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!

Fantastic Four #569

This is the last issue of the Fantastic Four I'll be reading for the foreseeable future. Why? Because my subscription runs out with this issue and I think I can find better ways to use the $20 it would take to re-up for a year. Sorry FF. Anyway, this issue is written by Mark Millar and pencilled by Bryan Hitch... Hey, no it's not! The story is Mark's, but the scripting duties have fallen to Joe Ahearne. Not only that, but Bryan isn't on pencils here, Stuart Immonen does the honors. Well, with all that out of the way, onto the story!

-The FF is under attack by FF's from several different dimensions. The Marquis of Death explains to the team that he has agreed not to destroy the Earth's of the attacking FF members if they kill the FF of Earth 616... Yes, this is going to be VERY confusing. Upon learning from Reed that the Marquis is actually a future version of Clyde Wynchem, Ben decides to go and kill Clyde in the present, thus ending the rampage of evil, future Clyde... And nobody on the team lifts a finger to stop him... OOOOK...

-Reed whips up some kind of fancy doohickey(I believe that's the technical term)with the help of his daughter Valerie and Ben arrives at Area 87, which is where Wyncham's younger self is being held. The Marquis Apprentice tries to stop Ben, but Ben simply punches him, knocking him out of the fight... That was easy! Ben arrives at the dream machine, which has been keeping Wyncham sedated and before we learn what he does, we head back to the Baxter Building, where the horde of evil FF members have finally gained entrance. Valerie turns the machine her and Reed where working on and all of the invading FFers are knocked unconscious.

-At that moment, the Thing teleports in with Wyncham, who was told by Ben that his evil future self is running amok. Upon learning of the actions of his evil future self, Clyde decides to help the FF stop the Marquis. The Marquis arrives and battles his younger self through countless dimensions. Eventually experience triumphs over youth and Clyde is defeated by the evil Marquis. The Marquis gloats about his success and Reed tells him that the machine that knocked the invading FF members out also gave all of their powers to him and his three teammates. The FF then attack the Marquis with their powers enhanced to the nth degree, finally putting him down.

-Reed wants to put lock the Marquis away, but the rest of the team wants him to die for all he's done... Wow, Mark's version of the FF is pretty kill happy! Before anybody can do anything, the Apprentice reappears and puts a force field around both himself and the Marquis. The Apprentice then takes the mangled mask of Dr. Doom off of the fallen Marquis' face and reveals that he(the Apprentice)is in fact Doom! Doom explains that it took him millions of years, but that he eventually tricked the Marquis into making him the Apprentice, and that Doom has always been waiting for just the right moment to strike back at the Marquis... Wow, that seems needlessly complicated. Anyway, Doom taunts the FF with his usual lines, such as, "I'm smarter than you Reed" and "I'll deal with all of you at a later time" before killing the Marquis once and for all and leaving.

-With all of that nastiness out of the way, we go to the wedding of the Thing and his fiancee, Debbie Green. Ben never shows up, which causes Reed to fear the worst. Debbie on the other hand figures Ben has just gotten cold feet and she heads to his favorite watering hole, O'Leary's bar. Sure enough, Debbie finds Ben there and Ben explains to her that he can't marry her because of the danger it would inevitably put her in. Reed(along with a mess of super-heroes)finally manages to track Ben down and Debbie tells them the wedding is off, but that her and Ben are still friends... Yeah, sure! This issue ends with Reed buying Ben a drink.

Meh. I never really got into this storyline, probably because I never read the 1985 mini-series Clyde Wyncham was introduced in. I'm glad Doom was able to save some face by killing the Marquis, because to put it in plain English, the Marquis had really made Doom into his own personal bitch during the early part of this storyline. Of course, with a new creative team coming in next issue, everything that has happened during Mark's FF run will probably wind up being completely forgotten. I was really hoping Mark would have been able to breath some new life into Marvel's First Family, but alas, that was not to be, we mainly received the same old, same old. Oh well. For a score, I'll give this comic a 6 1/2 out of 10. If you read and enjoyed 1985, you'll probably like this comic, if not, it would probably be best to steer clear.Anybody who uses the word "Henceforth" is alright by me!

