Kevin,
It wasn't terrible, but I felt it was a little...ham-fisted in places. But even so, it's better than Revolutionary Scott Summers...
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So this week's comics were up and down. Up: Daredevil MIGHT be back but apparently he's afraid.
Down: The ending of the Exiles, even though it was a good ending in some ways.
Up: Doctor Strange faces off against his perennial foe, the Master of the Dark Dimension...who apparently was trying to actually save the Earth from his Faltine fellows.
Down: Cap being indicted even though it was inevitable if only to showcase how bad things have gotten for a man that stands for ideas instead of a country. (But up on the new Daughters of Liberty!)
Meh: Spider-man finding out the Rhino is being chased by two kind of lame bad guys working for Kraven...I think. (Oh and I also think the cloned body/consciousness of Ned Leeds makes a come back.)
Up: One shot sci-fi horror strip with no real heroes; But it was good sci-fi if nothing else.
Up: The end of Marvel Knights mini-series (which I honestly felt like it could have gone longer) with some possibly weird repercussions for some of these guys. I dunno. Magic Machine that erases stuff (including the Sentry) shows up and vanishes.
Down - Less than Stellar Ms Marvel story about how Jesery city is going to pot thanks to no one paying taxes or something....
Down - Mostly just because all Frank does is either beat up HYDRA guards while at the same time getting a flashback from his past. It wasn't that good.
REALLY Down - Watching my favorite new character, Nadia, have a REALLY bad day even though it's understandable. Plus the fact there's a possible AIM spy among them (Or were...unclear) Mostly I feel like I was the one that's got face slapped by Hank Pym. :p
Meh - Weapon H does resolve Weirdworld's imbalance along with him going his own way...but I fee like he should give Cap a chance. I mean sure, Black Widow HID in plain sight, but that's what she's does. Also glad to see Morgan Le Fay again. Hopefully she'll stop being a side plot.
Somwhat Meh - West Coast Avengers brings in the lame Noh-Varr/Marvel Boy...but it beats watching smarmy Quentin Quire. So there's that. Oh and the West Coast Masters of Evil show up with both Bishop parents. So there's that.
For the Mutant Side;
REALLY REALLY not liking Age of X-man. Mostly because it's so...not how you'd imagine a Mutant Utopia to be IF you were an average person. (Plus not fond of growing kids in vats)
X-Force...was okay but I still want this whole Ahab thing resolved quickly. If only because the solicits for April have a MUCH more interesting villain coming along soon.
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If Ahab gets taken out and never comes back, I would be glad. But that's what i hoped the last time i read about him.
Just hoping if he gets put on a bus, they don't forget about his slaves.
But they were mentioned so there is hope^^
Marvel Boy showing up I am undecided but I liked the story and the new pet is something else^^
Started reading the new Hulk series and looks great so far. Thanks for the tip.
Exiles is done. There was a lot I liked about it, but it's probably best in the end they've finished it. The "final fight" was DEEPLY disappointing, just a massive deus ex machina after a good deal of buildup that led nowhere. I think the writer put himself in a corner and/or was expecting a few more issues to finish things up, because wow, was that cheesy, and it made that one sacrifice feel almost pointless (if they hadn't gotten out, would the entities who swooped in to save the day still have done so anyway? Seems so).
But all the character elements were great, and I really enjoyed the denouement.
One question -- what universe are they all in at the ending? IIRC, their own universes are all destroyed, right? So, like, are they in the 616-verse, or somewhere else? Does that mean Wolvie and Peggy Cap and Becky and King are all in the 616-verse? Does this mean we can have a Wolverine meets Wolvie crossover and have hilarity ensue?
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low,
I'm glad I convinced you. I wasn't sure if it would be good, but after the first issue, I remain committed to this.
DQ,
I'm pretty sure they're all back in 616. As for the ending, it's pretty much what I expected...
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It's kind of what I expected? I found the execution lacking. But even that's forgiveable because so much else was fun about it. I wasn't familiar with the original Exiles series and I love the concept of it... it's sort of very high stakes What If? Except the What If? Can become real.
Okay if they are in 616, then I demand more Peggy Cap comics, stat. ;)
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DQ,
I think the reason the execution wasn't as crisp was because the writing in many places wasn't. I've been a seminal fan of Exiles for a while. But after the first issue, I pretty much lowered my expectations.
As for Peggy Cap, I'm sure SOMEWHERE there will be fan fics. That and possibly even a cross over.
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Most fanfics are below my standards, sadly. Except the ones I write. ;)
There was a lot good about this Exiles run, but I agree it got a little wobbly several times. Creates potential for the future though, at least.
Thankfully I have Hotshots to look forward to. Especially with Gail at the helm, I realize it is exactly going to basically "Marvel's Birds of Prey"... and I have absolutely zero problems with that whatsoever. She writes these sort of books (misfit heroes and anti-hero teams) extremely well, and I am especially excited about the team's lineup. (And Atlas Bear so far is proving to be an interesting character; I love the balance between honor-bound warrior and petulant teenager that she is.)
DQ,
Yeah Hotshots looks very good. Especially because I like Atlas Bear and this group isn't quite X-force. It's more... Heroes for Hire I guess?
That'd probably be the best Marvel analogy that I know of.
