Avengers 33, New Avengers 21, Uncanny Avengers 22

Avengers 33
Hickman (w) and Yu (p) and Alanguilan (i) and Gho (c) and Petit (l)

In his continued time-travels, Captain America ends up 50,000 years in the future, where life has been exterminated and the world is run by something called The Worldcore. Spawned out of the death of Ultron, The Worldcore has recently started changing moments in the past despite the Herculean effort it takes. It's also been plagued by time-assassins (timessassins) of a sort (not entirely accurate but I wanted to write "timessassins" so we'll have to just pretend) and is now suspicious of any sort of time traveler. It intends to dissect Cap for further information about him but it finds and accidentally activate the bomb that was put inside him in the past, which targets and destroys The Worldcore. Cap is summoned again by the time gem but things seem a little different and he begins to fall through a crack in time, but he's pulled back by Iron Man, promising him that everything will be all right.

What I like about this time-travel story is that we can pretty clearly see that these futures, at least in some way or another, are connected. Occasionally superheroes will travel into the future and the entire future is fabricated in such a way that you can't really track how you get from one to another. Instead, it's just a cool idea that a writer and/or artist wanted to present. Sometimes, a book will jump so far into the future in one go that it will be kind of irrelevant to whatever story they're telling. This one jumps further and further ahead but shows hints of its interconnectedness, particularly apropos as it seems the time gem is jumping them intentionally to different futures. Still, time-travel like this tends to turn me off a bit, where I'd prefer instead to stay fixed in the present story. As such, the upcoming conclusion is a little more interesting to me as Iron Man and Cap meet again.

Total Score: 4/5


New Avengers 21
Hickman (w) and Schiti w/Larroca (a) and F. Martin w/Mounts (c) and Caramagna (l)

Dr. Strange unleashes his newfound powers, losing control as the monster inside him ages their foes into dust one at a time without mercy and without trouble. Black Panther and Iron Man adjust Tony's repulsors to knock Strange out before the monster can turn on them. Though the heroes of this other Earth are defeated, it still leaves the matter of the bomb and the incurring world. After returning to their own Earth, each man considers detonating the bomb (some longer than others) before Black Panther, urged by the ghosts of his ancestors carried within him, takes it. However, while he holds it, he decides he cannot use, shaming his ancestors who denounce him and disown him as a Black Panther, leaving him. He throws the detonator aside and falls to his knees. As the Illuminati begin to resign themselves to the idea that they won't be able to blow up the other world, home to billions of innocents, Namor takes the detonator and, insulting them all, uses it.

We all knew this day had to come, the day when the Illuminati would be forced to find a solution for an incurring world that was actually heavily populated. And of course, the heroes that represent the team are unable to pull the trigger until Namor proves his usefulness to a team like this. I really like everything about this issue. It's exactly as emotional and passionate as it needs to be without ever going too over-the-top with it. I also really love the focus this issue places on the makeup of this team. There's a scene between Maximus and Black Swan that highlights her penchant for finding the heroes of a world she wishes to save and how this world differs in that she accidentally picked a team full of kings, natural leaders who would do whatever it takes to preserve their kingdoms and who are willing to kill for their people. It's one of the things that draws me to characters like Black Panther, Namor, and Black Bolt and it's been extremely important but rather under the surface so far in this series. Hickman here brings it to the forefront to show how different this situation is from the typical Avengers-esque potential world-ending dilemmas. Really great issue, great job by artist Schiti on the emotions of the issue and the facial expressions of our heroes, which are paramount for an issue like this. Frank Martin also excels but, then, he always does (guys, read EAST OF WEST, it's so good).

Total Score: 5/5


Uncanny Avengers 22
Remender (w) and Acuña (a and c) and Cowles (l)

Kang has begun to drink of the Celestial's blood and his powers have increased an untold amount. Thor, weakened from Kang's immediate betrayal, is struck back down to Earth, leaving only Havok and Sunfire still in the fight against Kang at the edge of Earth's atmosphere. Their only hope is to attempt to absorb the cosmic energy Kang is using but both realize it could mean their own deaths and may still not work. As the only ones available, though (and perhaps the ones most at fault for trusting Kang, particularly Havok), they push forward, only to have Kang immediately stab Sunfire through the chest, disintegrating him instantly. He tells Havok to stop fighting, that it's the only way to see his daughter again, but Havok refuses to believe him. Instead, he turns all of Kang's power back against him in the hopes it will stop the conqueror. He manages to weaken and stall Kang enough to allow Sunfire, imbued with cosmic energy and no longer bound by his old form, appearing now as a figure of all blue and yellow, to rejoin the fight. Together, they force Kang to flee, taking his forces fighting on Earth with him, swearing revenge on humanity and particularly on Alex. The heroes all return to Earth to see the aftermath, including Sentry departing with the body of the Celestial, Wanda restoring all the powers Rogue borrowed to their rightful owners but Wonder Man inexplicably staying behind, and Janet's reaction to her lost daughter. Finally, Horsemen Daken and Grim Reaper emerge from the crashed Apocalypse Ship with the inert bodies of Uriel and Eimin in the Sahara Desert.

