Not-So-New Comics: The December 27 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #12:  I feel like I’ve lost the plot a little here, because David is really leaning into the Slingers’ history as if I should be as familiar with it as Ben’s.  I don’t know who Black Marvel or Cyber is.  I vaguely remember the “Cyberwar” cross-over “event” when they renamed all the Spider-Man books “Scarlet Spider” in the ‘90s, but it wasn’t exactly the best era of storytelling.  After all, you probably had to buy all four books to even remotely understand the plot, as Marvel was doing back then.  It’s not impossible to enjoy this story here without recognizing these two characters; after all, the main drama of the issue is Ben wrestling with trying to be a good guy by turning himself into the police for his assault on Thorne.  But, David is assuming a level of comfort with the Slingers that I don’t have, so I find it hard to understand everyone’s motivations.  For example, why does Ricochet really care about Ben and whether he becomes a good guy?  Wasn't Prodigy working with Black Marvel?  Did he know he was dead and/or a bad guy?  If so, is he dead, too?  I'm also having trouble following some developments related to the title itself.  For example, I don’t have any memory of Kaine protecting a veterans’ shelter, as he's apparently doing in this issue.  David is a master of slowing weaving mysteries issue-to-issue.  But, when the main plot relies heavily on intimate knowledge of a 12-issue series that happened 20 years ago, it's hard not to just feel confused about everything.

Doomsday Clock #2:  OK, here we go.  

We start with security-camera footage of Marionette and the Mime breaking into an office of some sort and demanding the contents of the vault.  It's a little confusing, because these images are shown while Veidt's voice-over narration recounts how the Minutemen's appearance in 1939 caused "every wannabe gangster and low-rent thug" to seek out a woman dubbed "the Tailor's Wife" for an identity and costume.  At first, I thought the duo was robbing her shop, but I don't think it's the case; it seems more like they were robbing a bank.  But, we focus a lot on the teller here, so I'm not sure.  At any rate, Dr. Manhattan appears at the scene but doesn't kill Marionette or the Mime, possibly because they have a child.  (He repeats the word "Babum" to himself twice as he looks at the photo of the teller's child.  Yeah, I don't get it either.)  Johns reveals Veidt is telling the present-day Rorschach this story as justification for recruiting Marionette and the Mime.  He needed people who come from Jon's past.  He couldn't get Laurie to agree to help, and, even if he did, he was worried Jon would be upset to see her with Dan.  As such, he's hoping somehow Marionette and the Mime convince him to return to this Earth.  (This part seems a stretch to me.  It's not like Dr. Manhattan was buds with Marionette and the Mime.  But, as Lex Luthor says later, Veidt doesn't really have a great track record when it comes to his schemes achieving his desired goals.)  At any rate, the team assembles, and Veidt reveals every person has a "quantum fingerprint" comprised of the "four fundamental forces of nature."  They follow Dr. Manhattan's fingerprint to the universe where he fled, just in time to escape the nuclear bomb the Russians (I'm assuming) have launched at New York.  (I think they did so as part of the escalation of tensions Johns described last issue, but I'm not 100% sure, to be honest.)

Initially, it seems obvious we're all supposed to believe this new universe is either the DCU or the DCnU, but Johns calls that into question almost immediately.  We're introduced to Bruce Wayne as he's taking a Rorschach test (heh), something Wayne Enterprises' Board demanded he do for insurance purposes after he answered a test too honestly seven years earlier.  In this Gotham, people are rallying against Batman after the "Supermen Theory" has spread around the globe like wildfire.  We learn in the appendix that Markovian geneticist Dr. Helga Jace advanced the theory several weeks earlier; it claims the U.S. government created metahumans after Superman's appearance, explaining why most metahumans are concentrated in America.  The government did so by activating the "metagene" that 12 percent of the population possesses.  However, the U.S. government encouraged the subjects to claim an outside event -- such as accidental exposure to an ancient energy source or a flight-or-fight response triggered by danger -- led to them developing powers.  The theory seemed to be confirmed when leaked documents showed Rex Mason, a.k.a. Metamorpho, was a willing participant in the procedure Stagg Industries used to give him powers; they were all under contract with the U.S. government.  These documents contradict the aforementioned "accidental exposure..." origin Metamorpho previously claimed; in fact, he had criticized Stagg for the "accident."  Moreover, several of Metamorpho's "archenemies" confessed they were part of the scheme, agreeing to become super-villains in order to undergo their own transformation.  Adding fuel to the fire, Kurt Langstrom admits the "accident" that led to him becoming Man-Bat happened while he was working for the U.S. Department of Metahuman Affairs.

