Deadpool #10-12: Good Night

GOOD NIGHT

Written by Skottie Young
Penciled by Scott Hepburn
Published Mar - May 2019

   Deadpool has been having some bad luck lately. Someone seems to be fleecing every job he picks up, leaving a calling card reading "Good Night" at the scene of every hit. Using Hydra Bob as a decoy, he finally meets his adversary. The massive figure appears and subsequently tears every single bone out of Deadpool's body.

Deadpool hanging out like a Chicken McNugget

  It turns out that years back, Wade assassinated the man's parents. Later, a hooded figure appeared and promised the boy revenge... but at a cost. He took the rap for the murder, and at several times in his life, is cast through various time portals which eventually harden him into a super powerful warrior. To complete his training, he's cast into hell and forced to battle his demons one final time. But as he monologues, Wade heals. And suddenly their fight proceeds to spill throughout town with a vengeance.

Pah-YOW!

   Although he manages to put up a fight, Deadpool finally finds himself at his complete and total end. He begs for death, but the hooded figure appears and shuts his demonic minion down. It's revealed that the once-dead weapons dealer Weasel has somehow been resurrected, and with Mephisto's help, he seeks to show Wade a pain that would rival anything he as able to put others through. The issue ends with a sad Ellie looking at images of a news story of her father while Mephisto and Weasel look on, but it, this story arc comes to a sad close.

That's messed up, bruh.

   Back when Gerry Duggan was at the helm of this book, it took a while to hook me but when he finally did, I doubted anyone would come close again. When it was relaunched under Skottie Young, it was about as surface and banal as anything I'd ever seen Deadpool get, but I agreed to give it time and boy, am I glad I did. With only a dozen issues under his belt, Young is building some depth to his version of such an iconic character. I'm finally firmly onboard and can't wait to see where the future takes him. I give this story a 9/10.

If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

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Deadpool #10
Deadpool #11
Deadpool #12

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Captain America #7-12: Captain Of Nothing

CAPTAIN OF NOTHING

Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Penciled by Adam Kubert
Published Jan-Jun 2019

   With Thunderbolt Ross mysteriously dead, as well as the Power Elite making moves to frame him, Captain America is under heavy suspicion and decides to turn himself in. Bucky does all he can to try and track down leads but it's to no avail. Steve Rogers finds himself in Baron Von Strukcer's private prison - the Myrmidon as Sharon Carter reveals her new top secret crime fighting squad: The Daughters of Liberty.

TA--DAAAAAA!

   Forced to try and find allies, Cap does his best to fit in - all the while the prisoners are forced to watch their peers' livestreamed torture sessions. Meanwhile,  Selene and Alexa Lukin murder Steve's evil Hydra counterpart to further the Real-Steve-Is-Still-Evil-Steve ruse. Sharon blackmails the Kingpin and gets info on Ross's real murderer...the elusive assassin known as The Foreigner.

This took an entire jump drive to reveal? One page? And it looks like they Photoshopped it for effect...

   Alexa Lukin meets up at the Fact Channel offices to spin the Supreme Commander connection. back at the safe room, the Daughters give a status report to their defacto leader, the Dryad. The first attempt to help Cap break out of jail is by triggering a riot, though all it really does is just help bolster the Fact Channel's fake news.

Sharon Carter probably has the text all enlarged.

   Undeterred, Daughter member Susan Franklin breaks in and doses her inside man Thunderball with a technovirus. As his condition continues to worsen, he's brought to the prison sickbay while Von Strucker viciously fights a weakened Captain America in front of everyone. Luckily Thunderball's chaos virus disables the prison's power dampeners, allowing the gen pop to fairly fight back.

Oh y'all did it now!

   Things get violent inside the Myrmidon. While the Daughters of Liberty work in lockstep to infiltrate their plan, the Dryad finally faces off with the Foreigner. With Von Strucker's guards on the ropes, he deploys his robot AmeriCops - who are quickly disabled by Misty Knight. With the prison unguarded, the criminals all flee into New York, but more importantly, the Daughters have freed Cap, and captured Von Strucker as well.

We can float them back in this Wubble Ball.

   Now a fugitive - again, Steve and Sharon consider their options. A world that is now teetering on edge of believing Captain America was actually the Hydra leader. He meets with the Daughters of Liberty and explains their next mission will be to drive Cap's message in the absence of an actual Captain America. Because while Captain America is dead, Steve Rogers lives. And as the last page reveals - so does Peggy Carter? The Dryad? So what does this mean? We'll have to wait as this story comes to a close.

