Daredevil 9, Ms. Marvel 9

Daredevil 9

Matt, Foggy, and Kirsten talk about Matt potentially writing a book with Kirsten's father, an idea Kirsten is against and Foggy worries about, though the advance check is crazy intriguing. Foggy, though, worries that Matt delving back into his life for an autobiography will dig up the parts that he's done so well to push down, a fear Matt doesn't seem to share. Meanwhile, the Purple Children are living large, walking around and scaring everyone, overwhelming everyone with their feelings, magnified to a child's level, and driving some cop cars around. Though Daredevil has more experience than most at fighting Purple Man, he's overwhelmed by the children's sense of fear and despair and loneliness and rage and grief and everything Matt's buried comes back up to the surface, wrecking him and leaving him curled up on the ground under an overpass where the healing Purple Man discovers him.

This is it, everyone. Everything Mark Waid has been building to and everything we've expected to come over the last few years of Waid's run is finally coming to a head and it's masterfully done. I've been guilty, of course, of expecting this sort of thing to come much sooner but Waid's patience is important here as every issue that Waid waited to have this sort of thing happen strengthened the payoff. This issue has a great balance of fun with Foggy, Kirsten, and Matt and of darkness with the Purple Children, a surprisingly sympathetic villain for Matt, who recognizes that the kids aren't acting like Killgrave, that they're not trying to convince people, they're just blasting their kid emotions at peak levels, as he puts it. It's too much for Matt and now we have our way in to the next story. Excellent work from Chris Samnee and Matt Wilson, whose highlight here comes in a full page juxtaposing the kids feeling their emotions and memories in Daredevil's head related to those emotions. It's absolutely incredible and it defines the issue so well. Fantastic work all around, as if that will come as a surprise to anyone with this title.

Total Score: 5/5


Ms. Marvel 9

Kamala is forced to fight in just her regular street clothes as she finds she can't change her appearance in the midst of a fight with one of the Inventor's robots going after her school. She wins the fight but passes out, not healing quickly enough to keep up. Bruno manages to force his way into the fight area and finds Kamala passed out at the center. Medusa, keeping a close eye on the new Inhuman, appears and has Lockjaw transport them all to New Attilan, where Inhuman healer Vinatos helps and monitors Kamala's recovery. He also tells her when she wakes up that her healing ability seems to revert things back to their normal form, so the more she heals the less she may be able to shapeshift. Rejuvenated and now aware that she's an Inhuman, Kamala returns home and apologizes to her parents, happy to see them. That night, she goes back to the place where she rescued Vick, prepared to free the kids inside. Doyle is waiting for her and unleashes another big robot for her to fight, which Kamala defeats with the help of Lockjaw. She finds the people inside the building only to find that they weren't kidnapped, they're volunteers.

There are few books that have developed a supporting cast as quickly and as strongly as MS. MARVEL under G. Willow Wilson's direction. Wilson has done an excellent job making us care about Kamala, about Kamala's family, about Kamala's friends, and about the heroes who have crossed Kamala's path. That's extremely difficult to do, particularly when you're building an entirely new character in her own entirely new book. If a character is created in a separate book and built over an arc in someone else's book, you can use a new solo series to further develop that character. Wilson doesn't have that benefit here, meaning that she has so much work to accomplish and she's 100% accomplished it already. My girlfriend and I recently, just because this is who we are, wrote big long lists of our favorite superheroes, ranking them in order as best we could. I don't know if you guys know this, but I love superheroes. After careful deliberation, I found that I'd placed Ms. Marvel at number sixteen. That put her between Captain Marvel and Dr. Strange. AMAZING company (worth noting that after the top like, three, the difference in position is negligible because I just really like them all so much everyone). This wasn't really a haphazard list, I really did think about it a lot and gave reasons for everyone at every position (I got up to 30 heroes before putting the list down). Maybe this sounds self-indulgent (uhhhhh, have you read this blog? Because obviously it's self-indulgent and, frankly, I'd call it self-important) as I focus on my own personal opinions of this character but I think it's important to note that, after nine issues (only seven or eight, really, when I made the list), Kamala Khan had cracked the top twenty. That says a ton about this book, whether you trust my judgment or not. Great work as ever and this book just continues to be a lot of fun.

Total Score: 5/5

Captain Marvel 5, Daredevil 5

Captain Marvel 5
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c) and Caramagna (l)

Captain Marvel realizes that the Haffensye aren't intercepting goods coming to Torfa, they're covertly mining the planet for natural resources, in this case vibranium. This also explains the recent sickness that's washed over the community, a reaction to the vibranium and easily treated now that they know with what they're dealing (like so much House). Carol and her team (sans Tic, who has been captured) explain everything to the people and Carol goes on to deduce that some of the once-friendly Sentimault, still living amongst them, are helping the Haffensye mine the vibranium and that said vibranium is to be delivered to J-Son to give the Spartax an impregnable army. The Haffensye and J-Son are quibbling over the vibranium themselves and Spartax is prepared to come to the planet and take it on their own, only to be met by a war-ready Captain Marvel.

With the mystery solved, Carol returns to form as she makes herself heard and refuses to leave a struggling people even as their leader tells her that she should not get involved. The final pages of the issue, giving the audience another emotional speech, not unlike the the first issue of the last volume (wherein Carol received advice and strength in a letter from her childhood hero), that has been something of a driving force for DeConnick's run. Following that is a pretty gorgeous double page spread that shows Captain Marvel hovering in space, staring down a fleet of Spartax ships. It's a powerful moment and one that sticks with the ongoing feeling of the book and the strength of Carol's character through this run. It's a solid way to end the issue.

Total Score: 5/5


Daredevil 5
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and J. Rodriguez (c) and Caramagna (l)

We flash back a few months to Foggy's last minutes "alive" to Matt explaining to his friend that faking his death is the best way to proceed, that it's the only way to get him out of the spotlight and to ensure that his treatment isn't tampered with. As they run through the park together, Ant-Man in Foggy's blood to keep trying an experimental method to deal with some of the cancer, Foggy complains to Daredevil about how hard it will be to pick back up when they reveal he's not dead after all, that he's not a superhero and normal people don't just return from death. At that moment, "supervillain" Leapfrog emerges from a pond in new battle armor, picking up Foggy and scrambling away with him, proving Matt's fears about leaving him in the open. DD pursues and eventually catches up with Leapfrog, managing to snare him. Leapfrog tries to escape, hoping that Daredevil will focus on his friend rather than the villain, but DD catches him, believing Foggy can handle himself. However, everything changes when Matt realizes that Leapfrog was desperate to escape because his abandoned suit is actually a bomb. Matt makes a big show to yell to foggy that the suit is a bomb and he needs to get it out of the city, that he's the only one who can enter it in time and leap high above the civilians. Foggy doesn't hesitate, climbing in and preparing to sacrifice himself. As the suit explodes in midair, Ant-Man returns to the ground with Foggy. Everyone believes Foggy's dead after a very public and extremely heroic sacrifice.

It's a nice Foggy-centric issue here (always like those) and it answers a couple of questions hanging over the series and over Daredevil's decision to reveal himself to the world. It's, admittedly, maybe a little convenient as Leapfrog makes his perfectly timed appearance, seemingly not orchestrated by Daredevil, and there's no way to make the ending anything but predictable for the audience, who should remember Ant-Man is with Foggy and who, of course, knows that Foggy survives, but Waid and Samnee do a good job to keep the action and the fun up anyway, giving something of a laugh as Daredevil very obviously lets the entire street know what's happening as he yells to Foggy while still making it a poignant and feel-good story as Foggy, not realizing that he'll be saved, immediately makes the choice to save everyone else. Solid issue with more great Samnee art and Rodriguez colors.

