"New X-Men: E is for Extinction"

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “New X-Men: E is for Extinction” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            The X-Men were born with genetic mutations that give them powers and abilities that normal humans do not and fight for peaceful coexistence between the two species.

            Charles Xavier/Professor X is the founder of the X-Men. He was crippled and confined to a wheelchair. He is one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet.

            Scott Summers/Cyclops is the field leader of the X-Men. He possesses optic blasts that are uncontrollable and can only be contained by glasses or a visor made of ruby quartz.

            Jean Grey-Summers/Phoenix is Cyclops’ wife. She is a powerful telepath and telekinetic and may be possessed by a cosmic entity.

            Emma Frost/White Queen is a reformed villain turned hero. She is also a telepath.

            Henry “Hank” McCoy/Beast is a brilliant scientist. His mutation has given him a leonine form, and he possesses enhanced speed, strength, agility, and heightened senses.

            James Howlett, A.K.A. Logan/Wolverine had his skeleton bonded with the nigh unbreakable metal adamantium. He possesses a healing factor that heals almost any wound and has heightened senses. His memories were wiped, and he does not remember his past.

            The X-Men are based at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, located in Salem Center, New York.

            Evolutionary biologist Cassandra Nova brought dentist Donald Trask to Ecuador, where an abandoned Sentinel Master Mold was located. Donald’s uncle Bolivar created the Sentinels to exterminate mutants, but the program was shut down. Beast upgraded the X-Men’s mutant detection device, Cerebra. While running a test, Beast noticed a spike in Ecuador, and Professor X sent Cyclops and Wolverine to investigate. While using Cerebra, Professor X encountered another telepathic presence. Cyclops and Wolverine were attacked by Wild Sentinels which had been built from spare parts. They were defeated and abducted by Cassandra Nova, who disposed of Trask and took control of the Sentinels. Cyclops and Wolverine were able to escape, defeat, and capture Cassandra Nova, but were unable to prevent her from launching a Sentinel attack on the mutant nation of Genosha, ending the lives of sixteen million mutants. Emma Frost was situated in Genosha, but survived due to a newly emerged secondary mutation that granted her diamond hard skin, but in this form, her telepathy was negated. The X-Men returned to the Xavier Institute, where Cassandra Nova escaped confinement and breached Cerebra. The X-Men were again able to defeat her, but not before she was able to access the device. Professor X, believed to simply be a mutant sympathizer, went on television for an interview and announced that he himself was a mutant.

            Cyclops, Beast, Wolverine and Emma Frost went on a mission to China to assist the newly formed X-Corporation’s Domino in her investigation of author and activist John Sublime and his U-Man army. The U-Men were baseline humans who grafted parts and organs from mutants to obtain their powers. They discovered a mutant healer named Xorn, who had a prison built around him. Xorn had developed a black hole in his brain and needed a helmet to contain it. They were able to free him, Cyclops was able to communicate with him and offered him a position with the X-Men, which Xorn accepted.

            The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning opened as a school for young mutants to receive an education and learn the proper use of their powers. The Xavier Institute was picketed by anti-mutant protestors. One young mutant, Barnell Bohusk/Beak, formed a bond with Beast. Professor X decided to take a leave of absence from the X-Men and travel to space with his wife Lilandra, Empress of the Shi’ar Imperium, and left Jean Grey in charge of the Xavier Institute. Before he left, Beast confronted Professor X to ask why his DNA showed an almost exact match with that of Cassandra Nova’s. Cassandra Nova then revealed that she had swapped bodies with Professor X and had Beak attack Beast into a coma. Cassandra Nova then went into space in Professor X’s body.

            The influence of the U-Men army continued to spread. They targeted the newly emerged mutant Angel Salvadore. Wolverine was sent to rescue her. Cyclops and Emma Frost went to interrogate John Sublime but were defeated and captured. The U-Men staged an assault on the Xavier Institute. Jean Grey manifested the powers of the Phoenix and was able to fight off the invasion, and Emma Frost was able to end the threat of John Sublime. Beast emerged from his coma and revealed that Professor X and Cassandra Nova had swapped bodies.

            Jean Grey and Emma Frost psychically reawakened Professor X’s consciousness in Cassandra Nova’s dying body and discovered that they were twins.

            Cassandra Nova used Professor X’s telepathic powers to influence Lilandra to launch an assault on earth’s mutant population. The staff at the Xavier Institute were suffering from the flu. Cyclops turned to Xorn for his assistance, hoping for a way to heal the X-Men’s dying leader. Jean Grey decided that the way to end the harassment at the gates of the Xavier Institute was to invite the press and show that the X-Men had nothing to hide. The Shi’ar captured Cyclops and Xorn, and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard launched an assault on the Xavier Institute, hoping to give Cassandra Nova access to Cerebra so she could shut down the minds of every remaining mutant on earth. The X-Men then had to protect the press and their students, try to save the life of Professor X, defeat Cassandra Nova and prevent the extinction of all mutantkind.

            Okay, it’s me again. And may I just say, I LOVED this book. This graphic novel has a lot of sentimental value for me. The issues in this book were originally published between 2001-2002, right when I started regularly reading Marvel comic books, and these issues were in my collection. Grant Morrison’s tenure as the writer of New X-Men between 2001-2004 remains one of my all-time favorite runs of Marvel comics ever, so when I read that Marvel was publishing New X-Men as a Modern Era Epic Collection, I was thrilled. Honestly, I thought his work was brilliant and I hope Marvel continues the series as Modern Era Epic Collections because I would love to read the rest again. I thought that Morrison picked the perfect team for his stories. I felt that adding Emma Frost was just a stroke of genius. I liked Beast’s redesign. The feline look was so awesome compared to his previous look. And I loved the new leather costumes. They looked so cool. Emma Frost had a very… attention grabbing design, to say the least. I loved the new students. The Stepford Cuckoos have been favorites of mine. The concept of finally making the Xavier Institute into a proper school was perfect, it created so many new opportunities in the years to come and gave me characters to identify with, being a teenager myself at the time. I felt like Cassandra Nova was a great villain, and the U-Men were a great threat. I loved how Jean Grey manifested the Phoenix. BUT! The art was not my favorite. It just didn’t quite do it for me. The style wasn’t to my liking.

            Now, let’s talk about accessibility. I know some of you already know what I mean by this, I know I do have regulars, but I also know that many of you may be new to a Tim Cubbin review, so I feel like I must explain it to you, so bear with me, my loyalists. By accessibility, I mean how easy this graphic novel will be to just pick up and read for people who are new to the world of the X-Men. I have to say that I feel like this book is the perfect jump on point for new readers. I say this from experience. Granted I had some knowledge before I started reading this, I had seen some episodes of the “X-Men” animated series from the 1990s, had been a regular viewer of “X-Men: Evolution” and had seen the first 20^th Century Fox “X-Men” movie (which was the only one that had been released at the time). But I still feel like it’s self-explanatory enough for a new reader to pick up on. This graphic novel doesn’t directly pick up from any previous storylines, nor does it cross over into other series. This is rare for a Modern Era Epic Collection to be so standalone like this, I honestly don’t think I’ve seen that very much. There are no other events from the time that this ties into, so it’s not like the reader is missing any pieces while reading this book. I think that makes this one of the best Modern Era Epic Collections for a new reader to pick. Granted having some knowledge of the X-Men before reading this would help, but I picked up on this series quickly enough back in 2001 with a lot less opportunities for experience of the X-Men than we do now in 2024 as I write this review, and I’d only read a few issues of “Uncanny X-Men” from 2001 before starting with this series. Of course, after reading this series for a few months, I got heavy into X-Men and bought a bunch of old graphic novels to fill in some blanks, but this series is what ignited my passion for Marvel Comics. Honestly, I don’t think I’d have gotten as full on into Marvel without Grant Morrison, so I thank him for that. But if you’re looking to start with X-Men and have never read it, this is a perfect place to start.

