Comics this week

Marvel is throwing a curveball at me this week by releasing only 12 books that I'm going to review and by largely releasing books I don't typically pick as my top five. Clearly they're challenging me to talk about different books than normal, forcing me to think harder about my picks. Sadly for them, it won't work because I never think harder than normal. Not for anyone. So let's get five, nearly half, of these books picked.

Avengers AI 2
The team that makes up this series continues to be fairly interesting and I've seen writer Sam Humphries delight me with teams and disappoint me a bit with teams. More than that, the energy of issue one was solid and, if it keeps up, could be enough to carry the book. Hopefully it doesn't have to be the only thing carrying the book, but still it could be enough. The team itself is certainly a nice design and, like I'd said in advance of the series, the recent focus in the Marvel Universe on the AI and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence make for a wealth of discussion. Well, if the series is structured well and it wants to focus on those things, it could make for a wealth of discussion. This book makes the pull list because we need to see if it will.

Cable and X-Force 12
The team is split up on Cable's order as Cable himself has been apprehended by the Uncanny Avengers. Last issue saw the team-up of Domino and Boom-Boom, which was fun and moved well but also pretty horribly failed the Bechdel Test, which does rather matter to me. Assuming the book chooses to focus on another duo from Cable's X-Force squad, we likely won't have that problem, as the rest of the team is male. If we do have it, I would be pleasantly surprised, in fact. However, I'm clearly hoping to read the team-up of Dr. Nemesis and Forge because Dennis Hopeless is well aware that Dr. Nemesis is the most fun character on his team to write and read and sticking him with Forge is a brilliant idea. I would accept Colossus, in a pinch.

Iron Man 14
Just kidding, there was a book I always pick in this week's batch. Kieron Gillen continues to absolutely kill it on Iron Man with a solid new origin story and a great new play on a 50 year old character. 451 is a solid villain/antihero/whatever it is he is and it's put Tony in the unusual position of being out of control. Now, as his Godkiller arc winds down, we'll get to see Tony's seemingly last few moments of being in control before he becomes, if 451 is telling the truth, the ultimate protector of Earth rather against his will. Are you not excited to see that? There's nothing wrong with me choosing this book, there's something wrong with you not wanting to read it. I'm sorry, this got a little defensive a little fast. We'll hope for better on the next pick.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 2
Like Avengers AI, this series could be carried on its energy alone. Hopefully it will be because I'm not sure there's as much here story and character-wise as there is in Avengers AI. Also fewer tried and true characters to fall back on. It's a risky book and risky books don't tend to survive. Sure it's branding itself with Spider-Man's name on the cover, which often helps to sell books initially, but it'll have to develop wings and fly on its own if it wants to keep on keeping on. There are things to like about this series, like seeing the minutiae of the life of a solid C-list supervillain and simply seeing how their existence works but there's also a fair amount to be wary of. Hopefully the book will stray more towards the interesting than the mundane and develop its characters in a way that makes the reader care about them; no easy feat since they're, by the book's own admission, all villains.

Superior Spider-Man 15
I've been a staunch supporter of the Doc Ock-centric Spider-Man series since its start and Dan Slott has proven me right time and again. He's created a very interesting story with an interesting lead character which makes the reader ask interesting questions about the nature of heroism and responsibility and so forth. Now, as things reach a sort of precipice with Spider-Man, who else will be forced to ask those questions. Spidey has invaded New York with his own army of minions and used it to take down otherwise untouchable mob bosses. Do the ends justify the means? Can he continue to do things like this unabated? What does Norman Osborn have to say about all of this? Why are we not more upset that Osborn is using the children that Vulture used as henchmen? That's pretty weird, right? Anyway, let's keep on reading this book and the daring changes Slott has made for the series.

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.

