I'm not going to spend too long on Mystique #5, since it's part 5 of a six-part story.  We can take a look back at the whole arc next issue.

For the moment, this is the issue where everything builds to the big finish - or if you want to be cynical about it, Mystique spends twenty-two pages running around corridors shooting at people.  And that's what you need for the penultimate issue of this storyline, since Mystique is basically an action thriller book.  It's intelligent enough to make it a superior example of the genre, and it's certainly shown that Brian Vaughan knows how to put one of these things together, but it's basically going for the entertainment value.

Hence, running around and shooting things.  And for the fifth issue, that's just fine.  Vaughan is continuing to mess about with Mystique's powers a bit, but Jorge Lucas does a fine job of her over-the-top battle form - four gun-toting arms and eyes in the back of her head.

I'm not entirely sure about the cliffhanger.  It's a rather contrived set-up, with the dilemma of "Is Mystique prepared to kill the poor innocent child with the wide eyes, if it's for the greater good?"  You can see the strings a bit too clearly.  Nonetheless, this is a fun issue from a reliably enjoyable series.

Rating: B+

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