Level 24: DOUBLE FEATURE - Weeks of 05/21/11 and 05/28/11

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and Welcome to The Next Level. We are your source for comic book opinions and debates. I’m your host Stefan, and I’ll be here with you discussing Comic Books, Video Games, and other items of note. Please note, for a purely gaming blog, I'd recommend Pwning Pat's Game Blog. The Next Level would also like to thank Jackie Fong for designing our logo.

Welcome to the second Double Feature of The Next Level. This entry will review:

• X-Men: Prelude to Schism #2
• Ultimate Spider-Man #158
• Green Lantern #66
• Green Lantern Corps #60
• Green Lantern Corps #10

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X-Men: Prelude to Schism #2

Back during Level 22, I reviewed the first issue of this book with a simple question: What the hell is going on? Unfortunately, after reading the second issue, I have the same question. Essentially, the entire issue is a backdrop for Magneto to tell his life story to Cyclops in preparation of some disaster that is about to hit Utopia. That's as much as I could figure out. This book better pick up soon, or Schism will fail.
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Ultimate Spider-Man #158

This issue is what Spider-Man is all about: Self-Sacrifice. It begins a short time after Spider-Man is shot. He wakes up, alone, on the street bleeding to death. After trying to remember what happened to the big Ultimates vs Avengers fight (see the Ultimates vs Avengers miniseries for that), he decides he must go to a hospital, and uses his webbing to temporarily patch the bullet wound. At the same time, the Sinister Six find the Tinkerer and armour up in preparation for their assault on the Parker house. They fly over Spider-Man, and in a silent moment, Spider-Man takes off after them.

Returning to the Parker house after a double date gone awry, Iceman and the Human Torch find a note left from Aunt May warning them to leave the house immediately. They are then confronted by the Sinister Six. Sandman smothers the Human Torch to prevent him from using his flame powers, and Electro uses the water base of ice to conduct electricity back to Iceman, incapacitating him. At this moment, Vulture sees the silhouette of Spider-Man, and flies toward him angry. Spider-Man webs the Vulture and throws him to the side, and is then seen holding his gunshot wound asking, "Who's next?"

I said it before, and I'll say it again: This issue is what Spider-Man's all about. The scene where Spider-Man sees the Sinister Six fly over him is easily the most powerful scene in the book because of the lack of dialogue. He's dying and he knows it, but he doesn't even contemplate attempting to save himself before the others. If Peter Parker dies as a result of this storyline, I'll actually be okay with it, for the sole reason that this arc has captured what Spider-Man is supposed to be about: Self-Sacrifice.

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Green Lantern #66

The issue begins where the last one left off: Sinestro Corpsman Hal Jordan and Red Lanter Guy Gardner battling the Emotional Entity possessed Guardians. After a short battle, Hal decides that they should attempt to escape and free Parallax, to restore the Corps. Unfortunately, the possessed Guardians are wiping the floor with Hal and Guy, so Guy decides to activate Krona's Power Gauntlet. Once he does however, both he and Hal are struck down by Krona.

The scene then shifts to within the Book of the Black, where after a brief pseudo-flashback sequence, Sinestro awakens and realizes where he is being held captive. After ripping through the other New Guardian's origin stories, he nearly succeeds in breaking loose of the book, only to be stopped by Krona. Krona claims that his ultimate plan is to create a new set of Guardians of the Universe, beings who can feel the full range of emotion. He has selected the four human Green Lanterns to stand alongside him as Guardians.

I really enjoyed this issue. I was very glad that Hal and Guy didn't beat down the Guardians, as they should have so much more power than two rogue Green Lanterns. I was intrigued by the powering up of the Gauntlet, but understood why it could not be used yet. Finally, I was happy that we've played up the "Sinestro-is-a-badass" theme from earlier books, by showing that he was the only New Guardian able to regain himself within the Book of the Black.

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Green Lantern Corps #60

Running parallel to the above issue is the story of Blue Lantern Kyle Rayner and Indigo Lantern John Stewart. The issue begins with the two Lanterns attempting to stop the release of Green Rings from Mogo, as the Central Power Battery is still infected with Parallax. After a mildly successfully attempt at containing the rings, they break free and scatter across the universe. As a result, Kyle has the idea of using the Blue Ring's power on Mogo to bring him back to his senses, but they realize they'll need to be close to Mogo's brain to do it. They head to Mogo's core, but are attacked by Parallax-controlled Green Lanterns.

After escaping them, Kyle uses his Blue Ring to create a Blue Lantern construct of Bzzd, Mogo's fallen partner. The construct begins to work, but suddenly Black energy is released from Mogo's core. John realizes that when Mogo absorbed all the Black Lanterns during the Siege of Oa (see Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps for more details), the Black energy remained, and was now being released. John attempts to use the Green energy of Mogo, but is contacted by Krona, who shows how the Parallax-controlled Green Lantern army was growing in number, stating that a "wave of murder" will sweep across of the universe. With this information, John uses the Indigo ring to do what it does best: absorb and repurpose the energy of other Lanterns nearby.

