Review Round Up March 28th, 2018
There are links to the full review of the two book of the week. Please let us know what you’d like us to review by leaving a comment on our Facebook page, send us an email to thetwistedcape@gmail.com or messaging any of us directly. Keep in mind that the format we’ll follow will be as follows:
Book Title and Number(Story Arc Name)*
Quick Breakdown
Story
Art
Continuity/Character Consistency
Twist Factor
Final Score
*Denotes Book of the Week
Here we go!
Avengers #686 (No Surrender)
The Hulk has ripped through Avengers HQ in search of the Pyramoid stolen by Voyager. He targets Wonder Man who is a pacifist and wants to talk to him, which does not work. Proxima Midnight and Black Swan get taken down by the Avengers. Just as Wonder Man realizes what Hulk wants, Hercules and Thor show up and ruin his chance to get to him. Rogue even tries to take his power which backfires. Challenger talks him through getting into the Vault with Voyager and tries to get him to claim the Pyramoid. In a stunning turn, Hulk destroys it causing the Challenger to lose the game. As Grandmaster beckons his daughter back to him, she explains the premise of the game to the Avengers. The Challenger, furious by the Grandmaster using his daughter, kills the Grandmaster.
Story – Big Hulk throwdown, which has been missing from the Marvel U. Action packed, but the story got a little bit light. 7/10
Art – Continues with a defined style that really came to life with the Hulk. 8/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – We saw a different Hulk and a pacifist Wonder Man which almost goes against years of continuity, but he’s changed recently. 7/10
Twist Factor – How terrifyingly smart and angry Hulk was. 8/10
Final Score – 7.5/10
Dark Nights: Metal #6
Metal wraps up, setting up the future of the DCU. Barbatos and the Batman Who Laughs execute their final plan, and the heroes execute their final stand. Characters return, setting up new titles. A Calvary rides in to help balance the scales. The most iconic heroes take center stage driving the story forward. A showdown happens and the most unlikely of team ups spins out of that. A team does all they can to save the world. Then they party. Click here to see our full review.
Story – Exceptional ending to an epic storyline, with a few unanswered questions. I hope we get something this big and fun again. 9/10
Art – The art was perfect for every ounce of this story. Masterful illustration. 10/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – This story drove to the core of the hope and need for justice that drives these characters and is a full love letter to the Justice League. 9/10
Twist Factor – So many, almost too many to choose from, but the Batman team up against BWL takes the cake because it was so unexpected. 10/10
Final Score – 9.5/10
Doomsday Clock #4
This delayed installment focused on the new Rorschach and his journey to taking the mantle. It went back and forth in time, explaining several relationships, including the pivotal relationship with Mothman. He wanted to seek revenge for what happened to his parents during the monster attack at the end of the original Watchmen series. We see what he deals with being left in Arkham, which he gets help escaping from. He’s seemingly been watched by Dr. Manhattan this whole time.
Story – Interesting choice to stop the momentum to catch us up on who this version of Rorschach is, with so many other stories in play. It’s worth it now, but how will it affect the overall narrative moving forward? 8/10
Art – This book looks so good and is likely the reason for the delay. While that part is disappointing, it’s worth it in the end. 8/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – This book gives us almost exclusively new information establishing new continuity and characters which is refreshing. 8/10
Twist Factor – Batman being the doctor in Arkham. 8/10
Final Score – 8/10
The Flash #43 (Perfect Storm)
Grodd uses Barry’s speedster friends against him in a fight, which leads to Barry daring Grodd to kill him. Grodd shows up to fight Flash himself. Barry eventually uses the Lightning Wand to cure Grodd of his illness, setting his allies free of Grodd’s control. Grodd is cured, but has no further connection to the Speed Force and is told by the Flashes to return to Gorilla City. Grodd unleashes a negative Speed Force storm, threatening to take Central City down.
