Amazing Spider-Man 6, X-Force 9

Amazing Spider-Man 6

Black Cat unmasks Spider-Man on live TV but Jameson inadvertently blocks the shot the entire time in a swing and a miss at humor. Silk manages to bust Peter out of the fight before any lasting harm can come of it but they know now to be prepared for Electro and Black Cat at every turn, which is good because the villains, on the sort-of coerced advice of Sajani, plan an attack on Parker Industries' big reveal of their new Electro-depowering tech. Everything at the press conference goes crazy but the ultimate result is a massive explosion that falls on Parker Industries and Spider-Man's rep, though it does indeed manage to depower Electro. Black Cat escapes and finds herself back in the good graces of a slew of underling supervillains, pledging to become the queen of the thieves, while Silk gets an internship with a news station in hopes of finding more about her family, and Peter feels rejuvenated by the success of the Electro device and believes he's in a good place with his work and his friends Sajani and Anna Maria, who are whispering even now about undermining some of his work.

I've already voiced some disapproval and concern about this book as it has focused on a pair of villains who just come off as crazy and well out of their own character, particularly Black Cat (I think Electro has been slightly better and a little more interesting). Cat has oscillated between petty criminal and vigilante for some time now so this full U-turn to hardcore crime boss because she's been wronged continues to seem really far-fetched. It may seem overkill to keep harping on that but right now that's what the entire story hinges itself on so it's impossible to overlook or to overstate its significance. What's more, the writing has been exposition heavy and the repeated attempts at jokes and humor have come off forced and mostly weak. I think there are interesting nuggets here and there (Sajani's sort-of betrayal, Anna Maria as sort-of sidekick to Spider-Man, Peter's determination to "heal" supervillains, etc.) but they're hard to find right now beneath the problems of the book.

Total Score: 2/5


X-Force 9

X-Force has been revealed in the desert and, despite Dr. Nemesis' hopes for a dialogue, a fight breaks out between X-Force and Pete Wisdom's team. Meanwhile, Agent Mel, the leader of the soldiers, is taken right from under their noses by the guerrilla Quaddees they were chasing in the first place, which, along with the insane power the seemingly least powerful soldier has, serves to end the fight and open a dialogue, to Nemesis' satisfaction. The soldiers in this unit have volunteered for superpowers, essentially, that will kill them all within a year but that will aid Volga until then. Now aware of their situation and the stakes, they agree to accompany X-Force to find their missing commander. When the team finds her, they're overwhelmed by powered-up Quaddees. Psylocke and Meme manage to bust through and read the captured Mel's mind, learning about the experiments and the power of the soldiers. Unfortunately, there seems to be no reasonable way out of this scenario so X-Force is x-forced to stick to Mel's plan, which involves her own team self-destructing, more or less, to take out the Quaddees and to stop their own powers from getting out into the work. Wisdom leads his team back home, though he warns Cable first about the bugs around them as Volga's spies (which we saw just two issues or so ago).

Things remain a little confusing this issue, as they were last issue, but Spurrier's managed to clear up enough and to keep a lot of the banter entertaining enough to allow us to proceed with the story. It's a true in media res story overall as we only get bits and pieces of the soldiers' mission, only the parts we need to know as they pertain to X-Force, which makes for a bit of a confusing issue but still allows us to come out the other side with a slightly better sense of our team and of Volga's capabilities, not hurt by Wisdom's reveal. It's a particularly strong Dr. Nemesis issue (a character Spurrier unabashedly loves, and rightfully so) as his unending disdain for superheroes finds a real home with this team. Some strong writing and fun character moments (one of the constant joys of this series is watching Fantomex repeatedly assert he is the best as whatever he's doing only to be proven wrong immediately, a joke that never seems to get old) carry this one.

