X-23 #1 - A New Series of Awesome

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X-men Supreme Issue 20: Uprising Part 4 PREVIEW

The next issue of the X-men Supreme fanfiction series is well on it's way! I've been working very hard to make this issue as awesome as it can possibly be. The first volume of X-men Supreme is nearly over and it's been a quite a ride so far, even if it has been just the beginning. I really want to end it on a strong note to set the stage for Volume 2. I'm so many ideas for this X-men series and I've barely begun to scratch the surface!

In working on this issue I've finalized the plan. Uprising Part 4 will be the next to last issue of Volume 1: Mutant Revolution. After issue 21, that will mark the end of the first volume. I have some plans on what to do after, but I'd rather not spoil them! It's not going to go directly into Volume 2. There will be some interlude as there so often is with comics. X-men Supreme has plenty more to offer and I'll filling in the blanks here and even to those who have been nice enough to contact me. If you want to know some details, I'll be happy to share them. But you have to let me know you're interested first! I want to make X-men Supreme the best fanfiction series it can be and as such feedback is vital. So please send me your thoughts as we near the end of Volume 1 and prepare for Volume 2. 

The final stage of X-men Supreme Volume 1 is almost ready and I've prepared a brief preview to offer a taste of what's in store for this fanfiction series.

“Is this all humanity has to offer?” he scoffed.

The master of magnetism took to the air, again and with seething intent ordered five sentinels to fly out ahead of them and charge their primary weapons. On the ships below, crew members and civilians alike watched with dread as Magneto commanded his sentinel army against him.

“Dear God…” said an American admiral, “Sound the alarm! Order every ship to fire on that son-of-a-bitch now!”

The crews of the ships scrambled to their stations, manning every anti-aircraft gun and surface-to-air missile they had available. Even ships from other countries followed the warning of the American fleet, arming whatever weapons they had and firing them directly at Magneto. Soon missiles and bullets filled the air, all of which were locked on the master of magnetism.

“Pitiful,” he scoffed, not even remotely phased.

With a casual gesture, several sentinels flew out ahead of him and started shooting down the missiles with their hand-mounted lasers. As for the many bullets that came his way, he casually deflected them with a magnetic field. Not one attack got through to him or his sentinels. There was no stopping him. Now it was his turn.

“You all had your chance,” mused Magneto, “You’ve had many chances and you have squandered them all. Now all homo sapiens will suffer the long overdue consequences of their savagery!”

With another forceful gesture, he ordered the sentinels to fire their primary energy weapons. In a single simultaneous attack, the five sentinels he commanded unleashed their blasts. They were all targeted at different parts of the blockade and all would strike with similar ferocity.

“Hit the deck!” yelled many of the ships commanders.

Five enormous blue balls of energy struck right at the base of the fleet, exploding in a blinding flash of light just above the water. Huge shockwaves and devastating blasts toppled the massive vessels. The aircraft carriers were ground zero for the blast. Representing the heads of the fleets, Magneto knew if they were taken out there would be no possibility of a counterstrike. The blast made quick work of them. Some had their hulls literally blown open as if they were made of tin foil. Even for the ships not in the blast radius, the explosions caused titanic waves that capsized many of the smaller vessels and even sent some surfaced submarines tumbling into the water.

Thousands of horrified sailors abandoned ship and leapt desperately into the choppy waters below. Any ship that remained seaworthy were scattered and disorganized, rendering any hopes of a counterattack all but impossible. Many ship commanders ordered a retreat. Some bravely stood by and tried to fight. But regardless of their response, their fates would all be the same. They were the lucky ones. These were just the first casualties in a far greater conflict to come.

“How does it feel?” seethed the master of magnetism, making sure his voice was still being broadcasted all over the world, “For too long you’ve oppressed, subdued, and dominated those deemed inferior! Now you are all inferior! A lesser creature doomed to extinction to make way for a stronger, superior species! It is the mutants of the world that shall henceforth reign supreme! Any that oppose us will face oblivion! Every man, woman, and child all of the world must bow down and submit to…”

Brightest Day #10 - Baby Daddy Drama Awesome

The past two issues of Brightest Day have been 1800s style gold rush for awesome. Not only have they been delivering consistent and quality awesome, they've been among the top-sellers in the comic world and at a paltry $2.99 no less. At a time when most other books are charging a dollar extra for stories that aren't worth the shit they're used to wipe the asses of the editors with, Brightest Day stands out as a template for how all awesome books should be done. It tells a quality and compelling story and doesn't overcharge for it. It's like getting a blowjob from two playboy models just for emptying the dishwasher.

