New Comic Day! August 29th Edition

Hey everyone, JT here with a pretty late/early morning post. I apologize for the lateness, but when life gets in the way, there's not getting around it. Anywho, let's get to this week's comic haul. As always, recommendations for reviews are welcome, I'll try to get everything up if time permits, and feel free to let me know what you guys picked up.

Now, let's get to it! This week I picked up Aquaman 12, Green Lantern Annual #1, Avenging Spider-Man #11, AVX VS. #5, Gambit #2, and Captain Marvel #3. So, six books this week, let me know which ones you guys would like me to review/discuss, and we'll take it from there guys. Til later today, JT signing off!

JT's Take: Venom #23

Hey Todd Squad, today we're gonna check out the first issue of Venom since Rick Remender's departure. I'm on the fence about Cullen Bunn after Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe and Spider-Man: Season One, but he's writing Venom, a favorite of mine, and even writers I don't like have been surprising me when it comes to a Spidey-based character. *cough* Chris Yost *cough* So let's see how Cullen Bunn fares with Corporal Flash Thompson, Agent Venom.

Venom #23

Summary: This issue starts off with Venom on a recon mission, after being told by Hawkeye that due to recent events that he's on probation and should not pursue anyone, he's strictly on recon missions. Venom's night starts off with him meeting up with a reporter by the name of Katy Kiernan, as she gives him info about the Department of Occult Armaments. Venom investigates but of course, things end up going haywire so he has to get involved. The Symbiotic Superhero has to do this one alone since for some reason his communication systems with the Secret Avengers are blocked while inside the building. Venom takes out a bunch of "Nazi demon-worshippers" and starts freeing their prisoners from containment pods when one attacks Venom. The seemingly possessed prisoner suddenly stops attacking when he see's the mark on Venom's soul left by Mephisto, and when Venom commands him to leave, a demon exits the prisoner's body, leaving him unconscious. Venom has no time for answers as Hellstrom appears and brings the fight to Venom. Venom somehow doesn't lose the symbiote when hit by Hellstrom's fire, which confuses Hellstrom as well, and he catches Hellstrom off guard, demanding to know his plan. Hellstrom says the D.O.A. are building him an army of volunteers and that Venom is just like Hellstrom in the sense that people are waiting for him to go rogue and come after him, just like they did to Hellstrom. He says Venom is marked by the beast and knocks Venom into the pods that house his volunteers, causing some of the liquid they are submerged in to waste onto Venom. Flash screams out in pain as the symbiote contorts his body into a giant, demonic version of Venom as the issue comes to a close.


Thoughts: Well this issue was odd... I'm not a big fan of the stuff with guys like Hellstrom and Mephisto, and I didn't care for the Circle of Four storyline, so this immediately put me off. I did like the stuff with Venom and Katy and I would like to see more of Venom and the Avengers, which I can assume will happen soon as Hawkeye finds out that Venom got involved instead of just gathering info. All in all, this was a normal average issue, I enjoyed it less that I would've liked but it's far from bad.

Score: 6/10 

Katy: Anyone ever tell you that you look like Spider-Man?
Venom: I've heard that a few times. It goes in hand with "I thought you'd be bigger." Different guy, though.

JT's Take: Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe #4

Hey Todd Squad, today we're gonna check out the final issue of Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe. With Deadpool already disposing of The X-Men, The Avengers, Spider-Man, and the Incredible Hulk, plus many, many more, what does Deadpool have up his sleeve for the finale? Let's see if Deadpool succeeds, or if he's cut short, pun intended, by The Taskmaster.

Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe #4 of 4

Summary: The issue starts off with mayhem, some heroes and villains like Black Widow, Iron Fist and even Hit-Monkey fighting one another in the streets. Other heroes and villains are committing suicide by jumping off of buildings, including Bullseye, Kingpin and Nick Fury. We see The Punisher staked out in a building when he snipes Deadpool and heads over to finish the job, but finds a dead Puppet Master in a Deadpool costume, Deadpool comes out behind The Punisher and shoots him, pointblank in the back of the head before moving onto even bigger fish, as Deadpool has somehow managed to kill Nova, Silver Surfer and Thanos. We finally get the main event fight with Taskmaster and Deadpool in a swamp, and the two seem evenly matched until Deadpool distracts Taskmaster by talking too much, causing him to rely on muscle memory. Deadpool then asks Taskmaster if he knows Deadpool so well, what would Deadpool have next. Taskmaster thinks for a second and gets frightened by the thought of Deadpool's plan, as Man Thing emerges and touches Taskmaster, causing him to burn up, killing him instantly. Deadpool then tells Man Thing about his plan, so Man Thing kills himself to open the gate to all realities for Deadpool... okay. Deadpool steps into the portal and see's a ton of different world's before landing in our world. The issue ends as we see Deadpool getting ready to kill Cullen Bunn and the rest of the creative team for this comic. Ugh.


