I can't tell if this is a failing of current comic book media and hype and so forth, or if I was asleep at the wheel, or if Marvel just shoved this out the door; but tomorrow, new Frank Castle Punisher book! I'm sure I'll give Punisher: Red Band #1 a go, although I'm not entirely sure how "mature" those Red Band books are compared to, say, PunisherMAX. I'm thinking more blood, in a splattery way, but that could be because the only other Red Band book I think I've read so far was Blood Hunt, and I wasn't super-impressed with that one. This also probably means the Joe Garrison/new Punisher from last year is getting memory-holed, unless he's immediately gunned down in the first few pages of Punisher: Red Band #1, which feels like a dick move but I wouldn't put it past 'em. Anyway, I know I read the first issue of Joe's book, and got the next three from the cheap bins but I'm not sure I've sat down and read them yet. I remember thinking creating a new Punisher would be a thankless job, where you'd have to answer a multitude of masters and none of them would be happy with the end result; but we do have one of Joe's few guest-spots handy: from 2024, Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #2, written by Erica Schultz, art by Michael Dowling.

I've been onboard with Elektra as DD since she started that back in 2021, and stuck with her series even as I fell off of the regular Daredevil book again: I don't think Zdarsky stuck the landing there, and the inevitable relaunch seemed like rehashing plot points we've seen multiple times, not just in other comics, but in Daredevil! (Matt had lost his memory and come back...somehow...as a priest; so he had to get his DD-groove back, Bullseye was back, Matt drives multiple relationships into the ground, etc.) I just love that Elektra took that outfit, mostly with the intent of showing Matt something, but it ultimately became something redemptive for her. And also harder than she had thought: there's an issue where she has a fight with a big burly bouncer type, and is frustrated when it lasts more than three seconds. It was tougher when she couldn't just stab them in the lungs! This issue, Elektra was trying to find her missing...ward? Student? Sidekick? It's hard for me to imagine her having really strong maternal instincts, but she had been taking care of this girl Alice since the King in Black crossover: I think Alice was just taken somewhat forcibly by a concerned relative, and Elektra thought the Mafia Maggia got her, which leads to trailing Crossbones to Madripoor, fighting him on a train, and then the new Punisher showing up. He's there to kill Crossbones, but doesn't seem like killing Elektra would really break him up, either.

Elektra doesn't go into detail about her history with Frank, instead describing that as a point in her life where "killing was a pastime...something I did out of boredom." She can't give up Crossbones, since he might be the Maggia contact she was supposed to meet, so she's forced to fight the new Punisher. In a nine-panel grid, she hits him multiple times, seemingly ineffectively against his armor; but then a final shot with her trick sai pops his chest piece right off! Then the Maggia contact shows, and not unlike Frank, Joe has a remarkable ability to pull a gun seemingly out of nowhere. After a standoff, where Joe seems to think she was willingly working for the Maggia, he takes a shot at Elektra, but she dodges it easily and knocks him out. The Maggia contact was not as agile, and takes it in the neck! He dies gurgling blood, unable to tell Elektra anything; and the Punisher escapes. Elektra was now forced to find the Maggia in Madripoor, but plans to kill the new Punisher later...

It's not as readily apparent here, but I think in his own series Joe was a bit more sci-fi; his guns not as military-issue or store-bought as Frank's. The better to differentiate him from Frank, or from wanna-bes; there's maybe something to that idea. They are still guns, though: I'm not sure he ever got a Spider-Man crossover, and I could see that going badly. "So, you've got all this high-tech stuff, does that mean you're more nonlethal than Fr--nope, blew that guy's brains out. Never mind."  Also, if you remember Jason Aaron's Punisher series, which ended with Frank apparently "...no more" but really on Weirdworld; well, Frank won't, since he'll be back with no memory for like the sixth time. (And I was harshing on Daredevil for reusing plots!) I wonder if anything will come up from it later, or if the new book is just going to snowplow forward and call it good.

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We saw the second volume some time back; I'm not sure if this is the third. Definitely isn't the 20th volume, though. From 2019, Marvel Knights 20th #2, written by Matthew Rosenberg and Donny Cates, art by Nico Henrichon.

