The Marvel Thread

[Silver Shocker]

Continuing with the Avengers,this is the Family Guy of comics. I only keep up with it to see how absurd can it get.

Yep, pretty much exactly that. I'm pretty sure I called this run a "glorious trainwreck" at one point.

-She-Hulk spends 2 issues complaining how she used to be objectified. Deadpool shows up to remark how she used to be like him,before him.    Then everyone jumps into a jacuzzi.

Yep, I mentioned that further up too. Did not remember that it was 2 issues, that arguably makes it worse because - guess what - I'm one and a half-arcs away from being caught up in the comic and - you guessed it - nothing in that ever comes up again in any capacity. Cool story bro. And the fill-art in that issue wasn't too great either. Man, She's been a weird character over the years, hasn't see? I'm curious to see how she'll be handled in the live action D+ show, as I've mentioned several times before.

- An actual troll: Thor is his name,not a legacy.How could anyone else be...[gets beat up]. This really is a Family Guy skit.

I think I forgot about that, but it does sound vaguely familiar, but yeah, Aaron was doing a lot of straight-up trolling in the earlier issues, as a direct follow-up of his Thor run. I didn't read it, I only saw a few scenes, but this does feel like the spiritual successor to his Thor run, and it's not overtly trolling anymore, it still feels very much Aaron is straight up taking the proverbial pi$$, and is whizzing away all his past cred as a writer and turning his work into an unintentional (maybe?) parody of itself Frank Miller style.

Ghost Riders origin story is that he used to be a street racer,then got killed by drug dealers. But the car possesed by the spirit of his serial killer uncle. Congratz dude,you are the second edgiest person around.

Is the first Johhny Blaze or someone else? Now I did read the first arc of All-New Ghost Rider and, funky art aside, I kinda liked it. GR is actually one of my favorite parts of Aaron's run, as I've probably made clear many times, I like it when younger, less experienced heroes come onto a team like Avengers or JL and see how they interact with the more experienced heroes. My favorite examples of that are Firestar and Justice.

But yes, the Mephisto stuff is kinda an example of why the Peter Parker "I am so tired" meme exists.

Frank Castle, Cosmic Rider. Why is this fanwankery even a thing? This really is fanfiction territory.

Yes, indeed. I think I've heard the actual comics he first appeared in are really good (It's Donny Cates - I liked his GotG a lot - I have no flipping clue what the heck's going on in Venom these days those - geez) but yeah, Frank as Cosmic Ghost Rider is so, so dopey. So it's perfect in Aaron's Avengers. 

-I don't want to repeat the things about Squadron Supreme of America...this is a General Glory level parody. Only this is meant to be taken seriously.

In the context that they're a serious threat and it's a running on-and-off plot (and apparently a huge part of the plot of Heroes Reborn), sure, but as I've said before, I do get the impression stuff involving them is supposed to be tongue in cheek, though the humor's just a bit too on the nose and unsophisticated to be particularly funny.

-Black Widow having an armor is another thing from the Ultimates.

It was. And I liked it better there because War Machine's armor forms out of his car, which Batman also did in the Brave and the Bold cartoon. I thought that was cool.

-Something about Namor and Squadron Supreme. Nobody points out that the previous Squadron killed him. Missed opportunity.

That is a good point. But I think it's well established at this point that Aaron has zero effs to give on this book. Maybe he's trying to see how much he can get away with before his editors either reign him in or kick him off. That would make more sense than pretty much anything that actually happens in the run.

[HarryTrotter]

GR here is Robby Reyes. Johnny Blaze shows up and challenges him to a race...and that's pretty pointless even by the standards of this comic. Because Johnny is now the ruler of hell and Mephisto is "imprisoned" somewhere? You know,I think its easier to get into comics with no knowledge then with outdated knowlege. At least Im beginning to think so,since I keep trying to figure out what I missed and it gets distracting.

#1 of All New Ghost Rider is collected here,and the art is kinda mangaesque with speed lines and all that. It would probably look better in BW.

Tony is stuck in the past and becomes Ice Age Man. 🤣
And now Moon Knight stuff,which I can only assume Mephisto being behind somehow.

[Silver Shocker]

Tony is stuck in the past and becomes Ice Age Man.

It was either this part or that business with Namor like, one (?) issue later where I completely checked out.

And now Moon Knight stuff,which I can only assume Mephisto being behind somehow.

Oh Mephisto's in there, but I promise you, while I haven't finished the arc yet (I'm on part four of "The Age of Khonshu") the actual plot of that arc is far, far, FAR dumber than you're thinking.

Here's a sample for your palate: Pirate Mephisto. And yes, it's exactly what you're picturing in your head. Actually, on closer inspection, I think it's more like "Cowboy Mephisto." I'm not sure if that's an improvement or not.  🤣

Reading it, I feel so very blessed to know little about Khonsu or Moon Knight because if I did, I would might very well be furious at this storyline. Instead, as always, I'm just Peter Parker, going "I am so tired."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, lest I forget, I read a few more pages of Champions: Outlawed #1, and I can't let this bold-faced lunacy go unchallenged (literally giggling like a Adam West Batman villain as I write this)

*Miles swings in to catch what appears to be a purse snatcher. Covers him completely in web (how's he breathing?)*

Miles: Here you go, ma'am. Got your purse back.

