Hero Spotlight: The Falcon

Deanpool felt like taking a break from so much reading in Weekly Pick-Ups, and remembered that he said he'd do at least one Spotlight to commemorate this month being Black History Month. And who better than one many attribute to being the first mainstream African-American superhero. It also plays nicely into getting ready for his appearance in the upcoming Captain America: Winter Soldier movie.

Let's first dive into a little history lesson. 

Gabe Jones' character debuted back in 1963 as apart of Nick Fury's Howling Commandos. Not necessarily Marvel's first black character, but a notable non-superpowered character from the Marvel U. 

Then Black Panther was introduced in Fantastic Four #52 in 1966. T'Challa goes on to join the Avengers and all that good stuff, and even today is still a very prominent character for Marvel, mainly in the New Avengers comics. But Black Panther was African in origin, he's from the very technologically advanced nation of Wakanda. Again, another strong statement being made back in 60's that this hero from Africa can hold his own. He's not a second string character, he's one of Marvel's most dignified and brilliant leaders. Also, fun fact, the infamous Black Panther Party of Self-Defense founded in Oakland actually came after Marvel's Black Panther was created. Fun little tidbit. Anyways, Deanpool will more than likely do a Spotlight on Black Panther in the near future because he's one of Deanpool's favorites. And there are whispers of a future Black Panther movie in Marvel's phase three? 

Back to the history lesson, Joseph "Robbie" Robertson was a minor character from Amazing Spider-Man (first appearance Amazing Spider-Man #51 1967) that, but still made his mark as an African-American regular supporting character. Whether you read comics or watched the 90's animated show from, you may remember Robbie as one of the only adult characters that Peter could confide in.

Y'all remember Robbie right?

Samuel Wilson aka Falcon (the star of this spotight) made his way into the Marvel Universe back in Captain America #117 in 1969. Again, first African-American superhero. It's also nice to have a name without the word "black" in it. As if readers, can't see the skin tone under the mask. But it was a different time back then. Regardless he was the first of many to come soon after him. 

Jon Stewart, the second Green Lantern, came two years after Falcon in DC comics.. 

Luke Cage came three years later, being Marvel's first African-American hero to star in his own series.

Ororo aka Storm came about six years later, Marvel's first black female hero.

Blade, the British vampire hunter, was introduced about four years after.

And just out of curiosity, Deanpool learned that the first African-American starring in his own comic series came from Dell Comics. An old western style gunfighter named Lobo back in 1965. Not to be confused with DC's alien bounty hunter Lobo.

And so ends our brief history lesson. Let's go more into the spotlight on The Falcon!

One last pic because Deanpool didn't know where
to put this one but it's pretty awesome.

Samuel Wilson was born in Harlem, had a happy childhood, two loving and supporting parents. Naturally, you'd figure a guy who takes up the name Falcon would either have an interest in birds and/or flying. Well it's the former, he trained pigeons. Things all go wrong when his parents are murdered: father killed trying to break up a fight, mother shot by a mugger. Sam becomes filled with rage and grief and eventually moves to Los Angeles to reinvent himself as "Snap" Wilson, a professional criminal, gang member, and pimp. On his way to a big score in Rio de Janeiro, his plane crashes on Exile Island. The island is run by the Exiles, a group of world conquerors that once had an alliance with Red Skull during WWII. Actually, Red Skull's betrayal to them is the cause of them having to remain in hiding on the island, where they enslaved the natives. This is also the place where Sam meets and befriends a falcon named Redwing. As if that isn't a big foreshadowing. 

Before Falcon, he was Snap Wilson.

Falcon and Redwing

While on the island, Red Skull uses the Cosmic Cube, a weapon that can alter reality, to mentally fuse Sam Wilson with Redwing. This mental link, with practice and concentration, gave Wilson abilities and powers over all birds. Skull also uses the Cosmic Cube to wipe Sam's brief history as Snap Wilson, recreating a new history where Sam is an honest and merrier (compared to the angry Snap) social worker who wants to help the natives fight for their freedom on Exile Island. Why would Red Skull do something like this? Beats Deanpool. It's supposed to be a plot against Captain America. A plot that starts with giving him a sidekick?  Steve Rogers meets Sam on the island and tells him to adopt a persona that could help motivate and inspire the natives in their rebellion. And then The Falcon is born. The two heroes train together before taking the fight to the Exiles and Red Skull, and so begins the Captain America-Falcon crime-fighting tandem. Falcon also goes on to eventually join the Avengers. Sam Wilson even takes on the Captain America persona for a while when Steve Rogers is believed to be dead.

His ability to fly as Falcon comes courtesy to Black Panther. Black Panther creates a harness for Wilson that allows him to fly. Later in comics, Red Skull reveals Wilson's true past to him as Snap Wilson. Red Skull again tries to manipulate Falcon using the Cosmic Cube to get him to kill Captain America, unsuccessfully though. Despite learning his past, Falcon still remains determined to continue being a hero. Another interesting thing to note from Falcon's history, at one point Falcon was recruited to be on the Avengers to fill a mandated racial quota. He was supposedly one of the only active black heroes at the time, but he still quit at the first opportunity resenting being considered a "token" on the team. You go Falcon.

POWERS & ABILITIES

Let's get this part right so no one who reads this is under the assumption he's just some black dude who could fly. You can bet Marvel is going to make him look a lot cooler than that in Winter Soldier.

For one thing, his mental link with Redwing allowed him to extend this ability to be able to see through the eyes of over 6 billion birds across the world. Good for spying purposes, or to quickly survey an area. He can also access memories from birds, being able to see what they have seen in the past. There's also been evidence that he has the ability to control birds and have them attack a target or telepathically summon them to come to his aid. Pretty cool trick.

