This week's picks

Lotta good books out there this week. Makes it tricky to pick the top three and it's helped none by the fact that so many books got full 5 star reviews from me, even some that didn't necessarily strike me as much as others (technical five stars count just as much as gut-feeling ones! That's all this is, really, gut feelings! And maybe I should stop bringing that up so much!). HOWEVER, as there were so many good books this week, I want to shine a light on a few different books, worthy of this list but would undoubtedly be unseated by the likes of BLACK WIDOW and MOON KNIGHT (both of which I do still wholeheartedly recommend). So let's talk about some different books this time.

New Warriors 4

NEW WARRIORS has an interesting story and some compelling characters, enough so that it would warrant a look even without the strong writing and art. Simply put, it feels like a book that's doing everything right so far. This one is certainly more of an all ages book than some of the other books/team books that are coming out right now (though parents be forewarned that there are some bleeped out swears here and there, mostly from Kaine, so if that's something you worry about your kids seeing, maybe read through the book yourself first, or maybe do that anyway?) but there's still plenty there for everyone. The characters are all worth learning about and the team has set itself up as something fairly diverse without going for blatant diversity. The book is the whole package, story, characters, writing, art, and everything else. Strong, strong book.

Punisher 5

There were a number of really fast-reading books out this week that struck a chord because of the pace at which they moved and the way that the art worked with the writing. PUNISHER was a prime example of this and reads extraordinarily well because of it. We're getting some good glimpses of character here and there (although Punisher is perhaps a character more set in his ways than most) and some really interesting story stuff. Mitch Gerads' art feels like a perfect fit for this story and for, really, any Punisher story that's ever happened. As opposed to going the common route of bigger and more cartoonish (that's not what all Punisher artists do but it's one of the directions some artists go in light of such big and brutal stories), Gerads' realism (even in the shape and design of someone like Castle) hits on a very poignant note and carries the series into a spot that lifts the series into another realm.




She-Hulk 4

I continually give Charles Soule a lot of credit for taking THUNDERBOLTS, a book that I thought had a fairly strong premise and a really interesting team but had already gotten bogged down into its own stories, and making it a book that was both exciting and really fun. Now he's jumped on to SHE-HULK and immediately made it his own, giving it the same tone of fun and excitement and real story-telling that's made THUNDERBOLTS such a success (look, I think it's a success, I don't know what the numbers say). Jennifer Walters is a delightful character who gets handed problems and finds ways to solve them. The writing is fun, the characters that support her work well with her, and the art is working wonderfully for the tone. Can't ask for anything more out of a series than that.

Superior Spider-Man 24, Scarlet Spider 25, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 8

Superior Spider-Man 24
Slott and Gage (w) and Ramos and Olazaba (a) and Delgado, Fabela, and Gandini (c)

The Venom symbiote has jumped on to Spider-Man and Flash tries to call it back, hoping he can coax it back to familiar territory before Spider-Man loses control. Doc Ock, though, assures everyone he can control it and attacks anyone who thinks otherwise, namely Cardiac. He points out that, if he couldn't control the symbiote, Cardiac would be dead instead of just seriously wounded. Sound logic. He decides to show the world his control of the symbiote by tracking down some crimes and brutally and efficiently stopping them. In the midst of doing this, Anna Maria calls him and he hurries to her, where she's upset that she's damaged his relationship with Aunt May. He vows to take care of it and storms to May and Jay's, where he immediately begins yelling at her for bombarding Anna Maria with questions. She relents but things get crazier as MJ, trying to obey Carlie's wishes on her voicemail, goes to warn May and Jay to stay away from Peter and also gets screamed at by Peter, who reveals the Venom symbiote and leaves. MJ contacts the Avengers as Carlier, deep underground with the Goblins, gets sprayed with the goblin serum.

There's almost too much happening here. There's not and it actually works pretty well as a coherent storyline and as a good example of Doc teaming with Venom but, for someone trying to summarize, there's almost too much happening here. Still, the majority of this issue is dedicated to showing Doc Ock with the Venom symbiote and the effects it's had on him. Though he swears he can control it and loves the additional power it grants him, it's clear that he's extremely unbalanced with the symbiote. Well, more so than usual. He's at everyone's throat and his rage is bubbling at the slightest provocation. Calling the Avengers in on him is certainly going to shake things up as they'll be tasked with taking down Spider-Man, already a worthy foe, powered up by the symbiote, a worthy foe in its own right. Interesting storyline and one that lets us see a slightly different side of Doc Ock, or perhaps an amplified side of him. I'd like to, before I wrap this review up, thank my incredibly aggressive autocorrect for not trying even once to correct the word "symbiote," even though its repeated use is clearly driving autocorrect nuts.

Scarlet Spider 25
Yost (w) and Baldeon (a) and Sotomayor (c)

The final issue of SCARLET SPIDER fluctuates between showing us the immediate aftermath of the explosion in Kaine's hotel and his new life in Mexico with Aracely. He was forced to flee Houston after saving the lives of everyone in the hotel room and below by webbing them all up and webbing up the falling debris on its way to Earth. When he hit the ground, he was attacked by Shathra, the Spider-Wasp that has had run-ins in the past with Peter but who was posing most recently as Annabelle to get close to Kaine. She's seemingly unstoppable and ready to kill anyone in between her and Kaine, namely Wally who tries to step up and protect him. Kaine refuses to let it happen and unleashes Prey, who dispatches Shathra quickly and extremely brutally. Everyone is horrified and Wally tells Kaine he has to leave, promising to take care of the police in Houston but that he cannot stay. So began Kaine and Aracely's journey into Mexico on the hunt for her parents. Kaine is back to where he started, albeit with the addition of Aracely and a world of now painful memories. He doesn't consider himself a hero and he doesn't believe he can get a happy ending. Fortunately, it's not entirely an ending for him as he'll pop up again in Chris Yost's NEW WARRIORS.

Fitting end to a really surprising series. Yost has really nailed down Kaine's character through the course of this book and has been sure to never stray too far from it. He had given Kaine friends and relationships and grudging amounts of friendship but he'd never allowed the darkness in Kaine to leave him or for him to feel fully comfortable in his new life. There was always the chance that Kaine would pick up and leave Houston at any given second but there was also always the chance that he'd stay forever, making his eventual forced exit all the more painful. Even still, in a somewhat depressing final note for the series, there are fun moments here and there, including a moment where Kaine, in Houston, yells that he's not a superhero before watching his Scarlet Spider costume, still impervious to the flames that are hanging around it, float down to him. There's a lot to really like about this series as a character study for Kaine and the book ends in exactly the sort of fashion it should. You like your superhero books to typically end on an up-note, telling us that the hero has done may worthwhile things and has learned from them and made a better world for everyone else, but this book would have felt a little wrong if it ended that way. The truth is Kaine ended up being pretty right. Maybe he's not a hero. Maybe he can't have a normal life. Maybe the evil clone of Spider-Man was never meant to do more. Good series, solid ending.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 8
Yost (w) and Sliney (a) and Fabela (c)

Fresh off the disappointment of losing control of his reformed Sinister Six and the fact that his arrogance nearly caused the death of millions, Spider-Man is in a bit of a more somber mood than we've found him since the death of Peter Parker. After examining himself and being thrust into self-doubt (wondering how Doc thought he could have done any better than Peter, who constantly beat him, among so many others), he's decided he's going to go to the Avengers and hand himself in, explain everything, and hope that they can reverse it still somehow (which would be the absolute cleanest way to get Peter back). On his way to Avengers Tower, he comes across Namor, hunted by invisible-to-the-naked-eye Hatut Zeraze in the war between Atlantis and Wakanda. Despite his negative feelings for Namor, Spider-Man jumps into the fight (able to see the Hatut Zaraze with his lenses) and gets the injured and protesting Namor out of harm's way. They bicker for a bit but eventually sit for a spell under the Brooklyn Bridge where Spider-Man reveals his doubts to Namor and Namor laughs at them, reminding Spider-Man that they are always more important and more powerful than the sheep they protect. The Hatut Zeraze show up there and Spider-Man again dispatches them but quickly learns that these aren't actually Hatut Zeraze, or at least not authorized by T'Challa or Shuri; these ones have been sent by some coward wishing to use the war as a way to attack Namor. These fighters are actually robots with self-destruct options inside, options that will destroy the bridge if they go off. Namor doesn't really care, saying that the perpetrators will face justice at some point, but Spider-Man wills himself to stop the bomb, reminding himself of the promise he made a dying Peter. Namor shares a moment with Spider-Man, telling him that he's shown true bravery and that his display here was superiority. Spider-Man punches him and tells him not to come back to his city, emboldened by his recent victory and even by Namor's words.

