Ms. Marvel Meets The Enemy Within!

SUMMARY PAGE: AVENGERS THE ENEMY WITHIN, MARVEL NOW!

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~Excerpt from Avengers The Enemy Within #1 (2013).

Analysis: The Enemy Within is a 5-part story arc which loosely follows The Avengers, but mainly focuses on Ms. Marvel. She's already been diagnosed with a lesion on her brain in her own title series and this picks up from there. As a consequence, she's supposed to avoid flying; breaking that essential rule could cause her death.

Avengers The Enemy Within #1 (Starts the story arc. Rose, a disabled, elderly character in the Ms. Marvel stories, is missing. With Spider-Woman acting as a sort of babysitter, Carol and her embark on a quest to find the lady. At the same time, Carol is unable to fly...simultaneously, someone is manipulating her from the background, throwing obstacles in her path. As tempers flare due to her restrictions, three super-hero wrestler-ladies attack. Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman defeat them, but not before tricking Carol into flying. At the end, one of the wrestlers give them a clue to where Rose is held; Ms. Marvel races there with Thor and finds two dinosaurs guarding the lady. Taken down, Rose is then rescued. When Carol arrives back at her apartment, she's worried that a clue she recovered suggests something is happening to the rest of the residents. She has them evacuated, but finds that only her room has been tampered. Someone is clearly raising the stakes in this manipulative game, and now Ms. Marvel is mad. We know that it's an old nemesis, Yon-Rogg, behind all this; he has stolen parts of her Psyche-Magnitron, the device which empowered her.)
Avengers Assemble #16 (Chapter 2. Takes place an undisclosed time period later. On the SWORD spacestation "The Peak", a Brood force has appeared and begins descending on the planet. The Avengers go into action and begin taking out the aliens; when the fight is over, Captain Marvel and Captain America deduce that her enemy is behind this. Meanwhile, having gathered the last piece he needs of the Psyche-Magnatron, Yon-Rogg makes a plea for Kree extraction, but is ignored. Seeing he has been fully abandoned, he transforms into "Magnitron" and begins his next phase of attack. And with that activation, Kree Sentries have also activated...)
Captain Marvel #13 (Chapter 3. Occurs a brief time after the events in Avengers Assemble #16. Most of the issue covers what previously happened. Bruce Banner is brought in to Carol's apartment and all of her friends do over the data. While this is going on, Kree Sentries are attacking all over the world; Avengers are heading them off. Carol and her associates learn that a Kree signal was made during the Brood invasion; this gives her a big clue. As her Avenger's team is brought to battle, they take out the Sentries, but now she's certain she knows who the secret villain is behind all this. She heads to New York, ready for a battle.)
Avengers Assemble #17 (Chapter 4. Starts outside the New York limits. Short timespan. As Carol makes her way for the dead center of the trouble, Kree Sentries are landing in calculated locations; her allies, The Avengers, are fighting them down and taking them out, but many are arriving as fast as they can be destroyed. Ultimately, a set number of Sentries lock in their positions, suddenly creating a "star" perimeter. Carol and Captain America are in the dead center as a ship begins to materialize overhead. Carol then falls, her head aching. She realizes that Yon-Rogg somehow merged with the Psyche-Magnitron when it was destroyed and merged with the pieces...some of which may be in her skull. Regaining her composure, she vows to fight to the end.)
Captain Marvel #14 (Chapter 5. Continues immediately from Avengers Assemble #17. Arriving towards a materializing beam, Cap and Carol face Magnitron, Yon-Rogg's new incarnation. With effortless power, he creates obstacles while materializing Kree-Lar, a city of the Kree, over New York; he plans on dropping it and killing eight million New Yorkers. Agent Brand figures out that they have to disconnect their power source, but the Sentries, now locked in, are basically unstoppable. That's when Carol learns that she's the source of power, surrounded by a Sentry amplification pattern. She flies up into the sky and outer space until the small sliver of the psyche-magnitron in her head - the one that ultimately kept Yon-Rogg alive, alights the lesion in her brain. She passes out, but Yon-Rogg is defeated. The story ends, but no one knows if there will be a Captain Marvel anymore.)

This is a Story Arc Summary Page provided by The Superheroes List. If you're just arriving, Marvel NOW! is a reformation of the Marvel Comics Publishing Group, reinventing and revitalizing their great superheroes and villains to the latest era. Are you interested in what's happening with Marvel NOW!? Well you're not alone. You can find the Reading Order and more information at The Marvel NOW! Reading Order. Twitter #MarvelNOW

Wolverine Begins Hunting Season

SUMMARY PAGE: WOLVERINE, PART I, MARVEL NOW!

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~Wolverine realizes he's facing something greater than a simple psycho. Excerpt from Wolverine #1 (2013).