            Now we come to the single most important part of my review: the score! I score on a basic system. I work on a scale of one to ten. One means this is a piece of trash, toss it and light it on fire, ten means this is sheer perfection. I would honestly LOVE to give this book a ten. Morrison told a story that would get a ten from me, but the artists sadly prevented me from handing out that ten. This IS a GRAPHIC novel, so I can’t discount the artwork when I give this book a score. Still, the designs of the new costumes and the new look of Beast were endearing to me, so I can’t be TOO harsh on the artists. So, put it all in the blender, mix it up, and toss out the score and it is… nine! This book was SO close to perfection, if there had been some different artists, this book could have gotten a ten easy, I’m so sad that I must deduct a point for the art.

            Next up is the recommendation. Obviously, you can figure that I recommend this book. And as to who I recommend this book to, I would say anyone. This series is the series that ignited my passion for Marvel Comics. I’d tell you that even if you’ve never heard of the X-Men before reading this review and have even the slightest bit of interest in reading this book based solely on this review alone, make every effort to read this book. I’ve told you about the characters and the whole point of the X-Men, I think it shouldn’t be all that hard to follow now. This is Vol. 1. And if you’re a fan of the X-Men from any capacity, whether from any comics, or from the movies or cartoons, you honestly should make every effort to read this book, I feel like you will find this book worth your time. I mean, I practically gave this book a ten, so if I’m being this generous to a graphic novel, chances are it’s good. I’m not an easy scorer, I don’t just go around giving out tens to everything I read. If you’re a fan of “X-Men ’97,” you will notice that the episode “Remember It” takes inspiration from this graphic novel, you’re at the top of my recommendation list.

            Well, I think we can start to wrap this up at this point. I will tell you that there are dozens of other book reviews on this blog, I post very frequently. I specialize in Marvel reviews, so if you’re a Marvel fan, keep checking this site out, there are tons of others, I think you might find something else you’ll like. You can expect another review sometime in the next two weeks, so keep checking for that. I’ve written a few short stories, some poetry, articles, essays, editorials, and the like, so there’s plenty of other content to see here, so you can keep looking. I think that’ll do it for now, so I’ll say just a few more words: Tim Cubbin… out! 

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format. It IS NOT a review of the film “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

            Nazi supervillain Johann Schmidt/Red Skull and Soviet General and CEO of Kronas Corporation Aleksander Lukin were at a race for a device called the Cosmic Cube, a device that grants the wishes it’s holder, a race that the Red Skull had won. The Skull had plans to cause great destruction with the Cube when it was fully charged, and use it to take down his greatest enemy, Steven Rogers/Captain America, Super Soldier, and Living Legend of World War II.

            Captain America had been working with S.H.I.E.L.D., the U.N. Peacekeeping Taskforce on missions pertaining to the United States. Director Nicholas Fury had assigned Sharon Carter/Agent 13 as his liaison, which caused awkwardness as the two used to be romantically involved.

            Just when the Red Skull was about to enact his plan, he was taken out of the picture by a mysterious assassin working for General Lukin, and the Cosmic Cube was stolen.

            Steve started having dreams, memories, and flashbacks about his time in WWII with his sidekick James “Bucky” Barnes, but the details were not completely accurate. Steve was unsure both what had been causing them and why he was remembering them wrong. He then got the phone call about the Red Skull’s demise and was called in by S.H.I.E.L.D. as the secret to the Skull’s longevity came from the fact that he lived inside a clone body of Captain America’s. Cap especially did not believe that his long-time enemy could really be gone. He and Sharon were sent in to stop the Red Skull’s agents Advance Ideas in Destruction (A.I.D.) from conducting the Skull’s planned attack in Manhattan but lead henchman Brock Rumlow/Crossbones managed to escape. This mission started to rekindle something between Steve and Sharon.

            Back in the 1950s, when Steve Rogers had been frozen in ice after WWII and Bucky Barnes had died, there had been a replacement team as the United States government felt there had to be a Captain America and Bucky. The replacement Bucky was a man named Jack Monroe, who also teamed up with Steve Rogers over the years and had been both the hero Nomad and the villain Scourge. Monroe had been given an attempted recreation of the Super Soldier Serum that gave Steve Rogers his powers as Captain America, and it caused problems in his immune system that was killing him at a slow rate. This had led to him taking up the mantle of Nomad again, to do some good in the world before he died. This ending came quicker because the same assassin who took out the Red Skull also put down Monroe and implicated him in the Skull’s assassination. He then abducted Sharon. S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to identify the assassin as the Winter Soldier, and when Steve came to her rescue, Sharon told Steve she thought his identity was Bucky Barnes, right before the Winter Soldier bombed Philadelphia. Steve had a face-to-face encounter with the Winter Soldier before the assassin was able to escape in the chaos he created. Back aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Nick Fury confirmed Sharon’s suspicions with photographic evidence, another piece of news Steve refused to accept. Fury also got the tip that the Winter Soldier was working for Lukin and authorized an unsanctioned operation to apprehend Lukin, but the mission went south when Cap burst in on Lukin in the middle of a meeting with dignitaries.

            Crossbones infiltrated an American government re-education facility to bust out Synthia Schmidt, the daughter of the Red Skull, who was being brainwashed.

            Steve was delivered files that explained Bucky’s history as the Winter Solder. He was revived from death by Soviets towards the end of WWII, with no memory of his previous life. After it was discovered that he was not a Super Soldier like his partner Captain America, he was placed into stasis. He was reprogrammed into a Soviet assassin during the Cold War, but he started to prove not to be the total blank slate he was initially believed to be. He was kept in stasis between missions in the hope this would prevent him from becoming rebellious, but after several problems, he was eventually put away for what was forever, but he was eventually discovered by Lukin.

            Steve teamed up with Sam Wilson/Falcon and Tony Stark/Iron Man to infiltrate an A.I.D. facility to learn the location of the Cosmic Cube, and Steve and Sam flew to West Virginia for a confrontation with the Winter Soldier for the possession of the Cosmic Cube.

            Crossbones managed to undo the reprogramming done to Synthia/Sin and the two launched into a terrorism spree, taking over an Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) laboratory. Steve and Sharon came to the rescue, but Crossbones and Sin got away. In the process, Steve and Sharon’s romance reignited.

            During WWII, Steve, Bucky, Nick Fury, and the Howling Commandos had gone on a mission and battled a giant robot, something that decades later would still prove of interest to Aleksander Lukin.

            Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch used her powers to rewrite reality into a world where mutants are the dominant species and run the culture and rule over all existing countries, religions, and politics, while humans are the oppressed minority. In this new reality, Captain America was never frozen towards the end of WWII, and in 1945 he captured Adolf Hitler himself and ended the Great War. In 1946, he married Peggy Carter. Because of his friendship with Namor the Sub-Mariner and the anti-mutant hysteria in 1951, he stepped down as Captain America. In 1955 he became the first man to walk on the moon. His marriage fell apart in 1957. He went on to grow old and live his life in the House of M.

            Okay, so that’s what the book is about, now I’m going to talk about how I felt about the book. First off, I have to say, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I thought it was great. I found it to be very well written. I thought the plot was excellent. I found the artwork to be enjoyable. The Captain America 65^th Anniversary Special was not visually pleasing to me, however. Overall, though, I really don’t have any complaints. Now, I know some of you are saying “hey, Tim, is the book better than the movie?” That is something that is difficult to answer because they are just vastly different. There are almost no recognizable similarities between the two, so comparison is hard to make. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to tell you that they are both good in their own way and should be enjoyed as two separate mediums.

