Five-Month-Old Comics: The Superhero December 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 (2021) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #80 (December 1):  Ziglar hits all the right notes in this issue, from Aunt May brining in Dr. Octopus to consult on Peter's condition to Maxine siccing her lawyers (and hopefully just her lawyers) on "Brooklyn Spider-Man," a.k.a. Miles Morales.  Ben's psychedelics-induced banter with the other captured Beyond employees was a real highlight.  It's nice to have some fun again in a Spider-Man comic.

Darkhawk #4 (December 1):  I initially rolled my eyes at Captain America's appearance here until I realized that "Mr. Colt" was the AIM recruiter from "Winter Soldier (2019)," which was one of the best and most devastating mini-series that I've ever read.  Given how blithely Colt used RJ in that series, Colt's experiments on Shawn probably aren't going to end well for him.

New Mutants #23 (December 1):  OMG.  SO.  MUCH.  TALKING.  I mean, I like the idea that the Lost Club gets the adults (i.e., the New Mutants) to realize that Amahl is just as much the Shadow King's hostage as they were.  But, Ayala has the Lost Club repeat those points over and over and over again.  I was basically skimming at the end.  I hope the new story arc that they're teasing for next issue isn't as boring and chaotic as this one has been.

Winter Guard #4 (December 1):  This mini-series wraps up fairly unsatisfyingly if you're not planning on reading "Avengers" indefinitely to get the necessary answers.  

It isn't at all surprising that Red Widow disabled Crimson Dynamo for fear that he would side with Red Guardian.  But, I still don't understand what Red Guardian gained from betraying White Widow at the end of last issue.  After all, she's forced to provide Red Widow and Vanguard his location in order to secure her freedom.  

Moreover, it seems hard to believe that Red Guardian would keep the Operation:  Snowblind drives in a briefcase that a kinetically driven shield could destroy since he had to know that a guy with a kinetically driven shield was coming after him.  I'm also not sure what White Widow gains by seemingly controlling one of the drives, since I though that the user had to use them all together to access the information.  

At any rate, I enjoyed spending time with these characters, but if you were expecting a self-contained story you'll be disappointed.

X-Men:  Trial of Magneto #4 (December 1) and #5 (December 22) (TPB):  Overall, I'm OK with the story that Williams told here.  She manages to thread the needle in probably the only way possible to turn Wanda from the Pretender to the Redeemer.  

To atone for her sins, Wanda creates a pocket dimension where all mutants souls - including the ones who died before Cerebro came online or before their X-gene manifested - go to wait for resurrection.  It's sufficiently grand to, well, redeem her.  After all, it advances Krakoa's first law:  make more mutants.

But, Williams seriously, leaves out some pretty important details.  Bullet points!

• I don't think that we're ever shown how Wanda recruited Hope and Toad to implement her plan.  Toad's participation is particularly important as he accepts exile as his punishment for "killing" Wanda.  Did he agree to sacrifice himself or did Wanda manipulate him without his knowledge for the greater good?

• We're never told why Wanda had to go through the Resurrection Protocols to create the pocket dimension.  It makes a certain amount of sense, but I would've liked it spelled out a little more clearly, particularly since the idea that she could go through them itself is dodgy, since she's allegedly not a mutant.  

• I don't buy that it was necessary for Wanda to act in secret lest people suspect that she was colluding with Magneto.  I get the Council would be distrustful of Wanda, but I feel like they've got enough powers between them that they could've vetted her scheme.  It seems like Magneto could at least have brought Lorna and Pietro into the plan.  After all, Pietro's rage almost jeopardizes the outcome.

• Eye-Boy can see magical enchantments but not uru?  What?

• I don't understand how the Waiting Room, as Hope dubs it, replaces the Crucible as a way for mutants to opt into resurrection.  The Crucible was only necessary for mutants who lost their powers in M-Day; every other Cerebro-era mutant was automatically opted into the Protocols.  Presumably they could've just put themselves on a "do not resurrect" list if they didn't want to go through the Protocols.

In terms of the characters, everything wraps up way too neatly.  Magneto somehow reconciles with Lorna, though I don't buy that she would simply forgive him for the awful things that he said to her over the course of this series.  He could've pretended that he was the villain without saying what he did.

[Sigh.]

In all honesty, it feels like, going into issue #4, Williams had one outcome in mind and editorial made her change it.  I would say that you really don't need to read this series unless you're a dedicated Wanda fan.  Wanda is redeemed, and Thunderbird is resurrected.  I'm going to guess that all this mini-series' other developments will fade into obscurity.

Amazing Spider-Man #80.BEY (December 8):  You guys, this issue may be the worst one that I've ever read.  Ziglar renders May and Otto into ridiculous caricatures of themselves.  Their innuendo-filled dialogue is just painful to read.  I skimmed most of the issue, and I'll save you the trouble.  

Otto realizes that the U-Foes were the ones who were fighting the Spider-Men when Peter got hurt, and he and May break into a super-villain holding facility to get samples of Vapor and X-Ray's powers.  (May's conversation with Vapor is this issue's highlight.)  In the process, Otto discovers that Beyond runs the holding facility, and May is furious that his search for more information on Beyond distracts him.  She leaves, though Otto later provides Peter's doctors with his findings, allowing them to heal him.  

Later, Otto attacks some guards on a rooftop to hack into a terminal that seemingly holds all Beyond's secrets because why wouldn't every random terminal provide the user access to all a corporation's secrets?  He discovers that Beyond purchased Parker Industries and [sigh] swears vengeance.

In other words, a Google search could've resolved Otto's questions about both who attacked Peter and who owned Parker Industries.  I don't understand how an editor decided that this story needed 33 pages, but someone should demote them.

Devil's Reign #1 (December 8):  I have to give Marvel credit for waiting so long to get to this point, of Fisk declaring war on superheroes.  They could've rushed it and foregone all the interesting moments that Fisk's mayoralty has brought.  Instead, they bided their time, which is hard to do in comics.

This series is clearly an outgrowth from Zdarsky's "Daredevil," and Zdarsky does a decent job of presenting that series' status quo for the rest of us.  Most relevantly, Fisk has apparently appointed his other son, Butch, as Kingpin, and Matt's "brother" Mike is apparently helping him.  I rolled my eyes at these long-lost relatives, but I'm not reading "Daredevil" so it isn't my problem.

The catalyzing event that kicks off this story is that Kingpin loses his shit when he realizes that he no longer remembers Daredevil's secret identity; in fact, even the file on Daredevil that he keeps in his safe no longer contains it.  Enraged, he announces a ban on unsanctioned superhuman activity, following a federal ban on unsanctioned superhuman activity by people under the age of 21 years old.  (I'm assuming that happened in "Champions?")

Kingpin has clearly been planning this move for a while, because he deploys his shock troops - in the form of mixed superhuman and human Thunderbolt units - quickly.  Darkhawk and Moon Knight are almost immediately taken off the table.  

A Thunderbolt unit grabs Miles Morales as he's saving people from a burning building, but Captain America saves Miles before they unmask him.  (This issue comes on the heel of Cap and Miles' appearance in "Darkhawk" #4, and I'm really digging that team-up.)  Daredevil, Elektra, and Spider-Man arrive to help, and, in a safehouse later, Daredevil admits that he provoked Kingpin into action.  But, in a great moment, Cap tells him that sacrificing himself won't stop Fisk. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Octopus and federal troops storms Four Freedom Plaza.  If you read "X-Men/Fantastic Four," you'll appreciate the Schadenfreude of Otto using a power-dampening collar on Reed and Sue.  Sue manages to alert Ben and Johnny who escape with the kids.  Chechetto is on fire throughout this issue, but the look on Ben's face when the Thunderbolt unit opens fires on him and the kids (who he blocks with his body) is worth the price of admission.  Otto is keen to access a specific Reed invention, seemingly one of his multiverse portals.  I'm sure it's for totally benign reasons.

