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

Homecoming #1

Writer: David Wohl

Emilio Laiso - penciler, inker, cover

Michael Turner - artist, cover

[Michael Turner co-created this series]

Hunter is an average teenager who has just had a close encounter. But instead of an alien, Celeste, a teenage girl lands in his backyard – a girl who had been kidnapped/abducted eight years before – but she’s come back sporting powers. While Hunter is trying to help her fit into high school, aliens come for her and Hunter’s friends end up in the crossfire. Fortunately (or unfortunately…it’s too early to tell), Celeste can help heal them.

This title, co-created by the awesome Michael Turner (who also supplied a cover) is written by David Wohl. The story is a bit silly with a girl who doesn’t seem too phased by a faulty memory, having people in her house, or having powers. The story is all a little unbelievable and we don’t get to really like any of the characters in it. The artwork a little cartoony but it suits the story. Maybe this title has an inherent charm that will be easier to see a few issues down the road but for now I’m not coming back for #2.

Hawkeye #1

by Matt Fraction (writer), David Aja (art)

When he’s not fighting Ultron, Thanos, or (lately) the X-Men, he’s hanging out with his neighbors and standing up for them when his landlord triples the rent on them.

I’m not a Hawkeye fan. When he died I didn’t care and when he came back I didn’t care. I like the character but I’ve never been a fan of his stories. If he wasn’t a New Avenger or an Avenger I don’t think it would change the texture of those titles much.

But after this issue I’m rethinking my position on Clint Barton. After a terrific showing in this summer’s Avengers film, I was definitely interested in a fresh take on the character and Matt Fraction delivers. It’s heartwarming to see him bonding with his neighbors and a dog who saves his life and then is hit by a car. And we get to see that he’s just as dangerous with a playing card or a coin as he is with his bow. The artwork is gritty and makes everything look dirty and dangerous. The story does a little bouncing back and forth between right now and the past so it can be a little jarring at times but it’s so worth it. I might be collecting Hawkeye from now on.

Idolized #0-1

David Schwartz writer

Micah J Gunnell artist

Joule is looking for revenge. But first she’ll have to win Superhero Idol to get a spot on the world’s premiere superhero team: The Powered Protectors. Then she’ll have a clear shot at the villain Stasis who is responsible for her parents’ and sister’s deaths.

Idolized #0 does what any great, cheap primer issue is supposed to do – it introduces the concept and the main character and lays in a little look into the future to get us interested. Then #1 shows Joule’s actual tryout and completely fleshes out her backstory and why she wants revenge on Stasis.

While I found the reality show angle pretty boring it had Victoria Secret Supermodel Rachel Clark on the cover and…I’m only human. The story is actually really well told and the story promises that we’ll get to see Joule’s journey for a while before she’ll have her shot at Stasis. The artwork is a perfect companion whether it’s a conversation or a massive superhero battle. I think I’ll be back for a while.

Scarlet Spider #8

Story by Chris Yost

Art by Khoi Pham, Tom Palmer

When the Rangers respond to an incident at Roxxon Tower, Scarlet Spider finds himself dodging them while trying to prove Roxxon is dirty.

I haven’t seen the Rangers probably since West Coast Avengers #8 or since the “Handbook of the Marvel Universe” days so I was excited to see them on the cover. To be fair, I thought their names were The Texas Twisters but it has been decades since I’ve seen them in anything.

I tried Scarlet Spider #1 back when it was released and was less than impressed. But if this issue is any indication, Chris Yost has built this title into something special. This issue was fun to read and the art was excellent. I might have to get #7 to read the first part of this arc and see this arc through.

Avengers vs X-Men: Versus #5

Writer: Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron

Artist: Leinil Francis Yu

While Matt Fraction delivers on the fantastic Hawkeye #1, this story is confusing and doesn’t end in a clear victor. I’m not even sure of the stakes – is one trying to catch the other? I Hawkeye trying to capture Angel or escape from him? And Betsy’s a ninja – I’m sure she could have caught or dodged Hawkeye’s arrow.

