Bought/Thought April 1st - SPOILERS

[Blader5489]

Am I the only one disappointed by War of Kings so far?

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Invincible Iron Man #12

Well, its not "Haunted" by the Knaufs, but "World's Most Wanted" is still shaping up to be in my top five Iron Man stories.

I'm a little sleepy so I won't go into too much detail here, but Tony vs. Namor was short but sweet, with a good sense of rivalry between the pair permeating the conflict.

A few design issues not withstanding I like Pepper's new suit and her debut really helped to endear me to the idea. Although I didn't like how she just got arrested like a common criminal. No weapons not withstanding she should have been able to just blast out of there.

Oh and I'm ****ing stoked about the Controller being back in an Iron Man comic.

Irredeemable #1

Not quite sure what to make of all this yet. Its an intriguing first issue and the opening pages are brutal without remorse. Unfortunately it did start lost me a little bit near the end, when the rest of the heroes popped up and I had no idea who anyone of them were, which isn't a great sign.

Still, all things considered Waid is a great writer so I'm naturally interested in seeing what he's got up his sleeves.

 

[Dread]

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #12: Originally selling out at my LCS, I had to wait a day to get my copy; I guess more people wanted to see Namor wrestle with Iron Man more than some shops expected. The story continues to be that Dark Reign has made this book at least seven shades better than it was before, adding more suspence and pressure for the characters, which right now are Potts, Hill, and Stark, all on their own quests.

Pepper Potts has recently gotten her own "Iron Woman" armor in Silver Centuarian colors, and is off saving some people in Washington state from an earthquake with her JARVIS movie inspired AI alongside her. For some reason Stark designed the armor with seemingly no weapons; all of the gadgets are defensive or for rescue only (although any armor that boosts strength can provide added punching/kicking power, although Potts isn't a fighter). Osborn uses a Skrull as an excuse to shoot down a passenger jet to test Potts' armor. She manages to save the plane, but is arrested by HAMMER authorities. Maria Hill is investigating Futurepham for Stark, and winds up stumbling onto one of Controller's operations, using hundreds of missing people as slaves and fuel. She amazingly puts up zero resistance and is controlled very quickly. I expected her to at least get a shot off.

Larroca's design of Potts' armor is interesting; good for most of the armor, although the chin of her helmet is a bit too pointy and the "frown" on the mask looks unintentionally hilarious, like Stark wanted her to look like a space librarian.

The main action is Namor being sicced on Stark under Osborn's behest. Finding Stark in one of his underwater laboratories trying to reconfigure his armor without the Extremis, and realizing how it had enhanced his brainpower for so long (Stark compares it to going back to 2001). Namor storms the lab with some Atlantian grunts but the fight gets personal very quickly. The situation has forced Stark to go from a man always in charge and always getting what he wants to a "cut and run" specialist, doing whatever he can to survive the day, much less be a "futurist". While this sort of thing has happened to Stark in the past, it has been a few years, and Fraction is handling it well.

Pummeled to crap by Namor despite his HEROES RETURN era armor, Stark is reduced to stunning Namor by using the lab's waste to pollute the water he is in; it makes sense, but "beating a hero with pollution" reminds me too much of CAPTAIN PLANET, a hero who fainted in the presence of Hitler and isn't even as cool as his mullet was (or wasn't). While Namor didn't want to outright kill Stark if he could avoid it, he did get aggressive in combat and it is odd seeing him the stooge of Green Goblin in a suit, basically. Still, that is only Fraction playing with the cogs he has inherited. The issue ends with Osborn dealing with Hood & Madame Masque to sic Iron Man's old enemies on him to flush him out.

