Amazing Spider-Man #546-#548: "Brand New Day" (Mr. Negative story arc)

**** (four of five stars) 

Favorite Quote:  “It’s like you left your camera on a ledge and walked away or something."  -- fashion magazine guy to Peter, after flipping through his portfolio 

Summary
In the first "Brand New Day" arc, Peter is now living with Aunt May, since, due to the Superhuman Registration Act, he can no longer appear as Spider-Man and, therefore, Peter Parker can't make a living taking photos of Spider-Man.  Peter is mugged outside a club by the "Spider-Mugger," a guy who's been mugging people while wearing a Spider-Man mask.  The mugger takes not only Peter's wallet but one of his Web-Shooters (they're back!), mistaking it for a watch; Peter tags the mugger with a Spider-Tracer to find him eventually.  Later, desperate for cash to pay back money he owes Aunt May and Harry, Peter screams at JJJ for money he owes him; JJJ proceeds to have a heart attack while screaming, "Parker!"  Marla Jameson sells JJJ's shares of the "Daily Bugle" to Dexter Bennett.  Meanwhile, Spidey mistakes the mugger for a guy leaving a bar at the same time; the guy winds up being the (dim) scion of two mafia families.  A new villain, Mr. Negative, is using the scion's blood to create a genetically-specific poison, which he releases at a meeting of the two families in an attempt to take control of the underworld in the resulting power vacuum.  Spidey can't save the mafiosi but he does save their children.  Mr. Negative makes Spidey give him his blood as insurance, pledging to make a poison to kill Spidey's blood relatives (not realizing Peter doesn't have any) if he causes problems for him in the future.  In the end, Mr. Negative's revealed to be the operator of the homeless shelter where Aunt May volunteers.  (Dum-dum-dum!)

The Review

I’ll preface this section with the following statement:  this arc was the most fun I’ve had reading a Spider-Man comic in a long time.  Based on the letters in subsequent issues, I wasn’t the only one to feel that way. 

The Really Good

I really, really liked the Peter voiceover typeface.  Steve Wacker notes in the letter page that the editors and the letterers went back and forth about the right font and size for Peter’s voice-overs and the amount of attention they paid to that detail really shows.  It’s intimate and fun at the same time.  It really conveys the sense of excitement I used to feel back in the day when a editor's note would say "See ish #xxx for the deets!" and I'd think "I know!  I read that one!"  It goes a long way to re-establishing a connection with the comic, something the editors are also doing by re-instating a letters page.  So, well done, letterers, you unsung heroes of comic books! 

The Good

1) OK, so, a lot of the questions I mentioned having after reading “One More Day” are addressed here, by both the story and the “Spider-Man:  The New Status Quo!” two-page spread.  Peter is living with Aunt May not because he never left home but because he’s broke.  Harry has been “in rehab” “in Europe” for a while, though it’s unclear how long.  (I’m assuming that the events of "Spectacular Spider-Man" #200 still happened, based on the “Spider-Man:  The New Status Quo!” spread.  I hope they did, because that story was really well done and I’d hate to see it obliterated.)  I’m hoping this means that revealing how Mephisto’s actions affected the Spidey universe will be ongoing interesting sub-plots, rather than overly complicated distractions. 

2) I’m excited to see Spidey back-to-basics in terms of his powers and abilities.  I missed the whole Queen/Spider-Totem/etc. storylines, but, from what I’ve read, it seemed to me that Spidey was almost invincible by the time all the extra powers and abilities were added.  But, part of Spider-Man’s charm has always been his limitations, both as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man.  I’m glad to see we’ll be getting more of the original Spidey here.  Plus, the Web-Shooters are back!  I've always loved them, because they remind us that Pete's a smart guy not just a strong one.  Having them stolen by the mugger was a great way of highlighting that it's a...um...brand new day. 

3) Similarly, I like the way they’re also presenting a back-to-basics Peter.  The sequence in #546 where he realizes he has terrible job recommendations (since he was constantly missing work) and no applicable job skills was really well done.  It harkens to the good old days, when Peter was a broke student but had a fun life.  It’s great to see and maybe, just maybe, I’m seeing Quesada’s point that the character had gotten weighed down by the constant threats to his family that became the major trope of the last 15 years or so of Spider-Man stories.  (Though, I see that Aunt May is YET again somehow living/working in the vicinity of a villain.  Le sigh.)  I also give the Spidey Brain Trust credit for focusing on the fact that Spider-Man’s identity is secret again as the focus of the first post-“One More Day” arc.  The emotions from the other major change -- the dissolution of Peter and MJ’s marriage -- were too raw; it would’ve been a dark beginning.  Clearly the Brain Trust wants us to return to happier times and it's accomplished that here.  It’s clear we’ll discover more about the MJ side of the story eventually, but, in terms of bringing back the old Spidey, the editors and writers have accomplished what they wanted to do. 

4) It wasn’t until I saw the full-page spread of Spidey in #547 that I realized we actually didn’t see Peter in costume (except in flashback) in #546.  I cheered a little.  It’s nice to have him back.  I gave up reading him during all these ridiculous plot twists that turned the various Spider-Man books into dark, Dostoyevskian dramas.  I’m digging the return of a happy-go-lucky Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.  So, I cheered a little.  Sue me. 

The Meh

I’m reserving judgment on the back-up stories.  We’re clearly supposed to believe that Jackpot is Mary Jane, though it seems a little too easy to be true (and I think I remember reading somewhere it’s not).  The story was a little too brief -- as were Aunt May’s and Harry’s -- to draw any real conclusions.  But, if done well, they could be an interesting insight into new old characters.  However, other than "Captain America’s" Nomad side feature, Marvel doesn’t do secondary features as well as DC does, so, we’ll see if they continue. 

The Bad

As we all know, time is a fluid concept in comics.  I get that.  But, despite Mephisto’s actions not undoing time, everyone (even -- if not particularly -- Aunt May) looks and acts much, much younger.  It’s pretty clear that the writers are approaching the characters as recent college graduates, giving everything a “Real World” (yes, I’m dating myself there; "Jersey Shore?") feel, despite the fact that, in the earlier timeline, they were probably in their late 20s to early 30s.  Peter even refers to himself as being “too young to be married,” which, I guess is subjective, but is there definitely to imply that he’s a young man.  It’s not a bad thing, necessarily, in terms of plot (Petey macking on the ladies!), but it’s a little intellectually dishonest.  It also raises the nagging questions about what exactly the Mephisto deal changed.  For example, we’re supposed to buy Harry as a swinging man-on-town, but, um, doesn’t he have a kid?  I mean, presumably Liz left Harry, but was Normie ret-conned from existence?  I can handle the questions inherent in this exercise, but, by more or less de-aging the characters, it could make some of the reveals seem a little odd.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman:  The Dark Knight #2:  OK, here's the thing.  I've got to be honest:  I'm kind of tired of the "girls Bruce Wayne loved" schtick.  We saw it with the Absence in "Batman and Robin," we see it in "Batman, Incorporated" #4 (see below), and we see it here with the second installment of "In Golden Dawn."  Based on information we got last issue, Dawn Golden was a childhood friend who broke Bruce's heart after college graduation.  OK, sure.  That sucks.  Do I believe that his love for her and his need to find her are so strong that he would savagely break the Penguin's arm and leg?  Um, no.  I mean, we're talking about a guy who manages not to do that to the Joker, who beat Jason Todd to death with a crowbar and paralyzed Barbara Gordon.  But, Dawn Golden is the one to really push him over the edge?  I just don't buy it.  Also -- and I think I might raise it to status as pet peeve #3 soon -- the Penguin and Killer Croc really didn't take the chance to peak under Bats' mask to see who he is when they had him unconscious?  Or, you know, just kill him, like Penguin tried to do at the start of the issue?  Really?  Speaking of pet peeves, per pet peeve #2, we see Bats holding Dawn Golden on the cover of this issue, but he doesn't actually find her in the book.  Also, why is a mutated Ragman killing homeless people?  (Maybe something was supposed to happen in the Ragman secondary feature in "Batman:  Streets of Gotham," but the series got canceled before we could see it?)  I'm not sure Finch is a talented enough writer to keep all the balls in the air that he's got going here.  After waiting three months, I needed something more than essentially a poorly-written "Detective Comics" issue to justify keeping this title.  I'm not sure if I got that here. 

