Knight,
I can understand your frustration. But if you recall!
As for not puking up the Infinity Gems/Stones, I'm guessing there's some meta reason for us not seeing them since Secret Wars.
I'm not a fan of Tony AI but he at least proved to be a slightly better version of Tony than living breathing Tony. Also Birthday cake...weird.
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Well, I want the old Tony back. He was lovable even doing all those stupid things he did. Contrary to Captain Marvel and Steve Rogers, to name a few contemporary doers of stupid things.
Though I should probably spare my aversions for Tom Taylor, just in case he does something stupid with Gabby.
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Wormy,
Yeah but the fact is Steve's stupid isn't the same as Tony's stupid. At least it doesn't seem that way.
I hope Gabby sticks around.
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I kind of like seeing Tony in the classic armor. With all the changes and updates Marvel has pushed in the last decade... that's a really refreshing callback. Even if he is all Holo-Tony...
Phantom,
Not sure I'd call him "Holo-Tony" so much as maybe "Gibson-Tony"
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I hope Gabby sticks around.
Gabby and Jonathan need to stay^^
Low,
Agreed.
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Some comments on what I've read this week:
Yeah for Spidey. this is Peter at his best, when he sacrifices his enterprise for the greater good (and it's absolutely hilarious that Doc Ock still doesn't get what motivates Peter after all those years).
Every issue with Betsy in it is something I like to see. I like how they let Jean search for different tutors and mentors on her way to find a solution to the Phoenix dilemma. Though I happen to think that Namor already said all there is to say about it. Also liked the Jean/Phoenix crossover in Generations (especially when Jean brought Galactus down with a well-aimed punch. That was adorable).
Also I really start to like Lunella and hope that this run of Secret Warriors will survive the Secret Empire event.
I'm not terribly well-versed in Inhuman history, so I enjoyed the Inhumans-Once and future Kings issue. Loved how Black Bolt and Maximus were kinda depicted as blue-eyed youngsterts, while Medusa was already kicking ass at a very young age.
Also read Defenders and Deadpool but have nothing to say about them. I love those street-level characters, but I already stopped caring about the Diamondback storyline with issue #2, so I do kinda hope that Castle does what he does best, so we can go to a hopefully more interesting story.
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Wormy,
In regards to Defenders, my only thing is how Diamondback came back and if IGH is how he's got super powers. But otherwise I agree, let Frank ice the guy and be done with this.
Generations was weird but when meshed with Jean Grey...you get something unique I think. And yes young Jean punching Galactus is great.)
I think Secret Warriors might survive, but only if the Royals still remains off stage. Kind of like "Defenders" fills in for the Avengers while off in space.
Once more it's time for me, guy that reads comics and gives out spoilers, so that guys like Delightful and Freehold don't have to read them. Also gives time for Wormy to collect his thoughts AND of course catch up on his reading! :) Also like to point out start of GenCon, which I know I liked to have gone but oh well. Back to comics then!
First things first though! SE Spoilers!!!
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US Avengers #9 resolves SOME of what happens with our agents, but honestly I think now I'd like them to stop being USAvengers and just be like World Avengers or maybe Euroforce Avengers. Something. Anyways Toni Ho decides to stop imitating Tony Stark, Red Hulk might still be stuck in Hulk form, and HYDRA at least isn't invading Europe. Oh and Cannonball is stuck on some alien world that thinks it's the best small town in America from the 1950s or 1960s. I think. Mostly this issue lacked one thing: WHERE WAS ARES?! A small but important gripe if you ask me.
X-men Blue ends with our past X-men getting out New Tian with two new teachers, plus the fact Magneto does a nice threat towards Hydra-Cap. Mostly I enjoyed watching the character building moments between Emma and Jean, Lorna and Alex, and of course Emma's obsession with young Scott Summers. Also bully for Emma! She built back Jean and Scott's mind link! *sarcasm* Really though the fact that Miss Sinister and Bastion are restarting the Ultimate idea of Mothervine (a covert operation to create more mutants) is pretty...Emma but I feel like Alex has truly lost himself thanks to...AXIS maybe? I dunno. Regardless Blue ends SE involvement from the mutant side.