Total Score: 4/5

This week's picks

Not too too many books out this week and a handful of those were right out of the picks selection (What If...AvX ended up further out than Uncanny X-Men in a surprise move, considering how little weight What If carried). There were two right in and one kind of toss up but really, it was always going to come down to the same three that always make it. Such is the flaw of this system but, on the other hand, I know it works because there are no books I'd recommend you read more this week.

Captain Marvel 14

A really wonderful issue ends the Avengers: The Enemy Within storyline with an emotional punch. I've badmouthed events a fair amount on this blog but I don't object to the idea of events (and, as I said this week, this wasn't an event in the way Marvel doesn't events now; it's just a crossover, really). Events are just stories that may be a little grander in scale and that may require more than just the characters at hand. It's bound to come up occasionally because Marvel has made a universe that is interconnected so tightly that 90% of its characters live in one city. If there weren't events, it would be weird. Events are stories and the reason that they work, when they do, is that they're presenting a story worth telling. DeConnick has done that masterfully and this conclusion is equal parts inspiring and heart-breaking. Can't recommend it any more than that.



Daredevil 29

Really stunning book with a couple of nice ideas. One of the things that's really stood out about Daredevil since Waid took over is that, amidst all of the tension and the dramatic storylines, the book has been fun. There's not really a better issue to highlight for that than this one. The last issue ended with a man being shot and the reveal that the Serpent Society, a racist hate group, has infiltrated the city's institutions and yet this book finds the appropriate times to show Matt as a real person with real thoughts. Is he nervous and stressed about what all of this means? Sure, and it comes across perfectly. However, that doesn't stop him from breaking the tension a few times (for the audience, mainly, the people in the comic aren't privy to the joke), including the panels at left and his accusing a black paramedic of being associated with the racist Serpent Society based on his elevated heartbeat. The art is gorgeous, the story is engaging, the colors of this book continue to be perfect, and the writing is top-notch. What I'm trying to say, you guys, is that this book is pretty darn good.

X-Men Legacy 14

Another great issue of X-Men Legacy as Pete Wisdom takes narrative reins again to keep us playfully in the dark about David's plans for mutaphobic Britain. It continues to be a brilliant decision to keep Pete in the driver's seat as his change-of-pace narration is both engaging and entertaining all while keeping us wondering about David's motives. It's a great device and it's well-executed. Spurrier chose a character who is right in his writing wheelhouse here and who comes across perfectly. Pete Wisdom has now appeared twice in both Gambit and in X-Men Legacy and he's characterized far more completely in Legacy. Sure, he has the advantage here because he's the narrator instead of a character our hero comes up against, but it's worth noting that we get all sorts of dimensions to his character in just two issues. If you came in not knowing anything about Pete Wisdom, I think you'd get it. We take a trip inside David's mind that is awfully fun (as it has been throughout the series) and we're left with a cliffhanger that wouldn't be a cliffhanger in most other books but, since Spurrier's developed his characters so well, it is here. Great issue. I like Tan Eng Huat's art more and more each issue I see. Solid book.

Uncanny X-Force 9, X-Men Legacy 14

Uncanny X-Force 9
Humphries (w) and Talajić and Alphona (a) and Loughridge and Sotomayor (c)

Psylocke, still feeling betrayed by Cluster and Fantomex, seeks revenge on the latter and she gets her chance when Weapon XIII allows her to take a chance at killing him. The two, mid-battle, air their grievances with one another and Psylocke lets him go, turning her anger instead on Weapon XIII. Cluster reveals to Psylocke that she and Fantomex want to go back to the "white-hot room" to put themselves in one body again. Meanwhile, Bishop has awoken and exclaims that he's led the queen revenant back with him.