Out to lunch...

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to post any new comic related stuff tonight. Why? Because school is fast approaching(less than two weeks now!)and I've got all of that fun(NOT!)financial aid stuff to sift through. With financial aid, I'll be able to continue to buy a ridiculous amount of comic books while working towards my degree, so needless to say, it is WAY important that I get this paperwork filled out. Besides the back to school preparation, I picked up Civilization Revolution for my PS3, and I spent most of the day playing that game. Tomorrow I should have a few reviews up(probably Fantastic Four and Avengers: Initiative)and I also plan to have a post dedicated to the back issues I read over the course of the week, I'm just not sure how that post is going to go. Well, that's it for tonight, it's time to get to work.

A VERY Quick Look at Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2(of 3)

Right off the bat, here's a disclaimer: I HATE Weapon Omega and I really don't like Cloak and Dagger either. Seeing as those three characters are involved in 2 of the 3 stories in this comic, that's should tell you right there why this is going to be a very brief post.

-The first story features Cloak and Dagger and is written by(my hero)Paul Cornell, with Leonard Kirk providing the pencils. Cloak and Dagger are destroying a field of drugs in Columbia when Mr. Everything, Norman Osborn drops in and asks them to join his Dark X-Men. At first the duo scoff at Osborn's offer, but after Osborn tells them he would provide them with government intelligence on drug runners worldwide, Dagger decides she and Cloak will join up.

-Story 2 is about Weapon Suck... Oops I mean Weapon Omega and is written by Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman, with art by Michel Lacombe. Omega is working at a construction sight, trying to make amends for killing my beloved Alpha Flight... Yes, that's right, I am a PROUD(and probably slightly insane)Alpha Flight fan! Osborn meets up with Omega and reveals that MGH(Mutant Growth Hormone)was accidentally leaked into the air during a nearby battle. MGH gives people mutant-like abilities for a brief period and Omega's fellow construction workers(who have unknowingly ingested the MGH)begin to drop like flies because Omega is around. Osborn promises that if Omega joins the Dark X-Men Hank McCoy himself will dedicate his time to helping Omega out. Omega agrees and we learn that Osborn was responsible for the MGH leak and that the Hank McCoy who will be working with Omega is actually Dark Beast.

-The final story is written by Rob Williams with pencils by Paco Diaz, and is about Daken. Osborn tells Daken that he'll be joining the Dark X-Men whether he likes it or not. Osborn explains to Daken that he is nothing more than a mindless brawler who has no thoughts other than killing his father, Wolverine. Osborn acts like a smartass and tells Daken that he is obviously insane, and that if he knows what's good for him, he'll follow Osborn's orders. Daken surprises Osborn by revealing he is much more cultured and well-educated than Osborn could have ever imagined, and that Osborn actually doesn't know anything about Daken, while Daken knows everything about Osborn.

Eh, I knew going in that I wasn't really going to enjoy this comic and sure enough, it didn't impress me. All the stories were OK, but my raging hatred for some of the featured characters hurt my overall reading experience. If you are a fan of these characters then this is the book for you, if not, my advice would be to steer clear. For a score, I'll go with a 5 1/2 out of 10.Who knows, maybe this image will actually happen in the near future. Then again, I doubt Norman Osborn's giant disembodied head will be there when Daken whacks Wolvie.

A Quick Look at Guardians of the Galaxy #16

This is another War of Kings x-over issue and is written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Wesley Craig provides the pencils.

-Starhawk manages to transport several of the Guardians to the year 3009, in order to show them exactly what will become of the universe, since they continue to doubt her words. The Guardians get to meet the classic Guardians(which is pretty cool)and learn the universe winds up getting destroyed by something called the Fault 1000 years in the future due to Black Bolt activating the T-bomb in the past.