            Next, I’m going to discuss accessibility. If you’re new to a Tim Cubbin review, you might not know what I mean when I use this word. By accessibility, I mean how easy it is to just pick up and read if you know little to nothing about Captain America or Marvel Comics. So, let’s say that by some odd way you’ve never heard the name “Captain America” but decided to read this review anyway out of say curiosity to the name “Captain America” or you’re just reading this post out of loyalty to me because you personally know me, or you just love reading my blog. You’ve now read this far into my review and are saying “hey, this Captain America dude sounds cool, I might want to read this book now. Will it be a problem that I don’t know Captain America?” I will tell you that it could be a bit of a problem, but not a mountain of one. I think it’s self-explanatory, I don’t think you need to know all the background information to fully understand it. The House of M issue is the problem because it’s part of an event, but it doesn’t cross over into the main story arc of the event, it doesn’t rely on you knowing the full story, so I don’t think it will ruin your enjoyment too badly. That’s the big problem with Epic Collections is that they don’t contain any issues of actual events, they just contain the issues of specific characters or teams from around that period and compile them, so often if you don’t know the event, reading an Epic Collection can be difficult. That said, I don’t feel that this will be the case in this Epic Collection in particular. Now, I will say if you’ve seen the movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and decide you want to read this book, that would be a huge help as you would understand the characters a little better and have a better appreciation for them, but the story is vastly different, so don’t think you’ll be reading the same thing as the movie. If you’ve ever read Captain America comic books at any point, this book will be no problem for you to just pick up and read as it’s self-explanatory to Cap canon, just beware of House of M, that’s the only hiccup. And for those of you looking to start reading Marvel Comic Books and not knowing a good place to start, this is a good first read, it’s the start of a new series, this is listed as Vol. 1 and it isn’t a direct continuation of any other storylines (except House of M, and if you honestly needed to, you could try to get your hands on a copy of “House of M” for context, but I honestly don’t feel that’s necessary in this instance).

            Okay, at this point, you’re bored of me going on and on like this, you want to know just how good I thought this book was. So yes, for those who don’t know, I give every review a numeric score on a scale of one to ten. One means this is a piece of stinky garbage that should stop being published right away, ten means this is perfection and should be given awards just for existing and a copy should be in every comic book fan’s bookshelf. Now I’m not usually one who gives out a lot of tens, so if it gets a ten, then it’s spectacular. This book is not a ten, I will start with that. But I will also say it’s not a nine. I’m settling on giving this book an eight, simply because of the couple of issues with the art I was not a fan of. If the artwork in those two issues I took offense with were to my liking, then this book would have been a nine, but there is just no way I could give it a ten. So, to reiterate, this book is an eight.

            Next up, I have to say if I recommend this book or not. I think it’s obvious that I do. I would recommend this book to any fan of Captain America comics; I feel it is a work that truly stands out and is worth the read. If you are a fan of the film “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and want to read comics, I totally recommend this book to you. If you’re a fan of espionage stories, I recommend this book to you.

            Okay, now I’m sure you’re tired of me by this point, so if you’re still reading here right now, you are THE BEST! Thanks for sticking with me this long, I honestly do appreciate it! I have written dozens of book reviews already; you can expect to see another one posted in about a week. I also write short stories, poetry, articles, essays, and editorials, I write tons of content for this website. I know right now I’ve just been focusing on reviews, but I will totally get back to other content soon, you can expect to see plenty more from me. So, I guess I will say that this is all for now, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Iron Man: World's Most Wanted"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Iron Man: World’s Most Wanted” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Anthony Stark is a billionaire playboy technology philanthropist genius. He ran the company Stark Industries, where he created weapons for the United States military. While in captivity, he was gravely injured and invented a suit of armor that saved his life. He quit the weapons business and secretly became the armored superhero Iron Man. He was a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers. He eventually bonded with Extremis, a technologic substance that interfaced him with his armor. Following the superhero Civil War, where every superhuman must register with the peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D. or face imprisonment, Tony was appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and in charge of the database of all registered superhumans. Maria Hill, former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., was demoted to Deputy Director, a position Hill was not particularly happy with. During the Civil War, Tony also went public with his dual identity as Iron Man.

            Tony is made aware of terrorist bombings involving technology like Tony’s own Iron Man technology. The perpetrators of these crimes are Advanced Genocide Mechanics. The technological mastermind behind all this is Ezekiel Stane, son of Obadiah Stane, former business rival and Tony’s nemesis the Iron Monger. Stane has upgraded himself with biotechnology, effectively becoming a living weapon, enough to rival Iron Man himself.

            At the Starkdynamics Gala, a bombing occurs, leaving Tony’s former secretary and love interest Pepper Potts gravely injured. Tony gives Pepper the same treatment that saved his life.

            Stane plans to take down Stark Industries and Tony Stark himself by bombing key Stark Industries locations in the hope Tony will be present at one at the time of an attack. Tony and Stane meet for a decisive battle, and Tony must take drastic action to ensure his technology is not used to cause more harm in the world.

            In the aftermath, Front Line Newspaper Managing Editor calls in photographer Peter Parker for assistance with a story. Peter is secretly the unregistered superhero Spider-Man and used to work for Tony Stark. Spider-Man swings into action, but Tony is reluctant to team-up due to him being Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Spider-Man being an unregistered superhuman, and this causes Tony to doubt in his abilities as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

            This doesn’t last long. The shape-shifting aliens known as the Skrulls launched a Secret Invasion on Earth. During the Invasion, the Skrulls unleashed a virus in Stark technology, causing catastrophic worldwide failure of all Stark tech, including Tony’s Extremis armor. Tony was stripped of his role as leader of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. was made defunct. Norman Osborn, formerly the supervillain the Green Goblin, then Director of the government-sponsored supervillain rehabilitation team the Thunderbolts, was the hero against the Skrulls, and was promoted to Director of the new peacekeeping agency H.A.M.M.E.R., S.H.I.E.L.D.’s replacement. Maria Hill was also fired from her position as Deputy Director. Osborn hoped to gain access to the superhuman registration database, but Tony unleashed a virus wiping it out of H.A.M.M.E.R.’s computers, but there is an existing copy… implanted in Tony’s head. Tony decides he can’t let Osborn get access to this database, and out of fear of getting captured and having it forced out of his head, and not wanting termination, he feels the only way to prevent Osborn from gaining what he desires is to wipe his memory and start his life over. Maria and Pepper object, but Tony tricks Hill into initiating the process that will destroy Tony’s memories. Osborn, unaware of this turn of events, issues an order for the arrests of Tony Stark and Maria Hill, making them the world’s most wanted fugitives. Tony asks Maria to infiltrate a Stark Subsidiary facility in Texas called Futurepharm to obtain a hard drive, which Hill finds out has been taken over by the supervillain the Controller. Meanwhile, Pepper has been left in charge of Stark Industries in Tony’s place. She discovers an armor Tony left behind for her and dons it to become Rescue. At the same time, Osborn has been making deals with supervillains such as Namor, the Hood, and Madame Masque to put a bounty on Tony Stark. Tony makes a deal with Russian superhero the Crimson Dynamo to try to get access to a Stark workshop. The Iron Man technology he has been left with after the Secret Invasion is substandard, and the Crimson Dynamo armor is a bit more advanced. Pepper locates Tony, whose memory is direly failing him. Hill, desperate to uncover the content of the drive, attempts to find Captain America, and turns to Natasha Romanova/Black Widow, superspy and former S.H.I.E.L.D. ally. Black Widow and Hill are captured and brought to Avengers Tower, Norman Osborn’s base of operations. Pepper and Madame Maque have a face-off… literally. Pepper steals Masque’s mask and infiltrates Avengers Tower to rescue Hill and Black Widow. Tony heads back to Iraq, the birthplace of Iron Man, to lure Osborn/Iron Patriot into a fight that will defame Osborn publicly and may also be the end of Iron Man.

