Attilan Rising Podcast

The next chapter of the adventures of The Secret Warriors begins here, by the creative team of writer, Mathew Rosenberg, illustrators, Javier Garrón and Will Robinson, and colorist, Israel Silva.

The very much lives-up-to-his-name Mr. Sinister has been kidnapping young Inhuman subjects as part of some nefarious scheme and this has included Inferno’s infant niece.  And this has proven reason enough to get the band back together as The Secret Warriors reform to hunt down Sinister’s forces and rescue Inferno’s niece.

The tale opens up on a school playground somewhere in Dearborn Michigan where a group of youngster are playing with action figures.  These kids are interrupted by Sinister and his accomplices, The Dark Beast and a group of bizarre and monstrous creatures.  It turns out that one of these kids possesses genetic marking identifying him as in some way special… that he is a Mutant or Inhuman.  Sinister has some sort of device, what looks to be a brain in a mechanical box, that acts as a detector for genetic aberrants.  And having identifying the subject, Sinister’s goons abduct the child, putting a bag on his head and hauling him away.

Although it is illustrated in a  somewhat comical fashion, it’s actually a rather jarring and frightening scene.

The narrative quickly shifts to Venice, Italy, to the executive offices of The Ennilux Corporation.  Ahura, the son of Medusa and Black Bolt and current CEO of Ennilux has come to the branch headquarters to see what his newest employee, Karnak, has been up to.  Ahura had hired Karnak to work out kinks in the company’s global shipping network, yet he has come to Karnak’s office to find it transformed into some dimly lit den, with he windows boarded up and plethora of notes tapped to the wall.

Karnak emerges dressed in nothing more than a loin cloth.  He informs Ahura that he already has the branch’s shipping network up to 98% efficiency, but that he must now be allowed to continue with his work.  Ahura knows that Karnak is up to much more than he is saying, but is quickly ushered out of the room.

Once more the narrative shifts, this time to the suburbs outside of Toledo, Ohio.  This is where Dante’s sister, Gabby, lives and the scene of the crime when The Dark Beast had kidnapped Gabby’s baby.  Gabby and the reformed Secret Warriors gather around, spitballing ideas over how to locate the abducted child.

Gabby’s consternation over her missing daughter is compounded by the Warriors constant bickering… for which Ms. Marvel apologizes, noting that bickering is pretty much what this team does best.
Moon Girl suggests utilizing Karnak, but Quake disagrees; Ms. Marvel opts to contact the X-Men, but Dante refuses seeing them as being part of the problem.  Their argument is interrupted when a loud thump echo out from up stairs.

The Warriors rush to investigate and discover that The Mutant and X-Man known as Magik has teleported into the home.  After a brief and tense standoff, Magik lowers her sword, stating that she has come to aid the Warriors.

The Dark Beast had escaped on her watch and she is offering her assistance as recompense.  And it turns out that Magik has learned of The Warriors’ location by way of ‘The Forum,’ and internet chat board in which the various young heroes (and Hercules) all talk with one another, gossip and exchange mission details.

Moon Girl had initially contacted Mass Master hoping The Power Pack might assist them.  Mass Master then spread the matter to other young heroes, it gradually leading to the younger X-Men and finally to Magik.  This is all merely a narrative tact for explaining how Magik might know the location of The Warriors, but is also my favorite part of the issue and I hope to see much more of The Forum in other comics; it’s a great means of tethering together all of the younger (or as Lunella phrases it, ‘cooler’) heroes out there (…and Hercules).

Anyways, Dante is reluctant to accept Magik’s help, but his sister won’t hear of it.  She is desperate to get her daughter back and willing to take whatever help is offered – even if it comes from a creepy teleporting young woman with a giant sword and overly revealing outfit…

And Magik’s aide proves helpful indeed.  Her ability to teleport the entire squad through portals that tie through a hellish limbo enables the team to investigate multiple locations in tracking down the Dark Beast.  Although traveling in this fashion ends up being extremely disquieting for the team, especially Dante who cannot help but to vomit with every jump.

The various leads the team track down are provided by Moon Girl and her trusty  laptop as she utilizes her extreme intellect to search the internet for purchases of the kind of laboratory equipment the Dark Beast might require for his diabolical plans.

A cut-away scene shows Karnak at his own computer, connected in to Lunella’s search.  Here I must admit I was a bit confused as to what was going down.  It is not clear (to me at least) whether Karnak was assisting Lunella in her search, or actually obstructing and rerouting her so to cover up his own involvement.

Whatever the case, Karnak’s interference leads the team to an industrial lot in Clearwater, Florida.  There the squad comes across what appears to be just a normal work plant.  Once inside, however, the Warriors encounter a host of monstrous foes.  These creatures seem to be some sort of test subjects whom the Dark Beast has mutated and stitched together so to create powerful minions.

The team engages the monsters.  One gets the drop on Quake, but Inferno has her back and shoot it down (and this leads to a rather embarrassing exchange where Dante tries to act cool and flirty with Daisy but trips over his words).

Magic is a good deal more savage than Ms. Marvel is used to.  She intercedes to both save Magik from the monster as well as save the monster from Magik.  Magic is clearly annoyed by Ms. Marvel’s innocent idealism; whereas Ms. Marvel is clearly disquieted by Magik’s ruthlessness.

In any case, these monsters prove no match for the Warriors and they quickly defeat them.  In the wake of the battle, Moon Girl ventures deeper into the facility and discovers a huge antechamber where countless kids are imprisoned in some sort of stasis chambers.  It is not clear who these kids are and what they are being used for.  Are they all latent Inhumans? are some Mutants?  Are they going to be okay?  It all remains to be seen, but it is here that the issue comes to an end with the promise of continuation next month.

This was a wild ride with lots of fun details and interactions between the characters.  The overarching plot remains a bit nebulous.  It’s not clear what Sinister and The Dark Beast are up, nor how it may or may not connect to what Karnak is doing at Ennilux.

The Warriors’ protracted search for The Dark Beast felt very much like just an excuse for funny banter and sight gags.  To this extent, the issue as a whole doesn’t lift above the sum of its parts… which is fine in that the interchanges between the characters is so much fun.

The highlights of these interactions include Quake and Magik bonding over their both feeling annoyed by Ms. Marvel, the running gag of Dante puking every time the team teleports, Karnak’s particular idea of what constitutes ‘business casual’ attire, Dante’s botched effort to flirt with Daisy, and, of course, The Forum.  Getting to see The Forum in and of itself is worth the cover price…

Javier Garrón illustrated the majority of the issue, with Will Robinson illustrating the scenes in Italy between Karnak and Ahura.  Both are terrific artists, but I did not feel the two styles gelled together well.  The shift in artistic styles was a bit jarring and sort of took me out of the story, although this is likely a matter of personal tastes and I can imagine there are other readers who like the shifting of artistic styles.

Garrón’s knack for facial expressions is heavily leaned upon in Rosenberg’s script.  He really excels at capturing gestures of exasperation, annoyance, mirthfulness and confusion on the character’s faces.  And this really hammers home the punchlines in the dialogue.  It can be an easy matter to take for granted, but Rosenberg and Garrón work together especially well.

And Garrón’s ability to relay facial expression on a more subtle scale is especially impressive considering the high number of panels he squeezes onto the page.

I’m actually not a huge fan of how Garrón draws monsters, they’re a little too cartoony for my tastes, but once more this is just a matter of personal preferences.

As always, Israel Silva’s coloring is exceptional throughout.

From it’s first issue, Secret warriors has been a very character-driven book.  The plots have often been secondary to the development of the characters, and this continues in this new arc.  While the first two arcs of Secret Warriors focused very strongly on Daisy, this one feels much more evenly spread out with all of the characters getting relatively equal attention.

The inclusion of Magik works quite well.  The hows and whys of her joining the team are kind of shoe-horned in, but it works just fine and Magik fits in with the team right off the bat.  Her stodgy contempt for Ms. Marvel’s idealism and challenging of Quake’s leadership skills fits in nicely with the general acrimony that existed between the teammates to begin with.  Malik’s inclusion looks as though it will help to further the development of the Warriors; although it is yet to be seen whether or not this will be bilateral, if she will grow or change by way of being apart of the team herself.  Time will tell.

All in all, a really fun read and definitely recommended.  Three and a half out of five Lockjaws!

G. Willow Wilson, guest artist, Diego Olortegu, and colorist, Ian Herring, finish up this (somewhat) light-hearted mini-arc illustrating just how badly poor Kamala could use a break in the action.

In the previous issue, Kamala was surprised to discover that her family friend, Kareem, had come to Jersey City for a semester abroad.  Kamala had met Kareem when she spent a summer vacation in Pakistan… an eventful trip that saw Ms. Marvel teaming up with the hero of Karachi, the dashing Laal Khanjeer (or Red Dagger).  Obvs Kareem and this Red Dagger are one and the same, but it would appear that neither Kamala nor Kareem have put together the other’s secret identity.  A matter made even more incredulous when the Red Dagger showed up in Jersey City shortly after Kareem’s arrival.

Secret identities aside, Ms. Marvel and The Red Dagger are forced to team up in an effort to stop a slow-speed runaway train.  Acting in concert, the two were able to prevent a number of catastrophes but have yet to actually get the train to stop.
All manner of hi jinx ensues and the two heroes continue to do their best to keep the train and its passengers safe.  This involves Ms. Marvel pulling off some rather incredible (and implausible) feats… all of which leaves The Red Dagger all but babbling in amazement.

Ms. Marvel’s impressive skills abilities notwithstanding, The Red Dagger can tell that something is different in her.  She doesn’t seem to have that same zeal as when he first encountered back in Karachi; something has changed.  Whist continuing to protect the runaway train, the two heroes further their discussion and Ms. Marvel talks about how run down she has been feeling of late.  The events of the last few months have been pretty hard on her.  The battle against Doc. X and Jersey City being temporarily taken over by the bigoted, xenophobic Worthy Administration have taken quite a tole on her… further compounded by still missing her best friend, Bruno, and discovering her other childhood pal, Josh, had become the super villain, Discord.  Ms. Marvel has prevailed, yet it has all left her feeling tired and disheartened.

The bloom is off the rose, so to speak… Kamala had very much enjoyed being the new hero on the block and everyone’s darling.  But such a thing can only last so long and it’s been a hard landing as Kamala has had to contend with there being people out there who just don’t like her.  It’s proven quite taxing and The Red Dagger can tell Ms. Marvel has lost some of the skip in her step from when her first met her back in Pakistan.