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Well I can't say it's X-Force because a) It's already in existence atm. and b) They're not ones that go around killing people. Plus no Cable.
So the last part of Immortal Hulk really did give us something I've not seen in a while. That is something that the Hulk can't punch his way out of. But at the same time it did give more...resonance to the dichotomy between the science aspect of the Hulk and the kind of magic stuff he does. Plus you know, new Gamma Satan.
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So I want to say No Road Home is more Avenger oriented than some other avenger comics, but all I can say is while you don't have Captain America, Thor or Iron Man, you do get Hulk, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye (Clint) Rocket, Spectrum, and a cameo from Blue Marvel. So...something like the Avengers (plus the return of The Grandmaster's daughter, Voyager.) Oh and the Goddess of Night likes to stick her fingers into peoples heads.
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So No Road Home continues to be WAY more interesting than the whole "Vampire Civil War" though I think it has less hellfire than the other one. Mostly we get to see a little...I guess ground rules for how Nyx and her kids might be going to turn the world to night. Also Hawkeye MIGHT be in a fix now that Hulk is back.
Mostly this week was "Say you like Wolverine? Well have we got that covered!" I mean Return of Wolverine which led to "Infinity Watch" which also ties in with Uncanny X-men... So yeah. Oh and less we forget, Hulk-verines...sheesh.
Still not a fan of Age of X-man, ESPECIALLY now that they've gone and made Meggan forget about her husband and sleep with Nightcrawler. (EW!!)
The focus on each member of the Black Order is interesting...but I feel it hasn't quite the oomph you're getting from Guardians. Especially when you consider that Guardians MIGHT be slightly imploding while a kind of Dark Guardians go to kill Gamora...even though I think Thanos' consciousness is hiding inside Starfox.
Doctor Strange manages to pull his fat out of the fire with some help...but still unclear who it is that controls...whatever it is that collects magic debts.
At least MILES title is holding strong with its voice and you know, Miles-ness.
I feel bad for Nadia...but at the same time I keep wondering if they did a disservice not telling her about Hank Pym's mental problems...
Also Venom and Brock has serious relationship abuse issues to deal with. I mean making up two members of his family AND giving him cancer???!!!
I feel bad for Nadia...but at the same time I keep wondering if they did a disservice not telling her about Hank Pym's mental problems...
It was really bad watching her hitting this low point. Managed to make me feel with all of the characters. Just thinking about the next issue is hard.
But didn't they talk about it in the end of the last series? After Nadia was told what happened between Janet and Hank? I am almost certain that Janet told her about his problems.
I honestly don't recall that. But then again what little I recall of that first series was mostly just having Janet getting Nadia to get herself some lab partners, Bobbi crying for joy and Nadia taking Janet's last name.
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As I would need an excuse to reread the first series^^
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So last week's comics; my thoughts;
Amazing Spider-man new storyline isn't QUITE what I figured it would be when you said "Hey look! It's Kraven the Hunter collecting Animal themed villains!" But I guess it has...something of a charm. Still unclear WHY we needed to see clone Ned Leeds die...but whatever.
Avengers No Road Home continues with what I feel is a STRONGER Avenger storyline than the main one. If only because I think Avengers fighting vampires is a little BELOW their weight class. But hey it at least gives us a deeper look at Hulk's new..personality I think in terms of he clearly doesn't much care for people. That and Rocket needs to consider he might be a nicer guy that he lets on.
While I'm not clear about the timeline in all this, it is clear that the Galactic Empire of Wakanda is ruled by a dick, T'Challa is going to need more help, and they need to find a way to get Manifold back. But overall I like the over-lap between this and the Shuri series.
Captain America in prison isn't as bad as I thought it would be...I still don't get if they're going to kill Hydra-Cap or what. I do know that I don't think Strucker has the actual skill to fight a guy like Wrecker. I'm pretty sure he's got some kind of tech for that...Anyways, if Hydra-Cap IS dead...I hope that means we'll get some more stuff away from Secret Empire.
Daredevil's new run isn't really doing it for me...mostly because it seems like Matt clearly did wrong...but won't admit it. Even so it's not a terrible run like when he was doing law and Daredevil back in San Francisco.
Fantastic Four is uneven if only because it seems like Doom didn't EXACTLY plan for everything...but some how lucked his way into it. Regardless, we'll see what having a phased through a mountain and the FF stuck inside Galactus looks like..
Invaders has the makings of a great way to not only improve Namor as a character, but build up to giving him his own movie...if Marvel can sort out the rights. While I wasn't impressed by him using Hydro-man's powers...I am glad he's being more strategic this time around about what his goals are. That and he still considers some of his old friends worth having.
Conan's piracy thing is pretty cool, but not sure if I need more than one Conan comic. Oh who am I kidding?? Of course I do! :P :)
Superior Spider-man..isn't quite evening itself out but it is at least giving more prominence to Anna-Marie who I feel deserves if not her own series, certainly a more prominent role in the Spider-verse. We'll see how it plays out in later issues, but I like that she's not 100% trusting of Otto.
West Coast Avengers continues to shine for me as a kind of "We're not QUITE Young Avengers...but we do some really great characters" Still not sure if I trust Noh-var...but at least America's new relationship is working out. Oh and apparently vampires are in LA. Who knew??
