Batman #24: Whoa. I did not see that coming. To be honest, I didn't really enjoy this issue. As I mentioned in a previous review, we've never really gotten resolution when it came to Claire's story. She's allegedly healed here, so we're left to assume Bruce's plan to use Psycho-Pirate to take away her fear worked. But, she still seems...off. Her side of the conversation with Bruce doesn't sound the way an actual human would speak. It's full of oddly timed emotional moments followed by robotic repetition of stilted phrases. But, if you put aside the script, the point of the conversation is important: Claire asks Bruce what he wants as he presses her to decide what she wants. When he essentially admits he's scared of getting what he wants, she gives him permission to be scared. It's an unexpectedly powerful moment. He realizes he wants Selina, and the issue ends with him proposing to her with the diamond she stole when they first met. I remember reading with awe "The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne," the story that concludes the first volume of "Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told." (Google tells me it's actually "The Brave and the Bold" #197.) In it, the Bruce and Selina of Earth-Two finally dedicate themselves to each other after facing their fears during a fight with the Scarecrow. (When else would you face your fears?) I'm not sure if King is intentionally paying homage to that story, but this one has the same feel. "The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne" is still one my favorite Batman stories after all this time, because it shows him finally allowing himself to be a real boy. I can't explain how excited I am of the possibility of seeing that story become the actual status quo in the main universe, even if the script that got us to this point was poor. I'll take it.
Dark Knight III: The Master Race #9: I wasn't even going to bother to review this issue, but it felt wrong not to do so, like I was rewarding DC for the cynicism that brought this series into existence. I try not to be the type of fan who expects too much from the companies that produce the comics we read. I get it's a business, and I try not to make their money grabs into an issue except when they cross the line, like when they charge $9.99 for a regular issue with just a few pages of extra "stories." (I'm looking at you, "Amazing Spider-Man" #25.) After several years of reviewing comics, I also feel like I'm better about acknowledging that just because a comic doesn't work for me means that it's "bad." In cases where I see obvious plot holes or terrible line work, I recognize someone else finds mystery in those plot holes and beauty in those jumbled lines. (I admit in not always succeeding in this endeavor; I still feel bad for what I said about Matt Fraction during "Fear Itself.") But, it feels like DC has gone beyond the pale with this one. The story has been remarkably simple, even less complicated than the plot of "Man of Steel." It's essentially a "Transformers" movie at this point: an alien race -- the Kandorians -- invades, Lara betrays humanity and joins the Kandorians, Lara's love of her family turns her against the Kandorians, Clark lets loose like never before, and the alien race is defeated. The End. Everything else is essentially filler. In fact, it's hard to see what role Bruce even played in this issue. Nothing he does has any impact on the inevitable conclusion. In the rare instances where Miller and Azzarello had the opportunity to give us some more emotional insight into a character, they didn't. For example, Atom wordlessly saves the day here, but we have no chance for him to express the regret he feels for unleashing the Kandorians on Earth in the first place. We just have to assume he feels relieved, if not vindicated. Emotional insight is implied with long stares and nothing more. Including "Dark Knight III: The Last Crusade," this series of ten issues cost $59.90. It's hard for me to accept that, that I spent that amount of money on this series. To put that in perspective, you can buy the premium edition of "Batman: Arkham Knight" and its hours of play time for $39.99. DC obviously feels justified in charging $59.90 because of the legacy of a four-issue series published 32 years ago. But, I have to wonder if anyone paused at the price. Did the editor at any point remind the creative team we were paying $59.90 for their story? Did they ever ask Kubert to maybe spend a little more time depicting the guy with the melted face so it doesn't just look like he has a poor handle on perspective? Did anyone ask Azzarello to spend maybe just a little bit more time getting us to care about the characters rather than just assuming we did? Did anyone think about us, the reader, at all?
Darth Vader #1: I thought this series was going to take place in the same timeframe as the rest of the ongoing "Star Wars" series, making me wonder why they started with a #1 issue (yet again) instead of continuing the numbering from Gillen's series. But, we're not in Kansas anymore. Soule takes us to the moment Anakin becomes Vader, and it's as startling as expected. The Emperor launches Anakin...er, Vader...right into his training, explaining that he has to steal a lightsaber from a Jedi and make the Kyber crystal "bleed" with his rage. (The crystals are apparently alive, so the rage a Sith feeds into his stolen lightsaber is what turns the crystal red, giving the Sith's lightsabers their distinctive color.) The Emperor then abandons Vader on a planet to accomplish his quest, an admittedly difficult one since the Emperor has already killed virtually all the Jedi. I don't know where we're going, but I'm hoping Soule doesn't really give us classic Vader here. Ideally, we'll see some of Anakin shine through Vader's demeanor, something we admittedly don't really see here as Vader slaughters a group of thieves. Sure, Anakin killed all those younglings at the Jedi Temple, so it's not like he's an innocent. But, Anakin's sudden embrace of slaughtering innocents was one of the most poorly explained parts of the prequel trilogy. Soule has a chance to correct that here. After all, we've seen plenty of bad-ass Vader. Vulnerable Vader? That would be a story worth reading.
Hawkeye #7: Whoa. Just...whoa. I thought we were going to have to wait a while before Kate had time to delve into the mystery of her father. But, Thompson gets right to it, as Madame Masque sends Kate the necklace her mother wore to signify her love for Kate and her sister. Did I mention said necklace was covered in blood? You think we're starting down the road of getting more information about Kate's dad as she makes her way through Madame Masque's penthouse. But then she finds her dad sitting in Madame Masque's chair? Apparently it's not as long of a road as we thought. Meanwhile, Thompson continues to give Kate one of the strongest personalities in comics: you can predict what she's going to say before she says it. I can hear her voice so clearly in my head. (Finger guns!) Really, I'd read this series just to see Pizza Dog (yay!), but Thompson makes Kate so damn irresistible. It's really becoming one of the best series on the stands. What is it about Hawkeyes?
Iceman #1: I admit I was nervous about reading this issue. In fact, "trepidation" is probably the right word. As a kid, Bobby was always my favorite X-Man because he seemed to be carrying the same indescribable weight as I was. I know most authors weren't writing Bobby as gay then, but Bendis obviously picked up the same cues as many of the rest of us when he had young Bobby come out (or, at least, accept Jean outing him). To see Bobby begin to enter the world as a gay man: it's almost too much. After reading this issue, I would say my main emotion is that it's mostly a relief to have it done. It's uneven, particularly in terms of the art, and odd, but Grace has a very good read on what makes Bobby tick and, at the end of the day, that part is the most important. Moreover, Grace makes the key decision to show not tell: we get all the information about where Bobby is mentally through his interactions with his friends and family. It's nice to see him have a relationship with his younger self, though Grace makes it clear how awkward it is. Younger Bobby leans too heavily into teasing Bobby about being a dad, but it also is a pretty good description of their relationship. Moreover, Grace's sense of history is impeccable. Bobby starts the issue by writing his dating-website profile, where he says his friends are his family. When his father has a health scare that sends Bobby running to his hospital room, we're reminded just how much his biological family isn't his family. Grace doesn't let Bobby off the hook either: although he's mad his parents moved without telling him, he also forgot his mother's birthday. Their dysfunctional relationship is a two-way street, and the most poignant part is Bobby imaging conversations with the parents he wishes he had after leaving the hospital. Every gay kid has had those conversations. For me, it allowed me to relax, knowing Grace knew what he was doing here. That said, it's not smooth sailing throughout the issue. The art leaves a lot to be desired. Vitti is a pretty established artist, so I just don't know if he didn't have a lot of time here or what. But, his lines are hurried, making characters gain and lose 100 pounds between panels. (Seriously.) It's disappointing, to be sure. Moreover, Grace himself makes some odd choices, like when the mutant Bobby saves randomly uses British English despite being a New Yorker. Overall, it's probably a B-. But, I really just needed it not to be a disaster, and Grace delivers that.
Nightwing #22: This arc is essentially our first real story where Dick is firmly planted in Blüdhaven. After all, "Nightwing Must Die!" had him trolling around France pretty quickly after he arrived in town. But, now he and Shawn have settled into a solid routine and Dick is ready to get a job. (Shawn has apparently gotten back her job at the center, something Seeley doesn't really explain here. But, it never made sense to me that they fired her in the first place, so I'm just going to view it as correcting a wrong.) However, Dick is distracted by his sense that something big is going to happen soon, and he's right: he stumbles upon a Metropolis-based gang trying to clear out a local one, and we learn it's because they have a deal with Tiger Shark to give him some privacy to operate at the port. (Yeah, I'm not sure why Tiger Shark didn't just make the deal with the local gang either.) Tiger Shark is worried Dick is going to spoil his plan to smuggle into Blüdhaven whatever it is he's smuggling, so he hires Blockbuster to take out Dick. However, Blockbuster makes things all the curiouser when he doesn't take out Nightwing, but offers him some sort of job. It's an interesting twist, and I'm legitimately intrigued to see what Seeley has planned here.
Nova (2017) #7: I have to admit, I'm having a hard time with Marvel's new approach to series, where you get emotionally invested and then they end them after seven issues. (At least "Moon Knight" made it to 14 issues, I guess.) It's so clear Loveness and Pérez had other stories to tell, and it hurts my heart they won't be able to tell them. Although long-time readers of this blog know I'm a huge Rich Rider fan, I became a fan of Sam -- a character I previously disliked -- because of this series. Their relationship brought out the best in both of them, and Sam proves his hero chops here. I loved Rich warning Sam he might've sacrificed his life to try to save him from the Cancerverse and Sam responding, "Yeah, well, I talked to some girls." Marvel has promised some sort of relaunch in the fall that we fans of the classic stories will appreciate. I worry that sounds a lot like stripping out the diversity they've infused in their line, and I hope it's not the case. Rich and Sam together shows why we're better for this diversity. It's not just because people see themselves in the stories in a way they didn't previously (though that's obviously important). But, it's also opened up new stories for established characters. Rich has always been a lonesome guy, and something about his partnership with Sam gave him a spring in his step and a smile on his face that we don't often see when it comes to him. I hope we see both of these guys soon and that we see them together. We can't go back, but only forward. Novas gotta step up.
Reborn #6: In the end, this story isn't all that complicated: it's ultimately about Bonnie finding the courage to die. As she and her dad confront Golgotha, she returns to "reality" when she somehow returns to life. (Doctors don't seem to be performing CPR or anything, so it's a little unclear how she suddenly returned.) However, she knows that she has to return to destroy Golgotha, not only to save her dad, Harry, and Roy-Boy, but also to save Earth itself. After all, Golgotha plans to use her blood to fully energize the machine he's constructed to breach the wall between their realm and Earth. Realizing she's needed more there than here, she returns, defeats Golgotha, and becomes queen. I have to be honest and say I'm disappointed Millar makes it so easy. After all, Golgotha has his minions allow Bonnie and her father to waltz into his castle. We could have watched them fight their way into it over the course of several issues, giving us some sense of satisfaction when she finally confronts Golgotha. Instead, she reminds us the prophecy says she'll defeat him, and she and everyone else essentially surrender to it. You wonder why Golgotha didn't just shoot himself. It's like Fizban handing the Heroes of the Lance the Dragonlance in the Inn at Last Home and transporting them to Neraka to defeat the Dark Queen. The only hiccup is when Bonnie returns to life, but she resolves that challenge fairly easily. It takes a story that started with so much promise for complexity and nuance and reduces it to a Saturday morning cartoon. But, that said, I also like Saturday morning cartoons. I'm sad we didn't get "Mistborn,' but I can live with "The Pirates of Darkwater." Millar teases a TV series and a standalone novel in his column after the issue concludes. If that happens, this series may really just prove to be a quick introduction to a much more complicated world. Millar himself says he has five volumes of the comic planned. I would've happily taken a more immersive twelve-issues series in lieu of five volumes. (Have we learned nothing from "The Mummy" and "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword?") But, I'm also happy to revisit this realm, whatever the circumstances.
Spider-Man #17: I have to say, at some point here, I'm Team Hammerhead. He's just minding his own business, shaking down the Vulture's brother for money he owes Black Cat, when Bombshell decides to stop him. He tells her he doesn't hit girls or kids, she persists, and he beats her into a coma. Then, the hospital texts Miles to tell him and he comes after Hammerhead at his own bar. (Hammerhead was in the middle of lamenting to his cronies that the capes always make everything worse.) Bendis almost makes you think he's got a point. But, Bendis also uses Miles' unrestrained pummeling of Hammerhead to emphasize Miles' concern about his dark side. After he pummeled an entire bar last issue, he's sensitive to it, and Hammerhead wondering aloud if Miles is on the right side is enough to distract him. Don't get distracted with Hammerhead, Miles: it usually doesn't end well.