Bruce wants to ignore it all as noise, dismissing it as paranoia that Russia and Markovia are spreading.  However, Lucius encourages him not to do so.  He's afraid the Board is losing its faith in Bruce and will sell Wayne Enterprises to Lexcorp, exposing their "special projects."  Bruce is less concerned, because Lexcorp is facing charges of industrial espionage for trying to steal Wayne Enterprises' work on the metagene.  However, the appendix also implies Lexcorp has made better strategic decisions to acquire companies that were part of the U.S. government's program, whereas Wayne Enterprises has struggled to do so.  (I'm assuming Bruce hindered the acquisitions in part to hide his connection to the program.)  Lucius stressed he needs Bruce as Bruce, not as Batman, particularly given the "Supermen Theory" protests.  In other words, Lucius is trying to convince Bruce a sea change has happened in terms of the public perception of metahumans, while Bruce just wants everything to continue as normal.  

Returning to the travelers, Rorschach locks up Marionette and the Mime while he and Veidt go after the smartest men in the world:  Lex and Bruce.  Veidt approaches Luthor with a proposal, claiming he'll help Luthor achieve everything he's ever wanted if he helps him.  (It's not clear what he wants Luthor to do, though.)  Before Luthor can answer, a shot is fired:  Veidt dodges it, but it hits Luthor, possibly killing him.  The Comedian steps from the shadows, shocking Veidt.  Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Batman confronts Rorschach, who's been making his way through the Cave and expressing disgust at its various mementos.

I don't really have much to say here.  Johns is still setting up the story, so I'm giving him space to do so.  At this point, I'm still not feeling the forced combination of the DCU/DCnU and the "Watchmen" universe, but we'll see where we go.

Moon Knight #190:  WHOA. I did not see that coming.  I thought Bemis was going to drag out revealing what exactly it was Jake had been doing, the secret the Truth revealed to Marc Jake was keeping last issue.  I figured 15 or 20 issues from now, dun dun DUN, we’d learn Jake was actually Marc’s mysterious new nemesis.  But, no.  Bemis revealed it right away, and it makes the most sense.  I mean, what greater weakness would Marc Spector have than a child he never knew he had with Marlene?  It addresses his lack of family, something Bemis underlines in a flashback where Marc tells Marlene he used a grenade to kill his brother after he killed his girlfriend.  (Yeah.)  The only part I don’t get is the Sun King’s initial lie to Marc, that he'd been sleeping with Marlene for two years.  Given he immediately reveals Marlene’s secret to Marc, it seems unnecessary to try to rattle him in this way.  He didn’t really need to disarm Marc if he was going straight to the heart.  But, I’m also not sure if it’s the secret Bushman earlier told the Sun King's army he had on Marc.  They all seemed surprised to see the photo of the girl, so maybe Bushman just knew where Marlene lived?  I’m sure Bemis will let us know.  I also have to praise the art here:  Burrows, Ortego, and Lopes really hit a home run with the image of a demonic Marc looming over Jake and screaming, “What have you done?”  What have you done, Jake, indeed.

Phoenix Resurrection:  The Return of Jean Grey #1:  For the record, I am totally OK with Jean returning.  Marvel did the unexpected with Jean Grey, putting her almost in the same category as Uncle Ben:  everyone else seemed to return from the dead except them.  It was a wink and a nod to her past, where she seemed to die and be resurrected on an almost constant basis.  The only surprising thing left to do with her character was let her stay dead.  She's been dead for 14 years, almost a third of the time she was actually alive.  In so doing, Marvel successfully reset her character by making us believe what we had come never to believe:  she could really die.  As such, it's time for her to return.

