TheEpicCollector

Epic #381

WOLVERINE, Vol. 5: VALLEY OF DEATH (1991-1992) rundown:

GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE/PUNISHER: HEARTS OF DARKNESS — Blackheart tempts Wolverine, the Ghost Rider, and the Punisher by giving them their heart’s desire, in exchange for their services to assassinate his father, Mephisto.

WOLVERINE #51-53 (Three-part “The Crunch Conundrum” storyline)

1/3 — Pushed to his limits in the Danger Room during a simulation exercise, Wolverine shows a different animalistic side of himself, concerning both Professor Xavier and Forge. Later, Jubilee catches Wolverine in a seedy motel room with Jean, unaware that its Mystique in disguise.

2/3 — Wolvie and Mystique are soon joined by Spiral, who teleports them to a future near the end of time called “the Crunch”. Jubilee is kidnapped by Mojo and brought to the “Citadel at the End of Time”. In Canada, Elsie Dee and Albert find an adamantium skeleton buried in an open grave.

3/3 — Wolvie, Mystique and Spiral infiltrate the citadel where Mojo holds Jubilee hostage, eventually discovering a way to use an imploder missile from the past, in possession by Albert and Elsie Dee, to force Mojo into releasing them and returning them back to the present.

WOLVERINE #54 — Wolverine and Shatterstar team up to find a group of psychotic punks murdering Morlocks and filming themselves doing it.

WOLVERINE #55-57 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — Brought to Japan to bail Jubilee out of jail, Wolvie and Gambit take on the Hand and Cylla Markham, with help from Sunfire. Jubilee meets Reiko, an acquaintance of Logan’s and assassin sent to kill her by the Hand. Meanwhile, Matsuo Tsurayaba plots to destroy Clan Yashida.

2/3 — Realizing Jubilee is a friend of Logan’s, who saved her life, Reiko spares her life, but is later captured by Hydra, who are now led by Silver Fox. Wolverine and Gambit arrive at House Yashida, where Mariko confronts her cousin, the Silver Samurai, just as Matsuo and the Hand converge upon the house.

3/3 — Silver Fox and Matsuo team up their forces to attack House Yashida and all within, but Wolverine, with help from Gambit, Jubilee, Silver Samurai and Yukio, prevents them and Cylla from success. However, Mariko is later killed by a sword coated in blowfish toxin by Reiko, and dies in Logan’s arms.

WOLVERINE #58-59 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Wolverine and Jubilee, joined by the grotesque Terror, search for a missing girl, which leads them into a dangerous clash with a group of fanatical environmental extremists.

2/2 — Despite a brief setback when Wolverine, Jubilee and Terror catch up with the extremists, Logan goes undercover to infiltrate the group and eventually finds the missing girl, returning her to her father, and gets payback from the group’s psychotic leader.

WOLVERINE #60 — Following the death of his beloved Mariko and grieving her passing, Wolverine vows to hunt down Matsuo and cut off a piece of his body on a continual basis. Sabretooth fights for his life against the robotic Shiva, and is saved by John Wraith, a man from his past.

WOLVERINE #61-65 (Five-part storyline)

1/5 — Searching for answers to his past and the implants of certain incongruous events, Wolverine, along with Jubilee, is reunited with John Wraith, also from his past, as well as Silver Fox and an imprisoned Sabretooth.

2/5 — Wolverine reluctantly agrees to ally himself with Sabretooth, Silver Fox and Wraith to find their answers to their respective pasts. Thanks to a hacker’s intel and a scientist from the Weapon X program, they’re led to the fortress of Aldo Ferro, who may hold the answers.

3/5 — The ragtag team, now joined by Maverick, takes on the powerful Ferro, revealed to be a psi-talent, who took great pleasures in torturing them and altering their memories. Though he manages to elude them, seemingly devouring Silver Fox, Wolvie and company give chase.

4/5 — Ferro, now calling himself “Psi-Borg”, makes Wolverine face the past, despite it being a lie, as he is forced to relive Sabretooth murdering Silver Fox on his birthday at the cabin. Meanwhile, another Shiva android arrives at the fortress in search of Ferro.

5/5 — In an epilogue following his fight with Ferro, which resulted in the seeming deaths of both Silver Fox and Sabretooth at the hands of Ferro, Wolverine discovers that the cabin he shared with Fox was real, and returns there, with Wraith’s help, to bury her.

WOLVERINE #66-68 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — With the help of Professor Xavier’s mental probing, Wolverine slowly begins to unravel the mystery behind his lost memories, one of which involves a mission to find a man named Terry Adams. Bound for the Kazakh region in search of Adams, Wolvie is ambushed by border guards and left for dead.

2/3 — As Wolvie survives his assault and murders his attackers, the X-Men learn from Maverick that “Terry Adams” is actually a Soviet space center in Tyuratam, not a man. Upon arriving at his destination, Wolvie prepares to take on his ultimate target: Epsilon Red.

3/3 — Wolverine quickly discovers the truth about Epsilon Red and his own recent time/slip memory. Thanks to Red’s psi-probing, certain memories about himself are recovered, despite the initial risk. As the X-Men arrive at Tyuratam to pick him up, Epsilon Red returns to outer space.

MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL #2 — Wolverine wordlessly battles grotesqueries.

5 days ago | [YT] | 14

TheEpicCollector

Gotta love the Thing’s malapropisms. From one of the issues in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, Vol. 4: PROJECT PEGASUS… and I do mean “sus”!

