SHE SLAY: "The Mighty Thor #5" by Aaron, Dauterman, and Wilson

They gonna get it on, cuz they don't get along!

A good friend of mine, one particularly interested in conspiracy theories, had a very specific idea about the purpose of Battleworld and Secret Wars last Spring before it dropped and scattered the greater Marvel universe. In short, he thought that it was a thinly-veiled opportunity for Marvel to sneak the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity into the books. It's not an unreasonable thing to believe; for many, the Captain America and Iron Man films redefined the characters for a new century (and in the case of Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, have raised them from obscurity into mainstream consciousness). As anyone who's been keeping up with the All-New, All-Different landscape can tell you, that isn't exactly true, unless the Tom Holland Spider-Man films will feature him filing TPS reports in Pyongyang.

A few series have leaned hard into the benefits of mainstream exposure, though. Daredevil sees Charles Soule working on his best Steven S. DeKnight impression, featuring ol' Hornhead fighting off supernatural ninjas in a mostly black costume, featuring only the shades of red that you would normally expect from the (definitive) Samnee costume. There's a fitfully amusing Hellcat (it works well if you're expecting a slow-food version of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) book on the shelves that barely capitalizes on Patsy popping up on Jessica Jones. And sadly, a young gentlesir could break his back carrying out all of the different comics featuring the word "Deadpool" on the cover. It's been a wise business move, considering that my LCS is literally across the street from the nicest movie theater in the state. Very few nerds could resist the temptation of seeing Deadpool on the big screen and then picking up a few books with his face on the cover. Unlike the House of M giving the X-Men universe at large the Legacy Virus treatment, they're capitalizing like Hell on the success of the Merc with a Mouth.

One can't help but fear, though, that the publishing side of things might be too influenced by the MCU. After all, the films need a certain amount of story fuel to keep being made, and (as teachers know), you can't pour from an empty container.

A great moment in an issue full of them.

Thank goodness that the barrels of mead in Asgard runneth over! The first arc of Jason Aaron's relaunched The Mighty Thor sees Jane Foster and company, for the most part, carrying on. Jane is still suffering from the cancer threatening to destroy her corporeal form, and she only deepens her problem by constantly transforming into the Goddess of Thunder. Jane Foster is, in the classic Peter Parker tradition, bound by her need to save the Nine Realms regardless of the threat to her body. It's every metaphor about superheroism made literal. Aaron's careful reintroduction of Jane Foster and, eventually the Odinson, shows the respect for pre-2015 Marvel that only the heaviest of heavyweight writers have gotten to exercise in the All-New, All-Different era.

The book around Foster, however, could easily be mistaken for the films. Heimdall, seen only through his helmet, bears a striking resemblance to Idris Elba, and the handsome, art-school dropout Loki practically wears a sign that says Hiddleston. The Rainbow Bridge, Frigga, and even the barren cliffs of Nifelheim look identical to their counterparts in the first two Thor films. It's striking (I personally love the visual language Kenneth Branagh and poor, poor Alan Taylor used in the Thunder God films) to see the comics match up so precisely to what has become common understanding of the setting and charactesr. It's to Russell Dauterman's credit that he's able to so closely replicate some of that visual language, while also striking out on his own. His action scenes, especially that depicting the titanic clash between Thor and Odin, are amazing in their use of minimalism in the face of realm-spanning fights.

Dauterman: Master of Scale.

The balance between the iconography of the films and the storytelling coming from Aaron's mind makes The Mighty Thor a delightfully exciting book to read month after month. Aaron has managed to take a joke of a character like Malekith and make him threatening again, while deeply humanizing the problems in Asgard. One can't help but read Odin's loss of self-control and his aggression against Thor as an allegory for dementia, and Thor's constant striving to save all of Asgard and Midgard, despite her failing body, remains one of the most compelling stories in Marvel lore. It truly feels, like the stories of fellow Avengers Sam Wilson and Miles Morales, like Jane Foster deserves to hold Mjolnir.

But I'm not sure for how long, exactly: my only misgiving about this fifth issue is the intimation at the end: the Odinson is closer than ever to picking up his hammer again. Of all the impending returns to the status quo, this one hurts the most: I'm still waiting at the phone for Bruce Banner to come back and Hulk it up, but I'm fine with Steve Rogers and the Odinson staying out of things for a while. I haven't been this fascinated by a Thor story in a long time, and I'm sure it wouldn't work without the power of Jane Foster's struggles underlying the story. Frost Giants, be on lookout for a hammer to the face.

