Weekly Pick-Ups 2/26/14

So much Marvel these last few weeks, and the trend continues this week. Some very interesting issues and storylines going on this week. Only one series debuted from Marvel, Fantastic Four, and you could find it linked at the bottom of the post or in the sidebar to the left. Again just a reminder, The Walking Dead will be apart of a separate review later on, but just wanted to include that Deanpool picked it up. They don't shoot off the shelves quick, but they also don't last long at smaller shops, so don't wait too long if you're collecting this story arc.

WARNING: Spoilers below

Deadpool #24

This should be the issue where Preston gets back into her own robot replica of her original body and separates from Deadpool’s mind. We also saw Crossbones, a bounty hunter that Deadpool humiliated in a previous issue, set on getting vengeance on Deadpool (who himself is still set on getting vengeance on SHIELD’s double agent Gorman) at the end of previous issue. Also it should be noted that this is still the "Deadpool vs. SHIELD" story arc.

The issue starts off with Deadpool giving anonymous gifts to the grandmother of his "supposed" daughter. In an earlier story arc "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," Deadpool learns that he had a daughter with a woman from his past. In the same arc, he also learns that they both might be dead. This incident has stuck with Deadpool ever since, making him more bloodthirsty and violent. He also has the feeling that anyone remotely close to him will suffer the same fate. As comedic and humorous as Deadpool is, it's these tragic, dramatic storylines that make this series more than a simple fourth-wall breaking comic with plenty of pop culture references.

Agent Preston, still stuck in Deadpool's messed up psyche, tries to comfort Deadpool about his daughter by promising that her first priority when she's back in her own body is to investigate whether she's still alive or not. Deadpool doesn't discourage her, but demands she leaves him out of it, fearing that he'd just bring more misery to her life. Preston has shared a mind and body with Deadpool for the last 20ish issues, and as much as she probably dreaded it, she can't help but feel concerned for what will happen to Wade when he goes back to being alone in his own unbalanced mind. It was obvious to both readers and Deadpool himself that Preston did a good job of acting more as the angel on Deadpool's shoulder. At least as good of a job as anyone can do when it comes Wade Wilson.

Next we jump to the facility where the "mind exchange" will go down. Here we see a lot of familiar faces from the Deadpool series thus far. SHIELD agents Adsit and Coulson are present along with Preston's husband and son, both eager to see Preston back in a body of her own. Ex-SHIELD agent Michael is present, the one who magically placed Agent Preston's mind into Deadpool's back during the "Dead Presidents" arc. He played a big role the beginning half of this series up to this point. Also from the same run, the ghost of Ben Franklin! If you haven't read Deadpool's earlier run, these two may just be random, but they were definitely funny, enjoyable characters when they were around. It's also nice to see this part of the series sort of come full circle before they start their "All-New" storyline that Marvel NOW has been doing with their comics. Anyways, Deadpool shows up, lies next to the Preston LMD (life model decoy), and the process begins. The SHIELD scientist unnecessarily sedates Deadpool, mainly so he'd shut up. There's also joke about Keith Richards being an LMD for a long time. Nice little pop culture jab.

Whenever they portray Deadpool and Preston within the "mindscape," they always portray Deadpool's mind as a giant art museum. Paintings and sculptures will depict artistic memories from Deadpool's history. It starts off as a nice moment shared between Wade and Preston, their way of saying goodbye to each other after their time together as they look back at some of the memories. Another thing that's cleverly portrayed in Deadpool's art psyche museum is whenever there's a closed off memory or a shut out part of Deadpool's mind, it will be depicted as a locked or closed door. One particular door had fire coming from the other side. Of course it's not the smartest move, but the two decide to open it anyways. Meanwhile, back at the facility, one of the scientists notices that something is going wrong with the transfer process. Electrical currents are beginning to flow back into Wade's head. Coulson suspects it's Gorman, who managed to get away from Deadpool last issue. The comic then jumps to Gorman getting rid of a body of one of the SHIELD scientists that was needed for the whole operation.