Thoughts: This issue really disappointed me. The series started so well, and the end with Taskmaster being hired was great, but that fight wasn't everything I expected, and Man Thing blowing himself up so Deadpool could jump worlds annoyed me. It bothered me that some big names like Venom, Black Widow and Dr. Doom were killed off panel yet the Puppet Master got a few pages. The ending was very bad too, I figured he was coming to out world but I thought maybe something would go awry and he'd end up somewhere else, like the Marvel Zombies world. Then we could have Deadpool kills The Marvel Zombies or something, instead, we got to see him lurk outside of Cullen Bunn's meeting and the book just ends. That was disappointing, overall I enjoyed the series but this last issue ended it on a sour note.

Score: 4/10 

Deadpool: "Dear Diary..." er, I mean "Dear War Journal..."

JT's Take: Amazing Spider-Man #692

Hey Todd Squad, JT here and man oh man, I am falling apart at the seams! Haha, I didn't even have time to get a NCD post up yesterday, so I guess instead of letting you guys know what I picked up, I'll surprise you guys with a review until I run out of this week's comics. I decided to review ASM first due to it's 50th Anniversary and it's huge price tag! This book was six bucks, so it had better have some great stuff in it. So let's see shall we?

Amazing Spider-Man #692

Summary: This mega-sized issue of our favorite arachnid has three Spider-Man based stories. In the first story we see a kid named Andy Maguire, who goes to school and is content with being a nobody, he's not a jock, a geek, a stoner, he's just there. He coasts by with average grades, has a mom and dad that are too busy for him and he's basically just an average kid. When his school visits Horizon labs and to see a new experiment by Peter Parker, who plans on debuting Parker Particles, something goes awry and the kid pushes a girl out of the way of a blast, and when he's hit, it gives Andy super powers. Unlike Peter Parker's origin, everyone see's and knows Andy has powers. Peter feels horrible that he could've killed someone, and Andy's parents quickly try to sue Horizon labs. Modell reaches out to the superhero/genius community and has tests run by Hank "Beast" McCoy, Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards, Hank "Giant Man" Pym, and Tony "Iron Man" Stark. We find out that Andy can fly, shoot energy beams, has super strength, super speed and force fields, but he can only use one power at a time. Reed then pulls Peter aside and tells him that Andy's powers will continue to grow, and how Hulk, The Phoenix and The Sentry are Omega level threats, Andy is currently an Alpha-Level threat. Modell assigns Peter to work with Andy to help make him a costume and gear like he does for Spidey, as they decide to hire Andy as their spokesman, Alpha. Andy quickly agrees, and his parents due as well when they realize how much money they can make off of him. Alpha wastes no time using his powers to show off to his fellow students, which rubs Peter the wrong way. Pete decides to take Alpha under his wing as Spidey and enter him into the Sidekick program, and teach him what to do and what not to do. When Spidey gets a call from the Fantastic Four to help out against Giganto, Spider-Man tells Alpha to stay put as, he's not ready yet. Alpha of course doesn't listen and ends up knocking out Giganto and getting all the glory, plus he steals Ben's catchphrase. A cocky Alpha then basks for the news cameras as Mr. Fantastic and Spidey talk about what a monster Spider-Man has mistakenly created. This story comes to a close as we see none other than The Jackal (!) watching Alpha, as he plans on doing what he does best, this time to the young hero Alpha.


Thoughts: I decided I'd just review the main story for this review, but don't get me wrong, the other two stories, especially the third one about Peter trying to make it to a meeting, were great, fun reads. As for this issue, I wasn't really looking forward to this storyline, but I'm really enjoying it. Alpha is kind of a less homicidal version of Damian Wayne, and he's a fun character. When he proclaimed that Spidey was his sidekick I couldn't help but laugh. I'm wondering where the character goes from here and what Spidey can do to get through to him. Plus, seeing The Jackal reappear was definitely unexpected, I can't wait to see how this story plays out.

Score: 10/10 

Alpha: Put me in their "Sidekick Program" and everything. Even gave me Spider-Man as a sidekick! Cool, right?

JT's Take: Avengers vs. X-Men #10

Hey everyone, today we're gonna check out the most recent issue of the seemingly never ending Avengers Vs. X-Men saga. And since I have nothing of importance to say here, let's do it!

Avengers vs. X-Men #10

Summary: We kick things off with Cyclops showing up for Hope, the Avengers try to fight him off but Cyclops quickly dispels of them since he has half of the Phoenix power. Meanwhile, his better half, pun intended, is making her fellow mutants bow to her and reading the minds of the one's who oppose her, then basically scaring them into bowing to her. Magneto tells Emma she's going too far but Emma shows Magneto that she's got the power and he'd best remember who's in charge. Back on K'un Lun, Hope and The Thunderer attack Cyclops using a dragon by the name of Shao Lao, the carrier of the Iron Fist energy and apparently once defeated The Phoenix according to legend, but since this is a weaker, younger dragon, Cyclops is able to take it down. Cyclops gets read to take Hope but surprisingly she blasts at him with The Dragon's power, which scares her. She runs to Scarlet Witch who tries to protect her but her powers are useless against Cyclops. Hope somehow absorbs Scarlet Witch's powers as well and is able to temporarily depower Scott, then punches him so hard she knocks him to the moon, Honeymooners style. Once Scott recovers he realizes he needs more power, and heads to find Emma, hoping to take hers. The issue comes to a close as we see Magneto, saying to Xavier via his mind that they need his help, and that Scott and Emma are losing control.


