Age of X-Man: X-Tremists #1: This issue is bizarre mostly because I just don't understand what we're supposed to believe about Bobby. He seems either seriously mentally ill or intellectually limited here. He has a running gag with Jubilee about whether wax paper is the same as a baking sheet, and I can't for the life of me figure out why Williams included it. Is it because he himself has been reprogrammed so many times it's broken him? Plus, he's pretty chummy with Jubilee, which seems like a no-no. Also, why are they baking "thank-you cookies" for the X-Men? Isn't saying thanks a form of intimacy? I can't tell if this issue is supposed to be this bizarre or if Williams is just throwing random stuff at us to see if it sticks. The main tension of this mini-series appears to be the fact one of the "'grades" the X-Tremists capture is pregnant, presenting them with a moral conundrum they've never previously faced. But, if the next four issues are like this one, I'm not sure I can enough to see how they resolved it.
Captain America #8: This issue couldn't be better. First, Coates uses Steve's narration to let us know we're in the dark before the dawn. I didn't realize we needed that, but we did. Coates is telling us to have faith in Steve, at a time when no one has faith in Steve. It feels conspiratorial, a reminder we, the fans, will be rewarded for our faith. America may have turned its back on Steve, but damn if we will. Sharon also hasn't turned her back on Steve, and she's as masterful here as she always is. She shakes down the Kingpin for information, wisely intuiting that Kingpin might've allowed Alexa to knock off Ross in his New York but he wouldn't be happy about sharing the stage with a new upstart villain. He provides her the information she wants, that the Foreigner killed Ross. Meanwhile, Steve sits in von Strucker's prison, with the Wrecking Crew telling him to take his moralizing and shove it. Sure, they killed people but Steve did, too, with all his inspirational speeches. Steve insists inspiring people isn't murder, but Piledriver tells him to ask Rick Jones about that. (Ouch.) While Steve realizes he needs a new name, Alexa secures a presidential pardon for Other Steve. It's a particularly clever moment, because it's the third leg of the stool of corruption Coates is building her: Kingpin as mayor of New York, a pardoned von Strucker running a prison, a pardoned Other Steve in the wild. Coates is pretty openly commenting on our era of the grift, and he does so perfectly. But, he also reminds us the villains might've overplayed their hand, and it feels like we see that when Alexa and Selene do something to turn Other Steve into a monster. At first, I thought they would just use his face to make things worse for Steve. Deciding to turn him into a monster seems a bad call. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds. I don't know if "Captain America" has ever been better, and that's a high bar considering how amazing it's been since Remender's days.
Detective Comics #999: It's pretty fucking ballsy for Tomasi to reveal the last few issues have all been a simulation Batman runs every year on his birthday, a way of forcing himself to be the best he can be by sending his own self to try to kill him. But, you know what? I kind of buy it. I normally hate these sorts of issues, but Tomasi sells through the dialogue, as Bruce's doppelgänger reminds him how he sacrificed himself so other children could have the childhood he didn't. Tomasi even goes one better as Bruce takes out his surrogate parents, Leslie and Alfred, for dinner. It follows the theme of "Batman Annual #3 (the "Father's Day" issue), turning a terribly brutal arc into a somewhat uplifting one.
The Flash #65: Ugh. Williamson had a good thing going when he focused on Bruce's relationship with Gotham Girl, but he jettisons that quickly here, presumably forced by management to focus on Barry and Bruce's "Heroes in Crisis" conflict. It goes...poorly. I don't for a minute believe Bruce would raise to Barry's bait as quickly as he does here, and I definitely don't believe he'd criticize him so cruelly for forgetting Wally existed. But, "Heroes in Crisis" is apparently all about overwrought melodrama, so I'm at least glad I haven't subjected myself to it. Along the way to this moment, Batman and Flash somehow miraculously save Claire, resurrecting her after she dies from the "super Venom" overloading her system. You'd figure she'd be dead-dead, given she burns up her life energy every time she uses her power. Instead, they just administer super-powered CPR, which somehow does the trick. Also, she conveniently doesn't remember who gave her the "super Venom."
The Realm #11: This issue is one of the most interesting of the series despite nothing really happening.
In terms of the main two storylines, we the start the issue with a trio of scarred humanoids escorting Redjaw and his companion back to Johnny. (Haun only vaguely shows their faces, so I can't tell if they're actually human.) One of the humanoids keeps running his mouth about how injured Redjaw looks. While Redjaw's companion tells him to drop it, the humanoid hypothesizes Redjaw's too wounded to take back a portal, which is why Johnny sent the trio to collect them. Redjaw has enough, leaps off his horse, and beats the humanoid to death. I assume the remaining two humanoids will be quiet for the trip. Meanwhile, we see Ben is in pursuit of the party. Turning our attention to our party, Eli informs Will and Molly they're running low on supplies, and Will says he knows a guy near where they'll meet Rook who runs a farm where they can restock and trade. Molly suggests Will tells them about his arm then, suggesting they put all their cards on the table. Will responds by suggesting they tell him what David is carrying, to which Molly simply replies, "Fair enough." Later, David discovers the symbol on the amulet the master used to restrain the monster inside Will is in one of the spellbooks that they swiped; he gives Will a curious look. Elsewhere, Rook kills a pair of goblins who kidnapped a fairy, freeing it, before reuniting with the party.
But, the issue really gets interesting at this point, because Peck starts showing us other events happening in this world. Mac and his party kill a bar full of patrons, arranging them in a circle so Mac can summon Johnny in one of the dead bodies. Meanwhile, the Red Queen vomits all sorts of red fluid into a man, and he turns completely red like she is. In his wanderings, he then infects another man, and they go their separate ways. According to the Comixology intro to this issue, they're hunting for Will. Interesting, they looked very normal, like you could've easily found them in a coffee shop in Williamsburg.
This issue and issue #10 are perfect examples of pet peeve #1: their covers don't show what happens inside. But, interestingly, the elephant-like creature that appeared on the cover of last issue appears briefly here, in one panel, though it seems like the rest of the party can't see him (despite looking in his direction).
West Coast Avengers #8: I know I say it every month, but "West Coast, Best Coast!" I love that the Skrulls are really vampires. I mean, it's so old-school "West Coast Avengers." That's exactly the sort of thing I'd expect to happen to them. Also, they're not just vampires, but vampires using a Scientology-esque "religion" as a front. It's so Los Angeles! Man, I love this series.
Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #16; Avengers: No Road Home #3; X-Force #3
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Monday, April 8, 2019
Not-Very-New Comics: The February 20 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Avengers: No Road Home #2: I was perfectly OK with this series not serving as a sequel to "Avengers: No Surrender." After all, the first series was a fun romp, so I was totally down with Marvel get the band back together for another one. But, the authors do actually make it a sequel in an unexpected way. In a flashback to Nyx and her children murdering the Olympian gods, we learn Zeus imprisoned Nyx somewhere until the sun disappeared. Well, the Challenge and the Gamemaster managed that when they moved Earth during their challenge, freeing Nyx to seek out her revenge. The authors then rely on a similar format as the first series, as Voyager sends three teams of Avengers to beat Nyx's children in capturing the shards of her soul that Zeus scattered around the Universe. But, the authors go one better here, as it isn't all about the action. Clint provides an increasingly dramatic narration throughout the issue, as he talks about how people often ask him how he does what he does, fighting alongside and against gods. He admits he's just lucky, but his luck seems to have hit a wall: he awakens in a hospital room missing the thumb on his right hand. Clint barely has time to process that when the Hulk reveals himself, ready to exact his vengeance. It shows the authors are working multiple stories on multiple levels, just like the first series. I'm definitely happy I picked up this one.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3: OMG, this issue was awesome. It turns out Leilani -- the mother of the two orange-skinned kids -- is the daughter of the dictator of Under York, an underground version of New York accessible by a magic elevator. We learn Under York used to interact with our New York, but the dictator cut off ties, forcing Under York to stagnate. (Apparently all our best ideas -- like the Empire State Building -- come from Under York.) Peter and the Rumor manage to break into the dictator's penthouse and nab Leilani. Peter gets shot in the process, but he manages to scale the miles-deep elevator staff with the two women after the Under Yorkers cut the power. The Rumor warns Peter to prepare for a small war. I know it sounds insane, but Taylor's script really sells it; I could read Peter and the Rumor bantering all day. Taylor manages to capture the spark of a Spider-Man story without weighing down the issue with all of Peter's usual bullshit. This issue really carries on the great tradition of Zdarsky's work in "Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man." I can't wait to see where we go from here.
Guardians of the Galaxy #2: OK, this issue is really good. Like, really good. First, Cates makes it clear that Peter is spiraling into alcoholism and depression because he can't get over the fact Gamora killed him. That's...sound. (To be honest, I barely remember her killing him, and I definitely don't remember how he got resurrected. Oh, "Infinity Wars." You were such a bullshit event.) Cates does a great job of not telling us this information, but showing it to us, through Peter's late-night call to Kitty. Phyla-Vell even tells him he looks terrible when he delivers some uniforms to her and Moondragon. But, Peter doesn't just get to sleep the sleep of the drunk, as he has to break up a fight between Ghost Rider and Groot. This part of the issue is the only part I disliked. I'm still struggling with the characterization of Groot as an adolescent surfer, and Ghost Rider doesn't really sound the way Frank Castle sounds. That said, their fight is hilarious, as Ghost Rider inadvertently creates an army of mini-Groots by cutting off parts of him. They're fighting as Ghost Rider learned Beta Ray Bill and Groot plan on saving Gamora. Peter invites him to leave if he wants, notably telling Beta Ray Bill and Groot to do the same, showing he has no intention of saving Gamora. Castle leaves, leading us to realize just how big of a story Cates is telling. The Shi'ar have rescued a now-scarred Starfox and some other "heroes" who fell into the vortex, and Castle joins their crusade to find Gamora. Also in this group is Nebula, who suggests they'll find Gamora through the "stupid boy she loves:" Nova. Peter might be upset about that, particularly since he thinks he and Groot are the only ones who know where Gamora is. We also see Hela and the Black Order in action here, as they shake down the Collector to discover Thanos' head is in the Negative Zone. Does no one burn a body anymore?
Nightwing #57: Although Lobdell's plot is fine here, it's Kaplan who really makes this issue sing. It's the first one in the Ric Grayson era where Ric feels like a character in and of himself. Kaplan makes it clear that Ric's moral compass is essentially the same as Dick's: he's moved beyond words when he accompanies Bea to a community meeting with a councilman eager to destroy a homeless shelter to build a parking lot for a new stadium. Bea reveals she grew up homeless, and it's a clever move on Lobdell's part. It would feel ridiculous to watch Dick Grayson, ward of wealth, try even to comprehend that, but Ric is another story altogether. Kaplan also really sells Ric finding himself agreeing to work with the Nightwings, particularly in playing up the hilarity of Detective Sapienza exerting such a sense of ownership over the identity. Despite the jumble of authors who've worked on this story, they've carefully built each supporting character piece by piece; no revelation has felt forced. At this point, they all feel like fully fleshed out characters at this point, and, regardless if Ric recovers his memory, I hope they all stay. But, it isn't all about the perfect tone Kaplan is able to strike. Lobdell using the Joker's Daughter in a war against elites doesn't feel over the top. She kidnaps the councilman and sends him into a fancy restaurant as a suicide bomber, interrupting all the conversations praising gentrification happening at the moment. If that isn't a 2019 plot device, I don't know what is.
Return of Wolverine #5: Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure what happened here. Like, sure, I get Persephone's evil plan to kill all of humanity and then resurrect them as her mindless slaves. But, I'm still not sure how Wolverine himself was resurrected. If I had to guess, his fire claws were some sort of secondary mutation that activated once he was encapsulated in the adamantium, allowing him to claw his way to freedom. Or maybe Persephone gave him that power? I honestly don't know. Soule does manage to wrap up the primary story about Persephone in a believable way (Logan destroy the space station, natch), but I'm surprised after all the preceding mini-series and then this series I'm still not clear on how we got to this point in the first place.
Uncanny X-Men #12: Man, you put Scott and Logan together and they can really find themselves some trouble. Logan somehow knows O.N.E. is keeping a group of mutants hostage, and he and Scott pretty roughly break into the relevant base. Logan tries for subtlety by posing as a O.N.E. solider and kidnapping another, but the plan goes hilariously awry when the kidnapped soldier yells out Logan is trying to break in the base. Once they deal with the soldiers, they encounter the en-Warlock-ed New Mutants, who O.N.E. has tried to turn into living Sentinels. We learn Magik and Rahne have managed to emerge from the techno-organic virus, with Rahne positing because they're also shapeshifters they have a certain immunity. They also discover a few Jamies as well as Havok, who O.N.E. is using to power the base. Magik is unable to use her powers to teleport, and O.N.E. soldiers pounce on them all as they try to escape. Someone at O.N.E. has implanted bombs in the Madri, and Strong Guy sacrifices himself to take the brunt of the blast. Thankfully, said blast knocks out the field disrupting Illyana's powers, and the team manages to escape, with O.N.E. Director Callaghan now aware the X-Men have returned. I have to say, Scott and Logan find themselves with a helluva team. Even if the New Mutants have to stay on the sidelines, an X-Men team of Cyclops, Havok, Wolverine, Rahne, and Magik is no freaking joke. As I mentioned in my last review, Rosenberg really imbues this issue with a "What If...?" sense, as if we're reading "Days of Future Present" come to life. You really have no idea where we're going next.
