Avengers Academy #39

Well, here's a post I never wanted to do...  I've been SO high on this series, pretty much since it began.  I was able to convince a few fellow comic fans(most notably JT, who ended up typing a fantastic post on why people should read this series) to pick this comic up.  I named the series my favorite series of 2011 AND I named the writer, Christos Gage, my favorite writer of 2011.  Simply put, this is my favorite ongoing comic book series.  And sadly, this is the final issue.  There's not much more I can say here.  I will say that it was a magnificent 39+ issues and that I'm sure, on some rainy day, I'll end up pulling this series out of one of my many boxes of comics to read again, and that makes me happy.  So, for the final time, let's check out the latest issue of Avengers Academy...

Avengers Academy #39(Final Issue):

Summary:  There's not really all that much to summarize here, as this issue wrapped up a lot of the stories going on in this series...  X-23 confronted Finesse about the death of Jeremy Briggs, and warned Finesse to stay away from her since they were no longer friends, while Mettle and Hazmat finally decided to take the next step in their relationship.  Striker also ended up getting into a relationship, as he went to the prom with a kid who was inspired by his inspirational video.  Reptil and White Tiger ended up getting kind of cozy, but were interrupted by Finesse, who ended up spending time with Quicksilver.  In the end, the kids were granted enhanced Avengers clearance, and were told that the Avengers no longer looked at them as the next potential Masters of Evil, but saw them truly as the next generation of Avengers...  Well, except for Veil, who had given up her powers.  But things even worked out for Veil, who was no longer the abused wallflower at school, but was a more confident young woman.

Thoughts:  Naturally my thoughts here were pretty bittersweet...  Yes, this was yet another good to great issue of this series, but it WAS the final issue.  From here, many of the characters from this series(although not my two favorites...) are heading into Avengers Arena.  I've already added Avengers Arena to my pull list, but seriously, how long can a comic series with THAT premise possibly last?  Even with the Avengers name on it...  Oh well.  In the end, kudos to Christos Gage for finishing this series off as wonderfully as he did.  As I said in the intro, I can guarantee you I'll be reading this series again, from the first issue to the last, and loving every second of it.  Again.

Score: 9 out of 10.
 
I'll miss this series...

Avengers Academy #38

Hey everyone, JT here and today's review is none other than the penultimate issue of Avengers Academy, and it features a Flag Football game between the Avengers Academy students and faculty vs. the Jean Grey school's students and faculty.

Avengers Academy #38

Summary: This issue has a lot to touch on, so I'll go with the broad strokes instead of a page by page rundown. The Flag football game is more of a framing device to get everyone in one place, as it falls to the back for this issue, but when touched on, it's awesome. The rules allowed the students and faculty that participated to use their powers, as long as they aren't using them in hostility, and if they do, they get ejected from the game. This leads to many ejections, some at the very start of the game (I'm looking at you Iceman and Hawkeye!) and more as the issue goes on. From there, we see Gambit talking a bit with X-23, about how killing a person as an assassin is different from what she did to Briggs, and how there may be some psychological problems to it, but Laura brushes him off. We also see Gambit giving advice on women to Reptil, who is still pining after Finesse, although she seemingly shows no interest in him. We also see Mettle and Rockslide share a moment where Rockside basically tells Mettle how lucky he is to have a girlfriend that loves him and he's anatomically correct, unlike Rockslide, and to appreciate how great he has it, to which Mettle agrees. Along with that, we get a great moment about Striker learning to accept who he is thanks to Anole, regardless of his new facial scars. Wolverine uses this time to tackle the hell out of Hank Pym, in a flag football game, as revenge for Pym kicking him out of the Quinjet during AVX. This of course leads to Tigra sticking up for her man and having a scrap with Wolverine off panel, before they're both tased by Jocasta to break them up. There's also the fight between Quicksilver and the Shi'ar warrior, Warbird, after she mentions how Quicksilver's marriage is a joke on her planet, as is he. Quicksilver tells Warbird that he's the reason his marriage didn't work out, he knows that and he's not going to live a lie and act like he's not hurt from it, which surprisingly leads to Warbird locking lips with the mutant marathon man. Another awesome scene was seeing Finesse admit to X-23 that she's the one that killed Briggs, and that she used Laura's claws to do it. X-23 is justifiably upset that her "best friend" used her as a weapon, and replies that she's killed everyone that's done that to her. Finesse says she hopes X-23 will realize why she did what she did, that she made a choice, and now X-23 has choices to make as well. The issue comes to a close as we see Pym, Jocasta, Kitty Pryde and Iceman discussing how hard it is to be a teen hero, and that maybe it's time the kids got something of a reward for their hard work.


Thoughts: First things first, I loved the cover being an homage to Uncanny X-Men #100, that's pretty awesome. So, I loved everything about this issue, like I said earlier. the football game was more of a way to get everyone in one place, but the one on one conversations, like the advice Gambit gave Humberto, the tense scene with Laura and Finesse, the bro-like conversation between Mettle and Rockslide and the hilarious thing with Wolverine, Pym and Tigra alone made this a fun issue. This was the kind of light-hearted, yet very story driven issue we needed before the last issue, and it really captured the amazing job Christos Gage has done in this series with these characters. This issue was perfect as far as I'm concerned, I enjoyed it immensely and in my eyes, that makes it a perfect issue.

Score: 10/10 

Gambit: 'Ey, brother. You mind some advice?
Reptil: Grow my hair long and talk like Pepe Le Pew. Got it.
Gambit: Not what I was gonna say, but it works pretty good for me.

Avengers Academy #37

Second X-review of the week is the fantasic Avengers Academy.  More than anything else, THIS is the series I'm gonna miss the most as Marvel Now! draws ever closer...  Oh well, let's enjoy what we can while it's still here.

Avengers Academy #37

Summary: The Academy students manage to stalemate Jeremy Briggs on the rooftop of his building, but that's fine by Briggs, since he only needs to delay the students long enough for his Clean Slate missiles to get into the Earth's atmosphere and take away all superhuman powers.  Lightspeed heads up to intercept the missiles, and is assisted by Veil, who is in Briggs's control center.  The students manage to chase Briggs's assistant, the Enchantress, away, but Briggs himself is still too formidable a foe for them to take down.  Meanwhile, Veil manages to get Jocasta released from the prison Briggs put her in, and Jocasta ends up taking control of the missiles at which time she sends them to Lightspeed, who can then easily deactivate them.  As for Briggs, he manages to down the students, except for Finesse, who uses the unconscious X-23's claws to stab Briggs in the arm and leg.  Finesse tells Briggs she'd tie off the wounds before he bled out...  Provided he surrendered.  Briggs readily agrees to surrender, since he knows that he wouldn't serve any real prison time, since he had the solution to superhuman battles plaguing the planet and would be willing to trade it to the government for his freedom.  Upon hearing that, Finesse decides not to tie off Briggs's wounds, and he bleeds to death.  When the rest of her teammates come to, she simply tells them there was nothing that could have been done to save Briggs.  With that, the authorities clear the students of any wrongdoing in Briggs's death, and this one comes to a close.

