wktf and Sam Wilson's Comic Reviews, 12/29/05

[Sam Wilson]

Wktf’s Reviews

This was as big a comics week as any I can remember. So much good stuff to choose from but, then, why choose? So my haul included Dracula vs. King Arthur, All Star Batman and Robin, Superman/Batman, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America & Falcon “Secret Empire” tpb, Daredevil, FF Special, New Avengers, Sentry, She-Hulk (#100), Thing, Thor: Blood Oath, and What If Thor. Great way to ring out 2005!

Dracula vs. King Arthur #3 of 4
Silent Devil Comics
Written by: Adam & Christian Beranek
Drawn by: Chris Moreno

Is anyone out there picking up this series? Because it’s a small, independent comic my lcs doesn’t carry it. I’m lucky to have a friend in the business who’s sending me each issue. It’s really terrific and, though this issue was much delayed and the next issue isn’t due out until March 2006, I highly recommend reading it. It’s got just about everything: a well thought out plot, plenty of character development and interaction, loads of action, great scripting, moody and expressive art, a desperate plight, and without a doubt a world class villain.

Let’s do a quick recap. Vlad Dracula, the 15th century despotic ruler of Wallachia was about to be overrun and killed by his hated enemy, the Turks. In the nick of time he received an invitation by no less than Lucifer, and a horrific image of Lucifer at that, to attend an audience in Hell where he was promised something he could never attain in life: a kingdom after his own image. Lord Dracula would get what he wanted by delivering to Lucifer what he wanted: the downfall of King Arthur, the chosen knight of God, and the overthrow of mythic Camelot. A proud and defiant Dracula agrees, is killed and then transformed by Lucifer into a vampire, and sent to the past to perform the devil’s handiwork. As Dracula arrives in Camelot Arthur takes his Knights of the Round Table, all but Lancelot whom he asks to stay to protect Camelot and Guinevere, on a quest to retrieve the Holy Grail, a quest placed in his head by Lucifer. And so begins the destruction of Camelot. Dracula takes Morgana Le Fey, Arthur’s one time mistress and enemy, first but soon his legion of vampires grows exponentially. Guinevere is captured, seduced, and converted and she, in turn, turns a love sick Lancelot who comes to her rescue.

Now Camelot is in flames. Arthur, off with his boys, receives word from Merlin, races back to his castle while leaving his knights in the field. Can this get worse? Oh, yes, most definitely. For, as his knights fall to the vampire’s curse one at a time, Arthur must face the Black Knight on the field of battle and, against one of such supernatural strength, can mere mortal prevail? Worse, he must face what has happened to those he loves dearest. His two strongest allies, though, his counselor Merlin and the knight Sir Lamorak, prove themselves fierce warriors each in his own way. Lamorak’s bludgeoning mace proves many a vampire’s undoing and the brutal attack on Percival’s beloved sister may unlock the mysteries of Camelot’s attackers if Merlin can divine those mysteries in his lab by studying her as she transforms into the undead. I’m loving this series! The final installment promises to be a double sized 64 page story and there are rumors of a trade soon after. I’ll be all over both.

Superman/Batman #23
DC Comics
Written by: Jeph Loeb
Drawn by: Ed McGuinness

Just how late is this comic? The “Hot List This Week” promo copy on the back page touts The OMAC Project #6 and says there’s 1 month until Infinite Crisis! So, that makes it about 4 months late! Ugh.

Even if it were on time this still would be a damn confusing storyline. Superman and Batman have been under siege by a seeming parody of Marvel’s Ultimates called The Maximums and multiple realities seem to be merging into one. We have Bizzaro versions of both Superman and Batman, the Terry McGinnis Batman Beyond character (talking to his aged mentor, Bruce Wayne, like in the cartoon), new female versions of Superman and Batman, plus the Red Son Superman. Plus forces at work are pointing to a power source that both Batman and Superman have correctly assessed as being even greater than Darkseid’s. And, while they can’t figure out who it is, we’re given a reveal at the end and, yep, they’re right. Anyone out there read the one semi-recent Superman story arc that hasn’t yet made it into trade format, circa 2000’s Superman #160, the one that started out as “Superman/Arkham” and ended as “Emperor Joker”? It crossed all the Superman titles at the time and was pure dynamite. It also was scripted by Mr. Loeb and penciled in part (on the titles for which he was responsible) by Mr. McGinniss. Well, with this issue it’s looking like this arc is shaping up to be a revisiting of that old storyline.