I'm still not sure on this title. There are reasons to like it and reasons to not quite trust it. I like the ideas behind the Fantomexes but it certainly made the characters themselves a lot less complicated. I'm all for them becoming one character again if it will give them back the depth they had as one. There's some interesting stuff in about Fantomex, including the loss and pain he feels from having the brains that cared about things separated from him and what that means he's going through. However, I'm not sold on the Psylocke of this book, who pretty quickly became a thief with Fantomex (and admits to loving it) and who seems fairly petty at times. Her love with Fantomex in the previous Uncanny X-Force wasn't exactly solid as a rock so her immense sense of betrayal with him comes as a bit of a surprise here. I was excited for this part of the arc as someone who really loved Fantomex in the last series and who has enjoyed all of his rather limited appearances in the Marvel Universe but I've come away more unsure on the series even than I was going in. Now the team will likely reunite and we'll see where that leads us. The art has been pretty compelling, even as it switches back and forth between artists as the story switches back and forth in time. There are things here to keep reading for but will they be enough as time goes by? Hopefully it'll pick up a few more things here and there and we'll have a pleasant answer.

X-Men Legacy 14
Spurrier (w) and Huat and Yeung (a) and Villarrubia (c)

Pete Wisdom, of course, didn't kill David at the end of last issue. David's watching from another plane and controlling things from there, but it doesn't stop Blindfold from coming to his aid and attacking Wisdom nonetheless. Wisdom figures out, though, that all of the bad guys who have been manifesting around Britain have been a distraction for him specifically from David and he intends to find out why. He also intends to find out why the people he saw last issue are making their way to suspicious locations and David telling him that it's an attempt to "wipe mutophobic Britain off the map" doesn't exactly calm him down. There's not really a way to talk about this issue without spoiling it a bit, so beware, spoilers ahead. David is, as he's done in the past, moving all the chess pieces into position but he's not doing it to end threats to mutants by destroying them, he's trying to end threats to mutants by showing mutants in an unquestionably heroic light. Psylocke helps the British army, Chamber helps charge a nuclear power plant allowing for a few weeks of completely free power on the grid, Pixie is using her magics to calm down a potential riot after a heated soccer match, and so on. His machinations even get Wisdom, unwittingly, to stop an assassination attempt on the racist President Abdi, showing mutants as the bigger man and ending in Abdi's removal from office. Though Wisdom understands now what David was doing, it doesn't stop him from being rightfully angry (particularly for not being let in on the plan) and he leaves David in a cell to be visited by his mother (next time!).

I continue to love this book. Even if you didn't totally believe that David had gone crazy last time and that he wasn't controlling the mutants to do his own work and even if you didn't believe he was trying to do something entirely sinister, his actions are still well-guarded and the book is well-structured enough to give you pause. More than that, either option (violent or non-violent) is an interesting choice and would totally fit within the scheme of the way David's been working recently. Everybody involved comes out looking good and every character looks pretty well-fleshed out, even the bit players like Alchemy and Chamber and particularly David and Wisdom. This book continues to be, for my money, the hands-down best X-book currently coming from Marvel. Great stuff.

This week's picks

Tough picks to make this week with two sure bets and one that could go a couple different ways. On the plus side, it's pretty much just those four or five that I'm debating, everything else is significantly behind.

Avengers AI 1

It was between this and Iron Man (and a little bit Venom but not that much) and I'm still not sure which was the right one to choose. I think Iron Man may have been the actual better comic but this one's worth checking into for the feel of the comic and the nice way it's set itself up. Iron Man continued its great pace and its stellar story and writing but my recommendation, I think, goes to Avengers AI because I think it may fill a role in the Marvel Universe that isn't filled yet so I think people should be keeping an eye on it. No guarantee that it will all pan out but there seem to be places to go with this story and these characters and the book was fun overall. Read it, enjoy it, maybe pick up the Skottie Young variant if you can find it.

Red She-Hulk 67

I would be lying if I said that this wasn't always going to make my final pick. Bear with me, though, it's my last chance to be able to pick it. On top of that, it delivered an end to a good story and gave us some nice character resolution bits, including Red She-Hulk figuring out both worlds were real and choosing her world and X-51 learning that, although he's a machine with specific coding, he can still be an individual in the way he manipulates that coding. I'm particularly sad to see the main duo of Red She-Hulk and X-51 disappear for at least a bit because their relationship proved to be one of the most enjoyable in the Marvel Universe at current. It developed very naturally and improved along the way and became an incredibly fun and dynamic friendship. It's not easy to do that and it's especially not easy to do that in as little time as Parker had to set it up and build. A satisfying ending to a regularly pretty great title.

