Dr. Doom

Amidst the rumors that Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter has been trying to dismantle the Fantastic Four franchise, Marvel gave them the perfect send off in Secret Wars #9

Overall, Invincible Iron Man, which is the flagship Marvel title, has concluded its first arc with definite promises of change for several characters and that will almost likely include pushing Iron Man and Tony to their limits especially since seeds are being planted for Civil War II during the next arc!

Secret Wars #8 Written by Jonathan Hickman Art by Esad Ribic Colors by Ive Svorcina Letters by Chris Eliopoulos Published by Marvel Comics   Here it is, the penultimate chapter of Marvel’s best crossover in almost a decade, and boy does it crank everything up to 11!  This is the final battle that reader’s have been waiting …

The second issue in the rip-roaring new start to Iron Man ramps up the action and lets us inside the new Marvel Universe ever so slightly to great results. Bendis understands Tony to the point it feels right at home alongside Matt Fraction’s extensive run on the character already. Only time will tell where Invincible Iron Man will go and so far Tony will only soar higher.

In a sentence, Ultimatum is the superhero comic that will make you hate superhero comics and will have you reading nothing but Harvey Pekar, R. Crumb, and Daniel Clowes for the rest of your comics reading career. (My apologies to Fantagraphics.) Jeph Loeb really should have apologized to Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis for destroying their carefully crafted, simultaneously optimistic and nihilistic universe with all the skill of a child knocking over sand castles and then pulling its pants down to take a piss on the wretched ruins.

After last month’s lethargic issue, Secret Wars is back to form with issue five as secrets are revealed and plans are set in motion for what will assuredly be one of the wildest climaxes in the 76 year history of Marvel Comics.

Overall, issue four proves to be the weakest installment thus far as it slows the plot down to a crawl and feels purely like a transitional issue meant to set up the final half of the miniseries. If this is a necessary sacrifice to ensure that the final four issues will be even better than the first three, so be it. At this point, there should be no cause for alarm as readers should trust Jonathan Hickman with his plans. After three astonishing issues, and one decent issue, Secret Wars is still on pace to be Marvel’s best event since Civil War.

The only misstep on Hickman’s part is the reveal of Doom’s face, something that should never be exposed to readers. The mystery of Doom’s scarred face should remain just that as readers should question whether his face is actually mangled and charred or if his face is only slightly scarred, but because of Doom’s own vanity he hides his imperfection completely. Overall, it’s a minor gripe in what is otherwise another exciting installment in Marvel’s most ambitious event.

On the surface, A-Force #1 seems like a gaudy, punch-filled, and occasionally funny tribute to Marvel’s female superheroes. But it has many interesting feminist metaphors hiding beneath the shiny white jump suits and Jean Grey Easter Eggs and has time for its characters too.

On “Californication”, the Red Hot Chili Peppers observe that “destruction leads to a very rough road, but it also breeds creation”, a theory that Marvel apparently agrees with, as from the destruction of Earth-616 and Earth-1610 comes the genesis of Battleworld. Even though it’s about 30 years too late, Secret Wars is Marvel’s response to Crisis on Infinite Earths, and because of the sheer scope of the calamity at hand, this is the first time since Civil War that the actual crisis justifies a massive crossover event.