Death of Wolverine 2, Edge of Spider-Verse 1

Death of Wolverine 2

Armed with the knowledge that Viper has put the contract out on him and with a fairly new Iron Man helmet with which to barter, Wolverine travels in a fairly lax disguise to Madripoor and meets with one of Viper's underlings to set up a meeting with her, showing off the Iron Man helmet and offering to make a deal. When the underling brings him, she immediately knows who it is (he's really not hiding it) and she sics her real henchmen on him. He easily beats them and moves on to questioning his ex-wife. She admits that she's just subcontracting another job she got for an extraordinarily wealthy client, one whose name she refuses to divulge. She promises more answers if he can defeat Sabretooth in battle, which he does but only by the skin of his teeth and the intervention of Lady Deathstrike, who reveals her name has also popped up on the hit-list Viper put out to the world's mercenaries. Viper herself has disappeared and Lady Deathstrike suggests the pair of healers team up before learning Wolverine's not healing any more and rescinds her offer, instead hoping she can defeat him and trade his freedom for hers. However, she's surprised to find Kitty Pryde reaching through her chest before she can act.

Charles Soule just signed an exclusive contract with Marvel (his DC titles will continue through next March though, giving him time to wrap things up if you're reading those) and it continues to seem like an ace move by Marvel, who has proven in the last couple years that it's dedicated to keeping good talent around as best it can with the use of exclusive contracts (Kieron Gillen jumps to mind) and new titles (I'd look to someone like Dennis Hopeless for that, or Sam Humphries, though I haven't liked as many of his titles). So far, DEATH OF WOLVERINE is proving another in a long line of really compelling and exciting stories from Soule, who I lauded for revitalizing THUNDERBOLTS and for kicking SHE-HULK off to a very fun start (jury's still out a little bit on INHUMANS but I'm mostly liking it so far, just confused by its timing). This is the Wolverine I've been missing from his solo title the last couple years, one who faces danger head-on but doesn't always go in half-cocked. He's quiet, he's threatening, he's quick-witted, he's tough, he's maybe a little bit menacing, and...he's going to die? Geez, now I'm sad again. Really solid second issue with a number of twists and turns that generally work for me and some great art from McNiven.

Total Score: 5/5


Edge of Spider-Verse 1

In 1939, the magician Mysterio wants to take real control in the city and he aims to do it by taking the blood of the vigilante Spider-Man (Noir). Though he's working under the control of the Kingpin right now, he hopes to infuse Spider-Man's blood, which he believes is truly from the spider god Anansi, with his own and gain his mystical powers. Teamed with his own magic and illusions, he believes he could run New York City. He lures Spider-Man out with a threat on Spider-Man's old lover Felicia Hardy. Though Mysterio manages to trap Spider-Man, the vigilante breaks out and defeats the magician, though it doesn't stop the pounding of his danger-predicting sixth sense. Suddenly, a masked figure approaches, threatening to eat the Spider-Man, when another Spider-Man (Superior) appears, distracts the figure, and transports Spider-Man (Noir) out to meet in 2099 with a handful of other Spider-Mans (assorted).

EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, the new Spider-Man event, has its official debut on the heels of a prologue in the suddenly continued SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN and the Spider-Man offices at Marvel make a good call by kicking things off with Spider-Man Noir, one of the more interesting ideas and visually compelling (particularly with Isanove's skill and affection for noir) Spider-Men we've seen. It's a strong first entry as writer David Hine manages to give us some good backstory and character development despite having to start in the middle of a story that isn't actually the story he's tasked with telling, which he gets to. LOOK, it's late and I'm tired and I KNOW my sentences are breaking down by the second but these books are both event books and AVENGERS 34.1 didn't really justify being in the first day so here we are. Anyway, good book, still an interesting premise even if we didn't really learn anything we didn't already really know from SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 32.

Total Score: 4/5

Cataclysm - Ultimates' Last Stand 2, Daredevil Dark Nights 7

Cataclysm - Ultimates' Last Stand 2
Bendis (w) and Bagley and Hennessy (a) and Keith (c)

CATACLYSM keeps on rolling as the Ultimates try to figure out what Galactus is and what it is he's doing there and, most importantly, how they're going to try to stop him. Iron Man has figured out that he seems to be made of cosmic energy and is using whatever power they have against them and taking it into himself to make him stronger. He's also figured out that the readings on it bear a striking resemblance to the reading on Peter Parker from the 616, taken when Peter came to the Ultimate Universe during last year's SPIDER-MEN event. Stark and Chang go down to the holding cells to ask Mysterio (also the Mysterio from 616) what Galactus is and he points them to Reed Richards. There is an active portal that can potentially bring them to the 616 but no one is quite sure what that portal will do. Stark insists on going in himself but everyone talks him down, knowing that they can't afford to lose him. Spider-Man steps forward and offers himself, saying that he's crossed through the portal before (SPIDER-MEN again) and knows it won't hurt him. The crazy Reed Richards also offers to go, which is met with much resistance but he makes a compelling argument about the best way to contact the 616's Reed. Meanwhile, the X-Men have noticed that Galactus is trouble.

