Bought/Thought May 26th, 2010 *Spoilers*

[Tron Bonne]

I'll begin by being somewhat blunt and saying that I took away the same feeling about The Return of Bruce Wayne #2 as I did the debut issue; overall, a pretty lackluster issue with some interesting elements. Unfortunately, the issue lacks the great art of Chris Sprouse. Irving isn't bad by any means, and his stuff does set the mood very well, but the faces, my God, the faces; I'd swear that every character in this book is looking at the Ark of the Covenant opening.

This issue starts off right as the last issue ended. Bruce is now in colonial Gotham fighting off some creature. He's taken in by a pagan woman in the woods who dresses him like a witch hunter who was killed. Wayne takes the identity and does some witch hunting. He doesn't seem all that into it however, looking for more practical means of wrong doing in Gotham. This, of course, leads to some tension with local men who are gung-ho on taking down the devil. Before long, Bruce comes to remember how he came here, and after questioning his pagan mistress, finds himself face to face with the critter he rode in on. This unfortunately leads to Annie (formerly mentioned pagan mistress) being hung and the legend of Mordecai (BatPilgrim's id for this era) birthed. The finale of the issue sees Annie hanging, but not before putting a curse upon Nathienal Wayne and all his kin, until the end of time mind you, and we see Bruce time trip onto a beach with Blackbeard the Pirate, hoping this leap will be his last (Okay, last time I use the joke, promise).

Unfortunately, there's little in the way of what some were expecting. There's no mention of Thomas Wayne for this time period, aka Dr. Hurt, or his deal with the devil or becoming the devil or whatever it is the guy/thing does. At least not that we know, but I'm sure this will have some type of tie to that. There's not much of anything with this storyline I felt, like the first issue, it feels like it goes by too quickly to grip anything.

The real interesting part of this issue comes from the time traveling group after Bruce. We see them at the Vanishing Point looking for Bruce's 'Omega Trail' to pinpoint his location. The 64th Century Archivist helping them with the cosmic map ends up being Bruce. He promptly shatters their time orb and asks them to trust him, but Superman shouts that Darkseid bobby-trapped Bruce and when he gets to the 21st Century, well, like said in the first issue, everyone dies. Oh, silly Superman, don't you know Batman plans for everything? I'm sure he already figured it out ages ago. Or maybe not, we'll see. Another mystery element introduced worth mention is our lovely pagan madame had a necklace with the iconic emblems of Wonder Woman and Superman. Perhaps Bruce drawing these figures in the cave had an actual effect on time, or maybe it's some type of hint from someone (Bruce himself, perhaps) to follow.

Like the first issue, this felt mostly unsatisfying from a story perspective. The mystery elements will see me to the end, I'm sure, but this mini has failed to impress with these opening issues. Also can't help but feel Morrison wastes some potential, I think a cameo in some form of Etrigan the Demon in this time would work great since Witchcraft and Demon dealing are associated with it. Despite lackluster feeling towards the story the what, how, and why to Bruce's bobby-trapping certainly peaks attention and interest, leaving enough intrigue to push your interest of the series.

With BatPirate coming up, hopefully we'll be up for some swashbuckling fun next issue. I'm hoping this improves a little, but I have a feeling this series will end up a prime example of a story written for trades.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

Only read Secret Avengers #1 so far, and it's off to a great start. Brubaker has Cap's fully assembled team hit the ground running, as everyone is introduced and doing things as a unit. It reminded me of when Bendis had Cap making the rounds in the first issues of New Avengers gathering his team then, except Brubaker manages the same feat in a few pages instead of a few issues. Nice. I was on the fence at first with the whole Avengers strike team aspect, but I like what Bru is up to here. Stoping threats before they get too big. Proactive.

Cap's team has re-stolen some kinda Serpent Crown thing from a Roxxon Senior VP. How he got it to begin with is untold, and they're immediately being tailed by the Serpent Society. Apperantly, there are 2 Crowns, and our man Nova stumbles upon the 2nd Crown on Mars. Nova has a funny exchange with Worldwide and reveals he (along with Moon Knight) are only gonna help out Steve on an "On Call" basis, which makes sense. He quickly becomes seduced by the Serpent Crown and his recon mission becomes Rescue Mission for the Secret Avengers and they all head off to Mars. Except Sharon Carter, who is Steve's 2nd in command, and he tells her to keep Victoria Hand and Maria Hill under control. And I don't know who the Serpent Society is, but they sneak aboard Sharon's Quinjet or whatever, and it appears NICK FURY is leading the Society and he promptly knocks her out. To be contined...

Now I'm sure it's not really Nick. Maybe a clone or an evil twin or doppleganger or something, but he talks like Fury and even has an eyepatch, so we'll see, I guess.

Great start. Deodato's art looks great. Better start than Bendy's Avengers, as Brubaker just seems to write good stories with no nonsense. As I said before, I was on the fence about the Secret Avengers, but Bru's got me so far. Can't wait to see where this goes.

 

[Watchman]

Unfortunately, there's little in the way of what some were expecting. There's no mention of Thomas Wayne for this time period, aka Dr. Hurt, or his deal with the devil or becoming the devil or whatever it is the guy/thing does. At least not that we know, but I'm sure this will have some type of tie to that. There's not much of anything with this storyline I felt, like the first issue, it feels like it goes by too quickly to grip anything.

But that Thomas Wayne wasn't even alive yet. I believe he started his cult around the 1790's.

I picked up the Thunderbolts for the first time since Ellis left on a whim and found myself really enjoying. Really fun with an interesting cast and Man-Thing! t:

Nice surprise at the end with [BLACKOUT]Zemo[/BLACKOUT] showing up but I bet it's a fake out.

 

[bored]

Only read Secret Avengers #1 so far, and it's off to a great start. Brubaker has Cap's fully assembled team hit the ground running, as everyone is introduced and doing things as a unit. It reminded me of when Bendis had Cap making the rounds in the first issues of New Avengers gathering his team then, except Brubaker manages the same feat in a few pages instead of a few issues. Nice. I was on the fence at first with the whole Avengers strike team aspect, but I like what Bru is up to here. Stoping threats before they get too big. Proactive.

Cap's team has re-stolen some kinda Serpent Crown thing from a Roxxon Senior VP. How he got it to begin with is untold, and they're immediately being tailed by the Serpent Society. Apperantly, there are 2 Crowns, and our man Nova stumbles upon the 2nd Crown on Mars. Nova has a funny exchange with Worldwide and reveals he (along with Moon Knight) are only gonna help out Steve on an "On Call" basis, which makes sense. He quickly becomes seduced by the Serpent Crown and his recon mission becomes Rescue Mission for the Secret Avengers and they all head off to Mars. Except Sharon Carter, who is Steve's 2nd in command, and he tells her to keep Victoria Hand and Maria Hill under control. And I don't know who the Serpent Society is, but they sneak aboard Sharon's Quinjet or whatever, and it appears NICK FURY is leading the Society and he promptly knocks her out. To be contined...

Now I'm sure it's not really Nick. Maybe a clone or an evil twin or doppleganger or something, but he talks like Fury and even has an eyepatch, so we'll see, I guess.

Great start. Deodato's art looks great. Better start than Bendy's Avengers, as Brubaker just seems to write good stories with no nonsense. As I said before, I was on the fence about the Secret Avengers, but Bru's got me so far. Can't wait to see where this goes.

I'll say the same thing about Fury that I said about Kang in last week's "Avengers" relaunch: he's up to something bigger.

 

[Tron Bonne]

But that Thomas Wayne wasn't even alive yet. I believe he started his cult around the 1790's.

Ah, my bad then. I just remember some people saying they thought this would be the issue to clarify that.

 

[Dread]

May comes to an end with a smattering of offerings from Marvel, and honestly all of them are pretty good in general. Let's hop to the reviewin's and spoilerin's, eh?

Dread's Bought/Thought for 5/29/10:

FANTASTIC FOUR #579: Some common complaints I have heard for the Johnathon Hickman run is that he has a lot of great ideas for the Four, but there's no "urgency", no long reaching menace subplot for them to have to fight or confront. Personally, I don't mind it. Too many Fantastic Four runs have simply been "greatest hits" exercises with the same villains they've fought for 45 years (usually climaxing with Dr. Doom). While Wizard and Mole Man both showed up (the former in this very issue), I like that Hickman has some big, bold, mega science ideas. He even found a way to make Mark Millar's Nu-Earth more interesting by having it work on an time scale that is many times faster than normal Earth (where centuries can pass in days). Still, if one is a reader who like urgency over ideas, this issue won't sway you.

