Rosenberg has always done a great job with down-on-their-luck characters; his Nova reminds me a lot of Havok from his "Astonishing X-Men" run, and I consider that a good thing. I'm actually surprised Marvel doesn't more often tell this type of story, of a hero succumbing to the unrelenting tragedies that he's experienced.
Nova isn't just an alcoholic here, though Rosenberg underlines the fact that he is one when Rich experiences tremors after too much time without a drink. Perhaps more significantly, Nova abandons the battlefield after encountering the Revengers. Although his panic at the possibility of becoming infected again is certainly understandable, he doesn't give a second thought to abandoning Annihilus and the refugees that they were protecting. This abandonment is particularly noteworthy since Nova had just stopped Annihilus from killing a crying child to silence it; as a result, the Revengers find them, as Annihilus feared. Rich fleeing without thinking of the refugees' safety under Annihilus' care makes it clear that he's not thinking straight; his panicked flight is proof that he's broken.
The only downside of this issue is that Rosenberg has Annihilus and Nova engage in too much banter. I love banter, don't get me wrong. But, he almost writes this issue as a buddy-cop romp. It not only doesn't fit the seriousness of Rich's predicament, but it definitely doesn't fit Annihilus' personality or their relationship. It's almost like Rosenberg wanted to write a Nova and Star-Lord adventure, so he just did so anyway. Thankfully, it doesn't totally overshadow my joy at seeing Rich in action, so I'm still looking forward to seeing where we go from here.
Annihilation - Scourge: Fantastic Four #1: I'm not really sure who the target audience for this issue is. Any "Annihilation" story is a pretty deep cut when it comes to comics, so it's presumably aimed at a pretty serious reader. But, Gage writes this story at an almost elementary-school level.
The moral of the issue is that Johnny learns that people can change. On the face of it, it's an innovative reading of the Cancerverse denizens' psyches: since they can't evolve past where they were when they were consumed, they aren't really alive. In other words, we're not alive if we can't grow. Johnny defeats the Fhtagn Four by using Reed's memory-projection device to show them the lives that "our" Fantastic Four have lived. The Fhtagn Four thus understand the evolution as people that they didn't get to experience. It inspires Ben and Sue to rebel against Reed's control, though ultimately Johnny incinerates them all to keep them a family.
The problem isn't this read on the Cancerverse, but Gage's script, which feels like it's pulled from an after-school special. Sue has to explain to Johnny that he can be the annoying little brother and the Negative Zone's general, and you have to wonder how imbecilic Johnny is if he couldn't figure out that part on his own. He's not a teenager anymore. It's almost like a Women in Refrigerators situation, where the Negative Zone's civilizations are almost obliterated so Johnny can learn a valuable lesson about himself. [Sigh.]
Die #10: This issue is surprisingly straightforward, though it doesn't make this issue any less compelling.
Ash tells Izzy that she's accepted the premise that they need to treat this world like it matters; as such, Ash is playing to win. She, Izzy, and Zamorna begin the issue by invading Angria's military leader's house. Izzy convinces the gods not to focus on the house so that the leader's holy symbols don't prevent Zamorna from entering. Zamorna then smuggles in Ash, who uses her powers to compel the leader to tell them his worst secret. It's apparently a doozy, and she uses it to blackmail him so that the military will allow her to enter the chamber where the Chainmaster enslaves Dictators to patrons. (It's how Angria controls Dictators.) She has the Chainmaster give her control of all of Angria's Dictators and thus Angria.
After telling Izzy that she trusts her, she then binds Zamorna to her because she doesn't trust him. (She's still mad at him for using her to break Izzy's heart back in the day, though Zamorna pretty convincingly argues that a seventeen-year-old girl created him to be exactly that guy.) She then has Zamorna marry her, installing herself as Angria's queen. With Angria in her grasp, she says that they can go about establishing "order," which doesn't sound ominous at all. Izzy warns Ash that the evil queen doesn't win, prompting Ash to respond, "Watch me." Hans is splenderific on this page, imbuing Ash with beauty and menace to a terrific extent.
Meanwhile, Chuck gets so drunk that he can be sufficiently stupid to maximize his luck, using it to free Angela and Matt. (They leave Sol chained.) Ash sends Zamorna after them, though, as Chuck mentions, it seems unlikely Queen Ash wants to go home now that she has all the power. As such, we'll see where we go from here, with the Boggle cube of alliances having been slammed onto the table.
Marauders #3: Duggan gets Shaw exactly right here. The entire issue revolves around his plans for a resurrected Shinobi, though we're mostly only given clues and hints about what they are. We're also treated to Shaw's own spin on recent events, such as claiming that Emma used her powers to convince Charles and Magneto to make her the Hellfire Trading Company's CEO.
The first half of the issue takes place before Emma makes Shadowcat the Red Queen and shows Shaw's belief that he'll be able to install Shinobi in that position.
The second half of the issue takes place after Emma has disabused Shaw of that notion. Shaw instead makes Shinobi his Black Bishop, providing him with an invisible ship that clearly puts him in opposition to Shadowcat and the Marauders. Shaw's plans become clearer here, as he mentions that the world's aging one-percenters own 90 percent of the world's wealth. Since L extends human lives for five years, Shaw sees himself as having a five-year window to bleed them dry. Shaw tells Shinobi that he wants him to serve as Krakoa's Coast Guard, and Shinobi and Kate are clearly going to have differing views on how to protect Krakoa and distribute the drugs (as we saw last issue).
Duggan is leaning fully into Hickman's reboot here, using this dispute to highlight the larger philosophical divide amongst the Krakoa mutants. So far, the more an author leans into the reboot, the more exciting the series is. This series continues to be the best of the lot, to my mind.
Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #35; Ghost Rider 2099 #1; Venom 2099 #1; X-Men #3
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