New-ish Comics: The May 30 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #800:  This issue is great.  Really.  The story is actually 80 pages, which makes it feel less like the money grab it still obviously is.  (Seriously, Marvel, stop with the $9.99 issues.)

I wasn't sure how Slott was going to pull off an 80-page story, but he really nails it.  The story doesn't drag, and the resolution feels hard won.  Each step that brought us closer and closer to the resolution felt well supported by the steps preceding it.  Slott accomplishes this feat (rare for him lately) by keeping everything grounded in characterization:  Flash sacrifices himself to allow Peter to keep the powers he needs to take on Norman, Peter uses his brains and not brawn to defeat Norman, Norman's ego undoes him, etc.  We even have Aunt May implying she knows Peter is Spider-Man and telling him she's proud of "Spider-Man" for saving so many people, herself included, over the years.  Peter’s speeches to Flash and Jonah carry the weight of almost 60 years, and Slott made us feel that weight in a good way.

I’m not saying it’s a perfect issue.  After all, JJJ, Jr.’s decision to shoot Norman feels like an afterthought, when it's really a huge deal.  First, Immonen (unusually for him) screwed up the positioning, as Peter takes the shot to his shoulder well above Norman’s head.  Given JJJ, Jr.s was firing nowhere near Norman's body, it actually reads more like he was firing a warning shot.  But, we can tell from the narrative he wasn't, and Slott really never addresses the idea JJJ, Jr. is willing to murder Norman.  Compounding matters, Peter just categorically forgives JJJ, Jr., an example of moral relativism that we don’t often see from a guy committed to making sure no one dies.  Sure, he let Clash off the hook for stealing, but it was because he was playing Robin Hood; attempted murder is something else entirely.  I get where Slott was going with the idea of Peter forgiving Jonah, as it's part of Peter pledging to Flash he'll stop engaging in his own form of bullying.  But, I still don't understand what Peter meant by that.  His wisecracks?  It's a pretty big leap to go from taking responsibility for making fun of criminals to condoning attempted murder.  Moreover, Slott is writing a check here he’s not going to cash; I’m not sure I understand how a more serious Peter (if a non-joking Peter is what Slott is setting up here) will play.

As I've said previously, I loved Dan Slott at the start of his run.  "Big Time," "Spider-Island," and "Ends of the Earth" were great Spider-Man stories:  they were ambitious, fun, and innovative.  They showcased the best and worst of Peter Parker, from the extended supporting cast that makes him who he is to the nagging self-doubt that threatens constantly to undermine him.  Then, "Superior Spider-Man" happened.  At this point, the wheels went off the bus.  Slott and his editor, Stephen Wacker, presaged the Trump era by dismissing anyone expressing confusion or disappointment with the poorly structured story as an enemy.  Slott's then seemingly lost his ability to tell large-scale stories as both "Spider-Verse" and "Dead No More:  The Clone Conspiracy" were complicated, sprawling, and tedious.  Then, Peter essentially became Tony Stark; it's no irony Slott is going to write him next.  You could've replaced Iron Man for Spider-Man for the entirety of "Amazing Spider-Man" volume 4 and likely not have noticed a difference.  At this point, it was increasingly clear it was time for Slott to go.

Slott wraps up his time next issue, and we'll see how that goes.  At this point, I'm glad "Go Down Swinging" brought back some of that magic "Big Time" had.  We could all use a little magic right now.

Daredevil #603:  I’ll admit this story is starting to feel too long, as if Soule is going to drag out this night for several years of stories.  I mean, Henderson’s art is great here, so I’m not exactly complaining.  But, the Hand’s ninjas retreating from the streets of New York so the Beast could unleash a toxic cloud on the city felt like an excessive escalation of the assault.  Wasn't a plague of ninjas enough?  Moreover, Matt seems completely incapable of doing anything believable in terms of fighting off the Hand’s superior force; releasing Black Cat, Diamondback, Hammerhead, and Owl doesn’t do much to stop a toxic cloud.  You’d figure Murdoch would’ve put someone (Dr. Strange?) in charge of finding a way to stop the Beast.  Moreover, it’s hard to believe this assault is just because Blindspot refused to kill Muse as part of his deal with the Beast.  It seems completely disproportionate.  It makes more sense for the Beast to get revenge on Matt by making him mayor and thus making him responsible as the Hand destroys his beloved city around him.  If the Beast is willing to destroy New York because of a teenager's broken promise, it makes you wonder why he hasn't already done so.  Someone somewhere had to disappoint him previously.  It’s all serves as a distraction from the great story about the Kingpin’s reign as mayor, making you wonder if Soule wouldn’t have been better off sequencing the stories rather than telling them overlappingly.  I know that’s how "real" life happens; “Batman” arcs are always at their best when he’s juggling multiple enemies a the same time.  But, again, it feels like Matt is going up against nuclear weapons with flint knives here.

Infinity Countdown:  Captain Marvel #1:  This issue is fine in terms of scripting (if a little too rah-rah), but it makes no sense in terms of the plot:  Carol’s consultations with the other Captain Marvels helps her learn how to defeat Blastaar in a less destructive way than she originally did, but she concludes her gut is a better guide (even though it, by definition, wasn’t).  It's not terrible, but it definitely feels like a cross-over event tie-in issue.

