Fear Itself: The Fearless #12

One more review for the night, and it's the final issue of the Fear Itself: The Fearless series... And hey, seeing as that Marvel's NEXT Mega Event has already begun, I'd say it's way past time for Fear Itself to wrap up...

Fear Itself: The Fearless #12(of 12):

Summary: With Sin in the body of the Serpent's final Sleeper, she has unleashed a massive wave of fear across the Earth. The fear wave tears through everybody, bringing them to their knees expect for Crossbones(who claims he has no fear... Because he's secretly Daredevil) and Dr. Strange, who had mystically shielded himself and was reading the magic pages Crossbones smuggled to him last issue. Crossbones sneaks off with Sin's body while Strange manages to call Valkyrie back to Earth from the afterlife. The reborn Valkyrie attacks the final Sleeper anew, this time slicing it's hand off and causing it to lose it's connection to the Serpent's 8 hammers. Losing power since it wasn't connected to the hammers any longer, Valkyrie manages to stab the final Sleeper in the head, ending it's threat and forcing Sin back into her body. Valkyrie gives the 8 hammers to the other Valkyries and they take them and hide them across 8 hidden realms. As for Valkyrie, the All-Mothers tell her to assemble a group of women similar to the Valkyrie, but who come from Earth and were “Fearless”... This one ends with Crossbones taking Sin to the still vexingly evil Daimon Hellstrom and introducing her to the DOA, her new army.

Thoughts: Okay... Why the HELL is Daimon Hellstrom STILL evil?!? See, that right there? That fact? That ruined this comic for me. As I was reading thorough this one I kept thinking to myself, “When is Daimon going to reveal his REAL plan? When is he going to betray Sin to the heroes?” And you know what? He never DID betray Sin to the heroes! So in Journey Into Mystery, he's uber-good. Here? He'd STILL teaming up with Crossbones and Sin, two of the scuzziest scumbags in the Marvel Universe. In that regard, this was a very disappointing end to a series that started out with some real promise. See, I can't even talk about anything else that happened here because of the Daimon thing... That really sucks.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Yes, Daimon Hellstrom is still, inexplicably, unbelievably, and unnecessarily EVIL.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #11

Huh, it looks like we're almost finished with this series, meaning the final piece of Fear Itself still floating around Marvel has almost come to an end. That's good, seeing as that next week Marvel's NEXT crossover event gets started!!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #11(of 12):

Summary: So Sin has transferred her mind into a Destroyer-like suit of armor that was wielding all of the Serpent's hammers... Needless to say, that's a bad thing, as Sin smacks around all of the Avengers and Defenders. Valkyrie actually manages to slightly hurt Sin with her sword, at which time Sin and her cronies(including the currently VERY evil Daimon Hellstorm) leave the area to head to a more populated area, hoping to cause the greatest damage. The heroes head off to go after her, except for Dr. Strange, who is met by Crossbones. It seems Sin never told Crossbones what her true endgame was here(destroying the Earth), which annoyed Crossbones since he was all about “bustin' heads and raisin' hell”, not the end of the world. Crossbones hands Strange a bunch of the magic scrolls Sin had used to animate her Destroyer armor, with the hope being Strange could undo want Sin had done. From there we head to Charleston, South Carolina(weird...) where Sin and her forces are running amok. The heroes arrive and engage them, with Valkyrie telling the heroes to run interference so she could deal with Sin. Unfortunately for Valkyrie and the heroes, Valkyrie flies too close to Sin and gets her neck broken, ending this issue.

