Marvel Comics Presents #171

There are only 5 issues left of Marvel Comics Presents. But I don't really feel like the creators are pulling out all the stops just yet. But that doesn't mean that this wasn't a thrilling issue.

Michael Badilino is undergoing a therapy session with Doc Samson. This happens to take place at a top level facility for mentally ill patients with super powers. A blackout results in one very troubled patient getting free and going rogue. Enlisting the help of Vengeance, Doc Samson has to make one very important house call.

In a one-shot story, one of my all-time favorite characters returns. That's right! It's Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. In this adventure, he's in Alaska where there are reports of a Hydra base that's doing their very best- and worst- to create their version of a super solider!

The second half of this issue is rather interesting. It's comprised of 2 single issue stories that tell of 1 event but from two points of view. The first POV is that of War Machine. The second is of the Force Works team. Both parties are in Hong Kong fighting the Mandarin and his minions. Rhodey is more directly involved with the villain while Force Works are in the air in their armored transport vehicle, the Hex-Ship Pegasus. The ship has been damaged and it's going down fast and in flames!

I liked the idea of having 1 battle told from 2 points of view. I would have rather liked to have seen the Mandarin's take on this battle instead of Force Works. Plus, I am irked because that segment ends with readers having to grab the next issue of Force Works in order to find out what happened to the Pegasus crew.

Having Badilino going to therapy and having Vengeance have to help Doc Samson was pretty cool. I had a feeling this was going to happen last issue. So, I wasn't quite surprised. But really, was anybody shocked when the Ghost Rider popped up to help save the day?

Lastly, I loved the Nick Fury story. But once again, he's squandered to just 8 pages. Why can SHIELD have a lengthy multi-parter in the pages of MCP? How can anybody hate Nick Fury? This sort of perceived slight is going to affect my rating...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #170

I never really cared about the Iron Man villain known as the Mandarin. I just never found his quest for world dominance all that compelling. But after having read the second chapter of his quasi-origin story in the pages of this comic, I feel like I am a little more sympathetic to the character but not much.

In this story, the Mandarin is fighting psychic manifestations of his past selves. While he takes a deadly trip down memory lane, the villain is reminded of the woman who got away. Her story reminded me a lot of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, if that tells you anything. Clearly, I am much more sympathetic towards her...

The Mandarin's story doesn't quite end with his allotment of 8-pages. The Force Works team is back with another one-and-down segment. But once again, the team is more of the second string than featured players. The main character of this segment is a cyber-genius by the name of Suzi Endo and the Mandarin might have a considerable amount of interest in the girl. Remember the ill-requited love who got away from the Mandarin? Well Suzi Endo might be related to that woman and the prospect of such has got the villain thinking some very icky things...

In a new Vengeance multi-parter, the events in Los Angeles with the Revengers has got Michael Badilino thinking that he needs therapy. Enter Doctor Leonard Samson. Expect this couch trip to be anything but normal.

Then in the lone one-shot story, the Native American hero Red Wolf defends the tribal leaders of a Native American owned casino from the Maggio; the Marvel Universe's version of the Mafia. The last appearance of Red Wolf resulted in an unforgivable number of deaths (small, adorable animals). Thankfully, there's no loss of life in this story- 4-legged or otherwise.

A fairly decent issue. Not the best Marvel has to offer. But at least all 4 segments had something to offer me in terms of enjoyment. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #169

There are 3 new segments in this issue. 

First up, fans get the answers to some of their long posed questions about the history of Iron Man's arch-enemy, the Mandarin. As with the back story of any good villain, it's tragic and maybe a little sad. It's enough to elicit a little sympathy above all else.

The other two stories are single-issue 8-pagers. 

The first one stars It, the Living Colossus. I always thought that the character was a golem. But there's a bit more to that. It is a construct of Communist Russia that was imbued with powers after an aborted alien invasion. Somehow after that episode (and probably countless others), the Living Colossus wound up at a Hollywood movie studio and became a sci-fi B-movie star. In this issue, a disgruntled SFX wizard claims to have the newest greatest thing in movies and has his creation challenge It!

The second one-and-done issue has the Force Works team back on duty. The last story was supposed to have the Julia Carpenter Spider-Woman as the feature but the rest of the team had as much a part of the story as she did. Here, Force Works is listed as a featured player on the cover. But again, that's just not quite right. The main feature is a new character called Century. He's an alien construct that claims to be ageless and may know the future. There's a lot of action in this story but it has a ending that requires buying the latest issue of Force Works and those kind of gimmicks irk me to no end!

Rounding things up is the latest Vengeance multi-parter. So I remembered a part of this story wrong. The Revengers aren't in New York. They're in LA and they're causing so much havoc, that War Machine, whose base of operations is in the City of Angels, has taken on the gang himself. Badilino has traveled to Cali in hopes that Vengeance can reel his gang of devotees in. But in true Marvel fashion, War Machine thinks that the Ghost Rider is their leader and a battle of titans ensues.

I would probably rate this issue higher if not for the staff behind the Force Works story requiring readers to get the rest of the story in another book. MCP kinda did this with the 4-issue Midnight Sons epic crossover. But I understood that premise from the start. Here, I was unceremoniously told of needing to buy whatever corresponding issue of Force Works for the rest of the story. I just hate such surprises! It's one of the few things about comic books that I absolutely loathe!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.