Ambaryerno's Profile

Too much reliance on nostalgia. Too many characters written badly out of character. Too much plot that's plopped down preassembled and with no build-up. And worse still, we're back to yet ANOTHER Mutant Extinction plot so soon after IvX (and that's not even getting into the Age of Apocalypse rehash).

Let's Fridge a disabled chick, and gratuitously kill off a WoC who DOESN'T EVEN GET TO DIE ON-PANEL, and you wouldn't know the corpse was hers if someone didn't explicitly identify her. It's bad enough Editorial won't let the NXM grow up because it ages the "classic" cast too much, but to then turn around and kill them off in such a tonedeaf manner for shock value is frankly insulting.

Overall pretty meh. The biggest problem ANXM and EXM are dealing with is trying to establish a sense of mystery over events that characters are privy to, but audiences aren't. It's incredibly frustrating not having any context for what happened, and it's already at the point where NOT telling us what Cyclops did has become glaringly artificial. They need to get over that FAST and just reveal what he's accused of already. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but Hopeless's writing of Laura is actually a STEP DOWN from Bendis. Look, I get it, every writer sees things differently, but someone needs to pass around a memo, because whether or not she's wearing the Wolverine cowl now, she's NOT LOGAN WITH BOOBS. Laura is supposed to be a consummate strategist, not a mindless berserker.

Hopeless proceeds with his character assassination of X-23, while Warren continues to uselessly revolve around her as the poster boy for Satellite Love Interest. He spends pretty much the entire issue ranting at an unconscious Laura over her recklessness, despite the fact that BLOB IS RAMPAGING THROUGH PARIS. Bobby and Evan are the high point of an otherwise lackluster issue. There's little sense of the plot moving forward as the different story threads in this issue converge. And the biggest insult is the cliffhanger. One would THINK it would be the Blob standing victorious over the X-Men, ready to mash them into pâté, but one would be wrong. Instead we get Hopeless trying to ratchet up the drama in a relationship NO ONE ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT when Warren makes a "shocking" announcement to Laura. Meanwhile, there's not a hint over not only whether or not Blob got his powers back or is still hopped up on MGH, but how the hell he's stopped being a joke. This one lands with a resounding "feh."

Hopeless tries to save the godawful Wolverine/Angel romance, and fails miserably at it. Not only does he fail to provide a workable explanation for her OOC behavior thus far this series, but what he DOES give just revisits plot points that were resolved by Liu a long time ago. The "understanding" that Laura and Warren reach also rings hollow, and if this were a real-life relationship Warren's behavior would be recognized as outright abusive. The one bright spot is the interaction between Scott and Laura. Unfortunately, it just serves to highlight how much better chemistry these two have, and that this would have provided a far more genuine and natural relationship.

GOD I can't wait for this series to end. X-23 has been written so badly OOC throughout, and it continues here.

Does ANYONE at Marvel give a shit about continuity anymore? Teen Cyclops WAS THERE when the first cloud was destroyed. He saw FIRST HAND that not a single Inhuman was killed, and that there WAS NOT GENOCIDE. EVERYTHING about Cyclops has been a godawful mess since the post-SW status quo began.

Where's Armor? Laura? Amiko? Kurt? They don't get an invite to Logan's "real" funeral, but Doop and Firestar do? And while the series at least explains Jean's nonsensical appearance in Legacy #1, it doesn't change the fact her presence has no impact whatsoever. The effort to make this a Marvel-wide thing is done hamfistedly at best. Did Kitty honestly not have someone within the X-sphere who would have been a better investigator than Daredevil? All-in-all it's just a $6 ad for the FOUR upcoming miniseries.

That may be the worst I've ever seen X-23 written, and I've now suffered through a Bendis/Hopeless 1-2 punch on All-New X-Men. And apparently the writer had no idea that Amadeus Cho and Laura already know each other (she kicked him in the balls during Fear Itself).