X-Men Legacy 13

Very interesting to see Spurrier switch narrator from our main character over to Pete Wisdom. It's rare to see a solo book (especially one as decidedly solo as this) take the focus off of that character and place it on another, particularly another established one in the Universe. I feel like most books that switch narrators for an issue or two will put it on someone who hasn't been developed enough to give the audience a sense of who they are. Wisdom is more developed though certainly I'd say he still fits that bill. Even more interesting is how defined David's voice has been, meaning that the decision to switch narrators isn't so simple. David's voice very much drives this book. Taking that away is a risky play but it worked out very nicely here and keeps us in the dark about whatever David's plans are, be they righteous or nefarious. More so, as I think we can fairly safely believe his motives are righteous at this point, we don't get his opinion on whether what he's doing, which is pretty clearly nefarious, is worth the righteous ending. Lot of questions opened up here and really should push this arc and this book as a whole to another new interesting place.


Best Cover

As I said in my review this week, Daredevil Dark Nights' art felt a little like cheating because anything set on snow is going to be pretty gorgeous (unless it's crazy hectic snow, like we've seen in Astonishing X-Men; interesting question, why does this, which is set up to be a huge and impenetrable storm, seem so much calmer in the images? Oh well, not what I'm getting at here). However, I also said that the art is pretty great in this book overall and this cover is no difference. It's maybe a little heavy-handed but that doesn't mean it's not still pretty great looking. don't miss the forest for the trees and all that. If that applies. I'm going to say that it does and I run this blog so no one is editing me out. Fantastic work again, Tim.

Iron Man 12, Red She-Hulk 67, X-Men Legacy 13

Iron Man 12
Gillen (w) and Eaglesham (a) and Guru eFX (c)

The secret origin of Tony Stark has almost been completely revealed but there's still the matter of how his father managed to steal 451 from some violent aliens and live. That part of the story involves Howard calling his little team back together, which includes Dum Dum Dugan, Jimmy Woo, Thunderbolt Ross, the Bear, and Nessa the Kitten, and forcing the Greys to give up their search for the alien while also making sure they don't inform anyone else in the universe about the creation of Tony. Howard's team takes out the leadership of the Greys with everyone playing their roles (though the Bear loses her two dogs). 451 tells Howard that it was the only way and that they can just leave the underlings alive, as they won't have any loyalty to anyone now that their boss is dead and that they probably don't know much anyway. Despite this comfort talk, 451 secretly blows up the Greys' ship as it breaks orbit, leaving a recorded message for them that insists he's sorry and that this was a necessity. Howard returns home to find that Maria is having the baby. Back in the present, Tony now needs to understand why all of this has been revealed. 451 relates a war that was held between Celestials and "those who would oppose them" which led to the creation of certain weapons that 451 feels could serve as a universal nuclear deterrent for Earth. For the completion of these weapons, he needed the Heart of the Voldi and a pilot, which he found in Tony. He deems it a happy accident that the creation of Tony ended up leaving him with a penchant for exoskeletons as that's what this new weapon is. He shows the plans to Tony and reveals that this weapon is an exoskeleton five miles tall.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here and a bit of fun stuff seeing Howard's crew again and with Tony talking about Thor as a nuclear deterrent. More importantly, there are a lot of shady details now as 451 approaches his actual goal (having Tony pilot the Godkiller, as it's referred). 451 has revealed all sorts of different new facts to Tony throughout this story, possibly concealing things but never really concealing anything major (unless, of course, he's lying about it all). Suddenly, though, he's not telling who rose up against the Celestials and he's calling it "neat" that Tony has a drive to work with exoskeletons and not "hey I planned that because I found this weapon hundreds of years ago and I created you 30-40 years ago." I'm not saying that's definitely what's happening but I'm not going to not that either. Very fun book.