Youngblood #2: Bowers begins to flesh out how the team came together, and it all more or less makes sense. (For a "Youngblood" issue, that's an accomplishment.) The new Vogue approaches a guy named Durante Murray, who offers "hero how-to" videos on the Internet. He idolized Sentinel back in the day, and his suit is based on a schematic Sentinel sent him after Durante wrote him a fan letter. Vogue wants to re-form Youngblood in order to gain the world's attention and then use said attention to spread word about Man-Up. (We learn that Man-Up himself didn't just physically disappear; every record of him everywhere has also disappeared.) Durante agrees to help, but refuses to be called Sentinel, a sign of his disappointment over the revelations that broke Youngblood in the first place. (We also learn he was the Bloodstream person who helped reveal all their crimes to the world.) In the present, Jeff manages not to get himself killed as the kids still suffer from the hallucinogenic gas Crime Condor used on them. He delivers the "cease and desist" letter from President Diehard and slinks into the night. When he awakens in Badrock's bunker, Badrock reveals the truth: he helped assemble the team in the first place. All that said, Bowers still has some steps to show us in how we got here. For example, Shaft knows the woman called Doc Rocket on the team, possibly because her father was on the original team with him. But, we don't know anything about the white-haired woman who serves as the fourth member. We also don't know how Badrock found all of them in the first place. But, Bowers is clearly getting there. In the meantime, he's telling an interesting story that DC or Marvel couldn't tell. After all, this series takes place in a world where the public has no faith at all in government or heroes. With DC and Marvel, they often pretend people feel that way after whatever the most recent event is that destroyed a major city, but everyone usually forgets about it after four or five issues. Here, it's real. Bowers really sells it, and the success of the series is going to depend on him maintaining that sentiment, that we're not just reading a DC or Marvel series about a superhero team. As President Diehard himself says, the do-it yourself movement the Help?! app is spreading hearkens to a more innocent time, and it's going to be interesting to see these kids try to change the world's perceptions about what it means to be a hero. Of course, we also learn the brothers who designed Help?! are trying to take over the United States. Isn't it always the way?
Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #28, Champions #9; Deathstroke #20; X-Men: Gold #5
Showing posts with label Nova (2017). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nova (2017). Show all posts
Monday, July 10, 2017
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The May 3 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Free Comic Book Day 2017 (Secret Empire) #1: This issue doesn't really provide a lot of material to review. At first I thought it was a preview of the heroes' final conflict with Captain Nazi and Hydra. However, after reading "Secret Empire" #1, it's actually showing the heroes' initial conflict with them, setting up the establishment of the totalitarian state that we see fully formed in "Secret Empire" #1. The most interesting part is Captain Nazi picking up Thor's hammer. Spencer is clearly toying with us here, holding out the idea Steve is still Steve, as he's said all along. I'll address that more directly in the next section, but it's staking out some pretty strong territory.
Secret Empire #1: OK, here we go.
Before I read the issue, I thought about the task Spencer has before him. Given the string of incredibly disappointing cross-over events Marvel has imposed upon us lately, I have to admit said task seems Herculean. First, he can no longer avoid spelling out why Steve believes in Hydra. So far, Steve has simply stated Hydra can make "us" stronger, but he hasn't ever explained why he thinks we're weak. Is it because homosexuals and women have rights? Is it because Black Lives Matter exists? Does he think Mexicans are stealing our jobs? After all, Spencer has to remember the public outrage over this heel turn comes because he's saying Steve has been Hydra all along. If he was simply under the Cosmic Cube's influence, we could easily accept this cognitive dissidence. But, Spencer has gone to pains to say he's always been a Hydra plant. As such, Steve supported Hydra throwing in its lot with the Nazis, even though they were supporting a genocidal regime. How can he still be worthy of lifting Thor's hammer? Spencer has so far waved his hands in front of the blackboard on that point, but he really can no longer ignore it. Second, Spencer has to improve upon recent history when it comes to cross-over events. Even the likes of Matt Fraction and Jeff Lemire have been brought low by an event that spiraled beyond their control. (Marvel invoking the memory of "Fear Itself" with Steve picking up Thor's hammer may not have been a great idea.) We've already endured "Civil War II" and "Inhumans vs. X-Men" in the last year. Both those events are good examples for Spencer on how not to run a cross-over event. (To whit, if the central conflict could easily be resolved by a phone call, it's a problem.) But, it's been so long since we had a good event that I can't even point to an example for how he should manage one.
The good news is Spencer starts strong, mirroring the excellent first issue of "Age of Ultron" by starting in media res. Instead of Ultron destroying the world, Steve and Hydra taking over the United States is a fait accompli. Steve's top priority is finding the Cosmic Cube to "correct" history, but, in the meantime, he uses his dictatorial powers to impose his version of history on the people. Spencer starts the issue by showing us schoolchildren "learning" it was Arnim Zola, not Abraham Erskine, who created the Super-Soldier Serum; it's suitably chilling. Spencer then goes a step further; when the teacher reminds the students to dime out anyone who could be a traitor, one of the students reports that another students' older brother is acting "weird." It turns out the older brother is an Inhuman; Hydra forces storm his house almost immediately after the report, and he's sent to a detention center for Inhumans.
At this point, Spencer pulls back the camera and we get a better sense of the larger status quo. The mutants have seemingly avoided the Inhumans' fate by creating a nation of their own in the Pacific Northwest; it's called New Tian and seems to be run by Zorn, of all people. Meanwhile, Carol is still stuck outside the Shield trying to hold off the Chitauri, and Las Vegas has become the site of the resistance, led by Hawkeye and Black Widow. Spencer does a solid job of conveying emotion despite this rushed tour of the situation, as Hawkeye starts to crack under the pressure of the war of attrition he's fighting with Hydra. Our eyes and ears here is the new Patriot we saw in "Captain America: Sam Wilson." He has contacted the Champions with information Rick Jones somehow gave him (Spencer doesn't elaborate how). He claims it can save Steve, but Iron Man (or, at least, A.I. Iron Man) is skeptical. Tony exposits for us that they've tried many times to prove Steve was a clone or under Faustus' mind control or something. After suffering many casualties in these efforts, they eventually had to accept reality: Steve is Steve. Meanwhile, the Hydra Council pushes Steve to be more evil than he wants to be, and Elisa puts her finger on the problem: they'll think he's weak if he doesn't take a harder line on traitors, but they'll know he's weak if he does. Ultimately, he does; he has Rick Jones executed, and he orders Hydra to destroy Las Vegas.
Overall, the story...is actually pretty solid. First, when Tony is talking about the various assaults on Steve, McNiven makes the "casualties" indistinct. As far as I can tell, we never see, like, Iceman with a beam through his skull. One of the problems with "Age of Ultron" was that it was pretty clear from the start this reality was going to get rewritten (as cool as it would've been for that not to happen). Here, Marvel seems to hold out the possibility we're playing for keeps. Rick Jones dying isn't that big of a deal; after all, we killed off Bruce Banner and (more or less) Tony Stark in "Civil War 2." Even if we know -- as Marvel has repeatedly told us -- that Steve will be the freedom-lovin' hunk he's always been at the end of the event, it's not to say other parts of the Marvel Universe won't be a smoking crater of woe. The longer Marvel can convince us of that, the more exciting this event will be.
Champions #8: I love, love, love that Mark Waid gives Nova a win here by making him the only member of the team not gazing at his navel. Everyone else was acting, well, adolescent, fretting about the Freelancers copywriting their name. Only Nova realized the answer was simply telling people not to buy the stuff. Bam, problem solved! It seemed so simple, but Waid did a really great job of showing us why it was so hard for the rest of the team to get there.
Hawkeye #6: I love everything about this issue. The plot is almost irrelevant. (Dahlia is an Inhuman; she emerged from her cocoon looking amazing, but she's also a dragon. Brad promised her a new body but couldn't deliver. He's an asshat. Kate is going to put her in touch with the Inhumans.) Thompson has given Kate such a very clear voice, it's a joy to spend time with her. Also, Pizza Dog is back! Hurrah! The only thing I didn't understand is how Kate knew about the LMD angle. Thompson shows us Kate's conspiracy board, where the acronym LMDs appear near her father's name. I think we don't yet know why she made that connection; Thompson had to show it to us simply so we knew the connection existed. It's a reminder how deep of a story Thompson is telling, because Kate knows a lot that we don't yet know. But, we all know Brad is an asshat. That part is clear.
Nova (2017) #6: Ho, boy. Loveness and Pérez reveal the truth about Richard's escape from the Cancerverse. After years of dying at the hands of the Revengers in battle after battle, Rich eventually pours the entirety of the Nova Force into the Cosmic Cube he used to seal off the Cancerverse from our Universe. He uses the revived Cube to open a portal to our Universe, inadvertently leaving behind the Worldmind as he escaped. The Worldmind has now adapted, seemingly taken over all "life" in the Cancerverse. As expected, Sam arrives to save Rich, but the Worldmind has already absorbed him. Rich is in trouble, y'all.
Spider-Gwen #19: With the conclusion of the pretty awesome cross-over event with "Spider-Man," Latour returns to this series' ongoing concern, namely restoring Gwen's powers. The path he lays out here is...complicated. If I'm following correctly, Matt Murdoch secretly recruited one of Norman Osborn's scientists, the foreshadowingly named Dr. Elsa Brock, to examine the radioactive isotope Frank Castle gave Osborn several issues ago. (Latour reminds us Frank agreed to sweep Harry's crimes under the rug in exchange for Osborn unlocking the secrets of the isotope. But, as Murdoch notes, Castle is now a fugitive, so Harry is still out there dangling in the wind.) Brock informs us that Cindy Moon's research into the alien "spider parasites" that infected Jesse Drew (as seen in the "Spider-Women" event) led Curt Connors to develop his Lizard Formula. (I'm not sure if we really have enough information about how Connors developed the Formula to make this connection on our own. Was that also in "Spider-Women?" I guess I should just assume it was.) Given this connection between the radioactive isotope and the Formula, Brock thought she could use the former as a cure for the latter. It worked, but not how she expected. Instead of burning out the Formula's regenerative powers, the mixture created "venom." (DUN-dun-DUN!) It absorbs and amplifies the isotope, but unfortunately kills the host through the radiation it emits. However, Gwen's body is immune to the radiation: if she injects herself with the venom, she'll get back her powers, since its side effect is powers similar to the ones she had. (That makes sense, given her powers and the venom come from the same source.) Murdoch wants to infect Harry with the isotope, use the interaction between the formula in his bloodstream and the isotope to create the venom, and then draw out the venom in the process. At this point, they can then inject Gwen with the venom and everyone's problems are solved: Gwen gets back her powers, the venom has a home, Harry is cured, and Norman is happy. Gwen asks what Murdoch gets from it, but he doesn't answer. At any rate, feeling she has no choice but to help Harry, she agrees and heads to Madripoor, where Matt's Hand has located Harry. In previous series, I feel like it's exactly this sort of complicated plot that made me dislike Latour, because it was rare that I understood all the steps that got us to the conclusion. But, here, I get it, and I'm admittedly excited about it. Latour could go a lot of different directions, building some genuine suspense. Also, Wolverine!
Spider-Man 2009 #23: David gets right to the point, as Miguel travels to May 15, 2019 to stop the disaster that sets the stage for the alternate future he's trying to prevent. (That said, I still don't understand how it's connected to the actual future he's trying to resurrect, since someone clearly happened to turn New York into Nueva York. But, I digress.) He stumbles upon the cause: a terminally ill Tyler Stone wants to release a virus that kills millions, though we're still not sure what his motivation is. (I think it's just to be an asshole.) Miguel tries to stop him, but the future Sinister Six get in his way. However, Honey Bee -- i.e., Tempest in her insect form -- arrives and grabs the vial. She's distracted when she sees Miguel, who she calls Spider-Man, and Tyler shoots her, regaining control over the vial. However, seemingly the original version of Miguel -- in his original costume -- stabs him, and Tyler orders Aisa to release New York against the heroes. It's now "our" Miguel, seemingly original Miguel, and Honey Bee against New York. I'm not sure how the Fist got control over New Yorkers or where we go from here, but it seems like we're getting there soon.
Secret Empire #1: OK, here we go.
Before I read the issue, I thought about the task Spencer has before him. Given the string of incredibly disappointing cross-over events Marvel has imposed upon us lately, I have to admit said task seems Herculean. First, he can no longer avoid spelling out why Steve believes in Hydra. So far, Steve has simply stated Hydra can make "us" stronger, but he hasn't ever explained why he thinks we're weak. Is it because homosexuals and women have rights? Is it because Black Lives Matter exists? Does he think Mexicans are stealing our jobs? After all, Spencer has to remember the public outrage over this heel turn comes because he's saying Steve has been Hydra all along. If he was simply under the Cosmic Cube's influence, we could easily accept this cognitive dissidence. But, Spencer has gone to pains to say he's always been a Hydra plant. As such, Steve supported Hydra throwing in its lot with the Nazis, even though they were supporting a genocidal regime. How can he still be worthy of lifting Thor's hammer? Spencer has so far waved his hands in front of the blackboard on that point, but he really can no longer ignore it. Second, Spencer has to improve upon recent history when it comes to cross-over events. Even the likes of Matt Fraction and Jeff Lemire have been brought low by an event that spiraled beyond their control. (Marvel invoking the memory of "Fear Itself" with Steve picking up Thor's hammer may not have been a great idea.) We've already endured "Civil War II" and "Inhumans vs. X-Men" in the last year. Both those events are good examples for Spencer on how not to run a cross-over event. (To whit, if the central conflict could easily be resolved by a phone call, it's a problem.) But, it's been so long since we had a good event that I can't even point to an example for how he should manage one.