This was about the same time as War of the Realms, and I managed to fish this whole series from the same dollar bins! Somehow, the timeline or the world has changed, and no one remembers super-heroes, nor do they remember themselves. But a few are starting to, like Bruce Banner, who then tells Frank Castle: this is an unusual story for the Punisher, but it works. Frank didn't have his wife and kids in the altered reality, but had a girlfriend and was reasonably happy...except he knew something was missing, and the sight of a scribbled note with his skull symbol makes him realize he used to have a very different life. (Banner keeps getting weird little notes, mostly with names on them: I thought it was the Hulk writing them when Banner was asleep, but nope!)

While Matt Murdock was starting to remember after a botched visit from Frank, he also now has what might be the ghost of Karen Page keeping him company; as Frank and Banner try to contact another of the names: Elektra Natchios. She beats the stuffing out of Frank, admitting she knew there was something going on, but she didn't want to go back to a life where she hurt people...and was hurt back in turn. Frank refuses to quit, but gets distracted by Banner Hulking out in the back of his cop car. Elektra nearly stabs him in the back, but is stopped by Daredevil. He proposes they work together, but is surprised to realize, they can see Karen Page too...

This was collected as Marvel Knights: Make the World Go Away, which is a better title! It's a fun read, and no spoilers; but the answer for the reality shift wasn't Purple Man this time like I'd guessed, but it does tie-in to the Marvel Knights theme. I don't think I had read the Marvel Knights: Hulk book; I want to say that was from a stretch where they gave anybody an MK-labelled mini-series. Read more!

"The End" Week: Savage Avengers!

There was a moment there, when Marvel was losing or not renewing the Conan license, and we weren't sure if the new books from Titan Comics were going to be good. Rest assured: they're great! Titan's even brought back proper, black-and-white Savage Sword of Conan, and they're expanding their lineup with Solomon Kane and a lesser known Robert E. Howard creation, Dark Agnes de Chastillon. (She's a bit of a replacement for Red Sonja, maybe; they don't have the rights to her.) Definitely recommended, but let's look at the tailend of the barbarian's time at Marvel: from 2022, Savage Avengers #28, "Coda" Written by Gerry Duggan, art by Patch Zircher, color art by Java Tartaglia.

Previously, Conan had been allied with Doctors Doom and Strange, and Kang the Conqueror; in order to prevent Kulan Gath from taking over the world. Kang brought Conan back in time, to kill Gath as a young boy, before he picked up magic; but Conan has a better idea. He kills Gath's enslaver, freeing him, then teaches him the way of the sword instead. Gath is game: he seems genuinely invested in the idea of freeing other slaves, but Kang suggests to Conan, this might not be the mercy he thinks it is.

Gath receives an invitation, by talking crow, to meet with Sorcerer Supreme Mekri Ra, either "as friend...or as foe." The journey's long and treacherous, but allows Conan to train Gath up more. Gath enters Ra's tower, but Ra teleports outside to wait with Conan: this was a test only for Gath, and he faces Shuma-Gorath, who says Gath could defeat him, with the right weapon, giving him the opportunity to retake magic. Gath refuses, choosing to die as a warrior; but is then spit outside by the tower. Both Conan and Ra are pleased, and take their leave of Gath, as Kang picks Conan up...but doesn't take him back to the future! Conan is steamed, since he thought Strange owed him riches or whatnot (Conan was not above being super petty on occasion) but Kang's like, nah, I don't need the competition. He had seen multiple futures for Conan (one is a nod to either Bloodstone or Vandal Savage, or both!) and decides to wrap that up now.

Conan gets the drop on Kang, saying his sword was not in his collection; although it's up to you if you think he'd be able to stab Kang through his force-fields and armor. Kang says he was going to "let you retire in this land of stabbing and gout," but if you want to die, well...Conan gets on top of Kang, and demands to be taken back to the victory feast at Doctor Doom's. Kang agrees, that sounds nice...and spoilers after the break!

Kang returns to the future, alone, dropping onto the middle of a table. He gives a version of what happened, makes reassurances that Kulan Gath wouldn't return, but that Conan had wanted to return to his own time, and Kang of course did him a solid. Doom and Strange don't seem to buy that, but Kang returns to his "citadel of solitude" Kangstantinople. (Formerly Istanbul, presumably.) He surveys his trophies, smiling: of course he had Conan's sword, as well as his crown. And now he notices, written on that sword, in English: "This isn't over."

