Delightful,
Go for it. I doubt that will happen any time soon. In the mean time I'd suggest just waiting to see how Two in One does before the F4 return to comics prominence again.
Unless you can figure out who they'd get to write that might draw solid numbers in the same way that Hickman did.
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Just read Amazing Spider-Man #29 and 30 today. And while I start to get tired of the Secret Empire event (I start to crave for something more light-hearted, without all this grim'n' gritty stuff), I kinda liked how Pete started to command the other heroes around, when they found out Steve had turned against them. Remembers me at one comment Cap once made (during Dark Reign, I think), that Spider-Man is actually the hero everyone else looks up to, because he keeps doing the right thing fully knowing that he won't get appreciated for it.
Yeah it's kind of downer to see how much down-ness is in SE, but at the same time Spidey at least is trying to keep this all from blowing apart.
As for Al, not sure he's ready to have at it JUST yet. Mostly because it seems like the majority of the editorial pool isn't ready to go back to FF 4 any time soon without some serious, SERIOUS "you can sell the crap out of this run!" ideas. I would LIKE to see Al do it...but not sure he will or be able to.
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Mostly because it seems like the majority of the editorial pool isn't ready to go back to FF 4 any time soon without some serious
You know the irony is that I never was very interested in the Fantastic Four. Every time I read them, I somehow found them bland and boring, and everything they did, I thought there were someone else (mostly the X-Men^^) who did it better.
Then comes Hickman and single-handedly turns the FF comic into the best, most awesome comic on the market and for the first time, FF is the first comic I read before anything else.
And then they cancel it. And in my mind, if you want to kill the brand because of movie right issues, it is the absolutely most wrong action to take to let Hickman touch it in the way he did. Which is why I think that this never was an editorial idea but that they were forced by their idiot business superiors to cancel it.
thejeff,
Yes but it wasn't as good as Hickman's run. It was...decent? But not great. Future Foundation or FF (with Ant-man, She-Hulk, Medusa and Darla Deering) and then the others going off around space time/other realities because...Richards? I think.
Still... I don't see FF returning unless they get some serious push from the editorial AND writing peoples. That and of course sales.
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thejeff,
Yes but it wasn't as good as Hickman's run. It was...decent? But not great. Future Foundation or FF (with Ant-man, She-Hulk, Medusa and Darla Deering) and then the others going off around space time/other realities because...Richards? I think.
Nah, FF ended parallel to the Hickman run. thejeff is right nonetheless. Matt Fraction took over, followed by Robinson. Totally forgot that, probably because I followed Hickman to the Avengers and actually stopped reading FF pretty soon.
So I stand corrected and now I have to think if the cancellation wasn't my fault for giving up on the FF again ^^.
Wormy,
It wasn't just you! I'm sure other readers did too. but yeah Fraction took over for FF and Robinson along with Future Foundation.
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Before I start my usual Thursday spoiler spiel, I wanted to take this time to address something dear to my heart that is also Marvel comics related. That is the passing of Chester Bennington. Because of him, I not only survived some of my late 20s and early 30s, I also regain some love for comics. I know that sounds weird to some, but seeing how much he loved the graphic arts, the styles of various colorists and generally just a love of that medium...it made me want to get back to my roots. I will miss his voice, his energy and especially the music he leaves behind. Good bye Mister Bennington. You will be deeply missed.
*pause*
So now back to our usual routine! I post spoilers for Freehold (and now Delightful!) to read without buying the books, and Wormy waits until he reads them to generate...I guess stuff? ;) We'll see.
First! On to SE spoilers!
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Boy howdy did SE #6 deliver on SOME of the hype. I mean that ending right there, remnants of both the sins of the past and the possibilities of tomorrow. Mostly I'm just glad Bobbi wasn't the spy. Poor Scott Lang. The guy never catches a break. But I guess that's why it makes sense he's helping HYDRA. I am also kind of sad to see AI Stark go, but he went out better than Tony did in the past 20 years. Also glad they toasted Elisa. Maybe that will free Jane Foster. Mostly I enjoyed seeing that while Ulysses' vision was almost accurate, it wasn't. That and Bobbi showing why she should be running the bloody show. (Working with Maria Hill be damned.) Oh and Bruce Banner isn't a moron. Just his Hulk side won that day. Now of course Black Widow and the Red crew will go far but not sure it will be off the reservation. At least certainly not Naida and the younger guys. I HOPE! Oh before I forget, clearly the Steve Rogers that is getting the crap kicked out of him is part of the splintered Cosmic Cube since I'm sure that's why we have Red Skull, Bucky and even Sam Wilson here. (All got altered by the Cosmic Cube some how.)
SE Brave New world #4 vignettes weren't as mixed as last issue. That is to say, not as huge a stinker with the middle one (and of course the fact it doesn't feel forced). First one is seeing Misty taking over for Sam's fight to save Inhumans and others. It was nice to see rays of hope as off the beaten path folk dealt with HYDRA goons. That and of course possible inside beacons for people to resist. Second story clearly showcases both the good and bad sides of Emma. Good side, she runs this place pretty damn efficiently with both a mixture of mind control and media control. Bad side, basically the fact she's still pretty much being Diva Hellfire person with Black King Shaw at her side. Mostly it was a nice diversion into how this society might (or might not) survive past SE. Finally we get to see the possible uprising against Namor. I mean there was that possibility that Namor on the pedestal getting mauled might be an imposter...but regardless. Namora is still alive and so is hope for an Altantis resistance. But we'll see.
So main story and mini-series - done! Comic-tie ins, next!
Doctor Strange shows us Ben Ulrich truly is ONE OF US! That and he might be a paladin. Mostly it's more about magical artifacts, demons and the fact Baron Mordo with the Darkhold is skilled enough to handle most non-magical threats. We'll see if that holds up when Strange and his associates come flying in. And I do mean flying! (Way to go Jessica!)