The Red Dagger suggests that perhaps Ms. Marvel might take a break; take some time for herself, recharge her batteries and possibly regain a greater sense of purpose.  Ms. Marvel expresses reluctance toward such a prospect because Jersey City needs her.  Who would look after her town were she too take such a break?  Red Dagger counters that she basically won’t be doing Jersey City any favors by burning herself out.  There will be others to pick up the slack were she to take time for herself.  Ms. Marvel has a lot of friends; she just needs to rely on these friends and know they will be there for their town were she to take a much needed break.

This whole back-and-forth goes down as the two continue to keep the train safe and attempt to come up with some means of getting this runaway train stopped.    They finally come up with a plan, a bizarre, physics-defying plan and the day is ultimately saved.

And yet Kamala’s sense of being unappreciated and needing a break is further hammered home when the press arrives and seems much more interested in her dashing new partner and his fantastic hair.

Ms. Marvel walks off knowing that it is indeed time for a break… that she needs time to reflect, adjust and regain the sense of purpose that led to her to become a super hero in the first place.

This was a pretty fun mini-arc.  A touch light on plot, with he slow-speed runaway train being a bit of an on-the-nose metaphor for Kamala feeling like her life has gone off the rails.  In a different story, Ms. Marvel would have likely been able to ascertain a means of stopping the train within a page, page and a half tops, but prolonging the ordeal offered up a nice venue for Kamala to openly struggle with all the matters that have her feeling so down.

The hard time Kamala has had in contending with the mere fact that there are people out who just don’t like her reminds me a lot of the early tales from Lee and Ditko’s seminal run on The Amazing Spider-Man.  Spider’s angst over the Daily Bugles’ campaign against him acted as a great metaphor for the kind of alienation anxiety that many teenagers have to cope with.  This is similarly the case with Kamala, although with a significantly different edge to it.

Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man have a lot in common, but there are also some very important differences.  Not the least of which are the facts that Kamala is a girl, she is a person of color, and she is a Muslim.  She’s a Muslim living in America during a time in which our elected officials have been openly hostile and condemning of the entire religion as a whole.

Wilson and company have danced around this issue for a while now, creating a number of thinly veiled stand-ins… yet there can be no doubt that these real-life matters are certainly impacting the stories and themes Ms. Wilson has been creating for Ms. Marvel.

After the intense emotional weight of the Doc.X and Mecca story-arcs, I was hoping that this mini-arc might prove a lighter affair; a respite from these pressing matters.  And while the arc was indeed lighter in tone, the over-arching theme is something that really cannot be avoided.  It’s the kind of thing that always manages to seep in.  For far too many people out there, the specters of racism, sexism and religious intolerance are just unavoidable things… there is no respite.  And it stands to reason that this should be true for Kamala as well.

And I think it is smart of Wilson and company not to name these matters for what they actually are.  Overtly, Kamala is struggling with the simple fact that there are people out there who just don’t like her – leaving the ‘why’ they don’t like her kind of nebulous.  In the Marvel Universe, she may be disliked for being an Inhuman, for being a super-powered being, for just being different.  Yet the covert reasons are plainly evident for anyone to see.  And it all offers a sense of commiseration for anyone dealing with similar matters while not alienating any who are not.  It’s all a rather thorny matter, but one Wilson navigates it with deft precision… all the while adding in some great moments of levity to vent the tension.  (My favorite of which was Kamala’s bemusement over an unflattering photograph.)

Diego Olortegu does fine work illustrating the issue.  He is very talented, but I still feel not quite the right fit for this comic; and I’m very much looking forward to Takeshi Miyazawa return next issue.  Olortegu is given a tough assignment in being asked to illustrate the New Jersey landscape in a fashion that mirrors Kamala’s feelings… being a place that is both magical but also run down.  He does great work, but again I miss all the fun little details that Alphona, Miyazawa, and Leon would add into the illustration.  Still, this is all just a matter of individual tastes and, as always, Ian Herring’s colors do a fantastic job of maintaining the visual continuity and making this feel very much a Ms. Marvel comic.

Recommended.  Three out of Five Lockjaws.

The Royal squad have finally made it to the mysterious World Farm, the hone of the god-like Progenitors; yet meeting their makers does not prove to be peaceful affair.  With script by Al Ewing, pencils by Javier Rodriguez, inks by Alvaro Lopez, and colors by Jordie Bellaire.

Retracing the trajectory of a SkySpear, the Inhuman spacecraft, The Asterion, has ventured deep into the unknown regions of the cosmos and finally come upon the incredible sight of the World Farm.  This farm is something of an artificial solar system, with numerous planets encased in synthetic orbs, connected to each other and encircling a larger planet at its center, acting as a sun with its blazing furnaces.  It’s a rather difficult speckle to try and describe… in short it looks like this:

Coming into range of the closest of these artificial planets, a Harvester Class Progenitor becomes aware of the approaching Asterian and forces the craft to come to an immediate halt with a mere gesture of its massive hand.
Within the Asterian, young Flint is continuing to go through some strange type of transformation.  His laying hands on the SkySpear on NovaHala has clearly had a dramatic effect on him.  His hand and now forearm has become encase in some kind of crystalline substance, translucent so that the bones of his hand and arm are visible.

Furthermore, what Flint has gone through seems to allow him to sense the Progenitors’ intentions.  He realizes the Harvester Class Progenitor has identified them as a foreign body and potential threat to its crop.  Realizing their ship is about to be destroyed, Flint acts quickly and emits from his hand a giant crystal orb that contains him and the other, protecting them as the Progenitor’s gesture causes the Asterian to explode.

Medusa issues orders quickly and the others follow her command.  Crystal uses her powers to create a breathable atmosphere within the orb; Flint hurdles the orb itself toward the main planet of the farm; and Noh-Varr utilizes his pocket battlefield to protect them all from the impact of the crash.  All of this is just wonderfully depicted in a great splash page from the art team of Rodriguez, Lopez and Bellaire.

They crash land into the bowls of the main planet, finding within it a strange realm of artful structures that seem to be some kind of combination of botany and technology.   The air is breathable, but tastes odd.  The strain of his actions has caused Flint to pass out… more alarming, the crystalline substance that had grown over his hand and arm appears to be spreading, it has spread over half his body exposing and making visible the bones of his skeleton.  As gruesome as it appears, it doesn’t seem to be causing him any pain and there isn’t time to fully take in or address what exactly is happening to him.

Noh-Varr had touched the SkySpear on NovaHalla as well.  Though it did not effect him as profoundly as it has Flint, Noh-Varr is able to understand the nature of this strange world to a heightened degree.

The World Farm appears to be both organism and machine, an intricate computer made up of organic hardware brought to life by a liquid blood composed of trillions of quantum processors, mini-computers the size of molecules.
The whole planet is a computer, it is alive and aware and it can certainly detect the presence of foreign bodies.  The Progenitors are aware that The Royals have survived and know exactly where they are.  As if on cue, an Ordinator Class Progenitor arrives to eliminate the unwelcome guests.

Like the World Farm itself, the giant Progenitor appears to be both organism and machine, a giant anthropomorphic mechanism with a floating orb in place of a head.   The Ordinator Class Progenitor acts something like a maintenance program, identifying errors in the code and attempting to eliminate such errors so that the system as a whole will run as it should.

The Royals run from this colossal being, the others dashing off as Gorgon carries the unconscious Flint.  Crystal uses her elemental powers to cover them, erecting a wall of rock and sediment between them and the Progenitor.  The Progenitor tears through this wall and fires a laser beam from its eye that strikes her near the ankle.

Crystal continues to fight, using her powers to take control of the air and moisture around the Progenitor’s head, compressing it to blind their attacker and take out its laser-firing eye.  Medusa takes up her injured sister assisting her as they all continue their desperate effort to escape.

Maximus, meanwhile, has had enough of running away.  These beings are androids, but they nonetheless have brains… minds made up of artificial tissue and liquid processors.  Maximus has been manipulating minds for as long as he can recall and he feels confident that he can seize control of a bio-mechanical mind with the same effect as he can an organic mind.

Yet as Swain points out, their mutual powers act to cancel each other out, that Maximus is left powerless as long as Swain is in his proximity.  Maximus disagrees, arguing that their powers only nullify each other because they don’t act in concert.  Maximus can manipulate cognition whereas Swain manipulates emotion; he is ego whilst she is id.  All they have to do is work together and their abilities will be enhanced rather than canceled out.

Swain agrees to give it a shot and the two work toward aligning their powers.  It is a struggle at first, but soon Max’s supposition is proven correct and their two powers act as a sort of potentiate, becoming much more powerful than the sum of its two parts.  Together, Max and Swain’s consciousnesses reach out, they can feel the enormous mind of the World Farm, its near endless physical structure akin the neural pathways of a brain.

They could become lost in the vastness of it all, but Maximus orders that they focus themselves on the workings of the Ordinator Class Progenitor that has been pursuing them.  They concentrate their psychic connection on this being and Maximus squeezes his fist.  It is too much for the Progenitor and its orb like head implodes.

The threat has abated, but only for the moment.  Elsewhere on The World Farm, the whole ordeal has been monitored by the Overlord-Class Progenitor and its enforcers.

The Overlord reaches its hand forward as if to make a decree and utters a single phrase: ‘End/Threat.’  And it is on this ominous note that the issue comes to an end with the promise of continuation int he next installment.

There’s a lot of cosmic, high-concept stuff at play here.  And while learning more about the Progenitors and the way-out coolness of the World Farm is hugely interesting and fun, it also acts to sort of swallow up the characters; the neat development we have been seeing for Medusa, Gorgon and Maximus takes a backseat as The Royals are essentially fellow passengers in this wild ride of exploring the World Farm.

One of the things I have been the most interested in is how The Progenitors were going to be differentiated from The Celestials.  At first blush, the two seemed to be quite similar, yet Ewing and company do a nice job of showing off the differences.   Whereas The Celestials are space gods in the mold of Erich von Däniken-style astro-theism, The Progenitors seem to be machines that have hyper-evolved… developing into a techno-organic conglomerate that proliferates by way of growing itself like sewn and harvested crops.   It’s an exciting concept, kind of a combination of Stanisław Lem’s Solaris and the planet, Cybertron from the old Transformers cartoon.

I’ve no idea whatsoever how The Royals can possibly stand a chance against such an overwhelming power, much less how they can hope to obtain a new source of Terrigen from these near-omnipotent beings.  My best guess is that it all has to do with the alarming transformation that young Flint is going through.
It would seem that Flint has bonded with the crystalline material that makes up the SkySpear, that it is changing him as well as likely augmenting his powers.

