Astonishing X-Men 68, X-Men 6

Astonishing X-Men 68
Liu (w) and Walta (a) and Peter (c)

The final issue of Astonishing X-Men and it shouldn't surprise long-time comic readers that this one is more focused on the team and where they go from here than on big battles or climactic finishes. Our narration sticks with Warbird, who is coming to terms with the artist side of herself, the side that defies the Shi'ar warrior side. After another disgusting show by Dark Beast, Warbird is outvoted in whether or not they should kill him and it startles her, pushing her back to her warrior roots. After a talk with Karma, though, she begins to accept that, on Earth, she can be both the warrior and the artist and that she doesn't have to give up anything. Meanwhile, Northstar draws Bobby out of the (understandable) funk he's been in so that Bobby can go to the courthouse with Northstar and Kyle for their immigration hearing. It seems that everything works out and even Warbird truly understands that she has a place among the X-Men and that she'd rather stay with them than be back on her home planet.

As I intimated, this is not anything particularly unexpected but that doesn't make it any less meaningful. This is the kind of issue you want to end a book with, and kind of have to end a book like this with. It's a great nod to the eclectic nature of this group, which teamed some popular X-Men staples with less known X-Men characters and saw them fight well together and care for one another. The thing about a book like this, in theory the thing about X-Men books, is at the end of the day, these people want to be with one another. After the best days, they want to be with each other. After the worst days, they want to be with each other. This book has very much had the familial feel to it all the way through; that's what it was built on back when Whedon kicked it off. It's fitting that it ends with them all discussing what family means with the X-Men and pointing out just how strange they are to be together. It's a team that works well and that has more than enough strong characters, where everyone serves their own specific role, but that isn't bogged down by size, as so often happens these days. Nice ending to a nice book.

X-Men 6
Wood (w) and D. López and C. Smith w/ Pallott (a) and L. Martin w/ Milla (c)

Battle of the Atom continues as Wolverine's X-Men, along with the future X-Men, return to the mansion to send home the past X-Men. Wolverine still doesn't quite trust the future team but believes sending the kids back is the right call. Still, he asks Rachel, telepathically, to keep tabs on the future X-Men. It turns out, of course, to be a good idea, when they arrive home and find that past Hank and Bobby have gone to the future. The future team realizes this means their cover is blown and instantly begins fighting against the present and past X-Men so they can escape or, in the very least, be prepared for when the real future X-Men inevitably show up. They manage to mostly secure the school pretty quickly and to knock out their opposition, with the exceptions of Jubilee, Bling and Psylocke, who are met by the future's Sentinel-X, a member of the real future team that has transported back to the past and met up with Scott's team. Sentinel-X, who looks not dissimilar to Iron Man, reveals himself to be a grown Shogo, Jubilee's adopted son.

It's a pretty solid battle between the forces and we don't have the ridiculous fan-service-y Jean Grey fights, which certainly helps. In fact, we don't hear much at all from the past X-Men which, again, totally helps. The writing on this issue is certainly the best of the series, again proving that Brian Wood's book would be doing really well if it didn't have this interruption so early into its run. The characterization is good, particularly with this X-Men team (Storm, Psylocke, Rachel, and Jubilee especially). Everyone gets a couple of good, unforced lines and a couple of nice moves in the battle itself. The issue, of course, is that the plot continues to go crazy and now we have a full X-Men war developing with combatants from all time periods and, oh, I didn't mention, apparently future Kitty was actually the son of Wolverine and apparently Mystique ALL ALONG and what is happening. A for writing, A- for art, D for plot. Turns out that really does hurt a book, though the strong writing certainly salvaged part of this.

Comics this week

Couple of big books out there this week and plenty to choose from for my pre-game picks. Speed round!

Astonishing X-Men 68
For real, the final issue this time. Last issue left us in a good place, wrapping up the last mini-arc and giving our team a chance to really have an issue to themselves as the long-lasting series comes to an end.

Avengers Arena 16
Another Avengers Arena issue so another Avengers Arena issue makes the pre-game (speaking of, I sure bet Captain America won't make this list! Haha, just kidding, it's totally next up). We're bound to see soon what became of Apex and Death Locket but will it come before the aftermath of Nara's death? Guys, there's seriously so much happening right now.

Captain America 12
Last issue's art change was somewhat welcomed; I liked Romita Jr.'s art on the book and it certainly managed to often fit the feel but, as great and well-respected of an artist as JRJR is, I'm not that upset to be getting a break from him. Excited to see how the new-look, no-regrets Cap will act or if last issue's symbolic history-burning was purely for the symbol of it. That's a pretty big commitment for Cap, given his history and his character. Ah, going too long on this one! Next book!

Infinity 4
We're halfway through Infinity and I think I'm finally willing to say that I'm enjoying this series and rather looking forward to the tie-in stuff. I'm about ready for some of it to come to an end (I don't need it taking up more time all the way across the universe) but it's certainly an engaging and interesting epic, worthy of the title "event." Hoping it keeps up as we pull past the halfway mark (ah, there's that negativity again! Quickly, on to the next book before it infects this post!).

Ultimate X-Men 32
Just a really, really good book. Li'l Wolverine is about to tear through Tian at Jean Grey's secret command while Utopia continues to prepare for a war they hope they can avoid with diplomacy and smart moves. The tension here is thick and I'm excited to see what use the series gets out of that.

Astonishing X-Men 67, X-Men 5

Astonishing X-Men 67
Liu (w) and Pinna (a) and Peter (c)

I was wrong in my pre-game this week as somehow I ended up skipping an issue of Astonishing X-Men, marking this one as the last instead of issue 68. Somewhere along the line I lost track which means we still have one more issue to wrap things up. So instead, here, we find Wolverine and Gambit on the trail of the baby alien from last issue, a trail that leads them into a small town in Indiana, home to a high school girl, Wendy, with ambition but no momentum. She loves superheroes (writes fan-fiction about them, particularly Wolverine) and wants to be special but believes herself to be stuck in her small town where she also feels like an outsider (she's the only black kid in the town). Wolverine and Gambit end up stopping in at the diner she goes to before school and she works up the guts to talk to them before they head out, which happens to be either really good or really bad timing, depending on your outlook. The baby alien has hitched a ride in their car and the parents of the alien, who were looming over the world last issue, descend on them, trapping the four of them in itself. Concerned that the X-Men have hurt its baby, the parent touches the brain of Wendy and decides that the X-Men are good people based on what it sees. The parent talks for a bit then departs with its child, leaving Wendy to talk with Wolverine and Gambit, giving her the inspiration she needs to start applying for colleges and making future plans and the likes.

Bit heavy-handed here in the penultimate issue as we get a few meaningful lessons, of sorts. There's more talk between Gambit and Wolverine about what happened with Bobby and how badly they let him down and whether putting him back on the team was the right thing to do and so on. Wendy's story is the centerpiece, though, with her struggle to find a future outside of the town despite being, as she puts it, not special. It ties to a really long and rather hard to read speech from the parent alien (who has trouble with English, making the long speech something of a headache) about wanting to protects its child from growing up and the pain of being an adult. It then all ties back together as Wolverine and Gambit sit with Wendy for a bit and impart advice and wisdom. They're not bad stories and they're right up the X-Men's alley but it is a little heavy-handed, if a worthwhile message. Glad it's not the final issue, didn't feel right to end with a team that wasn't, you know, the team.

X-Men 5
Wood (w) and D. López and C. Smith (a) and L. Martin (c)

The Battle of the Atom continues as the teams gathered at the Jean Grey School prepare to track young Jean and Scott. It proves a bit difficult as Jean is trying to block her thoughts but Xavier is able to amplify his powers, in tandem with old Jean, and get a bead on them. They track them, leaving young Beast and Bobby as well as Rachel and Kitty at the school in case they should come back. Rachel and Kitty agree that maybe sending them back, especially against their will, isn't the best idea (no it totally is you guys) and set out on their own to try to aid Jean and Scott. Everything collides and Jean and Scott are in the middle, being attacked by X-Men from all sides. Rachel and Kitty show up just in time to cause a distraction, mostly involving yelling at the X-Men for attacking children with full attacks even if Scott did swing first, and allow Jean and Scott to get away. Jean psychically calls old Scott's new team and they meet at the ruins of Utopia.