Batman:  Streets of Gotham #21:  I read this issue first before re-reading the entire arc.  I can say now that "House of Hush" will make a really great trade paperback.  The plot is compelling, we get new insights into old characters, and the insight into old-school Gotham is fun.  However, as a storyline with installments of varying length spread over eight issues, it was hard to stay engaged with the story to the level necessary to fully appreciate it.  For example, it wasn't until I re-read the entire arc that I remember Judson Pierce's connection to Roger Elliot (Hush's father) and I had totally forgotten about the Bedbug sub-plot.  (Although Bedbug is actually a cool idea for a character, I think it would've been better to save that story for a different arc or a secondary feature, rather than wasting the pages on a story that only served to draw out the primary storyline.)  My guess is that the blame here lies with the editors who recommended the page lengths and chapter divisions than Dini, who really delivers a great story.  I'm pretty sure they could've had Hush encounter Jane Doe to the same effect (Hush losing Bruce Wayne's face, an important moment in the post-"Return of Bruce Wayne" world) in a three-issue arc that didn't bring us on the convoluted ride we've experienced here.  Moreover, if this issue is indeed the last issue of the series, then I'm pretty sure we're denied a conclusion to the Ragman secondary feature, which sucks because it was, for the most part, more compelling than "The House of Hush."  In the end, it's a sad ending to a series that showed a lot of promise.  (P.S.:  After I read the first issue and wrote the original version of this review, I read some other reviews online and someone noted that this arc gives us the origin -- or at least a glimpse into the past -- of the Joker.  When I re-read the overall arc, I'll admit my mind was BLOWN.  I give Dini a lot of credit for the way he subtly and deftly wove that in that plot.  The boy who would become the Joker suffers terribly and it really gives us insight into why he becomes who he becomes.  However, it's not enough to make me wish that the overall storyline hadn't been partially ruined by editorial interference.) 

Batman Incorporated #4:  OK, I've read issue #3 three times and #4 twice, and I've been able to piece together the following:  Kathy Kane, the former Batwoman, is the biological daughter of Agent-Zero, the head of the spy ring for whom Agent-33 (now known as the Gaucho) worked.  Agent-33 recruited Kathy into the ring for an as-yet-unnamed mission for Agent-Zero, who also happens to be an "unrepentant Nazi master criminal" known as Dr. Dedalus, who was locked into some cave (or something) in the Falkland Islands by a group of British superheroes during the Falkland War.  Meanwhile, Batman is trying to bring the Gaucho into "Batman, Incorporated," only to learn that he's the one that got Kathy Kane involved in the spy ring that allegedly killer her, and the new Batwoman is on the trail of an Argentine gang who killed three Marines.  Um, yeah.  I get that, to understand (and appreciate) Morrison, you've got to put in work.  I get that.  I also appreciate what Morrison does here with the original Batwoman, bringing her back into continuity.  In fact, the flashback sequences are amazingly well done, both in terms of the scripting (where I can almost hear Adam West's voice every time Bruce or Batman speaks) and in the art (aping the 1950s and 1960s style, right down to the original Batmobile design).  But, I still feel like Morrison is suffering from being too clever and sacrificing some coherence in the plot to do it.  I mean, we're juggling A LOT in these two issues (I didn't even mention "oroboro" in the above recap, and it's pretty much central to the plot), and I think Morrison forgets sometimes that he's competing with ten other Bat-books.  That said, this issue is a vast improvement over the last one and I'm now at least interested to see where it leads. 

Captain America #615.1:  I read the other day that Marvel has announced that Steve Rogers is going to take over the role of Captain America again, something I figured was going to have to happen given the upcoming movie.  This issue sets that stage, with Cap encountering a faux Captain America who steps into the vacuum left by Bucky's ongoing legal troubles.  I can't say I'll be disappointed to see Steve return, since, to be honest, I've missed reading about him, having to settle only for his appearances in "Secret Avengers."  But, I hope Bucky gets his own kick-ass series, because, if he doesn't, THEN I'll be disappointed.  Maybe he, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Mockingbird can get a combined series called "Love Rectangle" or something. 

inFAMOUS #2:  The plot continues to build here.  Moya, who last issue was working with the First Sons, appears to resume her government role here, ordering the capture of Sasha and the invasion of Empire City.  Cole is still trying to put himself back together, and works with the Warden and Zeke to fend off the invasion.  The Beast is loose in the city, but Moya appears to have another version of him ready to go.  This issue really builds on the energy of last issue, clarifying some mysteries and deepening others.  For example, Moya mentions that Sasha got her powers at the same time as Cole, which I don't think we knew before.  (I'm not really sure how that happened, unless she was holding some secondary Ray Sphere that also absorbed the abilities of all the people who died.)  Also, one of the soldiers refers to Moya as "Mother," which makes me wonder whether that's her First Sons codename and where the line between the First Sons and the military is drawn.  You get the sense that things aren't going to go well for our guys... 

New Mutants #23 (Age of X:  Chapter 4):  As expected, Legacy and Gambit survive Magneto dumping debris on them.  In fact, Magneto dumped debris on them on purpose, so he could hide them in an underground tunnel and reveal that he's the one who sent Kitty Pryde outside the walls.  (He realized it's pretty bizarre that they all keep repeating the same day, over and over again, like "Groundhog's Day.")  It's revealed here that the reason Kitty's camera was full of blank pictures is because nothing exists outside the wall; when she said she saw "nothing," she meant it literally.  (I'm not sure, logistically, how they're going to make that work, since the humans have to be attacking from somewhere.)  Magneto goes into full revolt to distract attention from Legacy and Gambit going to a newly-discovered room in the center of Fortress X.  Magneto liberates Professor X, who speaks to him cryptically, but he's interrupted by Dani's squad, who's been sent by "X" to capture him.  Just as he convinces Dani to listen to Professor X (when he regains consciousness), Magneto is defeated, and removed from command, by the Force Warriors.  Meanwhile, Legacy discovers that someone (a "she") has stolen the universe and put it in a box.  This cross-over event continues to be interesting, with Carey doing a great job of making it a good read not just because we can see what's different in this world but because it's a fascinating story.  I'm wondering now if "X" isn't Cassandra Nova or even Jean Grey.  Guessing is half the fun! 

Uncanny X-Men #534:  The "Quarantine" storyline wraps up here in a more or less satisfying way, with the humans who took Sublime's drug learning the hardships of mutanthood in a way that borders on "After-School Special" territory but doesn't cross into it.  The Sebastian Shaw sub-plot is resolved oddly, though.  If wiping his mind of his memories was such an easy solution, I'm confused why Emma just didn't do it in the first place, since it's pretty clear it was the only option other than killing him.  Then again, Professor X wiping Magneto's mind didn't turn out so well, so maybe that gave her pause (though I think I'm giving the writers too much credit for thinking about her motivations).  The main problem with this series for me, at this point, is the same I have with the other two main X-books.  We see little in the way of character development (Dazzler learning Welsh slang from Pixie doesn't count) because every character appears in practically each issue of each series.  We need to return to the days where each book had a set roster.  I mean, you can still handle 18-21 characters over three books if you put six or seven people on each team!  Also, I'm kind of ready for Kitty to be able to talk again.  To the extent character development occurred in this arc, I think it's due to Gillen's addition to the writing team, so I'm looking forward to his reign beginning soon on the book.

