Unless your mutant ability is to always win—like Isca the Unbeaten—than you must accept that in life you will inevitably win some and conversely lose some. Marvel’s heroes are not immune to this universal truth. In X-Men: Red, Sunspot teaches Isca how to beat the unbeatable when tricking her into betting against Tarn the Uncaring, her fellow council member. Unfortunately for him, it comes at the expense of his life when she lashes out at his deception. Fortunately for Magneto it ensures his victory over Tarn in the Circle Perilous and secures him a seat on Arakko’s Great Ring. Tony Stark gets a win over his recent addiction but loses in the game of love when his proposal to Patsy Walker gets rejected.
Book the Week – Fantastic Four #44 (Review score: 95 Points; 21 Characters). The Fantastic Four are on the cusp of winning the Reckoning War with the arrival of the Ultimate Nullifier. However, Sue Storm is not ready to lose her husband in the process. Mr. Fantastic callously sacrifices the recently returned Jack of Hearts to power his Forever Gate. Human Torch’s army of reinforcements arrive at Planet T-37X—the Watchers’ homeworld—to support the war effort and Doctor Doom’s attempt to be the savior of the world once more falls short when he loses his secret weapon, the Tactigon.
Hero of the Week – Moon Knight (Review score: 18 Points/1 Appearance; 18.0 Pts/App). Moon Knight notches his first use of the Personality power in 2022 when his separate identities gather at a diner to discuss their battle scars. The use of one of his signature abilities marks his 26th distinct power usage on the year, tying him for third overall in power variation with characters like Tony Stark and Peter Parker. Marc Spector’s breakout year continues as he climbs the power rankings and earns his first Hero of the Week.
Antagonist of the Week – Wrath (Review score: 8 Points/1 Appearance; 8.0 Pts/App). The leader of the Reckoning makes his debut in the Fantasy Comic League scoring system by meeting the six appearance minimum within his first year. Time will tell if he survives beyond the “Reckoning War” event as it begins to wind down. In his first official scored appearance, he foils Doctor Doom’s plans by defeating the Latverian’s surprise ally, Cormorant, and utilizes six powers in his quest to destroy the Apex of All Reality.
Top Characters (by review score). Moon Knight (18); Captain America/Steve Rogers (15); Iron Man (13); Spider-Man/Ben Reilly, Spider-Man/Peter Parker (12); Mr. Fantastic (10); Invisible Woman, Wolverine (9); Human Torch, Wrath (8)
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For those keeping track of their own review teams, full statistics can be found in the below character reviews. Please use these results to determine your score and let us know how you performed. To become a Sanctioned Review Agent you can support us via the Fantasy Comic League’s Patreon page. Make sure to tweet any questions or comments to @FantasyComicLG on Twitter while using the #FantasyComicLeague tag!
Key: TU – Team-Up; LT – Lead Team; SC – Save Civilian; CD – Character Development; DA – Defeat Antagonist.
| Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #5 (46) |
| Man-Wolf Spider-Man (BR) – Agility, Durability, Influence, Melee, Projectile, Strength, Swing, Tech, Weapon, Whip, Will Power Antagonist(s) Chameleon – Melee, TU (Spidercide) Mr. Hyde – Melee, TU (Spidercide) Mysterio – Deception, Flight, Toxin, TU (Spidercide) Scorpion – Appendage, Appendage Offensive, Durability, TU (Spidercide) Shriek – Energy, Energy Offensive, TU (Spidercide), DA (Vermin) Swarm – Creature, Flight, TU (Spidercide) Typhoid Mary – Flames Offensive, Influence, Melee, TU (Spidercide) Vermin – Claws Offensive, Melee |
| Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 (20) |
| Captain America (SR) – Agility, Influence, Melee, Projectile, Shield, Shield Defensive, Strength, TU (Winter Soldier), CD (Moves back into his childhood apartment), DA (Destroyer) Destroyer (RA) – Intellect, TU (Captain America) Winter Soldier – Gun, Melee, Swing, Weapon, TU (Captain America) |
| Fantastic Four #44 (95) |
| Beta Ray Bill – Flight, TU (Human Torch) Brainstorm – Deception, Tech Gladiator – Flight, TU (Human Torch) Human Torch – Flames Offensive, Flight, TU (Guardians of the Galaxy), LT Invisible Woman – Blade, Flight, Invisibility, Sense, Telekinesis, Telekinesis Offensive, Weapon, TU (Uatu the Watcher) Jack of Hearts – Energy, Energy Offensive Mr. Fantastic – Artifact, Intellect, Morph, Sense, Stretch, Tech, Telekinesis, TU (Unseen), LT Nova (RR) – Energy Offensive, Flight, TU (Human Torch) Powerhouse – Ensnare Rocket Raccoon – Gun, Vehicle, TU (Human Torch) She-Hulk – Energy, Melee, TU (Unseen) Silver Surfer – Cosmic, Energy Offensive, Flight, Speed, TU (Galactus) Sky – Flight, TU (Human Torch) Thing – Durability, Melee, Strength, TU (Unseen) Thor – Flight, TU (Human Torch) Uatu the Watcher – Flight, Sense, Telepathy, TU (Invisible Woman), CD (Learns the truth about the First War) Unseen – TU (Invisible Woman), LT Antagonist(s) Doctor Doom – Gun, TU (Cormorant) Galactus – Flight, Melee, TU (Silver Surfer) Super-Skrull – Flight, Stretch, TU (Human Torch) Wrath – Artifact, Durability, Energy, Melee, Strength, Suit, DA (Cormorant) |
| Iron Fist #4 (16) |
| Fat Cobra – Durability, Energy Offensive, Melee, Speed, Strength Iron Fist (DR) Iron Fist (LL) – Agility, Artifact, Durability, Energy, Melee, Sense Luke Cage – Vehicle |
| Iron Man #20 (12) |
| Hellcat – CD (Turns down Tony’s proposal) Iron Man – Business, Computer, Durability, Flight, Strength, Suit, Weapon, CD (Has his marriage proposal rejected by Hellcat), DA (Chet the Gorilla) |
| Marvels #11 (30) |
| Aarkus – Flight, TU (Captain America) Aero – Flight, Sense, Wind, TU (Captain America) Black Cat – Sense, TU (Captain America) Captain America – Shield Defensive, TU (Iron Man), LT Hulk – Melee, Strength, DA (Smoke monster) Human Torch – Flight, TU (Captain America) Iron Man – Flight, TU (Captain America) Storm – Flight, Sense, TU (Captain America) Antagonist(s) Lady Lotus |
| Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood #2 (26) |
| Doctor Strange – TU (Moon Knight) Moon Knight – Agility, Artifact, Blade, Crawl, Durability, Explosive, Gun, Melee, Personality, Projectile, Strength, Swing, Vehicle, Weapon, TU (Doctor Strange), SC, DA (Vermin) Antagonist(s) Crossfire – Explosive, Gun Juggernaut Vermin – Claws Offensive |
| Savage Spider-Man #4 (17) |
| Spider-Man (PP) – Agility, Biokinesis, Crawl, Deception, Durability, Explosive, Gun, Intellect, Melee, Tech, DA (Macitica) Antagonist(s) Baron Zemo – Gun, Weapon Mad Thinker – CD (Reveals his role as the Immaculatum Mainframe) |
| Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse #3 (6) |
| Ghost-Spider – Melee, Swing, Tech, TU (Spider-Zero), LT |
| Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #2 (1) |
| Spider-Man (MoH) |
| Wolverine #22 (18) |
| Deadpool – Durability, Heal, TU (Wolverine) Maverick – Durability, Gun, Melee, Weapon Wolverine – Claws, Claws Defensive, Claws Offensive, Durability, Vehicle, TU (Deadpool), LT, DA (Maverick) |
| X-Men: Red #3 (39) |
| Abigail Brand Cable – Bionics, Deception, TU (Thunderbird) Egg Elixir Hope Summers Khora of the Burning Heart Magneto – Flight, Magnetics, Weapon, CD (Wins the Seat of Loss), DA (Tarn) Manifold – TU (Cable) Professor X Storm – Flight Sunspot – Influence, Intellect, CD (Figures out how to beat Isca the Unbeaten), DA (Isca the Unbeaten) Tempus Thunderbird – TU (Cable) Antagonist(s) Isca the Unbeaten – Influence, Melee, DA (Sunspot) Mentallo – Sense, Telepathy Proteus Vulcan – Absorb, Melee |
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