Ultimate FF 1, Deadpool vs. Carnage 2, What If? Age of Ultron 3

Ultimate FF 1
Fialkov (w) and Guevara w/ Grummett (p) and Vlasco (i) and Rosenberg (c) and Sabino (l)

CATACLYSM has left behind some scars on the world in the form of transdimensional rifts that need closing. The new premiere science team of the Ultimate Universe set off to try to do just that as Falcon, Iron Man, and Sue Storm, led by Phil Coulson and the new Machine Man, Danny Ketch, look to seal a rift in New Jersey. They're finding it hard to shut down and it's leading to plenty of complications, as they're getting overrun by strange rock-like creatures. Coulson and Machine Man decide to release their secret weapon, a new team member unbeknownst to the rest of the team. They see the package land and immediately believe it to be Reed Richards (who they had been discussing right around that time too) and he manages to shut down the rift, saving them all. Sue approaches the figure only to find that it's not Reed, it's Doctor Doom.

Story
I want to come out first and say that I like this issue a good deal before I rail on the story. I think it moves pretty well and I think it accomplishes just about everything it sets out to do. The story is the sole weak point because it feels rather like the story is entirely a vehicle to introduce Doom. The threat they face is pretty vague and how impossible it is to go up against is tough to understand. So instead, the reveal is the draw of the story and it feels pretty obvious that was the only thing this issue was going to do, story wise. As far as reveals go or as far as devices for reveals go, it's not terrible, it's just jarring. 2/5

Character
There are a number of characters coming together in this book, some of whom have worked together before and some of whom haven't. Team books are tricky to write, particularly number ones of team books. You have to introduce a dynamic, you have to show off each character, you have to have a plot, so on and so forth. It's tough to fit in twenty pages. Fialkov does a solid job letting the comic breathe and letting the characters exist and interact. It's easy to see how the characters will be able to drive this book. 5/5

Writing
Tying together the "story" and "character" sections, I think Fialkov had a decision to make here. He was either going to tell a compelling single-issue story or he was going to create really compelling characters in a single issue. He chose the latter, knowing he had a story already just based around the aftermath of CATACLYSM. It didn't have to be a great story; it had to be enough to get our characters there. He got the characters there and he let them do the work. Like I said at the top, I liked this issue. I tend to be more character focused than plot focused in a lot of ways. With that in mind, I think Fialkov has done a really good job here. We get the humor of the book, the excitement, the characters. It may be a little vague in story terms but frankly, we're not really supposed to care. A means to an end. 4/5

Art
It's not my favorite art in a comic book. I think it's half great and half totally not for me, in fact. I like the tone it creates, the almost lighter art that can go dark at any time. I think that Guevara falls short on the faces a number of times but also totally nails them a couple times. I find the focus on purple as a color very strange in the wake of Galactus; you'd think people would be steering clear of the color for a bit. It's also sometimes hard to follow the action. Certainly not my favorite stuff out there. 2/5

Miscellaneous
Like I said at the top, I like this book. It's well written, it's fun, it characterizes well, and you can see all the directions where Fialkov can go now. Fialkov promises that this book will go places he never thought he would be allowed to go and do things he's shocked he gets to do. There's a lot happening here that can support that. I will also say, the reveal is good but is weakened slightly since this first issue has a little splash page that names the book "DOOMED." Maybe don't add that?

Total score: 4/5


Deadpool vs. Carnage 2
Bunn (w) and Espin (a) and Gandini (c) and Sabino (l)

Deadpool and Carnage fight a bit more but ultimately Carnage and Shriek get away, not believing that it's possible that Deadpool could be the same level of crazy as Carnage and therefore follow him. Deadpool has a weapons cache at a storage facility nearby and goes to get some tools but finds that his storage space was auctioned off. This puts him on a path to find the person who bought it all, a similarly crazed giant man who swears he thinks the same way as the two stars of this book and offers to help Deadpool to find Carnage. Cut to a highway that Carnage and Shriek are driving on only to have Deadpool drop an industrial work machine thing (like a tractor, you guys, just not that, okay? I don't have practical skills like identifying that) on them, knocking Shriek out of the fight as Carnage and Deadpool prepare to recommence.

