Amazing Spider-Man #10: Spencer clearly hated exactly the same things about Slott's run as I did as he changes one of Slott's most egregious characterization crimes in this issue: Felicia is thankfully on the side of angels again. (I'm just going to overlook Peter overlooking her crimes, like I do with Batman overlooking Red Hood's.) More interestingly, she pins her fall into evil as starting when she realized she no longer knew who Peter was under the mask. (Apparently Spencer also had issues with Quesada as well.) Moved by her insistence they meant something once, Peter unmasks himself to her, a moment that validates her importance not just to him but to us, the fans, as well. I'll admit Spencer is still struggling to get a definitive bead on Peter as a character, veering seemingly randomly from excessively chipper to downright maudlin. But, he definitely secures my patience as he fixes yet another wrong perpetrated on Peter and his supporting cast during "Brand New Day" and its hangover.
Darth Vader #24: Soule does a great job here of not delaying Vader's crossing into the Force for too long, but long enough to make it suspenseful. Momin's betrayal of Vader allows the indigenous Mustafarian forces time to marshal an attack, forcing Vader to re-focus his efforts on securing the fortress. Soule takes the extra step of showing Vader successfully rallying his rattled troops into battle, a reminder that the Stormtroopers don't follow Vader from a place of fear so much as awe. The Mustafarians seem to get the upper hand as they use the lava to wipe out the Imperials. Vader only survives in a display of badass-ery that recalls his origins: as we see him leaping from the lava and burning on the shores once again, it's clear it isn't going to end well for the Mustafarians. Once he vanquishes them, he makes fairly short work of a surprised Momin. I have to be honest, I understand why Momin would arrogantly assume his superiority to Vader, since he just managed to pull off a millennia-long plan to resurrect himself. But, Vader is Vader, and he uses this arrogance against Momin, clearing the way for his own crossing into the Force. I'm intrigued where Soule is going here. One of my hopes for this series since Day #1 was that the authors would explore Vader before he became the (seemingly) irredeemably villain he was in "Star Wars." I have to wonder if his presumed "reunion" with Padme doesn't push him farther along that spectrum, something I'd be excited to see.
Marvel 2-in-One #12: Zdarsky ends this series on a high note, with Johnny showing how much he's matured since the team began. After all, Ben, Reed, and Sue all lied to him to protect his feelings, and Johnny argues they treated him like a child in so doing. His call for them to be better about sharing their pain forces everyone, the reader included, to reassess their view of him. But, he also shows his maturity by forgiving them. Zdarksy did such an excellent job on this title and "Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man" that it's hard to believe Marvel would allow his run on either one to end. At least Zdarsky had the chance to wrap up some of the emotional loose ends from Reed and Sue's disappearance, particularly as Slott has already moved onto the wedding in the main title. I still think we (and Johnny) deserve a better explanation from Reed and Sue, but at least we get this moment here.
Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2: This issue is spectacular. McGuire pours his heart and soul into this issue and it shows. This issue clears the high bar "Edge of Spider-Verse" #2 set in terms of presenting a fully realized world containing clearly drawn characters. For really the first time I can remember, someone presents us a intuitively believable vision of Peter Parker if he hadn't become Spider-Man. In a way, it feels like McGuire is finishing the work Latour started with our Gwen's Peter, since we never really meet him. This Peter is the nerd he was destined to be. He created the radioactive spider that bit Harry, turning Harry into Spider-Man. Gwen is also the scientist she was supposed to be. After Harry became Spider-Man, she created the Goblin outfit based on her work with bio-feedback circuitry at Oscorp (where she and Peter were interning). Peter and Mary Jane play the supporting roles here, but it all goes tragically wrong when Gwen accidentally kills her father in a fight she and Harry are having with Sandman. Her moment of distraction gives Sandman time to kill Harry and an ensuing explosion fuses Gwen with her suit. She's now only the Goblin, and Peter and Mary Jane are frantically trying to find a way to save her when our Gwen appears. McGuire is at his best when he shows Peter as totally desperate to save his friends; it's an echo of our Peter, but in a world where the sorrows he's known have overwhelmed him. He's not funny or quippy, just focused and serious. He unapologetically blackmails our Gwen into helping them by saying their Gwen is the only person who can help her fix her Web-Warriors' watch. Our Gwen seems to suspect he's lying as much as we do. McGuire really conveys Gwen's desperation here, as she's aware her friends could be dying as she's delayed in this Universe. But, Gwen decides to throw in her lot with Peter and Mary Jane, clearly moved in party by their plight. It's this sort of realistic characterization that makes this issue so gripping. I can't wait to see where we go from here.
Uncanny X-Men #3: This issue is an improvement over the last two issues, though I can't say I'm enthusiastic about where we're going here. After the X-Men in Montana make short work of the rampaging dinosaurs, they fly to Kansas to help the other X-Men take on the Madrox horde. Jean and Psylocke are able to shut down the dupes' minds, and they discover Jamie Prime beaten and locked in the basement. (The authors make no comment at all on the fact Jamie Prime is supposed to be dead, so it's unclear to me if it's the real Jamie Prime or the megalomaniacal Jamie Prime from the "Multiple Man" mini-series. Also, where's Layla?) Jamie reveals Legion beat him repeatedly to create dupes into which he could stash his personalities. (I guess those dupes were the ones the X-Men just defeated?) It's still unclear why they were all looking for Kitty Pryde, but, if I'm guessing, it's because Legion was looking at her. He wanted to warn the X-Men of the coming of the Four Horsemen of Salvation: Angel, Blob, Magneto, and Omega Red. It seems clear they're working for X-Man, but we're not going to get there until next issue (at least). Instead, Magneto, the so-called Horseman of Peace, destroys the X-Mansion, because his goal is to take out anyone who creates war (i.e., the X-Men.) Um, OK, I guess? It all still feels like a mess, but at least we're getting closer to answers here.
Also Read: Detective Comics #993; Fantastic Four #4; Old Man Hawkeye #11; Return of Wolverine #3
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