Thoughts: I hate to say it, but this was a pretty underwhelming comic...  I mean I had been enjoying this storyline up to this issue, but for whatever reason this issue just didn't do it for me.  The final battle never really felt in doubt, and the ending wrapped up too neatly for my tastes.  Plus I didn't like Briggs dying...  He seemed to be a character who could have become something...  On top of that, who dies in a comic book by slowly bleeding to death?!  I did like the fact that Finesse let Briggs die, simply because it was in character for her.  I can't help but wonder if Christos Gage had to rush things along here due to the impending end of this series, because this storyline easily could have used another two issues.  Eh, they can't all be gold, I guess.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

All that was missing was a "chico!"

JT's Take: Avengers Academy #36

Hey X...Squad...JT...Maniacs or... whatever. Today's a JT day, which means it's infinitely better than yesterday or tomorrow :D Today we're gonna check out Avengers Academy, as the "Final Exam" storyline comes closer to the end, along with this series, let's see if your Academy Teens have what it takes to stop Briggs.

Avengers Academy #36

Summary: Things start off quickly, with a pissed off Hazmat blasting Briggs and Enchantress as they attacked Striker, they run off, in fear of getting cancer from Hazmat, as Striker stands up, showing his face is now scarred all over due to Briggs and Enchantress' attack. Veil and Mettle come to find the two but say they can't get Hazmat's suit because it's behind a protective door, so Striker follows Veil to short out the electronic panel. Hazmat tells Mettle to leave before he's hurt by her powers, but he says the reason he hasn't changed yet is because Osborn had his skin cut away to show his powers, so Hazmat tells him he can leave and be normal. Mettle steps closer to Hazmat, as her powers slowly melt away his skin and he embraces her, saying she does get her last kiss, as the two share a passionate kiss while Mettle returns to his previous form. Veil and Striker return with Hazmat's suit and head off to stop Briggs. On the other side of the building, Finesse, X-23, Reptil, White Tiger, and Lightspeed take on Coat of Arms, with White Tiger and Reptil basically giving up on getting their amulets, until they get a speech from Lightspeed telling them they need to take control of their lives. Inspired by her words, Reptil and White Tiger attack Coat of Arms and each grab their amulets, causing each to be teleported inside of them. White Tiger talks to her amulet's avatar and says that she needs the power, because she needs to save her friends, and because it's her legacy. The Amulet's Avatar agrees, is she gives the amulet one day each moon cycle to run free, and she agrees.

Meanwhile, Humberto speaks with the Hag of the Pits (Bwahahahaha!!! Hag! Priceless...) the person that created his amulet. The old Hag tells him he can take his powers back, but he must pay a price. One day he will have to fight for the creatures whose powers he possess, and he may die in doing so. She asks him if he can bear that burden, and he says yes, re-powering him as well. With their powers and the help of X-23 and Finesse, the teens make quick work of Coat of Arms, and are then reunited with Striker, Mettle, Hazmat and Veil. The team has to make a quick decision, as they have to go after Briggs before he releases the Clean Slate on the world's superheroes, but if they don't get X-23 the cure fast, she'll die of adamantium poisoning. They discuss splitting up but they know they won't be able to get the antidote without doing it together, due to Briggs having it under lockdown. They decide to go after the antidote to save X-23, and giving them to the rest of the team that needed them as well. With everyone re-powered, they head to the roof after Briggs, but arrive just as he's released the Clean Slate to the world, as this issue comes to a close.


Thoughts: First things first, that scene with Mettle and Hazmat, like most of their scenes in this arc, was amazing. Just the visual of seeing Ken's flesh burn away as he embraced and kissed his girlfriend was extremely strong and it goes to show how talented of an artist Andrea Di Vito is, as well as the always Grade A+ writing of Christos Gage. Also, this is one of the first comics in a while that I can remember having no Credits page, which was good because it never broke up the flow of the pages. I enjoyed mostly everything here, except for the fact the gang didn't split up. I kinda get their point but if Hazmat could kick Briggs and Enchantress' ass earlier, then why not just send her and Finesse or her and White Tiger to at least slow Briggs down? And Lightspeed's speech was a little cheesy and awkward for a fight in the middle of a room, but those things aside, I still enjoyed this comic. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the Academy crew, and I'd wager, Jocasta, stop Briggs' master plan.

Score: 8.5/10 

Hazmat: That's right, run, you little brie-eating hipster! (I love Hazmat more and more each issue.)

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: 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.

JT's Take: Avengers Academy #33

Hey X-Maniacs, JT back once again, and I figured I'd follow suit with the AVX review from yesterday and review Avengers Academy, since it features one of the Formerly Phoenix Five, the lovely Emma Frost. So let's see how our favorite students deal with one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

Avengers Academy #33

Summary: We start things off with a flashback to two weeks ago. We see Juston talking to his dad about visiting, when his dad tells Juston to come home, he's not like the other kids with powers and his family is worried, and he should just give up the Sentinel. Juston says that the Sentinel is his friend and he won't have it melted down or used to attack mutants, and ends the call with his dad. He tells the Sentinel he'll never abandon it, just as it will never abandon Juston, since that's it's Prime directive. Back in the present, the Avengers Academy students all continue to attack Emma Frost to fight her off, all the while stating reasons that she should allow Juston to keep his Sentinel. Juston tries to repair the Sentinel from Emma's attacks and climbs inside the driver's seat to help with repairs. Finesse goes off to call Quicksilver and asks him to help, but he says he's busy with the current AVX stuff, plus he's never cared for the Sentinel anyway, and Juston should just let Emma destroy it. Finesse says that Quicksilver is an emotionless machine like the Sentinel, as is she, and she intends to help. The Sentinel lunges at Emma trying to attack her, and she blasts it, but is shocked to find out that Juston was inside the Sentinel. Pym removes Juston and says he's only stunned at the Sentinel protected him, and the Sentinel continues to try to go after Emma to protect Juston, even though it can barely stand. The Sentinel keeps trying to advance until Emma completely destroys it, and Juston cries that he can  rebuild him if the CPU survived, but Emma states that she has it in her hands, and melts it . She states they can rebuild it with a new CPU but she couldn't allow that one to live, since it was made solely to kill mutants. Emma says she was merciful, and asks X-23 to join her back on Utopia, but X-23 says if she see's Emma again, one of them will kill the other one, simple as that. Emma leaves and as she does, Quicksilver arrives, holding the Sentinel's CPU. He says he was able to swoop in and replace it with a similar looking CPU from a training bot at the Academy so quickly that Emma couldn't see him, and she couldn't sense his mind due to their defenses. Ten minutes later, Quicksilver has rebuilt the Sentinel for Juston before heading off to join the Avengers against the Phoenix Five. The next say, Hank Pym and Tigra tell the students the only reason they were targeted is because they are Avengers Academy, and as this war is getting more dangerous by the minute, so they think the students should go home to their families. He then regrettably announces that as of this moment, there is no more Avengers Academy. Reptil asks if they can come back when the Avengers/X-Men war is over, but Pym says the honestly thinks this world will be a different place when the war ends, as this issue comes to a close.


