Avengers 299 - Inferno

Captain America seeks help from Reed Richards but instead finds Franklin has been kidnapped.

Avengers #299

Writing: Walter Simonson
Layouting: John Buscema
Finishing: Tom Palmer
Lettering: Bill Oakley
Coloring: Max Scheele
Editing: Mark Gruenwald
Editing in Chief: Tom DeFalco

The real Captain America returns to New York as demons come through the portal and finds the New Mutants dealing with them so he sets off to find more help. Elsewhere in Olympia the Eternal known as "the Forgotten One" is told of the demons and sent to New York to deal with the threat. In Connecticut Nanny has detected a powerful mutant and sends the Orphan Maker to kidnap the child and kill the parents; however the child is Franklin Richards and his parents survive because of a force shield around their bed. Captain America arrives and joins them in pursuing the ship to New York. Nanny's ship is brought down in the park where all four heroes converge but Nanny has a second helper in armour - Franklin.

There is still no team of Avengers put back together and only a few steps towards one. There's a strong hint that the Eternal called "the Forgotten One" will be joining (and also taking a name that will make my prose easier) but otherwise this issue feels more like it should be billed as "Captain America Team-Up" as he briefly works with the New Mutants and then two retired members of the Fantastic Four rather than seeking out new members.

The sequence in Times Square serves to bring Cap and the reader up to speed on the basics of the Inferno crossover as well as showing just how pointless it is to pretend to be anything but Captain America with Cannonball easily working out who he is. More surprising is the sudden use of Nanny from the pages of X-Factor even though Walter Simonson was drawing that book.

Nanny continues to have an unclear motivation but also there's some strange lapses in logic. Franklin is sleeping with his parents when he's kidnapped but for some reason the Orphan Maker is able to spread a sleep dust and lift Franklin out of the bed yet when he fires a gun there's a forcefield in the way. There's nothing indicating Sue Richards has heard Franklin's cries or that it's somehow automatically triggered and the result is the Orphan Maker has done a kidnapping but failed to live up to his codename. All the problems with Nanny continue here and make for some rather uninteresting scenes. However it does result in one of my all time favourite lines in comics as the Forgotten One shouts out:

He is not my son, egg with a voice. But if he tries to slay his own parents, he is a monster! And slaying monsters is why I am here!

Nanny is not too pleased.

Overall this issue feels stunted. Nanny just isn't that interesting a villain and with both the Avengers lacking a team and New York facing a demonic invasion this whole plot feels like a needless sideshow.

Daredevil 265 - Inferno

Daredevil wanders through New York dealing with the madness, not all of which is caused by Inferno.

(In case you're wondering what happened to issue #264, it is a fill-in that has nothing to do with Inferno. A box at the top of the first page is surprisingly open about how John Romita Jr's wedding meant he was unable to pencil the issue in time so they put the story on hold for a month and came up with "a special off-beat issue" set "sometime in the very recent past" with Steve Ditko drawing a tale of the Owl, drugs, bombs and a baby. It's a surprisingly honest approach to explaining the presence of a fill-in rather than having Daredevil or some other character suddenly pausing mid story to remember the full details of a previous adventure including scenes he wasn't present for.)

Daredevil #265

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

There are many problems in the city that the magic and demons are amplifying. A dentist is attacked by his machines and turned into a possessed cyborg that goes out attacking others. A lorry causes huge pollution with the drivers not caring until Daredevil jams their exhaust pipes. The buses aren't moving because demons are attacking the drivers until Daredevil intervenes. A resident of a flat is woken by demons doing construction work early in the morning and finds his flat has been burgled. He determines to leave the city but his car is looted then destroyed in a crash. He tries a taxi but gets taken for a ride. Eventually he takes a tour helicopter to get out of the city if only for ten minutes. The dentist is now a corrupt police officer choosing who to arrest for whatever minor violation he feels like and ignoring laws he dislikes. In an alleyway a couple are mugged until Daredevil fights off the demons. Ol' Hornhead then fights the dentist/police officer and beats him before leading citizens in picking up litter.

This is a very plot light issue and Daredevil (now back in his full costume over his bandages) never says a word in it. Instead it's very much a parade of problems with urban living and seems to in part be preparing to take the hero out of the city for an extended time. Much of the issue feels like a rant about problems living in New York but it also highlights that there are good people and those who can't live without it.