Brightest Day #8 and #9 marked some huge developments in the story that has been unfolding since the dust settled on Blackest Night. It departed from the earlier style of unfolding many stories and focused more on just a few plots in one book. This all came after Boston Brand (who used to be Deadman) used the White Lantern power to connect with every other character that had been brought back in Blackest Night. It was a nice development and one that really changed the tone of the story. In the past two issues some plots have taken more precedent than others. The story of the Hawks, the Martian Manhunter, Boston and Dove, and Aquaman have been getting plenty of attention. However, there are some stories that weren't touched on. Brightest Day #10 picks up on that and since the bar is so high, it has a lot to live up to.

The first pages of this issue as well as many other pages throughout the book cover what's happening with Firestorm. In Blackest Night, Ronnie (the old Firestorm) was brought back from the dead and merged with the new Firestorm, Jason. This sounds all hunky doory until you factor in how in doing so, Ronnie killed Jason's girlfriend and since the Firestorm Matrix involves the two of them merging that makes for more than just the ultimate odd couple. It's like sharing organs with a guy who butchered and raped you mother. Awkward would be a gross understatement.

Awkward aside Professor Stein, who isn't a hormonal college student and knows how this matrix shit works, is trying to do some tests. He offers some insight that shows how writer Geoff Johns must have been on a conference call with Stephen Hawkings. He reveals his theory about the Firestorm matrix and how it was an experiment to determine what that initial spark was that triggered the Big Bang (the bang not the kick-ass TV show). Well it turns out that spark wasn't just a theory. He captured that spark. That spark is the Firestorm matrix. Now this sounds awesome, but if you never slept through a cosmology class you would understand that if the Firestorm Matrix embodied the spark that triggered the Big Bang, then the mere fact they're walking around makes them a ticking time bomb for another Big Bang. It is essentially the kind of bomb that give terrorists wet dreams.

If the physics lesson is already boring you to tears, don't get your panties lodged up your asshole. There's some more traditional action just ahead. The other major plot in this book revolves around one that just began to unfold in the previous issue. In Brightest Day #9 it was revealed that Black Manta had a son and that son is the key to stopping Mera's people (who are bent on serving Aquaman's head on a platter) from destroying the surface world. This on top of Mera revealing that she was originally sent to kill Aquaman after she boned him is a lot to process. So rather than ignore that seemingly important shit, Aquaman leaves Mera behind and goes after Manta's son. That may not be the smartest thing, leaving behind a woman who claims to love you and tried to kill you. Then again, superheroes are known more for their heroics and not their capacity for common freakin' sense.

Now as for Manta's son, he did make an appearance in the previous issue. But not much was revealed about him other than he appeared to be living with foster parents in the same tradition as Superman. The kid, whose name is Jackson for all those sick of me just calling him Manta's son, is taken on a little trip with his adopted father. Again, more Superman parallels are drawn as he brings him to a cottage where they first found him. Then his dad drops the bomb no kid wants to hear. He's not their son. He's adopted. Aside from divorce and losing your job, that has to rank right up there in terms of shit that will ruin your day.

The story is the kind of thing you see on the Hallmark channel every day after 10 PM. A woman came from the sea with a baby in her arms, wanting to spare him the war between the sea and the surface. Naturally, Jackson's adopted parents conveniently forgot to tell him this. So when the truth does come out, it's more than just a shock to the system. Jackson proves to be the sensitive type and starts bursting into tears. Then his father shows him some of the goodies his real mother left and it triggers some interesting fireworks.

That would be more than enough to make a bad day even worse. Then while he's still trying to make sense of it all, his real father shows up and isn't offering to take him to a baseball game either. Keep in mind, his real father is Black Manta. He's about as affectionate as a porcupine on meth.

It turns into a classic car chase. Before his real dad can try and give him a hug (with a spear no less), Jackson and his other dad run for it. This forces Jackson into an impromtu driving lesson. Seeing as how the guy barely looks old enough to have hair on his junk, it's not a very good time to take a driving test. The chase is no Mission Impossible. It ends quickly with Jackson driving the car right into the ocean. That usually is where the good guys smoke a cigar and the bad guys start pouting, but here it actually works to Black Manta's advantage. So I guess Geoff Johns owes an apology to all those hoping for a normal car chase.