Plenty still happening here though I can't help but notice Bendis' back-and-forth dialogue continues and people continue to quip in the absolute darkest of times. There's an element to the quipsters, like Spider-Man, that they quip when they're facing their worst moments because they have to in order to stay sane and I kind of buy that (really I think it was just because comics were so different when Spider-Man was created and Stan Lee wants nothing more than to quip non-stop) but there are times when I think it's fine to do that and there are times where I think it ruins the mood and the tension by throwing quips in. Spider-Man can quip at Rhino all day long while the two of them fight but put Human Torch up against Galactus as New Jersey burns away beneath them and I think something isn't really working. That's in addition to my problem of it making every character sound exactly the same. Maybe, with that out of the way, I can stop saying the word "quip." Plenty still happens here and there's enough plot-related dialogue that the story keeps moving relatively well and the event itself still hasn't lasted too long to overstay its welcome. Should be interesting going forward to see if it does hit that point.

Daredevil Dark Nights 7
Palmiotti (w) and Silas and Decastro (a) and Fabela (c)

Daredevil and Misty Knight fly their helicopter down to Cuba to find King and try to save Nestor, as the narration ham-fistedly relates in massive detail to start the story. Their helicopter gets shot out of the air but they manage to abandon and inflate a raft quickly enough to make it to the mainland. Matt naps the entire way to the disappointment of Misty who is all over him this arc (which seems out of character, far be it for me to imply that Jimmy Palmiotti is a bad writer). King has surveillance on them the whole way and, after a chase through the Cuban markets, his psychotic henchwoman Carmen Alvarez shoots a rocket launcher at the building Matt and Misty are trying to get off of. It collapses, burying Daredevil and allowing Alvarez to take Misty, who was King's target all along as Misty is...his ex-girlfriend! Dum dum duuuuuuuuuuum.

I'm not going to go out and say that this series has been comprised of some of the most thrilling tales about Daredevil we've ever seen but I will say that there have been definite highlights all around. The first arc had some really great Daredevil moments and some outstanding art from Lee Weeks. The second art felt a lot like a somewhat sillier version (though still pretty interesting and character-driven) of Waid and Samnee's incredible run. This arc, though, the final arc to leave this series with, is pretty awful. Bad writing (though there are somewhat fewer unnatural lack-of-contractions here), bad characterization, and an overall uninteresting story make even the somewhat interesting art seem weak and kind of exploitative. It's just a really ugly arc all around and it's unfortunate that this will be what we leave the series with, after an impressive (or, at its worst, somewhat slow) first two arcs. I do remember back to Lee Weeks' arc with really fond memories particularly after seeing this one. We just didn't know how good we had it.

Avenging Spider-Man 22, Alpha Big Time 5, Venom 36

Avenging Spider-Man 22
Yost (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Roseberg (c)

It's the final issue of Avenging Spider-Man before it switches over to Superior Spider-Man Team-Up, which means that Spider-Man has to pull in another member of the Sinister Six. This time, he comes across Mysterio but not really. Mysterio, Doc knows from Peter's memories, is still locked up in the other universe (meaning the Ultimate Universe, after the events of Spider-Men). This Mysterio, calling himself Mysterion, is not so talented as Quentin Beck and pretty quickly reverts to poison gas on the attacking Spider-Man. As Spider-Man tries to get answers from the fake Mysterio, Punisher shoots at him from another building. Spider-Man is furious and saves Mysterion, who flees. Punisher and Spider-Man get into a scrap with Punisher warning Spider-Man that he has to know how far he wants to take this new personality as more brutal personalities tend to be hard to break out of. The two of them separate and both pursue Mysterion but Spider-Man manages to trace a call Mysterion is making to his benefactor, the man who gave him the Mysterio suit and powers. It's Hobgoblin, the original Hobgoblin, and Spider-Man quickly webs him up, angry that he's selling off old allies' powers. Of course, Hobgoblin convinces him to leave him, allowing him to escape, in order to save Mysterion from Punisher. Spider-Man reluctantly does, capturing Mysterio for his collection of Sinister Six while letting Hobgoblin get away.

It's certainly going to be interesting when Hobgoblin decides to sell off the Doc Ock identity and runs afoul of Spider-Man again. Doc Ock's emotions were interesting in this one, as he runs the gamut on his feelings about Mysterio. When he originally thinks this Mysterio is, indeed, Quentin Beck, he's furious at the coward who betrayed him during Ends of the Earth but he becomes more angry when he finds out it's an impostor who has taken the guise of "one of the greatest villains on the planet." After he escapes, Spider-Man turns his anger to Punisher who, he admits, he rather understands. Finally he focuses his anger on Hobgoblin for selling off old and unused villain sets. There's plenty of outrage to go around here from Doc. It'll be interesting to see how his respect for the Sinister Six plays out as he now has the majority of them stored away for his own uses and as we enter Superior Spider-Man Team-Up. Hopefully that book reads as well as this one did. Avenging Spider-Man was always entertaining and, over the last few months, it's gotten much heavier in terms of story. Good series that would have been just as easily excused if it had been garbage.

