All-New Invaders 5, Fantastic Four 5

All-New Invaders 5
J. Robinson (w) and Pugh (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Petit (l)

Everything works out because Winter Soldier breaks out Aarkus and he and another Eternal find the God's Whisper while Torch knocks out the watching Kree soldiers and Steve uses a computer virus laced shield (??) to shut down the Supremor for a time while they make their way off-planet. Back on Earth, Namor returns to the deep, Bucky goes back to wherever it is Bucky goes, and Cap recruits Jim to SHIELD while they muse over what Aarkus could be doing with the Eternals (hint: controlling Galactus in the Negative Zone with the God's Whisper if they should ever need him).

That "everything works out" bit above is only there partly because I'm lazy. Moreover, though, it's there because that's the spirit of this issue. It's very much a book that revolves around the old school style "I only wanted you to THINK I'd missed when, in fact, I was aiming at that device above you that's currently toppling on you" or some such that I swear happened in every other issue of AVENGERS back near the start of its run. Here it's all meaningless misdirect as Bucky buys time, Cap has a computer virus on his shield (not how that works, for the record, don't care what kind of comic book technology you have), and Torch ups the radiation in the room with Cap waving it off by literally saying "I'm immune." If the solutions are ridiculous then the stakes are meaningless. It's like being in an imaginary shootout with a child who keeps saying "no, you didn't hit me! I have a forcefield and the shot bounced and hit you!" You can make up the rules all you want, that doesn't mean I'm going to be on board with it. Pugh's art is pretty good though.

Total Score: 2/5


Fantastic Four 5
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk (p) and Leisten and Magyar (i) and Aburtov (c) and Cowles (l)

The Fantastic Four are on trial and the prosecutor is dragging them through the mud about every major superhero thing they've played a role in and how many people it hurt and it ends with a ruling that we don't get the full sense of yet but means the kids of the FF are shipped off to Camp Hammond to be watched by new SHIELD agent Jim Hammond (very quickly making his first SHIELD appearance from above). Oh, and in other news on this book, it made me as angry as any other book I've read in the past year and a half and I can't believe Marvel decided to charge five dollars for a book with five extra pages in it (albeit with art from all sorts of different artists).

Seriously. The courtroom superhero drama hasn't been compelling since the first time it was done and, when it's done this poorly, it throws everything into question. There's a writing trick wherein a writer knows exactly how a sane character would get out of a problem but dutifully ignores that solution because there's no drama in it. That's what Robinson's doing but it's not just Robinson who knows how to get out of it, it's every single person reading this book ever. The prosecutor has the shakiest grasp on how to prosecute and his terribleness and the terribleness of the entire plot draws the lawyering abilities of She-Hulk, the F4's lawyer, into severe question. It's a rare book that can take a completely separate book that I really like (SHE-HULK) and call it into question by painting its protagonist so weak. It's choppy writing at best and it's a terrible and cliche story that's executed about as badly as it could be. It feels like it was an excuse to get a bunch of guest artists in (who all do admirable work, though it sometimes feels like it's Marvel trying to hard sell their other books as Samnee draws some Daredevil related business and the Allred's pop in to draw Galactus and the Silver Surfer) and to charge an extra dollar for five extra pages and the book is garbage. Literally within the first three pages I was angry at this book.

Total Score: 1/5

SUPER QUICK REVIEWS: Fantastic Four 4, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 1

Fantastic Four 4
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk (p) and Kesel and Leisten (i) and Aburtov (c) and Cowles (l)

The new Frightful Four (Wizard and the Wrecking Crew) have been powered up by some genius, apparently, who wants the city at least partially destroyed. It takes the combined might of the Fantastic Four (even Johnny as a powerless distraction) and She-Hulk, Ant-Man, and Darla Deering showing up at the right moment to take them down. They hand them off to SHIELD then return to the Baxter Building to find Maria Hill and some more SHIELD and NYPD officers denying them access to the building and giving Reed summons to appear in court.

It's hard not to feel like there's just a little too much exposition throughout this one. It feels like an older comic with new comic art, which is a bit strange. Robinson wants to make sure everyone knows what's happening at every moment, including name dropping everyone who appears and giving a little bit of history for a number of them, plus some clunky dialogue to make sure we're all caught up with what's happened already in the series and what's happening at current. I think there's a story here that's probably worth telling but sometimes it can be hard to get to it beneath the writing.

Total Score: 3/5

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 1
M. Benson (w) and Huat (p) and Yeung (i) and Aburtov (c) and Sabino (l)

Leiko Wu, an agent of MI6 and a former love of Shang-Chi, has been hunted and killed in London's Chinatown. Shang requests time off from the Avengers (after successfully bringing in a fleeing Crossbones) and goes to her funeral. Though he claims he does not want revenge, he can't help visiting the place where she was killed, where he is quickly attacked by a few random agents claiming to work for White Dragon. MI6, led by Black Jack Tarr, swoops in on the scene and Tarr, an old friend of Shang's from his days with MI6, warns him not to pursue Leiko's killer but knowing that's bound to send him to it even faster.

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU, a four issue limited series, kicks off with the unenviable position of needing to cover a lot of ground. People unfamiliar with Shang-Chi will likely find themselves unsure who many of these people are and what their connection is. However, it's certainly manageable and Shang-Chi on the trail of someone who killed his first love will likely lead to an intriguing story. As a huge X-MEN LEGACY fan, it's also pretty neat to see Huat and Yeung back on the case.

Total Score: 4/5

All-New Invaders 4, Fantastic Four 3

All-New Invaders 4
J. Robinson (w) and Pugh (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Petit (l)

The Invaders have been captured by Tanalth and the Kree with the help of Ikaris, the Eternal they control with the God's Whisper. The Supreme Intelligence wants to dissect the Vision (already off in another chamber for testing), Human Torch, and Captain America to try to make their own forces stronger but they have no plans for Bucky, who launches forth as if to try to escape. He is shot and pronounced dead by the Human Torch. Namor is brought back to them and Tanalth and the Supreme Intelligence demand they fight Ikaris for the amusement of all present. Cap, Torch, and Namor manage to hold off Ikaris long enough for Bucky, obviously not dead, to sneak away and break Vision out, which had been the plan all along.