            Okay, so let’s discuss how I felt about this book. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I wasn’t expecting it to be all that good, but I found that I highly enjoyed it. I thought it was very well written. I will say, however, that I wasn’t all that fond of the Extremis concept. A long time ago, I reviewed to prose novelization of “Iron Man: Extremis.” I never really understood how Extremis worked, so the fact that Matt Fraction, the writer of this book, so heavily used Extremis in the plot did get a little confusing for me. There were times past when the whole Extremis storyline seemed to have been forgotten, so Extremis being relied on in this book detracted from my enjoyment slightly. That said, I found the concept of Pepper becoming the superheroine Rescue to be highly enjoyable. Ezekiel Stane was also an interesting villain because he was more powerful than Iron Man, so the conflict resolution of their decisive battle was highly anticipated as I had no idea how Tony could possibly win. Also, Norman Osborn as the villain in the “World’s Most Wanted” storyline but not as the Green Goblin was refreshing. His masterminding the scheme of bringing down Tony and Maria Hill in an extensively long story arc was something I enjoyed as it continued and expanded. I also found that the story didn’t feel like it went on too long, either. It was a twelve-part story, and it felt right to me. Sometimes those seem too excessive, but this worked. It’s just like a movie that is three hours long and there’s thirty minutes of expository content that’s not needed. Were there moments that felt like they could have been done without? Yes. A comic is a certain length, it must be filled, so in twelve parts, there are going to be moments that feel like they don’t need to be there, but those moments for me were not particularly common. And I have to say, Salvador Larroca is an artist I have been a fan of for over twenty years, and his artwork in this book did not disappoint me. However, I must fault the colorists. Some of the characters’ skin tones looked all wrong and the colors seemed a little dull, faded and toned down in my opinion. I also must complain about the use of the acronym H.A.M.M.E.R. Fraction never explains why it’s written as an acronym, what it means, or if it even means anything at all. And why would it change from S.H.I.E.L.D. to H.A.M.M.E.R.? There is literally no similarity there. And there was a moment with Tony and Maria that I felt was highly unnecessary, but it’s kind of inappropriate, so we’re not going to go there in this review, we’re keeping this G-Rated. But honestly, I can’t complain too much about anything else.

            Okay, now we’re going to talk about accessibility. If you’ve read my work before, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve literally written dozens of reviews before, but if you haven’t read one and don’t know what I mean, I guess I’ll have to explain it to you. I mean how if you’re a person who, for some unbelievable coincidence, has never heard of Iron Man would be able to understand this book if you were to just pick this book up and try to read it. In this case, I would have to give a resounding don’t. This book really is for experienced Marvel fans. At the start of the book, we’re in a period where Tony Stark was Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Superhuman Registration Act was still in effect. Then we get to a point that spins out of Secret Invasion. If you know nothing about Secret Invasion, this book will get confusing. This also requires knowledge about Norman Osborn as Director of H.A.M.M.E.R. and that knowledge is not contained in this book. Honestly, if you don’t know about the aftermath of Secret Invasion, you’d be scratching your head trying to understand this book. This book is not for Marvel beginners. I don’t care if you’ve seen all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and shows but have never read the comics and are reading this now and are saying “Oh, Iron Man, I want to read this!” It’s not the right book for you. It has absolutely no similarity to the MCU at all. There are no common threads to pick up on, the MCU did not adapt any of these storylines, so you won’t be able to just be an MCU fan and try suddenly to be a comic fan, I’m sorry to say. Now, on the other hand, this is all just MY opinion, take it or leave it, if you want to try this book, you’re welcome to it. I mean, I understand it because I’ve been reading Marvel Comic Books on and off for twenty-three years now, and these issues were originally published in 2008-2009, which was even a lapsed period for me, but I’ve read comics published since then and know about the time, so that’s all just me. I’m just giving you the caution that I don’t think this is an entry level Marvel book. This is even listed as Vol. 3. Granted the comics in this book are “Invincible Iron Man” #1-19, that still doesn’t make it a jump on point. I believe more background knowledge is required if you are to get optimal enjoyment out of this book. But again, I also invite you to try if that is what you so desire, as I found reading this book to be an enjoyable experience. I’m not going to totally warn you away for that. I leave that to your capable hands to decide.

            Okay, I’ve blathered on for quite a while. I think you’re at the breaking point where you want me to stop typing and wasting your time and just give you my numeric score. That is, of course, if you know what to expect from one of my reviews. If not, you still probably want me to stop typing and get to a point where you can just stop reading and go back to doing whatever you were doing on the internet before you started reading this. So, let me just explain my scoring system to any of you who may be newbies. I score on a scale between one to ten. One means this book was absolute trash and not worth reading at all, ten means that anyone who reads this review should read this book regardless of that I warned you off. You can guess that this book does not fit on either of the extremes in my opinion and falls somewhere in between, and you would be right. So, I do have to take everything into account as I score this. As I’ve been writing this, I’ve been thinking about the score the whole time, just how exactly I’m going to score it. It’s been an extremely hard thought, but I’m going to give it a final settle on an eight. I’m a hard scorer and I don’t just go giving out tens, even nines can be difficult for a book to obtain, and although this book exceeded my expectations, it was not perfect enough to get a nine either. The unexplained use of Extremis was a huge detraction from my score. The colors are also wonky, I feel like it could have benefited if they were a little brighter. But overall, I felt like it was an enjoyable book and I give it exceedingly high praise.

            Finally, I must tell you if I recommend this book to you or not. I think I explained it well in the accessibility section, but I feel like it’s imperative to reiterate it here. I don’t recommend it to non-fans. But I’m not saying I’m not recommending it, either. In other words, I don’t recommend it to EVERYONE, BUT I DO recommend it. I hope that’s clear enough.

            Well, I honestly do feel like I’ve gone on for long enough at this point, I feel like I should set you off to go back to doing whatever else you may want to do, and I’ve been sitting here typing for over three hours, I think it’s time I moved on to something else, too. So, I’m just going to tell you that this blog has plenty of other enjoyable content on it. I’ve written short stories, poetry, articles, essays, editorials, and dozens of other reviews. You can expect another review in the next couple of weeks as there is another book about to be released that I intend to buy, so be on the lookout for that. I’m also toying with the idea for a short story, I’ve been saying it for months now, I just keep getting sidetracked and doing other things instead and never actually gotten around to just sitting down and typing it, but you can expect it in the next couple of months too. Well, I think I’ve said all I need to say now, so let’s all just move on after I say Tim Cubbin… out!

"Hulk: Who is the Red Hulk?"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Hulk: Who is the Red Hulk?” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Robert Bruce Banner was a brilliant nuclear scientist. He created a device called a Gamma Bomb. During the test, a young man named Rick Jones entered the testing zone. Bruce rushed in to save Rick and was caught in the blast. He survived, but now, during times when he becomes angry or scared, he turns into a giant, green, out of control, rage monster called the Hulk, a force of destruction. The madder the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets.

            One of the Hulk’s old foes, Emil Blonsky, AKA the Abomination, was found murdered in Russia. S.H.I.E.L.D., General Thadeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, and civilians Jennifer Walters, AKA the She-Hulk and cousin of Bruce Banner, and gamma powered psychologist Leonard Samson are called in to investigate. Signs start to point to the Hulk, but some things don’t add up. Abomination was murdered with a gun, something the Hulk has never been known to use before. The only gun able to fit in the hands of the Hulk is also of S.H.I.E.L.D. design. Also, the Hulk’s footprints had crystallized in the sand. To top all that off, Bruce Banner is currently in government custody in Gamma Base in Death Valley, Nevada.

