Posts Tagged ‘ Secret Warriors ’

I think I’ve cracked the basis of Marvel’s next big crossover/event/bannering of titles/whatever we’re calling it this week.

I mean I probably haven’t, but there’s nothing wrong with a bit of speculation, right?

There have been two teasers released so far (I expect more this week) – one with Spider-Man and the other Cyclops – both asking ‘What do you fear?’.

Spider-Man, being the worry-wart he is, apparently fears the failing economy, recession and a lack of street-cleaning:

Cyclops, meanwhile, with the weight of the world on his shoulders and obviously feeling the burden of leading mutantkind fears becoming exactly like a man he’s hated most of his adult life – Magneto.

The common thread here is obviously fear. I’d imagine we’re going to get some more – how much do you want to bet that one of them features Iron Man and a bottle of bourbon?

In any case, judging from the ads, the event kicks off in April – the same month, if my calculations are correct, that Secret Warriors will hit issue #27 – the series’ final issue. You know what happened a couple of issues back in Secret Warriors? Ares’s son Phobos was killed by Gorgon.

This all seems unrelated until you consider that Phobos is the God of Fear, and back in Secret Warriors #10 Ares told him he would have to die one day to ascend to true godhood (or something like that).

So – you have a God of Fear who may be reincarnated at full power from a comic series written by one of Marvel’s ‘Architects‘, which happens to end the same month as an event starts highlighting fear as a major factor.

Supposition? Speculation? Hell yes. But you heard it here first!

Secret Warriors wants to be a good book. Marvel wants it to be one of those books which, like the Bendis-penned Avengers titles, really ‘matters’ in the shared universe. Jonathan Hickman appears to want it to be a Nick Fury book.

And you know what?

If it was a pure Nick Fury book, I’d be more into it. Even with the ‘everything you know is wrong’ approach of the book – S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been an arm of Hydra! The Contessa is part of the group that controls Hydra! Fury has a network of ‘caterpillars’ waiting to be activated! Fury, Contessa, Strucker and a bunch of others are all part of the Zodiac! – it could be a good book, if that was what it was sold as.

But no, it was sold as a book about Fury’s team of ‘caterpillars’ and now, nine months in, we still don’t have much of an idea who these characters are and why they’re willing to throw their lives away following Fury. The exception to this are Daisy, who seems to fill the role previously held by Maria Hill – ie, be shouted at, have short hair and serve as exposition – and Phobos, who provides a convenient tie to Osborn’s Dark Avengers team through his father.

The other guys? I really have no idea – I can’t even remember their names, truth be told.

The fact is, no matter how much back matter and diagrams Hickman throws in the back, this is not a particularly good book. Sure it’s ‘integral’ to the Marvel Universe but it’s dull and more than a little smug. Back matter and what I’m sure is a well-plotted arc doesn’t make up for the fact that the comic itself does a poor job of (a) selling its characters and (b) explaining the plot in the pages of the comic itself.

The murky coloring of the art doesn’t help either.

I had high hopes for the book but frankly, it’s a stinker.

Nice covers, though.

Last week was a huge week, so let’s get to it (some spoilers below) -

Detective Comics #854 – Beautiful artwork, solid story – and that’s on both Batwoman and The Question co-feature. I have to say that I like this version of Kate Kane more than the version we met in 52. Like the look, like the base, like her dad helping…good stuff all around.

Gotham City Sirens #1 – Store I went to was out. Maybe next week.

Green Lantern #42 – A bit of a let down, partly because I find Blue Lanterns of Hope stupid, partly because I find Larfleeze a daft villain, and partly because I’m sick of all the Lanterns just assuming that the Guardians are right, or at least being unwilling to question anything. This is on the endangered list post-Blackest Night.

Justice League of America #34 – Adequate wrap-up to the Starbreaker arc – although I still don’t really get why Cowboy Batman was there and the revelation about Sun Eaters being larvae Starbreakers is pretty much nonsensical. Let’s move on, already.

Superman #689 – A so-so ‘day in the life’ issue, with Valor touring the world and having splash page adventures in every country he visits, along with a one-panel inset where he sees something beautiful. Aw. Yes, it’s as cloying as it sounds.

Amazing Spider-Man #598 – Darker than usual, with Spidey getting a fistful of torture from Bullseye while Harry flounders and Norman proves he has a prediliction for blondes around his son’s age. Also, nodbody’s surprised that this guy seems to have been forgotten by everyone. Can it be? Did OMD delete Sins Past? Because if it did, I’m all for it!