Red She-Hulk 67
Parker (w) and Pagulayan, Olliffe, and Alves (a) and Major (c)

The phenomenal book that is Red She-Hulk finishes this issue as X-51 and She-Hulk try to convince Betty that their world is real and that she's not dreaming up all of the things she's felt recently, still stuck in the parallel world (deemed 616.1) where she was the only Hulk. General Fortean and his troops have followed the She-Hulks and X-51 through the portal to try to apprehend Betty and have brought all the Hulk dampeners and other toys they've come up with. When She-Hulk gets in the way, they revert her back to Jennifer Walters, who is far less useful in this fight. X-51 saves her, able to justify it through his 616.1 programming by viewing her as a human now. He's able to override his programming again (which dictates that Thor is the biggest superhuman target in this fight) and attack Betty, allowing her to punch him back through the portal, where he breaks through the new programming. Neither he nor She-Hulk (nor Swamp Thing, for that matter) can re-enter the portal, though X-51 is able to shoot through it and they're all able to be viewed in the portal and heard from the other side. X-51 saves Betty by shooting out one of Fortean's men's bot but isn't able to stop them all as Fortean himself descends on Betty. In the 616.1 timeline, though, Fortean and Bruce Banner have an arrangement that this Fortean is inadvertently going against, angering Bruce and making him realize that he's upset with the way things have worked out with Betty. He saves her by shutting down Fortean's armor. Betty sees X-51 and She-Hulk through the portal and realizes that maybe there's more to the dreams she's been having than meets the eye. Bruce tries to convince her to stay but she makes it through the portal, gaining back all of her memories. She turns back to grab Fortean and bring him back into 616 prime, preferring not to pawn him off on that world. Tesla, who had previously networked with X-51 and had been hiding out in his AI, appears to reveal that Eleanor is perfectly fine and leads them to her (a little reluctantly) before offering Betsy a job with his people, which X-51 decides would be nice for her as it's good at hiding wanted people and supplying new adventures and missions at an unhealthy rate. The last panel, a half-page spread, shows the two She-Hulks, X-51, Swamp Thing, and Tesla together as Red promises to build a new team to prepare for the future. The end...?

I will, admittedly, be very excited if this leads to another new series about Red She-Hulk and X-51 working with Tesla though I'd be a little bit nervous that Jeff Parker wouldn't be the writer on it, which would be a shame since he's constructed this book so well and defined the relationship between the two leads so wonderfully. Speaking of Jeff Parker, there are a number of sketches at the back of the issue that he drew for reference for his artists, as an artist himself. It's pretty interesting and it's very cool to see how his vision of the scene changed when in the artist's hands. I'm very sad that the book is over but it ended well, giving us more of what we've come to expect and a nice little final arc for both of our heroes as Red She-Hulk breaks away from the other world and is able to find Eleanor and put Fortean behind her and as X-51 uses the flaws in his programming to his advantage. It's a satisfying ending to a great series that had no right being as fun as it was.

X-Men Legacy 13
Spurrier (w) and Huat and Yeung (a) and Villarrubia (c)