I know some people are hating this arc. Myself, I find it extremely confusing. Hell, even the Maximums can’t figure it out much less our own heroes. But I’ve been entertained every step of the way. And, despite “Hush,” I trust Loeb to tie it together as he’s done on this title throughout its run thus far. If you haven’t been picking up the prior issues I’d say don’t start now…wait for the trade. If you have been and are getting frustrated, keep hanging on. It’s still plenty baffling but now is getting really interesting.

Daredevil #80
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Alex Maleev

Oh, snap! How the hell is he going to get out of this one? I’m sorry but this is it. It’s over! There’s no where to go anymore. The Kingpin has done it. Matt Murdock is complete toast. Not the combined efforts of the Black Widow, Elektra, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, the Night Nurse and all of The Hand could thwart the forces The Kingpin put in motion. And poor Ben Urich. The corner he’s been backed into…

But wait a minute. This arc has one more issue to go. And Brubaker and Lark take over after this. So, the title MUST continue. But…how? How? Well, if it never did we’d still have one hell of a final cover with this issue. I’m sorry but The Black Widow and Elektra have never looked better than here where they’re posing together.

I know this is kind of a short review but I don’t know what else I can say without giving away too much. I will say, once again, this is the BEST Daredevil I’ve read since Frank Miller’s days. Sure, it’s not the same. Bendis’ dialogue is a lot choppier and Maleev’s art is more high concept and less fluid, per both their styles. But the frenetic energy of this arc, the pure desperation among all the characters, the panic, the battles, the guest stars all have made this an absolutely terrific read. Along with Brubaker’s “Captain America” this may be the best book Marvel’s putting out today. And this book’s my pick of the week.

What If? Featuring Thor
Marvel Comics
Written by: Robert Kirkman
Drawn by: Michael Avon Oeming

I’ve not picked up any of Marvel’s newer What If? comics. They just haven’t interested me. But what if Thor became Galactus’ herald? I’m sorry but for a Thor fan like me this one was too hard to resist. Plus, it’s drawn by Oeming who’d done the writing chores for the Thor Ragnarok story, the Beta Ray Bill mini series and the current Thor: Blood Oath mini series. So, the Powers artist has done a ton of Thor writing but no art. Until now.

And, I have to say, this story was a kick! The premise we have is that there’s this computer nerd named Harold who’s tapped into the “Othernet,” the internet of another dimension, through which he can access stories from this other dimension. So, it’s the same premise as the old What If? Watcher tales: these aren’t imaginary…they’re real, they just happened somewhere else. Personally, I liked the Watcher better than Harold. Anyway, Harold has found something on Thor who’s been lying low (really low) in our dimension. Thor is marshalling Asgard’s defenses against Galactus who seeks to devour the Eternal Realm’s energies. To save Asgard, Thor must pull a Norrin Radd but with a twist. The twist is he’s still loyal to Asgard and finds himself in a situation much like Oeming’s Ragnarok world where he must return to defend Asgard against Loki.

I really, really liked this one-shot story. It has heart, soul and plenty of warlike action. Kirkman weaves a tight plot and script and Oeming’s semi-Bruce Timm like pencils are perfect for this otherworldly tale and convey the power and nobility of our favorite Thunder God perfectly. I don’t think I could take Oeming as a regular Thor penciler, but for this one-shot, he’s outstanding. If you’ve been on the fence about these What If? books I can’t recommend any of them but this one. But I sure can recommend this one!

Thor: Blood Oath #6 of 6
Marvel Comics
Written by: Michael Avon Oeming
Drawn by: Scott Kolins

Okay, so I already mentioned that I’m a Thor fan and that Oeming’s been doing a lot of Thor writing lately. This issue brings to a close a thoroughly satisfying Thor mini series to quench the thirst of us Thorophiles while Marvel figures out what they’re going to be doing with this Marvel mainstay hero. Fortunately for us, this series has not been simply filler material. The story has gone that, during the 1960s era Thor days of Stan and Jack where the Thunder God still shares and identity with Don Blake and Jane Foster is in the picture, The Warriors Three have been sent on a quest to recover magical items from the lands of other deities in payment for accidentally killing a Storm Giant’s son. Thor, God of Thunder, has chosen to join and aid his Oath Brothers on their quest. They’ve traveled to the top of the World Tree, to Olympus where Thor battled furiously with Hercules, and to Ireland where Thor was dealt a mortal wound and Volstagg’s head was severed from his body. These are gods and they’re dealing with magic, so these deaths were temporary, and now they must sally forth to face the gods Japan and Egypt to end their quest.

