Captain America 19, Black Widow 5

Captain America 19
Remender (w) and Klein (a) and White (c)

Steve is aboard the Gungnir as it fires on the two helicarriers in pursuit of it, two helicarriers the combined power of which couldn't so much as scratch it. The Gungnir's response is far more powerful, destroying the helicarriers immediately and showcasing the power of SHIELD's new devastating weapon. Steve allows himself no time to mourn just as he's been left no time to deal with the losses of Ian and Sharon. He pushes his way through the SHIELD agents guarding Mindbubble and Ran Shen and lashes out at them, quickly taking the upper hand in the fight. However, Shen sees he won't convince Steve and begins to transform into the Iron Nail as Mindbubble reappears and bubbles up Cap's head.

We knew this showdown was coming and we knew, as much as we maybe didn't want it to happen, that Cap would be mindbubbled sooner or later. For as much of a buildup as we've had waiting for these villains and our hero to meet, the key here is in the way all of the characters are presented. For Shen and Mindbubble, it's two old friends who believe in what they're doing even if they're aware it goes against the people they used to be. Though their methods and maybe even their philosophies are debatable, this issue humanizes them more than they've gotten throughout their runs in the series and it's a nice touch. On top of that, we see Cap pushing past everything he's been feeling lately and kind of taking control of his life again, even if it's maybe not that encouraging at this point and if it's not fully realized because, you know, now he's bubbled. Of course, Cap is always one of those characters who seems less susceptible to psychic attacks because his will is so strong, though we've seen him cave in the last year or so to Red Skull's psychic attacks and the likes. ANYWAY, what I was getting to is that there's a solid Cap scene here where he recognizes for the first time since Dimension Z that he's Captain America and, though this would break other men, he can't afford to act like other men. There's even a nice characterization bit for Jet here, who only has one line this issue, when we see her feet propped up on the coffee table as she watches the news. Welcome to Earth, Jet; we're pretty chill here.

Black Widow 5
Edmondson (w) and Noto (a and c)

Natasha, in a bind for information about the Hammer of God and who he's working for, turns to and old acquaintance (though new to this universe, as near as I can tell) named Tori Raven. Raven tells her that the monk is Molot Boga and that he's a former Russian Orthodox monk who was kicked out for his violent mood swings and now he works for some one putting his faith to murderous action. Raven wasn't able to figure out for whom he works but knows that he's going to blow up a plane within two hours. Natasha rushes off to the airport indicated and finds that she's just too late as she tries to shoot Boga while he fires a rocket launcher. She doesn't stop him in time and he hits the plane. The two battle while the plane goes down and Natasha finally gets the upper hand as she pushes him back just far enough to get sucked into the 747's turbine. She hurries on to the plane to try to help the passengers but discovers, as things get weirder and weirder, that there's only one passenger aboard. SHIELD questions him but he won't say who his attacker is or who bought out the entire plane for him. Raven calls Natasha and tells her that she can find answers to some of her questions on a boat just off the coast of Montenegro. Natasha heads that way but discovers that she's been sold out as she's surrounded by boats and brought on to the main boat she was after only to learn that her captor is Damon Dran, the indestructible man, who is off-site and seemingly in hiding from whatever it is she's after.

There's so much happening here as this book continues to build its first full storyline. Edmondson has done something incredible with this book already and he's going, it seems, in all the right directions with it. After spending the first few issues establishing Natasha's character and showing her in action, he's now building up the world around her, a world that heavily includes informants, Maria Hill, Isaiah, and presumably others as we push forward. The other thing that Edmondson is doing well, particularly so early into this run, is really illustrating Natasha as a character who takes what she does very seriously and who is very good at what she does but who certainly isn't perfect. This issue's narration focuses heavily on the importance of intel and Edmondson makes sure we know that Natasha feels naked without the intelligence she needs, which is why she dives so readily into the water to chase down the boat at the end; it has all the makings of a trap but she's so desperate for sound intelligence that she's willing to chase down any lead. It's a good issue, maybe not the best so far of the run (taking into account how amazing the run has been), but it's certainly setting some things up for the future and, of course, Phil Noto's art remains incredible. I can't articulate any better, I feel like, how good this run is.