Best of the Rest! April 24th edition.

X here with the final Best of the Rest post of April.  Yep, we're almost in May!  Which is kind of surprising, because it seems like the winter JUST ended...  But yeah, summertime and all that stuff.  Anyway, this isn't a weather report, it's a comic post, so I should probably get to that.  As always, I'll toss a few thoughts on the various comics I picked up this week, followed by JT the Great, who will post a few reviews as well, only in blue text.  Um, other than that, get ready for a new Throwback Tuesday coming up tomorrow, typed up by none other than JT himself.  I'm sure he'll have something more to say on that coming up.  Okay, enough delaying, here's the first comic.

Teen Titans #19: Wonder Girl leads the Titans against Trigon, who's attacking New York.  This surprises Raven, since she was randomly brainwashing Beast Boy(seriously, where the hell did THAT come from?!), and hadn't been told an attack was coming.  Raven and Beast Boy join up with Trigon and attack the Titans, while Trigon gives Psimon(who was caught in the crossfire of this fight) enhanced powers.  The army shows up to deal with Trigon, and somehow this all leads to Psimon killing the army guys with a mind blast.  Trigon then magically disappears, while Raven seems pissed that he committed murder...  As for the Titans, they seem to think Trigon did all this to make them look bad in the court of public opinion...  First off, a confession...  I read this comic right after I read Young Avengers #4, and in plain English, the writing in YA makes this series look like crap.  Literal crap!  But, even if I hadn't read a series that's everything THIS series SHOULD be, I'd still call this issue garbage.  It made NO SENSE!!!  Trigon, the ruler of his own dimension, staged a fake attack on Earth to discredit the Titans?!  And Raven was angry that this led to murder?!  Wasn't she just mind controlling Tim a few issues back?!  In a battle between Trigon and the Titans, PSIMON is the guy who's instrumental in the finish?!  What the hell is wrong with Scott Lobdell?!?!?  Score: 3 out of 10.

Invincible #102: Thragg attacks Nolan, and we learn that Nolan was the rightful ruler of the Viltrumites by blood.  However, Nolan tries to tell Thragg that he has no interest in the throne.  That falls on deaf ears though, as Thragg is determined to kill Nolan.  However, the other Viltrumites randomly appear on the moon and attack Thragg, having heard his admission of guilt.  Nolan tells the Viltrumites to let Thragg go, and he takes over as their king.  Plus, Mark proposes to Eve.  What a weird issue...  SO MUCH happened!  I was chatting with JT, and he said it best, imagine if you missed this issue?!  You'd be SO lost come issue #103!  So yeah, Nolan is suddenly king of the Viltrumites(where did THAT come from!?) and Mark is getting married...  Okay then.  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

I, Vampire #19: Last issue!  Mary comes back to life empowered by Heaven(I think...) and helps Andrew defeat Cain and Lilith, as well as save the planet.  Cain ends up with Lucifer, who intends on tormenting him for the rest of time.  Tig is still alive(WHY?!?), and still evil, and leaves with another evil vampire.  Mary dies, having fulfilled what she had to do, and redeemed herself.  Andrew pledges to go after the evil vampires with his vampire dog.  I liked this issue.  Everything wrapped up kind of quick, but this was the last issue, and that happens in finales   I'll miss this series, and I'll definitely miss Andrew and Mary.  Joshua Hale Fialkov did a good job here giving us some interesting characters.  Score: 7 out of 10.

Morning Glories #26: So I was going to review this comic, but when I was done, I legit had no idea what I had just read...  And I don't mean in a "It sucked so bad I was confused" sort of way, I mean I literally don't know what I just read...  This is a series I should probably start reading 6 issues at a time instead of monthly, 'cause it's confusing as hell!  Score: NA

FF #6: Dragon Man realizes Bentley and Medusa are gone, so Scott sends She-Hulk and Ahura to inform the Inhumans.  Meanwhile, Scott and Darla humble the Yancy Street Gang.  This one ends with the Baxter Building being teleported to the Negative Zone.  I liked this issue.  It makes me feel like I kept the right Fantastic Four series.  I like the main characters, I finally like one of the kids(Ahura), and I'm hoping this Yancy Street Gang junk goes way on the back burner now.  Score: 7 out of 10.