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

TheEpicCollector

Epic #380

IRON MAN, Vol. 8: DEMON IN A BOTTLE (1978-1980) rundown:

IRON MAN #115-116 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Unaware that he is being pursued by both Arsenal and a unknown assassin, following his victory over the Unicorn, Tony is attacked by the Ani-Men and betrayed by his lover, Whitney Frost, assuming her Madame Masque identity again, in an effort to restore her father, Count Nefaria.

2/2 — The shadowy assassin is revealed to be the Spymaster, who detonates a bomb in Tony’s penthouse, effectively ending Iron Man’s fight with the Ani-Men. Tony locates both Whitney and Nefaria at Stark International and faces his LMD, and later the robotic Jupiter Landing Vehicle, with Whitney in control of it.

IRON MAN #117 — To take his mind off his troubles, Tony attends a party, where he meets Bethany Cabe, in her first appearance, and where the Spymaster continues his mission to eliminate Tony Stark. However, he is thwarted once again by Iron Man, and later, his employers are revealed to be rogue members of S.H.I.E.L.D.

IRON MAN #118-119 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Tony manages to connect the rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. members to the Spymaster and his own attempted assassination. Boarding the helicarrier, he soon discover their plot to force the Stark stockholders to return the company to munitions-building, but finds the rogue leader holding Nick Fury hostage.

2/2 — After saving the helicarrier and all aboard from the rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Russian fighter-pilots, Tony soon discovers that Fury planned a hostile takeover of Stark International, in a legitimate effort to turn the company back into a munitions-builder. Angered by the betrayal, Stark cuts off ties with Fury and turns to the bottle.

IRON MAN #120-121 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Alerted by a flying tank, which causes his plane to crash, Tony discovers that Namor, the Sub-Mariner is keeping a strange old man captive on an island, while a contingent of soldiers dealing with Namor hide a dangerous secret. As Tony finds himself at the mercy of his Iron Man armor underwater, Justin Hammer puts “Phase II” into motion.

2/2 — Rhodey and Beth hurry to locate Tony’s crashed plane, which leads them to the island and the regiments of soldiers. However, they discover them to be from Roxxon Oil, looking for deposits of Vibranium buried within the island. Both Iron Man and Namor realize the duplicity, and take the fight back to Roxxon.

IRON MAN #122 — While returning back to America and his company, Tony thinks back to the Vietnam War, his encounter with the evil Wong-Chu, and the creation of the first Iron Man armor. Meanwhile, Justin Hammer sets “Phase III” into motion.

IRON MAN #123-128 (Six-part storyline)

1/6 — To get his mind off his worries, including a continued malfunctioning of his Iron Man armor, Tony takes Bethany to Atlantic City, where he faces a trio of his past villains: the Melter, Blizzard and Whiplash, who attempt to rob a casino of its millions.

2/6 — Iron Man, with help from Bethany, manages to put the threesome down, preventing their theft of the casino. Later, as Tony’s drinking becomes noticeably apparent, Iron Man is hired to protect the Carnelian ambassador, but things go awry when a repulsor-ray suddenly discharges from the armor, killing him.

3/6 — With the Carnelian ambassador dead, Tony must clear his alter-ego’s name by finding the saboteur responsible. With the help of Scott Lang, who uncovers Justin Hammer’s location from Whiplash in prison, Tony and Rhodey make their way to Monaco, where they run into trouble with an army of Hammer’s soldiers.

4/6 — Overwhelmed by Hammer’s men, Tony is taken captive and brought to Hammer’s vast and isolated mobile villa. However, Tony manages to outthink his opponent, destroying the computer responsible for disrupting his armor, and resumes his identity as Iron Man to take on several super-powered villains.

5/6 — Tony manages to survive the deadly onslaught of super-villains in Hammer’s employ, and is able to clear Iron Man’s name in the Carnelian ambassador’s death. Days later, however, feeling jilted by Beth’s no-show absence, turns to the bottle and insults Jarvis, forcing him to tender his resignation as butler.

6/6 — With Beth’s help, Tony finally faces his demons, especially those of the bottle, and makes amends with Jarvis, who returns to his butler duties. Tony soon learns that Jarvis sold his S.I. shares, which were in turn sold to S.H.I.E.L.D. Facing the loss of his company, Tony faces an uncertain future, but with sobriety.

IRON MAN #129 — When Project 13 is suddenly threatened by an unknown assailant, it’s up to Tony as Iron Man to salvage the complex, retain its secret mission, and save Nick Fury’s life. Tony finds himself face-to-face with the deadly Dreadnought.

IRON MAN #130 — Tony arrives at his company’s Hong Kong branch to find several of his employees are mysteriously being killed by mystical flame dragon, a servant of the All-Devourer, a demon created by the fiancé of one of his employees.

IRON MAN #131-133 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — As Iron Man, Tony manages to recover Bruce Banner, following another rampage by the Hulk, and brings him to Stark International. Once there, they invent a device that circumvents Banner’s transformations into the Hulk; when the police come to arrest him, he turns into the Incredible — Bruce Banner.

2/3 — Tony, along with Dr. Erica Sondheim and Scott Lang, realize the device to suppress Bruce’s transformation into Hulk is faulty and race against time to remove it before the effects of the Hulk’s rage within him last forever.

3/3 — Tony uses his last bit of Iron Man strength and power to incapacitate the Hulk, allowing for the operation to remove the implanted device from his chest, but it nearly costs him his own life when his armor shut down. Now, Scott Lang must enter the armor as Ant-Man and save his life before Tony suffocates inside it.

