Not-So-New Comics: The July 11 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #1:  Since "Brand New Day" began, I’ve been bothered by two developments:  Mary Jane and Peter making a deal with Mephisto to dissolve their marriage (obviously) and Peter accepting the doctorate Dr. Octopus got for him.  Spencer unexpectedly fixes both of them here.  First, a new technology designed to identify plagiarism correctly pegs Otto as the author of Peter’s dissertation.  Later, Peter’s near-death experience fighting Mysterio inspires him to tell Mary Jane he needs her.  As thrilled as I am in Spencer addressing these issues, I can’t say it’s a fun issue to read.  As Kingpin himself says, Peter needs to be isolated to be defeated, and he is here.  Robbie is forced to fire him to protect the Bugle’s integrity, and Aunt May is appalled when he refuses to take responsibility for his mistake.  But, Kingpin didn’t count on Mary Jane.  My hope is Spencer doesn’t take Peter any lower than he is now.  After the events of the “Fall of the House of Parker,” Slott and Spencer have now taken everything (including Aunt May) but Mary Jane from Peter.  If we go much lower, we’re going to return to the terrible period during the “Clone Saga” when he turned his back on Peter Parker because his life was so terrible.  I just can’t do that again.

Infinity Countdown #5:  From the hurried art to the dropped plots, this issue is the definition of rushed, even at 36 pages.  We start with Black Widow appearing to Dr. Strange to tell him -- via a hand-written note she passes to him -- someone is listening to her through the Space Gem.  (Duggan never clarifies how Nat knew that, at least as far as I can tell.)  Dr. Strange chimes a "crystal that was grown in the lowest dimension known to exist," presumably to find the eavesdropper, though Duggan never makes that clear.  The frequency leads him to Turk.  (If Turk was using the Mind Gem to read Nat's mind, wouldn't he know what she wrote in the note?  Isn't the whole point of reading minds not needing people to say their thoughts aloud?)  At Oblitus, Warlock approaches the Guardians, hoping they can lead him and Kang to the Time Gem.  Gamora asks Warlock to show her the Soul Gem, and he agrees, but tells her he cannot open it without help.  Gamora demands he does so, and Drax tries to help her, punching Warlock and grabbing the Soul Gem as he drops it.  Something...happens when Drax touches it, and it results in Drax throwing in his lot with Warlock.  He tells Gamora no one can open the Gem and it's no longer the heaven it was.  Cryptically saying he "saw someone in the trees[;] they all died horribly," he follows Kang and Warlock through a portal after Kang realizes the Guardians don't know where the Time Gem is.  Peter, Groot, and Rocket then refuse to go after them with Gamora, who's becoming increasingly unstable.  (That said, she's not necessarily wrong that Peter leaving Rich in the Cancerverse was a good indicator of how he'd behave here.)  Meanwhile, in the Soul Gem, something traps Hank in a fantasy of his own making where the Avengers rescue him and greet him with open arms.  The issue concludes with Dr. Strange calling an assembly of the Infinity Watch; in this moment, we learn Peter has the Power Gem (even though Drax is shown as possessing it in the intro page).  In other words?  It's all just a fucking mess.  It's hardly an inducement to read "Infinity Wars," given how rushed even this 36-page issue is.  Barely anyone's actions are explained.  I still don't understand why Peter, Groot, and Rocket didn't support Gamora.  I have no idea why Drax threw in his lot with Warlock and Kang.  Again, we also never get confirmation it was Turk eavesdropping on Nat through the Space Gem.  Moreover, other than the Gems changing hands, nothing has actually happened since the start of this prelude.  Darkhawk, Dr. Strange, the Guardians, Natasha -- they're all essentially where they started.  I can't believe I spent money on this event (and that I'm still likely to get the main "Infinity Wars" series).

Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk #4:  Sims and Bowers again change a status quo here, as Dark Starhawk seems to evolve simply into Starhawk before our eyes.  He executes Gyre, announcing he’s evolved beyond advancing Gyre’s goals (which I’ll be honest weren’t entirely clear to me).  Now, he's dedicated to safeguarding order in the universe by taking out entities with special powers that threaten it (like the possessors of the Infinity Gems).  However, Chris takes back his amulet, destroying the nexus between his soul and Robbie’s body.  Robbie disappears, and Rich vows to imprison Chris if he sees him off Earth again.  To be honest, Rich is pretty true to character here:  he leaps to conclusions and doesn’t even pretend to listen to Chris as he explains Robbie willingly sacrificed himself to become Dark Starhawk.  We end the issue with Chris committed to staying on Earth.  However, that night, Sleepwalker pays him a visit, telling him he needs to become a Sleepwalker, too.  I mean, why not change everything all over again?

The New Mutants: Dead Souls #5:  This issue is really solid.  Tran manipulates Illyana into breaking into Dr. Strange’s house and drawing her Soulsword.  In so doing, she apparently (and conveniently) breaks the seals that prevent him from entering the house.  Rictor then inadvertently presents Tran with what he wants, a gem that converts him to his physical form.  Reborn, Tran is all the more formidable.  This series of errors seems to prove his point that this team is the B-team.  Guido grabs Tran and has Illyana send the two of them into Limbo.  This moment is significant because Rosenberg had earlier forced Rahne and Guido into a room in the house that seemed to show them their nightmares.  There, Rahne learned that her nightmare — Guido killing her son — is also Guido’s nightmare.  It brings resolution to their story as Guido tearfully begs Rahne for forgiveness and Rahne grants it to him.  (I totally cried.)  Reconciled, Rahne refuses to let Guido stay trapped in Limbo, knowing how nightmarish it would be for him.  But, Rosenberg also uses it as a bit of therapy for all of us, showing us how we remain stuck in cycles of grief and guilt that serve little purpose.  This series just continues to get better and better, and I think Rosenberg makes a great case for continuing it as an ongoing.

X-Men:  Blue #31:  Although the last arc was awful, Bunn rights the ship here, as the kids follow Magneto’s path of devastation as he makes his way to Emma.  Bloodstorm exposits that Magneto was driven over the edge when he was forced to kill the Mothervine-controlled mutants in his care who attacked him, though I’ll admit I don’t totally buy that.  Bunn seems to be arguing that Magneto is inherently unstable and violent (if not exactly evil), and the events of the Mothervine arc simply overrode his ability to control his behavior.  But, he is slowly but surely destroying Hellfire Club chapters along the way, so we’ll see where it all goes.