Later, Shocker and his Thunderbolt unit come after Luke Cage and Jessica Jones as they're trying to help victims of a bus crash, and Luke delivers a Cap-like speech telling people that Fisk is coming for them once the superheroes are gone.  

The issue ends with one revelation coming right after another:  Wilson murders the Purple Man whose powers he seems intent on taking the Power Group that installed Kingpin as mayor plans on running him for President, and Tony tells a fleeing Jessica and Luke that he plans on running against Fisk for mayor.

Honestly, I'm pretty thrilled with this issue.  It feels like how the inevitable confrontation between the heroes and Kingpin would go, and it's clear that Zdarsky has a bunch of tricks up his sleeve.  I can't wait to see what they are.

 

Inferno #3 (December 8):  Hickman is unusually concise in this issue, despite its 44 pages.  We have three major developments.

First, we learn that Cypher initially prepared Krakoa to host mutantkind by having Warlock consume part of Krakoa and then Krakoa consume the new parts of Warlock.  In so doing, Warlock essentially became Krakoa's nervous system.  Since he and Warlock didn't trust Professor X, it meant that he maintained knowledge of the No-Space that Krakoa created for Magneto and Professor X.  As such, he knows all their secrets.

Second, Emma informs Destiny and Mystique of Moira's existence.  They all agree that Moira represents a threat to everything that they've built since at any moment she can start a new life and change this particular present.  Emma declines to throw her support clearly behind Destiny and Mystique but makes it clear them that she's no longer in Charles and Erik's camp.  Destiny and Mystique engineer Orchis kidnapping Moira at her Paris gate and bringing her to Terra Nova.  When Charles and Erik arrive to save her, Nimrod arrives through the translocator (whose existence Mystique discovered last issue), ready to take out Charles and Erik.

Finally, we learn that the "Trickster Titan" sent back Omega Sentinel's consciousness so that she could bring Nimrod online earlier than in her timeline.  She informs Nimrod that Apocalypse will return to defeat the Children of the Vault and eventually humankind and the machines.  Only through the Trickster Titan separating himself from his sibling does he survive long enough to send back Omega Sentinel's consciousness.  She then uses this knowledge to find Devo and convince him that he also experienced her future.  Together, they create Orchis.

In other words, man, shit goes down here.  It's hard to see how Krakoa even remotely functions as it has after this event.

Amazing Spider-Man #81 (December 15):  The Beyond Board is doing an excellent job of slowly but surely making Ben's position at Beyond more and more untenable given Maxine's goals conflicting too often with his own goals.

In this issue, she disciplines Marcus when Ben fails to confront Miles Morales during their team-up over his "use" of Beyond's trademark.  When Ben suggests that he wasn't going to beat up a teenager, Maxine makes it clear that it's exactly what she wanted him to do.  

Ahmed does some nice character work throughout this issue, as Ben admits to Janine that he's not as impulsive as he was thanks to his work in therapy.  It means that he doesn't get mad at Janine when she asks if he's ready to fight Rhizome with Miles right after his fight with Kraven.  Ahmed also connects the dots that Ben's patience with Maxine comes from this work.  That said, it's pretty clear that said patience is going to end.  

Meanwhile, as Kaeden says in their note in the back, the art team is on fire here.  If you're a Miles fan, you definitely want to check out this issue.

Devil's Reign #2 (December 29):  As I expected, Kingpin moves to the next stage as Crossbones and his Thunderbolt unit break into Danny Rand's apartment to arrest him even though he's no longer Iron Fist.  

In an example of pet peeve #2, we learn form the intro page that Kingpin didn't kill Purple Man; he cut off his finger and put it in his staff, somehow giving him his power.  (Yeah, it's a stretch.)  Meanwhile, Otto creates a device that harnesses the rest of Purple Man's powers, allowing Wilson to coerce, though not control, New York's population.  It ends Otto's part of his bargain with Kingpin.  That said, he uses Reed's multidimensional gate to bring Ghost Rider, Hulk, and Wolverine to "our" Earth, so he's clearly got something up his sleeve.  

Meanwhile, the heroes aren't doing so well.  Kingpin assigned Taskmaster to find out Spider-Man's secret identity, and Taskmaster somehow manages to block Ben's powers in their ensuing fight.  Where's Beyond when you need them?  Also, the reformed New Avengers convince Tony that Luke should run (since rich guy vs. rich guy might not read well with the public), and Tony doesn't seem happy about it.

My only criticism of this issue is that it's a little hard to follow the status quos of the various heroes.  In addition to finding out Danny isn't Iron Fist, for example, Elektra is panicked because she realizes that Fisk knows that she betrayed Matt, though I have no idea what she did.  But, every event stuffers from a similar problem, so it's small potatoes give how much I'm enjoying the event overall.

Also Read:  Marauders #26 (December 1); Nightwing Annual 2021 #1 (December 1); Amazing Spider-Man #82 (December 22) and #83 (December 29); Hawkeye:  Kate Bishop #2 (December 22); Moon Knight #6 (December 22)

Five-Month-Old Comics: The Superhero November 10, 17, and 24 (2021) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #78 (November 10):  I'm happy to say that I loved everything about this issue.  I loved Felicia and MJ's conversation, I loved Colleen and Misty's banter, I loved Maxine's evilness and Ben's hotness:  I loved it all.

Amazing Spider-Man #78.BEY (November 17):  I loved this issue, too!  Avengers Murder Mansion!  How good is that!

The Beyond Board more or less answers my initial question of what Beyond gets from hiring superheroes:  namely, they get research.  For example, Martine initially refused to let Ben's doctor inject him with the Mobius anti-toxin last issue because she wanted to consider what sort of powers a vampire Spider-Man would have.  She notably wants to consider that not just to power up Ben but because they might be able to replicate the powers for sale.  

In this issue, she sends Colleen and Misty after an extraterrestrial Telletubby-like creature whom she calls Obsidian Star.  She's furious when they return from battle without its power source, and Colleen and Misty "remind" her that the point was to help people.  In reality, they give it to Monica Rambeau, who appeared last issue asking them for information about Beyond.

In other words, stuff is afoot.

Dark Ages #3 (November 17):  This issue continues a great run so far.  Laura identifies Apocalypse as Tony's kidnapper, and the team sends Pietro to see what Apocalypse is doing with him.  But, Pietro is distracted when he sees his father in chains.  Apocalypse also has Dr. Octopus working for him, and Otto's defenses take out Pietro in his moment of weakness.  

Under Killraven's control, Pietro returns to the team and murders Johnny Storm and Okoye before Jean can free his mind.  When he reveals that Reed is alive and working with the other subservient heroes, the team prepares to deploy.  Knowing they will, Apocalypse readies Carnage-nom (Ve-nage?) to attack.  

So far, Taylor is passing my main test for these "What If...?" series, namely whether the sequence of events feel logical to me.  I wonder what other terrible things Apocalypse has planned...

Moon Knight #5 (November 17):  Holy shit, this issue is fucking intense.  

First, you have Marc's therapy session, where Dr. Sterman pushes Marc to admit that he's so invested in Moon Knight because it's cost him everything:  if he isn't Moon Knight, he has nothing left.  (He suggests that he developed D.I.D. because he'd rather be anyone other than Marc Spector.  Oof.)  

But, the shit hits the fan when it turns out Terry is the one watching Marc.  Terry initially tells Marc that it's Soldier, whom we learn is an ex-HYDRA soldier.  Terry uses Soldier as bait, though, forcing Marc either to leave the rigged room without saving Terry - proving himself a fraud, in Terry's eyes - or to die in the ensuing explosion.  Marc being Marc, he has a plasma torch on hand and manages to save them both only to encounter Terry on the street, who puts on a mask and tells Marc to call him Zodiac.  

