Avengers: the Initiative #35 - Marvel

This is the final issue of this series, and . . I'm actually going to miss this one. There was a few times in the beginning of this series that we actually wondered how long it would last, but . . I think it actually got better as it went along. And to me it was always because of that first class of recruits. But if you really want to see the next generation of Marvel heroes, Chris Gage will be taking on the Avengers Academy next, with Mike McKone. I won't be following it because . . well, I just really don't want to add any more titles to the already growing list. I'm having a hard enough time as it is keeping up . . both with time and cash. But . . that's not to say that if I find a cheap copy on E-bay that I won't pick it up. It's just not a priority for me. Anyways, back to this book . . basically . . Asgard has fallen. Loki has recalled the Rune Stones that he gave to the Hood, so . . he and everybody else that he granted magical powers to have been left with their hands in the kettle. And with the renewed vigor that Captain America seems to have brought to the real heroes, they don't really have much of a chance standing up against them. And since Norman has been arrested . . most of the non-super people following him . . the HAMMER agents, have just given up. 'Most of us had problems with what he was doing, anyway. This isn't a fight we want.' But there are some sad moments. The Constrictor and Diamondback go their own ways. Taskmaster makes good his escape . . as does the Hood and Madame Masque. It looks like the Warriors are going to be sticking together in some for or another. Komodo is ready to blow away the Baron when Cloud 9 shows up. But she's also got Hardball with her. Whom Komodo is seriously pissed at. But then he gives her an injection that turns off her SPIN nanites, immediately giving her powers back. They haven't' worked through all the issues, but . . I think they're back on the road to recovery. As it Tigra who is pleased that the Hood has been incarcerated. Luckily she wasn't the one that caught up to him first, because if so . . I think things would've ended differently. All in all, I thought it was a nice wrap-up to this entire series. But don't worry. With all the various Avengers book coming out next month, I'm sure you'll see your favorites from here in some form or another. Right now it seems to be up in the air though as to where everyone will land. Anyways, nice art by Jorge Molina. And as I said, Christos and Mike will be in Avenger's Academy next month. I'm sure it'll be more of the same . . but different.

Avengers - the Initiative #34 - Marvel

Well . . like the previous two Avengers titles, which I've just read . . this is the beginning of the final farewell for this book also. Next issue well be the final of this series. However, with this title . . more than the other two, I have a feeling that what happens here will play out into other books, like New Warriors, Thunderbolts and who knows what else. In the first part of this story, the New Warriors are at Camp HAMMER, and they're attacking the Hood and his crew. They learn about the Norn stones . . about how the Hood is amping up the power of these losers, but . . Justice and Gauntlet decide that it's 'do or die' time. Plus, they've just found out that the Night Thrasher hasn't given in to the Hood's demands. Even though he's offered Donyell a chance to be reunited with his brother, he decides to stand with his team-mates. Also, Penance is tired of putting up with all of this crap also. He breaks out of his cell, and with a couple other Initiative members, joins the fray. He also finally reveals to his old team-mates that he's actually Speedball . . Robbie. Then, as it happens, Norman calls to Hood to his side in Asgard. Without the Hood to back them up, his underlings are going down pretty easily. And in Asgard, the rest of the Initiative is fighting alongside of Norman. Although Taskmaster has his own agenda. And Diamondback and Constrictor are just looking for a way out without being killed. But all of that is moot as Norman orders the Sentry to bring it all down. This issue ends, as did the New Avengers book, with Asgard crashing to the ground. We don't know if there's any fatalities yet, but . . Frank and Rachel look like they could be in some trouble. Of these 3 books, this is the one I think I'll miss the most. The other 2 titles will be replaced with other Avengers book. There's a whole plethora of stuff coming out in the next month or two. But, with this title . . I think I'll miss Christos Gage's stories more than anything. This book has such an eclectic group of characters that I think it's going to be hard to recreate in any one of the other books. I just hope they got some good plans for these guys, now that we've gotten to know them better. It would be a shame for them all to fade into the woodwork again. However, I'm getting ahead of myself because we still have one issue to go. And it should be a beaut. Jorge Molina does the art for this book, and overall . . I really enjoyed it. All I can do now is wait for the finale. What a bummer!

Avengers - the Initiative #33 - Marvel

There's actually 2 parts to the story this issue. There's the Hood's fight with the New Warriors back at camp HAMMER. And . . there's Taskmasters involvement in the Siege that's going on in Asgard with Norman's Avengers. At camp HAMMER things are coming to a head as the New Warriors are trying to rescue their teammate, Donyell. But they don't know that the Hood is holding Donyell's dead brother Dwayne over his head. They've already cloned Dwayne's body, and the Hood is claiming that with his magic he can return the soul also. So, the New Warriors actually make pretty good headway here. The Scarlet Spider gets in and pretty much takes out their whole system. Which gives the New Warriors the advantage they need to actually have the possibility of winning here. And with that advantage gained, Tigra decides to make her move and go after the Hood herself. She wants him to pay for what he's done to her. That part of the story ends with the Hood telling Donyell that he needs to make a decision. 'You want your brother alive? I want Tigra dead!' Meanwhile, back in Broxton, Norman and his Avengers have recently taken down Thor. Taskmaster wants in on the credit . . he wants to make the jump to the 'big-leagues', but . . Norman shoots him down pretty quickly, putting him back in his place, and square on the front-lines of the battle. Taskmaster is definitely not happy about this, and I think that he's eventually going to turn on Norman. Also, Diamondback isn't sure what to do because she just happened to be there when all of this went down with Thor. Being a double-agent, she's afraid that the 'good-guys' are going to think that she was a part of this. But Constrictor quickly pulls her out telling her that they can still salvage things. That's when Maria Hill arrives. Apparently making a one-woman assault. And while Ares is trying to take out Norman, the Sentry shows up and apparently kills the god of war. But then everything changes when it looks like Steve has shown up . . Captain America. Overall, it was a pretty exciting issue. Christos Gage did a good job of balancing both parts of the story. And I really like Jorge Molina's pencils. I'm just sad that #35 is going to be the final issue. But . . all good things must come to an end. Sad! But true!

