Lucifer No. 5 review: “The man who bested the devil, not once but twice”

Things become clearer in the latest issue of Lucifer.

Some comics like to weave in clever mysteries that keep you guessing, as the slow burn gets closer to the inevitable explosion, for where there’s smoke there is usually fire. Lucifer has definitely been one of those comics, with plenty of concealed truths and revealed secrets, and this latest issue answers even more of the riddles that have made this run so intriguing. Writer Dan Watters, along with illustrators Max and Sebastian Fiumara, colorist Dave McCaig and letterer Steve Wands, has finally spooled out enough storyline to have hooked most readers, and now the process of reeling in our attention begins. With a cover by Reiko Murakami, the newest chapter of Lucifer sheds light on why certain things are happening, who made them happen, and what will come from those happenings.

Vertigo Comics

The tale of Stingy Jack

Last issue we learned that Decker’s wife was supposed to be the third witch beholden to Sycorax and the eternal care of her remains, we saw Decker kill his cousin, who was holding his wife’s place, and we learned that Stingy Jack manufactured this whole confusing situation to seek revenge against Lucifer. This issue explains why Stingy Jack is after such revenge. We learn that he tricked the Devil once, forcing him to agree to never claim his soul, which seemed like a good idea, except that Heaven wouldn’t accept him, nor would Hell, after the fact, cursing him to an endless existence with no home. Jack eventually found Caliban, seeking his father, Lucifer, and arranged to have an aspect of Lucifer trapped inside Sycorax’s memories of her life, literally inside her skull, where Jack not only felt at home, but could endlessly torture Lucifer as he attempted to recall why he was trapped in the first place. Decker comes to understand that the cancer that killed his wife was actually Sycorax’s siren song, calling her memories back to her corporeal form, and now it’s in his head as well.

Vertigo Comics

Streams of existence finally swirl together in Lucifer

The cancer that is Sycorax’s awareness, in our waking world, sends Decker back to Gately House to find her skull, and he does, only to be found by Caliban. In Sycorax’s mind, Stingy Jack is cutting pieces of Lucifer away when the internal aspect of Sycorax shows up, and the two duel, warring with shadows and ravens. Attacking with a shard of moonlight, Sycorax drives Jack away, learns that Caliban sent him inside her mind, and begins to sew Lucifer back together, while Caliban discusses how he misses his mother. The temporal aspect of Lucifer tells Caliban that it was he who exiled Caliban to his lonely existence, and Stingy Jack rallies the inhabitants of Sycorax’s mind into an angry mob, prepared to seek vengeance on Lucifer himself.

This was perhaps the best issue of Lucifer thus far, with plenty of explanations of a somewhat convoluted plot, gorgeous artwork by the Fiumaras, and fantastic and passionate colors from McCaig. If the first four issues were a slow burn, this latest issue begins to ignite the material, and the next issue is sure to fan the flames to a whole new level. Let us know what you thought in the comments section below.