The Marvel Thread

[Podmark]

I approve of C6's Luke Cage redesign. It would've been cooler if he still had Wrecker's crowbar though...

Oh BTW

Spoiler

Spidey is a New Avengers. I have a feeling Wolverine will be as well and Avengers will be just the classic team (I guess Spider-woman counts as classic).

Curious as both Spidey and Wolverine were on the cover to Avengers #1. I hope Bendis isn't going to pull double duty with his cast for both books.

[Xenolith]

Obviously I haven't been following this book, but it just occured to me that Bucky would actually make a pretty great Nomad.

You should. It's the only comic book I read (through TPBs). For the most part, it does a decent job of staying out of huge Marvel events. Or at least it did. The writing is about as good as a monthly comic book can get.

I love the new Captain America. Of course I want Steve to come back, but I would have liked maybe another year. JB's costume is just so cool and he has a robot arm! Also it'd be cool to have Red Skull stay gone a while and let Cap actually do something. (spoiler up to issue 601)

Spoiler

I liked the last one where he saved Human Torch's body with Namor. But Road to Reborn was just so uneventful. I understand Sharon is sad about "killing" Steve, but maybe clue the reader in on what was special about the gun she found instead of just letting us know how everyone misses Steve (we've done this before) and having the big reveal at the end being Sharon saying they might be able to save him and that Red Skull's ghost didn't want to kill him. I expect Reborn to be much more awesome.
I realize these were anniversary issues, which I almost always dislike. The WWII birthday party was pretty great, I love the huge amount of flashbacks in the book.
Overall I'd give it a 3.5/5. Even though I didn't like it, that was relative to the book which is amazing. I read Secret Invasion the other day so that put how bad it COULD be into perspective.

Also, I agree about this new girl Bucky character. What's the point of adding a Jubilee character to any book, let alone one that needs to do more with the characters it has.

Also, Norman Osborne is sweet. I hope he kills Tony Stark.

Ehh, the boycott of modern books continues, but I may read some TPB's of the series through the library at some point.

Ditto.

[Podmark]

More Avengers teasers:

Siege: Fallen promo
It's a farewell issue to a character who dies in Siege. Probably Sentry, if so I say Jenkins is writing.

Avengers Prime: Siege Aftermath mini announced
5 issue bi-monthly mini by Bendis and Alan Davis about Steve, Thor, and Iron Man talking out their differences after Siege.
Interestingly Steve isn't shown in costume and his lower half is whited out in the cover preview - hiding a SHIELD uniform perhaps?

Also of note is that Brevoort confirmed the last of the four Avengers books in the interview, Avengers Academy which I assume is the follow-up to Avengers: The Initiative by Gage. This makes me happy, honestly it's the only one of these books that I actually care about.

[tommyboy]

More Avengers teasers:
Avengers Prime: Siege Aftermath mini announced
5 issue bi-monthly mini by Bendis and Alan Davis about Steve, Thor, and Iron Man talking out their differences after Siege.

5 issues of talking?
Five. Issues. Of Talking.
Just when I think all my hatred has died away, he finds some new way to irritate me.

[Podmark]

More Avengers teasers:
Avengers Prime: Siege Aftermath mini announced
5 issue bi-monthly mini by Bendis and Alan Davis about Steve, Thor, and Iron Man talking out their differences after Siege.

5 issues of talking?
Five. Issues. Of Talking.
Just when I think all my hatred has died away, he finds some new way to irritate me.

Honestly I find most of your little rants kinda silly but I was waiting for that one.
The series sounds like it should be a one shot to me, maybe there's more to it.

[Previsionary]

There'll probably be some random villain element that'll force the Avengers 3 to work together... but if Siege is anything to go by, most of the important stuff will happen in other books.

Speaking of Siege, is Ms. Marvel's now canceled book not in continuity at all? No one has explained why Brian Reed wrote Moonstone out of the Ms. Marvel role in his book, but she's Ms. Marvel everywhere else.

[tommyboy]

Honestly I find most of your little rants kinda silly but I was waiting for that one.

Now you've hurt my feelings.
The wedding is off.

[Podmark]

Honestly I find most of your little rants kinda silly but I was waiting for that one.