            Aboard the new S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Director Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, Maria Hill, and She-Hulk are examining the line of weaponry the Hulk could have used when they are attacked by the Hulk. Only this time, he’s… red? A fight ensues aboard the Helicarrier between Iron Man and the Red Hulk, ending with the Red Hulk escaping and the Helicarrier crashing in New Jersey. After that, the Red Hulk came across Rick Jones outside of Gamma Base in Nevada, who now gamma mutates into a blue abomination calling himself A-Bomb. While Red Hulk and A-Bomb battle, Tony Stark attempts to analyze a video recording of a conversation between Banner and Ross where Banner makes an inaudible comment that even their technology cannot hear. Red Hulk and A-Bomb’s battle cause a fissure powerful enough to rattle Banner’s cell, and this releases the original green Hulk, who joins the fight. S.H.I.E.L.D. is also left with the task of trying to find out the identity of the new Red Hulk. The Hulks red and green take their battle to San Franscisco. The Red Hulk is victorious, but the battle is then joined by Thor, who also loses to the Red Hulk. A-Bomb rescues the green Hulk, who once again battles the Red Hulk, but this time, the outcome is different. With the aid of A-Bomb and Thor, Hulk is able to defeat the Red Hulk.

            Now free, Bruce Banner travels to Las Vegas, to a casino overrun by cursed creatures called Wendigos. Banner turns into his Joe Fixit gray Hulk persona to battle the monsters, but the arrival of Moon Knight, Sentry, and Ms. Marvel end up turning him green again. During the fight with the heroes and the Wendigos, Hulk is bitten by the Wendigos and transforms into the Wendihulk. Brother Voodoo is able to arrive to cure all the Wendigos and the Wendihulk, and Banner once again escapes.

            She-Hulk decides she wants to bring in the Red Hulk but knows she can’t do it on her own. She calls in fellow super heroines Valkyrie and Thundra (who were not at the top of her list) and gear up with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy Director Maria Hill to take down the red menace. They unfortunately prove not to be enough, but the arrival of Spider-Woman. Tigra, Invisible Woman, Storm, Black Widow, and Hellcat are enough to turn the tables in the favor of the ladies, but still the Red Hulk is able to escape.

            Two Elders of the Universe, the Grandmaster and the Collector decide to have a competition of champions. Grandmaster promises Hulk if he wins, his lost love Jarella will be returned to him. Hulk is allowed to pick his team. Hulk chooses the Silver Surfer, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Doctor Stephen Strange, his teammates as the Defenders, but picked from times before they all met. Meanwhile, the Collector allies with the Red Hulk, who chooses Baron Mordo, Terrax and Tiger Shark as his Offenders. The two teams are then instructed to battle… to the death.

            She-Hulk, determined to uncover the Red Hulk’s identity, calls in Front Line Newspaper reporter Ben Urich, who along with Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man and Leonard Samson, go to investigate Gamma Base, which has been overtaken by MODOK and A.I.M.

            Okay, so that’s it for the synopsis, now let’s get into my personal opinions. First off, I will say I was a bit disappointed with this book. Now, I’ve been reading Marvel Comics on and off for over twenty-two years now, and I already know who the Red Hulk is. Now, the issues in this book were originally published between 2008-2009, which was a point where I was not regularly reading, and I don’t know the origin of the Red Hulk, I don’t know how the person who is Red Hulk became the Red Hulk. I first learned there WAS a Red Hulk in 2012. When I first heard about this book several months ago, I was excited because I figured I’d finally get my answer as to how the Red Hulk came to be. Well, sadly to say, I did not. I’m upset they even called this book “Who is the Red Hulk?” They never actually answer that question in this book, even by the end. So, if you don’t know who the Red Hulk is, reading this book won’t tell you. As far as the stories themselves go, I just didn’t quite like them. They just didn’t thrill me. I read the book quickly, mostly because I was hoping for my answer, that’s what kept me reading. That might have created bias on my part; having a preconceived notion of what I was getting and by not getting what I was expecting might have ruined my enjoyment. I thought the stories were okay, for what they were, but they weren’t what I was hoping for. I can say, however, that I loved the artwork. I thought the art in this book was excellent. The details such as the veins were a brilliant touch. I thought the style was great, and the colors were extremely vibrant. At least SOMETHING met my expectations.

            Let’s talk about accessibility. Now, for those of you who have never read a Tim Cubbin review before, by accessibility, I mean how easy it is to pick up this book if you have limited or no prior knowledge of the Hulk or Marvel Comics. To me, I don’t feel like this is an entry level graphic novel. I feel like you should have a decent amount of knowledge of Marvel Comics to fully comprehend this graphic novel. This knowledge can extend to prior or post 2008-2009 (the original release dates of these comics), I really don’t think it matters. But I feel if you only know Marvel from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s not what you need to read this book. Or if you’re reading this review and think it sounds interesting but know nothing about Marvel Comics, this really would not be easy to pick up. I feel like it requires a comprehension of Marvel Comics to read this book. I could be wrong, don’t go just by what I say, I’m not perfect, I can’t make your decision for you, I’m just telling you about MY opinions on MY website, take them or leave them.

            Now, I think it’s time to move on to the main event: the score! Now, you can obviously tell at this point that the score won’t be good. I’m not an easy scorer, I don’t go around randomly throwing out tens, but looking back, I’d say I’m generous. So, this book may be getting my generosity. So, let’s review my criticisms. Didn’t answer the titular question. Didn’t meet my expectations. The stories were subpar. Art was fantastic. Let’s balance all that out. I’m thinking here, I’m thinking here, what is an appropriate score for this book? Honestly here, I think the best score I can give this book is a four. I’m sorry, but if you’re going to give a book a title with a question in it, YOU HAVE TO ANSWER IT IN THE BOOK! Like I said, I know who the Red Hulk is, but if you don’t, reading this book won’t tell you and it will be like a total waste of your interest. I gave my list of reasonings, so I don’t feel like I must go on any longer on the subject, but this book was a disappointment story-wise, but it was a visual treat.

            Now I’ll tell you if I recommend this book. Obviously, I don’t. HOWEVER! If you’re a fan of the Hulk, I CAN’T tell you NOT to read it. Like I said, this is all MY own opinion on this blog. Honestly, if you’ve read this book and have a different opinion on this book, I would LOVE to hear from you. Feel free to respond to me in whatever format you can. No one has ever commented yet, and I would love to hear from someone, you can be the first, that would be THE BEST! That’s the beauty of being human. We all have different opinions. I have mine, you have yours, please feel free to share. If you really love the Hulk, though, I wouldn’t turn you away from this book, especially because it has such great art, but in general, it’s not a book I’d go out and just tell anyone to read.

            Okay, I think I’ve said about enough for now. I will say that this website has over one-hundred posts on it, most of them reviews of Marvel Epic Collections, so if you liked this and you like Marvel, there’re dozens more for you to read here. You can expect another review coming sometime in the next three weeks. I’ve also written short stories, I’m in the stages of planning one for release soon, so you can keep an eye out for that one. I’ve written some free verse poetry; I dabble in that a wee bit. I’ve written some articles, essays, and editorials, and have a bachelor’s degree in journalism. If you’re bored and want to read sheer stupidity, you can check out my B’ings. There’s just so much more to see on this website, so keep looking, keep coming back, please comment, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Black Widow: Chaos"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Black Widow: Chaos” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow is a superspy. She was trained in the Russian program the Red Room, which prepared young girls to be ruthless and dangerous operatives. She defected to the United States and assisted the government organization S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as serving as a member of the superhero team the Avengers. She has a lot of red in her ledger.

            After suffering from great guilt, she established the Web, a fund to benefit the families and friends of people she felt she wronged from her days traveling the wrong path. She hired a lawyer named Isaiah Ross to manage the transfer of the funds. To earn the money, Natasha went on missions, involving finding information, apprehending dangerous people, and occasionally taking out some bad guys. These missions brought her onto S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar. Director Maria Hill, who had many trust issues, called in Natasha on a case. S.H.I.E.L.D. received a communication about “Chaos,” what they believed to be an organization, entity, or individual, and Hill felt Natasha was the person best suited for the job.