Rosenberg makes it clear he's not going to rush the story, as we're left with more questions than answers in this issue.  First, we're introduced to two Jeans.  In Annandale-on-Hudson (the original Jean's hometown), two kids find a seemingly dead girl in the street, recalling the moment Jean's powers manifested (when her friend Annie died in her arms).  A child Jean appears on the scene, and she renders these two children in the same state as the seemingly dead girl:  they're all bleeding profusely from the head but show no wounds.  (The two kids eventually are revealed to be comatose but otherwise fine, even with the bleeding.)  The other Jean is a young-adult waitress who lives with her parents (not Elaine and John, as far as I can tell) in an existence the creative team somehow makes you feel is from the 1950s.  It includes her sweater-clad boyfriend Scott (wearing those familiar ruby-quartz glasses) arriving with flowers for dinner.

The action starts when Cerebro sends the X-Men to Annandale-on-Hudson to investigate the weird circumstances surrounding the children.  In so doing, Beast discovers three odd energy signatures that Kitty sends three teams to investigate.  Kitty's team encounters the usual blank-masked henchmen at the abandoned Hellfire Club mansion in New York, and we're treated to scenes that feel like they could be straight from the "Dark Phoenix Saga."  Rogue's team encounters Seamus Mellencamp, one of Magneto's former Acolytes, at a monastery in France, which Rogue notes is odd because Seamus is dead.  Finally, Logan's team encounters his younger self at the North Pole.  Did I mention Waitress Jean also seems to serve Sean Cassidy?  All these moments recall in their own ways Jean's past.  It makes sense because Rosenberg mentions in his letter to the readers he's trying to pay homage to that past.  That's clear in this issue, and we'll see where we go from here.

Spider-Men II #5:  The premise of this mini-series was that we were finally going to discover what Peter found when he Googled Miles’ name after they first met.  The answer is...nothing.  Despite his dramatic “Oh, my God,” comment that concluded the original "Spider-Men" mini-series, Peter reveals here he found nothing.  We learn it's because the Kingpin wiped all mention of the Earth-616 Miles from the Internet because Earth-616 Miles was his friend and simply wanted to live a nice life with his wife.  But, she died, so the Kingpin then helped transfer him to another Universe (seemingly the Ultimate universe) where she was alive.  That’s it.  It’s the whole story.  Along the way, Peter blurts out the fact he’s uncomfortable with Miles being Spider-Man, and Miles correctly deduces it’s because Peter views Spider-Man as his specific pain.  It make sense, I guess.  But, it really has nothing to do with the point of this event.  I get Bendis wasn’t obligated to reveal the Earth-616 Miles as some sort of secret bad guy, but he certainly heavily implied he was throughout the earlier issues of this series.  Moreover, Bendis had sold us on the idea that the Earth-616 Miles was "our" Universe’s analogue of "our" Miles.  But, he wasn’t — they just two dudes who shared the same name.  It’s anti-climactic to say the least, and I kinda of want my money back.

Star Wars:  The Last Jedi - The Storms of Crait #1: The problem with this issue is that Acker and Blacker treat their subjects too reverently.  Aaron and Gillen have excelled at their individuals efforts in this corner of a galaxy far, far away because they’ve treated these iconic figures as people first, foibles and all.  Sure, even they have trouble having Leia make a mistake, but they compensate for that reverence by at least explaining her motivations to us.  Acker and Blacker don’t accomplish that here:  Leia is all knowing, Luke is all whining, Han is all bluffing.  Even Han’s affection for Leia is too explicitly stated.  On top of that, the issue just doesn’t make a lot of sense.  For example, [whatever the bad guy's name is] decries Leia for being just like her father, seeing past the good in a person just to the secrets he wants to keep.  But, everyone -- including [whatever the bad guy's name is] himself -- spent the whole issue saying they’re exactly not like that, that they see the past the secrets to the good in people.  I think Acker and Blacker are implying [whatever the bad guy's name is] is ranting because he knows he’s fallen to his baser nature, failing to take the opportunity Bail and now Leia offered him to be noble.  But, they don’t actually make that argument; I’m making it for them here.  Also, I don't even know how to discuss the moment where Wedge Antilles goes on a 'roid rage.  It's like they just whacked him in there because they always dreamed of writing a comic where he appeared.  In other words, you can safely skip this one.