McKay makes it clear that Zodiac is a formidable challenge for Marc, a change from the last few issue where Marc has mostly waltzed through his challengers.  I'm excited to see what Marc can do if he lets loose.

Hawkeye:  Kate Bishop #1 (November 24):  This issue isn't terrible, but something about the delivery is odd.  Nijkamp does a decent job of getting down Kate's voice, but she certainly doesn't shine the way that she did under Fraction or Thompson.  Moreover, the plot is bizarre, with Kate's estranged sister engaging in some pretty ridiculous subterfuge to trick Kate into helping her.  I mean, I'll read pretty much anything with Kate Bishop, but it's hard not to wish that this mini-series didn't involve Thompson revisiting the West Coast Avengers (RIP).

Also Read:  Darkhawk #3 (November 3); Winter Guard #3 (November 3); Amazing Spider-Man #79 (November 24); X-Men #5 (November 24)

Avengers (2018) #33-#38 (TPB): Age of Khonshu

I read this TPB because the "Age of Khonshu" is frequently discussed in "Moon Knight."  But, all reading this story did was make me feel pretty good about my decision to drop this title.  Jesus, these issues are awful.  I don't know how someone as good as Jason Aaron is could tell a story as boring and incoherent as this one.  If he was trying to replicate Kurt Busiek's amazing "Kang Dynasty," he missed the mark by a lot.

The only moment where I thought that this story made sense was when Black Panther battled Moon Knight in issue #36.  T'Challa realizes that Khonshu has made Marc believe that he (T'Challa) is Mephisto, and I thought Aaron was going to reveal that Khonshu was deluding Marc into amassing power so that he could take over Earth (and not protect it from Mephisto, as claimed).  But, no, it turns out Khonshu really was protecting Earth from Mephisto, as Tony acknowledges in issue #38 after examining the corpses of the various alternate Mephistos who came to assassinate Khonshu.  (Given they're corpses, it's clear that Khonshu didn't fall so easily.)

As such, the ending of this story makes no sense.  Why did a Phoenix-imbued Moon Knight stop Khonshu?  (I don't think that we're ever shown how Marc acquires the Phoenix powers, but I'm not going to re-read this terrible story just to get the answer.)  Why did the Avengers have the Asgardians imprison him if he was right?  I get that they might have initially thought that he was crazy before Tony examined the bodies, but Tony pretty clearly acknowledges that Khonshu was right about Mephisto.  Why not fee him?

Anyway, it's a fucking mess.  I don't even remotely understand why Marc is exiled from the Avengers in "Moon Knight," when he should be their fucking hero for bringing the pan-dimensional Mephisto threat to their attention.  After all, T'Challa offers him membership, which he declines.  I could say more, but I'm going to try to forget this story ever happened.

Also Read:  Avengers #31-#32

Six-Month-Old Comics: The Superhero October 6, 13, 20, and 27 (2021) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #75 (October 6):  If I'm being honest, I have to admit that Spencer's run gave me PTSD just like Peter.  I opened this issue with a certain amount of dread, expecting to end it as frustrated as I often was after a Spencer issue.  The good news is that it's a pretty solid start for this new chapter.  The bad news, to the extent that it's "bad," is that I still don't feel ready for full optimism.

As mentioned, Peter is struggling with the events of the last few weeks, most notably Harry's death.  Ben Reilly's return represents another hit after Ben reveals that Beyond bought the rights to the Spider-Man name after Parker Industries (i.e., Otto) trademarked it.  Peter takes it reasonably well after Ben tells him that he's not asking for permission, stressing that he has the same compulsion to do good as Peter has.  (I'm sure that it didn't really help Ben's case, though, when he paid for lunch mentioning the "stupid" amounts of money Beyond is paying him.)  Ben never explains why Beyond wants a Spider-Man other than it wants to get into the "superhero game."  I'm sure they're just totally altruistic.

Later, when the U-Foes attack Empire State University for...some reason, both Ben and Peter respond.  These scenes play to Wells' strengths, as Ben and Peter's banter leaps off the page; they're more than the sum of their parts.  Wells and Zdarsky are probably my favorite Spider-Man writers, and I'm thrilled that he's serving as the Beyond Board chair, if you will.  

Wells makes the wise decision to take Peter off the board for a few issues.  After X-Ray explodes to take out both Spideys, Ben is left standing given his suit's "radiation-shielding and air-scrubbing micro-mesh," but Peter lapses quickly develops radiation poisoning.

Again, I'm excited to see where we go here.  The Beyond Board clearly has a vision, and I'm excited where that vision is going.  But, Spencer also had a vision, and it went some...not great places.  That said, this Spider-Man looks and sounds more like the Spider-Man I know, so I'm going to take the win, temporary though it may be.

Dark Ages #2 (October 6):  It's weird reading this issue six months further into the pandemic than when it was released.  Peter describes a world that lost billions of people to the natural disasters and power struggles that came after electricity disappeared from Earth.  Given COVID-19 has killed 6,000,000+ people and Russia invaded Ukraine a few weeks ago, it isn't that hard to connect with this situation.  The action-forcing event here is Apocalypse kidnapping Iron Man to help Reed Richards and RiRi Williams reawaken the Unmaker so Apocalypse can steal his power.  He reveals that they're using Magneto to block the Earth's electromagnetic field enough to build a Faraday cage and that he's using the Purple Man to force the hero geniuses to work for him.  Given Apocalypse has established a brutal dictatorship in Europe, it isn't hard to see what his goals are.

Amazing Spider-Man #76 (October 13):  As I recover from my PTSD, I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this issue.  I mean, "enjoy" is probably the wrong word, since Peter eventually slips into a coma from his radiation exposure.  

But, I feel like the Beyond Board walks us through a pretty logical series of consequences stemming from X-Ray's attack.  First, Peter is in a bad way.  It's pretty clear that he's only alive due to his Spider-Powers, but he's barely alive.  Second, Ben is struggling with his loyalty to Peter and his desire to embrace his life as Beyond's Spider-Man.  In violation of his contract, he takes off his uniform to bring Peter to the hospital and calls Aunt May and MJ to meet him there.

Later, Ben again defies his handler, Marcus, when he refuses to go after the U-Foes immediately and instead goes to the hospital to seek Peter's blessing to be Spider-Man.  Here, Wells does the reverse of what Spencer did during his run.  Instead of showing Peter's good heart by having him wallow in guilt, Wells has Peter understand that if he feels like Ben is asking him to share his life with him then it has to be even harder for Ben.  Peter gives Ben his blessing and beseeches him to "be amazing."

As usual with Wells, we get great character moments along the way.  Peter remains funny as he weakly jokes about his situation, and Aunt May is a force of nature when it comes to berating the doctors for not helping Peter.  I particularly enjoyed Colleen and Misty telling Marcus to have some respect after he says that, in Beyond's eyes, Ben is the only Spider-Man.

Do I dare to hope that I'll look forward to reading "Amazing Spider-Man" every month?  Maybe!

X-Men:  The Trial of Magneto #3 (TPB) (October 20):  This issue is beyond odd.  As we saw last issue, someone resurrected the Scarlet Witch.  However, she seems to have almost no memories of herself.  Jean and Rachel provide her with her "greatest hits," as Rachel calls them.  

But, before they can help Wanda process them, three kaiju suddenly attack Krakoa.  The Avengers and X-Men assemble to fight them, but they seem nearly unstoppable.  Meanwhile, Wanda somehow re-enters the astral space that we've previously seen her occupy and discovers her older self, who - based on her white costume - seems like the person who killed her?  

