Review: Uncanny X-Men #4

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Chris Bachalo
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Arriving at the doors of the Jean Grey School in Westchester, rebel leader Cyclops goes on a recruitment drive! Declaring "to me, my X-Men", the former Headmaster certainly has guts. But not for much longer if Wolverine has his way.

The divide between Cyclops and Wolverine has been the driving force of X-Men comics for the past three years. Ever since the "Schism" event led to half the team choosing to stay with Scott on the Mutant isle of Utopia and half choosing to leave with Logan, aspiring to restart the School in keeping with Professor Xavier's dream. There is a fundamental divide, straight down the middle of the Mutant community, neither side entirely sure of how best to proceed in a world that hates them. But where Wolverine preaches peaceful co-existence (yes, I know how ludicrous that sounds), Cyclops sees the reality of the world around him and wants Mutants to be a force to be reckoned with. If Humanity won't leave his people alone to live in peace, he'll fight them tooth and nail for every second of freedom. Not unlike the Magneto of old. Only younger, dashing, not ranting like a mad man and definitely not leading a team of self-proclaimed EVIL Mutants (yeah, dumb move there Erik).

Whereas the biased opinions featured in sister-series "All-New X-Men" would have you believe Cyclops to be a radical lunatic looking to incite full-blown war and Mutant Genocide (errr...how exactly would that benefit him again?), "Uncanny X-Men" tends to feature the man himself and as such, a far more reasonable, grounded representation of the racial icon. The sad thing is, the worst insults come from people who used to call him a friend mere months ago. Honestly, you kill one mentor under the influence of a cosmic-being and suddenly you're a different person. Under those rules, half the Marvel Universe shouldn't be speaking to each other! Any scenes featuring Kitty, Storm, Wolverine or Beast are borderline insufferable with their inability to hold an adult conversation with a long-time friend like Scott. They'll teach forgiveness of Humanity to their pupils, just not forgiveness of their friends and colleagues. Real mature, guys.

Thankfully, the Cyclops character assassination takes a backseat, as Bendis examines the same scene that ended "All-New X-Men", only from the on-looking perspective of the Stepford Cuckoos (and Emma Frost, when she can get her powers to work). You see the same actions as before, taking place in the background, but this time with the true focus on the borderline torture of Frost at the hands of her former students. The Cuckoos are not happy to see their mentor again and aren't shy about showing it. Quickly realising that Emma's powers have been "broken" in the wake of the Phoenix disaster, the person that the Cuckoos once feared most, becomes little more than frightened prey, toyed with by a superior predator. Honestly, by the time the issue closes, you get the sense the Cuckoos have joined up with Scott's Uncanny team not out of any ingrained loyalty, but simply to mess with Emma some more.

With a book called "All-New X-Men" on the stands, it's ironically "Uncanny X-Men" that features the greatest wealth of new Mutant characters. While the adults are off having a pissing contest with their former friends, Scott's new recruits are making themselves at home in the former Weapon X facility turned Xavier School. It's only now dawning on them that this is their life and it's not simply a matter of "going home". Thankfully, Bendis doesn't wallow in the angst of their new situation, but instead has fun with it. As questionable as the leaders have become, these children are 100% goofballs and very quickly find themselves getting into japes in the Danger Room. Not to mention, something as simple as picking which room to sleep in.

An unfortunate side effect of Marvel's scheduling means that this issue of "Uncanny" unintentionally spoils the big reveal of which original X-Man joined the team in the wake of last week's "All-New" cliffhanger. I'm sure the consequences of this character's "defection" will be touched upon ad infinitum, but as far as shock and awe is concerned, the cat is out of the bag. The man of the hour is none other than Warren Worthington III aka Angel. After his failed attempt to bolt back to his own time (even if he can't remember it), it's really no surprise that he wants nothing more to do with the Jean Grey School. If he can't get home, getting away from those do-gooding nutjobs is the next best thing! As evidenced by the issue of "All-New" in question, these time-displaced original X-Men are beginning to ask the right questions, ones that are making the teachers at Wolverine's school all the more uncomfortable as they struggle to justify their own lies. Say what you want about Cyclops, the man is telling the truth.

8 out of 10

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News: Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier Concept Art

As you may have noticed over the past few days, Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier has begun filming and as such, is leaking concept art like a sieve.

The most prominent pictures to have hit the net show Cap sporting yet another new costume, making this his third in as many movies. Admittedly, his Avengers garb had it's flaws and looked somewhat out of place in the context of the real-world heroes. I mean, when Thor comes out looking better, you know you've got a problem.