Geez, tons going on, which is what you'd expect and probably want from an arc that's lasted the better part of fifteen or so issues. Overall, it's been a really engaging story and this finale, certainly with plenty of questions left to answer and plenty of expectations attached to the finale of such a long story, lived up to it pretty well. All along it's been a full team story and we definitely get a sense of the whole team here and how much it means to everyone and how important a role everyone has played, but it's also felt particularly like an Alex Summers story, as he's been something of a catalyst for the team and certainly been the leader of the team. In that way, Remender makes sure to end things strongly, putting the focus on Havok as AVENGE THE EARTH ends. Strong work and, as ever, really great art out of Daniel Acuña, whose art and colors shine in this issue.

Total Score: 5/5

Fantastic Four 15, FF 15

Okay guys, time to get serious. Today shall be the QUICKEST OF QUICK HITS because it's the holidays and no one wants to read all these reviews. Let's hit it.

Fantastic Four 15
Fraction and Kesel (s) and Kesel (w) and Ienco (a) and Mounts (c)

The F4 are in that other dimension and trying to stop the bonding of Doom, Immortus, and Annihilus all while restoring their powers which were apparently toyed with by the F4 of this dimension. Everything in that respect sort of works out, things with the villains do not as Immortus gets Annihilus' powers and goes to kill Doom but then Doom flips it around and gets all of their powers.

Still a rather interesting story though one of the neatest bits about this storyline is also one of the most confounding. I find it extremely interesting that both FANTASTIC FOUR and FF are kind of doing the same story but evidently in different universes with slightly different outcomes and different ways to fight it. This book is uniquely able to do this sort of thing and it's a really cool idea but I think execution is a little lacking. The F4 side is a little boring and the FF side is a little obnoxious. I think it would be going better if it played it just a little more straight on both ends.

FF 15
Fraction and Lee Allred (s) and Lee Allred (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

In this universe, Immortus didn't get so close as in the universe the F4 are in currently to achieving "annihilating conqueror" status. Instead, Doom seems to have done what Doom does and conquered there. The FF plan is complicated and presented in 12 rhyming parts and one not rhyming part. Robots controlled by the kids from a remote area attack Doom's lair and the replacement F4 show up to wail on Doom after he takes power before Scott shows up to finish the job.

This book has suffered, particularly since Fraction left, from tonal problems in that there's something of an incredibly serious threat going on and something of a tone-for-a-five-year-old going on. I think Fraction toyed with this a bit, giving the book a lighter feel and Mike Allred's art matched it wonderfully but he knew when to pull back and the way to bring it back to seriousness. It's a really hard spot to find and I don't really blame Lee Allred for not totally hitting it because he was kind of thrown into it and now wavers a little too much to the goofy side which makes coming back to serious particularly hard. As a result, this book gets a little intolerably cutesy and drags. Ah well. Still a cool idea, I suppose.

Uncanny Avengers 12, Young Avengers 10

Uncanny Avengers 12
Remender (w) and Larroca (a) and F. Martin (c)

Wanda has to choose for or against helping the Apocalypse Twins move every mutant off Earth and to an ark to be brought to their new home on Jupiter, leaving the humans to ruin Earth themselves. What's more, if she chooses that path, she has to convince Wonder Man to help her accomplish it. She's very torn on it and she reveals to Simon just how broken she still is over her role in decimating the mutants, something she hasn't really let on too much about since she's returned to the Universe. It's been a little on the outside, kind of seeping in (no thanks to Rogue's incessant anger), and now it comes to a head here as she sobs to Simon about the weapon she became. She asks him to make the decision, afraid that she won't make a strong one. According to Eimin, who has used her temporal powers to see this future, he will agree to help her. Meanwhile, Cap, Havok, and Wasp are trying to shut down the tachyon transmitters that are blocking aid from the future from coming in. This is all on Immortus' request, who is not the most reliable person but who Havok and Cap feel they have to trust in this situation. They're set upon by Banshee as they're closing in on the tachyon transmitters in one of the Akkaba Society cities and a fight breaks out, slowing their way as Wonder Man makes his decision. Flash forward about 2100 years to the Kang Dynasty where Kang, thrilled that his twins are going to remove the mutant threat from Earth, has a rude awakening as the twins, in a recorded message to Kang, reveal that they've sabotaged his home. It begins crumbling away in front of him as they congratulate him for being king for a day.

