Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #2 Review

 

Writer: Erica Schultz

Artist: Valentina Pinti

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Elena Casagrande & Edgar Delgado; Jacopo Camagni; Nimit Malavia; Ashley Witter

Designer: Jay Bowen

Editors: Cy Pedro Beltran, Mark Basso, Tom Brevoort & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 5, 2025

 

Mutants finally live free of Human persecution. Laura Kinney serves Revelation, the man who helped make that happen. As his Seraph, she protects him from the ailing US government and anyone else who sends agents to assassinate him. But life as a Seraph isn’t easy. Laura has lost her husband in Revelation’s service. While carrying out her duties, she cannot protect Alex, the son Zane gave her. And even when she is in Revelation’s compound, other Mutants can use Alex, who has yet to manifest any powers, to manipulate her.

 

So, Laura forges a desperate plan. She consigns her son to her siblings’ care. Will Revelation abide by Laura’s decision? And will her glorious leader discover Laura killed Hellion to keep him from blackmailing her? Let’s leap into Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #2 and see!

 

Story

When Revelation next requests her presence, he tells Laura to bring Alex back. Furthermore, he doesn't want any Mutants to leave his territories. He is especially worried about Mutants fleeing to Arakko. He wants her to lead Vanisher and a contingent of guards to Helicarrierville and prevent them from leaving his territory. Revelation insists that he only wants the best for the Mutants. But he also warns Laura not to fail.

 

While Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #2 begins in Revelation’s compound, the bulk of the story occurs in Helicarrierville. Laura, Vanisher, and the guards arrive to prevent anyone from leaving via Sage’s teleportation gate. However, Gabby isn’t going to stand still for that. Erica Schultz packs her story with action as the Mutants attempt to leave and Laura tries to prevent them. But while the plot highlights the rivalry between the two sisters, the battle seems part of a larger contest between Revelation and Apocalypse.

 

This series began with Laura extolling the virtues of life in Revelation’s territory while attempting to help her child escape it. Yet amid this paradise Revelation has created, Gabby and Laura constantly fight. Their brother Akihiro tries to help the sisters get along. Yet when Laura tries to reunite her family in Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #2, Gabby and Akihiro try to keep her son under their care. As in a divorce, Alex becomes a casualty of a feuding family, with contesting adults fighting for the right to raise him. 

 

 

 

Art

Valentina Pinti opens with Laura approaching Revelation in his long, narrow throne room. While she wears her functional, one-piece outfit, Revelation drapes himself in robes that drag on the floor. Revelation may have hoped to unite the Mutants under his rule. But as he walks between pillars evoking Sentinel legs, he stands between Laura and her father. His words conjure a black-and-white memory of her with Zane and Alex. Regardless of how this happy image compares with the reality of her marriage, it contrasts with Laura’s relationships with Gabby and Wolverine.

 

After the yellow that dominated Revelation’s compound, Rachelle Rosenberg portrays the crowds outside Helicarrierville amid a hazy purple. As Sage addresses the would-be emigrants atop a green mound, the makeshift arch behind her looks composed of repurposed components. After Laura, Vanisher, and Revelation’s guards appear within a starburst of light blue energy, red lightning shoots from the arch. Rainbows melt in the red energy field. Sage’s yellow glasses form a link with Laura’s outfit as she strives to get her fellow mutant to see things her way in Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #2.

 

 

 

Cory Petit fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation, enlarge for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Laura shares her thoughts with yellow words in brown narrative boxes. Revelation makes a convincing argument with white letters in black balloons. Sound effects accompany internecine fighting, a non-football-related head injury, and the teleportation gate's activation. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy. 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Revelation's cause may be noble, he manipulates Laura, works Wolverine like a puppet, and hires Vanisher to enforce his will. Then again, Revelation ordered his wife's death for acting against him. Life may be the paradise many Mutants yearned for. But Revelation’s need to control everything dooms relationships in Kinney: Sabretooth #2.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Binary #2 Review

 

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Giada Belviso

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Rickie Yagawa; Corin Howell & Rachelle Rosenberg; Jacopo Camagni; Junggeun Yoon