Avengers the Initiative #32 - Marvel

We get a little bit of a history lesson on Taskmaster this issue. The main point being that he's the type of person that has always played it safe. He's always let the other people do the dirty work, while he reaped the rewards. Flying under the radar, if you will. But now that HAMMER, and thereby the Initiative, is getting ready to invade Asgard . . he's either going to have to step up . . or step aside. There's not a whole lot of middle-ground here. And once the battle begins . . his first thoughts are, 'Mother of God! This is crazy. They ain't human. I don't belong here. This is how those poor saps I sent to the Negative Zone musta' felt.' And as he watches another member of the Initiative get taken out . . rather violently . . he thinks, 'And that's enough of that. Those losers died in the Negative Zone 'cause they're losers. I ain't about to go out like that. I'm the Taskmaster. And it's time to take some folks to school.' Which he does, but . . it's really his involvement with Iron Patriot, and some other of the 'heavy-hitters', in taking down Thor that's going to make his rep. It's interesting that as this is happening Diamondback decides that she's going to try to help Thor. 'If there's a chance of stopping this, we'll need Thor. Our side . . the real Avengers . . we need someone to make sure they don't . . oh my god! They're killing him.' I really don't think that happened. But . . they do give him a pretty sound trouncing. And with Diamondback watching what's going on . . she's afraid to make a move against these guys. However, with her arriving at the exact moment she did . . she's bound to be remembered as one of the ones that helped to take down Thor. Even though she wasn't really involved . . she was there. I wonder how this will affect her double-agent status? Anyways, the New Warriors decide that they're going to turn in all the information that they've found on the U-Foes . . and their mysterious deposits, over to every media outlet they can find. And Justice decides that with Norman and the rest of the Initiative busy with the Siege on Asgard . . he wants to go to Camp HAMMER and get all the dirt he can on Norman and his operations. I like this book. I always have. It's an Avengers book, but . . it's not. You know what I mean? And I think that's a good thing. It doesn't fit into the cookie-cutter mold. It's different and original. And I think Christos Gage is doing a fantastic job with these stories. Mahmud Askar steps in on the pencils this issue. I have to say . . they looked pretty damn good. As long as they keep putting this book out, I'll keep buying it.

Avengers - the Initiative #31 - Marvel

This issue approaches on a theme that I read in another book lately. Although, I can't remember which one. Anyways, there's a problem with having hopes and dreams. Most people want something out of life. They have a picture in their head of what it will look like when they've made it. When they can sit back and relax and say, 'Everything I've done has lead to this.' However, they find out that they've put so much effort, planning, and blood sweat & tears into their dreams . . their vision of what it means to be successful, rich, popular . . whatever, that they haven't thought about what to do with their lives after that happens. Why do you think that so many people that win the lottery end up broke? They've thought of every contingency to meet their goal, but they haven't thought through what to do after that. Anyways, we find that the Taskmaster is kind of in that dilemma now. I don't think he ever really wanted to be the leader of the Initiative, but . . he saw it as a way to fulfill his need for power. It gave him position, importance . . and it allowed him to have his thumb on many of the 'screws' that either worked for him or have come across his path. However, Norman Osborn is offering him something completely different now. He's offering him a seat on the Cabal that plans to run the world. However, it's way to late when he realizes that he's overstepped his reach with this one. Doom puts him in the hospital, with a wave of his hand, and now there's no turning back for him. He realizes that this is way bigger than him, but . . Norman's not going to let him leave now. The Cabal plans on invading Asgard. And Norman's going to need Taskmaster, and the Initiative, on his side in order to make that happen. Meanwhile Penance, I think, is trying to figure out what he's going to do here. He doesn't agree with the Initiative, as it now stands, but he also doesn't want to let his friends know what he's become. I think he wants to bring it down from the inside. Constrictor and Diamondback have their own secret. They're in love, and Constrictor has just found out that his love is actually a double-agent. However, he's willing to take what he can get, so he's going to keep her secret . . for now. Donyell has returned to the Avengers Resistance, but he's got Norman's offer of resurrecting his brother hanging over his head. He's also stumbled across the Initiative's plans . . I think. And Tigra is just using them to get payback for what Taskmaster and his goons did to her. I really didn't think this book would be around this long. But I like the way it's morphed according to the events surrounding it. It's a far cry from where it started, but . . I think there's glimmers of hope in there. Hiding deep in the shadows . . barely recognizable. But they're there. Christos Gage has done a great job with this book. I can't wait to see what the future holds. Rafa Sandoval does the art. I like this book alot. I hope that it survives the coming crisis.