IRON MAN #134-135 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — While Tony and Beth enjoy a night out together at the Playboy Club, the Titanium Man makes his return to the city. Looking for Iron Man, he interrupts a gathering hosted by Rodney Dangerfield, before arriving at Times Square and threatening to destroy it.

2/2 — Iron Man battles the Titanium Man on the streets of New York, from the west side to the east, in order to prevent him from destroying the city. After defeating the Soviet villain, Tony returns to Beth’s apartment, further cementing their relationship.

IRON MAN #136 — Brought over to the Stark London branch to investigate a series of sabotage, Tony battles a new villain, Endotherm, who is revealed to be a schizophrenic employee of the branch, fearing the loss of his pension.

IRON MAN #137-139 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — Yet another sabotage rocks Stark International when prototypical borer is destroyed, sending Iron Man into action to rescue the crew from a raging inferno. Meanwhile, Ling McPherson, Beth’s partner, is severely beaten and left for dead by thugs hired to silencer Beth.

2/3 — Tony, Beth and Rhodey seek out answers from the man who lured Ling to her near-death, only to find him dead and replaced by the Spymaster, now working for Madame Masque, head of the Maggia gang. Beth is abducted, along with Tony’s energizer device, and taken to a Maggia base in Connecticut, while Tony and Rhodey attempt to rescue her.

3/3 — The trio team of Tony, Rhodey and Beth, hellbent on getting revenge for Ling against Whitney, manage to defeat Madame Masque, her Maggia goons and the Spymaster, before Beth, having always been aware of Tony’s secret identity as Iron Man, allows Whitney to escape out of pity.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 12

TheEpicCollector

Epic #379

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, Vol. 4: PROJECT PEGASUS (1979-1981) rundown:

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #53-58 (Six-part “The Pegasus Project” storyline)

1/6 — The Thing is brought to the new government installation called “Project Pegasus”, where he meets Quasar, the new security chief, and finds Wundarr in a coma. Unbeknownst to everyone, a saboteur enters the facility, revealed to be the cyborg Deathlok.

2/6 — On orders by a shadowy organization, Deathlok infiltrates Project Pegasus, but is subdued and ultimately destroyed by the Thing and Quasar; elsewhere, within the facility, a double up-agent named Lightner releases Nuklo upon them. Meanwhile, Thundra is brought into the world of female professional wrestling and dominates.

3/6 — The Thing teams up with Bill Foster, the Black Goliath, to stop Nuklo from setting off the nuclear reactors within Project Pegasus. During a wrestling match at Madison Square Garden, Thundra suffers her first defeat at the hands of the evil Titania.

4/6 — Thundra and four female grapplers break into Project Pegasus on a secret mission that involves Lightner and his mysterious employers, who are bent on sabotaging the installation. While Ben, as the Thing, is forced to stop Thundra, and Foster, now called Giant-Man, and Quasar take on the grapplers, Wundarr wakes from his coma.

5/6 — Wundarr wanders the halls of the underground complex, making his way to the Cosmic Cube, while unwittingly releasing Solarr from his cell. While Solarr, along with Klaw, attempt to escape and fight off the heroes, Lightner succeeds in assembling the Nth Projector to restore his former powers as “Blacksun”.

6/6 — Now calling himself “the Nth Man”, Lightner becomes a human black-hole and attempts to suck Project Pegasus and all within him. Wundarr, now calling himself “Aquarian” and assuming a messianic persona, aids the Thing, Quasar, Thundra and Giant-Man in stopping the Nth Man.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #59 — Ben and Johnny are tasked with stopping a reckless, young man hellbent on fulfilling several dangerous goals on a bucket-list, including being a fireman at the World Trade Center, and stopping criminals as a detective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #60 — At a gallery showing of Alicia’s sculptures, the Thing, along with the wily Impossible Man, finds himself at odds against three dangerous criminals magically transplanted into her giant stone sculptures and attack him.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #61-63 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — The mysterious being called “Her” emerges from her cocoon and searches for Adam Warlock with the help of Alicia and Moondragon. Thinking her taken against her will by Her, the Thing enlists Starhawk of the Guardians to rescue her, only to fail in the initial attempt.

2/3 — The trio of women travel through space and eventually board the moon-ship belonging to the High Evolutionary, finding him dead on the ground. The Thing and Starhawk manage to catch up to them, and Her brings the High Evolutionary back to life, discovering that his planet-creation, Counter-Earth, is missing.

3/3 — The group discovers that Counter-Earth has been “moved” by a fleet of alien movers contracted by powerful beings called “the Beyonders” following Adam Warlock’s confrontation with the High Evolutionary and his eventual death by Thanos. Later, after Her reanimates Warlock and finds him to be nothing more than a lifeless shell, she leaves the group feeling dejected and alone.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #64-66 (Three-part “The Serpent Crown Affair” storyline)

1/3 — The Thing is asked to accompany Stingray and a scientist transformed by the Terrigen Mist to California, to meet with Triton of the Inhumans, but are delayed when an offshore Roxxon Oil derrick and its crew are in peril by members of the deadly Serpent Squad.

2/3 — The Thing and Stingray outmatched and defeated the Serpent Squad, left to drown on the sinking derrick. Later, they’re met by Triton, who aids them further during another encounter with the Serpent Squad, who are searching for the Serpent Crown. Elsewhere, Thundra returns to the gym and comes face-to-face with Hyperion.

