Category Archives: Comics
Bring on an X-Men Gay Wedding!
So even though Avengers vs. X-Men hasn’t even started yet, Marvel decided to release a teaser today for a story set after the clash. The teaser pretty much speaks for itself:
Save the entire month of June? Why not!
Reading around on the Internet, it seems that everybody believes the two to be wed are Northstar and his boyfriend Kyle, who I don’t think is any kind of superhero. I haven’t been reading the comics that Northstar has appeared in lately, but I’m pretty sure Kyle has been an important reoccurring character. And there aren’t many other X-Men couples these days.
Gay and interracial? It's almost like Marvel is egging the protesters on
Plus gay weddings are all the rage, what with people freaking out that Kevin Keller from Archie got married. Seriously, some group called One Million Moms protested Toys R Us for selling the Kevin Keller comic because it featured a gay marriage. And to that I present to you this fantastic Gutters comic.
I don’t like to get political with my blog, but I’m just going to state my opinion: gay marriage is A-OK is my book. You’re more than welcome to oppose gay marriage for whatever reason you may have, but you are just plain wrong on the issue.
That being said, kudos to Marvel to try something like this. Maybe they’re only doing it for the publicity, but I highly doubt it. There have got to be more than enough homosexuals working in comics or at Marvel to want to do a legitimate story. Northstar was, after all, one of the very first openly homosexual comic book superheroes after all. Maybe it’s a case of little guy Archie comics getting all these bullies coming after them, so big guy Marvel decides to step in and support the little guy with their own gay marriage. I like that idea.
Personally, I’ve always been a Northstar fan. This is Northstar:
That logo on his side doubles as both a flash of light and a Canadian Maple Leaf
Debuting in 1979 as a member of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, Northstar is a mutant with the ability to fly at super-speed. He’s also the twin brother of Aurora, who has light-based powers. Northstar was always gay, but the Comics Code Authority back in the day would not let comics have any openly gay characters. The Comics Code Authority has since been completely dropped after Marvel and DC comics decided just to ditch them. Anyway, Northstar came out in Alpha Flight #106 in 1992. It was a fairly controversial, but popular, move, and the comic sold out. Which was a pretty spectacular achievement for Alpha Flight.
Northstar became a much more important character starting in 2001, when he was recruited into a temporary team of X-Men. I read those issues, and they were my first real exposure to Northstar. He was pretty cool. Kind of arrogant, but a cool sort of arrogant. Northstar joined the X-Men full-time in 2002, and has been around ever since – though he has had a few returns to Alpha Flight. But these days he’s a full-time X-Man.
Unfortunately, the wedding is going to be taking place in Astonishing X-Men, the bastard stepchild of the X-Men universe. There are currently more than half a dozen X-Men comics being published. Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men are the two main titles, with stuff like Astonishing X-Men, X-Men: Legacy, New Mutants and more serving as auxiliary titles. Frankly, Astonishing has no reason to exist anymore. It’s kind of just hanging around for the heck of it after a strong debut by writer Joss Whedon a few years ago.
There are plenty of other comics to buy to get X-Men stories.
But there are only a few comics willing to tell a positive gay marriage story. So hooray Astonishing X-Men!
Today in Superhero Redesigns
I’m a sucker for a good superhero redesign. Everybody loves a classic costume, but letting an artist have some fun and design a new look for a popular hero is just a blast. You never know what they can come up with; it may be especially awesome and warrant new action figures and everything! And then there’s always the safety of just reverting back to the old look. It’s win-win.
Both Marvel and DC have some new redesigns coming up, and I figured it’d be easy to share them both in one place.
First is the new Iron Man:
It's like a new Black Costume Iron Man!
The story is that in May, we’re going to get a new storyline called ‘Long Way Down’, during which Tony Stark retires for reasons we don’t yet know. Then this black-costumed Iron Man shows up, and it’s going to be a mystery as to who is wearing the armor. This sounds ridiculous. Tony Stark retiring as Iron Man? Please. That’ll last a couple months at most – which I guess is the point. But still, why start this storyline in May?
Did Marvel forget that Tony Stark as Iron Man is going to be headlining a little movie called The Avengers in early May? Whose bright idea is it to ditch the familiar red and gold Iron Man for this temporary-at-best redesign/new character during the one month that movie fans might want to check out some Iron Man comics?
Seems silly to me.
Over at DC Comics, the Big Red Cheese himself, Captain Marvel, is finally going to make his first appearance in the New 52.
Oh look who's all gritty and hardcore now...
So I guess DC is going to be making him into a dark badass? Because that’s a brilliant idea. Oh no wait, I was being sarcastic. How will Captain Marvel benefit from being turned into a dark hero? They’ve given him a hood and a cloak, so clearly that’s what they’re going for. Not to mention seemingly insane amounts of electricity powers.
They’ve also changed his name to Shazam instead of Captain Marvel. I am totally OK with this. Everybody knows the word ‘Shazam’, so there won’t be any branding problems. Plus DC with a hero called ‘Captain Marvel‘? This will just work better when it comes to legal issues.
The new Shazam will debut in back-up stories of Justice League comics starting at issue #7 on March 21.
What is the Point of DC Animation These Days?
On the day after their latest film, Justice League: Doom, is released, I find myself asking what the point is anymore for the DC animation studio that keeps churning out these straight-to-DVD animated movies every few months. Mostly I ask this in regards to their next film, Superman vs. The Elite, and how utterly random and sort of ridiculous it sounds. This probably isn’t going to be a popular theory, and who am I to look such a gift horse in the mouth of actual, well-made Justice League movies, but hear me out.
