Not-Very-New Comics!: The April 10 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Age of X-Man:  The Marvelous X-Men #3:  We’re halfway through this event, and I’m still not quite sure what story Marvel is telling here.  At this stage, we seem to have two main conflicts:  Apocalypse is calling for the mutants of this reality to embrace love, and X-Man is struggling to keep his hold on everyone.  Even the other two series I’m reading — "Prisoner X" and "The X-Tremists" — are focused on these two conflicts.  But, the larger point isn’t particularly clear to me.  The original Age of Apocalypse was exciting because you got to see familiar characters making different decisions and living different lives based on their new shared history.  Plus, Bishop was starting to remember his past, which would allow him to undo Legion's assassination of Professor X.  It all came together as you watched the X-Men, different as they now were, sacrifice themselves for a better world.  In Age of X-Man, X-Man is making everyone live these different lives, so it's a lot less interesting.  Plus, the scope of the differences is narrower:  it’s pretty much just the same people arguing over love with a script they've been handed.  Moreover, at this stage, no one's even really trying to return them to reality, as Bishop was in Age of Apocalypse.  Magneto comes the closest at least to discovering the truth, as he realizes that they all seem to be aware of memories of a previous life, one that might be the real one.  But, he doesn't really do anything with this insight; he still commits to confronting Apocalypse at the Xavier Day event in London.  The only theme I can tease from these issues is a critique of the majority's predisposition to embracing authority, but I'm not sure that's really all that interesting in the way it's presented here, since, again, no one is consciously making that decision.

Avengers:  No Road Home #9-#10:  Man, this series flew right off the rails.  The last few issues haven't been great, as the authors have let the story wander.  But, we never really return to a clear path.  It turns out it wasn't about Hercules seeking redemption or the Hulk seeking power.  It was about...Marvel's 80th anniversary?  Throughout the series, the authors gave conflicting motivations for Nyx.  In issue #9, she says it's revenge, but didn't she get that when she (easily) murdered all the Olympian gods?  In issue #10, she seeks to remake the Universe without light, but never seems to understand that she'd rule over a dead Universe.  Then, it all collapses under its own weight when Nyx inexplicably discovers the house that she's seen several times is the "House of Ideas."  Vision follows her through the doors, and he uses his imagination to defeat her, sending team after team of Avengers at her.  Of course, the authors never have Nyx use her imagination to fight fire with fire:  after a few millennia in Zeus' jail cell, you would've figure she'd have thought up some sort of tortures she could've deployed to save herself.  Moreover, Vision acknowledges that he didn't kill Nyx; she's essentially just...gone?  I get the House of Ideas reference like every other kid who read Marvel comics in the 1970s and 1980s.  But, I honestly have no idea why the authors weaved it in here.  It made the series feel like one of those promotional comics you used to get in that era, like when the X-Men were inexplicably shilling for Pizza Hut.  (I totally made my parents go to Pizza Hut for that reason, obviously.)  Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, we then get everything essentially ret-conned, as the Olympian gods are now essentially Flash Gordoned with their Buck Rogers fashions?  I mean, we even end with Hercules standing facing the camera, if you will, despite the fact he's actually shaking someone's hand.  Ugh.  "Avengers:  No Surrender" was a fun romp with a great cast, and I'm sad that its successor series turned out so mediocre.

Invaders #1-#4:  This story is very, very different from the ones I’m used to reading from Chip Zdarsky, but I am very much not complaining.  It’s really one of the more gripping treatments of Namor and, frankly, Cap, that I’ve read in a long time.  This series continues the story started in “Avengers,” with Namor preparing for his war on the surface world.  But, it goes to all new places.

In the first issue, Namor brings a group of secessionist Atlantean militants to heel, using his newfound powers over water to awe them into servitude.  On the surface, Jim Hammond is writing a book about the Invaders.  After interviewing Cap, he travels to Maine to visit Randall Johnson, one of the soldiers who served in their support unit.  In flashbacks, we see the Invaders dealing with the aftermath of a battle where a few members of their support unit, including a kid named Tommy, died.  Namor was particularly close to Tommy, and we see him engaging in his usual terrible behavior in the days after Tommy's death to avoid dealing with the loss.  Equally usual, we see Steve convince Namor to grieve.  These stories collide in a brilliant way at the end:  in a flashback, we learn that Tommy’s last name was Machan (from his dog tags), the same name as Namor’s consigliere.  Then, through the eyes of the defeated separatists, we learn only Namor can see Machan.  Dun-dun-DUN!  In one fell swoop, Zdarsky ups the ante, as we’re now dealing with Mad King Namor.  These sorts of reveals are usually cheesy as hell, but Zdarsky built to this moment beautifully; it was legitimately chilling.