Back in Deadpool's head, we start seeing the results of this sabotage. Multiple personalities and different avatars of Deadpool begin running amok in his head. Attacking and disrupting Deadpool and Preston. Ben Franklin and Michael decide to help the process from inside and magically jump inside Wade's mind. The four of them try fending off the hundreds of Deadpool avatars. Some great artwork is on display during these few panels. Awesome colors to showcase the multiple Deadpool's along with the art museum-like psyche. Eventually they get some unexpected help by a fifth person revealed to be Dr. Strange! It's not too out of the ordinary to those who read the early run. Deadpool went to Dr. Strange early in the series when originally trying to find a solution to getting Preston out of his head.

Through Dr. Strange, we get some big reveals. The biggest one is when he tells Deadpool that all these Deadpool avatars are actually all Deadpool's doing. It's his subconscious' form of showing that he really doesn't want to let Preston leave his mind. Strange does his best to keep the connection between Deadpool and the LMD, but it's ultimately up to Wade to let Preston go to allow her to leave. This serves as the revelation to Deadpool of what Preston has done for him and brings up the idea that maybe Deadpool really doesn't want to be left alone in his own head. Or that he actually enjoyed the company that kept him slightly more sane. Deadpool admits that thanks to Preston, he was able to find the right path toward freeing himself from the tampering within his mind. Finally understanding what Dr. Strange was saying, Deadpool takes it upon himself to deal with all the Deadpool avatars, taking the fight to them.

He then takes Preston to the gateway to her own mind, or at least the LMD's. Interestingly, his mind's portrayal of this gateway is a depiction of her own house in real life. There was a light, touching moment between the two as they say goodbye to each other. Clear that two have both formed a bond with each other after starting off as a handler-employee type of relationship. But here's where things get tricky. She walks through the doorway of her home, the only thing on the other side is a bright white light. Now, with all the sabotage and corruption from the transfer process, there are no guarantees that the operation even works accordingly. Even Deadpool questions if the light might mean something other than going home. As Preston leaves, another one of Deadpool's personalities shows up, claiming to be a part of Deadpool that he simply hasn't met yet. He warns that there are other versions of himself that are even worse. Interesting little dialogue. Will the next couple issues focus on Wade's inner battles more? Definitely a seed for upcoming stories.

Later, despite a little scare that Preston was unable to complete the process, Preston's body eventually wakes up with Preston's brain waves intact. She is more than happy to see everyone and they're all happy to see her. Unfortunately, Deadpool woke up from the operation long before and had already left, not waiting around to see the results of the operation. Lastly we see Deadpool at a bar looking down and out, back to being alone with his thoughts. At least so we thought. Until Preston shows up again within his own mind and starts talking to him. Now Deadpool is under the impression that the operation didn't work out, but seems pretty content with having Preston still in his head. Oh and then it ends with Crossbones entering the bar, looking more than pissed.

So who's in the actual Preston LMD? Is her mind split between the two due to the sabotaged operation? Or is the one in Deadpool's head not really a Preston, but some weird twist of Deadpool's personality? Lots of questions going into the "All-New" storyline, but also a lot to be excited for! 8/10 Deadpool avatars.

Wolverine #2

Deanpool is really trying to enjoy this series, understanding that we're looking at a completely different kind of Wolverine than we're accustomed to. The art is one of the series' biggest strengths, but it has not been easy to really feel compelled to the story. Superior Spider-Man's appearance is the main reason Deanpool was sold on picking up this issue. Two heroes both going through a big change in their heroic careers that are changing both their way of lives and their approaches as heroes.

First off, this issue is titled "Bad Advice." That title plus Superior Spidey's appearance already leaves clues that this may help explain how Logan has "lost his way." Just because you lose your healing factor and using a gun doesn't mean you got to change your whole way of life. Or is this what the primal Wolverine really wants?

The issue jumps back and forth between the present and a flashback to a past meeting where Logan sought out Spider-Man for some intel on Sabretooth's operations since they were somewhat tied in with Green Goblin's underworld operations. Deep in New York's sewers, Wolverine jumps into a scuffle that Spider-Man had with some gang members. Guess everyone knows that Wolverine is as mortal as ever now, and don't seem as intimidated by him. This was back before he had his new indestructible armor too, so him jumping into the middle of this firefight is a pretty risky move. It's even noticeable in the fight when we see Wolverine be a bit more cautious in the middle of all the mayhem. Not like him to shy away from the action, even if a healing factor isn't there. At one point, he found himself at gunpoint by one of the gang members. The gun fires but Spider-Man intervenes just in time to save Wolverine's life.

