July was a big month in the world of comic books. Both Marvel and DC Comics had their big blockbuster events in A.X.E.: Judgment Day and Dark Crisis, respectively, going on. Along with those big events we had several new comic book runs and series starting up for Batman and Daredevil. With so much going on there were a lot of great comic book moments to get further excited to read what else is to come in the coming months. Find out what made my Top 10 Comic Book Moments for July by scrolling down.
ARTEMIS: WANTED #1
Artemis: Wanted did a great job picking up where Trial Of The Amazons left of. Specifically we saw the status quo of Artemis, Donna Troy, and Cassie Sandsmark address within the Wonder Woman franchise. It was how Donna Troy’s status in particular that stood out most. Donna is a character that has constantly gotten lost in the shuffle. DC Comics never seems to know what to do with her as Donna reached her height when she served the Harbinger role in Infinite Crisis. Even before that she wasn’t used very often and this was all decades ago. Which makes this moment such a standout. It comes across as a reset for Donna as her character within the Wonder Woman franchise is clearly defined. Now it will just be about future Wonder Woman creative teams to pick up on this to make it meaningful in the long-run.
A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY #1
If you ever hear someone question the Krakoa Era for the X-Men and why they keep so many things to themselves you can point to these two pages from A.X.E.: Judgment Day #1. The celebration people have when Druig announces that the Eternals are going to completely annihilate the mutant population is a physical representation of why Krakoa was created. Even if we haven’t seen this exact type of celebration happen before we’ve seen how constantly on their own mutants have been throughout Marvel’s history and targeted to the point of extermination. And it says a lot that people don’t realize they are celebrating an announcement from Druig and the Eternals that see themselves as Gods who are allowed to judge who lives and dies without repercussion. The hypocrisy is so real that you can’t help but laugh.
BATMAN #125
The Penguin being able to lead Batman along to the point that it appears that the Dark Knight is responsible for his death may be Penguin’s greatest plan to date. The snobby way Penguin executes his plan by making sure Batman would react to his suicide in a way that as soon as the nurses burst in would believe Batman actually killed him was masterful. Making this moment even more effective was the surprised look on Batman’s face in the final panel when the nurses see him standing over Penguin’s body.
DAREDEVIL #1
Leave it to Stick that even when he is defeated in combat that he’ll still deliver snarky comments to Elektra Natchios. Elektra refraining from delivering a blow that would actually injure Stick made their fight even more impressive. Its also notable that while Elektra will continue to operate as Daredevil that she not letting the mantle define her. Just as she has always done, Elektra will be doing things the way she sees they be best accomplish what her goals with leading The Fist alongside Matt Murdock are. Delivering the final comments while not wearing her Daredevil mask exemplified that.
DARK CRISIS #2
If Dark Crisis does nothing else I will still call it a successful big event for giving us the showdown between Nightwing and Deathstroke that has been decades in the making. Jokes aside, Nightwing vs Deathstroke is a fight that we’ve been promised for a long time. Their rivalry has always been one filled with potential for a great story to be told after Deathstroke led villains in the destruction of Bludhaven and Nightwing opened Rose Wilson’s eyes to how terrible her father is and lead her to become a hero Slade did not want her to be. Seeing them hold nothing back in this fight with the burning Titans Tower acting as their backdrop was great to see. Nightwing actually winning this fight and forcing Deathstroke to play his trump card showed how far the Titans leader has come.
GODZILLA VS MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #4
King Ghidorah towering over both Godzilla and the Dino Megazord is a fantastic way to introduce the massive Kaiju to this series. The entire presentation puts over how King Ghidorah is the ultimate Kaiju that you genuinely fear for both Godzilla and the Power Rangers being able to make it out of this alive. The Power Rangers pure shock and terror coming through their helmet visors added so much to this moment. This all took Godzilla vs Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to the next level as a big event.
IMMORTAL X-MEN #4
The best character monologues come from a place that is filled with truth. That is exactly what happens here with Emma Frost reminding the selfish ambassador who tried to call out the mutant resurrection protocols. Bringing up all the times humans have tried to exterminate mutants from ever existing further drove home Emma Frost point why her first priority are mutants, who she sees as all being her children.
MIGHTY MORPHIN #21
While Shattered Grid changed everything about what to expect from BOOM! Studios Power Rangers comics I was still surprised by Ransik, Trakeena, Sledge, Black Lion Warrior Dai Shi, and Santaura the Void Queen appear in Mighty Morphin. There appearance likely won’t be the actual versions that appear in future Power Rangers season. Even if that does turn out to be the case their appearance in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Era further pushes things towards how anything can happen in the BOOM! Studios Power Ranger Universe. Given everything that has happened thus far it wouldn’t be surprising if the war with Dark Specter happens years earlier than it was shown in the TV show.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #131
The mystic arts isn’t new to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles world. We’ve seen many characters, including Shredder and Splinter, being able to use mystic arts to various degrees. Learning how to use and master the mystic arts being what is coming next for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themselves is a great step forward. Oroku Saki being their mystic arts teacher adds a whole other level to this next step for Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Jennika.
X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA #1
You would think that if there was one person that new to never get on Emma Frost bad side it was Scott Summers. But we see with Jean Grey’s help Scott does just that in order to get a dance so he can talk with Emma. Making this moment standout so much was Sean Cassidy knowing that Scott was getting roasted telepathically just by the look Emma had on her face. It was all so well done.