Secret Avengers #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The story in and of itself is fairly simple:  Vladimir explodes onto the portal into Tlön, creating a black hole that somehow destroys the portal and, in Hawkeye's words, "reverse-swallow(s)" everything.  World saved!  I will say that I'm still not 100 percent clear on the role that the "imaging a better world" bit from last issue played in this ending.  Later in this issue, M.O.D.O.K. makes it seem like Maria's ability to imagine just such a world actually saved the day, but I'm not sure how it did.  Didn't Vladimir do it by closing the portal?  What else had to be done?

But, it doesn't really matter all that much, because this issue (and, maybe, this series) is really about Maria and her feels.  She realizes that her hateful behavior in the past made her the ideal medium to serve as the portal for "horrifying things from another dimension."  In fact, Kot makes it pretty clear that Maria had become overwhelmed with her job because she had started seeing horrifying things everywhere.  However, when she stared into the void that came when she served as the medium, she went beyond scared and realized how many possibilities lay in that nothingness.  She's on vacation now, because she realized that she needs to learn how not to see the good possibilities (and not just the horrifying things).

Honestly?  I totally, totally feel Maria.  She fucked up a lot of stuff, and maybe she did because she just couldn't handle the void anymore, and, again, I totally, totally get that.  It doesn't excuse her behavior, but it helps me understand it (and her) a lot better.  Hopefully we'll see her and the other Avengers when they've had some time to rest, because I'd like her to get a shot of redemption.  Given how much I had come to dislike her character, it's really a testament to Kot that I feel this way.

I'm not the greatest non-linear thinker; in fact, sometimes I worry that this entire blog is an extended rant about continuity.  But, I realized reading this issue that I don't really care about continuity at all.  It's just a proxy for whether I feel like an author is treating the character and material with respect.  Kot did that here, even though he didn't give us answers to all our questions or endings to all our stories.  In fact, I feel like the whole point of this series is that the answers don't matter as much as asking the questions.  (You could see Maria becoming comfortable with the void as Maria becoming comfortable that she doesn't have all the answers.)  In other words, Kot brought such care to the story that we didn't need to be constrained by continuity or reality for it to be great.  I can't think of a lot of authors that could manage to do that in this medium, so I really applaud Kot for doing it here.  I'm going to miss this series a lot.

*** (three of five stars)

Secret Avengers #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Huh.

If I follow correctly, Snapper suffered at the hand of bullies, and he's bringing Tlön into our dimension because it allows the person controlling it to re-write reality.  (He would re-write it not to have bullies.)  Jessica uses her pheromone powers to see the terrible things that Snapper suffered (presumably at the hands of bullies) and convinces him to give her control of Tlön (because of the empathy that she feels for him).  The Secret Avengers all make sure that they're wearing those mysterious T pins, I think because it somehow connects them to Jess and may help her to use Tlön to  "imagine a better world," as M.O.D.O.K. tells her to do.  Also, Vladimir detonates himself here, though I'm not sure why.

Man, next issue is going to be heavy.

*** (three of five stars)

Secret Avengers #13 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

It's easy to be distracted by the nonsensical nature of this issue, but, if you think about it, the story is actually pretty linear.  The guys break into Snapper's HQ to rescue the ladies (Maria Hill and Spider-Woman), but Snapper is prepared for them and Spider-Woman can rescue her own damn self, thank you very much.  Snapper really wants M.O.D.O.K., and he makes a fake offer to exchange Maria for him.  Hawkeye doesn't take the bait.  But, in the end, Snapper was just stalling and he manages to inject both Maria and M.O.D.O.K. with...something.  He then summons Tlön.  But, M.O.D.O.K. apparently has a plan (despite the fact that he's currently incapacitated).  I guess we'll see.  I've learned to roll with these sort of issues, because Kot usually gets us where we need to be, so I'm doing that here.  Rollin'.

** (two of five stars)

Secret Avengers #12 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Whereas we answered a lot of questions last issue, this issue puts a number of new ones on the table. I mean, it sort of does?  Maybe?  Mostly, it just sort of leaves me confused, so I'm assuming that the questions are there, even if I don't know what they are.

