Amazing Spider-Man #2: Jesus fucking Christ. I thought I was going to spend this review complaining about how Mary Jane is now a step-mother or something else related to last issue's revamping of Peter's status quo. But Wells makes it clear that these concerns really pale (heh) in comparison to the fact that Tombstone might really just kill Spider-Man after he tricks Peter into a trap. Underlining that Tombstone is playing for keeps, Wells has Tombstone send away Janice because he's going to become the man that he's never wanted her to see. It's...a lot. As disappointed as I am about the Mary Jane situation, I am more and more excited that Wells is going to meet my (high) hopes for him taking over the title.
Moon Knight #11: Zodiac goes full Joker here, revealing his goal is to take away everything from Marc so that he can become "self-actualized." To Zodiac's mind, that means Marc killing everyone all the time. His plan was to lure Marc to where Jigsaw was holding Dr. Sterman. While Jigsaw killed Dr. Sterman in front of Marc, Zodiac would kill Reese at the Mission.
Thankfully, Jigsaw is an idiot, so Marc, Tigra, and Winner manage to save Dr. Sterman. That said, Zodiac isn't an idiot, so he's definitely got time to kill Reese and at least a few neighbors before Marc and/or the police arrive. In order to get there in time to prevent that outcome, Marc asks for Khonshu's help.
I haven't gotten over the PTSD I feel from reading "Avengers: Age of Khonshu;" I still don't understand why Marc sold Khonshu down the river when Khonshu was right about Mephisto. But Khonshu doesn't seem angry enough about it to let Marc shirk his responsibilities as Moon Knight and opens a path for him and Tigra to get to the Mission as quickly as possible. Because it's "Moon Knight," Khonshu makes it clear that it's going to get bloody.
Meanwhile, Soldier dresses as Mr. Knight and goes with Reese to confront Zodiac to buy Moon Knight some time. (I'm worried about Soldier's handsome face.) Given his and Reese's dedication, Zodiac makes an excellent point about how Khonshu isn't the only one with Fists. Let's see how they fly!
Newburn #7: The series takes a turn as we learn that Emily was a former cadet who left the academy after she and another cadet were somehow involved in a murder. Unfortunately, it turns out the murdered person was the nephew of the Albano family's boss. When the other cadet - now a police officer - gets in too deep to pay off his gambling debt, he sells this information to the guy running the den who in turns sells it to the Albanos.
Emily bumps into her former classmate as she's helping Newburn investigate the murder of the Yakuza boss. Her classmate arrests her to prevent her from leaving HQ since he knows that the Albanos are going to kill her.
I don't entirely get how he knew the Albanos chose that moment - while she was in a police station - to kill her, but I'm hoping Zdarsky explains that later. It borders on pet peeve #3 by having one of the hitmen complain about taking out someone at a police station, which, you know, doesn't seem the best idea.
Past the Last Mountain #3: If this series' main story has so far been about the sacrifices necessary to maintain hope and innocence in the post-war era, the War Stories have been about the war's brutality - emotionally, physically, and socially. These themes converge in this issue, as Simon is driven to murder.
In fact, the main story's theme this issue is on the "peace's" brutality. Neil brings three Goblins with him as he searches for the companions. On the way to where they think the companions are, the lead Goblin taunts Neil about how scared humans are of Goblins. In this exchange, we learn that humans not only keep Goblins in cages in a pit but refuse to give them names: they get a number. It's chilling to see how dehumanized, if you will, the humans have made the Goblins. But we also realize, by comparison, that they're not treating the other creatures much better: the humans, not their parents, give them their names. Neil asks the Goblin what his name is, and the Goblin refuses to answer.
The teams lands and the Goblins find the companions. Willa lays down fire to scatter the humans and attacks one, which results in another human dropping the pole he was using to restrain the lead Goblin. In turn, he tells the other Goblins to fight their bloodlust and run, a sign of how his bravado in the helicopter was a sign of who he used to be, not who he is now. When Neil angrily shouts "47" at him (revealing his number), 47 turns and attacks. Trevor throws himself in front of Neil, and 47 devours him.