Back in the present, we see Logan speaking with his employer, Offer. The guy already seems shady, once again leaving the reader questioning why Logan is doing business with this man. The story seems to become almost political when Offer reveals his intentions to take over Sabretooth's organizations. Offer knows Sabretooth is obsessed with Logan and plans to use Logan as leverage to eventually merge with Sabretooth's organization. That doesn't sound good at all, but Logan says he's okay with that. Another moment of Wolverine's more than noticeable change.

Back to the encounter with Spider-Man, Wolverine once again intervenes in a fight that Spider-Man is having with some of Green Goblin's gang members. Only this time he repays the favor and saves Spidey's life. Then the dialogue starts. Spider-Man starts to notice the similarities between Wolverine and how he (Spider-Man) sounded before, referencing when Otto Octavius first took over Peter Parker's body. Wouldn't it a nice, but played out twist if someone else was secretly in Wolverine's head? Wolverine also mentions how he wants to leave the Avengers, another move that Spider-Man did as well. Then Spider-Man assumes that Wolverine wants to begin a new team and wants no part of it. Wolverine assures him that all he wants is information about Sabretooth's whereabouts for his employer and teammates. There's a clue that Wolverine is already working with Offer and this particular team. During this whole little dialogue, there are some funny panels depicting Spider-Man tying up the beat up goons so that he can leave them dangling in typical Spidey fashion. Nice to see that Otto stays committed to the Spider-Man character and image, and funny to see the action actually being done instead of jumping to the next panel with them already hanging there. Guess the artist took advantage of the few moments he got to depict Spider-Man.

These talks resume on a nearby rooftop. Spider-Man has no information to give Wolverine, but also suspects be secretly wants the info on Sabretooth's whereabouts for his own personal revenge, like usual. He makes an interesting claim that all superheroes are mad. His reasoning being that they do the same things over and over again expecting different results. He compares this to Wolverine by saying he'll go after Sabretooth on his own, get broken again (reference to how Wolverine lost his healing factor), but maybe this time it will be fatal. Maybe that's what Logan wants. Spider-Man then goes on to talk about how one can't really change, nothing will change unless you change the whole context and mode. Wolverine mentions that that's what everyone believes happened to Spider-Man. Not only is he acting different, it seems everything has changed in his approach as Spider-Man. Of course as readers we know it's due to Otto occupying Peter's mind, but still a nice acknowledgement that everyone has taken notice to Spider-Man's change in character. However Wolverine also notes that this change has changed Spider-Man for the better, it has freed him and made him better. Spider-Man brings up the idea that perhaps Wolverine would prefer this style of heroics as well. This whole "Bad Advice" thing is beginning to make sense now.

There's a brief jump back to the present with Logan sleeping with the female teammate. He talks about how he enjoys working with this team. He doesn't have to be something he's not, and that with this team he's free from obligations and honor. Clear evidence of Wolverine's fallout. Back to the rooftop, Spider-Man says he has no information on Sabretooth and gives him some advice on hanging and his own purpose. He then proceeds to pushing Wolverine off the rooftop and advising him not to fall. Bad advice indeed.

Elsewhere, some time in the middle of the issue, Kitty Pryde gets a note from Storm asking her to speak with Logan because he desperately needs someone to talk some sense into him. Another clear indication that everyone knows there is something wrong with him.

An okay issue. The tie-in with Superior Spider-Man was nice, especially since it mentions the whole Green Goblin underground organization, a key plot point in the current "Goblin Nation" story. Deanpool was hoping the story would enlighten readers more about both characters, or delve more into how both characters are changing their ways. Now it feels like the whole mortality thing has changed Wolverine to a point of not even liking his character anymore, a similar sentiment many felt with the drastic change to Spider-Man's character. Not sure where this particular story arc is heading, but it's not exactly enticing Deanpool to finish it off with only two issues left in this "Rogue Logan" story. But it's worth mentioning the solid artwork. Not a lot of action in the issue, other than the two fight scenes with Spider-Man and the thugs. It's mostly talking scenes, but even these proved to have some impressive art with some of the gritty settings. Seeing the artist have some fun with Superior Spider-Man is also an added bonus.
7/10 pieces of bad advice from Superior Spider-Man.