Okay, of the three books here, this shouldn't have been the longest summary. I do tend to slip into longer summaries when I'm excited about a book or when I get really interested in a book. This was just such a case as I found just about every beat of this issue to be delightful and a really well-thought out look into Ock's mind. Take Doctor Octopus, a crazy megalomaniac who believes himself to be the smartest person in any room. Now give him morals somewhat based on Peter Parker's unflinchingly good guy mentality. Now make that ego solely responsible for nearly destroying New York City. It wracks Ock with guilt and doubt and it's absolutely a perfect and logical step. However, it also means that Yost may have dug himself a hole because how do you make anyone break out of that? Who out there can both be considered a hero and can support the way the Superior Spider-Man parades himself? Who can have that same sort of ego and talk him out of his perceived inferiority? Well, Namor, of course. It's a great issue with a great premise and near perfect dialogue throughout. It's a much deeper look into this character than we're thus used to and, maybe, than we've had so far. Even the ending, which could very well have just copped out and had Spider-Man swinging away while Namor flies away as grudging allies, is pitch perfect as Spider-Man retakes his pride and punches Namor before demanding that he leave the city. Great issue, solid art and writing and character.

Comics this week!

OKAY GUYS, homestretch of these long release weeks before next week (Christmas Eve is the Wednesday) gives us just TWO NEW BOOKS. AND THEY'LL BOTH BE WORTH READING (prediction: they will both make my pre-game and post-game lists). This week promises a slew of new and interesting options for readers and, for some strange reason, another two AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 700.- issues. That is just a strange thing to be happening, you guys. Easy enough to pick out five most-anticipated though, as is this weekly entry's job. QUICK HITS TIME.

Daredevil 34
Barely making the pre-game this week over pleasant surprise LONGSHOT SAVES THE MARVEL UNIVERSE's conclusion, DAREDEVIL has been a phenomenal series overall and it's inching its way to its conclusion...before being renumbered with the same creative team. Okay, so it's not really a conclusion but PRESUMABLY we'll reach an end to an important storyline to justify the renumber. Matt will be back in New York this issue (I would assume) after snagging the magic needed to go after the Sons of the Serpent. Should be fun, this series always is.

Scarlet Spider 25
You want to talk about pleasant surprises, there's no better place to look than SCARLET SPIDER. A 25 issue run concludes as we see what will become of Kaine and his Houston co-stars as Chris Yost wraps up his extremely fun and always-intriguing tale of the dark Spider-Man clone gone good. Excited to see the end of this one, sad that it will be the end.

Thunderbolts Annual 1
Like with DEADPOOL ANNUAL a couple of weeks ago, this one makes the list thanks to its writing team of the Bens, Acker and Blacker, who write, among other things, the incredible THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR podcast (and the graphic novel which I still need to check out). Good news: DEADPOOL ANNUAL did not disappoint after I went in with high hopes for this team. Better news: I like THUNDERBOLTS more than I like DEADPOOL right now and I think, as a series, THUNDERBOLTS has portrayed the better Deadpool. Looking forward to it.

Uncanny Avengers 15
I dare you to find a pre-game list that doesn't include this book (don't look anywhere but this site though, in case it's very easy to find and I'm misinterpreting how important this book is). After the shocking conclusion of the last issue, this issue's importance can't be overstated (unless it can, which goes back to the last parenthetical aside). Not only are we racing towards the conclusion of a really long arc, we saw major characters die the last time out and now we'll have to see the effect of that. Don't miss this one.

Young Avengers 14
It pains me to say that we're only two issues away from the end of this series and the final issue will come just two weeks later. So incredibly sad to see this series, which has done so much in so little time, go. These two issues should be a lot of fun, though, as we get the afterparty for the entire series, with a ton of major young characters in the Marvel Universe heading out to the clubs. On top of that, we'll get a ton of big-name artists and colorists jumping in to highlight these final two issues. Very excited that a book that has changed the way stories can be told in comics will end with a two-part non-standard ending. Really love this book. If you haven't read it, pick up the trades when they're all released.

Superior Spider-Man 22, Scarlet Spider 24, Superior Carnage 5

Superior Spider-Man 22
Slott and Gage (w) and Ramos and Olazaba (a) and Delgado (c)

Flash Thompson is back in New York and on the trail of someone going by the name Crime Master, who he had recently fought in his own series and had rather brought his life to something of a stand-still. Meanwhile, Parker Industries has opened its doors and started work. Peter gives his first speech to the scientists (it's practically got super-villain written all over it) and meets with his Aunt May and Uncle Jay to show them around. He's called away from the offices (and from Anna Maria) by his Spider-Army, who alert him to Venom and Crime Master's fight. Venom has figured out that Crime Master isn't Betty Brant's brother, the most recent Crime Master, but some former Maggia guy who bought the name off of Hobgoblin and currently regrets it. Venom pretty easily takes this new Crime Master down a peg and the villain gives up when Spider-Man appears with a small battalion. But he's not there for Crime Master; he's there for Venom. Venom realizes that Spidey probably doesn't realize Venom's a good guy now and eventually is forced to show his face, revealing himself as Flash and hoping that's enough for Spidey but ultimately, this Spider-Man doesn't have any connection to the man and seems poised to kill anyway.

Pretty smooth issue, moves a little bit more quickly than the last handful of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN issues have and sets us up in a lot of different ways. We're no longer in the Parker Industries funding stages, nor in the doctorate-earning stages so we're able to move a little more efficiently through Doc Ock's newest plans. There's a nice character-defining line from Anna Maria as she points to Peter as someone who's quick to action, someone who goes out and does what he wants done and who takes what he wants taken. It's hard not to see that in stark contrast to OG Peter Parker who was constantly second-guessing himself and doubting himself on top of the difference in action vs. reaction we've talked about a lot in other reviews. There's also some more plot-building stuff than was highlighted above as Wraith discovers that Carlie's disappeared and her apartment's been ransacked with all of her notes on Peter similarly gone. She blames Spider-Man and vows to play as dirty as she thinks he's playing. Meanwhile, Jameson is sick of being under Spider-Man's thumb and supposedly has a plan to get out from under it. Plenty happening, plenty of groundwork laid for the next set of issues, and plenty of character development through it all. Pretty solid work.

Scarlet Spider 24
Yost and Burnham (w) and Baldeon (a) and Sotomayor (c)

Kaine still blames himself for Donald's injury and all of the guilt and the pressure he's felt from the start has reached its breaking point, leaving him frustrated and angry with himself, ready to throw away the Scarlet Spider persona for good. Both Annabelle and Aracely are firmly on his side but Wally feels differently, particularly after finally looking Kaine up in his police database and finding the laundry list of crimes attributed to him. After a long day of wallowing and being unable to burn his costume (unstable molecules), Kaine returns home to find Annabelle there, ready to make him feel better and taking a different and more sex-filled tact. While Aracely tries to not hear what's happening in the other room, she has another strange vision laced with plenty of ancient Central and South American imagery and claiming that either she has to die or everyone will die and the likes. As those events both wrap up, all hell breaks loose as Wally comes in to arrest Kaine, the real Annabelle shows up alongside a rocket-launcher-toting Zoe Walsh (unstable daughter of a Roxxon CEO who blames Scarlet Spider for his death but also has a thing for him from back in SCARLET SPIDER 7 or so), and the revealed-to-be-fake Annabelle transforms into a horrifying monster thing we've probably seen before but I don't remember off-hand. Amidst the chaos, Zoe fires her rocket, exploding the penthouse.

