Front Lines - Secret Wars (Week of August 5, 2015)

Reviews by Mike Maillaro, Mike Weaver, Grey Scherl, and Gina Maillaro

AGE OF APOCALYPSE #2 by Fabian Nicieza and Gerardo Sandoval

Summary: The X-Men square off with Apocalypse’s Elite Mutant Force. They are all trying to claim Doug Ramsey.  They fight gets real ugly, real fast. 

Meanwhile, in New Cairo, Beast and Dr Bradley are operating on their captive, Nightcrawler.  Bradley believes that they can enhance the mutant race with a gentle nudge in the right direction.

Blink manages to teleport Ramsey clear, and Magneto tells her to grab Scott Summers, who was injured in the battle.  Dr. Corbeau realizes that Sheriff Danvers helped set all this up.  She says it was the only way to ensure human survival.

In Haven, Sabretooth and Wildchild have come looking for Angel. Sabretooth knows Angel plays both sides and wants to know everything Angel knows...or else he will kill him.  Using the info from Angel, Sabretooth later goes to find Carol Danvers, insisting that they need to talk.

Magneto tells Ramsey that he needs Ramsey to convince the Horsemen to fight back against Apocalypse of humans and mutants alike will go extinct.

Mike Maillaro: I love that this comic feels so much like a continuation of AGE OF APOCALYPSE. There isn’t a lot SECRET WARS about this series, though I did like the implication that once Doom gave Apocalypse full control over this domain, Apocalypse got even worse.  This mini has been excellent, and I was glad that we got to see Blink in a major role in this issue.  I also loved AGE OF APOCALYPSE’s version of Blink.  This mini has definitely made up for the bad attempts to revisit AGE OF APOCALYPSE over the years.

One other small detail I liked here was the inclusion of Carol Danvers.  Danvers actually was a major supporting character in X-MEN for a while, and it was nice to see that remembered here.

Grey: Burner is totally Adam X.

My favorite thing, other than the very distinct feel of “Hey, this is the Age of Apocalypse”, is all the little things that are different. Magneto and Rogue aren’t a couple because she isn’t over dead Gambit. Weapon X is actually called Wolverine. Sabretooth went back to Apocalypse. I kinda wish Marvel would just get their shit together and let Fabian have an AoA ongoing.

Maillaro: Yeah, I keep hoping that Marvel is playing it close to the vest and not revealing that there will be some more series set in “Battleworld”/Marvel Multiverse after SECRET WARS has ended.  We already know about the SPIDER-VERSE team up book which sounds like Spider-Man meets Exiles.  And we know that Old Man Logan is sticking around.  Nicieza on Age of Apocalypse would be great!  I also want a 1872 series.  I am a sucker for westerns.  Put Ostrander on it!  He was great on APACHE SKIES!

Grey: I’m a sucker for alternate reality books where it’s not unheard of to have crazy bodycounts. Then again, you mentioned Exiles, and I loved Exiles. All of it save for that Claremont abomination.

Maillaro: Never happened.  Neither did New Excalibur.  So speaketh Doom!

Grey: I approve of that statement.

Score: 5/5

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: RENEW YOUR VOWS #3 by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert

Summary: Regent has determined that he needs Spider-Man’s powers as the last piece of the puzzle.  Whatever that means.

Spider-Man (in his black costume) goes to find the Tinkerer.  He wants to pay him a hefty chunk of money for inhibitor chips.  Tinkerer wants him that they don’t work, but Spidey insists he can fix that.  Tinkerer alerts Regent to Spider-Man being here, so here comes Doctor Octopus.  Flint Marko is nearby and works for SHIELD. He gives them a head’s up that the Sinister Six is looking for Spider-Man.  SHIELD’s mysterious leader believes Spider-Man is a coward who left the Avengers to die, so he is not inclined to help Spider-Man out.  Mockingbird insists they need him.

Spider-Man brutally takes out Doctor Octopus and escapes.  The other members of the Sinister Six are disturbed how how badly Spider-Man messed up Doctor Octopus.  Kraven is certain that Spider-Man was trying to protect a child at the school in the last issue.  He says that if they find the child, it will lead them to Spider-Man.