Thoughts: Well, I thought this issue was okay. It was cool seeing Scott get blasted and everything, and I like crazy, tyrannical, super bitch Emma. But this story seems like it's lasting WAY too long which has really hurt my enjoyment of it. I mean, the next issue kind of has to be filler until the big fight when hopefully something huge (Jean Grey return) happens that makes this seem worthwhile. The issue itself was nothing special, and we didn't get many answers either.

Score: 7/10 

The Watcher: In space, there is no sound. But Scott Summers hears himself screaming. It takes an hour to recover enough to stand.

JT's Take: Amazing Spider-Man #691

Hey guys and gals, today's review is the last issue of the current storyline chronicling The Lizard. Let's see how Spidey deals with a Human Lizard and a ton of Lizard humans... or whatever.

Amazing Spider-Man #691

Summary: This issue starts off with Spidey getting ready for a fight, but he doesn't need to since the giant lizards are docile, considering Lizards and humans get alone fine. Hm... that was a twist. After hearing gunshots, Peter finds Carlie, who used them as warning shots for the Lizards thatt were near her but they're also docile. Peter see's Connors, who immediately injects himself with the Lizard formula, because he refuses to rot in a prison. Now the Lizard is pissed at Spidey because he wanted to stay human and enjoy things and couldn't, so a new and improved, stronger and faster Lizard starts to attack, but Spidey gets him away before he transforms fully, or he'd have control over the other Lizards. While Spidey and The Lizard fight in the streets, the Horizon Labs crew works on an antidote for the transformed colleagues, using Morbius' cure as a base. They come up with a cure and get it to Spidey, as The Lizard stops attacking people because he see's every kid as Billy Connors, every adult as Martha Connors, and he see's Spidey as Curt Connors. Spider-Man takes advantage of the Lizard's confusion and stabs him through the skull with the cure in a hypodermic harpoon needle. Spidey immediately regrets his decision, thinking he killed the Lizard, but the Lizard weakly tells Spidey that he failed and he isn't human. Spidey webs up the Lizard long enough for him to be transported to a super-villain prison. Back at Horizon, the employees have been cured and Max mentions to Hector that someone has stolen something from his lab, and he wants a private investigation. We then jump over to see Tiberius Stone presenting a completed Spider-Jammer to the Kingpin, and telling him he can have dozens in the coming weeks. Kingpin is pleased, but The Hobgoblin isn't and plans on doing something about it soon. Back with Spidey, he eventually goes to see The Lizard in jail, and he passes Morbius, who asks if Sajani is okay, he says he needs to know, but Spider-Man ignores him. He goes to see The Lizard and sees that he's fine, and with a clear conscious, Spider-Man leaves. As he leaves, the Lizard whispers that it works. Curt Connors is back, but his mind is stuck in the Lizards body, but he says to himself that he'll never tell, because this is his penance for what he's done to Martha and Billy, and he deserves it. The issue comes to a close as we see Madame Web noticing something in the Web of Life has changed and there's a new face involved, we then see a man known as The Devil-Spider, as he's told his brother never became The Hobgoblin, his brother, Daniel Kingsly is dead. The Devil-Spider unmasks to reveal that he's actually Ben Kingsly, and he's ready to get revenge on this new Hobgoblin!


Thoughts: Another excellent issue by Dan Slott. I love seeing the Lizard get humanity, and after having the Lizard stuck in Curt's body, having Curt stuck in The Lizard's was a genius move. Does this mean Spidey may have an unexpected ally some day? I'd think so. All in all, I really enjoyed this issue, especially the twist with Kingsly, I didn't see that coming at all. Once again, another issue I had no problems at all with, perfect issue in my opinion. 

Score: 10/10 

The Lizard: My name is Curt Connors. And this is my prison. My penance. My hell. And I deserve it.

JT's Take: Avengers Academy #35

Hey everyone, with the recent news that one of my favorite ongoing series, Avengers Academy, will be canceled at issue #39, I decided today I would review the most recent issue of Avengers Academy today. Hopefully, the AA crew will get a team book in the Marvel NOW era, but for now I'll enjoy the team for as long as I can.

Avengers Academy #35

Summary: We start things off with Finesse, X-23, Reptil, White Tiger and Lightspeed trying to figure out a way to get their powers back. Using their collective skills, they manage to take down Zero after a brutal fight, and plot their attack on Brigg's estate. From there we jump over to a now cured Mettle and Hazmat, who are eager to spend time with one another, but are still worried about their friends. The two finally get to embrace and kiss with nothing between them. Meanwhile, Striker cozies up to Enchantress, just long enough for her to help him get the cure to get his powers back and Striker of course zaps her and gets ready to take down Briggs and get cures for his friends, when Briggs reveals he's been watching Striker, then uses Striker's salt content in his body to basically fry Striker with his own powers. Veil picks up the vial with the cure Striker took, which still has some of the serum left and runs to find help. Meanwhile the five powerless heroes head after Reptil and White Tiger's amulets, but are met by Coat of Arms, who says their amulets feel unappreciated, so she plans on taking them, but she'll have to kill White Tiger and Reptil first. Back with Veil, she runs to Mettle and Hazmat, and tells them how Briggs is about to kill Striker, and she needs help. Hazmat is hesitant because she likes being normal and the cure is forever, so Brigg's aerosol spray won't take her powers away again, but Mettle says how all he needs is that one kiss from Hazmat to last him the rest of his life, and they need to help their friends. Mettle drinks the cure and before Veil can drink it, Hazmat decides to, because she's the strongest and because Veil would dissipate into nothing. Hazmat's powers instantly returns but Mettle's do not for some reason. The issue ends with an extremely pissed off Hazmat ready to make Briggs pay.


Thoughts: It's crazy to think a year ago I didn't read this series and now it's one of my favorites. This issue was no exception, the stuff with Striker and Enchantress was great, the battle with the five heroes and Zero was great because we got to see Finesse take the leadership role. I really enjoyed the stuff with White Tiger and Reptil both wondering if their doing the right thing with their powers, and the scene with Hazmat and Mettle was of Peter/Mary Jane proportions. I loved this issue, and I can find nothing bad to say about it, just sucks that we only have four more issues left.

Score: 10/10 

Veil: Jenny, I know Jeremy. The look in his eyes... he's going to kill them all. Finesse, 'Berto... whoever stands up to him...

JT's Take: Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #3

Hey Todd Squad,the first review on tap for this week is the bloody, gruesome, awesome mini-series featuring our favorite Murdering Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #3. After taking out The Avengers in the last issue, say, "What else can Deadpool do?" Well, quiet down, I'm about to tell ya, right now.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #3

Summary: After a starting scene where we see Deadpool has already taken out Venom, Green Goblin and even Power Pack, we see that Taskmaster truly believes that Deadpool deserves to die. From there we see Deadpool torturing Professor X, making him call the X-Men to his location, and when they do, they fall into traps set by Deadpool. In the span of minutes, Deadpool kills Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, Colossus, Gambit and Rogue. Deadpool then tells Xavier that this is his fault, he had him committed and Psycho Man opened Deadpool's mind, making him realize that his true problem isn't that he breaks the forth wall, but the forth wall is breaking him. Xavier interrupts and says he's shutting Deadpool's brain down, for good, but when he see's inside of Deadpool's mind, it's too much for him and leaves Charles brain dead. Eventually, Wolverine, healed from the Avengers attack, shows up and is ready to take on Deadpool when he's led into a room that has X-23 and Daken chained up, and every time they heal they're blazed by flamethrowers, restarting the cycle. An extremely pissed off Wolverine attacks Deadpool, and pool says Wolverine doesn't keep coming back because of his healing factor but because of his popularity. He then beheads Wolverine with a carbonadium blade, and says he's got big plans and all the popularity in the world can't save Wolverine. From there, we see Taskmaster arrive at the home of Doctor Strange and finds his corpse laying there, he can tell from the mess that Deadpool was looking for something. Taskmaster finds what Deadpool was looking for, as Deadpool has marked off a page that shows the map of the Nexus of all Realities, as this issue comes to a close.


Thoughts: Cullen Bunn is ROCKING this mini. I had mixed feeling about him after a subpar, in my opinion, Spider-Man: Season One, but he's redeeming himself on this awesome mini-series. I love that Deadpool has woken up and realized if he wants to stop all these heroes, he'll have to take out our world, since Wolverine and the other heroes will keep coming back due to US wanting them back. It's perfect for Deadpool's character. Plus, with the Taskmaster fight coming up, as well as the genius way Deadpool took out Daken and X-23, this comic was awesome. If I had any problems, it would be that the Wolverine fight seemed to go very quickly, I would have preferred a shorter convo with Prof. X and a longer fight with Wolverine.

Score: 9/10

Deadpool: Your mutant power isn't regeneration. It's popularity.

New Comic Day! August 15th Edition.

Hey everyone, JT here with our weekly update, as you guys may have seen, I didn't get around to reviewing Gambit #1 and Batman #12 last week. I read them both and Gambit seemed to be all over the place, which would have made for a very confusing review. Bats on the other hand... I just... It didn't seem like a Batman comic to me, as much as a comic that Batman just happened to be in, so that really hurt my enjoyment of it, which made me not wanna review it as much. But, it's Comic book day! My haul for this week is pretty good, and as always you guys feel free to comment below, let me know what you want to see a review for most, and I'll try to get it posted if time permits. And of course, I'm always curious to see what you guys are reading as well, so feel free to let me know what you decided to grab at the shop.

Now, let's get to it! This week I picked up Catwoman #12, Green Lantern #12, Saga #6, The Walking Dead #101, Amazing Spider-Man #691, Avengers Academy #35, Avengers Vs. X-Men #10, Captain Marvel #2, Deadpool #59, and Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe #3. So, ten books, let me know which ones you guys would like me to review/discuss, and we'll take it from there guys. Til later today , JT signing off!

JT's Take: Scarlet Spider #8

Hey guys and gals, with the upcoming Minimum Carnage storyline staring Venom and Scarlet Spider fast approaching, I figured I'd compliment yesterday's Venom review by posting Scarlet Spider today, so let's check in with our favorite Houston-based Hero.

Scarlet Spider #8

Summary: We pick up where things left off with Kaine taking on The Rangers, they tell him to give up but Kaine has a few questions, so after causing a distraction, Kaine escapes with Zoe. Once Kaine is alone with Zoe, he asks her why she blew up Roxxon and she explains her father is up to something in Galveston. Kaine takes her word for it and the two head there, unaware that The Rangers are not far behind their trail. Kaine tears his way through Roxxon to a room where Zoe claims there are tons of dead bodies but when they arrive there they find nothing. Kaine, afraid his second chance at life is now ruined, starts freaking out and plans to get Aracely and head for Mexico. Suddenly, The Rangers show up and manage to take Scarley Spider by surprise and take him down. Before things can escalate even more, a robotic/alien (?) member of The Rangers named Fifty-One scans the room and breaks the floor, which reveals a hidden room with all the bodies that Zoe mentioned to Kaine. The Rangers realize that Kaine isn't the villain here and start to apologize but there are other things going on, as they hear screams from another room. They run see a man being experimented on but of course, everything goes wrong and he turns into a giant monster as this issue comes to a close.


Thoughts: I actually don't have much to say about this comic. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it was passable. I'm enjoying Kaine as Scarlet Spider but I wish he had something to sink his teeth into, around issue 8 in the Venom series, Flash had done a lot more than Kaine has at this point, so hopefully Kaine can get that big story with Kraven soon...

Score: 6.5/10

Scarlet Spider: You guys, you call yourselves The Rangers... super heroes right?The Texas Twister: Yep.
Scarlet Spider: Good. This one's all yours.

JT's Take: Venom #22

Hey Todd Squad, I figured today I'd review the final issue of Rick Remender's Venom run. Since the first issue, I've called Remender's Venom, the best ongoing comic since Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl run with Stephanie Brown. Now that his run is coming to an end, let's see how things work out for our favorite Symbiotic Soldier.

Venom #22

Summary: This issue actually moved along rather quickly. We started out with Flash swinging around the city looking for the insane Jack O'Lantern, who survived his Joker like acid bath and is now out killing people to lure Venom to him. Jack is also doing this on Father's Day, since he believes Venom killed his father, The Crime Master. Over the course of the issue we see Flash's memories with his abusive, alcoholic father, yelling and attacking Flash and his sister. Venom finally comes to the end of the trail that Jack had left for him and enters a room to find his own Father's corpse, sitting at a table. Flash of course goes livid and smashes the table, which causes his father's corpse to lean forward and shows a bomb, which explodes and the flames hurt the Venom symbiote. Jack O'Lantern attacks Venom and is about to kill the young hero when Venom uses his symbiote tendrils to grab the gun from around the waist of his father's cop uniform. He blasts Jack and attacks him, beating him senseless, until making the choice not to be like his father, and carries an unconscious Jack that he then turns in to the authorities. From there we see Flash telling the Secret Avengers if they want to cut him he knows why, we also see Betty throwing out pictures of her and Flash, Flash's mother staring out into the sunset, and Flash finally laying down for a night's rest, as this issue comes to a close.


Thoughts: First things first, thanks to Rick Remender for an amazing comic series and making me a big fan of Flash Thompson, and making him my favorite Venom. Now, onto this issue, I loved how Flash's dad was tied in with this, and seeing Flash's rough childhood, from trying to protect his sister, being told he was in the wrong by his mother, and everything else. I will say I was genuinely surprised when he opened the door to see his Father's corpse, but I should have expected that from Jack O'Lantern, who's become a great villain in the last twenty or so issues. He's definitely like The Joker mixed with the Green Goblin which is a fun villain for a guy like Venom, and I'm glad Remender kept him around for Bunn to play with. All in all, this was a fine comic, nothing amazing, but it was a nice way to cap off Remender's run on Venom.

Score: 7.5/10

JT's Take: Spider-Men #4

Hey Todd Squad, today we're gonna check out the most recent issue of Spider-Men, we left off with Peter going to the home of the deceased Ultimate Universe Peter Parker and unmasking outside the house as he's met by Aunt May and Gwen Stacy.

Spider-Men #4 of 5

Summary: Things start off very hostile, as Aunt May walks up and slaps Peter across the face, and Gwen starts kicking him, as they obviously think this a cruel joke. Ultimate Spidey (Miles) shows up and tells the Universe, and he's aged, as Peter apologizes for coming there but says he needed to see them. Aunt May faints and wakes up a few hours later to Peter, Gwen and and unmasked Miles all upstairs talking about the differences between the worlds, but Peter doesn't mention Gwen's death. Aunt May eventually comes up and talks to Peter and see's that he is pretty much the same boy she raised, as they both quote the "Great Power" line. They touch on everything, including the Ultimate MJ being Goth and Moody while Peter's MJ is a model now, and even mention how Ultimate Pete and Kitty Pryde dated. Eventually the Spider-Men have to go, and Peter asks Gwen to look after Aunt May. Once the Spider-Men are back with Fury, they meet up with Tony Stark and try to figure out where Mysterio is broadcasting from. Miles quickly recognizes a building which gives them a hint where Mysterio's lab may be. Fury hops on the line and tells some agents he needs... everything, and the issue comes to a close as we see both Spider-Men web-slinging alongside Iron Man, Thor, and a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.


Thoughts: Well... that was a very misleading cover. This was a fine issue, not much happened in terms of fighting but I enjoyed seeing Gwen, Miles, Aunt May and Peter talking about all the differences in both worlds, seeing Peter give Miles advice, and just having Gwen and Aunt May have a chance to say goodbye on happier terms. The ending with the Mysterio stuff seemed kinda rushed, and I'm not as excited for the final issue as I'd like to be, but I am wondering how things will end for Miles and Peter's team up.

Score: 6.5/10

Miles: Hey, do they have a Nick Fury where you come from?
Peter: Oh yes.
Fury: Yeah? What's he like?
Peter: Uh, white.
Fury: Sorry to hear that.

JT's Take: Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe #2

Hey everyone, since I didn't get a chance to review the first issue last week, I figured I'd jump right into the second issue of Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe, for anyone curious what happened in issue one, Deadpool, after having something in his mind unlocked, and going on a killing spree against every hero, villain, and anti-hero in the Marvel Universe, after killing the Fantastic Four, so let's see who's next on The Merc with a Mouth's list.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #2

Summary: We start things off with the news chronicling Deadpool's rampage, as he's already taken out Doctor Doom, Ghost Rider, a few X-Men including Beast, and Pool's even Howard The Duck. From there we see Deadpool fight Spidey, but Spidey plans on getting Deadpool locked up instead of killing him like some other heroes want to, but he doesn't get the chance because he's shot in the head point blank and killed in the middle of the street by Deadpool. Deadpool tries to decide who he wants to kill next, his brain says it doesn't matter but Deadpool says it has to be something extravagant. While we cut over and see the Avengers planning on how to stop Deadpool, Jarvis runs in telling everyone Doctor Pym is missing and he said someone stole Pym particles. Right on cue, Deadpool expands a bunch of bombs using Pym particles and manages to blow up the Avengers, taking out Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye and Wolverine. Cage stands out of the rubble ready to fight when Deadpool says he know Cage would survive so he put some bombs in Cage's coffee, then expands them causing them to explode inside Cage, killing him instantly. Thor is ready for a fight and throws Mjolnir at Deadpool, but Pool uses the last bit of Pym Particles he has to make Thor's hammer huge and fall on Thor, and since Thor is unable to move the giant hammer, it crushes him dead. Thor sets his sights on Hulk next but is ripped in half, Hulk leaves and falls asleep, and wakes up as Banner, but wakes up to being sliced in half by Deadpool, crossing Hulk off the list. The issue comes to a close as May Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Melita Garner, and a few of the other girlfriends of the killed heroes pool their money as revenge, and pay Taskmaster to kill Deadpool!


Thoughts: Damn this was good! Deadpool shooting Spidey in the middle of a crowd was crazy, but the way he took out the Avengers was just plain genius. Hell in one comic he killed Doom, The Avengers, Spidey, AND The Hulk! I'm not only wondering who can stop Deadpool... but who the hell is left? I'd have to gamble Wolverine? He was in the explosion but he has the healing factor so I figure he'll be back right? Also, can we please get a Venom killed the Marvel Universe? Please?! Oh, and TASKMASTER VS. DEADPOOL TO THE DEATH?! Hell....yes.

Score: 9/10

Deadpool: Gonna take a broom and a dustpan for you guys to "assemble" next time.

New Comic Day! August 7th Edition.

Hey everyone, JT here after disappearing for a few days with a pretty late/early morning post. Between work, getting ready for my cousin's wedding this weekend, and just general life, I've been pretty busy, but I can guarantee I'll get at least something up every week if not every day. And for those wondering, had I reviewed Hawkeye #1 and Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe #1, I would've given them an 8/10 and a 7/10 respectively. But now, moving on to my favorite weekday, TGIW, it's Comic book day! My haul for this week is pretty good, and as always you guys feel free to comment below, let me know what you want to see a review for most, and I'll try to get it posted if time permits. And of course, I'm always curious to see what you guys are reading as well, so feel free to let me know what you decided to grab at the shop.

Now, let's get to it! This week I picked up Batman #12, Batman and Robin #12, Suicide Squad #12, Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe #2, Gambit #1, Scarlet Spider #8, Spider-Men #4 and Venom #22. So, eight books, let me know which ones you guys would like me to review/discuss, and we'll take it from there guys. Til later today , JT signing off!

JT's Take: Avengers vs. X-Men #9

Hey guys, today we're gonna check out the most recent issue of Avengers vs. X-Men, which seems like it's been lasting forever! With this issue, we're one step closer to the ending, which seems like it can't come fast enough at this point.

Avengers vs. X-Men #9

Summary:  After starting things off in K'un Lun where Spidey is giving advice to Hope about training and how every Avenger has their time to step up and save the day, we see that each time the Avengers face The X-Men, they lose a teammate in battle, most recently Thor, and things aren't looking good for the Avengers. We then see Cyclops and Emma talking, with hints that the Phoenix Powers are corrupting Emma Frost, but before Scott can realize, he heads off to find Hope when Emma mutters that she knows Hope is at K'un Lun. From there we see Emma is just going around killing people in cold blood that have killed mutants, even if it was by mistake. Over on Wakanda, Storm tries to talk to Black Panther as he cleans the ruins of his land, but she's told the X-Men are enemies of Wakanda now, and he's annulled their marriage. A hurt Storm then gives Black Panther a tip on where the Avengers can grab the people they have that were taken by the Phoenix Four. The Avengers move in to save their people and get Thor, Thing and the rest but are attacked by Colossus and Magick. Spider-Man decides his time is now, and webs his allies back and causes a cave in to trap him with Colossus and Magick. Spider-Man tries to buy his friends time but is beaten to within an inch of his life by Colossus. When asked why Colossus won't just kill him by his little sister, Magick, she states he's becoming weak. Spider-Man stirs the pot by saying they should relax because if they fought, one could take the other one's powers, and no one wants that. The Avengers finally regroup and go back to save Spidey but find him barely standing about the unconscious bodies of  Magick and Colossus, having tricked the two into defeating one another. But before the celebration can begin, an even stronger version of Cyclops appears before the Avengers, and tells Hope that it's time to come home, as this issue ends.


Thoughts: Now, this was a pretty great issue. I loved seeing Spidey get the spotlight, and he's the kind of character that you believe could trick the amped up brother-sister duo into fighting one another. Also, I was surprised to see T'Challa and Storm's divorce I guess in this issue, that definitely caught me by surprise. I'm wondering if Cyclops is going to have to be the one who stops Emma's rampage or if this inevitably leads to Jean Grey returning to take on a evil, Phoenix-fueled Emma Frost. Either way, this issue built a lot of questions I can't wait to see the answers to.

Score: 9/10

Spider-Man: Did I do good, Uncle Ben?

JT's Take: The First X-Men

Hey guys and gals, I figured I'd follow up yesterdays Avengers Academy review by reviewing the newest comic written by one of my favorite comic writers, Christos Gage and Neal Adams, who I hope to become more familiar with after this mini-series. Now, let's see what happened before Xavier coined the term, X-Men.

The First X-Men #1

Summary: We start things off with Logan going to Harlem to find a friend's son, who may be a mutant, but when he finds the young teen named Anthony, he tells Logan he can't help him, and suddenly explodes. Logan recovers quickly to see the explosion took out a lot of people, and apparently people think a gas main exploded. Next we see Logan and Creed (Sabretooth), as Logan explains that the Feds came and took the kids body quickly after his demise, and he thinks they've started to hunt down people that are different. Logan talks Sabretooth into helping him round up kids who are different and help them out, which pisses Sabretooth off first, until Logan is able to get him to see things his way by mentioning Creed's tough childhood. From there, the two head to Virginia thanks to Logan picking up the scent of Anthony and finds the government is doing experiments on the young man's remains. They start destroying the labs and come across some files on mutant candidates the feds are watching, when they're attacked by some guards in metal suits. Logan and Creed take the guys out and escape with some files, and as they leave, Anthony surprisingly wakes up. Creed and Logan realize the top target on the list is a woman named Holly Bright and that the government is making a move on her, so they head to find her. They see that she takes money from people and makes their dreams come true, as we see a clients who has her manifest the spirit of his dead daughter, so they can talk to them and have closure. As Logan and Creed try to explain the situation to Holly, the government attacks, but Holly uses her powers to create a monster that seems real enough to allow herself, Creed and Logan to escape. Holly's codename is Holo, and apparently she's a teenager that makes herself look like a twenty-year old, very busty woman, but she shows her true form to Logan after he questions her about it. Next up, our three mutants head to meet with a young Charles Xavier, and tell him his people need his help but Xavier says he's normal and will live a normal life, he wants nothing to do with the mutants. Logan, Creed and Holly leave and as they do we see Charles calling Moira and saying they need to talk. The issue comes to a close as Logan says their next prospect is a man named Erik, as we see the future Magneto brutally murdering a bunch of former Nazi's.


Thoughts: This first issue was pretty damn good. I loved seeing Logan, Creed and Darwin, and the dynamic between Logan and Creed is really well done. I really liked the scene with Charles wanting to live a normal life and not have to fight for mutant rights, as that is a lot dropped upon a guy that young, that hasn't had the hard life Creed, Logan and Erik had. This mini has a TON of potential and it definitely started on the right track in my opinion.

Score: 9/10

Holo: Disappointed?
Creed: Not mine to say, kid. I go for women, not jailbait.

JT's Take: Avengers Academy #34

Hey Todd Squad, we've got a pretty busy week with some pretty big comics on tap for review, so let's jump right into the first issue of the Avengers Academy "Final Exam" story arc.

Avengers Academy #34

Summary: This issue started off with Hazmat and Mettle trying to chill at the beach but being gawked at by a bunch of civilians when Hazmat gets a call from Psycho-Genius, Jeremy Briggs, saying that he's come up with a way to cure her and Mettle. Hazmat alerts the other pairs of her team, White Tiger and Reptil, X-23 and Finesse, and Striker and Lightspeed, and they all head to Briggs building in Manhattan. The former Avengers Academy students are met by alumni member Veil and Jocasta. The teens are obviously questioning Brigg's methods but Veil announces that he's cured her. That's all Hazmat needs to hear and gets the cure from Briggs, called Clean Slate, which is an aerosol spray cure. Hazmat removes her suit and is in fact cured. Next up, Briggs cures Mettle and he and Hazmat finally embrace and kiss for the first time. The love fest is cut short when Briggs announces he plans on dispersing his cure around the world and curing all of the heroes and villains, eith the exception of guys the cure won't affect with natural talent like Hawkeye, suits like War Machine and Iron Man, and Gods like Thor. He wants the Academy students to protect him when they revolt after he cures the world, but the Teens want no part of that, neither does Jocasta and Veil. Briggs transfers Jocasta's consciousness to another body in China, then announces that they've been breathing in the cure for the last five minutes. Turns out the cure didn't work on Finesse, X-23 and Reptil, who all try to attack, but Briggs calls in his hench-women, Big Zero, Enchantress and Coat of Arms, to deal with them. Once Enchantress subdues Reptil, Briggs forcibly yanks his magic crystal out of Reptil's chest. He then points out that without her healing factor, X-23 is slowly dying of adamantium poisoning, but Veil causes a distraction which allows her, X-23, White Tiger, Reptil and Lightspeed to escape by falling into rubble. Meanwhile, Briggs asks the now cured Academy members if their with him or against him, and seemingly having no other choice, Striker says that he, Mettle, Hazmat and Veil are with him as this issue ends.


Thoughts:  This was a great start to this storyline, I'm really wondering how they plan on stopping Briggs with no powers and since the Avengers Academy Faculty is busy fighting the X-Men. I'm curious if White Tiger still has her powers since hers are also magic based, and with Finesse probably taking the lead since she still has her fighting skills, I'm curious how X-23 and Reptil will cope. One thing that bothered me is why they are stupid enough to go back to Briggs. I mean... he's a KNOWN psychopath by these kids, I wouldn't have let him cure me for anything, but I guess kids in love do stupid things. That aside, I really enjoyed this issue, here's hoping it stays this good or only gets better!

Score: 8/10

Hazmat: It worked. I'm normal. I'm free.

New Comic Day! August 1st Edition!

Hey everyone, JT here once again after a pretty busy week. I wasn't able to get a review up Sunday or Tuesday due to being busy lately but hopefully you guys didn't mind. But now, moving on to my favorite weekday, TGIW, it's Comic book day! My haul for this week is actually pretty impressive,  and as always you guys feel free to comment below, let me know what you want to see a review for most, and you can more than likely expect to it soon. And of course, I'm always curious to see what you guys are reading as well, so feel free to let me know what you decided to grab at the shop.

Now, let's get to it! This week I picked up Dial H #4, Earth 2 #4, Smallville #4, World's Finest #4, Avengers Academy #34, Avengers vs. X-Men #9, Avenging Spider-Man #10, Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe #1, First X-Men #1, Hawkeye #1, and Ultimate Spider-Man #13. So, eleven books, let me know which ones you guys would like me to review/discuss, and we'll take it from there guys. Til tomorrow, JT signing off!