Astonishing X-Men #30 – I asked last week if anyone still cared about this title. The answer is probably not. I’m kind of pissed off that Ellis killed Forge after turning him a little more crazy, though. I always liked him. Beautiful art, though.

Avengers The Initiative #25 – Good solid wrap-up issue as we get the new status quo of the Initiative. Lots to like here – dropping Gravity into the GLA is a genius idea (mini series, please!); I like the idea of the Avengers Resistance – especially with a newly-revitalized Tigra leading it; and Gauntlet sucker punching Ares out of the window of Avengers Tower. Good stuff.

Dark Avengers #6 – So. Norman’s still insane. Sentry’s still useless as a character. Mike Deodato still draws exceptionally well. And the cover doesn’t represent a single thing that happens in the issue. Still good fun.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1 – Okay set-up issue for the crossover, but I’m becoming less and less a fan of Fraction’s work on the X-Men, and that carries over here a little. Also, I’ve never been a fan of ‘torn from the headline’ stories, and Proposition X and Proposition 8 are a little too close for me to fully embrace the story yet. Oh, and the apparent treatment of Xavier seems a little pointless given the amount of time we just spent traipsing around the world with him getting him back. And, even though I’m told otherwise, I still think the Loki thing was a screw up.

Dark Reign Lethal Legion #1 – I picked this up because Tieri promised Crusher Creel. Well, he’s in it, barely, but I’ll forgive the false advertising. The majority of the issue focuses on Tiger Shark, in prison, telling how the current Lethal Legion – him, the Grim Reaper, Creel, Mr Hyde, Nekra (who also popped up in Utopia, oddly enough), the Grey Gargoyle and a final mystery member – got together and got set up. I’m not sold on the flashback-heavy structure of the story, but it’s got potential. Oh, and the art by Mateus Santoloco is very reminiscent of Darick Robertson.

Guardians Of The Galaxy #15 – The Guardians wrap up their War of Kings involvement in typical strong fashion; Moondragon’s not the woman she used to be; Warlock might be the man he will become and used to be (look, it makes sense); Crystal’s no helpless hostage; Lockjaw might be god (at least if you’re Cosmo) and Groot is Groot. Simply awesome. What comics should be.

Incredible Hercules #130 – Slight misstep this time out as Zeus gets put on trial, simply because he’s such a pompous ass that you really don’t want him to be saved. That said, there’s some good stuff with Cho and his parents (and Aegis, of all people), and Hercules’ speech in defence of his father is great. So even when this comic’s isn’t firing on all cylinders, it’s still better than 90% of the comics out there.

Nova #26 – A great book, but I’m not a fan of the reintroduced Corps. I don’t want a second rate Green Lantern Corps, I want Rich Rider. Let’s get this back on track and I won’t even mention that Robbie Rider’s supposed to be missing a finger, okay?

Secret Warriors #5 – Best issue so far, and the first one not to feature the team. What does that tell you? That nobody cares about the team because their characters haven’t been developed at all? Probably.

Skaar Son Of Hulk #12 – Some smashing and more than a few surprises. A light, fun read – and there’s more to Skaar than meets the eye. I’ll be picking up Incredible Hulk #600 to see where Skaar and his dad land next.

Thunderbolts #133 – Okay, well…if Black Widow isn’t who we think she is, who is she? Tasha? Mystique? This just got a lot more interesting between that, her real boss, Ghost’s connivingness and Eric O’Grady potentially stepping up in a big way. On top of that there were more examples of HAMMER’s gestapo-like tactics and the welcome return of Songbird. One of Marvel’s most unpredictable titles right now.

Uncanny X-Men #512 – So. Looks like it’s not just Greg Land’s static posing that makes Uncanny a bit of a mess right now, is it? Fraction is not on good form here. The whole X-Men science team thing seems like a good idea but plays like a second rate Planetary, to be honest.

X-Force #16 – The Messiah War concludes with not so much a bang as a whimper. A pity, because it had been pretty good fun up to hear – but at this point its difficult to see what, if any, changes to the status quo of either books this story has really made.

X-Men Forever #2- It feels a little wrong that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. From a page-long soliloquy from Nick Fury to hearing a sound in a corridor, to Wolverine apparently having adamantium hair, there’s so much wrong here that it’s difficult defend. And yet…and yet…it’s still strangely great.

Proof #21 – As much as I like the concept of this book, I think I’m about done. It’s well done, but over the last few arcs it feels like its lost its way – and that’s a damn shame because for a while there it was one of my most anticipated books. I’m out after the conclusion of this arc.