Rob Bonnette Comic Reviews

All in all, a great start for the new team. The mission for the issue is pretty straightforward and simple, but the dialogue rules all. In just one issue we get to see Batman's relationships with Gordon, Alfred, Duke, and his city excellently spelled out, and how Batman's true mission is not just beating up bad guys to deal with the loss of his parents but to truly rescue his city and the people in it. Following Snyder and Capullo is a tough task but if this issue is any indication King and Finch are up to the task.

Here we get some real first person insight from Miles Morales into how he's taking all this heroes-fighting-heroes business. For better or worse, Marvel has shifted a lot of the important details as to where everyone stands in choosing Carol or Tony's side to the tie-in series and while that takes away from the main story (you can get really lost as to what has possessed everyone to choose who to side with if you only read the main book) it does add to the tie-ins.

Because this is issue four in a story arc you'll need to read the previous ones to know what's going on here, and I recommend just that. This book has been a good one so far and issue four continues that.

One of the big concerns with a biweekly series is that you'll get only a month's worth of story spread across two issues, but that isn't happening here. They manage to get in a whole monthly issues' worth of story in a biweekly issue without it feeling cramped or rushed. This isn't really that surprising seeing as writer James Tynion IV has been on the book for a while now and is old hat at telling Batman stories. Detective has been a very underrated book for some time now and that continues here.

If you've followed this book then you'll like the way it ended while being bummed out that it's over. For those who haven't been it's worth getting the entire run and giving it a read. It's a departure from the other Marvel fare and more in the vein of Astonishing Ant-Man (which is sadly also ending) than Spider-Man or the Avengers. There is action but mostly witty banter and humor to go along with good artwork. If you prefer epic throwdowns then it not's really for you but you're cool with the occasional diversion from that then this is right up your alley.

I'd call this a good issue overall. The action was mostly limited to the first few pages, but the rest wasn't boring. We got some explanation as to how Ulysses' powers work, which of course leads to further questions as to how Danvers got him to cook up the vision of Thanos to set up the ill-fated mission of issue one. We also got a hint that while Rhodes is indeed dead and gone She-Hulk is not".for now. The advertised throwdown between factions led by Stark and Danvers didn't really get much closer to happening " there are seven more issues so we might have a few more to wait for that. For now the main beef is between Stark and the Inhumnans with Danvers' Ultimates/Avengers mashup team serving as mediators. I liked this issue, but it was a bit of a step down from the first one for me. I don't feel yet like they're going to be keep this up for seven more issues without throwing in some obvious filler but for now so far, so good.

This so far has been my favorite of the three issues of the event. It was riveting drama from start to finish, and now the stakes have been raised beyond a plot device of a casualty in James Rhodes from the first issue.

Like all the other issues in the series, the artwork is great. Unlike previous issues, that doesn't make up for everything else. Danvers demeanor is a bit more subdued than it has been up to this point, but the damage to her character for the time being has been done. And the latest revelations regarding Ulysses make her stance even more nonsensical than is has been up to this point, while continuing to reduce Ulysses to a walking plot device. The issue also feels like an unnecessary stretching out of issue six; the story in the two issues really could have been told in one but you can't turn down that extra money when it's there, I guess. The onus has been put on Brian Michael Bendis to wrap this up in a way that will get all of us naysayers off of our stance, and while he is up to the task I think he's written himself into a corner this time.

This issue is, at least to me, a shiny, good looking advertisement for all the awesome stuff Marvel is doing next year and not an end to a super huge universe consuming story. It's better than the stretched out filler issues that were six and seven, but still unsatisfying.

Overall, it's worth a read but if you're not already buying the series I wouldn't get it as a standalone.

This issue is really two in one. The beginning and end center around what comes next for Sam while the middle is all about the funeral for Rhodes. The middle really shines here but the other parts are pretty disposable to me.

What we see in the coming months will add some context to what we got here but for now I have to call this OK, but skippable if you're on the fence.

Overall I'd say it's good enough to keep you around if you already were a fan but not something that will snag and keep new readers around.