Not-Even-Remotely-New Comics: The November 20 Marvel Event Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Annihilation - Scourge:  Alpha #1:  Rosenberg does a great job here using the reader's knowledge of previous events and storylines to keep you engaged.  As a long-time fan of Marvel Cosmic, I appreciated that.

Anyone familiar with the Cancerverse recognized the squid-faced creature emerging from the survivor of the attack on Nefig.  Days later, after Annihilus and Blastaar join forces to prevent the Cancerverse from taking over the Negative Zone, Blastaar addresses his troops on Annihilus' homeworld, Arthros.  When a group of indistinct figures crashes on Arthros, a soldier asks Blastar what the explosion was.  When he answers, "Our defeat," I knew that it was the Revengers before I turned the page and saw them.  But, Rosenberg still manages to amp up the mystery when Annihilus and Blastaar express shock and horror over the Revengers' leader.  I initially thought that it was Thor from the glimpse of blond hair that we see, but Annihilus' and Blastaar's fear seemed disproportionate to "just" Thor.  Blastaar holds the line against the Revengers as Annihilus uses his portal to the Positive Zone to escape with some troops.

In the Positive Zone, Cosmo looks at a vomiting Rich Rider with dismay.  We know from "Guardians of the Galaxy" that Rich was already on stress-related leave before the Church of Universal Truth then destroyed the Nova Corps, so the fact that he's fallen so far into alcoholism is no surprise.  When Annihilus' ship almost crashes into the "second-best bar in the third-best spaceport in this sector," Nova reluctantly stops it.  However, he's so drunk that he doesn't recognize that it's Annihilus' ship until he discovers that Annihilus is the crash's sole survivor.   Annihilus tells Rich that they need the Nova Corps, and Rich informs Annihilus that they're dead.  Annihilus responds that they are as well, and we learn why he's so worried:  the Sentry is the Revengers' leader.

In other words, I loved this issue.  It's grounded so heavily in previous stories that it was particularly rewarding to read as someone who's loved all the previous Marvel Cosmic cross-over events.  Given Nova is one of the two characters mentioned in this blog's mission statement, I'm obviously a huge fan.  I've been pretty happy with Cates' treatment of him in "Guardians of the Galaxy."  Like Star-Lord, he's been through such much grief and trauma over the years, and I'm thrilled to see it addressed honestly, with him crumbling under the weight of it.  This event gives the authors the chance to really explore his struggle, and I hope they lean into it along the way.  I was apprehensive about this event, because I so wanted it to meet the same high quality of the previous Marvel Cosmic cross-over events.  I'm thrilled to say that it does.  I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Marvel 2099:  Alpha #1:  Like "Annihilation - Scourge:  Alpha" #1, I was very excited about this issue, since it involves the other character in this blog's mission statement!  That said, I'll admit that this issue was something of a miss for me.  I'm not totally disappointed, because Spencer certainly throws enough at us here to keep our interest.  But, it's also too much thrown at us really to follow.  Moreover, it becomes clear that Spencer is rebooting the entire line.  Whereas "Annihilation - Scourge:  Alpha" #1 built off years of previous stories, Spencer sweeps all previous 2099-related stories under the rug here.  It seems clear that this event will undo this new status quo at least in part.  But, I would've preferred to see Spencer follow Rosenberg's lead and build on existing stories.

At any rate, the issue starts with a young blond child finding Mjolnir in "the Ravage."  Before the child can grab it (as he or she hears someone chanting "worthy"), a pack of vaguely outlined humanoids appear and the child flees.  The humanoids appear to be some form of mutated humans, and I'm guessing the Ravage is an irradiated landscape.

In Brooklyn, Public Eye officers fight rampaging Thorites.  I only realized at the end of the issue that one of the offices is Jake Gallows (i.e., the Punisher 2099).  He's frustrated that they're just getting back-up because he's trying to complete his mission, finding some "guy from E.C.O." who works on cell therapy.  Apparently, a woman approached this guy to help her son, who suffers from "skullfire."  Realizing that he could cure it with an injection, the guy snuck into Brooklyn to help.  From the Public Eye officer's comment to Jake, it's clear that Brooklyn is total chaos all the time.  Jake informs the officer that they found the woman and child's body on "the pyres," though they were barely recognizable because the "drangs" didn't go easy.  Jake says that the E.C.O. guy was valuable to his "circle," but they find him hanging from ropes with a hammer dangling from his throat.