Kang acquiesces, returning Conan to 2022. But, he wouldn't stay there long: before the year was up, with a new roster, Conan would be returned to his own time again in Savage Avengers #5 (Legacy #33). Conan would be forced to stay behind, so a mystic doorway could be opened to get rid of Set. The rest of the team would be sent to 2099, for five issues with Punisher and Doom 2099, vs. Ultron and an army of Deathloks; wrapping up in 2023's Savage Avengers #10, "Deus Ex Machina" Written by David Pepose, art by Carlos Magno, color art by Espen Grundetjern.

The Savage Avengers were Anti-Venom, the Elektra-Daredevil, Cloak and Dagger, the Black Knight, and Weapon H. (The latter, a man turned into a Hulk/Wolverine mash-up.) They also had a Deathlok, but not the usual one: it was Miles Morales, trying to prevent his terrible future. Despite his distrust of the Deathloks, Punisher 2099 Jake Gallows sacrifices himself to save Miles; but Ultron brings him back as a puppet to use against Doom 2099. The other heroes fight Ultron's Deathloks, and work through their little plotlines: while attracted to Flash Thompson, Dagger gets back together with Cloak. (Are they usually a couple? I think it really varies from writer to writer...) Leading the other 2099 heroes, Elektra gets to belt out the classic "Avengers Assemble!"

Jake resists Ultron, and Miles finally stops him with a web, that stops him to create a paradox: the Watcher returns Miles to normal, explaining he had caused this mess, the act of observing having affected the results. In the future, Jake buries Ultron's head in a graveyard, where no one would find him and bring him back; and the Savage Avengers are returned to the present. They kinda know they're going to go their separate ways, but Fin Fang Foom appears, so maybe just one more time... Read more!

That tiger-guy's been doing the ab work; really seeing the gains.

I had absolutely no idea who was on the cover of this issue; I thought it might have been Tiger-Man from Atlas Comics! Nope, but we've seen this guy before! From 1995, Daredevil #336, "Humanity's Fathom, part four of five" Written by Gregory Wright, pencils by Tom Grindberg, inks by Don Hudson.

We're coming in the middle of this one, but the Devourer has returned, brought back by someone that I think we're supposed to think was the Kingpin but I don't think was. Wait, we've seen the next issue some time back: it's underground Kingpin-lookalike...King. Trying to prove the innocence of two underground-dwellers, Daredevil was mid-fight with the Devourer, Bushwacker, and the Demolisher--the pre-Crisis, er, original, Deathlok! Who has some crazy hair going! He's gotta be a Hair Club for Men customer; Deathlok had basically been a bionic corpse, there's no way he grew that! Well, if it makes him feel good, I guess: the Demolisher doesn't want in on any of this, but ends up zapping the Devourer with a plasma cannon, reducing him to a pile of goo. (Maybe the Devourer didn't possess somebody this time. There was a magic knife involved, so it probably could've been brought back whenever, if somebody had a hankering to.) Bushwacker just leaves mid-fight, partly because too much was going on, but he also had a grievance with his employer. Marvel's "Peacekeeper" appears: again, this was maybe going to be the Golden Age Angel, but the continuity maybe didn't work out. Later, DD has a pretty hacker in her underwear, blackmailed to expose Bushwacker's boss; and Randi visits "Jack Batlin" to flirt: Matt doesn't bite, because he was already unhappy with his con-man identity, and seemed determined not to enjoy himself at all.

Also this issue: a three-page teaser for the D.G. Chichester/Scott McDaniel Elektra mini-series. Which Frank Miller was probably not thrilled about. I think that was a prestige-format title, which I don't think I've read; but the coloring/newsprint didn't seem to be working for it. Also, the short concludes with Elektra kicking the bad guy out of a third-story window, then four cops shoot the guy before he hits the ground! Read more!

"The End" Week: Nothing really ends, as long as we remember it relaunch it, over and over and over...

Good lord, last week I got, in my yard of comics from the dollar bins, five issues of what I thought was the most recent Ghost Rider series. Nope!  From the series before, and the current Ghost Rider book was actually ending this week! I almost wish I could easily track the sales numbers for those, because those returns have got to be diminishing, right? Or does every incarnation of a character like this sell about the same baseline, regardless?

In that vein, I don't read that many mainstream Marvel books, probably in part because of this sort of thing; but (at least!) three I read got cancelled this year...and relaunched virtually immediately. So, let's bite off more than we can chew, and check them out! First up, probably the most permanent cancellation...sort of. Punisher #12, "Punisher No More" Written by Jason Aaron, art by Jesús Saiz and Paul Azaceta. 