I had, well, not exactly high hopes about this book as my pre-game documented, but higher hopes for this book. I really didn't like the first two issues of Battle of the Atom as things got more and more ridiculous but I was hoping for a rebound here from Brian Wood, a writer I tend to find pretty good and pretty good with events. I do think that characters got slightly better characterization here, which is an upside, but overall I still don't like the story. Thanks to the better characterization, there is slightly better reasoning behind why the supporters of the young X-Men are supporting the young X-Men. It ultimately boils down to "despite myself, I like having them here and I don't want to send people back against their will." It's not really a good reason, still, but it's at least a reason that's somewhat understandable. I can put myself in Kitty or Rachel's shoes and say "these are their friends, albeit young versions/versions they never knew. Some of these versions are like versions they've lost, as with Jean or Warren. Having them around must be nice to a point." Granted, it doesn't make up for destroying space-time so it's still rather weak reasoning, but at least it's some reasoning. Still not thrilled with Battle of the Atom. "Not thrilled" might be an understatement. I also still rather resent how long this series is and how much of a crossover effect it has, particularly on this book. I'll be honest, I don't care much about it distracting Uncanny X-Men and All-New X-Men, nor about it carrying into Wolverine and the X-Men. However, X-Men has a fairly solid premise and is just starting to find its feet only to need suddenly to take two issues off to tie into this long (and rather expensive) event. Not a particularly wonderful move.

Comics this week

Like every week, here come some comics! We have 14 books this week, unless my eyes deceive me (for some reason I'm sure they do this week so don't be surprised if we audible in a fifteenth; also, football season has started so prepare for me to start loading everything with football analogies like so much early-run Venom) including, yes, another ending book. Three weeks in a row, right? Can we make it four? God knows we have enough ending soon. Plus side, we have another new book kicking off too. Here goes.

Astonishing X-Men 67
The end of a good book will hopefully lead to the start of another good one. I believe Marvel has Amazing X-Men slated to follow this one up but the point is that this is the end of the series that started with Joss Whedon's defining run where Colossus returned. Certainly sad to see this book go and actually, and this can't be said of too many ending books in general, really interested to see how this one wraps up. I think we'll get a conclusion to last issue, with the weird underground alien creature that zombified people and shared its own emotions with them, but I wouldn't be upset if we didn't get that. This team redoubled its efforts to act more like a team, like a family, in the last issue and I'll be interested to see what that means in the immediate future. Marjorie Liu should get whatever book she wants at Marvel after this; she probably won't but she should.

Avengers Arena 15
Always on this list because still, even after 15 issues, I'm still shocked at how good this book is. In truth, I'm probably saying all the things about this series that I would have said about Avengers Academy during its run if I'd had this blog and also if I had been braver then to admit that it was a really solid book. I was rather against Avengers Academy because of all of the teen angst and emotion running rampant through it but it ended up being a tremendously well-told story about fairly interesting characters. This book started with a bang and kept up the pace, even keeping up the energy and emotional core that Avengers Academy established. Really good book. Excited to see where this week puts us as the book speeds towards its intended finish.

Captain America 11
This is Cap's first journey post-Dimension Z. Sure he's been around in Uncanny Avengers and other books but he's ignored it in those books (with a nice nod to it in Uncanny Avengers; such is the benefit of having one writer on both books). Here he'll have to find a way to deal with what he's been through, with another decade gone but this time only for him (last time he missed decades, the world grew without him, this time he's grown without the world), with Jet Black in the world, and with the possible deaths of Sharon and Ian (he thinks they're both dead, he's wrong on at least one count but good luck proving that). Should be a really defining issue one way or another. What Cap will come out of this struggle?

Mighty Avengers 1
Brand new Avengers series (so maybe there are a few of them already, whatever, they're a big organization, okay?) the initial conceit of which is that these are the heroes left over with the current Avengers in space and the Illuminati doing their own thing. This book, though, could be bigger than that for Marvel. The team is comprised more of various races than other Marvel books, with characters like Luke Cage, Spectrum, White Tiger, and Power Man (okay, so maybe mostly black but hey, that's more varied than most Marvel books, sadly), as well as Spider-Man and a possibly new character in a Spider-Man costume (are we getting a Miles Morales for the regular universe? The Spider-Men series a year or two back opened the door for questions like that). Some people might see this as sort of an overreaction to criticisms that Marvel doesn't have enough representation in their books but frankly, that's okay by me. Any step in the right direction, even if it's a pretty obvious step, can be a good step. Like with the next book I'm going to mention, I'd rather see them blatantly address the issue than ignore it. Of course, that starts with the book being good. Al Ewing and Greg Land will head up the book to start.

X-Men 5
I had already chosen this as my fifth pre-game pick before I remembered it's part of the Battle of the Atom event and now it's too late to slowly back away and sweep this under the rug. I was pretty adamantly against the first two books of this event but, you know, there's always a chance it can turn around. The reason I had picked it was that I really enjoyed the last issue, which delved a little deeper and more explicitly into the team than the first three had had a chance to. The first three were dedicated to the plot that was going on and number four got a chance to pull back and examine who was on this team and the way they were going to interact with one another. I was excited for a new arc and was hoping they could carry whatever else they'd built up into the next issue. Now I'm a little less excited and more wary. We'll see how it goes. It's still Brian Wood and I like him a whole lot, though I just read the description and it says that some X-Men don't believe the All-New X-Men should be sent back in time and I'm furious again.

Astonishing X-Men 66, Uncanny X-Men 11, Wolverine and the X-Men 35

Astonishing X-Men 66
Liu (w) and Pinna (a) and C. Peter (c)

The second-to-last issue of this series (we have a couple second-to-lasts this week) finds the X-Men cleaning up after Bobby's meltdown (not entirely the best way to put it, most of it hasn't yet melted BOOM, NAILED IT). They do what they can to help the people during the day but at night they decide to be in each other's company, having fun and enjoying themselves. It's, of course, interrupted when a creature that has apparently been awoken (and separated from its parents) starts controlling New Yorkers and making them kind of like zombies, but ones who crave companionship instead of loneliness. It's, uh, it's a little on the nose. The X-Men handle it (by comforting, not punching!) and it scurries away. Instead of following it, the team chooses to continue their night which leads to a big talk about what it is to be X-Men and how important it is to be a family and be there for one another. They let Bobby fall through the crack and allowed him to believe he couldn't come to them with his problems so they determine that they need to focus up on the things that are important as a team. The issue ends with what seems to be another weird alien thing (related to the first, probably a parent of some sort) materializing over Earth.

I'm a little happy that the strange alien is coming back for the final issue if just because, like I said, it felt a little on the nose to see a one-shot alien who happens to isolate people and make them feel disconnected in the midst of this whole story. Still, it's a good story with important implications. I talk a fair amount about teams that feel like family and about how the X-Men particularly are built this way; they're not just a team put together because of their abilities, they're a family brought together by a shared genetic code and a similar life experience because of it. It's nice to have the X-Men reset a bit to prioritize that idea. Still going to be sad to see this book go, as I still think it's one of the stronger X-Men books (of which there are just so, so many). The new X-Men series by Brian Wood is still too new to pass judgment on but last issue was a pretty solid one. I still like Ultimate X-Men best but that's neither here nor there as those characters aren't even these ones, you guys. Still, I hope the moral of this issue passes around through the other X-Men books and we get more of that family feel. For all of Claremont's dedication to X-Men and his saving the brand and everything, one of the most important things he did through his run was to occasionally take time out to show the more personal plotlines, where the team could help one another or just hang out with one another. That's important for these guys. Hopefully it permeates through the Universe in the coming days.

