Hawkeye 20, Captain Marvel 7

Hopefully there aren't many but please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors, particularly today. I wrote a slew of reviews (today's and tomorrow's) on my phone away from the comics and autocorrect REALLY hates comics, I tell you what. Nearly as much as I hate proofreading. So we're all to blame.

Hawkeye 20

Harold H. Harold has been killed and one of Kate's arrows is responsible. She's brought in for questioning but talks her way out of it with Caudle, who still doesn't like her but realizes she couldn't have done it. With the help of her LA friends, the flower shop owner who she helped in her first solo adventure, and the suddenly not-dead Harold, she sneaks into Masque's complex, finding herself suddenly on the losing end of a battle with her henchmen, though not before she manages to steal some really important client files of Masque's, including her father's. She escapes but returns to torch Masque's home as payback for her own torched trailer, which puts her back in the grasp of some more LMD henchmen (for, of course, that is what Masque's business dealing in bodies is and explains the lives of the rich that Harold stumbled on so long ago and Harold's own death and reappearance) and of Masque herself. She manages to walk away from the fight thanks to a timely rescue by SHIELD, who interrogates her but has no ground on which to stand in their interrogation, particularly when Kate questions their involvement, given the LMDs. She settles things up, borrows money from Marcus and Finch (who she refers to as "the best family a girl could have," d'awwwww), and heads home, calling her father and vowing to stop him.

The series is ready to merge into one story once more with Kate headed back east and it leaves me torn. I really love this book and obviously the first 15 or so issues with both Hawkeyes together were excellent but it's a testament to the strength of this series and the strength of Annie Wu that I don't want this to end just as much as I want Kate and Clint reunited. Fraction's Kate, in her first solo arc, has definitely proven she has the ability to stand on her own, showcasing skills and charisma at every turn. It's been tons of fun; credit to Marvel for trusting Fraction with this and for bringing in relative unknown Annie Wu to absolutely kill with a big spotlight on her. This book doesn't land nearly as well, even despite Fraction's writing, with any other artist. As far as this issue goes, fantastic work all around, Kate continues to be one of the most fun characters to read out there and her energy and excitement bursts off the page. There are great long-jokes, great quick-jokes, great references snuck in (the old cranky Hallmark card lady gets referenced! There's a "It's Chinatown" reference too but the cranky old Hallmark card lady is that funny that I'm not even going to mention the Chinatown one), and overall an excellent book.

Total Score: 5/5


Captain Marvel 20

Captain Marvel has returned from her first arc successful, but it hasn't stopped the nightmares she's plagued by, namely a nightmare wherein she cannot protect the people she loves and fails them when they need her most. In perhaps happier news, she's found herself traveling with Tic, who stowed away after their first adventure, and the pair of them return to Carol's ship, currently being grudgingly watched by Rocket Raccoon, who immediately begins fighting with Carol again about the possible alien nature of her cat. Their fight is interrupted by a spaceship latching on to and breaching Carol's. Matters are made worse when Tic finds Chewie the cat sitting on a host of apparent offspring, perhaps confirming Rocket's assessment that a very dangerous Flerkin has made its way onboard.

Despite the nightmare to kick this one off and the tension by the end of the issue, this one is certainly more light-hearted than any of the first arc of this CAPTAIN MARVEL volume. Just about everything both Tic and Rocket say is played for laughs, some hitting well and some missing the mark a bit. It also feels a bit like we're missing a scene here as Carol sees Rocket and IMMEDIATELY tears into him for...watching over her ship and cat for her. Granted, Rocket changes some things on her ship and hates the cat, but there's nothing wrong with Chewie as Carol returns and the changes to the ship aren't cited as problems, which makes Carol just come off as aggressive and ungrateful. As I said, I think there are grounds for a fight present but those grounds never feel like the reason she attacks. It's not an awful issue and certainly guest artist Takara does a very good job filling in, but it never feels fully together the way DeConnick has made us accustomed. Such is the price of repeated success.