Most of his abilities come from his uniform and harness. The original wing harness had a detachable jet-powered glider wings that had solar power receptors that could convert sunlight into electricity. This could be used to power high-speed turbine fans in his uniform and boots. After this original harness was destroyed, Black Panther supplied Falcon with a new one. The new costume and wings connected with Falcon through a cybernetic link. With this link, Falcon could configure the wings into various formations. The costume itself was built to resist firearm damage, which should be required by all heroes shouldn't it? The costume's visor also equips him with capabilities like infrared lenses, magnification capabilities, and remote imaging sensors. Again, the uniform provided him most of his abilities outside of the mental link to Redwing and other birds.

Also, he was trained in gymnastics and hand-to-hand combat by Captain America. And Redwing is a highly trained hunting falcon that responds to Falcon's commands in battle.

Deanpool mostly read Falcon in big crossover events when he was apart of the Avengers like in House of M, Civil War, and Avengers vs. X-Men, or more recently, Infinity. Though he doesn't exactly take center stage in any of these like Cap, Iron Man, Thor, or Reed Richards, but is always portrayed as the loyal, faithful team member ready and willing to fight for the team. More recently, Falcon can be seen as a regular in Marvel NOW's Avengers series.
As far as recommended reading for Falcon, Deanpool would suggest any of the Captain America & The Falcon issues/TPB from the '70s when they gave Falcon equal billing with Cap. It was a unique relationship as Marvel didn't focus so much on a hero/sidekick relationship, but an equal partnership and friendship between the two.

Falcon became his own man and a hero in his own right as his character steadily progressed and improved his arsenal. Just another thing to note that shows Falcon's importance in comic history, he was the first superhero of color to have his own action figure in the 1970's. So props to Samuel Wilson aka The Falcon. Not only was he one of the first African American heroes, he  also progressed into one of greatest comic heroes and was apart of one of the greatest crime-fighting duos alongside the legendary Captain America.

Winter Soldier
If you're interested in seeing Falcon live in a movie, check out Captain America: Winter Soldier. He'll be played by Anthony Mackie. Not exactly the red outfit we're used to in the comics, but a nice sleeker look for the big screen. Not sure how much of his origin will be brought over either. Sam Wilson will likely have more of a military background for the movie universe, which is probably how he eventually found his way on SHIELD's radar. But it'd be cool if he still had that Snap Wilson history that sort of shapes how/why he wants to become The Falcon. And if they bring the Snap story into play, it may bring up the death of his parents too. All speculation. Mackie seems like a good choice for the role of Falcon. Only movie Deanpool can recall with him recently is Pain & Gain, and it's not exactly a good example of an acting showcase. But the look is definitely there as someone to work alongside Steve Rogers. Mackie underwent a serious diet and workout regimen to get into shape for the role, so expect him to showcase some athleticism in his action scenes. Though Deanpool is more excited to see how they get him to fly. He also wonders if Redwing will make an appearance at all. Or if that "mental link to birds" power will be apart of his character. Wouldn't it be cool if Marvel just flipped the script and named him Redwing instead? Actually, that'd be cooler in any sense than just Falcon.

It's a bad sign that there's no Redwing in this poster.

Well there's the little brief overview on black history in comics. If Deanpool had more time an energy, maybe he could've made it two different posts. But no doubt you can't look into Falcon's history without taking a step back and looking at the impact he made in the time period he appeared in. A lot of African-American actors have taken some big roles in this Marvel movie universe: Don Cheadle as Rhodey in Iron Man 2 & 3, Idris Elba as Heimdall in the Thor movies, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Avengers and will also appear in Winter Soldier. Mackie has a chance to build a name for himself if he can portray Samuel Wilson and The Falcon well. Reminding both old and new audiences of a great hero in comic history, in more ways than one.

Weekly Pick-Ups 2/12/14

12 ISSUES THIS WEEK. A lot to read, with only 3 being "All-New" Marvel series debuts. Again, the Walking Dead issue won't be reviewed in Weekly Pick-Ups, but will be apart of a larger review in a few months when the second half of the "All Out War" arc ends. 3 DC comics, 8 Marvel comics, and the 1 Image comic. Lot more "middle of the arc" stories, but the ones that aren't were the real standouts this week. Enjoy the read!

Justice League 3000 #3

This series has been very interesting up to this point... it's only the third issue. Maybe it's just the nice change of pace from all the Forever Evil stuff going on. Every time Deanpool considers to just stop picking these up mid-read, something happens that compels him to see what happens next. Of course this can be true for all individual comic issues, it's their job. But when you're picking up 10 comics a week, you got to make cuts somewhere. This one has been hanging in there still.

Following up the beating that Locus put on them in the previous issue, the big 3 of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are found on a prison planet that she banned them too. The three resist anyone that tries to apprehend them until one particular person, Sheriff Aaban Tariq, threatens to shoot innocent people if they don't submit. Batman being the only voice of reason talks Wonder Woman and Superman out of fighting and turn themselves in. Tariq turns out to be quite useful to both the trio and readers as he reveals more information and explanation for the story. He doesn't fear nor is he awestruck by Superman's presence, which annoys Superman very much. His explanation is that they seem more like urban myths since they were heroes a thousand years ago. ,He has a point, if you met some reincarnated person from the year 1000, would you really care so much? Minus the fact that the person is reincarnated, but even recorded history from this time may not be fully accurate, much less believable. But that's just Deanpool.

With these 3 holding most of the spotlight for this issue, we were given more banter and character interactions between the three of them. One of the funnier ones was when the three were trying to find a way to cross over a giant body of water, but the water has been so polluted that it can actually harm them. Superman then lifts both Batman and Wonder Woman, teasing as if he's going to attempt to fly for the nth time, but instead uses his super strength to leap all of them over to the other side. Wonder Woman then smacks him for touching her. Funny stuff. 