The Wild Storm #20: This issue is really more about letting Davis-Hunt and Buccellato run wild as they depict Midnighter and Apollo make short work of a Skywatch team sent to capture (or kill) them. But, we do learn some interesting things along the way. First, Miles is under obvious strain and asks Ben Santini, the leader of the Razors Alpha CAT, for advice. He suggests Miles uses IO's resources to engage in violence to distract people from the evils of "dark capitalism," implying IO has been behind civil wars, school shootings, terrorist attacks, and other violent acts. Miles listens to his advice and then dispatches Ben to give Ivana and Jackie their "pension plans." Meanwhile, Skywatch's spaceships arrive at Midnighter and Apollo's farm, and they annihilate them before they can hurt anyone in town. Along the way, based on a sketch of Apollo's eyes, it seems like he's actually some sort of android. One of the spaceship's pilots panics and hails Skywatch on an open line, allowing Jennie Sparks to travel to Skywatch HQ. Once Midnighter confirms no one in the town was hurt, the two of them depart.
Also Read: Avengers #15; Batman #65
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3: OMG, this issue was awesome. It turns out Leilani -- the mother of the two orange-skinned kids -- is the daughter of the dictator of Under York, an underground version of New York accessible by a magic elevator. We learn Under York used to interact with our New York, but the dictator cut off ties, forcing Under York to stagnate. (Apparently all our best ideas -- like the Empire State Building -- come from Under York.) Peter and the Rumor manage to break into the dictator's penthouse and nab Leilani. Peter gets shot in the process, but he manages to scale the miles-deep elevator staff with the two women after the Under Yorkers cut the power. The Rumor warns Peter to prepare for a small war. I know it sounds insane, but Taylor's script really sells it; I could read Peter and the Rumor bantering all day. Taylor manages to capture the spark of a Spider-Man story without weighing down the issue with all of Peter's usual bullshit. This issue really carries on the great tradition of Zdarsky's work in "Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man." I can't wait to see where we go from here.
Guardians of the Galaxy #2: OK, this issue is really good. Like, really good. First, Cates makes it clear that Peter is spiraling into alcoholism and depression because he can't get over the fact Gamora killed him. That's...sound. (To be honest, I barely remember her killing him, and I definitely don't remember how he got resurrected. Oh, "Infinity Wars." You were such a bullshit event.) Cates does a great job of not telling us this information, but showing it to us, through Peter's late-night call to Kitty. Phyla-Vell even tells him he looks terrible when he delivers some uniforms to her and Moondragon. But, Peter doesn't just get to sleep the sleep of the drunk, as he has to break up a fight between Ghost Rider and Groot. This part of the issue is the only part I disliked. I'm still struggling with the characterization of Groot as an adolescent surfer, and Ghost Rider doesn't really sound the way Frank Castle sounds. That said, their fight is hilarious, as Ghost Rider inadvertently creates an army of mini-Groots by cutting off parts of him. They're fighting as Ghost Rider learned Beta Ray Bill and Groot plan on saving Gamora. Peter invites him to leave if he wants, notably telling Beta Ray Bill and Groot to do the same, showing he has no intention of saving Gamora. Castle leaves, leading us to realize just how big of a story Cates is telling. The Shi'ar have rescued a now-scarred Starfox and some other "heroes" who fell into the vortex, and Castle joins their crusade to find Gamora. Also in this group is Nebula, who suggests they'll find Gamora through the "stupid boy she loves:" Nova. Peter might be upset about that, particularly since he thinks he and Groot are the only ones who know where Gamora is. We also see Hela and the Black Order in action here, as they shake down the Collector to discover Thanos' head is in the Negative Zone. Does no one burn a body anymore?
Nightwing #57: Although Lobdell's plot is fine here, it's Kaplan who really makes this issue sing. It's the first one in the Ric Grayson era where Ric feels like a character in and of himself. Kaplan makes it clear that Ric's moral compass is essentially the same as Dick's: he's moved beyond words when he accompanies Bea to a community meeting with a councilman eager to destroy a homeless shelter to build a parking lot for a new stadium. Bea reveals she grew up homeless, and it's a clever move on Lobdell's part. It would feel ridiculous to watch Dick Grayson, ward of wealth, try even to comprehend that, but Ric is another story altogether. Kaplan also really sells Ric finding himself agreeing to work with the Nightwings, particularly in playing up the hilarity of Detective Sapienza exerting such a sense of ownership over the identity. Despite the jumble of authors who've worked on this story, they've carefully built each supporting character piece by piece; no revelation has felt forced. At this point, they all feel like fully fleshed out characters at this point, and, regardless if Ric recovers his memory, I hope they all stay. But, it isn't all about the perfect tone Kaplan is able to strike. Lobdell using the Joker's Daughter in a war against elites doesn't feel over the top. She kidnaps the councilman and sends him into a fancy restaurant as a suicide bomber, interrupting all the conversations praising gentrification happening at the moment. If that isn't a 2019 plot device, I don't know what is.
Return of Wolverine #5: Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure what happened here. Like, sure, I get Persephone's evil plan to kill all of humanity and then resurrect them as her mindless slaves. But, I'm still not sure how Wolverine himself was resurrected. If I had to guess, his fire claws were some sort of secondary mutation that activated once he was encapsulated in the adamantium, allowing him to claw his way to freedom. Or maybe Persephone gave him that power? I honestly don't know. Soule does manage to wrap up the primary story about Persephone in a believable way (Logan destroy the space station, natch), but I'm surprised after all the preceding mini-series and then this series I'm still not clear on how we got to this point in the first place.
Uncanny X-Men #12: Man, you put Scott and Logan together and they can really find themselves some trouble. Logan somehow knows O.N.E. is keeping a group of mutants hostage, and he and Scott pretty roughly break into the relevant base. Logan tries for subtlety by posing as a O.N.E. solider and kidnapping another, but the plan goes hilariously awry when the kidnapped soldier yells out Logan is trying to break in the base. Once they deal with the soldiers, they encounter the en-Warlock-ed New Mutants, who O.N.E. has tried to turn into living Sentinels. We learn Magik and Rahne have managed to emerge from the techno-organic virus, with Rahne positing because they're also shapeshifters they have a certain immunity. They also discover a few Jamies as well as Havok, who O.N.E. is using to power the base. Magik is unable to use her powers to teleport, and O.N.E. soldiers pounce on them all as they try to escape. Someone at O.N.E. has implanted bombs in the Madri, and Strong Guy sacrifices himself to take the brunt of the blast. Thankfully, said blast knocks out the field disrupting Illyana's powers, and the team manages to escape, with O.N.E. Director Callaghan now aware the X-Men have returned. I have to say, Scott and Logan find themselves with a helluva team. Even if the New Mutants have to stay on the sidelines, an X-Men team of Cyclops, Havok, Wolverine, Rahne, and Magik is no freaking joke. As I mentioned in my last review, Rosenberg really imbues this issue with a "What If...?" sense, as if we're reading "Days of Future Present" come to life. You really have no idea where we're going next.
The Wild Storm #20: This issue is really more about letting Davis-Hunt and Buccellato run wild as they depict Midnighter and Apollo make short work of a Skywatch team sent to capture (or kill) them. But, we do learn some interesting things along the way. First, Miles is under obvious strain and asks Ben Santini, the leader of the Razors Alpha CAT, for advice. He suggests Miles uses IO's resources to engage in violence to distract people from the evils of "dark capitalism," implying IO has been behind civil wars, school shootings, terrorist attacks, and other violent acts. Miles listens to his advice and then dispatches Ben to give Ivana and Jackie their "pension plans." Meanwhile, Skywatch's spaceships arrive at Midnighter and Apollo's farm, and they annihilate them before they can hurt anyone in town. Along the way, based on a sketch of Apollo's eyes, it seems like he's actually some sort of android. One of the spaceship's pilots panics and hails Skywatch on an open line, allowing Jennie Sparks to travel to Skywatch HQ. Once Midnighter confirms no one in the town was hurt, the two of them depart.
Also Read: Avengers #15; Batman #65
Friday, April 5, 2019
Not-Very-New Comics: The February 13 Non-Avengers Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Amazing Spider-Man #15: Spencer continues to undo some of the more ill-advised aspects of Slott's run here by killing off the newly resurrected Ned Leeds. It turns out Ned is the homeless guy May invited to dinner last issue; he sacrifices himself to save her in this one. But, Spencer doesn't just pop Ned for shits and giggles; Ned warns Spider-Man that Betty is in trouble. She's in Europe on assignment, so it's pretty clear we won't get to that story until we get through whatever Sinister Six reunion Spencer is planning next. In the meantime, Ned's death inspires May to reopen F.E.A.S.T., and it's an excellent call on Spencer's part. Aunt May's at her best as a character when she has something to do other than worry about Peter, and this development brings her a little more closely in line with her depiction in the "Marvel's Spider-Man" videogame. Showing how Spencer has a lot of pots on a lot of burners right now, I also wonder what horrible thing is going to happen to Billy Connors by trusting his mysterious friend. Time will tell.
The Flash #64: I'm not reading "Heroes in Crisis" in part because I don't believe DC would really kill Wally West so soon after he returned to the land of the living. If you don't accept that part as truth, then you don't accept why everyone is so angry at Batman. (I don't totally understand what responsibility Batman had for "Sanctuary" and whatever it was that happened there. But, again, I don't care.) As such, I spent most of this issue just rolling my eyes whenever the narrative veered towards Barry or Iris' anger at Bruce over Wally's "death." Williamson is at his best when he focuses on Gotham Girl. Barry proves Bruce's point that he may be the better detective when he posits that someone had to help Gotham and Gotham Girl with their costumes, just like Bruce (well, Alfred) did with the Robins and Barry did with Wally. Given the amount of Venom they find in the compound they're investigating, it seems like Bane is the answer. The more we can focus on this mystery and not "Heroes in Crisis," the better.
Shatterstar #5: What a weird but delightful miniseries this one was. Seeley really delivered a great cast of supporting characters while also managing to streamline Shatterstar's history. He lost a purpose -- death and destruction -- and found a purpose -- friends and belonging. Do I totally understand how Rictor uses his seismic powers to reach across the galaxy and pluck Ben from space because his powers are (allegedly) sonic in nature? No, no, I don't. But, was it worth that confusion for the great line about how he and Rictor have always been on the same wavelength? Yes, yes, it was. Also, Shatterstar bringing Grandmaster to Tina's god- and hero-less Universe so he could negate his godhood and wound him was remarkably clever, like a well timed stand-up comedy call back. Of the various five-issue mini-series we've been getting lately, this one is the best candidate for an ongoing series in my opinion.
Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #5: At long last, McGuire returns Gwen to her life. I feel like it's been years since we had a story focused on Gwen just trying to balance her personal life and her superhero career, and it's a welcome relief when McGuire does so here. Moreover, McGuire makes it clear we're not going to be jaunting to Madripoor or an alternate Universe anytime soon, as Gwen's got a more local foe to defeat: Man-Wolf! I've enjoyed all the places we've gone with Gwen, but I'm possibly most excited about her just spending some time with her in New York for a while.
Star Wars: Han Solo - Imperial Cadet #4: Thompson continues his strong run here, as Han and company decide to defy orders (surprising, I know) to save Valence after he crashed during a mission. By this point, no one should be surprised Han is willing to risk reprimand for a guy he doesn't even like: his sense of loyalty is beyond question. But, Thompson makes it interesting by using the predicament as a way to show how cold the Empire really is. Although Valence crashed, Han's pretty sure he's still alive. He only resorts to breaking orders after he's repeatedly denied resources to save Valence. His commander's indifference to Valence's plight makes it pretty clear why the Empire eventually falls.
Also Read: Detective Comics #998; Mr. and Mrs. X #8
The Flash #64: I'm not reading "Heroes in Crisis" in part because I don't believe DC would really kill Wally West so soon after he returned to the land of the living. If you don't accept that part as truth, then you don't accept why everyone is so angry at Batman. (I don't totally understand what responsibility Batman had for "Sanctuary" and whatever it was that happened there. But, again, I don't care.) As such, I spent most of this issue just rolling my eyes whenever the narrative veered towards Barry or Iris' anger at Bruce over Wally's "death." Williamson is at his best when he focuses on Gotham Girl. Barry proves Bruce's point that he may be the better detective when he posits that someone had to help Gotham and Gotham Girl with their costumes, just like Bruce (well, Alfred) did with the Robins and Barry did with Wally. Given the amount of Venom they find in the compound they're investigating, it seems like Bane is the answer. The more we can focus on this mystery and not "Heroes in Crisis," the better.
Shatterstar #5: What a weird but delightful miniseries this one was. Seeley really delivered a great cast of supporting characters while also managing to streamline Shatterstar's history. He lost a purpose -- death and destruction -- and found a purpose -- friends and belonging. Do I totally understand how Rictor uses his seismic powers to reach across the galaxy and pluck Ben from space because his powers are (allegedly) sonic in nature? No, no, I don't. But, was it worth that confusion for the great line about how he and Rictor have always been on the same wavelength? Yes, yes, it was. Also, Shatterstar bringing Grandmaster to Tina's god- and hero-less Universe so he could negate his godhood and wound him was remarkably clever, like a well timed stand-up comedy call back. Of the various five-issue mini-series we've been getting lately, this one is the best candidate for an ongoing series in my opinion.
Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #5: At long last, McGuire returns Gwen to her life. I feel like it's been years since we had a story focused on Gwen just trying to balance her personal life and her superhero career, and it's a welcome relief when McGuire does so here. Moreover, McGuire makes it clear we're not going to be jaunting to Madripoor or an alternate Universe anytime soon, as Gwen's got a more local foe to defeat: Man-Wolf! I've enjoyed all the places we've gone with Gwen, but I'm possibly most excited about her just spending some time with her in New York for a while.
