Avengers: The Initiative #35

A new package of comics arrived at my doorstep today, which as everybody should know by now, is one of those things that can always manage to put a big old smile on my face. So tonight I'll be going over one of my older comics that I really need to get out of the way, and a comic from the new package. One comic was pretty good, while the other... Not so much. Well, let's get on with it and see what's what.

Avengers: The Initiative #35 Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Jorge Molina
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.

Review: This is yet another Siege aftermath issue, so if you don't know what happened in Siege #4, you might be lost reading this review... Taskmaster, who was heading up the Initiative program for Norman Osborn, realizes that Osborn's cause is lost, and decides to make like a rat and abandon ship. Unfortunately he was injured when Asgard fell, and as such needs some assistance getting away from the warzone. Taskmaster comes across Constrictor, and the two agree to help each other get away from the ruins of Asgard, provided Taskmaster helps Constrictor find his girlfriend, Diamondback. Diamondback winds up reviving near her ex, Captain America, and he helps her up and agrees to help Diamondback find Constrictor. From a distance, Taskmaster and Constrictor spot Cap and Diamondback together, and figuring she was getting back together with Cap, Constrictor sadly agrees to get out of Dodge with Taskmaster. When Hood loses his Norn Stones, all of the villains he was powering up lose their powers, which gives the Avengers Resistance a HUGE advantage over the confused villains, and leads to the Resistance routing the hapless bad guys. Meanwhile, in the sub-basement of Camp HAMMER(the headquarters of Osborn's evil Initiative), Baron Von Blitzschlag(AKA the best Nazi EVER!), is going about deleting all of the illegal actions that he and Osborn were responsible for. Komodo, Cloud 9 and Hardball arrive on the scene and after Hardball apologizes for everything he did to Komodo(and gives her her powers back), Blitzschlag offers to hand over evidence of all of Osborn's crimes provided he's guaranteed a soft sentence... Ahh, Baron Blitzschlag... From there we fast forward a few days to the Hood, who was captured by the Avengers in the abysmal New Avengers Finale comic. Tigra pays the Hood a visit and taunts him, telling him that he wasn't even worth killing, even after everything he'd done to her. The scene then shifts to the party on the roof of Avengers Tower, where Tigra reveals that she actually gave birth to a son before Osborn took power(I think the father was Skrull Pym, although I may be mistaken...), Justice decides that the New Warriors/Avengers Resistance should stick together, and Steve Rogers offers Diamondback the position of head of the fifty state initiative program. However, still hurting over Constrictor's disappearance, Diamondback tells Cap that she'll need some time to think about the offer. And after that, we get a few wrap-ups for various Initiative regulars, and this series comes to a close.

What I Thought: Well, first off, I should probably explain that this was the last issue of this series, as the title is transforming into Avengers Academy. I can honestly say that I'm going to miss this series, there were times when this title was THE best Avengers series on the market, which is a pretty impressive feat. I honestly didn't think this series would see an issue #12, let alone 35 issues, so yeah, I'm pretty sad to see this series end... But at least Christos will be getting to(hopefully)continue many of the storylines from this comic in Avengers Academy. But enough reminiscing, let's get back to THIS issue. For what it was(a wrap-up issue)it did a good job. Most of the characters I enjoyed reading about these past 2 and a half years got a chance to appear(Hardball, Komodo, Cloud 9, Scarlet Spider, Gauntlet, Trauma, etc), and many of their outstanding storylines(like the Hardball/Komodo stuff)were nicely wrapped up. What more can I really say? This was a great series while it lasted, introduced several interesting characters, and almost always left me satisfied. So long Avengers: The Initiative, it's been a blast!

Score: 8 out of 10.That's STILL the best war cry in comic book history!

Siege #3, Avengers: The Initiatve #34 & Thor #608.

Hey there X-Maniacs, I was going to do some terribly unfunny post for April Fool's Day, but I decided to spare all of you, and instead just stick with a few reviews. I'm also currently watching the Batman comic where Jason Todd makes his first appearance on eBay, there's 20 minutes to go, so I'm hoping the price stays around where it is so I can swoop in and snag it, since I'm on a Jason Todd kick(as is pretty evident by the spotlight over at my scan site!). Anyway, I have a trio of Siege related comics to go over tonight, starting with the penultimate part of the mini-series. So far this series has impressed me WAAAAY more then I expected, and to be honest, it's been a lot more cohesive then the huge mess Blackest Night became towards the end.

Siege #3(of 4): Writer: BENDIS. Pencils: Olivier Coipel.
Last Issue: 7 1/2 out of 10.

This comic gets started with the President of the United States and his cabinet watching the events of Norman Osborn's Siege on Asgard take place. The President is angered that Osborn went against his orders and went and attacked the Asgardians anyway. After some debate, the President decides to send in the military to arrest Osborn and shut down HAMMER. While that's happening, Captain America(that would be the original, Steve Rogers), and his ragtag group of Avengers launches an all-out assault against Osborn and his forces of evil. That fight rages for a while, while a little bit further off, the main event is taking place, with the Sentry, now fully under the control of his evil alter-ego the Void, battling the Thunder God himself, Thor. Thor hits the Sentry with everything he has, and the Sentry simply stands through it all... Well, THAT'S definitely NOT a good thing! Osborn, who is being trounced by the Avengers, calls for assistance, and the Hood and his army of super-villains arrive on the scene to assist Osborn. The Young Avenger Speed, brings the suitcase containing Tony Stark's Iron Man armor to Stark at the behest of Captain America himself, hopefully serving to bury the hatchet between those two heroes. The US Air Force attacks the HAMMER helicarrier and brings it down, while Osborn watches in disbelief, as his house of cards literally comes down all around him. Cap takes that opportunity to attack Osborn, but with his armor, Osborn is still more then a match for the Sentinel of Liberty. Osborn goes to blast Cap, however his armor becomes unresponsive, and as he tries to figure out what happened, Tony Stark, now in full Iron Man mode, arrives on the scene and tells Osborn his armor was being shut down. Osborn begins to panic, sensing the end, so he sends word to the Sentry to bring down Asgard itself, to which the Sentry stunningly does, completely destroying the floating city, sending it crashing to the Earth. From there, Cap tells Osborn he was under arrest, and Iron Man forcibly removes the armor from Osborn, revealing that his face was painted in the colors of the Green Goblin(???). The heroes knock Osborn down, and he tells them that they had made a grave mistake, as the Sentry hovers above all of the gathered heroes menacingly, while the sky around him turns black, which ends this issue.

Damn it, I didn't win my Batman comic... Anyway, this was another solid effort from BENDIS, although I liked it a little bit less then the awesome first issue, as some of BENDIS'S annoying dialogue began to rear its ugly head again. There was a lot to like here, such as Cap and IM appearing to finally make nice, Asgard being destroyed(I'm sorry, but I NEVER liked the idea of Asgard, home to Norse Gods, floating above Oklahoma!), and Osborn finally getting pulled out of his Iron Patriot armor. There were also a few, “What the HELL?!?” moments as well though, such as Osborn's face for some reason resembling the Green Goblin, and the Sentry transforming into a... giant spider looking creature... That's the best I can describe it! Also strangely enough, Loki has been absent through it all, even though it was his machinations that started this whole Siege on Asgard in the first place! So next issue, which is the last issue, should give us everybody vs the Sentry/Void. Since this is Marvel, and this is their yearly big event, I guess the main thing to wonder is, which character is going to die as this mini concludes?

Score: 8 out of 10.Umm, huh???

Avengers: The Initiative #34: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Jorge Molina.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.

This comic follows two stories, the Avengers Resistance battling the Hood and his gang at Camp HAMMER and the Taskmaster's role in the battle for Asgard. I'll begin with the Avengers Resistance story. The Resistance puts up a good fight, but are unable to bring down the Hood, who is using the immensely powerful Asgardian Norn Stones to empower himself and his henchmen. All looks lost until Penance(the former Speedball), decides to assist the Avengers Resistance, which is filled with many of his former New Warriors teammates. With the added muscle from Penance and the other non-evil members of the Initiative, the Resistance begins to turn the tide of the battle. At that very moment, the Hood is summoned to join Osborn's forces in Asgard, and he takes several of the evil Initiative members with him, leaving the other evil Initiative members at a strong disadvantage. Back in Asgard, the Taskmaster realizes that it's all falling apart for Osborn, but he decides to take a shot at Captain America, figuring that even if Osborn loses, beating Cap would help his rep as a mercenary. Taskmaster and Cap go at it for a bit, until Cap switches off with Bucky, since Taskmaster had never studied Bucky, and as such wouldn't be able to mimic Bucky's fighting style. Bucky and Taskmaster continue their battle until the fighter jets blow the HAMMER helicarrier out of the sky, at which point they both stop to watch the fireworks. This issue ends with the Sentry bringing Asgard down, while several members of the Initiative are still trapped inside, including star-crossed lovers, Constrictor and Diamondback.