Story
The idea of Deadpool having the same sort of crazy as Carnage is one that still certainly drives the plot well enough. The addition of the new giant character Doverton does not particularly thrill me and it seems a little more than we need, though time will tell, I suppose. Still, at its heart, this book simply wants to pit Deadpool against Carnage so, I guess, mission accomplished. 4/5

Character
The characters mostly come through in the writing of this one, not so much in their actions. Obviously there's a little to do with their actions and the character stuff works insofar as the story's "they think the same!" does. Still, they're basic boilerplate versions of the character. Deadpool's not going to be particularly deep in this book and he's not really meant to be, just as Carnage isn't really ever going to be particularly deep. Like with the story though, it's mission accomplished here for showing off what Bunn is intending to show off. 4/5

Writing
Strange, slightly off jokes and quips galore as these two go head-to-head. The best stuff comes from the two of them interacting with one another but you do a little bit get the sense that the dialogue is still almost generic, at least as far as these guys go. It sometimes feels like it doesn't matter who they're fighting, that these calls and responses would be placed well against anyone that jumped into the fray. Still though, if you're buying this book it's because you want to see Deadpool fight Carnage and CONGRATULATIONS, here is that book. 3/5

Art
I like Salva Espin's art here a lot. It appears very monstrous and symbiote-like when it needs to, it shows humor off when it needs to, it's gory and horrible when it needs to be. It hits on everything it needs to hit on, is what I'm getting at. There's a nice little feature he draws in a couple of times with Deadpool, mask removed, that has his eyes cartoonishly shrink to just tiny white pupils to show off a particular emotion and I think it works strangely well. Good stuff throughout. 5/5

Miscellaneous
This is a strange book because it's not the best book on the market and I certainly wouldn't really be recommending it to people who weren't interested in the thing that the title promises. If you weren't instantly like "hey, I like Deadpool and I like Carnage, where can I read a book where the two fight each other?" I almost certainly wouldn't even think of this book. But the book's goal is to be the book for people who ask that question and I have to grade this book on that curve and no other. It's a fine comic book, a quick pick-up-and-throw-out sort of read. But it certainly gives what it promises.

Total score: 4/5


What If? Age of Ultron 3
Keatinge (w) and Suayan and Ienco (a) and Beaulieu (c) and Sabino (l)

The newest WHAT IF? AGE OF ULTRON takes us to FEAR ITSELF in a world where the timebreak in AGE OF ULTRON killed that universe's Thor before he was able to take down the Serpent, sacrificing himself in the process. So instead, the Serpent has reigned and taken over and basically destroyed the world in the process. Only a handful of heroes remain, including Nick Fury, Black Widow, Silver Sable, Falcon, Shang Chi, and Microchip. The small team makes their way to the former Castle Doom to restock weapons and the like. They manage the assault and Fury leads them to the place where Thor fell, hoping that someone will be able to lift his fallen hammer and defeat the Serpent. After a tough struggle to get there, Black Widow makes it and manages to lift Mjolnir, transforming her into a goddess and allowing her the chance to take out the serpent. Everyone (save Fury, who managed to live) sacrificed themselves to give Black Widow her chance and it saved the world, as Fury recounts years later.

Story
We continue the strange storytelling of looking in on different universes as different people die from the weird timebreak and peek into an alternate FEAR ITSELF because apparently we didn't have enough of that when it happened. God, the next one will probably be AVX and I'll be just as annoyed. So these WHAT IF? AGE OF ULTRONs continue to be more like WHAT IF? JUST ABOUT WHATEVER. But I guess that's a weak complaint to make. The story of this one is okay, pitting a very random group of heroes against all the forces of fear and not bothering to explain how these guys lived (seriously, why does everyone ALWAYS show Captain America specifically as being dead?). Then not explaining how Natasha was worthy, though I'm not going to argue the point. Okay, look, I said the story was okay but I actually seem to have real issues with it. 2/5

Character
The character who talks the most in this is the least known, as Microchip, former ally of and then villain to Punisher just will not stop talking. He's more or less our audience character, the guy who's going "well I don't know what we're doing here so please explain," leading to the sort of "well, as you know, this is what happened sort of explanation." Still, we don't get a great look into character except from his incessant talking and Natasha's willingness to jump out of planes and sacrifice herself to try to defeat the serpent. Too much to do and too little time for great characterization of a team. 3/5

Writing
I'm rather against the sort of "well, as you know..." then telling people what they ALREADY KNOW writing but I see why it's impossible to do without it here. Keatinge has to build a universe somewhat like our own but with a very distinct difference and then shape how that difference changed the universe, all in one book. You don't have time for subtlety and it would be impossible to understand or care about if he did go more subtle. Still, the writing takes a hit for that but overall, know that I get it. 3/5

Art
Suayan and Ienco do a pretty great job with the art here though there is a weird focus on Natasha's breasts, just about the only exposed part of flesh on this entire team. Still, the art itself is good and appropriately dark to convey the tone of the writing and of the world they now live in. The Serpent is particularly impressive. 4/5

Miscellaneous
I just cannot wrap my head around this series. I don't know why we need to have a no-holds-barred WHAT IF? mini-series and I still don't understand how the time break is killing off people? Look, no time to explain that, I get it, but it's a weird thing to show off, isn't it?

