Batman #63: This arc reminds me of a plotline from "Calvin and Hobbes." Bill Watterson was having Calvin wordlessly grow larger and larger, to the point where he was a lone figure towering above planets and then galaxies. In one of the collected editions, Watterson explained he planned to keep the shtick going for weeks to test the readers' patience, but then realized it was a terrible idea to do that and stopped. King didn't seem to learn that lesson. Here, we have yet another a dream sequence, as John Constantine explores life with Bruce and Selena if she didn't leave him at the altar. Of course, it's not Constantine; he's just a figure that Bruce's sub-conscious has seemingly created to tell him he's hooked to a machine whose operator wants to drive him insane. The problem isn't just that we have three more issues of this craziness, but Janín's art reminds us of the good ol' days of Bruce and Selena before King set fire to everything. I think it's fair to say I'm enduring this series at this point.
Guardians of the Galaxy #1: I went into this issue with a certain amount of trepidation, because I've been down this road many times with the Guardians. We get a great first few issues filled with Peter at his charming best, but the series grows stale quickly. I wouldn't mind if the Guardians just bounced from job to job, leaning into Peter as a surrogate for Han Solo. But, the previous series have been way too focused on the weirder aspects of the Guardians' personal lives, from Peter's Spartax heritage to Drax and Garmora's tragic backstories.
The good news is this series legitimately seems different. For one part, Cates gives them a raison d'être immediately. On Titan, Starfox has gathered together the galaxy's greatest heroes -- or, at least, the ones with a slightly skewed moral compass -- for a reading of Thanos' last will and testament. Thanos reveals that he's transferred his consciousness into someone else's body, and Starfox wants the heroes to take out the most likely candidates, starting with Gamora. But, the meeting is disrupted when the Black Order attacks. They steal Thanos' headless body and detonate a bomb that rips a hole in the fabric of space-time. Beta Ray Bill is able to hurl his hammer through the hole just as all the heroes are sucked into it.
Meanwhile, Peter is a drunk at this point, wandering the galaxy with only Groot as a companion. He brings them to Knowhere to keep his bender going, but they're surprised to discover Knowhere is gone. (We know from the attack on the heroes that the Black Order is using it as a base of operations.) After a chat with some Nova Corps guardians, he's preparing to depart when Bill's hammer finds him. Bill has managed to attach a rope to it, dragging Cosmic Ghost Rider, Moondragon, and Phyla-Vell with him from the other side. Before the Nova Corps can take them into custody for questioning, Peter makes them part of his crew, forcing the Corps to get a warrant if they want to interview them.
It's a clever moment, made all the more fun because this entire sequence reads like a police procedural. This approach gives the series the sort of underpinning it's long been missing, but the "Star Wars" comics have. Part of the importance of making it clear the galaxy actually does have a certain structure is so that you can appreciate when the Guardians rebel against it, as Peter does here. It also gets us a new cast with a mission. Even if we're going to find Drax, Gamora, and Rocket at some point, it's a fresh start that I think this team really needs.
Lando #1-#5: I didn't catch this mini-series when it was first published, but I'm glad I found it now. Of all the prequel "Star Wars" mini-series, this one is the most interesting, because it shows Lando in a very different place. For example, Leia is Leia in her prequel mini-series: she's noble to a fault. Han, in both his prequel mini-series and "Solo: A Star Wars Adventure," is explicitly portrayed as the good guy we've always known him to be, even if he didn't. But, Lando really is a scoundrel here. Here's a little more mature than the guy we saw in "Solo: A Star Wars Adventure," but he's definitely more callous than the guy we eventually come to know in "Empire Strikes Back." People die frequently in Lando's schemes, and he seems disinclined to care. Here, when an old friend turns out being the bounty hunter the Emperor has sent after him (because Lando has inadvertently stolen his pleasure craft), Lando doesn't even consider the danger into which she's putting herself by helping him. When all three of his accomplices are killed (one at his hand), he barely blinks. But, it's when Lobot sacrifices himself (or, at least, his personality) to save Lando that Lando faces a crossroads, at last. Lobot beseeches him to lead, noting Lando's "luck" comes from the people who naturally flock to him. It recalls "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" perfectly and, most importantly, shows an evolution that feels natural. It's a great read; I highly recommend it.
Star Wars #60: This issue didn't go where I expected it to go. I thought we were going to see Luke take out Kreel, but instead Tula sends him running to a graveyard...to meet her father. It turns out Markona had been testing them the entire time. He saw the Death Star as the Empire's test, and Han, Leia, and Luke's behavior as his guests was the Rebellion's test. (Apparently, Luke didn't fail Markona's test when he activated the transmitter; he passed it, because it proved he was willing to do what he had to do to advance the cause.) It's also clear Markona feels guilty for whatever job he did for the Empire that earned him the moon; if I had to guess, it seems like the data he swiped helped build the Death Star. At any rate, Markona sacrifices himself to delay Scar Squadron while Tula leads the rest of the clan, Sana, and the gang to escape.