Story
For the first time, all our players are generally in the same area and rather aware of the situation. The story right now is the fight against the Kree and against the God's Whisper which gives everything something of an old-fashioned feel, sending this team away from the perils of Earth for a minute to deal with a possible alien war before it can become one. Okay, that's not really what makes it feel so old-fashioned but we'll get to that. The twist of Bucky being alive isn't so much a twist as it is another sort of call-back to a simpler times in comics (specifically to the time when everyone would go "I only wanted you to THINK I'd missed!" before a shield/arrow/Mjolnir/avalanche hit its intended strategic target. The God's Whisper is certainly compelling but even that can only take us so far. 4/5

Character
Cap's the strategist, Torch is proud of being more human, and Bucky doesn't want to be made a mindless slave as he relates in an all-too-long tirade while he's trying to enact an "escape" that would cause his "death." You can very nearly give him a pass for that strange and sudden speech because maybe he's just overacting but it is still a jarring sort of speech. Namor shows real emotion as he admits that it was his pride that put them all in this position and killed Bucky (he was not aware of the plan). It's an okay moment to see him open up to the only people would who really call him a friend but it still seems rather out of place, even in the midst of all of this. Namor isn't really a character who apologizes or recognizes his own pride. Honestly maybe a little too easy to get a grip on these characters. 3/5

Writing
The old-fashionedness I was talking about above comes out most of all in the writing. There's a lot of over-explanation for a plot that I have to imagine everyone understood as soon as Bucky was pronounced dead. It's like in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Voldemort (spoiler) thinks he kills Harry and has one person whose been grumpy with him all book check to confirm, then goes "WELL THAT OUGHTA DO IT." But even worse here for the brilliant strategist Kree, they let one of their ENEMIES check on their other ENEMY and totally believe him. It's the kind of basic suspension of disbelief that pulls you out of any sort of story. On top of that, the characters do feel so sort of cut-and-paste copies of themselves that it's hard to really be worried about any of them, which is particularly sad because I love the Invaders. This isn't me coming from a place of "oh, these characters are okay, I guess, I don't really know much about them or know why I should care." I love these characters through and through and I'm not invested in a single thing that happens to them in this book. Ugh. Whatever. 1/5

Art
Art's fine. Maybe a little too reliant on face lines for me but it gets the point across. I'm just depressed, okay? 4/5

Miscellaneous
Oh, who cares?

Total score: 2/5


Fantastic Four
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk (p) and Kesel (i) and Aburtov (c) and Cowles (l)

Johnny's powers have been wiped out since science. Something about the Negative Zone and Johnny's time there and the antigens in the bomb Reed had to make on the fly. Either way, his powers are gone now and Reed will work on getting them back but, you know, no promises. Meanwhile, Fury has detained all of the inert monsters from that other zone and plans on disposing of them until Reed learns that, underneath their monstrous exteriors, they're all humans. While Sue takes the kids on a field trip through Atlantis, Johnny and Ben walk through Times Square talking about his power loss only to be attacked by the new Frightful Four, led by an apparently healed Wizard.

Story
There's something specific going on for each F4 member, meaning that they're all more or less on their own as this story starts to take shape. While all of this is happening at home, Valeria has left for Latveria to spend some time away from her family and to hang out with ol' Uncle Doom. The Fantastic Four has always been about unity and family so keeping them apart as the series starts to really move could lead to something more interesting. There are hints that we'll be examining the love life of everyone as the story progresses as Ben and Alicia rekindle a relationship, Johnny mentions the Skrull Lyja he once loved and explains that he searched the Negative Zone for her but couldn't find her, and Namor guides the field trip Sue sets up while also looking adoringly at her. While the rest of the story is starting to take some shape, I'm not a huge, huge fan of multi-faceted love stories? So I have some concerns about that. We'll air those when we get to it though. 4/5

Character
Like with the above ALL-NEW INVADERS, it feels almost like these characters are too easy to grasp. These ones are maybe a little less carbon copy of the normal F4 representation (mostly in that Ben seems quieter and Johnny is more wistful than powerful) than the ANI are of the Invaders so far, but it's still not making for an altogether engaging story. I just don't have a strong enough connection to these characters right now to make much of what they go through dramatic for me. Now, I admit that that may have more to do with these characters over the long haul (I've never been a huge F4 fan) than about Robinson's new run, which is still very young. Still, I'll need to see more out of these characters to get behind this series. 2/5

Writing
References to the rest of the F4 Universe seem to be the order of the day for FANTASTIC FOUR as Nick Fury drops in and everything from the FF's encounter with Doom at the end of the recently ended FF series to Wyatt Wingfoot, Darla Deering, Lyja, Doom, Namor, and the Negative Zone are all referenced. Certainly Robinson wants to establish the depth of this corner of the world but references like these seem often to  be there just for fan service and that ends up being tricky. Of course, a lot of it, I'm sure, is sowing seeds for the future of this book but there's no need to put it all here in issue three. Let the book find its footing before you start plotting out its future. 3/5

Art
The art sometimes looks a little too soft for me but i tend to project what I'm feeling about a book onto its art so maybe I'm not the best judge of this one. I think the book is moving a little slowly in its tone, even for one that's seen so much action and life-shifting in just three issues. There was an issue of HAWKEYE where Clint set up a DVR and it was more engaging than any of these three issues where there's been an invasion of Earth, powers lost, and shocking revelations. Tone means everything. The art helps too, I guess, since we're in the art section, right? Look, I'm maybe not on my game today. 3/5

Miscellaneous
This book feels very much like it wants to be darker than it's currently coming off. Right from the get-go this creative team has promised major changes to this world, including Johnny's lost powers and the possible arrests of Ben and Dragon Man, not to mention the harsher red costumes instead of the classic blue ones. Still, there's very nearly nothing dark about this tone through three issues. It's hard to tell a great story if you can't get your tone, writing, and story to match up.

Total score: 3/5

Captain Marvel 1, Fantastic Four 2

Captain Marvel 1
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c)

Six weeks from now, Captain Marvel is in outer space with some new and alien crew-mates, on the run from the Spartax Secret Police and on the search for certain materials at an outpost. They pretty quickly get into it with a couple of roaming Spartax Secret Policemen and are forced to separate. Cut back to six weeks ago, when our story begins, as Carol and Iron Patriot attempt to stop what seems to be a missile from hitting New York. She grabs it and tosses it, giving the two a chance to examine it in the air. It's not a bomb, as it would happen, but instead some sort of containment for an alien creature. The alien is delivered to SWORD while Captain Marvel returns to her home in the Statue of Liberty, where she's recently welcomed Kit and her mother to stay after Kit's mother lost her job. As Carol puts Kit back to bed (she got up when Carol returned home), Iron Man beckons her to come with him. He tells her that he thinks the Avengers should have someone out in space monitoring any potential threats to Earth or even just things Earth should be aware of. His time with the Guardians of the Galaxy made him aware of how dangerous space may be for Earth and he wants to be prepared. She volunteers to take the first shift, which would be about a year or so in space. She breaks the news to her disappointed but understanding boyfriend Rhodey and she sets off, hoping to find where she belongs.

