New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman and Robin #24:  This issue is less porn-tastic than last issue (insert sad face), but it still manages to be enjoyable nonetheless.  After the fun of seeing some Bruce and Jason banter last issue (or, at least, Bruce silence and Jason banter), we get Dick and Damian resuming their usual two-man show, with Damian objecting (loudly) to the idea of working with Jason to rescue his former sidekick, Scarlet.  Winick's decision to bring back Scarlet is kind of odd, given that her previous departure had been so beautifully handled by Morrison.  It wasn't like they worked together that long, so it doesn't ring particularly true to me that the nameless villain who kidnapped her would:  a) know of her existence in the first place, b) be able to track her down, and c) be able to convince Jason he cared enough to find her.  My guess is that c) is what eventually leads to his redemption, when his heart grows three sizes that day.  Moreover, it's still weird to me that the plot of this issue is essentially random, something beyond Dick or Jason's control.  Jason is a fascinating anti-hero because he knows the Bats' tricks.  But, instead of seeing some brilliantly executed revenge plan implemented by Jason, we're just chasing down yet another bad guy who randomly kidnapped his former sidekick.  All that said, I still enjoyed the issue, mainly because of the aforementioned banter, and I'm interested to see whether Winick takes it to the next level with three of the four Robins on one side.  Maybe Tim will make a surprise appearance...

Batman Beyond #6:  "Industrial Revolution" continues in this issue, which is a pretty rollicking good time.  Beechen focuses mostly on the plot at hand here -- the return of Blight and what it means for Wayne-Powers Enterprises -- and only hints at some of the other sub-plots, such as Dana's creepy brother.  The only drawback of this issue has nothing to do with it:  "Batman Beyond" isn't on the list of titles being re-launched or rebooted or bootlaunched or whatever it is exactly DC is doing in September.  I really hope it's not the case, but it's hard to stay engaged in this series if it's going to disappear in two months.  Beechen's done some really great work over the last few issues and I'd hate to see it swept under the rug just so Jim Lee can feel all important.

Fear Itself:  Spider-Man #2:  OK, this issue is fine.  It's a serviceable "Fear Itself" sort of book, people are scared, blah blah blah.  It has some ridiculous moments, like when Spidey tells some guy he seemingly just met that he didn't kill the guy he thought he did because Spidey was there watching and the guy was fine.  (Follow that?)  Sure, OK, whatever.  The real missed opportunity here is an artistic one.  In the first few pages, we see a tour of Peter's worst fears, including Aunt May dead in a hallway.  (By the way, Slott did a much better version of this same plot in "Amazing Spider-Man" #655.)  Wouldn't it have been mind-blowingly awesome if they would've shown the scene from "One More Day" where she's dying on the bed?  Like, given us some hint that, on some level, Peter knows what happened?  I know they're trying to play down all that, post-"Brand New Day," but I feel like Slott might've been ballsy enough to give it us.  Ultimately, it's the problem with these sort of tie-in mini-series.  You get a distilled version of the character that pleases the masses but doesn't really do much for fans.  At any rate, it's a fine issue of an OK mini-series connected to a meh cross-over.

New Avengers #13:  The two most annoying questions of the last four issues of "New Avengers" have been:  will they kill off Mockingbird and how does the current-day plot connect with the 1950s-era plot?  We get the answer to both questions in this issue and it may just redeem the story.  The connection between Fury's mission to track down the Red Skull with the present-day story is that the Skull had developed a Super-Soldier Serum/Infinity Formula hybrid, which Fury and his team recovered in the 1950s-era story but Superia and H.A.M.M.E.R. stole in the present-day story.  Once the New Avengers recover the formula from Superia, Fury appears, tells us what it is, and applies it to Mockingbird at Hawkeye's urging.  We knew Mockingbird didn't die thanks to "Avengers" #13, but making her into a long-living, super-soldier bad-ass might just make me forgive Bendis for going all Women in Refrigerators on her.  Bendis really keeps us guessing until the end of this arc and, although I like where we wind up finding ourselves in the end, I think the split nature of the book over these five issues might have been a bit much.  When the connection was finally revealed, I have to admit thinking, "Really?  All that just to make Mockingbird a Super-Fury?"  The most intriguing question to emerge from this arc may actually be what Victoria Hand's true allegiance is.  Of course, someone like Hand actually probably doesn't have a "true" allegiance, so it's going to be interesting to see how Bendis teases out that sub-plot.  Otherwise, I think it's definitely time for us to move to the next plot.

Red Robin #24:  Well, I definitely didn't see that end coming!  (What a way to go, indeed!)  The Bat-boys really just have women throwing themselves at them, don't they?  Isn't Ra's al Ghul trying to get a hand on Tim's DNA?  I guess we'll see.  I only vaguely remember Promise from the Mikalek arc.  Nicieza pretty deftly weaves her into the plot, though, with the Assassination Tournament serving as cover for Promise to take out Mikalek, which winds up becoming the main plot (pretty clever, Fabian).  I'm going to have to re-read "Red Robin" #18-#19 to remember what Promise's deal was.  At any rate, I'm intrigued how Tim saves himself from this situation (if he indeed wants to do so)!

X-Men Legacy #250:  The primary story is pretty fun.  Legion has six personalities who managed to escape during "Age of X," and Professor X leads a team to find them so Legion can re-absorb them.  (I thoroughly enjoyed his frustration that Cyclops had added Frenzy and Magneto to the roster and Magneto having to remind him that they follow Cyke's orders now.)  I hadn't realized (because I don't think Carey made clear) that each of Legion's personalities had its own body during "Age of X," but it would make sense, given the number of people who were floating around Fortress X.  I'm assuming the creepy guy at the end is one of Legion's missing personalities, and it's intriguing that he himself appears also to have the ability to hold multiple personalities (who then appear to "see" events occurring elsewhere, though this part was a little, um, unclear).  The secondary story is possibly more exciting if only because it presages (hopefully) the return of Havok, Polaris, and Rachel.  I'm in the mood for a good old-fashioned space epic, which I'm hoping we get.  I'm a little concerned, though, that it's going to still be a while (despite Rogue's warning that time is of the essence) given that we're also staring down "Schism" this summer.  All in the all, it's a pretty good issue for "X-Men Legacy."  I'm still not a huge Carey fan, since I find everyone he writes to be so...joyless.  But, I'm intrigued by where we're going with the Legion story, so I consider it a win.