X-Men:  Blue #18:  The most interesting part of what Bunn is doing here is the fact the original X-Men seem to almost always be the bad guys in whatever future or past they visit.  However, he kicks it up a notch here.  When Emma Frost shows young Jean the vision of how the team turned against the rest of mutantkind, wanting to enslave them, the older Jean sees the younger Jean. Younger Jean is shocked, because her presence shouldn’t change a memory.  But, she seems to realize it’s part of a large, cross-time assault, something Hank also realizes.  At least, I think that's what it is.  I’m legitimately interested to see where this one goes.

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #793, Detective Comics #971, Hawkman Found #1

Not-So-New Comics: The November 15 Spider-Affinity Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #791:  OK, I admit, when Rubylyn tells Peter in so many words he only got the job because Robbie treats him like I son, I really wish he would’ve shot back that he’d been working at the “Bugle” since she was in short pants.  But, I guess that’s not Peter.  Slott wraps up this opening arc nicely.  Robbie makes Peter the new science editor at the “Bugle,” responsible for publishing a Sunday supplement every week.  Peter and Robbie seem to dispense with the idea Robbie doesn’t know Peter is Spider-Man, as Robbie stresses the flexible work hours in his initial conversation about the job with Peter.  Slott will hopefully do more with Peter's science-team members as a supporting cast than he did with the Shanghai PI staff, who Slott seemed to think we would magically remember after they appeared in a few panels and weren’t seen again for several issues.  I'm hoping something more along the lines of the Horizon staff.  Turning to the action, Slott honors the spirit of Legacy by delivering a one-and-done story that feels like today would've been a complicated, six-part cross-over event.  A wealthy industrialist named Tony Star...er...Xander Zynn (you know he’s a bad guy because his initials are X.Z.) is creating robots to be put in homes next year.  Bobbi is working security for him, and she gets Peter and his team a tour of his facilities.  When one of the bots tries to kill Colin (the guy Peter corrected last issue) after he fiddles with it, Peter literally jumps to his rescue.  However, he and Bobbi raise a collective eyebrow when the robot asks him to kill it.  Mockingbird and Spider-Man return that night and, long story short, it turns out Zynn captured Quicksand and turned her into the personality matrices.  (That’s some pretty evil-genius stuff right there.)  Peter assumes it’s Sandman, but he's surprised to learn it's one of the Thor’s villains; Bobbi assures him it can’t be all about him.  Slott purposefully leaves some loose ends here:  Bobbi expresses concern to herself Peter is still spending as much time as Spider-Man as possible, Zynn will clearly return, oh, and Harry and Liz’s nanny is stealing blood from the boys.  Overall, this series is starting to feel like it did during the "Big Time! hey-day of Slott's run, though I'm sure we'll go the rails again and have Aunt May become Venom.

Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #10:  Given the scream that ends this issue when Ben looks in the mirror, I assume we’re going to see the degenerative disease has once again scarred his face after he almost beat Silas Thorne to death.  So freaking clever, that Peter David.  Instead of a soul meter, we get Ben’s face as our measure of how well he’s doing in winning back Soul Points (TM).  Meanwhile, the new Hornet is also named Silas, and Dusk arrives on the scene.  However, we’re first introduced to her when she’s spying on the woman who killed the taxi driver last issue; we learn the man she's visiting is her father, Mysterio.  Also, the little girl who made friends with the old woman we’ve seen a few times has glowing red eyes, which can’t be good.  In other words, man, we have a lot going on here.

Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #297:  I don't understand why they keep calling Teresa Peter's "half-sister."  She's either his full sister or not his sister all; they can't just split the difference.  At any rate, this issue is a thrill-a-minute as Peter has to escape the S.W.A.T. team without his Spider-Sense (thanks to Natasha helping the Gray Blade test its parameters in issue #1) and without revealing he's Spider-Man.  Zdarsky really goes to town, showing us why Peter's smarts are his greatest asset.  The S.W.A.T. commander has apparently "sworn an oath" to the Gray Blade, and I'm not entirely sure how it suddenly became some sort of cult.  Like, aren't they just a S.H.I.E.L.D. splinter group?  Do people really need to swear oaths?  Also, I get the commander is on board with the goal, but isn't someone going to raise an eyebrow when the S.W.A.T. team basically destroys an entire apartment complex searching for Peter?  I mean, it's New York after all.  The best part, though, is obviously Jonah saving Peter and then immediately telling him he owes him thousands of dollars for all the Spidey photos he bought over the years.  Good luck with that, Jonah.