Uncanny X-Men 11
Bendis (w) and Irving w/ Anka (a and c)

Cyclops' team has appeared spontaneously at a pro-mutant protest in Michigan only to be met with a new sort of adaptoid Sentinel (or at least similar to a Sentinel). We get Cyclops' perspective throughout the whole issue which oscillates from anger at the way mutants are treated to acceptance of the way mutants are treated to anger at the way mutants are treated to pride at his new team in the way they jump into the fight to anger at the way mutants are treated. Meanwhile, the fight isn't entirely going their way and it's leading to a lot of frustration from Scott and his team. Even when they get a few good hits on the thing, it adapts to their attacks and keeps coming. They eventually overcome only when whoever sent this thing pulls it back. Meanwhile, Mystique (as Dazzler) is scoping out a meeting on Madripoor (which Mystique wants to own) between Madame Hydra and the Hand.

I like the way that the team fights here. They don't seem entirely above their station (remember, they've only had their powers and been working on their powers for a short time) but they're doing well enough to show that their training is paying off. Basic uses of their powers and no one's crumbling under pressure. I still have my issues with Bendis' need to put the snappy dialogue in, which I think undermines the shock and seriousness of the situation on top of counteracting Cyclops' narration. Counteracting that, though, might not be the worst idea as it comes off fairly heavy-handed and like a beginner's guide to X-Men. "Why does the world treat us this way? They'll never see us as equals! I killed Professor Xavier, who really helped pave the way for mutants, so maybe I deserve this but the rest of mutants don't! My team is really good, here's a rundown of who everyone is!" and so on and so forth. It's the worst kind of "tell don't show" exposition and it hinders what otherwise works pretty well as an issue. It might be a function of the upcoming X-Men event Battle of the Atom (debuting, I believe, next week), making this issue feel like a catch-up issue for new readers, which I think weakens this issue, actually. If you feel you have to catch readers up, do it in the event, not before it when you're probably still just dealing with readers you already have. It makes even less sense as a catch-up issue, I think, because the structure of the upcoming crossover is such that it will take up two issues of every existing main universe X-Men book (not Astonishing, as there aren't two issues left of that) plus two bookend issues called Battle of the Atom. To get the full scope of this event you're already going to need to pick up something like 10 books in the next two months or so, now you're asking readers to pick this up as an introduction too? FURTHERMORE, I've heard in an advance review of Battle of the Atom 1 that the start of it reads like a summary of recent events anyway. You know what, I was relatively happy with this issue and now I'm not. Geez you guys, pack it in.

Wolverine and the X-Men 35
Aaron (w) and Bradshaw and Wong (a) and L. Martin w/ eFX, Mason, Milla, and Sotocolor (c)

The Hellfire Club's coup doesn't quite work as the two betrayers stupidly use Kilgore-made weapons to attempt to kill Kade, which have safeguards in place to not harm Kilgores. That doesn't mean things are going well for Kade, though, as the X-Men are breaching rapidly and even the students infiltrating the Hellfire Academy seem to be having some success in their escape. Quentin Quire and Idie kiss and are quickly dating (while they try to escape) and Toad pulls every skin off of Husk to reveal her true self underneath (looks like Paige still, not like a skeleton, but not evil now, conveniently). There are various turns back and forth in battle but it ends with the X-Men winning out and forcing a number of the bad guys into the Siege Perilous while capturing the two Hellfire Club members who tried to betray Kade (they end up enrolled at the Jean Grey School against their wishes). Meanwhile, as Starblood starts to leave with Broo, Broo is visited by a Bamf, who Broo quickly bites. The bite seems to transport his mind a bit to a vision of a man in a white cloak with a Bamf on his shoulder telling Broo it's time to come back. With that, Broo attacks and successfully subdues Starblood, crashing the ship near where the X-Men have landed after the explosion at the Hellfire Academy (there was an explosion there, by the way). Broo emerges, back to his old self with the help from the mysterious stranger.

Hey guys, that stranger was totally Nightcrawler. There's a little epilogue of sorts that shows the man in the cloak surrounded by Bamfs and hoping that the X-Men are willing to risk their lives once more to save a dead friend. And he's got weird feet and he's blue. Guys, it's Nightcrawler. This isn't the biggest surprise as promo art for upcoming X-books has shown a swashbuckling Nightcrawler returned but it's still exciting to see because, hey guys, I love Nightcrawler. I know, I know, people being resurrected over and over lightens the threat of death and makes death just a slightly more inconvenient plot point. I get that. But I really love Nightcrawler, is the thing. The rest of this issue was pretty good, as was the last issue, which was exciting after a string of weaker issues. I'm a fan of books occasionally taking a moment to reset themselves and balance out all the adrenaline and action of a series but, though the plot was kind of building, I felt like this title went through a wave of meaningless issues that didn't help anybody. But that was that and this is this and now I think they've righted themselves a bit. Bit of an upswing as we hit Battle of the Atom.

This week's picks!

For this week's post-game, I'm going to try to write the shortest blurbs I can (a function of me trying to see if it's possible to not write ridiculously long posts for everything I do and also of not having a ton of time today. Busy week, you guys!). Let's see if I can do it or if I drift into having too much to say.

Astonishing X-Men 65

Great wrap-up issue leaves us with an interesting new take on Bobby, the long-time jokester of the X-Men who now might be crazy. Also, Apocalypse Mystique is impressive but, you know, not that impressive.

Avengers Arena 13

A nice mix of old and new as Christos Gage makes us remember why we (in some cases reluctantly) loved Avengers Academy as Hank Pym investigates the missing kids only to be countered at every turn by a surprisingly well-prepared Arcade. A slew of cybernetics covered in Mettle's skin makes an appearance and GOOD GOD ARCADE IS INSANE.









Scarlet Spider 20

I am unapologetically a fan of this book and the two issue crossover between this and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up (guess what book is next on this alphabetical list) worked real well to showcase Kaine and Doc Spidey while also giving us a story worth reading. Can't have one on this list without the other (not always the case in a crossover) so here's the one and upcoming: the other.



Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 2
Chris Yost continues to impress with his ability at shifting into voice and this crossover was no different. His Jackal matches recent appearances perfectly, his Superior Spider-Man continues to match Slott's while still feeling its own thing, and his Kaine, while not so much an emulation, is still an interesting and different character. Solid crossover. Beat out Ultimate X-Men 30 this week, which was solid and a great lesson in how to pace an issue.












Thor: God of Thunder 11

Solid finish to what was a very good opening arc. This story has gotten a lot of attention from readers and other creators and it's well-deserved. I still feel it moved a little slow in the middle and I have my problems with the end of this issue (though it made room for a nice moment where Thor finds gods for a now godless world) but that still doesn't detract from the start of this issue and the start of the book as a whole. Esad Ribic and Ive Svorcina's art does wonders for the book, making it stellar each time out. Excited to see Aaron's Thor back on Earth next time out.

(not too bad in short reviews, but I can't help noticing that each review got just a bit longer than the last, EVEN WHEN I had a crossover event I managed to say more in the second one without saying things that were specific to either issue. Guh)

Best Cover

I rambled for a while this week about the great covers that came out so I gave a bit of a preview to this entry by talking about which covers I really liked in a week chock full of great covers but for me, it came back down to Astonishing X-Men 65, with its great colors and somewhat contrasting ideas. It's a perfect match for a story wherein Bobby recognizes his powers as godlike and the normally-calming blue background is a wonderful backdrop for such an aggressive image. Really beautiful cover.

Astonishing X-Men 65, Uncanny X-Men 10

Astonishing X-Men 65
Liu (w) and Walta (a) and C. Peter (c)

Bobby has some issues and I'm rather torn on this. Mystique has stolen the Death Seed, thus giving herself enhanced powers, but she's pretty quickly defeated (though not after a bit of a one-on-one moment with Gambit) because turns out Apocalypse=not that hard to beat? Okay, I'm simplifying the situation a bit but WHATEVER, she's not the focus right now, just a way to make the Death Seed conquerable as it's pretty obvious this team can't beat a powered up and focus Bobby. So let's get to that. The conceit is that Bobby is, in fact, as powerful as he's always been but now he's unleashing all of that power because he has the confidence and the motivation to do so. He eventually chooses the non-evil path and defeats his monstrous personality but the issue ends on a somber note, basically asking what happens next time. Bobby admits to Kitty and Wolverine that he liked the monster, liked the power and the confidence the Death Seed brought and he doesn't think he can ever truly go back to the wisecracking, fun-loving guy they all know, even if he ends up lying and putting that face on. What will happen if he snaps again?