Also Read: Darth Vader #18; Detective Comics #984; The Hunt for Wolverine:  Adamantium Agenda #3; Ms. Marvel #32

New-ish Comics: The June 6 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Astonishing X-Men #12:  I like Charles Soule, but, man, this story was a mess.  We learn the Shadow King has been pulling the strings all along, using Proteus to seed the world with reality gardens that Farouk could then use to control the world.  (I still don't understand what these "reality gardens" are at this point, but whatever.)  Then, it turns out X was pulling the strings.  Surprise!  He teaches Betsy how to ask -- not demand, as they did last time -- every psychic in the world join their Psychic Friends Network, and Betsy somehow uses this energy to dismiss Farouk.  (It's not entirely clear the mechanics of that, but, again, whatever.)  Wrapping up loose ends, X finishes giving the X-Men his "gifts," wiping all memory of his existence from their minds...except for Betsy's.  Despite his claim to be free of Farouk's influence, he allows Betsy to retain her memory of him, just in case he isn't.  Um, OK, way to reassure us, X.  I don't really know what Soule wants us to feel here.  Xavier...I mean, X...could've easily just set up the Network the first time they tried it.  Why wait until now?  In other words, Soule doesn't explain why Xavier suddenly realizes permission is the key to harnessing the Network's power fully.  Moreover, X doesn't remotely feel like Xavier.  To be fair, he insists he's not Xavier, but then who is he?  He feels more like the latest iteration of Xorn, a convoluted plot device that future authors are likely to use and abuse for their own purposes.  It's just a mess, from start to finish.

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Robin vs. Ra’s al Ghul #1:  This issue is great.  Seeley draws such a good bead on the characters that every development flows logically from the previous one, as characters respond the way you think they would.  But, it doesn’t mean they don't surprise us with moments of growth either.  The issue starts slow, with Selena taking Damian to be sized for his wedding outfit and Damian rehashing his troubled origin for her as a way of saying he doesn’t need her.  Damian pops into the arcade to try to best his previous score on Cheese Viking, but he finds himself confronting Aion, who claims to be Bruce and Selena’s son from the future.  The conflict shifts to the future, where Damian from "Batman" #666 seemingly awakens from hallucinating the arcade sequence only to face Aion in his present.  But, the miniature Nightwing on his shoulder lecturing him about not killing Aion is his clue this moment, too, is a hallucination.  He then finds himself in the arcade once again, realizing his grandfather is his enemy.  He knows the drugs al Ghul used on him brought out his subconscious fear that Bruce will replace him with a "real" son.  For his part, al Ghul is here to kill Damian for allowing Catwoman to replace him.  Damian doesn’t win the fight so much as he persists.  Later, as Selina returns from her bachelorette party, he asks if she and Bruce are going to have children.  She resists answering the question as she doesn't see it as part of his business, but Damian puts his anxiety on display for her, a surprising sign of how deeply concerned he is.  But, Selina also surprises as Seeley allows her to be the adult we rarely see her be.  She tells Damian she can’t imagine raising a child, because s/he would have to carry not only her/his own baggage but also hers (and, implicitly, Bruce's).  Bringing a tear to everyone's eye, she then says she could never have a child who could overcome that baggage, because they'd never be as strong as Damian Wayne.  Damian is surprised and touched by this confession.  Selina tells him they need to stick together, as the only people in the house who aren’t goody-goodies.  She promises to have his back if he’ll have hers, and he agrees, with a smile that lights up his face.  It’s a lovely moment, and it feels hard-won.  Damian may be the bastard child Aion said he was, not raised from birth by Batman as Aion allegedly was.  But, Seeley makes it clear here he’s all the son Bruce and Selina need.  (That said, I’d be totally down with DC bringing back Aion!)  For all the cynicism I feel about this perceived money-grab series, this one is really worth the money.

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Nightwing vs. Hush #1:  This one is, too!  Man, who knew a tie-in series could be so good?  Seeley again nails characterization here.  Clark and Dick are taking Bruce to a pocket universe to go fishing for his bachelor party (after dinner at Batburger), but Hush unexpectedly attacks.  He and Dick tumble through the portal and find themselves in the Betwixt, a place where people without strong senses of self go to disappear.  The ghosts of these people attack Dick and Tommy, and their (convenient) guide to the Betwixt tells them to flee to Wayne Manor, since it’s where their identity is the strongest.  Seeley’s greatest twist here is to have Hush realize something he (and, frankly, we) should’ve realized long ago:  he wanted to be Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne’s best friend, not Bruce himself.  He reveals he’s changed his face to look like Dick, but the ghosts arrive and ultimately absorb him as he has no personality of his own.  Bruce and Clark rescue Dick, and, as he recovers, Dick overhears Bruce telling a departing Clark not to forget the ring.  Dick then asks Bruce if he made Clark his best man and Bruce awkwardly confirms he did.  When Bruce starts apologizing, Dick tells him not to do so:  Clark is always there for him, but Dick isn’t, because he left for Blüdhaven to find his own path.  Just as Selina is the unexpected adult in Robin’s version of this series, Dick is so here.  In other tales like this one, Dick could never accept this outcome.  But, here, he owns his decision to leave Bruce's side.  After the wedding, he makes Bruce promise they’ll spend time together, much to Bruce’s glee.  Like the Robin issue, this issue isn’t perfect.  Just as Damian’s recitation of his origin story was a drag, Hush’s insistence on becoming Bruce’s friend is so cartoonishly juvenile it's annoying.  But, it’s still a solid character study that reveals not really Hush’s fear, but Dick’s:  he, too, is afraid he’s being replaced.  But, like Damian, he realizes he needn't worry.  Meanwhile, Hush confirms it’s the Joker telling all of Batman’s villains about the wedding.  Oddly, we also learn Bruce and Selina themselves aren’t actually getting married, lest it raise too many questions about their secret identities.  After all, a billionaire marrying a criminal is a bit of a stretch.  (I still don’t understand how they’re going to keep that under wraps.)  Finally, can I make a pitch for Wilson drawing “Nightwing?”  Dick Grayson is often handsome, but he’s never been more handsome than he is here.  All in all, it's just a great issue.

Captain America #703:  I'm honestly just enduring this arc until we get to Coates.  Looking over the nine issues Waid has penned on this title, I'm still not sure what point he is trying to make.  First, I'm not sure it was a great idea to spend so much time so early in this run on two alternate-reality stories, particularly as one of them didn't feature Steve at all.  But, even if you put that aside, it also doesn't help that Steve's descendant Jack is a bumbling idiot.  He survives here only because his enemies -- first General Pursur and then the Red Skull -- very conveniently get so busy they ignore him.  Continuing with overly convenient plot devices, Jack gets out word that Pursur is using humanity as sleeper agents for the Kree via the Skull's apparently supernatural ability to manipulate technology to broadcast Jack's discovery to everyone.  Um, OK.  At this stage, we're also supposed to believe that Jack's son Steve is the key to somehow fending off the Kree, whose armada Pursur has dispatched to destroy Earth lest it successfully rebel.  We're supposed to believe Jack is a master strategist because he was "chosen" as a historian, but it's hard to believe he is if he didn't see Pursur taking this step, which he apparently didn't.  Unless we learn Jack's son Steve is the Phoenix, it's hard to believe he's going to single-handedly fight off the armada.  But, even if he does, I still don't get what this story tells us about Cap.  To repeat myself, it's a mess, from start to finish.

