Four-Month-Old Comics: The January 4 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Astronaut Down #5:  We get a pretty anticlimactic ending to the series here, as Douglas does the right thing and sends the transmission to his Earth.  Before he does, he knocks up Maddie, explaining that he caught glimpses of other realities during this travels and in most of them he saw their daughter.  In the transmission, he includes a message about learning how to bridge our divides and forgive each other, which felt more saccharine than we've seen Douglas be.  To that point, we aren't really given a solid reason for Douglas' change of heart, other than maybe feeling like it was OK to die so long as he procreated?  It's unclear.  All in all, it was an interesting series, though more notable for its concept than its execution.

Batman #131:  Zdarsky shows no sign of slowing down here.  In fact, this arc seems poised to exceed his first one in excellence if this issue is any indication.

Bruce awakens in the alley that we saw at the end of last issue.  A couple of punks have stolen his equipment and, notably, don't recognize him; one of them comments that Bruce looks like a "Venomed-up freak."  Bruce realizes that he's in Crime Alley, but something about it feels different.  His proof comes in the form of a skeletal Jim Gordon with the personality of the Joker.  He calls himself "Jimbo" and tells Bruce that they fight crime together!  "Biff!  Bam!  Pow!"

Bruce realizes that he's on a different Earth, one where his brownstone lays abandoned and someone else owns Wayne Tower.  Zdarksy underscores the seriousness of the situation when Bruce says this "Gotham feels...more foreboding.  Darker."  If that doesn't scare you, I don't know what will.  

As Bruce quips, it's still Gotham, though, and he follows a scream to an apartment where a Judge Dredd-like "Judge Dent" is terrorizing the residents, asking if they're sane or insane.  Bruce recognizes that it's Harvey and that Harvey and his goons are on Venom.  When Firely (ever the idiot, as Bruce mentions) sets the building on fire in an attempt to get Bruce, Bruce helps a woman escape but Dent nabs him before he can follow her to safety.  Zdarskey does a great job of showing how Bruce is struggling here.  He still hasn't recovered from Failsafe, and a Venomized Dent beats him to a pulp.  He survives only when a street kid saves him via two knives she throws into Dent's face.  

At the girl's dilapidated apartment, she tells Bruce that her name is Julia but everyone calls her Jewel.  Zdarsky shifts pace here as we segue from action to characterization.  Bruce asks where Jewel's parents are and she doesn't respond, leaving the room to get more alcohol for Bruce's wounds.  Bruce realizes that she has the same look of an orphan that he and his raven-haired boys do.  Bruce realizes that he and Batman are dead in this reality, which is why Failsafe sent him here:  his version of compassion was giving Bruce another Gotham to save.

Meanwhile, Selina is running her own operation but responds to a call from the Red Mask, who sends a carrier raven with a photo of Bruce and tells her to bring Bruce to him alive.  I'm not sure who Red Mask is, but, given the torture victims behind him and his Klan-like costume, I don't think he's a nice guy.

In the back-up story, we learn that Tim recognized the gun that Failsafe used on Bruce.    Jon Kent apparently took it from Toyman after Toyman killed himself (I thought Grifter killed him?) and stored it - and all other supervillain weapons he found - in the Fortress of Solitude while his father was in space.  We know that Toyman is alive given the introduction so clearly we're going on a Toyman hunt.

Later, Tim helps Dick take down one of Joker's goons calling himself Cutup.  Dick and Tim discuss how all the low-level goons are making a play based on the rumor that Batman is dead.  (As Tim says, the Banes and the Riddlers know not to believe it.)  Dick suggests Tim let Batman save himself while they save Gotham, which Tim isn't buying.  You'd think Dick would remember how Tim found Bruce the last time he died?  Then again Dick is the pretty one so...  

At any rate, Jon calls Tim from the Fortress and suggests that Toyman may have left some clues when it comes to the gun.  Dun-dun-DUN!

Again, this issue is great, and I'm so fucking happy we're finally getting the type of stories that Batman deserves.

Captain America:  Sentinel of Liberty #8:  This issue is dense.

Steve goes into a gas station and calls Aaron Fischer, the Captain America of the Railways, telling him to activate the Captains Network.  It took some Googling to discover that Aaron is one of the heroes introduced in "United States of Captain America." Aaron manages to collect everyone but Black Widow, who Roger says has gone dark, and Hawkeye, who is apparently still in New York.  

Honestly, this entire sequence doesn't make much sense.  Does Aaron have some sort of magical railcar?  Peggy complains about having to ride outside the car, which Nick says made sense since A.I.M. is likely looking for them.  But doesn't it make more sense to ride inside the car where they can't see them?  Also, I don't get why Aaron had to assemble everyone.  Couldn't Steve just have called them all and told them to meet him in Kansas?  To that end, we've not told where the rest of them were during these five days.

At any rate, Steve mentally calls Emma with the code she gave him:  hilariously, it's "Mommy."  Although Peggy refuses to submit to Emma, the rest of the group does and realizes that the Outer Circle used a M.O.D.O.C. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Control) to disappear them for the five days they needed to take over Lower Manhattan.  M.O.D.O.C. also apparently saw into their secrets, which could get interesting down the line.  

Again, though, this sequence has issues.  First, we're not told A.I.M. was somehow able to take down Cap, Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter, Nick Fury, and Redacted.  Sharon discovers a subdermal scar next to her ear, which implies they were attacked and A.I.M. inserted an implant M.O.D.O.C. to use.  But how did A.I.M. manage to take down this group, particularly since Black Widow and Hawkeye were also with them at the time.  Also, why not just kill them?  Also, did A.I.M. really need to take over Lower Manhattan just to get the neganite?  It seems like a lot of effort.

In other words, the authors tried to tell a larger story than this issue could contain.  Honestly, the best part of the issue is when Steve's art-class friends try to find him and run into Amari.  They've all got great chemistry together, and I'd love to see them fight A.I.M. from the inside now that they're captured.

Star Wars #30:  This issue is reminiscent of Gillen's initial run on "Star Wars (2015)," as I can hear the characters speaking in the actors' voices for the first time in a long while.  Amilyn, Lando, and Luke particularly jump off the page.  

The team finds itself in a serious pickle:  they learn that the Kezarat convoy has turned into the Kezarat colony because no one has found a way to escape No-Space in two centuries.  Uh-oh.

At this stage, my only complaint is that the story's flow remains clunky.  I think it's due to the extensive script, which I appreciate narratively but seems better suited to a movie or TV show.  I found myself almost tired of flipping pages at the issue's end, which isn't a good place to find oneself.

Hopefully now that Soule has set up the story it'll move more quickly.