Guardians of the Galaxy #12

More "Trial of Jean Grey!" This crossover event has been the nice, lighter read in the last few weeks and continues to do the same.

The issue starts off very similarly to the previous installment in All-New X-Men, only instead of reliving memories between himself and Jean Grey, Scott Summers dreams of the memory when he and his brother Alex became separated from their parents. We see that it was an attempt to keep them safe when they were being relentlessly pursued by another starship.

When Scott wakes up, he is surrounded by the Guardians, the X-Men, AND Corsair's crew (who showed up at the end of the last installment). The Guardians' ship is starting to get pretty crowded. Scott and his father hug and embrace each other during this little father-son reunion. Rocket Raccoon and Peter Quill look on from the side, sharing how they both don't understand this touchy moment (not sure if Rocket knows who his father is, Peter's father isn't very fond of Peter). Nice way to keep things grounde rather than turning the issue into a big emotional comic for a Cyclops-Corsair reunion.

King J-Son of Spartax aka Peter Quill's dad, hears news that the Shi'ar have captured Jean Grey and are proceeding with her trial. He was aware that the Shi'ar's plans, but did not expect them to act so quickly. Especially since they went and defied his rule that no one should touch Earth (one of the reasons he's so upset with Peter and his Guardians). While he was originally going to just turn a blind eye on this whole Phoenix trial, he realizes he can no longer do that when he learns that the Guardians of the Galaxy have gone and gotten themselves involved by assisting the X-Men. J-Son's eventual involvement does not play a role in this issue, but it will be interesting to see who he will ally with in all this. It wouldn't be too unexpected to see him help the Guardians put a stop to the Jean Grey trial, which he was never entirely on board with.

Gladiator and Oracle.

Later we see Gladiator training with other members of the Imperial Guard. Some of the members openly question Gladiator's intentions, bringing up that he has essentially declared war on the mutant population of Earth. Some of them doubt Earthling's abilities, while some don't think they should be underestimated if they have the right motivation. Oracle, a telepath, warns Gladiator that everyone can see right through his actions to his true intentions, though it's not so clear to the reader, but it definitely confirms that this has become bigger than just putting this Jean Grey on trial when she hasn't yet committed the actions she's being accused of. Yeah it's pretty confusing. It also sucks to see Gladiator act like this after Deanpool became such a fan of his during the Infinity event.

Back on the ship, we come back to Cyclops' and Corsair's little reunion. Corsair informs Scott that they've actually had this meeting before, but with Scott's older self. They met and made peace with what happened in the past. Even Alex Summers aka Havok, was there too. Unfortunately when Scott asks about his mother,  he learns that she has died. He takes it pretty hard, isolating himself in a separate room in the ship. Unexpectedly, X-23 (one of the X-Men members) approaches him and gives him a hug while he sheds a few tears. It's a touching moment, but is Deanpool the only sick and tired of seeing Cyclops crying?

We also get to check in with Jean Grey, still being held prisoner by the Shi'ar. She is approached by Oracle once again, this time meeting within Jean's mind. She tells Jean that she is actually in the process of being transported to the tribunal for her trial, but also reveals that she will be Jean's counsel on her behalf. Oracle advises Jean to be calm and be smart in order to get through the trial, but to also brace herself for things that will upset her. Jean must keep her anger in check, because if the tribunal sees any hint of Phoenix within her... well it doesn't help her chances.

Later we see some light interaction between Peter Quill and Kitty Pryde, the two "leaders" of the two factions. Some nice dialogue between the two that may give some readers the idea of "shipping" them. But this moment is cut short when their ship and Corsair's arrive at the Shi'ar throne world. Cool to see the Starjammers (Corsair's crew) still willing to help after already saving the Guardians and the X-Men once. It's surrounded by security ships, creating a big problem of going along with the stealth approach. Wonder how they'll get around this. Hope it's not a simple distraction by Corsair's ship to make an opening for the Guardians and the X-Men. The story ends with Gladiator beginning the trial with his first argument, using a visual and audio recording of the Phoenix's destruction of one particular planet.