This issue breaks from the normal Legacy format by taking the narrator reins from David and handing them over to MI13's Pete Wisdom. Wisdom has his hands full with a visiting nation's leader (who is racist, homophobic, anti-mutant, etc.) and protests spawned from all of that and more. He also has found that David is visiting London, which has him more anxious than ever. He's been trailing David through the city to try to keep tabs on him. He's kept abreast of David's exploits and has determined that David is only more dangerous right now, as he's gotten the use of his powers back but seems unsure of what he should be doing with them. To boot, he also seems like he's lonely lately, edging closer and closer to team-ups. This makes it even more worrying for Wisdom when he enters a bar he's spotted David going into and stumbles across Chamber, Pixie, Psylocke, Alchemy, Liam Connaughton, and Lila Cheney with David. However, he's assured by them that they have no intent to help David; in fact, they've all come simply to tell him they want no part in a team-up. David is shaken by this, feeling like he's doing the right thing and that he's proved himself and, more importantly, knowing that he needs help for what's to come. Pete goes back out to the streets and runs across a slew of English villains including Warwolves, Dolph, and Plotka. He also susses out Blindfold lurking around and helping him to fight and he starts accusing her of helping David to start all of this. She denies and promises that he isn't doing this, that it's far beyond anything he would do. As more attacks start, she gets less and less confident and Wisdom eventually doubles back to the bar to check in on David, where he finds he is behind everything and, more heinously, is controlling all the people Wisdom found before. David continually says it's not what it seems and that it's all for the best and so on and so forth but Wisdom cannot believe him, choosing instead to blow fire through David's face.

It's a very interesting issue as we've pulled the narration away from David to conceal whatever his true motives are. He claims that he needs everyone to help him and that this really will help everyone so much but he's lonely and doesn't quite understand team-ups so it's hard to view this in a manner that's entirely wholesome, which is pretty true whenever anyone is being mind-controlled, really. We've come to love and trust David throughout the course of the series but it's hard to view this without suspicion and worry about our protagonist. Again, it's a very interesting choice to have Wisdom narrate and to keep David from revealing whatever his plan is and what is happening in his head right now. Wisdom's narration is solid and plays equal parts bitter Brit and dedicated MI13 worker, as he oscillates between his own cynicism and a vast knowledge of the super-powered community and their recent exploits. It works perfectly for the character and gives a good sense of who he is and what matters to him, even as he's acting a little bit less responsible and more goofy over in Gambit, a less responsible and more goofy book. Another great issue for the series.

Gambit 14, Journey Into Mystery 653, Nova 5

Gambit 14
Asmus (w) and Pham (a) and Roseberg (c)

Following the long story all connected to Joelle, Gambit gets a different case sent his way. Or rather, he's sent its way, I suppose, by Pete Wisdom of England's MI13. Wisdom, who we last saw being very annoyed with Gambit way back in Gambit's first arc, has made a bit of a huge mistake and needs Gambit to, on the down low, rectify it. A powerful book of fairy magic meant to harness some of the creatures in the fairy realm (England is full of that kind of stuff in Marvel). The book is the Faerie Grimoire and it was meant as a peace offering to those in the fairy realm and a girl stole it right out from Wisdom's nose. He needs Gambit to help get it back. The two snipe each other a bit (well, in truth, Wisdom snipes at Gambit a bit and Gambit enjoys himself altogether too much) and they put their plan in action, which involves Gambit posing as a magic store clerk (yes, they have magic stores in England) and sleight of handing the book away from her when she's distracted. It doesn't go particularly well as she recognizes Gambit and reveals herself to be a Death Reaper, which is some sort of scantily clad black magic practicer, from the looks of it. Gambit breaks free from her by kinetically charging some piercings on her face but it gives her enough time to start summoning from the book. Gambit tackles her and they both fall through a portal into the fairy world, where a bunch of fairies have already professed their love for Gambit and attack the Death Reaper, saving him and ending the book, save for one page that shows his return to Earth as a knight to the fairy people, infuriating Wisdom.

There are things to like about this issue but not a ton. The dialogue between Pete and Gambit is the highlight but there are times that even that borders on over-the-top. There's a story in here that might have been worth telling but it's very bogged down by a need to have everyone in the world kiss Gambit. The end of the issue, a severe deus ex, almost makes it feel like Asmus started it when he had more time to work with the story, then had to shut it down quickly to give enough time to write a final arc before the series ends after Marvel cancelled the book. That might be me making excuses for the book but, even if that's not what happened, it's the way that it felt.

