Writer: Joshua Williamson

Artist: Kev Walker

Color Artist: John Rauch

With the Mad Thinker betraying the Illuminati and Black Ant sacrificing his life, how will the remaining members fend for themselves in Asgard?

The Illuminati has been a roller coaster ride, featuring a ragtag team of villains brought together by The Hood. Their initial mission was to steal weapons from the armory in Asgard and sell them, but the Mad Thinker had other plans – double crossing the team, turning Black Ant into a bomb, and leaving the team stranded. The story follows the team as they clash with Odin’s “Thunder Guard” and someone is revealed to be not who they seem.

Joshua Williamson has brought a lot to the table with this team. I know some these characters from their roles as villains, and he breathed new life into them.  He shows us their problems, and their struggles with trying to break away from villainy, but ultimately coming back to it in the end. He throws in a reveal I wasn’t expecting, and answers a question that I had about Enchantress. The writing is good and makes the characters likable, the story flows well, and it throws you into the action fairly quickly with the Illuminati being confronted by the Thunder Guard early on. Exposition is light, and by the end of the issue, it leads into the “Standoff” event that is going on.

Shawn Crystal has been doing the art for the past few issues, but Kev Walker took over those duties for this issue. Walker’s art works with Williamson’s writing, making the characters look good and panels flow well together. The fight scenes are handled well, showcasing each member of the Illuminati – especially Titania (she laid the smackdown on the Thunder Guards and it was beautiful). Walker knows how to showcase the powers of a character, especially through his use of onomatopoeia in the fight scene, as it gave the scenes more energy. I think that my favorite panel out of the whole issue is when The Hood uses “Blood Magic” against the Asgardians. One thing I did notice, however, is that The Hood’s earrings are missing from the last few issues. It’s just a little thing, but you’ll pick these things up when an artist change happens on a title. The only downside to Walker’s art, is that some areas look more detailed compared to others.  

Colors are done by John Rauch and they look amazing. They’re bright, vibrant, and explosive – especially when the Illuminati face off against the Asgardians. The palette of colors look great and match the characters well. No complaints about the colors at all.

Illuminati #5 is a fun book with a ragtag team of villains. The writing is great, giving each member time to shine in the title. Kev Walker’s art was good, even with some of the art being less detailed in certain parts of the issue. John Rauch’s colors looked excellent and worked with the tone of the issue. Overall, I enjoyed the title and I can’t wait for the Illuminati to head to “Pleasantville”.

4 Titania’s out of 5