if there's something strange, up in space ...

... who you gonna call?

BALLBUSTER!!!

 sorry, Abigail Brand may be a ballbuster, but you need to call the X-Men. i just needed to make something rhyme.

after mostly ignoring Joss Whedon's later-than-never-yet-deliciously-good Astonishing X-Men run, the X-writers co-opt it well, what with the return of Kitty Pryde (thank you, Magneto), and now an angle of what happened in Breakworld post-arm-breaking by Colossus. maybe there will be a resolution to Kitty's permanent phasing too?

Kieron Gillen, whose brief Thor run i did enjoy immensely, is off to good start.

-----
Uncanny X-Men #535

pig newton

drive-by readings

S.H.I.E.L.D. #3 (Marvel) "Chapter Three: The Theory of Eternal Life" Jonathan Hickman Dustin Weaver Christina Strain/Justin Ponsor Todd Klein Gerald Parel/Weaver (cover)

what we learned: even though you're a history buff or have no interest in it whatsoever, you will be sufficiently intrigued by this brainy series, and chances are, you won't be able to peel all the layers Hickman serves in one or two readings. Isaac Newton, recruited into SHIELD, realizes the future means much more science than what is laid before him, and so delves into the dark side, regardless of the cost.
oh shit moment: i froze when i realized that was Newton performing miscegenation with a Deviant (Ikaris does not approve!), or that he actually whacked Galileo (when i say "whack", i mean in a Mafia sense). interestingly, Galileo passed away in 1642, while Newton was born that same year. go figure. oh, and Nostradamus was kept alive as Newton's personal clairvoyant. oh, and if you still have a sliver of faith left in the Catholic Church, the roots of this event, delineated in the archive pages, will wipe that out.
what's next: the resurrected Leonardo da Vinci and Leonid square off against the apple guy (no, not Steve Jobs!).


take that, you racist bastards!

seeds of hope

drive-by readings

Uncanny X-Men #526 (Marvel) "The Five Lights Part One: Freak Like Me"/"Rebuilding" Matt Fraction Allan Heinberg Whilce Portacio Olivier Coipel Ed Tadeo Mark Morales Brian Reber Justin Ponsor Joe Caramagna Terry Dodson/Rachel Dodson (cover)

what we learned: Hope finds her family (or the backstory of it anyway) in Alaska, and its good enough to trust her new one going forward. What happens when Bishop comes back? also, grandpa Magneto learns of his possible grandkids Wiccan and Speed (in a prequel to Avengers: The Children's Crusade), but Wolverine warns him off. and nothing happens. ah, those halcyon days of 1993.
oh shit moment: apparently, there is hope of Kitty Pryde, whose diagnosis seems to be, she just forgot how to unphase. hey, Hank, care to come back for a second opinion?
what's next: this issue, Emma goes out to meet Tony Stark. next up, she's going for some raw sushi.


wait ... what? after all that shepherding and leading and banging one of the hottest chicks in the world, he's still an emotional cripple?

tying the loose ends

drive-by readings

The New Avengers: Finale (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Bryan Hitch/Stuart Immonen Butch Guice/Andrew Currie/Karl Story Paul Mounts/Justin Ponsor/Rain Beredo Chris Eliopoulos

first up, let's see what Avengers maestro Brian Michael Bendis let us know about New Avengers: Finale:


i've been increasingly critical about Bryan Hitch's artwork, which was becoming 'dirtier' (maybe its the bunch of inkers he has to work with?) and due to either deadline concerns (sometimes i don't mind lateness if the artwork is blow-my-mind stellar) or the bulk of work to be drawn, he ends up drawing with painful postures and sometimes disproportionate limbs. i mean, study this scene below, and draw your own conclusions.


i love Hitch circa The Authority and The Ultimates. i believe he does his best work with Paul Neary or Andrew Currie, and will be best served with limited series work that has some leeway on its shipping schedule.