While the heroes seem to go on a mini-tour from this guy, they learn that the prison planet is mostly run by fossil fuels, which has led to all the pollution and it becoming such a contaminated planet. Turns out... they're actually on a year 3000 planet Earth!

Green Lantern is still Locus' prisoner. She continues to show her immature, teenage personality as she gives him an ultimatum to either love her as her boyfriend or die. GL doesn't speak with her the entire time, but under his breath mentions how he's simply waiting for his opportunity to get his cloak (which for this future Green Lantern provides him his powers) and escape to find the others.

The Teri twins continue their constant arguments with each other. One wants to end the whole resurrect the Justice League project to take on the mysterious Five. The other has blind faith in the heroes and insists on reviving another Flash (since the last one died at the hands of Locus). Interesting that the two twins both have different ideas, and both of them sound bad for the Justice League 3000: end the project and abandon the group or just keep regenerating these legendary heroes knowing they've only been a shell of their former selves up to this point. It's still uncertain whether or not the reader should be supporting these twins or not.

Another interesting factor that's keeping Deanpool interested is the girl that was seen at the very beginning of the first issue. She didn't appear at all in the second issue, but on the first issue it was clear she was on the run and being chased by some powerful people. Well we finally get to see her again. And it's revealed that she's actually the genius behind bringing the Justice League back to life. This was alluded to a couple times in previous issues by the Teri twins, but it's revisited once again. The one who captured Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman has connections with this girl and contacts her to let her know he has them. We then see her risk getting caught to go see them.

Art continues to be good, mainly the depiction of the the League. A very unique taste of this dark, dystopian future. The heroic figures are drawn well as well as the different settings. A lot of sci-fi vibes that are portrayed well with the art work.  The next issue might still be void of the big action sequence we're anticipating from this series, but you can bet that a lot more about the team's purpose and origins will be revealed in the next issue. Questions like why were the Justice League the best solution to the Five? and who are the Five? may finally be answered. The series seems like it's working toward a big plan, but so far the build up is starting to die out. A lot more explanations with little action to show.  7/10 regenerated Flash's because they need to hurry up and bring Flash back.

Deadpool #23

The cover looked weird from the beginning, seeing an homage to the classic sci-fi film, Alien. Seemed random for the third chapter of this "Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D." storyline. But actually seemed fitting for the first third of issue. Following up from the previous issue, Deadpool has boarded the U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. helicarrier to seek his revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D. double-agent Gorman. But his real intentions were pretty simple: kill. His method of killing was very reminscent of scenes from Alien. Knocking out the power to the ship so he can take out the agents in the dark. Attacking from the vents, crawling through air ducts, dripping skin-eating acid. It was a fun way to see Deadpool dissect the ULTIMATUM members one by one. 

Classic Alien.

But the whole Alien homage seemed appropriate for Deadpool's current mindset, still affected by recently uncovered past demons. Agent Preston, the one temporarily trapped in Deadpool's mind until Deadpool finds another suitable body for her occupy, mentions that Deadpool has been excessively violent since their trip to North Korea (part of previous story arc). All Deadpool has to do is disable the cloaking mechanism on the ship so that S.H.I.E.L.D. can intervene. That's not Deadpool's style. He's going to cut through every single person the ship until he finds Gorman, who is cowardly trying to get off the ship rather than help with damage control. Just as a reminder: in the "Dead Presidents" story arc in the very beginning of the Deadpool series, Deadpool expected to be paid handsomely for handling S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dirty work for them, but Gorman kept the money and used it for his own purposes. So Deadpool is hunting for his money, but mostly for revenge.

Deadpool eventually catches up to Gorman as he kills anyone in that gets in his way. After Gorman tries to talk his way out of trouble by offering Deadpool money, Deadpool shoots him in the chest as Gorman falls out of the helicarrier. Now it's not even clear if he really died or not (he had a jetpack on, he likely somehow survived). But Deadpool finishes his main mission of sinking the helicarrier, crashing it into the ocean. This is a giant helicarrier we're talking about, don't think Namor will be happy with that. Deadpool safely lands back on the S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier via wearing an ULTIMATUM agent who's wearing a jet-pack. Classic Deadpool. 

By the end, we learn that Agent Adsit, one who works closely with Preston, has found a suitable body for Agent Preston. So she may finally be able to be in her own body and return to her family, and Deadpool can finally have his own twisted mind to himself. Though, Deanpool admits that having a voice of reason in Deadpool's mind was an interesting touch to the series and the character. We also see that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been unable to locate Crossbones (one of the bounty hunters that was after Deadpool a couple issues ago). Crossbones is seen going crazy in the hot air balloon that Deadpool trapped him in, but is still seeking vengeance. So expect a reappearance from this character soon. The whole "vengeance/revenge" theme seems to be set up to play a key part of upcoming issues. That, plus if Preston leaves Deadpool's mind, it's not certain that Deadpool would become more sane than he was with her in his head. If anything, we'll be finding him in a lot more trouble.

This particular issue was really fast-paced. Seemed like its whole purpose was to just wrap up the storyline to set up the next issue for the separation of Preston from Deadpool's mind. With Marvel's "All-New" everything advertisements, the Deadpool series will be starting an "All-New" storyline as well on issue #25. So issue #24 will probably be the issue to wrap up all the stuff that happened from the first 24 issues. It's nice that it has sort of come full circle from the first story arc. Still full of one-liners and humor. Though it was mentioned that Deadpool really shines when there's more focus on a violent drama rather than humor. Deanpool agrees to some extent, the humor may slow the storyline a bit, but still feels necessary for Deadpool's character. All comes down to the right balance and timing.