Old Man Logan is an entertaining read dragged down by what's becoming an ongoing problem at Marvel: Writers disregarding developments established by OTHER writers to make characters fit their stories. Lady Deathstrike is perhaps one of the worst one-note characters in Marvel. She only ever has one motivation: Make Logan miserable because Weapon X used her father's adamantium bonding process on him. She's honestly even worse than Sabretooth, because at least Creed has his "kill or be killed" nihilism to fall back on when he's not tormenting Logan. It becomes even MORE egregious in this book, because Deathstrike's last regular appearance saw some wonderful development by Charles Soule. She finally made her peace with Logan, and even carried out a revenge mission in his name by recovering the Honor Sword of Clan Yashida, and laying it to rest in a graveyard Logan established for fallen friends and enemies. She then received further development in Wolverines, helping to actually flesh her out into a more fully-realized and complex woman than she's EVER been. All that development is tossed aside without explanation. Deathstrike is after Logan once again simply because he's alive. That leads to perhaps another significant issue with the book: It really comes across as Lemire just wanting to throw Old Man Logan against as many classic Wolverine adversaries as he can. It comes as a forced retread of battles Logan has already fought time and time again. I'm now wondering how long before Lemire runs him up against the reformed Sabretooth. The artwork is still gorgeous, and Lemire does a wonderful job presenting Logan as tormented and weary of all the fighting. Unfortunately, the situations he finds himself in have become no less tired. Old Man Logan seriously needs to find some new ground.

Lemire keeps dipping into the well of "Logan must learn that this isn't his universe, and what happened in his time doesn't necessarily happen here." The entire first arc of this series was centered around it, Logan's plot in the first arc of Extraordinary centered around it, the last arc centered around Logan NOT grasping that, trying to fix what wasn't actually broken, and just making things worse. Now we're getting yet ANOTHER issue centered around it. While just seeing Logan cope with how different things are could be enjoyable, instead it feels like we're rehashing the same story beats again and again.

Concept better than execution, and very rushed. Most of the interesting ideas are barely touched on, and the book ends abruptly.

Weapon Hex #1 is basically X-23: Innocence Lost condensed into one issue, with Laura gaining Wanda's magic powers. This addition really didn't change all that much and the story didn't really cover any ground X-23's main 'verse origin story didn't already. If anything, shortening the story the way they did blunted the emotional impact of Innocence Lost, which is a shame because the original story could bring grown men to tears. The twist at the end was teased so subtly early on it's likely you'll have forgotten about it, yet it becomes quite obvious a direction to take in hindsight.

If Gerry Dugan wanted to write Logan, why didn't he just USE Logan? I'm getting sick of writers turning Laura into just Logan with boobs. She hasn't had her own personality on a team book in YEARS. The only thing missing here was a few "Bubs" for good measure. I miss stoic, laconic, deliberate, reserved, and introverted Laura. I don't know who this growly and snarling person is, but it's NOT her.

If there was a weakness to this issue it's that the story needed another issue to breathe. I'd have liked to see the illusion play out longer past the proposal, maybe actually get to see Laura having a family and growing older, with little bits and pieces of the illusion breaking down over time. It would have given her final realization it was all in her head more of an impact. And suck it, haters. Laura sees Julian as her true love and that's canon.

My big question remains why Laura would take back the X-23 name after so directly rejecting it in the last book. It's not by any means a flaw of the book itself, but it's definitely an issue we're seeing within Marvel of hammering the Reset Button so liberally. Combined with the fact we never got to see the moment Laura decided to become Wolverine, it only emphasizes the sense that her stint was simply filler, and that they never intended to take her seriously in the role.

Great issue. Too much Warren, but not enough to take away from the rest.

It's a breather issue between two heavy arcs. The art is a step back from Cabal, though served the inherent silliness of the story well. If there's a weakness, it's that while the idea of Gabby interacting at school with normal kids her age and Laura herself being in a teacher's role is an interesting one, Tamaki never really gives it the thorough exploration it deserves. Rather than being an examination of Laura and Gabby through the lens of mundane life that we take for granted, the entire premise exists solely to service the plot.

An overall solid issue, I just wish it wasn't treading ground that was already explored so recently. Not only are we dealing with more X-23 clones a mere 3 years after Gabby, Zelda, and Bellona were introduced, but it turns out the plot is being driven by the same villain! There's also a small retcon to Laura's background that ties All-New Wolverine much more closely to Innocence Lost, and helps to explain how Alchemax got hold of Laura's genetic material in the first place. However I'm concerned that Mariko Tamaki is confusing (or conflating)Alchemax from ANW for (or with) the Facility, especially given Laura's remarks in the previous issue that Alchemax created HER as well, not just The Sisters. So I had to knock some points off for the repetition and the continuity, both of which have become epidemic with Marvel books the past few years. Overall I think the best thing the story does is to set up conflict between Laura and Gabby, which is something we haven't really had since way back in issue 7.