Uncanny X-Men Annual #1: This issue is pretty solid, to be honest. Brisson does a surprisingly good job of showing how young Cable resurrected Cyclops. It involves the untold story of Cyclops saving a MIT student from a mad scientist, an obscure "Secret Avengers" issue, and a now-canon scene from "Phoenix Resurrection" #5. But, you know, it actually works, mostly. Most importantly, young Cable tests this new Cyclops, forcing him to choose between saving the now-grown MIT student from the now-free mad scientists and helping the X-Men in their confrontation with Nate Grey. Brisson uses this decision to show how Scott recognizes his actions as a villain were wrong; Scott explains to Nate that he was so distraught over the plight of mutantkind that he couldn't stop himself from using the same tactics their enemies did. I'm glad to see Marvel putting Scott on the right path. (He saves the MIT student.) I mean, don't get me wrong, I was impressed with how carefully they moved him to the villain role over years and years of storytelling. That storyline was a credit to the fans, where we didn't just have Scott wake up one day as a bad guy. He made his decisions based on his experiences and embraced the consequences. But, it's also OK for him to acknowledge that he went too far. Mostly, I'm just excited it means we're going to have a '90s era feel to the line sometime soon, with the gang all together again.
The Wild Storm #19: Ellis more or less puts all his cards on the table here, using a variety of characters to explain the background of the Khera's war with the Daemons. It isn't the most exciting issue as a result of all the exposition, but Ellis does his best to keep us engaged.
We begin with Jenny Sparks explaining her history to Angie, the Doctor, and the Mayor. She was part of the Skywatch team that settled Mars in 1955. The original group of settlers died of cancer within the first 18 months, revealing to Skywatch they had to place the colonies underground. (Jenny notes they should've been underground anyway, given Skywatch's need for secrecy and civilians' ability to use telescopes to see the Martian surface.) Jenny quits Skywatch where she returns because it was "full of maniacs," something that got worse when Bendix took the reins and believed he could basically terraform the solar system. ("If Skywatch weren't above being seen, and could really go for it, you could walk around Mars in a breath mask and jacket in fifteen years.") Jenny notes the treaties between IO and Skywatch kept everything in check, but Angie broke that truce when she used her hybrid IO-Skywatch suit to save Marlowe. Angie informs the group Marlowe is also a "space alien with his own covert operations team," which eventually leads the Doctor to confront her council.
Before we get there, we get a new version of Midnighter (now African-American) and Apollo (now a brunette). They're in bed together watching a video of a guy explaining how he saw lights in the sky 30 miles away and then a whole town disappeared. Midnighter refuses to believe Skywatch is that brazen and supposes Apollo wants to investigate. But, Apollo observes Midnighter was the one who insisted they didn't go after Skywatch until they were ready. Of course Apollo then lists all the times Midnighter has gone after Skywatch because he can't "keep it in the holster." Midnighter reminds Apollo they'd have to investigate at night, which isn't Apollo's strong suit, but Apollo dismisses his concern, saying he can just save up a good solar charge before they go. (I'm sure we'll get a sexy shot of him sunbathing at some point.) Midnighter jokingly asks Apollo why he loves him, and Apollo responds that he "blew up a secret experimental station in the middle of nowhere" so he could escape "an evil space empire" for him.
Meanwhile, the Doctor goes to the Hospital and demands to know more about the aliens Angie mentioned. The Council reluctantly agrees. They explain that the Khera have five types of species, "highly specialized sibling species in a single society." Marlowe is Emp, a feudal lord from a species with a serious Napoleon complex. The Khera travel the Universe looking for a client species to serve as their slaves to "forward escape," or transfer their entire species to a new Universe where maintaining life is easier. ("This is a cold universe. There is very little life in it. It's very hard to stay alive.") The Council isn't sure how exactly they plan to pull off the "escape," but they assume they need an entire planet of sentient beings, since presumably they would've just used robot slaves if that worked. Marlowe was surprised when he learned the Daemons were already on Earth. They also seek to help Earth move past the Gaian Bottleneck, but for more altruistic reasons, to get them to an autonomous culture. The Khera are apparently unaware of the Daemons' Shaper Engine, the device they use to help a species evolve and survive, namely by creating defense mechanisms like Jenny Sparks. In-fighting among the Khera as well as Daemon resistance eventually result in a disillusioned Emp scuttling the Khera's vessel and abandoning their mission. His goal is now more in line with the Daemons', seeking to transform humanity into a companion, not client, species worthy of sharing the Universe with the Khera. However, the Council warns the Doctor that Marlowe isn't as smart as he thinks, and he probably should've just modified the mission not abandon it. The Council tells the Doctor she's going to have to serve as a combat medic.
In other words, Ellis connects a lot of dots here, but we still have a lot of questions. Given the change to his mandate, Emp/Marlowe now more or less agrees with the Daemons, though it's unclear to me if he realizes (or embraces) that. Moreover, I'm not sure what IO or Skywatch really knows about Marlowe. IO sent Michael Cray to kill him in the first issue, but we don't know why. Moreover, how does war between IO and Skywatch complicated Marlowe's and the Daemons' plans for Earth? Ellis has a lot of ground to cover in the last four issues.
Also Read: Avengers #13; Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2; Star Wars: Beckett #1; Star Wars: Han Solo - Imperial Cadet #1-#3
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