the weekly hits

Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark (Image)
Ryan Ottley/Jason Howard/Cliff Rathburn
what we learned: a Sea Bear. a Grizzly Shark. eating people anywhere. that's all you need to know.
oh shit moment: just imagine any moment you could be doing your own thing, then suddenly you're wondering why your head is at ground level and the rest of your body's just ... gone.
what's next: really? you want this to be an ongoing? well ....


Batman: Streets of Gotham #13 (DC)
Paul Dini/Dustin Nguyen/Derek Fridolfs/John Kalisz/Sal Cipriano
what we learned: the Carpenter turns the tables on the Director just in time for Batman to clean up. despite the cheesy dialogue because of the nature of the story, its entertaining. by the way, how does everyone manage to show up at the right time for the board meetings to remind Thomas Eliott of his place?
oh shit moment: nothing much to shit your pants about. although Jenna Duffy has been warned off by Bats, she can't resist the lure of the job of assembling for dangerous people (which means that hauling supercriminals off to jail never works).
what's next: what is Hush up to?


Hulk #23 (Marvel)
Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuiness/Mark Farmer/Morry Hollowell/Richard Starkings/Herb Trimpe/Dave McCaig/Tim Sale/Dave Stewart/Dale Keown/Sal Buscema/Brad Anderson/Ian Churchill/Edgar Delgado/Leinil Yu/Gerry Alanguilan/Marte Gracia/John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson/Emily Warren/Dean White/Jason Keith/Mike Deodato/Rain Beredo (variant cover: Adam Kubert/Laura Martin)
man, i'm tired typing all those credits, but its the only way to give those nods as Blogger's 200 character limit for tags (booooo!) kinda put a damper on the party, and it was a rocking one.

Green Arrow #1 (DC)
J.T. Krul/Diogenes Neves/Vicente Cifuentes/Ulises Arreola/Rob Leigh (covers: Mauro Cascioli, Ethan Van Sciver/Hi-Fi)
what we learned: despite him being kicked out of Star City, Ollie Queen can't help himself and still hangs around. and conveniently a "magical" forest has sprung around the city, giving him cachet to play a man in tights. oh, someone offed his best friend Nunocerda. now Ollie has to throw away his special Nunocerda arrow.
oh shit moment: uh, Ollie stealing food from the rich to give to the poor? yeah. or his stepmom takes his company back.
what's next: team up with his pal Hal and beat up some rent-a-soldiers.

"well ... uh ... actually this is my BDSM outfit. heh."

X-Men Legacy #237 (Marvel)
Mike Carey/Greg Land/Jay Leisten/Justin Ponsor/Cory Petit (cover: Adi Granov)
what we learned: aren't you glad they resurrected Doug Ramsey? and they say diplomatic and linguistic skills are useless in battle. suspiciously, Colossus' broken arm is not shown at all.
oh shit moment: two for me: Magneto bleeding for the X-Men once again in a very long time, and Hope having the balls to threaten the de facto leader of an endangered species. really.
what's next: bring on Bastion!!! (i wonder if Scott Lobdell or Pascual Ferry is reading this crossover?)

see, if only Jean was that frisky ...

Fantastic Four #580 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman/Neil Edwards/Andrew Currie/Paul Mounts/Rus Wooton (cover: Alan Davis/Mark Farmer/Javier Rodriguez)
what we learned: Toys R Us is actually a front for Arcade (no longer a premiere X-villain) and the Impossible Man is an NYC gadabout with a semblance of social responsibility (you mean to say no one mistakes him for a Skrull?). much more interesting is Reed's Future Foundation, where a disparate young cast of characters is mentored by Mr. Fantastic to generate ideas for the betterment of mankind. no, not the wrestler.
oh shit moment: the Future Foundation's first project: to cure Ben Grimm! ok, not a total cure, but its a start. the Thing's inability to become human and the subsequent frustration of trying to be normal is a Marvel tradition. Jonathan Hickman, just like Ed Brubaker and that Bucky thing before him, is poised to upend the apple cart.
what's next: don't call him Rocky no more! no, seriously, please let this not be a dead end. Ben needs this as much as we fans do.