In many ways, Osborn is just doing to Stark and his allies what Stark did during CIVIL WAR. Stark was more than willing to crush civil liberties during CW, and his own "cape-killer" grunts seemed all too eager to slaughter heroes if given the chance. He deputized a squad of criminals as grunts, including Osborn himself. The difference is that Osborn makes a better foil for the same plot, and his rise to power is more absurd than Mop-Man's origin. Still, Stark-on-the-run is better than Supervillain Stark, and is essential to trying to redeem the character somewhat. Larroca's art is what you would expect, overall solid even if relying too much on the colorist at points. I thought this was another action-packed issue that really sold the idea of how vicious, cruel, and borderline insane Norman Osborn is and the stakes that are involved, and that are against Tony. The title just didn't have the same drama, the same kinetic pace, the same suspense or cliffhangers before DARK REIGN. While it may not have helped every title, it has helped this one in spades. Anyone who skipped the first 7 or so issues, I encourage you to look up the WORLD'S MOST WANTED issues and give it another shot.

WAR OF KINGS #2: The second issue of Abnett & Lanning's crossover space event (just call it "ANNIHILATION 3" or ANNIHILATION: VULCAN) is more of a slower, set-up issue than the debut, which is a bit standard for event mini's. There is some action towards the end of the issue, but it is mostly the Starjammers and the Inhumans destroying one of Vulcan's armadas, and the deaths of nameless grunts aren't the same. Despite my comic lore, I never knew that Havok could actually breathe in space when fully charged. Knowing, after all, is half the battle.

Gladiator turns over the captured Lilandra to Vulcan, and doing his "I hate what I must do for my corrupt leader, but I am loyal to the cushion of the empire's chair so I must do it" schtick that he has been doing since D'Ken was in charge in the 70's and this time it seems obvious that Gladiator may turn on the Shi'ar, to the point where some readers may just want him to get on with it already, especially as Xenith can easily replace him on the Guard. Vulcan is blowing up Kree off-planets with Nega-Bombs and cackling in glee about it, and this is why WAR OF KINGS works better for him with me. When Brubaker & Yost were going about their two year X-Men story trying to make Vulcan a character, much less an almost sympathetic one, they failed miserably. But Vulcan in KINGBREAKER or WAR OF KINGS, who is basically Caligula with super-powers, a sadist tyrant without one redeeming quality other than to give some hero a righteous kill, he works far, far better. Trying to humanize him is akin to trying to make M. Bison sympathetic. No, he is a villain best left to revel in his evilness and privode a fist-pumping triumph for the hero at the climax.

The Kree world of Hala, however, is undergoing riots as the Kree are blaming the Inhumans for the current strife on the empire, and ironically they are correct; the Inhumans blew up a Shi'ar vessal in the prologue, giving Vulcan all the excuse he needed even before sheltering Lilandea and the 'Jammers. The Inhumans meet at the roundtable and discuss options; Gorgan wants bloody war, while Medusa claims that their long term goals don't support a war. Karnak, however, suggests a quick, surgical strike to end the war virtually before it begins. Triton is bemused by the "human" idea of a "war to end war", which they have never accomplished despite atomic bombs. It also turns out that Ronan, thankfully, is too important to die at the hands of one of the least known members of the Imperial Guard (the giant's name is Titan, but that doesn't much matter), and is merely mortally wounded. Abnett & Lanning continue the ANNIHILATION tradition of actually getting some character beats from Ronan, who before ANNIHILATION was a block of Kree wood, basically. While Lorna sees the attack as a sign of Crystal not marrying Ronan, the former Kree dictator claims he has faith in the Inhumans to not fail. Crystal ventures outside and manages to quell some of the riots with acts of mercy, thus winning over the masses for the moment. This is also good; too often alien civilizations are only shown from the POV of the ruling class, and the masses are just invisible. That has been what has held the Shi'ar back for most of their history.