Alpha Big Time 5
Fialkov (w) and Plati (a and c)

Alpha arrives at his home just in time to save his mother and grandmother. He absorbs all the fire and manages to save his mother's life after he finds her not breathing. She delivers the message she was given about Boss Cohen being behind this and Alpha swears revenge. His mother shoots that down, insisting he leave him alone and not risk himself. For the time being, Alpha agrees. He still has the mugger-entity to deal with, which is rapidly growing and consuming everybody. Alpha, unsure what to do at this juncture, speeds to New York where he grabs Spider-Man mid-fight with Constrictor and whisks him back to Pittsburgh. Spider-Man is not pleased with this but, when he sees the entity, he understands. With the help of Alpha, he figures out what the problem is and tells Alpha how to fix it, which involves changing the entity on a cellular level. It breaks apart (the root of the entity gets away) and everyone is saved. Alpha goes to wait for Soupcan (who, it turns out, was given that nickname by her mother long before her mother died so she keeps it out of love, making it a far less stupid nickname, which Fialkov addresses when Alpha says more or less the same thing by having Soupcan ask if Alpha thought it was because she had so many piercings on her face. Look, it's described better in the book than I'm describing now) and eventually the two admit to having feelings for one another. The would-be tender moment is interrupted, though, when one of Cohen's men shoots at Soupcan's head. Alpha senses it in time and manages to destroy the bullet just before it can make contact. Soupcan is understandably very shaken up and Alpha attacks the shooter, demanding to be brought to Cohen. He is and the two talk, as Cohen blackmails Alpha with a picture of him bashing in the mugger's head. Cohen says that he doesn't mind Alpha being in the city as long as he stays away from the crimes Cohen's committing. The book ends with Alpha not being able to fight Cohen and with Soupcan distancing herself from him, but he still has a friend in Kilgore from the beginning of the series and his mom has seemingly been brought out of her depression.

I've said it before about this book but I'll say it again; Fialkov did a pretty good job making Alpha a more likable character without fully changing who he is. When Alpha first emerged in Amazing Spider-Man, he was a jerk and unanimously disliked. However, Fialkov changed the way that he saw the world, now that he had been given powers and had them taken away, and used that change to ground Alpha a bit more. He's still interesting because his powers are, even at about 1%, astounding, and he still remains a little conceited as a hero but he's far more down to Earth and he knows now what it means to fail. As an individual book, this one was pretty solid, with the bits between Andy and Spider-Man bringing the most levity and fun. Solid book, solid mini-series. Good job by both Fialkov and Plati to re-establish Alpha in this world and give us a reason to ask about him going forward.

Venom 36
Bunn (w) and Larraz (a) and Loughridge (c)

Flash is trying to simplify a little bit, trying to just live his life without overcomplicating it. He goes to school as a teacher during the day, stays in AA, works out, etc., and at night he fights pretty straightforward villains in Philadelphia. Drug runners, thieves, hoodlums, Batroc, the works, but nothing to complicated. That's his hope as he settles in. He complicates things a bit for himself as he tries to knock the school bully/jock down a peg by hitting him with a dodgeball the way the jock is hitting all the nerds with dodgeballs and his arm goes full Venom for the throw, increasing the speed and power of the ball. It knocks the jock to the floor but no one seems to know who threw it. Flash suspects, though, that his neighbor and anti-gym student Andi may have seen. which could complicate things if she happened to note that his arm went all black and fluid-like as he released the ball. His life gets a little more complicated that night as he finds the head of the big drug running operation he's been trying to put a stop to, a brutal man calling himself Lord Ogre, and his henchmen. Ogre releases his dogs on Flash and his own underlings before escaping himself. Venom deals with them quickly then finds that his men are running more than just drugs: they're running people.

Another solid issue from Venom as Bunn slows things down a bit before starting the newest arc. Bunn has been really good at this in the Venom series, with the issue immediately after Flash had moved to Philly and now this one. Both gave Flash (and the reader) a chance to reset a bit after long arcs dealing with multiple enemies and big personal problems to Flash. Bunn adeptly gives Flash some recovery time and a way to refocus while also nudging in the newest plot points to keep an eye out for. In this case, we're going to be watching as Flash tries to keep his normal life intact despite the fact that Andi probably knows who he is and the fact he really can't be getting that much sleep as well as watching this new drug/person running operation and this Lord Ogre character, as well as his gaggle of direct henchmen who look colorful enough to each have their own personality and super-ish power too. Should be an interesting new arc as we move forward.