3/3 — With Dr. Croft in the safe hands of Triton, the Thing and Stingray are joined by the Scarlet Witch to locate the Serpent Crown in Washington D.C. and stop Roxxon’s leader, Hugh Jones, from taking over the multiverse. Though the battle is hard-fought, the heroes are successful.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #67 — Hyperion brings Thundra to the Nth Command’s secret hideout, the saboteurs attempting to destroy Project Pegasus. When she steals a projector in an attempt to return to her world, Hyperion attempts to stop her. Still reeling over his breakup with Alicia, Ben is the only one who can help Thundra fight off Hyperion and get her home.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #68 — Abducted from a disco, the Thing and the Angel are brought to a remote castle, filled with mechanical boobytraps, belonging to the Toad, hellbent on revenge against those who mocked him.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #69 — A mysterious fog enshrouds the city of New York, sending the F.F. into action. Separated from the team, the Thing meets the Guardians of the Galaxy, on a mission of their own to prevent Vance Astro from engaging with his younger self, which may be connected to the fog.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #70 — When Livewire and Shellshock, two former associates of the Psycho-Man, attempt to steal Alicia’s sculptures, Ben goes into action to stop them with the help of the Yancy Street Gang.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #71-72 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Having found a cure for the Terrigen Mist, Reed and Ben bring a cured Dr. Croft back to Hydrobase, accompanied by Gorgon and Karnak, to cure the others affected there. However, the evil Maelstrom, in his first appearance, sends his three lackeys, Phobius, Gronk and Helio, to steal the Anti-Terrigen compound for him.

2/2 — The Thing, Karnak and Gorgon search the former location of Attilan at the bottom of the Atlantic, leading them to the secret lair of Maelstrom. When Maelstrom sends a missile with the Anti-Terrigen compound for Attilan, only Black Bolt is capable of stopping it; meanwhile, the other three must contend with clones of Gronk, Phobius and Helio.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #73 — While investigating the whereabouts of the Nth Command, the Thing and Quasar are transport to another world, where dinosaurs and hovercrafts coincide. They soon find an platoon of Nth command soldiers, led by a man named Pittman, under the orders of Roxxon Oil, who are pumping the planet’s oil back to a Roxxon refinery.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #74 — It’s Christmas Eve, and the Puppet Master has been released from jail. Seeking more radioactive clay for his nefarious plans, he convinces the Thing and Alicia to accompany him to Transia, where they meet Bova and Modred. However, both the Thing and the Puppet Master soon find themselves at the mercy of the childlike Modred’s toys.

1 month ago | [YT] | 11

TheEpicCollector

Epic #378

FANTASTIC FOUR, Vol. 26: HEROES REBORN (1996-1997) rundown:

FANTASTIC FOUR #1-3 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — A rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. cell, led by Wyatt Wingfoot, steals a prototypical shuttle belonging to Reed Richards, forcing him and his three friends, Sue, Ben and Johnny, into space to retrieve it. After encountering a stellar anomaly and receiving super-powers, they crash back to Earth and find themselves at the mercy of the Mole Man.

2/3 — After fighting their way off the Mole Man’s island, the foursome are arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D., who inform them of an attack on Manhattan by Atlantean forces, led by Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Dubbed the “Fantastic Four”, they attempt to stop them, but are quickly overwhelmed by the arrival of Giganto, the giant whale.

3/3 — Captain America and Thor are called in by Nick Fury to aid the Fantastic Four against the lethal armada of Atlantis. Thanks to his shared past with Cap, Namor is able to see the error of ways, realizing Lord Krang was behind a plot to usurp the throne from him, and withdraw his forces.

INCREDIBLE HULK #450 — When Dr. Strange is sucked into the pocket dimension, where the heroes have been “reborn”, he teams up with the Fantastic Four to stop the threat of the Hulk.

FANTASTIC FOUR #4-6 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — Reed and Sue are invited to Wakanda by T’Challa, the Black Panther, to find the mysterious stellar anomaly that has crashed within the African jungles. However, the trio are ambushed by Wingfoot and brought to Latveria, where they come face-to-face with Dr. Doom.

2/3 — Ben and Johnny are met by the real Wyatt Wingfoot, and learn that the Doom agent is an impostor. They make their way to Latveria to rescue Reed, Sue and the Black Panther from Doom, only to discover that “Wingfoot” is actually a Super Skrull.

3/3 — The FF are forced to team up with Doom against the Super Skrull, now imbued with the cosmic powers of the anomaly, revealed to be the Silver Surfer, herald of Galactus.

In the second story, a prologue to the “Industrial Revolution” storyline, Dr. Doom discovers that his acquaintance from college, Bruce Banner, inhabits the power of the Hulk and plots to acquire that great power for himself.

FANTASTIC FOUR #7 — While Ben recuperates in the hospital, the remaining members of the FF venture into the Negative Zone, briefly engaging in a battle with Blastaar, before witnessing various events in the proper Marvel universe and meeting the Watcher. Elsewhere, Galactus makes plans to “feed” on Earth.

FANTASTIC FOUR #8-10 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — An ancient Tibetan tablet is stolen from a museum, prompting the Fantastic Four into action. But when the kidnappers abduct Johnny, the remaining three make their way to the Himalayas, but are overcome by the cold and taken to the Great Refuge by the Inhumans.

2/3 — After a misunderstanding, which leads to a brief battle between the FF and the Royal Family, the heroes are informed of strange happenings near the Terrigen Caverns, where Maximus, a member of the Royal Family, was last seen searching for the Terrigen Mists. As they enter the caves, they’re ambushed by Maximus, powered by the mists, and his mutated underlings.