Maximus, meanwhile, has constructed a new class of Sentry robots outfitted with their Black Bolt empowered sonic technology, and they agree to help the Starjammers rescue Lilandra. Ch'od has gotten an alien skin graft to heal his missing arm but complains that he would have "better off with a hook" (to those curious, Gorgan just has a broken leg and isn't a cyborg now, either). Havok and Polaris blast a hole for Triton to lead his team of Inhumans into a Shi'ar attack vessal, kill everyone, and figure out where Lilandra has been taken to. Although to be fair, her being taken straight to Vulcan's castle isn't exactly a Batman-level deduction, but I suppose since Havok is aware of one of Vulcan's prison planets, it was a fair reason to need intel.

In the final page, Vulcan has an amusing exchange with his advisor over the terminology of "losing" a fleet and orders Lilandra's immediate execution at his own hands. Paul Pelletier's art is terrific throughout the issue and especially in Lilandra's final page where she, as a female character, has to somehow pose so we can see her breasts and rear in one shot (while manacled, no less). While I and most others know or assume that Lilandra won't be killed, I honestly wouldn't mind it. She boring, and has been boring for the longest time. While that may make her a nice romantic match for the equally boring Xavier, but she takes it to an extreme, going through nearly every space queen cliche that is possible. Part of me also wonders if Gladiator is going to actually get on with his betrayal story by defending her. While boring, she has been the sane meat in the Psychopath Sandwich of the last two Shi'ar monarchs (D'Ken and Vulcan).

I did like how Crystal was comparing Havok and Vulcan to good and evil, especially as it remains by concern that Havok NEEDS to be the one who gets the kill-shot on Vulcan. It would be his "THIS IS FOR THE NOVA CORPS!" moment, and Havok needs it desperately if he is ever going to rise above B-List. All of the emotional payoff with Vulcan is with him (or Polaris I guess). Havok's been a side character to the Inhumans these first two issues, but that could change. KINGBREAKER was the best selling space-book during most of it's run, so the interest in the audience is in the Starjammers right now. Still, I have faith that Abnett & Lanning have improved since ANNIHILATION CONQUEST and know to focus on the charismatic characters they have this time around (Adam Warlock and Phyla Vell weren't it, hence why they work as "part of the team" better on GOTG). This was a middling issue, but ANNIHILATION's second half was much more intense than it's first. This is still "The" event from Marvel for me, and I am very interested in how the plots of the side ongoings and minis, as well as the core mini, will converge. This time, ALL of the event issues are being written by Abnett & Lanning, so this time more than ever, WAR OF KINGS is their baby, and if it succeeds or underwhelms, it will all be on them. NOVA and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY have been terrific, although they have yet to convince me why shoehorning Darkhawk on the side is essential.

Vulcan and the Guard make for good foils, and this time around Abnett & Lanning have a better cast of heroes, and more control over every aspect of the event; I'm rooting for this event, and so far while it's not "epic", I have much more faith in it than I would in Bendis' DARK REIGN CLUSTER**** CLIMAX MINI that is inevitable.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS :FINALS #3: Jeff Parker & Roger Cruz's farewell mini to the series they launched (which has two Wolverine spin-off's and will have a sequel, UNCANNY X-MEN FIRST CLASS) later in the year, and while it is still more fun than the X-Men have been in ages, it does suffer from the lack of focus from the first two years of stories.

Basically, this mini is trying to have a sense of culmination, but that is impossible considering that most of FIRST CLASS, from mini to ongoing, was basically "Classic X-Men Team Up" and rarely was about the actual X-Men. There were odd issues that were, but 95% of them just had the team meeting the hero of the month and fighting something. While it was fun, claiming something deeper now almost seems like cheating.

Investigating a Cerebro reading in Mad Thinker's abandoned lab from a past issue, the X-Men come across some constructs that remind them of Magneto. They manage to beat them, with the highlight being Iceman's criticism of his own ice tactics. But honestly the whole junkyard scene is fun, and that is basically what I want out of this series, and what it delivered. The X-Men without the bleak angst overkill. Not every story has to be a wrist-slitting torture-factory, but with most X-Men stories, they are. Not here, and that was appreciated. Heading back to the Mansion, the Juggernaut seemingly attacks after Xavier returns, and Jean is injured, landed in a concussion.

