Amazing Spider-Man 580
Basic Plot: Spidey goes up against The Blank.
Yes, that West Coast Avengers villain, the Blank, is back. Who? Exactly. Still, amusing. I enjoyed this issue. It wasn't anything special, but it was fun, and that is all I really ask for. I didn't really like Weeks' art, but whatever. It was slightly distracting, but not bad enough to ruin it for me. The Blank is a guy with a force field that allows him to not get hurt, and also allows him to easily remove webbing. The plot is something I've read many times before, but whatever. This was still amusing. I can't wait for Harry next week, though. See, I have been wondering ever since BND how Harry's back. Okay, so everything happened the same way? No? Did Harry ever become the Goblin? If so, did he die, then wake up in Europe, doing nothing until recently? This is really weird. OMD (and BND) ruined a lot of continuity, so I really don't know what the hell is happening any more.
Secret Invasion: Inhumans 4
Basic Plot: The Inhumans keep trying to rescue Black Bolt.
Sigh... Craziness. I noticed a pattern in the SI: Inhumans comic. After reading 3, I realized what was going to happen in 4. See, the first issue had some intro, then went into the Skrulls demolishing Attilan, ending with the Inhumans in a bad position. The second issue had them kicking Skrull ass, and then leaving on a good note. The third issue had them doing some stuff, then getting their asses kicked at the end. Therefore, I figured that the Inhumans would kick ass and back on top at the end. This was a great issue. I liked seeing the Inhumans kick some ass, especially Black Bolt. Using Ahura to command the Skrull scientist to free him, Black Bolt then knocks out the telepath, then whispers in the scientist's ear. Yeah. Bad ass. I never thought whispering in someone's ear would be a bad-ass scene in a comic. Go figure. I personally love Tom Raney's art, and was glad to see him working on this. Annihilation: Conquest, like Ultimates 3, just didn't feel right in terms of the artwork. Both were done by artists I like, Raney and Madureira, but both were on books that should be epic, and they don't fit that criteria all that well. Raney is good, just at doing fun stuff, not on things that are trying to shape the Marvel Universe (or Marvel Cosmic Universe). This was a good example of something that worked. Man, I can't wait for War of Kings. That looks so cool.
What if...? House of M
Basic Plot: At the end of House of M, Scarlet Witch said, "No more mutants." What if she had instead said, "No more powers."
Well, that was interesting. The art was different, and somewhat bizarre, but manageable. The story was odd, but I liked it. Basically, every single person loses their powers. Iron Man has to fight crime all by himself, as there are a lot of non-powered super-villains, and not as many non-powered super-heroes. But, as the cover shows, the Red Skull still has the Cosmic Cube, which isn't quite as powerful, due to the spell, but still powerful enough to make the Red Skull ridiculously powerful, and commanding Hydra and the Hand, attempts to take over the world. See, what I like is that most of the heroes are still heroes, even without powers. Spidey is the one who takes the most time to come around. With great power comes great responsibility? Well, without the power, there's none of the responsibility. Until, he realizes he still has stuff to do. Man, that was one of the more awesome Avengers Assembles that I have heard. Civil War had the people fighitng Cap, well imagine everybody teaming up to take on the bad guys. I mean, everybody. Normal people just charging into battle. It is cool. The Young Avengers/Runaways story is also amusing, although weird. I'll discuss it more in the next review. My main problem is with how everybody lost their powers. Not every mutant lost their powers, so why would every superhuman lose their powers? And how does that extend to the entire universe? What is a power? The Skrulls posing as heroes lost their powers to shapeshift, although that isn't really a power to them. It is to us, but not to them. So did every Skrull lose shapeshifting powers? What about cosmic beings? Did Galactus lose his powers? What about Nova? The Guardians of the Galaxy (well, wherever they were and doing whatever they were at the time)? Oh, well. The best part is how they referenced Secret Invasion, by having the Skrulls lose their abilities, thus revealing the plan early.
What if...? Fallen Son
Basic Plot: As opposed to having Cap be shot, he testified, and then Iron Man was killed by an angry Tom Foster.
Sigh... While the short reference to Secret Invasion was amusing in the other issue, this was more bizarre. With Tony gone, stuff happens, including the Skrulls doing other stuff. Jarvis does some stuff, and the leaders so some stuff. What, I'm not really sure. It could have been a memorial (which doesn't make sense) or preparations for battle (moving out earlier), which would make sense, but then it is left open, which is kind of sucky. The art, well, the art is bad. I hate the art with a passion. It is so disturbing to me. I personally don't like the story all that much. It is kind of sad, but odd, because it doesn't feel real enough that it could have happened, and then the story is about people grieveing (there are titles that go over the stages of grieving). I mean, sure, but it wasn't interesting enough to me. As for the Runaways/Young Avengers stuff, that is weird. Basically, as opposed to going to our time, Kang accidentally went to a future where Victorious (Victor Mancha, a Runaway) ruled the world. He went back in time to gather the Runaways as the Young Avengers to try to stop Victorious. But, really, Kang was stopped, or something, and the current Iron Lad is Victor. It is odd, confusing, and not all that great. Sure, you get to hear Molly say that she isn't Bruiser, but Princess Powerful (how many times has she done that?), but it just isn't all that good. Meh.
Secret Invasion: Dark Reign
Basic Plot: Norman meets with Emma Frost, Loki, Doom, the Hood and Namor to discuss the future.
Sigh. This had so much potential. The story was okay, basically how they all want to rule the world, but now, with Norman in charge, they can do a lot of stuff, but have to at least accept him, or weird crap. It wasn't anything special, and I was more interested in why Emma has nightmares about Kitty Pryde (oh, Kitty), which happens twice. Namor seemed odd. He was ignorant one minute, then knowledgeable the next. All in all, the story wasn't anything that I found great. It was okay, and just okay. The main problem I had was with Maleev's art. I don't like Maleev. I just don't. Covers are okay (occasionally), but most of the time I hate Maleev's art. It didn't disappoint in disappointing. Wait, let me rephrase that. It was as crappy as I expected. Namor's going bald, it seems, and didn't shave in weeks, leaving horrible stubble. Norman's hairstyle isn't what it really should be (bald-ish, with red lines, but more red hair, like on the cover. Oh, wait, more like brown hair. Yeah, that was annoying. Their intereactions were okay, aside from Namor. Mostly, it was just a piece of crap. I am looking forward to having Norman rule the world, but this was a horrible start.
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