This was a pretty good comic that did a marvelous job tying into the main Siege storyline. Stuff that happened in Siege #3 also happened here, giving the two books a very nice feeling of cohesion. Since most of the things that happened here simply expanded or retold what happened in Siege #3, I think it's pretty fair to give this comic the same score.

Score: 8 out of 10.My only complaint is that this fight didn't last longer!

Thor #608: Writer: Kieron Gillen. Art: Billy Tan, Batt & Rich Elson.
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.

This comic follows the Asgardians themselves during the events of Siege #3. While the majority of Asgardians are fighting against Osborn's forces on Asgard, Volstagg is being harassed by Thor's evil clone, Ragnarok. Ragnarok wants to kill Volstagg for what happened at Soldier Field in Chi-Town, but Volstagg is afraid to battle Ragnarok, fearing that he might inadvertently kill innocent bystanders again, just like in the Chicago incident. Instead of battling Ragnarok, Volstagg makes a run for it, and is pursued by the crazed Ragnarok. Ultimately Volstagg leads Ragnarok to the uninhabited area directly underneath the floating city of Asgard, and the two battle, since Volstagg can cut loose without worrying about collateral damage. The two fight for a few pages, and Ragnarok ultimately gains the upper-hand, knocking Volstagg away from the floating city. Before Ragnarok can reach Volstagg to deliver the death blow, the whole of Asgard collapses onto Ragnarok, ending this issue.

As with the Initiative book, this comic did a wonderful job of enhancing the main Siege storyline. You know, as much as I hate to say it, with how chaotic and disconnected several of the Blackest Night x-over comics were from the main Blackest Night mini-series, DC should REALLY take some notes from Marvel and Siege, because ALL of the Siege x-overs have blended PERFECTLY into the main Siege story! If nothing else, that's what has impressed me the most with the way Siege has moved forward, all of the various x-overs fit with the main story so well. This comic was no different, as it gave us some more of the Thor/Sentry battle from Siege #3, as well as showing the Asgardian's plight as they faced the magically powered Hood, who appeared in Asgard by way of Initiative #34 and Siege #3. Not only that, but it also gave us its own story, with Ragnarok battling the oafish Volstagg. The only thing that disappointed me was the ending, when Asgard fell on Ragnarok... I really hope that isn't the way Ragnarok goes, because I'm still awaiting a Thor/Ragnarok showdown. Here's hoping Ragnarok somehow managed to avoid the falling city before it was too late.

Score: 8 out of 10.Fake Thor vs a fat Asgardian... Strange...

Avengers: The Initiative #33, Dark Avengers #14, New Avengers #62, Thor #607 & Thunderbolts #141.

Well, with the next few days looking free and clear for me schoolwork-wise, I've got a lot of comic reviews to try to bust out before I wind up getting swamped with homework/papers/exams again... With that said, I'm going to post not one, not two, not even three reviews tonight, I'm going to post a whopping 5(!)reviews, and all 5 are a part of Marvel's latest money-grab... I mean MAJOR CROSSOVER EVENT, Siege!!! No, this isn't going to be a, “Let's bash Marvel post”(or at least I don't think it will be...), so far I've been pleasantly to SHOCKINGLY impressed with Siege so far. While Blackest Night continues to drag along in the DCU, Siege has been a well-paced, fast-moving x-over. And the biggest surprise of all? It's written by BENDIS! I'm sure the other shoe will eventually drop, and this x-over will leave me feeling sad and angry, but thus far, BENDIS has been alarmingly on his game, which is very much unlike him... OK, with all of the warm and fuzzies out of the way, let's see if these x-over comics continue to leave me happy, or will reality finally set in?

Avengers: The Initiative #33: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Jorge Molina.

OK, we have a few different storylines here, so I'm going to tackle them one at a time to keep this review somewhat coherent... Or at least that's the plan. Besides that, it should be noted all of the action here takes place during the events of Siege #2. Osborn and his crew stand triumphant over Thor, which has Taskmaster grinning from ear to ear. Before he can do a happy dance or anything, Osborn disciplines him for attacking Thor against orders and sends him back to Asgard. However, Osborn allows Diamondback to remain, which leaves her wondering if he had managed to figure out she was a double-agent, also working with the Avengers Resistance. Before she discovers why Osborn asked her to stick around though, Maria Hill strikes and rescues Thor, while Constrictor arrives on the scene to spirit Diamondback out of there. After being sent away, Taskmaster battles a few Asgardians, only managing to get away from them after the Asgardians stop to watch what Sentry did to Ares. Away from all of this, at Camp HAMMER, the Avengers Resistance is attacking the undermanned facility, and are doing a pretty good job of making their way into one of Osborn's main bases. Before they manage to gain entrance, the Hood shows up and begins to blast the heroes with magic, rendering them unconscious. Before the Hood can kill anybody, he is attacked by Tigra, who was still looking for revenge against the Hood due to his brutal attack on her several months back. We end this issue with the Hood telling Night Thrasher of the Avengers Resistance(who he had been secretly conspiring with)that if he killed Tigra, the Hood would use his magics to return the original Night Thrasher to life.

You know, I don't know what's going to become of the Avengers titles after Siege, but whatever happens, I REALLY hope Christos gets one of, if not THE main Avengers book, because he's been incredibly solid on this series since he took it over. He did a wonderful job of blending his story into the main Siege storyline, while continuing to move the storylines from this series forward. We're definitely starting these reviews out on the right foot, with this one...

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.I'm so glad the Taskmaster is finally getting some respect in the Marvel U.

Dark Avengers: #14: Writer: BENDIS. Artist: Mike Deodato.

This issue actually takes place before Siege gets underway, and yet it has the Siege banner adorning the cover... We kick things off with Osborn's second in command, Victoria Hand, telling Osborn that he should go to see a psychologist to make sure that his Goblin side doesn't re-emerge due to the stress he's been under. Osborn says no, Hand says yes, and after several pages of this, Osborn finally agrees to do as he's told. From there, Hand walks into the Avengers conference room where Moonstone and Bullseye were in the throes of passion and blasts Moonstone with a gun that can even harm Moonstone as a lesson to stop disrespecting Osborn. From there, the Sentry, who is now fully possessed by the Void launches an attack on NYC with tendrils of darkness striking down from the heavens, causing widespread damage. The Dark Avengers hit the streets and try to save as many people as they can, and Osborn heads into the sky to try to talk the Void down. The Void complains about his Sentry side, and the Sentry's wife. The Void then insults Osborn, telling him that Osborn has no way to stop his rampage, but Osborn informs the Sentry that although he can't stop the Void, there are several other heroes who can. That gives the Void pause, and Osborn tells the Void that if he ceases his tantrum, he'd do something that would make the Void quite happy. With that the Void halts his attack on NYC, and this issue ends with Osborn heading into Bullseye's room later that night to inform him that when he gives the word, he wants Bullseye to murder the Sentry's wife.

Although I was annoyed that this issue had NOTHING to do with the Siege storyline, even though the cover clearly states that this was a Siege x-over issue, I have to say, this comic was quite good, which kind of scares me... I mean, whatever happened to BENDIS, the man who I could always count on providing a horrible story? I used to be able to say with confidence, even before I read a BENDIS comic that it would be terrible... However, lately BENDIS has been busting out some of his best work in YEARS! If he keeps this up, I may have to stop calling him by all caps... Now, there were a few dead spots in this comic, such as the LOOONG and boring conversation between Hand and Osborn(sorry, I have NO interest in Hand at all), but for the most part, the story was sound, BENDIS refrained from his usual annoying dialogue(for the most part anyway)and the cliffhanger ending was good. So yeah, as weird as it feels, I have to say that I did like this comic.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.A shiny new penny to the first person who tells me why this comic was a Siege x-over issue!

New Avengers #62: Writer: BENDIS! Pencils: Stuart Immonen.

This issue begins with Spider-Woman trying to kill Spider-Man thanks to the telepathic influence of Mandrill, who is basically a talking monkey-thing... *Sigh* This fight goes on for most of this issue, and eventually ends when Spider-Man somehow gets through to Spider-Woman, freeing her of her mind-control. The two heroes then take care of Mandrill and Griffin. Back at the New Avengers not-so-secret headquarters, Bucky and Steve Rogers manage to take care of some HAMMER agents and the Living Laser with some help from BENDIS'S FAVORITE character, Luke Cage, because in BENDIS-Land, one Luke Cage is WAY better then two Captain Americas... OK, since thinking about this comic is actually starting to piss me off, I'm just going to fast forward to the ending. All of the Avengers meet up at one of Nick Fury's bases and decide to go to Asgard to help Thor... Hey wait, didn't I already see this EXACT scene play out in Siege #2?

Well, this is what I get for complimenting BENDIS... Serves me right I guess. This comic was complete and total rubbish. BENDIS writes a HORRIBLE Spider-Man, probably because he writes mainstream Spidey in the exact same manner he writes teenage Ultimate Spidey. The dialogue was crappy, the story was pointless, and the payoff was something I've already read about in the Siege mini... In other words, reading this comic was a complete and utter waste of time.

Score: 3 out of 10.No comment...

Thor #607: Writer: Kieron Gillen. Artists: Billy Tan, Bat & Rich Elson.

