Guardians of the Galaxy #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

If "Infinity" #6 is Lando storming the Death Star, then this issue is Han and Leia trying to take down the shields on Endor.  As one would expect, it's a suitably good time.  Gamora's return is welcome, though Bendis doesn't let Peter off the hook, continuing to make it clear that his reticence to discuss how he and Thanos managed to escape the Cancerverse is fostering an atmosphere of mistrust with the rest of the Guardians.  But, we'll get there later.  In the meantime, we storm S.W.O.R.D.  It's going to be a shame to lose Brand, though Bendis is already juggling so many characters that it's unlikely he'd be able to take advantage of her participation fully in future issues.  I'm hoping she appears as a recurring special guest-star.  Overall, these "Infinity" issues were probably the best of the bunch, though I'm happy for us to return to the story that Bendis was telling before the cross-over event started.

*** (three of five stars)

Wolverine and the X-Men Annual #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OMG, YAY!  Kubark is back!  This annual is really just about the most perfect annual that I've ever read.  This series has been on a roll ever since Aaron started taking the emotions of the students seriously and this issue is no exception.  Although he mines Kubark for all the humor inherent to his character, Aaron also does an amazing job of conveying his loneliness, both for being the son of the Majestor but also the last of the Strontians.  We experience all the hallmarks of middle school -- sitting alone at the cafeteria, kissing someone for the first time, hating a teacher, defying the principal (so to speak) -- but it doesn't feel rushed.  Along the way, Kubark shows signs of becoming the leader that he's destined to be.  In that way, it makes it all the better when Gladiator frees him.  After Kubark proves that he can lead the Imperial Guard one day, Gladiator allows him to be "unique."  It's a great message there, about supporting kids who meet their potential by not making them embrace it too quickly.  Gladiator gives Kubark a childhood (albeit one full of punching) and damned if I didn't cry.

***** (five of five stars)

Infinity #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

It's been almost two months since I last read an issue of this mini-series and I'm not sure that the gap hurt, since it wasn't like I really understood the story that Hickman was telling after issue #5 anyway.  I have no idea why Black Bolt magically appeared on Earth after seemingly dying in the destruction of Attilan.  I also don't know why Supergiant seemed to believe that the bomb connected to him was something more than your average bomb (and not just in terms of its ability to destroy a planet).  I forget why Thanos wants all his children dead; I just have a vague recollection that it has something to do with courting Death, though I couldn't help but roll my eyes when he fails to kill Thane because he narrated his desire to do so for too long.  I was also annoyed by Hickman's blatant attempt to tie everything to his ongoing dying-world story.  Basically, Hickman does a poor job making this mini-series into anything more than an elaborate advertisement for the upcoming Inhuman-related titles and a plug for "New Avengers."  Although the issue was better written than Hickman's usual work, I'm giving it two stars for the overwhelming feeling of "meh" that I had at the end of it.  (The less said about the lack of anything in this series to do with the Infinity Gems, the better.)

** (two of five stars)

Secret Avengers #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

For a tie-in issue related to a cross-over event that I find remarkably boring, I have to say that I really enjoyed this story.  Garza's shock at the assassination of the crazed Inhuman gave us some real insight into a civilian's view of the ethical implications of the battles that superheroes fight on a daily basis.  It leads to the rare moment of someone getting super-powers, but deciding that they don't want to play God.  Garza isn't necessarily bothered by the powers themselves, but more the decisions that come with them.  I liked how Brisson didn't play up the outrage card:  Garza doesn't judge Fury for killing the Inhuman.  She acknowledges the complicated factors involved in him making that decision; she just knows that she doesn't want to make them.  The fact that Maria Hill essentially throws her into prison as a result is pretty much all you need to know about Maria Hill.

*** (three of five stars)

Guardians of the Galaxy #8 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

See, I knew it.  I knew that Peter Quill just needed one more human to make this series even better than it already was.  Last issue, he exchanged awkward 80s-catchphrases with Iron Man.  This issue?  This issue, he goes to the P.E.A.K. and rescues Abigail Brand from Thanos' men; she then thanks him for not making a Princess-Leia reference, the Princess-Leia reference that he, and we the reader, were all thinking.  Awesome sauce.