Thoughts: Eh. This issue was okay, but I'm kind of over this series at this point. It doesn't seem like there's going to be any major ramifications here... Strange will probably put Sin back in her own body, and Valkyrie will probably come back to life(seeing as that she's on the Secret Avengers)... If anything, the only real change will be to Daimon Hellstrom, unless(and I REALLY hope this is the case) he was actually a planning on betraying Sin all along, and does just that next issue. In the end though, I'll be happy to see this series end next issue. It started off strong, but it kind of petered out at the end.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

In this issue Daimon Hellstrom is currently: VERY Evil.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #10

Man am I tired... I've been working for 6 straight days now, so if it seems like I'm flying through this review, it's because I am! So now you know.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #10(of 12):

Summary: Valkyrie gets up from the rubble of her home and sends Captain America and Dr. Strange away since they had been injured in the explosion. Valkyrie then attacks Crossbones, the DOA and (the currently VERY evil) Daimon Hellstrom. Crossbones sacrifices some of the DOA members and manages to get the Serpent hammers Valkyrie had collected before leaving with Hellstrom and the few remaining DOAers. Valkyrie finds a DOA member still clinging to life, so she proceeds to torture him to learn the location of Sin's hideout. Crossbones happily hands the hammers over to Sin, figuring she'd now conquer the world, but is shocked to discover that Sin intended on destroying the world instead. At that point Daimon pretty much laughs at Crossbones for having no clue as to what Sin's master plan was, before stating that once Sin had created Hell on Earth, there was nobody more qualified at running Hell than Hellstrom himself. Crossbones heads outside to ponder all of this and is soon attacked by Valkyrie and pretty much ALL of the Avengers(!). The Avengers tear into Crossbones and Sin's forces, so Crossbones retreats inside to check on Sin. Crossbones finds Sin's body on the ground, while the Final Sleeper awakens, being powered by ALL of the Serpent hammers and Sin's mind.

Thoughts: This was a pretty good issue. It's kind of weird that there are two issues left, because the way this one ended seemed like the sort of thing you'd expect to see happen in the penultimate issue of a series... So the Final Sleeper attacks the heroes next issue and...... I would have expected the Final Sleeper to attack the heroes and then to lose in the same issue. As it is now, the next issue(#11) seems almost useless, since we already know that Sin has all of the hammers, and has joined with the Final Sleeper, but can't lose before issue #12. With how fast things moved in this comic, I'm very curious to see where that leaves us for the final issue(#12).

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

In this issue, Daimon Hellstrom is---VERY Evil.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #9

Well, we've finally made it to Tuesday, and the impending end of this comic week... I have three comics left to review, and one night to review them in, so I'd best get to work!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #9(of 12):

What Happened: After a bit of a chase, Valkyrie makes quick work of Storm, and leaves Crazy Mutie Island(Utopia) with the Serpent hammer the Brotherhood had stashed there. Meanwhile, the presently evil Daimon Hellstrom tells Sin that there were secret codes hidden in the mystic texts Sin had gathered, codes that claimed Valkyries could permanently banish the Serpent's hammers. Upon hearing that, Sin demands that Crossbones goes out and finds the hammer she wielded during Fear Itself. Valkyrie returns to her hideout and finds Captain America and Dr. Strange waiting for her. Long story short, Valkyrie reveals to the two heroes that she was collecting the Serpent's hammers so she could banish them forever... Upon her own death. After some talking, Valkyrie realizes that if Strange could find her using magic, others could, and this issue ends with Crossbones blowing up Valkyrie's hideout.

Thoughts: You know, I need a frigging scorecard to keep track of what Daimon's allegiance is nowadays... He's good in Venom and Journey Into Mystery, but evil in this mini... I mean I'm all for Daimon getting some more face time, but now that he IS popping up more frequently, can we keep his hero/villain status steady? Anyway, back to this comic... This issue was okay. It's odd, I was way more into the early issues of this series, but as we approach the end, I'm finding myself getting bored with it... This story has just gone on for too long now... Plus the way Hellstrom has been handled has been kind of annoying. I still think in the end he's going to screw Sin and Crossbones over, but his turn to the dark side here, especially considering the other titles he's currently taking part in, is really bugging me with this series.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

This week, Daimon Hellstrom is... evil.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #8

Happy Monday all! A VERY happy X here, still reveling in the Giants Super Bowl win last night. What an incredible game that was... Seriously, it was one of the better Super Bowl's I've seen, and I'm not just saying that as a Giants fan. Awesome game. But anyway, chances are you're not here to read about football, you're here to read about comic books! So let's get to that. First up today? Another week, another issue of the Fearless. Last issue gave us a shocking twist with Hellstrom apparently turning evil, let's see what that leads to this issue.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #8 (of 12):

