This great website is keeping track of Michelangelo’s Pieta Comic Covers. I’m going to post the ones I own.
http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/StoryArc.aspx?id=569c572f-fdb0-4c36-bd21-e44ead5cf6a1
Wolverine and the X-Men Volume Two Issue 11, by Mahmud Asrar and Marte Gracia
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Art Sara Pichelli, Mahmud Asrar, Stuart Immonen, Kris Anka, Chris Bachalo, David Marquez, Frazer Irving
Inks Wade von Grawbadger, Tim Townsend, Mark Irwin
Color Art Marte Gracia, Jason Keith, Chris Bachalo, Frazer Irving
Cover Art Chris Bachalo
Lettering & Production VC’s Joe Caramagna
Six months after it was suppose to come out, we get Bendis’ final issue of Uncanny X-Men! Though I can’t go on, too much, as this came out in November and I’m now reviewing this in February!
Last time in Uncanny X-Men – Cyclops tried to have a mutant revolution and it went nowhere, after one campus visit. Colossus was mad at his younger sister, as she could have undid Juggolosuss, at any time, but let him keep dmaning himself. Also, Teen Jean Grey forced Teen Iceman to admit to being “full gay.”
Jean Grey School. Storm has asked Beast to come to the cafeteria.
Note Kitty’s sweet space outfit, it will chance from time to time, even though it shouldn’t.
Look how sad or determined people look in this room. Doop doesn’t want to be there.
Iceman announces, like an idiot, that he didn’t want to do this. Kitty, regretting ever making out with the guy, gets the show back on track.
Beast picks up, immediately, that this is an intervention. Which I like how the X-Men finally got around to pointing out to Beast, how off the tracks, he has been. If only Beast had drank, smoked or whatever he means by dating (do people get interventions for dating?) those people can rationalize.
Instead, he has decided to break the laws of – physics, space-time continuum and genetics. One is bad, but one has to be triple threat, to be this ridiculous.
I wish I could tell who did these pages. I can’t distinguish Pichelli or Marquez’s art, for whatever reason. There are seven artists (minus inkers and colorists) but I can tell who the five artists are. Does anyone know which pages were which? I imagine I’m just not telling when they switched, during the intervention.
Beast, only a minute into this, has decided that this is really . . . a trial!
20 Minutes Ago. These pages, are done by Kris Anka.
Colossus, in classic Claremont fashion, destroys a tree! Kitty teases him about it, so that’s pretty great. Also, Kitty is in her classic X-Men outfit.
What does Colossus have on his butt!?!
These two do talk, like they have known each other for years. Like they have gone through some shit together – which they totally have.
Colossus turns the conversation to Kitty’s engagement. She’s surprised the news has made it back to Earth. Which I imagine, it would has Teen Angel came back with a brand new look. Kitty’s engagement would have to be mentioned, as one of the three highlights of Black Vortex.
Kitty hints that Illyana is here to talk to her brother, so he calls her out.
I like how awkward the Rasputin siblings are, it has been too long since they have talked. Illyana, showing some real vulnerability, admits that she has been training with Doctor Strange.
The faces that Colossus and Kitty make, what is that look? Surprised, mixed with disgust? They look, clearly taken back by the revelation.
It is astonishing that Xavier didn’t try to hook Illyana with Doctor Strange or Agatha Harkness, or anyone who is magically inclined. I guess, as there isn’t that many mutants who also use magic, he didn’t know who to reach out too. It isn’t like Amanda Sefton was an expert in the field – at that time. I’m pretty sure Scarlet Witch was still mostly mutant hex powers than sorcery
Colossus tells her to stop.
Bendis really excels with the whole, how people read a comic. As this is a great use of a page flip.
Colossus gives his little snowflake a much deserve hug! Look how happy Magik is!
Kitty announces that Storm is summoning them, and Magik teleports them away. So when did Kitty change outfits? This will happen, one more time.
Illyana joke that Colossus should make a move and stop the wedding, but he’s cool. Is he still dating Domino? I hope he is.
Back at the trial! Storm hints that people have approached Beast about these issues, but he ignores them and keeps on trucking. It was this or have SHIELD arrest him, which I’m sure SHIELD isn’t in the game of arresting Avengers – not with Steve Rogers running the place.
Beast keeps going on about Scott Summers.
Emma steps in, which is smart to have Storm, Emma and Kitty being the ones to do most of the talking. He relates to those three on different levels. Emma likes how this situation should embarrass and shame Beast, maybe the last tactic, will be the one that works.
Beast tries to explain himself. His ideas are so advanced, that he can’t explain himself – which is a bunch of shit. He knew no one would clear his decision to mess up the time stream and bring the Original Five X-Men to the present, so he just goes ahead and does it.
The Icemans (Icemen?) start saying the same thing, at the same time.
Which transitions us to Mahmud Asrar pages. The pages that deal with Teen Bobby talking to his present older self – which Teen Jean, in tow. Iceman makes short work of Cyclops’ new students, they didn’t really get much fighting experience.
Teen Bobby comes out to Iceman (that’s how I’m going to distinguish them). Teen Bobby asks if Iceman is gay too. I do like how Teen Bobby’s motivation to coming out to his older self, is that he doesn’t want to live in the closet, but he realizes how complicated that would make things, for his older self.
Iceman, without missing a beat, tells Jean that this is why no one likes her. Which is completely true! Teen Bobby tries to defend her, saying that people like her too much. Which I imagine is hard to prove. Who would like Teen Jean Grey? She makes poor decision, after poor decision.
Iceman doesn’t understand how his younger self is more put together than he is. Iceman tries to explain he decisions. He was persecuted for being a mutant and an X-Man, he wanted a part of his life that he could just live like a normal person. So he kept himself busy, too busy, to be gay. I guess I can understand that, but it does seem like he went out of his way to get some beards. He dated Opal for like six years! But that does happen.
Irritatingly, Teen Bobby asks Iceman what he is thinking. Instead of giving him a second to answer, Jean goes ahead and reveals what Iceman is thinking – as that worked out so well, before. If he isn’t being selfish to wanting to commit energy into making himself happy, instead of being an X-Man. Which makes sense, as one of the Original Five, he has seen how – once you are an X-Man, that’s pretty much all you are. If you try to do a side project, it will eventually bring you back to the team.
To end on a light note, Teen Bobby asks if Iceman finds Angel cute, which he does. Which is super weird, as the Angel he knows, has gone through the frying pan! I’m sure he hasn’t thought he was cute, since his original Archangel days.
Iceman wants to hug Jean but she doesn’t like how the code makes her front parts. oh Jean, you are the worst. So she gives him a mental hug, which feels nice – apparently. They are summoned to Storm.
Back at the Trial. Storm keeps coming at him. Out of nowhere, he was going to bring up that she married Black Panther, as if that has anything to do with this. Classic deflection! Plus, her decision affected, like no one. Even the people in Wakanda just saw it as an opportunity to have a party and then things were back to normal. Well, besides, Doomwar but that would have happened if Storm wasn’t there.
Beast doesn’t want to be blamed for Future Beast’s issues (from Battle of the Atom and that sequel story), as he also tampered with time and furthering his mutation. He gave himself goat legs, that have only worked for Illyana!
Dazzler, wanting to get involved, points out that Dark Beast tried to kill them, in the X-Men versus SHIELD arc. Which I had forgotten about, already. Probably as that reveal, was essentially “insert any villain” here.
Kitty just wants to be in the conversation, Beast can’t just keep doing whatever.
The New Xavier School. Location Sercret. (Still?) 40 Minutes Ago. (as they have to account for the Icemans segment). These pages are brought to us by Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger and Marte Gracia. Also, Joe Caramagna, but he does all of the lettering and production, for this extra sized issue.
The All New X-Men, including Cosmic Upgrade Angel and X23 (pre-All New Wolverine) are relaxing on the grass. Which last time they tried this, Bobby tried to comment on how attractive Illyana was and Jean told him how full gay he was and determined how he should categorize himself.
Jean wants a break, from being an X-Man. Cyclops got to have his own adventure, and she wants to see how she should define herself. Which is super ironic. Jean wants to train more, and fight less – which makes sense. Angel agrees, he wouldn’t mind some off time. He just wants to date X23, some more – I bet! Bobby wants some of Angel’s money, which I’m pretty sure NuAngel, has squandered all of that money, as he didn’t know how to spend it. Where is that guy, these days?
Hank walks away, realizing that he broke up the X-Men. Jean confronts him and FINALLY has the conversation they should have had, since Battle of the Atom, when the two kissed! Or, in that event, he didn’t want to run away with her, so she took Scott, instead. Hank is worried, about how much they have changed, in only a few months.
Jean has been reading Hank’s mind, she knows that he has been waiting for this moment and now, she is ready for it. Jean and Hank made out and in full view of Scott, who isn’t happy! Did Scott have a space honey? I thought I read somehow that he did meet a space pirate princess, or some such title.
I’m glad these little segments exist, as this non-trial would be hard to read, otherwise.
Back at the trial. Storm tells Beast that she loves him but he tells her that this isn’t love. Which is classic intervention! From what I imagine. Kitty and Illyana both tell him, that this is love. I like to think that Illyana saying it, is what makes him go quiet.
Beast turns to Young Hank, and asks how he is just standing there. Hank doesn’t like it, the Original Five X-Men were brought here, based on a lie. There was no mutant genocide. Beast tries to say that there would have been, but he stopped it by bringing the Original Five X-Men to the present. Which seems silly.
Beast goes on about Scott Summers, again.
Everyone is so tired of Beast and his breakup with Scott Summers. Beast starts walking away, he is done.
Kitty volunteers to follow Beast but Benjamin gets paged. Cerebro has picked up a unique signature, which seems weird as who it is, shouldn’t be a new detection. Unless it got a new setting or was doing a search for him, but we don’t get any additional information on that front.
This mutant is in Washington DC. Illyana teleports the entire school to the capital.
So Cyclops is in Washington DC! Also there, Kitty, back in her classic X-Men costume. What is she doing!?!
