Category Archives: Avengers
6 Silly Armored Superhero Costumes
The one constant in the world of superheroes is the colorful costume. Tights, spandex, latex, long johns, leather, pajamas; all superheroes play dress up when it comes to fighting crime. It’s just more fun that way. But in the real world, everybody knows that a big, muscular guy in spandex just looks silly. If a real world Batman was just wearing a pair of gray tights, he’d be no more threatening than a ballerina. Why do you think the movies put Batman in a specialized suit of black armor, or the X-Men wear black leather?
Tights and spandex costumes just aren’t cool, no matter how good they might look when drawn.
Paper, though, always looks good
Which is why, throughout the history of comics, creators have often tried to upgrade a superhero’s costume to make it look more badass. For some reason, this meant changing from spandex to armor, with heavy layers of complicated plating and protection. Yet no matter how good the creators’ intentions, somehow these upgrades looked even worse! These armor costumes were running rampant in the 90s, and in hindsight, everybody agrees that they looked ridiculous. Superheroes have gone back to tight spandex ever since.
I thought I’d share with everybody some of the more ridiculous armored costume changes in comic book history.
Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #1
Apparently my local comic book shop didn’t get the memo that Avengers vs. X-Men #1 was being shipped a week early so that stores could prepare for any launch day events on the scheduled release date of April 4. So while this week most of the comic book reading world only got to buy the prologue, Avengers vs. X-Men #0, this plucky young blogger got his hands on the first issue of Marvel’s Big Summer Event Comic! I bought it legally, fair and square. There were no back room dealings or shady bribes. My comic shop put it out on the shelf and I bought it. I asked them if they knew about the embargo, but they didn’t seem to have a clue. Not my problem.
Avengers vs. X-Men #1
So how is issue #1? This event is being billed as one of the biggest in Marvel history, with their two signature teams duking it out in a no-holds barred fightfest of epic proportions! The very fate of the world may be at stake!
Avengers vs. X-Men #1 actually pretty good. The story is told rather straightforward, introducing us to the threat that’s going to put the two teams against each other, introducing the main characters and their stakes in the fight, and finally ending with the ‘optic blast heard ’round the world’. And the reasoning behind why the two teams would fight one another is actually handled quite well. I can definitely believe that these heroes would come to blows in this situation, which definitely adds to the credibility of such a Big Event.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
On a personal level, this issue didn’t grab me, and the overall plot does nothing for me. The story is focused around the character of Hope Summers, who I’ve just never cared for. And considering how quickly her solo series, Generation Hope, was cancelled, I doubt I’m the only one. So to have such a Big Event riding on Hope is a misstep, in my opinion. But Marvel, and scripter Brian Michael Bendis, wisely leave the fisticuffs to Captain America and Cyclops, the leaders of the two teams. The conversation between the two of them at the end of the issue is brimming with ego and tension, and it works perfectly to kick off this epic battle. I’m definitely on board for this whole series now.
The only problems with the issue, in my opinion, are the art and the lack of any big badass moments. Artist John Romita Jr. is a god among comic artists, one of my all-time favorites. But his work in this issue comes off as sloppy and rushed. Characters who should be big and imposing are instead lumpy and hastily drawn. Faces are sometimes quite ugly. This is far from his best work. And as for big moments, there simply aren’t any. At least none we haven’t seen before. In order to get the reader up to speed on the plot, there doesn’t appear to be time for any edge of your seat excitement.
Hopefully that will change with future issues. Join me after the jump for a full synopsis with spoilers and deeper analysis.
Nifty Superhero Redesigns
I’ve praised the awesomeness of Project Rooftop before, but I feel like doing it again today. Project Rooftop is this nifty artist site where people submit high-quality redesigns of popular superheros and their costumes. I love this type of art, because it looks cool, is often very creative and it’s about superheroes. What’s not to love?
Hopefully you’ll be an entertained as I am.
First up is this cool Catwoman design by artist Erica Henderson. It’s got a cool Scott Pilgrim vibe to it.
All she needs are some roller skates
Next we have some personal favorites of mine, the Wonder Twins! I love the hell out of these characters, and not just ironically. The Wonder Twins are just neat, and part of that is their goofy origins with the Super Friends. But did you know that the Wonder Twins eventually appeared in the actual comics? In the mid-90s, they made the jump from the cartoon to the actual, in-canon comics during a series call Extreme Justice. Yep, it was the 90s alright.
This picture, making the pair look rather alien and badass, is drawn by artist Andrew Trabbold.
I am dying to see the Wonder Twins show up in the New 52 or perhaps the Young Justice cartoon
Finally we have what may be one of the snazziest superhero costume redesigns I have ever seen: Steampunk Scientist Ant-Man! This comes from artist George Kambadais, who drew a whole line up of Avengers. But this Ant-Man is above and beyond the call of phenomenal. I love the labcoat-esque shirt that buttons up to the neck. I love that it’s not tucked in. And I love the knee-high boots with the pants tucked in. This costume is just a brilliant design.
Can Marvel hire this guy to design the next Ant-Man for reals? Maybe? Please?
New Avengers Cartoon Trailer!
As if I haven’t posted enough Avengers trailers over the past few months, we’ve got a new one – but this trailer is for the cartoon The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! Season 2 is right around the corner!
The cartoon is a blast. It seems loosely based on the various movie versions of the characters, while adding a ton of comic-related stories and villains. It stars Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Panther and Ant-Man. It’s made by the sort of writers who like to seed their stories early, then let them play out.
For example, the villainous Ultron was something of a background character (and even a temporary Avenger!) before he eventually became the big bad at the end of the first season.
This new trailer is rather exciting. I see teases for the Vision, Red Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, Ms. Marvel, the Kree, the Skrulls and basically just a whole lot of awesome, comic book jibba jabba! I know I’ll be tuning in.
For Some Reason, Japan Gets a Much Cooler Avengers Trailer
What the heck, Hollywood? The Avengers is going to be the biggest movie ever, but for some reason you let Japan have an even cooler trailer than what we saw in America? This new trailer has amazing new footage of all the heroes, as well as an unbelievable look at the Helicarrier! The real, full-sized helicarrier!
Don’t believe me? Watch the trailer! And don’t worry, all of the movie scenes are in English. Only the general trailer narration is in Japanese.
Hopefully this will make up for that crappy Superman vs. the Elite trailer I posted earlier.
Henchman-4-Hire 