Various: “One More Day”

I'm not going to give this arc the usual treatment, because the quicker we move onto "Brand New Day" the better.  So, no rating, no summary.  Here we go: 

The Review

I’ll say this:  I think it’s probably easier reading these issues after the fact, knowing, more or less, the direction the storyline is going to take.  I understand, rationally, that the decision to undo Peter and MJ’s marriage was motivated by the understandable need, on the part of the writers and editors, to reinvigorate an almost 50-year-old character.  I also concede that the idea that Peter and MJ’s love is strong enough to overcome what Mephisto does here is probably going to give the book a certain energy.  But, emotionally, after reading it, it still feels hollow.  I think it would’ve been infuriating having to wait for the issues to slowly reveal how the decision affects Spidey’s life, but, then again, I’m the type of guy who occasionally reads the last page of a book when the plot gets too tense to make sure everything turns out OK.  Anyway, I’m glad I waited to read the series when it was well enough in the past that I can look forward to reading the cooler storylines that I know subsequently come.

The first two issues are great.  It’s a moving story about grief and death.  It’s one of those stories that I always cite to non-comic book readers who look down on comic books as juvenile, arguing that I actually have found over the years that I spend as much time thinking about the human condition thanks to comic books as I do thanks to “great literature.”

As such, it wasn’t a surprise when I read some interviews by JMS in which he stated that he wanted to take his name off the last two issues of the series.  It’s clear -- given the import these issues have on the Spider-Man legend -- that they were written by committee.  JMS’ knack with dialogue is on display and he does everything he can to keep the plot believable, but you can tell that the direction of these issues was beyond his control.

The third issue is where we go off the rails because, after all, we’re not dealing with a story about grief and death like we thought we were in the first two issues; instead, we’re dealing with a story about making a deal with the Devil.  It’s in this issue where the Devil enters, stage right (and left -- sneaky Devil being two places at once). 

The fourth issue is just, well, bizarre.  The dissolution of Peter and MJ’s marriage comes in the middle, not at the end.  It feels (and is) rushed, because, in the same issue, they’re trying to introduce the new Spider-Man status quo.  I get why they did it -- because you want to hook the readers on the fun that the major upheaval you’ve initiated is going to be, before everyone jumps ship -- but Mary Jane deserved better.  I’m going on record right now as “Team MJ.”

Going forward, I’ll say that I think it’s going to be hard not to obsess over the details of how Mephisto undoing the marriage of Peter and Mary Jane affects Peter’s life.  I mean, I know from interviews that Joe Quesada says that Peter and Mary Jane were together but not married, but it’s probably not that easy.  I mean, did they live together?  For example, some of the storylines I remember best were the ones when they were living in the Bedford Towers.  The Christmas issue (#314) is a great issue; they get evicted (because the guy who kidnapped Mary Jane owns the building), Spidey saves a nice lady who gives him macaroons, and Peter gets to re-learn the meaning of Christmas.  But, did that happen?   Did it happen, but they were living together and just unmarried? 

Some changes are, of course, more obvious, like how Harry Osborn isn’t dead.  Clearly, the ripples from the undoing of Peter and MJ’s marriage are spread wide, and, to be honest, I think it’s going to be more distracting than interesting to see what the effects are.  (Also, everyone seems...younger.  I mean, all this time, we’re supposed to believe that Peter’s still living with Aunt May?  I mean, Peter got a place in the city before he married (or, I believe, was even dating) Mary Jane.  So, did that happen, or has he been living with Aunt May the whole time?  Anyway, again, annoying more than intriguing, I think. 

The Good

1) Mary Jane’s comments to Peter at the end -- about how they’ll always love each other -- really added something to the plot.  As I said above, I do have to admit that I’m looking forward to seeing how Peter and Mary Jane will eventually find one another again.  Joe Quesada can pretend all he wants that it won’t happen, but it will, because, as MJ says, she’s right about these sorts of things.  Again, we’re Team MJ here.

2) Straczynski does an admirable job trying to explain why Aunt May can’t be saved, invoking the “because it’s her time” defense.  I’m glad he addresses it, because a lot of writers would’ve just glided over the “Hey, how come Jean Grey can come back from the dead a billion times but Aunt May has to die?” question that we were all thinking.  (Yes, I know Jean’s only been dead twice and I know more about the Phoenix Force than I care to admit.  But, you get my point.)  But, it still does ring a little hollow.  I mean, I get why Dr. Strange would tell Peter it was May’s time, being all connected to the Universe and, you know, stuff.  But, we see Peter approaching people like Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom.  They know it’s her time, too?  Is life like that bad Nickleback video where we all have clocks above our head?  Can they all see May’s?  Otherwise, I have to believe that Mr. Fantastic would, you know, at least try to examine May before deciding, “Nope, she’s a goner." 

The Bad

1) I’m not going to go on a rant about Spider-Man making a pact with the Devil, but let’s just all admit that the big “bad” here is that, well, Spider-Man made a pact with the Devil. 

2) I thought Mephisto’s justification for his actions was really overblown and, as such, really detracted from the story. Calling Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage one that comes only once a millennium was really unnecessary.  The story was sad and moving when it was just about two regular people who love one another having to do something extraordinary.  Adding in the “God will feel pain when I dissolve your marriage” aspect seemed to cheapen their sacrifice.  It’s hard to put into words why it bothered me, but I felt it was that scene, more than any other one, where Marvel was trying too hard to justify this decision.  You know when you’re using the Devil as your mouthpiece to justify what you’ve done, you’re not in good company.  Peter and MJ’s marriage was always interesting because, unlike any other comic I’ve read, the various writers always did an amazing job of presenting what it would be like to be an ordinary person with a husband who was a superhero or a superhero with a wife who was an ordinary person.  Their marriage was always the most real of any marriage in comics, and Mephisto making it into something holy seemed to undermine that a little.

New Comics!: The Age of X Edition #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Age of X:  Alpha #1:  Mike Carey explains in a note at the end of this book that the Age of X was meant to be an in media res exercise, with the reader being dropped immediately into the story with little in the way of explanation of how we got there.  This issue is meant to be, as Carey says, an overture to the symphony that follows, establishing the back stories of some of the major characters and dropping some hints about the different past of this new world.  It's a different approach from the Age of Apocalypse cross-over event (upon which this event is clearly modeled), since that event had a specific catalyst (the assassination, in the past, of Professor X).  But, Carey creates a lot of really compelling characters here (or, to put it more specifically, re-creates a lot of really compelling characters).  The story of Cyclops -- now known as Basilisk -- is compellingly sad.  It's interesting to see him in a follower role, with Cannonball serving as the field general.  In "New Mutants" #10, we saw Cyclops implying Cannonball might not be the leader of the future that he's always been more or less groomed to be, so it's interesting, in this world, that it's Cannonball and not Cyclops running the show.  I also applaud Carey (if it sticks) for taking out Wolverine so early.  As I've mentioned in this blog, I'm SO over Wolverine, and I'm actually even more looking forward to this event now that I know it won't just give us yet another iteration of the Cyclops/Phoenix/Wolverine love triangle! 

X-Men Legacy #245 (Age of X:  Chapter 1):  OK, as Carey promised, we're in the thick of things immediately.  As we saw in "Age of X Alpha," Magneto ("the General") is leading the last group of mutants at a refuge called "Fortress X," and they've apparently been fighting off the human armies for the last three years.  We see a number of familiar faces here, but what happened in the past to create their new selves and this new world is still unclear.  The person who appears to be Hellion is still missing his hands, so it's unclear whether a version of the events from "Second Coming" happened.  We've seen Phoenix in both the last issue and this one, but we haven't really been told who she is.  (My guess is Hope, not Jean, since we also have heard that the Phoenix destroyed Albany at some point.)  We've heard mention of someone called "X" who appears to be a computer and who I'm guessing in some version of Professor X.  Speaking of Professor X, Legion is sane (or at least appears to be) and Moira (who someone calls Legion's stepmother) is alive.  Wolverine appears to have survived the events of "Age of X Alpha" (I'm glad to see his role is at least muted), though we learn other mutants (Madrox, Nightcrawler) are dead.  We've also seen a number of intriguing couples (Basilisk and Frenzy, Betsy Braddock and Iceman, Storm and Namor).  However, Carey has succeeded in making the book not just about noting the difference between the two worlds.  We get some intrigue here, learning that Magneto is keeping certain mutants under house arrest, when Kitty Pryde is discovered to have escaped the barrier that surrounds Fortress X.  Rogue retrieves the camera Kitty hid and what she sees on the camera appears to make her question Magneto and his leadership. 

