Marvel NOW review: Avengers Assemble #9-10, Avengers #1-2, Avengers Arena #1-2, A+X #1-2, Cable and X-Force #1-2

Avengers Assemble #9-10 by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Stefano Caselli

Avengers Assemble is one of Marvel’s best books on the stands. It’s a fun, simple book that doesn’t get weighed down by continuity. Issue nine, Tony and Bruce have a disagreement about their views on technology. When a camp in Antarctica can’t be reached after their head scientist goes missing, Tony and Bruce make a bet that each can locate the missing scientist first. Tony takes Thor with them while Bruce recruits Spider-Woman. When the teams get to the camp however, they find mysterious monsters and the bodies of the remaining scientists.

GOOD: There’s a lot of humor in issue nine either stemming from each man’s failed attempts to convince a fellow Avenger to join their team or from the rest of the team monitoring their progress. I like Captain America’s confrontation with the main bad guy on a plane and Captain Marvel saving him at the last minute. It’s just a fun two issues.

BAD: Nothing I can think of.

Avengers #1-2 by Jonathan Hickman, Jerome Opena, and Dean White

When the Avengers get to Mars to stop Ex Nihlo and his crew from destroying the Earth as we know it, they are easily captured in Captain America sent back to Earth to warn them that change is coming. So Captain America does something that he and Tony have been talking about, making the Avengers roster larger. Now Captain America is going to return to Mars with reinforcements.

GOOD: I like seeing the reactions the team members had to being recruited – especially Sam and Roberto’s. I like seeing how the team comes together and I like the unique mix of characters. For a post-Avengers vs X-Men issue, I like that we don’t have to mention it. But I can’t help to think about the first time the new X-Men got together to fight Krakatoa because at the end of issue one the Avengers are all tangled up in vines.

BAD: I don’t know if it was the coloring or the artwork but it looked odd. It takes two issues to get the new team together and we don’t get to see them in action at all. With two issues to get into the action we also don’t get to see the new team members bond.

IN CONCLUSION: Not a great title. I didn’t enjoy Jonathan Hickman’s run on the Fantastic Four and I don’t think I’m going to enjoy his run on the Avengers either. Maybe I’ll check back in and a few issues to see if it’s any better, but for now I’ll stick to Avengers Assemble.

Avengers Arena #1-2 by Dennis Hopeless, Kev Walker, and Frank Martin

Arcade has kidnapped 16 teenagers from the Avengers Academy, the Braddock Academy, and from their homes to participate in the new Murder World based on “a couple kids’ books” he read in prison. The rules are simple: last man standing in an environment surrounded by force fields, festooned with booby-traps, and it’s every participant for themselves. The heroes try to stop him but Arcade proves to be too powerful for them. To prove that he means business he decides to take the first life and kills Mettle in front of Hazmat.

GOOD: Arcade has always been elaborate with his games so it makes perfect sense that he might put the young heroes in a Hunger Games – type scenario. It’s also a very cool way to do something like the Hunger Games in the Marvel Universe. And taking Mettle out at the end of the first issue was a great way to tell the reader that no one is off-limits.

BAD: In the other Avengers’ titles, no one is looking for the kids. I don’t know where this issue fits into continuity but that bothered me. Also after the great setup of issue one, we have to sit through the origin of another character who may or may not make it to the end of the series. Also for a bunch of teenagers were also heroes, they aren’t exactly acting like it. I know that the writer is trying to go for an atmosphere of fear and distrust and teenagers are probably the perfect target for it, but I don’t like how quick they were to divide up and get paranoid.

IN CONCLUSION: A nice idea but there aren’t enough characters that I care about participating with the exception of maybe Darkhawk, X-23, Hazmat, and Reptil. It’s not enough to bring me back for third issue. And considering how long one year takes in the Marvel Universe, it could be a long time before we see the end of 30 days.

A+X #1-2

A+X is a title that presents two stories per issue. It is meant to show one Avenger bonding with one X-Man.

Captain America & Cable by Dan Slott & Ron Garney

Cable jumps into the past to stop Trask from altering the timeline by building Sentinels for the Nazis.