so what about the rest of the story? this is intended to tie the loose ends of Siege, because they decided that it was going to be a 4-issue series, and obviously that won't be enough to tell the whole kaboodle. last time we saw Madame Masque, she was hightailing it with her balls-less boyfriend, Parker the Robbin' Hood out of Oklahoma. turns out she went to run to her dad, Ra's Al Ghul. oh wait - that's Count Nefaria.


really, its hilarious that supervillains are named literally, to ensure that you know they're BAD: Erik Killmonger, Doctor Faustus, Eric The Red, Spymaster, Doctor Doom, Mister Fear. although Mister Fear and Dr. Doom sound really cool.

the guys need to capture them unless they want to hand the bad guys another opportunity to put them through this kind of wringer again. also, its way past time this Brian K. Vaughan creation be put to pasture, as we can agree with Count Nefaria, his 15 minutes are up. luckily, every other bad guy is more than happy to give him up. its refreshing to find the Avengers, and this time not just the regular Avengers we used to know, but every major and promoted-to-major character that Bendis incorporated into the fold during this decade, to be actually working together. Spider-Man shouldn't have to endure any JJJ tirades any longer from hereon - one word from Cap and Jameson should shut up. but then again, would that be consistent with the Spidey creative team's direction to keep him a lovable loser?


hey, hey, hey, don't call Nicky Boy a terrorist!

speaking of Spidey, i want him to be contributing some more brains to the operation. i know he's the joker of the group ("booties!"), and they need comic relief in the heat of battle, but he's smart and it was past time he got Stark sponsorship (don't mention that Spider Armor - or was that all forgotten after Brand New Day?).

Disney execs are ROTFL

the Avengers acquit themselves further by bagging the Hood, Masque, Hood's pal John King, and Nefaria, with the help of Wolverine ("anything to get away from Cyclops - guy was driving me nuts." - what, because he's under pressure to keep the mutant race alive, fend off Bastion with his leadership skills and tactics while keeping the body count to a minimum, keep his faith in Hope with Kurt in mind, AND keep his sanity knowing he's sleeping with Emma Frost every damn night? you don't say.), and the forgotten fact that Ms. Marvel can absorb energy and redirect it at you. hear that, Marvel supervillains? keep that in mind next time you meet Ms. Marvel!

its fun to see Maria Hill leading the cheers for the good guys to take over again. wasn't it so long ago she was staring down Captain America, and sought to take him down? i guess working with Tony Stark, and working Tony Stark, if you know what i mean, works wonders. holy crap - too bad Tony doesn't remember any of that! would she file a paternity suit against him if she got preggers and he denies it, because that's the truth - he really doesn't remember?

and what of Steve Rogers? 2007 was so long ago. to tell the truth, i'm not bitter that he was brought back, y'know? sure, his death, with all the hype and related comic work that earned Marvel a gazillion more dollars (catching the eye of Disney), has been taken down notches, but didn't we expect this (coming back) to happen? this was part of Marvel's plan all along - not like the death of Jean Grey on the moon, and the haphazard resurrection just to launch X-Factor. at least he's not coming back to reclaim the mantle, and they just issued a one-shot (hint: its not Who Won't Wield the Shield!) to sort that out (i'm kinda looking at you, Battle for the Cowl)

really? don't you remember you used a joy buzzer on Tony when he shook your hand in Civil War?

final scene: what, no Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Logan, or Natasha?

well, all's well that ends well, i guess. though i have a couple of questions: i wonder how Jessica Jones got herself an AT&T contract without being traced by Osborn/H.A.M.M.E.R.?

oh well, maybe Pete jailbroke it and added a variable cellsite piggybacker (really talking out of my ass now)

what i really wanna know is, Bryan Hitch, what's up with Luke's now-you-see-it-now-you-don't earring?



oh hey, anybody know where Daken is?