There is one scene at the start that is a bit awkward, and very much seems to be on a soapbox. Reed gives a closing speech to Singularity, a think tank convention of scientists (including one who is either a Kree or Brainiac 5 on a visit thanks to Access or something). Reed gives a lecture about how all of the scientists, and perhaps most of "modern science" in general has gotten too "old" or scared of the future. Part of me wondered if this was an off handed criticism of the suspension of the NASA space program. Now, as a superhero and an explorer who has traveled to other dimensions and universes, I do think that it is in character for Reed to believe in the theory of the boundless, fearless journey of science, not maintaining a status quo. That said, his speech comes off as very elitist. The only person in the audience he compliments is She-Hulk (who apparently gave a law lecture), a fellow superhero/metahuman. He lectures the scientists for essentially being cowards afraid of the unknown, but that is a position that is easy to make as, arguably, the first super hero of the current "modern age of heroes" at Marvel. It was almost begging for a rebuttal that went, "With all due respect, not all of us are Mr. Fantastic, with elastic bodies that make us incredibly difficult to harm or injure, or perhaps even age. Not all of us are on a first name basis with She-Hulk, or are best friends with Ben Grimm, or have a wife who can part the sea and even make Namor respect her. Not all of us can travel to another time period or dimension or Heaven Itself if we or one of our loved ones dies, and you've done nothing to help anyone outside of the Baxtor Building who wasn't wearing spandex do so. At least Tony Stark has tried to make his technology available to the world; when was the last time you offered the masses a flight pack or unstable molecules or a safe and effective solar powered flying car? It's easy to preach about being brave and forging ahead when you're a superhero who can, and has, defied death. The rest of us in this room can't. In fact, if you and your family didn't become media darling superheroes, that space flight would have been theft, and you'd have rotted in jail." No, this wasn't as bad as when Maria Hill claimed that Steve Rogers was useless because he wasn't on MySpace, but it was rather like an anvil. Unless, of course, the point was for Reed to come off a little elitist (albeit well intentioned), and in that case it worked.

To this end, Reed decides to form his own genius think tank for the next generation of super scientists, and all of them include new additions to the Baxtor Building. Artie and Leech, the evolved Moloids, Val, Franklin, Wizard's young clone, and even Dragon Man and two random "Lost Atlantians". The only "normal" kid is Wizard's clone, who still refers to himself as a number. Reed also visits the Wizard in prison, and aside from learning that he is quite mad (especially without his large purple hat), but to tell him how he plans to "fix" him via helping his clone become a better man.

Alex Power of the Power Pack also becomes part of Reed's new class, which is pretty good. It is about time someone remembered that the Richards family and the Power family used to go together like cheese on pizza. Franklin also displays some martial arts skills, while Val works on reprogramming Dragon Man so he's not a menace anymore. Anyone want to bet how quickly this will be refuted by some "we need a random rampage" comic that the editors will approve? I give it two months, tops. Which is a shame because I like that idea; I just have no faith in editorial keeping it together in other books.

Neil Edwards fills in for art for Eaglesham (as he usually does every few issues), and everything looks fine. He's a little too "photorealistic" at times, and the irony is that style can often make artists look too similar. But it still all looks solid. It is possible that Hickman is writing Reed as being more assertive, without becoming a full on lunatic as he was in some parts of Civil War. After all, well intentioned elitism is usually the underlying message of quite a few Pixar films (such as "THE INCREDIBLES") - in that the idea that "everyone is special" is absurd because there are people who are special, and ones who are mundane, and the least a mundane person can do is help a special along. Clearly, Reed sees himself and his family as being on the forefront of science and he seems to be trying to make some strides into paving the way for a new age. Such a shame, then, that probably none of this will effect the Marvel line. Unless it pops up in an issue of NEW AVENGERS and the almighty Oz, Bendis, allows it so. Because on the whole I do like a lot of Hickman's ideas, and don't feel I need some cliffhanger plot every issue to excite me. At least not with the Four, who on the whole always are what they've always been. Still, if editorial could allow some of these ideas to filter into other books and spread the word that "The FF matter", maybe sales would pick up. Or, of course, they can do what they always do; slap Deadpool on the cover. I could imagine, say, Jeff Parker having a fun time with one of the "new kingdoms" for an ATLAS or THUNDERBOLTS adventure.

Good issue, although not flawless, and probably too much of a pleasant stroll for some.

SECRET AVENGERS #1: This is the real deal, the big thing, the book with the hook. This has been hyped up the wazoo along with most of the other Avengers launches this month (and next), with a few variant covers and with the A-List creative team of Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato aboard. This is one case where the hype, thus far, is to be believed. The debut issue was quite awesome, from the cover to the credits, providing action and character without taking the audience for fools. For anyone in the least bit unsatisfied with AVENGERS #1 last week, this is the Avengers title screaming out for you.

If you hate Avengers titles in which the team takes many issues to assemble the team promised on issue one (and treats that as a surprise), or in which every single thing the Avengers do is met with talking, a committee meeting, talking, a vote, and more talking about a committee meeting or a vote, as Bendis Avengers titles have done without end for six years, then apparently so do Brubaker and Deodato. Out of eight Avengers, Brubaker only spends time covering the how's and why's of two of them; Moon Knight and Eric O'Grady, the two who likely needed it most. And both sequences are very short, lasting barely a full page each. In one issue, you have the full team appear, an opening fight sequence, a few jokes, mentions of past continuity, and a trip into space. It would take Bendis at least 16 issues to do half that. I imagine all of the dynamic, action artists that Bendis have worked with who have had to spend most of their time drawing talking heads wish they'd gotten this title instead.

Steve Rogers is at the helm of the team in his position as "in charge of everything in the government" that he got from the fall of Osborn. As such, he has essentially resurrected the idea of the Invaders, a superhero team that acts more like a strike force than a Justice League. Their duty is to locate threats, hopefully before they explode and become outright crises, and take them down with surgical precision. That doesn't mean killing; it means efficiency. As such, Rogers, Black Widow, and Valkyrie start the book trying to steal a magical Maguffin back from the corrupt Roxxon agency. Valkyrie is no good at pretending to be a hooker, so a fight starts very quickly (although to be fair, she waited until the Maguffin was in range, which is asking a lot of an Asgardian warrior). Despite the fact that this is probably the 500th "battle with canon fodder in uniforms" battle that Brubaker has written and staged, it manages to look exciting and dynamic (especially when Rogers himself enters the field). Without a shield, he takes down a good five armed men without most problem or slowness. Beast is waiting at their recycled HAMMER base to analyze the thing, a Serpent Crown (not "the" Serpent Crown; apparently they're a set). Deodato is more in the school of drawing which depicts Beast as closer to how he looked in the early 2000's rather than the cat/lion man of later years (and he doesn't have paws here), but I didn't mind. It was just good enough to have Beast outside the X-Men on a book that matters (Rogers even comments on this). War Machine and Sharon Carter/Agent 13 are also part of the regular strike team, which allows Sharon to stay useful while still having character moments with Steve. If Brubaker has done anything, it is that he's managed to have Carter serve her role as both damsel in distress and action girl with equal skill and relish.

Moon Knight and O'Grady are the most troubled of the Secret Avengers, and naturally they're paired together to help Beast hack into Roxxon. Moon Knight's recent sanity troubles are mentioned, and Rogers simply wants to help. He seems to have sterner words for O'Grady, offering it as a chance to "be a man, or stay a child" basically - bit of a tough love pitch, eh, Commander Rogers? Of course, considering that O'Grady is hardly the most noble guy, a tough love approach may be the best method with him. He's wearing the old Ant-Man costume, which I actually didn't care for, because it makes him look less distinct as Ant-Man and merely ANOTHER Ant-Man more than his original costume did. DC has this same problem with wanting to make their "legacy heroes" dress too alike. I didn't mind that Black Widow and War Machine don't need reasons to mobilize behind Steve Rogers, but part of me is curious about Valkyrie. Is it because she'd teamed up with the Lady Liberators again in HULK and thus is back into standard superheroine mode? Because beyond that, she's barely been mentioned between some background panels of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE and now. Not that I mind; I'd almost expected a mention of when she and Beast were Defenders together.

Nova shows up for the last third of the comic. No, his appearance here really fits in no way with THANOS IMPERATIVE (unless it takes place before he left earth in NOVA #36 or something), but it's no worse than Deadpool, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man, or even Rogers appearing in 20 books a month. He's not technically "part" of the team; Rogers learned that Roxxon is drilling on Mars, and was asked to do some recon of their site, since it doesn't exist via electronic records. As usual for superheroes, it isn't that simple and Richard finds the Roxxon battle-vehicles to be more powerful than they should be, and stumbles across another Serpent Crown. Things only get dicey from there.