In Nueva York, Tyler Stone is thrilled with Miguel's progress on the Raider Initiative, and the only difference from Miguel's original origin story is that his research seems to come from studying a spider-like mutant from the Ravage.  Miguel expresses disapproval that Tyler is going to use the Initiative to steal other companies' intellectual property and not just defend Alchemax's, but Tyler brushes aside his concerns.  Miguel also stresses that he needs to do more testing, but Tyler is also unconvinced.  We all know where this story is going to go.

We then get to the heart of the matter.  Doom 2099 is holding Uatu hostage to monitor the Earth.  We learn that he is somehow responsible for this reboot, wiping the population's minds clear of their history.  Doom justifies his actions as saying that he's saving them from the "heroes," who we see fighting here in a flashback.  He is using Uatu to police this wipe, something that Nate Grey probably should've thought to do in "Age of X-Man."

We're then given glimpses of Conan 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099, a young thief who grifts people newly arriving at Transverse City, where the authorities can't arrest you so long as you keep moving on the Road That Never Ends.  

We move onto a bar full of "raiders," or mercenaries, where Venture (now a woman) prevents two raiders from destroying H.E.R.B.I.E. for parts, recognizing him as a relic from another time and possessing "unregistered processors."  H.E.R.B.I.E. is looking for his mother's friends, and he offers Venture something "better than money" that convinces her to help him.  (Apparently, money doesn't mean much here, but H.E.R.B.I.E.'s mother told him to go specifically there, which is probably why she didn't give him money.)  Doom tells Uatu that he'll leave H.E.R.B.I.E. alone in honor of his "mother," who's clearly the Invisible Woman.  Uatu warns Doom that the only thing he "sees" is something that he hears and that he knows that Doom also hears:  a bandaged man forging something, which means doom.  Doom dismisses it, saying that he'll send the Kingpin.  Uatu wonders if it's the beginning of the end of Doom, warning him that no matter how hard he tries, he can't snuff out man's very nature.

It seems hard to believe at this point that a cross-over event with so few issues is going to manage to tie up all the storylines that Spencer launches here, but we'll see where we go.  If you're not a huge fan of the 2099 line, I'm not sure this event is going to have much for you.

Amazing Spider-Man #34:  For the fact that Spencer is coordinating the Marvel 2099 event, this issue interestingly doesn't take place in 2099.  We remain in 2020 as Peter has to deal with the consequences of Dr. Doom's (alleged) assassination while Miguel desperately searches for Peter.

The only real piece of information that we get about the events in 2099 is that reality started changing in front of everyone's eyes.  Having read "Marvel 2099:  Alpha" #1, it's pretty clear that this change occurred when Doom altered history.  Interestingly, though, Miguel runs into Doom as he tries to flee the chaos emanating from the change, and Doom claims that he isn't responsible.  Doom sends him into the past to rectify the situation, as we saw last issue.

In the present, Jaime offers to make Peter a partner in Clairvoyant.  He notes that the device that he created is pretty limited in scope given its lack of access to enough power to really engage in quantum computing.  He's also afraid that giving it too much power would wind up changing the multiverse rather than scanning it.  Jamie gives Peter the device to try to figure out a way to solve that equation, saying that he trusts him.  (I think that we can all see where this plot is going.)  At that point, Spidey learns that the Hitman successfully shot Doom.  Spidey visits the body and, surprise, it's a Doombot.  Said Doombot is furious, but, before we can learn why (other than, you know, the assassination), Miguel arrives and pulls Spidey into a time-pausing dome.  Miguel explains that the future's scientists eventually figured out that our present and Miguel's present are linked.  Whereas Peter often encounters people from other futures, Miguel's future is our future, a superposition.  Miguel explains that he can't find anything to prevent his timeline's collapse, but, before he can elaborate, something explodes.  Meanwhile, an army of Doombots appears over New York and demands justice.  Ruh-roh.

