Not-Very-New Comics: The December 19 and 26 Everyone-but-X Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Given how many events and series wrapped up December 19, this review might as well be called, "EVERYTHING ENDS!"

Batman #61:  This issue is much more gripping than King’s previous work, though it does still have King's trademark of a literary quote that advances the plot not at all.  Unfortunately, the issue has nothing to do with Batman, focusing instead on the kid who murdered his parents because he wanted to be like Bruce Wayne.  But, wait, you might ask?  Didn’t we end last issue on a cliffhanger, with Batman discovering his father, Thomas Wayne from the “Flashpoint” Universe, was colluding with Bane?  Yes, fellow reader, yes, we did.  But, I guess we have to take a good issue from Tom King when we get one.

Captain America #6:  Reading this issue, it’s easy to forget Alexa Lukin isn’t actually a person, but a character.  Coates is that good at showing the fire within her.  Alexa understands that symbols matter.  It’s why she resurrected her husband:  she knows Russia needs a leader who can inspire them while she pulls the strings from the shadows.  On the flipside, she also understands that she doesn’t need to kill Steve Rogers the man:  she just has to kill Captain America the symbol.  As such, she has someone murder Thunderbolt Ross and make it look like Steve did it.  Hydra damaged Captain America the symbol almost beyond repair:  with Alexa, we may be able to drop the “almost.”  But, Coates also makes it clear that it's not a slam dunk that she's going to win.  That warning comes from her mentor, Rasputin.  He makes two observations;  first, that she doesn’t understand the price of her “endeavor” and, second, that Lukin may not return the same man as he was.  Coates makes it clear Rasputin understands that reality from first-hand experience, and it makes his warning all the more chilling.  Coates also uses the conversation between the two of them to explain that Selene didn’t drain the lifeforce from Sharon to resurrect Lukin; she just needed a drop of his blood, as she was his killer.  Alexa then used her magic to do the rest.  I can’t wait to see where we go next.  This series now enters, like, its 14th year of awesome, after the amazing runs by Brubaker, Remember, and Spencer.  Cap fans, we are spoiled.

Darth Vader #25:  Whoa.  This issue does not disappoint.  Soule pulls out all the stops here as Vader is forced to walk through his past — as child, adolescent, and man — to get to Padmé.  (Camuncoli really seemed to enjoy the battle with the Jedi, in particular Vader spearing Yoda!)  It all leads to the moment we knew was coming, but not before the Emperor and Obi-Wan battle to see who Vader’s father (spiritually, at least) really is.  When the Emperor wins, it seems clear where the story is going.  Vader makes his way to Padmé and resumes his Anakin form.  But, Padmé tells him what we all now know:  Anakin Skywalker is dead.  (She then promptly falls off the balcony and disintegrates, to underline the point.)  Vader grieves and then he’s expelled from Forceland.  He awakens in his fortress on Mustafar, and he destroys the rock that allowed him to enter Forceland.  He then uses his communicator to tell the Emperor he’s returning, having learned the lesson he needed to learn.  Ouch.  Soule doesn’t pull any punches here, and it’s great to see.  As I’ve previously said, I read the first issue of the original series hoping we’d see an exploration of the remnants of Anakin in Vader.  Soule delivered on that hope, and he also delivers a now fully formed Vader.  Anakin Skywalker is dead.  Long live Darth Vader.

Infinity Wars #6:  This issue makes not a lick of sense.  I get the sense if I read it again it might -- maybe -- make a lick of sense.  In fact, maybe if I read all the issues together the event would make a few licks of sense.  But, I also kind of doubt it.  As far as I can tell, the Celestials show Loki his future, and he no longer needs the Infinity Stones.  As such, he returns them to Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch, who in turn use the Stones to create a new planet and a new Universe.  The planet serves as the new home for the Warps, and the Universe is where the Infinity Watch copies all the souls of the existing Universe.  That way, when Devondra finally devours the Soul Gem and this Universe, everyone survives in the shiny new Universe.  But, there's a wrinkle:  Drax and his original self have to stay behind to keep open the portal.  Drax's original self happily survives on Warpworld, but Drax's fate isn't clear.  Once the transfer to the new Universe is complete, Moondragon and Phyla-Vell from the other Universe want Gamora dead.  But,Adam Warlock asks the Infinity Stones to send her where she's most needed (apparently in the Soul Gem to raise a child-like Magus).  He then imbues the Stones with their own souls, which makes, again, not a lick of sense, but it is what it is.  This entire event made no sense, and I regret every dollar I spent on it.  A curse on the House of Marvel!

