Avengers AI #1: In the wake of Age of Ultron, a rogue AI is on the loose that seems to be the result of Hank Pym’s code that he used to defeat Ultron. The AI takes over a fleet of drone fighters and starts attacking a hospital, forcing acting director of SHIELD, Monica Chang, to assemble a team specifically designed to face this new threat. Led by Hank Pym, the team is Vision and his “little brother” Victor Mancha and a Doombot that was not reprogrammed by Hank but is being forced to help them, leading to tons of great dialogue where he threatens and berates the team. This book is a lot of fun with great action and some good back and forth between the team.
Shadowman # 8: With his mentor Dox caught in the dead side (or spirit world), Shadowman and Baron Samedi head there to try and help him and find the evil Master Darque assembling a machine, powered by trapped souls, to break the barrier between the world of the dead and the living. He’s also twisted a number of souls into hideous creatures who are devouring innocent souls and they seemingly overwhelm Shadowman at the end of the issue.
Avengers #15: A new Marvel event is coming with Infinity and this issue is a prelude to it, as the site of the terraforming “origin bomb” in Perth, Australia is acting as a communications tower sending a signal into space. Most of the Avengers are there to contain the area and believe they are able to contain the situation until a fleet of alien ships appears and one makes it past SWORD to send a gigantic robot hurtling toward the Avengers.
Iron Man #12: The secret origin of Tony Stark continues as we learn that Tony’s affinity for armor was ingrained into him by the robot 451 and that Tony’s ultimate destiny is to pilot a massive exoskeleton called the Godkiller that 451 claims will keep Earth safe once and for all. There’s another fantastic flashback to Howard Stark and his Ocean’s Eleven team of specialists as they finish off the threat of the Greys in Las Vegas.
Daredevil: Dark Nights #2: This fantastic Daredevil story gets more and more intense as Daredevil makes it to the helicopter where the heart transplant for little Hannah is waiting but it plummets into the icy waters of the Hudson, forcing DD to dive in and first rescue the pilot, then the heart, which in the only bright side is being housed in an experimental container that is actually keeping it alive and pumping. This book is a great look into why Daredevil is a great hero who, once he is commited, will sacrifice everything to finish his mission.
Detective Comics #22: Batman faces off against an extremely dangerous new villain in the form of Wrath, who may be the newly arrived billionaire ED Caldwell, whose origin is extremely similar to Bruce’s but is using his access to wealth and weapons to attack Gotham’s police. The art in this issue is also incredible and the great Man-Bat backup story continues as well, and as an interesting twist on the usual Man-Bat storylines.
Swamp Thing #22: Swamp Thing vs Constantine in this issue as Alec heads to Scotland to investigate the latest crime against nature perpetrated by the mysterious Seeder. This time, he’s made a tree that grows plants which contain whiskey, which the small town it’s growing outside used to make for it’s livelihood. The fruits seems to have an adverse affect on the townspeople’s minds and it’s revealed Constantine may have partaken of the fruit as well and uses his powers to cut off Alec from the power of the green and then declares himself the “Whiskey King” and lets the townspeople loose on Alec.
Aliens vs Parker #3: This fun, Shaun of the Dead style take on Aliens finds space delivery guys Parker and Modi reunited with the douchey jock of a space marine, Hauser, who loses his robotic legs and forces Parker to carry him on his back, and gives the guys a relentless stream of put downs. The trio reunites with the surviving marines, and their scientist VIP Pressley and manage to make it back topside, but there is no ship, so the group is seemingly stranded.
Green Arrow #22: Arrow begins his quest to find the “three dragons” and finds the first one in the castle of Count Vertigo. A fanstastic action sequence opens the issue with Ollie using a wide array of new arrows but Count Vertigo proves to be too much with his disorienting powers. An EMP pulse built into his quiver allows Ollie to escape with female ninja Shado, who was being held in the castle. Shado drops a bombshell that she and Ollie’s father were lovers and that Komodo’s daughter, Emiko, is actually the daughter of Shado and Robert Queen, making her Ollie’s half sister.
Thunderbolts #12: This issue is all about The Punisher, as he notices the hesitation when he asks Elektra about what she did with her brother’s body and finds that she didn’t kill him after all. A cat and mouse chase between Punisher and Orestez ensues and Frank finally traps Orestez in his panic room and kills him after a brief hand to hand battle. His romantic relationship with Elektra appears to be over, which should be good news for Deadpool, who has a crush on her.
