Hunger 3, Infinity the Hunt 2, Thunderbolts 16

Hunger 3
Fialkov (w) and Kirk (a) and Aburtov (c)

Galactus, now merged with the Gah Lak Tus swarm, continues his rampage through the Ultimate universe while Silver Surfer and Rick Jones try to deal with a rogue swarm that's portal'd with them to Earth. They're having some trouble containing it when they get help from an unlikely source: Mahr-Vehl, the Captain Marvel of this Universe. He reveals to the duo that the Kree created the Gah Lak Tus swarm and that he's studied all his life to stop it, which explains why he has so little trouble destroying the swarm that followed them to Earth. Rick needs to process everything and leaves, saying that he can't do anything more with them. As Surfer and Captain Marvel press forward and attack Galactus and his swarm, Rick joins back up with them, having gone home and seen that Peter Parker, the kid he knew back when he lived across the street, has died and was Spider-Man. It's fortified Rick and he finds himself back in the fight, a solid weapon against Galactus. Meanwhile, Mahr-Vehl's weapons don't work on Galactus himself and he is fatally wounded in the fight. Before he dies, he tells Surfer and Rick that he has a bomb in his helmet that will destroy Galactus, it just has to be piloted there. Rick immediately puts the helmet on, prepared to sacrifice himself to stop the swarm.

We're racing towards the conclusion of this series which may be the only series still concerned with the fact that space-time continuum was apparently ruptured during Age of Ultron (that's not entirely true, Hulk is still jumping through time in his own book while Guardians of the Galaxy is dealing with the universe-hopping Angela, though neither event feels particularly world-breaking). Whether this series is powerful enough to have made Age of Ultron worth it is up for debate but frankly, the fact that we might even debate it is high praise. Age of Ultron was pretty garbage but this series feels like a story worth telling. Fialkov's strong writing and characters help that, as does Leonard Kirk's fairly phenomenal artwork on the book. One of the other things worth mentioning in this is that it's not a book that's about to overstay its welcome. There are fewer and fewer mini-series out there right now, mostly leaving that space for events, and almost all of those run too long (Infinity is paced pretty well so far but it's still a somewhat long series in general). Hunger ends with issue four and will, in that time, have a succinct but powerful beginning, middle, and (hopefully) end. That means a lot today.

Infinity the Hunt 2
Kindt (w) and S. Sanders (a) and Campbell (c)

We are introduced to the Latverian School's contenders in the games before they too are thrust into the fight against Thanos. Back stateside, the teachers from the various schools direct the kids into a specially made bunker to wait out the attack. Some are more hesitant to back out of the fight than others but are convinced as one of the newly created students, Crimson, gets viciously killed by Thanos' horde. While waiting things out deep underground, the kids get a transmission from the Latverian School goading them into the battle. They agree to meet up in what's left of Atlantis to see if they can save the Atlantis students.

The book ends up dedicating another couple pages to introducing new characters, none of whom I'm like to remember as this limited series pushes forward. One of the (many) great things about Avengers Arena is that, as an extended but finite series, they had time to throw everyone at us all at once but take their time eventually giving everyone a backstory and a real characterization. I feel like I should have been taking extensive notes in the first issue of this one. When Crimson dies in this issue, I have legitimately no idea why I need to care. Obviously he's a person (in this universe) and, on top of that, a young person, but I have absolutely no connection to him and, in comics, connections are everything. Even if i had taken notes about who each character was, it wouldn't make me feel any more strongly about what happened to Crimson because I still know nothing about who he was. This isn't necessarily a fault for Kindt, who has four issues to tell a complete story and introduce about a hundred new characters, but it's a fault for the design of this book. We're obviously only going to really be concerned with the handful of characters we know and smart money says they'll probably come out okay while others may act as cannon fodder. Also, the endless explanations of who everyone is (hopefully coming to a close with this issue over) slows down the story, as it did tremendously in issue one. It's not a great sign if your first two issues of four have to spend the majority of their time introducing the cast. Hopefully the story will kick up in issues three and four and make it worthwhile.

Thunderbolts 16
Soule (w) and Palo (a) and Guru eFX (c)

Punisher, Elektra, and Venom are still making a move for the Paguros amidst Thanos' army's attack. They've let the Nobili, who sold the Paguros out, go and are now hot on their tail as they make their way to the Paguro's hideout. Apparently, the Paguros have a bunker that anyone under their protection can go to when this end-of-the-world stuff happens. The Nobili, no friends to the Paguros, manage to barter their way in by saying they have information about Punisher. The head of the Paguros opens their armory to the various gangs inside, telling them to prepare for a fight with the Punisher. Meanwhile, Supergiant of Thanos' Black Order has found the Leader by tracking his extreme intelligence. Mercy saves him before rushing to the city to herald forth those wishing for death. Deadpool, out in the city, saves a few more people and takes down a few more of Thanos' army, mad that they would take coins out of a fountain ("Those are people's wishes. You don't steal people's wishes!!!"), before waving down a still-working horse-drawn carriage operator in the hopes that he'll take him to the pizza place he needs to go.

Another solid issue for Charles Soule on the new-look Thunderbolts. I'd say this one is maybe a little slower and a little less fun than the last two but it's certainly not to the book's detriment. This one feels very much more like set-up for the final battles than the last two, which concerned themselves with the part of the story they were telling, not the part of the story that is yet to come. Still, the book has its bright moments, which continue to very much include Deadpool, and the story continues to be a good one. You can see the unbridled joy in Punisher as he realizes that just about every criminal in the city will be bunkered down at the Paguros, ripe for the picking. It continues to be strong characterization all around as we also see Punisher bitterly waving off the suggestion that they wait for Red Hulk or Deadpool, as they've clearly abandoned this mission (claiming that this is why he doesn't work in teams). Elektra has a nice moment where she scares some information out of a guard and she and Flash share a telling look at the end of the issue as they realize how in his element Frank is. There's a ton happening here and it's all working to the book's benefit. Another good issue.