Spider-Men II #4:  After four issues, Bendis finally let's us know what the point of this series is.  It turns out this Universe's Miles' wife Barbara died.  The Kingpin attended the funeral, coming after the death of his own wife, Vanessa.  He told Miles he was so grief-stricken after Vanessa died he hired all sorts of people who could return Vanessa to him, and he discovered the existence of other dimensions where she lived.  This knowledge was comforting to him.  However, Miles wants more:  he hired Taskmaster to find a dimension where Barbara -- his Barbara -- was alive.  I still don't see how this Miles and "our" Miles have anything in common other than a name, but hopefully Bendis will get there.  Meanwhile, our Miles confirms that he knows his dimension no longer exists and that only a few people (including his resurrected Uncle Aaron, according to the most recent issue of his series) know that.  Given we've had two full company-wide events since "Secret Wars," it's probably time to wrap up this nagging question.

Not-So-New Comics: The September 20 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Generations:  Ms. Marvel and Ms. Marvel #1:  This issue is even better than the “Hawkeye and Hawkeye” one.  It proves the concept:  a way to get fresh eyes on our heroes.  Kamala beautifully summarizes her fight with Carol in the present as Carol wanting peace and order but Kamala wanting to know who takes the peace and who gets the orders.  Somehow, she realizes she can reconcile those two positions when she writes make-up tips for protesters, saving “Woman” magazine from getting sold to the Shi’ar.  (It’s less crazy than it sounds.)  I’m not quite sure how it shows Kamala has reconciled Carol’s black-and-white view of peace and order with her own view, but I’m not going to let it get in the way of my enjoyment of the story.  Willow is supported by an excellent Villanelli who delivers an appearance by a divinely handsome Peter Parker.  I wouldn’t recommend many “Generations” issues, but I’d recommend this one.  (I'd also like to get Villanelli on a Spider-Man title, stat!)

Spider-Men II #3:  Despite pet peeve #2 rearing its ugly head here, Miles Morales doesn’t fight his Prime Earth doppelganger in this issue.  Instead, we see how “our” Miles Morales (if you will) becomes friends with Wilson Fisk in prison, earning the respect of the mob family for whom Fisk is an enforcer by serving time for his own cousin.  When Fisk eventually takes over said family, Morales is right at his side.  Eventually, he falls in love, and Wilson offers to grant his greatest wish; Miles says he wants to “disappear” from this world with his girlfriend.  It implies somehow “our” Miles Morales actually did go to another world, but it doesn’t explain what Peter found when he Googled Miles’ name at the end of the original “Spider-Men."  I can’t say I really care about the answer, but in for a penny in for a pound.

U.S.Avengers #10:  I quit this book once, but I returned mostly because it plays a fairly significant role in cross-over events.  With “Secret Empire” behind us, Ewing tries to justify the team’s existence yet again.  This time, Toni’s speech to herself in her cell during "Secret Empire" has inspired A.I.M.’s scientists to embrace their core mission of pushing science to its limits.  Ewing strikes a political tone in doing so, as one of the scientists observes that science is on the outs right now in American political discourse; underscoring that point, the new A.I.M. liaison is a combination of Ted Cruz and Jeff Sessions.  I can’t say I’m all that enthralled.  But, the next few issues seem to focus on Cannonball, as Smasher finds Roberto to tell him Sam is alive and needs help.  I’m really only here for Cannonball, so I guess I’ll keep going for at least a few more issues.

Also Read:  Journey to Star Wars:  The Last Jedi - Captain Phasma #2; Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #4; Star Wars Annual #3; X-Men:  Gold #12

Not-So-New Comics: The August 16 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

X-Men:  Blue #9:  This series just gets more and more confusing.  On the plus side, I buy the idea Magneto sent Briar (whoever the fuck she is), Danger, and Polaris to watch over the X-Men during their assault on Emma's mutant nation.  I also buy them acting as the X-Men's teachers now that they survived said assault.  (Is Briar qualified enough to be a teacher?)  But, other parts of this issue make no sense.  Alex is now fully “evil:”  Polaris declares he’s too far gone for her to save.  But, she also says she’s not giving up hope in saving him.  Which one is it?  Is he too far gone, or is he still savable?  Also, we learn the White Queen and Alex are working with Miss Sinister and Bastion on some sort of project called “Mothervine,” which just seems totally unbelievable.  The Goblin Queen?  Sure, I get Alex going down that (sexy, sexy) road again.  But, Miss Sinister and Bastion?  Not so much.  Also, do we have any idea who Xorn really is?  I feel like Bunn just continues to throw these  non sequiturs at us, from Briar to Mothervine to Xorn.  I just dont' get it.

