Here's Johnny!
So, here's the deal. I'm going to review last Thursday's comics now, so that I can just start fresh this coming Thursday. I don't have Doomwar #2 because I forgot it came out, and due to hospitalisation someone had to go get the comics for me. I will add that to this post on Thursday.
The reviews of Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #9 and Prelude to Deadpool Corps #3 will be small because not much happens.
Just as a bit of a Marvel heads up, Chris Evans (The Human Torch from the Fantastic Four movies) has been cast as Captain America! Thrilling...not. The guy can't act to save his life. This is the second time I've felt worried and underwhelmed by an acting choice, the first being Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
Anyway, to the good stuff!
THE MAST'S NOTE: Now with added Doomwar #2!
Prelude to Deadpool Corps #3 of 5.
Part three of the prelude to Deadpool's newest on-going series, Deadpool Corps, is not really that good. It's actually pretty useless.
Dogpool can't speak and thus the events and dialogue are left to other characters and it's all rather boring, especially following the excellent last issue.
It basically just ends with Deadpool picking Dogpool up and disappearing through the portal after rescuing him from the circus. The next issue should be good as it features Headpool, then it's onto Deadpool Corps.
Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #9.
Just as this series was hitting the stride of its second story arc, we get word that it's being cancelled after issue #13. Typical. The Deadpool issue being met with, as far as I can tell, the most acclaim, gets cancelled.
Anyway, Deadpool is holed up with Doctor Betty and Professor Veronica in their camp for survivors. Deadpool loves the life he leads here as he never has to do any work and just gets to eat all day while watching TV. This arrangement gets even better when Professor Veronica reveals sexual interest in him. Deadpool eventually gets a little stir crazy and asks if there are any missions for him, to which Professor Veronica obliges. Deadpool is to go retrieve a live zombie and bring it back for testing, naturally a hazardous task and naturally Deadpool doesn't care.
The promise of sexual relief upon the mission's success is an even greater incentive and so Deadpool goes about his business. He brings a zombie back after catching it in a net, dressed as a zombie, and proceeds to reap his reward from Professor Veronica.
When he sees that she no longer desires him due to her feminine needs being satiated, he decides it's time to leave the dimension and sets off with Bill and Doctor Betty. Unfortunately they are confronted by three zombified Marvel characters who followed Deadpool back to the base when he took their friend. This is where the issie ends.
It's quite a reasonable issue with a few laughs, but besides that, I don't think there's much to it. It's real sad that there are now three issues before the series ends because there's nowhere near enough time to get a good conclusion or build-up out of all this, I feel. Oh well. One less Deadpool on-going, at least.
That is unless they choose to make the upcoming four-parter, Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War, an on-going. At least we're gonna be back to three.
Doomwar #2 of 6.
As it stands, Doom is in control of Wakanda and T'Challa (Former Black Panther) and Shuri (Current Wakandan Princess and Black Panther) have decided to wage war in hopes of taking it back, rescuing Storm (Queen of Wakanda) in the process.
In this issue we don't see much more than a bloody battle in which Wolverine advises Shuri not to lose control of herself. T'Challa storms the palace and is eventually made to choose between Storm, being held at gunpoint, or the vibranium supply of his nation. Doom counts down from five to one, but T'Challa elects to say nothing. Doom thanks him, then disappears. A gigantic metal door closes that has "Checkmate" written on it.
I'm not exactly sure what this issue was meant for, but it seems purposeless. I guess we'll see. I'm curious as to what involvement Deadpool will have when he joins in, or when this is set. I am curious because lots of people who seem like they're meant to be in other places, are here in this book. Continuity errors? Who knows.
Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #5 of 5.
I don't particularly know where Realm of Kings has gone. I honestly don't.
It went from a horrifyingly delicious space horror saga to...nothing. It's the end of one of the two mini-series' they've given us and literally nothing has been resolved. What happened to the Evil Avengers from The Fault? What happened to the supposed monstrous threats inside The Fault?
I don't know if all of these questions have been answered since I stopped reading Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova (Can someone let me know in a comment?), but I doubt it.
Anyway, this issue is still really good. It carries off from the last issue where Gladiator showed up to defend his Imperial Guard against the threats of The Fault. It's essentially a really big, space-born fight issue...and that's refreshing considering how political this series got. Gladiator is my boy and he kicks major ass in this issue, MAJOR ass.
