Charts – 14 February 2025
Apparently we’re paying attention to the Superbowl half time show now, are we?
Four weeks. The logjammed top five which we’ve had of late is finally broken as a result of most of the tracks involved being hit by the downweighting rule, which was to be expected. We’ll come to their replacements in a bit.
7. Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
This is his first top 10 hit; his previous best was number 23 for “Carry You Home”, which rebounds to 28 this week. It’s a heartfelt ballad built to a familiar template, but pretty well done if you like that sort of thing. His other previous hit, “Burning Down”, re-enters at number 34.
The X-Axis – w/c 10 February 2025
ASTONISHING X-MEN INFINITY COMIC #10. By Tim Seeley, Edoardo Audino, K J Díaz & Clayton Cowles. Well, there’s some nice art on this. And it’s got beyond the improbable “Captain America doesn’t seem to have noticed that Juggernaut is an X-Man now” stuff to a more plausible angle of Cap not having worked much with this guy and being a bit sceptical about him. It’s also pretty well designed to give them a problem that their powers aren’t particularly well designed to solve. But it’s still a fairly basic “fight then team up” story which isn’t really getting to grips with the more interesting bits about Black Tom. And… you know, I’ll be honest, this is not the time to give me stories about Captain America, old-school beacon of decency. That character is going to be the walking dead until someone comes up with a story that adjusts to 2025 (and persuades Disney to publish it, and good luck with that).
X-MEN #11. (Annotations here.) Corsair returns from outer space, and everyone assumes that he’s there to get the X-Men’s help in fending off space mercenaries. But it’s a (slightly contrived) misunderstanding as they’re actually after Cyclops. Um… fine, I guess? The team banter in the background works for me, and while the book seems to be trying for broadly the same interpretation of Corsair that crashed and burned in Phoenix, it’s done here with a bit more balance that makes it easier to square with his history. It helps, of course, that in this story the idea that he’s only out for himself is just misdirection. But it’s still ultimately “space baddies attack for some reason”, and I’m not sure there’s an issue’s worth of material in this chapter.
Deadpool / Wolverine #2 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
DEADPOOL / WOLVERINE #2
“Badlands”
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Joshua Cassara
Colour artist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Editor: Mark Basso
There isn’t much to say about this one, which isn’t a complaint. It’s just not that sort of book.
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE.
Deadpool. He remains mind controlled until page 20, when a blow to the head restores his normal personality, without any memory of how he got there.
Wolverine. Yet again, he tries to make an alliance with Maverick, though he’s openly sceptical that Maverick will actually stick to it.
Since the costume left for the mind-controlled Deadpool had another one next to it obviously designed for Wolverine, he and Maverick both make the reasonable assumption that Wolverine was supposed to be part of this plan as well. They have two theories as to why this hasn’t happened: that the buried trigger got removed in one of Wolverine’s Krakoan resurrections, or that Wolverine is being mind controlled, but in a much more subtle way. Either seems possible, though the Krakoan theory seems rather more likely.
Magik #2 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
MAGIK vol 3 #2
“Descent”
Writer: Ashley Allen
Artist: Germán Peralta
Colour artist: Arthur Hesli
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Editor: Darren Shan
MAGIK:
She insists that stopping Liminal’s demons from attacking mutants (to fuel his escape) is her mission, and that Cal is only tagging along – even though he seems to be making a useful contribution in deciphering his grandmother’s notes. Most likely, she just wants to keep him out of trouble; as in the previous issue, she clearly sees parallels with the way she was thrust into adulthood too early.
She teleports herself, Cal and Haruhi to the concert, for no very clear reason. Nobody seems to react to them appearing in the middle of the room, which might indicate that the crowd are under magical influence… but then again, she doesn’t seem to expect a reaction either. Haruhi feels sick after the teleport, but that could be because of the glimpse of Limbo she received (according to last issue’s explanation of how Illyana’s powers work).
Psylocke #4 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
PSYLOCKE vol 2 #4
“A Deadly Display”
Writer: Alyssa Wong
Artist: Moisés Hidalgo
Colour artist: Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Editor: Darren Shan
PSYLOCKE:
Haniver’s hallucinogenic dust seems surprisingly effective on her; perhaps because it’s not a true psychic attack, she’s slow to realise what’s happening, and her insistence that “this isn’t real” seems more like denial than actual recognition. Her hallucinations include herself as Revanche, an apparently dead baby crying for its mother (obviously referencing the loss of her own child in Fallen Angels) and a Betsy Braddock wearing the 90s Psylocke costume.
This “Psylocke” accuses Kwannon of failing to trust anyone – it’s interesting that Greycrow doesn’t come up in this exchange – and also draws our attention to the fact that if Kwannon is driven by the loss of her identity when she was bodyswapped with Betsy, it’s at least odd that she’s chosen to deal with that by taking the name “Psylocke” and joining the X-Men. Effectively, after getting her body and identity back, she’s made a conscious choice to take Betsy’s role, perhaps because she doesn’t have any better ideas.
X-Men #11 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
X-MEN vol 7 #11
“Live Capture”
Writer: Jed MacKay
Penciller: Netho Diaz
Inker: Sean Parsons
Colourist: Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Tom Brevoort
THE X-MEN:
Cyclops. He takes the X-Men to intercept an approaching spacecraft before it reaches Merle, not because he assumes it must be a threat but because he doesn’t want to unnecessarily aggravate the locals even more. When it turns out to be Corsair, he greets him warmly and hugs him, but immediately wants to know what Corsair’s current scheme is.
When alien mercenaries show up in pursuit of Corsair, Cyclops’ first reaction is to blame his dad for leading them to the X-Men’s doorstep and expecting the X-Men to bail him out. This is a more muted version of how their relationship was played in Phoenix (where Corsair was wildly out of character). In this version, however, Cyclops’ distrust of Corsair turns out to be a disastrous error, since the mercenaries are actually after Cyclops, and Corsair was just trying to get there first in order to warn him. To be fair to Scott, it also doesn’t seem to occur to him that aliens would have any interest in him, rather than Corsair.
Daredevil Villains #46: Copperhead
DAREDEVIL #124-125 (August & September 1975)
“In the Coils of the Copperhead” / “Vengeance is the Copperhead”
Writers: Len Wein (#124 part 1) & Marv Wolfman (#124 part 2 & #125)
Pencillers: Gene Colan (#124) and Bob Brown (#125)
Inker: Klaus Janson
Colourists: Michelle Wolfman (#124) and Klaus Janson (#125)
Letterers: Joe Rosen (#124) and John Costanza (#125)
Editor: Len Wein
Tony Isabella lasted only five issues on Daredevil before editor Len Wein removed him from the series. The next issue, issue #124, opens with the Black Widow departing – again, but this time it will finally stick. The narrator certainly seems to be taking the opportunity to put the boot in. “Good-bye”, he declares. “There is no sadder, more bittersweet word in all the languages of man… Good-bye: The word is truly tragic when those who say it really don’t want to say it at all.”
Issue #124 has a truly odd writing credit – instead of the usual plotter/scripter distinction, it credits editor Len Wein with writing the first half of the issue himself, with the rest being credited to Marv Wolfman. It all looks a bit shambolic and last minute. Nonetheless, this is the start of Marv Wolfman’s run, which will see us through to issue #143 before he leaves in mid-storyline.
Charts – 7 February 2025
It’s the Grammys week, and it turns out that that has a noticeable impact on the top 40 these days. Plus, the Weeknd has an album out.
1. Lola Young – “Messy”
Three weeks and a very comfortable 20% margin over the number 2 single (which is still “APT” by Rosé & Bruno Mars – the top 5 is static for a second week running.
6. Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
This is the second single from her upcoming album, but she also premiered the video during the Grammys. It’s a third consecutive top 10 hit for Lady Gaga, something she hasn’t managed since 2011. It’s very much a track in the vein of her imperial phase, though what on earth it’s about, I haven’t a clue.
The X-Axis w/c 3 February 2025
ASTONISHING X-MEN INFINITY COMIC #9. By Tim Seeley, Edoardo Audino, KJ Díaz & Clayton Cowles. Yes, well, it’s a “fight and team up” story with Juggernaut and Captain America. Nice art, and I sort of get the idea of doing “unstoppable force against immovable object” with the shield – except Juggernaut’s not literally unstoppable these days, surely? But it boils down to a fight-and-team-up story, and one that feels just a couple of steps removed from the way these characters are normally written, at that. Bit underwhelming.
PHOENIX #8. (Annotations here.) Look, I’m willing to accept that I might not be in the most receptive mood for entertainment this week. But even allowing for that, this isn’t good. It doesn’t have the glaring plot holes of issue #7, to be sure, but it’s choppy, disjointed stuff. Why is Jean suddenly in a cocoon floating in space, when she was on a planet last issue? What exactly are we meant to be learning from revisiting the Dark Phoenix Saga with changes? When did Adani get back together with Perrikus? Since when are either of them interested in bringing back the Dark Gods? Since when are the rest of the Dark Gods even missing? I don’t actually mind the art on this book, for the most part, but it doesn’t always flow that well, and the black and yellow Phoenix design at the end feels like a distaff Nebulon.
Wolverine #6 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
WOLVERINE vol 8 #6
“Lineage”
Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Martín Cóccolo
Colourist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Cory Petit
Editor: Mark Basso
WOLVERINE.
This time, he experiences the Adamantine’s call as a vision of being buried alive. Nightcrawler snaps him out of it, but it’s not clear whether he would have broken the spell on his own. For Wolverine, the call seems to be coming from the Earth itself.
When Laura shows up, he says that he didn’t realise until now “how much I needed to breathe the familiar scent of kin” – a slightly odd comment given that he’s next to Nightcrawler, whom he’s known far longer than Laura, but evidently the point is that he appreciates his family once they’re around.
SUPPORTING CAST.
Nightcrawler. He’s the only character aside from Wolverine that can get Leonard the Wendigo to calm down, and so he winds up babysitting the poor guy while Wolverine pursues the main plot.
