Fearless Defenders 5, Thunderbolts 10, Ultimates 25

Fearless Defenders 5
Bunn (w) and Sliney (a) and Gandini (c)

Valkyrie, Hippoylta, and Dani Moonstar have made their way to Brazil, to Asgardian holy ground made holy by missionaries of Asgard long ago, to face off against Caroline Le Fey and the Doom Maidens. Valkyrie frets, in her internal monologue, about whether or not she's actually betrayed her friends by bringing them here. The Doom Maidens descend upon them and outnumber them greatly before Misty shows up with her group of hired heroes, twelve women superheroes in addition to Misty and Annabelle. They quickly jump into the fray and there's much quipping and strangely timed small-talk between the heroes, who range from Storm, Captain Marvel, and Black Widow to Hellcat, Thundra, and Tarantula. While they help to fight off the Doom Maidens, Valkyrie uses the opportunity to transform herself into Brunhilde, the Doom Maiden she once was, knowing that all the heroes in the world couldn't stop the Doom Maidens and only her rage could. She-Hulk, knowing "a thing or two about rage," worries that Valkyrie won't be able to come out of it so easily.

My biggest issue with this comic is still that I'm having trouble nailing down the tone of the series. It alternates between seeming cute and cheeky and seeming dire and tense. It's not like a subtle shift, either, where the characters happen to be cute or cheeky naturally and put into dire and tense situations. Instead, someone will have a cute and/or cheeky line (or, always weirder, the narration will) and then a super dire and/or tense line the next time. It's hard to get a feel for the book that isn't sure what feel it wants to have. Still, the story is compelling and next issue will likely be interesting as Valkyrie gives in to her Doom Maiden past and could need to be shut down. Oh, and despite what I said about the tone not knowing where it wants to be, it's nice to see Misty and Colleen Wing chat again. Haven't seen that in a few years, I feel like.

Thunderbolts 10
Way (w) and Noto (a) and Guru eFX (c)

The T-bolts have traced the call that activated the bomb to Orestez Natchios, Elektra's brother. We haven't seen much of their relationship but, after a couple pages of her silent memories, we get the sense it isn't the best relationship. Meanwhile, people still don't trust Ross and don't like being left in the dark on parts of his plans. The Leader, particularly, is getting sick of it. Though he's not the same intelligence and, seemingly, the same personality he has been in the past, he's getting annoyed that he hasn't earned any trust and that he isn't being told any part of any plan. He causes a little bit of a scene as Ross, Punisher, and Elektra walk with him to go meet a contact of Ross' to try to get more information. They had decided to send Elektra in to meet with her brother, deciding that she could gain information if it wasn't a trap and Red Hulk could come in for backup if it was. They've linked to Natchios and Vanko together but Deadpool and Venom discover that Vanko has died suspiciously. The news is reporting it as a suicide but the reader already saw Natchios kill Vanko and Deadpool and Venom both know it's a little too convenient. No one seems to be happy with Natchios as the group who has been using the Dynamo soldiers to propel their holy war are shocked to find they've been betrayed by him but are happy that Vanko assumed he might and gave them control over the armor. They send some armors after Natchios as Ross and crew are surrounded by cellphones ringing. Red Hulk answers one tentatively and hands it to the Leader, telling him that it's him on the other line.

I'll admit, I'm getting a little lost in this plot. There are a lot of moving parts that make me feel like I missed an issue or two somewhere along the line, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. I'm happy to assume this is my fault but it is a potential hazard for this book as I know it's not the first time I've felt this way. There are definitely high points to this book and I think there's probably a compelling story here that I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around. I continue to really enjoy seeing Way write Deadpool again and I'm finding the way he's handling every other character interesting. Maybe part of my issue with not understanding this is that I'm depressed I can't just watch these characters interact non-stop. I really like the way Flash is being presented (as a soldier but one who doesn't trust his CO) and I think there's something beautiful happening with Elektra just under the surface, which is where everything with her should happen, given how tightly guarded she is. There's a lot to like, I'm just not sure how the story fits with the rest.

Ultimates 25
Fialkov (w) and Di Giandomenico and Ruggiero (a) and Charalampidis (c)

I tend to push the Ultimate Universe a little bit back in my mind, preferring to focus on the 616 and all of the information that comes with that. There are a lot of things to like about the Ultimate Universe and I know I've highlighted some of it on this blog but my efforts tend to focus more on the main Marvel Universe. As such, I've missed big gaps in the Ultimate Universe. I do like the way that this universe fits together and how well-developed this world is for being so small. Sometimes in the main universe you can get caught up in how crazily big it is and how weird Marvel time is. However, when major events hit, it can leave me wondering how this world pieces together all the time and makes me wonder just how much I missed. This is definitely one of those cases. I've read the first few tens of issues of the Ultimates and then I think I fell off that wagon for a bit, only coming back over the last year or so (I'd kept up on Ultimate Spider-Man but that keeps to itself mostly, outside of events). In my head, there's not much I missed but I'm so very clearly wrong about that. Let's get into it. Sue and Thor have brought the Infinity Gauntlets and the gems they have to the attention of the Ultimates and they begin to discuss what's happening as a mysterious figure goes below them, to the basement, to free Bruce Banner from the chemicals he's hooked up to that will kill him if he hulks out. Hulk bursts out through the ground, destroying the Triskelion and taking the Gauntlets. Also freed by the mysterious figure, this time from the Cube, is the horribly deformed and evil Reed Richards, who takes control of the Gauntlets when he appears. The last member of their motley crew Quicksilver shows up with another of the gems, giving them nearly all of the gems. Cap demands Thor teleport the rest of the Ultimates away to regroup, leaving him behind to distract Hulk and Richards. Thor, under protest, does this, and Cap is quickly knocked out by Hulk. Now, with the gems and Captain America, these Dark Ultimates (as they're kind of billed) seem to hold all the cards, along with their benefactor, now revealed to be Kang the Conqueror.

I think this is an interesting start to this issue and billing this event as "Disassembled" is a very intriguing way to start this, given what that means in the main universe. I will say this is one of the times where I've found myself feeling at a disadvantage for not having read more Ultimates. Also for having a pretty bad memory. I know I've been reading Ultimates since Reed Richards' latest exploits as one of the Children of Tomorrow but I still don't feel like I'm prepared for this arc with the background information I need. I also feel like I missed something along the line with Hulk and I'm not sure if this is Kang's first appearance or what. Maybe I'll look into this stuff and get back to you. Either way, the stakes are high and Cap, who is no longer President Cap, assuming everything he requested went through after last issue, is the captive of these new Dark Ultimates and, on top of being powerful just based on who they are, they control the majority of the Infinity Gems. So there's stuff to see soon.