Star Wars: Han Solo - Imperial Cadet #4: Thompson continues his strong run here, as Han and company decide to defy orders (surprising, I know) to save Valence after he crashed during a mission. By this point, no one should be surprised Han is willing to risk reprimand for a guy he doesn't even like: his sense of loyalty is beyond question. But, Thompson makes it interesting by using the predicament as a way to show how cold the Empire really is. Although Valence crashed, Han's pretty sure he's still alive. He only resorts to breaking orders after he's repeatedly denied resources to save Valence. His commander's indifference to Valence's plight makes it pretty clear why the Empire eventually falls.
Also Read: Detective Comics #998; Mr. and Mrs. X #8
Not-Very-New Comics: The February 13 Avengers Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Avengers: No Road Home #1: I really enjoyed "Avengers: No Surrender," so I was perfectly happy to return for this sequel. The authors do a really solid job of setting the stage for the event here. In fact, they might've done too good of a job. In the first series, the mystery of Valerie Vector kept us guessing for the first several issues. Here, we know right off the bat that Nyx has murdered the gods of Olympus and stolen all light in the Universe. Even if her motives aren't yet clear, I'm surprised by how quickly the authors revealed she's the culprit (at least, as far we know). Maybe it's a sign of just how much ground they plan on covering. (Rocket does seem to be plotting something...) Plus, Paco Medina takes on the art duties, giving it the true feel of event-dom. It wasn't quite the debut "Avengers: No Surrender" #1 was, but it was a solid start nonetheless. An Avengers story featuring the Olympic gods (dead though they may now be)? I'm definitely there.
Winter Soldier #3: Higgins does a great job here. Although I'm still not quite sure how exactly Bucky's souped-up arm helped him defeat The Spot, the requisite super-villain fight really takes a back seat to the psychological struggles both Bucky and RJ are having. Bucky throws himself full tilt into helping RJ start healing from his time under Hydra's care, and Higgins does a good job throughout the issue of foreshadowing how desperate Bucky is to believe RJ can be healed. When RJ reveals he's read Bucky's diary and knows he himself questions whether he himself can be healed, Higgins shows just how much he understands Bucky. Bucky admits to RJ that he's struggling with the idea that he can be redeemed, and this moment of authenticity breaks down some of RJ's walls as he tearfully admits to Bucky he doesn't want to be a killer anymore. As happy as I am with the script, the art just really doesn't fit for me. Reis' artistic use of watercolors certainly allows for whole new depths when it comes to depicting bruises, but it doesn't translate well for emotions. Given this issue is all about emotions, Reis' style spoiled certain moments, where I wound up more focused on the odd art choices than the emotions I was supposed to be feeling. (For example, the characters often have random white spots on their faces that aren't tears. For a while I thought they were laser pointers Reis forgot to color red.) At any rate, Higgins is at least doing a bang-up job and I can't wait to see where we go from here.
Also Read: Thor #10
Winter Soldier #3: Higgins does a great job here. Although I'm still not quite sure how exactly Bucky's souped-up arm helped him defeat The Spot, the requisite super-villain fight really takes a back seat to the psychological struggles both Bucky and RJ are having. Bucky throws himself full tilt into helping RJ start healing from his time under Hydra's care, and Higgins does a good job throughout the issue of foreshadowing how desperate Bucky is to believe RJ can be healed. When RJ reveals he's read Bucky's diary and knows he himself questions whether he himself can be healed, Higgins shows just how much he understands Bucky. Bucky admits to RJ that he's struggling with the idea that he can be redeemed, and this moment of authenticity breaks down some of RJ's walls as he tearfully admits to Bucky he doesn't want to be a killer anymore. As happy as I am with the script, the art just really doesn't fit for me. Reis' artistic use of watercolors certainly allows for whole new depths when it comes to depicting bruises, but it doesn't translate well for emotions. Given this issue is all about emotions, Reis' style spoiled certain moments, where I wound up more focused on the odd art choices than the emotions I was supposed to be feeling. (For example, the characters often have random white spots on their faces that aren't tears. For a while I thought they were laser pointers Reis forgot to color red.) At any rate, Higgins is at least doing a bang-up job and I can't wait to see where we go from here.
Also Read: Thor #10
Not-Very-New Comics: The February 6 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Age of X-Man: The Marvelous X-Men #1: Nadler and Thompson do a solid job here as we get a better sense of the rules that Nate has imposed on this reality. In a serious wink to continuity nerds like me, the authors reveal that a fateful meeting with an alternate Universe version of himself (as depicted in an issue of his self-titled series from 2000) inspired Nate to build his all-mutant Utopia around his own take on "rugged individualism." His alternate self apparently sacrificed himself to save his own Universe, inspiring Nate to do what he had to do to save his Universe. In his conversations with Nate, alterNate (see what I did there?) repeatedly expressed a philosophy that held each individual was essentially his own god. Nate has now taken this concept to the extreme: for example, the X-Men all live in separate houses divided by fences. It's also why he's outlawed sex: he doesn't want people to develop connections to each other.
We get to see how this philosophy works in everyday life when X-23 fleetingly remembers Gabby. She tells Nate about the memory, and he confesses he shared a similar past as she did: they were both clones bred as weapons. X-23 expresses surprise that she never heard that story previously, and Nate informs her it's because it would've led to an emotional connection. Just like she can't remember Gabby, X-23 can't feel a bond with Nate. Nate erases her memory just as Laura realizes what he's doing and unsuccessfully tries to stop him.
This rest of the issue's plot is just as interesting. The X-Men try to stop a wildfire around Los Angeles that is destroying Cerebro West. Given Nate's seemingly total control over this reality, Nadler and Thompson's decision not to show how the fire started raises all sorts of questions. After all, it seems like the fire wiped out pods full of unhatched children; Nate hurriedly (and unconvincingly) tells the X-Men he managed to save the pods. The only part of this issue that made me raise an eyebrow is the depictions of just how powerful the X-Men are: Jean reading four books at a time, Magneto making dinner while reading a book, etc. It implies a casual use of pretty significant powers that we don't normally see, but that may be intentional on the authors' part. All in all, it's a solid debut that answers just enough questions and leaves us with all the right questions.
Avengers #14: This issue is pretty great, to be honest. After the fizzled "war" with Atlantis and non sequitur paleolithic Iron Fist issue, I was starting to feel disillusioned with this series. Aaron had too many irons (heh) in the fire, and it was hard to tell what story he was telling from issue to issue. But, he wisely focuses on one story in this issue, and it's a doozy: someone named the Shadow Colonel and his Legion of Unliving announce the start of a vampire civil war when they raze Dracula's castle to the ground. The Avengers spread across the globe trying to mitigate the war's impact on civilians, and they're surprised when the Shadow Colonel seems to surrender to Cap and Thor. But, it's really because he wanted access to Ghost Rider, who he can somehow control. Meanwhile, Dracula seeks asylum in Russia from the Winter Guard, and I'm totally sure that's going to go over well. Aaron should stick to these sorts of issues, particularly ones that allow for a relevant guest star (like Blade, here). It was super fun and didn't feel like filler (like the paleolithic Iron Fist issue) or unnecessary (like the Agents of Wakanda issue).
Batman #64: I'm happy to say this issue is much better than many recent ones. Gotham and Gotham Girl were great characters, and I'm glad to see them used here. The tension between Bruce and Barry is also great. I haven't been following "Heroes in Crisis," but Williamson does a good job of showing both men at the brink of exhaustion and behaving accordingly. After King's often nonsensical ramblings, Williamson is a breath of fresh air: everyone here acts like actual human beings and not just poetry-spouting automatons. I'll even get "The Flash" issues! But, OMFG, I can't believe it just extends the amount of time we have to deal with "Knightmares." They need to fire whoever the Batman editor is, because it's absurd that the already absurd delay in addressing Thomas Wayne's appearance is getting extended even longer.
Die #3: This issue is one of the most brilliant issues I've ever read, and it has little to do with Dungeons & Dragons. Oh, Kieron Gillen. Is there anything you can't do?
We start in media res as the party faces a pretty fierce looking dragon. We learn Angela accidentally attracted the attention of the Prussian forces (and said dragon) when she left to party to find some Fair. The party hoped they took out the Prussians before they could alert command, but they obviously failed as they're now face-to-face with a Prussian steel dragon. The dragon billows poisonous gas, and Isabelle is able to get a warning from one of her gods just in time to get everyone to scatter. (Well, except Chuck, whose power is apparently extreme luck.) Ash stumbles off the battlefield into a foxhole, encountering a British solider holding the hand of his dying comrade. Stephanie Hans doesn't flinch here in showing the terribleness of the war: the gas melted the dying soldier's eyes as he kept returning to the battlefield to save his comrades.
At this stage, it's clear "Eternal Prussia" is 1914 every day. The soldier dies, and the remaining soldier knows he's never going home, just like his various great-grandfathers. (The reference to a long line of male ancestors who died in the war really underlines the "Eternal" part.) His lungs are full of the gas, and he expresses surprise, because he had been pretty sure he'd survive "the curse." He manages to dictate a letter to his family to Ash before he dies. In possibly one of the most unexpected developments I've ever read in a comic, an unnamed J.R.R. Tolkein then appears. He's the master of this realm, a title that clearly has significance in Die. He and Ash talk about his experience in the "Great War" (and how the hobbit chapters, and not action ones, were always Ash's favorite), and Tolkein uses one of his giant eagles to send the soldier's letter to his wife. But, even this development isn't a win: a British commander slays the eagle. When one of his soldiers asks what the eagle was carrying, the commander burns the letter and dismisses it as propaganda. Gillen implies that the commander knew damn well what the letter was and that it wasn't the first one he burned. But, the greatest question this issue poses is whether Tolkein knew as well. Gillen lets us sit with that unresolved question and all the implications about wars and commanders it raises.
Back in the trenches (literally), Matt arrives, and Ash tells him that only he can stop the dragon. Matt threatens Ash when it seems like he's going to use his powers on Matt again, but Ash demurs, saying he doesn't have to do so -- he simply points out the horror around them. It's enough: Matt goes full Grief Knight and defeats the dragon. As they leave Eternal Prussia, Matt notes that they thought being trapped in Die at 16 years old was the most terrible thing that could happen to anyone. But, he now wonders what it would've been like to have been 16 years old in 1914. That, my friend, is the sort of brilliant insight that shows why Gillen is such a great writer. He manages to turn this issue into a reverie on the fruitlessness of war and not "just" a fantasy comic. As Ash and Tolkein note, you may know a dragon is just flesh and bone, but then you face a dragon and it becomes something else again. It's all brilliant, brilliant stuff.
(In re-reading this issue, I noticed the next set of soldiers the commander sends into the field are hobbit-sized and the commander tells them they can walk where they're going. Seriously, this series is effing amazing.)
Star Wars #61: The best part about this issue is Gillen (again!) doesn't even let us get unreservedly excited about Leia's plan to decimate Shu-Torun, as one of the members of Scar Squadron on Hubin unexpectedly stumbles upon her plans. This development adds a whole new layer of tension, as Leia is unaware that the clock is ticking on her mission. Will she get her revenge before Scar Squadron escapes Hubin? We'll see!
Uncanny X-Men #11: Rosenberg does great stuff here with this introductory story. By the end of the issue, it feels like Cyclops' stumbling efforts to protect the last of Earth's mutants is an entirely separate event unto itself, as much a "What If...?" as "Age of X-Man" is. It just happens to be the one that won't be ret-conned.
Over the course of the issue, Rosenberg takes us on a tour of the X-Men's and Scott's failures. We start with Scott struggling with his denial that the X-Men are truly dead while governments around the world are mandating that people take the anti-mutant vaccine. Rosenberg uses these two realities to underline just how much mutantkind is closer to extinction than it ever has been, maybe ever more than when Wanda decimated the mutant population. Both Blindfold and Phil Ulrich encourage Scott to accept the X-Men are gone, but he can't. Scott is also struggling to accept his role in creating this status quo. In other words, not only did the X-Men -- the team that he led for most of his adult life -- fail to prevent this outcome, but he personally failed to do so. In fact, he made everything worse, as Chamber reminds him when Scott goes looking for Morlock support. Chamber accuses, not unjustly, Scott of being responsible for fanning the anti-mutant flames in his wars against the Avengers and the Inhumans, and Scott doesn't really have a rejoinder to this accusation. How could he? Rosenberg makes it clear that it's one more blow Scott struggles to take. After all, he's sacrificed everything -- even his life -- for the X-Men, and all it did was get mutants to the brink of extinction.
Rosenberg's at his best when he takes a deteriorating Scott to an anti-mutant rally headlined by a woman trying to unseat Senator Allen. She celebrates the anti-mutant vaccine for removing the "genetically abnormal," a phrase that struck fear into my gay, gay heart. Not surprisingly, Scott gets into a fight with a group of anti-mutant protesters, and he's only saved when Captain America intervenes. It's here where Rosenberg shines. Scott rails against Cap for failing to do more to help the mutants, as he once promised he'd do. Cap asks Scott what exactly he thought he was going to accomplish, taking on a crowd by himself. Scott amazingly responds that he thought "standing up to fascism" was something Cap would understand. Noticing a camera on him, Scott invites all remaining mutants to meet him at Salem Center. Not surprisingly, the Reavers, the Sapien League, and other enemies appear, and Rosenberg makes it seem like Scott is actually suicidal at this point. But, then Logan also appears, and away we go.
The back-up stories flesh out these dynamics a little more. For his part, Logan goes further than Scott when confronting Black Widow and Bucky on the rally's margins. He wonders why they're protecting a bunch of fascists from the MLF when they could be protecting mutants from the fascists. (Natasha and Bucky don't really have an answer to that.) Callisto fleshes out the precariousness of mutantkind's situation when she tells Logan that the X-Men's disappearance means O.N.E. and other government agencies are no longer kept in check by fear the X-Men will intervene. As such, they felt free to mandate the anti-mutant vaccine. One question left unanswered here is why O.N.E. was trying to find Blindfold; Rosenberg never really tells us what O.N.E. thought Blindfold knew. She commits suicide at the end of the issue, so it's clear we're not going to know anytime soon.