Nightwing #55:  To be honest, this whole Ric Grayson arc is going much better than I expected.  But, I did have a moment here where I was reminded of the plot we had before this arc started, where Vicki Vale and that guy were kidnapped by some sort of artificial intelligence come to life.  I hope Vicki’s not waiting for Dick to save her.  Maybe she can spend time with Thomas Wayne while we wait for this series and "Batman" to return to their previously scheduled programming.

Old Man Hawkeye #12:  Sacks does a great job wrapping up this story.  I'll admit the fire burning through the first few issues has seemed dimmer these last few issues, but Sacks at least manages to stick the landing.  Perhaps the best moment is Kate using a sonic arrow to allow a now-blind Clint to "see" Bullseye.  He fires an arrow that not only slices in half the card Bullseye was throwing at him but also lands in Bullseye's eye.  Well done, Clint.  Bullseye dies with the word "glorious" on his lips.  (It's good for him that he doesn't survive to hear Clint confess to Kate he was aiming for his heart.)  Clint excitedly tells Kate about the scientist giving him the 99 vials of Super-Soldier Serum.  Kate realizes he's a lost cause; she had hoped killing the Thunderbolts would satiate his need for revenge, but she realizes it didn't.  She tearfully deposits him at Logan's doorstep before driving into the sunset.  My only complain is the last page seemed rushed to me, with too many panels on the page.  I didn't even realize Kate was crying at first, reducing the impact of what we realize is her final good-bye to Clint.  But, overall, Sacks delivers on the promise of the series, leaving Clint in no better place than where he began, a testament to the Wastelands if ever there was one.

Spider-geddon #5:  This issue just sort of dissolves into chaos as Gage uses a series of dei ex machina to limit the impact of the series on continuity.  To paraphrase Dickens, you're only going to like this issue if you buy the idea that Otto has found a way to use the cloning technology not only to resurrect people but also to reconfigure them.  For example, Ben sacrifices himself to Jennix so his multiple lives drive Jennix insane.  (Here, you have to accept that devouring Ben would drive Jennix insane and that Otto and Ben knew it would.)  While the rest of the team fights the Inheritors, Otto resurrects Ben, apparently restoring him to his “factory settings.”  (Remember how Peter David wrote an entire series about how Ben’s soul would be irreparably lost if he died again...and then he died again...but somehow it wasn’t lost?  But then he died again again here, but somehow he’s actually better?  I’d rather watch Ben work his way to redemption the hard way, as David planned, but Marvel couldn’t seem to make that work, so this way is the quick way I guess.  Otto can alter souls with his machines.  Got it.)  Anyway, Otto then uses the technology to reset Solus’ children to actual childhood, for Spider-Ma’am to raise.  How did Otto manage to do that?  No one really says.  Again, we're just supposed to accept Otto is a genius and found a way not only to clone them but also to de-age them.  Gage tries to explain the positive outcome by saying Solus was the one who turned his children into monsters, torturing them and instilling the Hunger in them.  Also, I didn’t read the “Spider-Girls” series, but apparently Annie from “Renew Your Vows” is the Patternweaver and she can remake the Web of Life and Destiny.  She implies her knowledge of the Inheritors’ past means this revision will stick, but we’ll see.  At any rate, Gage also ties up a loose end by seemingly having Gwen off-panel use her Web-Warriors watch to rescue Ashley, Charlie, and Kaine from the world where the Inheritors were trapped.  He also has Spider-Girl’s father became The Other.  Is it all sort of ridiculous and overly convenient, like Marvel had a list of ret-cons they thrust on Gage at the last minute?  Yes, yes, it is.  But, I like the outcomes of those ret-cons, so I guess I’m OK with them.  Can we have a “Scarlet Spiders” series now, please?