Beyond Bendis taking the witty banter to even greater heights, we also finally get some emotions here as he (again, finally) acknowledges the events and relationships that came before this series.  Peter telling Gamora that he would've killed Thanos in the Cancerverse if he could have, simply to give her peace of mind?  Maybe it brought a tear to my ear.  Maybe.  But, Bendis doesn't stop there, with Gamora finally asking the question that we've all waited to have answered, namely how Drax, Peter, and Thanos escaped the Cancerverse.  (Unfortunately, no, he didn't mention Richard, but we all know that he's teasing us at this point.)  Peter doesn't answer, of course, but Bendis makes it clear that he knows that he has to do so at some point.

As if quips, emotions, and intrigue weren't enough, we also get some of the best action sequences I've seen...since the first issue of this series.  Francavilla isn't a natural choice for this sort of series, but, man, he really draws you into the scenes, conveying both the emotions of the characters and the grandeur of the settings.

Last issue, I hinted that "Guardians" didn't have to be deep for it to be great.  But, with Bendis suddenly going deep, this series could really be set to launch.

***** (five of five stars)

Infinity #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Wait, so everyone could just magically kill the Builders if they believe that they can?  Did Tinkerbell suddenly arrive?  Honestly, I have no idea what happened here.  I thought the Builders were supposed to be unstoppable, but suddenly everyone could stop them simply because they saw Thor stop one.  Then, suddenly, they weren't a threat anymore and everyone just merrily moved onto fighting Thanos on Earth, as if the Builders never happened.  Really?  We never even, I don't know, see them depart the galaxy?  Or, see the last one of them die?  Also, are the Infinity Gems ever going to appear at any point?  Man, I really don't like Hickman.

* (one of five stars)

Secret Avengers #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is a great example of why events suck.  Whereas DeConnick managed to connect the "Infinity" tie-in issues of "Captain Marvel" to the ongoing story in that series, Spencer disappears from this title, along with the ongoing saga of A.I.M. Island.  How's Mockingbird?  Doesn't the assassination crew wonder what happened exactly on A.I.M. Island?  What's Daisy doing with Bucky?  Why would Bucky agree to help her depose Maria Hill?  All those questions get shelved for the requisite "aliens are invading New York...again."  I mean, yes, it makes sense that, in real time, those questions would get shelved since, after all, aliens are invading New York.  But, aliens seemingly invade New York weekly at this point in the Marvel Universe, so it's hard to see this tie-in issue as anything other than an unwelcome distraction from the pretty detailed and involved story that Spencer had been telling.

** (two of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I've written this review twice.  In the first review, I expressed confusion over Rodi's portrayal of Otto-Spidey. To me, he felt more like the Otto-Spidey that Slott delivered in the first few months of "Superior Spider-Man," still motivated to be a hero.  However, in those issues, he was motivated by Peter's consciousness and history.  Since Otto eradicated both from his mind, I've struggled to understand why he's been doing what he's doing as a superhero.  However, Rodi provides an answer.  My "confusion" came from the gap between Slott not caring about Otto's motivations and Rodi providing a clear sense of them.

First, Rodi reminds us that Otto is motivated by the firm belief that he can be the greatest superhero of all time.  Slott also makes that argument, though I've never felt like it was enough to justify Otto not returning to a life of crime.  Slott lately seems to be arguing that Otto interprets "greatest superhero of all time" as "most powerful superhero of all time.  You need look no further than Spidey's assault on Shadowland.  It was all about Otto strutting his stuff and proving to the people of New York that he could take down the Kingpin.  Rodi doesn't dispute that power plays into Otto's motivations, but he focuses more on the competitive nature of the goal.  Rodi has Otto taking umbrage at Luke Cage not only implying that Spectrum should take care of Fulmina, but also that Otto created the problem in the first place.  This motivation rings more true to me.  In Slott's version, it's not hard to see Otto becoming so obsessed with power that he'd slide right into becoming a villain.  Rodi's take seems to put a check on that happening, since you can't "win" the competition if you resume being a super-villain.