It's an odd issue that feels more a polemic than a story. Ann Nocenti's take on the series is famed for this and in the wider context an issue like this makes a lot of sense. But as a part of a crossover it feels rather less substantial as though it's just taking the elements that have to be incorporated but not making the best concession to visiting readers or producing an especially memorable tale. This is a disappointing end especially given how strong John Romita Jr's artwork is here.

Daredevil 263 - Inferno

There's more than one devil travelling to and from a hell.

Daredevil #263

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Daredevil is recovering in hospital but Typhoid Mary visits and tells Karen Paige about her affair with Matt, sending Karen fleeing. Demons have broken through into New York but the Kingpin is so obsessed that he doesn't care about them. However he is visited by an unnamed demon who declares he sold his sole long ago and has been working for the demon ever since. Meanwhile Daredevil rises from his hospital bed and sets out to confront the demons, finding a demonically possessed subway train on a journey "down town". Eventually he stops the train and finds the demon's weak point, slaying it.

Daredevil may be one of the most down to earth series to take part in Inferno but it's also a series starring a men who dresses as a devil (even though he's heavily bandaged in this issue) who lives in a place known as Hell's Kitchen. Where better to explore the idea of "Hell on Earth" which was the original proposed name for the crossover? Although he's not named there's a strong implication that the demon who makes a deal with Typhoid Mary and then visits the Kingpin with her is Mephisto or the Devil - the precise relationship between those two has always varied a bit over the years. It makes for some striking imagery.

This is a mostly descriptive issue with some striking imagery of the demons and possession and the reaction of the characters. Typhoid Mary seems to take it all in her stride. Karen is horrified to learn of Matt's affair and then finds herself being bombarded by images of syringes then addicts and demons. The Kingpin is staying calm but clearly moved by the idea that he is not the ultimate boss of the city but is instead working for another. And Daredevil rises, treating this living hell as the thing he's spent his life preparing for. The scene as he confronts the subway train is far more than a metaphor as it journeys down with Matt fighting against it both physically and spiritually as his goodness struggles to bring redemption for the passengers.

If there's one thing odd about this issue it's the secret identity. Karen states that the hospital doctors have agreed to protect Daredevil's secret yet when Mary shows up and calls him "Matt" Karen immediately declares that it's Daredevil in the bed effectively confirming it if needs be. And at the end the kid Butch declares his hatred for Matt for his treatment of Karen and disappearing when Daredevil's hair is fully on display and his bandages do nothing to conceal his identity. How can Butch not know who this is?

But for these odd moments this issue works well with strong artwork and depressing commentary really going to town with the idea of Hell on Earth. It's a dark journey that shows how it is possible to use Daredevil in wider events with such fantastic elements to maximum effect.

Daredevil 262 - Inferno

Daredevil is molested by a vacuum cleaner whilst the Black Widow fights a lift.

Daredevil #262

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Daredevil is missing, lying near death after a battle with Typhoid Mary. A vacuum cleaner comes to life and starts attacking his body. Inside his head a dream of his mentor Stick berates him to fight back and live. Meanwhile Karen, the Black Widow, and two of the skateboarding kids' gang the Fatboys, Butch and Darla, search New York amidst inanimate objects coming to life and attacking them. They cannot get police help and so return to the Free Law Clinic which has been smashed up. It soon becomes clear more objects have come to life with a lift trying to consume Butch and Darla until the Black Widow frees them. Elsewhere Typhoid Mary struggles with her different personas. Daredevil comes too and smashes the vacuum cleaner only to realise Typhoid Mary has returned.

This is a series that's in the middle of an ongoing big storyline running headlong into a wider crossover event and it can sometimes be hard to reconcile the needs of the two. The introduction of Typhoid Mary was one of the biggest developments in Ann Nocenti's run and a bold move was made to not have Daredevil recover straight after a battle in issue #260. Instead our hero has been lying unconscious for two issues with the focus being on the search for him.

Inferno brings some weirdness into the scenario with the result that this issue is best known for the vacuum cleaner. Oddly the machine starts looking normal but seems to change into a vaguely scorpion like creature. As it changes it's also drawn and coloured as though it's Warlock from New Mutants (though the cover colours it differently). But it's actually only fairly minor to the sequence which is really about Daredevil finding the inner strength to recover as an image of Stick berates him and for this any animal or passing mugger could have performed the same role. The main signs of the demons come as the others venture though the city with sone gargoyles dropping down on them, subway train doors suddenly closing on them, the equipment in the law clinic going wild and then finally the lift tries to consume the two children. It's all fairly low key stuff but Daredevil is usually a street level series that has often struggled to accommodate some of the wilder elements of the wider Marvel universe.