-All that's left of the entire universe is the solar system and to make matters even worse, the remains of the solar system are under the control of the evil Badoon.

-Speaking of the Badoon, they attack the twin Guardian teams and destroy the only remaining time machine, thereby stranding the Guardians from the past in the sucky future.

-Starhawk sacrifices her life and the Guardians manage to escape on a spaceship, but have literally nowhere to run. While avoiding the Badoon, the future Guardians reveal that the Badoon have managed to capture all the remaining Celestials and are using the energy from the Celestials to keep the universe from destroying the solar system.

-Cosmo comes up with a last ditch plan to telepathically send a warning back in time to Adam Warlock, through one of the Celestials, telling Warlock to stop Black Bolt from detonating that bomb. The Guardians invade Badoon central and fight their way to a Celestial and Cosmo sends the warning through it. Sending the warning back in time seems to destroy the few remaining Celestials, which allows the Fault to enter the Milky Way, destroying it and all of creation in the process... Whoops!

This was an alright comic book, although I will admit that some of it went WAY over my head. I'm not sure why sending a message back in time caused the Celestials to die, but it did. I'll be interested in learning how the hell the Guardians are going to come back from the universe itself dying! That is going to be pretty tough to survive! For a score, I'll give this issue a 7 out of 10. Normally I love this comic, but the War of Kings x-over stuff is really taking away from the story. Thankfully next issue is the last of the War x-over, which should lead to this series returning to its former glory.

A Quick Look at Nova #27

This comic is written by the stellar writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and drawn by Andrea Divito. Oh yeah, this is also a War of Kings x-over issue.

-Nova(along with two other Corps members)arrives on Kree-Lar, searching for his missing brother, Nova Corps member Robbie Rider. The Shi'ar forces on Kree-Lar are being supplemented by King Blastarr's troops from the Negative Zone. Needless to say, Lord Ravenous, the leader of Kree-Lar is in BIG trouble.

-Robbie is still holding Strontian down in Ravenous' palace hoping that some members of the Nova Corps will arrive to help him arrest the insanely powerful Strontian.

-Nova bumps into King Blastarr and tells him he is only looking for his brother, and that he'll be out of Blastarr's hair once he locates him. Blastarr allows Nova 15 minutes to find Robbie and get off Kree-Lar before he sends his own army into the palace to kill Lord Ravenous for his Shi'ar allies. Blastarr's Shi'ar allies complain about Blastarr's deal, but Blastarr reminds them he only promised HIS troops wouldn't attack the palace, leaving the Shi'ar troops to attack Rich and his fellow centurions.

-As Rich approaches Ravenous' palace he finally hears from Robbie through his communicator. While Rich is speaking to Robbie, he hears screaming coming from the other end of the communicator and then silence. Rich charges into the palace and is met by the sight of Strontian standing over his lifeless brother and Lord Ravenous, ending this issue.

Needless to say, it's on next issue! I enjoyed this issue a lot, as a matter of fact, this is the first issue of Nova since the War of Kings x-over stuff began that I've really enjoyed. If Robbie is indeed dead, as the conclusion of this issue suggests, I have to say I'm not overly surprised. Robbie doesn't really serve any purpose now that Rich is Nova Prime again, and his death will provide Rich with a few issues of grief and guilt, which is always fun to read about. Plus, it gives Rich a mortal enemy in Strontian, who is powerful enough to take Rich on, even with him powered by the full Nova Force. For a score, I'll give this issue a 8 1/2 out of 10.Kneel before King Blastarr!!!(Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

A Quick Look at Justice League of America #35

I hate to sound cruel(that's not really true!)but I'm so happy last issue was Dwayne McDuffie's final one as the writer of the Justice League. This comic book has deteriorated drastically since Dwayne replaced Brad Meltzer as the writer. The next few issues of this comic will be written by Len Wein, but he's only doing fill-in work until new scribe James Robinson takes over. With Len serving as a temporary writer, don't expect any major, Earth-shattering stories here. As I stated earlier, Len Wein is the writer while Tom Derenick and Pow Rodrix provide the pencils.

