Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Venom, Inc. Omega #1: (Man, that’s a title.) This issue is fun. That said, I can’t say this event has been the best plotted one I've ever read. I’m pretty sure if I re-read it I’d be able to find all sorts of glaring plot holes. (Like, I still don't really understand how Maniac just happened upon his spitting power and how it didn't really require any effort or resources. Also, I’m not sure I buy the idea Price could only possess someone once because they developed anti-bodies in their blood after the first exposure. That just seems...convenient. See? Plot holes.) But, Spidey is pretty hilarious in this issue, from his abortive attempt to rally Flash (only to realize Anti-Venom's healing factor would heal Flash's wounds and eliminate the need for Spidey to rally him in the first place) to Spidey tripping on his way to tell Flash about the anti-bodies. So, overall, I’m going to call it a win. As I said earlier, it recalls the excellent “New Ways to Die!” story from the “Brand New Day” era, and that alone is reason to give it a read. Also, I’m glad to see Peter and the Cat in a better place. I mean, it makes no sort of sense she'd suddenly stop hating him. After all, it was Dr. Octopus (as Spider-Man) taking everything from her that inspired her to hate Spidey. It doesn't make a lick of sense she'd be so blasé about it happening again, particularly when he's more directly responsible for her downfall this time. (Again. Plot holes.) But, I'm just glad the feud is over. Similarly, I’m glad Eddie convinced her to give up her attempt to become a crime boss, because I never really bought that either. (Man, I have not been happy with "Amazing Spider-Man" for a while.) Again, Eddie’s appeal doesn’t really make sense — in a way, he’s just mansplaining to her that she never wanted to be a crime boss in the first place — but I’m just glad she’s no longer a bad guy (#bringbackthecat). In other words, Spidey is fun here and the Cat is who she should be, so I'll take it.
Avengers #676: The authors dive right into the mysteries the first issue of this event raised, namely who the mysterious Avenger is and why the Earth was planet-napped. Color me impressed and intrigued.
The Avenger is revealed to be Valerie Vector, a.k.a. Voyager. She was (allegedly) a founding member of the Avengers and (allegedly) stayed with the team for a long time, including the transition to the Cap-led team in issue #16. However, in the "Let the Game Begin" arc (according to Comic Vine), the Avengers were forced into a competition as part of a wager between Grandmaster and Kang (as happened in those days). In issue #70, Voyager (allegedly) faced Victory, the Electromagnetic Man, but her “portal field” reacted with his powers and she was (allegedly) thought lost in the ensuing explosion. In the present, she tells the gathered Avengers she wasn’t lost, but “removed from normal existence." She watched time pass helplessly from the void. It was only when the Earth was stolen that she was somehow re-synced with the Earth again.
First, I have to give an incredible amount of credit to the art team here. A lot of Valerie’s history is told through flashbacks to famous moments in Avengers’ history. Valerie is inserted into these moments in the same art style as was prevalent at the time, and it’s fun to see. But, the best moment is her depiction as lost in time, where she floats above a series of “Avengers” covers, showing the passage of time through the progression of issues. It’s so remarkably clever. It makes it clear the entire creative team is bringing its A game. Moreover, the editors successfully use some winks and nudges in the “as seen in” boxes to hint it’s not the full story. Everyone (allegedly) remembers Valerie when she appears, so it almost seems like her story is true. But, her appearance is obviously way too convenient, and I can’t wait to see what the authors have planned.
First, I have to give an incredible amount of credit to the art team here. A lot of Valerie’s history is told through flashbacks to famous moments in Avengers’ history. Valerie is inserted into these moments in the same art style as was prevalent at the time, and it’s fun to see. But, the best moment is her depiction as lost in time, where she floats above a series of “Avengers” covers, showing the passage of time through the progression of issues. It’s so remarkably clever. It makes it clear the entire creative team is bringing its A game. Moreover, the editors successfully use some winks and nudges in the “as seen in” boxes to hint it’s not the full story. Everyone (allegedly) remembers Valerie when she appears, so it almost seems like her story is true. But, her appearance is obviously way too convenient, and I can’t wait to see what the authors have planned.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, we get to the heart of the matter: the Black Order and the Lethal Legion appear and immediately engage in battle. However, two disembodied voices (who I wouldn’t be surprised to learn were Grandmaster and Kang again) remind the parties of the rules and send them to their respective corners until the “Pyramoid” appears. (I again have to praise the art team. The fight sequences are spectacular, so life-like you feel like you’re right there watching them.) At the urging of the disembodied voices, the two teams go their corners, and we learn Earth was chosen as the location of their conflict because of its “designated obstacles,” i.e. the Avengers. The Black Order decides to take out the Avengers preemptively, and they explode Avengers Mansion just as the team was coming to some agreement on how to survey the situation in a world without communications systems.