So that's our SE stuff. On to Generations Spoilers! (since I keep thinking they're kind of separate...)
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Thus ends our Generations spoilers! Now! On to our Non-Mutant, Non-SE spoilers!
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Ultimates 2 reads like a love letter to the wacky, the comic inspired, and ultimately, to the Ultimate Universe and 616 itself. There are plenty of moments that make you wonder, and think, but mostly it showcases that Al Ewing loves these kind of overall super stories. From the fight with the Ultimates of 616 with their Ultimate counterparts, to the discovery of just how much smarter Ultimate Tony is than Ultimate Reed Richards (though to be fair he might be less smart after being divided up in so many parts), to seeing Black Panther PUNCH a god. :) Yep you read that right. Mostly, it's a chance for Eternity to see his sis Infinity and their old family of OTHER Eternities/Multiverses fight down the First Firmenant. Oh and we get the return of the Celestials, the Living Tribunal and of course, Lord Chaos and Lord Order are both taken down a notch. It's really just a great fun book and love letter that feels like what Secret Wars 2015 was.
Meanwhile, in Mighty Thor, the War Thor shows no mercy. He shows no f*8ks given. He just punches, hits and totally proves he wields the power of a dead reality Thor's power way more than even Ultimate Thor could have dreamed up. Of course though even fighting Surtur's daughter (Sindr), he's still not quite ready to kill everything. Drown them sure. (It wasn't in blood though. Sad...) But Jane FosterThor proves also she's a grand hero, not letting innocents suffer. (Even they are Muspelheim spawn and only care about burning) So naturally War-Thor doesn't like it when she saves them. So now we get a fight going in a space... I guess inside the hammer? Unclear. What is clear, neither one of them is going to like who is holding the hammer. Probably.
Spider-men II continues to intrigue in terms we STILL don't know a damn thing about Mile Morales from 616. In fact they drive home this point like it's a sledgehammer and we're just a nail. Regardless, having both Jessica Jones and (I'm only guessing right now) Ultimate Taskmaster being showcased does help prove this is a new reality. Just not the best version of Miles since clearly he wants his Ultimate Miles dead.
All New GotG is still a fun read but I wouldn't call it a necessary one. Mostly we see a little more about the head Raptor and the fact they clearly want the Nega-bands. Plus you know Quill does his best to save Rocket from dying. Not like super best (like fighting Thanos) but better than his usual (losing to say his Dad or his sister) Best thing was seeing a planet Ultron still runs so there's STILL hope for just a regular Ultron. Maybe. We'll see.
ASM Renew your Vows looks at our little Normie who (unsurprising!) is freebasing some Goblin Formula. Thus explaining his surprising level of intelligence. Also we get a nice Lizard and his boy cameo while we flash back to little Normie's childhood. Best part was really Annie, as she continues to not just grow but also be good and smart about helping Dad in his crime fighting. The ending made me sad for Normie but only for a second.
Black Panther and Crew continue build the end of this but with some NICE call outs too. First is learning more about Eden's time away from the X-men and also being apart of Harlem for...I guess the 90s maybe? I dunno. The other thing was the reveal that Erza's super team was actually a HYDRA funded operation run by Strucker. THAT was a surprise. So while I wish it had continued, at least we get some nice call outs/cameos.
Gwenpool tells us that yes actually Gwen DOES have a super power. No it's not 4th walling, so much as being able to manipulate reality. Weird but whatever. Oh and she apparently goes dark side in the future and Miles didn't like it when she outed him, and that led to his family being murdered. So yeah. It's not a good day for Gwen.