Fearless Defenders 7, What If...AvX 4

Fearless Defenders 7
Bunn (w) and Hans (a and c)

Annabelle Riggs is in Valhalla after dying a hero's death and she doesn't quite fit in. Instead of partaking in the paradise, she stows away in her room and sulks a bit, like you'd presumably do if you died unexpectedly. Valkyrie isn't happy with the way things ended and seeks a means to set things right. The only person she can think of who owes her a favor and might have the sort of power necessary to bring Annabelle back is Clea, the Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension and former love interest and longtime ally of Doctor Strange.

I talked last issue about fridging and the death of a character who hadn't been around six issues ago and where it left this book and now it's all moot because Annabelle Riggs is on her way back. I think the points are mostly still valid but now we're adding the question of death in comics and I don't want to have that talk again, you guys. It's also still, I would say, too soon to tell whether or not Annabelle is worth the trouble we're going to in order to get her back. Is it interesting for Valkyrie's character to make these choices and to risk so much to bring Annabelle back? Yeah, sure, though it does mean you have to kind of alter your understanding of Valkyrie who, as she herself acknowledges here, has spent her whole life watching warriors die. It was kind of her job description. She's more responsible for this warrior's death, sure, but it's still a strange question. I guess we'll have to see whether or not this pays off in making Annabelle an interesting character or if the old school Captain Marvel sort of twist pans out. Otherwise, though, Stephanie Hans art continues to be impressive and among the most worthy Asgardian art out there. Marvel is smart to have her and Esad Ribic drawing Asgard stories now and again as their scale and regality fits so nicely in.

What If...AvX 4
Palmiotti (w) and Molina, Sandoval, N. Lee, and Cuevas (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Magneto has warped Hope to his will and, as such, humans are now nearing extinction, almost immediately. The remaining Avengers and X-Men are dedicated to teaming up against the two of them when Hope begins to realize what she's done. Magneto kills her and gets the power of the Phoenix himself (which, as far as I know, isn't an attribute of the Phoenix). He promptly goes on to kill a bunch more Avengers before Charles shuts his mind down just long enough for Hulk to throw Wolverine at Magneto, killing him but unleashing the Phoenix on the world which leads to, inexplicably, Wolverine and Jean being reunited and needing to restart Earth on a barren but well vegetated planet.

I've been against this series from the start, pretty openly. I don't take What Ifs seriously because they're not meant to be serious. However, that doesn't mean that they can't be good. A What If book is at its best if it uses an opportunity in a situation to show a character in a new light or to show an interesting facet of causality. This does nothing like that. As I've said previously, characters are entirely one-dimensional, sometimes ignoring any dimensions they may have had previously (Hope is not so soft-willed, for example, that Magneto could instantly change her mind to genocide, even with the Phoenix begging for destruction), therefore the characters aren't shown in any new and well-thought out light. The change in the event isn't so much a "what if some interesting part of this story was changed in a way that makes us think about the outcome differently?" as it was "what if the absolute worst possibility could have happened?" which I will amend further to "what if the absolute worst possibility could have happened with little to no provocation and little to no care for the characters involved?" Sometimes I'll start reading a book and get three pages in or something and go "my god, this book is going to be perfect," which isn't the best response to have as a reviewer because it may well taint the rest of the book, so it's important to try to ground myself after that. However, what it does mean, regardless if I'm right about it being perfect going forward, is that an idea was presented or a character was tweaked or a writer or an artist put something in that was so remarkable you could see the book edging neatly into a great place. If the book goes downhill from there or things change to revert it away from that excitement, ah well, it still gave something to think about. This was different. A few pages in I was audibly saying (to no one but myself) "this is garbage." Again, it could have tainted the way I felt about it as the book wore on but it signifies the same thing as a great idea early in a book. Something has gone so horribly wrong with this issue that there can be no coming back from it. I'm sorry to say I wasn't wrong on that one.

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.

