"Iron Man: The Future"

 

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

            The Mandarin and Ezekiel Stane began working together, along with Vibro, Firebrand, Chemistro, Blizzard, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, Living Laser, Melter, Whirlwind, Mauler, and Firepower to commit terrorist attacks. Following the Serpent’s War, Tony Stark/Iron Man invited the elf Splitlip to join Stark Resilient. Tony and Splitlip also worked on getting sober. Tony was subpoenaed for the Iron Man armor’s biometric information for the prior thirty days after it was suspected he piloted the Iron Man armor drunk. Mandarin, Stane, Justine Hammer, and Sasha Hammer began plotting to take down Tony Stark. Tony piloting the armor drunk hit the news. Sasha Hammer was promoted to the head of the Detroit Steel Corps following the apparent death of Lieutenant Doug Johnson, the face of Detroit Steel. The Stark Resilient Board of Investors voiced their concerns over CEO Virginia “Pepper” Potts’ activities as the armored hero Rescue following a leaked photo of Pepper crying in Pepper’s office while in the Rescue armor. Stane discovered that Tony’s Repulsor Unit that kept Tony alive was damaged, and Mandarin sent Living Laser to attack Iron Man. Stark Resilient Head of Security Bethany Cabe revealed to Pepper that Cabe was the one who leaked the photo of Pepper crying so Cabe could make the money that Pepper was not providing Cabe. Justine Hammer secretly had Spymaster infiltrating Stark Resilient, and Justine planned to have Spymaster make a move against Stark Resilient. Living Laser compromised Tony’s Repulsor Unit further and put Tony in cardiac arrest. Stane discovered he and all the villains the Mandarin had recruited had been implanted with bombs. Tony was revived at Lenox Hill Hospital and physically resisted treatment from the doctors. Mandarin had Stane working on Dreadnought machines, and when Stane showed resistance, Mandarin revealed Mandarin was using one of the Mandarin’s rings to control Stane’s mind. General Babbage informed James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine, Stark Resilient’s liaison with the United States government, that Babbage felt Tony was unfit to pilot the Iron Man armor. Mandarin sent a fleet of Dreadnoughts to attack Three Gorges dam in China. Iron Man, War Machine, and the Chinese superhero team the Dynasty put a stop to the Dreadnoughts’ attack. In Paris, a deranged Doug Johnson, identifying as Detroit Steel, secured a path back to the United States. Tony provided the data on the Iron Man armor to the Feds. Tony was forced to wear a governing device on his Repulsor Unit that would allow Babbage and Justine Hammer control when Tony could be Iron Man and be able to deactivate the armor. Iron Man fought Whirlwind, but Iron Man was deactivated during the fight, and Whirlwind was able to escape. Melter attacked Downtown Los Angeles. War Machine fought him, and Whirlwind and Living Laser joined the fight. Tony discovered he could not remove the governing device after it was attached to his Repulsor Unit. Tony and Rhodey faked Rhodey’s death as part of Tony’s plan to fight back against the Mandarin.

            Iron Man fought Firebrand and Crimson Dynamo, but Iron Man was deactivated and Sasha Hammer and the Detroit Steel Corps were allowed to finish the fight. Tony told Steve Rogers/Captain America and Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel that Tony was taking a leave of absence from the Avengers. Stane’s Dreadnoughts failed, much to the Mandarin’s displeasure. The Mandarin’s mole in Stark Resilient Leonard Pimacher/Spymaster violently attacked Stark Resilient employee Tim Cababa. Tony informed Babbage he would no longer be Iron Man and purged himself of the Iron Man armor. Stane removed the Mandarin’s bomb from Stane’s body. Spymaster attacked Stark Resilient employee Carson Wyche, but Cabe and Stark Resilient secretary Bambi Arbogast came to Wyche’s rescue. Firepower attacked internation waters near Somalia, and Rhodey arrived as the new Iron Man arrived to defeat Firepower. Tony publicly announced that he was no longer Iron Man. Johnson/Detroit Steel attacked Sasha Hammer and abducted her. Stane attacked Mandarin, furious that the Mandarin had been manipulating Stane, but Stane was easily stopped by the Mandarin. Cababa and Spymaster were taken to Seatle Medical Center to treat their injuries. Johnson brought Sasha to Hammer Industries, demanding a trade of her life for his old armor. Justine agreed, planning to detonate the armor as soon as Johnson climbed into it. Spymaster attacked the police in the hospital, and the police put Spymaster down for good. Tony removed himself from Stark Resilient. Iron Man and Rescue saved Tony from an attempt on Tony’s life. Johnson had overwritten Justine’s programming of the Detroit Steel and Johnson attacked the Hammer girls. Sasha fought back and ended Johnson. Tony discovered that the Mandarin was in Tony’s head and could control Tony.