Dazzler:  X-Song #1:  I (heart) Dazzler.  I have every issue of her 1980s series.  Hell, I even read her cross-over appearances in "Secret Wars II."  Unfortunately, I'm sad to say she deserved better than she got here.  I'm not saying this issue is awful.  In fact, the premise is great:  Dazzler has to grapple with the fact anti-Inhuman mutants start appearing at her solidarity shows to make it clear that Inhumans aren't welcome.  However, Visaggio stumbles as every conversation in this issue dissolves into activist speak.  Although it makes sense, to an extent, that anti-Inhuman activists speak in talking points,Visaggio overdoes it.  Alison repeats her lines like a robot, particularly when it comes to rebuffing Piotr's oddly persistent attempts to get her to join the X-Men again.  If it were just a filler issue it would be OK, but it isn't OK when this issue was supposedly issue #43 of that 1980s series.  It's a disappointing color-by-numbers enterprise.

Infinity Countdown #4:  This issue is weirdly anticlimactic.  Surfer convinces Galactus to become the Destroyer once again, taking out Ultron's planet before he can spread his virus throughout the Universe.  (In exchange, Surfer becomes Galactus' herald again.)  Surfer's intervention helps Warlock get back the Soul Gem, though Ultron manages to escape.  After the Guardians squabble amongst themselves and with the Nova Corps over the Power Gem, Drax takes the Power Gem as Nova departs -- against Gamora's wishes -- to find his brother.  We also have a weird interlude where the Collector and Gamemaster present Peter with an Infinity Gem from another Universe.  That Universe's Phyla-Vell and Moondragon appear to collect the Gem, and we learn they're also looking for the identity of someone called Requiem, who seems to be the menacing figure in the intro pages these last few issues.  The weirdest part is how easily the Gems change hands throughout the issue; at one point, Adam Warlock literally just lops off Ultron's hand to grab the Soul Gem.  We'll see where we go from here.  Although the Gems have changed hands a few times, I'm not sure this mini-series is really bringing us to a different place than where we started.

Nightwing #45:  This issue is clever because it's so obvious.  Stories about AI and VR going haywire are rife at this point; Remender's "Tokyo Ghost" covered that ground well.  But, Percy goes one further here, as Wyrm -- the entity behind the Phantasm devices -- makes his play for Dick.  He comments how most people's information is useless, but some people's information is really important.  Figuring the former ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne is privy to a lot of secrets, Wyrm has uploaded a virus into Dick to steal them.  Meanwhile, Mirage -- the company behind Phantasm -- is rebuilding the train line destroyed as part of the "crypto-attack" we saw last issue (I think).  It's a project the mayor of Blüdhaven is (ominously) calling "Blüdhaven:  the City of Tomorrow."  It's clear we've got more going on here than just Wyrm making a play for cash, and Percy does a good job of building the suspense even as we learn more.

Star Wars #49:  The resolution of the Mon Cala rebellion is anticlimactic and rushed.  Despite an entire sky full of Imperial Star Destroyers, the Mon Calamari and Millennium Falcon manage to hold on long enough to allow some ships from the Rebellion fleet to join the battle.  Ackbar sacrifices one of the Mon Calamari ships to take out an Imperial Star Destroyer, somehow breaking the entire Imperial blockade.  (I guess the other Destroyers were only there for moral support?)  Initially, I thought Gillen was building to a long overdue defeat for the Rebellion; instead, they yet again miraculously pull out a win.  Moreover, I still don't understand the events of last issue, where Urtya goes from confiscating the video of Lee-char's call to arms to hurriedly playing it for all Mon Calamari.  Urtya claims he had to act quickly because the Imperials were imminently going to seize the Mon Calamari fleet.  Didn't he already know that?  I feel like their intent was pretty clear.  If he did know that, why not just explain the situation to Leia when she and the guys arrived on Mon Cala with the videotape?  If he didn't know that, how did he just suddenly learn that?  Did it happen off panel?  I don't feel like we saw any such revelation last issue.  At any rate, the good guys win.  Yay.  Gillen tries to make it interesting with the revelation that Trios has been working for Darth Vader all long and they intend on destroying the 12 fully crewed Mon Calamari ships.  I'm hoping Leia sees this treachery coming, because if she doesn't, I'm going to start losing some faith here.

Also Read:  Batman #48; Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #19; X-Men:  Gold #29; X-Men:  Red #5

New Comics!: The May 2 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Astonishing X-Men #11:  I like Soule a lot, but I’m not sure what the story is here exactly.  If I had to guess, it sounds like the Shadow King created the X persona to win back his access to the psychic network Psylocke accessed at the start of the series (and accesses again here).  But, it's unclear to me at this point if resurrecting Proteus was an accidental by-product of this decision or a needed distraction.  Either way, we’re essentially where we started this series, with Shadow King in control of Psylocke once more.  It’s...anticlimactic.

Avengers #1:  To no one’s surprise, Aaron and McGuinness do an outstanding job here:  it really does feel like the band has gotten back together again.  They convey a certain excitement and scale that the Avengers have been missing for a long time.  In retrospect, even "No Surrender," for all its effort, failed to hit the marks that these guys do here in just one issue.  In a way, Aaron and McGuinness don’t have to use words to convince us how important Cap, Iron Man, and Thor are to the Avengers.  You can just feel the difference.  But, Aaron does actually use words to great effect.  The conversation that opens the issue reminds me of Bendis’ “Avengers Prime” mini-series.  In that series, they sat around a campfire and talked; here, they're at a bar.  (Don't worry, Tony has a Shirley Temple.)

In this conversation, Tony makes it clear he's not sure the Avengers need them.  He convincingly talks about how he could think of two dozen people that could take the Avengers to places they couldn’t.  Cap and Thor don’t disagree. Instead, they argue the opposite:  they need the Avengers.  Aaron and McGuinness really sell that idea, with Tony using their recent nicknames:  Nazi Cap, Coma Tony, and Unworthy Thor.  It’s time to get back their mojo.  The authors also give them a suitable threat:  dead Celestials start falling to Earth.  Carol Danvers manages to prevent one from falling onto Manhattan, but it’s obviously a problem.  Then, the Final Host arrives.  I figured they were just going to show up one day, but dead Celestials serving as their heralds is pretty awesome, to be honest.

Meanwhile, the Black Panther has called in Dr. Strange after a group of archaeologists died on a research mission.  The pair discovers a cavern buried deep in the Earth filled with green glowing pods.  The pods suddenly self-animate, attacking the pair; the new Ghost Rider has the same problem.  I’ve never been a Ghost Rider fan, but Aaron and McGuinness do a good job with the new kid; he's shades of the overwhelmed teenage hero Peter Parker once was.  When you add in there a Jennifer Walters trying to control her powers on the margins of the story, it’s a pretty great group.

Aaron is at his strongest when it comes to dialogue, and I’m really paying him a compliment there because, as I've made clear, the plot is great.  But, really, the scripting is even better.  The conversation between the guys at the bar really sets the stage, but other players, from Tony’s hilariously understated AI to Dr. Strange’s wonderful snarkiness, add to the fun.  Of course, I’m anxious for an entire issue dedicated to Carol and Tony having at each other over “Civil War 2,” but I’ll try to be patient.  In the meantime, it’s a great start to this series.  It’s one of the few times I believe restarting at #1 is warranted.  The Avengers are back, baby.

