Black Panther # 26-29, Magneto: Dark Seduction # 1-4
Storm has been summoned to Wakanda by the Black Panther’s State Department liaison Everett K. Ross. Her main reason for being there is to shake T’Challa out of whatever funk he has gotten himself into – crashing the Wakandian stock market, etc. As she pays a visit in the aftermath of “Maximum Security,” she and T’Challa come across a bizarre-looking female that everyone assumes is an alien leftover from the occupation. However, when they discover that the female has a very human (though telepathic) toddler, it’s determined that the child is actually from the underwater civilization Deviant Lemuria.
(I’m not going to go into detail about Lemuria, save that they are located on the southern end of the same underwater continent that Atlantis is on and that every Lemurian born looks different. The toddler, since she looks human, would face execution upon returning to Lemuria)
Knowing that the child would be killed if Lemuria took it, T’Challa defies Lemuria’s leader, Lord Ghaur. Ghaur threatens war. Meanwhile, T’Challa’s rival and foster brother the White Wolf brings back the villain known as Klaw. A US aircraft carrier, moving into the area, is then destroyed by Klaw. White Wolf manages to make it look like Wakanda attacked it.
Storm takes her leave of Black Panther, but not before warning him that he is heading down a bad path. The two kiss and he finds comfort with her. She then departs.
Black Panther then has a secret meeting with various other world powers – including Magneto, Namor, Dr. Doom, Lord Kro (from Lemuria), and Ross. Black Panther suspects that Ghaur’s interest and willingness to go to war over the child is a mask for something different. He sends Ross to Ghaur and Ross deduces that the child is really Ghaur and Ghaur is afraid losing face if the child were to live and/or be tested. Shortly after, though, Klaw shows up, knocks Ghaur out and mimics his voice to launch an attack on Wakanda.
Over the sunken city Lemuria, war breaks out between Wakanda, Atlantis and Lemuria. Namor and T’Challa try to figure out a resolution as Lemurian forces approach Wakanda. An air raid follows. Ross saves Ghaur, forcing him into a workable situation. Eventually, Namor takes the child and its mother to Atlantis. To the public, it’s said that the child and mother were killed during the attack on Wakanda. Doom then provides evidence that Wakanda did not attack the aircraft carrier. Oh, and Black Panther battles it out with Klaw and defeats him.
So, then, on Genosha, Magneto’s got trouble. There’s a war still going on between his forces and those of the town of Corrion Cove. As Scarlet Witch arrives as an UN observer, people switch sides, Quicksilver arrives Corrion Cove and discovers that some decades-old technology laid there that was used in the Mutate Bonding Process (probably from the Sugar Man, but it’s not outright said).
The situation is getting out of control as Magneto’s forces close in on Corrion Cove and the Avengers show up. Magneto and Polaris take on the Avengers (Polaris having been helping Magneto out of a jam with his powers) and eventually, Magneto uses Polaris’ powers to bring down and entire mountainside of homes. He then heads off to the hidden lab, knocks out Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (ending any chance of reconciliation) and after a brief battle with Polaris, uses the machines to gets his powers back up and running. The battle at Corrion Cove ends; he kills Fabian Cortez (YAY!); and kicks the Avengers off the island along with Quicksilver and Polaris. Oh, and the entire time, he’s having a conversation with someone via telepathy. Who? I don’t know.
Okay, so “Black Panther” is the superior story, although it’s not best to compare these two. There’s a quote from “Entertainment Weekly” that describes “Black Panther” as a “swashbuckling political thriller.” That sounds about right. The story is grand. It’s complex, but not overly so. Priest does a fantastic job of bringing some serious realism to the politics of the Marvel Universe. We get a great appearance by Storm, who is written very nicely by Priest. The story as a whole is just superb and it’s a real shame that this book was cancelled (though I do have the rest of run).
“Magneto: Dark Seduction” isn’t as good, but it’s enjoyable all the same. Nicieza returns for this story and it’s one of his better X-Men works. It’s a nice layered adventure, giving depth to Magneto and his peeps. It furthers the Quicksilver/Magneto/Scarlet Witch relationship. There are certain scenes where there’s a subtle feel that Magneto wants his kids to love him. Sorry pops. Roger Cruz’s line-work isn’t too bad, but the awful inking and coloring job just ruin it.
~W~
Showing posts with label Avengers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Avengers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Uncanny X-Periment # 94: "Maximum Security"
Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet one-shot, Maximum Security # 1, Iron Man # 35, Thor # 30, Uncanny X-Men # 387, Black Panther # 25, Captain America # 36, Bishop # 15, Maximum # 2, Gambit # 23, X-Men # 107, X-Men Unlimited # 29, Avengers # 35, Maximum Security # 3
(Note: Despite my knowing there are other tie-ins, not all of them tie into the central story – or really at all. Hence, I’m just using the main books from the crossover.)
