Uncanny Avengers #22

Writer – Rick Remender
Artist – Daniel Acuna

In the finale to Avenge the Earth, Havok and Sunfire try their best to stop Kang while the rest of the heroes try to stop his allies which include Arno Stark, Doom 2099 and more.  Kang of course is more powerful than ever as he has been absorbing the Celestial’s power.  So after Kang seemingly kills Sunfire, he turns his attention towards Havok, but Havok too has been absorbing the same power and they battle it out like titans.  Helping the Avengers on the ground is the newly arrived Infinity Watch, this version consisting of the Guardians of the Galaxy from the far future, a Nova, the Silver Surfer, the Vision, Captain Marvel, someone who looks like Quicksilver and Immortus.  On all fronts the Avengers start to prevail, Havok included along with a little help from the almost deceased Sunfire.  The ending provides some surprises as well as a little bit of loss, which while not unexpected, still hurts.  Remender’s latest epic ends with a bang and with more characters in this one book than most Marvel books put together.  While Kang’s allies are a cool bunch of characters no one would have thought to put together, the emergence of a new Infinity Watch was a sheer joy to behold.  Acuna’s artwork is magnificent and if this book is to get a collection, an oversized one would be appreciated to truly behold the size and scope of the story and artwork that this tale presented us with.  There is so much going on in this book and just what it will mean for the Avengers and the X-Men going forward, and this team in particular will be interesting to see.  Absolutely great work by all involved.

5 out of 5

Batman Eternal #17

Writer – Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Tim Seeley, Ray Fawkes, John Layman
Artist – Dustin Nguyen
Inker – Derek Fridolfs
Colours – John Kalisz

Batwing and Jim Corrigan battle for their lives against the newly returned Deacon Blackfire.  The Deacon is out for revenge against not only Batman, but Gotham as well and he means to make the city his.  As Batwing and Corrigan battle, their plight only worsens until all seems lost.  Harper and Red Robin meanwhile have found the man they are looking for and the person they think is responsible for the nanobots and Julia has a few words for her father as she still does not understand how Alfred could have gone from soldier to butler.  This was a great issue in the continuing adventures of Batman’s weekly series with Batwing and the Spectre the main focus, though the eponymous spirit has yet to show his face.  We get to see some more of Deacon Blackfire who was revealed to be behind the mystical craziness going on at Arkham Asylum last issue as well as some of his past which included being defeated by Batman.  Harper is still quite interesting, though little of her is known yet, or why she wears that Grifter-like mask, but it is cool nonetheless.  The quirkiness and sharp lines of Nguyen’s artwork really gives the book a distinctive feel and it is nice to see an artist on here for more than one consecutive issue.  Julia Pennyworth is fascinating and having more of her in the book is a good thing.  Only one thing missing – the Spectre!

4 out of 5