The issue is made more confusing than it has to be by having the male X-Men, from what I presume is the next issue, collectively enter their memories of the Juggernaut event to find clues, which makes this issue a bit confusing. The answer is that their vague threats have been caused by Jean for the last few issues, not Magneto or Juggernaut. It probably ties into the first issue when they were in Jean's dreams and should make more sense later, but now it seemed a bit choppy.

The Coover back-up strip concludes with Jean & Cyke having a date where Man-Thing shows them visions of the future, of the "new" X-Men, the Champions, and Beast becoming an Avenger. Barring the fact that Man-Thing showed up after the X-Men were either in reprints or relaunched (same with Machine Man), the story had a bit of a bittersweet ending with Jean assuming their future will be happy, and with the ones they love. Instead, of course, there would only come misery and death.

As always, it is hard to know what audience this series seeks; lots of in-jokes and references to old school fans, but more goofiness to appeal to newer ones. Still, I buy this for "fun" X-Men, and because of Jeff Parker's talent. I will be more partisan when he is gone for the sequel series.

 

[Dread]

Am I the only one disappointed by War of Kings so far?

Considering you didn't like CONQUEST, I'm not surprised that you are disappointed so far.

 

[iloveclones]

Am I the only one disappointed by War of Kings so far?

I have to admit, although I've loved all the other cosmic stories since Annhilation, I haven't been feeling this one. I think it's because it kicked off in the disappointing X-mini, by the time the main story rolled around, I just skimmed through it. I'll have to read it again, because I like all the parties involved.

 

[Ikaris-Eternal]

Amazing Spider-Man 290: one of my favorite comic books as a kid was the issue in which Spidey has the black costume/symbiote removed by Reed Richards - then has to get home wearing a spare fantastic four suit and a paper sack with eye holes cut out...if I'm not mistaken, the Torch pins a "Kick Me" sign on his back as well.

my favorite line: "Is this some kind of superhero initiation?"

i was reminded of that issue throughout reading the current Spidey for obvious reasons, and I was very pleased. For one, the dialogue is just perfect, from Reed and Pete's geekspeak to Spidey and Torch's good-natured ribbing at first and their spat at the end.

Also, The spidey braintrust promised they would deal with the OMD identity thing, and post-Character Assassination, it appears they're doing just that. This is the first time since BND began that someone mentions remembering spidey's id, and it was much more than a mention.

favorite line: "As the text states, ever must we love his blue eyes"

 

[Red]

I am the only one left wondering where Nova and the GOTG fit into War of Kings?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The Nova Corps was flying off to intervene in the war at the end of Nova's most recent issue, so it's pretty obvious how they'll fit in. The Guardians are a little trickier, since they're still fragmented. I imagine Rocket's new Guardians squad and Star-Lord, at least, will try to stop the war and/or fight on the Kree/Inhumans side. No idea how Adam Warlock and Gamora or Phyla, Moondragon, and Drax will fit.

And I'm enjoying the crap out of War of Kings. Annihilation succeeded partly because it was constant balls-to-the-wall action and you really got a sense that no one was safe and anything could happen. Conquest was a little more low-key than that, since it was all guerilla warfare against a seemingly unstoppable opponent, so the squads were smaller and the strikes were more surgical. War of Kings, however, brings everything back up to the truly epic scope of a huge war story. The Shi'ar struck at the Kree homeworld right off the bat, and now the Kree have retaliated by completely wiping out an entire arm of the Shi'ar fleet. WoK is action writ large on the cosmic stage again, which I love to see.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Can you clarify where in the issue asks Spidey about his identity?

Because when I read it, Reed merely mentions to Spdier-Man that he would cover his time with a cheque made out to "cash" because he knows how strongly Spidey feels about protecting his identity, even to the FF.

At no point in the issue does Reed "question" Spidey about his identity, so could you please clarify your statement? Maybe I'm reading it wrong...