Really interesting arc here for Bobby and raises many more questions about the character. As I led off this review, I'm rather torn on what's happened here. I like Bobby as the fun guy on the team but it also leaves him with less depth than other characters. That's certainly simplifying it; he's been around as long as any other X-Man and he's certainly appeared enough in the Universe to have an extensive background and personality but he still feels kind of one dimensional. It's a good and often necessary dimension but it's left him a little weaker over the years. In that respect, I think it's kind of smart to show him in this light, as the guy who has been hurt and neglected and always sought approval and never really received it who suddenly realizes the true extent of his powers and, just as suddenly, isn't sure what that means to him and how he should use it. On the other hand, this is a real fundamental change to the character of Bobby Drake and one that, if everyone's paying attention to this book, should have a lasting effect on him across the Universe. That's a tall order and I tend to think that one or two of his other writers out there have a tendency to tell the story they want to tell with the characters they want to tell it with and forget any fundamental changes that have happened recently, someone else down the line can deal with those.

Uncanny X-Men 10
Bendis (w) and F. Irving (a and c)

Cyclops is excited because the team is training well and starting to look like real mutants. We're spared a training montage but only barely. We also learn that Eva, the new mutant who can create time bubbles, can also send people through time. So far she's only done it once and only into the future but it's worth noting and Cyclops notes it, telling the other new mutants that they may find that their powers begin to reveal more about themselves as time progresses. Meanwhile, Magneto goes to meet with Maria Hill (after the stupidest coded message MAYBE ever, which seems like a pretty big distinction but I'm not about to research "stupid coded messages" though now I actually kind of want to so I'll get back to you on that) in Portland to learn that he will no longer be working with her in matters of betraying Scott but will rather be working with Dazzler who, unbeknownst to either of them as yet, is actually Mystique posing as Dazzler because no one can get enough Mystique right now, particularly not Bendis (more on that in the next paragraph). Finally, the team watches a pro-mutant rights protest on television (led by humans) and decide to teleport there to blow everyone's minds and to get out some more words on the subject. As soon as they touch down, though, a new and more powerful Sentinel comes at them.

Mystique has found herself littered through these X-books of late, particularly in All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, which I attributed to Bendis' love of specific characters (like how Spider-Woman and Luke Cage suddenly started appearing in every Avengers book during his runs). Thinking more on it, I think it's probably a little of that and a little trying to cash in on the character, who has always been a popular character within Marvel but now is played in major motion pictures by one of today's biggest actresses in Jennifer Lawrence. My question, if that ends up being true, is how much then is the decision of the Marvel higher-ups and how much is it of Bendis or how much is collaboration? While she's a worthwhile villain and obviously a pretty big villain in X-Men lore, it does fit that they'd be sprinkling her just about everywhere they can (in recent days she's appeared prominently in All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, and Wolverine and the X-Men, to name the few I can think of) in hopes to cash in on the movie franchise's success (though at kind of a weird time, admittedly) and on the star power of Jennifer Lawrence. Bendis also likes to get in on movie tie-in stuff (not necessarily the direct tie-in, but he's also the one helming Guardians of the Galaxy's relaunched book just before the movie next year and he came up swinging with the Age of Ultron event just before Ultron was announced as the main villain of the upcoming blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron). Just some thoughts. Seemed more fun than listing the stupidest coded messages I could find (which, again, actually kind of sounds fun).

Comics this week

Solid fifteen books out this week. Not too many, not too few. Still, picking five means picking a third. Guys, this is just the math on things, I don't know what you want me to do about it. Still, bit easier picking five for this week than last and even than picking the three standouts last week. On top of that, we have a long awaited NEW EVENT coming out. Long awaited, anyway, in that it's been hinted at for quite some time and Hickman's Avengers runs have both been moving steadily towards it. That's right, this week we kick off with...

Infinity 1
Another new event might not be exactly what every reader is hoping for but, like I've said in the past, a good story is a good story is a good story. Hickman's really been pushing hard at this story for a while so now we'll get to see if all of that work is going to pay off or if it'll fall flat. I'm hoping for the former because BOY do I not want to read an entire event, complete with universe-spanning tie-ins, that isn't a fun read (at least it won't be terrible and also ten issues, AGE OF ULTRON. More like AGE OF ULT-WRONG. Did you guys catch that one? I just changed Ultron to make it a pun! Writing is fun!). With Marvel's renewed love for the cosmic side of things, this event at least promises to be a little different than what we've seen recently so hopefully we'll get things worth talking about throughout the series. What if this was the event that turned events around for us? Wouldn't that be neat?

Astonishing X-Men 65
We're winding down to Astonishing X-Men's (tragically) final issue (68) but FIRST we have quite an impressive story going on in its own right. What is going on with Bobby Drake, the oft humor-bearing, tension-breaking Iceman? The piece of Apocalypse power inside Bobby is corrupting him and making him destroy the world, but how much of this is Apocalypse and how much is Bobby? More importantly in the immediate, what will Mystique be able to do with her newfound, stolen bit of power? Do I think that the whole world is going to be destroyed in a seemingly-lower ranked X-Men book (I agree, it deserves to be higher-ranked)? No, but the question isn't about that, is it? It almost never is in non-event books. The question is where will it leave our team in the aftermath? I try to stray away from solicits so I don't know if this is going to be the storyline that brings us to our final issue or if we'll have some recovery time with this arc ending this week or next time out. Guess we'll have to see. Boy, I'm writing a lot for my pre-game post. Let's try to cut that a bit, hm?

Avengers Arena 13
I believe this is the issue where Hopeless (or someone else, look, it was a long time ago I read this okay?) has said that grown-up heroes from the Marvel Universe will start realizing that some of the kids are missing. That should put us in a neat little place as a strike team is possibly assembled and sits around wondering where the kids are (smart money says the kids have to get themselves out of this jam). Even if this isn't that issue (look, I've been wrong before, even about this specifically), there's plenty going on to be excited about in this book. I just really like this book, okay?

Thor: God of Thunder 11
THE END OF GODBOMB IS HERE. I've really liked this story overall but I do feel it's gone on a bit long. I think there were probably pieces in the middle worth cutting to trim it down a bit but it's still delivered us a good story with interesting characters and pretty high stakes. I'm equally interested in how this story ends and what the repercussions are and in where the series goes from here. This is a Marvel NOW relaunch that has been telling the same story since issue one (not unlike Captain America). I'm curious to see what plans Jason Aaron has for another new and interesting Thor story, or Thtory (mm, bit of a reach. Kid Loki had a dog named Thori so I needed to add that extra 't' in there to avoid confusion between a made-up word and a made-up hellspawn dog but boy it got real clunky). Still, let's see how this arc ends before we get to that, okay?

Ultimate X-Men 30
Really like this series too. As Utopia stands, it seems, on the brink of war with Tian, it's interesting to see where all the mutants stand in this conflict. This is a great X-Men book for a lot of reasons. On the one hand, it's a great book in general, with solid writing and outstanding art. The characters are well-defined and more and more they act like the family the X-Men are meant to be, brought together by their genetic makeup more than anything else. It's a great X-Men series too because it keeps bringing mutants who want nothing more than peaceful cohabitation to the edge of war, unwillingly dragged along. It's the X-Men back to their roots and better than ever. And guys, Jimmy Hudson's apparently joined up with Tian! Double agent? Actual confidence in Tian over Utopia? Either fits! Ahhhhh! Let's all read this book!