Summary: Um, nothing much really happens in this issue... I'll do my best here, but expect this to be a rather brisk review... We learn how the DOA broke Sin out of custody after Fear Itself concluded, before heading to the present where the suddenly evil Daimon Hellstrom is checking out Sin's magical artifacts. He tries to get the point across that Sin needed his supernatural expertise, but soon discovers that several other dark magicians were trying to join up with Sin. Valkyrie sneaks onto Crazy Mutie Island(Utopia) and runs afoul Emma Frost. Emma tries to mind control Valkyrie into leaving, but Valkyrie is able to shake Emma's influence, grab the Serpent hammer the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants(the X-Men) had acquired(wait, what?!) and leave. However, before she can get clear of the island, she is confronted by Storm.

Thoughts: Yeah, and that was it. I don't know how what I wrote above managed to fill out an entire comic book, but somehow it did... Nothing really essential to this story happened here, we still don't know why Hellstrom turned for example, and this issue only set up the next issue which should feature Valkyrie against Storm and the Brotherhood... With that said, this wasn't a terrible comic, it was just an uninteresting one...

Score: 6 out of 10.

Damn you, inexplicably evil Daimon!!

A Quick Look At... Fear Itself: The Fearless #7

This issue should give us a huge Wolverine vs Crossbones battle... Needless to say, I expect blood... And LOTS of it!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #7(of 12):

What Happened: While the Avengers and Dr. Strange try to deal with Sin and the demons attacking Project PEGASUS(and wonder where Daimon Hellstrom went), Wolverine and Crossbones have themselves a throwdown for the Serpent hammer the Project had acquired. Crossbones ends up getting stabbed in the gut, but manages to put Wolvie down with a few point-blank shots to the chest... At least until Wolvie hops up and stabs Crossbones through the chest(!!). There's your Avenger right there folks... Anyway, Valkyrie arrives on the scene and assists Strange in shutting down the portal that was freeing the demons at the Project, while Hellstrom is busy betraying the Avengers and blasting Wolvie in the back(!?!?!). Hellstrom heals Crossbones and heads to Sin with the hammer. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Sin agrees to take Hellstrom with her and she teleports away with her DOA crew, Crossbones, Hellstrom and the Serpent hammer.

Thoughts: What the HELL was THAT?! As a fan of Daimon, it should go without saying that his decision here annoyed me... A LOT!! But, I'm willing to see how things play out before I blow a gasket or anything like that. While Daimon's actions were vexing, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the fight between Wolvie and Crossbones. I was initially afraid that Crossbones was going to win(seriously, he's not in Wolvie's class fighting-wise), but in the end, the right outcome occurred. And yes, it was a VERY bloody battle, as it should be. With Daimon's apparent defection, I'm quite interested in getting my hands on the next issue.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Boo-yah!!!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #6

Last review for the night is Fear Itself: The Fearless #6. Since this is a 12 issue series, by the time I finish this issue we'll be halfway done here! Huzzah!! I have to admit, I enjoyed the first few issues of this series, but the last one fell totally flat. Here's hoping things pick back up again here.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #6(of 12):

What Happened: Since the next Serpent hammer on Sin's list is at the Project: PEGASUS facility, Sin, Crossbones and the DOA have begun to scout the facility out. Unfortunately for them, the Avengers were also aware of Sin's intentions and have just arrived at the PEGASUS facility to help with safeguarding the hammer. Since the folks at PEGASUS research all types of energy, including magic, Sin uses that to her advantage and causes all of the magic, spirits, ghosts, demons and other fun creatures to get free and attack the facility staff as well as the Avengers. Meanwhile, Valkyrie heads to Asgardia and is told by the All-Mother that the promise Odin made to Valkyrie still stands, and that once she collects and seals the Serpent's hammers away, she would be granted peace and allowed to die and head to Valhalla. Back at Project: PEGASUS, Sin and her DOA forces join the battle between the Avengers and the demonic hordes, creating all the more chaos and confusion. As for why, Crossbones, protected from all of the magical madness going on all around him due to an enchanted necklace, waltzes right to the room holding the Serpent hammer housed at the Project. Before he can collect it however, he hears that familiar “SNIKT!” sound we all know and love and discovers that Wolverine (!!)was the final line of defense between Crossbones and the hammer!