It's fine to drag out the mystery so you can hit four issues, but the kaiju attack is such a random way to do that that it feels like Williams (or, probably more to the point, the editorial staff) just picked it from a hat labeled "obstacles."

Amazing Spider-Man #77 (October 27):  I've dreamt of Kelly Thompson writing "Amazing Spider-Man," so I'm thrilled to see her here.  Ben has functionally taken over the title at this point as Peter remains in a coma.  But, as usual, everything isn't wine and roses for Ben.  I mean, not only does Morbius bite him, but he also forgets how one of his memories about Uncle Ben ends as he's recounting for Dr. Kafka.  Ruh-Roh.  Given the long line of clones who suffered degeneration syndrome, I'm worried where the Beyond Board is going with this one.  Ben also meets Maxine, the head of Beyond's superhero program, and she's...intense.  It's also a reminder that we know very little about Beyond or its goals.  I'm sure they have Ben's best interests in heart.

Inferno #2 (October 27):  We have a lot to cover here, as Hickman is telling essentially five separate, though connected, stories.

First, Hickman walks us through how Mystique used her powers to trick the Five into resurrecting Destiny.  It's pretty straight-forward:  she was the Magneto whom we saw last issue grabbing Cerebro from Island M (is it a duplicate?) and the Professor X whom we saw getting Destiny's DNA from Mr. Sinister.  Posing as Professor X, she then has the Five resurrect a younger version of Destiny, at the age she was when they first met, a gift to both of them.

Second, we have the Council machinations.  Mystique is able to assemble a coalition of Exodus (the believer), Mr. Sinister (the spoiler), Nightcrawler (the son), and Shaw (the cynic) to vote with her.  The surprise is Emma, for whom she obtains a special object in exchange.  We'll return to this point later.

Third, we have the Orchis drama.  First, Omega Sentinel reveals herself as a mutant (I think) to Nimrod, though it's unclear right now where that story is going.  The main development is that Orchis has managed to create a translocator from Earth to the Forge.  However, I'm not totally clear how they plan to use that.  The monkey doctor tells Mystique disguised as Sage (I think) - who found the Orchis HQ after discovering the X-Force mission log about the Paris gate - that they want to unleash the Sun through the portal.  I initially thought that he meant on Earth, but I'm now guessing that he means Arakko?  A lot relating to this thread isn't clear.   (One question I have is how Mystique knew to look for the security log?)

Most importantly, we have Moira.  She seems pretty damn near crazy, yes?  At this point, the main question to me is still why Moira is so afraid of Destiny.  She's right that Destiny is onto her:  she tells Mystique that she sees a "hole" in the future, and we all know what (or who) that means.  But, if Charles, Erik, and Moira are really committed to building a paradise for mutantkind, why would Destiny care?  Isn't that essentially what she told Moire to do when the Brotherhood killed her in issue #1?  

Moira also mentions that Destiny will see through Charles and Erik.  If I'm reading between the lines correctly, it implies that Destiny discovering that Moira is lying and scheming to destroy mutantkind wouldn't the only spoiled plot:  Charles, Erik, and Moira are clearly planning something that Destiny wouldn't see as in mutantkind's best interests.  Charles himself mentions how willing Moira is to spill blood.  Then again, Erik refuses to kill Destiny simply because Moira finds it expedient, so maybe Charles and Erik are comfortable with the risk of mutantkind learning of their (likely not as heinous as Moira's) plans.

Returning to the Council machinations, Charles and Erik suggest to Moira that they bring Emma into their scheme because they can trust her.  In exchange for the truth, she would then support their choice for the final Council seat.  (Moira is skeptical that a Council seat alone would get them the support that they need.)  At the Louvre, Emma meets Moira with Charles and Erik and reads her mind, learning "the truth."  But, the plan backfires:  Emma is appalled at how long and how much Charles and Erik have manipulated her.  Emma apparently sees the threat that a precog represents, though it's clear yet that she's willing to play ball.  After Emma leaves in a huff, Moira acknowledges that their best bet at this point is putting someone on the Council they can trust, who they decide is Colossus.  The literal glint in his eye as he appears before the Council makes it unclear whether they're right or not.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with where we're going here.  Charles and Erik seems finally to be getting some form of comeuppance, and I hope that Emma is the one to serve it.

Marauders #25 (October 27):  OMG, this issue couldn't have been better.  I rolled my eyes at the end of last issue when Rixlo spaced the Marauders, but Duggan and Noto are spectacular as we watch the team work together to survive.  Bobby creating the ice bubble, Bobby and Pyro creating water that scientist Kate could electrify to create oxygen, and Bishop and Shaw serving as the "dude-thrusters" were all just great.  (I only had to stretch my ability to suspend my disbelief at the idea of Bobby "catching" some oxygen in the ice bubble right after they were spaced.)  As Emma said, Kate then ghosting into the ship and kicking Rixlo's difficult-to-kick ass was quite exciting.  It's exactly the sort of story that I was hoping that we'd see again in this title.  Boo yah.

Moon Knight #4 (October 27):  I think I've mentioned on this blog that "West Coast Avengers" was my jam when I was a teenager.  I've always been a sidekick person - Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Sam Wilson - and "West Coast Avengers" was the greatest assembly of sidekicks ever.  As such, I was thrilled when Tigra walked through that door.  As Tigra's rooftop conversation with Marc reveals, Marc could really use a friend in his life right now, isolated as he is.  (I'm going to have to read this Avengers' arc where he fights them on Khonshu's behalf.)  Moreover, McKay is putting together a rogue's gallery that really fits with Moon Knight's commitment to protecting the night.  All in all, I continue to be happy where we're going here.

Also Read:  New Mutants #22 (October 6); X-Men #4 (October 13)

Spider-Man: The Lost Years (1996) #0-#3 and Spider-Man: Redemption (1996) #1-#4

Oh, the Clone Saga.  I lived it in real time.  It wasn't pleasant.  That said, Ben Reilly and Kaine eventually became two of my favorite characters, so I guess I can't complain too much.  

But, OMFG, it was such a fucking mess.  If you're interested, I highly recommend the "Life of Reilly" blog that I've linked in my blog roll.  It's an essential reading companion for "The Clone Saga," as it frequently confirms that, no, you're not crazy, the editors really didn't have any idea what they were doing at various points.

As I mentioned in my last post, I read these two mini-series due to "Free Comic Book Day:  Spider-Man/Venom (2021)" #1 bringing back Janine Godbe.  I admit that they were surprisingly more enjoyable than I thought that they would be.  After seeing how much Ben and Janine loved each other - and what they endured - I'm thrilled that Marvel decided to reunited them.  

At this point, I couldn't be more excited about Ben returning to the main title, particularly given that it seems like we're getting the Ben that I know and love and not the post-"Clone Conspiracy" one.  For now, onto the past!

Spider-Man:  The Lost Years #0-#3:  As a Ben Reilly fan, I'm surprised that I hadn't read this mini-series sooner, though I was so scarred from "The Clone Saga" that I understand my hesitation.  But, it's a shame that I didn't, because it's pretty great.

Rather than trying to cover all of Ben's "lost years," DeMatteis focuses on one specific era, namely Ben's time in Salt Lake City.  By the time he arrives there, Ben's been all over the world, using Steward Trainer's recommendations to get teaching-assistant gigs under false identities.  He stays in each position for a month or so until he has enough money to hit the road again.  Ben alludes to the fact that he starts to lose his shit when he stays in one place too long, remembering what he had when he lived a more grounded life as Peter Parker.  Kaine also arrives in Salt Lake City as we're in the era where Kaine is pursuing Ben relentlessly.

