Uncanny X-Force 11, Wolverine 9

Uncanny X-Force 11
Humphries (w) and R. Pérez (a) and Rosenberg w/ J.D. Ramos (c)

Bishop and the demon bear are the only ones who haven't been captured by the Revenants and are doing what they can to get the team back. The issue comes from Bishop's perspective, then, as he relies on his training and wits to stage an attack on where the Revenants are holding Storm, Psylocke, and Puck. The Revenants still have their versions of Bishop's new teammates, now standing guard. When the demon bear and Bishop break in and manage to free Storm, Psylocke, and Puck, a fight breaks out, which is pretty quickly handled. Storm kills her own Revenant and Bishop lauds her for her strength; killing a Revenant is how you join his order so he makes her a member on the spot. Before she fully dies, though, the Storm Revenant tells Storm that Bishop is crazy and wrong, that he doesn't know them by their real name and that he thinks the Queen is from the future when Storm already knows her in the present. Bishop says this fight is just the beginning, that they have to go for the Revenant Queen. As he says it, Spiral appears, claiming to know where the Queen is and wanting a piece of the action.

I've never had a particularly deep connection to Bishop as a character which might be part of why I didn't really connect with this issue. It very much does rely on feeling something for Bishop, who frames a lot of the story in thoughts directed at his own Revenant, a promising man who he killed to join his order. There's real regret there in that he had to kill what seemed like a good man but also in his longing to have been that man and not whatever he is now. Otherwise, the characters kind of fall into the roles we've already seen with Psylocke overpowering her Revenant and Storm acting decisively as needed to kill her own while Puck continues to act as comic relief with just a twinge of something more. Spiral appearing begs some questions and hopefully those will be answered next time out. I'm still finding it a little hard to connect with this book as a whole and I can't quite put my finger on why. I'm hoping some things solidify as we see what seems to be much of the team finally working together in the coming issues.

Wolverine 9
Cornell (w) and A. Davis and M. Farmer (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Wolverine is still killable, the virus is still out there, and Mystique has just broken into and out of the Jean Grey School. Wolverine has decided he can't do anything about the virus at this point, that it's better left in SHIELD's hands (though I'm sure we'll come back to it, you never just start a story and leave it, nor do you still cut back to a story that you're not coming back to), and that he needs to focus on Mystique and, of course, Sabretooth. His friends tell him that maybe now is the time to take a break and lay low but he refuses, eventually leaving to track his foes with a note Mystique left in his room. Kitty stows away on the jet, still trying to get him to turn around but, assuming that won't work, prepared to help him. The jet is shot down by Batroc the Leaper who is apparently working for Sabretooth. Sabretooth has put a hit on Wolverine while he's killable and it seems all manner of villain will be coming for him now. Wolverine tells Kitty to get the note out of the jet before it explodes while he takes care of Batroc. It's a good fight but Wolverine eventually bests Batroc after admitting that maybe he's gotten a little slower with his healing to fall back on. Batroc teleports away before they can finish him or get answers out of him. Wolverine allows Kitty to stay with him as Batroc didn't seem to expect her, meaning Sabretooth won't either. They leave to return to the place where Wolverine was born.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I absolutely love Batroc the Leaper. There's something truly great about the character, even since Brubaker brought him back as a legitimate foe, someone who was trained extremely well in savate and who moves with grace and precision. The goofiness is still there and the character is still better for it. They can't all be Red Skulls. I don't love this Batroc though, pretty much from his start shooting the jet down. Batroc has long been focused on honor, pretty rare for a mercenary. He has no problem killing people or defeating them in combat but he wants to do it when they have an equal chance of winning, where it just comes down to skill. For that matter, Sabretooth hiring out mercenaries to kill Wolverine seems wrong to; Sabretooth has always wanted Wolverine dead but there's no question he wants it done by his own hand. At least, Sabretooth putting a hit on him is what's assumed, that he's behind the Hand's bounty. Maybe he's not. Still, the issue moves about as deliberately as every other issue of this book has. It continues to be a bit of a slow series but I wouldn't be upset if they did just drop the virus thing altogether. That's where it's been slowest throughout the series.