The final issue of Scarlet Spider, issue 25, is just around the corner and it shows here as the rising action really speeds to a climax here, bringing everyone who might want to have at Kaine together at once and then firing a rocket-launcher into the room. For all of its last-second action, sudden characters, and confusion, the issue does a really good job sticking to the themes of the book and getting right to the core of everything Kaine's been going through, perfectly summed up by the critical injury to Donald (WAIT, if Wally and Donald got married, would Wally become Walter Meland because that just came to me and I'll never be happy again if I don't decide that's what's going to happen). He's been going through a lot of this kind of reformed villain stress from the first moment of this book, where he didn't intend to be a hero or to stop in Houston and he can't help thinking about how much better everyone would be if he had stopped, unable to even consider that that wouldn't be true because Houston would have blown up like, ages ago if he wasn't there. A lot of really good stuff and the book develops in such a way that Yost and Burnham really get to explore that stuff before turning the jets on ramping up the action, which also has the added benefit of making the action seem incredibly chaotic and shocking the audience with how quickly it moves. Good stuff, looking forward to the final issue though also pretty sad that it's about to be over.

Superior Carnage 5
Shinick (w) and Segovia, Crisostomo, Ho, and Mexia (a) and JD Ramos and Lokus (c)

Klaw has been killed but it doesn't stop him from being our narrator for the issue. As a being made of pure sound, his death has transferred his consciousness and his abilities into the sound wall, making him a part of everything but with the knowledge that he'll continue dispersing, soon to lose his consciousness in the sounds. For now, though, he watches as Carnage runs rampant in his friend the Wizard's body. He outmatches Spider-Man and knows his secrets, he bests all of Spider-Man's men, he rips the legs from Malus, and he still demands to see his son. One of Spider-Man's men reveals that he's there and eventually Spider-Man is forced to play his trump card. To the Wizard's surprise, it's not Bentley-23 on-site but rather the "son" of Carnage, Cletus Kasady. Klaw explains that he's realized over time that Carnage feels the sort of betrayal a teenager feels, passed around from host to host, wanting to separate from everyone while maintaining some sort of link to someone. However, he adjusts it to include the fact that it's Carnage who has left his hosts behind, evolving and changing, but that he longs for someone he can fully control, someone designed especially for him, and that perfect host then is Kasady. Carnage rips itself off of Wizard and makes its way to Kasady as Spider-Man and his men use a specially designed gun to try to contain him. They can't get it running in time but Klaw uses his remaining power from the sound wall to project unbridled sound at the reunited Kasady and Carnage, allowing Spider-Man the chance to contain him. The book ends with the reveal that Wizard's dementia has stopped and, for all intents and purposes, he's doing better than before now that Carnage has seemingly fixed his mind to an extent; that Cletus Kasady's mind has been similarly fixed from his short time with Carnage, fixed enough at least to wake him out of his coma if not to make him less crazy; and that Spider-Man has Carnage under his control for now.

Solid ending to what turned out to be a pretty compelling and well executed story. I wasn't terribly optimistic at the start after the first issue didn't exactly win me over but Shinick had a story that was pretty good and clearly wanted to play with a couple of characters in unexpected ways, showing Wizard as a broken man who wants nothing more than to impress his son, showing Klaw as an extremely loyal and very capable villain right up to the end, and showing Carnage in probably the most complex light it's ever been cast in. Instead of a somewhat mindless and blood-thirsty beast, Carnage has a whole range of purported emotions that have left it an efficient and extremely calculating killer. There's a lot of really good stuff to this and the Carnage bent, not entirely unlike the Deadpool-based but rather silly series (like DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, DEADPOOL KILLUSTRATED, and DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL), aims to continue, albeit with less of a silly tone than the Deadpool books and more of a "oh dear god why is this happening tone," with the next Carnage-based series (following up CARNAGE, CARNAGE USA, and now SUPERIOR CARNAGE) revealed as CARNAGE HOMECOMING. Get ready for a lot more Cletus Kasady.

Superior Spider-Man 20, Scarlet Spider 23

Superior Spider-Man 20
Slott (w) and Camuncoli and Dell (a) and Fabela (c)

Doc Spidey has a lot on his plate at present. His time with Horizon Labs is officially ended and its put him on the job hunt once more but, being Otto Octavius and not Peter Parker, he has some big plans for that. He intends to start his own company, Parker Industries, with girlfriend Anna Maria Marconi and former Horizon scientist Sajani Jaffrey at his side. On his way to tell Anna Maria, Spider-Man runs into sometimes-villain, sometimes-hero, sometimes-lover Black Cat and, unlike what the cover would have you believe, swiftly beats her up and webs her for the authorities. Obviously, Black Cat is furious and swears to never forget this. Meanwhile, Carlie Cooper has what she believes is definitive proof of something weird with Spidey now that she's found a paper trail (albeit from suspicious sources) linking Spider-Man to Doc Ock's bank accounts. She calls MJ to warn her to stay away from Peter and that she should tell May and Jay to stay clear too. MJ is busy, though, trying to learn more about the firefighter who saved her life during her nightclub's fire. Finally, Peter goes to present his doctoral thesis, his last step in becoming Dr. Peter Parker. After a seemingly very successful presentation, Dr. Lamaze gleefully jumps up and calls Peter a fraud, saying that he's simply stolen the unpublished work of the late, great Otto Octavius. He swears to have Parker expelled for this and Doc realizes that this could ruin everything he's worked for unless he stops Lamaze somehow.

One of the really interesting things about this series has been Slott's systematic destruction of everything in Peter's life pre-Superior. It's typically come in little waves, with the hero community becoming a little suspicious of him and kind of wavering back and forth on their acceptance of him, followed by his friends getting sick of his new attitude, followed by this and that and so on. This is another great example as Doc absolutely ruins Black Cat. Slott and Camuncoli leave absolutely no room for discussion about it; it's a solid beat-down, remarkably swift and pretty brutal. Honestly, if they hadn't brought Black Cat into it, I probably wouldn't have thought about her as such a staple in his life; she just kind of comes and goes into it as she pleases. Now that it's been brought up and so thoroughly dispatched, though, I realize how important she is to Peter and how jarring this attack is. It's another example of a well-thought out and well-realized story for Slott. I think, as fans, we're all kind of aware that Peter Parker will SOMEHOW, at some point, come back. Of course, it's not a guarantee but it's as close to a guarantee as comics can make. The fact Doc has stuck around this long (ten months now, impressively) has been a remarkable show of restraint. Still, it leaves fans looking at these situations going "gee, that's gonna be tough for Peter to clean up" and the like, but issues like this one make it very clear that Slott knows what he's doing with these characters. Doc Ock isn't treating it like he's a placeholder for Peter; he is Peter now and he intends to stay as Peter forever, hence Parker Industries and his insistence that he become Dr. Peter Parker, even if it means sitting through school again. Really good stuff here and a very complete issue.

Scarlet Spider 23
Yost and Burnham (w) and Baldeon (a) and Sotomayor (c)

It's Kaine vs. Kraven in Kraven's newest hunt that can only be ended by one killing the other. To ensure that Kaine doesn't simply walk away, what with his newfound hero personality, Kraven has tied up all of Kaine's friends and swears to kill them if Kaine doesn't go along. Kraven is still a force to be reckoned with and it proves hard for even Kaine, stronger and faster than Spider-Man, to keep up. He continues to insist that he won't give in, that he won't kill Kraven, but the situation gets more and more dire. Kraven believes that Kaine is the only one who can kill him, as its Kaine's blood that brought him back from the grave in the first place and won't allow Kaine to leave until the deed is done. As they fight, Kraven sends Ana to kill one of Kaine's friends. She chooses Donald Meland and slashes him through the stomach. Furious, Kaine tries to go to him but Kraven holds him back, swearing that Ana will kill all of his friends before this is through. Kaine promptly kills Kraven with a force palm to the chest and rushes to his friends, slashing Ana across the face first. He tries to save Meland and eventually cuts his other friends down so they can help (particularly Meland's husband Officer Wally Layton). Kaine, meanwhile, goes back to Kraven and resuscitates him, bringing him back to life. Now, Kaine reasons, that he's killed him, just like Kraven wanted, and now any connection between them is through. Wally manages to stop the bleeding enough to transport Donald to the hospital but the surgeries are very touch and go and it's hard to say whether he'll live or not. Wally, through with Kaine, researches him for the first time in a superhuman criminal law enforcement database and learns about his past.

