I can think of one ideal way to enjoy the book. If you pretend it was penned by theSimpsonswriters' room and the Fixer is McBain under his mask,Holy Terrorinstantly becomes the sharpest satire you've read all year. If only that had been the intent.

The Defenders, in other words, is not a perfect book, but its imperfections are at worst in the “kinks that will work out” category, and at best reflect the haphazard nature of the team itself. If you are a fan of character-oriented storytelling and/or the Dodsons, give this one a look.

Is there a more toxic brain poison than Fake Sci-Fi Cursing? It's a bunch of fracking shazbot. It turns any heated discussion into that old Bill Cosby bit about dads trying not to swear in front of their kids. There are several moments here where Rocket Raccoon will filthing flarn your foul flarn filth, and the editor might as well emerge from behind the scenery with a giant hook to pull you out of the story. No more of this, please. Use the Skrull font, or whatever, if you have to.I do not know what happened to Star-Lord's old outfit, but it is nice to see that he has joined the exciting world of competitive motocross. Everyone needs a hobby. I hope he finds his ticket and gets his real helmet back from the cleaners as soon as possible.Never mind that stuff, though. It's a good book.

Anyway: longtime fans of the author will be delighted to see him in the zone, and even detractors will find themselves saying, Where has this Hickman been? Has the last page of a Jonathan Hickman book ever made you exclaim, Oh, snap!? Infinity will. At least it will if you are as old as this reviewer.

All in all, it's nice to have the Winter Soldier back. Fans of his heyday will not be disappointed.

We're here to have a good time, and FF #12 delivers that in spades without sacrificing any of the stakes that made it so compelling. Do yourself a favor and come aboard.