The good news is Spencer starts strong, mirroring the excellent first issue of "Age of Ultron" by starting in media res. Instead of Ultron destroying the world, Steve and Hydra taking over the United States is a fait accompli. Steve's top priority is finding the Cosmic Cube to "correct" history, but, in the meantime, he uses his dictatorial powers to impose his version of history on the people. Spencer starts the issue by showing us schoolchildren "learning" it was Arnim Zola, not Abraham Erskine, who created the Super-Soldier Serum; it's suitably chilling. Spencer then goes a step further; when the teacher reminds the students to dime out anyone who could be a traitor, one of the students reports that another students' older brother is acting "weird." It turns out the older brother is an Inhuman; Hydra forces storm his house almost immediately after the report, and he's sent to a detention center for Inhumans.
At this point, Spencer pulls back the camera and we get a better sense of the larger status quo. The mutants have seemingly avoided the Inhumans' fate by creating a nation of their own in the Pacific Northwest; it's called New Tian and seems to be run by Zorn, of all people. Meanwhile, Carol is still stuck outside the Shield trying to hold off the Chitauri, and Las Vegas has become the site of the resistance, led by Hawkeye and Black Widow. Spencer does a solid job of conveying emotion despite this rushed tour of the situation, as Hawkeye starts to crack under the pressure of the war of attrition he's fighting with Hydra. Our eyes and ears here is the new Patriot we saw in "Captain America: Sam Wilson." He has contacted the Champions with information Rick Jones somehow gave him (Spencer doesn't elaborate how). He claims it can save Steve, but Iron Man (or, at least, A.I. Iron Man) is skeptical. Tony exposits for us that they've tried many times to prove Steve was a clone or under Faustus' mind control or something. After suffering many casualties in these efforts, they eventually had to accept reality: Steve is Steve. Meanwhile, the Hydra Council pushes Steve to be more evil than he wants to be, and Elisa puts her finger on the problem: they'll think he's weak if he doesn't take a harder line on traitors, but they'll know he's weak if he does. Ultimately, he does; he has Rick Jones executed, and he orders Hydra to destroy Las Vegas.
Overall, the story...is actually pretty solid. First, when Tony is talking about the various assaults on Steve, McNiven makes the "casualties" indistinct. As far as I can tell, we never see, like, Iceman with a beam through his skull. One of the problems with "Age of Ultron" was that it was pretty clear from the start this reality was going to get rewritten (as cool as it would've been for that not to happen). Here, Marvel seems to hold out the possibility we're playing for keeps. Rick Jones dying isn't that big of a deal; after all, we killed off Bruce Banner and (more or less) Tony Stark in "Civil War 2." Even if we know -- as Marvel has repeatedly told us -- that Steve will be the freedom-lovin' hunk he's always been at the end of the event, it's not to say other parts of the Marvel Universe won't be a smoking crater of woe. The longer Marvel can convince us of that, the more exciting this event will be.
Champions #8: I love, love, love that Mark Waid gives Nova a win here by making him the only member of the team not gazing at his navel. Everyone else was acting, well, adolescent, fretting about the Freelancers copywriting their name. Only Nova realized the answer was simply telling people not to buy the stuff. Bam, problem solved! It seemed so simple, but Waid did a really great job of showing us why it was so hard for the rest of the team to get there.
Hawkeye #6: I love everything about this issue. The plot is almost irrelevant. (Dahlia is an Inhuman; she emerged from her cocoon looking amazing, but she's also a dragon. Brad promised her a new body but couldn't deliver. He's an asshat. Kate is going to put her in touch with the Inhumans.) Thompson has given Kate such a very clear voice, it's a joy to spend time with her. Also, Pizza Dog is back! Hurrah! The only thing I didn't understand is how Kate knew about the LMD angle. Thompson shows us Kate's conspiracy board, where the acronym LMDs appear near her father's name. I think we don't yet know why she made that connection; Thompson had to show it to us simply so we knew the connection existed. It's a reminder how deep of a story Thompson is telling, because Kate knows a lot that we don't yet know. But, we all know Brad is an asshat. That part is clear.
Nova (2017) #6: Ho, boy. Loveness and Pérez reveal the truth about Richard's escape from the Cancerverse. After years of dying at the hands of the Revengers in battle after battle, Rich eventually pours the entirety of the Nova Force into the Cosmic Cube he used to seal off the Cancerverse from our Universe. He uses the revived Cube to open a portal to our Universe, inadvertently leaving behind the Worldmind as he escaped. The Worldmind has now adapted, seemingly taken over all "life" in the Cancerverse. As expected, Sam arrives to save Rich, but the Worldmind has already absorbed him. Rich is in trouble, y'all.
Spider-Gwen #19: With the conclusion of the pretty awesome cross-over event with "Spider-Man," Latour returns to this series' ongoing concern, namely restoring Gwen's powers. The path he lays out here is...complicated. If I'm following correctly, Matt Murdoch secretly recruited one of Norman Osborn's scientists, the foreshadowingly named Dr. Elsa Brock, to examine the radioactive isotope Frank Castle gave Osborn several issues ago. (Latour reminds us Frank agreed to sweep Harry's crimes under the rug in exchange for Osborn unlocking the secrets of the isotope. But, as Murdoch notes, Castle is now a fugitive, so Harry is still out there dangling in the wind.) Brock informs us that Cindy Moon's research into the alien "spider parasites" that infected Jesse Drew (as seen in the "Spider-Women" event) led Curt Connors to develop his Lizard Formula. (I'm not sure if we really have enough information about how Connors developed the Formula to make this connection on our own. Was that also in "Spider-Women?" I guess I should just assume it was.) Given this connection between the radioactive isotope and the Formula, Brock thought she could use the former as a cure for the latter. It worked, but not how she expected. Instead of burning out the Formula's regenerative powers, the mixture created "venom." (DUN-dun-DUN!) It absorbs and amplifies the isotope, but unfortunately kills the host through the radiation it emits. However, Gwen's body is immune to the radiation: if she injects herself with the venom, she'll get back her powers, since its side effect is powers similar to the ones she had. (That makes sense, given her powers and the venom come from the same source.) Murdoch wants to infect Harry with the isotope, use the interaction between the formula in his bloodstream and the isotope to create the venom, and then draw out the venom in the process. At this point, they can then inject Gwen with the venom and everyone's problems are solved: Gwen gets back her powers, the venom has a home, Harry is cured, and Norman is happy. Gwen asks what Murdoch gets from it, but he doesn't answer. At any rate, feeling she has no choice but to help Harry, she agrees and heads to Madripoor, where Matt's Hand has located Harry. In previous series, I feel like it's exactly this sort of complicated plot that made me dislike Latour, because it was rare that I understood all the steps that got us to the conclusion. But, here, I get it, and I'm admittedly excited about it. Latour could go a lot of different directions, building some genuine suspense. Also, Wolverine!
Spider-Man 2009 #23: David gets right to the point, as Miguel travels to May 15, 2019 to stop the disaster that sets the stage for the alternate future he's trying to prevent. (That said, I still don't understand how it's connected to the actual future he's trying to resurrect, since someone clearly happened to turn New York into Nueva York. But, I digress.) He stumbles upon the cause: a terminally ill Tyler Stone wants to release a virus that kills millions, though we're still not sure what his motivation is. (I think it's just to be an asshole.) Miguel tries to stop him, but the future Sinister Six get in his way. However, Honey Bee -- i.e., Tempest in her insect form -- arrives and grabs the vial. She's distracted when she sees Miguel, who she calls Spider-Man, and Tyler shoots her, regaining control over the vial. However, seemingly the original version of Miguel -- in his original costume -- stabs him, and Tyler orders Aisa to release New York against the heroes. It's now "our" Miguel, seemingly original Miguel, and Honey Bee against New York. I'm not sure how the Fist got control over New Yorkers or where we go from here, but it seems like we're getting there soon.
X-Men: Gold #3: Guggenheim is really building momentum here. First, Kitty is a bad-ass to the max, from coldly telling the students the rescue mission isn't a field trip (after Rockslide complains she only took him and Armor with the team) to using her powers to save Amara as the Brotherhood's HQ explodes. But, she's at her best when she threatens Lydia Nance. During their confrontation, Rachel gleaned from Mesmero's mind that hired him to form the Brotherhood of "Evil" Mutants to further her own ends. Professor X might've delivered some sort of speech about looking past their differences; Kitty threatens Nance and makes sure she knows she's being threatened. We've got a new sheriff in town, folks.
Also Read: Spider-Man #16
Also Read: Spider-Man #16
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The April 5 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Uncanny Avengers #22: Whoa. Duggan throws a lot at us in this issue. To start, Beast successfully removes Xavier's brain from the Skull and, in so doing, brings the team's crusade to an end. Before Captain Nazi can get his mitts on the brain, Rogue has Johnny follow her above New York City and incinerate it. Larraz has been on fire throughout this series, and he hits nova at several points in this issue. But, his best panel so far comes here: Johnny gives Rogue a moment to herself, and she contemplates this final nail in Charles' coffin while looking at the clouds above New York City. It's really a touching moment. Marvel has dragged out Charles' death, from the Red Skull stealing his brain in this series to his appearance in heaven in the opening arc of "Extraordinary X-Men." But, Duggan gives us as close to a sense of finality as a comic-book death can have; it's hard not to feel like he's gone (at least for a while). With their mission accomplished, the Avengers assemble for a "team breakup" party, where Deadpool opens up a bottle of whiskey he was saving for when Logan returned. (Heh.) However, Duggan takes us to an unexpected place as Wade sneaks from the party and Rogue follows him. She asks if he hates her for breaking him (he's still walking with a cane), and Wade casually tells her that he's used to being hurt. Rogue grabs him and flies above New York City again, kissing him and absorbing his "hurt." Similar to Larraz, Duggan has been at the height of his game in this series when it comes to injecting humor at unexpected moments, and he did a great job doing so throughout this issue, like when Johnny told Synapse he was the Ringo of the Fantastic Four. But, he saves the best moment for Wade: when Rogue tells Wade his mind is like a palate cleanser after the Red Skull, he tells her it's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to him. However, we go to an even more unexpected place: instead of Cable returning in this issue, it's Simon! Somehow, absorbing Wade's powers and psyche has brought out Simon but left Rogue comatose. (By the way, I had no idea Wade was hot.) Man, I hope this series doesn't end. Duggan has really been the only person in recent memory to write a superhero comic that genuinely surprises me, and I'd love for him to keep this team together. After all, someone's going to have to take down Captain Nazi.
Captain America: Steve Rogers #15: Speaking of the Devil, the Skull's loss of Xavier's brain has a very immediate impact here, as Steve is now able to confront the Skull directly without fear of him seeing through his facade. The most interesting part of this action-packed issue is that Spencer strongly implies Steve is aware of the Skull's meddling in his past. As Steve beats on him -- with the tacit support of Crossbones and Sin, who fail to intervene -- the Skull shouts out the truth. Steve remains undeterred, saying he's only ever been loyal to the dream as he throws the Skull's broken body on the rocks below, killing him. Throughout the confrontation, Steve refers to HYDRA as a mythic organization that prizes strength (something the Skull undermined during his tenure as leader), and Steve seems to view HYDRA as a way to make America stronger. In the past, Steve is disillusioned as the Skull completes his take-over: Baron Zemo père is dead, and Kraken is missing. (We get confirmation Skull set up Zemo père, but I admit I don't totally remember that part being clear. Did the Skull tip off the Allies to Zemo père's location in whatever issue it was where Bucky sent him to his death?) Moreover, Spencer doesn't just play with Steve's history. In this new history, HYDRA threw in its lot with the Nazis only because it saw them as a way to seize power. But, it miscalculated, and Elisa's disapproval of the selection of the Nazis as partner appears to be why she was seen as a traitor to HYDRA. But, Elisa approaches Steve after the Skull's coup d'état to tell him HYDRA still needs him, as the Americans are working on a weapon of mass destruction, the Cosmic Cube. At this point, it's getting difficult to keep straight the ever-changing past. Elisa is presumably a creation of Kobik, but she's sending Steve to get his hands on the Cosmic Cube (i.e., Kobik) before it's created. Does Elisa use the Cube to create herself? Talk about a paradox. Moreover, if Baron Zemo père is the one who died on the experimental rocket, then how did Bucky lose his arm and become the Winter Soldier? The longer Spencer draws out the story, the more questions like these we have. It still seems like this new past is just affecting Steve (assuming Baron Zemo is lying about "remembering" their shared past), but I'm not sure how that's possible. Anyway, in the present, Elisa's new High Council arrives to meet with Steve as he's now the undisputed head of HYDRA. Meanwhile, in Steve's absence, Sharon defies the World Security Council's orders as she has S.H.I.E.L.D. strike against a HYDRA-controlled Sokovia. (Sokovia fell to the Skull's forces in this issue, and he threatened the Council with a nuclear weapon if it didn't recognize his sovereignty.) Spencer is really bringing everything to a head, even though it's hard to tell exactly what the denouement will be. I guess we'll see.