It’s rather clear at this point that Flint is destined to become the Moon King, the powerful and monstrous being that Maximus and Noh-Varr seek out some five thousand years in the future.  This also makes it seem pretty certain that Flint will be the member of the team who doesn’t make it back.  It’s not that he will die, but rather he will become transformed into something huge and unrecognizable from his former self.  It’s all quite cool, but also saddening in that this turn of events will essentially take Flint off the table for… well, forever.

Rodriguez, Lopez and Bellaire work wonderfully together in bringing to life this wild and bizarre world, an amalgam of biological and technology awash in shapes and colors that are totally foreign and alien yet in tune with its own, unique sense of natural.  The World Farm is a welcome addition to the cosmic locales of The Marvel Universe and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how The Royals might manage to survive this adventure.

Once more, as much as I enjoyed exploring this wild alien realm, I would have liked to have seen a bit more from the characters themselves.  The dialogue leaned a bit on exposition as Noh-Varr and Maximus explained their theories about what exactly the World Farm might be.
The issue moved at such break neck speed that I didn’t really get the chance to take in what is happening to Flint, how exactly Maximus and Swain managed to combine their powers, what the deal is with Gorgon’s aching back, or how being so close to the Primagen might be effecting Medusa’s illness.
Of course, it’s also entirely possible that I just read the issue too fast in that I was so curious and excited to see what was to happen :3
Definitely recommended.  Three and a half out of Five Lockjaws.

 

The plot thickens and the fact that Inhumans love swag is finally revealed in this penultimate installment of writer, Christopher Priest, and artist, Phil Noto’s terrific miniseries.

The young Inhumans have fled to the human world, fearing a plot to destroy them that may or may not even be accurate.  There they have made allies with Bentley Whitman, the human scientist who is secretly the super villain known as The Wizard; as well as a mysterious Alpha Primitive named Elisha whose intellect forces them to question the very tenets of Attilan’s culture and practices.  Now Black Bolt, his brother, Maximus, and their cousin, Medusa, are preparing to return home to take down The Living Terrigen and reclaim the throne.

The last issue ended with Black Bolt having spotted The Amazing Spider-Man, mistakenly identifying the friendly neighborhood awl-crawler as a fellow Inhuman who might be recruited to their side int he upcoming battle against The Living Terrigen.

Of course Spidey is not an Inhuman, nor is he one to take kindly to being ordered around by someone assuming to be his king.  The encounter quickly devolves into a battle as Spidey is walloped by Black Bolt’s sonic powers (modified and controlled via one of Whitman’s inventions).  Yet Spidey is much tougher than expected and he fights back, webbing Black Bolt to an adjacent building.  Watching on from he street, Maximus intercedes, using his telepathic powers to try to force Spidey to surrender.  And it is here that things get pretty weird.

Maximus’s mental powers do not mix well with the preternatural awareness entailed in Spider-Man’s ‘spider-sense.’  They are two very different versions of psychic power and the interaction of the two creates a bizarre psychic feedback loop.  Maximus’ mind is flooded with the thoughts and feelings of Spider-Man as is Spider-Man’s mind flooded with he thoughts and feelings of Maximus.

The feedback is raw and overwhelming for both Spidey and Maximus and neither is able to handle the cognitive/emotional onslaught.  Spidey is unable to handle Max’s ambivalent feelings of love and rage toward his brother and is taken by a jealous hatred toward Black Bolt… causing him to attack Black Bolt with a near delusional fury.  Maximus, meanwhile, is similarly befuddled by all of the neurotic feelings of guilt and responsibility that he had gleaned from Spidey.

It turns out that Spider-Man was in a bit of a hurry when Black Bolt had encountered him.  His aunt is in desperate need of her medication and Spidey (or rather Peter Parker) needed to get photographs to his editors at the Daily Bugle in order to afford Aunt May’s medicine at the local pharmacy.  Maximus comes to understand this and he is suddenly taken with the desperate need to get Aunt May her medicine.
Spider-Man, meanwhile, fights with Black Bolt whilst voicing all of the mixed up and conflicted feelings that Maximus’ holds toward his brother.  He loves his brother, but hates him as well.  He feels that he should sit on the throne, that he is the one destined to rule Attilan.

The fight between Spidey and Black Bolt is interrupted by the arrival of Kaldec The Seeker.  The Seeker attacks, but is quickly defeated by the combined efforts of Spider-Man and Black Bolt.  This interruption proves to be just what is needed in order for cooler heads to prevail.  Black Bolt, Spidey and Maximus realize that they are not enemies.  Furthermore, the importance of getting Aunt May her medicine takes precedence.

All of this leads to an amusing scene where Maximus rushes into the pharmacy demanding the prescription for a patient first name ‘Aunt’ last name ‘May.’  I love this bit.

Medusa has somehow tracked down Max and approaches him in the pharmacy.  Maximus is still somewhat affected by all of the thoughts and feeling he gleaned from Spidey’s mind and it’s quite stirring for Medusa to see this softer side of her cousin.  The two are eventually able to get Aunt May’s prescription and make haste to deliver it.  In so doing, Maximus accidentally drops the last of his own medication, antipsychotic capsules that he has been told are necessary to keep his madness at bay.  The pharmacist notices this after the two have left.  He inspects the capsule and realizes that it is merely a placebo, just sugar and water.  whoa…

Maximus and Medusa take a cab to Queens where Max delivers the medicine to Aunt May.  Back in the cab, Maximus notices that he had lost his own medication and is beset by the worry that now his own madness will return.  He is still processing through the feelings and values he had gleaned from Spidey, causing him to wax on about the sanctity of life, about what a kind and gentle soul this May Parker is; how much he had misjudged the nature of the humans of earth.  He kisses Medusa in a fit of impulsivity.  Medusa is initially taken aback by Max’s actions… yet after seeing this kinder, softer side of him her feelings seem to change and she kisses him back.  wha!?!

As all of this is occurring, the narrative switched back to Attilan where young Crystal meets the Stewardship King and his new Viceroy, Gorgon.  With the aid of Lockjaw, Crystal is confident that she can go to the human world and convince her sister and the others to return home; and The Living Terrigen offers her his blessing promising that no harm will come to the runaway royals.

Crystal and Lockjaw teleport back to the apartment of Bentley Whitman, where Crys discovers Elisha.  She is surprised to find an Alpha who can speak and wears the clothes of a human.  Elisha seems to know Crystal’s parents (might they have been the ones who taught him to read?).  In any case, Elisha is able to convince Crystal that he is on her side, that he can lead her to her sister and then they can all return to Attilan together.  Of course doing this requires a bit of bribery as Crys insists on some ice-cream as well as Elisha’s baseball cap (because Inhumans love swag :3).

Elisha is happy to give up his cap, after all he has a new hat and dons the battle helmet designed by Whitman (a side panel shows that Whitman had returned home and Elisha had knocked him out, thieving the inventors’ weapons).  Uh oh…

A third storyline is also weaved throughout the narrative this one focusing on Triton and his brother, Karnak.  Triton had been captured by a movie crew that had been filming some sort of see monster creature-feature (a story that was actually detailed way back in the pages of The Mighty Thor vol. 1 #’s 150-151).   Triton had been offered up to some sort of research agency, studying him as though he were some mysterious alien species.  The chemicals used to clean the tank where Triton is kept had befuddled his sense, but he has finally been able to clear his mind and manages to communicate with the researcher studying him.  And in so doing manages to get her to let him go.

Soon there after, Triton locates his brother, Karnak, who has been searching for him; catching up with Karnak as he takes a ride not he ferris-wheel at Coney Island (okay?).  In any case, Karnak and Triton are reunited and the two make haste to reunite with the others.

And all of this is leading up to the final confrontation where each of these various plot lines, secrets and true motives will come together and be revealed in the last issue of the series.  Just cant’s wait for that!

There’s a whole lot to unpack here, not including the continuity weirdness where Black Bolt is apparently younger than Spider-Man.  It remains to be seen whether or not The Living Terrigen is as benevolent  a stewardship king as he claims or if he indeed has eyes to do away with Black Bolt and keep the throne for himself.  Elisha’s fate is equally mysterious… will he be responsible for Attilan’s decision to do away with the Slave Engine?  Maximus’ antipsychotic medication have been placebos all along; what does that reveal about the nature of his mental illness?  And what’s all this with Medusa and Maximus making all kissy-face?

The device of having Maximus and Spider-Man experience a mental feedback loop acts as a really cool means of depicting the intense and confusing ambivalence that Max feels toward his brother.  And the fact that Spidey’s dialogue was able to express this whist at the same time stay in tune with his knack for funny banter is really impressive.  It’s seamless and funny, but also complex and poignant and a testament to Christopher Priest’s skills as a writer.

As much as I enjoyed the scenes between Spider-Man, Black Bolt and Maximus, I was a little let down by how quickly the side plot involving Triton and Karnak resolved.  It almost felt like Mr. Priest might have had a slightly longer series in mind, but was forced to truncate and expedite matters to have things conclude faster than initially anticipated.  It was also a bit confusing as to how Medusa was able to so easily locate Maximus at the pharmacy; likewise how it was that Whitman got home to soon and was taken down by Elisha.  I wonder if this series was originally designed as being six issues long, but reworked to being just five issue after the fact.  Still, it’s a minor complaint in that Priest and Noto work so well together that it doesn’t require too much imagination to read in-between the lines.  That and I’m fine with clunky narrative jumps if it facilitates a scene as wonderfully bizarre as Maximus hugging the ‘reverend Aunt May.’

The final issue is sure to be a bittersweet affair.  I cannot wait to see what happens, to learn how all of this will resolve, but I’ll also be quite saddened to see this series come to an end in that it has been such an absolute joy to read.  And, as always, Phil Not’s illustration is second to none.  I’ve always loved the way in which Mr. Noto draws figures and faces, yet in this series what has truly impressed me has been his deft skill for action, panel composition and backgrounds.  The battle between Spidey and Black Bolt was just terrifically dynamic, cinematic; and the quieter scene between Max and Medusa was equally intense, but n a softer, more romantic fashion.  I’m pretty much out of adjectives to laud Mr. Noto’s work.  It’s just so good!  He could illustrate the phonebook and I’d eagerly lap up each page!

Oh, and there’s a fun two page Lockjaw backup feature by Ryan North and Gustavo Durante.  It’s basically a quick depiction of how the upcoming movie, Avengers: Infinity War should go down…

A quick thought on Maximus’ taking placebo medication before ending this review.  Placebos are actually rather commonly utilized in psychiatry.  A patient’s expectations and beliefs about a given medicine can be sometimes be just as powerful as any actual pharmaceutical agent.  Of course doctors would never prescribe placebos for severe conditions, but products like St. John’s Wart or Ginkgo Biloba (which have no discernible medicinal values) have nonetheless often succeeded in proving highly effective in countless clinical situations.