Now on to the X-men stuff;
Honestly I can say if this is how they toss together thought police (or emotion police) it's no wonder that this world is probably going pear shaped. The X-tremists are truly a HORRIBLE team book, even if the characters (by themselves) are...okay.
X-force continues to try to see what Ahab is up to (hint, he doesn't like being chained up) along with setting up Stryfe's return. That and the rest of X-force are decent, but it's really for me, Boom Boom and what might be happening to Deathlok who I think is going to die. But that's okay. There's like 5 more of him...I think.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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<quote>Fantastic Four is uneven if only because it seems like Doom didn't EXACTLY plan for everything...but some how lucked his way into it.</quote>
That seems consistent with most iterations of the good doctor: happy to take credit for good luck, while promising great things when bad luck hits. I am growing more interested in his brain-washed minion, and I'm interested to see how this storyline meshes with "Doctor Strange, newest Herald of Galactus."
Well I guess we'll just have to see Chris when the next issue of Doctor Strange hits shelves in March.
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Since I didn't get to it yesterday, my comic thoughts of the week:
Avengers: No Road Home clearly sets the bar for me when it comes to understanding the motivations of both the villains and the heroes. It also gives us a clearer indication not just of the stakes but also the goals involved. Plus you know, Hulk riding Nightmare's horse.
Conversely, the main Avengers title posits the question "Why are we doing this?" especially because it's clear Dracula no longer wants to be in charge. That and the cameo by Johnny Blaze is pretty nice but doesn't save this story line that's pretty weak from the get go. Also, not a fan of Red Widow.
The Black Order finishes its limited run with a predictable betrayal but with at least some conclusion in terms of moving them on to Guardians of the Galaxy. That and they seem...less unfocused now that they've done what the Grandmaster asked. I still wonder how he got the Bow of Gabriel the Airwalker...but another story I guess.
Champions mean time at least has a nice little side story with a former villain who also served in the Black Order (albeit more as kind of recruit than a full member) coming back to haunt Sam Alexander and the gang. But really the main thrust is clearly about the guilt that Miles is carrying thanks to making a deal with Mesphisto. Yeah kid I know how you feel. But hopefully you can figure a way out of it. I mean Strange did and he resurrected the entire city of Las Vegas. So I have some hope...
Conan's next tale feels like "What if Conan decided to become a masked vigilante after ruling for a bit?" But it's still at its heart, a Conan story so there's that.
The return of Frank Castle, the Cosmic Ghost Rider, in his new series is just as weird and kind of fun as his last limited run. Admittedly it feels a little worn due to the fact that we all know Frank will screw up stuff, but at least in this issue, he didn't completely mess up the past by joining the FF and later the new FF. So there's that. Btw props for having Jack Kirby give him the finger...metaphorically/drawing wise.
Immortal Hulk's journey through horror is still prevalent but I feel what is most intriguing if not down right useful is seeing Betty Ross' take on this whole 'new hulk'. That coupled with her own insights thanks to being Red She-Hulk (and then getting depowered) coupled with what happened after Secret Empire and of course the current run of Captain America, I feel give this issue weight. Also it might be that Hulk DIDN'T do a thorough enough job at removing ALL the gamma from Betty's system. That or coming back from Gamma Hell and Gamma Satan getting involved...I dunno. But I do know I'm happy this run. I totally encourage anyone that's a fan of Hulk to try this. And even if you're not a fan. :)
Meet the Skrulls feels like Secret Invasion meeting up with a kind of 'Day in the Life of angsty teen and her family." We'll see if this goes anywhere but at least we have a clear premise composited with a plan to stop the ultimate Skrull detector from getting out into the wider Marvel U.
Moving to the Spider man side of things, while I didn't think I would feel Felicia would get redemption for how she was treated by Superior Spider-man, Nick Spencer managed to do that in a such a way and this issue illustrates her problems fully about having your memory wiped even if it's done with SOME subtlety. I still don't get Kraven's plan for all this...but I'm glad at least Felicia will be down for some good butt kicking of her own when the time is right.
Now to the Mutant side of things!
Prisoner X, I had hoped, would give us a wider insight into various characters but mostly it made me go "Wait...isn't Danielle Moonstar in 616...or is this some composite that Nate made?" I'm still unclear on that point. What is clear is that Danger Room prison has turned Hank McCoy into a REAL jerk. Not that usually sunny Gabby is doing much better...but still. The flashbacks for Bishop are nice though. We'll see how it all works out but so far I'd rate this title MUCH higher read than some of the other Age of X-man titles.
Uncanny X-men continues to give us what stripped down version of the X-men is in a world where most everyone thinks the X-men are dead, mutants are again threatened by a cure, and Wolverine clearly has the snark factor on over drive. Mostly it's nice to see Scott and Alex try to not just mend fences but see the world differently than they did before Avengers versus X-men and stuff like that. Still unclear what they'll do about the Warlock infected guys, but at least now they'll be trying to fix stuff. So we'll see.
Deadpool's next opponent...I dunno. Good night isn't the best because honestly it feels like he's got a revenge streak going...but that we're unclear just how he's doing what he's doing if he's got no super powers. Props though for taking out Deadpool's bones. I think that's a new one.