Avengers #2 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson/Dean White/Cory Petit
to get to the future, they need a binoculars. then a ride. so they ask Space Ghost Penis to help. then (less than) Wonder Man shows up angry, disappears. then some Horsemen show up, also angry. next issue, they fight.

Secret Warriors #17 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman/Alessandro Vitti/Imaginary Friends Studio/Dave Lanphear (cover: Jim Cheung/Mark Morales/Justin Ponsor)
what we learned: smelling blood in the water, Nick Fury unleashes all his teams on the warring Hydra and Leviathan. the narrative though is post-event, as Dum Dum and Jasper Sitwell are grilled in a secret meeting convened by the UN Security Council. oh, and there's a party and Steve Rogers feels like a 20 year old man again.
oh shit moment: Howling Commandos silenced forevermore?
what's next: Howling Commandos silenced forevermore?


Thunderbolts #145 (Marvel)
Jeff Parker/Kev Walker/Frank Martin/Albert Deschesne
i commend Luke Cage for taking the task of running Marvel's rehab program and facing threats with a bunch of guys who might just stab him in the back, front, side or wherever they please. nanites or no nanites, something bad's gonna happen.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (Marvel)
Grant Morrison/Yanick Paquette/Michel Lacombe/Nathan Fairbairn/Jared Fletcher (covers: Andy Kubert/Yanick Paquette)
what we learned: some people might scoff at at the whole Final Crisis/Batman RIP thing as poorly-conceived non-permanent-event ripoff. that may be so, but it allowed us to have Batman & Robin and the Return of Bruce Wayne. in his trek back from the past, Bruce gets involved with Blackbeard the Pirate and upholds his legacy as the Man of Bats in the most amazing way.
oh shit moment: a dazed Bruce takes the cape and takes on the buccaneers with the Bat People. whooooooooo!
what's next: Jonah Hex! Cowboy Batman! yeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaawww!


Wolverine: Weapon X #14 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Ron Garney/Jason Keith/Matt Milla/Cory Petit (cover: Garney/Morry Hollowell)
what we learned: this Deathlok is a murderer revived as a killing machine (what's new?). but there's a conscience there somehow.
oh shit moment: the future human resistance decides to go after the civilian identities of the Deathloks in the past - while they're still kids.
what's next: Peace, 'Lok!!


Joker's Asylum: Killer Croc (DC)
Mike Raicht/David Yardin/Cliff Richards/Rodney Ramos/Jose Villarubia/Patrick Brosseau (cover: Francesco Mattina)
what we learned: despite the fear you have for Killer Croc as he chased you down the sewer tunnels of Arkham Asylum, there are bigger and viler beasts among men that you need to be more afraid of. and oh, did Francesco Mattina switch to DC already?
oh shit moment: we knew were it was going but the betrayal was painful nonetheless.
what's next: i think i need to check out the other Joker's Asylum titles i missed.


Power Girl #13 (DC)
Judd Winick/Sami Basri/Sunny Gho/John J. Hill
i know y'all miss Amanda Conner, but you should give this Basri guy a chance. and a serious story for a change.

Green Lantern Corps #49 (DC)
Tony Bedard/Ardian Syaf/Vicente Cifuentes/Randy Mayor/Gabe Eltaeb/Steve Wands (cover: Syaf/Cifuentes/Ulises Arreola, variant: Patrick Gleason/John Dell/Mayor)
what we learned: the rebellious Alpha Lanterns' recruitment drive is in full swing and it may have added Jon Stewart. opps, i meant John Stewart. dumb keyboard.
oh shit moment: who's behind all this nonsense? no, not Tony Bedard! its the i-wanna-die-but-i-cant Cyborg Superman! paging Dr. Kevorkian!
what's next: paging Dr. Kevorkian!

