X-Men Legacy 22, Uncanny X-Force 16

X-Men Legacy 22
Spurrier (w) and Pham (a) and Rosenberg (c)

The evil mind-Xavier has launched a missile containing all sorts of nuclear firepower at Washington, knowing that the very act, once it shows on the radar, will cause a chain reaction around the world currently filled with hate that the gold Xavier has permeated. David, though, unknowingly has called for his allies. From Wolverine's team to Cyclops' team to Abigail Brand and Sydren to Pete Wisdom to anyone he's teamed up with and they all show, helping to take apart the nuke before it can cause too much trouble (as David points out, taking apart a nuke was the first thing the X-Men did). The gold Xavier is less a gold Xavier at current and more a giant rock monster thing with crazy seemingly disintegration ray powers so it'll take all the X-Men and David's considerable might to bring him down. There are casualties in the fight that David, as a leader, has to be able to move past, including the apparent deaths of Abigail Brand, Chamber, and Karasu Tengu. David pushes through and gets the X-Men to push through and work together, to put aside the hate they have stored up in them and the hate that Xavier is trying to force to the surface. David destroys the body and pulls the power into the astral plane. It's at this moment that Blindfold wakes up, with the power taken by her brother restored (now that Luca's body is destroyed), and projects herself to the fight while her actual body hurries its way there. David squares off against the gold Xavier, who begins to weaken and transform away from the Xavier image and into something small and sickly, goblin-like, in his mind. David prepares to either cage the personality or destroy it but the personality denies him, asking David how a person with a sickness of the mind cures it. The answer is, of course, that he doesn't: he finds ways to live with it. With that, he dives into David's legion and David, unprepared to take it on, emerges back into the real world and becomes the world worm they knew he would become.

The last time I talked about X-MEN LEGACY it was to name it 2013's best Marvel title. This issue does absolutely nothing to disavow me of that notion, even though last week saw the conclusion and therefore the wrap-up of the amazing YOUNG AVENGERS. This book is just truly something else. There's a feeling with the last year or two of Marvel books that they're all echoing something different out there. I think that has a lot to do with books like HAWKEYE, which really broke the mold of a superhero comic, and the rise of Image comics. Superhero books can be different and they can maybe be a little niche and you can take the superhero world, with all of its tropes and eccentricities and over-the-top action and death and resurrection and superpowers and supervillains, and you can, if you want, stick it in a real-ish world and tell really great, really character-centric stories. It's not necessarily a new idea when it's framed that way but it certainly feels new and the books that are doing it well are doing it with such excellence that they're about the best books I've ever seen. Even books that feel a little more traditional, like DAREDEVIL, are bringing such a level of personality and depth that they're changing the face of superhero comics. X-MEN LEGACY is a book about the mutant son of Charles Xavier who happens to be the most powerful mutant in existence. David himself says that his father thought of him as a mutant with "godlike powers and childlike control." Despite this and despite the amazing stories that Spurrier can be and has told with the character, it's remained remarkably personal and remarkably moving. This issue moves David into a spot (where he's been moving for a while, actually) where the main villain has been the sickness in himself and, instead of the typical superhero solution of "punch down the bad guys," you can't find a cure for every sickness. It's an amazing book. Khoi Pham's art is incredible here and, though his style is a departure from Tan Eng Huat (the other major series artist), gives the book a very distinct feel. Huat's art has really grown on me as the series has progressed and, honestly, it's at the point where I love Pham's art in this book but I can see it just as well as if Huat drew it. That's thanks in no small part, too, to Rachelle Rosenberg's colors, which unify the title and makes it look unlike any other out there. Amazing, amazing book. If we ever get a full omnibus style release for this title, I'd urge everyone to get it. Urge, you guys.

