Category Archives: X-Men
The Top 6 Irish Comic Book Characters
Top o’th’mornin’ to ya, me bloggies! Or the afternoon. Or even Sunday, depending on when you’re reading this. Throw back a pint in the name of your favorite geek Internet blogger! I’ve got a little bit of Irish in me, and that sure comes in handy on this, the holiest of the green holidays! It’s St. Patrick’s Day!
Kiss him, he's an Irish superhero
And like all things, whether it be holidays or the judicial system, I like to attach superheroes to it! So here’s my list of the Top 6 comic book characters who also have a little Irish in them. Oddly enough, I couldn’t find any superhero named ‘Leprechaun’. Somebody get Marvel Comics on the phone! Have I got an idea for them!
Nobody Likes Dazzler
Let’s start this morning with a bit of humor. Website extraordinaire Dorkly have done it again with a hilarious video game parody. This time it’s X-Men The Arcade Game, and how nobody – not even Magneto – liked Dazzler. This is funny stuff people.
Bring on an X-Men Gay Wedding!
So even though Avengers vs. X-Men hasn’t even started yet, Marvel decided to release a teaser today for a story set after the clash. The teaser pretty much speaks for itself:
Save the entire month of June? Why not!
Reading around on the Internet, it seems that everybody believes the two to be wed are Northstar and his boyfriend Kyle, who I don’t think is any kind of superhero. I haven’t been reading the comics that Northstar has appeared in lately, but I’m pretty sure Kyle has been an important reoccurring character. And there aren’t many other X-Men couples these days.
Gay and interracial? It's almost like Marvel is egging the protesters on
Plus gay weddings are all the rage, what with people freaking out that Kevin Keller from Archie got married. Seriously, some group called One Million Moms protested Toys R Us for selling the Kevin Keller comic because it featured a gay marriage. And to that I present to you this fantastic Gutters comic.
I don’t like to get political with my blog, but I’m just going to state my opinion: gay marriage is A-OK is my book. You’re more than welcome to oppose gay marriage for whatever reason you may have, but you are just plain wrong on the issue.
That being said, kudos to Marvel to try something like this. Maybe they’re only doing it for the publicity, but I highly doubt it. There have got to be more than enough homosexuals working in comics or at Marvel to want to do a legitimate story. Northstar was, after all, one of the very first openly homosexual comic book superheroes after all. Maybe it’s a case of little guy Archie comics getting all these bullies coming after them, so big guy Marvel decides to step in and support the little guy with their own gay marriage. I like that idea.
Personally, I’ve always been a Northstar fan. This is Northstar:
That logo on his side doubles as both a flash of light and a Canadian Maple Leaf
Debuting in 1979 as a member of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, Northstar is a mutant with the ability to fly at super-speed. He’s also the twin brother of Aurora, who has light-based powers. Northstar was always gay, but the Comics Code Authority back in the day would not let comics have any openly gay characters. The Comics Code Authority has since been completely dropped after Marvel and DC comics decided just to ditch them. Anyway, Northstar came out in Alpha Flight #106 in 1992. It was a fairly controversial, but popular, move, and the comic sold out. Which was a pretty spectacular achievement for Alpha Flight.
Northstar became a much more important character starting in 2001, when he was recruited into a temporary team of X-Men. I read those issues, and they were my first real exposure to Northstar. He was pretty cool. Kind of arrogant, but a cool sort of arrogant. Northstar joined the X-Men full-time in 2002, and has been around ever since – though he has had a few returns to Alpha Flight. But these days he’s a full-time X-Man.
Unfortunately, the wedding is going to be taking place in Astonishing X-Men, the bastard stepchild of the X-Men universe. There are currently more than half a dozen X-Men comics being published. Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men are the two main titles, with stuff like Astonishing X-Men, X-Men: Legacy, New Mutants and more serving as auxiliary titles. Frankly, Astonishing has no reason to exist anymore. It’s kind of just hanging around for the heck of it after a strong debut by writer Joss Whedon a few years ago.
There are plenty of other comics to buy to get X-Men stories.
But there are only a few comics willing to tell a positive gay marriage story. So hooray Astonishing X-Men!
Lego X-Men May Be Even Cooler Than Lego Avengers
I give you Lego Deadpool.
And a thousand nerds cried out at once in joy
I was kind of excited about the Avengers Legos that I posted the other day. But further search of the Lego sets at this year’s Toy Fair convention in New York City have revealed the first (of hopefully many) X-Men Lego sets! And we’re talking comic book X-Men sets. None of that movie crap.
The set features Wolverine, Deadpool and Magneto in some kind of helicopter-based battle. Why a helicopter? Who knows!? Who cares!? It’s X-Men Legos!
In this set, the helicopter is just padding
And here’s a close-up of the mini-figs.
Gotta say, Wolverine's claws look incredibly dorky. He's holding them
The X-Men are a brilliant license for Legos. They have been doing some amazing things with mini-figs recently. The bodies are heads are incredibly detailed, with mind-blowing accessories. So imagine if Lego could cut loose with the entire cast of X-Men characters? Cyclops, Emma Frost, Toad, Iceman, Archangel, Beast, Storm, Jubilee, there are just so many!
Say it with me now…Lego Multiple Man!
Take ALL of my money!
That’s a custom mini-fig made by Tin7.
Top 6 Current Superhero Relationships
Romance is dead in comic books. And I’m not just talking about the lack of actual ‘romance’ comics, like they had in the mid-20th century. I mean the classic, long-standing, popular romances that used to define comics are long gone! Through reboots, retcons, death or simple break-ups, the classic couples are no more — especially the ones that were highlighted in the most recent comic book movies.
But don’t worry, all hope is not lost! Newer couples, with a few remaining classics, are proving that even superheroes can still fall in love.
The DC Comics New 52 reboot basically took a scythe to romance in comics. On the chopping block: Superman and Lois Lane, the Flash and Iris Allen, Nightwing and Batgirl, Nightwing and Starfire, the Joker and Harley Quinn, Green Arrow and Black Canary, Apollo and Midnighter, and many more. Longtime Marvel couples are also kaput. Spider-Man and Mary Jane, Jean Grey and Cyclops, Jean Grey and Wolveirne, Hulk and Betty Ross, Thor and Jane Foster, Rogue and Gambit, Shadowcat and Colossus; the list goes on. Heck, some of the comic book movie relationships, like Iron Man and Pepper Potts, don’t even really exist in the comics. Batman’s ‘true love’, Rachel Dawes, only exists in the Chris Nolan movies.
Fortunately, romance always makes for good drama, so there are still some superheroes shacking up and knocking boots. In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are the Top 6 Current Superhero Relationships in comics.
Henchman-4-Hire 