The most frustrating element of this series is that, except for use as a means of inter-dimensional transportation, Thor is forbidden from using Mjolnir as a weapon. That oath is made null when it becomes clear that the Storm Giants have broken their word and Thor must face a long-standing and hated enemy but, now, thankfully (!) with mighty Mjolnir in hand! As well, as with the last issue, Heimdall really shines for his determination and perseverance. Even though this issue ends in an unlikely “kumbaya” moment between the Aesir and the Storm Giants, the entire series and this issue in particular gave us some great, classic Thor storytelling. It wasn’t Lee and Kirby, but it still was worth the $2.99 per issue, and I’ll be first in line when Marvel publishes this bad boy in its oversized HC format.

Sam Wilson's Reviews

Another great week for me, from Marvel we got new issues of Black Widow, She Hulk (100th issue giant sized edition), Ultimate Fantastic Four (love that Greg Land art) and X-Factor, from DC we got The Vigilante, Catwoman and Wonder Woman, and All Star Batman and Robin. Don’t ask why I bought it. I don’t even know. Maybe it was Jim Lee drawing the Black Canary, yeah, that’s it. Anyway, my pick of the week is Black Panther issue 11, part 2 in the “Two the Hard Way” storyline. Pick it up, damn it’s dope. My other top picks this week are The Thing #2 and Ultimate Spider-Man #88. That being said, lets get on to the reviews…


Ultimate Spider-Man #88
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Mark Bagley


Well, the boys are hard at it again, the hardest working and most long standing team in recent comic history is back with a brand new story arc that so far has introduced the Ultimate versions of Silver Sable and Omega Red; Omega Red debuted two issues ago battling Spidey amidst a Roxxon Oil facility near the docs. As we get into the story, we find Silver Sable is working for old man Roxxon (of Roxxon Oil). In the regular Marvel U, Silver Sable was a citizen of Smkaria, and was associated with a group call the “Wild Pack” who used to hunt down Nazi War criminals, but as their numbers dwindled they switched to more mercenary like endeavors. The Ultimate U Silver Sable seems to be of the same ilk, when she is first introduced she is talking to old man Roxxon about Spider-Man and Omega Red’s throw down on his property. This is the second time old man Roxxon finds himself in Spidey’s debt, and he is convinced Spidey knows who is behind the super-powered attacks on his company. So he pays Silver Sable and company to track him down and bring him to them. Sable’s team biffs it and ends up snatching Flash Thompson, thinking he’s Spider-Man. Well, they found out he’s not Spider-Man, and to make things worse Flash escapes and suddenly there is a media storm surrounding Peter’s school, and thus Sable’s job becomes all the more difficult .

Issue 88 starts out like so many other Spider-Man comics do, with Peter Parker about to have a really bad day. Because of the kidnapping of Flash Thompson and the suspicion Spider-Man is a student at Peter’s High School, security has been upped and Peter is about to get his backpack searched (which contains his Spider-Man costume) as he enters school. Sable and crew are keeping close tabs on the School hoping they’ll catch Spider-Man unaware, and Peter is tired of subjecting the ones he loves to the constant danger of his lifestyle. I could say more, but I would ruin a lot of the twists and turns that take place during this issue. I will say this, Peter gets some good advice form his new girlfriend Kitty Pryde, and we get to see him mix it up with Sable and crew again, and oh yes, we are left with another cliffhanger…

So buy this comic book already. Yes, there is a lot of flack given to the Ultimate Marvel U, fine, but damn if this book is one of the freshest, most consistent quality books Marvel is putting out and has been putting out for almost five years. I’d go on and on, but I already have, and you guys are probably sick of it. So check it out already, and yeah, most of the series is available in tpb form.


