Book: “Secret Six (Vol.5): The Reptile Brain” by Gail Simone, Paul Cornell, Jim Calafiore (Ill.), and Pete Woods (Ill.)
Publishing Info: DC Comics, May 2011
Where Did I Get This Book: The Library!
My Summary: The Secret Six have split up, with Bane and Jeanette on their own and Scandal, Catman, Deadshot, Ragdoll, and Black Alice remaining. But they soon find themselves on the opposing sides in a mission. Bane’s team is supposed to annex a lost world called Skartaris for the government, while Scandal’s team is hired by Mockingbird to kill them before they can. It’s Six vs Six, and not everyone may make it out alive.
Review: I hate it when teammates fight. This is one of the reasons that I was lukewarm on “Captain America: Civil War”, and had a hard time watching parts of “Batman Vs Superman”. I just want my favorite characters who are friends to remain friends and not hate each other. So when we got to this story arc of The Secret Six, I knew that I was going to a rough spot for me as a reader. Bane and Jeanette have their own team now, which would be fine if Scandal’s Six weren’t trying to kill them as ordered by Mockingbird. I knew that this was going to happen sooner or later, but that didn’t make it any less upsetting.
The pros of this story are that it gave Black Alice a lot more to do this time around outside of angsting. I also liked seeing King Shark make his Secret Six full debut, as he is so damn funny and obnoxious. It was also really neat that Simone decided to address some deeper themes in this arc, specifically that of annexation and colonialism. Black Alice has a lovely monologue about how using the people of Skartaris for their own agendas is wrong, and how they should be left to live their own lives and not ‘civilized’. It treaded towards a bit clunky in it’s execution, but it never quite got there because Black Alice is an earnest teenage girl and it works for her. Had it come from anyone else it might not have worked as well. There was also the watershed moment between Bane and Scandal, who have been at odds and butting heads for quite awhile now. They needed that moment, and I love their very loving, father-daughter relationship.
Speaking of father-daughter relationships, Vandal Savage comes back in this collection, and that was far less interesting to me. I didn’t really need a re-hash of Scandal going against her father’s wishes because she’s a lesbian. Make no mistake, I like that Simone was addressing the complications of this relationship because of who Scandal is (and why her father can’t or won’t accept it), and I really love that Scandal is uncompromising in her sexuality. Given the recent pattern in TV where lesbians have been dropping like flies, I like that in 2011 Scandal was here, being herself, standing up for herself, and not backing down or being thrown aside (though I should note that Scandal’s life isn’t totally immune to the bury your gays trope, as her lover Knockout died heroically and tragically). It just solidified what a creep Vandal is when it comes to his child, even though he does seem to deeply care for her. Complicated? Sure. Interesting? Not as much as it was the first time we addressed this wedge between them. The only benefit is that it gave Scandal more to do, and I am always for that.
We also got a great moment where Deadshot called Jeanette “Sweetie-Pie Cookie Puss”. Those two are just the best.
“The Reptile Brain” was a step down from “Cat’s in the Cradle”, but it was still a good volume. And soon I will be at the end of my “Secret Six” run, as the next volume, “The Darkest House”, is the end of the line.
Rating 7: A dip from “Cat’s in the Cradle”, but some touching moments between Scandal and Bane, plus more Scandal character exploration, kept the heart firmly beating in this series.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Secret Six (Vol.5): The Reptile Brain” is included on these Goodreads lists: “Diverse Heroes in Comics/Graphic Novels”, and “Greatest Graphic Novels”.
Find “Secret Six (Vol.5): The Reptile Brain” at your library using WorldCat!
Previous reviews of “Secret Six”: “Villains United”, “Unhinged“, “Depths”, “Danse Macabre”, “Cats in the Cradle”.
The Library Ladies 