Iron Man 26, Iron Patriot 3

Iron Man 26

Gillen (w) and Bennett and Ross (p) and Hanna and Ross (i) and Guru eFX (c) and Caramagna (l)

Malekith, unable to defend himself from the other six rings and their wearers, makes a deal with Tony: he'll give the ring up if Tony will get him out of the area safely. Tony is wary but agrees, preferring, as Malekith puts it, to win than to take revenge. Tony returns to Earth with the rings intact and hides them away in his encasement. something is happening with the Bride (from way back in the Extremis storyline) and it may just be tied to the fact that Tony has discovered that Arno is trying to perfect Extremis. It's a problem Tony will have to deal with later, though, as four rings has brought them closer to their own goals, which seem to be constructing a ring of their own.

The book is appropriately dark, both in tone and in art/color, for the sorts of shady goings-on that are happening here. Between Iron Man making a deal with Malekith to protect him from the ring-bearers and Iron Man discovering who some of the other ring-bearers are and Arno trying to work the kinks out of the extremely dangerous Extremis and the two of them concocting something to do with the rings, there are a lot of threads here and exactly none of them guarantee any sort of a happy ending. There are outcomes, potentially, that may be less terrible than others available, but many of the possible outcomes are very worrying for Iron Man and it's impossible not to recognize that to some extent in this story. Well done overall.

Total Score: 4/5

Iron Patriot 3

Kot (w) and G. Brown (a) and Charalampidis (c) and Cowles (l)

Rhodes nearly dies from his time underwater but his mysterious savior/possible attacker revives him with a jolt of electricity as a homemade defibrillator. Rhodes attacks him but is forced to stop when the armored man threatens James' father and Lila. Meanwhile, James' father throws himself at the kidnappers, who seem to have some personal issue with him, allowing Lila a chance to run. Back with the masked man, a former agent of SHIELD, James learns that the man has kidnapped him in the hopes that he'll assassinate the former president for him, throwing the country into a civil war over how soldiers are used.

It's a compelling enough story and, I'd say, the most compelling aspect of it is how fast each issue reads. I try not to compare a writer's work to his other work (I do this unsuccessfully OFTEN) but it's hard to separate that I haven't really liked Kot's work with Marvel to this point, mostly because I think it's trying too hard to hit too many points and it ends up slowing an issue down or needlessly complicating things. Here, Kot has an interesting story and seemingly complicated moral decision for our protagonist to make and he's keeping the exposition and the dialogue to a minimum, letting both the art breathe and the story to stand on its own. Each of these issues has read quickly but not because they're uninteresting or poorly written or anything along those lines. They're gripping and compelling and Garry Brown's art and Jim Charalampidis' colors work extremely well with the tone and the content.

Total Score: 5/5

Avengers Undercover 3, Iron Patriot 2

Avengers Undercover 3
Hopeless (w) and Green II (a) and Beaulieu (c) and Caramagna (l)

Cammi is furious with Cullen that he brought them to Arcade without asking any of them, saying that it should be their choice if they want to go seek revenge. The team is divided on the issue but doesn't have much time to fight it out because any sort of plan needs to happen now, as Arcade has opened a new "Murder World," which is essentially just crazy old billionaires paying to fight to the death. The team splits up with one group going to shut down Arcade's power and the other, along with a near-comatose Hazmat, distracting Arcade. Arcade is thrilled to see them, talking to them about how high they'd all risen and how they'd never get that high again, himself included. Just as they're nearly defeated, Death Locket manages to fry the high processing computer near Miss Coriander that powers Arcade and suddenly he's back to just being a guy. They pound on him but don't quite go to killing until Hazmat wakes out of her stupor and recites the words Arcade said to the group when he killed Mettle: "Whatever you say, kid. Welcome to Murder World." She fries him as video is relayed to Baron Zemo, Madam Masque, Hellstrom, and Constrictor.

Story
Things continue to heat up in AVENGERS UNDERCOVER as these would-have-been heroes turn to murdering Arcade amidst the least debate about revenge maybe ever. Even Cammi, who believes they should have all been asked prior to being sent to Arcade, relishes in the revenge part. The turn, of course, is that Hazmat goes the extra step and destroys their enemy (we, I suppose, don't necessarily know he's dead, but that seems hard to come back from) without any sort of debate, though her teammates have varying degrees of shock and horror on their faces (important and well done by Timothy Green II, which, I think, may be the name of a Disney movie?). Between this and the video sent to Zemo and the others, who excitedly watch the outcome, there are plenty of great places for this series to go and it's off to a strong start. 5/5