/the quick answer is: he's going to replace Wolverine, so he gets a free not-going-to-jail card.

snaps: Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #1

... where our intrepid heroes find themselves in the Savage Land after a weird event at a bank robbery. turns out its not the Savage Land, and its not Kansas either. am not sure how the characterization works with Logan and Peter - at one point, they kind of regret being trapped there together, but for me, Logan's like the big grim brother to him and their time as Avengers solidified this (i recall Logan telling him that Peter can't miss next time he gets a shot at Norman Osborn - am waiting if Siege #4 delivers on that). the hyped pairing of Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert has beget a story that looks like a raucous adventure even though am not sure where its going.

well, i guess not everyone wants to be on Survivor: Heroes & Villains, even if you're a hero.


how much you wanna bet there's a little Logan or two among these people?


what, now we have to change the song lyrics??


stop whining. you could be stuck with Daken and J. Jonah Jameson, respectively!


Angar the Screamer has a crew? that's a ... scream.


Devil Dinosaur doesn't get no respect. damn you, Warren Ellis.

aaaaaaaaaaand ... she's back.

what i want to know is, how long was she out there without any food or water.





'nuff said!

-----
Uncanny X-Men #521

war is a many-tentacled thing

drive-by readings

Secret Warriors #12 (Marvel) "Wake The Beast" Jonathan Hickman Stefano Caselli Sunny Gho Dave Lanphear Jimmy Cheung/Mark Morales/Justin Ponsor (cover) i don't know if other readers of this book kind of feels it like it ran out of steam in its last few issues. i like that Nick Fury took it upon himself to try and save the world on his own terms, recruiting his Secret Warriors and reforming the Howling Commandos. but there's too much going on, and this title is no longer "just" the Secret Warriors anymore. it was manageable when it was just Fury and his kids. now they're taking on Hydra, Leviathan and good knows who else, and with it the inevitable bureaucracy that running an organization entails. it doesn't help that Nick Fury sits there, lectures and he has like 46 scenarios running through his brain and you know he'll win eventually. for someone who went underground, his presence is practically everywhere - he recently helped Bucky Barnes get a new hand but hasn't renewed ties with Steve Rogers yet. i await the eventual sitdown between Fury, the resurrected Tony Stark, the two Captain Americas, Thor, and the rest of the Avengers. if this doesn't happen, i will protest in front of the Marvel offices until they do. oh wait, what happens in this issue? Leviathan captures Viper in search of the "Box" (maybe they should go to Utopia and look up Madison Jeffries?), and Hydra thinks there's a traitor in their midst, which would work well for Fury. both also have secret weapons to be unveiled. there's also a sidestory with Stonewall and Yo-Yo visiting Stonewall's Supermax-resident dad - Crusher Creel, presumably which happens after he got his ass kicked in Mighty Avengers #33. but again this thread is overshadowed by everything else that's going on.

cue in Guns N' Roses: "i used to love her ... but i had to kill her ..."


Gorgon wassn't too enthusiastic about this new acupuncture technique.

snaps: X-Men #520

... where three non-American X-Men are sent to New York to watch Mamma Mia or The Loki Puppet Show on Broadway, and track those nanites sent via Predator X-press - it's those bunch of superpowered X-Men wannabes introduced back in issue five hundred-whatever. also, Magneto tries to make himself useful by propping up the sinking Utopia, but is rebuffed by Cyclops. consequently, he goes off to either find his center or go back to being a goddamned supervillain. i hope its the former, because i'm goddamned sick of the 'X-Men vs Magneto' cliche.

it's 2010 and they're still using the Blackbird like its 1999. ohh, they call it X-Jet now?


big talk, fish man. you like attending meetings when you can huff and puff (see Illuminati, Cabal).


Logan, you're all rich ... pay the frog! or promise him some escargot!


the X-Men are back in New York and no one raises a fuss? not even one calls H.A.M.M.E.R.?


hey, are you really Prometheus?


Fantomex casually regale strangers of his adventures. in a diner.


not after killing his wife, you don't. oh wait, that wasn't you?! well, why dintcha say so?! c'mere, big guy. bring it in! group hug, everybody!!