Avengers: the Initiative #30 - Marvel

Last issue we saw that Trauma has actually Nightmare. This issue . . we find out how that happened. The real story is . . Trauma is actually Nightmare's bastard son. About 20 years ago Terry's mom was in a kind-of cult. It was actually something that Nightmare had put together, but Naomi and some of the others were just looking for a place to crash. She slept with Karl, Nightmare's vessel, just because he was good looking. She wasn't tricked or persuaded into it or anything. Then later when things started getting weird, she and Jerry Ward bolt . . later he would be her husband and Terry's step-father. Now . . now Nightmare wants a conduit into the real world, so that he can take it over. And that conduit is Terry. But he fights back. It would've been a lot easier for Nightmare had Terry remained a loner, because of the trauma of his powers manifesting, but . . Terry adapted. He gathered and kept friends and family. He became part of a group and gained a purpose. This made him a stronger person. But it also weakened Nightmare's hold on him. So basically Nightmare comes out and makes hell out of Camp Hammond. There's no one that Nightmare currently has in his employ that seems able to make any headway. But Nightmare does seem concerned about Penance. He's the first one he takes out. As it turns out I don't think he was so much afraid of his power as he was his connection to Terry. And ultimately that is Nightmare's undoing. That and Terry's connection to Cloud 9. His thoughts . . concerns, worries, guilt . . for his teammates is what I think finally severs his connection. However, Nightmare is nowhere near done as he tells Terry that he has many 'conduits'. Apparently he was a busy man at that cult camp. Anyways, all of this happens as the New Warriors are attempting to free Night Thrasher . . Donyell. And, during the course of all this, Terry tricked Nightmare into giving Penance, Bobby, all of his memories back. He convinced him that it would traumatize him, but . . it actually helped to heal him. They do extract Donyell, but in the process Constrictor learns that Diamondback is actually a double-agent. 'Rachel . . you're working for the other team?' Taken out of context, that sounds like he'd just found out she's gay. I thought that was a little humorous. And, both Penance and Trauma decide to stay at Camp Hammond . . for their own reasons. I really like this book. To me . . it kind of reminds me of the old Legion books. There's so many characters involved, and so many different story-lines happening at any one time. I think Christos Gage is doing a fantastic job. I also like Jorge Molina's pencils. His isn't one of my favorite styles, but . . it does fit this book perfectly.

Avengers the Initiative #29 - Marvel

I continue to like this book. I think because it doesn't fit into any defined definitions, as do the other Avenger books. Right now Norman is in control of the Initiative. But . . as we've seen right from the beginning, it doesn't seem like anyone stays in control of this beast for long. Even now it seems like Norman's grasp is tenuous at best. Last issue he capture Night-Thrasher. This issue he's trying to keep Donyell around by promising him to return his brother Dwayne to him. Well, actually . . the good Doctor has cloned him, and the Hood is supposed to be able to return his soul. Tigra goes after some more members of the Brother's Grimm, but . . they've decided to be proactive and lay a trap for her. Not that it matters much. She still gets the upper hand. But she's not after revenge this time. This time she wants information on where Norman is keeping Thrasher, and she wants security information about Camp HAMMER. But before she can get any info, or hurt them to much, Komodo arrives in her human form. She wants to join the resistance. Since Norman took her powers away, with the spin-tech, she can't transform. But she does have information and knows the layout of the camp. Cloud 9 gets disciplined for not taking the kill-shot with Night-Thrasher last issue. I guess she's getting . . demoted. It looks like Constrictor and Diamondback are going to have a little tryst. They're all fighting a new group called RAID, at the Baltimore-Washington Airport when their fight puts a landing plane and it's passengers in jeopardy. It looks like the skidding plane is going to roll right over Diamondback, when . . Constrictor stops it. He saved her life, and those of the passengers. I think this guy is going to change. He seems genuinely moved when one of the passengers kids thanks him for saving his daddy's life. He and Diamondback have a little 'exchange', and later when camp HAMMER is attacked by the New Warriors, we see them in bed together. He tells her to ignore the alarm. But the attack may be in vain . . for a couple of reasons. First of all, Taskmaster and the Hood are trying to ferret out their mole so they've been feeding Komodo and Cloud 9 false information. Komodo is trying to help this group, but . . she may be leading them into an attack. Secondly, with the fate of his brother at stake . . I don't know that Donyell is going to want their help. And finally, through all of this, Trauma has been trying to help Penance . . but he also has to do what Taskmaster has order . . 'keep him screwed up'. It seems like he's reaching his breaking point. He's tired of having to do this to this guy. And the stress is really getting to him. On the final page we see that Nightmare has used him to once again enter our world. I'm not saying that this will necessarily be bad for the New Warriors. I don't know that Nightmare has any choice of 'sides'. But . . I don't think that this series of events is going to be good for anybody . . New Warriors, or Initiative. This may be the wrench that finally tears everything apart. I guess we'll find out next issue. Christos Gage has done a great job with this book. I was certain this book would be cancelled somewhere about 15 issues ago. But . . it's hanging on. I don't know what will happen after Norman gets done with it, but . . I think, at least, it'll still be around in some form or another for us to find out. At least I hope so. Jorge Molina does the pencils this issue.