The issue just went by a little too quick for Deanpool's liking. Lots of killing, lots of death, couple good punch lines. But it was mostly an "end of an arc"/"set up next issue" story. 8/10 Alien references.

Batman #28

UPDATE: First off, Deanpool needs to address how confusing this issue may appear to be, because there have been some arguments that this confusion took away from the impact of this issue. Back track to before the whole "Zero Year" event started, and that's the timeline that everything is relative to. From Court of Owls to City of Owls to Death of the Family to that two issue Clayface story. That's the present timeline for Batman. This recent story arc, Zero Year, is taking place back when Bruce put on the cowl and cape. For this particular issue, it is taking place sometime in the near future relative to the present Batman timeline. When we were teased with a glimpse into Batman Eternal, Deanpool thought it would be a couple pages dedicated to it at the end of the issue. And we'd still get the next installment with Dr. Death and Riddler. Nope, just put your mindset into this Batman Eternal universe and enjoy!

Put the "Zero Year: Dark City" story arc on pause, and instead give us a Batman Eternal preview! Now if you haven't seen the Batsgiving teaser for Batman Eternal, check it out (along with a bunch of theories) here. One of the biggest theories spawning from this one image: who will be the next Robin?

Does that finally get answered in this issue?! Well... yes and no.

It starts off with Harper Row in the "near future." A relevant term since the current story arc, the last like 8 or 9 issues actually, have taken place in past when Bruce first became Batman (See, Deanpool addressed it, but felt it should've been emphasized more). Anyways we see Harper Row gets caught by a police force for breaking some curfew rule. From this we already see that this Gotham is under some new government order that we see in common dystopian-like settings. She saves herself by uttering a phrase that is actually the magic words to get her into the "only nightclub left in Gotham." More context clues that the new governing force in Gotham is going to extreme measures to enforce the rules. She seeks out the new "kingpin of Gotham" at this nightclub, claiming that she needs a cure for her infected brother. So now we learn that there's also some infectious disease, without an accessible cure, that is going around Gotham. Still, Harper is portrayed to be the same as she's always been in her few appearances in past issues, resourceful and a very technology savvy.

She gets confronted by the "bouncers" when she learns that her passwords were actually three days out of date. It is then it is revealed that she's actually working with Batman! Yes, she is Batman's sidekick! With a twist... she's not Robin. She goes by the name of Bluebird. Interesting name. And she gets to wield a gun! Okay, with stun gun pellets. This even gets addressed by one of the henchmen in the club. "I thought Batman hated guns." Only to be replied by Batman, "I do. She doesn't."There you have it, a new sidekick to be added under Batman's wing, and Harper Row makes her way as a key Batman character. The use of the stun gun and use of gadgetry accent her electrical and technical skills. It should also be noted that when Batman communicates with the Bat-Cave, a mysterious figure is working at the mystery computer that is not yet revealed in this comic. Curious to see who it ends up being.

Also, when the action settles, we see that the "new kingpin of crime in Gotham" is actually Selina Kyle! Kind of makes sense, the nightclub was named The Egyptian, lots of cat statues since Egyptians worshipped cats. Should've seen it coming. It's also another theory that sort of came up from the teaser: Catwoman's allegiance will be to her own, not villain, not Batman. She mentions that she's doing working behind a mask, done with being Catwoman. She effectively runs Gotham's underworld, dictating when to make things happen. She also threatens to kill Batman if he ever steps into her nightclub again. There's also allusions to a "key to taking Gotham back" that Selina managed to get her hands on. There are allusions to there being a $80M dollar ransom for this person. At this point, the questions come up. Is it a person? Is it a cure for whatever infection is going around? What does Gotham need taking back from?

Selina proves that she is willing to let them see this mystery "key to saving Gotham," despite Batman and Bluebird's hostile entrance. And it is revealed to be Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler! Another big element from the teaser. She supposedly can help stop what's coming next for Gotham and will be key for the beginning of Batman Eternal.

It was a much bigger preview than expected that still leaves more questions than answers. Which is probably the intent here. It's hard to get a grasp of the background of everything, but Deanpool is sure it will all be answered in Batman Eternal. During a conversation in the middle of Batman and Bluebird's battle with the club henchmen, Harper tells Batman to "yell at your sidekicks later." Sidekicks = plural. Who are the other sidekicks?! Will Spoiler ultimately become one? Lots of build up now for Batman Eternal which will come out in April. 9/10 Batman sidekicks.

All-New X-Factor #3

X-Factor, X-Force, X-Men, a lot of X titles in this pick-up. In its third issue, what is next for the super-team with no bureaucracy and politics holding it back but with all the backing of a successful corporation? By the way, Serval is the Google of Marvel. It's the world's leading search engine. So that kind of puts into perspective the kind of corporation Serval is meant to replicate.

It starts off with X-Men member Havok having a conversation with Quicksilver while playing billiards. We learn that Havok, who has history and a somewhat relationship with Polaris, was the one who convinced Quicksilver to join the team in order to be his eyes and ears on Polaris. Not exactly a good job for Quicksilver since Gambit already expects him to be a spy for the Avengers. Well, he's right and he's wrong. Nevertheless, being the half brother of Polaris, Quicksilver knows his job.

Later we see Polaris hanging out with Gambit in his new room now that he's moved into the Serval industries' building. Interesting names for the three of them: Figaro, Lucifer, and Oliver. At first Polaris seems very caring and happy around the cats... until one of them scratches her and she goes into a rage, about to use her kinetic powers to fling the cat across the room. Luckily, she calms down. Polaris, and the readers, seems unsure of what is going on with her temper. Serval CEO Harrison Snow then comes in and informs them of their next mission. Serval was hacked. Someone incredibly got into Serval's databases and stole $10M from their accounts. You'd expect Serval to have some of the best security for their computer systems so the person who was able to hack in had to be more than just an some hacker specialist. Serval experts were able to trace the hack from a mysterious island in the Mediterranean that isn't on any record, but is clear enough to see.