The Incredible Hulk & Wolverine by Jeph Leob & Dale Keown

Wolverine and the Hulk are arguing over the last piece of cake when Maestro and Old Man Logan jump back into the past looking for the Red Hulk.

Black Widow & Rogue by Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend

On a rare day off, Black Widow is forced to take on a Sentinel with Rogue’s help.

Iron Man & Kitty Pryde by Peter David & Mike Del Mundo

Resilient is looking to hire Kitty Pryde but she accidentally unleashes a squad of Brood. When the Brood get ahold of some of Iron Man’s armor and Kitty phases through it, stopping the Brood and destroying the armor, Iron Man realizes that having her around, “would be like Superman having a piece of kryptonite around.”

GOOD: It’s a nice way to reinforce the new status quo by showing Avengers and X-Men working together. The Black Widow and Rogue story was the only diamond in the rock pile of stories. I liked the creative use of Rogue’s power to use Black Widow’s sniping ability with her permission. It was a very cool team up. The Cable and Captain America story was really good, but if it really happened in continuity Captain America would have remembered Cable the first time they met so it’s a fluffy story and not really substantive. The artwork from all except the Kitty Pryde and Iron Man story was great.

BAD: I already covered the Captain America story being too fluffy. The Wolverine and Hulk story had no context for me who hadn’t read the Old Man Logan story. So unless that was the beginning of an upcoming storyline, that story didn’t mean much. And as far as the Kitty and Iron Man story, despite the fact that she is “kryptonite” to him, Kitty is brilliant and would be an asset to a company and with all of her X-Men training would be an asset to the Avengers. But here’s my question: Tony trusts Bruce but Kitty is a liability? The artwork in the Kitty Pryde and Iron Man story looked too cartoon-like for me.

IN CONCLUSION: This is another Avengers/X-Men book but doesn’t add anything to the overall books. I understand the AvX books that this is modeled after did add background to the Avengers vs X-Men miniseries but this book is all over the place in terms of tone and continuity. I would be more interested in seeing this type of interaction in a book like Peter David’s X-Factor where this mix of characters is getting to know one another while beating up bad guys.

Cable and X-Force #1-2 by Dennis Hopeless & Salvador Larroca

Hope and cable are reunited as X-Force embarks on their newest mission but they have to do it fast because cable is dying (again).

GOOD: Finally Hope is interesting again. She’s every bit as tough and resilient as Cable taught her to be.

BAD: I don’t know what X-Force’s mission is. And Cable dying is extremely boring at this point – he’s been dying since the day he was created. With the exception of Domino and Colossus, there’s no one on the team I care about. Domino I just find interesting but Colossus has been less interesting since telling his sister that he would kill her if he ever saw her again. And did I mention that title seems pointless?

IN CONCLUSION: A good Cable story is rare and I didn’t think this title would be great but I gave it a try. I will be back for the next issue.

Captain America #1-2 by Rick Remender, John Romita, Klaus Janson, and Dean White

Captain America and Sharon investigate the subway car traveling in ancient line abandon decades ago when he is captured and transported to Dimension Z by Arnim Zola. A year later Captain America and the baby he saved, Arnim Zola’s son, are trying to survive in an environment that is constantly trying to kill them.

GOOD: This is a very interesting story and of course John Romita’s art is fantastic.

BAD: I don’t notify by a story in which Captain America is marooned in Dimension Z for a year. Also, he doesn’t seem too worried about the humans that were also in the subway car.

IN CONCLUSION: If Captain America has been taking care of a child for a year I expect that to have real consequences once he rejoins the mainstream Marvel Universe. It would be great if he and Sharon adopted the boy as they were talking about marriage in the first issue. Though I am pretty sick of all the little-kid bad-guy clones floating around - the Fantastic Four have one, the X-Men have one, and now Captain America has his very own.

This is a pretty good book if only for the reason that I’m interested in the consequences of this adventure and the impact protecting or losing the kid will have on him. I’m also interested in seeing Captain America and Sharon take it to the next level. I might be back for the third issue.

Fantastic Four #1-2 by Matt Fraction, Mark Bagley, Mark Farmer, and Paul Mounts

Reed Richards’ body is breaking apart at a molecular level. What’s worse is that he suspects the rest of the teams bodies might be doing the same. With no known cure the solution seems obvious: explore unknown universes looking for the cure. Reed sells this to the team as a one-year family vacation with Franklin and Valeria and keeps them in the dark about his condition.