Me: You all know what this is going, boys.

"Purse-snatching victim": *Pulls out badge* Thanks, but you're under arrest for youth vigilantism.

Me: What part of "I am so tired." Didn't you chuckleheads get?

Nick, what have you got?

Nick Fury: See now that's some bull$%&.

When the shootout from the Gengis Khan episode of Legends of Tomorrow is less stupid than this, you know you put out something dumb.

I have exactly one question. What's the point of  a sting operation if you don't bring people who can actually immobilize and catch the young vigilante you laid the trap for?

As Mystery Science Theatre put it: "~I'm the government, I'm the governement, I'm the reason nothing WORKS!~" 

Miles: A sting operation?! Does this mean I get to KEEP the purse?

You know what, good for you Miles! I'm glad you're taking this nonsense as seriously as the rest of us. Bebop, what have you got?

Bebop: Ho ho, you all got jokes now, huh?

*Miles swings away without any difficulty*

Me: Guys, you really suck at this. This was one part the first Civil War storyline actually got right. You should know by now that wasn't going to work in the slightest.

Now, you may be thinking, do I mean the law enforcement agents in the story, or the writer and editors?

The answer, as so often is the case, is simply "yes."

[HarryTrotter]

Moon Knight...I recommend the series from around Civil War. That was volume 5 or 6 IIRC.

Mephistos from different realities. 🤣 I believe we get both pirate AND cowboy Mephisto. 🤣 Phoenix force. Young Jean is still a thing?

I fogot this detail from ASM when Nora and Jonah debate releasing Sin Eaters interview.
Jonah: Are you sure we should be giving him platform to spread his hate?
Nora: See,thats why nobody believes the mainstream media.
What strawmen. Both of them. Ofc,everyone puts on green masks and riots,because this is the MU and we need the story to happen.

Also binging this,I notice that every issue has an "In memoriam". Damn,2020 sucked. 

[Silver Shocker]

I suppose so.

Moon Knight...I recommend the series from around Civil War. That was volume 5 or 6 IIRC.

Funny thing, I think that's the only Civil War tie-in I didn't get around to reading. I read the first issue or two and fell out of it. It is indeed on the ol' list.

[HarryTrotter]

 No wait,it gets funnier...Phoenix force is here and it,I $#!t you not,traps everyone in a tournament arc. 😂
Also,Red Widow (maybe) kills

Spoiler

Howard The Duck

,Doctor Doom gives up because this is just like in a movie,and Hyperion can't handle the PF making him more open minded. That's an actual quote.
Also,Black Panther speaks like a Batman parody all the time.Btw, instead of telling us how hardcase and a chessmaster he is,maybe actually SHOW us that. All of this spymaster stuff he does,so far went nowhere.
Speaking of Batman parodies...Nighthawk and BP fight. Well,argue over taxes because Nighthawk is now an ambassador to Wakanda.

[Silver Shocker]

A tournament arc.....because of course.

The alternate universe Mephisto's are collectively known as the "Council of Red". How appropriate. "Hey, what if the Council of Kangs, except it's that guy from some old 80's comics that showed up at the very end of an infamous Spider-Man arc as a blatant plot device who became an ironic internet meme?"

Once you've already completely checked out, Khonshu wielding M'jolnir and taking over the world with the help of Moon Knight and an army of mummies barely registers, does it?

Black Panther: M'Jolnir knows my tribe. Knows us well. The blood of the panther kings flows through my veins. And I assure you, we have ALL been fighting Mephisto...for a very long time.

Well played, Aaron. Dumb, but well played.

I'll get to the other stuff a bit later because congrats, you have passed me in this entire run in about a week (I'm actually switching behind the physicals copies AND the digital now to try to get thought it faster, which is also how I got caught up on ASM)

That being said...I already figured out that Jason is trying to tie all of his other work together into this run because he wants he wants to be Rick Remender and Jonathan Hickman so bad it hurts.

And that's BEFORE Nick Fury from Original Sin shows up!

"I am so tired."

Iron Man and Captain Marvel in space:

Tony: Carol...Do you hear THUNDER?

I have so many questions based on this one moment.

Robbie Reyes: If you thought I was going to miss this fight, well....no offense...but you're even crazier than Moon Knight.

Well, Cap did rent the exact same movie from a video store multiple times just so he could talk to the cute girl running the counter instead of renting a different movie or asking her out, so...

Jason's Aaron's Avengers, the book where Moon Knight punching himself in the face is the least stupid, goofy, bat guano insane thing you'll see in the book!

*Moon Knight gets the Phoenix Force*

I'd make a joke, but the cover to the issue I bought today features everybody with the Phoenix Force, so yeah, this doesn't register one bit.

[HarryTrotter]

I got hooked on this. Its just so... bizarre. And modern comics being decimpressed,you can easily finish 6-7 issues in a day. Probably way more if you really tried.
Oh yeah,Watcher/Old Nick Fury is in it. Because Moon. Also,Moon Knight beats up Thor with his own hammer because its made out of Moon rock. 🤣 Btw,Thor is a bit of a jobber in this run.
And Tony is carrying around baby Starbrand...because IDK,Batman carried around baby Darkseid?