            The search for Chaos first led Natasha to a religious fanatical criminal named Molot. After their first encounter, which ended in Natasha’s defeat, Natasha needed information, so she turned to Tori Raven, an espionage expert. This information helped lead to Molot’s defeat but did not lead Natasha any closer to Chaos.

            Raven then gave Natasha info that led her to the Montenegrin Coast, where she found a moored freighter. Aboard the freighter was a man named Damon Dran. Natasha and S.H.I.E.L.D. were able to apprehend Dran, but Chaos ensured Dran could not provide S.H.I.E.L.D. with the information they were seeking.

            On a mission to rob a train in Prague, Natasha ran into Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier, Captain America’s sidekick turned Russian agent, who was on a mission to prevent the robbery. The two got into conflict, but ultimately realized they were on the same side.

            Natasha then went on a mission to a mobile tanker near Costa Rica, which being used as a satellite communications relay by the mercenary called Crossbones. As it turned out, she wasn’t the only one interested. Frank Castle/the Punisher had infiltrated Crossbones’ operation. But Crossbones wasn’t stupid and was covering his tracks and had set explosives throughout the tanker. The two managed to escape, but Natasha still had no new intel on Chaos. Then Natasha got a phone call from a man named Rashid, a man she had rescued years back, and who now had kidnapped Isaiah. To rescue Isaiah, Natasha teamed up with Laura Kinney/X-23, the clone of the mutant X-Man Wolverine, and went to a casino in Macau. The rescue was successful, but Rashid did not provide the info Natasha was after.

            Natasha’s life then became difficult after her dirty laundry was aired on national television while she was on a S.H.I.E.L.D. operation in Somalia. While at the same time, Isaiah was hospitalized.

            Tori Raven provided Natasha with information on Chaos. She had been working for them, and revealed Chaos was a financial organization. She provided Natasha with a list of their top accountants and told Natasha she had serious doubts Natasha could succeed without help. Natasha gave the list to Isaiah, instructing him to give it to Maria Hill. She then went on a hunt after the names on the list. This hunt reunited her with the Winter Soldier, and Natasha found Prophet, who showed her what could be her future, and Prophet revealed exactly what Chaos was. After finding what she was looking for, Natasha cut all ties, with her home, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Isaiah, and went off to find herself.

            Now, let’s talk about this book. When I purchased it, I wasn’t expecting it to be the greatest, and I was not surprised to find that I felt my assessment was correct and my expectations were met. I just felt like the story was so convoluted. I’ve never been a huge fan of spy novels or espionage movies. I’m not a fan of “James Bond” or “Mission Impossible” or anything else in that genre, so this book really was not going to be my cup of tea. I’m sorry to the writer Nathan Edmondson, I know you worked hard on this series, and I appreciate all the hard work and effort you put into this, but I just knew this wouldn’t appeal to me. You, my readers, may be wondering why, if I felt like I wouldn’t like this book, did I buy it? Honestly, I’m just buying all the Modern Era Epic Collections, so I wouldn’t pass on even a single one. I will say, however, that I was a fan of the art. I thought Phil Noto’s work was genius. The medium he used was watercolor paints, which was incredibly unique for a comic book. Traditionally when you think of comic book colors you think of ink, so this change was brilliant in my opinion, I was incredibly pleased by it. It was rather refreshing, so my hat is off to Mister Noto. I say it in my reviews of graphic novels that story and art are a partnership. A graphic novel is a union. You can have an exceptional story but have awful artwork and it totally ruins the book. Or you could have a horrible story, but the art is pleasant to look at. I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but I do feel like that while the story didn’t appeal to me (I’m not saying I HATED the story per se), the artwork made me appreciate the book enough to find some enjoyment in it.

            Now, I always talk about accessibility when I write my reviews. What do I mean by that you may ask if you have never joined me before (and if you’ve graced this page before, bear with me for a few sentences)? Simple. If you’ve never heard of Marvel Comics before, or know nothing about Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, can you still pick up this book and enjoy it? Now, the back of this book credits it as Vol. 3. I have to say to you: IGNORE IT! This could easily be Vol. 1. Marvel doesn’t always release their Modern Era Epic Collections chronologically, as you shall come to know as my reviews on these continue. Right now, the line is relatively new and there are not a lot of options, but the graphic novels are not published in order all the time. (I do have a few Modern Era Epic Collections in my possession I have yet to review, give it time, they will be there eventually). The first volumes of some of the titular series are not actually Vol. 1. “Daredevil: Underboss,” which has been previously reviewed, was the first collection published, yet it was Vol. 2. (We’ll get around to “Venom” around August, that will start with Vol. 4.) But let’s get back to “Black Widow.” This collects a complete twenty-issue series that was published between 2014-2015, plus a lead-in story and an issue of “Punisher.” I feel as if you know absolutely nothing about Mavel Comics, you could still follow this book. This book is completely standalone. It has no tie-ins to any other stories. Some Modern Era Epic Collections coincide with events and storylines that were ongoing at the time  and don’t actually contain any issues of the main event, just the issues focusing on one character/team from around that time period (take “Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider: Edge of Spider-Verse” for example, and I promise you there will be more, I already have a few volumes in my possession that crossover with events). You may have seen it with my reviews of the original Epic Collection formatted books. But again, I digress. This book focuses on just one narrative, and that’s it. I don’t find it to draw on knowledge of any previous Marvel storylines or storylines going on at the time, with the slight exception of the Punisher issue, but even that was a one-and-done. Yes, there are Avengers that pop up over the course of the book, but it doesn’t focus on any of their storylines. This book doesn’t dredge up any old Black Widow storylines either, it just focuses on the current story of Natasha and her mission to discover the truth about Chaos. I feel like it’s a perfect gateway Marvel graphic novel.

            Okay, now that we’ve got all that out of the way, you probably want to know my score of the book. Some of you may have noticed that this book hasn’t evoked as much of a discussion from me as some of my other prior Modern Era Epic Collection reviews. As I said, it has a singular storyline, and Natasha faces a lot of dead ends, so there’s really not a lot to mention, and if I did talk about that it would probably get a little boring. Plus, there is a lot of content that my blog site doesn’t allow me to discuss, so I had to leave that out. On top of that, there is a definite lack of dialogue and a surplus of action in this book, so there’s not a ton of story to discuss. There are several factors that kept this review slightly shorter than others, and I’d just be boring you explaining them, so I’m just going to move on. Now, my score. I score on a very simple scale, one to ten. One is the lowest, that means this book is trash and should be burned from existence and not reprinted, ten is the highest, that means this book is perfection. Now this score is, of course, my opinion. I don’t expect you to agree with me on my opinions. I highly invite you to disagree with me. Please feel free to leave a response in any of the proper formats possible if you’ve read this and have any opinions on this book, I’d love to hear them. I’m also a hard scorer, I don’t just go around handing out tens, but I’m also not an ogre and say everything is a one either. So, let’s balance this out here. So the story really didn’t interest me, there were a lot of false leads, it got confusing, there were points where what you were led to believe weren’t really what was going on, there was convolution, not a lot happened, there was a distinct lack of dialogue, all these factors detract from my score. And yet I really enjoyed the art, so the score is going to come up from there. Now, I’d hate to just throw out a low score, so I’m not going to do that. And I didn’t hate the book, but it just didn’t wow me. It was a little underwhelming, sure, but it was about what I expected. So, all cards on the table, story, and art combined, everything all in, I score this book at… five. Usually, I go on a little bit after about why I scored as I scored, but I think I’ve done enough already, so I don’t feel like I need to give any more reasons why I gave this book the rating I did.

