X-men Supreme Issue 9: Off NIght Part 2 is LIVE!

X-men Supreme continues! I have updated this fanfiction series with the conclusion to the Off Night arc. You can read the conclusion to this two-part saga at the following link:

Issue 9: Off Night Part 2

This marks the end of my first multi-chapter arc, but I assure you it won't be the last. There are much bigger stories to come. In the meantime I urge each and every reader to post their feedback. X-men Supreme still has a lot of story to tell and it's just getting warmed up! Thank you and take care.

Jack

Second Coming: X-men Legacy #235 - Drama and Death

Another week has gone by and another chapter of Second Coming has arrived. This time it's Mike Carey's turn to flex his awesome and he does so in a way that would make a steroid abusing body builder enraged with envy. The story continues the tradition set up with the first issue, moving seamlessly from the previous installment with New Mutants and continuing into X-men Legacy. It actually feels so seamless that you could probably just call X-men Legacy something basic like Second Coming #4 and it would work just as well. That may not seem like much, but for anybody who has ever been caught up in these kinds of crossover's that's huge. It used to be a running gag that crossovers like this were akin to a bunch of lab rats running in all different directions through the same maze to get the same piece of cheese. For a series to be this coordinated is tantamount to seeing a mermaid riding a unicorn across a rainbow to a leprechauns pot of gold.

X-men Legacy has traditionally focused on Rogue as the main character and this issue certainly brings her into the picture. Her entrance feels natural since Cyclops and the Alpha team can't seem to track Hope and Cable anymore so they need to rely on Rogue, who seems to have a connection with Hope after she healed her in Messiah Complex. They use Ariel to teleport her to the action and they get right back on the trail of Hope and Cable, who are already hiding in the middle of nowhere as they so often have done.

While this is going on, the real action continues with the New Mutants as they battle Cameron Hodge. Karma was hurt at the end of the last issue and at Hodge's mercy. She is saved by Cannonball, but Hodge continues to show his douchebaggery by ramping up the assault. It ends up falling on Warlock to take down Hodge in a scene that is very satisfying to anybody who can't stop droning on about how inferior races are doomed to perish. It's like watching Hitler and the KKK get repeatedly disemboweled while they're forced to wear dresses and sing show tunes. Warlock hasn't had a lot of moments to shine up until this point, but he sure does here.

This is a big positive for the X-men, but that quickly gets washed out when Bastion deals the X-men another ace and shorts out Cerebro. Now Emma and the Cuckoos are blinded and the Alpha team is stuck going after Hope and Cable blind and dumb. As if Bastion weren't devious enough, he sends a fighter jet to bomb the Alpha Team's envoy and singes Wolverine and X-23 to the bone. He also kills Ariel, the teleporter who was supposed to be their escape plan. She's the first casualty in Second Coming and one of the few lowlights of this issue. For all the emphasis Cyclops put on mutant death, this one is brushed off pretty damn quickly. Even though Ariel is a lesser known character, it's forgotten faster than Ryan Leaf's pro football career. I expect more of Mike Carey here, but he more than makes up for it.

The Alpha team does find Hope and Cable just as the Purifiers are closing in and open up some much needed ass-kicking. This is where they end up having to make a hard decision. Bastion is tracking Hope by tracking Cable, whose techno-organic virus is essentially a neon sign blaring "I'M RIGHT HERE" to the very people looking to take Hope out. So the only way to protect Hope is to separate her from Cable. This leads to a very powerful moment between the two. Cable has rarely if ever let Hope out of her sight since she was a baby. For him to agree to this, he has to be desperate on a whole new level or possibly bat-shit from all the time traveling he's had to do.

After a brief debate, Hope agrees to go with Rogue and Nightcrawler. For added measure, Rogue powers up by absorbing as many mutant abilities as possible. By the end she looks so badass and tough she's practically a one woman army.


Need I say more? Given how much Mike Carey loves Rogue, it's only fitting she step up in this issue. It ends leaving Craig Kyle and Chris Yost a great opportunity for Logan, Cable, and the rest of X-Force to throw down and kick ass while Rogue and Kurt get Hope to safety.

There isn't much else to be said about how awesome this issue is. It continues the trend started by the previous three issues of being so cool there's next to nothing bad to report. If there is any worthy criticism it has to do with Ariel's death, which I already went over. There's also the matter of nobody reacting much to seeing Hope for the first time. Given she's not a baby anymore and bears an uncanny resemblance to Jean Grey, one might expect SOMEONE to notice. Then again, that would probably count as nit picking among Jean fans considering this is all going on in the heat of a battle. Hope could look like the Virgin Mary herself and they wouldn't have time to react. Hopefully, that comes in later. Other than this, there really isn't much else to criticize. The dialogue is fantastic, the pace is perfect, and the dialogue is spot on.