Analysis: Since Wolverine is one of Marvel's most successful superheroes, he's getting a lot of attention in the Marvel NOW! event. This title, simply called "Wolverine", is his second solo (after The Savage Wolverine). The story arc is called "Hunting Season", and puts Logan right in the middle of an alien encounter. The uniqueness of the plot is that his super-senses will be put to the test.

Wolverine #1 (The beginning issue. It has no chronological markers. A fast-paced story, Wolverine appears to be a mall-setting where a middle-aged man is standing over him with a powerful, unknown weapon. Wolverine is already damaged, but healing fast. Many dead people are already scattered about the area and the police, while trying to negotiate, are having no luck. The man's son is also there and his life is also in jeopardy. After taking another shot, Wolverine manages a few seconds to recover and slices the man up, killing him. The boy is traumatized, but after the police walk in, asks to see Wolverine. The child then asks some strange questions, grabs the gun and begins going psychotic. Wolverine goes after him. The kid runs him over with a car and gets away. But now, Wolverine senses that something far stranger is going on and goes on the hunt.)
Wolverine #2 (Continues from Wolverine #1, with almsot no lapse in time. (Also starring Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, Logan continues hunting the child, but at the same time, whatever alien is controlling the boy also leads him on a chase. They finally have a detailed encounter and our hero learns that something is manipulating the boy's mind and switching hosts. Before Logan can catch him, the gun and alien switch bodies. That's when Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD appears and disarms the new host. The gun flies off and the two heroes collaborate. Wolverine believes he may have some important evidence: a bullet still lodged in his arm. As they are talking, though, things go from bad to worse when The Watcher appears.)
Wolverine #3 (Continues from the previous issue. Logan finds some local allies skilled with super-human interaction and has the alien bullet removed; it is scanned and nothing unique detected. Meanwhile, Fury tracks the gun to Blenkins Pharmaceuticals and drops Logan into the fray. Although protected by MANDRIODs, he slashes his way through and stops the mind-controlled human, but not before a craft escapes with tech. It ends up at Port Reading where another group of mind-controlled humans start severing their hands and putting them into an advanced incubator, newly arrived from the previous battle.)  

This is a Story Arc Summary Page provided by The Superheroes List. If you're just arriving, Marvel NOW! is a reformation of the Marvel Comics Publishing Group, reinventing and revitalizing their great superheroes and villains to the latest era. Are you interested in what's happening with Marvel NOW!? Well you're not alone. You can find the Reading Order and more information at The Marvel NOW! Reading Order. Twitter #MarvelNOW

The Uncanny Avengers vs. Kang and The Apocalypse Twins

SUMMARY PAGE: UNCANNY AVENGERS, PART II, MARVEL NOW!

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~Kang laments over his master plan. Excerpt from Uncanny Avengers #6 (2013).

Analysis: With the second story arc of the newly-formed Uncanny Avengers, Kang the Conqueror becomes their next super-villain. He's bent on a world-dominating super-plot and gathering extremely powerful forces to take on the heroes. Early on, he acquires Thor's first weapon, Jarnbjorn, a magical axe. Later, he manipulates the heirs of Apocalypse.

This also introduces us to the Apocalypse Twins, Eimen and Uriel. Eimen's power is the ability to emit augmented acid which can "burn through time itself"; she is also blind. Uriel, the male, is a chronomancer can create artificial pockets of time. Together, they are central to Kang's plot.

Uncanny Avengers #6 (Continues from Uncanny Avengers #5, but has no defined chronology. Centering on Thor, God of Thunder, and Kang The Conqueror, this story spans across centuries. As a young god in early Scandinavia, Thor is attacked by Apocalypse; about to be killed, he flees to Odin, asking his father for a weapon suitable to pierce the villain's armor. Odin denies him, saying it would harm the future. Secretly though, Kang, who is posing as Loki, gives Thor a charm for his weapon, Jarnbjorn. In there next encounter, Apocalypse's Horsemen are about to kill the ancestor of Wolverine, but Thor slays them. The villain arrives and Thor almost kills him. Odin, upon knowing this, is enraged, but the die is cast. At the end of the issue, we find out why; Kang travels to Brazil in the present and takes the Jarnbjorn from the skull of Baron Mordo to enact the next part of his evil plan.)
Uncanny Avengers #7 (Continues from Uncanny Avengers #5, with an undefined, short break. Starting with Genocide, the son of Apocalypse summoning a Celestial and preparing to receive the Apocalypse Seed. He's then ambushed by the Apocalypse Twins, Uriel and Eimin, wielding Jarnbjorn. Using this weapon, the Celestial is assassinated and the seed stolen. Meanwhile, back on earth, Rogue is cleared from Grim Reaper's death, but the damage is done. Havok asks her to stay on the sidelines and she's offended. Anti-mutant acts are occurring all over the world and it appears the Red Skull's tactics have had some success. Elsewhere, Captain America and Sunfire are briefed of the Celestial murder at the SWORD station speaking to Agent Brand when the news of a ship approaching them at ramming speed alerts them. Cap escapse but Sunfire stays behind; he alerts the Havok's team before the station explodes. Thor and Wolverine are noticeably shaken as the weapon, Jarnbjorn is recognized, and the god of Thunder takes off on his own, remembering the warning Odin gave him so long ago about the weapon.)
Uncanny Avengers #8 (Continues immediately from the previous issue. Thor blasts the wreckage falling on Rio De Janeiro while Sunfire emerges unscathed. The two of them head to the Apocalypse vessel while Wolverine, Havok, and the rest of the team fly towards the Apocalypse-loyal city of Akkaba; trust between the mutants and super-humans is becoming shaky. Meanwhile, Captain America survives the escape pod trip and realizes that it was sabotaged for Sunfire. He arrives at a secret location and receives a strange message. Back on the spaceship, Thor and Sunfire meet the Apocalypse Twins; everyone is now over Akkaba. The twins first move is to incinerate all the citizens of the city in an act of mercy. They also relay that Wolverine is a traitor and Thor's previous weapon has aided them to this point. Unleashing an explosion of nuclear proportions, they leave Thor, Sunfire, and the approaching Uncanny Avengers in the wake of its destruction.)