Thankfully, Jackson grows a bit more hair this time and some of that aqua mojo of his comes to his aid. It's not shown in detail, but somehow he's able to break out of the sinking car with his other dad in hand and shoot up through the sea to deliver an uppercut to Black Manta. Now maybe I'm being picky here, but that sounds like something I would want to fucking see! Yet it happened off panel! I know it's done for dramatic reasons, but even if the uppercut is awesome and it could have been so much more awesome and made Jackson look like more than a whiny punk.

Since Manta, like most nosy parents, doesn't take no for an answer he tries to give his son a bit of discipline. Apparently, he doesn't know much about teenagers because anyone who has ever watched MTV (before it became that fucked up Reality TV channel) knows that when you try to discipline a teenager they fight back. Jackson is no different and since this is his real dad and he hasn't even apologized for missing out on all the birthday checks he never sent, he's got extra incentive to fight back. Black Manta keeps trying to play the asshole parent card, but again Jackson's aqua mojo comes to his rescue. Apparently, he put a bit too much potency in his seed when he knocked up Jackson's mother. It probably made for a wedding night that could only be equaled in madness by the craziest slash fiction the internet could shit out.

Since Mr. Father-of-the-Year can't seem to bring his son in line, he ends up having to call upon his mother support. This alone makes Black Manta one of the biggest pussy among villains because when you have to get backup from your baby mama in order to deal with a rebellious son, you might as well cut off your balls and mutilate your dick because you've lost the privileged of wielding man parts. It does help somewhat that Siren is hot and definitely qualifies as a MILF. This doesn't seem to bother Jackson even though he is a teenage boy. He keeps trying to make up for all the whining he did earlier, which to his credit has been pretty decent. He's certainly less of a pussy than Black Manta at this point.

Even if his balls are starting to descend, there's no doubt he's a wee bit over matched here. Even if they have been somewhat emasculated, Black Manta and Siren are villains. That does count for something even if they seem to suck at it. So if he's going to not be humiliated by his own parents, he needs more than just his aqua powers. He gets that extra something in the form of Aquaman himself. Despite not having a hot redhead by his side anymore, he shows up to confront Black Manta and Siren. He looks pretty darn badass in the process, thus setting the stage for a fight that involves more than a half-hearted car chase.

As appealing a fight that may be, it's another one of those battles that's to be saved for the next issue. It's another agonizing cliffhanger, but anyone who has been following Brightest Day since the beginning should come to expect that shit. If you complain about it, you're reading the wrong book! This scene alone gives readers all the reason they need to pick up the next issue, but there is another plot that's going on so it's not over yet.

Remember, this issue started with Firestorm. Jason and Ronald were not getting along because of the whole Ronald killing Jason's girlfriend thing. Yet Professor Stein is telling them they still have to get along. That's like forcing an Israeli and Palestinian to hold hands and skip over rainbows. Well there's actually a good reason to get along that doesn't involve a geopolitical analogy. If Jason and Ronald keep arguing, the Firestorm Matrix will destabilize and create another Big Bang. It's the equivalent of crossing the streams in Ghostbusters. You do it and all of existence gets wiped out.

Well it turns out that's not something Stein should have said out loud because in addition to Ronald and Jason, there was another certain someone lodged inside the Matrix. He showed his ugly face a few times in the past. Now he's showing it again. During Blackest Night, Firestorm embraced his role as the Black Lantern and that role did not seem to die even after the Black Lanterns were defeated. Both Ronald and Jason had been saying there's another presence in the Matrix and finally that presence revealed itself, now with the knowledge that it has the power to create another Big Bang. It's like giving an anti-matter bomb to Bin Laden. It leaves Ronald and Jason utterly powerless and Professor Stein looking like the biggest douche in the world.

This sets the stage for yet another struggle on top of the one unfolding with Aquaman. However, the promise of another Big Bang seems a wee bit more serious than some issues with biological parents. It shows that the shadows of Blackest Night are still hanging around and that's just fine. For as awesome as Blackest Night was and as awesome as Brightest Day is turning out to be, it makes perfect sense to mix the two. This raises the stakes and sets the stage for more conflicts. It doesn't really show how these conflicts link together. Even after Brightest Day #8 provided some connections through the White Lantern, this book isn't all that clear as to how that still applies. In fact, it doesn't even offer a hint. So if you end up a little confused by the end, it's not the weed this time.

