"Threat Level: Red, pt 2" by Slott, Gage, Hawthorne, Pallot, and Gracia
This issue is as much a done-in-one as it is a teaser for the "Red Goblin," the name for Norman Osborn's merger with the Carnage symbiote.
For all the Marvel Universe change-ups that characters go through -- Peter is moving into an apartment now that he's a failed CEO, while Loki Laufeyson is the new Sorcerer Supreme -- this issue still manages to feel like a traditional Marvel team-up book. Peter goes into work as the Daily Bugle's science editor, only to be summoned by Loki to repay a favor for him: to return to Peter his wealth. I read this issue and had a fuzzy memory of this, wondering, "Could it be...?" and found it on CBR to confirm: this is referring all the way back to Straczynski and Romita Jr's run in issues 503/504, when Peter helped Loki save his daughter (one of many) from an evil enchantress. This is the strength of Marvel Legacy: that there are no hard reboots, and that every story exists. It tickled that comic book reader bone inside me to see that.
Spider-Man doesn't take the offer too well, frustrated at his situation and how his previous deals with magic have resulted, and ends up breaking a magical containment cask for the Fire-Wasps of the Faltine. It leads to a very standard team-up between the two of them, where a Fire-Wasp murders an innocent man, so Peter uses his one favor to turn back time, to before he broke the cask.
On the face of it, it's a very typical Marvel team-up, but you'll learn a little bit more about the character of Loki, Sorcerer Supreme. This is great for me: through the lens of Peter Parker I've already experienced a bunch of the Marvel Universe: Mockingbird, Silver Sable, and now Loki, Sorcerer Supreme. A competent done-in-one that handles one of the greatest strengths of a shared Marvel Universe.
"Out of Time, pt 1" by Waid, Samnee, and Wilson
Last issue, Captain America was frozen (again) by a terrorist organization, and in this issue he thaws (again) to a drastic new future he never saw coming! The same terrorist organization, Rampart, unleashed a bomb that triggered deformities in some people, and killed most of the Marvel Universe's heroes. Business owners began charging exorbitant amounts of money for clean air, water, and other basic goods, creating a social dichotomy: wealthy elites who lived in clean areas and wore branded "A"'s on their forehead to denote their status, while mutants who had no choice but to live in dumpsters wear "Y"'s and "Z"'s.
It's a chilling future, and I didn't think Waid/Samnee had a dystopia in them! For all the things that have changed -- there's an bipedal talking dog mutant, drone shooters named "rapidtroops," a guy disfigured like the Toxic Avenger of the 1980s, and worst of all, Captain America doesn't even have his "America" anymore, a term bastardized by the elites who value it with a fetish -- Steve Rogers is still the man that stands up for the little people. After the traditional stories that started their run, I'm excited to continue this sci-fi underdog story from Waid/Samnee.
"Punisher: War Machine Pt 4" by Rosenberg, Vilanova, and Lowridge
It's amazing how much Rosenberg condenses into the first half of this issue. Last time, we saw Frank fly down into the ocean in the middle of combat with S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers in War Machine armor. The first half is a comeback story of how he repaired his armor, and then, the second half is what he did after he got it fixed. Spoiler alert: he kills a lot of people in both halves!
It's all a ploy to get the despot General Petrov out of hiding, which he does -- by threatening a nuclear bomb! Cue next issue! Great serial storytelling from all three of my comics this week.
My favorite kill of the issue: Frank does his best "Jaws" impression on one of General Petrov's goonies, while ice-fishing:
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