There are some good character moments for all of Daredevil, Typhoid Mary and Karen as each in their way confronts elements of their past and overcomes them. Mary does so in conversation with herself, Daredevil through a dream struggle and Karen through a real life encounter with prostitutes she used to work alongside.

As an advert for Daredevil at this time this is a rather awkward issue being midway through its own developments and so not giving visiting readers from the crossover the greatest sense of what the book is like. As an issue of its own series it's a stronger character piece with typically good art from John Romita Jr that manages to take the odd situation all around and work it well into the narrative flow.

The Punisher Annual 1 - The Evolutionary War

The Punisher encounters an Evolutionary War on Drugs.

(Due to the large number of creators the labels for some have been put in a separate post.)

The Punisher Annual #1

1st story: Evolutionary Jihad
Script: Mike Baron
Pencils: Mark Texeira
Inks: Scott Williams
Letters: Jim Novak
Colors: Janet Jackson
Edits: Carl Potts
Eliminator in Chief: Tom DeFalco

The problem with a line wide crossover, or at least one encompassing all the series with annuals, is that it's going to take in some extremely different series with very different power levels and perspectives. Both this annual and the next one demonstrate the extremities of this as they take in what were in 1988 Marvel's hottest new series.

The Punisher had been running for less than a year when this first annual came along and so it's very likely The Evolutionary War was approved before it was realised there would be an encounter on such a scale. The nature  of this crossover overall is such that individual events can be easily added or dropped from the overall plan but the different power levels can result in some very strange aspects to the plan.

The solution here is to tell a relatively straightforward typical Punisher story in which one faction is armed with high tech weaponry. The High Evolutionary's Eliminators aren't that much more advanced than some of the other more technological foes the Punisher and so don't feel out of place here whilst the Evolutionary himself is never seen, only mentioned. However the goal in this annual is ridiculous.

Here the High Evolutionary has launched a war on drugs and comments by his Eliminators imply that they're going after the whole chain from producers all the way through to users. It just feels absurd that such a broad target would be selected for such physical resources. It would be easy to refine the target to some particular drug variant only grown in the vicinity but as it stands it's an unbelievable goal. Still the practical result is that the Punisher gets to fight some hi-tech guys in Colombia.

This is yet another tale of a fight with a  Latin American drug baron, a cliche even at the time. However Mike Baron's script gives some good development to "El Caiman", presenting him as also a devoted father and popular philanthropist who has done far more for the local people than their own government. He and the Punisher end up in an alliance of convenience against the Eliminators and there's a real sense that they've come to respect one another enough that they'll let each go when the threat is removed. However both know that this cannot be and so when they find themselves in El Caiman's aquarium at the end the Punisher has no option but to fire a bullet to break the glass and feed the drug lord to his own pet from whom he takes his nickname.

As a Punisher story this is a good one-off tale that doesn't require an in-depth knowledge of the character and his continuity to understand it. But as a chapter in The Evolutionary War it's struggling to disguise just how difficult it is to fit that event into this series. The Evolutionary's goals are just too unrealistic to make sense.


2nd story: 3 Hearts
Writer: Roger Salick
Artist: Mike Bosburg
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Max Scheele

This solo tale for Microchip is named after a Japanese proverb that a person has three hearts - the one they show to the world, the one they keep to themselves and the one they don't even know about. Microchip finds out what he is capable of when he goes to the help of the widow of an old friend whose new husband has become an assassin for hire and is even trying to kill his wife lest she report him. Although Microchip has developed many weapons for others, here we see his private nervousness over whether he himself can pull the trigger when he tracks down the assassin reporting back. We also get the comedy as he smuggles an anti-tank gun into a hotel. And then the story ends with showing his deviousness and ruthlessness as he confronts the assassin and seemingly makes a deal.

It's a good exploration of Microchip's character and capabilities when he doesn't have the Punisher around him but the story's title is rather over laboured with excess dialogue seeking to justify it. But otherwise this is just the sort of piece that super-size annuals should have.


3rd story: The High Evolutionary: Pet Project
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Paris Cullins
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Herbert Edgar Wyndham was expelled from Oxford after losing his temper with key professors and then he found his home was insufficiently isolated to carry out his experiments. Salvation came when he met again with Jonathan Drew whose wife had inherited land in the Balkans and so they set up a laboratory there.