Cyclops makes a point of saying that the X-Men are the last mutants to arrive. He has gathered all of these mutants, to one location. I’m not sure he forced Mystique or Sabretooth, to be there or any of the other villains.
Look how cute Doop is!
Oh, these pages are brought to us by Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend and Mark Irwin. I imagine Jason Keith, like Caramagna, colors the rest of the issue – outside of Immonen, Bachalo and Irving’s part (which is the last pages).
Cyclops has to explain, that he misused the word – revolution – or that he simply failed at having a unified vision.
Cyclops has clearly lost it, as he states how Washington DC is the heart f everything democratic and good. Maybe democratic, but good? That seems silly.
The real revolution is that all the mutants can be in one location and not be fighting. Just then, Magneto arrives and people are worried that this will spark a race riot. He lands and says how crazy this plan is, but Xavier would have loved it. Which makes Cyclops smile.
The last two pages, are brought to us by Frazer Irving. Tempus talks to Beast, wondering if this is the Trial of Henry McCoy, as she has been foretold about it, three times. I’m not sure what she means with this – because if this was it . . . what do you do with what happened today?” Like, there are too many words or too few words. I’m not sure what she also means “and if this wasn’t it . . . ” I get that she is trying to indicate that things are going to get much worst,
What I’m getting at, is this – the issue ends on not a great note but the rest of it, was pretty good.
There is a nice letter by Bendis. He teases that Goldballs is going to show up in Miles Morales’ Spider-Man title, that I didn’t know, and that Bendis is taking Kitty Pryde, with him, to Guardians of the Galaxy, which I did know about.
For some reason, the Iceman story from Bizarre Adventures 27 is reprinted. There isn’t anything, that I can see, that tells you where that story is originally printed or why it was included, but that’s what that story is.
Bleeding Cool News believes that the story was reprinted due to Iceman commenting on how pretty Angel is. So it is canon, I suppose. Still weird that there wasn’t an introduction page to set up the backup story.
– 
41 issues, all written by Brian Michael Bendis! It should be stated that Cory Petit lettered every issue as well, which is pretty impressive to keep the same letterer for an entire series.
The series ran from, cover dated, January 2013 to August 2015
Since this was the main flagship title, sharing the honor with Uncanny – a lot took place in this series. This is the series where the time misplaced Original Five X-Men starred. Crossover overs storylines were – Battle of the Atom / Trial of Jean Grey / Black Vortex. Other storylines include the much demanded sequel to Battle of the Atom, the Ultimate Adventure and the Utopians arc.
Art Teams were –
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29 – Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, Colorist Marte Gracia and VC’s Cory Petit
Issue five, Inker Von Grawbadger had help from Craig Yeung and Gracia had help from Jason Keith. Issues nine & ten, Gracia had help from Rain Beredo. Issue twenty-nine, Gracia had help from Jason Keith.
6, 7, 8 – David Marquez on both pencils and inks, Gracia and Petit
12, 13 – Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, Colorist Rain Beredo and VC’s Cory Petit
15 – David Lafuente on both pencils and inks, Colorist Jim Campbell and VC’s Cory Petit
19 – Brandon Peterson on both pencils and inks, Colorist Israel Silva and VC’s Cory Petit
20 – Brandon Peterson and Mahmud Asrar shared art duties, Colorist Gracia returned and helped Silva and VC’s Cory Petit stuck around as well
21 – Brandon Peterson and legend Brent Anderson (did a few pages on his own) Silva colored Petersn’s pages and Campbell did the Anderson pages, VC’s Cory Petit did all of his own lettering
25 – The All Star Jam Issue! Artists David Marquez with Justin Ponsor on colors for the Framing Device, VC’s Cory Petit on lettering duties – the other artistic talents of :
Bruce Timm & Laura Martin, Arthur Adams & Justin Ponsor, David Mack, Skottie Young & Jason Keith, Robbi Rodriquez & Justin Ponsor, Lee Bermejo & Marte Gracia, Kent Williams, JG Jones, Ronnie Del Carmen, J. Scott Campbell & Nei Ruffino, Maris Wicks, Jason Shiga, Dan Hipp, Max Wittert, Jake Parker & Matthew Wilson, Jill Thompson and Paul Smith & Bob Wiacek & Jordie Bellaire
30 – Sara Pichelli, Colorist Marte Gracia and VC’s Cory Petit
31, 32, 33, 34, 36 – Mahmud Asrar on both pencils and inks, Colorist Marte Gracia and Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
Issue 31 Gracia had helped from Jason Keith. Issue 34, Gracia received some support from Marcelo Maiolo.
35 – Mahmud Asrar on both pencils and inks, Colorist Marcelo Maiolo and Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
37 – Mike Del Mundo on pencils, inks and colors, though Marco D’Alfonso helped with the coloring and VC’s Cory Petit on lettering
38, 39 – Andrea Sorrentino on pencils and inks, Colorist Marcelo Maiolo and Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
40 – Mahmud Asrar on both pencils and inks, Colorist Rain Beredo and Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
41 – Mahmud Asrar on both pencils and inks, Colorist Marte Gracia and Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
There was a whole host of variant covers with this series so I’m not listing cover artists – not that I do but in case you were wondering.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Mahmud Asrar
Colorist Marte Gracia
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
Bendis’ final issue of All New X-Men and he doesn’t send them back in time. Also, this doesn’t feel like a final issue to an almost three year run.
The New Xavier School. Location : Secret. Today. The team, minus X23 and Angel, are just relaxing on the grass as Maria Hill’s SHIELD Hellcarrier approaches.
Magik teleports inf ront of the teenagers. She gets to say the classic, “To Me, My X-Men” which is awesome!
Maria Hill stops Magik before Magik can teleport everyone away. Hill wants the team to help her with a situation.
I like how Hill explains how she knew where to find them. It is the reason why cloaking never really works. Wouldn’t all you ever need to do is look for the absence inside an area? Sonar would be the anti-cloaking device.
Hill tells the team that there is an issue with the X-Men’s former home, Utopia.
A group of SHIELD agents went to Utopia and were confronted by a band of mutants. The agents have not been heard from since. Hill wants mutants to solve or investigate a mutant problem.
X23 and Angel fly back down and get a quick recap. Magik teleports the team.
Utopia Island. Former Home of the X-Men. San Francisco. Has Magik been back since losing her Phoenix portion, back in AvX? Has anyone?
I’m surprised Magik isn’t placing all of the blame on the Avengers, if they hadn’t gotten involved, the Phoenix Force’s return to Earth would have ended without much conflict.
The All New X-Men meet the Utopians – Random, Masque, Elixir, Boom, Karma and Madison Jeffries. I like how Karma is the leader of this group and she chooses to speak directly to Magik, who has to be the leader of this group. I would have loved a New Mutants reference between the two of them.
I do like Bobby and Hank enjoying saying, Boom Boom. Such a silly name, that’s what I always like to call Tabitha, Meltdown.
I like how Random is a realist and knew that they needed to have a policy about fools who would bother them.
Tensions are getting high so Jean shuts the Utopians down.
How great is that page above, great composition!
Jean really is tired of fighting mutants. Just then, Cyclops starts blasting dudes, Jean is taken down first. Magik dodges, for the most part. Cyclops starts shouting for someone to take him out and Beast is super glad to do so.
Then the worst case happens, X23 turns on the team.
The teenagers don’t really know to take down one of their own. Magik has to tell them that this is Karma who is up to no good.
Jean confronts Karma. I do like how X23 is willing to kill any and all who have tried to control her.
Meltdown starts throwing bombs.
Jean causes Karma to wake up in a mindscape. This is the first page that I notice that Asrar is still drawing boobs weirdly. Up to this point, Magik and the Utopians ladies’ costumes are more supportive to the gals so it isn’t noticeable at all but Jean’s costume is skin tight (or some nonsense) and her boobs just seem, I don’t know, artificially placed, isn’t the right word. Like he has to draw them and draws them to do it but they seem fake or some such thing.
Jean really wants to see life through Karma’s eyes.
We get that awesome effect seen in both All New X-Men issues 5 & 32, but with Karma!
We wish some of these panels were more specific. I like her origin and being part of the original line up of the New Mutants, the two Shadow King. Then we get four panels that are essentially pretty generic. Karma as a teacher, makes sense. Her training with Emma, did that happen? Is it crucial to her story? It is one of three panels featuring her robotic leg. One would think that one of these three panels would be during Second Coming but I don’t think that is represented. I was going to say her time on Astonishing X-Men isn’t but that’s what the panel with her hand is showing. Those are ice walls. Could that be Kitty Pryde in the dark shirt? I’m surprised there isn’t a panel showing her with a special lady friend. The bottom two are the formation of the Utopians.
Still, I do like the technique being used again.
The team goes to Maria Hill and they have brought the missing SHIELD agents. They do not sell out the Utopians. They call Hill on her nonsense about how she’s cool with the Avengers setting up base anywhere but apparently the X-Men need to be accounted for.
The team have brought the Utopians to the old New Xavier School, as no one is using it.
The Utopians are not thrilled about staying at a former Weapon X facility but it is abandoned and there some attempt to make it more of a home.
Issue ends setting up Teen Jean Grey’s portion of Uncanny X-Men 600 – Jean is going to try to figure out why the X-Men are always being persecuted and hated. I guess we will learn in twenty weeks.
Writer Brian Wood
Penciler Mahmud Asrar
Inker Juan Vlasco
Colorist Bellaire
Lettering & Production Joe Sabino
Natural Resources, Part Five of Five
Cover Dated August 2013
This is another comic that I got in Great Falls from Kelly’s Komix. With this purchase, I now own all of the regular issues of this series. Now my Wishlist, only has the two variants for the first issue, and the variants for issues 13 and 29.
This the conclusion of the American military invading Utopia (a plot of dead land given to the mutants, in New Mexico – that they turn it around and made into a living and thriving land). It also sets up the next storyline, Utopia (Shadowcat) v Tian (Jean Grey).
No wonder Bendis wanted Asrar for his All New X-Men visiting the Ultimate X-Men storyline.
This issue opens with Rogue, who has always been close to “Utopia” the greenery of the land. She speaks to it and believes it speaks to her, and she sics the foliage onto the invading military. It does so, with ease.