Perhaps the best part about this issue is that Rosenberg actually makes this story feel like the event. Forget "Age of X-Man." Cyclops and Wolverine as the last two X-Men on Earth, racing to stop the total extermination of the human race (possibly by Logan stopping Scott from doing something stupid)? That's the event, to me.
Also Read: Conan the Barbarian #3
We get to see how this philosophy works in everyday life when X-23 fleetingly remembers Gabby. She tells Nate about the memory, and he confesses he shared a similar past as she did: they were both clones bred as weapons. X-23 expresses surprise that she never heard that story previously, and Nate informs her it's because it would've led to an emotional connection. Just like she can't remember Gabby, X-23 can't feel a bond with Nate. Nate erases her memory just as Laura realizes what he's doing and unsuccessfully tries to stop him.
This rest of the issue's plot is just as interesting. The X-Men try to stop a wildfire around Los Angeles that is destroying Cerebro West. Given Nate's seemingly total control over this reality, Nadler and Thompson's decision not to show how the fire started raises all sorts of questions. After all, it seems like the fire wiped out pods full of unhatched children; Nate hurriedly (and unconvincingly) tells the X-Men he managed to save the pods. The only part of this issue that made me raise an eyebrow is the depictions of just how powerful the X-Men are: Jean reading four books at a time, Magneto making dinner while reading a book, etc. It implies a casual use of pretty significant powers that we don't normally see, but that may be intentional on the authors' part. All in all, it's a solid debut that answers just enough questions and leaves us with all the right questions.
Avengers #14: This issue is pretty great, to be honest. After the fizzled "war" with Atlantis and non sequitur paleolithic Iron Fist issue, I was starting to feel disillusioned with this series. Aaron had too many irons (heh) in the fire, and it was hard to tell what story he was telling from issue to issue. But, he wisely focuses on one story in this issue, and it's a doozy: someone named the Shadow Colonel and his Legion of Unliving announce the start of a vampire civil war when they raze Dracula's castle to the ground. The Avengers spread across the globe trying to mitigate the war's impact on civilians, and they're surprised when the Shadow Colonel seems to surrender to Cap and Thor. But, it's really because he wanted access to Ghost Rider, who he can somehow control. Meanwhile, Dracula seeks asylum in Russia from the Winter Guard, and I'm totally sure that's going to go over well. Aaron should stick to these sorts of issues, particularly ones that allow for a relevant guest star (like Blade, here). It was super fun and didn't feel like filler (like the paleolithic Iron Fist issue) or unnecessary (like the Agents of Wakanda issue).
Batman #64: I'm happy to say this issue is much better than many recent ones. Gotham and Gotham Girl were great characters, and I'm glad to see them used here. The tension between Bruce and Barry is also great. I haven't been following "Heroes in Crisis," but Williamson does a good job of showing both men at the brink of exhaustion and behaving accordingly. After King's often nonsensical ramblings, Williamson is a breath of fresh air: everyone here acts like actual human beings and not just poetry-spouting automatons. I'll even get "The Flash" issues! But, OMFG, I can't believe it just extends the amount of time we have to deal with "Knightmares." They need to fire whoever the Batman editor is, because it's absurd that the already absurd delay in addressing Thomas Wayne's appearance is getting extended even longer.
Die #3: This issue is one of the most brilliant issues I've ever read, and it has little to do with Dungeons & Dragons. Oh, Kieron Gillen. Is there anything you can't do?
We start in media res as the party faces a pretty fierce looking dragon. We learn Angela accidentally attracted the attention of the Prussian forces (and said dragon) when she left to party to find some Fair. The party hoped they took out the Prussians before they could alert command, but they obviously failed as they're now face-to-face with a Prussian steel dragon. The dragon billows poisonous gas, and Isabelle is able to get a warning from one of her gods just in time to get everyone to scatter. (Well, except Chuck, whose power is apparently extreme luck.) Ash stumbles off the battlefield into a foxhole, encountering a British solider holding the hand of his dying comrade. Stephanie Hans doesn't flinch here in showing the terribleness of the war: the gas melted the dying soldier's eyes as he kept returning to the battlefield to save his comrades.
At this stage, it's clear "Eternal Prussia" is 1914 every day. The soldier dies, and the remaining soldier knows he's never going home, just like his various great-grandfathers. (The reference to a long line of male ancestors who died in the war really underlines the "Eternal" part.) His lungs are full of the gas, and he expresses surprise, because he had been pretty sure he'd survive "the curse." He manages to dictate a letter to his family to Ash before he dies. In possibly one of the most unexpected developments I've ever read in a comic, an unnamed J.R.R. Tolkein then appears. He's the master of this realm, a title that clearly has significance in Die. He and Ash talk about his experience in the "Great War" (and how the hobbit chapters, and not action ones, were always Ash's favorite), and Tolkein uses one of his giant eagles to send the soldier's letter to his wife. But, even this development isn't a win: a British commander slays the eagle. When one of his soldiers asks what the eagle was carrying, the commander burns the letter and dismisses it as propaganda. Gillen implies that the commander knew damn well what the letter was and that it wasn't the first one he burned. But, the greatest question this issue poses is whether Tolkein knew as well. Gillen lets us sit with that unresolved question and all the implications about wars and commanders it raises.
Back in the trenches (literally), Matt arrives, and Ash tells him that only he can stop the dragon. Matt threatens Ash when it seems like he's going to use his powers on Matt again, but Ash demurs, saying he doesn't have to do so -- he simply points out the horror around them. It's enough: Matt goes full Grief Knight and defeats the dragon. As they leave Eternal Prussia, Matt notes that they thought being trapped in Die at 16 years old was the most terrible thing that could happen to anyone. But, he now wonders what it would've been like to have been 16 years old in 1914. That, my friend, is the sort of brilliant insight that shows why Gillen is such a great writer. He manages to turn this issue into a reverie on the fruitlessness of war and not "just" a fantasy comic. As Ash and Tolkein note, you may know a dragon is just flesh and bone, but then you face a dragon and it becomes something else again. It's all brilliant, brilliant stuff.
(In re-reading this issue, I noticed the next set of soldiers the commander sends into the field are hobbit-sized and the commander tells them they can walk where they're going. Seriously, this series is effing amazing.)
Star Wars #61: The best part about this issue is Gillen (again!) doesn't even let us get unreservedly excited about Leia's plan to decimate Shu-Torun, as one of the members of Scar Squadron on Hubin unexpectedly stumbles upon her plans. This development adds a whole new layer of tension, as Leia is unaware that the clock is ticking on her mission. Will she get her revenge before Scar Squadron escapes Hubin? We'll see!
Uncanny X-Men #11: Rosenberg does great stuff here with this introductory story. By the end of the issue, it feels like Cyclops' stumbling efforts to protect the last of Earth's mutants is an entirely separate event unto itself, as much a "What If...?" as "Age of X-Man" is. It just happens to be the one that won't be ret-conned.
Over the course of the issue, Rosenberg takes us on a tour of the X-Men's and Scott's failures. We start with Scott struggling with his denial that the X-Men are truly dead while governments around the world are mandating that people take the anti-mutant vaccine. Rosenberg uses these two realities to underline just how much mutantkind is closer to extinction than it ever has been, maybe ever more than when Wanda decimated the mutant population. Both Blindfold and Phil Ulrich encourage Scott to accept the X-Men are gone, but he can't. Scott is also struggling to accept his role in creating this status quo. In other words, not only did the X-Men -- the team that he led for most of his adult life -- fail to prevent this outcome, but he personally failed to do so. In fact, he made everything worse, as Chamber reminds him when Scott goes looking for Morlock support. Chamber accuses, not unjustly, Scott of being responsible for fanning the anti-mutant flames in his wars against the Avengers and the Inhumans, and Scott doesn't really have a rejoinder to this accusation. How could he? Rosenberg makes it clear that it's one more blow Scott struggles to take. After all, he's sacrificed everything -- even his life -- for the X-Men, and all it did was get mutants to the brink of extinction.
Rosenberg's at his best when he takes a deteriorating Scott to an anti-mutant rally headlined by a woman trying to unseat Senator Allen. She celebrates the anti-mutant vaccine for removing the "genetically abnormal," a phrase that struck fear into my gay, gay heart. Not surprisingly, Scott gets into a fight with a group of anti-mutant protesters, and he's only saved when Captain America intervenes. It's here where Rosenberg shines. Scott rails against Cap for failing to do more to help the mutants, as he once promised he'd do. Cap asks Scott what exactly he thought he was going to accomplish, taking on a crowd by himself. Scott amazingly responds that he thought "standing up to fascism" was something Cap would understand. Noticing a camera on him, Scott invites all remaining mutants to meet him at Salem Center. Not surprisingly, the Reavers, the Sapien League, and other enemies appear, and Rosenberg makes it seem like Scott is actually suicidal at this point. But, then Logan also appears, and away we go.
The back-up stories flesh out these dynamics a little more. For his part, Logan goes further than Scott when confronting Black Widow and Bucky on the rally's margins. He wonders why they're protecting a bunch of fascists from the MLF when they could be protecting mutants from the fascists. (Natasha and Bucky don't really have an answer to that.) Callisto fleshes out the precariousness of mutantkind's situation when she tells Logan that the X-Men's disappearance means O.N.E. and other government agencies are no longer kept in check by fear the X-Men will intervene. As such, they felt free to mandate the anti-mutant vaccine. One question left unanswered here is why O.N.E. was trying to find Blindfold; Rosenberg never really tells us what O.N.E. thought Blindfold knew. She commits suicide at the end of the issue, so it's clear we're not going to know anytime soon.
Perhaps the best part about this issue is that Rosenberg actually makes this story feel like the event. Forget "Age of X-Man." Cyclops and Wolverine as the last two X-Men on Earth, racing to stop the total extermination of the human race (possibly by Logan stopping Scott from doing something stupid)? That's the event, to me.
Also Read: Conan the Barbarian #3
Friday, March 8, 2019
Not-Very-New Comics: The January 30 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Age of X-Man Alpha #1: This issue is pretty solid, particularly given how much I didn't enjoy the "X-Men Disassembled" storyline in "Uncanny X-Men." Thompson and Nadler do an excellent job of not only laying out this reality's status quo, but also introducing the forthcoming mini-series that will comprise the storyline itself. They manage to do so without sacrificing characterization and somehow also injecting the issue with its own tension. In other words, it's an impressive debut.
-- People are no longer born, they’re hatched. This fact is unexpectedly at the core of this series, as all the events in this issue radiate in some way from that axiom. After hatching, children are raised in “Cerebros” until their ninth "hatchday" when they’re moved to the Summers Institute for further study. Warren runs the Institute.
-- Bishop is uncomfortable with his sexual relationship with Jean, not only because it’s forbidden but because he has the nagging sense he’s done it before. After Bishop returns to his room, the X-Tremists (Iceman, Psylocke, and a mutant named Moneta) appear to arrest him because he’s had sex with Jean three times, in violation of the “Guiding Principles.” Moneta uses her powers — appendages that go through the nose and ears and attach to the brain — to read his mind. She determines that he’s irredeemable, and he’s “excommunicated,” meaning all memories of him are erased. Even Jean doesn’t remember him even though, as Storm says, she remembers everything. Moreover, he's seamlessly replaced (even in a portrait) by Honey Badger. It definitely shows X-Man's (I think?) ability to alter reality on a moment-to-moment basis.
-- At some point in the past, Hope and her team of X-Men sacrificed themselves for a reason not yet made clear. Afterward, something called the “Resolution” happened. It’s unclear if she’s responsible for the day every person on Earth became a mutant, but she’s so revered people say things like, “Hope knows I’ve earned that drink.
-- Nightcrawler is a prominent actor, but he’s cagey about his past, including an incident involving Mastermind.
-- Colossus is missing an arm, and he hints that the day when every person on Earth became a mutant wasn’t as happy as X-Man makes it seem in a conversation with Nature Girl. Bishop also talks about how everyone doesn’t want to focus on the past because it was so ugly. Given all the hatchlings, if you will, live in what seems like only two Cerebros, it feels like a lot of people died.
-- The issue ends with the X-Men discovering that Apocalypse is running a cult that preaches free love, a revolutionary concept in this world.
In other words, it's all pretty trippy. I use that term specifically because the themes and the art make it clear the 1960s inspired the creative team, which makes sense given Nate's peacenik talk in "Uncanny X-Men." I've subscribed to "Marvelous X-Men," "Prisoner X," and "X-Tremists," and, I'll be honest, I'm more excited than I expected to be about them.
Amazing Spider-Man #14: I’ve mentioned a few times that I’ve enjoyed Spencer’s run on the title, but that it’s been missing something. From a technical standpoint, it's been fine in terms of characterization and plot, but it lacked...heart. Spencer finds that "heart" in the form of a sassy Aunt May. She’s on fire here. When JJJ, Sr.'s lawyer tells her she's broke and then makes a pass at her, she dumps his soup on his head. She scolds him for thinking she'd jump into bed with him just because she needed money and leaves in a well deserved huff. Outside, she notices some kids trying to fight a reluctant bum for money, and she uses a hologram inducer Peter gave her to scare them. But, she goes one better, returning to the restaurant with the homeless guy and telling the waiter to put their dinner on the lawyer's tab. Is it old-school May? No. Is it more like “Marvel’s Spider-Man’s” Aunt May? Yes. But, I’m all for it. It continues on Spencer’s theme of bringing us back to basics. Along those lines, Peter and MJ have a bizarrely awesome dinner with the fully Lizardized Connors family in the sewers. He then has a team-up with a now-legit Rhino who crashes through the restaurant where May is eating as he flees Taskmaster and Black Ant. With a better sense of tone and heart, Spencer is starting to hit his stride here.