However, it's still not enough to convince me that Otto wants to be a superhero.  It's here where Rodi provides a motivation that Slott lost once Otto ditches Peter's conscience and history.  Rodi reminds us that Otto isn't just motivated by competition, but also the approval from the people that he saves.  Slott has only explored this emotional motivation in a limited way, mostly in Otto striking against bullies that remind him of his father.  But, Rodi goes beyond that, showing that the adoration that Spider-Man receives when he does things like fixing the generator at a hospital motivates Otto.  It's a motivation completely lacking in Slott's Octo-Spidey, explaining why his actions feel so emotionally hollow.  It's why I increasingly don't buy Otto as Spidey in "Superior Spider-Man."  But, combining this theme of competition and power with the need for approval, Rodi delivers the most convincing reason why Otto hasn't started robbing banks.  Now, I just have to hope that Slott read this arc.

In the art department, Del Mundo really excels in this issue, showing a fluidity of form that fits both Fulmina and Spidey.

Despite disliking the first issue of this two-parter, I find myself hoping that both Rodi and Del Mundo stay on this title or appear somewhere else in the Spideyverse.

**** (four of five stars)

Infinity #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I get the sense that this issue was important in terms of the story that Hickman is telling, but I'm not entirely sure why.  Sure, Thor killed a Builder.  He did so by hurling Mjolnir through a sun and using it to slay the Builder.  Unless Thor is going to have time to do that with every single Builder, I don't see what exactly changed here.  The Builders still have a galactic armada, right?  Isn't that still going to prove to be a problem?  Also, I'm not sure why Black Bolt "activated" all the Inhumans.  What did it have to do with Thanos searching for his son?  Thanos seems to know who his son is, so I don't think the plan was just to create more Inhumans to confuse him, right?  I've been more or less pleasantly surprised by this series, but I feel like Hickman missed a beat here.

** (two of five stars)

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #3 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Rodi does his best here, but I have to say that the connection between this issue and "Infinity" is tenuous at best.  A medieval-studies undergraduate student inexplicably gets transformed into living electricity in the middle of the Mighty Avengers' fight with the invading alien hordes.  OK, sure.  Rodi tries to turn this idea into a meditation on the fact that random stuff continues happening in the Marvel Universe even when invading alien hordes threaten Earth.  It's a valid point, but the problem is that this new villain, Fulmina, isn't really all that threatening.  She decides to destroy electrical devices, it seems, in order to return Earth to a simpler time.  Since it seems pretty clear that she's going to fail in this attempt, I can't say that we go into next issue with all that much suspense.  If this arc was just about Octo-Spidey learning another lesson about his arrogance undermining his plans (this time in assuming that he understood Fulmina's motivations), it would be fine.  Instead, it tries to juggle Fulmina's introduction and the "Infinity" plot, splitting the reader's attention and the issue's focus.  If I picked up this issue just because it was connected to "Infinity," I'd be pissed.

Guardians of the Galaxy #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Given that I don't really care all that much about Angela, this issue isn't all that thrilling.  The Guardians engage Angela, but they know nothing about her and, despite their fight with her unfolding in front of him, Uatu isn't talking.  The most interesting part of this issue involves Peter's conversation with Thanos, though I'll admit to being confused by Thanos' comments.  In this series, Thanos has posited "Infinity" as a galactic jihad of sorts against Earth for breaking the space/time continuum during the "Age of Ultron" event.  However, in "Infinity" itself, the focus is on the Builders' decision to destroy Earth, with the Galactic Council fighting to save Earth, not destroy it.  (Thanos himself is portrayed as using the battle to make a move on his hidden son, not helping to destroy Earth for its meddling in the space/time continuum.)  Now, maybe the Builders' have decided to move against Earth because it broke the space/time continuum, but I honestly don't remember anyone saying that in "Infinity."  (In fact, it makes me realize that I'm not really sure why the Builders have decided to raze Earth.)  It's weird that Bendis is so out of sync with the "Infinity" story, given the role that this series is going to play in it.

New-ish Comics!: The "Infinity" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain Marvel #16:  This issue wraps up our "Infinity" interlude.  I can't say we really gain a better insight into Carol's situation, but I did actually find myself enjoying the focus on the Avengers trying to figure out a way to escape the Builders.  At first, I was surprised by how callously Carol dismissed the moral implications of destroying an entire sector of space to save Earth, but then I remembered that she's not really feeling emotions at this point, so it works in the context of the larger story that DeConnick is telling.  (I was a little more disturbed by Cannonball and Sunspot going with the plan so easily.  I mean, at least Hawkeye raised some opposition.)  The best moment was her banter with Jessica, whose affectionate teasing about them having to start from scratch showed that she's there for Carol for the long haul.  It made me all the more eager for us to return to the regularly scheduled programming.  But, given that these two issues are probably the only ones I'm going to read about the Avengers' battle with the Builders in space, I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with them.