Designer: Jay Bowen

Editors: Lindsey Cohick, Annalise Bissa, Tom Brevoort & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 5, 2025

 

Carol Danvers is hurting. She accepted the Phoenix Force ten years ago. Yet in the past year, she has suffered from increasing headaches. Along with the people she protects, frustration has begun to overtake her. Like the characters in Stephen King's novel, the inhabitants of Beverly, Massachusetts, live under the dome. And after a decade of lockdown, Carol's protection feels like imprisonment. How will the townspeople express their frustrations this time? And how will their actions change Carol Danvers' life? Let's slip on some shades, leap into Binary #2, and see!

 

Story

When Doug Ramsey unleashed the X-virus, Jean Grey knew how dangerous it was. She feared not only what it would do to our planet but that the virus might spread to other worlds. Carol Danvers tried to talk her out of it, but Jean had to try. As in Robert Charles Wilson's novel Spin, Jean Grey attempted to enclose Earth in a protective barrier. When the effort proved too much for Jean, Carol was with her. She accepted the Phoenix Force and vowed to live with it.

 

In Binary #2, Carol suffers from an inferiority complex. Distraught over Jean's death and burdened with unwanted power, she retreated to her hometown. Erecting a barrier to protect the people in her community from the X-virus came naturally. But once Carol erected the barrier, she couldn't leave. Trapped in a prison of her own making and expending energy to keep the virus out, Carol couldn't learn to wield the Phoenix Force like Jean. So, she feels like a failure. Worse, she broke her promise to Jean to protect the rest of the Universe from the X-virus.

 

After beginning her story shortly after Doug Ramsey unleashed the X-virus, Stephanie Phillips fast forwards to the days following the troubled town hall meeting. Just as Hank stirred up the audience, he called people to his home. He shows them the explosives that they will use to blow up the Beverly town hall at the beginning of Binary #1. But neither he, his followers, nor Carol expect what happens next.

 

 

 

Art

Jean kneels and supports her weary body with her hands inside her barrier. While her hair flutters with the Phoenix Fire, Captain Marvel keeps her long blonde hair bound in a braid. Fracture lines race across Jean's face as Carol pounds on the barrier. When hands reach toward each other to touch the barrier, Jean and Carol form two dark beings at the heart of a white hole star in Binary #2.

 

Carol Danvers burns orange, yellow, and white as she hovers over the street. A Babel pushes herself up and kneels while supporting herself with her hands. But when she looks up, her features evoke Carol’s anger. And instead of submitting like Jean, she lashes out with her fists like Captain Marvel pounding on the barrier. So, Carol encloses her in a pink ball of energy, evoking the shield Jean placed around the Earth.

 

 

 

 

Like the clothes of the Babel she captures, Carol takes refuge in a green room. Giada Belviso shows how the community space has fallen into disrepair. Broken window blinds in a private residence are another reminder that the lockdown is unsustainable. As Rachelle Rosenberg shows the yellow sunlight streaming into the room, the light mimics a cosmos. The glowing stars illuminate Hank as he preaches. One of his followers, clad in a red jacket, best expresses their resolve in Binary #2.

 

Carol Danver's white uppercase thoughts also appear in red boxes. Travis Lanham places bold black time/space markers in white boxes bordered with yellow. Black uppercase dialogue inhabits white balloons and narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for intonation. Anger swells words and deforms balloons. Sound effects help us hear Carol's efforts to rescue her friend and a Phoenix scream. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy. 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Carol Danvers has done her best. But it doesn't feel like it's enough. Her efforts are a drop in a bucket compared with what she promised Jean Grey she would do. But while Carol acts out of compassion for the townspeople and the Babels, another woman exploits Carol’s self-doubt and guilt to expand her power base in Binary #2.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

 

To see how this series started, see my review of Binary #1. 

Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #1 Review

 

Writer: Erica Schultz

Artist: Valentina Pinti

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Elena Casagrande & Edgar Delgado; Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding & Alex Sinclair; Anand Ramcheron; Nogi San; Pablo Villalobos; Rickie Yagawa & Tamra Bonvillain

Designer: Jay Bowen

Editors: Cy Pedro Beltran, Mark Basso, Tom Brevoort & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 8, 2025

 

People have maligned, segregated, attacked, and hunted Mutants. Orchis tried to wipe them out entirely. One man fights on their behalf. His name is Revelation. Laura Kinney stands with him because she believes he won't let them down. So when the government sends superpowered people to assassinate him—villains who don't care about collateral damage—she kills them instead.

 

Laura won't stop fighting for Revelation. Whatever lay in the past, he has gifted the Mutants a paradise free from persecution. Yet no place can ever be perfect. Does anything worry Laura about her life in the Revelation Territories? And who does she have to share it with? Let’s leap into Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #1 and see!

 

Story

No matter how many times she tells herself she is safe, Laura Kinney knows she isn’t. She lost the man she loved. And she knows she can lose everything again. So when Laura learns that Gabby and Akihiro are planning to leave the Revelation Territories, she requests a meetup. Before he died, Zane gave her a son. Laura couldn't protect Zane. But she can remove Alex from the danger that encircles her leader.

 

In Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #1, Laura has adopted her late husband's moniker. She serves Revelation as a Seraph. Once again, she acts as a living weapon for others. But at least she fights for a cause she believes in and protects someone who keeps all Mutants safe. Yet life in Revelation’s Inner Circle seems more dangerous than idyllic. And although she asserts that Revelation protects the Mutants who disagree with him, she believes Gabby, Akihiro, and their friends are safer outside his Territories than in. 

 

 

 

Erica Schultz’s story targets idealists with a cause. It reminds us of the costs of raising banners and shouting rallying cries. After the Gene Bomb detonated, Laura had to make a choice. When people started dying or mutating, they once again blamed the Mutants for their troubles. So, Laura swore her allegiance to Doug Ramsey over the government that had let people malign, segregate, attack, and hunt down her kind.

 

Perhaps Zane was part of that choice. But her husband is gone. While Gabby has Akihiro, Sage, and others, Laura only has Alex. So, she calls on her family one last time. Whatever the future brings, she doesn't want her son to pay for her decisions in Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #1.

 

 

 

Art

Valentina Pinti portrays the Mutants’ freedom as they relax together in an illuminated riverside patio. Silhouettes climb the distant bridge and sneak past a guard patrolling the barriers blocking every lane. Gabby and Akihiro reach the abandoned shipyard first. Then Laura strides beneath the brick and wrought iron arbor, while her son crouches behind a box outside.

 

 

 

Rachelle Rosenberg contrasts the purple sky with the green ground. Like the plants that burst through pavement and crack walls, scars line Gabby's tanned face. Orange and red fill the background as she vents her anger, matching what occurs when Akihiro loses his composure. Alex’s blonde hair links him with his mother’s yellow-and-brown outfit. But it also links him with Revelation. Laura’s white, yellow, and gold leader glows amid the verdant plant life in his yellow-and green palace. Yet, like her and Wolverine, their dialogue radiates little warmth in Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #1.

 

Cory Petit fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation, enlarge for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Laura shares her thoughts with yellow words in brown narrative boxes. Psychic communication appears in puffy clouds, while sniffs and snikts fill an evening when everything seems up in the air. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy. 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Families are difficult. Still, they’re supposed to keep you safe. Laura’s life has been an endless struggle. So, when she found someone to share it with in the safest place she could find, she took it. But Laura is paying for that now. Zane is dead. Gabby hates her. Logan is a stranger. Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #1 is all about family, and how the best decisions can return to haunt us.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Spider-Girl #5 Review

 

Writer: Torunn Grønbekk

Artists: André Risso & Diógenes Neves

Colorist: Java Tartaglia

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Designer: Stacie Zucker

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Cover Artists: David Nakayama; Meghan Hetrick; Javier Garrón & Jesus Aburtov; Corin Howell & Rachelle Rosenberg

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 22, 2025

 

Dr Tramma has been grooming Hijack to be her tool. But instead of helping her control vehicles, the mutant smashes and breaks things. She needs Hijack to infiltrate Rand Enterprises and abduct a war machine. Or maybe she doesn't. If Hijack refuses to play along, Maka Akana’s ability to replicate other people’s abilities makes the young Hawaiian a potential substitute.