A pretty good issue. Art was a big highlight for an issue that was sparse on the fighting/action scenes. Lots of talking and interaction going on with 3 groups in one ship, plus seeing scenes from the Shi'ar and Jean Grey's side. The color palettes are great and really make the different distinct. It was interesting that the X-Men took much of the spotlight in this Guardians of the Galaxy issue. But admittedly, it felt the same way when the Guardians took more of the spotlight in the All-New X-Men title last week. However, we did get to see more of Shi'ar's side of things, something that appropriately should be revealed in this title. Nice to see the trial finally start as we kick off the second half of this story, as it is the headline of this whole arc. The Corsair-Cyclops meeting wasn't too heavy on the issue, which was a plus. It was just enough to bring up some emotion, but kept the focus on the main objective of this crossover: save Jean Grey. Also another plus to add a third group into the mix with the Starjammers' assistance. What could make a crossover event between two groups better? Add a third group without a title but still has a connection so it doesn't seem forced! 8.5/10 Cyclops tears.

Superior Spider-Man #28

Next chapter of "Goblin Nation." Spider Island is under attack and despite Spider-Man cracking Goblin's stealth protocols, his security systems still aren't properly responding. Otto is clearly flustered, but it's not normal to see him so unprepared for any situation. He decides to go on a tactical retreat, but commands his men to continue fighting off Green Goblin's army. In one particular scene, Otto sees one of his men die. He reacts by saying "Not number 23. He was my favorite." A lot about Otto's character as Peter Parker can be summed up in this minuscule, seemingly meaningless moment. He has dehumanized his men by using a number system to distinguish them, yet has grown attachments to some of them. As weird as it is to see Spider-Man have a good guy version of henchmen (something out of Otto's old playbook as Doc Ock), it's arguably weirder to see Otto show some care for one of his henchmen, much less have a favorite. Nice little touch. Spider-Man makes his escape on the back of one of his robots, leaving his island hideout and men to the Goblin army. When Green Goblin eventually arrives to destroyed island, he sends his army after specific targets meant to draw out Spider-Man. A classic move from Green Goblin in his battles against Spider-Man. Slott really does a nice job of creating this sense that no one connected to Peter Parker is safe.

In the mindscape, the real Peter Parker is still trapped in Otto Octavius' memories, having to rewatch and relive all of Otto's childhood memories as if they were his own. It's an interesting move by Slott that makes Peter's story more intriguing (as opposed to just being stuck in mindscape) and also reveals memories from Otto's past. Because of this, Peter's own identity starts drifting away and he begins to blur the lines of his memories and Otto's as he begins to see some similarities between their lives. They both escape life through their interest in science and both were bullied in school. However he starts to recall being beat by his father and constantly smothered by his mother, two things that definitely did not happen in Peter's past. He didn't even know his parents, his Aunt May and Uncle Ben raised him. And even they never did any of that. Peter tries to persistently remind himself that he is NOT Otto Octavius in an effort to not lose himself within Otto's memories. Also, the use of green for this "memories" setting was a nice touch to add a supernatural, otherworldly feel to this sequence.

Mary Jane the badass.

Next we see Mayor Jameson doing a press release revealing his Spider Slayers patrol as Goblin Slayers. The scene shifts to Mary Jane Watson with her new boyfriend (Deanpool thinks) as they watch the Jameson on the news. She recognizes that regardless of what Jameson names them, they are Spider Slayers and grows worried for Peter. Until one of the Goblins crashes through her window and begins attacking the two. Luckily, MJ was prepared with some spider-web shooting tech of her own, which Deanpool assumes was left with her by Peter, and uses it to fight off the Goblin. Mary Jane has seen all this before and understands that she will inevitably play a role in this game between Spider-Man and Green Goblin, as she had before when the two fought. This time around she has a better understanding of her role as a wild card in all this, and looks to be more active than just an average damsel in distress. Later in the issue we see her and her friend Ollie rounding up people who have close connections to Peter Parker, anticipating that the Goblin army will eventually go after these people. Their first stop is Aunt May and Jay Jameson (who apparently have a thing together? Man, you stop reading Spider-Man comics and everything changes). The panels show the Goblin's army showing up at Aunt May's house, but her and Jay Jameson are already long gone thanks to Mary Jane.