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Meme with a Mouth: Spider-Man/Deadpool #1 by Kelly, McGuinness, Morales & Keith

Like many fans, I suspect, who have returned to reading monthly superhero comics later on in their life, I went through a phase where I was convinced that this stuff, essentially modern myth (and on the Marvel side, bold and confrontational allegories for modern issues), was for children. My prime years of devouring Marvel books, sixth through tenth grade, went behind me when I started noticing swaying hips and my friends wanted to spend more time on video games than discussing Animal Man. 

The cover to Spider-Man/Deadpool #1.

Deadpool, as a character, is essentially born out of that impulse. Deadpool's characteristics, on the surface, are "kewl" enough to stop the heart of the most dedicated MLGito consumer. He's a ninja clad in red and black, wielding twin pistols and dual katana blades. He's a trained, cold-blooded killer with both. He's got a tragic backstory involving the Weapon X program and cancer. If you thought most of that was over the top, wait until Wade Wilson opens his mouth.

Deadpool is more than your typical snark-machine in a comic, doling out far more zingers and bon mots than Peter Parker and Johnny Storm combined. He frequently mocks whoever he's working alongside and whoever he's fighting. He's made gay jokes to ghosts of dead Presidents, and he's proven his 2016 bonafides by professing to be an open pansexual. The "Merc with a Mouth" breaks the fourth wall so much in any given comic (or film, or video game) that there basically isn't one. Reading one of his stories is akin to having Damon Lindelof over your shoulders as you watch The Leftovers telling you, "yeah, this shit is dumb." I suspect he's connected with, and helped the House of Ideas retain, many teenage boys specifically because reading Deadpool so often feels like being a teen in practice: you're cursing, you're fighting, you're trying hard to convince everyone that the world around you is fake while clawing desperately for substance, and you're talking about sex a lot while not having much of it. To read the adventures of Wade Wilson is to be actively encouraged to not care, but also urged to continue reading.

A character that abrasive and off-putting really only works if the one-liners come both fast and furiously. In certain runs, such as Brian Posehn's Marvel Now! run on Deadpool, the character and his interactions with S.H.I.E.L.D. veer so far into absurdity that you can't help but be charmed. In the 2013 video game, Deadpool went all Devil May Cry on villains while the game around him featured plenty of mixed genres and asides to the player. 3 days before release, Tim Miller's Deadpool features an 82% Fresh rating. All signs point to it working well as a low-stakes superhero farce from a studio that can't seem to do anything else right with Marvel properties (WHERE U @, JOSH TRANK). In other books, such as the abysmal 2015 miniseries Mrs. Deadpool & the Howling Commandos, and the relaunch low-point Uncanny Avengers, the character stands out as a dramatic dead end. The latter book, the undeniable sixth finger on Marvel's handful of Avengers-themed books at the moment, featured a debut issue with Spider-Man leaving the new team because of a rift with Deadpool. I wish Wade had taken the hint.

In the first issue of Spider-Man/Deadpool #1, the character doesn't work at all. For those unfamiliar, the ongoing dynamic with Spider-Man and Deadpool is that Spidey hates Deadpool, while Deadpool loves Spidey. Subtextually, this should work. There is no character more representative of "old Marvel" and the values associated with traditional superheroics than Spider-Man. There should be interesting friction between Mr. Responsibility and Mr. Dank Memes. However, everything between the two characters is entirely surface-level, Odd Couple stuff that doesn't quite fit. At this point, Peter Parker has teamed up with Squirrel Girl and Silk. Would he really be that annoyed by Deadpool?

Local men ruin everything.

It doesn't help that, in recent months, Spidey has been drained of everything that made him the perfect foil for Deadpool. In reframing Peter Parker as the Elon Musk of the Marvel Universe, he's not exactly the common man we're used to anymore. Why is he fighting Hydro-Man at the outset of this issue anyway? Deadpool dragging Spider-Man to Hell to face off with Dormammu confuses the adventures of both of these characters while also cheapening a villain that Marvel should be ramping up for the release of a certain film about the Sorcerer Supreme later this year.

The plot is serviceable, but because Deadpool pulls an already-struggling character into his vacuum of LOLZ, it ultimately services a tone-deficient machine. The art by Ed McGuinness is clear and crisp, but Dormammu is a little too abstract to be feared.

WHY WOULDN'T DORMAMMU JUST LEVITATE THEM?

Like the titular character's approach to joke-telling, Marvel is quickly putting out as many Deadpool books as they can print at this point, to gear up for his big screen resurgence. Unlike Deadpool's sexuality, however, I suggest you be a bit selective when it comes to books like Spider-Man/Deadpool.