Avengers #6: I love Mark Waid most of the time, and I was thrilled when he launched "Avengers." We were finally getting an old-school team again. But, I've understood virtually nothing of this arc. In the end, it seems the Avengers simply stole Kang's future using the same deus ex machina from last issue, the Sacniaa time-eating machine. The only consequence of this arc appears to be the displacement of Avenger X's tomb from where we saw it in issue #5.1 to a sub-basement of Parker Industries, even though we're not told why anything we saw happen here would cause that to happen. In other words, I'm done. I'm thrilled other people are totally digging this run, but I'm not one of them.
Nova (2017) #5: Wow. At first, I thought we were going to lose Rich briefly. He returned, and the Cancerverse returned with him. He realized he had been selfish when it threatened Sam's family, and he returned to the Cancerverse, closing the portal behind him. I figured Sam and maybe the Guardians would go after him to save him, since Sam would now be able to locate the portal to the Cancerverse. But, it gets even crazier. It seems the Worldmind has become the Cancerverse in Rich's absence. I don't understand either, but you bet your ass I'm coming back next issue to see what happens!
Spider-Man #15: This issue isn't as emotional as you'd expect it to be, given Miles' mother learns both his and Jefferson's secrets. But, Bendis make it clear Rio doesn't know how to process her fury right now and we'll return to it at a later point. In the meantime, Bendis doesn't let off Miles easy. A mysterious figure is furious after Miles stopped "Frogboy" from robbing a woman. (He did so with a off-handed shot of Web-Line from the rooftop where he was talking to his dad.) "Frogboy" apparently had more ambitious plans for the night to pay off said figure, and the figure decides he has to think about how he wants to handle the plethora of superheroes (and Spider-Men) that plague New York. Separately, Bendis may be laying the groundwork for Miles' identity to be revealed: Ganke says hi to the girl who runs the YouTube channel that supports Spider-Man, and Jefferson is concerned Rio is going to tell her mother Miles' secret. Given what we've seen of Miles' grandmother, she's not going to keep that quiet. Poor Miles. He's already trying to make it work with an inter-dimensional love interest and now his grandmother is going to ruin his life and probably get herself killed in the process.
Star Wars #30: I've tried really hard with this arc, re-reading previous issues with each new issue to understand the complicated story Aaron has been telling. But, I admit he loses me here. In the present, Luke learns Garro lives alone on the world Yoda visited all those years ago. In the past, Yoda ended the feud between the Muckwhackers and Rockhawkers by resurrecting the giants they thought they had lost. With giants and humans now peacefully co-existing, Yoda departs, thinking he saved the day. But, Garro reveals the children of this world eventually left it, as Yoda's arrival showed them the galaxy had more to offer. All these developments make sense to me. But, the problem is Aaron pretty much stops explaining there. Garro claims the departure of the children robbed the world of Stonepower, so the giants were eventually reduced to much smaller versions of themselves. Garro wants to use Luke's connection with the Force to destroy them once and for all, though he doesn't really explain why he feels this way. Why fear them if they're so small? Why destroy them if they pose no threat? Then, he suddenly has a change of heart (seemingly inspired by Yoda's teachings, but we're not told why) and merges with the stone. The "giants" hustle Luke to the heart of the mountain to get it pumping again, but I don't understand why it would do any good. How long can Garro's powers really sustain this world? Even if him merging with the stone somehow gave the stone enough power for its heart to beat again, how will it sustain itself if the children are a key part of maintaining this energy? After all, it stopped beating because the children left. Seriously, for all the work I put into this arc, it's frustrating it could've ended two or three issues ago -- when Yoda first awakened the heart of the mountain -- with the same outcome. It's a disappointment, to say the least.
X-Men: Gold #1: As I may have previously mentioned, Marvel is doing with the X-Men what I always dreamed of them doing. I've always wanted a series that returned to the characters and dynamics that I remember fondly from the 1980s, and this team is exactly that. (Moreover, "X-Men Blue" and its focus on the time-displaced original team is even analogous to the original "X-Factor" concept, another hallmark of the 1980s.) Guggenheim hits us over the head with the refresh by naming this first arc "Back to Basics," and Marvel even throws in a multiple-page timeline summarizing the X-Men's history to boot. The message is clear: the basics, they are back. Thankfully, it's not just high concept; Guggenheim does a great job of implementing this vision as well. We've got the perpetually troubled Kitty/Peter romance, Logan as a cranky and seemingly forced participant, softball, a new anti-mutant organization, money troubles, a rookie leader talking to Xavier in her head, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: it all feels very familiar, in a good way. In a conversation with Nightcrawler, Storm allows that Kitty's focus on the basics has helped her find hope again. She sees them not just as the outcasts they've been ever since Scott took them to Utopia, but the heroes Kitty imagines them being. To underline the point, Kitty places them in the middle of Central Park. (We'll see if they can afford to stay!) It's been eight years since Scott pulled the X-Men to Utopia, and Marvel is making it clear this era is over. It's going to take work to keep the X-Men more grounded than they've been, but Guggenheim makes it clear he's committed to doing so in this issue, with all these winks and nods he gives us. The ten-year-old in me is very excited.
Also Read: Champions #7; Hawkeye #5
Captain America: Steve Rogers #15: Speaking of the Devil, the Skull's loss of Xavier's brain has a very immediate impact here, as Steve is now able to confront the Skull directly without fear of him seeing through his facade. The most interesting part of this action-packed issue is that Spencer strongly implies Steve is aware of the Skull's meddling in his past. As Steve beats on him -- with the tacit support of Crossbones and Sin, who fail to intervene -- the Skull shouts out the truth. Steve remains undeterred, saying he's only ever been loyal to the dream as he throws the Skull's broken body on the rocks below, killing him. Throughout the confrontation, Steve refers to HYDRA as a mythic organization that prizes strength (something the Skull undermined during his tenure as leader), and Steve seems to view HYDRA as a way to make America stronger. In the past, Steve is disillusioned as the Skull completes his take-over: Baron Zemo père is dead, and Kraken is missing. (We get confirmation Skull set up Zemo père, but I admit I don't totally remember that part being clear. Did the Skull tip off the Allies to Zemo père's location in whatever issue it was where Bucky sent him to his death?) Moreover, Spencer doesn't just play with Steve's history. In this new history, HYDRA threw in its lot with the Nazis only because it saw them as a way to seize power. But, it miscalculated, and Elisa's disapproval of the selection of the Nazis as partner appears to be why she was seen as a traitor to HYDRA. But, Elisa approaches Steve after the Skull's coup d'état to tell him HYDRA still needs him, as the Americans are working on a weapon of mass destruction, the Cosmic Cube. At this point, it's getting difficult to keep straight the ever-changing past. Elisa is presumably a creation of Kobik, but she's sending Steve to get his hands on the Cosmic Cube (i.e., Kobik) before it's created. Does Elisa use the Cube to create herself? Talk about a paradox. Moreover, if Baron Zemo père is the one who died on the experimental rocket, then how did Bucky lose his arm and become the Winter Soldier? The longer Spencer draws out the story, the more questions like these we have. It still seems like this new past is just affecting Steve (assuming Baron Zemo is lying about "remembering" their shared past), but I'm not sure how that's possible. Anyway, in the present, Elisa's new High Council arrives to meet with Steve as he's now the undisputed head of HYDRA. Meanwhile, in Steve's absence, Sharon defies the World Security Council's orders as she has S.H.I.E.L.D. strike against a HYDRA-controlled Sokovia. (Sokovia fell to the Skull's forces in this issue, and he threatened the Council with a nuclear weapon if it didn't recognize his sovereignty.) Spencer is really bringing everything to a head, even though it's hard to tell exactly what the denouement will be. I guess we'll see.
Avengers #6: I love Mark Waid most of the time, and I was thrilled when he launched "Avengers." We were finally getting an old-school team again. But, I've understood virtually nothing of this arc. In the end, it seems the Avengers simply stole Kang's future using the same deus ex machina from last issue, the Sacniaa time-eating machine. The only consequence of this arc appears to be the displacement of Avenger X's tomb from where we saw it in issue #5.1 to a sub-basement of Parker Industries, even though we're not told why anything we saw happen here would cause that to happen. In other words, I'm done. I'm thrilled other people are totally digging this run, but I'm not one of them.
Nova (2017) #5: Wow. At first, I thought we were going to lose Rich briefly. He returned, and the Cancerverse returned with him. He realized he had been selfish when it threatened Sam's family, and he returned to the Cancerverse, closing the portal behind him. I figured Sam and maybe the Guardians would go after him to save him, since Sam would now be able to locate the portal to the Cancerverse. But, it gets even crazier. It seems the Worldmind has become the Cancerverse in Rich's absence. I don't understand either, but you bet your ass I'm coming back next issue to see what happens!
Spider-Man #15: This issue isn't as emotional as you'd expect it to be, given Miles' mother learns both his and Jefferson's secrets. But, Bendis make it clear Rio doesn't know how to process her fury right now and we'll return to it at a later point. In the meantime, Bendis doesn't let off Miles easy. A mysterious figure is furious after Miles stopped "Frogboy" from robbing a woman. (He did so with a off-handed shot of Web-Line from the rooftop where he was talking to his dad.) "Frogboy" apparently had more ambitious plans for the night to pay off said figure, and the figure decides he has to think about how he wants to handle the plethora of superheroes (and Spider-Men) that plague New York. Separately, Bendis may be laying the groundwork for Miles' identity to be revealed: Ganke says hi to the girl who runs the YouTube channel that supports Spider-Man, and Jefferson is concerned Rio is going to tell her mother Miles' secret. Given what we've seen of Miles' grandmother, she's not going to keep that quiet. Poor Miles. He's already trying to make it work with an inter-dimensional love interest and now his grandmother is going to ruin his life and probably get herself killed in the process.
Star Wars #30: I've tried really hard with this arc, re-reading previous issues with each new issue to understand the complicated story Aaron has been telling. But, I admit he loses me here. In the present, Luke learns Garro lives alone on the world Yoda visited all those years ago. In the past, Yoda ended the feud between the Muckwhackers and Rockhawkers by resurrecting the giants they thought they had lost. With giants and humans now peacefully co-existing, Yoda departs, thinking he saved the day. But, Garro reveals the children of this world eventually left it, as Yoda's arrival showed them the galaxy had more to offer. All these developments make sense to me. But, the problem is Aaron pretty much stops explaining there. Garro claims the departure of the children robbed the world of Stonepower, so the giants were eventually reduced to much smaller versions of themselves. Garro wants to use Luke's connection with the Force to destroy them once and for all, though he doesn't really explain why he feels this way. Why fear them if they're so small? Why destroy them if they pose no threat? Then, he suddenly has a change of heart (seemingly inspired by Yoda's teachings, but we're not told why) and merges with the stone. The "giants" hustle Luke to the heart of the mountain to get it pumping again, but I don't understand why it would do any good. How long can Garro's powers really sustain this world? Even if him merging with the stone somehow gave the stone enough power for its heart to beat again, how will it sustain itself if the children are a key part of maintaining this energy? After all, it stopped beating because the children left. Seriously, for all the work I put into this arc, it's frustrating it could've ended two or three issues ago -- when Yoda first awakened the heart of the mountain -- with the same outcome. It's a disappointment, to say the least.
X-Men: Gold #1: As I may have previously mentioned, Marvel is doing with the X-Men what I always dreamed of them doing. I've always wanted a series that returned to the characters and dynamics that I remember fondly from the 1980s, and this team is exactly that. (Moreover, "X-Men Blue" and its focus on the time-displaced original team is even analogous to the original "X-Factor" concept, another hallmark of the 1980s.) Guggenheim hits us over the head with the refresh by naming this first arc "Back to Basics," and Marvel even throws in a multiple-page timeline summarizing the X-Men's history to boot. The message is clear: the basics, they are back. Thankfully, it's not just high concept; Guggenheim does a great job of implementing this vision as well. We've got the perpetually troubled Kitty/Peter romance, Logan as a cranky and seemingly forced participant, softball, a new anti-mutant organization, money troubles, a rookie leader talking to Xavier in her head, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: it all feels very familiar, in a good way. In a conversation with Nightcrawler, Storm allows that Kitty's focus on the basics has helped her find hope again. She sees them not just as the outcasts they've been ever since Scott took them to Utopia, but the heroes Kitty imagines them being. To underline the point, Kitty places them in the middle of Central Park. (We'll see if they can afford to stay!) It's been eight years since Scott pulled the X-Men to Utopia, and Marvel is making it clear this era is over. It's going to take work to keep the X-Men more grounded than they've been, but Guggenheim makes it clear he's committed to doing so in this issue, with all these winks and nods he gives us. The ten-year-old in me is very excited.