Invincible Iron man or rather Invincible Iron Heart continues to build up her rep as a hero. Mostly because after taking out Lucia von Bardas, the rest of Latervia decided "Hey she seems like a good choice to lead us!" So that led to Sharon Carter deciding to work with her about fixing Latveria. So there's that. One thing that does trouble me is the look on AI Tony's face at the end. But we'll see if that just might be gas. Or not.
Luke Cage journey into the Big Easy with super powered kids...isn't much but it does show one thing: Luke might have been grateful to have the powers, but that doesn't mean Burnstein owns his soul. At least I hope not. Pretty sure it doesn't. Anyways I'm ready for this to end. But at least now Luke kicked more butt than getting kicked. At least until Luke 2.0 decides to fight him too.
Monster Unleashed finishes out it's story arc with the Intelligencia being outsmarted by Kei AND a huge assist by Queen of the Moloids, Elsa Bloodstone. Mostly it was just nice to see our old anti-hero, the Mole Man, get some love and of course Monsters smashing each other. We'll see what happens next.
Royals continues their journey through space as Medusa has a meeting with her former sister queens, the Universal Inhumans who apparently have been kind of exiled onto another planet. (Probably because they still have feelings for ole Blackie.) She also has to navigate around the fact that while tricked by Maximus, she confesses her role in putting Black Bolt in what she calls Hell. Meantime before they meet up, Crystal and Ronan have a heart to heart. It's pretty brutal though from Ronan who feels...very un-Ronan-ish. But at least maybe in a few centuries and the growth of the new Supreme Intelligence, the Kree Empire might be coming back. Maybe? Oh and the whole future thingie with Maximus and future Noh-Varr to meet the Progentitors. (Honestly I think they're over blowing this whole "Who created the Kree?!!" Duh! Celestials! Anyways. We'll keep up but I really want more than this to keep me going.
Silver Surfer delivers the next to last issue of its run with SS and Dawn going BACK in time. (Yes it's a bad idea.) They end up going BEYOND before the Big Bang and of course meet Galan pre-Galactus. Of course it ends with Dawn AND that universe dying. So...we'll see what happens!
Totally Awesome Hulk finishes its cross over with really no substantive impact in my mind. Cho continues to try to keep the Hulk monster leashed, while fighting TWO Hulk/Wolverine hybrids. (Only of which apparently is viable.) The mutants and Hulk part on less than amicable terms, but I guess when you have a team of Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike as team mates, it's not THAT surprising.
So that's it for our Non-Mutant Non-SE Spoilers.
Now! Onto our Mutant Non-SE Spoilers!
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Astonishing X-men gives us some kind of meta but also some historical back drop while at the same time Farouk/Shadow King keeps trying to play with the X-men that are on the Astral Plane. Not to be outdone of course is the...ghost maybe of Prof X who apparently is helping...but only to KILL the X-men?!! What??!! Sheeesh. Oh and the British Government needs to start talking again to MI-13. Mostly it's a good read to give us some insights to each character AND reveal that Mystique IS actually in this. Why? Self Preservation is the best I can get it. I mean she says why but I don't buy it entirely. Too bad about no Beast though. (Current version, not past one.)
Generation X deals with one of my favorites, Eye-boy. Really he's an under-used character since he can almost see EVERYTHING. And in this issue he kind of does...even if it's not especially helpful for him.
Plus Nature Girl helps though honestly she never grew on me. (bad pun I know!) Minor bad guy and mind control, but mostly it's about Eye boy and his sight powers. Which I wish they'd get back to using.
That's it folks! I hope you enjoyed it! We'll see what next week holds!
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With USAvengers and Ultimates feeling like they are wrapping up (I assume both have been cancelled, based on how they ended things), I'm kind of bummed. Both went out with a bang, but those two books, and Mighty Thor, are the three that I wait for every month, with any other purchases being kind of 'eh, I'll give that a shot' impulse buys when I get to the store.