X-Men Red #10:  Oof.  Like other issues this week, this issue has way too many stories happening at once, making it difficult to follow.  Moreover, Ewing leans a little too heavily into the Arakkii way of speaking in riddles, slowing down the pace even further.  If you strip out the verbiage, this issue's overarching theme is that the Arakkii are finally starting to learn how to cooperate.  

Khora uses her powers to amplify Cable's so that he can use his telekinesis to absorb the techo-organic virus Orbis Stellaris has sitting in the lab.  He creates a pretty fucking cool set of armor with it and becomes the Progenitors' focus.  As such, they take their attention off Manifold who works with Lactuca to teleport the Progenitors "all the way outside," which he hypothesizes is where they originated in the first place.

Meanwhile, Lodus Logos, Sobunar, and Wrongslide help Storm defeat Vulcan, encasing him in a mysterium suit until they can figure out his future.

Brand realizes that Roberto paid off Mentallo to relay Xandra's telepathic manipulation of Brand so Brand wouldn't realize Xandra was hiding Storm at the Autumn Palace. (I'm still not sure about this part.  Per my question last issue, I think now that Xandra also manipulated Vulcan to go there so that Storm could finish him, but Ewing doesn't make that clear.)

Roberto, Xandra, and company arrive to confront Brand, but she uses Cable's bodyslide technology to escape.  That said, she arrives at her safehouse to discover the Fisher King waiting for her.  I'm still not sure what the Fisher King's powers are, so I'm not sure what kind of threat he is to Brand.  But he uses her true name (Abigail Thanriaguiaxus, or "Born-as-Axus-Ended") and knew her safehouse's location, so it probably isn't good for her that he calls her an enemy of Arakko.

Underlining my point about how we have too much going on here, the issue ends with the revelation that Orbis Stellaris is somehow Nathan Essex, something Cable also knows after he asked Weaponless Zen (whose power is to draw the truth) to draw his identity.

I'm hoping Ewing uses the end of this arc to focus a little more next issue, because I can't keep all these plots straight much longer.

Five-Month-Old Comics: The December 7 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America:  Sentinel of Liberty #7:  Lanzing and Kelly show that Bucky knew what he was doing when he sent Sharon to Steve as she gets him going again (in more ways than one).

In fact, this issue is all about Steve remembering who his friends are, which is great, because they don't necessarily tell him what he wants to hear.  For example, the issue begins with Namor finding Steve to return his shield (which he lost during his fall from the Outer Circle's headquarters).  When Steve tells Namor about Bucky, Namor tells him what he still refuses to believe, that Bucky works in the shadows so Steve doesn't have to enter them.  Namor gives Steve solid advice in telling him to find people comfortable in the shadows if he's going to save Bucky.  Enter Sharon.

Sharon then puts together a group of Steve's friends to help, and I couldn't be happier with this team:  Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Peggy Carter, and Roger Aubrey.  (When Steve previously mentioned Roger during his conversation with Namor, Namor was thrilled to find out Roger was still alive.  He told Steve to send Roger his regards, which Steve does.  An overjoyed Roger tells Steve to put it on his tombstone.  Roger is very much a breath of fresh air here.)

Steve passes on information that Roger found to the team, namely that A.I.M. technology is unavailable on the black market right now.  Natasha says that fits with three of her A.I.M. contacts going missing, and the team assumes A.I.M. is cleaning house before something big.  

The team then considers the piece of neganite that Bucky and Steve collected from the Destroyer and that Bucky left as a clue for Steve in his emptied-out apartment.  Nick notes that it's usually used only in zero gravity, and the team concludes that Arnim Zola is the likely the person who put it in play (which we know, given the Circle last issue identified him as a Starpoint).  

Hawkeye tells the team that the Thunderbolts are currently cleaning out a Zola facility.  The team prepares to set a trap for the Circle, assuming they'll make a move on the facility.  The problem is that Steve wakes up four days later in Kansas with no idea how he got there and A.I.M. seems to have sealed off New York City.  D'oh!

Lanzing and Kelly do a great job of making all these developments flow from one moment to the next.  Despite a lot of exposition in the team's conversation, it felt like an organic dialogue between the characters, a rarity in comics.  

Moreover, the authors stay focused on the pain that Steve feels over what he sees as Bucky's betrayal.  I could find fault with this series over Steve's refusal to believe Bucky is doing the right thing, but Lanzing and Kelly make it clear that they're intentionally making Steve feel this way.  They're feelings, not logic.  They're totally right that Steve would feel depressed both by confronting a situation where he isn't in charge and where he's trying not to face the sacrifices Bucky makes for him.  Moreover, Lanzing and Kelly make it clear that Steve's friends are aware of this blindspot, again a rarity in comics.

As I've previously said, Lanzing and Kelly are seriously overcoming my doubts about this story and delivering what I think is going to become a classic Captain America tale.  It's great stuff.

Dark Web #1:  OK, "Dark Web."  Here we go.

As a Spider-Man and X-Men fan, I'm more excited about the Spider-Man side of this event than the X-Men one.  

On the Spider-Man side, I totally get Ben's motivations.  In order to regain his memories (and sanity), Ben needs Peter's memories.  It isn't that complicated.  Madelyne gives him a means to that end.

I still don't get Madelyne's part, though.  Magik turned over Limbo to her in "New Mutants" in recognition of her desire to belong somewhere.  As we saw in "Amazing Spider-Man" #14, Madelyne has doubts that Magik had her best interests at heart.  I get that.  But I feel like Madelyne had many more options than diving into "Inferno Part Deux" just because a hot blond dude appeared on her doorstep.  (She does like her hot blond dudes, though...)

At any rate, shenanigans will ensure. Madelyne and Hallow's Eve (the Summers Eve jokes really make themselves, so I won't belabor the point) are on some sort of mission with Venom (whose son Madelyne has kidnapped and who Madelyne magically lobotomized) while Ben takes the fight to Norman, the guy who engineered his (first) death.  We'll see where we go from here.

Star Wars:  Hidden Empire #2:  This issue is refreshingly direct.  The Archivist and the woman helping her, Kho Phon Farrus, manage to turn on the Fermata Cage.  But it attracts Darth Sidious' and Darth Vader's attention, and Sidioius dispatches Vader to get the Cage.  While Qi'ra regroups at a hidden safehouse, she dispatches Chanath Cha and her team to help the Archivist.  But I'm pretty sure Vader is just going to kill them all, so I'm not really sure what Soule is going to do with the last three issues.

X-Men Red #9:  Roberto's ongoing role as Sol's underestimated kingmaker kicks up a notch here as Brand is surprised when it turns out he, and not Xandra, sat on the Diplomatic Zone's throne when Vulcan tried to assassinate Xandra.  Poor Abby.