All in all, it's a solid companion piece to "Marvel 2099:  Alpha" #1, as it hints at where we're going.  I'm intrigued by the duality of Doom telling Miguel in this issue that he wasn't responsible for the time change, but a Doom telling Uatu in "Marvel 2099:  Alpha" #1 that he was.  Otherwise, everything lines up decently, to the extent this issue deals with the larger event, which it admittedly doesn't do much.  We'll see if "Amazing Spider-Man" gets more involved as we progress.

Fantastic Four 2099 #1:  Holy fucking shit.  For 90 percent of this issue, you're just cruising along the road with Pacheco, maybe rolling your eyes a little at how the Fantastic Four is all lesbians until you realize the Invisible Girl is an Invisible Boy.  Sure, H.E.R.B.I.E. seems a little...unhinged, and he seems to be taking as gospel a possibly off-handed comment the Invisible Woman made years ago.  Then, suddenly, as the new Fantastic Four are putting their hands together, everything goes haywire:  the Human Torch attacks the Thing (her daughter, who seems made of ice) and then burns out entirely, and Ms. Fantastic turns herself into knots.  H.E.R.B.I.E. comments that he fixed them this time, and Venture suddenly realizes that we've got a problem.  We learn that the Invisible Boy's family was supposed to be the Fantastic Four, but the Thorites killed his family because they started to change.  (We don't get any reason why they started to change.  I think that it was H.E.R.B.I.E.'s doing, but I'm not sure.)  H.E.R.B.I.E. apparently then started exposing people to cosmic rays because his family got their powers that way.  He becomes unhinged telling Venture and the Invisible Boy this story, finally screaming "None of you are special enough!" as he unleashes a fusillade at them, killing them.  Yup.  You think you're getting clichéd "let's all put our hands together in friendship" story, but, nope, they're all dead now because H.E.R.B.I.E. is off his fucking rocker.  It isn't a perfect story, but, man, it's definitely a 2099 story.  I totally, totally didn't see that end coming.

Not-Even-Remotely-New Comics: The November 20 Marvel Non-Event Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America #16:  Coates really kicks it up a notch here as we make our way through the second act of this drama.  First, we see a situation that we almost never see:  a powerless Kingpin.  Coates explains that HYDRA's overthrow of the United States left the NYPD decimated and that it's now impossible to tell if some of the remaining officers are HYDRA loyalists.  Fisk called the Power Elite for help, and they provided soldiers to act as "cops" to make sure Fisk had some control over the NYPD.  After last issue's massacre, Fisk suspects an inside job, and he wants Lukin to give him information on these "cops."  Lukin refuses.  When the Kingpin gets mad, she cows him with a show of sorcery.

Meanwhile, Misty and Steve stumble upon a former Scourge base where they encounter U.S.Agent.  Can I just say how glad I am to see John back in the game?  Spencer did great work with him in his run, in part because it was easy to believe that fascists could manipulate John into pressing Sam to give up the shield.  But, Coates adds some nuance here, as John rages against Cap for betraying him.  John clearly believes that Steve was the Supreme Leader, and Coates does a great job conveying John's very, very personal anger at Steve.  I loved Cap's response, as he tells John that he'll explain over a beer one day.  Yes, they'll probably yell at each other and throw a few punches, but then they'll be good.  But, Steve stresses that they don't have time for that right now.  John seems to agree, telling Cap that he's barking up the wrong tree:  Scourge is an idea, not a person.  Later, Misty realizes that she didn't recognize any of the massacred "cops" from her time on the force.  Toni's research backs up her hunch, as she learned that all but Cap's friend Larimore were rookies.  Cap goes to question Fisk about it, but Fisk is seemingly assassinated.

In other words?  Whoa.  Coates makes this issue feel like you're watching a really intense episode of "Law and Order," an approach that fits this series well.  It's a great issue from start to finish, and I look forward to reading this title so much every month.  It continues to be a great era to be a Captain America fan.

Conan the Barbarian #11:  Conan awakens as a boy in his Cimmerian village, unsure of how he got there and surprised to find himself staring at his parents.  They believe that he lost his memory due to a fall from a tree.  His father gives him a good slap in the head, arguing that another blow to the head might restore his memory.  They then tell him that they have work to do.  Of course, said work is fighting off an oncoming horde.  Conan realizes that everything isn't as it seems and abandons his parents to make for the nearby mountain, even though his mother warns him that the mountain doesn't like it when people climb it.  Conan ages as he climbs the mountain, dying an untold number of times in his battles with the scourges the mountain sends his way.  This entire sequence is really just Aaron's way of letting Asrar loose, and it's a wonder to behold.