US Avengers really should start calling themselves "Avengers of Europe" Because clearly they are on a ROLL. Captain Britain! Ares! Faiza Hussain! (aka Excaliber!) Guillotine! Peregine! Plus Squirrel Girl and Enigma! Truly this is a super team I'd love to see more of. Mostly because they fight even when it might seem above their weight class. Oh and there's a LOVELY mention of Ultimate #8 and #9 issues. But I want to save that for later. Sufficient to say they do mesh well even if one (SE)'s conflict is kind of lesser to the other (Eternity Wars). Oh and Toni Ho (Yinsen Ho's daughter) does some pretty stellar engineering work to get Sunspot...well maybe not better but more functional.
X-men gold does tie but honestly like I said last time, it goes clearly in the mutant only column. So that's also later.
So that's it for the SE portion of our show! Now on to the NON-Mutant, Non-SE spoilers!
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While Ultimates would normally top most everything, I think we can all agree, Ultimate Thor/War Thor clearly is what we all came to see. Seeing a pretty epic powered Volstagg with Ultimate Thor's powers AND his hammer? Yeah you knew you wanted to see this rematch of him versus the armies of Muspelheim. Bonus was seeing him pwn both Enchantress and Ulik the Troll. Admittedly Ulik is more a C+/just above B level villain, but seeing him almost get his head bludgeoned off...that's some SERIOUS level new blood letting. Every time I read this comic, and I see them saying "Raining blood" a little Slayer baby is born in my heart. So yeah, Mighty Thor #21 clearly head and shoulders above most of the non-mutant comics on this list...
EXCEPT Ultimates #9! Now admittedly when I knew they (Eternity Watch, consisting of Ego, Galactus, Psi-Hawk, Infinaut and the ghost of the Shaper of Worlds) would fight against the First Firmament, I naturally assumed they would go against JUST him. Not his minions. But seeing how Ego had trouble with metaphor and STILL manage to use that against the Dark Celestials? Yeah it was great. This was a fight to end all fights. Mostly though I knew from last issue that the Maker (Ultimate Reed Richards) wouldn't leave this to the big boys. Which is why I was SO pissed when he did use the Superflow for his plan to...I guess squash all of the different Counter Earths together so he could get his old Earth back? Maybe I dunno. I do know we have the return of the ORIGINAL Ultimate Universe Ultimates. Well except Ultimate Thor...but that's understandable. Regardless, now it's up to the Ultimates (who got taken away from their little problem of being stuck in space and saving Earth from Hydra-Cap)
Keeping with space, the Guardians in GotG #6 clearly made some new enemies, while at the same time Gamora at least reveals she thinks part of her soul is still inside the Soul Gem. (Hey anything possible!) Also apparently the Raptors of the Shi'ar want the Nega-bands. Who ever that dead guy was, he's got a tie to the Kree. Oh and Groot's evil cousins are invading a world. Mostly though, it's just watching the GotG figure out what their next move is and if Rocket can get proper medical treatment. And you know, find the Soul Gem.
Honestly while GotG wasn't that special, America #5 was probably the since best "This was a character building issue!" issue I've read since... I can't remember when. Chavez and Kate play off each other so well, you could almost imagine them in a movie together. Hell even a TV show! Mostly it's just highlights the fact we get more details about Chavez' past, some romantic entanglement and the fact Kate figures out something that got spoiled already if you've read the previews for Legacy for America. Mostly I highly recommend this for the female fans and people that love to watch good friends have a kind of sexual sizzle but clearly won't go anywhere. If you must read ONE issue about America Chavez, this is the one. I can't stress that enough.
ASM RYV continues with the Venom-MJ (Vem-Jay? MJenom?) struggling with Venom. But the fact is we all know MJ. When the chips are down, she pulls out her best. (With a nice assist from Peter.) Mostly it's a chance to see why being a mom makes you tough..and also kind of a b#~!% in Liz Allen's case. So yeah. Venom is under MJ's foot but clearly, Liz has some splaining to do.
Daredevil's latest issue tries to clean up the air between Foggy and Matt about Daredevil and the Purple kids little mind wipe. Mostly we see that Matt lose on his second appeal but clearly wants to take it all the way to Supreme Court. (Hence the title of this arc.) It's not the best thing, but the fact both he and Matt do fix things (not like forgive and forget but at least move past it for bigger reasons), makes this a decent read. Oh and Tombstone is probably going in the bag. I just hope Legal follows. But we'll see!
Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe, Again #2 shows us that having the Red Skull play with Deadpool's mind is a bad thing. I mean a REALLY bad thing for ALL Spider people! Plus side is seeing Moon Knight no only be kind of..sane and good at detecting, but seeing all the other good/decent detective super types try their best to figure out how to stop Deadpool. Bonus for having a more than Cameo appearance by Gwenpool.
Riri Williams tries to step up her game against not just Lucia von Bardas, but also the fact Bardas has a good bit of Doom's old toys. (Yes folks! LOTS of Doom bots!) Mostly it's her chance to shine by playing possum coupled with concerns by Stark's old inner circle of Friday and MJ talking about why having a body might be a good thing when you aren't an actual AI program. (Ghost in the Shell reference was cool.) Invincible Iron man #9 folks explores both Riri and the future of Iron Man.
Luke Cage #3 continues that kind of "Luke Cage meets the Bayou mystery" thread. The reveal at the end was a little surprising but not that much. Mostly I'm waiting for Luke to stop getting his ass kicked and do some more of his own.
Monsters Unleashed #4 has a rematch of Lady Hellbender and Elsa Bloodstone. Oh and Kei helps in that regard too. Mostly though, it's clear the current iteration of Intelligenca wants Kei's ability to make monsters because...well I mean wouldn't you for mad science reasons? Decent but honestly they have to do more if they want to keep this around.