3/3 — Despite Maximus’ increased power from the Terrigen Mists, the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans manage to defeat him and abort his plans of conquest. However, he warns them that the “Great Devourer” is coming. In Latveria, meanwhile, Dr. Doom receives a visit from his future self and is given a strange device to utilize.

FANTASTIC FOUR #11 — Galactus nears the planet Earth, the FF are soon met by Terrax, one of Galactus’ four heralds, in Central Park and battle ensues. Though they’re successful in temporarily incapacitating Terrax, they’re confronted by two more of Galactus’ heralds, Firelord and Plasma.

FANTASTIC FOUR #12 / AVENGERS #12 / IRON MAN #12 / CAPTAIN AMERICA #12 (Four-part “Heroes Reunited” storyline)

1/4 — The heralds are tasked by Galactus to activate the capacitors in separate parts of the planet, to begin draining the biospheric energies of Earth. The Fantastic Four and the Avengers, along with S.H.I.E.L.D., scramble to find and destroy the capacitors, and stop the heralds, before Galactus is successful. Doom eventually joins the fray, but comes too late when the Earth is seemingly destroyed.

2/4 — The forces of the FF, Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. try in vain to stop the capacitors around the world and the four heralds, sacrificing their lives in the process. In the end, despite their best efforts, the Earth and the universe cease to exist; however, Doom manages to escape via the Chronosquare, back to the past.

3/4 — Before the prior events occurred, Nick Fury informs the Avengers and the Hulkbusters of the Fantastic Four’s demise at the hands of Galactus’ heralds. Buoyed by this revelation, the heroes team up with Dr. Doom to avenge their comrades while attempting to thwart Galactus from feeding upon the Earth. Though the results are bleak, Doom manages to escape through time into the past.

4/4 — Doom finds Rikki Barnes, Captain America’s partner, revealing her as a “chronal anomaly” and possibly the key to stopping Galactus. But when she’s seriously injured by Galactus, a remorseful Silver Surfer joins the heroes united, and helps them to finally defeat, and ultimately destroy, Galactus.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 23

TheEpicCollector

Epic #377

ROM: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS, Vol. 5 (1984-1986) rundown:

ROM #61-65 (Five-part storyline)

1/5 — The Dire Wraiths make a final, desperate gambit against humankind by creating a “black-hole tunnel” spell upon the Sun to bring, and eventually merge, Wraithworld with Earth called “Worldmerge”.

2/5 — Rom meets with the mutant Forge, the only man on Earth to create a prototypical neutralizer, in order to combat the Wraiths. But, fearing the government’s hunger for power, he refuses to help. When the Wraiths attack humans on the streets of Dallas, Forge concedes and teams up with Rom.

3/5 — Rom and Forge attempt to build a neo-neutralizer in space in order to stop the Worldmerge and defeat the Dire Wraiths’ attempt at conquest. But when the Wraiths attempt to cut them off, both men find themselves at odds with the aliens and their goal.

4/5 — Rom and Forge manage to hold off the Wraith’s assault, but the Worldmerge continues, leading to the destruction of many cities and deaths of many people around the world. Later, as Forge readies the neo-neutralizer, Rom is ambushed by a group of Wraiths.

5/5 — As the last remaining Dire Wraiths on Earth converge on Rom, Earth’s super-powered heroes, thanks to Rick Jones, arrive to aid Forge and Rom against the aliens, allowing them to turn the neo-neutralizer on Wraithworld, destroying every Wraith and stopping the Worldmerge.

ROM #66 — In the aftermath of the Wraith War, with his mission to eradicate the Dire Wraiths now complete, Rom decides to leave Earth for good, despite protestations from Rick, Cindy and Brandy.

ROM #67 — While traveling through space, Rom finds a desolate red planet and investigates a strange beacon of light. He soon discovers a great mystery involving its inhabitants and the planet itself, teaching him the precious meaning of life.

ROM #68 — Continuing on his journey through space, Rom is caught in the middle of a bitter war between man and machines, the latter once service-drones to man, intent on reclaiming their planet as their own again.

ROM #69 — Rom is drawn to the surface of Ego, the Living Planet, where he finds two of his fellow Spaceknights, Scanner and Seeker held prisoner, and attempts to rescue them from Ego’s clutches.

ROM #70 — Drawn by yet another Spaceknight signal, Rom, Scanner and Seeker arrive on a swamp planet populated by enslaved Dire Wraiths, who claim a “hidden god” rules over them. They discover it to be their fellow Spaceknight, Unam the Unseen, having become drunk with power.

ROM #71 — After seeing the error of his ways, Unam repents and joins his fellow Spaceknights in tracking down two more of their Spaceknight Squadron brethren, Vola the Trapper and Raak the Breaker, the latter of which having allied with Dire Wraiths to take over a planet of helpless inhabitants.

ROM ANNUAL #4 — Rom and the other members of the Spaceknight Squadron are accused by hostile attacks and held prisoner by the Imperial Guard of the Shi’ar Empire after the Enpire’s fleet is attacked by the Spaceknight, Pulsar.

ROM #72 (Part of a “Secret Wars II” tie-in) — The Beyonder, seeking to discover the meaning of human desires, comes upon Rick, Brandy and Cindy, and offers to give them their greatest wish. But they soon discover, however, that those wishes come with consequences.

ROM #73-75 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — Having been transported to Galador by the Beyonder, leaving behind a cancer-free Rick and Cindy, now reunited with her reanimated parents, Brandy seeks to be reunited with Rom. However, she finds Galador in ruins amidst a civil war between Galadorian humans and a rogue band of second-generation Spaceknights.

