Category Archives: Avengers
Avengers vs. X-Men vs. Fantastic Four?
Anyone who’s been reading my Avengers vs. X-Men reviews knows that I have a few problems with the story. Mostly it’s the fact that the PhoeniX-Men were immediately painted as the villains, even though the comic itself told us that they were doing good in the world. They were feeding the hungry, bringing water to thirsty nations and ending war. But the comic seemed to take the Avengers’ standpoint in that they were automatically evil just because. It was frustrating.
But fortunately, it seems that someone at Marvel had the exact same thoughts as me – and he just so happens to be the smartest man in the Marvel Universe!
The recent tie-in issue, New Avengers #29, shows us what Reed Richards, leader of the Fantastic Four, thinks of the whole Avengers vs. X-Men thing.
Thank you, Reed! Leave it to a super-intelligent person to point out the major problem with Avengers vs. X-Men. Why did this have to happen in one of the tie-ins? Why did this even have to be a thing at all? This scene happened prior to Namor attacking Wakanda and the PhoeniX-Men coming off as evil. But why didn’t Marvel just make them evil right away? Why make them world saviors and turn Captain America and Iron Man into bitter losers who can’t admit that they were wrong?
The entire conflict of Avengers vs. X-Men continued because, as Reed said, the Avengers just kept poking the PhoeniX-Men with a stick. If the PhoeniX-Men were evil from the get-go, then the Avengers would actually be heroic to continue fighting them.
Instead, they’re just a bunch of whiners.
Congratulations Legion Fans
Are you a fan of Legion, the erstwhile son of Professor X who happens to be crazy? Then you’re in luck! Legion is going to get his own series as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch, he’ll be taking over the X-Men: Legacy series from Rogue. For once, the title of this comic actually makes sense, seeing as how Legion is Professor X’s son.
You can read more about the series here.
Personally, I don’t care about the character in the slightest, so I won’t be picking up the title. However, considering one of my favorite X-Men is the Mimic, I can’t exactly blame anyone for loving Legion. I’m sure he has his fans somewhere…though I doubt he has enough to support his own ongoing series. I don’t think writer Si Spurrier is much of a draw either. Cool cover, at least.
To round out the rest of the Marvel NOW! titles, we have Rick Remender on the new Captain America, along with artist John Romita Jr. Both are very good, so I’m a little tempted to pick up this series…except that Cap continues to piss me off in Avengers vs. X-Men. So I dunno.
And lastly, we have Kelley Sue DeConnick writing Avengers Assemble. I’m a fan of DeConnick’s work on the new Captain Marvel series. And my friend Katie is a huge fan. Though I don’t know if it’s enough to get me to pick up Avengers Assemble. The title was put together to be as close to The Avengers movie as possible while still being part of the normal Marvel Universe. So basically writer Brian Michael Bendis is telling a story where the movie Avengers team up, but in the normal Marvel Universe, not the Movieverse. It’s a fine idea, having a comic similar to the movie for potential new fans, but according to the Internet, the series isn’t very good. So I haven’t bothered with it.
And based on the cover, it doesn’t even look like she’s going to be sticking to the Movieverse team roster. Does this mean it’ll just be another ordinary Avengers comic? Sadly, count me out on this way.
The Hulk looks kind of weird too
So what do you guys think of the various new Marvel NOW! comics announced this week? My favorite continues to be the new FF starring Ant-Man. But I may pick up Indestructible Hulk and Iron Man. How about you? Let me know in the comments!
Hulk Trades ‘Incredible’ for ‘Indestructible’
I guess there’s going to be a difference?
Even though “The Indestructible Hulk” doesn’t have the same ring to it, the Marvel NOW! relaunch of the Jade Giant is going to be written by Mark Waid and drawn by Leinil Yu. He’s also going to be wearing armor from now on, for reasons that will apparently be explained in the comic.
This one I think I’m actually going to pick up. Just like with Iron Man and Thor the past two days, Waid gave an interview with Marvel.com that you can read here. I like the ideas he has for the character because they fit what my ideal Hulk is about: a focus on Bruce Banner. I like my Hulk a certain way, and if it doesn’t match those criteria, I simply won’t buy the Hulk. It’s been that way for awhile now in the comics, and I haven’t bought Hulk regularly in years.
My ideal Hulk is the one we’re seeing in the movies. There’s a focus on Bruce Banner and his burden of the Hulk, and everyone appreciates his power. I simply like Banner more than I like Hulk. And for the longest time, Hulk was the main character in the comics. Then there were several years when there were a dozen or more Hulks, including the Red Hulk, She-Hulk, Red She-Hulk, several different She-Hulks, several different Sons of Hulk; it was ridiculous. I prefer it when Bruce Banner is the only Hulk (with an exception for She-Hulk). It dilutes his brand and his power if there’s a whole bunch of Hulks running around. And then the current Hulk series by Jason Aaron switches the dynamic, and has Banner as the evil monster with a normal Hulk who is trying to stay angry and not turn into Banner. No thanks, not for me.