This particular model appears to be based upon Ed Brubaker's "Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier" costume, which the character wore once returned from the dead, only to find his partner Bucky filling the role of Captain America. Taking the position as Director of SHIELD, Steve opted for this paired down, basic look. Far less colour and pomp than the icon he was originally intended as.

Speaking of Bucky, the former sidekick appears to have made the transition from page to screen almost entirely intact. While I'd never personally envisaged Sebastian Stan in the role, even in the first film, Marvel have nailed the look. Metal arm, check. Long shaggy mane, check. All looks in order here.

Last but not least, we get a feel for Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson aka The Falcon. The character has long been a partner to Captain America, but has fallen into obscurity in recent years. I'm genuinely excited to see him dusted off for the big screen treatment. His costume, while not as colourful as his comic book counterpart, looks far more in keeping with the world of SHIELD. It's all about sleek leather jumpsuits with those guys. The wings themselves are appropriately high-tech and I expect to see him gliding gracefully throughout the film. Now, whether he'll talk to his pet falcon, that's another thing entirely.

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Review: Batman #19

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Greg Capullo

Publisher: DC Comics

With the death of his son, Damian, fresh on his mind, Bruce Wayne may be about to lose himself, only not in the way you think!

While not strictly a "Requiem" issue for the recently fallen Robin, this issue holds another important piece of the grieving process for our favourite Dark Knight. Amid an outbreak of uncharacteristic robberies, Batman can be found locked away in the deep dark recesses of the Batcave, watching footage of recent missions with his dearly-departed partner from the comfort of his cowl-cam. After the relationship-breaking antics of "Death of the Family", seeing Bruce retreat into himself, with no one other than Alfred to fall back on, is heart-breaking. This is clearly a time for the entire Bat-family to pull together, but they're further apart than ever before. And if the cover wasn't clear enough, writer Scott Snyder even seeks to challenge Jim Gordon's faith in his long-time trusted friend.

Like most DC comics this month, it's all about the cover. The "surprising" gatefold covers were meant to be part of a promotion known as "WTF?", but two seconds after releasing the publicity for it, DC realised they'd put a popular swear word on the front cover of a supposed children's medium. Sufficed to say, the promotion was shot down almost immediately and now it's more of a theme than a branding. Unfortunately, these covers seem to be purely about the shock value, rather than any attempt at a genuinely intriguing plot. No matter how gorgeous a picture of Bruce Wayne pulling a gun on Jim Gordon that Capullo can draw, I don't think anyone in their right mind will put much faith in the story to genuinely feature that beat as it appears here. To Snyder's credit, he addresses it far more succinctly than his fellow DC writers, playing the mystery for fun just as much as for shock. I particularly enjoyed the beat where Bruce ran over Jim on his motorcycle, there's something morbidly funny about that panel.

It's difficult to address the story of the issue without touching upon the central mystery of why these upstanding citizens would commit such heinous crimes. But any Bat-fan worth a damn will probably figure out what's going on and who's causing it. There are only so many villains in Batman's rogues gallery that can bring about such behaviour in their victims and I'm genuinely happy to see them make their debut in the New 52, having been almost entirely absent since the line wide reboot several years ago.

Ultimately, I'm hugely impressed by Snyder's continued efforts on this series. While Grant Morrison's "Batman Incorporated" may steal all the headlines with it's Robin-killing shenanigans, that book has always felt disjointed and more of an experiment on Morrison's part to see what messed up things he can do to Batman and see if he'll spring back as an icon. Whereas, Snyder is far more interested in the person under the cowl. This core Batman series grounds the entire line more than I can say, piecing together the puzzle that is 10+ ongoing monthly series and still having the power to tell it's own story. It'd be easy for every Bat-book under the sun to get lost in a sea of Damian-related grieving *cough*Batman&Robin*cough*, but the far crueler realisation is that life goes on, even without that snobby murderous punk with a heart of gold. There will always be a case. There will always be a villain. There will always be Batman.

9 out of 10

Review: Age of Ultron #5

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Bryan Hitch
Publisher: Marvel Comics

We reach the halfway point of Marvel's 2013 summer event and the story that's been quietly simmering for four issues finally boils over, bringing us to the crux of the series - time travel. After last issue's big Vision-shaped discovery by Luke Cage, namely that big bad Ultron isn't even in the same time-frame as our heroes, the survivors weigh up their options from the comfort of Nick Fury's super-secret Savage Land hideaway.

