This anthology issue of Marvel's "tryout" series stands out as the best in the series to date, not only because of the variety offered but the overall strength of all of the efforts put forth. There's only a couple of new properties introduced here that would make for good ongoing or limited series, but those that don't still offer entertainment in this shorter form. Most importantly, this self-contained issue accomplishes another goal, and that's to spotlight the talents of some of Marvel's up-and-coming writing stars. I loathe Marvel's new "Terrific 10" brand, but I welcome their efforts to draw more attention to that stable of talent.
The shining star of this issue is Greg Pak's "Mastermind Excello," featuring a genius teen's efforts to live life on the lam, out of the hands of those who would try to control him and put his brain to nefarious use. Pak cleverly compares this being of pure brains to a being of pure brawn, but despite being at opposite ends of the power spectrum, they have a lot in common. Miyazawa's art is a great choice for the property, as the artist captures the main character's youth and almost mischievous nature quite well. More importantly, he also manages to turn his wholly non-visual powers into a dazzling display (no doubt thanks to some direction from the writer).
"The Heartbreak Kid" is really more of a celebration of Silver Age storytelling, not only in terms of the script but visually as well. Monstro is an excellent character that merits further exploration. The property is like Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming's Powers, but featuring firefighting instead of police work. Penciller Khary Randolph brings a similar artistic style to the property as well. Blackjack is a great satire of Nick Fury, Agent if S.H.I.E.L.D. that works well as short, one- or two-page gags, but I don't imagine enjoying it beyond that quick-hit approach.
Sean McKeever's Positron feature piqued my interest a fair bit, but unlike the other features, this feels more like the middle of the story (or close to an ending!) rather than an introduction. I was also struck by the fact that the main character bears far too strong a resemblance to Karolina of Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways.
Daniel Way's The Great Video is the most unusual and unconventional segment in the book. It reads like an issue of one of EC's old 1950s horror comics or an episode of The Twilight Zone. Again, it doesn't work as an ongoing property, but I did appreciate the edgier tone it added to the anthology. "The Guy in Spider-Man's Armpit" is a quick joke that provides some context to the classic image of the cover of the original Amazing Fantasy #15, but it barely offers much of a diversion at all. 7/10