I was actually talking to a friend about this earlier and I got this wrong, it was johnny that was talking but I thought it was reed when they first approached him. My mistake.

 

[moraldeficiency]

I have to admit, although I've loved all the other cosmic stories since Annhilation, I haven't been feeling this one. I think it's because it kicked off in the disappointing X-mini, by the time the main story rolled around, I just skimmed through it. I'll have to read it again, because I like all the parties involved.

If I was basing of the X-Men it would kinda suck but the main story so far has been excellent. Reread, and keep that stuff out of your mind and I think you'll turn around on this.

 

[moraldeficiency]

The Nova Corps was flying off to intervene in the war at the end of Nova's most recent issue, so it's pretty obvious how they'll fit in. The Guardians are a little trickier, since they're still fragmented. I imagine Rocket's new Guardians squad and Star-Lord, at least, will try to stop the war and/or fight on the Kree/Inhumans side. No idea how Adam Warlock and Gamora or Phyla, Moondragon, and Drax will fit.

And I'm enjoying the crap out of War of Kings. Annihilation succeeded partly because it was constant balls-to-the-wall action and you really got a sense that no one was safe and anything could happen. Conquest was a little more low-key than that, since it was all guerilla warfare against a seemingly unstoppable opponent, so the squads were smaller and the strikes were more surgical. War of Kings, however, brings everything back up to the truly epic scope of a huge war story. The Shi'ar struck at the Kree homeworld right off the bat, and now the Kree have retaliated by completely wiping out an entire arm of the Shi'ar fleet. WoK is action writ large on the cosmic stage again, which I love to see.

I love how dna gave those interviews to cbr about threat levels and when they were talking about how to beat gladiator all they kept saying was the only way is to run or throw rocket raccoon at him.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20102

BLACK BISHOP: GLADIATOR

Emperor Vulcan has a variety of weapons at his disposal, from mammoth starships to the latest in high tech munitions. But the most fearsome weapon in the Emperor’s arsenal is Gladiator, the leader of the Shi’Ar Imperial Guard. “You’d have to look a long way to find anyone who’d even have a chance of taking him down,” DnA said. “Vulcan? Maybe, but they’re on the same side. Black Bolt? Possibly, under the right conditions. Personally, our money’s on Rocket Raccoon. What makes Gladiator really dangerous isn’t the fact that he can attack you at light speed, punch you so hard your spleen ends up in another continuum, and then roast your soul with his eye beams. What makes him really dangerous is that he is totally, totally loyal. There is no reasoning with him.”

However, an encounter with Gladiator doesn’t necessarily have to end up in death or defeat. Abnett & Lanning offered up a few options for characters who encounter Gladiator on the battlefield: “Hide. Disguise themselves as inert rocks. Or take our advice and send for Rocket Raccoon.”

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I didn't think Kingbreaker was bad, personally. But I like Havok and Polaris' non-crazy, non-b****iness was a pleasant surprise to me.

 

[moraldeficiency]

I just didn't see much of a point and personally I like both characters in the main series more.

"that'll teach him for marrying you"
^priceless

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh, yeah. I suppose springing the Starjammers from jail could've just been covered in a page or two of the WoK series.

 

[moraldeficiency]

what's funny is in two issues with minimal dialogue or action they've convinced me that crystal and ronin would make an awesome couple. how the **** did they pull that off?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I think it was the scene with Ronan and the flowers.

 

[moraldeficiency]

it was that and ronin's speech to crystal followed by her speech to the people. I have this feeling that blackbolt and medusa might not be in charge at the end of this series. Medusa is kinda a ***** so far and seems a bit jealous and dismissive of crystal and the fact the people seem to like her.

Hey what's ahura been up too?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, it definitely seems like they're setting Crystal up as a better queen than Medusa, who's all clouded by bitterness and revenge. Medusa seemed jealous when she heard of Crystal earning the respect of the people, too.

