Spider-Man #3

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils by Sara Pichelli

Cover by Sara Pichelli

Published Apr 6, 2016

   Miles' grandmaw comes over and straight up wrecks it - insulting his dad, taking his phone and grounding him. He goes to his room and sulks. Even one of his friends, Lana Baumgartner comes by and she runs her off. As she's walking down the sidewalk, Miles' dad storms out going down the other way... But walking towards the Brooklyn brownstone is none other than Ms Marvel.

   She sneaks in and tells him that he missed an Avengers' meeting. He explains to her that he forgot, as well as the news that he's grounded. Grandmaw hear's him talking to himself, storms in and Ms. Marvel shrinks down to the size of the Wasp. She listens to the conversation and agrees - Miles should study. Meanwhile in the Bronx, Black Cat walks into the old gangster Hammerhead's pub, roughs up his goons, and tells him she's putting a bounty on this new Spider-Man's head. After some coercing, he's in - setting up next issues conflict... wait for it... purrrrfectly. Ok ok, sorry.

   Back at the Brooklyn Visions Academy, Miles' teacher leads a lecture on what a mutant vs an inhuman is, due to the fact they have a new student in class - former X-Man Fabio Medina, aka Goldballs. Ganke, fresh off of passing notes wondering why his best friend isn't ansering his calls, is thrilled. What's gonna happen next issue? Guess we gotta wait to find out.

   I really like the way Bendis is making this version of Spidey sort of mirror Peter's origin. I guess replace Aunt May with this grandmother and gets a lot spicier. I hope I didn't spot some Lana-Baumgartner=New Mary-Jane, because that's kind of lame. Either way, he's definitely one of my favorite current writers and even though this issue was pretty brief and slim, it's still quality work. 8/10.

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Uncanny X-Men #6

Written by Cullen Bunn
Penciled by Ken Lashley/Paco Medina
Cover by Greg Land
Published Mar 23, 2016

   In War Room X in the Savage Land, Psylocke tries again to reach Archangel, who pulls her into his mind and shows her the destroyed city of Green Ridge, Colorado. Hordes of Archangel clones fly above the chaotic scene and he tells her it's up to them to stop him from doing all this. She tells Magneto and the two of them prep the Blackbird for a trip to Green Ridge.
   Meanwhile, Monet and Sabretooth stalk the sewers of New York for their informant, who turns out to be Callisto. After trying to kill Creed, Monet gets her to calm down and they discuss the matter at hand: About how all the Morlocks have been dying. Back at Green Ridge, Betsy and Mags walk the greeting card like streets of Green Ridge. They sense it's a cover of some sort, and Magneto explains how the Dark Riders in their hunt to kill mutant healers, were trying to prove something to unseen masters. There's no doubt these masters were somehow connected to Apocalypse and Archangel. Finally they see where the town is slowly commuting to: A church tent with a service being conducted by a creepy evangelist type introducing the crowd to their savior, the wingless, brainwashed and normal looking Warren Worthington III.
   The epilogue of the issue shows a panel on the Fact Channel debating the need to pass legislation to track and watch mutants. Plus viewers watching from the Hellfire Club to the Uncanny Avengers HQ to the Mojoverse. At the heart of the discussion is the destruction of Genosha seen in the previous issue. Later we see Magneto with Xorn getting a therapy session in Tibet, where it's revealed that the real reason he blew it up was so he couldn't use it as another mutant refuge in the future...
   Pretty good issue overall. Well written and so many plot points, they had to include a mini-story at the end. This issue also had more cameos nodding to old X-Men than I could count - shots of Rogue to one of my favorite villains of all time - Mojo. I'd give it a 8/10.

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All New X-Men #7

Written by Dennis Hopeless

Penciled by Mark Bagley

Cover by Nolan Woodard

Published Mar 30, 2016

   The team gathers in their massive mobile command trailer thing in Paris, trying to put together what happened to Cyclops and how Toad was able to get one over on all of them. Idie googles him and they watch a series of YouTube videos he made documenting his descent into drunken madness. Meanwhile in the catacombs, Cyclops comes to after being strapped to an alter and listening to Toad discuss his plan aloud to murder him. He knows his optic blasts will collapse the area on top of them, but any ideas he can think out rationally are rendered null after Toad knocks his visor off his face with a whiskey bottle.

   Back at the trailer, the X-Men discuss using their mobile cerebro unit to track Cyclops once he uses his optic blast. But they might be too late. It appears Toad thinks that by killing him, it will change the timeline for the better. He has no choice and fires a blast at the ceiling, crumbling the cave around them but signaling to Beast where to find him. They set out on foot while Cyclops drags his injured leg through the catacombs trying to escape.

   Toad realizes he's gonna have to act quickly if he wants to kill Scott, so he follows the blood and empties a kerosene container down the path he'd crawled down. The cave explodes and crumbles under the X-Men's feet. Toad realizes that no timeline has changed and he remorsefully yells out a 'What Have I Done", while a saddened Beast throws his smartphone at the wall because it failed to find their teammate in time.

   Decent issue but a step down from the last. Don't know why it took all issue to build up one plot point, but it was nice not being so busy with it. Nice artwork and I still enjoy the original X-team. But kinda meh nonetheless. 6/10.

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Batman #7

Written by Steve Orlando

Penciled by Riley Rossmo

Cover by Yanick Paquette

Released Sep 21, 2016

   The issue opens at the Gotham Mourgue, with some vile creatures beginning to animate from dead bodies on the autopsy slabs when a ripped up Dr. Hugo Strange gets the call that it's almost time to begin whatever he's supposed to be doing... Meanwhile Batman and his Bat-Team are still reeling from the loss of Red Robin in Detective #940, brooding on a rooftop and preparing for a Hurricane. 

   Suddenly there is a loud crash and Alfred informs Batman that a hideous humanlike monster is walking the streets of Gotham City. Batman jumps in the Batplane and tries to literally fly through the infantile monstrosity, terminally damaging the aircraft and ejecting from it. The monster grabs him and hurls him into the air. He flies his jetback into it, leaps off it and orders it to self destruct. The explosion levels the beast. 

   Batman takes a sample of it's DNA and sends it back to Duke and Alfred. The bulbous monster turns out to be a guy by the name of Bob Castro... The same man Amanda Weller hired to keep the Psycho Pirate in check. He committed suicide in the police station in Batman #2. Somehow this is him and Batman is convinced Hugo Strange is behind it.

   The ussue ends with the team hearing a rumbling in the distance. It turns out to be people running panicked away from something, and Batman reveals to others what Bob's last words at the police station were :"The Monster Men Are Coming...". Batman eerily looks at them and tells them "The Monster Men are here." 

   This series is looking awesome. It continues in Nightwing #5 but since I only read this book and Detective Comics, I might have to look for some cliffs. Very cool book though. Especially since it appears Riley Rossmo did both pencils AND inks which is something you don't see every day. I give it a 10/10.

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Detective Comics #940

Written by James Tynion IV
Penciled by Eddy Barrows
Cover by Eddy Barrows
Published Sep 14, 2016

   The Colony intercepts a message from Batman, telling his team that Red Robin is engaged in a dangerous fight at Old Wayne Tower. Realizing the military is hot on their trail, Colonel Kane tells his team to activate the Black Flight Protocol. His daughter Batwoman knows this is unacceptable and punches him through the side of their ship. Meanwhile, Tim Drake - The Red Robin, is on the verge of suicide and prepares to take the brunt of the Kane's megaweapon to save Gotham. He calls his team one by one to give his goodbyes...
   Batman and Batwoman try to reach him but on the way, the bullets and lasers tear through Red Robin, killing him. As they all try to come to grips with what has just happened. Batman tells Batwoman to bring Kane to the Belfry and put him in one of the holding cells so he can deal with him personally. Meanwhile Batman meats up with Spoiler to console her, whom hands him Tim Drake's acceptance letter to Ivy University, and they're left to silently embrace in tears.
   The issue finishes with a flash, and Tim Drake surprisingly looks up asking where he is. A hooded figure explains to him he was putting too many threads together and they had to take him off the field. He's imprisoned in a mirrored corridor and can only hope his friends will rescue him.
   Not a bad issue, but how many Robin's can die? At this point, I'd probably be a little leery to put on the Boy Wonder's costume. I'd give this one a 9/10.

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All New All Different Avengers #7

Written by Mark Waid

Pencils by Adam Kubert

Cover by Alex Ross

Published Mar 23, 2016

   The story opens with Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, aka Captain America talking with Jane/Thor about her cancer diagnosis and how he will keep her treatments of it a secret. It then cuts away to reveal Vision apologizing to Kamala, aka Ms Marvel, for his recent behavior to her - and offering a viewer to watch all the Avengers' legendary adventures as a makeup present which she gladly accepts. We're then pulled away to witness a fight the Avengers are in with an old foe - Night Phantom, who asks repeatedly why he was in Pleasant Hill. This prompts SHIELD director Maria Hill to tell the Avengers it is none of their concern, which is of course something they won't accept. Through much discovery, it 's revealed that the Avengers need to get to Pleasant Hill, Connecticut to get to the bottom of it.

   As their flying in the SHIELD quinjet, they arrive and see the Avengers Unity Team with ANOTHER Maria Hill, whom the Maria Hill flying the aircraft tries to subsequently blow away. After a brief dustup, the 2 Avengers teams realize it's suddenly snowing as well as a glass wall trapping them, and they use all of the powers at their disposal to attempt to break out of. As the panels zoom out however, it reveals them to be fighting in a miniaturized snow globe, being held by a child.  

   The epilogue shows a different reality with Tony Stark working in a garage with his apprentice Miles Morales, whom feigns a headache as his spider sense presumably goes off...

   One of the things I love about a crossover is when the book only relies on the minimal amount of issues of other titles to work a story. This particular segment of the Avengers Standoff Storyline involves one other book which is turning out to be pretty good, Uncanny Avengers. And I really enjoy what writer Mark Waid is doing here. Maybe not enough to go read the actual Standoff books itself, but I'll entertain a crossover in a book or two. I give it an 8/10.

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Star Wars #17

Written by Jason Aaron
Pencils by Leinil Frances Yu
Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson
Published Mar 23, 2016

   After a droid invasion in the prison planet they'd just delivered Dr Aphra to, Leia and Sana deal with the breach in one of the prisons wings, but the real problem lies in the control room where an unidentified invader has seized control of the entire prison. They explain to Leia that their mission is to kill everyone imprisoned there, and after blowing a few of them away, further reveal that by releasing some of the prisoners from their cells, they intend to make the princess and Sana Starros kill them.
   Meanwhile, Luke and Han work to get their money back that Han gambled away the last issue, finally finding a customer looking for a smuggler. They get half of it back picking up a pack of Nerfs much to Solo's chagrin, but are later pursued by imperial tie fighters accusing them of transporting the illegal livestock. Back at sunspot prison, Leia and Sana work to get the prisoners rounded up, only to have their mysterious captor remotely kill them by lowering the sun shields. It finally occurs to them they'll have to free Dr Aphra and team up with the evil Sith Lord's ally if they want to find the person responsible for the prison takeover before it's too late.
   Pretty good issue. Jason Aaron does a good job putting the right words in these characters' mouths to almost make you feel like you're watching a Star Wars movie. And the artwork certainly channels their likenesses pretty good, which has to be pretty tough to do compared to most comic book art. Good story line and I like where it's headed. 8/10.

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