Jean is with a dying Psylocke, or whoever this is suppose to be as Psylocke has died twice already, in the Ultimate Universe. The first time, she switched bodies with a Japanese gal (of course) and then some time again, after that. Before she dies, she tells Jean that her mission was to perverse the end of the mutant race. She entrusts Jean with this mission. Farbird, who is Jean’s right hand flying metal spy fella, is Jean’s companion here.
I do like how Wood, throughout his run on this title, choose to skip big fight scenes and just show the beginning and the tail end of them. We don’t need to waste a page or four, with people throwing punches and kicks. General Ross (that one) calls for a cease fire. With Psylocke’s death, the mutants she was controlling are now free.
Shadowcat, now that the fighting is over, allows Ross to approach her.
I do miss seeing Ultimate Shadowcat, dressed all in white. I still say that it is an odd choice for someone is essentially living out in the desert and on the land, but she rarely gets dirty, so she makes it work. The clothes really make her stand out. Plus, it is always good to have a color scheme. Not sure why that idea was dropped for All New Ultimates, probably because not many people read Ultimate Comics X-Men, especially not those who work for Ultimate Marvel, as nothing in this run is ever referenced in All New Ultimates nor anything that Bendis wrote.
Ross has ordered a full retreat and withdrawal. Ross offers some advice, Shadowcat has won their independence, they own their land and an ideology. His advice is that she should try to not reminding humans how scary mutants can be. Mutants should lay low, which is the opposite of what Jean will be doing next.
Shadowcat informs Ross, that that was never mutants intentions. Mutants are the victims and the “let’s blame the victims” mentality needs to end. Mutants have tried to hide and they are always chased from the shadows. Ross tries to turn it around, saying that they are young and should live life and enjoy life. Shadowcat informs him, and I love how she isn’t just going to allow him to talk in generalities – she tells him that they all wish they could have had childhoods.
Once the military is gone, the X-Men try to rebuild. Mach Two and Shadowcat hug it out, as they no longer need to be fighting over leadership – especially as Mach Two isn’t being mind controlled. Which explains why Mach Two had such a drastic character change from the scared little girl Shadowcat found in the old Morlock tunnels, to being so confident and causing a rift in the mutant community of Utopia.
The mutants have grown, Shadowcat’s ideology was never compromised, they stayed on target. The mutants are proud, pleased and loyal.
Jean and Farbird are discussing their next plans. She orders him to go to Tian, in under two hours (he would prefer three) and access her Operation : Supersonic project. Jean is hoping to not go this far but if she must, she will.
There is an ad for Guardians of the Galaxy 5, Angela (from the pages of Spawn) is joining the title. Brought to us by Bendis, Gaiman and Pichelli – but Gaiman is mostly there for the copyright issue. The issue came out in July 2013, and Angela is in the Marvel Universe due to the events of Age of Ultron.
Shadowcat and Jean are having an official meeting. Shadowcat is pleased to see that Jean is no longer pretending to be “Karen Grant.” Jean can’t believe that Shadowcat could see through that disguise. Shadowcat states it is due to the sentient seed, which I was tempted to refer to the jungle as “the seed” which should teach me to not read the full issue before doing the review for it. But I sort of like reading the comic and writing the review at the same time. Shadowcat was never fooled by the disguise.
I love how Shadowcat crosses the room, with such confidence. She refuses to let Utopia fall under the umbrella of the hateful, Tian. Shadowcat wants Utopia to be a save haven for mutants and humans, to co-exist. Especially as segregated societies have never worked, anywhere nor anytime.
Jean will never understand Utopia and should just leave.
Jean grabs Shadowcat, by the neck, and shouts at her. I’m reminded that Jean and Kitty barely had any real scenes together, so it isn’t like they were ever best friends. Jean was always on the A-Team and Kitty ran with the B-Team, hence why she survived post Ultimatum.
Jean calls Utopia an embarrassment to mutants and Shadowcat just phases Jean’s hand always from her – so great. Shadowcat is not prone to fighting, as it is mostly pointless.
Jean is finally willing to listen to reason. I like how slyly Shadowat hints that Jean doesn’t have her telepathy here, the jungle shuts it down. Shadowcat wouldn’t have minded a Sister Nation partnership between the two communities but she refuses to work with Jean.
I get why Bendis didn’t want to use this Jean in his All New / Ultimate crossover and Wood did try to calm her down at the end of his run on this title, but I can never forget that Ultimate Jean was practically all powerful, at one point in time.
Jean tries to intimidate Shadowcat, by going full Phoenix but Shadowcat doesn’t blink. It is clearly a desperation move.
Kitty tells Jean to go home, which is so great. Jimmy James is impress that Utopia, once again, didn’t have to fight to win the battle.
The issue ends with World War X being teased as Project : Supersonic is brought to ‘stand by status’
I have reviewed, World War X, already, which is pretty handy and not usually how it works here at S&FwM.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Mahmud Asrar
Colorist Rain Beredo
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
This issue will go down in history for a particular moment but we will get to that.
Utopia Island. Former Home of the X-Men, San Francisco Bay. A group of salvagers have arrived on the island. They suspect that the X-Men left behind a slew of valuables when they left the island nation. They suspect that the Avengers nor SHIELD has had the time to go back and pick up those islands. Which is odd, as SHIELD clearly has enough soldiers employed that can go to locations like Utopia and start grabbing important pieces of equipment.
There is a noise from a cave and someone or some group, knock out all of the
The New Xavier School. Location Secret. Today. The All New X-Men are finally back to their school, after a little visit to the Ultimate Universe and then their adventures in outer space during Black Vortex. They all have been missing their world, Scott has been gone longer than them, though.
Magik arrives, with some brown lunch bags.
Magik brought some burgers, which Scott has disparately been missing Earth food.
Hank and Magik get the dialogue exchange of the year.
Hank : And they don’t freak out when you magically appear in line at a fast food establishment dressed like that?
Magik : I usually get everything for free magically appearing dressed like this.
So great and it answers a very long never before asked question. How does Magik get so much stuff, so easily and so fast? Dressed that way, dudes are constantly willing to do anything for her. Rightfully so. Magik is so great and she really needs an ongoing series, I could make one last for fifty issues, easily.
Magik informs the team, now that Shadowcat (getting her first of two references, in this issue) is staying in space – Magik will be their instructor.
Scott calls Illyana “ma’am” and Magik, in turn, calls him “Baby Tyke-lops” which is a name that should really stick. Bendis has a great handle on Magik.
Jean picks up on the fact that something is going wrong inside the school, because she’s a nosy bitch.
Magik is going inside to figure it out, she tells the team to stay outside. So this issue takes place during Uncanny X-Men Volume Three 32, so Black Vortex takes place between 31 and 32. So Last Will and Testament of Xavier, Black Vortex, Issue 32, next is this issue and then Uncanny X-Men, so Kitty Pryde must come back to Earth in the next hour to make issue 33 set up.
Bobby, like a jerk, salutes Magik’s unbelievable hotness. But he isn’t being, like a real jerk about it. More like a 14 year old boy who is standing in front of an unbelievable hot lady. Jean, for no good reason, decides to pull Bobby aside. Bobby stands behind his comment, Magik is hot and he feels the need to address it. Jean knows Illyana is hot and there is no doubt that Illyana knows it too and makes it work for her.
Then the page that set the world on fire, one April 21, 2015 day. Jean tells Bobby that he is gay. Not him, under his own control, comes out to a dear friend. No, Jean, goes into his head, and decides to dictate what Bobby is. Jean, the worst person around.
Jean mind rapes the information from Bobby. Mind you, she and Bobby have never been close. They are not complete strangers but they are not close at all. Jean may be a tad closer to Warren. She’s always been close to Hank and Scott. I do like how All New Bobby and Scott were getting close. If someone was going to tell this story, I would have had Bobby come out to Scott. Like a scene where Bobby is updating Scott on everything that they did, and then end it with how he is preparing to come out as a homosexual. Bendis choose to go this route, as Jean is the star of this title and she needs to get all the big moments.
Bobby puts up an ice wall. We cut to the other members of the team, and they are pretty uninterested. Back to Bobby and Jean. Bobby points out that his older proper self is not gay.
Bobby isn’t sure why people like her so much, and I don’t get it ever.
Bobby isn’t sure how his older self cannot be gay, as well. Some of the forty pages of Uncanny X-Men 600, will be dedicated to the two Icemen talking about this.
Jean points out that Iceman never had any lasting relationships. Bobby points out his relationship to Kitty Pryde, BobKat. This reminds me of the issue of All New where Bobby saw his older self and Professor K making out, and he was disgusted by it. There also was the issue where Scott and he went on a double date and he was displeased with the lady he was stuck with. Then there was the issue where Bobby felt like a Disney princess. Which I like how Bendis has been dropping hints about this.
We get to the main panels that turn me off from this idea. Bobby tries to say that he could be bisexual. Jean pretty much, both, insults all bisexuals everywhere – with the comment that most people are bisexual. Then she identifies Bobby as being more . . . full gay. As if, full gay, was a term. But if Bobby wants to self identify as bisexual, let the boy self identify as bisexual. I mean, really, did Jean spend all of her time, since coming to the present, studying up on modern day sexuality, instead of looking into the ethics of being a telepath? That sounds about right.
We get to the page that makes this whole nonsense okay. Bobby appreciates that he finally got to voice some of the thoughts that are in his head.
Jean promises to keep his secret, but you know, she could have done that and never talk to Bobby about any of this.
What redeems this, is that Bobby calls Jean by my new favorite name for her – nosy bitch. I usually don’t like to refer to women as bitches but that’s pretty much what Jean is now, so I’m going with it.
Bobby tries to make the situation light and asks if Jean suspects that Warren could be gay. Jean shuts that idea down. Then they laugh about how Tyke-lops is a great nickname.
SHIELD Hellicarrier. Floating World Headquarters of the UN Peacekeeping Task Force. Present Location : 1,000 Feet Over London, England. Some SHIELD soldiers (are all of them called, agents?) tell Commander Maria Hill that there has been a situation. She instantly wishes that it isn’t mutant related and when they tell her it is, she starts slamming her head on the desk.