            Next before I begin to wrap this up, I’ll tell you if I recommend the book. Honestly, I don’t. Not generally, anyway. If you’re not a regular reader of Marvel comics or even comic books in general, I’d really tell you not to go out of your way to get this. I really love Black Widow, I think she’s a fantastic character, but I still don’t feel like this was her at her best and I can’t just tell you to go out and buy this book, even if you are a huge Black Widow fan. I mean, if you ARE a HUGE Black Widow fan, then, yeah, you COULD read this book and YOU might like it, you’re entitled to your own opinion, this blog is all just mine. We’re all entitled to think whatever we want, so don’t let me stop you from potentially enjoying what you might think is a phenomenal book just because I didn’t like it. And, if you are into the whole spy/espionage genre, then yeah, I’d say this could potentially be a good read for you. But in general, I don’t recommend this book.

            Okay, I think it’s about time we wrapped this up. I’ve spent a lot of time digressing in this post, and for that I highly apologize, I honestly don’t mean to waste your time. If you’re still reading this review at this point, you are THE BEST! I really appreciate you! I hope you enjoyed this review. If you did, I’ve posted several dozen other book reviews on this site, feel free to check those out. I don’t have any more reviews planned for this month, unfortunately, but I will have one next month, so keep an eye out for it. I’ve also posted original short stories and poetry on this site, so feel free to check those out too if you have some time to kill. If you really want to waste time, I write B’ings, I haven’t done one of those in a long time, I feel like I’m overdue for some new ones. I write editorials, essays, and articles. I write other things, I just write what comes into my mind, as my blog site title implies. I have so much stuff planned, so keep coming back. And so, I say to you until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Spider-Girl: Legacy"

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Spider-Girl: Legacy” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and gained adhesive fingertips and toes; the proportionate speed, strength and agility of a spider; and a precognitive awareness of danger he called “spider-sense.” He also created web fluid. He used these powers to fight supervillains as the amazing Spider-Man. He fell in love with Mary Jane Watson and the two eventually married and had a daughter they named May. During a final confrontation with his greatest foe, the Green Goblin, Peter was injured, and hung up his webs for good. Peter got a job in the police lab and he and Mary Jane raised May like a normal child.

May nicknamed “Mayday,” was a straight-A student and a star basketball player as she grew up. Then, one day, during a game, she started to exhibit skills that were slightly beyond those of any normal basketball player. Everyone else just shrugged it off and said, “good game,” put Peter and Mary Jane feared it was something else, something more. While out with her friends Jimmy Yama and Courtney Duran, Mayday was attacked by Normie Osborn, who took up the mantle of the Green Goblin from his deceased grandfather. Normie left a message, inviting Peter to “the bridge.” Mayday had no idea what this meant, so she went home and told her parents. Peter and Mary Jane discussed this, and Mayday overheard the conversation, learning that her father used to be Spider-Man. Mayday started trying to learn her powers. Mary Jane told Mayday her legacy and showed Mayday her father’s and his clone Ben Reilly’s costumes and web shooters. Peter confronted Normie at the bridge. Mary Jane followed. Both were in mortal peril, until Mayday showed up in her Uncle Ben Reilly’s costume and defeated the new Green Goblin. Normie was arrested, and Peter, Mary Jane and Mayday burned the costume and all traces of the mysterious “Spider-Girl.” It was all over. Or was it?

            Mayday wanted to continue to learn her legacy. She did research and experimented with her powers. He talked to her father’s partner and her honorary “Uncle” Phil Urich, the former superhero, the Green Goblin, who was also aware of her father’s past. Mayday snuck out of the house every night to train herself. One night, she stumbled upon a crime in progress, being led by Mr. Nobody, a criminal with the ability to teleport. Mayday confronted him, but Mr. Nobody was able to escape when the police arrived. Mayday inadvertently alerted her Uncle Phil to her activities by leaving behind a calling card: webbing. Taking after her father’s web steps, Mayday fashioned herself a costume, creating the stunning Spider-Girl.

            Spider-Girl first battled Crazy Eight, but he escaped when the police arrived. That’s when Spider-Girl met Darkdevil, a costumed vigilante with demonic powers, who taunted her before teleporting away. Mayday tried to keep the existence of Spider-Girl a secret. Mayday faced off against Crazy Eight again and was able to defeat him and was once again taunted by Darkdevil. Mayday also tried to stop her friend Jimmy Yama, who had a crush on her, from getting into a fight with his bully Moose Mansfield, who was best friends with Mayday’s crush Brad Miller.

            Mayday and her friends Davida Kirby, Courtney and Jimmy went on a stop to the Fantastic Five Museum before Mayday was going to an award ceremony for her father. While there, the Museum was attacked by Spyral, a man who claimed to be from another dimension and was trying to steal an artifact from the museum that would get him back to his home dimension. Spider-Girl teamed up with the Fantastic Five to defeat him, but inadvertently missed her father’s award ceremony, and alerted the world to the existence of Spider-Girl.

            To Mayday’s surprise, Peter and Mary Jane were not supportive of Mayday’s extracurricular activities. While at school, the custodian, Carlton Hackmutter was mystically transformed into the Dragon King at being resentful of the way the students treated him, attacked the student body and the faculty, calling Spider-Girl into action to save the school.

            The Venom symbiote, that had once bonded with Spider-Man, had been in containment for twelve years. It learned of the existence of Spider-Girl and managed to escape. It bonded with Peter once again, becoming Spider-Venom. Spider-Girl turned to her Uncle Phil Urich to defeat the threat and save her father, but Peter forbade her to be Spider-Girl and took her costume, while secretly, Phil Urich decided to train her.
            A new hero arrived on the scene, Ladyhawk. Jimmy Yama arrived at the conclusion that Courtney Duran was Spider-Girl. Mayday got into a battle with Ladyhawk, who turned out to be two women, both of whom were also being trained by Phil Urich.

            Mayday once again battled Darkdevil, but this time seemingly won. However, bereft of her Spider-Girl costume, the superhero Nove mistook her for a cat burglar and the two got into a conflict. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Moose got into a fight, one that almost had fatal consequences for Moose. Mayday then went looking for a backup costume from her parents’ attic, but was caught by Mary Jane, who explained to her why Peter quit being Spider-Man, in the hopes of convincing Mayday to hang up the webs, but Mayday refused to give up.

            Spider-Girl next had to defend the police station from the combined threats of Mr. Nobody and Crazy Eight when Mayday and Courtney came to support Jimmy as he faced the charges filed against him after his fight with Moose. This fight impressed Peter and showed him the need for Spider-Girl, and Peter agreed to train her in the use of her powers.

            Spider-Girl fought a new supervillain called Killer-Watt, who managed to defeat Spider-Girl and was about to unmask her when he was scared off by Darkdevil. Meanwhile, Jimmy started to get a swollen head in school, thinking himself the big man on campus after defeating the school bully Moose Mansfield. Moose now had both a fear for and a crush on Courtney Duran, now believing her to be Spider-Girl. Spider-Girl then had a rematch with Killer-Watt, but this time was successful.

            Next, Spyral escaped from lockup, intent on returning to his home dimension. Spider-Girl followed him as he went through a portal. She thought she had defeated him, but soon discovered she had traveled back in time to when her father was in high school. She then ran into her teenage father in costume. Thinking her attempting to be a defaming imposter, Spider-Man faced off against Spider-Girl, but the conflict ended when Spider-Man had to stop a crime in progress. Spencer Smythe and J. Jonah Jameson sent out the Spider-Slayer robot out to capture Spider-Man, but found Spider-Girl first, who managed to escape from the robot. She then faced off against the Human Torch, who also believed her to be a Spider-Man imposter, but she was able to defeat him. She then ran into her teenaged mother. Spider-Man, Spider-Girl, and the Human Torch then teamed up to track down Spyral to return Mayday back to her home time.

