X-Men Blue #33-35

SURVIVING THE EXPERIENCE pts I-III

Written by Cullen Bunn
Penciled by Marcus To
Covers by RB Silva
Published Aug 8, Aug 29, and Sept 12, 2018

   Magneto glimpses into the future and sees a post-apocalyptic New York City. While facing the ghosts of Mothervine that he was forced to murder, he's eventually confronted by a few Reavers, whom he's able to kill rather quickly. Suddenly a lone little mutant girl approaches him and presents him to the others as the savior they've apparently been waiting for. In this timeline, Magneto stops the Reaver virus and saves mutantkind. 

Dude, you're a hero!

   The problem is that later, the time displaced X-Men apparently killed him. What's left is a debate between just who saves those who are left. They fight, and though they try their best to keep him in this timeline, Magneto is able to escape to the past.

Gotta bounce. Bye.

   His first stop is a meeting with Dr. Kirk Jansen. As Magneto walks the laboratory that will eventually spawn the Reavers, he destroys it, killing everyone who has anything to do with the project. But he knows, it's not enough. Instead he builds a new Asteroid M, and as he ascends the staircase to his throne, scores of new Mothervine created mutants are revealed as his new Brotherhood.

Just can't ever stay good, can you?

   Issue #35 continues to wrap up the series, as the X-Men of the 60's discuss things with their modern counterparts. The two Jean's reveal a scary future if the past version of her remains, along with a magic induced Beast still under the control of the demonic Madeline Pryor.

Woah. Awesome!

   Iceman is forced to deal with even more trauma, as a more closed-minded society he will return to threatens to derail his entire life. But out of all of the most confused time displaced mutants, Angel's is probably the most confusing. His counterpart is the almost always silent Archangel. For a moment we see the frightening timeline that looms, but the blue skinned angel of death soon shows him the Sleepers, a group of hidden mutants in Xorn's care.

All of this can be yours.

   The issue wraps with a confused Scott, whom has no counterbeing in this timeline, talking with Bloodstorm. He walks up to his own gravemarker and looks at it. For in this present future, they're is no Cyclops. What does this mean for the team? We're left to find out as this series is left to be concluded.

That's heavy.

   Out of all the current X-books, this one clearly holds it's own along with Astonishing X-Men. All the others are distant pretenders, but if there's one thing Cullen Bunn knows, it's how to write a comic book series. I'm not sure where the house of ideas plans to send him after this series but I can only hope he finds his way back to the X-Men one day. I give these three issues a 9/10.

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Captain America #4

WINTER IN AMERICA pt III

Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Penciled by Leinil Francis Yu
Cover by Alex Ross
Published Sept 5, 2018

   Agent Sharon Carter rides into Alberia with an escort, who she quickly surmises to not be very trustworthy. Meanwhile, Steve Rogers continues his recon, listening to average Americans bemoan life after Hydra. But the Power Elite still works behind the scenes to keep things going.

Yep!

   In Wakanda, T'Chala and Cap talk shop. Thanks to their intelligence, they've identified a few people seemingly pulling the strings. One of them is Zeke Stane - a bioengineer who's helping to reproduce the Nuke clones.

Wait.. wait.. The guys name is STAIN?! HAHAHAHAHA! Ok. Sorry, T'Challa.

   Cap, Black Panther, and Okoye raid the mine where the clones attack them. Essentially being created as soft targets, T'challa is able to engineer a virus that kills the clones rather quickly. They finally set eyes on Stane and fight the rest of the Nukes who eventually burn out. 

Bet it stinks in there.

   The issue wraps with Okoye breaking into the lab and doing some digging when she discovers something terrible. Agent 13 is in trouble. What kind of trouble exactly? Selene the External dines on the driver the Agent had been holding at gunpoint. But what will happen next? We'll have to wait to find out as this issue is left to be continued.

Seline was hotter in Cable a few issues back.

   One of the cool things about this particular iteration of Captain America is that it’s written by the son of a one-time actual Black Panther, a national correspondent for the Atlantic, and a visiting professor at MIT. It’s penciled by a Filipino who considers his work “Dynamic Psuedo-Realism”. What am I getting at here? Well.. I don’t know if anything is more American than a mixing pot like that. This series is grade A good, and I can only hope Marvel is able to keep the band together for awhile on this one. I give this issue a 10/10.

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Amazing Spider-Man #4-5

BACK TO BASICS pts IV-V

Written by Nick Spencer
Penciled by Ryan Ottley
Covers by Ryan Ottley
Published Aug 22 and Sept 12, 2018

   In his secret lair, former Norman Osborne partner Mendel Stromm laments the fact his Tri-Sentinel has somehow taken flight. At the controls is none other than Spider-Man, whom now split from the responsible Peter Parker, systematically destroys Midtown. Sadly for Pete, all he can do is watch. Tired of sitting on the sidelines, he hails Spidey via Uber, but after hitching a ride on his former...um... self, the webslinger has had enough hearing about what he should be doing. 