By the time Conan arrives at the summit, he's a man and you feel like you've earned your spot there as well.  But, Conan isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and he continually defies the voice encouraging him to leave.  Eventually, the voice reveals itself to be Crom himself, and Asrar is on fire here.  You really feel Crom's grandeur, and it really makes Conan essentially telling Crom to go fuck himself all the more profound.  Conan is appalled that Crom is willing to let the Earth suffer under Razazel until the gods get tired of it and go to war with him to stop his plundering.  Conan tells Crom that he's a king with a responsibility to his people and that he'll meet Crom's responsibility to his people if Crom is unwilling to do it.  Aaron injects just a tiny bit of exhaustion and frustration in Conan's rant, as he somewhat adolescently complains to Crom that he spread his word throughout the lands and Crom never noticed.  Crom eventually curses Conan by returning him to life to fight Razazel, telling him that he'll rue this conversation when he dies old and forgotten (as opposed to dying brave and strong, as he would've done here).

It's really just a great issue, delving into Conan's psyche in a way that we don't normally see laid so plain, particularly when it comes to his sense of responsibility.  The back-up story also underlines Conan's sense of honor and loyalty, as he once again climbs a mountain, this time to save Zelandra.  Put together, the stories make you almost feel sorry for Razazel and his child minions as Conan awakens to face them.

King Thor #3:  I feel like Aaron has lost some steam here.  The girls travel to the planet Indigarr, where Thor sent the gods without planets after the events of "Thor:  God of Thunder - Godbomb."  Elli prays and convinces her sisters to join her.  In so doing, they awaken Indigarr's gods, who they bring with them to join the fight against Gorr.   But, even as Thor and eventually Loki emerge from the Necro-Ocean and join the girls and gods in the fight, it doesn't do any good.  Despite the constant heroic pontificating from the gods, they lose.  Atli chops off Gorr's head, but they then realize all the stars are dark, because Gorr has become the Universe.  Although it's Thor flying to confront Gorr the Necroverse, salvation likely will come in the form of Loki, who picks up Elli's book as they make a last stand against Gorr.  At this point, it all feels a little ridiculous, like Aaron has accidentally upped the stakes too much, making any solution seem overly convenient.  How does Loki overcome a Universe?  I guess we'll see.

Marauders #2:  You get you some Bobby!

I loved everything about this issue.  I loved Kate leaning into pirating and getting knuckle tattoos and a great coat.  I loved Storm expressing an extreme dislike of Batroc (which totally makes sense, given who she is and who he is) and displaying an agitated annoyance that we rarely see from her.  ("'Kill no man.'  I made a promise to kill no man.")  I loved Batroc negotiating with Kate in an attempt to sell at least some of the pilfered antibiotics that the Black King hired him to protect.  I loved Kate telling Batroc that money grows on trees on Krakoa as she orders Pyro to burn it.  I loved Emma playing a clearly bankrupt Sebastian like a fucking fiddle.  I loved Pyro enjoying himself immensely the whole time.  I definitely loved Bobby kissing some random guy at a Taipei gay bar and Kate kissing her tattoo artist.  I loved everyone's response to their new ship, from Storm's small-lettered "Oh, Emma" to even Bishop deciding he didn't have to return to Taipei too quickly.  I loved how I can't even describe how witty all the interactions are throughout this issue as Duggan just really leans into the characterizations and the dialogue.  

In addition to his character-first storytelling, Duggan continues to embrace the specifics of the reboot, as he makes it clear that the Marauders are wiling to break humanity's laws (as they steal a pleasure craft in Tokyo to chase down the Black King's ship, much to Storm's nervousness) to ensure that Krakoa's drugs get to the right people.  (Kate makes a point of burning Sebastian's supply, which he redirected from the African country, where it was supposed to go, to a U.S. country club, as a reminder that the drugs aren't a scarce resource.)  This issue is the best of the reboot so far, if not the best issue of the year.  I'm really excited to see where we go from here.

Star Wars #75:  Pak wraps up this arc -- and series -- nicely, as he reminds us that Chewie and Threepio -- often the team's most overlooked members -- are the heart of this operation.