Captain America #701:  I can’t say I dislike this issue.  In fact, if it were the first issue of a mini-series like “Batman: White Knight,” I’d be pretty stoked, to be honest.  I love the idea of Steve’s great-great-etc.-grandson Jackson discovering Steve's legacy has been tarnished and finding himself in a moral quandary:  does he stop the President’s military advisor from using the Super-Solider Serum — now administered to every American as a matter of course — to turn America’s population into sleeper agents for the Kree, even if it costs him his son's life?  It’s the sort of dilemma even Captain America would struggle to resolve.  Waid implies the answer is going to come from Jackson’s son himself, whose inability to absorb the Serum now seems like a good thing.  But, I have to say, I really just want a Steve Rogers story.  I get what Waid’s been doing during his run, telling stories that highlight the philosophy Steve embraces.  You don’t have to read the ongoing discussion in the letters page about what Captain America means to the readers to know that.  But, Waid started his run in the midst of a much larger assault on the Captain America mythos:  Steve has to find a way to wind back America’s trust after the Captain Nazi business.  Waid has weirdly ignored that almost entirely, and I wonder when — if ever — it’s actually going to be addressed.  As much as I’m used to events being quickly forgotten, it seems unbelievable Marvel wouldn’t address the fallout of “Secret Empire” in “Captain America” beyond the brief fight with Rampart at the start of Waid's run.  Again, I'm not saying this story is bad, but I think we really should've addressed the Captain Nazi business -- even if it wasn't Mark Waid's mess to fix -- before getting into these sorts of hypothetical stories.

Infinity Countdown #3:  This issue is sort of silly, but a bunch of important things happen in it.  First, Rich’s brother Robbie tells him the Fraternity of Raptors put him in some sort of simulator and he subsequently realized the entire Universe is essentially a larger simulation.  (I don't think we ever learn why the Fraternity put Robbie in the simulation in the first place, but whatever.)  Robbie seems to be the only one to realize this Universe is different and, ipso facto, the Power Stone is different.  For reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, he tells Nova how to control the Power Stone:  as the chart at the start of the issue says, it’s mind over matter.  The Guardians and Nova manage to control the Power Stone just in time to fend off the Chitauri, which delivers the pretty great moment of Drax playing a Power Stone-powered sax.  (This issue wasn’t all bad, obviously.)  Meanwhile, Adam Warlock heals the Surfer from whatever it was Ultron did to him.  Surprisingly, the Surfer immediately flees, and Adam fails to prevent Ultron from launching his surrogates to take over the galaxy.  Meanwhile, Norrin tracks down Galactus (now the Lifebringer) to ask for him to return to his old ways to destroy the planet Ultron controls.

Rogue and Gambit #5:  Man, this series was awesome.  Thompson had done a great job of explaining how we got to this point, so it was really just a matter of Rogue and Gambit landing their final punches before the kiss (which, honestly, didn't feel inevitable, to Thompson's credit).  Rogue realizes their therapist was one of Lavish's golems, and she destroys her to take on Lavish's powers to return people's memories and powers.  She then destroys all the other golems, absorbing everyone's memories and powers (as she can now later return them, given Lavish's powers).  She then discovers Lavish herself was just a golem, making Gambit wonder if they ever really faced Lavish.  Rogue then returns everyone's memories and powers, including Remy's, after giving everyone a chance to refuse them.  She also tells Remy the experience made her admit she's always been running from him because it was never perfect; she realizes it will never be perfect.  They kiss, and fandom cheers.  As the editor says, this series was clearly a passion project for Kelly Thompson, and I really hope Marvel just hands her the keys to the kingdom.  This mini-series and "Hawkeye" were two of Marvel's brightest spots of the last few months, and she deserves whatever she wants.

Spider-Man #240:  I really wasn’t sure how Bendis was going wrap up this issue, but it’s a testament to his brilliant understanding of Miles that he did so in the best way possible.  He manages to wrap up everything in a bow, from Ganke’s girlfriend confessing she loved him too much to sell Miles’ identity to a blog to Uncle Aaron sneaking into the hospital to tell him he was right that he could do better.  (I'm not sure the latter is necessarily a good thing.)  Bendis explains his thinking in the letters page better than I ever could in the letters page, so just read that.  I only joined Miles after “Secret Wars,” and I have to say I really felt privileged to get to jump on this bandwagon.  It's been a great journey.

Also:  Transformers vs. the Visionaries #1-#5; Star Wars #47; X-Men:  Gold #27

Almost-New Comics: The April 18 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #799:  Holy fucking crap, this issue is amazing.  In fact, this arc is so good I feel like Slott is redeeming himself for all the terrible storylines over the years.  (I’m looking at you, “Superior Spider-Man.”)  First, Slott reminds us how strong Peter’s “web” of “amazing friends” is:  the Human Torch is watching MJ, Miles is watching Aunt May, and Silk is on the “Bugle” team.  Peter asks Anti-Venom to keep an eye on JJJ, Jr., and Flash reports he already has JJJ, Jr. (as we saw last issue).  But, JJJ, Jr. bolts from Flash to run to his apartment and FaceTime Peter so he can tell him he slipped and revealed Peter's identity to the Goblin.  Peter’s stoney faced look is amazing (and handsome, oy), and JJJ, Jr. is panicked when Peter cuts off the connection.  JJJ, Jr. pledges to make it right, and I’m more sure than ever he’s dying next issue.  Meanwhile, Peter contacts Clash, letting him know he’s been watching him and approves of his Robin Hood schtick.  He then asks him to watch the Osborns like the hero Peter knows he is.  With all the players set, the game begins.  Harry, Liz, and Mark awaken to discover the boys are missing, but Liz reveals she had Normie chipped.  As such, they head to the Port Authority, where they find them with Emma.  Emma tells them they're idiots, as she was trying to save the boys before Norman found them.  On cue, Norman arrives and reveals “Emma” is Harry’s long-thought dead mother, Emily.  Dun-dun-DUN!  ("The Clone Conspiracy" maybe?)  Clash reports the Goblin's arrival to Peter, and the Torch arrives to work with Clash, hitting the Red Goblin (and, most importantly, the symbiote) with fire and sonics.  However, Norman reveals the combination of the Carnage symbiote and Goblin serum gives him all the powers of Carnage and the Green Goblin but none of the weaknesses.  He not only makes quick work of this pair, but also dispatches Miles and Silk without breaking a sweat.  Flash gives him more of a challenge, as he's surprised by Flash's ability to harm the symbiote.  But, he correctly plays to Flash’s sense of heroism, as Flash spreads himself too thin trying to heal the dying heroes surrounding him.  Norman overwhelms him, and Peter (with Immonen showing us a lovely shot of his abs) pulls on his costume and leaps into action, busted leg and all.  Norman chases after his family, and Peter arrives to marvel in the devastation.  Flash uses his last ounce of power to heal Peter’s leg, just as Norman does what I was worried he’d do:  he turns Normie into a symbiote.  When Harry suggested he take Stanley and Liz take Normie, Normie had once again complained Harry cared more about Stanley than him.  Norman clearly plans to use that rage against Harry.  It’s...brilliant.  Honestly, I don’t know how Peter wins here.  Norman is all-powerful, and it’s not in an unbelievable way.  Slott has built this story slowly, and the combination of Carnage and the Green Goblin really just feels like Norman may have found the key to winning.  You almost believe he really is going to kill everyone next issue.  Plus, Slott’s weakness is usually his scripting, but he’s solid here.  You can feel JJJ, Jr.’s desperation to make things right with Peter.  Moreover, Peter is legitimately scared, not only by what Norman may do to his family and friends, but also for himself.  It's legitimately exciting.  Throwing in the fact Immonen and the art team are on fire, this title is finally at the top of Marvel’s game where it deserves to be.