Uncanny X-Men 9, X-Men 3

Uncanny X-Men 9
Bendis (w) and Bachalo (a) and Townsend (c)

SHIELD agent Dazzler shows up at Fabio's home to try to talk to him about his new mutation and to get answers about Cyclops' new X-Men team. The atmosphere is not particularly welcoming and she ends up needing to stun Fabio and his family so he can remove Fabio from the situation. Meanwhile, Scott is trying to train his X-Men when the news report of Fabio's abduction hits them. Of course, SHIELD is pretty stupid, as is typical, and didn't think any of their actions through so the X-Men know where he's being held.

I've gone on and on before about the back-and-forth dialogue Bendis employs to make his books seem quick-paced and witty which, in my opinion, fail to do either of those things but rather make the book drag and make every character sound the same, which is to say less like an actual character. It hits home again here as he has a wacky, fun-filled scene at Fabio's house when Fabio's father pulls a gun on Dazzler. Yes, you read that all correctly. Fabio's father pulls a gun on Dazzler and threatens her and it's played off as part of the hilarity of the scene. Later, when SHIELD pulls Fabio in, it takes literally no effort for Scott's team to find him, which Coulson pieces together immediately after they bring the new mutant to them. Both of these things are examples of lazy writing. The people do whatever the plot dictates they do, no matter how inane and ridiculous, simply to move the book forward. The ending features Mystique because Bendis seemingly can't get enough of her and, as Bendis is wont to do, that means she's appearing everywhere he can put her (a la Hawkeye, Luke Cage, and Spider-Woman in his Avengers runs). I think part of the idea in the snappy writing here, if I'm being generous, is that the X-Men have always functioned as something of a family, people bonded together over a connection they didn't choose to have. However, it feels unlike any sort of family and more like a collection of of people who have never entered into a real conversation before in their lives and suddenly all they do is talk, with every character feeling the need to input at least fifty throwaway lines per conversation. So in short, I continue not to recommend this book.

X-Men 3
Wood (w) and Coipel and Morales (a) and L. Martin (c)

The team that left the school is closing in on Arkea back at the hospital she originally landed at, where she took over Jubilee's new son. Waiting for her there is a full wing of people with cybernetic neural implants, meaning that Arkea can take over any and all of them. That's what's waiting for Storm and company when they arrive. Meanwhile, back at the school, her bomb seems to have detonated, though not in an explosive way. Instead, it's done its own thing, hacking the systems at the school and creating, possibly, some Karima drones in the Danger Room. Can Kitty shut the Danger Room down in time? Will it matter if Storm and her team don't shut Arkea down? What will be left of Karima if they succeed?

There's a lot happening here for a three issue arc and it suffers in a respect. You don't want arcs to drag on too long or else they stagnate a bit. However, not giving enough time can make the whole thing feel rushed and poorly explained. That's how I came away feeling after this issue. Arkea certainly was a huge threat, the first and second issues showed that pretty well. In the final issue, though, she seems a whole lot less intimidating. She's sort of intimidating at the school but she's taking on Kitty and a handful of students and her most intimidating moment is when she shuts the oxygen off in a room they quickly break out of. If she's not involved in issue four (unknown, obviously) then this is a weird arc conclusion. Still, the team feels pretty good and they move in an appropriately coordinated way, leaving some faith for the coming series. Feels a bit early to give a judgment on this series, but I wasn't exactly blown away by its first storyline.

FF 10, Venom 38

FF 10
Fraction (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

Plenty going on here, but first and foremost, let's talk about things that are meta. Meta, as comic readers probably know, refers to a situation wherein a work refers to itself, usually pretty directly. Hey guys, this book is pretty meta. There's a storyline in this issue where, in an attempt to counter bad publicity, Darla brings her publicist to talk to the team about creating a comic book based on the FF. The people the publicist brings over from Marvel Comics are editor Tom Brevoort, the writer Matt (as in Fraction), and the artist Mike (as in Allred). They then all go on a fantastic journey together, shrinking down to see the wonders of science at a microscopic level. Meanwhile, old Johnny Storm suspects that Alex Power has been dealing with Doom and Doom tells Alex to kill Storm, lest something horrible happen to Power's parents. A handful of the FF kids, led by Ahura and Alex, then go to see Maximus the Mad in response to Alex's question of whether or not they knew anyone who'd ever killed somebody.