Uncanny X-Force 16
Humphries (w) and Tolibao and Soy (a) and Curiel (c)

Hope and Bishop have been taken by Stryfe and both Cable's X-Force and the Uncanny X-Force are interested in finding them. However, the reasons for their mutual interest don't exactly match up and the two teams begin to fight one another through LA. Cable's team shows up to support their leader as he gets knocked out by Storm and Psylocke and they play a bit of keep away as Cable's team works to get him back. Meanwhile, Bishop tries to convince Hope that he's really changed but nothing he can say, as he well understands, can make up for the horrors he's inflicted on Hope. Stryfe shows up to taunt at them for a bit and because he's sworn revenge on Bishop, who betrayed him and left him stranded in the future the last time they saw each other. He offers Hope a chance at her wildest dreams (to be revealed next issue). Back in LA, the dust settles to find Cable awake again. Cable instructs Dr. Nemesis to give Spiral a nightmare, which he does with one of his drug concoctions. In the midst of Spiral's Mojo-based nightmare, Cable convinces her to teleport him to Stryfe's location, which she somewhat unwittingly does. They arrive to find Stryfe waiting for them.

What I typically like about four-issue crossovers is that there's usually a lot to explain and not a lot of room to do it in, so you tend to get only the exposition that you truly need and the action has to move at a certain pace to convey the entire story of two separate entities (in this case, CABLE AND X-FORCE and UNCANNY X-FORCE) over only four issues. For the most part, VENDETTA is proving to be no different. The fights move pretty quickly, the inciting incident and rising action all move well, and you can feel the story both winding up and preparing to wind down at any point. On the weaker ones, you can usually map out the beats after the first issue. I wouldn't say this is entirely one of the weaker ones; the story there, particularly the story about Hope and Bishop, is intriguing enough to keep the audience guessing and to keep the crossover moving well. I will say, I almost would have preferred it if this issue wasn't a big fight issue. Not only would a quick team-up without the typical big fight be something of a surprise in a crossover of this style, it would make a little more sense. To both Sam Humphries' and Dennis Hopeless' credit, they've created a reason for the fight that's more than just "this is the second beat of a four-issue crossover." Still, these are two teams comprised of people who are friends and unquestionably heroes (well, except for the reformed villains you tend to ruin into) and you'd like to see that, just once, mean something. Still not a bad issue. There's some clunky fight-dialogue sprinkled throughout but the arguments for both side are good enough that you can get past it. Also not complaining that the resolution of this crossover will set us into the February launch of Si Spurrier's (see above review) X-FORCE.

This week's picks

Kind of a tough week to pick three books. I think there were some pretty weak books out there but the strong books were pretty exceptional. Let's see where this takes us.

Thor: God of Thunder 4

Expect this book to appear up here relatively often if it keeps up where it's at. It's marvelous storytelling with a particularly compelling character. Over the last few years I've really come around on Thor, who I truly despised after reading the original Avengers. He was just boring to me, like the Superman of Marvel. He seemed unbeatable and unbeatable is boring. I've talked a lot this week about needing a villain that plays to Thor's level and this book has found it. To have a villain that can examine Thor through all of his major personality stages is a stroke of genius.




Punisher War Zone 3

I still admit to being kind of surprised by liking this so much. I do like to see the Avengers drop in on Punisher and to see that the heroes of the world occasionally have to dedicate time to dealing with him. Rucka's control and understanding of Punisher and of Thor and the Marvel Universe is impressively strong. With any lack there, this book fails. Instead, it's good, it's intriguing and it's totally worth reading. Also, always nice to see Spider-Man interacting with other Avengers in casual situations, like walking through Avengers tower. He seems to always need to be crawling on the ceiling and occasionally popping his head in front of people he's in conversation with. Like, dude, we can see your human legs. We know you can use them.


X-Men Legacy 4

This was a tough last call to make. I was torn between this, Cable and X-Force, and Superior Spider-Man, all of which were very good, but this one won out just because of how different it feels. Cable and X-Force was interesting and the team feels very connected and natural already, Superior Spider-Man rung in a new(ish) era for Spider-Man and brings the book to a whole new and exciting place, but this book so far has examined a lot of questions in a very little time. In this issue alone, we get a lot of thinking on parenthood, Professor X's "dream," the role of the X-Men in the world and in the dream, and many other things. It also delves into Legion's extensive powers and lets us see his selection and knowledge of them. It's well done, it looks good, and it asks worthwhile things. Keep up with it.