Thoughts: Well hot damn, this was a hell of a comic! I'm not gonna lie, I was heartbroken when Emma destroyed the Sentinel's CPU, and I was ecstatic when Quicksilver showed up with it. Everything here was perfect, the characterization of Juston and the Sentinel at the beginning, the fact that all of Emma's points were valid, and everything about Pym, Quicksilver, X-23, and Finesse. Plus, the ending caught me totally off guard with Pym and Tigra's announcement. I loved every single bit of this comic, and I can't wait for the Final Exam storyline.

Score: 10/10

Hank Pym: As of this moment... There is no more Avengers Academy.

JT's Take: Avengers Academy #32

Hey guys, after my rant the other day on Red Hood and the Outlaws, I figured I may as well review something with a writer I always seem to enjoy, so let's look at issue number thirty-two or Christos Gage's Avengers Academy!

Avengers Academy #32

Summary: Things get underway with Juston, fixing his Sentinel, when he's approached by X-23, who's trying her hardest to make me not like her. Just like in the other issues, she's having a ton of thoughts on things that don't really concern her, and this time she's telling Juston he needs to shut down his Sentinel. Juston defends his Sentinel, saying he won't hurt anyone, and how it's his best friend, at some times, his only friend. X-23 mentions how it always says Destroy all Mutants, but Juston said he can't erase that from his memory without clearing the memory, which he doesn't wanna do to his friend. X-23 says he should shut it down, and Juston says that Avengers Academy is where you get a chance to be good, not judged for what you might do wrong, and if X-23 doesn't get that then she's the one that should leave. X-23 storms off and is met by White Tiger, who asks if she has a thing with Juston, because White Tiger has a crush on him. X-23 talks about how he treats the killing Machine like a pet, and Tiger asks if X-23 has ever had a pet, she says as a child she was given a puppy, grew attached to it, then was made to kill it or she'd have to watch as it was killed slowly in front of her. White Tiger asks what she did, but X-23 doesn't answer, and walks away saying it's not the same, as a Sentinel is not alive. X-23 is them summoned by Hank Pym, who tells her if she wishes to leave and join the X-Men, she may, since the Phoenix Five have been doing good around the world, but she says she will stay, she has no place in Utopia. X-23 then runs into Hazmat, who asks her if she thinks the Phoenix Five would be able to cure her, but before she can answer, Striker runs in and yells that somethings happening with the Sentinel. They rush outside to find the Sentinel powering up and telling Juston and his friends to get to a secure area, as a Phoenix powered Emma Frost shows up. She states that she is melting all the Sentinel's on the planet and this is the last one, but Juston pleads with her not to destroy his friend. After much talk, she says she'll simply erase the Sentinel's memory and they can redesign and paint it, so no one knows what it was. Juston says it's horrible, they wanna erase his mind and who he was, and the Sentinel has done nothing but try to be good, which I agreed with. Emma says she tried, but she's going to do what she has to. Pym tries to tell Juston that the Sentinel is just a machine, to which Striker replies that so is Jocasta. Hank says he's responsible for the kids and he can't let them risk getting hurt fighting a Phoenix powered being, as Juston cries that the Sentinel is his friend and he loves him. X-23 sees this and has flashbacks to her puppy and becomes enraged and attacks Emma Frost. Hank Pym says, what the hell, and stands alongside the Avengers Academy crew, telling Emma if she wants the Sentinel, she'll have to go through them, as the issue closes.


Thoughts: If you would've told me, I'd enjoy an issue about X-23 and a boy who loves a Sentinel, I'd probably have called you a liar, but damn I liked this issue. Christos Gage has been writing some excellent stories and this is no exception. Seeing X-23 change her mind when she saw how much Juston loved his Sentinel was great, as well as how he defended his friend, even when given another choice by Emma. Add that in with Striker's line about Jocasta and the fact Hazmat may try to get the Phoenix Five to cure her and this was a fun issue. I'm really looking forward to the conclusion of this two-issue story arc, as well as what's next for the Avengers Academy crew.


Score:  9/10

Hank Pym: Striker,  it's just a machine.
Striker: Jocasta's "Just a machine." Now I see why she left.

Avengers Academy #31

Nope, your eyes aren't deceiving you, ol' Vampire X is really doing ANOTHER full review! Madness! I actually enjoyed typing up the AvX #5 review, so I figured I'd do another full review right now(after work) and try to do another one tonight BEFORE work. After that though, most likely I'll do two posts talking about the other books from this week, that is unless one of them really impresses me. Anyway, let's get this show on the road so I can go to sleep!

Avengers Academy #31(AvX tie-in):

Summary: Tigra gets in touch with Hazmat to warn her about Sebastian Shaw being on the loose and that the Avengers Academy staff feared Shaw was planning on killing the X-kids. Hazmat attacks Shaw, which leads to the X-kids defending him, which naturally leads to the Avengers cadets brawling with the X-kids. Eventually Tigra, Hercules, Madison Jeffries and Dr. Rao arrive on the scene and we find out that Shaw wasn't planning on killing anybody, he simply wanted to help the X-kids escape. X-23 decides to side with the X-kids, stating that they should be allowed to join into the Avengers vs X-Men festivities because they had been in lots of battles before... So that means they should fight the Avengers... Who are known heroes... Um, why? Basically everybody is swayed by X-23's argument(?!) so Tigra stages a mock battle that sees the X-kids “defeat” the Avengers and their allies, leading to them “escaping.” X-23 decides to stay, even though she sided with the X-kids because she had made friends with Finesse. And that's pretty much that.

Thoughts: Uh-huh... That was... something. I don't get why X-23's argument seemed to sway everyone myself. So the X-kids have fought against Sentinels, Purifiers and other assorted villains. I get that. But they were brought to the Academy campus for their safety, as well as the safety of the Avengers on the field. With the X-kids there, they wouldn't be getting their heads bashed in by Red Hulk or Thor. So Tigra let's them leave, at which point you'd have to assume they went off to fight the Avengers. That's a horrible thing to do, not only to the X-kids, but to the Avengers as well! Like I said, the fact that I didn't agree with the main argument to let the X-kids leave was why I didn't enjoy this issue nearly as much as I usually enjoy this series. But for those of you who did agree with X-23, I'm sure this issue was a lot more enjoyable to you.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Hercules' “death” scene(s) actually saved this issue for me.

Avengers Academy #30

Okay, first review I'm typing up at work this week is the comic that very easily could have been my Pick of the Litter, and on a normal week would have been, Avengers Academy.

Avengers Academy #30(AvX x-over):

Story Points:
-This issue mainly revolves around X-23, who is in the unique position of knowing the X-Men kids who were being held at Avengers Academy, as well as being a part of the Academy.
-Also of note is Sebastian Shaw, who broke free last issue and was lurking around the sewers of the Academy.
-X-23 talks to many of her fellows in the Academy trying to figure out her stance on the whole AvX thing.
-As for Shaw, he takes down Tigra, Hercules and Madison Jeffries, who were hunting for him.
-In the end, X-23 decides that the Avengers were probably right about the Phoenix being bad news...
-But she disagrees with Wolverine's decision to force the younger mutants on Crazy Mutie Island to stay at the Academy, and as such sides with them, demanding their freedom.
-This one ends with Shaw appearing before all of the kids, telling them that he agreed that they shouldn't be forced to stay on the Academy grounds.