Now you've hurt my feelings.
The wedding is off.

But I've already picked out a dress! 

[Previsionary]

You kids and your silly defunct marriages. Don't you know? Marriages are things for devils to eat.

In other news, I just saw this on TV:

Marvel: Heralds

I find it interesting that marvel is pushing so many female heroes  (and comics) lately. Also of interest... SHE-HULK!

[Courtnall6]

I find it interesting that marvel is pushing so many female heroes  (and comics) lately. Also of interest... SHE-HULK!

More cheesecake for the thirtysomethings who can't let go.

[Previsionary]

So, I picked up Mighty Avengers this week because Thor was in it and... I don't even... know what... to say anymore about this book. I don't know what happened to Slott.

Spoiler

So the book opens with Loki asking for help from Thor after the Mighty Avengers (Quicksilver and Hank mostly) captured him in a contraption made to contain a god. Why you ask? Well, let's go back in time.

As the Avengers sit around a table and tell of their recent exploits away from the team, Quicksilver demands to know where his sister is. Hank finally reveals that Scarlet Witch was Loki and Quicksilver demands they find the God and make him answer where Wanda is. Hank agrees and reveals that Loki makes a yearly pilgrimage to a temple in Asgard and they can catch him there. The Avengers head into Asgard and Hank and QS build the machine as the others fight off Trolls. Loki finally appears and is trapped in the machine. Pym and Pietro begin to question Loki and every time they feel he is lying, Pym (and later QS) shock him. It gets so bad that Loki begs his brother for help as blood runs down his face.

Anyway, we come to the conclusion that Loki may or may not have told Pym he was "scientist supreme" in another effort to manipulate the team, Loki doesn't know where Wanda is, and that Pym wants Loki to join the Avengers, which causes Hercules and Amadeus to quit the team. Also, Ultron is returning in the form of Jocasta.

I'd rate this a Mighty 2 out of 5. I don't know what Slott is trying to do with Hank Pym, but I've never disliked or been so uninterested in him more.

As an aside, why didn't no one tell me SWORD was canceled? Good thing I didn't get too attached to that book. I guess Beast will be rejoining the X-men sooner rather than later.

[AfghanAnt]

I find it interesting that marvel is pushing so many female heroes  (and comics) lately. Also of interest... SHE-HULK!

More cheesecake for the thirtysomethings who can't let go.

Not really - With the exception of Marvel Divas (which was better than people admit), Girl Comics (which was cute and fun!) and Heralds (which is hardly cheesecake) are Marvel's push at incorporating more female artists, writers, and colorists/inkers onto projects.

So, I picked up Mighty Avengers this week because Thor was in it and... I don't even... know what... to say anymore about this book. I don't know what happened to Slott.

Spoiler

So the book opens with Loki asking for help from Thor after the Mighty Avengers (Quicksilver and Hank mostly) captured him in a contraption made to contain a god. Why you ask? Well, let's go back in time.

As the Avengers sit around a table and tell of their recent exploits away from the team, Quicksilver demands to know where his sister is. Hank finally reveals that Scarlet Witch was Loki and Quicksilver demands they find the God and make him answer where Wanda is. Hank agrees and reveals that Loki makes a yearly pilgrimage to a temple in Asgard and they can catch him there. The Avengers head into Asgard and Hank and QS build the machine as the others fight off Trolls. Loki finally appears and is trapped in the machine. Pym and Pietro begin to question Loki and every time they feel he is lying, Pym (and later QS) shock him. It gets so bad that Loki begs his brother for help as blood runs down his face.

Anyway, we come to the conclusion that Loki may or may not have told Pym he was "scientist supreme" in another effort to manipulate the team, Loki doesn't know where Wanda is, and that Pym wants Loki to join the Avengers, which causes Hercules and Amadeus to quit the team. Also, Ultron is returning in the form of Jocasta.

I'd rate this a Mighty 2 out of 5. I don't know what Slott is trying to do with Hank Pym, but I've never disliked or been so uninterested in him more.

As an aside, why didn't no one tell me SWORD was canceled? Good thing I didn't get too attached to that book. I guess Beast will be rejoining the X-men sooner rather than later.

That is exactly why I picked up Mighty and I hated it(as usual).

As for Sword, I finally read the last issue and it's not bad. It's a shame something refreshing is getting cancelled (see everything not starring Wolverine, Captain America, or Spider-man).

[Previsionary]

Indeed, and let's not forget that Black Widow just had 2 of her mini-series finish (Deadly Origins and Black Widow and the Marvel Girls + has an ongoing on the way) and one heavily focused on the women of Marvel outside of their sex symbol status. Realistically, this is probably the most prominent female characters have been in the MU in years with all the attention they're now getting. Of course, Marvel just canceled their "Wonder Womanesque" series (Ms. marvel), so it's a mixed signal.

Anyway, a Bendis interview on what's coming up for Tony, Steve, and Thor. Speaking of Tony, was anyone really satisfied with how Fraction exonerated Tony in Invincible Ironman #24? I'm hoping the follow-up actually explores Tony's new position a little bit more and actually makes Tony repent for some of his actions (no matter how forced or out of character they were at the time).

As you saw in the solicits, the first villain is Kang. I've never done a Kang story, only some trippy time stuff here and there. I've been sitting on a notebook of Kang ideas for quite a while. And Kang has had some great stories, from Avengers Forever to the Young Avengers stuff. So I've put it away for a while and it's been on my list of things to do. And Tom and Joe said, "Do you want to do Kang?" and when I said yes, they said I should open [the series] with him. Open with a character that I have a new spin on. They always hold the bar for me at Purple Man [from Alias]. "Do a Purple Man with Kang." But in order for the story to really work, the universe had to be in a better place. And now it is.

So now we have Kang pulling a stunt unlike he's ever pulled before, doing damage unlike any he's done before ? when it's most inconvenient. And that's what a time traveler would do ? find a moment that's inconvenient and he'd hit you. But I tell you, for fans of all things Marvel, all the different looks at Marvel's future, there's going to be a lot of fun stuff. We have guests from so many different timelines of the Marvel Universe? Old Man Logan, Future Imperfect? there are so many cool things like that. For those looking to see how esoteric we'll be getting, you will be seeing the Next Avengers, from the Marvel animated DVD movie, in this comic book for the first time ever. And they have never appeared in a comic book. And you don't need to worry if you don't know who these people are? but if you do?

Emphasis added. I found these paragraphs a bit interesting (not all for the right reasons), but I'm kinda excited to see Marvel making use of the Next Avengers.

[tommyboy]

Speaking of Tony, was anyone really satisfied with how Fraction exonerated Tony in Invincible Ironman #24? I'm hoping the follow-up actually explores Tony's new position a little bit more and actually makes Tony repent for some of his actions (no matter how forced or out of character they were at the time).

For me, he's not exonerated. It was Stark who decided to do all the stuff he did, he's still Stark, ergo, still guilty. He could have repented his actions anyway, without this lame attempted cop-out. they have a Hal Jordan sized problem in redeeming Stark now. Maybe have him sign up for the Mephisto retcon express.

[herodad1]

how many books is the SIEGE storyline spread through? just got my thor #607 in the mail.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Oh come on, Prev...

Spoiler

Even I saw the Sword cancellation, when it was first starting.  

I totally agree with Tom about Bendis...Hate the man's work...Hate it!  I'm also frigging cringing at the idea of

Spoiler

Jewel

being in an Avengers book.

Dana

[Previsionary]

What be you talking about, Dana? That was actually a good book that got rid of creepy, mopey, sneak in your room and lie on your bed Beast. Fun Beast is a million times better than science speak Beast! Brand... take her or leave her.

[cmdrkoenig67]

What be you talking about, Dana? That was actually a good book that got rid of creepy, mopey, sneak in your room and lie on your bed Beast. Fun Beast is a million times better than science speak Beast! Brand... take her or leave her.

I meant the premise tipped me off to it's inevitable axing(the cast was not strong enough and the idea behind the organization was MIB tired)...I agree with you on Hank, though.  I miss ape-like fun Beast.  I'm not a fan of depressed, kitty-Beast.

Dana

[Previsionary]

Dark X-men #5 (4)

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Paul Cornell, but it doesn’t mean I’m oblivious to some of his shortcomings. After the let down that was Black Widow: Deadly Origins #4, Cornell comes back again with another ending to a mini-series that I was looking forward to. Did he knock it out of the park this week? Well…

Spoiler

Dark X-men #5 concludes with the Dark X-men battling Green Goblin in Norman’s psyche as Nate gloats to Norman about how well his plan is succeeding. Norman laughs it off because, obviously, Nate is way out of touch with how things have developed over the past few years. Normal boasts that he actually has the upper hand and that he doesn’t “beat” his opponents like a traditional hero would claim to do. Goblin easily makes mince meat of the Dark X-men and uses two of them to help Norman defeat Nate. The book ends on a bitter note for both the majority of the Dark X-men and Nate. Nate reveals that he would have helped some of the Dark X-men if they had trusted him enough to make a decision about where they stood in life, but in the end, he fell to the might of Norman and winds up in containment, bruised and beaten.

Honestly, this was a satisfactory ending. The Norman/Nate mental showdown was adequate, though I probably wouldn’t have expected Norman’s will to last as long as it did against X-man; but Norman is a special kind of crazy, and he’s known for his willpower. I actually liked that Cornell gave a bittersweet ending to the Dark X-men in an effort to humanize them. So often these days, writers treat the villains they use as 2D obstacles not worthy of having any type of real growth. It’s just nice to see these characters hit in the gut and stuck with the decisions they made (or neglected to make), and this is the first time in a while that I actually had some type of sympathetic connection with Mystique, considering her last few appearances in Weapon X and that horrible story in Ms. Marvel. I give this issue a 4 and the entire series a 3.5. It’s a nice little read, and I hope to see these characters again during the “Heroic Age” with some actual weight and character development… and if I’m lucky, new, better looking costumes.

So what did you lot read?

[Zippo]

I enjoyed Dark X-men as well Prev. I hope we get to see some more of Nate Grey, maybe during Second Coming or Heroic Age. With both Nate and Hope, the X-men would have a good starting point for leading themselves into some sort of new age.

[lugaru]

Loved issue 5 of Dark X-men... talk about having the last laugh (not saying who, I'm too lazy for spoilers today).

Again, I'm gonna miss it being a villains world when it becomes the Heroic Age, I love not being able to count on things to work out in the end.

[marhawkman]

to be honest things have always had that possibility it's just that writers used it less ofteen before.

[deano_ue]

seriously unless siege ends with norman in full GG role kicking the hell out of some major heroes i'll be ticked

[Previsionary]

Shh, talk about GG later. It's all about X-23, Jubilee, and Wolverine now:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=4674&disp=table

Not fond of the art style, but it'll be nice to see Jubilee back in action. I'm ignoring that Nation X story.

ETA:

This is one of the best splash pages I've seen in awhile. It made me giddy:

[marhawkman]

Jubes is BACK! sort of....

[thalaw2]

Is Jubilee the one flying?  If so....then boy have I ever missed a lot!

[Zippo]

No, that's Lucy In The Sky from Runaways 

[tommyboy]

Spiderwoman cancelled.

Maybe he should write a team-up book with Spider-man, Wolverine and Spiderwoman, that'd sell..Oh, wait, he already does that.
And Siege #1 sold around 108k. That's less than WWHulk, less than the tedious Secret war or secret invasion or secret house of secret dark M. It's the worst selling "event" book in some time, a failure 7 years in the making, so thoroughly trounced by the saales of DC's Blackest Night that I can't stop smiling.
Oh, and sales of "new" avengers, dark avengers etc are down, and down by a bigger percentage than those of Slott's Mighty Avengers.
Figures courtesy of:
http://www.comicsbeat.com/2010/03/03/marvel-month-to-month-sales-january-2010/
*does a little dance*

[marhawkman]

you don't have to be so gleeful.

[deano_ue]

we're screwed either way, yes modern comics are event after event, and try to push the boundaries  to be relevant, but seriously the glory days weren't that glorious, i'm sorry but i'd rather not go back to the big hair,big guns, big muscles of the 90's the dark brooding gothic of the 80's or the gee old chum of the 60's and 70's

there is no way to please everyone