I think the Hood or somebody tried this before, but the hook for this series was the resurrection of Frank's wife, Maria; by the ninja clan the Hand, in exchange for the Punisher becoming their "Fist of the Beast." It's literally as well as figuratively a deal with the devil, but if it kills criminals, yeah, Frank's up for it. What Frank may not have known, was that before her death in Central Park, Maria had been on the verge of divorcing him: he was very obviously damaged, from the war and earlier, and utterly incapable of fixing himself or reaching out for help. Maria is also not thrilled when she finds out what Frank's done, in her name and the name of her children: year after year of brutal murder. She shoots Frank with a magic gun he had rigged up to kill Ares, and the Archpriestess of the Hand confronts the bleeding "Fist," a colossal disappointment, that she still believes in: maybe he'll be better, when she brings him back...

The Archpriestess may have jumped the gun, since Frank still had enough power to drive her off, but he's then captured by Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Captain America, Black Widow, and Moon Knight. Who are then at a loss, as to what to do with Frank; who no longer has the power, but isn't the slightest bit repentant. His only request is to Natasha, on behalf of Maria; since he seemed to think Strange or the others would decide she should be dead again. Instead, the coldly furious Maria confronts him: with Natasha's help, she cashed in the Punisher's various assets, and gave Frank's half to charities in the names of their kids: she didn't want him using them as "an excuse for slaughter" anymore--he would have lost them, regardless. She tells him, wherever he's going, "do us all a favor...and stay dead." Frank is left, with no regrets as the Punisher...and nothing but regrets, as a husband and father. 

Strange had left Frank the bullets he had dug out of him, and Frank makes a final prayer (or final threat?) to the Beast. Before the heroes can pass judgement on him--which he figures "wouldn't be enough" anyway--Frank uses a final burst of power, and disappears in flames. Strange says, he was no longer in that plane of existence: "The Punisher...is no more." But...well, let's put this after the break!

  

While the Archpriestess approaches a new candidate for the position of Fist--a young serial killer, in jail--and Maria drives off, with two duffel bags full of cash, and a positive pregnancy test; in a final epilogue, Frank saves four more orphans, in the wars on Weirdworld. Wars he doesn't want any part of...for now, seemingly content with saving lives, as he tells a young girl "Call me Frank."

The Hand stuff seemed like a weird fit from the start, but Aaron's argument seems to be Frank would get into bed with just about anyone that's going to get him to kill more criminals, especially since Frank was pretty obviously intending to wipe out the Hand later on anyway. This series also--and quite intentionally, I think--gives Maria more agency than she's ever had; partially because it's more page time than she's ever had alive. I did feel like she waffled a little in her choice; but despite Frank's shortcomings, she loved him once and saw him as someone who would protect her and her kids...which he didn't, if we get down to it. Aaron's also done Weirdworld before, of course, but sending Frank there...that's straight-up leaving an out for later, as needed. And Aaron had written another end for Frank before, in PunisherMAX #22! There are some interesting character bits with the other heroes here: Frank tells Natasha he's not a "friend" any more than a gun would be; while Moon Knight seems to look at him and see where exactly he was damaged, even if nothing could be done about it. 

There was also a crossover in this series, that should have mattered more to both titles: Chip Zdarsky's Daredevil. I was up on the book almost three years ago and thrilled to get an Elektra-DD figure, which just makes the rest of the run all the more disappointing.

I'm trying to do this without re-reading a couple years' worth of books (and tie-ins!) but let's see: Matt went to jail, as Daredevil, for murder. Elektra took up the mantle of DD on the outside, to maybe prove something to Matt but that might've shown her something as well. There were clones of Bullseye and Mike Murdock was real now? And the wedding of the Kingpin and Typhoid Mary before Matt got out--which was another Daredevil last issue? #36/Legacy #648, and it might be time to admit comic book numbering is just a crapshoot now. Huh, that was in the drawer there, too...("Lockdown, Part 6" Written by Chip Zdarsky, pencils by Manuel Garcia, inks by Cam Smith, Scott Hanna, and Victor Nava.) That's not a great cut-off, since new #1 or not, Zdarsky only had 14 more issues. Well, it seems longer, because the Devil's Reign crossover was next. (The ending, setting up the crossover, isn't bad! Wilson Fisk finds an old file labeled "Daredevil's Identity," but is furious that it seems to be blank; from the last time the genie got crammed back into the bottle.)