Overall it's a fine issue. The art is good, it's fast-paced, and the characters are well-written. Unfortunately not only is this arc too much like other recent stories (specifically Four Sisters from All-New Wolverine) the plotting was also rather predictable.

Great issue all-around. Taylor continues to write probably the best Laura since the Liu series, but Gabby is stealing every panel she's in. She's just an adorable little killing machine! I did knock a few points off because the Taskmaster fight was kind of anticlimactic, but the rest of the issue was loaded with action, particularly a spectacular car chase. Lopez's art continues to impress, and really makes the action scenes pop.

Best issue to date, and that's saying a LOT. Everything is firing in the final chapter of "The Four Sisters." We get to see Laura's tactical prowess on full display with a brilliant bait and switch, some amazing character beats, and one hell of a reveal on the final panel. Laura is the All-New best at what she does, and that's the being the best X-book under All-New All-Different Marvel.

The series just gets better and better.

While enjoyable, there were a few weaknesses in the presentation of the story. In particular much of the exposition - ESPECIALLY Earth-65 Reed knowing exactly what was going on and even WHO Gwen switched bodies with - felt rushed and could have stood better fleshing out.

Very recap-heavy, however considering that some of the concepts the story will be touching on haven't been addressed in a while this is understandable, and Taylor handles it very well. Most of the issue is spent on establishing Laura's circumstances and setting the plot in motion. The biggest weakness is the art. Virella's lines, especially faces, are very rough. This is particularly a step back from the previous art teams, whose characters were wonderfully expressive.

The story itself is moving along. Slow burner rather than explosive, but there's a few pieces that need to be moved into place, which this issue achieves. If there's a weakness it's the artwork. Virella feels like a pretty significant step back from Lopez, Takara, and Guarra, and it continues to frustrate that the book can't find a permanent art team.

Only reason I can't rate this higher is that Virella's artwork is still a noticeable step back from the previous teams. It's a step above Pham's in issue 15, though.

Enemy of the State II hasn't been the strongest arc of the series, and the climactic showdown between Laura and her arch-nemesis doesn't play as strongly as it could have. Much of it is because Virella's artwork never really clicked, however there's also a lack of urgency here. Perhaps had the last issue ended with Kimura knocking on Megan and Debbie's door to force the final confrontation might have ratcheted up the stakes to the same level as the first arc. Still, it's satisfying to see Laura finally close the book on her origin story.

Greatly improved after the stumbles of Enemy of the State, particularly with the addition of Leonard Kirk on art (though I'm not crazy about how he draws Laura's claws). Gabby's comments about Logan might stir controversy and raise eyebrows, but she does make a great point: Just because you CAN heal, doesn't mean you can't benefit from not having to (especially for Laura, who lacks Logan's sheer indestructibility).

The ending was rushed and anticlimactic, with a resolution that was just too easy. Could probably have used an extra issue, or even just a few more pages to up the stakes over Gabby's transformation.

That last page had me in tears. And then I saw Jonathan in his little suit and I RoFLed. So many feels of all sorts!

Two words that tells you all you need to know about the sheer awesomemess of this issue: ZOMBIE. SLOTH.

I couldn't help but be underwhelmed by the end of All-New Wolverine. Its final arc began with a lot of promise, but part three of Old Woman Laura just falls flat for me. Maybe because I just didn't want the book to end it feels unsatisfying, but it was also quite anti-climactic. There's something of a disconnect here, since the book ends in an AU, rather than tying back in to the present day. As cliche as the All Just A Dream ending might be, I almost wonder if it could have been interesting to see Laura awaken back in the present day, and reflecting on things that might be (plus I was hoping for a "Patrick Duffy in the Shower" final panel for Laura and Hellion to pay off the renewed relationship hinted at in part one). I don't think it helps that it seems like there should have been at least one port part to the story. It all wraps up much too quickly, and a lot of the interesting premise of the alternate future timeline went unused. We don't get nearly enough of the reunion between Laura, Gabby, and Bellona, and I also don't think Taylor cut loose with this scenario as much as he could have. Everything ends too safely and softly, rather than doubling down on a bittersweet finale that the AU setting ought to have facilitated. It hearkens back to an ongoing criticism of ANW, that Taylor has made things too "easy" for Laura in an effort to spare her the sort of trauma past writers like KYost and Bendis inflicted on her. It's still a solid book - the art and overall writing are still top-notch - but nonetheless something of a let down for one of the best series Marvel has been publishing these past three years.