So the issue ends with the team heading out into space to Mars, to rescue Nova (although they may need to be rescued from him), and see what Roxxon is up to (as well as Sharon being assaulted by someone who shouldn't be a villain, but may be). Considering Roxxon was always an Exxon cipher and the fact that the British Petroleum oil spill is now worse than the Exxon Valdez was, I do wonder if eventually, Marvel will have their own evil version of that company. It would at least add a little international flavor to evil corporations (least outside of the U.S. and Japan/Madripoor). But, I digress. This was an exceptional first issue, of the sort that Avengers titles used to be and always should have been. The only major gaffe is on the last panel of page 18-19, when the speech balloons for Rhodes and Rogers are clearly switched (the text makes it clear that this is an error). There's less excuse for that in the digital age and it is something an editor should have caught. At least it provides legitimate reason for a reprint with a new cover, should sales suffice. Beyond that, though, everything comes up aces for this. It would be more than great if this launch could outsell AVENGERS #1, because it deserves to. Whatever stumbles Brubaker had with the X-Men do not seem to appear here. This series basically replaces MIGHTY AVENGERS, and from the strength of this debut, it is something I don't mind so much. As a very jaded comic book fan, it was nice to see Marvel hype a book as THE hottest thing, and it actually delivered.

THANOS IMPERATIVE: IGNITION #1: Or, basically, THE THANOS IMPERATIVE issue zero. It acts as the next issue to both GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and NOVA, connecting their plots into one whole in time for the latest space event. While it clearly isn't as big as SHADOWLAND to or X-MEN VS. VAMPIRES Marvel (and even SHADOWLAND is nothing compared to SIEGE or SECRET INVASION), writers Abnett & Lanning treat it as the mega epic that it seems to be. It continues with Thanos still being the unwilling "guest" of the GOTH after their 25th issue, while Nova is still chasing "Dark Quasar" across the universe as he tries to flee back to the Fault (after gutting Project PEGASUS on Earth). Brad Walker, who usually does art for GOTG, does the artwork here, and it's up to his usual snuff. Andrew Hennesy is the inker with Wil Quintana on colors, and this may be the first time the GOTG art team has handled Nova for so long. They do a good job.

Naturally, the Guardians are stuck with a broken Cosmic Cube and a very pissed of Thanos chained up in the basement of Knowhere. He's back from the dead and apparently unhappy about that, as Death had finally given him peace (plus, he also finds her hot). Drax and Moondragon want to put him down while they can, and while the others have no love for Thanos, they want to keep him alive long enough to know why he is back. The idea is that Thanos is always such a major cosmic figure that he's back for an abstract reason. While they don't know, the readers know that he is there to represent both Death and Oblivion, since in the universe on the other side of the Fault (the "Cancerverse"), Life has won and nothing ever dies. Nova and Quasar team up against Dark Quasar and "Adam Magus" while the Guardians have seem to have united Gladiator and the Shi'ar as well as the Inhumans against the Cancerverse threat.

In a moment ripped right from STAR WARS, all of the Guardians' telepaths feel "a disturbance in the Force, as if a billion lives were canceled out" or so on when Magus' Church of Truth ushers in the Cancerverse with perhaps the biggest mass sacrifice of any organized religion. This gets Thanos rightly irked and the "master" of the Cancerverse is revealed. Who it turns out to be is quite clever, and actually works quite well against Thanos - Cancerverse Mar-Vell.

While Thanos is usually the villain, this is a story in which he is actually a necessary evil compared to something far worse. It also is a story with an interesting, and rare, message from a Western comic. That is, that death has a purpose in the cosmos, and that a universe in which nothing ever dies or changes (like most comic universes) becomes stagnant and even putrid and vile. The twisted heroes of the Cancerverse think they are doing good by "eliminating Death", but of course that makes things worse, because everything should eventually end. It's almost the opposite of some DC events, in which the "everything old is better than anything new" is often the motif.

This event looks good on many levels, but the biggest it is relies on the stars of their two main space titles, rather than other characters with the stars sort of tagging along, as WAR OF KINGS and ANNIHILATION CONQUEST sort of did. It also has a philosophical message under the punching and explosions, which is always nice. Looking forward to the rest.

 

[Dread]

Part II Of II - The T's:

THOR #610: Much like SECRET AVENGERS #1, this one is the ****. I almost made it my Book of the Week at Examiner, but then settled on the bigger title. This is Gillen's 6th issue, and would have been his last if the next creative team (headlined by Matt Fraction) apparently didn't need more time, so Gillen's got about another four issues or so. This is good, because his THOR series has been quite good, and he deserves recognition and respect for following up so well after the JMS run. In fact, this one has been better, despite being saddled with SIEGE things. The first few pages have to cover what happened in SIEGE #4 before getting onto the true story. It is all about epilogues here.

The Warriors Three work to rebuild what it left of Asgard in Oklahoma, with Volstagg still seeking redemption for himself for helping to spark this horror. Most of the issue is dedicated to Balder and Thor ironing things out. While much of their conversation feels very natural and organic, there are some "no duh" moments of clarity. These are mostly Balder's "revelation" that having Loki, the God of Lies as his primary adviser was a bad idea, and that an effective leader needs to have some imagination and innovation, rather than blindly adhering to any rule or writ made by previous leaders. All of these will be obvious to second graders reading this as their first comic ever, and should have been obvious to Thor and Balder. At any rate, neither Balder or Thor want to be the king of Asgard, but Thor helps Balder set to the idea of remaining king, with Thor as his adviser and defender. That obviously should have been the layout since Balder realized he was king, but that's JMS for you. I can't wait for his arc on SUPERMAN where Kal allows Lex Luthor free reign of the Fortress of Solitude and then is amazed when things go wrong, or on WONDER WOMAN when Diana cedes Paradise Island to Circe and Ares and wonders why the island goes nuts. Who'd have thought trusting your mortal nemesis to do right by you will lead to betrayal!? But, I digress. It took JMS about 17 issues to get into this mess, and Gillen about six to clean it up, while maintaining his own style and ideas to it. I'd say that's a success.

Oh, yeah, and there's also that little showdown that the cover promises. After about 3 years of teasing, Ragnarok (or "Clor" if you will) is accidentally freed from the rubble and finally has his head to head showdown with Thor. Not only it is a good match, but it perfectly symbolizes the end of the "Grimdark Age of Marvel" and a "heroic age" by wiping out the last lingering trace of mortal treachery and paranoia. Artist Doug Braithwaite (and 2 colorists) do a great job of exposing Clor's cybernetic bits to make him look more menacing than being a carbon copy. "At last," Clor says, and I agree, it is about time. The fight's not too long but very satisfying. It might be fun if Ultron ever decides to pick up the pieces, maybe consider Clor a "foster child" for he and Jocasta to raise. But that's all just fanboy brainstorming. Thor vs. Clor was epic stuff, and worth the wait.

Kelda's arc mourning Bill also reaches a climax. It turns out Valhalla still stands, and Bill has managed to pass onto their eternal feasting as a noble Norse warrior. Of course, because Kelda is alive, she cannot join him. It's sad for Kelda, but cool for Bill (who, we must remember, was the smartest man on Asgard for deciding that Loki and Dr. Doom were not to be trusted, and even saved Balder's ass from some bad guys). I guess someone should tell Thanos that "the dead and the living cannot love each other and be together". There's always necrophilia. At any rate, it was a pretty good scene and I am curious where Gillen will take it, if anywhere, for his last few issues.

It's a simple issue, but effective at what it does. A satisfying conclusion to a lot of things, and the dawn to many new ones. While I do think Fraction will be fine on THOR (and will provide more name power), I am really enjoying Gillen's run, and am glad he'll be on the title for apparently at least four more issues. That'll make for a nice hardcover collection of it someday. I will be curious where Gillen goes, now that he seems to be free of having to deal with other people's ideas and can move towards his own, if only for four issues. That's at least one solid arc.

THUNDERBOLTS #144: Picking up where last week's ENTER THE HEROIC AGE #1 left off, Jeff Parker and Kev Walker start their new roster up at T-Bolts, which is finally free of having to deal with the "dark" rosters since Osborn was in town. A master of continuity, Parker weaves it like a blanket over this tale, making it cosy and comfortable. Prior, "good" Thunderbolts like Songbird, Fixer, and Mach V are part of the story and the support squad. Luke Cage's past and present are used as an asset in making his pitches to recruits.