Captain America #7: Coates turns this issue into an extended meditation on what democracy means. I mean, it isn’t actually about democracy. But, Steve decides to surrender to the authorities because, as he tells Sharon, he’s living in the world people want. Coates doesn’t name John McCain specifically here, but reading this issue the week CPAC jeered his name drove home the comparison. Steve is living in a world where a nutjob like Thunderbolt Ross gets to be a martyr, where the Kingpin is the mayor of New York, where Roxxon and Hammer Industries are sponsoring academies in New York, where Baron Strucker is running a private prison. HYDRA doesn’t need to take over America, because America gave itself away. But, Sharon isn’t going down without a fight, and Coates brilliantly introduces the Daughters of Liberty here. You don’t usually see Jessica Drew and Sue Richards in a “Captain America” comic, but Coates makes you ask why we haven't. I am excited to see where we go from here.
West Coast Avengers #7: Seriously, this series is the best one on the stands. I have no idea how long it takes Thompson to write each issue, but she clearly spends a lot of time making sure everything each character says or does is the perfect distillation of their persona. Gwen adopting one of MODOK's shark-dogs? Check. America wisely noting the camera crew miraculously wasn't on hand when they got kidnapped? Check. Clint expressing some world-weary optimism that maybe, just maybe, the team isn't a complete disaster? Check. Fuse worrying about how hot Noh-Varr is? Check. Noh-Varr...looking really fucking hot in Quentin's too small t-shirt? Check. Kate just wanting some peas and a nap? Check. But, Thompson even goes one step further in this issue, as she applies the same studious eye to the new "Masters of Evil" of Los Angeles. She isn't just giving us cookie-cutter villains who spout long speeches about their evil-doing. Each villain has a motive and a personality and it's just as unclear how they'll work together as it is how the West Coast Avengers will. I can't remember any comic treating a super-villain team as basically the "through the mirror, darkly" version of the superhero team in such a characterization-based way. As I said, it's the best book on the stands.
Also Read: Detective Comics #997; X-Force #2
-- People are no longer born, they’re hatched. This fact is unexpectedly at the core of this series, as all the events in this issue radiate in some way from that axiom. After hatching, children are raised in “Cerebros” until their ninth "hatchday" when they’re moved to the Summers Institute for further study. Warren runs the Institute.
-- Bishop is uncomfortable with his sexual relationship with Jean, not only because it’s forbidden but because he has the nagging sense he’s done it before. After Bishop returns to his room, the X-Tremists (Iceman, Psylocke, and a mutant named Moneta) appear to arrest him because he’s had sex with Jean three times, in violation of the “Guiding Principles.” Moneta uses her powers — appendages that go through the nose and ears and attach to the brain — to read his mind. She determines that he’s irredeemable, and he’s “excommunicated,” meaning all memories of him are erased. Even Jean doesn’t remember him even though, as Storm says, she remembers everything. Moreover, he's seamlessly replaced (even in a portrait) by Honey Badger. It definitely shows X-Man's (I think?) ability to alter reality on a moment-to-moment basis.
-- At some point in the past, Hope and her team of X-Men sacrificed themselves for a reason not yet made clear. Afterward, something called the “Resolution” happened. It’s unclear if she’s responsible for the day every person on Earth became a mutant, but she’s so revered people say things like, “Hope knows I’ve earned that drink.
-- Nightcrawler is a prominent actor, but he’s cagey about his past, including an incident involving Mastermind.
-- Colossus is missing an arm, and he hints that the day when every person on Earth became a mutant wasn’t as happy as X-Man makes it seem in a conversation with Nature Girl. Bishop also talks about how everyone doesn’t want to focus on the past because it was so ugly. Given all the hatchlings, if you will, live in what seems like only two Cerebros, it feels like a lot of people died.
-- The issue ends with the X-Men discovering that Apocalypse is running a cult that preaches free love, a revolutionary concept in this world.
In other words, it's all pretty trippy. I use that term specifically because the themes and the art make it clear the 1960s inspired the creative team, which makes sense given Nate's peacenik talk in "Uncanny X-Men." I've subscribed to "Marvelous X-Men," "Prisoner X," and "X-Tremists," and, I'll be honest, I'm more excited than I expected to be about them.
Amazing Spider-Man #14: I’ve mentioned a few times that I’ve enjoyed Spencer’s run on the title, but that it’s been missing something. From a technical standpoint, it's been fine in terms of characterization and plot, but it lacked...heart. Spencer finds that "heart" in the form of a sassy Aunt May. She’s on fire here. When JJJ, Sr.'s lawyer tells her she's broke and then makes a pass at her, she dumps his soup on his head. She scolds him for thinking she'd jump into bed with him just because she needed money and leaves in a well deserved huff. Outside, she notices some kids trying to fight a reluctant bum for money, and she uses a hologram inducer Peter gave her to scare them. But, she goes one better, returning to the restaurant with the homeless guy and telling the waiter to put their dinner on the lawyer's tab. Is it old-school May? No. Is it more like “Marvel’s Spider-Man’s” Aunt May? Yes. But, I’m all for it. It continues on Spencer’s theme of bringing us back to basics. Along those lines, Peter and MJ have a bizarrely awesome dinner with the fully Lizardized Connors family in the sewers. He then has a team-up with a now-legit Rhino who crashes through the restaurant where May is eating as he flees Taskmaster and Black Ant. With a better sense of tone and heart, Spencer is starting to hit his stride here.
Captain America #7: Coates turns this issue into an extended meditation on what democracy means. I mean, it isn’t actually about democracy. But, Steve decides to surrender to the authorities because, as he tells Sharon, he’s living in the world people want. Coates doesn’t name John McCain specifically here, but reading this issue the week CPAC jeered his name drove home the comparison. Steve is living in a world where a nutjob like Thunderbolt Ross gets to be a martyr, where the Kingpin is the mayor of New York, where Roxxon and Hammer Industries are sponsoring academies in New York, where Baron Strucker is running a private prison. HYDRA doesn’t need to take over America, because America gave itself away. But, Sharon isn’t going down without a fight, and Coates brilliantly introduces the Daughters of Liberty here. You don’t usually see Jessica Drew and Sue Richards in a “Captain America” comic, but Coates makes you ask why we haven't. I am excited to see where we go from here.
West Coast Avengers #7: Seriously, this series is the best one on the stands. I have no idea how long it takes Thompson to write each issue, but she clearly spends a lot of time making sure everything each character says or does is the perfect distillation of their persona. Gwen adopting one of MODOK's shark-dogs? Check. America wisely noting the camera crew miraculously wasn't on hand when they got kidnapped? Check. Clint expressing some world-weary optimism that maybe, just maybe, the team isn't a complete disaster? Check. Fuse worrying about how hot Noh-Varr is? Check. Noh-Varr...looking really fucking hot in Quentin's too small t-shirt? Check. Kate just wanting some peas and a nap? Check. But, Thompson even goes one step further in this issue, as she applies the same studious eye to the new "Masters of Evil" of Los Angeles. She isn't just giving us cookie-cutter villains who spout long speeches about their evil-doing. Each villain has a motive and a personality and it's just as unclear how they'll work together as it is how the West Coast Avengers will. I can't remember any comic treating a super-villain team as basically the "through the mirror, darkly" version of the superhero team in such a characterization-based way. As I said, it's the best book on the stands.
Also Read: Detective Comics #997; X-Force #2
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Not-Very-New Comics: The January 23 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Batman #63: This arc reminds me of a plotline from "Calvin and Hobbes." Bill Watterson was having Calvin wordlessly grow larger and larger, to the point where he was a lone figure towering above planets and then galaxies. In one of the collected editions, Watterson explained he planned to keep the shtick going for weeks to test the readers' patience, but then realized it was a terrible idea to do that and stopped. King didn't seem to learn that lesson. Here, we have yet another a dream sequence, as John Constantine explores life with Bruce and Selena if she didn't leave him at the altar. Of course, it's not Constantine; he's just a figure that Bruce's sub-conscious has seemingly created to tell him he's hooked to a machine whose operator wants to drive him insane. The problem isn't just that we have three more issues of this craziness, but Janín's art reminds us of the good ol' days of Bruce and Selena before King set fire to everything. I think it's fair to say I'm enduring this series at this point.
Guardians of the Galaxy #1: I went into this issue with a certain amount of trepidation, because I've been down this road many times with the Guardians. We get a great first few issues filled with Peter at his charming best, but the series grows stale quickly. I wouldn't mind if the Guardians just bounced from job to job, leaning into Peter as a surrogate for Han Solo. But, the previous series have been way too focused on the weirder aspects of the Guardians' personal lives, from Peter's Spartax heritage to Drax and Garmora's tragic backstories.
The good news is this series legitimately seems different. For one part, Cates gives them a raison d'être immediately. On Titan, Starfox has gathered together the galaxy's greatest heroes -- or, at least, the ones with a slightly skewed moral compass -- for a reading of Thanos' last will and testament. Thanos reveals that he's transferred his consciousness into someone else's body, and Starfox wants the heroes to take out the most likely candidates, starting with Gamora. But, the meeting is disrupted when the Black Order attacks. They steal Thanos' headless body and detonate a bomb that rips a hole in the fabric of space-time. Beta Ray Bill is able to hurl his hammer through the hole just as all the heroes are sucked into it.
Meanwhile, Peter is a drunk at this point, wandering the galaxy with only Groot as a companion. He brings them to Knowhere to keep his bender going, but they're surprised to discover Knowhere is gone. (We know from the attack on the heroes that the Black Order is using it as a base of operations.) After a chat with some Nova Corps guardians, he's preparing to depart when Bill's hammer finds him. Bill has managed to attach a rope to it, dragging Cosmic Ghost Rider, Moondragon, and Phyla-Vell with him from the other side. Before the Nova Corps can take them into custody for questioning, Peter makes them part of his crew, forcing the Corps to get a warrant if they want to interview them.
It's a clever moment, made all the more fun because this entire sequence reads like a police procedural. This approach gives the series the sort of underpinning it's long been missing, but the "Star Wars" comics have. Part of the importance of making it clear the galaxy actually does have a certain structure is so that you can appreciate when the Guardians rebel against it, as Peter does here. It also gets us a new cast with a mission. Even if we're going to find Drax, Gamora, and Rocket at some point, it's a fresh start that I think this team really needs.
Lando #1-#5: I didn't catch this mini-series when it was first published, but I'm glad I found it now. Of all the prequel "Star Wars" mini-series, this one is the most interesting, because it shows Lando in a very different place. For example, Leia is Leia in her prequel mini-series: she's noble to a fault. Han, in both his prequel mini-series and "Solo: A Star Wars Adventure," is explicitly portrayed as the good guy we've always known him to be, even if he didn't. But, Lando really is a scoundrel here. Here's a little more mature than the guy we saw in "Solo: A Star Wars Adventure," but he's definitely more callous than the guy we eventually come to know in "Empire Strikes Back." People die frequently in Lando's schemes, and he seems disinclined to care. Here, when an old friend turns out being the bounty hunter the Emperor has sent after him (because Lando has inadvertently stolen his pleasure craft), Lando doesn't even consider the danger into which she's putting herself by helping him. When all three of his accomplices are killed (one at his hand), he barely blinks. But, it's when Lobot sacrifices himself (or, at least, his personality) to save Lando that Lando faces a crossroads, at last. Lobot beseeches him to lead, noting Lando's "luck" comes from the people who naturally flock to him. It recalls "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" perfectly and, most importantly, shows an evolution that feels natural. It's a great read; I highly recommend it.
Star Wars #60: This issue didn't go where I expected it to go. I thought we were going to see Luke take out Kreel, but instead Tula sends him running to a graveyard...to meet her father. It turns out Markona had been testing them the entire time. He saw the Death Star as the Empire's test, and Han, Leia, and Luke's behavior as his guests was the Rebellion's test. (Apparently, Luke didn't fail Markona's test when he activated the transmitter; he passed it, because it proved he was willing to do what he had to do to advance the cause.) It's also clear Markona feels guilty for whatever job he did for the Empire that earned him the moon; if I had to guess, it seems like the data he swiped helped build the Death Star. At any rate, Markona sacrifices himself to delay Scar Squadron while Tula leads the rest of the clan, Sana, and the gang to escape.
Uncanny X-Men Annual #1: This issue is pretty solid, to be honest. Brisson does a surprisingly good job of showing how young Cable resurrected Cyclops. It involves the untold story of Cyclops saving a MIT student from a mad scientist, an obscure "Secret Avengers" issue, and a now-canon scene from "Phoenix Resurrection" #5. But, you know, it actually works, mostly. Most importantly, young Cable tests this new Cyclops, forcing him to choose between saving the now-grown MIT student from the now-free mad scientists and helping the X-Men in their confrontation with Nate Grey. Brisson uses this decision to show how Scott recognizes his actions as a villain were wrong; Scott explains to Nate that he was so distraught over the plight of mutantkind that he couldn't stop himself from using the same tactics their enemies did. I'm glad to see Marvel putting Scott on the right path. (He saves the MIT student.) I mean, don't get me wrong, I was impressed with how carefully they moved him to the villain role over years and years of storytelling. That storyline was a credit to the fans, where we didn't just have Scott wake up one day as a bad guy. He made his decisions based on his experiences and embraced the consequences. But, it's also OK for him to acknowledge that he went too far. Mostly, I'm just excited it means we're going to have a '90s era feel to the line sometime soon, with the gang all together again.
The Wild Storm #19: Ellis more or less puts all his cards on the table here, using a variety of characters to explain the background of the Khera's war with the Daemons. It isn't the most exciting issue as a result of all the exposition, but Ellis does his best to keep us engaged.
