Bought/Thought, December 23rd, 2009 *SPOILERS*

[TheCorpulent1]

Thor was a big brawl. Lots of good dialogue from Dr. Doom amidst all of that, though. I love the idea of Doom pitting himself against the Asgardians simply because he refuses to believe anyone could be superior to him--even gods. Loki seems to be getting desperate at this point, pulling every string he can possibly find to keep in even the slimmest of good graces with the other Asgardians. I'm curious what his plan is here, since fixing Kelda really doesn't seem like an option, given that she'd just damn him further. We got to see Heimdall use his "magic sight" power again, which I always love to see. Tan's interpretation of it was actually even better than Coipel's, I must say. But the best part was easily the ending. Gillen sure knows how to write a cliffhanger. Next issue: DOOMSTROYER!

Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield? pretty much confirms what many people have suggested: Bucky remains Cap while Steve will almost certainly take over Osborn's position as head of the US' superhuman forces. The last page all but writes it in big neon letters. Still, good introspective look at both Steve and Bucky, their current status quos, and what the mantle of Captain America means to each of them. I like that Bucky's almost deceiving himself about the mantle; he considers it a burden he never wanted to bear, but it's plain to everyone else that he's thrived under it. Luke Cage was actually entertaining to me for once in this issue, too. I chuckled at his jokes.

Guice's art was especially lovely in this issue, shifting back and forth from his usual style (altered a bit to fit the "house style" that Epting established early on with Brubaker for their Cap run) to a more Kirby-inspired style for the WWII flashbacks. Luke Ross does quite well on his half of the issue too, but he has a few awkward poses, which I've found is common in his art. Nothing that looks horrible, but it's not quite up there with Guice's work.

 

[Iron Man]

So far, I've only read Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield? and I loved it. Ten times better than the Reborn mini, in my opinion, and I loved seeing Steve and Bucky working together. I also liked how things were left - I'm looking forward to seeing Bucky continue as Cap and Steve's new role. The President branding the SRA "un-American" was cool too.

However, I am a bit confused by where this leaves Steve. In whatever annual he returned in, he was wearing a black bodysuit, in Invincible Iron Man and on the Siege covershe was back in his costume...I know it seems trivial but what's he wearing now? While this one-shot by itself answered the title question, other sources seem to contradict it a little

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He'll probably wear the costume for Siege and maybe even carry the shield, since it's a special occasion. But I imagine Bucky'll keep the Cap costume for Captain America and other stuff moving forward.

 

[runawayboulder]

Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield? pretty much confirms what many people have suggested: Bucky remains Cap while Steve will almost certainly take over Osborn's position as head of the US' superhuman forces. The last page all but writes it in big neon letters.

Just like I thought. Good Call Marvel!!!t:

 

[Tron Bonne]

So, I guess now it's a countdown until Steve comes back full time?

 

[runawayboulder]

It'll probably be a year or two. Bucky as Cap opens up a ton of doors for great stories. It gives Steve something else to do. Here's hoping for a SHIELD monthly starring Steve Rogers.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I guess, but honestly I feel that's kind of a waste of Steve's character to have him there. And I'm not fond of Steve being head of SHIELD or HAMMER or whatever the hell it is now, doesn't seem like something he fits in. Oh well, I guess it gives Bucky more time before the inevitable

 

[runawayboulder]

You'll never know if it won't work until they try it. The guy led the Avengers for all of those years doing a fantastic job, what's the difference between that and leading SHIELD agents?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Leading the Avengers is a field job where Steve works with people as powerful or more powerful than he is against seemingly unstoppable threats. Leading SHIELD is a desk job where Steve throws people less powerful than he is at unstoppable threats, which inevitably kill them.

Obviously, that's an oversimplification, but the fact of the matter is that SHIELD or any spy/peacekeeping organization is a place where your hands get dirty. That's why Nick Fury was so good at it: He's pretty much made to get his hands dirty and make the morally ambiguous decisions that save the many at the expense of the few. It's also why a lot of people in the Marvel universe consider him an amoral dick. Steve has always had the privilege of keeping his shiny, heroic reputation because he hasn't been in a position where literally every choice is for the lesser of two evils. Logically, leading a big organization like SHIELD will drag Steve through the mud to some extent, which I don't really want to see.

 

[Tron Bonne]

You'll never know if it won't work until they try it. The guy led the Avengers for all of those years doing a fantastic job, what's the difference between that and leading SHIELD agents?

I'm not saying it won't be good or it won't work or anything. I'm sure they'll be fine storywise, but...

