Category Archives: Marvel
Look Who Randomly Showed Up in Secret Empire!
This is just a bit of silliness, if you’re into that sort of thing, like me. I’ve been reading Secret Empire and am enjoying it well enough. I think it’s stretched a little thin, but that’s not so bad. Anyway, I’m writing today to reveal a nifty little cameo in the latest issue from last week. It’s the sort of cameo that makes me really wonder what happens behind the scenes at Marvel Comics.
How popular did they hope Mosaic would be when they decided to give him a role in Secret Empire?
Mosaic, if you don’t remember, is a new Inhuman character who got his own ongoing solo comic late last year. Marvel (and DC, for that matter) doesn’t really hand out ongoing solo comics to brand new, original characters, but something about Mosaic seemed strong enough to Marvel that they gave him the greenlight.
The comic was cancelled by issue #8.
As the foremost internet authority on Mosaic, I consider myself one of his biggest fans. So I giggled a little bit when I saw him randomly pop up in Secret Empire #7. Writer Nick Spencer introduced a few issues ago the idea that Steve Rogers and HYDRA had this mysterious old man in a hospital bed as a captive. Who was this old man? What secret did he hold that would be key to the Black Widow’s efforts to stop Captain America?
Welp, turns out the old man was a prison for Mosaic, and Natasha sets him free and he immediately helps her take out the guards surrounding Cap.
It’s a great little cameo for Mosaic! But where’d it come from? The Mosaic comic was cancelled by the May issue, around the time Secret Empire was just starting up. Plus, a Big Event like Secret Empire is planned years in advance. So writer Nick Spencer clearly planned this Mosaic cameo a long time ago, long before his series was cancelled.
So was Marvel expecting Mosaic to be a runaway success, and wanted to give him a timely cameo in Secret Empire? That sounds a little tragic…
Still, I’m glad to see they haven’t given up on Mosaic yet! Hang in there, buddy!
———————-
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/29/17
Light week this week, for no good reason. I guess I just didn’t read enough comics I liked enough to review! But we’ve got solid and exciting issues of Iceman, Detective Comics and Infamous Iron Man, so that’s good enough for me.
Comic Book of the Week goes to Batgirl #13, as Hope Larson delivers possibly my favorite issue yet of her Batgirl run! She’s definitely having fun with this comic, and it shows!
Batgirl tries on a sidekick for size
Secret Empire has reached a grinding section. There are bits and pieces here and there that get exciting, like the final page cliffhanger of the new issue, but overall, I think the scope of this story is just a little too big. It feels like I’m reading a big What If…? comic instead of an actual, in-continuity story about these characters.
Comic Reviews: Batgirl #13, Detective Comics #961, Iceman #3 and Infamous Iron Man #10.
Rip-Off City: Overwatch’s Doomfist and Marvel’s The Gauntlet
I don’t know if anybody has made this comparison before, but I spotted it immediately when Blizzard announced their new Overwatch character, Doomfist. A tough, bald black guy with a giant, mechanical right arm? Isn’t that exactly like Marvel Comics character The Gauntlet?
I don’t know what point I’m trying to make here, just pointing out what is clearly an obvious rip-off. I don’t think Blizzard intentionally ripped off the Gauntlet, but the coincidence is really, really odd. The mechanical fist is even on the same arm!
Granted, Gauntlet only existed for a short period of time in the wake of the original Civil War comic. He was created by Dan Slott and was actually part of a really nifty gimmick, where Gauntlet had the right-armed gauntlet, and another Slott character, Southpaw, had the left-armed gauntlet — but they never appeared together! Gauntlet was involved in The Initiative comics, and Southpaw showed up in Slott’s She-Hulk.
I did a Forgotten Characters article on the pair of them. That’s probably how I can remember Gauntlet so well.
Anyway, just wanted to point this out. If anybody knows Dan Slott, somebody tell him and see if he can raise the fuss that I can’t! Or maybe Slott is a big Overwatch fan and is now a Doomfist main because of this.
——————
Why the Hell is Lasher Getting an Action Figure?
Comic Con is also a great place to show off new and upcoming action figures, which is another favorite bit of Comic Con news for me. I will always hold out hope that Multiple Man will finally get his due.
Well, as with every year, I’ve come away disappointed. No Multiple Man action figures, everybody. There’s a neat Songbird, though, so that should be fun.
Insanest of all, however, is an action figure for Lasher. What the hell is this nonsense?
You don’t know me
How does Lasher get a random action figure? Out of all possible characters, why Lasher? Did they have a bunch of extra Spider-Man sculpts lying around and decided he would be the best use?
Who is Lasher? That’s a damn good question.
Lasher is one of five symbiotes broken off from Venom in the Separation Anxiety storyline, back when symbiotes were still new and cool in the 90s. There was Venom, then Carnage, and then five more all of a sudden. You had Lasher, Page, Riot, Agony and Scream.
Out of those five, the only one who really went on to anything of note is Scream, the first and most famous female symbiote. I’m a fan. The other four had their hosts killed almost immediately. The four of them then bonded to form Hybrid, another 90s symbiote. I’m also a fan of Hybrid.
But Hybrid’s host was also killed and the four symbiotes were separated and turned into military weapons, which was pretty cool. They were last seen helping Deadpool, with Lasher having possessed a cool military dog.
So I’m not saying symbiotes aren’t cool. I’m saying, out of all the possible symbiotes, out of all the possible Spider-Man characters, why does Lasher get an action figure?
Now, if they were making a whole symbiote line, I would totally be down for that! I would have to have a good Scream or Hybrid action figure in my collection. So hopefully this Lasher nonsense is just the start of something great!
————————-
A Day of Trailers!
Yesterday, Comic Con unleashed a virtual torrent of movie and TV trailers. They’ve been doing it all weekend, in fact. And if I were more of a professional, and was getting paid to post stuff online, I probably would have flooded this blog with a million trailer posts yesterday! But I’m neither of those things, so I’m just gonna dump them all right here, right now, in one big post. That’s probably better for all of you!
First up, Thor: Ragnarok!
That trailer was brilliant. Nothing short of a masterpiece in trailer construction. Funny, action-packed, giving just hints of the story, with plenty of other hints about how much fun we’re going to have watching Thor 3. Hulk looks amazing, and yet somehow, Thor comes off as even cooler. I’m very much looking forward to this!
Next up, Justice League!
That trailer was dark garbage. Complete opposite from Thor: Ragnarok. It’s all slow-motion and darkness, with a couple attempted zingers thrown in to try and appeal to the Marvel crowd. I can see why the Super DC Fanboys might love this trailer, but it does little to nothing for me. None of the characters look interesting and none of the action looks fun. It looks like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice retrofitted to include more forced humor.
I’m definitely excited for Stranger Things, season 2!
Looks amazing! They were smart to start filming right away, since those kids all still look like kids. Season 3 is going to be in the throes of puberty. But season 2 looks great! Bigger monsters! Bigger mysteries! More Eleven! Can’t wait for this one!
I’m not too impressed, yet, with Star Trek: Discovery.
I was never a big Star Trek fan. In fact, I’ve never seen any of the series, save for maybe a few random episodes. So Discovery will be my first real watching of a Star Trek TV show. And it looks neat, but the trailers haven’t really captured me. I’m also a little disappointed that it’s set before all the other shows. That’s always a dumb idea. Not sure why they keep going back to it.
On the other hand, Orville looks hilarious!
Watch everybody love Orville, Seth MacFarlane’s Star Trek parody, more than they like Star Trek: Discovery. This show looks fun and has way more energy than Discovery, with special effects that seem on par. This should be pretty great!
———————–
Henchman-4-Hire 