We begin with Jenny Sparks explaining her history to Angie, the Doctor, and the Mayor. She was part of the Skywatch team that settled Mars in 1955. The original group of settlers died of cancer within the first 18 months, revealing to Skywatch they had to place the colonies underground. (Jenny notes they should've been underground anyway, given Skywatch's need for secrecy and civilians' ability to use telescopes to see the Martian surface.) Jenny quits Skywatch where she returns because it was "full of maniacs," something that got worse when Bendix took the reins and believed he could basically terraform the solar system. ("If Skywatch weren't above being seen, and could really go for it, you could walk around Mars in a breath mask and jacket in fifteen years.") Jenny notes the treaties between IO and Skywatch kept everything in check, but Angie broke that truce when she used her hybrid IO-Skywatch suit to save Marlowe. Angie informs the group Marlowe is also a "space alien with his own covert operations team," which eventually leads the Doctor to confront her council.
Before we get there, we get a new version of Midnighter (now African-American) and Apollo (now a brunette). They're in bed together watching a video of a guy explaining how he saw lights in the sky 30 miles away and then a whole town disappeared. Midnighter refuses to believe Skywatch is that brazen and supposes Apollo wants to investigate. But, Apollo observes Midnighter was the one who insisted they didn't go after Skywatch until they were ready. Of course Apollo then lists all the times Midnighter has gone after Skywatch because he can't "keep it in the holster." Midnighter reminds Apollo they'd have to investigate at night, which isn't Apollo's strong suit, but Apollo dismisses his concern, saying he can just save up a good solar charge before they go. (I'm sure we'll get a sexy shot of him sunbathing at some point.) Midnighter jokingly asks Apollo why he loves him, and Apollo responds that he "blew up a secret experimental station in the middle of nowhere" so he could escape "an evil space empire" for him.
Meanwhile, the Doctor goes to the Hospital and demands to know more about the aliens Angie mentioned. The Council reluctantly agrees. They explain that the Khera have five types of species, "highly specialized sibling species in a single society." Marlowe is Emp, a feudal lord from a species with a serious Napoleon complex. The Khera travel the Universe looking for a client species to serve as their slaves to "forward escape," or transfer their entire species to a new Universe where maintaining life is easier. ("This is a cold universe. There is very little life in it. It's very hard to stay alive.") The Council isn't sure how exactly they plan to pull off the "escape," but they assume they need an entire planet of sentient beings, since presumably they would've just used robot slaves if that worked. Marlowe was surprised when he learned the Daemons were already on Earth. They also seek to help Earth move past the Gaian Bottleneck, but for more altruistic reasons, to get them to an autonomous culture. The Khera are apparently unaware of the Daemons' Shaper Engine, the device they use to help a species evolve and survive, namely by creating defense mechanisms like Jenny Sparks. In-fighting among the Khera as well as Daemon resistance eventually result in a disillusioned Emp scuttling the Khera's vessel and abandoning their mission. His goal is now more in line with the Daemons', seeking to transform humanity into a companion, not client, species worthy of sharing the Universe with the Khera. However, the Council warns the Doctor that Marlowe isn't as smart as he thinks, and he probably should've just modified the mission not abandon it. The Council tells the Doctor she's going to have to serve as a combat medic.
In other words, Ellis connects a lot of dots here, but we still have a lot of questions. Given the change to his mandate, Emp/Marlowe now more or less agrees with the Daemons, though it's unclear to me if he realizes (or embraces) that. Moreover, I'm not sure what IO or Skywatch really knows about Marlowe. IO sent Michael Cray to kill him in the first issue, but we don't know why. Moreover, how does war between IO and Skywatch complicated Marlowe's and the Daemons' plans for Earth? Ellis has a lot of ground to cover in the last four issues.
Also Read: Avengers #13; Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2; Star Wars: Beckett #1; Star Wars: Han Solo - Imperial Cadet #1-#3
Guardians of the Galaxy #1: I went into this issue with a certain amount of trepidation, because I've been down this road many times with the Guardians. We get a great first few issues filled with Peter at his charming best, but the series grows stale quickly. I wouldn't mind if the Guardians just bounced from job to job, leaning into Peter as a surrogate for Han Solo. But, the previous series have been way too focused on the weirder aspects of the Guardians' personal lives, from Peter's Spartax heritage to Drax and Garmora's tragic backstories.
The good news is this series legitimately seems different. For one part, Cates gives them a raison d'être immediately. On Titan, Starfox has gathered together the galaxy's greatest heroes -- or, at least, the ones with a slightly skewed moral compass -- for a reading of Thanos' last will and testament. Thanos reveals that he's transferred his consciousness into someone else's body, and Starfox wants the heroes to take out the most likely candidates, starting with Gamora. But, the meeting is disrupted when the Black Order attacks. They steal Thanos' headless body and detonate a bomb that rips a hole in the fabric of space-time. Beta Ray Bill is able to hurl his hammer through the hole just as all the heroes are sucked into it.
Meanwhile, Peter is a drunk at this point, wandering the galaxy with only Groot as a companion. He brings them to Knowhere to keep his bender going, but they're surprised to discover Knowhere is gone. (We know from the attack on the heroes that the Black Order is using it as a base of operations.) After a chat with some Nova Corps guardians, he's preparing to depart when Bill's hammer finds him. Bill has managed to attach a rope to it, dragging Cosmic Ghost Rider, Moondragon, and Phyla-Vell with him from the other side. Before the Nova Corps can take them into custody for questioning, Peter makes them part of his crew, forcing the Corps to get a warrant if they want to interview them.
It's a clever moment, made all the more fun because this entire sequence reads like a police procedural. This approach gives the series the sort of underpinning it's long been missing, but the "Star Wars" comics have. Part of the importance of making it clear the galaxy actually does have a certain structure is so that you can appreciate when the Guardians rebel against it, as Peter does here. It also gets us a new cast with a mission. Even if we're going to find Drax, Gamora, and Rocket at some point, it's a fresh start that I think this team really needs.
Lando #1-#5: I didn't catch this mini-series when it was first published, but I'm glad I found it now. Of all the prequel "Star Wars" mini-series, this one is the most interesting, because it shows Lando in a very different place. For example, Leia is Leia in her prequel mini-series: she's noble to a fault. Han, in both his prequel mini-series and "Solo: A Star Wars Adventure," is explicitly portrayed as the good guy we've always known him to be, even if he didn't. But, Lando really is a scoundrel here. Here's a little more mature than the guy we saw in "Solo: A Star Wars Adventure," but he's definitely more callous than the guy we eventually come to know in "Empire Strikes Back." People die frequently in Lando's schemes, and he seems disinclined to care. Here, when an old friend turns out being the bounty hunter the Emperor has sent after him (because Lando has inadvertently stolen his pleasure craft), Lando doesn't even consider the danger into which she's putting herself by helping him. When all three of his accomplices are killed (one at his hand), he barely blinks. But, it's when Lobot sacrifices himself (or, at least, his personality) to save Lando that Lando faces a crossroads, at last. Lobot beseeches him to lead, noting Lando's "luck" comes from the people who naturally flock to him. It recalls "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" perfectly and, most importantly, shows an evolution that feels natural. It's a great read; I highly recommend it.
Star Wars #60: This issue didn't go where I expected it to go. I thought we were going to see Luke take out Kreel, but instead Tula sends him running to a graveyard...to meet her father. It turns out Markona had been testing them the entire time. He saw the Death Star as the Empire's test, and Han, Leia, and Luke's behavior as his guests was the Rebellion's test. (Apparently, Luke didn't fail Markona's test when he activated the transmitter; he passed it, because it proved he was willing to do what he had to do to advance the cause.) It's also clear Markona feels guilty for whatever job he did for the Empire that earned him the moon; if I had to guess, it seems like the data he swiped helped build the Death Star. At any rate, Markona sacrifices himself to delay Scar Squadron while Tula leads the rest of the clan, Sana, and the gang to escape.
Uncanny X-Men Annual #1: This issue is pretty solid, to be honest. Brisson does a surprisingly good job of showing how young Cable resurrected Cyclops. It involves the untold story of Cyclops saving a MIT student from a mad scientist, an obscure "Secret Avengers" issue, and a now-canon scene from "Phoenix Resurrection" #5. But, you know, it actually works, mostly. Most importantly, young Cable tests this new Cyclops, forcing him to choose between saving the now-grown MIT student from the now-free mad scientists and helping the X-Men in their confrontation with Nate Grey. Brisson uses this decision to show how Scott recognizes his actions as a villain were wrong; Scott explains to Nate that he was so distraught over the plight of mutantkind that he couldn't stop himself from using the same tactics their enemies did. I'm glad to see Marvel putting Scott on the right path. (He saves the MIT student.) I mean, don't get me wrong, I was impressed with how carefully they moved him to the villain role over years and years of storytelling. That storyline was a credit to the fans, where we didn't just have Scott wake up one day as a bad guy. He made his decisions based on his experiences and embraced the consequences. But, it's also OK for him to acknowledge that he went too far. Mostly, I'm just excited it means we're going to have a '90s era feel to the line sometime soon, with the gang all together again.
The Wild Storm #19: Ellis more or less puts all his cards on the table here, using a variety of characters to explain the background of the Khera's war with the Daemons. It isn't the most exciting issue as a result of all the exposition, but Ellis does his best to keep us engaged.
We begin with Jenny Sparks explaining her history to Angie, the Doctor, and the Mayor. She was part of the Skywatch team that settled Mars in 1955. The original group of settlers died of cancer within the first 18 months, revealing to Skywatch they had to place the colonies underground. (Jenny notes they should've been underground anyway, given Skywatch's need for secrecy and civilians' ability to use telescopes to see the Martian surface.) Jenny quits Skywatch where she returns because it was "full of maniacs," something that got worse when Bendix took the reins and believed he could basically terraform the solar system. ("If Skywatch weren't above being seen, and could really go for it, you could walk around Mars in a breath mask and jacket in fifteen years.") Jenny notes the treaties between IO and Skywatch kept everything in check, but Angie broke that truce when she used her hybrid IO-Skywatch suit to save Marlowe. Angie informs the group Marlowe is also a "space alien with his own covert operations team," which eventually leads the Doctor to confront her council.
Before we get there, we get a new version of Midnighter (now African-American) and Apollo (now a brunette). They're in bed together watching a video of a guy explaining how he saw lights in the sky 30 miles away and then a whole town disappeared. Midnighter refuses to believe Skywatch is that brazen and supposes Apollo wants to investigate. But, Apollo observes Midnighter was the one who insisted they didn't go after Skywatch until they were ready. Of course Apollo then lists all the times Midnighter has gone after Skywatch because he can't "keep it in the holster." Midnighter reminds Apollo they'd have to investigate at night, which isn't Apollo's strong suit, but Apollo dismisses his concern, saying he can just save up a good solar charge before they go. (I'm sure we'll get a sexy shot of him sunbathing at some point.) Midnighter jokingly asks Apollo why he loves him, and Apollo responds that he "blew up a secret experimental station in the middle of nowhere" so he could escape "an evil space empire" for him.
Meanwhile, the Doctor goes to the Hospital and demands to know more about the aliens Angie mentioned. The Council reluctantly agrees. They explain that the Khera have five types of species, "highly specialized sibling species in a single society." Marlowe is Emp, a feudal lord from a species with a serious Napoleon complex. The Khera travel the Universe looking for a client species to serve as their slaves to "forward escape," or transfer their entire species to a new Universe where maintaining life is easier. ("This is a cold universe. There is very little life in it. It's very hard to stay alive.") The Council isn't sure how exactly they plan to pull off the "escape," but they assume they need an entire planet of sentient beings, since presumably they would've just used robot slaves if that worked. Marlowe was surprised when he learned the Daemons were already on Earth. They also seek to help Earth move past the Gaian Bottleneck, but for more altruistic reasons, to get them to an autonomous culture. The Khera are apparently unaware of the Daemons' Shaper Engine, the device they use to help a species evolve and survive, namely by creating defense mechanisms like Jenny Sparks. In-fighting among the Khera as well as Daemon resistance eventually result in a disillusioned Emp scuttling the Khera's vessel and abandoning their mission. His goal is now more in line with the Daemons', seeking to transform humanity into a companion, not client, species worthy of sharing the Universe with the Khera. However, the Council warns the Doctor that Marlowe isn't as smart as he thinks, and he probably should've just modified the mission not abandon it. The Council tells the Doctor she's going to have to serve as a combat medic.
In other words, Ellis connects a lot of dots here, but we still have a lot of questions. Given the change to his mandate, Emp/Marlowe now more or less agrees with the Daemons, though it's unclear to me if he realizes (or embraces) that. Moreover, I'm not sure what IO or Skywatch really knows about Marlowe. IO sent Michael Cray to kill him in the first issue, but we don't know why. Moreover, how does war between IO and Skywatch complicated Marlowe's and the Daemons' plans for Earth? Ellis has a lot of ground to cover in the last four issues.
Also Read: Avengers #13; Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2; Star Wars: Beckett #1; Star Wars: Han Solo - Imperial Cadet #1-#3
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Not-Very-New Comics: The January 16 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Death Orb #4-#5: After reading issue #4, I re-read the first three issues of the series, then re-read issue #4, and finally proceeded onto issue #5. Needless to say, this mini-series was obviously written for the trade. But, even then, it's a little hard to keep all the characters straight. Ferrier doesn't really instill anyone with much of a personality; even Rider, our protagonist, really exists more as a sketch than a character. For example, our villain, Father, is aware of him in a way that implies they have a long history, but Ferrier doesn't explore that history at all. In fact, Ferrier doesn't really explore the plot of the mini-series all that much. If I'm following the breadcrumbs Ferrier leaves via Father's conversations with his minions, Father plans to wipe out the human race with a man-made comet and then raise a new race from the children born to the pregnant women he's kidnapped. But, we're not really given any insight into why he's taking these drastic steps in the first place. Moreover, Ferrier ends the mini-series with Rider's quest unfulfilled: Father apparently moved Rider's pregnant wife to another "hive" as punishment for his assault, and Rider is heading there next as we end. But, you have to wonder why Father didn't just kill her. After all, Ferrier spent the first few issues cultivating the sense that he was playing for keeps here; main characters would die, etc. Instead, Father leaves open the door for a happy ending for Rider, even though he had plenty of other potential pregnant women to provide him with babies. It doesn't read like a carefully thought-out denouement, but more like Ferrier hit his page limit and had to wrap up the story quickly. I can't say I recommend this one, to be honest.