Also Read: Champions #7; Hawkeye #5
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The March 8 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Detective Comics #952: Tynion answers all our questions virtually at once in this issue. First, he confirms Shiva is running the League of Shadows, though implies she is so deadly she herself might be the entire League. Ra's al Ghul tries to reason with her after she eliminates his League of Assassins (apparently all of them), but fails. However, she learns from him that Cass is her daughter, and her visit to Gotham is about seeing if she's worth her time. When Cass refuses to kill her, Shiva decides she's not. Meanwhile, Gotham descends into chaos as Batman is wanted for the murder of Mayor Hady. Colonel Kane warns Kate that Shiva's only goal is destruction; Batman won't be able to reason with her, and he begs Kate to run. Perhaps the most important conversation is the one Shiva has with Batman, telling him his ability to defeat her in the past came solely because she allowed him to do so. After this issue, you believe her.
IvX #6: I've read a lot of bad events in my day, but this one is possibly the worst. (I know. I don't know if I even said that about "Fear Itself," and my review of the last issue was basically a screed about Matt Fraction and his personal responsibility for the series being so terrible.) The resolution comes when the NuHumans simply explain to Medusa that the Terrigen Mists will kill all the mutants, something the X-Men apparently didn't think they had time to tell her. (I know. "Hey, Medusa, it's Storm. Look, sorry to bother you, but it looks like the Mists are going to exterminate mut...you know, never mind, I'm just going to invade. See you soon! Kisses.") Then, Emma goes crazy and displays Inhuman-killing Sentinels she secretly had Forge make. (Apparently she wasn't over Scott, despite the fact, if I'm not mistaken, they haven't been together since "Avengers vs. X-Men." I guess bitches be crazy, yo.) She destroys Ennilux, and Havok uses a transporter to escape with her, paying off his debt to Scott. In the aftermath, Medusa abdicates her throne but doesn't explain why, and she ditches Johnny Storm for Black Bolt because she loves the latter and the former was simply her duty. (I would've guessed it was the other way around, but whatevs.) The main problem with this resolution is neither Medusa's nor Emma's actions make any sense whatsoever. Medusa claims she would've gladly destroyed the cloud had she known it was killing mutants...even though she totally 100 percent knew that. Sure, she might not have known it was going to kill all of them in two weeks, but she was definitely aware the cloud was lethal to mutants. The whole point of Crystal's team, as I understand it, was to help NuHumans cope with their abilities and save mutants from the clouds. Along those lines, she had Black Bolt murder "Scott" for destroying the other cloud. It seems reasonable for the X-Men to conclude she wouldn't just hit a button to destroy the remaining cloud, as she does here. Moreover, Emma justifies her actions in part because she's furious Black Bolt killed "Scott," even though she knows full well he didn't. Even if you take the resolution at face value and ignore these problems, Lemire and Soule are telling us this entire "war" could've been avoided with a simple phone call. I just don't know what to say.
Nova (2017) #4: I know I'm supposed to be upset about the Cancerverse eating Sam's little sister, but I've waited for years to see Richard Rider and Gamora go on a date and kiss and I will not be denied my happiness. I will not! Pérez does a great job in particular with the wordless panel showing Sam's and Richard's dates in parallel. At this stage, these characters really have nothing in common other than their helmets, but something about this sequence in particularly does a great job of having them occupy the same space.
Also Read: Captain America: Steve Rogers #13; Doctor Aphra #5; Titans #9
IvX #6: I've read a lot of bad events in my day, but this one is possibly the worst. (I know. I don't know if I even said that about "Fear Itself," and my review of the last issue was basically a screed about Matt Fraction and his personal responsibility for the series being so terrible.) The resolution comes when the NuHumans simply explain to Medusa that the Terrigen Mists will kill all the mutants, something the X-Men apparently didn't think they had time to tell her. (I know. "Hey, Medusa, it's Storm. Look, sorry to bother you, but it looks like the Mists are going to exterminate mut...you know, never mind, I'm just going to invade. See you soon! Kisses.") Then, Emma goes crazy and displays Inhuman-killing Sentinels she secretly had Forge make. (Apparently she wasn't over Scott, despite the fact, if I'm not mistaken, they haven't been together since "Avengers vs. X-Men." I guess bitches be crazy, yo.) She destroys Ennilux, and Havok uses a transporter to escape with her, paying off his debt to Scott. In the aftermath, Medusa abdicates her throne but doesn't explain why, and she ditches Johnny Storm for Black Bolt because she loves the latter and the former was simply her duty. (I would've guessed it was the other way around, but whatevs.) The main problem with this resolution is neither Medusa's nor Emma's actions make any sense whatsoever. Medusa claims she would've gladly destroyed the cloud had she known it was killing mutants...even though she totally 100 percent knew that. Sure, she might not have known it was going to kill all of them in two weeks, but she was definitely aware the cloud was lethal to mutants. The whole point of Crystal's team, as I understand it, was to help NuHumans cope with their abilities and save mutants from the clouds. Along those lines, she had Black Bolt murder "Scott" for destroying the other cloud. It seems reasonable for the X-Men to conclude she wouldn't just hit a button to destroy the remaining cloud, as she does here. Moreover, Emma justifies her actions in part because she's furious Black Bolt killed "Scott," even though she knows full well he didn't. Even if you take the resolution at face value and ignore these problems, Lemire and Soule are telling us this entire "war" could've been avoided with a simple phone call. I just don't know what to say.
Nova (2017) #4: I know I'm supposed to be upset about the Cancerverse eating Sam's little sister, but I've waited for years to see Richard Rider and Gamora go on a date and kiss and I will not be denied my happiness. I will not! Pérez does a great job in particular with the wordless panel showing Sam's and Richard's dates in parallel. At this stage, these characters really have nothing in common other than their helmets, but something about this sequence in particularly does a great job of having them occupy the same space.
Also Read: Captain America: Steve Rogers #13; Doctor Aphra #5; Titans #9
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The February 1 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
All-New X-Men #1.MU: Honestly, this issue is one of the best stand-alone issues I've ever read, let alone one connected to an event. Whitley really has an excellent bead on the characters' personalities. But, he goes beyond that, shows us those personalities when they're pushed into uncomfortable or new places: Warren adjusting to being the responsible one, Laura having to contemplate why she's part of a team, Idie reacquainting herself with her faith. On top of that, their interactions with each other really sing: you can really feel the warmth in Gambit and Laura's relationship, for example. (In fact, Whitley's Gambit is probably the best version of him I've ever read, getting to the person behind the accent and charm.) Plus, the action is legitimately fun, thanks to Barberi's great sense of motion. Honestly, it's a good time had by all. Laissez les bon temps rouler indeed.
Avengers #4: Yup, you guessed it: I still have no idea what the fuck is happening. Kang narrates this issue and, as amazingly beautiful as it is, I still wrestle with all the usual problems with Kang. As Waid walks us through Kang's "history," you just have to wonder how it's at all possible. How does he live eternally? Why does he live eternally? What motivates him? Why is conquering only one era not enough? This issue makes it clear Waid has big ideas when it comes to Kang, but every author has to answer these questions about Kang if their story is going to make sense. After the virtually nonsensical first arc, I have my doubts. Why does everyone insist on starting their run on "Avengers" with a Kang story? It's like learning to swim in the deep end.
Batman #16: If you've been reading this blog for a long time, you know that I'm pretty much obsessed with the need for the Bat-family to have a big group hug. I come as close as I'm ever going to get to that in this issue. King has the four living Robins go to Bat-burger with Bruce, where Jason admits that he loves Jokerized fries despite "the crowbar and all." We then see Damian and Jason engage in a food fight while Dick confirms to a bewildered Duke that, yes, Bruce, the man raised by the butler, eats his hamburger with a fork and knife. Although Bruce proves to be the downer when he angrily notes Tim's absence, I don't care. I would read an entire series devoted to the Robins having burgers with each other. King eventually has to get to the point of this meeting: Bruce asks the boys to vacate Gotham since Bane is on the way and he doesn't want any of them to die (again). But, it's really all about the meal at Batburger. Don't worry, Jason: despite what Damian says about your hairline, I'll still love you.
Hawkeye #3: I really love everything Thompson is doing here. It's the L.A. Kate Fraction was trying to write but never quite got right. Thompson has Kate's Scooby gang fully assembled here: handsome Johnny, grumpy but game Ramone, hacker Watson, and, most importantly, inside-woman Detective Rivera. My guess is the large dude looming over Kate at the end of this issue is nefarious surfer Brad, but we'll see. At this stage, we still don't know why he would be so obsessed with Mikka, so it's possible it is creepy Larry. On some level, it doesn't matter, because it's just fun to spend time inside Kate's head. Thompson has her internal narrative down pat, making even searching a house (and finding a dude on the toilet) an exercise in fun.
Moon Knight #11: This series has been all about Marc's past, but, in truth, we haven't seen much of it from a narrative perspective. We know his friends and his personas pretty well, but, if you're a new reader like I am, you don't know anything about the details of his life. Lemire remedies that problem here in a typically creative fashion, showing us flashes of Marc's past as he fights his way through the Overvoid. (He's trying to find something Anubis lost so Anubis will give him back his friend's soul.) We see Marc being released from the psychiatric ward where he seems to have spent years, a grown man at this point. He is released only for a time, to attend his father's funeral. Afterwards, he rebuffs his mother's assertion that his father would've been happy he came by reminding her how disappointed his father had been in him. Later, we see him lying to recruiters about his mental illness to join the Marines, but his strange behavior (including a sexy naked walk through a mine field) leads him to being dishonorably discharged. (That seems harsh, by the way. They discover he lied about his mental illness, but don't get him help?) Marc goes AWOL in Baghdad, and we eventually see him meeting Frenchie after he wins a bout at an underground fight club. Throughout this narrative, we see hints of Khonshu speaking to him, observing Marc will do anything he needs to do to be cured. (Lemire's Khonshu at this point is definitely the villain of the story, an opportunist looking to exploit Marc's weaknesses to be reborn.) In the Overvoid, Marc finds Aput, Anubis' wife, but he'll have to survive being sacrificed to the Overvoid's gods if he's going to save her. I still marvel (heh) after all these issues at Lemire's ability to tell so many stories on so many levels in so many time periods while still holding onto the threat of the narrative. It's a wonder to behold, and Smallwood's art infuses it with an emotional depth that's hard to explain. I don't think I've seen a better duo since Snyder/Jock on "Detective Comics." I also agree with Kaylee in the letters page: a great story plus the most handsome Mark ever? What more could you want?
Nightwing #14: Seeley has a pretty decent track record for wrapping up loose ends, and he does the same here. Dick and Shawn track down Jimmy thanks to Shawn poking through his finances and discovering an odd investment: his "quiet reflection project" that just so happens to be located in a toxic-waste site. Svoboda gets credit for the collar as planned, and Nightwing and the Run-Offs are exonerated. Dick even gets the girl, in a clever twist on a fantasy sequence, where Dick imagines telling Shawn who he is and she guesses anyway. (They kiss in both fantasy and reality.) Moreover, Dick's personal life doesn't get a boost just from his burgeoning romance with Shawn, but the fact he's taking over her position at the community center since she was fired given her connection to the murders. (This part seemed a little unfair, since she was definitively proven innocent.) I do wish Seeley spent a little more time on fleshing out Cherry and Jimmy's relationship, since we learn in this issue that Cherry was the one feeding Jimmy information about corruption. Seeley doesn't really tell us how Cherry came to use Jimmy as her avenging angel or why she felt so strongly about corruption in the first place. But, it seems possible we'll return to these characters at some point: at the end of the issue, an accident causes Jimmy's face to bond with broken shards of a mirror. Although Mirror-Face isn't a great name for a villain, it's clear that someone with that good of a shtick is going to return. Other than this small complaint, this arc really does establish Dick in Blüdhaven. Since Dick resumed being Nightwing in 2011, I don't think we've had firmer ground under our feet when it comes to Dick, and I'm excited to see where Seeley takes us.