This week's picks! (a day late)

Sorry about the delay for this post. Ended up having a bit of a busy day yesterday and a bit of sleep deprivation to boot so Sunday was a bit of a day sans comics. So let's just jump into this, which may, in fact, be a slightly shorter post than is typical for a pull list post anyway. Or maybe it won't (hint, it's not written yet). With that said, it's really hard to pick this week. There were a slew of books that had very good issues and only a couple that had really outstanding issues. Is that because the series as a whole has been outstanding so we're seeing the ones that are still better than other issues but maybe weaker than the strongest of those series? Look, I don't know. All I'm saying is that it's exceptionally hard to be me and maybe you guys should cut me some slack.

Astonishing X-Men 64

This one, even as I write this, is the most suspect of this group. I thought it was a pretty good issue but it wasn't without its flaws. It beat out other potential choices in Avengers Arena, Daredevil, Indestructible Hulk, and Superior Spider-Man, but only by an intangible fancy. Maybe I'm bummed that the series is supposedly cancelled (though there's further rumor that it's going to get a makeover for Marvel NOW 2) but let's not make this out to seem like it was a bad issue. It was fine and the story itself continues to be very interesting. We're getting a lot out of Bobby that, I think, will prove even more interesting after this arc concludes and we're able to pick up the pieces. Still, it was a fun issue by itself as we get a little bit of everyone and, it can't be ignored, a nice moment where Wolverine gives his thoughts about Thor (at left).

Hawkeye 12

This is one of those books where you have to be careful when you're making your pull list picks. I think this was a slightly weaker issue of Hawkeye than we've come to expect but the thing is that Hawkeye has been a phenomenal book so far. If you go in expecting Hawkeye to always be the level of Hawkeye that you've come to expect, you're setting the bar almost impossibly high for the series. When you pull back and look at this issue, it's still a pretty great story that's definitely worth recommendation. The characters of both Barney and Clint (who only gets some flashback and a very short scene at the end) get boosts out of this issue even if their current relationship still remains a bit up in the air. The beauty of this issue is that whatever Fraction chooses to do next will fit within the context of their relationship thanks to this look into their lives. Will the two forgive and forget? They could; after all, they're brothers and they were raised looking out for one another. Will their naturally aggressive personalities, in addition to their shaky history, lead them to fight with one another? Very possible. Whatever it is, though, Fraction has set it up for us here. Add to that Francisco Francavilla's very capable and personal style filling in for Aja on a story that fills in for our main characters and you have a worthwhile issue.

Young Avengers 7

Okay, well some books were never at risk of missing this list. There's plenty of plot happening here but it almost seems like it's in the background of what is truly a marvelous book. Gillen and McKelvie so masterfully explain away three months and, with it, a much more formed relationship between the characters that the book feels completely natural, even knowing that these guys haven't spent a lot of on-panel time together. Off-panel, they've grown and become something resembling a team. There are still self-aware jokes as Loki points out the similarities between a group of shapeshifters posing as their idols (more impressive shapeshifters) and their little crew and as Instagram makes an appearance in the lives of teenagers but they fit perfectly in with the characters and the story and the overall feel of the book. There are several books Marvel's putting out right now that seem to have the absolute best people for the job working on them. They include New Avengers, with Hickman and Epting, Hawkeye, with Fraction and Aja, and particularly this one, which has jumped so eagerly into a look and a mood that it feels no one else could have established. It's a wonderful thing. Even if you haven't ever liked the characters or the conceit of the book, you should check in with it. There's something truly beautiful when you feel the book is the best it could possibly be and that's certainly the case here.

Astonishing X-Men 64, Uncanny X-Men 8, Wolverine 6

Astonishing X-Men 64
Liu (w) and Walta (a) and Peter (c)

To start, some bad news. Marvel has announced they are canceling Astonishing X-Men in October with issue 68. It's pretty unfortunate as I've found myself liking this series more than any other X-Men team title of late (I have high hopes for Brian Wood's X-Men but we're only on issue two over there, so I don't want to say yet). It's felt a little more toned down in its approach, which I think has a lot to do with the softer art of it, and Marjorie Liu kills it when she has the chance to write character over plot. Definitely sad news as Marvel cancels another fairly strong one. Anyway, on to this issue. Bobby is still covering the world in ice and snow and his teammates are trying to bring him down. They manage to wound him a bit, but nothing long term, as Kitty dives through his giant ice body and touches the purple force within. It stuns her and he flees. Wolverine and company hunt down Dark Beast, last seen in the X-Termination event, and Wolvy accuses him of placing within Bobby a fragment of Apocalypse power when they jumped through a portal back home. Dark Beast agrees to help them find out if the power can be removed but he's never really one to be trusted. Meanwhile, Bobby goes to visit his parents, still hoping to connect with someone. He's shooed away by his father which results in Bobby using the snow and ice to kill him. While Bobby Prime has been doing all of this, little Bobby fragments have tried to salvage the last bits of memory and caring they hold, taking some of the people Bobby had once loved and trying to protect them from him. Mystique is with one of the fragments and asks him about all of it but his memories are fading as Bobby becomes stronger. Bobby finds them and Mystique convinces him to allow her into his plan, wishing to share the power with him. Back home, Wolverine and his team talk about what needs to be done; if they can't save Bobby, they have to be prepared to kill him to stop Apocalypse's influence. Of course, it eventually does come down to a fight, with Thor joining in the battle as well. Mystique and Bobby attack the X-Men and Thor, quickly gaining the advantage, before Opal tries to talk to Bobby. Bobby lashes out at her but, while he's distracted, Thor takes the opportunity to blast the Apocalypse power out of him. Before Thor can advance, Mystique spears him with an ice shard and moves ahead. She picks up the small bit of power and pops it into her mouth.

Certainly a strange ending made all the more tense by contemplating a Mystique with the sort of power Bobby had. Not entirely sure what it could grant her; this power seemed to amplify Bobby's natural abilities and corrupt his soul, but it didn't seem to cause any new powers. We'd seen everything he did here before, just to a far lesser scale. So will Mystique shapeshift even better? I don't know. Will shapeshifting give her the power of whoever she shapeshifts into? Because I'd like to know more about how that works. And her soul's already pretty corrupted, though not to the level that Apocalypse would have it. Anyway, definitely some interesting stuff as Bobby seems to go past a couple of points of no return here. Only Thor, outside of the X-Men, seems aware that this is Bobby's doing as a news report in the issue says witnesses saw a giant ice man but no one can guarantee it was anything more than severe cold hallucinations. On top of that, Dark Beast makes a sinister comment to Gambit, asking whether the second Apocalypse personality ever goes away or not, so even if Bobby was acting completely under the influence of the power (which maybe amplified the way he was feeling already) it's not guaranteed it will all go away as quickly as it came. We're in for an interesting conclusion next issue.

Uncanny X-Men 8
Bendis (w) and Bachalo (a) and Townsend (c)

Scott and Emma drop Fabio (the gold ball new mutant) back off at home on his request, telling him that they'll be around if he wants to reconsider. They return and discuss with the rest of the new mutants and the original team how everyone needs to train more. Magik leads the Cuckoos to the new mutant we glimpsed last issue, who apparently has control over cars, and rescue him from a situation with the police, though not before the police shoot him. When they return home, their healer Christopher manages to fix that up because healers tend to take the tension away from more minor injuries. Meanwhile, Fabio is being grilled for far too long by his parents and his sister about where he's been and about what's happening and so on. None of them listen to him when he tells them that he's a mutant and the X-Men aren't bad people and they saved him and so on and this scene goes on FOREVER. Then Dazzler, agent of SHIELD, shows up at his door asking to talk.