While Rogers has put Cage in charge of the T-Bolts, he still has to deal with suits and compromise with federal wishes. They see the T-Bolts as expendable labor, but Cage (along with Rogers and others) feel that at least some of the cons can be rehabilitated into heroes. Unfortunately, it seems Cage doesn't have complete choice over who the feds want as T-Bolts. While he personally selects Ghost and Moonstone back into the fore, it takes a last minute appeal from Professor X to get Juggernaut considered, and Cage reacts as most fans did at the mere mention of Crossbones. The reasoning for him is actually almost logical; the feds see him as a figure so vile that the other Thunderbolts will avoid listening to him and thus side with Cage under the "lessor of two evils" theory. Of course, Cage brings up the question if what if the suits have it wrong; after all, Crossbones has connections to Red Skull's empire, and AIM/RAID/HYDRA and so on. It also seems in the latest Roger Stern ASM story, Juggernaut's powers have been lowered somewhat, although he still is the tank of the team.

As for Man-Thing? Hank Pym manages to hook up a way to use his connection to "the nexus of realities" in the Florida everglades to work like his "Infinite Mansion" did and allow for instant transport to anywhere on the globe. Of course, that means having to deal with Man-Thing himself, who Pym sees as a sort of "endangered species" type creature to protect (it is mentioned than Man-Thing is responsible for a few murders back in his horror says, so the fed is hardly a fan of him and likely just sees him as any ol' monster). While Kev Walker's style is something to get used to for some characters like Juggernaut or Crossbones, he draws an awesome Man-Thing (his Cage is pretty good, too).

The last page has another figure from the T-Bolts' past (Baron Zemo) return and seeming to want to lay claim to his old team. It makes sense, and he will be showing up in CAPTAIN AMERICA soon, and Marvel tends to have a habit of picking one villain who shows up in about 2-4 books within a few months, such as Griffen or Nightmare or even Scarecrow in prior months. Of course, it could also be a trick to see how loyal these T-Bolts are. Either way, it works.

Jeff Parker writes Ghost as a bit of a psychotic, but in an idiot savant sort of way; he seemingly cannot even speak without his Ghost helmet on. It makes some use of the fact that Ghost's identity was never revealed or played up in the past. Out of the last group of T-Bolts, he's the one Parker seemed to like, as Moonstone was busy in DARK AVENGERS. The artwork was pretty good overall, even if the shift in style took some getting used to. I like how Cage is in a gold tee here; it isn't much, but at least sticking to some of his old colors helps keep him distinct; he often looks too much like "random dude" in Avengers roster shots (even D-Man had a costume). It's a pleasure seeing Luke Cage being written well in a team book that isn't by Bendis. I actually think amping Cage up was one of the good things Bendis did for Marvel during his tenure, although he tended to treat him too much like a "Mary Sue", and write other characters poorly to make up for it (Spider-Man at least should act like a peer of Cage's or even a more experienced hero vet, not an awe struck kid). I usually never liked Juggernaut's heroic turns, but we'll see how it plays out. On the whole, a solid start to a new run, and probably as good a jumping on point for T-Bolts as one can get for a while.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay, so last week I wrote a big long review on my weekly comics and lost it all due to the hype being stupid and me being stupid for typing it all without copying it or anything... so hopefully this week works out better. God bless Wordpad

I had to do a partial buy this week since I couldn't afford all the books all the books I wanted, so I passed up The Return of Bruce Wayne, X-Men Second Coming: Blind Science, and Thor. I'll have a review for them next week. And I did turn out buying one extra comic this week that I wasnt planning on buying, so that didn't help. My war against my buying habbits began last week with me trying to skip Avengers #1. This is for the purpose of controling my spending, as I spend more than I can really afford on comics and I need to stop. Well, I managed to force myself to leave without it and today I was tempted to buy it again and saw that the shop has tons of issues left, I was tempted again but once more I won out the battle and left it behind. However, I also planned on dropping Thunderbolts but after skimming it I just couldn't pass up this issue. Parker's a great writer and I love Luke Cage and Juggernaut. I'm not a big fan of the art but man does that guy draw an awesome Man-Thing! So now I'm 1 for 1, but I'd rather have picked up Thunderbolts than Avengers, so we'll see how the rest of my war against my buying habbits goes in the coming weeks. Other comics on my potential drop list... New Avengers, Hulk, Red Robin, Batgirl, Incredible Hulk, and more. Now, this month isn't exactly the end point of all these as I try to find good stopping points, such as World War Hulks ending before dropping Incredible Hulk depending on where Skaar's story is at, but we'll see as it goes. New Avengers is the next big one, but with my love of Luke Cage, Thing, Spider-Man, and Iron Fist... it'll be the hardest drop I have planned. I'm actually planning ahead to fail that one

On to reviews:

Green Lantern 54 - I loved the War of Light and the characters introduced flowing into Blackest Night, and now I love seeing them post-War of Light. There was a scene that we've already seen once, and that's Hal, Carol, and Sinestro at the White Lantern sight. We saw this scene in Brightest Day #1 already but this issue expands the scene so that the White Entity asks them to help it by gathering the Entities, such as Ion, Parallax, and the Predator, and now also Ophidian (Orange), Adara (Blue), Proselyte (Indigo), and the Butcher (Red). They are the directed to Atrocitus who can help them, and as it turns out Atrocitus is sacreficing the blood of some thugs he and Dex-Star (the Red Lantern Cat) killed and has a location of all but two of the Entities (Parallax and Ion). I liked seeing Hal give a green cowboy BOOT to the cat, who was eating some of the dead thugs. A fight breaks out but it's broken up by none other than Lobo, who shows up ready for a fight. Another scene to parallel the quest for the Entities is the creature who kinda has the stature of a Guardian traveling to the sun of Daxam where Sodam Yat sacreficed himself in Green Lantern Corps just prior to Blackest Night. The person takes Ion out of Sodam Yat so that he now owns Ion and Parallax. The sun goes red and those on Daxam lose their powers once more and nearly all die in crashing and falling and all that. The good thing is then that Sodam Yat crashes to Daxam seemingly alive... so yay!

Good issue overall. I didn't know what to expect after Blackest Night, as I've only known Green Lantern during the War of Light (since it technically began during Green Lantern Rebirth, where I started reading), and I've found that I've really been enjoying Brightest Day thus far and I'm real curious where the story goes from here.

Green Lantern Corps 48 - I didn't realize how close to issue 50 this issue was until I just typed that. I typically don't even look at issue numbers anymore. All the relaunches make me not care. Anyhow, this issue also has a repeat scene, which is the Atrocitus, Guy, and Ganthet issue from last issue of Green Lantern, but it was short so no biggie. We see Ganthet officially quit being a Guardian of both the Green and the Blue lantern corps and join the ranks of a normal Green Lantern. He makes himself an official ring and it's complete. The most interesting thing for me though are the Alpha Lanterns, who seem to be recruiting. Now, they've had two deaths of late (Kraken and the big Golf Ball looking guy) and they recruit two new Alpha Lanterns, so it's possible they may be replacing those two, or they may be forming a rebellion of some type. You get the idea it's something sinister. The Alpha Lanterns are always kinda sinister so I'm curious what is building there. And I wonder if there's a connection but John Stewart is sent off on a mission with Alpha Lantern Boodika.

It was a good issue, though not as good as Green Lantern, but still, I'm loving the GL titles post Blackest Night and I'm real curious what is up with Emerald Knight. John Stewart is my least favorite Lantern so his taking Guy's place in this title isn't the best thing, but I love Kyle and Ganthet has my interest so I'm game to see where the story goes.

Project Superpowers: Chapter Two 9 - The battle against Zeus really heats up in this issue and a lot of things start to tie together. I won't go into detail on the plot as I dont' think anyone other than Phaed and I actually read this book, but my concerns early in this volume, of it being too slow and spread out, is going out the door as it's all starting to tie together and get really exciting. And for the first time in a long while with this book, this issue turns out very fulfilling, though the plot was slow in coming, and now I"m seriously excited for the last three issues of this volume. I think the idea of the heroes and the villains working together against a common foe appeals to me, and especially the possibility of the biggest bads from volume 1 potentially converting and being the heroes of the whole chapter has me cheering for them. I love how this world is coming together.

