Posted in: Comic Spoilers, Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment, marc laming, matt kindt, ninjak, roku, Shadow Seven, valiant

A Surprising New Direction For Ninjak – Spoilers

Published Sat, 07 Jan 2017 17:00:06 -0600

by Dan Wickline

Last updated Wed, 22 Mar 2017 09:11:10 -0500

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Spoilers ahead for the current Ninjak series… not only for the next issue but some for previous issues. Be warned.

Since the beginning of this Ninjak series from Valiant, the superspy / hero has been on the trail of the Shadow Seven and had successfully captured five of them (La Barbae, Fitz, Sanguine, Kannon and Fakir). They were being held in the new MI-6 maximum security black-site called Stygia. The sixth member of the Shadow Seven, Roku the super deadly assassin and former lover / mortal enemy of Ninjak, has one last mission for the Shadow Seven and proceeds to break the five incarcerated members out. This is the bulk of issue #23 as Roku easily makes her way through all of the security measure in the prison like they were nothing. If you are a Roku fan, this is your episode. You start thinking maybe she should have a title of her own.

But this is not the extend of the surprises put forth by Matt Kindt and Marc Laming. Not even close. As you get near the end of the book, Roku reveals the one thing no one else knew… the identity of the seventh member. The seventh person trained by the Undead Monk. The same person who trained Colin King / Ninjak. Roku reveals to Ninjak that he is in fact the Seventh Shadow.

Kindt has laid out this series masterfully, leading readers to see this reveal and perfectly logical and right in front of us the whole time. And I think he has one more trick up his sleeve. As Roku is going through the prison and talking the other members into working with her on one last job… she phrases some things a bit vaguely, allowing others to make assumptions. She tells Fakir that the final mission is to kill a man who can't be killed. And she tells Fitz they are going after a 'historically bad' man. She also offers Kannon the head of the man who made him what he is now. Kannon assumes that is Ninjak. Roku has a new benefactor that she is serving and used to blame Ninjak for what she is now, but she apologizes to him before the reveal. So who is this man who can't be killed? Are the Shadow Seven going after the Undead Monk?

Whoever the target is, this is going to be fun to see Ninjak interact with the people he was just hunting. There is no love lost between any of them and his only true allies may be Fitz and Roku.

Ninjak #23 hit comics shops this Wednesday.