GUYS, my reviews are done for the week. I'm writing this before the 49ers game ends so tomorrow we'll see my mood before I select what I'm going to write about or if I can bring myself to write anything. I GUESS YOU'LL KNOW MONDAY.

Age of Apocalypse 11, First X-Men 5, Ultimate X-Men 21, Wolverine and the X-Men 23, X-Men Legacy 4

Age of Apocalypse 11
Lapham (w) and De La Torre and Arlem (a)

I kind of tune in and out of this series. Not that it's bad or uninteresting, just because I tend to have some trouble grasping it. I think I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people involved that I didn't know. OKAY, that might make me a bad comic reader (it's weird how often I catch myself saying that on this blog. Maybe I AM a bad comic reader. Boy, let's all work under the assumption that I'm not), but being introduced cold to a whole new group of characters who are different than their 616 counterparts threw me for a bit of a loop. The other part of this that probably makes me a bad comic reader (but remember, I'm NOT) is that this book is good.

There is a real plot with a real weight to it and some real questions that arise from it. Is Weapon X's genocide simply Apocalypse's Death Seed doing its work or is he really protecting the world from the Celestials, who we know have a real tendency to do this? Is it the only way for the world to survive the Celestials? Was the Shadow King really turning into dinosaurs to attack Quentin Quire/Donald Pierce? Plenty of good questions, plenty of interesting characters and it is, despite what I said above, cool to see characters who are just bigots and anti-mutants in the 616 actually fighting for a reason in this book. Does still kind of stop you from liking them.

Maybe that's my problem with the book. I'm asked to like characters I know I hate. It's not like Nightcrawler coming from the AoA into the 616 and being a character I already loved but with a different history that fundamentally changes him. Now it's the same situation but with characters I don't like. I don't know. That sounds like a good reason. But don't misunderstand: this book is a good book. It's worth reading, especially if you like other timeline stuff. The good thing about this blog is that I will make sure to read every issue of everything going forth and, more importantly (since I largely did that anyway), I'll have a record of what I've said about the last issue. Books I don't invest in tend to get treated as a series of one-shots in my mind. All disjointed, with me just figuring I'll remember nuances of the plot that I don't. NOW I WILL.

First X-Men 5
Adams and Gage (w) and Adams (a)

Did anyone else feel like everyone was going to die in this book? Because starting it, I knew two members of this team, Wolverine and Sabretooth, and NO ONE ELSE. The problem with books set in the past is that you kind of know who will live. In this case, odds weren't great on EVERYONE BUT WOLVERINE AND SABRETOOTH. It diminishes the scale a bit, along with some of the other aspects of this book. I know I didn't get attached to any of these characters because there was like, a 9/10 chance that they died. Like, that they ALL died. Guess what's paying off for me right now? That. That's paying off for me right now.

Anyway, the book was kind of unimpressive? I cut it a lot of slack because it's Neal Adams, a living legend, and Christos Gage, who I like very much, but I imagine it's Adams carrying a lot of this slack. Modern comics are very different than the comics of the past, in layout and in art and in story and in everything. So I try not to relate it to modern comics. Plus it's hard to write a book set in the past over what would appear to be a huge issue, the discovery of mutantkind and introduction of the Sentinels, because Marvel has mined the past so often. There are allowances to be made for this book and I'm willing to make them. That said, I didn't love this series. It was somewhat slow, I couldn't really care for the characters, and this final issue was a little step-by-step predictable. Not that it all was, but we all kind of knew the full ending, didn't we? Department of Mutant Affairs, Wolverine and Sabretooth, Magneto comes out of nowhere to form the Brotherhood of Mutants, Professor X forms the Xavier School. It's hard to throw surprise into a book from the past of stuff anyone reading it probably already knows. Look guys, maybe I'm just too good of a comic book reader. That's what I'm going to say from now on, regardless of context, okay?

