Best of the Rest! April 17th edition.

Hey all, X back again with a new Best of the Rest post.  Between myself and JT(whose reviews with be in a blue text), there should be plenty of comics to check out.  So instead of talking about it, let's get to it!

Venom #34: Yes!  This is exactly what I want from this series!  This issue starts off with Toxin kicking Venom's ass, which leads to the mysterious cannibal showing up to join the fight.  However, Toxin is all, "Who invited you, bitch?!" and proceeds to BITE the head off of the cannibal!  That in turn leads to Venom biting off one of Toxin's arms!  Excellent!!  Toxin shrugs that off, grows a new arm and continues the ass-kickery.  Venom finally halts the assault by injecting Toxin with the serum that keeps his own symbiote under control.  Toxin rushes off since his symbiote was acting up, and Venom drags his battered ass to a rooftop to recuperate and prepare for round two. So yeah, Cullen Bunn just needs to keep doing this.  Every single issue.  Because this issue rocked.  Score: 8 out of 10.

Iron Man #8: 451 manages to get Tony his armor before Tony is murdered by Death's Head.  That leads to a massive brawl between Iron Man and DH, which 451 uses as a distraction to deactivate the cloaking device the Voldi had been using to hide from the Celestials.  The Celestials arrive and obliterate the planet and everybody on it.  Needless to say, Tony doesn't appreciate 451's actions and announces that he would have vengeance.  This issue was a meh for me.  It wasn't awful by any stretch, the fight between Tony and DH was cool, and I enjoyed 451's swerve, but I'm not going to remember this issue past tomorrow.  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Daredevil #25: Matt finally comes face-to-face with one of his tormentors, a guy wearing a facsimile of his original yellow attire named Ikari(which means 'Fury' in Japanese).  Oh, and Ikari?  He has all of DD's enhanced senses.  The two have a spectacular battle across the rooftops of Manhattan, ending up in a sporting goods shop.  DD manages to set off the sprinkler system, and hopes that his foe's inexperience with his hyper-senses will cause him to become totally disoriented by the noise and falling water.  And it's a great plan.  Except for one thing...  Ikari isn't blind!  Ikari beats the ever-loving hell out of a shocked Matt, who has no choice but to turn tail and run away, all while Ikari yells taunts after him.  Yeah, this issue?  Awesome.  I NEVER saw the swerve with Ikari having his sight coming, and when Matt realized Ikari COULD see?  Amazing!  I wanted to scream FOR Matt!  That's how perfect the reveal was.  Amazing work by the incomparable Mark Waid.  Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.

X-Factor #254: Hey, this "Hell" storyline is still going on...  Okay...  Tier decides he doesn't want to kill the Hell-Lords, which pisses Polaris off since Tier kind of has to or everybody is screwed.  Meanwhile, Mephisto is unsurprisingly knocking off the other Hell-Lords, polishing off Hela right after she had killed Asmodeus.  Jezebel, Possessed Madrox and Guido attack X-Factor since Jezebel needed Tier if she had any hope in defeating her father(Mephisto).  That leads to a showdown between Monet and Guido.  This issue was solid.  Much like most of this storyline.  It's okay.  It's not great or anything, it's okay.  To be honest, I'm to the point where I'm waiting for this storyline to just end already...  Score: 7 out of 10.

Nightwing #19: So Dick Grayson is in Chicago now, as he's decided to track down and capture Tony Zucco, who, in case you were unaware, killed Dick's parents.  The cops hate Nightwing because the cops in Chi-town hate costumed heroes, and Dick is broke because he won't ask Bruce for money.  Because they're feuding again after Death of the Family and Damian's death.  But honestly, do those two really need a reason to feud?!  They're almost always pissed at each other for one reason or another!  But I digress...  So yeah, Dick has no money and has to take a roommate in his apartment...  Because that's smart for a masked hero like Dick...  Anyway, it seems Zucco, who was the person who murdered Dick's parents, is the mayor's chauffeur or something...  The mayor is corrupt, it seems.  On top of that, the Prankster is punishing criminals.  So yeah, Dick's first issue in Chicago?  Not perfect.  But hey, it wasn't awful, so there's that!  I have to say, even though he appeared on a grand total of one page, the Prankster seems extremely interesting.  I liked the costume and I liked his brand of vigilantism.  So I'll be looking forward to seeing more of Prankster and less of Tony Zucco, who was the man responsible for the deaths of Dick Grayson's parents.  In case you hadn't heard...  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Dark Avengers #189: This is the penultimate issue of this series, and I have to admit, I won't really miss it...  It started off with such promise, but man did it fall apart quickly...  Basically Evil Dr. Strange dies when he randomly explodes.  That frees Skaar from Evil Strange, so Skaar can finally attack Evil Thing.  Ragnarok picks up that dimension's Thor's hammer(wait, how?!), which makes him turn into a guy who looks like the Executioner...  And AIM is still up to something, but damned if I know what!  Yeah, I don't have anything else to add to that issue...  Score: 4 out of 10.