Detective Comics #996: Tomasi really scrapes the bottom of the barrel here when it comes to Bruce’s mysterious opponent attacking people in his life. Bruce decides to check on his various mentors, but doesn't put two and two together to realize he could be leading his opponent straight to them. For example, Bruce finds the man who taught him to fight and hunt, Henri Ducard. Bruce thinks he might be the opponent, because apparently Damian killed his son at some point. It turns out Ducard isn't the opponent, but it doesn't matter, because the creature that attacked Leslie suddenly appears to kill Ducard. It's now a (pretty fucking cool) gestalt of all of Batman’s worst enemies, and Ducard sacrifices himself (by jumping in its body while exploding two grenades) to destroy it (at least temporarily). Not learning his lesson, Bruce then scales a mountain in North Korea where his fears are confirmed: the opponent has attacked the school of his former sensei, Kirigi, and killed everyone save one loyal student (who Bruce inexplicably fights). We end the issue with Bruce tracking down Thaddeus Brown, the escape artist who taught him and Mister Miracle how to escape binds. I get that Tomasi is trying to show us what a deep cut of Bruce's past he’s delivering. But, wouldn’t it make more sense for the opponent to be going after Jim Gordon, “Ric” Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Lucius Fox, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, or Damian Wayne? Instead, it seems like Ace the Bat-hound is next on the opponent's list.
Uncanny X-Men #10: I don’t really get what happened here.
Although I haven't been a huge fan of this series, I generally understand the story the authors had been telling, about X-Man using his suddenly reactivated powers to create a Utopia on Earth. The authors even actually explain how he got those powers by revealing the Life Seed appeared to Nate, though we're not told why it did so. Nate thinks it did for a reason, namely to create his Utopia. That part, I got.
In this issue, Jean and the telepaths manage to separate Nate from Legion, but in the process Jean winds up trapped in X-Man’s mind with him. She tries to reason with him, acknowledging that she and Scott should’ve done more to help him. I have to say, I don't totally buy her contrition here. I get Jean and Scott are theoretically his parents, but it reads more like Jean’s conversation with Nate Summers in “Extermination” #5. She and Scott did actually raise Cable, their biological (sort-of, in Jean's case) son. But, they didn’t raise Nate Grey; in fact, even their “Age of Apocalypse” analogues didn’t raise him. As such, Jean’s guilt here falls a little flat. But, I get Jean is just trying to calm down Nate, so I can live with it.
It's where the story goes next where it goes off the rails. Frustrated with Jean’s inability to understand his position, Nate uses the Life Seed’s powers to eliminate the X-Men. This "decision" makes no sense. It’s one thing to destroy the X-Men to achieve his goal of Utopia — I get that part. To his mind, the X-Men were preventing him from achieving his goal, so he destroyed them. But, he doesn't do that here. Instead, he destroys them as an end unto itself. He uses all that power not to improve the world, but simply to remove the X-Men. He didn't even believe the X-Men were the cause of all the evil in the world, which could explain his decision. Instead, he suddenly seems to revert to a child-like persona and lashes out that way.
Moreover, I have to roll my eyes at the idea that Nate creates the “Age of X-Man” in deciding to "destroy" the X-Men. If he really wanted to destroy the X-Men, it seems it wouldn’t take all his omnipotent powers to kill them. He obviously creates some sort of pocket Universe for them, but we have no idea why he would do that. Why not just kill them? Or, did someone else create that dimension? If so, who? The authors never even remotely address that issue, and it’s just one more odd decisions to add to the list of this events' odd decisions.
In other words, I'm not a fan. This series had pretensions of mimicking the incredibly successful "Avengers Disassembled" storyline, but it was mostly just a series of dei ex machina -- from Nate to Jamie to Legion -- fighting with each other. Our reward is yet another take on the "Age of Apocalypse." Oh, joy.
Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #13; Conan the Barbarian #2; Return of Wolverine #4
Detective Comics #996: Tomasi really scrapes the bottom of the barrel here when it comes to Bruce’s mysterious opponent attacking people in his life. Bruce decides to check on his various mentors, but doesn't put two and two together to realize he could be leading his opponent straight to them. For example, Bruce finds the man who taught him to fight and hunt, Henri Ducard. Bruce thinks he might be the opponent, because apparently Damian killed his son at some point. It turns out Ducard isn't the opponent, but it doesn't matter, because the creature that attacked Leslie suddenly appears to kill Ducard. It's now a (pretty fucking cool) gestalt of all of Batman’s worst enemies, and Ducard sacrifices himself (by jumping in its body while exploding two grenades) to destroy it (at least temporarily). Not learning his lesson, Bruce then scales a mountain in North Korea where his fears are confirmed: the opponent has attacked the school of his former sensei, Kirigi, and killed everyone save one loyal student (who Bruce inexplicably fights). We end the issue with Bruce tracking down Thaddeus Brown, the escape artist who taught him and Mister Miracle how to escape binds. I get that Tomasi is trying to show us what a deep cut of Bruce's past he’s delivering. But, wouldn’t it make more sense for the opponent to be going after Jim Gordon, “Ric” Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Lucius Fox, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, or Damian Wayne? Instead, it seems like Ace the Bat-hound is next on the opponent's list.
Uncanny X-Men #10: I don’t really get what happened here.
Although I haven't been a huge fan of this series, I generally understand the story the authors had been telling, about X-Man using his suddenly reactivated powers to create a Utopia on Earth. The authors even actually explain how he got those powers by revealing the Life Seed appeared to Nate, though we're not told why it did so. Nate thinks it did for a reason, namely to create his Utopia. That part, I got.
In this issue, Jean and the telepaths manage to separate Nate from Legion, but in the process Jean winds up trapped in X-Man’s mind with him. She tries to reason with him, acknowledging that she and Scott should’ve done more to help him. I have to say, I don't totally buy her contrition here. I get Jean and Scott are theoretically his parents, but it reads more like Jean’s conversation with Nate Summers in “Extermination” #5. She and Scott did actually raise Cable, their biological (sort-of, in Jean's case) son. But, they didn’t raise Nate Grey; in fact, even their “Age of Apocalypse” analogues didn’t raise him. As such, Jean’s guilt here falls a little flat. But, I get Jean is just trying to calm down Nate, so I can live with it.
It's where the story goes next where it goes off the rails. Frustrated with Jean’s inability to understand his position, Nate uses the Life Seed’s powers to eliminate the X-Men. This "decision" makes no sense. It’s one thing to destroy the X-Men to achieve his goal of Utopia — I get that part. To his mind, the X-Men were preventing him from achieving his goal, so he destroyed them. But, he doesn't do that here. Instead, he destroys them as an end unto itself. He uses all that power not to improve the world, but simply to remove the X-Men. He didn't even believe the X-Men were the cause of all the evil in the world, which could explain his decision. Instead, he suddenly seems to revert to a child-like persona and lashes out that way.
Moreover, I have to roll my eyes at the idea that Nate creates the “Age of X-Man” in deciding to "destroy" the X-Men. If he really wanted to destroy the X-Men, it seems it wouldn’t take all his omnipotent powers to kill them. He obviously creates some sort of pocket Universe for them, but we have no idea why he would do that. Why not just kill them? Or, did someone else create that dimension? If so, who? The authors never even remotely address that issue, and it’s just one more odd decisions to add to the list of this events' odd decisions.
In other words, I'm not a fan. This series had pretensions of mimicking the incredibly successful "Avengers Disassembled" storyline, but it was mostly just a series of dei ex machina -- from Nate to Jamie to Legion -- fighting with each other. Our reward is yet another take on the "Age of Apocalypse." Oh, joy.
Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #13; Conan the Barbarian #2; Return of Wolverine #4
Monday, March 4, 2019
Not-Very-New Comics!: The January 9 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Avengers #12: The idea of T'Challa assembling a team of agents to provide the Avengers with intelligence is so good that it honestly makes you wonder why no one else has thought of it before. As T'Challa notes, this team of Avengers is the most powerful one ever assembled, so it makes sense they wouldn't be the ones doing the legwork, be it investigating Namor's plans for the surface world or the brewing vampire civil war. Enter the Agents of Wakanda. My only concern going forward is I wonder how Aaron is going to juggle so many characters. We're probably at something like 20 identified characters here so far. I get Broo doesn't need to be involved in the A plot, but a lot of these characters are sufficiently well known (like Broo) that it would be disappointing if we only see them in brief moments. In other words, it could all be too much of a good thing. I'm guessing that probably means we're going to see an "Agents of Wakanda" series soon...
Batman #62: [Sigh.] King seems to be trying to tie some threads together here, but I still have my doubts. As Bruce tries to figure out how Professor Pyg captured him and why he's suddenly deaf, he ponders the events of the last few issues, from Catwoman leaving him at the altar to Bane controlling Arkham to Thomas appearing in the Batcave. King seems to be connecting all these events, and I would welcome some revelation that he hasn't just been shooting blanks in the dark. Of course, part of the problem is that the events of these last few issues -- Dick getting shot in the head, Alfred bleeding on the floor of the Batcave, etc. -- are repeated in "Detective Comics." So far over there, a weird Clayface-y creature exposed Leslie to laughing gas and someone stabbed Alfred, though I can't remember if he was stabbed as Zorro there or in this series. I mean, did the group editor just take vacation or something? No one saw a problem with this timing? That said, the issue ends with Pyg taking off his mask, revealing he's actually Damian, which begs the question if Damian was also the one who convinced the Batcomputer that "Zorro" was Commissioner Gordon. Or, wait, did that happen in "Detective Comics?" Whatever.
Die #2: Gillen sketches out an incredible amount of detail here without falling into the void of telling instead of showing. (Yes, he's that good.) It's a thrilling issue, and I can't wait to jump right into it.
First, we learn the Grandmaster was the one who told the kids how they could return: they all just had to wish it. He told them because he wanted them to spread word about him on Earth, since it meant (somehow) more victims would fall into his reality, called Die. It's why Ash initially created the geas, to prevent them from doing exactly that. After defeating the Grandmaster, the party made the wish to return. But, the Grandmaster managed to grab Sol just as they dissolved into our reality. Now, in Die, Sol doesn't want to leave, as they all realize immediately. He wants them to continue playing the game, and he disappears to his land in Twenty, where they presumably have to face him.
The party is left with few options other than traipsing across Die to get to Sol. But, some roads are more perilous than others. They decide to avoid Eternal Prussia altogether (for reasons that aren't immediately clear to me) and debate their two options. They can cross the Front, a war zone that Ash explains to us was so dangerous even when they were overconfident teenagers that they avoided it altogether. Or, they can sail across the seas of Gondol to Angria, where we learn they spent most of their time in the past. Their decision is made for them when a knight unexpectedly approaches them; he was Ash's lover, and Ash bound him to his word that he wouldn't rest until he saw Ash again. He died three years later, and he now exists as an eyeless zombie, unable to fulfill his oath. Isabelle offers a favor to one of her gods and restores his eyes. He finally melts with a curse on his lips for Ash, and they decide to avoid their past and head through the Front.
Before all that happens, an elf queen from the Dreaming Lands approached them asking for help as a "waking nightmare" has engulfed the Dreaming Lands (paging Silvanesti). But, Chuck quickly realizes she's a Fallen, this world's version of an orc, or a non-conscious "trap with legs." (Chuck had this epiphany because she offered to sleep with him.) It's here where we first see everyone's powers. For example, Isabelle calls in a favor that one of the gods owes her, making it seem like clerical powers here are based on favors. As she uses her powers to fight the Fallen and its minions, Chuck roots around the "queen's" discarded bags to find "gifts of the Fair," or elven treasure. We learn these "gifts" are what fuel Angela's powers. But, they only do so until the next day, essentially meaning that she's addicted to them. Now empowered, she starts turning off the Fallen's minions; in other words, she seems to have the power to hack into Die's underlying code, as if it really were a videogame. For his part, Ash uses his powers to make Matt feel grief that he doesn't feel so he can summon his Grief Knight sword and defeat the rest of the Fallen's minions.
In other words, wow. One of the best parts of this issue is when they all agree to treat Die as real. Isabelle takes the lead on this front, reminding them if they don't -- if they treat it as fantasy and it's real -- their actions will make them monsters. Angela reminds them that her cybernetic arm disappeared when they arrived in the "real" world, meaning that Die has to be real, on some level. This exchange essentially serves as Gillen's call for us, as readers, also to take the series' events seriously, which I totally do.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1: I'm a fan of the concept of this series -- focusing on Peter's immediate neighborhood -- since it likely entails exploring his supporting cast more than we have recently. Slott largely ignored Peter's family and friends, preferring to create his own characters, like the Horizon crew or the various Parker Industries employees. Other than the Horizon crew (to an extent), Slott's supporting characters usually served a very specific plot purpose. Conversely, back in the day, Peter's encounters with folks like Bambi, Candi, Randi, or Mrs. Muggins humanized him, making us feel like we knew him better. In other words, they weren't a means to an end. Taylor seems to be going that route here, and I approve. That said, Taylor also seems to be making Peter into a little too much of a saint. For example, when he saves a man and his daughter as their van plunges off a bridge, he has the man give the cash he was offering him to a group of homeless folks (whose names he all knows). They later treat Peter to a hot dog in recognition of how good of a guy he is, not knowing he's the reason they're flush in the first place. I'm not opposed to showing that side of Peter, but it can't be all we see of Peter. I'd love to see him trying to skip on rent like he used to do back in the day. But, that said, I'm still happy with the direction we're going, like when Peter's surprised by two kids in his laundry basket as he's changing into his costume in his room. We used to see those sorts of transitions a lot more, and they, again, remind us that someone is behind the mask. They're what has always made Peter so relatable, and here's hoping Taylor keeps up that focus.