The other main development is issue #1 is Jim stumbling upon a photo of Namor, during the period after the war where he was amnesiac, standing with Charles Xavier.  Randall’s daughter Nay (named after Namor) hastens to cover up the photo, and Jim is now reasonably suspicious about it.  Meanwhile, in issue #2, Cap tries to confront Namor, which goes as poorly as expected; but, he also catches a glimpse of Hydro-Man, understanding Namor’s newfound powers.  We learn Cap’s confrontation was just a ruse so Bucky had time to root through Namor’s room.  (Tricky, tricky Steve.)  Meeting with Cap and Jim later, Bucky reveals that Namor’s making a bomb to exterminate humanity.  Meanwhile, Nay signals for Namor, grateful for everything he’s apparently done for her son.  Namor is unconcerned about Steve and company exploring his past with Charles, seeing it as a wild-goose chase, but he encourages Nay to destroy all the other evidence. But, Zdarsky raises the stakes here as “Machan” encourages Namor to kills the Johnsons and rid himself of the liability.

Everything goes from bad to worse in issue #3.  Cap informs the Avengers, and, despite Tony seeking to confront Namor immediately, Cap is reasonably certain T’Challa will give him the space he needs to try to reason with Namor on his own.  He and Hammond travel to the naval base working on underwater warfare, established to address the threat that the U.S. government (correctly) sees Namor as posing.  The base’s commander is appalled when Cap informs her that the base may be in danger but then asks her not to attack Namor.  Zdarsky does a great job here, as it’s getting harder and harder to side with Steve and his desire to reason with Namor, particularly if you’re not aware of his fragile mental state.  But, the visit is again revealed as a ruse as Bucky tries to sabotage the bomb that the base is developing, because it has the raw materials that Namor needs for his bomb.  Bucky recruits a lab worker to help him while Cap takes selfies with the base’s enlisted men.  But, Zdarsky doesn’t stick his head in the sand here:  one of the soldiers confronts Cap over his connection to the Supreme Commander, noting that the heroes play at gods while they watch their friends die.  It’s a moving moment, and Cap has no response.  It’s a perfect companion to what Coates is doing in “Captain America,” showing the lack of trust the world is starting to have in its “heroes.”  Cap and Jim then visit Randall, who tells Cap that Namor thought that he cured the “oxygen imbalance” that previously explained his “temperament.”  But, Randall somewhat convincingly argues that Namor has no true home but war and needs Cap’s help.  But, Nay has again signaled Namor, and he attacks, flinging Cap into the ocean.  Jim rushes to save him, while Randall confronts Namor.  Namor now seems more concerned about the Xavier connection, and Randall asks if he’s willing to destroy all the evidence, namely Randall and Nay.  Randall then unexpectedly dies of a heart attack.  His last words show his worry about who is going to save Namor now that he's gone, and it seems likely that his death will just push Namor further over the edge.  But, it does make Nay realize that she needs to help Cap and Jim.