A+X #7: First story sees Iron Man and Beast have to face an out of control Hulkbuster(that was reprogrammed by a slick Bruce Banner), while story #2 has Iceman and Thor battling Frost Giants.  Hey, you know what?  This issue?  It was actually GOOD!!  Like, both stories!  That may be the first time that's happened since this series kicked off!  I personally liked the Beast/Iron Man tale more, but both were solid, so hey, a win for this series!  Huzzah!  Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #4: This issue starts with Superman confronting Batman about not helping find his parents in the last issue, with Superman ripping the cowl off of Batman's face in a moment of rage. Their conversation ends when Aquaman starts attacking some hunters that are hunting whales. Green Lantern, Shazam and Wondy show up, but so do the Atlanteans, and they make the major mistake of attacking Wonder Woman. They engage in a fight which leads to Aquaman calling the Kraken to deal with his allies, but Superman shows up and makes Arthur call it off, while holding him by the neck. Aquaman calls it back but makes a power play bu having his forces stand at every beach around the world, to show Superman who runs the sea. Superman retaliates by having Hal encase Atlantis in an orb which Superman, Shazam and Wonder Woman lift and move to the Sahara desert. Well damn. Aquaman meets with Wonder Woman and agrees to pull his forces back if they return Atlantis, and asks her to tell Superman he's sorry about what happened with Lois. The issue ends with Wonder Woman telling Superman of Aquaman's deal, but not mentioning his condolences for Lois, further driving a wedge between the two men. I enjoyed this issue, it really goes a long way in showing how unreasonable Superman has become, how powerful Aquaman is, and how far this Wonder Woman will go to get what or should I say who she wants. Score: 8/10

Scarlet Spider #16: This issue opens with Madame Web, Julia Carpenter's letter to Kaine from a few issues back that he never received. It basically says he should leave and go to Mexico like he planned because "she" is going to kill everyone, whoever that is...maybe Aracely? The rest of this issue takes place at the Rodeo with Kaine and his wacky cast, with Kaine mistakenly hurting Annabelle's feelings by saying they can't be together. This is interrupted by a drunk hero-turned-villain named The Armadillo (Think Rhino...but as an Armadillo..) who shows up, breaks down the walls (Jericho style!) and cries about how his girlfriend, Daisy, left him. Scarlet Spider tries to stop his reign of terror by telling him he needs to let her go, because sadly the monster's never get to be with the girl, but she surprisingly runs up and takes him back, saying she didn't think he loved her anymore because he was distant. This inspires Kaine to try to be with Annabelle, which he does after knocking out her meathead ex-boyfriend and plants kiss on Annabelle, but unbeknownst to Kaine, Kraven and his daughter are watching from afar. The issue ends with a flashback to two days ago, as we see Annabelle burning the letter for Kaine from Julia. I really enjoyed this issue, they're still doing the monster card but this was better and we got some growth for Kaine, but we see Kraven is still in the game, and Aracely's powers are being used more. And I didn't see the ending coming at all, maybe Annabells is bad news. Man, these are supposed to be short reviews!!! Score: 8/10

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #22: In this issue, Miles tries to convince Maria Hill that he's not Spider-Man, but once word comes in Venom is attacking the hospital where his dad is, she tells him he'll get there first, and to save people but wait until the Ultimates are there to face Venom. He takes off, scaling a building in front of her and pursues Venom while his mom watches on. Venom manages to absorb Spidey but Miles' mom, Rio, starts shooting Venom with a gun she picked up off of a unconscious officer, telling Venom to give back her son. Venom grabs Rio but that upsets Miles enough for him to power out, sending the symbiote flying everywhere, leaving the man in the suit vulnerable as he's gunned down by police. Surprisingly, Venom is not Eddie Brock, but a black man named Marcus Conrad. Miles checks on his mom but finds that she's been shot very close to her heart, she's clearly proud of Miles but with her dying words tells him not to let his father know, as she dies in his arms. The next day Miles wakes up at Ganke's house as reality sets in that his mother is gone. He cries and rips up his suit, yelling "No More!" as the issue comes to a close. I really enjoyed this issue, with Hill knowing Miles' secret, seeing how proud Rio was of her son, you could see her face, excellent job by Sara Pichelli. The only problem I had was the fact that the villain was basically a no one but held a grudge against Spider-Man and his family, that seemed...odd but I'm sure they'll explain why he hated them so much. We've seen Peter throw the costume away a few times, but this seemed different, although we know Miles will stay Spidey. Score: 9/10

 Man.... I really gotta make these reviews more brief! Ah, what can I say, I like to paint a picture with my words. Anyway, that's it for this week's best of the rest post. I'll be back tomorrow with a comic picked by mi hermano, X, for Throwback Tuesday, and If you thought Perry White's Magic Cigars were crazy...wait until you see what the Man of Tomorrow was doing like sixty years ago. Anyway, til then, this is JT, signing off!

