Stuff I Read This Week Episode 4 or Superheroes Treat Mind Control Like a Preexisting Condition

Uncanny Avengers #4: When I started reading the Marvel NOW titles, the one that caught my eye first was this Rick Remender/John Cassaday cross pollination of two superhero teams that, until recently, had been in notoriously separate corners of the same universe. How could you NOT be excited about this? You take a few upper echelon Avengers, some X-Men that could do for an upgrade, throw in Wolverine (because it isn't a Marvel team without Wolverine) and you get a potentially awesome premise. Thus far, this series has yet to disappoint me. Issue 3 left off with the Red Skull, who stole Charles Xavier's brain, using the dead mutant's psychic powers to turn New York murderous. It's just kooky enough of a conflict and just enough of a kooky villain to be a strong start for this title. We see an unlikely faceoff between team members is going to bring both joy and nerd rage to fanboys, surely sparking "who would win" debates for a while. This does present a issue for me about "brainwashed friend" subplots.

Has anyone ever noticed how little teammates do to save friends suffering from mind control? It could just be me, but this issue of UA saw the team do almost nothing to save their friend. In fact, it seemed very much like it didn't take much before they started regarding him as another villain. Still, this doesn't take much away from the progression of the story. Remender is still getting his bearings with the voice he wants for this book, but he's doing a good job while he does. John Cassaday is at the top of his game with his brilliant pencils, perfectly capturing an amazing page that gives a not so subtle nod to Days of Future Past and an ending that can only be described as "What the Fuck?"

Bottom Line: Despite a couple of clumsy scripting moments and talky narration, this book's strong plot, gorgeous visuals, well written characters and sneak attack ending make for an enjoyable read. 7.5 out of 10


Batman Incorporated #8: Well, it's about that time of year. The tides are just right. The stars are aligned. Some planet's in retrograde. It's time for a "major" Batman character to die. I wanted to try not to give away spoilers, however DC has made that impossible with not only putting said character on the cover with a big "RIP" at the bottom of the page, but the endless ads in an attempt to rope first time readers.

This issue sees the return of Damian Wayne to the fight for Gotham as the city is overrun by Leviathan. Morrison gives plenty of leeway for Batman's douchbag son to steal the show with a really fun script that does an adequate job of trying to take our minds off of the fact that we all already know where this is going. The action reminds us of how good Damien and Dick Grayson work together. Meanwhile, the Bat himself spends most of this book at the mercy of his lover/nemesis, Talia, who is fleshed out a small bit as a villain in a refreshing manner. Chris Burnham and Jason Masters' pencils do a pretty good job of creating a feel that doesn't come across with a typical superhero feel yet still manages to be exciting, stepping up to compliment Morrison's scripting.

As for the ending, it's hard to say whether or not it was a necessary event. I have a feeling it's going to be one of those comic book moments that we look back on after all the fallout being undone and realize that it was completely unnecessary....like Marvel's Civil War.

Bottom Line: A fun, well scripted, tightly penciled lead into a questionable comic moment that may or may not matter in Bat-mythos to come. 8.5 out of 10