Deadpool 19, Fearless Defenders 11

Deadpool 19
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c)

Deadpool, Wolverine, and Captain America have freed the mutate army and sieged the lab, leaving only Butler's fortress behind. Deadpool waits for it to open while Cap goes to stand guard for the North Korean army topside and Wolverine goes under to try to find another way in. Deadpool ends up talking through the surveillance on the door to Butler and making a logical case for why he should open the door to Deadpool. He does, allowing Deadpool access to his lab, but he remains tucked into his own panic-room lab within. He tries to remind Deadpool of an arrangement that the two had had back in his Weapon Plus days that involved Deadpool willingly supplying his body for testing to help Butler save his so-proclaimed sister. She's laid out behind him while he and Deadpool talk things through but Deadpool secretly appeals to her to open the door, which she does, allowing Deadpool the access he needs to make it in and swiftly kill Butler. The woman returns to her bed, aware that she'll die now and happy to finally be at peace. He meets up again with Cap and Wolverine and the three of them part ways amicably. Deadpool vows again to find a body for Agent Preston, though it seems like hers might be busy.

I really liked this arc on the whole and this final issue is a pretty perfect ending to the arc. I will say that I'm less excited for the next arc, despite the last couple of positive arcs, because it seems like it's going to center around Preston, who I continue not to care for and who I continue to believe weakens what is otherwise a really impressive turn around for this book, which now focuses far more on the intricacies of Deadpool as a character. Adding to the nice character development (for all of the characters involved but particularly for Deadpool) is a great looking book from Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire. Each of them is at the top of his and her game respectively  and putting them together for an entire arc was magical. I think we knew this would be a beautiful arc even just given their covers on the last several months of VENOM. There's a lot to this arc and to this issue in particular to like, not least of which is a nice little character builder for the three heroes and which sees them share a little bit of their feelings with one another. That's especially neat considering Wolverine and Cap both kind of represent different stereotypical representations of men so their nice moment with one another comes as something of both a surprise and a welcome change of pace. Really neat stuff in here and I'm glad to say this book has really come around.

Fearless Defenders 11
Bunn (w) and Sliney (a) and Gandini (c)

There's a party in New Amazonia, home of Hippolyta, and all of the Fearless Defenders are invited. After a night of dancing and real-talk (and some sleeping together by new Defender Ren and book secret star Annabelle), the morning finds the Defenders up against an attack on New Amazonia, led by Caroline Le Fey-hired Aradnea (an Atlantean) and Echidna (queen of Greek monsters). They're dispatched easily enough but not before they put the idea of the New Amazonians following a different leader than Hippolyta and thereby stirring some discord.

I continue to not really be in love with this book. I think part of the issue is that Caroline Le Fey has been the main villain pretty much throughout and we still seem to know so little about her. Her personality shifts between cold and diabolical and aloof and sassy. We also don't have a sense of her need to be involved with this whole thing. We have a little bit, over time, seen pieces of her anger and her full plan but it's both so poorly defined and so spread out throughout this series that it's kind of fallen by the wayside for the reader. Also, and this is something that has kind of bugged me at various times throughout, I love that this is an all-female team and I love that it features a woman who is openly gay because I very much believe in the idea of representation. That doesn't, though, change the fact that the representation comes from a woman who has now slept with a handful of different women in eleven issues. She's been confused and kind of swept up in the whirlwind of this so it's definitely still excusable but it has been a bit of a strange representation of her for a book that, on the outside, looks so progressive. I don't know, maybe it's just me that it's bothering but relationship turnaround in these books isn't typically that quick, particularly with someone like Annabelle who seems to (and this might be putting too much on a character who hasn't seen particularly stunning development) care about having relationships and not just one-night stands. Still not huge on this book, you guys, and it's going to have to figure out a way to wrap up all of its loose ends relatively quickly.

Deadpool 14, Fearless Defenders 8

Deadpool 14
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Koblish (a) and Staples (c)

Deadpool is teaming up with a reluctant Luke Cage and Iron Fist again as they combat a foe swearing revenge on them who they've all forgotten (but who we saw just an issue ago in a flashback). The villain, the White Man, has taken hostages to the Empire State Building and is demanding the three heroes meet him there. They do and Cage and Iron Fist are turned to stone and taken hostage, forcing Deadpool to recruit some of the kids from Iron Fist's dojo to help save them. They succeed in breaking the true Heroes for Hire out and throwing White Man, now turned stone again himself, to the bottom of the river. The issue ends with a scene showing Deadpool countering a couple of hitmen who are intent on knocking him unconscious and stealing his organs. We've seen these people before and it seems their arc will be the next to be examined, possibly in a storyline having to do with the Weapon Plus Program (the next arc, titled the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly will team Deadpool with Captain America and Wolverine, all of whom have some affiliation with the Weapon Plus Program).

The issues that star other characters, established other characters, tend to run smoother than the ones focused just around Deadpool and his newly created little world or ones that focus on one-shot villains. That certainly isn't a ringing endorsement, given that we should be reading this book for Deadpool, not for other characters, but I've found it very accurate. That said, this issue relies on maybe three jokes to carry everything. There's Deadpool's typical brand of humor, there's the stupidity and inherent racism of the White Man, and there's Cage and Iron Fist denying Deadpool was ever on the team. Those aren't necessarily bad jokes in and of themselves but they're each carried so long that they wear down pretty quickly. Also, the issues tend to take a long time to get through because each panel is so loaded down with words in an attempt to fit as many jokes in as possible. Quantity over quality. That's not helped by the sudden ending of the White Man story with five and a half pages left, diving into the next story in the middle of this one. Really calls attention to how long the issue feels. Still, all that said, the series is taking a turn every new issue for less openly obnoxious, which is, you know, mildly encouraging.