Journey Into Mystery 653
K. Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

After Beta Ray Bill and Scuttlebutt (his ship) crash into the Avengers Jupiter base, where Sif is trying to help Gaea rest, Bill and Sif have a chance to catch up a bit. He tells her about the ship that's crashed and they argue a bit about how best to proceed. Bill and Sif set out to try to find both Gaea and Bill's girlfriend amidst the wreckage. Sif manages to find Bill's girlfriend and tries to transport her, wounded, to healing tech that Tony has in the base. She gets her there but she fears she was too late, as she dies in the tech. Bill finds them and is somewhat cold about her death. Sif asks for answers and he's unable to give many, explaining that something like a haze fell over him, blocking his memories a bit. That fits with whatever's been happening here too, as we saw Sif at the start of the issue confused about her predicament and unsure what she remembers. At first, the audience thinks it's just grogginess from the crash but it seems deeper than that now, with this new reveal. It also explains why people keep forgetting about Gaea. When Sif remembers, she takes off back into the base. Gaea is missing from her chamber and the audience sees her descending somewhere into the planet, into a place where Bill had stumbled searching for his girlfriend and which had rejected him, nearly killing him.

There's a lot happening here and it's pretty masterfully executed as pieces of the story make themselves evident to us when they need to be made evident and not a moment sooner. There's a lot of strange tension between Sif and Bill but it's written well and it often gives way to arguing or jokes of a sort. The story itself is an interesting one but we're a bit too early into it to tell how interesting it will remain. Let's assume pretty interesting. The saddest part about this series is its impending cancellation. This story feels like it could go on a bit longer and it's the sort of series that you feel deserves a sort of wrap-up issue but, with only two issues left, it's hard to imagine that there will be time for that. Depressing times as another good book winds down. Ugh, you guys, Red She-Hulk only has one more issue. WHAT IS THIS WORLD?

Nova 5
Loeb (w) and McGuinness and Vines (w) and Delgado (c)

Sam gets his helmet back out of the hands of Titus and uses it to rocket Titus away from his home for a moment while he runs and grabs the Ultimate Nullifier. His mom sees him in the Nova gear right as he's about to take off, a problem he decides he'll have to deal with later. Nova follows Titus to the spot he was blasted, which happens to be in front of a couple of the cool kids from school (including Sam's love interest). He protects them easily from Titus before grabbing him and space-jumping him back to the point in space where the Chitauri fleet is waiting. Titus is astounded by the decision, laughing at how stupid it is. Nova, separating himself a bit from Titus, pulls out the Ultimate Nullifier, prepared to use it on the whole fleet if he needs to. Titus tries to grab the Nullifier from him and ends up activating it, creating a sort of black hole in Chitauri space that everything gets pulled into, including, despite Sam's attempt to save him, Titus himself. The black hole closes and Gamora and Rocket Raccoon appear behind Sam to congratulate him and to take the Ultimate Nullifier for safe-keeping. He refuses and brings the Nullifier to the Watcher instead, who seems pleased with his actions. Then he returns home to talk with his mom, who is not upset with what he's doing as she always knew he would. He vows to find and save his father, who is still out there somewhere.

Everything wraps up with a nice little bow at the end of Nova's first arc. It wasn't a bad ending just like this isn't a bad book, per se, but every step seemed a little predictable. The introduction of this new Nova Corps is an interesting decision and could lead to pretty neat things but, by and large, this first arc was fairly cookie-cutter stuff. You can kind of read every beat as it's happening and it leads to asking what audience this book is aiming to grab. I would say this, more than something like Wolverine and the X-Men (which I have similar questions about), is an all-ages book that is meant to get kids more into comics. There are things here for adults to enjoy but not that many. If that's the intent, I think this book is probably doing fine. If it's not the intent and this is meant to be a serious addition to the Marvel Universe, I don't think it can last at this rate. However, the change in Novas from Richard Rider to Sam Alexander tells me that I am right. I'm so smart, guys.