This is a Story Arc Summary Page provided by The Superheroes List. If you're just arriving, Marvel NOW! is a reformation of the Marvel Comics Publishing Group, reinventing and revitalizing their great superheroes and villains to the latest era. Are you interested in what's happening with Marvel NOW!? Well you're not alone. You can find the Reading Order and more information at The Marvel NOW! Reading Order. Twitter #MarvelNOW

Deadpool and The Demonic Contracts

SUMMARY PAGE: DEADPOOL, PART II, MARVEL NOW!

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~Wade argues with Vetis. Excerpt from Deadpool #9 (2013).

Analysis: Starting with Deadpool #7, an odd thing happened. Apparently, they didn't have a story ready for March 2013 - or the issue wasn't fully written. Either way, Marvel Editor Jordan D. White says he pulled the first issue of this story arc from a filing cabinet; it had been penned somewhere back in the 70s or 80s.

Centering on the demon, Vetis, Deadpool #7 acknowledges an agreement - a pact - between the he and the hero. Slingshotting to the immediately future, Veritas then returns to Wade in Deadpool #8 and begins exacting fulfillment of said terms of agreement. Wade, still sharing his brain with Agent Preston from the previous issues, has to comply. At the same time, he's also still dealing with the Necromancer who just happens to be involved with the demon. Vetis wants the spellcaster dead, but Wade needs him alive to figure out how to separate him and Preston.

Deadpool #7 (Has no chronological bearing. An issue which centers on nothing but strangeness, it diverges from any relevant event or point in current history. It has a few different chapters in it, but mostly slingshots back to the era when Tony Stark had his "Demon In A Bottle" story arc with alcoholism. The Writer states in the beginning that the team didn't make their deadline and that this is issue was already penned from way back. The only element to transcend this issue is the appearance of the demon, Vetis, who gets Wade to sign a contract.)
Deadpool #8 (Occurs at least 30 years after Deadpool #7, putting it into the present time here. Otherwise, there are no chronological bearings. Wade and Agent Preston are now sharing Wade's body. They visit Preston's family in the dead of night. After some incidents, the demon, Vetis, appears and exacts his contract with Wade. He gives him a list of people to kill from previous contracts. Wade and Preston decide to agree and first kill an invulnerable New Jersey thief named Corrado Coloruno by suffocating him. After that murder is over, Deadpool spots a pretty woman, but gets ambushed an knocked out. The girl and her cohorts then steal a kidney and two pints of his blood and run off.)
Deadpool #9 (Continues from the previous issue. Wade's next assassination continues with an Aquaman-spoof hero. In the same issue, he, Benjamin Franklin, and the Necromancer, learn that the book they need to separate him from Agent Preston is in an ancient library below Styker's Island. They "break" in and head below and gather some manuscripts they think can help. Wade, however, is now concerned the demon Vetis will trick them all. In a brash move, he slices the Necromancer's neck, hoping it will send him to Mephisto, the demon who will set things right.)
Deadpool #10 (Continues from the previous issue. Wade teams up with the Superior Spider-Man in this issue to take on a whole host of villains like Stilt-Woman, The Trapster, and Batroc The Leaper. Once they finish, though, Spider-Man webs him up and leaves him. The story is precluded with Michael in Hell, attempting to gain an audience with Mephisto. The demon taking his request eats him up and prepares to administer his request.)