Peter makes it back home and fixes his daughter Annie’s inhibitor.  Regent appears on TV saying that all students at Annie’s school and their parents are required to attend a mandatory screening.  MJ is concerned, but Peter says that they need to trust him.  Their inhibitors allow Peter and Annie to beat the scan.  But a mutant child sets off the scanners.  Regent’s men grab the kid.  Annie wants to help, but Peter is hesitant to reveal them.  Annie and MJ convince him to fight back.  He changes into his black costume and rushes the Sinister Six (well, five since he already took out Doc Ock).  Mysterio is able to figure out who Spider-Man is by monitoring which family is missing a father.  Regent’s men grab Annie and MJ.

Mike Maillaro: First off, I want to say that I have always been a fan of the black costume.  I know some people are in love with the classic red and blue Spider-Man costume, but when I was like 6 years old I saw Spider-Man’s black costume in a newspaper article, and I thought it was just about the coolest thing I had ever seen. And I stand by that.  I was so happy to see it back here.

This story is finally picking up some. The moral choices here have been really well done for me.  A sa father, I get what Peter is going through.  He would do anything to protect his family.  It still seems a little out of character from everything we know about Peter Parker, but since this is an alternate reality, I am willing to give them some leeway on that.

Grey: I’ve got a dollar says that Annie and MJ were grabbed by the SHIELD underground people.

The book itself still feels off to me. It doesn’t feel like Peter pushed to his limits, it’s him trying to hide while not being afraid to go super brutal anytime someone crosses him. I’m waiting for something to actually go horribly wrong for him still.

That said, the room of all the imprisoned heroes was pretty awesome, and it was nice for Regent to actually do something other than just look menacing.

Maillaro: I like that they made it clear in this issue that Spider-Man isn’t being held back by his family.  I had heard a lot of pretty fair criticism that this book seemed so suggest that Spider-Man with a family was no longer acting like a hero.  But, this issue, it seemed to turn around some.  He managed to “Renew His Vows” to be a hero again.

Grey: Yeah, but he was also pretty damn close to letting that guy and his kid get taken just to keep Annie safe. Plus, I’m still angry that they didn’t show us what was left of Ock.

Maillaro: Is it wrong that I laughed when the kid was revealed to be a mutant?  You had commented last time that it seemed like everyone at the school was a mutant or super of some sort, and Annie was the only one not outed. That continued here!

Grey: Annie, all four Powers kids, this kid who my first thought was “Striker from Avengers Academy!”. Who’s next? Maybe the principle is some mutant with an image inducer!

Maillaro: The principal will end up being Phil Coulson.  Yes, I know some people hate the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, but my kids love it, and it definitely makes me laugh.

Grey: I watched the first season and liked it, but the second season and me...I dunno, I gave up quick and never looked back. No idea why.

Score: 4/5

CIVIL WAR #2 by Charles Soule and Leinil Francis Yu

Summary: Stark tries to send a drone in “Blue” Territory to figure out who tried to assassinate Captain America.  Storm ends up stopping the drone.  She assumes Stark is trying to spy on them and accuses him of murdering her husband (Black Panther).  She challenges him to cross the divide and face her.   In retaliation, Colossus hurls a ball of metal into “Iron” Territory warning them that next time, they will launch a Hulk.

In the Blue, Hank McCoy has developed a weapon that can remove superpowers, but it requires a lot of resources they need to steal from the Iron.  Spider-Man leads a team of operatives each with their own grudges against The Iron.

Stark believes that someone has been manipulating events, deliberately escalating the war.  She-Hulk heads into Iron Territory to try and find the assassin.  She is in human guise.  She arrives at a checkpoint, only to find that Charles Xavier is psychically checking each person out.

Mike Maillaro: You know, if the real CIVIL WAR was this well done, it would not have been so badly remembered by comic fans.  Soule creates a real good balance here, with both sides having their positives and negatives.  The characters all come off more as misguided than evil.  So far the SECRET WARS version of CIVIL WAR has been real complex and well done.