Tons happening in this issue and it's really a tremendous book. As much as I was bummed by Venom ending last week, I think I might be more broken up about this book when it comes to its end in the coming months. There's such a solid feel throughout this book and such a nice core to it. Kaine's a very complicated character and this is a great arc for him, as he has to directly face his past as a killer, something he decidedly doesn't want to be any more. It's been a nice transformation for him as the series has progressed, especially considering its start. Kaine was simply leaving New York so he wouldn't be apprehended or anything of that nature; he never intended to stay in Houston, let alone America, and to be dragged into his "brother's" heroic ways. But here he is, doing whatever it takes to try to save his friends and finding out that sometimes it's just not enough. It's a really well-written issue here as there has to be just enough sentimentality placed towards his friends and the way they view him without going too overboard and becoming repetitive. It works well and it creates a good picture of the new Kaine. The fighting is extremely well-paced and we see the pain in Kaine as Kraven works him over for a while before Kaine finally unleashes and immediately defeats Kraven and Ana. There's plenty happening here and it'll be interesting to see where we go from here.

Scarlet Spider 22, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 3, Ultimate Spider-Man 27

Scarlet Spider 22
Yost and Burnham (w) and Baldeon, Olliffe, Green, Pallot, and Olazaba (a) and Sotomayor and Loughridge (c)

Kaine's stuck facing off against Kraven, who is in typical recent-days Kraven mode; he still wants/needs the hunt but boy does he want to die. We get a bit of history as we hear how Kaine got involved in the life of the Kravinoffs and Kraven, disappointed in Kaine's first showing, says (over loudspeakers at the zoo he's brought Kaine to) that he wants to draw the animal out from Kaine before leaving him to deal with his daughter. To do it, his daughter has captured all of Kaine's friend and has told Kaine she's killed them (all except Aracely). Kaine viciously attacks her, ready to kill her for what she's done. Right as he's about to give up, though, he remembers the strong influences in his life and holds off. She tells him where Kraven is and Kaine quickly makes his way there to find that his friends aren't dead. Yet, anyway. Kraven wants to fight and he's holding Kaine's friends, ready to kill them should Kaine refuse the fight.

There's a lot of history here which might bog down some readers who know the whole story backwards and forwards but let's not act like that wasn't a ridiculously confusing storyline when it happened, let alone a few years removed from it. The recap, then, is pretty useful and maybe more than a little necessary. It moves well and doesn't slow the pacing too much. The battle Kaine has been struggling with since the start of this series really comes full force here as he has to pull himself back right from the brink of murdering Ana Kraven. The Kravinoffs tend to bring out the worst in Spider-Men and this is no different. Solid issue and, though the set-up shouldn't be unfamiliar to people who have, you know, read a comic book before, there's a chance for very interesting resolution as it impacts both Kraven and Scarlet Spider. Plus, if this series truly is winding down, we're going to have to start learning about Aracely sooner rather than later, so be on the lookout for that any time now.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 3
Rodi (w) and Del Mundo (a and c)

We check in with Spider-Man as he works with the Mighty Avengers against Thanos' invading army. He's momentarily pulled away from the action when one of his spider-bots reports a surge of power in a nearby library. Spider-Man goes to check it out only to find that it's a medieval studies student who has been somehow transformed by a green mist into an electricity-based super-person. She loathes technology but suddenly finds herself thrust into it. Spider-Man doesn't really have time to sort her out but he's entranced by the idea of studying her. For the moment, he explains to her that she can likely travel via the electrical grid (like the other electricity-based super-people he's met) and tells her to meet him downtown. When he gets downtown, he realizes, thanks to messages she's broadcasting through all available electronics, that she doesn't know how to get out of the grid. She quickly learns a bit about the situation, though, as she then realizes the potential of the power she wields and begins destroying all the electronics nearby, promising to plunge the world back into the Middle Ages.

Not a bad plot here and Spider-Man is written particularly well; condescending as ever and ready to leave a fight with Thanos to explore his own interests, Spider-Man is every bit the Spider-Man we've seen in Slott's book and elsewhere. The character, who names herself Fulmina at Spider-Man's insistence that she adopt a new name to replace Sylvia Prell, is perhaps a little overblown (does anyone really think the Middle Ages were a better time to live?) but she serves the story as well as she needs to. The art is pretty good and the colors are particularly interesting as they give everything a slightly faded feeling, like it's dusk or perhaps there's a bit of dust on our lens. Not sure how much of a lasting story we'll get out of this (or indeed, this entire book) but I'm not sure we're looking for big lasting stories here. This is strictly a team-up book; maybe it will crossover with other Spidey books at times but I'm pretty sure we're not in this for the meaningful stories. We're in it to learn about character and this does that pretty nicely. Solid entry to the young series (that feels not-so-young on the heels of Avenging Spider-Man).

Ultimate Spider-Man 27
Bendis (w) and Marquez (a) and Mounts w/ Ponsor (c)

Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, and Bombshell have been paralyzed by a banned HYDRA device used by the Taskmaster. Spider-Man manages to anger Taskmaster enough that Taskmaster hits him, knocking him free of the device's range long enough to get back in the game and save his teammates, freeing them from the paralyzer as well. The Spiders fight Taskmaster as Bombshell runs away. They begin to learn, little by little, that Taskmaster absorbs power and redirects it, making Spider-Man's venom blasts particularly weak against Taskmaster but allowing him to use it on them. Bombshell doubles back to help the Spiders but ends up powering Taskmaster even more. Of course, the same thing happens all over again as Cloak and Dagger arrive on the scene. Fortunately, Cloak wraps Taskmaster up before too much more damage can be done. Spider-Woman does some quick research on her phone and learns that Taskmaster is a hired killer who was, in this case, hired by Roxxon. She advises they bring the fight to Roxxon and expose them for what they are.

Mostly a fight scene issue, which isn't bad for a book that has had its main character take a year off (though it was only, like, two issues in our world). A little bit of action was in the cards for this book and it comes here as Spider-Man has to pull out all the stops (many of which he doesn't remember because he's been prematurely retired for a year) to beat the energy absorber. It means that there's a whole lot of web-slinging in this issue, though not ever super successfully. Still, the banter here borders on, if not fully crosses the line into, excessive and it makes the characters all sound mostly the same. Remove names and gendered pronouns and read this script and you probably could not guess who was saying what at any given time, which is a worry for a book that, in its long run (with the volumes before this and up through this one), has wanted to make a real character out of its protagonist. I'm not an endorser of back-and-forth dialogue in comics, which this book obviously has (note the writer), but I feel I should qualify that by saying I'm fine with it used sparingly or with certain characters. If every character is using it and/or using it all the time, no one manages to sound particularly different and the book is slowed tremendously, which is the opposite feeling you're intending to get out of back-and-forth dialogue. It doesn't work used often on a page. No real surprises here.

Scarlet Spider 21, Ultimate Spider-Man 26

Scarlet Spider 21
Yost and Burnham (w) and Barberi, Baldeon, Pallot, and Olazaba (a) and Sotomayor (c)

Kaine has returned home from his trips to Westchester and New York City only to find himself afflicted with the degenerative disease he had thought gone long before. It's driving him a bit mad and he's snapping under the pressure. Meanwhile, each of his friends is hunted down and attacked (hunted down, that's a clue). While Kaine webs around the city, looking for some sort of relief, he's attacked by Ben Reilly, the original Scarlet Spider and the first successful Spider-Man clone (a. Kaine was the first clone but had the degenerative problem at first so Ben was the first one to be a complete success and b. that guy has a bunch of clones, geez). Kaine isn't prepared for the fight and finds himself quickly on the losing side. He escapes to gather his mind. He's convinced the attacker isn't really Ben Reilly, who he thought dead, but has no way to prove it. Reilly catches up with him (hunts him, almost) and rips off the mask to reveal that it is indeed Ben Reilly. Kaine puts up a good fight but his powers are degenerating and he eventually gives up again. This time, though, Reilly reveals that, psych, he's not actually Reilly and Kaine is just seeing things because of the heavy hallucinogenic dart he was hit with back at the airport and his attacker is actually Kraven the Hunter (Kraven's daughter has been attacking Kaine's friends one by one).