I can’t say I’m thrilled to see the Black Order, because I associate it with the terrible incursion storyline Hickman forced on us. (I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I'm still not buying it.) Looking at its previous appearances on Comic Vine and Wikipedia, I've actually read almost every issue where its members have appeared, from the "Infinity" event to "The Unworthy Thor." But, I still don't understand anything about them. They're all pretty much interchangeable amoral bad guys. I’m not familiar with this alien Lethal Legion, and I’m doing my best to avoid going to Wikipedia to do research, because I feel like it could spoil the surprises the authors have in mind. But, this initial fight sequence shows how great of adversaries these two teams can be, so I’m perfectly happy to give the authors a chance to rehabilitate the Order for me.
I can’t say I’m thrilled to see the Black Order, because I associate it with the terrible incursion storyline Hickman forced on us. (I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I'm still not buying it.) Looking at its previous appearances on Comic Vine and Wikipedia, I've actually read almost every issue where its members have appeared, from the "Infinity" event to "The Unworthy Thor." But, I still don't understand anything about them. They're all pretty much interchangeable amoral bad guys. I’m not familiar with this alien Lethal Legion, and I’m doing my best to avoid going to Wikipedia to do research, because I feel like it could spoil the surprises the authors have in mind. But, this initial fight sequence shows how great of adversaries these two teams can be, so I’m perfectly happy to give the authors a chance to rehabilitate the Order for me.
Given everything that happened, you’d be forgiven for thinking this issue was confusing, but it’s really not; the authors did a great job of keeping up the momentum while not rushing anything. They don't address all the mysteries, obviously. We have smaller ones, like why Beast was so concerned over Jarvis’ scans or how the folks pulling the strings decided which heroes to “pause.” We also don’t know what the stakes of the conflict are. But, after two issues, I have to say my expectations are high now for one of the best Avengers stories of all time. (No pressure, guys.)
Generation X #86: Strain is clearly clearing the decks before this series’ last issue, but she manages to do so in a way that doesn't feel rushed. Jubilee visits Quentin on Krakoa and remembers Nathaniel’s warning, that Quentin wants to feel like he’s wanted even if he doesn’t admit it. Quentin is terrible as usual, bragging to Jubilee the Phoenix gave him part of its power (in “Mighty Thor”) so he doesn’t need anyone. But, when Jubilee learns the school has disappeared, he’s right there with her as they race to the scene. Meanwhile, as Monet goes all horror-movie villain on the kids, hunting them like prey, Chamber and Husk try to buy the kids some time to escape. Benjamin saves Nathaniel from falling debris, and the confluence of his heroism and their impending death inspires Nathaniel to kiss Benjamin through his shirt. When Monet eventually touches Nathaniel, we see moments from his past, where he’s abused by his mother (with his father’s knowledge) and learns his boyfriend is attracted to someone else (even though he hasn’t acted on it). Nathaniel has alluded to these moments in the past, so it’s nice to see Strain get the chance to make Nathaniel a fully formed character before the series ends. Speaking of happy endings, Jubilee and Quentin arrive, and Monet strips Jubilee of her amulet and throws her into the sun. Panicked at the thought of losing Jubilee and her promise to give him someplace to say, Quentin exhaust his Phoenix powers to cure her of her vampirism, probably the nicest thing he’s ever done. I can’t wait to see how everyone rallies to take down Monet next issue.
Mighty Thor #703: I haven’t written a lot about this series lately because it’s going so smoothly. But, I had to compliment this issue. Everyone is on fire here. First, other than Peter David, I just don’t know if anyone plays the long game as well as Jason Aaron does. The moment where Jane is standing in front of the hammer, with her friends standing there wondering what she’s going to do, brings together a storyline he’s spent years crafting. I legitimately had no idea what she was going to choose, but I expected to see Jane as Thor saving Asgard from the Mangog at the last minute. Seeing her return to her hospital bed instead makes me happy, because, as everyone keeps telling her, the world needs Jane Foster just as much as it needs Thor. Dauterman and particularly Wilson bring their A game here, and it’s a helluva A game. I didn’t know half the colors Wilson uses to show the Mangog’s march to Odin existed. But, it all comes together spectacularly, as Odinson arrives to convince Odin to at least die wearing his boots and swinging his sword. Father and son bonding time to come! It seems pretty clear Odinson is going to prove worthy again by defeating Mangog. But, Aaron has also been implying Mjolnir has its own agenda, so we shall see. What a great time to be a Thor fan.