SPOILER ALERT

He uses the ring to absorb the energy of the Black Lanterns, and uses the energy to create a create a rifle. Over the protests of Kyle, John fires, destroying Mogo.

END SPOILER ALERT

I refuse to comment on this issue until my next entry to avoid this spoiler from being spread.

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Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #10

The issue begins with a direct continuation of Green Lantern #66, seeing Hal and Guy strung up by Krona. However, Krona and all the possessed Guardians are incapacitated by (*SPOILER ALERT*) the immense energy discharge caused by the death of Mogo. Kyle and John argue over the destruction of Mogo, (*END SPOILERS*) but John grabs Kyle and teleports them back to Hal and Guy. Hal and Guy realize what has happened after they make their escape, and free Ganthet in order to remove Parallax from the Central Power Battery.

Ganthet tells the Four Rogue Lanterns to use all seven rings to force Parallax out of the Central Power Battery. Hal wears the Orange Ring and Guy puts on the Violet ring in order to use all of the rings. The initial burst works, but Parallax remained in the battery. Ganthet tells Guy Gardner that since he wears both of the extreme rings, he holds the key to releasing Parallax. With a heartfelt cry of "I love the Corps", Guy forces Parallax from the Central Power Battery. The Four Rogue Lanterns reclaim their Green Lantern rings, and join with the newly freed Green Lanterns who then turn to face Krona, the Entity-possessed Guardians, and Parallax in the final conflict of the war.

Despite the Spoiler that I'm avoiding discussing, this issue was very well done. The war is turning out a LOT better than I was expected after the midway point, and now I'm eagerly anticipating the finale.
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Thoughts? Questions? Feedback is always welcome. Leave a comment or email nextlevelstaff@gmail.com

Level 23 - Week of 05/14/11

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and Welcome to The Next Level. We are your source for comic book opinions and debates. I’m your host Stefan, and I’ll be here with you discussing Comic Books, Video Games, and other items of note. Please note, for a purely gaming blog, I'd recommend Pwning Pat's Game Blog. The Next Level would also like to thank Jackie Fong for designing our logo.

This week's post will feature The Flash #12, and Flashpoint #1.

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The Flash #12

This issue begins with Zoom threatening Patty Spivot and Hot Pursuit attempting to send Kid Flash back to the future. However, with Zoom's reemergence, Hot Pursuit's Cosmic Nightstick reacts to the energies of the Negative Speed Force, and he realizes that Kid Flash is not the threat. He takes off, with Flash and Kid Flash following closely behind, and encounter Professor Zoom. Flash saves Patty, while Hot Pursuit attacks Zoom. However, during the battle, Hot Pursuit's helmet is destroyed. When Zoom realizes that Hot Pursuit is an alternate Barry Allen, he uses the red lightning to kill him and absorb some sort of his powers. He then proclaims that he will use the Negative Speed Force to change the world and then escapes.

Barry talks with Patty, who makes it abundantly clear that she still has feelings for him, but Barry remains loyal to his wife. Barry and Iris then go out for lunch, when she tells him that he needs to open back up to her. Shortly after, Barry is seen standing over his mother's grave with lighting striking in the back ground. The lightning starts coming from the opposite direction, and the final page of the book shows a large lightning bolt being struck by the red lightning.

This book was good, but felt a bit rushed. Everything was wrapped up a bit too quickly, but I was happy that this book came out on the same day as Flashpoint, because despite being marketed as a lead-in for Flashpoint, very very little information regarding that story was contained within these pages.

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Flashpoint #1

The issue opens up with Barry Allen being woken up at his desk. His partner asks him about a murder case that he hasn't heard of, and his boss begins to make reference to Citizen Cold, which causes Barry to question if he meant Captain Cold. When Director Singh infers that he has no idea who that is, Barry attempts to run and turn into the Flash, but realizes that his ring and speed are gone. He falls down the stairs, and lands at the feet of his Mother, who is alive in this reality. Barry questions his mother on the members of the superhero community, but she only recognizes Batman's name. In Gotham, Batman meets with Cyborg, and many other heroes who are debating their course of action now that Aquaman's armies of Atlantis and Wonder Woman's armies of Themyscira have gone to war.

Barry goes to see his wife, but finds that she is married to someone else in this world, and decides to seek assistance from the only person who can help him. Back in Gotham, the majority of the heroes agree to side with Cyborg and fight against both armies, until Batman announces that he will not participate. Once Batman leaves, everyone who pledged to aid Cyborg reneges. Shortly thereafter, Barry arrives at the Wayne Mansion, hoping to enlist Bruce's assistance to figure out what's going on, but after a quick altercation with Batman, he realizes that Batman is in fact...