Set,
USAvengers isn't ending. It's still ongoing. Weird I know. But yes, Ultimates is gone. Mighty Thor will trudge on because we need Thor. :)
TheJeff,
That's completely different. Mostly because we kind of expected it since Jane Foster got cancer. It's kind of our Captain Marvel moment for 2018.
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SO after reading a lot of Green Arrow issues today (and I'm still 13 issues behind *sigh*), I decided to come over and read through the X-Men offerings. Was enjoyable enough without being outstanding. Great mind game between Farouk and Prof X(?), though it seems that it puts the X-Men in a no-win-situation. And yay for Mystique, I'm being a big fan of her since forever.
Generation X I mainly enjoy for the characters, and while the stories themselves are easily forgettable, it allows the author to put more focus on that so I'm ok with it. It allows them to put quirky characters like Eye-Boy and Nature girl front and center of the comic, which would otherwise not be possible.
X-Men Blue was good. It's just that I really liked Emma together with Scott and that I'm still a bit angry with the Powers that decide about what they did with her in the meantime. Still, it allows young Jean to be even more badass, so I complain another time about it. Shout out to Magneto for basically spitting in Hydra-Cap's face.
Over to the Wolverine Generations story. Felt good to see them together once again, and I'm not ashamed to admit that the end brought a tear to my eye (kinda hate it when I get emotional over a stupid comic but still it happens time and time again).
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Wormy,
I'm not 100% it's entirely Charles Xavier. I think it might be some psychic piece of him that Farouk/Shadow King has corrupted slightly, but kept mostly pure to entertain himself. But we'll see.
Generation X is clearly more about the characters than the stories. Which as you point out, allows for quirky, not necessarily the creme of X-men crop to shine out.
I was mostly happy with Blue showing that time displaced Jean might not be as skilled as Emma, but clearly she's got the Jean Grey super power of punching things with her mind.
Generations didn't bring me tears, but it did make my heart tremble with emotion.
Could it be Evil Charles Jr. from the future?
Grey,
It doesn't seem likely. Mostly because evil Charles wouldn't be fighting FOR the X-men. At least...not that I've seen.
Grey,
It doesn't seem likely. Mostly because evil Charles wouldn't be fighting FOR the X-men. At least...not that I've seen.
true but It's X-men
We've seen stranger things happen
Grey,
That is true too. I just don't buy it...entirely. We'll see when they finish this arc.
So due to the fact I have a job that often takes me away from the internet from time to time. (Pet sitting does help pay some bills though!) I didn't get to post on my usual Thursday night. HOWEVER, since it's now Friday, I still think spoilers are a) warranted and b) I like doing this. :)
So without further ado!
SE Spoilers!
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Strange ends his tie-in with what pretty much assures us was a distraction, IE that Mordo wasn't in command of the Darkforce shield, just keeping everyone away from the Sanctum. Mostly this issue was good for Ben Ulrich playing paladin while at the same time Strange readies himself to see what comes next. If anything.
Thus ended SE spoilers! On to Generations!
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Generation Spoiler/Legacy spoiler!
Now! On to NON-SE NON MUTANT spoilers!
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While I know again, Cable is a mutant, there's nothing specific about this title that MAKES it mutant centric. It's mostly about Cable fighting with some guy that MIGHT be variant of Kang for the Time Sword. (No I don't know much about its origins. I just know it's a sword and it's got time powers) But we DO see Cable the strategist at play in this issue. So...yeah. Still not quite invested but at least the stakes are quantifiable.
Daredevil concludes his arc of getting the law to catch up with current Marvel Comics reality. His explanation about why it is we have heroes and the law and how to work those two PoVs together is pretty cool. The scenes with him talking but also seemingly fighting with the Justices was nice. Mostly it was good for him to get a decisive win. But just because you win doesn't mean Wilson Fisk is going to take it lying down. He might not have killed Matt or blown up the Supreme Court, but you can bet this ruling will not be something he'll keep to lightly.