The next issue promises a prominent death. Many are still banking that Nightcrawler will be the one to bite it. That remains to be seen. Whatever the case, Second Coming is going hard and strong! It's riding a tidal wave of awesome and it promises to keep going. It is definitely worthy of a 5 out of 5, a 10 out of 10, and an A-plus. Bring on the next part! Second Coming is still awesome and dares to be better with each passing issue.

Brightest Day and Even Brighter Awesome

I made no secret of my love for Blackest Night. The DC crossover that spanned over six months completely reshaped the DC universe and opened the door for new readers to enter. For me, a guy who hasn't followed DC in quite some time, it was an opening I could not resist.

This past week the aftermath of Blackest Night began with Brightest Day #0. Penned by Geoff Johns, the same mastermind behind Blackest Night, the series doesn't miss a beat and picks up almost immediately where Blackest Night left off. From the very first page, the emphasis shifts from death to life. The one narrating the story is Boston Brand, once known as Deadman. A more appropriate character couldn't have been used if his name was Bright Geoffjohns.

What follows is a remarkable insight into the mind of someone who has only known death. Boston Brand actually stands over his own grave, musing over what his role was now that he was alive again. Being dead means he has no money, no job, and no livelihood. So what's a guy to do? That's where the White Lanterns come in. Just as Brand is done smashing his own tombstone, the power of the White Lanterns reaches him and he begins a journey across the DC universe.

It's very well laid out. Brand goes on to visit the likes of Mera and Aurthur Curry of Atlantis, Kyle Raner of the Green Lantern Corps, Carter and Shiera Hall, and J'onn J'ozz of Mars. Everybody is getting accustomed to being alive again. Some are embracing it more than others. There are some nice shots of Mera in bed after she and Aurthur celebrate his rebirth.


Hawkman and Hawkgirl share a nice romantic moment as they muse over their past lives together and the love that seems to span it all. And J'onn J'ozz gets the greatest gift of all...a crate full of Oreo cookies. Could there be a more appropriate gift?

Overall, the tone is much different than Blackest Night but in a good way. It isn't all just joy and life. There are some real developments involving Sinestro finding the White Lantern and someone locating the original bodies of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Like man issue #0's this merely sets the stage. Brightest Day #1 doesn't come out until next month and it promises to begin the next round of action that will span the DC universe. It's no bait and switch. It's a solid story designed to get the reader hooked and it succeeds in every way!

Geoff Johns continues to astonish me with his writing talent and Brightest Day carries on the legacy of sheer awesome left by Blackest Night. That is why this issue gets a solid 5 out of 5. If ever a comic lover wanted to get back into the DC universe, this is it! If you have any appreciation for the awesome of comics, what the hell are you doing? Get off your ass and get Brightest Day! Nuff said.

Punisher MAX #6 - Hardcore Awesome

In a market crowded with super-powered heroes and super-powered evil-doers it often goes unnoticed when those with no powers who fight those with no powers but plenty of evil and make it over-the-top violent in the process. The Punisher is one of the few who exists in a realm where costumed heroics are a joke and the only battle is between two frail human beings who bleed and die like everyone else in the real world. While the Punisher has his own role in the current Marvel universe, that has quickly turned into another farce with the whole Fraken-Castle story. If you're wondering what that is, it's exactly what it sounds like. The mainline universe turned Frank Castle into a Frankenstein-like man who still conducts his war, but with Frankenstein style tactics. It's a fun gimmick, but a total misrepresentation of who the Punisher is.

Thankfully, Marvel has not resorted to those same tactics with the Punisher MAX series. Ever since this series began under the pen of Garth Ennis, it has quickly become one of the most defining stories for the Punisher. The MAX series is not like the 616 continuity in that there is more blood, more violence, more cruelty, no censoring of breasts or body parts, and no super powers. It's the perfect world for the Punisher to operate, but for years he operated it on his own. Now a recent series written by Jason Aaron has taken Punisher MAX to a new level, adding other Marvel names to the world of MAX and making it awesome as hell in the process.

It started with the Kingpin arc. This story brought the MAX version of the Kingpin into the Punisher's world. It told the rare story of how Wilson Fisk fought his way to the top of the criminal hierarchy and was damn cruel and sadistic in the process. He did things in MAX that he could NEVER get away with doing on panel in 616. There's no beating around the bush to offend squeamish Spider-Man fans. Fisk tortures, maims, and kills without compunction. With the success of that series, Aaron has taken the next step and brought Bullseye into the mix.