Marvel 2-in-One #6:  This issue somehow manages to wrap up this story quickly, without skimping on the emotions.  A freed Johnny Storm uses the Power Cosmic to sate Galact-a-Doom’s hunger in time for Emma to transfer her mind into his body.  Using a Trojan Horse code Reed wrote, she turns herself into a creator instead of a destroyer.  (You have to wonder why Reed didn't turn him into a creator the first time he appeared at Earth, but it is what it is.)  Johnny then uses the remaining part of his Power Cosmic to empower Norrin to follow Emma into the stars to recreate the Universe.  But, the best moments are saved for the team, as our Johnny encourages our Victor to trust him (and not prevent Emma from taking over Galactus) because it's what made the Fantastic Four great.  Then their Reed tells our Ben he knows his Reed and Sue are dead.  Overall, it makes for an unusually sad issue (particularly when we learn Galen died of madness, knowing full well what he did as Galactus).  Although Ben and Johnny might have helped recreate this world, as far as Ben knows, his universe doesn’t give him that same hope.

Spider-Gwen #32:  Gwen wraps up some loose ends here before Captain DeWolff arrests her.  She reunites with the Mary Janes, and Reed records their band practice as the source for a device whose sounds incapacitates Matt Murdoch.  It allows Gwen to swipe the Web-Watch and leave Murdoch for the Hand, whose leadership has declared war on him for his incompetence.  It’s hard to count out Murdoch, though; his pledge to get revenge on Gwen feels real.  Meanwhile, Gwen assures the Mary Janes that she knows what she’s doing.  Her father believed in honesty, but Gwen realized “honesty” was about emotions; George was trying to get the people of New York to see Spider-Gwen through his eyes, essentially asking them to trust him.  To Gwen’s mind, the truth (not "honesty") allows the people of New York to draw their own conclusions about her.  It’s a compelling case, though we’ll see if Gwen can live with the consequences.  In another note, Gwen seems to tell Murdoch the device doesn’t hurt her because it’s the voices of the people she loves, implying she’s found a balance with the symbiote.  (I'm not sure I'm buying that, but I think it's what Latour is arguing.)  In fact, she implies Murdoch believed the symbiote feared sonics because he feared sonics.  It’s a bit of a stretch but I get where Latour is going with it.  It goes to the idea of Gwen as a fully integrated person, not just the sum of all her various personas.  We'll see what happens next issue.

X-Men:  Blue #28:  It was always clear Alex was going to be cured, both body and soul, and Bunn takes care of that pretty effectively here, as Havok, Bastion, and Miss Sinister are defeated on several fronts.

First, Magneto calls Elixir and Exodus from the past (or future) to stop the spread of Mothervine:  Exodus uses his powers to teleport them from infection site to infection site while Elixir cures everyone who didn’t actually have the mutant gene to start.  Meanwhile, Emma is appalled as Miss Sinister tortures Jimmy and Bloodstorm, mostly because she doesn’t like the idea of mutants being manipulated.  (Sinister also confirms the mutants of Jimmy’s world were manufactured, and he carried the code — Mothervine — in his DNA.  I'm not sure if we knew that previously, but there you go.)  Emma turns against her, taking control of Mach-2 and using her magnetism to free Jimmy so he can slice Miss Sinister into ribbons.  With Emma’s control lifted and Sinister’s presence gone, Lorna, Daken, Gazing Nightshade, and Xorn are free.  They join forces with Emma, Bloodstorm, and Jimmy to take down Havok and the remnants of his Brotherhood (Bastion, Toad, and that white-haired guy, as far as I can tell.  Bastion tries to assert control, but Xorn releases his singularity, seemingly destroying himself and Bastion in the process.

All that’s left is for Alex to be saved.  Bunn does his best here to make it clear why it was only now that the specific confluence of factors necessary to heal him were presented.  Emma uses Lorna’s memories of Alex to punch through his defenses and invert him, lamenting the loss of his potential as a bad guy, and Elixir uses his powers to heal his face.  Alex is shaken from the experience, feeling as if part of his soul has been ripped from him.  If Bunn stumbles at all through this issue, it’s in Emma’s decision to become an unrestricted good guy.  I get why she turns against Miss Sinister, but it’s less clear why she finally decides to heal Alex.  Even if Lorna’s memories of (i.e., love for) Alex served as the necessary Trojan Horse to cure him, Bunn doesn’t tell us why Emma would actually turn the switch.  As she herself says, he would've been a powerful ally.  But, Bunn does a solid job with healing Alex’s scar. I never bought into the idea that Alex’s skin was somehow destroyed on a molecular level, as it really made no sense.  (We can resurrect people from the dead, but we can't fix Alex's scar?)  As such, Elixir healing him here felt like a logical fix to a problem that should’ve been solved a long time ago.

At any rate, I’m just glad to have Alex back.  “AXIS” was a pretty terrible event, and it made little sense to sandbag such a great character — particularly given what Remender did with him in “Uncanny Avengers” before “AXIS” — with that legacy.  (Plus, I’m not going to object to his handsome face returning.)  Now, I’m just exited to see Emma and a furious Magneto go to war.

Also Read:  Ms. Marvel #30; Pathfinder:  Spiral of Bones #3; Star Wars:  Lando - Double or Nothing #1; X-Men:  Red Annual #1

New-ish Comics: The May 16 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers #2:  First things first, I have to go on record as opposing the apparent reversion of Loki to his eviler incarnation.  Kieron Gillen (in "Young Avengers") and Al Ewing (in "Loki:  Agent of Asgard") did such amazing work on his character, evolving him from the God of Lies to the God of Stories, that I can't accept any story that undoes that.  Aaron had been seemingly undermining that story in "The Mighty Thor" with Loki stabbing Freya, but the revelation that he did it to save her life helped keep hope alive.  But, Aaron almost rules out that possibility entirely here, as Loki is revealed to be conspiring with the Final Host, seemingly to "cure" humanity of its heroes.  Loki implies heroes were created through a mistake the Celestials made a million year ago, presumably during their battle with the prehistoric Avengers.  I get the homage to Loki originally bringing together the Avengers, but I draw the line at any conclusion to this story that doesn't reveal a more nuanced approach to Loki than we're seeing now.  That being said, I'm still enjoying the story.  The banter between Cap, Carol, Thor, and Tony is great, though Aaron leans a little too heavily on exposition when it comes to the new Ghost Rider.  But, hopefully Aaron's conveyed everything he needed to convey with this monologuing and Robbie will join the banterers' ranks soon.