Deadpool's second to last issue that feels more like the beginnings of Old Man Logan continues as Deadpool (now in Ultron armor) pretty much mops up everyone his path before ditching it. It's only thanks to Gwenpool that some vengeance for Deadpool is going to be coming on the rest of these villains. It's not as memorable as the first time he killed an entire universe, but it's certainly almost as bloody.
Edge of the Venomverse also has Deadpool being a force for...well unbridled carnage and death. But it's mostly against alien parasites...so there's that. I'm glad these vignettes are over but honestly I feel no closer to understanding what is going on than I did BEFORE this started. So... overall not a good selling point for Venom fans.
I admit since I didn't read much of Groot, I can't get into it, but I guess Groot is better than Venomverse. At least I HOPE it is.
And now, finally to our Non-SE Mutant portion!
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Weapon X is at least more mutant centric than Cable, mostly because they no longer have Cho-Hulk to deal with. Still not sure I'm sold on this Weapon H guy being powerful. Oh and Doctor Alba reminds me a lot of Sinister and the rest of those amoral science people. But we'll see what it all means as this continues onward.
X-men Gold's newest arc isn't great but it's far from terrible. Have the Russian mob play with magic is bad enough, it's even worse when they resurrect Omega Red. So yeah... Also apparently Illyana and Piotro have an uncle that's Russian mob which is how they find out about him. Plus Logan snarks about Piotro and Kitty seemingly getting closer again. But we'll see if that has any play. Mostly it's just a step along a plot that MIGHT get us some character development for Illyana...maybe. I dunno.
So that's it folks! Hope you enjoyed it! Until next time! (And of course next time will be the END of Secret Empire...so I'm sure some of you will be rejoicing.)
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I was a bit disappointed in SE #9, especially as I hadn't got the memo that the series would be expanded to ten issues (I hate that this seems to have become the norm rather than the exception). So to me it felt a bit like a filler issue, and while I enjoyed some of the single pages, it didn't do much to advance the story.
Apart from that I (finally) mostly read up on Mighty Thor. And (how do I say it) I'd much prefer the Odinson to go brooding on a desert planet for the next few decades just so that I can keep She-Thor for the rest of my days. Should have known that I would enjoy it given that it was written by Jason Aaron.
But just to comment on the last issue: Isn't Smoketongue just adorable? I want to have it :D
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Wormy,
Yeah the expanded to ten issues DOES seem a little out of place, but I'll just read 10 and hope for the best. It didn't advance THAT much, but it moved more than say, #2 or #3 maybe.
I will miss Jane Foster Thor but there's a large contingent that wants Thor Odinson back at full power and ready to challenge what is wrong with comics. Maybe. But yes Jason Aaron is doing Thor well.
I dunno. I'm a little tired of things of fire and goblins. I'm ready for other things.
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Jeff,
It is that. However as you stated, and I'm sure others feel, we've gotten to see Odinson and Thor be more than just fighting against Gods or stuff.
I think the Champions Amadeus is better than either his solo OR his team up with Weapon X.
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I think the Champions Amadeus is better than either his solo OR his team up with Weapon X.
He was great as Hercules sidekick, and later, 'the Prince of Power,' but after the first half-dozen or so issues of Totally Awesome Hulk, it started to get crossover / stuntcasting happy, and fell apart, IMO.
I liked it, and then, not so much... I'm kind of disappointed with where it's been going for awhile now.
Set,
Yeah I feel you on that. Right now though, if I want a good characterization of Cho, it's probably in Champions.
Those were fantastic issues, no question.
So, Secret Empire finally done. It pretty ended exactly how I and probably everyone else thought it would. Honestly, more than anything else the thing that bothers me most about this ending was the status quo reset button getting pressed. Sam still has the shield, Jane still has the hammer, real Steve Rogers isn't part of Hydra anymore, and everyone's friends and united again until the next big event tears them apart for dumb reasons. But, hey, Black Widow is dead and I'm super, duper sure that she's never going to come back EVER.