We pick up right where Pack lefts us last issue as Chewie manages to throw Vader into a lava-filled ravine.  However, Vader parts the lava and throws some at Chewie, scorching his fur.  Luke saves Chewie by using his powers to turn a single tumbling rock into an avalanche heading at Vader.  Chewie returns the favor when Luke miscalculates and sends himself and said avalanche right at Vader.  (Chewie leaping from rock to rock while carrying Luke and under fire from Stormtroopers reminds us just how committed Chewie is to his friends.)  Dar, Han, and Leia arrive just in time to save the pair (by landing on top of the Stormtroopers), and Luke informs them that the emp blast has left Vader wounded.  When everyone gets their blasters ready to take advantage of this rare opportunity to take out Vader, Dar hilariously asks Leia if all her friends are just like her.  When she flirts with him by saying that he should know because they're just like him, he joins the charge, saying that it'll be an honor to die among fellow champions.  Awww.  (Han is obviously less than amused.)

But, Vader is Vader, hurt or not.  He fends off the team long enough to set the stage for an unthinkable scene, as Stormtroopers arrive to help his injured self to his ship.  (He waves them off him, of course.)  When he arrives on the ship and an office tries to depart to save them, Vader uses the Force to strangle him.  As he uses the ship's power to reverse the emp blast, he tells the officer that "those with power do not run."  The renewed power brings Artoo and Threepio online again, but it also means the detonators are online as well.

Here, Threepio has his turn to shine.  Threepio is panicked over the impending implosion, and Leia exhorts the Kakrans to pile into the Falcon and Dar's shuttle to escape.  They refuse, instead taking Threepio with him.  K-43 begins to disintegrate, leaving Dar and Leia on one side of a ravine and the rest of the team on the other side.  (Han observes that Dar "always manages to end up right next to her," and Chewie playfully asks why Han would care.)  Threepio assures Chewie that he's safe with the Kakrans, and the Falcon and the shuttle depart.  Luke stays on K-43 and heads to his X-Wing to save Artoo, much to the Kakrans' shock.  Before the moon detonates, Luke arrives at his disabled X-Wing to depart with Artoo.  Once again, Artoo saves Luke by blasting off K-43 before Vader -- who was laying in wait, knowing that Luke would return for Artoo -- could grab him.

As K-43 explodes, the Kakrans reveal that they weren't worried about the detonators because the "moon" is really just a cocoon for their sleeping grandmother; she awakens, breaking apart the cocoon.  They tell Threepio that they helped him not for fear of their safety (they knew the detonators would only awaken their grandmother), but because of his concern for his friends and his friends' concern for him.  It's a wonderful moment.  The Elder tells Threepio that he hopes that the "flesh" remembers Threepio's heart that day.  As Threepio begins to tell him that he's an android so he doesn't have a heart, Chewie arrives in a spacesuit to collect him.  The issue ends with Threepio exulting in reuniting with his friends (and telling Chewie to stop hugging him lest he get fur in his gears).  An android with a heart indeed.

This entire series was spectacular, from start to finish.  It felt like such an honor to spend time with these characters in this way, with each arc feeling like an additional movie worth of emotions and experiences.  I love the fact that the next series will follow "Empire Strikes Back," and I can't wait to join the gang again for more adventures.

Also Read:  Guardians of the Galaxy #11

The End of Paternity Leave

I'm back!  We're now a family of five, dog included.  My paternity leave from comics, so to speak, coincided with the comics industry's coronavirus pause, so I'm only 150 comics behind, not 200+.  It helped that I pared down my pull list a few months ago, reducing my superhero comics to long-time favorites like Captain America, Spider-Man, and the X-Men.  However, I found that I missed these comics less than I did the non-superhero ones, such as "Die," "Undiscovered Country," or "The Weatherman."  As such, I'm returning to blogging with a new approach.  I'll stay current on what I'm calling the top-shelf comics, the ones that I really missed during my leave.  For the rest -- mostly the superhero comics -- I'll read them once I'm current on the top-shelf ones.  In terms of formatting, Blogger updated itself while I was gone, and I'm one of many people having issues with the fonts.  Hopefully they'll fix it soon, but, in the meantime, you'll notice a change in the new posts.  Onwards and upwards!