I think this is a tricky issue to write and it kind of shows. This is a book being rebooted not because it was doing poorly or because it needed a fresh start but because Marvel wanted the boost of a new release in the midst of new release season instead of just before a wave of new releases. This is, anyway, the company line. That said, there are pros and cons to sending Carol to space just as there are pros and cons to having to reboot a series so soon after the last one "concluded." Some of the pros and cons of the latter include needing to try to reach a new audience while similarly retaining one fresh off a great and well loved volume while some of the pros and cons of the former are that Marvel cosmic is ALWAYS a risky move. It's, of course, currently rather in vogue as Guardians of the Galaxy and the comic by the same name have paved the way for introducing more mainstream audiences to the space side of Marvel comics. Of course, that doesn't make it entirely less risky, just means it's got a bigger sandbox to play in. I guess what I'd say, then, is that this isn't a bad issue, just an issue that has found itself in the precarious position of trying to set up a new world without completely dismantling the old one. With that said, I think that the next few issues have the ability to get progressively stronger as the new order falls a little more into place.

Fantastic Four 2
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk and Kesel (a) and Aburtov (c)

The strange monsters that burst from the Baxter Building are revealed, by Franklin Richards, to have come from his secret pocket universe which is currently, as Franklin puts it, sick. They are extremely resilient creatures and it takes Reed a while to concoct something that will neutralize them. By the time he does, they've wreaked havoc all over New York and drawn the attention of plenty of Avengers and other heroes alike. Like his solution with Fin Fang Foom in issue one, Reed's solution this time requires Johnny to act as a catalyst for the cytotoxin he's developed and which will need to be dispersed in the atmosphere. He warns Johnny that it may have negative effects on anyone close to it while it disperses but Johnny decides they can't wait any longer and flies off with it. The cytotoxin works, rendering all the beasts unconscious, but it also knocks Johnny out of the sky. When the F4 catch him, he reveals that he can't feel his powers any more.

The pocket universe Franklin refers to in this issue is the controversial HEROES REBORN universe that it was revealed he had created back in the late '90s when Marvel attempted to reboot some of their major franchises with more modern takes on some of their key heroes after their apparent deaths at the hands of Onslaught. Interestingly, series writer James Robinson also wrote the final issue of all of the HEROES REBORN rebooted titles back in the '90s so he has some first hand familiarity with the universe he's reintroducing here. Despite all of the fighting and the race-against-the-clock mentality of Reed developing the cytotoxin (which happens kind of anticlimactically), it's hard to say this was a particularly exciting issue. It's also hard to be TOO interested in Johnny losing his powers as this is something of a frequent trope of superhero comics and, more importantly, is something that happened in just the last volume of FANTASTIC FOUR, albeit in a slightly different way. Of course, before Fraction's run (and part of Hickman's run, I suppose), I could never find myself interested in the Fantastic Four for some reason so being kind of bored by this one just fits the mold.

Fantastic Four 10, FF 9

Fantastic Four 10
Fraction (w) and Bagley and Farmer (a) and Mounts (c)

The news is breaking now amongst the family that their powers are killing them. Sue is the newest member of the F4 to see her powers breaking down as her invisibility is on the fritz, making her skin invisible but not her internal organs and the like. Reed explains what's happening and what he's been doing and why he hasn't told them. As expected, it's not met well. Reed doesn't exactly have time for that, though, as he's decided that the breakdown of their powers isn't natural; it's an attack. The F4 end up in 1776 on the trail of a Skrull messing with the Declaration of Independence (oh, Skrulls). Now they have to deal with in-fighting, Skrulls, and power breakdowns all while trying to figure out how to save themselves.

Fraction has been pretty phenomenal at making this team feel like a family, which is at the heart of what makes the Fantastic Four different. It's not unlike what he's doing with the FF but this team is actually a family so it resonates a bit more. He's had them face petty squabbling, he's had them ignore one another, he's had them focus too much on one another, he's had them fight, he's had them love, and it all feels like a real family (to an extent, assuming your real family is headed up by the smartest man on Earth and he's maybe not that good at human emotions). That makes it particularly palpable when Val tells Reed that he's a jerk and she hates him. Of course, it's not all Fraction, it goes back to series past where we've built this relationship that Fraction inherited and, I think, improved on, but it's well engineered and it's the cornerstone of what makes this book interesting. Granted, we have an interesting plot all by itself with the degradation of their powers and with the added intrigue of it being an attack rather than the natural progression of their molecules, but it's firmly held together by the family itself. A Fantastic Four book can't work any other way.

FF 9
Fraction (w) and Quinones (a) and L. Allred (c)

The FF has been restored to the way it was at the start (with new additions to that team in Ahura and Luna of the Inhumans) for the first time since Alex ran off and Medusa was mind controlled. The entire group is invited to a pool party at Julian Enterprises by CEO Charles Cotta and, despite the strange circumstance, decide to find out what it's all about (and go swimming). Meanwhile, Bentley-23 is making a documentary in what he's decided is the style of Werner Herzog for an assignment She-Hulk gave them that required they understand another culture by talking with fellow FF members. He's chosen the Uhari, Vil and Wu. He decides that there's something dark and sinister to them and he wants to get to the bottom of it. While he makes his documentary at the pool party, Charles Cotta reveals to the adults of the FF that he's actually the alien who posed as Julius Caesar back in Fantastic Four 5 and he'd like to help the FF the way the F4 helped him.

It's another very entertaining issue. The kids of the FF are wholly interesting and well personalized but Fraction has clearly realized that Bentley-23 is the spirit of the group. He's essentially Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes but he's not ready to classify himself as a hero the way that Calvin instantly has. Here's the thing though: Calvin and Hobbes is great, so it's hard for Bentley not to be great. Add to that the previously hinted re-emergence of Caesar to the story and what options he brings the team with the F4 gone long past what they had assumed (we learn why in F4 10) and we have ourselves a solid story. I've liked Michael Allred's art in this book and Joe Quinones has done a great job whenever he's had the shot to fill in. Quinones emulates Allred's style well while also adding his own touches and flair to the story. I'm also a little biased towards Quinones as my girlfriend went to the same school he did and, guys, that's pretty cool, you know?

Daredevil 26, Fantastic Four 8

Daredevil 26
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and Rodriguez (c)

This plot has seemingly reached its climax as Matt escapes Ikari and goes to try to fix himself up a bit before the next encounter, whenever that may come. He's unsettled and freaked out and extremely paranoid about Ikari's attack and the threat that a new one could come at any time. He snaps during an interview with a possible replacement for Foggy's workload, lashing out at a man reaching for antacids to soothe his nerves during the interview. As the man rushes out of the office with Matt apologizing behind him, the man mentions Ikari and escapes. The same thing happens as Matt gets to the hospital to help Foggy through his chemo and attacks a nurse who's about to inject Foggy with something. Though the nurse seems to be legit, the syringe has braille on it that says "got you." Matt confesses to Foggy everything that's happening and Foggy tries to help him figure things out. As they try to piece together the related events, Foggy's notes start to form a bullseye. BULLSEYE (though, to cover my bases, I find it important to note that they never officially confirm it's Bullseye). Admittedly, it's a little weird the way they get to the end result, but the end result is super exciting as one of Daredevil's biggest foes seems back on the scene. DD evades Ikari, who is still following him, and heads to Bullseye's hideout (thanks to a tip from Hank Pym about where the radioactive waste came from). There he finds Lady Bullseye, who he takes out efficiently, before advancing on Bullseye. The issue ends as Ikari sneaks up behind Daredevil.

