Category Archives: Spider-Man
Marvel Superheroes are a Wacky Bunch
Somebody needs to give Imajunation a lot of money so that they can make a million more of these videos! A wacky, hilarious little clip show of wonderful Marvel superhero vignettes called ‘Disassembled’. DC may have the Super Best Friends Forever, but this video is almost as good. If you watch only one video on my blog, make it this one. Enjoy!
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.
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: Avengers vs. X-Men #2
And lo, it was on like Donkey Kong! The epic battle of the Avengers vs. the X-Men has begun! Friend against friend! Husband against wife! Hero against hero! And with that, I’ve pretty much summed up the entire comic. The two teams come to blows very quickly in this issue, and it’s a little bit disappointing. I realize all of these characters are superheroes, and so fighting just comes natural to them. But holy cow does every single character just jump straight into a big brawl without a moment’s hesitation. All of the motivation behind the fighting seems to have dried up.
Avengers vs. X-Men #2
This is just a big, dumb fight issue with far too many characters to keep track of any of them. Though this comic tries its hardest. No wonder Marvel is also publishing a spin-off title that is nothing but fights – because none of them actually happen in this issue.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
But none of that is to say this was a bad issue. It’s still a very entertaining comic, and the end reveals that maybe we won’t just have 12 issues of boring fisticuffs. Because quite honestly, if this is all we can expect from the fights for this series, then count me out. This’ll be the most boring Big Event comic ever. Very little of the characters’ histories with one another are touched upon when they come to blows, and most of the fights happen off panel – or in that other comic book. And I’m not even sure if that spin-off comic is even out yet.
So basically what we get here are a few very short vignettes about fights that don’t happen in this comic, and then a medium-sized twist for the ending to catapult us into next issue. Cyclops and Captain America have another discussion during the fighting, but it’s not as good as the one last issue that kicked off the fight. But then this comic has a new scripter, so that could explain it.
That would also explain the silly purple prose found throughout the issue…Join me after the jump for a full synopsis, spoilers and more hot Avenger on X -Men action!
I Really, Really, Really Want Spider-Man to Hook Up with Ms. Marvel
Let’s talk about romance in comic books for a minute. Even with all the big fights and awesome powers, superhero stories almost always have a little romance in them. Superman has Lois Lane, Batman has Catwoman, Cyclops and Wolverine were always fighting over Jean Grey; love has always been a key component to comic books. As it should be.
But I have to ask, why, oh why, do superheroes never hook up with other superheroes?
And can we change that by getting together Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel? Please? They’d be so cute together!
They could even fight super-villains together! Adorable!
When it comes to superhero relationships, they really only seem to have one option: stay in love with the character they were hooked up with way back when they first debuted. Comic book fans notoriously hate change and want to maintain the long-standing status quo. That history is what keeps these classic couples together, moreso than anything that actually benefits either character. So modern day comic book writers would rather retread old ground in the romance department than give the fans something new and exciting.
But I want that excitement!
In recent years, comic book publishers have been taking baby steps into the realm of giving their characters new relationships, thereby creating new dynamics and new stories. Like Storm and Black Panther or Cyclops and Emma Frost. Well now I want these publishers to embrace this idea and forge full steam ahead by taking the most love-lorn of all superheroes, Spider-Man, and giving him an awesome, new super-powered girlfriend!
Henchman-4-Hire 