Avengers: #678: Whoa. We’ve got a lot going on here. Both Avengers teams eventually realize the Legion and the Order are after the Pyramoids, but come to those conclusions in different ways. Rogue’s team in Rome continues to take on the Blood Brothers, Mentacle, and Metal Master from the Legion. They also manage to secure Quicksilver before the Blood Brothers kill him, but he remains paused. To make matters worse, Cannonball is concussed after he flies straight into Mjolnir to prevent Metal Master from hitting Thor with it. (Yes, Metal Master can control Mjolnir. Surprise!) Rogue sends Voyager to HQ with Cannonball and Quicksilver, but it exhausts her transportation powers, leaving both teams stranded. To make matters even worse in Rome, Black Dwarf, Black Swan, and Supergiant arrive to take the Pyramoid. Black Dwarf mentions the game, which clues in Rogue that they should focus on the Pyramoid (a little late, to be honest, as Gamemaster himself suggests). Supergiant takes down Metal Master, freeing Mjolnir, but Black Dwarf makes it to the Pyramoid first and disintegrates (allegedly) upon touching it. In Peru, Sam recognizes Ebony Maw and instructs Synapse to go “brain-to-brain” with her fellow telepath, clueing them into the fact both sides are after the Pyramoid. Lightning speeds after it, while the Avengers leap into action to save Ferene the Other from Corpus Glaive. Red Hulk and Torch both realize the point of the game and leap after the Pyramoid. Torch is particularly motivated after we saw him earlier thinking about how Reed would've immediately had a plan to save the day (as opposed to Sam, who seems to be struggling to develop a successful approach). Lightning somehow knows they shouldn’t touch the Pyramoid, but Johnny does it for the Four, wanting to show they’re still in the game. He then also disintegrates (allegedly). I'm guessing the team isn't going to take that well.
Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #13: This issue is just weird. Black Marvel is revealed to be a demon who brought Cyber from Hell with him because he (Cyber) wanted a shot at being a good guy. When “Black Marvel” took over Black Marvel’s identity, including his abilities and memories, he became intrigued by Marvel’s unresolved relationship with the Slingers. He tells Prodigy he wants to help finish teaching them (as Black Marvel was apparently doing) in order to really mold them into a team. (Yeah, I don’t get it either.) Anyway, it turns out Prodigy didn’t really know Marvel was a demon and “Hornet” was Cyber; he was just so happy Marvel was alive he didn’t ask questions. (Right, because if someone I knew was dead just suddenly appeared alive, I'd be all, "Dude, you're back! Let's get drinks, but don't tell me why you're alive again!") Slate then knocks down the wall of the theater to rescue Cassandra, and the team splits: Ben and Kaine go after Marvel while the Slingers go after Cyber. Cyber escapes the Slingers while Ben finds himself in a death match with Marvel in the Bellagio's fountain. Marvel helpfully exposits that the Diogenes Initiative is the one who rescued him from Hell and that it has great plans for Vegas. (But, it was totally OK with him adopting the Black Marvel persona, putting back together a superhero team, and then telling an entirely different superhero all about their plans?) Kaine arrives and cleverly uses his invisibility to pretend to be God, convincing a priest watching the fight to sanctify the water. Marvel tries to escape, but Ben holds him under the now-holy water until he dissipates. The teams (such as they are) regroup, and the Slingers let Ben off the hook for attacking Thorne since they’re not exactly sure they’re 100% good guys anymore either. (Given Prodigy had Ricochet watching Thorne, presumably under Black Marvel's orders, I assume Thorne is somehow connected to the Diogenes Initiative as well.) Dusk warns Ben about Mysterio while, later, Kaine gets Cassandra to write a check for the veterans clinic. If you're a hard-core Slingers fan this arc was probably awesome for you. But, I had to take a lot on faith just to get through this issue. Moreover, I get the sense that, even if I understood Slingers' history, I'd still be left scratching my head over developments like Black "I'm a demon now!" Marvel. It's a rare miss from David, to be honest.