Avengers: the Initiative #28 - Marvel

Lots of stuff going on this issue. First of all . . the Heavy Hitters are chasing down Nonstop, because she's shooting off her mouth. In the process of that chase, and his arguments with Outback, Prodigy decides that he's had enough. So he goes on TV, tells the reporters that Nonstop's report of criminals in the Initiative is correct, and 'outs' Boomerang. He then declares his teams succession from the Initiative. Night Thrasher, Justice and the rest of the New Warriors immediately see the report on TV and want to rush to their aid. Norman sends in a few other Initiative teams from nearby states. 'We need to put this down decisively in such a way that no one else even dreams of making the same mistake.' He's got Cloud 9 on one of the responding teams, and Norman's given her permission to fire at will, 'Kill shots!'. Also, because of his help in retaking the Negative Zone prison, they're spinning Hardball as a 'true blue patriot'. They're saying he was a double agent all along. Anyways, long story short . . all these various factions come together on Prodigy's location, but all Prodigy wants to do is make a stand. He waves off the New Warriors help, because he doesn't want to get them any deeper into the hole than they already are. But before they leave, Telemetry, Nonstop and Debrii go with them. They've all just had enough of the Initiative in it's current state. They wanted to be heroes not outlaws. And although Cloud 9 feigns missing her shot at Night Thrasher, Taskmaster has no problem grazing his head. So in order for the New Warriors to get out clean . . they have to leave him behind. But Norman has a special surprise for Donyell. It appears that he's had his brother Dwayne all along. 'Let's talk about how we can get your brother back.' If you ask me . . this all just shows how Norman's precision plan here is starting to come apart at the seems. And all I can say it . . It's about frikkin time! So far Norman's expertise has been spinning all of these stories or events to his favor. But . . the stress is starting to take it's toll. Not on him . . but on all the other willing and unwilling participants that have been dragged along or shanghaied through this process. Not to mention . . without Ms Hand, I don't know how Norman could keep track of all the lies or tales that he's spun since this all started. It's all got to come down like a house of cards. I'm just wondering how Norman's going to survive the whole thing. It seems like more and more people are turning on him, or just wanting out. But . . how many more lives is he going to screw up before that happens? Really, my biggest concern is . . I hope there's still an Initiative around when all the dust settles. There's a lot of good characters here. I'm just wondering where they'll all end up. Christos Gage writes this book, with Rafa Sandoval doing the art.

Avengers: the Initiative #27 - Marvel

I thought this was an interesting issue. I thought that the way Christos Gage put this story together was rather inventive. King Blastaar has taken over 42, the Negative Zone prison. Taskmaster needs villains to fill the 52 state Initiative. So, if he doesn't do something about 42, he's going to be stuck with every scumbag petty thief that comes along in order to fill the numbers. He's obviously going to have to go in, but he wants to soften up the competition first. He's gathered together all the losers that have come along to join the Initiative and told them that they would be joining the Shadow Initiative and going on a special mission. But like he tells the Constrictor, this new Shadow Initiative is really just another word for cannon fodder. So anyways, to show us what these guys are going through, Christos introduces us to Johnny Guitar and Dr. Sax. They're 2 petty thieves that have joined the Initiative with hopes of joining the 'big-show'. They've basically been losers their whole life, and this is their chance to become part of something bigger. When they're told they're going to be joining an elite group for a special mission . . they jump at it. But then Johnny finds out the truth about why they're being sent in. Johnny hasn't told Dr. Sax what's going on, so he ends up sacrificing his friendship by hurting him, to save his life. That's probably the most noble thing he's done . . ever. Anyways, the point is . . this whole group is filled with guys with similar stories. The details may be different, but they're basically all the same . . 'little-shots' trying to be 'big-shots'. And . . they pretty much all die during the battle. That pretty much takes up the whole story. The rest is spent showing how Bengal, Komodo and Butterball end up making it through all of this by keeping their heads. Also Hardball ends up helping them out when he releases Dragon Man into the fray. Dragon Man has a crush on Komodo, so . . when he sees her getting hurt he's quick to jump to her aid. By the time Taskmaster, Penance, Scorcher, and others arrive they just have to mop up . . for the most part. Hardball gets some special recognition from Taskmaster for helping them out. And the Brothers Grimm get the message that Tigra sent to them last issue. They return with their brother and find her note . . "You're next. XX - Tigra" For a book that I thought was on it's last leg . . this one seems to be going pretty strong. I didn't think it was going to end because of the talent or anything . . also there's a great cast of characters here. No . . it seemed like it was ending because it appeared that it had run it's course. The Initiative was done. The New Warriors were back in their own book. And we already had 2 teams of Avengers running around out there . . 3 with the Dark Avengers. But then . . along came Norman Osborn. Like a spider to a fly trapped in it's web . . I think Norman saw the flailing Initiative as a chance to further expand his power-base and influence. He could literally have operatives in every single state. Actually . . I hate to admit it, but . . it's brilliant. And . . the Initiative . . and this book have new life. Which I think is fantastic because I've really liked this book right from the beginning. Christos has been plugging away, doing a great job. And I even enjoy Rafa Sandoval's pencils. I'm not thrilled with the Taskmaster, the Constrictor and the Hood being in charge of the whole thing, but . . it's different. And you kind of love to hate it. And . . it definitely keeps you guessing. Keep up the good work guys. I'm looking forward to another 100 issues.