But, two things happen in Salt Lake City that draw Ben into something approaching a normal life.  First, he meets Janine while she's waitressing at a diner and finds himself instantly drawn to her.  Second, on his way to his first date with Janine, his Spider-Sense leads him to save the life of a woman and her son after a bomb blows up their house.  It turns out they're the family of Detective Jacob Raven, who put local mob-boss Vincent Tannen behind bars.  Ben's intervention pulls him into Tannen's war against Raven, forcing him to use his powers on several occasions to save Raven and his family.  

It isn't until issue #2 - where Scheele really plays up Janine's red hair -  that I realized Janine is essentially Mary Jane, explaining why Ben feels such a connection to her.  Of course, since Ben can't be happy, Janine ends things in that issue, for reasons at which DeMatteis only hints.  ("Secrets!")  Since Kaine really can't be happy, he's dating Raven's partner, Louise Kennedy, who approached him at a bar after she was impressed when he took out a prostitute's abusive pimp. 

While having sex with Louise, Kaine's cellular degeneration suddenly accelerates, and he flees in horror.  Looking for an outlet for his rage, Kaine hunts down Ben, who himself is venting his rage over Janine ending their relationship on some of Tannen's thugs.  It's important to note that we're in the era where Kaine "knows" that Ben is "really" (though not) Peter.  Instead of killing Ben as they fight, Kaine decides to torment him, furious at "Peter" for the life that he gets to live and that he (Kaine) is denied.

Kaine's cellular degeneration flares again, and he flees.  However, he watches through the warehouse's skylight as Tannen's twin brother Paul orders Kennedy, who's working for Vince, to kill Ben.  [Vince has called Paul into town to kill Raven's son so that Raven knows that it was him - Vince (though really Paul) - who did it.]  An appalled Kaine saves Ben, reminding us that Kaine can never quite embrace his darkness as much as he wants.  In another example of that, he's later crushed when Louise tells him that the darkness always wins.  

Eventually, Janine admits to Ben that she murdered her father who molested her every day of her life, and Ben admits that he's a clone of Spider-Man.  Knowing that they love each other despite their secrets, they prepare to leave town.  Needless to say, Kaine isn't thrilled.  

It all comes to a head outside Salt Lake City as Kaine attacks Ben and Janine as they flee.  In issue #1, Janine was wary about Raven, given her fear that he might ID her, and she's proven correct.  Following a hunch, he discovers that she's really Elizabeth Tyne.  Louise accompanies Raven to take in Janine, but she's startled when she recognizes Ben as the man whom she almost killed.  Before she can kill Ben, Kaine kills her, as dramatic an underscoring of his tragedy as possible.  In order to punish Ben for his happy ending with Janine, Kaine leaves the scene before Raven arrives.  As such, Raven thinks that Ben and Janine killed Kennedy.  Ben knocks Raven unconscious, noting as he does that he would've killed him if they had really killed Louise.  He and Janine then ride into the sunset. 

Honestly, this mini-series is so strong that I'm really surprised that they didn't turn it into a regular series.  I re-read the "Life of Reilly" blog posts about it, and it turns out they planned to do so, but the decision to reinstate Peter got in the way.  Of course it did.

Spider-Man:  Redemption #1-#4:  After how great "Spider-Man:  The Lost Years" was, I'm sad to say that this series didn't quite hit those heights.

We start issue #1 with Ben as Spider-Man after "Spectacular Spider-Man" #226 established that he, and not "Peter," was the "real" Peter Parker.  (Of course, Marvel later ret-conned that ret-con, but I promised myself that I wouldn't dwell too much on my "Clone Saga" era rage here.)  

Oddly, the issue makes no mention of this change in Ben's understanding of his identity since "Spider-Man:  The Lost Years;" I only realized where we were in the story through context clues.  I acknowledge that I'm reading this series 25+ years after its publication, so I probably wouldn't have needed an editor's note to flag that change for me at the time.  But, given how each issue of this series gives us panel upon panel of Kaine walking us through every details his cellular-degeneration disease, I was surprised that this "resolution" didn't merit a mention.

That said, I was glad to see DeMatteis spend some time walking us through Ben mourning everything that he lost as a result of Jackal forcing him to believe that he wasn't the real Peter, including a chance to mourn Harry Osborn.  It sets up how lonely Ben is at this stage despite the fact that he's allegedly "won" back his life.  It helps us understand his desperation when Janine appears in his apartment alive and later his willingness to leave behind his life in New York.

My biggest problem with the first two issues, though, is that we don't understand why Ben thought Janine was dead in the first place.  She arrives in New York after Kaine, posing as Ben, sent her a letter (and Ben's apartment keys) in which "Ben" asks her to return to him in New York.  In issue #1 she seems surprised that Ben thought that she was dead, even though she clearly knew that he did after some incident in Santa Cruz.  (Re-reading that sentences made my head hurt.)  After we eventually find out what happened in Santa Cruz in issue #3, her confusion in this issue makes even less sense.  I don't think DMatteis even explains how Janine thought that "Ben" (i.e., Kaine) eventually found her.

At any rate, issue #1 ends with Kaine attacking Ben and seemingly killing Janine, which sets Ben on a rampage against the cops investigating the disturbance that Ben and Kaine's fight caused.  Eventually, Ben realizes that it was a trick; Ben found Janine's "body" in a room full of mannequins and, in his grief, confused the mannequin that Kaine dressed as Janine with Janine herself.  The only reason that I'll give this ridiculousness a pass is that we know Kaine is intentionally fucking with Ben.  As Ben realizes that he's grief-spooning a mannequin, he discovers a message from Kaine to meet him "at the womb," so Ben heads to Jackal's laboratory, where Kaine is holding the non-mannequin Janine.

Issue #2 devolves into both Ben and Kaine engaging in bad psychoanalysis as they struggle with the fact that they're both surprised that their instincts are to help each other.  Kaine is surprised at the guilt that he feels for torturing Ben, and, at some point, you start to wonder why he just doesn't stop.  For example, Kaine injects Ben with some sort of formula that makes Ben feel the pain that he feels every day and then takes him to Aunt May's house to torment him further.  But, once there, the room's mementos of Aunt May and Uncle Ben make Kaine realize how much Jackal took from Ben when he sent him on the road.  Instead of deciding that their shared pain bonds them, though, Kaine knocks Ben unconscious, delivers him the antidote, and leaves him and Janine in Ben's apartment.  (You have to wonder why this antidote doesn't work on Kaine if it worked on Ben...)  

But, Ben and Janine's happy reunion is interrupted when the cops arrive to arrest Janine, possibly because they recognized her at the start of the issue, which seems a stretch.  ("Hey, that mannequin looks like an escaped murderer from Salt Lake City...")  Issue #3 starts with a disguised Ben kidnapping Janine from the police van returning her to jail from her arraignment.  Ben threatens to kill Janine in front of the cops and other convicts to make it look like Janine was kidnapped, not rescued.  With Janine's presumed death, Ben figures that they can now easily go on the run.  

Before they leave New York, they go to a diner (which seems a profoundly bad idea for two people on the run) to make plans.  There, Janine confesses that Kaine came to her in Santa Cruz while Ben was at work and made her fake her own death in exchange for promising that he'd leave Ben alone.  She's ecstatic when Ben forgives her, but Kaine arrives and, in his ensuing fight with Ben, the diner explodes.

It turns out Kaine planted a bomb in the diner.  After saving the innocent customers, Kaine returns to the diner to die with Ben and Janine.  But, they both beg him to save the other one, and their love for each other finally (finally!) moves Kaine.  He rescues them and asks them to live a happy life together...and to kill him.  Ben refuses, telling him that he has to hold him for the cops to arrest him.  

The cops arrive (you know, given the explosion), and one of the cops recognizes Kaine from the "Parker trial," where Ben/Peter was tried for Louise's murder in "Spider-Man:  The Lost Years" #3.  I had to do some Googling because I forgot the details, but Kaine appears at the trial in "Spectacular Spider-Man" #226 and tells the court that his hatred of Peter led him to have his fingerprints altered to implicate him in murders.

