MARVEL AT THE AMAZING COMIC REVIEWS BY STU! 5/31/17

Welcome to my weekly comic book oriented article here at Flipside Gaming.  Last week saw Ben Reilly continue his antics in Las Vegas and a reporter get on the wrong side of Steve Rogers. This week we get the 3rd chapter of Secret Empire and several more Secret Empire tie-ins featuring Sam Wilson returning as the Falcon.  So, without any further delay, here we go! Excelsior!

Reviews

Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #2

I think this series has the potential to fall off the tracks if it is not careful. What started out as a cross between Deadpool and Spider-Man is starting to fall apart. The book just does not feel fun. I think there is a lot potential and the team behind the book are very good. I think there is still a chance that this book can be a lot of fun if they can nail down the voice of Ben and where they want to the story to go.

Captain America: Steve Rogers #17

This was a cool story that played into the idea of censoring the media during a takeover by a hostile government. Sally Floyd returns to interview Steve Rogers and do everything she can to not mention Las Vegas. It shows how normal people are reacting to the “truth” of Hydra winning WW2. My favorite part of the story was a meeting between Magneto and Captain America. It explains how the mutants have their own section of the country and have not tried to fight back yet. I hope we get to see the mutants get involved in the end and go with their new status quo in the X-men books.

Infamous Iron Man #8

I know I have mentioned that the Iron Man books are moving slow, but if we continue to get such amazing character moments that we did here I might be ok with that. The Riri/Doom and Ultimate Reed Richards/Ben Grimm conversations were pretty great. I found it amusing that Riri was in disbelief the entire time that Doom had not laid any traps or planned on attacking her. In fact her whole reason there was to blast Doom into another mindset to see a future version of Tony Stark as the Sorcerer Supreme. That was a great twist that I am sure no one saw coming.

Venom #150

This was a great book, spanning from Lethal Protector to the new partnership between the symbiote and Eddie Brock. The renumbering is a reminder that Marvel is trying to get back to its roots much like DC is with Rebirth. The symbiote being its own character instead of a mindless parasite is a huge development from the time this book was last numbered #149. It is like a couple getting back together finally and being in love all over again. It should lead to some great moments going forward as they figure out what they want.

Previews

Deadpool #31

This book will tie into the Deadpool issue a few months ago where Agent Coulson had figured out that Steve Rogers planted a gun on some would be assassins. We also have Deadpool who trusts Steve without question so I think we will not only see a confrontation between the 2 characters, but also some heartbreak when Deadpool realizes what is going on.

Captain America: Sam Wilson #22

Sam Wilson is returning as the Falcon. He has gone underground to take the fight to Hydra and if there is one person who feels more betrayed then someone like Carol Danvers or Tony Stark, it is Sam Wilson. I think he has a bigger part to play in this story and we are going to see what he has been up to since Hydra took over and how he plans on fighting back.

Moon Knight #14

This is the book that everything has been leading to. I think Moon Knight is the perfect character to get the Netflix treatment and the past 13 books have shown why. We will see Marc Spector and his personalities take on Khonshu in a battle of the past, present, and future. I am exciting to see what happens and what it leads into.

Secret Empire #3

Everything is still going south for the heroes under the Secret Empire. The deep space attack is continuing and the heroes on the ground are taking a pounding. With the book getting an extra issue to push the total to 9, I think this is the last issue of build-up before we start moving into the middle portion of the story and start to see the heroes push back against Hydra and the stakes rise greatly.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to stop in any Flipside Gaming in East Greenbush to pick up or reserve your copies of these titles today!

 -Stu Somers

Stu is a former M:TG Pro Tour competitor and avid comic book fan. He wants to know what you think about his article, so leave a comment below or hit him up on twitter @Ssomers55.