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

The three new series that came out for this week were fairly interesting. Not much were expected from any of them, but all three had plenty of elements of surprise. Check em out.

As usual, spoilers are definitely present in these reviews.

She-Hulk #1

She-Hulk is a Marvel character that Deanpool doesn't follow much and doesn't even really know much about. Other than she's a female Hulk who's always green, not just green when in Hulk-state. Oh, and she also has better control of going in and out of the She-Hulk state. Thanks to the little prologue in the beginning, we learn that Jennifer Walters is an attorney who received blood from her cousin, Bruce Banner in order to save her from death. Getting blood from her the Hulk = getting Hulk's powers.

Getting into the issue, we see her working at a law firm, only to quit a couple pages later. Supposedly she was hired because of her connections with the Avengers and Fantastic Four. She feels her skills as an associate aren't appreciated despite all her hard work balancing being a hero and an attorney. She quits, but not before destroying their expensive, rare wood table. You go She-Hulk.

Next we see her approached by a lady in your typical lawyer bar. She presents a job to Jennifer claiming that no other lawyer in the bar would help her with the case. The case was that her husband who died was claiming that someone stole his technology idea. After examining the file, Jennifer admits that taking on the person in the file is pretty much career suicide, but instead of accepting the case she'll go talk to the person personally. It's Tony Stark aka Iron Man. What? Tony Stark stole an idea from someone? Sounds sketch.

When she goes to Stark Enterprises (or whatever it's technically called) with intentions to discuss the lawsuit, she gets redirected to Tony's legal consultant... who is literally referred to as Legal. He proves to be a worthy asset to Tony as he uses legal circular reasoning to find flaws and holes in Jennifer's case. One of the funnier moments was when Legal briefly described the history of multiple name changes that Stark's company went through. Obviously not addressing the particular matter of the stolen tech but burying Jennifer in more legal trouble than it's worth, knowing she doesn't have enough leverage aka "the smoking gun." He pulls a similar move when the Jennifer tries him again in court. Of course Tony Stark is going to surround himself with someone who would handle all the legal work in a similar fashion that he likely would. Also, one of the things brought up in court was Jennifer's and Tony's previous romantic relationships in the past. Just an interesting thing to note for this issue and more about She-Hulk's character. Despite her social relationships, she still approached this case as professional and disconnected as possible.

Things conveniently take a turn for the better for Jennifer when she finds a very-well protected cassette that was a recording that proved that Harrow's husband did meet with a Stark employee. A shady one to say the least. But instead of bringing this evidence to court and taking on Legal again, she storms into Stark Enterprises to get a face-to-face with Tony Stark. Yes, finally a She-Hulk appearance, though the action against Tony's robots was short-lived. She tells Tony about her recently discovered evidence and believes Tony would care enough to make things right after learning the truth. He pleads his case that the Stark employee was always a suspicious character (embezzlement among other things) that was fired a long time ago. He also agreed to write the widow and her two kids a nice big check for their troubles. 

The lone She-Hulk appearance in She-Hulk form.

The issue ends with Jennifer receiving a nice big check as a fee from the widow for helping her and her family. When asked what she plans on doing with the money, we see her looking to start up her own law firm. 

After a somewhat slow start, the issue ended on a stronger note that shows where the series is headed in its early beginnings. Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk taking on cases that other law firms wouldn't bother with, perhaps having to find breaks in the case by doing things as She-Hulk. Basically, the law side of it will likely play a big role in this. Which makes it interesting to consider how or why she'll be needing to go into She-Hulk mode in future issues, something readers are definitely interested in seeing more of. Even this issue's two or three pages worth of She-Hulk were mainly her just talking. Deanpool wonders if she'll be working with other Avengers or Fantastic Four members often. Deanpool thinks a good way to get this started is to tie-in more of her connections to other heroes. Maybe even heroes going to her for some legal help for their alter-ego or something of that nature.

It's a nice, fun issue that is a solid start for the series. Not the best, but definitely did a solid job of setting the groundwork for the new series. Deanpool is a big fan of the USA show Suits, so the lawyer aspect is definitely interesting to him if that side can be properly explored and narrated. There was quite a bit of dialogue for the reader, but that should be expected if you're dealing with lawyers and what not. The art had bold, bright colors that complimented Jennifer's/She-Hulk's green skin color and is a nice color palette for this new start that Jennifer is looking to set up for herself. The title of this issue was "No one is one thing." And it gives off that type of behind the mask lifestyle vibe that we were introduced to in books like Hawkeye where we see the other side of life for Jennifer Walters. We see a fun character who looks to as much good as she's done as a hero, as a lawyer in her own law practice. Just don't expect a lot of action.