Ahura?

 

[moraldeficiency]

I could see a big inhuman change up coming here.

BB's son with the evil eye of death. Last I saw of him maximus had luna take his blockers off in Silent War.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh, I don't know. Never even heard of him.

I get the feeling the Inhumans will leave the Kree but they'll leave Crystal and Ronan in charge.

 

[moraldeficiency]

I definately get that feeling too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahura_(comics)

Ahura is the son of Black Bolt and Medusa of the Inhumans. He was conceived without permission of the Genetics Council. Having met with unbearable resistance by the Council and her own husband, Medusa sneaked away to earth with a group of friends and allies. Medusa would give birth in an out of the way house, the area guarded and cleared of pollutants by the powers of the group.

His birth cry demonstrated his father's devastating power, but this evolved into a psionic "evil eye" power that can cause death.

He was taken by the Council and sent to earth. His spacecraft crashed and he was taken in by a childless couple and named "Pope". He grew unnaturally quickly and it was in this period that his "evil eye" power replaced his vocal powers. He was put in danger after the local townspeople mistakenly believed that he had malicously killed a goat with his powers. Gorgon, Karnak, Daredevil, Brandy Ash and Number Nine came to rescue him, though their goodwill mission was interrupted by the demonic Blackheart. The entire group was taken to Hell itself. Although Brandy is murdered by demonic forces in the escape, Ahura is able to see Brandy's spirit form.

Back on the moon, he was taken by the Genetic Council for the leader's own purposes. With the help of his family, he was able to overcome the corrupt Chief Justice who had been stealing his power.

His existence seems overlooked in the Son of M series: Crystal demands the Inhumans go to Earth and retrieve her daughter, Luna. Medusa and Black Bolt refuse to intervene, to which Crystal bitterly retorts they would understand if they had children. Medusa then looks upon Crystal silently with contempt.

However, Silent War revealed that Ahura has been locked away for years because he is afflicted with the same madness as his uncle, Maximus. As his powers grew, so did his insanity. The Genetic Council of Attilan deemed him too dangerous and he was taken to the Pacifiers to suppress his powers. They were unable to treat his mental illness. Black Bolt forbade Medusa to see him but she visits him twice. The first time, Ahura chastised her for allowing this to happen to him. On Medusa's second (and most recent) visit, it is revealed that years with the Pacifiers have taken away Ahura's anger and violence, but left him in an oversedated state. Medusa than asked permission of Black Bolt to use Luna to attempt to heal his mind, but he flatly refused.

Maximus frees Ahura and instructs Luna to remove his mental blocks as she did on Maximus.

When it came to the Secret Invasion, Ahura was later revealed to have been captured by the Skrulls who replaced the boy by a Skrull agent. Eventually the Skrull-Ahura was defeated by Maximus. He is eventually rescued by the other Inhumans.

 

[iloveclones]

If I was basing of the X-Men it would kinda suck but the main story so far has been excellent. Reread, and keep that stuff out of your mind and I think you'll turn around on this.

Yeah. It probably doesn't help that I'm not a big fan of the Inhumans. I keep waiting for one of them to act like Prince Harry or something (actually, PH is probably the only interesting one of the whole group.)

 

[iloveclones]

what's funny is in two issues with minimal dialogue or action they've convinced me that crystal and ronin would make an awesome couple. how the **** did they pull that off?

It took me a while to figure out what you meant. I was wondering why the hell Clint was taking off time trying to re-bag Bobbi to go after Crystal. In space. (That would be some real dedication to being a man-****.)

 

[moraldeficiency]

I seem to do that a lot, just note clint barton is and always will be hawkeye to me.

But that's why you should love this, cause the inhumans with a few minor exceptions (crystal, triton and oddly maximus) are being portrayed as total and completely ***** the way royals are. This will have a big shake up later.

I'd love to see maximus throw down with gladiator or vulcan.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Karnak needs to kick more ass.