Punisher MAX #6 picks up right where the Kingpin arc left off. Frank Castle is still recovering from the beating he took. This issue makes a point to show that he's not a young man. He's getting up there in years and it's affecting him, something few readers get from other superheroes who seem to be perpetually in their twenties. It also makes a point to take Bullseye and strip away the super powered background and just make him a badass assassin with an even more badass attitude. At times it seems a bit too much like the regular 616 continuity, but at others it feels completely unique. Bullseye comes off just as Frank Castle does, someone who is human but highly talented in what he does. He makes it a point to show this off in the first few pages when he takes out a whole hoard of thugs with nothing but a small gun he had lodged in his rectum (seriously, that's something that can only happen in MAX).

This comic set the stage for a new challenge for Frank Castle. He's getting old and he's wearing down. At the same time he has to face someone who is no casual thug. He's someone who can take him down and unlike the regular 616 universe, there will be no magic or Frankenstein style retcon to save him. It's the kind of grim and gritty story that fulfills all the dark desires of comic fans who think there's too much child-appeal. This is one of those dark stories that doesn't skimp on the awesome and further demonstrates how the Punisher is the most badass character in the entire Marvel universe. It's not because of the powers he has. It's what he's able to accomplish with no special abilities than his monster sized set of stones and unlimited supply of badassery.

X-men Supreme Issue 9: Date Night Part 2 Preview

It's been a busy week for X-fans everywhere with Second Coming rolling along. I've been on the edge of my seat the whole time, but I've still found time to keep working on X-men Supreme. It's a bit ironic that Second Coming is really amping up the action while X-men Supreme is focusing on the lighter side for once. Well that shouldn't last long! The new issue of X-men Supreme is nearly here and it promises to set the stage for the first big event! Here's a sneak peak of what you can expect:

Taking a deep breath, Iceman collected the moisture around him and created a dense cloud around his hands. Then with a hard grunt, he unleashed a fury of wind, snow, and cold right at Pietro. The speedster didn’t try and take it. He quickly ran off to his right to avoid the blast, but Bobby showed some resilience in his ability to direct his power and was able to blow him off course a bit. Soon he wasn’t moving so fast anymore. He had to slow down to shield his eyes from the blinding cold. But he kept moving, knowing he couldn’t afford to stay frozen.

“Errrrrr! Is that the b-b-best you can d-d-do?!” bellowed Pietro through the storm.

“You want colder? You got it!”

Bobby stepped up his assault, guiding his power in a wide arc so he could keep Pietro from running out of range. During his attack, Wanda came to her brother’s aid. She attempted to attack while his back was turned, throwing a hex at him to stunt his powers. But Bobby knew she was still behind him and formed a block of ice around his back that took the blunt end of the blow.

“Not this time Miss Scarlet Skank!” said Iceman, “I learned my lesson in Detroit! I’m not playing your odds this time!”

“This doesn’t involve you or the X-men! This is a personal affair!” barked Wanda, her hands still glowing, “You’re just in the way!”

“And here I was thinking you Brotherhood goons were tougher!” taunted the young X-man, “I’m not just an obstacle! I’m a pissed off boyfriend! Let’s see you re-work those odds!”

The young Iceman pushed himself harder than he usually did. This wasn’t just a mission. This was him protecting his new girlfriend. To make sure Wanda didn’t try that hexing trick of hers again he shot a round of icicles from his shoulders that forced Wanda to back off.

“Augh! The boy’s been training,” mused Wanda, “He must really like this girl.”

She was about to attack Bobby again when she saw Lorna running full speed away from the chaos. Apparently she took her new boyfriend’s advice and didn’t stick around for the fight. But she wouldn’t get far. Rather than let their petty rivalry with the X-men slow her down, Wanda stuck to the plan.

“Oh no you don’t! You’re not getting out of this that easily!” said the Scarlet Witch in a determined tone.

“Lorna! Don’t look back!” Bobby called out, “Keep running! I’ll protect you!”

“You think playing hero is going to impress her? You’re pathetic!” scoffed Quicksilver as he ran back around and got in closer to obstruct Iceman’s aim, “If you have any sense you’ll leave Lorna to her proper role!”

“Lucky for you, I’m a C-student!” grunted Iceman as he tried to redirect his blast, “But whatever her role is, it sure as hell isn’t with you two!”

“If you know anything about her you already know how wrong you are!”