We open this issue up with the Asgardians chilling(I guess Asgardians chill...)at a big old banquet dinner. While they're all eating and being merry, Fandral and Hogun alert the current king of Asgard, Balder, as to what transpired between the U-Foes and Volstagg at Soldier Field in Chi-Town. The two Asgardians explain to Balder that Volstagg, feeling terrible for the tragedy he was unwittingly a part of had surrendered himself over to the Oklahoma police force. While the Asgardians are discussing how to make matters right, Knut, who can apparently see the future(although he is more often wrong then right)rushes into the banquet hall and warns the Asgardians that Asgard will fall the following morning. Nobody buys Knut's ramblings, and Loki promises to take Knut back to him room, telling the other Asgardians that Knut probably simply had too much to drink. Knut begs Loki to believe him, and to Knut's surprise, Loki tells the old man that he does, after which time Loki kills Knut so he wouldn't be capable of warning the Asgardians to what was to come. The following morning, Loki manages to lock the watchman of Asgard, Heimdall, in some sort of magical nether-dimension, so he would be incapable of warning the Asgardians nor assisting when Osborn's forces attacked. With that, Osborn and company launch their attack, and the Asgardians, caught by surprise begin to mount a defense. Upon hearing about what was transpiring, Volstagg asks the cops who were watching over him to let him speak to the country to offer his forgiveness. The cops allow Volstagg to use a webcam to apologize, while casting doubt on Osborn's story that Volstagg acted alone. Volstagg then leaves the prison to help his fellow Asgardians, but he is met and attacked by Ragnarok(!!!).

This was actually the first Thor comic I've read in probably two years(I stopped reading after they turned Loki into a woman), and I have to say, I really enjoyed it! The story basically gave us some idea of what the Asgardians were going through while Osborn was rallying his forces against them. Plus the inclusion of Ragnarok at the end was VERY welcome. I've been waiting to see Ragnarok pop up again after he left the Initiative series, and it makes perfect sense for him to show up in this book. I know I'm definitely looking forward to a Thor/Ragnarok showdown. All in all, this comic was so good, I'm a little bit tempted to grab a few trades to see just what I've been missing.

Score: 8 out of 10.Man, I'd forgotten just how awesome Loki could be!

Thunderbolts #141: Writer: Jeff Parker. Artist: Miguel Sepulveda.

The T-Bolts get orders from Osborn to sneak into Asgard while Osborn and his forces occupy the Asgardians in order to steal a supremely powerful Asgardian artifact from Asgard's armory called the Spear of Odin. Osborn figures if he were to wield an Asgardian weapon against the Asgardians, he could possibly defeat all of Asgard. With that, the T-Bolts sneak into Asgard, make their way to the armory, fool around a little bit, and eventually discover the Spear. Before they can escape with the Spear, they are confronted by an Asgardian guard, who Mr. X actually manages to kill(!), before they run into the Mighty Avengers, ending this issue.

This was another comic I used to collect before I started reading DC books and had to cut back on my Marvel expenditures, and much like Thor, I was pleasantly surprised by this comic. Having not read it for quite some time, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was into the story from the get go, which means the writer did a good job. Once again, if I have some extra money laying around, I may try to grab a few T-Bolt trades to see what I've been missing.

Score: 8 out of 10.Wow, I wonder who decided to start using Mr. X... What an utterly obscure character.

A Quick Look at: Batman and Robin #7, Blackest Night: JSA #2, Teen Titans #79, Avengers: The Initiative #32 & Ultimate X #1.

Hey everybody, it's your insomniac buddy X here to bedazzle you with some of the worst work every to appear on the Internet! Since my body doesn't seem interested in sleeping anymore, I have decided to simply lay awake and read comic books for the better part of the night. Hey at least I'm accomplishing something, right? On the plus side, I'm very rapidly reducing the size of my comic book pile. On the negative side, no sleep makes brain work not so good, so I'm not even going to bother attempting full reviews for the 5 new comics I read through last night. Instead, I'll give a(very!)brief synopsis of what happened in the comic, followed by my thoughts on it. Lastly, I'll dish out my score, and a pic from each book, so if nothing else, at least these reviews should be WAY quicker for you brave souls to read through. All right, enough small talk, it's game time!

Batman & Robin #7: Writer: Grant Morrison. Artist: Cameron Stewart.

Batman arrives in jolly old England and, with some assistance from Knight and Squire, winds up finding an active Lazarus Pit. Dick decides to toss the corpse of who he thinks is Bruce Wayne in the pit, and waits for "Bruce" to emerge from it. Oh, and Batwoman also shows up... Don't ask me why.

You know, I'd been warned about this comic by a few of my blogging amigos, most recently by Jason Todd, who cautioned me that reading this comic would probably cost me several braincells. JT, YOU WERE RIGHT!!! I honestly haven't the slightest idea as to what the hell was going on here... Weird British villains, Batwoman in a coffin, Knight and Squire, Batman's corpse, Damian floating around in a tube... Wha??? Reading this comic made my head hurt, but at least the artwork was nice, I guess...

Score: 2 out of 10.Does anybody know where I can buy an English-to-Grant Morrison Dictionary?

Blackest Night: JSA #2(of 3): Writers: James Robinson & Tony Bedard. Pencils: Eddy Barrows & Marcos Marz.

While Mr. Terrific is attempting to create a light source that would defeat those dastardly Black Lanterns, the Black Lanterns decide to trick the JSA into allowing them access to Terrific's laboratory. Instead of mindlessly attacking the JSAer's, they pretend to be nice zombies, which allows Black Lantern Earth-2's Lois Lane access to Terrific's lab(thanks to Power Girl, who considers E-2 Lois her mother), where she gives her BL ring up to Earth-2's Superman, who was defeated in the Blackest Night: Superman mini-series not all that long ago.

I actually enjoyed this comic a lot more then most of the other BN x-over issues. It was nice to see the BL's actually come up with a plan other then, "Terrorize the heroes who were once their friends/lovers." I loved the fact that the BL's were smart enough to momentarily sacrifice themselves in order to gain access to the corpse of Earth-2's Superman. The next issue of this mini should be extremely interesting, since there should be almost no conceivable way the JSA should be able to take BL Earth-2 Supes, as well as the army of BL's knocking at their door.

Score: 8 out of 10.Jeez, how many times is Earth-2's Superman going to return from the dead?!?

Teen Titans #79: Writer: Felicia D. Henderson. Pencils: Joe Bennett.

Static reveals to the Teen Titans that he has to return home to Dakota(Umm, which one?), because a virus is striking the place. I'm not really sure how Static plans on fighting the virus, but whatever I guess. Upon arriving home, he refuses to tell anybody where he'd been, which leads to his friends and family acting distrustful of him. The Teen Titans eventually decide to follow Static to provide him with some emotional support, but before they arrive, Static uncovers a plot by a pharmaceutical company that was benefiting from the virus, and he winds up getting laid out by some big bruiser named Holocaust.

Eh, this was an OK issue I guess. Since I only know Static from the Terror Titans mini-series and the handful of Teen Titans books he's been in, it was nice to get a look into his life. I can't say he(or the vague Dakota)was very interesting, but since he's still a work in progress, I'm willing to give Static, this storyline, and the new writer the benefit of the doubt... For now.

Score: 7 out of 10.Miss Martian has a migraine? I guess she must have read Batman and Robin #7 too!

Avengers: The Initiative #32: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Mahmud Asrar.

This is a Siege tie-in issue, and it takes place before and during Siege #1, just so you know. Instead of turning tail and running from the battle against the Asgardians, Taskmaster decides to stay and fight, hoping he'll finally be recognized as an A-list villain due to his actions. The Constrictor and Diamondback are torn as to whether or not they should battle the Asgardians, and ultimately Constrictor is convinced to assist Norman Osborn's anti-Asgard crusade by the Taskmaster. Eventually Osborn takes the battle directly to Thor himself, and several of his heaviest hitters attack the God of Thunder, including Taskmaster. Diamondback can't decide what to do as she watches the battle, and before she can make up her mind, Osborn's forces have felled Thor. Besides that, the Avengers Resistance(think the former New Warriors)learn that Osborn was behind the destruction of Soldier Field in Siege #1, and they decide to attack Camp HAMMER while Osborn and his forces are preoccupied in Asgard.

Not bad, not bad at all. I've never made a secret of the fact that I've always thought Taskmaster was a WAY better villain then he was constantly being portrayed, so I was happy to see that he had a hand in downing Thor. The Constrictor/Diamondback love story is still rolling along, and since Diamondback kept wishing Captain America was there to watch her back, I've got to believe her relationship with Constrictor isn't all he was hoping it was. The Avengers Resistance taking on the nearly deserted Camp HAMMER is actually an extremely good idea, why not destroy the base of your enemy while he's away? All in all, this comic was quite good. As usual.

Score: 8 out of 10.Yeah that's right, the Taskmaster rules.

Ultimate X #1: Writer: Jeph Loeb. Pencils: Arthur Adams.