This issue is awesome just as all the issues of Brightest Day have been thus far. That was never in doubt. But does the awesome measure up to what the first two issues established? Well like the previous two issues, this book focused mainly on two plots rather than touching on all of the other plots. That worked well, but unlike the previous two issues there wasn't much connecting them. Boston Brand didn't show up to connect what was happening with Firestorm as he did with Aquaman. So it isn't really clear why the Firestorm story is in there if for no other reason to not keep ignoring it. Even if it did turn into a new conflict, it seems like something completely unrelated. No one is saying it's easy making all these connections, but Geoff Johns is a good enough writer to pull it off and in this issue he did fall short.

Now saying this issue doesn't measure up to it's predecessors is like saying a bar of gold isn't as shiny as the other two. It's still worth a shit ton more than lesser books. Brightest Day still sets itself apart as being one of the strongest DC titles on the market right now and the lower price is just icing laced with ecstasy on the top. Even so, I can't give this issue a perfect score like the others because it doesn't offer the same connections as the previous issues. Yet it's still a very quality book so for a final score, I give Brightest Day #10 a 4.5 out of 5. Geoff Johns is still the master of DC awesome. Brightest Day still kicks the ass of nearly every other book and it offers so many reasons to keep reading. What more could you want? Nuff said.

X-Force Sex and Violence #3 - Kyle and Yost's Swan Song (OF BLOOD)

Well this is it. The end of an era. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost have graced the pages of X-men with their own brand of X-men awesome that offered a perfect blend of grotesque violence and hot women dressed in tight black leather. On the surface it seems like a series that didn't need quality writing or good stories to be awesome. Throw enough violence and sex into anything and it'll appeal to 80 percent of the young male demographic that reads comics. But Craig Kyle and Chris Yost didn't settle for less. They actually told decent stories behind all the bloodlust and boobage. X-Force was a hell of a reading experience and before they head off to rub shoulders with the pompous Hollywood crowd, they throw one last send-off to their run in the form of X-Force: Sex and Violence.

So far the series has embodied everything that makes X-Force awesome. The first issue had a sexy woman in black leather fight off ninjas and assassins in an effort to save a shipment of trafficked girls. In the second issue that same woman got down and dirty with Wolverine on a bed of money. Then more violence followed with an army of psychotic mutants and super-powered thugs coming after them. For a series that's only three issues long, that's a lot of grade-A T&A. Somewhere out there some moral crusader for the religious right is having a heart attack, which I guess could be considered a bonus.

The third and final issue of X-Force Sex and Violence keeps this train of blood and boobs going. After the Assassins ruined Wolverine and Domino's afterglow, they decided to skip the whole running-for-their-lives part and confront them head on. They quickly come face to face with the Assassins and the ever psychotic (yet strangely doable) Belladonna. Seeing as how she's out over 200 million bucks she's understandably pissed.

There's some witty exchange, but not much. Kyle and Yost comics are defined by actions and not words. It all boils down to a simple threat by Wolverine. If the Guild leaves them alone, he and Domino let them live. And that money they were humping on earlier? That goes to charity. Yeah, that's a good way to balance out a night of Caligula style debauchery. Take that same money and send it to the needy. It's hard to call it noble, but for a guy to go from humping on a pile of money to giving it away...I'm not sure if that takes balls, but it sure as hell takes something. Either way, Belladonna doesn't give two shits about his threat. There's no subtlety here. She orders them killed.

You can probably guess what happens after this, but words don't do it justice. Bullets fly, blood spills, and violence of inhuman proportions consume the scene. If ever there was a single scene to embody the Kyle and Yost X-Force run, this is it. There's not much I can say about it that I haven't already said before. Things like Wolverine getting his face blown off and Domino getting choked by a chain, it's par for the course if that course happened to be Tiger Woods's secret S&M room. I'd rather not describe it in too great a detail. I'll just say that X-Force fans should have nothing to complain about.

