Marauders #20 (May 5): This issue is excellent, as Duggan has the team say farewell to Storm on the eve of the Hellfire Gala. It involves everyone telling their favorite Storm stories and guessing how many knives she carries. As usual, Emma steals the show, when she thanks Storm for making sure that the wind was at Hellfire Trading's back during its launch. But, the issue's end is the most interesting, as it seems that Shaw is going to propose the Council bring back mutants before Cerebro came online. (Time travel?) Duggan also hints at the "Hellfire Expedition" proposal, which I'm guessing will define the post-Gala status quo for this series. Given how uneven the last few issues have been, it's nice to have Storm's send-off meet the series' original promise.
Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom #1 (May 12): Whoa. I mean, it isn't all that surprising that Boomerang betrayed Spidey and was working for Kingpin this time. In fact, his entire redemption arc only really makes sense because it wasn't true. Still, poor Spidey.
Reading about Spidey vouching for Boomerang, I was reminded when Boomerang killed Jackpot's husband in front of her and her daughter in "Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot" #2 (I think). Sure, his moment at the Bar with No Name shows that he knows what he lost. But, it's Boomerang. He always knows what he's lost, and he does it anyway. It took me a while to figure out that Fred's "disagreement" with the Kingpin on the "compensation package" is what led the Kingpin sending New York's underworld against him, even though he was still willing to provide Kingpin with the last fragment of the Tablet of Life and Destiny.
The big news is that Wilson decides to resurrect his son, Richard, instead of his wife. (I was a little surprised Richard was resurrected fully dressed in his Rose outfit instead of, you know, naked.) Wilson made that decision after Kindred refused to resurrect Vanessa and, in a scene we didn't see at the time, then asks him why he thinks that she wants to return to him. He realizes that he could atone for Vanessa's greatest sin - murdering her son - and resurrect him. I've been down on Spencer for a while, but, OK, this twist is actually interesting.
Moreover, Spencer appears to be putting aside this need to have Peter blame himself for everything. When he convenes the New Avengers to help him find Fred, he realizes (again) the extent to which he's isolated himself from his family and friends in a misguided drive to protect them.
Guardians of the Galaxy #14 (May 12): First, these Booth covers are awesome. Moving onto the story, Ewing is finally telling the type of Guardians story that I was hoping we'd see in this series.
First, on Rimworld #360-3715, Team B discovers that Sister Talionis is trying to open a "dark doorway" to allow He-Who-Waits to enter. Kl'rt recognizes the three stars that she names and hypothesizes that Talionis is making a constellation from them to summon dark powers. When he notes that the other star would have to be exactly in the right place for the spell to work, the team realizes that this suspiciously perfectly located "new planet" is actually Ego the Living Planet. Ego is apparently He-Who-Waits' herald. The team returns to the Almond (the Bowie's successor) as Talionis' minions slit their hands for a blood offering. They then begin to die in terrible ways to make way for He-Who-Waits.
Meanwhile, on Throneworld II, Doom swaps bodies with Teddy so that he can wield the Sword of Space. Ewing does a great job with Doom, as he has the team on the ropes for a while. Moondragon eventually has the team goad Doom into switching bodies again (by implying that he chose Teddy given the similarity his powers have to Mister Fantastic's) and then hijacks his consciousness and places it into Rocket's. Doom says that he's only trying to get the Sword of Space because he senses "something" coming, and Team A realizes that it's He-Who-Waits. Peter then conscripts Doom into the Guardians to help.
Seriously, it's great stuff. Given how difficult to follow this series' first twelve issues were, Ewing spinning a classic Guardian tale is all the more rewarding.
Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow #2 (May 12): First, I am here for a bearded Peter Parker. It's like when Mayor Pete finally grew one.
More importantly, this issue is intense. By the end of it, Peter has killed Kingpin, Scorpion, and Shocker and broken JJJ, Jr.'s hand. I mean, before he kills Kingpin, Spidey throws Scorpion and Shocker's dismembered limbs at him, since it was Kingpin who sent them after him. In other words, it ain't your father's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Something I think that Zdarsky gets absolutely right is that people are underestimating Spidey because they don't quite believe that he's a killer now. Kingpin actually taunts him, as if Peter wasn't going to kill him right then and there.
Zdarksy shows Peter struggling with the shame, particularly after he confesses to MJ that he killed Hobgoblin, but it's clear that the symbiote is quickly taking over full control. While Reed Richards has Johnny Storm trying to find him, Doctor Octopus is putting together the Sinister Six so they can kill him before he kills them.
So far, each development makes sense to me, and, as such, I'm really worried for Peter where we're going.
Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #65 (May 5)