I will say, the plus side of that back-and-forth dialogue I've decried so much on this blog is that it's easier to review an issue chock full of it because there's not much space for things to happen. Plot things. It's still not easy to read because you get halfway through the book and feel like you've read several issues of a very boring and slow moving book. I know I've talked about it plenty already, but I have to again say that the sort of dialogue prevalent here is not a natural dialogue to be reading. I tend not to buy, even in Sorkin's work or in shows like Gilmore Girls that feel like a direct influence on this writing style, that people talk this way but you forgive it in TV because listening to it is somewhat easier than reading it all. It's fast-paced, it's quick, and it conveys an energy. It doesn't do any of those things in comics because regardless of how short the bursts of speech are, you're still taking the time to read it all. It feels forced and unnatural while also feeling unrepentantly smarmy. It's hard to look past all of that to even dive into the issue but, more than that, it feels like less happens in the issue because of it. If you like this style of writing, you'll probably like this book. If you have numerous problems with this style of writing, you will pretty clearly hate this book.

Wolverine 6
Cornell (w) and Pierfederici and Palmer (a) and Mossa (c)

Wolverine is still trying to fight his way through the SHIELD helicarrier to reach the parasite in Nick Fury or to get off or to turn the helicarrier around or something. He's trying to defeat it, anyway. However, the parasite isn't taking too kindly to his attempts and is, as the issue begins, trying to drown him. His team of protected SHIELD agents help him get to safety and he borders on berserker as he leaves the water. Main SHIELD agent McDougall wants that rage to come out, sure that they need an angry Wolverine. Somehow, her hyping him up seems to calm him down and he gets a grip on himself. I don't know, it just happens that way. The parasite sends more foes for them to face, including a specially enhanced SHIELD team called SHIELD team Namor, meant to fight in watery conditions. They tear through the team, killing most and severing the air tank from another, meaning the parasite can take him over. Soon it's just Wolverine and McDougall left. The pair make their way through the helicarrier and attempt to go to the microverse and back but they're blocked by the parasite, sending them to see their real forms, which are hideous. Wolverine allows them to supervillain out their whole plan, which is largely about infesting Earth and taking over people so they can all live together peaceably even if it removes the consciousness of the humans, before attacking. McDougall hijacks one of their ships and manages to navigate it to a point in the microverse where they grow back into normal space, now moved in the real universe to the helicarrier's bridge. It's a bit confusing and pretty poorly defined, but it places Wolverine and McDougall behind a now-somewhat-panicking Fury (still controlled by the parasite) so Wolverine can knock him out (the host body losing consciousness forces the parasite out, apparently). The flood the ship with stun gas and knock everyone out, allowing them to awaken as themselves again, where Wolverine explains to Fury's what's been happening. Before they were all expelled, though, they said something about triggering the process, which seems to come to fruition at the end of the issue as Wolverine feels himself start losing blood and realizes he's not healing.

I don't know what it is about this series but there's something in there that makes it hard to really get behind. I can't see the parasite as a legitimate enemy at this point, not because they've been unthreatening but more because they're so incredibly vague. It's vague in a not-mysterious way, which would create some amount of tension or fear of them. Instead, they seem like another obstacle and one that's somehow lasted this long. It could be the writing between Wolverine and the other characters, which feels almost entirely dry and emotionless. When emotions do break through, their clichéd and expected. It's hard to feel anything about this story, which seems largely due to what I've said about the enemy but also in large part to its hero. I'm not sure how you can make a book about Wolverine, one of Marvel's biggest characters ever, and make the audience feel uncomfortable with him. I'm not saying uncomfortable in the sort of "I don't know if I condone those choices" sort of way, which is rather what Wolverine is all about, but uncomfortable in a sort of squirming, can't sit still kind of way because he's not really doing anything of note, even when he is. Also, a more cynical man than I would point to the similarity of the parasite taking away his healing factor as a similarity with the new Wolverine movie coming out, wherein he seems to lose his healing factor. That's not new, to have a storyline in a book that corresponds to a major motion picture that's coming out, but it always feels a little like a cheap move. I can't say I recommend this book, which is too bad because there has been some interesting stuff in the series overall. It gets far too bogged down by itself, preferring to explain every bit of action in a "you see how smart this series is?" sort of way that really makes the series crawl along.

Astonishing X-Men 63, Wolverine and the X-Men 31, Ultimate X-Men 27

Astonishing X-Men 63
Liu (w) and Walta (a) and Peter (c)

The mystery surrounding the weather and the recent changes in Bobby persists as his X-Men team gets involved. Bobby himself is unsure exactly what is happening with him as he contacts former girlfriend Opal again to talk. Bobby hints towards rekindling their relationship but Opal rebuffs him, knowing this situation is so strange and that she can't expose her son to the weird happenings of superheroes and what they have to deal with. Dejected and a little ashamed, he leaves, running into Mystique on his way  home. Meanwhile, the X-Men are investigating the strange cold-front that has moved in worldwide as well as investigating Bobby's ex-girlfriends. Even though it was Mystique who tipped Gambit off to looking into Bobby for all of this (and even though she's notoriously untrustworthy), the X-Men have to agree that he might have some link to this. Their suspicions are confirmed when they find a room full of ice every place they attempt to find an ex-girlfriend of Bobby's. Opal and Kitty, now seemingly the only two untouched by Bobby, meet at Opal's home to discuss what's been happening with Bobby and Opal reveals that he's far more complicated than his typically cheery exterior would present. Instead, he's often depressed, haunted by a racist and controlling father and left feeling like he's never been good enough or strong enough. They're interrupted when ice fills the home and Opal, clutching her son Robert, is taken from the home. Kitty follows her, now trapped in an ice cube being escorted by a couple of Bobby's ice clones, and tries to reason with Bobby. Eventually she settles for phasing Opal and Robert out of the ice and falling into the snow below, phasing just below the surface to remain hidden. Wolverine and his team arrives, comprised of himself, Gambit, Warbird, and Karma to find Kitty, Opal, and Robert, but the group is quickly surrounded by ice clones. Karma can't feel any thoughts emanating off of them, nor off of the real Bobby, who has just arrived. Bobby calmly explains that he's done being the nice guy, the obedient friend, and would instead prefer to take everything he deserves. Warbird tries to stab him through the chest but they find he's all ice underneath. He grows huge in scale and crushes Wolverine, declaring himself Iceman, all while a purple glint shines in his eyes.

There's a great deal going on here, as you can tell by the long summary. It's all very interesting and gets into a lot of real questions about Bobby. Iceman has long been the light-hearted jokester of the X-Men, preferring to relieve tension like so much Spider-Man. The reveal that he's actually far darker than he lets on isn't necessarily groundbreaking but it's a nice addition to his character. It's probably an addition that longtime X-fans already know full well but it's still a welcome one, giving the character a bit more depth for this run. There's obviously something even darker going on here but it seems to have its seeds in real issues for Bobby. This also touches on things that X-writers have been playing it for some time now, which is that Bobby is an incredibly powerful mutant who has never touched his potential. Sure seems like he is now, even if it's slightly enhanced by whatever it is that's hiding out inside of him. Really good questions presented here that could lead to a lot of character development, provided Bobby and the crew come out of this alive and not evil.

Wolverine and the X-Men 31
Aaron (w) and Bradshaw and Wong (a) and L. Martin (c)

Quentin Quire has infiltrated the Hellfire Academy in the hopes of helping Idie with her search for Broo's attacker. He doesn't detect any telepaths so he communicates freely with Idie and tries to search the minds of the heads of the school there. There is a running gag about an unfortunate new mutant named Snot who has a tremendous excess of mucus. The gag is mostly that and the fact that he's bad at everything. Eventually he's called to the principal's office and he disappears. We get looks at many of the courses and the instructors, all aimed at developing new evil mutants and led by evildoers from all about the X-Universe. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Storm head up a search for their missing children, but are unsuccessful, leading Wolverine to proclaim that they need to shut down the school as they can't protect the kids this way, it seems. Back at the Hellfire Academy, Quentin is unimpressed by the set-up and eventually gets called down to the principal himself, leading him to a face-to-face with Kade Kilgore. There he finds out that his mind is being read by the Philistine and that none of his secret machinations are, in fact, so secret after all. Kade regrets the fact that he's not the rabble-rousing mutant he once was and plans to throw him into the Siege Perilous, as he did with Snot before Quentin, transforming Snot into a far more impressive mutant (though still with the snot).