Thoughts: Really good stuff here. Whiz Kid actually brought up the whole Japanese internment camps argument, just like Alien did here at the blog last issue, so kudos to Alien for picking up on that. I really have no complaints about this one... X-23 gave pros and cons for both sides, and in the end she kind of agreed with different mindsets from both sides. It was nice to see X-23 actually, you know, think for once.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Avengers Academy #29

Damn is it late... Damned hockey game... Anyway, the last review of the night is what would have been my Pick of the Litter for the week if AvX #3 hadn't dropped. Let's see what's up with my favorite series of 2011.

Avengers Academy #29(AvX tie-in):

Summary: The Avengers drop the kids/teens from Crazy Mutie Island off at the Academy since they didn't want to leave them alone on Crazy Mutie Island with Lord Summers and the Brotherhood out searching for Our Lord and Savior Hope... Man, I have nicknames for everything... Very annoying... Madison Jeffries and Dr. Rao have come with the Crazy Mutie Island kids to the Academy and have agreed to try to keep the peace. On the Academy side, Tigra and Hercules are staying behind to watch over things. Oh yeah, Sebastian Shaw is there as well, and has been locked in a cell that absorbs his kinetic energy. All Shaw asked for were a few books to help him pass the time... More on that in a bit. The kids mainly get along, although a few of them, namely Velocidad and Surge, are more militant and unwilling to cooperate with Academy staff and students. Several hours pass and Shaw has managed to build up a ton of energy by banging a book into his head(AWESOME!!!), which he uses to smash a hole through the bottom of his cell. Tigra and Jeffries discover what he's done and this one ends with the two realizing that they'd have to head into the sewers to catch Shaw.

Thoughts: This was a comic that had some good moments and some meh moments. The scene at the beginning with Hercules and the Academy students was good, dumb fun, and I enjoyed the interaction between X-23 and Finesse in the training room. Quicksilver's small parts in this one also pleased me. Other than that though, this issue was kind of a lot of filler with no real substance. Oh yeah, this issue also helped push forward what we got in AvX #3 with Cap not exactly acting as perfect as we've come to expect him to. All in all this was a pretty good comic, but wasn't great, as this series oftentimes is.

Score: 8 out of 10.

The facial expressions of the students MADE this scene.

Avengers Academy #28

Last review of the evening is Avengers Academy #28. For the record, Avengers Academy #27 is the ONLY comic I've given a perfect score to in 2012, so it should go without saying that I am REALLY expecting a lot from this one.

Avengers Academy #28:

Summary: Having gotten Old Lace back last issue, Nico sneak attacks Dr. Pym since she had discovered that Pym and Tigra had planned on taking Klara and Molly from the Runaways. Naturally the Academy kids leap to Pym's defense and we get a bit of a dust-up... At least until the Academy kids side with the Runaways, since most of them had issues with their own parents and didn't see the harm in leaving the girls with the Runaways. Reptil asks if Nico could use the Staff of One to cast a spell on everybody present to show them all the other's point of view, thereby showing the Runaways the Pym and the rest of the Academy staff aren't that bad, while showing Pym and Tigra that the best place for Molly and Klara were with the Runaways. Nico casts the spell and everybody gets to see how the other half lived and what shaped them. With that, Pym realizes that the Runaways ARE Molly and Klara's family, and feels he shouldn't split them up... BUT, he wants to create a robot that would home-school the girls, as well as any of the other Runaways who wanted to use it. Plus he wanted the kids to check in with him once a month so he could make sure they were okay. Nico agrees to those terms, at which point Pym turns his attentions to Victor... Pym tells Victor that all of the terrible things Ultron had done since Pym created him had always haunted him, but knowing that Ultron created Victor eases that pain a bit... Awww... With that, the Runaways take their leave and this one ends.

Thoughts: Well, this issue wasn't perfect, but it was damn good. I liked it, but the way everything wrapped up so neatly kind of bugged me... This story seemed the type that SHOULDN'T wrap up all that neatly, and yet it did. The Runaways left with Molly and Klara, while Pym was going to keep an eye on them and make sure they received an education... It was just a bit too pat for me... But it WAS a good comic in that it gave non-Runaways fans a glimpse into what shaped the Runaways, and non-Academy fans a similar glimpse into what shaped the Academy kids. So in that regard this issue was well done. Naturally I LOVED the Pym/Victor parts, as you'd expect with my extreme fanboy love for both characters. With this storyline taken care of, the Runaways sadly head back to limbo(man I would have loved if at least one of them, VICTOR, stayed on with the Academy), while the Academy kids find themselves thrust into the AvX event. Here's hoping the AvX x-over issues are as good as the Fear Itself x-over issues were.

Score: 8 out of 10.

I'll say it again... Awww...

Avengers Academy #27

Okay, a quick word here first... I am a huge fan of Avengers Academy, as is evidenced by how much I shamelessly promote it at any given opportunity. I am also a huge fan of the Runaways, and have been horribly disappointed by how the Runaways have fallen since Brian K Vaughn left the kids in the hands of other, lesser writers. So, in theory, this issue SHOULD be fantastic... Will it be? With Christos Gage at the helm, I am VERY optimistic.

Avengers Academy #27:

Summary: This issue kicks off with Striker holding a press conference telling the world that he was gay. Ever the media-hound, Striker is hoping that news would get him some serious face time with the tabloids, and sure enough, he gets a call from his mother with tons of interview offers... Striker is awesome... Anyway, the Runaways managed to sneak into the Avengers Academy campus during the press conference and seem to have some sort of plan. Before they can enact it though, Juston and his Sentinel arrive on the scene since the Sentinel had sensed the Ultron tech in Victor... Well that right there just upped the awesomeness quotient of this one... Seeing a Sentinel and fearing the worst, the Runaways attack it, which leads to some of the Academy staff and students getting into the battle. Before things get too out of control, Pym arrives on the scene(at about 30 feet tall or so) demanding the fighting stops so he can find out why he had received a report that there was Ultron tech on the campus grounds. Victor explains to Pym that he had been created by Ultron, which was why the Sentinel was sensing Ultron tech... Oh and Victor then does what I was hoping he would and tells Pym that since Pym had created Ultron and Ultron had created Victor, Victor was pretty much Pym's grandson(!). I love Christos Gage's writing!! Now that the battle had ceased, Pym asks why the Runaways had come to the Academy and Chase reveals that he thought Old Lace was still alive, since he could “feel” her mentally again. When Nico used the Staff of One to tell them how to find Old Lace, the Staff pointed to Reptil as the catalyst for finding Old Lace. Pym decides to look into the situation and invites the Runaways inside where they have some funny interactions with the Academy kids. Ultimately Pym figures out a way to open a dimensional portal to the dimension Old Lace was in by using Reptil's amulet as a... um, dinosaur tracer. Before opening the portal though, Pym pulls Tigra aside and tells her that they had a responsibility to take Molly and Clara away from the rest of the Runaways since they were so young. More on that later... From there, Pym takes everybody into his lab and manages to open a portal to another dimension. The Academy kids, some of the staff and the Runaways all enter the portal and before long Old Lace and Chase(as well as the other Runaways) are reunited. Since the Avengers Academy staff had done what she needed them to do, Nico casts a spell to see what the Academy staff really wanted from the Runaways and sees the conversation from earlier between Pym and Tigra. Needless to say, she isn't pleased, and that ends this issue.