Infinity #3:   My only real problem with this event -- to my surprise -- is that it's still feeling a little schizophrenic.  I get that the whole point is that Thanos is taking advantage of the Avengers being distracted by their off-world fight with the Builders to make his move on Attilan.  Although the idea is clever, it's still leaving me feel like I'm reading two entirely different events -- a cross-over event about the Galactic Council working together to repel the Builders and a miniseries about Thanos' attempts to find and kill his son.  Although I'm intrigued by both, I find myself wishing that Hickman had treated them separately.  For example, he has to rush through the capitulation of the various galactic empires to the Builders, somewhat underselling the awesome moment where the Shi'ar and the Skrulls decide to throw in their lot with Earth.  I mean, the Shi'ars and the Skrulls!  Dogs and cats, living together!  That said, I'm still happy with both stories, as loosely connected as they are.  Cap's gambit was pretty great to watch unfold, though you have to wonder how they're going to defeat the Builders when even this win seemed to have a limited impact on their overall operational capacity.  I guess we'll see!

Infinity #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is, honestly, a lot better than expected.  I had assumed that Black Bolt's secret was that he was holding onto the remaining Infinity Gem, so I was surprised by the revelation that it is actually the fact that the Inhumans are harboring his son.  Moreover, Hickman actually manages to infuse some emotion into the scenes related to the Battle of the Corrdior.  It's not quite Giffen's amazing portrayal of the trials and tribulations of the United Front in "Annihilation," but it at least manages to show the emotional impact of the Galactic Council's fight against the Builders.  As I said, it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.

New-ish Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman/Superman #3:  This issue would've been great if not for the completely unlikely story involving a young Bruce playing baseball with a young Clark in Smallville.  Pak and Lee have been telling a story that's often difficult to follow, requiring a re-reading (or two) to get a full sense of the story.  However, that effort is generally rewarded with a greater appreciation of the story.  Unfortunately, with the random flashbacks to an imagined childhood, it made this process all the more difficult, since it prevented them from focusing on the story at hand.  For example, I'm still unclear on why the government was developing a crystal meant to take down Superman.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure which Superman (of the two) is the target.  Moreover, the crystal's connection to Darkseid is left virtually unexplored.  Pak really could've used the four or five pages spent on the childhood digression to clarify the actual story.  The whole thing reeks of editorial interference.  Hopefully, we can just forget about it and get some answers next issue.

Captain America #10:  Honestly?  I can think of few multiple-issue runs that were anywhere near the same level as this one.  The only ones that come to mind are the Kang War ("Avengers" #41-#55) and the Black Mirror ("Detective Comics" #871-#881).  Remender kept us guessing to the very last minute, when you weren't sure if the "ghost" helping the Phrox was going to be Ian or Sharon.  The revelation that it was Ian (and the brilliance of branding him "Nomad") literally made me gasp.  Moreover, his resurrection of sorts reminds you just how much Remender leaves on the table.  Dimension Z is a weird place, where you truly believe that a child can survive getting shot at point-blank range and falling into a chemical-fueled river.  If you believe that, you also believe that Sharon Carter may be alive (and possibly Zola's host) or that Steve Rogers might really have lived ten years without aging more than a few minutes.  The consequences didn't just completely disappear at the end of this arc, wrapped into a neat package.

As such, Steve's status quo is completely unclear at this point.  After all, who does he mourn first?  Ian?  Sharon?  Himself?  What are the physical repercussion of his ten years in Dimension Z?  Did he actually age?  When he briefly returned to Dimension Z from the tunnel, the ruins of the destroyed battle-station had already aged, seemingly implying that Steve is a decade older.  How does that work?  Also, how does he handle Jet Black?

