Bottom of the Pile - Nov. 5th, 2014

Ugh.  Horribly late with this one, but last week's will be up a lot sooner.

All-New X-Factor-

In fairness, your book is being canceled Polaris, so "second string" might actually be shooting a bit high.

Avengers & X-Men: Axis

 So.  Setting aside the fact that "Doc Green" is actually as smart as Bruce Banner and yet in this book he's basically just regular Hulk.  Setting aside the idea of "the Hulk's Hulk, Kluh".  Setting aside all the mutants just being cool with working with Apocalypse...

Can someone explain to me why as soon as the Avengers turned villains, they started talking like the most cliched ones they could find?   Like, is there a script or some bad guy cue cards that you get delivered when you go bad?

Batman Eternal

What did I fucking tell you.   The whole building collapsed on them, but no one that mattered actually died.  *sighs*

Earth 2: World's End

 I suppose it was only a matter of time.   Green Lantern is meant to be an avatar for the embodiment of the Earth's energy on Earth 2, while Solomon Grundy is the embodiment of decay (technically a Black Lantern).  The White, Red, and Blue have now found themselves in our new universe as well.  Will they be Lanterns, or will they have unique identities? 

Earth 2

 This month's Earth 2 gives us a wider view of the universe that Earth inhabits.  The fates of Mars, Czarnia, and Warworld are revealed to us, and though we don't see the planet itself, it's probably not a good sign that this is the first and only Tamaranian we've ever seen.   Earth-2 (and Universe-2) has suffered quite a bit, dealing with Darkseid.

Grayson

For whatever reason, Dick Grayson's always been the go-to for "female gaze" comics, and Grayson's no exception, as the former Nightwing and Robin is chased down by a group of playful college girls and spends most of the issue shirtless.  Turnabout's fair play, and all that.
 

Green Arrow

Felicity Smoak gets her true introduction in this month's Green Arrow.  They definitely got her design down, but on New Earth she appears to be far more confident....and competent, for that matter.  She's pretty much a super-genius who ferrets out pretty much everything about Oliver's entire organization in all of a few pages.  I think we're running the risk of making her too smart, even in comparison to the television's version, but the comic versions are usually the most cranked up, broken versions compared to what you'd find in other adaptations.

Legendary Star Lord

As a fan of science fiction, it never bothers me when characters all "speak English" or can travel to distant galaxies without a plausible reason.  It's a story.  It's fun.  Just be quiet and enjoy.  But one thing that takes me out of a story REAL quick?  "Hey, this is just like [reference that could only possibly exist on Earth]."   Stop it, guys.

 Spider-Verse Team-Up

We technically already did this with Multiversity, but I love when they point out that cartoon physics flat out work differently than the real world.  Even when the "real" world is full of superheroes.

The Amazing Spider-Man

....This will probably keep Kamala in that outfit for the next ten years.  Speaking of: Marvel's done a great job of introducing Kamala Khan as a legitimate superhero in this universe.  Usually when people create a new character they move too fast in taking them to the big leagues, but Kamala's having things happen at a pretty perfect pace--not too fast, not too slow.

New 52 - Futures End

"Cal" has a point.  Threatening to ruin a guy's life in the name of "the truth" is pretty shitty.  Also, Lois' "smart room" is probably the most believable thing about this Futures End timeline as something that could actually happen in the next five years.

Author's Note: Bottom of the Pile is a weekly column (or at least, my attempt at said) in which I cover the comics that found their way to the bottom of my pile, thus being the best as I've always been a proponent of "saving the best for last".   Since bog standard reviews can be found literally anywhere, coverage can range from mini-reviews to funny comments to commentary on a creator's run or comics as a whole, depending on a wide range of factors including the comic itself, the amount of time I have, and my general mood.