Furious at Ben for not killing him, Kaine grabs a cop in the hope of committing suicide-by-cop.  But, Ben refuses to let Kaine die and saves him.  Inspired by Ben insisting that the truth will set Kaine free, both Janine and Kaine decide to surrender so that they can be charged with their crimes.

Final Thoughts:  I'm honestly stunned that we haven't seen Janine since "Spider-Man:  Resurrection" #4.  On some level, it makes sense since Ben dies in "Spider-Man" #75, which Marvel published the same day as "Spider-Man:  Resurrection" #4.  As such, Ben wasn't there to free or visit her.  But, I don't recall Ben ever mentioning Janine in "Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider."  I guess that it isn't too much of a surprise, given that he was insane during that period of time.  But, reading these issues, I'm really thrilled that they've now been reunited because they're a great couple.  I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Seven-Month-Old Comics: The Superhero September 22 and 29 (2021) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Guardians of the Galaxy #18 (September 22):  This issues goes pretty much as I expected, as we knew that Doom was going to get something from his involvement with the Guardians. 

Using Drax, Groot, Moondragon, and Star-Lord as the other points of the pentragram, Doom casts a spell to drain Dormammu of his powers.  He then uses part of this drained power to send the Guardians across the galaxy, to where Gamora, Nova, and Rocket are waiting with the gun that Cable helped Rocket build in "Cable:  Reloaded" #1.  With Peter powering the bullet, Gamora firing it, and Nova providing some extra oomph, it shatters Ego.  Dormammu is forcibly expelled to the Dark Dimension, and Ego is now an asteroid belt around Spartax.  Hurrah!

The only remaining question is what scheme Doom planned.  Of course, he kept the rest of Dormammu's power.  It turns out he was in cahoots with Sister Talionis this entire time.  As his Doombots have conquered Chitauri Prime, he gives it to her, from where she plans to launch her revolt against Hulkling.  Of course, Doom thinks that he's outsmarted everyone, but Rocket knows that Doom pulled some sort of fast one here so he's on the case.

The best part of the issue is Gamora, Pete, and Rich's interactions.  Before they shoot the bullet, Pete tells Gamora that he loves Rich, too, and Gamora says that she knows, that they'll always be family.  Rich then tells them that he loves them, too.  It's lovely.  Later, at Gosnell's, Rich confesses that peace means that he can actually do what he wants, that he doesn't have to feel so alone.  Storm then welcomes everyone to Arakko after Marvel Boy suggests that it's a good place for Rich to go have some fun.  As Gamora says, Rich may be a pessimist, but I'm thrilled that he has a chance just to be.

I'm sad that Marvel ended this title, but I'm sure we'll be seeing everyone again.  It was really a spectacular run, and I hope that it's Ewing who brings back the team soon!

X-Men #3 (September 22):  This issue is fun because the High Evolutionary's Evolutionary Guard hand the X-Men their asses.  

When the X-Men refuse the High Evolutionary's "gift" of a virus that'll sterilize humanity, he agrees to depart so long as he gets a drop of Synch's blood.  His interest in Synch makes it pretty clear that Duggan plans on making Synch and his seeming Omega-level powers a core part of the X-Men's story going forward.

I have to say that Duggan shows a real flair for writing Scott here.  I loved when Synch expressed concern that his decision to give the High Evolutionary his blood will haunt them, and Scott quipped, "First time with the High Evolutionary, huh?"  (He assures Synch that he made the right decision, because he saved as many lives as possible, particularly because every fight with the High Evolutionary ends this way.)  But, I really loved him telling the Evolutionary Guard member chocking him that it was his lucky day that the High Evolutionary stopped the fight because he had them right where he wanted them.  I mentioned the choking, right?  It wasn't just funny; it also underlined the X-Men definitely weren't going to win.  

As the dust settles, Jean and Scott decide to split the team after the High Evolutionary gives Jean more information on Gameworld, so I'm excited to see how Jean's team does in space.  But, it isn't like Scott is going to have an easy road.  First, Dr. Stasis gives Ben Ulrich the information that he needs (in the form of Scott's autopsy report) to write about mutant resurrection.  Second, Gyrich is working with Feilong, who wants a seat at Orchis' table in exchange for his plan - which has something to do with still colonizing Mars - succeeding.

No one said it was going to be easy, Scott.

Amazing Spider-Man #74 (September 29):  In terms of the positive developments during Spencer's run, I think that we have to give him credit for undoing "Sins Past" and most of "one More Day."  I thought that he'd undo all of "One More Day," with MJ and Peter remembering their deal with Mephisto.  In the end, he made it clear that he didn't need to do that.  As the kiss on top of the skyscraper shows us, they found their way back to each other.  It's even more profound than another snap of Mephisto's fingers.

But, I can't ignore Kindred.  

It turns out Kindred was Gabriel and Sarah, not Harry and Sarah.  Mephisto was the one who kept resurrecting them, though I'll admit that I'm not totally sure why he did so, other than possibly that he enjoyed them torturing Peter.  When MJ saves Peter from the rubble under which Kindred(s) buried him, Dr. Strange wins his bet with Mephisto.  As a result, Gabriel and Sarah die since their service as Mephisto's pawns was over.  

I'll admit this part doesn't make sense to me.  Mephisto was using them before the bet, if I've been following this story correctly, so I don't understand why he'd give up such useful tools simply because he lost the bet.  To be honest, I was hoping that he'd just free them from his service.  After all the trauma, they deserved to live a life on their own terms.  Either way, though, I don't get why their fates were tied to the bet.

I also can't ignore Harry.  Spencer confirms that he was a clone; when he died in "Spectacular Spider-Man" #200, he really died.  Harry went straight to Hell for his "Lifetheft" and "Sins Past" machinations (which Mephisto hilarious said were low, even for him.  There, Mephisto tells him that he's always been collateral damage in a larger game.  

This part also doesn't make sense to me.  For example, who activated Harry's clone?  I'm assuming that Mephisto did, but I don't really get why he wouldn't just resurrect him; clones aren't really Mephisto's deal.  I've read online that people thought that it was the Harry AI, which makes sense.  But, I re-read this issue and issue #73, and Spencer doesn't actually say that.  

All that said, I was surprised that Spencer killed Harry and left Norman alive, though I guess Peter needs some trauma in his life.  Notably, Mephisto honors his deal with Dr. Strange:  although I thought that he'd reveal his meddling in MJ and Peter's relationship, he releases Harry's soul.  It isn't a happy ending, but it's better than Harry soul's status quo was.

I'm less clear on where the Ben Reilly story is going.  I know of Janine only because I read the "Life of Reilly" blog; I never read "Spider-Man:  The Lost Years."  It seems a lot to ask of us to be emotionally invested in a character who appeared in two four-issue limited series over 15 years ago.  Moreover, it seems to ignore everything Ben Reilly has been through these last few years.  Some of it I don't mind:  I really disliked "The Clone Conspiracy" turning him into a villain without little explanation, and the series that followed it did little to undo that characterization.  But, I read "Free Comic Book Day 2021:  Spider-Man/Venom," and it didn't shed any light on how we went from Ben crying in an alley at the end of "Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider" #25 to (blond) Ben freeing the love of his life from prison here.

At any rate, it is what it is.  Kindred(s) is finally behind us, and I'm excited to turn this page.

Darkhawk #2 (September 29):  Man, Higgins really summons the angst and tension of the original "Darkhawk" series here.  Then, Chris Powell was trying to fight crime and support his family after finding out that his dad was (supposedly) a crooked cop.  Now, Connor Young reveals his secret identity to Derek after he realizes that Derek was one of the thieves.  