Why do the movies produced by this very talented production company seem so random and disconnected? Why are the fantastic efforts of Bruce Timm and his people not put to better, more substantial use?
Let’s first take a look at Superman vs. the Elite.
Not to be voiced by Tim Daly, by the way
So far we have this description of the film:
The Elite, a team of super-powered antiheroes, is renowned for killing their enemies. Despite the acclaim and approval the Elite enjoy, Superman knows they are in the wrong, creating more harm than good by their methods. Tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown on Jupiter’s moons, when Superman is forced to prove that violence is never a positive.
The movie is based on an early 2001 story from Action Comics, where the Elite basically did exactly what it says there in the description. Right down to fighting on Jupiter’s moon. And the animated Elite is pretty much the exact same Elite from the comics.
I guess these guys made quite the impression on somebody more than a decade ago
The team members are, from left to right, Coldcast, Manchester Black, The Hat, and Menagerie. I have no knowledge of any of these characters or The Elite as a team, so I have no personal attachment to this being turned into an animated film. But I’m also free to ask the question of why?
Why this story? Why such a random choice from more than 10 years ago?
For that matter, why turn ‘Tower of Babel’ into Justice League: Doom? Why Batman: Year One and All-Star Superman? I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed some, if not all, of these films. I’m just saying why does it have to be so haphazard?
Why not a Lois Lane movie?
Once upon a time, Timm and Co. were the masters of animation with Batman: The Animated Series, Superman and Justice League: Unlimited. They had an ongoing saga that lasted years and multiple shows that were beloved by fans. But these new movies don’t have anything to do with those old TV shows.
There have been several attempts to bridge certain movies, like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Justice League: Doom, but those don’t seem to feature the same characters from Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman, Green Lantern: First Flight, Wonder Woman or even Superman vs. The Elites. All of these movies are disconnected. They’re just vanity projects, as if they pulled an idea out of a hat and decided to make that movie next. Would it really be so hard to unite the movies? Or make movies that lead into one another?
There’s also the problem that after the poor sales of Green Lantern: First Flight and Wonder Woman (which is the best of all the movies), Warner Bros. has demanded that all future movies must include either Superman or Batman. So that severely limits the production crew’s options.
So what’s the point? Is the market for an animated Batman or Superman film really so great that Warner Bros. keep demanding another film? Are they making a lot of money? Are they easier to make than a full TV show? Do they make more money than a TV show?
One half of the only money-making superheroes that DC owns
Right now, DC only has Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series on TV. Neither has anything to do with the animated movies, even if the style of animation between the Justice League films and Young Justice is quite similar. They should just go ahead and declare that the movies and the show take place in the same universe. Why not a Young Justice movie? Why not a team-up with the Justice League and Young Justice in one film? Why not have the various DC animation studios working together for the harmony of all?
There is already a built-in audience for a Young Justice movie. And surely it’s a bigger audience than those who want a done-in-one Superman vs. The Elite DVD. Why not make feature films that appear in theaters? Warner Bros. could make millions that way. But no, they want roughly two or three straight-to-DVD films popped out at random throughout the year.
More importantly, where’s the New 52 reboot film? DC is pushing this new initiative in its comics, why not have everything else line up with that? Why make a movie about a Superman storyline that nobody has heard of from 2001, when they could make a brand new movie with a brand new storyline set in the New 52 universe?
All this rambling comes down to one basic point: why is this amazing, brilliant production team reduced to making one or two movies a year based on old Batman and Superman comic book storylines?
They could be doing so much more.
New Lady Robin Costume is the Bee’s Knees
In the wacky, wild world of Earth 2, anything goes. A female Robin who happens to be Bruce Wayne’s daughter? Sure! Why not! DC Comics released this teaser image to show us what Helena Wayne’s Earth 2 Robin costume looked like.
Everybody loves shoulder pads
I like it! It’s modern, it’s stylish and it’s definitely Robin. Though I’ve seen other websites point out that the ‘R’ symbol is positioned directly under her neck, right beneath an opening in her collar, in fact. Not to mention the ‘R’ symbols on her knees. Wouldn’t those make fantastic bullseyes for Robin’s enemies?
Everybody knows that Batman put a bat-symbol on his chest because he could cover his chest in padding and a bullet-proof vest, so he wants to draw the bad guy’s attention to his chest. You don’t want the bad guy aiming for your neck or your knee caps.
So a little misstep there.
Anyway, some of you may be asking, who the hell is this? A female Robin? Earth 2? Have you gone crazy!?
Nope, it all makes some insane sort of comic book sense. Allow me to explain.
Requiem for an Ant-Man
They killed the badass Ant-Man.
No, that’s not an oxymoron.
Marvel Comics and writer Rick Remender have gone and killed Eric O’Grady, the foulmouthed, perverted lout who dared to call himself a superhero! Those bastards! Eric O’Grady was an awesome superhero! He was uniquely uncouth in a world of boy scouts and white knights. He was a sleazy douchebag who literally used his shrinking powers to spy on women in the shower. But that was an endearing quality!
Don't pretend you wouldn't do it
The O’Grady Ant-Man is going to be missed.
And his death is actually a very good example of what’s wrong with death in comic books today. Follow me for more after the jump.
Henchman-4-Hire