New Mutants #22 (Age of X:  Chapter 2):  After spending the first issue mostly establishing who's who, Carey focuses on advancing the plot here, with Rogue (now known as Legacy) looking into the camera that Kitty Pryde brought into Fortress X.  She heads into the brig, where she encounters Blindfold (who we last saw having visions of this world in "X-Men Legacy" #244).  Blindfold directs Legacy to Professor X, who is indeed locked in the brig.  (Is "X" Cable, then?)  Legacy goes rogue (heh) after getting busted by Danger for talking to Kitty.  I have to say, I'm intrigued where this storyline goes.  I thought I recognized Magik and the Stepford Cuckoos in the brig when we saw it in the last issue, and I think that makes sense, since Magneto seems to be keeping hostage the people who can reveal the truth about the old world.  If so, this twist would be significantly different from the Age of Apocalypse, where Magneto was nothing but a full-on hero. 

X-Men Legacy #246 (Age of X:  Chapter 3):  OK, things get interesting real quick here.  First, we learn that the prisoners are segregated at the order of X, not Magneto, implying that Magneto may not be the one trying to prevent the truth from being revealed.  Along those lines, based on a conversation between Wolverine and Legacy, it appears that telepaths have been entirely removed from the equation in this world (possibly by X).  We see Gambit join Legacy in her escape; I don't buy that Magneto actually killed them.  But, even if he did, Legacy's efforts won't be for naught; we see Wolverine share what she told him to Basilisk, who agrees to help him dig.  Also of note, Moira refers to herself as one of Magneto's kind here, more or less implying she's a mutant.  All in all, this plot is just getting more and more intriguing.  Seeing Gambit & Rogue and Wolverine & Cyclops working together, I'm reminded of the halcyon days of the 200s of "Uncanny X-Men."  The X-books are so filled with characters right now that you don't often get that sense of intimacy that you used to get reading these books; Carey has really tapped into that by putting some old-school favorites front and center.  Also, I have to mention Clay Mann's art.  The characters and the setting really jump off the page; he's doing amazing work.  I can't say I was a super fan of his work on "X-Men Legacy" before (because it wasn't until I Googled him that I realized he's been on the book for a while), but these Age of X issues have been great.

New Comics!: The Teens Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers:  The Children's Crusade - Young Avengers #1:  OK, I'm going to put aside the sheer bizarreness of this issue's existence and address the issue itself first.  The good news is that it's fun, with a lot of winks and nods to the original "Young Avengers" mini-series.  We get an insight into the first few days of the Young Avengers.  We don't see Iron Lad's initial approach to Hulkling, Patriot, and Wiccan, but we see them training together and finding themselves fighting Electro.  I see here why Marvel has made the decision to only allow Allan Heinberg to work on the Young Avengers, because he adds grace notes here -- such as the boys' fanboy banter -- that I'm not sure another writer would add.  Having them fight Electro was a really inspired choice, since, after all, what fanboy wouldn't chose a member of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery if he had to fight his first super-villain?  It was fun to see Iron Lad back in the fold (Eli actually has a friend...) and it makes me realize that I hope Heinberg finds a way to keep him in our time permanently (despite the fact that it's probably impossible to do so without some elaborate cheat that would wind up annoying me).  Also, I continue to take off my hat to Heinberg for creating a world where Billy and Teddy's teammates accept their relationship entirely.  I can't think of any other comic book or, really, TV show that does that, and I really applaud him for it.  Now, onto the negatives, unfortunately.  First, the art's off a bit in this issue.  It was occasionally hard to tell the difference between Billy and Nathaniel.  Davis was juggling a lot of stuff here (including creating looks for the adult versions of the Young Avengers), so I get why some details were a little loose.  But, the confusion it caused was still distracting at times.  Second, I honestly have lost track of Kang and who he is and whether he's supposed to be good or bad.  It's just all...so...headache-inducing.  Finally, and most importantly, why does this issue exist in the first place?  This mini-series has been dragging for the last few issues, essentially repeating the same plot over and over again.  Moreover, the bi-monthly format has exacerbated the sense that we're just spinning our wheels.  I would've preferred here an issue that actually advanced the plot as opposed to some other side show.  It's time to bring this mini-series to a close and for Marvel to decide what it's doing to the franchise.  We're talking about almost two years at this point for a (what was supposed to be) nine-issue mini-series.  Seriously, gentlemen, it's time. 

Generation Hope #5:  I'm really starting to like this series.  I'd actually put it up there with "New Mutants" as one of the better X-books.  It's certainly better than the core X-books.  This issue sees Hope flex her muscles a bit.  Gillen does a great job reminding us that Hope actually has two futures in play, one as a Messiah, but also one as a destroyer.  Her interaction with Emma Frost was fun, mostly because I actually found myself feeling bad for, and agreeing with, Emma, which doesn't often happen. 

Superboy #5:  In this issue, Superboy and Kid Flash race...[yawn]...and the Phantom Stranger [nod]...where am I?  Sorry, I fell asleep there.  Seriously, reviewing this issue is even more boring than reading it.  I love Superboy, but "Superboy" has been just dreadfully dull.  Lemire just keeps mining the same stories (the weird "Broken Silo" or whatever-it's-called attack on Smallville and Conner's troubled relationship with Lori Luthor) over and over again.   It's dull.  Sorry, it is.  Even the physical hint that Psionic Lad's arch-nemesis is who I think he is (see last review) wasn't enough to inject some energy into this book.  Plus, Conner continues to mope about Cassie, despite being the one who ended the relationship.  The whole series has felt wrong, and I'm surprised by the fact that I'm really thinking about dropping the comic that features the character that got me back into comics.  But, I think we're almost there.  I know it's hard to make Smallville exciting in a way that doesn't defy common sense (it's not going to have the same number of villains as Gotham, for example, and still be believable), but Lemire has to do something here and soon.

New Comics!: The Bat Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Ok, we've got a lot of comics this week, so I split them into three different editions! 

Batman #708 ("Judgment on Gotham:"  Part 1):  This issue throws a lot at the reader at once, resulting in a dizzying story that has a lot of potential.  When Dick suffers from some sort of spell after getting hit in the chest by a mugger, I assumed it was the result of the poisonous gas to which he was exposed in "Detective Comics" #872.  However, instead, it's the result of a "wound" inflicted by Azrael.  (I subscribe to eight Batman comics and I don't remember him getting wounded by Azrael.  I'm assuming it happened in "Azrael," which annoys me not only because we don't get an editor's note telling us when/where it happened but also because apparently reading eight Batman books isn't enough.)  I'm intrigued by Dick's "Prodigy" dream, since the Prodigy looks like it could be Jason Todd (assuming Hine keeps his reversion to red hair), who's been quiet for a while.  The rest of the issue sets up the cross-over issues in "Red Robin" and "Gotham City Sirens" (another book I'm going to have to get just to stay with the cross-over).  I've never been a fan of Azrael stories, so I can't say I'm particularly enthused.  But, the appearance of Ra's al Ghul at the end gives me hope that the storyline will pick up a little.  At the very least, Guillem March's art is really spectacular in this issue and I can't wait to see what he does next. 