I tend not to like serious works that are so self-referential to the point of taking the audience out of it. I don't think this book is so serious, for starters, but it's serious in that it comes out with a new plot every month and the characters are serious characters within this context, in that they are characters who exist in this world. However, I don't mind it here as, for starters, Fraction is fairly self-deprecating in this issue and pokes fun at his job a fair amount. More than that, of course there are also comics in this world. One of the interesting ideas behind Alan Moore's Watchmen series is that there's a big story-within-a-story where a kid reads a pirate-based comic book and the thought is that, with so many real superheroes in the world, kids read comics about pirates, preferring not to read stories about the people they hear about daily in the news. I don't really buy it but it's an interesting idea. I think, more like this story posits (and other comics have posited before), that these people are heroes in this world and, though more commonplace, still the stuff of legend, meaning that kids would still be gobbling them up, maybe more so. Maybe fewer kids would be allowed to read comics but whatever, now we're getting too deep into it. I'd be interesting to know if someone less familiar with Fraction as a person (I'm not connected to Fraction in any way, obviously, but being as invested in comics has led me to most of his work and to all of his online stuff, which create a personality that I kind of love) would find this issue as charming. The most important part, though, is that dropping real humans from our universe into the Marvel Universe means, logically, that we are all in the Marvel Universe. Sure we're not the superheroes but GUYS, I'm in the Marvel Universe.

Venom 38
Bunn (w) and Jacinto (a) and Loughridge (c)

Venom needs help in his war against Lord Ogre, who has some impressive resources at his disposal, including a seemingly endless number of hit men to attack Venom. Flash has decided to get some resources of his own and he's fortunate enough to have all of Katy Kiernan's contacts at his side. Venom, he feels, can no longer work solo out in Philadelphia. He needs help in any form he can get it. That becomes doubly apparent when Jack O'Lantern reveals himself again, showing up in Flash's apartment while Venom is out in the city. Unfortunately, he shows up at the same time Flash's neighbor (and student) Andi tries to go talk to him about what she saw in gym class (when he accidentally revealed to her that he's Venom). Jack promptly attacks her, following her back to her own apartment where Venom crashes in to enter the fray. Big surprise ending here that I won't spoil for you but that's worth reading.

I think this is far and away the best book Bunn has done for Marvel so far. I don't think he's a particularly weak writer in any respect but I don't tend to love his work elsewhere. He had a short run on Captain America before one of its rebrandings and he's worked the Deadpool Kills series and Fearless Defenders. Deadpool Kills, at least in its last iteration and maybe in this one (we're only one issue in) has been interesting enough for a throwaway book but i haven't really warmed up to Fearless Defenders yet (including the newest one, spoilers for Saturday's reviews). However, Venom through and through has been a pretty solid book. I think there have been a few waste issues that weren't the best but overall it's been a solid series and it's really encapsulated everything that made the book interesting under Remender while pushing forward in its own unique way (also, it showed a town in Massachusetts this one time that's right next to my hometown and, considering what we learned in FF this week, was therefore officially the closest I've ever come to getting into a Marvel comic book). This issue is no different as we get an interesting side of Flash, realizing that he needs help out here and that the problems of Philadelphia are bigger than his own personal demons so looking for help isn't any sort of negative on him. The twist at the end was very interesting and sets up next issue pretty well, giving us something (hopefully) to look forward to. It could, as nearly any story, go horribly wrong, of course, but there's reason to be optimistic.