Thoughts: You know, I laughed out loud no less than FOUR times during this issue... It was hysterical! Not only that, but the story was fun and made sense, the art was pretty good, and ALL of the characterizations here were spot on. Seriously, Gage wrote Victor so well(my favorite Runaway, fyi) I'm hoping he stays with the Academy after this storyline. The conversations between Victor and Pym were EVERYTHING I had been hoping for coming into this storyline. The ONE thing I was REALLY hoping we'd get to see was Pym and Victor interacting because of their obvious connection, and as usual, Gage did not disappoint. I really don't have any bad things to say about this issue... Wait, does that mean what I think it does?!?

Score: 10 out of 10. You know what? What the hell, this issue gets my first perfect score of 2012. It was the perfect blend of story, dialogue and humor, so kudos to the creative team on this one.


Yeah, as a fan of Pym, Ultron and Victor, this issue rocked hard.

Avengers Academy #26

First review of the new week would be this week's Pick of the Litter, and my favorite ongoing comic series, Avengers Academy. Before saying anything else, if you haven't read JT's post on why Avengers Academy is so great, you should definitely give that post a read(you can find it here). Before I even open this comic, a quick note... I haven't handed out a single perfect score thus far in 2012... In 2011 I gave out 27 perfect scores, so about two a month... This year? Zip... Here's hoping I'm looking at the first perfect comic of 2012!

Avengers Academy #26:

Summary: So Jocasta and Veil have returned to the Avengers Academy and(surprise, surprise) are working with Jeremy Briggs(that presumably evil kid from a few issues back). Jocasta feels that the Avengers are an outdated idea, and the Academy would only lead to children dying, so she wants all of her work taken from the Academy, as well as the Academy's students joining with herself, Veil and Jeremy. Pym suspects that Jocasta's programing had been tampered with and Pym and Jocasta reach a compromise where they'd allow the Sentinel to scan Jocasta for any virus's or outside influences. While Pym and Jocasta are fixing the Sentinel, Jeremy arrives on campus with several of the Initiative cadets(including Hardball, thus instituting the Hardball Rule to this issue!) and makes his pitch as to why the students should join with him... He'd pay them and they'd be doing humanitarian work. After being repaired, the Sentinel scans Jocasta and reveals her free of outside influences, at which time Pym gives an impassioned speech about what the Avengers mean to him, as well as what they've done for him personally. Reptil makes a speech of his own, basically stating the obvious, that both sides wanted to make the world a better place, meaning there was no need for hostility and that they should be working together. Pym and Jocasta agree to keep in touch and try to work together, and the students pick sides(only Rocket Racer and Machine Teen leave the Academy). Hazmat is about to leave since she wanted Jeremy to try to cure Mettle of his powers, but Jeremy instead takes the pieces of Mettle Hazmat had acquired last issue(that's actually kind of creepy...) and promises to do something “good” with them, before telling Hazmat she should stay with Mettle. From there we jump to the future and find the future Academy members wondering if sending Reptil back in time had accomplished anything, at which time their leader, an old and probably crazy Pym says that future Reptil's actions will help their future(which seems to be a technological madhouse) come into being.

Thoughts: Oh well, the streak of non-perfect scores continues... This was an okay issue of this series, but sadly, that's all it was... Okay. I'm so used to getting great from this book that only getting okay is almost a disappointment! This issue seemed to simply be putting pieces into place, moving characters around and showing that Jeremy Briggs was still out there in the background. There were some really good moments, like Pym's speech, Ricochet's comments to Prodigy(that was SO awesome for the 8 or 9 of us that read the old Slingers series!), and of course Hardball(oh, and just so you all know, the Hardball Rule means that I add an extra 1/2 to the score of a comic where Hardball appears in, no questions asked)! So while I'm sure this comic will end up being better than like 80% of the books I'll read this week, it was still slightly disappointing...

Score: 8 out of 10.

Pym really would be insane or dead without the Avengers... Probably in that order...

5 Reasons: Why you should read Avengers Academy

Hey X-Maniacs, this is JT bringing a feature to X's blog that was pretty popular over at my own blog, 5 Reasons. The premise of a 5 Reasons post is basically when I read a comic series that I enjoy so much, I list five reasons for anyone who isn't reading the series or is on the fence about checking it out that should hopefully sway them towards picking up a few issues. Previous 5 Reasons posts were about great series like Y The Last Man, Invincible, and Morning Glories. And as of 4:30 AM today, I'm all caught up on Avengers Academy, so I now present to you, 5 Reasons: Why you should read Avengers Academy.

1.) The Story - The idea for this comic alone is pretty genius. The plot features a six teenagers, all super-powered in their own ways, who were recruited by Norman Osborn while he was in power. He tortured most of the kids in order to jump start their super-powers because he intended to create his own team of super villains. When Osborn is taken down, these teens become the inagural team of the Avengers Academy. While the team is being trained as heroes and told they have the most potential, we soon find out that this team may actually have the most potential to do bad instead of good, so the Avengers are trying to lead them down the right path. Add that in with the whole gimmick of super powered teens with attitude and you've got a hell of a plot. I've often heard this book, and described this book as Morning Glories mixed with The Runaways. (I know this came out before Morning Glories, but let me have this!)

2.) The Cast - The six teens are pretty much made from scratch, which is great because they can be used in any way, and we don't know a ton about their past so there's always more to learn. The team features Reptil, a young man that idolizes heroes and has always wanted to be an Avenger, his powers include being able to transform his body into pretty much any type of dinosaur. We also have a former, lonely nerdy girl named Veil, who can turn into different types of gaseous forms, Mettle, a very mellow surfer dude that now has skin not unlike the mutant Colossus, but Mettle is always stuck in his current form, Finesse, a photogenic fighter that can learn any fighting style by sight but has trouble understanding emotions and other human quirks, Hazmat, a former average girl with an average life that is now confined to a suit since she's now a living radiation bomb, and Striker, a guy that wants to get famous by any means possible, even if it means using his powers of electricity to shock the world every step of the way. Normally that cast would be enough, but when you add in the faculty of Avengers Academy, Hank Pym, Tigra, Justice, Quicksilver and Speedball, formerly known as Penance, you have a hell of a cast that delivers one great issue after another.

3.) The Guest Stars - If you thought the cast was amazing, you're going to love the guest stars that pop in from time to time to help train the Avengers Academy. So far we've seen everyone from Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, Captain America, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Hawkeye, The Juggernaut, and we've even seen the Academy students pop up in a two-issue arc of Amazing Spider-Man. As of the time of writing, there's even an upcoming fight between The Avengers Academy and The Runaways, which I personally can't wait for.