It all goes pretty well for the most part and by well I mean exceedingly violent and brutal. But the brutality takes only a mildly unexpected turn when the Hand shows up. Seeing as how Wolverine and Domino screwed them over too, it's practically a given they'll show up to get a piece of the action. They're willing to overlook the fact that the Assassins are still technically enemies. Even though the Hand and the Assassins were butchering each other as recently as last issue, they're still ninjas. They have their priorities and they're willing to actually drop their weapons so that the Assassins can finish the job. It's merely an issue of who they want to make suffer more, Wolverine and Domino or the Assassins. Since Wolverine and Domino fucked on top of money they were after, that pretty much settles it.

So it looks like they're screwed. They got the Hand on one side and the Assassins on the other. Both are looking to kill them and fuck on top of their corpses the same way they fucked on top of their money. But that would mean ending the blood and violence, which seems to be Kyle and Yost's least favorite activity. So while Wolverine and Domino stand prone like a deer staring into the grill of a speeding Hummer, the readers are reminded that this book is called X-FORCE Sex and Violence and not Wolverine and Domino: Sex and Violence. Ignoring for a moment that the latter title sounds more like a bad porno, this is still a team book and as such the X-Force team that Kyle and Yost have painstakingly developed over the past few years show up and finally contribute. Yeah, it took them three issues, but at least they aren't completely AWOL.

The violence resumes so all those trying to maintain a state of blood lust can relax. With the rest of the team's backing, the Assassins and the Hand are the paint and X-Force are those goofy guys on the Home Depot commercial demonstrating how easily paint spreads on old walls with the new Veldspar selection (Home Depot, if you're reading this please send the check to that PO box I forwarded you). There's impalement, stabbings, shootings, and some creative use of teleportation. It's not as drawn out as the earlier scenes with Wolverine and Domino, but it covers all the gruesome details one would expect from X-Force. In the end, Belladonna is left defeated and utterly screwed. They don't kill her. X-Force shows some mercy to prove they're somewhat heroic. But Wolverine makes his point. Belldonna has to drop this or get humiliated in a way that 1000 bad youtube videos can't match. She doesn't say it, but she seems to get the message.

So the violence is finally over and as always there are a few pages dedicated to a resolution, watered down it may be after so much action. It consists mainly of Wolverine yelling at everybody, mostly X-23 who he didn't want in X-Force to begin with. Apparently he didn't approve of some of their tactics, which would be like Barry Bonds giving a speech about the negative impact of steroids. It's a scene that's played out in X-Force before and since this seems to take place before the events of Second Coming (Vanisher is still alive) it's a nice way to link things up. However, the kicker comes when a news report details how an anonymous doner gave 200 million dollars to a Japanese orphanage. Since that doesn't amount to all the money Wolverine and Domino stole and humped on, Wolverine is pissed.

When he goes out to confront her he brings up the fact that 37 million dollars that is missing from that donation she was supposed to make. She replies in a calm, sexy way that most men would agree is worth every penny. She not only offers Wolverine a new car and another chance to bone her six ways until the next ice age, she even threw Razorfist (who they beat the shit out of in a previous issue) in the trunk. It's not clear what the resolution is or if Wolverine takes Domino up on her offer. He would be the dumbest comic character outside the Clone Saga if he refused, but he doesn't say no. They drive off in a final scene, like a cowboy into the sunset. Only in this scene it may be implied that while Wolverine is driving, Domino is giving him the stick shift special. It would be a fitting way to end a book called Sex and Violence. With so much violence throughout the final issue, there has to be a little sex to balance it all out. After the steamy scenes of the previous issue, this is a nice and provocative way to bring it together.

So there you have it. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost's final issue of X-Force. It's been a violent, blood stained, and slightly semen stained ride. But it's over now. X-Force will continue, but under Rick Remender's pen. It's not clear whether or not he'll live up to Kyle and Yost's legacy, but there's no question that he won't match their style. X-Force has been one of those books that didn't catch my interest at first, but as it unfolded with each issue it got better and better. That's rare with most comics, which always seem to start off with a bang only to fizzle out faster than Vanilla Ice's music career. X-Force was a great ride and while it's sad to see Craig Kyle and Chris Yost step down, this book definitely has them doing so on a high note.

There aren't a lot of criticisms to add for the final issue. It is a bit unclear when this happens in the scope of X-Force other than the fact it seems to happen before Second Coming. It's also not clear why Logan was yelling at X-23 at the end and just what he and Domino end up doing with that money and that car. There's probably already some fanfiction writer out there doing a story with them fucking over the hood, which probably wouldn't be all that inappropriate in a book like this. But it being left so open, it doesn't feel nearly as complete.