Total Score: 3/5

Captain America 24, Black Widow 10

Captain America 24

As the Avengers fight Zola's mutates on the ground, Ian makes his way up to Sharon and Falcon and Jet confront Zola himself. Zola tells Jet that all of her actions, her revolt, her betrayal, etc., were by his will and offers her a place once more by his side as he conquers the world. She still fights him, getting help from Falcon as Ian and Sharon, who not only survived her time in Dimension Z but actually ended up raising Ian the rest of the way (so Sharon and Steve are his mom and dad), discover that Zola has a bomb meant to raze New York, civilians and superheroes alike. Zola has the bomb, as well as the mutates, telepathically controlled through his antennae (oh Zola, you're so silly!) so he can detonate it at a moment's notice. He hasn't done so only because he wants his daughter to join him once more. Falcon distracts Zola while Redwing clips Zola's antennae, hoping to disrupt the signal, but in classic villain mode the bomb sets to a 30-second timer when the signal is lost, leaving New York seemingly doomed. Falcon rushes to the bomb and grabs it, flying it far over the city and telling Steve to marry Sharon and raise Ian and have a good life as the bomb explodes.

You guys ever get the feeling that comic solicits and news and everything kind of ruin suspense to a point? This is a really great comic, complete with everything you could want from a superhero comic: a classic pure evil villain, an attempt to destroy all the superheroes and millions of civilians on the path to taking over the world, heroes working together towards a common goal, the monumental sacrifice of a terrific and long-standing superhero. And yet, we know that Falcon's meant to pick up the Captain America mantle in the next issue so we have a pretty good feeling that he'll live. To Remender's credit, that doesn't take all of the tension out or make the sacrifice meaningless; instead, it still stands strong and shines a great light on Sam. Overall, I can't fault the book for the flaws of the information age and this is still a really good issue.

Total Score: 5/5


Black Widow 10

We see a flashback of Black Widow's time on the other side of the law, specifically the period when Hawkeye had become an Avenger but his beloved Black Widow was still a criminal. The two find themselves on opposite sides of an escort mission as Natasha attempts to smuggle Rashid, an accountant with all manner of secrets in his head about terrorist money dealings, out of Pakistan to Russian operatives and Clint tries to capture Rashid. The two spar across Islamabad but Natasha eventually wins out, long-distance snapping Hawkeye's bow before he can successfully derail the car Rashid managed to get in. In the present, though, Rashid is the one who kidnapped Isaiah, who holds firm, unwilling to give up any information and sure that Natasha won't come for him. On the other hand, though, Natasha realizes she may need a hand on this one.

Though the cover and the hype are something of a fake-out as Hawkeye only appears in flashback form and we don't see much of their working one-on-one relationship now, the issue still holds up to the rest of the series nicely, with plenty of action and phenomenal Phil Noto art doing most of the storytelling with Edmondson's often terse dialogue filling in many of the specifics. In that way, it's very much a comic (and has been through its run) that uses the advantages of an illustrated medium to really flesh out a story. Comics drag when they rely too much on the narration or the dialogue to push the story forward or to build up characters too much. Not to say that all comics with a lot of writing are slow or uninteresting, just that it's a risk you run when you write an issue and leave little room for the art to tell the story. This series continues its excellent run unabated and I advise you check it out if you, for some inane reason, haven't already.

Total Score: 5/5

Hawkeye 19

Hawkeye 19
Fraction (w) and Aja (a) and Hollingsworth (c) and Elipoulos and Aja (l)

Clint's deaf and Barney's in a wheelchair. But they're not done.

This is the sign language issue that Fraction and Aja have been promising and it's pretty amazing. I'm not reviewing it much more except to say it's really touching and really well done. I don't think I can say more about it than that. Check this one out and be incredibly surprised if this issue doesn't end up with the Eisner HAWKEYE 11 just won next year.