Injustice: Gods Among Us #3

Hey X-Maniacs, the final review of the comic week is Injustice: Gods Among Us #3. In related news, today is also the release of the Injustice: Gods Among Us demo, so go check it out and play as Batman, Wonder Woman or Lex Luthor, since only those three are available for the demo. Then come back here, give my your PSN Name, and I'll beat ya up when the game comes out later this month! Now, let's get to the review!

Injustice: Gods Among Us #3

Summary: This issue starts with the good ol' US of A getting ready to bomb someone when Superman steps in, destroys the missile. It seems the Government aren't too happy with Superman playing peacemaker, so The President gives them the order to take Superman's parents. They kidnap the Kents and burn their house to the ground, and Superman arrives there just in time to get a message from Mirror Master, as he's got the Kents captive thanks to the Government. He gives Superman a message, his parents will be safe as long as he stops getting involved with Government activities, which only incites the rage of Superman, and his loyal teammates. They go after the Rogues until they find Mirror Man, and once they do, Superman rescues his parents. The President is then paid a visit by Batman, who tells him his stupid plan has only served to unite Superman's allies. The President notices Batman didn't include himself as an ally of Superman's, saying he knows that too much power can corrupt someone, but Batman leaves without saying anything. The next story features Wonder Woman being confronted by Ares. Ares asks if Wonder Woman plans on replacing Lois in Superman's, but Wonder Woman doesn't answer, saying only she'll do whatever Superman needs. Ares realizes that if Superman and Wonder Woman stop all wars, he'll be powerless, and while Superman will do a lot, he won't do what's sometimes needed, but Wonder Woman will. He attacks Wonder Woman, planning to kill her now before she becomes a threat to him, but Superman shows up and helps out Wonder Woman. She quickly picks up her sword and slices off Ares' hand, then impales him through the chest, leaving him stuck in the ground. She tells Ares, he can have his hand back when he can be trusted with it, leaving the God of War battered and bloody, as she and Superman walk off, with Dianna still clutching Ares' hand. Ares lies there, contemplating what he'll become in a world with no war, as the issue comes to a close.

Thoughts: I'm kind of surprised to say I didn't care for this issue much. It wasn't bad, but I enjoyed the last two issues so much that this one fell flat. I thought going after Superman's parents just seemed like a stupid move that would make him more angry, and Wonder Woman treating Ares like a bitch for lack of a better word just made him seem way less intimidating, especially with her taking his hand like a toy from a kid. I did like the way the lines are being drawn in the sand, you can see Ares will obviously be pro Batman, because he wants to end the future reign of Superman and Wonder Woman, but other than that, not much really happened in this issue that was integral to the actual story or the game.

Score: 6/10

Batman: You don't touch a man's parents.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #2

Hey Todd Squad members masquerading as X-Maniacs, JT here with my first review of the week. Before I jump into that though, since this is the only DC book I review this week, I just wanted to say this about the Batman Inc. 8 thing that's sweeping the internet. If you haven't read it, skip down to the review because I'm going to spoil the HELL out of it! Alright... gone yet? Okay cool, so, Damian's dead or whatever, and this is something I couldn't wait for, that is before he started getting likable thanks to Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl run and Tomasi's Batman and Robin and grew on me. So I'll say this... Bruce... three out of five of your Robin's have died. You are a horrible guardian. You should probably just stop taking in Robin's.... Jason, Stephanie, Damian, each time you didn't get there in time... so... work with adults now... okay? Also, he'll be back... his mom put Jason in a Lazarus pit and she didn't even KNOW him... Now we return back to are regularly scheduled programming.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #2

(Edit: This is a pretty big review, so I spaced it in three parts for you guys... I'm nice like that.)