But, we have next month to worry about those questions.  For now, it's time to bask in Remender delivering the quintessential Captain America story.  Remender made this storya bout Cap and his faith in himself.  He reminds us of that faith in this issue, when Cap tells his mutate clone that a few derogatory comments about his mother aren't going to make him doubt the lessons that he learned from her.  Moreover, Remender reminds us that this faith in himself is bigger than Cap, that it inspires the entirety of the Marvel Universe; here, this faith inspires Ian in exactly the way that Cap hoped, leaving behind his legacy in Dimension Z even if he's unaware of it.  Moreover, Sharon is perfect here.  Remender treats her as the bad-ass that she's always been, completely in charge of the situation and doing what needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.  Even Brubaker, who freed her from the "Gal Friday" role that she often played, rarely portrayed her as strong as she is here.  It's one of the few times where I've felt sad at losing a character but actually OK with the way that their story ends.

Can we also just talk about the craft on display here?  Remender's amazing narration of the epilogue, where you had no idea where it was going until you arrived at the Nomad revelation?  JR JR's insane landscapes and even more insane Zola?  This entire arc was a tour de force in terms of the talents of everyone involved.

It's a big, crazy, epic story.  You're left wanting so much more; I found myself hoping that we're going to get a Dimension Z series that follows Nomad.  But, Remender isn't rushing anything.  I was hestitant about this story in the first few issues, but Remender has finally give Cap the sort of ongoing series that he deserves.  I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Captain Marvel #15:  The obvious problem with this issue, which Sana herself acknowledges in the letters page, is that you feel like you're not missing one issue, but several.  First, we're presented Carol's memory-loss as a fait accompli, despite the fact that it wasn't particularly clear at the end of last issue that it was the repercussion of severing her telepathic link with Yon-Rogg.  Moreover, Carol is notably not in New York, but somewhere in deep space with the Avengers, fighting the Builders.  I stopped reading "Avengers," but I am reading "Infinity" and I don't remember this ground being covered in issue #1.  (When exactly did Earth join the Galactic Council?  Do they no longer consider it an irrelevant back-water?  Of course, I had trouble following "Infinity" #1, so maybe it's just me.)

But, DeConncik actually, somehow, manages to move you past all that.  She embraces the chaos, showing Carol as somewhat thankful that she's lost her memories, because the lack of emotional investment makes it easier to deal with the insanity around her.  In fact, DeConnick seems to be speaking to the reader and Carol on the same level, promising all of us answers so long as we make it thorugh the "Infinity" business.  It's remarkably clever, just as we've all come to expect from this series.

Scarlet Spider #21:  Buddy's going to be OK, right?  Right?  I mean, everyone's going to be OK, right?  Kaine is going to remember that he's a hero now and save everyone, right?

Unlike the past few issues, Kraven is a villain from Kaine's past whose presence here makes sense.  After all, it's Kaine who led to his defeat at Spider-Man's hands during "Grim Hunt."  Kraven's not likely to forget that easily.  Moreover, under normal circumstance, I'd be totally fine with Kraven posing as Ben Reilly in order to torture Kaine, since it's exactly the type of crazy that you'd expect from Kraven.  However, on the heels of the cross-over event with "Superior Spider-Man Team-Up," I have to say that it didn't work the way that I think Yost hoped that it would.  I spent most of the issue worried that it was a continuation of the Jackal's plot, something Yost clearly wanted us to think to make the revelation that it was Kraven all the more impactful.  But, instead, it proved to be distracting, since it not only reminded me of a plot that I find overplayed but also makes you wonder what the Jackal is doing now that he's returned to the background and when some other remnant of the Clone Saga is going to darken Kaine's door.  So, although it was clever, it would've been even better had it not come on the heels of the "Clone Saga 2.0" story that we just had.

Regardless, I'm definitely anxious to see where we go from here, both in Kaine's confrontation with Kraven and the status of his supporting cast.  Interestingly, unlike the Assassins Guild or the Clone Saga, Kraven is a ghost of Kaine's past as a hero, not as a villain, and I wonder if it'll play out differently than the other stories have.

