There's something faintly ridiculous about the whole idea of super-villains, guys who are cold-blooded killers or calculating criminals and yet dress up in tights and adopt fancy codenames just like the do-gooders. Vaughan has realized this, and while The Hood is certainly not a parody book, he has brought a sly sense of humor to his story of a guy who goes from low-rent thug to low-rent super-villain. We've seen plenty of stories of how someone becomes a hero, but The Hood is one of the rare stories of why on Earth someone would become a super-villain. It's a good idea, and as a bonus, it's being executed with style and wit.
Vaughan is being none-too-subtle in setting up future challenges for Parker, with the introduction of Golembuski and a pair of intrepid FBI agents who are getting into the super-villain game. Subtle or not, though, the characters are fun, and I look forward to seeing them interact with Parker. I particularly enjoyed Golembuski, whose exchanges had a bit of sly humor to them, whether it's his amusing but deadly serious banter with intellectual inferior Mosh or the discussion of mutants that finishes out the issue and points out the dangers of presuming prejudice where there isn't any.
In addition, this issue is the transition issue from Parker, average thug to Parker, budding super-villain. This makes for some very fun moments, including his friend's reaction to the powers and the always amusing scenes of the newly powered individual trying to figure out his powers. In addition, Parker does what most of us would actually do if they had invisibility, in a hilarious scene that says plenty about his character.
I'm surprised to find that Kyle Hotz is so adept with the humor as well, with his work this issue sometimes reminding me of Kyle Baker as much as Kelley Jones. Hotz is clearly enjoying the flexibility that comes with the MAX imprint, serving up a grotesque but effective demonstration of Madam Rapier's powers. Happily, he doesn't go overboard with the potential cheesecake in the shower scene, which helps to keep it humorous rather than pandering. I also really enjoyed his take on super-villain mainstays Shocker, Constrictor and Jack O' Lantern, giving them a humanity and humorous quality without going for outright parody.
I expected The Hood to be dark and full of interesting characterization, but I was surprised in this issue to find that it was more than a little humorous as well. All in all, the book is shaping up to be an intriguing look into the other side of the Marvel Universe, the one that we usually see from the point-of-view of the heroes, and it has a tone that I think would please fans of fondly-remembered series like Hitman or Suicide Squad.