West Coast Avengers #6:  I don't know about you guys, but I wanted nothing more than to read a "West Coast Avengers" issue featuring the team stuck in a good ol' fashioned murder carnival.  This issue is my everything:  the (pec-tacular) smirk on Hawkeye's face when he hits the shark with a bolt from a slingshot he fashioned from his shirt, America showing actual emotions by cheering him when he did so, Quentin blowing up the shark-infested pool, Johnny pushing himself to turn into water, Kate telling her "mother" to go stuff it because obviously she's not leaving her team, NOH-FREAKING-VARR!  I could just read this issue over and over again and be happy.  WEST COAST, BEST COAST!

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #12; Fantastic Four #5; Infinity Wars:  Fallen Guardian #1; Thor #8

Not-Very-New Comics: The November 21 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Astonishing X-Men #17:  This issue is a mess.  But, I appreciated what Rosenberg was trying to do here, as he explained it in his concluding letter.  He wanted to tell a story about the heroes who don’t always get it right.  It's a good goal, the type of story we don't see told enough.  I'd say that he largely accomplished that goal, messy though the road to that goal was.  After all, the characterization was...dodgy.  Alex seemed like a combination of Bobby Drake with the bad jokes, Quentin Quire with his easy disillusionment, and Tony Stark with the weary drinking.  Allison made weird comments about the Beast’s weight.  But, Rosenberg was getting Alex to a place where I liked him.  It was a more interesting iteration of him.  I mean, it's been a while since we had a consistent characterization of him, so I was really just happy for Rosenberg to have a specific vision of him.  But, the progress Rosenberg was making ends here with the advent of “Uncanny X-Men.”  After all, I’m still not really sure what the Reavers were doing or planning, but I guess it doesn’t matter at this point.  Unfortunately, this series appears to be part of the trend over the last few years of all the X-books being disposable.  Just when the authors seem to get somewhere interesting, the series is canceled due to yet another line-wide “relaunch” and the team is disassembled.  [Sigh.]  It’s bad when you’re pining for a series you didn’t even like all that much, just because you want some stability.

Batman #59:  This story would be great if it weren’t a “Batman” story.  I’m fine believing Bane is only pretending to be semi-comatose while actually running Arkham and, by extension, Gotham.  (I mean, that connection is kind of a stretch, but whatever.)  I’m also fine with Penguin confessing this information to Batman as part of his revenge against Bane for killing his Penny.  King has Penguin make it clear the strikes against Bruce — Dick, Alfred, etc. — came from Bane.  But, I don’t buy Bruce’s actions.  King seems to subscribe to Snyder’s belief that Bruce is incompetent.  After all, Bruce doesn’t really figure out anything here.  Sure, he realizes Penguin was the one actually to kill the women who Freeze allegedly killed, but it also seems like Penguin wasn’t really hiding his tracks all that well.  But, King goes ones step further as Bruce isn’t just incompetent but also psychotic.  Rather than tricking Bane into revealing the truth, he just simply beats him to a pulp, as if Bane — the man whose “powers” come essentially from surviving Santa Prisca — would crack under the torment.  Gordon tries to get him to stop and he punches Gordon.  Gordon dismisses him, saying he’s sick of him, and I couldn’t agree with him more.  A Red Hood story?  That makes sense.  A Batman story?  Nope.

Infinity Wars:  Sleepwalker #3:  I mean, this issue and series are just the effing worst.  Nothing makes sense.  Like, I couldn’t even pretend to tell you what story Bowers and Sims are actually trying to tell here.  I can’t believe I got suckered into buying it because Darkhawk was in it.