That said, offering a placebo for psychosis is just unheard of.  And this suggests that Maximus’ doctor may not believe that Max truly suffers from schizophrenia.  Perhaps Maximus’ ‘madness’ is merely a product of his imagination, a means of coping with his terrible feelings of guilt over his role in the accident that caused his parents’ deaths.  To this extent, the doctor prescribed Max the placebos in the hope that Max’s mere belief that the medication would curb his madness would in and of itself prove effective.  Fascinating.

Another great and definitely recommended installment.  I wish this series was never to come to an end!  Four out of Five Lockjaws.

Artist, Javier Rodriguez, and colorist, Jordie Belleaire, join Al Ewing for the beginning of a new arc in the pages of The Royals, one that will see out heroes go up against the godly powers of the mysterious Progenitors.  Quick recap/review following the jump.

As has been he case for the previous issues of The Royals, the story beings with a prologue set some five thousand years int he future.  An aged Maximus, the Lat Inhumans, travels with Noh-Varr The Accuser to the post-apocalyptic ruins of Manhattan, where a crystalline Sky Spear remains inert amidst the crumbling and dilapidated building of the once-bustling city.  The dialogue between the two is as quixotic as ever.  Us readers remain uncertain as to what these two are talking about.  What can be discerned is that The terrible Progenitors are returning and Maximus and Noh-Varr are intent on some sort of last ditch effort to save what is left of the earth.
Within the superstructure of the Sky Spear is what appears to be a human skeleton.  Maximus refers to it as the Uni-King, hoping that it will arise… that perhaps it will prove their salvation against the Progenitors.  It’s all quite mysterious.

The scene switches back to the present where we find Flint in his stateroom aboard the spacecraft Asterion.  In the previous issue, Flint had laid hands on the Sky Spear planted on the outskirts of NovaHala.  Touching the spear had imbued Flint with the augmented powers needed to defeat the Snarks, but it would seem that the action was not without its aftereffects.  There’s an odd glow in his eyes, the robotic words of the spear continue to rattle through his mind.  Then Flint is shocked to find that his right hand has somehow transformed, made into a crystalized substance through which the skeletal bones of his hands can be seen.  Poor Flint, he’s horrified.

Elsewhere on the ship, Medusa and Gorgon have pillow talk after the two had consummated their new relationship with one another (gross!).  Medusa is in rather bad shape.  The mysterious illness she is suffering from has continued to ravage her.  What is left of her once-bountiful hair has gone gray and she coughs up blood into the sink.  Gorgon is unfazed.  Although laid low by this sickness, to him Medusa is still the vibrant woman he has loved from afar for a long while now.   Somehow, the crew of The Asterion has learned of Black Bolt’s escape from the space prison (as detailed in Black Bolt #6).  Medusa and Gorgon wonder allowed what this may mean for them.  Will Medusa be compelled to return to the side of her one-time king?

Medusa explains tha the spark between her and her ex-husband has long since gone out.  She had felt obligated to stand at Black Bolt’s side during The Inhumans; darkest hours in hope that the sight of it might imbue their people with a sense of strength.  Yet, she is no longer queen and no longer feels the obligation to put her needs second in the service of duty to their people.

On the bridge, Crystal and Maximus attempt to make sense of this sudden pairing between Medusa and Gorgon.  At first Crystal imagines that it all may be the product of Maximus’ trickery for mental manipulation.  Max assures her this cannot be the case; Swain’s presence acts to cancel out his powers as his does hers.  And for once Max says something entirely plausible, even mature: Medusa and Gorgon are both consenting adults; why should there be anything wrong with their seeking comfort in each other’s arms?

Besides, Maximus has grander matters filling his head.  The space ship is following the trajectory of the Sky Spear, tracking the spear to its source where they will find the mysterious Progenitors, the makers of the Prima Materia!
Maximus waxes on over what it must have been like for the astral gifs to come across a prehistoric Hala and transform its savage populace into The Kree People.  The visuals that go along with Maximus’ words offer up an interesting visage… a turning of the tables wherein the Progenitors capture and experiment upon Kree savages in the same fashion that the Kree had done on earth when they created the Inhumans.

The substances that The Progenitors use to mutate the Kree cavemen is the Primagen, the true goal of the Royals’ quest.  With this substance they can offer the Inhumans of earth a new lease on their collected future.  Exactly how the team is planning on accomplishing such a goal, however, remains a mystery.
Swain chimes in with concerns about the matter.  Her thought are for Medusa who appears to be suffering from an illness derived from the Terrigen.  According to Noh-Varr’s postulations, Medusa is suffering from a poetic revenge the Terrigen has cursed her with.  If this is indeed the case, and the primagen represents a more pure and powerful version of the Terrigen, might this further hasten Medusa’s illness?

There isn’t time to debate the matter, Flint comes rushing onto the bridge.  He ignores the other’s concerns over what has happened to his hand and shouts that they have arrived.  Some sot of giant cloaking shield dissipates before the ship, revealing the awesome sight of the Progenitor’s home: The World Farm.  I’m not even going to attempt to describe what it is they see…  it looks like this:

On this strange world, a harvester-class Progenitor picks fruit from an alien tree, studying the results and finding that the bizarre fruit as bore a crystal… a shard of unknown properties that the Progenitor refers to as ‘the quintessence.’

The being senses the approach of the Asterion spacecraft and appraises it as a threat.  The being makes a motion with his hand and the spaceship explodes in fireball, apparently killing the entire Royals team on board.
and it is with this shocking cliffhanger that the issue comes to an end.

There’s a lot to unpack here.  I’m just going to skip my embittered feelings over Medusa and Gorgon being together since the matter has already been addressed in a dozen ‘asks.’  In short, I’m not a fan of the pairing and sad to see my hopes of Medusa and Black Bolt reuniting so dashed.  ‘nuff said…

Us readers and fans have known from the start that a crew of seven Royals would venture out on this mission, but only six would return.  The specter of one of the character’s dying has been along fro the ride since the first issue.  I had previously expected the character destined to perish to be Gorgon, but now I’ve changed my mind and my worry is fully focused on Flint.
The juxtaposition between Maximus and Noh-Varr  looking up at this mysterious crystalline Uni-King and the way the scene so quickly switched to Flint has me feeling that Flint is to be the one who is ultimately transformed into this Uni-King… a suspicion that was further augmented when his he discovered his hand had taken on the same bone-inside-of-crystal properties.  In short, I’m quite worried for Flint and the prospect of his making some heroic sacrifice to save the day is feelings like an increasingly viable prospect.

Javier Rodriguez’s illustration is just tremendous, made all the more vibrant by Jordie Belleaire’s masterful coloring.  Rodriguez maintains his own unique style while at the same time letting his inner Jack Kirby run wild for the scenes with the Progenitors.  Words fail me in trying to describe it.  It’s just super cool.

This issue was notably short, with a number of added on pages in the back that act as a refresher course of who the inhumans are and how The Royals ended up on his mission.  That bonus is likely helpful for new readers checking out The Royals for the first time.  For me, however, it was a bit disappointing in that I’m so eager to learn more about the Progenitors and see our heroes engage in this incurably strange, incredibly cool world.

I definitely got a bit impatient with Medusa and Gorgon’s prolonged pillow talk, as well as annoyed with the perfunctory recap-oriented bonus pages.  Yet this is only because I’m so enthralled by where the main story is going.   Only because I just need to know what is going to happen to Flint; why Noh-Varr refers to the World-Farm as ‘home;’ what’s Maximus’ ulterior motives are; whether or not Medusa is going to be okay; what new visually stunning images does Rodriguez and Belliaire have in store for us?

And yet, I suppose that is part and parcel with the nature of serialized comics.  The endings of a given issue are meant to leave the reader excited to pick up the next installment.  And to this extent, Ewing et al. have certainly fulfilled their job.

A touch unsatisfying, but visually stunning, curiosity piquing, and surely recommended.  Three out of Four Lockjaws.

The first arc of  Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward’s tremendous Black Bolt comes to its conclusion and it’s an absolute triumph.

The story up to this point has seen Black Bolt stranded in a mysterious space prison, lorded over by a cruel Jailer who seemed to posses the powers of a god.  Black Bolt had made allies among his fellow inmates, including Crusher Creel, The Absorbing Man as well as a Skrull pirate queen named Ravva, Molyb the Metal Master and a telepathic alien child known only as ‘Blinky.’  Black Bolt had managed to escape this terrible prison with the aide of his teleporting dog, Lockjaw, and the one-time king of The Inhumans chose to return to the jail to free his friends and put an end to the Jailer’s sadistic reign.

As Black Bolt and his comrades ventured deeper into the prison, fending off its security drones, they came to learn that The Jailer was once an inmate himself.  He is an ancient Inhuman who possesses terrible psychic powers that made him like a vampire needing to feed off of the emotional suffering of others.  This being had been captured and incarcerated in the space prison, yet he was somehow able to free himself and destroy his jailers, taking their place as the new warden and using the prison as a veritable buffet wherein a constant stream of new inmates quenched his insatiable hunger for suffering.

This Jailer has long since lost his physical form and now exists as a physic energy bound only to the last remnants of his body dissected and incased in jars and tubes.  It would appear that The Jailer is a master of psychic illusion and the various deaths and sufferings that Black Bolt and the others have endured may have all just been telepathic tricks meant to provoke anguish for the Jailer to feed on.

Black Bolt and the others are intent on ending the Jailer but this monster is not going down without a fight.  He has manifested ghosts from the minds of his attackers, acting to cripple them with terrible feelings of guilt and sadness.   Black Bolt has used his powers of molecular manipulation to project a protective shield around him and his comrades, neutralizing the power dampeners and offering others full use of their super powers.

Blinky’s telepathy allows her to see through the Jailer’s illusions and she encourages the others that these ghost are not real.  Black Bolt, Creel and Ravva are able to see through the illusion, but Molyb is not.  He has been in this jail much longer than the others, his guilt is too deeply seated and he cannot disabuse himself of the Jailer’s psychic manipulation.  He begins to turn on the others and Ravva sees no other choice than to stop Molyb herself, stabbing him through the back with her sword.

The others are shocked by the Skrull’s gruesome resolve, but there isn’t time to pause nor grieve; they must move forward.  They travel deeper into the heart of the prison where The Jailer lays in wait.  They engage him and Jailer cuts loose with the full extent of his powers.  This power creates an impenetrable shield and it take all that Black Bolt has to maintain his own shield and protect the others.