Kamela Khan continues to try to figure out just how to get the bad guys out of her city. But the bad news is no one in the city wants them gone. Most frustrating thing is this idea the bad guys have that removing supers will save them from damage. Hello?!? Thanos?! Or Annihilus? Hell what about the Kree in general? Boy they are dumb...
Less dumb but interesting is Royals #4. Behold! The rebirth of Supremor! Erhm sort of. It's an alternate version and not called that. But clearly that's what Marvel Boy wanted. I guess. Oh, also Ronan and Crystal work out their relationship issues. And the future with only Maximus shows us...well again if you read the previews/new stories about Legacy, you'd know! So I'll save that.
Spiderman 2099 close the door its run with a little surprise (in terms of who kills Miguel) but also a nice time travel twist. Mostly it's nice way to see Miguel leave 2017/2019 and come back to something resembling 2099. That and of course a new wife and kid. So yeah. Cool.
Peter Park Spectacular Spider-man showcases the story about Peter's 'lost' sister and her involvement with a grey area SHIELD project. Oh and Spidey goes on a date...IN COSTUME! It was kind of amusing. Mostly it's just seeing Spidey talking to various Marvel figures (especially Best friend Johnny Storm) and trying to lead a normal-ish life while still attached to being rich. And you know Spiderman.
Totally Awesome Hulk continues WMD run...with the introduction of both Batch H Alpha and Beta. (Clearly Alpha will work.) Mostly it's still a slow burn until the final pay off. Maybe? I dunno. I do know Cho has put in some SERIOUS patience dealing with the crap he gets from the killers in this group. (Also Domino continues to shine through. She's awesome.) Weapon X will probably get us closer but right now I'm done with this and ready to move on to Cho using his brain in other ways.
And that's it for the non-mutant, non-SE section!
On to the Non-SE Mutant section!
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Admittedly I could have put Totally Awesome hulk in this...but let's be honest. WMD is less about mutants and more about Cho trying to keep the stabbings down to a minimum.
X-men GOLD on the other hand! Yeah I know it ties into SE but honestly, like I said before, it just reads more like "X-cutioner shows up to kill mutants and nearly blows up the school." Which is pretty much how it rolls save for the fact Kurt dies and comes back because he left Heaven, Kitty does some pretty awesome sword play against this new X-cutioner, and Colossus still can't metal up. But mostly it's less SE and more Mutants in trouble before the government shows up to discuss mutant deportation. (I wonder if that means New Tian is still there? Maybe!)
Honestly though, if you're a fan of mutants and love mutant teams, Astonishing X-men is clearly the team book for you. Shadow King, the baddest psychic...whatever is back. He's killing/eating/coccooning psychics and harnessing their power. Naturally he goes back after Besty/Psylocke. So before she becomes his next snack, PSYCHIC alert! Bishop! Angel! (Not young Angel, the real one who is still holding back Archangel in his mind...some how!) Rogue, Old Man Logan, Gambit! Fantomex! Yep they all show up to try and stop it (Plus Beast shows up after they fix Psylocke.) So now off to the Astral Plane they go! (Well not all of them. Angel has to keep Archangel from going off and Bishop prefers to stay around in case bad things happen.) So now we'll see. I honestly cannot stress this enough; if you love X-men team ups and teams, THIS is the book for you. It feels very classic X-men...even if they aren't classic X-men. READ THIS BOOK!
and there you have it folks! This week's spoilers along with THREE strong recommended reads in said spoilers. (IF you want to know what they are, I'll tell you! Just not here! ;) ) Enjoy folks!
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Just read SE #6 and I can't remember when Bruce Banner was this Badass for the last time. Great character moment, before the Big Green took over. And what an ending. Though I really hate that they make the heroes think that anything of the BS Cap Hydra says would be true.
I agree that Astonishing X-Men #1 is a must read. Though I'd probably say that about any book that has Betsy in it. But if SOule and Cheung can keep this up, chances are that this might become my favorite X-title very fast.
Also read the last issues of X-Men Gold and Blue. Liked Gold, Blue not so much, especially when they tried to sell New Tian as something Charles Xavier would approve off. Still can't wrap my head around the fact that old Hank is part of that nightmare it turns out to be.
Have a free day today, so chances are that I can keep on reading some comics :D
I am so glad I don't read comics anymore...
Except for Sam Wilson.
Freehold,
Explain that sentence. Not Sam Wilson, but the first one. Because honestly I enjoyed the ones I mentioned.
Wormy,
So you've not read America #5 yet? Because I STRONGLY recommend it. Even more so than my favorites of Mighty Thor and Ultimates.
Regardless, I look forward to more of your insight. Blue I liked because it was seeing insurgent young-ins fighting an established city state that, while Charles might not agree with, probably understood. Especially after Genosha and some others. I do agree how troubling it is that Hank signs on with Emma in running this...but I also think he thinks he can control the narrative. (Which we BOTH know isn't true.)
Also agree that #6, Bruce Banner was the real highlight of this. Seeing him say something to the effect "Yeah I'm angry they shot me in the eye. But joining HYDRA? I'm not that stupid."
Freehold,
Explain that sentence. Not Sam Wilson, but the first one. Because honestly I enjoyed the ones I mentioned.
Wormy,
So you've not read America #5 yet? Because I STRONGLY recommend it. Even more so than my favorites of Mighty Thor and Ultimates.
Regardless, I look forward to more of your insight. Blue I liked because it was seeing insurgent young-ins fighting an established city state that, while Charles might not agree with, probably understood. Especially after Genosha and some others. I do agree how troubling it is that Hank signs on with Emma in running this...but I also think he thinks he can control the narrative. (Which we BOTH know isn't true.)
Also agree that #6, Bruce Banner was the real highlight of this. Seeing him say something to the effect "Yeah I'm angry they shot me in the eye. But joining HYDRA? I'm not that stupid."
it's just super confusing, is all.
Ah. Well I can understand why it might be confusing from a dive straight in perspective.