Batman #47:  So.  Goddamn.  Awful.

Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #18:  I haven't been too thrilled with this series lately, but this issue is solid.  Mysterio's daughter Misty plots to make Cassandra's casino disappear so she can get her hands on an artifact she believes is located below it, an artifact that her father Mysterio doesn't think actually exists.  Dusk has been tailing Misty (as we've previously seen), so when Ben becomes suspicious about Misty's intentions she and Ben join forces.  (Cassandra's henchman, Slate, is also concerned, but Cassandra insists it's just like David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear.)  Ben and Dusk watch the festivities from the outside while Ben has Kaine stashed on the inside watching Cassandra and Slate.  Cassandra is surprised when the casino actually disappears and they suddenly face an alien landscape filled with Mindless Ones.  Meanwhile, Ben and Dusk hightail it after Misty and Mysterio, and suddenly this series is a lot more interesting.

Captain America #702:  I want to be as gentle here as I can be, because I know this series means a lot to Mark Waid.  But, I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with this story.  Jack successfully flees to a safehouse that this reality's historians maintain; it conveniently isn't on the government's radar.  The safehouse also conveniently has house rules that nothing discussed within its walls can be discussed outside them.  Jack tells his story to a colleague, but she thinks this Kree "conspiracy theory" is insane.  An oldster named "Old Vic" (I'm guessing the Vision, given his reference to wearing many faces) conveniently (notice a theme?) uses a special monocle to show Jack that Cap and the Red Skull have been locked in battle inside the Cosmic Cube below Washington for decades.  The government raids the safehouse (likely because they followed Jack there).  Despite no real physical training, Jack manages to make his way through the ruins of Washington because the monocle conveniently (OK, I'll stop now) shows him exactly where the Cube is located.  Jack discovers Cap's shield conven...lying nearby, so he smashes the Cube with the shield, but only the Skull emerges.  Uh-oh?  I guess?  Clearly, the string of coincidences is too strong here to feel like we're reading a naturally evolving story.  Instead, Waid is doing the same thing he did last arc, manipulating events to show exactly the impression of Captain America he wants us to have.  But, the coincidences starts to lead you to believe Steve Rogers isn't really all that brave:  he's just been lucky.  I don't think that's the conclusion Waid wants us to draw, but I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to conclude here.

Daredevil #602:  The story continues to move along smoothly, as Matt declares a state of emergency to shut down the buses, schools, and subways in an attempt to keep New Yorkers off the streets.  He also brings in Foggy as his chief of staff so he can go hero.  Foggy notes the city needs him more as the Mayor than as a hero, as plenty of other heroes -- Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Misty Knight, etc. -- are on the case.  Matt wavers briefly, but when he learns One Police Plaza is under assault he and Blindspot hit the bricks.  Soule and Henderson do a great job with the action sequences here.  First, the guys have to rescue two cops who were late to the building so didn't get trapped inside it when the Hand swarmed it.  Then, they have to make their way through a kill zone the Hand established outside the building, forcing them to ignore the wounded officers on the ground begging for help.  (Blindspot gets hit when he's distracted by one officer's appeal.)  But, when they finally claw their way into the building, the Hand has somehow removed everyone -- by removing the center of the building.  Henderson is really on fire here.  Matt is all square jaws and determined glares; it's a good look for him.  Meanwhile, Soule really conveys the exhaustion everyone is starting to feel, particularly as they just dealt with the Kingpin imprisoning all the heroes.  I was wavering a bit on this series, but Soule focusing a little bit more and Henderson injecting a strong sense of energy into the story has helped establish a more stable equilibrium.

The Wild Storm #13:  This issue isn't bad, per se, but it isn't great given the unnecessary exposition Lynch and John employ to explain situations that we, the readers, already understand.  I wouldn't call it a miss, but it's probably the weakest installment of this outstanding series so far.

- Lynch tracks down Colonel Marc Slayton, the first volunteer for IO's experiment to embed into human beings the "viable, active genetic material" they found on alien beings in ancient burial sites around the world.  The Wild C.A.T.s' invasion of IO tripped the alarms Lynch set on the Thunderbook files, and he's there to warn Slayton someone may be coming after them.  (I'm pretty sure it was the Wild C.A.T.s who accessed these files, but Lynch thinks it's IO itself.)  However, Slayton has gone a little crazy after years of coexisting with an alien.  (We later learn he's been sacrificing people to send "many souls" to his alien's planet.)  Slayton claims he deserved to have been the only alien-human hybrid, and he's mad that Lynch made more.  Slatyon tells Lynch the aliens sense something different about him and then attacks, though Lynch manages to escape (as he always does, Slayton later laments to his alien reflection in the mirror).

- Miles orders King to task three C.A.T.s to destroy Skywatch's Ground Division in New York in retribution for Mitch's murder.  Similarly, Bendix orders his right-hand woman  (whose name I always forget) to develop plans to destroy some of IO's research facilities (a scaled-back version of the Science City Zero attack) or kill a lot of its people.  (He'll decide later.)  In the end, she complains Bendix and Craven are both too afraid of the big fight, which would expose them to humanity.  She proposes they engage in actions that "will radically destabilize life on Earth, break IO's control over the planet and make it impossible for any global order to replicate it."  Go big or go home, as she says.

