Amazing Spider-Man #61 (March 10): We have good news and bad news here.
On the plus side, Spencer functionally abandons the Kindred story. Do we know how Harry Osborn went from mild-mannered dad to villain-resurrecting devil? No. But, if Spencer is willing to ignore it, I'm willing to ignore it. I assume that we're going to return to the story at some point (and it probably isn't a good sign that I'm dreading that.) But, any day that I don't have to hear about Kindred is a good day.
Instead, Spencer essentially engages in a soft relaunch, as Peter and Spider-Man take jobs with Threats and Menaces. I'm not quite sure what Peter's job is, but Spider-Man accepts a new suit that JJJ, Jr. designed to let him serve as Spidey's Man in the Chair. In fact, Spidey essentially becomes Screwball, using fan-sourced banter and allowing everyone to see his exploits through the suit's virtual-reality technology. Is it a bad idea? Probably. But, Spencer makes it clear that Peter desperately needs the money, so he's willing to accept the suit-hijacking threat that clearly is coming later (probably when Norah needs more views).
On the down side, I feel like Spencer is really playing loose with Peter's secret identity. After all, he and Fred start an Instragram page for Gog. Kingpin sends Bullseye after Gog as Boomerang (in costume) sits with him at the park to pick up girls. Meanwhile, Hydro-Man, Shocker, and Speed-Demon distract Spidey so that Bullseye can set up the shot. Spidey is clearly going to save Gog, yet again tying him to Boomerang. Given that Peter's connection to Spider-Man is pretty clear and Peter lives with Boomerang, it's like when Tony Stark wink-winked everyone that he wasn't Iron Man. Given the likelihood of the aforementioned suit-hijacking threat happening, someone could also learn Peter's identity through said hijacking.
All that said, this story feels like a Spider-Man story, the first one in many, many issues. If I have to deal with my willful suspension of disbelief getting pushed to its absolute limit when it comes to Peter's secret identity, I'll take it.
Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1 (March 17): Given how terrible "King in Black: Black Knight" #1 was, I was worried this series would be equally awful. I'm glad to say, as a long-time fan of Dane Whitman, Spurrier does a much better job here explaining the broken Dane whom we saw in "King in Black: Black Knight"#1.
Dane has accepted that his darkness and rage are necessary to fuel the Ebony Blade and, thus, allow him to be a hero. When the Avengers call him to help fight clay-like creatures invading Central Park, he's desperate to spend time with them. As such, he's devastated when they make it clear that they only called him so he can use his magic to destroy the creatures. Spurrier is at his best when he has Dane recalls all his darkest memories - from his mother's death to his father's abuse - to summon the necessary energy to do so.
In the wake of him using his powers, a black-robed figure appears. He disables the Avengers by whispering their deepest regrets to them, and only Dane proves immune (given how much time he frequently spends with said regrets). After the figure uses a knife that Dane recognizes to decapitate him, the figure is furious that Dane's dead body won't release the Ebony Blade. Dane is later resurrected when the young woman whom he's asked to teach him more about Arthurian legends actually cuts herself on the Ebony Blade.
My only complaint at this point is that I don't get why Spurrier decided that "dark" equals "pathetic." As I mentioned in my review of "King in Black: Black Knight" #1, Dane is a spineless, stuttering fool here. He even continues to use olde-timey language that I don't recall him ever using. I'd much prefer us getting the dark, edgy Dane whom I recognize and who makes the Avengers uncomfortable.
But, all in all, I'm happy where we're going, particularly if it brings back the Dane Whitman whom I know and love.
Amazing Spider-Man #62 (March 24): I totally forgot about Robbie Robertson and Tombstone's, um, past, so I missed how it essentially turns Randy and the Beetle into Romeo and Juliet. Tombstone discovers their rekindled relationship as he plans on holding Randy hostage to attract Boomerang and then kill him. Oops. Meanwhile, Boomerang is bereft as he and Spider-Man give Gog to MJ for safekeeping and swears revenge on the Kingpin. As Bleeding Cool said about this issue, everyone around Peter (and Spider-Man) is living a more interesting life than Peter is.
Guardians of the Galaxy #12 (March 24): I'll admit that I still don't entirely understand what Ewing was doing with the Olympians or really how it ended. (Are Marvel Boy, Moondragon, and Star-Lord really "opposites" as the name "Union of Opposites" implies?) But, I'm thrilled where we end, with the Galactic Council acknowledging that the post-Knull freefall that the galactic economy faces means that they can't restart the Nova Corps: they need the Guardians to serve its rapid-reaction force. Based on the last page, K'lrt and Quasar are joining the team, and I couldn't be happier.
Captain America #28 (March 31): After the lull in this series that was the Madripoor mission, Coates is flooring it as he rushes to the end. The Skull's plan to murder an idea, as Sharon says, is going pretty well.
Toni brings in Agatha Harkness to examine the bomb that the Skull exploded in New York. She reveals that it's a twist on a device that she created to rally people to fight; this device rallies them to hate. It doesn't matter that the bomb slowly kills the people who came to the Skull's rally; more people gather in various cities. They're drawn to the Skull's speech about men claiming the "sword of manhood" to prevent their nightmare from happening. Coates and the Skull leave what the "nightmare" is intentionally vague, a way for these men to define it however they want.
But, Coates makes it clear what he thinks of these men. Cap meets a detective, Dane Brennan, in the burn ward at Lenox Hill Hospital. He isn't just there to see how his men are doing; he's there because his brother, Jamie, was one of the men at the rally injured in the bombing. Dane describes Jamie as the only non-NYPD brother of five brothers, a disappointment to everyone. Cap correctly surmises the rest: Jamie disappears into the internet and returns obsessed with the Skull's new theory of the world. Dane is surprised that Cap knows that, but Cap tells him that it's how it always is, that weak young men eventually find a purpose. He found the flag, and Dane found the badge: his brother found the Skull.
In the end, Alexa and Sin trap Cap at the rally in Chicago, using a poisoned knife to ensure that Sin's Skeleton Crew can beat him to a pulp. When Sharon comes to save him, it's the perfect propaganda for the Skull. I don't know what Coates has left at this point, but I know that it's getting harder and harder to see our gang winning. I can't remember a comic that I've read recently where I wasn't sure that the heroes would eventually win. In other words, it's exciting.
X-Men #19 (March 31): The short of this issue is that Darwin, Synch, and Wolverine's incursion into the Vault is successful.
The City learned of Krakoa (presumably through Serafina's time outside the Vault) and realized that it had to create an unplanned generation of Children to defeat a reinvigorated mutantkind. However, it didn't have the power to do so. As a result, it kidnapped Darwin and used his evolutionary powers (by "atomizing" him) to begin generating the fourth generation of Children. Upon realizing what the City is doing, Everett and Laura go through the Vault's shield, which strips them of their powers, to escape. Laura sacrifices herself for Everett, who manages to get outside the Vault - and thus project his mind to Professor X - before the Children kill him. When he's resurrected, Krakoa now has all his knowledge of the Vault.
My only complaint about this issue is that it's heavy on Hickmanesque hints and misdirections. Do we know exactly how Orchis captured the second generation of Children? What does "time debt inversion" mean? I had to read the issue twice just to be able to piece together what I did here.
I'm not saying the issue isn't good. Hickman does a good job injecting it with emotion given the lifetimes-long relationship that Everett and Laura enjoy. Synch awakens remembering their time together, and she doesn't: it's a lot. But, it's still asking a lot of the reader to go on this journey. In other words, read this one sober.
Also Read: King in Black: Wiccan and Hulkling #1 (March 3)
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