Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #5 Review

Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #5  is a stunning and uplifting finale to this dark and spiritual tale. Read on to find out why.

The official description from Valiant:

Doctor Shan Fong-Mirage has lived and died… and lived to fight again!
Scarred, transformed, and strengthened, Dr. Mirage returns from the perils of the spirit world to face the treacherous men who would erase her from existence… with everything to fight for and nothing left to lose!

Writer Jen Van Meter wraps up this 5 issue series with both spiritual and emotional emphasis but not lacking in action or excitement. Doctor Mirage has found her late husband Hwen but must face an unimaginable crossroads that tests her resolve and builds heroic spirit. Complicated choices involving great consequences is what great characters are all about and Van Meter isn’t shy about throwing down the proverbial gauntlet. Doctor Mirage is not an easy story to wrap your head around but Van Meter walks you through the chaos and psychic debris without dumbing the story down and creating mystery and excitement along the way.

Death-Defying Doctor Mirage is a complicated world and the final issue throws everything and then some in the mix. Warlocks with killed Nazi occultists, a tyrant demon named Ivros, out of body spirits, astral plane traveling and an otherworldly creature who communicates telepathically. Van Meter packs the story and finishes it off with an unexpected twist with equates to a very satisfying conclusion.

The art of Death-Defying Doctor Mirage is equally as complicated by Roberto de la Torre but mostly in form and not function. It suits the narrative perfectly and David Baron‘s colors are bold choices that separate the spirt world form the physical one. de la Torre lines are heavy and sketchy and brings home the darkness and edge this final issue holds.

In the end, what’s always tough is a mini-series with so many characters and sub-stories but Van Meter manages a solid balance between them and ties them up nice and tidy in the end. The last 2 pages of the issue serve as an epilogue of sorts and finally brings a sense of calm and completion to the havoc that came before. Death-Defying Doctor Mirage is a great start for a new hero that lies beyond the physical plane of existence and a dark mystifying corner of the Valiant universe. For readers who like things unconventional and out of this world amazing!