The Marvel Thread

[BlueBard]

Regardless, Mephisto is a liar...He always has been always will be.  Both MJ and Peter are fools to think he'll keep any sort of bargain with them.  AFAIC, Peter and Mary Jane were written as if they are idiots during that whole mess.

Dana

Seconded.  Peter would have known better, if he'd been written correctly, and no BND.  Heroes don't make deals with Mephisto.

Honestly, what good storylines did they come up with that couldn't have been done without BND?  I haven't been following Spidey since, but from the sounds of the reviews in this thread the best storylines didn't have anything to do with BND.  Unless of course they choose to retcon them to be Mephisto pulling strings.

[deano_ue]

am i the only one who would have liked BND more if it was loki. i know loki owed peter a favour so peter cashes it in to save aunt may, only loki being his usual self forgets to mention that to do so would change the past and take away the marriage

at least that way everyone's in character

[murs47]

What his new upcoming look?

Spoiler

[cmdrkoenig67]

Um...Ick (on the new "look").

Dana

[Podmark]

I really enjoyed BND as a whole, but I'll agree that little of it needed an unmarried Spider-Man. You'd lose three characters: Carlie Cooper, Michelle Gonzales, and Black Cat. None would have been a big loss. Everything else could have been done more or less the same. The biggest difference would be that MJ would have to be in it all the time, which would have changed Peter's living conditions, and put more or less pressure on him if he was still having money problems. That would have changed things up, but the stories could still have been done.

OMD was done because Quesada believed that the long-term future of Spider-Man would be stronger without him being married. So it wasn't really done for these stories specifically, and I think the writers did the right thing not focusing on stories that didn't need the marriage.

---

So as Previsionary said, starting November I think, Amazing switches to twice a month with Dan Slott being the solo writer. The opening artists are Humberto Ramos, Stefano Casselli, and Marcos Martin. Slott said that opening arcs will feature the return of the Hobgoblin, Mac Gargan becoming the scorpion again, and Spider-Man teaming up with or joining the Fantastic Four. Other story points include Peter getting a dream career, and developing new Spider-Man costumes. I'm really looking forward to all of it, especially having Casselli on the book. I loved his work on the Avengers: The Initiative.

It's funny it seems like Ramos follows me around. Any book I get he seems to end up on eventually. I used to hate his art but I've grown to like it.

[deano_ue]

OMD was done because Quesada believed that the long-term future of Spider-Man would be stronger without him being married. So it wasn't really done for these stories specifically, and I think the writers did the right thing not focusing on stories that didn't need the marriage.

i'm not usually the fan to moan and complain, but OMD was done simply because joey Q wanted what he thought was the status quo. it was simply a i can do what i want so suck it up to the fan base

[Podmark]

OMD was done because Quesada believed that the long-term future of Spider-Man would be stronger without him being married. So it wasn't really done for these stories specifically, and I think the writers did the right thing not focusing on stories that didn't need the marriage.

i'm not usually the fan to moan and complain, but OMD was done simply because joey Q wanted what he thought was the status quo. it was simply a i can do what i want so suck it up to the fan base

I'm not really disagreeing with you. I just stated the reasoning he's given.

[crimsonquill]

So as Previsionary said, starting November I think, Amazing switches to twice a month with Dan Slott being the solo writer. The opening artists are Humberto Ramos, Stefano Casselli, and Marcos Martin. Slott said that opening arcs will feature the return of the Hobgoblin, Mac Gargan becoming the scorpion again, and Spider-Man teaming up with or joining the Fantastic Four. Other story points include Peter getting a dream career, and developing new Spider-Man costumes. I'm really looking forward to all of it, especially having Casselli on the book. I loved his work on the Avengers: The Initiative.

My guess would be that Peter manages to get a job working at Reed Richard's labs (possibly because Reed feels bad that Stark used Peter to his advantage during the whole Civil War mess but Peter never got the chance to work in the lab as he was promised) and finally has access to his own work area and starts experimenting with new takes on his costume and improving his spider gadgets. And I assume that once Fantastic Four finishes up it's current storyline that ends with the Fantastic Three and Reed just asks Pete to join the team on some missions (which makes sense since Spidey adds the same She-Hulk humor element and muscle). I'm looking forward to it honestly because Peter finally starts getting a chance to be the scientist he always wanted to be and we get to see some cool new spider-toys along the way (along with lots of villians getting updated and retooled - I love Scorpion's new look with the heavy armor and pinchers added onto his forearms). But I can already see some skinners on FR start to cringe that a bunch of requests for skins of short lived spidey costumes will be flooding their way.