Later we see Otto show up at Parker Industries (as Peter Parker, obviously took off the Spider-Man fit) and is approached by Ms. Jaffrey, who has been running his company in his absence. She is upset with Peter because of his extended absence and informs him that the company has been under investigation because of his connection to his ex-girlfriend, the missing officer Carlie Cooper. Keep in mind this is the same girl who figured out that Otto has actually taken over Peter's mind, and it was through her journal which detailed this information that Green Goblin also learned the true identity behind the current Spider-Man. This little meeting is interrupted by The Wraith, an urban vigilante who Spider-Man knows to secretly be police captain Yuri Watanabe, an associate of Carlie's. The Wraith is an interesting character who uses Mysterio tech, fear gas, and gives off a ghost-like persona. The Wraith approaches Peter, hoping for answers on the missing officer, but is attacked by another one of the goblins from Spider-Island. After the initial attack knocks out Wraith, the goblin reveals itself to actually be Carlie Cooper, the missing officer! Definitely bad news for Otto since she knows both Spider-Man's identity as Peter Parker, but also that Otto is actually in Peter's head. Otto runs into Parker Industries and interestingly enough has a security system that uses a mechanical tentacle, reminiscent of his days as Doctor Octopus. As Carrie pursues Otto, she intentionally shuts off her earpiece so that Osborn is unable to listen. She then reveals to Otto/Peter that she needs him to fix her before she loses control again, warning him that Osborn has some nasty plan for the world. Guess on top of corrupting a person's physical appearance, whatever Osborn did to make his Goblin army also corrupted their minds to follow his orders.

Back to Peter Parker lost in Otto's memories, he still confuses Otto's memories with his own. He begins having memories of an abusive father and feeling relief when he died as a young Otto did, as opposed to the guilt that he felt when he didn't stop his uncle's killer. In these next few panels in Otto's memories, there is some creative use of panels and art to lead the reader through this crazy, dream-like sequence and dialogue. Peter begins sharing Otto's feelings of ridicule and the thirst to prove everyone wrong. Eventually, Peter gets to the memory of Otto Octavius' accident that transformed him into Doc Octopus. At this moment, Peter himself almost symbolically loses himself in Otto's memories by going from saying "I am Peter Parker" to "I am Doctor Octopus." Has Peter actually lost track of who he is? Hard to see how he'll be able to get himself out of this one.

Has Peter truly lost his identity? All the red has symbolically
left the page... minus that small red spider. #Foreshadow

The issue ends with a woman picking up Anna Maria Marconi, the girl living with Otto/Peter Parker and another person closely connected to Peter Parker. This woman tells Anna that Mary Jane Watson is rounding up people close to Peter Parker, hinting that she's working with Mary Jane. It all sounds safe, until she is revealed to be Lily Hollister and is secretly apart of Green Goblin's army. The car is shown driving off into the distance, assumedly with Anna in the car too. We've already seen Otto show some type of reaction when his favorite henchmen died, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of reaction he'll have when Anna's life is on the line.

Sheldon, Leonard, Penny,
Raj, and Howard appearance.

A solid issue to show some major reveals after an big opener in the last issue. Still a lot of pieces to the story and each of them were lightly touched upon to help move the story forward. The art is engaging and provides some dark settings that fit well with storyline. Also the Big Bang Theory get a cameo in the early pages, nice little throw in by Camuncoli and Slott. This summary might be slightly more cohesive, but the issue itself just jumped between Otto, Peter Parker, Mary Jane, Jameson and Green Goblin. Next issue will probably continue the trend to slowly reveal while building up to the big finale, but hopefully the stories will start to converge more so the story can start focusing more on a couple aspects. If all the pieces come together the right way, this conclusion may just be worth all this mind-switching, change of character hype. Oh and it looks like Spider-Man 2099 should make an appearance next issue!