Hotshots, Domino's new team book, is really kind of a nice dove tail from the previous run. I dunno if they can work out the differences that both Natasha and White Fox might have working for governments, but hey at least we get to see what a human infected by Celestial...something might be like. Also Deadpool shows up.
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Just read the latest X-Force and must say that it is more of the usual. No surprises there.
And to think that she got the "better" deal than other so called "superfluous" characters during Extermination.
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low,
If you saw the solicits for Marvel for May, you'd see...well you can check for yourself. :) But in any case, I'm also glad that we got past the Ahab part of this arc. He was...dull.
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Thanks for the tip. So that makes me more optemistic about it at last^^
And yes removing Ahab is the hightlight of the issue. I just hope it sticks this time.
Even with the usual "hate mutants" villians he was one of the not interesting ones to me. And there is a lot of competition in that group^^
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I'm glad to improve your optimism. Also while I doubt it will stick, I just hope that Ahab doesn't come back until at least 2025... or something like it. I dunno if he's got competition...so much as I like the hate mutants villains tend to have stronger reasons. Some times. Maybe.
<quote>Fantastic Four is uneven if only because it seems like Doom didn't EXACTLY plan for everything...but some how lucked his way into it.</quote>
That seems consistent with most iterations of the good doctor: happy to take credit for good luck, while promising great things when bad luck hits.
That's tough to argue with. Doom is one of the all time greatest Marvel villains... but he is never as thorough, awesome or brilliant as Doom proclaims Doom is.
There's always SOME line of thought that he didn't plan for that the heroes can exploit.
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I'm glad to improve your optimism. Also while I doubt it will stick, I just hope that Ahab doesn't come back until at least 2025... or something like it. I dunno if he's got competition...so much as I like the hate mutants villains tend to have stronger reasons. Some times. Maybe.
Not that killing a villian off and bringing him back a short time later never happened before^^
But he was dead before his last return for what 15 years at last? If they do the same this time I can live with his return around 2034^^
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low,
Same. I know there are PLENTY of more interesting X-villains than him. Especially after those X-men Black one shots. Not all of them were great, but 4 out of 5 is pretty darn good.
But no more Ahab? Fine with me.
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Due to the fact I'm sometimes lazy and also the fact I was staying someplace other than my own home (and thusly my own bed) I didn't get to review last week's Marvel stuff. But honestly, this week's is VERY worth reviewing. Especially as I highlight what I consider two pivot moments in the MC universe.
Both of them involve the Hulk. In the first one, Avengers: No Road Home, we get to see a pretty BRUTAL death done by Hulk on the god Hypnos. That, coupled with him taking some of Nyx's power...makes me nervous. Plus side though, I think Scarlet Witch might be getting some more muscle in the form of Conan who, while not in the Hulk's weight class, certainly is legendary enough to punch above his own.
The second, Immortal Hulk, clearly gives us a deeper insight into not just Gamma people, but this incarnation of the Hulk. The fact he believe he's got the Devil Hulk side (minus the lizard part) going should give EVERYONE pause. While not as dangerous (as the Hulk himself noted) as the Hydra Hulk was unleashed, it's clear he's got issues with humans. So now one wonders, not if, but WHEN he will break bad...just how bad it will be. Admittedly he's suggesting not as bad as the humans screwed things up.
These two things clearly show us that while the Marvel U (in comics) has plenty going wrong (War of the Realms, Absolute Carnage, Thanos's last will, the sentient Infinity Gems...) this might be the most immediate threat no one knows about besides possibly Leonard Samson.
So yeah...not good news...
Moving on the rest (the non Mutant rest anyway):
Avengers finishes out the battle for the Lord of the Damned...and really while I should have seen it coming...I just didn't. But then again I though Dracula liked being in his home...but I guess after years of land development, he's wanting a place that's just for vampires. Good news! Chernobyl is the new vampire homeland. Yeah the eye roll was there too. Also nice reveal on the Shadow Colonel, along with the fact it's clear the Red Widow has her own agenda. (Poor Ursa Major, Crimson Dynamo, Darkstar and Vanguard...)
Captain Marvel continues to shine as she leads a rather rag tag group of formerly powered super ladies (and non power ladies) to find a way out of this time accelerated post apocalyptic Roosevelt Island that former FF villain apparently wants to help jump start his own empire of men only. Weirdo...
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man finishes off the story (kind of) of the Under ground New York...and apparently Wilson Fisk knows about it. (Of course he does...) Not much else to add other than Spidey does a nice Bluff check, and then we get to the end where Aunt May is probably going to tell him "I got cancer, Peter."
Guardians has of course the dueling storylines of the new Guardians (with a rather reluctant Peter Quill helping...but not really) versus the Dark Guardians who are still convinced that Gamora is the one with Thanos's consciousness inside. (Though again I'm more inclined to believe Thanos wouldn't choose such a puny body as that to house himself) The side story of Hela and the Black Order finding Thanos' head is pretty intense, but not all that compelling compared to watching the Dark Guardians try to work over Richard Rider. Also, fully communicative Groot taking charge is neat. Of course it helps that Beta Ray Bill is now second in command...