In this issue we meet Jimmy Hudson, who was given to James and Heather Hudson by Wolverine as an infant sixteen years ago. With Wolvie dead as a result of the Ultimatum storyline(really?!? They killed off their most popular character?!?), Kitty Pryde hunts Jimmy down, reveals to him that he is the son of Wolvie, and presents him with some of the Ol' Canucklehead's belongings. Among the belongings is a holographic message from Wolvie to his son, where Wolvie asks Jimmy to listen to an idea he had for him. With that, Kitty gives Jimmy the whole, "You're a mutant in a world that hates and fears you" speech, but Jimmy isn't fully convinced he actually IS a mutie, until he pops out three bone claws, ala Wolvie. However, Jimmy's claws wind up coating themselves with metal after they've been popped, unlike his old man. By now, the Hudsons track down Jimmy and Kitty, and needless to say, they are none to happy that Kitty told their son he was adopted without their prior knowledge. This issue ends with the Hudsons having to decide what to do now that the cat was out of the bag.

First off, up until about two years ago, I had collected every single comic book that came out of the Ultimate line of books. Ultimate Spidey, Ultimates, Ultimate FF, Ultimate X-Men, if it said Ultimate on it, I brought it. Then I began to read DC comics, and since I needed to drop some Marvel books in order to afford the DC comics, I ended up dumping all of the Ultimate titles. From what I've read about the Ultimate Universe since I stopped collecting, it's probably a good thing too, because it sounds like that line of books went to hell in a handbasket... I only brought this comic because I needed to add another $3 to my comic book order in order to qualify for free shipping, so needless to say, I figured I'd buy this series one time only, read it, probably not like it, and then forget about it... You know what? I was WRONG! I REALLY liked this comic! Jeph told a very simple, basic coming of age mutant story, and he did it extremely well. The story was well done, the art was good, the dialogue was solid, I liked the Hudsons, and most importantly, I liked Jimmy as well. Trust me on this one, nobody is more surprised by the fact that I liked this comic then me, it's been a while since I've really enjoyed Jeph's work, but if he can keep producing high quality stuff like he did here, I will happily stick around for the ride. So yeah, I'll definitely be buying issue #2

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.I can tell you from experience, that hurts as much as it looks!

Avengers: The Initiative #31, Superman: World of New Krypton #11 & Blackest Night: Suicide Squad #67

I have three reviews on tap for tonight, two DC's and a Marvel. Two of these books were VERY good, while the third wasn't that bad, so all in all, this should be a rare happy post! Oh, and unless I get some new comics in the mail tomorrow, I can say for the first time in MONTHS that I've completely finished up my new comic pile! Sure I have a few recent issues of Astonishing X-Men, X-Men: Legacy and Moon Knight to read, but I doubt I'll want to read those books any time soon, if at all. Well, enough babble, here's the first review.

Avengers: The Initiative #31: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Rafa Sandoval.

This issue opens with Norman "Marvel" Osborn calling Taskmaster and informing him that Osborn will be taking a trip to the Initiative compound the next day, and that if everything is on the up and up, Osborn may have some very good news for Taskmaster. Upon hanging up, Taskmaster runs around trying to get his band of villains into some semblance of order. After threatening and cajoling many Initiative members, Taskmaster runs into another long time Marvel c-list villain, Constrictor, and asks to speak to him privately. Constrictor and Taskmaster talk, and Taskmaster reveals to Constrictor that he believes Osborn is going to offer him a promotion, but he isn't sure if he should take it. You see, Taskmaster is more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy, he's happy to steal some loot and that's that. If he were to accept the promotion, he'd be throwing his lot in with the world conquering, ultra crazy villains, which is something Taskmaster wasn't sure he wanted to do. After conversing with Constrictor, Taskmaster makes up his mind and the two part. The following day, Osborn arrives at the compound, checks things out and offers Taskmaster a promotion, and a spot on the Cabal, which he graciously accepts. From there we get a recap of what happened in Siege: The Cabal where the Dr. Doom robot blasts the hell out of Taskmaster and leaves him in a pool of blood. Taskmaster awakens a few days later in a hospital bed and is greeted by Osborn. Taskmaster tells Osborn that he isn't cut out to be a member of the Cabal, and asks to leave, which infuriates Osborn. Osborn ruptures Taskmaster's oxygen tank and pulls a lighter, telling Taskmaster to rethink his request. Taskmaster tells Osborn he'll remain on board, and this issue concludes with Osborn informing Taskmaster that he was going to invade Asgard.

There were a few other secondary storylines that were advanced here as well, such as the Avengers Resistance team(basically the former New Warriors)learning of Osborn's plans to attack Asgard right before he launched his attack, Tigra continuing her one woman attack against the Hood's goons, and Justice and Ultra Girl rekindling their romance. Needless to say, this comic was packed full of stuff, and all of it was really good! The dialogue was wonderful, I especially enjoyed the conversation between Taskmaster and Constrictor, which did a great job of showing that not all super-villains were insane, out of control lunatics, but were just trying to make ends meet(albeit in an immoral way). I'll tell you, when this series goes to the big comic shop in the sky, I for one am going to be quite upset.

Score: 9 out of 10.I guess Dr. Doom didn't like the fact that Taskmaster showed up at the Cabal meeting also wearing a cape and cowl!

Superman: World of New Krypton #11: Writers: James Robinson and Greg Rucka. Pencils: Pete Woods.

We start this issue with an assassin narrowly missing Alura and killing her assistant instead. Adam Strange, Superman and his military guild investigate the crime scene and find the murder weapon laying conveniently in the open, complete with a set of fingerprints, the fingerprints of the head of the labor guild, Tam-Or. Supes meets up with the panicking Kryptonian ruling council and tells them that although Tam-Or's prints were discovered on the gun, he feels things just don't add up. The council members argue a bit, and the military council representative warns Supes to get to the bottom of the assassinations. Supes decides to check on the still healing General Zod, and proceeds to tell Zod all about the assassinations and the main suspect. Upon hearing everything, Zod tells Supes that he doesn't believe Tam-Or is guilty. Supes agrees, and decides to try to find Tam-Or to see if he can point him in the direction of the real killer. Supes and Adam head to the infirmary and find Tyr, a member of the labor guild who used to be a friend of Supes before he turned on him for Gen. Zod(it's a LONG story!). Tyr is sitting at the bedside of a dying labor guild member who had come down with a strange disease that was only affecting members of the labor guild. Supes explains that he feels Tam-Or is innocent of the murder charges that are pointing towards him, and that he needs to speak to the man. Tyr agrees to take Supes and Adam to Tam-Or's hideout, which is a secret military installment where bizarre experiments were taking place on various aliens. Supes is shocked at the existence of such a place, and Tyr is surprised that as the acting head of the military guild Supes was unaware of the installment. Supes and company find Tam-Or, and Supes convinces him to go back with him so they could clear his and the labor guild's name. Before Supes and company can go anywhere, the military council member, along with several members of the military guild show up and tell Supes they'll handle things from this point on. Supes balks at that and tells them he's the acting head of the military guild, but is shocked to learn Gen. Zod had returned to active duty mere minutes prior and that Supes was no longer the acting head of the military! This issue ends with the military members preparing to shoot and kill Supes, Adam, Tam-Or and Tyr for crimes against New Krypton.

Wow, this series sure picked up BIG TIME this issue! The interesting thing about the end of this issue is that we don't know for sure that Zod had ordered the military guild members to shoot at Supes and company. That's been my favorite thing about this series actually, the way Gen. Zod has managed to walk the line between good and evil. On Earth, you know Gen. Lane is evil. He enslaves people, kills indiscriminately and does all around villainous things. On the other hand, Zod is beloved on New Krypton and hasn't really show that he is interested in anything other then defending his homeworld. Even Superman's opinion of Zod has changed over the course of this maxi-series. Has Zod been playing puppet master since the beginning? Is he finally enacting his endgame on Superman and the labor guild, or are rogue elements in the military guild responsible for what has occurring at the conclusion of this issue? I for one can't wait to find out those answers in the next issue.

Score: 9 out of 10.Man, those Kryptonian religious guild members are just plain creepy looking...

Blackest Night: Suicide Squad #67: Writers: Gail Simone and John Ostrander. Artist: J. Calafiore.

We begin with the Fiddler coming back to life as a Black Lantern and deciding that he wanted to get revenge on Deadshot. From there the current Suicide Squad fails a mission to kill a drug lord mainly because Deadshot's replacement on the team, Yasemin, is still green. Upon learning of their failure, Waller decides that she'll get Deadshot back in her employ, whether he wants to or not. To that end, she secretly hires Deadshot's current team, the Secret Six, to break some drug lord out of Belle Reve prison. The Six arrive at the prison and break in, but instead of being met by simple prison guards, they are attacked by the Suicide Squad. Deadshot runs into Rick Flag, who informs him that Waller had set the entire situation up in order to tell Deadshot that she wanted him to rejoin the Squad. Deadshot shoots Flag in the chest as his answer(HA!)and then proceeds to shoot his replacement, Yasemin(double HA!). After shooting Yasemin, Deadshot is pistol whipped and knocked out by Flag, who was obviously wearing a bulletproof vest. This issue ends with the Black Lantern Fiddler heading to Belle Reve prison with a bunch of Black Lantern rings, which began to resurrect the fallen members of the Squad that were being kept there.