We get to the actual good part of the issue, Warren flies in and swoops X23 into his arms. They have a very nice chat and get some things said. He explains why he accepted the cosmic power upgrade. Once he came to the present, he learn how horrible his future was. He knew, the first chance he got, if he could make a permanent change, he wouldn’t have hesitated to take the opportunity. Now that he has this new sense of confidence, he can tell X23 that he loves her. They kiss, which is probably better than how he thought this conversation was going to go.
Utopia Island. Former home of the X-Men. San Francisco Bay. A SHIELD jet begins to land, when like their Hellicarrier, it crashes down onto the surface.
We finally meet The Utopians! They are not the Ultimate X-Men in the Proper Marvel Universe.
They are – The Morlock’s Masque / Elixir / Meltdown / Random / Madison Jeffries / Karma
Pretty decent line up there, I like how they have a color scheme. How did they get Masque from the New York City tunnels to across the nation? I also like how Meltdown is the leader of the group. I guess Elixir survived being nearly killed in Logan Legacy. Madison Jeffries, I suppose, never left the island. Random, maybe they are paying him to be there? Random hasn’t been seen in three years, since his short stint in Generation Hope, issues 15, 16 and 17. Surprisingly,
http://comicbookdb.com/character_chron.php?ID=4926
Random has been in at least one comic, every year from 2005 to today. He took 2004 off, had one appearance in 2003, took off 2002 – pretty decent.
Karma, was just not doing much after Astonishing ended.
. . .
As this is obviously months later, I wanted to cite some websites so that people can remember how much conversation was sparked with this issue.
Here are the two threads I was most active on :
Brian Cronin’s “Thoughts on All New X-Men 40 and Whether Flawed Characters Are a Sign of Flawed Writing
Uncanny X-Cast’s Facebook Group’s Issue Discussion
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4045322485/permalink/10153236850637486/
I post some links in there that made me think I should add them to this post.
Bryan Singer’s Reaction to All New Iceman’s coming out
Brian Michael Bendis’ “In Portland, no one cares about this type of stuff”
I’m sure there were hundreds of website reviews about the news item, itself, but these were the ones I stuck with or referenced.
http://www.newsarama.com/25897-marvel-comics-december-2015-solicitations.html
Like we’ve done for the past two months, I’ll give my opinion on the new number one issues.
SECRET WARS #9 (of 9)
JONATHAN HICKMAN• ESAD RIBIC (a)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
VARIANT COVER BY FRED HEMBECK
GENESIS!
56 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
Instead of a miniseries to bridge the gap, we are getting the creative team to do that, which makes sense.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #4
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
• Tony is knee deep in trouble from enemies both old and new. But here comes MARY JANE WATSON AND HIS WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Mary Jane Watson joining Iron Man’s title is a tad intriguing.
A-FORCE #1
G. WILLOW WILSON
A-FORCE, ASSEMBLE! From the ashes of Battleworld, Marvel’s newest hero SINGULARITY has risen and entered the Marvel Universe. But she didn’t make the journey alone. To combat the most fearsome threats from across the multiverse, Singularity will summon the world’s mightiest team of Avengers to her side: SHE-HULK. CAPTAIN MARVEL. DAZZLER. MEDUSA. NICO MINORU. Together, they are A FORCE to be reckoned with!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
We still don’t know who this Singularity, really is. Must be awkward, for her, as she knows counterparts of her new old team but they won’t know her. Unless the characters do remember Secret Wars 2015.
THE TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1
GREG PAK
THERE’S A BRAND NEW HULK IN TOWN, AND HIS NAME IS AMADEUS CHO!
Get ready for the craziest Hulk story of the millennium as a kid genius decides he’s gonna be the best Hulk ever — and just possibly brings the entire Marvel Universe crashing down into chaos! Totally awesome beach day! Massive monster mayhem! She-Hulk and Lady Hellbender! Massive heart and ridiculous action brought to you by PLANET HULK writer Greg Pak and superstar artist Frank Cho! Is it possible for us to fit in one more exclamation point? YES!
40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
I do like the name to this series, but I don’t really know Amadeus Cho, outside of his Ultimate counterpart and reading reviews of previous appearances. I’ll be passing on this.
GUARDIANS OF INFINITY #1
DAN ABNETT & JASON LATOUR
CARLO BARBERI & JIM CHEUNG (a)
COVER BY JIM CHEUNG
WHO ARE THE GUARDIANS 1000?!
Defending the galaxy is a good gig, but Drax isn’t thrilled with the combat hours (not enough of them) and Rocket isn’t thrilled with the compensation (not enough of it). They’re off on an adventure to supplement both, and Groot is happy to come along. But instead of the perks they want, they’re about to get more trouble than they can handle. Good thing the Guardians 3000 are on hand to help! But what about…THE GUARDIANS 1000??!!
Also in this issue, Latour and Cheung tell a one-off story of Ben Grimm and Rocket Raccoon, stuck on a planet where culture is based on Earth-style professional wrestling…but the stakes are life and death! THIS AIN’T KAYFABE, BROTHER!
40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
A new Guardians title without Kitty or Thing? I’ll be passing. Unless she gets a mention, then I’ll pick this up.
DAREDEVIL #1 & 2
CHARLES SOULE
Back in black and on his home turf, Daredevil begins again in New York City as a new enemy emerges. Meanwhile his alter ego, Matt Murdock, is on a new side of the law in the District Attorney’s office. Fighting crime in the shadows, prosecuting bad guys in the light, it’s a whole new chapter for our man without fear—including the arrival of the devil’s advocate. Welcome to Hell, Blindspot.
32 PGS. (each)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (each)
Will this have a guest spot by She-Hulk now that he is on the prosecutor side? I’ll still be passing on this.
ALL-NEW INHUMANS #1 & 2
CHARLES SOULE & JAMES ASMUS
As the Terrigen Clouds move around the world they leave in their wake the wrecked lives of the Inhumanized. Crystal and her team are tasked to help as many of these NuHumans as possible, but it’s not going to be easy. Not only are views of these new super-powered people varied (from fear to anger to amazement) but even those who get the powers aren’t always glad to get them. Add to that the nineteen mysterious Skyspears that recently crashed into the Earth, and the Inhuman world just got a lot more complicated.
Issue #1 – 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
Issue #2 – 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
I will not be reading this until the eventful X-Men / Inhumans crossover. That Charles Soule is on a couple books now!
UNCANNY X-MEN #1 & 2
CULLEN BUNN
In a world that’s never hated or feared mutants more, there is only one constant: BIGGER THREATS REQUIRE MORE THREATENING X-MEN. Refusing to accept one more mutant death, the most ruthless mutants on Earth have banded together to proactively mow down their enemies. But with a team populated by relentless killers, one question applies above all others: Can they stay away from each other’s throats long enough to sever their targets’?
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (EACH)
I did enjoy Magneto 21, written by Bunn. It makes sense that Marvel gives him a mutant team and it also makes sense that he will bring Magneto with him. It does annoy me that this volume of Uncanny isn’t going to last pass him, as I can see them now just renumbering it, all the time now. We would have the Gillen volume, the Bendis volume and now, the Cullen volume. I’ll be passing on this as Suicide Squad X-Men, doesn’t do anything for me. Or the eventful crossover. I will be adding it to my pull list, just in case something happens in it that I need to follow.
RED WOLF #1
NATHAN EDMONDSON
COVER BY JEFFREY VEREGGE
ONCE UPON A TIMELY IN THE WEST…
Frontier boomtown Timely has more than its share of scoundrels: it takes a hero to keep them in line. Red Wolf—the Cheyenne who crossed the desert and stood up to Mayor Wilson Fisk in Secret Wars’ 1872—is the only man who can fill fallen Sheriff Steve Rogers’ boots. As an outsider and an honest man, Red is going to need all his wits, and both his fists, to serve and protect. The tale of how Red Wolf wins the West starts in 1872, and will take him farther than he could ever imagine!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
If only this was a continuation of Blaze of Glory or Apache Skies, I would be all over this.
SPIDEY #1
ROBBIE THOMPSON
Think you know everything about Peter Parker’s early days? Think again. It’s action, adventure and a rip-roaring romp in classic Marvel style as SPIDEY swings onto shelves this winter! Featuring adventures from throughout the web-slinging wonder’s younger years, it’s a return to the days of overdue homework, not knowing how to talk to girls (or anybody, really) and just a plenty of danger. Witness some of Spidey’s earliest tangles with the likes of DOC OCK, SANDMAN and a host of other unexpected guests!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
Working at Hastings, as made me realize the importance of an All Ages title but $3.99 is way too much. It needs to be $2.99, or cheaper. I will be passing on this, but I do like Nick Bradshaw being on the title, it should look spectacular!
SQUADRON SUPREME #1 & 2
JAMES ROBINSON
CoverS by ALEX ROSS
They’re each the sole survivor of a lost Earth and they’ll do anything to protect this one, whether you like it or not. The Squadron Supreme — comprising Hyperion (Avengers), Nighthawk (Supreme Power), Dr. Spectrum (the Great Society), Blur (DP7) and Power Princess — are a team that doesn’t ask permission or what the rules are. To them all that matters is the safety of Earth and if you stand in the way…that’s your problem! Tell that to the Squadron’s first target — Namor, destroyer of Dr. Spectrum’s homeworld, who will have to pay for his crimes…but at what cost to the people of Atlantis.
32 PGS. (each)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (each)
I’ll be passing on this but nice to see that Supreme Power is being recognized.
STARBRAND & NIGHTMASK #1
GREG WEISMAN
Cover by YASMINE PUTRI
Two former Avengers with tremendous power – and almost zero life experience – are on their own, trying to find their place as HEROES, COSMIC ENTITIES and…COLLEGE STUDENTS? What meal plan will cover a cosmic metabolism? Can two all-powerful entities share a dorm room the size of roach motel? Can you safely teleport to Mars after partying all night long at your first kegger? Find out in Starbrand & Nightmask!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Marvel probably should have referenced which Secret Wars 2015 title this is coming out of, but regardless, I will be passing on it.