Batman and Robin #20-#21:  These issues are great.  (I seem to have neglected to review the first one.  Oops.)  This arc is really a return to form for the book, a welcome relief after we all had to suffer through the previous arc.  Tomasi builds the story well, revealing some clues in the second issue but also raising new questions at the same time.  The best part, though, was the opening sequence, seeing the family all together.  Tomasi really "gets" everyone here:  Dick and Tim's engaging in affectionate brotherly banter, Damian pretending to want to be somewhere else but still being there, Alfred getting to fuss over all them, Bruce actually relaxing.  The best part of "Batman and Robin" had been the Dick/Damian relationship, and Cornell (and a lot of the writers of the other Bat-books) ignored that in the last arc.  So, I take off my hat to Tomasi for returning to what makes this book special and taking the time to develop the characters a bit before diving into the mystery.  Speaking of the mystery, I really didn't see coming the connection between the victims of the White Knight and the inmates of Arkham Asylum.  Tomasi shows real skill in making that revelation not only feel organic (and not a stunt, which it could have easily felt like) but also making it call into question who the White Knight is and what his motivations are.  I can't wait to see where this story goes.  The art is also great.  The scenes of mostly white near the end of the second issue really leapt off the pages and underscored both the creepiness of the White Knight and also the mystery behind his identity. 

Batman Beyond #1-#3:  I just got a chance to read these issues and they're a great start to the series.  Beechen gives a lot of hints of where future storylines could go while giving us an engaging and fun read.  Batman v. the Justice League?  It's a pretty cool way to start a series.  As a guy who can get obsessed with continuity, I found myself wondering how closely the series will tie to the animated series and the various comic series.  I haven't seen all the animated series or read any of the other comics, so I was wondering if I should be buying up back issues or making my way through the TV show.  So, I was glad to see Chris Conroy himself address the issue in the letters column, suggesting that the book is going to combine the best of both the TV and comic series.  As such, I'm going to try not to be OCD about it and just enjoy how the series develops.  I know there are a lot of Bat-books out there now, but, if you've got an extra $3, I'd say this one is actually one of the ones worth your money. 

Red Robin #21:  This issue, in theory, continues from "Teen Titans" #92, but I was left feeling like I had missed an issue somewhere between the two.  At the end of "Teen Titans" #92, Red Robin had re-joined the team and it appeared they were going to go after the Calculator for ultimate control over the Unternet.  However, in "Red Robin" #21, we only see Tim, and he's fighting a group of four super-villains called "the Madmen," who are the living embodiment of the Unternet.  Um, OK.  Once you get over the sudden shifting of gears, though, the issue is fine.  It's just weird that Nicieza totally abandoned the Teen Titans and the Calculator.  At any rate, I'm glad we've put the Unternet to rest, because it was definitely getting old.  We've spent a lot of time on it, and I'm not really sure it was worth it.  Part of the answer to that question will be the extent to which anything that's happened in the last few issues will have repercussions in future issues.  The next issue is yet another cross-over -- this time with "Batman" and "Gotham City Sirens" -- so it'll probably be a while before we have an answer.  I'm looking forward to us getting back to basics and focusing more on Tim, particularly as he handles his transition to being a superhero in his own right and not just someone's sidekick.

On Spider-Man

I mentioned in my original post that I stopped reading comics in the late 1990s/early 2000s when the plots in the various Avengers, Spider-Man, and X-Men comics went off the rails.  Chuck Austen pretty much ruined the Avengers and the X-Men for me.  His run in the "Avengers" (covered in posts on this blog) featured bizarre plots and significant changes to the established personalities of existing characters.  (We will not, at any point, talk about the Hawkeye/Wasp affair.  We will not.)  His run on "Uncanny X-Men" was equally bizarre.  (To be fair, I am one of the few people who also wasn’t really thrilled with Grant Morrison’s run on "X-Men."  In retrospect, though, I think my dislike of Morrison’s run was a reflection of my intense dislike of Austen’s run.  They were both changing the X-Men mythos, and it was too much change at the same time for me to appreciate Morrison’s more nuanced stories vis-à-vis Austen’s active sledgehammer approach.) 

But, my exhaustion with both the Avengers and X-Men books can also be attributed to the fact that, a few years earlier, I had already abandoned Spider-Man.  Although I technically managed to survive the Clone Saga (I made it to the re-numbering, when I finally surrendered), I did so barely.  The ridiculousness of the late 300s/early 400s “Amazing Spider-Man” plots -- even the ones unrelated to the Clone Saga -- pushed me over the edge.  Peter’s parents are alive!  No, wait, they’re not really his parents!  Aunt May’s dead!  (Again.)  No, wait, Aunt May’s alive!  (Again.)  Mary Jane lost the baby!  No, wait, Mary Jane maybe didn’t lose the baby!  Oh, wait, no, she did, she did lose the baby!  It was just insanity.  Everything was dark and melodramatic, which is essentially the antithesis of what a good Spider-Man comic should be.  Plus, I had always been an “Amazing Spider-Man” reader, and, in that era, it was increasingly difficult “just” to subscribe to one of the Spider-Man comics.  Even when I did buy the other comics, the cross-overs generally weren’t that well done, with the various writers and artists having different takes on everything, making it difficult to engage in the story without getting distracted by the differences.  Later, after I had given up comics, when I heard about the deal with Mephisto, I felt justified in leaving.  I mean, Spider-Man makes a deal with the Devil to undo his marriage to save his elderly aunt so that her death isn’t his fault?  Um, yeah, we’re not really talking about the Peter Parker I knew.  So, I considered my decision a good one and continued not reading comics. 

However, upon returning to comics in the last year or so, I started feeling bad that I had left Spider-Man, particularly given that I was seeing him in both "Avengers" and "New Avengers" every month.  It was like he was taunting me.  “What, you're too good for me, JW?  Look how cute and funny I am!"  I mean, "Amazing Spider-Man" was my gateway book.  Everything -- the boxes and boxes in my parents’ attic in Jersey and the boxes and boxes I have in my apartment here -- comes from the subscription to "Amazing Spider-Man" my parents got me (I'm sure to their never-ending regret) when I was six years old.  I started feeling like I was betraying Peter.

Finally, I bit the bullet, went to Mile High Comics’ website, and ordered every issue of Spider-Man starting with “One More Day” to present.  Yup.  It comes to 100+ issues.  (Thank you, recession, for making comics cheap again.  It was the only good thing you did.) 

So, here we go... 

(On a side note, if you're still bitter about the Clone Saga, like I am, I highly recommend this blog:  http://lifeofreillyarchives.blogspot.com/.  It tells the story of the Clone Saga with great insight into the behind-the-stage shenanigans courtesy of former Assistant Editor, Glenn Greenberg.  It confirms what we essentially all knew at that point:  Marvel was screwing with us in an attempt to keep the Clone Saga -- and the money -- continuing.)

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman Incorporated #3:  I can't believe we've waited, what, three months, for this issue and it is, without a doubt, one of the worst comics I've ever read.  I have absolutely no idea what's happening in about 90 percent of the issue.  (Also, I speak Spanish, so it wasn't just that some dialogue was in Spanish.)  I had to basically force myself through the first few pages and couldn't finish the book on my first try.  Morrison is clearly WAY too in love with himself here, thinking himself too clever by half.  Instead of the interesting narrative structure he thinks he's delivering, we instead get incoherent complicated nonsense.  The only remotely interesting part of this issue is the implication that the purpose of the entire Batman, Inc. scheme is to build an army to fight a specific fight.  Whatever.  It's ironic so far, to me, that the best new Batman, Inc. character to be developed is Nightrunner, and he's not Morrison's.  I'm subscribing to eight (!) different Batman books at this point.  Morrison had better remember he actually needs to be coherent, or I'm dropping this one. 

Dark Sun #3:  This series continues moving along nicely.  We're heading into the dungeons next issue, on the hunt for not only the treasures that might be in the Under-Tyr, but also for the turncoat, Mudrada.  In other words, it's a classic D&D tale.  I have two questions that I'm hoping to see answered soon.  First, why would Haskyr and Rubi be working (seemingly) against House Ianto when they are, in fact, part of it?  Second, how did Rubi come in possession of her half of the key and why didn't Haskyr make a move to get her half before she gave it to Grudvik?  I can't wait to see how all this gets resolved. 