            Tony went to Mandarin City in China to work for the Mandarin. Resilient announced their plan to launch their new product, the Swarm. Rescue teamed up with the new Iron Man to defeat Vibro. Tony worked with a mentally damaged Zeke Stane on Mandarin’s Dreadnoughts. Justine Hammer took Babbage off the board. Tony and Melter got in a fight in Mandarin City Mess Hall. Mandarin attempted to detonate Melter’s implant, but Tony saved Melter, much to Mandarin’s displeasure. Tony gave Mandarin a list of needs for building the Dreadnoughts. Mandarin sent the villains out to get the items, who came into conflict with Iron Man and Rescue. Tony operated on Stane to restore his cognitive functions. Mandarin revealed to Tony that the rings were living aliens and Mandarin planned to implant the aliens in the Dreadnoughts. Rescue fought the new Iron Man and deduced that Iron Man was Rhodey. Mandarin began implanting the aliens in the Dreadnoughts. Tony tried to incite the supervillains to fight against Mandarin. Pepper began to believe the J.A.R.V.I.S. AI in Pepper’s armor was compromised. When Pepper and Wyche tried to fix J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI attacked Pepper and Wyche. Tony built a new Iron Man armor in secret. Rhodey/Iron Man came to Pepper and Wyche’s rescue. The Resilient employees used the Swarm to locate Tony. Justine Hammer, now in Babbage’s position, refused to send aid to Tony. Iron Man, Blizzard, Living Laser, Whirlwind, and Stane united against Mandarin. Pepper turned to Triumph Division and the Dynasty to rescue Tony. Mandarin revealed he planned to destroy the Earth. Pepper destroyed the Rescue armor and the J.A.R.V.I.S. AI. Iron Man and his allies had a final battle with Mandarin and the Dreadnoughts for the fate of the world. Tony took heat from S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Maria Hill. Tony planned what Tony wanted to do for his future.

            Okay, now we have the plot synopsis out of the way, let’s move on to my individual segments. So, as I always do in my reviews, I’m going to start with my own personal opinions on the book. I will say that I really enjoyed the stories. The running plotlines were really entertaining to me. I liked how the whole book focused on the Mandarin and his machinations against Tony/Iron Man. Some of the reveals were really great. The Mandarin being in Stane and Tony’s heads, the rings being living aliens, the identity of the mole in Stark Resilient, Cabe being the leak on the picture of Pepper crying in armor in her office, Johnson having survived being turned to stone, there were some really good plot twists and surprises in this book. The gaggle of villains added to the entertainment value, with so many great foes for Tony, Rhodey and Pepper to fight. The whole back and forth between Tony and Mandarin was exciting, with each making their moves, including Rhodey faking his death. Stane’s arc was interesting, going from being a villain to ally and his part in the final battle with the Mandarin and the conclusion of Stane’s story. The Hammer girls were entertaining antagonists as well, and the Detroit Steel story was enjoyable to read. Overall, I found this to be a fun, exciting, intriguing read. However, this is a graphic novel, and I will say that the graphics were not enjoyable for me. Some of my regular readers may recall my grievances with Salvador Larroca, I’ve brought him up several times in other reviews. This whole book was illustrated by him, and I just did not like the work he did on this book. I don’t like the way Larroca draws faces, so looking at the artwork detracted from the entertainment of the experience of consuming this book. I would like to share my opinion on the title as well. This collection contains eighteen issues, making three story arcs, each issue having its own subtitle, so technically, there were twenty-one choices for a title for this collection. “The Future” was one of the storylines, lasting for seven issues, and it was the longest storyline in the collection. As far as choices for titles go, I feel like this was a good pick. We’re also going to talk about the cover. It shows Iron Man flying. It’s simple, yet it’s still perfect. Was it the only cover that could work for this collection? No. But it still works as a representation for this book, and it does deliver on its promise, so I feel like it’s totally appropriate for this book. This book was an entertaining read, and I feel like it delivered on what it advertised, but the artwork was difficult to enjoy.

            Next up, we’re going to discuss accessibility. Now, even though I’ve gone over this over seven dozen times before, I know there are always those new people who have never read a Tim Cubbin review before and don’t know what I mean when I say accessibility when I apply it to media, so I shall have to explain it once again. If you already know what I’m about to say, please bear with me while I explain to the newbs. So, I’m asking if this book is accessible, and I’m asking if a person who had never heard of Iron Man before can obtain this book, read it, and understand everything they have just read based solely on the content in this book alone. I will say that answer is no. This volume is marketed as Vol. 6. This volume continues directly where the last story left off, and builds on stories collected in the three previous volumes of the series. However, this volume only contains issues from one series and does not tie into any events or crossover into any other storylines, so the story is self-contained to this volume. Following this series’ previous three volumes requires a requisite knowledge of the Marvel Universe from the time-period, so this series is not a beginner’s series. If you are looking into starting to read Marvel Comics, I would not only say that this volume is not a good place to start, but I would also say starting at Vol. 3 and reading through to this point probably isn’t the best place for Marvel beginners.

            Next up on our list of topics to discuss, we’ve gotten to my numeric score. My scoring system is extremely basic and simple to understand. I score on a scale of exact whole numbers ranging from one through ten. One is the lowest score I can give, and that means that this book is so horrible it should be avoided at all costs. Ten, however, is my highest score, reserved only for absolute perfection, and I do not give out a lot of those, but that means it’s one of the best things I’ve ever read and if you get me started talking about it, I will not stop for several hours. When I score a graphic novel, I’m scoring the quality of the story and the artwork, and the appropriateness of the title and cover. I will say that I thought the story was fantastic, but it wasn’t absolutely perfect and if this weren’t a graphic novel, it wouldn’t get a ten. The art was very much to my displeasure. The title was a good choice, and the cover was adequate. So, combining all these factors together, mixing everything up thoroughly, the score we’re looking at is… a six! Despite loving the story, I had to deduct points for the artwork, but the title and cover were just fine and did not require any point deductions.