Nova (2017) #3: As expected, Rich starts doling out girl advice here, telling Sam that the thing he learned by dying is that he wish he would've talked to more girls when he was alive. Sam is worried Lina -- (the girl whose name his brain screams, as Cosmo tells us) -- will reject him, and Rich tells him that he'll live if that happens. After all, again, Rich died, so he's got a pretty solid perspective on that front. But, Loveness and Pérez actually call into question here whether Rich "died" or "remains dead;" when he uses his powers here, he reverts to his Cancerverse self, even if no one else (or, at least, Sam) doesn't see him in that form. The mystery continues. At any rate, Loveness and Pérez really capture the Rich we all know and love, the caring and charming straight guy who feel responsibility for taking care of everyone around him. Speaking of girls and love, enter Gamora next issue!
Spider-Man 2099 #20: I enjoy Miguel having an archenemy in the present in the form of Man Mountain Marko. It adds a nice touch. Of course, his real archenemy, his father, is also at play here, so it does dim Marko's star a little. David does a great job using Tyler to remind us just how much Tempest knows about Miguel. I was worried he was going to spill the beans about Miguel being Spider-Man or being from the future, but Tempest already knows all that. I think the most significant conversation is actually when Tempest threatens to kill Tyler if he's lying about his ability to cure her, because that feels like clear foreshadowing and not an idle threat. Also, I haven't mentioned it for a while, but Sliney is really the perfect fit for this title. His clean lines really imbue it with a futuristic vibe. It's really smooth sailing over here.
Also Read: Champions #5; Midnighter and Apollo #5
Avengers #4: Yup, you guessed it: I still have no idea what the fuck is happening. Kang narrates this issue and, as amazingly beautiful as it is, I still wrestle with all the usual problems with Kang. As Waid walks us through Kang's "history," you just have to wonder how it's at all possible. How does he live eternally? Why does he live eternally? What motivates him? Why is conquering only one era not enough? This issue makes it clear Waid has big ideas when it comes to Kang, but every author has to answer these questions about Kang if their story is going to make sense. After the virtually nonsensical first arc, I have my doubts. Why does everyone insist on starting their run on "Avengers" with a Kang story? It's like learning to swim in the deep end.
Batman #16: If you've been reading this blog for a long time, you know that I'm pretty much obsessed with the need for the Bat-family to have a big group hug. I come as close as I'm ever going to get to that in this issue. King has the four living Robins go to Bat-burger with Bruce, where Jason admits that he loves Jokerized fries despite "the crowbar and all." We then see Damian and Jason engage in a food fight while Dick confirms to a bewildered Duke that, yes, Bruce, the man raised by the butler, eats his hamburger with a fork and knife. Although Bruce proves to be the downer when he angrily notes Tim's absence, I don't care. I would read an entire series devoted to the Robins having burgers with each other. King eventually has to get to the point of this meeting: Bruce asks the boys to vacate Gotham since Bane is on the way and he doesn't want any of them to die (again). But, it's really all about the meal at Batburger. Don't worry, Jason: despite what Damian says about your hairline, I'll still love you.
Hawkeye #3: I really love everything Thompson is doing here. It's the L.A. Kate Fraction was trying to write but never quite got right. Thompson has Kate's Scooby gang fully assembled here: handsome Johnny, grumpy but game Ramone, hacker Watson, and, most importantly, inside-woman Detective Rivera. My guess is the large dude looming over Kate at the end of this issue is nefarious surfer Brad, but we'll see. At this stage, we still don't know why he would be so obsessed with Mikka, so it's possible it is creepy Larry. On some level, it doesn't matter, because it's just fun to spend time inside Kate's head. Thompson has her internal narrative down pat, making even searching a house (and finding a dude on the toilet) an exercise in fun.
Moon Knight #11: This series has been all about Marc's past, but, in truth, we haven't seen much of it from a narrative perspective. We know his friends and his personas pretty well, but, if you're a new reader like I am, you don't know anything about the details of his life. Lemire remedies that problem here in a typically creative fashion, showing us flashes of Marc's past as he fights his way through the Overvoid. (He's trying to find something Anubis lost so Anubis will give him back his friend's soul.) We see Marc being released from the psychiatric ward where he seems to have spent years, a grown man at this point. He is released only for a time, to attend his father's funeral. Afterwards, he rebuffs his mother's assertion that his father would've been happy he came by reminding her how disappointed his father had been in him. Later, we see him lying to recruiters about his mental illness to join the Marines, but his strange behavior (including a sexy naked walk through a mine field) leads him to being dishonorably discharged. (That seems harsh, by the way. They discover he lied about his mental illness, but don't get him help?) Marc goes AWOL in Baghdad, and we eventually see him meeting Frenchie after he wins a bout at an underground fight club. Throughout this narrative, we see hints of Khonshu speaking to him, observing Marc will do anything he needs to do to be cured. (Lemire's Khonshu at this point is definitely the villain of the story, an opportunist looking to exploit Marc's weaknesses to be reborn.) In the Overvoid, Marc finds Aput, Anubis' wife, but he'll have to survive being sacrificed to the Overvoid's gods if he's going to save her. I still marvel (heh) after all these issues at Lemire's ability to tell so many stories on so many levels in so many time periods while still holding onto the threat of the narrative. It's a wonder to behold, and Smallwood's art infuses it with an emotional depth that's hard to explain. I don't think I've seen a better duo since Snyder/Jock on "Detective Comics." I also agree with Kaylee in the letters page: a great story plus the most handsome Mark ever? What more could you want?
Nightwing #14: Seeley has a pretty decent track record for wrapping up loose ends, and he does the same here. Dick and Shawn track down Jimmy thanks to Shawn poking through his finances and discovering an odd investment: his "quiet reflection project" that just so happens to be located in a toxic-waste site. Svoboda gets credit for the collar as planned, and Nightwing and the Run-Offs are exonerated. Dick even gets the girl, in a clever twist on a fantasy sequence, where Dick imagines telling Shawn who he is and she guesses anyway. (They kiss in both fantasy and reality.) Moreover, Dick's personal life doesn't get a boost just from his burgeoning romance with Shawn, but the fact he's taking over her position at the community center since she was fired given her connection to the murders. (This part seemed a little unfair, since she was definitively proven innocent.) I do wish Seeley spent a little more time on fleshing out Cherry and Jimmy's relationship, since we learn in this issue that Cherry was the one feeding Jimmy information about corruption. Seeley doesn't really tell us how Cherry came to use Jimmy as her avenging angel or why she felt so strongly about corruption in the first place. But, it seems possible we'll return to these characters at some point: at the end of the issue, an accident causes Jimmy's face to bond with broken shards of a mirror. Although Mirror-Face isn't a great name for a villain, it's clear that someone with that good of a shtick is going to return. Other than this small complaint, this arc really does establish Dick in Blüdhaven. Since Dick resumed being Nightwing in 2011, I don't think we've had firmer ground under our feet when it comes to Dick, and I'm excited to see where Seeley takes us.
Nova (2017) #3: As expected, Rich starts doling out girl advice here, telling Sam that the thing he learned by dying is that he wish he would've talked to more girls when he was alive. Sam is worried Lina -- (the girl whose name his brain screams, as Cosmo tells us) -- will reject him, and Rich tells him that he'll live if that happens. After all, again, Rich died, so he's got a pretty solid perspective on that front. But, Loveness and Pérez actually call into question here whether Rich "died" or "remains dead;" when he uses his powers here, he reverts to his Cancerverse self, even if no one else (or, at least, Sam) doesn't see him in that form. The mystery continues. At any rate, Loveness and Pérez really capture the Rich we all know and love, the caring and charming straight guy who feel responsibility for taking care of everyone around him. Speaking of girls and love, enter Gamora next issue!
Spider-Man 2099 #20: I enjoy Miguel having an archenemy in the present in the form of Man Mountain Marko. It adds a nice touch. Of course, his real archenemy, his father, is also at play here, so it does dim Marko's star a little. David does a great job using Tyler to remind us just how much Tempest knows about Miguel. I was worried he was going to spill the beans about Miguel being Spider-Man or being from the future, but Tempest already knows all that. I think the most significant conversation is actually when Tempest threatens to kill Tyler if he's lying about his ability to cure her, because that feels like clear foreshadowing and not an idle threat. Also, I haven't mentioned it for a while, but Sliney is really the perfect fit for this title. His clean lines really imbue it with a futuristic vibe. It's really smooth sailing over here.
Also Read: Champions #5; Midnighter and Apollo #5
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The January 4 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Avengers #3: I could try to explain what I think happened here, but I won't, because I honestly have no idea. Somehow the Wasp returning the baby to the future undoes the time paradox Vision created when he kidnapped the baby in the first place, and everyone goes home happy..., well, everyone except for Kang. Apparently the Priests of Pama feed on time paradoxes, so they consume Kang and the Scarlet Centurion. However, the Avengers are apparently going to go to war with Kang next issue, implementing a plan Sam has. Yeah, I don't get it either.
Batman #14: King confirms what we've known all along, that Catwoman didn't kill 237 people. However, for some reason, she's committed to going to prison for life for the crime, after Amanda Waller abides by her agreement with Bruce and has her sentence commuted. My guess is Selena is covering for the orphan who did kill these people, but we'll get there at some point. In the meantime, King delivers a beautifully terse issue that lets Gerards' amazing artwork do the talking. We're treated to a two-page splash of the starry Gotham night that foreshadows the diamonds Selena later gives to Bruce to fund an orphanage. But, the scene is beautiful in its own right and really sets the stage for the two of them eventually making love on the rooftop. (It's a rare acknowledgement that Selena knows Bruce's identity, something thrown into question at the start of the DCnU if I remember correctly.) It's just a perfectly paced story from start to finish, conveying the melancholy and regret both characters feel. Rarely does the art and script work together as beautifully as they do here.
Black Widow #1-#6 (TPB): I first considered getting this series when I heard Bucky would be appearing at some point. Bucky's relationship with Nat was one of the best parts of his time as Captain America, and I was devastated (really, I still am) when they erased her memory of him. I was actually so mad at comics that I stopped really enjoying them for a few weeks. But, Comixology was having a sale on TPBs, and I got this one. I'm still trying to pare down my pull list, not expand it, but, after reading this arc, someone else is going to be on the chopping block. At some point in the letters page, the editor acknowledges that one of the questions running through Waid and Samnee's run is whether Nat's really knowable. I feel like I came the closest to doing so during those "Captain America" issues where she's in a relationship with Bucky, but maybe it wasn't the real her. Maybe she was too happy. Waid and Samnee explore that idea here, and it's amazing. To be honest, my appreciation of Nat outside "Captain America" larges comes from Scarlet Johansson's portrayal of her in the MCU, and Waid and Samnee preserve that dry sense of humor here. I particularly loved the sequence where she mumbles to herself about Tony mocking her skills...after she took him by surprise and knocked him unconscious to access his vault. Doubting her, indeed. Moreover, Waid and Samnee have given Nat two formidable pairs of enemies in just these six issues: the Weeping Lion brothers as well as the Recluse and her mother, Nat's former Headmistress at the Red Room. The mind boggles where we're going to go from here.
Midnighter and Apollo #4: Orlando leaves us with a mystery here, as Apollo seemed to have stumped Neron with a question about why he calls himself Apollo. But, Neron later appears to have imprisoned Apollo, implying Neron guessed correctly (despite him obviously having guessed incorrectly that Apollo named himself after the Roman god). But, the most interesting thing to me is the revelation that Apollo was human at some point. I always thought he was an alien, but we learned here that he was abducted by aliens trying to make their own Superman after he told his parents he was gay. Long-time readers might have known that, but I didn't. Orlando uses this revelation to maximum effect, as Apollo basically laughs off Neron's attempt to break him, stating people have tried that many times before. It's a reminder just how bad-ass Midnighter and Apollo are separately and together.
Nova (2017) #2: "Your fans are...intense." We are, Kamala. We totally are! I knew I trusted these authors when they evoked an argument Rich made during the original "Civil War," when he berated Iron Man for fighting the Civil War while he was busy fighting the Annihilation Wave. They get it. I'll also admit I totally cried fanboy tears when the bar on Knowhere toasted Rich, a sign that Earth might not remember his heroism but space does. Originally, I wanted this series just to be about Rich, but I can't deny Sam adds something. First, Rich and Sam's banter is great. I loved when Rich started getting upset when Sam questioned him about his origins, and Sam responded by observing his father was a clone who tried to kill him. Rich's response? "Fair." Perfect. But, Sam's youth reminds us that Rich has now entered senior hero status and not just because Sam tries to defend himself by citing his ability to grow...."hair." The authors draw a line under the point when Rich meets the Champions and asks if every superhero is a twelve-year-old. If he is Rich and he's going to stay, he has to operate in the new Marvel Universe. He's no longer a New Warrior, but an honest-to-fucking-God hero, as the toasting denizens of the bar remind us.