GOOD: Each teammate find their own replacements while they go on vacation (which was only supposed to be for four minutes). Those conversations were a lot of fun to watch. Finally a title with just the six family members and not the Army of supporting cast we’ve also had to read about.

BAD: So let’s see… Cable, Beast, Peter Parker, and the Fantastic Four are dying? I can already see my vote for most overused storyline of 2012. I understand why he doesn’t tell the rest of the family spare them and the kids from worrying. I just wish he was just taking a vacation with the kids for a year without looking for some kind of cure.

IN CONCLUSION: The added specter of death doesn’t do anything to up the ante in this title. Like I said, dying has been played with a lot this year. If it was just the team and the kids’s exploring new universes for a year it would be a fresh storyline but adding the search for a cure in makes the story feel less important. Of course it is Reed Richards, and he’s a pretty impersonal person (he created Mombots to take care of Franklin and Valeria when he and Sue are not there) so I completely see him being more interested in exploring and spending time with his family. After the last few years of storylines it would’ve been nice to have seen a more cheerful beginning.

FF  #1-2 by Matt Fraction, Michael & Laura Allred

Reed Richards calculated that the year they spent exploring would only feel like four minutes in the real world. So the Fantastic Four found people who could take their place for the four minutes they were gone. But something obviously went wrong with Reed’s plan so Antman, She Hulk, Medusa, and Torch’s popstar girlfriend, Darla Deering will have to be the Fantastic Four longer than they’d planned.

GOOD: We get to see the original FF team’s conversations with the new team from a different angle. I like that Antman has a strong negative reaction to taking care of kids after losing his daughter and the thought of taking care of the children at the Future Foundation for even four minutes is unthinkable. I like that he’s now in a position where he has to take care of them so that should be very interesting to watch. I also like the selection of Johnny’s popstar girlfriend as one of the team who suits up in a Thing-like suit of armor.

BAD: Some people are really big fans of Michael Allred’s artwork but I’m not. If I only had to put up with it for an issue I would let it go but it looks like he’ll be the regular artist. And when some version of the Human Torch comes out of the portal and obliterates it behind him, suggesting that the rest of the team is dead, I think I yawned.

IN CONCLUSION: With some version of the Human Torch alive, there’s no need for Darla Deering to be on the team and, honestly, reading more about her on the team would’ve been really interesting. And the whole, “Reed is dying,” “the Fantastic Four are dead,” stuff is old and used up. In the Marvel Universe – no body = no death. And even when there is a body, there’s always a way to bring the character back to life. There isn’t enough interest in either new Fantastic Four title to pick up a third issue. I just want a writer to tap what makes that team truly great which is that they are a family that has a real life outside of being superheroes and how much fun that can be.

The covers to Avengers #1, 2, 3

Quick Reviews

Avengers Assemble #1-2 by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley

The movie-lineup roster of Avengers goes up against a group known as the Zodiac.

GOOD: Bendis & Bagley are consistently amazing together. Bendis writes a story that easily teams the movie lineup of Avengers without making it seem forced and while making that story actually exist in the mainstream Marvel Universe continuity. Mark Bagley effortlessly delivers page after page of fantastic artwork (what else is new?).

BAD: Nothing yet.

VERDICT: It’s a little lighter in tone from the other Avenger titles on the stand which makes it stand out to me. It might be a new fan’s gateway to the Marvel Universe. It’s a fun read and I look forward to picking up the trade paperback.

Amazing Spider-Man #683 by Dan Slott & Stefano Caselli

Spidey and the Avengers go up against the Sinister Six and come up short.

GOOD: Spidey punching ‘Al Gore’ and the many cool gadgets in his armor.

BAD: These aren’t fair criticisms since this is part 2 of an arc I don’t have part 1 of. I didn’t know how Spidey got armor or how Doctor Octopus is holding Earth hostage.

VERDICT: I will get this TPB. The Avengers vs The Sinister Six with Doc Ock dying? Dan Slott usually doesn’t disappoint and I bet, in context, this issue will be great when read with part 1.