A couple of the Guard fall to the Evil X-Men imposters from The Fault, but eventually they all win out, destroying the Xavier brainship and returning home. Obviously, this isn't the end of The Fault. Gladiator meets up with Quasar on the Starjammer (I think) and hears of the horrors contained within the monsters' homeworld at the end of The Fault.
He then shows up on the Kree homeworld, drops the head of the Xavier brainship and tells the council that they must all unite and put differences aside, because a thread is on its way (Remember, Quasar told him) and it's extremely deadly.
The issue then ends and it gives us a teaser picture for The Thanos Imperitive. Now, Thanos is my fucking dude. I love Thanos and I'm overjoyed that he's coming back as part of an epic cosmic story. I just hope it is an add-on and closure point to Realm of Kings, and that Realm of Kings isn't just...done.
We'll see, I suppose. I'd probably only recommend these comics that have relevance to Realm of Kings if The Thanos Imperative turns out to be relevant. Otherwise, it's an aimless series with an aimless end. I still can't bring myself to accept it's all over, though, given this series' end.
Dark Avengers #15.
This issue is EXCELLENT.
Bear in mind, I'm reviewing these after reading them on Thursday, so details may be hazy.
This issue offers flashbacks to the meeting Norman Osborn had with his cabal in the Siege: The Cabal one-shot. It reveals a lot more to that scenario that was previously known, actually. Sentry, as The Void, was present and talking to Norman Osborn and it was Sentry that attacked Doom and prompted his retaliation. When Dr. Doom's robot exploded and sent the tower into disarray, the comic switches perspective and shows the whole ordeal through the eyes of those escaping the building (Remember, this is all pre-Siege).
Bullseye (As Hawkeye, remember) opts to take Lindy (Sentry's wife) in another helicopter under the ruse that he's transferring her to a secret island base. This obviously isn't true, we know from the last issue that he has been asked to eliminate her by Osborn.
As the building is attacked by lots of Doom's bugs, Osborn looks at The Void and tells it that he needs Bob, thus Sentry returns in his normal form and begins saving the building and those in it. The comic's most perfectly constructed scene is the one between Lindy and Bullseye in the copter. Bullseye psychologically lures her into thinking she's safe before chipping away at her resolve by saying that she holds Sentry back.
He proposes that Sentry could be dating anyone and have a million groupies, as well as fame, if he wasn't married to her. He leans in close and she slaps him, for which he thanks her. Bullseye then proceeds to choke her to death before dropping her in the ocean.
Upon arriving back at Avengers Tower, they all ask where he's been, but Sentry asks where his wife is. Bullseye says she couldn't take it anymore and that she jumped out of the helicopter somewhere over Jersey. Sentry morphs into The Void and demands to know what was done to his wife, choking Bullseye in the process, but dropping him upon deciding that he believes Bullseye's lies.
Sentry flies off to find her and Osborn orders Victoria Hand to tell the White House that they were a victim of an attempted Latverian terrorist attack. When asked if that's true, Osborn eerily says:
"Why would I ask you to tell the White House something that wasn't true?" and walks off.
She sees Bullseye and Osborn make rather awkward, but knowing, eye-contact and seems very shocked, as if she just discovered something. Thus, the issue ends.
I gotta say, man...I'm sad that this series ends next month. The cast of Dark Avengers, as well as Bendis's ability to write the characters, has made for a truly amazing series. I definitely recommend that you buy all of the trade paperbacks, there aren't many.
Deodato's art is a sheer and utter joy to behold. It's as if this is the true representation of any character he draws. He is, without doubt, one of the greatest comic book artists out there. I look forward, with salivating mouth, to his work on Secret Avengers.
Siege: Embedded #3 of 4.
A relatively simple issue, Siege: Embedded #3 of 4 details Ben Urich and Will Stern's escape from pursuing H.A.M.M.E.R. agents. They get split up eventually, with Will fighting one of them and Urich stowing away on a news helicopter.
He realises he didn't choose his spot well upon being told that they were all going to the battlezone itself, to Asgard.
That's essentially all the issue is. Urich arrives fairly close to Asgard, while maintaining a safe distance, and begins to observe the surroundings, as do the rest of the journalists.
Urich observes more than he bargained for, however, when he witnesses Asgard crash to the ground, its walls crumbling (See why in the next review!).