She does so in issue #4.  We learn that Namor spent long periods of time with the Johnsons, interrupted by periods where he returned to Atlantis.  He was tormented by his memories of the war during this period.  Then, Charles Xavier arrived.  It was the time before he created Cerebro, so the only way he could find other mutants was to be near them.  Charles recruits Namor to help him find mutants like them.  Zdarsky makes it clear that it’s the cocky, reckless Xavier that we're getting here; he specifically mentions how the term homo superior unnerved Jim, but Xavier had his “hooks” in Namor.  (Knowing Charles, he probably was telepathically manipulating him.)  But, to Namor’s frustration, they fail in finding new mutants.  (There’s a great scene of them walking in the woods with Wolverine using his claws to hide in a tree above them.)  But, they finally encounter one, a young man who had been turning animals into humans (who still acted like cats and dogs, drawing a certain amount of attention to the town).  Charles is thrilled, seeing him as using his ability to change species to create more mutants.  Namor rightly calls Charles an idiot, predicting that they’ll use him to exterminate mutants.  It all becomes moot when the cops kill him after he turns one of them into a cat.  Namor is enraged and attacks the cops.  Charles, in what will become a long line of brilliant moves, invades Xavier’s mind, creating a telepathic version of Tommy to serve as Namor’s in-mind therapist, since he trusted him.  But, Namor resists, and Tommy instead becomes Machan, urging him to win the war.  (Thanks, Charles.)  From there, the story continues as we know it.  Namor eventually regained his memories and returned to the Johnson’s, taking Nay’s son Roman under his wing.  In the present, we see the consequences of that.  The lab technician shoots Bucky in the head with the gun that he (pretty stupidly) gave her in issue #3, revealing that she’s working with Roman...who’s working at the base.  Unaware of Bucky’s plight, Cap and Jim head out looking for a telepath who might be able to heal Namor.

In other words, wow.  I haven't read this sort of tightly scripted thrilled since I think Bucky's time as Captain America.  Zdarsky isn't giving us brightly spandexed heroes here, but complex humans trying to do the right thing even though they're not entirely sure that they are.  It's a great story, and I recommend for anyone.

West Coast Avengers #10:  I am devastated this series is ending.  It was such an amazing breath of fresh air, full of feelings and fun and heart.  I am glad Thompson was able to advance the story of Kate's mom, and I totally bought the idea that her evil father somehow turned her into a vampire.  I somewhat less bought the idea that Johnny and Noh-Varr were suddenly in love (or, more accurately, in lust with another).  The sitcomesque group laugh after Kate wondered if she had ever dated anyone straight was funny, I guess?  But, you could tell it was rushed, and that devastates me, because this series deserved so much more.  I can't believe I'm not going to see Jeff the Landshark happily sitting in Quentin's lap anymore.  [Sigh.]  Kelly Thompson continues to be one of the best assets that Marvel has, and I hope Marvel finds something awesome to give her.  Paging a Young Avengers reboot, anyone?

X-Force #6:  In this issue, Hopeless really manages to unify a lot of threads from numerous stories not just over the last few months, but over the last few years.  He essentially uses the events of "Extermination" to reboot Cable, Stryfe, and their shared history entirely.

The core struggle between them remains the same as it was in the 1990s:  Apocalypse groomed Stryfe to take his essence, but he recanted when he realized Stryfe was Nathan's clone.  Stryfe believes himself to be the original Nathan, and he and Nathan go to war, causing destruction all around them.  Stryfe laments that destruction in this issue, wondering in his own megalomaniacal way how everything went so wrong.  (He's essentially mad he rules over a dead world.)  We learn that he and Clan Chosen are essentially at a standstill, and he's in desperate need of soldiers to gain the upper hand.  He gets that opportunity when a brief temporal storm leads the MLF to Nathan's headquarters and then to their journey into the past to find Cable.  Stryfe recognizes his chance in Transnia, providing its leaders with futuristic weapons in exchange for them giving mutants refuge.  The Transnians unknowingly then give him his army as he convinces the mutants to follow him into the future to live in the mutant Utopia that he's promised.  But, he then engineers the deaths of dozens of the refugees in transit to said Utopia, claiming that the same forces of oppression in the future destroyed the transport.  The refugees then rally to his cause.  Moreover, while in Transnia, he learns that its leaders have not only captured Ahab but also Rachel, and Stryfe brings her into the future with him.  In said future, Clan Chosen has been reconstituted after Nathan successfully ended the temporal storm when he returned the original X-Men to the past.  Clan Chosen is trying to find Cable when Rachel and her fellow hound attack.  In the present, Stryfe informs Kid Cable that he's captured Clan Chosen, has Mother Askani, and plans to have his MLF kill X-Force (whose assess they're kicking) if he doesn't surrender.  He does, and into the future they go.  If you're a fan of the 1990s stories about Cable and Stryfe, as I am, it's hard to be disappointed here.  Hopeless gets the, well, hopelessness of their relationship.  I'm hoping (heh) in the subsequent issues he examines the core struggle of identity that lies at the heart of their story.  But, for now, I'm a happy camper.

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #19; Star Wars:  Age of Rebellion - Princess Leia #1