X-Men Legacy #16

Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Paul Davidson
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: Cory Petit
Price: $2.99
Release Date: September 04th, 2013

"Wear the Grudge Like a Crow"

I am not completely certain what David's game is, but it seems that he wants to get a little revenge for his father's death. This issue has him (and Ruth) confront Scott's X-Team head-on. The beginning of the issue (only a handful of pages) shows him searching the world for Scott and when he finally finds him, he attacks.

There is not a ton to say about this issue other than it was a little out of character for this book thus far due to the high level of fighting that happened. Spurrier doesn't tend to spend a lot of time in action scenes but rather spend them with conversation, emotional battles and really solid comedic moments. I walked away from this issue remembering a fight which is not something I normally say about this title. I am not saying that it was a bad thing, it wasn't. The fight was done incredibly well and the way that David handled everything fit with his personality that I was hooked.

The reason I am not sure what David's overall plan is reflects his choice at the end of the book. Instead of just ripping Scott apart (which he is more than capable of doing), he decides to fight him in hand to hand combat. The reality is, Scott is a much better scrapper than David and he is bound to lose. So why is he choosing to do it that way? What is his angle? Why isn't Ruth stopping him? The fact that I am so brimming with questions and wanting to know the answers (which I have to wait a freggin month), proves to me that Spurrier is able to keep me on my feet with this book again and again. There is no question why this has been my pick of the month quite a few times and why I am always excited to see where it is going. I can't wait to see the rest of this fight and I can't wait to see what David's plan really is.

All-New X-Men #16

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Stuart Immonen
Inkers: Wade von Grawbadger
Colorists: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Cory Petit
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 04th, 2013

"The Battle of the Atom, Chapter 2"

Well, we are in part 2 of Battle of the Atom already and it is starting off a bit interesting. These X-Men from the future are a little questionable and all of the time paradoxes are driving me mad but it is being done well. The reveal on the last page of who Xorn actually is was interesting, but not overly surprising.

I think the thing that hooked me the most is how quickly Jean defends her place in this time frame and how quickly she tries to run away when forced to go into the past. It is true that she is very aware of her fate and I understand why she wouldn't want to return to her timeline to be forced to forget what her future holds. I do find it odd that she ends up running off with Scott considering how she has been feeling about him as of late.

As of right now, I am not certain where this story is going. I was sitting, full of excitement, for Nightcrawler to appear but I suppose I will have to wait another chapter or two. Oh well, I have all the faith in the world in Bendis. I really hope this story isn't a letdown.

X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencilers: Frank Cho and Stuart Immonen
Inkers: Frank Cho and Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 04th, 2013

"Battle of the Atom, Chapter 1"

There is so much time travel going on in the Marvel Universe that it makes my head hurt. Seriously. I didn't really know what the story of Battle of the Atom was supposed to be because I was trying my hardest to hide from the solicits. I am getting tired of having everything ruined for me before I even start reading. The only thing I glimpsed from this is that Nightcrawler is supposed to somehow return.

Anyhow, that is not what the first issue was about. We are shown a glimpse of what would happen if one of the past X-Men died. Shocker, the current day member will just vanish. I am not saying that is a terrible idea, it is just very cliched. I understand why Bendis showed it but I don't even think that was the main purpose of that moment in the book. I think the main purpose was to show that Triage can potentially revive the dead. Anyhow, that bit was intriguing

With the plot point in place of if a past X-Man dies the world changes, it is easy to decide to send the kids back to their time. This is when things get a little off. A group of future X-Men blast through the portal first to tell them to do exactly what they were about to do. So now we have three versions of X-Men teams which makes at least multiple versions of various heroes that make things confusing and really hard to write about. I don't know exactly where this is going but I am not discouraged. We have quite a few issues left in this event and at least there aren't a ton of extra books for me to buy this time around. I just hope Bendis doesn't let me down like he did with Age of Ultron. Here's hoping!

Venom #40

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Penciler: Jorge Coelho
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Price: $2.99
Release Date: September 04th, 2013

"Mania Part 1 of 3"

This final arc in the Venom series started out in a way that will allow Bunn to tie up any loose ends from the series within three issues. We are getting references to the mark of the devil that Flash acquired a long while back and what is happening with it. We are seeing Mania not really listening to what Flash has to say and trying to figure out her place in the world while Flash tries to figure out what to do with her. I think those are the two major things that need to play out and it seems Bunn intends to address them.

