Fantastic Four #2: This issue is solid. Slott makes the right call in aging Franklin and Valeria into teenagers, as they're much more interesting now than they were as children. Valeria's attraction to a Namor-like prince and Franklin's snarky self-confidence make them both more human than they've ever been: she's less arrogant, and he's less bland. They're at the heart of this issue as the Griever at the End of All Things attempts to undo all Franklin's work as he finally hits the end of his ability to create new Universes. She destroys the Molecule Man, and the team begins to flee to the Universe the most anchored to reality, where Reed feels they can save the next 1,000 Universes. But, Valeria isn't buying it, as it would mean sacrificing her prince's Universe. As such, she crash-lands them there to make a stand, where the Griever easily defeats them. However, Reed has an ace up his sleeve. As she crows about defeating the Fantastic Four, Reed reminds her she really just defeated the Future Foundation. He tricks her into allowing him to call for the Fantastic Four, and she's surprised to confront everyone who's ever worn a Fantastic Four uniform. When Slott's been at his best, it's been in these sorts of grand tales, and I'm excited to see where he goes from here.
Iceman #1: As happy as I am for "Iceman" to be on the stands again, I feel like Grace still is struggling to find his voice. In the previous iteration of this title, he had down Bobby's personality but the plots left something to be desired. Here, the plotting is much better. Bobby and Bishop manage to prevent the second Mutant Massacre when they foil Sinister's plan to purge mutantkind of mutants who don't look like Bobby. In fact, Grace really explores both pretty and white privilege here as the anti-Morlock mutants exalt Bobby as the ideal mutant. Who better than a handsome white guy to convince humans that mutants aren't all that bad? Of course, after seeing what he's seen over the course of his lifetime, Bobby isn't buying it, and it sets him on a collision course with Sinister that promises to test his Omega-level powers. But, it's hard not to find this Bobby obnoxious. It's one thing to portray Bobby as a jokester, it's another thing to portray him as a man trying to be a teenager. It plays into the stereotype of gay men as stuck in a perpetual adolescence, something Bobby is too experienced to be. As much as I want to like this series, I also don't want to be party to Bobby becoming a caricature of gay men.
Infinity Wars #3: This issue isn't bad per se, but Gamora's decision to fold the Universe in half seems motivated solely to generate tie-in issues. She's allegedly doing it to distract the heroes so she has time to go the God Quarry and discover why she can't see beyond the Quarry. But, it seems a somewhat extreme remedy to that problem. After all, if she's omnipotent and omniscient, couldn't she find an easier way to distract them? Moreover, I don't get what Duggan is trying to say about the Soul Gem. Loki mentions the Soul Gem is merely a door, so I guess that means "our" Universe is behind it. But, if "our" Universe is essentially in the Soul Gem, what exists outside it? It sounds like Devondra's hunger will eventually be sated, at which point the Soul Gem will be healed (for reasons that aren't clear to me) and a new reality will emerge (for reasons that aren't clear to me). Moreover, it's hard to understand Gamora's motivation here. Last issue, her soul was made whole, but for some reason she now wants to rebalance the Soul Gem. Couldn't she just call it a day? Or is she trying to prevent Devondra from successfully eating our Universe? Duggan implies it's because she's gone insane with power, but he never actually makes that clear. It's why this event feels so hollow, like you can see behind the set at a musical. At the very least, I didn't get sucked into all the tie-in issues for this one.
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #309: This issue concludes one of the best two-and-done arcs I've ever read. Zdarsky seemed to be gearing for a significant arc, with all the mysterious time-travel allusions last issue. But, he wraps up everything neatly here. We learn a Sandman from an alternate Universe took advantage of Spidey opening up that multiversal door while fighting the Vedomi to travel to "our" reality. He seizes control of "our" Sandman to avoid the end of his Universe. (In the process, we learn our Sandman's consciousness resides in one grain of sand.) Our Sandman discovers that he can somehow transfer his powers to another person, so he empowers Spidey to fight the other Sandman. (I'll admit this part makes the least sense, even if it's cool.) This fight is tailor made for Chris Bachalo; it's one of the best fight scenes I've ever seen. Spidey calls on Ben and Johnny for help, and Johnny arrives with the Multisect just in time to save him from the alternate Sandman. When the dust (heh) settles, Sandman thanks Spidey for the save. He's understandably disturbed to learn that he's not really human anymore and that he may very well live forever. Is there a Zdarsky-penned "Sandman" title in our future? Because I'd buy it. Otherwise, I just continue to love this series and everything Zdarsky and now Bachalo are doing with it. It reminds me of the best parts of "Brand New Day."
X-Men: Blue #35: Bunn does a great job here articulating what I've been feeling over the last few issues. I'll admit it feels weirdly anti-climatic that he presents the kids as having decided to return to the past, as I can't really put my finger on the moment when they made that decision. Bunn seems to argue they accepted the inevitability of their return and it's as good of a time as any, but we never really see them get to that epiphany. Maybe it was Magneto's defection to the Dark Side (again) that made them realize they're tired of fighting a fight that isn't their fight. At any rate, Bunn does a great job of showing how Bobby and Scott will suffer the most from returning home. Bobby, Sr. tells Bobby, Jr. at least he'll get to come out of the closet on his own terms, as opposed to Jean outing him. But, that's not really true, given Bobby, Jr. essentially outed Bobby, Sr. But, Bobby, Jr. hits the nose on the head when he says he feels awesome now; he's not comforted by the idea he'll eventually be awesome. Plus, Scott has to accept the fact that it really is suicide for him; it feels that way for everyone else, but they at least have an adult counterpart. He will die. But, Bunn doesn't dwell on that too much. In fact, he has Hank specifically say it's Bobby who suffers the worse fate, because they really are destroying the people they've become and he's gone the farthest (even if it came form Jean's intervention). If anything, I'm disappointed it's Brisson and not Bunn who'll wrap up the kids' story, but it is what it is, I guess.
Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #5; Darth Vader #21; Detective Comics #988; The Weatherman #4; Ms. Marvel #34
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