I wasn't sold on how fast Kaine decided he was losing his powers because I felt like there would be more skepticism to how fast the disease returned, with no warning, and how quickly it affected him. However, I think now that it works out pretty well as it leads to a bit of a breakdown on Kaine's part, which all works together to show how tightly strung Kaine is and how he's only barely managing to hold things together. In that respect, I think this plot works pretty well and it's a solid build for the arc and the character. Kaine has developed a decent little life for himself and if you remove Prey and the incident that caused it, he's been really very successful at turning his life around. But you can't remove those incidents and you can't remove his recent shake-up with Spider-Man and Jackal so he's understandably on a bit of a precipice here. It's certainly not going to help that he's up against the Kravinoffs, the family who killed him during Grim Hunt (guys, he came back, no big deal). Should be an interesting arc.

Ultimate Spider-Man 26
Bendis (w) and D. Marquez (a) and Ponsor (c)

Miles is back on the scene as Spider-Man and he and Jessica Drew team-up to find Bombshell after her fight with Cloak and Dagger. The story is interspersed with Bombshell's origin story and the goings-on at Roxxon as a result. Bombshell's mother had been in prison for armed robbery when Roxxon got her out in order to use her as a test subject in their attempts to create a new super soldier. She consents and they begin testing. It doesn't result in a super soldier like Cap was but does grant her the power to create explosions with her hands. Immediately after the first successful test, a scientist reveals that she's pregnant and Bombshell's mother breaks out of the facility. Seemingly she went on to live her life and give birth to her child without Roxxon nearby, though it seems they've been keeping tabs because Bombshell's name appears on a list of Roxxon test subjects, a list that Cloak and Dagger got a hold of in the hopes they could take down Roxxon. Meanwhile, Roxxon has hired a bounty hunter of sorts, codename Taskmaster, to track and bring back Bombshell and Cloak and Dagger. The issue ends after Bombshell's told her story to the Spiders and Taskmaster manages to knock all three unconscious.

There's plenty going on here and there's a lot to like about this issue. I do think there's still a bit of that back-and-forth dialogue that gets in the way of the good stuff but it feels a little more at home in this issue, as there's less fighting and fewer characters, meaning that it doesn't feel as excessive as it does when five or six people are doing it in one scene. Still, apart from that, the story is interesting enough and there are nice touches here and there to help build character. There's a joke that gets played out twice (which is the perfect amount, it will get annoying if it comes around again later) as Spider-Man misses Bombshell with his web and has to frustratedly explain to doubters that he's out of practice. There's also a scene between Cloak and Dagger which is good in explaining their motives a bit more and expressing their concerns with their own plan, though it does get a little weakened by its cutesy back-and-forth. Still, overall a good issue with some really good art and a solid plot to build on.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 2, Scarlet Spider 20

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 2
Yost (w) and Checchetto (a) and Rosenberg (c)

What a fortuitous week where we get one crossover event that starts AND finishes in one fell review. That's right, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up gets its very first crossover in its whopping two issues, crossing with Scarlet Spider, who is no stranger to crossovers nor team-ups (kind of weird, for such a lone wolf, that maybe half of his issues have found him teamed up with some other hero. Usually that's not exactly a sign of good sales but I hope that's not the case as I've come to really like that book). Kaine is in New York following his last team-up with Wolverine and decides to pay his twin a visit only to find that Peter is very angry to see his clone. Kaine isn't thrilled by this but he reluctantly gets it, going so far as to recognize that he has plenty of sins to atone for but still confused as to why this is happening now, on the heels of getting Peter's more-or-less approval which kicked off the Scarlet Spider series twenty issues ago. I have a feeling that sentence didn't make a lot of sense but I guess we'll just have to deal with that. Anyway, this is Superior Spider-Man Team-Up, so WE KNOW WHY HE'S SO MAD! Doc Ock's only encounter with Kaine ended with Doc dead (to be resurrected later by the Hand, back in the Clone Saga) and he still has a bone to pick about that. So he's attacking Kaine, Kaine's attacking back, and Jackal, meanwhile, has his own plans that involves capturing both of them, which he's able to do with his spider mutants and clones of Captain and Gwen Stacy, which is a predictably low blow, or would be if Doc Ock had any care for her.

Intriguing idea and putting Scarlet Spider, the clone of Peter Parker, face to face with Doc Ock in Peter's body has been a long awaited and exciting idea. The vitriol Doc feels for Kaine is par for the course while we've been hanging out with his superior Spider-Man but that's a pretty neat thing to get to say in and of itself. I won't stop singing the praises of Christopher Yost any time soon but he's been particularly adept at working with characters who have been established by others and writing them in a near pitch-perfect way. Doc has been no exception in the times he's written him (throughout Avenging Spider-Man's last several issues and now here, in Superior Spider-Man Team-Up) and it's just such a comfort to know you have a writer who isn't going to confuse you about why a character suddenly sounds the way he or she does. Anyway, Kaine is solid as always and the Jackal is exactly the right amount of crazy for his character. What is he planning? When oh when will we find out?

Scarlet Spider 20
Yost and Burnham (w) and I. Lee w/ Oliffe and Bit (a) and I. Lee w/ Loughridge (c)
Epilogue (I and II): Yost and Burnham (w) and Medina and Vlasco (a) and Loughridge (c)

Right now, as it happens! That's...that's when we'll find out. That punchline really requires you read the last review and aw geez I hope you did. If you didn't, read the last two-three sentences of the last review, read the first sentence of this one, then don't read these two, just skip to the next one starting after this period. Jackal wants Spider-Man's DNA (he's willing to take Kaine's too but it's less meaningful as he's just a clone, you know? Hurtful words, Jackal), as he typically does. He has Kaine and Spidey chained up and tells them he's already gotten all the DNA he needs (including inferring that he might have gotten sperm samples from Spider-Man too which is BEYOND ICKY) and also that they can't break out. Of course, at that moment, Kaine is busy breaking out. He knows the fight is too one-sided with Spider-Man still chained and, though he doesn't understand his behavior today, he breaks him free too. Spidey assists in the fight for a bit until he sees his opportunity to kill every bird with one stone, blowing up the machinery next to all the DNA samples which, in turn, blows up pretty much everything around. Spidey gets out unscathed and is awful proud of himself for destroying everything and everyone inside when Kaine busts out, yelling at him. Kaine leaves him saying that he's fully aware he's not a hero but Spider-Man sure is and he should probably act like one. There are two epilogues to end this book which plant us back in Kaine's life to end this issue of Scarlet Spider, where he arrives home in Houston and begins developing symptoms of his degenerative disease again (once thought beaten but now it seems he might be going through it again, #cloneproblems) while epilogue two shows us that Jackal and Carrion (who was the villain of Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 1 and also working for Jackal) survived the blast and Jackal even managed to keep a vial of Kaine DNA.

I don't know when I started drifting back to nearly-full summaries but don't worry, I didn't give everything about this issue away. Well, I gave away most of the plot. But really, did you think that Spider-Man and/or Scarlet Spider were going to die in this kind of unadvertised crossover? Me neither. What I didn't tell you is really the meat of why you should check out this comic. The art is pretty incredible photo-realistic and the fight itself is impressive. There are a lot of telling moments to add depth to both Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider including their thoughts on clones, which is a pretty interesting ethical question. We also get a really great (if rather short) fight between Kaine and Carrion and both issues show a great understanding of this new dynamic between Kaine and notPeter. Don't expect them to be friends after this, as much as some of us might want it (siiiiiigh).

Superior Spider-Man 14, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 1, Scarlet Spider 19

Superior Spider-Man 14
Slott (w) and Ramos and Olazaba (a) and Delgado (c)

The Superior Spider-Man has officially established himself as a force in the new Marvel Universe and now, with the backing (or blackmailing, I suppose) of the mayor, he's waging a one-man war on the crime bosses of the city. He's been taking them down quietly throughout the series, in the background of other, more intricate stories, but now he's at full-on war. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Jameson granted him use of the Raft last issue as a base and he's already enhanced that by creating weapons and hiring a veritable army of henchmen. His first stop on this new power tour? Shadowland to remove the Kingpin. However, patiently waiting out Spider-Man's purge of the underworld is the Green Goblin, whose army is snapping up the underlings of every fallen organization to build a rather impressive force of his own. Will Spider-Man turn his attention to Goblin too late?

