Elektra 4
W.H. Blackman (w) and Del Mundo (a) and Del Mundo w/D'Alfonso (c) and Cowles (l)
Elektra sees a vision of her mother through the veil, lecturing her about how she became a killer and giving her a glimpse of what her life would have been with the support of her mother throughout, while Bloody Lips sees his wife again, insisting he kill himself for the pain that he's caused. Elektra's mother invokes the innocents she's murdered and Elektra says that she's never killed someone who could be called innocent, showing no remorse even in the face of a disappointed mother and eventually realizing that it's not truly her mother as she asks Elektra what her father would think about her choices. She fights her way out of the area though she catches a glimpse of Bloody Lips in her mind, forcing him to reveal his name. She grabs Kento and the two emerge out of the water for Matchmaker to retrieve them. Kento knows that they have to go north to find his father and they escape in Matchmaker's plane, but Bloody Lips is hot on their trail, using Scalphunter's ship to trail them. Elektra dives out of Matchmaker's ship and manages to take down Bloody Lips' but she's forced down too, wearing wings to glide safely but still lost in the Arctic, where she comes upon a gun-toting Cape Crow.
With my new habitat of doing a leftovers post wherein I quickly summarize and give impressions of the books I didn't do bigger reviews for, I end up in a place where I can sort of cherry-pick the books for which I want to write a longer review (aside from the ones I deem "important" or "have AVENGERS in the title"). ELEKTRA and MS. MARVEL jumped out at me this week (though props to NOVA, MAGNETO, and THUNDERBOLTS for putting in the effort) as ones I really wanted to shine a light on. I've really enjoyed this book so far and this issue is no exception. The beginning gives a great look at Elektra's mentality (as well as Bloody Lips', which is, you know, pretty much the darkest thing you could imagine), which buckles for a moment in the face of her mother but never really falters, never backs down or asks forgiveness. Instead, she seems, if anything, more resolute about what she does. Really great stuff. And Matchmaker, you guys, she's the best. Real Amelia Earhart, fearless flier up there. Still excellent art from Del Mundo and still a great little series.
Total Score: 5/5
Ms. Marvel 6
G.W. Wilson (w) and Wyatt (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)
The Inventor has been sending bots out into the city to both annoy and try to find Ms. Marvel, who has done a good job so far of staying undetected or breaking said bots. Her father sets up a meeting with Sheikh Abdullah for her, which she doesn't wish to attend but ends up going, particularly as she's not in the best of books with her parents at current. She ends up getting really good advice from him and they both leave the meeting happy. Reinvigorated and looking for, under the advice of the Sheikh, someone from whom she might learn more about helping people, she dives into a giant suspicious pothole-turned-path-to-the-sewer, where she discovers Thomas Edison, the Inventor's clone of the real Edison combined with his own pet parakeet. Edison is conducting experiments to learn whether he can change an animal's nature, in this case teaching an alligator not to kill. Ms. Marvel prepares to fight him but is startled to find Wolverine entering the fight before she can get a punch off. Thrilled, Kamala relates to him how excited she is and how she couldn't have found a better team-up, to his dismay. Still, the two get along pretty well, helping each other out and trying to track the escaped Inventor or Edison in the tunnels. Unfortunately, they fall right into a trap and Kamala, with Wolverine rather injured, will have to fight her way out of it.
Another really strong issue as Ms. Marvel finally gets her first taste of the greater Marvel Universe through every teenage girl's dad Wolverine. He came to the sewers looking for a runaway from the Jean Grey School and now the two of them are pals. The writing between the pair is very fun and extraordinarily strong, particularly the way Wilson characterizes the well-known Wolverine on top of her own created Kamala. The book reads pretty quickly, though it does get a little confusing as Edison enters the scene, and the conversation between Kamala and Sheikh Abdullah is very strong but the draw here really is the chemistry between Kamala and Wolverine, which is equal parts adorable and fun on both ends.
Total Score: 5/5
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