M.O.D.O.K. admits to planning on killing all the Secret Avengers, but stopped when he realized that he was in love with Maria Hill.  Snapper has kidnapped Jessica and Maria and, apparently, Kowloon.  (I could be wrong about Kowloon, but the fortress where he brings them looks like it, even if it's now in the middle of the Venezuela rain forest.)  He's also apparently kidnapped all sorts of artistic types, because he needs their imagination to defeat the "bullies."  This part is a little unclear.  Snapper clearly outmaneuvered M.O.D.O.K. at some point.  But, it's unclear if it was his plan all along to betray M.O.D.O.K. or if he only put it into place when he realized that M.O.D.O.K. had gone sweet on Maria.  It's also a little unclear (read:  VERY, VERY UNCLEAR) how he's going to harness all this "imagination" and weaponize it to take out the "bullies."  It is clear that he considers Maria and M.O.D.O.K. to be bullies and, honestly, it's hard to argue with him.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye, M.O.D.O.K., and Phil have returned to the Helicarrier to hatch a plan, though M.O.D.O.K. doesn't seem to be totally aware of Snapper's plan.  Either he sabotaged himself from knowing the details when he created an alternate personality after he realized that he loved Maria Hill or Snapper drugged him to make sure that he wasn't firing on all cylinders.  One or the other, I guess.  Either way, the remaining Secret Avengers seem to be in the dark.  In Tlon, Black Widow and Lady Bullseye are facing some monsters that may, or may not, be counterparts to the Secret Avengers.  It's -- you guessed it -- unclear.

I know by now that you've just got a wait an issue or two when Kot goes weird, because he usually makes it clear at some point.  Honestly, the issue does mostly flow (if a little abstractly), but it's clear that we really need to understand the nature of Tlon and the connection that it has to the denouement to fully appreciate what Kot is doing here.  Hopefully we'll get that in the remaining three issues.

*** (three of five stars)

Secret Avengers #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

First, I have to say, I think Hawkeye probably give good hugs.  He probably doesn't given them often, but, when he does, they're probably pretty great.  I could use a hug from Hawkeye right now.  It should totally be a thing.

Kot does an amazing job here.  I didn't necessarily think that Coulson had PTSD, but Kot finally confirms that he does, and he makes us believe it.  In his breakdown, Phil expresses a sentiment that I can't believe that more human characters in this world don't express, that his life is virtually meaningless to the spandex crowd and that it's really fucking hard to pull yourself together after you fall through space.  We're just so used to everyone treating these events as normal that authors rarely take the time to assess their impact, particularly on the "regular" humans who run with the superhero crowd.  Also, Maria does lie all the time, so it's not like he really knows that his employer has his back.  It's a lot.  I get it.  Hopefully the hug from Hawkeye helps.

Meanwhile, shit is going DOWN.  M.O.D.O.K. and Vladimir realize that a great "calling," not "culling," is coming, though it's still unclear what that means.  (Calling Tlon, maybe?)  Snapper kidnaps Maria Hill, and Vladimir manages to convince the Fury to heal Nick Fury in exchange for helping it find its children. (Who knew the Fury had feelings?)  Also, portals of mysterious origin ominously open above major cities.  Dun-dun-dun!

Returning to the emotional side of the house, I loved M.O.D.O.K. talking about falling in love with Maria Hill because she was a schemer like he was.  Kot sells us that moment just as well as he did Phil's, making this issue just a master class in dialogue that serves to convey emotions and not exposition.  Plus, we understand Maria a little more, since, after all, M.O.D.O.K. admitting his vulnerabilities is sort of like Maria admitting.  Also?  I love Vladimir.  I hope he stays.  He's like Jarvis combined with the Vision.

My only complaint in this issue is pet peeve #1 rearing its ugly head.  The title page says that someone rigged Phil's locker to throw acid on him, whereas I always thought that Phil rigged it to throw people off his trail.  In fact, Kot wanted us to believe that, likely until the moment when Phil asks what happened to Nick in this issue.  Reading it on the title page lessens that moment substantially.

I'm just really glad I stuck with this series.  Great stuff.