This is certainly a very interesting story and anyone nervous that Doc Ock might too quickly discover his humanity and turn into just a jerkier version of Spider-Man is probably feeling pretty assuaged of that fear right now. This is clearly not the same Spider-Man Peter Parker was. He's not the ever-innocent young man who finds himself caught up in desperate problems and may regret the innocent way out later. This is a guy who solves the problem the most permanent way he can, someone who sees black and white in terms of what's right and wrong and who acts on it, even if it's not particularly popular. It's kind of Punisher like, but if Punisher was very slightly more concerned with who he kills (Spider-Man often doesn't deal with lower criminals, hence why so many henchmen are escaping to join up with Goblin) and if Punisher was an awful lot smarter. When this series was announced, I saw it going a lot of different ways. I'm happy to say that this isn't one of them. I don't know who would have predicted that Doc Ock actually becoming a superior Spider-Man in maybe not-so-savory ways was coming to us with the death of Peter Parker, but I'm certainly not disappointed by it. It's a nice change of pace for the book in general and it's an even nicer change from what I expected to get (which mostly ended up going back to "Peter will be back within six months." We've officially passed that deadline and, while it's certainly not unlikely that Peter will return sooner or later, the book is moving really well.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 1
Yost (w) and D. Lopez and A. Owens (a) and Rosenberg (c)

The days of the Avenging Spider-Man are over. Spider-Man doesn't really avenge any more, preferring instead to strike first, and the Avengers have him on probation anyway (my girlfriend pointed out to me that he's still appearing regularly in Avengers, though. My theory is essentially that if you have a world threatening problem on your hands, are you really going to not call Spider-Man? Seems awfully petty. Really, not sure what "probation" means for the Avengers. You don't have access to Jarvis?). However, he's still out heroing which means he's still going to interact with other heroes pretty often, and maybe some other villains, especially considering the way he was gathering them up at the end of Avenging Spider-Man. At the start of this series, though, he appears to have gone crazy, attacking and beating up many of the city's superheroes in what looks, from the outside, like something of a power play to show who is who in this Universe. But not everything is as it seems and, while it's a step above the old comics that had a cover showing the Avengers fighting only to reveal on the first page that they were fighting in the training room, comic readers will probably take to the explanation pretty quickly. That said, the book has kicked off pretty successfully with Christopher Yost again proving why he's one of my favorite people on this Earth with his delightful comics and the long-standing appreciation I have for him after the amazing Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (my appreciation for him and that show has only gone up after watching as much as I could bear of the truly awful Avengers Assemble cartoon that took its place).

Despite what I said above about the reason Spidey's attacking heroes being somewhat predictable, it's delivered in such a manner that it keeps the audience guessing until the reveal, wherein the reader goes "oh, of course it's just that." It doesn't hurt that no one is quite sure what to make of Superior Spider-Man right now and we're all waiting for the penny to drop with Doc Ock at the helm, so it's not unbelievable to the audience particularly (but even to the Avengers) that he would go around showing his strength by putting down the other heroes. Yost is also careful not to explain until he has to, not even giving Spider-Man any significant lines until he has to exposition a bit. Issue one is certainly a fun ride and the art helps the book stand apart. Running afoul of the Avengers again does make Spidey recognize the usefulness in having a team but he refuses to be a part of a team like that. Doc Ock doesn't play particularly well with others; he plays fairly well above others. Don't be surprised to see him using his own team in less of a "team" fashion and more of a "I will make you do what I tell you to do" sort of fashion. No guarantees, but it certainly fits more. Still, good first issue, solid writing and nice character ideas to boot.

Scarlet Spider 19
Yost and Burnham (w) and Barberi, Wong, Pallot, and Bit (a) and Lokus, Soto, and Fabela (c)

Kaine and Wolverine are still in the heat of battle against the Assassin's Guild and the matter is complicated more by the appearance of the mysterious Red Death, someone who had been killed by the X-Men at some point in the past, according to a little bit of a flashback for Wolverine. The Assassin's Guild is caught totally off-guard by her and isn't quite sure how to proceed. Belladonna wants to stay in her good graces and work alongside her, fearing her retribution, while many in the Guild seem to think Wolverine and Kaine have a good shot at killing her, keeping them potentially alive. Kaine and Wolverine continue to interact pretty flawlessly with one another and the writing is quick and fun. The threat itself is pretty intimidating as well, which helps the book. Kaine uses a bit of wily thinking and he and Wolverine work well together (making it honestly a little sad that they've sworn never to work together again, a promise that I can't imagine will be broken given the ending of this issue). Still, there seems almost no respite as they have to battle the Red Death herself and, if they should happen to survive that fight, they'll still be facing the Assassin's Guild. Read the issue to find out if and how they manage it.

The thing that impresses me most about Christopher Yost is the ease that he seems to have slipping into characters. Everyone he writes has their moments of humor, like everyone in real life, all while sticking to their basic character. Obviously Kaine and Spider-Man are both characters he writes regularly, so there aren't many surprises there, but even when he throws guests into any of the books (which he's had to do with regularity, particularly since the Spider-Man book he writes is entirely made up of guest appearances), he manages to write them within their own character but in a manner that slides so well into the tone of the book and alongside the tone of his main character. It was certainly what drove Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the dialogue between characters and the way that they fit alongside one another, and it continues to work perfectly in the books he gets involved in. Scarlet Spider is reaching its 20th issue and is really roaring along. Each issue is interesting in some way or another and the characters have developed nicely, particularly Kaine and Aracely. This book is always entertaining and always worth reading. Just a fun book.

Deadpool 12, Fury MAX 13, Scarlet Spider 18

Deadpool 12
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Hawthorne, Gorder, and Lucas (a) and Staples (c)

The Vetis storyline comes to a close as Deadpool is forced to fight the demon who is supercharged with the souls that Deadpool has retrieved for him. The fight is certainly a losing one for Deadpool, who is severely outmatched but Michael appears from Hell at just the right time, now dressed in all white and looking a bit more refined than crazy. Michael begins casting spells to help Deadpool but he'll need more time to be able to destroy Vetis. Mephisto shows up and berates Vetis, who slices the demon's head off pretty quickly. Michael gives Deadpool the chance to kill Vetis by stabbing him in the chest, which Deadpool promptly does, freeing all the souls that he'd taken, including, apparently, Ben's. Mephisto, pleased with how the day has turned out, offers Preston and Deadpool a deal; he'll give her her body back if she'll just ask for his help. She thinks it over but ultimately decides that they can find a way that doesn't involve the devil. Deadpool gets a vote too and goes the same way. Mephisto leaves, saying the deal is still on the table. Michael and Deadpool snipe at each other for a bit as Michael is angry that Deadpool killed him and left him in Hell for years (time moves slower there, is the description, but it might mean faster and look, I don't know, you get it though, right?) and Deadpool is angry that Michael doesn't understand it was the only way and that look, it's all worked out. Ben goes to help Michael, who storms out of Deadpool's head (this is where the negotiation between Mephisto took place) while Preston stays to comfort Deadpool, swearing that she'll help him, now that his mental block is down and he might start remembering horrible things again.

Like I'd said, this arc is way better than the first one though the idea kind of rings the same (Deadpool has to go all over the place killing superpowered beings while a bigger evil boss-battle waits for him at the end). The writing still isn't blowing me away and a lot of the jokes feel forced and unnecessary. There are far fewer quips and annoying jokes than in the first arc, which is a welcome relief. I understand that Deadpool kind of asks for this sort of writing but it often comes off as overkill. Hopefully as we move forward with his memories kind of coming back through his mental block, we'll start seeing a slightly deeper Deadpool. The shallow Deadpool is fine for team-ups or one-shots but a series needs to bring more depth to him than this one has. They've given themselves a way to open that up a bit, which would certainly help the series.

