The Human Target #5 Review

Trashier Than The Pulp

Written by: Tom King

Art by: Greg Smallwood

Colors by: Greg Smallwood

Letters by: Clayton Cowles

Cover price: $4.99

Release Date: February 22, 2022

 

The Human Target #5 follows the trail of Christopher Chance's (unintentional?) killer when the trail of money and poisonous ingredients leads him to the mind-reading prowess of Martian Manhunter. What secrets will Christopher learn and which ones will he give away to the Justice League's most powerful psychic?

 

Was It Good?

Well, okay. File The Human Target #5 under "details about Martian Manhunter's personal life I didn't need to know." Tom King continues his character assassination tour by following the trail and motives to Martian Manhunter as the person who borrowed large sums of money from Blue Beetle.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Let's get the dirty details out of the way now so we can get on with the rest.

Did you know Martian Manhunter is carrying on an affair with Fire because he likes to feel the pain and humiliation of his fear of fire in bed?

Did you know Martian Manhunter cries in bed after sex with Fire, and she berates him for it like some weird JL-version of a Sub/Dom trashy romance novel?

Did you know Saturn Girl's ancestor is a mind-controlling assassin who uses innocent people to do her dirty work?

No? Well, now you do.

Oh, and the apparent perpetrator behind Chance's poisoning is revealed, but this is a Tom King comic with 7 issues to go, so you can expect more than a few lies and red herrings before it's all done.

I'm not saying this is a bad comic, necessarily. Smallwood's art is top-notch and the story unfolds with a complex construction of Chance's past training that allows him to weather the mental assault from telepaths. Everything surrounding the explanation of mind probes and how to defend against them makes for interesting stuff.

What I am saying is this issue was weird, a little bit salacious, a little bit gross, and again, wildly out of place for the characters King has selected for the story. Take all the strange, nonsensical musings from the Sanctuary from Heroes In Crisis and apply them to the classic characters of the JLI and that's what's shaping up in this issue. It's too much to say this is Heroes In Crisis part 2, but it sure is starting to feel that way.

Make sure to listen to our Weekly DC Comics Recap and Review Podcast to hear us talk more about this book.  Just look up "Weird Science DC Comics" anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Bits and Pieces

The Human Target #5 is a mixed bag of interesting training to defend against mind readers and salacious details about Martian Manhunter's sex life. Surprisingly, this issue makes considerable progress towards finding out the identity of Chance's killer but you may feel like you need to take a bath afterward. If nothing else, Smallwood's art is top-notch.

7.5/10