The last digital issue surrounding the mystery of Jessica Jones daughter and the legacy of Purple Man (his kids and himself) resolves itself nicely...even if the ending was a tad ambiguous if Jessica will ever truly be happy. But then again, who in the Marvel U is happy? I mean besides Annihilus probably...
Meet the Skrulls continues with more insight into at least the head of the house and his own legacy when Galactus came to the Skrull Throneworld for a bite. Other than that and a few confusing but in a delightful way scenes showcasing Skrulls shape shifting abilities, I'm still not sure what the point of this title is...
Miles Morales' has a kind of Ferris Bueller's day off, which while fluffy, didn't do much to advance any plot. But it did give me sympathy for Ganke as he gets the role of "Guy that's sick and has to cover for his friends." Otherwise, a pretty forgettable issue for Miles in my book.
Savage Sword of Conan continues our favorite Barbarian as he and his companions search for the weapons/treasure of a lost people. It's pretty standard Conan, but again, if you're only looking for Conan, you clearly get that. This isn't an epic. This is Conan.
Thor's on-rushing epic, War of the Realms, covers a good chunk of ground as we see Thor, Lady Sif, Valkyire, Jane Foster, Loki (who apparently is expecting company I'd say...) and even King Thor and his daughters all sort of having that deep breath moment as they each grapple with what's to come. (Though good news for Jane is apparently Marvel U cancer treatments are WAY better than they are here.) Also we see Volstagg in his semi-conscious state bemoaning the fact he's not War Thor... Finally I dunno what the whole branch thing might mean...but maybe it means a new World Tree. Maybe.
While the beginning of this story isn't as compelling as the ending, the overall arc of Venom has clearly shifted away from Eddie Brock. Mostly because it seems that the symibote, in a attempt to repair the damage it did (with the trust between Eddie and itself) decides to go off on its own. Not sure that's the best move, considering i think Malekith MIGHT want its connection to Knull. (Who also got a nice shout out in Guardians)
West Coast Avengers keeps feeling like while it's a great and much lighter piece (kind of Young Avengers), there's some grounding/connection to the larger Avengers. Mostly because we find out how Fuse and his sister are both a) Wakandans (their mom is exiled Dora Milaje) and also possibly part Altanatean. (Though that's just MY guess). Also vampires looking to fulfill a prophecy to become kind of Blade like (IE Daywalkers) using America Chavez; Also it seems perhaps that Katie's mom MIGHT be a vampire. I dunno.
So that covers the non-mutant side; On to the Mutant side!
Honestly Next Gen is about the only real Age of X-men comic I'm enjoying. Mostly because the seams of this universe are clearly ready to come apart. (That and I'm TOTALLY not shipping Meggan and Nightcrawler. Though in this least Kurt is trying to be a LG type guy in a world that's clearly not going to last much longer) I was a tad disappointed that Anole's new group is ready to commit mass murder to try to free everyone...but eh. Not like this reality will last much longer.
Meanwhile Uncanny X-men gets a nice visit from ex-ONE employee, Val Cooper who apparently will work with them...even if she might be setting them up. Mostly it seems the divergent threads of having two dead X-men, four New mutants that are infected by the Techno- organic virus, the second run Summers brother (though honestly the better one at leading some times) and Multiple Man are finding ways to figure things out. The ending with Captain America showing up is nice setup for what might be coming next. Also feel bad for Jono...After joining up with the Morlocks, they once again get slaughtered. I just keep wondering "Why do you guys stay there where you keep dying instead of moving to say, the military base where the Hulk was born. I mean that seems better...)
Wolverine and the Infinity Watch is still freaking weird. I know it's a setup to help the future created by King Thor and Old Man Phoenix by some how getting a new Infinity Watch together; But I'll be damned if I know how that will help. Mostly it's just Wolverine and Loki doing their own thing (some times together) because it seems like the thing to do...
Just saw the preview for War of the realms 1 and Dautermann draws great as usual but they start early with the usual during such events.
I wonder what
low,
I dunno yet since I'm not convinced they're going that route again...But we'll see come Wednesday and through out when the War of the Realms truly kicks off.
I'm with thejeff. Future stuff should be in the future, not the present.
I think it will stick at last for a time to make Malekith and his forces look even more competent. Not that this would be very difficult at the moment^^
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low,
Maybe so but I don't think that scenario will come to pass since it seems like the participants in that era are pretty much set on their present course.
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It's that time again folks! Time for me to give a summary of this past Wednesday's in Marvel Comics, and also my thoughts.
First let's get to the books I care a lot about (because if we just did them in order you'd all be mad probably.)
Immortal Hulk continues to shine for me because it builds so much off of previous Hulk portrayals while still being its own thing. This is especially true as we get the insights of what Rick Jones, perennial side kick, saw when Banner first transformed. The other aspect is the fact we get to have Doc Samson try to figure out just what it is that makes this Hulk tick. The ending wasn't exactly predictable, but it was still something that was being telegraphed well in advance.
Which leads me to Avengers: No Road Home, in which a similar thing happened because of Nyx figuring out NuHulk's weakness. That coupled with Monica's monologing made for some interesting insights into this rather weighty fight, especially after Nyx figures out what Monica did.