            Next up is my recommendation segment. This segment has two foci: to tell you if I give this book the Tim Cubbin seal of approval and would personally recommend and tell you to read this book; and regardless of if I condone this book or not, who do I think the best audience for this book would be, based on the characteristics of the book itself and topics readers enjoy, and not based on fans of Iron Man, Marvel Comics, or fans of the creative team? To address the first topic, I would very much recommend this book to you, my readers. If you’re reading this review and are now interested in reading this graphic novel based solely on the words you’ve spent the past few minutes reading, I would tell you to get your hands on this book as soon as you can and read it, head to your favorite bookstore, comic shop, online retailer, local library, or see if any of your friends have this, and hopefully you enjoy reading it. As for whom I believe a good audience would be, I feel people who enjoy stories about people recovering from addiction, or people who are actually doing so themselves, could find Tony’s predicament sympathetic or even relatable. People who enjoy stories about technology would enjoy this book. And people who enjoy stories about industrial espionage could find this book enjoyable.

            Well, I think we’re getting to the point where we’re getting ready to wrap things up. There are some more things I need to discuss before I log off. I’ve been working on this blog for almost six years at the present. I’ve compiled over 190 posts, including short stories, poems, essays, articles, editorials, and over seven dozen reviews, so if you liked this post, feel free to keep browsing timcubbin.blogspot.com for plenty more content. I’ve reviewed prose novels, comic events, manga, and over seven dozen other graphic novels just like this one. The current main focus of this blog is reviewing Marvel Modern Era Epic Collections and Ultimate Epic Collections. If you enjoyed this particular review and have some free time, you’re invited to check out my reviews of “Iron Man: World’s Most Wanted” “Iron Man: Stark Disassembled” and “Iron Man: The New Iron Age” for more Iron Man content. I purchase every Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection and Ultimate Epic Collection as soon as I can after it is released and try to post a review if possible, so I post on a rather frequent basis. My next review is going to be “Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel” which should be up in the next two months following the date of this posting, so if you want to see more of my new content, keep checking back for it. If you have anything to say about this post, feel free to leave a comment, and please follow, like, share, retweet, spread the word to your friends, interact with me and get the word out. I would love to hear from you, my readers. Everything posted inside of these posts is all just my opinion. I welcome you all to feel differently than me on anything and to call me out on it if you do, or if you agree with me and want me to know, please let me. I value you guys and want to know what I can do to improve this blog for all of you, and I can’t do that unless you let me know. I hope you come back for more of my work, and if you read all the way to this point, you are THE BEST! Please keep coming back for more, I will be doing this blog for as long as I can, so you can expect that to be for quite a while. Thank you so much for reading. All I have to say for now is until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Deadpool: X X Baby"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Deadpool: X X Baby” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Norman Osborn swindled Wade Wilson/Deadpool out of a large amount of money. When Deadpool tried to collect, Osborn sent his covert strike force, the Thunderbolts after him. After Deadpool defeated the Thunderbolts, Osborn sent the Dark Avenger Hawkeye (really the assassin Bullseye in disguise) to take Deadpool out. Bullseye failed. Rather than return to Osborn with the news that Bullseye was defeated, Bullseye chose to pay Deadpool the money that Osborn owed him.

            Using some of the money he came into, Deadpool bought a boat in Vladivostok, Russia. Deadpool called his friend Bob, agent of Hydra to be a pirate with Deadpool. Deadpool planned to rob the luxury resort island Jallarka. After six weeks at sea, Deadpool and Bob finally arrived on Jallarka and met the island’s blind tour guide Kalani. Jallarka was suddenly under attack by pirates led by a man known (not by himself) as Captain Wackbeard. Deadpool agreed to defend Jallarka if Kalani joined Deadpool’s crew. Kalani agreed to Deadpool’s proposition. Wackbeard and his crew boarded Deadpool’s ship while Deadpool and crew were off of it. Deadpool climbed back aboard Deadpool’s ship and faced off against Wackbeard and crew, and while Deadpool was able to reclaim Deadpool’s ship, Deadpool was defeated by Wackbeard. Deadpool and crew then took to the seas to defeat Wackbeard, and Deadpool realized that being a pirate really wasn’t his ambition in life.

            After faking being sick and adrift at sea to board a cruise ship, Deadpool was thrown off the ship after being described as the most wanted and hated man on the planet, after seemingly selling out Earth to the Skrull’s during the Secret Invasion. Deadpool found himself in San Francisco, where he saw the X-Men on TV. X-Men leader Scott Summers/Cyclops spoke out against Norman Osborn, and Deadpool decided that Deadpool wanted to join the X-Men, despite not being a true mutant. Upon arriving at Utopia, Cyclops told Deadpool no. Ellis Kincaid, father of X-Men trainee Cessily Kincaid/Mercury, believed the X-Men were holding Mercury against Mercury’s will, and wanted to free Kincaid’s daughter from the X-Men. Cyclops decided it was not safe to have Deadpool unsupervised and sent Neena Thurman/Domino to be his chaperone and an offer of probationary status on the team. Deadpool decided the best way to ingratiate himself with Cyclops would be to get the X-Men out of their legal trouble with Kincaid by putting Kincaid out of the picture permanently. Kincaid made a television appearance, and Deadpool came to take him out. Domino protected Kincaid from afar, then brought Deadpool out for a drink, where she drugged him and tied him up to wait for the X-Men. Domino overheard part of a conversation between Cyclops and James Howlett/Logan/Wolverine talking about getting Deadpool out of the picture, and mistakenly assumed the worst, but Cyclops’ actual plan was to take Deadpool on a “special mission” to China and ditch him, and Domino allowed Deadpool to escape before Wolverine could get to Deadpool. Kincaid turned to Norman Osborn for protection. Osborn pretended to be offering it but secretly was willing to let Deadpool eliminate Kincaid because this act made the X-Men look bad. Two of Osborn’s H.A.M.M.E.R. agents acted as Kincaid’s escorts. Deadpool went after Kincaid, but Wolverine and Domino came to Kincaid’s rescue. The X-Men then had to stop Deadpool and save Kincaid and look good to the public. After losing X-Men probationary status, Deadpool headed for New York.

