Amazing Spider-Man #70 (July 7): This issue isn't terrible, which is a relief. Spencer is finally starting to bring some stories to a close, so I feel more willing to engage him where he is.
First, it turns out we have three Harrys. "Real" Harry explains to Carlie that he was in Europe checking out some old Oscorp accounts that suddenly became active when Kindred (i.e., Kindred Harry) threw Real Harry into the cell where Carlie also now finds herself. Carlie exposits to us that the extra body that she found in the morgue was Harry's body (i.e., Dead Harry). It's all very "Clone Saga," but I'm going with it for now.
Second, I can't say that I hate the Sinister War set-up. First, we've got Kindred slowly but surely reassembling the original Sinister Six. But, Kindred reminds us that a number of other super-villains are also gunning for Spidey: the Foreigner is looking for revenge and has hired Black Ant and Taskmaster to help him get it, Overdrive is reassembling the Sinister Syndicate and looking for redemption, a Vulture-led Sinister Six is looking "for blood," and the Syndicate is looking to make a name for itself. The Vulture-led one is news to me, as I don't think that we've seen him building his team in this series.
Finally, Otto rather brilliantly uses the isotope-genome accelerator that separated Peter and Spidey in issue #3 to separate Curt Connors from the Lizard, clearly making the Lizard all the more lethal.
In other words, it seems like Spencer is finally going to wrap up his Kindred story so we can be free. Free!
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 (July 7): I know that I'm writing this review ten months after this issue appeared, but if I can just stop one person from buying this issue I'll have done my job. OMG, it's so bad. I could recap it, but it would be too painful. Pacheco leans heavy into the humor, which would normally be fine. But, it's hard to see Peter engaging in such heartfelt support for, and witty banter with, "Star" given that she vivisected a former high-school classmate who bullied her. (How has DC not sued Marvel over this Stargirl rip-off?) Star herself is all over place: she was a nerd, but everyone called her stupid; she was bullied, but she looks like a model. It's like someone had to create a character from traits that they pulled from a hat. Also, I'm not quite sure how Peter developed the power to shrug off the Reality Stone, but it's the least of my issues here. Just trust me: do not buy this terrible issue.
Captain America #30 (July 7): Coates wraps up his time on this title in the same way that he approached the title throughout his run, giving no one any easy wins.
Steve breaks into Red Skull's headquarters after brutally taking out Crossbones. He then goads Skull into admitting that he doesn't care about his followers' lives; if they sacrifice themselves to help him build his vision of the West, so be it. Of course, the Daughters have recorded the conversation, hacked into Skull's YouTube channel, and posted his rant. In the weeks that follow, the team observes no further rallies, eliminating the hate-bomb threat for now. I particularly like that Coates has the team resolve this problem though words (Skull's words, in particular) and not fists; you can't always just punch hate into submission.
But, Coates has the team live in the same world that we do. The Fact Channel has already proclaimed that the Skull's "frankness is refreshing," showing its support of the "Red Skull was Right" movement. It's this part of America that Steve has the most trouble accepting; as he said at some point to Skull, he and others have to answer for the fact that they left a generation open to Skull's manipulations. Coates also reminds us that everyone here is damaged: Peggy lost her mentor when Alexa went bad, Bucky spent years not only frozen in time but used as a weapon, and Sharon and Steve lost their child. They're all walking wounded.
Steve acknowledges as much when Sharon confesses that she gave Kingpin the information on Alexa (which he provided to the Foreigner). He realizes that so many people are trying to tear apart what they have that he doesn't have to do so. As he says, there are codes older than his approach. Is it the sort of moral relativism that we don't usually see from Cap? Yes. But, it's also a sign that maybe he's starting to live in the same world that Coates and the team and we do.
Meanwhile, Coates completes Sin's re-transformation into Mother Superior, and I think that it's probably Coates other major legacy, beyond Cap's comfort in working in the grays. Sin has always been scarier than Skull; if he's lawful evil, she's chaotic evil. Her pledge to get revenge for Alexa in blood sent chills down my spine and doesn't bode well for the team enjoying their moment for long.
As sad as I am to see Coates end his run, it was truly a pleasure to read it. I can't wait to see what he does next.
X-Men #1 (July 7): This issue is excellent. I can't imagine Duggan throwing anything better at us than he does here.
First, he gets the intangibles perfect: every character acts how I expect them to act and interacts with other characters how I expect them to interact. They feel like a team right off the bat. Moreover, the Treehouse is something that I always thought the X-Men needed. I mean, I can't claim that I dreamed of something as amazing as the Treehouse; Duggan earns all the stars there. But, I always thought the X-Men needed to plant their flag in New York. If Krakoa is going to prove that it isn't a threat to humanity, it needs to show that it lives in the same world (and with the same threats) as humanity. Duggan has the X-Men defeat a threat before the Avengers and Fantastic Four can get on the scene, and it's exactly what they need to be out there doing. After all, Krakoa has enough teams focused on helping mutants.
Second, Duggan gives us not one or two but three threats. The most brilliant one is someone who we already knew but didn't know we knew: the Feilong Industries founder. He thought that he was going to terraform Mars first, going so far as changing his body to accommodate Martian conditions. When the mutants create Arakko, he swears vengeance, and Duggan makes it clear that he's a dangerous opponent already. Second, the entity that the X-Men defeats is sent from a casino world called Gameworld. Its host, Cordyceps Jones (whom I recognize from "Guardians of the Galaxy" Annual #1), announces that they'll be gambling on various attempts to rid Earth of Earthlings now that the Krakoan/Arakkii mutants have put it on the galactic map. That should be good fun. Finally, a mysterious figure pledges to find out how the X-Men are resurrecting people, focusing (along with Ben Ulrich) on Jumbo Carnation's resurrection, since everyone knew that he was dead.
In other words, as excited as I was when Hickman started his work on the X-Men, I'm somehow even more excited now.
Sinister War #1 (July 14): I'm going to focus on the positive here. Based on Dr. Strange's conversations with Mephisto, Spencer seems geared to undoing "One More Day" or, at the very least, modifying it. Of course, he throws some obstacles in the way, namely Vulture's Savage Six attacking MJ's movie premiere and revealing to Peter that MJ's director is Mysterio. (It turns out the Savage Six appeared in the "Amazing Mary Jane" series, because Vulture is furious at Mysterio's depiction of him in the movie.) The fight sequence is pretty great as the Savage Six and the Sinister Six attack each other, leaving MJ and Peter to fight on the sidelines. I'm not quite sure how Spencer is going to get where he wants to go, but I'm happy that at least we're doing OK for now.
Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow #4 (July 14): This issue seriously rights the ship, as we return from the more fantastical elements of last issue to a more believable and serious set of circumstances here. First, I have to note yet again how adult and handsome Peter looks as I continue my lobbying for Marvel to realize that we deserve this Peter in the main title. In terms of the story at hand, Peter travels to Four Freedoms Plaza and is appalled to find the symbiote has covered it. He unmasks to the on-scene Avengers and pledges to Cap that the symbiote won't ever control him again. The symbiote opens the building to him, and Johnny and MJ enter with him against his wishes. Peter manages to throw a possessed Ben outside the building, but he and Johnny struggle to take out a possessed Reed. But, the symbiote reveals that he's just trying to save everyone like Peter wants and emits symbiotes throughout New York, leading to Peter suddenly staring down the possessed Avengers. I'm not sure we're getting a happy ending to this one, folks.
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