Weekly Pick-Ups 1/08/14

Again, sorry about the lag with these Weekly Pick-Up posts. Deanpool spent all morning reading, and it looks like I’ll be spending all night blogging. Because the pick ups for the week of January 8, 2014 were a lot to talk about. The three main ones discussed in this post specifically are part of the comic series that Deanpool continually collects.

FYI: The Walking Dead issue won't be reviewed, but is worth mentioning that it was picked up. Deanpool is still in the process of starting the story arc they're current on and will give a whole post dedicated to reviewing the story up to that point. Sorry!

That arm isn't looking good.

Deadpool #22- Deanpool understands there’s a lot of hype behind Deadpool as of late. But you can’t deny how good this series has been. Deadpool engages the readers with the whole “breaking the fourth wall” thing and backs up the “merc with a mouth” profile. In this second installment in the Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. story, we still see the silliness and wild antics of Deadpool alongside the seriousness and stern side when it’s time to kick some butt. Agent Preston has been stuck in his head for some time now (explained by Deanpool in a previous post HERE) and Deadpool is really making an honest effort to help her get out as well. Lots of funny moments in this issue, but the story is still moves along well. The co-writers Posehn and Duggan get a big thumbs up from Deanpool for keeping Deadpool as wild and crazy as ever without making the issue just be a bunch of nonsense. The art and colorist also deserve praise for the colorful art that match Deadpool’s colorful personality perfectly. One of Deanpool’s favorite parts is the conversation between Deadpool and another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent (a good one trying to help Deadpool) in the middle of a shootout. It’s ridiculous, absurd, and… comical! Just what we want as comic readers! Also, it looks like Avengers-favorite Agent Coulson will play a big part in this storyline so expect more Coulson in the coming Deadpool comics.

Deadpool meet Agent Coulson

While it seems like the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attempt to attract more viewers to their ABC show, the interaction between Deadpool and Coulson actually provide a contrast that works well for the comic. The stern, serious, sometimes sarcastic Coulson alongside the foolhardy, backtalking Deadpool should provide a few more hilarious conversations between the two characters. As far as story development, we learn that the corrupt S.H.I.E.L.D. agent knows Deadpool and company may be onto him and see that he’s working for a bigger bad guy organization: selling trade secrets, arms, and whatever else he could get his hands on in S.H.I.E.L.D. Deadpool has more than one reason to get his hands on this agent (he owes him some money from the Dead Presidents story arc at the beginning of this comic series), but he only needs one to find him and kick his a**.  Deanpool loves Deadpool and this series, he gives it a 8.5/10 saying it’s pure comedy and has everything people love about Deadpool in this issue.

HELLA-TOYZ

Iron Patriot appearance.

Iron Man #20- A series that has had its ups and downs in Deanpool’s opinion, its current storyline “Iron Metropolitan” was going through the same type of feel. For those of you who haven’t kept up with this volume of Iron Man, a GIANT (yes the caps are necessary) discovery was made in issue #17 that changed Tony Stark’s life forever. That issue was pre-Comic-Cave blogs so there are no posts to refer to this huge spoiler, so we’ll add it at the bottom. In fact, because this spoiler is big and affects this particular storyline so much, most of the synopsis of the issue can be found in the spoiler section. Back to the review, this issue is the 3^rd installment for the “Iron Metropolitan,” in which Tony Stark is out on a mission to increase the Earth’s defenses in order to keep mankind from any means of destruction. The first city he’s choosing to start his mission is Mandarin City.  The previous two installments start out quite slow setting up the idea that Deanpool summed up two sentences before this one. But this issue finally gets the story going with some action behind it. Left-wing reporter Abigail Burns had been selected as a host for one of Mandarin’s rings, Incinerator. Burns + Incinerator = Deanpool mindblown. Burns takes on the guise of Red Peril starts destroying what she can of Tony’s work. Also, it’s worth mentioning that at the end of the last issue, a giant ring-wearing fist came out of the ground. This ring was the Remaker (another one of Mandarin’s rings). In a Green Lantern ring-style Burns is able to communicate with her ring for advice on how to handle situations. This particular ring grants her the power of a star on her finger. In one instance, she uses a nova-flare move that Tony Stark has never seen used by The Mandarin, which also had the power of an electromagnetic pulse. This shut down the other A.I.’s that Tony had helping him. Burns a.k.a. Red Peril used the opportunity to escape.

10 rings to rule the world...
or are they?

Later, Tony is seen with the new Iron Patriot (Rhodey) as they visit S.H.I.E.L.D. to check on the Mandarin’s rings that were supposedly under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s watch. While all ten rings appear to be present, Tony deduces that only one is present and is creating the illusion that all ten were there. This ring was appropriately called Liar. We later see Red Peril declaring that she is going to take out Iron Man in a typical supervillain fashion. All the while, we see that the other rings are out trying to find new hosts and fast due to Red Peril’s outburst. There appears to be a sense of urgency to speed up their hidden agenda. This story is finally picking up some speed and drawing more interest from Deanpool. 8/10.

Can you see the outline of the stealth suit? 