Avengers Academy #27-28 by Christos Gage & Karl Moline

Chase’s psychic connection to Old Lace is active but the team saw her die. The Runaways’ search for Old Lace takes them to Avengers Academy and to another dimension. But if Henry Pym and Tigra have their way, the juveniles of the group will be taken away to be raised somewhere safe.

GOOD: I’ve loved the Runaways since their first appearance. While they pop up in books around the Marvel Universe, the stories vary in quality. While the story might first appear pretty standard, when Henry and Tigra argue with the team about taking Molly & Klara away, Reptil suggests Nico use magic to make everyone there understand everyone else’s point of view. This leads to the last 10 pages of #28 packing a lot of emotional impact and giving each team a deep connection one another. And I love that Old Lace is back – she’s all Chase had to remember Gertrude by. It’s a great story and one all Runaways fans should read.

BAD: I’m not generally an Avengers Academy fan so at first I only cared that the Runaways were in it (though between this and X-23’s appearance, Avengers Academy has been pretty good and might deserve a serious look).

VERDICT: I’m absolutely getting the TPB volume that includes this story.

Supurbia #1 by Grace Randolph & Russell Dauterman

A neighborhood of superheroes, secret identities, and scandalous secrets.

GOOD: Great introduction to all the various characters who skew their archetypical roles (like Batsu, a Wonder Woman-like warrior who is serious, deadly, and raising three normal children).

BAD: Nothing yet.

VERDICT: I think it’ll be worth getting a few more before deciding on getting the TPB. I like regular superhero books but I also like a little soap opera drama and, in the absence of Noble Causes, this book is poised to take its place.

Fairest #1 by Bill Willingham & Phil Jimenez

Ali Baba, Prince of Thieves, discovers a bottle but instead of a genie, it contains a bottle imp. When the imp promises to locate treasure, he directs Ali Baba to a camp full of goblins where he must wake a sleeping woman with a kiss.

GOOD: A few Firefly references were very welcome. A good, solid story that was very entertaining.

BAD: I quit Fables long ago – that means I got bored of it. But this book is good which means I might have to re-explore Fables. And that could be expensive.

VERDICT: Good story + Adam Hughes cover = I’ll pick up the next few issues.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #6 by Scott Lobdell & Kenneth Rocafort

When Red Hood is hurt on a mission, a mysterious orange woman helps him recover. This is the story of how Red Hood meets Starfire.

GOOD: Great story and dialogue. A fun first meeting between 2 heroes that doesn’t start out in a misunderstanding where the two fight each other which is a nice change of pace. The story really dives into who these two are people and how they relate to their pasts.

BAD: I was initially pretty irritated at the first two issues of this series. I thought Starfire was badly written and severely mishandled. I was obviously mistaken.

VERDICT: It might be worth picking up the first TPB of the series to give this series a fair look. It might be that I’ve overlooked a fantastic title (it wouldn’t be the first time).

Daredevil #10 by Mark Waid & Paolo Rivera

The Mole Man empties a cemetery looking for the body of a woman he once knew. Unfortunately for him, one of those bodies is Matt Murdock’s father.

GOOD: Good story that stays true to Matt’s core values, emphasizing justice and law over revenge.

BAD: For a guy who commands all kinds of fearsome creatures, Mole Man is mostly alone. And his fighting skills are almost Daredevil-level? WTF?

VERDICT: I’ve been hearing great things about this title and this story suggests I should pick up a few more issues and give it a chance.

The New Avengers #24 by Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato, and Will Conrad

The Avengers #25 by Brian Michael Bendis and Walt Simonson

The Avengers & The X-Men are about to have throw down in a big way. These two issues delve into life right before everything hits the fan.

GOOD: Good stories.

BAD: It sucks that a lot of the Avengers/New Avengers tie in issues don’t have much to do with the main event. If it starts with the Avengers about to go at The X-Men or in mid-battle and then cuts away for some side adventure that has nothing to do with the event on the cover, it’s irritating.

VERDICT: I’m a huge fan of both titles and will still get the hardcovers, I just wish during the actual events, the stories were more about that event. Actually, I wish Marvel would take a year off from ‘events’ and get back to telling stories.