Quick Hits: 2/2/11

Hey X-Maniacs, as promised, here's a bonus Quick Hits post. Be warned though, I go over 6 comics here, 4 DC books and 2 Marvel books, and the best score out of the bunch was a VERY mediocre 6 1/2. So yeah, not exactly the best bunch of books... But hey, good or bad, let's get on with it!

Action Comics #897:

Summary: Lex, Robot Lois and one of Lex's scientists head to Arkham since he's been getting readings that one of those black spheres was in the cell of none other then the Joker. Lex meets the Joker, who naturally plays mind games first, before revealing that he did indeed have one of those spheres. Joker tells Lex that he'd allow Lex to experiment on the sphere, provided Lex expanded its size so Joker could enter it. Lex does this and Joker nearly goes in, but is taken aback by the sphere, telling Lex that if he kept abusing the sphere there could be terrible consequences. By this point the sphere has turned white and Lex storms out, deciding he'd have that room locked down. With Lex gone, the Lois Robot throws the scientist into the sphere, where he appears to die. Lex rushes back in, and Robot Lois blames Joker, who doesn't deny it. We end with Larfleeze deciding he needed to hunt down Lex.

Thoughts: Well, I did enjoy Joker's interactions with Lex, as I expected. My problem with this comic was the fact that I just didn't understand what Joker and Lex were talking about... I mean it was fun, but I'd have enjoyed it SO much more had I understood what was going on. Oh, plus I deducted 1/2 from my final score because of the Larfleeze appearance. I REALLY hate that thing.

Score: 6 out of 10.You're a weird one, Joker...


Wonder Woman #606:

Summary: That centaur thing from last issue moves in for the kill on Wonder Woman, but WW is saved by an Amazon. The centaur kills the Amazon, which puts WW into a rage, leading to her killing the centaur. From there, WW heads to the house of her friend and discovers that her friend's son was abducted by a man-bull creature. A sign for the Morrigan was also left at the scene, telling WW and her Amazons who was responsible for the abduction. WW and crew head to a rundown temple where they are attacked by an army of reanimated corpses.

Thoughts: I just can't get into this story... I just can't. I've tried and tried, but I just don't like it. Sorry, I'm sure there are some people who are enjoying JMS's WW work, but I am definitely not one of them. The story is plodding, and I just want to know why WW has turned into what she is now. Nothing else about this story really matters.

Score: 5 out of 10.Wonder Woman: Teenage Amazon sure does have a temper!


Justice Society of America #47:

Summary: Green Lantern(Alan Scott)leaves his hospital room and heads to the emerald city on the moon, hoping to heal his broken neck. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to work. Dr. Fate has captured Thunder's soul, preventing it from passing on to the afterlife, with the hope that Dr. Midnite could fix her body so she could return to it. The rest of the team mill about trying to figure out who had killed the town's mayor and Thunder, and the man responsible, Dr. Chaos, calls Mr. Terrific and tells him that he'd help Terrific reverse the disease that was stealing Terrific's intelligence, provided Terrific freed Scythe, who was responsible for all of the devastation early on in this storyline. This issue ends with Flash(Jay Garrick), Dr. Midnite and Wildcat confronting Dr. Chaos, but learning that somebody had freed Scythe.

Thoughts: Kind of like the Wonder Woman comic, I've grown real tired of this storyline. The sooner it's over, the better. I don't like Scythe, or the whole, “super-terrorist” storyline, and I don't know WHERE Dr. Chaos even came from! So far Marc Guggenheim's JSA run has REALLY disappointed me.

Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.My "To do" list is nearly identical, except I have "Blackmail JT" at the bottom.


Green Arrow #8:

Summary: All sorts of people have headed to Starwood Forest to investigate it. From STAR Labs, to the JSA, to Lexcorp, to Poison Ivy. Each group of people want to see exactly what the forest is, and how it does the things it does. Meanwhile, in the forest, Green Arrow and Galahad run into Jason Blood, who reveals that he had managed to separate himself from Etrigan. Etrigan attacks the trio, but ends up getting bound by the trees in the forest. With Etrigan captured, Galahad hears some disturbance nearby and head off, finding a bunch of STAR Labs scientists studying the forest. Galahad attacks, but is confronted by Dr. Midnite and Mr. Terrific. They manage to drag Galahad out of the forest and he goes crazy, collapsing. By this time, GA arrives on the scene, scolds the JSA members and drags Galahad back into the forest. Blood decides that it wasn't right for him to separate from Etrigan, since Etrigan would have nobody keeping an eye on him and decides to try to re-bond with Etrigan. Etrigan doesn't like the idea of being stuck with Blood again, and this issue ends with the Phantom Stranger appearing before the two enemies.

Thoughts: Meh. I don't care about Galahad, GA, OR Starwood Forest. The best thing about this comic was the battle between Blood and Etrigan(who I've always been quite a fan of). Phantom Stranger? Once again, meh. This was yet another comic I just didn't seem able to get into.

Score: 5 out of 10.Um, isn't Etrigan supposed to rhyme?


Secret Avengers #9:

Summary: In order to rescue his lady love, Sharon Carter, Steve Rogers decides to meet with the man who kidnapped her, John Steele. Steele wants to exchange Carter for Shang-Chi, and Steve agrees, but naturally with a plan. Steve and Shang meet with Steele and a bunch of his Shadow Council goons, and the two sides trade, with Steve sending Shang over while Steel allows Sharon to head to Steve. With Sharon safe, the Secret Avengers burst out of a building and head towards the Council goons, while Steve attacks the much stronger Steele. Steele realizes that his numbers would eventually be overrun by the Avengers, so he reveals that he had rigged the entire building they were on top of to explode. With no choice, the Secret Avengers are forced to allow Steele to take Shang and escape. Shang winds up locked in a prison, where his father announces that he'd be absorbing Shang's lifeforce to extend his own unnatural life. This issue ends with one of the Shadow Council cannon fodder revealing that they were actually Moon Knight, who had snuck into the Council's base, giving Steve and the Secret Avengers an in.

Thoughts: This issue was okay, but I just don't like Shang-Chi... I've NEVER liked him, and I don't care about him OR his crazy father. I seem to be saying this a lot during post, but again, the sooner this storyline is over, the better!

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.You know I'm going to post the Steve Rogers fight scene in this series every time!


Namor #6:

Summary: While studying the mystical amulet worn by Loa, some demons spring out and drag Namor away. Namor wakes up in a desert and is confronted by several horrible sights, including several scorpions with skull heads, and the decapitated heads of the soldiers he led on failed attacks on the surface world. After some wandering, Namor realizes that he had been dragged into Hell by those demons, who reveal that they were the spirits of several dead Atlantian kings. Back in Atlantis, Namor's subjects, as well as Emma Frost and Dr. Nemesis are trying to figure out what happened to Namor. This issue ends with Dr. Doom strolling in, announcing that he wanted to help his old ally Namor escape from the dark realm he had been sucked into.

Thoughts: I actually liked this comic a lot. The Namor in Hell portions were much better than the parts with that annoying Emma Frost and the equally annoying Dr. Nemesis. As for Loa, I don't care about her one way or the other. My biggest gripe with this issue was the ultra vain Dr. Doom walking into Namor's throne room with the top of his head exposed... Doom ALWAYS has his head covered... ALWAYS! I've read LOADS of Fantastic Four comics(as well as other series)with Doom, and he NEVER shows his deformed head/face. Only his robots can see that, never another living being. I get that Doom didn't want to wear his cape and cowl under water, but why wasn't he wearing a full metal mask? That one little thing made me deduct a 1/2 from the final score here, because it just seemed so wrong.

Score: 6 out of 10.Why is the top of Doom's head showing?!?!?