Uncanny X-Force 10, Ultimate X-Men 30

Uncanny X-Force 10
Humphries (w) and R. Pérez (a) and J.D. Ramos and Rosenberg (c)

Psylocke has returned to the team and everyone is eager to figure out what's up with Bishop. They ask Bishop what's up but can't really trust the words he says so Betsy checks his mind quickly, discovering that he's telling the truth, or at least thinks he is (like in Ghostbusters), which is still doubted by Puck, in particular. They learn from Bishop that Revenants, the creatures he fears from the future, are essentially spectral twins of every human alive, jealous of their counterparts' lives (they never SPECIFICALLY say "evil" but it's implied) and who have been unable to cross in large numbers until the Revenant Queen managed to figure out a way. Bad news for humanity and bad news particularly now as Bishop has followed the Revenant Queen back here. A fight ensues and plenty happens, including the capture of three of our team members (but which three? See, I don't give anything away! Though technically there are only three official members of the team and they're Psylocke, Puck, and Storm so GUESS WHO IT IS?).

Now we're starting to get into a meatier story and not a moment too late. Maybe one moment. It's issue ten, you guys. Still, there are some peculiarities about the story that are yet to be revealed (how did the Revenant Queen change things, are these guys evil or misunderstood or what, what makes this time the best time for the Revenants to come back to, etc) but we have our baseline, which is a nice start. Betsy's back with the team and ready to fight (until the capture of three members of the team, one of which may or may not be her). In addition to that, the Revenants have now captured three of these members and are preparing to unleash their Revenants on the world (another question, if Psylocke IS one of those captured, why does her Revenant look like a different version of her Japanese body? Wouldn't it look more like OG Betsy Braddock, the British blond of the Braddock brood - nailed that alliteration, by the way - rather than her corrupted self). PERHAPS ALL WILL BE ANSWERED SOON. Still, not a bad issue. The nice thing about this book, while I haven't necessarily loved it, is that it's always pretty eminently readable. There's enough going on and the writing doesn't hurt the book so it's not a pain to read or anything. Screaming endorsement, "eminently readable."

Ultimate X-Men 30
Wood (w) and A. Martinez and J. Lucas (a) and Sotomayor (c)

The war between Tian and Utopia seems to have seen its opening shots and it's led to a bit of drastic action on both sides. The Utopia mutants react to the essentially-droids attacking their home, destroying them all once they find out their not exactly alive to make a statement to Jean. Jean, in turn, blasts Utopia in a very public speech, pointing at them as the aggressors and as unwilling to tolerate another mutant community. It's a bold move and a dangerous one, one that James, Jean's newest citizen and confidant, doesn't approve of (he doesn't approve of most of what she does but he seems to see no other world for himself) and that Kitty has to react to internally. Disappointed that her ideals and hopes don't seem to be the ideals and hopes of the people around her, she cedes the leadership role of Utopia to new citizen Colossus.

Not a huge entry but still a pretty big issue. We also get a look at Magma and her powers, as she shapes the Earth around Utopia to create an even better area with which to defend Utopia. Pretty powerful lady and don't expect that she's only here to show her powers once and then fade into the ether again. Mach Two, while not being controlled by Psylocke any longer, still seems a little strange so don't count a plot with her out either. Still, those things are just icing on the cake for what is already a pretty great series and a pretty great story. I don't tend to give a lot of focus to the Ultimate Universe and it does still rank a little lower in priority for me than the 616 but this book is consistently one of the best books Marvel is putting out, and it feels like the company has a refocused effort all around in the Ultimate Universe so expect to see big things out of it. I also have found myself, on a somewhat related/unrelated note, really enjoying the Ultimate X-Men covers. They're usually more simplistic than this one but still profound and meaningful in some nice ways. And they look really good. Seen a lot of great covers recently. Always encouraging. Did you guys see the Astonishing X-Men one and the Thor: God of Thunder one this week? Rad. Probably others too, but those really stuck out. Love the colors on the Astonishing X-Men one, even if it is kind of a simple design. Less is more, ya know? Even the Uncanny X-Force issue above had some neat cover work to it, with all the ghastly looking Revenant versions of different costumes for each hero. Neat. Am I rambling? I'm rambling. Look, Ultimate X-Men is a great book, maybe check it out, you honestly don't need THAT much backstory at any given time. Maybe you do. But I didn't have a ton when I jumped onboard not TOO too long ago and I'm doing JUST FINE, THANKS. I mean, could be better, I suppose. Okay look, I'm ending the review now, only ten lines too late.