Yeah. I was not very happy with this series. I'll be happy if they keep to what they've said and not have any line wide crossovers for the next 18 months.
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Delightful,
It's not DONE done, but yes the entire mini-series (#0 through #10) is over. There's just some codas left and we can...I dunno.
As for Jane still having the Hammer, if you've read the solicits, it's probably not going to be much longer. Sam with shield isn't clear that he'll step into the role again. Nor does it seem like Steve is ready to take back his role as premier hero of heroes just yet. What is clear is this: Rick Jones, Nat/Black Widow, and Avril Kincaid are both dead. Of those, I expect Nat to come back sure, along with Rick. Avril...not so much.
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I know this is asking a lot but I really do wish superhero comics took death seriously. The fact that every long-time comic book fans know for a fact that major characters like Black Widow and Rick Jones are never going to stay dead because of their popularity just ruins any kind of emotion you could feel over their deaths and personal sacrifices.
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I know this is asking a lot but I really do wish superhero comics took death seriously. The fact that every long-time comic book fans know for a fact that major characters like Black Widow and Rick Jones are never going to stay dead because of their popularity just ruins any kind of emotion you could feel over their deaths and personal sacrifices.
Exactly. There is no weight to the stories because we know that Steve will somehow come back around, that X or Y won't stay dead, that so and so probably won't stay good/evil, and so on. There is this fear on one hand of doing anything that might require lasting consequences while on the other hand we have RADICAL SHIFTS just because it will drive sales for a bit of time.
I know this is asking a lot but I really do wish superhero comics took death seriously. The fact that every long-time comic book fans know for a fact that major characters like Black Widow and Rick Jones are never going to stay dead because of their popularity just ruins any kind of emotion you could feel over their deaths and personal sacrifices.Exactly. There is no weight to the stories because we know that Steve will somehow come back around, that X or Y won't stay dead, that so and so probably won't stay good/evil, and so on. There is this fear on one hand of doing anything that might require lasting consequences while on the other hand we have RADICAL SHIFTS just because it will drive sales for a bit of time.
I guess that's what happens when making a profit is more important than telling a story that has meaning and actual consequences. HYDRA took over America and yet I doubt that will have lasting consequences that feel organic. Hell, I doubt characters in-universe will even mention it happening once the next couple of events come around.
Sometimes I wonder of superhero stories would be improved if the characters were more self-aware of their own continuity. One of the best moments in the Siege event is when everyone just says "I told you so" when Osborn inevitability went crazy and toppled his own regime. Everyone knows things are going to work out and that the "important" people won't stay dead for long.
I know this is asking a lot but I really do wish superhero comics took death seriously. The fact that every long-time comic book fans know for a fact that major characters like Black Widow and Rick Jones are never going to stay dead because of their popularity just ruins any kind of emotion you could feel over their deaths and personal sacrifices.Exactly. There is no weight to the stories because we know that Steve will somehow come back around, that X or Y won't stay dead, that so and so probably won't stay good/evil, and so on. There is this fear on one hand of doing anything that might require lasting consequences while on the other hand we have RADICAL SHIFTS just because it will drive sales for a bit of time.Honestly it's the grasping for RADICAL SHIFTS to drive sales that bothers me more than the lack of permanent deaths.
I get the reasons people don't like the resurrections. OTOH, I've enjoyed a lot of stories that happened long after a character's first death.
Understandable. There's plenty of Superman stories I've enjoyed after the Death of Superman. I just wish they didn't bother with fake-outs if they weren't prepared to seriously kill a major character.
thejeff,
You mean like what happened with the original Captain Marvel?
ANYWAYS! Now is the time in the program/day/thingie where I go posting spoilers for Delightful and Freehold. (Though it does appear that Delightful at least READ issue #10 of SE) And of course allow Wormy to come back and post later about HIS thoughts. Also this MIGHT be the end of this thread guys! So...without much ado, SE SPOILERS!!