Peter goes back to high school

with the news breaking last night that Spider-Man 4 has been cancelled and the whole franchise is being rebooted, we can at least console ourselves with the fact that KiKi Dunst will no longer be our buck-toothed Mary Jane nightmare. i just hope the Blu-Ray version of the trilogy (which is now part of history) goes below $40 so i can replace my DVDs soon.

i guess the tug-of-war between Sam Raimi and Sony hit spectacular doo-doo proportions and there was no way to settle it. despite the stated new direction of the reboot is to bring Peter Parker back in a high school setting, i think this would work as long as the plot and storyline hold up just like Spider-Man 2 did. not to mention the new generation of fans the new movie might bring.

so in this big picture that Marvel is assembling, is there room for rookie hero Peter Parker in the Avengers cast? probably not. but i still hope there would be room for some crossover referencing. especially when they also decide to reboot the X-Men franchise.

snaps: Uncanny X-Men #518

... where another psychic surgery session takes place (happens less these days only because Jean Grey's not around anymore - maybe), Magneto goes retro-'80s and makes himself useful (maybe), and Hank McCoy goes emo on us. Hank McCoy!

1) the day it's the happy-go-lucky Bobby Drake dispensing this kind of advice - to Hank, no less - is the day that you know you should stop yearning for Danger Rooms and stupid villains. wait, who's yearning?


2) and Hank tries to deflect and parry, but he's dating an alien ... ok, half-alien.


3) he's a lover, not a fighter. one of Scott's fantasies just came true.


4) Betsy: "my past history with Scott notwithstanding, Professor - don't look at me, i didn't do anyth - oh, you weren't referring to that ..."


5) oh, am sure he had no problems "blasting Emma in the face", if you know what i mean. and i'm not talking about his optic beams either. (hey, kid, stop reading this and go to Disney.com or something.)


6) well, we'll just have Logan cut off your head right here and now then. huh? what do you mean he's on Avengers business? get him here right now before Mags goes nuts again!!!

magn(animo)us

drive-by readings

Uncanny X-Men #516 (Marvel) "Nation X" Matt Fraction Greg Land Jay Leisten Justin Ponsor Joe Caramagna

the day i've been waiting for since Magneto took over the school for Xavier (that was a loooooong time ago) has arrived. well, kind of. Magneto waltzes in Utopia with an open hand, and Xavier, ever mistrustful (who wouldn't be), shoots first and ask questions later. good thing Scott has the cojones to shout the Prof down. we've come a long way from San Marco.

Scott has a full armada of X-Men - especially those that matter (resurrecting them would do that ... oh wait, where's Jeannie?). and now Magnus feels like he's 20?? holy Asteroid M! are we sure this isn't Joseph? we could be looking at a sly reboot of "X-Men vs Magneto" once again (i see the t-shirts: "Xavier was Right"). but that would negate this starting point, wouldn't it? hopefully Magneto and Xavier would work together this ti- hey! didn't they work together back in Genosha after M-Day or something? what the hell. and what's with the Mark Antony speech? sarcasm doesn't seem to suit you, Magnus.

putting all the mutants in one place, and with Magneto looking to join the gang, its a whole new ballgame for this title, and its something worth pursuing. not sure about Scott uniting every mutant, as Magneto says, because the Marauders are still out there. actually one of them's in a plane approaching Utopia, with a cargo of Predator Xs in the hold. fun times.

i'll leave you with this conversation they didn't put in the book.

Magnus: "Hey, Logan ... sorry for pulling out your adamantium that one time ..."
Logan: "Fuck off, Erik."

down to earth

drive-by readings

Astonishing X-Men #31 (Marvel) "Exogenetic, Part 1" Warren Ellis Phil Jimenez Andy Lanning Frank D'Armata Joe Caramagna Travis Charest/Justin Ponsor (variant cover)

Abby Brand, current Hank McCoy flame, leads a S.W.O.R.D. contingent in some kind of black ops mission, then evacuates as the Brood throws their op to shit and she's forced to crash land on Earth. S.W.O.R.D./US Space Command has no way to protect those West Coast bums from a fiery spaceship crash, so who they gonna call? The! X-Men!

apparently, the events here occur before the Osborn/X-Men spat, as they are still in the Marin Headlands. what else do we glean from this sequence of events?