Obviously, that's an oversimplification, but the fact of the matter is that SHIELD or any spy/peacekeeping organization is a place where your hands get dirty. That's why Nick Fury was so good at it: He's pretty much made to get his hands dirty and make the morally ambiguous decisions that save the many at the expense of the few. It's also why a lot of people in the Marvel universe consider him an amoral dick. Steve has always had the privilege of keeping his shiny, heroic reputation because he hasn't been in a position where literally every choice is for the lesser of two evils. Logically, leading a big organization like SHIELD will drag Steve through the mud to some extent, which I don't really want to see.

This, plus it just doesn't seem like something Steve would want to do. I don't know, I won't dismiss it or anything, but seems like kind of a wonky place for someone like Cap to be.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Well, I could see it as a place Steve would go if the president asked him to, especially now that he knows the kind of havoc the wrong person in that position can wreak. And he'd willingly shoulder the burden of getting his hands dirty without a second thought if he felt it was necessary or would benefit the greater good. That's why Steve's basically the best hero Marvel has to offer. It'd make sense within the story; I, as a fan of Captain America, just don't really want to see Steve have to deal with the moral ambiguities of the position.

Then again, the next phase of Marvel's line-wide status quo is called "the Heroic Age," so maybe Steve's run as leader of everything will throw him nothing but softballs. And hey, now that Tony's had a go and Steve's going to have one, maybe Thor'll get a chance to run everything someday. How f***ed up would that be?

 

[CaptainCanada]

Leading SHIELD is a desk job

Nick, Tony, and Norman have managed to end up in the field quite a lot. How much desk work being head of SHIELD involves tends to be inversely proportional to how central the head is to the book he's in.

I do think in terms of ushering in the "age of heroes" or whatever, having the modern Sir Galahad in charge is an obvious signal that the feds will be run more heroically. A good idea, temporarily (besides which, I'm guessing that Hickman's book isn't ready to have Fury go back to his old job).

 

[runawayboulder]

If Steve runs SHIELD he can run it however he sees fit. If that means bringing in Maria Hill to handle the desk work while he's a more hands on leader, then he can totally do that.

As far as getting his hands dirty, it would be cool to see him regret getting himself into that spot. I haven't read WWWTS yet, but I'm assuming if he wants the SHIELD job it's to prevent Civil Wars and keeping the Osborn's of the world from getting their grubby hands on power like that ever again. He'll end up fighting a battle on two fronts one against evil and the other against the way things have been done in the past.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

I seem to recall Fury doin' a lotta wet-work when he ran things. Steve'll still get out there in some way.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I dunno, I think the logical successor to Norman Osborn's position would be Nick Fury, not Steve Rogers. I just don't see Steve as the type of person who would want to get his hands dirty like Fury would, and unlike Osborn, Fury won't do it for his own personal gain. He's the perfect person IMO to run the SHRA with Captain America and Iron Man, to ensure that it isn't abused like Osborn and Stark did, and that heroes are properly trained first and foremost.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Part I: Heroes of Myth

Dark Avengers: Ares #3 - I had guessed the "everyone dies" ending ahead of time, given how limited the prospects for any of these guys reappearing would be. Overall, this was a nice little look at Ares' philosophy of war and how he lives his life, and struck a good balance between enjoying the macho bullheadedness of it all and not losing sight of the fact that this is really a pretty nihilistic way of going about things. And I really appreciate all the links to Incredible Hercules.

Incredible Hercules #139 - **** continues to get real here, as the arc hits its midway point. There are some interestin curveballs thrown in here, such as how Hera reacts to the return of Zeus - I was under the impression she already knew he had returned, but, looking back, her reasons for deploying the Harpies don't specify that. I'm guessing that this arc ends with her drinking of the Lethe and becoming a pint-sized companion to Kid Zeus. Elsewhere, Delphyne actually achieves her revenge, though, given the setup, one imagines she'll take it back some way to redeem herself in Cho's eyes (and the fans like her better as a Gorgon). The AoA backup continues to be fine; in a lot of ways, it moves more briskly than the series. My favourite part was the brief followup to Aphrodite and Ares' meeting earlier.

Thor #605 - Basically a big fight scene, so in a lot of ways less impressive than the preceding issue, but it's good action overall, and Gillen knows how to write Dr. Doom's dialogue. I was surprised to see them dangle the idea of resurrecting Kelda, though since it was Loki who suggested it, one imagines it either won't work or will turn out to have been a really bad idea (or maybe he just wants to build back some of his cred with the Asgardians). Billy Tan continues to do a good job on art. My main concern about this story is that, given the iminent DoomWar, Doom really isn't going to sustain any major setback here, when his actions deserve the Maxwell Lord treatment from Thor.