Then, the "Red Fist Saga," which felt like a series of stumbles for me. Like a runner coming off the blocks wrong and never hitting stride: something interesting would be brought up, then not used, or actively ignored. Matt and Elektra are "married," even if it doesn't feel real, as it has something to do with some prophecy for the final battle between the Fist and the Hand. Matt recruits some guys like Stegron (!) and Speed Demon, but in an interesting way, like Zdarsky was trying to say something about justice and rehabilitation...that gets completely left by the wayside. Ditto the battle with the Punisher and the Hand: that doesn't come down to Matt and Frank, probably because Aaron and Zdarsky were maybe working in different directions? There's a fight with the Avengers and Spidey; Elektra is framed for some murders but out before the last issue; Stick, Foggy Nelson, and some unnamed and unseen world leaders are trapped in Hell by the Hand; Matt tricks Elektra into killing him, so he can face the Beast (and the Beast's sister, who I don't know we ever saw before) to save those souls, but is seemingly left behind in hell.

I was kind of joking before, but how many beats does this share with earlier last issue Daredevil #512? With Matt Murdock gone, Foggy Nelson struggles to go on, but has a new partner to help: former cop Cole North. And Hell's Kitchen has a new protector: Elektra as Daredevil, who muses she never used to scare people, mostly because she killed them before they ever saw her. She also confronts new "Kingpin," Butch Fisk, who's presenting a friendlier, white-collar crime vibe; but probably isn't. Foggy has a visit with Reed Richards (who appeared in #36/648 as well, oddly enough) and they discuss loss, and how if anyone was going to come back, it'd be Matt.

Elektra, who is charmingly uncaring about her "secret" identity, beats a couple thugs to help out a storekeeper from earlier in the series; then seems to see Matt heading into a church. And inside, she seems to find him, as a priest: he tells her her scent is familiar, but he doesn't know her, and Elektra isn't about to destroy his peace for her own benefit. But, Elektra had told Butch he could be freed from history, to be something else: Matt hears a man, catch a beating from loan sharks, and moves to do something about it...("The Red Fist Saga, conclusion" Written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Marco Checchetto, color art by Matthew Wilson.) 

 We've long since established on this blog, I'm a godless heathen. No love for the church. Matt as a priest...ah, I'm sick of his mopey, guilty ass anyway. Elektra's my new Daredevil, long may she reign. I really liked when she first put on the horns, and was struggling in the role ("How would Matt do this...in the stupidest, hardest way possible.") but she's like an all-star that's just figured out the offensive scheme: she's got it from here. There is of course a new Daredevil series out already, and sweet Smurfberry crunch, it looks like the same beats of Matt getting his groove back, Ben Urich, Bullseye...hard pass. Marvel's still getting my money, though; with Elektra in the Gang War crossover and a Black Armor mini.

Ugh, I didn't think I was gonna have to blog four comics for this thing, what the hell...still, this one hasn't been relaunched...yet. Today. You have to wait a month! But, this is a sad end for a fun series, all too soon, even if it's been teased out for seemingly months...Moon Knight #30, "The Terminal Seconds of Moon Knight" Written by Jed MacKay, art by Alessandro Cappuccio.

Moon Knight and his allies are in final battle with Black Spectre...like the third Black Spectre. He's really Robert Plesko, who was allegedly killed earlier in the storyline, and actually dates back to 1992 as part of Marc's 'Shadow Cabinet.' Sure. I think a lot of this is a retcon insert, and maybe the last issue isn't the place to do it? Feels like trying to change the rules for a catch while the ball's in the air...Yes, I am watching a lot of football lately, why? Plesko knew Marc back in his merc phase, and describes himself as "a student of atrocity." He wants horrible stuff to happen, just out of curiosity then? Swell.

Back at the Midnight Mission, the vampire Reese confronts the earlier big-bad of the series, Zodiac; who felt like Plesko was deserving a shot at Marc. And if he killed Moon Knight, well, hell, he'd just come back, right? ...right? Zodiac is stunned to hear resurrection was off the table, and doesn't want to lose his chance to kill him: he cuts a deal with the Mission, to get out. Shot and bleeding out, Moon Knight sees Khonshu, who says while he can't help him, he was still proud of him; and Marc struggles to stop Plesko's sonic weapon, but not alone: Marc still had Jake and Steven at his side. With a final apology to Tigra, for breaking his promise, Marc blows up with most of the building; saving the city.