Let's keep the cats away from Polaris.

Gambit has ties to this stolen island. It is the headquarters of the thieves guild, which by the way he is the head of. Deanpool was unaware that this tied in to Gambit's solo series that ended recently. Not that it mattered, enough background was provided for the reader that even if this connection wasn't made, it wasn't needed. Quicksilver eventually joins up with the other two as they head to this stolen island. On the way, Gambit reveals this connection to his teammates and insists that he takes the lead on this one, tying into the title of this issue, "Let me go first Lorna, I'm their freaking king." By the way, Polaris has been the one designated to lead the team. His lead suspect responsible for hacking into serval is a technomancer (one who has magic ability over computers) named Nil. Upon arriving to the island, they are greeted by someone who claims to be the closest thing Gambit had to a father. Gambit gets straight to business finding Nil nearby.

Everyone on the island calls Gambit their "fearless leader." Not sure if it's sarcasm or genuine. But Nil admits to hacking into Serval, without really saying why. More of the focus was on the how, knowing Serval must be very secure with their computer systems. He tells that for missions he himself is unable to complete, he uses his secret weapon... X-Men member Danger. Polaris uses her powers to set her free, ignoring the warnings from Nil about the type of spell that she is under. Once free, Danger begins attacking.

Meanwhile, throughout the issue, Serval CEO Snow reveals more suspicious aspects about his character. For one, we learn that he secretly installed a cybernetic nanobot in Polaris' eye so that everything she sees can be stored in Serval databases. She doesn't know any of this since they did it while she was asleep. Even his assistant thought this was an invasion of privacy and just unethical. Wonder if he'll do something similar for the other two members, could lead to some problems if he finds out Quicksilver is leaking info to Havok. Secondly, he offers Dr. Hoffman (the bad guy from the first two issues) a job at Serval, likely to do similar work to what he did with A.I.M. That is, find a way to instill mutant genes into normal humans. Though this was a funny moment when Hoffman's initial question after being offered the job was "do you have health care?" Which Snow replied "Yes, and we do dental."

The art continues to be a standout aspect of the series. A rich color palette, sharp lines, and an exciting energy on each page. Even for an issue mostly dedicated to the downtime of the team.

Will Danger join?

There's still hints that 3 more members will be joining X-Factor eventually, but so far Gambit, Polaris, and Quicksilver have been sufficient to keep the series fun and intriguing for the meantime. Snow is shown to be more untrustworthy after each issue. Maybe Danger will be one of the added members. The series kicks off its next arc and it's beginning to become clear that they're not necessarily a team for the common good, but more for the company's best interests. First mission: possibly recruit the 3 rescued mutants and/or recruit Dr. Hoffman. Now Dr. Hoffman is on board, wonder how the team will react to that after seeing how he treated some of their mutant peers. Second mission: find out who hacked into Serval, get their money back, make sure the info doesn't get leaked. Not a great issue as it starts off the next part of the series, Deanpool hopes it doesn't get stuck in this limbo where the team is just oblivious to the shady work going on behind the scenes with Snow and get caught up doing mission after mission. Hopefully, more of a storyline or character development comes out of the next couple issues. 7.5/10 cats named Figaro because that was also the name of the cat in Pinocchio.

All-New X-Men #23
This story has been on e of the lovely surprises that has come out of this "All-New" everything that Marvel Now is coming out with. We catch up with the X-Men team on board the Guardians' ship. Cue the interaction between characters that made this team-up so appealing.

Keep in mind that this is an X-Men team that is very young, and not as experienced as their "present" selves. Their younger minds are still from the past despite being the present. So seeing a grumpy, talking raccoon; a talking tree (who really doesn't say more than 3 words); and being in space isn't exactly common despite being mutants themselves. Among themselves, Iceman is probably the strangest looking one with the all white/silver exterior. Second being Angel with the giant wings. Even Beast isn't blue yet. So seeing Gamora and Drax may not be too unusual to them. Professor Kitty Pryde and X-23 are probably not bothered by the Guardians' appearance since they are actually from the present timeline.

Anyways, there are a lot of cross interactions. Iceman and Beast are curious to see Rocket Raccoon. Iceman even says that it makes him feel like a Disney princess. Beast is intrigued by the ability to space travel. Rocket is offended they keep calling him the "R-word". Guess he takes offense to being referred to as a mere animal when he's quite the intellect. All the interaction gets cut short when they are attacked by a Shi'ar ship.

C'mon Iceman, don't be a punk. A Disney princess?

Angela takes charge and decides to lead the counterattack. She and the others (minus Peter Quill and Rocket who are flying the ship) attack the other ship while the X-Men brace themselves. At this point the X-Men are having trouble dealing with rough space travels. Rocket shows more humor, saying he's very attracted to Angela's sense of battle, not necessarily her attire for battle. He jokes that he is going to propose to her when this is all over.

Then some unlikely assistance comes from Corsair and his crew. Corsair, aka Christopher Summers, USAF, is Cyclops' father. Well this makes for an awkward, yet very interesting, situation.

Cyclops has a dad?

In other flashes through the issue, we see Jean Grey held prisoner by the Shi'ar. These segments of the issue counterbalances the more humorous panels we see between the two teams. Gladiator presents himself to her and warns her that she will be unable to use any of her mutant powers. She is also approached by another telepath named Oracle who informs her about why she is under arrest. For the murder of a planet. Jean Grey believes that she should not be responsible for a crime she has yet to commit, but nonetheless will likely go to trial. Before she leaves, she advises young Jean Grey to watch her temper, as it will not help her defense despite not having any firsthand memory of her time as the Phoenix.