Avengers #689:  The authors do an OK job wrapping up the story here, though I'll admit I felt something missing.  Maybe it was because Lightning's gambit to save the Earth (as well as the Human Torch and Red Wolf) via a game of Texas Hold 'Em with the Grandmaster felt too self-servingly heroic.  He wins the game because he's willing to be forgotten.  In fact, it's probably more the narration surrounding the game that does it, as Lightning keeps telling us how heroes don't do what they do to be remembered.  Making matters worse, the fight with the Challenger was ridiculous at points, from Jan (and not Nadia) creating "nano-acid" arrows for Hawkeye to Sam connecting telepathically with the Challenger because Doreen guessed he evolved from birds or dinosaurs because he was an alien.  (No, really.)  In fact, the Challenger never really seems like a threat beyond the moment he seemingly obliterates Wonder Man; everyone else -- including Squirrel Girl and the Wasps -- easily lands punches.  In the end, Wanda casts a spell that seems to channel the Avengers' hearts and souls into a magic blast that destroys the Challenger, and it's so effective you wonder why she didn't do it earlier than she does here.  (I think we're supposed to believe she was inspired when Voyager rallied the Avengers by reminding them what being an Avenger meant to each one of them.)  I'm not saying the issue is awful; it's OK, due largely to the art team really conveying a cinematic scope to the fight with the Challenger.  But, if they dialed back Lightning's over-the-top narration and showed the characters really struggling with the Challenger, it would've been a lot stronger issue, where we would've been kept guessing from start to finish.

Batman #45:  If the goal of this issue was for me to find Booster Gold hi-lar-ious and subscribe to his series, it was a major fail.  His schtick was tedious by the third page, and I can’t believe I was subjected to an entire issue of it.

Infinity Countdown #2:  Holy crap, Robbie is Talonar!  No way!  This issue is insane, and I mean that in the best possible way.  Something about the Guardians lends itself to a certain amount of believable ridiculousness.  Duggan plays that card expertly here, from Rocket appearing on Xitaung in a Galactus suit to Groot wanting to murder everyone.  That said, it's still hard to tell where Duggan is going.  Last issue, he used the fight on Telferina as a stalling tactic, and, in this issue, the Guardians are still fighting to protect the Power Stone.  You have to wonder when something will...happen.  But, it's fun, so I'm game.

Ms. Marvel #29:  This issue is really, really lovely, and I’m just happy it’s out there in the world.  Bruno’s honesty with Kamala is bracing, and Kamala has to find a way to match it if they’re going to coexist (if not become friends) again.  Her initial response to his overture feels immature, as she blames Bruno for hiding Mike from her.  Bruno makes it worse for her by continuing to show how much he’s matured:  he reminds her that he found her kissing the Red Dagger on the Circle Q rooftop and confesses that he always thought he’d be her first kiss.  Her subsequent conversation with Sheikh Abdullah is an amazing testament to Wilson’s skills as a writer, as it perfectly encapsulates the divide between children and parents when it comes to love.  Amidst it all, Wilson also imbues the issue with humor, from Bruno’s roommate hilariously asking Bruno to be his cultural interpreter in a developing country like America to Zoe falling for the new meaner girl version of herself.  It's hard to imagine a better comic-book series than this one.

Nightwing #43:  Moreci does a solid job getting down everyone’s voices here, with Dick feeling overly responsible for this ad hoc team, Roy just happy to be throwing some punches with his bro, and Damian being...Damian.  It’s not necessarily the strongest issue in terms of plotting.  After all, Roy magically understands the complicated science behind the League of Assassins' plan to use a device to suck the oxygen from Gotham but doesn’t know what “subterfuge” means.  But, it’s still fun, and I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing more of characters like Arsenal and Damian in this series.  Higgins did a solid job building out a supporting cast for Dick with the Run-Offs, but something about having Dick’s old-school allies and friends appearing in an issue really kicks it up a notch.

Tales of Suspense #104:  As Rosenberg says in his letter at the end of this issue, Bucky, Clint, and Nat are three of my favorite characters, and it was a real joy seeing them together.  I loved that Bucky and Clint don’t develop a deep sense of respect for each other at the end of this issue; Clint thinks Bucky’s a homicidal maniac, and Bucky thinks Clint is an incompetent buffoon.  That feels right to me.  I also loved that Natasha is in charge from start to finish.  She has a mission, and she intends to complete it.  Rosenberg made it clear Natasha had to eliminate any possibility of her returning in another cloned body, because she couldn’t find herself under the Red Room’s control once again.  (My only real question is that I honestly didn’t understand the role Anya and Yelena played.  I thought all the clones Natasha used on her various missions were her own clones, and not Anya and/or Yelena's.  It’s probably the only instance of Rosenberg writing for the trade here, as I’m sure their roles would be clearer if you read all five issues together.)  I also totally bought that Natasha had to let go of Clint.  His vision of her as a better person might have worked before she died, but it doesn’t work any longer, after what she has to do here.  But, I also love that it pushes her to chose Bucky, at least as a partner.  (Rosenberg made it clear she doesn't actually need either of them.)  In other words, Rosenberg returns Natasha to the land of the living in a way that stays consistent with her character but doesn’t come without consequences.  I couldn't ask for more.

X-Men:  Blue #26:  Now, this issue feels like an old-school “X-Men” story.  The entire creative team in on fire here.  Alex and his cronies unleash Mothervine, and the new X-Men scramble to help the emerging mutants handle their powers.  They encounter Unuscione as she tries to fend off two Sentinels arriving to "help" her and two emerging mutants.  However, her secondary mutation proves to be unstable; Xorn and Daken try to calm her to prevent her from randomly blowing up everyone and everything around her while Lorna and the rest of the team battle the Sentinels.  (See?  Old school.)  The Sentinels claim they’re there to help, but no one believes them.  They shouldn’t, either:  it turns out Alex and his cronies can control everyone Mothervine affected.  Emma is appalled, but Alex assures her they’ll have taken out Miss Sinister before she can use that army against them.  (I’m...doubtful, as Emma is.)  Meanwhile, they send the Marauders after both the new X-Men and Magneto, while using their control of the emerging mutants to bolster the Marauders' numbers.  It’s a tough time to be an X-Men.  Bunn’s plotting isn’t just excellent; his scripting is great.  Lorna gets in a solid one-liner as she encourages anyone other than Bloodstorm or Daken to comfort the victims, and Jimmy is demonstrably upset over the idea his DNA (and the DNA of other mutants from his world) was somehow used to create Mothervine.  The art team is also great, delivering a kinetic battle with Sentinels and using unique perspectives — like showing Magneto and Ferris through the gauze of a hospital curtain — to keep you engaged.  This continues to be the main X-Men title for me, and I'm actually loathe for the kids to return.