**** (four of five stars)

Secret Avengers #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Nothing really happens in this issue.  Jessica and Vladimir discover that the Fury is repeating a phrase, but it makes no sense.  Hawkeye finds Coulson, only for him to pull a gun on him and babble nonsense.  M.O.D.O.K. appears and tells the two of them that he can "stop all of it," despite none of us still knowing what "all of it" is.  Maria Hill forgets to lock a ventilation shaft, so Snapper (M.O.D.O.K.'s henchman) is able to organize his escape.  The Kowloon prison disappears after someone takes out the telepaths creating it.  It sounds like a lot happens, but we're not really anywhere different than we were at the start of the issue.  Maybe it's just because I'm jet-lagged and missing some brilliantly hidden twist, but I'm pretty sure that you could skip this issue and understand everything that happens in the next one.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, but there you go.

** (two of five stars)

Secret Avengers #8 and #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I somehow missed issue #8, probably because I switched to getting this series digitally and I'm finding it a little difficult to read my digital and print comics at the same time.  I'm essentially sitting on the digital versions for two to three weeks while I wait for the print issues from that same week to arrive.  But, that's my problem, not yours.

Kot decides to put his cards on the table here, and I'm surprised how easy the plot is to follow, after seven issues of misdirection and obfuscation.  M.O.D.O.K. has engineered all the misfortune over the last few issues -- using the Fury to attack Nick and Phil, getting Deadpool to keep Hawkeye busy, hiring Lady Bullseye to take out the Black Widow, arranging the assassin to go after Maria Hill -- in order to prove Maria Hill incompetent so that he can take over S.H.I.E.L.D.  It's a lot clearer of a motive that I figured that we'd ever get in this series.  Moreover, he is connected to the spiritual advisor that Phil and Hawkeye have met, though that connection remains unclear.

But, the twist is that M.O.D.O.K. didn't count on falling in love with Maria Hill.  As ridiculous as that sounds, Kot really sells it, to be honest.  He makes it clear that M.O.D.O.K. thought that Hill would be easy to manipulate; when she proves not to be, he grows to respect her and then love her.  We learn that the assassin that he hired was put in a state of suspended animation, because he was supposed to awaken at a later point to set into action another phase of M.O.D.O.K.'s plan.  But, M.O.D.O.K. kills him instead, because he needs to stop himself from implementing his own plan.  It's a little unclear what the assassin was going to do once revived, but I'm guessing we'll learn that at some point.  Kot also opens the door to the possibility that someone is manipulating M.O.D.O.K. (even though that person may be some sort of alternate personality of M.O.D.O.K.'s).  Notably, Maria seems to be aware of both M.O.D.O.K.'s treachery and confusion (based on Hawkeye telling her that "M.O.D.O.K./M.O.D.O.K." is, in fact, responsible for the attacks).

The other mystery that we seem poised to solve is the nature of the Fury's babies.  We learn that M.O.D.O.K. sent the Fury into some crazy dimension called Tlön (where Natasha now finds herself), and something "came back with it."  Meanwhile, the Chinese government has essentially set up a nursery for the Fury's now-hatching children in Kowloon.  That doesn't bode well.

All in all, I'm really pretty happy with this series now.  Kot kept us guessing as long as he could before it got annoying.  Armed with enough information to feel like we have a sense of where we're going, it's going to be a much more enjoyable ride to get to our final destination, wherever it may be.

**** (four of five stars)

Secret Avengers #7 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Spies!  Spying!  Deadpool!

Yes, I still have no idea what's happening in this series.  Coulson and Derrida's spiritual adviser uttered four words to Coulson last issue:  "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius."  We learn in this issue that Orbis and Uqbar are not only known criminals (thanks to Coulson finding that information in the S.H.I.E.L.D. databases), but also two of the A.I.M. agents present at the "A.I.M.ee Mann Fan Central" building where Deadpool is holding Hawkeye hostage.  However, we still don't get any real insight into why Deadpool is holding Hawkeye hostage (or working with A.I.M. for that matter).  We also have yet to learn about the other two words, though Derrida himself utters the word, "Tlön," in this issue.

Stepping back a bit, the three main threats that the Secret Avengers have faced in this re-launched series have been:  Coulson and Nick confronting the Fury; Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Spider-Woman stopping Derrida from selling Vladimir the Sentient Bomb; and Black Widow disappearing into a black hole thanks to the detonation of a Vladimiresque bomb.  The implication is that these threats are connected to this person that sought out Coulson and Derrida's spiritual adviser before them, a person that may or may not be M.O.D.OK.

