Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/5/14
Happy Day after Independence Day! Did everybody watch the movie, Independence Day, like I do every year? Or should do every year…I need some Fourth of July traditions. I need to be more patriotic. And there’s nothing more patriotic than reading comics! Especially Captain America comics…which I didn’t do this week. Man, I’m bad at this.
Anyway, I mostly read Marvel comics this week, because DC didn’t have much of anything to tickle my fancy. We’ve still got new Batman Eternal, because I’m still subjecting myself to that series. But we’ve also got new issues of X-Factor, Magneto, Moon Knight, Original Sin and the first issue of Legendary Star-Lord. If you’re wondering why they added the word ‘Legendary’, well, it’s kind of obvious once you read the comic, but not for the reason Marvel probably wants.
Thor: God of Thunder #24 wins Comic Book of the Week for another one of those quieter, talking heads issues that Jason Aaron does so well with this series. I tell ya, Thor has never felt so grand and yet so personable.
Needs more Beta Ray Bill.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Factor #10, Batman Eternal #13, Legendary Star-Lord #1, Magneto #6, Moon Knight #5, Original Sin #5 and Thor: God of Thunder #24.
Review: Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #3
Now things are starting to heat up! Last issue was definitely build-up, with Miles preparing to tell his girlfriend the big news, and bad guys moving around the background. Well in the new issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, Brian Michael Bendis shifts into a higher gear, setting up what will no doubt be an exciting climax! The new Spider-Man vs. the Green Goblin! Katie Bishop panicking! Ganke proven right?! The tension ratchets up in a big way this issue, from a threat that’s actually born from the Spider-Man universe. Not since Prowler or Venom has a battle felt so important in this comic.
Ultimate Spider-Man #3
But the best is yet to come! Bendis starts toppling over some of his dominoes in this issue, and we’ve still got more story to go!
Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.
The stakes just feel more real in this issue than they have in awhile. Every time Bendis is forced to add Miles to some big Ultimate Universe crossover, the stories lose that important tension. Who really cares about Miles getting thrown into a big Ultimates battle against Hydra? Or Miles swinging around helping people while Galactus threatens the world? Miles, and Spider-Man, are best left as street-level heroes. I’ve always said it, and I’ll continue to say it. Seeing Miles struggle to tell his girlfriend that he’s Spider-Man, or panicking in the face of the Green Goblin, is a great Spider-Man comic.
Miles Morales is a fun character. He may not be as iconic as Peter Parker, there’s no way he could be. But Bendis is doing a great job with Miles. He’s grounded, he’s human, and he’s driven to be a hero. He’s got a lot to learn ahead of him, and the story of that discovery makes for great comics.
Though once again, rumors of the Ultimate Universe’s destruction are on the wind. Apparently Miles is going to crossover with All-New X-Men in a few months? And something big and interdimensional appears to be on the horizon for next Spring. Bendis even drops a clue/tease in this issue, if you can believe them. I don’t know what to think. I still don’t want Miles to be shuffled off to the regular Marvel Universe. But, obviously, that decision is out of my hands.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
We’ll Make the Batman Metal
Enjoy this lovely ditty about Batman as one badass metal mofo!
The animation is pretty good, and the song is pretty metal, so it’s got that going for it. Batman, of course, could be the king of metal. And Robin is kickin’ it on drums. The video was made by ArhyBES.
An Angry Superman and a New Bout of Rumors
Production on Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is amping up, and as such, pictures from the set are flying around the Internet. In the slow march towards acceptance, a lot of studios have started revealing characters and costumes well in advance of when those same images might get leaked on the web. For example, the CW put out the first official pictures of the Flash costume just days before pictures of him in costume on set hit the web.
So perhaps that’s why Warner Bros. released this startling image of a dour Superman today.
The ‘S’ stands for Eternal Sorrow
Somebody really sneezed in his Cheerios. Is that still a thing kids say?
Anyway! The reason I’m posting this grumpy picture of Superman is because there’s a new spat of rumors about characters and actors in Dawn of Justice. Normally I don’t like publishing rumors like that, because they can be wrong at the drop of the hat.
But as a rabid fanboy, I am going to follow every possible iota of information about Dick Grayson being in Dawn of Justice. I probably want Dick in Dawn of Justice more than I want Multiple Man in the next X-Men movie (though it pains me to say that).
As such, the rumors come from Latino Review, and they basically state that Scoot McNairy – who I had pegged as a Nightwing front-runner – might actually be playing Morgan Edge, a businessman-type villain, who they figure will be Lex Luthor’s slimy PR man.
Normally I would be saddened by the news, but the scooper, El Mayimbe, seems pretty confident that Dick Grayson is indeed going to be in the movie. He practically mentions it as an established fact, that Dick Grayson will be in his mid-20s, and can’t be played by the 30something-year-old McNairy, so that buffers my fears somewhat.
Beyond Edge, El Mayimbe claims we’ll see Victor Zasz, David Cain and Amanda Waller all in the movie. They’re all human characters, so it wouldn’t be hard to toss them into the movie somehow. Batman Begins used Victor Zasz in exactly that same, simple way.
So there you have it. From some much more experienced and knowledgable bloggers than me, McNairy will be playing Morgan Edge, and Dick Grayson is definitely in the movie.
Good times.
Littlefinger, IT Consultant
Today’s bit of funny comes from our old friend Xavier. I always love a bit of Game of Thrones humor. That’s what the Internet is made for. And if you guys and gals spot a funny video or something blog-worthy on the web, feel free to drop me a line at Hench4Hire@gmail.com. Because sometimes I’m just too lazy to find the really good stuff!
The above video was brought to us by The Shorts Show Comedy, Brooklyn’s Worst Sketch Comedy.
Henchman-4-Hire 