Agent Carter - sporting the rad new nose ring look.

   So Captain America is a wanted man again. This isn't really anything new, but under the tutelage of Coates and Kubert, they certainly know how to put a different spin on things. Should be an interesting thing seeing how Peggy Carter somehow rose from the dead, and even more interesting - how will Steve Rogers react. Either way, this series did an excellent job moving away from though keeping the Secret Empire arc alive and well, and it was such a brilliant tale, I believe it certainly deserves as much. I give this one a 9/10.

If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

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Captain America #7

Captain America #8

Captain America #9

Captain America #10

Captain America #11

Captain America #12

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Doctor Strange #12-17: Herald Supreme

HERALD SUPREME

Written by Mark Waid
Penciled by Barry Kitson
Published March-August, 2019

   Relaxation for Doctor Strange is few and far between, and of course this time is again interrupted by a strange being seeking answers. Zoloz, a magic welder of Zarax, seeks help to stop Galactus from inevitably eating his planet. He demands it without conversation, and eventually utters a spell that sends the World Eater into the depths of the mystic realms.

Oh well that's neat.

   Of course, this is no good. And as Doctor Strange follows him drifting from and consuming magical realm to realm, he eventually finds help in his ex-wife Clea. She in turn partners with Dormammu's sister Umar, who goes on a mission to unite every mage she can find while Galactus keeps eating magic. After some searching, Strange finds a planet Galactus can eat. Unfortunately it's a ball of dark energy that allows Dormammu to become his new herald. 

Easy there, Galactus. Slow it down.

   In response, life throughout the entire universe exchanges science for magic. This causes havoc all throughout but as the now magical, demonic world eater continues to hunger, he eats even his demonic herald's lifeforce. Strange, Umar, and Clea are forced to take dire measures, and Steven offers a future wish to Mephisto in order to point them in the right direction.

Oh well I'm sure this won't affect anything later.

   Strange seeks out every magician and scientific mind the world has left - including the best of the X-Men, Avengers, Alpha Flight... EVERYONE has to offer. They're on deck as Galactus just rifles through Clea and Umar's dream team of magical forces. One by one, he mows through the best Earth as well the far reaches of the galaxy has to offer. But he finally reveals his plan to the love of his life. Every one of them must fall. All life must be consumed by Galactus until he can't eat anymore. With the world eater stuffed, Doctor Strange strikes - and suddenly... he's the only thing left standing.

Wait, where are we?

   Eternity finally appears, and now with the power of a god, Doctor Stephen Strange the surgeon must rewrite every modicum of galactic history. The big bang, the birth of man, every triumph, every calamity, every win, every loss, every savior, every dictator - until he's back in the Sanctum and ready for Zoloz. Acting quickly, he talks the alien into being a herald for Galactus in order to save his planet. And it looks like everything is back to normal - except for one tiny thing.

"Doctor who?"

   Mephisto is still owed his favor. And just to make it worse, forces Stephen to see his chances with Clea linger in what could have made him forever happy. He casts a spell on Clea that makes her forget he ever existed. And so poor Doctor Strange is left again to be forever alone. With that, this epic tale comes to a super long and drawn out conclusion.. and it's kind of a drag, but at the very least, it's finally all over.

"... all by myself. Don't wanna be all by myself..."

   So for the longest time I can remember, I've had an aversion to Marvel's space jaunts. I liked my superheroes to be either mutants, super soldiers, or even the occasional mystic but the one thing that they all shared was they usually stayed on earth. Doctor Strange is a different animal though, and although he spends a lot of time on Bleeker Street, it's not uncommon for the Starjammers or Watchers or even Silver Surfer to pop up from time to time. As long as it's well written, I'll take it.. and this story most definitively didn't disappoint. Mark Waid is the real magician here, but that's of course nothing new. Barry Kitson keeps things about as old school as you'll see in a modern age comic and this title completely deserves it. I give this incredible story a 10/10.

If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

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Doctor Strange #12
Doctor Strange #13
Doctor Strange #14
Doctor Strange #15
Doctor Strange #16
Doctor Strange #17

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X-Force #5-6: 2000 Years From Tomorrow

2000 YEARS FROM YESTERDAY
2000 YEARS FROM TOMORROW

Written by Ed Brisson
Penciled by Damian Couceiro
Published Mar 27 and Apr 10, 2019

   So we finally learn more about how Kid Cable has come to once again lead X-Force. Prior to the events of Extermination, he was fighting a group of baddies called the New Canaanites in the super-far-off future... when suddenly his world begins unraveling. Thanks to an old and formerly dead friend, Blaquesmith, he learns of his true mission. Which again... if you read Extermination, now you know.  

"Ohhh so that's what happened. Makes more sense..."

   Meanwhile, his actions have lead Stryfe, aka Chaos Bringer to discover him. But just prior to this happening, the Transian military leader Constantin discovers Ahab and his hounds. Later,  Stryfe negotiates a mutant nation that is essentially used to lure Nathan Summers to them. And it works. Kid Cable will do anything to get future daughter Rachel Summers back, even if it’s willing to walk with Stryfe into a portal, but what’ll happen next? Well have to wait to find out as the 4 part CounterfeitKing begins in the very next issue.

"Alright guys, I'm out."

    So although it just answered a few questions about how future/past Nathan Summers came to find the original X-Men, at the very least we learn more about it's setup. It seems like Cable has been at war in every single iteration of his existence, and where Cable finds a war, he always seems to find a Stryfe. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here. I give this one an 8/10.

If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

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X-Force #5
X-Force #6

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Fantastic Four #8-9: Herald Of Doom pts III-IV

HERALD OF DOOM pts III-IV

Written by Dan Slott
Penciled by Aaron Kuder
Published Mar 27-Apr 24, 2019

   While Dr. Doom continues to siphon power from Galactus, the Fantastic Four is held in various brutal torture chambers. Meanwhile Franklin and Val are getting tired of waiting for word. But as Doom addresses the world, Reed reveals a secret plan. Using a recurring power spike, they free themselves and Sue embarrassingly makes Doom's armor disappear in front of a worldwide audience.

Susan... SUSAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

   One by one they escape their cells. Reed uses an exploded Doombot to hack into the Latverian network, turning his Big Bang cannons into vacuums to free Galactus. He returns to space, but back home, Franklin and Val have problems of their own. On the run from tiny demons, the two use the new teleporter they've built to send the demons to Doomville while subsequently returning their parents back to Aunt Petunias. Trouble looms in Latveria but the Fantastic Four are all safe and sound... At least until next month when War Of The Realms begins. But at least for the time being, this story arc comes to an end.

Hooooray!

   So obviously I've talked Dan Slott up a great deal since his departure from Amazing Spider-Man. But to say that he's being underused in the World's Greatest Comic Magazine is a bit of an understatement. This certainly isn't Brian Michael Bendis's Victor Von Doom, but he's playing his part in this series sorta like he always has. This series is kind of in neutral, but honestly I expect it to ramp up dramatically in a month or so. What can a Dan Slott 'War Of The Realms' tie in look like? We'll see soon. But for this story, I give it a 7/10.

If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

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Fantastic Four #8
Fantastic Four #9


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Daredevil #3-5: Know Fear III-V

KNOW FEAR pts III-V

Written by Chip Zdarsky
Penciled by Marco Checchetto
Published Mar 27, Apr 17, and May 15, 2019

   After being shot by former Chicago turned NYPD Detective Cole North, Daredevil uses everything he's got to escape only to later fight him while being badly injured. Eventually the Man Without Fear is in cuffs, but New York's finest refuse to perp walk him. Suddenly gunfire erupts. And Daredevil has been saved by... The Punisher?

"You're safe and sound back here in 1955..."

   As he begins to come to, he watches Frank Castle beating one of The Owl's restrained goons for information. Finally seeing Daredevil actually kill someone, Castle sees him as a kindred spirit. While the two vigilante's trade insults, the fight soon turns lethal. After blowing up the secret hideout, Daredevil delivers the Punisher to the hood of a police car while Cole, realizing that even Hell's Kitchen is more crooked than the Windy City, gets a congratulatory phone call from the Kingpin. 

Because only the BEST cops get phone calls from the Kingpin. Right?

   Using the Punisher's information on Owlsley, Daredevil raids the mobsters safehouse wearing the merc's familiar skull emblem. But still hurt, he's quickly outmanned. While the fight spills out across the city, he finds himself going down when he's rescued by the Defenders. Waking up again in a patched up state, the conversation turns surreal as he finds out he and all his superhero consorts are occasional accidental murderers. He takes off and finds himself on the run once again.

Aw crap - We're all murderers!

   The story ends back at his apartment with Spider-Man being able to sneak up on him way too easily.  The webslinger feels for him, and confides in him that accidents happen in their line of work - even to him. But this version of Daredevil is wreckless, and it's time to stop. Matt removes his cowl and hands it to Spider-Man. It's over. But what happens next? We'll have to wait to find out in "No Devils. Only God" coming up next.

You need an extra mask?

   So it seems every writer who ever pens a Daredevil story deals with this. Matt comes to terms with being the devil every couple of years. But in a city with Wilson Fisk as mayor, and now with what could or could not be innocent blood on his hands, this could be a different Daredevil than we've ever seen before. Chip Zdarsky has my attention, and I'll follow the Man Without Fear wherever it takes me, but this story feels just a little like I've heard it before. Still - when you've been around since 1964, some tales probably get spun a handful of times. I give this one an 8/10.

If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

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Daredevil #3
Daredevil #4
Daredevil #5

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Amazing Spider-Man #17-23: Hunted

HUNTED

Written by Nick Spencer
Penciled by Humberto Ramos, Gerardo Sandoval and Ryan Ottley
Published Mar 13 to Jun 12, 2019

   For all the characters who didn't get a sizable War Of The Realms tie in, Marvel worked overtime to make sure their readers still had quite an opportunity to blow their comic book money. This time, Nick Spencer gets his first major multi-book arc and it most definitely didn't disappoint. This is the Nerdiest Kid You Know's review of Amazing Spider-Man #17-23: Hunted..

Kraven usually walks around like this.

    So Kraven's back, even though he never really left. And this time he's brought his own cloned, psychopathic son to help map out his next homicidal adventure. Thanks to kidnapping the Lizard's son Billy, as well as the Black Cat, he's lured his favorite target in to help. Spider-Man is captured after trying to save them. But as he wakes up in his favorite retro-black spidersuit, he finds some not so friendly faces waiting to attack.

"Hey dudes. Long time no.. um.. LOOK OUT!"

   It's not long before they're all on the run from some bio-mech Kraven hunting humanoids. It seems the elusive Arcade has helped Kraven arrange a gigantic robot hunt for the rich. Their targets? The most expendable spidervillains the Marvel universe has ever seen. Even once Kraven ally Black Ant is thrown into the foray -  care of Taskmaster. And worst of all for Peter Parker, the hallucinations of Mary Jane Watson being tortured and in pain continue to flare up.

This is Spider-Man's brain on drugs. Any questions?

   Eventually Black Ant levels with Spider-Man and explains to him what the true situation is. As he plans his return to Kraven's home base, the Lizard has a plan of his own. Meanwhile, Kraven Jr can't stand idly by while these rich jerks get to hunt for sport. He takes off to enact his revenge. But little does he know, he too is a pawn in his father's greatest hunt. As it turns out, the unsuspecting customers are the real targets, and in the wild of Central Park, the Vulture is on the hunter's side.

So the Vulture is a liar?! Who could have ever foreseen this?!

   Kraven captures Spider-Man and presents him with a Sophie's Choice. Dr Curt Connors stands before him and their key to freedom is unleashing the Lizard. But once he goes there, there's no going back. The uncontrolled beast bounds into the woods while Kraven explains to the webslinger his final hunt.

"Goodbye, Spidey..."

   It seems Kraven's only escape from life is to be killed by the Spider. Of course though, Pete could never do such a thing. Although he does his best to bait the web head, it's all for naught. Finally the hunter figures out another way. Using a dummy spidersuit, he's able to trick his own son into fighting what he thinks is Spider-Man to the death. But it turns out to be Kraven. 

Sorry. The answer is "Yes."

   In his final act of defiance, the hunter pens a long note to his killer. And as the Avengers round up the both the supervillains on the outside, and the super rich poachers on the inside, Spider-Man races home to check on MJ. She's safe. Billy Connors is safe. All is well in midtown and Hunted finally comes to an end with the Kraven clone donning his father's lion vest. There's a new villain in town but this story arc drifts to it's final conclusion.

Kraven v.2.0

   So with a few  thoughts on this story, there's no doubt to me that Nick Spencer is equal to or as good of an author in this series as his predecessor Dan Slott was. Obviously one to check the archives, Spencer pulled as many D-list villains out of the woodwork as Tom King did with Batman a few years ago. Seeing the Gibbon, White Rabbit, Frog Man, Man Bull, 8 Ball - it's just as bizarre as Kite Man was in that recent Joker storyline. But if anything I can take away here, it's that Spidey is clearly on an amazing incline. I give this story a 10/10.

If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

You can also buy my physical copy of this book below:

Amazing Spider-Man #17
Amazing Spider-Man #18
Amazing Spider-Man #19
Amazing Spider-Man #20
Amazing Spider-Man #21
Amazing Spider-Man #22
Amazing Spider-Man #23

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