2/3 — Rom is reunited with Brandy, but he and his Spaceknights, along with their Galadorian allies, are pushed back by the stronger rogue Spaceknights. As Scanner detects a lost squadron of first-generation Spaceknights, hoping to guide them back to Galador for help, Rom meets the leader of the renegades, Dominor, who challenges Rom to a duel.

3/3 — In the final issue of the series, Rom and Dominor engage in a duel to the death, while his Rom’s Spaceknight Squadron succumb to the onslaught of the renegades. In the end, Rom manages to emerge victorious, at a great cost, but with Brandy by his side, the future looks hopeful for Galador.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

TheEpicCollector

Epic #376

X-MEN, Vol. 14: MUTANT MASSACRE (1986-1987) rundown:

X-MEN #211-213 (Three-part “Mutant Massacre” storyline) —

1/3 — The Morlocks are suddenly attacked and murdered by the Marauders, in their first appearance, prompting the X-Men into battle in the Morlock tunnels. Their Pyrrhic victory, however, results in the severe injury of Shadowcat, Nightcrawler and Colossus.

2/3 — Wolverine remains behind in the tunnels to find survivors, but instead finds the Healer in the clutches of his arch-nemesis, Sabretooth. The carnage and fallout of the massacre weighs heavily on Storm, forcing her to consider abandoning her leadership, before Callisto steps in.

3/3 — While Magneto, Callisto, and the X-Men search for the New Mutants in the tunnels, Psylocke is forced to fight Sabretooth on the mansion’s grounds. Having proved herself after repelling Sabretooth’s ambush, Psylocke is made a member of the X-Men.

UNCANNY X-MEN #214 — The X-Men are notified of Alison Blaire’s strange behavior in Dallas by Lila Cheney, prompting them to help their ally, having been possessed by another member of the Marauders, the evil empath Malice.

UNCANNY X-MEN #215-216 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Storm decides to move the injured Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and remaining Morlock survivors to Muir Island for safety. Longshot and Dazzler officially join the team, while later, Storm and Wolverine head upstate to find Sara Grey’s house burnt to the ground. In San Francisco, Madelyne Pryor is targeted by members of the Marauders.

2/2 — Storm has been kidnapped by three World War II veterans: the Crimson Commando, Stonewall and Super Sabre, and must fight to survive and protect herself and a drug dealer in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in the Adirondack mountains. Meanwhile, Wolverine fights to retain his humanity after witnessing a senseless murder nearby.

UNCANNY X-MEN #217-218 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — While half of the team convalesces on Muir Island, Dazzler cuts out on her own after a spat with Callisto, arriving in a nearby Scottish town and later pursues the Juggernaut.

2/2 — Thinking her dead by his hands, the Juggernaut buries Dazzler alive. Rogue, Psylocke and Longshot rescue her and pursue the Juggernaut in Edinburgh, eventually defeating him together as the new X-Men. In New Mexico, after surviving a near fatal crash, Alex and Lorna find a starshark craft belonging to the Brood.

UNCANNY X-MEN #219 — Alex returns to New York to find the X-Men greatly changed, in membership as well as in alliances, as he discovers Magneto among them and the Hellfire Club. Though reluctant to trust them at first, he joins the X-Men. In New Mexico, Lorna fights off members of the Marauders alone, later revealing herself to be possessed by Malice.

SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE #1 — Spider-Man and Wolverine are swept up in intrigue when both heroes search for a mysterious international spy hellbent on seeking revenge against KGB operatives from the Cold War in East Berlin.

FANTASTIC FOUR VS. X-MEN #1-4 (Four-part limited series)

1/4 — To save the life of Shadowcat, Magneto asks for the Fantastic Four’s help with one of Reed’s devices. Though reluctant at first, they agree to aid the X-Men and arrive at Muir Island, but Reed soon declares the device unusable, which sets off a tense moment between both teams.

2/4 — The Fantastic Four return home, dejected by the X-Men, to discover that, after reading his journal, Reed had planned to the space flight’s miscalculation of the cosmic rays in order to receive their powers, leading to feelings of betrayal. Meanwhile, the X-Men decide to bargain with Dr. Doom in order to save Kitty’s life.

3/4 — As the X-Men allow Doom to use his own recalibration device to save Kitty, the astral form of young Franklin manages to save her from committing suicide. Meanwhile, the members of the Fantastic Four deal with the fallout of the revelation from Reed’s journal. But despite their doubts, they come together and decide to help save Kitty in Latveria.

4/4 — Reed continues to battle his doubt, trying to regain his confidence, as he and the FF, along with She-Hulk, return to Latveria and confront Dr. Doom and the weary X-Men to save the life of Shadowcat. With his faith restored, he is able to surmount his doubts and successfully save the young X-Man.

X-MEN VS. AVENGERS #1-4 (Four-part limited series)

1/4 — When a large chunk of Asteroid M comes crashing down to Earth, it catches the attention of Magneto, who searches in Cambodia for it. Meanwhile, the Avengers decide to arrest Magneto to face his crimes before the world court, but face opposition from the X-Men and the Soviet Super-Soldiers.

2/4 — The X-Men manage to hold off the Avengers and the Soviets, but Magneto is adamant on finding the chunk of Asteroid M and abandons them. After finding the chunk and attempting to destroy it, however, Magneto is caught in the middle of another brawl between the X-Men and the Avengers.