Heroes Reborn will give us Young Squadron,which is a mashup of Squadron Supreme and...Champions? Idk,Marvel used the same roster for 5 young heroes books.

[Silver Shocker]

I got hooked on this. Its just so... bizarre.

Dude, real talk. I just picked up the first issue of Transformers: Beast Wars by the writer of IDW's Ghostbusters, and on the first page we see the Tripredacus Council and learn Beast Wars Megatron's original name, and I'm reading this instead.

And modern comics being decimpressed,you can easily finish 6-7 issues in a day. Probably way more if you really tried.

Well, sure if you really try, but man, those Khonshu speeches and the prehistoric Avengers issues weren't exactly nail biters for me.

And Tony is carrying around baby Starbrand...because IDK,Batman carried around baby Darkseid?

My local comic book guy claimed Aaron is ripping off Scott Snyder's Justice League. He specifically said he thinks Baby Man-Thing might be a rippoff of....I believe he said Batman carrying around a Baby Starro? (I haven't read it)

Heroes Reborn will give us Young Squadron,which is a mashup of Squadron Supreme and...Champions? Idk,Marvel used the same roster for 5 young heroes books.

Oh boy, don't know if that sounds like a good thing or a bad thing. I just pulled it, and apparently it's a weekly series about 4 or 5 issues long, so that doesn't sound too bad unless there's a whole bunch of tie-ins. But from what I read, the premise is that in the new universe the Avengers never became superheroes and so the Squadron took their place. Which, like I said, sounds kinda like Thunderbolts with the T-Bolts swapped out for the Squadron. Yaaaay.

When I pulled it at my local comic book store, I said to the guy (we have roasted Aaron's run on like three or more separate occasions) "and...Lord help us all....Heroes Reborn by Jason Aaron".

[HarryTrotter]

Dude, real talk. I just picked up the first issue of Transformers: Beast Wars by the writer of IDW's Ghostbusters, and on the first page we see the Tripredacus Council and learn Beast Wars Megatron's original name, and I'm reading this instead.

I saw the previews for that. Hot take,but I don't think they crashed on Earth this time around.

My local comic book guy claimed Aaron is ripping off Scott Snyder's Justice League. He specifically said he thinks Baby Man-Thing might be a rippoff of....I believe he said Batman carrying around a Baby Starro? (I haven't read it)

That happened apparently.

[Silver Shocker]

I saw the previews for that. Hot take,but I don't think they crashed on Earth this time around.

You know? This ALSO warrants a unique thread. Let the Battle Be Joined. 

That happened apparently.

Great Rao, it's even sillier than I thought. Is.....is Scott Snyder also straight trolling? Because I saw the other day that they're doing a Dark Knight's Death Metal starring Ozzy Osborne.

[Silver Shocker]

Heroes Reborn will give us Young Squadron,which is a mashup of Squadron Supreme and...Champions? Idk,Marvel used the same roster for 5 young heroes books.

Ok, so I finally saw the article for this, so now I know what you're talking about - a tie-in book with Kamala Khan as Girl Power (Power Princess), Miles as Falcon (Nighthawk) and Sam Alexender/Nova as Kid Spectrum (Doctor Spectrum).

Written by Zub, who - as harsh as I was to his Thunderbolts book a few years back - I've consistently enjoyed.

Yeah, I'm not going to front -I like the look of this quite a bit!

I like the costumes a fair bit - yes, they are a bit garish (especially Nova's) but they also are meant to evoke the Squadron Supreme monikers and costume designs. Not entirely sure about the story, but I cannot imagine Zub doing anywhere near as dumb as what might be the worst writer on a Marvel Civil War yet.

It's Champions with a different name. I'll be getting it.

[Silver Shocker]

Finished Avengers #38 overnight. The issue before Enter The Phoenix (Oh, like Enter the Dragon - how clever  )

Kid Thanos.

KID.

THANOS.

When I got to that I just laughed and I was like "I frigging hate this."

On the plus side Ed McGuinness drew that issue so it looked....pretty good? Like if you told me he phoned it in, I wouldn't call you a liar, but I liked it enough.

And also Mephisto doesn't just have to be a d*ck, he's got to play the longest con ever because he's apparently that patient when it comes to that guy and only that guy. And hey, he turned into a Terror Dog from Ghostbusters but with gore. Yay.

Also Doom the Living Planet. Sure, why not.

[HarryTrotter]

Prehistoric Avengers continue to be a terrible idea terribly executed.

Avengers Mech Strike #1 So they fight "Cronenberg Godzilla" and Tony made mobile suits for everyone. Okay,you have my attention. 

Keeping with the there I read a bit of Marvel Action Avengers (IDW kids title) and its mostly Avengers fighting 50's Marvel monsters. Fing Fang Foom. Count Nefaria. Its awesome.

[Nyte Dragon]

My local comic book guy claimed Aaron is ripping off Scott Snyder's Justice League. He specifically said he thinks Baby Man-Thing might be a rippoff of....I believe he said Batman carrying around a Baby Starro? (I haven't read it)

That happened apparently.

Actually Jarro (his name) was kinda cool. He started off kinda odd and strange, but he grew on me. Of course I may be a bit forgiving as the writer also brought back one of my favorite characters (Starman) in the same run.

[HarryTrotter]

ought back one of my favorite characters (Starman)

Which one?