Meanwhile, Ewing shows us how Brand manipulated Xavier into resurrecting Gabriel.  She convinced him that Magneto's death left an Omega-level hole in the mutants' defenses, and Charles ego did the rest:  he decides that he can "cure" Vulcan before he hatches.  As expected, it didn't work, and Vulcan tears through the Galactic Council before trying to assassinate Xandra here.  

But the revelation that Roberto was using a Shi'ar image inducer to act as Xandra sends off Vulcan to find her.  For some reason he decides that she's in the Autumn Palace, Magneto's former residence, which I don't totally understand.  But he does find Storm, so I'm not complaining because I'm here for that fight.

Five-Month-Old Comics: The November 2 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Astronaut Down #4:  This issue is best enjoyed if you accept the metaphysical explanations at face value.

Newly arrived in another reality (again), Douglas hears from this reality's scientists that they just sent out their own astronauts when Douglas appeared.  Due to what the scientists call "shift theory," Douglas shifted to this reality almost immediately after its Douglas departed his body, since "neighboring realities have only slight variations and would be in the same crises and attempting the same mission."  This part I accept (more or less).

However, I raised an eyebrow at the next part, where the scientists explain that, by imbedding their reality's cure equation in every astronaut's consciousness pack, they ensure the neighboring realities would do the same.  First, I'm now sure about the causal directionality there.  It implies that events aren't happening independently in each reality.  In other words, the cancer might have occurred in Set B of realities only because it occurred sui generis in Set A of neighboring realities.  Second, if they had the cure, why did they need Douglas?  Did their cure not work in their reality?  At any rate, as I said, it's easier to accept it at face value:  Douglas arrives in this reality with the cure, which we know he found in his previous reality.  

The rest of the issue focuses on Douglas' guilt over saving this reality but not his own one.  Complicating matters, this reality's Maddie proposes they get together.  Douglas doesn't initially respond, but he later activates a message from Dr. Engle in which she confirms that they knew his mission may only save another reality.  She encourages him to live his life wherever he is, and he and Maddie get together.

Of course, just as Maddie tells Douglas she wants a baby, this new reality's scientists inform Douglas that they think they can send back his consciousness to his reality if they can retrieve some equipment from a warehouse in an area where the cancer's control is fading.  Of course, Douglas would die in said mission.  Poor Douglas.

Batman #129:  The irony of this issue is that the fight between Batman and Failsafe is almost boring.  

Just before Failsafe arrives in Atlantis and captures Aquaman, Bruce escapes to the Moon-based Watchtower.  He's surprised Failsafe makes it there as quickly as he does but manages to do some damage to him thanks to a gun that involves "three quadrillion watts and New Genesis steel."  

Batman then pulls a "Superman 2:"  figuring Failsafe destroyed all the Justice League's teleporters except one - which would inevitably lead him to a similar "Home Alone"-esque gauntlet the Justice League encountered in Gotham - Batman reversed the, I don't know, polarities.  As such, he sends Failsafe to the Hall of Justice, where he was planning on running Batman through said gauntlet.  But for some reason doing so caused the Watchtower to explode, leaving Batman floating in space with few options.  

Again, it's action-packed, but we're watching Bruce match wits essentially against himself, which makes it feel clinical.  We really need to amp up the emotional stakes with the Bat-family's lives on the line to make this arc as legendary as I think it's going to be.

Blade Runner:  Black Lotus #4:  This issue is a disappointing end to a disappointing series.  

First, Collins throws us an unnecessary curveball when it turns out one of the "hostages," Preston, was the one who initially betrayed the co-op.  He collided with Barnes to set up the assassination attempt on Miguel and the kidnapping of the hostages.  Why, you ask?  Because he loved Nyoko!  Men are such dummies.

After Elle defeats Preston, Kozlov sets up Miguel when he demands that he meet him alone at Junktown for "negotiations."  Despite Junkett warning Miguel that Kozlov was in town stirring up the townspeople against the co-op, Miguel insists on going - alone - because...I don't know, peace.  If he's really such an idiot, I'm surprised he survived his time as a Blade Runner.  

Elle rushes ahead of Miguel to fight Kozlov, forcing him to confess Barnes' scheme to the townspeople.  But she's such a fucking idiot that she goes full Replicant on a guy who barely has a face at this point, raising the townspeople's suspicions.  She decides that she has to leave to keep the co-op safe, which in and of itself doesn't make sense.  Making matters worse, she decides not to say good-bye, even with a wailing Kaja begging her not to leave.  She literally just gets on her spinner bike and tells the co-op folks to have a good life.

Elle deserved better than this series.

Star Wars #29:  I wanted to like this issue.  After all, it does what I've been asking Soule to do, to refocus on the main characters after his recent attempts at telling stories involving marginal characters haven't worked so well.  

Here, Amilyn Holdo bringing Chewbacca, Lando, Leia, and Luke on a wild goose chase to find the legendary lost Kezarat convoy and its hundred tankers full of tibanna coaxium.  We even get some surprisingly great banter between Amilyn and Lando.

But something about the issue's flow is clunky.  Maybe it's because Amilyn keeps going to ridiculous lengths to keep the plan from Leia, all under the guise that they're just on a vacation.  Maybe it's because Soule is forced to jam Amilyn's eventual explanation into too few panels after spending so much time setting up the denouement.  Whatever it is, meh.

X-Men Red #8:  Ewing exhibits a masterful control over the pace and tone of this story as he weaves together several seemingly unconnected events into drama.

Cable recruits a team to find a sample of his techno-organic virus that a race called the Progenitors stole from him.  (I would've appreciated an editor's note here to give me a little more information about when that happened.)  He explains that it involves eventually taking out Abigail Brand, though going about it the long way.

Using their combined resources, the team finds the virus on a planet in the gap between galaxies and stumbles upon the entities who buried Vulcan's dark side in "X-Men (2019)" #10.  Intrigued by the entitites' creepiness when the team finds them in some form of stasis, Cable (somehow) activates their memories.  The team (conveniently) sees their memories regarding tinkering with Vulcan.  Before Cable can warn anyone, Orbis Stellaris attacks, as he's apparently the progenitor of the Progenitors.

Meanwhile, the Kree-Skrull Alliance has called a diplomatic meeting in the Diplomatic Zone of Lake Hellas on Arakko to inform the Galactic Council that "new information" has come to light showing the Shi'ar were behind a massacre at a place called Shapeless Ridge.  (The Kree actually committed said killings during a lull in the Kree-Skrull War.)  Xandra arrives and confirms the information, as it was one of the Ten Shames the Kin Crimson was trying to hide.  Before Xandra and Paibok can agree to compensation, an unhinged Vulcan arrives at Lake Hellas to declare himself King of the Shi'ar.  The issue ends showing a gleeful Abigail Brand exulting in her plan coming to fruition.