On the other hand, Jason Aaron delivers one of the best stories I’ve read in some time. It’s written from both Storm and Black Panther’s points of view. The fight is fierce and heart wrenching and leaves wounds that look pretty permanent. I can’t wait to see what their relationship is like going forward.

Fantastic Four #610

by Jonathan Hickman & Ryan Stegman

AIM has purchased the island nation of Barbuda with the capacity to launch a nuclear strike on the United States. With so much at stake, the president assigns Reed Richards as America’s ambassador to Barbuda so he and the Fantastic Four travel to the island to…negotiate.

Jonathan Hickman is an outside the box thinker. AIM taking over an island might have been a good idea years ago but in the current Marvel Universe, the president would have sent the Avengers and the FF (who were with the president at the beginning of the issue) to stop AIM and arrest as many of them as possible. We just had World War Hulk, a superhero Civil War, a Secret Invasion, and loads of other stuff. And I know that Spider-Man’s spider-sense probably would have warned him about poison in the food in the commissary but he didn’t sense the FF were about to get ambushed. Or maybe there was a constant low buzz of danger but how did he know that didn’t mean his sandwich was poisoned?

The artwork was really good. It’s the first book I’ve picked up with Human Torch in it since he returned so I especially liked seeing him. I’m glad Spidey is still on the team. But I don’t think I’ll be picking up more issues.

The Fantastic Four loses a member *SPOILERS*

A few months ago Marvel announced that they were killing off one member of the Fantastic Four. As the FF is Marvel’s first family and a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe, people speculated on which member of the team Jonathan Hickman would kill off.


Then issue #587 dropped, complete with a black bag (shades of The Death of Superman), and it sold out immediately. By the time I got a copy (a week later), I was anxious to read it.

The surprising thing about reading it wasn’t the death itself but the fact that I didn’t see the news on who died anywhere on the internet (not that I looked for it). Usually, with a death this big I know who died a day or two later.

Back to the issue: I confess that I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I’m an FF reader through the Jonathan Hickman trade paperbacks – someone (Wizard probably) said it was great and I picked up the first trade.

I’m trying to go light on the spoilers but CNN already covered it here.

The Human Torch is dead.

I love a good death scene: Jean Grey (the first time), Captain Marvel, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Batman (Final Crisis), Supergirl (Crisis on Infinite Earths), Jason Todd, etc. The Human Torch’s death scene wasn’t a death scene – the last we see, he’s fighting against overwhelming odds. In comic books, there is a simple rule – no body, no death. He’s probably alive on that other world being held as a slave or in hiding or who knows.

Still, one of the things I like about a good superhero death is the reactions of those closest to them. In this issue you get to see Ben, Franklin, and Valeria’s reaction. I can’t wait for the next issue to see how Reed and Sue take the news and see how the rest of the Marvel Universe reacts.

The day after I read the issue, I saw an article on cnn.com that Spidey was taking Torch’s place, complete with new costumes and a new team name. I’m as excited about Spidey joining the FF as I was about him joining the New Avengers. Whether I’m actively reading any Spider-Man titles (the only one I really read is Ultimate and I’ve been getting Amazing for the Big Time storyline) I enjoy seeing him in team-up situations.

I really liked the story from a few years ago where Spidey teams up with the FF and Torch is angry because he clearly remembers Spider-Man had his mask off but he can’t remember his face. This of course, was a result of Spidey’s deal with Mephisto which made the entire world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man. At the end, Spider-Man unmasked for the FF and their memories are restored.

There are some that feel like Spider-Man is already oversaturated. I think that depends on whether you’re a huge fan who is collecting all the regular titles (not alt-universe stuff like Ultimate or young reader’s Marvel Age stuff) and you aren’t a fan of the idea of getting a Spider-Man title where he’s with the remaining members of the FF. For me, I get the titles that I’m enjoying and quit getting them when they’re boring.

I’m looking forward to seeing Spider-Man and what remains of the Fantastic Four bonding on a monthly basis under the skillful pen of Jonathan Hickman.

The Future Foundation