I really like Daredevil as a character and as a series right now and one of the reasons I've found him so compelling are his key villains. Elektra was always cool as a villain because she's so brutal and has such a past with Daredevil. Kingpin is a great villain because he's the exact kind of mastermind you want a criminal to be, always a few steps ahead and very cunning and ruthless. But Bullseye is the key villain to Daredevil. He's the same sort of build as Daredevil, with beatable skills but definitely very real skills. He's also got the Joker sort of mentality of never knowing what his real motivation is. He's sometimes in it for the money, he's often in it because he hates Daredevil so much at this point. He's very interesting to me and I can't help but be a little excited at the prospect that Bullseye is back finally, long after his "death" in Shadowland. This is my problem as a comic reader: I want death to mean something in comics and not to be cheapened by the fact everyone eventually comes back, but I also don't want anyone to be gone forever. Comics fans: we're exceedingly hard to please. The very end of this issue also features a second story (by the same creative team) about Foggy's time in the hospital. It focuses on Foggy going to entertain some cancer patient children as they wait for Iron Man to come see them. It's a very touching little mini-issue that isn't preachy but still comes with a great lesson while also giving us a good look at Foggy, one of the best support characters in comics.

Fantastic Four 8
Fraction (w) and Bagley and Farmer and Rubinstein (a) and Mounts (c)

It's Ben's one day in his human form a year and he has a full plan for the day. The F4 bring him back to Yancy Street of the past and he goes to pick a fight with the Yancy Street Gang. This isn't the YSG from FF, this is a group of gangsters with guns and a penchant for shakedowns. Ben steps in to protect a shop-owner from the gangsters and promises the shop-owner and his wife that he'll protect them. He relates his troubles, in short, with the Yancy Street Gang and tells them that he's seeking a bit of retribution, even if it means getting his hands dirty. The shop-owner's wife doesn't like the sound of that and asks Ben to leave. Ben has to admit to himself that he's come an awful long way just to beat someone up but ultimately decides it's still worth it. He sends the YSG running again but the shop-owner points out that they'll just come back with more guys and more guns. Ben checks the time and promises that they're going to get some backup by then. Of course, when the YSG shows up again, the Thing is back and fights them all off, swearing to always protect Yancy Street. The YSG runs off and Ben returns to the F4, who have questions of their own for him. While he was gone, the kids relate a dream they each had about the adults going away and leaving holographic messages for them (as related in their AU tie-in; pretty cool that these kids dream in alternate realities) and reveal that Ben had said something in the dream about a fateful run in with Doc Doom back in college. The F4 are about to set off for COLLEGE.

I found myself really liking this episode, though I've never been a Thing fan. It's very sweet and gives a really good sense of his character. We already know that Thing doesn't like the YSG and that he loves Yancy Street but we get a really good look at it here as he goes to try to shape the way his home evolves over time. It's genuinely touching and it helps to ground him on Earth and illustrates some of why he's so homesick when they're gone. It's also a good story on its own that stands alone while also fitting into the rest of the series. Add to that the intrigue of the children remembering the events of the AU tie-in issue (despite the fact they remember it as a dream and that it's part of a universe that will never have happened by the end of all that business) and where the team is going next to potentially correct errors in Ben's past and we have ourselves some story and some major character building.

FF 7, Wolverine and the X-Men 29, X-Factor 256

FF 7
Fraction (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

Everything FF has been building to (well, a lot of things) comes to a head here in issue seven as Scott is forced to confront his fear of his new children dying in his arms like Cassie, as Darla shows off her new Thing powers pretty impressively, and as the Wizard's plan becomes clear to everyone. The Wizard has transported the Baxter Building into the Negative Zone in the hopes of showing Bentley-23 that his fake family, the FF, is weak and doesn't deserve him whereas his "real" family, comprised of the Wizard, a brainwashed Medusa, and Blastaar, wants him to be home with them. A fight ensues, wherein Scott tells the kids to get ready to battle instead of hiding. Onome expresses concern about that and Scott explains that he's terrified for them every moment of every day but that the world is a scary and dangerous place and they're just as likely to choke on waffles as they are to die in a battle and that eventually you just have to live your life. Leech mostly calms Medusa, who flips in and out of the brainwashing, while Darla fights Blastaar and Scott fights the Wizard. Darla fights surprisingly well but eventually has her Thing suit destroyed by a Blastaar punch. Fortunately, Bentley-23 has rushed off in the Baxter Building and returns with a vest that he wraps Blastaar in and activates, sending him to the end of time (hence his arc in Fantastic Four; well done, Fraction). They stop the Wizard and hand him over to Black Bolt who, despite Medusa's plea for compassion from her husband (as Wizard is clearly insane and just wanted the love of his "son"), "would have words" with Wizard. Meanwhile, Doom questions Alex Power about the FF's plan to "end Doom."

This is a nice wrap up to, really, the team's first arc. There have been plenty of things going on and even a couple of nice standalone sort of issues but this is the first real storyline that's wrapped up. It's especially good going forward because now Medusa can officially be a member of the team, which is always interesting. Add to that the newfound feeling of family the FF seems to have and we have ourselves a different book. The writing continues to be solid and the art fits incredibly well. The Allreds create images and colors that call back images of the original Fantastic Four books and in a bygone generation of comics as a whole. Even the cover image (shown above) has the old school style coloring and drawing with the rarely seen word bubbles on the cover explaining some of what's happening. If I had a stronger knowledge of F4 covers, I'd even say it's a direct parody of one, just as old John Storm's walk through the bowery an issue or two ago. Very fun book, well executed again.

Wolverine and the X-Men 29
Aaron (w) and R. Perez (a) and L. Martin (c)

Fresh off his return from the Savage Land, Wolverine makes a speech to the students and faculty of the Jean Grey School, thanking them for sticking with him and explaining to them that he knows the school is important and that the person he is today is a far different one than the one he'd be without Xavier's school in his past. They bury a time capsule to be opened in 25 years. Fortunately for us, we are merely an audience, so we are then transported 25 years into the future to see what exactly is going on when the time capsule is opened. The school still exists and Wolverine is still there (though now weirdly with grey hair; he doesn't seem to have aged at all in his first 100+ years alive but these last 25 seem to have really gotten to him. Maybe it's the teaching). Looking inside, he finds something that unsettles him and that he can trace back to everything going wrong. Longtime comic fans will already recognize this set-up as boilerplate teaser issue and they're 100% correct. Grey-hair Wolverine teleports into space to a satellite maintained by a now 40 year old Eye Boy, who monitors all mutant activity and other such things and dispatches controls as needed. Locked away in the satellite is time travel equipment which Wolverine hopes to use, despite Eye Boy's request not to and the fact that Wolverine has clearly gotten into trouble doing this before. Eye Boy is needed on Earth and so leaves Wolvy there, saying that he's welcome to use the time machine stuff if he really needs to but that maybe he should just leave a note to the present day Wolverine (as is grey-hair Wolverine's intent) that says "thanks," as Eye Boy clearly appreciates what he's done for him. Grey-hair eventually does just that. Meanwhile, in the present, Idie meets with a shadowy traitor from the Jean Grey School who has joined the Hellfire Academy and requests to join as well.