This was a pretty good comic, but it was pretty much devoid of Black Lanterns with the exception of the first two pages and the last. I was kind of hoping for a big Black Lantern Suicide Squad vs Deadshot brouhaha, but I guess that will have to wait until the next issue of the Secret Six comic. Although I was a bit let down by the lack of a Deadshot/BL Suicide Squad showdown, the rest of this comic was quite good. To be honest, I actually enjoyed the parts of this comic that featured Amanda Waller(who is woefully underutilized!)and the Suicide Squad more then the Secret Six parts. I think the reason for that is because #1, I hate Black Alice and #2, Ragdoll is becoming SO over-the-top that he's starting to irritate me. Besides those small complaints, I liked this comic and I'll be looking forward to the continuation of this story in the monthly Secret Six comic.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.Catman vs Bronze Tiger, let the fur fly!

Avengers: The Initiative #27

Writer: Christos Gage, Pencils: Rafa Sandoval.

What Happened: This comic begins with the story of a c-list villain(and even c-list may be too good for him!)named Johnny Guitar, whose gimmick is a guitar that fires energy beams! Yes, really! Anyway, Johnny and his friend and accomplice, Dr. Sax(I think you can guess what type of weapon the good doctor uses), decide to join the Initiative now that it's under the direction of Norman Osborn. The two losers figure this is their chance to finally become successful super-villains. Well, they not only make the Initiative, Taskmaster(the leader of the Initiative program)puts them on the special black ops team, the Shadow Initiative. Unfortunately for Johnny, he discovers Taskmaster took a bunch of useless Initiative members and placed them on the Shadow Initiative, so he could send them on a suicide mission to take back the Negative Zone prison. Taskmaster figures the losers would take out some of Blastarr's forces(Blastarr took the prison over in a recent issue of Guardians of the Galaxy)at the prison and then Taskmaster could send in his big guns for mop-up duty. After overhearing this, Johnny attacks his lifelong friend, Dr. Sax and injures him to the extent that he wouldn't be allowed to take part in the mission. As for Johnny, he knows if he tries to back out Taskmaster would have him killed. So he rushes into the Negative Zone and is promptly killed by the combined forces of Blastarr and the prisoners who had declared their loyalty to Blastarr. The Shadow Initiative winds up making it into the prison and gets some inside help from Hardball, a onetime member of the Initiative turned leader of Hydra. After the battle is just about over, Taskmaster and his forces arrive on the scene and clean up the rest of Blastarr's forces as well as the escaped prisoners. When Taskmaster realizes Hardball was helping out, he seems very pleased. This issue ends with one of the Brother's Grimm carrying his thoroughly beaten brother into Camp HAMMER for medical attention after his brother was ambushed by an angry Tigra.

What I Thought: Wow, there was a lot of good stuff packed into this comic. The stuff with Johnny Guitar was extremely well done, by the time he died, you couldn't help but feel badly for him, which is a credit to how good a writer Christos is. The battle at the Negative Zone prison ended a lot quicker then I thought it would(just one issue?), but I have my fingers crossed that this leads to Hardball returning to the Initiative, or better yet, the New Warriors. If nothing else, it should be quite interesting to see how Komodo reacts when she sees her ex-boyfriend, Hardball, again. Before I give the score, I have to give some big time kudos to Christos for really knowing his continuity. Not only did he work in the Negative Zone prison break from the Guardians comic, but he also remembered that Dragon Man had a huge crush on Komodo! It's SO nice to see there are still some writers left in Marvel who actually care about the work of past/other writers unlike a certain Avengers scribe who shall remain nameless...

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.Come on, you had to know I'd be posting a picture of Johnny Guitar and Dr. Sax in all their glory!

A Quick(ish)Look at Avengers: The Initiative #26

To be honest with you, I wasn't even going to read this comic tonight. Besides the new comics I read nightly, I've been reading through the 12-part "Crisis on Infinite Earth" series from 1985. I wasn't expecting much from the original Crisis, but so far I'm really enjoying it! Of course I'm only 3 issues in, so that could change drastically. What I'm trying to say(in my usual long-winded way)is to expect this review to be pretty half-assed... Or more half-assed then usual I guess. The writer here is the very under-rated Christos Gage, with Rafa Sandoval doing the pencils.

-We open with Norman Osborn(who else!)giving a press conference where he talks about the new and improved Initiative program. According to Chairman Osborn, the Initiative is now run by HAMMER and is based out of an old Hulkbuster base in New Mexico, which is surrounded by lots of nothingness, meaning no civilians will be in harms way. Plus nobody will see all of the villains President Osborn has stocked the place with!

-The New Warriors battle the U-Foes in North Carolina, but since the Marvel Universe is akin to Bizarro World, the cops try to help the U-Foes, since the U-Foes are the official protectors of the Tar Heel State. The New Warriors escape, but are none too happy about the fact that they are now looked at as the villains.

-Poor Penance(the former Speedball)is still crazy, and Taskmaster(the co-leader of the New Initiative)has ordered Trauma to keep Robbie from remembering his past. Just so you know, Trauma has been told by the Hood(the other co-leader of the New Initiative)that if he keeps Robbie in the dark, the Hood will help Trauma's sick mother.

-Baron Blitzkrieg, Hood and Taskmaster discuss the fact that the Negative Zone prison has been over-run by creatures from the Negative Zone(makes sense right?). The three decide to send a bunch of c-list villains into the prison as a first wave to push the creatures out. After the first wave is inevitably killed, the trio plans on sending in a formidable team to then finish the job. Taskmaster tells Komodo it is going to be up to her to lead the first wave into the Negative Zone prison where her former boyfriend Hardball had been locked up... Poor Komodo!

-This issue ends with Tigra filming herself while she brutalizes one of the Brothers Grimm(while he was sleeping), much like the Hood did to her an issue of the New Avengers a while back. The message she seems to be sending is that if you're a villain and you throw your hat in with the Initiative, prepare to get an ass-kicking!

As usual, I liked this comic. I've never made a secret of my love for c-list Marvel characters, and this comic throws more c-list characters at me then I know what to do with! Christos has taken a comic that could have really come apart at the seams after the Secret Invasion nonsense and given it a new life. There are loads of different storylines unfolding here, such as the New Warriors vendetta against everything Initiative related, Trauma being forced to keep Penance under wraps, the influx of villains joining the Initiative, Komodo heading into the Negative Zone where she's sure to find her old lover, Hardball, etc. I say it every month, but this is the best Avengers comic on the market today! Nuff said. For a score, I'll give this issue an 8 out of 10.How can you tell this is a Marvel Comic? Norman Osborn is giving a press conference in it, that's how!

Avengers: The Initiative #25

Before I start this review, allow me to say that I'm shocked this series is still ongoing. I honestly didn't think this series would make it past issue #12, but with this issue we reach the quarter century mark. Don't take that comment to mean I dislike this series, to the contrary, IMO this is THE best Avengers comic out there today! Yeah, I know, I say that all the time, but it's damn true! Look at the competition. Dark and New are both written by the bane of my existence, the DREAD LORD BENDIS, while Dan Slott is still busy trying to build Mighty into something great. While the other Avengers titles have been floundering(once again IMO)Initiative has been a fresh, different kind of book since its inception, and as far as I'm concerned, THE only good thing to come out of the Civil War x-over. I could go on and on comparing the Initiative to the other Avengers books(believe me, I could!), but I'm going to hop off my soapbox and begin this review instead. This issue is written by Christos Gage.

-Woooooooo! What a great comic this was!!!

-This comic opens with the New Warriors bringing the corpse of the original MVP back to his father in Mississippi. MVP's dad takes the body, and asks that the Warriors leave and never return, stating that seeing them hurts too much. Justice agrees to go, but the Scarlet Spider, who is one of MVP's clones is devastated by MVP's father's wish.

-From there we follow Norman Osborn and Taskmaster(the new head trainer at the Initiative)as they visit Penance... Oh poor Robbie... How Marvel has dragged your name through the dirt... Anyway, Penance is more of a basket case than usual thanks to the drugging he received as he was thrown off the Thunderbolts, and Osborn tells him if he wants to make amends for all the death he caused in Stamford, Connecticut, then he has to follow Taskmaster's orders to the letter. Robbie(being a basket case)profusely thanks Osborn and Taskmaster for the opportunity... Poor Robbie...

-Next up, Osborn(now back in Avengers Tower)has a meeting with Tigra. Osborn tells Tigra he knows that she was impregnated by Skrull Pym, and that he wants the baby, since a half Skrull/half human hybrid could be very useful in case the Skrulls come back. Tigra outright refuses, and Osborn tells her that he's either getting the fetus now, or he'll wait until she delivers and that he'll take possession of the kid then. Tigra tells Osborn that she'll go to the media, but Osborn astutely points out that there's no way the public would side with an unwed mother who's carrying a half-Skrull child. Osborn then sends Tigra away, but has Moonstone follow her so Tigra can't try anything funny.

