Category Archives: Marvel
6 Silly Armored Superhero Costumes
The one constant in the world of superheroes is the colorful costume. Tights, spandex, latex, long johns, leather, pajamas; all superheroes play dress up when it comes to fighting crime. It’s just more fun that way. But in the real world, everybody knows that a big, muscular guy in spandex just looks silly. If a real world Batman was just wearing a pair of gray tights, he’d be no more threatening than a ballerina. Why do you think the movies put Batman in a specialized suit of black armor, or the X-Men wear black leather?
Tights and spandex costumes just aren’t cool, no matter how good they might look when drawn.
Paper, though, always looks good
Which is why, throughout the history of comics, creators have often tried to upgrade a superhero’s costume to make it look more badass. For some reason, this meant changing from spandex to armor, with heavy layers of complicated plating and protection. Yet no matter how good the creators’ intentions, somehow these upgrades looked even worse! These armor costumes were running rampant in the 90s, and in hindsight, everybody agrees that they looked ridiculous. Superheroes have gone back to tight spandex ever since.
I thought I’d share with everybody some of the more ridiculous armored costume changes in comic book history.
A Totally Unbiased Review of Mimic and the X-Men #1
I love the Mimic. This obscure, Z-list superhero nobody is one of my all time favorite comic book characters. And for the first time in years, Marvel Comics is finally putting him back into the spotlight with the launching of the fantastically awesome Mimic and the X-Men #1 (also commonly known as X-Men: Legacy #264). I have no doubt that this issue flew off the shelves with all the popularity of chocolate chip pancakes at your local comic book store. We’re talking Watchmen levels of awesome here, folks. This issue, written by Christos Gage, flips the entire X-franchise on its head with what may be the most spectacular Mimic appearance ever.
Mimic and the X-Men #1
Move over Wolverine, there’s a new king X-Man in town. And his name is Mimic.
Comic rating: 10/5: Fantabularious!
Some of you may be thinking that I’ve gone off the hyperbolic crazy train. But you clearly haven’t read this issue. It’s like the chocolate devil’s food cake (with chocolate frosting) of comic books. It’s just so richly moist and flavorful, telling a compelling story featuring an underused superhero – who I just happen to think is a cross between James Bond, Elvis and Superman. Mimic is the kind of character that all the other characters wish they could be, with badass powers, a sweet new costume and appearances so rare that he’s like a fine diamond. If we ignore the rest of the clutter of this issue, like the plot and the other characters, we can see that Mimic was born to headline a comic book. The X-Men franchise is in for a revolution!
So join me, won’t you, for what is sure to be the highest selling comic book of the past decade.
Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #1
Apparently my local comic book shop didn’t get the memo that Avengers vs. X-Men #1 was being shipped a week early so that stores could prepare for any launch day events on the scheduled release date of April 4. So while this week most of the comic book reading world only got to buy the prologue, Avengers vs. X-Men #0, this plucky young blogger got his hands on the first issue of Marvel’s Big Summer Event Comic! I bought it legally, fair and square. There were no back room dealings or shady bribes. My comic shop put it out on the shelf and I bought it. I asked them if they knew about the embargo, but they didn’t seem to have a clue. Not my problem.
Avengers vs. X-Men #1
So how is issue #1? This event is being billed as one of the biggest in Marvel history, with their two signature teams duking it out in a no-holds barred fightfest of epic proportions! The very fate of the world may be at stake!
Avengers vs. X-Men #1 actually pretty good. The story is told rather straightforward, introducing us to the threat that’s going to put the two teams against each other, introducing the main characters and their stakes in the fight, and finally ending with the ‘optic blast heard ’round the world’. And the reasoning behind why the two teams would fight one another is actually handled quite well. I can definitely believe that these heroes would come to blows in this situation, which definitely adds to the credibility of such a Big Event.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
On a personal level, this issue didn’t grab me, and the overall plot does nothing for me. The story is focused around the character of Hope Summers, who I’ve just never cared for. And considering how quickly her solo series, Generation Hope, was cancelled, I doubt I’m the only one. So to have such a Big Event riding on Hope is a misstep, in my opinion. But Marvel, and scripter Brian Michael Bendis, wisely leave the fisticuffs to Captain America and Cyclops, the leaders of the two teams. The conversation between the two of them at the end of the issue is brimming with ego and tension, and it works perfectly to kick off this epic battle. I’m definitely on board for this whole series now.