Total Score: 5/5

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 1, Daredevil 1.50

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 1
K. Andrews

Danny Rand meets with a journalism student as she interviews him about his past and his powers. The night devolves quickly as she becomes attracted to him and, while the drinks flow, eventually goes home with him. The whole time, Danny is distant, thinking about his father's determination to get his family and business partner to K'un Lun. Of course, this event drove Danny's life as his parents would both die that day and Danny would barely escape death to make it to the mystical city, where he would become the immortal Iron Fist and choose to leave K'un Lun, forsaking his immortality to avenge his murdered family. As he mulls over his past (before, after, and probably during his, erm, relations with the girl Brenda), he realizes that someone is coming for him. He dives out the window of his penthouse apartment which overlooks the ruined Rand building and meets a flock of ninjas descending from a helicopter. He defeats them handily (that's very nearly a pun about his iron fist, you guys) and returns to the girl only to find that there's an undead but very powerful ninja waiting for him there. His iron fist blinks out at the wrong time but he's more than just his power and he still defeats the ninja. With the last combatant dispatched, a different girl appears, arrows in her back, and whispers that he needs to return to K'un Lun.

Stellar first issue by Kaare Andrews. There's a ton happening here and it's ever so slightly twisting the story of Iron Fist. Iron Fist is rather my go-to for "which superhero has the darkest origin?" That question comes up more than you'd think (mostly I pose it so I can answer "Iron Fist." I never said I didn't play to win). As a child, Danny Rand was walked through a harsh, winter, mountainous climate because his dad was driven to show them all K'un Lun. His dad's business partner, Harold Meachum, watched as Wendell Rand fell off the cliff to his death and offered help to Danny's mother if she would marry him. She refuses and she and Danny are left to their own devices, which here means "promptly attacked and chased by wolves." She falls behind to let Danny gain some distance and tells Danny to just keep going. As the wolves get to her, Danny finds the entrance to K'un Lun. PRETTY DARK, YOU GUYS. This twists the origin very slightly but not in any way that is unbelievable. Instead, Andrews casts Wendell Rand as someone who had long since gone mad, desperate to return to K'un Lun. It's not a stretch in any way, just a slightly different way to look at it. There's an amount of apathy to Danny as this series opens and a fear that he'll go the way of his father. There are so many emotions here and so much depth already to this Danny Rand, not even getting into the story that's happening and the phenomenal art Andrews brings to the book. Really great first issue. Everyone should check this one out.

Daredevil 1.50
The King in Red: Waid (w) and J. Rodriguez and A. Lopez (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)
The Last Will and Testament of Stana Morgan: Bendis (w) and Maleev (a) and Hollingsworth (c)
The Last Will and Testament of Mike Murdock: Kesel (w and a) and Palmer (a) and Allison (c)

Daredevil's 50th anniversary is celebrated with a double length issue telling three tales from Matt Murdock's past and future. The first is a story from Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez that finds Matt on his fiftieth birthday. He's more or less retired from the superhero game though his senses have all increased with age. He still lives in San Francisco with his son Jack and near a slimmed down and healthy Foggy. He's had a career in politics and, though it seems he and Jack's mother are separated, gained the love of the city in the process. His fiftieth birthday brings horror to the city, though, as Jubula Pride, deranged daughter of the Owl, blinds the majority of the city with the help of cyber optic eye treatment (like Google Glass but with eye drops) in Matt's honor. He tracks her down and fights her, though he's slowed by her toxins and by his age. He eventually finds the source of the blinding, a machine just bursting with radioactivity, and he destroys it, subjecting himself to the radioactivity and fully blinding him, taking away his radar senses. Sad as it is, he's reunited with his son (who had gone blind in the epidemic) and the two are left to lead a more normal life. It's a pretty neat story with plenty of seeds for stories that may or may not be coming. Javier Rodriguez's art continues to stand out whenever it's called upon and makes the book feel like it's just continued right on up through the next decade of comics. Considering how good this DAREDEVIL book and team are, that's not a bad way to feel.

Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev return to the world of DAREDEVIL as Bendis tells a story in the form of the world's longest letter (probably) from Stana Morgan, purported love interest of Daredevil, to her unborn child and to her husband (they would even go so far as to be MARRIED, you guys). She left the letter because she had a suspicion, thanks to her one-time best friend, that she would die as a result of Daredevil's work, somewhere in the crossfire. I'll be honest, I have no idea the point of this story. It's really, really long-winded and it's about a character it's almost impossible to care about, even if this is presented in a first person letter to make it more sympathetic. It's hard to see her as anything but a woman who fell in love with Daredevil under the weirdest circumstances and quit her job and dedicated herself entirely to him within about five minutes. Then apparently she dies at the hands of Bullseye because that's the only thing Bullseye cares about: killing Daredevil's girlfriends/wives. It's an incredibly lengthy story for five pages and I don't think it really adds much. Add this to my long list of Bendis bias, I suppose.

Story three is a tale from Daredevil's past. As present day Matt and Foggy pack up the law offices of Nelson and Murdock, Reed Richards sends along an old video that was left with him during the days of Mike Murdock, the twin that Matt Murdock invented to convince Foggy and Karen Page that he wasn't Daredevil. Present day Foggy and Matt talk about how unbelievable and crazy the whole situation was and how stupid they were for believing it and for perpetrating it respectively. The video is a sweet little thing where "Mike" dons his Daredevil suit and, followed around by some of Reed's flying cameras, performs stunts and narrates his little video, dedicating bits and pieces to the three (yes, including himself) to whom the video was dedicated. There's not a ton to this little story but it's sweet and it's certainly fun enough with just a pang of regret as Mike says that he's sure they'll be the top law firm in the city by the time they see the video where, in fact, they're packing up their law firm having just been disbarred. Fun little issue overall and definitely worth a look for Daredevil fans. There's a preview of ELEKTRA at the end as well as a nice little letter page that highlights fans who sent in letters about their experience with Daredevil (including a nice shout-out to manwithoutfear.com's Kuljit Mithra) as well as creators who have worked on the series. Always nice to see and looking forward to more DAREDEVIL as the years go on.

Daredevil 36, Punisher 2, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 10

Daredevil 36
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Matt Murdock is up on the stand and he's man-without-fearing it as he reveals that he, in fact, is Daredevil. The whole courtroom goes crazy, journalists book it out to file reports, district attorneys let him keep talking (it pays that he saved the man's life not five issues ago...probably, I'd have to look that up and do I look like someone who looks stuff up?), and racist cult leaders exchange dirty looks with corrupt judges. Everything is working to Matt's plan and he continues to confirm that he's Daredevil, giving his origin story and, in the meantime, figuring out who really committed the crime his client is charged with. He realizes just in time that the judge and Ogilvy have called in a Serpent strike team. While the strike team is assembling, Matt tells the audience why he's lied about not being Daredevil, even going so far as to sue people who claimed he was. It's a nice speech that hinges around the idea that telling this lie saved lives and hurt no one so it was well worth it, but suing the newspaper was giving power to the lie and so wasn't. Right before the Serpents burst into the courtroom, Matt reveals that the judge is vying with Ogilvy for control of the Serpents and so framed Ogilvy's son for the crimes committed and tried to kill Daredevil as he investigated. Matt changes into DD and brings down the strike team, managing to protect the DA (the real target of the attack) and Kirsten and expose the Serpents in the justice system of New York. Of course, after everything dies down, he's disbarred for the ethics of his vigilanteism as it ties to his law practice. With both he and Foggy disbarred, Kirsten reminds him that there's only one way it might be possible to be admitted to a different state's bar: if he's practiced in that state before. Daredevil and Foggy Nelson are OFF TO SAN FRANCISCO!