The Good: That cliffhanger was ALL kinds of awesome! Seriously, it was fantastic! Daimon Hellstrom was in this comic, which is always a good thing in my eyes, and also raises the final score by a 1/2 point automatically. Sin's plan was quite ingenious and shows that she's as crafty and manipulative as her father was.

The Bad: I really could care less for the Valkyrie portions of this issue. They did nothing for me. How the hell did Wolverine get into the sealed room holding the hammer? Did he run from the battle to protect the hammer, ignoring the demons as they killed scientists? Besides that, how did he actually ENTER the room in the first place?! Sin leading her forces personally seemed rather risky since if she was to be captured by the Avengers, all of her plans would conceivably be ruined.

The Verdict: This was a middling comic book that was saved by it's fantastic ending. I mean before that last scene, this issue was probably around a 5 1/2 or a 6 for a score. But Daimon and that cliffhanger definitely pulled this comic up to a more respectable score. So could this issue have been better? Yeah, the Valkyrie parts, while giving us insight as to her motivation and why she's so hellbent on collecting the hammers were necessary, but they just bored me... I will say this, Wolverine vs Crossbones, in a small room for one of the Serpent's hammers is worth the price of the next issue right there, anything else will simply be icing on the cake.

Score: 7 out of 10.Daimon Hellstrom is awesome, period, end of story.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #5

Last review of the night is the continuation of the Fear Itself story... The more I think about this mini-series, I can't help but wonder, what exactly is the endgame here? Does Sin get her powers back? And if she does, then what? She'd be too powerful to be in Captain America's rogue's gallery, meaning I guess she'd end up facing the Avengers? I'm just not quite sure where this is all going... Eh, maybe we'll find out some more in this issue.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #5(of 12):

What Happened: The Thing reveals to Valkyrie that he allowed her to bypass the Baxter Building's defenses because he WANTED her to take the hammer he wielded during Fear Itself away, since he didn't want to fall under it's sway again. Valeria wanders over and helps the two free the hammer from the vault Mr. Fantastic locked it in(because god knows you CAN'T have a comic book featuring a member of the FF without Valeria showing up...), at which time Valkyrie leaves with said hammer. Meanwhile, Crossbones and some of the DOA attack the Vault to get the hammer that was being held there. Instead of securing it inside, Luke Cage makes the idiotic decision to bring the hammer into the battle, allowing Crossbones to knock Luke down with some magic before making good his escape with the hammer. This issue ends with Sin revealing that she intended to power one of the Red Skull's old Sleeper robots with the hammers... Really?!

The Good: I liked that we didn't get the obligatory Thing/Valkyrie fight in this one... Thing simply wanting her to take the hammer away made sense considering all of the terrible things it made him do... Although it does make Mr. Fantastic look like quite the ass for keeping something that was obviously disturbing Ben at the Baxter Building... As usual, the art was good.

The Bad: Sadly, most of the rest of this comic... The flashback in the beginning wasn't worth mentioning(which is why I didn't mention it!). The battle between the Thunderbolts and the Raft's staff and Crossbones and company was just plain bizarre... Why in the world would Luke Cage bring the hammer right TO Crossbones?! That was just horrible strategy! I hope I misunderstood the ending of this one(which is possible), because if the endgame here is for Sin to power up a giant robot with the hammers, that's just about the worst end to this mini that I could think of...

The Verdict: I can't say I liked this one much at all... The issues prior to this one were actually pretty good, but this particular issue just didn't do it for me. Between the stupid battle strategies, Valeria popping up to save the day(as usual...), and Sin powering up a giant robot, this one failed for me... Hopefully next issue we get back on track again.

Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.Oh look, it's Valeria! If there's a problem, you KNOW it's getting solved now!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #4

I'm going to review the next comic with the Good/Bad/Verdict format, just because. I know I usually do my Marvel reviews using the Review/Thoughts format, but I felt like a change. Yep, it was as simple as that.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #4(of 12):

What Happened: While Valkyrie is getting tips from a dwarf on how to spot weaknesses in any building and how to exploit those weaknesses to enter, Sin, Crossbones and their lackeys have managed to find one of the Serpent's hammers. Where you ask? Why where Namor himself hid the hammer, in the stomach of a massive shark. Sin's crew blow the shark up and go looking for the hammer, but are confronted by Namor(!), which prompts a “game over” from me. However, Sin uses some sorcery taught to her by her mysterious DOA allies and summons three immensely powerful and ancient creatures called Devourers, who... Well I think you can figure it out. Realizing he was outsmarted, Namor is forced to turn his full attention on the Devourers allowing Sin and company to snatch the hammer and make good their escape. From there we head back to Valkyrie, who had managed to break into the Baxter Building(!) and makes her way to the room holding the hammer the Thing had been using during Fear Itself. Before Valkyrie can get at the hammer, she is confronted by the Thing himself, who tells her that she wasn't getting that hammer without going through him first.

The Good: I could be smart and just say everything... This issue was pretty much non-stop action from start to finish. The Namor scene was great. Speaking of great, the cliffhanger was just that. Great. Honestly, story, art and dialogue came together perfectly here.

The Bad: Really? Another dwarf? Seriously, Marvel/Matt Fraction must have dwarfs on the brain or something... Have dwarfs replaced vampires in pop culture and nobody told me? Namor let Sin off too easily... He could have broken her arm or something before letting her go... I didn't see the point of the Valkyrie flashback to open this issue.

The Verdict: This was probably my favorite issue of this “mini”-series. Although, to be honest, this “mini”(sorry, but I hate the term maxi-series) has been surprisingly good from the start. Sure, the last issue was a bit lackluster, but the first two were pretty strong. Considering this series is little more than an obvious money grab by Marvel as they try to squeeze every last penny out of the Fear Itself event, I have to say, I've been very happy with the quality here. Here's hoping that continues for the next 8(!) issues.

Score: 9 out of 10.There's the Namor I know and love!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #3

Next up, the third installment of the biweekly Fear Itself: The Fearless maxi-series... Um, by this point, having typed up 15 reviews already, that's about as good of an introduction I can come up with...

Fear Itself: The Fearless #3(of 12):

What Happened: Valkyrie and the Secret Avengers(who vexingly have Shang-Chi amongst their number) manage to fight off a horde of vampires, but not before Sharon Carter is bit by one of the bloodsuckers. Valkyrie hands Sharon a magic Asgardian apple that will heal her(don't ask me...) before flying off with her Serpent hammers, leaving the Secret Avengers in her dust. However, some weirdos calling themselves the DOA report to somebody that they had managed to plant a bug in the bag carrying Valkyrie's hammers. As for Sin and Crossbones, their experiments on the hammers Crossbones had managed to collect yield good results for Sin as her magicians and scientists have managed to reactivate some power from the hammers. But she needs more hammers for more power and as such sends Crossbones of to get her the other hammers.

The Good: I enjoyed the fight between the Secret Avengers and the vampires. We seem to be creeping ever closer to Sin regaining her god-like powers.

The Bad: I'm getting sick and tired of seeing Shang-Chi... Seriously Marvel, not EVERY character HAS to be on the Avengers! They're not the Justice League... I haven't the foggiest who those DOA goons were, nor who they were working for. Seriously, Ant-Man, the Prince of Orphans and Shang-Chi? That's gotta be the worst assortment of “heroes” I've ever seen banded together! Valkyrie escaping as easily as she did was kind of disappointing.

The Verdict: Meh. I really don't have anything else to say about this comic. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that interesting to me. This was like the eighth new comic book I read tonight, so maybe I was just burnt out and this one was better than I'm giving it credit for. I doubt it, but maybe that's true...

Score: 6 out of 10.I know it's wrong, but I do like Crossbones...

