Time to check out the third volume of the Supergirl series! This collection is mainly just made up of tie in issues so the main plot doesn’t move all that much, but what is the main plot? Debatably it’s just about Supergirl getting used to life on Earth. In which case, you can make a decent argument that this all helps to further that aim a little. At the very least, she can learn more about Earth’s superheroes through this debacle.
Supergirl heads underwater to discover that her ship has made it to Earth in one piece. It only responds to her commands so it’s a fairly safe headquarters. Unfortunately, a villain has broken in and his physical abilities are almost on par with Supergirl’s. How will she be able to take this guy out and reclaim her base? It’s a fun one shot story and the ship plays a big role in Supergirl’s series after this. The villain was one of the first ones to appear in the series as well so it was a pivotal issue and was handled well.
After that, the H’el arc started. Naturally, a lot of it is covered in the Superman series as well as the Superboy title so we only see bits and pieces here, which makes for an intriguing read. Unfortunately, Supergirl looks bad in these stories as H’el plays on her emotions quite easily. Supergirl never really questions the fact that he is randomly teleporting everywhere and messing with the headquarters that she found as well as the Fortress of Solitude. He seemed to be rather evil from the start and I feel like Supergirl should have realized this. Of course, this may not have happened if Superman had tried to get along with her a little more, but things are still really rocky between them so that was out of the picture.
While the H’el arc was all over the place and made him look seriously overpowered, it also gave us some of the best fights in the volume. First, Supergirl challenged the Flash. Given that the Flash was holding back against her, he did very well and was actually defeating her. Supergirl was actually trying to destroy him so that shows just how skilled the Flash is. He’s always been an underrated fighter and at his best, he could easily take on any DC fighter including Superman. While my money’s on the Man of Steel, it’s a fight that I’ve always enjoyed no matter who ends up as the victor. I wouldn’t even need to worry about plot hax here.
The second fight was Supergirl vs Wonder Woman. I may have called a little more plot hax here as I feel that Supergirl is definitely stronger than Wonder Woman, but in the New 52, Wonder Woman is very impressive so I don’t mind her claiming victory here. She certainly does have more experience than Supergirl and it was a close fight although I feel like Supergirl would have done better than she was given credit for. These were two power packed battles and they were definitely a lot of fun to watch. Supergirl didn’t get to fight Superman, but they already had a scuffle a while back I suppose.
Finally, there was another comic, which starts to get us back to the main plot. Power Girl arrives to help Supergirl fight a major powerhouse. They manage to escape, but then Supergirl’s headquarters turns against the two heroines because it believes that one of them must be a clone. It was a very entertaining comic because the ship has a nice sense of humor. It burns the Supergirls logically with its witty comebacks. The ship never gives up or backs down and I loved its dialogue. I dare say that it instantly became more likable than Jarvis or Batman’s computers. (Although they never really talk….) It may have been a little rude considering that it works for Supergirl, but that’s just the way that these things go right? I like for A.I. programs to have a little personality!
That being said, I didn’t care for the fact that Supergirl and Powergirl had to retreat from the new villain. Someone sent him to test their strength so he’ll probably be back, but there’s no way that he could stop those two. I feel like Supergirl is criminally underpowered in this series. The villains should be as weak as play dough when compared to her incredible feats of power. Whoever this guy is, the author is clearly making him out to be stronger than he should. I’m all for new villains who are tough though so maybe he’ll be likable.
Still, it seems to be something that the writer just likes doing. Look at H’el. He is apparently strong enough to fight off Superman and Superboy at once. Plus, he can teleport and do all kinds of things. He effortlessly beat the Flash and his master plan nearly succeeded. I don’t care for the guy and his sob story wasn’t great, but he does make for a very imposing villain. Perhaps a little overpowered, but that beats being underpowered though. As long as Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Superman are able to give him a good fight, then I’ll be satisfied. If any of them ended up losing to him very quickly in the main series, then I would definitely be a little sad at that outcome.
In the end, I’d actually say that this was the best Supergirl volume because of all the cool guest stars. Even Batman had a cameo as he warns the heroes that it’s almost too late to stop H’el. The Flash and Wonder Woman were both portrayed well and Power Girl also made for a nice assist. Since Power Girl really is Supergirl from an alternate timeline, it’s cool to see them interact. I’m still waiting for Supergirl to really get to meet the other heroes though as she still seems to be so separate from them. She regards them from afar as if she’s never even seen them before. The sad truth is that Supergirl may not have seen them since she is so new to the superhero gig. Still, she can’t stay a newbie forever so that experience will come at some point.
The art is fairly streamlined although the character models can still get a little iffy at times. Particularly the faces. Maybe I’m just taking a harder look at the art now as I’ve been saying that more lately like with World War Hulk, but there are some panels that are clearly off. One of them was when Supergirl was talking to H’el as her pose made her look terrified for some odd reason. It’s just one example though. Naturally, the fight scenes are quite good though and I still like streamlined art a lot as it makes the action scenes that much better.