It's a triumphant ending to a really triumphant book for Daredevil, whose rebirth here is every bit as meaningful as his rebirth in Frank Miller's BORN AGAIN. This is a Daredevil who cares very much about what he does and who he is but also isn't willing to go as dark as he's gone in the past, to let the darkness that's surrounded him corrupt him. It's a major status quo change both in terms of where it's landed him and the tone that the book has taken. As cool as the courtroom scene and his fight with the Serpents is, the heart of the issue is in the very first scene of the book where we see Matt discussing his decision to go public with Foggy in his hospital bed. Foggy is entirely supportive of it and gives a really meaningful and heartfelt speech where, though he is certainly afraid of losing the health care coverage he'll lose when they're disbarred (as they both know they will be), he admits that Daredevil's integrity and strength inspires everyone it touches and that he refuses to be the conduit whereby Daredevil loses some of that integrity. It's really touching and it's a wonderful scene for the two of them. Very excited to see where they go next when Waid and Samnee rejoin...next month to kick off with DAREDEVIL 1.

Punisher 2
Edmondson (w) and Gerads (a and c)

Five months ago, Punisher had chased a drug trail to Mexico from New York only to discover that the trail ended with a whole slew of deaths from some untraceable weapon. From there, he ended up in LA going after Dos Soles only to find that the possessed the very same weapon. In his attempts to discover what that weapon is, his sniper's scope shorts out and he attracts some attention from the Soles. They fire on a coyote who leaps out at them and it gives Frank the chance to shoot his would-be attackers. He calms the coyote before quickly adopting it because what other kind of pet is Frank Castle going to have? Later, he dumps the coyote on arms contact Tuggs while he goes to stake out the Soles some more. Unbeknownst to Castle, Tuggs is now being monitored by the new Howling Commandoes, who are desperate to take Punisher down. It's not all bad for Punisher, though, as he manages to save his policeman friend Sammy Stone from death to the Soles' weapon as he raids their warehouse. He's stopped from pursuing the Soles by a lightning bolt and, later, when he's recovered and gotten back into his RV, he's struck off the road by another lightning bolt, landing him face-to-face with the Soles' weapon: Electro.

There's a solid idea here for Punisher as Edmondson defines the street-level hero by showing punisher as someone who handles the criminals, villains, and cases that are too dangerous for the cops and too small for the superheroes. Kind of the perfect embodiment of this is that the big bad he's going to have to face this arc is Electro, a villain who is far too dangerous for regular police but really doesn't register on the Avengers' scale (except for when he breaks other, more dangerous criminals out of prison). He's also a compelling villain because he's a lot harder to just straight up shoot and who can manipulate electricity, which Punisher enjoys using to punish. Hard not to notice here that Edmondson shows another somewhat involuntary pet adoption (to go along with Natasha's not-cat Liho in BLACK WIDOW) and shows Punisher silence and calm a wild dog in the same way Natasha had last BLACK WIDOW issue. This just after a week where he put Punisher up alongside some crocodiles at the same time Natasha squared off against some as well (they may have been alligators, I don't know, I just know that they're equally terrifying). FORTUNATELY FOR EDMONDSON, he's crafting two really interesting books and two intriguing characters in as little as five books combined so we'll let him slide on this limited bag of tricks.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 10
Shinick (w) and Checchetto (a) and Rosenberg (c)

It's up to Spider-Man, Daredevil, and a somewhat blind Punisher to stop the corrupted spider-henchmen who are trying to bring down Spider-Man's Spider Island from the inside but that doesn't mean that Spider-Man is ready to believe it wasn't Daredevil or Punisher who brought this upon him. After such a huge betrayal from what seemed to be his men, he is willing to trust no one and still believes he requires the help of no one, making it difficult for Punisher or Daredevil to actually give him that help. As they're beginning to get overrun, Daredevil assures Spider-Man that the only way out of this is to self-destruct the entire floor, leading Spider-Man to believe even more that this could all be Daredevil's doing. However, he also understands the trouble they're in and floods the lair, washing the rest of the bad guys out to sea. Suddenly everything becomes more clear to him and he, to confirm his beliefs, checks one of the betrayers only to find a Goblin tattoo on his neck.

Still a pretty strong issue out of another compelling team-up (featuring two characters who have since gone west and BOY I really hope that Punisher and Daredevil run into each other in California and both are really aggravated that the other came) and one that gives a pretty good look into the fractured psyche of Doctor Octopus, who trusts no one and does not believe in friends or help. Of course, some of that is explained as he thinks back to a time where bullies "befriended" him just to make it easier to torment him at school. I'm not saying that we can't understand why he doesn't believe in friends or in trust, but his madness here does start to feel a little forced. Then again, this is a Spider-Man who has upset the superheroes of the world with his sudden personality shift so I guess it's not hard for Doc Ock to make the leap that these would-be pals would turn on him, especially since he doesn't really have any recollection of what their relationships with Peter may have been. Fun stuff and Marco Checchetto's art continues to really shine just as Rachelle Rosenberg's colors continue to impress.

Daredevil 35, Thor: God of Thunder 17

Daredevil 35
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Matt rushes to the hospital with the news that Foggy's cancer has taken a turn for the worst. He gets there to find a new doctor treating him with a highly illegal but potentially life-saving drug. The doctor claims that he's associated with people who would rather keep Foggy alive and moves aside to allow high-ranking Serpent Society members in. They reveal to Matt that they have done extensive research on him and have figured out his entire backstory, right up to the moment he became Daredevil, meaning they know definitively who he is and how his powers work. Between that and the repercussions of them letting his identity and his weaknesses out into the world (not to mention leaving him disbarred and unemployed and therefore unable to foot the cost of the health insurance Foggy so desperately needs), they feel they have him pretty under their thumb, enough so, anyway, that they are prepared to hire him to defend one of their sons, who is charged with arson and twelve counts of murder. The fire that caused the deaths was a Serpent job but, the men maintain, Donald was not involved. So Daredevil has to choose to take the case and protect an innocent yet not-innocent man or walk away and potentially lose everything. He calls up Elektra to try to make up his mind, hoping that she'll spar with him to get him thinking. Before they can start, though, they run into a pair from the Serpent Society (unrelated to the Sons of the Serpent but clearly hired by the Sons of the Serpent in this case) guarding the ashes of the building Daredevil's investigating. After a quick fight, Elektra imparts some solid wisdom on DD that helps clear his mind and helps him make an unexpected decision. When Matt and Kirsten go into the courtroom the next day, he pulls off a gutsy move on the Serpents as he turns over lead defender duties to Kirsten and she sends him to the stand as their first witness. When she asks Matt's name, he offers "Daredevil."

Huge, huge shakeup to the DAREDEVIL book as this run comes to a close and gives way to another Waid/Samnee run. At least there's no doubt that the new run will be significantly different to this one now, huh? It's a bold choice for Waid and I think it's absolutely the right one to make. Waid came into a book that, as I've detailed plenty of times (most recently in my Top Books of 2013 list), was kind of a mess. Not that it was bad, just that it left its protagonist an angry shell of his former self, exposed but refusing to seem exposed, and very much on his own both by choice and by his actions. Instead of continuing the cycle, Waid broke from recent tradition and made Daredevil fun again. Of course, Waid's artists, from Paolo Rivera to Chris Samnee to Javier Rodriguez, were perfect fits and deserve much of the credit here as their crisp pictures and very sharply defined characters and bright colors went a long way to cement DAREDEVIL as something very different from its Alex Maleev/Michael Lark predecessors (for the record, I very much like both artists and they fit very well for the book at their respective times). Even in this issue, Elektra remarks that Daredevil is very "jocular," a big difference from the last time they met (which would be, if I'm not forgetting anything, SHADOWLAND, the height of angry DD). It's very true and it's perfect and now, even in this giant debacle, we're seeing a smart Daredevil who refuses to be played and who is playing his own game and still manages to have a good couple of moments with Elektra. Really nice issue, very interested to see how this last issue will play out.

