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Publisher: Top Cow
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Kenneth Rocafort
Cover: Ale Garza

Spoilers ahead!

“CF/HK pt 5”: Well I pretty much called it in my review of Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer #4, and it feels so good to be right.  There was no way this was going to end well for the two teams, but they did give a valiant effort and sacrificed a lot to accomplish the bit of good that came out of this story.  Which is actually quite a testament to them considering that they received beat down after devastating beat down.

Morningstar has just laid out the big picture of the partnership between himself and Cyberdata for the remaining members of each team, as Ripclaw is pinning him to the floor.  So now we know the Jett device is transmitting a signal that starts a mutation in the person wearing it, turning them into a grotesque looking Ultra-Sapien (Super powered human).  Morningstar has also outfitted himself with one to augment his own abilities, to the surprise of both teams. While their attention is focused on him, one of their own has been outfitted with a Jett device and begins to change and attacks the Cyberforce and Hunter-Killer teams.  This begins a series of tough decisions having to be made by the members of each squad arguing amongst themselves, but when the dust settles we have roster changes, angry teams, and a peek at someone we haven’t seen in awhile.

Waid and Rocafort brought it home with this one, and yeah there’s a set up for a future crossover, but again there would be a reason for it, which makes this story a little more relevant.  It did read kind of quick with most of the meat towards the end of the book, which was fine because that part alone definitely helped set it apart from other team-up books that have come out over the years.  I liked how there is still some animosity between the teams, as a Cyberforce member addresses the Hunter-Killer guys as “Team Douchebag” at one point.

Artistically, Rocafort was a great choice for this mini-series, and I’m still amazed at some of his panel layouts and how creative they are.  Like the image on the right, it was a great choice to use Velocity’s emblem to visually move this part of the story.  It’s little things like that, that set him apart from some of the other great artists out there.  I’m hoping that Waid and Rocafort are on board for another go with these two teams whenever Top Cow sees fit to do that story.

In my review of the first issue I made a comment regarding Filip Sablik’s promise that this would not be your average team-up book.  And to make good on my promise I’m tuning up my vocal chords as I type this!  After going back and reading the series as a whole, it stands out as one of the better team-up books to come out in a long time.  Which was my thought before seeing ComicAttack.net quoted on the cover of this issue!

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