Total Score: 5/5

Hawkeye 15, Fantastic Four 1

Hawkeye 15
Fraction (w) and Aja (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

The Barton boys are trying to piece together what the tracksuit draculas are up to with the help from Team Clint's Exes. Mockingbird drops by to tell Clint that she's followed the records of the strip club he busted up through several shell companies and eventually to its own, Ivan Banionis, the man Clint had deported before buying the building. She also has figured out that he and his companies own every building for three blocks except Hawkeye's, making him a big ol' target for them. Next up is Black Widow, who has dug up 18 murders in the tri-state area that seem to be a result of the tracksuits and their hitman, who Natasha warns Clint is practically a ghost, someone who can sign his work as loudly as he wants because no one knows anything about him. Meanwhile, a backroom meeting commences as the shady people above the tracksuits discuss the plans for the land, a three block by three block premiere luxury shopping center that would replace the medium and low income housing currently in the area. The only hold-up is Clint's building which the Clown, out of disguise (or into it, I suppose), says is still legally owned with the city by Ivan Banionis and that Clint's name appears as "interim superintendent and owner," a title the Clown doesn't think is terribly legal. He meets with the tracksuits next to tell them that Clint's stay there isn't exactly legal, which means that he can't call the cops on them so they don't really have to worry about the little games they've been playing; instead, they can go for a full attack. Clint and Barney beat up a bunch of the tracksuits in a van on the street but are rushed back inside when they hear Simone screaming. They run to her apartment and take out a few more tracksuits before Spider-Woman meets up with them in their apartment to tell Clint that he can't just "buy" the building, that things aren't that easy. Barney asks how the tracksuits got in and Clint realizes it must have been the roof and that they could still be inside. Clint runs downstairs and checks outside but the van is gone. As he comes back in, the Clown stabs him in the head with his own arrow and shoots an oncoming Barney in the gut before leaving both Barton boys on the ground.

Here's the thing about HAWKEYE that's been so rewarding for readers: that summary. Not, like, I did a really good job with it or anything like that (I'm fishing for compliments here, dear reader, take a hint, okay?), but the fact that it's so packed with things that happened. Every part of the issue was important and I STILL didn't cover everything in the book. Despite how jam-packed it is, the comic reads really well. It moves quickly, it keeps you exactly the right amount off-balance to keep you reading and entertained but not overly confused or lost, it has compelling characters with compelling relationships, and it's ultimately about the failures of Hawkeye more than the successes. Granted, it's a slightly different feel when Kate is our star because, simply put, Kate succeeds more. Hawkeye is a hero with the Avengers, he's someone who always shows up, usually does his part (which is sometimes actually helpful), and goes home. At home, though, he's a different person, trying to do his best with just about no sense of the actual world. This book was created by someone who understood Clint's life, who saw the bigger picture of Clint Barton. He was an orphan, he became a circus act, and he moved into a life of crime before being plucked from it and becoming an Avenger, which he's been ever since. That didn't leave a lot of time for studying or for understanding the way the real world worked, which is why Clint is where he is now. It's all summed up in an exchange with Jess where he says that he's just trying to do the right thing, that what the tracksuits were doing wasn't right and he wanted to fix it. When she tells him it's not that easy, he mutters "yeah, but it should be." Perfect Clint, perfect book, another good issue. AND GUYS, this analysis didn't even mention the fact that the Barton boys are seriously injured by issue's end.

Fantastic Four 1
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk and Kesel (a) and Aburtov (c)

The Fantastic Four are back, donning new red costumes and out to save the city again. The issue is framed by a letter from Sue to her kids which is very much the style of "how did things go wrong?" sort of storytelling, where we know something has happened to break this family up but we have to build our way there. She says that Reed is now a broken man, a shell of himself who she sometimes hates for everything that's happened, that Ben is in jail after Reed's testimony, and that Johnny is a wild card, a loose cannon, etc. BUT HOW? Well it apparently starts with them fighting Fin Fang Foom in downtown New York, which causes Reed to ask why he suddenly seems out of control, no longer the plotting and planning foe of theirs that he's used to. They defeat him pretty quickly and go their separate ways, with Reed and Sue watching over the house and the FF, missing Valeria who went to stay in Latveria after some anger at her parents, Ben going to see on-again-off-again girlfriend Alicia Masters, and Johnny going to see his rock-star manager. All seems to be back on track for the F4 until, late at night, some monsters burst out of Reed's lab and into New York.

