Age of X-Men: X-Tremists #4: This issue ends in a riot, as Jubilee remembers that she has a son and Jean-Paul remembers that he has a husband. Along the way, we're treated to Jean-Paul insulting Bobby's sweater and Bobby stripping off said sweater, asking Jean-Paul if he liked what he saw. Twunk indeed, as Rictor says. For his part, Rictor is running a theater where mutants can get busy, an homage to old-school X-rated theaters. For the first time, Williams finally addresses the fact that the X-Tremists have two gay team members. By adding Rictor and the theater, she makes the obvious parallel to a world where the LGBT community often has to hide their lives to this "Utopia" that X-Man made where no one can show affection. Sucks, don't it, straight people?
Amazing Spider-Man #22: To be honest, I felt like Spencer swerved here from the more interesting outcome. Although I was pretty sure Peter wasn't going to fully buy into Kraven's exhortation that he becomes a killer, I thought that he would at least emerge shaken from understanding Kraven's point of view.
After all, Kraven makes a compelling point. When Spidey appears to discover that the Lizard killed a series of guards on the way to save Billy, Kraven argues that the lives of mercenaries -- killers all -- pale in comparison to the lives of an innocent boy like Billy and the woman trying to protect him, the Black Cat. Peter initially seems to be struggling with this argument. But, Spencer takes an easier road, showing this confusion, if you will, to be the result of Kraven's "herbs and potions" and, in even more of a cop-out, revealing that Kraven himself killed the guards to set up the crisis of conscience that Peter would undergo.
Peter shakes off the drugs and beats Kraven, arguing that he doesn't kill so that his family doesn't have to kill? I'm not really sure I follow that, to be honest. I think that Peter is arguing that humanity is inherently kind, that we were meant to help each other not hunt each other. But, he seems to be gliding over all those one-percenters gathered in that ballroom to do exactly that, isn't he?
In other words, Spencer is letting Peter have his Pollyanna-ism, something that we also saw in the "War of the Realms: Strikeforce - Land of the Giants" one-shot and again in this week's "Spider-Man and the League of the Realms," where Peter doesn't want to kill Frost Giants like Logan does. I'm not saying that I want a homicidal Spider-Man, but I feel like Spencer was at least pushing Peter's ethical boundaries here. Dan Slott trod similar ground in his Massacre story arc, using Massacre to show how different Otto was from Peter, since he was willing to kill Massacre to stop his rampage. Peter finding a way to stop Kraven without killing would've been a powerful statement. Instead, the tension all fades with the herbs and potions and Peter just magically beats Kraven, something that he'd previously struggled to do. To make matters worse, Kraven embraces Peter's point of view, seeing the humanity in him. He sacrifices himself -- dressed in a black costume -- to give Peter time to escape, and Kraven's son kills him thinking that he's Peter.
I'm not saying the ending invalidates the strong story that Spencer told over the course of this event. But, it is disappointing, because I feel like he could've pushed somewhat a little darker, but instead stayed in a safer place. Oh, well. As I said, all in all, I still enjoyed the event so I'll call that a win.
Star Wars: Vader - Dark Visions #4: First, like Diplo, Hopeless be everywhere. But, given the caliber of this story, it's easy to see why. Hopeless shows us an unnamed protagonist looking to avenge his smuggler father's death on Coruscant, a death he could've prevented as a young boy if he had taken the shot that his father had trained him to take. The boy grows into a cocky young pilot whose audacity the Rebel command continually rewards. Sounds familiar? However, unlike Han, Leia, or Luke, this guy chokes at his big moment, unable to take the shot (again) to take out Darth Vader. He flees to base, bringing Vader and a squadron of Tie Fighters with him. After vomiting from fear, he's (again) forced to watch the consequences of what his inaction has caused. Hopeless shows us a corner of the galaxy where pluck doesn't really get you anywhere, a corner that I'm sure would feel more familiar to the average Empire resident than Han, Leia, or Luke's.
War of the Realms: War Scrolls #2: This issue contains a lovely coda to Gillen's "Young Avenger" series, as Loki seeks forgiveness for siding with the bad guys from Billy Kaplan. Beyond the beauty of getting to see an always-hot Teddy Altman, we also get to see him in context of an adult relationship with Billy. They're apparently now living together, and they're over 21 years old as Billy believes that he's meeting "Kate" for brunch and mimosas. But, since Loki can't just ask for forgiveness, "Kate" is Loki in disguise, trying to get Billy to forgive him without having to ask for it. (His plans are foiled when Teddy sees Kate in Los Angeles on Instagram and texts Billy. Get with the times, Loki.) But, Billy gives Loki his forgiveness anyway, and he and Teddy mourn when they watch Laufey eat Loki later. If I've ever been disappointed with Jason Aaron, it's because he seemed to ignore a lot of the work GIllen and then Ewing did with Loki. It was a thrill to see this Loki again (and a sexy Teddy, obviously).
Also Read: Marvel's Spider-Man: City at War #3; Spider-Man and the League of the Realms #2; Thor #13
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