Overall, Supergirl continues to be one of DC’s better comic book titles. I enjoyed the addition of her Sanctuary, which will make for a very good supporting cast if it can be recovered. Let’s just say that the heroes had to use some rather drastic measures to stop him from destroying Supergirl. Now that H’el’s arc is over, the series can get back on track without worrying about tie-in issues although they were quite good this time. What I’m looking forward to the most is the return of the World Breakers from volume 1. That group had a lot of potential and they were awesome. Of course, being stronger than Supergirl doesn’t seem like much of a feat anymore, but they were still a fun group of new/powerful super villains. This series has always been very interesting and I do like Supergirl’s portrayal even if she is a little naive. Hopefully she won’t be falling for any more romance traps in future volumes. If you want to see some nice action and even some well written humor, this is a comic that you definitely want to check out!
Overall 8/10
I remember this arc when it first came out. There was a lot of hype around it and I still consider the plot to be one of the best concepts from all Marvel events. Only Civil War may be able to top it. Nothing beats a good Heroes vs Heroes story, but one that comes close is when the hero turns evil and decides to destroy the heroes. It’s sort of like the Doomsday story in the comics as Superman has a long monologue about what would happen if he finally met a villain that he couldn’t defeat. It’s a story that has a lot of potential. World War Hulk doesn’t live up to all of it sadly, but it’s still a fun comic.
As mentioned, the plot is very simple. The Hulk was shot into space and deserted to die on a planet full of gladiators and aliens. He managed to survive and lived a happy life there, but then his rocket ship came back into orbit and crashed on the planet, destroying everyone on the planet. The Hulk blames the Illuminati for placing the bomb on the rocket and he has now returned to Earth to destroy them and make the Earth suffer for what has happened. All of Marvel’s heroes will have to set aside their differences if there is any hope of stopping the Hulk.
It should be noted that the Hulk picked a great time to launch this attack. For starters, Thor isn’t around at the moment, which takes away a really large threat right from the start. Also, the Civil War is still raging on at the moment or at least the post effects so the heroes have to reluctantly work together at the risk of being arrested. Yes, this is definitely the Hulk’s moment of glory and the heroes may not know what hit them! It should be noted that some heavy weights like Ghost Rider and the X-Men are noticeably absent, but they end up fighting the Hulk in tie-in issues. It’s too bad that they weren’t included, but I did review the X-Men one a while back.
If you wanted a comic with nonstop action, then this is definitely the one to check out. The 5 issues are basically showing the Hulk take down the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and all of the loners who tried to join the fray. Even the military stood no chance against the Hulk. Granted, The Hulk had about 5 teammates known as the Warbound who are apparently about as strong as the Hulk pre rage. That’s a lot of hype for those guys, but they did manage to defeat Spiderman (Off screen naturally……he never gets any respect in the modern comics!) so I suppose that they lived up to their reputation.
The Hulk has never been madder than he is now so his power is really skyrocketing. By the end of the comic, he starts to grow so powerful that he could have destroyed the Earth with a single stomp. That’s some insanely good strength. Naturally, Hulk is a total villain here who only cares for revenge. It’s a motive that works for most villains so why not for him right? He’s not mindless here by any means and he just believes that the Avengers need to pay for their crimes of genocide. An eye for an eye is his strategy. It’s been a while since we saw the Hulk portrayed as a villain so that was neat. He even uses his intelligence to trick Dr Strange at one point since he’s totally in control here. You have never seen a more deadly Hulk.
The Sentry’s role in this is also quite big as he gets hyped up right from the start. One problem that you may have with this is the fact that everyone acts like the Sentry and Hulk are best friends. Since when right? The Sentry is also a little insane and completely unlikable, but you still have to respect his incredible power. He’s said to be the strongest hero in Marvel and while I completely disagree with that, he’s certainly one of the stronger members and not someone to be taken lightly.
I do have to mention that the art isn’t very good here. It’ll look all right at times and then the character models will just start to shift and tumble. I dunno, there was just something a little off putting about it, but the art still wasn’t downright bad. We still got some fun action sequences out of it (Which is the whole point of World War Hulk right?) and the scene where the Sentry finally makes his move is pretty epic. The guy definitely seems to think of himself as a Superman level fighter and maybe he has some valid reasons for this. He does end up looking really good here after all.
As this is one of the more modern events, you can tell that you are missing some things by not reading the tie ins, but it’s not as big as in some other graphic novels where it’s in your face. The pacing is good. The Hulk gradually defeats everyone and by the end you will be wondering how the Hulk can possibly be defeated. You have to wonder if even the Sentry will be able to stand up to such a powerful threat. Most of the other heroes do feel like light weights here. Even fighters like Ms. Marvel and She Hulk are shown to not even be a threat to the Hulk. Seriously, they just watch Iron Man get taken out and only jump in to help at the very end. Not very heroic eh? I was personally disappointed that Spiderman was taken out off screen by one of the minions. I don’t buy that…at all.