Story – Improved storytelling over this arc and it continues to build towards Flash War. Thankfully, it’s not easily and simply resolved and remains action packed. 7/10
Art – I love the kinetic art style of this book and how it uses lightning. 8/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – Grodd’s obsession with the Speed Force is well documented and Flash’s allies have been developed for quite some time now. 8/10
Twist Factor – Barry had a plan to deal with Grodd the whole time. 7/10
Final Score – 7.5/10
Justice League of America #27 (Dawn of Time)
Chronos confronts Ray Palmer in the Microverse, leading to him running and reminding the former Atom that he’s the greatest thief in history. Meanwhile, the JLA continues to rebuild their HQ and discover something ancient buried underground. Chronos traps the JLA, except the Atom, with Sundials and explains that he is there to undo the idea of the superhero planted by their “god” Ahl ages ago. The JLA breaks free and Chronos runs to the area discovered by the JLA transporting himself back in time. The JLA follows, but Ahl has been captured by Chronos.
Story – The story has potential to be interesting, especially because it’s centered on the Ray and Chronos. Intrigued to see how this develops. 7/10
Art – Looks good in action sequences, but the faces are fairly bland except Batman. 6/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – Cool that this book focuses on Chronos and his relationship with the Atom (Ray Palmer) and how his protégé Ryan Choi handles it. 7/10
Twist Factor – The idea of superheroes centers on this new Ahl character. 6/10
Final Score – 6.5/10
Moon Knight #193 (Crazy Runs in the Family)
Moon Knight prepares to face off against Sun King early on and is softened up by Sun King’s followers. Marlene looks after Marc, while Diatrice prays to Khonshu to keep her newfound daddy safe. Back on Sun Island, Moon Knight and Sun King do battle and it’s violent and viscious. Sun King seems prepared to end the fight. Marc’s personalities (including Khonshu) discover that Sun King’s powers are based on his belief, so they counter based on Marc’s power of insanity. Moon Knight turns the tide causing Sun King to lose his powers. Moon Knight takes over Sun Island converting Sun King’s followers to be his fellow warriors.
Story – Satisfying conclusion to the chapter between Moon Knight and Sun King. Some ongoing loose threads, but likely will be addressed in the future. 7/10
Art – The detail in this book always makes it shine. Big action scenes, great facial work, badass illustration of Moon Knight’s attitude out of costume. 9/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – Excellent portrayal of Marc Specter’s personalities, while incorporating new story points, specifically his daughter. 8/10
Twist Factor – We have the power of Crazy. 8/10
Final Score – 8/10
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #302 (Amazing Fantasy)
Our Peter hangs out with young Peter on a different Earth helping him through a tough period in his teenage life. Norman Osborn discovers Pete’s secret identity and kills this world’s JJJ, because of our world’s JJJ who sees the explosion at the Bugle. Teresa talks to Nick Fury and discovers that on this Earth, she and Peter are siblings. Both Spidey’s take down Mysterio and the younger one goes home to find Norman Osborn waiting for him with Aunt May taken hostage.
Story – This story is fun and it’s nice to get a separate Norman Osborn battle separate of the main book. While highly entertaining, it would be nice to progress the actual story for them a little bit more. 7/10
Art – The art is excellent in this book. Clean lines, good facial work, and a clear distinction between 2 Spider-Men. 8/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – Young Peter is a little more impulsive, but that may be due to the fact that it’s an alternate universe. Norman Osborn is just as terrifying here as our universe. 8/10
Twist Factor – Flash ripping Peter about his uncle problem. The sickest burn. 9/10
Final Score – 8/10
Spider-Man/Deadpool #30 (Area 14)
Due to the Chameleon’s scheming, Spidey and Deadpool have split up and have vowed to take each other down in their next encounter. Both have misgivings about this because of the relationship they used to have. Chameleon unleashes his LMD army for his bidders, which sets Spidey and Deadpool on a collision course. They fight, but focus on taking down the Chameleon, who has set them up and triggers explosives in the building they are waiting in.