For those still questioning why Gladiator would wait until now to put Jean Grey on trial, when the original one was around for so long... who cares. Deanpool already raved about the previous issue in an earlier Weekly Pick-Ups that it's a genius move by Marvel to crossover two comics that will both be starring in movies this year. With a pretty well-thought out storyline that doesn't force the meeting between these two teams: Peter Quill is interested in protecting Earth and keeping his father out of Earth's business, X-Men need to get Jean Grey back, and an alien race is still upset about the Dark Phoenix incident. Continuity police may not love it, but it really is a great jumping on point for those interested in either comic series.

Despite being on the X-Men title, it seems the Guardians of the Galaxy had more of the lines and spotlight in the issue. Other than the look into Jean Grey's situation, which should appropriately take place in the X-Men issue. The next Galaxy of the Guardians issue will likely look more into the Cyclops-Corsair meeting and perhaps shed more light on what the Shi'ar plan to do with Jean Grey. A lot of great interactions between the two teams with some great artwork to tell the story. Only wish the story could move forward a bit, but we are in the middle of an arc spanning three issues each for two series, so perhaps it is expected. There was quite a big twist at the end bringing in Scott Summers' father into the picture, but overall it's an issue dedicated to the clash of dynamics and witty dialogue we wanted to see. 8.5/10 R-words.

Justice League of America #12
If this series weren't about to end, this might have been the issue that just made Deanpool give up on this series. It hasn't done anything to move the Forever Evil storyline forward other than reveal that Firestorm matrix is the thing imprisoning the Justice League members. Even the Justice League has been a vehicle to show Crime Syndicate origins, or more recently showcase Cyborg and how he'll attempt to assist the fight against the Syndicate. But this series, for the last 4 issues (including this one), has simply been a Stargirl showcase. Which interestingly is the supposed counter-match-up for Cyborg on the JLA. Literally since issue #10, we've only seen Martian Manhunter and Stargirl since.

And we get the same dragged out story. Even the inclusion of Despero doesn't add any suspense. We still don't know what this dark secret that Stargirl hides away in her mind. We get bits and pieces of it issue after issue. This issue shows that the first supervillain Courtney encountered as a superhero went back to her home and harmed her mother. This seemed like the darkest part of the secret, but there are still allusions that this memory is still unfinished. And it'll likely be fully revealed in the next issue, which is also the second to last issue in the whole series.

Maybe the most upsetting part is that things are really picking up in Forever Evil and arguably in Justice League (the next issue comes out in the next Weekly Pick-Ups) too. Yet this has just been a dragged out storyline meant to keep pace with "Forever Evil." And it seriously weakens the second half of the series after a really strong start.

Your leg shouldn't
do that.

Martian Manhunter is left crippled in the very beginning at the hands of Despero. Despite being the one to get rid of Despero in an earlier issue of Justice League, J'onn is in a weaker state and unable to put up a real fight. When Courtney finds him, he tells her a story of a legendary Manhunter. This is probably the highlight of this issue and the segment that some rave about distinguishing it from the previous issues. In his story, a great evil beast named Erdel loomed over Mars, killing every man in the first Martian village. Finally a young Martian stood up against this great evil and chose to fight it. At one point, the evil being had its horn pinned through the Martian, but also stuck in a rock. Rather than cutting the horn off and freeing himself, the Martian left it there for both of them to die, knowing the evil couldn't harm the Martians anymore.

Story of the first Martian village.

It's a great comparison to how Stargirl must step up to save the Earth. It's not a story of sacrifice, or being a hero. It's one of hope, and that's what Stargirl represents. J'onn contiues to rave about her growth as a hero and how her innocence makes her unique. It helps her genuine belief that anything is possible, that this great evil, whether it be Despero or the Crime Syndicate, can be defeated.

Well not only are a lot of action and revelations expected in the next issue, it's almost guaranteed. J'onn revealed that the Firestorm matrix is due to explode soon, so it's up to Stargirl to act fast to save the League members and millions of other civilians who would be affected as well. We'll likely learn the rest of this dark secret that affects Courtney so much. And we should see how Stargirl deals with Despero. To Deanpool, this issue did nothing more for the bigger story. In fact, this whole Martian Manhunter story could've been plugged in a couple issues ago to help make things more interesting up to this point, but Deanpool can understand they wanted to save it for when he was about to "die." But let's be real he's not going to die. Though Stargirl will probably have to handle the next issue solo.

IGN gave this one a bit of higher rating, making Deanpool question if he's being a bit harsh. But the emotional elements don't hit as hard at this point when he's been patiently waiting for something more to come out of this series. Other than being "that other book" tied into Forever Evil. Which is all it is.
 For this issue, 6.5/10 Martian stories, because those are more interesting than these last few JLA issues.

Superior Spider-Man #27

Deanpool followed the first six issues of Superior Spider-Man, and he admits it had its moments despite it still being in the aftermath of Peter Parker's "death." It was a colder, calculative Spider-Man that took some getting used to. Especially in believing that Otto could be genuinely good while in control of Peter Parker's body. But after hearing about the return of Peter Parker in an All-New ASM series, Deanpool felt he should see how the series ends its last few issues before completely giving up on reading the series.

And with Marvel advertising these All-New jumping on points, why not start with this one. It obviously will have a heavy Green Goblin influence, sounds good to help get excited for the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie too.