Thor: God of Thunder 17
Aaron (w) and Lupacchino and Garney (a) and Svorcina and Loughridge (c)

Thor was the traitor to the League of Realms after all, with a bug slipped into him by one of Malekith's spies at the pub they went to. Fortunately, Thor had the foresight to realize that the Realm of Leagues may be better served if they banded together and used some sorcery of his own (which he offhandedly says he learned from Loki at some point) when he apparently killed Ud the troll. Sir Honeyshot and Screwbeard found Ud wandering the forests with a note from Thor on his back that explained everything and they followed Thor to Midgard, saving him and Lady Waziria from Malekith just as things looked their worst. After a long fight with Malekith and his band of dark elves, the hiding elves of Svartalfheim call on Thor to stop just short of killing Malekith, as they've come to a decision about their future. They've made Malekith their king, which, of course, enrages Thor but the Congress of Worlds has no choice but to accept. The All-Mother demand that Malekith serve the remainder of his time first unless he finds a proxy to do it for him. Lady Waziria steps forth, explaining that this is the only way to stop further bloodshed for her people. Thor knows, of course, that it only means more problems for the rest of the realms but it makes sense for Svartalfheim. Sir Honeyshot encourages Thor, though, saying that his ability to bring the League together as he did is as impressive as anything Malekith could have done. Of course, it won't necessarily help things when Malekith teams with Jotunheim and Muspelheim to form his own league, as the epilogue of the story hints.

Bold move by Aaron as the book ends and one that leaves him no end of stories to tell. I still don't love this arc as a whole but I can respect and appreciate the ending of it. I still a little feel like it's impossible to separate the book from the fantasy trope (thanks Lord of the Rings) of the unlikely banding together of heroes from different fantasy archetypes. It's also, as if there weren't enough things to compare it to, drawn to the audience's attention that this League of Realms is not entirely unlike Thor and the Warriors Three, which did not make things better (despite my affection for that group). Still, I suppose it's worth putting aside my boredom with that aspect of this issue (though not with this arc) to make way for the plot twist that is Malekith being named king of the dark elves. One of my issues with Aaron over in books like WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN and the newer AMAZING X-MEN is that it often feels like the books talk down a little to the reader. Not necessarily the ideas or the characters, but the actual writing. I didn't think it was happening so much in the first two arcs of this series so I was pleased with that but this arc has gone for it a bit, with this issue particularly summarizing and name-dropping like a pro. Every character gets a name-check and, more obviously, a quick heritage-check which feels very forced and incredibly strange as it's the last issue of a five issue arc. Trust that the audience knows these people and where they come from and why it's so crazy they're together. If someone is picking up this issue as their very first THOR: GOD OF THUNDER issue, trust that they have the internet and can look it up or throw a better splash page on the book to briefly catch people up. Otherwise it makes the dialogue seem more than a little unnatural and slows the pace of the book. In the end, it's a nice little set-up that maybe took a little longer than I'd've liked getting ether. Should be some big things coming for Thor.

Daredevil 32, FF 13

Daredevil 32
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and Rodriguez (c)

Foggy's not dead and Matt isn't fooled by the dummy hanging in front of him, nor is he fooled by the cyanide-laced "suicide note" that "Foggy left." He picks up the trail again after taking down a couple of dirty cops and enlisting Foggy's help in research on the Serpent Society. The research leads him down a more mystical path and so Daredevil pays a visit to his personal mystical consultant, Dr. Strange. Strange, in turn, points him to known-werewolf Jack Russell down in Kentucky. Matt arrives in Kentucky to find Russell and finish his research. It doesn't go as planned, though, when he ends up unwittingly defending a posse of monsters led by Satana, daughter of the devil. He escapes into the trees to figure out his next move where he is shot by a member of the angry crowd chasing the monsters.

Geez, now we're going to be maybe-killing a character at the end of every issue apparently. It's a good issue though with Daredevil immediately outwitting Jester and a nice little look from Jester at how some of the villains in the world view him. Even when supervillains know that Matt is Daredevil, they don't necessarily know the truth about Matt. Jester's Foggy prank relies entirely on Matt seeing the body, not smelling it, as well as seeing the suicide note instead of smelling the cyanide inside. Some nice character work between the Matt and Foggy as they get a nice moment of tough love from Matt, slapping some junk food out of Foggy's hand. More good Matt character stuff as he pays a visit to Doc Strange (wouldn't be upset if Strange started getting a bigger role in this book) and Strange doesn't reveal Russell's...condition to Matt, leaving him a little in the dark when he arrives and thinks that the townspeople are simply crazy racists, not monster-haters (unless "monster" is a race, in which case they're still totally racist). There's a lot happening here and most of it, despite the interesting and kind of abrupt plot-change, is character-based. More great Samnee art, of course, as Daredevil continues to be one of the most complete solo books out there, maybe second only to Hawkeye (if it's second to Hawkeye). I think Captain Marvel would be up there but the art team has changed so much it's hard to call it continuously the most complete solo book. It's still certainly up there. Okay, I'll stop ranking now.

FF 13
Fraction and Lee Allred (s) and Lee Allred (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

The FF has been transported somewhere after Alex's tampering with the portal intended to bring the F4 back. They've been transported somewhere...impossible. That's right, obviously they're in the fabrics of the pants of the Impossible Man. Scott instantly realizes that this is Alex and Ahura's doing and puts them aside for now. The Impossible Man drops them off on the moon alongside the Watcher (and, inexplicably, a lady Watcher), who Scott instantly threatens with a fake Ultimate Nullifier so that his motley crew can stay there and plan their next move. After a weird and useless subplot with the Red Ghost trying to steal secrets from the Watcher and freaking out about everyone he sees, Scott starts planning their return and their next move against Doom, one that he'll have to come at with less emotion than he's been reserving for Doom of late.

The FF has had a fairly quirky bent throughout its recent run but, over the last couple issues, it's gotten openly more goofy. There is a difference, in case you haven't thought about it before. Quirky still leaves room for solid emotion and solid growth, things like Tong deciding she's female and the clone of a supervillain marring attempts to foil a date and only making it more wonderful. Goofy's a little different and allows for less character while we get a little more comic relief. The problem with comic relief is that it needs to relieve something. If there's not enough going on in the story or if that story doesn't have much by way of stakes or drama, it means that comic relief doesn't quite work. Of course, there is still a plot going on that has drama inherent to it (the F4 are in space and their replacements aren't feeling particularly confident with how things have gone, no one knows what to make of old John Storm, two kids just tried to commit murder, Scott is going to be pitted against the man who was responsible for his daughter's death, etc.) but it feels like the excess of comic relief has taken away from that. There aren't many issues of FF left and they'll need to turn that tone around pretty quickly if they want to make a meaningful exit.

Daredevil 31, Thor: God of Thunder 13

Daredevil 31
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and Rodriguez (c)

Current events mix with the Marvel Universe as a case very similar to 2012's Trayvon Martin case (the trial was this year, I know you guys, I keep up with current events too) has cropped up in New York City. The details are extremely similar and, like in that case, the defendant walked free. However, that's where things change in the 616. In the 616, prosecutor James Priest, who has been hailed as a civil rights leader, leaves the courthouse, upset with the verdict, and produces a page with names, addresses, and pictures of everyone on the jury, should people want to exact revenge for their blowing the trial. The city is instantly whipped into a frenzy and only Daredevil knows that someone interrupted the live feed with an excellent impression of Priest and flashed those names. It's confirmed when everyone physically near Priest as he made his speech shows confusion at what they've been told happened on the television broadcast. That doesn't matter to Daredevil, though, as he needs to concern himself with protecting the jurors and finding out who did this. The Serpent Society is clearly behind it, considering their recent infiltration of the legal system and the case being one with such connections to race, but it's the Jester who actually did the impression of Priest and interrupted the feeds. Daredevil discovers that Jester left a trail; his name and address are on the lineup of the jurors though he wasn't one of them. Matt goes to Jester's house to find someone in a Daredevil t-shirt, distributed by Foggy at the hospital, hanging in the house.