-Next, Osborn brings Gauntlet in for a meeting. Osborn tells Gauntlet that he's reassigning him from Camp Hammond back to his former unit in the Middle East. Gauntlet is overjoyed to be returning to his men, but Osborn states that before Gauntlet can go, he has to leave the gauntlet attached to his arm behind. Gauntlet tells Osborn that the weapon can't be removed, and Osborn tells him that he knows a surefire way to remove the gauntlet, the axe of Ares! Gauntlet knocks Ares out the window and meets up with Tigra who was still being led away by Moonstone. After ridding themselves of Moonstone, the two heroes run away.

-Osborn's Dark Reign teammate, Hood, places a call to some c-list criminal associates of his and tells them to go and capture the two runaway heroes.

-Osborn continues his meetings, one with Diamondback, who he forces to stay with the Initiative through threats and intimidation, and Trauma, who is forced to stay on board after the Hood promises to cure his mother of the insanity that is currently afflicting her. Trauma also learns during this meeting that his father is Nightmare.

-From there, Osborn replaces Gravity as the leader of the Nevada Initiative team with Prodigy, and sends gravity back to Wisconsin, where he is greeted by the Great Lakes Avengers(!!!).

-The two runaway heroes, Gauntlet and Tigra have taken to the sewers, figuring that whoever Osborn sends after them won't be able to track them down due to the stink. Unfortunately, Hood's goon squad does track them down, and the two heroes stage a last stand of sorts. Before they are defeated, Justice and his New Warriors swoop in to make the save. The New Warriors, along with Gauntlet and Tigra all have the same goal, to reveal to the world that Norman Osborn is still the criminal scumbag he's always been, and that his Avengers are a bunch of criminals in disguise. In an attempt to take back the once proud Avengers name, the collection of heroes rechristen themselves the Avengers Resistance.

-This issue ends with Osborn opening the doors to the new Camp HAMMER, which will serve like Camp Hammond did, except Camp HAMMER will be be training criminals to act like heroes... HA!

I frigging loved this comic! THIS is the way the Avengers books should be! Christos did a marvelous job depicting Norman Osborn here. This was actually the first time since this whole stupid Dark Reign thing sprouted up that I've enjoyed reading a comic that had Osborn in it. He wasn't annoying like how BENDIS usually writes him, he was pure evil. Pure evil Norman Osborn is waaaaay better then stupid/annoying Osborn.

I can't say I'm overwhelmed with the Initiative now training both heroes and villains, but as long as Christos continues writing this comic as well as he wrote this one, I really don't care what he does! I enjoyed this comic from cover to cover. Every scene was well done, and this comic also did a great job at setting up future events. I said it before, and I'll say it again, this series is THE best Avengers book on the market, period! For a score, I'll give this comic a 10 out of 10. I didn't want to give this book a perfect score(I just gave a perfect score to War of Kings #5 a few days ago), but I couldn't find one part of this comic I didn't like. Brilliant job Christos! Please, keep up the great work!

Avengers: The Initiative #24

As I've been saying for months now, this series is my favorite Avengers title. Mighty is OK to very good, and Dark and New are both written by BENDIS(enough said there!), so Avengers: The Initiative is where I go to get my fill of old school style Avengers action. This issue is written by Christos Gage.

-For the most part this issue focused solely on the Shadow Initiative and their mission to take Hardball, who used to be a member of Shadow Initiative, into custody. This issue begins with the Shadow Initiative(minus Komodo who was de-powered and captured last issue)battling with Wolverine's old sparring partners, Roughhouse and Bloodscream in Madipoor.

-After an extended battle, Taskmaster realizes that if the fight goes on any longer there will be a mess of Hydra agents all over the streets, and the Shadow Initiative. To prevent that from occurring Taskmaster tells Roughhouse and Bloodscream that he wants to surrender to Hardball and join Hydra.

-Hardball and Scorpion(his co-leader in Hydra)hear Taskmaster out and decide to lock the Shadow Initiative up for now in order to protect against a possible Shadow Initiative double-cross.

-Some Hydra agents take the Shadow Initiative to the armory to disarm and Taskmaster and his crew make their move, attacking and taking out the guards there. More guards arrive and Typhoid Mary(one of the Shadow Initiative members)snaps and burns all of the Hydra agents to a crisp. After warning the rest of the Shadow Initiative to leave her be, she escapes into the streets of Madipoor... Oh Mary, you so crazy!

-While this action is going on, Scorpion reveals to Hardball that she only joined Hydra in order to tear them apart from the inside. Needless to say, Hardball is stunned, but since he didn't have any real loyalty to Hydra and only joined out of necessity, he allows Scorpion to make her escape. Hardball then goes to make sure the de-powered Komodo(his ex-girlfriend)is OK.

-By this point, a whole mess of HAMMER agents have honed in on the Shadow Initiative's position and along with some help from Ant-Man of the Thunderbolts, defeat all of the remaining members of Hydra. Hardball manages to lead Constrictor to Komodo's room(to make sure she isn't left behind when HAMMER pulls out)before surrendering.

-This issue ends with Taskmaster debriefing Norman Osborn back in the US on the mission and Osborn offering Taskmaster the position of leader of the Initiative.

I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to this series, but once again, this was a very good issue. I admit that I have a soft spot for Initiative originals like Komodo and Hardball, so I was happy to see the both of them survive this storyline. I was also pleased to see Scorpion return to her heroic roots here. I've liked her since her initial appearances in Amazing Fantasy, so I'm glad to see her escape unharmed.

Taskmaster as the new leader of the Initiative program is an interesting idea. Taskmaster is another character I've always liked(yeah, I know, I'm saying that a lot...), and I've never really understood why Taskmaster hasn't received a better position in the Marvel U. He's got an awesome look, great powers and a very cool vibe about him. Hopefully this new position will be a springboard to bigger and better things for Taskmaster. Good story, good artwork, what more could I really ask for? For a score, I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. If you want to read a good Avengers title and are tired of the BENDIS-ization of the Avengers books, I'd highly recommend giving this series a shot before it's too late.

Avengers: The Initiative #23

This is the third part of the storyline, "Avengers: The Initiative, Disassembled". Sadly this series seems to be on its last legs... However, I still hold out some hope that this series will continue in one form or another. These characters are just too good to disappear.

-We start this issue at the remains of Camp Hammond after the battle with Ragnarok. Justice of the New Warriors spills the beans about the cloning of MVP by the Initiative to the media, and Gauntlet, the senior member of the Initiative, has to give a no comment on the situation.

-As the New Warriors leave, Ultra Girl asks to go with Justice and he accepts her back on the team.

-The remaining members of the Initiative begin to sift through the wreckage in search of casualties. The Initiative members who didn't know about the cloning of MVP are naturally outraged, and Trauma begins to take the blame for the death of MVP, but ultimately Gauntlet absolves him of any responsibility and takes the blame.

-Gauntlet then lays the blame of keeping Ragnarok at Camp Hammond at the feet of Henry Gyrich, Skrull Pym and Baron Von Blitzschlag. Blitzschlag explains that the US military was aware that Ragnarok was there at the highest levels, but he would take the blame, since he was used to standing alone.

-Norman Osborn arrives at the Camp and gives the media an impromptu press conference where he says that he was going to keep the Fifty State Initiative program running, but he would be closing Camp Hammond permanently. Osborn goes on to say that there would be an Initiative program, but like SHIELD, it needed a lot of retooling.

-Meanwhile, in Madripoor, the Shadow Initiative has come face to face with Initiative turncoat Hardball, who along with Scorpion is leading a faction of Hydra. Komodo tries to attack Scorpion after Scorpion taunts her, but Komodo winds up getting shot with a gun that removes her powers. Seeing that Hardball could remove any of their powers, the Shadow Initiative decides to run away, leaving Komodo behind.

-After regrouping, the Shadow Initiative argues about whether they should stay and rescue Komodo or if they should get out of Madripoor and warn SHIELD that Hydra had weapons that could shutdown superhuman powers. Before they can decide, they discover that SHIELD is no more and that most likely they won't be getting any SHIELD transport out of Madripoor. As this issue ends, Bloodscream and Roughouse of Wolverine fame begin to sneak up on the Shadow Initiative.

My love for this series continues, even as it comes to its seeming end. As I've stated before on this blog, I'm a sucker for the lesser known Marvel heroes and villains, and this comic delivers all of the c-list heroes I can handle! From Blitzschlag's teary reaction near the dead body of one of the MVP clones, to Komodo refusing to believe her ex-boyfriend Hardball had really turned to the dark side, this series is really a treat every month.

With Camp Hammond closing shop, it would appear that in a few issues this series will also be shutting down. I'm STILL hoping that even if this series gets the axe, a new series starring these characters will sprout up down the road, because let's face it, Joe Quesada loves putting out new comics so he can get speculators to purchase new issue #1's.