Deanpool definitely enjoyed this first issue by the end of it, but will likely not continue to pick up issues from this series. A lot of the number 1's last week set a pretty high standard for these All-New series coming out. The whole lifestyle type of comic isn't for Deanpool, but don't let that stop you from checking out the issue for yourself. Nevertheless, 7/10 name changes for Stark Enter-national-comp-rises.

X-Force #1

Why is it that the comics that don't look to have a lot of potential turn out to be some of the better ones?

This X-Force comic can be looked at the same way the All-New X-Factor series is headed. It knows its history. It knows that to relaunch the title it's going to have to do something other than have a unique roster and standout artwork. And the artwork really stands out. Very painter-like, with the grit and texture appropriate for this more violent and action crew. The facials could use some work. It actually took a while to really get used to, Cable especially. The guy looks pretty badass on his own, you don't need to do much more other than portray him as he is. Yet he looks less macho, and a lot older. But still very capable of kicking butt. Psylocke puts on a more conservative, full body outfit, as opposed to the popular one that women attempt to duplicate at Comic-Con. The other two, Marrow and Fantomex, aren't as familiar to Deanpool, but seem to be more fitting to match the style of art.

But again it comes down to how is this team, or this series even, going to differ from its previous runs? Well it gets addressed almost word for word when Psylocke asks Cable straight up, "What makes this team any different?" Thank you Psylocke. Cable gives a nice little speech about how all nations have super-teams or super-humans to handle their dirty work: steal tech, kidnapping, assassinations. All very true in the Marvel Universe. The Mutant population are very much a nation without borders, and Cable claims this incarnation of the X-Force team will be "dirty tricks crew" for the mutant nation. The mutant's own force in the shadow game that takes place between nations. A way to help keep mutants from constantly being the scapegoat in the middle of all the chaos, to help keep the blame from constantly falling upon the mutants. Sounds all well and good, but Psylocke does hint at Cable possibly having another secret incentive. In this same scene, we see Cable caring for his daughter, (who looks a lot like Hope Summers) who appears to be on some type of life support barely alive.

Art looks like a classical painting, minus the 10 foot giant monster.

The story doesn't take time to introduce the characters and let the character dynamics reveal themselves through interactions. It jumps right into the first mission as Cable, Marrow, and Psylocke are taking on a giant Chinese ragemonster with exploding fists. We learn later in the issue that the team is investigating a couple of terrorist incidents that are linked with the same new cyberweapon that Cable would like to secure for himself and his new team. Their informant was caught by this Chinese ragemonster, which is why see the team fighting it. After much character banter, Marrow secures the informant from the monster and the informant, revealed to be Fantomex, kills the monster.

So much for "non-lethality"

A lot of the issue, and the series most likely, is composed of clashing dynamics of each of the character personalities. Psylocke is a valuable asset, telekinesis and all that, but has the brooding, pessimistic-like personality. She's a complete opposite of Sarah (aka Marrow), who is always hyper and eager. Being the two female characters on the team, they are paired together a lot, leading to a lot of annoyance on Psylocke's part. Then we learn she also has history with Fantomex. Fantomex knows her on a personal level, knows how to push her buttons. We see this in action when he gets her to break her "non-lethality vow" later in the issue. The smooth-talking Frenchie knows how to truly bug Psylocke and its great to read.

Back to the story, intel from Fantomex reveals the new cyberweapon is on a warplane, making it near impossible to retrieve. And Marrow, one we'll talk more about in a bit, has been restricted the whole issue by an inhibitor that prevents her from using her mutant powers (the ability to make her bones grow, hence bone "Marrow"). All issue she's been eager to get into a fight and be able to use her powers and she finally gets her chance to get in on the action. She successfully crashes the plane (she literally jumped out of a plane and head-butted the warplane) and gets the the cyberweapon off safely using a "time-freeze" grenade crafted by Fantomex. By the end, it is revealed to everyone's surprise, except Cable, that the weapon is actually a new mutant.

Will the new mutant be added to the roster?

