Category Archives: Comics
What if Ultron is Not the Villain in Age of Ultron?
I’m usually incredibly wrong with these types of predictions, like with Amazing Spider-Man #700, but hear me out. I think we’re going to find out that it wasn’t Ultron who took over the world and killed all the superheroes, it was instead Hank Pym! Or maybe some kind of hybrid of Pym and Ultron!
Pymtron!
I have very little evidence to base this on. Only two issues of Age of Ultron have come out so far, but the clues are starting to be dropped. There are also solicitations for issues all the way up until the finale in June that we can pore over.
I don’t think anyone at Marvel has actually teased that there’s a big surprise coming. This is deliberate, I think. If someone in PR said ‘Who is really behind the Age of Ultron?’ then everybody would already know the answer is Hank Pym. So if they don’t tell us that there’s a big surprise twist coming, then we won’t know to expect it, and it’ll be even stronger when it does hit.
Join me after the jump to see my evidence.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/16/13
This was not a good week for friend-of-the-blog Jason Aaron. I’ve been a huge fan of his Thor: God of Thunder series, and have enjoyed his Wolverine and the X-Men comic, but both of them take horrifying nose dives in quality this week. I was shocked at just how bad those comics were. Maybe it’s because they both take a break from the normal storytelling to focus an issue on the villain. Is Aaron just bad at villains? I couldn’t say, but both comics were very disappointing.
On the better side of things, we have a few Batman titles tackling the fallout of Damian’s death, and we have hot and cold Brian Michael Bendis. The second issue of his Age of Ultron is a dud, but the new issue of Uncanny X-Men is everything I want from this comic. It’s on fire, and easily wins Comic Book of the Week. This is the best Cyclops has been since Joss Whedon was writing, and honestly, this is the best any superhero has been in years!
Comics Reviewed: Age of Ultron #2, Batman #18, Batman and Robin #18, Fearless Defenders #2, Thor: God of Thunder #6, Uncanny X-Men #3, and Wolverine and the X-Men #26.
Robin Watch: Harper Row Gets It Right
Welcome to a new, ongoing feature here at Henchman-4-Hire! By now we all know that the most recent Robin, Damian Wayne, died in the heat of battle. And so for the first time since the late 80s, Batman is without a Robin. But like how chocolate needs peanut butter and peanut butter needs jelly, Batman needs a Robin, so it’s only a matter of time before a new hero rises into that iconic role.
Being the huge Robin fan that I am, I’m going to cover the ongoing search for a new Robin. Whether it happens in the comics themselves or maybe interviews with the writers and creators, I’m going to stay on the front lines of Batman journalism – which, of course, is the best kind of journalism.
Let’s kick things off with this week’s Batman #18, one of the first comics to deal with the fallout of Damian’s death. Writer Scott Snyder has taken the curious tactic of having the issue star Robin frontrunner Harper Row as she tries to help a grieving Batman.
With an butt-kicking
I was a big fan of this issue, and my full review will go up on Saturday with the rest of the Hench-Sized reviews. But first I want to explore this issue for the ways in which it pushes Harper ever closer to becoming the new Robin. I recently wrote several articles about this subject, both on why I fully support Harper as the new Robin, as well as the criteria that goes into picking a successful new Robin.
Suffice to say, in this issue, Harper Row gets everything right.
Join me after the jump to see what I mean.
6 Other Comic Book Captains
I wrote an article last week teasing Captain America and calling him a big, patronizing jerk. That was unfair of me. I’m sure he’s a nice guy. Plus ‘Murica! Amiright? So to make up for that perceived slight against our nation’s greatest superhero, I’ve dedicated this List of Six to the noble act of being a Captain Superhero. Because for some reason, there are a ton of comic book characters who put the word ‘Captain’ in front of their name.
Yaar!
Why not ‘General’ or ‘Private’ or ‘Sergeant’? Why is ‘Captain’ the go-to rank for superheroes? Heck, some of these guys aren’t even in the military, let alone any business that would use the word ‘Captain’. None of them pilot boats or airplanes. Somehow it’s just stuck. One of those weird comic book traditions, I guess. So join me after the jump for six comic book characters who consider themselves Captain of…something.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/9/13
This week kicks off Marvel’s new Big Event comic the Age of Ultron…but it’s kind of a slow build so far. We’ll have to see if it picks up in the second issue, which comes out next week. Talk about accelerated shipping. Beyond the big stuff, we’ve got a good collection of quality comics. I think I liked every single issue I read this week, everything from the important titles like Avengers and All-New X-Men down to the smaller stuff like Green Arrow and Winter Soldier. Though now that I think about it, I need to buy more independent titles. Seriously, can anyone recommend any good comics that aren’t Marvel or DC?
But until then, I’m going to stick with the big guns, and it actually surprises me to say that Comic Book of the Week goes to Avengers #7! Where did that come from? I have really had it in for this series since issue #1, but Jonathan Hickman really knocked it out of the park this week. He actually made me interested in the New Universe.
They look just as surprised as I am
Let’s hope he can finally write a solid superhero story.
Comic Reviews: Age of Ultron #1, All-New X-Men #8, Avengers #7, Green Arrow #18, Green Lantern #18, Superior Spider-Man #5, Winter Soldier #16.
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