It's here where innocence, if not hope, dies. Simon is holding the sword that Kate dropped in a fight with a human and uses it to kill 47 in revenge for "Trevor Trollfriend's" murder. In a devastating flashback, we see that 47 didn't tell Neil the name that his parents gave him because he no longer remembered it. As we contemplate the end of 47's shattered life, Neil is shaken when he realizes that Simon is his son's age. He tells Simon that he should've protected him and lets the companions go. He then kills the remaining Goblins so they can't follow them and tells the team that they're retreating.
Meanwhile, Kate succumbs to the tranquilizer dart that a human successfully fired at her and tells Willa to leave with Simon. Willa wants to kill the rest of the humans to keep Kate safe, but Simon grabs her and drags her through the forest, telling Willa that they'll keep going like Kate would've done for them. We then learn that Dragon Lake is real: it's the crossing into Alberta, Canada. That said, it's unclear how well the armed guards at the heavily fortified crossing will treat the companions.
Fittingly, the War Stories are particularly brutal this month, as war has left a Fairy seeing her harp only its possible use as a weapon and two Troll children watch the humans murder their general father. If the peace is brutal, the war is worse.
Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #1: Although I enjoyed this issue, I'm concerned that Orlando is going to go the "Marvel 2099" route, where this mini-series devolves into just presenting the 2099 versions of current B- and C-list characters.
It begins right where "Spider-Man 2099: Exodus - Alpha" #1 ended, with Miguel successfully ferrying Zero's people to Transverse City. Mission accomplished, Miguel is concerned that Osborn's bounty will have "mothers gutting sons" to secure the Celestial Garden for him. Zero shows his gratitude for Miguel's assistance by bringing in Winter Solider 13 to help. He informs Miguel that she has a "standing offer" on the murmurnet to trade intelligence for wetworks.
As she approaches a fortress in Zimnii Metch (Siberia, Free Russian Alliance), 13 exposits that her story really began when the new chief of the Winter Solider program decided they were too dangerous. As such, he set up the Soldiers to sabotage Alchemax's "relaunched Aesir program" only for one of the "deified death troops" (i.e., Thor) to destroy everyone but 13. (If I remember "Fall of the Hammer" from the original 2099 timeline correctly, we never really got a good sense of what Alchemax wanted to do with the original Aesir program.) We learn that the intelligence that 13 wanted via her murmurnet offer was on her betrayers. Zero gives her the information she needed most: it's where the final one was hiding, which is why we're in Zimnii Metch.
13 enters the fortress to find Chief Woland, presumably the aforementioned chief. We learn that he's a Cabal pledge and wants to win Osborn's bounty. In exchange for a cracked mysterium datadrive that tells her who she is, Woland suggests she come with him to the Celestial Gardens to heal the drive and win the bounty. Instead, she kills him, risking the Boneyard - the Cabal's security team - coming after her. Using Woland's black card, 13 boards a teletrain to Nueva York.
Once the jump gate opens, 13 exits into the Wastes, knowing Crossbones is on her tail. Their fight is brutal, as Crossbones rips off her metal arm and taunts her about killing Bucky and taking his arm as a prize. (I guess Crossbones was part of the crew that publicly killed the Avengers.) Using a knife that she swiped from a kind older woman who fed her on the train, 13 cuts off Crossbones' arm and plunges the knife through his skull.
Using the Garden to affix Barnes' arm and heal the drive, 13 is stunned to learn that her family is real. In a rare win for the 2099 reality, she finds them. In exchange, she uses her "winter song" (i.e., her emp power) to take out Madame Web's airborne servers and, with them, the murmurnet. By silencing "the entire dark metaverse," she effectively shut down the bounty. Miguel expresses concern that they'll come after her, but she probably correctly surmises that Osborn is going to have to go after the Garden himself since he can't rely on the bounty for people to do it for him.
Again, I enjoyed this issue and 13's story. That said, I'm worried that next issue's focus on Loki means this "event" is just yet another short-story collection Marvel plans on forgetting once it reboots the 2099 line yet again. I hope I'm wrong.
Also Read: Devil's Reign: Omega #1
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