James Robinson has been in comics for a couple of decades now but I'm only just getting around to hearing about him. He's spent much of his time over at DC with long stints with characters like Superman and Starman but, as you may have guessed, I don't have a whole lot of history with DC. Pretty much, I know Batman and even that is at a far lesser level than I know about the more minor Marvel characters. Robinson's written things for Marvel before but I can't safely say that I've read it (he did a few issues of HEROES REBORN: CAPTAIN AMERICA and I'd hazard a guess to say I've read them, as I've read some HEROES REBORN and I love Captain America, but I can't recall anything about them so here we are). Now he's the writer of the ongoing ALL-NEW INVADERS and FANTASTIC FOUR. This long intro to James Robinson is essentially just my way of talking for a while before I have to say that I'm getting a similar vibe out of both of these books and that vibe is the same sort of vibe, albeit less egregious, I get from Robinson's fellow countryman Paul Cornell, he of WOLVERINE. I have less patience with Cornell after the last WOLVERINE series because it just flat-out bored me, which Robinson has not yet done with either of these two books. However, there is a robotic kind of feeling to the writing that kind of shows there are characters here but makes it feel like, even this early into both series, we're not going to get anything new from these characters. New stories, new situations, sure, but the characters themselves seem like such boilerplate versions of the characters we already know. That said, we are EXTREMELY early into both FANTASTIC FOUR and ALL-NEW INVADERS so I'd be delighted and unsurprised if they turned me around (I'd also be surprised if I ever got to the point with these books that I have with WOLVERINE) and this may be nothing more than an incorrect gut feeling but it's worth noting that it's certainly what my gut is telling me right now.

Comics this week

Bunch of new books out highlighted by one new number one and a couple of number twos to new and promising books AND a book that has decided sequential numbering isn't really its bag.

All-New Invaders 1

Guys, I love the Invaders as a team and I love every member of the Invaders as individuals and I'm really looking forward to a new ongoing about them. The launch seems to be coming at a good time as we're right on the brink of a new and probably amazing Captain America movie that will feature two of the Invaders, so it's just up to the book to be great. Let's hope it is.

Avengers 25

Our first new issue of AVENGERS since the events surrounding INFINITY (not counting last issue's celebration issue, which I still tie to INFINITY, thanks). Where will Marvel's flagship title go next? Well the solicit for it is awful strange but WHO KNOWS what it actually means. Anyway, look for a start to a new big story.

Black Widow 2

After a stellar first outing from Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto, we'll dive back into BLACK WIDOW only a couple of weeks later. Really looking forward to seeing where this series goes and if the writing and the art can keep pace like it did the last time out. If the first issue is any example, this has the potential to be a really great book.

Captain America 15

The first book since Cap nearly killed a broken man in cold blood to stop future atrocities and out of his rage. As if we weren't seeing enough problems from Cap, we also have the Iron Nail out there somewhere and the trouble caused by Falcon allowing the reporter to leave with her camera damning America and SHIELD. Plenty happening here to keep an eye on.

Hawkeye 16

Who needs HAWKEYE 15? Well, we do, and we'll get it eventually, but the way that HAWKEYE is working right now, with Fraction and Wu telling Kate's tale on the even numbered books and Fraction and Aja telling Clint's tale in the odd ones, we shouldn't need 15 to understand 16, which is good because, as I implied, we don't yet have 15. As Fraction put it, one book is ready, one book isn't. I'm still excited to read it because this book, as slow as it sometimes is in its releases, is amazing.

Hawkeye 14, Indestructible Hulk 16, FF 14

Hawkeye 14
Fraction (w) and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)


Kate Bishop is officially moved into LA (as we already know from the Annual) and just about out of money. Realizing that she has skills that are maybe a little harder to market, she starts to try to put herself out there as a hero for hire and gets her first case as she uses her neighbor's printer to print her flyers out. Her neighbors, a gay couple, are getting married and the florist shop set to handle the wedding has been most burned down, burning almost all of the flowers. Kate goes to investigate and the florist points her to Flynt Ward and tells her that Ward burned everything but the orchids he had for the wedding, which Ward took himself and which Kate's neighbors were most insistent about, as one of them saw orchids specifically in a vision of the wedding. Kate tries to get the police involved and then stakes out Ward herself, who immediately recognizes what she's doing and keeps her out of his way. She decides to stalk him and take pictures of his drug dealing ways but is quickly found out and Ward chases her down in his car, knocking her off her bike before driving away. She snaps a few more pictures and goes back to the police, who inform her that marijuana is legal and so he's not really a dealer but that the hit and run will land him in prison, as will illegal possession of a firearm they found in the car. She recovers the last of the orchids and brings them to the wedding, accomplishing her first mission though also getting into a bit of an antagonistic relationship with her police contact. Ward, meanwhile, makes his first call from prison to none other than Madam Masque, enemy of our hero.