Kot makes some of these connections clearer in this issue, such as Maria Hill informing us that both Lady Bullseye and Vladimir are connected to S.P.E.A.R. (China's S.H.I.E.L.D.).  Moreover, as mentioned, Derrida utters the word "Tlön," so it connects Vladimir to the spiritual adviser (since Vladimir is connected to Derrida).  In fact, pretty much everything other than the pregnant Fury is connected in some way to everything else.  But, the web is still hard to see through the threads.  I'm giving this issue two stars because I admit that I feel like we're starting to get unnecessarily complicated here and I worry that it's going to get worse before it gets better.

** (two of five stars)

Secret Avengers #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

So...

Someone has a vendetta against Black Widow and uses Lady Bullseye to trick her into getting on a train that she believes has a bomb on it.  However, it doesn't have a bomb on it.  The "bomb" is on the tracks and it's the same type of bomb as Vladimir the Sentient Bomb.  It creates some sort of time-space vortex and Black Widow and Lady Bullseye are on the train as it speeds into it.

Phil goes to the Amazon where he finds a guy who advised Derrida and draws images of M.O.D.O.K., the Fury (I think), and possibly Dragon Man in the dirt.  The perpetrator of the grand scheme against S.H.I.E.l.D. apparently also approached the adviser years ago and his failure to "get rid of them" (whoever "them" is) is the source of everyone's troubles now.  Hawkeye -- sent by Maria to find Phil -- arrives two days later, where the adviser tells him, "Recover AIM.  AIM is the path."  He then sends him to Buenos Aires, where he finds Deadpool and a bunch of dancing A.I.M. agents at the "A.I.M.ee Mann Fan Central" building.

In other words, I still have no idea what I'm reading or where we're going.  It seems that we're getting closer to the guy pulling the strings, but I'm guessing that we're going to have to wait awhile until we get there.  It's getting hard to rate these issues, because most of the time I appreciate the fractured story-telling technique that Kot is using even if it sounds like I hate it.

That said, Kot is asking us to take the details on a lot of faith.  For example, we're supposed to believe that Coulson could easily find not only Derrida's spiritual adviser, but that said adviser will tell him what he needs to know...and then we repeat the whole process with Hawkeye two days later.  At this stage, I really wouldn't mind some details just to make it a little easier to remember what happened in the previous issue.

*** (three of five stars)

Secret Avengers #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, OK.  I had actually decided to cancel this series, but I'm giving Kot a few more issues.  He's clearly building to something, though I'll admit that I have no idea what it is.

At this stage, all we really know is that we can't trust M.O.D.O.K.  Kot leaves it unclear if Hill is talking about herself, M.O.D.O.K., or someone else when she says, "You're slipping," while looking at herself in the mirror.  If Hill is talking about M.O.D.O.K., it implies that Hill only brought in M.O.D.O.K. to get a better sense of the plot that he's hatching and that she's close to discovering it.  If it's Hill talking about herself, it implies the narration that precedes this comment (about the narrator watching the subject) is about M.O.D.O.K. observing Hill (though it's unclear if it's nefarious or not).  If it's about someone else, we haven't been adequately introduced to that person yet.  Moreover, Kot complicates matters by making all three possibilities -- Hill, M.O.D.O.K., or "someone else" -- suspects in the murder of the Latverian hitman who tried to assassinate Maria, allegedly because one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s drone strikes killed his parents.  To make matters worse, the person who killed the hitman isn't necessarily the person behind the narration.

In other words, I realized that this series is really all about this dance that Maria is playing with M.O.D.O.K. or our unidentified "someone else."  Everything else -- Coulson's PTSD, Fury's injury, Spider-Woman's identification of her empathy powers -- is just a distraction.  I'm intrigued, and I'm willing to see where Kot goes, but I'm going to need some sort of clarity soon.

*** (three of five stars)

Secret Avengers #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is OK, though I'm not really sure what we get here.

The point seems to be to show how important M.O.D.O.K. has become to Hill.  He not only allows S.H.I.E.L.D. to employ all sorts of new weapons (like the bizarre mushroom-gun, which Nick uses to take down the Fury somehow), but, relatedly, to expand into new areas of research, since M.O.D.O.K. understand the weirder outer-limits of science better than anyone else at S.H.I.E.L.D.

