Was Herc any good this week?

Herc was Incredible(pun intended)! It seems Pak is switching each issue between Herc and Amadeus Cho. Herc meets up with the Elf Queen and has to go thru some trials to prove that he's Thor and then, he winds up sleeping with her. Sounds like a big win BUT, the next morning she explains that under Elven Law they are now married and that their forces will march on Midgard and then on Asgard so that Thor may reclaim his throne. Meanwhile, the Warriors Three have been watching everything from afar and have noticed what a mess this is all turning into. So, in order to fix everything, they decide to combat this problem by using "Hercules"(they show Thor wearing Hercules' outfit and mace) to stop "Thor" and the Elf Queen's plans.
The next issue will deal more with Cho's origin.

I feel it necessary to point out that there was a cover art page to the new "Reign of Kings" coming out in the WoK:WWR book.


It basically shows a demonic/occultish versions of the Avengers with a Bucky/Cap with a pentagram along with more demonic versions of Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Ms. Marvel, Giant Man and Quasar in the middle of them.

That's got me piqued. The Demonic Avengers. Now who's "dark", Normie?

Blame Dormammu.

Is Norman Osborn ok? The Masters of Evil were about to gut him last issue...

The Dark Avengers/ X-men Exodus thing was disappointing, I thought. It had been a great crossover, and a big win for the X-men is always great, but it just felt kind of contrived (although the Sentry thing was pretty cool - I wonder what will come of that?)

Depending on which version of his origin you hear, he's not been "ok" since the explosion of chemicals that gave him his "goblin" powers. Or, from the more recent origin that started with his comeback during the clone saga, he hasn't been "ok" since birth.
Either way, he's not "ok".

Is he alive though?

Oh. Well. That's what you meant by being "ok". Then, yes, he's "ok".

Ultimate Avengers #2
Story: 4/5
Art: 4/5

"How he got that face is what sticks with me. He did it himself. With a kitchen knife and a steady right hand. A brand new face...to replace the one his father had given to him."

Starting with some flashbacks, we find out how Cap's son was concieved, what was to happen to him after Cap 'died' and exactly how Cap went rogue after finding out about the Red Skull.

Cut to the present, where Nick Fury explains the story of the Red Skull; he was adopted by the U.S. Army and grew up on a base, where he excelled at everything. He was seemingly fine until one day when he killed everybody, then cut off his face. The origin is interesting, but leaves some questions unanswered (Why did the Skull turn evil? Why'd he switch from roaming assassin to terrorist leader? How'd he get a tattoo on his head when it doesn't have skin?) but the truth will probably come eventually.

Nick decides to open Project: Avengers, which will use him, Hawkeye and some unknown people, while getting technological help from Tony Stark's big brother.

Very cool stuff. The Skull's origin is what you'd expect but still very cool to read (especially him killing soldiers with weights). I really want to see who's coming into the Avengers and what's gonna happen with the Skull. Also, Pacheco kills the artwork.

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #4 of 5
Story: 3/5
Art: 4/5

"I was hoping you would be the one who'd wake us from history. The one who'd work out how to be a hero again."

Lotsa things happening here. Let's see...

a) Daniel Dubois and Kate Bishop appear together at some party wil Daniel's mom, Zelda "Princess Python" Dubois. While there, the real Young Avengers chase a supervillain, including Hawkeye, who comments that she likes Kate's dress. This is, of course, a rouse to try and convince Executioner that Kate Bishop is not Hawkeye.
b) The Young Avengers tell the Dark Young Avengers that they've accepted Coat of Arms and Enchantress as members. Melter argues with Patriot, but loses. Also, Executioner argues with Hawkeye, and finds out his mother is a supervillain.
c) Melter has a flashback to accidentally killing his parents with his powers. He then calls Norman Osborn and makes a deal with him. Coat tells him that even though he has powers that make him inclined to be a villain, it's up to him to lead the DYA to becoming heroes again. He decides he's wrong for that.
d) Coat warns Speed to stay away from the team at night.
e) Executioner kills his mom.
f) Egghead downloads some info about Enchantress into Vision.
g) The YA arrive at the DYA's headquarters to find their foes and the Dark Avengers waiting.

Really all over the place. And I don't like the level of patricide going on here. Artwork is still good. Here's hoping it wraps up nice.

Kick-### #7
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5

"Yep, my first impression was absolutely right. Red Mist was a ##########."

Picking where we left off six months ago, Red Mist has betrayed Kick-### to crimelord John Genovese. Big Daddy has been beat up and Hit Girl just got pumped full of bullets. Kick-### gets his testees hooked up to a car battery for a short bit and rats everything he knows about the other heroes.

Big Daddy reveals he's not an ex-cop, he's an accountant and comic book fanboy who wanted his daughter to be special (which makes him seem even more like a sick bastard). Genovese promptly blows his brains out. Kick-### then comes up with a plan and requests to be killed by being beat to death. He is beat enough that the chair he's strapped to breaks. He gets up (somehow), just in time for a kevlar-wearing Hit Girl to arrive and kill everybody. The pair then team up to kill everyone else in the building.

Better late than never. Now we are past the real of realism and into that of over the top violence, and Millar and JR Jr. are the perfect team for it. Also, i'm looking forward to the movie.

Dark Reign: The List: Avengers
Story: 3/5
Art: 4/5

Not much here. Norman explains his To Do list to Ares. Ronin storms Avengers tower and gets captured. That's the long and short of it. It was fun, though.

Nomad: Girl Without a World #1 of 4
Story: 4/5
Art: 4/5

Surprisingly good. I kinda dig Girl Bucky. Anyway, she's in high school and her classmates are acting weird and she wants to meet Cap and his robo-arm of doom. Also, someone wants her to be Nomad. This is pretty cool.

M
I
C ("C" you real soon),
K
E
Y ("Y"? Because I said so, dammit).

M
O
U
S
E.

On to the newer thread, mainly because I can't recall all of the words to the old Mickey Mouse club song. Not without changing the words to reflect the selling out of things that Disney does so well.