Mr. and Mrs. X #5:  Honestly, y'all, I just fucking love this series so much.  It's romantic, it's suspenseful, it's funny.  Thompson gets these characters in an intuitive way, and it shows in every panel.  Also, Bazaldua and D'Armata are an excellent team.  "Astonishing X-Men" and "Uncanny X-Men" suffered from such consistently disappointing art, the great art here just really underscores what a wonderful book this series is.  Also, cats!

The New World #5:  Kot ends this series by leaning into the idea of the wall as a metaphor.  Thanks to Stella’s A.I. successfully hacking into border security’s systems, Kirby and Stella reveal to the country that the wall is merely a hologram, a prison of their own making due to their faith in, and fear of, their institutions.  Kot could’ve left it there and scored a point against our Trumpian reality.  But, he goes one step further.  Kirby knows the revelation will result in chaos, so he wants to stay and make the United States a better place.  But, Stella has done enough, and they part.  By adding this exchange, Kot exposes the sort of disagreements many people opposed to any agenda have in this era.  Stella is exhausted and just wants living her life with her love serving as the best revenge, whereas Kirby wants a more direct approach to right the wrongs he sees.  They’re both valid options, and they may not be as incompatible as they seem in this moment.  To that point, as Stella summons up her courage to take that step through the wall, Kirby is there with her.  Kot leaves us there:  we don’t know what they ultimately do; we just know they’re in love, hand in hand, for right now.  It’s a great ending to this trippy series, a reminder how much Kot and Moore really accomplished with just five issues.

Spider-geddon #4:  Gage does a solid job of keeping all the plates spinning at this point.  This series has had some problems with tie-in coordination, like we see here with Jessica Drew arriving after the events of the so-far unpublished "Spider-Force" #3.  But, it's not too much of an issue.  Gage cleverly ups the stakes by having the Web-Warriors expel an unhelpful Norma Osborn.  As revenge, he destroys the Web of Life and Destiny, severing the Web-Warriors' ability to travel between dimensions and thus stranding everyone else on Earth-616 with the Inheritors.  I'd say that sets up the final conflict pretty nicely.  This series lacks the overarching brilliance of "Spider-Verse," but as a sequel to a previous event it's doing really well.

Uncanny X-Men #2:  This issue is marginally better than the first one, in that at least it makes sense on the face of it.  Storm leads a team to Kansas when a veritable horde of Madri suddenly appears and Jean decides (for reasons that remain unclear) that Storm is best suited to handle it.  Meanwhile, Jean leads a team to Montana to stop a group of rampaging dinosaurs, part of a worldwide phenomenon of long extinct animals suddenly coming to life.  Hank posits all these events — including the mysterious development of a lake in Africa that he and Storm investigated last issue as well as the disappearances of Senator Ashton and Kitty — are all connected.  But, instead of doing more research on that connection, he goes to recover the mutant “vaccine” from the pharmaceutical factory the X-Men destroyed when they accidentally crashed a Blackbird into it last issue.  Just when I had hope it was going to start getting better, Legion appears on the last page to “save the day,” which means it’s all going to get worse.

Also Read:  Nightwing #53; Spider-Force #2; Star Wars #57; West Coast Avengers #4

Not-Very-New Comics: The October 10 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #7:  This issue is great when it focuses on Fred and Peter trying to fight their way through the mob at the Bar with No Name.  It gets even better when we're privy to their conversation in the adjoining alley.  (The fact they're sitting on garbage cans as they talk is an excellent metaphor for their lives.)  Fred's confession that he bought LMDs of the Superior Foes from the Tinkerer for companionship is weirdly heart-warming (and -breaking).  It also fuels Peter's decision to give Fred the same second chance Aunt May and Mary Jane gave him.  But, the story goes off the rails later in the issue when an unidentified new villain forces the Kingpin to swear fealty to him.  We're told they have a long history together and the Kingpin apparently tried, and failed, to get him to resurrect Vanessa years ago.  But, Spencer overplays his hand (just like Fred!) by making this guy seem all-powerful.  He's like the Green Goblin crossed with Dr. Octopus and Mephisto.  It's just...odd, and Spencer needs to reveal some cards here before it gets boring as well, as stories involving omnipotent and omniscient characters often do.  (If it is Mephisto, I wonder if Spencer is building toward undoing "One More Day"...)