In fact, as cool and tough as the Hulk is, I don’t buy any of it. The heroes badly outnumbered Hulk and his little group and I feel like they really should have won this round. I think that Ms. Marvel could give the Hulk a good fight. When she’s with She Hulk, Ares, Spiderman, and many more fighters…that should really be enough to end things. The Fantastic Four didn’t look too good, but I have to admit that those guys would be outmatched in an instant. Only Mr. Fantastic can hope to save them all and things didn’t go according to plan for him. It was fun to see Iron Fist and X-23 jump into the action and Iron Fist did all right against one of the Warbound, but he was soon put in his place.
Dr Strange entered a type of rage mode to stop the Hulk and nearly destroyed innocent civilians in the process. It was the only time where the heroes looked bad as the Hulk had to save them before stopping Dr. Strange. It was still a fun super form to look at though. Even the government gets some hype as General Ross explains that he always knew that the other superheroes could never stop the Hulk. Naturally, his weapons aren’t that effective and he doesn’t stand a chance, but you really have to admire his confidence. Ross has no doubt that he will stop the Hulk and he fights on right up til the very end. He was actually a very likable figure here and he has certainly known the Hulk much longer than anyone else.
The Warbound don’t really have much of a personality as they carry their baggage from Planet Hulk. I didn’t like any of the members and I doubt that the film would change my mind. One of them admits that what they are doing is wrong, but he doesn’t care since he just wants revenge. Better to be a villain than to knowingly act like a villain. Seriously, the guy is constantly talking about morals and justice while he’s attacking the heroes. Definitely not your typical superhero behavior eh? The justice concept would have been pretty interesting had the Illuminati actually placed a bomb inside of Hulk’s rocket, but a plot twist nullifies that. Most of what the Illuminati did was unintentional, but they still deserve a lot of blame for what happened to the Hulk. His time in space was certainly not a pleasant one.
You have to wonder what would have happened if Thor and the X-Men had been here from the start. Would the Hulk have been able to come out on top like he did here or would the heroes have stopped him? I feel like the heroes should definitely have won and with Thor and the others, that should be a guarantee. I would love to see another arc like this pop up soon where one powerhouse takes on the whole Marvel Universe. Not in a single blow or eventually, but a gauntlet run like what happened here. Those scenarios are always a lot of fun.
Overall, I was hyped to read World War Hulk from the start. I just love the concept of it and greatly enjoyed the X-Men vs Hulk tie-in. That being said, it was maybe a little less enjoyable than I had been expecting it to be. The gladiator ring part of the saga wasn’t great and the art was definitely a little sub par. The nonstop action was great though and the dialogue was engaging as well. This is definitely a solid read for all Hulk fans and especially if you just want to see some big hero against hero fights. There is a cliff hanger, but it’s not that great. Especially when you know who the mysterious figure turns out to be. Still, this was a fun event. Smaller in scope than most of Marvel’s big specials, but it was still impactful and showed us the Hulk’s true power! (Albeit, slightly over hyped…)
Overall 8/10
After Naruto ended, it’s safe to say that the fans were not pleased. We had been reading the series for years and finding a replacement would be difficult. Luckily, the author did a sequel series that ran for an extra 10 chapters which bought the world some time. It was a fun title and while it was incredibly short, it was still long enough to give us some hype and introduce new characters. Nothing can ever top the classic Naruto series in this franchise, but Naruto Gaiden is a sequel that is worthy of the Naruto name.
It’s been years since the final battle and you should be aware of Naruto’s current role, but I won’t spoil it in case you do not know. Sasuke was roaming the outside world when he was attacked by a kid who possessed the Sharingan. He quickly calls in Naruto to deal with this threat as he hints that a new villain who may be even stronger than the final boss of the Naruto manga could be around. Meanwhile, Sarada realizes that she doesn’t know much about her parents and decides to follow Naruto for some answers. Her friend decides to tag along and now we have the main cast for the series!
The art is quite good and it feels just like the main series. That’s a good thing as it gives the title a sense of continuity and this could easily have just been an epilogue volume to the main title. The action scenes are a lot of fun and the character designs…are not quite as good. They aren’t bad from an art stand point, but I still just don’t care for the new looks of Naruto and Sasuke. Most of the characters just look too old at this point. It’s just an age issue though and not every character was meant to become an adult.