things i liked this week

Justice Society of America #39 (DC)
Bill Willingham/Jesus Merino/Jesse Delperdang/Rob Leigh/Allen Passalaqua

and this is how i like my alternate future crisis stories - although it reeks of Days of Future Past (and its not even a broad comics event in any case), the idea that the super-Nazis have taken over the world and defeated most of the good guys, has got me cheering the resistance led by Mr. Terrific. but right at the last second, a twist - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. looking forward to the conclusion (and let it be not a post-event narrative a la Secret Invasion #8)

Avengers Prime #1 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Alan Davis/Mark Farmer/Javier Rodriguez/Chris Eliopoulos

the Avengers Big Three in an in-between days adventure before the Avengers relaunch (man, how do these guys breathe?). divided fans of Iron Man and Captain America should not miss this, as i expect chockfulls of fanboy goodness (though there might be some mis-characterizations).

Superman/Batman Annual #4 (DC)
Paul Levitz/Renato Guedes/Jose Wilson/Steve Wands (cover: Art Germ)

probably the best Batman Beyond story in years, Terry McGinnis gets to be in an unlikely teamup with an aging Superman in a downtrodden Metropolis to go up against who else, but longtime nemesis Luthor. is this a sign that McGinnis will get to be featured in more high profile stories soon? continuity freaks will nitpick this, but hell, i just want me some Batman Beyond. looks like Paul Levitz didn't miss a beat.

The Thanos Imperative #1 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Miguel Sepulveda/Jay David Ramos/Joe Caramagna (cover: Aleksi Briclot)

and here we go! with the Cancer-verse growing by the minute and their version of Mar-Vell aiming to wipe out death in this universe of ours (well, isn't that a good thing?), the Guardians of the Galaxy try to balance things out by reinjecting Thanos into the equation. this series is not to be missed as usual, with the great space opera work DnA have been churning out in the past few years, but am a bit apprehensive that this is their swan song and they're going out with a bang. a big bang.

Invincible #72 (Image)
Robert Kirkman/Ryan Ottley/Cliff Rathburn/FCO Plascencia/Rus Wooton

the Viltrumite War begins and it looks like major characters will not survive. when Invincible ends, they should just make a coffee table book of all its gory moments. that's a conversation starter.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 (Marvel)
Karl Kesel/Paulo Siqueira/Fabio D'Auria/Joe Caramagna (cover: Marcos Martin)
Spidey meets Cap - the original - for the first time. but if Cap first saw him back in Avengers vol. 1 #11, how come he's been using a computer to track down Spidey? it must be that fluid Marvel timeline. also, i bet Cap still uses AOL to get on teh 'Net.


Captain America/Black Panther - Flags of Our Fathers #3 (Marvel)
Reginald Hudlin/Denys Cowan/Tom Palmer/Pete Pantazis/Joe Sabino (cover: Cowan/Sandu Florea/Pantazis)
worth the price of admission: the Armless Tiger Man! man, the Red Skull sure knows how to pick 'em!


Avengers - The Origin #3 (Marvel)
Joe Casey/Phil Noto/Albert Deschesne
the fledgling Avengers track down the Hulk in a circus, where the collateral damage is bound to be high. and they're likely to make mistakes because they're inexperienced and a tad excited about this whole superheroing thing. excellent work by Phil Noto.

Secret Warriors #16 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman/Gianluca Gugliotta/Sunny Gho/Dave Lanphear (cover: Jim Cheung/Mark Morales/Justin Ponsor)
just like the best spy-vs-spy conflicts, am already at a loss as to what's going on. yeah i know the ugly guys are the bad guys, but with Nick Fury being revealed as a member of a Shadow Council taking care of the Serpent Crown (Serpent. Hydra. Leviathan. scary creatures.) - unless that was an LMD and Hickman and Bendis are laughing at my confusion. and now, another betrayal. looks like nothing changes in Fury's world, S.H.I.E.L.D. or no S.H.I.E.L.D. i miss Stefano Caselli though.


Hercules - Twilight of a God #1 (Marvel)
Bob Layton/Ron Lim/Mike Cavallaro/Dave Sharpe
no Amadeus Cho, but no matter - Herc's still up to his old shenanigans, mostly saving the world and being drunk. hey, old people need their meds - fact of life. but those pills of lucidity may not save him from an enraged Silver Surfer looking for some payback. catfight!!!

The Brave & The Bold #34 (DC)
J. Michael Straczynski/Jesus Saiz/Rob Leigh/Tom Chu
i took a stab at this, and i liked it. time travel, black holes, a randy robot and a pink fluff. wheeeeee!

things i liked this week

Scalped #37 (DC/vertigo)
Jason Aaron/Davide Furno/Guilia Brusco/Steve Wands (cover: Jock)
consistently good, the conclusion of last issue's story arc "A Fine Action of an Honorable and Catholic Spaniard", has a surprising twist, and as gritty as any. Shunka thinks he's acted on his convictions, but as it turns out, he's been played by his own kind. Vasco Núñez de Balboa would be kind of disappointed.


Justice Society of America #38 (DC)
Bill Willingham/Jesus Merino/Jesse Delperdang/Allen Passalaqua/Rob Leigh

an intriguing tale (though not original): time has been changed and Jesse James' favorite people have taken over. a Darkness wave has negated all superpowers and no one can step up to the goose-steppers. ex-superheroes are executed for entertainment, and for some reason, Michael Holt is on the side of bad guys. why? well, since Batman just bit the dirt, he's the only one with the brains to get them out of this.

Secret Warriors #15 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman/Stefano Caselli/Sunny Gho/Dave Lanphear (cover: Jimmy Cheung/Mark Morales/Justin Ponsor)
i liked the confrontation between Nicky and the Contessa - i guess that's that for them. i'm just confused of all this Hydra/Leviathan business. i guess i need to go back and re-read (especially now with another Hickman distraction, S.H.I.E.L.D.). nice touch on the Logan/Viper wedding (the '90s were a pretty weird time).


Mighty Avengers #36 (Marvel)
Dan Slott/Khoi Pham/Craig Yeung/Dave Meikis/John Rauch/Dave Lanphear

i think we're giving this Earth's Supreme Scientist/smartest man alive/starring role to Hank Pym or else he's gonna go nutso on us again. actually, they should go back to making him Yellowjacket. at least he doesn't pretend he's not a douche. hey, Hank, you just got c-a-n-c-e-l-e-d.

New Avengers #64 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Mike McKone/Dave McCaig/Albert Deschesne (cover: Stuart Immonen/Wade Von Grawbadger/McCaig)

what's with Madame Masque? suddenly she's now the power under The Hood? (yeah i know they wuz knockin' boots, but hey, that's like trading down from a Ferrari (Tony Stark) to a Kia (yeah, Parker Robbins, without the Norn Stones, you iz just a punk). notice that this shipped earlier than Siege #4, so basically we all get spoilers. what? Norman Osborn is the Green Goblin??

how can she slap??

Thunderbolts #143 (Marvel)
Jeff Parker/Miguel Sepulveda/Frank Martin/Albert Deschesne (cover: Adi Granov)
great syncing with the Siege Avengers titles. a perfect sendoff to the most interesting bunch of villains south of Dark Avengers. and perfect lead in to Luke Cage's stint as new T-Bolt MC.

X-Factor #204 (Marvel)
Peter David/Val De Landro/Pat Davidson/Jeromy Cox/Cory Petit (cover: David Yardin/Nathan Fairbairn)

i've read somewhere that Peter David hates crossovers, especially when it affects the stories he wants to tell (what writer wouldn't?). but Second Coming seems ok here: the Bastion-influenced military goes after X-Factor, starting with a use of a decoy (the Absorbing Man is a cuckolded husband!) to lure them out of their HQ and get ambushed. over in South America, Guido's having a wee bit of trouble with Baron Mordo. and then these soldiers come out of the woodwork. for all the pain they get, i doubt if Jamie would be the one to kick Bastion's ass when the time comes.

X-Force #26 (Marvel)
Craig Kyle/Christopher Yost/Mike Choi/Sonia Oback/Cory Petit (cover: Adi Granov, variant covers: David Finch/Matt Banning/Peter Steigerwald/John Cassaday/Laura Martin)

the much-talked about comic of the week, and the most telegraphed as well. this is not going to be a spoiler since you have the Internetz. yes, Kurt Wagner is dead, and for some reason, Bastion's brain is located in his arm (how else would his body just collapse after Kurt bamfs his arm off the grid?). looks like an X-Man dies with every issue of Second Coming. i am ambivalent about this development (because maybe he'll be back someday).

Captain America #605 (Marvel)
Ed Brubaker/Luke Ross/Butch Guice/Dean White/Joe Caramagna (cover: Gerald Parel)
more often than not, i have no sympathy for crazy people, so i cheered Buck on as he pulled the trigger on his machine gun to stop Bad Cap from detonating the bomb on the Hoover dam. but if you don't find a body, always expect bad things. when was the last time that an unrecovered villain's body was the end of it?


Thor #609 (Marvel)
Kieron Gillen/Billy Tan/Matt Banning/Rich Elson/Christina Strain/June Chung/Joe Sabino (cover: Mico Suayan/Laura Martin)
the Asgardians strike back! Loki has been de-pantsed. Broxtonians like Volstagg. Siege is almost over, and i anxiously await how Asgard is going to be rebuilt.


Ultimate Avengers 2 #1 (Marvel)
Mark Millar/Leinil Francis Yu/Gerry Alanguilan/Laura Martin/Cory Petit (variant cover: Marc Silvestri/Sunny Gho)
look who's dressed up as a Captain America! why, its that Punisher fellow back when the 616 Cap just died. anyhoo, Samuel Jackson Nick Fury, fresh off orchestrating a coup to get his (sort of) old job back, has recruited mass murderer Frank Castle to his new team. next up: the first Hulk. who? by the way, i like reteaming of countrymen Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan (those weird '90s Wolverine, Superman: Birthright among others) for art duties. sugod!


Invincible Iron Man #25 (Marvel)
Matt Fraction/Salvador Larroca/Frank D'Armata/Joe Caramagna (variant covers: Rian Hughes/Tetsuya Aoki/Ryan Meinerding/Herb Trimpe)
Iron Man is back. and he wants to change the world. gently, this time. but he only takes cash.

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.

Fury's 11

drive-by readings

Dark Reign - The List: Secret Warriors one shot (Marvel) "Leviathan" Jonathan Hickman Ed McGuinness Chris Sotomayor Dave Lanphear Tom Palmer McGuinness/Dexter Vines/John Rauch (cover)

should we still call them "Secret Warriors"? Nick Fury practically operates in the open these days (to the chagrin of Contessa LaFontaine), and he has two teams already at his disposal - his Warriors, and the reborn/reconstructed Howling Commandos. all he needs is a YouTube channel and a Twitter page.

so breaking in Avengers tower (with some help from Ares - what, is he another Fury plant, that kind of trick that beats us over our head with "hey-am-20-steps-ahead-of-everyone-else"? NO. we have to read Secret Warriors #9 on sale 10/28/2009. whooopeee.) and appearing in your current enemy's bedroom (creepy - why can't he just call? what if Norman had a date?), smacks of not-so-secret for me. and for what? to steal something under H.A.M.M.E.R.'s nose. that really paints that target on you, Nicky Boy.

and that something actually tells us that ... oh hey, is the Zodiac in this gig? and Nick is Gemini? oh yeah, he was, years back. 'cause his dead brother Jake was Scorpio. or is. i smell resurrection!!!!

by the way, Norman, a couple of things:

everyone seems to be penetrating the Tower these days ... change the goddamn locks. or go live on the moon.

let me just present your fandangled "list":
- neutralize Clint Barton
- eliminate Daredevil
- kill Namor
- kill Frank Castle
- kill Nick Fury
- neutralize Bruce Banner
- control the world
- kill Spider-Man

that's just 1 out of 8 so far (Barton, you hotheaded punk, you never change). Frank's probably smug he's on the list. i don't see Tony Stark in there. he's probably dead. or dumb as a rock.

only Santa has a list that works.

drive-by readings: Secret Warriors #7/Thunderbolts #135

Secret Warriors #7/Thunderbolts #135 (Marvel) "God of Fear, God of War"/"Black Widow vs. Thunderbolts" Jonathan Hickman/Andy Diggle Alessandro Vitti/Miguel Sepulveda Sunny Gho/Frank Martin Dave Lanphear/Albert Deschesne Jim Cheung/Justin Ponsor/Francisco Mattina (cover)

Marvel's improving somewhat in keeping their stories straight in recent years, and these two are a nice example of that (thank the editors). after the revelation that the Thunderbolt Black Widow Yelena Belanova was really the original, Natasha, the rest of the Thunderbolts have come after her and erstwhile T-Bolt leader Songbird. a crossover with the Secret Warriors was necessary because ol' Nick Fury himself put Natasha in that position to spy on Norman Osborn. unaware they were being trailed by the always-heinous Ant Man, Black Widow demonstrates to Songbird why the new Yankee Stadium is one overpriced magilla. too bad, Fury appears and they're all captured in one swell foop by the T-Bolts and presented to a gloating Osborn (previously hired by now-i'm-dead-now-i'm-alive Baron Strucker to kill Fury). but don't despair, True Believers! prior to this, Fury activates Agent John Garrett, and if we know Papa Nick, he's always two or three steps ahead of everyone else. even if he gets shot in the head. wait, ... what?!?

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.

alive

well, well ... it seems one of the movies i wished to be made would never be made now, would it? (like it ever was going to be)



heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's alive!!!!!

wait, how is the Baron Strucker himself alive? what did i miss??

(the Hand is an uh, old hand at resurrection so why should we be surprised? i kinda had a Kirigi flashback, circa Miller-era Daredevil ... brrrrrrrrrrr)

update: what i missed - was an issue of T-Bolts detailing the beheaded version was a clone .... hey, Marvel, stop with the resurrections already!!! that's already three reversals from that same Wolverine story arc. who's next? Steve Rogers? Jean Grey? geeez. these people.
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Secret Warriors #2

Secret Warriors, yeah, that's what we are

this just in: Nick Fury disses the Oval Office! (with Barack in it)

and who can blame the man? rampant corruption and skrullduggery (heh) have happened, and the US is tottering on economic disaster, and a psycho is now in charge of the asylum (Osborn, not Obama, wiseass). honor is a long-gone concept with the death of Steve Rogers, so Fury has gone deeper underground (heh) but not that deep enough to pop up in scenic places like the White House. (did Michelle shake his hand as he appeared in the kitchen?)

(wait, how do we know that was His Barryness? that could be Osborn for all we know. they usually draw him in shadow, the exception being that Spider-Man issue and maybe that one in Thunderbolts. hey wait, wasn't he stuck with the Osborn and the "Green Goblin" in Air Force One? Marvel, you're as bad as DC with scheduling).

with his new band of caterpillars soldiers, Fury wants to take back Sundays, i mean take the world back from all these crazy people. actually, everyone wants to do that. at least the disenfranchised good guys (hello, Clint Barton). and other people just want their slice of the pie (hello, Agents of Atlas). so, would this status quo stay as long as a summer crossover? or would we have around two years worth of drama (and time to write potentially great stories), before things really come to a head, and a huge global revolution would come together to topple Norman Osborn?


"you wish, rookie. now drop and give me a hundred - with no hands!"


i watched Stefano Caselli's art evolve over his tour of duty in Avengers: The Initiative, but now he's overdoing the eyes. they're overexpressive. good thing Fury only has one.

(wait, how's this for a shocker - Fury's eyes are really ok!!!! he just wears that patch to scare the kids and look badass. no, seriously! i mean, they brought Bucky Barnes back!)


so in between taking credit for badass quotes and sending kids off to battle, what does li'l Nicky do for fun? nothing much. the Contessa was a Skrull ... wait, no, he dissed her and walked away even when the real deal came back from Skrullworld. i bet he keeps just a wee bit more tabs on Daisy Johnson. no, you didn't hear it from me!


oh yeah, this just in: Nick Fury works for Hydra.

wait, ... what?

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Secret Warriors #1