[Silver Shocker]

*resists jokes about Super Mario and Earthbound*

I kinda liked the one with the blue face who showed up in pre-Flashback JL a few times.

My local comic book guy claimed Aaron is ripping off Scott Snyder's Justice League. He specifically said he thinks Baby Man-Thing might be a rippoff of....I believe he said Batman carrying around a Baby Starro? (I haven't read it)

That happened apparently.

Actually Jarro (his name) was kinda cool. He started off kinda odd and strange, but he grew on me. Of course I may be a bit forgiving as the writer also brought back one of my favorite characters (Starman) in the same run.

I don't doubt it. It's Scott Snyder. I'm sure the whole book is some kinda good. I hated that Lex is a villain again but I'll try not to hold that against the run when I get around to reading it and I did like the Lex story he did in Action 1000.

Avengers Mech Strike #1 So they fight "Cronenberg Godzilla" and Tony made mobile suits for everyone. Okay,you have my attention.

So it's like Batman: Mechs vs Monsters? Pacific Rim with the Avengers? Could work. Do they actually use the descriptive "Cronenberg" in the book, like Rick & Morty? Because that's fun. My buddies who used to watch R&M learned that term from R&M (we're not big horror fans, and only I knew the reference before that episode)

Speaking of Cronenberg, he played a recurring character in Star Trek Discovery Season 3. Apparently he's a fan of Star Trek, like the many, many odd real life figures, actors and musical artists who have done so for the same reason.

Oh, and one other thing I realized last night while I was reading that issue of Avengers.

Aaron's run would work better as an Elseworlds tale.

A lot of the problems with it, especially everything related to prehistoric Avengers, would be less of an issue in an Elseworlds tale.

Also the next issue blurb says our red-haired young female host for the Phoenix was born with "the only sin being having red hair" and I'm like, Is she a rippoff of Red Sonja? I'm not the only one thought that, am I?

[HarryTrotter]

Words "Cronenberg Godzilla" are used. Somebody was a fan of Rick and Morty.

[Nyte Dragon]

ought back one of my favorite characters (Starman)

Which one?

Will Payton.

Words "Cronenberg Godzilla" are used. Somebody was a fan of Rick and Morty.

Who isn't? PICKLE RICK!

Mech Avengers does look interesting. If I had a bigger budget, it would be on my pull list. But if it does come out in TPB, I wouldn't mind picking it up. And someone correct me if I'm wrong ,but didn't they do a toyline awhile back that had some of the Marvel heroes in mech suits?

[Silver Shocker]

Words "Cronenberg Godzilla" are used. Somebody was a fan of Rick and Morty.

Who isn't? PICKLE RICK!

What if I told you the person you were directly responding to isn't particularly fond of it?

Also season 4 sucked and we all know it. Yes, creators, Jerry is pathetic, we know that, can we please get on with it? And Morty did not used to be this dumb. Morty, what part of "actually talk to Jessica for 2 minutes and stop basing your whole life around Rick's stupid Sci-Fi nonsense" isn't sinking in? And the plot not going anywhere or being paid off in a satisfyingly way was a joke in that season at least twice. A lot of us were very patient waiting for those plots to pay off, and that was a pretty crappy way to pay it off.

That dialogue-free Morty sequence with that girl he met, however, was brilliant - and of course the punchline was that Jerry sucks. Yay.

Also S4ep 6 "Never Ricking Morty", aka, the one on the train, if you watched the trailer before that episode, was one of the biggest troll jobs I've ever seen, and not in a fun way. It made The Last Jedi look like Mando S2.

And yes, I'm sure I sound like one of those R&M fans who missed the point of R&M, but I still thought that season was well below par. And keep in mind I tried to convince my buddies who I watched the show with a few years ago that I didn't think PhoenixPerson was ever meant to be taken seriously as a plot point, and yet, here I am. (This thread is apparently now about Rick & Morty)

And besides, and perhaps most relevant, it used to be funnier IMO.

Man, just thinking about how disappointing S4 was (and S5 is set to come out this July - yikes.) Just makes we hope that we get more Bravest Warriors in the near future (such as the cat getting his own spinoff - YAY) because that show knew how to be funny, creative in a sci-fi context AND pay off plots in a way that wasn't really cynical and passive-aggressive.

Mech Avengers does look interesting. If I had a bigger budget, it would be on my pull list. But if it does come out in TPB, I wouldn't mind picking it up. And someone correct me if I'm wrong ,but didn't they do a toyline awhile back that had some of the Marvel heroes in mech suits?

Yep, unfortunately I can't remember what they were called, and I'm reasonably sure they were repurposed from other toyline (tempted to say Transformers)

[Nyte Dragon]

Haven't seen S4 yet. Alot of shows I tend to catch the whole season on DVD and I haven't bought the set yet. (I caught S1-3 on a Black Friday sale)

The Marvel mechs I was thinking about were done by Playskool. Here's Spider-Man

[offtopic]And just a quick off topic comment. Playskool?!? Seriously, how the FRAK are you supposed to be an 'educational' toyline or whatever, and you bloody spell the name for where you go to learn wrong?? WTH man! Is this the stem of where alot of improper grammar has seeded from? Is this the root of all misspelling evil? GAH!

