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 #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. 

Marvel Comics Presents #168

The Revengers: a cult-like gang that dresses as the spirit of vengeance, Vengeance. They've spread throughout the Big Apple like a virus, issuing their own warped sense of justice not just on criminals but their victims as well.

These guys kinda remind me of those vigilante followers of Batman in 2008's The Dark Knight. I wonder if this Vengeance story was in some way an inspiration for those guys to director Christopher Nolan. Regardless if that was the case or not, I'm liking the Revengers inclusion in this Vengeance heavy story that also stars War Machine!

The Julia Carpenter Spider-Woman story comes to a close in this issue and I'm very glad. The plot of a deranged paramour threatening to shoot up the school in which Julia's daughter attends should Spider-Woman reject him is just something that hits way too close to home. Just to clarify, the part about a school shooting is what triggers me. Not the part about having a stalker.

There are 2 one-shot stories that complete this issue's line-up. The Inhuman Blackbolt must choose between the safety of his people or whether to take the life of a group of humans that threaten to disrupt the relative anonymity of the Great Refuge. 

The other 8-pager stars the Asgardian Valkyrie, Brunnhilde. For some reason, Valkyrie has gone the Dr. Bruce Banner route and is wandering around the world. Well it's a good thing she is as the Asgardian warrior stumbles upon a Chinese village being held captive by a despot wielding a set of mystic gems that control the very elements of the earth!

I really didn't feel much of a connection to the 2 short stories. The Inhumans tale was wonderfully illustrated by Jeff Moore (Avengers). But it seemed like a plot that could have been solved much more differently and with much less stress. I honestly don't remember anything about Valkyrie's story. I had to look it up just to do this review. 

The Vengeance story is great. I feel like War Machine's presence is really uncalled for. But the love triangle and terse working environment between Badilino, Sam Buchanan and Rebecca Taylor is worth the price I paid for this issue. 

And yes, I am thankful that the Spider-Woman story came to an end. However, I feel like Marvel should have framed this more as a Force Works story than a Spider-Woman story. It's like the opposite of the New Warriors story that only starred one member of the team. What the heck was going on with the editing team during this stage of MCP's run?

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #155

The stories starring Wolverine, War Machine and Vengeance come to an end in this issue. 

The War Machine story gets interesting as we learn just who is behind the stolen Stark tech that has wound up in the hands of several gangs of L.A.. 

Wolverine's story, which had been a laugh riot, ends on a more serious note. A little bit of a disappointment. But the previous 3 chapters were just great.

Vengeance's story ends just about how I expected it to. That's not a bad thing. Hopefully, we've not seen the end of fellow NYPD cop Rebecca Taylor. She's the yin to Michael Badilino's yang.

Our lone new segment is supposed to star the New Warriors. However, only one actually appears in the story: Namorita. Recently, the Atlantean had undergone a mutation that makes her look more like an aquatic creature than a human. Now going by the moniker Kymaera, she awakens in an oversized aquarium; the lab subject of a deranged geneticist who calls herself Mother Matrix. The scientist's plan: utilize Kymaera's genes to become the mother of a new race of super humans. 

The 3 tales that ended were all satisfactory. Though I do wish that the Wolverine adventure would have ended with those slapstick hi-jinks that had filled the first 3 chapters. 

With the New Warriors thing, I don't know what to think. If this is supposed to star the New Warriors like the cover promises, where are all the other New Warriors? Why wasn't Namorita or Kymaera listed instead? Maybe her teammates will pop up in the next issue like when each member of Excalibur were featured players in their own chapter from issues #31-38. 

We shall see next issue. So I will withhold full judgement on that story for now.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Marvel Comics Presents #154

The Moon Knight story comes to a close in this issue. It was action-packed and had a really good mystery. However, I also felt that there was a huge plot hole. Supposedly, the head of a hate group is on trial for various crimes. In order to ensure that he gets a 'Not Guilty' verdict, his underlings have kidnapped the family of one of the jurors. But when Moon Knight goes to rescue the family, why is the gang leader at their domicile holding them hostage? Is he out on bail? Are there 2 gang leaders but only 1 is on trial? Just seems to me that part wasn't so very clear.

The Wolverine story is a lot like the beserker story from MCP #62-63; which is a direct sequel by the way. The goons are complete buffoons and there's great slapstick comedy banter all throughout. The only difference is the inclusion of the big boss, the mystic Arab Abdul Alhazred who is no-nonsense.