SCORE 4.5/5

FUTURE IMPERFECT #4 by Peter David

Summary: Maestro and Ross’s rebels have left Dystopia and head to Norseheim in search of The Destroyer.  They go into a pub and ask where they can find Ulik. The tavern owner tries to throw them out, but Maestro threatens to demolish the place.  A blind former god named Hoder tells them where to find Ulik.  He predicts that Ulik will kill them.

They arrive at Normheim to find Ulik and an army waiting for them.  Maestro demands they give him The Destroyer. The two sides fight.  Maestro goes right for Ulik. After taking a beating, Ulik tells him The Destroyer is being guarded by The Ancient One and Doom himself placed this guard.  Ulik finally decides that this isn’t worth the trouble, and points them to the Ancient One.  Maestro storms in, finding an old man in flannel who greets them by saying “Cool!”

Gina: As always, Peter David is an excellent writer.  I really want the old guy at the end of this come to be Rick Jones.

Mike Maillaro:  There isn’t a lot in the shot to suggest to me that it’s Rick, but that was my exact thought!

Gina: I love the character relationships here.  This has definitely been one of the most consistently good reads in SECRET WARS.

Mike: I thought it was odd that this book has been so Asgard-heavy.  Maestro disguised himself as Odin in the first issue and now Destroyer and Ulik.  I don’t think Peter David has ever really written Thor all that much.   That could be a very cool combination.

Score: 4.5/5

GIANT SIZE LITTLE MARVEL AvX #3 by Scottie Young

Summary: Cyclops tries to convince the twins that they should join the X-Men.  He shows off the X-Tree Mansion.  They get to ride an ice rollercoaster, get Fastball Specialed into Blob. In Beast’s lab, he artificially mutates them.  And then they get tossed into the Danger Room.    They end up crashing into the Avengers Tree House.  

They play capture the flag and paintball with Nick Fury.  Hawkeye takes them up a rope ladder to Asgard.  Spider-Man builds them a webbing bounce house, where they find Wolverine is double dipping on both teams.  Iron Man even made them an Iron Twinz armor they can control using twin mind powers.  The robot explodes, sending the twins crashing into the barrier over Battleworld.  They meet Galactus and Thanos, and then the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive to try and recruit them.

Gina Maillaro: I have a huge bias towards Marville.  I am not sure if they can stuff anything else into this little town, but at this point (and with that strange rubber ceiling), I kind of doubt it.

Mike Maillaro: I loved that the Guardians of the Galaxy showed up here for no reason.

Gina: Same reason Thanos was there.  Why not?  I hope they are feeling things out for a “Marville” animated movie series.  I predict the next issue will have the Inhumans.

Score: 5/5

GUARDIANS OF KNOWHERE #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato

Summary: This issue starts with Yotat’s origin story.  A year ago, Yotat was a lowly goon.  He led some thugs to one of the Collector’s vaults.  The thugs turned on him and blew him up with some kind of weird grenade.  This grenade ended up turning him into the total bad ass we met at the end of the first issue.

A few months later, he went after the guys who betrayed him.  Yotat basically wipes out the entire Knowhere underworld.  When Rocket realizes Yotat is just as bad as the criminals he took out, Rocket attacks Yotat.  Yotat is about to kill Rockey when Drax arrives to defeat Yotat.  Yotat is turned over to the Nova Corps.  He vows revenge.

Finally, we get back to present day.  Yotat easily defeats the Guardians.  And that is where this issue ends.  Rather abruptly.

Gina Maillaro: Not sure where this book is going.  if it doesn’t get there soon, I’m going to blow it out the airlock.

Mike Maillaro: I have no idea why they spent basically this entire comic giving back story to the world’s least interesting character.  A character I doubt we'll ever see again.  Honestly, a character I hope we never see again. He’s got the most generic backstory and personality ever.

Gina: I am less concerned about Yotat and more concerned that this comic is going Knowhere fast.  It is definitely an aptly named comic.   I do think Bendis has the voices of the characters down.  The plot leaves a lot to be desired, but I do like that he’s true to the characters.  It is this book’s only redeeming quality.