Plesko wonders why his sonic weapon hasn't gone off, and Zodiac tells him "You can't plan for Moon Knight." Still, he had a plan for him, for cheating him of the chance to face Moon Knight again...A month later, the Midnight Mission was still open, and still helping people, with the vampires Reese and Soldier in white suits, redeemed baddie 8-Ball and Khonshu's other fist Hunter's Moon in black, and Tigra. But, instead of Midnight Mission #1 next month, it's the return of Vengeance of the Moon Knight: I don't know what the over/under would be, but my money says it's Zodiac in the new costume, which I don't love, even with the moon-axe things.  I'm hoping it isn't just an amnesiac Marc, or Khonshu forbid, another new personality. 

Relaunching here feels like, thirty issues is positively old growth forest nowadays: I'll say it now, I'll be genuinely surprised--and impressed--if Vengeance hits half that number. Comics would be nothing but goddamn #1's if they thought they could get away with it. 

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Elektra's now DD, Kurt's going to be Spidey, and Natasha's going to be Venom? So much for "just be yourself."

Not if you can be Daredevil, though! I went out of my way to grab her early, and immediately had to pop off her head: I almost thought the scarf was going to be attached. I wish I had more time to play with her, but I have to mow my lawn here shortly--a chore I've avoided for several years now and am not looking forward to; but my landlords apparently proclaimed it must be done and conveniently forgot they used to do it. I'm super irritated, if you couldn't guess. The lawn's been nothing but weeds for like two years. 

One quick one here, then take the rest of the day off, and have a good weekend!

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Is Gambit here just for a gratuitous sales-bump?

My main local comic shop has a spinner rack they salt with dollar comics, and sometimes they load it up with crap of course I'm going to buy, even if I just ended up buying Daredevil #327 again...from 1994, Daredevil #330, "Tree of Knowledge, part 4: Disinformocracy" Written by D.G. Chichester, pencils by Scott McDaniel, inks by Hector Collazo and Rich Rankin.

Gambit gets the guest-spot on the cover, but he's not in this for very long: Daredevil is still fighting System Crash, a high-tech HYDRA team. Gambit had told the X-Men he was heading into town "for some jambalaya" and said he'd check it out; and appreciates how the "new" armored DD is seen with more distrust than he probably deserves. Meanwhile, Karen Page has been approached by her old porn producers, about making newfangled interactive smut, which probably would've been point-and-click back then; but she also finds hidden, probably illegal pictures on their disc. Elektra has ordered a fancy dinner for Matt, who shows up late and also doesn't seem to be in the mood: that seems unlikely...And at a local S.H.I.E.L.D. branch, Nick Fury can't get the cyborg-y parts out of John Garrett: he isn't willing to kill him in cold blood, but doesn't want him just running around doing whatever, so he gives him a "babysitter," the cyborg Siege. (I like him! I always hear the old dial-up modem noise when he shows up...)

"Jack Batlin" is getting a new building-slash-jungle gym; and has a brief discussion with a media professor about "the 'computerization' of the public," which comtemplates but isn't even close about how online the average person was going to get. Later, in disguise at a "wetware rave," Captain America and Daredevil continue that vein of discussion: Cap presents a very G-rated, "Jeffersonian ideal" of what the internet could be, while DD plays "Devil's advocate" with a darker vision. Neither were very predictive of what actually happened, although Chichester seems to guess money-laundering would be a big part of cybercrime. Really think Cap and DD's rave costumes deserved more page time then they got: Cap with product in his hair is somehow simulataneously both unrecognizable and unmistakable. And downtown, information activist Spectrum is visited in jail by one of System Crash's killers, but possibly only with a job offer...

Yeesh, I think I skipped mentioning at least two more subplots: Foggy Nelson gets approached by Wilson Fisk's radio station, WFET, about working for them; which would be like working for an even sleazier Fox. And Baron Strucker spars with some of System Crash: they don't seem very unified, and Strucker seems fed up with their nerdery. But for the next couple issues, all these plots and possibly more get like two or three pages each, which paradoxically feels like too little and too much. (Actually, Karen's plot doesn't go super-far: she goes to the cops the next issue, and they're even less helpful than you'd expect, as the officer remembers her from porn.) This whole thing wants to be industrial and cyberpunk, and it totally is! Like Billy Idol's Cyberpunk. That thing was dated when it came out...OK, "Shock to the System" isn't a bad track, but still. In other news, I haven't loved the last couple new issues of Daredevil, as the ongoing Hand/Punisher storyline is wearing thin for me. Among other things, I'm worried Elektra will be out of her DD suit before her figure gets here... Read more!

