Posted by Richard Pulfer on Jan 29th, 2008
Professor X is dead.
Not incarcerated. Not possessed. And hopefully not a shapeshifter stand-in (though with Secret Invasion impending, I’m still not too sure.)
That’s the slam-bang ending of Messiah Complex, and to be quite honest, it is a little bit of a let-down. Though there’s some great moments herein, the whole thing is essentially Avengers Disassembled for X-Men, which is fine - though controversial at the time, Bendis’ Disassembled lead into the fan-favorite New Avengers. But Avengers Disassembled is also only four issues - compared to Messiah Complex’s thirteen!
If you’re going to compel comic book fans to pick up thirteen issues, don’t close with a tragic, down-beat ending that promises yet another storyline to resolve the lingering issues. That’s like ending Lord of the Ring: Return of the King with “To Be Continued.”
On to this week’s comics. There’s a Skrull on the cover of Avengers: The Intiative, but the solicitations give no mention of Secret Invasion. Is this going to be a marketing ploy for Marvel for weeks to come? Methinks so.
The new Captain America debuts in #34 with an Alex Ross cover. What can I say? Marvel’s tight-lipped on any details, but it’s a helluva an Alex Ross cover, so get out there and pick it up!
New Avengers Annual #1 does tie into Secret Invasion but doesn’t have a Skrull on the cover. I’m confused. However, what it does have is the Hood - the heir apparent to the Kingpin - leading an army of supervillains right to the new New Avenger’s doorstep. Now there’s something we do need to see more of in comics - a good old-fashion super-brawl!
And X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #5 just looks cool period, as Havok takes on his brother Vulcan head-to-head in yet another winner-take-on brawl. I’m hoping the Starjammers find their place in Marvel continuity after this - we don’t see nearly enough of them in Annhilation or X-Men.
The biggest thing on DC’s side is Green Lantern #27, which further ties into Final Crisis and the third part of Johns’ Lantern Trilogy which just ended it’s second installment in Sinestro Wars. The Guardians are fractioning to form their own version of their Corps, and it looks like even the old school Oans are heading down a darker path that John Stewart and Hal Jordan are sworn to prevent.
That’s all for this week - once again Marvel trumps DC. Let’s up Detective Comics has something up it’s sleeve, as Marvel is so far winning the wearisome crossover wars.
Posted in comics, entertainment, geek
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