There's plenty in this issue, which is particularly exciting as this was kind of billed a little bit as an origin story for Uriel and Eimin. There are certainly elements of that, as we see them try to break from Red Skull's future mutant internment camps only to face more punishment (Uriel is told to cut out Eimin's eyes to prevent her seeing more opportunities for escape), but this is largely involved with the things that are going on at present. Not to say I don't want to hear Uriel and Eimin's origin stories; I think what they've been through is both interesting and obviously integral to this story, but it's not usually great to break from the main story as it's getting intense for a flashback. The way Remender structured it here, showing us a horrible moment clearly pulled from a slew of horrible moments while humans continually let the twins down, was perfect, giving us plenty of backstory and motivation without needing to dedicate an entire issue to it. This gives us a little extra room for a somewhat fun interaction between Havok, Cap, and Wasp as we hear a little too much information from Wasp about her run-ins with the Hellfire Club and as we get a little bit of flirting between Wasp and Havok, which Cap has to somewhat embarrassingly break up. Nice bit of fun, well-timed and well-executed. Really good book overall. I wasn't necessarily thrilled that Salvador Larroca was illustrating this one (I've tired of him a bit over in Cable and X-Force) but the art didn't both me. I think he's better off drawing people in smaller panels or with fewer tight close-ups. Frank Martin's colors don't hurt either. Really good story and some bonus characterization in this one.

Young Avengers 10
Gillen (w) and McKelvie w/ Norton (a) and Wilson (c)

Loki pays a quick visit to Mother back in her dimension to get some questions answered. We find out that, though her entry to this dimension is Billy's fault, it was Loki who subconsciously planted the idea in Billy's head to try to resurrect Teddy's mother. Loki now, though, feels fully in charge of the situation, having used magical rules to his own end and successfully playing the game, which leaves Loki with the trust of Billy, the wizard whose future will dictate the future of magic itself, and leaves Mother stuck in her dimension as long as none of the Young Avengers return to New York. The variable he didn't account for, unfortunately for the team, is Leah's re-emergence. After Loki leaves Mother's dimension (and after a very quick appearance by the Patri-not), Leah pops in to suggest the two team up to take down Loki. She returns to Earth to accompany Teddy to their group in Austin, which consists of her, three former lovers of Noh-Varr, Ultimate Nullifier (from the Teen Brigade America came from), and Patri-not. They all share stories of being dumped and how they all want revenge for these slights. When asked to share, Teddy denies them all, saying that they're all crazy stalkers and that hurt feelings are no reason to hurt people. Leah says he's welcome to leave the magic circle whenever he likes, which he does choose to do. Unfortunately, the magic circle has transported them to New York and Teddy emerges from the basement only to be besieged by Mother and her cronies.

Crazy stuff happening as Leah becomes, yet again, a major player in a Marvel book (pretty exciting, in truth, even if it goes against our team). More than that, we're starting to understand a little bit better the dynamic between this Loki and our team. Specifically, we're seeing the plans Loki has put into place (Loki is always putting plans into place) and how everything is connected. It all pours nicely back into the demiurge idea of Billy being the most powerful being in creation (and nicely points to Loki trying to rush him out of that dimension), which connects very nicely with possible Loki plans. Nothing else out of the rest of the team but Teddy's bits are certainly nice touches here. I think I've mentioned before that I don't have a particular fondness for Teddy, which is different than literally anyone else on this team (even the newest characters are higher on the list typically than Teddy is for me). It's nothing against Teddy, he just doesn't really have a personality that clicks with me (or a personality, sometimes). He gets a little lost in the shuffle as primary supporting character to Billy. Here he actually speaks out and defines himself, not allowing himself to be absorbed into the group of burned lovers. Solid issue for him and a really great Gillen-writes-Loki-and-Leah issue. Art continues to be outstanding, still worth mentioning. Great book.

