Oh boy, this was a good week for comic book news.
And this news was led by the wonderful first appearance of the spectacular Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Played by Tom Holland, the new Spidey snuck into the last few seconds of this week's Captain America: Civil War trailer. And it was just great.
Elsewhere, Deadpool continues to crawl up the box office charts more than a month after release, now at just over $700 million worldwide. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned to TV, all four CW DC Comics shows got renewed and apparently The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Spider-Man made their audition tapes together. Man, would we love to see that.
Oh, and Marvel's Luke Cage premieres on Netflix Sept. 30.
No matter which side you're on, here are some must-reads for this week.
Action Comics #50
Well, it finally happened. Superman is back, and I mean full Superman. Not blue T-shirt Superman, not circus Superman or kryptonite-induced Superman, but the real, actual Supes. Of course it would happen in Action Comics, the series that spawned the Man of Steel himself, and it's an awfully fitting issue.
Superman has always been about his powers, sure, but his friends have made it an interesting ride. And though characters like Bruce Wayne aren't front and center in this issue, the new Batman, Wonder Woman and some others are still around. It's a great tribute to the character, and with two issues left in this run, this issue's cliffhanger has things set up pretty neatly.
Batman Superman #30
If there's one book on this list you read this week, make it this one (and Vision, obviously). Anyway, this issue completes the flashback arc of Superman and Batman working together in space to take down Lobo and a really, really bad father. They do, of course, and the last few pages of this issue are intensely emotional, and show just how much humanity the two heroes have in them.
I won't spoil it, but it really is worth it just for those few pages. This Batman Superman run has had its ups and downs, but it looks like it's ending on a high note. And we're more than excited to see the series come back after Rebirth, but this time, Wonder Woman is joining in on the fun in Trinity.
Detective Comics #50
This series, on the other hand, has been consistently solid throughout its run. And even when Bruce's cowl went to Gordon, the stakes remained high. And in this issue, Batman has an actual sword fight with a man who believes he is a Saint, sent to defeat the devil himself. Pretty freaky. But it's also not the first Batman sword fight. There was that one time when he was a pirate...
Anyway, this issue put a nice, neat bow on this crazed killer's story, but the real treat is in the last ten or so pages, where different artists each provide a rendering of a famous Batman cover, all woven together in an almost poetic narrative. It's fantastic.
Vision #5
If this series doesn't win an award at the end of the year, then entertainment is doomed. Vision has, so far, been an immersive, personal look at what it means to be an outsider. And it speaks to all sorts of societal facets, from the Jews during World War II to the Civil Rights Movement and modern bouts of police brutality.
Vision is a generational comic book. It's something that doesn't come around too often, and when a series with so many limbs grows one more in the name of a murder mystery, all hell breaks loose. It'll be sad to see Tom King go exclusive at DC, but at least he'll get to finish this masterpiece before he goes. Please, read this book.
Uncanny Avengers #7
The introduction of Cable into this series and a change it art seemed to give it life, as it standing with the other top Avengers titles running right now. This issue in particular brings the Avengers Unity Squad into the fold of Assault on Pleasant Hill, Marvel's current crossover.
But some really great stuff happens here. We get Deadpool in his Avengers garb seemingly fitting in with the rest of everybody else, and actually helping. Yes, Deadpool is doing a fine job as an Avenger. We also get to see Cable help Synapse increase her abilities, and she's not able to sense when people are lying. It's pretty cool.