3/4 — After another stalemate, the X-Men and Magneto manage to escape to Singapore, but the Avengers and the Soviets quickly find them aboard a Dutch freighter, leading to yet another conflict that results in its sinking and Magneto’s escape. The Soviets eventually relent on their pursuit of Magneto, while the X-Men and Avengers team up to find him.

4/4 — After Magneto witnesses the massacre of mutants hiding in Singapore, after providing him sanctuary from authorities, he attempts to wipe away prejudice from humankind, but is dissuaded and eventually turns himself over to the world court, to stand trial for his various crimes against humanity.

2 months ago | [YT] | 19

TheEpicCollector

Epic #375

IRON MAN, Vol. 19: CRASH & BURN (1993-1994) rundown:

IRON MAN #298-300 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — While attempting to shut down a malfunctioning drilling device within a volcano, Max Stone, a Stark employee, falls into a sentient form of magma, becoming the Earth Mover.

In the second story, when Tony attempts to rescue him as Iron Man, they come face-to-face with the returning Ultimo, the Doomsday Machine.

2/3 — The situation grows increasingly critical and dire, as Ultimo’s rampage results in the death of the Earth Mover and the near-death of Tony, who lies in a coma following his breakup with Veronica Benning.

In the second story, the embittered Jim Rhodes is called in to save the day as War Machine.

3/3 — Rhodes assembles the Iron Legion, consisting of past associates of Tony’s, to take on the mighty, indestructible Ultimo. Tony awakens from his coma and reunites with Veronica, before using a new model of Iron Man’s armor to help the Iron Legion defeat Ultimo.

IRON MAN #301-306 (Six-part “Crash & Burn” storyline)

1/6 — Accusations of corruption and controversy, at the hands of a mysterious saboteur, begin to rock Stark Enterprises as a crippled Tony must stop Deathlok from infiltrating his own company.

2/6 — Despite the mounting controversy surrounding Stark Enterprises, involving corruption made by Stane International years ago, Tony comes face-to-face with the deadly Venom, seeking justice for the crimes committed by S.E. in Stane’s name.

3/6 — Tony learns of a Stane-built dam in Africa that raises the ire of the New Warriors, forcing him as Iron Man to combat the younger superheroes, all while conversing with Captain America on the generational gap.

4/6 — While Iron Man manages to convince the New Warriors to cease their attack on the dam in Nadua, Africa, they are soon confronted by Thunderstrike, who attempts to stop them and save the dam, having built it himself as Eric Masterson.

5/6 — Tony gets caught up in yet another controversial entanglement, courtesy of Stane, when he discovers a Stark factory in Nevada full of gamma bombs, and which puts him at odds with the Hulk.

In the second story, Bethany Cabe seeks out and confronts the hacker, Phil Grant, responsible for leaking the damning information to the press.

6/6 — Grant reveals to Tony that Marcy Pearson was responsible for the media press leak. After Tony has Marcy arrested on federal charges, he decides to restructure Stark Enterprises, bringing it into a bold new era.

IRON MAN ANNUAL #15 — The Controller uses a psionic captive to trap Iron Man, after having infiltrated the villain’s hive. However, a sudden backlash results in the captive’s escape, causing her to attack both Iron Man and the Controller as the chaotic Mindstorm.

In the second story, while running a battle simulation as Iron Man, Tony discovers that someone has bypassed his security systems and tampered with his technology. Meanwhile, the mysterious saboteur makes his next move.

IRON MAN #307-309 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — Tony ventures into cyberspace to find the saboteur, an artificial intelligence known as VOR/TEX, but quickly discovers that it’s a trap to take possession of Tony’s corporeal body. Meanwhile, in China, the Mandarin re-emerges with newly-formed dragon claws for hands.

2/3 — With Tony’s body and assuming a suit of Iron Man armor, VOR/TEX exacts his revenge against his creators at a tech company. Tony is rescued from cyberspace by Phil, now a Stark employee, and faces VOR/TEX in a downloaded suit of armor. Elsewhere, the Mandarin recovers his lost rings of power.

3/3 — After Tony manages to take down VOR/TEX and reintegrate his consciousness back into his body, he faces the fallout of VOR/TEX’s subterfuge, including the final breakup with Veronica, a relapse with alcohol, and a heated exchange with Rhodey. In China, the Mandarin re-establishes his power and prepares to exact his revenge.

TALES OF SUSPENSE #1 — Captain America and Iron Man are brought together by Nick Fury to take on a terrorist group known as D.A.N.T.E., its leader, Emil Stein, a past enemy of Cap’s, and a powerful assassin named Beck, hellbent on murdering an important businessman that could doom relations between the U.S. and Japan.

2 months ago | [YT] | 20

TheEpicCollector

Shout-out to Jennings85 for the heads-up on this…

Yesterday, Near Mint Condition announced the Epics for January-March 2027 and we have an excellent selection of books coming our way! Lots of gap-fillers, though no new titles, have been announced!

I will do my own live review tomorrow at 5pm, so come join me and let’s discuss them together.