In the back matter, we learn about said plan. Brand worked with Orbis Stellaris because he could retrieve Vulcan from the Fault and make him docile until Brand needed him not to be.  In exchange, Orbis Stellaris got "credits up front and favors down the line."  Brand also leaked the information about Shapeless Ridge to the Alliance.  By unleashing Vulcan at that moment, she ensured (to her mind) a Shi'ar civil war between Vulcan and Xandra while they're also fighting off the Alliance.

Honestly, I'm shocked by how much Brand's plan makes sense.  In order to strengthen the Sol system, she's unleashing war among (and within) our rivals.  Moreover, she's positioning Sol as the peacemaker.  The only problem with her plan that I can see is her hope that the X-Men will force the Arakkii to return to Amenth and S.W.O.R.D. will take over Arakko as a "diplomatic world."  But given how successful she's been so far, I don't put it past her to make that happen.

Also, as a Nova fan, let me just say that I love how the Arakkii acknowledge him as one of them given his heroics in the face of Uranos.  It's the respect he so deserves and rarely gets.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #28

Six-Month-Old Comics: The September 28 and October 5 Event Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

A.X.E.:  Avengers #1 (September 28):  Gillen delivers one of this event's best issues as he uses the team's invasion of the Progenitor to take a deep dive into Tony's psyche.  

As hackneyed as this sort of premise is, Gillen does a solid job of not letting Tony take the easy road to redemption.  His seemingly heart-felt acknowledgement that he isn't the strong one (in context of his fellow Avengers) is met with derision from the red-headed ladies in his life.  They harangue Tony for continually reassembling the same broken machine without focusing on the missing parts.  It's his father who points out most people would've stopped trying to fix said machine a long time ago.  He (i.e., the Progenitor) tells Tony that he's too hard on himself and passes him.  

It isn't just pschyobabble, though.  The experience makes Tony realize that the Progenitor is still judging people, which gives the team the possibility of passing.

The best part of the issue, though, is Tony's banter with Jean Grey and Mr. Sinister before the melodrama begins.  I wish Gillen would've cut down a little on the journey into the dark night of Tony's soul so we could've seem him verbally spar with Sinister some more.

Amazing Spider-Man #10 (September 28):  Holy shit, this issue was fucking CRAZY.

It didn't come as a surprise that the Progenitor took the form of Gwen Stacy to judge Peter or that he passed Peter because his heart shines so brightly it blinds him and "baffles the mind of man."  I have to hand it to Wells, though:  Peter's heart blinding him is truly an excellent summation of how Peter gets into the messes he does.  

Although it isn't surprising that even the Progenitor was moved when seeing into Peter's heart, I very much didn't see him temporarily resurrecting Gwen!  In fact, I almost thought Wells was permanently resurrecting her, explaining why he broke up Peter and Mary Jane.  But Wells goes even one better:  the Progenitor only temporarily resurrected her because he still needs Gwen, to judge Norman.  Ha!  I almost feel bad for Norman.  The segue of Gwen moving from a still grieving yet marveling Peter to an oblivious Norman is perfectly done.

Moreover, this issue flows better than "A.X.E.:  Avengers" #1 since Wells uses it as a way to give us a tour of Peter's current life, avoiding Gillen's navel-gazing approach to Tony (even if navel-gazing is probably appropriate for Tony).  Also, Dragotta's art is such a welcome relief from JR, Jr.  

I wish it didn't take a forgettable cross-over event for Wells to produce the first issue of his run that really felt like a Spider-Man story but here we are.

A.X.E.:  Starfox #1 (October 5):  This issue reads as if Marvel has big plans for Starfox, as Gillen ably presents his life story for everyone who doesn't follow his every move.  Starfox's history is muddled to say the least, yet Gillen somehow manages to impose some order on it.  

First, Gillen answers my questions from "A.X.E.:  Judgment Day" #3 by explaining that Stafox was in the Exclusion after Thanos killed him and the Machine resurrected him.  Since the Eternals didn't know he had linked to the Machine many years ago (the reason why Mentor and Sui-San had him, to prove a point Mentor was making at the time), they threw him in the Exclusion while they figured out how to make sense of a non-Eternal Eternal.  

As an avid reader of the "Avengers" in the 1980s, I was perfectly happy to spend this time with Starfox, atrocious art aside.  But if you aren't a die-hard Starfox fan I think you can skip this one, as I'm sure the main title will explain his deal with Zuras to save humanity by bringing them into Eternal spaces.

A.X.E.:  Death to the Mutants #3 (October 5):  I read this issue after "A.X.E.:  Starfox" #1, which I think was helpful even if this one clearly happens first.  

As a result of "A.X.E.:  Starfox "#1, I know that this issue addresses one of the four plans the heroes are currently putting in place to save Earth.  They tried to destroy the Progenitor, but, as we see here and in "A.X.E.:  Judgment Day" #5, they weren't successful.  We know that Tony's team in "A.X.E.:  Avengers" #1 is trying to kill the Progenitor, and we saw in "A.X.E.:  Starfox" #1 the remaining heroes trying to save who they can.

Here, we see the other plan go into effect, namely Phastos hard-rebooting the Machine that Is Earth to slow down the Progenitor's efforts.  (I'm not sure I totally followed this part, as the Progenitor is apparently somehow using the Machine to destroy Earth, but it's small potatoes at this point.)  The Machine assists Phastos in his mission, as it watches in panic as the Progenitor destroys the Resurrection Engines and is poised to destroy the Reality Loom.  

Gillen tries to get us to mourn the Machine, our narrator throughout this issue.  But the bro-ish voice that Gillen has used for the Machine throughout the series has never really connected with me.  It's hard to connect with an abstract entity, even one with a voice.  As such, though I get Phastos' devastation when it's clear that the hard-reboot has destroyed the Machine's personality, I can't say I was particularly moved by it.  

Oh, well.  Onwards and upwards.

A.X.E.:  X-Men #1 (October 5):  Jean Grey is a complicated character to write.  She's always so...good.  It's the Captain America/Superman problem.  Of course, the exception with Jean is the one that the Progenitor notes here:  she destroyed a world. 

I was excited about this issue when I saw it advertised at the end of "A.X.E.:  Avengers" #1, and it didn't disappoint.  It's a direct sequel to that issue, as the team makes its way through the Celestial.  But Jean takes center stage here as the Progenitor marvels, somewhat indirectly (and in a way in which I've always marveled), at the number of men who love her.  Despite all that love and respect, the Progenitor denies the idea that the Phoenix, not Jean, destroyed that world.  Jean weakly argues that she wasn't in control and that she's saved enough world to be in the black.  She finally segues into wondering when she's balanced the scales enough.  The Progenitor says never and fails her.

