My Rating
“Soul Mates”
With Sleepwalker’s Imaginator recovered from the floorboards of Spalding Grantham’s murder scene, the dream detective and his host, Rick Sheridan, begin reviewing the footage recorded on the night in question. Sleepwalker is just about to confirm his suspicions when the two discover something troubling—there are gaps in the recordings. Someone, or something, has manipulated Patsy Walker’s memories of that night of passion. But why? If they want answers, it may be time to confront the greater of two devils.
A knock at Hedy Wolfe’s front door announces that Hellcat has returned, although in a considerably less combative mood this time. Being shot to death and taking another little vacation to the fiery pits of Hell has apparently taught Patsy some humility. Hedy reluctantly allows her lifelong frenemy inside, but only under one condition—Hellcat must seek help from the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange.
Within the hour, Sleepwalker joins the impromptu investigation as the group attempts to reconstruct the events surrounding Spalding Grantham’s murder. Patsy agrees to enter a dream session, allowing Sleepwalker to dig through her mind and hopefully restore the memories someone has blocked. While Hellcat takes a trip to la-la land, Hedy receives a call from Doctor Strange. What he reveals changes everything. The true nature of Blackheart’s Exile Gate has finally been uncovered, and the demon may have been tricked by the Son of Satan himself. The dark construct isn’t an Exile Gate at all—it is a True-Form Doorway!
Why does Patsy Walker continue to dwell on events from her high school years? What happened to Chet that earned him the nickname “The Leopard”? Who really manipulated Patsy’s memories of the night Spalding Grantham died? Most importantly, will Daimon Hellstrom finally reveal the true form hiding inside Hellcat? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
I’m only guessing here, but does Christopher Cantwell subscribe to the old “slow and steady wins the race” school of comic-book writing? We finally get a pretty significant reveal in this issue, but good grief, how long are we going to drag this mystery out? There is only one issue remaining, and we still have murder, manipulated memories, childhood trauma, Sleepwalker, Blackheart, Daimon Hellstrom, and this mysterious True-Form Doorway to sort out. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Hellcat doesn’t wander into She-Hulk Volume 4 territory, where I’m left wondering how long it will take to get to the point.
I will give Cantwell credit for finally pulling several pieces of the mystery together. Sleepwalker’s involvement now feels more important to the overall plot, and the missing Imaginator footage adds another wrinkle to Spalding Grantham’s murder. The revelation involving Blackheart and the True-Form Doorway also gives the supernatural side of the story some much-needed momentum. With the finale coming next, however, there is a whole lot of explaining left to do in a very small amount of space.
And once again, I miss the fun Patsy Walker! Hasn’t this poor girl suffered enough? Murder accusations, childhood trauma, demonic ex-husbands, getting shot to death, trips to Hell—good grief! Leave Patsy alone! Leave Patsy alone! I’m still invested enough to see how Cantwell wraps everything up, but I desperately want some of that old Hellcat personality back. This issue earns a suitably slow and steady three out of five stars from me.