I continue to be unsure for whom this book is made. It spends a whole ton of time showing us that the school is made up of evildoers and evildoers are the teachers, which could pay off if every faculty member is really relevant going forward but I'm not sure we wouldn't have sufficed just by seeing them in passing or hearing about them or seeing them when Wolverine eventually fights them, if indeed he does. The Snot jokes are repetitive and mostly gross-out and the plot itself is very barebones. All of this makes me feel like this book is not meant for me and is, instead, meant for a younger audience to have an X-Men book of their own. Looking at it that way, I think it's probably a better book than I'm giving it credit for but still a bit wordy at that rate and filled with a really big cast of C-list villains for kids to digest. Weird book in its intended audience.

Ultimate X-Men 27
Wood (w) and Asrar and Vlasco (a) and Bellaire (c)

The army is primed for attack, but Ross wants to give the mutants a reasonable amount of time to surrender themselves. It's a good thing, too, because things on the island have reached a breaking point. Jean Grey has discovered Psylocke and her plan, leaving two omega level mutants at odds. They fight, with Psylocke psychically impersonating Jean to send her air support away. While they fight, Psylocke is also stirring the mutants on Utopia to prepare for battle, as she has been all along, and nudging soldiers in the army outside ever so slightly to get them to act impulsively and shoot on the land, as she's been doing all along. An initial strike team is led into Utopia and comes across Storm and Blackheath. One of the soldiers, prompted by Psylocke, switches from non-lethal rounds to bullets and injures Storm, causing Blackheath to go a bit berserk and take out the whole unit. Storm is okay and the two embrace. Finally, Jean and Psylocke's fight ends as Jean gets some separation and her air support, who, in fact, did not fall for Psylocke's ruse, crashes down on Psylocke. With their controller apparently dead, everyone's will is freed and Jimmy, among others, begins to feel like maybe they shouldn't pursue this fight. Rogue says that it's possible they won't have to fight this war and instructs Utopia to begin. Utopia, the sentient seed itself, curls up as if to protect the mutants or to stave off the attackers. Guess we'll find out next time.

I've really liked this series through its run (as evidenced by one of my VERY FIRST POSTS on this blog) and this storyline is no different. On top of the fact that the government repossessing mutants is an incredibly compelling storyline (especially the way it backstabs the mutants), knowing what we know now about Psylocke recasts a lot of this long story. We suddenly understand Mach Two's turn and we understand Jimmy's warmongering and we understand the soldiers who are opening fire against orders time and again. Not that we didn't know that Psylocke was pushing them all along, but now we have the hard proof of it. With her dead, how will the story proceed? Another surprise in this storyline has been Jean's embrace of Utopia. There's a very sensible explanation to it, with Jean realizing that the existence of Tian is directly connected to the existence of Utopia, but it's nice to see it coming to fruition and watching Jean understand what their connection means. This has just been a really solid series right from the get-go and has only improved with age. It's a good premise with a lot of good twists along the way. Solid storytelling, solid characters, solid arcs, overall a very entertaining book.

Comics this week

Back down, it seems, to only a handful of new comics this week. And by handful, of course, I still mean 13 or so. Always makes it tricky to pull five pre-game picks but I feel certain we'll still make it through this day yet.

Astonishing X-Men 63
Interesting stuff happening in this series as we focus on Bobby hiding something within him from the X-Termination event that he's not even aware he's hiding. To make matters worse, that something seems to be affecting him in ways he can't stop. On top of the somewhat more mild "accidentally reconvening all of his ex-girlfriends," Bobby unknowingly created massive snowstorms all over the planet. There is certainly reason to fear here as Bobby's powers are pretty strong, if largely untapped. Add to that the headache with his exes (and the questions it's raised in his current girlfriend Kitty) and we have a story worth watching here.

Avengers Assemble 16
The second chapter (which is really labeled "part 1", with Avengers: The Enemy Within serving as a prologue but BOY it felt like a first chapter to me) of The Enemy Within storyline featuring Captain Marvel and all sorts of Avengers pals squaring off against Yon-Rogg to save Carol and more starts here, heralded in by the talented Kelly Sue DeConnick. Very excited about this event as a whole and the prologue/first chapter kicked it off very nicely. This will be a good one, worth following between this book and Captain Marvel.

Thor: God of Thunder 9
The Godbomb storyline continues and, for the first time, all three Thors have joined up with one another and are heading for Gorr. Will they be enough to stop the deranged killer? Will they, in turn, team up with Thor's daughters, also held by Gorr? There is a fear, for me anyway, that after such a strong start to this series we're going to move to slightly cheesier places, with the three Thors guffawing about and his three daughters joining them at some point. I have faith that Aaron will execute this well but there are plenty of tropes here to make things a little goofier than this series has been so far. Still, the series has been incredible as a whole (even if it's slowed a little the last few issues) so it's fair to expect great things from it as we continue.

Uncanny X-Force 6
My last two picks are all about new storylines. As Uncanny X-Force continues, it is primed to focus on the Fantomexes (if the next story isn't called "Fantom-Ex" or "Fantom-Exes" I'm going to be very sad) as Cluster has just absconded with Betsy in hopes of protecting her from the evil Jean-Paul or Weapon XIII or whatever they're calling him. Describing this book will only get harder as we see more Fantomexes. So now Ginny has been taken from Spiral and Betsy has been taken from X-Force. Where are the other Fantomexes while all of this happens? Maybe we'll find out. There are plenty of ways for this story to go and it's exciting to get to watch.

Venom 36
I've largely enjoyed this series despite a few slow issues or arcs here and there. It'll start another arc (or continue the one with the creepy figures, perhaps) as Flash has shaken off Toxin and hopes, once again, for things to settle down a bit in his new-ish Philadelphia home. However, he's Venom and the star of a comic book so there's little doubt that he will run into another problem before long. We're just going to have to check in this week to see what that problem is going to be.

This week's picks!

First off, a very happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. I hope that your various children treat you well. If you are one of those children, go wish your mother a happy day. And do something nice for her. Maybe buy her a comic. MAYBE BUY HER ONE OF THESE THREE COMICS.

Avengers 11

I don't know that this is the best issue that Avengers has had yet (in fact, I'd likely argue differently) but I think it's the most different issue they've had. I've been a supporter of this series since Hickman took over and I think that his story has been great and the conceit of the team has been phenomenal. However, this issue went a little more playful than any issue previous and, as a result, gave us a little bit of a deeper look at the characters on the team. I think that he's done a good job mixing in little bits of dialogue and small insights into relationships that tell us a lot about the characters, but this is the first issue where I'd say the focus is really on character (other than the ones early on introducing new characters that clearly had to focus on the histories of those characters). The story was still good and tied to what we've been seeing while also giving us a new avenue to explore. Overall, it was a great little turn from the seriousness of the business to still give a great story with tense moments but to also explore a portion of our very large cast.

Uncanny Avengers 8

The fairly brilliant thing about this team being dubbed the Unity Avengers is that the name both shows the ultimate goal and how far they have yet to come. The team is meant to be the face of A plus X and, instead of taking the easy way and making the team instantly come together and work through their issues or even put them aside to deal with the troubles ahead, this series has made it clear that this team rather hates one another. It's a pretty clear cut line between Avengers and X-Men (not humans and mutants directly, as Wanda tends to side with the Avengers) with poor, good-hearted Alex Summers doing what he can to keep the team together. Remender is writing an extremely interesting and suspenseful story that invokes a lot of Marvel history while making new rules about key players but it still doesn't overpower the story of this team, which is really driving the book. It's impressive that both ideas feel like they're getting equal amounts of attention because they both sorely deserve it. Another solid issue.