X-Force 27 - Second Coming part 9... 2/3rds the way through now and man is this getting good. I'm still eager for this whole Messiah plot to go away but they're making me really enjoy this last installment to it. The opening scene to this issue was a bit wierd in that there was no text... just battle. I actually liked it. In that portion we see the X-Men take out the Nimrods, though obviously having a lot of problems, and in the process Iceman and Hellion are taken out of the fight, Hellion himself loses both hands and most of one forearm. When all is said and done they take some info from the orb that appeared over San Fransisco bridge and frighteningly learn that the Nimrods that did such a number on them was just the start and that there were more than 170,000 more Nimrods to come. The X-Men are obviously freaking out, since the red dome doesn't allow for escape from the onslaught to come, and so Cyclops being the leader makes a hard call. He gathers most of what's left of X-Force (Wolverine, Domino, Archangel, and X-23) and pairs them up with Calbe and Doug Ramsey and sends them into the future to stop the Nimrods from their original time period before they kill the last mutants on earth. The bad part is that Cable only had one more time jump left in his arm, so it's essentially a death mission as it is only a one way trip. After X-Force are sent, the time comes and the Nimrods begin pouring from the orb.

Man this story is beginning to feel intense. It's been really good so far and it just keeps getting better. While I'm bored of the Messiah storyline it's been building for a long while and the payoff is turning out to be totally worth it. I'm excited to see what happens in the last 1/3rd of the story. Also, great art by Choi!

ThanosImperative: Ignition - Man I've been looking forward to this event and this oneshot starting it was definately not a let down. It picks up where both Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy left off, as well as pulls in Gladiator and the Inhumans, so all aspects of the Realm of Kings are represented (save Hiro-Kala the Son of Hulk, who is now in Incredible Hulk). We get a brief recap of Thanos's life story leading to the Guardians discussing what they should do with him. The more interesting story for me though was Nova's chasing Evil Quasar, who is now purple with dark hair. They head right for the Fault and finds the whole fleet of the Universal Church waiting. As it turns out Magus, who they serve, is inside waiting for him with some sort of motive. Fortunately help is on the way in the form of Quasar and Gladiator and his people, the Inhumans and their people, and Blastaar and his people. Nova chases Evil Quasar right into the main ship with Magus and a battle ensues for a short bit. But then some plans come to fruition as whole planets who have converted to the Universal Church shows up and explode, sacrefices for the cause, causing the Fault to begin tearing open again. As a result Thanos, who has been prisoner of teh Guardians, breaks free, most of those who came to help Nova are tossed for a loop, and Magus mentions that "they are coming", but then something happens that I didn't expect. I expected Magus to be the big bad of the event, but this ends up not being the case. He is a pawn as much as Evil Quasar is to bring the other world to ours, and their leader shows up in the end.... Captain Mar-vell, or Lord Mar-vell who I am assuming is the evil one from the other side of the Fault. And completely to my surprise, Mar-vell is unhappy with Magus for the avatar of Death not being dealt with prior to now, and so he fries Magus dead. The end.

Man, I had no idea what to expect really but this blew me away and I can't wait for the rest of this event starting next week!

Secret Warriors 16 - What a great title, but I have to say I hated the art in this issue. Anyhow, the story was good. The war between Hydra and Leviathon kicks off and Nick Fury's endgame plan is ready to be set into motion. Nick's preparing the Howling Commandos, Daisy, and the other two leaders. With some extra time Daisy and J.T. spend a little personal time together, but in the end we learn that J.T. is apparently working against Nick Fury secretly, spying for Strucker, though he doesn't seem all that eager to do it. This is bad, but my guess is that he's playing a little undercover for Nick Fury. I'm hoping that anyhow, as I like J.T.

Good issue, though a bit of a segway issue from what's come before and the war to come soon. It was a slow issue but one that seemed necessary. My guess is that it blows up from here, at least I'm hoping so. There's only maybe 10 or 12 issues left in this so I'm curious where all this building is leading to. Also, second issue with Viper with her new Madam Hydra look inspired by her Earth X counterpart and I'm still loving it. Still unsure of what to think of Contessa working with Leviathon all along, but I'm not attached to the character so I can accept it. One thing's for certain, despite what people think about the Hydra/Shield reveal from issue one, or Contessa's betrayal, this book is doing wonders for Nick Fury and Hydra. Great series.

Secret Avengers 1 - This is probably the issue I was most looking forward to this week and it was good. Deodato did great as expected but I didn't know what to expect of Brubaker. I'm expecting his story to be good but I'm worried it'll drag on and on. The good thing though is that the team is fully assembled in this first issue and the story moves forward. Nova had a small roll but he's the target of the first mission so that's good. I think my favorite thing in the issue though was seeing Beast interacting with Steve Rogers. He's been a background 3rd tier X-Character for so long that it's nice to see him breaking out and staring in something now. Seriously, I liked SWORD, but it ending allowed Beast to come here so I'm cool with that. And Deodato draws him wonderfully. I also liked Eric O'Grady. And man, seeing Moon Knight with them.... I gotta say, this is the best assembled team of characters I've seen in a long time. This team has me massively excited. I honestly don't care about any of the three women, but I'm sure they'll grow on me if Brubaker does his job well as most people says he does.

This was a good introduction issue, next issue has me excited though... that seems to be where the real story begins.


And lastly.....

Thunderbolts 144 - The issue that I tried not to buy and opted to give a shot... so was my risk rewarded? I don't know yet. I decided to pick it up due to my love of Luke and Juggernaut and for the awesome artistic rendition of Man-Thing, and while the issue was decent, it was still just a set up issue. So plot-wise I don't know if I like it or not yet, but I do like the team. I enjoyed the majority of the issue, characters, and their reasons for being chosen for the team. Crossbones was always the big question mark for me and I'm still not sold on his reason for being on the team, but whatever. The biggest thing for me is the art though. Despite how much I enjoyed Walker's rendition of Man-Thing... I hate most the rest of his art. His Songbird is repulsive and his Juggernaut looks kinda stupid. Everyone looks someone stupid. I suppose it might grow on me, much like how... Canete I think his name is, grew on me in the End League (he's currently doing the Luke Cage mini). The mini has me curious, as Baron Zemo is such a big part of the history of this book, but not having read much of anything he's been in, I'm not as intrigued as I think most would be. I'm curious how this will work alongside Captain America.

The issue was good, and being that Parker did do such a good job with taking over the previous incarnation of this team I'll give his first original run on the book another issue or two before deciding if this is one of the books that is going to get dropped.


BEST AND WORST OF THE WEEK:

Best - Project Superpowers Chapter 2 #8
I think this was my best of the week last issue too, which is saying a lot for a book that I started getting bored of and was considering putting on my to-cut list. And this says a lot as well because this was a great week of books. I enjoyed every book, and most of them a LOT... so this winning out is just awesome for this little indie book. No, these characters aren't fleshed out that well, and I know some people aren't happy with that, but the plot itself is interesting enough to be good. I can't imagine how good this would be if they did get around to fleshing out the characters more. Great title. I suggest people to give this book a read, both this and the first volume. It may be best to do so in trade format though. Black Terror's been good as well.

Worst - Thunderbolts #144
Yeah, the issue was good but I still think it was the worst of the week. The art was horrible in places and the character designs leave a lot to be desired. The story was cookie cutter team formation, extremely similar to Secret Avengers, but at least Secret Avengers had better characters and art. I have hope for this title, but if it gets no better than this issue after the next couple of issues it may still end up on the cutting block.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Well crap. Just read on Newsarama that Emerald Knights is going to be regularly $3.99. That diminishes excitement for that title. I'm trying to drop titles left and right due to the extra money I have to spend on $4 titles and other reasons and here's another one.

I swear, this $4 pricetag is killing me. If not for this price tag I think I'd only have to drop a couple comics, not 10 or 15 like I have planned. Oh well... I should be used to this by now but there's just something about that extra dollar on so many books (mostly thanks to Marvel) that just infurites me.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Fantastic Four #579 - approximately seventy-eight plot threads from past issues come into play here, and it's all handled pretty nicely; Edwards' pseudo-Hitch art looks better this time than before.

Secret Avengers #1 - good start to the story. Deodato's art wasn't as gratuitous with the ladies as I was concerned it would be, and they introduced quite a bit of plot/character stuff in the space of an issue. Also, I thought it was cutely quaint that traveling to Mars apparently takes more than 24 hours; these days, that sort of thing is usually depicted as a 2-minute trip.

Thor #610 - this really feels like a proper conclusion to JMS' run; shame he didn't stick around to actually write it.

