Amazing Spider-Man #56 (January 6): At some point during Slott's "Superior Spider-Man" run, I decided that I just had to grit my teeth and go with it. I wasn't going to get the resolution in the time frame that I wanted, so I just had to let the story unfurl at its own pace, unpleasant as it was. I feel the same way with the Kindred saga.
First, I accept that Sin-Eater cleansed Norman of his sins and that Norman then cooked up the deal with the Kingpin so that he could get Harry to Ravenloft where Norman had the tools to help him. As plans go, it's pretty solid.
Moreover, Spencer makes it clear that MJ was aware of the plan: Norman used a flash grenade to make Kindred think that MJ was hurt. When an enraged Kindred came after Norman, MJ told Peter that she was fine and that Norman wanted them to use the distraction to evacuate the Order of the Web. This part also makes sense. I mean, yes, I'm frustrated that we keep vacillating between "bad" Norman and "good" Norman. It's hard enough to believe that Norman isn't setting up elaborate double- and triple-crosses at all time, so it's just as likely that Norman is only pretending to be good Norman for Harry and that he's really bad Norman with Kingpin. As I've previously said, these sorts of Osborn stories are such beaten paths that it's hard to care. But, at least good Norman's plan as presented to us makes sense.
I'm also fine with the idea that, once Kindred released all the sins from Sin-Eater, they returned to the original sinners except for Norman.
I even like the idea that a revived Overdrive realized that he needed to surround himself with better people, so he asks out Carlie Cooper given her devotion to him in the hospital.
Unfortunately, I draw the line at the core premise of this story: a captured Kindred informs Norman that he did what he did to him and Peter because he wants them to remember "the truth [they've] been running from." Apparently, if Peter acknowledges that he was the cause of all his family and friends' suffering and if Norman is cleansed of all his sins, they'd have free enough minds to remember the dark, terrible secret that they apparently can't remember. We've had hints that Harry may mean Peter's deal with Mephisto, which Peter doesn't remember (but MJ may). But, I don't get what it has to do with Harry and/or Norman? And, again, I don't care. But, I guess that I have to go down this road anyway.
Guardians of the Galaxy #10 (January 6): I feel like Ewing seriously rights the ship in this issue. As uninteresting as Knull is to me as yet another all-powerful evil that the heroes have to defeat, he serves as a good foil for Peter to reveal his new amped up powers. Though, at this point, it's unclear to what extent his new powers are part of his (still unexplained) role as Master of the Sun or a Star-Lord or part of him still possessing half the Olympians' powers. But, I trust Ewing to get there, particularly as we now have, more or less, a coherent team. I'm particularly thrilled that it includes Nova, and I'm hopeful, based on the blurb about next issue, that Drax, Gamora, and Groot will rejoin the club soon. In other words, it feels likes we're back to the actual story that Ewing is telling and not just the distractions and diversions that we've encountered over the last few issues.
Amazing Spider-Man #57 (January 13): This issue feels like a placeholder, as the only real development is Peter telling Norman that he's done with his feud with the Osborns. Norman begs him to speak to Harry, and Peter refuses. I have to say that I'm proud of him for it. I totally agree with him that the feud just serves to fuel the Osborn's sense of victimhood and Peter needs to exit the scene. Of course, Spencer can't make it that simple, so Kindred reveals that he intentionally let Norman trap him. That seems a bit of a reach, the idea that he knew that the Kingpin could use Spot to trap him in the Darkforce dimension, which happened last issue. But, as this story goes, it's a mild complaint. The only other development worth noting is that, like Ben Reilly did, Peter is suffering from PTSD as a result of Kindred repeatedly killing and resurrecting him. He almost beats Norman to death here, and it's clear that Kindred wanted him exactly in this headspace. I guess we'll see why at some point.
Marauders #17 (January 13): Duggan acknowledges in the intro page what I've been saying the last few issues, that the Marauders are lost in the past and seem to lack direction for the future. We move a step in the right direction in this issue as Emma publicly announces the changes that she privately informed Shaw were happening last issue, namely that the White will handle the black market whereas the Black will handle the (I'm sure much less profitable) "yes" countries. The Red's role is left unclear, which seems like a missed opportunity. But, I assume that Duggan has something up his sleeve. After all, in this issue, the Hellfire Club finally starts circulating invitations to the Hellfire Gala, and Storm decides to leave Krakoa (though serves as Callisto's Crucible sponsor before she goes). Change is in the air; I just hope that it doesn't take too long to arrive, given how scarred I am from Spencer's Kindred story.
Amazing Spider-Man #58 (January 27): Speaking of Spencer's Kindred story, I don't even know what I have to say about this issue. Instead of resolving the Kindred issue, Peter gets drawn into Martin Li's attempt to fight off his Mr. Negative persona. His Demon Knights have apparently contacted the Kingpin on his behalf, offering to help him resurrect Vanessa (as Kindred refused to do). I mean, Mr. Negative was one of the best characters to emerge from "Brand New Day," so I'm not complaining that he's back. But, OMFG, how long can Spencer draw out the Kindred story? Is he trying to win a bet?
New Mutants #15 (January 27): I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about Ayala and Reis' issues aren't working for me.
It may just be that we have too many characters moving through each issue. After some Googling, I learned that (the always delicious) Daken appears to be dating Aurora in "X-Factor." Ayala makes that clear here, when Gabby (i.e., Scout) is upset that Daken doesn't have time for her. But, it feels like a non sequitur, or, put another way, this series seems to have enough happening with some of its more established characters that we don't need to add drama. For example, we've got Dani's efforts to help Xi'an deal with the aftermath of Cosma's possession (as seen last issue), Dani pledging to help Rahne find a way to resurrect Tier, and Anole, Cosmar, No-Girl, and Rain Boy under the Shadow King's influence: it's a lot.
It overwhelms something that I should've enjoyed more thoroughly, namely the original New Mutants all getting together for Doug's wedding celebration. I mean, a drunk Bobby basically ignoring that a devirginized Doug just returned from his honeymoon because he wanted to be there to celebrate the devirginizing? That's excellent New Mutant-ness right there. But, it's lost amidst Cosmar's disappointment that the Crucible can't return her original body to her and Scout's anger at Daken wanting to sex up Aurora instead of play with her.
At this point, I'm willing to entertain the chaos so that Ayala can show us all the various mutants interacting under the New Mutants umbrella. But, I think it would help if we soon had a more core group of characters to follow.
X-Men #17 (January 27): Other than the joy of seeing Cannonball and Sunspot, this issue is mostly notable for the fact that Cyclops and Marvel Girl are in their X-Factor costumes and holding hands. I believe that it's the first confirmation that they're together? Hickman has been coy about that since he took over the title. Although I'm glad to see it, I'd also really like to get an issue dedicated to how that happened. In fact, I wouldn't mind Hickman eventually showing us how Krakoa came about existing. The jump in time was necessary to jolt us into this new era, but now that we're well in it I don't think that it would hurt to show how the key characters came to be where they were when "House of X"/"Powers of X" started. Oh, yes, also, Jean, Ororo, and Scott help Smasher stop an assassination attempt on Xandra as Bobby and Sam babysit. If Hickman ever stops writing X-Men, I'd love for him to stay and do a Bobby/Sam series.
No comments:
Post a Comment