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MORALES BACK: Character Essences & Spider-Man #1 by Bendis, Pichelli & Ponsor

Cover by Sara Pichelli

I was 12 and all-in on the first X-Men movie and Ganke-level hyped for the upcoming Spider-Man movie when most of the internet was blowing up about a then-rising writer named Brian Michael Bendis and his major Marvel project, Ultimate Spider-Man. It didn't take long for my DragonBall-Z post-&-play RPG site to recommend the first 2 arcs, including then-modern and fresh takes on the Green Goblin, Electro, and Wilson Fisk. I saved up a couple weeks' allowance for both trades and fell in.

I came to Bendis and his writing in the same summer that Wizard instructed me to read some books titled Daredevil: Born Again, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns. Say what you will about how the Ultimates leveled Manhattan or how Ultimate Jean Grey was a little too thirsty for Ultimate Logan, but I would place the totality of Bendis's run on Ultimate Spider-Man on the level of those works. For one, his Claremont-level commitment to seeing a vision for a book through is almost unheard of in our current climate, wherein a writer could be plucked from a book in a prime run for any number of extratextual reasons (film promotions, economics, politics). Bendis (and frequent collaborator Mark Bagley) took a character wildly popular but weighed down by continuity and freed him, once again, to swing the skyline of Manhattan.  11 years after they saved Peter Parker, they killed, buried, and replaced him with a newer, younger character named Miles Morales.

Through Miles, readers were able to rediscover the youthful hope and challenges of growing up through fresh, and wonderfully diverse eyes. One cannot help but look at Miles and see the missed potential in a comedic actor like Donald Glover never getting to play Spider-Man, but Miles acted in memory of Peter Parker's wonderful example, but he'd experienced no major loss himself; he was only doing the right thing because it had to be done. Bendis quickly had Miles butt heads with his uncle, who became the Prowler in an arc that inverted the classic Peter & Uncle Ben dynamic, and before they knew it, Marvel had a new, definitive Spider-Man on their hands...just over in the 1610 continuity, which they were planning to jettison anyway...

Pichelli is routinely unafraid to mix styles within pages on Spider-Man #1. Miles's teacher would be so screwed if this was an observation lesson. 

That idea of a definitive Spider-Man was on my mind a lot when I read issue #1 of the new run of Spider-Man, by Bendis (his 16th year on this book) and Sara Pichelli. While Marvel is seemingly busy having Peter Parker off attempting to be Iron Man with a heart of gold (which is confusing, because they also seem to be attempting to turn Stark himself into...Iron Man with a heart of gold), they've found themselves free to work Miles Morales, one of a very small, select group of 1610 characters, into the main world as the premier Spider-Man. I don't think Slott's Amazing Spider-Man run is a travesty for the character (the Uncle Ben Foundation idea is cute) but it has nothing on the essence-capturing work Bendis and Pichelli are doing with Miles and co.

I liken it to the revelation that is Sam Wilson: Captain America, a book so brazenly liberal and raw in its honesty that I'm shocked that Marvel allowed the current arc, which sees Captain America, now a black man (literally dehumanized when he is unwillingly transformed into Cap-Wolf) going up against the true evils of the modern Marvel Universe: corporations and banks that are "too big to fail." In a time when our own political sphere is threatened by the presence of a take-no-prisoners corporate mentality, I don't think the writers of Captain America are being indirect when they have a young, victimized Latino be the hero of the story. Contrast this with the lackluster action and snark over in Totally Awesome Hulk and it's clear that not all relaunches are created equally.

Miles Morales, as a hero in the new canon, leaves almost nothing to be desired. Like the web-slinger of old, he's able to get dates but he catches plenty of heat when he misses them. He stands up to his teachers and simply walks out of class (teacher's note: students do this, and I know many of them aren't Spider-Man) if he needs to go fight Shocker. He worries about his future, if he's doing the right thing moment to moment. Even after a couple of years, Miles feels out of place in his elite charter school. Miles feels like Spider-Man.

His supporting cast, always a major highlight of Spidey books in their prime, is also stellar. In the first issue, Ganke (absolutely the Landry Clarke of this book, which is part of why I love it so) takes up plenty of real estate, encouraging his friend to be Spider-Man while also holding down school and the occasional date. Bombshell is also mentioned in this issue, showing that there might be more Ultimate characters waiting in the wings to reveal themselves (more than Miles and The Maker, at the least). The dynamic between Mr. and the newly-resurrected (in the single-most cathartic moment in Secret Wars) is ridiculously interesting now that Mr. Morales knows about his son's heroics, while Mrs. is still in the dark (for now; one of the best parts of Bendis's run has been his liberalism with secret identities).

YA BOI GANKE

I won't spoil the threat that nearly levels the Avengers toward the end of the book, nor the amazing art Pichellil produced to depict it. One of her many stellar abilities involves changing styles between pages, creating dynamic visuals like the ones included above. For Miles Morales (and sometimes Ganke), life is always moving quickly.

