Avengers #682: The authors have really been doing a great job of using the challenges this event poses as a way to tease out characters’ personalities, and their portrayal of Red Wolf here is a great example. With the chaos erupting on the battlefield all around him, he centers himself and looks for patterns. He realizes the Lethal Legion isn't fighting like animals facing slaughter, but are methodically making their way towards the Pyramoid. As such, he comes to the conclusion the Pyramoid isn’t lethal. He appeals to his brotherhood with Clint to clear him a path, and he snags the Pyramoid. Gamemaster unleashes the final Pyramoid — spirit/power — in the hospital where Beast is treating Jarvis. He realizes Jarvis' concussion somehow activated a dormant alien disease the other Avengers were carrying. (This part made no sense to me. I don’t get why a concussion would change the way Jarvis' body fights off disease and thus activate the previously inactive alien disease. Also, why did Nadia have the antibody? Has she been off-planet lately?) Anyway, the Challenger unleashes, as expected, the now “Immortal Hulk,” while Jarvis awakens, muttering, “It’s all a lie.” With the Challenger and Gamemaster’s fight coming to a close with so many issues of “No Surrender” left, it seems pretty clear the fight itself — and not just the Pyramoids — is the MacGuffin. We'll see where we go from here.
Daredevil #599: Man, you get the sense Soule is going to kill everyone next issue and they’re just going to cancel this series. I guess it’s probably not going to happen that way, but the fact Soule seems to be going in that direction makes you realize how believable of a story he's telling. First, Daredevil’s attempt to use his super-focus abilities to find Muse in the city fails because he can’t get past the fact everyone’s talking about Fisk. It’s the most brilliant take on Fisk as a Trump analogue so far, addressing a frequently heard complaint (on both sides of the aisle) that Trump saturates all discussions. Matt’s failure to find Muse doesn’t just mean he might kill again, as he did when he murdered six cops to paint a mural of the Punisher last issue. It also means Sam has lost whatever nascent faith he had in Matt. While Matt tries to convince Fisk to stop pinning the blame on the Punisher and go after Muse, Sam actually does so, unexpectedly finding him. Of course, Fisk refuses Matt’s pleas and instead demands Matt attend a rally with him that night. If he refuses, Fisk will fire and ruin him. Matt agrees, though he has other plans up his sleeve, as we see him addressing New York's street-level heroes before the rally. Again, Soule isn’t just telling a great story about the Trump era, he’s telling a great Daredevil story. Matt warns Sam he’s gone down the revenge road before and it leads to ruin; even an infrequent "Daredevil" reader like me chuckled at that understatement. Soule portrays Matt as too distracted to serve as Sam’s mentor, Fisk’s Deputy Mayor, Muse’s enemy, and Kingpin’s nemesis all at the same time, and it’s pretty clear he’s going to suffer some consequences of this lack of focus next issue.
Darth Vader #12: Soule (man, he's writing everything) has Vader put two and two together here fairly easily, discovering a cabal of military officers who used access to the Emperor’s office suite to make it seem like he (Palpatine) was behind last issue’s assassination attempt. Vader convinces the Emperor to allow him to randomly kill five officers after giving a speech to the officer corps about how Vader is his deputy, regardless of how they feel about it. Here, Soule clearly shows how the military officers view Vader as an interloper who appeared from nowhere, a nuance on Vader’s ascent I hadn't really considered. The most interesting — and perhaps confusing — development is Vader retreating to his storm-like mental landscape and, in his frustration, cracking his office’s window. It’s unclear to me what Soule means to show with this scene. Vader's new lightsaber is hovering before him during the incident. Is he mad he lost his original one? Unlikely. Does he believe the Emperor was behind the cabal? Maybe. Is it the fact he continues falling deeper and deeper into the Dark Side? Possibly.