Creel comes up with a last ditch plan and instructs Black Bolt to direct his sonic powers onto him.  Creel can absorb and take on the properties of anything he touches.  He can take on the properties of metal or rubber and can also take on the properties of energy.  Black Bolt screams, opening up the upper limits of his sonic powers and Creel absorbs the energy in full, become a being of pure molecular disruption.

He knows that he can only contain this energy for a moment, that it will result in his own destruction and he asks that Black Bolt seek out his wife and let her know that he never abandoned her and will always love her.  And with this, Creel leaps headfirst into the Jailer’s being resulting in a terrible explosion.  Black Bolt uses everything he has to protect himself and the others from the detonation.

He awakes some time later and knows that the terror has past.  The Jailer has been killed and the prison destroyed; what is left of the inmates have all fled.  It turns out that Molyb’s alien physiology allowed him to survive being stabbed and he, Blinky and Ravva help Black Bot to his feet.  The happiness of their reunion marred by the sad truth that their freedom has come at the expense of Creel’s sacrifice.

Molyb and Ravva depart, returning to the lives they had prior to their incarceration, leaving Black Bolt and Blinky behind.  The effort Black Bolt had exerted in the battle with The Jailer has taken a drastic tole on his powers.  These powers have been halved, perhaps permanently, and Black Bolt can sense that his voice no longer possesses the highly destructive properties it once had.  Before Black Bolt can despair in this realization however he is overjoyed by the sudden reappearance of his loyal fried, Lockjaw.

Lockjaw can take Black Bolt home and Blinky is ready to say goodbye, ladened that she has no where herself to go.  She asks if Black Bolt might take her with him.  It is a lot to ask and Black Bolt is taken aback by the request.  He has been such a terrible father to his own son, Ahura, the prospect of taking on this duty for Blinky seems to fill him with apprehension.  Yet he seems to no there is no choice to be made.  Of course he will take Blinky with him.

Black Bolt is not the same man who first entered this prison; he has been changed by the experience.  The old Black Bolt might have turned his back on Blinky, thinking only of the needs of his own people.  But he is no longer that man and he pauses for only a moment before accepting Blinky into his care.  And it is here on this warm and optimistic note that the first (hopefully the first of many) arc of Ahmed and Ward’s series comes to an end.

What a ride!  This six issue arc embodies everything I love about comics in general and The Inhumans in particular.  The ideas are huge and wild and fun, with the high concept weirdness ballasted in deep, fully fleshed out character studies.  The story and art is synched up hand-in-glove with both sides of the comic lining up so seamlessly that the narrative and art finish each others sentences.  One would think Ahmed and Ward had been working together for years.

Although Black Bolt was advertised as a solo book, the extended cast that Ahmed and Ward created played a pivotal role in the first arc.  Black Bolt has felt more like a team book with the other cast members (especially Creel and Blinky) being just as important to the story as Black Bolt himself.  And I feel that this was a very good decision.  Black Bolt is a festinating character in the context of The Inhumans as a whole, but has been a bit shallow in terms of standing on his own.  His inability to speak coupled with the cold, withholding fashion in which he comported himself has left Black Bolt as someone who is quite hard to relate to.  Ahmed and Ward chose to reintroduce Black Bolt to us by way of his relationships to the extended cast.  The juxtaposition has generated a new avenue for exploring who Black Bolt is and how his feelings and attitudes have been shaped by all that he has gone through.  The interplay between Black Bolt and the rest of the cast allows us to get to know him in a fashion that hasn’t been done before and has made Black Bolt a much more fully realized and dimensional character.

That street has gone both ways in terms of both Blinky and Crusher Creel.  Creel in particular was made into a wonderfully sympathetic character.  It was sad to see him die in the end, although I doubt this ‘death’ will prove a permanent condition.  Creel has survived similar such deaths in the past and it likely won’t be too long before The Absorbing Man reappears somewhere else.  Still, it’s sad to see him die here just in that Ahmed does such a great job writing him and I’m left wanting more.

Blinky is someone we will likely get to learn more about in the next story.  So far she is just great fun and absolutely adorable.  Putting Black Bolt in a position where he is forth to act in a parental fashion was both an unexpected and hugely satisfying decision.

Alright! no more gushing!  I loved this book and loved this arc.  I’m psyched that the trade paperback will likely be released around the holidays; it’s going to be a gift I plan on giving to all my friends and family who enjoy comics and science fiction.

Five out of Five Lockjaws for the issue…

…and an impossible Six out of Five Lockjaws for the six-issue arc itself!

The secrets of the Sky Spears are finally revealed as The Royals fight for their lives caught in the deadly Snarkwar.  Superstar artist, Javier Rodriguez, joins the creative team alongside fellow illustrator,  Kevin Libranda, colorist, Jose Villarrubia and writer Al Ewing.  Cosmic mayhem and a supervising romance ensues.

The alien Snarks are embroiled in a civil war and the would-be king, Prince Hyinar, has come to NovaHala with their ‘Quantum Foam’ device aiming to utilize its technology to steal as many Inhuman powers as needed to return home and win the war.  Most of The Royals and their Universal Inhuman colleagues have been captured, their powers stolen and supplanted into Snark soldiers.  To keep these powers, however, the original hosts must be kept alive so that the Snarks can periodically return to recharge.

Outside of the city, Medusa, Maximus, Noh-Varr and the Queens of The Universal Inhumans have come to inspect the Sky Spear that has mysteriously come to the Centurion World.  Maximus had formed a hypothesis about what these Sky Spears might be and how they may work; a hypothesis that he tested by taking control of Quenn Oola’s telekinetic powers and using them to pick up Noh-Varr and throw him into the structure of the spear.

The Kree and Inhumans are distantly related, both products of manipulated evolution by way of Primagen.  This particular spear is not attuned to Noh-Varr physiology, but the similarities are close enough to facilitate an interface wherein the spear ‘reads’ what Noh-Varr is and conversely Noh was able to experience the process and ‘see’ it for himself.

Noh’s vision is a kaleidoscope of Jack Kirby-style cosmic wildness.  The mammoth Progenitor creating and refining the Sky Spears, hurdling them through space to precise destinations.
The experience is terribly painful for Noh-Varr, yet he survives.  He falls from the spear and Maximus catches him, bringing him back to report.  Noh casts off his bitter anger toward Maximus in order to share with Medusa all that he has learned.

The Spear is a diagnostic tool, a means of assessing and evaluating the knowledge and powers of Inhuman subjects.  Its ability to control minds is a byproduct of its function for collecting cognitive data; likewise its augmentation of Inhuman powers is also a product of it testing the upper limits of said powers.  The spear is an antenna, collecting this data and sending it back from which it came.  Furthermore, there is no means of autonomous propulsion to these devises… they are literal spears that have been thrown with tremendous strength so to traverse the galaxies and strike planets with pinpoint accuracy.

Before Medusa and the others can take stock of what Noh-Varr has learned they are suddenly attacked by Hyinar and his empowered Snark warriors.

Maximus is momentarily able to fend off the attack, utilizing the various powers of the Universal Inhuman Queens.  Yet one of the empowered-Snarks has ‘borrowed’ the abilities of Swain and her empathic abilities once more acts to cancel out Maximus’ mind-control.

Meanwhile, within the Snark command ship, Gorgon has been robbed of his Inhuman gifts and rendered into a human-like form.  Held in chains, he reflects back to the early days of his recovery from a devastating wound that had left him paralyzed.  He recalls his old friend, Karnak, and the philosopher’s cold effort to offer him comfort.  Karnak is unlike the rest of The Royal Family.  He has never gone through Terrigenesis and his abilities are a result of ardent study, practice, and training.

Confined to a wheelchair, Gorgon took no solace from Karnak’s words; he didn’t have his life to live over and cannot dedicatee himself to training and refining new skills.  What Karnak had attempt to relay to Gorgon did not resonate at the time, but now, in recollection, begins to make sense.  Karnak’s outlook is one of absolute nihilism: everything is nothing, it is all meaningless… and yet determination can allow one to exploit the great flaw of meaninglessness that exists in all things.

The recollection seems to inspire Gorgon, cause him to realize that he is much more than simply a vessel for his powers.  Karnak can shatter stone solely by way of his determination, surely Gorgon can do the same to a mere metal chain.  Besides, the Inhumans of Attilan possess enhanced strength to begin with… and Gorgon has been doing a lot of working out.

Summoning all of his strength, Gorgon pulls on the chain, stretching it taught so that it is only as strong as its weakest link.  He exploits this weakness, the link cracks and the chain snaps.  In the same motion, Gorgon snatches the Snark scientist who had been standing nearby, constricting his hand about the alien’s throat and forcing him to free the others.

Moments later, the cloaking device aboard the Snark craft is disengaged and it lands nearby the Sky Spear.  Gorgon and his colleagues come pouring out to attack.  They no longer posses their powers, but are unwilling to go down without a fight.

Flint peels off admit the battle, internet on a rash and desperate plan.  He makes it to the Sky Spear and lays his hands on it.   Once more this particular spear has not been calibrated to terrestrial Inhumans, but the physiognomic similarities are close enough that it effects Flint.

The power-amplifying properties of the Sky Spear overwhelms the Snark technology that has robed Flint of his powers.  He regains his abilities and uses them to lift up a giant chunk of rock, reforming it into spiked slab.   Perhaps the Sky Spear’s influence has rendered Flint more cold-blooded or perhaps the direness of the situation has left him more violent than normal.  Whatever the case, Flint slams down the spiked slab, killing Prince Hyinar and his Snark soldiers.

The battle is over.  With the Snarks dead, the Inhumans slowly regain their powers.  Crystal expresses concern over Flint, how the exposure to the Sky Spear might have effected him.  She would like to have him checked out in a medical facility on NovaHala, but that isn’t an option.  Displeased with how Maximus had taken over their minds, The Universal Queens have demanded The Royals leave NovaHala immediately.

Yet it was not all for naught.  Noh-Varr’s interface with The Sky Spear has enabled him to reserve navigate the trajectory of the spear.  He can guide them from where it had come and bring the Royals to location of the mysterious Progenitors.