Falcon #4: This issue is great. I wasn’t really sure where Barnes was going with this Blackheart story, but it now makes total sense. Barnes condemns Sam to Hell because he doesn’t know who he is anymore: he’s been pulled between too many beliefs and people to know himself. He must confront his seemingly perfect father (who admits he was more focused on adulation than salvation), the AIDS-ridden nephew he ignored as he died, and both good and bad Steve Rogers. In so doing, Sam accepts they all have their baggage and he has his baggage. It allows him to break free of Mephisto and seek his escape. Thankfully, Falcon has allowed Voodoo to possess him so he can use Falcon and Sam's mutual connection to Redwing to communicate with Sam. (It makes sense when you initially read it.) But, most importantly, Shaun serves as the portal between our world and Hell, allowing his respect for Sam to keep it open. It’s a great moment when Sam returns, confident in who he is. Watch out Blackheart!
Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey #5: Rosenberg really sticks the landing here, essentially reconfiguring Jean’s relationship with the Phoenix. Logan does his job, reminding Jean who she is. Then, it becomes a grudge match between Jean and the Phoenix, as the Phoenix shows her all her loved ones who have died since she's been dead and offers her the possibility of resurrecting them. But, Jean tells the Phoenix its attempt to protect her from loss and pain means it’s trying to protect her from being alive. She tells it she accepts that she was supposed to die in that shuttle all those years ago. She used to feel special because the Phoenix chose her then and kept on choosing her, despite all its other possible hosts in the Universe. But, now, she just wants to live. The Phoenix then plays its last ace, throwing a real Scott at Jean. But, it miscalculates, as it gives Jean what she really wants: one last moment with her husband. It’s the epilogue Jean and Scott deserved, and, with this moment, Rosenberg shows he really got the point of this series and what it needed to do. But, it doesn't end there. We get a truly lovely moment between Jean and the Phoenix as the Phoenix shrinks to the size of a bird and cuddles in Jean’s hand. They part ways, and the X-Men welcome Jean home. Jean returns as her own character, no longer overshadowed by her relationship with Scott or the Phoenix. In fact, perhaps the most important part of this sequence is Jean’s insistence that she was better off dead, because she was supposed to die. She’s returning almost grudgingly, and it’ll be interesting to see how that unfolds. In the meantime, Rosenberg really accomplished what he said he was going to do. It’s the rare mini-series I can recommend, but I definitely do, particularly for Jean fans. “X-Men Red,” here I come!
Spider-Gwen #28: We’ve been waiting for this issue for a long time. Not only does Gwen reveal her secret identity to Ben, May, and the Mary Janes, but Murdoch also walks us through his history. We learn Murdoch was essentially like the Murdoch we know until the Hand successfully defeated Stick earlier in his past. The Hand then raised him, turning him into a living weapon. Even they became afraid of him, so they sent him to New York. After he stole everything the Kingpin had, he was close to suicide, realizing he had nothing else left. But, he saw Spider-Woman swing past his window, and he found a new purpose: he wanted to corrupt her with power, to confirm he wasn’t the only one power corrupted. But, as we learn, the difference in their fates is that Murdoch didn’t have family and friends. Gwen tells everyone she had to let them know who she was because she’s going to give herself to Venom to get revenge. The Mary Janes think she’s crazy, but Ben doesn’t: he says everyone else has paid a price - Ben, Peter - for Gwen’s powers except Gwen. He’s...not wrong. We end the issue with Punisher storming Murdoch’s building, and I can’t wait to see where Latour goes from here. Each issue builds on the last one brilliantly, and I honestly have no idea how any of it is going to get resolved.
Also Read: Detective Comics Annual #1; Moon Knight #191; Quantum & Woody #2; Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #16; Tales of Suspense #100-#102
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