Category Archives: Marvel
Review: X-Factor #246
I never particularly bought into Pip the Troll being a member of X-Factor. He was often funny, with writer Peter David giving him some of the best zingers in the comic, but what the heck was Pip the Troll doing as receptionist for X-Factor? It just never made much sense to me. Well PAD clearly loves the idea, and so he has devoted an entire issue to the secret life of Pip the Troll. It’s a somewhat entertaining issue, with a surprise finish. But I can’t say that it has relieved my Pip prejudice any. Pip never becomes anything more than PAD’s in-joke to himself.
X-Factory #246
Still, if you’re a fan of Pip the Troll, this issue is probably a hoot.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
This is a ‘day in the life’ issue, fairly common in all types of fiction. What does Pip get up to behind the scenes? Quite a bit, apparently, some of it entertaining, some of it downright funny and some of it more than a little sleazy. I suppose it gives us more about Pip as a character, but the oddness of a cosmic space imp playing receptionist for a very grounded team like X-Factor is still his defining element. It’s a weirdness that I don’t particularly like to see in X-Factor, but that’s a personal taste more than anything. I don’t think Pip ever fit in, but I suppose PAD makes it work.
Still, it’s a fairly entertaining comic, for what it is. Nothing really special about it, unless, like I said, you are a huge Pip the Troll fan. He has an adventure, reveals some funny secrets about himself, and we all move on with PAD’s ongoing story. He’s been building to this big picture story forever and a day. Let’s hope it gets here soon, and let’s hope he really knocks it out of the park!
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
The Ladies Are Kicking Ass at Marvel Comics
Some have said that an all-female team comic book could never succeed, but Marvel Comics is going to try anyway with the new Fearless Defenders! It will star Valkyrie, Misty Knight and Danny Moonstar, and supposedly several more cast members to be revealed at a later date! It’s not going to be written by a woman though, which is too bad. Instead, Cullen Bunn is writing and Will Sliney is on art. In random news, Cullen Bunn once followed me on Twitter for like a day. I don’t know why…
Ladies vs. Ninjas!
I think this is a great idea. I’m always in favor of more diversity in comics. What kind of guy doesn’t love a kickass female lead? I’ve heard all sorts of stories in the past about all-female teams getting shot down editorially. I think Gail Simone has been trying to make one happen for years. Somehow Cullen Bunn has done it.
He did an interview with Newsarama. And this is what he said about the book’s premise:
The basic idea of the book is that Valkyrie is choosing a new team of Valkyrior, and she’s been asked to choose all these women from the heroes of Midgard, instead of from Asgard. She has completely failed in this task. Valkyrie has been unable to choose anyone that she feels is worthy to be one of the hosts of the shield maidens. So she just hasn’t done it. She’s dropped the ball.
Because she’s not done what she said she would do, nature — or supernature, as it is — abhors a vacuum. The absence of the Valkyrior has opened the door to something terrible. Something awful is waking, and Valkyrie finds that it’s really her fault that she’s put everything at risk.
Sounds reasonable and maybe fun. I’ll probably check out the first issue and see where it goes.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/3/12
It’s a new week, there are new comics, and here we have the second installment of Hench-Sized Reviews! I’m kind of excited that I was able to keep to my schedule. I do have video games to play, after all. Plenty of good issues this week, at least in the comics I buy. I think the stand-out best of the bunch was AvX: Consequences #4. Cyclops is the best he’s been since Joss Whedon was writing him.
Well you are
Other reviews this week are Aquaman #13, Captain Marvel #6 and Wolverine and the X-Men #19. Join me after the jump!
It Will Never Stop Being Funny That the Amazing Spider-Man Uses Bing
Honest Trailers is back, this time parodying The Amazing Spider-Man.
Each and every one of these that they have made has been gold, or at least the ones I’ve seen. And they’re clearly having a lot of fun poking holes in some pretty popular movies. Even though I loved The Amazing Spider-Man, there’s no denying that Screen Junkies are right on the mark about this. No teenage science geek like Peter Parker would stoop to using Bing!
‘Jamie Foxx is Electrifying’ Will Be the New Thing to Say
So it seems that Jamie Foxx has been tapped to play Electro in the Amazing Spider-Man sequel. That’s pretty fascinating, actually. It tells us that Sony doesn’t want to repeat the villains from the first trilogy, and it also tells us that they want to keep things classy. Electro is hardly a marquee villain, but they casting an A-list actor anyway.
For those of you who don’t know, this is Electro:
He’s going to ‘zap’ to it!
Yeah, not exactly…ready for the big screen. That bright gold and yellow leotard might work in comics (or at least comics from the 60s and 70s), but there’s no way it’s going to fly in today’s modern movie market. Maybe in the original Spidey trilogy, but definitely not in the darker, grittier Amazing Spider-Man reboot universe. But hey, don’t worry, there already exists a much better version they can use.
Meet Ultimate Electro:
Much snazzier
He’s the hipper, more modern version of the character introduced in Ultimate Spider-Man. Same powers, same badassery, but much better costume.
As for origin, motivation and character? None of that matters! Electro, or Max Dillon, has never had a solid story based around him like some of the other villains. He’s always been just a workman sort of super-villain, a common criminal who just happened to have electricity powers. So the new movie can do whatever they want with him. Including turning him into a black man.
He will super villain you with his eyes
Though they may have some problems, considering DC already has that covered with Black Lightning…
But anyway, what do I think? I think it’s a fine idea. Jamie Foxx is a great actor, and I’m sure he could do a great job as a menacing super-villain. And Electro is a good choice for villain. His powers are tough, and I bet they’d look great on the big screen. I listed him as one of the 6 villains I’d like to see in this new franchise.
I just wonder what this might mean for the Green Goblin/Norman Osborn appearance…
Henchman-4-Hire 