- in such emergencies the US Space Command does not call the Avengers or Norman Osborn himself, they call the X-Men.
- apparently, Abby also managed to nudge her spacecraft enough to crash where friends are so they can rescue her (brilliant!!)
- despite the loss of Prof. X's money and Sh'iar tech, the X-Men still get neat toys (the X2, a Blackbird for a new generation, straight from "the most brilliant and unhinged scientific minds in Japan" - oh you mean those who cook up those hentai shit?)
- Cyclops stages the rescue operation because "no one else has a prayer". uh, doesn't S.W.O.R.D. work with H.A.M.M.E.R.? did they forget they have the Sentry? (apparently, he's off spacing out again and dreaming about a thousand exploding suns. or was that a million? oh look, dandelions!)
- Emma smugly teeps (yes, thank you, DnA!) Abby that "a day without doing something stupid isn't worth getting out of bed for." OH!! so that's the motivation of those Jackass dudes!!!
- is Storm divorced from T'Challa? why is she hanging around with her buddies, getting into pissing contests with Emma, whom even Hank wants to piss on? (whooaaa. bestiality. golden showers. slow down, buddy.)

exciting rescue comes to an end at Fisherman's Wharf, where they all have clam chowder thereafter. oh, and a supposed dead student reappears and morphs into some kind of organic zombie sentinel. wait, is this Necrosha yet?

this title has gone weird on me since Joss Whedon left (well, what can I do, its the one and only Warren Ellis!). maybe i just miss the clean art of John Cassaday. Phil Jimenez ain't no slouch, but look who's doing variant covers! its the guy who left me at the altar that was WildC.A.T.S. vol. 2. welcome back, Travis - do you still have it in you??

genosha 2.0

drive-by readings

Uncanny X-Men #515 (Marvel) "Nation X" Matt Fraction Greg Land Jay Leisten Justin Ponsor Joe Caramagna

if you had a house, then leave it, go away for one reason or another, and never come back for years, then someone just walks right in, fixes it up, and makes it their own, do you have the right to come back and reclaim it? the law might say you already practically abandoned it, although there isn't really a legal document stating the obvious. thus you might still have a case, considering the name on the deed is still yours. assuming there is a deed.

what are we talking about here? oh yeah, Asteroid M, currently known as Utopia and sitting off the Bay Area coastline, is now the home of mutants and their purported supporters. not to mention a bunch of Atlanteans (i think Matt Fraction's dream is to build a universal hippie community and live in it. seriously. have you seen how Matt Fraction looks??) and their grumpy king. well, its former landlord has come back, and duh ... wasn't that inevitable? he has his powers back too huh? well, well, philosophical or physical battle? i know, let's compromise. Scott, give him free room and board and a seat at your inner council. never know when we might need Avalon to transfer to once the US government nukes Utopia. plus we're really not sure if its him because he talks like an L.A. fashionista who's been watching too much TMZ and Hollywood Access.

oh hey, why am i ruminating only on the LAST PAGE of this issue? let's see: the Pat Morita biologist died, Bobby is actually a member of Scott's inner council (yes, Iceman, because he's cool and an Omega class mutant, you ass), Namor attends said council meetings in his underpants (nobody dares give him a wedgie), Danger becomes the de facto prison warden ("Danger, Warden Danger, Danger!! oh screw it!!!") Scott picks fight with everyone from Emma (who's becoming nasty every 10 minutes because of the Void), to Professor Xavier, to the Mayor of SanFran (whom i thought was gonna jump his bones because too much tension there) and to dearest friend Hank McCoy, who's about to jump ship, if the Internet chatter is to be believed. and oh, there's a new bunch of evil mutants in town. all in all, another exercise in Greg's glossy Land. hey, would you rather have Scott Kolins drawing this? really???

