King in Black: Black Knight #1 (February 3): Honestly, this issue is almost incomprehensible. I've read a lot of Dane Whitman stories, and the Dane Whitman whom we see here is almost unrecognizable. Instead of a hero nobly trying to fight the Ebony Blade's dark and murderous impulses to help people, Dane is a spineless, stuttering fool begging the Blade to stop making him kill people. Moreover, Spurrier uses Knull of all "people" to ret-con the Black Knight legend. Apparently, Merlin chose Dane's ancestor Percy to wield the blade because he was the most craven, not heroic, knight. Of course, Spurrier doesn't explain why the alien God of the Symbiotes is apparently the only entity able to understand Merlin's motivations in awarding the Blade to Percy; we're just supposed to accept that. Plus, the "humor" throughout this issue is just bizarre. Most of the issue's dialogue is dedicated to Aero and Sword Master's argument over whether Dane is crazy or not. No, really. Just like Knull, Aero and Sword Master are awkwardly inserted here for no real reason. I could continue, but I've already wasted too much time thinking about this issue.
Amazing Spider-Man #59 (February 10): It's clear that Spencer is drawing inspiration from Stern's run on "Amazing Spider-Man," where Hobgoblin's identity was a mystery for 50+ issues. Throughout that period, Peter faced trials and tribulations other than Hobgoblin. With the Kindred story fading to the background, Martin Li accepts his Mr. Negative persona to save Aunt May. Later, Mr. Negative informs Kingpin that Lemuria also created a Tablet of Death and Entropy, which allows resurrection one time when combined with the Tablet of Life and Destiny. Kingpin recruits Mister Negative to join other criminals whom he's hired to wrest the Tablet of Life and Destiny from Boomerang. I'm on board with this sort of story, but Spencer has to do a better job of really letting go of the Kindred story. If he isn't going to solve it anytime soon, he needs to put it on the back burner more fully.
Captain America #27 (February 17): This issue is one of the best Red Skull stories ever told. The Skull realizes that he doesn't have to stoke hate; he just has to direct it. When the Fact Channel organizes a rally in Central Park to jeer Captain America's call to remember our better angels, the Skull has his New Watchdogs plant a bomb. Speaking over images of Captain America trying to keep the various right-wing groups from killing each other before the bomb exploded, the Skull calls on these right-wing groups to stand against the man who tried to deny them their freedom of speech. Coates wrote this issue a year before Putin's invasion of Ukraine, so his depiction of the far-right groups rallying to the Skull's cause rings particularly prophetic.
Guardians of the Galaxy #11 (February 17): Ewing continues to bring all the pieces together, particularly when it comes to Nova and Star-Lord. When the team decides to face the Olympians on Daedelus-5, a world that Annihilius destroyed during the Annihilation Wave, Rich walks through his feelings during a remote session with his therapist. Although he's still unwilling to see himself as a hero, his therapist is maybe getting him to see that he isn't alone now, just like he wasn't alone then. Later, though, he gets a moment that'll hopefully heal even more wounds. When Rich apologizes for bringing Peter into the fight with the Olympians, Peter tells him that he should thank him for that, as it gave him his life on Morinus. He also reminds him that, even if Nova didn't tell him about the Olympians, Star-Lord would've found out somehow and done the same thing. He tells Rich that he may not be the man who he was, but that he's still him. They hug, and I hope that hug means Rich may sleep through the night one night soon. Of course, he has to survive the Olympians first.
Marauders #18 (February 17): I'll admit that I'm not quite sure why the Marauders have decided to poke Verendi in the eye in Madripoor. I mean, I get why they'd want to keep tabs on them and make sure that any mutants in Madripoor are safe. But, actively buying property in Lowtown to prevent Verendi from building its skyline seems unnecessarily aggressive. As Kade says to Frankenstein, they're just screwing with Verendi to screw with them. It not only distracts the Marauders from their goals, but it gives Frankenstein the excuse to roll out his new Reavers, humans who the various X-teams maimed in previous fights. (I did like Bobby refusing to feel badly about the Reavers whom he maimed after the Red Queen's "death." As he says, they were trying to kill him with the limbs that he took.) The issue ends with the United Nations banning the Marauder from Madripoor given a brawl that Bishop, Iceman, and Pyro had with the Reavers there. I still don't get why it's the United Nations' job to do so. Can't Verendi, as Madripoor's government, do so? Also, can't they just use public-domain law to seize the land that the Marauders bought? At any rate, I've never liked the Kiddie Hellfire Club, and I still don't get why we're dwelling on them here.
Amazing Spider-Man #60 (February 24): In my review of last issue, I said that I hoped that Spencer would let the Kindred story fade into the background. Instead, we belabor it yet again. This time, though, we have Peter delivering a truly ridiculous monologue about his angst over Kindred. When I say "monologue," I mean "monologue:" MJ has him deliver it in an abandoned theater. Also, Mysterio seems to know Peter's secret identity, since he approaches MJ after Peter leaves? I haven't really focused on this development because I basically keep hoping that it disappears. [Sigh.]
X-Men #18 (February 24): Darwin, Synch, and Wolverine's journey into the Vault is one of the better stories that Hickman has spun on this series. First, the threat to Krakoa is clear: the Children of the Vault seek to dominate Earth, and they (correctly) see mutantkind as hindering that goal. Second, it isn't the usual characters: I like all three of these characters individually (it's great to see Synch in action again after all these years), and Hickman has created a virtually indestructible trio in the way their powers interact. Finally, it isn't clear which side will win: the trio might be virtually indestructible, but the Children of the Vault are, too. Whereas the plots of "Marauders" and "New Mutants" have meandered for quite a while (even before "X of Swords"), it was nice to read a story that has a point.
Also Read: King in Black: Marauders #1 (February 3); New Mutants #16 (February 24)
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