Ultimate X-Men 21
Wood and Edmonson (w) and Barberi and Vlasco (a)

We're building to some big things, which is fun, but I do feel like we've been building for some time now. I do think there is a sense of some sort of realism here to the speed at which Mach Two is plotting, as opposed to going "I hate Kitty, I'm going to kill her by the end of this issue." Still, it lends itself to a lot of jumping to the rogue group within their numbers that is constantly whining and that is not endearing for a book. I like where this book is and where it's going and the different ways in which they can proceed, but having to split time between the mutants who are trying to do something and the mutants who are complaining the whole time is a little tiring.

I am still curious as to the main story of this arc, the sentient seed creation and distribution. The mutants in Utopia have found/created a seed that can grow in any climate, thereby granting the potential to end world hunger and, under Kitty's direction, have offered it to the world as a sort of peace treaty. The hope is that it will put human-mutant relations in a calmer and more amicable place. I'm not sure totally where that hope comes from because Kitty seems to think that it will move straight to peace without any sort of repercussions. Though that might be the logical outcome, the world isn't logical and still wants to attack over it, obviously.

At this point, I like where the series can go and where it's been, that's why I listed it on my favorite 2012 books list. Right now, though, where we're at? There's a lot of infighting and characters acting crazily naive. I don't mind infighting, I think it's real. I do mind crazy naivety because these kids, though they're still just kids, just fought a war. There's less room for naivety after that. Also, as I've said, it makes for less interesting reading when everyone is just whining about how something needs to be done. Also, when Tony Stark is the adult in the room.

Wolverine and the X-Men 23
Aaron (w) and Bradshaw (a)

The folks at Marvel have been absolutely head over heels in love with the idea of Wolverine magicked into being Revolto the Clown over the last three or so Wolverine and the X-Men issues. I'm...I'm not sure why? I guess it's a thing but BOY did this plan of Frankenstein's monster seem convoluted. There must have been an easier way to lure lil Frankenstein to him than hoping for a circus to work. Look, I'm no supervillain, but it seems like they went to great lengths to even get the X-Men involved. Why would you even want to do that?

Look, anyway, Idie Okonkwo is changing a whole lot and Quentin Quire seems to be changing just a bit and lil Frankenstein is pretty evil. That's what I got from this arc and it feels like that could have been done a lot faster. Oh, and Eye Boy can see magic and he is covered in eyes and that's grody. I don't have a whole lot more to say because it feels like everything we could say is kind of already covered. The X-Men break out of the magic, beat the bad guys, and go home. Just a normal day, I suppose.

OH, and Azazel's going to come back into play. That could be fun.

X-Men Legacy 4
Spurrier (w) and Molina (a)

This is one of the stronger books in Marvel NOW!'s arsenal right now. Each book has been entertaining and interesting, exploring many ideas and many thoughts on power and what it means. It's a strong book in its ideologies and in its action. David Haller, Legion, is a compelling character doing exactly what good compelling characters do: he's making us read on and come back every new issue. He frets, he fights, he considers his past, he bluffs, he makes rash decisions. All these things fit his personality without sacrificing plot. So far, just a really strong book.

In this issue, the X-Men have descended on David, fresh off saving the psychic twin children of bad guy Ogun, and quickly determine that he has kidnapped the children and that's he unbalanced and sick. Instead, he aims to help the children and keep them from the world of fighting that being an X-Man opens. He's not sure how that's going to happen and he still cares about the dream of his father, Professor X, but he thinks there might have been fundamental flaws in the X-Men example. It's been interesting because, in thinking about his father's dream and having his psyche torn apart by his father's death, he's forced to reconsider his relationship with his father and exactly who his father was to him. He's going through a lot right now, is what I'm saying, and it's always interesting to watch an omega level mutant going through a lot.

If this book keeps up this way, it'll be something to watch. I'm already regretting not putting it on my top ten anticipated books of 2013 list but I go back and still can't figure out what I'd knock off. It's going to be a good year for comics, if all goes as well as it can. I'm very excited.


TOP PICKS, coming tomorrow.