in one ear, out the other

drive-by readings

Dark Reign - The List: Daredevil one shot (Marvel) Andy Diggle Billy Tan Matt Banning Justin Ponsor Joe Caramagna

like we need another excuse for a DD/Bullseye mano-a-mano. i like better when DD pwned Bullseye back during the Bendis run. here its just ... Osborn wants to send DD and the Hand a message, so he sics Bullseye (in real costume) on him, people die because Lester the Molester likes it like that, and ol' Hornhead decides to send him and Osborn ... a message. end scene.

what was the message? and how come no one listens?

rumor has it that EEEK Joe Quesada nixed a sequel to this called Dark Reign - The Message: Daredevil.

is Lady Bullseye still working covertly for Yoda/Pat Morita Master Izo, as she does Kingpin's bidding? and why the sudden turnaround, Wilson? oh, ok, life in DD Land is not complete without the Kingpin scheming somewhere, somehow.

i'm much more looking forward to the regular series where we'll have Matt as full-time Hand CEO and how his superhero pals will deal with this new development. add to that Matt being angry about 107 dead people and you know its on his shoulders. despite what Izo keeps drumming into his head (that man knows how to paaaar-taaaaayyy!).

one thing to note is now all Hand ninjas sport horns as per new regulations. imagine if Warren Worthington became the uber-boss (wings). or Tony Stark (helmets). or Rocket Raccoon (tails).

Magneto wants the copyright

drive-by readings

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1 (Marvel) Matt Fraction Mike Deodato Terry Dodson Rachel Dodson Justin Ponsor Christina Strain Joe Caramagna Simone Bianchi (alternate cover)

ripping Magneto off kind of makes Scott Summers a sneaky tactical bastard in the vein of his mentor Charles Xavier (whom he has reduced respect for, these days) - raising Asteroid M and rechristening it as Utopia would make Mags snort and sneer about Scott's unoriginality. but who cares right? it's all part of a bigger plan, which apparently includes getting beaten up by Norman Osborn (you know Emma finds those bruises sexy). and was it really that easy to beat the Sentry and Ares? if so, why didn't they all do this a long time ago? sigh. anyhoo, i'm intrigued as to what Magneto thinks of all of these, as he was last seen chilling out with the High Evolutionary, getting his powers back. also, wouldn't it be easy to just nuke the island now (hello, Cassandra Nova) and wipe out everyone with in one swoop? hey, don't give Norman any more ideas! plus we have that Selene boobage Necrosha thing to deal with too!

drive-by readings: Ultimate Avengers #2

Ultimate Avengers #2 (Marvel) "The Next Generation, Part 2 of 6" Mark Millar Carlos Pacheco Danny Miki Dexter Vines Justin Ponsor Cory Petit Laura Martin

the question has probably been posed out there already: is there still anybody who cares about the Ultimate Universe? i'm not sure what the sales numbers are for this title. suffice it to say it does maintain my interest, with the return of original writer Mark Millar, and exciting new work from Carlos Pacheco. looks like Millar isn't done peeling back the layers of his re-imagined Marvel characters - there's always a nasty surprise hidden somewhere. so what if Cap's not as squeaky clean as the original? we loved him kicking the crap out of Hank Pym. and his son is the Red Skull, trained by the US government in a black op facility reminiscent of Weapon X? bring it on. once Cap learns the truth, he goes underground (not without kissing Hawkeye's face with his boot). man, sometimes Millar makes it hard to like these characters though. and who is blond new (elder) Stark? my guess is Robert Downey Jr.