Nova #3: In this issue of Nova, we see our protagonist run into The Watcher. He eventually is able to see through the Watcher's eyes that there are a ton of ships in the distance, but since he doesn't know what to do with that knowledge, he heads back to Earth. On Earth, Sam's mom hints she may know about Sam using his dad's helmet and says he can talk to her about anything. After that, Sam is approached by Gamora and Rocket Raccoon, who tell him he's the last of the Nova Corps and they start training Sam. In the midst of training, the Guardians mention the army that's on the way to attack Earth, and Sam tells them he saw it, thanks to the man on the moon, so they send Sam on recon since his Nova helmet can see the cloaked ships. The issue ends with Nova getting blasted in space by the ships, so I guess they can see him. Oops. I enjoyed this issue, it was nothing spectacular but it was a solid read. Score: 6.5/10

Captain Marvel #12: This issue focuses on Cap Marvel and Deathbird's aerial fight with Cap confined to her flying bike. After a long, tough battle, Cap finally defeats Deathbird, but has to fly at the end to due so, which weakens Cap due to the lesion on her brain. Throughout the issue we see her doctor talking to another doctor, the new one having dealt with a case like this before. It turns out his patient was Captain Marvel's friend, Helen Cobb, although she supposedly died in a fire. The doctors meet Cap at home to give her some news that we aren't privy to until the next issue. The issue ends with the mysterious man in the park revealing himself to be Yon-Rogg, now fully powered due to Captain Marvel's fights with Deathbird powering him. This was another solid issue, I enjoyed the fight with Deathbird but all the Doctor mumbo jumbo kinda slowed things down for me. I'm not familiar with Yon-Rogg but after looking him up and seeing he's the one that kidnapped Carol which led to her getting her powers, I'm excited to see where this goes. Score: 7/10

Justice League #19: This issue opened with Jason Todd and Alfred talking, so yeah, that's a free point from me. The two are attacked as some mysterious man who makes his way through the scan and past Batman's retinal scanner somehow to Bats' contingency room, as he has a case with a plan to beat each member of the League. The mystery man steals Superman's case, which has Kryptonite. Batman eventually returns and Jason is beating himself up for not hearing the intruder sneak up on them but Bruce says she's just glad Jason and Alfred are okay. After some help from Aquaman and Cyborg, they aren't able to figure out how this person got in or what they were after, Batman seems to know but plays dumb. Meanwhile, Superman and Wonder Woman fight some terrorists in Kahndaq, but Americans aren't allowed there, so Kahndaq is contemplating waging war on America. Batman meets with Supes and Wondy and they discuss how they went about things when he reveals he knows their dating, and also that someone came to the Batcave and took something to hurt Superman. The issue ends with Firestorm and the Atom, two of the newest Leaguers being attacked in the Watchtower by none other than Despero, wearing a Kryptonite ring. I enjoyed this issue surprisingly. I definitely didn't expect for this review to be so long. I enjoyed seeing Jason and Alfred, so... do more of that, Geoff Johns. I also enjoyed seeing Supes and Wondy fighting crime, and the odd way they influence one another, kinda reminds me their relationship in of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Lastly, this mystery man that knows Bruce could be interesting if done the right way, I'm curious to see who he is and why he'd help Despero, since I don't think it's him. Oh, and I like the new Atom, she rocks. Score: 8/10

Alright gang, that's it for me and mi amigo. Tomorrow, expect a new type of review from X, which he'll explain then, but until now, on behalf of buddy X, this is JT, signing off!