            Peter Parker/Spider-Man came upon the scene of an accomplished hit. Spider-Man immediately believed Deadpool to be the assassin, but Deadpool had an alibi. Spider-Man reluctantly agreed to let Deadpool see the crime scene and try to get to the bottom of the assassination. Deadpool recognized the crime scene as being the work of Hit-Monkey, an assassin who was an actual monkey who killed other killers… and Deadpool was on Hit-Monkey’s list. Spider-Man didn’t believe in the existence of Hit-Monkey at first, until at the scene of Hit-Monkey’s next crime scene, and monkey paw print was left behind. Spider-Man went looking for Deadpool and Hit-Monkey followed. Following a shoot-out, Spider-Man took a bullet to the shoulder. Spider-Man brought Deadpool to the Fantastic Four for convalescence, but the heroes turned Deadpool away. Needing to make a change of costume, Spider-Man brought Deadpool to Peter Parker’s apartment. While Spider-Man wasn’t looking, Deadpool stole the Spider-Man costume with the bullet hole in it. Deadpool then used the costume to fake Spider-Man’s death. At Spider-Man’s funeral, Hit-Monkey made an appearance. Deadpool hopped out of the casket, and Spider-Man and Deadpool teamed up to fight Hit-Monkey. Following the fight, Deadpool was taken into custody, but Spider-Man helped Deadpool escape from jail.

            While on the road in rural North Georgia, the bus Deadpool was traveling on was the target of a robbery. Deadpool was defeated by a man with electrical powers calling himself White Lightnin’. Deadpool found a police walkie-talkie at the crime scene and deduced the robbery had been conducted by a pair of cops. Deadpool went to the local police department, where an officer named Darlene pointed Deadpool to Sheriff Dale’s moonshine still, where the sheriff and his nephew Clovis Maines/White Lightnin’ operated out of, encouraging Deadpool to permanently put a stop to the crooked cop’s operation. Deadpool went to the still to combat Dale and White Lightnin’ again.  However, Dale wasn’t the only crooked cop.

            Deadpool found his way to Las Vegas. Upon arriving, Deadpool was slandered on television by club owner Lonzo Toutolos. In revenge for the defamation, Deadpool blew up the club. Deadpool then went to a casino, where he started to win games. The casino owner wouldn’t have that and sent his armored soldier the House after Deadpool. The House fought and defeated Deadpool. After detaining Deadpool, the House revealed himself to be Deadpool’s old ally Jack Hammer/Weasel. Deadpool propositioned an alliance with Weasel, and Deadpool took on the ironed mantle of Wildcard. The House and Wildcard protected Las Vegas from a robbery by supervillain Grizzly, but Wildcard became the most popular superhero in Las Vegas. Deadpool revealed his dual identity as Wildcard to the House’s bosses, forcing them into letting him keep the armor. Weasel felt jealous of Wildcard’s popularity over the House as the hero of Las Vegas. Deadpool suggested Deadpool and Weasel switch identities so Weasel could be the more popular hero. Weasel agreed to the switch. However, Deadpool secretly formed a partnership with Grizzly. Grizzly struck at the counting room of another casino to commit robbery, and the House and Wildcard battled Grizzly. The House then helped Grizzly escape with the money, having Weasel publicly dubbed a criminal. The House and Grizzly committed another robbery, but Wildcard stopped it. Deadpool allowed Weasel to escape, but since Deadpool had revealed Deadpool’s identity as Wildcard to the casino owners, Deadpool was consigned to be the Chief of Security for the casinos, and that Deadpool now had a job.

            Deadpool quit his job and found himself the target of Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, who wished to punish Deadpool for the sins Wade Wilson committed over the years.

            Deadpool found himself in a team up with Steve Rogers, Natalia Romanova/Black Widow, and Marc Spector/Moon Knight against a terrorist. Rogers offered a continued alliance. Rogers, Widow and Moon Knight had all been cloned by the evil Doctor Bong, and Rogers wanted Deadpool to help Rogers’ team stop Doctor Bong and Bong’s cloning operation. However, during the mission into Bong’s laboratory, Rogers and Deadpool got into a fight. Moon Knight came to Rogers’ aid. Bong detonated the lab, attempting to destroy the heroes, and escaped. Rogers, Deadpool and Moon Knight also all managed to escape. Bong then disguised his soldiers as Deadpool when Rogers, Black Widow, Moon Knight, and the real Deadpool came to try to apprehend the evil Doctor.

            Deadpool was approached by vampires, led by Colvin. The opposing vampire Claw Sect had been provided with amulets that allowed them to walk in the light of day, and Mercy General Hospital, the hospital Colvin was the director of, needed protection for the daytime, so Colvin wished to hire Deadpool. Human Doctor Matsuzaki found herself targeted by vampires. Deadpool became smitten with Matsuzaki and fought to protect her, and the rest of Mercy General Hospital, from the invasion of the Claw Sect.

            A blinded Deadpool fought against a faction of terrorists in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, in the United Arab Emirates.