Daredevil 29, Indestructible Hulk 11

Daredevil 29
Waid (w) and J. Rodriguez and A. Lopez (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Daredevil's newest client Nate Hackett has been shot by a judge loyal to the Serpent Society and no on in the courtroom besides Matt Murdock seems surprised or worried. Police rush in and are told that the shooter fled the scene, ignoring Matt's pleas for help. Matt realizes that the Serpent Society has somehow infiltrated pretty deep into the justice system he's dedicated his life to supporting. Not knowing who he can trust and unable to prove the judge and his cronies are guilty, Daredevil takes to the scene and discovers why they wanted Nate dead and how they plan to get away with it. Will Daredevil be able to expose the Serpent Society, rescue the innocent people inside, and save Nate's quickly fading life?

The story here is pretty fantastic, leading Matt to a whole new sense of paranoia. It worked really well for Waid and company throughout the Ikari arc, this idea that he can't trust anyone, and it's looking to work well again here. It's certainly a different sort of paranoia as this one enrages Matt more than worries him but it's a perfectly structured story in that respect. After having his actual loved ones in jeopardy (as well as his own life) last arc, he now has the institution he's always trusted at stake. The writing for Daredevil continues to be amazing and the art continues to be among Marvel's best. Even with Javier Rodriguez taking the reins from Chris Samnee for a bit, the art style fits exactly with the style Samnee's given this book. On top of that, Rodriguez's colors remain consistent with his work on the rest of the series, grounding any difference in art style between he and Samnee and making the book feel exactly the way it's always felt. This issue's not necessarily as emotionally stirring as some of the other work we've seen in Daredevil or in something like Hawkeye or Young Avengers but it's a near-perfect book anyway, one with a great plot and a great examination of Daredevil int he window we see him in. We get the cleverness of Daredevil, the nice problem-solving skill set he brings to the table, as well as his concern for innocent people and his hatred of corruption. Great plot, great character, great writing, great art, great book.

Indestructible Hulk 11
Waid (w) and Scalera (a) and Staples (c)

Time and space are broken in the Marvel Universe and it's slowly beginning to impact multiple books. We saw it a little in Guardians of the Galaxy this week and it seems to be the hinge of the upcoming Infinity event but we get a slightly more personal look at it in Indestructible Hulk as Banner is contracted by SHIELD to enter the broken timestream itself to see what he can do about a series of strange and dangerous (strangerous) chrono-happenings as reported by SHIELD prisoner Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man. Zarrko has apparently been warning Maria Hill about the threat the superhero community has posed to the timestream and, when he wasn't immediately right about his predictions, Hill ignored him. However, now he's proving to be spot-on and he claims to only want to help repair the timestream. His idea is to send Hulk directly into it with a suit he himself constructed (and has proven too dangerous for normal men, hence why Hulk needs to go in) and sic him on the time-hopping Chronarchists, who are using the breaks in time to commit atrocities and change the world in different ways more befitting them. The catch? Other than that they're sending the Hulk into an already broken timestream or, as Banner calls it, operating on the timestream with a chain saw instead of a scalpel? If Hulk reverts back to Banner, he likely won't survive the transformation.

Another really interesting book from Waid as this is the first time that the breaks in the timestream have seemed worthwhile as opposed to a bit of a reach in the hopes it will provide a great event. Also, why are the original X-Men still in the present? Wait, back to this book. On top of sending Hulk into the timestream to try to stop the Chronarcists (which, even at the end of this issue showing a dinosaur attacking in the 1800s, will certainly lead to some neat bits), we have some of the ramifications of a broken timestream. When Banner puts his foot down to letting the Hulk go into this situation, he recommends they use Red She-Hulk, as she has similar power/durability, more intelligence in Hulk state, and would love the job. However, Red She-Hulk seems to be one of the first casualties (or causalities. Get it? Timestream, causalities? Ah, whatever) of the Chronarchists plot and she's slowly fading from the timestream, causing Maria Hill to be unaware of her existence as she fades from Bruce's mind. There are a lot of really interesting ideas, which culminates in the neat idea of teaming Banner (in the form of a robot with Banner's knowledge and personality infused) with Hulk for the mission. There's a lot of good stuff coming from this issue and it'll be neat to see how it all plays out.