Avengers #9:  Aaron certainly makes it clear Namor is playing for keeps here as Namor murders Stingray after he declines to embrace the oceans "or die."  The issue's stakes started much lower:  Tiger Shark tries to rob a cruise ship, and it just so happened Stingray, his brother-in-law, was a passenger on it.  Stingray encourages Tiger Shark to get help, telling him his sister misses him.  Then, Namor appears, and it all goes downhill from there.  This entire sequence is gripping, though I'll admit I felt like I missed a few issues.  We learn Namor's rage was initially stoked when the crew on a Roxxon ship murdered some Atlanteans, which I vaguely remember, possibly from the new "Thor."  The Avengers begged him to release the crew after he threatened to execute them and Namor relented to Captain America who, as usual, was able to appeal to his better angels.  But, the Avengers offer little more than words when they discover the devastation the Final Host wrought on Atlantis.  When a group of starving Atlantean children "drown" on the surface after believing the Avengers would feed them, Namor snaps.  He creates his Defenders of the Deep and swears vengeance.  Despite the disorientation over how angry Namor suddenly is, I can't say I disliked the issue.  After all, Aaron has Stingray joke about "Atlantis Attacks" as a way to make clear it's a different ballgame this time.  If that event was inspired by Namor's arrogance, this war comes from a fight for Atlantis' very survival.  Namor isn't wrong here, and I'm intrigued to see how the Avengers handle that.

Captain America #4:  I'm very happy to give Coates a long glide path on this series, though I'm already pretty happy with the direction he's going.  Here, Cap storms an abandoned military base in Algeria after learning Thunderbolt Ross sold out Sharon Carter to the Power Elite.  As Alexander Lukin's widow prepares to experiment on Sharon, Steve makes his way through the Elite's guards.  Along the way, Cap ponders how far the world has fallen when you can't even rely on a fellow patriot like Ross.  It sounds like a punchline, but Coates doesn't make it so.  Instead, he gives us a meditation on loss as Steve admits he's still struggling to accept a world that now doesn't trust him.  Moreover, Lukin brilliantly summaries the American heartland as a proletariat eager to greet the Russians as liberators.  Coates is as insightful as he's ever been, though I'd say he should probably give it a rest next issue with the long sequences of Cap's thought bubbles.  It totally worked here, but at some point we're just going to need a good ol' fashioned slugfest.

Iceman #2:  This issue is just...weird.  It's unfortunate, because it starts from the interesting premise of Grace addressing why Emma didn't out Bobby when she occupied his body.  I thought the answer was going to be her unusual sensitivity came from having a beloved gay brother.  Instead, we learn she had a mentally unhinged gay brother with telepathic abilities who murdered his abusive father.  It's...a lot.  Emma initially enlists Bobby's help not only because he's gay but he's apparently immune to telepathy in his ice form.  This part is news to me, particularly given his years of communicating with Jean.  I guess he can allow someone to read his mind?  He clearly developed this ability after young Jean outted young Bobby.  Emma thinks it's her father who has powers, but really it was just her brother pretending to be her father.  I think?  To make matters worse, the way Grace is going, I half expected Bobby to have sex with the brother in the room where he kept his father's body.  He thankfully doesn't do that, but he does just allow Emma to "handle" her brother despite the fact he murdered his own father.  Would Bobby really be OK with that?  I guess in Grace's world he is so long as his Grindr profile is there to distract him?

Spider-geddon #1:  This issue is short and to the point:  the Spider-People quickly make their way to Otto's hideout to warn him that his cloning technology is opening the door to the Inheritors' return.  Otto doesn't believe them, insisting that the clones only have his DNA and that he's never wrong.  (You know where it's going after that.)  However, a heroic alternate-reality version of Otto shows him the Inheritors have put his readings on a loop.  Otto realizes his error as Morlun, Verna, and Jennix arrive, killing Spider-Man Noir and Spider-UK in short order.  Morlun leaves to get his revenge on Peter in "Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man" as a depleted Spider-People roster finds itself face-to-face with Verna and Jennix.  It's clobbering' time!