Fearless Defenders 6, Thor: The Dark World Prelude 2, Ultimates 27

Fearless Defenders 6
Bunn (w) and Sliney (a) and Gandini (c)

Valkyrie had to give herself in to the Doom Maiden Brunhilde that was inside her all along, hidden away, to defeat the other Doom Maidens. We get a bit of her past in this issue, clearing a lot of this up. She had led Odin's hand-chosen Shield Maidens, who were glorious warriors, almost untouchable in the battles they entered. They went around the universe, showing Asgard's influence and reminding worlds of their existence but they traveled too far, to the cold depths of the universe, and saw things that broke them. Eventually they became Doom Maidens, still unable to be defeated but far less honorable. Odin himself finally had to step in, vanquishing them. He had a soft spot for Brunhilde though, as his first Shield Maiden, and he was able to box away her memories inside of her, keep them untouched, and give her a new personality to go with her new job as Valkyrie. It's all come out now though, as she defeats the Doom Maidens and her bloodlust turns towards her friends. She takes everyone down brutally and swiftly, eventually leaving to head for the nearby village for more battles and deaths. Only Annabelle is left conscious, having been hidden by Dani Moonstar, and she takes it upon herself to try to go wake Valkyrie from this. She goes and talks to Brunhilde, hoping that she can call her back. She's able to glimpse Valkyrie through Brunhilde the more she talks but not without alerting Brunhilde. Finally Valkyrie does return in full, only to discover that she's too late: Brunhilde has killed Annabelle. Valkyrie brings the body and her story back to the other heroes, where she explains that there will always need to be people monitoring the rise of evils like these Doom Maidens but that there always have been; they're the heroes of this Earth who Valkyrie has fought alongside time and time again. There will be a time for the Valkyrior to rise but it's not now, now the world needs defenders. Her stirring speech leaves little impact on the rest of the group as Misty punches her in the face and they all walk away.

I don't totally know what to make of this issue. I thought a lot of the backstory into the Shield Maidens was kind of interesting but it faltered with the vague "saw something at the edges of space," which is both cliché and a bit of a copout. I also saw a lot of discussion on something I hadn't heard defined before but something that it's hard not to think about if you read enough comics or watch enough movies. It's called women in refrigerators (I think the verb form I saw was "fridging") and it refers to women who have been created for a story or an arc only to die or lose their powers or so on. Sure that happens with tons of characters, both genders, but it's far more common with women. It's true of Annabelle Riggs here, though I'd be interested to hear what people think about it as it relates to gender, as the entire cast so far has been female. Still, there is that feeling regardless of the idea of women in refrigerators that felt weird even before I knew the term, which is simply creating a character to die that arc. That takes away a lot of what the character's life was or what they did and makes them a plot device instead of a character. It's hard for me to, retroactively, feel too good about Annabelle (the series hadn't won me over on her to this point, either) because this kind of casts her whole creation as simply a means to an end. Plenty of characters play that role but rarely this quickly do they reach their end and rarely are they so shoved at us, trying to will us to care about them. It's also a weird decision to have her die because it's more or less left us in the position we were in before this title started; six issues after the series launched, Valkyrie is looking for people to defend this Earth and has decided that heroes are the best ones to do that, she and Misty don't really have a relationship, and Annabelle Riggs doesn't exist. I would have said those same things before the series started. Sure the Doom Maidens and all that, but frankly I would have believed you if you told me that had happened anyway.

Thor: The Dark World Prelude 2
Yost and Kyle (w) and Lim and Hennessy w/ Magyar (a) and Troy w/ Sotomayor and Mossa (c)

As we build our way back to bridge the gap between the events of The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World, our story focuses more and more on Jane Foster and pal Darcy. As Coulson told Thor in The Avengers, Jane and Darcy have been relocated to Norway on some specious assignment but, unlike anything we thought about in The Avengers (I think we mostly decided she just wasn't part of the plot, or, more specifically that Marvel didn't really feel like paying Natalie Portman for a minute of screentime that wasn't part of the plot), she's figured out it's a specious assignment and wants to know what's really up. Darcy, showing a level of computer knowledge I did not grant her in Thor, has found a stream of the events in New York and the two settle in to watch. Of course, the good guys win and Thor returns to Asgard with Loki and the tesseract. He arrives home amidst worrying reports about the nine realms in chaos. Since the destruction of the Bifrost, isolating Asgard from the other realms, things have gone a bit haywire all over, leaving Asgard woefully out of the loop. Thor, home with the tesseract, believes that they can rebuild the bridge and straighten things out. Jane Foster, though, back on Earth, is a bit peeved that Thor didn't even stop in to visit.

