Thursday, June 12, 2014

Not So New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #38

                How could this comic get any weirder?  By throwing in a guest spot from the Beyonder of course!  That Marvel villain who was responsible for the Secret Wars in the 80’s now has his eyes set on the Guardians of the Galaxy, for reasons unknown.  Let’s see if we can figure it out.

                Well, this wouldn’t be a Guardians of the Galaxy comic without some manufactured drama, right?  This issue’s manufactured drama comes from the galaxy’s worst couple, Aleta and Vance Astro.  Now, I’m not saying Vance doesn’t have a case to be upset here, his supposed girlfriend disappears and reappears with no interest in him at all.  That’s pretty shitty, but he’s going about it like a whiny baby.  True, we don’t know how long they were actually together, comic book time being a funny, malleable thing and all, and Aleta (whether under her own power or that of the Hawk God) is acting like a bitch about the whole thing with no real explanation.  Maybe that’s the big problem here, not that their relationship is disintegrating, or that this storyline is following suit, but that there is no explanation provided to anyone.  Now I kind of feel Vance’s pain.

                After a quick interlude where Nikki and Yellowjacket are trying on new outfits, which is basically an excuse for a little T&A, we get back to mopey Vance.  Vance is busy wallowing inhis own self pity until the Beyonder snaps him out of it.  The Beyonder has trapped the Protégé and Malevolence in a crystal construct and is just holding them there, observing them, like a couple of goldfish.  Vance doesn’t like this development because, well, it’s wrong I guess and we are still establishing Vance’s moral high ground above anything else.  The Beyonder then gives Vance a new costume (this is apparently the new costume issue) which just consists of his old costume plus a long sleeve black undershirt.  The Beyonder never explains this, he just leaves.

                Next, we get back to the bridge, where Vance has been summoned so he can see Yellowjacket’s new costume, which is pretty silly in its own right.

                After a quick stop on the moon, where the green and gold clad individual is still waiting to be revealed, we head to Earth.  The Guardians have teleported down into the stronghold of the Comandeers, only to realize that the Comandeers are no more as Retox wiped them out.  We even get to see the final few moments before Train (the leader of the Comandeers) is captured as she is recording a video diary at the time.  The Guardians head out to the old Realiteevee plant (aren’t we done with this storyline yet?) and wind up coming across Batwing and Blockade in the process, beating up both of them on their way. 

                The Guardians get to the Realiteevee plant at the very end of last issue’s events between Rancor and Doom.  We then get to see that Doom is not necessarily Doom anymore as he now has Wolverine’s claws (minus the one that was somehow broken and is currently in Rancor’s possession).  Doom reveals that only the brain of Dr. Doom remains while it is currently being housed in the Adamantium laced skeleton of Wolverine.  I have two major issues with this revelation.  One: many many issues ago, somewhere in the teens around the first introduction of the mutants I believe, there was a plotline that was starting to lead us in a direction basically saying that Wolverine is still alive and taking on more of a low-key, subservient role.  That was apparently completely tossed out when Valentino left and no mention was made of it again.  To be honest, if I wasn’t reading these issues back to back I may not have even caught it myself, but I did.  Two: the “skeleton” that Doom inhabits is more along the lines of a robot with ribs.  Are we supposed to believe that this is what Wolverine’s skeleton looks like underneath his current skin and musculature?  Why does he have normal hands and what looks like boots instead of feet?  If it is indeed a robot with adamantium bone accoutrements, is Doom really as invincible as he thinks?  Can’t Rancor just destroy the robot portion of Doom?  Plus, Doom and Wolverine are two vastly different heights.  Doom is a regal height, tall and noble in stature while Wolverine is a “runt”.  Wolverine’s bones wouldn’t “fit” Dr. Doom’s proportions.  Oh well, that’s comics for you!


Next issue: Wolver-Doom  uses his adamantium-laced robot skeleton to fight Rancor on live television, complete with a double-sized issue and fancy cover. 



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