Wolverine: Weapon X #13 - Jason Aaron continues to prove why he's the Wolverine writer for the 21st century. Fun story, great interaction between Wolverine and the guest-stars (especially Bucky and Spider-Man). Well-illustrated by Ron Garney.

Wonder Woman #44 - Gail Simone's final full issue; some good fights, but the villain's origin remains really confusing, so unless she's going to address this next issue in her story in #600, it's annoying. A decent end to what has been a sadly uneven run.

X-Force #27 - "Second Coming" continues to be quite good; several wordless fight pages would normally annoy me, but these were pulled off extremely well. And Cable and Hope's relationship continues to be depicted really well. And Choi + Oback = t:

 

[JewishHobbit]

It's funny... I can just never really get into the Fantastic Four. I love all of them, but it's just never enough to really get me to buy their title. But this week... I considered buying the book and may have if not for it being such a big week for me already. And what was the tipping point? How sad is it that it was honestly Leech and Artie


I love those little guys... though Artie was supposed to have lost his powers on M-Day I thought?

 

[StreetWarrior]

Some reviews for this week and last. I don't post often here, so I'll try and keep things short.

Secret Avengers #1 - Absolutely phenomenal title. Great writing, great art, great characters. All around amazing. This is one of the best books I've read in a while. So, why the hell isn't Brubaker on the main AVENGERS title? How great would that have been? My score: 5/5

Thunderbolts #144 - Great writing and really good art. I HATED Parker's prior work on the Thunderbolts and was really unsure about this team, but I have to admit: this issue was good. I was really considering dropping this book but I'm glad I bought it out of habit. A strong start to the quasi-relaunch and I hope it continues with this quality of writing/art. My score: 5/5

Avengers #1 - Mediocrity at its finest. Decent writing but poor art. Listen, I respect Romita. Hell, he's drawn some of my favorite issues. But this is a modern relaunch of the classic team, so get a MODERN artist. I know they're slow, but Coipel, McNieven, Finch, or even Deodato would have made this issue feel more fresh and new. Come on Marvel!

(RANT) The team: WTF! Bucky Cap, Iron Man, Thor, and Hawkeye: of course! Captain Marvel: Okay. But Spider-man, Wolverine, and Spider-woman: NO! They have their own titles and need to stay out of this one. I know it's Marvel policy that Wolverine be on every team (He'll probably join Secret Avengers and Secret Warriors in September, :/) but really? BOTH Avengers teams? Why couldn't we get Ms. Marvel, Hank Pym, and... SONGBIRD on the team. Lord knows she's earned it and it would feel more classic than GD Wolverine and Spider-man. (END RANT)

Avengers #1- My Score: 2.5/5 (if only for the big 3 and Hawkeye)

 

[Tron Bonne]

Avengers #1 - Mediocrity at its finest. Decent writing but poor art. Listen, I respect Romita. Hell, he's drawn some of my favorite issues. But this is a modern relaunch of the classic team, so get a MODERN artist. I know they're slow, but Coipel, McNieven, Finch, or even Deodato would have made this issue feel more fresh and new. Come on Marvel!

So, wait, was Romita, Sr. doing the art for Avengers

 

[StreetWarrior]

*Modern looking artist*

I have friends who were really turned off by the art. I have to admit, Tony's armor looked really strange in the issue. Still bulky and tight, not flowing like it did in the actual Iron Man title. Also, I found the colors kind of flat. Maybe bringing in a brighter colorist would help. I don't want to offend anyone, I'm just not a fan of Romita, Jr. AT ALL.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I've not a huge Romita Jr. fan myself. I loved his old Uncanny X-Men run and his Amazing Spider-Man stuff, but that's about it.

While I agree that Wolverine, after all these years, is still a wierd fit for the Avengers, Spider-Man fits in just fine with the core team. I hate that he's on both, but I think he fits in better than Bucky does, who is brand new and has no connection to the team other than the suit he's wearing. Personally, I think Spidey fits better than a lot of characters people consider avengery.

Besides, he's been an Avenger for around 6 years now... I think he's earned his keep by now. He's been an Avengers (through the hard times even) longer than most others who come and go. Say what you want about Wolverine but I think Spidey's earned his spot on the core team without complaint.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I love those little guys... though Artie was supposed to have lost his powers on M-Day I thought?

He did. Valeria built him a helmet to mimick them.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I love JR Jr., but his art is distinctive enough that it seems to split people straight down the middle--either you love it or you hate it. But his art is the absolute least of Avengers' worries if Bendis keeps writing the way he did in #1.

Secret Avengers, on the other hand, is off to a solid start. Brubaker wastes no time in setting the team up. He includes a couple of recruitment flashbacks for Moon Knight and Eric "I will never call him Ant-Man" O'Grady, but obvious choices like Rhodey and Beast don't get flashbacks because, frankly, they don't need 'em. We can all reasonably imagine that Cap simply walked up to Beast and Rhodey, asked them to join, and they agreed. But just in case we can't, Beast spells it out for us in the issue: "Once an Avenger and all that."

Brubaker's pacing is perfect. He gets us straight into the action without any boring preface, and while the super-spy main plot takes center stage, Brubaker still manages to work a fair idea of the team dynamics in around it. We see Valkyrie as the hotheaded powerhouse who may not work exactly according to plan, Beast as the tech support guy working out all the scientific/analytical stuff, Rhodey as the pilot and assistant tech guy, Sharon running ops, Natasha as the cool professional who's done it all a million times before, Moon Knight and O'Grady as the stealth/infiltration specialists, and Steve himself as the field leader who coordinates everything but is equally capable of jumping into the fray if necessary. Nova is the only one who feels a little bit out of place, but the impression I got was that he's basically just lending Steve a hand, not an "official" member of the team. Kind of sad that Rich becomes the damsel in distress a page after he appears for the first time, but I suppose with items as powerful as the Serpent Crown (or whatever these copies are), it could happen to anyone.

The big surprise at the end screamed "LMD" to me. Wouldn't be the first time Fury's LMDs became sentient and went rogue, and they make for fun villains.

The cons of the issue are basically limited to Mike Deodato's art, which I absolutely detest. He's improved since his flashy, awkward art of the '90s, but not by much. Mostly he's just learned to cover up his glaring anatomy issues with more shadows, and no amount of shadows is going to mask things like Cap's shoulder looking like it's wrenching out of its socket in one panel. In fairness, his Beast is at least better than average and his layouts are pretty solid. I was never confused about what was going on in a panel. I just can't stand his style.

Oh, and another (minor) con is the absence of a Valkyrie recruitment flashback. I, for one, certainly wouldn't peg Valkyrie as an obvious choice for a stealthy, proactive strike team, so it would've been nice to see how Steve came to the decision of placing her with the Secret Avengers. But maybe Brubaker will include some flashbacks for the other team members over the other issues of this arc.

Thor was a nice, quiet respite from the insanity of Siege and the coming insanity of Thor having to deal with Hell and the Disir. It capped off the "gods on Earth" era that JMS started, to some extent. Yes, the gods are still here, but everything is different for them. Loki's dead (for the moment), Asgard is in ruins, and man is to blame for all of it. Of course, Balder doesn't see it that way, shouldering a hefty portion of the blame himself. I like the new dynamic of Balder as king and Thor as basically the chief warrior of Asgard. It's basically a return to the classic status quo without bringing back Odin, which would've turned it into a throwback and felt like regression for Thor and the other Asgardians.

I also like that Balder showed respect for Loki. I'm sure Dread and Spoons won't get it and will claim that Balder's being stupid for forgiving Loki to some extent just because he died; but from the Asgardians' perspective, Loki died a valiant death in service to Asgard and that counts for a lot. The Executioner was a big a**hole for most of his existence as well, if you'll recall, but he's now considered one of the most honored warriors to ever walk Asgard's halls for his heroic death holding the line against all of Hel while Thor and the other Asgardians rescued innocent souls. Valor in combat and doing the right thing, even if it's only at the absolute last moment, are paramount among the Asgardians, so it was fitting that Balder had kind words for Loki even after all of his mischief.

Then, of course, this issue also featured the final, climactic battle between Thor and his evil clone Ragnarok. It was a bit underwhelming, all things considered, but I think maybe it was supposed to be. As Thor said, the time for things like Ragnarok is over. The Asgardians (and the heroes) have weathered the worst their enemies could throw at them and they've emerged stronger. Ragnarok is just leftovers, basically--a remnant of an era whose time is at an end--and all that's left for him is clean-up. Thor easily defeats him and moves on.