Very solid first Kate-in-LA issue (not counting the Annual which was ALSO extremely good) and it sets a nice tone for the book. Fraction clearly has a very strong voice for Kate, one that's maybe a little less grown-up than the Kate we typically see in books like YOUNG AVENGERS where she's kind of forced to be mature one by the immaturity of her teammates. Here, she's a little more free and a little more stream of consciousness than we've seen her. Though the voice might not totally match the voice we've seen somewhat established for her (I would say previous voices for Kate aren't particularly well-established in and of themselves) but they certainly stay consistent and I think you can absolutely see that voice in any iteration of Kate. Annie Wu hops on the book on art and it's phenomenal. Her Kate is outstanding and it's especially emotive. Hollingsworth's colors are great again and incredibly varied from the darker and somewhat grittier colors we've seen throughout HAWKEYE, giving way to lighter and more vibrant colors for Kate. Really fun intro to our Kate issues arc, very excited to see it. Perhaps the best explanation of the art comes from Matt Fraction's Twitter:

@AnnieW gonna get super-esoteric in the scripts just to see how you draw her: "she just remembered something but is about to sneeze" etc
— BUTT STUFF WEREWOLF (@mattfraction) October 31, 2013

Indestructible Hulk 16
Waid (w) and Asrar (a) and Staples (c)

Hulk is back to Hulking and Banner is back to Bannering after the cross-time adventures of the last arc and after the events of INFINITY. Banner is upset at having fallen behind on his promise of a new world-changing invention or discovery each Friday and plans to recoup some time with a couple of pet projects he's been working on, only to find each one invented or discovered just hours before he would have by the other big brains of the Marvel Universe. His frustration forces Hulk out and he hopes to get a mission from Hill but finds out, with the help of team-member Randall Jessup, that Hill doesn't want him on her newest big mission exploring an Aztec ruin for a potential new renewable energy found there. Frustrated more, Banner starts to Hulk but Jessup manages to talk him down and sneak him into the mission anyway. The two of them go down to Mexico and infiltrate the pyramid, where Banner starts to give way to Hulk again. Jessup earns his stripes again as he controls Hulk enough to get him clear from bringing the whole pyramid down and points him at the thing he needs to fight. Jessup also gives Hulk a successful plan of action, which does result in bringing the whole pyramid down but allows the SHIELD team to get out in time and Jessup to smuggle out the source of the renewable energy, which he shows to Banner. The issue ends with a foreshadowing line explaining that Banner knew he could trust Jessup to his death...seven days later.

Really nice issue of this book. I mentioned in my INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK review last week that Banner's team was the only consistent supporting cast created for its book that I really found myself missing over the course of an arc (thinking especially about Wolverine's dumb science cadre in WOLVERINE). Here Waid brings them back in a big way, even though it only really highlights Jessup. It reminded me a little bit of Dennis Hopeless' early run on AVENGERS ARENA, which made sure to give flashbacks of individuals on Murder World juxtaposed with what was happening with the character currently. The same thing happens here as we see a bit of Jessup's past with a tough upbringing that eventually led to him leaving his family behind a bit only to later find that his father had apparently murder-suicided his mother. It's given Jessup a need to stay with the ones he cares about and resolve to never let them down, which comes out strong with Banner in this issue. Though it's not a bad cliffhanger, I'll be a bit disappointed if Jessup does die next issue. I'd also like more issues like this one, which teams Banner up with members of his think-tank to better get to know them as individuals, which was AVENGERS ARENA's true biggest strength and which paid such dividends as the series went on. Still, very good issue, nice solid core to it and it's setting us up to care about a character who will no doubt be in some danger next time out.

