Recently, without much fanfare, the sitcom from the 1980s Kate and Alliewas streamed for the first time ever. The sitcom starred Susan St. James and Jane Curtin as two divorced best friends who share a brownstone with their respective children. The deep friendship between Kate and Allie was really beautiful to watch on TV back then, and it’s even harder to see something like that on TV these days. I had to think of this series while reading Scarlettthe excellent Skybound series as part of its “Energon Universe,” a shared universe that eventually introduces the GI Joe squad to a universe where the Transformers also exist. That’s because Scarlett is built on the kind of deep female friendship we rarely see much of in comics.

Scarlett #4 is by writer Kelly Thompson, artist Marco Ferrari, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Rus Wooton and is based on the friendship between Shana O’Hara (Scarlett) and her best friend Jinx, who is undercover in the Arashikage ninja clan. Scarlett wants to save her friend, but of course things get much more complicated, and so this penultimate issue of the miniseries defines the status of the ninjas in the Energon universe before the upcoming GI Joe – The Movie #1.

How does Scarlett shed light on the friendship between Scarlett and Jinx?

The entire series up to this point was based on Scarlett’s encounter with Jinx during an unrelated mission. Her friend and roommate had gone undercover over two years ago. Scarlett had encountered her on another mission and had been dedicated to rescuing Jinx ever since. She worked with Stalker (who had sent Jinx undercover into the Arashikage clan) to go undercover HERSELF and offer herself as a new member of the clan. Clan leader Storm Shadow put her to the test by sending her on a mission to capture a powerful weapon (which was an epic third issue of the series). And now that she’s secured the first phase of the mission, she meets Jinx again for the first time.

One really clever thing Thompson did in this series was to have Scarlett and Jinx develop a secret language that can’t be cracked by anyone because it only makes sense to the two of them, having figured it out together over the course of a few years. No one can crack a code if it doesn’t make sense in itself, you know? The closeness between Scarlett and Jinx is tremendous. Some readers have taken it as romantic, although Thompson has made it clear in the story that the two women see each other as sisters, not lovers. They have, for lack of a better term (and boy, would I prefer a better term), a “femininity,” and it’s profound and really touching. It’s a standout aspect in the story because when they have a moment to talk privately, Jinx gives Scarlett the information she’s gathered but lets her know that she has to stay undercover, and Scarlett just can’t handle that. It’s such a touching sequence. Scarlett is willing to give up the whole mission for her friend, but Jinx sees it differently (there’s a really sweet part where Scarlett reveals that she let all of Jinx’s plants die in her absence).

How does this issue redefine the ninja landscape in the Energon universe?

Marco Ferrari and Lee Loughridge are given quite a challenge in this issue. They are expected to create some deep character moments but also some outstanding action sequences and they are more than up to the task. I love Loughridge’s use of color to differentiate between past and present but also for notable sequences, like the panels above where Storm Shadow uses his swords like a badass.

Storm Shadow has a big moment in this issue, and it’s a moment that could redefine the Arashikage clan’s role in the Energon universe. As it turns out, there’s a sword Cobra wants to buy, but the clan has it now, and Scarlett is left to question whether or not she’s OK with Storm Shadow having a super-powerful weapon. Cobra is still under the radar in the Energon universe, so Scarlett really doesn’t know anything about it, but Thompson cleverly exploits our foreknowledge to let us know that if Cobra wants that sword, the sword must be A. powerful and B. something pretty important.

This sets up a powerful final issue that obviously sets up Scarlett to join the GI Joe team when it arrives shortly after, but there’s still so much uncertain with Jinx and Storm Shadow and the Arashikage clan in general. Will they become allies of the GI Joe team or allies of Cobra? With a brand new continuity, these are the things you can really play around with and there’s really no “right” answer and I love the dangerous aspect of the series so much. Characters can be killed, characters can turn evil, characters can turn out to be Transformers (okay, that last one not so much) – there are no rules, and that makes everything so much more exciting in this upcoming series finale.

Scarlett #4 is on sale now.

Source: Skybound/Hasbro