Astonishing X-Men #2:  Soule is playing a long game here, so I'm definitely happy to give him time to tell his story.  But, I wold say I'm not buying the stakes of the "game" Professor X is playing with the Shadow King, where he gets to kill the X-Men if he wins (rather than the Shadow King getting to possess them).  Soule clearly has something up his sleeve but, at this point, it's hard not to roll your eyes at any plot that threatens the X-Men's death.

Spider-Men II #2:  Man, this issue is terrible.  First, Bendis portrays Peter as some sort of brain-injury victim incapable of speaking without quipping.  You get used to a fair amount of inappropriately timed quipping when you read Spider-Man comics, but Bendis takes it too far here.  Second, we have all sorts of weird assertions about timing that make no sense.  At one point, Peter says he’s “sort of” three years older than Miles.  If you’re going to say, “But, Miles is in high school!,” Bendis apparently disagrees with you:  Peter makes fun of him for carrying a backpack because he’s too old to do so, and a girl he likes asks him if the person calling him is his wife, as if you normally ask high-school students that.  Notably, this later conversation happens on the Brooklyn Visions Academy campus, making it make even less sense.  I just don’t get it at all.  Bad script + unrealistic plot = terrible issue.

Also Read:  Generation X #5; Mighty Thor #22; Star Wars #34; U.S.Avengers #9

Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The July 12 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #30:  Spider-Man has been suspiciously absent from "Secret Empire" so far, and Slott seems on the verge of explaining why.  He left his battle with Otto last issue to join the Battle of Washington, and this issue picks up the story shortly after "FCBD:  Secret Empire" #1.  After Cap lifts Thor's hammer, Peter realizes they're doomed, and he rallies the troops to escape.  He explains to Mockingbird he can't join the Resistance because he has to stop Otto -- and, by extension, HYDRA -- from gaining control of Parker Industries.  Mockingbird promises him that date if they save the world, and Immonen makes the moment cinematically perfect, the sun highlighting both of them as they kiss.  As Otto raids PI's San Francisco HQ, Peter rallies the troops in Shanghai.  Slott takes some shortcuts in getting Dr. Wu and Lien Tang to pledge their loyalty to Peter, Wu because Peter put the value of his cancer research above profit and Tang because Peter gave her a second chance after she betrayed him.  (I still have no idea why Peter gave her that second chance or would ever remotely trust her, but I at least buy Wu feeling some sort of inclination to help him.)  Otto confronts Peter and reveals he remains completely in control of PI, using the back door he built into its systems to turn Tang's Spider-Racers against Peter.  I've been dreading each issue of "Amazing Spider-Man" lately, but Slott is surprisingly on his game here.  You can see into the future after this arc pretty clearly:  Peter seems likely to lose PI and Mockingbird (if she really is Steve's mole in the Resistance).  We'll see how that goes when we get there.  For now, I'm just happy to be happy with an issue.

Uncanny Avengers #25:  Although Zub's characterization of Rogue still feels like it's coming from 2008, this issue is pretty damn awesome.  Rogue berates herself for abandoning the team while trying to stop Scorpia and Shocker from robbing a bank (something I admit I don't quite remember happening last issue).  But, she rallies the two of them into a make-shift team to fight off the demons pouring into Manhattan under the orders of the spirit who took over Voodoo's body.  She's reminded of the importance of teamwork, and we're treated to some pretty hilarious exchanges between Scorpia and Shocker as they grapple with their newfound hero-dom.  (At one point, Shocker explains to Scorpia his gloves don't shoot electricity but vibrate the air, leading to her starting to say he should've called himself the Vibrator.  He stops her before she can finish the word, and I think it's probably the funniest moment in comics.)  Meanwhile, the rest of the team is trying to free Voodoo from possession, and they succeed when Rogue answers Synapse's call for help and provides much-needed muscle.  As the demons disappear, the team shares a nice moment as it ponders this new reality.  For how many artists worked on this issue, it's a pretty great showing, and it helps make this issue one of the best "Secret Empire" tie-in issues I've read.  I really do love this title.