The Thing #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dan Slott
Drawn by: Andrea Divito

Oh yeah, the favorite nephew of his beloved Aunt Petunia, everyone’s favorite ever-lovin’ blue-eyed rock-skinned hero the Thing is back in his own solo book, and damn if this comic fan in particular isn’t happy as hell with it. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to recent events in the Fantastic Four, it turns out Reed Richards has set aside ¼ of all the Fantastic Four’s earnings (patents, inventions, stuff like that) for Ben Grimm in his own bank account. Reed did this mostly out of guilt for turning Ben into the Thing in the first place, but that is neither here nor there. What’s important now is that Ben Grimm is a freakin’ BILLIONAIRE. Yup. He’s on the Forbes list and everything. So what do billionaire super heroes do once they find out they’re billionaires? They get their own place, start dating celebrities, and get their own solo comic of course…

My esteemed writing partner reviewed issue one last month, and just to give a quick recap for those of you who weren’t paying attention, like I stated earlier Ben Grimm has moved out of the Baxter Building into a deluxe apartment in the sky, got himself a celebrity girlfriend, and is now going to all the best parties. Issue one has him at some faux Martha Stewart’s latest shindig, and it just so happens Kyle Richmond (aka Nighthawk), Tony Stark (if you don’t know who he is, well, I’m not going to remind you) and the Constrictor are all there as well. Oh yeah, and on a side note the Thing’s former chica Alicia Masters is now seeing some douche with a goatee, and I personally think Ben is acting weird, going from ever-lovin’ to the jet set overnight, but whatever. Anyway, the party was going fine until Arcade showed up and decided he was going to spring a brand new game on our unsuspecting heroes, who just all “happened” to be invited to the same party (c’mon, you guys know who Arcade is, you know, “murderworld”? He’s messed with the X-men a few times, Spider-man, he’s a short little twerpy dude? Polka-dot bow tie? Am I ringing any bells?). Anyway, that brings us to the beginning of issue two…

To sum up issue two: Arcade reveals his latest diabolical “Murderworld” challenge, our heroes (and one villain) are set loose, wacky antics ensue. There is more of Ben’s celebrity girlfriend, more of Alicia Masters and her new douchebag boyfriend and more Ben Grimm doing what he does best, clobbering things and being a hero. Damn if Dan Slott doesn’t have Ben’s character nailed dead on. I personally don’t see him sticking with this whole “Debutant Ben” thing for to long, Ben won’t stay away from the weekly poker games with Captain America, Ms. Marvel and Nick Fury. Also, I recall from an interview Slott said he was going to make this series a lot like Marvel-Two-In-One, basically Ben + a guest star in every story arc. If these first two issues are any indication, I say BRING IT ON. I’ve been waiting for someone to bring a classic character back to his roots, and here it is. Ben Grimm: kicking a$#, being a hero, getting the girl (hopefully Alicia Masters again, at some point) and being mixed up in “revoltin’ developments”. This is comic storytelling as it should be. If Slott sticks to his plan, I will be with this book for as long as it is around.

Fallen Angel #1
IDW Publishing
Written by: Peter David
Drawn by: J.K. Woodward

For those of you who remember, Fallen Angel was a short lived (20 issues) series with DC comics, written by Peter David. It wasn’t in DC continuity, rather it centered on a strange town, Bette Noir (which loosely translates into “nightmare” in English), and its residents, which include “the Magistrate”, Angel (aka Lee), Boxer, Dolf and a bunch of other creepy and shady people. Bette Noir was a bad place and it’s residents were worse, but if you had a real problem the person you would go to for help was the Angel, and well, she wasn’t really so nice herself. Fallen Angel was a dark, well-written series that never really found it’s place, and has now found a new home at IDW Publishing, and is more or less continuing from where David’s DC Comics Fallen Angel series left off, but you don’t have to read David’s series to catch up, IDW’s Fallen Angel is a great starting point for new readers, and also a good continuation for old fans of the series.