So we have a lot of plots swirling to give us some background information here for November's release of Thor: The Dark World (which still seems awfully far away from this prelude's conclusion). This is a tricky book to write as you want it to be meaningful and worth reading for the audience without making it essential reading for the moviegoers. You can't add too much in that you won't see in the movie because you can't and shouldn't assume that everyone will read it (even as a big comic reader, I wouldn't have if I wasn't reviewing it and I rather love Christopher Yost) and yet you want to add enough by way of fun tidbits to make it an actual worthwhile read. I think they toe the line pretty well; again, I don't think I would have read it if I wasn't reviewing it unless I was a huge Thor supporter (the movie, not even the character, hence the italicization) and wanted to just imbibe every fact about the movie I could. Still, it's definitely readable and it moves fairly well. Seeing characters drawn to look like real people that I can actively identify is still a bit jarring but that might be a more personal note. Take this for what it is: a book to reignite the story for potential moviegoers and a decent jumping on point to either. It's not necessary to read to keep your head well above water with the story of the movie or of the comics but it's not a waste of time either. Mission accomplished.

Ultimates 27
Fialkov (w) and Di Giandomenico and Ruggiero (a) and Charalampidis (c)

The Ultimates are split up and broken, with Thor battling Hulk in Arizona, Hawkeye and Cap captured by Kang and co, Monica Chang unconscious and left behind, and Tony Stark on the operating table of Reed Richards, having his skull opened up so Reed can dig out the Infinity Gem within. Tony, fortunately for the reader but probably far less fortunately for him, is still conscious during the surgery and Reed happily explains why he's doing what he's doing. He's learned the way that universes die and he's seen it happen, in the Negative Zone specifically. The Negative Zone was once a fully functioning universe but had reached its extinction event. Just before, though, a genius there had discovered that the Infinity Gems of his universe might save them all. The Gems are unearthed by these catastrophic events, as we learned from Sue's explanation two issues ago or so. The Negative Zone's genius figured it out and used the Infinity Gems to try to stop the extinction but he was too late. He saved himself, becoming the Watcher in the process, but couldn't help the Universe beyond what it looks like today. Reed, though, has figured this out and found the solution thousands of years ahead of schedule, hopefully giving him enough time to dig out the Gems and set to work. He even rather hints that his last appearance created a Gem's appearance and that it was intentional. He's also putting a lot of faith into the hands of Kang, who comes from the future and has seen that he survives what he's attempting. Meanwhile, Cap and Hawkeye are being watched by Kang, kept from an escape, Sue and Ben Grimm are fighting an extension of Reed's body that he grew into a full size replica and very soon after have to deal with Quicksilver, who kills Ben and stops Sue, and Monica is found by Nick Fury, the one bright spot to all this. Fury has assembled his army, consisting of heroes like Cassie Lang, Falcon, Abomination, and others, including newcomer Hercules, to fight against Reed and his crew. It's possible, though, that it will be too late for Tony, who apparently dies at the end of the surgery.

This is an interesting idea as it posits that, if Reed is correct, he is definitely saving the world by unearthing all of the Infinity Gems and using them. However, he's also quite possibly totally insane. I don't know the Reed of this universe well enough to guarantee either option (though I'm not sure anyone could guarantee any option) but it's definitely a story worth telling. It also puts the Ultimates up against a line of foes that strategically counter them and are smart enough to know what's coming next in all of these plans. Tony has a bit of bravado talking about how the Ultimates will never stop coming after them and how they will fail because the Ultimates always win, but it's punctuated with his death so it's a little hard to fully feel threatened by that. There's a lot going on here and much of it is interesting. We'll have to see how Fury's ragtag bunch of hooligans enter into the equation before we can see the chances for the Ultimates. Still, it's a good story on its own as it is and hopefully it continues to be one as we push forward. It will also give us a chance to examine death in the Ultimate universe, which is always a more interesting examination than in the 616. Solid issue improves an interesting arc.

FF 8, Guardians of the Galaxy 4

FF 8
Fraction (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

The Baxter Building has reappeared in New York, fresh out of the Negative Zone and carrying, unbeknownst to our team, a hitchhiking Annihilus. Alex Power sees the report in the newspaper and tells Doom that he should probably be heading home now to help those kids deal with what happened. Doom strikes him and drags him to a holding cell, where he's keeping Alex's parents. Alex will do what Doom says from now on, Doom decrees. Meanwhile, the FF leave Dragon Man in charge of the kids and head to Himalayas, former site of the Inhumans' Attilan. There Medusa offers herself up for challenge from any Inhuman who thinks he or she could protect the children of the FF better than Medusa has, given her recent brainwashing. No one challenges her, which frustrates She-Hulk. She-Hulk views the Inhumans at this little tribunal as a bunch of yes-men and she believes that they should consider replacing Medusa for this. Medusa herself seems a little unsure of whether she's qualified or not but it's She-Hulk who really drives the point home. Back home, Bentley-23 and Ahura have returned to the Baxter Building and are promptly set upon by the other children, who call them "bad guys." Traps have been set all around the building and Bentley-23 and Ahura must try to navigate them while explaining that they're not bad. Or rather, that he is, he was born to be, but he's no different than before. Ahura is increasingly annoyed by everything but Bentley is pretty patient with everyone, eventually winning them over and complimenting Tong's new lifestyle choice. Later, in the Inhumans' flying city, Medusa comes to She-Hulk in her bedroom and gives her the chance to speak more as no one else will. It goes badly and the two end up in a scuffle. The two crash through several walls, including into what seems to be a hallway that Scott is walking down on his cellphone. He breaks the two up and tells them that Dragon Man has reported that Alex Power has returned home. Back home, old John Storm wakes up again, still screaming about Doom, and we find out that Doom, joined by Annihilus now, is getting information from an outside source: a young Kang the Conqueror, sometime in his life between Iron Lad and Kang and going by Immortus (changed from Kid Immortus by his girlfriend Ravonna).