On a critical note, I do wonder just how much more story Bendis can get from Miles encountering Peter Parker...yet again...at the end of the book. When everything else is so good, however, I'm willing to let the mystery unfold.

And so at the outset of the new ongoing Miles Morales book, simply titled Spider-Man, we have a teenage hero struggling with grades, girls, and a secret identity while fighting crime. He feels uncomfortable socially and academically, even though he's got the brains to back up his brawn. Unlike some of those other stories you've heard, Miles isn't motivated by survivor's guilt or deep pain; he's simply following a great example of doing the right thing, regardless of the cost. Miles is a a high school student; he's a young man of color; most importantly, he is Spider-Man. Give him a spin.

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EAT, PRAY, THOR: All-New All-Different Avengers #4 by Waid, Asrar & McCaig

Right after they defeated Cyclone, "Thor" grabbed "Captain America" and planted a big, wet kiss on his lips!

Of course, during that time, Steve Rogers was off busy with Deadpool and Rogue (in what is easily the worst post-Secret Wars book so far) or something. And the Odinson was chilling in Nifelheim. The mantle of Thor, at the time of the superheroic PDA, was held by Jane Foster, while the shield of the Sentinel of Liberty was held by Sam Wilson, formerly the Falcon.

Marvel touted the kiss between Thor and Cap as a major event in All-New All-Different Avengers a few months ago, and I must admit that I was as curious as a young Nova around Kamala Khan to see how the books built up to this monumental event. Avengers, as a comics title, has been coasting by on more promise than anything since the first issue dropped months ago. The House of M relocated Mark Waid from his character-defining run on Daredevil to this team-up book, which features some of the best (Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, the Vision) and most popular (Iron Man) characters that the publisher has to offer at the moment. Featuring a changing roster of artists (Mahmud Asrar is new to issue #4), this book should be Waid's lighthearted playground for the very best that Marvel has to offer...so why does it feel so perfunctory?

Let's handle the 800-lb. Frost Giant in the room first: the kiss is meaningless. Waid and Asrar (although, based on the insane beauty of the Alex Ross cover, I have to speculate that this was a corporate-driven story point) literally have the kiss come out of nowhere, and afterward, have Thor chalk it up to "living in the moment." This is all rooted in Jane Foster's current struggle with cancer, but since she hasn't disclosed this information to her team (and Waid isn't willing to truly lean on it as a story point), there is minimal pathos involved with her year of "yes." I can't criticize what I haven't read yet, but in this issue, there's no context (Thor has also not appeared in Sam Wilson: Captain America yet, so it's not rooted in solo issues). I would be first in line to high-five Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso if they actually found a way to have Steve Rogers plant one on the Odinson through his own free will. However, the transience of these titles for these characters just makes the kiss seem all the more opportunistic and temporary. I'm really enjoying Wilson's tenure as Captain America in his solo title, and my wife tells me good things about Jane as Thor. However, it doesn't take a Tony Stark-level IQ to know that, eventually, Steve Rogers is going to pick up the shield again, while Mjolnir will somehow find its way back to the Odinson. Except for Jane Foster, the kiss feels like a waste of time.

You could say that about a lot of Avengers #4, too. The first 2 pages are dedicated to Edwin Jarvis's commute to Avengers HQ. Characters like Kamala and Miles react in quiet horror to the powers of The Vision, even though Kamala has dreamed of being an Avenger for years. We are still spending panels with Nova having a schoolboy crush on Khan, still seeing the characters verbally discussing how to work best as a team, instead of us learning with them through action. Warbringer, the Chitauri warrior that rampaged through issues #1-3, is nowhere to be found in this book, while Cyclone is the definition of a D-list threat. The book would be better off if it worked in a character that could connect to one of the heroes, rather than yet another random villain.

As a Miles Morales true-head, I continue to be disappointed by the lack of him in the book (his stories in Ultimate End and Secret Wars have been enough to get me through the interminable wait for the debut of Spider-Man #1), while the emphasis on Nova (essentially written as Peter Parker wearing an asterisk) is frustrating. Asrar's art is engaging, alternately sparing and detailed when the story calls for it.

I really think Mark Waid is doing the absolute best he can, too, given the enormous task of the diverse cast with different opportunities to cash in on their solo stories (why can't we see Kamala's home life? Why isn't the Vision concerned about Viv and Vin?) and the pressure to make it all work in an easily-digestible book. However, All-New All-Different Avengers is now more of an appetizer sampler for some great characters, and not necessarily the most flavorful dish you could order. It's out of my pull list, for now.


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