The Weatherman #5:  LeHeup does an amazing job in this issue juggling several different competing narratives.  

The Pearl is auctioning off Nathan's death because he wants to use the money to track down other members of the Sword of God, as he -- like everyone else -- lost people he loved in Earth's destruction.  We learn Jenner has a telepath on his team who ferrets out M.S.A. infiltrators.  Cross' unwilling partner Garren successfully finds Orin Wetzel, the assistant to Dr. Nyseth, the woman who mindwiped Nathan.  LeHeup leads us to believe the Marshal is working for the Pearl and is going to kill Garren as he secures Wetzel; instead, the Marshal kills the Pearl just as the auction concludes.  Meanwhile, the Marshal's partner, White Light, tries to stop Cross from rescuing Nathan but only manages to force her to crash-land her ship.

At this stage, the only thing I don't totally understand is what Nathan could possibly know, in his evil incarnation, that Jenner would need.  Obviously, it's something, but I don't get how it could be that essential to Jenner's plan to destroy, presumably, Mars.  I guess we'll see.

(I edited the texts of my "The Weatherman" reviews in November 2024 as I occasionally called Cross "Amy" instead of Amanda and the Marshal as "Cowboy" or just "Marshal.")

The Wild Storm:  Michael Cray #12:  At the end of the day, I'm not really sure what we get here.  Constantine allows Diana a glimpse through the portal he opens.  Maybe she sees her gods, maybe she doesn't.  At any rate, the portal explodes, either because Constantine prevents her from ending the world or he loses control of the portal.  Cray gives into the Daemon inside him after Diana mortally wounds him, and he takes down Diana fairly quickly.  He brings Constantine to Trelane and resigns before saying good-bye to his father.  Hill certainly ends on a terrifying note, as I think we see his father's house in flames and Cray stares into the mirror at his Daemon chanting his own name.  To be honest, it's a more exciting issue than we've had in a while and a strong way to end a dragging series.  But, I still find myself confused about how it ties into the larger narrative before us in "The Wild Storm."  The only connection I can figure is that Cray is the only Daemon we've seen other than the one who approached Angie, and I'm not quite sure even he can take on Halo, IO, and Skywatch on his own.  Hill seemed oddly uncurious about the role this series played in the larger Wildstorm universe, and it dragged down this series throughout its run.  I'm eager to see Michael appear under Ellis' watch in the main title, because I think he can polish the edges of what Hill accomplished here in terms of developing Michael into a complicated hero.

X-Men:  Black - Mojo #1:  Who knew an issue about Mojo could be so charming?  Auckerman really brings out an unexpected side of Mojo as Blob Herman helps him ask out a girl he likes.  Seriously, it sounds crazy, but I was totally charmed by the whole enterprise.  I highly recommend.

Also Read:  Detective Comics #990; Infinity Wars #4; Ms. Marvel #35; Oblivion Song #8

Not-Very-New Comics: The September 26 Spider-Affinity Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #24-25:  I love Peter David, but this series has been a mess almost from the start.  To be fair, he inherited Dan Slott's terrible decision to turn lovable Ben Reilly into a crazed homicidal maniac, so he had a rough road before him.  He seemed to find his stride when he struck onto the idea that Ben would heal his soul -- and his face -- by doing good.  Ben really exemplifies the selflessness he used to exhibit here:  at the end of issue #24, he takes a bullet to prevent Cassandra from inadvertently running in its path.  Mephisto claims his soul and, to maximize the torture left in his wake, he allows Cassandra and Kaine to remember the truth about Ben.  To be honest, if David ended the series with someone allowing Ben to go to Heaven (instead of Hell), I'd be perfectly happy with how this series ended.  Ben died a hero, just as he did the first time he died.

