Uncanny Avengers 25, Death of Wolverine 3

Uncanny Avengers 25

Magneto manages to attack Red Skull, freeing Scarlet Witch, Rogue, and Havok from his mind. They all fight with Skull's S-Men for a bit while Magneto, helmet on, attacks Skull. Magneto forces Skull to the ground, beating him with all of his might, using his fists instead of his powers. After restraining Wanda so she couldn't stop him, he picks up a slab of concrete and slams it on Skull's head, horrifying the Unity Squad and bringing the fighting to halt. As Magneto explains his actions and shows no remorse for them, Skull emerges as the Red Onslaught.

There's obviously a lot happening here, between Remender exploring Magneto's youth and his understandable hatred for Skull, who is a Nazi, a mutant-hater, and who stole the brain of his dead best friend, and showing us the mutant contingent of the team he's spent the last 25 issues building. The way to connect the stories, of course, is through Wanda, so she's our narrator here, explaining the best she can the complicated relationship with her birth father. She also lets us in on the secret that she has to really restrain herself to not act like him, to not revel in his rage and allow him to do what he's doing, particularly against the Skull, for whom such rage is warranted. As a result, there are a lot of interesting things happening but it happens on a backdrop that is so chaotic and so necessary that it's easy to get lost in the jumble of things. We're still trying to get acquainted with the S-Men (especially since we haven't seen them in twenty or so issues now) and there are many moving parts here and yet they're not meant to be our focus. Remender, understandably, wants to get a lot done here in the preparation for next week's AXIS launch. However, the rush sets this one back a little bit.

Total Score: 4/5


Death of Wolverine 3

Kitty Pryde saves Wolverine from Lady Deathstrike, forcing Deathstrike to flee as Kitty injects a fading Wolverine with a quick regen serum, something that will heal him temporarily but certainly won't substitute for or replace his healing factor. She insists he allows her to come with him to help him fight off the assassins after him and get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately, Wolverine quickly discovers that her mind has been taken over by ninja master Ogun, who has a long history with these two and who is ready to deliver Wolverine to the one asking for him. Wolverine fights him and Kitty, who is somewhat used to having Ogun take over her mind at this point, fights back against him as well, forcing him out into a nearby innocent's mind. Wolverine follows him while Kitty comes back to her senses, though she reveals that the one orchestrating everything is a guy named Abraham Cornelius. Wolverine catches up to Ogun, who shows him the body of the killer Cyber, another one on Cornelius' list, which seems to at least have some tie-in to adamantium-enhanced individuals. Ogun just wants Logan to leave Japan and tells him so, saying that he'll spare the innocent man he's inhabiting of Logan just leaves. Logan agrees to, but tells him to warn Cornelius that he's coming.

I was legitimately surprised when I got to the end of this issue and found that there was only one issue left in DEATH OF WOLVERINE. It's really refreshing to see a major event like this start and finish in four issues (though I'll believe it when I see it, and when I'm satisfied with the aftermath stuff that's already been announced, THE LOGAN LEGACY, maybe it's called?). It's the first time in a long while that something with this magnitude has wrapped up so quickly and I'm one hundred percent onboard with it. I'm also really enjoying this book. There is a bit of a complicated note to make here too; I was reading this issue and had quickly decided this was the best Kitty Pryde I'd seen in literally years, someone who was strong and self-assured and loyal and smart and not some weird caricature of herself. Of course, then Ogun happened to be in her mind. Was it really Kitty steering the ship up until Ogun revealed himself or was Ogun the one who I thought was the best Kitty I'd seen in a while? I prefer to think it's the former, that Ogun just piggybacked on Kitty until it was time to make his move, because that way I can still credit Soule with the best recent Kitty. ANYWAY, it's been a really interesting series so far and it's moved extremely well, aided now by the revelation (that isn't so much a revelation as it is a known and expected fact) that the next issue is the last.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Boy, it doesn't get much easier than this one, huh? There are weeks where I really have to weigh things out, pick out the top five books I'm looking forward to/that I believe are most important in the coming week, whether because there are too many vying for this prestigious list or because I just can't get myself up to five I'm excited about. But boy if five didn't jump right off the page to me this week. Is it a perfect five? No, probably not. I didn't have room for DEATH OF WOLVERINE on the list so now no one will know it could have been here as well. But the five that are here? Oh, I think you'll be interested in them.

Black Widow 11
WELL LOOK, I'M INTERESTED IN THEM, OKAY? How many times do I have to tell you to be interested in this one? Look, I'll level with you, I don't know if you're reading this book or not, I shouldn't be so mad at you. I'm just saying you should be reading this book. It's interesting because, logically, based on the other books that are coming in this list, I should have cut this one to make way for the important DEATH OF WOLVERINE, but it literally did not cross my mind. I'm not cutting this book from this list.

Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier 1
One of three premiere books this week (along with GUARDIANS 3000 and THOR) and one I'm really interested in. Yes. Interested is the right word. I go very back and forth on writer Ales Kot, who I wanted to like in his first SECRET AVENGERS take, don't like in the current SECRET AVENGERS series, and do like in his current IRON PATRIOT series. The series will be illustrated by Marco Rudy who I am rather obsessed with right now (loved his MARVEL KNIGHTS: SPIDER-MAN and his NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL). Also worth noting: its protagonist is a character I love in Bucky Barnes. Color me warily optimistic.

Captain America 25
WHO IS THE NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA? We all likely know by now but that last page of the last issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA saw our best guess fly a bomb straight into the air, so maybe we're not a hundred percent sure? Look, it's a momentous issue for the series and I'd advise you check in on it (and it's been a really good series ANYWAY).

Thor 1
The second premiere issue to make the list this week (sorry GUARDIANS 3000, but I also kinda don't know why you exist) and, as with CAPTAIN AMERICA, big changes are here as we get our first real look at the new Thor. If that doesn't entice you at least a LITTLE, maybe you're on the wrong blog.

Uncanny Avengers 25
I know I may say this frequently, but we're right on the verge of AXIS and this book has been excellent to this point. Want to get the scoop on the upcoming Marvel event (or maybe even the one that's starting here, in UNCANNY AVENGERS 25? I don't know, I can't be bothered to do the slightest amount of research)? Check out this issue.

Avengers 35, Uncanny Avengers 24, Avengers World 13

Avengers 35

We're eight months into the future and the entire world is completely different. Cannonball lives off world with Izzy and their newborn baby, though Sunspot, the new leader of AIM after he managed to hostile-takeover their business (one of the drawbacks, he says, of running your evil scientist group like a corporation), needs them to come back to Earth for what's coming. Hyperion has been working with his children in the Savage Land to build a device for...reasons, which he and Thor, now Mjolnir-less, will use to cross over somewhere. Likely it has to do with incursions. SPEAKING OF INCURSIONS, the Illuminati, comprised of the original members plus a bunch of other super scientist types like Amadeus Cho, Brian Braddock, and Hank Pym, is on the run from SHIELD and the now-SHIELD sanctioned Avengers. These Avengers catch up with Cho as he breaks into the old Avengers Tower trying to salvage some of on-the-run Tony Stark's data but the Avengers, led by Sue Storm, capture him, though he has no information for them.

Okay, so there's rather a lot that's changed, hm? This isn't an alternate dimension, this isn't a WHAT IF... story, this is the main Marvel Universe just eight short months from now. It's a bit reminiscent of CIVIL WAR but with a very different schism at the center and with a very specific sort of hero going up against SHIELD and the Avengers. The story, of course, is very interesting and compelling to get into because, as you'd expect with a story like this and particularly with Hickman, we just into a fully formed world just the way it is, no real explanation given yet besides what you can surmise from the natural dialogue and your own assumptions about the situation based on what's been happening. It's a strong start to the ambitious TIME RUNS OUT storyline and it looks like Hickman, as ever, has this well in hand. Have I mentioned that I adore Hickman's EAST OF WEST? That it's one of the best comics I've ever read? Good.

Total Score: 5/5


Uncanny Avengers 24

As the Unity Squad gets back to Avengering, the greater mutant part of the team (Havok, Scarlet Witch, and Rogue) finds itself abducted by Red Skull's S-Men and brought to his new concentration camps on Genosha. While unconscious, Rogue sees Charles Xavier (seen here with Banshee) in her mind. Charles says that he's just the last psychic residue in his old brain, now in the Skull's head, and tells Rogue that she has to keep Scarlet Witch away from Skull, that he has some horrible plans for her. He also reveals that she's the secret weapon because Skull knows all their powers but doesn't know yet that she has Wonder Man in her head. She wakes up and tells the others, chained up next to her, and together they break out, running into and rescuing Magneto on their way. Magneto wants to save all of the mutants and is furious and derogatory when he learns that they want to go and get more help first. The fight is interrupted, though, when Skull and his S-Men confront them.

AXIS seems ready to burst forth (I know it's now called AXIS: AVENGERS AND X-MEN but that's a dumb name and AXIS is a solid name) as Skull's fight with the Unity Squad continues, now more hateful than ever. There's some good character work here as Remender catches new readers up on all that's happened by having Havok talk about his disfigured and burned face and having Wolverine meet with Scarlet Witch and Rogue to talk about his part and his guilt in the whole last arc and to say how proud he is that the two of them are working together and have put the past behind them. It's perhaps a little too eager to chew some scenery, but it gets the point across and doesn't feel nearly as expository as it could. Running into Magneto helps the issue too as more characters are developed and as the plot advances nicely. Strong stuff, looking forward to AXIS. It's nice to have events every so often that seem like they stem from current events in the books (not like certain other events, particularly ORIGINAL SIN, AGE OF ULTRON, FEAR ITSELF, and BATTLE OF THE ATOM, which all spawned from nothingness and meant fairly little).

Total Score: 4/5


Avengers World 13

As the Hand, Gorgon, and the ancient dragon on whose back Madripoor sits fight against the newly revealed SPEAR, we get an introduction to the Ascendant, the superteam SPEAR has put together or, more appropriately, the superteam Weather Witch (formerly of The Dynasty) put together and leads with the go-ahead and support of SPEAR and the Chinese government. Included on the team are Saber, another former Dynasty member, Devastator, a Skrull loyal to the Chinese government and wearing the former Russian Devastator armor, Vector, a rebellious protestor with Darkforce powers similar to Cloak's, and Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. They hold their own in battle but it won't be enough to fully stop the dragon and SPEAR's Director Zheng calls up Maria Hill in the hopes for some aid, specifically in the hopes of technological aid, SPECIFICALLY in the hopes of getting some Pym particles, which Hill gives but only under the condition it be given to one of her team. Enter Shang-Chi, giant master of Kung Fu.

Spencer, interestingly, has gone back-to-back AVENGERS WORLD issues introducing a new team from another part of the world. It's a real WORLD style move, showing perhaps the inspiration of a team like the Avengers on the other parts of the world and allowing us to see how the world has reacted to the presence of superheroes all over. It's a pretty strong issue and gives us a sense of this Ascendant team and of SPEAR, which separates itself from SHIELD in a number of ways in this book. Also not going to act like I'm not excited about the idea of a giant Shang-Chi fighting a dragon. That feels like maybe it was the pitch of this entire book. "Giant Shang-Chi fights a dragon," said Spencer, and the rest was history.

Total Score: 5/5

ALL OF THEM

Okay.



Okay.



Okay, so we're back. Apologies for the little break (I may some day take a bigger break but one that's scheduled and doesn't revolve around my axle breaking and my car needing more assistance than my blog). For some dumb reason, I still feel determined to review every book but we're all busy people, we don't need big reviews, particularly the Sunday after the comics have come out. Most of you may already know what books you want! So let's blast through this, super super super condensed version. I may not even mention creators...hold on, I'm getting a thought - start of the week, maybe I'll post all the creators on the side like how I post the new release comics. I gotta update the look of this site anyway. Any suggestions/comments/criticisms? Okay, we're wildly off-topic now. TO THE COMICS, wherein I shall strive to give the SHORTEST REVIEWS I CAN POSSIBLY GIVE.


All-New Invaders 9

The Invaders have been caught off-guard by a bunch of Deathloks and their master, thanks to some sort of AI controlling device, is revealed to be a Martian. The book continues to be horribly slow, to over-explain everything, and to, presumably as an effect of the previous two clauses, seeming have no tension to it. Total Score: 2/5


All-New Ultimates 7
The Ultimates follow Crossbones into the sewers where they run across deformed fellow experiments of Roxxon who have been left there along with a pile of bodies. Geez, now they have to deal with Roxxon and a protracted and uninteresting gang war? This continues to be protracted and uninteresting, though at least something happened this time. Total Score: 2/5


All-New X-Men 31
While the adult X-Men are out of town to figure out Xavier's will, the ANXM find a new mutant named Carmen who can open portals to other dimensions and, in their attempt to help her understand, she sends them off to different universes, namely, it seems, the Ultimate Universe. Wasn't AGE OF ULTRON supposed to knock off this cross-universe business? Didn't BENDIS write that? How many loopholes can we create WITHIN TWO YEARS? What is HAPPENING? Total Score: 2/5


Amazing Spider-Man 1.4
Clash has made something of a name for himself but he's only doing so in comparison to Spider-Man, which enrages him. Finally Spidey invents something that should negate Clash a bit and uses it when Clash attacks the Daily Bugle (they all come there eventually) but Clash breaks it, leading Jonah to call him a real threat and Spider-Man the knock-off, to Clash's delight. Getting a little sick of all of Spider-Man's villains being crazy and wanting attention, is anyone else feeling that way? Total Score: 2/5


Avengers 34

How are we still not out of the As yet? Okay. Captain America gets brought by Iron Lad to the end of time where Iron Lad, Immortus, and Kang tell Cap he has to remain there so he doesn't interfere with events on current Earth that could lead to the end of days. Cap, of course, doesn't take that well and gets the time gem once more, going back to the present and preparing the Avengers for an assault on the Illuminati. Really interesting point to have reached and there's a great classic Cap speech in the middle of all this. Total Score: 4/5


Avengers Undercover 9
The Avengers and other gathered heroes descend on The Pit to attack Zemo and free the former students only to be trapped in The Pit while Zemo and his army attacks the rest of Earth, starting with SHIELD. The bait-and-switch worked pretty well, but it didn't account for Cammi, who broke out of her prison and has the drop on Zemo and his lieutenants. More strong stuff from this series which has reached its sadly penultimate issue. Total Score: 4/5


Cyclops 4
Cyclops and Corsair are running short on Corsair's life-saving medicine, a fate to which Corsair is resigned but about which Cyclops is angry. Corsair has set about trying to teach Cyclops to fight and to live off the land while awaiting rescue but Cyclops has already started to give up hope. Corsair tells him that hope is the difference between the Scott he knew and the Scott on Earth now, that the current Cyclops lost all hope. Not wanting to be that guy, young Cyclops sets about trying to fix the tracking unit the bounty hunters attached to Corsair's ship, which will provide rescue but in the form of bounty hunters. Some solid character work here from Rucka and a nice quiet issue before guns presumably start blazing again. Cyclops and Corsair's relationship is the driving force of this young book and it's well done here. Total Score: 4/5


Fantastic Four 9
Reed has started work with John Eden (ugh) while Johnny is depressed in the Manhattan upper class, Sue frets about the kids, and Thing finds out that She-Thing runs the prison and has an axe to grind with him. I don't know much about Fantastic Four history because I largely don't care about the F4 but She-Thing? Is that what we've chosen to dig up as Thing's greatest foe? There's finally hint of a greater scheme at work behind everything happening but I still refuse to buy plenty of what's happened so I'm unimpressed by a clear hand steering things. Total Score: 2/5


Guardians of the Galaxy 18
Gamora kidnaps Peter Quill and brings him to an interrogation chamber unbeknownst to the rest of the team, where she asks him about what happened in the Cancerverse that allowed he, Thanos, and a living Drax to return. Part one of the story involves Star-Lord and Nova attempting to nobly sacrifice themselves to see Thanos forever trapped but Thanos making a solid argument to Star-Lord about why he should hand over the cosmic cube he's holding. Not much substance, as yet, to this story that should explain some things. McGuinness' art is strong, though, so it's certainly readable. It would be more readable if there wasn't so much quipping in the CANCERVERSE. Total Score: 3/5


Inhuman 4

Medusa has set up New Attilan on the ground near New York and opened it to the public. Thor comes to hang out with her as she explains her reasons for doing so, which are mostly to build relationships and alliances while showing the Inhumans are nothing to fear. However, assassins try to kill her, wounding her handmaiden Elejea in the process. Thor delivers the assassins to Medusa, who learns they are Nuhumans (the convenient term for new Inhumans) angry that they're now different. She offers them a place in her kingdom or the opportunity to leave unharmed and without resistance, showing the people how peaceful and reasonable she can be. Meanwhile, a new and mysterious character named The Reader saves a Nuhuman in China. Plenty happening in this book and Soule is doing a solid job to really make this start feeling like its own culture and own big world, which is very important. Stegman also does really impressive work on these pages. Total Score: 5/5


Original Sin 5.4 - Thor and Loki
As Loki leads the Angels to attack Asgard, Thor summons the storm to him and annihilates his prison, breaking out and immediately wreaking havoc on Heven. Loki does indeed bring the Angels to Asgard but neglects to mention that all the Asgardians live now in Asgardia and that only Odin and The Serpent are in Asgard, finally rousing Odin back to action. Not a terrible little issue though it does drag a little at parts and sometimes the often flowery Asgardian English confuses where it should just push forward. Mostly strong work. Total Score: 4/5


Savage Hulk 3
Jean has the power of the Hulk and seemingly Hulk-strength telepathy now but...wait, it's just a dream of Xavier's as his mind has been manipulated by...wait, it's all happening in Banner's head and the Leader is there with bombs strapped to everyone suddenly and he's ready to detonate Xavier's if he even tries to get into his own mind and...look, I'm not sure what's happening here but I am sure that I'm almost entirely disinterested in it and it still moves slowly, even with a plot that's clearly ramping up. Total Score: 2/5


Silver Surfer 5
It turns out that the barrier around Earth isn't actually real, it's in Surfer's head courtesy of a nearby slumbering Lord of Nightmares. Everyone on Earth has fallen asleep except for Dawn Greenwood, who is drifting off, and it's given the Lord of Nightmares the power, thanks to a rare alignment of the planets, to essentially keep everyone asleep and in nightmares forever if Dawn, Surfer, Hulk, and Dr. Strange don't stop him, which they eventually manage. There's a lot of interesting art and ideas but this one feels a little bogged down by how much Slott wants to do and by this strange mythology. Dawn eventually, I should mention, realizes that she wants to see more of the universe and goes with Surfer. Total Score: 3/5


Thunderbolts 30
Punisher and Elektra fight while the two reminisce, both in their heads and out loud, about their times together. Elektra is a far better fighter than Punisher and doesn't really let him get a moment to rest, but even when he finally does get her pinned, he can't bring himself to kill her and the two separate less than amicably but also with neither dead. As Hawkeye relates everything he's figured out to Iron Man, particularly about the terribleness of the new Thunderbolts team, Punisher calls Red Hulk and tells him that he's next. A pretty good fight scene carries this rather nice break-up issue as the weird relationship that was Elektra and Punisher comes to an end. Total Score: 3/5


Uncanny Avengers 23
The Unity Squad needed a bit of time to recover from everything that's happened, so Janet and Scarlet Witch return finally to everyday life from Janet's family's secluded vacation home to try to put their lives back in order again. Anyone that needed healing or examination was placed in a healing chamber for Hank McCoy to study or heal, though Sunfire remains imbued with tremendous power, Havok's face will never heal again, and Rogue still has Wonder Man in her brain (no one really came out of this alright). Rogue goes a little crazy as the voices and memories she thought she expelled from her brain take over again and she runs rampant through New York until Scarlet Witch catches up to her and swears she'll help her. Meanwhile, Red Skull prepares his next major strike along with Kang's recent right-hand man Ahab. Lots of set-up for the upcoming AXIS and some good closer from the last very long arc make this one a worthwhile read, but not one that feels totally necessary to continue the story. Total Score: 4/5


Wolverine 12

It's another fight in a mall and Wolverine decries Sabretooth's hypocrisy while Sabretooth decries Wolverine's use of armor and they fight and eventually Wolverine powers through his crappy dialogue and narration to defeat Sabretooth and they get the orb back and Death is like "hey Wolvy, see ya soon, like in September's DEATH OF WOLVERINE mini-series!" and I'm just glad another heavy-handed but ultimately ineffective WOLVERINE volume has come to a close and I'm looking forward to Charles Soule's spin. Total Score: 2/5


Wolverine and the X-Men 8
Wolverine and Storm have a date in The World, where time moves differently. They end up staying there a while longer, spending a great deal of time building a life, overthrowing a warlord born of the old Weapon Plus program, and stabilizing the region. They leave after a year with Storm leaving as the queen and Logan as the inspiration for a school and so forth, their love for each other deepened but still unable to overcome their responsibilities with the X-Men. It's not a bad issue and the time jumps make it move quickly enough and stay interesting. It's also the first time in the few years that they've had this on-and-off relationship between Wolverine and Storm where I've felt like maybe it wasn't just something the writers wanted to make work, maybe it is something that can happen in this world. Nicely done, Latour. Total Score: 4/5


GUYS, I DID IT. Why isn't everyone praising me ALREADY?

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

Comics this week

Hey guys, let's get right into it because we have an old favorite finally making a return this week.

Avengers World 10
Still into this book. Everything I said last pre-game holds up. Interested to see where the book goes after last week's cliffhanger. Does it continue to jump from story to story or does it stick with Cannonball and Sunspot in the future? Also, if it's going back to the Falcon story (still not sure), we've heard some big news about Falcon since the release of the last issue, interested to see how his story plays now.

Hawkeye 19
HERE IT IS, you guys, HAWKEYE makes its triumphant return in an issue that promises to be the next dog-issue (referring, of course, to Eisner winning HAWKEYE 11) but this time with sign language. How are the Barton boys doing since we saw them last, several months ago? They've had pretty extreme violence done unto them and now we see where it leads.

New Avengers 21
Still really happy with this book every time it comes out. I'll admit it's faded a bit for me since the first arc or two but it's overall still a really great book. BY THE SAME TOKEN, if someone asked me "hey, what new Jonathan Hickman book should I pick up this week?" I'd say "well that's a specific question but, surprise, it's not one of the two Marvel books he has out this week, NEW AVENGERS or AVENGERS, it's one of the two Image books he has out this week, but it's not MANHATTAN PROJECTS, though that's a pretty good series too. No, I'd recommend EAST OF WEST 14, what a great series that is. Hope this answer wasn't just really confusing!"

Uncanny Avengers 22
Boy, but I like the the AVENGERS titles far more than the X-titles right now. This is a shift from the last full batch of X-MEN titles vs. AVENGERS titles (not to be confused with the event AVX) and I think we all know the culprit on that one. Anyway, UNCANNY AVENGERS has remained very engaging and very interesting and I expect it to stay that way as we start to wind towards a conclusion of this massive arc.

X-Men 17
I bet I threw you off with the last entry, hyping the AVENGERS books over the X-MEN books. Still, Brian Wood's X-MEN and Si Spurrier's X-FORCE are certainly books worth a look (particularly X-FORCE, which is worth more than just a look). I find X-MEN to be a pretty interesting read every time it comes out, though it benefits this week from an iffy release schedule and my laziness to go back and write in AVENGERS, CYCLOPS, or IRON PATRIOT blurbs.

Uncanny Avengers 21, New Avengers 20, New Avengers Annual 1

Uncanny Avengers 21
Remender (w) and Acuña (a) and White (c) and Cowles (l)

The remaining members of the Unity Squad return to the past, to the moments before the Apocalypse Twins' plans have been set in motion, to warn everyone and prepare themselves. They explain everything to everyone around and everyone offers their powers to Rogue, who charges to stop Exitar the Executioner with the help of a marginally convinced (though totally crazy) Sentry while Wolverine, Sunfire, and Havok destroy the tachyon dam in the present, leaving Thor to use Jarnbjorn on Exitar. With everything coming up Avengers, Kang and his team descend and, of course, stab everyone in the back, with his team going to corral the powerless Avengers and with Kang himself throwing Thor into the dying Celestial while he drinks of the Celestial's blood and essence, deeming himself conqueror of the universe.

Here's the thing that you ALWAYS have to keep in mind about Kang: one of his very first appearances (as Kang, not Rama-Tut or whoever else he may have appeared as) found him locked into a deadly game with Grandmaster, an elder of the universe, where he convinced his enemies the Avengers to help him so he could save the life of his love Ravonna. When they helped him and eventually won, Grandmaster basically said "alright, well, you have the wish of life or death, do you want me to save that Princess that's totes locked in a jar?" and Kang, HOT ON THE HEELS OF THE AVENGERS RISKING THEIR LIVES TO HELP HIM, went "Actually, no, kill the Avengers for me, would you?" That's who Kang is. What Remender has done here is tell a really interesting story that, with the last second reveal, makes you understand just how long and risky of a con this was for Kang and also makes you remember that moment early in Kang's history and go "oh, that's right, no one should trust that guy EVER." This is a really enjoyable read, both for how quickly things seem to go right when the Avengers set their mind to it and for the fun dialogue (Wolverine's in particular, as he refers to Wonder Man as "Hollywood" and literally says the phrase "I ain't got no such compunction"). It also turns out to be quite a story and now, a book that has spent about 20 issues getting to this point, teases that the next issue is the conclusion of this arc, right as Kang takes the power of the gods and declares himself the conqueror of the universe.

Total Score: 5/5


New Avengers 20
Hickman (w) and Schiti (a) and F. Martin and Mounts (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Illuminati and the Great Society find themselves locked in combat with the Illuminati apparently at disadvantage. As Dr. Spectrum goes to find the bomb with Black Bolt in pursuit, the other Illuminati members fall one-by-one (except Black Panther, who is in a stalemate and is just AWESOME) until finally Dr. Strange reveals just how much he's let his soul go as he unleashes dark magic and singlehandedly stops the Great Society.

This issue moves really well and has the weight that we've come to expect from NEW AVENGERS throughout Hickman's run. Better still is how interestingly Hickman writes both Dr. Strange (who we haven't seen a TON from since the start of this series) and Black Panther (who we've seen enough from to know how well Hickman writes him). Also impressive is how well these Great Society characters seem to be fleshed out, even if their past isn't really seen in the comics. You actually believe that these people had lives before Hickman brought them into being just a few issues ago which is kind of rare for characters like them. They're well-developed and Hickman didn't even have to spend much time on exposition for them; instead, the book moves quickly and we understand the fight really well. Strong issue.

Total Score: 5/5


New Avengers Annual 1
Barbiere (w) and Rudy (a and c) and Caramagna (l)

In the time between, presumably, when Dr. Strange sold his soul for power and the NEW AVENGERS present, Strange was called to his Tibetan Mountains to help his old teachers rid a new and very powerful student of a demon who has latched on to her. As we get flashbacks from Strange to the first patient he lost thanks to his hubris, the doctor and the demon battle. Though the demon is immensely powerful, Strange uses dark magic to keep him down and brings the demon into himself rather than killing the girl to whom it's attached. The demon has no chance within Strange, which Strange knew when he took the demon in. The monks forbid him from returning, asking who he is now to which he replies that he is the doctor.

The story, particularly for an annual (the quality of which often varies), is very compelling and Marco Rudy's art, as it was in MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN, is just outstanding and absolutely perfect for this book. While Frank Barbiere tells an interesting story that weaves between the past and the present and reveals much about the proud Doctor Strange pre-Sorceror Supreme and post-Soul Seller, Marco Rudy illustrates incredible battles and emotions and even incredible still moments. Just wonderful, wonderful stuff. On the Nerdist Writer's Panel: Comics Edition podcast, I've heard plenty of times that everyone has a Dr. Strange pitch but almost no one has one that would work for Marvel in the longterm. I guess I can't speak for the longterm but this one worked really well for me on this issue. Check it out, you guys.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Hey bros and ladybros, we have a pretty big slate of comics this week because the universe hates me! Let's call out this week's top recommended books in our weekly pre-game.

Amazing Spider-Man 3
Slott has jumped right back into the swing of things (HA, how many times has that pun been used overall for Spider-Man or other superheroes, really, do we think? I'd put the over-under at 2,500) and this book feels rejuvenated for it. Been fun so far, looking for that fun to continue.

Ms. Marvel 5
If you're not reading this book yet, you should probably get on the bandwagon while there's still room. Seriously. Bandwagons aren't really known for their size, mostly for their propensity for heading towards things that people like. ANYWAY, it's been a fun book and, if Jamie McKelvie's covers are to be believed, young Kamala Khan is headed on a collision course with the rest of the Marvel Universe sooner rather than later.

New Warriors 6
This was VERY NEARLY replaced on this list by NEW AVENGERS 20 but I didn't want to have to write "SERIOUSLY, they're gonna fight those dudes at SOME POINT" a third time so instead, I'm choosing NEW WARRIORS, a book that deserves to have a little light shed on it. This book has had a really interesting mix of voices and I'm looking forward to seeing where these characters take us. So far, we have three choices that are a bit against the grain in that they're all what I'd describe as genuinely fun books. WILL THE TREND CONTINUE? NOPE.

Uncanny Avengers 21
Rick Remender's epic story continues as the remaining Unity Avengers prepare to "trust" Kang and travel back to the past to save the rest of their team. Can they manage it? What will become of the timeline they've grown to know and, perhaps most importantly, what will become of little Katie Summers? STORY ABOUND.

X-Force 6
If you even TRY to tell me you're not reading this book I'll be of a mind to slap you. Spurrier has brought his typical heady but extraordinarily fun style to this book about the world's covert mutant good guys and it's fired on every cylinder so far. Really enjoying this book. It's always refreshing to have a book for which you have high hopes actually meet or exceed those expectations. LOOK NO FURTHER, this book is GREAT.

This week's picks

Tough week to pick the top three. There were a handful worthy of consideration and plenty that weren't (actually, I suppose, that makes it rather not tough to pick the top three). There are a couple books out there not on this list that I'd heartily recommend anyway (MS. MARVEL and IRON PATRIOT come to mind), but here are the ones I'd raise just a little above the rest.

Thunderbolts 26

I liked this one a lot anyway but it gets a special nod this week because it's Charles Soule's last issue on the book he helped really turn around and that he made enjoyable every single issue. It's been a fun team from the start but it felt like Soule took that team and decided to make the book match it, making the book more fun and setting it more in the true THUNDERBOLTS vein instead of trying to go too dark/mysterious intrigue. Check out this issue to see every member die (they get better) and to see a pretty good sendoff for, in the very least, Deadpool, before the book turns over. I have high hopes for Ben Acker and Ben Blacker as they take over on the series (my love for them is well-documented on this site, even if they've only written two Marvel comic books prior to this) but I can't help feeling like it was Soule who helped this book survive to 26 issues as is. Solid issue, great series.

Uncanny Avengers 20

The more I've thought about it, the more I've appreciated what I talked about in my review for this book: the idea that an ongoing is keeping to itself. UNCANNY AVENGERS has blasted past a couple of major line-wide events and shifts and not veered from its course (even though it was spawned from an event itself) and that feels really refreshing in this day and age. I don't want to bash the feeling of a connected universe because I think that can be really cool (though too often the events take advantage of that feeling and steer books off-course while they scoop up tie-in after tie-in) but sometimes it's nice to see a series just stick to its own story. And what a story this one is, huge and sweeping with plenty of characters and possible-version characters and threats as big as the destruction of Earth and the extermination of the human race. With all of that, Remender still makes sure there's time for character moments and quieter beats and it's led him to a really strong book overall.

Winter Soldier: The Bitter March 4

This issue (and this series as a whole so far) kept me invested from the very first page. It's a big action issue with the train crashing and a fight between Winter Soldier and the Drain and between the Drain and Ran Shen and the Winter Soldier and Ran Shen and, you know what, just everyone was fighting, and with the Drain making sure Mila can't fall into enemy hands even if it means losing the formula. Action issues have a tendency, for better or worse (kind of case-by-case there), to kind of lose focus on the characters in the fight. In this issue, though, Remender makes sure the audience is always aware of what everyone's fighting for and how the fight is affecting everyone. It's a really strong series for Ran Shen that gives us a look at the darkness within him and the start of his fallout with SHIELD and it also manages to be a strong series for brainwashed assassin Winter Soldier, who snaps out of it here for what will undoubtedly be a really depressing final installment. Remender's writing is complemented perfectly by Roland Boschi and Chris Chuckry on art and colors. This limited series is absolutely worth picking up.

Avengers 30, Uncanny Avengers 20, Mighty Avengers 10

Avengers 30
Hickman (w) and Yu (p) and Alanguilan (i) and Gho (c) and Petit (l)

The group of Avengers heavies from last issue (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hyperion, and Starbrand) have been transported to the future, which seems nice on the outside but is hiding something darker, as a fifty-years-older Hawkeye shows up remembering this day and his team starts to intimate the deaths they've seen and future-Hawkeye ends up beating the crap out of Stark until he's pulled off. He gives the team a few warnings about the futures they'll travel to next (the time gem will keep pushing them further) and a secret warning to Cap. Then the team is, indeed, transported away, though Tony returns himself to the present with the device in his palm that warns his team of incoming incursions. Next stop for the rest of them: betrayal+422 years.

The fight between Tony and Steve continues to be remarkably compelling though it ends quickly as they have to get their bearings and figure out the next step. The tensions raise higher, though, as Tony points out that whatever he did must have worked because here the world is, just 50 years later, looking great. Steve's argument is helped by the enraged future-Hawkeye (though he's admittedly not the best judge of character). Some strong stuff in here, some typical Marvel time-travel stuff (note who is and isn't on the team here, Hawkeye makes mention of kids, and so on), and the surprise ending of Tony returning to the present to do what he needs to do and leaving his fellow Avengers bouncing through time. Overall a pretty strong book and, though I find I can't particularly fault it for asking these questions as they're natural questions to ask, I could always do with a little less "HEY AUDIENCE, ASK SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS FUTURE!"

Total Score: 4/5


Uncanny Avengers 20
Remender (w) and Acuña (a) and Cowles (l)

Havok, Beast, and Kang's group fight against the X-Council and X-Force on behalf of trying to save the world. Cyclops turns on Magneto to help his brother, deciding that a chance at saving Earth was better than what they had. He and the rest of the X-Council turn on X-Force to give the others the chance to get away, which they do, going with Kang to attack Eimin and restore Shiro and Wolverine. With the surviving Unity Squad reunited and Eimin out of the fight, punished by her adoptive father, Kang and Magistrate Braddock send the team back.

There are a lot of really strong character moments in here for our team, between Thor seeking retribution on Eimin and eventually giving the speech that should serve to unify the broken team, Wolverine threatening to sabotage the entire plan if Kang doesn't send them far enough back to save Rogue and knocking out Shiro when Shiro tries to rebel against the plan and Kang's involvement, etc. Plenty of great character moments even in a book loaded with plot and with fight scenes. It's a testament to the strength of the writing that we come out with a bigger and better sense of our players even with so much action. Daniel Acuña's art and colors continue to amaze as well. Very strong stuff.

Total Score: 5/5


Mighty Avengers
Ewing (w) and Land (p) and Leisten (i) and D'Armata (c) and Petit (l)

The Watcher's been murdered and everyone is on the case. Blue Marvel, a friend to Watcher, goes to meet with Ulana, wife of Uatu, on the moon. He swears revenge but she requests something different from him: that he be the godfather to their newborn child. Meanwhile, Cage, Spectrum, and Falcon take down one of the Mindless Ones in New York before agreeing to jump into the case as well. Finally, Blade has been brought down by a legion of were-birds after plenty more were-animals have attacked him over the last few weeks and now he's at the center of a plot to unleash a new breed of Deathwalkers.

I was thinking a lot about the role of UNCANNY AVENGERS in the present Marvel Universe and, while I love the fact that these characters all exist in this rich and detailed world where they can run into one another and where the events of the world affect everyone, how nice it is to see a book that feels so removed from all of it. Okay, so obviously UNCANNY AVENGERS is driven at its core by mutant-human relations and what that's meant the universe over (and it obviously impacted a lot of other books early on in its run) but it hasn't touched the last couple of events and it hasn't crossed with many other books (they pop up more in other books than other teams pop up in theirs) and it feels SO REFERESHING. Meanwhile, this book seems to want to get its hands into every little thing the comes along and that kind of works for what Ewing has built, a team that exists only to intercede where it's needed, but it makes it hard to see this book as its own thing. It's not an awful issue by itself but it doesn't really feel like it's about to come into its own, even with the ongoing Blade storyline and the Blue Marvel storyline.

Total Score: 3/5

Comics this week

Another fairly busy week this week with 17 new releases scheduled to hit and some fairly big ones to boot. Still, five stand out, as they ever seem to, from the rest of the pack.

Avengers 30
AVENGERS had slipped somewhat out of my top titles to look for lists but the last couple issues, detailing Banner and Captain America finding out about the reformed Illuminati (or finding out again, as the case may have been), have brought an incredible tension to the book and have kept me on the edge of my seat (does that cliche work when you're reading? I don't really need to lean forward to get a closer look). With AVENGERS 30, I'm looking for more of that.

Inhuman 2
I'm not so sure what to make of this series still but Charles Soule has been good to us since he made his way to Marvel and I don't expect that to change. The biggest flaws in the series thus far have been on the business end; problems launching and shipping have led to a somewhat stagnant feeling behind the main message. Still, hopefully Soule will be able to pull us in with this series as it's clear Marvel has some big plans for the Inhumans.

Ms. Marvel 4
If you're not reading this book yet, it's time to get on board. It's drawing comparisons to books like ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, which is one that people still reference as one of their favorite books all time. Get into this one before you've missed the rush of it and while it's still retailing, miraculously, for $2.99. Also, if the characters, writing, and interior art weren't enough (note: they are), Jamie McKelvie is doing the covers for this series at current and they are amazing.

Uncanny Avengers 20
While the Marvel Universe shifts into ORIGINAL SIN, UNCANNY AVENGERS stays its course, continuing to tell the story it's been telling for a solid 15 issues or so at this point. It's a true epic of a tale, something that's almost impossible to see in Marvel these days. More impressively, it remains good and compelling. Time to head back to Planet X while we push towards the end.

Winter Soldier: Bitter March 4
I've really been enjoying this book so far, an extremely interesting story in its own right but clearly a story that's working to a greater end (it continues to be a story both about the Winter Soldier, always worth reading, and about Ran Shen, current villain of CAPTAIN AMERICA, well before he was a villain and back when he was a high-ranking SHIELD officer). The gorgeous covers and the fantastic interior art have set a tone for this limited series that is rarely seen from Marvel.

Avengers AI 12, Avengers World 5, Uncanny Avengers Annual 1

Avengers AI 12
Humphries (w) and Araújo (a) and D'Armata (c) and Cowles (l)

The future is in peril as Dimitrios prepares to defeat the last uprising and the last bits of the universe 10,000 years later with only the remaining AI Avengers to stop him (Victor, Doombot, Vision, and Alexis). Doombot opens up his black hole chest and attempts to send Dimitrios, feeding off of Galactus, into it, but Dimitrios nearly escapes even that. In the present, though, Monica Chang makes the correct decision to sever Clatterbuck's link to the SHIELD network for deactivation, thereby stopping Dimitrios' virus from getting ahold of SHIELD's systems and giving the team the chance to officially defeat Dimitrios within. Though the AI Avengers are through, per Maria Hill's orders, they have succeeded (though all may not be well as hint that Ultron may yet have survived has emerged).

Story
Like in THOR: GOD OF THUNDER right now, I have a little bit of trouble feeling compassion or excitement for these sorts of "we need to do the right thing now or else the world will be gone in 10,000 years!" stories. I feel rather like the universe surviving for 10,000 years more is kind of a stretch goal anyway; I mean, we're bound to destroy the planet by then, what are the chances we don't take the universe down with us? So like with THOR, it's hard to see the real stakes here and I think the idea is clouded by the presentation, in a way. The idea to AVENGERS AI's final threat is that Dimitrios' virus will instantly turn SHIELD against humanity and SHIELD's weaponry will quickly decimate the Earth is more compelling, even if it's maybe a bit more cliche, than saying "in 10,000 years, everyone will be dead!" because that's kind of already what we're believing. So the story that's buried here is okay but the way it's presented is less compelling. 3/5

Character
There's a little too much going on with the plot right now to settle out characters and final issues always get a little bit of a pass for this from me. This book was cancelled so clearly Humphries had to squeeze down a bit to fit everything and maybe some development had to be canned because there was no time and it's not like he was developing characters for later issues. Monica has some characterization as Humphries goes a little deeper into her religion and her ethics and the ethics of killing AI, but that's really all we have time for aside from a couple of quick lines to cement the characterization of other characters (an excitable Hank Pym, a happy Victor Mancha, an irritated Doombot, etc.). 3/5

Writing
This, too, falls a little under the "rushed" category. There's not much time for Humphries to create a really pervasive tone or to keep the dialogue particularly sharp. With the final issue, Humphries has time to get some exposition out and to explain what happens to our characters and not much else. There's little the writing can do to add to anything else at this point and I'm not sure that should really be counted against Humphries. 3/5

Art
Araújo kind of has me split down the middle. I like a lot of his scenes and I think that overall he carries the book pretty well but there are very strange and distorted faces here and there. He still nails down a lot of the virtual world stuff, bridging an interesting gap between realism and surrealism. Still, you probably know what direction this category is headed...3/5

Miscellaneous
Goodbye to AVENGERS AI, a bold premise that, for me, never really found its footing and never really broke out of what we've seen other AI-based books do already. Also kinda weird that the cover to this final issue doesn't have Vision on it, right?

Total score: 3/5


Avengers World 5
Hickman and Spencer (w) and Caselli (a) and Mossa (c) and Caramagna (l)

AIM still has Cannonball and Sunspot and they've transformed Smasher into their own messenger. To top it off, the capital city of AIM Island has been completely locked off from the outside world with incredibly impressive and unknown force fields. Captain America sends Tony Stark to convince Manifold to teleport in. The field stops most teleporters but Manifold's style of teleportation, bending space, is different and they suspect he'll be able to breach. Unfortunately, his powers have been out of whack since the war with the Builders. He reaches out to Captain Universe to try to understand the problem and she transports him to a place outside the world, which helps reorient his place in the universe, necessary for a manifold. With that settled, he returns to the helicarrier and brings in the big gun team, Thor, Hyperion, and Captain Marvel, to Barbuda.

Story
The bigger story, the isolation of AIM Island and the capture of Cannonball, Sunspot, and Smasher, takes a backseat to Manifold's story. Of course, being on the backseat doesn't mean it doesn't still drive the story. We know that's the end goal and it's brought to the forefront occasionally here as Bruce Banner tries to get a team of SHIELD scientists to find a way to enter the forcefield and as Tony's objective is, of course, to breach the forcefield with Eden, but the story is really Eden's and why his powers aren't working. It's a compelling story because Eden is a compelling character and the idea that his powers aren't working properly is a pretty big blow for the Avengers, who have utilized those powers a lot recently. It's maybe not as compelling as a siege on AIM Island but it's certainly not worthless. 4/5

Character
There are character moments for everyone from Banner to Tony to Cap but the real driving force behind the issue is Manifold, who knows enough to meditate and try to reach out to Captain Universe (or the Universe as a whole) to find a solution for his problem. Eden is characterized by the way he reacts to dangers and the way he throws himself into heroing even as he's taken to another universe and his powers stop working (Manifolds cannot work outside of their own universe because their powers are dependent on their universe). We learn a good deal about him both as a person and as a super powered being and it's stuff that's pretty readable for how expository it could be. 4/5

Writing
The tone here is noticeably different than the tone in, say, AVENGERS or NEW AVENGERS and it's hard not to put that down to Nick Spencer's involvement. Spencer's books tend to have a little more quippy humor in them than Hickman's (of course, I have no idea how this issue was scripted, but that's my call on it) and it works well enough here, seeing as this is rather a separate book with separate aims (AIMs) than those books. I think it needs a little more humor than AVENGERS or NEW AVENGERS. It wears a little but it does still get some genuine laughs here and there. It will just be a tricky line to walk as the series continues and as they have to decide how far into humor they want these characters to go. 4/5

Art
Stefano Caselli's art is very strong, drawing both masked and unmasked people with a full range of emotions and with the impressiveness comic books require. Andres Mossa contributes nicely as he has some really impressive colors on scenes with Eden in the Australian outback and as Manifold and Captain Universe look at their own universe from afar. Beautiful and majestic and great for the tone of the book as well as for the story. 5/5

Miscellaneous
AVENGERS WORLD still has me a little off-center. I think it's a solid book, particularly as far as showcasing some other Avengers goes and as getting into other stories goes. The tone is a bit different than the other books but still not so far different (as its predecessor AVENGERS ASSEMBLE was) that it's hard to say if it's brilliant because it keeps a somewhat consistent tone or almost unnecessary because it feels too similar. Give it a few more issues and maybe I'll come up with something.

Total score: 4/5


Uncanny Avengers Annual 1
Remender (w) and Renaud (a and c) and Cowles (l)

Back in the slightly less world-exploded days of the Avengers Unity squad, Mojo had them all captured for a one-off adventure in the Mojoverse, using a team of already captured heroes and villains called the Avengers of the Supernatural (Doc Strange, Satana, Blade, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, and Manphibian) and put them in his new television show. The capture of the heroes was act one, act two finds them all playing stereotypical roles in a high school, and act three has them snap out of it when Ghost Rider goes off-script and crazy, beginning to seek vengeance on everyone in the Mojoverse before the other heroes, now freed from their own captures, manage to stop him. The executives behind Mojo's new show are left to debate whether there was anything of substance in his new offering or if it was meaningless distraction in a world so full of them as the Uncanny Avengers return home.

Story
The story here is a clever little satire (that maybe drags a little long) of plenty of different things. On top of the outwardly satirical representation of the high school drama and even of the comic book form, we get little digs at pop culture and audiences and a dearth of intelligent programming (it's both a golden age for television and a horrible and inescapable dark age for television right now - THANKS CBS) and the state of executives and producers and everything else you could think of. It's often clever, though sometimes it borders on heavy-handed here (it would have been hard not to), and it may ultimately carry on a bit too long. 4/5

Character
There's not a ton to look for character-wise here because, for as long as the characters are in the Mojoverse, all typical bets are off. Remender isn't looking to make profound character statements. This is more in line with the recent DEADPOOL ANNUAL or THUNDERBOLTS ANNUAL (both written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker) wherein a standalone story was told and it was more for the development of a fun story than for an ongoing development of characters. Remender still plays with the characters in a reasonable sandbox here and follows what needs to be followed but he's not going for any sort of deeper meaning here. 4/5

Writing
Satire can be a hard thing to pull off but Remender does fine work with it throughout the book as he lashes out at just about everything. It's easy to read plenty of digs into plenty of people in plenty of spots and it's done well enough that it feels bold for a Marvel comic. It's rare to see a Marvel book go so hard after the satire, often preferring to go very hamfisted or more parody-based when it does something like this instead of doing something that really cuts. Remender unleashes here and it's very strong, though, as I said above, it may carry on too long and occasionally, as is the wont of satire, sometimes gets a little heavy-handed. 4/5

Art
Paul Renaud's art is solid throughout, particularly tricky as he's drawing a huge cast of characters for an extra long issue and with all sorts of action, both physical and magical. It's a pretty great showcase for the talented Renaud and gives him a chance to flex a little bit. He steps up to the challenge and does a very strong job with it. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Fun issue and there's not anyone reading it who shouldn't feel a little shamed by it (Remender and company included, as he isn't willing to leave creators out of his jabs), which is typically the mark of a good satire.

Total score: 4/5

This week's picks

Slower week of releases this week and some pretty clear picks jump to mind. Then why are we wasting time when we could just be getting to it?

Daredevil 2

Things stay interesting in issue two of Matt Murdock's new stay in San Francisco. Waid, Samnee, and Rodriguez introduce him to some new friends and new foes and to people maybe somewhere in between. It's a lot of fun without ever forgetting its plot or its goals. On top of it, as has been true with this book from day one, even back in the Paolo Rivera days because of course even in the Paolo Rivera days, the book is gorgeous and conveys everything it needs to artistically while remaining one of the top books out there for interior art (and cover art, hence why Samnee was nominated this year for best cover artist at this year's Eisner's after a win for best penciller/inker last year). The spirit of this book persists and the tone that Waid and his various art teams worked so hard to establish still permeates through the series even after all of the tense events at the end of the last volume and the move to San Francisco to kick this one off. Really great overall comic book and I can't recommend it enough, you guys.

Elektra 1

Really great first issue for this new series, one that writer W. Haden Blackman will have to work hard to make relevant in a day and age where so many books are coming out and a seemingly B-list character will have to really stun to stand out. So far, so good. As I talked about in my review this week, Elektra is a tricky character to write over a long term but Blackman very clearly has plans for her and very clearly know what he wants to do with the character. On top of it, Mike Del Mundo, phenomenal, Eisner nominated cover artist for my beloved X-MEN LEGACY, is already crushing it on the art for this series. There's a lot happening in this first issue and a story that looks interesting, though it looks like it may have the ability to trump any sort of character developments. We'll have to hold out on any of those judgments and just really focus on how neat this first issue was.

Iron Patriot 2
This one gets the nod over AVENGERS UNDERCOVER, THUNDERBOLTS, and UNCANNY AVENGERS because it was a very good book but also because it surprised me with how good it was. There are certainly still nits to be picked here but it's a series I didn't expect much out of; I've had some troubles with writer Ales Kot in the recent past and I don't know how much I trust an Iron Patriot series to really shine but if Kot and artist Garry Brown can keep the book going like this then I think there's a real opportunity for an impressive series. It's another in a long list (one that also includes ELEKTRA) of recent risky series for Marvel to take a chance on and hopefully another one that will pay off. I love how many risks Marvel is taking but I do worry a little bit about flooding the market with books and how expensive those books have become (Robert Kirkman was in the news recently talking about Marvel's business plan of exclusively 3.99 titles) and what that will mean for books with smaller general followings. Still, hopefully the cream rises to the top and the books that deserve to be kept are kept when the numbers start getting crunched.

Uncanny Avengers 19, Original Sin 0

Gahhh, I'm all behind because I couldn't get my hands on UA until late last night and I didn't want to post it that late and GAAAAH, sorry for the slow release Wednesday!

Uncanny Avengers 19
Remender (w) and Acuña (a and c) and Cowles (l)

Havok has brought Kang and his army to Planet X but Kang reveals the only way this whole venture will work is if Havok gathers the surviving Unity Squad members (made easier since Thor came back with Kang and his army) and they send their consciousness back through the wall on the other side of the trip. Alex isn't prepared for this development and refuses until Kang takes his daughter Katie, promising to return her when everything is set right. Meanwhile, Eimin has caught wind of the plan and told the X-Council, a council of mutants that you'd pretty much expect to be on that council (Cyclops, Cable, Storm, Jean Grey, Psylocke, etc). Their job is to stop Havok from succeeding or else watch the planet cease to exist. Tricky battles upcoming, you guys.

Story
Plenty happening here as Planet X has to fight for its own existence against the hope that Earth could be restored. As Eimin herself points out, the mutants are happy on Planet X so even the death of any hope that Earth could come back (or the death of the X-Council, as Eimin's secretly planned with remaining Horsemen Banshee and Daken) won't really hurt their spirits. It's a classic storyline where the ethical quandary is front and center and it's certainly a good enough story to hold that up. 5/5

Character
There's maybe a little more telling than showing here, though it's almost strange the way it's done since there's still an awful lot of showing JUST AFTER the telling. Look, that's confusing. What I'm saying is that there are a lot of points where someone will say something about another character's personality and then that trait will show itself. For example, Cyclops will say something about Havok being frustrating or stubborn and then Havok will be, to him, frustrating or stubborn. Just giving us the "showing" is fine after a certain point. Still, there are a lot of characters here and plenty that we kind of want to catch up with or understand more (practically alternate versions of everyone since we're seeing mutants after six years on a mutant-only planet plus alternate versions of several heroes/villains in Kang's army including that one future Psylocke Remender introduced way, way back in UNCANNY X-FORCE). Not really enough time to do it but most of them still get some sort of personality check and it's definitely neat to see. 4/5

Writing
Gone are the days of a separate narrator, the interesting throwback to an omniscient narrator telling us strange little guarded secrets. It was pretty cool to see it in this book while it lasted but the book is no poorer for its absence. Aside from the mildly strange "tell and show" thing I mentioned in the character bit, there's nothing really to worry about here. Even the necessary name checks to let the audience in on some changed appearances and new status quos work and fit mostly seamlessly in. 5/5

Art
I love Daniel Acuña's art and it continues to impress here. The art and the colors are so epic and yet they manage to also be remarkably expressive. Everyone looks different and everyone has a very distinct personality to their actions and to their expressions. It's incredible. No complaints from me! 5/5

Miscellaneous
The only kind of jarring thing here is that occasionally the speech bubbles change colors and I'm not totally sure why? Sometimes that happens for a specific character's speech but it happens to different characters and it doesn't happen often enough to show anything particularly different.

Total score: 4/5


Original Sin 0
Waid (w) and Cheung w/Medina (p) and Morales w/Ortega, Meikis, Vlasco, and Cheung (i) and Ponsor (c) and Eliopolous (l)

After a fight with a purported Aztec deity who turns out to be a robot that probably Roxxon sent out to devalue Native American oil rigs, Nova asks the Avengers why the Watcher does what he does. They admit they don't know but he's determined to find out, so he visits the moon to ask Watcher himself. When he arrives, his helmet immediately starts warning him of danger and he sees some of it first hand, including stumbling into a massive armory at the Watcher's home. Finally he begins to understand Uatu as he shows him the origin of the Watcher and his race of Watchers. They had decided, in large part due to Uatu's father Ikor, that they would assist races weaker than their own to realize their potential. It went poorly then and Ikor decreed that they would be Watchers from here on out, only observing and never interacting. It's a pretty terrible life and Uatu combs the multiverse for examples of universes wherein his father had been right to try to help, unable to find any. It bonds Sam, who wishes things had turned out differently with his father, and the Watcher, even making enough of a difference for Uatu that he reveals to Sam that Sam's father is still alive.

Story
This is our lead-in to ORIGINAL SIN, the big Marvel event of 2014. Like most of these lead-ins, it's a little exposition-heavy without being altogether plot-heavy (have to build up excitement and background for the main series without giving too much away from a potentially shocking first issue) but it gets to what it needs to get to. In this case, we get a much better look at the Watcher for those who already know him and we get a solid introduction for those who may be less familiar, all through the eyes of perfect audience stand-in Sam Alexander, someone still new to superheroing and this universe. 4/5

Character
Aside from some choppy writing, Sam's character comes out pretty well in this. He handles a big monster, gets really excited about the appearance of the Avengers, shows a little naivety and idealism, and gets awkward when he realizes how weird it is that he just visited the Watcher at his home. As good as the characterization of Sam can be in a book that has to explain so much, the characterization of Uatu is better. A new audience can get a firm grip on a seemingly intangible character. There's background, there's personality (albeit limited to "he wanted to help people" and "he wishes his father had been right") and it very nearly makes us care about the Watcher, which is the biggest pothole Marvel may need to face with this big event. 4/5

Writing
I have some sympathy here. There's not a lot you can say about the writing because the aim of this issue is to be really exposition-laden. You have to establish the Watcher, you have to explain what it is he does and why he does what he does and more, and you have to have a few more characters make appearances here and there, let alone establishing our POV character Sam for audiences who may not know him well. Still, this book is really exposition heavy, which makes it a bit of a long read. The other major problem I have is one that I tend to have with a number of writers which is that it's hard to write a believable teenager and Sam never truly comes off as authentic here. I think that Jeph Loeb had trouble at the start of this series doing just that before Zeb Wells, who did a pretty phenomenal job under the circumstances, and Gerry Duggan, who is doing a perfectly fine job. Again, it's hard because Waid's introducing Sam to maybe first-time Sam readers and his goal here isn't to write a believable teen for the long run, it's to write a believable Watcher origin and get us excited for ORIGINAL SIN. Still, the writing isn't Waid's normal pretty top-notch stuff, though I'm going to show some leniency for getting the job done regardless. 3/5

Art
Jim Cheung does a pretty great job here drawing a slew of characters and making each of them, even the ever giant-headed and bald Watcher, look very human. There's even a little turn where Iron Man, in full Iron Man armor, manages to perfectly show emotion on an emotionless iron face as he turns to Cap. It's good art and it gets the job done, particularly as we see the sadness (helped by the inks and the colors) in Uatu as he recalls his own dark origins and wishes that things had turned out differently for his people and for his father. 5/5

Miscellaneous
As I said above, the biggest hurdle Jason Aaron and everyone else behind this new series will face is making people care about the death of the Watcher. I don't dislike the Watcher but, you know, he's just kind of there. He's a device at its most device-like. The thing in their corner, of course, is that whoever shot him must have access to all the information he was carrying. So, you know, this is me defining ORIGINAL SIN, I guess?


Total score: 4/5