Hawkeye:  Blindspot #2:  McCann keeps getting better and better.  The short-lived "Hawkeye & Mockingbird" series had some intriguing concepts and cool characters, though the plots were a little unfocused.  The "Widowmaker" series was better, but still a little loose in the plot department. You can really see McCann's evolution in this series, though.  "Hawkeye:  Blindspot" is full of action, but we also get insight into Clint, who's always been one of my favorite Avengers.  His tragic back story gives writers a great starting point, but most ignore that, using him instead only as comic relief.  McCann lets him be the witty, charming Clint we all know and love, but we also get a sense of the insecurities that drive him.  I didn't even mind his brother returning from the dead, because, wow, what a confrontation that promises to be.  I hope McCann's impressing the Marvel editors, because I'd be happy to see him get a chance to apply his continually-evolving skills to the W.C.A. and a renewed "Hawkeye & Mockingbird" series. 

inFAMOUS #1:  OK, if you loved the game upon which this series is based as much as I did, BUY THIS BOOK!  This six-issue mini-series is meant to serve as a bridge between the first and second games, and it does a pretty good job wrapping up some loose ends from the first game.  (If you didn't play the game and want to play it, don't read further.  BUY THE GAME!)  We see Moya here working with the First Sons as they experiment on the "person" who will become "the Beast," whose coming was foretold by Kessler.  If I'm not mistaken, Moya's motivations were left undefined after the game.  We only discovered that she lied about being married to John and him being a FBI agent; we never really discovered her true motivations.  We see her working with the First Sons (and still possibly for the government), which makes her efforts to track down the Ray Sphere through Cole in the game make a lot more sense.  Beyond wrapping up loose ends, the comic is alive with the energy of the game.  Cole is still reeling from the death of Trish (at his future-self's hands) and trying to reconcile his conflicting feelings about Zeke, who is trying to seek redemption after activating the Ray Sphere (to no effect) during the game.  All in all, it's a great book. 

New Avengers #10:  OK, Bendis won me back a bit (actually, a lot) here.  I was worried after the last issue that Nick Fury was going to be putting together an Avengers squad that somehow tied into the original team, ret-conning Avengers history to fit with the upcoming movie.  But, I'm happy to say it's a hell of a lot more intriguing than that.  Fury's team of awesomeness (Ulysses Bloodstone, Dum Dum Dugan, Dominic Fortune, Kraven the Hunter, Namora, Sabretooth, and the original Silver Sable) has such potential that I can honestly see it becoming a franchise or, at the very least, a limited series.  I can't wait to see them take on the Red Skull.  The art on the Fury part of the book is a little...loose, but the plot is interesting enough that I really don't care.  The modern part is an entirely different kettle of fish.  The Mockingbird-has-been-shot sub-plot is still as annoying in this issue as it was in the last one.  I don't for a minute believe they'll kill her so soon after resurrecting her.  Its primary purpose seems to be setting up a realization on the part of Luke Cage of the burdens of leadership, yet another example of "Women in Refrigerators" syndrome.  Also, Superia whining about the Avengers discovering her plan was just bizarre.  But, the Nick Fury's Avengers part makes me not care so much about the modern part (despite, you know, the latter being the whole point of the book), so I consider this issue a return to form.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman:  Streets of Gotham #20:  For the love of Alfred, could something actually happen in this series?  Last issue, we got to hear all about how Judson Pierce's henchman had a run-in with the Joker as a kid.  The issue before that one, the "House of Hush" storyline was only a handful of pages long, with the bulk of the issue dedicated to the Ragman secondary feature.  In this issue, we get the weird back story on Dr. Death.  Seriously, it's been months since the "House of Hush" plot moved along at all.  Plus, for the second issue in a row, we don't get the Ragman feature.  The first few arcs of this series were really good, and helped moved along some smaller plot points (like Hush's time as Bruce Wayne) that the main books in the larger "Batman:  Reborn" storyline didn't have a chance to cover.  But, at this point, it seems like they're just stalling for time until the last issue, which I think is the next one.  Between the dangling plot points from this issue and the still-unresolved Ragman secondary feature, it'd have to be a damn good issue for me not to feel cheated at the end of a series that showed a lot of promise. 

Dark Sun #2:  I'm already finding myself wishing this series wasn't only going to be five issues long.  Alex Irvine's sparse dialogue occasionally makes it hard to follow the plot and the main characters aren't really all that well developed yet.  (For example, in the first issue, Aki is asking Grudvik about how far they are from Tyr and is taking advice from Grudvik on how to survive in the desert.  However, in this issue, he's the one who knows how to get to Tyr and is telling Grudvik how to survive in the desert.)  However, I'll forgive Irvine the inconsistencies here because this approach to the dialogue conveys an amazing sense of isolation that adds to both to the feel of the comic as well as the mystery of the characters.  Peter Bergting's pencils further this sense of desolation, as does even the rough paper on which the comic book is printed.  In just two issues, Irvine and Bergting have created a complicated world where danger lies around every corner and the motivations of the two major characters are intriguing (if still mostly hidden).  I find myself wishing I knew more about the Dark Sun campaign setting.  If you're reading (and enjoying) the "Dungeons and Dragons" title also published by IDW, I'd recommend picking up this series while it lasts. 

Dungeons & Dragons #4:  This issue continues letting the good times roll:  a talking skull with vocabulary problems, elaborate dwarven-crafted traps, multi-planar conspiracy revelations.  This issue has everything!  I'm really starting to love this group; as someone notes in the letters page, it reminds me of the first "Dragonlance" trilogy.  If you enjoy D&D and comics, you should absolutely be reading this series.  I can't wait to see how they wrap up this storyline next issue! 

X-Factor #216:  I'm concerned that Spidey's going the way of Wolverine.  After the announcement that he was going to be in the new "FF" series in addition to his appearances in "Avengers" and "New Avengers," I groaned inwardly.  I mean, isn't it bad enough the guy has to live down the musical?  But, this month, he's in both "X-Factor" and "X-Men" and we've clearly moved into "marketing is running the show" world.  (The last time that happened is the "Clone Saga" and, um, [shiver].)  Moreover, his appearance here is kind of weird.  He crashes the rooftop where Monet and Shatterstar are playing chess, because he happens to see JJJ, Jr.'s motorcade out front.  Um, OK, is he stalking Jonah now?  Also, Peter David, who's so good at so many characters, makes Spidey into a bumbling idiot, which, um, he's not.  Moreover, I don't buy the main story.  With all the resources he has at his disposal, I don't really believe JJJ, Jr. would go to X-Factor to track down his buddy's killer, particularly since he doesn't seem (from what we know) to know a mutant might be involved.  The back-up story, involving the woman who suddenly remembered who she was thanks to Monet from a few issues ago (and about whom I'd completely forgotten), is also a stretch.  This character is presented as if she were so memorable that I'd, um, remember her.  Maybe if this arc happened right after the arc in which she was introduced, I would.  Instead, I spent most of the comic having no idea why I should care about her.  If I cared more, I'd try to look up how many issues it's been since she appeared, but I don't.  Needless to say, I can't say I'm anxiously anticipating the next issue. 

X-Men #8:  Huh.  I don't know what to make of this issue.  Gischler comes close to making it an "After-School Special," with each X-Man narrating the story of a troubled teen.  He comes close, but he doesn't actually cross the line, and I have to applaud him for that.  As a kid who had his own share of problems with classmates who could sniff the dork on him, I felt for each of the kids here.  I liked how Gischler gets Spidey here, who, after all, spent years with Flash Thompson calling him "Puny Parker."  The "I don't know what to make of this issue" part comes more from the fact that I don't entirely get the Lizard connection.  Why exactly is the Lizard, who actually appears not to be Dr. Connors, preying on troubled teens?  Why not regular teens?  It seems to me it wouldn't be too hard to convince any teen to meet in a basement, be it with the offer of snacks for dorks or beer for jocks, if we're embracing stereotypes.  But, Gischler navigates the social minefield of high school well enough that I'm intrigued by what the next issue brings.  In terms of the art, it's pretty great.  You've got some moments, typical of Bachalo, where it's a little hard to follow the action.  But, the two-page spread of Emma enjoying the best hotel room that Warren Worthington III can afford is worth the confusion. 