Uncanny X-Force 6, Deadpool 11

Uncanny X-Force 6
Humphries (w) and Alphona and Soy (a) and Sotomayor and Curiel (c)

In the physical world, Betsy has been kidnapped by Cluster, who fears that Fantomex has been captured by Weapon XIII and wants Betsy's help. Betsy, still angry with Fantomex and the way things ended with them, refuses. The conversation is cut short when Spiral, free from Puck and Storm, teleports beside them and attacks, knocking Cluster away and teleporting away with Psylocke. When they land, the two begin fighting, with Psylocke still furious at Spiral for a great number of things. Right as Betsy seems in the prime position to kill Spiral, Spiral's apparent actual concern for Ginny and her seemingly real desire to just live a normal life wins out and Betsy spares her. Meanwhile, through all of this, Psylocke has also been having a mental chat with Wolverine which involves Wolverine being mostly angry at the way things are turning out for this X-Force team. The two traverse a calmer section of Betsy's mind, talking and arguing a good deal. When things finally get a little heated and Wolverine and Psylocke seem poised to fight one another, the giant bear that was in Bishop's mind appears behind Betsy, backing her. Apparently he has connected to her after she pulled a thorn from its paw and now resides in her mind. Wolverine settles down and Betsy ends the mental conversation. Back in the real world, Psylocke has rejoined her team, who Cluster had also returned to after she lost Psylocke rethinks and agrees to help Cluster to rescue Fantomex.

This book is on the brink, it feels like, of being a really great book. There are lots of things being set up quietly that you can see if you squint hard enough. It's still a mystery how these pieces will fall into place but the pieces themselves are pretty impressive. Each individual issue (this one included) are solid reads, engaging and entertaining enough, but it feels like whatever it is they're leading to has a chance to be truly incredible. Of course, time will tell for that and it's hard to say too much just yet but there's still a lot happening as Humphries has had a little more time to delve into characters these last couple of issues. I can also almost safely say, hopefully for real this time as opposed to EVERY OTHER TIME I'VE SAID THIS, that the Fantomexes will play a big role in the next issue. Still REALLY looking forward to seeing more on their end.

Deadpool 11
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Hawthorne (a) and Staples (c)

Deadpool is taking a more personal approach with the Agent Preston story as he's entered her house and tied up her husband and son in order to explain things and cook them food. He's also invited Agent Adsit along because apparently the writers wanted to remind me how much I hate in-jokes. The three people from Preston's life believe Deadpool's story and intend to try to help Agent Preston in any way they can. For the time being, though, Deadpool must deliver another soul for Vetis. The soul this issue is of a creepy man who, thanks to his powers, can shapeshift. We first see him pose as Luke Cage to try and have sex with Jessica Jones before Deadpool breaks in and chases him out (Jessica was, fortunately, at the point of realizing how not Luke Cage the guy was). Back on the streets, the shapeshifter takes a couple different identities, all of which Deadpool spots and tries to attack, only to be rebuffed by local civilians who believe he's attacking someone innocent. Finally Deadpool runs afoul of Daredevil. Suspecting that this Daredevil is also the shapeshifter, he attacks only to find that it is, in fact, the real Daredevil. Deadpool gets pretty thoroughly beaten by Daredevil as the shapeshifter escapes. Deadpool breaks out of the restraints Daredevil has put him in and shoots a civilian in his thigh, hitting the femoral artery and forcing Daredevil to take the man to the hospital. Deadpool trails the shapeshifter and kills him, delivering the soul to Vetis. The next person on Vetis' list is Deadpool's friend Michael, who Deadpool explains he's already killed and sent the soul to hell, meaning that Vetis can't have his powers. Vetis is enraged and, with the powers he has now, attacks Deadpool as the issue ends.

I'm still not a huge fan of this series. I do think this arc has been a significant step forward from the last one, featuring the dead presidents, which felt rather like the same joke over and over again and was certainly more laden with in-jokes and puns and references and what not. This arc has taken a step away from that formula (though not a giant step) and the writing is improved by it. Still I often find myself halfway through an issue wondering how the issue isn't over yet. The scene with Daredevil in this issue was certainly the most compelling scene, even if it didn't particularly add anything (that's too soon to tell; if Daredevil or other heroes come back in a bigger way because of Deadpool's actions today, it'll make this scene more important). The way that he interacts with Daredevil and other heroes is always an interesting look into Deadpool as a character and his solution to get Daredevil off his back is a nice character choice. Still the book feels mostly weak overall. Any step in the right direction, though, is a good one.