Spider-Man 2099 #19: Well, Peter David really stepped it up a notch, didn't he? I mean, sure, I didn't really buy that "Mother" (or whatever her name was) forgot about Elektra, allowing Elektra to kill her while she was delivering a monologue to Miguel and Roberta about why America has to fall. But, it doesn't matter...because Tyler Stone is back in action! He's clearly going to turn Tempest into some sort of terrible monster, maybe like the one she became when Miguel cured her cancer. Whatever it is, it seems unlikely Miguel is going to be happy with the result. (For the continuity folks out there like me, Tyler specifically refers to the fact that he was also previously paralyzed, adding to the information we have about where we are in Miguel's original timeline.)
U.S.Avengers #1: Reading Bobby's speech about how the American flag is his flag and their flag regardless of how the people afraid of them feel about it the weekend of Donald Trump banning Muslims from entering the United States makes me think Al Ewing can predict the future. I was going to cancel this series in favor of "Hawkeye" but decided to give it a whirl because I love Sam. Well, after reading it, I'm all on board with Bobby and his desire to reclaim the flag for the rest of us.
Also Read: Captain America: Sam Wilson #17; Champions #4; Hawkeye #2; Moon Knight #10; Nightwing #12; Unworthy Thor #2
Batman #14: King confirms what we've known all along, that Catwoman didn't kill 237 people. However, for some reason, she's committed to going to prison for life for the crime, after Amanda Waller abides by her agreement with Bruce and has her sentence commuted. My guess is Selena is covering for the orphan who did kill these people, but we'll get there at some point. In the meantime, King delivers a beautifully terse issue that lets Gerards' amazing artwork do the talking. We're treated to a two-page splash of the starry Gotham night that foreshadows the diamonds Selena later gives to Bruce to fund an orphanage. But, the scene is beautiful in its own right and really sets the stage for the two of them eventually making love on the rooftop. (It's a rare acknowledgement that Selena knows Bruce's identity, something thrown into question at the start of the DCnU if I remember correctly.) It's just a perfectly paced story from start to finish, conveying the melancholy and regret both characters feel. Rarely does the art and script work together as beautifully as they do here.
Black Widow #1-#6 (TPB): I first considered getting this series when I heard Bucky would be appearing at some point. Bucky's relationship with Nat was one of the best parts of his time as Captain America, and I was devastated (really, I still am) when they erased her memory of him. I was actually so mad at comics that I stopped really enjoying them for a few weeks. But, Comixology was having a sale on TPBs, and I got this one. I'm still trying to pare down my pull list, not expand it, but, after reading this arc, someone else is going to be on the chopping block. At some point in the letters page, the editor acknowledges that one of the questions running through Waid and Samnee's run is whether Nat's really knowable. I feel like I came the closest to doing so during those "Captain America" issues where she's in a relationship with Bucky, but maybe it wasn't the real her. Maybe she was too happy. Waid and Samnee explore that idea here, and it's amazing. To be honest, my appreciation of Nat outside "Captain America" larges comes from Scarlet Johansson's portrayal of her in the MCU, and Waid and Samnee preserve that dry sense of humor here. I particularly loved the sequence where she mumbles to herself about Tony mocking her skills...after she took him by surprise and knocked him unconscious to access his vault. Doubting her, indeed. Moreover, Waid and Samnee have given Nat two formidable pairs of enemies in just these six issues: the Weeping Lion brothers as well as the Recluse and her mother, Nat's former Headmistress at the Red Room. The mind boggles where we're going to go from here.
Midnighter and Apollo #4: Orlando leaves us with a mystery here, as Apollo seemed to have stumped Neron with a question about why he calls himself Apollo. But, Neron later appears to have imprisoned Apollo, implying Neron guessed correctly (despite him obviously having guessed incorrectly that Apollo named himself after the Roman god). But, the most interesting thing to me is the revelation that Apollo was human at some point. I always thought he was an alien, but we learned here that he was abducted by aliens trying to make their own Superman after he told his parents he was gay. Long-time readers might have known that, but I didn't. Orlando uses this revelation to maximum effect, as Apollo basically laughs off Neron's attempt to break him, stating people have tried that many times before. It's a reminder just how bad-ass Midnighter and Apollo are separately and together.
Nova (2017) #2: "Your fans are...intense." We are, Kamala. We totally are! I knew I trusted these authors when they evoked an argument Rich made during the original "Civil War," when he berated Iron Man for fighting the Civil War while he was busy fighting the Annihilation Wave. They get it. I'll also admit I totally cried fanboy tears when the bar on Knowhere toasted Rich, a sign that Earth might not remember his heroism but space does. Originally, I wanted this series just to be about Rich, but I can't deny Sam adds something. First, Rich and Sam's banter is great. I loved when Rich started getting upset when Sam questioned him about his origins, and Sam responded by observing his father was a clone who tried to kill him. Rich's response? "Fair." Perfect. But, Sam's youth reminds us that Rich has now entered senior hero status and not just because Sam tries to defend himself by citing his ability to grow...."hair." The authors draw a line under the point when Rich meets the Champions and asks if every superhero is a twelve-year-old. If he is Rich and he's going to stay, he has to operate in the new Marvel Universe. He's no longer a New Warrior, but an honest-to-fucking-God hero, as the toasting denizens of the bar remind us.
Spider-Man 2099 #19: Well, Peter David really stepped it up a notch, didn't he? I mean, sure, I didn't really buy that "Mother" (or whatever her name was) forgot about Elektra, allowing Elektra to kill her while she was delivering a monologue to Miguel and Roberta about why America has to fall. But, it doesn't matter...because Tyler Stone is back in action! He's clearly going to turn Tempest into some sort of terrible monster, maybe like the one she became when Miguel cured her cancer. Whatever it is, it seems unlikely Miguel is going to be happy with the result. (For the continuity folks out there like me, Tyler specifically refers to the fact that he was also previously paralyzed, adding to the information we have about where we are in Miguel's original timeline.)
U.S.Avengers #1: Reading Bobby's speech about how the American flag is his flag and their flag regardless of how the people afraid of them feel about it the weekend of Donald Trump banning Muslims from entering the United States makes me think Al Ewing can predict the future. I was going to cancel this series in favor of "Hawkeye" but decided to give it a whirl because I love Sam. Well, after reading it, I'm all on board with Bobby and his desire to reclaim the flag for the rest of us.
Also Read: Captain America: Sam Wilson #17; Champions #4; Hawkeye #2; Moon Knight #10; Nightwing #12; Unworthy Thor #2
Monday, February 6, 2017
Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The December 7 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
December! We're getting there!
Avengers #2: I still don't understand basic components of the plot here. According to Waid, Kang is creating impossible contradictions in the hope that these time paradoxes break the timelock keeping him stuck in the present. (Scarily, that part makes the most sense.). However, we're not told how he's creating these contradictions or why they result in a new version of him every time he fails to break the timelock. Moreover, it doesn't explain why he and the Scarlet Centurion was able to travel to the past to kill the Avengers as children, if, after all, they're stuck in the present. Time-travel stories are the fucking worst, dudes.
Clone Conspiracy #3: Fine - I admit I gasped when the "Jackal" pulled off his mask and revealed he was Ben Reilly. (Honestly, once I Googled around a bit, I'm stunned and thrilled it didn't get spoiled for me.) As the editor mentioned in the letters page, I always liked Ben Reilly, even if the Clone Saga itself was awful, and I'm not sad to see he's returned. (Also, Cheung makes him the hotness here. Something about that confidence makes Peter Parker even better looking. He should also think about rocking some stubble like Ben does.) At this stage, I am confused how he returned, since he admits he dissolved completely in Peter's arms. If the Jackal needs a body to resurrect someone, then how did he resurrect Ben? Moreover, has the Jackal we've seen all this time always been Ben Reilly? Or, did he just send Ben to pick up Uncle Ben's corpse, knowing Peter would inevitably meet him there? My confusion comes from the fact that Ben consistently sounds like the Jackal until the moment he reveals his identity. As he's confronting Peter, he not only carelessly uses Peter's real name in front of supposedly unconscious guards (something Warren would've totally done) but he gloats about how he likes being one of the few people who know Peter's identity (something Warren also would've done). That doesn't sound very good guy of him. It also doesn't explain why everything is so mysterious. Couldn't Ben just have approached Peter, revealed he's alive, and asked him for help to improve the cloning technique? Why the elaborate plans to resurrect his archenemies and/or their families before talking to him? It goes to the fact that this series is named for a conspiracy, but other than the Jackal having moles in the police force I don't get what conspiracy we're actually seeing. After all, people are just randomly divulging information right and left now. Despite stalling for the better part of the issue, Spider-Gwen just eventually goes ahead and tells Peter why she and Kaine kept him in the dark, even though the answer still doesn't make sense to me. I can't say I'm a fan of this story at this point, but, if it ends with the return of Ben Reilly (and the curing of Kaine Parker), I'll be OK with it. I also reluctantly have to give Slott props for having me on the edge of my seat. I find myself desperate to know how it all ends, and I haven't felt that way about an event in a long time. (Also, who's JJJ, Jr.'s "foster daughter?" Is that new?) The outcome is spoiled a bit with the revelation that Marvel is releasing a Ben Reilly series, but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone else the Jackal has resurrected is going to survive. I guess we'll see.
Doctor Aphra #1: The brilliance of Gillen's writing is that Aphra is a thoroughly unlikable person, but you can't help but like her. She lives in a world of other unlikable characters, and they're all on display here: the fellow archeologist who backstabbed her and who she later backstabs (and kills), the mob boss to whom she owes money (and Triple-Zero kills), the misogynistic dissertation advisor whose work she steals. They're all assholes, but she manages to out-asshole them with charm.
Justice League #10: After months of complaining about this series, I'm finally happy. The revelation that James' daughter used his code to create a wish-fulfillment A.I. that her little brother used to "play" with the Justice League was downright brilliant. Seriously. I not only didn't see it coming, but I was awed when it was revealed. But, Hitch goes one step further as James' son reveals his next game was offering Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne's fortunes to the super-villain who killed the Justice League. The ensuing battle is great, as the League scrambles to take down a number of C-List villains in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. But, the highlight of this issue is that Hitch ups his game when it comes to characterization. The characters finally sound the way they're supposed to sound. They all still sound like they're monologuing instead of conversing, but I'll take what we get here for now.
Moon Knight #9: I really don't know how Lemire does it, but he manages to take us on a tour of Mark's very nonlinear mind while leaving enough breadcrumbs for us to follow the path. This issue is suffused with emotion as Mark explains to his alter egos that he's come to grips with his mental illness. By embracing it, he's also able to embrace them and assert control over his mind. Lemire really conveys the anguish of the alter egos as they're assimilated into core Marc. Your really felt for werewolf-fighting Marc as he struggled against core Marc's assertion that he was never real, despite his years of struggle against the werewolves. Core Marc's farewell to Steve Grant is also touching. It evokes the theme of it being time to put away childish things. He explains Steve was his first persona -- the imaginary friend who became real -- but now it's time for Mark to stand on his own. All these moments are bolstered unbelievably by the art. When Smallwood appeared at the end of last issue, it gave a ring of truth to Marc's assertion that he was in charge. That continues throughout this issue, the idea we've returned to the main narrative because Smallwood's drawing these parts. I've rarely seen the narrative and the art work so beautifully together to convey an idea. Moreover, core Marc's got a helluva first task in front of him: he's going to kill Khonshu. I have no idea where we're going from here (will Mark become Khonshu if he kills him?) but I can't wait.
Nightwing #10: I couldn't be more excited about this new direction. I didn't read DC Comics during Dick's time as the hero of Blüdhaven, so I'm excited to get that chance here. Dick realizes Babs was right when she said he went undercover again too quickly after regaining his secret identity. After wallowing in the gray areas of morality with Raptor, he's decided it's time to return to the black-and-white world of crime-fighting. Well, he actually decides it's time to live in the black-and-white world of community service, becoming a volunteer at a center for at-risk youths and eschewing Bruce's money to pay for his way. But, after his attempt to be a normal twentysomething with hobbies fails to keep him entertained, he's on the streets capturing suspected murderer Gorilla Grimm. The only problem is that Grimm claims he's innocent. Moreover, Dick's boss at the center is also apparently a costumed vigilante he recognizes from his past, and she's in cahoots with the city budget analyst on her board, someone who alludes to his days as a costumed criminal as well. In other words, Seeley makes it clear Dick might've been a little too optimistic in believing he was going to leave behind the grayer areas of morality. Meanwhile, we see glimpses throughout the issue of the tourism board's success in making Blüdhaven a tourist destination and using Nightwing to further that effort, but Seeley hints at something nefarious behind that success. To (the artist) does his part by making Nightwing the embodiment of young and sexy: his depiction of Dick during his interview is stunning, all preppy good looks and tight fitting shirt. (The frequent shots of his abs don't hurt.) Seeley and To are clearly telling a story with eyes on the long run, and it's a joy to be part of that.