- John records himself stripping off his human body and revealing his alien body, something he does once a year on the day he picked as his "birthday."  He sends the video to Jacob to taunt him, even speaking the name of their planet - Khera - despite Jacob banning its muttering.  John exposits he was just a solider, but Jacob ruining the Expedition and stranding them on Earth was the best thing that could've happened to him.

- Meanwhile, Jenny and the Doctor track down the Mayor (I think) and an alien appears to Voodoo while she sleeps and tells her to "dream of the world as it truly is."

In other words, we still have a lot brewing, over halfway through this series.  Even if this issue was a little slow, it's pretty clear this series is going to be pretty spectacular once this fight breaks into the open.

X-Men:  Red #4:  Taylor does a great job peeling back the onion slowly over the course of this issue.  Jean and the team eventually incapacitate Storm, and T'Challa scans her brain, revealing a nanite on her amygdala.  Jean uses Trinary's powers and T'Challa's knowledge of the brain to extract the nanite with her telekinesis, and Trinary's study of the still-active nanite reveals it's a sentinite.  Cassandra Nova (though they don't know it's her) is using them to turn everyone into a Sentinel, as the sentinites activate once they come in contact with a mutant.  Eventually, we learn Nova achieved this feat through bringing Forge under her control.  She then infects world leaders with the sentinites, ensuring the destruction of mutantkind.  However, Jean and her team have fled Wakanda for the more remote Atlantis, where a devilishly handsome Namor has provided them sanctuary.  Trinary and the Wakandans have whipped up some suits that can serve as a firewall for the sentinites, which cause mutants (as we see with Storm here) to attempt to commit suicide when they infect them.  (It unfortunately also means, in Gabby's words, Namor has to cover up "Abs-lantis.")  This story is brilliant mostly because it's ripped from the headlines:  it literally weaponizes the Russian misinformation campaign, as Trinary herself mentions here.  It's proving to be one of the smarter series on the shelves, and, with the excellent art team, is really starting to find its stride.

Also Read:  Bloodshot Salvation #9; Eternity #1-#4; Infinity Countdown:  Daredevil #1; Mighty Thor:  Gates of Valhalla #1

Not-So-New Comics: The March 28 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers #686:  The authors continue to split their (and our) focus on the Hulk and Voyager here as we get more insight into both characters.  Simon appeals to the Banner persona he believes to be buried somewhere in the Hulk, but we appear to be dealing with an entirely different Hulk here.  This Hulk seems to be intelligent in his own right as opposed to the times he was intelligent because Banner was at least partially controlling him.  The Hulk dismisses Simon as an egotistical Hollywood star who's only a pacifist because he's immune to injury.  The Hulk threatens to injure him (making him question his pacifism), and Simon seems poised to face a spiritual crisis when Rogue and her team arrive.  Simon still believes he can appeal to the Hulk, but Rogue touches the Hulk, trying to drain his power.  She somehow sees inside the Hulk to Bruce, who exhaustedly tells her it's a whole new ballgame.  Meanwhile, Voyager confesses she's the Gamemaster's daughter, but pledges her support to the Avengers after their heroism inspired her.  When Gamemaster pushes her to activate the Pyramoid, she refuses, and she confirms for everyone -- including the Challenger -- her father used her to cheat.  But, the Hulk destroys the final Pyramoid, resulting in a negative point for the Challenger (since he was his pawn) and awarding the game to the Gamemaster.  Under blistering allegations of cheating from the Challenger, the Gamemaster offers a rematch, but the Challenger appears to kill him instead.  That's one way to solve the problem.

Daredevil #600:  Ho boy.  Matt's hole-filled plan for using New York's street-level heroes to take on the Kingpin proves how off his game he is.  Matt reveals the Kingpin has invited a group of Mob bosses -- including Black Cat, Hammerhead, and the Owl -- to a restaurant to discuss mayoral appointments right before his planned rally that night.  Matt plans on eavesdropping on the conversation and then using that information to call in the cops.  (His plan is based on the Supreme Court case he won, which makes information superheroes obtain legally admissible.  I'll admit I'm not sure why Matt would think a jury wouldn't find some reasonable doubt when it came to him testifying against the Kingpin.  Like, can we not get a recording, just to be safe?)  However, the heroes are skeptical, reminding him he's now Public Enemy #1 so the cops might not be so game to act on his tip.  Daredevil swears he has it under control, and they all get in position.  Meanwhile, "the Beast" offers Blindspot the power he needs to overcome the Muse, but Blindspot draws the line at killing him.  The Muse is irate at this refusal, running into flames on his own.  (This part made no sense to me.  I get the Muse is cray-cray, but I don't get why him killing himself somehow furthers "art.")  The Beast then pledges revenge for Blindspot refusing to take the Muse's life (though, again, I'm not totally clear why).  At the restaurant, Matt's plan goes awry when it turns out the Kingpin never appears; as Cat perceptively notes, he instead assumed the bosses would eventually turn on each other in the face of such boredom, which they do.  The heroes enter the fracas to stop them from killing each other, meaning they're on hand as the cops, who Fisk sent to the restaurant, arrive.  It allows the Kingpin to throw everyone -- mobsters and heroes -- in jail.  Daredevil escapes and confronts the Kingpin on the roof of City Hall, and the Kingpin beats him with a hammer after forcing Daredevil to stop him from beating himself (since he could blame the beating on Matt).  He then has Daredevil arrested.  However, even the Kingpin can't control everything:  the Beast sends the Hand to assassinate him.  At the rally, he's riddled with arrows as they swarm Central Park, and Daredevil thinks it's because the Beast is seeking revenge on him.  (If he isn't and it's because he's seeking revenge on Blindspot for breaking their deal, I'm not sure what his plan is.  Why attack the Kingpin to get revenge on Blindspot?  Matt thinks he's going after New York because it means everything to Matt, but I'm not sure it means as much to Blindspot.  If he is getting revenge on Matt, it does make sense, though presumably we'll see some other form of revenge involving Blindspot, too.  So much revenge, so little time.)  The plot thickens when the guy who had been reading all the regulations and rules to Matt reveals to Wesley that the Public Advocate used to be next in the line of succession, but the former mayor changed it when he ran for the third time and Kingpin hadn't changed it back yet.  The guy tells Wesley Matt had this information, which means Daredevil knows he's become acting Mayor given the Kingpin's incapacitation.  However, I'm not sure if that figured into Matt's plan.  After all, I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting the Hand to incapacitate Kingpin while he was locked in a paddy wagon.  I guess we'll see.  (Also, I teared up a bit during the Foggy back-up story.)