It all happens after Connor turns into Darkhawk to save Derek after he goes after some guys who stole the shoes that they just bought.  Higgins really ups the ante, though.  Connor doesn't just reveal his identity to Derek:  Derek sucker punches him with a bomb after revealing that he needs to steal the armor for Shawn.  Of course, when he later tells Shawn that he couldn't do it, Mr. Colt shoots him.  Is he dead?  Or is someone else under the grave next issue?  We'll see!  

Meanwhile, Higgins does a great job of reminding us how few options Derek had in Woodlawn.  As he explains to Connor, at some point he realized that he should simply rob the stores rather than work in them for the rest of his life for minimum wage.  I'm not sure that plan is going to work out so well for Derek, but I get the sentiment.

Inferno #1 (September 29):  Hickman has mostly focused on external threats so far but switches to internal ones here, much to my delight.

Staying on the external threats for a minute, though, Director Devo and Dr. Gregor review Krakoa's various attempts to take out Nimrod.  Devo expresses his surprise that the mutants haven't evolved and successfully taken out Nimrod.  Gregor suggests that they must not remember the attacks, which we know isn't true.  But, Omega Sentinel notes that someone remembers, which is why they keep trying.

Here, we segue to Moira's third life, as she and her colleagues have successfully developed a cure for mutants.  The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attacks, killing Moira's colleagues.  Destiny and Moira then have the conversation that cues this event's premise, namely Destiny demanding that Moira spend her next life trying to help mutantkind instead of destroying it.  It's also the conversation where Moira learns that she has ten or eleven lives depending if she makes the "right choice" at the end.

In the present, Moira is visiting sites important to her and returns to her No-Place to find Charles and Magneto waiting for her.  We learn that they've ignored her previous advice, though it isn't particularly clear what she told them to do.  At any rate, they acknowledge that their repeated attempts to take out Nimrod have failed and basically admit that their way isn't working.  Moira notes that only two real threats exist:  Nimrod and Destiny.  She stresses that they have time to address the Nimrod situation but must take Destiny off the board immediately.  Moira suggests that they take away Mystique's leadership role and destroy all samples of Destiny's DNA.

When Scott resigns as Captain Commander due to his X-Men role and the captains promote Bishop in his place, Charles and Erik use this moment to suggest that anyone who wants to retire from the Quiet Council should do so.  It doesn't go according to plan:  instead of Mystique retiring, she introduces a resurrected Destiny to take Apocalypse's place.

All in all, I'm pretty thrilled with this issue.  Hickman has a number of plots moving here that could go in all sorts of ways. 

For example, it feels like Moira wants Destiny removed because she plans on betraying mutantkind and doesn't want Destiny to know that.  It seems related to her potentially 11th resurrection:  if she removes Destiny's DNA in this life, does it mean Destiny is gone in her 11th, allowing her to destroy mutantkind more easily?  Also, it appears that Mystique has somehow gotten around the Resurrection Protocols, which raises all sorts of issues going forward.

Moreover, Charles and Erik each clearly have their own agendas, and their difficult relationship with Moira implies to me that Nimrod isn't their own frustration.  (It does explain that they're not just being assholes in refusing to resurrect Destiny.  I wonder if they knew that Mystique would fail to take out Nimrod in "X-Men" #20 and thus could "promise" to resurrect Destiny.  If they didn't, I wonder how they would've done if she had succeeded)

In other words, all in all, I'm pretty stoked about this event.

Also Read:  Free Comic Book Day:  Spider Man/Venom (2021) #1 (August 14); The Last Annihilation:  Wakanda #1 (September 15); Marauders #24 (September 15); X-Men:  The Trial of Magneto #2 (TPB) (September 15); Moon Knight #3 (September 22); Winter Guard #2 (September 29)

Seven-Month-Old Comics: The Superhero September 1 and 8 (2021) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dark Ages #1 (September 1):  This issue is pretty solid, to be honest.  I loved Taylor's work on "Earth 2," so I was happy to see that he was the one penning this "What If...?" story.  This series picks up a popular science-fiction theme over the past few years, namely what happens if Earth lost electricity.  

In this version of Earth, it all begins at the start of the Universe, when its creator(s) also created the Unmaker to stop entropy and consume black holes.  Eventually, this mission to police the new Universe corrupted him, and the Living Tribunal was forced to stop him.  Instead of destroying him, he buried the Unmaker's body in Earth's core just as the planet was forming.  (I'm not really sure what the Tribunal's long-term plan was there.)  

At any rate, he starts to awaken, shaking apart the Earth.  Dr. Strange and Sue Storm go to the center of the Earth, and Dr. Strange manages to open up a portal to a dimension where electricity doesn't exist before the Unmaker kills him.  Although Dr. Strange's plan worked, the anti-electricity field eventually grew to encompass all of Earth since he was unable to stop it.  To make matters worse, when the Unmaker awakened, he somehow connected with Apocalypse, and it seems that Apocalypse is ready to take advantage of Earth's weakness to do...something.  

Again, all in all, it's a pretty solid premise, and Taylor makes a good call using Peter as a narrator to keep it light when appropriate.

The Last Annihilation:  Wiccan & Hulkling #1 (September 1):  This issue is just lovely.  From start to finish, it's a testament to both characters as individuals and to both characters as a couple.  It walks us through their fears and insecurities, only for each one of them to move past them when they realize that they're never alone.  As they remind themselves and each other, it's what marriage means.  

But, their marriage goes a step farther.  Teddy had their wedding rings forged from the ruins of Captain Marvel's Nega-Bands, allowing Billy and Teddy to switch places and address threats more suitable to their power sets.  Teddy discovers that Billy reforged his sword using Dormammu's "Flames of Faltine," which he uses to disrupt Dormammu.  Meanwhile, Billy arrives on Throneworld II in time to redirect the energy that the Supreme Intelligence was using to destroy the planet to take out the Mindless One fleet.  

Along the way, Oliveira reminds us of how they first found one another, using the concept of quantum entanglement as a metaphor for whom they are now.  Once linked, they remain linked.  It's hard to write about love, but Oliverira does it well.  The art team helps him enormously as they somehow manage to show how much these two boys love one another.  It just so happens to be a love that'll save the galaxy.

New Mutants #21 (September 1):  OK, now we're getting somewhere.  

Although it's still pretty unclear the extent to which the Shadow King is manipulating the Lost Club, it's exceedingly clear that he manipulated Rahne, given that it seems like she killed Gabby.  The Five agreed to resurrect Gabby (and basically tell the Council to go fuck itself and its "no clones" policy), and she recounts her final moments to the Five, the Lost Club, and Rahne.  Rahne then tells Dani, Illyana, and Xi'an, and they're ready to beat down the Shadow King.  

This issue's second plot is a lot harder to follow.  Jimmy takes some of the other kids to the Moon for a little housekeeping around the Krakoa sphere, but it's hard to follow because we've never really met these kids before.  Given they're all wearing spacesuits, it's basically just a bunch of faceless mutants doing things.  

I'm fine with splitting the narrative between various groupings, but we need to spend more time getting to know the extended cast lest we spend every issue going, "Wait, who did what?"

Sinister War #4 (September 1):  The Sinister War ends in a fairly believable way.  Otto uses Black Ant's helmet to create a device that destroys the centipedes in everyone's heads, knocking out everyone.  He tells Peter that he didn't do it to save him but because Kindred reneged on their deal.  It's all very Otto.  Along the way, though, Boomerang sacrificed himself to save Spidey.  He had already risked his life last issue to help Peter flee, so his sacrifice here completes as much of a redemption arc as possible for Boomerang.  Now, all we have left is Peter taking on Kindred.  Did this event turn out better than I thought?  Definitely.  Am I ready for the Kindred story to end?  OMFG, yes.