FF 14
Fraction and Lee Allred (s) and Lee Allred (w) and M. Allred (a) and Laura Allred (c)

The FF are regrouping after Doom's interference with Alex Power and their subsequent trip through the portal to the moon and Uatu's base. As they regroup, they plan their next attack, hoping to gain more allies in their fight against Doom, Immortus, and Annihilus. They manage to swipe a slew of bots to go up against Doom's army of Doombots, leaving the replacement F4, along with old John Storm and young Ahura and Alex to go after Doom himself. Scott also appeals to Uatu to do more than watch and it seems to get through on some level, but we'll likely have to see about that later. Scott also admits to Darla that he was forced to kill in prison and that he's worried that side of him, the killer who rather enjoyed the act (though it was clear self-defense), will come out against Doom. There's hijinx and tomfoolery and what-have-you as the team prepares to leave the kids on the moon while they strike. Meanwhile, Doom realizes Lang is about to strike but has more on his mind. As we saw in the last FANTASTIC FOUR, he has figured out that the Negative Zone is connected to every universe and he wishes to control that himself, knocking Annihilus out of his plans and eventually causing it to knock Immortus out of his plans, again as we saw in FANTASTIC FOUR.

Plenty happening as the book heads towards it battle royale finale. Some interesting stuff and some nice character moments for a couple of our heroes but overall the book drags a bit in places that I don't think it needs to drag. This series has long wanted to have a different feel to it, one accomplished by charm and wit and fun as much as it is accomplished by Michael Allred's fresh art and Laura Allred's vibrant colors. I think it still has that but it's running into problems here as it wants to have it both ways, trading off fun and carefree with serious and sometimes dark. It's a very tricky line to balance on and I think Lee Allred is having a little more trouble walking it than Fraction, who has had plenty of experience in a lot of his books, had. I think it's because of that that the book turns extra wordy and starts to feel really off-track at certain points as Allred tries to sprinkle enough of everything in and ends up putting in a little too much of each. The funny thing was that I read maybe a little over half the book before needing to attend to other duties, saving the rest for later. When I came back to it and skimmed the first half to remember my place then continued reading the second half, I found it a better read. It felt a little less wordy in the second half and a lot of the fluff and the mixed tone was in the first half, it turned out. Not an awful book, just not one that I'd have as many recommendations for.

Hawkeye 12, Superior Spider-Man 13

Hawkeye 12
Fraction (w) and Francavilla (a and c)

Barney Barton's back and I'm kind of dumb for not connecting it all. I don't know if you guys did but I sure didn't. Last issue, Lucky saw a guy who he thought might have been Clint getting beat up by tracksuit draculas and barked at them to help him get away. That guy, of course, was Barney. Fraction does a great job in all of his books but in this one particular framing stories against one another. It comes up a ton in this book where something from an issue or two previous will play a very minor role in the next book just to give us a sense of time. It's a really phenomenal tactic if done right and it keeps the reader involved. So here, Barney is back, penniless and begging for change, and wants to meet with Clint. The story is split between present day and flashbacks to their youth, where they were abused by their father and where Clint couldn't help fighting back. Barney kept out of it, mostly, but did his part to make sure Clint was strong enough to fight. In the present, Barney has accidentally run afoul of the tracksuit draculas simply by looking like Clint. They offer him money to let them hit him, which he accepts, but of course they renege on the deal. Twice. The second time, he fights back, beating them all up with relative ease. They try to run but he draws his bow from his duffel bag and shoots the tires of their van out, collecting the money from them when they've screeched to a halt. Finally he meets up with Clint at Clint's building and they embrace.