            Okay, we have the plot synopses out of the way, it’s time to focus on my individual segments of the review. As always, we’re going to start with my own personal opinions about the book. I will say that I found this book to be highly enjoyable. I had a fun time reading it. I liked Deadpool as a pirate. I thought it was funny how Deadpool didn’t make Bob first mate, Deadpool made Bob be a parrot. And it was an interesting idea to have a blind tour guide. I enjoyed Deadpool trying to join the X-Men, particularly Cyclops’ response. I liked how Osborn played his game to manipulate public opinion against the X-Men by using both Kincaid and Deadpool as puppets, I thought it was brilliant writing. Spider-Man/Deadpool team ups are usually entertaining, and I feel like the one in this book definitely was. I loved Hit-Monkey, I thought he was a unique threat, you don’t usually see superheroes fight animals like this one. The dirty cops issue had twists I did not see coming and I thought that it was well written. I enjoyed reading Deadpool becoming the hero of Las Vegas, and I was shocked when Deadpool pulled a double-cross on Weasel and teamed up with Grizzly, then screwed them both over, but I guess that’s just typical Deadpool. And I was amused how he backed himself into a corner there and wound up with a job. Deadpool’s encounter with Ghost Rider was an interesting one to me, especially the outcome of Ghost Rider’s Penance Stare. I was surprised when Steve Rogers actually asked Deadpool for a team up, and I thought their mission was an exciting read. I loved the concept of vampires secretly running a hospital, and the Claw Sect were an interesting group of vampires. I also love how Deadpool calls every vampire a Dracula. Finally, Deadpool’s Pool-o-Vision did not work like Daredevil’s radar sense, but it made for a difficult handicap for Deadpool to work with, and he did it well. While I found the stories to be amusing and entertaining in general, some of the jokes, to me, just weren’t funny. I’m not saying it was because they were offensive or inappropriate, I just didn’t think they were anything that invoked humor in me. I also felt like Deadpool’s warped way of thinking wasn’t always likeable at times, particularly his fixation on killing Ellis Kincaid. Moving on, we’re going to discuss the art. I did not particularly enjoy the work of Shawn Crystal, Tan Eng Huat, or Philip Bond. However, I loved the work by Paco Medina, Carlo Barberi, and Bond Dazo, whom I feel did phenomenal work. The next thing I’d like to talk about is the title. In general, an Epic Collection is titled after an issue or storyline title. “X, X! Baby!!” was a caption on one of the covers, rather than a title. I found this to be an exceptionally odd choice. There were plenty of titles that the editors could have chosen from for this Collection, and they chose to disregard all these choices in favor of a quote on a cover and remove the punctuation marks. I feel like a few of the titles of storylines would have worked as titles for the Collection, such as “Want You to Want Me,” “Tricky,” or “I’m Your Man.” “Want You to Want Me” was the longest story arc in the book and the one to feature the Collection’s titular caption on the cover of one issue, so I’ll settle on “X X Baby” being an adequate title for this volume. As for the cover of this volume, it features Deadpool in his X-Men uniform in front of the cover of “Giant-Size X-Men” #1. This issue was the debut of a new team of X-Men, and I feel like the significance of that issue does not match the significance of the story of Deadpool trying to join the X-Men. Also, this cover is an edited version of the cover of “Deadpool” #17, and I feel like if the editors had used the original cover, which features Domino and Emma Frost next to Deadpool, it would be a better representation of the actual story in these issues. That said, this book was an entertaining read and a fun experience and in general, I enjoyed my time consuming it.

            Next up on the docket of topics we need to cover is accessibility. Now, if you’ve never been to one of the seven dozen or so other times, I’ve already explained my meaning of using the word “accessibility” in application to a graphic novel, you may not know what I’m trying to say. So, if you’re a newb to a Tim Cubbin review, allow me to explain, and if you’ve been to one of my seven dozen or so other reviews, please bear with me while I go over it once again. When I say “accessibility,” I mean can a person who has never heard of Deadpool or read a Marvel Comic before obtaining this Collection, then read the story, and understand everything they have just read based solely on the material contained in just this book and this book alone? I would say that the answer is a relative yes. This Collection really doesn’t rely on outside knowledge. While this is marketed as Vol. 2, and it does directly continue from where the previous volume left off, the storyline is a fresh start, and I feel like not having read the previous volume is too detrimental to understanding this particular volume. All the issues in this Collection come from one series. There are no events occurring during this Collection and there are no tie in issues or crossovers. As such, I feel like this book has a relatively high accessibility rating. If you’ve never read a Marvel Comic before and are looking into starting, this volume is not a terrible place to jump on at.

            We’ve now come to the point where I give my numeric score. My scores are done on an extremely simple system. I score on a scale of exact whole numbers ranging from one through ten. One is the lowest score I can give, and that means that reading this book was so bad, I wish I could go back in time and erase the period of consuming this book from my memory to never have experienced this absolute abomination of literature and art. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if I score a book at a ten, that signifies sheer perfection, and the time I spent reading this book were some of the best hours of my life and when I have reason to reexperience this book, I will be in absolute bliss. When I score a book, I focus on four things: if the story was completely enjoyable; if the art was consistently visually appealing; if the title was an accurate description of the contents within; and if the cover properly delivered on the promise of what it showed and adequately represents the book. So, after careful consideration, taking into account that we have: a story that was enjoyable, yet had a lack of amusement where humor was expected; art that was, for the most part, enjoyable; a title that was questionably adequate; and a cover that didn’t quite match its significance, when I give this book a score, we’re looking at… seven! It was a decent read, but it had visual flaws, and the title and cover didn’t quite live up to the essence of the book’s content.

