Mind Capsules – Squadron Supreme #3 and Extraordinary X-Men #5
By The Telltale Mind on January 18, 2016 • ( Leave a comment )
Squadron Supreme #3
Writer – James Robinson
Artist – Leonard Kirk
Inker – Paul Neary, Scott Hanna
Colours – Frank Martin
Letters – Travis Lanham
Of late, the new Squadron Supreme has taken to protecting the Earth by any means necessary and as such, Nighthawk has been doing a little work on his own to not only further that goal, but his own. Said work takes him into direct confrontation with the Uncanny Avengers and it has been an encounter in the making ever since the Squadron summarily executed Namor. Though it looks like the Avengers have the upper hand, it is not too soon until the rest of the Squadron comes to the aid of Nighthawk and evens things out between them. One team will have to prevail though, it only means to be seen which one it is. James Robinson wastes no time in this title, bringing his Squadron Supreme into direct contact with one of the Earth's premiere defenders. At the moment, the Squadron is seen as both heroes and villains by the world at large, but in the eyes of the law, they are criminals and Steve Rogers means to take them in – something the Squadron is not about to let happen. Leonard Kirk provides pencils for the book yet again and there is a ton of action to be had as our heroes on both sides face off against the other. Some are evenly matched such as Quicksilver and Blur and the fight ends up being somewhat of a stalemate until Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch shows up to tip the scales in the Avengers' favour. There is a daring rescue come the end of the book by a person who may end up as a new member of the Squadron Supreme, but that is not the most surprising thing to happen as Robinson brings back the protagonist of the original Weirdworld stories, Tyndall the elf. For those who are long-time Marvel fans, you had to wonder just when it was that Marvel would bring back the Doug Moench-created character and if Velanna is not far behind. For those much newer to the concept of Weirdworld, the impact will be far less, but out of everything in the book, while it was all quite good, seeing Tyndall brings back fond memories and it makes you wonder just what else is in store not only for the Squadron who now find themselves on Weirdworld, but for the entire Marvel Universe as a whole.
Extraordinary X-Men #5
Writer – Jeff Lemire
Artist – Humberto Ramos
Inker – Victor Olazaba
Colours – Edgar Delgado
Letters – VC's Joe Caramagna
The Cyclops/Inhuman hybrid that was introduced last issue is exactly that as the X-Men find out, and mindless as it is, it does not lessen the danger that it represents. As the action in the book rages, Humberto Ramos unleashes some truly amazing pencils with many outstanding moments featuring many of the characters present – from Wolverine to Colossus to Magik cutting off Mr. Sinister's head with her giant Soulsword. Ramos has always been a truly talented penciller, but here he really outdoes himself and with a little help from Victor Olazaba and Edgar Delgado, the X-Men look better than they ever have. The book also finds the X-Men at a crossroads in their existence as the Terrigen Mists are a danger to them and the general populace is still in fear of them, even though the Inhumans are perhaps an even greater threat to humanity should they ever decide to rise up. To that effect, Jeff Lemire who had already given Storm the role of leadership in this book, now has her stand up for all mutants and make a statement to the masses about a future involving all of them. It is something we have seen before more than once, yet it always gives the reader a bit of hope that things will turn out different, even though you know that it will have absolutely no effect whatsoever. The team rescues Kurt, the threat to Limbo is taken care of, Colossus is not a pushover anymore and those who stand in his way had better watch out and Logan gets a moment to shine while rekindling an old/new friendship with Jean. For the moment, it seems as if the latest threat from Mr. Sinister is over, though you can never count the man out. Lemire and Ramos have taken the X-Men on a pretty wild ride in this opening arc, revisiting the past while looking toward the future and it is there that we are sure to see some incredible new stories in this post-Secret Wars, post-Cyclops world.
Tagged as: action, adventure, Avengers, Colossus, Comics, Cyclops, Doug Moench, Edgar Delgado, Extraordinary X-Men, Extraordinary X-Men #5, Extraordinary X-Men #5 review, Frank Martin, Human Torch, Humberto Ramos, Inhumans, James Robinson, Jean Grey, Jeff Lemire, Jim Hammond, Joe Caramagna, Leonard Kirk, Logan, Magik, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Mind Capsules, Mr. Sinister, Namor, Nightcrawler, Nighthawk, Paul Neary, Scott Hanna, Secret Wars, Squadron Supreme, Squadron Supreme #3, Squadron Supreme #3 review, Storm, Terrigen Mists, The Telltale Mind, Travis Lanham, Tyndall, Uncanny Avengers, Victor Olazaba, Weirdworld, Wolverine, X-Men
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