Avengers (Vol. 3) #500-#503: "Avengers Disassembled”

**** (four of five stars) 

Summary

(A lot goes down here so I'll do my best to keep the summary coherent and short.)

Several Avengers have their quiet breakfast at the Mansion interrupted by the arrival of a (seemingly undead) Jack of Hearts.  Ant-Man goes to investigate, only to be killed when Jack detonates, taking part of the Mansion with him.  Tony Stark, addressing the United Nations as U.S. Secretary of Defense, suddenly verbally assaults the Latverian delegate, telling the Scarlet Witch later that it felt like he had suddenly become intoxicated (despite not having had a drink).  The Vision arrives, crashing a Quinjet into the Mansion, informing the assembled Avengers he's no longer in control of his functions, and expelling five Ultron robots from his body.  She-Hulk flies into a rage over the death of Ant-Man and (inexplicably) rips apart the Vision.  She later seriously wounds the Wasp and Captain Britain.  She's stopped by Iron Man, who later abandons the Avengers when only Cap believes him that he wasn't drunk at the United Nations.  Seemingly every Avenger in history gathers in front of the Mansion to support the team in its darkest hour, despite Nick Fury telling them they're interfering with a crime scene.  The United Nations then breaks off its relationship with the Avengers just in time for the assembled superheroes to have to defend themselves from a sudden attack by the Kree.  A series of flashbacks reveals that the Scarlet Witch has been, at some point, reminded of the existence of her children.  The Avengers come to realize that the Scarlet Witch is, indeed, the culprit behind their misfortune.  They eventually confront her, and she is defeated by Dr. Strange, who shows her what she's done.  Her mindless body is collected by Magneto.

The Good

1) Wow, issues #500 and #501 were a rush.  Jesus.  You actually got the sense of what it must have been like to live through that succession of events.  Honestly, they're two of the best written and most exciting comics I've ever read. 

2) The two-page spread of different Wanda images was both awesome and heart-breaking.  The use of old images of Wanda was really satisfying to an old-school Avengers fan like me, particularly because so many comics of that era were ignoring the past and changing characters and their personalities willy-nilly. 

3) I thought the dawning realization by Captain America and Warbird that Wanda was behind the atrocities was really well done.  As I've previously mentioned, Warbird isn’t my favorite character.  I generally find that she’s been written with so many different personalities over the years that she’s become just a sort of “strong woman” archetype with little to make her into her own character.  But, Bendis does a nice job with her here (as Johns did during “Red Zone”) and she is really the emotional core of the story, along with Cap.  From her emotional reaction to Scott Lang’s death (whom I believe she was dating at the time) to her defending Wanda to Dr. Strange and, eventually, confronting Wanda, she’s really the frame of reference for the characters’ reactions to the dizzying events of the story arc.

4) I enjoyed Spider-Man’s comments about the Vision...because, really, he’s a robot.  I mean, it’s always been a little...weird.  I mean, seriously, I can’t be the only person to ever think about, I mean, you know, what they do...?  Anyway, it’s always been weird and I’m glad Spidey mentioned it. 

5) Thanks, David Finch, for the scantily-clad Clint by the pool.  A fitting good-bye! 

The Unsure

Bendis pretty clearly stays purposefully unclear about the exact details of the timeline of Wanda losing her mind.  In the scene by the pool with Jan, it’s unclear whether Jan’s worried she’s pregnant by Clint from their recent fling or if Bendis is implying the two had a fling at some point in the past.  Nick Fury noting that Agatha Harkness has been dead for “a long time” also muddies the waters, making it seem that, in fact, both scenes happened a significant time ago and that Wanda has actually been unstable for a while.  If it has been happening for a while, it does make the whole affair seem more tragic.  But, from a pure narrative standpoint, allowing for this sort of uncertainty interrupts the flow of the story, because the reader is constantly trying to place the events in some sort of continuum.  I’m still not sure if the good (conveying the tragedy of how long Wanda had been quietly falling apart) outweighs the bad (inspiring the confusion over how it happened), so I'm marking it "unsure." 

The Bad

1) Again with the Yellowjacket hitting Wasp comments?  Really?

2) Wait, Wasp has been making Yellowjacket’s life a living hell?  I mean, if we accept the fact that Jan did actually cheat on Hank with Hawkeye (which, lalalalalala, didn't happen, lalalalalala), I could see him making a comment about him being mad at her or something.  But, Bendis seems to ignore the fact that he just asked her to marry him a few issues ago and, despite her saying no, they were still together. 

3) Amidst all the action, the plot suffered.  It's still unclear to me why Wanda did what she did and why she did it when she did it.  We're not really presented with a trigger, particularly because, as mentioned above, it appears that she began losing her mind a while ago.  At no point are we given a reason why she snapped when she did and, when she did snap, why she held the Avengers responsible and attacked them.  I mean, I get the argument that a crazy person doesn't have to have a reason to engage in crazy behavior.  But, from a narrative standpoint, we probably needed an extra issue in this arc so that we could get some more information on why Wanda was doing what she was doing.  Based on the "conversation" had between the two disembodied lips, it actually seems like she had something specific in mind that Bendis never really explored.  Wanda has been in comics for, you know, DECADES.  She deserved more than she got here.  This absence of any sort of explanation is the only reason I didn't give this story arc a five. 

A Note on the Scarlet Witch

OK, my old back issues of "Avengers West Coast" are at my parents', where I won’t be for a few months.  It’s been a while since I’ve read them (and probably about 20 years since the issues were first published), but I don’t remember Agatha Harkness wiping Wanda’s memory clear of her children when the whole business of revealing her kids were fake went down.  Wikipedia says she does (AWC #51-#52), so I guess it’s true.  But, if so, then it does seem kind of weird that EVERYONE knew but her.  I'm with Dr. Strange on that one.  No one thought, "Golly, this woman can alter reality, we should probably make sure she's psychologically stable."  Also, when it's revealed that she has, in fact, gone insane, no one really expresses any remorse for not being there when she obviously needed them.  I feel like we needed a little something more here, other than everyone just conveniently blaming the whole affair on a distressed mother.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, I think I only have "Dungeons and Dragons" left.  Otherwise, I think I'm current.  Whew.

Captain America #615:  I noted in my last post that I felt like Ed Brubaker was doing almost too good of a job getting me invested in the story.  Well, I think he's actually wound up pushing me too far.  I hadn't really noticed how odd the addition of Sin to the story of Bucky's trial had been, but, after reading someone's comment about it online, I do have to say that it does really break up the plot a little.  Sin not destroying the Statue of Liberty left me as confused as why Baron Zemo didn't kill Bucky, instead resorting to trying to ruin Bucky's new life because he didn't feel Bucky deserved it.  Just like Zemo, Sin's motivation here is unclear to me, making her actions ring false and, for the second arc in a row, making me question the entire story as it concludes.  I probably could've lived with that, but the surprise at the end of the issue -- that Russia was going to extradite Bucky for crimes against the state -- was just too much.  It gave the issue a soap opera feel that I think wasn't necessary.  How long is Bucky going to be on trial?  Are we going to go through this whole ordeal again, except in Russia?  I thought the point of this arc was to more or less definitively lay the Winter Soldier ordeal to rest, allowing Bucky to fully become Captain America.  It's time for that to happen, for the book to move to the next level, and I'm afraid that this new plot twist is going to leave us spinning our wheels.  That fear -- combined with the confusion over Sin's motivations -- left me feeling frustrated and annoyed after this issue, which sucks, since "Captain America" is one of my favorites.  Hopefully Brubaker regains his footing in the next issue and bring this whole state of affairs to a close. 