But Gillen totally nailed what makes Jean great and what so many authors overlook:  she's human.  She's pissed that she failed.  As Logan says, she was Charlie's star pupil:  she isn't used to failing.  She calls the Progenitor on his own bullshit as she notes that he judged her for destroying a world as he does the same thing.

The Progenitor at one point in this issue recalls how Cyclops told him to be scared of Jean.  This issue reminds us that he should be.

X-Men Red #7 (October 5):  Although this issue involves Magneto's death, its emotional core lies in the conversation that the Great Ring has as they face the aftermath of Uranos' assault and the coming of the Progenitor's justice.  

Isca the Unbeaten leaves the Great Ring after the Fisher King challenges her to a game of who understands the meaning of loss, forcing her to face - seemingly for the first time - her long history of betraying the Arakkii.  (Is it really for the first time?  Has she really not internalized the betrayals she's committed over her long life?)  

With Isca's departure, the entire Table of Dawn is empty, as Magneto is dead and Isca killed Idyll the Future Seer in issue #5.  To address the imbalance, Storm yields the Seat of All-Around-Us to Lodus Logos so a dreamer and a poet will rule Arakko.  She then takes up Magneto's Seat of Loss.

Arakko continues to be the most interesting corner of the mutant books to me, and I look forward to see where we go with this change in its status quo.

Six-Month-Old Comics: The September 14 and 21 Event Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

X-Men Red #6 (September 14):  This issue is surprising, because I feel like we were led to believe that Uranos pretty effectively destroyed Arakko in his assault in "A.X.E. Judgement Day" #1 and "X-Men Red" #5.  Instead, the Earth-born mutants - namely, Magneto, Storm, and Sunspot - show the Arakkii how to work together to fight Uranos' machines, which apparently continued rampaging on Arakko after he departed.

Roberto reveals to Magneto that he's formed the Table of Shadow, the fourth Great Ring table that traditionally consists of non-omegas and forms itself to keep an eye on the three other tables.  The Night Seats are him, the Fisher King, and Syzya of the Smoke (essentially the Nightcrawler of Arakko).  Upon this revelation, Magneto has a weird conversation with the Fisher King, implying that their meeting in "X-Men Red" #1 wasn't an accident.  Instead, he believes it had something to do with Roberto already having recruited the Fisher King for the Table of Shadow.  Honestly, I don't entirely follow where Ewing is going here.  It seems to have something to do with the Fisher King assessing whether Magneto was worthy, though I don't get why he would have to hide his status as a Night Seat to do so.

Before someone can explain, Ewing instead moves to Magneto taking out the greatest threat to Arakko - an enormous silicone gorilla (yup) - by combining his power with Storm's, a lesson the Arakkii realize they might need to learn.  It sets up the Brotherhood and other Arakkii taking the fight to Uranos in "A.X.E. Judgment Day" #4.

A.X.E. Judgment Day #4 (September 14):  The Progenitor is going to kill everyone on Earth, sure.  At this stage, the only interesting component of this event is whatever Starfox's plan is.  It seems like it's going to combines Eternal and mutant technology to...make the world a better place?  Is everyone going to get resurrected?  Also, Magneto allegedly dies here.  Whatever.

A.X.E. Judgment Day #5 (September 21):  Oof.  Gillen does what he can, as the heroes throw what they have against the Progenitor in an attempt to stall him so that their brain trust can find a way to stop him from destroying Earth.  But we all know that they're going to win.  The mutants resurrecting Captain America so that he can lead whatever charge he's going to lead next issue just means that they're going to do so in the most clichéd and formulaic way possible.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 29 Edition - Part Two (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus #3:  Thanks to Carlos' art, this issue at least feels like an old-school 2099 story.  Orlando is still using the "hero of the month" schtick that's plagued the 2099 line during its last few iterations, but the heroes he uses here at least make sense in terms of the larger story that he's telling.

To whit, Moon Knight contacts Spider-Man telepathically from her Crescent Crypt on the Moon, where she's been healing since the Masters of Evil killed the Avengers a year earlier.  The Masters at the time were the (Iron) Patriot, Black Knight, Enchantress, Melter, Radioactive Man, and Zemo.  (The Avengers themselves are never identified here; the only one I vaguely recognized one was a gray Hulk.)  After killing the Avengers, the Patriot showed his black card to the people recording the fight with their smartphones, making it clear that he and the Masters were now above the law.

Moon Knight is contacting Spider-Man because her alarms awoke her with the Celestial's arrival.  Her alarms sound again when the Masters (minus the Patriot) return to our solar system after traveling in their spaceship to plunder other systems (including the Cancerverse).  Enchantress exposits that Doom "is gone" so figures (correctly) that Osborn is behind pulling down the Celestial.  (We also learn that Zemo killed Black Knight for insubordination.). 

With Spider-Man agreeing to help Moon Knight get vengeance on the Masters (and stop them from helping Osborn secure the Garden), Moon Knight assembles the team:  John Eisenhart (the Hulk), Rowena Stern (Captain Marvel), Zhe Li (Aero), MacKenzie Salgado (Wave), Roberta Mendez (Captain America), and T'Shamba (Black Panther).  As an old-school 2099 fan, Eisenhart and Mendez's inclusion is the most exciting, as it's the clearest sign that we're gotten that we're operating in some version of the original timeline.  At some point, the Masters had control over Roberta and used John as a "doomsday device."  They also destroyed poisoned "Super Malay" (Wave's homeland) and Wakanda and murdered Rowena's fathers and Zhe's students.  In other words, everyone has a reason for vengeance.

As the fight begins, Miguel realizes that Osborn isn't with the Masters, meaning that they're just his soldiers.  Moon Knight reminds Miguel that they don't want the Masters in charge of the Garden either, so they fight in earnest.  The team makes fairly quick work of the Masters, and Black Panther takes them to Planet Wakanda to stand trial, since they're outside Osborn's black-card immunity.  Moon Knight declares to Planet Wakanda (and presumably Earth) that the Avengers have returned.  As she does so, four additional Avengers are standing with the team:  a Captain Britain, Kid Gladiator (if I'm not mistaken) a She-Hulk, and I think a Black Widow.  In the epilogue, Miguel tells Moon Knight that he's heading for Latveria for help taking down Osborn, though he doesn't explain why.

