What can anyone say about 2020 that hasn´t been said yet? This year has been so unprecedented, so crazy, and sad for so many people, that it truly, genuinely feels like part of a poorly written science fiction, where no apparent rhyme, logic, or reason really apply. At this stage, it wouldn’t be surprising if on the second half of the 2020, we are greeted by an alien invasion (what better time to invade than when the population is afraid and locked up), a zombie infestation (that is really what happens when fast-processed vaccines are produced) or Skynet emerges (what do you think is really happening with us working remotely all the time?). It comes as a logical conclusion that the comic zeitgeist equivalent is just as crazy and off-kilter as reality truly is. So, for This Month in Comics: July 2020, the edition will take a more skewed approach and comments on the truly strange and fringy mainstream comics have been over the last weeks. Spoilers ahead for some relevant plot twists on “Avengers,” “Empyre,” “Death Metal,” “Suicide Squad,” and “X-Men” comics in general.
Best Final Boss Last Form Reveal: “Dark Nights: Death Metal” #2
How can you top the mixture of the Batman and the Joker, after becoming the Man Who Laughs, invaded Earth 0, corrupted multiple super-heroes, and debunked Lex Luthor as Promethea´s prime ally? What can you possibly do to make that threat even worse, more disturbing, and more comic-book tropey as possible? Well, you mix that combination further with one of the most powerful beings to have ever existed in comic books, through a complicated surgical procedure, and make it so that it looks as mad science as possible
Best Event Plot Reveal: “Empyre” #1
If you are a Marvel publisher, you are o stranger to big line-wide events that promise to change everything, and reset the status quo. You are also not a stranger that solicits issued months in advance will likely ruin several surprises that took you months, maybe years to put together. So how do you solve for that? Well, you hide one reveal inside another reveal. You make it seem you are turning some of the 2000´s most beloved hero into a misguided super-villain, influence by nefarious aliens and warlords… just to pull the rug from your audience to show that the plant loving (literally) Cotati are a little more than meets the eye. Innocent plant-life be damned.
Best Sub-Title that Influences a Website Article Introduction: “Empyre: X-Men” #1
Liked that clever introduction on the top of this article? Thought it was well-articulated and timely? Well, in all transparency, it was largely influenced and borrowed from the pages of “Empyre: X-Men” #1. As the story goes, certain events converge in the islands of Genosha, where an invading alien armada of plant-like organisms storm Earth, while deceased mutants return to life in less-than-savory conditions. Enter… Alien Plants versus Mutant Zombies, one of the funniest, under the radar jokes in recent comics.
Best McGuffin Wielder Plot Device: “Avengers” #34
The Infinity Stones. The Cosmic Cube. The Green Lantern Corps rings. The Mother Boxes. Comics are filled with artifacts of incredible power that, while having, to varying degrees, mythologies of their own, mostly serve the purpose of powering up heroes and villains, and add to the challenge of the month. But what happens when a deranged super-hero, already filled to the brim with multiple personalities, acquired some of Marvel´s main artifacts and power sources? The Age of Konshu, that is, with Moon Knight acquiring several of the Avenger´s power tools and wrecking havoc across the universe.
Best This is a Small Moment I Love: “Suicide Squad” #7
And, to top it all, something different. For in the middle of all the larger-than-life events, cosmic crisis of monumental proportions, and crazy for craziness sake reveals, comes a gem like “Suicide Squad” #7. Tom Taylor is well-known for how brutal he can be with characters (even if one alternate realities), and the writer uses that to his advantage when portraying Deadshot and his daughter, now with growing skills, like her father. Every page is torture (in the best way possible), as readers are taken through multiple ways that not-than-long-ago kid almost bites the dust but then… doesn´t? Read to find out, but know that the pay-off is as endearing as it can be.