It’s a little infamous that the villains in Naruto typically turn out to be heroes deep down. This title takes that even farther as Kabuto’s essentially seen the light and he’s allowed to be the teacher of a school. Orochimaru’s even gone past his evil days although it’s heavily implied that he’s still conducting illegal experiments. I don’t understand why Naruto and the others haven’t taken him down yet. Surely it wouldn’t be too much of an issue for the heroes right? Maybe he has diplomatic immunity or something like that. Even the ending continues this tradition. Now, it’s cool to see that the villains are able to turn over a new leaf and that they’re not totally evil, but such a thing needs development. The series didn’t have a whole lot of time to use on that, but it certainly would have been worth it if you ask me.
Naturally, Naruto and Sasuke are ultimately powerful at this point. So, how are any of the villains actually a threat? Well…they aren’t. The series tries to give the villains some hype and they do manage to look decently good against the two heroes at one point, but it’s only because they had plot hax and surprise on their side. In a fair fight, they wouldn’t last an instant here. Sarada is basically able to take these guys on with minimal effort so I wouldn’t put them on Akatsuki level, much less Uchiha tier.
Still, I did enjoy the fight scenes here. The artist is certainly experienced with them by this point and you’ll see a lot of epic speed effects during the fights. Everything has a good amount of detail and the intensity of the fights is the main reason as to why I enjoyed the series a lot. The actual plot about finding out who Sarada’s parents were wasn’t quite as interesting since I’m sure that we suspected who they were from the start. Especially once the series was confirmed to only be 10 chapters as it had to wrap up quickly.
Perhaps, a little too quickly. The ending is very rushed and the main villain goes down in a single hit. I would have liked a bigger fight, but it’s implied that the true villain is still out there. Sasuke had been mentioning that this could all just be part of a bigger scheme. The Boruto movie is apparently an epilogue to this series in a way and the trailer did look fairly awesome so it’s safe to say that the true fights are just beginning. Naruto and Sasuke may have finally met their match this time!
Naruto was a good main character here. He was sympathetic to the villains without actually letting them get by him. Naruto shows why he is still one of the strongest characters in the series even if he has apparently stopped training and grown weaker like Gohan from DBZ. While Sarada is the main character of the series, Naruto gets a good role and he looks good aside from one loss. Likewise, Sasuke manages to be a decent character, but I don’t like his generic design. One of the plots also just doesn’t work since he’s a loner and I can’t really see that changing anytime soon despite what the manga would have you believe. He’s the Shonen Rival and that’s how he should stay. For the most part, he does a good job of handling that reputation and his Sharingan powers are impressive as always. He doesn’t get to fight as much as Naruto, but Sasuke still gets his props.
Sakura doesn’t fight as often as the other two members anymore, but we see that she still has a decent amount of power at her disposal. Would she have defeated the villains without Naruto and Sasuke? I don’t think so, but she was badly outnumbered so we can let it slide. Sarada’s partner was one of the weak links of the series. Her gimmicks just aren’t funny and she’s constantly hoping that someone else is her father. The ending helps to wrap this up so that plot is over, but her attempts at humor didn’t really do the series any justice. Luckily, her role is rather small so it doesn’t really affect the series in a negative way. It’s a very minor con.
Boruto’s role is incredibly small, but he’s getting his own movie so he didn’t need to appear here right? He seems decent in this title except for the fact that he doesn’t run away from the village to help everyone. That’s what a real hero would do. Sarada can be rather unreasonable and dramatic at times, but she’s a good character for the most part. She’s certainly adept at fighting and Sarada appears to be turning into a hot blooded rival type of character. That would work out quite well and I’m hoping that’s how her character develops. She may still overreact at times, but it’s manageable and she’s still better than Boruto and her friend for now. While she probably can’t hold her own series as much as Naruto, she won’t need too since Naruto and friends will still be around.
Meanwhile, Shin is basically the main villain along with a lot of clone versions of him. (He’s already a clone though) I like the design, but he’s not very interesting. His goals are generic and he basically just wants to destroy everyone. His goals and motivations barely make any sense and when you have to beg the enemy for help…you know that you’re in a tough spot. With his Sharingan abilities, you’d think that he would be an impressive fighter, but the way that he goes out is rather anticlimactic. He’s not really meant to be likable, interesting, or cool since this is such a short series, but I still feel like he could have been better. Ah well, at least he wasn’t a downright bad villain.
Overall, Naruto Gaiden was a fun little sequel to Naruto. As it was only 10 chapters, the pacing was nice and quick. We got to see the old characters once again and had a chance to see the aftermath of what happened during the main series. It was a lot of fun and there really wasn’t anything wrong with the series. The ending was a little rushed and the villain wasn’t too cool, but the series couldn’t be perfect. Given the length constraints, I thought that Naruto Gaiden was a blast. If you enjoyed Naruto, then you should definitely like this one. If you’re entering this series fresh to the Naruto franchise, then you’ll still have a blast with all of the suspense and intrigue throughout. Now, I’m ready for the Boruto film!
Overall 8/10
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