Weekly Comic Review for 6/26/13
This was a big week so I’ve got a lot to go over.
All-New X-Men #13 – As the original X-Men head off with Kitty and Logan to investigate the faked attack by the team, Alex Summer’s announcement airs sparking a discussion about whether the term “mutant” is derogatory or not. After tracking down Mystique, Sabretooth, and Lady Mastermind (who are trying to buy Madripoor for some reason), the team takes on the villains. After some mental manipulations by Lady Mastermind, Jean starts showing signs of the Phoenix Force. I wonder where this will lead.
Avengers Arena #11 – First, we see that Nico officially has an X over her picture. Then we catch up with Hazmat and Reptil who have been on a beach relaxing since Reptil recovered. They’re all alone until the crew that Nico teleported away lands on the beach. After some arguments and debates, Hazmat finally gets over her issues and they head off to deal with Apex. Overall, not a whole lot happens. It’s another boring issue with no real interesting progress.
Batman/Superman #1 – I’m not a big fan of either character but I figured I would check out the first issue. The issue starts off with Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent meeting for the first time in Gotham City. We get a lot into their head spaces through the issue. We also see Batman and Superman (in his old t-shirt and jeans outfit) meet for the first time while checking out the same mission. What they find is Catwoman acting crazy. (We see later that she seems to be possessed.) Then, an explosion sends Superman into the future where he sees the Batman of the time who is familiar with Superman but prepared for a more powerful one. The story is actually really interesting and it’s fun to see what each of the heroes thought of each other early on. If nothing else, I want to see where this first story arc goes.
Justice League #21 – I don’t normally pick this title up any more but I wanted to see what was up when I noticed it was about Shazam. It’s good to see them fleshing out the character. It’s also interesting to see Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. (calling himself King Shazam) get their powers as well as powered up versions of the other kids and Tawny too. (At least he isn’t the anamorphic talking tiger.) Pedro looks good all buff with a beard, but it looks like their powers may have been short lived. In the long run, Black Adam ends up dying, the 7 Deadly sins were released (though I’m sure we’ll see them more with the Trinity of Sin storyline), and Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind meet up which can’t be a good thing. I wonder if we’ll see Shazam get his own title.
Justice League of America #5 – So, did Catwoman die? Of course not despite the funeral cover. Not with her own title. It was just Martian Manhunter (who gets another backup story to explain what happened) and the team keeps battling the Society. They reveal the power behind the house was Cronos who was an agent of A.R.G.U.S. that the team saves. We still don’t know who it is behind the Society though since it’s not actually the Joker. It’s just a matter of seeing where the team goes next now. I’d like to see a backup story for Stargirl since she’s the only one without a monthly series or at least appearing in another like Simon Baz has.
Larfleeze #1 – Can a character like Larfleeze sustain a series of his own? I guess we’ll find out the hard way. We start out with Larfleeze on an asteroid with Stargrave (wasn’t he a Legion villain?) and an orange power ring running out of power. One thing he doesn’t seem to be running out of is stories. We get to hear every bit of his history from birth to getting the ring. When the ring doesn’t run out though, we found out he’s a living orange power battery. He’s also more dog-like than usual. As expected, we end the issue with him getting in trouble with a big bad. I thought he was annoying before. I don’t think I can take this title, especially given the artwork in the issue.
Red Lanterns #21 – Hal needs a spy in ranks of the Red Lanterns. His first thought is Guy Gardner since he’s been one before. So, Guy heads off to Ysmault where the other Red Lanterns are trying to kill Rancorr to get his ability to create red constructs. He ends up fighting Atrocitus to get his own red power ring. The only problem is that it’s Atrocitus’ ring and we all know what happens when a Red Lantern loses his ring. Will Dex-Starr be able to save him?
Scarlet Spider #18 – Last issue, Kaine killed Wolverine. This issue, he has to get his help. What? You really thought he was dead? The two head off to face the Assassin’s Guild. Meanwhile, Beast runs some tests on Hummingbird and finds that she is human but may be possessed. Back in New Orleans, Wolverine and the Scarlet Spider meet the Red Death, the woman behind the recent assassinations.
Teen Titans #21 – It’s the Titans vs. Raven’s three brothers. They do a good job, especially with Raven on their side. After being bad following the Phantom Stranger’s betrayal, it’s odd to see her good again so fast. I wonder if she’s going to join the Titans after this. Well, that will all depend on what’s left of them after Trigon’s intervention at the end of the issue.
Young Avengers #6 – After the Young Avengers broke up, Speed did his own thing. After losing his mutant powers and not finding a place elsewhere, Prodigy did the same thing. They both end up at the same tech company. While there, the find someone (or something) breaking into the building wearing Patriot’s original costume. Is it a ghost? Who knows. All I know is that I was wanting Speed back and I’m left unimpressed. I guess I could even say I’ve been waiting for the return of the Young Avengers and this has been garbage compared to the original series or even the Children’s Crusade mini-series.
Ten books this week and it’s a mix of good and pretty bad. For my top 3 recommendations, I’ll go with Batman/Superman, Justice League, and Justice League of America. It’s pretty sad that given the number of books that I had to pick from, I was lucky to get these 3. The level of storytelling has really been lacking as of late.
