Marvel Penguin Picks: May 2025
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Wolverine: Revenge
There is always space in my library for a good “Wolverine” story, and this one is coming from two of the best creators in the business: Writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Greg Capullo. The premise is simple enough: The Ol’ Canucklehead is looking to take out Sabretooth, Omega Red, and Deadpool for good after they’ve committed some unspeakable crime. So it’s good that two A-listers are tackling it as it’d be hard for me to care about this otherwise. However, I’ve also heard that this is also an alternate-continuity miniseries that’s going to deal with an (lowercase-a) apocalypse and the Marvel Universe’s recovery from it. Which means that Hickman and Capullo are going to have free reign to do whatever they want with this story and I am so there for that.
Interestingly, this is being offered first as a standard trade paperback collection. While I’ve often complained about how a lot of titles (that generally don’t deserve to) wind up in hardcover-first editions at the publisher, this is the rare case where I wouldn’t have minded paying a premium for an oversized, hardcover edition of the comic.
Godzilla vs. X-Men #1: The colossal kaiju crossover continues as the Big G throws down with Marvel’s Merry Mutants. A robotics firm has drawn Godzilla’s wrath and the X-Men are called in to protect them, but are they on the right side? This sounds… fine, which doesn’t exactly make me excited for this latest crossover one-shot. I’m also surprised that they wound up getting Fabian Nicieza to write this as he’s someone who wrote A LOT of “X-Men” comics in the 90’s and has continued to do the occasional X-miniseries to this day. Art comes from Emilio Laiso who has done some impressive work on titles like “Doctor Aphra” and “Amazing Spider-Man” so we’ll see if he can deliver an appropriately epic scale for this event.
Giant-Sized X-Men #1: Everyone remembers that the first “Giant-Sized X-Men” was the relaunch of the original series from writer Chris Claremont that began the franchise’s ascent to creative and commercial sales dominance at Marvel. Marvel has done a couple more of these specials since, but it’s safe to say that none of them have had the same impact. Which will likely be the case for this latest one which is actually the start of an anniversary series spotlighting Kamala Khan as she jumps into significant parts of mutant history. This is coming from co-writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, who chronicled Kamala’s latest adventures in the now-cancelled “NYX.” So it could be seen as an extension of their work there, only with a much more high-profile artist, Adam Kubert, handling this opening chapter.
Spider-Man & Wolverine #1: Huh, you’d think that co-headlining two different ongoing team-up series would entitle Wolverine to leading status in at least one of them, but I guess not. Anyhow, this is exactly what it says on the tin with the two characters teaming up to fend off the villains looking to put them in the ground. Marc Guggenheim writes this series, which isn’t really a plus in my book anymore. Kaare Andrews is illustrating it, or at least this first arc, which at least lets me know we’re in for some really wild and exaggerated art – especially if that first cover of his is any indication.
Predator: Black, White, & Blood #1 (of 4): Marvel makes it clear that the big draw here is that new “Amazing Spider-Man” writer Joe Kelly is writing a “Predator” story that may or may not continue through the subsequent issues of this title. Alvaro Lopez illustrates this story of a young Predator whose hunt goes bad in the Australian frontier. Not a bad setup for this kind of story, but not one that demands that I go out and read this issue as soon as it comes out (or when it hits Marvel Unlimited). Neither does Marvel’s stretching of the definition of “superstar” when it comes to describing Elliot Rahal and Sarah Gailey – the other two writers contributing unknown stories to this issue.
Amadeus Cho 20th Anniversary Special: I like Amadeus Cho, as I wouldn’t have read the entirety of “The Incredible Hercules” if I didn’t. Still, one has to wonder why he’s getting a 20th anniversary special. Was this a condition of creator Greg Pak writing “Darth Vader” for Marvel, or is this testing the waters for future Cho-related projects in comics and other media? Whatever the case is, Pak, along with artist co-creator Takeshi Miyazawa are back with three stories checking in on one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe at various points in his life. We see him during “World War Hulk,” back when he was the “Totally Awesome Hulk,” and what he’s up to today when he encounters a new threat and emerges in a shocking new form. Worth keeping an eye on as Pak’s uneven work with the most famous Dark Lord of the Sith still turned out to be worthwhile in the end.
Aliens vs. Avengers #4 (of 4): One thing I didn’t mention about “Wolverine: Revenge” is that it also suffered from the kind of delays in a monthly miniseries that you would’ve expected to see from such a high-profile project back in the 00’s. That’s been even more true of Hickman’s other miniseries, with artist Esad Ribic, that has seen the Avengers take on the Xenomorphs (with some… Sinister assistance, it sounds like). Fortunately it looks like the end is in sight for this miniseries, assuming it hits its solicitation date of May 7, 2025.
Phoenix: The Death and Rebirth of Jean Grey Omnibus: This is an odd collection as it includes the comics where Jean Grey died in the Modern Era (during Grant Morrison’s run), where she remained dead for a while (through “Endsong,” “Warsong,” “Avengers vs. X-Men,” the “Jean Grey” series featuring her younger time-traveling self, and a “Generations” one-shot). Plus “The Resurrection of Jean Grey” miniseries where she finally returned. While there are some good comics collected in here, anyone looking for a coherent narrative through-line between all of these comics is going to be REALLY disappointed.
Iron Man by Spencer Ackerman vol. 1: The Stark-Roxxon War: A new era for Tony Stark comes with a new creative team in writer Spencer Ackerman and artist Julius Ohta. This is along with a new, angrier direction for the title character. See, the board of Stark Unlimited has put the company up for sale and the highest bidder is none other than an A.I.M.-backed Roxxon. While they’ve fought Stark and Iron Man before, the twist is that now they’re taking on one who is furious about this new development and determined not to play by the old rules. I like the sound of that, but it’s such a bold proclamation that I feel compelled to see if it actually pays off through Marvel Unlimited than risking my hard-earned money on a lot of hot air.
X-Men: Raid on Graymalkin: Crossover between “X-Men” and “Uncanny” as the two titles break into the high-security prison with conflicting agendas. Regular writers of each series, Jed Mackay and Gail Simone, are handling their respective titles. So if you’re reading both (or planning on catching up with them in trade paperback form, like me) this is the next step in following them.
Star Wars: Ewoks: A group of bounty hunters and scavengers fronted by some Imperial muscle have come to the forest moon of Endor looking for a secret cache of deadly weapons. What they weren’t counting on was running headfirst into the fuzzy fighting force that helped the Rebellion turn the tide against the Empire in the battle of the Second Death Star. It’s a setup that evokes the title characters’ origins as the fantasy sci-fi equivalent of the Viet Cong, and it’s something that I hope writer Steve Orlando, along with artists Alvaro Lopez and Laura Braga, lean into here.
Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection vol. 6: The Devil in Cell Block D: Collecting issues #82-94 and Annual #1. The first year of Ed Brubaker’s run where he dealt with the status quo Bendis left him with and delivered the best stories in his run with the character. No, really folks, it was all downhill after this.