This is one of those books that makes you feel a variety of emotions ranging in sadness to funny to a confused rage at times. The peaks and valleys in Brian Michael Bendis' second issue in the are pleasing, confusing and frustrating. 

I liked it more than the first one, but in my mind (and K-Sledge's), there wasn't much room to go but up. We're going to embark on some spoilers, so if you haven't, leave your computer screen open, go read this book and we'll see you in 15-20. 

We get the return of a major character, we see high-horse Tony Stark take the low road to reach a goal and we see Bendis struggle to get a consistent grip on Captain Marvel Carol Danvers. 

For those who missed #1, War Machine is Dead, for those who missed #0, She-Hulk Jennifer Walters is dead. After the events of #2, thought, the jury might be out on Walters due to ... 

SPOILER ZONE, YO!

the return of Dr. Bruce Banner. The return of Banner comes on the heels of Ulysses's vision that The Hulk -- like THE HULK -- is going to kill everyone. It's a solid ending to an overall mundane book. 

We see Tony Stark struggle to even think of coming to grips with Rhodey's death. For real, though, David Marquez, killed it with this heart-wrenching panel:

That's an image that sticks with you. That's an image that makes an issue. That's an image that brings a book to life. 

That image is the reason I am so disappointed in this book. While we get to see Tony break down and start torturing Ulysses to try and get him to have a vision to scan, Bendis and the issue moves away from its biggest strength; the emotional aspect of the arguable main character of the Marvel Universe losing his f*cking best friend. 

I don't know who to blame. Is Marvel rushing this series? Is Bendis writing too much at once? Is he worried about deadlines? Is the success of DC's Rebirth pushing his hand a little bit? 

Whatever it is, something is off. Nothing moves slowly, nothing feels real until the last panel with Bruce Banner. The book is so dark (color and art wise not tone) that it's hard to even appreciate some of the art. 

I'm bummed. 

Rating: 5.5/10 What are people dying for if it only truly affects one or two people. This is supposed to be a Marvel-wide story, but it just doesn't feel like one.