WEIRDWORLD #1
SAM HUMPHRIES
• From the pages of SECRET WARS, now in the ALL-NEW MARVEL U!
• Imagine, being trapped in a world of sword and sorcery.
• With no sword and sorcery experience to speak of.
• This is the story of BECCA, a girl stuck in WEIRDWORLD, with only one mission: get home alive!
• Marvel’s own twisted fantasy realm comes alive before your eyes! Barbarians! Wizards! And tricked out sports cars!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
I heard good things from the Secret Wars 2015 series but I’ll be passing. Sam Humphries writing, does mean that it should be pretty great.
SCARLET WITCH #1
JAMES ROBINSON
COVER BY DAVID AJA
Witchcraft is broken – and the SCARLET WITCH is on a journey across the globe to fix it. From the back alleys of Manhattan, to the serene Greek Isles, to the bustling streets of Hong Kong, Wanda will have to face down her foes and find out who her true friends are. But as Wanda solves magical crimes and pieces witchcraft back together, the most important question remains: Who is the mastermind that broke it in the first place? Written by Eisner Award winner JAMES ROBINSON, with covers by Eisner Award winner DAVID AJA with the first issue drawn by fan-favorite VANESA DEL REY!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
If the Vision was in this, I may be interested but I’ll be passing on this.
PATSY WALKER, AKA HELLCAT! #1
KATE LETH
PATSY WALKER has managed to escape her past, her enemies and Hell itself (literally), but nothing compares to job hunting in New York City! Between trying to make rent and dodging (literal) bullets, Patsy barely has time to deal with her mother’s exploitative romance comics about her childhood resurfacing, much less how they start to interfere with her work and dating life. As she goes from living a double life to a triple, what the Hell is Patsy Walker supposed to do? Raise your (literal) claws for PATSY WALKER, AKA HELLCAT!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
I do like Marvel putting out more female lead series but I’ll be passing on this one too.
GWENPOOL SPECIAL #1
GERRY DUGGAN, CHARLES SOULE, CHRISTOPHER HASTINGS, VARIOUS
DANILO BEYRUTH, LANGDON FOSS, GURIHIRU, VARIOUS (A)
COVER BY KRIS ANKA
• AN ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL!
• She-Hulk throws a holiday party and invites the entire Marvel U!
• Deadpool teams up with both Hawkeyes – Kate and Clint – to…stop a pickpocket?!
• Ms. Marvel takes on her most dangerous threat yet: the holiday blues!
• And then there’s the reason for the season(al special): GWENPOOL!
• Yup, you read that right – Gwen. Pool. C’mon, you know you’re curious.
50 PGS./Rated T …$5.99
Well, this had to happen, the popularity of Spider-Gwen has mixed with Deadpool’s popularity and now we have . . . Gwenpool, who was on the variant cover to Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars 2, by Chris Bachalo. Shame it doesn’t seem like the X-Men or the Guardians of the Galaxy will be appearing in this, but I’ll add it to my pull list, in case they do appear. I do like Holiday Specials.
ALL-NEW X-MEN #3
DENNIS HOPELESS
• Terrible acts committed by mutant revolutionary Cyclops have placed mutantkind in extinction’s crosshairs…and no one is left to suffer the consequences more than his time-displaced counterpart—teen-aged Scott Summers.
• As Storm and her team whisk Earth’s remaining mutants away to safe haven, the original X-Men do just the opposite: emboldened by super heroic ideals, the ALL-NEW X-MEN set out on the road to save their world and write their own futures.
• But can youthful optimism reverse the damage Cyclops has done?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
I wonder if the Extraordinary team will appear in this? It does read as if they are only mentioned so that the mission statements are made clear. Still seems missable to me.
Art by Humberto Ramos
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #4 & 5
JEFF LEMIRE
• The clock is winding down for mutantkind and one of the X-Men’s oldest foes has come to speed up the process: MISTER SINISTER has returned! And he’s bringing the X-Men face-to-face with their greatest fear…
• As the first chapter of EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN races to its exciting conclusion, one thing’s for sure for this team of all-new, all-different X-Men: Not everyone will emerge unscathed.
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (EACH)
Sinister is coming back? Maybe this will be the story that gets me into that character. Magik on the cover to issue four is pretty nice.
ALL-NEW WOLVERINE #3
TOM TAYLOR
Cover by BENGAL
• It’s WOLVERINE vs. TASKMASTER in this explosive issue!
• Can Laura survive ALCHEMAX’S army of mercenaries?
• What is the devastating secret the SISTERS have been keeping?
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99
This also seems missable.
DEADPOOL #3-4
GERRY DUGGAN
CoverS by TONY MOORE
• MORE DEADPOOL THAN YOU WANTED!
• That’s right—Wade’s called in some help being him.
• And you won’t believe (or recognize?) who he signed up!
• (Unless you are intimately familiar with Marvel Encyclopediae.)
32 PGS. (EACH)/Parental Advisory …$3.99 (EACH)DEADPOOL & CABLE: SPLIT SECOND #1 (of 3)
FABIEN NICIEZA
Call them a duo with a special kind of dynamics…call them the odd couple but with guns…call them 90s comics distilled down into two characters—DEADPOOL AND CABLE ARE BACK, BABY! That’s right—The Merc with the Mouth and the Soldier with the Scowl are together again in this all-new series! When Cable gets a vision of a terrible future set off by the death of one man, he knows he must protect him no matter what! I’ll get you three guesses who’s been hired to kill that guy. Go on, guess. The fan favorite team of Fabian Nicieza & Reilly Brown have reunited to get the gang back together—and it feels so good!
40 PGS./Parental Advisory …$4.99DEADPOOL #3.1: TRES PUNTO UNO
GERRY DUGGAN & BRIAN POSEHN
Cover by FRANCISCO HERRERA
Meet “Masacre”—the Deadpool of Mexico! Did you know that Deadpool in Spanish-speaking countries is called “Masacre”? Here comes the issue to make all of that even more confusing, as we meet Masacre, the deadly Deadpool-inspired vigilante south of the border! Watch him slaughter his way into your hearts in this entirely Spanish language one-shot written, drawn, and edited by folks who don’t speak it!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99
Hey, a Deadpool movie is coming out! I’m skipping all of these!
Art by Mahmud Asrar
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #3
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
VARIANT COVER BY FRED HEMBECK
VARIANT COVER BY MAHMUD ASRAR
MARVEL ‘92 VARIANT BY TBA
• Gamora is back, but things have changed.
• What has she been doing for the last eight months?!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
I want that Asrar variant! It is the only one that features Kitty! The Hembeck variants seem fun and the Hip Hop variants seem silly. Shouldn’t they have come out with Straight Outta Compton came out? I hope Gamora joins the team.
STAR-LORD #2
SAM HUMPHRIES
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON
• After just a little bit of grand theft extraterrestrial vessel, young Peter Quill finally made it to space!
• Then he got stuck there.
• Another ship is approaching: is their intention space roadside assistance, or space highway robbery? Peter’s got to be ready for anything!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
Shame this is still in the past but hopefully that stops after issue six. If Marvel was going to do this, wouldn’t it make more sense to do this when the sequel film comes out? Though I imagine that they did this already, when the first one came out. Maybe Humphries really wanted to do this, who knows.
VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT #2
ROBBIE THOMPSON
VARIANT Cover by MIKE ALLRED
• Between missions with the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Venom fights strange, violent aliens and helps strange, peaceful aliens. Aliens can be strange, is what we’re saying.
• All the while, he’s being trailed by a mysterious warship! Are its operators violent or peaceful?
• Flash and his Klyntar are working better than ever, but there’s a lot Flash doesn’t know about being an Agent of the Cosmos. And what he doesn’t know could kill him!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99
I imagine that there may be a slight reference to the Guardians but I’m not sure. I wonder how these spin offs work. Does the main title keep referencing their side adventures or does it ignore them?
DRAX #2
CM PUNK & cullen bunn
• Drax and Terrax walk into a space cantina. Are they gonna brawl or go on a bender? Either way, it’ll be epic!
• Drax needs to get his starship–the Space Sucker–repaired. Only problem? He has no money.
• But a mysterious crime spree may be the answer to his prayers… or at least a violent distraction.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
This, I’m not sure about.
HOWARD THE DUCK #2
CHIP ZDARSKY
COVER BY JOE QUINONES
VARIANT COVER BY VERONICA FISH
VARIANT COVER BY FRED HEMBECK
GWENPOOL VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• “Our World.”
• Plus, a new Gwenpool story!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
What an odd place for a Gwenpool back up. Maybe Zdarsky is writing it? If so, it will be very funny. I still haven’t read anything with Spider-Gwen in it.
SILK #2
ROBBIE THOMPSON
Cover by HELEN CHEN
• SILK! BLACK CAT! IN CAHOOTS!
• But not everyone in Cat’s criminal crew are happy about it!
• Neither is everyone in Cindy’s life, including a certain CEO of Parker Industries.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
I just unlocked Silk in Facebook’s Avengers Alliance game. I’m a daily player (after not playing it in maybe a full year – so I’m way behind in characters) so if you want to add me, please feel free to do so.
https://www.facebook.com/JackalsIII
I only read one appearance, it was in the Original Sin Amazing Spider-Man 4 tie-in, but it was Pre-Silk. Now you know what I know, about Silk.
SPIDER-GWEN #3
JASON LATOUR
• Still reeling from the events of SPIDER-VERSE, Gwen Stacy decides to pay a visit to Jessica Drew, AKA Spider-Woman!
• Gwen learns about her Earth-616 counterpart, and sees that the lesson that with great power, there must also come great responsibility applies in any reality.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
Well that answers my question, I think. Her previous ongoing was in her universe and now her new ongoing is in the New Proper Marvel Universe. I’m surprised she isn’t a bigger player in Secret Wars 2015, like Miles Morales. I guess they didn’t want too many Spider-folk – that’s what Spider-Verse is for.