Score: 2.5/5

INFINITY GAUNTLET #3 by Dustin Weaver and Gerry Duggan

Summary: Drax is tracking Thanos, who has traveled back in time to try and recover the Infinity Gems before Nova can gather them.  Thanos saves Nova’s family from the Annihilation Wave, and makes an alliance with them.  He claims to have been friends with Jesse and Sam Alexander, who have both been killed by the Annihilation Wave.  He even gives Nova the Time Gem to gain her trust.  Thanos then convinces them to go after Starlord and Gamora who salvaged an infinity gem from the destroyed Nova base.  They manage to catch up to them, and Nova uses the Mind Stone to get Starlord to land.  They try to negotiate with Starlord to get his infinity stone, and manage to get him to agree to take three Nova Force Stones.  After, Gamora offers to join them in fighting the Annihilation Wave.  Later, Nova dreams of a man who has another Infinity stone, but she gets the sense he’s evil.  At the same time,Thanos is trying to manipulate her daughter Anwen.  He plays on her desire to bring her grandfather back to life.

They land in a forest and find one of the Infinity Gems stuck inside a living tree.  The tree gives them his gem and introduces himself as Groot.  They start to head towards the next stone, and Thanos is plotting how to kill them all.  

Mike Maillaro: I loved seeing more of an old school Drax here.  This has been a very unique story.  I like seeing the new characters, and the new versions of familiar characters.  I did think it was a little odd to give the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY characters such a big role here; they seem to be popping up in quite a few SECRET WARS tie-ins.  But they are popular, so it makes some marketing sense.

INFINITY GAUNTLET (like AGE OF APOCALYPSE) is another series that doesn’t quite make 100% sense in terms of the bigger picture of SECRET WARS, but like AGE OF APOCALYPSE, I have really enjoyed this one quite a bit after I got past my confusion from the first issue.

Score: 4.5/5

MS. MARVEL #17 by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona

Summary: Kamala is stunned to meet her idol, Carol Danvers.  Carol tries to make her feel more comfortable, but time is short.  She tells her about the incursion that is about to destroy Earth.  Kamala is confident that the Avengers can save the day, but Carol seems less certain.  Carol tells Kamala that she needs to do what she can to help protect her fellow Jersey Citians.   Ms. Marvel asks Carol to help rescue her brother from her evil ex-crush, Kamran. Carol reluctantly agrees.

On the way, they encounter petty thieves trying to steal electronics.  Kamala convinces them to use their skills to help the refugees at the high school.  As they reach the wharf, they see a group of kittens abandoned.  Kamala realizes she can’t save everyone and gets very emotional.  Carol helps her work through these complicated emotions.  They they are attacked by Kaboom, who they easily defeat.  They get Kaboom to tell them where Kamran has taken Kamala’s brother.  They arrive just in time to find Aamir has already been exposed to the Terrigen Mists.

Mike Maillaro: This was a pretty good issue. Like i have said A LOT in recent weeks, all of the “Last Days” stories are taking way too long to tell.  Actually, from the solicits, it seems like Ms Marvel is pretty much going to be doing Last Days up until the end of SECRET WARS, which is real odd to me.   

I did enjoy seeing Kamala overwhelmed with the situation.  There scene with her getting emotional over the cats felt very real.  She definitely seemed like a real teenage girl who was in a horrible situation way over her head.

Score: 4.5/5

RED SKULL #2 by Joshua Williamson and Luca Pizzari

Summary: Red Skull rescues Magneto from the zombies, but allows the rest of Magneto’s team to be killed off.  Magneto doesn’t trust Red Skull, so Red Skull knocks him out and drags him along with him to his base, located inside a broken down Sentinel.  From this base, Red Skull has been tracing potential weaknesses in the Shield Wall.  He tells Magneto he wants to use him to breach the wall.  Red Skull taunts Magneto about his inhibited powers.  Magneto tries to attack Red Skull, but Red Skull easily overpowers him.  He then says that he can deactivate the collar.