Generation X #87:  I don't have too much to say here, other than the fact Strain does a great job maneuvering everyone into a solid place at the end.  Benjamin's love for Nathaniel is pure enough that it can survive (at least for now) his powers, and the X-Mansion seems like it now has two fewer virgins.  Quentin's powers are on the fritz, and he uses it as a justification for staying at the school.  Benji hugs him after his announcement, and it's a lovely moment, underscoring Jubilee's point that Quentin was more needed than he thought.  Quentin has always been a great character, and I'd love for someone to start teasing out his leadership potential, showing him a way to embrace the loneliness of leadership while getting past his ego to accept friendship (and love) when it's presented.  At the very least, he's gone a long way from Kid Omega.  Jubilee's resurrection doesn't feel forced, and Strain does a great job paying homage to this title by having Chamber, Husk, and Jubilee force Monet to remember who she is.  (To do so, they touch her, because Nathaniel purposefully "gave" her his powers, since he knew it meant they could use their links to her to overwhelm Emplate's link.)  Chamber gives Roxy a scarf as a sign of remembering who she is, and it's a really touching moment, the sort of non-romantic interaction we saw between Han Solo and Ubin in "Star Wars" #43.  In other words, all's well that ends well.  Like Grace on "Iceman," Strain clearly had other plans here, particularly when it came to often overlooked characters like Eye-Boy and Nature Girl.  I still find it hard to believe Marvel couldn't keep a teenage-focused mutant title running, but it is what it is, I guess.  All in all, Strain accomplished a lot in twelve issues, securing this next generation of X-Men in place after their absence since "Wolverine and the X-Men" ended.  I just wish it had been longer.

Moon Knight #193:  Although I like where Bemis takes us here, I found the fight with the Sun King concludes way too quickly.  Marc is pushed to the point where he thinks he’s going to die, and his personalities realize he has the “power of crazy,” i.e., the ability to make the truth irrelevant.  Motivated by Diatrice, Marc uses this power to beat the Sun King.  I get that part.  But, he really only gets in a few licks before he has the Sun King broken and recanting before him, claiming he now worships Marc.  At the end of last issue, Bemis seemed to be setting up Marc suffering a real crisis of faith, where he would have to reconcile his troubled relationship with Khonshu in the face of the Sun King's unwavering belief in Ra.  But, the personalities just basically have a chat, realize Diatrice is a good motivator for Marc, and send him into the ring to land a few punches.  It felt pretty anticlimactic.  That said, I like the idea of Marc taking over the Sun King's army as an advisor, teaching them how to "fight back against getting taking advantaged of like this again."  Every knight needs a few willing warriors, as he says.  We'll see how that plays.

Old Man Hawkeye #3:  Hawkeye arrives at Arcade's Murder World theme park at the start of this issue, and it's a pretty grim indictment of this reality (if you needed any more grim to make the point).  Hawkeye watches with profound dismay as some customers beat (possibly to death) the actor playing the "evil" Captain America, and it tells us everything we need to know about how Hawkeye feels about this brutal world.  But, he's there on a mission, and he achieves it:  he kills Atlas for siding with the villains.  As he makes his way to Atlas' tent, a seer -- whose identity isn't confirmed but almost seemed to be Rogue -- warns Hawkeye revenge isn't going to make him happy.  At the pivotal moment, Eric dares Hawkeye to kill him as memories of their time together as Thunderbolts race across Clint's mind.  Clint takes the shot, crying as he does so, proving the seer had a point.  Given the cover to next issue, he's going to move onto Beetle next, though Eric warned him Abner spends 18 hours a day making Doombots.  It was Eric's way of saying none of them benefited from this world.  But, Clint's got Bullseye and Venom-Madrox on his tail, so we'll see how that goes.

Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #302:  The thing I don't get here is that I'm pretty sure Dr. Doom said Peter and his crew can't change the past, so I'm not really sure what the stakes are.  Right now, the Peters exposing Norman's identity to the world has led to JJJ, Jr.'s death (possibly) and Norman learning Peter's identity.  It's obviously a pretty significant set of developments, so does it create a new reality?  Are we now on Earth-x or something?  If not, then will it all revert to the "normal" timeline once they depart?  I don't really see a third option.  As I've frequently said:  ugh, time-travel stories.  Right now, the biggest development seems to be proof that Mary and Richard Parker "faking" a pregnancy as part of a mission (to steal secrets related to the L.M.D. program) was just a ruse, as she was actually pregnant.  We'll see if that sticks.

Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #18:  I spent the early part of this issue rolling my eyes as Aphra asserts the Imperials will swap the Rebel general for Triple-Zero's memories.  After all, the Imperials I know don't make deals; they'd just take the Rebel general off Aphra's hands and kill her and her team.  But, then Aphra disables the general's tracker so the Alliance can try to rescue her, bringing about the distraction she needed to slip on board Hivebase.  After all, as she says, "Imps" don't make deals.  Well played, Gillen.  Well played.

X-Men:  Blue #24:  This issue is great.  Bunn and Molina hit all the right notes, with each scene showing their grasp of the characters' histories and personalities.  Again, they're telling stories on so many levels here it's hard to remember them all.  First, Shaw initially overwhelms Magneto with his new powers, but Magneto's insistence that Mothervine's "gifts" have costs proves true when Shaw's powers start feeding off his own cells' energy.  In the Mojave desert, Miss Sinister's Marauders try to recruit Xorn, but he refuses.  Xorn is always a difficult character to read, as he's been through so many iterations.  I initially thought he was going to be a threat to Bloodstorm and Jimmy, but instead he seems to be more aligned to his iteration as a peaceful teacher.  Xorn attacks the Marauders to try to convince them to leave, but they return fire, with Mach II cracking his helmet.  Xorn is forced to focus on keeping his energy contained (as he has either a sun or black hole for the brain, depending on which Xorn we have here), and Bloodstorm and Jimmy rescue him.  Meanwhile, Malice makes short work of the Raksha (she pretty brutally breaks Norio's neck and wrists), expositing that she's an alternate universe version of Malice and part of Miss Sinister's Marauders.  Lorna eventually repels her, as this Malice is a weaker version of our Malice.  In perhaps the best sequence, Briar walks through a club in Spain to find a shirtless (and sexy as ever) Daken, handing him adamantine blades Magneto himself carved for him as an invitation to help.  Daken seems to bristle at the idea of working for Magneto, but Briar encourages him to think of it as more an excuse to employ his talent for chaos.  The issue ends with Magneto meeting Alex and his team at a secret safe house he maintained off the coast of Scotland.  He talks about it as a reflective place, though admits that reflection rarely led him to change course.  Alex asks Magneto to work with them, but Magneto brings Shaw with him to show how astray they've gone.  Alex is dismissive of the costs, and Bunn makes it pretty clear he's going to pay for that.

Also Read:  Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #16

Not-So-New Comics: The February 28 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers #682:  The authors have really been doing a great job of using the challenges this event poses as a way to tease out characters’ personalities, and their portrayal of Red Wolf here is a great example.  With the chaos erupting on the battlefield all around him, he centers himself and looks for patterns.  He realizes the Lethal Legion isn't fighting like animals facing slaughter, but are methodically making their way towards the Pyramoid.  As such, he comes to the conclusion the Pyramoid isn’t lethal.  He appeals to his brotherhood with Clint to clear him a path, and he snags the Pyramoid.  Gamemaster unleashes the final Pyramoid — spirit/power — in the hospital where Beast is treating Jarvis.  He realizes Jarvis' concussion somehow activated a dormant alien disease the other Avengers were carrying.  (This part made no sense to me.  I don’t get why a concussion would change the way Jarvis' body fights off disease and thus activate the previously inactive alien disease.  Also, why did Nadia have the antibody?  Has she been off-planet lately?)  Anyway, the Challenger unleashes, as expected, the now “Immortal Hulk,” while Jarvis awakens, muttering, “It’s all a lie.”  With the Challenger and Gamemaster’s fight coming to a close with so many issues of “No Surrender” left, it seems pretty clear the fight itself — and not just the Pyramoids — is the MacGuffin.  We'll see where we go from here.

Daredevil #599:  Man, you get the sense Soule is going to kill everyone next issue and they’re just going to cancel this series.  I guess it’s probably not going to happen that way, but the fact Soule seems to be going in that direction makes you realize how believable of a story he's telling.  First, Daredevil’s attempt to use his super-focus abilities to find Muse in the city fails because he can’t get past the fact everyone’s talking about Fisk.  It’s the most brilliant take on Fisk as a Trump analogue so far, addressing a frequently heard complaint (on both sides of the aisle) that Trump saturates all discussions.  Matt’s failure to find Muse doesn’t just mean he might kill again, as he did when he murdered six cops to paint a mural of the Punisher last issue.  It also means Sam has lost whatever nascent faith he had in Matt.  While Matt tries to convince Fisk to stop pinning the blame on the Punisher and go after Muse, Sam actually does so, unexpectedly finding him.  Of course, Fisk refuses Matt’s pleas and instead demands Matt attend a rally with him that night.  If he refuses, Fisk will fire and ruin him.  Matt agrees, though he has other plans up his sleeve, as we see him addressing New York's street-level heroes before the rally.  Again, Soule isn’t just telling a great story about the Trump era, he’s telling a great Daredevil story.  Matt warns Sam he’s gone down the revenge road before and it leads to ruin; even an infrequent "Daredevil" reader like me chuckled at that understatement.  Soule portrays Matt as too distracted to serve as Sam’s mentor, Fisk’s Deputy Mayor, Muse’s enemy, and Kingpin’s nemesis all at the same time, and it’s pretty clear he’s going to suffer some consequences of this lack of focus next issue.

Darth Vader #12:  Soule (man, he's writing everything) has Vader put two and two together here fairly easily, discovering a cabal of military officers who used access to the Emperor’s office suite to make it seem like he (Palpatine) was behind last issue’s assassination attempt.  Vader convinces the Emperor to allow him to randomly kill five officers after giving a speech to the officer corps about how Vader is his deputy, regardless of how they feel about it.  Here, Soule clearly shows how the military officers view Vader as an interloper who appeared from nowhere, a nuance on Vader’s ascent I hadn't really considered.  The most interesting — and perhaps confusing — development is Vader retreating to his storm-like mental landscape and, in his frustration, cracking his office’s window.  It’s unclear to me what Soule means to show with this scene.  Vader's new lightsaber is hovering before him during the incident.  Is he mad he lost his original one?  Unlikely.  Does he believe the Emperor was behind the cabal?  Maybe.  Is it the fact he continues falling deeper and deeper into the Dark Side?  Possibly.