4.) It's Hilarious - This is probably the funniest book that doesn't have Spider-Man that I've ever read. Don't get me wrong, it's not always humor but when the humor is there, It is dead on! You can bet, pretty much any time you see Hazmat, Striker, Quicksilver or Finesse you're going to get at least one line that will make you laugh out loud. Where else can you get a kid literally confronting Hank Pym about slapping his wife around? Where else can you see Emma Frost compliment Tigra on her outfit and say it's perfectly acceptable attire for a teacher? This book has a lot of moments that will shock you, surprise you, and may even make you sad, but it also has quite a few moments you'll enjoy, even if it's something as simple as breaking the first wall and mentioning that Reptil is on a cartoon. Now I just gotta cross my fingers and hope somehow Deadpool becomes a substitute teacher one day.

5.) Christos Gage - Prior to reading Avengers Academy, I don't think I'd ever heard of Christos Gage, and upon further search I've confirmed I had not, which is amazing that as of this moment, he's one of my top five comicbook writers. After only twenty-eight issues (25, a .1 and two issues of ASM) he's already one of my favorite writers, along with people like Judd Winick, whom I've read for years. Gage has a special talent of making you connect with his characters, he makes each of the students relatable in their own way, he makes the faculty show concern for these kids that they want to succeed. He makes me care about how much Hank Pym cares about his wife, how much he hates his past mistakes, and I'm someone who didn't know much about characters like Pym, Tigra, Quicksilver and Justice before reading this book. What I'm trying to get across is that this man is an amazing writer, and not because he strings you along wondering what's next, he gives you answers, he puts little things in to make you think about and even if they aren't mentioned for ten issues, he seems to tie in everything. He handles a scene with Striker and a female cast member, that I won't mention because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, so well that it has that uncomfortable moment that would come from witnessing it in person, yet the dialogue all seems real. There's countless scenes I can mention where he does the same thing, but my words aren't nearly as strong as his, so all I'll say is this, Christos Gage has IT. What Geoff Johns had during Blackest Night, what Judd had during Under the Hood, what Spencer brings to Morning Glories, what Brian K. Vaughn brought to Y the Last Man, and what Bryan Q. Miller brought to Batgirl, Christos Gage is one of THE best writers right now in my opinion, all from reading what he's done solely in this book.

And there you are, five reasons that I feel you should read Avengers Academy. I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to list your own reasons that you think people should pick up Avengers Academy in the comments. Until next time, this is Jason Todd, signing off.

Avengers Academy #25

The last review for the night is the comic that would have been my Pick of the Litter had Winter Solider #1 not come out today. Yep, it's time for me to read another issue of my favorite series of 2011, Avengers Academy!

Avengers Academy #25:

Summary: In the present, Hybrid is tearing through the faculty and students at the Avengers Academy. Reptil(who is actually an older, future version of Reptil in his younger body), realizes that the Academy would soon fall to Hybrid's might and heads inside to make two calls, one to a mysterious party(who we'll discover the identity of later on) and one to the future, to tell his teammates that he needed help lest Hybrid kills everybody and destroys his timeline. In the future, Reptil(that would be younger Reptil in his older body) is freed from the stasis tube holding him by his daughter with Finesse. Needless to say, Reptil is shocked to discover he was in the future(and had a kid with Finesse), but upon being brought up to speed, learns that the future Avengers Academy wanted to put his mind back into his younger body, WITH his older self, hoping the two minds would leave Hybrid confused. That gambit actually works... For about a minute, at which time Hybrid nails Reptil with a mind-blast so powerful it leaves him comatose. Since his powers were taken away by Hybrid, Pym ends up looking at the files he had on Hybrid(from the X-Men) and learns that the best way to defeat Hybrid was to disintegrate him at the atomic level, at which time he'd end up in Limbo, and would be trapped there until he could reintegrate himself. Since Pym had no weapon powerful enough to disintegrate Hybrid completely, Pym tells Quicksilver and Lightspeed to concoct a dimensional transporter that would send Hybrid back to Limbo. Unfortunately Hybrid is wise to their strategy and continues to fight, mocking the Avengers transparent plans. Meanwhile, in the future, older Reptil is comatose, while in the present, younger Reptil wakes up, as apparently Hybrid's mind-blast destroyed older Reptil's mind, while younger Reptil's mind was left unharmed due to the sacrifice of his older self. Back to the fight, Hybrid is having his way with the Academy until he is suddenly held immobile and then blasted by the hand of the Sentinel, which sends him to Limbo, ending his threat. Seeing as that the Sentinel was destroyed earlier, everybody is confused as to how it managed to blast Hybrid, at least until Jocasta walks over explaining that she had forced the Sentinel to attack. She also reveals that she had brought Veil back with her, which would explain why Hybrid was held immobile(so there you go, that's who older Reptil called earlier on!). Pym is rightfully pissed that Jocasta faked her own “death” and demands to know why, and Jocasta tells Pym it was because she analyzing the Academy from afar and, after this recent battle, had concluded that the Academy was putting the students there at risk, and as such needed to be shut down.

Thoughts: Well, this was a pretty good issue, but for whatever reason, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did some of the earlier issues of the series. The battle with Hybrid was well done, as he was a force to be reckoned with, and nearly single-handedly defeated the entire Academy, trainers and students both! The stuff with Reptil, both present and future was okay, but never really came together for me. And the Jocasta reveal, while dramatic, didn't really impact me either. Oh well, if nothing else, the return of Jocasta and Veil should liven things up come the next issue, as we get away from the mindless fighting and get back to the inter-character relationships that made this series so great to begin with.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Hybrid is a pretty funny guy! Who knew?

Avengers Academy #24

Two reviews up tonight. The first comic book released in 2012 that I'll be reviewing? My favorite comic book series from 2011, Avengers Academy... That actually works out really well. Let's see if Christos Gage and company can continue making this book my favorite current series.

Avengers Academy #24:

Summary: Reptil(who is actually an older version of Reptil in the body of his younger self) goes about assisting Hybrid, who is, you guessed it, a Dire Wraith/human hybrid, in capturing members of the Avengers Academy student body and staff. Older Reptil's reasons for doing this are to make certain that his future occurs, a future where he has a daughter with Finesse. As such, Reptil sends the staff and students that aren't needed to make his future occur into Hybrid's trap. After luring several members of the Academy into Hybrid's room(at times rather humorously), Reptil approaches White Tiger. The two talk for a while and Reptil leads her into Hybrid's room as he did the rest. However, Hybrid isn't able to drain White Tiger's power due to her magic amulet, and as such tells Reptil to kill her himself. Reptil is prepared to do just that, until the glimmer of the hero he used to be shines through and he decides to rebel against Hybrid by setting off the alarms. Unfortunately for Reptil, Hybrid has been gorging himself with energy and easily defeats both Reptil and White Tiger, possessing several of the Academy staff and students and then sending the possessed heroes after the Avengers who were responding to the alarms.
More Summary!There were a few other little things in this issue that I didn't mention in the summary since I couldn't find a place for them, so I'll add them here... Tigra revealed that she sent her son to spend some time with the Cat People, so he'd better control his duel cat/human(/Skrull?) impulses. We also had Pym telling Hawkeye that while he had repaired the physical damage to Jocasta's body, he was unable to find any back-up personalities for her, meaning the person/thing responsible for the attack on Jocasta not only destroyed her body, but also destroyed her memory banks. Hawkeye immediately figures it was Ultron, while Pym ponders that maybe it could have been himself...