Avengers: the Initiative #26 - Marvel

Unfortunately, the reason it took me so long to post this one is . . I'm really not sure how it left me feeling. I think I'm starting to get enough of this whole 'Norman Osborn is the King of the Marvel Universe' thing. Enough is enough already. My only consolation is that eventually someone is going to turn on him and take him down. I mean, he's not really omnipotent or anything, he's just a man, so . . even though he believes he has absolute control, it's really all just an illusion . . an illusion of his own making, so he may actually be the sculptor of his own demise. It may be his alter-persona, the Green Goblin, that actually turns the tide on him. More and more it seems like it's taking all of his energy to keep that side of his personality in check. Anyways, with this issue Norman has securely cemented his role as the leader of the Initiative . . taken it under his wing, as it were. He's got the whole country thinking that the New Warriors are just a band of misfits and criminals . . that's rather ironic, and he's established a few more teams for the 50 state Initiative . . the Force of Nature for Oregon, the U-Foes for North Carolina, Psionex for Maryland and the Women Warriors for Delaware. The Constrictor even makes a sobering public speech about how he's been the victim, when he lost his arms, but then he was redeemed when he decided to register and fight alongside the 'good-guys'. He lays it on pretty thick. The public apparently believes him but it may be because it's so deep that they're choking on it. But the New Warriors don't believe it. In fact the Night-Thrasher is so worried about the U-Foes being put in place to tamper with the banking center in Charlotte that he's hacked and installed a Trojan-horse just in case they decide to play around. And don't forget that Tigra and Gauntlet have joined up with them also. Meanwhile, Osborn has been busy turning a previous Hulk-buster base into the new Camp Hammer, the new home of the Initiative. And the Hood and Taskmaster are busy getting everyone in line. We also see that Taskmaster has Trauma working on Penance. I think Trauma actually wants to help him, as inconceivable as that may be, but Taskmaster just wants to make sure he tows the line and follows orders when it comes time to use him. And things are about to heat up as the Initiative is about to get ready to deal with 42, the prison in the Negative Zone. Their re-forming the Shadow Initiative, with the incentive to Komodo being that he ex in also in that prison, but . . but they're loading up the team with cannon-fodder because they don't expect to win. They just want to soften the place up before they send in a real team. Also Tigra decides to make a move on the Hood by beating up one of his men, Percy from the Brothers Grimm, and taping it and sending it to him . . much as he did to her. I understand her frustration and anger, but . . I think she may be crossing a line with this one. One that she may not be able to un-cross. Overall I really enjoy this book. I always have. I'm just getting tired of this whole thing with Norman. And, unfortunately, now that Norman's taken over the Initiative, I gotta ask myself . . is this the same book now that I've come to love? I'm just not sure. However, I did think that Christos Gage and Rafa Sandoval did a terrific job with the creative side. I'm just not sure if I should continue to follow this book, or . . I may find more satisfaction in following the New Warriors. Hmmm!

Avengers: the Initiative #25 - Marvel

Just when I think this book is winding down to it's end . . Norman Osborn steps in, and now he seems to be all over the place with this group. Of course it's helped that Humberto Ramos has taken on the artistic chores the last few issues. They even have the postings listed through #28 . . with no end is sight. Fan-frikkin-tastic!! I've liked this book since it's inception, but . . I was a little worried about it for a while there. So, the New Warriors have returned MVP's body back to his father. He can't accept Patrick as his clone, but he does want the one that's been posing as his son to stay. It looks like the Scarlet Spider will be joining the New Warriors . . out of necessity, mostly. But right now they're probably the most 'wanted' super-heroes in America. Norman has managed to swing the public opinion against them, again, by blaming most of what happened in Camp Hammond, and Stamford on their actions. It also enabled him to take over the Initiative. Meanwhile, Norman seems to be on a heavy recruiting drive. He's got a Dr Burke working in San Francisco on creating a new team, much like his Avengers, made up of 'villains' and 'heroes' alike. Taskmaster will be in charge of training them, and . . he's starting out with Penance. You remember, from Heroes for Hire. He's also let Tigra and Gauntlet know what his plans are for them. Tigra . . he wants her baby. He wants to study it. "Studying a human/Skrull hybrid could tell us a great deal. Such as how to see through their shape-changing . . and of course, how to create effective biological weapons." With Gauntlet he wants, well . . his Gauntlet. "But . . but sir, it's bonded to my arm. It won't come off." To which Norman replies, "I see, well . . you won't be the first American soldier to give up a limb for his country, hm?", as Ares is standing menacingly behind him. Anyways, they both break free and end up in the sewers, after being chased by some of the Hood's men . . the Initiative's new Chief Operating Officer . . where they are rescued, basically, by the New Warriors. So it appears that they'll also be joining the team. Back to Norman . . he also recruits Diamondback and Trauma. He assigns Prodigy to the Nevada team . . as his voice in the west, replacing Gravity, whom he sends to Wisconsin and the former Great Lake Avengers. "It's just a nightmare . . I'll wake up any second now . . please?" And in New Mexico, he opens the new base for the Initiative . . Camp HAMMER. Obviously, he's been a busy man. I think Christos Gage is doing a fantastic job with this book. He's been here ever since the Annual . . about issue #8, but it really seems like he's been finding his groove in the last 6 to 8 issues. The only bad news is that this is Humberto's last issue. Rafa Sandoval will be taking over next issue. I don't think there will be much of a problem. The book seems pretty strong right now. I look forward to this one every month.

