AvX (Avengers versus X-Men) #5
In the last issue the X-Men and Avengers were facing off yet again, this time on the moon. Just as they started bumping chests again the dreaded Phoenix Force showed up.
In issue 5 the Avengers brains go to work as Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Hank Pym (Ant/Giant Man) have created an enormous Iron Man suit equipped with weapons designed to disperse the energy of the Phoenix Force. As the colossal fiery bird swoops down towards Hope, the building-sized Iron Man flies right into it and unleashes it's payload. The result is a huge explosion of energy that leaves all the heroes temporarily blinded. As their vision returns Tony Stark asks, "Did we do it? Did we kill the Phoenix?!?" The answer is NO. What DID happen was that the Phoenix was split into 5 parts, each of which inhabited one of the X-Men at the scene. The "Phoenix 5" (consisting of Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Namor, and Magik) simply pick up the unconscious Hope Summers and head towards the Earth leaving the Avengers wondering what to do next.
This story is finally getting more interesting than just a bunch of fights. This Phoenix 5 twist is a surprise and I'm curious to see where the story goes from here. The art is sufficient, but as I've stated earlier, JRJR's art doesn't seem to fit this story perfectly. Still, it works.
The Mighty Thor Annual #1
Once a year Marvel likes to put out a barely in-continuity, extra-thick issue of it's main titles and call it an annual. I was forced to buy it because my comic store automatically pulls "The Mighty Thor" for me and it would be rude to not pay for it after they have based their orders on their customer's pull lists. Here's what happens...
There are a couple of really vague, insanely powerful cosmic-level players at work here, using such characters as Galactus, Silver Surfer, and Thor for their own ethereal chess games. Darth Vader wannabe, Scrier, borrows Silver Surfer from Galactus and tricks Thor into helping him fight off an invasion by some vague evil entity called "The Other". I can't describe what happens because it's so vague and because it's not worth recalling.
This comic was a waste of time, money, and paper. Just because Thor is in a story doesn't make it good. I couldn't care less about Scrier or The Other or their power struggle for the universe. This is generic cosmic garbage with a healthy dose of bland. It was so boring it took me 3 readings to get through it. I wouldn't recommend you picking this up from a garage sale, much less a comic book store. Sorry, Marvel, you've gotta put SOME effort into the story.
Why aren't you reading this title for yourself? Really? You don't have $4/month? As much as I loved Ultimate Peter Parker, Marvel is doing a great job filling the spider-tights with Miles Morales. It's not the same old Spider-Man. He got his powers the same way, but his powers are different, his supporting cast is different, his setting is different...so far even his villains are different! Miles is a good kid, but he's very young so it's interesting to see how he deals with the situations he's put into.
In this issue Miles is blackmailed by his criminal uncle, The Prowler, into helping him take out a rival villain, The Scorpion. This is NOT your dad's Scorpion folks. This guys is more like a Mexican Luke Cage with an affinity for using a chain with a spike on the end as his weapon. He really strong and really hard to hurt. Together Spidey and Prowler ARE able to hurt him though. Miles finally knocks him out in the street just as the NYPD show up. They try to arrest Miles as well, but of course, that doesn't work. The issue ends with Prowler texting his nephew who is back at his dorm room (he's in a charter middle school with dorms) that this is just the beginning. Miles texts back, "No, I'm done." Prowler replies, "Oh, really? Do you want me to tell your dad about this Spidey thing?" Miles is in a bad spot!
Great artwork. Great story. Not QUITE good enough to get 5 stars from me, but very close. PICK OF THE WEEK!
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