Detective Comics #874:  I've said it before and I'll (hopefully) say it again:  "Detective" is the best Bat-book out there right now.  Scott Snyder has taken the time to build the story here and it shows.  The first half -- Commissioner Gordon's conversation with his son, James, Jr. -- is honestly one of the creepiest comic stories I've ever read.  Because we've seen how scared people like Gordon and Barbara are of him (Barbara herself notes that they've seen a lot of terrible things in their lives), the actual arrival of James, Jr. on the scene is enough to be creepy in and of itself.  But, his "joke" that he's killed a waitress and hidden her body in the men's room and Snyder drawing our attention to the men's room by having some sort of liquid (blood?) leak steadily under the door is, honestly, one of the most artfully-done plot devices I've ever seen.  As an only infrequent reader of the Bat-books before "Batman R.I.P.," I'm not sure if I'm supposed to have a better sense of who James, Jr. is.  But, even without the background, Snyder makes him as sinisterly creepy as the Joker.  The final reveal -- that James, Jr. had flooded the taps so that water (and not blood from a dead waitress) leaked under the doors -- was amazing.  We clearly haven't seen the last of James, Jr.  Francesco Francavilla's art really adds to the sense of creepiness that Snyder develops here, though, to be honest, I think I would've preferred to have Jock work on the Batman/Red Robin sequence.  All in all, though, a stellar issue. 

Secret Avengers #10:  This issue was a pretty solid ending to a pretty solid story.  We don't really get any new insight into the Shadow Council here, but we see the Secret Avengers kick some ass, which is fun.  I enjoy this title, but I noticed in this issue that I can't really say the team feels like a team.  Maybe it's because the Avengers and New Avengers teams have some folks who are not only established characters but who've been working together for a long time, so, as a reader, you already come to the book with a sense of who they are and how they interact.  This team is still mostly second-tier characters who haven't worked together before.  It's only been ten issues, so Brubaker has time, but it would be nice to see some focus on their attempts at becoming a team soon. 

Uncanny X-Men #533:  This issue isn't quite as...zippy as the last one.  We're one step closer to a conclusion, but I can't say that much happened.  Even though we see the first face-to-face confrontation between the X-Men and Lobe in the arc, we don't really see the plot advance too much.  Emma is fighting Shaw, Angel's X-Men are fighting Lobe's minions, and the Utopia X-Men all still have the mutant flu; it's all the same as last issue.  I think it's time to wrap up this storyline and move us along.

Avengers (Vol. 3) #82-#85: “Once an Invader”

* (one of five stars) 

Summary

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The Review

The most telling thing about this story arc is that, when I went to start reading it, I realized I had actually read it the previous week, but, it was so unmemorable, I forgot.  USAgent reforms the Invaders.  They get involved in the internal affairs of some Middle Eastern country.  Political intrigue ensues.  The only good thing about this series is the art and, frankly, it’s my blog and I’ve spent enough of my life already writing about Chuck Austen.  Moving onto Bendis!

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

People, I'm reading comics like it's my job.  This double shipment is killing me!  OK, onto the show... 

Avengers #10:  I'm digging the Infinity Gems storyline.  It occasionally gets a little confusing keeping track of the three different teams of Avengers involved in the pursuit of the gems, but Bendis does a reasonable job keeping everyone well defined.  It's fun to see characters who don't normally interact get to do so (Ant-Man and Iron Fist, etc.).  Although I normally enjoy JR JR, the art in this issue looks a little rushed, particularly the fight in the Danger Room.  Again, it's probably hard to draw that many characters in one book, but the sloppiness of the art did kind of detract from the plot, since it was occasionally hard determining who was doing what to whom.  At any rate, I'm looking forward to the Thor/Parker throw-down coming next issue! 

Captain America #614:  OK, it's kind of a ridiculous complaint, but I think Ed Brubaker is actually doing too good of a job here making me care about the characters and the story.  I'm fully invested in the Bucky Barnes story and, honestly, it's starting to get stressful to read.  I mean, we really haven't had a win in a while.  After the "Trial of Captain America" arc ends, I'm kind of hoping Bucky gets to go to Tahiti with Natasha to investigate, I don't know, a cult of evil bunny worshippers or something.  You know, face something a little less stressful than having to decide to let a super-villain spring him from jail, where he's cooling his jets while he's on trail for murdering thousands of people while under mind control, so that he can save his girlfriend and best friend from dying when the daughter of his arch-nemesis blows up the Statue of Liberty with them in it.  I mean, hell, having to fight Dr. Doom naked would probably be a vacation at this point.  But, stressfulness aside, this arc continues Brubaker's amazing work on this title.  Also, the Nomad back-up feature continues to be a great surprise.  I didn't think much of Nomad when her back-up feature started, but I'm definitely reading as much for her as I am for Bucky.  This book is one of the few that merits the $3.99 price tag. 

Detective Comics #873:  Scott Snyder continues to write Dick Grayson better than anyone out there, making "Detective Comics" far and away my favorite Bat-book (which, after all, is saying a lot, considering how many of them there are).  When Daniel and Morrison focus on characterization in "Batman" and "Batman and Robin," it's generally just on the Dick/Damian relationship.  "Detective Comics," however, is much more about Dick Grayson as Batman, and I really find that storyline the most compelling.  In terms of the plot, this arc wraps up really nicely.  It's the kind of straight-forward detective story done really well that you expect from the title.  We see the totality of Dick's world here (his interactions with Commissioner Gordon and Babs are both poignant and funny), and it's a difficult one, with glimmers of hope but still a lot of shadows as he struggles with becoming the Bat.  I loved the art (and not just because Dick was so often in his underwear).  Jock really conveys a gritty, unseemly Gotham City that is all its own and matches Snyder's vision of the city perfectly.  It's not just a dirtier New York City that I feel like most artists give us; it's its own monster.  Honestly, this arc is going to be considered a classic in a few years; it's the best Batman story I've read in a long, long time.  Well done all around, gentlemen! 

Red Robin #20/Teen Titans #92:  Yay, Teen Titans cross-over!  Nicieza has done a great job of keeping "Red Robin" moving forward an ongoing storyline, issue by issue.  Everything builds off the previous stories, and the first issue of this cross-over is no different, bringing us the repercussions of Tim's shenanigans in Moscow from the previous arc.  This issue sets up the plot of the cross-over, with Tim needing to track down the Calculator, who's trying to maintain his control over the Unternet.  I'm a little confused why the Calculator doesn't take the same approach to Mikalek, who appears to be controlling the Unternet now (which you'd figure would piss him off more than Tim's cyber-squatting).  But, at least it makes sense that he wouldn't be happy with said cyber-squatting regardless.  The second issue of the cross-over, "Teen Titans" #92, reminds us just how bad the Tim/Damian relationship has gotten.  I've got a soft spot for Damian, so it's tough to see him get rejected by the Titans and, implicitly, Tim.  But, the title is "Teen Titans," after all, and it's totally believable that a group of teenagers would have less patience for a kid like Damian than Dick would.  I'm glad to see Tim re-join the group, because I could only handle the Cassie/Conner drama for so long.  It'll be nice to have a new element to shake up the title a bit. 

Secret Avengers #9:  I keep forgetting Ed Brubaker is writing this title until I get to the end of an issue, realize how much I enjoyed it, and look to see who wrote it.  The first few issues had me whelmed, but I've enjoyed this arc.  As he does on "Captain America," Brubaker keeps adding layers of complexity to the plot without getting lost in the details.  (Most of the Bat-book writers could really learn a lesson from him.  I'm looking at you, Tony Daniel.)  Mike Deodato keeps giving us shirtless Steve Rogers, so I'd be remiss if I didn't thank him.  I'm excited to see what happens next issue, particularly if we get some more insight into the Shadow Council.