Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

And that's no small feat: normally when Vision doesn't show up at all, I say something.   After all, what am I reading this series for if not Vision?   Then again, Vision is off trying to kill Victor Mancha, a younger "brother" of sorts for what appears to be the best reason of all to Vision: Victor is alive, Vin is not, and it all boils down to Victor's interference being the cause of Vin's death.   (And if you were as powerful as Vision, would you not at least consider going after the person you view as responsible for your son's death?   I'm rooting for Vision, but I also feel uncomfortable about saying that his vigilantism is right, which is weird.  I love the Punisher, I root for him unabashedly, but everything about Punisher was created to be a killer and a vigilante, whereas I guess I just sort of think of Vision as a stronger and better person.   This feels uncomfortable for him, but not for others.   Weird, right?   And a lot of talk about someone who literally is not even mentioned in this episode.)

This doesn't even have all that much action: a fight scene at the beginning and then a mention of a fight scene that no one actually takes part of and that's it.   It's more about exploring Hank Pym's daughter, Nadia, and her relationship to Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp and Nadia's self-appointed step mother.   (Seeing as how her husband died before she found out about Nadia, she had no real obligation to the girl, but she took on the role gladly when she started finding out who Nadia really was: optimistic, smart, spunky and a true hero at heart.)

It's not only a lot of revelations for Nadia, and how she views heroes, but also a lot of character development for her as she's horrified by the actions of other heroes during Civil War II.   It says a lot about her when how she reacts is revealed, and while I felt that Janet was there as not-the-focus, I also don't think she was relegated to a role of a plot device, or as merely a way to deal with Nadia's growth.   I wouldn't say Jan grows so much in this issue so much as more of her background is revealed.   It's smaller moments, but she deals with Nadia much as she's dealt with everything in her life including Hank: compassionate, but clear-headed, determined, focused.   She also reveals a little about why she never had kids that speaks volumes about her, especially since she's taken Nadia under her wing.  

 I thought this was one of the stronger stories, and while I thought I'd feel cheated at the end - no Vision and very little action - I didn't even have to think about the rating of this issue.   A solid five stars.   Wonderful, wonderful storytelling on display here!