Damage Control #5 Review

Written by: Adam F. Goldberg, Hans Rodionoff
Art by: Nathan Stockman
Colors by: Ruth Redmond
Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Patch Zircher, Brian Reber
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: December 7, 2022

Damage Control #5 finishes the arc with the last possible job Gus could get at Damage Control – Vault Inventory. Before the day is done, Gus will make a big mess, and the secret of Gus’s destiny will be revealed.

Is It Good?

Damage Control #5 is over. It’s finally over, and not an issue too soon.

When last we left Gus, he made a reformed evil scientist turn evil again, taking the two on a whirlwind tour of Marvel’s most famous villains to convince Gus why he should become a villain, too. Now Bart takes Gus to the last department that will have him – the Deep Storage Vault. The vault is filled with abandoned weaponry and gadgets from Marvel heroes of the past and the present, all waiting for Gus to make a mess. And make a mess he does but unwittingly follows the call of a voice in his head that leads him to unpack boxes filled with deactivated robots itching for a robot uprising and escape.

What works about this issue? Stockman’s MAD magazine-influenced art hits the nail on the head for a farcical taking on the administrative side of the Marvel universe. The characters’ emotional outbursts are cartoonishly exaggerated, the subtle moments are intentionally understated for comedic effect, and Redmond’s coloring work is excellent.

What doesn’t work? The pacing and dialog delivery is fairly good, but the plot is nonsense, not a single joke lands, and the twist ending, which reveals why everyone is trying so hard to keep Gus at Damage Control, is, in a word, dumb. Without spoiling the ending completely, Gus isn’t human, and the job is simply meant to keep him occupied for the greater good. Why? You’ll have to read the issue to find out.

Better yet, subscribe to Marvel Infinite, and wait until this series comes out for free. Your wallet will thank us.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts:

Damage Control #5 ends the series with the shocking reveal of Gus’s history, and it winds up being as dumb as this series as a whole. While the art is quite good, and the general pacing and dialog execution are excellent, the story makes no sense, and the jokes fall flat. As a whole, this series is a waste of time.