Secret Empire Omega #1: SO. MUCH. TALKING.
I didn’t really clock that Captain Nazi was still alive at the end of “Secret Empire.” It’s right there, but I had other things on my mind at the time. Here, Steve makes his way to the hole where they’re keeping Captain Nazi to confront the man who damaged his reputation so. If Spencer falters at all here, it’s in his portrayal of Captain Nazi as a more dedicated fascist than the one we saw over the course of the series. Captain Nazi has always been portrayed as having doubts about his path, though the man we see here is unrepentant. Maybe his failure and the death of Elisa have steeled his resolve and finally made him a firm believer in the darker side of the cause, but it's a notable shift in his attitude Spencer doesn't really explain.
At any rate, Steve half-heartedly calls Captain Nazi on his bullshit: Captain Nazi asserts he didn’t do anything the U.S. government didn't authorize him to do as part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Act, but Steve dismisses this legalistic argument as hardly acceptable given his destruction of Las Vegas and murder of Jack Flag and Rick Jones. Captain Nazi more or less asks why Steve is there, and Steve tells the story of a young boy who hesitated in fear when Steve tried to help him from the rubble of Washington, DC. But, it’s not really that compelling of a reason, and Captain Nazi concludes Steve’s simply fascinated with the path untaken. Captain Nazi is at his most persuasive when he tells Steve he underestimates the millions of people who whole-heartedly embraced HYDRA. Spencer is at his best here, reminding us we can’t dismiss torch-bearing racists as easily as we’d like. Spencer wraps up the issue with a guard whispering “Hail HYDRA” in Captain Nazi’s ear, a promise to the reader we’ll hear from him again.
The problem is I'm not sure I care. This part of the story more or less mirrors "Captain America" #350, where the Red Skull embedded his consciousness in a cloned version of Steve’s body. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some accident burning away Captain Nazi's face, turning him into the new Skull. But, I hope Marvel doesn't go that route. Captain Nazi isn't wrong when he says HYDRA has changed: as he says, it will no longer see conquering the world as getting the chance to rule it, but regaining a rule HYDRA once had. Marvel has the opportunity to stop using HYDRA as just another incompetent terrorist organization, but a legitimate threat to the established political order. If Marvel does that, "Secret Empire" will have really changed the game, Captain Nazi's continued existence aside. That story would be a lot scary if we didn't have a warmed-over Red Skull redux leading the charge, but instead a new character (preferably a Millennial) who speaks to those people who embraced HYDRA.
Overall, is this issue necessary? No, not really. But, it does remind us Marvel has allowed "Secret Empire" to legitimately change the game (with the possibility of changing it even more). It's a rare cross-over event that does that, so I'll let Marvel have its victory lap.
Amazing Spider-Man #32: Every once in a while, Slott turns in an issue that reminds us what he can do when he focuses on the story in front of him and not whatever overarching drama he’s trying to sell us. In this one-and-done issue, we tour Norman Osborn’s soul. The nanites Peter injected into him are successfully preventing the Goblin Serum from bonding with Norman's DNA, and he’s desperate to solve that problem. An acupuncturist sends him to the Temple of No Name, and, in his first test, he’s revealed to possess great potential for the mystic arts. (His comment that he always tests well made me LOL.) Slott is uncharacteristically good at the details here. Rather than let the similarity to other characters’ journeys go unmentioned, Norman makes exactly this observation to one of his three masters. The master in turn observes certain patterns repeat themselves, but the details are specific to the person: Norman’s struggle might be similar to Dr. Strange’s or Baron Mordo’s, but how it manifests and resolves itself is uniquely his path. In the end, Norma rejects his totem animal (a tiger) and chooses the goblin instead. He summons Spider-Man and defeats him. But, when he kills him, he reveals himself to be a monster, appalling the three masters. It’s here where Slott unveils his cleverest trick: this entire sequence has actually been that first test, one that Norman failed. The masters expel him, noting they’ll warn all the other orders about him. But, Norman, in typical Norman fashion, is undeterred, since the test revealed the Goblin is still somewhere inside him. As I said, the copious details and thoughtful storybuilding are rare for Slott: no loose ends, no deus ex machina, no miracle save. If only we saw this Dan Slott more often...
Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #7: I’m not usually a fan of cosmic interference in storylines, but David’s literal deus ex machina here really works. Marlo is revealed to be Death, and she’s visiting Ben because he’s special: he’s died the most times of anyone in the Universe, and his soul is blackened and cracked. Death is interested in him since he seems to be on a path to redemption, and she’s intrigued by his journey to fix his soul. She assures him he can, but it will take time. (I really hope we get some sort of soul meter at the end of every issue.) Ben tries to convince her to bring back Abigail and Kaine, but she wants him to pick one. He chooses himself (to even the scales), but she refuses. He attacks her, and it’s clear he only wants her to kill him because he just can’t live with himself anymore. It’s an emotional moment, but it ends with Death laughing, something (as you can imagine) she had assured us she didn’t really do. Refreshed after this interaction with a mortal, she grants Ben’s wish. (It’s interesting to note here not even his seemingly altruistic push for Kaine to be resurrected is totally heroic: after all, he’s also somewhat suicidal. It’s a reminder that David may have put Ben on the path to repairing his soul, but the asshole he was as the Jackal is still in there somewhere.) Death even does him one better: his face is fully healed. This part is probably the most controversial one. In terms of the larger story David is telling, neither Abigail nor Kaine needed to die, so returning them to life doesn’t really affect it. But, I think most of us probably expected the degenerative disease Ben had to be more of a focus, a sort of race against time as Ben tried to cure it. But, whatever. I’m on board with David taking it off the board. It’s really the last hangover of “The Clone Conspiracy,” and I feel like we’re on secure footing now. Ben is Ben (if still a little damaged), and he’s on a quest to save his soul, with Kaine nipping at his heels. That’s a story I’m interested in reading.
Generations: Captain Marvel and Captain Mar-Vell #1: Why do I keep falling for Marvel’s tricks and buying these issues when I know they won’t be good? WHY?
Uncanny Avengers #27: I don't know why Zub and Izaakse keep insisting on putting Johnny Storm in nothing but tight shorts, but I am not complaining. Talk about an incentive to keep reading! It helps that the story isn't half-bad either. The Avengers engage in some honest-to-goodness teamwork here: Voodoo provides Scarlet Witch an air elemental to help her survive in space, Rogue distracts Graviton so Wanda can return and wallop him, Rogue delivers the coup de grâce by stealing his powers, and Synapse helps her shake off the insanity that comes with said powers. It's solid teamwork from start to finish and fun to read to boot.
Also Read: Star Wars #36; Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #12; X-Men: Blue #11
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