Characters
There's a lot happening in this issue and much of it is plot-based but that doesn't mean Hopeless doesn't have time to establish some character in here. There's a slight look at everyone if just in their willingness to fight or the way the others regard their willingness to fight (there's a fun moment where Death Locket eagerly volunteers to help fight her way through the billionaires to reach the control panel and she's met with surprise by her teammates). It's rare that a story so plot-heavy and so revenge motivated, particularly surrounding a team, manages to bring out its characters so well but that's what we have here. Hopeless, of course, helped himself enormously in AVENGERS ARENA by making all of these living and breathing characters but dropping them into a new series would only require a new reader to know the most basic of facts about them to really become invested quickly. Solid work. 5/5

Writing
The tone of the book is what it needs to be, nothing particularly outstanding about what's created here as the key to this issue is all in the story and the characters. The dialogue flows pretty well and each character has a unique voice and attitude. I don't know that there's a lot more that Hopeless needed to do here to improve on his story or characters through the writing or the tone or what have you but he does solid work nonetheless. 5/5

Art
The art is appropriately chaotic as the kids rush through the new Murder World on something of a time-sensitive mission. The emotions of these characters are what drive the art here as everyone brings a different level of reluctance or of anger to this journey and it all comes out in their faces, leading up to the important reaction shot of Hazmat's attack on Arcade. Great work by Timothy Green II who, as I stated before, may be the same Timothy Green who had an odd life in a Disney film that I find myself disappointed to discover I know so much about. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Not a ton to add. Really like this book so far just as I really ended up liking ARENA. I also think the team that Zemo has pulled to be his new Masters of Evil is an interesting team-up. Should be fun to watch as things unravel.

Total score: 5/5


Iron Patriot 2
Kot (w) and G. Brown (a) and Charalampidis (c) and Cowles (l)

Iron Patriot is underwater, the suit malfunctioning with Rhodey still in it. His last hope is to eject out of it, though the eject is pretty specific in that it will launch the suit like a rocket while ejecting its operator. Rhodey points it out at the monster stomping around the water, effectively taking it down, as he makes a last push to swim to the surface. He barely makes it but passes out as he gets there. Meanwhile, his father Terrence has been captured by terrorists (though he put up a fight) and his niece Lila, who evaded the first round of captors, gets picked up as well. Things go from bad to worse as Rhodey is picked up in a helicopter by two men claiming to be journalists but working for whoever is behind the attacks that have struck all over the country. They drop him off in New Orleans where he nearly passes out from compression sickness before being approached by an armored individual, the apparent mastermind behind all of this.

Story
IRON PATRIOT is off to a hot start as a full-on attack on America has been the driving force behind the start of the series. There's so much happening story wise but Kot does a good job making it manageable to understand while also making it chaotic enough to see how rampant it is. It's a tough line to walk, one where Kot needs not to overwhelm the audience with information right at the start of a new series but does need to show just how serious the problems are, particularly in a book for a non-A-list character. So far, so good. 5/5

Character
Most of the characterization in this issue comes from the actions that these characters take. Rhodey acts to take down the monster while trying to save himself as a second priority, Terrence chooses his moment and takes down one of his kidnappers (until the second one gets the drop on him), and Lila cleverly evades capture and learns as much as she can about her grandfather's abduction before being fooled by more terrorists acting as police. There's nothing particularly outstanding about any of the character developments here, nothing that would shock to the core or anything, but everyone acts in a very specific way and it gives a great sense of our players in this book so early on. Every book doesn't need to have a shocking revelation for a character, it just has to make sure the characters acts in an appropriate way for that character and Kot is doing a good job maintaining status quo as the plot drives things forward. 5/5

Writing
The tone here, one of desperation and chaos, shines through and carries the writing of this one. There's some narrative and some dialogue that helps put things in perspective and establish our characters but the key here is the tone, one that shows us just how bad things are. The book reads extremely quickly with so much action and so little dialogue and narrative but it's not an insubstantial read for that. It's just the sort of book that will surprise you when the end comes because you assumed you had only read maybe half an issue only to find, nope, plenty happened and they just covered a whole issue. Well done. 5/5

Art
I had some opinions on Garry Brown's faces last time out but they don't really persist into this new issue as everything Brown does, with the assistance of Charalampidis' colors, adds to the tone and the desperation of every situation. The faces, the emotion, the action, it's all well drawn here and it adds to the story rather than taking away from or simply maintaining. For now, it seems Brown is perhaps the perfect guy to draw this book. 5/5

Miscellaneous
I don't have a lot of experience with Ales Kot, having only seen him on books like SECRET AVENGERS recently but the experience I had had given me pause. I'm surprised and delighted to say that this issue stepped right over that pause and turned out to be a pretty great read. Of course, the series will still hinge on the reveal of the bad guy (got some suspicions on that front, as I'm sure anyone reading this book does) and the purpose of these attacks, but as a stand-alone couple of issues, these have really worked.