 

When Dr Tramma mentions her alternative strategy, Hijack fears it will break Maka’s mind. Rather than subject his fellow mutant to Dr Tramma’s torture, Hijack submits to her dominance. The Technopath helps her steal an advanced drone that the US government entrusted to Dr Maira Osmani-Milton's care. Can Maka protect New Yorkers and recover the stolen drone? Or will Dr Tramma follow Tombstone’s advice and use the war machine to crush Maka? Let’s thwick into Spider-Girl #5 and see, Brah!

 

Story

Meeting Spider-Man proves a heady experience. But Maka doesn’t have time to enjoy it, with the remote-control flying tank careening over New York City. And while Dr Tramma learns how to pilot it, the war machine smashes into buildings after Maka and Spider-Man webbed its cameras. Spider-Man wants to take the lead in their impromptu partnership, but Maka has a connection with Hijack.

 

In Spider-Girl #5, Maka is far from one hundred percent. She feels like a sponge that someone wrung out, stepped on, and set on fire. Maka woke up with the room spinning. She had to bow out of practice at Red Snow Dojo. Still, she’s giving it her best. Maka may be a similar age to Spider-Boy. Still, she survived her encounter with Paper Doll. So, Spider-Man doesn’t argue when Spider-Girl leaves him to help civilians.

 

Torunn Grønbekk’s story reveals how Tombstone is gearing up to ensure mastery of New York. It also shows Dr Tramma's mercilessness. But at its heart, Spider-Girl #5 is about Maka's growth as a superhero. She is young and still learning about her capabilities. Maka may not have made the best start. Still, Maka realizes that being a hero means helping. And that means putting your life on the line, even against overwhelming odds, to rescue the endangered and protect bystanders from harm.

 

 

 

Art

André Risso and Diógenes Neves show birds winging through the sky as Spider-Man and Spider-Girl thwip and thwick the swooping drone. While it crashes onto a rooftop and fires its cannons, Hijack pleads for help via the sketchpad of Maka's mind. Spider-Man may liken the drone to a flying tank. Still, the drone proves far more maneuverable as Maka leaps aboard it like the Lone Ranger and uses her webbing for reins. The previous night, Maka couldn’t sleep unless her mother held her. Now, the drone proves as unruly as stampeding horses as it races toward a girl clutching a teddy bear. 

 

 

 

Java Tartaglia lavishes a loaded palette on Spider-Girl #5. Yellow, orange, and gold show the drone’s firepower and its crazed flight above the city. The colors surround those in the most desperate need of rescue. Like the energy surrounding Hijack, the girl clutching the teddy bear wears gold attire. A narrow strand of white barely separates two sketch pages of Hijack and Dr Tramma that Maka’s spider-sense thwicks together. This time, when Spider-Girl sees things through Hijack's mind, she glimpses a world tinged with Dr Tramma's green instead of Hijack's yellow and orange.

 

 

 

As Maka workshops spider-team names, Joe Caramagna shares her thoughts with red uppercase letters in white narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for intonation and swell for raised voices. While Tombstone speaks small font into cloudy balloons, giant red letters link victims with their prospective rescuers. As yellow sound effects enhance explosions, cries for help appear as yellow words. Yet when Maka’s brown pigtails overlay her spider-sense, the pain-filled pleas also turn brown. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Spider-Girl started as Bullseye's sidekick. When she decided to switch sides, Lady Bullseye warned her that the hero's life was a hard one. In Spider-Girl #5, Maka Akana learns that there are people who can help her become the person she wants to be if she is certain that's the life she wants.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Marvel Zombies: Red Band #2 Review

 

Writers: Ethan S Parker & Griffin Sheridan

Artist: Jan Bazaldua

Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg; Scott Koblish & Val Staples; Scott Hepburn & Yen Nítro; Adam Warren & Lee Duhíg

Design: Sarah Spadaccini

Editors: Emerald Bensadoun, Jordan D White & EB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: October 22, 2025

 

Peter Parker anticipated making his spectacular debut on the Ed Sullivan show. Instead, he suffered a panic attack when zombies invaded a hospital. The Frightful Four created the zombies when they returned from space in their stolen NASA rocket. Iron Man, snooping on the Teen Brigade's radio frequency, heard Rick Jones hail Hulk. While Donald Blake will never tap his cane again, Daredevil wonders if zombies can reclaim their Humanity.

