Warning: comments below contain spoilers.

The Avengers and Thunderbolts stage an issue-long intervention with Moonstone, who has absorbed a great deal of “transnormal energy” and launched into a fit of destructive pique. The gathered super-beings try ineffectively to either talk or beat her down as she hurls off a string of barbed psychological critiques and crushes them with gravimetric energy.

There seems to be a central assumption in this series – the Avengers should have given Baron Zemo the benefit of the doubt — which I find impossible to swallow. Since, despite the title, it’s essentially a Thunderbolts story, the narrative almost demands that they be in the right, that the reader believe they could have handled the situation but for the Avengers’ blundering, self-righteous interference.

This ignores the fact that no sane person in the Marvel Universe would trust Baron Zemo, given the ledger of his actions over time. It also glosses over the fact that the Avengers have already given Zemo and the Thunderbolts an extraordinary amount of freedom to demonstrate their intentions and only intervened directly when the scale of Zemo’s ambition seemed to grow exponentially. From any sensible view, the Avengers would be irresponsible not to at least investigate the situation.

There’s also an odd moment when Moonstone decries the Avengers’ “ridiculous lofty standard,” as if the Thunderbolts have cornered the market on redemption. That she spits this charge at a group of Avengers that includes a charter member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, an android created to destroy the Avengers, the former henchman of an enemy spy, an intermittently mad scientist given to dangerous psychotic breaks, and a recovering alcoholic in a battle suit undermines her position to a crippling extent.

The smartest choice of the issue is the choice of Songbird as this chapter’s narrator. (The perspective has shifted with each issue.) Songbird is the character who rests most uncomfortably between the two teams, closer to the Avengers in terms of ideology but tied to the Thunderbolts emotionally. Unfortunately, as with previous issues, the story is overwhelmed by psychological evaluation.

Whether it’s blistering diagnoses from Moonstone or Songbird’s narrative observations, all of the Thunderbolts are under the personality microscope. Zemo, Vantage, and Hawkeye get in on the act, which amounts to a great deal of telling what these people are about and very little in the way of showing. Even when somebody does act consistently with their described nature, there’s accompanying narration to make sure we don’t miss the significance. Of course, the premise doesn’t really demand any balancing evaluation of why the Avengers do what they do.

The timeline of the issue is odd, too. While it’s essentially a long fight scene (verbal and physical), there’s time for one character to change armor (mid-sentence) and another to be contacted (through a third party) and travel from a different planet entirely without any explanation of the means used to do so.

I have to admit being affected by the context for this series. Starring one group of characters whose title was cancelled over a year ago and another who are about to be revamped to the point of obsolescence, this could have stood as the last “traditional” Avengers story. (Chuck Austen’s run on the Avengers’ own title hardly counts, as he could rarely be bothered to focus on the title characters.) While writers Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza couldn’t have known this at the time, the story they’ve crafted just stacks more kindling on the pyre, playing the Avengers as outmoded in morally ambiguous situations, shouting “Avengers… assemble!” in the midst of a mess of their own making.

It’s all supposed to be about issues of trust and redemption and shifting alliances, but it ends up being too exhaustingly chatty to achieve that. It’s convoluted instead of complex, and it doesn’t create any balance between the opposing forces. It’s a mess, honestly.

Warning: comments below contain spoilers.

It’s hard to say too much about this title, which is smack in the middle of an ongoing caper arc. I picked it up based on Sean McKeever being assigned to writing chores. I loved his late, lamented INHUMANS run, and I was eager to try his work on another title. Happily, he’s still telling the kind of complex and balanced stories that won me over in his past work.

Mystique continues her investigation of DermaFree, in part because they’re using unwilling mutants as test subjects, but mostly because they’ve gotten their hands on her own stem cells. The issue is a solid blend of action sequences, mutant-themed espionage, and touches of humor.

Art by Manuel Garcia is just what a title like this needs. He draws distinct faces and body types, which is pretty much a prerequisite for a comic about a shape-shifter. He also excels at action sequences, keeping chaotic, fast-paced events clear and dramatic.

