Fi action adventure tale with a strong Asian American female protagonist. Expect, strong story telling, complex family dynamics, clean and classy artwork and super powered characters that look like they escaped from a Power Rangers story but act like adults.


NOTE: Although this book is billed as a standalone, readers who are not already familiar with the Massive-verse and its concept of radiants should really read at least one volume of "Radiant Black" first.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great; it begins with a reprint of Radiant Black #6 and then proceeds to reveal Satome Sone's backstory - why she robbed those banks (not a spoiler if you've been reading Radiant Black), how she paired with her Radiant, how Shift entrapped and manipulated her and finally how she broke free (telling more would be a spoiler). I wasn't expecting that final page though and I'm not sure what kind of ramifications that will have in the main RB story, especially as there doesn't appear to be a second volume of RR coming along any time soon.
Barring the seemingly out-of-the-blue ruthlessness of Satome near the end I was satisfactorily entertained by this collection. Great art by David Lafuente too!

[Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as radiant black but still a fun read. Looking forward to more of this series!

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A team of talented creators can't put a shine on an exhausted premise. Radiant Red volume 1 expands the Radiant Black universe as Satomi Sone faces a threat that could send her world toppling into chaos.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very little about this made sense. I didn't realize this was set in a bigger universe or books and maybe that had something to do with it but I don't know.

No explanations for anything.
Character motivations made absolutely no sense.
Toxic relationships.
A Japanese character that does not look Japanese.
No real diversity in the story in anyway.
A gambling addict has 2.5 million dollars in his air vents and doesn't spend a single dollar? Lol
Girl was just like ok, I have powers. Cool. Then just knows how to use them without training or anything.
They know she's Radiant Red how? She always wore that big ass helmet thing before they came to her.
Plot twists at the end made no sense.
How the guy reacted at the end made no sense.

Ugh, this book was exhausting to read.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was just okay. I was interested to learn more about this character, but I wasn't overly satisfied after finishing this book. That's kinda how I've felt about most of the Radiant series. I would definitely recommend reading at least the first two volumes of Radiant Black before this one, although the introductory issue is included here.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid entry in the Massive-Verse, Radiant Red is unfortunately much more predictable. Red is certainly intriguing and shares similarities with black in that they are both unremarkable citizens placed in remarkable circumstances by way magical black whole. But her world, and more importantly, her relationships, don't have the complexity and nuance of the mainline series. But I'm excited to see this character pop up more.

[Nerdy Remarks · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading both Radiant Black and Red, I'm starting to believe one of the prerequisites to finding and becoming Radiant is massive amounts of debt.

Spoiler-free Summary:
In Radiant Red, we're introduced to Satomi Sone. A family oriented middle school teacher who involves herself in crime because of a gambling addicted fiancé after gaining the powers of the Radiant. Finding difficulty balancing work, life and being a superhero, we see how it affects her relationship and eventually come to the realization of what she really wants in life.

I liked her abilities. Absorbing material to increase her mass/strength and being able to discharge it in its original form is handy. I like absorbing mass changes her form and portraying herself/suit as a man to avoid suspicion during the bank robbery was clever. Overall, I thought the story was okay. I wasn't expecting a whole heist plot with another person who also has special abilities. I presume we'll see more of them later.

I gave this volume a 3 out of 5 because nothing really blew me away. Balancing life and a superhero is a common trop. What happens to her relationship made the main plot a little redundant but did develop her character. I do wish I could've seen more of the existence side of things but I know it would be too similar to the Radiant Black series. Looking forward to the future of Radiant Red!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Massive-Verse expands with its first mini-series, Radiant Red, who's already appeared in the main Radiant Black series and is now striking out on her own.

Cherish Chen's plot is solid, and lets us see both sides of main character Satomi, the good and the not-so-good. She's grappling with a lot, and while we can see why, it's nice to see that things turn out semi-okay at the end, all things considered. There are plenty of links to Radiant Black with some appearances by familiar faces, but it's not entirely inaccessible if this is your first foray into the Massive-Verse.