Fury MAX 13
Ennis (w) and Parlov (a) and Loughridge (c)

It's 1999 and George Hatherly, Fury's friend, is dying. Shirley goes to visit him in the hospital and ends up complaining to him about her life. They're both old now and neither of them has the Infinity Formula that Fury has so they look it (actually, I just found out that this series is on a separate Earth than the 616, one that correlates to Punisher MAX and so on, a world without superheroes and so forth. Probably should have known all along but it didn't really matter. However, that makes this a different Fury and one who may not have that formula; he just may still look better than anyone else his age). Shirley complains that Pug has a mistress living with them and bemoans the fact that she had to marry Pug, but that he was still a better choice than Fury would have been. Hatherly admits that he always thought she was lovely, which kind of sends her over the edge, knowing that there was a good man out there for her that presented a third and altogether more attractive road than either of her other thoughts. Fury attends Hatherly's funeral but is ignored by almost everyone there, angry that he didn't ever visit Hatherly in the hospital. Hatherly's granddaughter approaches him, knows who he is and understands, through Hatherly, why Fury never went to visit. She tells him that George had told her a little about what they'd done and had gotten sad talking about it, said that they'd started off with the best intentions but that everything had gone wrong and it was all pointless. She wants to know what the intentions were or why they felt they needed them. The comic detours away from the answer for a moment, giving us instead an encounter between Fury and former enemy combatant Letrong Giap from Vietnam. The two talk beside the Vietnam Memorial, walking through the sights of DC. It's a rather lovely talk about war and about what soldiers believe and how they're treated. He eventually wishes Fury well, shaking hands with him as they depart. We see into Shirley's home where she's just dropped a glass bottle of vodka. Pug's mistress comes in, gets a drink, and leaves, leaving Shirley behind to drink from another bottle of vodka. The scene turns very dark in ways I don't really want to describe for younger readers but ends with Shirley killing both the mistress and Pug before she calls Fury, a little delirious, and kills herself. Fury eventually makes it to Shirley's home and finds the cops clearing everything up. We see him recording again, years later, and decrying the fact that he just can't seem to die. He wanted war, the girl, and the victory and he only chose one. We cut back to his answer to George's granddaughter which involves the first meeting between Fury and Hatherly, where Hatherly genuinely believed that he was signing up for the job because he owed a debt to the past and a responsibility to the future, symbolized by the American flag which shows blood on the bandaged wounds of brave men and all the stars in the sky. The series ends with a portrait shot of Fury, alone in a dark room with a microphone and a gun on the table next to him.

Really heartbreaking ending. It goes nicely along with everything else this series has done and gives a cold, hard look at a very dark man. Nick Fury is one of the most interesting characters in any Marvel Universe, when done right. He's the guy who has plans within plans, wheels within wheels, and so on. He's never totally in a corner because he's always planned for that corner and has an idea of how to get out of it. This series shows the times his plans only led to darker corners and deeper holes. It would be depressing for any character but it seems more so for Fury. Add to that the questions that we saw recently in Greg Rucka's Punisher: War Zone series that had Thor telling Punisher that his war had left him behind and that he knows what it feels like to be a warrior without a war. That's very much Fury, who continues to find his own wars in this and leaves everything else behind, no matter the cost. It's depressing and it's heartbreaking and it's kind of wonderful.

Scarlet Spider 18
Yost (w) and Barberi and Wong w/Garza (a) and Lokus (c)

Kaine has just killed Wolverine and one of the Assassin's Guild's spies has seen it happen. He's seen Wolverine's heart stop and the X-Men surround Kaine and Wolverine. Belladonna calls the spy home just in time for him to miss Beast restarting Wolverine's heart as he heals. Wolverine agrees to help Kaine take down the Guild and understands his reasons. Aracely had gone into young Jean Grey's head and told her that Kaine needed to kill Wolverine for the Assassin's Guild outside. Jean psychically reported this to Wolverine and Wolverine accepted. Now the two, leaving Aracely at the school, have taken off for the Guild. Aracely is talking non-stop to the mutants and asking all sorts of questions. Hank is running tests on her and has determined that she has another entity living inside her body. Meanwhile, Kaine and Wolverine enter the Assassin's Guild, stealthily killing a few guards inside before they're found out and descended upon. The fight becomes much harder but they continue to push forward, eventually finding Belladonna, who screams that the Red Death is coming because of these events and she's eventually, an inch away from being killed by Kaine, proven correct as the Red Death, a very powerful woman, appears, killing some of Belladonna's henchmen quickly and aiming at Kaine and Wolverine.

This is one of the only team-ups we've gotten between Kaine and someone who actually knows Spider-Man, which is really fun to read. You suddenly get a better sense of how he interacts with people. Sure he's still the brooding anti-hero, cynical and jaded, but he's also a Peter Parker clone. He still has the same sort of humor and love for battle-quipping as Peter but it's decidedly darker material. Teamed with Wolverine, it's all pretty fun. Both of them, by the time the issue concludes, have (mostly jokingly) offered to kill the other to stop the fight. Kaine tells Wolverine that his plan, as things reach their most tense, is to leave while they're busy killing Wolverine. There's a lot of stuff like that in this book and it's entirely enjoyable, even as the story ramps up in tension for the characters. Another solid issue, well-written and well-drawn.

Superior Spider-Man 10, Scarlet Spider 17

Superior Spider-Man 10
Slott (w) and Stegman and C. Smith (a) and Delgado (c)

After the events of last issue, Peter Parker seems officially to be gone from the Marvel Universe. There's no longer a trace of Peter inside his old body or inside his old brain so any Peters that might be lurking out there are unbeknownst to us as yet. Doc Ock knows it too and revels in it, knowing that now he can fully be the Spider-Man he wants to be. As I've mentioned on this blog, that's a more brutal Spider-Man but quite possibly a more effective one. His goal is, as he states, not to treat the symptoms, which he criticizes Parker for doing, but to eliminate the disease. He wants to snuff crime out from the source. His spider-bots, monitoring the city for crime, have allowed him to get a jump on that including, in this issue, taking down three major supervillain gang leaders in the Owl, the White Dragon, and Tombstone. Satisfied with that work, he doesn't stop their scurrying henchmen, who all end up recruited by one of the many Goblins out there right now, this one dubbing him/herself as the Goblin King, who had also recruited Vulture's child henchmen. Add to that the fact that the Goblin King has figured out a flaw in the spider-bot programming that allowed him or her to go unseen and there's something of a massive problem on the horizon for Superior Spider-Man. On top of his issues with the criminals of the town, Doc Ock, despite throwing the Avengers off his trail, has attracted the suspicions of both Carlie Cooper and Mary Jane Watson with his recent behavior, which also includes going back to school to earn his doctorate and dating his tutor for the class he needs. All sorts of things happening with this new Spidey.

I've already expressed sadness over the loss of Peter Parker but I've also expressed interest in how well this series is shaping up. On top of the fact that it's a good comic helmed by a guy who absolutely seems to know what he's doing with his book, Doc Ock has proved to be a rather fascinating character in the shoes of Peter Parker. Like I said, it can definitely be argued that he's a better Spider-Man than Peter Parker was (though we'd probably need more time to fully evaluate that statement) and his obsession with planning out his moves makes for both a very different character than Peter and a very entertaining one. If a planner sort of person is written well, he or she makes for one of the better characters to see in any medium. It's like Nick Fury; when he's written well and you can see the wheels within wheels part of him at work, you don't ever want to put down the series. Black Panther can often run the same way, on top of being one of the coolest and most mysterious heroes out there. I don't know if Ock can reach those sorts of levels (his personality as a whole is nowhere near the personality of the aforementioned two) but he can certain make for a good series.

Scarlet Spider 17
Yost (w) and Barberi and Wong (a) and Lokus (c)

After fending off an attack from the Assassin's Guild once several arcs ago, Kaine agreed to a deal with them: in exchange for leaving his friends alone, Kaine would kill someone for them at some point. That time has come and the Guild wants Wolverine dead. Kaine brings Aracely with him to Westchester and sends a costumed Aracely in posing as a young mutant. It's maybe not the best plan, considering how many telepaths are on call at the Jean Grey School, but it gives Kaine time to invisible his way in there. The pair are promptly discovered and the X-Men engage them, only to have Aracely accidentally incapacitate half the team with her weird powers and for Kaine to take out Bobby and Beast. When Wolverine finally joins the action, he and Kaine start slugging it out too, ending when Prey makes an appearance (maybe we should call him Predator. I don't know. Whatever's inside Kaine that constantly names everything else Prey) and stops Wolverine's heart. The issue ends as Kaine asks the other X-Men who's next.