Story – The story arc jumping back and forth in time has held some interesting revelations, especially since the 2 main characters aren’t currently friends. Also, the book remains one of the funniest books being published. 8/10
Art – Looks good with a style that comepletely suits this book. 7/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – No shocks to character consistency and this story plays with continuity with it’s time jumping, but not in a bad way. 7/10
Twist Factor – Bruce and Deborah. 8/10
Final Score – 7.5/10
Teen Titans #18 (It Ain’t Easy Being Green)
Beast Boy starts in the VR world imagining how his life could be different. As he’s convinced to be a spokesman unaware of what he’ll be pushing by Joran, the Teen Titans decide to go undercover to get to the bottom of what’s going on. They are surprised to discover Beast Boy on stage demonstrating this dangerous technology. Robin confronts Beast Boy backstage, trying to warn him about what’s going on, leading to Joran bio-hacking his body turning him and the entire audience against the Teen Titans.
Story – Mildly interesting, but some really funny moments. Lack of development of Damian hurts this book. 6/10
Art – Art is cool, especially with the variations on Beast Boy. 7/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – While this book has clear continuity, shared characters in other books lack the growth shown in other places. 6/10
Twist Factor – Beast Boy being betrayed. 7/10
Final Score – 6.5/10
The Terrifics #2 (Meet the Terrifics)
Picking up where the last issue left off, we see the Tom Strong message again. Then we get backstory for Linnya about how she got stuck in the Dark Multiverse, which is similar to Superman’s story. The tangible part of the team removes the antenna that housed Tom’s message which surrounds them by a strange energy field. The strange creature that they are standing on wakes up and chases the team as they exit the Dark Multiverse, and force Stagg to close the portal, cutting off it’s fingers. Linnya goes tangible and everything she touches explodes, likely due to her exteneded time in the Dark Multiverse. Mr. Terrific tries to leave, but is pulled back the team. They appear to be stuck together for the time being.
Story – Good, but not as good as the first issue. Looking to see how this develops to finish off it’s first story arc. 7/10
Art – Excellent art, especially where Plastic Man is concerned. 8/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – Now that Metal has ended, some story points make more sense, while others make less sense. 6/10
Twist Factor – Plastic Man’s various uses and shapes. 8/10
Final Score – 7/10
Trinity #20 (The Search for Steve Trevor)
The book opens with Steve Trevor being captured and changed by Deimos, followed by the Trinity spread out over and off the globe to recover data to find Steve. They all wind up in different fights, which they emerge victorious from, Diana’s victory being the most impressive. They collect data and follow the information to Papua New Guinea where they find mutated Steve Trevor.
Story – This seems so focused on a fetch quest, that there isn’t much meaningful story to go around, which is disappointing because this is one of my favorite books. 6/10
Art – The art is nice, except for many of the Superman panels. He just looks too weird. 7/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – This book constantly leans into the shared history of these characters but isn’t clear when it takes place compared to other adventures. 6/10
Twist Factor – Clark and Bruce having a humorous conversation mid fight. 8/10
Final Score – 7/10
X-Men Blue #24 (Cry Havok)
Magneto confronts Sebastian Shaw in Madripoor and discovers that he’s been powered up by Mothervine. Meanwhile, Xorn is rescued by Bloodstorm and Jimmy Hudson. Polaris has been possessed by Malice who attacks the Raksha, killing a couple of their members. Back in Madripoor, Shaw gets the upper hand on Magneto until he is drained of his powers, allowing Magneto to force his way to those who hold the Mothervine. Polaris breaks free of Malice’s control while Daken is recruited by Magneto’s allies. Magneto discovers Havok, Emma Frost, Miss Sinister, and Bastion are behind the Mothervine and want to recruit him.
Story – Clearly, this book suffers without it’s time displaced X-Men. 6/10
Art – Looks really cool, particularly during the Sebastian Shaw/Magneto fight. 7/10
Continuity/Character Consistency – Taking place while the original team is in space, it takes advantage of that in continuity, but turns by certain characters feel out of place. 6/10
Twist Factor – Malice using Polaris’ powers with ruthless efficiency. 8/10
Final Score – 7/10