Author Archives: Sean Ian Mills
Review: All-New X-Factor #4
I consider myself a dedicated X-Factor fan…I guess. Or maybe I was just blinded by my love of Multiple Man. Was that it? Peter David wrote an amazing Multiple Man! He re-defined the character for the 21st century, and it was a thing of glorious beauty! And more than just Multiple Man, the whole previous volume X-Factor was a lot of fun. So what am I not seeing in the All-New X-Factor? Was PAD’s previous series this shallow, and I just really enjoyed seeing Multiple Man? I kind of get the feeling that if he switched out Gambit for Multiple Man, I’d probably be enjoying this comic a lot more.
X-Factor #4
As it stands, the newest issue of All-New X-Factor is more of the same, and I’ve still got to give the thing a big ole meh!
Comic Rating: 5/10 – Alright.
There’s not much to this new issue. All-New X-Factor #4 is all about recruiting Danger to the team by way of a big, explosive fight scene. PAD peppers the fight with some nice character moments, especially for Gambit and Polaris, but at the expense of a seemingly incompetent Danger. The angry robot spends the entire issue promising to kill everybody but never seems to focus enough to actually carry it out – though, of course, it’s not like she’s allowed to really kill any of the main characters. But you’ll see what I mean in the synopsis.
Like I said, Gambit and Polaris get some good moments. Gambit spends the issue trying to snap Danger out of her murderous rage, while Polaris has some murderous rage of her own. But I don’t really care one lick about Danger, her history with the X-Men or her potentially joining X-Factor. I’m fairly certain that nobody else in the X-Office cared enough to use Danger in their comic, so PAD snatched her up. Or maybe he really wanted to use her, I don’t know. What I do know is that we went through a lot of trouble to add her to the team, and I just didn’t care for any of it. We took an abridged tour of Gambit’s recent solo series, but I don’t feel as if the story affected Gambit at all or had any impact on the series. They might as well have gone to the Savage Land or Latveria to recruit Danger.
I don’t want to come off as overly harsh in my reviews of All-New X-Factor…not like with Teen Titans. That book is actively bad. But All-New X-Factor is just bland. It’s bland characters on bland missions with no real emphasis on the corporate angle, at least not yet. And I’m just not happy with bland.
6 Women I’d Pick for the Fearless Defenders
Picking my own superhero team lineups has become a bit of a game here at Henchman-4-Hire, one I love playing and sharing with you readers. Who among us hasn’t thought up their own ultimate Avengers lineup in their heads? Who among us hasn’t wished for a chance to pitch to Marvel their awesome new X-Force roster?
How about the Fearless Defenders?
I would sell my first born’s soul for Amanda Conner to draw the comic
This list started as characters I would add to Cullen Bunn’s Fearless Defenders series – but the comic got the ax after only a dozen issues. I didn’t read it as much as I should have, but the idea of a women-only superhero team (or at least one with a single token male) could be a lot of fun, and it definitely makes a statement in the world of comics. So join me, won’t you, in coming up with our own ideal Fearless Defenders squad!
Full Flash Costume Leaves My Heart All A’Flutter
UPDATE: I’ve added a second photo taken on-set on the pilot after the jump. It’s a bright, clear, full-bodied look at the new Flash costume! Click the button to see it after the jump!
Check out an official, full-body picture of the new Flash costume from the upcoming TV show!
A running start – get it?
I love the look! I love the color! This is an awesome costume!
They’re filming the pilot right now, and is there any doubt that this will be picked up for a full series? It’s made by the same people behind Arrow, and clearly Arrow is a smash hit. We live in a glorious world of superhero entertainment these days!
Click the jump to see a better picture of the costume.
I Do Not Want Nightwing to Appear on Arrow
Of all the possible DC Comics characters who could appear on their hit TV show Arrow, I think Nightwing is the one I want to see the least. I would rather there be an episode with Crazy Quilt than one guest-starring Nightwing. That may sound kind of odd from someone who loves Nightwing and Robin as much as I do, but I really, really hope the rumors that actor Steven R. McQueen is in talks to appear as Nightwing turn out to be a complete fabrication.
Begone, cursed one!
Arrow is great. If you haven’t been watching the second season, you’ve definitely been missing out. The show is absolutely brilliant in terms of action, tension, villainy, heroism and well-acted, well-crafted drama. Arrow is just that damn good.
And they’ve been great with the superhero guest stars. Black Canary is a reoccurring character now, Red Arrow is slowly being built up, and there are guest stars like the Flash, Bronze Tiger, Deadshot, Clock King, Solomon Grundy, Brother Blood and more. Even the Huntress is scheduled to make a come back and team up with Canary to form the Birds of Prey. How cool is that?
She’s as surprised as we are
But I absolutely do not want Nightwing to appear. And like the good blogger I am, I’ll tell you why.
Nightwing, for those who don’t know, is the grown up Robin. In the comics, Batman’s first sidekick, circus acrobat Dick Grayson, eventually grew up, ditched the green pixie boots and became his own superhero, Nightwing. He’s charming, funny, skilled and very popular. I’m a big fan.
But a Nightwing who exists without Batman or his history as Robin isn’t worth having.
Nightwing sometimes let him win their races
I have no idea how Arrow would incorporate Nightwing, but I have to assume they can’t use Batman and Robin at all. That’s just how superheroes on the small screen work. There are all sorts of licenses and permissions that these shows need to use these characters, and I have no doubt that Batman and his buddies are tied up in the Batman vs. Superman movie or that Gotham TV show being developed by FOX. And there’s no way FOX is going to let their cash-cow Batman characters appear on The CW. It’s why Spider-Man will never show up in any of the Avengers movies, or why Batman and Wonder Woman never got to appear on Smallville, even though that series ran for 10 seasons and featured everybody from Hawkman to the Wonder Twins.
These licenses and permissions are killing all the best crossover possibilities, but they are the law of the land. So if Nightwing were to appear on Arrow, I can only assume he wouldn’t have any connection to Batman. Maybe there’s some clause where Arrow can use the name and costume, but they probably wouldn’t be able to mention Batman, Robin or Dick Grayson.
And for me, that’s just not worth the effort. I would rather not have Nightwing show up at all than use a cheap facsimile.
But honestly, even if Arrow could reference Batman and Robin, I still wouldn’t want Nightwing to show up. Because, again, Nightwing is really only interesting in the context that he’s Robin all grown up. And if Arrow isn’t prepared to tell that story (which it probably isn’t), then why bring in a character who has already gone through his emotional story arc?
There are still plenty of other superheroes who could appear on Arrow who don’t have the baggage of Nightwing. Besides, I’m still hoping for a Nightwing/Dick Grayson cameo in the Batman vs. Superman movie. And I’m still pushing my idea for a young, goofy, version of Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle to show up on Arrow.
Call me, writers of Arrow
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Game of Thrones Can’t Get Here Soon Enough
April 6 is about a month away. Can you believe we still have to wait that long for new episodes of Game of Thrones? Maybe they’ll have a bunch more trailers to tide us over until then.