The artwork leaves a little to be desired though. I've not enjoyed David LaFuente's work really for a while now. All of his characters feel squashed and square, and while at least he's consistent, it's not a consistency that I enjoy. His early Ultimate Spider-Man work was gorgeous, but this is just kinda blocky.

Radiant Red strikes out on her own and into the spotlight. If you're curious about the character after her appearances in Radiant Black, you'll find some decent substance here, but I don't think it's exactly required reading just yet.

[Shannon McShortall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A significant improvement over Radiant Black vol 1, although given that volume ends with the opening to this story, one might think it comes directly after, but then it presents itself as being further along in the timeline than that, making it a bit of a confusing read at points. But otherwise, brilliant little set-up with some incredibly realistic and mature character stuff in the main relationship we see break down slowly. Tense and fun, this is so far my favourite part of the Radiant Black universe.

[Erin W · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. The main characters lacked depth or growth despite a perfect situation for both of those things. Satomi didn't convince me that she actually cared about her partner and the Shift character was way too intense with hardly any motivation. These characters just felt incomplete and I struggled to understand why they were doing the things they did. It was a jarring shift after reading Radiant Black, which I really enjoyed. Authorship within the same universe shouldn't feel this disconnected. It reads like Chen didn't consult with Higgins at all about the characters.

[Dune Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es lo primero que leo de Massive-verse y me falta algo de información sobre el personaje de Radiant Red (del que al parecer se habla en Black Radiant) pero es un cómic que puede leerse igualmente de forma independiente.

Lo que me ha ENAMORADO por completo de esta obra, y lo que me hace querer seguir leyendo, es el maravilloso dibujo de David Lafuente, disfrutable de la primera a la última página <3

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radiant Red operates way more in the grey than Radiant Black. Her fiance has gotten them into a ton of gambling debt and the only out she sees is to rob banks. And it turns out she kind of enjoys the power. Then she gets forced into a job to steal something dangerous. There's a lot to like here. LaFuente's art is often quite good and then he'll do something like draw someone with great big huge hands the size of boxing gloves.

[Sebastian M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A so-so expansion of the Massive-Verse.

Hits:
-A strong portrayal the titular character.
-Well-thought out, easy to follow page compositions by Lafuente.
-Breezy storytelling.

Misses:
-The story's a bit thin for 5 issues.
-Art style makes characters appear much younger than they are.
-Villains are a bit one-dimensional.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good complement to the main Radiant Black series that gives additional details and background on perhaps the most important other Radiant. The main story of crime doesn't necessarily have a lot new to it, and the most interesting details have to do with Red's own interactions with the Radiant system. Still, a worthwhile read for Radiant fans.

[Gonçalo Bernardes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radiant Red was a fun miniseries! While I do enjoy longer forms of storytelling, I did prefer this to Radiant Black, as it’s more grounded (at least as grounded as super-hero stories can be), had more interesting flavors to the story, and was way more personal and unique!! Looking forward to the return of Satomi.

[Gunnar Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did really get super into this one. Until the final chapter, that was awesome.
And the cliffhanger makes me very excited for the future of this character. Although this was a mini series so idk when we’ll see Red again. But I’m very much looking forward to that day.

[Nate Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art style can feel a little off compared to the scenes it's depicting, but this is a very fun superhero heist story that ends with a strong set up for the future. I have been loving the Massive-verse!

[Hello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Badass Japanese woman kicking ass and taking shit from no one. 👍🏻

I really liked this comic. It developed Red character. And I liked their relationship with Owen. Neither of them is perfect but they try to make do.

I hope Shift gets lost somewhere really far away.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely action packed and thrilling. I read this easily in one sitting. It gave me The Boys and Power Rangers vibes with a dash of Guardians of The Galaxy. I'm excited to give the other Radiant comics a try!

[Wyatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun spinoff of Radiant Black (which is also great), with art I think I like better than that series. Feels like it stops too early and leaves a lot unexplored. Right as it feels like it's about to start, it's over. Hope to see more of this central character in future entries.

[Will Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent book. Would have loved 4-5 more issues fleshing out Satomi and Owen's relationship, as just more Satomi. But this was great, especially giving us more of a character we don't necessarily see (at least I don't) in the comic space. Well done, Massive team!