Finally, War of the Realms is here! Not exactly as earth shattering as I'd expect, but it still has weight and resonance mainly because we get to see the Avengers and Spider-man deal with a full on invasion by the Dark Council and their followers. I do admit to fist pumping some when Cap did a shield attack on Malekith. That alone sells me on this. The end panel also helps. Also wanted to add that the deaths in this ones were mixed in terms of I sort of thought one might happen (but even so I don't buy it) and the other wasn't expected but we'll see if it sticks.
So that's it for my top picks, moving on to the Non-Mutant but always interesting sides of Marvel Universe;
Honestly this .5 of Amazing Spider-man did't do anything for me. It mostly reminded me that there are some REAL shlubs/negative D listers in Spider-man's life. Gibbon is no exception. While I felt bad for him getting gunned down and stuff...it didn't have any real weight since it was like "So...you were a terrible bad guy, a sub-average good guy, and now you're dead. Yeah I don't care."
Champions really brings the pathos with Miles trying very hard to deal with what Mephisto did...and failing. Not that I blame him, but it's clear after the last two pages, Mephisto LOVES to mess with Spider-people (or maybe just people that inspire others. If that's the case why not Captain America??) Mostly we see the resolution to Sam's desire to stay on the Champions (albeit with powers) and Miles feeling the weight of his decisions.
Captain America's Captain of Nothing chapter 2 helped to clarify a point on what MIGHT be going on with Hydra Supreme and Steve Rogers. It did also clarify HOW Strucker was able to beat up Wrecker. (Which in hindsight I should have realized early on but didn't) Also cool is the new chick (or maybe an familiar one with a different look) the Dryad helping the Daughters figure out the best way to help Steve. Though admittedly once again, Strucker went for the smart play instead of the forward attack. Which is probably why the Power Elite keep him around. That and what Alexa Luskin is doing (sowing dissent/doubt) shows me Coates gets America...just not sure he's QUITE got Cap down as much as he does Black Panther. But eh.
Conan continues to show us he's still a comic force to reckoned with, if only because he keep piling on the body count in this issue. Mostly I feel like both these Conan books are serving a much larger narrative to those that might not know Conan the way most of us Fantasy RPGers might.
Cosmic Ghost Rider's next issue is pretty much like what his storyline has been since we got to know him in Thanos Wins and his own limited series. Other than Frank trying to fix something for Spider-man fans, he really does a bad job at helping out. But it is still entertaining to see him revel with Spider-man and talk to his past wife.
Marvel Team #1 is actually TWO books in one. I know, shocking. But in all seriousness, it's nice to see a kind of Rashomon effect going on, even if it's only from two characters PoVs. But when those PoVs are Ms Marvel and OG Spider-man, it's kind hard NOT to root for this book. The last page was predictable, but honestly I think it's supposed to go this way for creative reasons. I guess.
Frank Castle continues to plow his way through Bagalia while Zemo seems VERY...unZemo like in having a way to deal with Frank. I mean I get it, scrub HYDRA guys should be Punisher fodder, and yes Frank can plan pretty well (especially at blowing up a damn...without him doing it...sort of) but I keep waiting for Zemo to be like "I need to find Graviton or someone with HUGE power set to get rid of this troublesome Punisher." But at least Frank didn't get to Zemo right at the end.
Spider-Gwen (Or as she calls her self some times Spider-Woman) continues to figure her way through her universe post "I was in Jail, people know I'm Spider-Gwen." But at least doing a kind of Heroes for Hire coupled with the cops willing to give her a chance, made this story of meh seem relevant. I still am unclear whether or not the symbiote is causing these headaches...but I do think she might want to consider another option for Spider powers.
That's it for this side! On to the Mutant side!
Honestly I can say this with definitive certainity: AGE OF X-man sucks. None of the spin offs work, there's too much confusion about when and where people are; and some of the character work is WAY off. No where is that more abundantly clear than with Prisoner X. I was expecting more of something like Prison Break or even just the Prisoner. What I'm getting is clearly the most muddled mess I can imagine. There's few of the characters I actually care about, and the ones I do are...not the ones I remember. It's just NOT what you want in a X-men book.
Deadpool's newest foe is clearly "What if Batman's parents had been killed by Deadpool, but instead of Alfred helping him, he gets Weseal and Mephisto to help in his training." So...yeah that's our origin story for this newest guy. Not sure he's THAT great a bad guy for Deadpool...but at least he's better at being broody. I think.
Domino Hotshots proves to me what I've suspected all along; TRUST NO ONE WITH THE POWERS OF THE CELESTIALS. I understand why people are interesting, but considering that poor Outlaw is having Celestial flashbacks between rambles, and Deadpool trying to kill them, I'd think Neena might want to get someone else to handle this group; ESPECIALLY since it's clear that White Fox and Black Widow are going to be at cross purposes. Not sure yet about Atlas Bear... But really, I'm not buying that Stark sent Deadpool to kill these girls when clearly there's plenty of other things Stark needs and is doing.
Major X is what I call "What If" from the 90s with a mixture of X-Force meeting original Exiles. Here we get to see a "new" character that comes from a mutant Utopia that's under threat. So what does he do? Jump back in time, space and maybe reality to talk with X-Force (though more fighting than talking) and see if they can help. Of course we have to know WHO Major X is...and while it's nice to see Nathan get a kid again (that isn't Hope)...not sure this is the best way forward.