Total score: 5/5

Captain Marvel 1, Fantastic Four 2

Captain Marvel 1
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c)

Six weeks from now, Captain Marvel is in outer space with some new and alien crew-mates, on the run from the Spartax Secret Police and on the search for certain materials at an outpost. They pretty quickly get into it with a couple of roaming Spartax Secret Policemen and are forced to separate. Cut back to six weeks ago, when our story begins, as Carol and Iron Patriot attempt to stop what seems to be a missile from hitting New York. She grabs it and tosses it, giving the two a chance to examine it in the air. It's not a bomb, as it would happen, but instead some sort of containment for an alien creature. The alien is delivered to SWORD while Captain Marvel returns to her home in the Statue of Liberty, where she's recently welcomed Kit and her mother to stay after Kit's mother lost her job. As Carol puts Kit back to bed (she got up when Carol returned home), Iron Man beckons her to come with him. He tells her that he thinks the Avengers should have someone out in space monitoring any potential threats to Earth or even just things Earth should be aware of. His time with the Guardians of the Galaxy made him aware of how dangerous space may be for Earth and he wants to be prepared. She volunteers to take the first shift, which would be about a year or so in space. She breaks the news to her disappointed but understanding boyfriend Rhodey and she sets off, hoping to find where she belongs.

I think this is a tricky issue to write and it kind of shows. This is a book being rebooted not because it was doing poorly or because it needed a fresh start but because Marvel wanted the boost of a new release in the midst of new release season instead of just before a wave of new releases. This is, anyway, the company line. That said, there are pros and cons to sending Carol to space just as there are pros and cons to having to reboot a series so soon after the last one "concluded." Some of the pros and cons of the latter include needing to try to reach a new audience while similarly retaining one fresh off a great and well loved volume while some of the pros and cons of the former are that Marvel cosmic is ALWAYS a risky move. It's, of course, currently rather in vogue as Guardians of the Galaxy and the comic by the same name have paved the way for introducing more mainstream audiences to the space side of Marvel comics. Of course, that doesn't make it entirely less risky, just means it's got a bigger sandbox to play in. I guess what I'd say, then, is that this isn't a bad issue, just an issue that has found itself in the precarious position of trying to set up a new world without completely dismantling the old one. With that said, I think that the next few issues have the ability to get progressively stronger as the new order falls a little more into place.

Fantastic Four 2
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk and Kesel (a) and Aburtov (c)

The strange monsters that burst from the Baxter Building are revealed, by Franklin Richards, to have come from his secret pocket universe which is currently, as Franklin puts it, sick. They are extremely resilient creatures and it takes Reed a while to concoct something that will neutralize them. By the time he does, they've wreaked havoc all over New York and drawn the attention of plenty of Avengers and other heroes alike. Like his solution with Fin Fang Foom in issue one, Reed's solution this time requires Johnny to act as a catalyst for the cytotoxin he's developed and which will need to be dispersed in the atmosphere. He warns Johnny that it may have negative effects on anyone close to it while it disperses but Johnny decides they can't wait any longer and flies off with it. The cytotoxin works, rendering all the beasts unconscious, but it also knocks Johnny out of the sky. When the F4 catch him, he reveals that he can't feel his powers any more.

The pocket universe Franklin refers to in this issue is the controversial HEROES REBORN universe that it was revealed he had created back in the late '90s when Marvel attempted to reboot some of their major franchises with more modern takes on some of their key heroes after their apparent deaths at the hands of Onslaught. Interestingly, series writer James Robinson also wrote the final issue of all of the HEROES REBORN rebooted titles back in the '90s so he has some first hand familiarity with the universe he's reintroducing here. Despite all of the fighting and the race-against-the-clock mentality of Reed developing the cytotoxin (which happens kind of anticlimactically), it's hard to say this was a particularly exciting issue. It's also hard to be TOO interested in Johnny losing his powers as this is something of a frequent trope of superhero comics and, more importantly, is something that happened in just the last volume of FANTASTIC FOUR, albeit in a slightly different way. Of course, before Fraction's run (and part of Hickman's run, I suppose), I could never find myself interested in the Fantastic Four for some reason so being kind of bored by this one just fits the mold.

