Amazing Spider-Man #21: Holy shit, this issue and "Star Wars" #66 make for a fucking intense week. Kraven eventually "rescues" Peter from the horde of Vermins, because they're just a prelude to his actual plan. Said plan is a doozy: to prove Peter is man enough to take on the Hunter, Kraven sets up Peter to rip out Curt Connors' inhibitor chip so the Lizard can, in turn, save Billy (and the Black Cat) from Kraven's son. Yup. To Kraven's mind, Peter is forced to sacrifice his "No One Dies" code (and, by extension, his view of himself as an uncompromising hero) to save Billy and Felicia. I wouldn't necessarily see it that way, but Spencer make a compelling argument that Peter does, and Peter's opinion is obviously the only one that matters. Moreover, on the road to this denouement, Curt and Billy reveal (to Peter and the Black Cat, respectively) that Billy remembers his dad eating him. Oy. As I said, intense. "Hunted" has been cruising on auto-pilot since the Gibbon issue, but Spencer floors it at the right moment. I can't wait to see how it ends.
Batman #71: Reading an issue like this one, I always wonder how exactly it got to be this bad. Yes, some people will continue to interpret (or, to my mind, confuse) King's obtuseness for genius, in the same way that I feel people interpret (or confuse) Hickman's obtuseness for genius. But, this issue goes beyond just the question of whether obtuseness equals genius. In both stories we see here, Bruce isn't Bruce. In both stories, he's spouting phrases that it's impossible to see him saying in any form, from repeatedly telling Bane that he's going to break his "damn back" to busting into a hospital mumbling paranoid dribble about seeing the truth behind Bane. King pretty clearly seems to be building to a reveal where we learn Bruce was right all along and Bane has been running Gotham in secret. But, King has dragged out this story well, well, well beyond any point where I could care. Taking into account that the Bat-family connects Bruce's current state of mind to Catwoman leaving him at the altar, King has functionally been telling this story for almost a year at this point. But, nothing has happened. Sure, maybe Bane, with the help of Bruce's father, is secretly running Gotham from Arkham and Bruce had to escape a machine designed to make him crazy to stop Bane. Or, maybe Bruce has just been...staring at the wall imaging that for the better part of the last year? Even if Bane is engaged in shenanigans, it's been 21 issues and we're not even close to confirming if he is, let alone to getting to the point where Bruce addresses it. I almost literally feel robbed.
Guardians of the Galaxy #5: This series has pleasantly surprised me from the start, but revealing that Thanos chose Eros, not Gamora, for his host was great. First, it makes total sense from a biological standpoint: as Hela says, it had to be a Titan. But, it also makes sense from a characterization standpoint as well, as it's so...cruel. Thanos delights in the fact that Eros thought himself to be a leader finally, assembling a team to do what it needed to do to save the galaxy from Thanos. In the end, he just achieved Thanos' goal of distracting everyone so they couldn't see the truth right in front of them. I'm used to this level of plotting from Aaron and Gillen, but it's nice to see someone like Cates throwing his hat into that ring.
Star Wars #66: Gillen actually gives Trios redemption here, something that I didn't think possible. She attempts to get Kanchar to end his aerial bombardment, but he refuses, committed to killing Leia even if it means killing Trios. (He assumes another "pampered aristocrat" will take the throne, so it's no great loss to the Empire, to his mind.) Trios realizes that she has no other option other than take out Leia and hopefully stop the assault, so she rushes Leia and her squad's position in the throne room. She and Leia have a full-on sword fight, which Leia wins. Trios calls Leia a monster at the start, and Gillen reminds us that she thinks Leia is trying to destroy Shu-Torun. After Leia strikes the killing blow, she explains that she's only trying to disable the Spike. Trios informs Leia that the plan has "gone awry." Leia promises to stop the Partisans, something Han notes might be a tall order. But, Trios' dying words are the best part here. She tells Leia that she fought for Shu-Torun like Leia would've for Alderaan. She curses the fact that she survived the attack on her family and laments that Shu-Torun may be destroyed because of her actions. As she dies, she tells Leia that she believes her and apologizes for making Leia believe her. It's sad. Gillen makes us really feel the weight on Trios' shoulder this entire time, as she was forced to choose between a set of increasingly bad options. The only good news for Trios as she dies is that she's leaving behind a pissed-off Leia committed to saving her planet.
Star Wars: Tie Fighter #2: This issue is interesting not because of anything its usual cast of characters does, but because of the issue's "villain." Shadow Wing finds itself captive after it fails to protect the Star Destroyer that it was supposed to protect and squad leader Broosh surrenders to the assailants. It turns out an Imperial officer, Admiral Gratloe, is running the outfit, hoping to operate a small mining operation outside the Imperials' notice. It's not entirely an enthralling issue, particularly since Shadow Wing goes all do-gooder here, in the sense that they plan on re-claiming the operation for the Empire. But, it does do something that we don't normally see, showing us the expanding chaos in the post-"Return of the Jedi" galaxy. Gratloe just wants to get him some, and I find myself relieved that the Powers That Be in "Star Wars" Land finally show this type of story. In all the galaxy, someone has to try to seize the moment. We often only see this galaxy far, far away through the eyes of ideologically motivated protagonists. But, I love watching a NPC operating on the margins and hope we get more issues like it.
War of the Realms #4: I haven't really written about "War of the Realms" mostly because I continue to enjoy it. Aaron hasn't really provided anything worth criticizing, but he also hasn't presented anything so amazing that I felt the need to comment. It's just a really solid event.
Aaron's plotting is above reproach, where he yet again manages to keep so many balls in the air while still giving each one its due. Virtually every other event author at this point in the story has you confused and tired, usually because they're trying to incorporate events that happen in the various tie-in issues. Not so here. The tie-in issues flesh out the events here, sure. But, honestly, you could really just read this mini-series and completely understand the events transpiring in it. How often do we get that, huh? Moreover, Aaron is funny as ever. The dwarves' reactions to She-Hulk calling on them to help her smash were hilarious, from one of them saying that he had dust in the eye to another one complimenting her on her motivational speaking. Thori is also great, as always, and Spider-Man continues to have such on-the-nose one-liners that I'd love for Aaron to write him one day. Dauterman is also, as always, on fire. The Iron Odin suit? Amazing. As Ghost Rider said, it's all very metal.
The only criticism I could find is that Aaron doesn't have a ton of space for emotional beats. Aaron has spent months, if not years, showing us the virtually non-existent relationship between Odin and Freyja. Here, Odin appearing to help her at her final stand on the Black Bifrost may have her claiming he finally "turned her on" for the first time ever, but it's rushed. If Aaron had more time, I could imagine him using flashbacks to remind us where we've been with these two, building to this rapprochement, instead of just hurling it at us to give us (presumably) the requisite event deaths. Again, it isn't a hideously off-note; it's just a note that I wish Aaron had more time to hit. It's a minor complaint for an otherwise great event, but there it is.
Also Read: Nightwing #60; Spider-Man and the League of the Realms #1; Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Lando Calrissian #1; Transformers #5; War of the Realms: Strikeforce - The War Avengers #1
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