I’m kind of surprised Mystique works as well as she does as the book’s protagonist. She’s had some fairly inconsistent characterization over the years, but the take here is just about perfect. Still selfish and caustic, she’s also pretty dedicated to the well being of other mutants. There’s an undercurrent of unpredictability, too; she may work for Xavier, but she’s obviously far from being fully domesticated.

Special bonus points: this book has the best “Previously” page going. With fairly twisty plots being the norm, that’s really useful.

Warning: comments below contain spoilers.

As Cyclops’s squad rushes to defuse a high-society hostage situation, a prominent geneticist announces a cure for the X-gene. Both events highlight interpersonal tensions among the X-Men.

Writer Joss Whedon’s never made any secret of his fondness for Kitty Pryde, so it wasn’t a surprise when she was added to the cast of AXM. What is surprising to me is how much Kitty adds to the title, functioning as a wonderful gateway character. Kitty has been out of the X-family for some time, and she’s finding her footing as she reacts to how much things have changed. It’s a very organic way to provide exposition on the state of affairs at Xavier’s while providing insight into characters; Kitty is struggling to match up her memories of the X-Men with who they are now.

A cure for mutation isn’t exactly a ground-breaking idea, but I don’t think the development is intended to do that. It’s less about the development than its impact. As demonstrated in the discussion of the student body’s reaction, every individual mutant would react differently to the news. The same applies for the team, resulting in some tense exchanges. The best of these is between Kitty and Emma Frost, who Kitty remembers clearly as a ruthless adversary.

The book makes a very interesting use of continuity. It’s not continuity in the sense of references to specific events; it’s an evocation of the personal and emotional consequences of those events. History is useful for how it’s shaped the characters.

Art by John Cassaday is predictably splendid, from the dramatic hostage rescue scenes to the quieter, interpersonal moments. I still think his costume designs for Beast and Cyclops are ridiculous, though. Nice basket, Hank.

Warning: the comments below contain spoilers.

Let’s see, we’ve got a pair of mislaid panties, snide references to testicular cancer, clumsy romantic “banter”, a woman making out with someone dressed exactly like her father and cousin did, and an Avenger upset to the point of vomiting. Not content with incoherent plotting that shoves the title characters to the very margin of their own book, writer Chuck Austen has added a bracing dash of tastelessness to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Some of the Avengers travel to the Middle East to intercede in the Invaders’ efforts to unseat a local dictator. The team has learned that the Invaders were the brainchild of the Red Skull, though the Avengers who first got that news – Ant-Man and Falcon – are mysteriously absent from this issue.

The highly volatile situation is made more so by internal tensions in the team. Hawkeye and the Wasp have embarked on an affair, causing significant intestinal distress for Wasp’s lover, Hank Pym. Despite Cap’s admonishments to set personal issues aside on missions, Clint and Jan flirt and pout in a manner rarely seen outside of a junior high cafeteria.

Perhaps to counterbalance all this levity, Austen scripts a good Cap/bad Cap smackdown punctuated with profound philosophical discussion of just what it means to be the Sentinel of Liberty. The exchange would be agonizing if it weren’t so laughable. It’s too overblown and one-sided to pass for gravitas.

While the Avengers demonstrate their usual level of incompetence – Hawkeye keeps misfiring, Wasp demands that an adversary rescue She-Hulk, etc. – it can’t be part of an authorial effort to make their opponents look any better. The Invaders don’t seem to have much of an attention span, abandoning what they’re doing (wholesale destruction of property, mostly) to chat with the Avengers or deriding their leader, U.S. Agent. And none of the heroes present can do anything to prevent a murder that happens right in front of them.

See? You don’t need to focus on contradictions to long-standing characterizations to think the book is crap. You need only look to the panties.

This week’s Marvel Comics:

CAPTAIN MARVEL 24: I’m actually a bit relieved that this title is coming to a close. I’ve been ambivalent about it for a while. It started with the title character as an amiable cipher, hopelessly overshadowed by his supporting cast. Still, its character-based humor overcame that flaw. Then came the re-launch, and Genis went insane. He was still a cipher, though, as his behavior was so unpredictable and unsympathetic that it was all but impossible to identify with him as a protagonist. That development was coupled with the disappearance of most of the very appealing cast, leaving only crazy Genis and ineffectual Rick Jones. Now, he’s in some uneasy middle ground between the two, possibly insane, possibly not. And he still isn’t very interesting. The current story arc isn’t helped by my aversion to “avoid the grim future” time travel stories, particularly when they have such a defeatist resolution. There’s considerable artistry in this book, but its themes leave me cold. I can’t say I’ll miss it.

