On the Panel

Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #5

Following on from the cliffhanger ending of the last issue which saw our hero having a passionate moment with the newly discovered Silk we see that his life is about to become even more complicated. 

Something about the idea that sharing an origin causes this irresistible attraction between the two of them feels somewhat forced and typical to me. I've seen this done in so many other things with varying degrees of success and this version isn't a particularly interesting one, some of it may have to do with not knowing an awful lot about Cindy as yet. I will say the moment that Anna Maria walked in on them and the resulting jealousy from Cindy was awkwardly amusing.

The rest of the issue was pretty good but nothing overly special, I don't like the fact that Peter is being too cavalier about his new role as CEO, acting almost like a child in the face of his responsibilities. For me that's a big departure from Peter Parker's character and I'm disappointed to see it playing out like this.

Acting out of character seems to be going around at the moment especially with Black Cat who seems to be taking this revenge plan a little too far; the Black Cat I've been reading about over the past few years is intrinsically a good person who has her own limits that she tends to abide by so I find it a little hard to believe that she would go to the extremes she goes to in this issue just to get back at Spider-Man, no matter what her arrest robbed her of. The cliffhanger ending will almost certainly be a red herring as well so I feel it's all a little meaningless.

Overall, this issue was pretty weak all round. The connection between Peter and Cindy is uninteresting as well as Cindy herself yet to do or say anything interesting. Black Cat's revenge mission isn't something I find easy to accept, not in the way they're doing it at any rate. I don't feel that Black Cat is capable of being that vindictive and it feels like actions committed by another character.

Fantastic Four (2014) #8

Things really aren't looking good for the Fantastic Four these days; Reed and Sue have lost access to their children, Ben Grimm has lost faith in the rest of the team and is being imprisoned for murder, Johnny Storm has lost his powers and they're at odds with The Avengers.

This issue had a lot of cool moments in it; chief among them is Sue's battle with The Avengers where she manages to more than hold her own against all of them. What she does to Thor is particularly impressive. Sue is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel pantheon and she more than shows that here, not a single Avenger seems a match for her and that's just awesome. I also like that her rampage is stopped by the original Human Torch who advises her that her children are safe. Sue is only doing this because she's completely at the end of her tether and she misses her children so it makes sense that news of them would be the catalyst for her standing down. It's also interesting that Sue sort of proves how dangerous the Fantastic Four are given the right circumstances, all in all a really excellently written action sequence.

Ben Grimm's incarceration among other monstrous figures is pretty heartbreaking as well, Ben has always identified himself as retaining his humanity and not slipping to the level that other monstrous looking people do so that he can set an example. He seems resigned to his fate as "one of them" in the final pages and that really does manage to be emotionally affecting.

This issue was superb; it had great action moments that never betrayed characterisation for action. Sue's battle with The Avengers is really incredible from a tactical point of view as well as the raw power on display. Ben Grimm's story also hits a strong emotional chord. Ultimately family is the focus of this current Fantastic Four series and it's doing a great job of keeping it front and center of everything that's going on.

Hulk (2014) #5

This latest Hulk series is proving to be pretty interesting so far. Using Tony Stark's Extremis virus to repair Bruce Banner's brain damage has had an unpredicted side effect, namely The Hulk persona is now hyper intelligent as well as being super strong.

Lots of interesting stuff going on here; Hulk no longer wants to be called Hulk as it's not how he identifies himself any more. He chooses to go by "Doc Green" which seems to lack imagination for someone so intelligent but I suppose it'll do. Seeing Hulk act so calm and intellectual is something I personally haven't come across before so I found it fascinating to see this massive brute delicately handling experiments. There's a comedic edge to Hulk so easily accomplishing scientific marvels like traveling to the future as if it's as simple as switching on a light.

Initially I got a sinister vibe out of the mysterious tasks that Hulk was performing until it was revealed that all he wanted to do was help his friend Rick Jones but there is still the issue of Banner being locked inside this persona clearly against his will. There's lots of scope for this comic to get morally dubious and I'm interested to see that explored.

I thought this was a great comic in general, seeing Hulk act completely against type was a refreshing change and there's lots of questions keeping my interest primed for what might happen next. Hulk stories can easily become stale but this one keeps getting fresher and keeping me guessing.