Oh yeah, and Bill's in Valhalla and Kelda can't get to him. Sad, I guess, I but I stopped caring about Kelda a long time ago. The idea that the gods can't visit Valhalla was somewhat arbitrary, given that plenty of them have before, but I guess it could specifically be because of Kelda's love for Bill. As the Valkyrie said, the dead can't love the living.

The Thanos Imperative: Ignition gave me all the feelings I've grown accustomed to with DnA's cosmic comics. I laughed, I got excited, I squealed like a giddy schoolgirl. I really, really love that they've built the scope of this conflict to a proper level. The Cancerverse vs. Thanos represents no less than life vs. death, and DnA have used their previous events--all good in their own ways, mind--to push the cosmic landscape and characters very seamlessly toward a state worthy of that enormous theme. The Annihilation War took Thanos out of the picture, symbolically removing Death's chief avatar in the universe. The Phalanx's conquest of the Kree brought Adam Warlock back and put him in a position to unleash the Magus again. The Kree/Shi'ar War weakened both kingdoms and created the Fault. Each is a clear step along the path to this event, yet none of them felt cheap or like they existed solely to push some larger arc forward. This was a truly masterful escalation, and now that the payoff is coming, I can barely contain my excitement.

This lead-in sets the stage pretty well, reintroducing the cosmos' current heavies--Nova, Quasar, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gladiator and the Shi'ar, the Inhumans and the Kree, Adam Magus, the Cancerverse Quasar and the Cancerverse itself, and of course Thanos. I love that Thanos has been ripped out of his beloved Death's realm and is now a raging lunatic because of it. It makes perfect sense and brings a new spin to Thanos, which I personally think he desperately needed, given how Starlin's retconned virtually every other interesting moment out of his past to make him look better. The fact that Thanos, a mass-murderer and now psychopath, is the key to defeating something even worse creates an interesting dynamic for the cosmic heroes, too.

Brad Walker's art is utterly amazing in this issue. I mentioned a while ago that I preferred Wesley Craig's very cartoony art over Walker's for the Guardians' comic, and I still hold to that; it fits the crazy, comically overwhelming tone of that series better. But for a dark tale of psychosis and rage and possible armageddon? Walker's art is just phenomenal. His layouts are among the most energetic I've seen and his use of shadow is perfect. I mean, that scene where Star-Lord gets the bad news about Magus detonating whole planets, then turns around to see Thanos charging at him? I cackled with glee because it looked so badass. I only wish Walker were drawing The Thanos Imperative itself, but hopefully Sepulveda and Briclot can do an equally beautiful job.

Green Lantern Corps set up a new status quo that's looking pretty promising. Guy Gardner departs after a secret meeting with Ganthet and Atrocitus, determined to end his friendship with Hal somehow (if one could even consider them friends now), John goes off to help Boodikka with something, Ganthet retires from the Guardians to put on a ring and be a Lantern himself, and the Alpha Lanterns are apparently expanding their ranks to a surprising degree. My favorite of those subplots was Ganthet's. I've liked Ganthet ever since he was something of an unofficial advisor to Kyle during his series, and I love that Tomasi and Johns took that time among humans (including his time with Hal and John as well) and used it to cast Ganthet as the Guardian who embraces emotion while all the others shun it. I thought it was really appropriate that Ganthet, rather than accepting a ring from the other Guardians like any other Lantern, actually goes and forges his own ring and (unfortunately super-ugly) lantern battery. I'm looking forward to Ganthet more than anything else in GLC at the moment, which is kind of weird since he's usually much more of a background player. Great idea placing him down among the rank and file.

Thunderbolts, unlike Secret Avengers, definitely indulges in a recruitment preface. This issue is literally recruitment from beginning to end. But it works here; unlike the Avengers--whom we know all about and intuitively understand their purpose as the top superhero team of the Marvel universe--the Thunderbolts' concept has changed a lot over the years. It's a wise move by Parker to reintroduce that concept in its current iteration for the Heroic Age. No longer are the T-bolts government stooges or a secret death squad or one-time villains trying to make an honest attempt at reform; now they're Steve's personal attempt to rehabilitate rather than punish villains.

He personally selects Luke Cage to lead them, which kind of confused me at first (since Luke was framed and never actually a criminal), but Parker articulates Steve's reasoning well. It's exactly because Luke was framed that he wants him leading. Luke's faced the trials and tribulations of being a criminal without ever actually losing his way and becoming one, though it would've been much easier to do so any number of times; no, instead Luke took all the crap life could give him and wound up leading the Avengers, becoming a loving husband and father, and even doing some community outreach stuff in his old neighborhood. Pretty great example to show to the criminals in the Thunderbolts' ranks, I'd say, and Luke is certainly tough enough to deal with them.

So onto the team itself. It looks like the Fixer and Mach V will be fixtures at the Raft, probably as supporting characters. Songbird is on the team as Luke's trusted second-in-command (albeit with an unfortunate haircut). The Ghost is recruited because he's shown glimmers of decency, even as a member of Osborn's personal hit squad version of the T-bolts. The Juggernaut earns a spot because of Charles Xavier's personal recommendation. Moonstone joins because Luke seems to think there's a decent person hiding somewhere inside her. Man-Thing, it turns out, is basically the new Thunderbolts' transportation system. Hank Pym worked up a way to harness the Nexus of All Realities as a teleportation system, enabling Man-Thing to take the team anywhere on Earth in an instant. It's sort of weird and implies that Man-Thing will basically be like the Thunderbolts' version of Lockjaw, but I'm cool with it.

Crossbones is the real left-fielder. Apparently the government pretty much placed him on the team regardless of Luke's feelings, citing some cockamamie reasoning that he'd provide a counterpoint to Luke--a truly irredeemable bastard--that would make the others flock to Luke once they see how bad he is. Crossbones joins because, hey, it's something to do besides sitting in a cell. The reasoning behind Crossbones is easily the weakest, especially when you consider that he's a racist and the team is being led by a black man. But I suppose we'll have to wait and see how he actually works on the team. Personally, I think Taskmaster would've contributed a similar skill set and contentious personality without having quite as problematic a motivation. But I'm sure Parker will make Crossbones work somehow, and I'm personally a huge fan of Crossbones so, regardless of how he got on the T-bolts, I'm looking forward to seeing him regularly.

Oh, and Baron Zemo shows up at the end to reclaim the Thunderbolts, which is awesome. I'm curious about whether Parker will write him as the charismatic but morally ambiguous anti-hero he became in earlier Thunderbolts series or the murderous villain Brubaker is resetting him to for his upcoming Captain America arc. I hope it's the former. The latter is just boring.

 

[Brainiac 8]

I really hope they undo the damage that Carey did to Juggernaut in Thunderbolts.

I like him as a villian looking for redemption. He was the best part about New Excalibur.

Carey lightswitched him evil again, and I hated it...so the fact that Xavier personally requested that Juggs get admission to the Thunderbolts gives me hope that they plan on fixing Carey's faux pas.

 

[Dread]

I also like that Balder showed respect for Loki. I'm sure Dread and Spoons won't get it and will claim that Balder's being stupid for forgiving Loki to some extent just because he died; but from the Asgardians' perspective, Loki died a valiant death in service to Asgard and that counts for a lot. The Executioner was a big a**hole for most of his existence as well, if you'll recall, but he's now considered one of the most honored warriors to ever walk Asgard's halls for his heroic death holding the line against all of Hel while Thor and the other Asgardians rescued innocent souls. Valor in combat and doing the right thing, even if it's only at the absolute last moment, are paramount among the Asgardians, so it was fitting that Balder had kind words for Loki even after all of his mischief.

I liked THOR #610 a lot too, BTW.

Still, though, there is a difference. Executioner stayed dead. He did his one act of valor and then stayed dead, never coming back again and again and again and again and trying to destroy Asgard and kill everyone over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Loki has, eternally. There is a bit of a difference. It's like if the Rhino saved the day once and was hailed as a hero, versus Red Skull doing it. Executioner was small fish, the goon of Enchantress most times.

If the moral of the Asgardians is that it is perfectly okay to be an evil creep, and to organize and carry out events that lead to a horrible cataclysm for no purpose other than your merry amusement that kills most of your race, so long as when things are getting out of hand (or beyond one's control) you decide to sacrifice yourself, then I do understand Loki's pain. The impression I got from SIEGE: LOKI was part of his dilemma is he's the smartest man in Asgard, which makes him very lonely, because most of his comrades are brainless warriors. He's like that elf in Santa's troupe who wants to be dentist. He should be going to the Island Of Misfit Gods. Instead that doesn't exist so he always tries to kill everyone, or "make those puppets dance" in the words of the Music Meister.