Next month should focus heavily on the Shadow Initiative storyline, as we find out the fate of Komodo, Hardball and the Shadow Initiative itself. Personally, I hope Hardball survives this encounter and joins up with the Shadow Initiative, although that is looking less and less likely with each passing issue. I've liked Hardball from early on in this series and I really hope he doesn't get killed off as this storyline rumbles towards its conclusion. For a score, I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. Once again, this series is the best of the Avengers books this month.

Avengers: The Initiative Featuring Reptil One Shot

Well, OK, I didn't even remember that I brought this comic book. I never know what I'm going to pull out of my comic book pile!

-We open with a dinosaur villain(yes, a dinosaur villain)named Stegron attacking various SHIELD facilities in an attempt to find something. Stegron has been using a horde of dinosaurs to attack the SHIELD bases and has left a large number of people dead in his wake.

-Val Cooper contacts Tigra and puts her in charge of a bunch of Initiative members with the orders to stop Stegron at all costs. Tigra's team consists of Prodigy, Batwing, Cloud 9, Sunstreak, Komodo and a new recruit named Reptil. Tigra doesn't want to take Reptil since he's still young, but Val pulls rank and Tigra has to begin training Reptil.

-We find out that Reptil can shift himself into various different dinosaurs and is very eager to be a super-hero. After some training Reptil manages to use his dinosaur powers to track down Stegron. Stegron manages to wipe the floor with the Initiative members before making his escape.

-Reptil is bummed that he was knocked out by Stegron and wants to quit the Initiative, but Tigra gives him a pep talk that picks up his spirits.

-Reptil manages to locate Stegron at another SHIELD facility and the Initiative attacks again. This time the Initiative manages to block Stegron's dinosaur control abilities, which removes the army of dinosaurs he was employing. The Initiative defeats Stegron, but they wind up discovering Moonboy locked up in a tube in the SHIELD facility.

-Stegron explains that he was trying to bring Moonboy back to the Savage Land in order to reunite him with Devil Dinosaur. Reptil wants to free Moonboy, but Tigra reasons that SHIELD will just recapture him again. After some thought, Tigra allows Reptil to fly off with Moonboy and she tells the SHIELD agents who arrive on the scene that Moonboy was accidentally eaten by the dinosaurs. We end this issue with Kazar arriving and taking Moonboy and Reptil back to the Savage Land with him.

This issue told a decent story, but unfortunately for me I really could care less about most of the characters. Even though I consider myself a huge old school X-Men fan I've never liked the concept of the Savage Land. I also don't like Kazar, Moonboy or Tigra, so this comic definitely won't go down as one of my all-time favorites. On the plus side I'm always pleased to see a member of the Slingers show up. Granted my favorite Slinger was Ricochet, but I did like Prodigy as well. However, Prodigy alone couldn't really salvage this comic for me and as such I'll give this issue a score of 6 1/2 out of 10. If you like seeing a horde of dinosaurs attack SHIELD agents, or Kazar walking around in a skimpy loincloth, then this is the comic for you!

Vas is this "Star Wars"?

Is it wrong that one of my favorite characters from "Avengers: The Initiative" is Baron Von Blitzschlag? Whenever he's on panel, I almost always find myself chuckling at his antics or over-the-top accent. I say give the Baron his own series! No? OK, how about a mini-series then?

Avengers: The Initiative #22

Overall- Ahh... I feel much better now... After reading that horrid Teen Titans #68, this comic book was just what the doctor ordered. Here's the review. The New Warriors engage Ragnarok(The clone of Thor that was created during "Civil War")in the wreckage of Camp Hammond with pretty bad results. Ragnarok tears through the Warriors, as well as the few remaining Initiative members at Camp Hammond. Finally, Gauntlet has enough and rallies the troops behind him, which helps the heroes fight in a more orderly fashion.

Even though this may not be the actual Thor, a clone of Thor is still pretty damn powerful, and Ragnarok continues to take on a dozen or so heroes with no sign of letting up. Eventually, Ragnarok kills one of the Scarlet Spiders, which brings Baron Von Blitzschlag into the fray. When Ragnarok struck the Baron with a blast of electricity last issue, it actually invigorated him, as opposed to killing him. At the Baron's command, the last remaining Scarlet Spider shows Ragnarok holographic images of the Baron and other scientists at Camp Hammond creating and working on him, as well as showing him images of the one true Thor.

These images shake Ragnarok to his very core, and Ragnarok decides that instead of continuing the battle against the Initiative and the New Warriors, he'll confront Thor, who he feels is unworthy of his name and powers. With that, Ragnarok takes to the sky and leaves. With Ragnarok gone, Gauntlet turns his attention to the New Warriors, who are composed of unregistered heroes and members of the Initiative gone AWOL. Before Gauntlet can make a move against the Warriors, Justice tears up the Camp and telekinetically lifts the dead body of the original MVP from the underground laboratory in front of hundreds of citizens and reporters, announcing that the experimentation/desecration of MVP's corpse was ending now.

The other half of the story dealt with the Shadow Initiative in Madipoor, searching for former Initiative member and current leader of Hydra, Hardball. Before the Shadow Initiative can locate Hardball, he gets the drop on them, along with a mess of Hydra agents and his new girlfriend, Scorpion(!).

This comic book was great. It really was. It was action packed(Ragnarok throwing around his lightning was spectacular)and the story didn't disappoint in the least. I especially loved Ragnarok's dialogue throughout this issue, he actually had me chuckling a couple of times with his lines. I have to say that Christos Gage(writer)has been doing a great job with this book since replacing Dan Slott. After reading this comic, I have to say, evil Thor(Ragnarok)is awesome! The way Ragnarok insulted everyone around him with his old school manner of speech was really downright hilarious.

The secondary story with the Shadow Initiative and Hardball is slowly building, and the addition of Scorpion made things even more interesting. I have to say, this comic is still heads and shoulders better than any other Avengers comic on the market today. For a score, I'll go with a very strong 8 1/2 out of 10. I enjoyed this comic immensely, and can't wait to see the confrontation between the Warriors and Gauntlet, as well as the impending battle between the Shadow Initiative and Hardball's forces. The next issue can't come out soon enough!

Avengers: The Initiative #21

Overall- So, Christos Gage is going to be given the task of ending this series... I've enjoyed Christos work, so hopefully he'll manage to give this comic a proper send-off... And hopefully he won't kill everyone off! Anyway, here's the review.

Thank you Christos, so far, so good. Basically, the clone of Thor that was created by Skrull Pym, Tony Stark and Reed Richards during Civil War had been programmed to return to life if the Secret Invasion was to fail and Skrull Pym was killed. Fake Thor, who I'll call Ragnarok for the remainder of this review, emerges from it's holding tank in the basement of Camp Hammond. Baron Von Blitzschlag is the only one who sees Ragnarok wake up and being a low-life ex-Nazi decides to attempt to control Ragnarok. After failing to reason with Ragnarok, the Baron decides to use an over-ride code to shut Ragnarok down. Unfortunately for my favorite ex-Nazi turned government scientist, Skrull Pym had changed all of the over-ride codes before his death. Ragnarok doesn't take kindly to the Baron calling it a clone of Thor(Ragnarok obviously believes that it is the real God of Thunder), and Ragnarok destroys the lab in an explosion of lightning.

Thor Girl, who had been replaced during the Skrull invasion and was at Camp Hammond for counseling, confronts the faux-Thor, and the two battle, with Thor Girl being defeated. Before Ragnarok can deliver the death blow though, Gauntlet comes to her rescue and sends Ragnarok through a wall. Trauma then uses his powers to become the greatest fear of Ragnarok, which is the real Thor. Ragnarok tries to electrocute Trauma/Thor, but can't and begins to believe that maybe it is a clone... Until Ragnarok realizes that Trauma/Thor can't throw his hammer(since the hammer is just a part of Trauma's body, if that makes any sense...). Ragnarok overcomes his fear and hammers Trauma through the wall of the Camp, and into the street. Before Ragnarok can kill Trauma, who reverted back to his true form after Ragnarok overcame it's fear, Gorilla Girl(yes, I know, dumb name)makes the save, but is trounced by Ragnarok. Once more Ragnarok prepares to deliver the death blow, this time to Gorilla Girl, but is halted by the arrival of Justice and the New Warriors. The REAL New Warriors(or close to it), not that horrible farce that had been calling themselves the New Warriors in the recently cancelled "New Warriors" series.

Besides the main story, much of this issue dealt with the re-organization of the leadership of Camp Hammond(it seems that Gauntlet is now in charge), as well as Komodo and the Shadow Initiative arriving in Madripoor in an attempt to capture/kill(?)former Initiative member(and Komodo's ex-boyfriend)Hardball, who is currently leading one of the many branches of Hydra. I'm still hoping that Hardball decides to reform, he was one of my favorites out of the original Initiative team.