The only problems with the issue, in my opinion, are the art and the lack of any big badass moments. Artist John Romita Jr. is a god among comic artists, one of my all-time favorites. But his work in this issue comes off as sloppy and rushed. Characters who should be big and imposing are instead lumpy and hastily drawn. Faces are sometimes quite ugly. This is far from his best work. And as for big moments, there simply aren’t any. At least none we haven’t seen before. In order to get the reader up to speed on the plot, there doesn’t appear to be time for any edge of your seat excitement.
Hopefully that will change with future issues. Join me after the jump for a full synopsis with spoilers and deeper analysis.
Nifty Superhero Redesigns
I’ve praised the awesomeness of Project Rooftop before, but I feel like doing it again today. Project Rooftop is this nifty artist site where people submit high-quality redesigns of popular superheros and their costumes. I love this type of art, because it looks cool, is often very creative and it’s about superheroes. What’s not to love?
Hopefully you’ll be an entertained as I am.
First up is this cool Catwoman design by artist Erica Henderson. It’s got a cool Scott Pilgrim vibe to it.
All she needs are some roller skates
Next we have some personal favorites of mine, the Wonder Twins! I love the hell out of these characters, and not just ironically. The Wonder Twins are just neat, and part of that is their goofy origins with the Super Friends. But did you know that the Wonder Twins eventually appeared in the actual comics? In the mid-90s, they made the jump from the cartoon to the actual, in-canon comics during a series call Extreme Justice. Yep, it was the 90s alright.
This picture, making the pair look rather alien and badass, is drawn by artist Andrew Trabbold.
I am dying to see the Wonder Twins show up in the New 52 or perhaps the Young Justice cartoon
Finally we have what may be one of the snazziest superhero costume redesigns I have ever seen: Steampunk Scientist Ant-Man! This comes from artist George Kambadais, who drew a whole line up of Avengers. But this Ant-Man is above and beyond the call of phenomenal. I love the labcoat-esque shirt that buttons up to the neck. I love that it’s not tucked in. And I love the knee-high boots with the pants tucked in. This costume is just a brilliant design.
Can Marvel hire this guy to design the next Ant-Man for reals? Maybe? Please?
Review: X-Factor #233
Madrox the Multiple Man is alive again and all is right with the world – except for this far from spectacular issue of X-Factor. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fun read, but it did not accomplish anything particularly noteworthy or interesting. This is mostly just a solid story with a few funny gags, some nice characterization, but a pretty bland conflict. And then the teasers for the next big storyline leave me in a big pile of yawns.
X-Factor #233
Still, Multiple Man is back from the dead! I’m definitely more excited than Pip the Troll…I’ll explain in a bit.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
X-Factor #233 basically features a straight forward and simple tale of the good guys vs. some generic bad guys, while supporting two subplots that move along certain storylines while setting up others. From a purely storytelling standpoint, writer Peter David probably should have held off for longer before bringing Multiple Man back (blasphemy, I know!). But the primary conflict that arises in this book, the idea that Havok and Polaris took over as leaders of the team in Madrox’s absence, has not had any time to play out. The last time we saw the entire team of X-Factor in this book, they were introduced to Havok and Polaris becoming the new team leaders. This issue features one superhero adventure with Havok and Polaris as leaders. But next issue, most likely, is going to be about who gets the Matrix of Leadership, Madrox or Havok/Polaris?
Yet we haven’t gotten to know Havok and Polaris as leaders. This issue indicates that some time has passed since Madrox died, but we, as readers, have not experience this time. This conflict of leadership isn’t really the kind of conflict David wants it to be if we have no reason to support Havok and Polaris’ claims to the title.
They have no legitimate claim to leadership now that Madrox is back. But something tells me they’re not just going to step aside. I guess we’ll find out next issue. For now, let’s check out this issue after the jump!
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