Thanos Rising #5:  Aaron makes it pretty clear here that he doesn't believe that Death has guided Thanos through the years; Thanos himself is responsible for his actions.  In fact, if Aaron raises any questions here, it's not whether Thanos really sees Death, but it's if his construction of Death is a sign of mental illness or a convenient excuse for his behavior.  In other words, is Thanos mad or, as Monitor says, is he really just selfish?  Either way, we emerge with a more complete and sympathetic view of Thanos here, though one that actually somehow makes him more responsible for his crimes.  It's been a complicated story for a complicated character and Aaron really did a great job of giving us a definitive approach to a character who's too often been used simply as a powerful bugaboo.  "Infinity" is unlikely to add any nuance to the character, so I finished this issue glad for this mini-series and a chance to understand Thanos better.

Young Avengers #9:  Ugh.  Heart-breaking.  I mean, OK, I trust Kieron GIllen and I really believe that he has no intention of keeping Billy and Teddy apart forever.  Moreover, as Teddy himself implies here, Billy's decision to let Teddy go seems to signify that he's not making Teddy love him.  I mean, I don't think that we're ever going to get a definitive answer to that question, since it essentially requires proving a negative, that Billy isn't making Teddy love him.  But, if he were, it would seem unlikely that he would allow Teddy to go.  Instead, it seems more likely that he believes that Teddy loves him and equally believes that Teddy will return to him, a conclusion that we all hope Teddy will also make.  Because I trust Gillen, I also know that Teddy has to go through this journey.  They are, after all, just kids and the people who live the kind of life that they live don't just get to marry their high-school sweetheart and live happily ever after.  For them to be happy, Teddy needs to believe that Billy isn't making him love him and that requires some time on his own for a while.  (I mean, if Billy is really an multidimensional messiah, he can probably make Teddy love him from afar, but, really, let's not go too far down that road.)

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

By last count, I'm 30 issues in the hole; I'm also expecting another two shipments full of issues this week.  As such, I'm going to do some old-school reviews for a while so I can be a little less untimely than I currently am.

All-New X-Men #15:  I actually love what Bendis does here.  When I first saw the cover, I rolled my eyes.  After all, who wasn't in love with Jean, at this point?  But, Bendis really sells it.  Jean's response to her accidental discovery that Hank was in love with her was to realize that a path was open to her that she previously hadn't considered.  Based on her response to their kiss, she seems to like where it leads.  Bendis turns the entire history of the X-Men on its head here, imaging a future where Scott and Jean never married, where Cable and Rachel were never born, where any number of aspects of our current reality wouldn't look the way that they do.  It's the best type of time-travel story and I applaud Bendis for pulling off something that, quite honestly, he's failed to do in other titles.  Turning to the art, I wouldn't want Lopez to be on this title full-time, but his cartoonish pencils really worked for this issue, playing up the teen angst at the heart of it.  (Speaking of said angst, I loved Bobby being thrilled to discover that he finally gets some and disturbed to learn that it's with his professor.)

Detective Comics #23:  I seriously appreciate that Layman hasn't reduced this Wrath arc to the clichéd mystery over his real identity.  Whenever a new villain appears, authors tend to push our willful suspension of disbelief to the brink, spending an inordinate amount of time trying to pretend that the new supporting character to appear in the main character's life isn't also the new super-villain.  (Paging Lincoln Marsh.)  Layman hasn't gone to that much effort to conceal that Caldwell is Wrath (and drops the ruse entirely here), wisely placing his focus on the more interesting question of why Caldwell became a cop-killer.  Initially, he seemed to be doing it to beef up the sales of his body armor, but, given that he turned said body armor against the cops in this issue, he seems to be playing a much deeper game.  Also, the revelation in the back-up story that Caldwell was responsible for weaponizing the Man-Bat serum was great.  Layman really does an amazing job making connections between plots and sub-plots, even if the events related to each plot didn't happen in his book.  It's what makes reading this title such a rich experience.