It's a very sweet issue for Barney, who has taken a lot of heat in the last several years at Marvel, from joining Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers to blinding Hawkeye for a bit in there. This issue would make it seem like he might be trying to come back a little bit, in his own way, but it's hard to put too much on that at this point. Still, the relationship that Fraction establishes between the brothers is a touching one and one that fits nicely into their past, even despite everything that's come before. Not to mention Clint could use another ally or two right now and, given Barney's strength, his brother would make a pretty useful one. Francavilla's art is, as ever, pretty gorgeous and his colors are always haunting. He does a great job, even alongside Aja's art, making Barney look the role of the older brother to Clint's younger brother. Aja has redefined Hawkeye, especially as Jeremy Renner's influence pours into the 616, as a dirty and beat-up kind of guy, making him look maybe a little older than his cinematic counterpart or his typical Avengers look, but Francavilla frames it nicely under Barney's age, who looks fine but rather more beaten and aged. Little touches add immensely to the bigger picture.

Superior Spider-Man 13
Slott and Gage (w) and Camuncoli, Dell, and Pallot (a) and Fabela (c)

Spider-Man has been given the go-ahead from Jameson to stop Smythe by any means necessary. Smythe, meanwhile, is counting on Peter's personality and his need to save the civilians. He continues to flaunt the fact that he's sent Scorpion and Vulture to attack Jameson and the onlookers in the hopes that Spider-Man will allow him to escape in exchange for their lives. Unfortunately, this continues to not be Peter Parker and so he's not going to be dissuaded by a little thing like innocent lives. He attacks Smythe full out, landing a couple of huge blows that eventually kill Smythe. Doc doesn't waste time on pitying him, choosing instead to think about how worthless Smythe was and how he would never have let the hostages go. He returns to the rest of the people to find that Vulture has been talked down a bit (mostly by Nora, who invokes the knowledge of his grandson, and by everyone else playing on leaving him a legacy worth remembering) and then stunned by that jerk security guy and that the Lizard, apparently gone full Curtis Connors (aside from the appearance), has saved Jameson from Scorpion. They all return to the entrance of the Raft before Smythe reappears, his body almost entirely destroyed and his consciousness barley running on fumes. He unleashes his final plan: to swap consciousness with Spider-Man. Of course, Doc Ock is maybe the only person in the world who would be prepared for such an attempt and, as such, he stops Smythe again, revealing to him that he is, in fact, Doc Ock as Smythe dies. On the ride back to the mainland, Spidey convinces Jameson (through a little bit of blackmail) not to close down the Raft but, instead, to turn it over to him as a base of operations, dubbing it Spider Island 2. The last page shows Spider-Man making some phone calls to build himself a bit of an army.

The most impressive thing about this book so far has been the slow burn we've seen with Doc's personality. Has he been, at his best points, a more efficient superhero than Peter was? Sure. Has he crossed the lines that Peter would never cross? Yes, for better or worse. Each issue out, though, it seems like his plan for a superior Spider-Man coincides with the way he ran things as Doctor Octopus. It's still a little early to say (because Slott doesn't want to waste his ammo so quickly and it would be silly to do so) but each step seems to push him a bit more away from Spider-Man and a bit more towards Doc Ock. Maybe he'll re-design Spider-Man's old Civil War Iron Spider costume to give himself the extra arms. Either way, it's been a stellar book with these new fresh changes and, though I continue to miss Peter (and wouldn't be surprised to see him revived in time for his new movie next May), there have been a lot of interesting developments to keep this idea fresh, not just a series of Doc Ock trying to keep his identity secure.

Hawkeye 10, Superior Spider-Man 9

Hawkeye 10
Fraction (w) and Francavilla (a and c)

