Amadeus Cho wins the title of Mastermind Excello in an internet game show; that night
his house is blown up and his parents killed. Despite the pleas of Agent
Sexton, Amadeus doesn’t trust anyone and goes on the run with his coyote pup
Kirby, adopted when its mother was killed by a car. At a diner, he is spotted
by Bruce Banner who warns him to be careful; when Kirby is spotted, there is
concern over a rabies outbreak and a police officer intervenes. Amadeus uses
his intellect to quickly puzzle out how to avoid capture and escape. An enemy
helicopter fires on him and Hulk arrives to punch the missile away before
leaving; Amadeus calls Agent Sexton to tell her he’s coming for them….
“Blackjack:
Heavy on Action, Light on Plot”
Writer:
Dan Slott. Art: Pete Woods. Colors: Brad Anderson. Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
Blackjack team Ace and One-Eyed Jacquie, working for G.R.A.M.P.A., are on the
run from every vampire in London. Surrounded, Ace presses a button that moves a
satellite, reflecting sunlight from the other side of the world, killing the
vampires.
“The
Man with X-Ray Eyes”
Writer:
Daniel Way. Art: Nick Dragotta. Colors: Leigh Loughridge. Letters: Dave
Lanphear.
Synopsis:
Paul Vance sets fire to his video store in an insurance scam but he is caught
in the blaze and severely burned. Two police detectives visit him in the hospital
but he sees them as living skeletons then a heat beam comes from his eyes
burning the two men to a crisp. He escapes from the hospital and hijacks a
man’s motorcycle to get home, only to find it bare of all furnishings. He calls
his wife Janie only to find she has left him for another man and taken
everything except the video camera. Later he straps the camera to his helmet
and visits his rival video store to make threats—but they are busy so he just
asks for the Roger Corman movie THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES.
“Blackjack:
The Winning Hand”
Writer:
Dan Slott. Art: Pete Woods. Colors: Brad Anderson. Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
A giant alien has invaded Earth and is destroying the city. Blackjack team Ace
and One-Eyed Jacquie wield the Ultimate Nullifier to frighten it off the
planet. The job done, they put the Nullifier back with the others in the Prop
Room, which includes Cosmic Cubes, Infinity Gauntlets, and Holy Grails.
“Monstro”
Writer:
Robert Kirkman. Pencils: Khary Randolph. Inks: John Stanisci. Colors: Val
Staples. Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
Firefighter Frank Jackson is nicknamed Monstro for his size and extreme
strength; he saves a man from a fire which the man admits to setting in a
suicide attempt. Frank turns him over to the police. He shies away from the
limelight, because of a dark and secret past involving his family which he
broods over and can’t even confess to his best friend John….
“Blackjack:
You Say You Want an Evolution?”
Writer:
Dan Slott. Art: Pete Woods. Colors: Brad Anderson. Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
Eco-terrorist King Sapien has turned the people of Earth into dinosaurs,
including Blackjack team Ace and One-Eyed Jacquie; they invade Sapien’s lab and
destroy his machine, turning everyone back to normal but also transforming
Sapien and his henchmen into apes.
“Heartbreak
Kid!”
Writer:
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Pencils: Jeff Parker. Inks: Sal Buscema. Colors: Lovern
Kindzierski. Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
Danny Shepard is the Heartbreak Kid, a mutant whose power is being able to
detect and absorb other people’s sadness and free them from it. He is drawn to
Midtown High by a great amount of grief; passing Flash Thompson, Liz Allen,
Harry Osborn, and others, he locates Peter Parker, aching from the loss of his
Uncle Ben, and offers to take his sorrow away. Peter is startled, confused,
shocked, and appalled by Danny’s offer as it’s all he has left to remember his
Uncle Ben and he storms off, unaware he has just learned a lesson not to let
that pain go away but also to not let it control his life. Danny moves on….
“Blackjack:
Happy Ending”
Writer:
Dan Slott. Art: Pete Woods. Colors: Brad Anderson. Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
Aliens have arrived on Earth and turned it into a utopia; Blackjack team Ace
and One-Eyed Jacquie show up and destroy all of the utopian centers as mankind
needs to be discontent to advance. They welcome the boos and jeers of the
citizens.
“Positron”
Writer:
Sean McKeever. Art: Kristian Donaldson. Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
A young couple, Annie and Jackson, have a romantic moment on an Atlanta
rooftop—but then her father appears in a spaceship, demanding Annie come home.
She reveals to Jackson hat she is made up of positronic energy and her father
only wants her to power his weapons. She refuses to go back so, at a signal, Jackson
clamps an inhibitor to her neck, as he was hired by her father to do. He hands
back the money he was paid as father leaves with daughter.
“I
Was That Guy in Spider-Man’s Armpit!”
Writer:
Dan Slott. Pencils: Patrick Scherberger. Inks: Norman Lee. Colors: Matt Nelson.
Letters: Dave Lanphear.
Synopsis:
A dude named Steve, leaning out of his office window to see Spider-Man, falls;
Spidey catches him, deposits him on the ground and, when he realizes Steve
didn’t hear him say “Peter Parker,” gives him two free tickets to tonight’s
show.