Marvel Now rankings, part 6: 18-16

The sixth Marvel Now Rankings installment, which moves through No. 18 to 16.

This part will delve into books that involve three of the biggest names in Marvel Comics, each with a twist.

18. Thor (2014): Written by Jason Aaron with art by Russell Dauterman

This book picks up right after Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder book that was ranked at number 25 on these rankings. Although now the previous Thor has lost his ability to pick up his hammer, Mjolnir, and someone else has picked up the hammer in his stead, but nobody knows who it is or why a woman has become Thor.

I did like that this new Thor was dealing with the same problems of that the previous Thor was dealing with. The downside of this is that the story did not improve much from before and it could become wordy and boring at times. The art was fantastic and even when I wasn’t interested in the story I still wanted to read the book to be able to look at Dauterman’s stunning visuals.

I would recommend this to any fan of Thor, the male or female versions, because this is the start of Thor’s jump in popularity thanks to the media coverage on Thor’s identity change and leads to the most consistent runs any writer has ever had with Thor.

Image by Marvel Comics

17. Spider-Man 2099: Written by Peter David with art by Simone Bianchi

Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of the year 2099 has to travel back in time in order to stop the evil company Alchemy from being founded years before it was supposed too, leading to an even worse future than he is used to.

I did not expect to like this book, as I had tried to read the original Spider-Man 2099 story but it did not keep my attention for more than an issue. This new book makes Miguel’s story interesting and impact to the regular universe. Trapping him in the present and having him deal with the same problems that the Amazing Spider-Man might deal with. Miguel’s interactions with the Superior Spider-Man also adds an interesting layer on top of Miguel’s own problems.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the Marvel 2099 universe but doesn’t want to read books from the 1990s.

Image by Marvel Comics

16. Captain America: By Rick Remender with art by John Romita Jr.

This run on Captain America sees Steve trapped in an alternate Dimension by Arnim Zola. He raises a child for over a decade, naming him Ian, until he is transferred back into the regular Marvel Universe with only days having gone by. The next story goes into the aftermath of these events and ends with Steve having his super soldier serum taken out of his body and having him becoming an old man, requiring him to pass on the mantle of Captain America.

I really liked the dynamic between Steve and Ian, forming a very close father and son relationship. Sadly once Steve got back to the real Marvel Universe the story seemed to lose focus and became convoluted. I’m also confused about why he becomes an old man without the serum. Shouldn’t he just age regularly afterward, and wasn’t he frozen in an iceberg for decades, which shouldn’t count towards his aging, since the serum wasn’t the reason he wasn’t aging for that time.

I would highly recommend this book to any Captain America fan, as it shows a new side to Steve, never seen before.

The next part will cover books 15 through 13 which will involve a search for someone’s parents, a multiversal web swinging epic, and an Avengers world.