Once arriving, the question isn't so much how the heroes will strike back against Ultron, but when. As it turns out, Fury has been stashing one of Doctor Doom's old time platforms for a rainy day and it doesn't get more rainy than a shower of shiny golden robots systematically destroying the world. If memory serves correct, said time platform doesn't affect the current timeline, merely create a new alternate one. I vaguely recall a Fantastic Four annual hinging on a future Johnny Storm coming back to avert a tragedy, but rather than save his own family, he merely created a world where they continued to live. But that might just be my fanboy mind picking holes in Bendis' chosen plot device.

With the method of the remaining heroes' kamikaze mission decided, they then have to choose the perfect moment to strike at Ultron and the survivors are of two minds on the matter. While the linear side of things is covered nicely by Nick Fury's strike team, heading off into the far-flung future to attack the Ultron directly responsible for this assault, the far more interesting approach comes in the final pages, as Wolverine declares his intention to travel back and kill Hank Pym (aka Ant-Man aka Ultron's creator), before he can birth this monstrous AI upon the world. The small hairy canuck aims to misbehave and there's no telling what affect he'll have on Marvel Universe continuity as a result.

As explored in the opening pages, to much wordier effect, Pym himself had even considered travelling back to a time before Ultron and warn his past self of the horrors his creation will inflict. But as correctly pointed out by his fellow scientists, Tony Stark and Reed Richards, where does one draw the line when "correcting" past mistakes? Do they leave it at Ultron or do they travel back even further and stop Hitler from kickstarting World War II or do they go back even further and knock that insidious apple out of Eve's hand. The message Bendis is trying to relay is that altering time is a slippery slope and there's no clear end in sight. As much as the ability may aid the heroes in this time of need, it's just as likely to be abused by the wrong people. Hell, in this case, the heroes ARE the wrong people. They want to murder a founding Avenger!

Age of Ultron #5 marks a profound turning point in the course of this series, not only with the changing stakes of the situation, but behind the scenes as well. The first half of this ten part story was written nearly three years ago at this point, making for numerous visual and character inconsistencies in the opening salvo. Wrong costumes for the most part, but wrong characterisation entirely in Spider-Man's case, who fails to reflect his new "Superior" attitude. Like most characters in the book, their current status quo's weren't even an inkling in their creator's eye while Bendis was writing and Hitch was illustrating way back in 2010. As such, issue five brings to a close Bryan Hitch's work on the series, gracefully departing with some fine work, before the story kicks into another gear entirely. I'll miss the consistency of his artwork on the book going forward, but I'll be grateful for an up-to-date artist who isn't trying to jam old ideas into present day continuity. It's Marvel NOW, not Marvel THEN.

The story itself continues to tick over, giving us enough to keep our interest, but not really engaging at the same time. There's an inherent flaw in time travel stories, whereby at the back of your mind, you know everything will snap back to "how it should be". Marvel have so many plates spinning at the moment, I can't believe they'd let a three year old pet project dictate their entire line's future. This is basically Bendis wrapping up a few loose ends from his legendary run on the Avengers franchise. It's more of an encore, than a beginning. Play the hits one last time, then respectfully leave the stage. After all, Jonathan Hickman's Avengers series has shot off in another direction entirely. So much so, Age of Ultron is squarely in the rear view mirror, even as it continues.

6 out of 10

Review: Superior Spider-Man #5

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Otto Octavius continues to masquerade as Spider-Man in the captive body of Peter Parker. The hero helplessly watches as his greatest enemy forces him to cross the most important line of all!

I haven't been the biggest fan of Spider-Man comics in recent years, what with 'One More Day' having done a decidedly good job at turning me off the character for the best part of five years. However, Dan Slott has done a wonderful job at coaxing me back with this pseudo-relaunch as the Superior Spider-Man. Where I'd grown quite bored of the regular Peter Parker status-quo (great responsibility, yada yada yada), there's a perverse joy in watching one of the biggest supervillains of modern day comics masquerade as said hero. Doctor Octopus in the body of Peter Parker has instantly become far more entertaining than the traditional angst-ridden hero. Having no guilt over his less-than-noble methods has allowed Otto to become a better Spider-Man than Peter ever was!