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Seriously, Spoilers... Highlight the Area below if you really want to know.


Thomas Wayne.

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This issue was mainly universe-building. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I felt that last month's Fear Itself #1 was a better opening salvo.
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Thoughts? Questions? Feedback is always welcome. Leave a comment or email nextlevelstaff@gmail.com

Level 22 - Week of 05/07/11

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and Welcome to The Next Level. We are your source for comic book opinions and debates. I’m your host Stefan, and I’ll be here with you discussing Comic Books, Video Games, and other items of note. Please note, for a purely gaming blog, I'd recommend Pwning Pat's Game Blog. The Next Level would also like to thank Jackie Fong for designing our logo.

This week's post will feature Moon Knight #1, X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1, and Fear Itself #2.
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Moon Knight #1

Disclaimer: I understand that many people out there aren't aware of who Moon Knight is, and as a result, I've grabbed a piece of this book to explain in as little a time as possible.


So, with that out of the way, let's get to the issue. The issue begins with a party among several television producers, cheering the success of their newest title: Legend of the Khonshu. The executive producer is, in fact, Marc Spector himself. At this point, Spector gets a call and heads to the roof. Arriving there, he finds Captain America (in the Steve Rogers uniform... I'll get to that in a minute), Spider-Man, and Wolverine. They tell him that there's been chatter in the supervillain community. Seems that they've finally gotten it through their heads that most superheroes live on the East Coast, and have tried to take over the West Coast. They task Moon Knight to find out what he can.

Moon Knight dons his costume and heads to the docks, where he finds two very scared low-tier criminals discussing their rotten luck for drawing this particular assignment. He attempts to listen in, but the criminals are interrupted by the arrival of their contact: Mr. Hyde. Hyde demands his payment, but the two criminals have no idea what he's talking about. Less than impressed, Hyde quickly dispatches both of them, but is interrupted by Moon Knight. The fight goes poorly for Moon Knight, but he makes a valiant comeback, and discovers the cargo that Hyde was attempting to sell: a dead Ultron. Moon Knight grabs Ultron's head, before the barge he is on is cast into the sea. From his vantage point, he sees Hyde arguing with his client over the undue attention he has drawn, before he is seemingly killed. With this knowledge, and the head of an Ultron, Moon Knight reports back that there is already a Kingpin of LA...and he has powers. When the other superheroes ask Moon Knight what he feels the correct course of action should be, the reader sees that Moon Knight has in fact... been talking to an empty room.

Well, I have a few thoughts on this issue. First, despite normally loving Maleev's art, there were definitely points in this book where it faltered. Secondly, I really liked the idea of having the villains realize that all the heroes are all clumped together, and decide to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Thirdly, I really like the "Who is the Kingpin of LA" plot. By giving him powers, you differentiate this character (new or old is not revealed yet) from Wilson Fisk, and we're establishing a villain for this run. Finally, by referencing Moon Knight's derangement in the opening paragraph, the final page reveal of the empty room felt that much better. We aren't just dealing with a crazy hero, we're dealing with a crazy hero trying to do good, and I love it.

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X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1

I cannot in good conscience review this issue properly. The ENTIRE issue revolved around the X-Men saying "I can't believe this is happening", but NEVER ONCE explain to the reader what "this" is. Here's the problem guys, I've not been reading X-Men since the end of the Five Lights story. I have no idea what's happening, and as a result I really didn't like this book. Hopefully, I'll figure it out in the days to come.

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Fear Itself #2

This issue opens up with Odin and his fellow Asgardians returning to Asgard. While there, he "explains" that Earth is already lost, and the force that has risen there will soon threaten Asgard, so they must be ready. The scene shifts the Thunderbolts training facility, where Juggernaut is training. One of the Hammers of the Worthy strikes the facility. Juggernaut picks it up and is transformed into Kuuruth, Breaker of Stone. Similarly, accross the world, the Hulk is transformed into Nul, Breaker of Worlds.

As the same fate befalls others across the planet, the Avengers split into groups to try and quell the chaos. At the same time, Skadi is readying her troops for an attack, while the Serpent gives a speech which encapsulates the overall goal of his crusade: to claim the throne of Asgard, and force all others to feel Fear. With a thunderous cheer of "Hail The Serpent! Hail The All-Father!", Skadi's troops launch an assault... on Washington D.C.

This book is exceptional. I don't know what it is, but the line-designs on the newly revamped Worthy is really eye-catching and amazing. But to be fair, in terms of plot, not much happened in this issue aside from the rise of the Worthy. But you know what? Until I re-read this issue for this review, I didn't notice at all. This is the hallmark of a good book: I'm craving for more, all the while accepting what I've been given. Cannot wait until issue 3.

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Thoughts? Questions? Feedback is always welcome. Leave a comment or email nextlevelstaff@gmail.com