Astonishing X-Men #15: I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about this series rubs me the wrong way. I mean, I like where Rosenberg is going with the idea the team is full of rejects: Kitty disavows them publicly, they have to take a bus instead of jetting everywhere in a Blackbird, etc. It's not only funny but it also puts them in situations we don't often see. How would a superhero team function if a wealthy patron wasn't paying the bills? Moreover, I'm enjoying angry and drunk Alex; he's super fun here, in a "total mess" kind of way. (Maybe he can drunkenly go bi-curious with Bobby?) But, I'm not sure I'm buying everything else. First, we have some odd character beats, like Proudstar being chatty and Dazzler calling Beast fat. Then, I'm still not sure I get what O.N.E. wants with the Reavers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a child of the ‘80s, so I love me some Reavers. But, I almost feel l like I missed an issue when it comes to their connection. When you add in the Greg Land porn poses, the series has some weaknesses that I hope get addressed because it also has potential.
Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #23: I'm totally on board with what David is doing here, so it's weird that I don't really seem to care. I mean, I love the twist here, with Mephisto killing Abigail by tricking Cassandra and Peter into thinking he was an immortal Abigail traveling back from the future with only one wish: to die. Of course, he goes one better and then implants false memories into Cassandra's and Slate's minds, making them believe Ben let Abigail die so he could sell the cure to a major pharmaceutical company. If Ben survives an hour, Mephisto will restore their (still fake, but better for Ben) memories! Hurrah! But, 23 issues into this series, I still feel like I don't really know Ben. Slott turned him into an entirely different character than the one we all knew and loved, but David hasn't really done much to give us any additional insight into his thinking. The entire series feels a lot more shallow than the typical David story, as if David doesn't really know who he wants Ben to be. As such, he just jumps from crisis to crisis. He doesn't really have a life or any supporting characters (other than possibly Kaine) who care about him. In fact, David seems just to tell the same story about trying to cure Abigail over and over again, a far cry from the road epic I thought we were going to get when this series started. In other words: meh?
Captain America #3: Coates is really on fire here as he shows how an entity called Power Enterprises stepped into the vacuum HYDRA left in fly-over country. At a street fair, Steve chats up an average Joe (henceforth, Average Joe, like the gym). He describes what his life used to be like: unemployed, wife on disability, son on drugs. Then, HYDRA came and did what the government couldn’t: reopened the mines, improved the schools, got people healthy. It’s morning in America, according to Average Joe. When HYDRA collapsed, Power Enterprises took over that role. But, Steve knows better: he entered the mines and discovered the "miners" were just moving around dirt. Later, he and T’Challa discuss how easy it is for the people to look the other way with their belief in how life is realized. (Steve also hypothesizes HYDRA got rid of anyone that would’ve caused problems.) With the remaining residents of the town blissfully satisfied, Power Enterprises has a great place to operate: the empty mine below the town houses Zeke Stane’s base, where he’s creating his army of Nukes. T’Challa briefs Steve on the Power Elite: they’re a coterie of criminals (including Stane) who fought HYDRA, so they enjoy influence in the new Washington. Steve and T'Challa discover someone in Washington is Stane’s handler, and I’m guessing it’s General Ross, who sees America in similar terms as Average Joe. Meanwhile, Sharon finds herself face-to-face with Selene in Albania, an interesting development to say the least. Honest, Coates is really telling a classic -- in all senses -- Captain America story. He’s really working through the thought experiment of what America would look like after a hostile takeover. (Actually exploring the aftermath of an event alone earns him a medal.) He explores the winners and losers, both within the government and outside it. Moreover, he has sympathy for Average Joe’s plight, but this sympathy has limits: Joe clearly only cares about what he gets, without wondering who paid for it. It’s a political story, but it’s not a partisan one. In fact, it underscores the challenge politicians have in this environment, where compromise is virtually impossible since no one wants to give up anything. Whereas I find myself bored with most of the other marquee titles right now, Coates is making “Captain America” a must-read one.
Nightwing #48: I totally dig the premise of this issue, because Dick Grayson definitely lends himself to a story about a secret cosmic motocross race. In fact, I feel like Percy rushed us too quickly into the story, as I would've enjoyed Dick doing his best Han Solo in the pubs before the race. We know two of the racers -- Flamingo and Professor Pyg in an ode to "Batman" #666 -- but Dick barely has time to register for the race before it begins, so we don't really know anyone else. It feels like a missed opportunity, but only because I dig the premise so much. But, the main problem is the fact this story ties into the larger Wyrm story. Dick informs us he's racing for his "friends" Vicki Vale and Willem Cloke (a sign Dick seems to use "friends" loosely). If he wins, he gets to ask Cimialcinnus, the Celtic deity of paths, a question. But, he apparently has to hack into Cimialcinnus' "techno-mythological" altar instead as part of his deal with Wyrm. (I don't really remember Wyrm asking him to do so, but there you go.) Dick's plan seems to be just to ride and hope he can figure out a way to avoid hacking into the altar as he goes. To make matters worse, DC has inserted Silencer into the issue. They've been pushing her heavily for months and for some reason she's here to kill Dick. All these twists just weigh down what could've been a pretty great story. I guess we'll see if Percy can stick the landing.
Star Wars #53: This issue is spectacular. It has everything you could possibly want. Han and Luke enjoy some banter, but then they get to work. Luke uses the fireworks rig from the commissioning ceremony to show Ackbar any ship broadcasting a Rebel signal can open the flight doors, getting the fleet back into action. Han is uncharacteristically all business here, and it’s a side of him we’ve never really seen. He and Chewie manage to crash-land the Falcon on one of the cruisers, and he immediately demands a ship to rejoin the fight. Gillen is really showing Han to be the hero he is when no one is looking. Meanwhile, Leia’s guilt eventually overwhelms her. When one of the hackers discovers the override codes are on the Executor, Leia impersonates Trios to get on board the ship, since the Imperials don’t know she bailed in an escape pod. The only problem is Vader has her dock in his own private hanger. The Rebels accompanying her then blast their way through the support staff as Vader approaches the ship. If the opening arc of this series felt like “Star Wars” 1.5, this arc feels like “Star Wars” 1.75. If Disney had any idea what it was doing, it would use this plot as the basis for the next movie.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual #2: This issue is nothing but fun. Throughout the issue, Spurrier keeps you guessing what Aphra's angle is and the reveal doesn't disappoint. He also introduces us to two characters that feel ripe for a miniseries or spin-off series. Aphra has shown Disney that this galaxy far, far away can tell stories outside the Skywalker saga, so I hope they embrace that lesson with Winloss and Nokk.
Also Read: Avengers #7; Batman #54; X-Men: Gold #35
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