The ones I’m looking forward to are:

JANUARY 2027

X-MEN, Vol. 15
NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER, Vol. 2
DEADPOOL, Vol. 6
SILVER SURFER, Vol. 11
INCREDIBLE HULK, Vol. 16


FEBRUARY 2027

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Vol. 30
INCREDIBLE HULK, Vol. 12


MARCH 2027

PUNISHER, Vol. 1
DAREDEVIL, Vol. 10
IRON MAN, Vol. 12
THUNDERBOLTS, Vol. 5
AVENGERS, Vol. 28

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 11

TheEpicCollector

Epic #374

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Vol. 13: NOTHING CAN STOP THE JUGGERNAUT (1982-1983) rundown:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #224 — The Vulture breaks free from Bellevue Hospital and begins terrorizing the city, stealing loot and jewelry along the way. When Spider-Man discovers his whereabouts at the nursing home, he soon realizes that Aunt May and the other elderly residents are in grave danger.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #225 — Greg Salinger stalks the night as the psychotic Foolkiller once more, murdering those he deems as “fools” for slighting him. As Spider-Man, Peter must piece his identity together and stop his reign of terror on the ESU campus.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #226-227 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — As the Foolkiller is placed in a mental hospital, Felicia Hardy breaks out of the same one and resumes her role as the Black Cat, but now with the desire to go straight for her love of Spider-Man. After stealing a painting from a crime boss, the Black Cat pulls Spider-Man into a deadly game against the Maggia gang to prove her change of heart.

2/2 — After defeating the Maggia together, Spider-Man decides to give the Black Cat a chance to prove her sincerity of going straight, but her one last chance at a big score threatens to ruin any chance of exonerating herself, or their budding romance.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #228 — A mysterious case of “Spider-Murders” hits the city, and it’s up to Spider-Man to clear his name and find the culprit behind the murders, before his own sudden, unexplained anger overtakes him.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #229-230 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Madame Web has a premonition of the Juggernaut coming for her, and enlists the aid of Spider-Man to protect her. However, when he proves ineffective and is defeated, Spidey realizes that Madame Web is in dire jeopardy when the Juggernaut pulls her out of her life-preserving chair and leaves her to die.

2/2 — Spider-Man continues to pursue the Juggernaut, despite being outpowered and outmatched, and with Madame Web’s life at stake. Still, Spidey manages to persevere and eventually trap Juggy in a foundation of cement, while later, upon visiting her at the hospital, Peter discovers that Madame Web has developed amnesia.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #231-232 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — Spider-Man must rescue Ned Leeds and Dr. Marla Madison from the clutches of the Cobra, while the Cobra’s former partner, Mr. Hyde, searches for him to exact revenge of his own. Though Spider-Man succeeds in saving Ned and Marla, Hyde manages to ambush both him and the Cobra.

2/2 — Spider-Man attempts to evade Mr. Hyde, with the Cobra in tow, while dealing with a sprained ankle. With no other choice, Spidey gives the Cobra to Hyde, but eventually tracks them back to the Cobra’s penthouse, where he successfully puts the pair out of commission.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #233 — Peter and Ben Urich hurry to find the missing hood “Nose” Norton before investigators of the Brand Corporation and the South American terrorist, the Tarantula, can get to him first.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #234-236 (Three-part storyline)

1/3 — An explosion at the Boston branch of the Brand Corporation caused by Will-O’-the-Wisp has Spider-Man investigating a nearby branch in Queens, where he discovers the Tarantula being experimented on. With Will-O’-the-Wisp now targeting this branch, Spidey is forced to stop both him and a newly-mutated Tarantula.

2/3 — The Tarantula and Will-O’-the-Wisp fight each other within and outside the Brand lab, eventually falling into the nearby bay and supposedly drowning. Later, Spider-Man tracks the head of Brand, James Melvin, back to his apartment where both Will-O’-the-Wisp and the Tarantula reemerge.

3/3 — After Will-O’-the-Wisp details how Melvin caused his transformation, both he and Tarantula recommence their fight while Spidey attempts to hide Melvin for his protection. In the end, Spidey manages to Will to forgo seeking revenge, and both turn their attention to stopping a rampaging Tarantula.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #237 — When Wilbur Day sneaks into Cordco, a subsidiary of Stark International, and recreates a stronger form of his Stilt-Man costume, Spider-Man arrives to stop him. Meanwhile, Aunt May opens up a new boardinghouse for elderly citizens.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #16 — In her first appearance, Monica Rambeau arrives in New York searching for answers to her new powers. After rescuing an elderly professor and stopping an initial catastrophe in New Orleans, and becoming the new Captain Marvel, she reveals to Spider-Man, the Thing and Iron Man that she’s about to explode, due to excess energy absorption, which could destroy the city.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #238-239 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — After managing to escape Spider-Man following a bank robbery, a black thug finds the secret hideout of Norman Osborn, full of Green Goblin’s weapons and paraphernalia. A mysterious man gets ahold of the cache and, after killing off the thug, he repurposes the Goblin’s costume to become the Hobgoblin, in his first appearance.

2/2 — The Hobgoblin ransacks several more of Osborn’s old hideouts, stealing the Green Goblin’s weaponry, with Spider-Man in pursuit. Their first encounter takes place in one of those hideouts, spilling out into the streets before Spider-Man loses sight of the Hobgoblin, who manages to escape.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #240-241 (Two-part storyline)

1/2 — The Vulture reemerges and makes his way back east to find his former business partner at a technology expo, but runs into Spider-Man instead. Though Spidey gives the Vulture another tough battle, the elder villain manages to outmaneuver his foe and render him unconscious and defeated.

2/2 — Spider-Man regains consciousness and pursues the Vulture, who takes his former business partner, Bestman, to a secret hideout within a silo. The Vulture reveals how Bestman committed fraud and embezzlement, and how he was eventually pushed out of their business venture. But, before he can seek revenge, Spidey defeats the Vulture, and Bestman is arrested for his crimes.

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 19