            Spider-Girl once again faced off against Darkdevil, who was chasing down Kaine, an evil clone of Peter Parker. During their confrontation, Mayday learned she also had the power to repel items that were stuck to her, a power which her father did not have. Kaine managed to escape. The tabloid newspaper the Daily Bugle began to investigate stories on Spider-Girl, but held off on judgement on characterizing her as hero or villain, unlike they had with the original Spider-Man.

            May, Davida and Courtney went to see Leonard Groote, a teen heartthrob who was shooting a film in town. While there, he was attacked by his ex-girlfriend Melissa Carsdale, now calling herself Misery. Spider-Girl swung to the rescue and defeated Misery. Mayday went back to school, where she found herself facing a plagiarism charge on a paper that convinced Coach Thompson to suspend Mayday from the basketball team. Then, tragedy befell upon her family at the hands of the Green Goblin, who returned to have his revenge. Mayday then discovered she was in the Grief Machine and that these terrible things didn’t actually happen and that she hadn’t yet beaten Misery, a fact she then rectified.

            A mysterious new character called the Buzz arrived on the scene, but Spider-Girl wasn’t sure if he was a hero or a villain, she just knew she had some new competition.

            Mayday had a dream of all her villains challenging her to a basketball game, which got her thinking of how to use her powers in practical ways she never had before.

            Mayday and Mary Jane saw the New Avengers at the mall, and Mayday decided she wanted to join the team. The Avengers declined her application but challenged her to a game of flag football to consider her for reserve status.

            Spider-Girl got caught up in a battle between the mutants Wild Thing (daughter of the legendary X-Man Wolverine) and Sabreclaw and Enthralla, which had to be ended by the Fantastic Five.

            Mayday tried to learn more about Kaine, much to Peter’s horror. Spider-Girl was able to track Kaine down but was badly defeated. On top of that, she was told off by Darkdevil.

            The tabloid newspaper the Daily Bugle continued to investigate Spider-Girl, as Spider-Girl teamed up with the superhero called Speedball to fight Mr. Abnormal, and Moose put the moves on Courtney.

            I do have to say that a lot happened in this book, but almost every issue in this book was one part, as compared to later comics that have storylines that continue on for several issues, and I do have to say that for me, that was a plus. Sometimes if a story goes on for so long it gets boring and convoluted. The short but sweet and self-contained stories in this book really appealed to me. It felt like I got more that way. Now, I’m going to talk about the concept. This was from a Marvel alternate future universe. It originally started as a “What If…?” issue that got such high demands for more that Marvel decided to continue it. Back in the 1990s, Mary Jane Parker had been pregnant and lost the baby. This was a future where she didn’t lose the baby. I have to say, I thought the concept was brilliant. I thought the execution was excellent. I especially liked that at first Peter was resistant to the idea of his daughter being a superhero. The writer could have written it having her idolizing Spider-Man her whole life, with all the stories of how “daddy was a hero” and all, but he didn’t do it that way. Mayday didn’t know she was the daughter of a superhero until she absolutely had to know. And he didn’t write it as “you have powers, May, go out and fight crime,” Peter didn’t want his daughter to be in danger. Yes, with great power there must also come great responsibility, but the responsible thing to Peter was to protect his daughter. Mayday being a superhero was something that scared him. I felt like that made this series work better. I’ve seen superhero movies where the superhero parents are all for the kids joining the family business, so Peter telling Mayday “No” was refreshing to me. The supporting characters were interesting to me, it felt to me like a good drama. I might have appreciated this series a bit more when I was at a younger age, this did almost feel like a teen drama, but even at this age I still enjoyed it. I liked the concept of having Phil Urich be Mayday’s “Uncle” and be in on Mayday’s secret, even helping hide it from her father, the man he works with. I liked Darkdevil as the mentor/antagonist, I thought that having the enigmatic stranger was a brilliant idea. I do have to say, her villains weren’t as good as her father’s, but Spider-Man is considered to have one of the best rogues’ galleries in all of comics, so beating that is difficult, but they were still at least interesting enough, and bringing Venom back was nice, too, but I wish the writer would have done a little bit more with him. I loved the artwork; I thought it was all great. Some of my real long-timers know I’m partial to comic book art from the mid- to late nineties, and the issues in this book were published between 1998-1999, so it was from a time-period I really enjoyed. I would have liked a little more humor, it seemed to be missing some comedic elements in my opinion. The time travel storyline didn’t work, though, unless the past she went to was an alternate past, or else Peter would have known about a Spider-Girl from his time in high school.

            Okay, next, I’ll discuss accessibility. What I mean by this is how easy it is to pick up. If you’ve never heard of any Marvel comic book before you came across this review and are intrigued by this, I will say this is a very good entry point. I feel that it’s easy to pick up no matter how familiar with Marvel you are. Knowing a bit about Spider-Man helps, of course, but I think if you’re looking to start reading comic books, this could be a good book to pick. It requires very little background knowledge and I feel like it’s very self-contained. It’s the start of a new comics universe. There is a little outside content from the New Avengers and Fantastic Five, who both had separate series at the time, but knowledge of them aren’t necessarily required, and I don’t even know about the time period, since I’ve never actually read comics from this universe before, so this was actually all new territory for me, so that’s why I’m pretty confident that it’s easy enough to pick this book up, even if you don’t know comics. It’s a semi-rebooted future universe, so Marvel history did happen, but I didn’t feel like knowing it was essential to reading this book, especially since it started in a “What If…?” issue. It felt self-explanatory in my opinion, so I don’t think it would be difficult to pick up if you know little or nothing about Marvel Comics.

            Okay, I’ve talked enough at this point, let’s get on to the main reason we’re here: for me to actually rate this book numerically. My previous readers know the drill by now, but for you newbs I have to say it again, so here goes: I score of a scale of one to ten. One means absolute trash, the worst, don’t read this at all, ten means this is gold, the best book you will ever read, go out and read this book right now. Now, you’ve probably established by now that this book is not a ten, but you’ve also established this isn’t a one. I enjoyed the stories a lot, the short bits really helped my opinion of the book. I loved the artwork; I thought it was exceptional. If you’ve read a lot of my reviews, you know I’m a harsh scorer, I don’t like handing out perfect scores very easily. So, let’s put it all in, story and art, everything combined to get my score, the whole book into consideration. Giving it a numeric score, I rate it at… drumroll please… seven. I really enjoyed it, but there were just some flaws here and there which I just couldn’t overlook. The time travel story was wonky, and I just didn’t like the New Avengers or the Fantastic Five. I didn’t say that before because it didn’t fit in with a review of “Spider-Girl,” but I’m saying it now as a generalization, the teams just didn’t really work for me. The Avengers were all new characters I didn’t know and quite frankly didn’t appeal to me, and the Fantastic Five’s portrayal fell flat. It could have been done a little better.

            Finally, I’ll say if I recommend this book or not. I do, I highly recommend it. If you like Spider-Man and are looking for something fresh and different, pick this up, I think you’ll find it worthwhile. I especially recommend this book to younger audiences, like teenagers. It felt a lot like a teen drama to me, so I think that age range is the best audience, but adults can appreciate this book, too. This is also a good pick for female readers. I know sometimes there’s the stigma that comic books are mostly for men, so a strong female lead like Mayday is very empowering for women to read. If you read this review and have an interest in reading this book, I honestly don’t feel like I should stop you, no matter what your familiarity with Marvel may be. Sometimes I do tell some of my readers to hold back, but I don’t think this book requires that at all.

            Now, I’ve gone on for way too long at this point, so I have to start wrapping this up. I will say that I have done dozens of reviews like this one on this site and you can expect another one sometime within the next three weeks. I’ve also written short stories, free verse poetry, articles, editorials, and several other kinds of pieces, so there’s plenty more content to check out if you liked this post. I will be back, but I will say until next time, as always, Tim Cubbin… out!