So I like Waid’s approach of putting the focus back on Banner. And I like what he has in mind for Banner:
Different than we’ve seen in a long time, maybe ever. Again, we don’t want to give away too much, but our Bruce Banner is…evolved. Enlightened. He’s had an epiphany about his condition, and it affects everything. All I can say is that once upon a time, The Hulk was unique in comics because he viewed his condition as a curse, not a blessing; but now, 50 years later, a lot of super heroes feel that way. When I was most recently at DC that was the whole philosophy handed down editorially: that heroes should carry a great burden. Now, personally, I feel like if you can fly, then I don’t want to hear you whine about your problems, but I get it—that’s the “New Mindset.” So with Marvel’s permission, we’re taking The Hulk down a road that’s as unique for him as his persecution complex was in 1962.
The series is also going to star Maria Hill, because Banner is going to start working with SHIELD. That sounds pretty cool. I’m definitely looking forward to Mark Waid’s Hulk!
My 6 Favorite Movies of All Time (This Week)
I’ve put off writing this list for a long time because I simply don’t think I can rank my favorite movies. I love a lot of films across all genres, and it would be all but impossible to pick a #3 and then compare or contrast it to a #5. And if we’re talking favorite movies of all time, how do I compare the favorite movies of my childhood versus the films I love now that my tastes have matured? Do those childhood favorites even still hold up, or are they basking in the glow of nostalgia? Whereas the newer movies are basking in the glow of newness?
The answer is to rank my Top 6 Favorite Movies based on how I feel about them right now. Maybe next week it’ll be different, or maybe next year. But right now, these are my 6 favorite films of all time.
I never liked movie theater popcorn
Another reason why I don’t like ranking my favorite movies is that I’m no film scholar, and most of my films are probably going to seem a little silly. You won’t see anything on this list even resembling Citizen Kane or The Godfather or any other movie that the rest of the world considers greatest ever. No pretentious French films, sorry. In fact, as a general rule of taste, I don’t really like movies that came out before the 1970s. Something about the cinematography has always just rubbed me the wrong way. I like modern films, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I like the films I like – and these are the films I like this week.
Also, apparently my favorite genre ever is quirky, heartfelt films starring famous comedians in dramatic roles. That’s weirdly specific of me…but here we go!
Somewhere a Marvel Marketing Exec is Giggling
I told you guys yesterday about the new Iron Man series, well now it’s Thor’s turn, complete with cover image and interview with writer Jason Aaron. Why is someone in Marvel marketing giggling? Because they’ve been drip feeding us these reveals over the past two weeks.
So that’s Thor: God of Thunder #1, written by Jason Aaron (who knows I exist) and drawn by Esad Ribic. You can read their full interview here, if you’re interested. Personally, I’m not a big fan of Thor, so I doubt I’ll be picking up this new series. I just feel like telling you guys all about this stuff in case you’re interested.
And because I’m now finding it all very giggly.
Marvel has this big Marvel NOW! initiative coming out in the fall. It’s nothing too fancy. Basically they’re just putting out a bunch of new #1 issues, with some new creative teams on the popular characters. They do this every couple of years, but each time they want to make it sound super fancy so that people will buy it. That’s fine. People gotta buy comics. But now Marvel marketing has the task of letting everybody know about the new series coming out. How do they do that? By flooding the comic news sites day after day after day.
Every day last week, Marvel released a little teaser image that gave a hint about the new series as well as the new creative team. They looked like this:
Why yes, I am very worthy, thank you
And every major comic book news site – except for me – put those banners on their front page. They were also able to figure out what comic it would be. Worthy = Thor. And Marvel released one a day until Friday, where it just dumped the remaining four.
Flash forward to this week, and it seems that Marvel is once again releasing this stuff one day at a time. Yesterday was Iron Man, today is Thor, and tomorrow will probably be Deadpool.
So I’m just picturing some Marvel marketing exec who decided that rather than reveal all the comics in one big announcement, they’d instead drip them out one day at a time, thereby ensuring they would have major placement on all the news sites each day. That guy is probably giggling and slapping himself on the back. He may even ask for a raise. There isn’t really a point I’m trying to make, I just think that guy is silly.
And yes, I recognize the irony of posting this stuff every day it comes out. No need to point that out.
Henchman-4-Hire 