SPEAKING of Hope Summers... Yes we know she joined the MLF. We also saw at the end, Steve Rogers aka Captain America tell the X-men "Be careful who you trust." Mostly this story was about trying to get Hope to be...I guess more hopeful but failing. Also now Cyclops can't blast everyone without serious migraines. Head trauma will do that (and loss of an eye.) What was nice is (even though I don't trust Dark Beast one bit) the removal of Warlock's techn-stuff from the New Mutants and them getting...normalish. I guess. That and what Dark Beast had to do (with SOME consent I'd hope) to remove it makes me wonder if we're going to see the last of Warlock for a while.
That's it for now! Next week, I'm looking forward to more War of the Realms tie ins and stuff. It looks fun. :)
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I know I skipped Saturday folks, but I can honestly say this:
Age of X-man SUCKS. None of the tie in works, and I'm pretty sure they're just treading water until Jonathan Hickman starts up his X-men run.
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thejeff,
Yeah they (Marvel) are bringing him back to do two books. I don't know if these will stay on as actual titles, but the House of X and the Power of X are what's being highlighted for solicits for July.
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It's that time again folks! Time for me to give you my thoughts on this week's Marvel releases. (Starting with the ones I liked best while going through the others via the fact I do non-mutant stuff first!)
So stuff I liked:
Avengers No Road Home concludes with some rather stunning sights, not the least of which now Zeus is now Space Zeus and Hercules is back in space. (A nice call back to that one limited series he had back when he was in the 24th century) Mostly it's good to see resolutions while at the same time some real character growth and changes that feel...organic. Admittedly the way Nyx gets defeated is kind of super deus ex machina...but at the same time it feels right to me. YMMV.
War of the Realms had a lot to offer but honestly the main story and the one tie in, (The Punisher one) had something for me. War Scroll needs more time before I can make a definitive statement. But I can say this: I'm looking forward to seeing more of Daredevil with Hemidall's powers. But back to the main story...which honestly feels more and more like what Infinity War on the big screen was like. (Even though I still think the Avengers SHOULD have handily handed Malekith his butt.) Mostly it was nice to see I was right about Odin...but I feel a little...sickened by the ending of poor Brunnhilde/Valkyrie. Of course finding out that it was in service to make Jane Foster the NEW Valkyire...didn't help as much. But overall, it's nice to see some times going the Avengers way...even if the Earth looks kind of fubarred... I keep waiting because of Devil Hulk's new attitude to just wail down some Dark Elves. But eh.
Finally a sad farewell to an under-rated comic in West Coast Avengers. I had hoped with such an eclectic cast with one or two well knows, it might last. But sadly...not to be. Also I'm slightly weird-ed out that Kate keeps dating boys that turn out to be bisexual. But maybe it's just because I want Katie to be happy. And honestly who DOES want to date that hot mess of a Kree Hybrid, Noh-Varr??
So now that I've covered all that (Well maybe not the Punisher War of the Realms other than to say, Frank Castle kills things dead.), we'll move on.
In the spidey side of things, we get a little .5 shot look at Curt Conners as he tries (and mostly fails) to save his son. That being said, it was nice for him to use that newly made poison on Taskmaster. But overall it was forgettable. But certainly more worth reading that what happened to poor and pretty much not much lamented Gibbon.
Also Miles gets involved in the escalating gang war as Tombstone's guys make their move. Mostly I felt this was just the kind of street level thing Miles might need after all the other drama in his life. But the appearance of new (and possibly Spidey-related villain) character has me...concerned. But we'll see. Go Miles. :)
Daredevil finally comes to terms that he made a mistake. Of course it helps that Frank Castle is the one that helps him realize it. I wasn't sure Matt would accept it...but I think after that HUGE gun battle with Frank (along with internal commentary) we'll see Matt try to do better. Also his personal cop nemesis might not like costumes, but he's still got enough integrity to NOT side with Wilson Fisk.
Guardians continues to build towards what I think will be a great climatic battle between the new set of Guardians, the Dark Guardians and probably Hela and the Black Order. Mostly the setup for having Gamora fight the new Guardians was nice...even if it only ended because Groot is showing his wisdom this time around. Also still wondering about Rocket...but considering he survived Nyx, I'm pretty sure what's coming his way probably won't be as bad as Thanos inside Star-Fox. (Though Gamora seems to think it's a trick.)
The newly minted Saladin Ahmed's run of Ms Marvel has some promise. I wasn't that thrilled with the first issue, but the second issue has cleared the hurdle of getting more interesting as Ms Marvel finds out she's been chosen. (Honestly Kamala should talk with America about being that kind of thing given the whole "Vampires chose me." )
Meet the Skrulls third issue has a little more sizzle now that I get to see the THIRD daughter that I didn't know was still around. That and some of the background into them coupled with ALice's rather impressive kill made for good reading.
Old Man Quill still reads like an old hack writing about what should have been just a one shot graphic novel for Old Man Logan. But it has the benefit of at least showing us what happened after Logan took his little trip into 616. Mostly I was a little underwhelmed that Ashley Barton chose to rule...but I guess that's the life in a post heroes world.