            Continuing forward, we have my recommendation segment. This segment handles two separate questions. The first question I answer is, do I, Tim Cubbin, personally recommend this book to you, my readers? The second question is regardless of the first question, beyond the obvious answer of fans of Deadpool, Marvel Comics, or the creative team, who are the fans of particular genres, characteristics, or styles of literature that would find this book most appealing? The answer of my first question is a resounding yes. If you’re reading this review right now and based solely on the words you’ve spent the past few minutes reading you want to read this book, I’ll tell you to hop onto your favorite online retailer, or check out your favorite book store, local comic book shop, or public library, or hit up some friends who are into Marvel, and try to find a copy of this book. As for who should be reading this book, I’d say readers who enjoy stories about mercenaries would enjoy this, fans of pirates might enjoy it, people who enjoy vampire stories could find this entertaining, and people who like literature with crude jokes might find something amusing with this book.

            Okay, we’re at the point where I’m just about ready to wrap everything up. I’ve been at this for several hours now and I need to move on with my life. Before I go, there are a few final things that do need to be said. I’ve been doing this blog for almost six years now. In that time, I have posted over 190 times. If you enjoyed reading this post, check out timcubbin.blogspot.com for more content from me. If you go way back, you’ll find I’ve written short stories, poems, essays, articles, and editorials. I’ve also written over seven dozen other reviews of Epic Collections just like this one. I’ve also reviewed some prose novels, comic book events, and manga as well. Right now, the primary focus of From the Mind of One Tim Cubbin is to review Marvel Modern Era Epic Collections and Ultimate Epic Collections. I purchase every one of them as soon as I can after it is released and if possible, put up a review as soon as I can after I finish reading it. If you liked this review, there are similar reviews you might like. Search for “Deadpool: Magnum Opus” “Deadpool: In Wade We Trust” “Deadpool & Cable: Ballistic Bromance” “Spider-Man/Deadpool: Isn’t it Bromantic?” “Spider-Man/Deadpool: ‘Til Death Do Us” and “Spider-Man/Deadpool: Road Trip” for more Deadpool content if you have some more free time to spare. You can also keep checking back for more upcoming posts. I post on a very frequent basis. My next review will be “Iron Man: The Future” and you can expect to see that within the next four weeks. That is a rough estimate, it will most likely be sooner than that, I just have to give a wide timeframe, so I don’t give false hope. But definitely keep checking back for it, because it will be up soon. If you liked this post, feel free to follow me. Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you. Interact with me on whatever platform you found this post on. I’d totally love to hear from you guys, my readers, I’d totally value your opinions. Everything said by me on this blog is my opinion and I don’t expect anyone to agree with me on what I say, and if you have read this book and feel differently about it, please let it be known to me, I’d like to know what you think of this book. That’s really all I have to say for now. I’ll be back soon, but until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Ultimate Fantastic Four: Frightful"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Ultimate Fantastic Four: Frightful” as presented in Marvel Ultimate Epic Collection format.

            Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/Thing were altered in a teleportation malfunction and became the Fantastic Four. After their public outing, the team were returning to their home, the government think tank the Baxter Building, by helicopter with military escort. As their helicopter approached the Baxter Building, it was hit by an electromagnetic pulse. The Fantastic Four softened the helicopter’s crash landing into the Baxter Building roof. Upon disembarking, the Fantastic Four and their military escort discovered several identification cards belonging to Baxter Building staff scattered on the roof, including Franklin Storm’s, Sue, and Johnny’s father. As the Fantastic Four and their military escort entered the laboratory levels, they received a taunting message from Rhona Burchill, the setter of the trap. Rhona had been a Baxter Building applicant but had been denied admission due to Reed’s acceptance in the think tank. Upon discovering the Baxter Building staff tied up, the Fantastic Four and their military escort were incapacitated by Rhona’s robotic servant, Bobby. Rhona projected her life into Reed’s brain using a serum Rhona devised. Rhona started an auction on the Fantastic Four, selling them to Latveria. As Rhona attempted to load the Fantastic Four for transport, Reed was able to revive. Reed also revived the other members of the Fantastic Four. Realizing she was beaten, Rhona managed to escape, threatening revenge on Reed. Later, Reed received a distress message from a Reed Richards from a parallel universe.

            Crystal, princess of an advanced sect of humans living in a refuge called Attilan hidden in the Himalayas, fled to New York City, displeased at her impending arranged marriage to Maximus, brother of Black Bolt, king of the civilization. As the royal guards attempted to bring Crystal back to Attilan, Johnny attempted to come to her rescue and fought the guards but was beaten. Johnny and Crystal were saved by Crystal’s teleporting dog Lockjaw. After retreating to the Baxter Building, Crystal explained her situation to the Fantastic Four. Crystal was snatched away and brought back to Attilan, where she was scolded by her sister Medusa, the Queen. The Fantastic Four used Lockjaw to teleport to Attilan. The Fantastic Four were discovered and fought the civilization and the royal family. Feeling their refuge had been tainted by the Fantastic Four’s presence and the violence they brought, Black Bolt destroyed Attilan, and the civilization left to live in a new place where they would remain undiscovered by the human race.

            The Fantastic Four stopped a group of Chrono-Bandits from committing a time crime that would have eliminated the human race. Upon returning to the Baxter Building, Professor Storm tried to remind Reed that he was a scientist foremost and not a superhero. With the help of the Reed Richards from the parallel universe, Reed was able to build an interdimensional teleporter. Reed teleported to the other Reed Richards’ universe, only to discover he had been deceived. This universe had been overrun with a zombie plague, and zombie Reed Richards had used Reed to find a way for the zombies to find more food. As Reed tried to escape from the infected superheroes of this world, he was rescued by Magneto, who had not been infected, and who was protecting a small group of survivors who had not been affected by the plague. The zombified versions of the Fantastic Four used the teleporter to reach Reed’s uninfected world. The uninfected Fantastic Four contained the zombified Fantastic Four, then used Reed’s teleporter to travel to the infected world to save Reed. The Fantastic Four and the survivors used the teleporter to travel to the uninfected world, but Magneto stayed behind to destroy the teleporter to ensure the infection could not spread further. Upon returning to the Baxter Building, Sue and Johnny were reunited with their mother, whom they had been told died in a car crash fifteen years earlier.