But honestly if I had to recommend this week's comics, America #5 and Astonishing X-men #1 are my "read this to understand Marvel Comics!" books of the day. Ultimates #9...is more like the meta of Marvel.
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So you've not read America #5 yet? Because I STRONGLY recommend it.
Just read it. Had to go through #2-4 first. Still not my favorite comic, though she began to grow on me with #4, which was probably the first issue she didn't behave like a total jerk. Am kind of interested in the mystery behind this story, and yeah, it was a fun ride together with Kate Bishop (which I generally also don't like very much for the way she treated Clint back then; but then I like Kelly Thompson's writing very much)
Wormy,
Eh I think Clint, while a decent sort, has proven he doesn't ALWAYS make the best judgment calls. Some of it is the writer, but honestly his history has been up and down. Is he still a hero? Absolutely. Is he the best Hawkeye? No. I'm pretty sold on Kate.
2-4 were very rough but honestly I loved #5 because it was something I love seeing. Two best friends that are heroes being girls that are awesome. So...yeah.
As for the mystery, I think it's clear we're dealing with...
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must be someone I missed because I never heard of someone with that name (I think).
Apart from that, I don't why I feel so about those two gals. Normally I'm a very big fan of female super heroes. But somehow those two kinda rub me the wrong way sometimes.
I get, what you're saying about #5 though. It's exactly the kind of light-hearted fun I talked earlier about, so it was a very welcome deviation from all the depressive stuff going around with SE.
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Wormy,
She's kind of tied into Kate's former boyfriend, Nov'arr aka Marvel Boy aka Protector aka "I'm a Grant Morrison creation." She and her father were a pretty integral part of Original Sin.
*shrugs* I can't answer why you feel that way or what about them rubs you that way. I can say this: I enjoy them. The more time spent with them that doesn't have to involve super heroics, is always better.
But yes it was very lighthearted. Which is another reason to enjoy it.
Wormy,
Eh I think Clint, while a decent sort, has proven he doesn't ALWAYS make the best judgment calls. Some of it is the writer, but honestly his history has been up and down. Is he still a hero? Absolutely. Is he the best Hawkeye? No. I'm pretty sold on Kate.
2-4 were very rough but honestly I loved #5 because it was something I love seeing. Two best friends that are heroes being girls that are awesome. So...yeah.
As for the mystery, I think it's clear we're dealing with...** spoiler omitted ** How do I know? Well there were some Legacy previews up a while back that showed her on the cover of America (I forget which issue) So...yeah.
You speak heresies.
I've been known to do that. That's why I'm also a death cleric of Orcus.
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Eh I think Clint, while a decent sort, has proven he doesn't ALWAYS make the best judgment calls. Some of it is the writer, but honestly his history has been up and down. Is he still a hero? Absolutely. Is he the best Hawkeye? No. I'm pretty sold on Kate.
Thought about it a bit more. I think Kate lost my sympathies when she broke up with Clint in a very arrogant way AND over something where I actually think that Clint was right and she was totally wrong about. And you know who showed up to give encouragement to Kate? America Chavez.
Now with Kate I'm rebonding a bit because I kinda like her in her own series (and she was pretty great in that Old Man Logan issue). So maybe I can do the same with Chavez, when Gabby Rivera stops depicting her as a total jerk half of the time. Maybe I just can't wrap my head about it (because white male privileged and so on), but I'm thinking all the time that if I was a member of the latina lesbian community, America would not be the person I would want to be represented by.
But maybe I just don't get it, because I read the opposite in the letters section from actual members of that community.
Wormy,
Yeah I vaguely recall it but the same time, I guess I didn't always agree with some Clint's reasoning.
Regardless, I think #5 is setting a MUCH better tone than the first couple issues. I hope it continues.
Wormy,
Don't you know that a character can only be three-dimensional if their inexplicability jerks for 50% of the series.
You really must check out the newest edition of "Hack Writer Tropes" before you really can appreciate Ms. America's stellar writing.
In all seriousness though, I actually really did enjoy the first couple of issues of her comic. They were ridiculous (Hilter getting punched in the face) and felt like a weird fusion of the manga One Piece and Squirrel Girl wrapped up in a Tumblr wrapper. I stopped reading them after issue three but if they do improve I might check them out again if only the LOLs.
Delightful,
Trust me, #5 HEAD and shoulders above anything since issue #1. Even more so some ways with Kate on board.
Delightful,
Trust me, #5 HEAD and shoulders above anything since issue #1. Even more so some ways with Kate on board.
Just read it. It's was alright but lacked the Nazi punching I was expecting but I suppose the series is trying to be a bit more down Earth now. I miss the art from earlier issues though.
Delightful,
Not every story needs to have Nazi punching. But I do understand how you feel about the change in artists.
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U.S. Avengers #8 was a great issue, especially in how they used the tale about how Tony Stark became Iron Man to make me feel just for a moment they would allow Toni Ho to sacrifice herself. Glad that she improved on the old plan ^^.
Ultimates get crazier and crazier. Unluckily I don't know about the old incarnation too much, so question time: Is this at the end the old team from the Ultimate Universe? Apart from that I love Reed's chuzpe to manipulate the High Evolutionary in the way he did. Still gets time that someone finally kicks his ass for good and brings the true Reed back.
Wormy,
USA Avengers was great, no question. I just didn't feel the impact as much as I did for European Avengers/Euro-Force.
In answer to your question, I think this is the old team from before the incursions and probably before Janet and Hank went the way of the dodo. At least...that's my feeling. But yes the Maker/Ultimate Reed did some serious manipulative maneuver right there on poor Herbert. We'll see if the 616/Prime Ultimates kick Reed's butt.