Also Read:  Quantum & Woody #5

Not-So-New Comics: The March 7 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #797:  OMFG, I totally had chills.  Gage and Slott build so brilliantly to the end here, it’s like reading the Stern era of Spider-Man, where every panel seemed to advance one of several mysteries.  We begin with the Goblin holding someone hostage; over the course of the issue, you really keep changing your mind who it is.  Peter?  MJ?  Liz?  Aunt May?  Normie?  Meanwhile, we get our hearts crushed alongside Peter as MJ starts to take off Peter’s shirt and then stops when she sees the Spider-Man costume.  It’s honestly the first time since “Brand New Day” I can remember them addressing their break-up under the "new" conditions.  MJ tells Peter they both would feel guilty if he gave up being Spider-Man for her, and she admits the city needs Spider-Man more than she needs Peter.  It’s hard not to disagree with her, given how amazing her life is right now.  But, Peter’s life isn’t amazing.  When she sends him out the window as Spider-Man it’s hard not to agree with him that he’s hit a new low.  But, this issue is really all about Norman.  He implies he’s put Harry’s nanny Emma on the board for an as-yet-unrevealed reason, and he rips out Phil Ulrich’s heart after Phil mistakenly believes Norman is still powerless.  But, it’s the end that makes this issue so great.  Jonah is revealed to be the hostage, and he tells Norman Spider-Man will beat him because he even did so after Norman threw “his” girl off the bridge.  GAME FUCKING ON!  Based on the parameters of the spell Dr. Strange wove so everyone would forget Peter’s identity, Norman suddenly remembers everything now that he's learned Spidey's identity.  He calls it the itch he couldn’t scratch.  (Based on the web of connections he built on his serial-killer board, he probably would’ve guessed it if the spell hadn't actively been preventing him from doing so.)  I really didn’t expect the authors to kick it up so many notches here.  We really do seem to be heading toward a do-or-die battle between the two of them.  I’m so fucking excited.  This series hasn’t sung like it does here for a really long time, since possibly “Big Time.”  Combined with “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man” — and particularly, at long last, the amazing art on both series — it’s a great time to be a Spidey fan.

Avengers #683:  This issue isn’t a miss exactly, but I can’t say it’s the same quality as the other issues so far.  As ghosts continue to rampage through the hospital, Nadia decides to sacrifice herself to touch the Pyramoid and save everyone.  She does so by shrinking Beast and sending him into Jarvis’ brain with an antidote to the alien parasite.  It’s a solid moment, and it's probably the first time I really thought about Nadia as an honest-to-goodness Avenger.  But, surprisingly, the Pyramoid rejects her, and she chases after Hank to save Jarvis instead.  The weirdest part of this issue is the authors go to great lengths to explain that people shrunk to microscopic size subsist on Pym particles (since they’re smaller than oxygen molecules).  But, they then defy all scientific reason by showing Hank as able to see Jarvis’ memories, as if the memory center of the brain is like a movie theater.  It’s odd, to say the least.  At any rate, Jarvis awakens and, as expected, confirms Voyager was never an Avenger.  However, before Hank and Nadia can stop her, Voyager uses her powers to grab the spirit Pyramoid and hide in a bunker within the hospital.  (At least, I think she does.  I originally thought she grabbed the Pyramoid so she could be transported to the Gamemaster and Challenger directly, as if it were her goal all along.  But, when I read the next issue, I realized it wasn't the case, that she simply hijacked the Pyramoid.  But, I don't understand how the hospital has a bunker.)  Beast's exposure to Jarvis' memories is what makes him believe Jarvis when he insists Voyager wasn't an Avenger, because Hank (conveniently) didn’t see her in Jarvis’ memories.  We’ll see where that goes from there.

Hawkeye #16:  OMG this series was, like, the bestest series ever and I’m truly heartbroken to see it go.  I had no idea how Thompson was going to wrap up so many loose ends, but she totally did it.  It was all so emotional, you guys.  I totally cried when Kate convinced Eden to bring back her daughter to say good-bye.  Thompson builds to the moment perfectly, as Clint offers to let Eden kill him because he understands what it’s like to lose someone who love so much, someone who serves as your compass.  (Seriously, I was a BuckyNat guy, but I think I'm now a HawkNat guy.)  Meanwhile, Kate uses Clint distracting Eden to swipe her suitcase of blood samples, and Eden panics because it has her daughter's blood.  She is then forced to reveal the truth to Kate; she hadn’t resurrected her daughter (a question we’ve all had), because the person only appears for a short time.  Later, when Eden dismisses Clint as a liar putting on a show to give Kate time to swipe the blood samples, Kate disagrees, saying (truthfully) he was probably the only person not lying.  She just gets these characters, you guys.  Eden is a great character, and I hope we see more of her.   Meanwhile, I loved the moment where we learn Kate’s mom has been watching from the shadows all this time.  In fact, Thompson leaves us with a new mystery here, as we learn Kate’s mom has some sort of deal with Masque.  Plus, her mom makes Masque abandon Kate’s body, which Masque agrees to do since it hasn’t developed powers and is “nothing special.”  (Kate’s mom disagrees.)  Also, Johnny is an Inhuman or mutant!  He even saves Kate’s life.  (You’d think he would’ve shown us that earlier, given the frequency of dangerous moments they've faced, but it is what it is.)  I’m not sure what I’m going to do without Kate and her gang in my life.  [Sigh]  Finger-guns forever!

Iceman #11:  As Grace admits in the letters page, he didn’t have a lot of time to wrap up the story he was telling.  Whereas Thompson in “Hawkeye” had been telling a very specific story over the course of her 16 issues, Grace had taken an arc-by-arc approach for this title.  As such, the cancellation of this series feels more sudden than “Hawkeye’s.”  All that said, he does his best, and it’s good.  Bobby asks out Rictor to lunch, and Rictor notes the ridiculousness of a lunch date, showing Bobby’s cluelessness persists even in his out iteration.  Rictor serves mostly as a sidekick here as Bobby’s mother calls him to ask for help as their reclusive neighbor starts displaying powers.  Through flashbacks, Grace shows us Bobby’s long struggle for acceptance as his parents tried everything — including a priest — to "cure" him, and you don’t have to be an English major to read that part of the story more than one way.  I admit I wish we would’ve seen the moment when Bobby met Charles Xavier and realized it was OK to be a mutant (or, at least, that someone thought it was OK to be).  But, Grace wraps up the story nicely enough, as Bobby realizes he doesn’t need time with a boyfriend or a team; he just needs some time for him.  Grace leaves him on as solid of footing with his parents as we’re going to get, and it’s a nice way to end a series that I sincerely wish had been longer.