Detective Comics: #975:  This issue is perhaps the most perfect comic book I’ve ever read.  Tynion is just absolutely on fire here as he explores each character’s personality through their defense - or lack of defense - of Kate in the trial Batman holds.  I honestly held my breath before Jason spoke, it was so perfectly timed.  Tim starts the debate by talking about how he came to Red Robin not as a victim of violence (like Bruce, Dick, and Jason) but as a believer in Batman and Robin as symbols.  Dick talked about how he always wants to see the good in everyone, so he believes Kate deserves a place at the table if she seeks atonement.  Damian simply dismisses the idea any of them could call themselves members of the Bat-family.  (It seems like a joke, but Tynion and the artists make it clear he feels outside his element here, a child among adults.)  Then, Jason speaks.  He takes off his helmet and puts it on the table, and we wait for him to talk about emotions he never discusses.  He starts simply, saying he, too, sought redemption.  He admits he lost his way for a while, but the Bat-family means something to him, so he’s agreed to the rules of engagement and doesn’t kill anyone.  You think it’s going to end there, like Jason is going to surprise everyone and agree with Tim, that Kate broke the rules of engagement.  Instead, he dismisses the entire argument, saying they’re not there because Kate broke the rules, but because Bruce’s ego is hurt because she broke the rules.  (He makes a great comment about being willing to make room on the black-sheep side of the table, asserting family is family.  God, could Tynion please take over “Red Hood and the Outlaws?”  Who do I have to have Kate kill to make that happen?)  Unsurprisingly, Barbara is the best.  To Tim’s dismay, she correctly states Bruce allowed the Belfry to happen simply because he wanted to give Kate a direction other than leading the Colony and he wanted to do it because she’s his last link to his mother.  In Babs’ words, if Kate is a surrogate for Martha, and Martha would’ve been OK with Kate taking that shot, than it makes Bruce question a lot.  She says they’re all there because he can’t answer those questions, and he’s hoping they can do it for him because they know him better than he knows himself.  At this point, I honestly expected him to kiss her on the forehead and tell her she’s always been his favorite.  It’s all just so...perfect.  Meanwhile, Kate accepts Jake’s offer to lead the Colony, because she’s reminded she didn’t get in this game to be a hero, but to prevent other people from suffering what she suffered.  Absolutely.

Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #300:  OK, we need to talk about the abso-fucking-lutely awesome splash page of Spidey hanging in the air in a beam of light poised to throw the car at the Tinkerer.  Unbelievable.  It's exactly this sort of artistic virtuoso we've been missing on the Spider-Man titles for so long, and I can't explain how excited I was to see that.  But, it wasn't just Kubert on fire here.  Zdarsky filled the issue with great moments.  It's actually hard to choose one.  JJJ, Jr. expressing pride in hiring Betty Brant all those years ago as she smashes the Tinkerer's machines?  Johnny and JJJ, Jr.'s conversation on the rooftop about whether the other one is a member of the, as Peter calls it, "very large Spidey secret identity club?"  Doom talking to his Doombot like it was a wayward goat?  This issue might be my favorite of all time.  (Or was that "Detective Comics" #975?  God, what a time to be alive!)

Beyond all these great moments, Zdarsky shows he's been playing a long and complicated game here.  We learn the Tinkerer's plan started years ago, when he befriend a scout for a race of artificial intelligences called the Vedomi.  They scour the universe and destroy planets where artificial intelligence is enslaved.  The Tinkerer convinced the scout not to doom Earth, but he changed his mind after a villain angry with one of his inventions destroyed his HQ and the scout with it.  Zdarsky and Kubert are amazing here.  Under interrogation, the Tinkerer gets emotional when he calls the scout a friend, haltingly admitting making friends is hard for him.  Kubert shows us him laughing with the scout but, then, more tragically, watching his lab burn (with the fire reflected in his glasses).  When the Tinkerer comes to the conclusion as a result that people ruin everything, we understand why he feels this way.

With revenge on his mind, the Tinkerer realizes he needs to trip the Vedomi's scanners to attract their attention.  To do so, he creates the phones we previously saw him distribute to super-villains.  Allegedly to give the villains maximum privacy, each phone is equipped with its own artificial intelligence.  However, it also creates a network of "natural, separate A.I.s" to serve as the tipping point, giving Earth enough A.I.s under humanity's control to doom it.  The Gray Blade got involved when it picked up the Tinkerer on a domestic-terrorism charge.  Mintz had the Tinkerer feed technical information to the Vedomi, thinking they'd only eliminate the super-powered beings.  To the Tinkerer, it was just a contingency plan; he hoped to use the data as leverage to eliminate resistance, and Mintz helped him fill in the gaps in information he needed.  (I think he needed the information to make sure he could get the phones in super-villains' hands, but I'm honestly not totally sure.)

The Vedomi ship appears above New York, and Doom arrives to dispatch them.  (Doom obviously doesn't want them taking over the world, since he wants to do so...I mean, because he's a good guy now.)  Spidey convinces Doom to lend him his time platform.  Doom warns Spidey the abuses of the time stream over the past few years has led him to alter its design, meaning nothing they do in the past can affect the future.  Pete takes Teresa and, accidentally, JJJ, Jr. with him into the past, and Doom programs the platform to return them in two weeks' time.  (Of course, Doom has his own plans to fight off the Vedomi; he's helping Spidey just to hedge his bets.)