This is a Story Arc Summary Page provided by The Superheroes List. If you're just arriving, Marvel NOW! is a reformation of the Marvel Comics Publishing Group, reinventing and revitalizing their great superheroes and villains to the latest era. Are you interested in what's happening with Marvel NOW!? Well you're not alone. You can find the Reading Order and more information at The Marvel NOW! Reading Order. Twitter #MarvelNOW

The X-Men Ballad of Legion and Blindfold

SUMMARY PAGE: X-MEN LEGACY, PART II, MARVEL NOW!

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Analysis: Having taken on Luca Aldine, the disembodied eyeballs and also the brother of Ruth aka Blindfold, David begins a journey with her that takes him to the edges of his personality. In truth, she is everything to him: Lover, Nemesis, Advisor, and perhaps the only one who can save him. Their lives are entertwined in the strangest of ways, but without her, he cannot go on. This story arc centers on their inescapable relationship.

X-Men Legacy #7 (Continues from X-Men Legacy #6, after an undefined lapse in time. Somehow, the spirit of Charles Xavier is now a backstory. David now travels to a church after doing some research on Luca's past. All the while, he's aware of Blindfold following him astrally. Once inside, he's surrounded by lots of weirdos and tells them he is in love with a mutant. They're all mutant-haters and attempt to purify him. Once he's left alone in his own room, he confronts Blindfold and the two have argument. It turns out Luca was also a member here and wrote a Book of Prophecy. The church members retrieve David again for a ceremony, but before it can continue, Abagail Brand breaks into the room and attempts to arrest or find the source of an Dire Wraith problem. She spots Haller, but in the exchange, the church people realizes she associates with mutants and spit on her. In the next scene, she's arrested all of them and leaves. Blindfold leaves Haller on amicable terms and now he has the Luca's book.)
X-Men Legacy #8 (Continues from the previous issue, but occurs at a later undefined period. In an astral date with Blindfold, David and her observe a mutant teenager with the power to take credit and positive praise for things he doesn't do. They both try to figure out a way to help him make a difference in the world, but can't agree how. During the date, though, David's mind lashes out, expelling Blindfold from the dimension, and nearly incapacitating him. To his rescue comes Charles Xavier, the mentally-linked version created by his mind. Afterwards, David leaves comments on a web page telling Blindfold how she was right about the mutant boy.)
X-Men Legacy #9 (Continues from X-Men Legacy #8, the time break is undefined. David takes Ruth on another date. This time it starts as a movie, milkshake, and so on. Suddenly, he turns philosophical and explains a story to her. It's about an alien named Aarkus who erroneously ends up believing the mutants must be destroyed. At the end of his story, they all die. Then he tells Ruth that he has seen this future and that it will happen. Ruth believed his story by the end, but is stunned to realize that it hasn't happened yet. David then tells her he could rewrite this story and take Aarkus out, but Ruth won't have it, she's horrified he would kill a creature that hasn't yet done anything wrong. That's when David reveals Aarkus to Ruth and turns his, still breathing body over to her. The date ends and Ruth leaves. David, on the other hand, ponders if he is a monster.)
X-Men Legacy #10 (Continues from the previous issue. While David is sleeping, Ruth dons Cerebro, silently stalking him. David, fearing the future prophecy of Luca's book, speaks with the Xavier entity in his mind. He makes a deal: one minute of complete control if the entity lets him look into the future. Once agree upon, David witnesses two possibilities, him destroying everyone and the world, or him being destroyed by Blindfold. In response, he teleports to the San Francisco Institute of Bio-Social Studies and meets with Mr. Marcus Glove. David has discerned that this man is the most dangerous person to mutantkind; he's fashioned a cure and was indirectly responsible for the Church of The Happy Host tragedies. A mutilated man, Glove believes that mutants will destroy everything including themselves. But David, instead of destroying him, asks for the cure. Ruth, still stalking him, is astonished.)
X-Men Legacy #11 (Continues immediately from the previous issue. David continues to search the Institute of Marcus Glove for tricks, but he finds none; he's prepared to take the pill, fearing he'll do worse if he's allowed to continued with his mutant powers. Blindrfold now senses what David is about to do and runs through the school attempting to recruit mutants to help her extract the man she loves. Meanwhile, back at the Institute David encounters his own psyche, using his dad's image, but maintains his willingness to use the pill. As the issue closes, the true villain reveals himself. Dr. Marcus Glove is actually a manipulation of The Red Skull, now endowed with Xavier's powers. Too late, though, David doesn't care and still plans on taking the pill.)

This is a Story Arc Summary Page provided by The Superheroes List. If you're just arriving, Marvel NOW! is a reformation of the Marvel Comics Publishing Group, reinventing and revitalizing their great superheroes and villains to the latest era. Are you interested in what's happening with Marvel NOW!? Well you're not alone. You can find the Reading Order and more information at The Marvel NOW! Reading Order. Twitter #MarvelNOW