One of Deanpool's favorite aspects of this storyline is how similar the Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin dynamic is to the many classic battles they have had in the past. Despite it being a different Peter Parker behind the Spider-Man mask and despite Green Goblin (who we're still assuming is Norman Osborn) knowing that it's Otto in Spider-Man's head, it still shows many parallels to past Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin stories. Green Goblin still somehow manages to figure out Spider-Man's identity and still sees the people close to Spider-Man as the biggest weakness to aim for. You'd expect more a chess match between these two, or more of a case of two old villainous rivals facing off. If it shows anything, it shows that Green Goblin is Spider-Man's greatest villain. Not Venom, not Doctor Octopus. Deanpool never believed this to be true, but is coming around to the idea ever since starting this "Goblin Nation" story. Just like there will always be a Joker against a Batman or a Lex Luthor opposite a Superman, this story arc occurring within this series just goes to show that there will always be a Green Goblin opposing a Spider-Man, no matter who is under the mask. Just a little opinion from Deanpool, 7.5/10 of Otto's memories.

Flash #28

Not a Flash move.

Deanpool's one DC comic of the week! A gripping mystery tied in with Central City's past and potentially Barry's too. And from the looks of the issue, a Deadman appearance!

It starts with Barry commentating that he can see flashes (no pun intended) of moments of himself fighting the evil being that he encountered at the end of the last issue. He brings up that he's not in control of his body or mind but is aware that he's fighting this spirit. The reader can even see the difference in the speech bubbles. Flash's though bubbles are different from the other ones that seem to have the Deadman accents. A keen eye might even catch the more acrobatic fighting style that's not exactly in Barry Allen's repertoire. This and all the other things are more than enough hints that Deadman has taken over Flash's body. But why? We hear whoever is in Flash's head say that this evil spirit has killed too many people and it won't let the spirit take Flash's body.

The evil spirit forces its way into The Flash's body (for those keeping count that is three beings all in Barry's mind/body). Barry wills the two other beings out and retakes control of his own mind and body. This is when the reader finally gets confirmation that it is in fact Deadman who was in Barry's body. The evil spirit takes the body of a nearby biker and gets away. Deadman tells Flash that he is still on the same side as The Flash but had to possess his body when he learned that The Flash has released the Keystone Killer. Not to be confused with the serial killer, the Broome Hill Butcher, who Barry was investigating last issue. This killer was a ghost story (how appropriate) told to kids of the Gem Cities  about a miner who died in a mine collapse because he refused to leave his diamonds behind. Basically, it's a moral story about greed. So now we have the Keystone Killer, a deadly ghost, AND the Broome Hill Butcher, a serial killer. Deanpool can't help but think that they may have some kind of connection. The Flash explains to Deadman that he meant to exhume the body of Archibald Dean in order to get a DNA sample of the accomplice of the Broome Hill Butcher. Deadman reveals that both the Broome Hill Butcher and Archibald Dean were both once hosts of the evil spirit. Guess Deanpool guessed right. Deadman goes on to explain to Flash that he couldn't let the spirit control Flash and his abilities. Could be bad for a deadly spirit fueled by revenge to travel at super-fast speeds.

Flash feels responsible for unleashing the evil spirit of the Keystone Killer and thus feels it's his responsibility to stop it before it kills any more and it's Deadman's job to stop the evil spirit. So we get a Flash and Deadman team-up! Awesome! It's practically a superhero version of the show Supernatural. Jk, not really. The two decide to investigate what the evil spirit meant when it said "Death to Fletchers," suspecting it has something to do the Fletchers, founding family of Central City. They decide to have Deadman possess Hollis Holden, the prisoner from the previous issue and also the Broome Hill Butcher, in order to access the Holden's memories of the Keystone Killer. Defintely a positive use of Deadman's powers being able to access his host's memories, but the downside is that he has to experience these memories as they happen, sometimes reliving some truly horrific things.  

The real story of the Keystone Killer.

Through this experience, Deadman is able to reveal the truth and origin of the Keystone Killer. The story is that Ulysses Sutter and his friend Marshall Fletcher wanted to go to California at the dawn of the gold rush but got sidetracked due to bad weather, forcing them to stop a couple hundred miles west of Missouri… in what is now Keystone City. Fletcher then left to go back home, but Sutter continued mining in the area out of desperation and eventually found diamonds. When Fletcher worried for Sutter’s safety, he went back to the camp only to find Sutter with the diamonds. Feeling outraged and betrayed, he attacked Sutter in the mine and then collapsed the entrance to the mine with a half-dead Sutter inside. Sutter died cursing the name Fletcher in his last moments. Fletcher then returned to the territory with official claims to the land. And that’s how the Gem Cities were born, paid for with the blood of Ulysses Sutter. Interesting little tidbit that flips the script of this ghost story and also ties into the Gem Cities' history. While the Keystone Killer is still very much a story about greed, it wasn't the miner hoarding diamonds that was greedy, but the miner's friend who took credit for the discovery AND the diamonds. Can't beat a good ghost story. Does that mean all the those who were killed by the Broome Hill Butcher were in Fletcher's bloodline?