Honestly, I'm not sure why they're yelling for his help, anyway.

The cover is a great one, and I think this series had a few in there; but it's the second of a three-parter, and the parts I recall were in the other two. It's also part of a crossover event I'm positive I've flipped through but am sure you could tell me anything was in it and I'd just have to trust you. From 2013, Thunderbolts #17, written by Charles Soule, art by Jefte Palo. Cover by Julian Totino Tedesco. 

The Thunderbolts at the time were a loose confederation, working under a system where they would take turns picking missions. When the Punisher gets to make a pick, he selects...some mobsters; which Deadpool calls the least surprising thing ever. But, Frank had picked the Paguro crime family, who were so behind the scenes he'd never been able to get at them. Unfortunately, the day of the mission coincides with Thanos's invasion of New York; but Frank isn't about to let a little thing like that hold them up. 

Red Leader was losing his intelligence, while Red Hulk is helping him not out of the kindness of his heart, but just to avoid losing a useful tool. Mercy had gone berserk, since the entire city maybe needed to be put out of its misery. Frank, Elektra, and Venom were murdering their way through the Paguros' goons; when they notice gas. While they don't know what it is, it's not hurting them, so they ignore it: Red Leader explains it's Terrigen Mist, and they also ignore it...even as it transforms some goons into Inhumans!

Meanwhile, having wandered off last issue, Deadpool is still looking for some pizza. Which he finally gets to, but the punchline has to wait until the next issue; and it's not bad. 

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This wasn't the issue I thought it was, but the cover was so great, still worth it: from 2014, Thunderbolts #19, written by Charles Soule, art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta, cover by Julian Totino Tedesco.

What could be more relaxing than a road trip?...in a van without air conditioning, with some of the crabbiest people on earth? Samuel Sterns, the Red Leader, has had about enough of the Thunderbolts; who haven't yet noticed he was subtly manipulating them. He's pretty sure he could kill them all, if he played his cards right, except for Mercy...who I had kind of forgotten about. Worse, while he plays out his plan in his head, after a recent battle with Thanos's agent Super Giant he took some brain damage, on top of the damage he took at the start of the series; so Leader was doubting himself, and decides to hold out instead of chance it.

Most of this issue didn't really happen, except it appears Deadpool did indeed request a bullet to the head rather than sit through their road trip. Look, it's not like Frank and Elektra were going to lead a singalong. They probably didn't even turn on the radio...

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I don't talk about current comics enough--well, I guess we mentioned the current Star Trek series a bit ago--but here's another recent book I'm now down for, even as it gets sucked into a crossover: from 2021, Daredevil #26, "The Black Kitchen" Written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Marco Checchetto and Mike Hawthorne, inks by Adriano Di Benedetto. 

Matt, as Daredevil, was currently in prison; on a two-year bid for manslaughter. Elektra had wanted him to break out and join her in creating the Fist, to finally crush the Hand once and for all: Matt declines, thinking she had to earn his trust. Somewhat grudgingly, Elektra decides to do just that, making an absolutely stylin' costume for herself, and protecting Hell's Kitchen as Daredevil. She almost certainly has some ulterior motives--I think if they form the Fist, one of them is prophesized to die, and she may want to make sure it's her--but there's a massive sense of "I'll show him" here. Even though she feels it's largely pointless, as when she stops a gunrunner from doing business in the Kitchen: she doesn't really care what he does elsewhere, but also thinks turning him over to the cops would just be more corruption.