These are all minor compared to the grand scope of the book. It's the last issue for Craig Kyle and Chris Yost damn it! That puts me in a giving mood. So for the final issue of their landmark run, I send it off with a perfect 5 out of 5. Thank you Kyle and Yost! You filled the lives of fanboys everywhere with violence, gore, nudity, and cleavage! On behalf of X-fans everywhere I deem thee awesome and bid you a fond farewell! Excelsior!

New Mutants Forever #2 - Brazilian Carnival and Nazis

I know this book came out last week, but cut me a break. It was hard to find. New Mutants Forever is one of those titles that nobody is giving any attention or going out of their way to promote. In essence, it is the Stephen Baldwin of comic books. Chris Claremont is an X-men writing legend and he's been trying to expand that legend with X-men Forever and this mini, New Mutants Forever. While X-men Forever has the problem of trying to do to much and doing it poorly, New Mutants Forever tries to do just enough and does it right (so far anyways). The first issue was a real treat, bringing the old school New Mutants back into the fold with the Hellfire Club, including Magneto and Emma Frost, and throwing in a twist at the end that was the equivalent of a jackhammer to the eye socket. Amara and Doug, Magma and Cypher for all you codename minded people, were abducted by forces from Amara's home city of Nova Roma and the asshole behind it was none other than the Red Skull. Yeah, that Red Skull. It's a Forever title damn it! It can get away with prying other characters from other Marvel titles!

The next issue has to measure up to a bar that was set pretty damn high. Few probably came into New Mutants Forever expecting a twist like that. With the second issue, it's impossible to pull a twist like that again without revealing the Red Skull is working for fucking Cobra Commander or something. Since that's not Chris Claremont's style, that's not to be expected. However, it does amp up the expectations of this book and this series as a whole. Usually Chris Claremont measures up, especially when it comes to the X-men. But if there's one thing X-men Forever has proven, it's that he is capable of tarnishing his own legacy.

The second issue starts off with some nice eye-candy. In the previous issue, not all the New Mutants participated in the battle against the Red Skull. Roberto and Warlock were not there for the fight. They were down in Roberto's home country of Brazil enjoying the sexy and obscenely suggestive Carnival that is so well known to those who watch Brazilian porn. So the guy blew off the New Mutants for a chance at attending a party of dancing, partying, and shaved pussy. Most honest guys would admit they would have done the same.

While the glorious celebration of debauchery is going on, Roberto's mother is in a bit of trouble. She's being chased by some very non-Brazilian looking thugs and you know they're not Brazilian because they're not all that sexy. Even for a woman who looks old enough to be knitting sweaters in her spare time, Roberto's mom sure can kick ass. Warlock, who is in the disguise of a guy who looks like a cross between Fabio and a gay porn star, traces the signal to find out where she is.

It is probably the only time Warlock can pull off one of this bizarre body/machine contortions and not draw any attention. During Carnival in Brazil where Lady Gaga could probably casually walk down the street and act like she's under-dressed, a stunt like this turns about as much heads as a C-SPAN marathon. With Warlock's help, Roberto arrives to save his mother but not before she gets shot. That's how you know these guys are Nazi thugs. They always do something that earns them no sympathy for when they have to get their asses kicked. Sunspot and Warlock deliver, helping make up for the lack of action they saw in the first issue and beat down on the Nazi's in a style all Call of Duty fans would appreciate.

Once the Nazi's are taken care of, they get Sunspot's mother some needed medical treatment. Since Sunspot's family is rich and all, even by non-Brazilian standards, she gets the kind of care only Dick Cheney would enjoy in a lopsided health care system. She gets a clean bill of health, much to Sunspot's relief. While she's recovering, she makes the connections between this event and what happened in the previous issue.

The last issue introduced an unfolding mystery on Nova Roma, Amara's home city. Amara's father tried to seek help from the New Mutants (which ended up getting completely fucked up, but I already went over that in a previous review) while the DaCosta family tried to get support from the Brazilian government. The bad guys working against them did not like that so like all Nazis, their solution is to exterminate it. That's how she ended up getting chased and shot. So now the burden is on Sunspot and the New Mutants to take care of the rest. It's either that or go to the government. When given the choice between a bunch of super-powered teenagers and the government, it's a pretty clear choice. At least the super-powered teenagers are only emotionally unstable and not completely unstable on top of being grossly incompetent.