Avengers: the Initiative #24 - Marvel

Norman Osborne finally does something about the Shadow Initiative this issue. Actually, it's because of the Bengals wife. She's upset because she realizes the hopelessness of their situation. They were sent over there by SHIELD to retrieve Hardball. However, in the process of their mission, SHIELD has been disbanded. So she wants to know, who's going to retrieve her husband? She pleads to Gauntlet to find out what's going on, so he goes to Norman Osborn directly to ask him what he's doing about it. Oh yeah, by the way, here's my submission for the HAMMER acronym this month, Heavy Armament Mobile Military Enforcement Regiment. I took it a little more seriously than I did last month. Anyways, long story short, Constrictor sends out a signal and Ant-Man and HAMMER show up to pull their fat out of the fire. However, a couple of things happen . . Typhoid Mary, or Mutant Zero, goes all schizophrenic on them and then bails when it doesn't look like they have any chance of escaping from HYDRA. When HAMMER does show up, and things start to go south for HYDRA, Scorpion reveals to Hardball that she's only there to try to bring HYDRA down. Somebodies paid her to do it, but we don't know who. Anyways, the point is, she knows that he still has feelings for Komodo, so she lets him know that she's planning on bailing and now is his best chance if he wants to save her. In the end, after everyone has come back and been debriefed, Norman offers Taskmaster a new position, " . . how would you like to run the Initiative?" I'm not sure how much life this book still has left in it, but . . I really like this one. Especially now that Humberto Ramos has come on board as the penciller. I love his stuff. But before that, I really came to like, and care about all of these characters. I think this is a great ensemble, and it'd be a real shame to have it all go away . . or be dismantled by Norman Osborn. It is listed through issue #27 though, so . . maybe we'll make it to 30?

Avengers: Initiative #23 - Marvel

Well . . it's nothing but bad news for the Initiative right now. First Ragnarok broke out and created mayhem in Stamford. The city that was once almost destroyed by the New Warriors, now has almost been destroyed again by a secret that it's current protectors were keeping from it . . well, from everyone really. At the same time the new New Warriors show up. But they're not really here to fight Ragnarok, even though they do help. No, they're here to expose the Initiative's other secret, that Michael Van Patrick, MVP, was killed in a training accident and they've been using his body for experiments and cloning. Justice is more than happy to tell that to the press, and anyone else willing to listen. One of which is Norman Osborne. He quickly flies in and takes control. He doesn't shut down the Initiative . . if anything he's redoubling their efforts. He vows that all 50 states will have some form of protection. "There will be someone watching over you. Sooner than you imagine." Which sounds rather ominous. But he has decided . . "What will never happen again is something like this. No Initiative headquarters, training or research facility should be located in or near a major population center. Ladies and gentlemen, as of this moment . . Camp Hammond is closed forever." It appears that all of this happens before he goes on TV to announce his new Avengers. As he's flying off, the citizens of Stamford come streaming in to destroy the base . . by hand, if they have to. We also catch up on our Shadow Initiative this issue. Our team has come face-to-face with Hardball and Scorpion in Madripoor. Hardball quickly takes down Komodo with 'spin-tech' . . Super-Power-Inhibiting-Nanobots. This is something that nobody knew that HYDRA figured out, so now . . now the teams mission has changed. They all escape, except for Komodo who's been captured, but as they're trying to figure out there next step they hear the news that SHIELD has been dissolved. So now, besides everything else that has gone wrong . . they don't know how they're going to get home. "What part of expendable didn't you understand?" I think Christos Gage and Humberto Ramos are doing a fantastic job with this book. This has actually been one of my favorite Avengers books, during it's entire run, but now . . now I think it's as strong or stronger than ever. Which is kind of a shame . . since it's supposed to be nearing it's end. However, they've recently posted the previews for issue #26. So who knows. I hope it sticks around. We'll see.

Avengers: the Initiative featuring Reptil #1 - Marvel

I thought this was a pretty decent issue. It's a one-shot, for $3.99. And it actually falls between Initiative issues #19 and #20 . . the timing is a little off. But, other than that . . I actually liked the story. Christos Gage and Steve Uy handle the story. They also do the main title, so it felt like it was just a natural extension of that. Which is a good thing. I think they're doing a pretty decent job with this series. Especially considering the repercussions of the Skrull invasion and that there may not be a reason for this program anymore. Plus this issue is wrapped in a beautiful Humberto Ramos cover. This issue we're introduced to a new character, Humberto Lopez aka Reptil. His parents are paleontologists and he sometimes goes out on their digs with them. One time he found what looks like a piece of crystallized bone. His powers seem to come from the bone, but nobody else can access them. Anyways, he's brought in because Stegron is looking for Moon-boy. You know, from the Savage Land . . Moon-boy and Devil-Dinosaur? Anyways, SHIELD captured him when they were down there and brought him back for observation. The problem is . . Devil-Dinosaur is dying without his friend. So Stegron is searching SHIELD bases trying to save a fellow dinosaur. With the obvious connections, plus he seems to have an empathic connection with the dinosaurs, Humberto is picked for the team. He really wants to be a hero, and he loves that he's been picked as a new recruit, however . . in order to save Moon-boy, he has to give all of that up. However in his eyes he's the greater hero for making the personal sacrifice to save another. In the end it pays off because when Ka-zar comes to pick up Moon-boy, he offers Reptil a chance to visit the Savage Land and . . he says he'll help find his parents who are supposedly lost therein. I think this character has some future, and I'm sure the Savage Land story will be told someplace. That's a good thing. Plus . . I really like the Initiative title. I know it doesn't have much time left, but . . I'm gonna enjoy it while I can.