This mini-series didn't go as well as I'd hoped, even though we have one issue left. I thought it'd be a more...close-to-the-front re-telling of the siege on Asgard, as opposed to being three issues of him trying to get there. Still, the writing's decent, so props to Brian Reed there.
Is it worth getting the trade paperback? Ehh, it depends. I have love for Ben Urich because of my connections to Daredevil, but if you're not at all concerned, then don't worry.
Siege #3 of 4.
Let me start out by saying how long I'd waited for this. I've waited for this for what seems like forever. It's the main reason I actually insisted that someone go get me my comics while I was in the hospital.
The third installment of Siege's four parts is a divisive one. It's not any different from the prior two in that it has stunning art from Olivier Coipel and solid dialogue from Bendis, but it also feels like it's lacking a little. A very enjoyable issue, but it's essentially a fight scene that sets up for the big finale in issue #4.
In a darkened room we see President Obama and his people observing Asgard, wonder what action to take, or if any actuon can be taken due to Osborn's defiance. It's at this moment that the combined might of Avengers teams show up heroically and Captain America's (Steve, at this point) shield smacks Osborn in his face (Very awesome, I must admit).
The battle ensues with the combined force of all Avengers teams taking on Osborn's Avengers and others. Meanwhile, Speed delivers the metal briefcase to Tony Stark as told by Jarvis. Maria Hill holds him up at gunpoint first, before Stark rises from his bed and, still bandaged, tells Speed to bring the briefcase to him. This was a very exciting scene, I have to admit.
Somewhere in all this chaos, Sentry finds Thor as per Osborn's asking and asks, chillingly with a pale face and red eyes:
"How many Gods must I kill today?". Thor smacks him with little effect and red, spider-like glowing tendrils begin to sprout from his back. This exchange continues, with Thor trying to obliterate him with a lightning, again to no avail.
The battle continues with the good side getting a fair bit of the upper hand. Osborn is blasting away frantically, getting into a fight with Cap, before his armour begins shutting down. Iron Man appears, old school armour and all, and tells Osborn if he wishes to say anything before the armour shuts down and Cap pulls his head off.
Osborn screams at Sentry not to let them win, telling him to "bring it all down". With that, and to Thor's horror, the red-tentacled Sentry actually takes Asgard down, either destroying it or critically damaging it to the point that it crashes to the ground. Osborn's helmet comes off and everyone gathers around to see the fallen architect of this destruction. His face is green and it's clear the Goblin is closer to returning than ever.
He then spends the next amount of time screaming, telling them that they don't know what they've done. Spidey gives him a right hander (Not as epic as I'd hoped, but I'm glad they included it) and Thor asks where Loki is. It's at this point that Osborn begins this chilling quote:
"He's dead. You're dead. You're all dead. He's going to kill you all. I was the only one who could stop him...I was the only one who knew what he really was. How...how powerful he was. I was saving you all from him. You don't know what you've...oh, no...I was saving you.".
The issue concludes with Osborn pointing to the Heavens at a very horrifying shot of a mid-air Sentry, legs crossed and clouded in black and red cloud. He's glowing red and has sprouted a great deal more of those red, crab/spider-like tendrils, complete with demonic face; The Void's true form (I think. We'll see).
Like I said, not exactly the best issue, but definitely a good read. I hope that we do get the Thor/Sentry showdown that we've all been waiting for, but I really don't know. I suppose that'll all come out in what I'm sure will be an amazing finale.
At least...I hope so. Marvel truly cannot afford to have Siege's final issue disappoint on a grand scale. After all this build-up, that'd suck.
Still, that's for April 22nd! I can definitely say that, so far, Dark Reign and Siege have been a crucial joy and if you missed out, stop missing out!
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Expect a huge post-Siege/pre-Heroic Age sum-up on the Saturday after it ends. My thoughts and opinions on how it ended and what happens next will all be covered in that post. If you want to jump in, that will sum everything up and tell you what Dark Reign/Siege stuff you'll need to read in order to get the most out of The Heroic Age to come.
That's about all I've got for you today. Sorry it was so late, but punctured lungs are slightly more pressing matters. Though, I will say that I was considering getting my laptop brought into the hospital, just so I could keep my readers up to day.
Still, it's done now and we can begin this week's edition of Thursday's Comics with everything caught up.
Make sure you stay tuned to my blog and take care!
Until then, peace.
-The Mast
