Silk (2015) #8

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Previously in Silk #7 and Spider-Gwen #8

Cindy Moon is the victim of the harshest identity theft ever. Cindy-65 came to her world and showed her entire ass - that means, she acted a fool.

After stealing a ton of tech from Parker Industries, Alchemax, and others, Cindy-65 framed Silk for her actions. This lands Cindy and Gwen in the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D., captured by Mockingbird, who feels partially responsible for Cindy breaking bad.

Luckily for Cindy, Black Cat still believes they’re friends (somewhat) and that Cindy is still on her side. She ambushes the S.H.I.E.L.D. transport, freeing both Cindy and Gwen.

Amid all of this action was some pretty poignant glimpses into Cindy and Gwen’s relationship. Gwen has been hostile and judgmental, and in a vulnerable moment Cindy asks why Gwen hates her. To that, Gwen replies she doesn’t; she just doesn’t want to become Cindy. Unfortunately, this exchange takes place mid-battle so Cindy doesn’t get clarification on that.

I’m curious to know what it means. Gwen says she could sense that Cindy wanted to accept Gwen-65’s offer to join her on the dark side. She also admitted she thought Cindy being locked in a bunker for ten years was “easy” compared to what she’s been through. Is Gwen afraid she might also feel a pull to do evil? Or does she sense the anger that Cindy has been struggling with recently? We don’t get answers here because Gwen takes off once her powers begin acting weird.

Cindy views this as abandonment, which makes her more susceptible to Black Cat’s offer of working together. She’s been impressed with Cindy’s recent criminal activities and views it as Cindy finally breaking out of her shell. We witness Cindy literally tune out her inner voice warning her to walk away, and she eventually offers up the Avengers’ vault as their next target.

While I’ve been anxious to find out where Cindy’s parents are, this Spider-Women crossover event hasn’t gotten in the way or felt like a waste of time. This is the perfect story to allow Cindy, Jess, and Gwen work through their personal baggage. We know Cindy has been struggling with anger issues and burning the candle at both ends. Now, I don’t believe for a moment that Cindy will truly break bad (or even stay that way for long if she does), but I am interested in seeing how her current actions affect the positive strides she’d made prior to these events.

There was a lot of great artwork in this issue. A few of the highlights include the facial expressions as Cindy and Gwen argued in the S.H.I.E.L.D. van, the closeup of the tablet Mockingbird used to show Cindy surveillance footage of “her” crimes, and Black Cat’s face when she tells Cindy, “You’re no fun,” after Cindy wouldn’t let her disfigure a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Speaking of which, this escape won’t do anything to convince Mockingbird Cindy is being framed.

Finally, shoutout to Yasmine Putri for that gorgeous cover.

I’ll be back with the next installment, which takes place in Spider-Woman #7, and Shanna will then close out the crossover event by reviewing Spider-Women Omega #1.