Detective Comics: #975: This issue is perhaps the most perfect comic book I’ve ever read. Tynion is just absolutely on fire here as he explores each character’s personality through their defense - or lack of defense - of Kate in the trial Batman holds. I honestly held my breath before Jason spoke, it was so perfectly timed. Tim starts the debate by talking about how he came to Red Robin not as a victim of violence (like Bruce, Dick, and Jason) but as a believer in Batman and Robin as symbols. Dick talked about how he always wants to see the good in everyone, so he believes Kate deserves a place at the table if she seeks atonement. Damian simply dismisses the idea any of them could call themselves members of the Bat-family. (It seems like a joke, but Tynion and the artists make it clear he feels outside his element here, a child among adults.) Then, Jason speaks. He takes off his helmet and puts it on the table, and we wait for him to talk about emotions he never discusses. He starts simply, saying he, too, sought redemption. He admits he lost his way for a while, but the Bat-family means something to him, so he’s agreed to the rules of engagement and doesn’t kill anyone. You think it’s going to end there, like Jason is going to surprise everyone and agree with Tim, that Kate broke the rules of engagement. Instead, he dismisses the entire argument, saying they’re not there because Kate broke the rules, but because Bruce’s ego is hurt because she broke the rules. (He makes a great comment about being willing to make room on the black-sheep side of the table, asserting family is family. God, could Tynion please take over “Red Hood and the Outlaws?” Who do I have to have Kate kill to make that happen?) Unsurprisingly, Barbara is the best. To Tim’s dismay, she correctly states Bruce allowed the Belfry to happen simply because he wanted to give Kate a direction other than leading the Colony and he wanted to do it because she’s his last link to his mother. In Babs’ words, if Kate is a surrogate for Martha, and Martha would’ve been OK with Kate taking that shot, than it makes Bruce question a lot. She says they’re all there because he can’t answer those questions, and he’s hoping they can do it for him because they know him better than he knows himself. At this point, I honestly expected him to kiss her on the forehead and tell her she’s always been his favorite. It’s all just so...perfect. Meanwhile, Kate accepts Jake’s offer to lead the Colony, because she’s reminded she didn’t get in this game to be a hero, but to prevent other people from suffering what she suffered. Absolutely.
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #300: OK, we need to talk about the abso-fucking-lutely awesome splash page of Spidey hanging in the air in a beam of light poised to throw the car at the Tinkerer. Unbelievable. It's exactly this sort of artistic virtuoso we've been missing on the Spider-Man titles for so long, and I can't explain how excited I was to see that. But, it wasn't just Kubert on fire here. Zdarsky filled the issue with great moments. It's actually hard to choose one. JJJ, Jr. expressing pride in hiring Betty Brant all those years ago as she smashes the Tinkerer's machines? Johnny and JJJ, Jr.'s conversation on the rooftop about whether the other one is a member of the, as Peter calls it, "very large Spidey secret identity club?" Doom talking to his Doombot like it was a wayward goat? This issue might be my favorite of all time. (Or was that "Detective Comics" #975? God, what a time to be alive!)
Beyond all these great moments, Zdarsky shows he's been playing a long and complicated game here. We learn the Tinkerer's plan started years ago, when he befriend a scout for a race of artificial intelligences called the Vedomi. They scour the universe and destroy planets where artificial intelligence is enslaved. The Tinkerer convinced the scout not to doom Earth, but he changed his mind after a villain angry with one of his inventions destroyed his HQ and the scout with it. Zdarsky and Kubert are amazing here. Under interrogation, the Tinkerer gets emotional when he calls the scout a friend, haltingly admitting making friends is hard for him. Kubert shows us him laughing with the scout but, then, more tragically, watching his lab burn (with the fire reflected in his glasses). When the Tinkerer comes to the conclusion as a result that people ruin everything, we understand why he feels this way.
With revenge on his mind, the Tinkerer realizes he needs to trip the Vedomi's scanners to attract their attention. To do so, he creates the phones we previously saw him distribute to super-villains. Allegedly to give the villains maximum privacy, each phone is equipped with its own artificial intelligence. However, it also creates a network of "natural, separate A.I.s" to serve as the tipping point, giving Earth enough A.I.s under humanity's control to doom it. The Gray Blade got involved when it picked up the Tinkerer on a domestic-terrorism charge. Mintz had the Tinkerer feed technical information to the Vedomi, thinking they'd only eliminate the super-powered beings. To the Tinkerer, it was just a contingency plan; he hoped to use the data as leverage to eliminate resistance, and Mintz helped him fill in the gaps in information he needed. (I think he needed the information to make sure he could get the phones in super-villains' hands, but I'm honestly not totally sure.)
The Vedomi ship appears above New York, and Doom arrives to dispatch them. (Doom obviously doesn't want them taking over the world, since he wants to do so...I mean, because he's a good guy now.) Spidey convinces Doom to lend him his time platform. Doom warns Spidey the abuses of the time stream over the past few years has led him to alter its design, meaning nothing they do in the past can affect the future. Pete takes Teresa and, accidentally, JJJ, Jr. with him into the past, and Doom programs the platform to return them in two weeks' time. (Of course, Doom has his own plans to fight off the Vedomi; he's helping Spidey just to hedge his bets.)