Astonishing X-Men 62
I'm very interested to see where this arc goes as Bobby may start realizing exactly how powerful he is while dealing with something otherworldly that seems to be intent on screwing things up for Bobby (or at least for Bobby's ego, maybe not his id). It's a fascinating idea and this issue stepped up to start explaining what we're up for in this arc. On top of that, we got to see Mystique in her rare but powerful somewhat-caring demeanor. She has some feelings for Bobby (or maybe she's concerned with what his powers can do unrestrained) and it shows here as she contacts Gambit to make him aware. Also, Liu delves a little further into Kitty and Bobby's relationship and gives us a delightful scene with Kitty talking to Wolverine (as played by Ron Swanson) about what she wants out of a relationship and her lingering feelings about Peter. So yes, a lot went on in this issue but it never felt chaotic or unbalanced in any way. Looking forward to this arc as we move forward.


Best Cover:

This award comes with a pretty clear bias attached. I love Fantomex. I loved the character throughout Remender's X-Force book and he quickly solidified himself as one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe, even with his extremely limited number of appearances in the 616. Still, he was so new and so different than anything I'd read in comics that he was a delight to read. Unpredictable with unpredictable powers and always fighting against the brain that wanted to hunt mutants. Splitting him into three was an interesting idea, one I'd like to see a little more of before judging if it's better or worse than one Fantomex, and this cover forces us to remember how interesting that idea was. Set on a backdrop of bright colors and kind of pop-Fantomex images, Fantomex Prime and Cluster stand side to side, ready to fight whatever comes up against them. It's a solid cover by Kris Anka that definitely appealed to me particularly as a big fan of the character(s).

Astonishing X-Men 62, Uncanny X-Force 4, Wolverine 3

Astonishing X-Men 62
Liu (w) and Walta (a) and Peter (c)


As Astonishing X-Men returns to what it considers normalcy following the X-Termination event, we find Bobby Drake having some serious issues coping with what happened in the Age of Apocalypse. On top of that, he seems to have brought something back with him that's keeping him from sleeping and apparently, a little more sinisterly, has created a whole new thing inside of himself. It seems to be that thing that is bringing a massive snowstorm down on what seems to be the entire world and calling all of Bobby's ex-girlfriends up to seriously confuse and rattle him. It's also what's making his eyes turn red occasionally and rip open his chest to reveal a big purple blot. So he's apparently brought something back with him from the Age of Apocalypse, something that Thor either recognizes or drives Thor completely insane, as he starts repeating "FIMBULVETR" over and over (herein lies the trouble of Asgard, you can never be sure if it's just insane babbling or something Nordic and threatening). The appearance of Bobby's ex-girlfriends has also rattled Kitty, who isn't sure what she feels about her current relationship with Bobby as it is. Seeing all of his exes and the way that he reacts when they're around (he seems to forget that she's even there) confuses her and makes her think about Colossus again, who she knows wouldn't ever have acted that way. Of course, she says to Wolverine in their early morning feelings-chat (to Wolverine's dismay), Peter also helped try to destroy the world when he was Phoenix-possessed, so win some, lose some.

There was some talk, especially around the time of Schism and the creation of Wolverine's school, about Bobby seeing his potential. I think it's a really interesting discussion and is a really interesting question about Bobby's character. He has near limitless power, in a way, and everyone knows it. He's certainly gotten more powerful as time has gone by but he hasn't seen this sort of power at any time in his existence (save, maybe, the Age of Apocalypse Iceman in Remender's X-Force, but even that wasn't the Bobby we're talking about). Now he seems to be imbued with extra power but it's unknown to him and, arguably, it's not his power. On top of allowing fans to ask the question "is Bobby reaching his true potential?" this arc is going to ask plenty more questions. It's definitely a good follow-up to the major X-Termination event and will serve as a good link between a full event and a major story in a dedicated book.

Uncanny X-Force 4
Humphries (w) and Garney and Hanna and Alphona and Strain (a) and Gracia with Gonzalez (c)

Psylocke has entered Bishop's mind only to find that he's not really in control of it anymore. Instead, she's faced off against a couple of huge bears and an owl. The owl seems to be in control of the takeover and, after Psylocke battles with the bears for a bit, expels Betsy telling her that they're searching for a different psychic. That psychic, of course, is Ginny, the girl that Spiral has been protecting for some time. Spiral and Ginny have run off hoping that Puck, Psylocke, and Storm will successfully hold Bishop at bay long enough for them to escape but find that they are out of luck, as Bishop is in close pursuit and Spiral hasn't had enough rest to start teleporting them away yet. Spiral decides to take the fight to Bishop in a last stand of sorts, telling Ginny to run. After seeing Spiral take a few big hits, Ginny jumps into the fight anyway, controlling Bishop with her mind before being overpowered by the psychic owl in Bishop's mind. Ginny disappears as Bishop is released by the owl and bear. With no recollection of how he got there, Bishop is surprised as Puck knocks him out. Spiral begins to grieve while Psylocke demands she finish their fight. Storm calms Psylocke down before Psylocke can kill Spiral, who clearly has no intent of fighting back. The reader sees Ginny enter a hotel, with the owl speaking through her, and promptly take control of everyone she can find. Meanwhile, this whole issue serves as a backdrop to the Fantomex trinity (which is a rad name I picked up from the recap page), with Fantomex and Cluster deciding whether or not to aid Spiral while dark Fantomex gets the drop on them and attacks from behind. Hopefully more to come out of those guys.

The first arc winds down though the story clearly isn't over as Ginny is now possessed by the owl/bear duo (which reveals it's been lying in wait for over four thousand years) and Spiral, in the very least, will have something to say about that. The team itself could shape up to be a good one but it's still too early in the game to tell even what the team will be. If Spiral joins up, that will give an unpredictable ally who will force Betsy to stow her personal feelings about the villain. I will say that, at least for me, the most interesting aspect of the book so far is the Fantomex trinity and I feel we haven't gotten enough of them yet. I'd say we have about enough to rope us into their story but Humphries will need to expand on it in the coming issues to keep readers onboard. I think he will as their limited inclusion feels very deliberate to this point, but it will definitely play a role in the ultimate judging of this book.

Wolverine 3
Cornell (w) and Davis and Farmer (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

The mind control arc continues as Wolverine and new Nick Fury discuss the Watcher's sudden and brief appearance and the strange bullet in Wolverine's arm, respectively. Fury demands they operate on Wolverine to remove the bullet an study it, which leads to a somewhat arduous scene of Wolverine talking with some non-superpowered superhero experts including a superhero fight bookie, a comic book writer (LOL), a detective, a cataloguer of supers (dude, I just pretty much use Wikipedia and it almost ALWAYS has a good description of any superhero, even minor ones. Can you imagine the Wikipedia in the world where superheroes are actually REAL? This guy is SO easily replaced), and the head of Damage Control superhero clean-up crew (not superpowered, they just clean up after supers). Wolverine and Fury then speed off to a corrupt pharmaceutical plant where they've gotten reports the gun has zoomed off to. Wolverine sneaks in and gets a security guy on his side before they both try to break up the mind-controlled party, leading to nothing good. The other guy seems to die, Wolverine and Fury can't stop the gun and shipment from getting away, it all just goes wrong. The last scene shows the aliens (in human forms) using the shipment and explaining that it will help them to breed fast enough to multiply quickly. Weird.

I'm not sold on this series yet and I think probably my review of that shows. I tend not to have a lot of patience for convenient side characters who are so obviously just convenient side characters. If they're developed characters who happen to be on the side, cool, they're just people in our hero's life. But here, it's clear that it was Cornell saying "these people must exist in that world, I'm going to stuff them into a book where they probably don't belong." It's too bad too because I was interested when Wolverine introduced the bar as a place where people like him could go (which has never really been a problem for Wolverine). I like thinking about the ramifications of being a superhero on everyday life and about how they would possibly walk around on the streets and go anywhere, but I don't need to see the kitschy characters that go with those ideas. I still don't really know where the mind thing is going and this issue focused on enough ancillary stuff (like that team scene and Wolverine's fight with the other security guys, riddled with stock fight banter) that I got to the end a little less interested in what was happening. That's a bad place to be going into the thrilling next issue.