Defenders #5

8.2

Critic Rating

7 Reviews
8.5

User Rating

27 Reviews
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist David Marquez
Cover Price $3.99

• The Punisher strikes! With the mean streets of Marvel more dangerous than ever, what could possibly make Frank Castle turn on his fellow vigilantes? Don't they all want the same thing?
•  Another dangerous chapter of the hottest new team in all of comics!
Rated T+

Reviews (7) User Reviews (27) Rate / Write A Review

CRITIC REVIEWS

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  • 9.6

    SciFiPulse - Ian Cullen

    Sep 14, 2017

    With Frank Castle injured and in the wind and Diamondback planning his next move. I look forward to seeing where all this will lead in issue 7 when it released next month. Read Full Review

  • 9.0

    Bleeding Cool - Joe Glass

    Sep 14, 2017

    All in all, Defenders #5 continues the pace and tone of this great new series, and it shows no signs of slowing down yet. Read Full Review

  • 8.5

    AIPT - David Brooke

    Sep 13, 2017

    Gorgeously rendered with great character work though there are two scenes that seem long or pointless. Read Full Review

  • 8.0

    On Comics Ground - Donald Hudec

    Sep 23, 2017

    This is a character building issue. While it mostly sets the stage for whats to come next, it still gives us a ton of action along with the information. Bendis continues to show his tremendous grasp on the street level Marvel characters and their diverse, complex personalities. In short, this book is awesome and I hope youll all pick it up. Read Full Review

  • 7.9

    IGN - Jesse Schedeen

    Sep 14, 2017

    Coming from the high that was The Defenders #4, this issue feels a bit underwhelming in comparison. The overarching plot is beginning to meander as Brian Bendis and David Marquez put Diamondback back into play immediately after his defeat last month. Read Full Review

  • 7.3

    Word Of The Nerd - Brent Jackson

    Sep 14, 2017

    Overall The Defenders #5 is not a bad issue it just serves to push the story along. While it might read better in the trade format, for a single issue it is kind of a disappointment. The art does save the book as Marquez and Ponsor do a fantastic job on every single page and panel of this series. The rougher styling Marquez employs in this issue looks wonderful and he continues to impress with each Issue. The Defendershas been a great series so far so this is nothing more than a minor hiccup and I am still very excited to see where it is going. Read Full Review

  • 7.0

    Comic Watch - Gage Parker

    Oct 29, 2017

    This issue definitely did a lot to further the overall storyline. The plot continues to thicken! Read Full Review

USER REVIEWS

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  • 9.0

    freemanlouis7

    Sep 15, 2017

    Great art, great banter, great suspense for a mystery, shocking ending; Defenders is climbing the ranks as one of Marvel's best monthly comics. SPOILER: It makes you wonder why no one has ever tried to just sneak up and shoot Black Cat before, she has no Spider sense or armor.

  • 8.5

    Rick Jonez

    Sep 14, 2017

    This is a guilty pleasure at this point. So much good stuff to enjoy besides the FANTASTIC art but equal amount of serious nitpicks with storytelling elements. For example, the MARVELOUS cover is totally wasted on this story (that Luke doesn't even get shot at)! Plus, the whole coincidence of Frank being transported with Diamondback ended up being baffling since Frank didn't plan the interrogation and then their "escape" lacked necessary exposition. The cameo of Hellstorm and Paladin were fun and so were the significant developments with Night Nurse and Black Cat. Finding out the mystery of Diamondback feels like it's almost in The Defenders grasp and better not be dragged out even more. DD/IF banter was just as entertaining as LC/JJ banter more

  • 8.5

    DDJamesB

    Sep 21, 2017

    Holy art! This book knocks it out in that department every time. I don't give Bendis a bunch of crap like a lot of people, but I must say this is definitely one of his better works. The team dynamic, the dialogue are all parts that make this book great. Did I mention the art was really good too?

  • 8.5

    iPodwithnomusic

    Feb 22, 2018

    I'm loving the Night Nurse's presence in this series, the scenes with her with the highlight of this issue. I really enjoyed all the conversations between the Defenders, their characterization was perfect. I didn't really like the scenes with Raindrop Lilly, and I'm kind of disappointed Diamondback's capture lasted all of five minutes. I'm a big Black Cat fan so I was sad to see her shot at the end, though of course she will probably be fine by the end of the next issue.

  • 8.5

    Ryan

    Dec 19, 2020

    Huh. Maybe this means that this version of Black Cat will stay dead and we'll get the badass cat burgular we all love back. Anyways, Willis should NOT have tested Frank like that. Bad idea. Very bad idea

  • 8.0

    CrazyforRAMU

    Mar 30, 2018

    Diamondback busts out of custody and the Defenders scramble to oppose him. This is a solid issue, and if you're gonna paper over plot holes with banter, it might as well be some of the industry's funniest, toughest dialogue. Amusing as it is, the sheer volume of chatter works against this issue, tying David Marquez up into too many too-small panels. The story's well worth following, but this is a quiet "get from point A to point B" episode, not a blockbuster. Granted, there's a twist ending that kinda contradicts that description, but my words are accurate up to the last three pages.

  • 7.5

    Gizmo

    Sep 25, 2017

    While I do enjoy the banter, Bendis is getting a little overzealous with it, time to dial it back a notch. I could have used a little more clarity with Diamondback's escape. The art is great, however I do feel like the panels portraying Daredevil's senses could do a lot more interesting things.

  • 7.5

    Maria17♥

    Oct 26, 2017

    This Issue works more like a preamble to Issue 6. still worth it in spite of that

  • 10

    Jason The Dude

    Sep 15, 2017

  • 10

    shatterstar

    Sep 28, 2017

  • 10

    MightyVin

    Oct 20, 2017

  • 9.0

    BloodyNinja

    Sep 13, 2017

  • 9.0

    Khan/Murdock

    Sep 15, 2017

  • 9.0

    JBL Reviews

    Sep 17, 2017

  • 9.0

    Yogurt

    Jan 29, 2018

  • 9.0

    samizrozami

    Mar 28, 2025

  • 8.5

    EDiakota

    Sep 13, 2017

  • 8.5

    Bill Blaze

    Sep 13, 2017

  • 8.5

    sovereignsfall18

    Sep 13, 2017

  • 8.5

    Kalaoui

    Oct 10, 2017

  • 8.5

    tonpas1989

    Feb 16, 2020

  • 8.0

    sebastianorellana95

    Sep 20, 2017

  • 8.0

  • 8.0

    jmprados

    Oct 01, 2017

  • 8.0

    Roseandberg

    Oct 26, 2017

  • 7.5

    Frank Black

    Sep 13, 2017

  • 7.5

    Jabberwocky_Superfly

    Sep 15, 2017

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