 

The only one who can deter the zombies is Hulk. He alone has confronted the walking dead before. Can Hulk, Spider-Man, and the newly christened Defenders defeat the zombie horde? Or will TVA agents erase everyone from existence to preserve the sacred timeline? Let's thwip into Marvel Zombies: Red Band #2 and see.

 

Story

Jean Grey never belonged anywhere until she joined Professor Xavier's school for mutants. Despite his assurances, Jean worried about destroying his school and killing her fellow students while she dreamed. Like any anxious soul spending their first night in a new place, Jean's fears conjured a nightmare. But when Scott attacked her, and she had to kill him in self-defense, Jean realized that his attack was no dream.

 

As Marvel Zombies: Red Band #2 introduces Jean Grey and Jessica Jones, it also looks in on Peter Parker. Jean and Jessica fight a losing battle to save people from the undead. Yet, the dwindling survivors hail Spider-Man for delivering them from the zombies. Even though society has fallen, and he no longer has a family to protect, Peter shies away from revealing his identity. Still, he becomes a leader to Jean Grey and Jessica Jones.

 

 

 

Most Humans who become zombies swiftly lose their self-awareness. Reed Richards clings to his sanity in Ethan S Parker and Griffin Sheridan’s story. Mr Frightful knows he has changed. Still, he yearns to share what he learned in space with the brightest minds on Earth. Instead, Reed Richards must fight to prevent the ever-growing horde of the undead from turning on each other.

 

Like many of New York’s heroes and villains, Reed Richards falls into another being's trap in Marvel Zombies: Red Band #2. Now, on a patchwork planet, the man who loves science leads his undead warriors against Earth's mightiest heroes. Reed knows he doesn't have much time left. He may not survive Battleworld. But if he wins, the Beyonder has promised to reward the victors with anything they desire. Perhaps, the Beyonder can even help the Frightful Four regain their Humanity and turn their cursed voyage into a blessing for Earth.

 

 

 

Art

Lights glow in Professor Xavier's mansion as he clasps Jean’s arm and assures his new student that she is safe in his care. But when Jean awakens, her bed has moved to a mutant Deadite cemetery. After the pristine architecture of Xavier’s mansion, Jean wavers between mercy and vengeance among the backstreets and alleys of New York City. Yet she walks through blood and body parts, just as she did when she left Xavier’s school for mutants.

 

While Erick Arciniega lavishes a loaded palette on Marvel Zombies: Red Band #2, Jean’s red hair binds her to Spider-Man’s suit. As she accepts Jessica Jones’ friendship, Jessica’s purple hair links her with the zombies. Yet when they trade the red sky above the glowing yellow and orange buildings for another’s domain, Jessica’s purple hair links her with the planet-filled sky above Battleworld. Jan Bazaldua portrays the fighting on a two-page arcing layout, with the final panel evoking Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. 

 

 

 

Travis Lanham fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation, swell for intonation, and shrink for lowered voices. Zombies argue with larger dialogue in cloudy balloons. The narrator speaks into torn yellow boxes. Iron Man’s words fill yellow hexagons with red borders. Sound effects help readers hear the zombies tear through the ground, shriek, and feed. Yet whatever happens, Jean Grey seems destined to hear undead jaws snapping for her throat every time she closes her eyes. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

As Humanity’s numbers dwindle, a portal appears in Central Park. Those who enter find themselves on Planet Undead Hulk. Avengers battle Frightful Enforcers for the ultimate prize. But while most of the “heroes” fight to reclaim the past, one pursues a lifelong goal in Marvel Zombies: Red Band #2.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Binary #1 Review

 

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Giada Belviso

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Rickie Yagawa; David Nakayama; Francesco Mobili & Moreno Dinisio; Iván Talavera; Jeremy Wilson

Designer: Jay Bowen

Editors: Lindsey Cohick, Annalise Bissa, Tom Brevoort & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 8, 2025

 

In Beverly Massachusetts, Hank and Cecelia are mounting an insurrection. Like Kraglin, Cecelia dislikes turning mutineer. But Hank insists it is time. Carol Danvers has given them no choice. Even if Carol dies, it's a small price to pay to regain their freedom. Why have Hank and Cecelia embraced terrorism? And how does life in their town differ from that in the rest of the Revelation Territories? Let's slip on some shades, leap into Binary #1, and see!

 

Story

In Amazing X-Men #1, Magneto and the X-Men have transported Scott Summers' consciousness through time. Not having lived through the preceding ten years, Scott wonders what happened to Jean Grey. Sadly, many have died since Revelation unleashed a mutative virus. Most of them were Humans lacking Mutant DNA to activate. But since then, Mutants have arisen against Revelation's rule. Doug Ramsey, aka Revelation, strips dissenters of their ability to communicate. Those who take up arms against him face harsher penalties.

 

Like some of the renegade X-Men who abducted Cyclops and Beast's consciousnesses in a desperate act to bolster their revolution, Jean Grey has also died. In Stephanie Phillips' story, the Phoenix Force passed into Carol Danvers. When the mutative virus began activating Mutants and shifting nature into overdrive, Carol used it to erect a barrier around her hometown and protect the inhabitants from the effects of the virus.

 

 

 

After Hank, Cecelia, and their friends launch their attack, Binary #1 winds the clock back to the days preceding the attack. The inhabitants of Beverly have gathered for a town hall meeting. But instead of discussing how they can improve living conditions in their town, they express their frustrations over the limitations. Hank is a leading voice in the chorus of discontent. But everyone yearns for a return to life before the lockdown.

 

While Binary #1 reveals why Hank has become an agitator, it’s easy to empathize with the townspeople’s frustration. Carol Danvers may not use her telepathy to control them like Revelation does his Angel of Death. Still, she regulates everything that comes into their town. The virus struck ten years ago. Yet the townspeople still live in a cage, unable to see the world outside, or experience anything that could rejuvenate them. And any time they do anything wrong, Carol can call upon the powers of the Phoenix to punish them for their infractions.

 

 

 

Art

Wires hang over the cracked streets and the houses in disrepair. Hank, Cecilia, and their comrades take cover behind a salvaged car. While Hank wears a trenchcoat, Cecelia sports an X symbol on each shoulder. All carry guns while awaiting the outcome of their initial attack. 

 

 

 

Giada Belviso shows the townspeople's frustration and outrage as they air their complaints in Binary #1. Carol’s long blonde hair, perhaps uncut since lockdown began, accentuates her sharp features. Standing next to the mayor, Carol frowns and remonstrates clad in blue, black, and red. The townspeople may have elected Abi. Still, she stands beside Carol wearing green slacks and a jacket, and black boots and a tie. 

 

 

 

Rachelle Rosenberg imbues the town hall with a sickly green. The overhead lighting illuminates the speakers’ faces but often struggles to penetrate the madding crowd. When Carol Danvers grows angry, her hair turns bright yellow, and her body orange and white. Hovering above them, she turns the surrounding air orange, like Revelation exerting his will upon his subjects.

 

Travis Lanham places bold black time/space markers in gilt frames. Black uppercase dialogue inhabits white balloons and narrative boxes. Carol Danver’s thoughts appear as white uppercase letters in red boxes. The letters grow bold for intonation. Anger swells words and deforms balloons. Sound effects hail an illicit encounter, and Carol’s determination to protect her hometown. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy. 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Revelation’s mutative virus evokes stories from the Biblical book of Genesis, Carol Danvers faces a situation akin to Moses in the Book of Exodus. The townspeople of Beverly, Massachusetts may not be wandering in the desert. Still, they exist on the manna Carol gives them. Faced with little to excite them or enrich their lives, the people Carol Danvers shields from Revelation’s virus wonder if life might be better under his rule in Binary #1.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Battleworld #1 Review

 

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Marcus To

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr; Nick Bradshaw & Rachelle Rosenberg; Mark Bagley & Nolan Woodard; Iban Coello & Rachelle Rosenberg; James Kerigan; Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg; Rod Reis

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 24, 2025

 

Some readers may think that Hank Pym lives in a Victorian house in San Francisco. But Hank resides in a subatomic house and laboratory in New York. When his insect friends get more antsy than usual, Hank returns to Human size to discover that someone has combined people, buildings, and vehicles from different places and eras in New York.

 

Then Hank Pym hears a voice proclaim, "You hail from different timelines, but soon there will only be one." Who has subverted Hank's reality? And can Ant-Man survive in a world where Martian Tripods and Tyrannosaurus Rexes menace the puny Humans? Let’s armor up, leap into Battleworld #1, and see!

 

Story

The mysterious voice doesn't just explain what's happened to Hank's world. It also tells him that he must fight to justify his survival. Hank soon meets people he recognizes, but they are all changed. Spider-Man is a rookie wallcrawler. Carol Danvers goes by another title than Captain Marvel. Luke Cage is a streetwise '70s strongman. And then there's a younger version of his wife. Only Janet van Dyne mourns him in her reality.

 

While many other heroes feature in Battleworld #1, Hank Pym is our guide to this patchwork world. He also becomes a leader, as he draws upon his relationships with his colleagues. While some don't know each other or have never faced a Battleworld, Hank can share his experiences with them. But he knows how to reach them when they must decide between standing together or dividing and conquering.

 

 

 

Christos Gage pays homage to beloved creators, stories, and eras in Battleworld #1. The Spider-Scribe also sprinkles his story with humor, particularly when a character says something that will resonate with readers of Joe Kelly’s recent Amazing Spider-Man stories. The characters Hank Pym meets give him the capability to mentor young heroes and reform villains. His greatest challenge may be the person who ostensibly brought them all together. Hank Pym failed him in a significant way. Yet as this person attempts to set the universe right, he could do something for Hank that Hank couldn’t do for him.

 

 

 

Art

While Marcus To sews together glimpses of different eras and realities, he shows characters surrounding a patchwork planet on a two-page spread. Three panels establish the epic scope of this story, showing a zeppelin cruising over skyscrapers, a Martian Tripod raining down destruction, and a city threatened by glaciers and an active volcano.

 

Hank Pym greets other characters wearing a lab coat over his uniform in Battleworld #1. Luke Cage bears his chest and uses a ship's anchor chain to hold up his pants. Carol Danvers flies in bearing a lightning bolt on her chest, while Hank rests a hand on Spider-Man’s shoulder when the young webslinger rubs his head. But Hank turns away and cups his chin with his hand, when Janet rushes forward to embrace him.

 

 

 

While Rachelle Rosenberg lavishes a loaded palette on Battleworld #1, a streak of white energy threatens to knock Carol Danvers off the gameboard. Yellow links Luke, Janet, and Carol with a woman who could say “Flame on.” Pink and lavender link immense adversaries with one of the biggest threats in the Marvel Universe. Green binds a woman who seeks to preserve our world with someone who survived a world-ending event, and a villain who destroyed Janet’s. Despite conflicting views on heroism, red and blue bind two young protagonists together. Yet as super teams surround a figure glowing pink, an orange and yellow background suggests what creates great heroes.

 

 

 

Travis Lanham fills white balloons and boxes with black uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation and rarely shrink. Swelling words threaten to burst balloons, while giant instructions appear in puffy clouds. Red borders emphasize narrative boxes and showcase emotion and revelation in balloons. Sound effects accompany Omega-level threats and one protagonist who shoots first and asks questions later. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Eventually, everything ends. People die. Civilizations rise and fall. That's life. Cyttorak’s scion Cyra forced Peter Parker to face this depressing reality. The person issuing a challenge to contestants wants to circumvent this process of death and renewal. Yet while he seeks to construct a "master race," surprises await the contestants and the reader in Battleworld #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.