Contagion #5
Written by: Ed Brisson
Art by: Adam Gorham
Marvel Comics
2019
A seemingly unstoppable force has invaded the Marvel Universe, and it’s going to take every hero the streets of New York has to stop it! A strange substance is taking over heroes and citizens alike, draining them of their life force, stealing their knowledge and abilities, and neither science nor magic can stop it! Where did it come from? Can anything destroy it? And who will fall to its awful, overwhelming power?
*Spoilers* ahead:
Here we are, folks. We have finally reached the final issue of Contagion with our heroes launching their last ditch effort to defeat The Urchin and free all of the infected from its control. Before I go into detail about what occurred in this epic finale, you can catch up or refresh your memory of what has happened in the first four issues by checking out my reviews for them here, here, here, and here. Now, let’s get into how the heroes’ plan to defeat this massive threat once and for all went.
The fifth issue opens up right where we left off last issue with the remaining heroes facing off with The Urchin and its army of infected superheroes. Moon Knight initiates his plan and allows himself to be infected by The Urchin and has his mind absorbed into the consciousness of the monster. His theory that the unique nature of his mind would allow him to remain conscious inside The Urchin’s mindscape proves to be correct. He then sets out to find the main host’s mind. During the battle with the infected, Pei gets infected and her mind is brought into The Urchin’s mindscape. Moon Knight manages to save her and prevent her mind from being consumed. Pei tells Moon Knight to go find the host’s mind while she fights off The Urchin’s inner forces.
Moon Knight finds the main host, Ruby’s, mind absorbed in The Urchin’s main brain. He tries to negotiate with the creature, but it refuses to listen. Ruby regains her consciousness and tells Moon Knight that consuming is all it knows. Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, and Luke Cage emerge from the brain and inform Moon Knight that the only way to beat The Urchin is to sever the tethers that connect the monster with its victims in order to cut off its power source and weaken it. The Urchin refuses to give Moon Knight the chance and overwhelms him as it attempts to absorb his mind. He is saved by Pei, who informs him that she had freed all the other heroes while he was drawing the creature’s attention. This weakens The Urchin enough to allow Moon Knight to cut Ruby free from the main brain. This act frees everyone’s minds and bodies.
Back in the real world, The Urchin has been weakened enough for Sue Storm to capture the monster in a force field bubble. At Reed’s lab on Yancy Street, Reed explains that The Urchin was a fungus similar to the zombie-ant fungus that had been infused with magic. He continues by saying that it is now safely contained and will not be able to harm anyone again. He also mentions that he had developed a serum to protect everyone from any similar fungi attack in the future. The issue ends with Ruby and Anton thanking Ben Grimm for helping to save her.
This was a fast paced, action filled finale. I really enjoyed the fact that it was Moon Knight of all people, with help from Pei, who managed to find the way to defeat The Urchin. I have to wonder if this will be the last we see of The Urchin as it was a unique and different sort of villain than what the Marvel heroes usually face. The art for this issue was good, but nowhere near as good as the series’ first two issues. My only gripe was the ending felt very rushed.
Overall, this was a really good final issue and a fantastic series from beginning to end. I had a great time reviewing this series and I hope you enjoyed the ride as well.
Contagion #5
A really good final issue and a fantastic series from beginning to end. I highly recommend this miniseries.
Nicholas Slade
Nicholas grew up reading J.R.R. Tolkien's books, watching Disney and Studio Ghibli films, and reading Marvel comics and Japanese manga. The superb storylines and characters ignited his passion for writing. He graduated from Full Sail University in 2015 with a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment. During his writing career thus far, Nicholas has had numerous short stories and articles published in an array of literary magazines and websites.