Issue one reveals to us the origins of Bette Noir, something we’ve never been shown before, and also gives us more insights into our main character Angel, and “the Magistrate” as well. I can’t really say much more than that without revealing the whole story, so if you were a fan of the previous series, this new series won’t be a disappointment. It is definitely more “adult” in nature, but it doesn’t detract from the storyline. The painted art is a nice change, and is very well done. I truly hope Fallen Angel finds it’s place with IDW, and I hope Peter David gets a chance to tell this story in its entirety. For those who want to check out the series a little more, DC has collected the first story arc of its Fallen Angel series in tpb form. This comic is different, but if you are a fan of noir storytelling, or just looking for something offbeat and different, yet compelling and complex, check this series out.

[Sam Wilson]

Trade Reviews

Wktf’s Review

The Best of the Spirit
DC Comics
Written by: Will Eisner
Drawn by: Will Eisner

The biggest loss in comics this year was the death of Will Eisner, who passed away on January 3, 2005. Like Seigel & Shuster, Kane & Finger, Simon & Kirby and the other Golden Age comics names you can think of, Eisner helped to define the very medium. He actually began in comics in the 1930s on newspaper strips, is credited with revolutionizing “narrative sequential art” in the 1940s and 50s with The Spirit, and also is credited with inventing the graphic novel in the 1970s with “A Contract With God,” a title I’d previously reviewed. A couple of weeks back, just before the end of the year in which he died, DC published “The Best of The Spirit.” There is so much Spirit content out there that I have no way of judging if this is, in fact, the best of it. But I have to say that it’s pretty damn amazing stuff.

“The Spirit” ran as a 7-page comic book section created as a Sunday supplement for newspapers and this tpb collects 22 Spirit stories that ran from 1940 to 1950. The first story, appropriately, is “The Origin of the Spirit” wherein we learn that criminologist and private detective Denny Colt was attacked while investigating a case for his friend, Police Commissioner Dolan. He was thought killed and, in fact, was buried in Wildwood Cemetery. But he wasn’t dead and dug himself out of his grave to return as The Spirit, a masked crime fighter the underworld soon learned to fear. Only Commissioner Dolan knew the truth about Colt, and The Spirit made the abandoned cemetery his hideaway even as he collaborated with the police while operating outside the law.

Unlike other heroes of his or any time The Spirit does not have an elaborate costume. Just a dark baggy blue suit, over coat, gloves and wide brimmed hat with a white shirt, red tie, and dark blue mask to cover his eyes. The Spirit operates in the shadows with the worst human elements Eisner’s imagination had to offer: extortionists, gangs, murderers and the desperate homeless of New York’s streets and sewers, not to mention some of the sexiest and most dangerous women in comics. These stories are rife with darkness, strangely warped angles and images, violence and terror. And the violence is palpable. When a fist strikes a jaw, a bullet enters a shoulder or leg, or a bottle or chair is broken over someone’s head, Eisner draws this so that we almost feel it. The Spirit takes a lot of punishment, both physical and emotional (two women, Satin and Sand Saref figure prominently in his life). But he could deal it out even better, taking on and busting heads with multiple men at once, and going deep into the bowels of the city and humanity in the name of justice. Eisner’s world seems real, more so than nearly any other artists work I know. And, these little 7 page gems operate almost like fables at times, reporting on the human condition while telling great dark and scary stories at the same time.

Reading this book, it’s clear that other comic book writers borrowed heavily from Eisner. Frank Miller’s Daredevil, Batman and Sin City stories, all dealing with graphically brutal city crime, clearly owe a lot to Eisner’s Spirit. One story in this volume, in particular, titled “Life Below,” has The Spirit going straight into the New York sewers in search of a killer. He’s attacked by both rats and gangs of homeless men before he gets his man and again reclaims the surface. It brought to mind Daredevil #172 when Frank Miller has DD travel through a city water pipe system to end up in a sewer of homeless people begging for food, or #180 when he must return there in search of the Kingpin’s wife. The recently published Dark Horse “Eisner/Miller” interview (which I own but haven’t yet read) lends further credence that Eisner has greatly influenced Miller.

Regardless, everyone who loves comics and doesn’t own the DC Comics Spirit Archives should pick up this book. For only $14.99, this wonderful collection of classic Spirit stories is a bargain no comics fan should pass up.

