Unstoppable Wasp #5 // Review
Nadia “The Wasp” has been pulled out of her research. Her friends are worried that she’s overworking herself. She’s convinced that she’s okay. Naturally there’s going to be an intervention in the latest issue of The Unstoppable Wasp written by Jeremy Whitley with art by Gurihiru Studios. Complex dynamics between Nadia and her friends play out in a couple of different labs in a story that further examines the hero’s psychology and her relationship with her friends and colleagues. The ensemble of supporting characters become clearer in an issue of interesting drama.
Nadia has been trying to solve and fix everything. She’s been trying to make it all work. It doesn’t help that she’s reaching the peak of a high in her bipolar disorder. She just wants everyone to leave her alone so that she can fix all their problems, but she’s been abusing advanced tech and strange physics in order to maximize her time so that she can work more efficiently and it’s only a matter of time before everything crashes for her, so her friends try their best to confront her in an issue that doesn’t allow itself time for much else. Nadia need all the help she can get.
Whitley juggles the complex dynamics of a group of psychologically diverse characters who all care very much for Nadia. It’s engrossing drama that moves quite fluidly from one panel to the next. Nadia has an interesting arc in and amidst it all as well. She’s beginning to come down from the invincibility of her bipolar psychological peak and she’s crashing fast into what could easily lead to depression...not a good thing for someone who can shrink down to microscopic size to avoid people. It’s a delicate collision between Nadia and all of her friends that feels very well-managed by Whitley.
Gurihiru brings the confrontation between Nadia and her friends the the page in a way that makes it kind of easy to forget that the whole thing is just taking place in a couple of different labs. It helps that one of those labs is a microscopic crystal castle that feels very fantastic, but even that could have come across as being quite dull visually had it not been for Gurihiru’s ability to render the energy of interpersonal drama on the page not only in facial expressions but in body language that manages to appear very emotional without feeling exaggerated.
The entire ensemble is closer at the end of the issue. It’s a very endearing chapter. It’s easy to get lost in clashing personalities and competing problems in a big superhero ensemble. It’s nice to see everyone pull together in an issue like this. In its own way it’s kind of inspiring. Rarely is this much focus put on a superhero’s emotional support network.