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Without stepping on Thomas' upcoming spoilers and reviews, I'll say that I am less and less impressed with the whole Secret Empire story line. It is just painfully obvious that the big reset button will be hit towards the end of this. Not only that, this same sort of story line (Good guy does bad! Let the bodies hit the floor!) has been done so many times before, and often better. As an Elseworlds/What If they were tolerable, but as something that is supposed to be in continuity it starts to strain credulity when you have to reset every 12 issues or so.
Thumbs down.
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Without stepping on Thomas' upcoming spoilers and reviews, I'll say that I am less and less impressed with the whole Secret Empire story line.
I want to like the base idea, exploring how dangerous blindly following someone with such a 'noble' reputation as Captain America (or blindly accepting anyone that Mjolnir judges 'worthy,' for that matter), but the execution has sucked mightily. The dangers of cults of personality ceding moral authority / personal responsibility to someone else because 'they are good guys' or 'they are a war hero/did something cool once, 70 years ago' or 'they have a lot of upvotes on Yelp' is a neat story idea. It's annoying to see it written so poorly.
It's certainly a thinkier (and bolder, and possibly timely-er) comic-book storyline than 'planets are crashing into each other' or 'alien shapeshifters are attacking.'
And also, I am super shallow, and judge comics by the art, as well as the writing (although willing to sometimes forgive one being weak if the other is super-strong), and the art for the main Secret Empire books has sucked to a degree that I have trouble finding words to describe. And I know a lot of words...
Without stepping on Thomas' upcoming spoilers and reviews, I'll say that I am less and less impressed with the whole Secret Empire story line.I want to like the base idea, exploring how dangerous blindly following someone with such a 'noble' reputation as Captain America (or blindly accepting anyone that Mjolnir judges 'worthy,' for that matter), but the execution has sucked mightily. The dangers of cults of personality ceding moral authority / personal responsibility to someone else because 'they are good guys' or 'they are a war hero/did something cool once, 70 years ago' or 'they have a lot of upvotes on Yelp' is a neat story idea. It's annoying to see it written so poorly.
It's certainly a thinkier (and bolder, and possibly timely-er) comic-book storyline than 'planets are crashing into each other' or 'alien shapeshifters are attacking.'
And also, I am super shallow, and judge comics by the art, as well as the writing (although willing to sometimes forgive one being weak if the other is super-strong), and the art for the main Secret Empire books has sucked to a degree that I have trouble finding words to describe. And I know a lot of words...
Ah, the art. I cannot agree more with you about that. It is, well, muddy and grey and red and just ugly in my opinion. For some stories it works -- like Old Man Logan -- but for the big broad story like Secret Empire you need something that is a little more mainstream or at least more big screen. The artist from the current run of USAvengers does work that would look good here, or Bryan Hitch from the early days of the Authority.
The story is timely -- almost too timely as they draw nearly directly from the local news -- but something like Injustice from DC has done something similar recently with Superman and gave it room to breath and set it apart from their current continuity, thereby allowing things to actually happen: death matters, things stay changed and how people deal with them matter.
When you know the magical widget is going to reset to the last save point it sort of takes the wind out of your story, IMO.
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It is just painfully obvious that the big reset button will be hit towards the end of this. Not only that, this same sort of story line (Good guy does bad! Let the bodies hit the floor!) has been done so many times before, and often better. As an Elseworlds/What If they were tolerable, but as something that is supposed to be in continuity it starts to strain credulity when you have to reset every 12 issues or so.
Thumbs down.
Honestly, that's what I LOOK for in events. That's how events should be handled. I am so tired of massive universe changing consequences happening twice a year requiring tie in books and disrupting any flow of the regular books.
I've said it before, but the original Secret Wars was my gold standard for an 'event' book with Infinity Gauntlet running second. The awesomeness of the story was based entirely on "LOOK at ALL these characters working together!!! Where else could you ever see ALL your favorites in one place!!!" It wasn't based on the 'Nothing will ever be the same, except it kinda is, but we'll shake it up again before you're used to THIS..." model. Secret Wars combined the X-Men the Avengers, Fantastic Four and Spider-man all in one story where everyone got something awesome to do. It introduced a generation to all their characters at once. At the end of the story, what long term ramifications happened? She-Hulk joined the FF. Spidey had a new costume... Doctor Doom wasn't dead? Nothing too drastic. Infinity Gauntlet? Even less. They literally reset to the past with Adam Warlock getting his own book and that was about it.
Modern Events? It's more about destroying things then building them. I can't imagine Civil War 2 or Secret Wars or Secret Empire actually being someone's FIRST comic... They've adopted an Event based economy where everything is either the build up to an event or the aftermath of an event, which leads up to the next big event... and anything not directly tied to it will suffer greatly.
So yeah, Knowing that something will be reset at the end? That's actually a selling point for me not a detraction.
First of all I appreciate what Knight is saying about SE. It has a very ...rebootish feel at times. But also feels like CW I. (Which of course isn't say much.)
I also want to add unlike Set, I THOROUGHLY enjoy storylines where realities crash into one another. It keeps things...interesting. I think.
I will agree the art in this series hasn't been exceptional. But some of the characterizations have been pretty great. (Bobbi, Bruce's final stand, Nadia Pym)
So yeah. But we'll see when this is all said and done how it pans out compared to say, CWII and AXIS. Now THERE were some stinkers in my mind...
Now back to our regularly scheduled posting by moi for people like Delightful, Freehold and Others! (Also to give Wormy time to collect his reading thoughts!) ;)
Now! ON TO SE SPOILERS!!!
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On to tie-ins! (Boy are there tie-ins!)
Both Sam and Steve reach the end of 7 in different places. For Sam it's about seeing the fact maybe being Cap in his own way is better than living by the original who clearly isn't being himself. Oh and Rayshaun gives him the business after getting it from Misty too. Mostly though, I read this as a sign Sam is ready to actually fight back because (as the new Patriot said; who btw gave a nice audible nod to Eli Bradley), "It's not about the majority who might be right, it's the minority that deserves to be right." Or something like that.