-The Royal Flush Gang breaks into a Las Vegas Casino and proceed to seal themselves up inside, along with a mess of hostages. The Gang then contacts the police and tells them that if every casino on the LV Strip doesn't pay $25 million bucks, they intend on killing the hostages one by one.

-The sad remains of the Justice League(for the record, Vixen, Firestorm, Dr. Light, Red Tornado and Plastic Man)arrive at the casino and enter. We then get a big brouhaha, with the League battling the Gang while trying to protect the hostages. Once the League gains the upper hand, the Gang causes a distraction and retreats.

-As this comic concludes, we learn that the Gang managed to steal some nano technology in the casino and that the hostages were just a diversion. We also find out that Roulette and some fat guy named Amos Fortune were betting with each other on which team would win in the casino... OOOOK...

That was kind of weird... Up until the overly complicated ending, the story was pretty good. I guess Len decided to complicate things because this story has to last another issue, but the ending revelations just seemed unnecessarily tacked on. Oh well, for a score, I'll give this comic a 6 1/2 out of 10. If not for the ending, I probably would have gone even higher.If you want some respect Plastic Man, you should get a better costume!

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #3(of 5)

After hearing the wonderful news that Paul Cornell will be bringing back THE greatest comic book character in Marvel history, Nate Grey(big thanks to Matthew Hex for alerting me!), I figured today was as good a day as any to read the latest issue of Mr. Cornell's Young Avengers mini. Obviously Paul is the writer, while Mark Brooks provides the pencils.

-We begin with the Young Avengers pairing up with one of the New Young Avengers and watching how they operate against some losers from Hydra. If the New Young Avengers can impress their designated Young Avenger chaperon, they'll be invited to join the Young Avengers. Stature and Big Zero didn't get along at all, Patriot and Melter hit it off, Wiccan and Hulkling were enchanted(HA!)by the Enchantress, and Speed and Coat of Arms also got along well. Egghead and Vision were at odds with each other and Hawkeye(Kate Bishop)and Executioner didn't see eye to eye, but more on that later. After Hydra was defeated, the two teams returned to their bases to discuss how things went.

-While the Young Avengers were comparing notes on how the New Young Avenger they were observing did, Kate divulged that Executioner knew her secret identity and was threatening to release it to the authorities if he wasn't allowed to join the Young Avengers. Upon learning this news, the team began to plan what their course of action should be.

-The New Young Avengers spoke to each other about their master plan, which seems to be to trick the Young Avengers into letting them join the team. However, Melter and Coat of Arms seemed to be warming up to the idea of becoming true super-heroes.

-This issue ends with none other than Norman Osborn spying on a conversation between Executioner and his mother, Princess Python of the Serpent Society. Osborn then asks an assistant to find out which member(s)of either team has killed somebody, and to have him alerted whenever one of the Young Avengers calls... Wha-huh???

I was enjoying this comic up until Osborn's appearance... Is it written somewhere that Osborn MUST appear in EVERY Marvel comic book??? Jeez... Anyway, the story is slowly coming together here, with the New Young Avengers obviously not being what they seem, and the Young Avengers finally beginning to realize that. I will admit to being a bit confused by what the master plan of the New Young Avengers is.

The leadership structure of the New Young Avengers is also a bit foggy to me. Although Coat of Arms is supposed to be the leader, Enchantress seems to have the most pull with her teammates. On top of that, Executioner also seems to have his own plans, plans that are separate from the plans of his teammates. Even though the story is still a bit all over the place, Paul is doing a great job with the character development. Almost all of the New Young Avengers have interesting little back stories developing. For a score, I'll give this issue a 7 1/2 out of 10. This was a good comic that has me interested in reading the next issue.Why look, it's Norman Osborn! Is there a Marvel comic book he isn't currently appearing in???