Wonder Woman #39 - The somewhat rushed wrapup to quite a few longstanding plot points; we finally get a bit of resolution to the Ichor, the group that Simone introduced way back in her second story. A lot of this feels rather rushed, honestly; Zeus, for example, more or less completely changes his mind off-screen, showing up to take everything back after vanishing for six months. And the offhand comment that he's going to live with the Ichor is just bizarre. Who's in charge of Olympus now? Nonetheless, it's lovely that things seem to be back to rights in the Amazon kingdom, and the Gargareans are a good addition to the mythos (one assumes they'll be heading back to Thalarion). And the Ares plot still holds interest. The Simone run frustrates me simply because there's so much I like mixed in with things that just don't work; with some tweaks, this could be a defining run.

 

[Dark Victory]

Crossed #8 - A book that's only supposed to deliver with gratuitous deaths and impressive post-apocalyptic settings only delivers on the latter, this issue. Not a necessarily bad one, but not one of the greatest.

Green Lantern #49 - A suprising somewhat mixed issue from Geoff Johns. Sadly, Mahnke's art is absent this issue and the replacement's work is significantly inferior. Like Crossed #8, not anything to really write home about.

Amazing Spider-Man #616 - Another solid issue from Van Lente. While it's definitely not great, it's a hell of a lot better than the last few that started off the Gauntlet; hopefully we can finally get the ball rolling here. Great art by Pulido, too...

Supergod #2 - Another great issue from Warren Ellis and Avatar that adds a twist to the Superhero mythos. Need I say more?

 

[THANOSRULES]

Wasnt that a standard Shield uniform Steve was wearing while observing Marvel Boy? I thought it was just dark and looked black.

 

[imdaly]

So Bucky will wield the shield while Steve will wield the S.H.I.E.L.D.?

 

[bryanss3]

I bet they were laughing their asses of at the Marvel office making jokes like that

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Avengers: The Initiative was good. I liked the way Taskmaster's story sort of weaved around the Siege: The Cabal one-shot so that the story of the one-shot basically only occupied a panel or two in this issue. That's a better way to do a tie-in as opposed to repeating a lot of the same events from a different perspective or whatever. I like how Taskmaster is portrayed, as well. I thought it was a bit uncharacteristic for Taskie to even want to be in the big leagues, effectively making himself a giant target, when he's always been content with making a quick buck on the sidelines while others get their asses kicked trying to take down the Avengers or other big guns. Gage handled that nicely with Taskmaster having cold feet after his 'fight' with Doom and Osborn basically coercing him back into line. Taskie's talk with Constrictor and Constrictor's own mirror perspective, where he's actively trying to raise himself up to true heroism while Taskmaster's letting himself sink into true villainy, was handled really well; it's also mirrored to some extent with Tigra, Justice, and Donyell's subplots.

Sandoval's art is lovely as always, although my one nitpick with it is his wonky idea of putting afros on anyone who has more hair than a buzzcut.

Still, good issue all around about characters who've found themselves stuck in bad places with opportunities for change and an interesting look at how each of them seize those opportunities for good or ill. Much subtler and deeper character work than most other superhero comics on the shelves today.

 

[Red]

So REBORN is now pointless? Why even bother reviving Steve if Bucky's staying in the costume? I mean don't get me wrong, I was in the 'Keep Steve Dead, Keep Bucky Cap' camp but I can't see the reasoning for bringing Steve back now

 

[CaptainCanada]

Part II: The Mortals

Captain America: Who Will Wield The Shield? - A bunch of people have been complaining about the preview page to this, but it's a single sentence and provides only the slimmest explanation (and one that anyone would have guessed), so I don't see the big deal there. Compared to the publication time of the book itself, it seems a rather minor sin. Anyhoo, I wasn't expecting this to shake down like it did, so it managed to surprise me. Brubaker just writes relationships between characters well, romantic and otherwise. I'm really looking forward to see how Steve and Bucky work together in the future, and how things go with the ladies in their lives.

Criminal: The Sinners #3 - The meaning of the subtitle becomes more and more clear here, though exactly why the priest and his little crew are doing this remains to be seen. If it's an attempt to clean up the town, that's an interesting angle to take, given that, really, the protagonist and everyone he knows is scum and pretty much deserves it (though Tracy's more conflicted, I suppose). Continues to be another good little crime story from the ever-reliable creative team; really, you know what you're getting when you buy an issue of Criminal. Though the story I really want to see some day is a followup with Greta's little daughter working in the Undertow.

Fantastic Four #577 - After the bizarrely gratuitous slaughterfest of the last issue, Hickman returns more to form, writing an enjoyable little family-focused story, and including some big teasers for future story developments in the series. Hickman does a good job of, like Millar, incorporating the kids into the story, though he's more interested in Franklin than Millar was. I can't imagine that Franklin's returning powers will stick, of course; way too much power. But one imagines it will be interesting to watch what happens. Neil Edwards' art feels like a Hitch imitation, and some parts look really good; others are a bit on the wonky side.