Summary: In the last issue of Injustice, Superman had just killed Lois, their unborn child, and the City of Metropolis, all thanks to The Joker's insidious ways. We start off with Bats asking Joker why he did it this to Superman, and Joker gives a line of the issue worthy answer, two pages into the issue. Wonder Woman goes to talk to Superman and he asks her to watch over Lois and makes a beeline for The Joker, as he's been taken to Gotham by Batman. Green Lantern tries to stop him but he bursts through his bubble, and then uses his super speed to take Hal's ring, causing him to drop from the sky. Superman catches Hal and places him on the ground, then takes his communicator and destroys it so he can't warn Batman. Superman heads to the Gotham Police Station where Bats is interrogating Joker, and Joker says he basically did this to corrupt Superman, but Batman says Superman is the best of them and nothing could corrupt him. He's soon proven wrong as Superman breaks through the wall and sticks his hand THROUGH the Joker, as Joker's torso engulfs his elbow, leaving Batman shocked. 

Next, we see Harley Quinn in a cop car, as she breaks free after killing the two officers transporting her to Arkham Asylum. Turns out she heard over the police radio that Joker was dead and just snapped. Harley stops at one of Joker's safehouses and changes out of her prison gear to her Harley clothes and is confronted by Green Arrow, but Harley surprisingly gets the drop on him. As she's about to smash Ollie's head in with a mallet, it squeaks because she made a mistake and grabbed a toy mallet. She pulls out a real gun and Ollie jams the barrel with an arrow, which makes Harley giddy like a child and she asks him to do it again. Oh Harley, you lovable fool. Ollie obliges and does it again, this time with a net arrow, and constrains Harley. Harley asks if he's taking her to Superman, and he says no, he won't stand by while a superhuman squashes her like a bug, but he's also trying to stop a friend from making a big mistake. Ollie gives her a arrow with knock-out gas to...knock her out, as Harley proclaims he sucks and passes out. She wakes up in Green Arrow's underground lead-lined Arrow Cave, and makes fun of how stupid that name is. She asks why he doesn't call it something that makes sense, like The Quiver, to which Green Arrow says that actually is better. HA! As Ollie's leaving, Harley describes her love for The Joker, and it sounds a lot like the women that have loved Ollie, because they forgive him, then he does something terrible, and they forgive him again. Before Ollie leaves, Harley asks him to give her a maniacal laugh to cheer her up, but she says no, so she puts on a fake mustache which causes Ollie to laugh. (It makes more sense if you read the comic, I promise.) 

From there, we see Superman in the Fortress of Solitude, still covered in The Joker's blood and with a bit of a beard, so it's been a few days, as he hears a bunch of news reports but focuses on one about a War in Bialya. Superman proclaims "No more." and flies to Bialya, saving a small boy and then apologizing for not being there sooner. He then flies to Bialya's Capital building, grabs their president and flies him down to the war-torn area of the people he's supposed to protect. Suerman then strips him of his shirt and tells him he's no longer in charge. Wonder Woman arrives and tells Superman that he's being filmed, and he says he has something to say, but she tells him she will call a press conference at the United Nations, and she should wash the blood and shrapnel off of himself and shave, and then he'll say what she's been waiting for him to say since they first met. At the Press Conference, Superman says he's sorry, and he failed them. He reveals himself as Clark Kent and he says for too long he's reported on crimes and reacted to them. He says he will not allow monsters to roam free and hurt people, and he's calling an immediate world-wide ceasefire. He doesn't care if you're a Terrorist, King or President, you don't have the right to take innocent lives, and that everyone will stop all hostilities immediately, or he will. The issue ends as we see Superman say "It's over."

Thoughts: Goddamn this comic was amazing. I don't know where you've been hiding, Tom Taylor, but I will gladly read any comic you write. First things first, the first act or whatever you wanna call it was amazing, seeing how easily Superman was able to stop Hal from slowing him down, hearing Joker's reasoning for messing with Superman, and the debate Joker and Bats had about whether Superman could be tainted, then seeing Superman just impale The Joker with so much rage in his eyes, I loved it. I also really enjoyed seeing Harley snap, as well as seeing what may be a new crush in the form of Green Arrow. That was an odd duo to see together but it worked, the goofy humor, the way Harley was written here was fantastic, and Ollie realizing that in a weird way he's no better than The Joker when it comes to women was interesting and it kinda fit for Ollie, since he's a known womanizer. Lastly, seeing Superman finally do something myself and X have been lobbying for every since the amazing Superman/Batman "Super/Bat" arc from issues 53 to 56, Superman has finally decided to stop world-wide crime, which is something Batman did when he got Superman's powers. It makes sense now, as with no Lois, no job, no friends really outside of the Caped Community, that he'd do this. I was already really excited for the Injustice game but this series is doing an amazing job of making me even more excited for it. So if you couldn't tell, I loved pretty much everything about this issue. Now that said, we know Joker is in the game. My thoughts are either somehow he didn't die...which would be shocking, or he's in the game's story mode for flashback purposes only or stuff that happened before Clark kills him, but I guess we'll see.

