Quick Recap: Disaster has shaken the US to it's core. States are trying to secede. Militias have taken over some large cities. Washington DC has been destroyed. Wanting to help out, young Miles Morales uses his new web-shooters to piggy-back a helicopter over to the Avengers base, The Triskellion, to join the team. He's met with less than enthusiasm.
Surrounded by SHIELD troops in the pouring rain on top of the Triskellion while being yelled at by Captain America, Miles starts to wonder if he made the wrong choice. Cap berates him for being clueless and reckless and not ready for action. Though he can barely get a word in, Miles stands his ground and tries to state his case. Suddenly, a helicarrier drops out of the sky and crashes into the Triskellion, heralding the arrival of HYDRA. Cap gets blown off the top of the building, but he's saved by Miles' new webs (Thanks Aunt May!). A big Hydra goon called, Gorgon, is suddenly standing over them and tries to shoot them. Miles uses his fancy new spider chameleon power to go invisible and Cap crashes through the window to safety. With Cap safe, Spidey goes to work leaping from bad guy to bad guy, tearing through the Hydra ranks like a pro. Just when a terrorist manages to land a blow on his head with a rifle butt, Cap shows up with reinforcements. Together they are able to clean up the Hydra forces and Miles show surprising skill in the fight. After it's over, Cap aplogizes and asks Spidey to join the Ultimates. Afterwards, Miles is talking with his mom on the phone (and lying about his whereabouts) when Tony Stark taps him on the shoulder. The Ultimates then gather behind Captain America as he gives a press conference and accepts the request of the citizens of America to become their next President.
This was another good issue in a consistently solid book. I love reading about Miles and it should be a blast seeing him interact with the "big guns" on the Ultimate Avengers.
Prince Adam's journey to remember who he is continues.
Last issue he found, and was rescued by Teela. She doesn't know why she knows him, but feels like they've been drawn together. As they talk, they realize that the falcon that drew Adam out of the forest and in her direction is some kind of a magical construct being controlled by some unseen force. Next we see Skeletor back in Castle Grayskull. He rules Eternia uncontested, but has yet to tap the awesome powers of Grayskull. He has the Sorceress imprisoned and he treats her roughly, but she remains practically catatonic and will not speak to him. Meanwhile, Adam and Teela have taken passage on a ship. It's not long before Merman shows up with an army of sea monsters. They wreck the ship and Merman easily defeats Adam in combat. Before he can deliver the killing blow, Teela stabs him from behind and delays him long enough for them to jump into the ocean in an attempt to swim away....from Merman...yeah, not a good plan. Merman can control the sea itself and sends tidal waves after them. Thinking them surely dead, he leaves to inform Skeletor.
I really like this original He-Man storyline. It's something that hasn't been done before and that is most welcome. I like that we're getting re-introduced to the characters one-by-one also. The artwork isn't the greatest I've seen, but it fits the story. Seeing these characters somewhat reimagined visually is also fun, though it's hard not to be picky when something from your childhood gets altered. All-in-all a very fun book. I'm hooked.
Wonder Woman #13
This issue starts in the arctic where a shadowy science expedition observes a bloody, naked giant sitting on a glacier. This is apparently what the leader of the group has been waiting for so he goes to greet the giant. The giant responds by biting the top of the man's head off and walking away.
Meanwhile, the gods of Olympus are gathering with their new king, Apollo, to discuss a coming war that has been prophesied. They worry about what part Diana will play in that war. Speaking off, Wonder Woman is down on Earth regrouping after the first storyline's ending, with her step-brother Lennox, her friend Zola, and the now mortal Hera. At the end of the last story, Hermes betrayed them by stealing Zola's baby, who is the last son of Zeus, so Zola isn't in the best of moods. Wonder Woman heads to Lybia, looking for another of Zeus's bastard children to help find the baby. After defeating some lame Lybian fighters, she follows a young girl into an underground temple. She is attacked by hundreds of flying knives, but manages to block all of them, except for one, which buries itself in the girl. As Diana apologizes for failing to protect her, the girl dissolves into sand, then reforms with her hands at WW's throat. The girl was the sibling she came to find.
I keep thinking I'll drop this book, but every month it keeps being too good! I like the artwork. I like the weird story and weirder mythological character's who populate it. This is NOT a Wonder Woman like anyone has written before. It's WAY more of a mythology book than a superhero book, and that's why it's so good.
Now for the wild card of the bunch. Thanks to retailer support and a successful kickstarter campaign, Image is re-launching Cyberforce and is GIVING AWAY the first FIVE ISSUES for FREE! I bought the first 25 or so issues from the original run at a comic store sidewalk sale, so I have some appreciation for the characters, but I would not have picked up this book if it weren't for the promotion. I'm glad I did.
This book took me 2 tries to get through it, but when i actually put the time to concentrate on the story, it's actually pretty good. Here's a summary...
At the beginning we see the girl classic fans know as Velocity running form SHOC troops. She's almost captured but manages to escape to the sewers where she meets Robert Bearclaw, a.c.a. Ripclaw. He takes her to rest of his group, who mostly want to kill her. You see, this world setting is one where the American society has been rebuilt by corporations and many people have been rebuilt as cyborgs to survive a coming extinction event. The government/corporation has total control over the populace and Velocity is the President's daughter. The Cyberforce group that she has just met are rebel SHOC troops who are just trying to stay alive. The President sends her best soldiers to find her daughter, including well-known Image characters, Ballistic and Aphrodite IV. Due to the time-skipping method of story telling, we dont' know exactly what happens next, but it appears that 3 of the Cyberforce members are killed in this first issue and Velocity is captured by the government.
It took a while to understand the new dynamics of this book, but once i got it, it was really cool. The artwork is a little hard to follow, but at the same time, it fits the book well. I don't know if I will buy this book after issue #5, but I'm willing to read these first several issues for free to give it a chance to win me over.
