I bought my first issue of Secret Avengers. "Encircle" is a story featuring the "World's Greatest Secret Agent in a "timey-wimey" (ugh!) story where Black Widow has to save her team-mates by time-jumping. Pencilled by MK's Alex Maleev, this issue includes a witty newspaper strip sequence that reminded me of Modesty Blaise -especially the ultra-kitsch Sixties movie, the op-art grooviness of which is referenced on the cover. Not only does it make Dr. Druid seem cool, this comic returns Madame Natasha to the forefront of Merry Marvel Women.
Unfortunately, as I predicted, it appears another Marvel Woman- Echo- was slain in Moon Knight 9. It looks like the Wolverine personality has the upper hand now in Marc's fractured psyche. I had expected him to "become" Echo, however. I was disappointed to read that the series ends at issue 12 ; I was enjoying the way Bendis took Nefaria, one of Marvel's distinctly fourth-rate villains, and gave him presence and menace.
Avengers Annual 1 (again?!) continues the Revengers storyline as Wonder Man and his team of ex-heroes challenge Earth's Mightiest over their lack of accountability. It seems something of a movie plot: a strange idea in a fictional universe of this vintage and would have made more sense in the Ultimate one. I didn't really care for the muddy, gloomy art but I liked Bendis' compassionate version of the Beast. Wondy vanishes at the end of the issue, on an ominous note. It seems Bendis is setting up the Fall of the Avengers, doesn't it?
Avengers 21 and New Avengers 20 are very decompressed, "meh" issues, continuing the HAMMER/Osborn/New Dark Avengers storyline. At least Spider-Woman uses her skills at manipulation, while Vision and Noh-Varr actually do some super-hero scrapping. I really do not know why Storm is on this team, however. Also, the faux-Scarlet Witch aka "Toxic Doxie" is a nasty piece of work.
Looks familiar...
It seems the fun is over already in Wolverine and the X-Men with the arrival of two new students: Angel, who now thinks he's a real Angel and Genesis, a wimpy clone of boring Darkseid rip-off, Apocalypse. Guest lecturer Deathlok injects some mordant humour: " The future is a violent and terrible place. Know now that at least 43.897% of you will die before reaching adulthood". But the cyber-zombie is actually having a vision of the devastation wrought by an adult Genesis.
Beast's biology class, in the next issue, is straight out of Fantastic Voyage but whoops! Kitty's instantly pregnant. Astonishingly, Marvel do this violation trope, last seen with Amy Pond in Dr. Who, as if it's okay now and give it a horrible sci-fi twist on urban legends: she is actually infected with microscopic Brood. Eeew. I really like this title but even though Kitty's connotations with the Alien franchise are logical, since she was based on a young Sigourney, it doesn't make it any less distasteful.
It looks like it's going to take two posts to review my DC haul , which surprises me, considering I've been very critical of the New 52...
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