You guys, it might be Foggy. I'm not sure I can objectively analyze this issue if that's Foggy so I'm going to pretend, for the moment, that it's not or that it's a ruse or something. Maybe even that he's not dead but even if he's not dead, the dude is still a cancer patient and he was brought there by Jester as part of this whole game and WHAT IS HAPPENING TO FOGGY LATELY? Crap, AND Matt and Foggy's last conversation ended with Matt angry because he found out it was Foggy who hired Kirsten in his place. You guys, that better not be Foggy Nelson. Everything about this issue is really intense and pretty good. There's another DD-Hank Pym team-up as DD gets Pym to use his ants to create rain throughout the city, pretty good at dispersing the riots that have started. Really interesting story rooted in a sad sort of realism with great art and solid writing. It's not Foggy though, right?

Thor: God of Thunder 13
Aaron (w) and Garney (a) and Svorcina (c)

A very small troop of Dark Elves (from the realm of Svartalfheim) have journeyed to Niffleheim to free their imprisoned king Malekith the Accursed. It's not an easy trek and most of the group die, leaving only one alive when Malekith is freed. Together, the elf Scumtongue and Malekith leave Niffleheim for Svartalfheim, where Malekith assumes he will be welcomed back to the throne. Meanwhile, in Asgardia, our Asgardian heroes are enjoying a feast to celebrate Volstagg's election to the congress of worlds. One of the Dark Elves living in Asgardia suddenly feels Svartalfheim's pain and alerts Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three to the issue. They journey immediately to Svartalfheim and find Malekith standing over the bodies of a village of slaughtered Dark Elves. He tells them of the civil war brewing (Svartalfheim, it turns out, was not exactly eager for Malekith to take over the throne again) and disappears before Thor and company can stop him. Malekith, for his part, swears to kill every single Dark Elf who goes against him, no matter where they hide.

This may be the most spell-check has ever disagreed with my posts. And I write a comic book blog. Anyway, solid issue and story, happy to give readers a look at Malekith before he stars as the main villain in Thor: The Dark World. Or cash in on that connection, LOOK, IT DOESN'T MATTER. It's still a good story and it seems it will be a nice reintroduction to the nine realms as this arc continues. With Dark Elves spread out across the nine realms, it seems we'll spend a bit of time in each and maybe give people a chance to, with relative ease, learn a little bit more about Thor's history. There's even a nifty map of the nine realms (drawn by Haemi Jang) at the back of this issue, which will certainly be good for spelling reference in the future for anyone who may have a comic blog. Always a little wary of books that aren't quite movie tie-ins but are clearly movie tie-ins, but this one seems like a story worth telling so far. This five-issue arc will be in full swing by the time Thor: The Dark World premieres, giving movie fans a quick book to jump into (they need only pick up the two to three issues prior to the newest one by the time they wander into a comic shop) and will give comic fans a nice introduction or re-introduction to Malekith before his big screen debut. Nice little mix. Well-respected comic veteran Ron Garney hops onboard for this arc as the new artist and his art is pretty stellar.

Daredevil 28, Indestructible Hulk 10

Daredevil 28
Waid (w) and J. Rodriguez and A. Lopez (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Hot off the unbelievably tense events of the last arc, it's about time for Matt Murdock to cool off a little bit. Thinking of that, we get a slightly less hectic book, something a little more down to Earth for Daredevil to deal with. That doesn't necessarily make it easier, especially with Foggy undergoing chemo. It's a stressful time anyway, and a time when Foggy needs Matt around, but the chemicals coursing through Foggy's veins don't make things any easier for Matt as the smells drive him out of the room faster than he'd like. Still, a strong friend, he toughs it out and keeps with the weakened Foggy. With Foggy in the hospital, Nelson and Murdock are down a man and Matt and co are still trying to find someone to help with the workload. They haven't by the time a new case gets to Matt that strikes on a personal level. A former bully of Matt's, a kid who originally gave him the (then ironic) nickname Daredevil, had been wrongfully arrested and it cost him his job. He comes to Matt and tells his story, which involves going from the bully to the guy who created the martyr that was Matt (kids saw Matt as the good guy after he saved the old man's life and that made his enemy, Nate Hackett, the bad guy). It pushed him more and more down the wrong path and it led to him eventually joining the Sons of the Serpent, the racist hate group that comes across the Marvel Universe from time to time. However, according to his story (and Matt's ability to sniff out a lie), he had left the group before they started doing anything illegal, back when they were a group still protected by the first amendment. The loathing Matt has for Hackett really comes through throughout the issue but, at the end of the day, he believes that Hackett was wrongfully arrested and that it did cause him to be fired. There are hints from Hackett that suggest maybe Matt wasn't the biggest victim in the world, that he is maybe seeing the past the way he wants to see it (he points out to Matt that Matt used to brag about his dad non-stop and spent a lot of his free time telling girls how he was going to be a great lawyer and so on) and that he maybe got the better end of the deal. Matt doesn't buy into any of it and he still has lingering resentment for Hackett but he takes the case. Of course, Matt doesn't actually argue cases any more, he teaches people how to argue for themselves (the rumor that he's Daredevil makes the whole trial go poorly if he's too involved). Hackett has enough on his side in court to make a compelling argument, even if he doesn't present it terribly well, but things take a turn when the judge starts asking how much he remembers from his Serpent days and, when Hackett says he can't remember much, the judge says they can't take that risk and draws a gun, shooting Hackett on the spot.

Awfully big twist there at the end, huh? The issue is a solid one and Rodriguez's art is pretty fantastic, even if he has to fill the massive shoes of Chris Samnee during the issue. It's a nice idea that maybe Matt wasn't always the victim as a kid and it's always nice to see a bit of Matt's childhood, particularly the way he thinks back to his dad. I will always be interested in what drives a character and this is a nice issue for that. We get a bit of Matt's past which, of course, leads to motivations, but we also get him contemplating not taking Hackett's case. He seems very much to want to avoid Hackett and not give him any sort of help (in fact, surprising himself with how much resentment he still bears against Hackett) but the idea of the wrongful arrest is too powerful for him. He does what he does in every step of his life to correct injustices and it's hard for him to see this apart from that. For people who may have lost track of what makes Daredevil a hero, this is it and it's a nice reminder from Waid at probably a perfect time.

Indestructible Hulk 10
Waid (w) and Scalera (a) and Staples (c)

Hulk and Daredevil are on the trail of a sonic assault rifle that has, unbeknownst to them, been delivered to Baron Zemo. On the plus side, the rest of the shipment was destroyed or confiscated by SHIELD, stalling his plans to create an armory for Hydra in New York. Hulk protected Daredevil, as the last issue ended, from being crushed by a falling building, but the crash took them into the subway, where they face more troubles. Escaping there, they manage to track the gun with Daredevil listening out for it. Hulk reaffirms his friendship with Daredevil and they move to Zemo's location. The two heroes keep the villain and his minions off-balance but Zemo makes his escape using a weapon that causes temporary blindness in the target. Fortunately, that doesn't raise any problems for Daredevil but it does complicate things quite a bit as Hulk gets blinded and panics. Daredevil calls Maria Hill on his old Avengers ID card and requests backup immediately. As the structure falls and Hulk emerges into New York, blind and very angry, Daredevil gets patched in to Banner's lab, where they suggest using the sonic assault rifle (left behind by Zemo) at a specific setting to try to calm Hulk down. Daredevil obviously can't read the label so he has to try a couple different times as Hill screams in his ear and traffic begins to bear down on them (as they've been blasted out into the street). Finally the gun overheats and explodes on Daredevil and another structure just as Hulk gets his eyesight back. Hulk manages to save Daredevil as Banner's narration explains that, no matter the duress or the level of intelligence Hulk is working with, he seems always to remember who his friends are.