Fear Itself: The Fearless #2

Next up is Marvel's attempt to continue to milk every red cent out of the Fear Itself event, in this case the Fearless mini-series. Yes I know this mini is a money grab, and yet I picked it up anyway, thus proving that Marvel made the smart move in releasing it!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #2(of 12):

Summary: The story here is twofold(well, actually threefold, but the WWII flashback stuff served no real purpose, so I'm ignoring it), with one part dealing with Crossbones, the other with Valkyrie. Both of them are hunting down the hammers that used to power the Worthy. First up is Crossbones, who is sneaking around the still silent Paris. Crossbones is aided by a magical doohickey which leads him to a group of people living in Paris's sewers worshiping the Serpent's hammer. Needless to say, a few seconds and many bullets later and Crossbones has acquired the hammer. As for Valkyrie, she comes across Raizo Kodo and his band of Forgiven vampires(!), who had managed to steal away the pieces of the Hulk's Serpent hammer from Dracula, as they promised they would at the end of the Fear Itself: Hulk vs Dracula mini-series... Props to Marvel for remembering that little piece of continuity there. Raizo battles Valkyrie one-on-one in a sword fight, and as they battle Raizo realizes that Valkyrie had every right to the hammer-pieces as an Asgardian, so he hands them over to her. Valkyrie heads outside where she is confronted by the Secret Avengers, who intended to take her in for stealing one of the hammers last issue. Before the Secret Avengers can make a move against Valkyrie though, they are all attacked by a horde of wild vampires.

Thoughts: No complaints here. The duel stories were well told, and the cliffhanger leading towards next issue was fine by me. With 10 more issues to go, we still have a long way to go with this series, but so far so good.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.Marvel sure is on a vampire kick lately...

Fear Itself: The Fearless #1

I know I should probably read all of my Fear Itself tie-ins before I read this comic, since it takes place AFTER the events of Fear Itself #7, but I can't resist the urge to dig into this book. I mean I've read Fear Itself #7, so I doubt this comic will spoil anything from the other Fear related titles... Or at least I hope not.

Fear Itself: The Fearless #1(of 12):

Summary: Back during World War II, Valkyrie swore that no thing of Asgard would rain destruction on the Earth after she defeated an Asgardian Snow Wyrm... In the present, Captain America is leading the rescue/clean-up operation in the devastated city of Washington DC when he is approached by Valkyrie. It seems that Cap has managed to collect most of the Serpent's hammers and had them locked away in various secure locations. Valkyrie doesn't like the idea of these Asgardian weapons of terror remaining on Earth, but Cap has zero faith that the Asgardians can watch over these weapons better than the Avengers can, and if I say so myself, Cap's lack of faith is completely understandable. Cap basically tells Valkyrie that this was a matter he wasn't willing to debate and that once the clean-up in DC was finished, he'd be asking all of the Avengers to join in the search to hunt Sin down. Speaking of Sin, Crossbones manages to acquire a flashdrive containing the location of all of the hammers the Avengers had managed to get their hands on. Crossbones hands the flashdrive over to Sin, who then sets out to reclaim the Serpent's hammers. Later on, aboard the Secret Avengers flying headquarters, Valkyrie is staring at one of the captured hammers. War Machine joins her and Valkyrie realizes that he was sent in there by Cap to keep an eye on her. It seems that Cap was right to be suspicious as Valkyrie suddenly attacks War Machine. The two battle briefly, but War Machine is unwilling to go all out in battle against an ally, which gives Valkyrie the chance to knock him out. When War Machine wakes up, all he finds is a destroyed containment unit and no sign of Valkyrie nor the Serpent's hammer.

Thoughts: You know, much like everything I've read thus far today, I really enjoyed this comic book... That doesn't happen very often! The story here is simple. On one side you have Valkyrie, who doesn't want to see Asgardian weapons lead to anymore widespread destruction on Earth. On the other side you have Cap, who is still hurting over the death of his best friend/protégé Bucky, unwilling to trust the “gods” to watch over these weapons. And then of course you have that damned Sin who is looking to regain her lost powers by gathering the Serpent's hammers. So you have an easy to follow story, good artwork and solid dialogue. There's not much more I could ask for here... The next issue comes out in two weeks and it should go without saying that I'm already looking forward to it.

Score: 9 out of 10.Damn those treacherous Asgardians!!!