Spoilers (don't read if you haven't read Iron Man #17, unless you want to know anyways, in which case you've been warned!): So we learn in Iron Man #17 that Tony Stark is in fact not the son of Howard and Maria Stark. After a long, convoluted story arc called "The Secret Origin of Tony Stark," readers learn that Tony was merely a decoy to keep an advanced space android from taking their real son, Arno aka Tony's long, lost brother (well not lost, but Tony never knew about him). It was a big of a shock to readers as it was for Tony himself. The whole story led up to this pre-determined destiny that was meant for Tony Stark as it was believed that he was the son of Howard and Maria. But the destined son was actually Arno, who suffered serious medical problems as an infant due to Howard Stark's attempt to save his child from prearranged fate. In order to fool the android into thinking that everything was fine, they adopted a boy: Tony Stark. Arno, however, has been under medical care ever since, hidden away from society. He is dependent upon the medical machines he's connected to and can only communicate by typing into a keyboard and having the words come up on the screen or be spoken by a machine. Crazy right? Completely adds a new flavor to Tony's history. He's still a self-made man, but who are his real parents? Don't worry that aspect won't be explored in this set of issues just yet. And if you haven't read the "City of Owls" story-arc from Batman yet, you'll be in for another surprise as well. The amusing thing is that he is very much like Tony, smart and idealistic. This whole "Iron Metropolitan" idea is a collaborative work between the two Starks. Seeing Tony react to Red Peril's EMP and realize that it may affect his brother was a touching moment as Tony really views Arno as family. But Arno is a Stark, and rightfully so, he reinforced his iron lung long before the incident. What does the future hold for these two brothers? How will Arno affect the Iron Man series? Only time, and more comics, will tell.

Batman Black and White #5- This mini-series is almost reaching its end. The classic mini-anthology series has one more issue left to come out. The first 3 issues had a lot of good stories that Deanpool loved. However, the previous issue and this one weren’t as strong in Deanpool’s opinion. Five stories in this issue, and Deanpool only particularly enjoyed the last 2.

“Flipside” was one that featured Two-Face Harvey (seems like Deanpool has been reading a lot about Two-Face as of late, check out the Long Halloween post) and Nightwing. In fact, you don’t see Batman at all in this story until the very end. Classic deception story as Two-Face attempts to rob an armed vehicle containing rare jewels. Nightwing handles the situation with ease only to learn that it wasn’t the real Two-Face trying to steal the jewels. The next panel shows the real Two-Face trying to steal from a bank vault. Batman himself is sitting in the vault, two steps ahead of Two-Face. Deanpool loved the fact that all the clues were there from the beginning of the story when Two-Face was reading the newspaper and flipping his trademark coin to make a decision. Readers are originally led to believe that he’s flipping on whether Two-Face will decide to steal the jewels or not, but after looking back at the newspaper in the comic panel there are two headlines shown: the jewels AND the bank. Turns out Two-Face may have been flipping his coin to decide what to steal. Great story with great understanding of the characters involved. Two-Face’s belief that every decision comes down to a 50/50 choice. Nightwing’s dedication to handle situations in Batman’s place. Batman’s understanding of his enemies. Also Deanpool loved how Batman took Two-Face’s coin in mid-air, leaving Two-Face desperately crying to know which side it was going to land on. A great story told within a few pages isn’t an easy task, but this one accomplished it and saved the issue from being a complete bust.

The other story “Hope” is a light-hearted story of a man who turns to the life of crime in order to pay for his father’s medical care. While Batman is on his own mission to shut down the operation this man is working for, he connects with this man as Bruce Wayne and understands that this man lost faith in humanity and had thus turned to crime. After catching all the bad guys, Bruce Wayne again connects with this man and offers to cover his father’s medical expenses while he is in prison for his crimes. Even Bruce Wayne still believes in the law and wasn’t about to let this guy off the hook. Nevertheless, he instills hope into this man and teaches him that crime is never the answer. Bruce also encourages him to do the same for others when he eventually gets out of prison. The story ends with Bruce Wayne saying his superpower is knowing where to be when people need him the most. Whether he’s Bruce Wayne or Batman, Deanpool doesn’t think there’s any better way to put it. It may not be the best issue in the mini-series but the last two stories managed to give it an okay grade of 6/10.

The following issues were debuts, or the Batman anniversary issue, and Deanpool wanted to give them their own posts to have more room to discuss them. The scores are put next to the issue to give an idea of Deanpool's thoughts about the issue. Expect this layout in the coming weeks as Marvel has plenty more to debut and Deanpool plans to pick up a lot of them.

Avengers World #1- 8/10

All-New X-Factor #1- 7.5/10

Black Widow #1- 8.5/10

Detective Comics #27- 9/10. It should be noted that this won this week's Pick of the Week.

Thanks for reading this belated Weekly Pick-Ups post. Deanpool is going to try to get last week's Pick-Ups out shortly. Don't forget to enter your email on the left if you wanted updates emailed to you when the Comic-Cave gets new posts up or subscribe to the posts by using the buttons on the left sidebar as well. 

Tony doesn't like sharing posts with Deadpool for... certain reasons.