RAT CITY #5, by Image Comics 8/21/24, unveils the history of Dr. Boze And Ammon’s recruitment into PTS to show how profit corrupts even the best ideals. Meanwhile, Peter reacts badly to a standoff.
Credits:
- Writer: Erica Schultz
- Artist: Zé Carlos
- Colorist: Jay David Ramos
- Letterer: Erica Schultz
- Cover Artist: Fede Mele (cover A)
- Publisher: Image Comics
- Release Date: August 21, 2024
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $2.99
- Page Count: 28
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of RAT CITY #5:
First Impressions:
This series is still one of the most visually and conceptually interesting variants of the Spawnverse, but Rat City #5 may be the point where casual readers start to fall off. Erica Schultz’s tale isn’t necessarily terrible (we’ve read far worse), but the issue suffers from pacing problems, and the plot doesn’t appear to be headed anywhere in particular.
Plot Analysis:
When last we left Peter Cairn in Rat City #4, Peter saved Quinlan from a deadly fall, prompting Quinlan to trust Peter to divulge that PTS was using veterans for immoral experiments. Quinlan contacted Rhys for help in exposing PTS’s dangerous work, which led to their romantic connection. Rhys is dead, but now PTS knows Quinlan has incriminating files, and the company will do anything to get the files back.
In Rat City #5, we begin with Dr. Boze and Dr. Ammon’s recruitment into PTS. As scientists with ideals, each was brought into the company for their unique strengths. Dr. Boze focused on physics and unique power applications. Dr. Ammon was a robotics expert. They believed they were helping the world… until the Chairman demanded they refocus their energies on profit.
Erica Schulz devotes the first third of the issue to Dr. Boze and Dr. Ammon’s history with PTS. It’s unclear if all that history is necessary, but it at least gives you an idea that the scientists weren’t always evil devotees of PTS.
Now, Dr. Ammon holds Peter and Quinlan at gunpoint, demanding the digital files Quinlan stole from PTS. Ammon is amazed by Peter’s cyber-Spawn suit, and he wonders aloud if his nanite inventions are responsible for its construction. What happens next is a bit unclear.
Ammon fires his pistol at the wall next to him. The mere sound of the shot somehow triggers Peter’s senses to distort and present hallucinations. To Ammon and Quinlan, it looks like the Spawn suit formed a defensive shell around Peter.
The issue concludes with visions of demons, a tussle, and an evisceration.
Overall, the plot moves forward slightly but gives greater focus to Ammon and Boze’s backstory to drop the hint that the doctors may not be wholly corrupt. That said, the confrontation with Ammon in the present is psychedelically confusing, and the plot doesn’t yet appear to have a direction or destination.
Artwork and Presentation:
Zé Carlos does a fine job crafting a cyberpunk world for this alternate version of Spawn to inhabit. The cyber-enhancements and future tech look great, and the futuristic Spawn costume looks amazing.
Art Samples:
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
If you’re wondering how Peter’s prosthetic turned into the familiar, necroplasmic, cyberpunk version of the red, white, and black suit, the incident that created Peter Cairn’s transformation started with Spawn #301.
Final Thoughts:
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RAT CITY #5 is an oddly paced issue that gives you plenty of backstory on two side characters and sends Peter Cairn on a weird mental trip, but that’s it. Erica Schultz’s individual scenes are well done, and the art looks great, but this issue reads like inconsequential filler.
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