Welcome to my weekly comic book oriented article here at Flipside Gaming. I am going to be reviewing the previous week’s best Marvel books and preview the coming week’s books that are the most intriguing in descending order. So, without any further delay, here we go! Excelsior!

 

REVIEWS

 

Amazing Spider Man #24:

 

So this issue was extremely “medium”, to borrow a term from Magic. I really wish event books, especially Marvel had a lot fewer tie-in issues and a lot more focus on the core series. As cool as it was to see a Spider-Man/Jackal fight, it just felt like this something that could have been done during the main storyline, almost as an alternate ending instead of an afterthought. I also have a feeling that we are going to see Ben Reilly become more like Kaine and be more of an Anti-Hero instead of a full on Hero like Peter.

 

Hulk #3:

This issue was really, really good. We get to watch someone who has suffered through traumatic event with Thanos and fight her way back, but with her thoughts and feelings and not with hulking out. We are 3 issues in and Jen has yet to go full She-Hulk. I like the slow burn and I think that once she does go Hulk, it is going to mean a lot and have a big impact on the story.

 

Infamous Iron Man #5:

This might be my favorite story going on right now aside from Uncanny Avengers. It has little to do with the new-look, heroic Victor Von Doom, but instead the relationship between Doom and Ben Grimm. Who would have thought with the proper Reed Richards and family out making a new universe that we would see Doom save The Things life from Doom’s mother? The reveal of the Ultimate Universe’s Reed Richards with Doom’s mother is only going to put more pressure on Doom’s heroic turn and it is going to be great to watch.

 Inhumans vs X-men #5:

  

This series is actually holding pretty steady to being a pretty solid story. You have the Karnak/Fantomex fight followed by Colossus and Gorgon going at it, to the standoff between Havok and Medusa. The other major development are the younger heroes on both sides focusing more on trying to save Mutants while the more established characters continue to just fight. This might tie into the upcoming “Generations” event coming up with Marvel so it will be interesting to see where the younger heroes are after the event.

 

Uncanny Avengers #20:

 

 Red Skull in Deadpool, Spider-Man, and Wong has been great to watch and the dialogue has been outstanding. I am also loving the pace of the issues and there is a lot more forward momentum than in some of the event stories are seeing recently. Who saw Wong of all people joining this crew to save the Unity Squad?! The quick moment between Sin and Deadpool was also hysterical but the moment that stole the show was the fastball special with Deadpool and Spider-man, cementing them as the best bromance in the Marvel Universe.

 

PREVIEWS

Avengers #5:

 

 I have enjoyed Kang War V far more than I think most people have. I view Kang as a very under-used villain throughout the Avengers history considering his history as Nathaniel Richards and what that means to the main Marvel 616 Universe. The Avengers have gone “scorched earth” against Kang and are looking to put an end to his rule once and forever. It will be interesting to see if they go through with it or they just find a way to contain him.

 

Clone Conspiracy Omega:

 

As “meh” as Amazing Spider Man #24 was, I think that this Omega issue will show a bit more of Spider-Man’s future. The first major villain to make the web-crawler feel the ramifications will be Rhino who just lost his wife Oksana for the second time and he is going to hold Peter responsible. We will see if this is a straight forward battle or perhaps the start of a face turn for the Rhino.

 

Doctor Strange #18:

 

I am not the biggest Doctor Strange fan since growing up he was not at the forefront of Marvel in the 1990s. That being said, I loved the Doctor Strange movie and I am very excited for his team up with Thor in Thor: Ragnorok. So imagine my delight that we get to see that early, although this Thor is named Jane Foster, but it should still be entertaining to watch regardless.
 

Monsters Unleashed #4:

I will say that I am enjoying that Monsters Unleashed is focusing on Elsa Bloodstone, a character who I knew very little about pre-Secret Wars. I am hoping that as disappointing last issue was, this one will have a bit more focus (and a lot more monsters fighting monsters) as we round the bend and hit the home stretch for Monsters Unleashed.

 

Moon Knight #12:

 

If there is one character I want to see in the MCU, it is Moon Knight. His mind is completely shattered and that would make for some very interesting and trippy television, but as Doctor Strange proved, people can definitely handle the weirder aspects of Marvel. As much as I want Marc to get things straightened out and start fighting some true villains, I am enjoying this ride through his multiple personalities.

 

 

 

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.