The story then finally picks up with Amara and Doug, who were last seen as captives of the Red Skull. This is still the case and the Red Skull is smart enough to give them power suppressing collars as well. They quickly find out that they're not alone in their imprisonment either. A very strapping young man named Tiberius Sum is in the cell with them and he quickly captures Amara's fancy, much to Doug's chagrin. He claims to be another one of the Red Skull's captives, but the man's name is Tiberius. That's the same name of a perverted old Roman Emperor who used to have pre-pubescent boys nibble on his body so he could get his rock off. Not a good name to take, even by liberal Roman standards. But that doesn't stop Amara from trusting him, or wanting to jump is bone either.

Never one to let his prisoners get comfortable, the Red Skull makes his appearance to Doug and Amara. Rather than do the standard evil boasting that often involves blatantly revealing his plan, the Red Skull skips right to his epic douche-baggery. He starts by using the collars to shock Amara and Tiberius (the non perverted version) and then grabs Doug by the neck. He doesn't drop any hints to what he's doing or why he's doing it. He basically comes off as a guy just looking to be an overall asshole. That's not to say he doesn't do a good job of it though. With Doug in his hands, he injects him with a needle that does not seem to contain pure Brazilian cocaine. Instead, it puts Doug through a gruesome transformation, one that turns him into a mini-Red Skull. So in essence Red Skull is making all those around him look just like him. It's a very Nazi thing to do even if it is fucked up.

Al Rio's art really shines here. He goes from something that's very grotesque to some nice scenery to so that readers have a moment to swallow their bile. The story pans out over Nova Roma, which looks like something straight out of the History Channel minus the Peter King narration and shitty sound effects. This is where the events of the first two issues come together. Selene, Sam, and Illyana decided to make their trip to Nova Roma at the end of the first issue while Sunspot and Warlock decided to do the same in this issue. They just happen to appear right next to each other in the same damn alley of the city. Yeah, it's pretty contrived, but it's a comic book. This shit happens no matter who is writing it. At least it brings the team together in a way that feels semi-fluid. Stranger coincidences have happened I guess.

They don't have to go too far to get to the action though. Within a few panels of meeting one another, they find what they're looking for. It's another surprise, but not one nearly as mind-blowing as the end of the previous issue. Just as Selene is about to lead an assault on the palace of Nova Roma, they're confronted by Amara, Doug, and Tiberius. Except they're not exactly happy to see them. They've been indoctrinated as the Nazis would call it. Doug is now his in his new Red Skull look, Tiberius is sporting a swastikas on his toga, and Amara is in a new sexy Nazi get-up that proves once and for all that even assholes like the Red Skull can have some damn sexy fashion sense. It sets the stage for a clash between the New Mutants and their brain washed friends. It's about as exciting as it sounds, even if it seems cliched. Compared to the first issue, it evokes more of a shrug than a gasp. It's still pretty awesome though and gives just enough reason to check out the next issue (if you can find it).

So again, the Forever titles show that it is possible for nostalgia to still be pretty awesome. While New Mutants Forever isn't getting the same attention X-men Forever is, one could make the argument that this is the better book. The art is solid, the story is better structured, and the twists and turns have really set this book apart from other New Mutant stories. Chris Claremont once again shows that when it comes to Marvel's marry band of mutants, he's always going to be one of the best. He still uses some techniques that went out of style before Kurt Cobain overdosed in 1994 like excessive thought bubbles and wordy narration, but it's not overdone here and feels like a real New Mutants story that fits just as well in 2010 as it would have in 1988.

There were some surprises, but nothing compared to the surprises of the first issue. In addition, this issue did nothing to answer any questions or even so much as hint at the answers. The Red Skull's plan is still completely unknown. There wasn't even a hint of what he was after. Everything he did just seemed to have no reason behind it other than being the arrogant jerk he's always been. That's probably the book's greatest shortcoming. The characterization and story of the New Mutants is great, but the story about the challenges they're facing is underdeveloped. There are still three issues to flesh this out, but a few hints sure would have helped.

There's still a lot to enjoy with this book. That's why I give New Mutants Forever #2 a 4.5 out of 5. Chris Claremont still has it! He's outlasted Michael Jackson and Nirvana with his comic book brilliance. Here's to hoping he'll outlast the likes of Lady Gaga and Kanye West as well! Nuff said.