Sorry, sorry! It just bugs me. (heh, Spider-Man... bugs.... :rotf: And yes I kniw spiders are archnids not bugs,but I thought it was funny.)[/offtopic]

Anyways, Lego also did a few Avenger mech sets too, such as Thor.

Now you weren't wrong about Transformers either, Marvel did a crossover with them too. Here's a sample.

So the Marvel Mech story isn't new, but I don't think any of those toys had comics. Now if they made these new mechs into toys, I'd be interested. I'd love me a Spider-Mech, or either of the Captains.

[Silver Shocker]

Ah, now we're getting somewhere.

Haven't seen S4 yet.

Ah, I kinda suspected. I'd be curious what you'd think after you have seen it.

As I've kinda said before elsewhere, I've learned in recent years that any show can downslide. R&S S4 hurt more than most, because of how mighty S1-3 were, with the massive delay especially rubbing salt in the wound.

Playskool: The reason might be because it's easier to trademark if you give it a unique spelling.

Now you weren't wrong about Transformers either, Marvel did a crossover with them too. Here's a sample.

Neat. Still not what I'm thinking. Oh, how I wish I could remember the name of it.

So the Marvel Mech story isn't new, but I don't think any of those toys had comics.

The one I'm thinking of did indeed have a comic book tie-in! 

*Googles* FOUND IT! "Mega Morphs." Action figures made by Toy Biz. 2005, written by Sean McKeever. UDON style art.

A digital collection of it collecting the 4 issues of the comic was added to Comixology Dec 2020. I wonder which is better, this or Mech Strike? It's also on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. Tempted to give it a read, maybe later.

[Silver Shocker]

The hits keep coming from Heroes Reborn: Thunderbolts are on the loose (!) in something called "Siege Society" because Marvel hates me and wants to make it as difficult to remember the name of my books as possible. I"m going to have to write the name of this and Champions aka Young Squadron just to pull the darn things.

Paco Madina on art? I can dig it. But we got Scott Lang Ant-Man, and that's an automatic buy from me, we got Sabretooth, sure why not. We got Black Widow and Hawkeye, nice, they were in the original Busiek/Fabian run. We got "Silver Witch" a mix of Wanda and Pietro, interesting, and we got Zemo. Yep, getting it.

[Nyte Dragon]

 Not having read the book, I'm a little lost. Is this an alternate reality? Because last I know, the regular 616 Sabretooth was imprisoned on Krakoa in a deep, deep, dark, dark, deep, dark hole. (Fraggle Rock reference heh) And second question, is Songbird in it?

[HarryTrotter]

Back to the topic of Avengers...it doesn't feel really Elseworld-ish. Outside of prehistoric Avengers,maybe. It doesn't really mess up the continuity (It was messed up long time ago),and nobody is really out of character because nobody has a character.
And we learn who's Thors real mother (take a guess). I wasn't aware that was a mystery.

[Silver Shocker]

Not having read the book, I'm a little lost. Is this an alternate reality? Because last I know, the regular 616 Sabretooth was imprisoned on Krakoa in a deep, deep, dark, dark, deep, dark hole. (Fraggle Rock reference heh) And second question, is Songbird in it?

1. Well, it's Heroes Reborn, so yes. It's an altered reality where the Avengers never became the Avengers, resulting in the premiere heroes being the Squadron Supreme, who in this story are evil and are working for Mephisto. As a result, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan) became "Girl Power" (as in Power Princess), Mile Morales became Falcon (referencing Nighthawk) and Sam Alexander (Nova) became "Kid Spectrum").

2. It's not out yet, so we don't know for sure, but I'd guess no. These aren't the T-Bolts we know with their history intact. So as much as I'm happy Scott Lang is in it, it's not the Scott Lang I know (so Cassie Lang as a superhero likely won't be in it at all).
Personally, I'm still waiting to find out what happened to Jolt. Been waiting since *checks wiki* Mid 2017. Wow, that's a long time.

[Silver Shocker]

Alright, get ready:

Jason Aaron's Avengers:

Avengers #39: Enter The Phoenix Prologue:

1. My local comic book guy said Aaron screwed up on the dialogue in this comic by claiming that our prehistoric Phoenix talks in anachronistic language in this comic. Except....no, she doesn't. Since he was telling me about the issue the week and day it came out, I think perhaps he was reading it while working the store and wasn't capable of giving it his full attention and got distracted, or maybe he's just not that perceptive, or thinking about what he read enough, because she only speaks in two methods in this comic - past-tense narration to an unidentified listener (possibly the reader) and telepathically linked (with the person forming the link acknowledging this is what is happening)

"I didn't understand his mind-sounds. I didn't understand even the idea of words. But somehow I could feel his meaning [...]"

Like, they explained it in the comic.

2. Prehistoric mutants. Umm, maybe I'm being overly literal here, or unreasonably harsh because it's Aaron's Avengers run and nothing in this makes sense and the Prehistoric Avengers stuff is boring as heck, but mutants have been repeatedly said to be the NEXT stage of humanity. So how can they be the next stage of humanity if they exist alongside humanity at the prehistoric stage?

3. I take it back. Prehistoric Phoenix is not Red Sonja. Red Sonja is far more interesting than this. Probably any part of that IP.

4. Was this Highwalker guy supposed to be prehistoric Prof. X? Because if so, that really highlights why this prehistoric Avengers thing is dumb and doesn't make any sense. (though in this case it would be prehistoric X-Men, which is fine I suppose, since Wolverine just got brought into this goofy story, but he was an Avenger for several years, so). The interesting thing about Charles is his character, not his powers. There are several X-Men characters with telepathy, so what makes them interesting characters is their personality, history and relationships with other characters. Which is why this whole thing is dumb and dreadfully dull.
----------------------------------------------------------
Avengers #40 Enter The Phoenix Part One:

Or as I like to call it: POOR MAN's KOMBAAAAT!!!

Gotta admit, Phoenix Cap does look kinda cool in the comic itself. Which reminds me of another snarky comment I made at the comic book shop when discussing this run. They can make so many toys based on this one run.

"I can do this all day." What else is there to say except "I understood that reference."

*Steve Rogers, minus Super Soldier serum, as Phoenix* Sure, why not.

Doom: "I see. You will not LET him die. Like the hero in some American cinematic FAIRY TALE, the Captain will keep rising again and again from my savage assaults."

Doom's a DCEU man, isn't he? Is that you under that helmet, Snyder? Are you going to tell me I'm living in a dream world?

Apparently Cap thinks victory is like, among other things, "everyone making it back to base for cold beers." Does Cap like beer? I never really thought of it. I know from the first movie that at the very least the movie version can't get drunk, but that might not be true for the comic version.

Narration: There are no winners here.

Me: There certainly aren't.
-------------------------------
Enter the Phoenix spoils She-Hulk's new status quo, as seen in Empyre and/or The Empyre: Aftermath She-Hulk one-shot, so I won't be reading any more for now until I'm caught up in Empyre, so back to Champions: Outlawed:

#1. Justice shows up to capture some of the kids. However, the writer uses his history (he accidentally killed his father with his powers, and, like Abe Jenkins aka Beetle aka Mach, decided to let justice take its course by serving his prison sentence, hence the name) to inform his decision to fall in with the government, so I'm giving his role in this a pass.

Also, Viv's alive, yay!

#2 (part of it, haven't finished it). I like that they also mentioned New X-Men character Wither having a similar backstory to Justice, nice touch considering the X-Men have rarely had much to do with the Civil War storylines.

Also from the original New Warriors run, Timeslip is in this, as a government lackey. Neat, but I'm choosing on reserving judgement on this one because so I don't know if this is in character or not, because 1. I haven't read a lot of NW with her in it, and 2. I don't particularly remember the issues I have read

Also this miniseries was heavily delayed, resulting with a second artist taking over for half of #2 and all of #3. In addition to that, a new creative team will be taking over the final issue to get it out on time, then taking over for a new ongoing in April. Apparently there was going to be a 6th issue, but now it will end with #5. The most recent issue released is #3 and #4 is set to release next week.
----------------------------------------------------------

In other news, look like I spoke too soon about Secret Defenders, as yesterday they announced a new Defenders book with the new Masked Raider (oh, so that's where he's popping up next) and Doctor Strange picking characters from tarot cards. On the cards on the cover you can see Hulk, Silver Surfer, Namor, Beast, the original Valkyrie, Hellstrom, Moondragon and what I have to assume is Red Raven.

Also Deadpool is celebrating the 30th Anniversary with a special one-shot called "The Nerdy 30" With a "murderer's row" of returning Deadpool creators:

* Joe Kelly and Geraldo Sandoval
* Scottie Young
* Kelly Thompson and Kevin Lebranda
* Gail Simone
* Daniel Way and Paco Medina
* Gerry Dugan/Brian Posahn and Scott Koblish
* Rob Liefeld writing and drawing

I'm getting it.  I got the wedding special a few years ago, which is very much the same thing, and I really liked it. Characters such as Copycat (Vanessa), Garrison Kane, Outlaw, Agent X, Sandy, and Rhino appeared in stories in that, by the creators who wrote them in their runs on DP.

[Nyte Dragon]

1. My local comic book guy said Aaron screwed up on the dialogue in this comic by claiming that our prehistoric Phoenix talks in anachronic language in this comic. Except....no, she doesn't. Since he was telling me about the issue the week and day it came out, I think perhaps he was reading it while working the store and wasn't capable of giving it his full attention and got distracted, or maybe he's just not that perceptive, or thinking about what he read enough, because she only speaks in two methods in this comic - past-tense narration to an unidentified listener (possibly the reader) and telepathically linked (with the person forming the link acknowledging this is what is happening)

"I didn't understand his mind-sounds. I didn't understand even the idea of words. But somehow I could feel his meaning [...]"

Like, they explained it in the comic.

Man, they keep changing the rules of telepathy. In older issues of X-Men, they make comments that Prof. X and Jean can mind-speak to anyone, despite the language barrier. That telepathy acts like the ultimate universal translator. A couple examples from all the way back to 'Giant Sized X-Men#1' (yeah, wayyyy back) Prof. X's telepathy was how he 'spoke' to Colossus and Nightcrawler. Both didn't speak English at first an this was how Xavier communicated with them. Plus, later in the same issue, he did an 'info-dump' into the non-English speaking mutants of the English language so they were able to speak and understand the language.

And A Space God/Goddess couldn't do this just as easily. 

2. Prehistoric mutants. Umm, maybe I'm being overly literal here, or unreasonably harsh because it's Aaron's Avengers run and nothing in this makes sense and the Prehistoric Avengers stuff is boring as heck, but mutants have been repeatedly said to be the NEXT stage of humanity. So how can they be the next stage of humanity if they exist alongside humanity at the prehistoric stage?

Oy Vey! No. Just no. Shock, you're right, and IIRC, Apocalypse is supposed to be the oldest known mutant in the MCU. (Namor was Marvel's first published mutant, but in the timeline, En Sabah Nur was the first.) Hell, his name literally means 'The First one'!   

Doom's a DCEU man, isn't he? Is that you under that helmet, Snyder? Are you going to tell me I'm living in a dream world?

Synder is not cool enough to be Doom! Only Doom possesses the appropriate amount of "the cool" to be DOOM! All lesser "jabronies" bow before the coolness of DOOM! Doom's sparring partner 'The Rock' taught him this.

Apparently Cap thinks victory is like, among other things, "everyone making it back to base for cold beers." Does Cap like beer? I never really thought of it. I know from the first movie that at the very least the movie version can't get drunk, but that might not be true for the comic version.

Yes, yes he can. Comics Cap can indeed imbibe the brew. As seen HERE from the opening of Captain American #269, Capt, Falcon, and Capt's neighbor, Josh Cooper, all get sloshed. (Granted it's sangrias and not beer.) I think the immunity to alcohol might have came from Ultimate Captain America. And, hell knowing Marvel now, might be part of 616 Capt. now.

Narration: There are no winners here.

Including the readers.

Also Deadpool is celebrating the 30th Anniversary with a special one-shot called "The Nerdy 30" With a "murderer's row" of returning Deadpool creators:

* Joe Kelly and Geraldo Sandoval
* Scottie Young
* Kelly Thompson and Kevin Lebranda
* Gail Simone
* Daniel Way and Paco Medina
* Gerry Dugan/Brian Posahn and Scott Koblish
* Rob Liefeld writing and drawing

I'm getting it.  I got the wedding special a few years ago, which is very much the same thing, and I really liked it. Characters such as Copycat (Vanessa), Garrison Kane, Outlaw, Agent X, Sandy, and Rhino appeared in stories in that, by the creators who wrote them in their runs on DP.

No Fabian Nicieza? He is the co-creator after all. He may not be the one who installed the humor DP is known for, but he's one of the guys who brought him to the party. But still, I'm all for some non-serious DP hi-jinks. (Marvel needs to turn their collective Angst dial down from 11.)

[Silver Shocker]

1. My local comic book guy said Aaron screwed up on the dialogue in this comic by claiming that our prehistoric Phoenix talks in anachronic language in this comic. Except....no, she doesn't. Since he was telling me about the issue the week and day it came out, I think perhaps he was reading it while working the store and wasn't capable of giving it his full attention and got distracted, or maybe he's just not that perceptive, or thinking about what he read enough, because she only speaks in two methods in this comic - past-tense narration to an unidentified listener (possibly the reader) and telepathically linked (with the person forming the link acknowledging this is what is happening)

"I didn't understand his mind-sounds. I didn't understand even the idea of words. But somehow I could feel his meaning [...]"

Like, they explained it in the comic.

Man, they keep changing the rules of telepathy. In older issues of X-Men, they make comments that Prof. X and Jean can mind-speak to anyone, despite the language barrier. That telepathy acts like the ultimate universal translator. A couple examples from all the way back to 'Giant Sized X-Men#1' (yeah, wayyyy back) Prof. X's telepathy was how he 'spoke' to Colossus and Nightcrawler. Both didn't speak English at first an this was how Xavier communicated with them. Plus, later in the same issue, he did an 'info-dump' into the non-English speaking mutants of the English language so they were able to speak and understand the language.

And A Space God/Goddess couldn't do this just as easily. 

It's been many years since I checked back in on those old Claremont-era X-Men comics (and I'm still reading my way through the 60's run - it's not exactly Marvel OR X-Men at its best IMO, so it's a bit hard to get through - don't get me started on Magneto's astral projection or his plan to "make" an army of mutants) but I do remember in the movies, when Xavier came back to life (in the post credit scene of X3 in a different body). This wasn't spelled out in The Wolverine, (as I understand it was explained in the novelization) but in the post credit scene of that movie he shows up still looking like Patrick Stewart, and the idea is he uses his telepathy to make himself appear as Xavier to the other characters.

2. Prehistoric mutants. Umm, maybe I'm being overly literal here, or unreasonably harsh because it's Aaron's Avengers run and nothing in this makes sense and the Prehistoric Avengers stuff is boring as heck, but mutants have been repeatedly said to be the NEXT stage of humanity. So how can they be the next stage of humanity if they exist alongside humanity at the prehistoric stage?

Oy Vey! No. Just no. Shock, you're right, and IIRC, Apocalypse is supposed to be the oldest known mutant in the MCU. (Namor was Marvel's first published mutant, but in the timeline, En Sabah Nur was the first.) Hell, his name literally means 'The First one'!   

Now they never outright said they were mutants, but it was pretty clear that's they there supposed to be. I mean, it was a psychic helping out a younger red-headed female with the Phoenix powers.

Doom's a DCEU man, isn't he? Is that you under that helmet, Snyder? Are you going to tell me I'm living in a dream world?

Synder is not cool enough to be Doom! Only Doom possesses the appropriate amount of "the cool" to be DOOM! All lesser "jabronies" bow before the coolness of DOOM! Doom's sparring partner 'The Rock' taught him this.

This run is.....not exactly Doom's most impressive outing. It's not his worst, but it's not exactly John Byrne's run or anything like that.

Apparently Cap thinks victory is like, among other things, "everyone making it back to base for cold beers." Does Cap like beer? I never really thought of it. I know from the first movie that at the very least the movie version can't get drunk, but that might not be true for the comic version.

Yes, yes he can. Comics Cap can indeed imbibe the brew. As seen HERE from the opening of Captain American #269, Capt, Falcon, and Capt's neighbor, Josh Cooper, all get sloshed. (Granted it's sangrias and not beer.) I think the immunity to alcohol might have came from Ultimate Captain America. And, hell knowing Marvel now, might be part of 616 Capt. now.

My knowledge of Cap's own books from the 60's to the late 90's is very limited, but I'm not remotely surprised that the comics do indeed show Cap getting drunk. And indeed, this line doesn't contradict it, it instead leans into it, I can definitely see Cap having a drink with his war buddies to celebrate, and if anyone could be trusted to drink responsibly, it's Cap.

Narration: There are no winners here.

Including the readers.

That was what I was getting at there, yes.

No Fabian Nicieza? He is the co-creator after all. He may not be the one who installed the humor DP is known for, but he's one of the guys who brought him to the party. But still, I'm all for some non-serious DP hi-jinks. (Marvel needs to turn their collective Angst dial down from 11.)

The lack of Fabian is a disappointment, (he's probably my second favorite DP writer after Simone; Cable & DP wasn't a perfect book, but it was definitely a fun one) but they are releasing creative teams info as they go, so it's possible he'll be in there when it's released, and if nothing else, he is busy writing Juggernaut and the "true" story of the third Summers Brother.

(Marvel needs to turn their collective Angst dial down from 11.)

Yeah, probably, and I got Empyre (which I know has at least 1 notable death in it - I don't know who yet, but I have a guess) and one more issue of Champions: Outlawed to read (with more coming starting next week) to read through, so they'll be plenty more melodrama of dodgy quality for me to roast going forward (without even getting into the last few years of X-Men comics at that!  )

Haven't read DP since Spider-Man/DP came out - so another big milestone DP comic could be just the fun palate cleanser the doctor ordered (Just as long as it's not Doctor Bong)

[Silver Shocker]

Finished Champions: Outlawed #3 and am thus caught up to the book until #4 releases this week.

Book's getting better by degrees. Speedball, Timeslip and Silouette are in it, as is Jake Oh from Agents of Atlas (he was also War Machine at one point), Viv helping the "pro-registration" side is strangely not explained, despite being mined for character work. I have a sneaking suspicion Sam Alexander Nova is out of character in this, but I don't feel up to looking through his older appearances to double check. Sam gives a speech to Kamala about how the older generation of heroes ("Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and the Nova Corps") are the only reason they're superheroes now, which seems a lot like foreshadowing to the upcoming Young Squadron book.

In a move that's particularly lazy on the part of the writer, There's a lady in the series representing Cradle who is never once identified by name, causing me to have to hit up the Wiki, because it wouldn't be a modern Marvel comic without me having to hit up the fan wiki to follow the plot because they can't be bothered to include the relevant details in the book itself despite every book having a recap page.  The character is apparently Carolina Washington, who was featured exclusively in the Shattered Heroes issues of Bendis' Avengers (I read those issues years ago, but I didn't remember the character) Another character featured heavily in this storyline is Starling, the granddaugther of Adrian Tooms aka Vulture, who apparently debuted in Miles Morales: Spider-Man. Near the end of the book, the heroes are holding out in a treehouse at the home of a new character named Jesse who Kamala met through the Champions message board (yes really), who is then threatened with jail time by Washington despite being a minor, because, according to her, the house belongs to Jesse's parents, and not him, and therefore doesn't count as private property. Um, ok.

And then, the issue ends with Sam, Miles and Kamala about to make what is presented as a heroic final stand against....a handful of non-powered government soldiers with guns and jetpacks, and for some reason we're meant to believe that Nova alone couldn't wipe the floor with these guys in about 2 minutes. But never mind that, because the issue ends with a hum-dinger of a twist. The Champions are assisted by....Cyclops, whose time-displaced teenage self used to be on the team. He also arrives with Young X-Men Dust, who is also a member of the Champions. Well played indeed. Considering all the times Cyclops has been an utter twit in the last ten years or so, this actually does a lot for his image in my book.

Over in Amazing Spider-Man:

Spoiler

Kingpin has assembled a team of baaaad guys....including the still-disembodied cyborg head of Silvermane. Good ol' Nick Spencer. The Lifeline Tablet is also a part of the plot again, and it seems Boomerang will be in the story again. Tombstone is also in the group, and considering Randy is dating his daughter, it looks like a Superior Foes reunion is once again in the works.