Category Archives: Marvel
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #10
For an issue that’s almost entirely talking heads, writer Brian Michael Bendis knocks it out of the park. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Bendis is a master of dialogue, and of crafting characters and conflicts through that dialogue. He does more for Ultimate Prowler in this one issue than he’s done in the entire series so far. And star Miles Morales has some fantastic moments as well, making decisions that will define him as a superhero and provide fascinating stories for us readers.
Ultimate Spider-Man #10
Bendis is basically writing a Masters Course on superhero comics with this series.
Comic rating: 5/5: Great.
Seriously, this issue is almost entirely talking. It’s a chat between Miles and his Uncle Aaron, only now they are both dressed in their respective superhero/villain costumes, and standing on a rooftop. The oddness of such an exchange is not lost on the characters either. But rather than let the 13-year-old Miles get bowled over by his adult uncle, Miles holds his own in the exchange, revealing true growth for the kid. He’s finally no longer beating up losers like Omega Red or the Ringer. It’s time for Miles to get a dose of the real world, courtesy of someone he thought he respected and idolized.
Uncle Aaron, meanwhile, reveals several new layers to his character during this rooftop chat. He’s not just some scumbag super-villain. He’s a thief, and he’s a smart thief. And he also, to some extent, has an eye out for his nephew. So even though he wants Miles’ help with nefarious things, and even threatens to blackmail the kid, Aaron still wants the best for the boy.
That’s some fascinating character work in what is another great issue of the Miles Morales saga.
The Avengers to Break $200 Million with Opening Weekend!
Holy crap that’s awesome!! The Avengers is going to make $200.03 million this weekend! That completely shatters the last record breaker: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which had about $167 million only last year. I knew The Avengers was going to be popular, but nobody predicted it would be this popular! $200 million!! Jeez louise!
And it’s already made twice that internationally!
Another kind of Avengers ‘record’
Check out my review of The Avengers to understand why it’s so awesome. This is absolutely spectacular news. It means we’ll definitely be getting more Marvel movies in the future! And definitely more Avengers!
Also, fun trivia, the first movie to break $100 million in one weekend was the first Spider-Man film. So it’s great to know that the world loves superheroes as much as I do!
Review: X-Factor #235
Now this is the kind of character-based drama I love to see in my comics, especially X-Factor! Peter David finally gives us some real tension between series star Jamie Madrox and his beleaguered usurper Alex Summers, otherwise known as Multiple Man and Havok. I’ve been waiting for this tension to hit for several issues now, and it feels good to finally have something meaty to sink our teeth into at X-Factor Investigations. That coupled with a new and possible entertaining case leads to a damn good issue of X-Factor.
X-Factor #235
This is exactly the kind of comic I want X-Factor to be – minus the blue-skinned, big gun-wielding space maniac.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
For the first time in a long while, X-Factor is finally dealing with something on their level again. No interdimensional journeys, no time-traveling duplicates and no evil Reed Richardses. Yes, I realize the Isolationist and his hot demon girlfriend are behind it all, but they thankfully don’t appear in this issue. I also realize that this is an entirely biased sentiment, that I shouldn’t judge a comic book based on what I want it to be, as opposed to what it actually is. And I’m not. The ‘good’ rating isn’t based on my being pleased with the plot. It’s based on the quality of the comic. Trust me.
We have here some Grade A character-based drama, some great scenes with the team, and a fairly unique and compelling mystery to solve. Not to mention the promise of uncovering a mystery that has been around in the X-franchise for decades: just who or what are Shatterstar and Longshot?
And solving those kinds of mysteries involving B and C-list comic book characters is exactly what X-Factor is for!
Amazing Spider-Man Could Actually Be Amazing
With all of The Avengers hoopla over the past few days, I haven’t had time to post this cool new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, which debuts on July 3. I’ve watched it both before and after The Avengers, which I think we can all agree has raised the bar for any and all superhero movies from here on out. It simply has, best we all accept that now.