Nightwing #37: This issue is...terrible. In theory, it should be a great issue, because it’s the origin of Dick’s beef with the Judge. But, it's just not. We begin with Dick approaching a casino owner he knew in his early days as Robin; she was known then as Baby Ruthless, a teenager fighting crime in Blüdhaven to save her dad’s bodega. Bruce and Dick were investigating a series in murders in Gotham committed by unsuspecting pawns in possession of the now-famous golden casino chips. The people they killed were responsible for building Blüdhaven’s first casino, and we learn the Judge, at least then, was mostly focused on stopping the casinos. The Dynamic Duo and Baby Ruthless foil his plan to crash a barge carrying radioactive material into the construction site (thereby rendering it uninhabitable). However, Robin’s overeagerness allows the Judge to escape. Dick also alludes to fighting him in college, a story I’m sure we’ll see. But, the big development is Baby Ruthless reveals she quit her costumed career when King Sturgeon took over the Judge’s gang. (I’m not sure why she quit being a crime fighter when Sturgeon took over the gang; she states it like they were connected, but I don’t see the connection. Also, I'm not entirely sure why the Judge left either.) Dick realizes Sturgeon might be the key to stopping the Judge, but Guppy is poised to kill him (his father) now that he's in possession of a certain casino chip. Guppy's plight really infuses this issue with emotion. We see some thugs bullying him into helping retrieve something from the bay, and then he's embarrassed when they won't give him a share of the take. He tries to tell his dying father he's running his own gang, but he also doesn't have the money to buy the medicine his father needs. But, Guppy's plight is overshadowed by the terrible narration Humphries uses throughout the issue. In theory, we should believe Dick and Ruthless are having a conversation about the good ol' days, not just spouting text blocks as they are here. It’s the problem when you try to retroactively create an arch-nemesis and ally for a character all in the same arc; you’re going to have to rely a lot on flashbacks. But, the narration is so awkward it’s hard to focus on anything else. We’re supposed to believe Dick feels great guilt for allowing the Judge to live and continue to kill people, but mostly I just rolled my eyes. I'm not hopeful it's going to get better either because we still have to get through the college incident. [Sigh.]
Rogue and Gambit #1: All I know is I would’ve loved to have seen the looks in the pitch meeting when Kelly Thompson suggested sending Rogue and Gambit to a couples retreat that may also be a mutant-conversion camp. I honest to God cannot think of a better premise of any mini-series ever. I love Thompson’s work on “Hawkeye,” so I’m so excited to see what she does here. From the start, she gets down Rogue and Gambit’s relationship perfectly: not too clear, not too vague. The awkward space between those positions is front and center here. It’s hard to do that, particularly with dialogue that sounds natural and not a recitation of talking points, but Thompson strikes exactly that balance here. (I loved Rogue teasing Gambit that Deadpool is a better kisser. But, I also appreciated the vulnerability Gambit showed when he told Rogue it felt like he was the only one trying to lift their mountain of baggage anymore.) I was caught by surprise when Rogue said she’d lost control of her powers, because I don’t remember that from “Uncanny Avengers.” (Wikipedia says I should've known that.) Regardless, I can’t wait to see where we go here.
X-Men: Gold #20: I’ve been hit or miss on this series for a while, and this issue is a good example why. Guggenheim rushes the ending in a way that makes no sense to me here. He’s got a pretty great “out of the frying pan, into the fire” scenario, with the X-Men trapped on a hostile desert planet somewhere in the Negative Zone. Kitty is with a dying Peter in a sandstorm, Storm has to fight off a spider-like creature, and Logan is with the rest of the team in the ship trying to find a way off the planet. Instead of drawing out the dramatic tension for two or three issues, we get deus ex machina after deus ex machina. Storm somewhat miraculous stumbles upon Kitty and Peter in the storm, Ink has a healing touch that stabilizes Peter, Kurt finds an inter-dimension portal generator he just happens to recognize from his time on the Dartayan ship (even though I imagine he was in the brig and not the engineering bay), and Storm “digs deep” to summon electricity to power the generator (even though we firmly established her powers don’t work on this planet). Despite everyone’s doom and gloom predictions, they’re basically in “danger” for 15 minutes or so until the problem is solved. It’s all just too easy. So far, everything about this series is like that: we stop just short of something significant or profound happening every time. Hopefully “X-Men Red” soars.
Also Read: Batman #39, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #299, Star Wars #42
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