Black Widow 1, Iron Man 20

Black Widow 1
Edmondson (w) and Noto (a and c)

Black Widow kicks off her new solo book with a couple of quick missions and a sense of how the book is going to play out. We join her in the middle of a mission as she convinces a possible suicide bomber with a gun who is hiding out in a hotel room, ready to detonate if it comes to that, that she is working on his side and that she was hired by his employers to get him out of the tight spot. She relaxes him with a bit of a backstory and a shared heritage (the bomber is also Russian). When he inevitably opens the door to her, she cuts the detonation wire and takes the gun from him before strapping him up to a rope to rappel him down the building with and pushes him out the window to the cops waiting below. Twenty hours later, she's meeting in Central Park with her lawyer/manager Isaiah to get her next assignment. They talk about her reasons for taking jobs and why she's not in it for money beyond the money she needs to repay debts and live life and so on. There's a nice moment where Natasha seems to zone out and watches a woman play with her red-headed daughter and her son. Another 36 hours later and she's in Dubai trying to stop an assassination by taking out the target's bodyguards, as well as the bodyguards of the man with whom he's meeting. Once everyone is down and Natasha has breached the room, she explains the situation to him and puts a bulletproof vest on him before shoving him in front of a window. The sniper planed across the way fires at him, hitting the vest, and Natasha shoots a rocket back. Fifteen hours later back in New York, she tells a not-quite-adopted cat the story and wonders if she's too far gone to pay back her debts.

Obviously this comic is taking a lot of its cues from The Avengers and the "I've got red in my ledger" mentality of that Natasha. Not to say that she doesn't have those feelings in the comics throughout her history but it's being brought into focus here and it's hard not to feel like it's trying to match the movie. That, of course, doesn't mean it's not a compelling story to tell. The more important thing to it, though, is the way that Natasha carries and conducts herself in the midst of all of this and that's what Edmondson, already, is proving he can do. This Natasha is already proving to have everything I like about Natasha's character and, as yet, none of the weird psychotic sort of tendencies that are sometimes ascribed to her. Occasionally people will write her with a sort of psychopathic cold-blooded thing that I don't think is fair but I think comes from the idea that she has been an assassin and a mercenary and everything else. Certainly she's not entirely normalized but some writers can make that lean a little too far and make her almost bloodthirsty. That very clearly isn't Edmondson's intent and he gives her a couple of really human moments throughout the book, between watching the mother and her children and her conversation (which is simultaneously sweet and no-nonsense) with a cat and a couple of wistful stares (between this book and one of the Marvel previews books lurking around out there). Also, I'm ashamed that I've gone this far in analysis and not mentioned Phil Noto's frankly incredible art. The only thing I'd really heard about the book before I read it was that everyone was saying how great the art was. I assumed it would be very good; people's word and Phil Noto's reputation and history wouldn't lie to me. But I'm not lying when I say every person was absolutely right, the art is amazing in this book. Natasha looks stupendous and very real, the supporting characters all have real personality built in, and the set pieces are gorgeous. Great, great art. Very fun book and a great way to kick off the new series.

Iron Man 20
Gillen (w) and Bennett and Hanna (a) and Guru eFX (c)

The christening of Troy has been interrupted by one of the Mandarin's rings, specifically, as Tony realizes, the Remaker. Unwilling to sit by and let it happen without her, Abby Burns (just got that, "burns") jumps in with her newfound Mandarin ring, the Incinerator (see, burns). The ring and Abby talk back and forth about ways to further destroy Stark and about how she's using the ring and so on before a ring-caused solar flare shorts out all electronics in the area (of course, not including Stark's suit, he's beyond that) and Tony has to flee to check on Arno. Arno is safe, having taken his own precautions against this sort of thing in the past, but Burns escapes and tweets a video of herself next to a space satellite. Tony vows to find her and to find the Remaker but starts to understand just what all of this means; the Mandarin's rings are loose. He and Rhodey pay a visit to SHIELD's high-security weapons vault to check on the rings and see that they're all there, but Tony quickly realizes that one of the rings, the Liar ring, is actually creating a false image of all of them; it subsequently disappears, leaving Tony and Rhodey to wonder where the rings are, who has them, how long they've been gone, and how long they've been apparently sentient. The rings, meanwhile, have decided to escalate things now that Incinerator and Remaker have shown their hand.

There's a lot going on and a lot to like in this series. The idea of the rings as sentient and dead-set on destroying Stark is certainly something that changes the playing field a bit and makes Mandarin an exciting and almost entirely new foe. There's also an undercurrent of mild suspicion around Tony that is both warranted and unwarranted. Rhodey points out that everyone's a little worried about what Tony's up to with this city and these new ideas and locking himself in his lab for weeks at a time, but Tony counters it with his usual "whenever I'm up to something new, the military worries, even though I'm pretty definitively one of the good guys." There are valid points to each argument and it's clear that this debate is one that Gillen will shine light on as we keep pressing. The art looks good and fits the issue well, particularly the action of the issue. There are some bits of the issue that I had to re-read because I started to gloss over them, particularly with Abby. She's a tricky character to read because she's suddenly so at home with this ring and so quickly adapting to possible supervillainy. She's also somewhat irritating, which doesn't help matters. Still, the good easily outweighs the bad here and it's nice to see a re-imagination of one of Iron Man's classic foes. But, you know, not like the re-imagination in Iron Man 3. Which was garbage.