This particular issue brings Octavius head to head with one of Peter Parker's greatest failures (at least recently) - the mass-murdering psychopath, Massacre. Where the Amazing Spider-Man would capture the disturbed villain and seek justice, the Superior Spider-Man has no qualms with tit for tat. If Massacre is willing to kill, so too must this new Spider-Man. Peter Parker's ghostly conscious was able to stay Otto's hand once already, when the good Doctor was about to kill a hapless villain, but will he have the willpower to do it again?

To me, the most fascinating part of the book is not the hero's dilemma (or lack thereof), but instead the surreal deal a businesswoman is willing to enter into with Massacre. Having seen the negative publicity his actions have brought to her own company (where his last set of killings took place), she's quietly approached by the madman himself, angling for a multi-million dollar payday to commit atrocities wearing brand products from competitors of her choosing. At the expense of innocent lives, this woman can drive business away from her rivals and back towards herself. If it were not a horrifying loss of life, it'd be ingenious.

While this is going on, Octavius procrastinates by visiting a tutor in aid of finishing Parker's long incomplete doctorate. Scarily, this meeting had romantic overtones, at least in my interpretation. Anna Marconi is a delightfully wry little person (her words, not mine) and over the course of their session, the pair develop a playful mutual respect. Science soon turns into dinner, turns into what I think was flirting. I'm not sure though, as Octavius would no doubt be terrible at doing so and the idea of him flirting makes my stomach turn a little. The idea of Doc Ock romancing someone in Peter Parker's body is creepy on so many levels!

Another standout moment comes when Spider-Man is in the middle of saving several of Massacre's hostages. Octavius remarks just what an oddity it is to be saving so few lives, when only a short time before, he was threatening to kill billions and render Humanity extinct. He's clearly learning from his experiences as the new Spider-Man, but something tells me he's going to take all the wrong lessons along the way. He may strive to save lives now, but lots of people are going to suffer for him to achieve that.

8 out of 10

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Review: Batman Incorporated #8

Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chris Burnham
Publisher: DC Comics

Batman and Talia Al Ghul's personal war rages over Gotham City, but as they both seek to win, they both lose.

As the cover to my left may have already given away, this issue of "Batman Incorporated" marks what is potentially Damian Wayne's final appearance as Robin, The Boy Wonder. The battle between his parents has been expertly told by veritable genius, Grant Morrison, across multiple series, since his very first arc on "Batman" way back in 2006. The prodigy has long claimed his initial plans called for Damian's death, but the character proved so entertaining to write, the young Master Wayne earned himself a reprieve. It's only fitting the writer should revisit the poor boy's fate in the run up to his own final issues.

Ironically, this major event comes hot on the heels of Scott Snyder's parallel blockbuster series "Death of the Family", which ended mere weeks ago, with no fatalities. So to have Damian survive the cruelty of the Joker, only to die soon after, at his own Mother's behest, is the ultimate cruelty. This trick is somewhat of a double-edged sword, as all eyes were on Snyder's masterwork, no one would possibly suspect Morrison of such a status-quo shattering development in short order.

The character's final fate is plain to see in the structure of the issue. Morrison goes out of his way to give Damian several memorable moments that will leave tears in the eyes of long-time fans. Chief among them, the camaraderie between he and Dick Grayson. For a short time, Dick and Damian operated as Gotham City's Dynamic Duo in the pages of "Batman & Robin" and this is not lost on Grant Morrison. In what has to be one of best moments of all Batman's long history, Damian tells Dick he was his favourite partner and that they will always be the best in his eyes. That moment alone fills my heart with joy, so it's only right something crushing happens later. If this had to be their final team-up, it was the right note to end on. Seeing the pair of them jump out from behind cover and dive into battle, side by side, is downright inspirational.

It's with that same manic pride in his own abilities that Damian chooses to take on his insane clone alone and endures the most vicious beating you could ever imagine a ten year old boy taking. Remember how we all winced when Jason Todd was beaten to death with a crowbar by the Joker back in the 80's? Well this is worse. This is a knock-down drag-out brutal slug-fest. I have to give Damian credit, he absolutely went out swinging. For every cringe-inducing blow that's landed on the youngster, he gives one back. The Boy Wonder refused to stay down at every turn and he'll always have my respect for that. Robin earned his wings.