Right from the start, the reader is thrown into the thick of things. There are a few references to what Otto Spidey has been up to recently, but you're given enough info to feel up to speed enough. He mentions that he's spent the last few months working relentlessly to clean up crime in NY, wiping out any and all villains and bad guys. Yet we see smoke and fire covering New York skyscrapers and gangs wearing Green Goblin masks. Otto is one who loves utilizing bots and machines, whether he was Doc-Ock or Superior Spidey. He's all about efficiency. So for all this madness to take place with all his spidey-bots out there takes both the reader and Otto by surprise.

New York is in a chaotic state and the confusion of the reader is equally reflected in Otto Octavius himself. It's not exactly expected for someone of Otto's intellect to be blind-sided so easily, much less to see New York up in flames without him knowing. After his crusade of wiping out crime in NY, the last person he suspected to make a run at taking over the city was Green Goblin. But the masks and the graffiti'd insignia everywhere kind of gave away the hint.

Meanwhile, inside the mindscape, we see Peter Parker wandering through his own memories, still trapped in the shared psyche of himself and Otto Octavius. With Otto Octavius being the one calling all the shots. There's a reference to a previous encounter between the two, assuming it was in the mindscape, where Otto overpowered Peter Parker, probably for control of the body and mind. Peter also reveals that Otto has kept exactly 31 of Peter's memories and dumped the rest. At one point, Otto accesses these memories while Peter keeps out of sight from Otto's probing of memories. Otto digs for one particular memory involving the Green Goblin at the Brooklyn bridge. Peter is also interested as to why Otto would dig for the memory of when Green Goblin killed Gwen Stacy (Gwen Stacy appearance!). Again, clever Marvel plugging in elements that help advertise for its upcoming movies. ASM2 is supposed to feature both Gwen Stacy and Green Goblin and likely flirt with the idea of Gwen's eventual death. Another big event happens in the mindscape when Peter comes across a memory where he is fighting Doc-Oc as Spider-Man. In a bold attempt to dive into Otto's mind, he jumps into this impression of Doc-Oc. This is where things get weird because this is a shared mindscape of Peter and Otto, so can Peter really access Otto's memories by jumping into the psyche of Otto while being in a shared psyche. Okay now this is making Deanpool's head hurt. This whole sequence ends with Peter reliving the moment Otto was born, supposedly as baby Otto Octavius.

One of the interesting aspects of this issue was how Slott lays out pieces of the story using other characters. It's bad enough we're dealing with the shared psyche of Otto and Peter Parker, seeing characters outside of these two help keep the story fresh. Anna, the young, short genius that has a relationship with Peter Parker (remember Otto Octavius in control) has apparently moved in with Peter/Otto. Deanpool saw her a bit in the early issues, but it's nice to see her as a more stable character in Peter/Otto's life to help keep him grounded. It's also clear that she believes that Peter Parker is a friend of Spider-Man but is unaware of the fact that the two are one in the same. Apparently she's also been helping out quite a bit in Otto's new start-up company (oh by the way, Peter/Otto has started up a new company). It's to a point where Otto wants her to take full control of the company's operations, though she is hesitant to accepting the position. Didn't we see this in Iron Man 2? On another panel we see Mayor Jameson (yeah for those who haven't been following a lot of Spider-Man recently, J. Jonah Jameson is now the city's mayor) defending Spider-Man as a champion of the city when asked if he suspects Spider-Man working with Green Goblin. Well that's different. But being in politics is all about image. It is next revealed that the Mayor is secretly building his own "slayer patrol" to deal with Spider-Man. Now that sounds more like classic Jameson. Elsewhere, we've already learned that Otto/Peter have been absent as of late in running his company. However we see a police officer asking employees at the company about Peter Parker's whereabouts because he's the number one person of interest in a missing police officer case. Now that sounds like a typical Spider-Man story: major problems as both Peter Parker and Spider-man.

We eventually get back to Spider-Man getting to work. He seeks technical help from Uatu Jackson, where he learns that his computer systems have been hacked to not be able to recognize the green masks/faces or even the insignias around the city. Explains why his bots weren't able to assess the threats. His investigation leads to a supposedly abandoned subway tunnel, which is surprisingly functional and explains how the Green Goblin's henchmen were able to "hit and run" so quickly at so many locations. A criminal underworld that is literally underground.

Next, Spidey is finally confronted by Green Goblin himself, and the dozens of costumed villains that surrounded him. Osborn (Green Goblin) dismisses the other villains and talks one-on-one with Spider-Man. Then drops a bombshell. He reveals that he knows that it's really Otto in Peter Parker's mind behind the Spider-Man mask. How Osborn found was particularly interesting. Carlie Cooper, a good friend of Peter Parker's (not Otto, Peter) figured it all out and wrote about it all in a journal. From one Spidey-villain to another, Osborn congratulates Otto for literally getting under Spider-Man's skin and into his webbed head. He then goes on to offer Otto a partnership in his new Goblin Nation, something that sounds like what they'd do if this were still an Amazing Spider-Man title. However he wants Otto to be second in command. That's not the way to stroke his ego. Spider-Man refuses the partnership, saying he is not to underestimated. He vows that saving New York city from GG will be his finest hour.

Green Goblin, forever a Spider-Man villain.

Osborn isn't one to take no for an answer, and strikes at Spider-Man. To his surprise, it is merely a deceiving hologram of Spider-Man as the real Otto/Peter/Spider-Man is safely piloting the hologram from Spider Island (Oh yeah, Spider-Man now has Spider Island for his base of operations). Otto reinforces that he is the superior intellect and believes he has outsmarted Osborn this time. That is, until Osborn launches an attack of Goblin henchmen on Spider Island. The computer systems still aren't fixed to recognize the Goblin faces and so the proper security systems never come online to help defend against this assault. The complex chess game between the two begins.