I really love the Vengeance story. The character seems to have finally found the missing parts needed to flesh things out, which is ironic considering Vengeance is a Ghost Rider. Plus, this story in which a bunch of wealthy New York jerks who hunt humans throughout the 5 Burroughs and a lady cop whose starting to put two and two together about Michael Badilino and Vegeance has been really entertaining. 

Lastly is the War Machine story which just continues to read like a bad educational film on the dangers of gangs. The plot is great. It just has lousy dialogue.

As one promising story comes to a close, questions arise about plot holes. Another is just victim to overly dramatic writing. But the two stories features, which I normally am not a big fan of, starring Wolverine and Vengeance, continue to knock my socks off. 

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #153

For an issue full of multi-parter middle chapter segments, this one's pretty good. 

The best of the bunch is the Vengeance story. It focuses more on Michael Badilino's life and career as a cop more than it does on the Spirit of Vengeance. Plus, the new character of Rebecca Taylor has been a delight. She adds that Lois Lane romantic foil/secret identity snoop factor that has been missing to just about any Ghost Rider story for quite some time.

Next up is the Moon Knight story. A major case involving the leader of a white supremacist terror group is now in deliberation. Moon Knight knows that one of the juror's families are being held hostage in order to insure a hung jury. Only, the hero doesn't know which jury member's home is being held captive.

The Wolverine story is my 3rd favorite story. Logan must keep his beserker side in check when some criminals from his past come back for revenge on him and lover Tyger Tiger.

The War Machine story at this point ranks in at last. It's not a terrible story. Just the dialogue is very corny like something you might encounter in an ABC After School Special. Rhodey is trying to confiscate stolen Stark Tech while trying to get some teen gang members to go straight.

I appreciate the efforts to help kids do right. But there's a real disconnect between how writer Len Kaminski (Iron Man) thinks early 1990s LA gang members talk and how a former air force veteran should relate to them. That being said- the artwork (by New Warriors' John Czop) and the overall plot, where War Machine decides to join one of the gangs to stop the violence and killing was superb!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #152

 

He's Back! 

After an absence of about a dozen issues, Wolverine is back as a featured character in the pages of MCP. Now I know that Wolvie was a part of the massive 150th anniversary spectacular that bled over into issue #151. But lets be honest here, Typhoid Mary was the star of those issues. 

With Logan's return, the mutant is back in Madripoor, trying to spend a quiet evening with Tyger Tiger. As you know, it's an official LAW in the Marvel Universe that such intimate moments must be ruined by something tragic, fantastic or involving interloping villains. In this case- it's baddies making it difficult for Wolverine to get his groove on.

In the other 3 segments, which are all opening chapters of multi-parters, War Machine travels to L.A. to stop a gang war which is being fought using stolen Stark tech. He hopes to teach the youth that violence isn't the answer. But in order to stop this turf war, Rhodey might have to join one of the gangs!

In the Big Apple, a group of thrill seekers are hunting the deadliest game: man. In their latest quest, it's undercover cop Rebecca Taylor. Michael Badilino happens to be an ever so slight acquaintance of Rebecca from his days as a cop. So this attack is personal. It's also a matter for the latest Spirit of Vengeance, Vengeance!

Also in New York, a trial involving some white supremacists is just about to head into jury deliberation. To make sure the verdict goes their way, the racists have abducted the family of one of the jurors. But which one? It's up to Moon Knight to find the family in time to prevent a miscarriage of justice. 

All 4 segments show great promise. To me, Moon Knight was the weakest of the bunch; if only because I'm just not a fan of the character like some are. The War Machine story has a fairly predictable plot for one starring a member of the Iron Man Family. Stolen Stark tech seems to be the basis of every other Iron Man related tale. (In case you are wondering techno-viruses comprise the other 50%.)

I was hoping for it to be the end of Wolverine in the pages of MCP. But I liked that his return story continues from another great Wolverine tale told a while back in the series. If you might remember, there was a very brief story where a head injury during a plane crash caused Logan's berserker side to take completely over. Those antagonists from that adventure are the ones who are back to cause more headaches for the mutant and his lover!

Lastly, I think Vengeance might finally be hitting his stride in this book. Apparently, focusing on Badilino's day job as a NYPD cop is the missing element to this character. Previously, Badilino was just coming across as a horrible impression of an 80s-90s vigilante action hero. But put him behind his badge, and something just gels with the character. I'm looking forward to see what happens next.

A nearly flawless issue!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.