                        Doctor Mary Storm had faked her death and abandoned her family to lead a scientific exploration into the lost continent of Atlantis. Doctor Storm had successfully discovered Atlantis and had come to Sue to ask for the Fantastic Four’s help in reaching a depth Doctor Storm’s team was unable to reach. Sue agreed to help, but Sue told her mother that after this, Sue never wished to see her mother again. While diving in Atlantis, Reed, Sue, and Ben discovered what Doctor Storm’s research believed to be the tomb of Namor, the King of Atlantis. Namor was awakened, and in his surprise, came into conflict with the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four were able to subdue and restrain Namor. Namor offered to reveal the secrets of the advanced sciences of Atlantis, provided Namor gave them to Sue. Sue agreed, much to Reed’s jealousy. Doctor Storm asked Reed for Reed’s help in translating the Atlantean carvings from around Namor’s tomb. Sue and Namor took a trip through New York City. Namor attempted to put the moves on Sue, and when Sue rejected Namor, Namor attacked Sue. Reed translated the carvings and uncovered that what the Fantastic Four found Namor in was not a tomb, it was, in fact, a prison. Johnny and Ben tried to come to Sue’s rescue, but Namor overpowered Johnny and Ben. Reed arrived in his Fantastic Oh-Five, a robot with the combined powers of the Fantastic Four, but even that was not enough to defeat Namor. Reed used a helmet that converted Reed’s thoughts into three-dimensional constructs, but the power it required was too costly, and the device was shut off. The Fantastic Four were able to overpower Namor, but in defeat, Namor summoned a water monster. Sue was forced to give into Namor’s demands in order to make Namor retreat. Doctor Storm left to meet with the new owner of the company that provided funding for Doctor Storm’s work, Victor Van Damme/Doctor Doom.

            Reed traveled to the past to the day of the teleportation accident that gave the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom their powers. Reed found the Fantastic Four were intent on making sure the teleportation accident didn’t occur, a decision that surprised Reed. Back in the present, Johnny was celebrating his birthday. Johnny played a prank on Ben that made Ben a laughingstock at the party. The Fantastic Four realized how much the transformation into the Thing upset Ben, and as Reed had been unable to cure Ben, the Fantastic Four concluded the only way to fix Ben would be to ensure the teleportation accident never occurred. The Fantastic Four enacted this plan, and the world changed. The Skrulls had provided the human race with a drug that gave them superpowers, and everyone on the planet except Ben Grimm took them. Thor was president of the United States of America, and Reed Richards was vice president. The Super-Skrull was making a visit to Earth to meet with President Thor. However, the Skrulls were secretly not benevolent and used this same tactic to assimilate technology and resources from races of planets before eliminating them. Sue found this out, and the Super-Skrull eliminated her. The Skrulls used the drug to eliminate the entire human race, save for the one human being who hadn’t taken it: Ben Grimm. Ben fought the Super-Skrull, then had to use time travel technology to prevent the Fantastic Four from averting the teleportation accident. With the world back how it was supposed to be, Ben was again depressed… until he met a blind woman named Alica Masters, who was not put off by Ben’s outward appearance as the Thing.

            While on a double date with Ben and Alicia, Johnny fell ill. Reed, refusing to destroy the zombie Fantastic Four, continued working on finding a way to return the zombie Fantastic Four to the infected universe after discovering in ten days’ time, inter-dimensional transference between the two universes would not be possible for another fifty billion years. The Fantastic Four discovered Johnny had an alien incubating inside him that would be potentially devastating to every living thing on Earth, and that the alien would hatch in seven days. The military planned to exile Johnny to the N-Zone to protect all life on Earth. With no one else to turn to, Reed, Sue, and Ben went to Latveria to see Doctor Doom to ask for his assistance. The zombie Fantastic Four escaped captivity, and the top half of the Baxter Building was sealed to contain them. Doctor Doom agreed to help Reed get rid of the alien in Johnny, provided Reed allow Doctor Doom to secretly swap bodies with Reed. Seeing no other option, Reed agreed. Doctor Doom in Reed’s body, Ben, Sue, and Reed in Doctor Doom’s body returned to the Baxter Building. The zombie Fantastic Four planned to use Reed’s teleporter to bring the zombies of the infected world to an uninfected world. Doctor Doom in Reed’s body used a spell in an attempt to banish the alien in Johnny to the N-Zone but instead summoned it to Earth. The alien needed a human host, and Reed in Doctor Doom’s body had to find a way to get rid of the alien, stop the zombie invasion, and return to Reed’s body.