Before they leave, Medusa takes Gorgon aside.  Quite bluntly, she asks how long he has had romantic feelings for her.  Apparently she has noticed the way he looks at her, the love and desire in his eyes.  Embarrassed, slightly ashamed, Gorgon reluctantly answers her question.  He has loved her for years, yet buried the feeling because she was his queen and his friend’s wife.  He apologizes for it and promises to continue to keep these feelings suppressed.  Yet Medusa sees no need for him to do so.  She is dying, her end is inevitable and rapidly approaching; and they are on a mission that more likely than not will result in all of their demise.  There is no longer time nor need for the foolishness of pushing away feelings and desires.  She takes Gorgon in her arms and the two share a passionate kiss… much to the surprise of Crystal and the others.

And it is with this unexpected turn of events that the issue comes to an end with he promise of continuation in the next installment.

I had found the previous issue to be a bit on the short end in terms of action and unveiling the mysterious of the plot.  This issue, meanwhile, more than makes up for it with a great deal of action and a super interesting revelation about what exactly the Sky Spears are.

The Spears are essentially probes… alien instruments of examination designed to accrue data and transmit it back to the Progenitors.  They assess information on Inhuman subjects, any beings shaped and mutated by way of derivatives of Primagen.
We have been led to believe that The Inhuman were the product of experiments conducted by The Kree, yet now it is revealed that The Kree themselves may have been merely a tool through which The Progenitors shaped dynamic life throughout the universe.  But to what end?
Are the Progenitors creating weapons?  Are they harvesting crops to consume?  Are they merely imitating the work of gods, making and shaping new life through the cosmos?  Are they benevolent, malevolent, or something beyond the confines of narrow constructs of morality?  More importantly, will The Royal be able to obtain from them what they so desperately need?

This whole mission has been to discover a new source of Terrigen, a means through which to regain a future for The Inhumans of earth.  And what will it mean if they are to succeed?  Will confronting these Progenitors end up dooming the team… dooming all of earth?  The mystery of the Sky Spears has been uncovered; we now know what they are.  And the answering of one question has led to a bevy of new ones.  New mysterious, the prospect of saving the Inhuman race, as well as the threat of total destruction.
Pretty cool stuff… I’m just a sucker for all this high concept sci-fi weirdness.

Although I must admit that, as villains, The Snarks don’t do a whole lot for me.  With their power-thieving technology, they are kind of ersatz Super Skrulls and I’ve no investment nor care for whatever civil war their planet is embroiled in.  Although it is possible my animus toward them is mostly seated in the fact that their attack on NovaHalla resulted in the deaths of two members of the Light Brigade (my fav, Kal Blackborn, as well as the Centurion Inhuman, Metallic Titan).

Nevertheless, the threat posed by The Snarks provided some cool action sequences as well as interesting character developments for both Gorgon and Flint.

Gorgon has been through a lot over the last few years.  The injury he sustained and subsequent paralysis forced him to carve out a new sense of purpose.  He could no longer be a warrior, so instead he focused on teaching, taking the younger, newer Inhumans, Flint, Naja, and Grid under his wing and helping them to gain greater mastery over their abilities.  It also forced him to come to terms with his failures as a father and the ineffectiveness of his efforts to push away his bereavement over his wife’s death.  Through it all, Gorgon has gradually come to learn that his true strength is not in his hooves, in the seismic blasts that he can generate… rather his real power is rooted in his sense of will, his determination in the face of adversity.  And it was only by acknowledging and tapping into that power that he was able to escape and, ultimately, save the day.

In terms of  Flint, his path remains unclear.   This is the first time he has used his powers to kill.  Once before, Flint’s actions caused an opponent serious harm and the ordeal had left Flint greatly shaken (it happened way back in All New Inhumans #6).  His killing Hyinar and The Snarks was in the heat of war, justified, possibly imperative.  Yet it may be that having done so will leave a powerful impact on him.  He is already feeling quite lost and unsure of his place.  The sense of guilt over his actions, regardless of how necessary they may have been, could be enough to push him over the edge.

As for Medusa and Gorgon hooking up… where the heck did that come from?

Gorgon’s admiration for his former queen has been evident from the start, but I hadn’t imagined it as being amorous and in no way did I expect Medusa to reciprocate such feelings.  I was just as shocked as Crystal and the others at seeing these two lock lips.

Medusa has been quite stoic in dealing with her illness and loss of power.  Taking a page from her ex-husband, Black Bolt, Medusa has pushed down her own feelings and focused exclusively on the mission at hand and the needs of those whom she leads.  And with this stoicism, Medusa has remained something of a cypher throughout the series.  She’s driven, but her thoughts and feelings, how she is coping with her illness and her sense of having failed Attilan in destroying the Terrigen Cloud, has all remained under the surface.  As such, the whole idea that would kiss Gorgon really feels to have come out of left field.

And I don’t like it!

Medusa and Black Bolt are my one-true-pair.  The prospect of them getting back together has been something of a beacon… a goal or achievement that would signify a sense of symbolic victory for The Inhumans.   To be clear, I don’t at all see Medusa’s actions as cheating.  She and Black Bolt are not together and I don’t consider her hooking up with Johnny Storm nor Gorgon as an infidelity.  Yet that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.  Furthermore, I hope that Medusa’s rational, her feelings about it, are made more clear in subsequent issues.  She has been brave in the face of her impending doom, but with this development, we really need to know what is going on in her head.  Has she always fancied Gorgon?  Does she just not want to be alone in her last days?  Has she made peace with the fact that she will likely never see Black Bolt again and is seeking comfort in the arms of another?  Enquiring minds need to know…

It was very cool to get a sneak peak at what Javier Rodriguez has in store for the visual side of the tale moving forward.  Along with depicting Gorgon’s flashback scene, Rodriguez also offered up Noh-Varr’s vision of the Progenitors which was just a wonderful visage of crackling cosmic awesomeness.  Not to be outdone, co-illustrator, Kevin Libranda also brings his A-game with vibrant action sequences and really terrific facial expressions of emotion.  Seeing Maximus truly surprised is a rare thing indeed and Libranda nails it perfectly.

Much of the action takes place int he barren lands outside of the city of NovaHalla.  It doesn’t offer Libranda much to work with in terms of backgrounds… little more than a pink-hued atmosphere (although colorist, Jose Villarrubia, does a nice job fading the hue as it gradates to the horizon).  The scenes that take place within the Snark command ship are a bit more dynamic with the addition of  Libranda’s skill for depicting backgrounds.

A few quick notes:

• very cool to see Karnak show up (albeit in a flashback).  I’m loving the cast in Royals, but Karnak, Black Bolt and Lockjaw are greatly missed nonetheless.
• Swain seems to be still be quite shaken by her encounter with Ronan’s guilt-inducing powers.  Even after the Snark who had possessed Swain’s powers was killed, she struggled in regaining control of them.  It’s likely that her shaken confidence will continue to be explored in subsequent issues.
• Crystal remains the least refined member of the cast.  Initially this seemed to be merely an issue of page-space economy, but I’m starting to wonder if Ewing knows exactly what he wants to do with Crystal.  I hope she receives increased attention soon.
• It was neat to see the specific powers possessed by The Universal Inhuman Queens and the some of the members of their procession.  Matriarch Oola of The Centurions possesses telekinesis; Queen Aladi Ko Eke of the Baddoon seems to have bone-like class that protract from her forearms.  First Chair Onomi of the Kymellians has freeze breath.   It’s unclear what powers are possessed by Avoe of the Dire Wraiths, but one of Oola’s Centurion aides has stretching powers.
• The distant-future-set prologue to the issue shows the aged Maximus and Noh-Varr making their way to a Sky Spear located in the heart of the ruined and flooded isle of Manhattan.  The purpose of their mission remains unclear, but it is hinted that their actions five thousand years in the past has somehow incurred the wraith of the Progenitors; that these beings are coming to earth to extract some sort of vengeance.

Good stuff and highly recommend.  Whereas Medusa and Gorgon’s kiss earns zero of five Lockjaws, the issue as a whole gets a solid four out of Five Lockjaws.

There’s a lot of intriguing set up in this latest issue, but not a huge amount of delivery as guest illustrator,  Juanen Ramírez, joins Mathew Rosenberg and Joe Ranch for this inaugural issue of a whole new story-arc in the pages of Secret Warriors.

The whole issue acts as a series of mini vignettes, that show what the Secret Warriors have boon up to following the fall of Hydra and the resolution of the Secret Empire event, as well as set up a number of plot lines and story elements that In all likelihood) will eventually precipitate the Warriors needed to come back together as a team.

The main story focus on a somewhat unhinged Daisy ‘Quake’ Johnson, rooting out form Hydra collaborators in her desperate search to discover who killed her friend, Phil Coulson, and extract revenge.
She learns that the former Hydra regime needed to dispatch their most deadly assassin to take out an agent of Counson’s calibre and Daisy throws caution to the wind and arranges for a hit to taken out on herself in the hopes that this assassin will come to her.

This leads the villain known as Taskmaster to track her down and attempt to do her in.  Daisy is expecting the attack and takes out Taskmaster with ease.  Following a violent interrogation, Taskmaster agrees to give up the information on who it was that actually took out Coulson.  The culprit is none other than the ‘merc with the mouth; everyone’s favorite fast talking motor: Deadpool.

Taskmaster arranges for Daisy to hook up with his contact so that she can finally take on Deadpool.  This contact turns out to be Bullseye (because apparently sociopathic assassins are all friends with each other).  In any case, Bullseye sets up Daisy to attack Deadpool while he is dropping off his dry cleaning and the stage is set for a huge fight in the next issue.

Intertwined through this main story is two more tales that are far more intriguing.  The first sees Karnak coming to visit his nephew, Ahura, who is running the multi-conglomerate company known as Ennilux.  Ahura is initially quite shaken to see his uncle Karnak show up at his corporate offices.  Although still a teenagers, Ahura is usually suave and unflappable, but it is clear that his uncle makes him very uncomfortable.  Yet it turns out that Karnak has not shown up to recruit Ahura for some sort of mission for the sake of Attilan; rather he is looking for a job.

Ahura gives him the not-so-polite brush off and sends his uncle on his way.
Some time later, Ahura learn that the fictional third-world nation of Chernaya has endured a military coup, forcing its president to run off into hiding.  Chernaya had been a hub of cheap manufacturing, and it would seem the Ennilux Corp has been quite reliant on the nation as a key facet to the corporations’ ongoing success.   Seeing this news, Ahrua decides that he has a job for his Uncle Karnak after all.  In all likelihood, Ahura would like to send his uncle into Chernaya and put down the coup and hence keep Ennilux in the black.