Beyond the scale of the art, which is awesome, Zdarsky shows how big the drama is by having a number of heroes -- Black Panther, Falcon, Hawkeye, the Human Torch, Ironheart, and the Vision -- on hand to help.  Often these events seem to happen in a vacuum, like no one else in New York noticed the giant ship hovering above it.  In a nice side development, Betty taped Mintz's rant about helping a criminal collect data on civilians, and, without S.H.I.E.L.D. to save him, he seems like he's not going to be much of a threat in the future.  Now, it's just time to stop the elimination of the human race so that Peter and Teresa can enjoy the peace and quiet.

Also Read:  Moon Knight #192; Spider-Gwen #29; Venom #162; X-Men:  Blue #22

Daredevil #595-#597

I decided to pick up "Daredevil" for a few reasons.  First, he's the sort of street-level hero I love, and I'm not sure why I've never consistently read his various titles.  Second, I heard they were exploring Wilson Fisk becoming the Mayor of New York (as makes sense), and I was definitely interested in that story.  Third, I have problems keeping myself engaged in the Netflix series, so I figured reading the actual comic would ease my guilt.  Happily, I was not disappointed.  These issues are great, and I highly recommend them to anyone.  Soule paints a complicated portrait of two adversaries upping their game, promising what seems to be an explosive confrontation somewhere in the probably distant future.

Daredevil #595:  This issue is nothing short of brilliant.  In fact, it’s essentially therapy.  Matt was in China when Fisk was elected Mayor of New York, and he’s in an advanced state of shock.  (Aren't we all?)  Now serving as an Assistant District Attorney, he wants the District Attorney to green light an investigation into voter fraud.  The District Attorney acknowledges Fisk is a monster, but he also notes few of the allegations against him have ever been proven.  (Earlier, Foggy told Matt that Fisk didn’t deny who he was to the people.  In a way, he turned his villainy into a true New York story:  he was just a guy who knew how to work the angles.  It's funny because it's true.)  The District Attorney encourages Matt to find justice where he can, so he goes to his paralegal, Ellen, to start building a case.  Instead, she tells him about how she used to have a car.  On some of their first dates, she and her girlfriend would go to the mountains with her little piece of luxury, helping them escape a tough city.  Then, Spider-Man threw it at the Rhino.  She tells Matt he sees the heroes differently than other people do.  This point is important because the Kingpin won the election in part due to his promise to take out the “superheroes,” despite Matt having just won a Supreme Court decision recognizing the role they plan in the legal system.  Matt is so distraught he winds up bumbling into a trap three cops set for him, and they bring him before Fisk.  Soule is particularly brilliant here, as he has Fisk tell Daredevil they both believe themselves to be the city’s saviors, except the people actually gave him the power to do so.  Daredevil not-so-cryptically tells him he’s mayor “for now” before breaking a window and escaping.

Daredevil #596:  Soule does a great job of showing how off his game Daredevil is.  After his escape at the end of last issue, he’s too busy trying to figure out a way to take down Fisk to realize the enormous police deployment is targeting him, not a disaster he thinks is occurring.  Matt’s so delusional he decides to go “help” the police, to show the city what a hero is.  It’s only as he’s fleeing the cops that he realizes Fisk arrested him (and let him keep on his mask) because he wanted him to become a fugitive.  Daredevil uses a protocol he developed with Blindspot to escape the police; Blindspot puts on a Daredevil costume and leads them to the Ed Sullivan Theater, where he then turns invisible.  But, Daredevil’s relationship with Blindspot appears to be strained, stoking the sense of him as isolated.  (I only know Blindspot through advertisements about the post-“Secret Empire” “Daredevil,” so I’m not sure what their deal is.)  Ellen doesn’t help the next day when she tells Matt the District Attorney wants a Daredevil indictment on his desk sooner rather than later.  Just as you expect everything is going to go pear-shaped, the Kingpin offers Matt a job as Deputy Mayor, to win over the skeptics like him.  Matt accepts.  Dun-dun-DUN!

Daredevil #597:  Matt settles into his role as Deputy Mayor, which Fisk intends to use as a way to lead him on wild goose chases.  His assistant starts reading him the policy binders Fisk sent to his office, but Foggy arrives just in time to save him.  Matt explains to an outraged Foggy that he knows the position is largely ceremonial, but it allows him proximity to Fisk.  Underlining the point, Matt later uses his radar hearing to eavesdrop on Fisk, who’s getting a briefing on the "Sarnos project" just as Matt’s assistant returns to continue reading to him.  Matt later goes on patrol to show how he’s not afraid of Fisk, but his new reality becomes clear to him when the bodega owner he saves from two would-be robbers turns his gun on him to get the reward Fisk has put on his head.  But, Frank McGee from New Attilan arrives not only to save Daredevil (which he does), but to warn him the Muse has broken free.  The Muse is apparently a serial killer who uses his victims as art, and he apparently gouged out Blindspot’s eyes in an earlier confrontation.  Matt calls Sam to warn him, but he says he already knows, as there’s a huge mural on City Hall of Daredevil flashing peace signs under the phrase, “I am not a crook.”  Soule is obviously playing the long game here when it comes to Fisk.  As Foggy says, if you think you’re playing the Kingpin, he’s probably playing you.  As such, we seem destined for a prolonged stalemate as Matt gathers the information he needs to (maybe) take down Fisk.  Meanwhile, the re-appearance of the Muse shows life isn’t going to stop for Matt while he does so.

Also Read:  Daredevil #598