Blog Archives
And Here’s What’s to Become of the X-Men This Fall (Among Others!)
UPDATE: Here’s a gallery of all the covers for the new comics!
Marvel (with a little help from Bleeding Cool) has finally revealed their plans for the X-Men in their big relaunch this fall. There are still going to be a ton of X-Men comics, starring a variety of X-characters, with some new writing blood behind the wheel. I can’t necessarily say that any of these titles interest me right away, but I’ll probably give them all a chance.
The big news is that something has happened between mutants and the Inhumans that has them at odds, or at the very least, is shaping what this relaunch is going to be all about. We know that Marvel really wants the Inhumans to take over from the X-Men, but we’ll see how far they take that. Other important developments include the fact that the Young X-Men are still around, Cyclops has gone missing and Beast has taken sides with the Inhumans. Also, no sign of Multiple Man anywhere, in case you were as eager as me.
Extraordinary X-Men
Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos will launch a new X-title featuring old characters, and will tackle the Inhuman problem head on. Their team will include Storm, Iceman, Magik, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Young Jean Grey and Old Man Logan, who is coming to the Marvel Universe following Secret Wars.
You can read an interview with Lemire at ComicBookResources.
Uncanny X-Men
Cullen Bunn and Greg Land will be creating a villainous X-Team to take over the main title. Their series will star Magneto, Sabretooth, Mystique, Fantomex and Psylocke.
All-New X-Men
Dennis Hopeless and Mark Bagley will get to take over the Young X-Men, in a series starring the remaining teen heroes (minus Jean Grey), along with X-23. Word has it they’re going to all pile into a van to cruise around searching for their destiny.
Speaking of X-23, she’s going to be taking over as Wolverine. And Old Man Logan is going to get a solo series. And Deadpool will still be around.
Honestly, a ton of Marvel titles are dropping now, probably not necessarily at the speed Marvel wants. But that’s what Bleeding Cool does. Check out this Reddit megathread to find links to all of the announcements. There will be new comics for Daredevil, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Carnage, Silk, the Uncanny Avengers, Angela and many more. In fact, there’s also going to be a new Karnak solo series written by Warren Ellis. My brother will be excited to hear that.
Basically, there’s a whole lot of fun coming out of Marvel in the fall. Though I can’t say that anything has really caught my eye. I like Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos, but I can’t say as how I like any of those X-Men due to their heavy anti-Cyclops feelings as of late. I think those evil Uncanny guys could be fun, but it’s drawn by Greg Land. None of those solo superhero are any of my favorites either. Lots of neat stuff, and I’ll probably check a bunch of them out, but nothing has really hit me like lightning so far.
But there’s still time! And more comics to be announced!
What do you henchies think of these new X-Men comics? Or any of these new titles? Let me know in the comments!
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Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Avengers: Age of Ultron is like a new episode of the biggest, most expensive TV show of all time. It’s not the event that the first movie was, and it might not be as Earth-shattering as I expected, but Age of Ultron is nonetheless a fun, exciting and action-packed movie starring all of our favorite superheroes. And therein lies my biggest complaint, which is really a non-complaint.
There’s a familiarity to Age of Ultron that leads to contentment. The movie doesn’t really give us anything new to get excited about, instead delivering just another solid chapter in this ongoing saga.
Movie Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
I liken Age of Ultron to a TV show because that’s exactly what it felt like while I was watching. I may have been in a packed movie theater, and it’s been three years since the last episode, but Ultron was definitely the ‘monster-of-the-week’ in the latest episode of The Avengers. All of our favorite characters are back, their friendly, comfortable banter is exactly what we’d expect, and everything is more or less tied up in a nice, tidy bow by the end. Lessons are learned, a little romance is slipped in, and now we just sit back and wait for the next episode.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way with any movie sequel before. It’s a weird feeling.
But the episodic feel doesn’t keep the movie from being entertaining. It’s an exciting film from beginning to end. In the big picture sense, the movie is amazing. But when you step back and really think about all the moving parts, it’s not without some flaws. Director Joss Whedon juggles a few too many characters, so that some get a lot of attention — like Hawkeye, in some standout moments — while others are little more than props — like Thor, who spends most of his time dropping hints about future movies.
The new characters are a mixed bag. The titular villain, Ultron, is too entertaining to be menacing. That’s an odd way to describe a super villain, but it’s exactly how actor James Spader pulls it off.
I like Age of Ultron, a lot. It’s not as good at the first Avengers film, largely because the spectacle has worn off, but also for a lot of little reasons. Yet overall, it’s another exciting film in my favorite franchise of all time, despite those little reasons.
Join me after the jump for my full, detailed review. And there will be SPOILERS!
I’m Only One Man, I Can Only Handle So Many Character Reveals
Yesterday saw the debut of the red Daredevil costume for the new Netflix series (which premiers today!). I saw the costume, loved it, and wrote a blog post about it. But then the various companies in charge of our live action superheroes went insane. There were no less than five superhero reveals, including Daredevil, and all of them are pretty neat. Are you ready to just smash our way through all of them? Let’s just go nuts!
Thing
Yellow Jacket
Archangel
Vision
I wonder how many more we’ll get today. This is the week that keeps on giving.
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Wanna Take a Peep at the Vision in Age of Ultron?
Movie spoilers are almost unavoidable in this day and age, especially with these big budget superhero movies. Marvel and DC can cast whoever they want, and impose whatever gag orders they want, but somehow, eventually, we’re going to find out ahead of time that Jason Momoa is playing Aquaman or that Cosmo is going to be in your Guardians of the Galaxy movie (though I am a little annoyed that we don’t have confirmation on Robin/Nightwing yet in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice). This is the case with the Vision in Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. Marvel and the actor were doing their best to keep him under wraps, but he’s out there – in fact, he’s even appearing in promotional material.
Hopefully to a tailor
I’m going to save the actual image for after the jump, for those of you who still want to resist spoilers.
The Vision is a classic Avenger from the comic. He’s an android with a rather gaudy costume who eventually learns things like loyalty and love. Classic android stuff. Personally, I’ve never been a fan, but you better believe I’m super excited to see him in Age of Ultron.
Join me after the jump for the first real glimpse of the Vision!
Paul Bettany as the Vision? Alright, I’ll Buy It
The superhero movie rumor mill is grinding away today at full force, with news out of England that Paul Bettany will be playing the Vision in Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. Bettany, if you recall, has been the voice of Tony Stark’s computer/butler J.A.R.V.I.S. in all of the Iron Man movies, as well as the first Avengers. And the Vision is an android from the comics. So it would kind of make sense for the artificial intelligence to just upgrade into a robot body.
I can see the resemblance, especially in the eyes
Right now, this casting is all rumor, I think. It’s all over the Internet today, but Marvel hasn’t said anything concrete. It was reported in The Daily Mail, who said they saw Bettany undergoing some make up work on the set. Then it got confirmed by Variety. I don’t usually like to post these sorts of rumors, but it’s a slow news day, and I actually really like this idea.
Join me for more after the jump.
Henchman-4-Hire 