At any rate, it all is what it is.  It isn't terrible, and I can accept the "hero of the month" approach as long as it's ground in the story like it was in this issue (unlike last issue).  Black Widow and Hawkeye are up next, so we'll see if that peace holds.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #2:  I don't usually have high hopes for these anthology series, but this issue is great.  One challenge I've found that trips up authors of these sorts of issues is that they imagine too complicated a plot or setting for one issue.  Cantwell successfully avoids that trap and keeps the narrative tightly enough focused that the story really sings. 

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan travel to a moon that has inexplicably descended into darkness.  When they arrive at the mine that sent the S.O.S., they discover bloodshed.  Qui-Gon discovers a thief who admits that he and his crew used a "non-incendiary photonic charge" to take out the outpost's power core.  Obi-Wan realizes that the charge likely resulted in the core's accelerite producing a radiation capable of supressing the light spectrum.

The issue's tension comes from the fact that one of the miners is from a light-sensitive, werewolf-like race.  The darkness has driven him insane, and it's only when Obi-Wan is able to reactivate the core with the help of the mining supervisor that the remaining miners and thieves are saved.  Obi-Wan is temporarily blinded (due to the supervisor having to raise the heat levels high enough to fuse the accelerite back together), which plays nicely to the issue's theme, of Obi-Wan getting lost in the facts in front of him and not feeling the larger context.

In sum, it's a great issue.  If you aren't reading the full series, it's definitely worth checking out this issue.

X-Men Red #4:  This issue is incredibly interesting, as it centers entirely around the question of death and what it means now that mutants are functionally immortal.

The issue arrises in three separate places:  Arrako, Earth, and the Proscenium.

• On Arakko, Ora Serrata, who sits in the Seat of Law, notes that Magneto and Storm are, on some level, cheating in holding seats on the Great Ring.  After all, the seats are won through combat in the Circle.  Ora Serrata caveats her statement by noting that the Great Ring has never allowed back a member who was defeated in the Circle but was somehow later resurrected.  As a result, she isn't saying that Magneto and Storm are cheating because if they died they'll get back their seats.  She's more asking whether Magneto and Storm really faced the same stakes as the rest of them since they knew that they couldn't die.  After some squabbling (particularly with Isca the Unbeaten), Magneto announces that he and Storm have destroyed their backups.  As Storm says, "to everything a season."

• At the Proscenium, Oracle has gathered galactic representatives to announce that Xandra is dead.  Fearing an astro-nuclear war as various Shi'ar factions jockey for control, Oracle is implementing a protocol that Deathbird put in place of shoring up support of the Empire's most important allies.

T'Challa gets around the issue by asking if Krakoa can resurrect Xandra, since she's a mutant.  Orbis Stellaris of the Galactic Rim Collective objects for two reasons:  first, the unfairness of an empress getting resurrected when her subjects do not have a similar option and, second, the possibility of an eternal Xandra becoming a helluva dictator.  Nova recalls resurrecting Xandar with the Nova Force and notes that Xandar was destroyed again during the Annihilation Wave. He stresses that no one is immortal; even if the mutants can resurrect people, it doesn't mean that they don't die.  He supports resurrecting Xandra since he doesn't regret giving the Xandarians a few more days' peace. 

Ororo then announces that Krakoa has already resurrected Xandra, since her father (Charles) heard her psychic broadcast just as Oracle did.  Ororo then basically tells Orbis Stellaris to go fuck itself since mutants won't bow to anyone.  Richard follows her and ask if he can spend some time on Arrako, since his "Nova-sense" has him worried that its Diplomatic Zone is the focal point of a coming "big" event.  Ororo agrees and welcomes him.  Again, I love seeing people like Ororo giving Rich the respect that he deserves.

• On Earth, Roberto is resurrected, since Isca the Unbeaten apparently killed him last issue.  Rockslide is there because he likes to observe the resurrections, though we learn that it really isn't "our" Rockslide:  "our" Santo died in Otherworld as seen in "X of Swords."  This Santo is somehow an amalgam of all possible Santos.  I had to Google to find out it happened in "X-Factor;" an editor's note would've been nice here.  At any rate, the kids called Rockslide "Wrongslide," which he doesn't mind because it at least addresses that he isn't "our" Santo.  He knows that his presence hurts people, which hurts him because he loves it so much on Krakoa.  Roberto echoes what Nova said, that everyone dies.  He then invites Rockslide to Arrako.

Again, I loved the big questions that Ewing is asking here, particularly because it's clearly setting up the next few months of stories given Scott's revelation of mutant immortality.  This series continues to feel like what "Immortal X-Men" is supposed to be.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 15 Edition - Part Two (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus #2:  Oof.  This issue isn't terrible, exactly, but it isn't all that interesting either.  It's basically a long flashback where a new Valkyrie describes the fall and rebirth of Asgard.

After its initial Aesir program (i.e, "Fall of the Hammer," I think) failed, Alchemax used mysterium to create a Midgard Serpent that destroyed the real Asgard for reasons that aren't 100% clear to me.  (Valkyrie was part of the assault with other Aesir-program members, though I'm also not clear why Alchemax needed them if it had the Midgard Serpent.)  Seeing the writing on the wall, Loki fled (because of course he did).  Valkyrie meets him after he arrives at the Celestial Gardens to collect enough raw Celestial DNA to recreate Asgard.  

Unfortunately, the Midgard Serpent's mysterium remains ambient in Asgard's ruins, preventing Loki (again, for unclear reasons) from resurrecting Asgard.  Instead, he sacrifices himself to purge Asgard of said mysterium.  By mixing his blood with the Celestial DNA, Valkyrie is able to turn herself into a god and create more gods from Earth's undesirables, per Loki's wishes.

What does it have to do with the story at hand?  I have no idea.  It makes even less sense when you consider that Valkyrie is telling Miguel this story as she refuses to help him take down the Cabal.  According to her, the New Asgardians have suffered at rich people's hands enough.  Assuming I buy this idea that Loki really cared about the undesirables in the first place, wouldn't they want to take on the Cabal now that they have the power to do so?  I guess not.  Valkyrie simply tells Miguel that the best way to destroy gods is to make them mortal, which isn't exactly novel assistance.

At least next issue it looks like we're getting the story about the Cabal killing the Avengers, so I guess that's something?

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #24:  This issue is solid, though you can tell that Sacks is struggling to find a way to keep Valance in this series.  The panels dedicated to his failure to save an Imperial general from a Crimson Dawn assassination feels like an unnecessary distraction from the main story.  

Speaking of said story, Dengar predictably betrays T'onga and her crew.  First, he convinces T'onga to allow him to interrogate Vukorah; he cuts the video feed and hands Vukorah a knife.  (You would've thought T'onga would've questioned why he needed to cut the video feed, but you would've gussed wrong.)  At any rate, Vukorah is gunning for Losha, who's furious that T'onga left her on the ship while she and the guys invade the Vermillion.  That said, they're not in a great place as they come face-to-face with the Knights of Ren.  