This is Wolverine we're talking about so ripping his heart in half isn't really a fatal blow to the healing mutant. Well, it is. But he can probably come back from it. Perhaps that's the way this little arc is headed, with the Guild's terms met (kill Wolverine; he's officially done that now, the deal didn't specify that they had to stay dead). Still, it raises more interesting character questions about both Kaine, who continues to be more brutal than Peter Parker and more willing to kill cherished mutant heroes, and Aracely, whose powers are still somewhat undefined and whose background is doubly so. The writing continues to be largely good and pretty fun and Yost's grasp of the characters at the Jean Grey School is not unimpressive. Looking forward to the further interplay between Kaine and the X-Men, especially on the heels of killing Wolverine without too, too much difficulty. This solid spinoff continues to be solid and seems to be a pretty well-established book in Marvel's stables right now. Weird that at number 17, you can have more issues under the belt than most titles out there. Such is the downfall of rebranding.

Ultimate Spider-Man 22, Scarlet Spider 16, Morbius the Living Vampire 4

Ultimate Spider-Man 22
Bendis (w) and Pichelli (a) and Ponsor (c)

It wouldn't be Spider-Man if a parent figure didn't die in his arms, right? Or a literal parent. Whatever's handiest. Also, and I might be too much of a cynic for saying this, they've just killed off the only likable supporting cast member for Miles. Ganke's sweet or whatever, but he's pretty annoying. Jefferson is too angry all the time. Other roommate is angry and suspicious. MJ and Gwen have just been added to the book and they're both annoying. Leaving Miles' mom as the loving and even-keeled parent figure and oh, she's dead now.
Right, so there were some spoilers above. Sorry. Anyway, Miles tries to tell Maria Hill that he's not Spider-Man, no matter what she thinks, and she responds like a five-year old would, saying "Then I'm wrong. Except I'm not." I really hate Maria Hill, you guys. I was hoping to give her Ultimate version a chance because the 616 version is terrible and I figured she could be different in the Ultimate version. WRONG. She's terrible. Also, writing anyone in this book like a five-year old is not stellar writing. And that comes in back-and-forth dialogue mode. On top of how I think that breaks flow, it makes every single character sound exactly the same. We should all stop writing exclusively in back-and-forth dialogue. Anyway, while Miles is trying to tell Maria Hill he's not Spider-Man, she gets word that Venom has attacked the hospital Jefferson has been brought to. She tells Miles he'd get there faster, and he leaves, putting on his costume on the way. He arrives and starts fighting Venom, who claims he needs Spider-Man. They fight for a bit with Miles' mom Rio watching in horror and refusing to leave (she moves some patients of the hospital to safety, then returns to watch). Venom then wraps Spider-Man up inside of himself saying that he's the key to Venom's future. Rio offers herself in his place and Venom decides for a second to take them both before Miles explodes Venom from within. That's a pretty sweet panel. Then, as the man attached to Venom is revealed, the cops show up and instantly shoot him, which, when I think about it, seems a little abrupt. No warning and no time for Spider-Man (granted, vigilante) and Rio (totally innocent) to get out of the way. Hm. Anyway, somehow Rio gets shot, even though Spider-Man seems to get totally clear in time and is shielding her while diving away. LOOK, she gets shot and it's fatal and she dies in his arms. No nitpicking, it's sad. Then Miles tears up his costume and says "NO MORE" a lot. Also, Roxxon was somehow behind Venom and behind trying to create a new Spider-Man. I'd normally go into pros and cons of the issue here, but I think I pretty well covered what I was thinking above. Oh well.

Scarlet Spider 16
Yost (w) and Pham, Pallot and Olazaba (a) and Fabela (c)

Like with Venom 31 a few months ago, I think this is a really well-timed issue. Kaine has been through an awful lot the past few months, what with a horrible beast currently living inside of him deeming everything prey and the recent questions about Aracely coming to the forefront. He needs a bit of a break. And what better break in Houston than a great big rodeo? All his pals bring him there, much to his chagrin, and force him to wear a cowboy hat. Annabelle, his new love interest, shows up too and is pushed away by Kaine, who thinks he can't have a relationship with anyone whatsoever. She runs off and Aracely demands he chase her. When he does, he tries to explain his problem as vaguely as he can and she doesn't care. Then they're approached by an ex-boyfriend of hers who is getting a little possessive again. Kaine begins to threaten him before Prey pops into his head and labels the guy as "prey." Kaine backs off, trying to be less like the monster inside him, and suggests maybe they talk about it. It's at that moment that ex-hero/ex-villain Armadillo pops up riding a bull in the rodeo, drunk and crying for his ex-girlfriend who has just announced she's marrying a rodeo star. Scarlet Spider, who cannot believe any of this is happening to him, rides a horse into the ring, swearing it was the fastest way. He starts to fight Armadillo before being caught off-guard by the giant, armored foe's tears. He tries to talk with him and starts thinking about how they're both monsters and it means neither of them can be in relationships when he's interrupted by Armadillo's ex-girlfriend running into the arena (is it an arena in a rodeo? Is it just a rodeo? Whatever) and declaring her love for him, saying she thought he didn't want her any more. Scarlet Spider is completely taken aback by this and slinks off before reappearing as Kaine, knocking out Annabelle's ex-boyfriend and kissing her. A journalist who has fallen so low he's reporting puff pieces at rodeos determines he'll get back into serious news by finding out who Scarlet Spider is.
So there's a bit of drama there at the end and there's an overwhelming sense of drama in the form of Kaine battling all of his inner demons (one of is a real being) and his conceptions of how his life is supposed to work. By and large, though, the issue is a fun step back from what's been happening lately in Kaine's too-exciting life. When we got the "Venom moving to Philly" issue, some future plot points were certainly set up but it was largely in the series to calm the tone from the string of high-risk fights he'd been in lately. Same situation here, as Kaine's life has gotten too hectic recently and he needed to pull back a bit. Fun issue, definitely well timed.

Morbius the Living Vampire 4
Keatinge (w) and Elson (a) and Fabela (c)

Probably more than any other issue of the series so far, this issue was meant to develop Brownsville as a really crappy neighborhood. Obviously we knew that already, with Morbius running into Noah in the first issue and getting himself shot right off the bat, among other things, but this issue wanted to make it absolutely clear that this district is worse than any other place on Earth. Noah, if we're to believe Rochelle, was the best thing to happen to the place. Regardless of what he did, he kept the gangs from warring over Brownsville and spilling far more innocent blood. So where did Noah come from, then? Well we get some flashbacks that Morbius isn't privy to of a shadowy figure taking young social reject David Brill and transforming him through some means or another into Noah, the extraordinarily strong ruffian we've seen throughout the book. With Noah dead, Rochelle worries that the whole district will come crashing down around them. She's almost immediately proved right as a group that share the same masks as the shadowy figure's helper burst into the building and take Noah's body away. Morbius tries to stop them but is shocked by one of the mysterious henchmen. Literally shocked, not just surprised. They get away with the body and the villain is revealed as the Rose.
I didn't actually know that there had been four Roses through Marvel history (thanks, Wikipedia!). I only knew Wilson Fisk's son Richard, who tried to overthrow his father Kingpin and take over the family business. He was killed by his mother, though, so I was surprised to see him pop up here. Apparently I was wrong to be surprised, as there have been four in total and only two are dead. Who knows, maybe this is a fifth, or maybe it's one of the two that are still living. Also important to note that these are comics and it's ENTIRELY possible he's one of the dead two. If I had to guess, it's Phillip Hayes, the fourth Rose, who apparently had a lot to do with gene research and manipulation. FITS THE BILL. Anyway, Morbius is characterized well here, willing to risk a couple more of Noah's gang members in the hopes that it will save his friends that Rochelle has sent people after. It kind of does, but not as much as Henry's mom does when she appears in front of a gang member tasked with killing Henry and Becky and takes his gun and disassembles it, saying that she's lived in Brownsville her whole life, she can protect herself. That got a little heavy-handed, the whole "BROWNSVILLE IS A HARD PLACE" thing, but I suppose it's necessary. Maybe not that necessary, but necessary. Not bad though, as Morbius will now find out what Brownsville is like without Noah and will likely come across the Rose in the coming issues.