Steve, on the other hand, clearly is going full on evil. His conversation with Odinson (plus pissing him off by calling him Thor) revealed a new level of antagonist in what traditionally had been one of the strongest bro-mances/brotherhood bonds in all of comics. That and of course having Sharon locked in the same cell as Rick Jones (and of course changing his costume) clearly signifies that Hydra-Cap has embraced ALL that HYDRA is. Even if he doesn't see it that way.
Captain Marvel, mean time, still keeps fighting wave after wave even if it really won't matter. (I mean serious. Do you honestly think they'll get past that thing if they hadn't already? Or someone forgot about I dunno...TIME TRAVEL!?!!) Anyways they get a radio response, a sign of hope...a nice plan and then realization that the Chitauri really either have WAAAAY more numbers than anyone knew...or they just have the best respawn settings ever conceived of. Regardless, we'll see how it plays out.
Occupy Avengers ends their run with some ambiguity but certainly a sign the C listers and reformed villain Nightshade (now Nighthawk) aren't ready to let Hawkeye and company do all the work. Nice to have a cameo by El Toro. He was/is an interesting guy. Also nice to see some other lesser knows like Tarantula (not the ones we remember but eh) and the Challenger (who hasn't been seen since CW I.) We'll see if they ever come back. But I doubt it.
Deadpool rolls on with some more questionable choices post Darkforce shield and of course the road to him doing that. Trapster helps out and we get a mention of the first Blackout WHO might be useful (I guess with the Darkforce thing) But how it works out for Wade? Not sure. Might be with Maria Hill, might not. Regardless we're pretty sure Deadpool's burned enough stuff to warrant him not going back.
X-men Blue continues where we left off, with Scott being mind-raped/probed/conditioned by Emma, Magneto staying out of sight but clearly happy to have the Red Skull's head in hand, and Jean and Jimmy Hudson doing a rescue. Fortunately they don't do it alone, as Danger (the sentient computer Danger Room) and later on Lorna Dane aka Polaris provide support against Emma's little group of X-men. So yeah it was good. Less good, trying like hell to figure what is going on in Alex's brain...but I guess now at least Lorna and Alex will hash out more of their ex-relationship. Mostly I'm still wondering HOW these other X-men get their secondary mutations. Oh and of course young Hank is clearly going dark sorcerer.
So! That ends SE spoilers! On to non-mutant, non-SE spoilers!
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Ben Reilly continues to enjoy questionable moral stances while at the same time dealing with Kaine's own obsessive need for revenge. Mostly it was more "Clone punches clone!" and pretty much that with a little more side story.
Black Panther continues to deal with gods while at the same time his past in NYC. Good fight scene coupled with some REAL pathos for C-lister villain in Thunderball who knows views himself less as a Black Bruce Banner (a good thing!) and more as a black guy with super powers AND a brain. Also some really time spent about Storm and her powers.
Now some MIGHT include Cable in the mutant category, but honestly the LACK of mutant issues coupled with it being more time travel and some Inhuman/Eternal war thing, makes this issue feel less...pedestrian than previous ones. Mostly it's nice to see just WHAT it is that Cable is up against in terms of stakes and even just having someone ELSE do the talking.
Edge of the Venomverse continues with Robbie Reyes as HOST Rider. Really...not an issue I can write home about, but as an alternate Venom...passable. Mostly it's just a by the numbers Venom with some Ghost Rider tossed in. Plus Mister Hyde/Calvin Zabo. So yeah.
I admit, I skipped I am Groot and Tell Tale GotG. But someone told me they were what you'd expect.
Infamous Iron Man finally gives us the reveal some of us had thought. That this isn't 616 Cynthia Von Doom. (Or if it is she's clearly forgot some stuff.) Plus Ben Grimm says "Let's get this crap under control before Doom does something even more stupid." Oh and Sharon Carter admits SHIELD can't fly Helicarriers. So we'll see if that sends Doom off the rails and/or the Maker kills Doom. Maybe.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur meet their alternate (possibly evil or at least morally questionable) counterparts. It's really just a chance I think for Lunella to reflect maybe she's not always right. I think. Admittedly I read this thinking "When can we get back to some super science stuff!?" Oh and the return of Ego's daughter. I really hope this series picks up again soon.
Spider-Gwen shows us that no matter the reality, Weapon X and Stryker are dicks. I mean turning Kitty into that kind of weapon just so Wolverine wouldn't go against programming? REALLY uncool guys! Oh and Gwennie probably gets Venomized while talking with her 65 Reed Richards who while smart, isn't as mature. (But what do you expect from a 12 year old?) Mostly I guess we'll see if Gwenom (Vengwen?) can handle having alien symbiote powers now.
Gwenpool continues to meta its way across comics. Mostly it's just more of Gwen and her bro seeing the Marvel Universe (or something like it anyway) as a comic. But eh. Mostly I'm just waiting for her to get back to doing her thing. Whatever that is...
Thanos is probably my winner but only because a) Starfox gets pwned but returns the favor on Thanos. Also the fact that Death clearly wants to control the Phoenix Force for...reasons? I guess. Mostly I enjoyed short intermission where a bored Champion has a little fling with Nebula before they see Thane come charging up the stars. Other thing to note, I'm pretty sure Starfox might want to start running. Thanos doesn't forgive or forget.
So that's it for the non-mutant, non-SE portion of spoilers.
Now on to the Mutant Non-SE spoilers!
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Bobby Drake continues to shine in some ways as he tries to bridge the divide between his parents who I guess are still living in the 1960s along with the fact the sliding time scale does affect being gay AND a mutant. Also involved are the Purifiers, but for once, Bobby doesn't hold back. I mean he doesn't KILL them but clearly, being a cyro-kinesist, he certainly near Omega level. Nice cameos also by Anole, Glob and Colossus.