Earth 2 #15:  [Sigh.]  This series used to be so damn good, but Robinson is clearly just running out the clock here.  He jumps from group to group so quickly that you hardly have time to try to remember where the character was the last time you left him/her.  Moreover, when you do remember, you're confused.  For example, last we left Kendra, she was fighting Apokorats at Sam's grave site.  Suddenly, in this issue, she's in Morocco chasing down a casino owner, Darcy Twain.  Does he have some connection to Kanto, the "Assassin of Apokolips," who Batman told her to find in her last appearance?  Who knows?  (Also, I'm increasingly convinced that Batman is Sam, though why he needs Kendra to fight his fights for him is beyond me.)  I get that events can happen off-panel, but this revelation just feel random, like I missed an issue.  If the Kendra sub-plot was the only one that left me feeling that way, I could handle it.  But, given that the whole issue did, it also left me waiting for Robinson to leave, something I never thought I'd find myself saying.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #2:  Spencer continues to display his amazing sense of dialogue here.  Beyond just the witty banter (the team's Sinister Six conversation was hilarious), he really manages to give everyone a distinct voice, something that comes from a firm grasp of their motivations.  Beetle is biding her time until she’s made enough of a name for herself that she can set up her own shop, Speed Demon just enjoys the super-villain life, Overdrive is still a bit overwhelmed, and, as we see here, Shocker is aloof after he discovers the secret behind the Superior Foes.  (Of course, Boomerang’s lawyer, Partridge, takes the cake in this category, with every word that he utters conveying his sleaziness.)  My only complaint, at this point, is that I have trouble believing that Boomerang would get paroled, particularly after violating his parole in the first place.  After all, as he acknowledges here, he is a murderer.  (At the very least, he killed Jackpot’s husband in “Amazing Spider-Man Presents:  Jackpot” #2, though a Google search implies that he might've been exonerated of that crime.)  It’s not like we’re supposed to believe that Partridge is that good of a lawyer that he could make the board forget about all that.  But, I feel like Spencer is doing here what Fraction is doing with Barney Barton in "Hawkeye," taking years of conflicting depictions of Boomerang and trying to present a more coherent portrait.  (Remember when he told Shocker that he had a responsibility to vote in “Amazing Spider-Man” #584?  Not exactly the type of guy who’d kill someone’s husband in cold blood, is it?)  As such, I’m willing to cut Spencer a break, particularly in these first few issues, as he sets about the process of establishing that portrait, particularly since it's such an enjoyable one.  Moreover, it’s a pretty small complaint, given how tightly scripted and generally fun this issue is.  After all, the fact that we're going on a "Goonies"-esque journey for the mythical head of Silvio Silvermane makes me almost giggle with glee.

Superior Spider-Man #15:  OK, Slott anticipated the complaint that we haven’t seen hide nor hair of Spidey’s supporting cast in the last few issues, given the tour of said cast that we got in this issue.  However, instead of remedying my concerns, he just made them worse.  It’s becoming obvious that Slott has written himself into the same corner that the “Clone Saga” writers did, struggling to find a way to maintain the involvement of Spidey’s strong supporting cast without stretching the readers’ willful suspension of disbelief by denying them the realization that something is amiss. Although those writers were able to keep Ben Reilly under wraps through an assumed identity and a dye job, Slott isn’t so lucky, since Peter is, in theory, still Peter.  He’s forced to insert an arbitrary distance between Spidey and his supporting cast, left only with the one character that he invented for this larger story (Anna Maria) to use to show Peter outside his costume.  Unfortunately, it also denies this title what makes Spider-Man special, namely, Peter Parker’s struggle to balance his private life with his greater responsibility.  (I’m in the process of reading issue #200-#300 of “Amazing Spider-Man” and those stories are all about Peter Parker, not Spider-Man.)  By ignoring that aspect of Peter’s life completely, Slott has turned this book into the worst aspects of “Batman.”  I’m not saying it’s not well written, but I am saying that, increasing, it’s a travesty to call it “Spider-Man.”  I guess Otto isn't so superior after all.

X-Factor #260:  Man, this issue is grim.  David keeps it light, mostly thanks to Lorna's pretty funny drunken banter.  But, when you take a moment, you realize that you're actually witnessing Lorna hitting rock bottom.  She has no idea where the other members of X-Factor are and she's indulging impulses best left to super-villains, like destroying private property and risking innocent lives.  The fact that it's Pietro, of all people, who tries to stop her from doing herself and other people harm shows just how far she's fallen.

Infinity #1:  Meh.  Under different circumstances, I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about this one.  But, at the end of the day, it was a slightly more coherent version of Hickman's usually boring and obscure stories.  Thanos gets a tribute from one planet that he previously destroyed, though we have yet to learn its significance, and wants something that Black Bolt currently possesses.  Hickman seems to be setting up some big revelation about the secret history of the Inhumans, but I can't say that I care all that much.