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Moving on to Tie-ins, Deadpool and Maria Hill have words and of course it was Deadpool that tipped Maria off to where Blackout was. Mostly this was between that and issues 8 through 10. I do feel a little bad for poor Wade, but in the end, he can't undo what he did, even if some might have wondered about it.
Captain Marvel crosses over with issues she was already involved in IE 7, 8 and 9. Mostly I was flummoxed by the fact Avril Kincaid was killed...but I guess she could only handle so much Quantum power. Even if it did break a planetary shield. So yeah it's a kind of rehash but only in filling gaps between space stuff and the ending.
Uncanny Avengers brings us back kind of full circle with the former Unity squad trying to piece themselves together along with the relationships that both Wanda and the rest have with each other. Oh and Graviton shows up. Mostly it was about history, and what future (if any) this group might have in a post SE world. (So far I'm guessing not as much as the original Unity squad.) Really the front end is more interesting than the back end.
SO!!! That's it with the SE spoilers! On to Generations Spoilers!
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Thus ends our Generation spoilers! On to Non-Mutant SE spoiler!
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Black Panther continues with the mystery about WHO or what kind of God is trying to usurp the usual Wakandan pantheon. It's still unclear what role, if any, that has in the recent crisis that nearly blew this kingdom/nation apart. But at least Storm shows up to be her usual bad ass self AND give BP some praise.
Meantime the last issue of Black Panther and the Crew finishes it's arc. It's not a solid ending (probably because Coates had more than one story arc planned) but the fact all of it ties back nicely to historical Marvel AND even current Marvel (with HYDRA no less) does make this a short series that should have gotten a better shrift.
Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme comes to a conclusion with Valeria playing the role of her adoptive Uncle/Godfather as Doctor Doom. It wasn't the most stellar fight, but it was good to see a possible future with Magik, Old Stephen Strange AND some reason Leah as Hela (probably) along with a fight in Hell. (Oh and apparently Mister Fantastic and Sue Storm are back in this timeline!) Mostly I look forward to seeing this end and the fact Billy and Teddy's kid is cute for a green half Skrull/half human/some part Kree probably.
Infamous Iron Man REALLY did pull one on me. I thought for sure we were dealing with MAKER Reed Richards! But with the appearance of Doctor Strange, I should have guessed at a mystical angle. (Well that and the fact "Reed" had fire powers...) Oh well. At least it was a GOOD surprise. Even if I don't think Mephisto can actually COLLECT on Doom's soul. (Mostly because Doom would say screw you!) Oh and of course Project Pegasus was showcased nicely.
Spider-Gwen diverted from the plot to show us life for the Mary Janes. (And apparently the Uatu/Watcher of Earth-65 feeling stressed out by the angst. I know the feeling) Mostly it was more about her band mates than about Gwen's life as Spider-Woman. (Good panel was MJ of Earth-65 have the same kind of punching power as her mainstream/Earth 616 prime self.)
Thanos basically proves that you can bend his mind, but you can't change his spirit. That and he gets his powers back. Good thing too because Phoenix Force powered Thane is ready to tear dear old Dad apart again. Oh and Thanos repays Starfox for his punch an issue back.
Thus ends our Non-Mutant, Non-Se spoilers. Last but not quite least, Mutant Non-SE spoilers! (There's kind of a good one in this bunch!)
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X-men Blue shows us Maddy Pryor or at least a VERSION of her that's all Goblin Queen'ed up has been teaching Beast Magic. Can anyone say "THIS IS A REALLY BAD IDEA?!" I thought you could. Naturally it has the predictable result of Maddy double crossing beast and bring some...I guess Inferno infused "Hex-men" as she calls them. Anyways. Only thing I will note is it's clear that while Lorna isn't trusting her dad to do right by the new time (and now dimensionally) displaced X-men but they both agree that she's around to keep him honest. (I think) Mostly it's just great to see Maddy again. Even if it's not QUITE her.