David Aja takes a day off as we get an origin story for new villain assassin the Clown. Mixed in with his tragic story as a young boy whose family owned a circus in a war-torn land is what's happening in the present day, wherein young Kate Bishop has run afoul of the creepy assassin. The Clown is attending a party Kate's father is throwing and, being the young socialite she is, she is forced to attend as well. As the two talk (she's interested in him from across the room as someone who doesn't look like her father's business partners), the audience is privy to the Clown's backstory. His parents were killed when the circus was burned down. As he and his brother Janek grew older, they learned to fend for themselves more, eventually even putting on plays for some tracksuits (presumably the same organization as our villainous tracksuits who had protected them a little earlier on). However, their somewhat more peaceful existence is interrupted when a bomb drops on the abandoned subway they were performing in. The tracksuits in question are killed, as is Janek, leaving young Kazi alone. That's where everything changed for him, sending him down the path of an assassin. He doesn't share all of this with Kate, obviously, but he shares his feelings about his job, saying that he loves what he does but that he came from a real hellhole (that's important hang on to that bit). His ticket out of hell was when he was contacted by the tracksuits and offered bundles of money. When she asks where he's from, he says "I told you. I came from Hell." As astute readers will know, this is also what he said to Grills before killing him last issue and again at the end of this issue (Fraction loves playing with time). Kate ends up going to see Clint as the end of the issue nears and finds him still sulking and having trouble shooting arrows accurately. Kate sidles up next to him and shoots her own, right down the target. She tries to get him to talk and he snaps at her, which she refuses to put up with. She shoots another arrow through her first arrow and leaves, calling him a clown (HA). Then we get the scene from last issue again, as Grills tells Hawkeye that if he's afraid that "she" doesn't want to see him again, he should writer her a letter. Last issue, it sounded like that "she" was Jessica. Is it? Or is it Kate? Only Grills seems to know and the secret dies with him all over again as the Clown kills him.
So an interesting backstory, for sure, for the Clown that is at once scary and sympathetic. There's also a lingering sense of fear throughout the issue as Fraction does not attempt to hide the fact that Kate is talking to Kazi at the party, who we know is out to kill Hawkeye and anyone close to him. We know it from the get-go so it's nerve-wracking to watch their interaction, waiting for him to attack Kate and suspecting he might as he watches her enter Clint's building. Good suspense, good story, tight background, and still some great character moments out of Kate particularly but also between Kate and Clint. The great thing this series has done is making us still love Hawkeye but forcing us to ask why we do. He's the everyman of the Avengers, sure, but he's not entirely likable. On top of that, everyone knows it. Even Clint doesn't like himself. He's a bundle of problems and the series wants us to take that seriously, not as some throwaway trait. Another good issue.

Superior Spider-Man 9
Slott (w) and Stegman (a) and Delgado (c)

Doc Ock has found Peter lurking in his brain (that "his" can be read with either name) and is determined to put a stop to it. The Peter in his brain seems to be the sum total of his memories, a Peter created out of the attachment to Peter's memories that Doc kept around in case he should need them. Knowing this is too risky, Doc has decided to purge all of those memories to be on the safe side. Peter fights back as he tries to set the machine up and Doc Ock uses his neural transmitter to send himself into the memories, attacking Peter on Peter's home turf. The two fight, first as Doc Ock and Peter, with Peter calling on the memories of all of his loved ones to give him strength and Doc calling on the memories of all of his fears to weaken him. Then Peter changes into Spider-Man to compete against Doc who, in turn, changes into his Spider-Man. They fight for a while physically and verbally, with Peter telling Doc that his methods are not heroic and that he's stepped so far off the line of power and responsibility. Doc counters this by asking Peter why he tried to stop Doc from saving the little girl's life and eventually forcing Peter to answer that he almost blew it because he didn't want Doc to get the neural transmitter so he wouldn't find Peter lurking in his brain. Doc says it almost cost the little girl her life and Peter backs off for a minute, giving Doc the in he needs. He defeats Peter and we're left with the memory-Peter forgetting his own name as his memory world crashes in around him. Doc emerges from the machine claiming victory.
Admittedly, this series has taken a turn I didn't expect. This is Spider-Man we're talking about. The guy who is Marvel's headliner. Let's take a step back and think about that because I think maybe these nine issues have created some separation from that fact. This is one of Marvel's top heroes and probably the most well-known hero Marvel has (definitely before Phase I of the movies, but maybe even still). And he died and was replaced by his enemy. That's where we are right now. And now the series has seemingly purged Peter's way back. Of course, the door may not be closed yet and, though I'm a little taken aback by how abruptly memory-Peter's story ended, I fully expect Peter to re-emerge at some point but the story isn't finished yet. Doc Ock is still in control of Peter's body and Peter is now nowhere to be seen. Risky moves through the last four+ months for Slott now as he continues to keep readers guessing about where he'll go next. I guess we'll just have to keep reading.