It's another good issue for Hulk as this team-up continues to be a fun one to read. It's nice to see someone come in as a bit character, not as someone who typically teams up with Hulk and knows his tendencies, and still get along with Hulk and have an idea of how to treat him. There are nice moments between the two and it's particularly nice to know that Banner has a friend and, coming from someone who tends to be anti-SHIELD, someone who can protect him in case Hill betrays him and tries to wash her hands of all this. There's a bit of drama at the end where Banner hints that he's feeling like maybe that day will come sooner than he'd hope but hopefully that remains unsubstantiated. Still, another good issue to learn about the new take on both Hulk and Banner and a great way to show how he fits into this universe. Waid is doing a great job establishing these already established characters in the new look at Marvel. These are the sorts of takes on the characters that, even as you're reading, you can see changing the way the character is written for the rest of their existence. Sometimes writers come in and don't really upset the status quo (which can be fine) and keep everything running smoothly but don't impact the character in a huge and lasting way. Books like this, Daredevil, and Fraction's Hawkeye are actively adjusting the way the characters are seen and probably the way they will be seen.

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.

Daredevil 25, Daredevil: End of Days 7

Daredevil 25
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and Rodriguez (c)

I want to start quickly by saying that I like the idea in some Marvel books to christen the writer and artist as, like in this book, "storytellers" instead of "writer" and "artist." This book does it and Hawkeye does it (they don't really say "storytellers," they just present Fraction and Aja's names together in the credits) in the Marvel books (there might be more but I can't think of them) and I would bet more indie comics do it. It just feels like a nice touch and a nice response to the question of who drives a book. They're both necessary. This book has a killer team-up too, with Eisner award winning Mark Waid teamed with this year's Eisner award nominee Chris Samnee (totally deserving). Anyway, onwards we go.
Last issue ended with someone who had been experimented on turning up at Matt's doorstep (well, Foggy's hospital room doorstep). Matt has this guy, Larry, lead him to the place where the experiments were done, though he reveals as they touch down that he knows it's a trap. Larry didn't seem to know, just like he didn't know that the people trying to trap Matt gave Larry a defective pacemaker. Larry dies on the spot and leaves Matt waiting for an attack. He falls into the building below him as the glass on the rooftop breaks. There he's soliloquy'd to by a new villain, who reveals that the experiments were just the test subjects, weak and enfeebled already. They figured out the correct concoction and used it on someone more capable. Enter this guy, dubbed Ikari (Japanese for "fury") who comes in wearing Matt's father's boxing robe and wielding two Kusurigama blades (they're like baby scythes). Matt gets overconfident, feeling that he's mastered his own powers and there's no way a guy who has only just gotten them could be as prepared as he is. He's wrong, though, as he finds himself pretty evenly matched against Ikari. They do pretty equal amounts of damage to one another before Matt realizes the need to wrap it up. He flees momentarily from Ikari, disappearing into a closed sporting goods store. The store is confusing to a radar sense, with many different objects and smells, and Matt lights a match near a smoke alarm to set off a sprinkler system. Matt hides out, waiting for Ikari to get close enough and revealing to the audience that his radar sense is maybe 5% of what it normally is in rain but he anticipates that Ikari, without long training and experience, won't even be up to that. As Ikari inches closer to Matt's hiding place, Matt starts to grab at a bat. Ikari, next to him now, suggests he grab the red one. In a moment of nearly unprecedented fear and horror, Matt realizes Ikari isn't blind and Ikari beats him to within an inch of his life, allowing him to leave but warning him that the person who sent him will kill Daredevil, somehow and when he least expects it, but sometime soon.
It's another great issue with fantastic art and a lot of really fascinating ideas. Whoever is behind this (there is certainly speculation to be had on that front) knows how to scare Matt and how to enrage him. He also knows how his powers work and how Matt is trained to use them. We also get to learn a bit more ourselves about how Matt's powers work and how he uses them. It's always a fun part in Daredevil books when we reach a point where Matt explains the best places for him to fight and we can kind of see how his environment shapes the way he fights. In this case, learning about the sprinkler system (and Matt's own worry that someone would use that against him) is pretty interesting and, another bonus, negates what Daredevil, the 2003 really bad superhero movie, said on the subject, which was that his radar sense was enhanced in rain. Any separation you can get from that movie the better. This series continues to be one of Marvel's best and this issue is no different. Wonderfully done.

Daredevil: End of Days 7
Bendis and Mack (w) and Janson and Sienkiewicz (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

I am not against reading. In fact, I am very pro-reading. I also love reading comic books. I appreciate that comic books have moved away from the "block of text" style of narration because it breaks up flow. Comics are, by their nature, an incredibly visual medium. There has to be something of a balance between art and word or else you're pretty much just writing a book. Or a script. Maybe script is a more apt description for where I'm going with this. Where I'm going with this is that the first page of this issue has 22 different boxes of narration over four-ish panels of art. I say "ish" because there's one drawing on the background that goes across the entire page and focuses as one to two panels and there are three actual panels on top of it. Don't get me wrong, I like the art in this book. I like both Janson and Sienkiewicz and I continue to think that the series has done a good job spanning Daredevil art styles and even artists. The first half of the book or so, though, is like the first page, with dialogue and narration just cluttering the page like crazy. And not particularly worthwhile dialogue. This is the problem with Bendis' need for snappy back-and-forth writing. It might work in television or movies because those are inherently different. You can see the scene under the words. The words might only take a few seconds to throw out. In this, the same conversation covers up the drawings and distracts from the scene while taking pages to get through. Also, one character who talks through a bunch of the first half, a secretary at the Daily Bugle, is super obnoxious and unpleasant to read. That doesn't help anything. So the question, then, is "is all of this dialogue/narration necessary?" I'd say some of it is. Certainly not all of it. The bonus of having an inherently visual medium is that you can allow your artist to do some work for you. You want to see Urich struggling with the things he's found out and the questions that remain? Look at the pictures. And Janson and Sienkiewicz show him that way. Throw in a couple lines about how frustrated he is, sure. You don't need to cloud a page with it all. It gets to a point where you're forced to start wondering what the level of trust in the artist is. Most of these problems disappear midway through the issue or so, as Ben Urich is attacked by the Hand and the narration and dialogue gives way to action. Here we actually start to get to new information, as Urich enters the apartment Melvin Potter said he'd sent plenty of costumes to before. On the computer, he sees all sorts of files, including one labelled "Map" and one labelled "One." Don't think that this is going to bring us to the secret of "Mapone" because apparently we'd rather save that for the LAST issue, as Urich views the files and we get to see his horror. It's weird to follow a character as our main narrator and see what he sees through the series only to, at the biggest reveal, not get to see what he sees. ANYWAY, the Hand finds Urich there and attacks, but he's saved again by the new Daredevil and Punisher. The new Daredevil rushes Ben to safety before going back to try to help fight the Hand with Punisher, who is mowing the ninjas down. When Daredevil returns to Urich, the reporter has an arrow through his gut. Daredevil rips off the mask to reveal Urich's adopted son Timmy as the new Daredevil. I have some problems with this, but I'd like to see where the last issue goes before airing them. I think I've said enough already.

Comics this week

Geez, the one week I'm not around, 20 books stack up? And 20 LARGELY really good books? Well that will at least make for an easy top five books, right? It'll just make for a very difficult tail end of the week if I end up trying to review everything. I might mess with the order of usual things, you guys. OH WELL, the pleasures of being your own boss, I suppose (the downfalls are largely in not getting paid).