Of course, the scariest thing about this issue, isn't even in the issue itself. What we are all dreading is the aftermath. Just how the hell does Bruce Wayne cope with the death of his only son? This is a man who thought dressing up as a giant bat and fighting crime was a sane way to deal with the death of his parents. Therefore, I am genuinely terrified at what horrors Grant Morrison has just unleashed on an already Dark Knight. The death of Jason Todd was traumatic enough. It cast a permanent shadow over the next twenty years of Batman comics. You couldn't crack an issue without finding Bruce staring at that damn display case (or having someone thrown through it). Losing Damian could shatter both the man and the hero forever. There is no more status quo.

10 out of 10

Review: Star Trek - The Next Generation - Hive #4

Writers: Brannon Braga, Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett
Artist: Joe Corroney
Publisher: IDW Comics

Captain Jean Luc Picard has the fate of the Galaxy in his hands, but will his resolve remain strong in the face of potential genocide?

This isn't the first time the good Captain has been to this dance. In the classic TNG episode "I, Borg", Picard was presented with a paradoxical computer program, that if uploaded into the Borg Collective, would end their threat once and for all. But through talking to the liberated drone, Hugh, the crew of the Enterprise came to realise the innocent nature of the assimilated and hesitated to pull the proverbial trigger. Though years may have passed, our heroes find themselves in the exact same position. Only this time, the Borg are coming in force and the humanitarian approach isn't an option.

Considering the death and destruction the Borg Collective have wreaked across the Milky Way since last they had the option, you can't exactly blame these otherwise noble people for having an itchy trigger finger. However, much of this series has outright contradicted emotional journeys established in the shows themselves. Picard had already faced his demons in the motion picture "First Contact" and Seven of Nine progressively embraced her humanity throughout the entire of "Voyager", so to see them fall back into the hands of the Collective is downright heartbreaking.

For all the good that creative mind Brannon Braga brought to the Star Trek franchise over the decades, his writing has become predictable and trite. Ask any modern day fan their opinion of his stories and it's as if his very name were a dirty word. Just like George Lucas before him, he may've helped get us here, but he's treated us like cr*p ever since. His last effort being the notorious dreadful "These Are The Voyages", also known as the reviled Enterprise series finale. That episode was disrespectful to the show itself and relied far too heavily on flimsy shock tactics to get a rise out of the audience. It's unfortunate to find those same tendencies are still apparent today.

The sad thing is that the building blocks for a fantastic story were there. With only a few small tweaks, we could've had a fond farewell to several beloved Star Trek characters. Instead, we have an absolute mess, that wipes a handful of major players off the board in various unsatisfying ways. The strangest of all being Braga killing off his own ex-girfriend, Jeri Ryan! Her character, Seven of Nine, was Voyager's breakout star and her journey towards reclaiming her humanity was the best arc the show ever attempted. But with this series, she ultimately failed. She went back to the Borg, was violated anew and sacrificed her life in a vain effort to save thousands while TRILLIONS died around her. The heroic death is appreciated, but throughout the course of this mini-series, she fell so far from the heights of her time on Voyager. Captain Janeway would be genuinely saddened to see her personal pet project go out in such a manner.

Another confusing treatment of a beloved character comes in the form of resurrected android, Data. Braga went to alot of trouble to include the character in his story, but with seemingly little gain. Some convoluted story about the Borg assimilating the Daystrom Institute and salvaging his files from the B4 unit seen in "Nemesis". But for all that effort, what did Data actually do? He popped in, said hello to his friends (who aren't exactly given time to react to the return of their dead colleague), stood in the background as Picard and Seven saved the day, then disappeared as the timeline corrected itself. Braga, you just reversed your own reversal!

As a fan, particularly of the Borg, I couldn't help but notice the blatant repetition of classic plot devices throughout this mini. Picard facing his fears of Locutus, check. The Borg Queen gloating from her impenetrable fortress, check. A magic virus that will save the day, check. The brave hero feeding themselves to the Borg, check. It basically played like a greatest hits album. If you've seen "Best of Both Worlds", "Scorpion", "Unimatrix Zero" or "Endgame", you've seen Hive.

As bad as I thought this series was as a whole, I don't want this to come across as a denigration of everything Star Trek. I clearly love the characters and the concepts or I wouldn't be voluntarily reading the story in the first place. In trying to find the rare good qualities of Hive, let it be known that I thought the wrap-up was fantastic. I absolutely loved the idea of a free Borg race establishing their own colony, not to mention Picard hinting he was about to resurrect Data (again). These concepts were wonderful and left me with a tangible feeling of "okay, the Borg are out of the way, can we see THOSE episodes now?". There is a rabid Star Trek fan inside me and they will always long for the next adventure.

5 out of 10