I get that M.O.D.O.K. is a mad scientist, but I think that we needed a little clearer explanation of the specifics.  For example, how did the mushroom gun stop the Fury?  Kot's done a pretty good job of keeping these sorts of things vague and making it work, but  that approach isn't going to work all the time.  After all, it's still unclear what the Fury is actually doing or why the Walled City of Kowloon suddenly appeared from another dimension.  When the heroes are winning with mushroom guns, some explanation is probably necessary.    

** (two of five stars)

Secret Avengers #3 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All you need to know about this issue is that Jessica convinces an intelligent "post-nuclear device" not to commit suicide by promising it the possibility of tasting caramel gelato.  It's as awesome as it sounds.

Along the way, Kot delivers some really excellent character development.  Natasha decides to trust her colleagues, sending in Jessica to deal with the bomb while she goes to help Coulson, and Coulson himself overcomes the PTSD that he feels after confronting the Fury and drifting in space.  It could've been just a slugfest, but Kot instead takes us into the minds of the characters as they make decisions, with those decisions (and the thought process that leads to them) revealing a lot about them.  More authors should take this opportunity, realizing that the physical fights in comic books, after all, are just metaphors for larger struggles.

Moreover, Kot also thickens the overall plot.  It's apparent that the entire mission is a set-up, with the buyer never showing to purchase the bomb and Lady Bullseye appearing to assassinate Natasha.  The question of course is who's trying to kill her (or possibly them).  Is it the same guy that tried to kill Maria Hill?  Or, is it Maria Hill herself?

Add in a crazed poet as the jargon-spouting bad guy ("Eat my discourse!") and I'm a pretty happy camper.

**** (four of five stars)

Secret Avengers #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm not sure what I loved more:  Black Widow making Hawkeye feel self-conscious about his package ("It's so tiny down there."  "It's so tiny up here, too."  "No you didn't.") or M.O.D.O.K. saving Maria Hill by sending in a lab rat outfitted with a hypodermic needle full of some sort of neutralizing formula to stop her opponent.  The best part of the issue, though, is that the story makes sense.  Sure, we don't know why the Fury was messing with the satellites or if it was in any way connected with the intruder who held Maria hostage.  In fact, I'm still not 100 percent sure why the intruder was holding her hostage in the first place.  But, Kot knows that this series isn't the type where he has to resolve all the issues on the table; he just has to resolve them to the extent that the team can prevent the current crisis in a way that makes sense (and fits with their characters), re-group, and move onto the next crisis.  If he can keep that clarity from issue to issue, we're in good shape.

*** (three of five stars)

Secret Avengers #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, this issue is a pretty awesome start to a series in desperate need of a re-boot (an ironic, though honest, statement, given that we're already on the third series of essentially 54-issue series).

First, the addition of Spider-Woman to the roster is inspired.  It not only raises the sexual-tension quotient, given her relationship with Hawkeye, but it also brings out some personality in the Black Widow.  Natasha was pretty much just an efficient killer in the last "Secret Avengers" series, but, in Kot's hands, she isn't just the resident assassin.  (She may still be the resident assassin, but she isn't just the resident assassin.)  She like herself some hard massages, caramel gelato, and target practice.  It's not all death all the time.

Moreover, this issue is fun.  Kot and Walsh aren't pretending to have invented the naked-fighting genre; in fact, they pay homage to Fraction and Aja's amazing sequence from "Hawkeye" #3.  But, they also don't just make it feel like a played-out gimmick.  Hawkeye accidentally leading A.I.M. to the Russian baths where Jessica and Natasha are getting massages results in just a down-right hilarious sequence of slipping towels and general melée.  It's fun and tense all at the same time.

But, Kot makes it clear that we also still have the usual intrigue, as Coulson and Fury face an unexpected confrontation on a space station and Hill suddenly becomes the target of a grudge-holding assassin.  Kot manages to convey a sort of "It's chaos so it must be Tuesday" resignation among the characters while making it clear that they're also fighting for their lives.  (Maria looking through the hole where the middle of her hand used to be conveys that message pretty well.)

This whole issue just sings like some of the best "Hawkeye" issues, high praise indeed.

**** (four of five stars)