Iceman #3: Holding Out For a Hero..or Three

This issue could so easily have just been a corny 80’s joke, but thankfully despite the light and fluffy history of the line-up here Sina succeeded in laying some pretty solid groundwork. And I do also think that is part of the charm of it this issue, you couldn’t have these three team up and not have some nostalgic cheesy dialogue and bad punning. We haven’t seen them all together in action in continuity since 2005 and so this is like a breath of fresh air, especially after the recent trials Bobby has been through. And the nod to his parents reconciling on holiday too….aaaaah bless. And I have to say, I didn’t really like Carlos for Bobby as he was too keen on the superhero angle and not the person inside. Same goes for Dirk, Angelica can do better.
Amazing Angelica. Name dropping at it’s best right there, but I’m not so sold on the Mariah Carey quote from Bobby, it just seems a bit like trying too hard. You know, for someone only recently out of the closet and all, don’t fall and break your sense of humor Bobby. But then he has always been the ‘Qween of Quip’…see even I’m doing it now… which was part of why he was such an Amazing Friend, so we’ll give him a pass on that. We even got the ‘end of cartoon episode’ morality wrap up, with our heroes lamenting the problems of superhero dating as the dust settles.

And the art of Nathan Stockman delivers as before. Not only giving us another first date smooch but also showing he was so easily distracted, a clear indicator either he is a true consummate professional, or he wasn’t really into it…my money is on the latter. Followed on by some very capable shots that lent themselves perfectly to the atmosphere of the street scenery and general air of relaxation and then just as suddenly the full on fighting in the streets. Like the off the cuff dad jokes it was light and uncomplicated and gave us the fun as well as full on action, very in keeping with the atmosphere. And partnered with the colors of Federico Blee, which are bold and perfect for the story as well, giving the relaxed precursor feel to the Streetcart Named Desire Festival scene before the chaos kicks off. From Spidey’s full page arrival to the scene and moving swiftly to the team up we know the fun is about to start.
All topped off with another eye popping cover from W. Scott Forbes, giving us the Spectacular, Uncanny and Sizzling hot all in one shot, the team-up we’ve all been waiting for. After having Emma last issue I did worry that this could be coming off as reunion fluffiness and we would be getting Bobby’s ‘Guest Star of the Month’ every issue, which would hugely detract from any character building and plot if it has to rely on prior associations without progressing the narrative forward. I couldn’t have been more wrong though. The underlying Morlock plot and the build up of Sinister’s machinations was all so suitably Machiavellian and you can almost hear his menacing laugh in the background, even if we didn’t see him in person this issue.
And speaking of guest appearances, a redhead joke with mention of Phoenix AND a sneaky little Ms Lyon appearance, we all caught that one right? Nice little nods there. And I was so pleased to see the inclusion of the Morlocks and their dilemma carrying on from the start of this series as well, which for me has been greatly missed since the days of the leadership of Callisto and Mikhail, as we haven’t seen much of them in a few years now. But then mass extermination will do that to a group of underground dwellers I suppose, so it is good to have them back and a part of the mutant world as they were always a great reminder that not all mutants can have so much of a public profile and it speaks of the levels of acceptance in the larger world. They also make a statement about the real world and the plight of the conveniently forgotten homeless in the so called progressive world today. I only hope their inclusion will continue past this arc and have them recognised as a part of the wider context of Marvel once again.