Top 5 Comic Book Moments of the Week: Xemnu eats, a new X-Men combo move, and the hammers they are a-changing
Spoiler alert for comics released on March 11
Every Sunday, we bring you our pick of the biggest, coolest, and most spectacular moments in recent comics. Sometimes they're huge meta-moments like last week's number one, sometimes they're just about sheer awesomeness. This week there really were quite a lot of great moments in comics but here are the ones we consider our Top 5 Comic Book Moments of the Week:
5. Magik-beam Special
The Colossus-Wolverine combo move the "Fastball Special" is an absolute classic but in 'X-Men' #8, Colossus's little sister Magik and Wolverine's sort-of boyfriend (it's complicated) Cyclops reveal their own combined attack and it is far more devastating than anything Piotr and Logan could ever dream of. Unleashing his eye-beams through Magik's portals to rain devastation down on an invading Brood army, Cyclops proves once again why he's the real top dog of the X-Men in a panel that's beautifully illustrated by Mahmud Asrar with Sunny Gho providing some stunning colors.
4. Everything changes, even magic hammers
Back when he was first introduced, Loki used to be one of Marvel's most dastardly villains. Yet over the years, he's evolved into more of an anti-hero or at least a figure without any clear moral alignments. But lifting Mjolnir? That's something we never thought we'd see the God of Mischief pulling off and yet that's exactly what happens in this panel from Donny Cates's 'Thor' #4. The issue doesn't reveal how this is possible — only hints at the enchantment on the hammer changing — but even without an explanation, this is still a really huge moment both for Loki and 'Thor' comics in general. That said, the issue still manages to overshadow this with an even bigger moment but more on that later.
3. Girl with the Colorized Focus
'Decorum' #1 does very inventive things with storytelling, using a variety of art styles to convey things that the writing doesn't overtly state. One of the most standout moments of the issue is the introduction of the series protagonist, the universe's most well-mannered assassin. Though the world outside is colored, as soon as she's in the room, all color bleeds out aside from that of her target, the most vivid focus in the room. The assassin never loses sight of her target - until he's taken out, and it's not until then that color bleeds back into the room. It's a brilliant piece of visual storytelling, brought to you by Mike Huddleston.
2. Xemnu is Hungwy
'Immortal Hulk' is known for its body horror and sinister storytelling, but it may have just outdone itself. In #32, after Xemnu has successfully hypnotized the world into believing he's its greatest hero, he's starting to feel a little hungry. Working with Dario Agger, of Roxxon, he asks when he can eat. The large, fluffy, brainwashing alien is "Hungwy now" - and can't wait for Agger's loyal lieutenant to go fetch somebody else. Xemnu immediately begins to unravel, and consume dagger's bodyguard in a horrific manner whose image we're not even going to share here. If you haven't read the issue, take our word for it - it was horrifying.
1. King Thor fails
Heavy the head that wears the crown and heavier the hand that holds the hammer. Being a king has been pretty difficult for Thor and it has forced him to make some choices that he would never have made as just a hero. Like becoming a herald of Galactus for instance, a role he's been fulfilling since the start of Donny Cates's 'Thor' series. So far, the Asgardian has managed to save the denizens of the world consumed by Galactus to prepare for the coming of the Black Winter but in 'Thor' #4, he is forced to stand by while the Devourer consumes a world full of people when the Black Winter finally arrives. Depicted with some stunning art from Nic Klein and Matt Wilson, this is Thor finally embracing the darker side of kingship, failing a world to save the universe.
That's all for now. What were your favorite comic book moments for this week? Let us know in the comments.