Beyond the scale of the art, which is awesome, Zdarsky shows how big the drama is by having a number of heroes -- Black Panther, Falcon, Hawkeye, the Human Torch, Ironheart, and the Vision -- on hand to help. Often these events seem to happen in a vacuum, like no one else in New York noticed the giant ship hovering above it. In a nice side development, Betty taped Mintz's rant about helping a criminal collect data on civilians, and, without S.H.I.E.L.D. to save him, he seems like he's not going to be much of a threat in the future. Now, it's just time to stop the elimination of the human race so that Peter and Teresa can enjoy the peace and quiet.
Also Read: Moon Knight #192; Spider-Gwen #29; Venom #162; X-Men: Blue #22
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #300: OK, we need to talk about the abso-fucking-lutely awesome splash page of Spidey hanging in the air in a beam of light poised to throw the car at the Tinkerer. Unbelievable. It's exactly this sort of artistic virtuoso we've been missing on the Spider-Man titles for so long, and I can't explain how excited I was to see that. But, it wasn't just Kubert on fire here. Zdarsky filled the issue with great moments. It's actually hard to choose one. JJJ, Jr. expressing pride in hiring Betty Brant all those years ago as she smashes the Tinkerer's machines? Johnny and JJJ, Jr.'s conversation on the rooftop about whether the other one is a member of the, as Peter calls it, "very large Spidey secret identity club?" Doom talking to his Doombot like it was a wayward goat? This issue might be my favorite of all time. (Or was that "Detective Comics" #975? God, what a time to be alive!)
Beyond all these great moments, Zdarsky shows he's been playing a long and complicated game here. We learn the Tinkerer's plan started years ago, when he befriend a scout for a race of artificial intelligences called the Vedomi. They scour the universe and destroy planets where artificial intelligence is enslaved. The Tinkerer convinced the scout not to doom Earth, but he changed his mind after a villain angry with one of his inventions destroyed his HQ and the scout with it. Zdarsky and Kubert are amazing here. Under interrogation, the Tinkerer gets emotional when he calls the scout a friend, haltingly admitting making friends is hard for him. Kubert shows us him laughing with the scout but, then, more tragically, watching his lab burn (with the fire reflected in his glasses). When the Tinkerer comes to the conclusion as a result that people ruin everything, we understand why he feels this way.
With revenge on his mind, the Tinkerer realizes he needs to trip the Vedomi's scanners to attract their attention. To do so, he creates the phones we previously saw him distribute to super-villains. Allegedly to give the villains maximum privacy, each phone is equipped with its own artificial intelligence. However, it also creates a network of "natural, separate A.I.s" to serve as the tipping point, giving Earth enough A.I.s under humanity's control to doom it. The Gray Blade got involved when it picked up the Tinkerer on a domestic-terrorism charge. Mintz had the Tinkerer feed technical information to the Vedomi, thinking they'd only eliminate the super-powered beings. To the Tinkerer, it was just a contingency plan; he hoped to use the data as leverage to eliminate resistance, and Mintz helped him fill in the gaps in information he needed. (I think he needed the information to make sure he could get the phones in super-villains' hands, but I'm honestly not totally sure.)
The Vedomi ship appears above New York, and Doom arrives to dispatch them. (Doom obviously doesn't want them taking over the world, since he wants to do so...I mean, because he's a good guy now.) Spidey convinces Doom to lend him his time platform. Doom warns Spidey the abuses of the time stream over the past few years has led him to alter its design, meaning nothing they do in the past can affect the future. Pete takes Teresa and, accidentally, JJJ, Jr. with him into the past, and Doom programs the platform to return them in two weeks' time. (Of course, Doom has his own plans to fight off the Vedomi; he's helping Spidey just to hedge his bets.)
Beyond the scale of the art, which is awesome, Zdarsky shows how big the drama is by having a number of heroes -- Black Panther, Falcon, Hawkeye, the Human Torch, Ironheart, and the Vision -- on hand to help. Often these events seem to happen in a vacuum, like no one else in New York noticed the giant ship hovering above it. In a nice side development, Betty taped Mintz's rant about helping a criminal collect data on civilians, and, without S.H.I.E.L.D. to save him, he seems like he's not going to be much of a threat in the future. Now, it's just time to stop the elimination of the human race so that Peter and Teresa can enjoy the peace and quiet.
Also Read: Moon Knight #192; Spider-Gwen #29; Venom #162; X-Men: Blue #22
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