Quick hits: "Astonishing X-Men," "Civil War"

A couple of eagerly awaited Marvel titles arrived this week.

“Civil War” No. 5 didn’t have quite the shocking revelations of past issues, but was still pretty strong. While the heroes of the pro-registration side, headed by Iron Man, are still coming off as the bad guys, there’s plenty of blame to hand around on both sides. If Captain America came off his high horse, for example, he might see superhero registration as a preferable alternative to what Iron Man claims was the only other option: the government banning superheroics all together.

I also enjoyed “Astonishing X-Men” No. 18. although the supposed “jaw-dropping conclusion” to the story arc featuring Emma’s betrayal didn’t really reach a conclusion, as far as I could tell. The best part: the new kick-ass Cyclops, who despite not being able to access his powers seems more in command than ever before. Check out Cyclops’ seemingly casual gunning down of members of the Hellfire Club - though, if I understand the story correctly, I guess those villains weren’t actually there anyway.