And to be honest I love the new look of Hobgoblin because while he had mostly the same weapons and glider that Green Goblin did.. it was time that he had his own new unique look that separated him at a glance.

- CQ

[murs47]

I'm not a Spidey reader, but when you put it like that CQ, I think I may start. I still need to read The Gauntlet. Is that out in trade yet?

[Podmark]

CQ you could be right on the mark about Reed giving Peter a job with the FF. I could totally see Slott doing something like that. And it'd probably be really cool.

I'm not a Spidey reader, but when you put it like that CQ, I think I may start. I still need to read The Gauntlet. Is that out in trade yet?

The Gauntlet is a series of arcs.
Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Volume 1 - Electro & Sandman  is released in HC and TPB
Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Volume 2 - Rhino & Mysterio Premiere HC is released in HC with TPB coming at the end of September.
Spider-Man: The Gauntlet Volume 3 - Vulture & Morbius Premiere HC
There will be 5 volumes plus Grim Hunt.


I was just reading an interview with Slott on CBR. Peter will be getting a new girlfriend for Slott's solo run. He says it's an established character. I'm guessing Carlie Cooper, unless they do a swerve and get him back with MJ.

[Previsionary]

When creators say things like this:

IGN Comics: We're told Peter is set for a new job, new girlfriend and so on. What can you tell us about these changes?

Slott: We've seen Peter struggle as a freelancer, we've seen him take on jobs that can't logically fit into his Spider-Man schedule, and now we've seen him unemployed. It's time. Time for him to be an adult, and not just get a job, get a career. With great power comes great responsibility. That can't just hold true for Spider-powers. That also speaks to Peter Parker's potential. If he sidelines all the wonderful things he can be AS Peter, all of the gifts he can share with the world, isn't that being irresponsible?

On the other side of the coin, he hurt and ended one of the biggest relationships of his lifetime. And that's very human. We've all done that. And after a period of time, we pick ourselves up and see what else life has in store for us. That's human too. The interesting thing we're going to see is that as Peter goes on this new journey, he's going to have some help from his ex. Mary Jane is one of the most important people in his world. She's an ex, but she's also one of his best friends, and she's the one person in the supporting cast who knows his secret.

It bothers me a lot. Marvel editorial made, and continues to make, a big fuss about Pete's youth and how certain things aged him too much and made the book difficult to write (and somehow caused a bunch of bad stories). Everything Dan is pushing for now was already in place for him... but MJ was along for the ride. You can't expect me to take any relationship seriously after OMD, so I won't address that, but the "growing up" part... how long before we retcon it again?

IGN Comics: With the shift to "Big Time" are you looking to thematically or tonally shift Spider-Man?

Wacker: I wanted a very drastic change in the book to make all the hubbub worth it. The web-heads have done a good job re-establishing many aspects of Pete's life that had fallen away over the past few years and now I want to tear it all up again.

Be careful, sir Wacker. Don't go too far or we'll have another OMD issue, and you'll be stuck defending poorly thought out decisions involving fat men, demon birds, and impossible to throw bricks while haranguing fans in your free time.

[BlueBard]

The one promising thing that I get out of that interview is that it sounds like they're going to re-establish the sci-fi aspect that's always been a part of Spider-Man before they started getting him involved in all of the mystic, supernatural junk in later years.

I really like the idea of Peter Parker, Your Friendly, Neighborhood Scientist.

Heck, I'm intrigued enough to think about picking up an issue or two.  I haven't done THAT in years.

The one thing that leaves me mildly skeptical is the idea that Peter could have a job that doesn't interfere with being Spider-Man and vice-versa.  The tension of balancing the demands of being Spider-Man and of Peter's private life has been one of those things that we associate with the character.

[BentonGrey]

Ha!  They really have no idea what they're doing, do they?  Bah.

[BlueBard]

Let's face it, Spider-Man has always been soap opera for a comic geek audience, in addition to its' more redeeming qualities.

1. There is the constant pressure to keep an aging star relevant.

2. The relationships change constantly.

3. Due to the sheer number of 'episodes', there is a constant churn of plotlines.  This invariably results in either a) more of the same, or b) 'jumping the shark' on a regular basis.

[NeoDarke]

My guess would be that Peter manages to get a job working at Reed Richard's labs (possibly because Reed feels bad that Stark used Peter to his advantage during the whole Civil War mess but Peter never got the chance to work in the lab as he was promised) and finally has access to his own work area and starts experimenting with new takes on his costume and improving his spider gadgets. And I assume that once Fantastic Four finishes up it's current storyline that ends with the Fantastic Three and Reed just asks Pete to join the team on some missions (which makes sense since Spidey adds the same She-Hulk humor element and muscle). I'm looking forward to it honestly because Peter finally starts getting a chance to be the scientist he always wanted to be and we get to see some cool new spider-toys along the way (along with lots of villians getting updated and retooled - I love Scorpion's new look with the heavy armor and pinchers added onto his forearms). But I can already see some skinners on FR start to cringe that a bunch of requests for skins of short lived spidey costumes will be flooding their way.

And to be honest I love the new look of Hobgoblin because while he had mostly the same weapons and glider that Green Goblin did.. it was time that he had his own new unique look that separated him at a glance.

- CQ

Er, what? So who has Venom?

Also, I'm kinda "meh" on that new costume.

[Xenolith]

I pick up the Marvel Adventures line.  I highly recommend both titles.  Bullseye just about whipped ol' teen-aged Spider-Man last issue.

[cmdrkoenig67]

The new Spidey costume looks like an attempt to reinvent the black costume (a sad attempt, at that).

I agree with BB about there being too many "episodes" and repetition...Marvel is flooding the market with too many Spider-Man books, too many Avengers books and way too many X-Books.  We're going to end up seeing a lot of "been there, done that"  or "We just saw this in the other Spidey/Avengers/X book" stories, I'm afraid.

I feel Marvel should cut the books back...One(?) Spider-Man book and maybe a Marvel Team-Up series (starring Spidey), Two Avengers books (maybe an additional Solo Avengers book, that features team members that don't have their own solo series) and cut X-Men back to four or five books.  I know they won't and it's probably not realisitic, but I just see them heading down a bad road with this.

Dana

[Courtnall6]

Looks like the new outfit is trying turn him into an actual "radioactive" Spider-Man. The green glow just screams radiation to me.

[Previsionary]

Guess who's becoming an Avenger.

Shifting to the Marvel Universe, word broke that Brian Bendis will be bringing the Red Hulk character into the "Avengers" title in the months ahead as a team member. This stood out to me in terms of how you manage this stuff, because the Hulk line over the past few years under Greg Pak and Jeph Loeb has grown into its own thing, kind of aside from some of the other series, but also, if you look in general at Marvel history, the Hulk character and concept has kind of sustained itself as being the thing that doesn't always play well with others. Even though the Avengers at its core is "all the big names in one spot," Hulk's never been much of a team player. With this new character in "Avengers" are we starting to see that pendulum swing back towards the Marvel U a bit?

There tend to be periods where certain books kind of go off and do their own thing, and then eventually kind of braid back into the spine of whatever's going on in the Marvel Universe. Certainly over the last two years or so, Hulk and the various Hulk titles have been off doing their own thing, and it feels in some intangible way that it's time to bring the Hulk back towards the center of the Marvel Universe.

Everything that you're saying in terms of the Hulk is correct and accurate, but the caveat I'd put on it is that we're not dealing with the traditional Hulk in this case. We're dealing with the Red Hulk, who is a different character, who will be motivated by different things and be in a different place by the end of the current "World War Hulks" arc and by the end of the following arc Jeff Parker is writing on "Hulk." Hopefully, he'll be an interesting addition to the Avengers that'll be just as volatile, but in different ways than the Bruce Banner Hulk was, and who will create interesting friction and an interesting dynamic amongst all the characters in that book. On top of everything else, for all that people have sworn up and down about him or disparaged him, this is a character that's gotten a ton of attention and gotten a lot of people emotionally invested – even if that emotion is pure, unbridled hate. [Laughs] We’d like to harness that emotion. Any character that's gotten that kind of a reaction is intrinsically valuable to us, and as you say, in the Avengers line as a whole, they're pretty much the central trading post of the Marvel Universe. Stuff from all the rest of the Marvel publishing line will congregate and pass through the Avengers books in one way, shape or form. So it feels like time for the Hulk, who's been off for a little while, to come back home and be a little more connected with everything else that's going on.

And the real story here is that Jeph and Brian had a conversation at one of our retreats, off to the side, and Jeph said, "I'm going to be finishing my arc on 'Hulk' and I'm going to leave the Red Hulk here" and Brian said, "That's interesting. I'd like to do stuff with that." So they pitched it back out to the rest of the group, and everyone said, "Sounds neat. Let's do that." That's typically how stories tend to evolve over here. It wasn’t a case of us sitting and going "What are we going to do with Red Hulk now?" It was a natural outgrowth of two guys talking about their plans and finding that there was a natural touch point where a character could segue from one place to another place and have some added value across the boards.

And even though Jeff Parker is taking over the "Hulk" book once Loeb is through, I have to say I'm not going to pick up that book ever again, and I can only hope the "Parker" luck (Ha) works against it, so we can finally be rid of it.

[Talavar]

Can someone make Jeph Loeb stop writing?  Please?

[Previsionary]

Can someone make Jeph Loeb stop writing?  Please?

He will be done writing. Red Hulk joining the Avengers was all Bendis. He pitched it, and Loeb agreed... and they pitched it together to everyone else.

[Xenolith]

What about the Red Brick?  I'm sure there are some heads that need klonked in the Avengers. 

[Previsionary]

I love that brick. Best Marvel character in a long time. I also love that Rocket Raccoon and Groot are getting a mini:

Newsarama contacted Abnett and Lanning (answering collectively as "DnA") and series editor Bill Rosemann via e-mail to gather more information on Rocket Raccoon & Groot, and discover how Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, who drew the original Rocket Raccoon miniseries back in 1985, got on board with providing cover art for issue #1.

Newsarama: This picks up on story threads from Guardians of the Galaxy, but is also intended to be new reader friendly. Why was it important to make this accessible to those who might not be familiar with the characters?

DnA: Always. You can get a great texture and depth to an ongoing story, something that really adds weight and significance to a tale and should never be avoided, but every issue is always someone's first, and that shouldn't ever be forgotten either. This story should satisfy the interests of readers who've been with the cosmic books for a while now, but also give new readers the opportunity to hitch a ride.

Nrama: So is it tough to make a comic accessible when it stars a talking space raccoon and a plant monster?

DnA: Nonsense, not with plain-old regular characters like that.

[Podmark]

I love that brick. Best Marvel character in a long time. I also love that Rocket Raccoon and Groot are getting a mini:

I saw that too. Very very awesome. I love Groot.

[Xenolith]

I am Groot!

I thought it was funny when Maximus the Mad was translating Groot.  Classic.

[AfghanAnt]

Thunderstrike is returning a mini. I hate the 90s.

[herodad1]

could someone post pics please of red brick and groot. they sound interesting!

[Podmark]

Here's a pic of his Divine Majesty King Groot the 23rd, Monarch of Planet X, custodian of the branch worlds, ruler of all he shades, flora colossus:


For more go here:
http://www.comicvine.com/groot/29-24341/images/

Someone else can post The Brick.

[Podmark]

Just finished reading this week's Avengers Academy and Thunderbolts. They were doing a crossover, though I'd call it more of a plot intersection as the two stories are separate just telling different parts of the same event. Both were good, though I liked Academy better.

Avengers the Initiative was one of my favorite books and while Academy isn't the same it's been a good follow-up. Right now the book is focused on character development building up the new students. This one focused on Hazmat who is trapped in her suit because of her toxic powers and she's pretty angry about it. The book packs a fair bit of story which is nice and the art is pretty decent.

The new era of Tbolts is interesting, but I'm not completely sold on it though I'm not quite sure why. The art is funky but I like it most of the time. I wish the book focused more on the old Tbolts than the new ones.


---

Lots of Chaos War projects have been announced lately with the return of dead heroes (probably temporarily).

There's Jim McCann writing the return of the original Alpha Flight (minus Puck for some reason).
Oeming bringing back Ares.
Van Lente assembling the dead Avengers - Vision, Dr. Druid, Swordsman, Yellowjacket, Captain Marvel and Deathcry.


Also there's a new She-Hulks book debuting in November written by Harrison Wilcox. This one will star Jen and Lyra.

[marhawkman]

I'm actually most interested in Deathcry.  He claims to have actually picked her for a specific reason.  Hmmm...