Seems to me the letter X is still way too much of a cash cow for Marvel to actually downsize it post-Secret Wars no matter what their beef with FoX is, movie-wise. We've all heard they were going to plop the X-Men/mutants down on another planet, presumably to prevent them from showing up in other books (look for Wolverine and Deadpool to be the exceptions), but is that just one story arc, or is it a concerted effort to minimize their impact on the MU? It's hard to believe Marvel could keep printing as many mutant-related books all taking place on another planet, although I wouldn't put it past them either. It might help if this were another Earth (there's no reason to believe the remade MU won't be a multiverse; those filthy muties could be the new Ultimate line. Remember when they shunted the Avengers and FF to Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee's studios? Yeah, that wasn't a very good idea either. Because if they're downsizing the X-Men, no one's told the Secret Wars editors... or is this meant to be their last hurrah?
I'm actually much more worried about the series that are getting "Last Days" banners because not everyone is. In fact, I dare say no "high-profile" books are getting Last Days even if you'd expect readers would be interested in how the Guardians, the X-Men, and Spider-Man are handling the end of the world. So it really looks like these are all books on the chopping block. Time to wrap up your plotlines; these really are your "last days". In that lot is the Punisher, who I'm sure will turn up again - his series are stop and go already. I'm more surprised to see Ms. Marvel there, and I'm hoping writers were offered the chance to participate in the Crisis if they liked, because it really fits Kamala's coming of age story. Because isn't this book something of a hit? I'd be heartbroken to see it go. Also: Silver Surfer, Loki Agent of Asgard and even Black Widow. It seems wayyy to early to do away with Spider-Woman, Silk and Ant-Man as well, especially given the latter's impending movie feature. Captain America and the Mighty Avengers is all set to become a Defenders book, so that makes sense. Magneto is the only one there I don't see as either a surprise or a disappointment (though I did enjoy the early issues). Hopefully I'm wrong and these won't all go away, but it's damn suspcious.
Before we do Moments of the Week, let's do a quick critical survey of the week's books... Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies was just a series of splash pages, a quick read for you and a quick cash-in for Marvel. E for Extinction ages the classic X-Men and has fun at their expense, some nice chuckles, cool art. Infinity Gauntlet #2, a series I wasn't interested in at first has now become a must-read, featuring a whole family of Novas and really beautiful art. Korvac Saga deals with the mystery of the missing stars, but wasn't particularly memorable. MODOK Assassin #2 is still a pretty funny book, he falls in love with Angela in this one. Planet Hulk #2 has Devil Dinosaur and Captain America as He-Man, but it fails to inspire me, somehow. Where Monsters Dwell #2 brings more of the fun #1 did; it's Garth Ennis' Biplanes & Dinosaurs. Punisher and Black Widow have their Last Days, both odd characters to play this out with, street level heroes in a multiversal crisis. Loki's make much more sense and are epic.
So here they are, My 5 Favorite Moments of the Week (spoilers ahead):
5. No matter the universe, Cyclops is always the punching bag.
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