It's a relatively straightforward chapter that continues the themes of Wyndham being in a hurry, impatient with the conventional speed of science and being detached from conventional society. But it also exposes a problem with the character's name and aims. Evolution is the development of a species as it adapts to conditions with beneficial mutations coming to dominate as best able to survive. By definition it is not possible to stick an organism in a machine and flick a switch to turn it into what a later evolved descendant will be. Yet that is precisely what Wyndham is shown attempting. At best he can accelerate the individual organism's development to deal with the rays of his machine but nothing more.

This flaw goes back to the character's original appearance and suggests that his creators did not have the strongest understanding of evolutionary science when they named him. It raises the question as to what is the character's actual goal.

Also included is a guide to the Punisher's Battle Van and a diagram of his New Jersey warehouse.

Overall this is a good Punisher annual but a disappointing The Evolutionary War one. The Punisher was always going to be one of the hardest characters to fit into the overall event but even so the draw here just doesn't stand up well. It is unfortunate that both the first two annuals in this event have been disappointing.

Daredevil 276 - Acts of Vengeance

This issue concludes the story of Daredevil's battle with Ultron. It continues the android's programming chaos as he struggles with the conflicting programming of his different incarnations and turns to a pagan religion, setting up a bizarre ritual with hundreds of his heads laid out to mark a pathway up a mound as he seeks to solve his "blasphemous" existence and the paradox of Number Nine being the perfect woman when absolute perfection is unachievable.

Daredevil #276

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita, Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colours: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It's an almost terrifying examination of a fanatic struggling to adapt their beliefs to the reality of the world around them and of multiple personality disorder case trying to overcome the different voices to the point that Ultron actually starts tearing out wires in the hope of removing the troublesome circuits. It's made worse by the android retaining his inbuilt weaponry, such that Daredevil's attempt to crash a pick-up truck into him gets nowhere.

Understanding is a key part of this story. Daredevil's enhanced senses may mean that he can hear at a distance, but he doesn't truly understand that Ultron is trying to reform with the help of Number Nine by removing the murderous programming from his earlier selves. Instead he assumes that the android is going to kill the woman. The Inhumans Gorgon and Karnak are still around but the former doesn't contribute much beyond a few futile blows whilst the latter takes an inordinate amount of time to work out just what Ultron's vulnerable point is. Instead it's Ultron's own struggle that brings salvation, as he pulls up his head to expose the non-adamantium wiring inside, and thus making himself vulnerable to attack. This leads to the moment this issue is best known for - Daredevil knocking Ultron's head off with a stick.

Viewed in isolation the full-page panel must seem absurd, but within the story it makes sense that the android has weakened his own defences in an attempt to attack and remove his circuits, and Daredevil and Karnak have taken advantage of this to attack at the critical moment. But it's not a total victory as Number Nine has seen the good in Ultron and wants to rebuild him as the good being she heard.

On the surface of it, the idea of sending a powerhouse like Ultron against Daredevil seems like absurd overkill, although it was justified last issue by the rivalry between Doctor Doom and the Kingpin that leads to the former aiming for a quick, easy kill to show he can succeed where his fellow villain has failed. But the story works so well by making Ultron into a conflicted, vulnerable figure who reflects the wider themes of the series at the moment, showing the conflicts about perfection and societal programming. As a result the android's defeat is convincing and this makes for a good, strong piece.

Daredevil #276 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Daredevil Epic Collection: Heart of Darkness (2017)

Daredevil 275 - Acts of Vengeance

One of the more unusual battles spawned by "Acts of Vengeance" must surely be pitching Daredevil against the powerful robot Ultron. On the face of it this is surely absurd yet the devil is in the detail.

Daredevil #275

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Penciler: John Romita, Jr
Inker: Al Williamson
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colours: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Daredevil issues of "Acts of Vengeance" come from an unusual and now largely forgotten era of the series. It's true that Daredevil has lots of forgotten eras, but this is by Ann Nocenti, who until 2006 was the most prolific writer on the title when she was just pipped by Brian Michael Bendis at the end of his run. It says something about Daredevil that it has chalked up over six hundred issues (across multiple volumes with the original numbering returned to a few times), yet its three most prolific writers (Stan Lee is the third) each wrote in the range of only about 50 to 57 issues. The book did a bit better with artists with its most prolific, Gene Colan, turning in nearly a hundred issues. By contrast this issue's penciler, John Romita, Jr, is near the end of a run of thirty issues.