Avengers: the Initiative #22 - Marvel

And with this issue . . we have the trifecta of Avengers books. All I'm missing in this run is the Dark Avengers. I really enjoy the work that Christos Gage is doing on this book. With such a large cast of characters, he somehow manages to fit them all into each and every issue. And it's great to see the New Warriors back together again. It was only a matter of time. With everything that's been going on in the Marvel Universe . . sooner or later these kids were bound to reach out for each other again. Gauntlet gathers up all the heavy hitters this issue to strike against Ragnarok. And we even see the Shadow Initiative over in Madripoor. They're getting ready to fight HYDRA, and Roger. But to me what really made this book special was Humberto Ramos' pencils. This guy is incredible. But he really hasn't done that much work of late. With all these characters, and all of this action . . I really feel like he's back in his glory here. He's got some really great pages in this book. Anyways, we find out that the New Warriors didn't really show up to help against Ragnarok. They came for a completely different reason. But, with all that was going down when they did show up . . of course they had to help. They can't just stand by and watch this android wipe out all of their one-time friends. But the real reason they came to Camp Hammond? They came to retrieve the body of Michael Van Patrick, MVP. They decided it's time to take him home and let him rest in peace. We've only got a couple of issues left on this series. That's sad. But, I'm thinking that there may be some new teams forming out of all of this. Maybe we'll get some new series, or at least some minis. I definitely think we're going to see the Shadow Initiative someplace. Although I'm sure they'll have a different name. Maybe Gauntlet will start up his own version of the Avengers. Why not? Everybody else has. But they have to do something with this great cast of characters that they've created here. There's a whole lot of potential here. It'd be a shame for it all to go to waste.

Avengers: the Initiative #21 - Marvel

I have mixed feelings about this issue. My primary enjoyment of this issue was Humberto Ramos' art. It was great to see him here, especially on the opening splash page where the Thor robot looks like it's emerging from the pool of life. It looks like it's covered in blood, or placenta . . or something. Christos Gage also did an interesting job with this story. Anyways, the Initiative is in the midst of being decommissioned when Baron Von Blitzschlag bring the abomination back on-line. I'm not sure what he was trying to accomplish, but . . it does get a lot of the members that were getting ready to leave involved . . . primarily Thor-girl, Trauma and Gorilla Girl. Although none of them are very successful. However on the final page of the issue we see the reintroduction of . . . the New Warriors. We also get a glimpse of the Shadow Initiative going after Komodo's ex-boyfriend in Madipoor. But, it's just a 2 page thing so . . . we really don't get a lot of information. Other than Taskmaster quizzing Mutant Zero about her Typhoid Mary identity. I think this'll be an interesting story-line, but . . I'm not sure where it's going to pan out. So far this book is listed up until #24. But, I'm not quite sure yet if that's the final issue or not. I really hope . . not! I've enjoyed this series. I like the characters, and the premise. It would be a shame for Marvel to just discard it and issue a bunch of new team books. However, I really think that there will be a new New Warriors book, and . . . maybe, a Shadow Initiative title? There's obviously going to be something, I just don't know how it's going to pan out yet. So . . I guess my main concern about this title is it's future. It seems kind of up in the air to me. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the future holds and enjoy the issues that we have left.

Avengers: the Initiative #20 - Marvel

I love the characters in this book, but this issue . . . I really liked that we focused on Hank and Janet. I know. Janet's dead. But, Hank has recruited Jocasta to help him out with a little therapy session. Trauma offers to help him with his re acclimation, but . . Hank hasn't really met him yet. So he's going to trust the people he knows. I really liked the dialogue between Hank and Janet. I thought it was really honest and open. I especially liked when she asked how long ago he had actually been replaced. Basically . . she wanted to know if it was him that hit her. It was. Apparently he was replaced shortly after that. She also brought up how sad she was when Journeyman was cancelled. That was one of my favorite shows also. Anyways, there's other information on the team this issue . . they're all in the recovery phase of the Invasion right now. So they're trying to get live on the base back to normal, but . . because of how hard they were personally hit . . it's going to take a while, and some trust and faith to get things even close to a semblance of normality. As the Skrull Kill-Crew are burying their fallen, Ryder tells Riot that she can go back to normal now. Now that the Invasion is over. She does . . and she dies. He lied to her about the Skrulls, but . . he wanted her to have the rest that she deserved. And Taskmaster has figured out the Mutant-Zero is actually Typhoid Mary. I didn't see that one coming. Trauma does get to offer his help to someone though . . he helps Tigra cope with the fact that she's pregnant with Hank's baby. Actually, the Skrull hank. Trauma shows her her worst fear . . . that she has a litter of Skrulls. In the end Hank's decided that he's going to leave the Initiative, and we find out that the Skrull Hank had 1 more trick up his sleeve . . . in the event of his demise, he's triggered the Thor robot to come back on line. I'm sure that's not a good thing. I really like what Dan Slott and Christos Gage have done with this book. I don't know that it's my favorite Avengers book, but . . right now, it's definitely the most interesting. To bad there's only a couple of issue left. I'll miss it. I thought Steve Kurth did a decent job with the pencils this issue also.