Iceman #5: Grace manages to stick a wobbly landing here as he finally brings together the large number of threads he's been trying to weave into a coherent story. First, Bobby eventually explains to Kitty that he was trying to handle Sinister on his own because he felt she needed something (i.e., the mutant-pride festival) to go right, after her disastrous wedding. I probably would've worked that part in a little sooner, since I've been wondering about it since issue #1. It also requires us to take a lot on Bobby's efforts on faith, since Bobby seems to have been working off-panel with Bishop to prepare for Sinister's Ice Army to attack the festival. (As far as I can tell, nothing we've seen so far would imply they were as prepared for the Army's attack as they are here.) That said, I'm still not sure why Sinister would attack a mutant-pride festival. It feels...off-brand for him. Moreover, Grace also implies Bishop and Iceman were also on top of the anti-mutant soldiers attacking the festival, but I don't have any memory of them getting that information? Again, we seem to have to take it on faith, though at least we understand why they're attacking the festival. I really would've preferred to see more time between Bobby and Judah, as we get in a flashback here where Bobby has an unusual moment of reflection. Sitting alone on a beach with Judah, Bobby realizes he has to talk constantly not only to distract everyone from his anxiety but also not to fade into the background. It's a pretty incisive take on Bobby, placing his loneliness (particularly while he was in the closet) at the core of his characterization. It fits, and I really wish Grace would've focused on that part of him throughout this series. Instead, we get him weirdly claiming Sinister's just lonely, too, almost offering him a hug to stop him. (Seriously.) It's just a mess, but I guess it's the best I'm going to get. I still wish we'd get some sort of regular Bobby vehicle focused more on his coming-out experience, like the brief glimpse we get here with Judah. Fingers crossed.
Star Wars #59: This issue covers a lot of ground. First, Leia reveals her plans to Han, informing him that they gained access to Shu-Torun’s defense systems when they spiked into Trios’ ship. She explains she didn’t want to tell him and Luke before she was sure about her plan, since she didn’t want to raise “false hope.” Han hilariously notes his "false" hopes were on something else, and Leia just as hilariously evicts him from her room. At Han’s urging, Leia explains her plan to Luke, who asks why she couldn’t trust him. Of course, at dinner that night, Markona reveals Luke built the transmitter, prompting Leia to call him on his bullshit. Dinner is interrupted when Scar Squadron arrives, which Luke blames on himself until Tula explains her father blocked his signal: he just wanted to see if Luke would actually activate the transmitter. Kreel reveals they found the team after torturing Sana and tells Markona he’ll kill Sana if the Han, Leia, and Luke don't reveal themselves. The gang of course appears guns blazing, and Markona unexpectedly has Han and Leia stunned. Kreel is excited, but Markona explains he’ll face Luke in a duel as part of Markonan hospitality. This issue is all about tests of trust, as Luke fails his test by activating the transmitter but Han passes his test when he simply stuns a drunk who challenges him to a duel. Gillen keeps underlining how childish Luke is, not only from his actions but by how his dialogue is at its whiniest. In fact, it’s one of those issues where you can hear the actors’ voices saying the characters’ dialogue. For the fact this arc is all about inaction and isolation, it's been surprisingly good.
Uncanny X-Men #9: The thing is, X-Man is totally right: the X-Men did abandon him and Legion. They let Omega-level mutants with obvious issues — from Nate’s time displacement to David’s mental illness — just roam free with no to little support. It’s like how Reed Richards can miraculously solve every problem, except his best friend’s. Now, when one of those neglected children is powerful enough to do something they don’t want him to do, they suddenly care. Moreover, why don’t they want Nate to achieve his goal of Utopia here? I know why I oppose it, but I’m surprised the authors haven’t had anyone defect from Jean’s side, to think maybe Nate has a good point. It’s these sort of defections that made “Operation: Galactic Storm” and the first “Civil War” so gripping. Jean's been dead for years and everyone just blindly follows her? Really?
Also Read: Nightwing #56; Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4; Thor #9
Batman #62: [Sigh.] King seems to be trying to tie some threads together here, but I still have my doubts. As Bruce tries to figure out how Professor Pyg captured him and why he's suddenly deaf, he ponders the events of the last few issues, from Catwoman leaving him at the altar to Bane controlling Arkham to Thomas appearing in the Batcave. King seems to be connecting all these events, and I would welcome some revelation that he hasn't just been shooting blanks in the dark. Of course, part of the problem is that the events of these last few issues -- Dick getting shot in the head, Alfred bleeding on the floor of the Batcave, etc. -- are repeated in "Detective Comics." So far over there, a weird Clayface-y creature exposed Leslie to laughing gas and someone stabbed Alfred, though I can't remember if he was stabbed as Zorro there or in this series. I mean, did the group editor just take vacation or something? No one saw a problem with this timing? That said, the issue ends with Pyg taking off his mask, revealing he's actually Damian, which begs the question if Damian was also the one who convinced the Batcomputer that "Zorro" was Commissioner Gordon. Or, wait, did that happen in "Detective Comics?" Whatever.
Die #2: Gillen sketches out an incredible amount of detail here without falling into the void of telling instead of showing. (Yes, he's that good.) It's a thrilling issue, and I can't wait to jump right into it.
First, we learn the Grandmaster was the one who told the kids how they could return: they all just had to wish it. He told them because he wanted them to spread word about him on Earth, since it meant (somehow) more victims would fall into his reality, called Die. It's why Ash initially created the geas, to prevent them from doing exactly that. After defeating the Grandmaster, the party made the wish to return. But, the Grandmaster managed to grab Sol just as they dissolved into our reality. Now, in Die, Sol doesn't want to leave, as they all realize immediately. He wants them to continue playing the game, and he disappears to his land in Twenty, where they presumably have to face him.
The party is left with few options other than traipsing across Die to get to Sol. But, some roads are more perilous than others. They decide to avoid Eternal Prussia altogether (for reasons that aren't immediately clear to me) and debate their two options. They can cross the Front, a war zone that Ash explains to us was so dangerous even when they were overconfident teenagers that they avoided it altogether. Or, they can sail across the seas of Gondol to Angria, where we learn they spent most of their time in the past. Their decision is made for them when a knight unexpectedly approaches them; he was Ash's lover, and Ash bound him to his word that he wouldn't rest until he saw Ash again. He died three years later, and he now exists as an eyeless zombie, unable to fulfill his oath. Isabelle offers a favor to one of her gods and restores his eyes. He finally melts with a curse on his lips for Ash, and they decide to avoid their past and head through the Front.
Before all that happens, an elf queen from the Dreaming Lands approached them asking for help as a "waking nightmare" has engulfed the Dreaming Lands (paging Silvanesti). But, Chuck quickly realizes she's a Fallen, this world's version of an orc, or a non-conscious "trap with legs." (Chuck had this epiphany because she offered to sleep with him.) It's here where we first see everyone's powers. For example, Isabelle calls in a favor that one of the gods owes her, making it seem like clerical powers here are based on favors. As she uses her powers to fight the Fallen and its minions, Chuck roots around the "queen's" discarded bags to find "gifts of the Fair," or elven treasure. We learn these "gifts" are what fuel Angela's powers. But, they only do so until the next day, essentially meaning that she's addicted to them. Now empowered, she starts turning off the Fallen's minions; in other words, she seems to have the power to hack into Die's underlying code, as if it really were a videogame. For his part, Ash uses his powers to make Matt feel grief that he doesn't feel so he can summon his Grief Knight sword and defeat the rest of the Fallen's minions.
In other words, wow. One of the best parts of this issue is when they all agree to treat Die as real. Isabelle takes the lead on this front, reminding them if they don't -- if they treat it as fantasy and it's real -- their actions will make them monsters. Angela reminds them that her cybernetic arm disappeared when they arrived in the "real" world, meaning that Die has to be real, on some level. This exchange essentially serves as Gillen's call for us, as readers, also to take the series' events seriously, which I totally do.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1: I'm a fan of the concept of this series -- focusing on Peter's immediate neighborhood -- since it likely entails exploring his supporting cast more than we have recently. Slott largely ignored Peter's family and friends, preferring to create his own characters, like the Horizon crew or the various Parker Industries employees. Other than the Horizon crew (to an extent), Slott's supporting characters usually served a very specific plot purpose. Conversely, back in the day, Peter's encounters with folks like Bambi, Candi, Randi, or Mrs. Muggins humanized him, making us feel like we knew him better. In other words, they weren't a means to an end. Taylor seems to be going that route here, and I approve. That said, Taylor also seems to be making Peter into a little too much of a saint. For example, when he saves a man and his daughter as their van plunges off a bridge, he has the man give the cash he was offering him to a group of homeless folks (whose names he all knows). They later treat Peter to a hot dog in recognition of how good of a guy he is, not knowing he's the reason they're flush in the first place. I'm not opposed to showing that side of Peter, but it can't be all we see of Peter. I'd love to see him trying to skip on rent like he used to do back in the day. But, that said, I'm still happy with the direction we're going, like when Peter's surprised by two kids in his laundry basket as he's changing into his costume in his room. We used to see those sorts of transitions a lot more, and they, again, remind us that someone is behind the mask. They're what has always made Peter so relatable, and here's hoping Taylor keeps up that focus.
Iceman #5: Grace manages to stick a wobbly landing here as he finally brings together the large number of threads he's been trying to weave into a coherent story. First, Bobby eventually explains to Kitty that he was trying to handle Sinister on his own because he felt she needed something (i.e., the mutant-pride festival) to go right, after her disastrous wedding. I probably would've worked that part in a little sooner, since I've been wondering about it since issue #1. It also requires us to take a lot on Bobby's efforts on faith, since Bobby seems to have been working off-panel with Bishop to prepare for Sinister's Ice Army to attack the festival. (As far as I can tell, nothing we've seen so far would imply they were as prepared for the Army's attack as they are here.) That said, I'm still not sure why Sinister would attack a mutant-pride festival. It feels...off-brand for him. Moreover, Grace also implies Bishop and Iceman were also on top of the anti-mutant soldiers attacking the festival, but I don't have any memory of them getting that information? Again, we seem to have to take it on faith, though at least we understand why they're attacking the festival. I really would've preferred to see more time between Bobby and Judah, as we get in a flashback here where Bobby has an unusual moment of reflection. Sitting alone on a beach with Judah, Bobby realizes he has to talk constantly not only to distract everyone from his anxiety but also not to fade into the background. It's a pretty incisive take on Bobby, placing his loneliness (particularly while he was in the closet) at the core of his characterization. It fits, and I really wish Grace would've focused on that part of him throughout this series. Instead, we get him weirdly claiming Sinister's just lonely, too, almost offering him a hug to stop him. (Seriously.) It's just a mess, but I guess it's the best I'm going to get. I still wish we'd get some sort of regular Bobby vehicle focused more on his coming-out experience, like the brief glimpse we get here with Judah. Fingers crossed.
Star Wars #59: This issue covers a lot of ground. First, Leia reveals her plans to Han, informing him that they gained access to Shu-Torun’s defense systems when they spiked into Trios’ ship. She explains she didn’t want to tell him and Luke before she was sure about her plan, since she didn’t want to raise “false hope.” Han hilariously notes his "false" hopes were on something else, and Leia just as hilariously evicts him from her room. At Han’s urging, Leia explains her plan to Luke, who asks why she couldn’t trust him. Of course, at dinner that night, Markona reveals Luke built the transmitter, prompting Leia to call him on his bullshit. Dinner is interrupted when Scar Squadron arrives, which Luke blames on himself until Tula explains her father blocked his signal: he just wanted to see if Luke would actually activate the transmitter. Kreel reveals they found the team after torturing Sana and tells Markona he’ll kill Sana if the Han, Leia, and Luke don't reveal themselves. The gang of course appears guns blazing, and Markona unexpectedly has Han and Leia stunned. Kreel is excited, but Markona explains he’ll face Luke in a duel as part of Markonan hospitality. This issue is all about tests of trust, as Luke fails his test by activating the transmitter but Han passes his test when he simply stuns a drunk who challenges him to a duel. Gillen keeps underlining how childish Luke is, not only from his actions but by how his dialogue is at its whiniest. In fact, it’s one of those issues where you can hear the actors’ voices saying the characters’ dialogue. For the fact this arc is all about inaction and isolation, it's been surprisingly good.
Uncanny X-Men #9: The thing is, X-Man is totally right: the X-Men did abandon him and Legion. They let Omega-level mutants with obvious issues — from Nate’s time displacement to David’s mental illness — just roam free with no to little support. It’s like how Reed Richards can miraculously solve every problem, except his best friend’s. Now, when one of those neglected children is powerful enough to do something they don’t want him to do, they suddenly care. Moreover, why don’t they want Nate to achieve his goal of Utopia here? I know why I oppose it, but I’m surprised the authors haven’t had anyone defect from Jean’s side, to think maybe Nate has a good point. It’s these sort of defections that made “Operation: Galactic Storm” and the first “Civil War” so gripping. Jean's been dead for years and everyone just blindly follows her? Really?
Also Read: Nightwing #56; Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4; Thor #9
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