Back at the police station, the Captain talks to Patty Spivot about Barry getting involved in the case. She admits to pulling some cold case records about his mother's murder and that Barry believes it may be tied in with the Broome Hill Butcher. The Captain tells her that Barry needs to stop his obsession to find his mother’s killer or prove his father’s innocence and that she isn't helping this obsession. Interestingly, Patty mentions he can practically call Barry his real son (since the Captain took Barry in after his mother's murder and his father went to jail). If that wasn’t foreshadowing enough. Could there be an underlying story with the Captain and Barry’s mom? Lot of panel time than necessary given to this moment, and we've already been given hints to something between the Captain and Nora Allen last issue. What's New 52 have in store for Barry Allen now?

Flash is seen at Central City Hall of Records attempting to create a family tree for Marshall Fletcher to determine the possible targets of Keystone Killer. There's some fun artwork as The Flash goes through all the records in the room. However, all the records before 1989 are missing. On Deadman’s end, his research reveals the spirit can only possess people for a little while before needing jump into another host. Unless he jumps into the body of someone related to him by blood, like how Hollis Holden was. Interesting twist. Meaning both Fletcher's and Sutter's bloodlines will play a role in this story. Wonder if any major characters will be revealed to be in Sutter's family tree.

Barry meet Boston.

Barry decides to ask Deadman if he saw Nora Allen as one of the people Holden killed while he had possessed Holden's mind. Deadman stops Barry before he even asks, anticipating he would ask that question and answers that she wasn’t in any of the memories.  There’s also a funny moment when Barry realizes that Deadman knows his secret identity since he was able to access all of Barry's memories. Deadman just says sorry and if it were any consolation, he was surprised. Funny little moment among heroes. Deadman should've been kind enough to reveal his identity too, Boston Brand.
After a meeting with Patty at a museum, where the Sutter’s spirit took another life, Flash finally puts it all together. He figures someone took the genealogy records in an effort to keep the Keystone Killer from finding them. When trying to possess Flash, the evil spirit must’ve saw that Barry unearthed DNA samples (from the previous issue), which would make the spirit's search all the more easier. We next see that Singh, one of the forensic scientist that work with Barry at the police station, had killed people back at the police station with the stolen axe and helmet from the museum. Could Singh be a blood relative to Sutter?

Deanpool loves the detective aspect to the story. It's turning out to be a pretty good mystery story that ties with city’s history. The appearance by Deadman was a pleasant surprise that doesn’t feel forced, hope he finishes this arc with The Flash. The sense of mystery substitutes for the lack of any real action scenes, but we do get a lot of facetime with The Flash as opposed to Barry Allen. Some light interaction between the two heroes keeps the issue entertaining alongside a more gripping mystery than expected. Not as predictable, and even though it seems Barry's mother is no longer apart of the mystery, the reader still feels engaged in what will happen next. Deanpool thinks Buccellato will do just fine over in Detective Comics.
Some critics were rough on the issue, hoping for a better utilized Deadman and nagging on the loads of information dumped in the issue. But Deanpool enjoyed it and is hoping for a better use of Deadman in the upcoming issues. Barry's emotional ties to the case make it all the more interesting, Deadman's involvement is only fitting and just an added bonus. 8.5/10 ghost stories. And Deanpool is going to give his favorite superhero and the lone DC comic of this week, the Pick of the Week.

Fantastic Four #1- Check the review for Marvel's "All-New" series that came out this week.

Couple good issues in what seemed like a slower week, as far as quantity. Lots of stories building up some epic storylines. Wolverine was probably the only real downer in what was otherwise and entertaining week to finish off the month of February, even though this post is coming out a week later. Thanks for reading!

Went with a steampunk Flash to close off the post.
Doesn't look like much difference other than the googles huh?