Speaking of corruption, Wilson Fisk is still mayor, now with Typhoid Mary as his head of security. (I don't know how long that's been the case: it feels like rolling back a bit of development for Typhoid, but it also sort of works?) Wearing her hair up, and her face half-painted, with a couple swords on her back...that could just read as 'formal superhero wear' to the people of New York. Fisk's right-hand man Wesley is there as well...I thought he was killed off in the last run; but there was a long dream sequence in there, so maybe not. But, none of our characters are prepared for today's nonsense, an invasion of Venoms! Fisk seems unwilling to leave Typhoid as she holds off the Venoms, then is engulfed. In the prison, Matt misses his soundproof room, since he can hear everything in the prison (...ew) and tries to warn the guards of the symbiote intruder, since he knows that's out of their league. And in a bar, hiding out from the invasion, a stepmom steps in to stop her underage daughter getting hit on, and gets slapped for her trouble. The daughter changes her tune when the stepmom gets creepily Venomed, and tries to make her one too. Elektra steps in to save the daughter, mentally complaining that "Matt's life is a horror show. His city is a horror show." Even though she doesn't think much of the situation or the daughter, feeling Matt's judgement, Elektra absolutely refuses to let anything happen to her. Which may be put to the test, when a Venomed Typhoid Mary shows up.

For good measure, in prison, Matt is Venomed as well, with Knull imploring him to join them. Venomdevil isn't as good a design as the Infinity War Doppelganger-DD, sorry.

The people of NYC already seem to know there's a new DD here; I was expecting a few issues of the cops wondering why billy-club beatings were down, but stabbings way up. A comic shop guy suggested this was the first real development for Elektra in who knows how long; but I just love the notion of her trying to pound the square peg into the round hole: can Elektra use her skill set to do a Daredevil's job? Does she want to, really? She often seems to be asking herself, "What would Matt do?...something stupid." I would be legitimately surprised not if Elektra saves the daughter, but if that sparks any sort of warm feelings in her. Also, while I'm sure Matt opting for prison makes sense in a big-picture, protecting other heroes and the law way; it pretty obviously also makes sense for his colossal martyr complex; which I believe Elektra even calls him on, for the good that does her.

That and her costume is great; Marvel Legend soon, please.

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"The End" Week: Thunderbolts #32!

This is another one I thought we had seen already; but I could probably get two or three more out of this series! From 2014, Thunderbolts #32, "Punisher vs. Thunderbolts, part six" Written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, art by Kim Jacinto.

Previously, the Punisher had gotten fed up with the Thunderbolts (for not killing Cap villain Dr. Faustus) and quit; only to find a bomb led in lieu of severence from the Red Hulk. Frank then took down his former team one by one, even though the bomb had actually been planted by the Red Leader! Red Hulk had thought he had him under control, and I believe Red Leader had acted like a scared doofus most of the series as a cover. Six months after the Thunderbolts fell, Red Leader rules the island of Kata Jaya, with an army of gamma-irradiated guards and Crimson Dynamo suits. (I was thinking Titanium Man, but he has to lean into the color scheme!) It seems like he should be having more fun with his endangered species banquet, mutated knockoff bloodsports, and portal to hell; but he's putting a lot of mental effort into winning over the heart of his assistant Caitlin. Tough to run the numbers on making someone love you, but giving a panda fur coat to a vegan isn't a winning strategy.

The Thunderbolts get the band back together (with a lot of Avengers behind them) to clean up Red Hulk's mess. Hawkeye--himself a longtime former Thunderbolt, remember!--comes across as only mildly disappointed in RH: his Thunderbolts weren't about redemption, were they? Frank, while still furious, carries himself like a professional; Elektra still holds a grudge, and does give him an incidental stabbing. Using Faustus's gas, Red Leader turns the locals there into violent psychopaths; some innocent, others not. Deadpool nearly gets the Red Leader, but gets jumped by a pair of hallucinating pandas. In the end, before he can escape, Red Leader is brought down by Caitlin, Agent Cross of...something! S.H.I.E.L.D. maybe?

Red Leader is imprisoned, with the decapitated skull of the Ghost Rider: Frank explains, the Penance Stare still works. That's cruel and unusual, but he probably wasn't going to trial anytime soon; and at any rate Mephisto shows up to renegotiate their deal, so being dragged to hell was the best he could hope for. (The Leader would be back, with his usual green hue!) Amusingly, that also resets Johnny Blaze, who had peaceably been enjoying a book when his head catches fire...While Hawkeye is letting the Thunderbolts go, they've had more than enough togetherness: Red Hulk doesn't hold a grudge with Frank, but Frank still walks away from him. Pool, as you'd expect, goes on about what a terrible idea this had all been; while Elektra merely disappears; leaving Red Hulk wondering where he went wrong. Read more!