I will say Gillen has made Loki seem more sympathetic than JMS ever did. He brought up the idea that Loki can't help his mischief because gods can't change (which was often a moral in INCREDIBLE HERCULES that Herc would give to Cho). They're doomed to play out the same roles, no matter what they try or whatever. Still, though, trusting Loki to be your adviser without question is a bit daft. Then again, I suppose emotions make everyone a moron. There were times Reed trusted Dr. Doom for some reason and then was stunned every time Doom would betray him, simply because they were pals in college once. Even Loki laid some of the blame at Balder's feet, essentially going, "It wasn't MY fault you went with everything I said without question. That was all you, Balder, YOU were king, not me. You could've said no."

I did like that Thor and Balder settled their differences and even if Balder learned his lessons about being a king (gasp, bending the rules isn't evil) a bit too late, at least it's learned. Like I said in my review, it took JMS 17 issues to get things into a mess, and Gillen 6 to mop it up. If only more franchises righted themselves that quick. Balder's king, Thor's the defender and adviser. Sounds fine.

Plus, Loki made his deal to avoid having his soul go to the realm of the dead, so like Hercules, he's probably "out there". I just hope it isn't Thor and Balder who decide to revive him. That's just asking for punishment.

I was satisfied with the Ragnarok fight. After all, he's been spanked by Storm, or some of the Initiative. Hercules caved his head in with one blow. So a fight against the genuine Thor shouldn't have taken 5 issues. For me it lasted long enough to not feel cheap while satisfying enough to show how bad ass Thor is. THOR #610 would have been my favorite book of the week if not for SECRET AVENGERS #1, and even then...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I really hope they undo the damage that Carey did to Juggernaut in Thunderbolts.

I like him as a villian looking for redemption. He was the best part about New Excalibur.

Carey lightswitched him evil again, and I hated it...so the fact that Xavier personally requested that Juggs get admission to the Thunderbolts gives me hope that they plan on fixing Carey's faux pas.

He apparently did something in Amazing Spider-Man that somehow left him weaker than usual. Which sucks. Tieri restored Jugs to his rightful level in New Excalibur and Gage wrote him standing toe-to-toe as equals with the Hulk in World War Hulk. Carey may have undone his character development, but at least he was still as badass as he should've been. Now it turns out some bulls*** with Captain Universe in ASM weakened him again.

That said, I do have some hope that Parker will make Jugs a bit more morally ambiguous, at least, than he was under Carey. He left New Excalibur embracing his need to cause destruction as Cyttorak's avatar, but he was ambivalent about it. Carey wrote him as an outright villain again. Parker wrote him as kind of a jerk in the first issue, but I hope he brings Cain back to something more balanced, like maybe throwing up a destructive, villainous facade but still feeling bad about his actions on some level. Chuck seems to think he's still got some good in him, so that's a start.

 

[Dread]

The only hook to the idea of Juggernaut as a hero, since a Class 85-100 superhero is old hat at Marvel, was that because he's empowered by a god that rewards destruction, he actually gets weaker the more noble he is.

No, that's not the same as being slapped by Captain Universe, apparently, but it's something. Cyttorak isn't going to allow his avatar to usurp his influence and keep full power.

Personally, I have never been keen on Cain Marko as a hero. As a villain, he is simple but effective; the thuggish brother of Professor X who does what he does to be a bully or because he hates his sibling or whatever. But as a hero? There are no end of super strong heroes in Marvel, even aggressive ones. Write him as too heroic, and there's nothing separating him from Wonder Man (who himself can be a cipher at times). Cain having lines he didn't like to cross (such as being angry with Black Tom for killing Squidboy, who was only a kid) is fine, but that's not the same as being Mighty Mouse with a helmet.

Still, to Parker's credit, he's not using anything that hasn't been used before. If Juggernaut lost some power in ASM lately, well, he didn't write that, he'll just use it. He didn't write Juggernaut's flirtations with being a hero either; that started in the 90's with the Ultraverse line, and have continued off and on every few years since. Since Cyttorak can possess Marko on occasion, it could be possible that some of his personality shifts are instead evil influence (combined with the fact that Marko was hardly an angel when he found the crimson gem anyway). I like the idea that a T-Bolt can even be a "lifer" who has no hope of release, but at least is out of a cell killing who the fed wants killed, like Crossbones. It makes sense that it doesn't lead to a "get out of jail free" card for everyone.

In real life, the worst mobsters, gang members and drug kingpins can get reduced sentences if they spill on allies, so I suppose there is that real world connection. It can become as absurd as allowing someone who (probably but can't be fully proved) killed 16 people off because they can lead to a slam dunk conviction to a minor associate, but that's law for you.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

THANOS IMPERATIVE: IGNITION #1:
While Thanos is usually the villain, this is a story in which he is actually a necessary evil compared to something far worse. It also is a story with an interesting, and rare, message from a Western comic. That is, that death has a purpose in the cosmos, and that a universe in which nothing ever dies or changes (like most comic universes) becomes stagnant and even putrid and vile. The twisted heroes of the Cancerverse think they are doing good by "eliminating Death", but of course that makes things worse, because everything should eventually end. It's almost the opposite of some DC events, in which the "everything old is better than anything new" is often the motif.

That makes sense. Thanks Dread. I was reading it last night and thinking, "OK, if these villains are trying to eliminate death, is that a bad thing? Does that really make them bad guys?" Sure, Dark Quasar looks all evil and twisted, but "Dark" Mar-Vell looks just like regular Captain Marvel, except for the pagan star on his chest. I can totally see it from his perspective like, "Hey, we're doing a good thing for this universe. No one or nothing dies? That's a great thing. You can thank me later."

 

[Dread]

That makes sense. Thanks Dread. I was reading it last night and thinking, "OK, if these villains are trying to eliminate death, is that a bad thing? Does that really make them bad guys?" Sure, Dark Quasar looks all evil and twisted, but "Dark" Mar-Vell looks just like regular Captain Marvel, except for the pagan star on his chest. I can totally see it from his perspective like, "Hey, we're doing a good thing for this universe. No one or nothing dies? That's a great thing. You can thank me later."

No problem. In the West, death is treated as something that is wrong, evil, that should be defeated at any cost. But in other cultures, it is often treated as the other side of life, something that can be unpleasant and even tragic, but part of the balance. Everything that lives must die so something new can be born in it's place. The easiest example is that even anime intended for children in Japan will usually treat death as something to not have to hide around kids, whereas in America those sort of things are scooped under the rug at all costs. People laugh at YU-GI-OH, but in the original Japanese version, characters die. In the English dubs, they just "go to the Shadow Realm".

The philosophy of THANOS IMPERATIVE and the whole "Cancerverse" is that nothing can die, no matter how badly it becomes twisted and warped. Cancer is, after all, cells that become abnormal. Imagine if someone suffered with cancer and could never die. Would it be worse than death?

Plus...the bit where Dark Mar-Vell blasts Magus at least shows some of his cruelty. In the Cancerverse, a blast like that isn't fatal; Magus would have to live with the agony of it for a time. In the 616 universe, death was perhaps a respite to that sort of pain. Pain, after all, is a part of life; a response from those that live. Death isn't pain; you can't suffer any more when you're dead. Is nothingness better or worse than agony?

The idea, though, is that Life and Death are part of a balance, Yin and Yang if you will, and a universe without one or the other is off kilter. The easy way to write that is a universe where Death has won, and everyone is some sort of zombie or whatnot. This is the more interesting example, where eternal life has led to corruption, both physically and maybe even psychologically. You don't have to fear consequences in a world where you can't die. Of course, the people of the Cancerverse see it as "conquering death" which sounds noble, which is good. Villains who think they're right usually are better for it than ones who are evil for evil's sake.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I like that Cancerverse Quasar has a more armory look than regular Quasar. The sharp angles and harder overall look to his costume gives him a more villainous feel (and makes telling them apart a hell of a lot easier).

I have to admit, the ending of Ignition fell a bit flat for me. I mean, I know on a conceptual level that Mar-Vell was important to the cosmic landscape at one time, but I never really read much with him, so I don't get that intuitive sense of how his character fits into everything that I do with Thanos or Nova or Quasar. I was much more a fan of his kids. Still, I'm sure DnA will do a good job of catching me up and making the story accessible even without much knowledge of Mar-Vell.

 

[Dread]

It made sense because Thanos originally started out as Mar-Vell's arch nemesis before branching out. So therefore, the idea that Oblivion wanted Thanos back to counter the Cancerverse version of Mar-Vell has some logic to it.