Thoughts: Absolutely no complaints here. Well, I guess I had a few MINOR complaints, but they were, as I stated, minor. First, there should have been a bit more Hawkeye in this issue. Second, it was odd after the big revelation with Striker that he wasn't showcased more here. Third, the Hybrid story is moving along at a REALLY brisk pace... Seriously, I figure it'll be over in two issues tops, which is kind of surprising because it seemed like the type of storyline that could have been dragged out for quite some time(6-12 issues). Other than those two minor quibbles though? This issue was all good. It basically dealt with older Reptil tricking people into going to Hybrid's room, and had a horror movie-esque feel to it. You know the kind, where you're yelling at the screen for the character NOT to enter the dark barn where the murderer is hiding, but they do anyway... This issue brought the Hybrid story to a head already, which should bring the future Reptil story to a head next. On top of that, there's still the mystery of who attacked Jocasta, especially since the attack was so thorough. It's nice to see a series where the stories are all laid out so plainly and logically. Um, I don't really know what more to say. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next issue of this series(as usual). 2012 has started off well.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.Blasted evil hybrid alien monsters!

Avengers Academy #23

First review for tonight? The most recent issue of one of my favorite series, Avengers Academy. Unfortunately the charisma black hole known as X-23 is joining this book, but I am mildly optimistic that Christos Gage is talented enough to do what, thus far, no other writer has been able to do... Make X-23 into an interesting character that does more than grunt one word answers to everything and act all angsty all the time. Here's hoping the rest of the great characters in this series don't get pushed aside...

Avengers Academy #23:

Summary: This issue starts off introducing X-23 to the other Academy cadets. Everybody seems rather impressed, with the exception of Reptil, who is still future Reptil, but in the body of his younger self, meaning all of these events are past history to him. Reptil does reveal that he was sent back to the past for a very specific reason... To make sure a certain event comes to pass... What event is that? Well, you'll have to read on to find out. From there Reptil, since he knows how things are supposed to turn out, begins to subtly manipulate events to make sure they turn out the way they did in HIS timeline. As such, he ends up getting Striker and Lightspeed to talk, at which time we find out Striker was gay(!!?!!), as he feels comfortable telling Lightspeed who is openly bisexual. From there, Reptil steps in and plants some seeds of jealousy between Hazmat and X-23 concerning Mettle, before Reptil's moment of truth arrives. The Avengers get word that those damn idiot Purifiers were attacking a telekinetic mutant. The Academy faculty assembles and Reptil asks to join in to help, which the staff allows. From there, we head to the scene of the fight and the Avengers and Reptil make relatively quick work of the Purifiers, who surprisingly erupt in flames at the end of the battle, something the Purifiers weren't known to do. Reptil suggests to the Avengers that the Purifiers probably had suicide switches built into their costumes, which the Avengers figure was probably the most probable explanation(it's not!). From there the Avengers bring the telekinetic kid, Jimmy Marks, back to the Academy Compound to decide what to do with him. Pym is pondering keeping Jimmy with the Academy or sending him to the X-Men(presumably Wolverine's faction), but Reptil suggests they ask Jimmy himself what he wanted to do. Pym concurs with that and Jimmy choses to stay with the Academy. With that settled, Reptil offers to take Jimmy to his room and help him get settled in. Upon arriving in Jimmy's room, Jimmy changes to his true form, that of the Dire Wraith known as Hybrid(!). Hybrid, being a telepath, tells Reptil that he couldn't fully read his mind due to the magic surrounding Reptil's powers, but has deduced that Reptil was a time traveler. Reptil admits to being from the future and tells Hybrid that he'd allow Hybrid to do whatever evil, nefarious thing he wanted at the Academy, as long as he allowed certain people to live. Hybrid seems receptive to this so Reptil tells him he'll hand him a list of who couldn't be killed. From there we head to the future and find the futuristic versions of the main Academy cadets. Reptil and Finesse's daughter(!) gets into their lab and is confused as to why her father(actually the younger version of Reptil trapped in his future body) was trapped in a containment tube.

Thoughts: This was quite the interesting comic book. The funny thing is that while it was interesting, it wasn't exactly the best issue of this series that I've read lately.... Let me try to explain. A LOT of stuff happened here! I mean really, a whole lot of stuff! So much stuff that after I finished typing up the review I literally didn't know where to start or what to mention first here in the thoughts column! I guess I'll start with the biggest surprise(to me at least), Striker coming out here. I did NOT see that coming for a second! Striker is my favorite Academy cadet in this series(he has been since the start), so yeah, finding out that he was gay was quite the shocker(pun intended). The best part was that on the letters page, Christos Gage stated that Striker was always gay, and that he left several hints throughout the series, even telling us which issues to check out. Needless to say I now want to dig through my back issues to see if I'll sit back and go, "Huh." or if I'll sit back and go, "Hmm...". So kudos to Gage for planting the seeds for this as early in the series as he appeared to do, and kudos for him handling Striker's confusion about his sexuality as well as he did. The scene with Striker and Lightspeed read very well and didn't seem forced or anything. It was very awkward, as you'd expect it to be. Instead of the tried and true, "Hey, guess what? I'm gay now!" scenes that we've gotten in the past(NORTHSTAR!), or a happy couple like Wiccan and Hulkling with Wiccan's uber-accepting parents, you could see how conflicted/disturbed Striker was about the whole situation. Now the question is, since Striker is so obsessed with his image, does he tell his teammates or hide DEEP in the closet around everybody but Lightspeed? My guess is the former. But I'll definitely be interested to see where Gage goes with my favorite character in this series. On top of that, I'm curious to see how other fans of this series view this turn of events. Me? I liked it. Next, X-23. Gage did exactly what I was hoping he'd do. He brought her into the series, explained why she was here, and then didn't go about shoving her down our throats every single page(like what happened when she joined Academy X). From there we'll hit on Hybrid. While Hybrid's appearance here was kind of spoiled for me, it was still a bit of a shock. Granted, I don't know all that much about the character, but from what I did read(a back issue of X-Man) I liked the character. He was just the right mixture of uber-creepy and ultra powerful. I can see Hybrid being an awesome foe for the Academy to have to combat down the road. Finally, we get to the mystery of the future Academy members... We don't know why future Reptil has commandeered his younger self's body, expect that the timestream was in flux and that “he” had recommended that the future Academy members make sure their version of the future came to pass. We don't know who “he” is(a future version of Pym maybe?), nor why “he” feels Reptil had to go back in time to assure the “right” future happens, but apparently it has to do with Hybrid killing certain members of the Academy, while leaving others alone. So as you can see, as I stated earlier, A LOT went down in this one. This was definitely a set-up issue, but as far as set-up issues go, it was a hell of a good one.

Score: 8 out of 10.“A nut is a nut is a nut. Good riddance I say.”... God do I love Hawkeye!