Part of the reason why this period isn't so well remembered is the setting. Daredevil is best known as a New York lawyer by day and vigilante by night, prowling the darker parts of the city. So an extended storyline that takes him out into the countryside and has him meet the Inhumans, Gorgon, Karnak and Lockjaw probably isn't going to spring to mind when one thinks of the series. However the underlying theme of the current storyline is a familiar piece of social commentary that Ann Nocenti's work is especially noted for. Daredevil has found himself at a farm house owned by Skip Ash, a geneticist who has conducted experiments on humans including creating "Number Nine", who can instantly heal and has been mentally conditioned to be an idealised traditional housewife and cheerleader. This brings conflict with Skip's natural daughter Brandy, an artist and ardent feminist, leading to arguments about programming. Daredevil himself ideally just wants to be alone, to escape all the other people with problems around him, but he too reacts to his societal programming.

This creates a good environment for a contrast with the guest villain from the crossover. At first the idea of pitching Daredevil against Ultron may seem absurd, but this is a highly conflicted Ultron. Doctor Doom, yet again, is selecting and overseeing the dispatch of the foe and has reconstructed the android, incorporating all twelve sets of previous brain patterns in the hope of creating the perfect mix. However this instead gives the android multiple personalities that conflict over his purpose and direction as he realises he is flawed and thus his (re)creator is flawed, but Number Nine's perfection attracts at least some of Ultron. Like Number Nine, and indeed like Brandy and other characters, Ultron is driven by his programming with conflicting influences trying to determine what course of action he should follow. It's a good metaphor without being overstated. The actual fight only starts near the end of the issue as Daredevil, Gorgon and Karnak find Ultron, but it makes for a convincing strong power level.

This is a surprisingly thoughtful issue given that the elements at first sight look absurd. Instead we get a foe with an internal struggle that matches the environment into which he is sent, providing a good exploration of an android all too often used for over simplistic battles. This may not be the traditional urban environment that Daredevil is known for, a result of the crossover turning up in the middle of a protracted storyline, but it provides a strong tale none the less.

Daredevil #275 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Daredevil Epic Collection: Heart of Darkness (2017)

Dr Strange Sorcerer Supreme 13 - Acts of Vengeance

The final Dr Strange issue of the crossover is once again divided in two.

Dr Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #13

Writer: Roy Thomas (all)
Writer: Dann Thomas (main)
Writers: Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier (back-up)
Artist: Jackson Guice (main)
Artists: David Day and Dan Day (back-up)
Lettering: Janice Chiang and Michael Heisler (main)
Lettering: Joe Rosen (back-up)
Colours: Max Scheele  Tom Vincent (all)
Assistant Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The back-up story is a further chapter from "The Book of the Vishanti", continuing the story of the Darkhold and the Montesis guarding it, along with the rise of both the Ancient One and Dracula. It feels a more coherent piece than the previous chapter, not least because of the easily recognisable elements of the existing mythology.

The lead story follows on from the previous issue and sees the Enchantress force Arkon, the ruler from another dimension, to attack Doctor Strange. Arkon is additionally motivated by a desire to make Clea his queen, allowing him to add the Dark Dimension to his realms as well. This leads to a somewhat unlikely hand to hand duel with Doctor Strange, who has never been much of a physical fighter and although his survival is explained at the end it just seems bizarre that he would ever agree to such a fight. Much of this issue, and indeed the previous one, has focused on the strength of the relationship between Stephen and his wife Clea even though they are usually dimensions apart. Each faces an alternate admirer of a kind and each rushes to the defence of the other in their own ways.

Arkon's motivations are also easily understood - he's two stages removed from the central "Acts of Vengeance" conspiracy and thus isn't motivated by that at all but rather simply by the fact the Enchantress has stolen his thunderbolts that can get him home. Still it solves the general problem of finding foes who can present a sufficiently powerful challenge to Doctor Strange and at the same time come under the direction of a conspiracy of distinctly mortal villains.

Overall this is an uptick after the previous issue but not the most dynamic and there's increasingly a sense that this is a series that wants to hurry up and finish its part in the crossover and then get back to telling its own stories. It's a reminder that with such a sweeping event not every creator is always enthusiastic all of the time.

Dr Strange Sorcerer Supreme #13 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)