The story starts during a meeting with the Intergalactic Council. Concerns have been raised about humans in light of Professor X leading Cadre K to breeding facilities to save K-Class Mutant Skrulls. While this is happening, though, Ego the Living Planet returns and causes all sorts of trouble. The Silver Surfer and Cadre K eventually take Ego down, much to the humiliation of the Council. It is then decided that humanity must be dealt with. Newcomers the Ruul have an idea: transport all alien convicts there and quarantine the solar system.
As USAgent and other heroes encounter more and more aliens, he takes command of the Avengers. The Avengers confront Ronan, who is aboard a ship in orbit of the Earth. Ronan punts the super-heroes back to the ground and they soon discover that Ego is slowly manifesting itself on Earth. Iron Man and the Fantastic Four investigate and being to understand that a host will be needed to contain Ego. The Silver Surfer volunteers.
In the meantime, Earth is amok with aliens. Cap stops one from accidentally blowing up the Statue of Liberty in an effort to leave. Beta-Ray Bill comes back. The last surviving D’Bari seeks revenge on Jean. The Black Panther and his liaison Everett K. Ross stumble upon a temple which serves as portal to another planet, but is destroyed by aliens on the other side to stop the convicts from fleeing.
In space, Lilandria tells Professor X that he needs to get to Deathbird, as she has the key to freeing Earth. As Professor X and Cadre K search for her, they encounter the returned Bishop. During a heated confrontation, Bishop gains a keycard from her. She then goes flying out into space. Bishop then volunteers to be shipped back to Earth ala a space convict. In the meantime, the Cadre K telepath Z’Cann lands on Earth and makes contact with the X-Men. She bonds with Rogue and Rogue finds out the plan.
Ego continues to grow out of control, absorbing people and landmass. While the Commission of Superhuman Activities recruits aliens to help resist, USAgent discovers that the Ruul are really the Kree and are taking orders from the Supreme Intelligence.
Gambit then retrieves some information on how to stop Ego. As he does, the X-Men head to Ellis Island and retrieve Bishop, then meet with Goliath (Hank Pym) and Warbird (Carol Danvers). They once more break into Ronan’s ship and gain access to various controls and get some information. Then, they head back to Earth.
In space, an Avengers team that had been out in the cosmos before the shit hit the fan goes to meet with the Intergalactic Council. They are shortly captured by the Ruul, who are really an evolved form of Kree, thanks to the Nega-Bomb and the Forever Crystal. They also learn that the Supreme Intelligence is planning on taking control of the Ego/Earth using towers set up and absorbed on Earth in conjunction with the satellites keeping Earth quarantined.
Using codes retrieved using Deathbird keycard on board Ronan’s ship, the X-Men and the Avengers led a team of heroes and aliens onto one of the satellites and release the system from the quarantine. They also teleport Cadre K and Professor X there as well.
On the surface, using information provided by Gambit, the team there get Silver Surfer to absorb some of Ego. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. Ronan then arrives, using some of Ego’s power. A battle royale follows, but when Quasar absorbs the rest of Ego and is forced into exile, the good guys win . . . even though the Kree Empire is back up and running again.
In terms of other Marvel events and/or line-wide crossovers, “Maximum Security” is probably comparable to “Secret Wars.” It lacks the grim feel of “Infinity Gauntlet” and “Onslaught.” It also pulls away from the deepness that exists in “House of M” and “Civil War.” When I started to read “Maximum Security,” I knew I was getting into story that was big, old school action/adventure epic.
Kurt Busiek is the writer of the main book and “Avengers.” Other writers contributing the central story would be Dan Jurgens, Joe Quesada, Joe Harris, Fabian Nicieza, Joe Pruett, and Chris Claremont. A note on Claremont, because I’ve been so mean to him lately – these are the issues where we see signs of improvement. Again, not with the “X-Men” team, but with the “Uncanny” team. Centering on Jean was a great idea and he really does a fine job with it.
As far as Kurt Busiek goes, I can’t applaud him enough. This was the writer that got me into “Avengers” in the first place. He sweeps across various worlds, focuses on scores of characters . . . it’s a wonder how he’s able to keep all this going on while keep the story grounded with the characters.
Speaking of characters, hats off for making the main characters of the story those that we just don’t expect. USAgent, Professor X, Lilandria, Quasar, Tigra, Bishop, Photon, Moondragon, Jack O’Hearts, Cersie all serve as the main characters. Sure, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, and the Fantastic Four are all there in the spotlight, but the characters I listed above are the stars of the show.
The art varies from issue to issue, but in terms of “Maximum Security” itself, I find it a little lacking. Jerry Ordway is a great artist, of course, but at times, the art comes off as weak. This might be attributed to the inkers, though.
One of my wishes was that this story would be a little longer, spending more time with the aftermath. But for what we got it, it was good. Overall, a great, fun story. The effects are lasting, as it kinda undid what was done with “Operation: Galactic Storm.”
~W~
(Note: Despite my knowing there are other tie-ins, not all of them tie into the central story – or really at all. Hence, I’m just using the main books from the crossover.)