Nova (2016) #10-#11: I was NOT a fan of Sam Alexander. It wasn't just because he wasn't Rich Rider either. He was whiny and insufferable. I warmed to him slightly during his "Avengers" appearances, mostly because Miles seemed to be a good influence on him. I picked up these issues because I read in the "Champions" letter page that his series was ending, which I hoped meant Rich was (finally) returning. That seems to be the case, though the dynamics of his return are unclear. Sam "finds" Rich while looking for his dad. He gets Monark Starstalker to take him to areas that appear as anomalies, and they stumble upon the areas where the portal to the Cancerverse was. In so doing, Sam is somehow sucked into the Worldmind. We're reminded the Worldmind had been downloaded into Rich's helmet, so it makes some sense it would be located where Rich disappeared. That said, it's still unclear how a link between our Universe and the Cancerverse persists and why the Worldmind would just pluck a Nova from our Universe into the Cancerverse. It's possible Sam's presence alerted the Worldmind to the connection to our Universe, but I'm not sure. After Sam asks about Rich, Rich asserts himself over the persona of the Worldmind. During their discussion, Rich makes it clear he's still stuck in the Cancerverse: the "Rich" we see here seems to be just a memory stored in the Worldmind with all the other Novas and Xandarians. The good news, though, is we're obviously going to get the full story behind his return at some point. Beyond Rich's re-appearance, perhaps the most notable aspect of theses issues for me is that Ryan actually makes me like Sam. He's just a kid trying his best and doesn't know how to handle everything coming his way. Ryan makes him less obnoxious than Loeb did, possibly because he's asking for help here. His dynamic with Rich is great, particularly when he asks if he can tell his friends about his secret identity and Rich tells him being Nova doesn't have to be miserable. We're about three issues from him asking for help with girls. Just like Miles helps make Sam more likable, so does Rich, and I'm legitimately excited to see them in a series together. Of course, it's still unclear if it is Rich, and I'm warning Marvel that it damn well better be. They can't return him and then immediately get rid of him. Plus, Star-Lord is on Earth now, and I'd be really happy for them to get a beer together and maybe shed some man-tears. You're on notice, Marvel.
Nova (2017) #1: First, I feel like my premonition that Sam is going to ask Rich for girl advice was correct, given how catastrophically bad his attempt to talk to the new girl was. As I mentioned in the previous review, I disliked Sam under Loeb's stewardship because he was closer to douche than dork on the personality spectrum. But, Loveness and Pérez have wisely moved him to the other end. He's awkward and more lovable here, in no small part because of his supportive friends (who still don't miss an opportunity to remind him about the Avengers "firing" him). Oddly, Loveness and Pérez do less well with the action sequences, as I found the Ego battle almost incomprehensible. (The grammar errors were also distracting.) But, Sam is not the only star of this show: Richard is back! Or, at least, he may be. The authors make it clear that something is happening with him, as he sees his mother as her Cancerverse self in one moment and the Cancerverse seems to overwhelm him at the end. Qué pasa? No sé. But, one of my questions from "Nova" #10-#11 was how he was going to get a body (assuming his original one had been destroyed), and it seems we're going to explore exactly that question now. Needless to say, as you can tell from the links on the right side of this website, I can't wait.
Also Read: Batman #12; Champions #3; Midnighter and Apollo #3; Spider-Man 2099 #18; Unworthy Thor #2
Avengers #2: I still don't understand basic components of the plot here. According to Waid, Kang is creating impossible contradictions in the hope that these time paradoxes break the timelock keeping him stuck in the present. (Scarily, that part makes the most sense.). However, we're not told how he's creating these contradictions or why they result in a new version of him every time he fails to break the timelock. Moreover, it doesn't explain why he and the Scarlet Centurion was able to travel to the past to kill the Avengers as children, if, after all, they're stuck in the present. Time-travel stories are the fucking worst, dudes.
Clone Conspiracy #3: Fine - I admit I gasped when the "Jackal" pulled off his mask and revealed he was Ben Reilly. (Honestly, once I Googled around a bit, I'm stunned and thrilled it didn't get spoiled for me.) As the editor mentioned in the letters page, I always liked Ben Reilly, even if the Clone Saga itself was awful, and I'm not sad to see he's returned. (Also, Cheung makes him the hotness here. Something about that confidence makes Peter Parker even better looking. He should also think about rocking some stubble like Ben does.) At this stage, I am confused how he returned, since he admits he dissolved completely in Peter's arms. If the Jackal needs a body to resurrect someone, then how did he resurrect Ben? Moreover, has the Jackal we've seen all this time always been Ben Reilly? Or, did he just send Ben to pick up Uncle Ben's corpse, knowing Peter would inevitably meet him there? My confusion comes from the fact that Ben consistently sounds like the Jackal until the moment he reveals his identity. As he's confronting Peter, he not only carelessly uses Peter's real name in front of supposedly unconscious guards (something Warren would've totally done) but he gloats about how he likes being one of the few people who know Peter's identity (something Warren also would've done). That doesn't sound very good guy of him. It also doesn't explain why everything is so mysterious. Couldn't Ben just have approached Peter, revealed he's alive, and asked him for help to improve the cloning technique? Why the elaborate plans to resurrect his archenemies and/or their families before talking to him? It goes to the fact that this series is named for a conspiracy, but other than the Jackal having moles in the police force I don't get what conspiracy we're actually seeing. After all, people are just randomly divulging information right and left now. Despite stalling for the better part of the issue, Spider-Gwen just eventually goes ahead and tells Peter why she and Kaine kept him in the dark, even though the answer still doesn't make sense to me. I can't say I'm a fan of this story at this point, but, if it ends with the return of Ben Reilly (and the curing of Kaine Parker), I'll be OK with it. I also reluctantly have to give Slott props for having me on the edge of my seat. I find myself desperate to know how it all ends, and I haven't felt that way about an event in a long time. (Also, who's JJJ, Jr.'s "foster daughter?" Is that new?) The outcome is spoiled a bit with the revelation that Marvel is releasing a Ben Reilly series, but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone else the Jackal has resurrected is going to survive. I guess we'll see.
Doctor Aphra #1: The brilliance of Gillen's writing is that Aphra is a thoroughly unlikable person, but you can't help but like her. She lives in a world of other unlikable characters, and they're all on display here: the fellow archeologist who backstabbed her and who she later backstabs (and kills), the mob boss to whom she owes money (and Triple-Zero kills), the misogynistic dissertation advisor whose work she steals. They're all assholes, but she manages to out-asshole them with charm.
Justice League #10: After months of complaining about this series, I'm finally happy. The revelation that James' daughter used his code to create a wish-fulfillment A.I. that her little brother used to "play" with the Justice League was downright brilliant. Seriously. I not only didn't see it coming, but I was awed when it was revealed. But, Hitch goes one step further as James' son reveals his next game was offering Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne's fortunes to the super-villain who killed the Justice League. The ensuing battle is great, as the League scrambles to take down a number of C-List villains in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. But, the highlight of this issue is that Hitch ups his game when it comes to characterization. The characters finally sound the way they're supposed to sound. They all still sound like they're monologuing instead of conversing, but I'll take what we get here for now.
Moon Knight #9: I really don't know how Lemire does it, but he manages to take us on a tour of Mark's very nonlinear mind while leaving enough breadcrumbs for us to follow the path. This issue is suffused with emotion as Mark explains to his alter egos that he's come to grips with his mental illness. By embracing it, he's also able to embrace them and assert control over his mind. Lemire really conveys the anguish of the alter egos as they're assimilated into core Marc. Your really felt for werewolf-fighting Marc as he struggled against core Marc's assertion that he was never real, despite his years of struggle against the werewolves. Core Marc's farewell to Steve Grant is also touching. It evokes the theme of it being time to put away childish things. He explains Steve was his first persona -- the imaginary friend who became real -- but now it's time for Mark to stand on his own. All these moments are bolstered unbelievably by the art. When Smallwood appeared at the end of last issue, it gave a ring of truth to Marc's assertion that he was in charge. That continues throughout this issue, the idea we've returned to the main narrative because Smallwood's drawing these parts. I've rarely seen the narrative and the art work so beautifully together to convey an idea. Moreover, core Marc's got a helluva first task in front of him: he's going to kill Khonshu. I have no idea where we're going from here (will Mark become Khonshu if he kills him?) but I can't wait.
Nightwing #10: I couldn't be more excited about this new direction. I didn't read DC Comics during Dick's time as the hero of Blüdhaven, so I'm excited to get that chance here. Dick realizes Babs was right when she said he went undercover again too quickly after regaining his secret identity. After wallowing in the gray areas of morality with Raptor, he's decided it's time to return to the black-and-white world of crime-fighting. Well, he actually decides it's time to live in the black-and-white world of community service, becoming a volunteer at a center for at-risk youths and eschewing Bruce's money to pay for his way. But, after his attempt to be a normal twentysomething with hobbies fails to keep him entertained, he's on the streets capturing suspected murderer Gorilla Grimm. The only problem is that Grimm claims he's innocent. Moreover, Dick's boss at the center is also apparently a costumed vigilante he recognizes from his past, and she's in cahoots with the city budget analyst on her board, someone who alludes to his days as a costumed criminal as well. In other words, Seeley makes it clear Dick might've been a little too optimistic in believing he was going to leave behind the grayer areas of morality. Meanwhile, we see glimpses throughout the issue of the tourism board's success in making Blüdhaven a tourist destination and using Nightwing to further that effort, but Seeley hints at something nefarious behind that success. To (the artist) does his part by making Nightwing the embodiment of young and sexy: his depiction of Dick during his interview is stunning, all preppy good looks and tight fitting shirt. (The frequent shots of his abs don't hurt.) Seeley and To are clearly telling a story with eyes on the long run, and it's a joy to be part of that.
Nova (2016) #10-#11: I was NOT a fan of Sam Alexander. It wasn't just because he wasn't Rich Rider either. He was whiny and insufferable. I warmed to him slightly during his "Avengers" appearances, mostly because Miles seemed to be a good influence on him. I picked up these issues because I read in the "Champions" letter page that his series was ending, which I hoped meant Rich was (finally) returning. That seems to be the case, though the dynamics of his return are unclear. Sam "finds" Rich while looking for his dad. He gets Monark Starstalker to take him to areas that appear as anomalies, and they stumble upon the areas where the portal to the Cancerverse was. In so doing, Sam is somehow sucked into the Worldmind. We're reminded the Worldmind had been downloaded into Rich's helmet, so it makes some sense it would be located where Rich disappeared. That said, it's still unclear how a link between our Universe and the Cancerverse persists and why the Worldmind would just pluck a Nova from our Universe into the Cancerverse. It's possible Sam's presence alerted the Worldmind to the connection to our Universe, but I'm not sure. After Sam asks about Rich, Rich asserts himself over the persona of the Worldmind. During their discussion, Rich makes it clear he's still stuck in the Cancerverse: the "Rich" we see here seems to be just a memory stored in the Worldmind with all the other Novas and Xandarians. The good news, though, is we're obviously going to get the full story behind his return at some point. Beyond Rich's re-appearance, perhaps the most notable aspect of theses issues for me is that Ryan actually makes me like Sam. He's just a kid trying his best and doesn't know how to handle everything coming his way. Ryan makes him less obnoxious than Loeb did, possibly because he's asking for help here. His dynamic with Rich is great, particularly when he asks if he can tell his friends about his secret identity and Rich tells him being Nova doesn't have to be miserable. We're about three issues from him asking for help with girls. Just like Miles helps make Sam more likable, so does Rich, and I'm legitimately excited to see them in a series together. Of course, it's still unclear if it is Rich, and I'm warning Marvel that it damn well better be. They can't return him and then immediately get rid of him. Plus, Star-Lord is on Earth now, and I'd be really happy for them to get a beer together and maybe shed some man-tears. You're on notice, Marvel.
Nova (2017) #1: First, I feel like my premonition that Sam is going to ask Rich for girl advice was correct, given how catastrophically bad his attempt to talk to the new girl was. As I mentioned in the previous review, I disliked Sam under Loeb's stewardship because he was closer to douche than dork on the personality spectrum. But, Loveness and Pérez have wisely moved him to the other end. He's awkward and more lovable here, in no small part because of his supportive friends (who still don't miss an opportunity to remind him about the Avengers "firing" him). Oddly, Loveness and Pérez do less well with the action sequences, as I found the Ego battle almost incomprehensible. (The grammar errors were also distracting.) But, Sam is not the only star of this show: Richard is back! Or, at least, he may be. The authors make it clear that something is happening with him, as he sees his mother as her Cancerverse self in one moment and the Cancerverse seems to overwhelm him at the end. Qué pasa? No sé. But, one of my questions from "Nova" #10-#11 was how he was going to get a body (assuming his original one had been destroyed), and it seems we're going to explore exactly that question now. Needless to say, as you can tell from the links on the right side of this website, I can't wait.
Also Read: Batman #12; Champions #3; Midnighter and Apollo #3; Spider-Man 2099 #18; Unworthy Thor #2
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