Green Lantern #49 - Doug Mahnke gets swapped out temporarily for Ed Benes, which is a pretty big step down, but otherwise an okay issue. The focus goes back to John Stewart in the ruins of Xanshi; he's the blandest GL in a lot of ways (put he gets points from people for being a prominent visible minority), and this story follows the same basic hero-vs.-Black Lantern pattern we've seen play out several times before. Elsewhere there's a backup with BL-Jean expositing to Ray and Mera about the background of the conflict; it's a rather familiar setup, the original void wants to reclaim the universe (Incredible Hercules is going to be doing the same thing soon, in fact). Nice art by Jerry Ordway.

Uncanny X-Men #519 - the subplot with the Void sliver gets wrapped up, making nice use of a plot device introduced about twelve issues ago. For whatever reason, this issue has a Land cover despite being drawn by Dodson, which seems like it would be a turnoff. Mostly well-written stuff, including some good characterization for Professor X (and he and Scott seem to be back to being on good terms, which is nice). The subplot with Magneto is also interesting; nice to see he's not going to be a complete doormat (nor Namor, for that matter).

 

[Red]

BLACKEST KNIGHT #6 was either mind boggingly awesome or pant crapping crappness. I enjoyed the first half in [BLACKOUT]particular Barry's method of losing the Black Rings but whole idea of 'Deputy Lanterns' came completely out of left field and screamed deus ex machina. [/BLACKOUT] On the bright side Reis's art is something to behold, the amount of detail the dude puts into his panel's is staggering, even John's more out there ideas are still pretty.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Northlanders #23: I'm loving this eight-part story, The Plague Widow. In a town on the Volga, they've closed off their doors and banned everyone to the cold of winter who showed signs of the Plague...only to now be trapped within their walls, falling short on supplies. Suddenly, three Viking-style ships appear, frozen in the ice, and many of the people within decide to take their chances and loot the plague-ridden ships. It's a bad choice, as rising from ships are many zombie-like, plague ridden warriors.

This is the best of all the stories to come from Northlanders yet. The central focus in on "the Plague Widow" and her daughter; but, even though this issue doesn't involve them much, they are still very much in danger from both the freezing cold and the crazed warriors within those ships. (And, from those within the walls, too.)

Batman - Arkham Asylum Special: This comic came out last week; but, I left it in my box for yesterday. It's four reprints from Showcase '95 #11, Batman Chronicles #3, Batman #586, and Robin #85. None of the stories are particularily great or significant; and, two of them really don't involve Arkham Asylum. At $5.99, I would recommend pretty much everyone to skip it, and pick up the new 3-issue Arkham Asylum mini that DC is currently putting out instead.

Thor #605: Wow! What a fantastic issue, one of the best that I've read of Thor in ages. Doom is Classic Doom! When I think of all the awful Doom vs. Fantastic Four stories I've read in the last decade, I've longed for this kind of action. And, I also think of when I was first reading comics in the 80's, and a classic supervillian would clash with a different superhero, kind of like with the classic Iron Man #149 and #150 story, where Doom and Iron Man fought.

In this issue, Doom's plot is revealed, and we get plenty of action and a good number of scenes that go straight to the heart. Two that really stuck with me is when Doom throws Kelda over the walls of Castle Doom, and the two page scene of Balder fighting Doom's rebuilt asgardians, remembering each of them as they were before. This issue is a 10 out of 10!

Captain America - Who Will Wield The Shield? #1: This issue begins with a sort-of apology, saying "Please Note: The following story takes place AFTER the events of Captain America: Reborn #6! Sorry, Folks!" I somehow think that "sorry" just won't cut it with many readers, especially since the recap page gives away the ending to Reborn. (Not that it was that big of a mystery...we all know how it was going to end....but, they could have left it out just the same.) Yes, I understand people's anger...and, have to admit, this might be the biggest F-Up by Marvel ever. I don't mind that we saw Cap appear in other books; because, for me, I think it just adds to the interest by others to find out how he returns. But, to release a book that screams "The Stunning Aftermath Of Captain America Reborn" on it's cover....that's a bit different. Thankfully, it's not the story that makes us particularily angry, but the release of the books that is upsetting the reader. Cap fans will still be around, unlike the old fans of Spider-Man who still haven't come back.

This is a good issue, only marred by some of the art. (Why does Sharon have such an old school hair-do? And, I don't think I've ever seen Bucky look so different.) Those who want Bucky to still remain as Cap will be happy; and, we get the indication that Steve will still be around in some capacity, especially with the events of Siege coming up. My favorite part, though, was the short scene where Luke Cage was giving a few smart-alec remarks.