The third storyline entails Dante, who has relocated to Toledo, Ohio, where he has moved in with his sisyer, Gabby, in order to help her out with the new baby.  We finally learn that the child Gabby gave birth to way back in Inhuman Annual #1 is a girl (so I no long have to write our niece or nephew when referring to her).  Gabby has retuned to nursing, but is also taken night classes and Dante has come to help out, tending to the child while his sister is at work or school.  He skips with Moon Girl asking Lunella to help his sister in completing term papers that Gabby is far too busy to attend to.  To date, we have only seen Lunnella apply her genius to strictly scientific endeavors, but it would turn out that she’s super smart across the board in that she has provided for Gabby a succinctly summarized term paper on Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

A knock comes to the door and Dante is assailed by a force of strange and frightening beings.  They are al minions of the Dark Beast.  Dante fights valiantly but is hopelessly outnumbered and falls.  The Dark Beast fetches Fante’s infant niece, noting that he has been dispatched by Mr. Sinister to collect the child.  A baby born exposed to Terrigen prenatally appears to be of interest to the mad geneticist and he has opted to send his goons to collect her as consolation for Karnak having gone back on his deal rearing Leer.  Horrified, Dante can only watch as The Dark Beast leaves, taking his niece to the villainous Mr. Sinister.

For me, the two sub-plots were far more interesting the main one.  I love Daisy, but seeing her go on a Punisher-style quest for bloody revenge isn’t something that intrigues me.  Quake is much more focused now that she had been int he previous issues of Secret Warriors, and as a result her seismic powers are more precise and effective.  She makes short work of the various goons, The Taskmaster, and even Bullseye does’t seem that much a threat to her.  Taking on Deadpool should prove a much more challenging battle, but we’ll have to wait until next issue to see how it goes down.

Don’t get me wrong: I like ultra badass/ultra competent Daisy, but it does detract a bit from her uniqueness.  Her taking out the villains with such ease… she could easily be replaced with Black Widow, The Punisher, or any other badass for whom things look easy.  Daisy’s doubt, her conflict and anxiety is what has helped to make her special to me and while I can understand her single-mindedness in wanting revenge for the death of her best friend, the version of Daisy in this issue left me a bit cold.

The other two vignettes provide to be much more intriguing to me.  Dante’s niece being abducted by the forces of Mr. Sinister is clearly setting up the next story-arc, set to unfold in future issues and I’m very much looking forward to that.

Likewise, Karnak coming to Ahura for a job was an interesting twist.  Ahura has long since been one of my favorite Inhumans and it was a little discouraging to see him degenerate into yet another business bigwig interested in little more than the bottom line.  Ad why exactly does someone possessing near omega-level psychic powers need a third party to put down a military coup in a third world nation.  That matter aside, I’m looking forward to seeing where it all goes.

Juanen Ramírez’s fill in art is an intertwine choice.  He’s an excellent artist, but his style is so different compared to series regular, Javier Garrón, that it feels quite jarring.  Garrón’s line work is ultra crips and confident whereas Ramirez opts for a more squiggly, fluid line.  To be frank, it’s not of my tastes.   To be even more frank, Deadpool is a character who I have almost no interest in.  His particular brand of humor does vert little for me and the sooner his involvement in this book comes to an end the better as far as I’m concerned.
Although it’s noted in the letter page that Garrón will be rejoining book with issue eight when the Mr. Sinister artery-arc goes into full swing; a story that it appears will see Magik of The X-Men join the team.  This I’m very much looking forward to.

As it stands, there are some pretty good moments in this issue, a must for big time Quake fans, but somewhat skippable in that one can wait until the eighth issue to see The Secret warriors back in action.

Two and a half out of Five Lockjaws.

It’s the second issue of writer, Christopher Priest, and artist, Phil Noto’s fantastic foray into the past of the Inhuman Royal Family.  A whole lot goes down in this issue with plot lines converging and diverging in surprising directions.  Before going into the story, however, a quick note about just how well Priest and Noto work together.  It is pretty amazing that these two creators have not worked alongside one another before.  Right off the bat they have achieved a synchronicity as though they have been making comics together for decades.  There are many characters in play, with multiple plot-lines, bouncing back and forth.  It’s a testament to Priest and Noto’s skill that the story doesn’t feel jumbled or disjointed.  Indeed it runs smooth, unfolding like a keenly directed movie or television show (cough).

I don’t possess anywhere near the skill of narration Mr. Priest demonstrates and would be hopelessly lost trying to relay the storyline as it unfolds int he issue.  Instead, I’ll just describe the different plot-lines one at a time.

Last issue saw teenage versions of Black Bolt, Maximus and Medusa flee Attilan in fear of being unjustly accused of plotting against the stewardship king, a powerful Inhuman known only as The Living Terrigen.  The former king, Black Bolt and Maximus’s father, Agon, had recently died and The Living Terrigen had assumed the throne temporarily until Black Bolt was ready to rule.
A mysterious character called Elisha had orchestrated a revolt among the slave caste Alpha Primitives and an assassination attempt on The Living Terrigen.  Young Black Bolt interceded, using his molecular-disrupting voice to put down the revolt and save The Living Terrigen’s life.  Elisha later sought out Black Bolt and Maximus and warned them that their actions had put them at risk.  Black Bolt had saved the Living Terrigen, but also embarrassed him and Elisha convinced the two lads that the stewardship king would use this all as an opportunity to make his rulership permeant.

Earlier, Maximus had been boasting over how wonderful their cousin Medusa is and how she would make a fine queen.  Moved by these words, The Living Terrigen called upon Medusa and informed her that she was to become his wife.

With the aid of a puppy-aged Lockjaw, Elisha, Black Bolt, Maximus and Medusa all fled Attilan, teleporting to downtown Manhattan.

The young Royals are each rather taken aback by the human world.  Medusa in particular is aghast by the terrible air pollution.  Somehow, the trio has procured a new wardrobe that allows them to blend in with the humans of New York.
Sitting at an outdoor cafe, Maximus ruminates over the past.  He thinks back to his being diagnosed as suffering from some sort of mental disorder.  A flashback shows him meeting with a physician who prescribes medication, noting that Maximus must take these pills once a day every day or else his ‘madness’ would return.  A second flashback shows Maximus’ memories of sifting through the wreckage of the Royal Retreat where his parents had been killed.  He and his brother had had an argument; they both used their powers and it caused a Kree spacecraft to crash into thew retreat.  Both were responsible for the death of their parents, but Maximus could not tolerate this truth.  We see him grapple with the cognitive dissonance in accepting the responsibility; and he bends to it.  He refuses to accept his role in the tragedy and instead blames it all on his brother.  Once more he sees the doctor reminding him to take his medication.

Taking these meds entails remaining lucid, being aware of his role in his parents’ deaths.  As such there is a great draw to not take them, to allow the madness to overwhelm him so that he may push away his guilt and refuse responsibility.  Back in the present, Maximus looks at the pills in his hand, contemplating whether or not to take them or cast them aside.

A police officer approaches, telling the youths that they have to clean up the mess Lockjaw had left on the street.  Quite suddenly, a crane mounted on a construction site breaks free and starts to fall on the pedestrians bellow.   Black Bolt takes action, flying up and using his voice to shatter the crane into thousands of pieces that fall harmlessly to the street.

Maximus then uses his mental powers to pull a ‘Jedi mind trick’ on the police officer making her forget all that she had seen.

The crane falling was likely orchestrated by Bentley Whitman, as a means of locating Elisha and the young Royals.  Fans of The Fantastic Four will likely recall Whitman as the scientist who will go on to become the super villain known as The Wizard.  It turns out that Whitman had provided Elisha with the power dampening arrows that were used in the revolt and botched assassination attempt on the Living Terrigen.

Whitman brings The Royals and Elisha back to his laboratory.  There it is explained that Elisha was an Alpha Primitive whom unnamed Inhumans had taught to read.  These Inhumans were punished for their actions, but Elisha escaped to the human world.  There he continued his education, ultimately graduating from Empire State University.

Whitman had befriended Elisha and learned his origins.  As such he learned of the threat The Inhumans’ slave engine posed against the human world.  Whitman provided Elisha with weapons in the hopes that killing The Living Terrigen and destroying the slave engine would keep the human world safe.

Medusa does not trust Whitman and warns Black Bolt not to trust him either.  Whether to not Black Bolt does or does not trust Whitman remains unrevealed, but he is willing to team up with him, use his weapons to take out The Living Terrigen and do away with he slave engine.

Meanwhile, back on Attilan, The Living Terrigen considers all that has transpired.  He blames this mysterious Alpha Primitive for misleading the young Royals.  He dispatches his Seeker, Kadlec, to travel to the human world and bring back the Royals, assigning young Karnak to accompany him.

We are also introduced to young Gorgon, whom we see in the midst of a violent training session.  Gorgon is a bruiser with a short temper but tremendous ability.  He is also the first cousin to the future king, Black Bolt, and someone The Living Terrigen identifies as an important ally.  He approaches Gorgon and names him his new viceroy.  Gorgon is honored by the responsibility.

Whatever ulterior motivations The Living Terrigen may have, he is keeping them close to the vest.  Outwardly, he remains magnanimous, stating to Gorgon his belief that the young Royals are innocent and have merely been led astray by outside forces.

Later, the scene switches to Kadlec and Karnak on their mission to locate the Royals.  They have tracked them to Manhattan and we see the two riding the subway.  The human passengers don’t pay much heed to Kadlec’s wild outfit, whereas Karnak, kneeling in meditation is mistaken for a Hare Krishna beggar and offered some spare change.

Kadlec voices his views to young Karnak.  He possesses an ardent view on Inhuman society, one in which the caste system is mediated by the gifts Terrigenesis has to offer.  Those who are granted powerful and useful gifts are afforded higher status and Kaldec believes that this is just, how it should be.  And to this end, someone like Karnak represents the lowest of the low.  Karnak has been spared Terrigenesis.  His older brother, Triton, had gone through the mists and was transformed in a highly unfavorable fashion.  So unfortunate was Triton’s Terrigenesis that his brother was allowed to forgo Terrigenesis and instead enter into study with the gnostic monks of the Tower of Wisdom.

The basic tenants of the philosophy of these monks is one of clarity through abject nihilism.   Karnak has accepted that he is meaningless, that all is meaningless and somehow this belief has afforded him enhanced awareness… the abilities to see things with greater clarity.  And it is through this clarity that Karnak has refined his ability to perceive the base flaws in any given object or thing.

Karnak’s self-effacing nihilism rings true to Kadlec.  He sees Karnak as lowly and worthless; having foregone Terrigenesis, Kadlec see Karnak as being on the lowest of tiers of The Inhuman social hierarchy.  Karnak puts up with Kadlec’s insults until it is no longer necessary to do so.  It turns out that Karnak has plans of his own.  He demonstrates for Kadlec his ability to utilize his fault-finding perception in conjunction with an esoteric brand of martial art.  He strikes Kadlec at a precise point of weakness, sending the seeker crashing through the window of the subway car.