Shuri's story hasn't quite filled out the way I expected. But the cameos/side shots of having Ms Marvel and Miles/Spidey in a comic that also has Graviton in it, does make it more entertaining than what feels like filler as we kind of wait for T'Challa to get back from space. That being said, it's clear that while Shuri wants her own path, for now she's got to do the heavy Wakanda lifting of "redeem a kid that made a bad choice." So there's that.
This Thor look into Loki didn't go the way I expected it. I thought maybe Loki had used magic (given he was talking about his teacher), but after the visits by the past, present and his possible future, I'm just not sure what his ultimate destination might be. Even if he does get his own comic again after War of the Realms. I hope though he's got a good tailor that can get out Frost Giant stomach acid.
Tony Stark finally finds a way to win against what I thought was just some rogue AI stuff. But it turns out it was actually engrams of Maria Stark. So yeah...that was something. Along with Howard's engrams from Arsenal. It's weird but at least Tony breaks free...even if he might be dead now. But we'll see how it all pans out. Mostly I wasn't surprised to see Arno take advantage of the situation to help Sunset Bain and himself. I am curious how that will play out later on.
So that's it for the non-mutant side. Time to go to the Mutant side!
And first thing on that side is:
More crap from Age of X-men. Honestly I keep waiting and waiting for stuff to get better, but while Nextgen does have some of the younger X-men I like...it sorely lacks any impetus to make me care much about a world that clearly is unsustainable. Same for Amazing Nightcrawler, though it is nice see a version of TJ showing up. But again, not enough to feel like this entire thing was justified.
So yeah. DO NOT READ ANY AGE OF X-MAN.
Major X...still feels a little Exile-ish with Nathan's son, but at the same times compared to the rest of the X-books (IE the ones that don't have Wolverine or even in the 616), it's almost Pulitzer material. Mostly it was nice to see villains coming out to give us a sense of who is the bad guys here. SURPRISE! Atlanteans. Specifically (and probably) the offspring of Namor and the other mutant Atlanteans. We'll see how this goes, but at least it's bearable reading.
Uncanny had some REAL gut and punch to the face moments that I didn't expect. Well not entirely true. I did expect ONE of the X-men to die...just not Rahne. Especially right after the whole "I just want to find a normal life." So yeah. Also nice was to see Steve Rogers TRY to reach out...even if Scott isn't ready to play ball. I am also impressed by Scott's decision to have more a democratic system instead of the usual hierarchy of "X-men team leader and team". So there's that. I was pleasantly surprised to see Joseph return, but I was more shocked by his Ned Stark impression due to Revanche coming back to do...vengeance I guess. I dunno. I am a little miffed they didn't keep the new look Juggernaut gained a while back. Also not sure I'd want him on this team, mostly because clearly the man has issues. So yeah. That's the Uncanny X-men.
Wolverine and Loki's romp with the Infinity stones continues with the Fraternity and Richie's brother, Robbie. Mostly I enjoyed the look from King Thor and Old Man Phoenix as they review what MIGHT have changed. That, plus the appearance of Bats the Ghost Dog (whom apparently Logan takes a shine to), do make for interesting reading. I still don't think the Fraternity (as it is CURRENTLY) would stand that much of a chance against Wolverine...but what do I? So yeah. Also Loki goes disguising to get help to maybe deal with Robbie. Though I didn't expect him to call Robbie's mom...
Anyways that covers this week's comics! If you want more details about the War Scrolls, I'd suggest you pick it up yourself.
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Would have loved to see more of West Coast Avengers. But perhaps the next version of Young Avengers will be better received. Should get Kelly Thompson on it to continue her great writing esp. of Kate and America^^
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I hope they do get a chance to get Kelly Thompson to write more Kate and America adventures. She does those quite well.
Just read the latest wasp issue and it was great. People just having fun and no big crisis or lifethreatening stuff happening should be written more again.
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Well it was a good issue. I just wish it was continuing past issue 10.
But at least we'll see what happening with Carnage...
Well it was a good issue. I just wish it was continuing past issue 10.
But at least we'll see what happening with Carnage...
Perhaps they learned something and skip the canceling before looking at the trades sold^^
I am still waiting to see what Hickman will be doing with the X-men.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/05/20/2-reasons-to-hate-jonathan-hickmans -x-men-relaunch-and-2-reasons-to-love-it-x-ual-healing/
And yes doing a relaunch once a year at least is something Marvel should stop doing. It is not really helping.
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It's not but considering how they were screwing things over with Extermination...I'm okay with restarting this. If only because I hope Hickman can write better than some others.
Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk though is classic gold.
It's not but considering how they were screwing things over with Extermination...I'm okay with restarting this. If only because I hope Hickman can write better than some others.
Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk though is classic gold.
The usual "do what you want, it doesn't make a difference" tradition^^
And yes Immortal Hulk is still a great read.
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Low,
Eh. I just want to give it a chance before I blow it off.
That being said, at least SOME of the Non-Mutant stuff is going pretty good.
I'm also interested to see if the Future Foundation series can last beyond 6 issues.
I will give it a chance too. Hoping that it will be good with Hickman at the helm. And hoping that some series that are canceled because of it will return like Rogue and Gambit or X-23 for example.