Total score 3/5

Fearless Defenders 7, What If...AvX 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hunger 1, What If...AvX 3

Hunger 1
Fialkov (w) and Kirk (a) and Aburtov (c)

After the events of Age of Ultron, the time and spacelines are split a bit and everything is wonky. Issue 10 of Age of Ultron showed Galactus popping into the Ultimate Universe (where he "exists" in the form of a swarm of robot drones and flesh eating viruses called Gah Lak Tus) and that's what this four issue mini-series is focusing on. To start, it focuses on Rick Jones, who is far more powerful in the Ultimate Universe than he is in the 616 and has been tasked by the Watcher to protect the Universe and who is currently trying to take something of a break from that life. He's unable to when he's thrown through a portal by the Watcher that sends him to a battlefield where the Kree and Chitauri (the Ultimate version of the Skrulls, pretty much, which are now also in the 616 thanks to The Avengers and Bendis' Guardians of the Galaxy, among other things) are attacked by the Gah Lak Tus swarm. It's here that the rift in the time opens up, depositing the 616's Galactus in the middle of the fight as well.

The Gah Lak Tus swarm and Galactus are obviously already huge threats on their own but this mini-series introduces the idea of two versions of Galactus teaming up and wreaking unbelievable havoc, among other worrying things about the rips in time and space. The decision to focus this, at least for now, on Rick Jones is an interesting one as I believe he's been rather inactive for rather some time (well, by his own admission, he's been incredibly active but we've not seen him in some time) but he's a wonderfully powerful entity and therefore is a good gauge for how strong the Galacti are. At the same time as this giant disaster, Fialkov is writing the giant disasters ongoing in the Ultimates at current and he's fresh off a startlingly good Alpha mini-series. I don't read a ton outside of Marvel and a handful of  other indies (and Scott Snyder's Batman which I have to admit is a pretty awesome book, even if I won't recommend it here lest it ruin my Marvel cred) so I hadn't seen Fialkov prior to this set of Marvel comics but he's certainly a capable writer with a good eye for character and a story to tell. He was recently on the Nerdist Writers Panel podcast and said that one of the approaches he likes to take is to tell the story of a character on their worst day, which is a nice frame for a lot of these stories and which tells a good amount about the character in the way he or she reacts. Solid start here. It'll be interesting to see how this resolves as I find it hard to believe the 616 will be lacking a Galactus permanently.

What If...AvX 3
Palmiotti (w) and Sandoval and Tarragona (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Quick note again: Marvel has to get their credits together. This is another in a series of issues I've seen recently where the credits on the cover don't match up with the credits on the interior. The interior is claiming Gerardo Sandoval is the main artist but the cover claims Jorge Molina, as does the shipping list I check. I went with Sandoval because I've seen more Molina art and it doesn't really look like his style. I could be wrong, of course, but I'm sticking with it. Anyway, glad this took up so much space because there's not a whole ton to talk about with this issue. Hope was, at the end of last issue, possessed by the Phoenix in the company of Magneto and Emma Frost and the Avengers space strike team was in hot pursuit. They get there only to find Hope controlled by the Phoenix and starting to be manipulated by Magneto, which doesn't bode well for the humans on Earth. On Earth, everyone is getting pretty antsy about the reports from space and the Avengers and X-Men put their differences aside to try to stop Magneto. It won't be that easy, though, to stop the master of magnetism teamed up with the impossibly powerful Phoenix. They have one more issue to try to do so.

I'd be interested to hear how someone who prefers comics and stories for their plots is reacting to this What If series. I like plot and a good plot can certainly carry a comic sometimes but it would have to be an insanely good plot to make up for weak characters. I care mostly about characters and think the best characters can easily hoist up a bad plot and make you forget all about it. This story is not about the characters. That much has been clear from the get-go. Events sometimes have trouble doing that because there are so many pieces to the story. It's why I liked the Age of Ultron tie-in stuff more than Age of Ultron (well, that and other reasons); I preferred to hear how these events impacted the characters I care about rather than how the story would settle itself out. Civil War was pretty solid for defining character because it was such a morality question and just choosing a side told a lot about character. Here, though, the character doesn't really impact the story. It's good that it doesn't, though, because every character continues to be either written exactly the same, in the case of any backgroundish character, or to their basest elements, in the case of the characters most in the foreground. Everyone is simply saying whatever best advances the plot and no one seems to have a personality to them except for the personality foisted on the stars of the book, like Magneto (hates humans), Cap (soldier), Cyclops (X-Man) and Iron Man (Avenger). On the other hand, pretty much anyone else could be swapped with any other character and it would all look about the same. Nova, here Sam Alexander, talks like he's been a superhero for years and is maybe actually Richard Rider under there instead of a 15 year old who just got powers. Black Panther literally says, in conferring with Tony about a scientific weapons device, "From what you told me, this thing packs a wallop!" which ignores the fact that the Panther we know would already know the exact scope of the tech he's using, would never say "wallop," and likely hasn't had an exclamation point anywhere near him in decades. These may sound like nitpicks from someone who's a little too into comic books (if that's what you're thinking, why are you here? That's pretty much ENTIRELY what this blog is supposed to be), but they really do break the flow and the weight of the book by making it feel like the writer didn't care about the characters, so why should I? I adore Black Panther, he's in my top five superheroes, and it couldn't have mattered less to me that he died in this issue (he died in this issue, btw). Sure it's a "what if" so I know it's not in continuity anyway, but I still should have felt something: I knew he wasn't actually going to be dead at the end of Age of Ultron and I was still legitimately mad when he got killed off (though that was largely because he got killed by a bad fall, the dude with maybe the best reflexes in the world). Here, it didn't matter. He was just words on a page. And that's an ugly thought to be left with when your job description boils down to "words on a page."

