December ended the month strong with Marvel bringing the end of their Infinity Wars and X-Men: Extermination events. On the other end DC Comics delivered a major turning point in their maxi-series Doomsday Clock. Other comics such as Justice League, Avengers, X-Men: Red and more also delivered some very intriguing moments that could set the table for 2019. Let’s take a look at all the best moments from December 2018.
ADVENTURES OF THE SUPER SONS #5
It’s not a good to learn about your future as the Super Sons learn. The look into the ideal future that Superboy and Robin picture for themselves brings some surprises for the young Super Sons.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #11
Peter Parker’s life was shattered early on in Nick Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man as the Superior Spider-Man era continues to leave an impact on his life. But while that impact is still being felt it is good to see Robbie Robertson is able to still maintain his friendship/father-figure role with Peter.
AVENGERS #11
Black Panther creating a superhero roundtable made up of heroes from other nations is an interesting direction to take the Avengers in. It does use the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes title in a new way as now we can see how the Avengers influence reaches the countries around the world.
BATMAN #60
Bane has caused a lot of damage to Batman’s life in and out of the cowl. The latest victim coming from Bane’s plan is the destruction of Batman and Commissioner Gordon’s long-standing partnership. Now with the GCPD no longer using the Bat-signal Batman will be even more on a island than he was before.
CATWOMAN #6
Joelle Jones artwork on Catwoman continues to be stunning. This whole sequence showing Catwoman in action is an absolutely phenomenal way to showcase Catwoman’s fighting style.
DETECTIVE COMICS #994
Gotta give Batman credit in how he is able to control his emotions while conducting his investigations, even in a situation when someone made a dead couple look exactly like his parents.
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #8
It’s easy to forget that Firestorm is one of the strongest characters in the DC Universe. This out-of-control use of his powers is a reminder of this as he has never reached his full potential.
EXTERMINATION #5
Cyclops return is not a secret that Marvel has been keeping. We already know that Cyclops will be re-appearing in Uncanny X-Men at the start of 2019. With that said, it was a bit unexpected that he would return at the end of Extermination since I thought it would be saved for Uncanny X-Men.
GREEN ARROW #47
This was a talk that Green Arrow and Black Canary needed to have to move their relationship forward. This emphasized how they are each others rock even in the hardest of times.
INFINITY WARS #6
Adam Warlock stole the show in Infinity Wars conclusion, something that wasn’t tough to do honestly. Still, this major spotlight hopefully means big things in the near future for Adam Warlock in the Marvel Universe
JUSTICE LEAGUE #13
If there is one thing no one should ever do is piss off Joker. Batman has learned that the hard way many times. Now Lex Luthor has learned that lesson in a brutal way as well
JUSTICE LEAGUE #14
Interesting to see Shayera Hol be brought back into the fold as Kendra Saunders is the current Hawkgirl. This is another development in cleaning up the Hawkman and Hawkwoman history that has long been needed.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1
Due to his background Martian Manhunter has at times come across as a bigger asshole than Batman. But it has never been to the extreme shown here as it was thought that J’onn was a good guy before his people were killed off. Seeing him in this light is very surprising indeed.
MR. & MRS. X #6
With how things have gone for the X-Men lately it is nice to see that Rogue and Gambit were able to gather everyone to have a nice, fun night at their place. It is exactly what the team needs more of though they likely won’t get much of with how things are going right now for them.
SHAZAM! #1
When you mess with one member of the Shazam Family you mess with them all. The DC Universe will learn that once again as the Shazam Family is back in full force.
THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL #5
It looks like Marvel has quietly retcon away the previously iconic black and yellow Ms. Marvel costume. As well remembered that the costume is by fans it does not look to fit in line with the history Marvel wants for Carol Danvers in her Captain Marvel backstory.
TITANS #31
Donna Troy becoming the leader of the Titans is something that both the she and the team needed, especially with Dick Grayson out of commission. Batman giving his seal of approval helps give Donna more credibility as he shows his appreciation for Donna standing up to him.
WEST COAST AVENGERS #5
As bad as this looks this is not anywhere close to how bad the freeway gets in Los Angeles. Try driving to Dodger Stadium during rush hour of the World Series or a Lakers NBA Finals Game. Then we’ll talk.
WONDER WOMAN #60
Wonder Woman’s lasso is going through a Super Saiyan 2-type power up here. Which is needed when going up against Ares.
X-MEN: RED #11
This was a much more effective speech from Jean Grey than the one she made to the UN. Simply adding in the Avengers to the scene helps immensely. It gets across that mutants aren’t to be considered as outcasts that should be placed in their own island. They are people too and we must work together to create a better world for everyone, whether human, mutant, Inhuman or other form of superhuman.
X-MEN: THE EXTERMINATED #1
This is by far the best character development that Deadpool has received in a very long time. It’s a great payoff to the relationship that was built up by Cable and Deadpool during the course of their well-regarded team-up series.