He takes Magneto into Annihilus’s territory.  They are quickly captured by Annihilus’s bugs.  Red Skull works to cut a deal with Annihulus to work together to take down Doom.  He removes Magneto’s collar.  Magneto is pissed, but agrees that they all have a mutual enemy.

Mike Maillaro: Kind of bait and switch here.  The first issue really seemed like it was going to be like Suicide Squad.  But almost all the villains were killed unceremonious to start this issue.  It was a nice twist.  I also liked the idea of Red Skull, Magneto, and Annihulus teaming up.  I am going to go out on a limb, and say I am certain those three have never worked together before in the comics.  RED SKULL has been a really clever concept for a comic and mostly executed very well.

SCORE 4/5

SIEGE #2 by Kieron Gillen and Felipe Andrade

Summary: Abigail Brand is trying to figure out how to find this Thanos and prevent him from destroying the shield wall 20 days from now. Her former number two, Leah, is determined to find Magik and heads off into the Wastelands.

15 days later, Brand’s new second-in-command Kang tells her that they lost contact with Leah and the rest of the Hel-rangers.  Kang taunts her about allowing Leah to be killed.  Brand tries to shoot Kang, but one of the Summers’ clones blasts her to save her life.  Time is quickly running out.  Brand reflects on past events that brought her to this point in her life.

They find out a massive army is heading this way, led by a metallic version of Nick Fury, Brand’s former mentor.

Grey: In concept I love this book, and I enjoyed the first issue, but yeah, this book is ugly. But hey, Leah! And apparently this one likes to scissor Illyana, because why not? And while we’re having “Why not?” moments, why not have Nick Fury’s head on Fury’s body and have FURY! Yeah, I think this book lost me.

Mike Maillaro: The art was horrible on this book.  It made it real hard for me to follow or even care about what was going on here.  The double-page spreads were all done by different artists, and most of them were beautiful.  BUT, the constant flashbacks took away from the narrative.  I really enjoyed the first issue of this series, but issue 2 was a huge step in the wrong direction.

Totally with Grey on this one. Which is a shame because I really did enjoy the first issue.  It seems to have gone off the rails between issues.

Grey: Was it just me or did the art hint that the SHIELD is actually Ben Grimm? At one point he starts coming out of the wall like he was a part of it. Or maybe that was just bad art.

Score: 3/5

SPIDER-ISLAND #2 by Christos Gaga and Paco Diaz

Summary: Venom, Vision, and Spider-Woman are fighting back against the mutated Iron Fist and Iron Man seem poised to defeat the heroes, and Captain America, Captain Marvel, and Hulk rejoin the fight against the Spiders.  The heroes are able to escape.  Iron Man gives pursuit, but they are able to douse him with Goblin Serum, freeing him from the Spider-Queen, but also driving him temporarily insane.  Iron Man is able to get himself under control...for now.   Stark ends up building himself a Goblin Armor.  The heroes are looking to raid a former AIM base controlled by the Spiders.

During the attack on the AIM base, it turns out they are looking for Stegron.  He has been turned into a Spider, but they are able to mutate him back to being Stegron which frees him from the Spider’s control.  Stegron once build a device that the heroes need in order to mount an assault on Spider-Queen.  While looking for the device, they find Peter Parker, still alive!

Mayday Parker: Spider-Woman by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Sal Buscema

Summary: Spider-Woman is under attack by her former allies, Stinger and American Dream’s Dream Team.  She tries to escape by heading towards Avengers Mansion.  She finds out they are under control by Enthralla!  Enthralla works to control Spider-Woman.  The Avengers come out to see what’s going on. Spider-Woman attacks J2, thinking he’s Daemos, the man who killed her father.

Grey: Spider-Girl, Spider-Girl, does whatever a Spider-Girl does. Still not digging the Peter costume, but still loving having my May.

Also, loving the entire main story. Lizard Hulk? Yes! Iron Goblin? FUCK YES! This book is just fun beyond fun.