As I said, this is pretty boilerplate for comics. It doesn't happen in every series (thankfully) but there are several series that wish to tease the future of their books by actually showing the future to keep people interested. In Bendis' Avengers run, near the beginning of the Heroic Age, there was an issue of Avengers that found the present day Avengers transported into the future by Kang and looking over a timeline Kang had constructed of events that were happening. The timeline was at least mildly familiar to fans as they could see events that had happened already on it and events that they knew were set to happen (this was just prior to Johnny Storm's "death" and there was a marker on the timeline that said "THREE," for example). It's a way of keeping people onboard without having to actually thread suspense through the series. Am I a little bitter about it? Maybe. It is boilerplate but that doesn't mean that it's the best routine. Maybe the first time or two that you see it you'll pour over the dialogue and try to piece together the things they're referring to but, in the end, I try not to read solicits for a reason. I care about a long-term plan for these characters and these books, sure, but I don't appreciate the poking and prodding that seems to say "hey, do you care yet? Want me to tell you what's going to happen? Going to have to keep reading!" I was already going to keep reading, Wolverine and the X-Men. You didn't have to waste an issue telling me to.

X-Factor 256
David (w) and Kirk and Leisten (a) and Milla (c)

Interesting ending to the seemingly very long Lords of Hell storyline. Tier, after explaining for about the fiftieth time who he is, kills all the hell lords who had previously lost and makes his way to Mephisto. Polaris and Jezebel are leading an army of goat-Madroxes through the gates in a frontal assault while the rest of the team comes in through the backdoor. Tier attacks Mephisto, who in turn traps him and attacks Shatterstar and Rictor. Tier breaks free and starts to attack Mephisto again but eventually is slain through the gut with a trident by Guido, who has just appeared on the scene. As the rules of the game were "whoever kills Tier becomes the lord of Hell," Guido assumes the throne. He uses his power to restore Monet (obviously) and sends her away. Layla, who was away from the action with Madrox-prime, is transported onto a city building's roof, unsure of what's happening and having lost Jamie. Hopefully the defeat of Mephisto will return Jamie to mutant form and out of goat form because he has sorely been missing from this arc.

It's an interesting ending because it puts Guido in a position of power and takes Tier out of the equation. Of course, that's going to make Rahne even more violent and angry and therefore present, but you can't win on all counts. OKAY, look, I really didn't like Tier and I wasn't a big fan of this story in general. I guess I didn't even totally mind the story (except that it seemed to last forever) but it's hard to really feel involved with the story when you don't care about the narrator and, in essence, the driving force. Madrox is also my favorite member of the team so losing him to a transformation didn't help my feelings for the arc. Just as it seemed Tier might end up staying with the team in the case of their victory, Guido ends that, which is interesting enough purely based on what Guido's become, and takes over as lord of hell. Nice little twist to finish it off that I, admittedly, never saw coming. Looking forward to the next arc which will have to resolve quite a few things and which, Peter David willing, will restore Madrox to the character we know and love.

Age of Ultron 7, Thanos Rising 2

Age of Ultron 7
Bendis (w) and Peterson, Pacheco, and Martinez (a) and Mounts and Villarrubia (c)

Guys, if you go back to the past and kill someone, the future changes! That seems to be the lesson of this story and, in particular, these few issues. What a twist that no one saw coming! Except that it's so prevalent in science fiction that there's already a term for when this very thing happens and it is used commonly, despite the fact no one in our lifetime has ever gone back in time and killed someone.
So yes, I continue to be a bit bitter about Age of Ultron. It might even come off sounding a little hypocritical, considering how much I'm enjoying Dark Avengers and preparing to enjoy Red She-Hulk. Those are different. We're looking into alternate dimensions there, where something has happened in the real history of the place that changed it. It's a nice hypothetical situation asking things like "what if Hank Pym had died early into his research?" and then giving us some sort of answer in a universe where that's the way things are. Here, in the main Marvel Universe, we all know that things are going to be reset and a couple things might be a little different, but by and large this hypothetical situation isn't fully realized, just a slight diversion from the main path. Then we end up back on the main path. Woo. Thanks for the ten issue "major event."
So yes, Wolverine and Sue return to the present to find that EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED. It's a lot of "gee, what's all this? This wasn't here before..." for a bit of time, then they get attacked by the Defenders, a team of heroes comprised of Cap with a Nick Fury eyepatch, Doc Strange, Thing, a smarter Hulk, Janet Van Dyne in a costume that's a cross between Captain Marvel and the Wasp, Wolverine in old-school costume/Daken costume, Starlord, and Cyclops/Cable (dying to hear how that happened). Wolverine and Sue are eventually taken down and Doc Strange says they have to go to "him," which Colonel America (for real) doesn't want to do. However, "he" shows up anyway, a version of Tony Stark controlling tons of Iron Man armors and looking more cybernetic than human. Where will this lead next time? When will this all eventually go away and be restored? Only time can tell (issue 10).

Thanos Rising 2
Aaron (w) and Bianchi (a) and Svorcina (c)

Thanos left the last issue slaughtering a heap of lizards and now we find him no long averse to the idea of killing. However, he does it for science, not for joy. He's certainly intelligent, learning faster than he can be taught. However, the existential questions of life bother him and he has no idea where to start looking for those. So he looks inside a lot of different creatures, than finally inside the people of his planet. As he tries to find something that can tell him what he is and what his purpose is, the mysterious girl from the last issue, the one who nudged him in the direction of killing the lizards, continues to watch him work. He twice tries to express love for her and twice he's rejected. She's happy he's letting his inner nature out (though he initially denies a joy in killing) but she wants nothing to do with him by way of love. We learn a little about Titan too, as narration tells us that no one had ever been murdered there before Thanos was born. He reveals later that he's killed 17 people. Mostly children but a few professors on occasion. This issue ends with his admission that he finds joy in killing, if only because killing lets him feel close to someone, lets him stop feeling alone for a moment. So he's determined that maybe the issue is in love and in his makeup and need for love. The only place he can find love and answer questions about his makeup? His mother, who he has strapped to his dissection table now.
The tale of Thanos is getting darker quickly. It's well paced so far; it's a four issue mini and definitely feels like, if we keep ramping up the creepiness exponentially, it could lead to the Thanos we know today. The biggest drama and intrigue in the continuation of this series will be in seeing how this boy, who wants answers about why he has to be this way and what purpose he serves, will become the all-powerful and pretty murder-hungry Thanos. Hopefully it goes a different way than saying "he just wants to be loved" and I think it will. It could go in the existential route, with Thanos deciding that no one really has a purpose and he's just the sociopath to prove it. However, the best option seems to be to let Jason Aaron tell the story and allow him to guide us through the history of the cosmic supervillain who is rapidly re-emerging on the scene after his surprise cameo in The Avengers. With Guardians of the Galaxy on the table as a new book and a new upcoming movie, we're moving Marvel back into the cosmic realm and who better to usher us there than Thanos, who will also headline the next major Marvel event, Infinity. It's interesting to get to dive a little deeper into his history to see why he is what he is, if we indeed will see that.

Fantastic Four 7, FF 6

Fantastic Four 7
Fraction (w) and Bagley and Hennessey (a) and Mounts (c)

The Fantastic Four go into prevention mode as Franklin saves the team from the sun and Blastaar explosion by sending them through time and space to the end of the universe, just before the aliens who sentenced Blastaar to being the first death in the universe send him back to it. They arrive and instantly head it off with the aliens, who help repair their ship and talk to Reed, Susan, and Ben about how their bodies are decaying. They know that Reed's cellular structure is decaying while something is happening to Ben's mind. Ben is angry Reed didn't tell him, but has more pressing issues. The next day is the one day a year where he transforms out of the Thing and into Ben Grimm for 24 hours and he'd like to be able to spend that day himself. Reed promises to be done with what they're doing at the end of the universe by then to allow Ben to choose where ever he wants to go. The whole team works together to pull one over on the aliens (after the aliens fix up and improve the F4's ship and everything) by rescuing Blastaar for themselves. If he isn't sent back in time to the start of the universe, he'd never explode there and they'd never be caught in the explosion. Johnny asks the question "what sparks us to come back here if he never explodes?" opening up a loop of time travel issues, but Sue rebuffs him by simply demanding he not ask. Val creates a containment unit for Blastaar that should keep him from exploding and helps prepare the ship. Everyone plays a role in the long con and eventually they end up leaving with Blastaar, who they drop off in the Negative Zone. Reed asks Ben what he wants to do with the rest of his day (they've taken out an hour doing this) and he asks to go home.
It's a nice little issue that has a lot of layers to it. There are nice mentions from the aliens of Franklin (when they first see Franklin, who is unconscious from the effort to bring them there, they tell him he's not the first Franklin Richards they've seen) and Valeria (the head alien says "while your species as a whole may not have survived this long, everyone knows of Valeria Richards"). It all fits in nicely with the F4 mythos without dominating too much of the story. Now 3/4 of the Fantastic Four know that their powers could be killing them, which will likely bring out some more tension as we continue. There's also a Reed-defining moment as he says to the alien, once the long con is complete, "your society, this civilization, you might have a few billion years on me and mine, sure...but I'm Reed Richards. Nobody's smarter than me." Fun issue. By the end it does feel rather like a heist movie (hence all the long con references) with all the pieces coming into place. Nicely done.

FF 6
Fraction (w) and Quinones (a) and L. Allred (c)

We get a fun look into the Baxter Building (complete with map of the tower) as Dragon Man searches for his roommate Bentley-23, who we know has been taken by Medusa. Dragon Man's character has been pretty fun in this series, if far removed. He's constantly off to the side, reading a newspaper and making "hmm" kinds of sounds. This issue starts the same way, though with several more "hmm"s. He searches the general area and starts asking about Bentley, but no one can tell him anything. At breakfast, he brings it up again, as Ahura (Medusa's son) brings up that she's missing. Meanwhile, Scott has been having trouble sleeping because of an incredibly depressing dream about his daughter that's keeping him from rest. He too questions where Medusa is as She-Hulk shows Darla the paper, which has hacked cell phone pictures of her trying on different headwear (as seen last issue). Darla is furious but has to get over it to go to a gig at Carnegie Hall. Of course, the Yancy Street Gang, who has joined the modern age as hackers, is behind it. Tong, one of the Moloids, expresses to his brothers that there's something inside him now that "there is a girl inside of him" and she dons a dress and asks for their understanding. They grant it and parade through the Baxter Building, to the enjoyment of She-Hulk and Darla and the confusion of Scott. She-Hulk and Ahura meet with his father Black Bolt to tell of Medusa's disappearance. It's actually a pretty funny scene as Black Bolt and Ahura communicate telepathically and Black Bolt continually gets closer to his son's head. Ahura reveals that Black Bolt has given them permission to take Lockjaw with them (rad) to help them find Medusa again. Darla's gig goes badly as everyone in attendance has been brought there by the Yancy Street Gang and are all wearing Thing masks and throw things at her to force her off the stage. Scott has seemingly disappeared on her and she eventually meets up with him at an internet cafe. He's invited the heads of the YSG to the cafe and reveals to them that he was with them as they went home that night, watching as they hacked things. He got all of their passwords and sent them around to any other hackers or news organizations or embassies they've embarrassed. He tells them to back off and it seems to have the desired effect. It's nice for Scott to finally win one. They return home to find that Dragon Man has connected Medusa and Bentley-23's disappearances after all, just in time for the whole building to be sent to the Negative Zone.
If this recap seemed like it jumped around a lot, it's because it did. There are a lot of things going on at the Baxter Building these days and a lot of storylines Fraction wants covered. He switches back and forth between them effortlessly and doesn't really seem to care if you're comfortable with the pace. There are places to be and things to do. I think it's a solid way to approach this book, which he's set up as being a pretty hectic time. Of course it would be hectic, there are 15 or so children living in one building with four adults (three right now) who don't quite know how they fit with one another yet, or how they fit into the lives of the children. The jumping back and forth at random and quickly, without allowing us to get too comfortable in one story, helps show how chaotic the FF life is. When I said above it was nice that Scott was able to win one, I meant it. It felt like such a victory for him in that it was a near-total victory over the YSG and it was so needed. Will it help stem the tide of emotion over Cassie? No, of course not. But it's nice to win occasionally. Good book. Next issue we send everyone into the Negative Zone. Fun stuff ahoy.

Fantastic Four 6, Ultimates 23

Fantastic Four 6
Fraction (w) and Bagley and Farmer (a) and Mounts

I enjoy this Fantastic Four run quite a bit and the Thing is an interesting character in this run. These are two statements I never thought I'd make separately, let alone together, but they hold true regardless. I like that the Fantastic Four have returned to the roots, as it were, and gone in a route of exploration. I think removing them from the superheroes of Earth is probably a smart idea, and one that will only benefit the team for the time being. This issue puts the F4 and the two kids (with everyone alive, despite F4 5AU's assertion; remember, this issue puts us squarely back into F4 continuity whereas that one drifted us somewhere between Age of Ultron and F4 and there's a high probability that the Age of Ultron continuity gets erased, so that story's plot has less meaning to it. Still I'd recommend it based on the character moments all around) on a trip to see the Big Bang. The ULTIMATE exploration for science. They'll see the entire universe created from a place somewhat removed from it. Reed quizzes the kids on what the Big Bang is in a whole lot of science-talk, mixed nicely with a couple of child-like moments, and the gang sets off. Ben, meanwhile, is dealing with a killer headache and some rage problems, not unlike the Hulk. But imagine if, instead of the Hulk growing out of Bruce Banner, the Hulk grew out of someone like the Thing, who is already somewhat Hulkish in his own right. Ben actively has to calm himself down from even minor annoyances, flashing a Thing-out when the kids knock on the bathroom door while he's trying to open a container of Tylenol. The team flies to the Big Bang and finds a creature strapped to a rock in front of the explosion. The audience saw this creature at the start of the issue (it's all covered up so we don't know its identity as yet) being sentenced for its crimes by authorities at the end of the universe to die in the Big Bang; to be the universe's first death. The F4 waste little time in deciding to rescue the creature, which they manage, only to find that he's none other than old cosmic foe Blastaar, currently outputting crazy radioactivity. Blastaar immediately begins attacking his rescuers and blowing bits of the ship to pieces. Thing hulks out (I'd try to use a different word but that one already exists and it really fits, you guys) and starts wailing on Blastaar before eventually being knocked outside the ship, hanging on for his life. Sue protects the kids and herself before telling them to run for safety and trapping Johnny and Blastaar in a forcefield together. Johnny heats the area up intensely before Blastaar can manage to knock him out. The kids send a couple of HERBIE-based robots (and a Doctor Who joke) in to help, which distracts Blastaar long enough for the team to reconvene and come up with a plan. The craft is pretty devastated but Blastaar is close to exploding, so the only viable option is Franklin, who swears he can use his powers to save them. The last few panels show the ship (Ben included, who is floating outside the ship but hanging on) disappearing and leaving Blastaar in front of the Big Bang explosion, fading into it.
So we're not sure where the F4 will wind up and whether or not Franklin did what he aimed to do successfully, but we're in a very interesting spot for this book. If Franklin wasn't able to do it as successfully as he hoped, we'll have questions for the plot about where they are and what's happened to them. If he did do it successfully, maybe we'll have to question if Franklin is ready for his role as world's most powerful hero sooner than we thought. And Ben...what is happening with Ben? When he loses control to the anger, His color scheme inverts, with his rocks going black and the cracks between the rocks going yellow/orange. It looks a bit like his Fear Itself Worthy-incarnation, as I think I've mentioned before. Is he still suffering ill-effects from that or is he, like Reed, starting to see degradation from the power-granting explosion? All questions worth asking and all interesting plot points to deal with going forward. Good issue.

Ultimates 23
Humphries (w) and Bennett and José (a) and Milla (c)

Another solid issue for the Ultimates as Ford's West Coast Ultimates continue their attacks on the true Ultimates. Black Knight has successfully subdued and captured Tony Stark and brought him back to Ford, who soliloquies his plan in a super-villainy way. Tony decides not to attack Ford, as his armor isn't available and Ford still has one reject Ultimate with him, though in suspension (Wonder Man). Meanwhile, President Cap is getting pretty fed up with his new job. He's disgusted with the people he has to work with (namely the elected officials) and feels he could be doing more out on the front lines than from behind a desk. He complains that he was elected to win the war and he's done that but the country's still not mending and he can't politic his way around that. Carol Danvers assures him that he was elected as a symbol for the war and the reconstruction and that he's doing a fine job. This doesn't stop him, though, from leaping into action when Tigra and Quake are unleashed on DC. We get a bit of backstory for Tigra (ex-cop who was in prison for "actions that cost a young man his life" before Nick Fury approached her about joining the Ultimates), who is soundly beaten by Cap, and for the Vision (Robert Mitchell, a high school dropout with an IQ of 240 who is adept at hacking and created an antimatter generator from plans found on the internet) who is currently using Tigra and Quake as a distraction so he can bring a new Tony Stark satellite/energy platform crashing down on Sacramento. Ford explains to Tony that the action will look like an attack on the West Coast from the President and that it will also kill the current governor of California, paving the way for one of Ford's hand-picked candidates to take control and to officially separate itself from the United States and become an enemy to the country. Cap sniffs out the distraction tactic and directs SHIELD to figure out what they're meant not to see. Quake, meanwhile, reveals to the audience that she's been betrayed by Vision and Ford, who did not tell her that the plan was to reprogram the J-RICE (the satellite) and not simply destroy it. Quake is angry about the betrayal and clearly was not complicit in the plan, so we'll see where that goes. At the same time, the Black Knight shows up on the moon and knocks Thor aside, keeping Thor and Sue Storm distracted. Hawkeye is out somewhere keeping tabs on Nick Fury for SHIELD. So that's all Ultimates accounted for with seemingly no way to stop what's happening.
This is an interesting place to leave the issue. Cap has figured out that it's a distraction and that these Ultimates were sent by Ford for some reason or another and, on top of all the other crap he has to deal with right now, he is pissed about it. These Ultimates are pretty formidable, with Vision's intelligence and at least some powers (we haven't seen a lot of them, just an ability to phase and fly so far) making him a useful counter to Black Knight's sheer power. Tigra was somewhat impressive but she ended up one on one against a very angry Captain America, so it's hard to get a proper gauge on her. Wonder Man's still in the tank, so we'll have to see soon what he's like in the field. The country and the Ultimates are on a dangerous precipice as we head into the next issue, leaving us in a pretty good spot for action and intrigue.

Uncanny Avengers 5, Young Avengers 3, A+X 6

Uncanny Avengers 5
Remender (w) and Coipel and Morales (a) and L. Martin with Molinar (c)

I've really liked Marvel NOW! for the way the writers and artists have really jumped in and been unafraid to break some traditions. At the same time, I kind of love the way that Remender is playing with traditions in this book. I've talked a little bit before about Remender's use of a narrator, something that has faded a little bit with the disappearance of thought bubbles and the emergence of captions as a character's thoughts (which I don't view as a bad thing). There's no real narrator in this issue (though there's a good bit with Kang as narrator at the beginning) but there are still a few traditions that creep their way into UA 5. One of the traditions that I hadn't really considered for any of these new Avengers books in Marvel NOW! that has been all but ignored (which I don't think has hurt the books in any way) is the press conference. It took this issue for me to actually recognize that none of the other Avengers books have done a press conference issue in any way but that it really is a weird sort of tradition for these books to have. It makes total sense to me that the Avengers WOULD have press conferences so I've never questioned them appearing in a book, but it's still a fun little nod at Avengers history. There's a lot of that in this issue, between Rogue replacing a picture of the original Avengers with a picture of Charles Xavier, the team meeting together to discuss their next move (in a meeting called by Cap, just like the old days when people used to regularly call and lead meetings), Wasp and Wonder Man (Avengers mainstays) appearing at the mansion as a PR team for this new Unity Avengers division, and the inevitable supervillain attack at the press conference. Even when Grim Reaper does attack the conference, he announces his name with the traditional (though not frequently used in modern comics) larger/different/colored font.

Don't mistake all of these traditions as covering up a weak book. Plenty happens here and it's all very interesting. Kang the Conqueror, sick of seeing the timeline corrupted by Apocalypse and his spawn, kidnaps the twin children of Apocalypse and his Pestilence (of the Four Horsemen from Remender's Uncanny X-Force days). Wolverine goes to Japan to convince Sunfire (a one-time Apocalypse Horseman himself) to join the team. Rogue and Scarlet Witch express their frustration with the Unity Avengers. Alex takes charge of both a team meeting and the press conference that follows. Grim Reaper, rather insane, attacks the Avengers and eventually is possibly killed by Rogue in front of gathered press as she doesn't realize the strength of the power she absorbs from Wonder Man. So yes. A TON HAPPENED. Another solid issue and it puts us in another interesting place as we move forward (though where did Thor go? I know he's in next issue but I didn't see him...wait, I just went back. He's AT the press conference. Why did he not get in on that fight with Grim Reaper? Would it have been too easy? Okay, so there's my complaint about the issue and MAYBE it's a little nitpicky but MAYBE it's a good question.

Young Avengers 3
Gillen (w) and McKelvie with Norton (a) and Wilson (c)

I don't know that Young Avengers is my favorite book Marvel has at the moment (considering all the tough competition) but I do believe it's the one wherein I most regularly say "oh, that's neat" about something or other that Gillen and/or McKelvie has done. Whether it's McKelvie's full-page spreads with interesting panels sprinkled in or a writing technique that makes a narrator feel present when he's not (for example, America speeds into a situation as a blur of colors that appear in several panels that say "somewhere distant" then "still distant" the next time it appears then "getting closer" the next time then "here" as she arrives). I find myself constantly reading and seeing innovations like these in a mainstream comic and being completely taken aback with how simple and how great they are. It's one thing for a to know the story they want to tell and even to know the characters their using, it's a different thing altogether when they have such a complete grasp on the tone they want that story and these characters to have. I don't know if it ties into what I was talking about in my pre-game post about Gillen and McKelvie's long-established relationship coming into this comic or about their experiences with these kinds of innovations in their independent comic Phonogram but it really shows and it plays incredibly well in this book.

The book itself, on top of being a kind of masterwork of cool techniques, is loaded with story and character (particularly character). After Billy's spell the restore Teddy's mother in issue one, everyone tied to him has found their parents alive, present, and altered. The start of the issue has Billy, Teddy, and Loki fighting Loki's once-dead father Laufey outside of Asgard. America shows up just before her parents who have been combing the universes to track her down. It's the first time we REALLY see America outside of a couple of quick lines in the first issue and a bit of backstory in the initial .1. Her attitude is very clearly on display, as are some of her powers. It's particularly important because she's the least known character of all of these relatively unknown characters (people who know the Young Avengers know the majority of this team, but those people are limited. Loki too, despite his long history, is only really entirely familiar to people who read Gillen's run on Journey into Mystery) but you don't want to just cram in information about her. You want it to come out naturally, as the story requires it. We're also getting a great look at Gillen's Loki, which remains unbeatably enigmatic. No one trusts him to cast spells or trusts him at all (wisely). America reveals that he had wanted her to kill Billy, which he explains as a reverse psychology tactic to get her to actually protect Billy, citing the known perception of him as, you know, Loki. He explains too that his powers are significantly weaker because he's in a child's body and tells the three of them that he could wipe this spell away instantly if he could "borrow" Wiccan's powers. What side is Loki playing? Only Loki knows, as it should be. Great book, great issue. If you're a comic fan, you should read Young Avengers. It's a good story with good characters (and a really good sense of what that story is and who these characters are) and great flair. Also worth reading for the best fake ID in the world variant cover (at right).

A+X 6
Captain Marvel + Wolverine: David (w) and Camuncoli w/ Benevento (a) and Brown and Mossa (c)
Thing + Gambit: Costa (w) and Caselli (a) and Mossa (c)

Interesting first story. As I've said about A+X before, they're not aiming for story here. There's probably nothing from any of these books that will be expounded on in other books or used in canon later on. They're fun little books to show X-Men and Avengers working together, a place they've usually not been before. We mostly have seen people who haven't really teamed up together in the past, like Gambit and Hawkeye or Captain America and Quentin Quire. Even the second story in this issue (Thing and Gambit) is one you don't really envision. That makes this first one interesting; it's a team-up that's happened plenty of times. In fact, in some timeline (I want to say Days of Future Past but I might be wrong) Carol and Logan end up married. Not the case here, of course, but it's worth noting (maybe. Noted it, anyway). Playing poker, the two get into an argument spawned from the TV series Angel about who would win in a fight, an astronaut or a caveman. It's an interesting question posed by interesting characters to examine it. Carol is all about flight and the modern (with pretty amazing powers to boot) and Wolverine's incredibly old and oftentimes not far off from a caveman. Naturally, the two side on their respective connection (Carol with the astronauts, Logan with the caveman). As they're arguing (and it gets kind of heated), they're interrupted by a giant robotic being called The End, who seems intent on fighting them. Carol poses the question to him and he answers "astronaut" and explains that we've already seen it in Planet of the Apes. They invite him to the card game. Sure it's cute and throwaway but it's still pretty fun. There's a lot of fun dialogue and smart writing that feels relatively real. Like I said, I'm not here for an ongoing series where The End is a legitimate threat and not a not-particularly-tongue-in-cheek joke and the two have to put aside their argument to defeat him. I'm here for him to be invited to the card game as Carol lords his answer over Wolverine. Fun story.

Story two is another fun one but with two characters I like less than the first story. I like Gambit well enough but I'm not really a big Thing fan. It's a similar situation though, with no real villains in sight (aside from those dirty Yancy Street Gang members) and, even more similar, a poker game. Thing has been invited to join a card game with the Yancy Street Gang and they, to even the odds of the rock pokerface of Thing, have brought in Gambit as their ringer. Thing lashes out at Gambit as the two met several months ago in New Orleans as Gambit cheated a man in cards and he and Thing got into a fight. Thing yells at Gambit in the present for a while and Gambit slings his smooth insults back before Thing eventually demands they take it outside. They manage to sneak all the winnings out with them and escape together while the gang waits around inside. We learn that their original meeting had ended when Thing reveals it was all a misunderstanding between them and enlisted his help in cheating this very gang in this very situation. Kind of a fun story. I'm somehow less into it than the first one, which I thought had a little more character to it (and those characters HAPPENED to be ones I liked more anyway).