A-Next #3

Down 'n' Dirty With the Defenders

Doctor Strange has found out information that shows the fate of the world is at stake due to the research of Doctor Jennifer Bissette. The new mystic supreme, Doc Magus, astral projects into Strange's workshop and tells him to watch his business. Strange banishes him from the room. Magus confers with his friend Deacon, who suggests that if Strange is organizing a group then Magus should get the new Avengers. Strange is then shown tracking down the Sub-Mariner, Namor, who has secluded due to the destruction of his kingdom by Doctor Doom. At the Avengers mansion, Edwin Jarvis is showing around a new technician, Shannon Carter, when Magus pops in and requests the assistance of the Avengers. Strange is then shown finding Bruce Banner in Colorado where he has kept the Hulk at bay and has started a new life, including having a son. Strange uses a spell to bring out the Hulk and put him under Strange's control.

The Avengers all are assembled at the mansion when Jarvis makes a startling revelation that Scott Lang, Cassandra's father, would be joining the group as head technician. Before Cassandra can protest too much, Mainframe draws everyones attention to Doc Magus' problem. Magus and Strange both tell there respective teams that Dr. Bissette's research deals with harnessing the power of the Earth's core. This would eventually lead to catastrophic shifting of the Earth's mantle. The Avengers vow to stop the senseless death and try to find another way to stop her. They show up at the lab in Arizona just as Strange, Hulk, and Namor are about to lay siege. The two groups fight. J2 thinks he was able to take the Hulk down too easily after Stinger disoriented him, but the Hulk comes back and humbles J2. As Thunderstrike is about to confront Strange, Magus steps in and transports Strange with him to a temporary zone. Magus is able to subdue him there and uses the Eye of Agamotto to find out Strange's true intentions.

Back at the fight, Namor and Hulk tear Mainframe in two. Scared, J2 runs away while Thunderstrike assaults Namor, asking him is this the type person he wants to be. As J2 is running away, he is confronted by Mainframe, who reveals the other Mainframe was a robot. With renewed vigor, J2 takes on the Hulk again to get him away from Stinger. Namor stops the two from fighting then because he has seen his errors, saying he will be giving money to Bissette to safeguard the planet if Strange's prediction does come true. Back in the magic zone, Magus finds out Strange had orchestrated this to give the Avengers something to test on, to snap Namor out of his self-deprecating stupor, and Strange says that the Hulk has a destiny to fulfill. The issue ends with the Avengers congratulating themselves while their new assistant Shannon leaves to meet a mysterious group of people in her apartment.

This was a pretty good issue with an interesting story line. I know little about Strange, but what I did see of Doc Magus, I enjoyed and hope he will pop in again. We see a little bit about J2 still being young, since he becomes easily frightened when they think Mainframe is dead. The addition of Scott is interesting, as is Shannon, since she is trying to do something sneaky.

Score: 3 / 5

Doktor Sleepless 2

Tesla Boy Gangsta
Written by Warren Ellis

The first page of the comic seems to be a satirical look at possible future medical advancements ... or a way to keep check on people. At the Heavenside Police Department, Commissioner Stoker is worried about the new character Doktor Sleepless broadcasting on the airwaves, saying he is John Reinhardt. The reason he is worried is because Reinhardt is suppose to be locked up. We are next shown Sleepless dictating on the air waves about his trip to the Amazon. He was lead to believe he would be communing with a shaman, but actually the shaman is as well off technologically then just about anyone else. Even though he berates Reinhardt, he agrees to hear him out when Reinhardt says he wants to change his mind, since it isn't big enough. Sing is at the bookstore with her boyfriend talking about how she fears it might be Reinhardt. She is worried he is still as crazy as he was when he left ten years previously. Sleepless is then shown talking to Nurse Igor about her agenda, which is still kept a secret. He then describes how he made the Shrieker Girls, a hivemind-like group of women who feel everything every other Shrieker Girl feels. He also reveals to Nurse Igor that he created Clatter, the IM eye communication enhancement, before being secretive about various H signs around Heavenside. At Saint Thomas, Commissioner Stroker and Mayor Mingozzi arrive to see for themselves that Reinhardt is indeed still in his cell, where he has been for the past three years. At a local club, Sleepless has a conversation with himself about his various "Reinhardts", including the one in the mental institution. He starts to remember something about his parents and what he saw one night. He commences to go ballistic and smashes the mirror. Nurse Igor comes in and hurries him out of the club, wanting no one to see him in a panicked state. Before he gets in his car, though, he and Sing make eye contact.

I am now starting to get the comic a bit more and I am certainly intrigued by what may or may not be going on. Reinhardt/Sleepless is a very mysterious character and I find very interesting, especially since I want to see what he is planning. How will Sing be connected? He has now seen her, so it will be interesting to see his reaction in the next issue, if he has one. The multiple Reinhardt angle is something else ... perhaps he is doing something like astral projection. Perhaps the man in cell 23 is a stand-in. Looking forward to where this may be going.

Score: 3 / 5