X-Men:  Gold #8:  This issue is notable for a few reasons.  First, it has Piotr admitting he was trying to impress Kitty when he leapt in front of the bullet the serial killer shot, meaning we're going in exactly the direction I'd hope we'd go.  (Guggenheim is an X-Man fan!)  Second, it has Kurt admitting to Logan and Storm he did, in fact, die when the mob attacked him ("mistaking" him for a devil), but he can't return to Heaven as a result of the loss of his soul.  I thought this issue might've been resolved in Kurt's solo series, but it looks like it wasn't.  I assume we'll be addressing that at some point.  Third, it has Kitty deliver one of the best rebuttals to a distraught family-member-turned-killer.  She admits the X-Men might be negligent when they ignore the consequences of solving the crisis at hand and move right onto the next one.  However, she points out this guy is a premeditated murderer, as sympathetic as we might be to his plight.  Guggenheim isn't really buying this guy's insistence he's committing justifiable homicide, particularly with Kitty showing she's fully aware of the compromises she has to make to keep saving the world.  Finally, we see the first hint of the post-"Secret Empire" era, as the bubble is lowered around New York and everything -- including the NYPD and Congress -- appears to be fine.  For all he crams in there, the issue really flows well.  This "Secret Empire" tie-in arc might not have been essential to the larger plot, but it was pretty enjoyable, always a good bar to clear in these events.

Generation X #4:  Strain does a solid job of showing the team coming together as they unexpectedly face an Emplate-possessed Monet in searching for the perpetrator of the attack on Face.  Benjamin and Trevor in particular take on the roles of the responsible adults, and it suits them well.  That said, Strain reverses some of the character development we saw in Quentin under Jason Aaron's "Wolverine and the X-Men," and the story is weaker for it:  Quentin is basically reduced to a caricature of the person we know he can be.  But, Strain does a great job when it comes to Roxy, showing her drive to be an X-Man coming from her panic that it's her only remaining option, since her physical mutation means she can never really fit into human society.  The moment she has with Chamber as she confesses these feelings is touching, and it reminds us these kids really are just kids, in need of the mentorship he and Jubilee can provide.  Strain also does well with Jubilee, as she realizes the kids have fled the Mansion because it's what she would've done.  All in all, it caps a solid start to this series.  Jubilee's pledge to go after Monet also incorporates the original team's dynamic into this series, and it helps convince me to hang in here to see where we go.

Spider-Men II #1:  I didn't read the original "Spider-Men" event in 2012, primarily because I wasn't reading Miles' book at the time and I felt like it probably involved too much knowledge of his character to enjoy.  But, I feel like I'm well versed in Miles' reality now, and I'm ready to take a deeper dive.  Bendis confirms something I don't think we've seen confirmed anywhere, that Miles remembers his old dimension.  This revelation raises all sorts of questions, not just about Miles' memories but also his family and friends' memories.  We know Molecule Man resurrected Miles' mother and moved his supporting cast into the combined Marvel Universe to thank him for giving him a cheeseburger (in "Secret Wars" #7).  But, if Miles remembers the Ultimate Universe, what does everyone else remember?  Did the Molecule Man give them false memories?  Otherwise, you'd assume Ganke and Miles' parents would wonder why the Marvel Universe's Peter Parker isn't a dead teenager.  Ganke and Jefferson should probably wonder why Miles' mother is alive.  Marvel avoided answering a lot of the questions "Secret Wars" raised, and we've mostly just continued as we were, realizing it wasn't as analogous to "Flashpoint" as it originally seemed.  But, Bendis has opened a can of worms here he's going to have to close at some point.  Moreover, we've got the matter of the original Marvel Universe's Miles Morales, who seems responsible for the inter-dimensional rupture that results in a robot's head crashing onto the grounds of Miles' school.  Bendis has a mixed track record when it comes to his performance in events, and I'm just hoping he can navigate these waters in a way that ties up some loose ends from "Secret Wars" and doesn't make matters worse.  It's a low bar, but I'm still not sure we're going to clear it.

Also Read:  Darth Vader #3; Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #9