Age of Apocalypse 13, Ultimates 22

Age of Apocalypse 13
Lapham (w) and Arlem and De Landro (a) and Loughridge (c)

With Weapon Omega de-powered after the events of the last issues, we find everyone relevant to the AoA Universe picking up the pieces to their lives several months later. Creed is trying to heal his father, Pierce is killing Sebastian Shaw, Trask is setting up defenses and hospitals in the new human homeland of Hawaii, and Jean is tracking down Wolverine who, in turn, is tracking down and killing his former ministers. MEANWHILE, AoA Nightcrawler has chosen to leave the 616 and his "mother" Mystique, haunted by the things he's had to do in this universe and the fight he left unfinished (though, unbeknownst to him, it's finished now) in his own universe. He declines Mystique's offer to join the Hand and he finds Beast (unsure which universe's Beast it is) and demands to be sent back to the AoA. So we have some interesting things happening all over the AoA and the 616 as the X-Termination event begins later this month (this and the last Astonishing X-Men that came out serve as preludes to that event, which will span its own two part book as well as tying into a couple more issues of Astonishing X-Men, another issue of Age of Apocalypse and an issue of X-Treme X-Men).

I'm a bit excited for that X-Termination event. As I've said before, I really like Nightcrawler and I think the idea of this battle-hardened Nightcrawler who is so separate from his 616 counterpart is a pretty fantastic idea. I'm excited to see him wander through more of the 616 as he finds his way back to his own universe, which I'm also excited to see. So yes, I guess a bit excited is a proper description of my feelings for this event. I'm also wary about events that take place across several books. I'd imagine that they're not just mere tie-ins and that they're actually crucial to the story of X-Termination, but I don't know that for sure. Actually, as I typed that, I looked at the little card I have outlining the event and I'm pretty sure of it after all. Every book still to come out (minus X-Treme X-Men 12, which is still prologue) is labeled as part one through six. So yeah, tie-in stories might break flow but they at least don't require you to buy five books a month to stay caught up on one story (typically). It's more pick and choose. Though it does lower the stakes of those books a little bit. I don't know. That's a hard question. Maybe we'll get into it later.

Ultimates 22
Humphries (w) and Bennett and José (a) and Milla (c)

Important things happening over in this issue too. As reconstruction continues following the war in America, President Cap has a lot on his plate. He oversees a meeting between the prosecuting and defense lawyers for the treasonous war criminal Hulk (solved by President Cap locking them in a room together until they compromise) and meets with California's governor-elect's spokesperson Ford, who wants to establish something of a monarchy for himself on the West Coast (solved by President Cap, in no uncertain terms, declining such a solution and having Hawkeye shoot an arrow at Ford's feet and GUYS, this dude is named FORD and Cap has just solved a Civil War and FORD'S THEATER OH CRAP). Ford, not so fond of this answer, demands that they initiate their second plan, which is a reserve team of Ultimates that Nick Fury and SHIELD had to lock away nine years previously because they weren't working out. That team includes the Vision, Tigra, a Hulked-out Wonder Man, and the Black Knight. We see through flashbacks at the beginning of this issue the botched mission that led Fury to put them back in storage essentially, only to remain there until discovered by Ford and California. Ford demands that they start the next step, sending an extremely powerful and severely unbalanced Black Knight to capture Tony Stark. So things are heating up quickly, it would seem.

I like where this book is going and this was the first time in a long while where I finished an Ultimates book and knew exactly where I stood. I think, to be fair, that Humphries' run has been pretty good for that sort of thing. The Ultimates got a little complex and full of storylines (not that that's a bad thing, but I really lost track of all the tensions overseas the country was facing; I suppose that's still a positive for this book, making it somewhat lifelike in that respect. It does FEEL like a pretty fleshed-out universe in a much shorter time of existence than the 616) and it was easy to lose track of some of those storylines. Now we seem a little more concentrated, for a bit anyway, in America, so you only need to follow all the storylines happening in the states. It's a solid story being told and it's leading us to interesting places. Good book.