X-Men 1, Uncanny X-Force 5

X-Men 1
Wood (w) and Coipel and Morales (a) and L. Martin (c)

John Sublime, powerful enemy of the X-Men, has returned to the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe but seemingly only to ask for help. Also returning to the X-Men is former-mutant-turned-vampire (this is comics, this is how things work out here) Jubilee, now with a baby in tow. It's not her baby and these events aren't unconnected. Sublime followed Jubilee in Europe and in the New York train station while she made contact with the X-Men. He then pushes ahead to the Jean Grey School, where Rachel Grey and Psylocke accept his surrender and begin interrogating him. They learn that he had a sister strain of bacteria who he had more or less pushed away and forced to evolve on her own. She has returned to Earth after millennia in space, feeding off alien technology before riding meteors back to Earth, and seems destined both to do the jobs Sublime couldn't and to kill Sublime, who has come to the X-Men for protection and aid. He reveals to them that Jubilee is connected to this whole situation through the orphan baby she's adopted. That baby seems to be carrying the strain, which Sublime reveals can take over machines the way he takes over people, and the strain causes the train Jubilee and her escort force of Kitty Pryde, Storm, and Rogue are on to switch tracks. The X-Men save the people on the train (if not the train itself) and manage to make it to Westchester. When there, the baby makes contact with a phone that Jubilee has been given and the strain transports itself to Beast's lab, where it takes on a new form and reveals itself as Arkea Prime.

The series starts off with a bang, considering how much information and story we're given to process. It's nearly impossible to make judgment calls on the first issue as there is too much that needs to get done in that time so it's tricky to make definitive statements about a series as a whole and I wouldn't want anyone doing it, let alone myself. So I won't do that. However, I will say that I'm looking forward to seeing all these characters interact. I was looking forward to it before the series started and I'm looking forward to it even more now. I appreciate the way that it was handled this issue and I'm hoping that more time grants more opportunity for that. Though she's already been somewhat quieter than the rest, I love the way Storm is being developed so far. She's quiet and thoughtful and seems to always have something processing. It's a bit early to get a read on everyone at this stage, but hopefully little characterizations come up like that more. For now, though, enjoy this Skottie Young variant cover for X-Men 1.

Uncanny X-Force 5
Humphries (w) and Alphona and Soy (a) and Strain and Curiel (c)

Storm and Psylocke have entered Bishop's fractured mind to try to understand what's going on with the crazed mutant while Puck watches over them and Spiral, their captive. Inside Bishop's mind, Storm and Psylocke move through the memories of their old friend and learn a bit about what the time traveler has been up to since he was exiled in the future by the X-Men for trying relentlessly to kill Hope. They have some sympathy for him, especially when he spares the life of a possessed girl and cures her, despite what his new leaders tell him and when he tells that girl that he now can see how much he tortured Hope and how unconscionable it was. They also manage to see who it was that possessed him, finding the White Owl and the Bear that Psylocke fought and trying to stop him from ever being possessed. As Storm and Psylocke are at work in Bishop's mind, their bodies are taking a bit of a toll, both nose-bleeding as tough mind-reading is wont to cause. Puck doesn't really notice (nor can he really do anything) as Spiral offered him alcohol and now he's telling stories and doing flips and the like. She uses this moment to try to escape but finds Puck isn't quite so incapacitated as she thought and he puts her back down but, at that point, notices that something's wrong: Betsy's body is missing. Cut to Cluster, the Lady Fantomex, driving away with Betsy and swearing that she's safe now.

The way that Bishop's mind is presented and illustrated is pretty stunning, as Storm and Psylocke trek through the ruins trying to figure out what went wrong and what they can do to save it. It does carry on for quite a bit to give us a sense of the person Bishop is now and to create questions for the reader (how was Bishop brought back from the dead? Who is the mysterious Order that Bishop joined up with? What is the White Owl and how are they going to find/stop it? Why did Bishop save the possessed little girl against orders? Where did the White Owl end up? When will we find all of this out?) but there's enough to keep the reader interested. However, it's hard not to feel, still, like the best story is going on in the shadows. Granted, I'm a huge Fantomex fan and it was the Fantomexes that really drove my curiosity about this book, but we're getting their story very slowly or quietly, if at all. I can't say I blame Humphries for this and perhaps the payoff of waiting so long for this story (yes five issues is SO LONG) is going to be enhanced by the way its being divulged, but it's a little hard to get to the end of the issue and go "THAT'S THE STORY I WANTED TO READ, THE ONE WITH THE THREE FANTOMEXES FIGHTING." Still, paves the way for a solid Fantomex issue next time, right? Right?