drive-by readings: Ultimate Avengers #1

Ultimate Avengers #1 (Marvel) "The Next Generation, Part 1 of 6" Mark Millar Carlos Pacheco Danny Miki Justin Ponsor Cory Petit Laura Martin Leinil Yu/Jason Keith (variant cover)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaand Mark Millar's back in the Ultimate line. i confess i haven't read Ultimatum yet from end to end. i'm vaguely aware of Magneto going nuts, a Biblical flood, Wolverine killing Multiple Man, Blob eating the Wasp, and most of the mutants dead as well. now we have the Ultimates - the Avengers - rebuilding their world post-Armageddon. looks like everyone got infected by Hawkeye's suicidal-take-no-prisoners-approach, even Captain America casually tosses bad guys out of a helicopter, or its just a bad day to take on the Avengers. anyhoo, most of it is a flashback with Cap and Hawkeye dealing with A.I.M. and Cap meeting the Red Skull (for the first time) - and the ugly jerk (looking like Crossbones) is ostensibly his son. pretty much Cap goes AWOL after that (more backstory to come) and Nick Fury is brought back to head a special ops team to bring Cap back in.

i've been a fan of Carlos Pacheco (Avengers Forever is a treasured book) and i'm astonished at this new level of amazing interior art - maybe its Danny Miki's inks. suffice it to say: wow.

if anything at all, this is NOT Ultimates 3. and thank God for that.

drive-by readings: Uncanny X-Men #513

Uncanny X-Men #513 (Marvel) "Utopia Chapter Two" Matt Fraction Terry Dodson Rachel Dodson Justin Ponsor Joe Caramagna Simone Bianchi (variant cover)

since when did Cyclops become Daredevil? and when did Adam X become a white trash skateboard punk? more questions than answers abound in the new Dark Avengers/X-Men Utopia storyline. what's Emma Frost's (now wearing a black coat, how stylish) endgame? i'm only slightly surprised the Dark Beast is on Norman Osborn's side of the conflict, and the longer you leave that doppelganger alive, the more he's bound to create more mischief. having more characters crossing the line is a lot more detrimental to my sanity than having Skrulls impersonate everybody else (hello, Mystique). look, even Mimic is here. Namor is hanging around because he knocked boots with Emma back in the day and they have dealings we aren't privy much to yet. Tony, come back!!! oh, that's right, they drove him out of town. Steve, come back!!!

drive-by readings: Secret Warriors #5

Secret Warriors #5 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis/span> Jonathan Hickman Stefano Caselli Daniele Rudoni Dave Lanphear Jimmy Cheung/Justin Ponsor (cover)

well, this is what the S.H.I.E.L.D. gig turned out to be. Nick Fury goes into paranoia overdrive, manipulates a few heroes to take out Latveria, gets disgraced and quits, comes back with new super recruits to repel the Skrull Invasion (like that helped), sees his old outfit decommissioned and rebuilt into Norman Osborn's public army, and now all this time he's been fighting a regenerated Hydra. if he got paid by the hour, that's USD35M @ $1K/hour in back pay, not counting medical benefits. he's still underpaid by Wall Street standards.

speaking of renumeration, how is he gonna pay the salaries of some twelve hundred ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. loyalists, whom he just deployed to attack a former base to retrieve their helicarriers. of course he knows this is also to draw Hydra into the open, thereby multiplying their opponent-to-good-guy ratio like around 10 to 1. make that 20 to 1 'cause Hydra's guys are kinda superpowered too. hazard pay? what hazard pay? its easy for Fury to say "if it was gonna be easy, it wouldn't be any fun now, would it?", because he has the goddamn Infinity Formula running through his veins. prick. maybe we should change the title of the book to Nick Fury: Secret Warrior, as Daisy and the gang are only shown in one panel all issue.

i'm guessing Stefano Caselli's strength is not splash pages that need some detailed backgrounds. he's done a great job with Avengers: The Initiative which netted him this gig, and i like his action shots, although sometimes the faces look alike from one to the other, giving you the sense that it was rushed. otherwise, this is still a solid issue (and series overall), with Marvel making good use of its rich library of (albeit perpetually-resurrected) characters.