The Unstoppable Wasp #6 Review - Marvel Monday

The Unstoppable Wasp #6 Review

Written by: Jeremy Whitley

Art by: Elsa Charretier, Megan M. Wilson and Joe Caramagna
Marvel Comics

Release Date: June 7, 2017

Cover Price: $3.99

Review by: Andrew McAvoy

Okay so when we last left Nadia and the newly formed G.I.R.L. outfit they were in the middle of formulating ideas to remove a remotely detonated bomb hidden in Nadia's friend Ying's spine. Nadia has also agreed to trade herself in to her nemesis (her Mother) in exchange for the preservation of Ying's life. She has however left a communications channel open so she can pull that deal pronto if G.I.R.L. successfully extract the bomb. Confused? You will be.

Okay back in issue 5 I had suggested that there was a somewhat homogeneous "one-size fits all" voice used throughout the collective membership of Nadia's advance science lab (G.I.R.L). This is an issue that still hasn't resolved itself by the close of this installment.In a comic which is supposed to be placing an appreciation of science at its core, and advancing the cause of women in science (and in comics) I found this issue doubly problematic.

For starters the science falls apart in the concocted solution that the G.I.R.L team arrive at for extracting the bomb from Ying's spine. They seem to be using a solution that will see electrical charges channeled through a set of gardening gloves, to somehow replicate Vision's powers (yes that Vision), via some kind of manufactured "speed force" style process (to employ some DC phraseology). This will allow them to simply reach into Ying's spine and remove the bomb. Oh and they happen to find some physical matter in Pym's old refrigerated unit that seems to magically bring about this unlikely process. It's a success! And a lot of nonsense.

Then to undermine the strong female dynamic, just as we think all is lost in this issue, we get Matt Murdock (Nadia's immigration lawyer) pouncing into action as Daredevil to save the day. If I can paint a mental picture of his role in this issue - imagine Han Solo flying into clear Vader out of the way at the end of A New Hope so Luke can take the shot. That kinda rescue vibe. So Daredevil swoops in to save the day and bail them out. Go G.I.R.L! (Not!) If Marvel had to have someone perform this role then why not deploy one of their fine roster of female characters so as to avoid undermining the "empowered female" message of the whole book. 

In summary, I expected this issue to push onwards and upwards after a rather stagnant last issue. Instead it undermined the expressly stated goals of the book in two ways. The science angle was turned into a bit of a joke (way beyond suspension of disbelief) and the crackpot G.I.R.L. team was bailed out by a dude. I still hold out hope for a title which had shown itself to be a lot of fun in the first 4 issues; but it needs to start doing better again, and fast. 

5.5/10