Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The September 14 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All-New X-Men #13:  I love everything about this issue.  As a 40-year-old gay man, I can say we should all be so lucky to have a Romeo walk into our lives at Bobby's age.

Civil War II:  Amazing Spider-Man #4:  Gage almost sells me on the outcome of this story, but unfortunately doesn't quite get there.  I just don't believe Peter could go through this experience with Clash and not see how Ulysses' predictions can become self-fulfilling prophecies.  Peter says it wasn't Ulysses' prediction that caused the Clash situation, but the poor way he (Peter) handled the information.  I can buy that to a certain extent:  Gage focuses in this issue on the importance of learning from our mistakes, and Peter is essentially saying the situation came from his mistake, not the prediction.  Peter also comments on how he could've stopped the infamous burglar if someone like Ulysses had warned him, showing how Peter might be thinking more emotionally than rationally.  Honestly, they're better arguments than I thought we'd get here.  But, Peter has to realize the potential to lose lives as a result of people making mistakes based on Ulysses' predictions is just as high as losing them because someone didn't act on the information.  After all, the Clash situation is a reminder that even people like Peter can use the information badly.  As such, it's probably better not to flush everyone's civil liberties down the toilet based on a 50/50 shot at a predication resulting in a better outcome.  I feel like Peter would know that.  As such, even after Gage's impressive delving into Peter's thought process, I still don't buy him joining Carol's side.

Detective Comics #940:  Tynion does something clever here by immediately disabusing us of the notion Tim is dead.  I was rolling my eyes throughout the panels coming after his "death," just because we've been here so many times.  Tynion did his best to engage me, and he almost got me when Bruce's hands shook as he read Tim's acceptance letter to Ivy University.  But, at this point, a Robin dying is as interesting as heroes fighting due to a misunderstanding.  It's why I retroactively liked this issue when we discovered someone had instead whisked Tim off the field in the nick of time.  Tynion wasn't trying to be Slott swearing Peter Parker is really dead, and I appreciate that.  At this point, we're still left with someone questions.  The mysterious figure says he wanted Tim off the field because he had too many "connections," but he also clearly wanted him alive -- otherwise, he would've just let him die.  Kate's father alluded to a Big Bad out there as justification for his actions, promising Kate will eventually understand why he did what he did.  Is the Big Bad the same person as the mysterious figure?  How does Tim figure into that plan?  Somehow, I think the answer to that question isn't coming anytime soon.

Spider-Man 2099 #15:  SO.  MUCH.  HAPPENING.  We learn the Power Pack we saw at the end of last issue is our Power Pack, because their powers slowed their aging; we also learn Alex has been missing for decades.  David reveals that the mysterious CEO of Alchemax is a still-living J. Jonah Jameson, another departure from whatever passes for the main 2099 timeline at this point.  Also, Harry Mendez is still Roberta's husband in this new timeline and still subjected her to experiments; but, in this timeline, she died and they didn't have children.  I also finally realized in this issue, with the appearance of Black Widow 2099, that the characters in the van are a combination of the Avengers and Defenders we saw in "Secret Wars 2099."  However, I don't believe we're seeing an extension of that timeline.  After all, Miguel was CEO of Alchemax then.  According to this issue, the Sinister Six stole Alchemax from Jonah, not Miguel.  As such, I think we've had at least three timelines in the last few issues:  the Maestro timeline where 2099 is a radioactive wasteland, the "Secret Wars 2099" timeline where Miguel was CEO of Alchemax, and the Sinister Six timeline where Father Jennifer was Goblin 2099 and Gabe worked with Kasey (as Payback) to help her.  However, it's possible this one is a fourth timeline:  simply because Jonah took back control of Alchemax from the Sinister Six in this timeline doesn't mean it's the same one we saw.  And the mystery deepens...

Also Read:  Black Panther #6; Spider-Man #8; Uncanny Avengers #14