Thanos Rising 4, What If...AvX 2

Thanos Rising 4
Aaron (w) and Bianchi and Pieruccini (a) and Svorcina (c)

Thanos is getting closer and closer to the Thanos we know today and it's all been at the urging of his mysterious would-be lover. He ravages world after world in the hopes that someday it will be enough to please her but she insists that he should be nothing short of a god and so no amount of worlds will ever be enough. Finally the truth comes to light for Thanos: the woman is not a real person, rather it is Death itself. He's horrified to find this but still, he's come this far, so he insists that she love him even if it means killing his own homeworld.

I don't know how much I like this recast of Thanos. It works fine, sure, and I don't know enough about Thanos to say that he wasn't a perfectly fine, inquisitive little boy at first, egged on by Death. The twist here is definitely scores better than the way the series had been pointing otherwise, which meant that a woman drove Thanos to become the universe's biggest murderer, taking blame somewhat off him and putting it on to her. At least here it's kind of saying "of course Death was behind this, Death is the only one who profits from Thanos." Still, in a way, it takes the blame a little bit off Thanos and that's a bit strange, all said. I suppose we like our villains more complicated now but I'm not sure it's really done that. Instead, I think it's complicated him less in the guise of complicating him more. Instead of killing machine with ever-unknown motives, we have a killing machine who is killing simply to kill and that's a little strange, right? Of course, they have to give him a deeper background as we launch into Infinity and, of course, as we'll start to see him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe not too long from now. I guess no other origin would have worked so neatly for Thanos and would have tied him so irrevocably to death as actually tying him so irrevocably to Death. Still, it feels a little weak and, if you haven't noticed from my faffing about here, I can't quite put my finger on what it is. One issue left in the miniseries as Thanos turns towards Titan and, likely, back towards Earth.

What If...AvX 2
Palmiotti (w) and Molina and N. Lee w/ Magyar (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Magneto has destroyed the helicarrier holding all of the Avengers while the Phoenix continues to rush towards Earth. The Avengers fare somewhat well, truth told, despite the helicarrier crumpling. They lose Falcon and Colleen Wing, both of whom I like very much but, frankly, it seems like it could have been a lot worse. Meanwhile, Magneto goes with Hope and Emma to the moon to await the Phoenix while Namor sort of kills Wolverine by beating him up pretty well and throwing him underwater, presumably not giving him a chance to heal. Cyclops and Iron Man shout a bit at one another but Cap directs their attention away, preferring to team up against Magneto and his plans over anything else. Up in space, the AvX space strike-team encounters the Phoenix and, as before, falls to it. However, in this reality, Hope takes on the Phoenix herself on the moon.

This one definitely moves better than the last. I still have some issues with the conceit of this changed reality, wherein Magneto and Namor snap so suddenly and are willing to kill the Avengers so readily. However, burying that a bit now that it's set and we're looking at this issue as it fits into this story, this reality is now playing out differently as Cyclops removes himself a little before the Phoenix attack to presumably ask what he and his X-Men have become if they're this willing to kill Avengers. It still, obviously, remains to be seen what the X-Men will think when a full-strength Phoenix comes back to Earth (in AvX, the full-strength Phoenix only appeared before the real events of the book and at the very end, when Scott went crazy and killed Xavier) but at least we're firmly on this track now and the book is stuttering a little less because of it. Some of the characters still feel a little copy-pasted and it's hard to pull a real identity out for many of them, which is a flaw now and could be a greater one going forward, though I don't think this series will go on long enough to delve too deeply into character for it to matter too much, but the art is pretty great and the story is now at least a bit more of a reasonable "what if" as, instead of asking "what if Magneto and Namor went a bit crazy and killed some of the Avengers before AvX," it's now asking "what if Hope did take on the Phoenix on the moon?" Better question to ask, really.