Busting Stuff Up

Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes #17

Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor are called out to the scene of a disaster in a small town — the entire population seemingly went insane and began trying to kill each other. One of the survivors that they find is none other than Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four — and she immediately begins attacking everyone! After she’s finally subdued, she reverts back to normal and is able to shed some light on the situation. She’d been in town on Fantastic Four business when some sort of creature appeared and somehow drove everyone into a violent rage. Suspecting that the creature was some sort of artificial construct or android, they calkl in the most advanced android they know, the Vision, who scans the available evidence and discovers that an immortal alchemist supervillain named Diablo was also in the town at the time of the attack. What’s his connection to all this, and can the team stop another disaster in time?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Interesting choice of team members — Cap, Iron Man, Thor, and the Vision weren’t unexpected for something that resembled an Avengers story, but Sue Storm, without the rest of the FF, was an unusual choice. Still, it worked out well, with a nice, bizarre mystery and a stronger air of menace than you might expect from an all-ages comic.

Justice Society of America #32

Mr. Terrific has died on the operating table, but Alan Scott is using his Green Lantern ring to stop time for him so Dr. Fate will have a chance of using magic to revive him. The investigation into who stabbed him is still inconclusive — they’ve finally realized that the All-American Kid was being mind-controlled, but they suspect Kid Chimera, whose specialty is illusions, not telepathy. Meanwhile, the gang of supervillains who attacked the JSA before is back for more mayhem.

Verdict: Thumbs down. This is just not fun, and it’s being drawn out much, much too long.