Meanwhile, Dengar thinks he can successfully play both sides against each other so that he can make enough money to extricate himself permanently from the bounty-hunting game, though I don't have high hopes that he's going to outsmart Qi'ra. 

X-Men Red #3:  I feel like I missed an issue here.  

First, I don't recall Thunderbird's altercation with Cable at the Red Lagoon, a score that Thunderbird intends to settle when he arrives at Arbor Magna immediately after the Five resurrect Cable.  It turns out it's all a ruse so they can get some alone time to discuss Brand with Manifold.  Even if I did remember the original altercation, I don't get why they couldn't just have met somewhere to talk.  Why the elaborate ruse?  Is Krakoa a surveillance state where they have to convince Council members that it isn't worth spying on them?

Second, I didn't realize that Tarn was some sort of enemy of the Arakkii?  I searched my blog and only found one reference to him.  Given that I'm supposed to understand that all the Arakki hate Tarn, it probably would've been helpful for Ewing to remind me why a little more.  "X of Swords" was a while ago, and we're still juggling a lot of new characters here.

At any rate, the Cable and Thunderbird discussion is obviously coming to relevance at another time as this issue is dedicated to Vulcan challenging Tarn for the Seat of Loss.  Ororo is suspicious that Brand set up Vulcan:  the Seat of Loss is apparently the Great Ring's least influential seat, and Ororo figures that Vulcan on his own would go a more important one (like hers).  It's interesting that the Great Ring's seats have different values, even though they all have the same voting power.  Meanwhile, working for Brand, Mentallo discovers Vulcan's mental barriers, which he figures are fading if he can see them though Xavier initially didn't.

It all leads to Tarn making quick work of Vulcan after they both use their powers to shut off each other's mutant powers.  Magneto eventually steps into the ring after initially declining Ororo's invitation to do so.  He uses his helmet to block Tarn's powers (which are apparently psycho-kinetic in nature) and then crushes his skull with the helmet.  

This outcome is essentially a foregone conclusion after Roberto bets Isca the Unbeaten that Tarn wins.  Since her side of the bet would be Magneto winning, Ewing implies that Isca's power ensures Magneto's victory, as Roberto knew all along.  I'm glad that Ewing isn't putting Roberto in a kiddie role, as his deception here proves how remarkably clever he is.  That said, it took me several readings to understand the stakes.  I also don't know if I buy them.  Isca never accepted the bet, so I don't get how her powers were activated.  Couldn't everyone just make a one-sided challenge to her?  Roberto says that he's found a way to make her lose without losing, which I guess means that she supported (and lost) Tarn.  After all, she mentiones that she fought alongside him for 1,000 years.  But Ewing doesn't make it clear if she did so because she supported him or if she had to do so?

At any rate, the Seat of Loss is relevant to Magneto, as he previously said that he refused to fight over his ongoing devastation that his daughter Anya wasn't a mutant and thus the Five can't resurrect her.  I wonder where we're going with that idea.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The May 18 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Immortal X-Men #2:  This issue is fun.  Gillen corrects a problem that I didn't quite realize has plagued the Hickman era since its inception, namely the Council members sitting out most of the action despite the fact that they're some of Earth's most power mutants.  Hope and Sinister shine here, as Sinister uses one of his specialty chimera blends to incapacitate Selene's External Gate kaiju and Hope uses her various abilities to take out Selene herself (thanks to a tip from Destiny).  Crisis averted.  Along the way, Gillen shows how Destiny and Hope are not only powerful additions to the Council but significantly change its dynamics.  As I said last issue, I'm not entirely sure how stoked I am about this series overall, but Gillen moves me farther along that path here.

New Mutants #25:  Ayala starts us down an interesting road here, as Magik's attempt to turn over Limbo to Madeleine Pryor goes awry when a newly powerful S'ym attacks.  

Earlier, we saw a mysterious figure help S'ym create a weapon seemingly from his soul - a Soulclub, if you will.  S'ym then uses the Soulclub to destroy the Soulsword.  A wounded Illyana manages to teleport herself, Dani, Madeleine, and Rahne somewhere else in Limbo.  But they're functionally trapped given Illyana no longer has control over Limbo.  Ayala does a solid job of making it really unclear how they're going to escape - let alone win - this one.  

I haven't been the biggest fan of Ayala's work on this title, but she makes the right call in significantly narrowing the cast and focus for this arc.  She also leaves us some interesting breadcrumbs, particularly in the form of the mysterious goblin who pledges to help Illyana upon the team's arrival in Limbo.  I'm happy to see where we go from here.

Spider-Punk #2:  This series continues to be a rollicking good time.  

Taskmaster exposits that someone hired him - and he hired Kraven and the Hunters in turn - to take out the Spider-Band because their HQ was sitting on an Osborn blacksite.  Kraven eventually detonates himself to try to take out the Band, but Ri Ri throws up a shield in time to save the team.  (Taskmaster escaped, natch.). The team realizes that the blacksite under their HQ is just one of many blacksites that Osborn left behind and decides to go on tour to dismantle the sites and Osborn's remaining network.  

In other words, Ziglar really steps up the plot side of this endeavor, giving the heroes a mission that perfectly matches their modus operandi.  Along the way, we continue to get the character moments that make this series the fun it is.  

Star Wars:  Han Solo and Chewbacca #2:  It probably isn't a surprise to anyone other than Han that Graves' safe was empty.  It means either Greedo's information was wrong or Greedo is plotting against Han.  Either way, Han, his "father" (Ovan), and Greedo find themselves at the end of the issue trapped on the other side of the door from Graves' security forces, which he hired after Han broke into his penthouse last issue.  

Earlier in the issue, Han brought along Ovan on the job because his work for the Corellian Engineering Corporation (CEC) meant that he had access to a plasma cutter, which Han and he used to open the safe.  As they interact, Ovan has enough information about Han that he seems to start believing that he might be his father, which means that he probably definitely isn't.  Meanwhile, Marshal Buck Vanto is in pursuit of Han and uses leverage that he has over Bib Fortuna (something to do with him getting "dragged back to Ryloth") to find out he's on Corellia.  

In other words, Han is in a lot of trouble on multiple fronts but, typically, doesn't understand just how much trouble...yet.

X-Men Red #2:  I'm down with everything Ewing is doing here, particularly Brand realizing that her false-flag operation - in the form of Mars' X-Men - is no match for Ororo.  When Brand has Orchis send the Progenitors to Mars as a way to collect information on how Cable interacts with his techno-organic virus, she isn't expecting Storm and the Brotherhood to appear and save the day.