Karnak then leaps from the subway and run off into the tunnels, calling out to his brother that he is coming to rescue him.

And the scene switches once more to some sort of government research facility.  There it is shown that Triton has been captured and mistaken for an alien being.  The researchers have been attempting to ascertain his origins, but have all but given up.  How Triton had come to be captured and whether or not his brother will be successful in rescuing him will have to wait until next issue, fore it is with this cliffhanger that the installment comes to an end.

See what I mean?  A whole lot goes down in this issue.  And while my retelling of it all may seem jumbled, it’s all inter spliced and unfolds seamlessly through Priest and Noto’s combined effort.

While the plot is complex and multilayered, the real heart of the book is the characters.  Even the minor players, like The Seeker and Bentley Whitman, are fleshed out and compelling.  No one is black and white, necessarily good or evil.  We know that Maximus, The Wizard and The Unspoken will all go on to become villains, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are villainous in this story.

The Once and Future Kings is essentially a prequel, we already know what the future holds for these characters.  Which makes it especially impressive that Priest and Noto can weave a tale that keeps us guessing; a narrative for which I’ve no idea how it’s all going to unfold.

Maximus is especially handled well.  He’s teetering between madness and sanity, the deciding factors going to be whether or not he can accept his own guilt over the death of his parents.  We already know that his sanity will lose this battle, that he’s destined to become ‘Maximus The Mad.’  Yet knowing this doesn’t at all detract from his character arc being totally fascinating.

Elisha, the one new character introduced in this tale, is equally fascinating.  I love this idea that the ‘slave engine’ can devolve a human’s body, but not necessarily their mind.  Elisha had been a slave as a child but he learned to read.  He escaped and achieved an education at one of the human world’s most prestigious universities.  And he has proven himself just as smart, capable and crafty as any Inhuman.

Even The Unspoken, a character I’ve previously found to be rather one-dimensional in the past is pretty interesting.  We don’t know if his concern for the young Royals is genuine or if he is secretly planning a coup that will depose the Royals and allow him to retain his throne.  Again, I know where the story is going, but have no idea how it is going to get there and that is pretty cool.

My only complaint is that Medusa, who shined so brightly in the first issue, doesn’t get much to do in this second issue.  Although this likely has more to do with the economy of panel space in the issue.  What we miss out with in terms of Medusa, we gain through the introduction of Karnak and Gorgon to the tale.

What goes without saying is that the art is just tremendous.

And if that weren’t enough, the issue also includes a quick Lockjaw bonus story from Ryan North and Jim Campbell that is an instant classic.  Lockjaw and Wolverine join forces to defeat the PsychoMan with the aid of thousands of kittens plucked from the Kitty Dimension.  Need I say more?

This as good as it gets.  A mathematically impossible six out of five Lockjaws.

The Royals find themselves embroiled in the deadly Snarkwar and Maximus gets unleashed.  All from the creative team of Al Ewing, Kevin Libranda and Jose Villarrubia.

The Snarks are a warlike alien race who first appeared int he pages of Power Pack.  These half-insect/half-reptilian creatures possess the technology to harvest the special abilities from super powered beings.  Their world is enmeshed in a planet-wide civil war and Prince Hyinar, Snarkworld’s would-be leader has taken to the stars to collect and amass new powers so that he and his forces may return and conquer their world.  Hyena’s forces have already defeated a Kymellian Sorceress, thus gaining the same abilities of the siblings who made up the Power Pack; and now they look to invade NovaHala, whose population is rich with Universal Inhumans possessing all manner of powers for them to plunder.  Last issue saw the Snarks capture Gorgon and kill Kal Blackbane (which is a g0ddam tragedy btw).

Shackled, Gorgon can only growl and spit insults as he is forced to listen to Hyinar monologue his plans to capture the rest oft he Royals and steal their gifts.  Except for Medusa, whom the Snarks see as an invalid due to her sickness and the loss of her Inhuman powers.  Medusa the Snarks simply plan to kill and Gorgon seethe with rage at the thought of it.

Elsewhere, Flint, Crystal and Swain are made comfortable as the guests of the Universal Inhumans.  Flint spares with the Centurian Inhuman known as Metallic Titanwhile Crystal makes small talk with the others.  Swain sits alone, afraid to commingle with others without Maximus there to mute her empathic abilities.  The vision of guilt that Ronan The Accuser had forced Swain to endure has shaken her confidence something terrible.

Dara Ko Eke, the Universal Inhuman of the Badoon, notices how Swain has sequestered herself away from the others.  Dara goes to see what is troubling Swain and at first Swain mistake the gesture as a romantic ovation.  It’s emblematic of just how lost she feels.  She doesn’t trust her own powers and lives in constant fear that she might unwittingly coerce others into feeling what she wants them to feel (either on a conscious or unconscious level).  Panacea, Swain’s girlfriend back on earth, does not feel emotion in the same conventional way and this has made her immune to Swain’s influence.  Yet it is not without its drawbacks and a part of Swain wishes that Pan could reciprocate Swain’s love in a more mainstream/traditional fashion.  The encounter with Ronan has caused Swain to believe that a part of the reason why she accepted this mission tot he stars was to run away from her fears over her relationship with Pan.

Meanwhile, Medusa, Maximus and Noh-Varr confer with the Queens of the Universal Inhumans.  These queens still do not fully trust their former sister-wife, Medusa, blaming her for turning her back on their king, Black Bolt.  Yet thew promise of learning more about the mysterious Sky Spears has superseded their suspicions.  One of these Sky Spears has come to NovaHalla, planting itself in the plains outside the city.  Its mystery continues to bedevil the Universal Inhumans.  One of their psychics had attempted to breach its secrets and it augmented his powers and took over his mind.  It held him, controlling his will to fend off others until he died of starvation.  Now only his skeleton remains behind.

A series of glyphs line the structure of the spheres.  The writing is of a language that none have thus far been able to decipher or translate.  Yet there are a number of specific words that are familiar to the various races that compose the Universal Inhumans.  These are ancient terms from the origins of each species’ languages.   One such term beckons back to the older language of the Badoon and means ‘to look and find through experiment.’  There is another word from ancient Kymellian that means ‘seed’ or possibly ‘fruit.’  Medusa adds that there is also a word on the Spear that is ancient Tilan… a word that translates to ‘genocide.’

With this, Medusa decides that she no longer has the time to play nice with the queens.  She presses a button on the chain that has kept Maximus leashed.  This seems to disengage a power dampener, offering Maximus full control over his psychic abilities.

Maximus seizes the opportunity and exerts his will over the gathered Universal Inhumans.  At first he is unsure as to why Medusa has freed him, but it quickly becomes evident that their goals are aligned and Medusa can trust Maximus as long as they both want the same thing… namely, to decode the mystery of the Sky Spears and their connection to the Progenitors.

While Maximus is indeed willing to do Medusa’s bidding, it doesn’t mean he is going to be nice about it.  He chooses to conduct a cruel experiment to further examine the parameters of the Sky Spear.

Borrowing the telekinetic abilities of the Centurion queen, Oola, Maximus seizes Noh-Varr in a vice-like telekinetic grip.  Maximus notes that the sky spears have all been sent to places where there are Inhumans.  Plus they have recently learned that The Inhumans and The Kree share a commonality in that both races were artificially evolved by way of derivatives of Primagen.  Therefore, The Kree are also Inhuman of a kind.  Maximus tests this theory by throwing Noh-Varr against the spear.   Upon striking it, Noh-Varr’s body crackles with energy and he is riddles with agony… it would appear that Maximus’ hypothesis is correct.  Intriguing as it may be, Medusa is unamused by Maximus’ actions and it remains unclear if Noh-Varr has even survived.

The seven switches back to the amphitheater where the other members of the team are waiting.  Crystal has grown concerned over Gorgon’s prolonged absence.  Before she can investigate the matter, however, they are attacked by the Snarks and both the Royals and the members of the Light Brigade are quickly defeated and captured.

They awaken imprisoned within crystal-like cells.  These crystals appear to have to do with the Snarks’ technology to steal superpowers.  They are like batteries in which the original hosts must be kept alive so that the various Snarks who wild the powers can periodically return to recharge.  This is all explained by Gorgon whose power has been taken from him.  It has left Gorgon devolved into a more human-like state, his goat-like legs replaced with regular human legs.

And it is on this cliffhanger that the issue comes to an end.

This issue was much more build up than I had expected it to be.  I’m so curious to learn the secrets of the Sky Spears that I found myself a bit irritated by meddling actions of the Snarks.  Plus the Royals and their comrades fell so quickly to the Snarks attack, it didn’t offer illustrator, Kevin Libranda a lot of space to show off his skills for depicting action.  Still, what the issue lacked in action it made up for in some pretty good character development, specifically for the two newest Inhumans, Swain and Flint.

Swain’s situation is particularly intriguing and I’m very much enjoying the places Ewing’s script is going with her.  The story with Flint is still just getting started, but it’s interesting nonetheless.  Flint is pretty lost and looking for a place where he feels that he belongs.  He lost his adopted parents and his biological family was not what he had hoped for.  He had found something of a new family among the Inhumans, but it’s possible that the events of IvX has shaken his belief.  It would seem Flint has joined The Royals on this mission for reasons of his own, a hope to possibly find the sense of be longing that has so far evaded him.  I’m very much looking forward to seeing where this leads.

There continue to be more questions than answers when it comes to The Sky Spears.  The mystery of it has been percolating ever since the Free Comic Book Day issue of Uncanny Inhumans.  Based on The Ultimates2, Ewing is not shy about going big in providing a resolution to long-building mysteries and I’m quite excited to learn whatever answers are providing in issue number nine.  Unfortunately, it also leaves me a bit impatient.  I sort of want all this Snarkwar business to hurry up and get out of the way so we can get to finding out more about The Progenitors.

Libranda’s illustration and Jose Villarrubia’s colors continue to be a great match for the tenor of the story.  The art is asked to juggle a rather large number of characters and it manages it quite nicely, composing it all in a fashion that makes it come across as smooth, detailed while not overly-busy.

All and all another fun issue. I might feel a bit impatient over wanting the plot to move forward, but focusing on character development is likely a wise decision.  The narrative has been so large in scope that it can inadvertently dwarf the characters so slowing down to more intently focus on the players is understandable move.

Definitely recommended.  Three and half out of five Lockjaws.