Score: 10/10

Batman: This has always been about us. Why did you do this to him?
Joker: Every time you and I play, I lose. I was getting a bit bored of always losing. I thought I'd try this on easy mode for a bit. And it was easy.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #1

Hey Todd Squad, JT here with my final review of the week, and it looks to be an interesting one. For those not in the know, DC Comics has a fantastic looking fighting game this April called Injustice: Gods Among Us, and this comic works as the prequel for that series, since the game will have a vastly different DCU than the one we currently know, so let's see what kind of world we'll be dealing with.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #1

Summary: This issue starts things off with Clark waking up at night excited because he's heard two heartbeats coming from Lois, so she's obviously pregnant. An excited Superman wants to keep Lois home and safe but Lois being the stubborn woman she is says she'll be fine and Superman agrees, knowing how tough Lois is. Superman wastes no time finding Batman, who is in Metropolis to investigate something for STAR Labs, and tells him the good news, and even asks Bruce to be the future Son of Steel's godfather. From there we jump over to the docks to see a story Lois is investigating with Jimmy Olsen, when suddenly Jimmy is shot through the lens of his camera and killed by none other than The Joker. Joker and Harley kidnap Lois, and when Superman eventually finds Jimmy dead the next morning and a Joker playing card, he finds Batman and says he can't find Lois. Batman, who was investigating stolen Kryptonite from STAR Labs, who had been using it to see if they could cure diseases with it, calls in the Justice League to help find Lois, and we see Flash, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and the like checking in. Flash covers quick ground and lead encased places and comes across the body of the Scarecrow, who looks to have been killed with Joker Toxin. At the docks, Wonder Woman uses her lasso on one of Joker's Henchmen to find out he and Harley hijacked a Submarine, which Superman quickly finds and places on the beach. He rips open the submarine and finds Joker and Harley dressed in scrubs, seemingly operating on Lois. Superman drops to his knees because there's Kryptonite venting through the air ducts and Superman is surprised to see Doomsday there as well (?!) Superman, thinking of protecting Lois and the baby (which catches Harley off guard) attacks Doomsday and flies him into the sky as Joker and Harley try to escape but their caught by Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash and Batman. Batman goes to investigate the Submarine but stops when he notices Scarecrow's Fear Toxin is in the submarine. Bats asks Joker where Lois is, and he says he operated on her, and she's the trigger to the Submarine's warhead (which is missing), and that when her heart stops, so will every heart in Metropolis. Batman winders why her heart would stop and puts together that Joker mixed his the Scarecrow toxin with Kryptonite so that it could enter Superman's lungs. He calls Superman, telling him to stop and whatever he was seeing wasn't real, and Supes is able to stop himself just as he realizes he's flown Lois into space and stopped her breathing, because he'd mistakenly thought she was Doomsday. Joker smiles, asking Batman if he knew Lois was pregnant, as Batman spins around and clocks Joker, and suddenly the Warhead, which was hidden in Metropolis explodes, taking the city with it, as Batman, wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Joker and Harley look on at the explosion.

Thoughts: Now thats how you do a prequel. Holy hell this issue had a lot to it. I saw Lois dying coming a mile away after the pregnancy thing was announced, but I didn't expect her to die at Superman's hands. That was an excellent twist, because for all intents and purposes, he's going to kill Joker now. He has to, and of course Bats won't let him, so there's the dissension. Plus, not only did Superman lose Lois and the baby, but he also lost his buddy Jimmy Olsen AND Metropolis. Superman is directly responsible for the Death of Metropolis and his wife and kid, thanks to The Joker... That story kinda made his story in Death of the Family look small by comparison. I really enjoyed this issue though, It was great, everything worked, the characters felt genuine, and Joker beat Superman... and it MADE SENSE... now we get to see Superman's descent into madness, which should be fun.

Score: 10/10

The Flash: Sorry. I know carrying you is a bit... awkward but it really is the quickest way.
Batman: Just go fast enough that no one can see us.