Avengers: the Initiative #19 - Marvel

I really like this book. I think Dan Slott and Christos Gage are doing a good job with these stories. And this book has consistently had pretty decent art. This issue Harvey Tolibao and Bong Dazo do the pencils. It's actually very impressive throughout the whole issue. I especially liked the pages where we got introduced to the different teams around the country. So, with that in mind, I just want to say that whatever follows . . . is said out of love for this book. Ok? Anyways, the first few pages were cool. I was getting in to it. And then . . . it just seemed like we were all over the place trying to cram half a dozen different books into this one title. It was a complete mish-mash of stuff. I know they were trying to show us all of the various Initiative teams around the country, but . . . they could've just paraphrased the action and kept to the main story. Each page, showing the various teams, really didn't contribute anything substantial to the overall story-line. We just get a picture of all of the various characters, and then a bunch of word-balloons when they're all yelling at each other because they're trying to figure out who the Skrull is. And the worst one? The Great Lakes Initiative. I think people from Detroit . . or Wisconsin . . or wherever . . would start to be pissed that everytime there's a group of heroes that gather in their part of the country . . they're a bunch of complete idiots. Well . . except for X-Factor. They seem to be the exception. And all of it comes down to the Kill-Krew and that one member of the Initiative that's a Skrull, but he wants to protect the Earth. I forget his name. Anyways, he's fighting with the rest of them, killing Skrulls . . . he even follows YellowJacket to try to kill him because he's the only one that knows that he's also a Skrull. He uses his Freedom Ring to adjust his powers so he can keep up. When he does . . . he take him down like Bambi on the first day of deer season. After he takes down YellowJacket he turns around to the praise of his teammates, and then . . . 3D man shoots him in the head. "What? Skrull." And then, similar to M-Day, he lays on the ground dying and I think between his will-power and his freedom ring, he starts to make a wish. " . . not fair . . . it was all so perfect . . I . . I wish . . I wish . . I wish it could've ended differently . . ." And I think it will. It's the end of the book, but in the last 3 panels you see something happening. They're calling it V-S Day. I like the way it ended. And, I liked the way it started. But everything in the middle . . . you could've lobotomized the middle of this book and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. But, I'm not blaming any of the creative talent on this book. I think they were stuck with whatever Brian Bendis had drafted when he put together the plans for this mega-event. And they were probably stuck with certain stuff they had to put into this book so that everything would fit in with the overall plan that Brian had devised. So, if I just read the first 2 pages, and then the last 10 . . . I enjoy the book a whole lot better. Unfortunately, there's only a couple issues left of this book. I've enjoyed this book. I liked the concept. And I thought there were a lot of creative ideas presented here. However, when everything got swamped down with this Secret Invasion crap . . . things started spiraling out of control. I think the reason this book is ending is because now . . after all the Secret Invasion stuff . . this book isn't the same as when it started. It can't be. And to me, that's a shame. There was a lot of potential here.

Avengers: the Initiative - Special #1 - Marvel

I loved this book. I'm not sure why it couldn't be done in a regular issue of the Initiative, but . . I still thought it was great. Basically, we meet the members of the Arizona team and the Nevada team. But really, the crux of the story is about the relationship between Hardball and Komodo. These two are going at it hot and heavy. They have been since the early issue of the Initiative. But, we learn a couple of things about Roger this issue. First he has an older brother that used to be a professional wrestler. That is until somebody came along and crippled him. We also find out . . . what we didn't know until now, is that Hardball has ties to HYDRA. Somehow they found out that he got his powers from the Power Broker . . he started out as a thief to pay for them. So they came along and paid off his parents bills and now are offering to heal his brother. All he has to do is steal the formula that his girlfriend, Melati, stole from Dr. Connors so that all of HYDRA will be able to regenerate the way that Komodo and the Lizard do. I thought that love would conquer all and together they would find a way to beat this Senator Woodman, that's threatening him, but . . stories don't always have a happy ending. The rest of the team find out what's going on and come to assist in the fight. But it soon becomes obvious to Roger that the only way he's going to be able to beat Woodman . . especially after he takes the formula himself . . and stop him from hurting his friends, is to kill him. He also knows that HYDRA isn't going to let go of him just like that. So he thinks that he'll make the most of this mess and at the very least he'll move into the Senator's position. He leaves Melati in one of his energy bubbles, as he leaves in the Senator's car. It was a sad ending, but . . I thought it was pretty realistic. I mean, things played out the way they probably would have in the real world. That is if people had powers in the real world and got themselves into these fantastic situations. Overall, I thought Christos Gage and Steve Yu did a great job with this issue. I even liked the backup story. It was basically a retelling or Trauma's origins and how he ended up at the camp. But then, for a twist, we find out that Nightmare is his real father. I didn't see that one coming. I really like this book. It's a shame that it will probably be going away pretty soon. I don't see it lasting much longer than the Secret Invasion. But hopefully they'll find someplace for all of these kids. It's a great bunch of characters.

Avengers: the Initiative #18 - Marvel

This issue was just more of the Skrull Secret Invasion stuff. Basically, the Skrull Kill Crew is jumping around to the various Initiative groups . . in every state . . and finding out who the Skrull infiltrator is . . and killing him. They even turned poor little Cloud 9 into an Initiative sniper. I wonder if she ever once thought that would be her role on the team? But the creepiest part of the book was when we find out that the Kill Crew are carrying around the heads of the original Kill Crew with them. "Their bodies . . wasted away by the same Skrull disease that gave us our powers. We've been keeping their heads preserved in cryo-stasis." So, while they have developed a taste for eating the Skrull meat of their victims . . how disgusting is that . . they also blend some of it up, to feed the heads intravenously. They don't really say how the heads of Moonstomp, Catwalk and Dice help them, but apparently they do because they refer to this as their 'final mission'. It also appears that they've killed one of their own, Devil-slayer. He's been the one 'porting' them from team to team . . state to state . . while never giving thought to his own personal well being. At the end of the issue he collapses from the extreme effort. I think he's dead. Also it appears that this Kill Crew and Nick Fury's secret team are on a collision course. We get a glimpse of Fury's team, which now includes some of the Initiative cadets . . and I think eventually they're going to cross paths. But what's going to happen to the Skrull that's on his team? Granted he's decided to fight for the Earthlings, but . . 3-D Man is still going to see him as a Skrull. That should be an interesting meeting. I'm still enjoying this book, but . . I don't think it's going to be around much longer than the Secret Invasion storyline. I think when it ends . . the Initiative is through. Dan Slott and Christos Gage are the writers. Steve Kurth did the art. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable book, and was a good effort by all involved. I'm just wondering how many issues we have left.