Sam Wilson’s Review

Unknown Soldier
DC/Vertigo Comics
Written by: Garth Ennis
Drawn by: Kilian Plunkett

For those of you from the “old school”, you probably remember the “Unknown Soldier” from DC comics, the dude in the trenchcoat and the face with the bandages, been around since WW2, he’s an unstoppable killing machine who serves the United States government, and he always seems to pop up when we are at war; WW2, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, even in the Middle East, the Unknown Soldier has popped up throughout time to serve his country. Anyway, that was the original Unknown Soldier, a master of disguise, a servant of the United States, a hero. Then we get Garth Ennis’s take on the character in 1997, and damn, well, damn.

Much unlike Garth’s two most famous works at the time, “Preacher” and “Hellblazer”, Garth Ennis’s four-issue “Unknown Soldier” series had very little humor. Ennis’s “Unknown Soldier” centers on Agent Clyde of the CIA. He is a former Green Beret with combat experience, who according to his superiors is “way to much of a boy-scout” for black ops work. His co-workers also think he’s kinda uptight since he never goes to any office gatherings and comes across and to prim and proper. Anyway, to keep him away from getting in their way, Clyde’s superiors put him on a assignment to gather intelligence on a domestic terrorist group “California First” (pretty much a nothing assignment), but during his investigation he accidentally stumbles across a name, Joshua Markewicz, who he follows up on and then really runs into something disturbing. Markewicz thinks Clyde is there to talk to him about the “Unknown Soldier”, a US operative Markewicz encountered back when he was a GI liberating Dachau. Markewicz witnessed the “Unknown Soldier” go cold loco on a bunch of Nazi guards and kill them all in cold blood. The incident was covered up and that was that, but now agent Clyde is intrigued, but little does he know of the sh$# storm that is about to come to his front doorstep.

Agent Clyde soon discovers Joshua Markewicz was kept under observation by high levels of the government, specifically to keep his knowledge of the Unknown Soldier under wraps. Now that the cat is out of the bag, the government is on a race against time to stop Agent Clyde from uncovering all there is to uncover about the “Unknown Soldier” by well, by killing agent Clyde. To do that they send an Assassin after him who goes by the codename “Screwball”, yeah, she’s insane but damn good at killing. What follows is a wild ride which slowly uncovers the history of the Unknown Soldier, and also leaves quite a few dead bodies in it’s wake, and an ending I would have never seen coming in a million years. So yeah, if you are Familiar with Ennis’s “War Stories” and “303”, what we got her is some more hard edge military story telling, with a lot of heart and a extremely high body count. Plunkett’s art is stylized, yet suits this story perfectly. From start to finish, this story is all out action and suspense, even up until the very end the pedal is to the floor. Damn if this story didn’t blow me away 10 years ago when I first read, and damn if it doesn’t still blow me away now. The tpb is long out of print, but you can still track it down on ebay or Amazon.com, or you can look for the four individual issues, if you are an Ennis fan, then tracking this book down would definitely be worth your time.

[rychehitman]

OVERSIZED HC Thor: Blood Oath for sure!

[cblakey1]

What? No New Avengers 14?

In short-- don't bother.

[Tony Coca]

Black Panther #11

[Wolverine1]

Is Aunt May such a I don't know the word, in the regular Marvel Universe? I liked Ultimate FF and this alot!

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Tony Coca

Black Panther #11

Killer book!

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by Tony Coca

Black Panther #11

my pick of the week, but I didn't review it. I don't review BP cause Hudlin is my Dawg and there is no way I could do an unbiased review. But damn if the new storyline isn't freakin' fantastic.

YEah, and that cover art (the enter the dragon movie poster take off) is sweet too. Reggie said he bought that sh$# and kept it for himself...

[Aarrgghh!!]

WKTF-
Great Spirit review, everyone should experience The Spirit (know your roots). I hope the new series keeps the same tone of the originals, but I can't see how without a true visionary (a word tossed around too much these days, but here it fits) like Eisner, we'll see.

[Crom]

WKTF - I totally agree about the Superman/Batman title, very confusing. And, IMO, it has been that way since the first issue. I like Jeph Loeb's work for the most part, but his Supes/Bat work has been almost completely incomprehensible. I have been buying the series mostly because of the artists (I skipped Turner's run, no thanks).

Between McGuinness and Pacheco, it has been a blast, even if each new storyline seems to begin in the middle with no explanation or exposition and things are just left hanging at the end. The Legion (?) story arc made absolutely no sense to me, but looked damn sweet! Same goes for the Maximums arc.