But, it's here where David goes off the rails.  He brings back Abigail as the same kind of entity as Gabriel is, whatever that is.  To pay her debt to Ben, she returns him to life after proving Mephisto had stolen his soul prematurely.  (This part made no sense.  David seemed to be saying that Mephisto only won Ben's soul through machinations and as such he engineered it prematurely.  But...um...that's what Mephisto does.  Wouldn't everyone be saved if they were only going to Hell due to his machinations?)  Unfortunately, Abigail doesn't listen to Ben when he says Death told him he'd be irreversibly evil if he died and returned to life one more time.  As such, he is now fully evil, as he realizes when he kills a returned Misty without thinking.  (It turns out she's really a robot Mephisto created, so David hedges his bet here, allowing Ben to kill, but not really.)  He then seems to kill Kaine, but we know they're both in "Spider-geddon," so that seems unlikely.  Instead, the issue ends with him sobbing in the rain while Gabriel and his assistant somehow observe him.

In other words:  [sigh].  Again, David had a hard road here, because he had to undo the character assassination Slott committed against Ben in "Dead No More!:  The Clone Conspiracy."  But, I never really understood why he kept Ben in Las Vegas so long.  Originally, it seemed to be the first stop on his David Banner-esque journey across the country; he'd save Abigail, heal his soul a bit, and move onto the next case leading him down the road of Redemption.  But, instead, David got mired in Vegas, telling the same story about Abigail over and over again.  The interesting "The Incredible Hulk" premise was gone.  Ben Reilly deserved better than he got here, and I can only hope Marvel corrects course with "Spider-geddon."  Fingers crossed.

Edge of Spider-geddon #4:  Perhaps the most exciting part of this pretty exciting issue is the preface about this world being a relatively unexplored one.  It adds a layer of mystery, implying we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg and more will eventually be revealed.  In this reality, Peter Parker definitely seemed to have gained Spider-Powers, but it's unclear if he really became Spider-Man.  One way or another, he wound up working for Oscorp and a six-armed Norman, who apparently also gained Spider-Powers.  Peter and Harry eventually work against Norman, who seems all-powerful here in ways we've seen in other realities as well.  It's not clear why Harry and Peter finally turned against Norman, but at some point Norman discovers their treachery and kills Peter.  Peter's death activates a message to Harry, who makes his way into Oscorp HQ to retrieve -- in possibly the "Spider-Gwen" moment of this series -- the Kobold suit that he and Peter developed.  He successfully gets past Norman's defenses and discovers Norman has acquired a remnant of the Cosmic Cube, which Harry then dies destroying.  Before we can learn more, Spider-Punk whisks Spider-Norman into wherever it is the Spider-People are gathering.  It's all so great that I really wish we could get at least a miniseries showing how we got to this point.  At any rate, it only makes me more excited about "Spider-geddon," so mission accomplished, Marvel.

Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #310:  I do not write the following statement lightly, given how many Spider-Man issues I've read, but Chip Zdarsky is possibly the best Spider-Man writer I've ever read.  I'm devastated he's leaving this title.  But, he leaves on the highest of notes, with a brilliantly laid-out tribute to Spider-Man.  He gets to the character's heart better than any other story I think I've ever read, at least since "Amazing Spider-Man" #314.  (Also, his Peter Parker is downright sexy.)  If you read one Spider-Man story ever, it should probably be this one.  Seriously.  I can't believe we only had a year and a half with him, but it's one of the best runs I can remember.  I'll see you in "Marvel Two-in-One," Chip!

Spider-geddon #0:  Oy.  As cool as it is to have the hero of the new Spider-Man video game make his first comic-book appearance, it would've been even the cooler if the story wasn't terrible.  I usually like Gage, but both Spidey and Otto sound like a 14-year-old boy wrote the script.  They're constantly confessing their feelings to each other, in a way that doesn't make sense for people who just met each other (particularly in Otto's case).  Plus, Gage overuses ellipses to make every statement of emotion seem...profound.  After five issues (including the "Edge of Spider-geddon" series), we at least finally learn in the back-up story how the Inheritors lay the groundwork for their escape.  I could've done with a lot more of the B story than the A story, though.

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #6