Head Writer / Coordinator Michael Hoskin

Writers Chad Anderson / Anthony Flamini / Rob London / Sean McQuaid / Kevin Garcia / Markus Raymond / Gabriel Schechter / David Wiltfong / Peter Sanderson / Stuart Vandal / Madison Carter

Cover by Tom Raney with John Rauch

Cover Dated November 2010

In Honor of Memorial Day, we spotlight another comic with Captain America on the cover.  This time, it is Bucky Cap again.

I’m not sure if this is common knowledge but I looked up what the difference is between Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day (a while ago) and Memorial Day is to remember the fallen soldiers and Veterans’ Day is to appreciate the living soldiers.  Which I like how we have both days for that.

I really like the concept of this handbook.  Steve Rogers, returning from the dead, is now the Director of SHIELD and has written a dossier on all of his fellow heroes.  I could really use more Handbooks written from the perspective of one particular character.

The Heroic Age was Marvel’s attempt, after all of the darkness from House of M to Civil War to Dark Reign to Siege, and how the heroes were meant to be back to being heroes.  It was a nice attempt.

The two that I want to spotlight are the entries for the New Mutants and Kitty Pryde.

New Mutants

Affiliations : X-Men, Cyclops, Professor X, Magneto, Cable

Status : Free agents; identities protected

I had limited involvement with the original New Mutants group, formed by Professor Xavier as the next generation of mutant heroes when his X-Men were believed dead.  These youths have now grown into capable adults, accomplished in the use of their powers, and they have rejoined for special missions now that the X-Men have relocated onto Utopia.  Talented and powerful operatives like Cannonball, Sunspot, Magma, Karma and Moonstar (despite the absence of her powers) alongside returns Magik (who sets off all kinds of mystical warnings), Cypher (who was believed deceased for years) and Warlock (back from space, apparently).  The New Mutants have had recent battles with the Savage Land Mutates and the Right.  As much as I would love to utilize this talented group, they report directly to Cyclops and focus primarily on mutant rights.  I can’t help but wonder why Cyclops sanctions these individual team activities when the entire mutant population seems melded into one military unit of late.

Pros : A diverse power set and a capable group of young mutants; highly trained.

Cons : The group is isolated among the rest of the mutants on Utopia.

Kitty Pryde

Affiliations : X-Men, Excalibur, SHIELD

Status : Free agent; no duel identity

I thought Bucky Barnes was young when he became my teammate at 15.  But Kitty Pryde discovered her mutant abilities and joined the X-Men when she was only 13-and-a-half!  She was seemingly an ordinary living in a Chicago suburb when she learned she could become intangible and “phased” through walls.  She soon found herself embroiled in a struggle between the X-Men and Hellfire Club, but showed herself brave and capable in this trial by fire and started studying at Xavier’s school soon afterward.  Kitty is still quite young, but has proved to be mature beyond her years.  She not only holds her own among her older fellow X-Men, but has even briefly served as SHIELD’s youngest agent.  She turned out to be brilliant in computer science, speaks many languages, and can pilot aircraft.  Wolverine has even trained her in samurai martial arts.  But her spirit hasn’t been hardened by all the battles she’s gone through.  Whenever she and I occasionally cross paths, she remains a fresh-faced, enthusiastic young girl.

Pros : Team player; virtually invulnerable when intangible; possible genuis in computer science, moderate skills in Japanese martial arts.

Cons : Mutant “phasing” power is primarily used for defense, not offense.