While Totally Awesome is clearly less mutant focused, this had mutants in it. Well I mean the team anyway. Batch H Alpha and its failed products try to stop these pseudo-X-men and Hulk. But Cho once again lets sentiment (though not a bad one in some ways) make him make a bad choice with probably not the best consequences. But again, keeping the stabbing down on humans (even evil ones) good call.
So that's it folks! One more month of two per SE releases down, only 3 more to go!
Phantom,
Selling point to me about Secret Wars was the lead up to it. The rest was just awesome. :)
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I'll have to check out black panther, I see.
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And also, I am super shallow, and judge comics by the art, as well as the writing (although willing to sometimes forgive one being weak if the other is super-strong), and the art for the main Secret Empire books has sucked to a degree that I have trouble finding words to describe. And I know a lot of words...
Interesting. So I'm the only one that actually enjoys the art of the SE main books (especially those done by Sorrentino)? Also still like the story, though I start to fear that I won't like the end of it.
Nothing new to add though, as I had a busy week and wasn't reading very much.
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Just read SE #7 and when the final panel came I bumpfisted very hard because I was waiting for that for soooo long. Go, Sam, and show the world who the real Captain America is. Big bummer with Nat, though I kinda assumed that would happen. Clint summarized very succintly what I thought in that moment.
Womry,
If you liked the ending for SE #7, I HIGHLY recommend reading Captain America - Sam Wilson #24. It fills in that part at the end REALLY nicely.
As for the art, it depends on the story arc I feel. Some are better than others.
Freehold,
It has some good stuff in it.
Thunderball in the wrecking crew is one of my favorite villains. I love the fact that he is the smart one in the room AND he is black. Usually I have to settle for one or the other with respect to characters.
Well congrats! Thunderball got his moment to shine brightly in this issue. Admittedly I don't recall the Wrecking Crew's history as thoroughly as say, Carl "Crusher" Creel. But eh.
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Womry,
If you liked the ending for SE #7, I HIGHLY recommend reading Captain America - Sam Wilson #24. It fills in that part at the end REALLY nicely.
Already did. Loved the interaction between Sam and Misty and between Sam and Kid Patriot.
And quite honestly, if SE ends with Steve Rogers gone for good and Sam being the only Cap left, I could live very well with that. Guess it won't happen, but apart from a full retcon via Kobik's powers, I can't imagine Steve Rogers wearing the shield for quite some time.
Wormy,
Maybe he will but I don't think it would be after SE so much as maybe time travel thingie perhaps?
So it's time once again. Time for little ole me to start pushing out spoilers so that Freehold, Delightful and maybe Phantom (I doubt it but eh) don't have to read comics. (Also gives Wormy time to digest what's going on.) So without further ado...
SE Spoilers!
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Honestly I liked Champions tie-in more than I did Avengers tie in. Mostly because I love Nadia and Ironheart doing their thing while trying to cope with something not many could. Plus you know team that trusts and all. There were some real moments of pathos to reading Champions that Avengers didn't have. If you want further details; Champions dealt with SE #2 fallout while Avengers was more...fluid about time point/continuity. The only really good point for the Avengers tie-in was seeing Wanda and Vision's sexy time (not like fully but implied) even if both are being controlled. Also Doc Ock is showing his schemey side. So yeah. Tie-ins - not really worth it overall.
So that concludes our SE spoilers. On to our Non-mutant Non-SE Spoilers!
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Moving on, our friends in the GotG discuss how Drax lost his killer instinct due to the fact it got him into some moral trouble. (Unsurprising) Hopefully when Gamora finds the Soul Stone, they'll get him back to more...balanced character. Maybe.
Black Bolt and Carl "Crusher Creel aka the Absorbing Man have a moment (mostly Carl with flash backs about his life and his career.) before Black Bolt get broken out of jail. Not really great but I'm glad they're moving this along.
Kate Bishop I think needs to rethink the fact she's got super powers. I mean it's clear her dad just got a cloned powered up body. But I guess when you're getting your head kicked in, thinking isn't always the strongest. Still, she's my favorite Hawkeye. I hope she realizes she's about to be clone-replaced. We'll see.
Iron Fist continues the kung fu action with some repercussions of his fight along side having Shang Chi show up to help...sort of. Mostly I hope Shang Chi breaks out of this mind control (like he should) and kick some more butt.
Jessica Jones continues to delve into Maria Hill's world. Which I could tell her, not the best plan. Even so, the ending and the lead side story to this have some interest. But how much longer can this go on? I mean serious!?
Miles continues to wonder about being Spider-man with Ganke yelling his ear to stop. (not without reason though!) Also Goldballs leaves. Sad. :( More interesting though is the fact that Hammerhead intends to level himself up without actual robotics. So there's that. Oh and nice cameo (though shadowed) of Ultimate Dum Dum. The mystery lingers!
So while this would NORMALLY be the part of the mutant non-SE spoiler, since we have our first look at Generations which supposedly leads into Legacy, I figured I'd keep that separate.
Spoilers!
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NOW for our Mutant non-SE spoiler! (You know since there's only ONE real mutant book.)
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So there you are folks! Enjoy!
Obviously I won't comment yet but yes. Yes this is a good start.
It's that time again folks! Time for me, the guy that reads comics to give out spoiler summaries of this week in Marvel Comics (which some to many are Secret Empire related) for the benefit of people such as Delightful and Freehold while we wait for Wormy to finish up his reading. (Which fortunately covers the main points of SE #8 since he's read it!) ;)
Now! On to our SE Spoilers!!
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But the biggest reveal was Bucky being alive after seemingly being blown up and taken in by Namor. So yeah there's that.