Amazing Spider-Man #73 (September 8):  Oh, God, make it end, please, please, please, make it end.  Am I thrilled that Spencer undoes "Sins Past?"  OMG, yes!  I'm beyond thrilled.  It never made sense.  

Spencer even does it well:  Harry used Mysterio acting as Mary Jane's therapist to plant the conversation where Gwen "admitted" to Mary Jane that she and Norman had children.  In the end, the Harry AI tells Norman that Gabriel and Sarah were LMDs whom he created to torture Norman, his version of the trauma that Harry inflicted on Peter with Mary and Richard Parker.  

The unclear part is that Kindred seems to be both Harry and Sarah Osborn.  It seems like Harry kept resurrecting Gabriel and Sarah each time they suffered advanced aging syndrome, driving them insane in the same way that the Jackal eventually drove Ben insane.  But, Sarah keeps referring to this process as something that she, Sarah, did, when she couldn't possibly have been the one to do it?  I guess we'll finally, finally see.

Cable (2020) #7-#12

Cable #7-#9:  Ugh, clones.

Nathan and Rachel rescue five of the ten kidnapped babies.  Yay!  But, Nathan reads the cult leader's mind and discovers that he isn't really an Order of X fanatic:  he's working for Stryfe.  Stryfe orders the cult leader to bring five of the kidnapped babies to him because reasons.  When a frustrated Nathan returns home, Cyclops comforts him by recommending that he take off some time to wait for his luck to change.  Instead, Nathan realizes he can do something more actively on that front and recruits Domino!  

She takes them to Tokyo for gyoza, and it turns out the cult leader is there!  Oh, Domino.  Of course, the cult leader had killed himself in his previous fight with Nathan, so Nathan realizes that he's actually a clone.  Nathan chases the cult leader into his secret laboratory where he unleashes twelve Nathan clones.  Hilarity ensues.  Domino and Nathan eventually take out all the clones and learn that Stryfe intended to replace Nathan with one of his clones because reasons.  Duggan and Noto really use the great imagery that Tokyo offers to the max throughout this sequence, like when Domino and Nathan run through its puddle-ridden alleys (paging "Blade Runner").

Worried about Stryfe's plans, Nathan tries to recruit help.  My favorite sequence in this series so far is Nathan posing as a waiter to approach Wolverine.  Logan is engaged in some sort of typical-for-Wolverine plot that Duggan never clarifies, itself a hilarious twist.  Eventually Wolverine tells Nathan that you bring in Wolverine when it's time to throw hands not when you're investigating.  When Magik can't even get N'astirh to help him, Nathan starts to get desperate and tells Hope that he's considering bringing back "the other guy" to face Stryfe.

All that said, I have no idea what Stryfe's actual status is.  I know Cable killed a Stryfe in "X-Force" #18 and various Stryfes have popped up a few times since then.  At several points, Nathan refers to Cable killing Stryfe (I assume in "X-Force" #18) and himself "mindwiping" Stryfe, which I think happened before he returned to the past to kill Cable.  But, I don't have a consistent read on Stryfe's various time movements, though I'm not sure that anyone does.

Cable #10-#12:  Nathan's interactions with Emma have been some of my favorite ones of this series.  Issue #10 gives us one of the best ones.  Emma discovers Nathan ready to assault Professor X's home so he can steal Cerebro and bring back Cable.  When Nathan explains to Emma that Stryfe has returned, she notes that it's after 5:00 pm and pulls out a flask.  Man, I love her.  

Nathan laments what Apocalypse has done to him in creating Stryfe, and Emma notes that Apocalypse did what he did for the same reason that he does anything:  to make him fit.  Emma suggests that he talks to his farther.  They do, in a typical Summers way:  fighting two Arakkii who got stroppy in a London bar.  Scott is less than thrilled at the idea of Nathan "returning to some dystopia that won't exist if you stay here and make sure it doesn't."

Later, the Five consider resurrecting Cable, and Professor X (one of the "helmet bros," as Nathan calls them) arrives telling them that they have Council approval to do so.  Meanwhile, Jean throws in her lot with Nathan, agreeing that the Summers' fight against Stryfe is a forever war and that they need to fight it together.  

The Five resurrect Cable who takes Nathan to Graymalkin II.  Cable says that he's glad that Nathan has grown up a bit and realizes that this "protector of the timeline" business is bullshit, since he never met a timeline that he didn't alter for his benefit.  While Nathan puts together a Summers-heavy posse, Cable has Magik take them to where Stryfe is after Belle locates him.

I loved Magik's glee over discovering Stryfe intends to launch a demonic invasion of Earth using the babies from a Limbo-like dimension.  (We learn that he only needed five of the kidnapped babies because he cloned them figuring it should work.)  Other excellent moments from issue #11 includes Esme informing Nathan that the Five in One were ending their relationship, Nathan convincing Esme to fight Stryfe by his side (so much kissing), and Jean cutting off the flow of blood to Deadpool's brain when her telepathy doesn't manage to silence him.

After all that, the series ends as expected:  Cable, Nathan, Deadpool, Esme, and the Summers prevent Stryfe from sacrificing the babies.  At one point, Esme reads Stryfe's mind and admits to Cable that she gets why he has to do what he has to do but why she hates for him that he does.  She also admits that Nathan was initially a mission:  Cyclops and Marvel Girl thought that he was too good to be true and wanted the girls to confirm that he wasn't Stryfe.  But, Esme realized that he was just a dumb boy and liked that.  

After they return home, Nathan says his good-byes.  I'll be honest that I'm not sure why Nathan has to say good-bye.  After all, it seems like Cable is going to stay in our present, which honestly makes less sense if you're worried about disrupting the time stream.  Wouldn't you want the one with the least amount of knowledge to stay?  Also, you could make a compelling argument that, if Nathan needed more training in war (the argument used here for sending him back to the future), he would benefit more from learning as one of Krakoa's warriors than as an untested leader on the future's battle fields.  It gives him a lot more of a margin of error, instead of just devaluing the lives of the soldiers that he's going to lead in the future.

At any rate, Scott tells Nathan how proud he is of him at any age.  That said, I'm surprised how easily Scott agrees to this plan, after collapsing to his knees with worry that he was going to lose him again in issue #6 during "X of Swords" and forbidding him returning to the future in issue #10.  But, it is what it is.  Nate returns to Cable on Graymalkin II.  Cable upgrades his arm, and Nathan wants him to answer all his questions about the future.  The farthest that Cable will go is confirming that the Krakoan age changed everything for the better.  But, Nate now has to fight for the good outcomes that he wants.  Later, an older Esme wishes Cable luck in dying, as we see her enter the scene from issue #4 where Cable alters his arm for Nathan.

Final Thoughts:  In other words, the worst part of this series is that the time-travel stuff, as always, makes no sense.  On the plus side, Duggan makes Cable a little more coherent as a character, reemphasizing that both Cable's mission is fighting all the various Stryfes throughout time.  Nathan allegedly had to return to the future because it needs to be a two-front war.  On the negative side, this argument doesn't make a ton of sense to me because it isn't like only two Cables exist:  a Cable exists every minute he's alive.  Aren't they all fighting that war?  Also, Cable and Esme seem to be the same age, so either Esme goes to the future with Nathan at some point or Cable returns to Earth later than we currently are in the story?  Ugh.  Time travel.

All that said, this series is one of the highlights of "Dawn/Reign of X."  I'd recommend it to anyone who just wants to enjoy a good X-Men story.  Although the last issue drops the ball in terms of characterization and plot, it doesn't undermine the fact that both those aspects of Duggan's writing were strong throughout the rest of the run.  I honestly would rather read a Kid Cable series set in the future than an Adult Cable one now, but we'll see where Marvel goes.