Avengers #690: This issue is your standard “What are we going to do with [x number of] [Avengers/X-Men]?” stories, but the art team does such a great job it really elevates it above its intellectual predecessors. In fact, the only problem I see here is that the authors have created such compelling stories I’m disappointed with the sparse number of follow-on series. At the very least, we seem ready for a “Rangers” series featuring Lightning and Red Wolf and an “Uncanny Avengers” reboot with Roberto (now Citizen X) and Rogue. I’d also love a Johnny Storm-led team focused on fun, with the Beast, Hawkeye, Hercules, Janet, and Wonder Man. Instead, Marvel chose to throw together the most boring characters possible and spin off a Quicksilver series. (The Hulk really is his own thing.) I'm hopeful we could get an anthology series in the vein of “Marvel Comics Presents” for these teams. Can't we? A guy can dream. At any rate, this event was fun. I applaud Marvel for not making me buy nine million tie-in issues. It might not have been “Kang War,” but it was one of best “Avengers” stories in recent memories, particularly given its inclusion of characters like the Beast, Lightning, and Wonder Man. Hopefully they manage to maintain the momentum in the new series, but, for now, I salute the entire creative team for reminding us what the Avengers can look like.
Darth Vader #15: The most interesting development in this issue is the revelation Jedi Master Barr doesn’t appear to be what we’d typically call a “good guy.” Not surprisingly, Vader survived his plummet into Mon Cala's Great Ungeness Trench and, once the Inquisitors collect him, he orders them to go after the hidden Jedi immediately. After all, he posits Lee-char will likely alert Barr once he can that he gave up Barr's location under torture. (I didn’t realize that happened last issue and, upon re-reading that sequence, Soule made that vague.) Members of the Mon Calamari fleet find Lee-char floating in the ocean and put him in the med-bay while Ackbar and Raddus prepare assaults on the Imperial troops. Despite successfully taking out a skybase, Ackbar is aware the Empire will eventually bring overpowering force to win the engagement. With Lee-char now awake, Ackbar presses him to offer a truce. Lee-Char refuses, saying he needs to save the galaxy, and Ackbar interestingly asks if he — or the Jedi — feels that way. The mention of the Jedi's name makes Lee-char realize he has to warn Barr the Imperials are likely on their way. Meanwhile, Barr himself makes it clear to his students the conflict itself is the goal; he's not really all that concerned about the Mon Calamari's fate. Barr is clearly playing some sort of long game, but I’m not sure what it is at this point. That said, it makes you realize Leia in the main title doesn’t realize who she’s getting with Lee-char, particularly if his bravery in the face of the Empire was only due to Barr’s manipulation. We shall see.
Detective Comics #979: OK, game on. Tim fights off Ulysses’ attempt to get him to accept the Brother Eye programing willingly, so Ulysses takes away Tim's choice: claiming trauma is nothing but specific electrical currents through the brain, Ulysses inflicts the same damage on Tim’s brain as Tim's future self suffered witnessing the Bat-family die around him. Tim becomes one with OMAC, and the Bat-family is now fighting one of its own. Cass leads Bruce to Stephanie, who agrees to help once he personally appeals for it. Kate also shows she’s not the mindless drone Future Tim thought she was, as she overrules her father’s view Tim is a lost cause to work with Bruce. I’m ready to rumble!
Mighty Thor #706: The thing about Jason Aaron is the man can tell a story. It might seem simple to say that, but it isn’t. In an era where every other Marvel comic seems embroiled in a fight over diversity, Aaron set about telling a very specific story with a very specific hero. Jane Foster is no longer Thor because her story as Thor is concluded. In a way, she’s the lucky one. After decades and decades of stories, characters like Peter Parker and Steve Rogers carry a great weight. They hit their wives or they become secret Nazis, and we all have to find a way to look past those moments to see the heroes they were. Instead, Jane got to be the greatest Thor of all the Thors we’ve seen...and then call it a day. She defeated Shi’ar gods and the Mangog. She saved Asgard and kept Malekith from conquering the Realms. Odin’s conversation with her at Valhalla's gates was excellent: he embraces her as a warrior-born and invites her into Valhalla. But, her pause at the threshold of the gates felt honest, and Odin’s commitment to help Odinson use the Mother Storm to revive her heartfelt. Returning to Aaron's story, his genius lies in the fact that Jane's time as Thor isn't merely going to be an asterisk. It's not like how Sam's time as Captain America seems already forgotten. Everything doesn’t return to normal here; Odinson doesn’t simply pick up Mjolnir and become Thor. As Jane says, she showed him what she could do with the hammer, but it’s time Thor shows us what he can do without it. I’m just glad Thori is with him on this journey. I’d honestly like to thank Jason Aaron and Russel Dauterman for some of the best issues I’ve ever read. Jane’s time as Thor has been a story for the ages, and it was really special to be part of it in real time. I’ve never cried reading a letters page (on an airplane, nonetheless), but I did this one. I’m excited to see how the Asgardians rebuild Asgard. I feel like we really all are a bit worse for wear, and maybe the answer is to stop complaining and put our shoulders into it a little more. As corny as it sounds, I feel like Jane reminded me of that...and I’m going to stop now lest I make a scene on the airplane. Thank you, Jason, Russel, Matt, and the team for telling a great story and making us all better for it.
Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones #2: This issue improves over the first one as we learn it’s not simply going to be about Valeros wandering through the afterlife. Somehow, the Powers That Be have confused Valeros with a warlord who later sought repentance. Valeros’ attempt to convince them of their error doesn’t work, in part because Valeros is technically still alive in the Prime Material plane. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the gem he swiped, and Valeros himself acknowledges he’s not the kind of guy likely to figure out that mystery. In other words, he's got a challenge in front of him. We don’t often see these sorts of stories in mainstream fantasy, where a warrior has to think like a wizard or a wizard has to fight like a warrior, so I’m totally game here.
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #303: Man, I cried several times in this issue. I cried when the Vedomi scout told JJJ, Jr. and Teresa that the Tinkerer just needed kindness and was his friend. I cried when Peter cried and Aunt May told him they all just needed to go home. I cried when Teresa told him she was really his sister. I cried when Little Peter gave up being Spider-Man. All those tears are a testament of how great Zdarsky is. He also weaves in funny moments, like when Little Peter told the Goblin his costume had no theme (goblins with pumpkins?) or when JJJ, Jr. announced he yet again had to save the day. It all shows how well Zdarsky understands Peter and his supporting cast. I think the best example here is when Peter confesses to Teresa how hard it is to be in his past, when being Spider-Man was fun. He has years of suffering ahead of him, and it's hard to process that all looking at his younger self. (That said, if you’ve read those early “Amazing Spider-Man” issues, you know he’s engaging in some revisionist history here.) With Slott delivering a parallel story as his swan song in “Amazing Spider-Man,” it’s just a great time to be a fan.
Spider-Gwen #31: OMG, awesomesauce. To start at the end, Earth-617’s Gwen is revealed to be the Gwen who appears before the Watchers at the end of last issue. She admits she stole "our" Gwen from Earth-65’s timeline because it was getting too dark. When "our" Gwen decided not to kill Murdoch, Earth-617 Gwen needed to prevent her from changing her mind. (Latour doesn’t say that, but it’s implied in her text and later confirmed in her bio page at the end of the issue. He also implies the anomalous actions of Ben — encouraging "our"Gwen to take out Murdoch — drove Earth 617 Gwen to act, just as it did Earth 8's Watcher, Utaa.) Earth-617 Gwen reveals a Council of Spider-Women made the decision, and Utaa expresses outrage they acted this way. But, Earth-617 Gwen reminds him he also acted when he shouldn’t and stands by their decision that Earth-65’s future was getting too dark. In the present on Earth-617, the Gwens gets help from Tony Stark and Hank Pym, who confirm one of the weak places in the Multiverse’s membrane is at the bottom of the George Washington Bridge. (Of course it is.) "Our" Gwen tries to convince Earth-617’s Gwen not to come to the top of the bridge with her, but Earth-617 Gwen insists. As our Gwen dives off the bridge, Latour essentially resets the narrative of the bridge as a plot device: as "our" Gwen says, so many Gwens have died on that bridge, but no one’s jumped. In Earth-65’s present, Captain America threatens Murdoch by telling him S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance video caught him going all ninja on the roof, and "our" Gwen approaches JJJ, Jr. with her story. Along the way, Latour peppers the issue with truly great moments of characterization, like our Gwen’s exasperation with slimy Stark. It’s just all great. I can’t believe Latour has done such an amazing job of really advancing such an involved narrative issue by issue, but here we are.
Also Read: Daredevil #601; Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur's Gate #1; Old Man Hawkeye #4; Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #19; X-Men: Gold #26
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