Avengers Academy #22

Hey, it turns out I WAS able to get tonight's reviews up on time! So huzzah for me! Anyway, I have three reviews on tap for tonight, with the first being this week's Pick of the Litter, or the comic book I am MOST looking forward to reading. It says A LOT about the writing prowess of Christos Gage that what is basically the forth-string Avengers book is by FAR the best Avengers book, and probably my favorite ongoing comic book from any company.

Avengers Academy #22:

Summary: Poor Pym has been working on Jocasta's inert form since the Academy discovered her destroyed in the Academy security room, and is no closer to discovering who or what attacked her. Tigra and Quicksilver, worried about Pym's mental state, tell him to take a break and maybe find somebody who wasn't as close to Jocasta to look into the attack. To that end, Pym decides to enlist Magneto(!!), you know, Quicksilver's VERY estranged father. Mags arrives along with Emma Frost and Lord Summers, who felt that publicly assisting the Avengers would be good for the Crazy X-Men's public image. Right from the start things are tense between Mags and Quicksilver, and two of the Academy students, Finesse(who has been secretly blackmailing Quicksilver into teaching her how to be more like Magneto) and Reptil(who is actually currently possessed by his evil future self unbeknown to anybody) decide to spy on the meeting to see what transpires. Mags tells Pym he'd be happy to help, but under one term... That Quicksilver was to never again get himself involved in mutant affairs, since Mags blamed Quicksilver for pushing the Scarlet Witch into the House of M debacle which ended up costing the world thousands(million?) of mutants. From there Mags continues ripping into Quicksilver, bringing up the time Quicksilver was using the Terrigen Mists to give mutants faulty powers, and causing a war between the Earth and the Inhumans, before finally bringing up the fact that Quicksilver's own daughter wouldn't even speak to him do to his actions with the Mists. Finesse has heard enough of Mags tearing down Quicksilver and charges into the lab, attacking Mags. Mags defends himself, which brings Quicksilver into the fight, attacking his father. Emma goes to put a stop to the fight mentally, but is ambushed by Reptil, who alerts the other students that the Crazy X-Men had attacked Finesse. Lord Summers attacks Reptil, which is seen by Hawkeye(who thought bringing what he considered the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to the Academy Compound was a terrible idea from the start), so he attacks Mags and the other Crazy X-Men. The students rally around Hawkeye, but Mags has had enough of this nonsense and begins to use his powers to pin the students and Hawkeye to the ground, before being attacked by Finesse again. This time Mags deals with her in a more forceful manner, which brings Quicksilver to attack Mags again. Having recovered, Emma mentally freezes everybody in their places, except for Mags who was immune to her powers due to his helmet. Realizing that he once again screwed up where Quicksilver was concerned, Mags makes a half-hearted attempt to reconcile with Quicksilver, but is rebuffed, as Quicksilver states that from now on, as per Magneto's wishes, he'd contact another mutant before involving himself in mutants affairs, but that it would be a mutant he trusted, like Storm or Beast, but NEVER Mags. Having had enough, Mags tells Pym he was ready to see Jocasta and after scanning her sees that besides electromagnetism, Jocasta also had trace tachyon particles on her, meaning she was most likely attacked from a different dimension or possibly through time. With that, the Crazy X-Men take their leave and this one ends with Finesse telling Quicksilver that after having met Magneto, she was no longer interested in becoming like him, instead she was more interested in learning how to be more like Quicksilver.

Thoughts: What can I say? This comic, for me, was perfect. It had Magneto and Quicksilver going at it, the dialogue was topnotch(as always in this series), there were several little character development scenes that I didn't even get to mention here(such as Hazmat's quick dig at Lightspeed), and the story was smooth, fast and made perfect sense. Once again, this comic book left me with a big smile on my face, and eagerly looking forward to the next issue. I love this series.

Score: 10 out of 10.Yes, the Sentinel DID make me laugh.

Avengers Academy #21

The second comic I'll be reviewing tonight? The series that may very well be my favorite ongoing from any company... I collect over 60 comic series a month, between ongoings and minis, so let that sink in for a moment... THIS series may very well be my favorite... THAT is the absolute highest praise I can give to any comic book.

Avengers Academy #21:

Summary: With the Avengers Academy expanding to include other students(both part and full-time) and the Academy relocating to the former headquarters of the West Coast Avengers, Avengers Luke Cage, Captain America and Hawkeye head out west to talk to Hank Pym about the recent events happening with the Academy cadets. Understandably, the five remaining Academy originals are somewhat worried that the arrival of the Avengers bigwigs(and Luke Cage...) coupled with the new students meant that they were getting the old heave-ho. Jocasta, who overheard the murmuring of the Academy originals, tries to tell them that there was nothing to fear, but the kids are still a bit on edge, at which time they're summoned to see the Avengers leadership. Things fall apart rapidly, and before you know it, punches are thrown and the fight is on. Ultimately Jocasta ends the battle and explains to the Avengers that the kids thought they were getting tossed out of the Academy, thus explaining their actions. The Academy kids separate from the Avengers, at which time Jocasta scolds them for not realizing how much the kids had been through what with the whole Fear Itself mess and losing one of their own. The Avengers discuss that amongst themselves, while Hawkeye stands in the background uncharacteristically quiet... Cap asks for Hawkeye's thoughts on the matter and Hawkeye is reminded of his early Avengers days which had him constantly at odds with his teammates and leaders. Liking the spunk he saw in the kids, Hawkeye offers himself to Pym as a full-time member of the Academy staff, thus raising the awesomeness quotient of this series by a whopping 1,000%! While everybody is pondering their situations, Jocasta heads to the Academy's control room since she had figured out the perfect way to fix the fractured environment at the Academy... A little later, the Academy originals again meet the Avengers and there are apologies all around as both sides admit that they hadn't made the best decisions earlier. With that, the Avengers staff introduce the two new full-time students(Lightspeed and White Tiger), and all seems well... At least until the Avengers realize that Jocasta hadn't shown up for the meeting. Quicksilver heads off to find her and rushes back, telling the Avengers to get to the control room asap. Upon arrival, the Avengers find Jocasta's body destroyed, and a quick security check tells them that security systems were shut down from the inside, meaning whoever destroyed Jocasta was on the Academy grounds when it happened. This issue ends with us finding out the the older, evil version of Reptil from the future had managed to gain control of Reptil's body in the present and was in communication with the evil Academy originals from the future(!).

Thoughts: Whew, that was A LOT to take in! Let's see, for starters, this series is awesome. The addition of Hawkeye and the new students? If there was a word past awesome, that would be what this series is now. Seriously, there is no flaw in this series... The characterizations are perfect, the art is great, the writing is topnotch, this has to be the most complete series I read. So going forward we have the “murder” investigation surrounding Jocasta, the real Reptil being trapped in the future while his evil future self tries to take advantage of the confusion surrounding Jocasta's “death”, new students AND Hawkeye!!! In other words, the future looks GREAT. This is a fantastic jumping on point for any comic fans who haven't yet given this series a chance... It's only $2.99 and it's worth every single penny.

Score: 10 out of 10. Wow, two consecutive perfect scores! Here's hoping the perfection continues tomorrow night!Every piece of dialogue here was GREAT!!!