            Okay, now that we’ve got the plot summary out of the way, let’s move on to the individualized segments of my review. We’ll start off with, as we always do, my own individual input on the graphic novel. I will say that I found this book to be relatively enjoyable. I found the portrayal of the Baxter Building as a government sponsored think tank to be an interesting concept. I enjoyed the Ultimate introductions of the beings who are otherwise known as the Inhumans, and of Namor. I thought the zombie story arcs were well executed, and I liked how Magneto was forced into the position of a protector of humans. I actually found myself enjoying the return of Doctor Storm into Sue and Johnny’s lives, she was just a character I loved to hate, and the helmet scene with her was hysterical. I enjoyed seeing a world where everyone had superpowers and how the one normal person who didn’t subscribe to the Skrulls’ miracle drug had to save the whole human race. I loved seeing how far Reed was willing to go for his friends Ben and Johnny, both to try to find a way to cure Ben of being the Thing, and of saving Johnny from the alien. Changing history and swapping bodies with your worst enemy shows the signs of a truly devoted friend. That said, I honestly didn’t feel like these stories really stood out. To me, they just weren’t anything super special or spectacular. I liked these stories, but I just wasn’t totally wowed or blown away by them. Also, Thor should not legally be able to be president of the United States of America, according to the Constitution since he was not born in the United States. I’m not even sure if he’s even legally an American citizen. Now, as this is a graphic novel, we have to focus on the art as well as the story. I will say that I did not enjoy Jae Lee’s work in this graphic novel. Visually, I don’t like the way Lee draws faces. I was a fan of Greg Land’s work on the rest of the graphic novel, though. Another thing I critique when I review a graphic novel is the title, how appropriate it is for the graphic novel as a whole. The potential given choices were “Think Tank,” “Crossover,” “Tomb of Namor,” “President Thor,” and “Frightful,” the latter four all being three issue story arcs and tied as the longest story arcs in the collection. Given these choices, I do feel like “Frightful” was the best possible choice as title for this collection. Finally, I’m going to talk about the cover. This collection’s cover features the Fantastic Four in the foreground, with Doctor Doom in the background, holding his hands up with strings coming from his fingers, attached to the Fantastic Four. I feel like this cover is trying to say that Doctor Doom is holding the Fantastic Four like puppets under his control. I also don’t feel like this truly happened in this collection, so I feel like this was not a good choice to use as a cover. I feel like there could be better choices for covers that would more accurately represent this collection and deliver on the promise given on the cover.

            Next up, we’re going to discuss accessibility. Now, I know some of you might not know what I mean when I apply the word “accessibility” to a book review, and some of you have been to at least one of my over seven dozen other reviews and already know what I mean by this, but I do have to explain it again. The question I’m posing is “how accessible is this book?” What I mean by this is, how well can a person who knows absolutely nothing about the Fantastic Four obtain this book, read it cover to cover, and understand everything as it is presented with no outside knowledge of the subject matter? I will say that this book is vaguely accessible. It’s marketed as Vol. 2, and it does begin exactly where Vol. 1 left off. It builds on a storyline that has already been constructed. However, this does have a sense of self-containment. It collects issues from one series only, and does not tie in to any events or storylines from other comic series from the time of release. It does feature characters from other series in supporting roles, but knowing their full histories is not imperative to understanding this particular volume. If you’re new to Marvel Comics and are looking for a place to start reading, I don’t recommend picking this as your first choice, but if you do read the previous volume first, this series is fully accessible.

            Moving on, I’m going to give this graphic novel a numeric score. I score media on a very basic scale, on exact whole numbers ranging from one through ten. If a book gets a score of a one, that means it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever read and that I regret every cent I spent on purchasing it and every second I spent reading it and wish I could take it all back. If, however, I score a book at a ten, that means that this is one of the best things I’ve ever read and spending the money on it was worth every cent and the time I spent reading it were some of the best hours of my life. I’m often a very tough critic. I don’t just give a book a ten unless it truly is perfection and there was nothing I can complain about. When I score a book, I’m considering if the story was thoroughly enjoyable, if the art was consistently visually appealing, if the title accurately describes the essence of the storylines, and if the cover is an accurate depiction of the content inside the book. So, based on all of these factors, mixing everything together and blending out a score, I’m ranking this book as… a six. The stories were not of the highest caliber, the art was for the main part visually pleasing, the title was adequate, but the cover did not deliver on its promise.

            Finally on our docket of topics to discuss is my recommendation segment. This segment always answers two separate questions. Question number one is, do I, Tim Cubbin, personally recommend this book to you, my readers? The second question is, regardless of if I would personally tell you to read this book or not, what qualities of a reader would find this book most appealing? To answer my first question, the answer is yes, I do recommend this book to you. If you’ve read this review and are now completely invested in reading this book based solely on the words you’ve just spent the past few minutes reading, I would tell you to go to your preferred online retailer, your favorite bookstore, your local comic book store, your public library, or try to mooch it off of a friend who loves Marvel. As for the type of reader who might like this, we’ll go beyond the obvious of fans of the Fantastic Four, Marvel, and the creative team, and I’ll say readers who enjoy zombie stories would like this, horror fans could find this enjoyable, and readers who enjoy stories about utopian societies becoming dystopias might find this book up their alley.

            Okay, we’re getting to the point where I’m about ready to wrap everything up. There are a few things I’d like to discuss before I hit post. The first is that I have been doing this blog for almost six years now. In that time, I have published over 190 posts. In the past, I have posted short stories, poetry, essays, articles, and editorials. There is plenty of other content on this blog, so if you ever have some more free time and are in the mood, please continue browsing timcubbin.blogspot.com for more of my work. I’ve reviewed prose novels, comic book events, and manga, as well as reviewing over seven dozen other Epic Collections. I collect every Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection and Ultimate Epic Collection as soon as I can after it is released, and if possible, put up a review as soon as I can after reading it. I post on a very frequent basis because of this. These two types of content are my main focus on his blog at the moment. If you liked this review and have time, feel free to check out my review of “Ultimate Fantastic Four: The Fantastic” for more Ultimate Fantastic Four content. My next review is going to be “Deadpool: X X Baby” you can expect that to be posted within the next two weeks following this review, so keep checking back for it. I’ll be doing this blog for as long as I possibly can, so you can expect this blog to keep coming for quite a while. That’s all I have to say for now. Until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!