Anyway, in case you couldn't tell, I've loved this comic from it's inception, and I continue to love it. Dan Slott did such a great job creating the Initiative and these characters. To be honest with you, I'd go so far to say that Avengers: The Initiative was the ONLY good thing to come out of the unmitigated disaster that was Civil War. It seems pretty obvious that this comic is going to get the axe and soon(4 Avengers titles is a bit much), but hopefully someone at Marvel will have the foresight to give Christos Gage a series spinning out of this one... A New Warriors comic penned by Christos would be nice. For a score, I'll give this comic a 8 1/2 out of 10. I really liked this comic, and I'm really looking forward to seeing where Christos goes with this comic and these characters. Oh, and hopefully we haven't seen the end of Baron Von Blitzschlag. For an ex-Nazi, that guy was hilarious!

Avengers: The Initiative #20

Overall- I've liked the Initiative for a good long time now. As a matter of fact, I've repeatedly stated here, as well as on other sites that Avengers: The Initiative is the BEST Avengers comic on the market today. To me, Dan Slott, who has been the writer of this series since it's inception, is sort of the anti-Brian Bendis. Where as Bendis has shown that he could give a s### about the history of the Marvel Universe, Dan embraces Marvel's rich history, and as a(nearly)lifelong Marvel fan, I truly appreciate Dan's attention to small details pertaining to the Marvel Universe. With that said, let's look at this issue of the Initiative.

Alot happened in this comic, so I'm just going to hit on the important points. Hank Pym, who is back from his abduction by the Skrulls, spends this whole issue talking to the Wasp, which under normal circumstances is no problem, except for the small fact that the Wasp DIED at the end of the godawful Secret Invasion storyline. Hank and Janet talk about the stuff Hank missed out on while he was being held by the Skrulls, but Hank keeps dodging the question of when exactly he was abducted. Wasp finally comes right out with it and asks Hank if it was him who struck her back when they were still married, or if it was the Skrull impostor. Wasp tells Hank that if it was the Skrull, then they could get back together like nothing had happened. Hank admits that it was indeed him who struck Wasp, and Wasp begins to leave. Hank asks "Wasp" if that is what the real Wasp would have done, and "Wasp" transforms into Jocasta, who shares the brainwaves of Wasp thanks to Ultron. Jocasta tells Hank that's exactly what Wasp would have done and Hank thanks Jocasta for the role-playing, before leaving Camp Hammond for good.

Besides that, we find out that Gauntlet is now the ranking officer at Camp Hammond, and he has decided to send the Shadow Initiative after Hardball, who has gone rogue and joined up with Hydra. Gauntlet adds Taskmaster and Komodo to the Shadow Initiative and during the briefing about Hardball, Taskmaster stares at Mutant Zero the entire time, deducting who she was by watching the way she moved. Taskmaster attacks Mutant Zero after the briefing, to confirm his suspicions, and unmasks her! After waiting since just about the beginning of this series, we discover that Mutant Zero is actually... Typhoid Mary?!? Holy letdown Batman!

Along with that, we discover Tigra is pregnant with the baby of Skrull Pym(SOMEBODY should have been using protection... Just saying...). Tigra decides she wants to terminate the pregnancy, since she thought she was with Hank, not a Skrull impersonating him. The comic ends with the clone of Thor(you remember, the one who killed Black Goliath during the Civil War), reactivating in one of the labs at Camp Hammond as a final goodbye from the deceased Skrull Pym.

Normally, I love this comic book, but that damned Secret Invasion has really hurt this comic alot. This series is in a transition period, and hopefully, it will continue on, even though I have a feeling that in a few issues this great series will be canceled. Out of all of the original recruits, I liked Trauma and Hardball the most, so seeing Hardball now on the side of Hydra is a pretty big letdown, because let's face it, Hydra sucks. I mean they really suck. Those guys NEVER even come close to winning a battle, so I hate to see Hardball stuck with that pack of losers.

Besides that, the other letdown was HUGE. The revelation that Typhoid Mary was Mutant Zero nearly had me shouting obscenities at this comic book. I really wanted Mutant Zero to be Jean Grey, or since that was a bit of a long shot, I was hoping for at least the Scarlet Witch. No, instead of either of them, we get some third rate, loser villain. As a whole, like I said, this was a transition comic book, so it really didn't have one coherent story, it had a bunch of small pieces to future stories. As such, I can't really score this comic higher than a 6 out of 10. Maybe if Mutant Zero would have been someone better than Typhoid Mary, I could have scored this higher, but that was not to be.

Avengers: The Initiative #19

Overall- Along with several members of the Initiative program, 3-D Man and the Skrull Kill Krew have teleported all over the country to destroy the Skrull doomsday weapons that the Skrulls erected in the event that their invasion of the Earth were to fail. The heroes manage to succeed, which is all I can really say, because this issue was just mainly an all out action issue, with dozens of Initiative members battling it out with hordes of Skrulls.

Back in New York, after the death of the Skrull Queen, Pym Skrull runs away from the battle with super-speed, but is seen by Crusader, who is actually a Skrull who decided to work with Nick Fury's band of heroes against his fellow Skrulls. Crusader uses the Freedom ring to duplicate Skrull Pym's speed, and attacks Skrull Pym back at the Initiative headquarters at Camp Hammond.

Crusader is soon joined by the forces of 3-D Man, who teleport in and attack the remaining Skrulls at the base. Crusader and Skrull Pym battle, with Crusader ultimately killing Skrull Pym. The heroes all stand around happily and complement Crusader on his victory over Skrull Pym. However, 3-D Man realizes Crusader is actually a Skrull(not realizing Crusader isn't a part of the invading evil Skrulls)and shoots him in the back of the head... Well THAT sucks! The issue ends with Crusader laying on the floor, dying, wishing that things could have ended differently. With that, he vanishes, thanks to the power of the Freedom ring.

I was really into this comic until the unfortunate shooting/death(?) of Crusader. I liked him dammit! Even though Crusader was shot, this was another example of why Dan Slott is such a marvelous writer, and is heads and shoulders better than Marvel's golden boy, Brian Bendis. Dan managed to involve so many characters in this comic, who were all but forgotten in the Marvel Universe, including one of my all-time favorite groups, the Great Lake Avengers. Yep, I've loved those losers since they first showed up in the West Coast Avengers series, and it's always great to see them show up. Their interaction with Gravity(another forgotten favorite)had me laughing out loud. For a score I'll give this comic an 8 1/2 out of 10, while keeping my fingers crossed that this great series is allowed to continue in the post Secret Invasion Marvel Universe.

Avengers: The Initiative #18

Overall- After reading this issue, I can officially say that I am totally up to date with reading Avengers: The Initiative. This was another pretty good issue of this series, as usual. Once again, since this is a part of Secret Invasion, the main characters are spread out, and the story is also spread out, so if my review seems all over the place, just blame it on Secret Invasion. You know what? From now on, I'm just going to blame everything on the HATED Secret Invasion. It's going to rain tomorrow? Blame Secret Invasion. Not feeling well? Blame Secret Invasion. Hey, that idea really works for me!

Let me get back to this comic book though. The Skrull Kill Krew has grown to include some characters regular readers of this comic book should recognize, Komodo, Hardball and Cloud 9. The Krew is still moving across the country, locating the Initiative team in every state, and killing the Skrull infiltrator on each team. Unfortunately, Devil-Slayer, who is the Krew's teleporter, is beginning to feel the strain of the constant teleporting, and is becoming weaker with each move.

The Skrulls finally figure out a way to track down the Krew by homing in on Devil-Slayer's teleporting abilities. Even though the Skrulls are able to jump the Krew, the Krew still manages to defeat the Skrulls. Ant-Man, who hitched a ride from the Skrulls, joins up with the Krew, and gives the Krew the secret Skrull plans to destroy the Earth if the Skrull invasion was to fail. The Krew decides that the most important thing is to prevent the Skrulls from activating their doomsday weapons, so they split into groups to destroy the Skrull weapons, which are located at Initiative bases across the country. That sets up the final showdown next issue between the Skrulls and the Krew.

Besides the stuff involving the Krew, we also have Crusader who is still traveling with Nick Fury and his anti-Skrull group. Fury's group begins to feel like they have no chance against the Skrulls, but Crusader peps the team up with a rousing speech. Fury is appreciative of Crusader's efforts, however, Fury also seems like he may be a little suspicious of Crusader as well. The growth of Crusader's character has been a very pleasant surprise over the course of the last few issues.

Well, the next issue of this series wraps up all the stuff with Secret Invasion. As much as I HATE Secret Invasion, I am kind of worried about what the end of Secret Invasion means for this comic book. Let's face it, the Skrulls aren't going to win. Sorry if I ruined the end of Secret Invasion for everybody out there, but that's just the way it is. The Skrulls will lose, because that's what Skrulls do best. My concern isn't necessarily for the next issue, it's for the issue that follows afterwards. Once the Marvel heroes win, what does this mean for the Initiative?

Since it was Skrull Pym who was the mastermind of the whole Initiative, what becomes of the Initiative program and this comic book? I hope it doesn't mean cancellation, but whatever it means, come Avengers: The Initiative #20, this comic book will be dramatically changed. As long as either Dan Slott and/or Christos Gage are involved in the writing duties of this comic, no matter what Marvel decides to do with this comic book, I will definitely be along for the ride. For a score, I'll go with a 8 out of 10.