5 Ronin #5

Before I begin I feel the need to tell you that this review isn't going to be a review of just this issue, but all 5 issues as well. Ever since Deadpool Pulp I decided just to review mini series by posting one review on the last issue that would review the story as a whole. So keep that in mind with this review. 
 
I'd also like to state that I love Peter Milligan's writing, he's easily one of my favorite comic book writers behind Joe Kelly and in front of Rick Remender. He has yet to write a story I didn't find entertaining or intriguing. His run on Hellblazer is really well done, and when I heard he was going to be writing one of my favorite marvel superheroes...I was excited. 
 
So let's begin.....
 

We first started off with the Wolverine issue, and if there is any of the marvel superheros to start off the series with. You might as well pick their most overused and overrated. The artwork in this issue was my favorite artwork in the series. Tomm Coker's artwork fit the setting this series took place in down to a tee. I also really liked the idea of working Wolverine's healing factor into the series. Obviously Wolverine doesn't have the healing factor in this series, and the idea of a whole clan of Wolverines creating the illusion of an unkillable ronin was a good twist.  
 
The only downside was that it felt rushed and I couldn't really feel any emotion to Wolverine as a character. I find it impossible to tell a good story in just one issue, but Peter Milligan almost succeeded. If it wasn't for the fact that the plot goes from point A to point B so quickly that the minute I almost feel attachment to this character, the book is over. 
 
Wolverine Issue - 3.5 out of 5. 
 

Next we had the Hulk Issue, and this is an interesting use of the character. Their isn't a lot of similarities between this Hulk and the Hulk of our universe. He doesn't turn into a big green monster, but he does suffer from some rage issues in this story and his samurai outfit is green. The similarities stop there. The artwork is really good in this issue, and I think Dalibor Talajic is a very talent artist and when you see Deadpool's creepy smile, or the Hulk slicing down bandits it couldn't possibly look better. Although some panels looked off, like it's only raining on the characters and nowhere else. 
 
Also this story seems kinda pointless to the overall story in this series, the Hulk in this series isn't out for revenge against the Daimyo like all the other characters in the book, he's just there for the sake of being there. This issue is the pointless issue of this series, and you could skip it and not miss a bit. 
 
Hulk Issue - 3 out of 5. 
 

The 3rd book in the series is the Punisher issue, and this issue is one of the better issues. When it comes to characters who's internal dialogue never get's old, the Punisher is at the top of this list. It's always interesting reading what The Punisher is thinking. Peter Milligan's writing is no exception to this. The story is pretty much the same as the Punisher of today, except this Punisher is a samurai. The artwork is also really well done, Laurence Campbell's scenery is beautiful to look at. 
 
Peter Milligan also plays with time in this issue, we start at the end, then see how we got there. Simple but effective. If there was any character that could pull off telling a story in a single issue, it would be the Punisher cause his back story is simple enough to display in only a few panels. My only complaint was that again it felt rushed. 
 
Punisher issue - 4 out of 5. 
 

The 4th and second last story is Psylocke, and it was interesting seeing this character portrayed in this time period. It's a revenge story once again but she's not a Ronin, she's a prostitute (I forget the Japanese name for it). Unlike Wolverine or Punisher she's going at revenge a different way. She's being patient and letting the Daimyo come to her. Which is a pretty clever way to get to him. Also instead of Deadpool being the character in this story to combine all books together into one big continuity. Wolverine makes an appearance to give a nice change of pace. It also allows us to learn more about Wolverine's character.
 
Again, the only complaint was it felt rushed, Goran Parlov's artwork is always a plus, and I loved his artwork in Punisher vs The Marvel Universe...but the colors seemed to clash here. I think the colorist can compliment Goran when it's a nitty gritty story but not so much when you're trying to show beauty and grace. 
 
Psylocke Issue -  4 out of 5
 

Finally the last issue, the Deadpool issue. The issue I was looking forward to the most. Well I wasn't disappointed but at the same time I was expecting a little more. I liked the artwork in this issue and Leandro Fernandez did a great job showing the tortured soul in Deadpool. One panel that stuck out in particular was the splash page of the Daimyo walking towards a shadowed Deadpool passing the dead bodies of his guards. It was really creepy and well done. Also Deadpool get's a few really good lines here including one where he talks to the reader. 
 
Although the ending is a little anti climatic, but anti climatic in a good way. Some people might be disappointed with this ending but I see what Peter Milligain was trying to do. He was trying to show that if we dedicate our lives to revenge, then when it's over you have nothing left to live for. Especially if that chance for revenge is robbed from you. Maybe I'm a little biased cause I'm a Deadpool fan or something but I really liked this issue. 
 
Deadpool Issue - 4.5 out of 5. 
 
OVERALL THOUGHTS
 
Overall the series works and it doesn't work. It kinda feels like Marvel tried to introduce the next Marvel Noir universe but skip all the mini series. Rather than have a 4 issue mini series based on one character from this universe, they instead chose to having 1 mini series with all the characters, Which doesn't work cause you don't feel a lot of emotional connection to these characters. 
 
It also feels like Samurai Smoking Aces, all these killers out to get one target and your left wondering who'll kill the target. Which works if you were rooting for Deadpool the whole time, but you're not because his character is kept in the shadows through almost the entire series. Also what the Daimyo did to Deadpool wasn't nearly as bad as what he did to Punisher or Psylocke...but at the same time what happened between the Daimyo and Deadpool was more personal than the others....hurm....it's a tricky series to review. 
 
Overall though, it was an entertaining series, it was worth it just to see what these characters would be like in a different setting but almost all the issues felt rushed and some people may not agree with the ending. 
 
Overall I give this series a solid 4 out of 5.