Quick Hits: 2/9/11

I used up all of my witty banter(and I use the word “witty” in as loose a fashion as possible!)during the NCD post earlier today, so this is as far as the introductory paragraph is going to go. Three more comics to look at tonight, two DC books and a Marvel. Let's get to it.

Superman #708:

Summary: Yes ladies and gentlemen, Superman is STILL walking across the country. He bumps into the Superman Squad(a bunch of futuristic do-gooders)and the Squad take him to the future. The Squad show Supes around, and tell him that they understand that he was depressed over the loss of New Krypton, but that there were other forces at work eroding his confidence in himself. After the pep talk, the Squad send Supes back to the present where he notices a town being flooded. Oh, and off in the distance there's a tornado. Supes has to decide to either save the drowning townspeople or stop the tornado. Luckily for Supes, Wonder Woman: The Teenage Amazon is also in town, and she feels drawn to Supes. Not knowing who WW was, but seeing that she had powers, Supes tells her to save the townspeople while he halts the twister. WW sets out to do as told, but runs into the still unnamed female villain behind Supes recent troubles. The evil woman complains about WW sticking her nose where it didn't belong, but WW is unable to apprehend the evil woman since she had a town to save. By the time Supes returns to the town, WW has saved the people, and warns a very confused Supes to watch out for the evil woman before leaving.

Thoughts: This was one of those weird comic books where a whole lot of nothing happened. I mean between the covers we had Supes meeting the Superman Squad, heading to the future, saving some townspeople, meeting Wonder Woman, halting a twister, WW battling the unnamed evil woman, the evil woman getting away and WW warning Supes that somebody was out to get him. But in the end, after all of that stuff took place, we're still basically in the same place we were the past few issues. Supes is still depressed and unsure if he should bother being a hero, while a mysterious woman enhances his feelings of despair behind the scenes. The meeting between Supes and WW: The Teenage Amazon was pretty nondescript, as Supes confirmed what we've known from the WW series, that being the fact that nobody remembers WW. So while this comic was readable and non-offensive, it also didn't lead to much of anything.

Score: 6 out of 10.Of course there would be a monkey... There's ALWAYS a monkey...


Daken: Dark Wolverine #5:

Summary: We start off learning some background information about Madripoor. Basically Tyger Tiger has taken control of most of the crime in Madripoor, but is working with the police to weed out the seedier criminal activities(the slave trade and drugs). However, she has thus far been unable to quash the powerful criminal bankers of the country, since they had control of the money and were good at covering their footsteps. That's where Daken comes in. He approaches Tyger and reveals his identity, explaining that he wanted to make amends for the things he had done in the past, and that he knew where the bankers were holding their annual meeting. To reduce any paper trail, the bankers were notorious for keeping no files of their illicit activities, with the exception of the ledgers they kept with them at all times. In other words, if Tyger could get access to this meeting, she'd have all the proof she needed to get rid of the bankers. Not exactly trusting Daken, but also not wanting to allow such a possibility to pass her by, Tyger gets in touch with her contacts in the Madripoor police force, as well as her underlings and heads towards the bankers hideaway. This issue ends with Daken standing beside Tyger, knowing that the information the bankers held could easily place him in control of all the crime in Madripoor.

Thoughts: Well, I hate to say it about this of all comic books, but here it comes... Meh. I honestly don't care about Madripoor, and to be honest, I've always felt some of the worst Wolverine stories have emanated from that country. Really, the only saving grace for me with this comic was Daken's impending betrayal of Tyger and her associates. For most of this comic I was wondering what Daken's game was, and I was happy to see that he intends on stabbing Tyger in the back(probably literally!)after she's done all the dirty work and dealt with the bankers. The thing that bothered me most about this comic was actually the fact that Daken revealed his identity to Tyger to gain her trust... Since Daken faked his death he's already told the Fantastic Four AND now Tyger that he was still alive... All over the course of TWO issues! I mean really, if you go through all of the trouble of faking your death to operate from the shadows, shouldn't you, oh, I don't know, NOT tell everybody you meet that you're still alive?!? Yes I know Daken can, and more than likely will kill Tyger at the end of this arc, but still... In the end, this was one of those RARE instances where I wasn't blown away after reading an issue of this series. However, I still expect the next issue to bring the awesome that this issue was lacking.

Score: 7 out of 10.Sure, why not just tell EVERYBODY you faked your death, Daken!


Freedom Fighters #6:

Summary: The Fighters manage to break the power-dampening collars they had been fitted with after Black Condor revealed that the collars were only making the Fighters believe they had been de-powered. Now re-powered, the team confronts King Bullet and his goons and manage to get the powerful sword Bullet was after before teleporting away, leaving Bullet and his criminals behind to die. Phantom Lady yells at Miss America for leaving the villains behind, and Miss America explains that she could care less, which causes Phantom Lady and Black Condor to leave. Now short two team members, Miss America heads to the home of the retired Doll Man and tries to coax him into rejoining the Fighters. After being turned down, Miss America brings in several SHADE agents and basically tells Doll Man that he had no choice in the matter.

Thoughts: Not bad... I liked this issue WAY more than the past few issues, as things made a bit more sense to me. I'm still a bit confused by certain aspects of the story(such as why that sword was so important and why the Jester kidnapped the Vice President), but at least this issue added some character development to the team. Miss America was shown as a no nonsense leader who refuses to take no for an answer, while Phantom Lady and Black Condor left the team(for now)and wound up sleeping together. So while the story still isn't gelling for me yet, at least I'm becoming somewhat connected to a few of the characters. Hey, that's better than nothing!

Score: 7 out of 10.At least King Bullet didn't sit down and start crying when he lost his hand...