Reggie Hudlin takes over as writer and takes an already good series to great. I read these issues right after reading some disappointing 2005 Marvel Team-Up issues, and I can say that what they were TRYING to do there is achieved here: A wide variety of heroes ally against a variety of villains. There are shorter, more contained stories wrapped around by a larger arc. A-listers and B-listers appear, along with very unexpected appearances, and, on top of that, a brand new character is introduced who borrows heavily—with knowing winks—from the Distinguished Competition.
We start with a short story where Wolverine hits on Mary Jane and then accidentally stabs Spider-Man during a sparring session.
Hilarious.
I lied, though. We actually start with a prison break…
I love how they think it’s better than the big New York prison break that led to the formation of The Avengers, but in reality the desert environment is a perfect hiding place for Crusher Creel.
Recapturing Creel becomes one of the main stories here, with a guest appearance appearance by Punisher, and the other main story involves a new character named Ethan Edwards…
…He starts as a new Daily Planet employee and then becomes a caped superhero with his initial on his chest…
He joins in the battle against Absorbing Man and then offers his version of his origin…
…Which is an obvious parallel to Superman, but we later get a second, actual version…
There have been many Marvel parallels to Superman, e.g., Hyperion and Aquarian, but the skrull aspect is a nice twist. The character was raised and nurtured, and taught values and morality, by a midwestern couple and therefore avoided his more evil skrull-tendencies.
At the very end, Reed Richards identifies Ethan Edwards as a “normal” skrull and cannot explain how he has the powers of a super man…
Okay, so the end is a little corny. But overall, very fun, action-packed ride here with lots of strong character work and surprising turns and twists. Well done.