Amazing Spider-Man has never been better since Brand New Day. There's been a number of Internet fans upset over One New Day, but I think Joe Quesada is a saint for pulling that off. Erasing Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane was long overdue, but the masterstroke that no one saw coming was bringing back Harry Osborn. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but Harry's conflicts have become as much a part of the drama as Peter's. Harry is constantly tempted by his girlfriend and father to return to a life of insanity and evil. In Marc Guggenheim's Character Assassination, Peter wouldn't have survived his battle with Maniac unless Harry had intervened. Harry finds inner sources of strength to do the right thing, which, given his troubles in the past, make him even more impressive than Peter.
Amazing Spider-Man #598 is the next chapter in Harry's evolution, as he finally learns the truth about what Norman Osborn and Lily have really been up to all this time. I enjoyed the side of the story that centers around Harry; the one surrounding Spider-Man doesn't seem that great to me. There's something inconsistent about that black costume Reed Richards whipped up for Peter to impersonate Venom. The costume can repel a gunshot fired at point blank range to his head. Yet in issue #597 it did not appear to repel Bullseye\Hawkeye's arrows. Why didn't Peter's Spider-Sense kick in and allow him to dodge those arrows anyway? Peter was just too easily captured in that chapter. He's tortured pretty badly by Bullseye in this chapter--at least he has trouble running away at the very end.
The Adventures of Harry Osborn part of the story is getting me through American Son. What the heck, l am buying this book no matter what.
The cover to Dark Avengers #6 was very enticing. I have to say it's one of the best covers I've seen in a while: Captain Marvel (Noh-Varr, Marvel Boy, whatever) hunted down by the Void. Wow, this is the moment when Marvel Boy finally becomes a man and a force for good. I've waited a few years for this. It should be amazing, right?
Well, it's not, because the scene on the cover doesn't take place inside this issue.
Not that Bendis doesn't tease you a little. Marvel Boy slept with Moonstone\Ms. Marvel in the previous issue, and she blurted out the truth (the new Avengers are really villains) to him in bed. He seemed stunned by the news. In this issue, as the team gathers for breakfast, Noh-Varr is AWOL. He never shows up at all. I'm curious why they had this cover made when the event never happens. Although I shouldn't be surprised--New Avengers #50 was the same deal.
What does happen in Dark Avengers #6 is still interesting--we're seeing Norman Osborn slowly become unglued with each chapter of this series. After a rogue Atlantean splinter cell attacks Los Angeles, Osborn assembles the Dark Illuminati--including the Sub-Mariner--to discuss how to fix it. Osborn screams at Namor, who doesn't take kindly to orders from a human. It was exactly as Doom predicted in the Dark Illuminati special. Osborn takes steps to correct the situation without their help, using the Sentry as his weapon. Osborn appears to be able to communicate with both the Sentry and the Void, but it's a delicate negotiation--one mistake and the Void could be unleashed against the Dark Avengers.
I'm very curious to see what happens over the next few weeks and months. Namor is going to be really pissed off at Osborn. But we've already seen Namor on upcoming covers with the Dark X-Men. How do these two events get reconciled? Since Matt Fraction is writing the next few Dark Avengers issues, there has to be a reason.
Thor had a tremendous giant-sized anniversay issue #600, where Loki's greatest scheme paid off big time. Thunder God was stripped of his Monarchy and exiled from New Asgard. While Balder has become the new King and led his people to Latveria (with some bad advice from Loki), Thor is dealing with the unthinkable-- a broken Uru hammer.
In Thor #602, he gets help from the one person who can help--of course--Doctor Strange. Strange can repair Mjolnir, but it will cost the Thunder God the Odinforce he inherited after his father's death. This is kind of cool in a way--I've been thinking that Thor is way too powerful anyway. He can't be threatened by the Absorbing Man if he can move Asgard around like it's nothing. In another way, it's bringing Thor's world back around to the status quo--before Ragnarok, before his monarchy. I wouldn't be surprised now if Odin eventually comes back. Most changes in comics get reset back eventually, don't they?
By the end of the issue, the dangling plot thread with Sif (trapped in a dying woman's body) is finally resolved. It's not that unusual--what is great is that Thor sacrificed a tremendous amount to get her back. It feels a bit rushed in the execution. It seemed like this took plotline took forever, because of this title's uneven publication history.
The big news this week is that JMS is leaving Thor in September 2009. His last issues will be Thor #603 (in August) and a Giant-Sized special in September. In his exit interview at CBR, he drops some tantalizing hints about Marvel's next big event that involves the Thunder God. Possibly the end of Dark Reign and the start of something new? At any rate, I am sure Thor will be published more frequently when a new creative team comes on board. My vote for a new writer: Matt Fraction. He did a great job on that Thor God-Sized special.
Not to mention this lineup of Liltin' Landmarks:
New Avengers 54: I was really, really prepared to hate this issue. Taking my beloved Brother Voodoo and making him Doctor Voodoo seemed dumb. But the execution in this story makes the change fun and exciting. Any story that brings together Doc Strange, Brother Voodoo, and the Son of Satan together is pretty cool in my book. I enjoyed this joke that Spider-Man made over Daimon Hellstrom's doom and gloom warning: You...should write greeting cards. Really. Made me laugh out loud.
Daredevil 119: The Kingpin looks to be double crossing Daredevil and getting himself back in position to become New York City's crimelord. Matt Murdock, how could you be so naive? All changes in comics get reset back eventually. Nuff said.
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