Here ends our spoilers. So...now I must ask...SHOULD we start a new thread? I mean SE is OVER (mostly) and there's nothing else save Legacy but honestly? that's not an "event". So...thoughts?
Thejeff,
Jean is in a weird place since she's young but clearly NOT the Jean we knew. At least, not the one that died twice anyway...
Thejeff,
Nope. Back when X-men versus the Avengers came out, there was a short mini-series tie in where-in the Phoenix force got used to reconstitute Mar-Vell. It's kind of why Carol is now taken his name.
Thejeff,
Understood.
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Swordsman (I have a slightly soft spot for the guy. IN that I like he's a great swordsman.)
Superhero RPGs, like Mutants & Masterminds, occasionally reference a 'weapon master' archetype, but in comics, a surprising number of the 'weapon masters' are *archers,* so it's always a thrill to see someone who specializes in swords (or fighting batons, or knives, or guns, anything *but* longbows, really...).
I loved the Swordsman's appearance in 'Dead Avengers,' during that whole event. (Great use of characters like Mar-Vell, Yellowjacket 2 (Rita DeMara?), Vision (who was dead at the time), Dr. Druid, Swordsman and, ugh, Deathcry.) He and Rita were the last two standing, and flew off into the sunset together, having, from the afterlife, saved all of the *living* Avengers from being destroyed by agents of death.
There's a lot of unanswered stuff around that character.
Kate Bishop explicitly picked up his sword, along with Hawkeyes bow and quiver, during the first Young Avengers mini series. Would it kill her to push one of the buttons on the hilt and discover that it can shoot freeze rays, fire blasts, nerve gas, etc. thanks to the Mandarin's tech?
"Uh, Clint? You can have this bow back. I just found out that this sword goes pew-pew and I'm loving iiiiit..."
Speaking of the Mandarin, he's been redefined as less of a cackling super-villain for the lulz, over the years, and more of a practical businessman who would, logically, be all over having a pet Avenger, and not to 'betray them,' but because they keep saving the world, and he kind of likes the world. Having a new character show up to join the team, using Makluan tech given to him (or her) by the Mandarin, and under strict orders to be 100% cooperative and heroic (unless the team is actually attacking the Mandarin!), seems like something the Mandarin could do just to screw with people's assumptions (and massage his own public image away from 'megalomaniac supervillain' and more towards 'noble sponsor to heroes from China'). This would be an ideal launching point for a new Swordsman.
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Problem with the Swordsman (and often similar melee weapon masters) in comics is that he rarely actually came off as a great swordsman, more like a guy with an impressively gimmicked sword - which really could have been any item. He spent more of his time zapping people with it than actually sword fighting.
At least with a bow, you're shooting arrows, even if they're gimmicked arrows.
True. And, between characters like the Swordsman (with his Makluan tech) or El Aquila (who used his sword to channel electrical blasts), it seems that is a common theme (making the 'sword' more of a 'blaster, shaped like a sword,' and less interesting).
I gotta admit, I'd be even more interested in a Swordsman/Swordswoman concept if the character used a more exotic sword, like a khopesh or falcata or falchion or something. Ye olde broadsword gets a bit dull, and DC already has a lock on Katana (who totally needs a sidekick named Wakizashi...). :)
And wow, does anyone use spears? I think there are more super-characters who use shields, and no other weapon at all, than ones who use spears...
Problem with the Swordsman (and often similar melee weapon masters) in comics is that he rarely actually came off as a great swordsman, more like a guy with an impressively gimmicked sword - which really could have been any item. He spent more of his time zapping people with it than actually sword fighting.
At least with a bow, you're shooting arrows, even if they're gimmicked arrows.
I think the writers had to do that at the time, because they could not show him hitting a person with the sword.The Black Knight had the same problem, but he had a reason with the blood Curse of the ebony blade.
And in the 90s he switched to an energy blade, that could be switched to stun.I think the only one, who used a sword against people, was Katana at DC. But it was not really shown. She just had to clean her sword a lot^^