Review: ‘Power Pack’ #5 Proves Just How Fun And Amazing Comic Books Truly Are In The Series Conclusion

Stories can take a lot of shapes and forms, covering the variety of genres and sub-genres humanity has created over the centuries. Often comic books and the adaptations of them in other mediums can tend to skew towards the ‘grim’ or ‘gritty’ at times because of the belief that this makes them more palatable to adults. While grim or gritty or the like has their place, like all types of stories, at the end of the day many comic fans got into the medium because not only can anything happen (no worries of budgets or need for CGI), but because they are just plain fun.

That is a fact that Power Pack not only hasn’t forgotten, but delivers in barrels.

Not a step is lost as Ryan North, Nico Leon, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Travis Lanham bring their five-issue mini-series to a fun, smart, engaging, and all-around wonderful conclusion.

The brilliant changing narrator aspect of the last four issues is turned up to eleven in this issue as all four Power siblings seamlessly get in on the action, taking over in various portions of the story. Series like these showcase just how amazing characters that have been around for decades can be if they are given an actual chance at the spotlight. This story might be over, but the creative team and the characters deserve a full ongoing series to keep these adventures going. Honestly, they might have pulled off the greatest, funniest, and most heartfelt Wolverine cameo that has ever happened at Marvel.

Leon and Rosenberg continue to be a pairing that was made to create art together and need to continue to be paired up for future projects because their work just sings. Energy is pouring off every single page along with color and brightness and pure joy. Never does the brightness and colorful fun of the story take away from some of the more serious moments or aspects of the story. In fact, it just enhances it because no matter how down they are and how much their backs are against the wall, these kids just cannot and will not give up and always push back.

All of this gives Lanham room to just go full out with the lettering, making slight tweaks here or there that fit with the various personalities and speech patterns of the characters. Every piece of SFX within the issue is as epic and bold as the story requires and that the reader would expect from this type of series. There is a particular page with the kids posing triumphantly and their logo is big and bold behind them that would look awesome as a poster on the wall.

As stated in previous reviews, trying to capture the voices of multiple characters especially child/teenage and young adult voices is not easy. Except, North makes it seem beyond easy as every single character feels full and fleshed out every time they are on the page. A lot of stories tend to gravitate towards the singular more grim and gritty aspects of Wolverine and his past/personality, but not here. In this issue, North manages to fully showcase all facts of the clawed one’s personality and his affinity for helping those that need it, especially children.

Saying it once more, this is a series that Marvel needs to keep putting on the shelves because it shows just how truly wonderous and full their universe can be when ideas are allowed to be put to page.

Power Pack #5 is now on sale from Marvel Comics in print and digitally.