CARNAGE #3
GERRY CONWAY
Cover by MIKE DEL MUNDO
• Trapped down in a mineshaft with Carnage, the situation for the FBI’s symbiote squad gets HAIRY when John Jameson loses his cool.
• You won’t want to miss th—AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Is John Jameson still Man Wolf? That’s pretty cool.
SPIDER-WOMAN #2
DENNIS HOPELESS
• TRAPPED in an alien hospital with a bunch of other moms-to-be, Jessica Drew has suddenly found herself in over her head!
• It’s anything but business as usual as Jess realizes she’s the only person who can save the day – but only if she can keep herself and her baby safe in the process!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
I hope her baby makes it!
NEW AVENGERS #4
AL EWING
• Out beyond the nether dark lurks… Moridun, Master Magus of the Fifth Cosmos!
• He’s not just an evil wizard – he’s an evil Space Wizard! But when the space dust settles, who will be… the King of Space?
• Seriously, everything’s cooler in space. How cool will the New Avengers be in space? THEY WILL BE PRETTY COOL!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
This is a fun write up, the first of the month’s!
UNCANNY AVENGERS #3
GERRY DUGGAN
• The Avengers close in on the new Inhuman that’s destroying Boston.
• The Torch wishes he paid better attention in science class, and an Avenger has a secret that may undo the team before it begins!
• Plus — the surprising final member of this series makes a grand and bloody entrance.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
Wait, is Human Torch a member of the team? If so, then all the original Fantastic Four members have now served as Avengers. He’s been the lone hold out.
THE ULTIMATES #2
AL EWING
Variant Cover by JIM CHEUNG
VARIANT COVER BY FRED HEMBECK
• Galactus is beyond good and evil. Galactus is a necessary part of the universe. When Galactus hungers — living worlds must die.
• The Ultimates have heard it all before, and respectfully… they don’t agree.
• But can even the ultimate superteam end the threat of the devourer of worlds for good? And if they do — WHAT will take his place?
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99
Makes sense, now that the Ultimate Universe is no more (right?) that Galactus would make his way back home.
THE VISION #2
TOM KING
• After the stunning, heart-stopping events of Vision #1, the Avengers will never be the same.
• The Vision and his family attempt to cope with these events in their own, unique way. Though they put on a happy face, each of them can feel their anger growing, blistering, tearing them apart.
• Will the Visions be able to hold together, or will that anger destroy them and the world around them?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Too bad Wanda isn’t in this title but I guess I have to start letting that go.
THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #3
RYAN NORTH
Variant Cover by MATT WAITE
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
• Squirrel Girl has woken up, only to find she’s been hurled back in time to the 1960s! Mondays, am I right?
• And if that wasn’t trouble enough, her friend Nancy is coming face to face with the villainous [CENSORED]!
• Yes, I’ve noticed that when I type [CENSORED]’s name it shows up as [CENSORED]; no, I don’t know how to fix that.
• This book features the following: Squirrel Girl, time travel, [CENSORED], and emotions! It promises to satisfy fans of each of those things, even if they don’t like the other things!
• Which is great because emotions are just THE WORST
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
A second fun write up!
HOWLING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #3
FRANK BARBIERE
Variant Cover by David Marquez
• A brand new commando joins the battle!
• The team searches for answers in a haunted museum!
• The horror comes home with a crisis at S.T.A.K.E. HQ!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
STAKE is the new division of SHIELD? Up there with SWORD and ARMOR, I like it.
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS #3
AL EWING
IRON MAN! JOE FIXIT! GAMORA! MARVEL’S HEAVY HITTERS COLLIDE IN THE CONTEST!
• Can Iron Man and Gamora trust Guillotine – or is the call of her bloody legacy too strong?
• Ares strikes!
• Plus: Venom Hulk?!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
Thanks for including the characters!
ANGELA: QUEEN OF HEL #3
MARGUERITE BENNETT
Cover by STEPHANIE HANS
Variant Cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
• To the soundtrack of a totally sick Nordic death metal solo, Angela and Sera embark on the conquest to crown Angela Queen of the Dead…and encounter some who they have sent to the afterlife themselves!
• Friends and foes return from the abyss as Angela and Sera raise a rebellion among the dead of the Ten Realms. • You’re the Mockingjay, Angela!!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
The Angela title always promises a fun write up.
GUIDEBOOK TO THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE — MARVEL’S THOR
Written by MIKE O’SULLIVAN & THE OHOTMU TEAM
Front cover by WILL SLINEY • Back cover by PASCAL CAMPION
The MCU Guidebooks bring the thunder as the mighty Thor steps into the spotlight! Our comprehensive coverage of the fan-favorite Marvel Studios films and Marvel TV series continues as we reveal everything you need to know about the golden realm of Asgard! Featuring fact sheets, movie-to-comic comparisons, and behind-the-scenes production art and movie stills, this issue is packed with profiles of Thor Odinson himself; family members Loki, Odin and Frigga; Asgardian allies including Sif, Heimdall, Hogun and Volstagg; human friends Erik Selvig, Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis; and an in-depth look at Asgard itself! Plus: Laufey and the Frost Giants, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell…and the Avenging Archer, Hawkeye! And more! Relive the big-screen thrills of Marvel’s Thor right here, and continue building your indispensable library of Cinematic Universe reference books!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Did Thor’s film have that many Easter eggs?
FIGMENT 2 #4 (of 5)
JIM ZUB
Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Action Figure Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
CAPRI AND FIGMENT’S JOURNEY TAKES A DARK TURN!
• Deep within the depths of Doubt, our heroes have nowhere to turn!
• Capri, Figment, and Spark come face to face with Dreamfinder’s corrupted imagination…but will they survive the experience?
• Another adventurous installment of the sequel to the fan-favorite Disney Kingdoms miniseries!
32 PGS./All Ages …$3.99
Elements based on Figment © Disney
I saw the first issue on the shelves and picked it up to see if it was horrible and I couldn’t bring myself to give it a chance.
CIVIL WAR HC MCNIVEN COVER (NEW PRINTING)
Written by MARK MILLAR
Penciled by STEVE MCNIVEN
Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN
The landscape of the Marvel Universe is changing, and it’s time to choose: Whose side are you on? In the wake of a superhuman tragedy, Capitol Hill proposes the Superhuman Registration Act, requiring all costumed heroes to unmask themselves before the United States government. Divided, the nation’s greatest champions must each decide how to react — a decision that will alter the course of their lives forever! Captain America rejects the Act and goes underground, Iron Man steps up to spearhead the registration effort — and Marvel’s heroes split right down the middle! The shocking crossover that rewrites the rules, Civil War stars Spider-Man, the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the entirety of the Marvel pantheon! Collecting CIVIL WAR (2006) #1-7, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: MARK MILLAR/STEVE MCNIVEN.
256 PGS./Rated T+ …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9448-4
Trim size: oversized
This makes sense, it was a decent crossover – Marvel’s most profitable one, I believe it still holds the record. Though a lot of the big moments have been overturned – Cap’s death and Spider-Man’s identity, so I’m not sure how it reads today.
X-MEN: AGE OF APOCALPYSE OMNIBUS HC (NEW PRINTING)
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL, MARK WAID,
FABIAN NICIEZA, JEPH LOEB, LARRY HAMA,
JOHN FRANCIS MOORE, WARREN ELLIS & HOWARD MACKIE
Penciled by ROGER CRUZ, ANDY KUBERT, STEVE EPTING, CHRIS BACHALO, JOE MADUREIRA, ADAM KUBERT,
STEVE SKROCE, KEN LASHLEY, TONY DANIEL,
SALVADOR LARROCA & MORE
Cover by BILLY TAN
Charles Xavier is dead — killed in the past during a time-travel accident — and without his dream, the world has become a nightmare! Apocalypse rules with an iron fist, ruthlessly enforcing his “survival of the fittest” creed — but hidden among a downtrodden humankind are Magneto’s ragtag freedom fighters: the X-Men! When Bishop, last survivor of the true Marvel Universe, explains how the world went wrong, these embittered mutants must risk everything — and undertake a dangerous and complex quest — to put things right! Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #320-321, X-MEN (1991) #40-41, CABLE (1993) #20, X-MEN ALPHA, AMAZING X-MEN (1995) #1-4, ASTONISHING X-MEN (1995) #1-4, FACTOR X #1-4, GAMBIT AND THE X-TERNALS #1-4, GENERATION NEXT #1-4, WEAPON X (1995) #1-4, X-CALIBRE #1-4, X-MAN #1-4, X-MEN OMEGA, AGE OF APOCALYPSE: THE CHOSEN and X-MEN ASHCAN #2.
1072 PGS./Rated T …$125
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9509-2
Trim size: oversized
Whoa, at $125, this feels like a steal!
DAREDEVIL BY FRANK MILLER OMNIBUS COMPANION HC
(NEW PRINTING)
Written by FRANK MILLER & BILL MANTLO
Penciled by FRANK MILLER, JOHN BUSCEMA,
DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, JOHN ROMITA JR.
& BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
The Man Without Fear is born and reborn in this second collection of Frank Miller’s finest, paired with the industry’s top artistic talent! When the drug-addled Karen Page trades away DD’s secret identity for a fix, Matt must find the strength to survive as the vengeful Kingpin takes him down as low a human can get! But will the Kingpin’s one weakness — his all-too-human heart — undo the criminal empire he has built for himself? Plus, look back on Matt Murdock’s formative years as a young boy grows into a Man Without Fear, and experience Miller’s very first work on two Marvel icons as Daredevil teams up with Spider-Man! Collecting PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #27-28, DAREDEVIL (1964) #219 and #226-233, DAREDEVIL: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR #1-5, and MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: DAREDEVIL — LOVE AND WAR.
608 PGS./Rated T+ …$99.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9538-2
Trim size: oversized
To tie in with the new number one? Strange to not do it for the second season of his show.