DAREDEVIL 61: Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev offer another issue where just about everything energetic happens off-panel, so we’re left with lots of talking. Matt and Foggy talk about Matt’s failing marriage. Government officials talk about dangerous women. Natasha and Matt talk around how hot they are for each other. And, perhaps cracking his knuckles for the upcoming crossover, Bendis gives the Avengers a cameo where they subdue a dangerous villain by (wait for it) talking to her. It’s sleek, it’s carefully crafted, and it’s kind of empty.

NEW X-MEN: ACADEMY X 2: The book is set in a school, so it’s not unreasonable that it seems to have a cast of thousands, but writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir seem to have difficulty folding in the expository introductions in an organic manner. Everyone’s antsy about being assigned to squads for various reasons, some more interesting than others. Rivalries are more clearly established, primarily between the five principles and Julian Keller, the Xavier Institute’s own Draco Malfoy. There are nice moments, particularly David’s preference for an education over superhero boot camp, and it’s kind of satisfying to see someone (Cyclops, in this case) tell Noriko to stuff it with the attitude. (Of course, a grown man still dependent on a visor to control his powers isn’t the one to tell a young student how much the school can help her.) It isn’t really based on anything on the page, but I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with Dust. If she finds Noriko’s clothing immodest, what’s she going to do in her advising sessions with Emma Frost? It’s a promising title, but it would benefit from some focus on a smaller cast.

RUNAWAYS 16: This is just a tremendously entertaining book, written by Brian K. Vaughan with a combination of tight plotting and thoughtful characterization that makes the title characters sympathetic and real. The twist at the end wasn’t particularly a surprise, and neither will the one that’s probably coming next issue (Alex is the strategist of the group, after all), but there’s a craft and an energy to the title that outweighs any predictability. After a somewhat slow middle patch (I found the Cloak and Dagger issues too in-jokey for my taste), this book is back on solid footing, moving the intergenerational conflict forward at breakneck speed. I would be remiss if I didn’t praise the stunning, atmospheric art of Adrian Alphona, inker Craig Yeung, and colorist Christina Strain. They create a wide variety of settings and, most importantly, draw protagonists who look like real kids. I highly recommend this book, and if you haven’t picked it up so far, look for the digest version on the way.

SHE-HULK 4: Writer Dan Slott continues to mine the comic possibilities of superhero law to great effect. Carrying on the tradition of a Spider-Man appearance in the fourth issue, She-Hulk’s colleague Augustus “Pug” Pugliese pitches a lawsuit to the wall-crawler, suggesting he sue Daily Bugle owner J. Jonah Jameson. (This sounds like ambulance chasing to me, as lawyers really aren’t supposed to solicit clients, but I’ll look past it.) Twisty legal wackiness ensues, mixed with budding romance and genuinely funny bits. Slott even finds time to touch on one of the book’s themes, as Pug suggests that She-Hulk is only as strong as Jennifer Walters. It’s very subtle, but I was very happy for its inclusion. It’s a nice message.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR: Writer Warren Ellis picks up where Bendis and Mark Millar left off. He reveals a bit about Victor Van Damme (he had a mean daddy who made him do genealogical declensions on his birthday), and confirms that Sue isn’t in the Baxter Building just because she’s the boss’s daughter. She’s a gifted scientist in her own right, and I find Ellis’s take on her – confident, focused, and compassionate – much more rounded than that of the previous team. There’s nothing really wrong with this issue, but I’m starting to wonder if the Fantastic Four is one of those groups who just don’t do it for me. And while I’m normally a tremendous fan of Stuart Immonen’s graceful pencils, they look oddly scratchy and distorted here. Maybe it’s the inks by Wade Von Grawbadger?