SE #8 takes its cue from this issue as the heroes figure out how to use a fragment to break both the Darkhold bubble and the shield. First though, Falcap gives a nice speech to those trapped in their respective prisons. So they each try to figure out best way to blow through it. Turns out the GotG have a Nullifer bomb. WtG Rocket! Also Strange has to sell his brownstone. Of course things go wrong, what with FalCap getting shot down and then the two respective prison sides plans not going to plan. But! Thanks to McGuffin in a Cube, FalCap comes back, as does Quasar. So naturally down goes the SHIELD. Oh and it turns out killing Blackout destroys Darkforce stuff. (I guess when you tie to a guy that can control it, eliminating him makes sense.) Oh and Carol stopped the invasion. I guess that's helpful... Then of course there's Namor with the meet and greet along with Bucky saying "I have a cunning and brilliant plan!" (Not really but eh it's a plan.) Finally the ending proves what I knew to be true, Steve Rogers (the one we love and admire) is stuck in a kind of Cosmic Cube Limbo with Kubik.
Overall these two were strong and synergetic issues but I wouldn't say they were great. More like...moderately good.
Next comes our tie-ins,
Spiderman tries to save his company but realizes Doc Ock is still smarter than him. So in a effort that might be seen as scorched earth, he tears down PI Industries. Aunt May is happy even if she's long loner helping everyone. And Doc Ock is now just a foot solider, but I guess that's how you roll the dice when you back HYDRA instead of yourself.
Secret Warriors reveals not only that Leer can help our Inhuman friends (who arrive late to the party to save the Inhumans that got themselves out) but also he's Karnak's son. (Seriously?! What woman would want to pair up with Karnak?! That guy's crazy!) Also Daisy finds out from her dad that Coulson is dead. So yeah. Deadpool might not be with us much longer. Also nice was the tie in from Captain America #25 PLUS a really nice cameo of Mister Sinister helping out Karnak. So we'll see if the Secret Warriors continue to do secret Inhuman stuff or not. (Even if Daisy doesn't want to be a leader) Best part of this though was Bobbi and Daisy banter. But not in a good way, more like "Yeah that's sad..." So there's that.
Again since Generations is kind of between SE and the next big thing from Marvel, it will get it's own spoiler section! GENERATIONS SPOILERS!!
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Mostly it was something to watch and read/experience rather than say "I'm glad I read this comic."
So that covers that part! Next up, our non-Mutant, Non-SE spoilers
SPOILERS!!!
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Defenders, however, manage to show us just what it is that Diamondback is moving IE a version of MGH (Mutant Growth Hormone) only I'm guess since it's called IGH, it's probably Inhuman. We still don't get much detail on HOW Diamondback came back and got super powers (unless IGH was involved...) but I can say this: Don't mix drugs! Oh and Iron Fist is always the better fighter in a fight against street thugs, even ones that might be enhanced. Oh and Castle might get to kill Diamondback. We'll see.
Edge of the Venomverse is more Old Man Logan with some time passing from his taking Banner Jr to Banner Jr running off because his adopted dad killed his biological one. It's pretty by the numbers, with the exception of having Archangel/Angel being on revenge team and Ashley Barton showing up. I liked this one better than the last two but that's not saying much about the bar being set.
Inhumans Once and Future Kings kicks off with more time about the time before Black Bolt became King and the Unspoken was in charge. It's a good fill in for those interested in such things. Mostly I'd say wait for the limited series to end and collect the entire thing.
Jen Walters continues to hunt in Hulk for her favorite internet chef that's been monsterized while still dealing with her own little rage side. Best part is still having Hellcat to call on (I LOVE Patsy!!) Mostly it's not going forward but it's not sliding backwards either. So we'll see.
Ms Marvel's newest bad guy identity reveal wasn't that shocking so much as disappointing. Not to mention the fact KIND or whatever are being really stupid, especially when they go shoot up a Mosque. Mostly I hope that we get past this storyline and Lockdown NEVER darkens any pages ever. She and her types are stupid.
Rocket continues to figure out the best way to scam people for money while at the same time Deadpool deals with the fact he's kind of responsible for Secret Empire. (Not really but you know shooting Coulson is sticking with him) Mostly it's Deadpool doing his best at trying to be worst while internal monologuing. Oh and Rocket turns his score into a revenge factor.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl continues her exploration of the Savage Lands along with the fact Ultron shows up at the end. (Kind of) It's a funny book but honestly I'm a little tired of the jokes in some ways.
Venom finishes out Eddie's little spat with Stergon who proves once more he needs Sauron if he's going to be better than a C- villain. Oh and Devil Dino gets to sybomiatize for a bit. And Moon Girl proves she's smarter than she looks. Mostly I hope they even out both Brock and Venom's problems. I don't expect it, but I hope it anyway.
Thus endedth our little Non-mutant Non-SE spoilers.
So now we come to our MUTANT Non-SE spoilers!
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Jean Grey continues her training to try to punch the Phoenix in the face. While Psylocke is a decent instructor, she leaves a lot to be desired personally in some ways. (Don't get me wrong, I love Betsy but I would NEVER send a kid in to fight Ninjas.) Also I think Emma Frost is spying on Jean. Also Jean in at death metal concert was fun. Mostly I felt like reading this and then comparing that to Generations...made Generations feel more like it made sense. Weird I know.
Old Man Logan continues to dice up Hulks from his timeline while the Maestro continues to his plan to rain atomic/nuclear death on the Earth. Apparently though he never encountered the Maestro in his timeline. Which is kind of weird but eh. Oh and Hawkeye shows up.
So that's it folks! Until next week!
What really annoyed me was
It just stank of writing yourself into a corner. Not only that, but it opened up more questions for me, like: why not have him puke up the other pieces?
Or .. since the fragment has some power, summon the other pieces? Or puke up the Infinity Stones or something. Gah.
The only real reason given for the fragment not being able to do that seems to be that they can only do a limited amount of things. How limited? Who knows.
It's an OK story that tends to fall into the same trap as most of these Events .. they build and build and then towards the ending things start to fall apart, as if they'd used up their ideas on the pitch and set up and then have to scramble to figure out a way out of their own plot.
I agree with Tony AI about being their for the most ridiculous thing ever.