MASTER OF KUNG FU: BATTLEWORLD TPB
Written by HADEN BLACKMAN & PETER MILLIGAN
Penciled by DALIBOR TALAJIC
Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA
Welcome to the mystical land of K’un Lun, where the study of martial arts reigns supreme! But in a world where everyone’s hands are deadly, what becomes of a drunken dropout like Shang-Chi? Emperor Zheng Zu’s word is law in this Battleworld realm, and once the Thirteen Chambers open — it’s time to determine who is the Master of Kung Fu! Shang-Chi, a wanted murderer, has taken a vow of peace and found a new home with the Lower Caste. But to topple the despotic emperor, he must fight once more! Can Shang-Chi elude adversaries like the Laughing Skull long enough to confront his ultimate enemy — the man he once called father?! Plus: a tale from 17th-century Japan featuring a mysterious Ronin, the Incredible Monk! Collecting MASTER OF KUNG FU (2015) #1-4 and 5 RONIN #2.
112 PGS./Rated T+ …$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9879-6
Buy this! Such a great series!
HOUSE OF M: WARZONES! TPB
Written by DENNIS HOPELESS, CULLEN BUNN & BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Penciled by MARCO FAILLA, ARIO ANINDITO & OLIVIER COIPEL
Cover by KRIS ANKA
In the Battleworld zone known as the THE MONARCHY OF M, Lord Magnus and his family control all, having crushed all resistance to their reign. Magneto rules with an iron fist, while his children and grandchildren live their lives as royals — with all the privileges and pitfalls that come with that title. But is Magneto’s control as all-encompassing as it seems? And what happens to a conqueror when there’s no one left to conquer? As royal intrigue begins to build to a head, Quicksilver and Namor may have something sinister planned for Magneto’s kingdom. Is the heir apparent to the House of Magnus a traitor?! Plus: Look back at the creation of the original House of M as the Avengers and X-Men clash over the fate of the Scarlet Witch! Collecting HOUSE OF M (2015) #1-4 and HOUSE OF M (2005) #1.
120 PGS./Rated T+ …$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9872-7
Thus far, issue one is the only one I own, as there was no reason to own issue two.
DEADPOOL’S SECRET SECRET WARS TPB
Written by CULLEN BUNN & JIM SHOOTER
Penciled by MATTEO LOLLI, JACOPO CAMAGNI & MIKE ZECK
Cover by TONY HARRIS
Official SECRET WARS tie-in! Well, not that SECRET WARS — we’re talking the original epic from 1984! But wait, Deadpool wasn’t in that series, right? Wrong! Prepare to learn the terrifying truth as the team behind DEADPOOL KILLUSTRATED reveals the crucial role the Merc with a Mouth played on the Beyonder’s Battleworld! A role so secret, the rest of Marvel’s super heroes don’t even remember it! Now, relive the Secret Wars — from Doctor Doom’s rise to power to Hulk holding up a mountain — all with added Deadpool! Amid the chaos, there comes…and goes…a costume — but Wade’s awesome secret shield is totally for keeps! Prepare to discover how the original SECRET WARS really ended — and how the sassin’ assassin saved the universe! Collecting DEADPOOL’S SECRET SECRET WARS #1-4 and MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS #1.
112 PGS./Parental Advisory …$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9867-3
I own the first two issues, pretty good stuff.
ALL-NEW X-MEN VOL. 7: THE UTOPIANS TPB
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Penciled by MICHAEL DEL MUNDO,
ANDREA SORRENTINO & MAHMUD ASRAR
Cover by MAHMUD ASRAR
The time-tossed members of the All-New X-Men are more than teammates, more than best friends…they have become a close-knit family. But the mysterious Black Vortex may sunder their family ties permanently! As the young mutants venture back into space to deal with a galaxy in chaos, they must decipher the Vortex’s secrets — and fast, because the villainous Mister Knife has kidnapped some of their team! Beast and Kitty travel to Spartax to study the Vortex Book, as Storm formulates a plan to break into Mister Knife’s fortress. But will the Vortex’s cosmic power transform the young mutants into something unrecognizable? Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Utopians hold a secret that will change the future of mutantkind…but who are the Utopians? The All-New X-Men may regret finding out! Collecting ALL-NEW X-MEN (2012) #37-41.
136 PGS./Rated T …$19.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9235-0
This series sure did end on a whimper
X-MEN: INFERNO VOL. 1 TPB
Written by LOUISE SIMONSON, JON BOGDANOVE & CHRIS CLAREMONT
Penciled by SAL VELLUTO, JON BOGDANOVE,
WALTER SIMONSON, TERRY SHOEMAKER, MARC SILVESTRI & BRET BLEVINS
Cover by MARC SILVESTRI
The X-Men’s world goes up in flames as the most incendiary mutant crossover of all begins! X-Factor, the New Mutants, the newly-minted X-Terminators and even Power Pack all feel the heat as the Machiavellian geneticist Mister Sinister and the demon lord N’astirh set their respective sights on Cyclops’ wife, Madelyne Pryor! The New Mutants’ Illyana Rasputin may be lord of Limbo, but how long will that uneasy crown last when Limbo’s demon hordes invade New York? As the X-Men battle Sinister’s Marauders, Madelyne strikes a pact to become…the Goblin Queen! The fate of everything hangs in the balance in the fiery epic that changed the course of X-Men history. The match is struck — watch everything burn! Collecting POWER PACK (1984) #40 and #42-43, X-FACTOR (1986) #33-36, X-TERMINATORS #1-4, UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #239-240, and NEW MUTANTS (1983) #71-72.
432 PGS./Rated T …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9511-5
Buy this, so great! This was such a dark and twisted series.
X-MEN EPIC COLLECTION: THE GIFT TPB
Volume #12 in the X-Men Epic Collections
Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT, JO DUFFY & DAVE COCKRUM
Penciled by JOHN ROMITA JR., BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, STEVE LEIALOHA, PAUL SMITH & DAVE COCKRUM
Cover by JOHN ROMITA, JR.
Swords and sorcery, mutant style! Finding themselves in the middle of a barbarian nightmare, can the X-Men, Avengers and Spider-Man restore the world? Things are no less mystical for the X-Men and Alpha Flight when the trickster god Loki offers a gift to the people of Earth — but, big surprise, it comes with a price! And blade in hand, Nightcrawler swashbuckles his way through an other-dimensional solo adventure! Enough fantasy for you? How about sci-fi, courtesy of Lockheed the Space Dragon and the time-tossed future Sentinel known as Nimrod? And for fans of good, old-fashioned super heroics, Power Pack meets Wolverine — and the Juggernaut’s back in town! Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #189-198, X-MEN ANNUAL (1970) #8, X-MEN AND ALPHA FLIGHT (1985) #1-2 and NIGHTCRAWLER (1985) #1-4.
512 PGS./Rated T …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9217-6
What is this collection? That’s a decent run, and Annual 8 is a super fun twist on Kitty’s Fairy Tale but with Lockheed as the star. X-Men / Alpha Flight is superb as is the Cockrum Nightcrawler series, that he both wrote and drew.
THUNDERBOLTS CLASSIC VOL. 1 TPB (NEW PRINTING)
Written by KURT BUSIEK & PETER DAVID
Penciled by MARK BAGLEY, BOB MCLEOD, MIKE DEODATO JR., SAL BUSCEMA, STEVE EPTING & MORE
Cover by MARK BAGLEY
Justice, like lightning! When the Avengers and Fantastic Four disappear, believed dead in the wake of the Onslaught event, a new team of heroes rises to take their place! Meet the Thunderbolts: Citizen V! Techno! MACH-1! Songbird! Meteorite! Atlas! But these bold new heroes hide a sinister secret…every last one of them is a villain in disguise. And their leader is none other than the ruthless Baron Zemo! What are these masters of evil really up to? What happens when some of them begin to doubt their plan? And when the T-Bolts take on a new member, the enthusiastic Jolt, how long can they keep their secret hidden? Guest-starring the Hulk, Black Widow, Spider-Man and more! Collecting THUNDERBOLTS (1997) #1-5, #-1 and ANNUAL ’97; INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #449; SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP #7; and material from TALES OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE.
296 PGS./Rated T …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9681-5
One of my all time favorite series!
. . .
Another super light month for me!
Extraordinary X-Men 4 & 5 $8
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 $4
Gwenpool Special $6
Gwenpool is the very definition of a ‘maybe’ so $12, with a dollar off each comic, is $9 – which is great for my wallet! I can only imagine either a Mutants / Inhumans crossover will change that or a Space Crossover will come but until then, I will be saving all types of money!
I have to add Uncanny X-Men to my pull list.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Mahmud Asrar
Colorist Marte Gracia
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
Issue opens with Doctor Doom standing over the fallen X-Men.
Doom lifts Spider-Man up, he is very impress with Norman Osborn and wants to learn what he knows about genetics. Doom is willing to dissect Spider-Man to learn the secrets, a threat that doesn’t happen in many comics.
All New Jean starts trying to play mind games with Van Damme, sadly, this is the first Doom she has ever met. He starts blasting at her. Van Damme claims he is the Sorcerer and Scientist Supreme of the Ultimate Universe. I believe Hank Pym is the Scientist Supreme of the Proper Marvel Universe and of course, Doctor Strange is the proper Sorcerer Supreme. Neither are alive in the Ultimate Universe. Jean tells him that she isn’t trying to win, she is only trying to distract him.
Jean was waking up the X-Men. The Icemen freeze Van Damme, Storm lightning strikes him and the Jeans psychic hit him. Shadowcat is about to phase him out of his armor.
Instead of being defeated by the greatest X-Man, he blows himself up. The X-Men are not sure if what they saw really happened.
Beast wants his revenge on Van Damme and asks X23 to watch his back. He instructs the others to destroy as many Doombots as possible.
Beast totally blew up Castle Van Damme! That is pretty cool. All New Bobby wants to go home.
Meanwhile, the Ultimate Female Access (she looks much younger here) is viewing the Old Man Logan timeline. Which I imagine Bendis knew he was going to be doing an Old Man Logan tie-in for Secret Wars 2015 and giving us a slight taste of it here. I guess he didn’t write Logan out of character, from what I can tell. Was Thing in that storyline? She shuts it down before the page ends.
She opens another portal and sees Volstagg of Asgard.