I’m finally happy to say that I’m hopeful about The Amazing Spider-Man.
The trailer is still very dark and very brooding, which I’m generally opposed to in a Spider-Man movie. I’m not saying it has to be light and colorful, but this isn’t Batman. Andrew Garfield could do a good job as Spider-Man. I never liked Tobey Maguire in the costume. The few jokes/quips we get in that trailer seem legitimately funny. So I definitely have hope there. And the action sequences look pretty great.
I am a little worried about all this talk about the secret to Peter’s origins, and the focus on his parents. Usually I don’t care if a movie studio decides to change some aspects of a superhero in order to make them fit the screen. But if they mess with the actual, philosophical definitions of a character, then I get peeved. Like when they revealed in Spider-Man 3 that Sandman actually killed Uncle Ben and not the original thief. That was just so incredibly stupid! And it took away the guilt Peter felt for his uncle’s death.
Unnecessarily changing a superhero’s origin and raison d’etre just grinds my gears. But maybe I’m just reading too much into the trailer, which otherwise is a pretty good trailer. I’m hopeful about this movie being good now.
Battle damage!
Though as a rule, I don’t trust this movie. If you don’t know the circumstances here, the movie license for making Spider-Man films was sold to Sony years ago, which gave us those three Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man films a few years ago. They were good. But now if Sony ever stops making Spider-Man films, the licensing rights revert back to Marvel Comics and their parent company Disney. Sony does not want this to happen, so it’s likely that they will be churning out Spider-Man movies for as long as humanly possible.
Which brings me to naturally assuming this new movie won’t be any good.
However, that’s exactly what I thought to expect with X-Men: First Class last year. Fox is in the same situation, since they have the licensing rights to the X-Men franchise. But then X-Men: First Class was amazing! So now I know not to just assume these new movies will be bad. I think it’s safe to say that Sam Raimi was not the only person in Hollywood with an awesome vision for a Spider-Man movie. Frankly, I think we all have, in our hearts, an idea for a Spider-Man movie.
It just so happens that new director Marc Webb is the one who gets to make his version. Lucky bastard.
Review: The Avengers
The Avengers was phenomenal. It was amazing. It was deliriously wicked. It was the perfect blend of mind-blowing action and heart-tugging giddiness. I could wear out the Thesaurus with the ways in which The Avengers movie lived up to everything I had hoped, and shined in ways I could not have imagined. We comic book geeks have been waiting for this movie our entire lives (and more specifically, since 2008), and Marvel Comics and director Joss Whedon have delivered a superhero extravaganza!
The new kings and queen of Hollywood
The Avengers is not only now the definitive superhero movie, it has raised the bar for all Hollywood blockbusters that will ever be made from this day forth.
Rating: 5/5: Great!
With The Avengers, this grand, long-gestating experiment by the Marvel movie people has come to glorious fruition. I always had faith that they could pull it off. Iron Man in 2008 was a brilliant film, and when Samuel L. Jackson appeared at the very end and teased ‘The Avengers Initiative’, I knew there was hope. Then The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, all came along over the past few years, each one exciting and highly entertaining. I’m a fan of all of these films. But could Marvel really pull off The Avengers? Could they not only bring all of these major characters together into one film, but have it make sense and live up to the overwhelming hype?
I should be ashamed for even including those questions in my review. The answer is so incredibly ‘HELLS YES!!’ that I’m almost afraid of having my Internet License revoked.
Every Avenger gets a moment (or more) to shine. The humor is legitimately funny and delightful. The fights and action scenes are clear and exciting, with no blurring or over-editing. The Avengers are people first, action stars second; with a lot of character-based drama. Loki as the villain is far better here than he was in Thor, and easily carries the antagonist role. The climax was sufficiently chilling and climactic.
And the Hulk absolutely steals the show, smashing his way into our hearts. I could not be more pleased with this movie.
Some **SPOILERS** to follow.
Henchman-4-Hire