The best team is the one that doesn’t know it’s a team.
That’s the premise of Nick Spencer’s (Morning Glories, Thunder Agents, Thief of Thieves) new run on Secret Avengers. Joining the Marvel NOW! line, Secret Avengers #1 builds the extremely covert team of Hawkeye, Hulk, Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Winter Soldier to send them on their mission. And it does it with only one word. Basically, every member of the team becomes activated by a single word, completes their mission, is told the word again, and walks off into the sunset blissfully ignorant of everything they just did. It’s covert ops at it’s most covert. And when it’s drawn by a master of the dark and gritty like Luke Ross, it’s practically so covert it’s not even there. Or if you want a little more boisterous version, maybe the Skottie Young variant cover will suit you.
As Magneto said, villains it is then.
Uncanny X-Men #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo is all about the baddies. Serving as the companion book to Bendis’ other X-Men title, All-New X-Men, Uncanny stars Cyclops, Magneto, Emma Frost, and a bunch of other good-for-nothings. Unlike any other X-Men book before it, this time around it’s the Brotherhood of (Evil) Mutants in the limelight. Now that Cyclops has assembled his team he’s on a mission to enact his vision of mutant dominance, one 
which he’s willing to carry out by whatever means necessary.
Since tonight’s list seems all about murdery murder, it seems only fair to let a female master assassin in on the mix. Katana #1, spinning out of the soon-to-be-released Justice League of America, stars the widowed sword-wielding hired killer of the same name. With her family’s souls residing in the very sword she uses to slay her enemies, the Soultaker, Katana has to be careful not to let its power and conscience forestall her mission. Anyone reading Birds of Prey should be familiar with Katana‘s character and mission, as well as fans of the classic Outsiders series. 
Finally, for those who have been hanging on the edge of their seat since the release of the first New 52 Batman hardcover, the wait is over! Batman: Night of the Owls continues the onslaught of The Court as they descend on Gotham in an effort to purge it of the social elite. But Nightwing, Batgirl, Batman, Robin, and the rest of the Bat-Family may have something to say about that. This thick hardcover edition comes packed with the entire Court of the Owls crossover, which includes Batman #8-9, the Batman Annual, Detective Comics #9, Dark Knight #9, Batwing #9, Batman and Robin #9, Red Hood and the Outlaws #9, Birds of Prey #9, Batgirl #9, Nightwing #8-9, and All-Star Western #9. That’s a lot of Batman punching Talon action for a minimal price.
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