All New Jean calls the young mutant, Carmen, and we are all reminded about her name now. Her full name is, Carmen Cruise, I love that alliteration. Which now that I think of it, Bendis does do quite often, makes the characters seem like they are instantly classic.
I like Beast’s “this is not a dream or imaginary story” line. Ultimate Iceman wants the All New X-Men to go back home.
I guess Carmen is like Access, and she is constant in all universes but she was in high school or college, right? She looks like a young kid here.
Jean tells Carmen that is all things; a key, a door and a path.
The Jeans are going to calm and guide her. I like that X23 has a plan for if anything comes out of portals. They are not expecting Carmen to get it right. What are the Jeans looking for exactly, when they open a portal? The X-Men at the Jean Grey School, listening to Xavier’s Last Will and Testament? Spider-Man wants to know what X23 thinks is going to pop out of a portal.
The first portal they open together leads to House of M. I do not see HoM Kitty there, only Rogue, Wolverine and Spider-Man. Kitty should be at that final fight. Is House of M a dimension that one can get to? I guess we have revisited there in this storyline and various other miniseries such as, House of M : Civil War. Makes sense that Bendis would feel comfortable showing one of his few Alternate Universes that he created.
Ultimate Shadowcat swears, she’s been hanging out with Bombshell to much!
I don’t recognize that universe with demons or some such nonsense. Apparently they are the Horsemen of Apocalypse from Bendis’ opening arc on Avengers (Volume Four) with all of the time travel and alternate universes. Apocalypse and his horsepeople are – Red Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man (with the arms) and Scarlet Witch.
Poor James Howlett, must be constantly disappointed that he doesn’t have alternate versions of himself, they are all his father.
Beast tries to give some advice and Carmen tries one more time.
All New Jean sees Superior Iron Man and the new Thor. She reads Tony’s mind and confirms that it is disgusting and that is the world she calls home. All New Iceman is all too ready to go home.
The two teams are making their goodbyes. Ultimate Iceman wants All New Iceman to be gone. Shadowcat wants them to listen to her counterpart, as she sounds like a genius. Angel is worried that Kitty is going to kill her young teammates. All New Jean kisses Spider-Man, as he was a good friend.
All New X-Men leave for their world. Jean tells Spider-Man that she isn’t going to kiss him. Redheads, Miles has the same luck as Peter did. Diamondback from All New Ultimates was also kissed him. They all confirm that Iceman is annoying in every world. Which I think is pretty harsh, as Ultimate Iceman isn’t annoying at all. Well, he was with the whole Rogue / Shadowcat love triangle but that was more of a dick move than annoying.
All New X-Men reunite Carmen with her mother, who takes Carmen being a mutant pretty well.
The issue ends with Beast wanting to end mutant bigotry and he is going to use Jean to accomplish it.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Mahmud Asrar
Colorist Marte Gracia
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artists Sara Pichelli & Marte Gracia, I didn’t even notice Kitty was on the cover until my second read through.
It took three issues but we finally get confirmation that the broad in the white shirt is Ultimate Shadowcat, gone is the purple tint, so they must have got a lot of response to that. Plus, she gets dialogue this issue, so that helps.
Castle Doom. Latveria. Now. The Two Icemen can’t believe how this day is going.
Spider-Man calls Rogue, Rock, as he honestly thought that was her name. It must have made sense to him. Angel compliments Ultimate Iceman, as he is great with his powers – which makes him realize that he isn’t his Iceman. Ultimate Jean, I wish there was an easy way to distinguish the different pairs of the characters but I can’t think of one, gets hurt and Beast is concerned. X23 and Spider-Man get back to back, he calls her, Lady Wolverine, and that will be the last time he tries that nickname.
All New Jean wants to get other Jean off the battlefield. Spider-Man charges and jumps at Doctor Doom and he starts to blast Spider-Man out of the air.
Hours Before, Revenge style. The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Closed. The Cerebro Room. Invented by the late Charles Xavier. Detects Mutants All Over the World. All New Jean has located her teammates and the Ultimate version of the lady mutant who sent them here in the first place. Ultimate Jean offers to take her X-Men to locate the All New X-Men.
Latveria. Doctor Doom reminds Beast, and us, that Beast is under his complete control. Doctor Doom has a broken time cube and he wants Beast to make it into a dimensional portal.
Weapon X. Hidden in the Canadian Wilderness. X23 is slashing away at a defenseless tree. She isn’t taking it well that humans created mutants in the Ultimate Universe. Angel doesn’t like seeing her like this. He calls James, little Wolverine.
It makes perfect sense to go for Angel and X23 first. One, you get two mutants that way and two, X23 is always useful. X23 isn’t happy about seeing two Jeans. Everyone hints at how Ultimate Angel is dead.
Such a great page with Spider-Man and the sweet sweet confirmation that this is Ultimate Shadowcat. I would imagine that Miles and Kitty would have more to say to each other but that probably explains why Spider-Man sat near her.
Angel recognizes Shadowcat as a young Kitty, she is happy about her older self being a teacher.
Angel notices Ultimate Iceman and he takes the opportunity to explain that his All New counterpart is in Atlanta.
Atlanta. Bobby is trying to power up but even at night, it is hot. The police locate him, it starts snowing and he ices up. He meets Ultimate Storm, and I like how he doesn’t really know her as he barely spent any time with anyone who wasn’t from the 60s.
Beast is writing a timeline on a chalk board, I believe this is the third such timeline to appear in this title. Doom is told that a plane has entered his airspace. After revealing that the X-Men have a mutant tracking device, Cerebro, and Doom wants one now.
All New Iceman is upset that Ultimate Iceman isn’t engaging him enough. He is used to his present day self talking to him frequently and even his even further in the future self, chatting with him. Everyone is ashamed of All New Bobby.
Jean reaches out to Hank, he tells her how he is under Doom’s influence. Ultimate Jean has the sad duty of explaining that Ultimate Doom’s real name is, Victor Van Damme, it was the media that gave him the much better name. The Jeans are undoing the mind manipulation that Doom did to Beast. Beast starts fighting Doom.
Doom gives the order to have all mutants killed. I do like how now, Kitty clearly has brown hair and no purple tint, what was that about? It lasted two issues.
Issue ends like how it started, Spider-Man about to jump at Doom and a giant explosion at the castle.
. . .
The Top 9 Comics of 2015!
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Artist Mahmud Asrar
Colorists Marte Gracia with Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
We still don’t have confirmation if this broad in the white shirt and purple tinted hair is Shadowcat or Armor. The white shirt makes websites like Marvel Database believe it is Shadowcat but fans suspect that it is Armor due to the hair. So I’m not sure if I am keeping issue 33. I know I’m keeping this one as Shadowcat appears in flashbacks, we’ll get those.
So the two Jeans meet, so of course, they read each other’s minds.
There is something weird about the way Asrar draws breasts. Like they are lumps on women’s shirts. I didn’t notice it at this point but during the X23 scene. Like sad raindrops or something.
I do like this format to show flashbacks. Though, shouldn’t the sides be reversed? With the Ultimate images being on the right side and Teen Jean’s on the right? Though, I do suppose that in the past, the central figure was standing in front of their own flashbacks. So that makes sense.
I wish Kitty Pryde was shown in the All New cast in that far right panel.
Ultimate Shadowcat is presnt in that school picture on the inside left panel, she is standing next to Beast and behind Xavier. There will be one more instance later, but it is just this image in color.
Both Jeans pass out. I like how on the verge of freaking out is Spider-Man and Storm is super calm.
Atlanta, Georgia. Poor Iceman, in one of the hottest cities, so he can’t maintain his ice. Not a problem his present day self would have. He would make all of the sweat work for him, because he is disgusting.
Iceman puts down the Mole Man’s monster. Then the police show up. They say, freeze, Bobby makes a joke.
Weapon X. Hidden in the Canadian Wilderness. James Hudson, Wolverine Junior, is explaining how mutants were created in a human experiment. X23 gets confirmation that this isn’t their universe. X23 reveals to Jimmy that he may be Wolverine’s son but she is his clone.
At this point, X23 knows all about alternate universes while poor Angel, can barely get use to being in the future. X23 describes a House of M situation, wherein the world they know was changed into a new world. She wants to find the Ultimate version of that mutant who sent them here and see if she can send them back.
Latveria. Van Damme is interrogating Beast. He slipped young Beast a truth serum so he’s opening up on everything. How four of the Original Five X-Men are not only stuck in the future but now in an alternate dimension. He also has feelings for Jean and she hasn’t even spoken with him in months. The All New X-Men are lost in space AND time. Van Damme isn’t impress with the emotional wreck that is Hank McCoy. Van Damme is clearly interested in jumping dimensions.
Atlanta. Bobby is arrested by the police. Bobby doesn’t want to answer the officer’s questions. They Google “ice mutant” and they see that he is the X-Men’s Iceman. But he is younger than the picture. That clearly has Shadowcat in the picture. If only it was a little bigger.
The officer isn’t racist, he is mutant condescending. Which seems like a polite way to say the officer is racist.
Bobby escapes the police, by harnessing the car’s air conditioning.
Teen Jean wakes up at Cerebro. Ultimate Jean wants Tean to locate the Ultimate version of the mutant who sent them here. Also, her teammates. The two Jeans hug. For some reason, Ultimate Jean states that Tean is better than she is, which is crazy. Ultimate Jean was the president of a floating island. She mentally tricked the entire planet to see what she wanted them to see, which even Phoenix Jean couldn’t do, or didn’t do.
The X-Men giving Spider-Man an awkward silent treatment.
Ultimate Jean goes farther by saying she is a stronger psychic, which is just bonkers.
Issue ends with Jean discovering something via Cerebro.
Hopefully the mystery of the purple tinted white shirt lady is finally answered. Or at least, more official Shadowcat appearances.
 | Luke Petersen on Bounce Patrol |
 | John Klein III on Astonishing X-Men 15 |
 | MoxieMk5 on Astonishing X-Men 15 |
| Moxiemk5 on SDCC : New Mutants @ Home |
| John Klein III on Excalibur 39 |
Shadow and Flame with Magik 