Fearless Defenders 8
Bunn (w) and Sliney (a) and Gandini (c)

Annabelle Riggs and Valkyrie officially share a body now, switching off seemingly at will. At will, in this case, means that Annabelle is around to help Misty and monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone try to figure out who's behind a series of strange occurrences in Chinatown and Valkyrie tags in when they discover it's Zheng Bao Yu, who may be the daughter of Fu Manchu (real name). Her father's identity is kind of guarded, with only a slight reference from Valkyrie which is cut off by Yu, which would fit with the weird and convoluted publication and licensing history of Zheng Zu. Anyway, she's leading a group of scientists and fighters from the Hai Dai clan to breed genetically manipulated Brood at, apparently, the direction of Caroline le Fey.

Still not totally sold on this series. I don't mind the Annabelle/Valkyrie sharing a body bit but, and this is a weird thing to say given the circumstances, it's been done before. Comics is rife with normal people and superheroes switching off back and forth. Granted it's not typically as amicable as this body-sharing seems to be right now but I imagine some frustrations will boil eventually. I also, and this is probably on me, am almost wholly uninterested in what's been developed with Caroline le Fey as it stands. Bunn is also making a push to cast her as a legitimate villain by having her sound tough (she has a weirdly out-of-place speech about her ties with the super-villain society that ranks her without actually having to establish her, which is annoying and a little hard to buy). The writing still perplexes me a bit, with people acting perfectly in character one second and then a little less so the next. It's also pretty aware of that fact, as Valkyrie refers to Elsa and Misty as "you guys" at one point and Misty is confused by her sudden vernacular. It could be a nod to Annabelle now being part and parcel with Val but it's not yet been explained so it feels a little out of place. Still not my favorite book. Still have high hopes for it and still hope it succeeds; we only get more female-led/female-driven books if the ones we have sell well.

Fearless Defenders 7, What If...AvX 4

Fearless Defenders 7
Bunn (w) and Hans (a and c)

Annabelle Riggs is in Valhalla after dying a hero's death and she doesn't quite fit in. Instead of partaking in the paradise, she stows away in her room and sulks a bit, like you'd presumably do if you died unexpectedly. Valkyrie isn't happy with the way things ended and seeks a means to set things right. The only person she can think of who owes her a favor and might have the sort of power necessary to bring Annabelle back is Clea, the Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension and former love interest and longtime ally of Doctor Strange.

I talked last issue about fridging and the death of a character who hadn't been around six issues ago and where it left this book and now it's all moot because Annabelle Riggs is on her way back. I think the points are mostly still valid but now we're adding the question of death in comics and I don't want to have that talk again, you guys. It's also still, I would say, too soon to tell whether or not Annabelle is worth the trouble we're going to in order to get her back. Is it interesting for Valkyrie's character to make these choices and to risk so much to bring Annabelle back? Yeah, sure, though it does mean you have to kind of alter your understanding of Valkyrie who, as she herself acknowledges here, has spent her whole life watching warriors die. It was kind of her job description. She's more responsible for this warrior's death, sure, but it's still a strange question. I guess we'll have to see whether or not this pays off in making Annabelle an interesting character or if the old school Captain Marvel sort of twist pans out. Otherwise, though, Stephanie Hans art continues to be impressive and among the most worthy Asgardian art out there. Marvel is smart to have her and Esad Ribic drawing Asgard stories now and again as their scale and regality fits so nicely in.

What If...AvX 4
Palmiotti (w) and Molina, Sandoval, N. Lee, and Cuevas (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Magneto has warped Hope to his will and, as such, humans are now nearing extinction, almost immediately. The remaining Avengers and X-Men are dedicated to teaming up against the two of them when Hope begins to realize what she's done. Magneto kills her and gets the power of the Phoenix himself (which, as far as I know, isn't an attribute of the Phoenix). He promptly goes on to kill a bunch more Avengers before Charles shuts his mind down just long enough for Hulk to throw Wolverine at Magneto, killing him but unleashing the Phoenix on the world which leads to, inexplicably, Wolverine and Jean being reunited and needing to restart Earth on a barren but well vegetated planet.

I've been against this series from the start, pretty openly. I don't take What Ifs seriously because they're not meant to be serious. However, that doesn't mean that they can't be good. A What If book is at its best if it uses an opportunity in a situation to show a character in a new light or to show an interesting facet of causality. This does nothing like that. As I've said previously, characters are entirely one-dimensional, sometimes ignoring any dimensions they may have had previously (Hope is not so soft-willed, for example, that Magneto could instantly change her mind to genocide, even with the Phoenix begging for destruction), therefore the characters aren't shown in any new and well-thought out light. The change in the event isn't so much a "what if some interesting part of this story was changed in a way that makes us think about the outcome differently?" as it was "what if the absolute worst possibility could have happened?" which I will amend further to "what if the absolute worst possibility could have happened with little to no provocation and little to no care for the characters involved?" Sometimes I'll start reading a book and get three pages in or something and go "my god, this book is going to be perfect," which isn't the best response to have as a reviewer because it may well taint the rest of the book, so it's important to try to ground myself after that. However, what it does mean, regardless if I'm right about it being perfect going forward, is that an idea was presented or a character was tweaked or a writer or an artist put something in that was so remarkable you could see the book edging neatly into a great place. If the book goes downhill from there or things change to revert it away from that excitement, ah well, it still gave something to think about. This was different. A few pages in I was audibly saying (to no one but myself) "this is garbage." Again, it could have tainted the way I felt about it as the book wore on but it signifies the same thing as a great idea early in a book. Something has gone so horribly wrong with this issue that there can be no coming back from it. I'm sorry to say I wasn't wrong on that one.