A lot happened here, which seems to be the norm for this book. They don't match up against villains every issue or even every few issues but plenty continues to go on behind the scenes for our heroes. Here we've set up a rift in the FF, a spy among them, questions about worthiness on the team, and a few key villains teaming up with their eyes on the FF. Immortus is an interesting choice of villain and one I hadn't seen coming. Yes, Kang is kind of all over the Marvel Universe right now but he's in a great spot here. If this is at a time where we've somewhat recently left Iron Lad of the Young Avengers behind, which his attitude and youth seem to point at, his last bit of time on Earth saw his then girlfriend killed in front of him while the Avengers refused to let him go into the future to try to save her, as he'll eventually attempt with Ravonna (fifty year old spoiler). That girlfriend? Cassie Lang, daughter of Scott. Who killed her? Dr. Doom. All kinds of questions come up with this villain team-up and it's exciting to see where it's all going to end up.

Guardians of the Galaxy 4
Bendis (w) and Pichelli (a) and Ponsor (c)

The Guardians have escaped the Spartax guard and now celebrate at a shady bar, especially praising Groot who saved them all. Drax is drinking a fair amount and getting pretty belligerent, Peter is trying to attract a woman he found, and Tony is still fretting a bit about Earth. Rocket gives him a sort of phone that will allow him to call back to Earth from pretty much anywhere. Tony and Gamora flirt briefly and pretty quickly end up back in a room on the ship together. We flash from the bar to post-coitus and Gamora decides she's going back to the bar. On her way back, she's targeted by an assassin and shot in the back. The shot stuns her and her attacker, Maxilin the Accuser, comes to brag a bit about how she didn't even seem to realize there was a bounty on her head and how he so easily brought her down. She, of course, gets up and beats the crap out of him, only being brought down again when she tries to use his gun which will only work for him. Down again and this time with fewer tricks left, she's surprised to find Maxilin shot instead of her, as Rocket and the rest of the Guardians come around the corner, fleeing the bar which is quickly filling up with Spartax royal guard. They head back for the ship, where Tony has just called home to ask Pepper how things are going and if Earth is okay (it is). As they make their way to the ship, the audience sees Maxilin, still alive, slink away.

It seems if anyone is enlightened by Peter's announcement to the Spartax about they're corrupt king, it's not the Spartax royal guard and so we haven't eliminated any sort of fugitive feel for the team. Add on the bounty hunter(s) who will no doubt be coming after Gamora and the intrigue of whatever has caused those hunters to come after her and we have a bit of a story developing. The issue moves pretty well and Pichelli's art continues to stand out. There's a little of the back-and-forth dialogue but "a little" isn't detrimental. I think I can pretty easily say this is my favorite Bendis book coming out right now (I'll be ranting about two others tomorrow), though it's still too early for me to deem it a particularly successful book. I like a lot of where it's going and what it's doing but we'll have to let it feel itself out more.

Uncanny Avengers 8AU, Fearless Defenders 4AU

Uncanny Avengers 8AU
Remender and Duggan (w) and Kubert (a) and F. Martin (c)

I can't help feeling, again and again, that the AU tie-in books are stronger than the AU series books. That might not necessarily be a really bad thing (though it's a little hard to argue the point) because the event is producing good comics somewhere. It is weird, though, that I understand more about the Age of Ultron event from reading the side books than I understand from the Age of Ultron main title. Not about the "Ultron is here, go back and time and kill Hank Pym bit." That plot is really easy to understand (if a little hackneyed) despite the series' insistence that it's not and they need to spend four issues telling you all about it. However, this issue goes out of its way to explain the dynamics of the new world that's been created by Hank Pym's death, showing us more than what the main series had, which had pretty much been "LOOK, NOW HE'S COLONEL AMERICA AND HE HAS AN EYEPATCH AND LOOK OVER THERE, WASP IS CAPTAIN MARVEL WASP." Here, Remender and Duggan attempt to explain how some of the relationships in this world work and how the world itself functions without the Avengers (I'm going to be honest, I still don't see how Hank Pym dying ends the Avengers in total. I know he was a founding member and he did a lot of big things here and there but, let's be honest, he's Hank Pym). On top of that, we understand a good deal more about Eimin and Uriel's upbringing at the hands of Kang and what Kang's plans are.