Infinity Countdown #1:  Honestly, a lot doesn't happen here, but it doesn't really matter, because it's just fun.  Drax saying "Uh-oh" as he and Talonar witness the Chitauri arriving above Xitaung?  Awesome.  Groot curing the Gardener of Loki's poison and him restoring Groot to his factory settings?  Better.  Groot then hailing his friends and telling them it is time to kick ass?  Fantastic. Logan leaving the Space Gem for an alive Black Widow in the back of a toilet in her Madripoor safehouse (from "Uncanny X-Men" #268)?  Brilliant.  OK, I guess a lot did happen in this issue.

Rogue and Gambit #3:  My greatest fear right now in life is this series is going to end with Gambit and Rogue not remembering the amazing progress they've made in therapy.  Thompson gives us a step-by-step tour of their best and worst moments, including the Antarctica incident from "Uncanny X-Men" #350 that I still remember clear as day, 21 years later.  If they do remember, nothing could possibly stop them.  I mean, what better therapy is there than beating up former iterations of yourself and your partner?

Star Wars #44:  Ooo, Leia, you sneaky daughter of a gun.  I honestly had no idea where Gillen was going for most of this issue, as the Mon Cala regent refused Leia’s request to provide the Alliance with his mercantile fleet, given the risk the Empire’s response could have for his people.  (We learn the former king had rebelled against the Empire, and Mon Cala was still paying the price.)  Leia — a princess of Alderaan, as Luke himself notes — understands...and then contacts Trios about breaking out the Mon Cala king who rebelled.  I did not see Leia committing to regime change coming, and I can’t wait to see where Gillen takes us.

X-Men:  Red #2:  Taylor really nails it here.  It seems like the X-Men will just retreat into their asylum in Wakanda, but Jean receives a plea for help from Trinary, an Indian technopath who saw Jean's speech at the United Nations, and off they go.  We learn the message was actually time delayed, as Trinary has already been imprisoned for compensating all women in India for the 25 percent gender pay-gap.  She's in trouble because she took it from the bank accounts of India's 25 richest CEOs.  (As Honey Badger says, I think we all have a new hero.)  Jean telepathically hijacks Lakshay Singh, the douchey head of India’s mutant defense force, and the team uses his knowledge to make their way to Trinary.  Along the way, Taylor reminds you just how powerful Jean is as a telepath.  But, all obviously doesn’t go smoothly as a group of anti-mutant protesters rush the prison's gates.  Jean is able to put most of them to sleep, but three of them are able to resist her suggestion (possibly due to Cassandra Nova's influence, but I'm just guessing there).  Her need to focus on the gun-toting trio forces her to drop her hold on Singh, who activates a Sentinel.  The twists and turns show the attention Taylor is paying to this series, telling stories on multiple levels at different speeds.  But, he also succeeds in showing Jean as a unique figure among the X-Men, not just because of her power but also the loyalty she inspires.  After a lackluster first issue, I'm interested to see where we go here.

Also Read:  Captain America #699; Spider-Man #238; Venom #163; X-Men:  Gold #23

Not-So-New Comics: The February 21 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Infinity Countdown:  Prime #1:  It's probably easiest to describe the events of this issue by Infinity Stone, as the premise of this event is the struggle to unify the Stones.

- Space Gem:  A group of Ultrons -- including both robots and humanoids affected by the Ultron virus --  arrive on Earth to steal the Space Gem from Logan.  Unsurprisingly, they fail, though along the way we're treated to a teleporting Logan remarking how much fun "bamfing" is.  Loki then tries to convince Logan to hand over the gem to him, noting "things are a little different behind the scenes of this reality now."  (The reference to "behind the scenes" reminded me of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods.")  Loki is clearly referring to the rearrangement of reality in the wake of "Secret Wars," though he implies something about the structure of that reorganization would allow for it to be reorganized again fairly easily.  Logan smartly refuses Loki's overture.

- Reality Gem:  Our Captain Marvel has it, though it's a little unclear how she found it, as the narrator of this issue (more on him in a minute) says it wasn't in our reality.  I'm assuming it happened in her series.

- Power Gem:  The Guardians are still on the moon Xitaung, as Gamora tries to convince Peter to go after the Soul Gem since it contains a piece of her soul (which I didn't know).  Conversely, Peter wants to go after the guy who's turned Groot's old limbs into man-eating trees (which I also didn't know, in the sense that the mad Groots were his former limbs).  Seemingly unknown to them, the Chitauri (now ruled by Thanos) and the Fraternity of Raptors are en route to Xitaung to steal the Power Gem.

- Time Gem:  K'lrt apparently has it on Planet Sakaar, which totally bodes well.

- Soul Gem:  Adam Warlock awakens in 2018 (after the events of "Infinity Countdown:  Adam Warlock" #1), and we learn Magus has the Soul Gem.  The narrator of this issue is revealed to be a disembodied head I don't recognize (though who may be called the Contemplator), and he informs Magus that he (the Contemplator) made sure "greedy eyes" saw Magus' search for the Soul Gem.  Magus is expecting Thanos to try to take it from him, but it's Ultron who kills him (supposedly).  As a result, Hank Pym suddenly finds himself in the landscape of the Soul Gem, after the Contemplator told him "all may not be lost" for him.  In the Gem, the portion of Gamora's soul stuck there greets him.

Mind Gem:  It seems to be possession of a "Mr. Turk" on Earth, but I'm not 100 percent sure who that is.  (The epilogue refers to him as "Turk Barrett," an "Earth criminal.")

According to the epilogue, the colors of the Gems have switched and their forms changed with this ninth iteration of reality, though I'm not sure if Marvel is just acknowledging an error (and no-prizing it) or if they're hinting at a larger plot to be revealed during this event.  Either way, it doesn't really matter, since even I'm not that anal-retentive to care.  Overall, I feel like we're in a good place.  Despite the numbering, this issue is really the third issue of this event, after "All-New Guardians of the Galaxy" #150 and "Infinity Countdown:  Adam Warlock" #1.  If you haven't read them, I'd recommend getting your hands on them.  If you have, it seems like we're ready for a pretty solid ride.

Amazing Spider-Man #796:  Slott and Gage do great stuff here.  First, I love the focus on updated basics:  Liz as head of Alchemax, Flash as Anti-Venom, MJ as CEO of Stark Enterprises.  It’s an homage to a past that doesn’t feel like the past.  Moreover, Slott and Gage get down Peter’s relationship with MJ perfectly, in part because they set it back several steps; it’s like reading the early days of their relationship, except Peter’s the neurotic one this time.  If they're going to get together by issue #700, I really hope Slott gives us an issue focused on just the two of them talking through their issues, like Zdarsky did with JJJ, Jr. and Spider-Man in "Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man" #6.  Also, the larger plot is great.  The Goblin King steals the tritium from “Amazing Spider-Man Annual” #42, which Liz was hoping to put to use as an energy source.  Even more disturbingly, Norman has Carnage purge the anti-Goblin nanites from his bloodstream, turning him fully into the Red Goblin.  “Epic” does seem too weak of a word at this point.