Well how do you like THIS?!

   After about an hour, the webbing dissolves and Pete heads to the University for some answers. Doctor Connors informs him that the two mice they’d previously split using the genome accelerator have unexpectedly died due to being apart from each other for so long..

It was a broken heart, Pete...

   Knowing he'll have to figure out a way to steal it, he loudly talks in his apartment about the valuable piece of equipment until Boomerang overhears him. The careless villain later loads it up in a van which is then counter-stolen by Pete. He moves to blast Spider-Man with it when he's distracted by Mendel's giant sentinel robot army overhead.

Well that's something you don't see everyday. Unless you're in a comic book. Then... you know, it is..

   Pete is nearly killed in an explosion. He wisely uses it as a distraction, later firing up the accelerator. The two individual psyches are molded back together, and a now unified and more responsible Spider-Man zips into action to stop the other robots with a hand from his own.

Back in Blue... and Red!

   Unfortunately for Stromm Mendel, the tech support to create his new army came with a price. The disembodied voice has a body after all - and surrounded by scary bug-like monsters. When Spidey gets to the dying scientist, he continues repeating the words "Guess my name" as all of the robots overhead self destruct.

Say my name, say my name...

   The issue wraps with Taskmaster and Black Ant making the startling discovery that SHIELD is no more. The prison wall is punctured and the two villains make their daring escape? And who's responsible for the breakout? None other than Kraven the Hunter. What's going to happen next? We'll have to wait to find out as this issue is left to be continued.

Meh.

   Wow - what a story. I was pretty worried once Dan Slott was pulled off his favorite hero and assigned to Iron Man. But now, it looks like my concerns were all for naught. Nick Spencer is the real deal. While he may not have hit that Slot-stride just yet, it's pretty clear that big things are right around the corner. I can't wait to see where he takes it. I give these two issues a 10/10.

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X-Men Gold #33-35

GODWAR pts I-III

Written by Marc Guggenheim
Penciled by Michelle Landini and Simone Buonfantino
Covers by Phil Noto
Published Aug 1, Aug 22, and Sept 5, 2018

   In Kenya, Storm's adopted mother Ainet is executed for her continued belief that the mutant is a godess. A month later, the news reaches her via the Wakandan consulate, also accompanied by the revelation of a strange new death cult.

More bad news. Death cult...

   She packs her things and tells her teammates she must face the threat alone. When she arrives, a guide explains the "death cult" rumor as something misunderstood about Uovu, their apparent new deity. Later on, she's introduced to this scary looking maniac, who quickly disarms the windrider by presenting to her her long dead birth parents.

I know you don't like me... BUT LOOK AT THIS!

   Storm is overjoyed by their reunion. But as they walk around her old village, it becomes clear to her that something isn't right. She investigates and overhears Oovu discussing how he'll make her his servant. When she looks up, she sees scores of dead villagers in catacombs. She attacks, but is overwhelmed by zombie villagers who slowly swarm towards her.

Get back, get back, y'all don't know me like that.

   Oovu tells the goddess that there’s nothing she can do to stop it. Meanwhile on the other side of the planet, the X-Men battle the Executioner. While the battle rages, Kitty sees Storm’s Asgardian hammer Stormcaster whipping across the sky. It opens a portal and Storm’s teammates can see she’s in trouble. Following the hammer, they step through into Africa and work together to evacuate the endangered tribespeople.

One minute, you're fighting another one of Marc Guggenheim's shitty villains; And the next you're stepping through a portal to fight another one.

   Storm realizes that the further the pretender is from his power source - the now dead tribesmen, he loses his strength. They engage in one final battle as Ororo finally feels Stormcaster beginning to wane. With the fight over, the hammer dissipates into sand. Obviously this means that the once dead villagers will soon return to dust. She’s able to spend a few last moments, first with her birth parents and later with Ainet, who heap praise on the daughter they’re so proud of. With that, this story arc drifts to an end - and the X-Men Gold era prepares for it’s final penultimate issue.

"But Kitty, why in the middle of the issue were we suddenly drawn completely different?"

   I like how two of these books were drawn by the same person but for some reason #35 not only had one guest penciler - but two guest pencilers. Just to get it done - I guess. It’s kind of the way I feel about the majority of this series. I got to hand it to Marc Guggenheim, who managed to write 35 mediocre issues but it’s pretty clear Marvel never gave him much of a creative team. From it’s maligned first issue all the way to this one, it’s just been one gaffe after another. This arc is sadly no real exception. I give these three a 6/10.

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Champions #22-23

GIVE AND TAKE pts I-II

Written by Jim Zub
Penciled by Kevin Libranda
Covers by RB Silva and Stefano Caselli
Published July 11 and Aug 8, 2018
   With the new look Champions now equipped with a slimmer Hulk named Brawn and a snazzier suited Ironheart, they're also forced to deal with a depowered Nova. Not to mention, Viv Vision introduces Snowguard to her father and Dr Ho, but the synthezoid fails to divulge his real secret to her... He's dying. And this time, he's ready to begin the very human transition into a very real, human death.

If I was Vision, I would never want to die. I'm just sayin'...

   But even that won't stop the Champions from trying to save the earth. While the team heads for Africa to build a solar-powered water filter, Sam and Ms Marvel share a tender moment. Little do they know though that their conversation is being recorded by a stealth Ultron droid.

How convenient.

   They land in Tanzania, and while the group enjoys a local meal, Viv and Amka talk about her lack of emotions. They're interrupted by a smell that Snowguard picks up. It turns out to be the Man-Thing, an emotion sucking swamp monster that engulfs Viv and puts her through a psychological ringer. It seemingly kills the Champion as the rest of her teammates come running.

Something on your mind, Viv?

   They leap into battle and with all of their powers united, are able to capture the monster while tending to their injured friend. Later observing her in a virus scanning mode, they let the booting system run it's course as Viv deals with a myriad of buried emotions.

Sleepmode.

   Meanwhile, Amadeus and Riri intently watch the Man-Thing. As Viv cries out unconsciously, the creature springs to life while she deals with memories of her family. The monster is able to free itself and runs behind Vivian.
   What happens next isn't very clear, but a portal opens up and the Champions try to hold their teammates from slipping inside of it. The pull increases dramatically and as the dust clears, Sam and the Wasp are nowhere to be found. With that, this stunning turn of events unfortunately leaves us left to be continued...

So wait, what happened?!

    You know, the one thing superhero comic publishers always love is teenage superheroes. Marvel likes them so much, they brought the X-Men from the 60's all the way to the present. They like teenage Spider-Man so much, they created Miles Morales. And they like this group of them so much, they put them all in the Champions. Jim Zub continues to do some awesome work and the art is super crisp and promising to boot. I give these 2 an 8/10.

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Daredevil #606-607

Written by Charles Soule

Penciled by Phil Noto
Covers by Phil Noto
Published Aug 8 and Aug 22, 2018

   Daredevil enlists the help of former NYPD detective Frank McGee to help take down Mayor Fisk. The Inhuman agrees, and later they meet at a closed library to discuss their plan. Joining them in their task will be the mutant Cypher as well as Frank's fellow Inhuman, Reader.

Who?

   With the power to make anything he reads a reality, Reader's skills will be helpful. They discuss things with a plan to meet up later. Meanwhile, Daredevil takes to the sky and overhears a police report about a nearby riot.

Weeeee!

   At the Bar With No Name, which is essentially a criminal bar, a familiar and brazen gentleman orders a drink and pretty much starts hitting on one of the betrothed patrons. Mike Murdock, Matt's twin brother gets himself into a bit of a pickle. But as the fight breaks out and Daredevil draws near, he's informed there's some guy inside basically starting a bunch of bullshit. He walks in and is introduced to his twin.

A CENTER FOR ANTS?!

   So who is this guy? It's explained that Matt created an alter-ego like a million years ago when the heat started getting close on revealing his secret identity. But to now be looking right at him? Well something's obviously not right. Daredevil lays the guy out and brings him back to the abandoned library. There Reader informs them all that he accidentally created the fake Mike Murdock when reading one of Matt's casefiles.

I do weird stuff when I'm drunk too - turning things into reality would be bad news.

   Mike wakes up and after playing possum during the explanation, he dognaps Forey, Reader's dog. He uses the hostage to walk away from the secret hideout and thanks to a nearby crowd, escapes. The issue wraps with the fake Mike Murdock heading to Foggy Nelson's office. waiting in his office, the fake Matt/Mike clone surprises Foggy with a pistol. What's gonna happen next? We'll have to wait to find out as this issue is left to be continued.

Foggy should just say "Wait - you're Matt's twin brother? I'm Foggy's twin brother 'Loggy'..."

   I was a big reader of some Inhuman books awhile back so I'm somewhat familiar with a handful of these characters. But one I'm not familiar with is Mike Murdock. Once again, Charles Soule relies on some obscure pieces of Daredevil's history. So obscure, that it's basically the exact opposite of the recent X-Men books vomiting up "Fastball Specials" and essentially regurgitating some of the most known storylines of all time. Soule works harder and it shows. So much so - I'm not even mad. Mike Murdock? Purple Man? Karen Page? Keep bringing em on, Charles. I can't get enough. I give these two books a 9/10.

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