The art is fantastic in this issue. All the stops are being pulled for what will hopefully be an epic finale. The darker, grim style is more than fitting for this Goblin Nation setting. The mindscape has its imaginative, bizarre tone fitting for a mind shared between two individuals.

Looks like the Superior Spider-Man will be up against an equally matched foe as far as intellect, and definitely doesn't have the manpower to take on this Goblin army. Unless he can get the Slayer Patrol meant to hunt him down on his side. It really feels like a great time to start reading SSM as it comes to its eventual end. Otto must prove to have the will that we've seen Peter have to save the city. Peter must eventually find a way to take back control of his own mind. Superior Spider-Man is planning to end with a bang, and seeing this classic match-up of Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin looks like the start of an epic ending. It's a bit sad for it to get good when there's no doubt it's pushing for its conclusion. Otto will either prove his superiority or watch his city burn at the hands of this Goblin Nation. 9/10 Green Goblin insignias. We'll also give this one the Pick of the Week.

Avengers #26

Deanpool swore he'd stop with this Avengers series, but thought maybe, just maybe it'll turn itself around. Bringing the original team from an alternate time and space helped make things interesting. But now the series introduces a whole other element that brings the series back to an over-complicated story.

The issue starts off with AIM agents taking blood samples from fallen Avengers sometime in the past. These blood samples are used to bring to life these Explorer Adaptoids, that quite humorously combine various pieces of the Avengers' body parts together. Following up from the appearance of the original Avengers last issue, AIM dispatches these Adaptoids on their first mission: to retrieve/contain these Avengers before everyone realizes what's going on with this team's presence. Readers are torn in seeing these Avengers since they seem to have the mindset of taking over Earth, claiming this world needs its heroes. Of course, this is under their false assumption that Earth has no heroes in this universe. But the way they've been going about it feels wrong, at least for Thor. Then again it does seem like a more classical Thor to feel the need to showcase his powers at every opportunity. 

Spider-Man head, Captain America body, with Thor's hammer? Quite a combo.

Well of course a fight ensues. The original Hulk joins the fight, but we learn that he is being controlled by Wasp. In fact, the Adaptoids learn this too and proceed to attack Wasp and disable the controller. Hulk transforms back into Bruce Banner, and we see Banner walk away from the fight. It becomes clear that he was forced into being the Hulk and is controlled against his will to work with these Avengers. Hank Pym aka Ant-Man attempts to go talk to Banner to calm him down and convince him to stay. He takes off his helmet, likely as a way to empathize with Bruce, but is subsequently attacked and killed by one of the Adaptoids.

The Adaptoids have adapted and changed their own mission protocols from retrieval/containment to killing. The AIM agents overseeing the mission decide that the Adaptoids have become too dangerous and abandon the mission. They also claim they must start over on the Explorer project again and find a way to be more in control of the Adaptoids. The agents and the Adaptoids both retreat. This brings story back to the dead Hank Pym we saw in the previous issue. Which also segues into the next portion of the issue, where SHIELD Director is questioning this Earth's Avengers of their whereabouts.

Your expected sarcasm from the Avengers' members come up in their answers. Either claiming to be in gym or getting their nails done. Tony was one of the ones saying getting his nails done. Easy to see they're offended for being accused of the damage done by the other Avengers team. Hyperion describes how the sun absorbed by this version of Hank Pym is different from the solar signatures that should be expected from an Earthling of this universe. This finally introduces to Maria and the rest of the idea that this a Henry Pym of another space and time. Tony attempts to lock onto the signal of the other Iron Man's armor, knowing he has a signature transponder signal for each of his suits.

Towards the end we catch up with the original wandering Bruce Banner, who seems to have also come to the conclusion that they're on an alternate Earth, still separated from the rest of the Avengers. He goes to a building and room that is familiar to him, but much to his surprise, he finds the current Bruce Banner living in this room.

Back on AIM island, the Adaptoids come to the conclusion that their mimicked appearance of the Earth's heroes is not critical to their Explorer mission protocols. They abandon this look and instead adapt to a more uniformed appearance as Explorers.

Well it's clear that AIM's influences are spreading throughout a lot of Marvel's books. This issue is no different. With the two Bruce Banner's finally meeting, we are likely to see an original Avengers vs. current Avengers showdown soon. Which will then be followed by an allied Avengers battle against these Explorer Adaptoids. Could you imagine two Hulks on the same team in a fight? Lot of smashing in this future. At least Deanpool hopes. There's been zero action from the current Avengers side. The original team were basically dummies in the Adaptoids' test-drive. It's time to show some fight and stop with all this non-interesting science that is just going over everyone's head. This issue is a so-so one that helps lay out the base of where this story is headed. A lot of pieces in place. After originally looking like another multiverse story with two Avengers teams, now these AIM Adaptoids add another element that throw the story into a larger, more complicated one. It seemed promising, and could turn out to be so... but it's one of those cases where it might just be the "other Avengers book," with perhaps better storylines coming from New Avengers or Avengers World. If things don't get more interesting fast, Deanpool might finally find it in him to part with this series once again. 6.5/10 of Tony Stark's nails getting done.

Also check out some new Marvel Now series that came out this week

She-Hulk #1, X-Force #1, Winter Soldier: Bitter March #1

Some pretty low scoring reads this week. Seems all the good stuff is in the "All-New" stories for Marvel. For DC, if it's not Forever Evil it's probably also in a downtime at the moment. It may be a sign for Deanpool to drop some series. Superior Spider-Man takes the Pick of the Week this week despite being tied with Batman. But honestly, Deanpool is Batman'd out. Harper Row fans finally get the issue they've been waiting for, but SSM is building up to a big finale. The next week will be more of a down week, only about 5 issues getting picked up. So tune in for those soon! Thanks for reading!

Superior Spider--Cat. The internet loves cats right?