Astonishing X-Men #8:  This issue is pretty great.  (Seriously, comics are just killing it lately.)  Soule employs an arch voice here, as pretty much everyone gets in a sarcastic comment.  First, whoever X is, it’s pretty clear he’s not fully Xavier.  He spends most of the issue trying to distract the X-Men so they don't blame him for releasing Proteus.  The good news is, they’re not buying it.  Psylocke seems the most willing to believe him, but even she’s shaky.  (I loved the moment where Gambit expressed shock no one else was particularly worried when X remarks, “[Fantomex's] flesh was raw material."  Also, Logan and Raven flirting was awesome and disturbing at the same time.)  Logan thinks he and Archangel should just go and use their metal to take out Proteus (since it's his weakness), but Archangel expresses hope they can find another way (even though, as he acknowledges, he’s basically an Angel of Death).  X agrees, and he and Psylocke psychically visit Proteus, who appears as an red-headed Irish lord in a castle.  He makes a pretty compelling case that he deserves a second chance, since the first time the X-Men encountered him he was a ten-year-old who’d spent his entire life living in a cage his mother built.  (His entire monologue is filled with great zingers, like his tongue-in-cheek description of Moira as, “Lovely lady.  Wonderful parent.”)  He says the Shadow King stole his soul, and he’s spent thousands of years coming to adulthood on the Astral Plane.  (He acknowledges how scary of a concept that is, particularly with Farouk as his guide.)  He refuses to return to a cage and, showing how not Charles Xavier X is, X pulls two psychic guns on Kevin to end his threat.  Except, Kevin acts quicker and combines Charles and Psylocke physically and psychically.  They appear separately on the cover of issue #9, so hopefully they’ll work out that little problem before Proteus destroys London.

Avengers #681:  The most notable aspect of this issue is the purported origin of Voyager.  Her father was a scientist researching “quantum enlargement,” the idea that every particle has a counterpart that’s linked to it by faster-than-light forces.  However, his fascination with his work led him to neglect his family.  Her mother apparently decided to ask for a divorce not only while he was actively engaged in an experiment but also while Voyager herself was supposed to be waiting in the car.  Of course, she wasn’t actually in the car; she snuck into the lab, overheard the conversation and, in her grief, ran into the experiment.  She and her later father developed her new powers into teleportation powers.  She reveals here she wasn’t too devastated by getting lost in time because her parents (conveniently) died right before she was “lost,” leaving her few connections to people to mourn.  (Um, OK.  She didn't make a single friend?  Suspicious.)  Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Captain Glory and Mentacle unveil their plan to win the fire Pyramoid, using Mentacle's powers to force one of the Blood Brothers to activate it.  However, Hawkeye and Red Wolf arrive just before the chosen Blood Brother (unwillingly) touches it, and Hawkeye fires off an explosion arrow that knocks him from it.  In Antarctica, Ferene takes advantage of the Avengers’ focus on Rogue having killed Corvus Glaive and activates the water/ice Pyramoid.  Along the way, we learn the Gamemaser holds the lives of his team as leverage:  he saved all of them from certain death and would return them to that situation if they fail.  We also learn the battlefield (i.e., Earth) will be destroyed once the game concludes.  I feel like we’re now getting to the next, important stage.  First, the new characters’ origins — both Voyager’s and Captain Glory’s (Glah-ree) — are on the table now.  Second, the Avengers now know the stakes, so they’re on the same page as we are.  All that said, the oral history of the naming of “Mentacle” in the letters page is worth the price of admission.

Batman #41:  I honestly don't know if I like this issue or not.  The best part, as expected by this point, is Bruce and Selina's interactions.  When they face Ivy at the end of the issue,  you get the sense of them working as a team, something we haven't really seen yet.  Sure, they worked together when they went after Talia, but they were in control of the situation then.  Here, they're on their back feet.  Ivy manages to take possession of everyone in the world except Bruce and Selina, thanks to Bruce recognizing the sensation and managing to use the antidote he developed (from an extremely rare flower) to inoculate them from her possession.  I'm sure King will expand on how Ivy managed to pull off this feat, though, for it to be believable, he really must explain how she experienced such a power surge.  But, my real criticism of this issue is that it's a little sparse, even for King.  He's been using fewer and fewer words lately, and I feel like he's in danger of sliding into Hickman territory.  I often feel like Hickman writes a script and then removes a third of the words just to make it interesting (to his mind).  King went far down this road during the "War of Jokes and Riddles," and it often felt like we missed the actual war and saw only unimportant side skirmishes.  I'm hoping he doesn't make the mistake of not giving us enough information again, sacrificing story for experimentation.

Mighty Thor #704:  Perhaps the most unexpectedly emotional panel in a pretty emotional issue is when Thori asks Jane why she's murdering herself by finally taking up the hammer.  She does so after an issue where she contemplates the losses in her life -- her mother from cancer, her father from heart failure, her ex-husband and son in a car accident.  She realizes she never found the god her mother had hoped she would find to provide her comfort, and Aaron draws a straight line to the idea she instead had to become that god.  She overhears Roz on the phone learning Asgard is falling into the Sun (after Mangog destroyed its navigational system, ensuring there'd be nothing left to resurrect), and her decision is made.  Poor Thori.

Nightwing #39:  I’m not a Nightwing aficionado, given I only started reading DC Comics on a regular basis about seven or eight years ago.  With the DCnU, it’s hard to tell sometimes if flashbacks are portraying a reality we’ve already seen or not.  Either way, I like the idea of Dick first coming to Blüdhaven to attend its College of Law, as a chance to escape Gotham.  He makes it clear he struggled to find himself , from coming to terms with his grief over his parents’ death that he ignored through his focus on Robin to finding relationships that weren’t with superheroes after breaking off his relationship with Kory.  This series of pages (as in messages you receive on a pager) were particularly brilliant, showing the concern his family and friends had for him.  (I say pages, because the artist does a great job of winking to the fact that young Dick actually went to college in the ‘80s not the ‘00s, so he manages to make the messages look like pages and texts at the same time. It’s like a wink to us oldsters.)  We also learn the Judge is actually the original judge sent from the Netherlands to Blüdhaven in its days as a Dutch colony.  He was thrown into the waters for investigating corruption against a noble and “something” in the waters changed him.  If Higgins doesn’t want me rolling my eyes at the end of this story, that “something” needs to be explained.  But, at least the flashback to Dick’s past was solid.

X-Men:  Gold #22:  I like the idea of this new iteration of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants working for Lydia Nance.   Mesmero makes it clear he doesn't worry about mutantkind so much as a paycheck, and the new Avalanche seems to agree.  The new Pyro doesn't agree, though it's unclear to me whether he views himself as a hero or villain.  After all, he's furious with Mesmero when he reveals they only attacked Nance to entrap the X-Men, but, when Mesmero reminds him he's already a criminal now, he comment's he's not.  Is he going to save the X-Men?  But, my real problem here is the entrapment itself.  Mesmero confuses the X-Men into attacking members of the NYPD, thinking they're part of his new Brotherhood.  They willingly fall for it in a way that defies belief.  Really?  They just suddenly thought Omega Red and Sebastian Shaw joined Mesmero?  Kitty and Rachel both note something was wrong, and you'd think given the experience of this team they'd be able to ID it immediately, given they're dealing with Mesmero.  Apparently not.  It's hard to believe Kitty in particular would fall for this trick.

Also Read:  Jean Grey #11; Quantum & Woody #3; Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #17