The Marvel Thread

[Tomato]

Well that's what's so annoying about this crossover for me... it's this bizarre anomaly in what has otherwise been a fantastic run on the X-men books post-AvX.

[Podmark]

I find this crossover feels like "Well it's time for an X-Men crossover! What do we got?" / "Isn't it some anniversary of Days of Future Past? We gotta do something big for that!"

Crossovers should be epic, and this one doesn't feel that way yet.

[BlueBard]

IMO, Time travel stories stop working when the chain of cause, effect, and paradox is too convoluted.

Or in other words, when the reader's "aha!" moments are drowning in their "huh?" moments. 

The reader needs to be able to cleanly connect the events in their own minds like a puzzle.  When the writer throws in too many weird paradoxes without carefully building that chain of events, it pulls the reader out of that and they will no longer consider the plot to be cleverly constructed. 

And that's the fun of a time-travel story.  A good one depends on irony, I think.  If the writer destroys that sense of irony with a confused plot, they've lost the reader.

Sounds like that's what happened to you, 'Mato.  Even granted that you understand why things happened, it's like somebody took pieces from three different puzzles and forced them to fit together... the pieces are all there, but the picture is a mess.

[detourne_me]

I might be in the minority,  I actually really like what's happening with Battle of the Atom.
Although I do love having the O5 around now, and I don't think they should be here indefinitely, I do think it's a bit too early to send them home.
And it's good to see Dazzler being slowly worked back into the spotlight. It's hard to imagine that at one time she was one of the key X-Men.
Yeah, the story is a little meandering, but I guess I've always loved the soap opera element of the x-men more than them saving the world.

[Tomato]

The problem with Battle for the Atom is that it WILL make sense, but it currently DOESN'T. To use the puzzle analogy, we don't have quite all the pieces yet, so when we're trying to put the puzzle together there are these giant holes we can't fill, which is making it harder to put the puzzle together.

Spoiler

For example, as much as I whined about the whole "the future X-men aren't the future X-men" plot twist, it actually answered more questions than it raised. The first batch of X-men didn't sit quite right with me... they didn't strike me as "evil" future X-men, but they were always a bit too shady about their motives to be completely legit. So I feel like once we get the rest of the picture it'll be fine, but right now I'm just pulling my hair out trying to keep up with the three different timelines that are interacting with each other.

[Podmark]

The Venom ongoing series ended this week.

This caught me off guard, I thought there was another issue. I had mixed feelings about this series from the very beginning. First off I loved the idea of Flash Thompson as the new Venom, and I loved his costume. I didn't pick up the book when it first launched but once I did I loved Rick Remender's writing (he's one of my favorites now). I didn't pick up the book initially because it was pitched as an international espionage type book in interviews, but that didn't sound appealing for Flash and Venom. When I finally read the book it wasn't really like that, more of a dark superhero story. This dark element was one of the things I wasn't completely happy with either, too much time was spent on Flash's demons, his alcoholism, parental abuse, and controlling the symbiote. I have no problem with dark elements but I wanted to see more Flash as Spider-Man, that idea of becoming your idol and learning what it takes to be him. Regardless the book under Rememder was great. When he left the writing fell to Cullen Bunn and the art took a bit of dip, it felt like the book had gone from a B straight to a C. Bunn's initial stories focusing on Venom dealing with demons did very little for me, but his next stories bringing in Toxin, Lord Ogre and Mania were pretty decent.

Spoiler

The final issue didn't really feel like a final issue at all. It felt like the end of an arc and then Bunn received a call that it was the last issue. Nothing really comes to a final conclusion. On the plus side that means Venom's newest spawn and Flash's sidekick Mania is still around and I really hope Marvel finds someplace for her to be used. I really hope she appears in the upcoming Venom storyline of Superior Spider-Man.

An upcoming arc of Superior Spider-Man will guest star Flash and promises to set up the next status quo of the symbiote and Flash. Personally I hope he keeps the symboite and gets a new book or a recurring spot in Superior. The Venom Flash is an awesome idea and I'm not ready for it to end.
(Also now I really want to finally finish my Venom skope/skin)



On another note two books I'd like to mention are Matt Fraction's Hawkeye and Nick Spencer's Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Both are really fun, non-traditional superhero books, with Hawkeye following Clint in very down to earth street level stories, and Foes focusing on Boomerang and the most recent Sinister Six as small time super crooks. They've been very pleasant surprises.

[Epimethee]

On another note two books I'd like to mention are Matt Fraction's Hawkeye and Nick Spencer's Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Both are really fun, non-traditional superhero books, with Hawkeye following Clint in very down to earth street level stories, and Foes focusing on Boomerang and the most recent Sinister Six as small time super crooks. They've been very pleasant surprises.

I fully agree – probably my favourite Marvel books with Daredevil and FF.

[Podmark]

So the X-Men crossover Battle of the Atom finished today. As I said before it's alright but hardly my favorite X-Over. I think the main issue is that it's pretty much a bubble story that almost could take place any time after the initial issues of All New and Uncanny X-Men. Unlike Messiah Complex or Second Coming it doesn't really feel like things were building to this story. So in that regard I wasn't invested much as an ongoing reader looking at the payoff/development of the ongoing series'.

Now the aftermath of the book did lead to some interesting things!

Spoiler

We're left with new ongoing villains in Xavier II, Ice Thing, and Raze.
SHIELD is revealed to be building Sentinels, to be followed up in Wolverine and the X-Men.
Future X-Men Kymera, the daughter of Storm, will be sticking around in Brian Wood's X-Men.
And the big one, Kitty and the All New X-Men leaving the Jean Grey School and joining Team Cyclops.

The net result is that Brian Bendis controls the Cyclops side of the X-Men universe, while Jason Arron (with Amazing X-Men launching this week) controls the Wolverine side. The Schism carries on.

Really looking forward to the upcoming X-Men books.

[detourne_me]

Well put Pod.  That's exactly how I felt about the X-over too.

It's really something that the x-universe is so diverse these days.
You've got the two branches of Aaron and Bendis, but then there are the "mature" or "darker" books like Astonishing, Cable and the X-Force, and Uncanny X-Force.
I don't really follow those, and I have no idea what Amazing will be.  Is it written by Aaron too?
If they have it as a fifth week book, similar to the Battle if the atom bookends, I might pick it up.
I really enjoyed getting just one x-book a week for the past few months.

[Talavar]

So the X-Men crossover Battle of the Atom finished today. As I said before it's alright but hardly my favorite X-Over. I think the main issue is that it's pretty much a bubble story that almost could take place any time after the initial issues of All New and Uncanny X-Men. Unlike Messiah Complex or Second Coming it doesn't really feel like things were building to this story. So in that regard I wasn't invested much as an ongoing reader looking at the payoff/development of the ongoing series'.

Now the aftermath of the book did lead to some interesting things!

Spoiler

We're left with new ongoing villains in Xavier II, Ice Thing, and Raze.
SHIELD is revealed to be building Sentinels, to be followed up in Wolverine and the X-Men.
Future X-Men Kymera, the daughter of Storm, will be sticking around in Brian Wood's X-Men.
And the big one, Kitty and the All New X-Men leaving the Jean Grey School and joining Team Cyclops.

The net result is that Brian Bendis controls the Cyclops side of the X-Men universe, while Jason Arron (with Amazing X-Men launching this week) controls the Wolverine side. The Schism carries on.

Really looking forward to the upcoming X-Men books.

Having not read it, what made Kitty switch sides?  Spoil me mercilessly please.

[Podmark]

Having not read it, what made Kitty switch sides?  Spoil me mercilessly please.

Spoiler

The rest of the X-Men didn't trust her when she started to have doubts about the first set of future X-Men, who turned out to be the Brotherhood. So she went with the time displaced X-Men to Scott's side.
To be honest it seemed like a big overreaction.

[Randomdays]

And things change again........http://omg.yahoo.com/news/marvel-comics-ms-marvel-returns-muslim-teen-211344608.html

[thalaw2]

And things change again........http://omg.yahoo.com/news/marvel-comics-ms-marvel-returns-muslim-teen-211344608.html

Exactly...are they going to have two Ms. Marvels now or something gonna happen to Carol again?

[Randomdays]

From what I read in the comments section beow the story, Carol will be/ is taking up the official name of Captain Marvel.

[Podmark]

And things change again........http://omg.yahoo.com/news/marvel-comics-ms-marvel-returns-muslim-teen-211344608.html

Exactly...are they going to have two Ms. Marvels now or something gonna happen to Carol again?

I don't think so. Carol is Captain Marvel now and has a new book relaunching later this year. It think this new Ms Marvel will be sort of a side kick to Carol. Marvel has mentioned this new girl being a fan of Carol.
New teen heroes always catch my interest, and she looks kinda cool. I doubt I'll jump into her book though.

[Talavar]

Carol has been Captain Marvel for quite some time now, and I think that's where she'll stay.

[detourne_me]

Yeah the blog DCwomenkickingass had a pretty nice write up about her.  She's a Muslim American, and will deal with having a conservative family. Her new costume looks alright too! Kind of like a more reserved original ms marvel costume. I'm not sure about her powers. Kind of like Phat or Plastic Man I think.

[Podmark]

I was reading Amazing X-Men #1 today and I just wanted to say that I love how Jason Aaron writes Beast. He's just wacky and insane and he cracks me up.
This book begins the return of Nightcrawler and the Kurt sections were kinda meh, but the scenes at the Jean Grey school were great. It's the same kind of hilariousness from the beginning of Wolverine and the X-Men.

[detourne_me]

Yeah, I really loved that issue too,  the bits with Firestar and Iceman were great.  I think she'll make a nice addition to the cast.

I was also wondering if something happened to Astonishing, since Northstar and Warbird are in Amazing X-men now,  does that mean Astonishing is done?

[Podmark]

I was also wondering if something happened to Astonishing, since Northstar and Warbird are in Amazing X-men now,  does that mean Astonishing is done?

Yeah Astonishing ended in October. Amazing is essentially it's replacement in the schedule.

[Podmark]

Marvel's February solicitations came out today and now I am sad  .
Wolverine and the X-Men is ending.
Twas such a fun series. It slipped a bit after AvX but I will miss it.
Granted Amazing X-Men will carry on Jason Arron take on the X-Men but sadly it seems the students may be slipping to the background once again. Such a shame, he did wonders with Quintin Quire.
Arron did confirm that the Jean Grey School will continue on, which is good.

Young Avengers is also ending. I won't miss it as much as WatX but I still enjoyed it as well.

In both cases it seems the creative team was ready to move on and Marvel chose to end the book.

[JeyNyce]

Ok, I'm getting back into comics again and I figure I start reading Superior Spider-man.  I'm really liking the series and was wondering if anybody else is enjoying the series or you waiting for Peter Parker to come back?

[Podmark]

I'm definitely enjoying it. It's an interesting series because I find I don't necessarily root for the star character. Ock basically uses the means of a villain to accomplish the work of a hero, and essentially alienates everyone close to Peter Parker in the process. When Peter does eventually come back I'm looking forward to seeing him deal with the fallout of all Ock has wrought in his life (assuming they don't clean the slate first).

I'm pretty excited about upcoming Goblin storyline, and particularly curious if the Goblin King is in fact Norman or someone else.

Rumour is that the Superior era is in it's last chunk. So Peter could be back by the end of the year.



Also interesting Marvel news, this years Free Comic Book Day issue will feature the Guardians of the Galaxy with Venom (Flash based on the costume) and Captain Marvel joining the team. Carol isn't a big surprise since her upcoming series is space based and she's a decent fit, but Flash is interesting especially since it would seem to reveal how the upcoming Venom story in Superior will end.

[detourne_me]

Some quick thoughts about this weeks books:

Young Avengers was great! Kinda sad to see it go,  but I like that the whole series was just an epic storyline.  Kind of like Nextwave.  I like that.  Also the Scott Pilgrim references were great.

Uncanny X-men was focused on one of the new mutants, who has been named Morph! I wonder if it will stick.  Also some great Scott Pilgrim references.

And Finally X-Men #7 shows the team building again, and a new(ish) villain. Monet is back and her relationship with Jubilee is just as  I remembered it, plus I've been re-reading Generation X.

Now there's another trend I noticed in these comics, it might be a touchy subject so I'll put it in spoilers.

Spoiler

Three different characters came out in these three issues. Each way was handled maturely and without making a big deal of it at all.
America Chavez was really nuanced about it "I'm not on your team" and I'm not sure if I read it properly...
Morph just flat out said it. And Emma Frost was pretty blasé about it "that doesn't matter, it's not the task at hand"
And Bling came out to Jubilee (I haven't read much about bling before, so maybe it's common knowledge) and Jubilee was quick to defend her.
Now in all of these cases, it's really a non-issue, and in X-Men specifically, the idea of social justice is tied hand-in-hand with the concept of the book. It's the fact that these books are written so matter-of-factly when it comes to sexuality that makes me happy I've stopped supporting DC. 
I don't know.  I don't want to get up on a soapbox here, but I guess I already have. Sorry if this rustles anyone's jimmies.

[AfghanAnt]

Just finished Uncanny X-Men and I loved the issue and I love Morph. Bendis is really doing something special with the X-Men.


BTW

Spoiler

I'm pretty sure Bling had been a lesbian since Mulligan's run. She had a crush on Fox (Mystique in disguise).

[Podmark]

Yeah some good books this week. I was happy to see Karima joining Storm's X-Men team, but I'm disappointed that she's no longer an Omega Sentinel though. I liked the idea of Sentinel on the X-Men.

Spoiler

I think Bling! is actually bi. That was part of her intro story years ago. I'm not sure if all the characters know though.

[DrMike2000]

Yeah, the Uncanny X-Men issue spotlighting Benjamin Deeds/Morph was pure brilliance.

I particularly like the way he's been hanging around in the background unnoticed for 12 issues or so now ( for example the chip-eating panels in last weeks All-New X-Men while Hank, Scott and Jean argue around him). It all makes sense

And Chris Bacchalo's current artwork has really grown on me. I used to compare it unfavourably to his old stuff on Shade, but not any more.


I'm not so keen on Wood's X-Men series though. After the initial excitement it seems to have lost its momentum a bit. Still, I like the Dodsons on art, and I'm intrigued by Monet, so it stays on my list for now.


And yeah, I agree, its nice to see some gay characters introduced without any big fanfare.

[JeyNyce]

Has anybody been reading CATACLYSM: THE ULTIMATES' LAST STAND?  I'm guessing that MArvel is going to merge the Ultimate & Marvel (616) universe together or at least bring some heroes over like  MILES MORALES

[AfghanAnt]

I know they are doing a Spider-Men 2 so I assume Mile is making it out but as for everyone else...yeah...Ultimate-U has been a mess (with the exception of UCSM) for a while now.

[deano_ue]

anyone reading uncanny avengers, surprised others arnt talking about it