Kang is trying to raise Eimin and Uriel (this seems to happen before their attack in UA, not to be confused with AU) to be prepared to kill human. He wants them to kill Colonel America in this dimension (which he also knows is inconsequential, just like the audience of AU) to get some practice. Meanwhile, Steve is going to talk to Havok, the leader of the Morlocks, underground in the hopes of bringing Caliban, who has killed someone, to court. He and Alex and Rogue (Alex's wife in this dimension) argue a bit about mutants and humans and everything else before Uriel and Eimin attack. Cap leads them away from the Morlocks and is starting to lose the fight when Alex intercedes. He gives Steve time to escape before getting sliced in half himself by Uriel. Rogue attacks Uriel and is fatally wounded, but absorbs his memories and finds out about their past at the hands of Kang. She tries to talk to him as she's dying, trying to get him to understand how evil Kang is and how he and his sister are being used. She starts to get through to him but Kang directs Eimin to finish Rogue off. As punishment for letting Steve escape, Kang sends the Apocalpyse twins back to the mutant camps to learn to hate humanity some more. It's a good standalone issue that serves as a solid addition to both AU and UA. Can't ask more of a tie-in book than that.

Fearless Defenders 4AU
Bunn (w) and Jimenez and Kesel w/ McConnell (a) and Fabela (c)

This one was a bit less telling. It still follows the basic functions of the the tie-in; we learn a little about the world of AU while also focusing on a character from the Fearless Defenders. In this case, we learn an awful lot about Hippolyta. Ares rules Latveria under the guise of Dr. Doom and we find out that Hippolyta, who is Ares' daughter, was killed by her own daughter who had decided her mother wasn't fit to rule the Amazonians. Ares then sought retribution on the Amazonians for killing his daughter but Hippolyta knows that it was Ares who stoked the fire in her daughter, even if Hippolyta's death wasn't his goal. And Caroline le Fey wants to meet Dr. Doom who is her father. So there are some daddy issues abound. However, I can't say there's too much more.

We learn a bit about Hippolyta, who is probably the character who has most risen out of the ashes (literally and in terms of the Marvel Universe) from this Fearless Defenders team. We also learn a bit more about the AU universe, including the state of Latveria and its people, and what has happened to Mjolnir (it now rests with Ares, though it's "worthy" magic has dissipated now that Thor has died, which I would say isn't really how Mjolnir works but whatever, I'm not a Mjolnir historian, despite my wishes). Oh, and Caroline le Fey has a sort of Cable-like origin story but without the "raised in a hellish war zone and forced to adapt" bit. Instead, she was sent to the future by her mother to be raised by wealthy followers of her mother. Okay, I'm reaching a bit for plot pieces so let's just wrap it up. If you're trying to complete your AU collection, pick this up or if you're a diehard Hippolyta fan. Otherwise, worth a miss.

Avengers 9, Uncanny Avengers 6

Avengers 9
Hickman (w) and Weaver w/ Deodato (a) and Ponsor (c)