Cable and X-Force 7
This book is always a solid choice. Dennis Hopeless is doing a great job across the Marvel Universe with both Cable and X-Force and Avengers Arena. This book has exactly the feel it should, with problems constantly looming over X-Force's shoulder but with the expertly chosen team mostly able to deal with things. There are still setbacks and problems, sure, but by and large it's safe to trust Cable to pick a team that meshes well together and that can get the job done. I'm excited to see whatever fallout will come between Cable and Scott, who always seem to have reasons to be mad at one another.

Captain America 6
Cap has taken drastic action in removing the Zola from his chest, which shows how dedicated he is to getting Ian back. We've also seen Ian in action, pretty capable himself, and now we've seen his sister, who is more brutal and seemingly a bit more effective. She too had some questions for Zola by the end of the last issue, so I'm looking forward to seeing where allegiances will lie by the end of this trip to Dimension Z. We came so close at the start of last issue to returning Steve and Ian to the 616 and now, with those plans seemingly on hold, it's going to be interesting to see how long it's going to take Steve to make his move there and who he will (or maybe who he won't) bring with him.

Captain Marvel 12
Are you not reading this book yet? It's a great book, guys. Start picking it up and assume I'm recommending it every week, even on weeks it's not coming out. The pressures on Carol are starting to pile up and she's never had a worse time for that as now she's incapable of flying. This issue is only ONE AWAY from the first Captain Marvel issue of the Carol Danvers-centric "Avengers: The Enemy Within" mini-event that will span Avengers Assemble and Captain Marvel through July. That makes 12 an instrumental issue in setting things up and closing some things down, potentially, with this new arc. I'm also a little disheartened to learn that there is no new issue of Captain Marvel in May for whatever reason (maybe to make way for the one shot "Avengers: The Enemy Within" title) so get your last official Captain Marvel issue before June THIS WEEK.

Daredevil 25
Just as pressures are piling up on Carol Danvers at a particularly inopportune moment, so too are pressures piling up on Matt Murdock. There's someone pulling some devious strings that Matt is a little too busy right now to deal with. On top of representing a major case without Foggy that could have some serious repercussions into Matt's life, his best friend and law partner Foggy Nelson is in treatment for cancer. Add to that the fact that some of the devious strings being pulled include Matt's recent run-ins with the Spot and Coyote and all the botched-Daredevil experiments and Matt has to be nearing a Shadowland-esque level of stress that he hasn't faced since...well, since Shadowland. And we all know how that went. I have a giant poster hanging above me AS I TYPE THIS that tells me how that went. There are a lot of weapons in various heroes and very few in the particularly demonic looking Daredevil and in the present members of Hand. So that's how that went.

X-Men Legacy 9
Another book that I'm almost always excited about and that BOY I sure hope people are reading. With the recent news about Winter Soldier's cancellation (paired with the news of X-Treme X-Men and Age of Apocalypse) I worry for X-Men Legacy's safety. It's a really great book but it's also a really challenging and thoughtful book that might come off as kind of "out there" which features a main character who isn't necessarily the most popular in Marvel's stable. It worries me is all. And really, it's another spectacular book with a conceit that I'm always intrigued by and excited to read more about. It feels like literally just about anything can happen at any time. On top of that, I think David's approach to his father's dream is an intrestingly new perspective, somewhere in the range of X-Force but with more sense and logic behind it. Good stuff all around.



I'll certainly miss posting the next couple days as those are days that I'll need to actually have read the books to make posts, so my apologies. Maybe before I leave I'll come up with a couple little posts just to have something. Also, maybe I won't. I'll return Friday with a couple posts, hopefully. Much love, as always, to all of you who have ever come to this blog for any reason. I've been floored the last couple weeks with the responses I've been getting (which are probably pretty modest for websites but which are really incredible for me, who never expected any traffic on this site). Thank you to everyone again and, again, I love you all. Read Marvel, you guys.

Daredevil 24, Deadpool 6

Daredevil 24
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and Rodriguez (c)

I like Foggy Nelson a lot. I think he's one of the better supporting-cast characters in comics. He's a great friend and he's perfect for someone like Matt and there's never a fear of him turning into a supervillain or a superhero because he's simply not in shape for it. He has cancer right now, Ewing's Sarcoma, and I really hope he lives through it, but I have to say that I think it's a pretty good time in the book's run to give it to him. Where Daredevil has only just started to regain his bearings after snapping in Shadowland, he's now faced with a problem that he can't acrobat around. He's faced with a problem that all of his lawyering and all of his investigating and all of his senses and all of his punching can't help. On top of that, he's come up against a meticulously planned attack from some unknown assailant that has involved uprooting as much of Matt's life as he can. Will Matt walk down the Shadowland path again and snap when he figures out who is behind all of this at such a delicate time? Will he stay above it for Foggy and his own sake? Next issue, if the closing panels are to be believed, will bring Matt to the mastermind behind everything that's been going on, from Klaw to the Spot to Matt's dad's boxing gloves to Milla appearing in his room to the recent outbreak of prisoners and dogs who have been given Matt's enhanced senses.

I like some of the other touches that Waid has put on this series as well. One thing that I wouldn't have expected to enjoy so much but clearly am enjoying is the budding friendship between Hank Pym and Daredevil. Hank is useful in this stage of the game as a biological expert, what with the chemical attack on Matt and with Foggy's cancer, but he's also become something of a shoulder for Matt, who hasn't really had one except Foggy in the past. Obviously Matt isn't going to Hank for everything, but he's in contact with him enough and Hank knows enough about Matt's life that he's able to understand some of what Matt is going through. I don't know if it will spring into a full-fledged friendship or if the extent of their relationship will be like any other two superheroes, but it's a nice touch that I didn't expect and certainly didn't expect to like. For as long as Daredevil's been around, he has very few inroads in the superhero community. Only since Fear Itself has he been an Avenger (and only popped up in New Avengers whenever Bendis seemed to remember him) and he's not really a team-up kind of guy. He's closer to the street level heroes, like Spider-Man and Iron Fist and Luke Cage, who also don't have a ton of sway in the superhero community. It's nice to see him building into a relationship with a long-time Avenger like Pym and maybe even a nicer touch that it's someone who, for as long as he's been an Avenger, has always been kind of on the outside. It's just another example of Waid having a real feel for this character and for the people with whom he connects.

Deadpool 6
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Moore (a) and Staples (c)

The dead presidents opening arc of this new Deadpool series ends with Deadpool killing George Washington in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Then he doesn't get paid and SHIELD is mad at him and Agent Preston, who died last issue, is sharing his mind with him because Michael the necromancer brought her back and put her in Deadpool. Deadpool seems happy about it as he feels, and tells us repeatedly this issue, that Agent Preston was the only person who believed in him. I never once got that sense. There were times, in the last issue, that she said it but I never felt like she actually believed in him. Deadpool was brought on because it was an ugly operation and needed to be kept quiet and brutal and he fit the bill. Maybe she did legitimately believe he could do it, but there never seemed to be a real friendship between the two until it was shoved at us last issue so she could die and he could be upset about it. Other than that, I feel like Preston has watched Deadpool do what Deadpool does, all the while going "oh brother" as he makes some quip or other. I'm not sure if they were going for a Lethal Weapon style buddy cop team-up with those two but it never read that way until Deadpool, this issue, tried to tell us that it read that way. Who knows, maybe that will come back as the twist; Deadpool considers them friends and she doesn't. Even that feels weak because I don't believe in the Deadpool that this easily sees friendships.

