Secret Avengers #31

It’s like Rick Remender is trying to get me upset! I pride myself on knowing every minor character in the Marvel Universe, but I don’t know who that octopus guy is in the current Masters of Evil. But he keeps…showing…up! It drives me crazy every time I see the guy that I have no idea who he is? Is he from Force of Nature? Is he an old Sub-Mariner villain? Someone that Scourge killed? Who???? I can’t stay angry, though, because I spotted the Bi-Beast strolling down the street in one panel, and any comic with Bi-Beast is automatically twice as good.

The pickins are slim for the Secret Avengers. With Captain Britain and Giant Man busy dealing with Father’s weird robot army elsewhere, there really isn’t any backup for the main team in Bagalia. Venom and Ant-Man are the last two guys standing, and it’s just lucky that Ant-Man’s new compromised nature has him still towing the line. Black Widow does pop in to start a great fight against Hawkeye (on a moving passenger jet!), but most of the heavy lifting falls to Venom and Eric O’Grady.

I don’t remember the Secret Avengers having teleport tech. Did I blank on that? I mean, Black Widow popping right into a flying plane is pretty darn convenient!

I’m also quite pleased that Max Fury isn’t totally out of the picture yet. For an LMD copy, he’s an original villain and I hope he sticks around a bit longer.

I stand corrected on Matteo Scalera. I didn’t love his work at first because I was comparing it to Gabriel Hardman. That’s a rough spot, because I love Hardman’s work above most others these days. That said, Scalera is better than I gave him credit for. Black Widow looks fantastic. His Venom is consistent with that hero’s solo title, but still unique. And Scalera outdoes himself with Ant-Man. He looks great taking on those jets.

Good