Mike Maillaro: I loved both of these stories.  Actually, it was a week for great SECRET WARS tie-ins.  The main story had lots of good twists and turns.  For an RPG I used to run, I actually had written a story where Tony Stark took up the name The Goblin:

Posted Jun 26 2011, 08:06 PM

First up, the secret of the Goblin:

It's young Tony Stark. At the end of the first Factor Three story, we'll likely find out that Green Goblin is using stolen Stark tech. He's equal opportunity, he'll be messing with his dad's company in the second issue of a two part story. He's gonna be a bit of an anti-corporate zealot.

Great minds think alike!   

The Spider-woman story was a little short, but I still loved it.  Awesome to see Enthralla again!  I’ve always loved Mastermind’s powers.

About the Spider-Man costume, I definitely prefer the old Spider-Girl costume too, but it makes sense to honor her dead dad.

Grey: But what about Ben? His costume was the best! #CloneLivesMatter <I’m not sure which joke is worse, this or the scissoring comment>

Score: 4.5/5

ULTIMATE END #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley

Summary: The 616 and Ultimate heroes have been sent by SHIELD to go after the two Starks and the Hulk they broke out of prison.  The heroes find an army of Iron Men suits waiting for them.  Captain America immediately realizes that this is just a distraction and Stark wasn’t really trying to hurt them.  The Starks want to work with the heroes...but they don’t trust SHIELD.

Meanwhile, Bombshell is still being chased by The Punisher.  She tries to turn the tables on him, but he has set up an ambush and shoots her.  Cloak and Dagger arrive to rescue her.  Tis only a flesh wound!  Cloak tries to hold the Punisher in his Dark Dimension, but Punisher manages to shoot his way out and cover his escape with a grenade.  Iron Man sends an armor to ask Bombshell, Cloak, and Dagger for help.

Back in Doomstadt, Valera tells Doom that this Manhattan Domain is defying his will.  She wants Doom to allow her to take control over the Domain, but Doom refuses.

The two Starks suddenly start fighting about whether or not to bring their findings to Doom’s attention.  This quickly escalates into a massive hero vs hero battle, with Punisher looking to kill them all.  At that point, Miles Morales arrives in Manhattan.

Mike Maillaro: I didn’t like how everything was cool and suddenly Civil War!  It didn’t make a lot of sense and made the story feel real rushed to get to the climax.  I also don’t like having Punisher as this kill crazy psycho determined to kill all the heroes.  

That said, I did like the stuff with Doom, and I am always happy to have more Miles Morales.  All in all, this comic was a real mixed bag.  Solid character moments, great art, but not loving the story.  This just doesn’t feel like the right way to bring the Ultimate Universe to an end.

Score: 3/5

X-Men ‘92 #6 by Chad Bowers, Chris Sims, and Scott Koblish

Summary: Robert Kelly is giving a speech at the site where Asteroid M crashed six months ago signifying the end of the “Westchester Wars.”  Kelly is being escorted by a security guard...who turns out to be Psylocke.  Xavier is with her and demands to know what Kelly is really up to and why he’s been working with Cassandra Nova.  Kelly refuses to believe that Cassandra has taken the X-Men hostage.  Kelly tells his men to take Psylocke and Xavier into custody.

Meanwhile, the rest of X-Force has arrived at Clean Mountain to rescue the X-Men.  Cassandra presents her New X-Men   Brainwashed versions of Gambit, Rogue, and Wolverine.  Cassandra believes that Doom will reward her for her work and make her Baroness of the domain.  She sets in motion a plan to kill Kelly and have it blamed on the X-Men.  

Jean, Cyclops, and Storm have managed to escape the Mind Field.  Cassandra uses her powers to force the other prisoners to attack the X-Men, but Storm is able to rally all the mutants to join together.

At that point, a massive mutated Sentinel attacks Kelly.

Mike Maillaro: Still basically in the bottom two SECRET WARS tie-ins (KARVAC SAGA is far worse).  This issue at least moved the story forward some, but I still just find myself getting annoyed while I read this comic.  I did enjoy the banter with Beast and Angel. Original X-Men unite!  I am pretty sure there are only two issues left of this one.  I can’t wait for it to be over!

Score: 2.5/5