The story starts during a meeting with the Intergalactic Council. Concerns have been raised about humans in light of Professor X leading Cadre K to breeding facilities to save K-Class Mutant Skrulls. While this is happening, though, Ego the Living Planet returns and causes all sorts of trouble. The Silver Surfer and Cadre K eventually take Ego down, much to the humiliation of the Council. It is then decided that humanity must be dealt with. Newcomers the Ruul have an idea: transport all alien convicts there and quarantine the solar system.
As USAgent and other heroes encounter more and more aliens, he takes command of the Avengers. The Avengers confront Ronan, who is aboard a ship in orbit of the Earth. Ronan punts the super-heroes back to the ground and they soon discover that Ego is slowly manifesting itself on Earth. Iron Man and the Fantastic Four investigate and being to understand that a host will be needed to contain Ego. The Silver Surfer volunteers.
In the meantime, Earth is amok with aliens. Cap stops one from accidentally blowing up the Statue of Liberty in an effort to leave. Beta-Ray Bill comes back. The last surviving D’Bari seeks revenge on Jean. The Black Panther and his liaison Everett K. Ross stumble upon a temple which serves as portal to another planet, but is destroyed by aliens on the other side to stop the convicts from fleeing.
In space, Lilandria tells Professor X that he needs to get to Deathbird, as she has the key to freeing Earth. As Professor X and Cadre K search for her, they encounter the returned Bishop. During a heated confrontation, Bishop gains a keycard from her. She then goes flying out into space. Bishop then volunteers to be shipped back to Earth ala a space convict. In the meantime, the Cadre K telepath Z’Cann lands on Earth and makes contact with the X-Men. She bonds with Rogue and Rogue finds out the plan.
Ego continues to grow out of control, absorbing people and landmass. While the Commission of Superhuman Activities recruits aliens to help resist, USAgent discovers that the Ruul are really the Kree and are taking orders from the Supreme Intelligence.
Gambit then retrieves some information on how to stop Ego. As he does, the X-Men head to Ellis Island and retrieve Bishop, then meet with Goliath (Hank Pym) and Warbird (Carol Danvers). They once more break into Ronan’s ship and gain access to various controls and get some information. Then, they head back to Earth.
In space, an Avengers team that had been out in the cosmos before the shit hit the fan goes to meet with the Intergalactic Council. They are shortly captured by the Ruul, who are really an evolved form of Kree, thanks to the Nega-Bomb and the Forever Crystal. They also learn that the Supreme Intelligence is planning on taking control of the Ego/Earth using towers set up and absorbed on Earth in conjunction with the satellites keeping Earth quarantined.
Using codes retrieved using Deathbird keycard on board Ronan’s ship, the X-Men and the Avengers led a team of heroes and aliens onto one of the satellites and release the system from the quarantine. They also teleport Cadre K and Professor X there as well.
On the surface, using information provided by Gambit, the team there get Silver Surfer to absorb some of Ego. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. Ronan then arrives, using some of Ego’s power. A battle royale follows, but when Quasar absorbs the rest of Ego and is forced into exile, the good guys win . . . even though the Kree Empire is back up and running again.
In terms of other Marvel events and/or line-wide crossovers, “Maximum Security” is probably comparable to “Secret Wars.” It lacks the grim feel of “Infinity Gauntlet” and “Onslaught.” It also pulls away from the deepness that exists in “House of M” and “Civil War.” When I started to read “Maximum Security,” I knew I was getting into story that was big, old school action/adventure epic.
Kurt Busiek is the writer of the main book and “Avengers.” Other writers contributing the central story would be Dan Jurgens, Joe Quesada, Joe Harris, Fabian Nicieza, Joe Pruett, and Chris Claremont. A note on Claremont, because I’ve been so mean to him lately – these are the issues where we see signs of improvement. Again, not with the “X-Men” team, but with the “Uncanny” team. Centering on Jean was a great idea and he really does a fine job with it.
As far as Kurt Busiek goes, I can’t applaud him enough. This was the writer that got me into “Avengers” in the first place. He sweeps across various worlds, focuses on scores of characters . . . it’s a wonder how he’s able to keep all this going on while keep the story grounded with the characters.
Speaking of characters, hats off for making the main characters of the story those that we just don’t expect. USAgent, Professor X, Lilandria, Quasar, Tigra, Bishop, Photon, Moondragon, Jack O’Hearts, Cersie all serve as the main characters. Sure, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, and the Fantastic Four are all there in the spotlight, but the characters I listed above are the stars of the show.
The art varies from issue to issue, but in terms of “Maximum Security” itself, I find it a little lacking. Jerry Ordway is a great artist, of course, but at times, the art comes off as weak. This might be attributed to the inkers, though.
One of my wishes was that this story would be a little longer, spending more time with the aftermath. But for what we got it, it was good. Overall, a great, fun story. The effects are lasting, as it kinda undid what was done with “Operation: Galactic Storm.”
~W~
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