The issue actually has Flash leave Philadelphia so that he can see a body of someone who looks a lot like Daimon Hellstrom that has his mark of the devil cut off of his chest. This hints us into the fact that someone is hunting these marked people and that Flash should have something to worry about. Of course the body found wasn't the true Daimon because he is locked up, so Flash visits him. We quickly learn that Flash no longer has the mark and that it must be somewhere else. Without even thinking about it I am sure you can guess where it went.

I am sure the remaining two issues will focus on the hunters of the mark and Mania. I hope that the conclusion is tied up nicely because I would hate for this series to just fizzle out. It also makes me question what will happen to these characters post series. I will say, as of now, if there is a Mania book Marvel can keep it.

The Superior Spider-Man #17

Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Ryan Stegman
Inkers: John Livesay
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 04th, 2013

"Necessary Evil - Part 1: Let's do the Time Warp Again!"

We have been seeing teases for this issue for awhile now and I have to admit, it was pretty exciting to see Miguel appear in the pages of a Spider-Man book again. The real question is, why are they using him? What is going on? How do these events connect? Well, as Slott is known to do, he begins to weave how Miguel is connected to the present day world of our Spider-Man.

The story actually starts in the year 2099 with Miguel helping stop things that are coming out of time anomalies. He quickly decides that it has something to do with his known enemy, Alchemax. He learns that it is in fact not them for once and that they are trying to stop the anomalies from ripping them apart. Miguel quickly decides to blast into the past and fix the main issue that is causing things to go awry in 2099.

Flash forward to our lovely Octo-Peter showboating in front of his new girlfriend at a company picnic with Horizon. This is another moment where we see Otto not playing the part of Peter very well and just enjoying having a younger and healthier body. We also see that the government is finally cracking down on Max for the many infractions against Horizon that Otto was not aware of. After Otto is all caught up on the situation, Al Chem which is run by Liz Allan, quickly takes over control of Horizon with Tiberius Stone as the chairman. Al Chem seems to be the basis of where Alchemax actually came from and shows how the science company could potentially be a super power in the future.

Otto is not a fan of Tiberius and he quickly tries to confront him only to be quickly stopped by Miguel who seems to think that anomaly is Spider-Man himself. On top of all of this the Goblin army is starting to rumble more and should be on the move very shortly. There is so much going on in this book that it is hard to only read once.

On that, Slott is doing a magnificent job playing Otto as Spider-Man and showing how people are slowly becoming aware of him not being his normal self. Any level of concern I had at any point for this title has been long blown away and replaced with excitement twice a month. I am loving The Superior Spider-Man and could see it continue for a while with Otto being the front runner. I would also not be insanely surprised if Peter is somehow brought back relatively soon as well.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3

Writer: Nick Spencer
Penciler: Steve Lieber
Inker: Steve Lieber
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Price: $2.99
Release Date: September 04th, 2013

"Foe-ning it in..."

I am still sitting on the fence about this book but I am definitely starting to teeter into the direction of interested. This title is doing a nice job showing us what it is like to live the life of a villain, especially that of a b-lister like Boomerang. I am also really enjoying the fact that his "parole officer" is none other than his old partner, Mach VII or the Beetle (the original one).

I think the fun thing about this book is that it feels like a big joke. Nothing really seems to be taken seriously at all. There is even a cliched yet enjoyable moment that has Boomerang attending a Villains Anonymous meeting in which he relates it to the fine book/movie Fight Club.  The other thing I am enjoying is that Fred, our friendly Boomerang, is just struggling to exist. His current group of Sinister Six are very quick to stab him in the back (as most villains would) and it seems he will do just the same.

I am not sure the direction this book is headed yet, but what I have seen has been fun and interesting. I also am wondering if there will be a shift in narration from Fred to another member of the Sinister Six in the future. Regardless, the fact that I am asking questions is a great sign for this title that it is at least different enough, and interesting enough to keep me on as a reader...for now.

Weekly pulls for 09/04/13

This is one of those weeks that the amount of stuff I have to share is minimal. I suppose the only big thing that I have accomplished is that I am now in the 650's in my Amazing Spider-Man retro read. That means I have less than fifty issues left with Peter Parker. It is hard to believe I have come so far, but it is sort of cool to have a new level of knowledge and enjoyment when it comes to my favorite web-slinger.

Other than that, standard week with an even split of X-Men and Spider-Man related comics:

All-New X-Men #16

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3

The Superior Spider-Man #17

Venom #40

X-Men Battle of the Atom #1

X-Men Legacy #16

That is all, not being long winded this week. Reviews will follow.