Very interesting first issue. One thing that hasn't been touched upon that much is that the main voice of the story was Marrow, for the most part. She narrated most of the beginning and the end. The storytelling for the middle was mostly through dialogue and conversations between the 4 members. And Marrow is probably the most... mismatched member, which makes her all the more unique. She wears that inhibitor headband, despite her desire to take it off and just go crazy on the bad guys every chance she gets. Fantomex put it very appropriately that she's like a teenager hooked on coffee. Right from the first page, she makes this constant metaphor of violence to music. She seems very unpredictable, almost uncontrollable. Almost. She listens to Cable. He dictates when she can take off the inhibitor, which is seen in the comic that she can do easily on her own if she wanted. Even when she wanted to help against the Chinese monster, Cable refused to let her and made her take care of the informant instead.

The other 3 seem to fit into their roles well for a 4-man team. Cable is the veteran, fearless leader, blunt and to the point. IGN calling him a "cyborg Frank Castle." Psylocke is arguably the strongest mutant. Cable and Fantomex rely more on weapons and brute force, and Marrow has the inhibitor. So her telekinetic powers are very useful in combat... plus her sword-wielding skills. Fantomex is your "do everything" guy. He's smart enough to craft weapons, he's proficient in combat with both guns and/or swords. But for comic purposes, he's the comedic relief. The French background almost makes him a spoof on Gambit. The series took a bit of faith to pick up, but seems like it'll hold its own. A good point jump into the title, with little background from its previous runs, and filled with sarcastic and biting humor. Cable is a very intriguing mutant character from the Marvel books and will likely carry the series. Not sure about Marrow being the voice of the series, but if it keeps to a similar format as this one maybe it won't be too much of a distraction. Deanpool wonders if the roster will grow a bit, maybe one or two more members to carry over from the Uncanny X-Force or Cable and X-Force titles. 8/10 giant Chinese ragemonsters.

Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #1 (of 5)

Normally mini-series debuts don't get put with these #1 issue posts but with the amount of comics in this week's Weekly Pick-Ups, it helps lighten the load on that side of things.

The Winter Soldier Marvel Now series ended some time ago with issue 19 or something like that, it doesn't matter, so it genuinely looked like Marvel Now would come out with a new series for Bucky Barnes to help build-up for the upcoming Captain America movie. Deanpool was shocked to hear it was just a mini-series but it still helps with the advertising for the movie. Even though it'll likely continue past the movie's release date. It's okay Bucky gets a lot of love in the All-New Invaders series. 

But as for this issue, well it takes place in 1966. So just in context, we can expect Winter Soldier still working under the Soviet regime. Not like it matters, we don't see him until the last couple pages. The story actually follows S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Nick Fury and Ran Shen. Welcome back white Nick Fury. 

The two agents look to infiltrate Hydra castle to abduct Nazi scientists (who were captured by Hydra) that have knowledge to build some big weapon blah blah. Your usual Arms Race story. There's some playful wordplay between the two agents as they competitively try to outdo each other. Shen plays the James Bond card, smoothly trying to swoon a female Hydra agent that has access to Hydra's vaults. His plan backfires when we learn that she knew the whole time and is revealed to be some crazy worm lady. Fury comes in and saves Shen and the two try to escape with the Nazi scientist couple.

A third party comes into play when the Winter Soldier kidnaps the scientists from Nick and Shen and an intense flight suit pursuit takes place. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents manage to get him to let go of the scientists but ultimately gets away. Nick has been seriously injured from his fall, one of the scientists is also unconscious. The issue ends with Shen narrating about legendary the Winter Soldier is. He says how he is supposed to be a myth, a monster who kills anyone who lays eye on him. And fears that he may be next if he's stuck in the forest with Winter Soldier hunting them.

The few Winter Soldier panels.

It was an okay issue. The art was great for the Cold War setting, espionage heavy story. Expected a lot of Winter Soldier so the lack of made it a bit disappointing. But the James Bond type story with the spy element, gadgets, seductress, and the whole scene in a Cold War setting still makes for an interesting story. It does get points for making white Nick Fury look like a badass S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to help build his mythos. Usually with these mini-series, the writer understands that the story has to be stretched out for however many issues so a slow beginning should be expected. But the question is are we supposed to be cheering for Winter Soldier? Or S.H.I.E.L.D.? Interesting to see Nazis caught in the middle of this 3-way tug of war. Or is this a preview of Winter Soldier's audition to eventually become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent himself? Most people realize that Winter Solider was a bad dude, working for the Soviets. But it is a little misleading to give his name on the title if he's not going to be the main character. Whatever the case, the first issue had its moments but earns 7/10 Nazi scientists.



Be sure to read about the other comics that got picked up with these ones in Weekly Pick-Ups 2/12/14.