The Starbrand storyline continues as the new Starbrand and Nightmask return to Mars to talk with Ex Nihilo and Abyss about the White Event and everything going on back at Earth. It turns out that Ex Nihilo, who has shaped planets before by more or less destroying planets that have no chance at further evolution and assisting planets that have the potential to evolve, has gotten bored with his normal routine and has made the Earth itself sentient with the bombs he sent out in the first arc. Now all the landing sites for the bombs are imbuing the Earth with certain aspects of sentience, such as consciousness, reproduction, evolution, and self-defense, to name a few. It's too late to stop the process without, essentially, killing the Earth, so Ex Nihilo tells Starbrand and Nightmask (who he calls sons, as it's because of his influence that they've come about) that they're welcome to stay with him on Mars or they can go and watch the show on Earth. They return to Earth, heading to Croatia to watch the bomb that carried self-awareness to the planet do its work. Though they're not sure what to make of what Ex Nihilo has done, they admit that it is pretty impressive to see. Nightmask attempts to connect with the weird newly formed consciousness and begins to get sucked into it. Starbrand attempts to make the growing pink brain release Nightmask but it refuses and Starbrand accidentally destroys it. Nightmask fears that they've killed the planet as the Avengers arrive and battle the two heralds. They subdue them both and tell them that they're going to try to help them but they're too dangerous to be left on Earth. They're put in Stark's newest creation, Sol's Hammer, seen in New Avengers as a planetary defense, a way to weaponize the sun.
Again, Hickman has done a wonderful job setting up story lines to return to later while showing us glimpses of stories he's already set up, as if to remind us that they're there and that he remembers them. The next issue is supposedly going to have something to do with Canada and Alpha Flight, where one of the bombs went off (the evolution seed Ex Nihilo referred to). We also saw, when Ex Nihilo was listing off all the qualities of sentience and we were shown the various results of the bombs that carried those qualities to Earth, that the piece of the Earth that AIM captured and is now working with was the self-defense quality. There have been, throughout these nine issues, a lot of irons in the fire and it's hard to say when Hickman plans to pull each one out, but it's exciting to know that there's a grand story going on here and that it feels like things won't come to the forefront until it's their time. I've been in favor of this book since the first issue's proposal of a rotating team of Avengers, calling in the right group of heroes for the specific job at hand. As far as I'm concerned, Hickman is doing a fantastic job weaving that idea into the story all while having the ability (as in this story) to bring everyone out against a common and huge threat. Hickman, across his books, is showing off his skill for story and pacing and it's really worth checking in on everything he does just to see where he could go with it all.

Uncanny Avengers 6
Remender (w) and Acuña (a and c)

Marvel right now is on a binge of Thor history. I suppose it's a little much to say "Marvel" when it's really just "Thor: God of Thunder and Uncanny Avengers" but still. I suppose it's a nice thing to have a character who has lived for millennia to play around with because Marvel time is so muddled it becomes a little easier to simply go back before it and avoid breaking continuities. Like in Thor: GOT, Thor in Uncanny Avengers is challenged in the past by an impressive force set on his destruction. In this case, though, it is the mutant Apocalypse and not an entirely new villain decidedly anti-gods. Thor cannot harm Apocalypse through his armor and with a weapon like Jarnbjorn (his giant axe, seen with past Thor in GOT) and has to abandon the fight. Meanwhile, we find out that Apocalypse is being pointed at people who will harm his future by Kang (as Pharaoh Rama-Tut) and, after learning that he didn't kill Thor, Rama-Tut directs him to Folkbern Logan, an ancestor of Wolverine. Back in Asgard, Thor is told by Odin not to attempt retaliation on Apocalypse because he's a Celestial and Asgardians have a pact to avoid Celestials. Thor of course will not listen and gets help from Kang, now disguised as Loki, who tells him a spell to allow Jarnbjorn to damage Apocalypse. As Apocalypse's Middle Ages four horsemen descend on Logan, Thor intercedes and kills them with the newly powered Jarnbjorn before stopping Apocalypse from destroying London by cutting off his arm and forcing him to self-destruct his floating pyramid of doom. Thor escapes the explosion and celebrates in Asgard before Odin scolds him and tells him of the future he's wrought. In the present, Kang finds a long-dead Baron Mordo with Jarnbjorn left cleaving his skull and takes it, saying that he's sorry it had to end this way for Mordo but it's better to take Jarnbjorn from him this way than to try to take it from Thor. Bum bum buuuuuuuuum.
So we get a short interlude here from what's happening with our Uncanny Avengers team to see where the plot is going. It's still a little muddy here as we're not sure what Kang's planning and how the Apocalypse twins play into his plot but there's still a lot to like about this issue. It's always nice to see young and brash Thor knowing what present Thor is like and I certainly appreciate the sudden focus on Jarnbjorn in the pre-Mjolnir days. I'm interested to see (if we do) how Jarnbjorn ended up in the skull of Baron Mordo and not...well, I don't really know where abandoned Asgardian weaponry typically finds itself. I guess I always assumed that it was a storage room in Asgard. There definitely is one, it was raided by maybe the Thunderbolts in Siege. I suppose, though, that "lodged in the head of an enemy" would have been my next guess. ANYWAY, some foundation has been laid for an epic crossover of villains to make a giant headache for this Unity Avengers team. It's nice that they're going to combine major Avengers villains like Kang and Red Skull with major X-Men villains like Apocalypse. Feels like a good touch. I'm still excited to return to our team and their many problems, though, so while I certainly enjoyed this issue and found myself pretty engrossed in it and excited about the potential it sets up, one issue away from the team is enough for me right now.