My only issue with this issue is the reversion of Vulcan to his previous iteration.  That said, I acknowledge that Ewing isn't just willy-nilly wiping away his previous characterization.  Ewing makes it clear that whatever good outer shell the mysterious alien trinity from "X-Men (2019)" #10 installed around Vulcan's evil inner self is coming undone.  Vulcan's deteriorating mental state is obvious, particularly when we learn that Petra and Sway haven't been resurrected but are constructs that Gabriel created.

At some point, though, someone has to explain why the trinity created that shell in the first place.  We also need to learn if Gabriel's insanity is due to, or cause of, the unraveling outer shell.  In the meantime, it's certainly going to be fun to see Gabriel unleashed on Arakko.

Also Read:  My Brother, Teddy #1

One-Month-Old Comics: The April 6 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All right, I've gotten through enough of my superhero-comic backlog that I can finally start reviewing all my comics at the same time.  As such, I'll start reviewing the "Star Wars" and other "top-shelf" series with the superhero comics.  Onwars and upwards!

Devil's Reign #6 (April 6):  It's weird to be happy that Wilson Fisk gets a happy ending, but Zdarksy's brilliance is what makes that possible.  

After Luke inspires the freed Purple Child to summon the strength to break the Purple Man's hold on New York City, Wilson's plan is in shambles.  He doesn't care, though.  He thinks that he's killed Matt Murdoch, when we know that he's really killed Mike Murdoch.  When Daredevil hears that Mike is dead, he rushes to kill Fisk.  In the end, though, Elektra convinces him not to do it, because he isn't an assassin who strikes in shadows.  (Isn't he, though?)

As Wilson is brought to jail, Butch intervenes and brings him to the Stromwyns.  Wilson violently rejects their "offer" to make him president, potentially killing them in his rampage through their guards.  This entire experience has made him realize that he really just wants to be with Mary.  He tells Butch to tell everyone that Kingpin killed Matt Murdoch and Butch killed him.  

As such, "Devil's Reign" ends with both Daredevil and Kingpin free of who they were.  Daredevil agrees to help Elektra form the Fist, and Kingpin and Mary literally sail into the sunset.  Although primarily a Daredevil story, Marvel isn't wrong, for once, that this mini-series will have serious ramifications throughout the New York City-based hero community.  Fisk is no longer the mayor, and Luke Cage (!) looks set to become the mayor.  

As these events go, Zdarsky did much better than his colleagues before him.  He kept the story focused and didn't trying to do too much.  The story of Kingpin's fall as Mayor was literally years in the making, and I'm really satisfied with the outcome.

Marauders #1 (April 6):  This issue is uneven, but it's a solid enough start for this new team.  I feel like Orlando probably needed two full issues to tell the story that he wanted to tell here, first establishing the new team and its dynamic and then sending them on their first mission.  Then again, after the time that he had to spend establishing that Krakoa has determined Cassandra Nova is a mutant, maybe it was a good idea to end with a bang.  

And a bang it is:  Cassandra reveals that the Shi'ar have been holding the first generation of mutants captive for millennia.  As Kate and company head to the Imperium, Delphos reveals herself to Xandra as Delphos the Red, a member of a secret society created to keep the mutants imprisoned lest the Imperium fall.  She reveals their secret history to Xandra, who's sufficiently terrified of what would happen if the Marauders discover the truth that she sends Erik the Red after them.  

Looking at next issue, I'm hoping that we'll see some tighter art and writing, but, all in all, it isn't a terrible new start for Kate and company.

Spider-Punk #1 (April 6):  I'm hit or miss with Cody Ziglar, but this issue is seriously fun.  Hobie and his Spider-Band of anarchist, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ super-friends protect Brooklyn from Kraven and the Hunters, who've accepted weapons from a mysterious benefactor to help him gentrify the neighborhood.  It could be eye-roll inducing, but Ziglar infuses the story with enough heart and humor (i.e., "What's the Furthest Place from Here?" was missing) that it isn't.  If you want your Spider-Man a little more cyberpunk and a little more queer, this series is for you.

X-Men Red #1 (April 6):  This series is exactly what I was hoping it would be.  

Ewing uses Storm and Sunspot as our eyes into how difficult trying to fit Earth and Arakko societies together is going to be.  For Bobby, he's excited at the possibility that Arakko brings, looking to become Arakko's premier party planner, essentially.  It's the perfect role for him.  Fuck A.I.M.  Bringing disco to Arakko is his calling.  

But, Earth's misfit toys are causing trouble.  Vulcan loses his shit at the Red Lagoon, Bobby's bar, when a Shi'ar diplomat doesn't recognize him, his former "king."  Before Abigail Brand and Cable can calm down the situation, Vulcan starts waling on Bobby.  Then, Thunderbird arrives and loses his shit and he starts waling on Vulcan.  But, Brand understands the situation and does what I've been saying that the mutants' leaders need to do to keep the younger mutants in line:  Thunderbird and Vulcan just need jobs.

Meanwhile, Ewing shows that Storm is handling her task a little better than Bobby.  As imperious as Isca the Unbeaten is, Storm notes that she constantly abstains and refuses to accept the burden for decisions that Isca wants her (Storm) to accept.  (Because Isca so frequently abstains, Storm often has to cast the tying vote.)  To emphasize this point, Brand proposes that Storm create an X-Men for Mars.  She wants Storm to lead it as Queen of Mars, which leads Storm, as she does frequently throughout this issue, to insist that she's Regent of Arakko.

As these events develop, Magneto strikes up a friendship with the Fisher King, a human born in the Tarn's prisons who lives on one of Arakko's isolated continents.  Bobby later approaches Magneto (with the Fisher King present) about creating a new X-Men team to keep an eye on Brand, and Storm arrives to propose something similar.  Knowing Brand is going to build her own X-Men (presumably with Thunderbird and Vulcan on the team) for her own ends, though, Storm suggests that they are instead the Brotherhood.  Yes!

In other words, it's "John Carter of Mars" meets "Days of Future Past" meets "Blade Runner" meets "Red Mars."  In other words, it's spectacular.  Ewing excels at showing both Storm and Sunspot's strengths and weaknesses in one issue.  Storm's commitment to peace makes her turn an inadvisably blind eye to the Arakkii's true nature, but her experience, insight, and values make her capable of actually bringing about that peace.  Bobby is too optimistic, maybe, but also pays more attention than people think that he does.  Ewing is also putting together characters that we've never really seen interact, which makes it all the more exciting.  I can't tell if Storm is going to hate or love Bobby, but we'll see.

In other words, I am so fucking here for this series.

Also Read:  Moon Knight #10 (April 6)