Beyond that, I don't have a lot to say. I think my feelings on this book are pretty evident and nothing about this issue or the conclusion of this arc made me change my mind on it. Five presidents were killed outside of Deadpool's watch, three by a bus and two by an LA gang. That kind of made it feel like Deadpool's not that elite after all. He had trouble with these guys who can be killed without even really trying, let alone one of the world's foremost mercenaries trying. It feels like their deaths were just shoehorned in, at that point. Washington wasn't a real threat for Deadpool, even after taking on the powers of two other presidents, but rather was a typical villain espousing lines about how Deadpool's no hero and he's actually dead like them and no one likes him and so forth. It didn't feel tongue-in-cheek, it felt like the things he was saying were supposed to be some new revelation about Deadpool. I suppose if you jumped on board this new Deadpool book without any background knowledge that might come as something of a surprise to you, but I feel like the last five issues would have given enough of that anyway. So that's that. One arc down. Let's see where the next one goes, with hijinks no doubt set to ensue.

Superior Spider-Man 4, Daredevil 23, Alpha Big Time 1

Superior Spider-Man 4
Slott (w) and Camuncoli and Dell (a) and Delgado (c)

Dan Slott is wasting no time getting the new Spider-Man familiar with his own history. After a couple of small time Spidey villains to kick off the series, last issue brought back the Vulture and this issue invokes recent villain Massacre and the Green Goblin. Recently, a lot of solo hero books are steering clear of their key villains, for one reason or another. Daredevil hasn't crossed Kingpin nor resurrected Bullseye. Hawkeye doesn't really have a huge villain (maybe Trickshot, who I think is upcoming, and maybe Crossfire? I don't know, he doesn't really get his own villains because his solo books don't tend to work out). Captain Marvel will be bringing in an old villain as a new arch soon, according to DeConnick. Cap is facing off against Zola, who is a kind of key villain, but I'd still rank him under Red Skull and Zemo, probably. But here, the new Spider-Man is really running the gamut. Of course, part of that is that Spider-Man's rogues gallery is a little more expansive than probably anyone else in Marvel and, like Batman, his best villains tend to shadow him in some way or they're closely related to Peter Parker. That doesn't totally affect Doc Ock in Peter's body, but, as one of Peter's biggest villains himself, he still typically has some connection to his enemies. Massacre, then, presents an interesting foil. Sociopathic, not entirely unlike Doc Ock, but with a bigger thirst for wanton destruction and murder and less of a need for intelligence. So there's plenty for Slott to play with.

On top of bringing up every villain he can pull together, Slott is weaving a compelling tale of what Doc Ock does in Peter's body to Peter's social life. It's hard to say for sure if there's any real care in his actions, if he really wants to stay close to Aunt May or get closer to Mary Jane, or if it's some kind of game for him, a game where he masters Peter's life in a way Peter never could. I personally lean towards the latter, but I think an argument could be made (slightly) in either direction. Doc isn't complete sociopath. He has real emotions and presumably could feel real love. However, his need to crush Peter Parker in every conceivable way kind of leads me to believe that one of those ways would even be posthumously (OR SO HE THINKS). It's a good question and it's something that will likely have to come up eventually, as he's forced to choose where his priorities lie. It sets us up for plenty of interesting situations as this series progresses. Between that and the stark differences in how Doc Spidey and the true Spider-Man operate, this book has manuevered itself into a good little position to ask some questions to Spider-Man readers. I think one of the ultimate questions we'll end up asking ourselves (depending on how the next couple issues/arcs develop, is who is the better Spider-Man? Is it worth having a Spider-Man who prevents more crime if he's also a jerk and has less of the responsibility that made Spidey so great? Or is it worth allowing a little more crime to make more morally sound decisions?

Daredevil 23
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and Rodriguez (c)

Waid's run of Daredevil has been a very well-acclaimed run, garnering notice from all corners of the comic industry. It's been pretty tight, keeping arcs short and showing glimpses of bigger things. Glimpses of Matt's relationships, glimpses of the cracks in his newfound armor, glimpses of villains on the horizon, and glimpses of the darker, grittier Daredevil he's tried to leave behind. What's so interesting about this issue, tied to the last few, is that we're watching as a story expands in a couple directions. As I said, it's been a relatively tight book, keeping its cards pretty close and giving us these peeks to keep us wondering. Now the book is widening bit by bit. We're realizing an overarching scheme by some unseen villain, we're watching as Matt's relationships start to falter as his past lurks closer, and we're...well, we're seeing Foggy get cancer. There's not really a broad stroke there, it's awfully specific and terribly depressing. Either Brubaker or Bendis in their runs fake-killed Foggy in a prison stabbing as he visited Matt. Of course, he recovered from that simply because it was a fake-killing and not a for-real-killing. It was only ever meant to send him off the radar (SENSE. GET IT? BECAUSE DAREDEVIL HAS A RADAR SENSE. pfft, whatever, you just don't understand science). But cancer seems an awful lot harder to fake.

One of the things I've always appreciated about Daredevil comics, and that has followed this run well, is that the relationship between Foggy and Matt always seemed real. They were always real friends. That meant a lot of sacrifice (usually on Foggy's part), but also a lot of real love. That makes this harder than it would seem in probably most other superhero comics. It also leads to an interesting shift in priorities. Right now, Matt is going through his seemingly biggest problem since Shadowland and he's trying to work pieces together. However, Matt's priorities tend to be with Foggy (eventually). So how does Matt react here? Does he work on both? Do he and Foggy work out some sort of arrangement? Does he try to settle his business faster to, in theory, give himself more time with Foggy? For that matter, what kind of timeline does Foggy have? What kind of cancer is it? Are we talking treatable? Are we in the early stages? Plenty of questions here. Add to that the fact that this is a superhero comic called "Daredevil" wherein we will likely learn more about the secret attacker behind all of these recent trials for our hero and we've got ourselves a quickly growing story, blossoming from a new, more lighthearted look at the character while we all waited for him to break. Waid is playing a game with Daredevil and he's doing it masterfully. It's worth checking in on him if you're a comic fan in general. It also doesn't hurt that the art in this series has been outstanding, from people like Paolo Rivera straight on through to Chris Samnee. Great series so far.

Alpha Big Time 1
Fialkov (w) and Plati (a)

I expected worse from this series. I don't know what exactly I expected, but I expected worse than this. Alpha, when he was first introduced in the late stage of Amazing Spider-Man, was pretty annoying and took a lot out of me. He's an interesting idea, though. Peter Parker creates a teenage hero on accident, much like his own creation was an accident. However, Alpha (Andy Maguire) has far more power than Spidey ever had and his is growing. He has potentially limitless power once it all expands. And he's a teenager. In ASM, he was focused on the publicity of being a superhero and the cool-factor. It led to obvious mistakes, even with Spider-Man mentoring himself. Eventually, his recklessness caused people to die, so Peter worked out a way to negate the "Parker Particles" within him that slowed his growth to a crawl. Doc Ock Spidey, of course, wants to overwrite that and try again. This goes back to the whole "needs to be better than Peter in every way" bit I mentioned up above.

So Alpha, now understanding a little more what his powers can cause, accepts about ten percent of his power back and goes out superheroing. We've seen his life without the powers and, as it did before he got powers, it's pretty awful. The difference is that now, everyone knows he used to be a superhero and people give him no end of crap for it. Where his life had been dull and he'd gone unnoticed before his newfound powers, after he lost the powers he simply became a target for insults. This issue starts off by showing us some of that, teamed with both the resentment at Peter Parker for taking away his powers and being a bad mentor and also the understanding of why Peter had to take the powers away. It leaves us with an interesting feeling about where Alpha stands. He does seem to be a good kid, if still brash. He does also seem to have real regret about what happened his first time around. He still wants to be a superhero but he understands a little more what that really means. He's still a high schooler, he's still got some issues with Peter and with his personal life but he is leaning good, it seems. Regardless, just the questions about his motivations and how much heroing he can actually do without making mistakes and/or killing someone (as this issue ends, more or less) make this book an intriguing option going forward. We'll see how the rest of the series plays out but issue one definitely wasn't a bad start for this new five issue mini. Hopefully it can sustain. I think five issues will be a pretty solid gauge of the character going forward, or will at least give enough time to make Maguire irrelevant again.