Batman #9 The Night of the Owls crossover continues with a battle in the Batcave. Bruce’s last safe haven is invaded by the Talons. How will he save Alfred from a strike force of the undead assassins. What has Alfred’s family kept from the Waynes. Gotham City’s darkest family secrets are revealed in a back story.
Fatale #5 This mystery noir series with twists of supernatural horror has creeped with a slow burn until last issue’s violent shocker. Josephine may be immortal but her latest lover may not survive. Are they being chase by mobsters or monsters? Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips latest collaboration will deliver a bloody showdown as the first arc races to the finish.
New Avengers #26 Answers to one of the biggest and mind tingling mysteries begins here. How is Danny Rand connected to the Phoenix Force? Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato reveal the secret history of the firebird in a book of the dead Iron Fists. This is a crucial tie-in to Avengers vs. X-Men.
Trio #1 The legendary John Byrne is back with a brand new superhero series. The world calls them Rock, Paper, Scissors. I’m hoping this will capture the spirit of Byrne’s classic Fantastic Four run.
Uncanny X-Force #25 The Final Execution begins here with new villains after Wolverine’s covert team. Rick Remender has teased a team of enemies born from Omega Red and shopping mall for assassins in the sky. I suspect this will be another violent, game changing epic like The Dark Angel Saga – definitely watch this series.
DC revealed Detective Comics Annual will hit August 29th. Tony Daniel puts Batman in a battle with The Black Mask. This special Annual is illustrated by Romano Molenaar and Sandu Florea.
Roman Sionis appeared in last week’s Detective Comics #9. I called this one hellish hour in the Night of the Owls. Black Mask was a pawn in Jeremiah Arkham’s insane plan to escape when an army of Talons invaded Arkham Asylum.
If you want to know more of Tony Daniel’s plans for Detective Comics including the New 52 version of an old foe here’s my interview with him from last month’s Fan Expo Vancouver.
With a $200.3 million dollar opening it’s hard to imagine (and if you’re coming to comic book site) that you didn’t see The Avengers on the big screen.
Let’s talk about that ending and have some fun geek-speculation! J
Just in case you didn’t see Earth’s Mightiest Movie here’s a WARNING!!!
SPOILER AHEAD
SERIOUSLY
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE POST CREDIT SCENE/ENDING OF THE AVENGERS DON’T SCROLL DOWN ANY MORE
FOR REAL
OK HERE IT IS…
I have to admit I was shocked to see the mystery villain appear every so briefly but sporting a sinister grin. The Chitauri leader is seeing talking to a menacing figure saying the humans are not to be underestimated and to face them would be “to court death itself.”
Avengers Annual #7 courtesy Marvel.com
The figure turns. Thanos is revealed! I think I exclaimed “oh s…!” My non-comic book reading friend said “who is that supposed to be?”
Thanos is the Mad God of Titan and he’s obsessed with death. In the Marvel Universe Death is an entity and he courts her. Thanos debuted in the pages of Iron Man but you need a lot more than the Avengers if you take on this cosmic monster.
Thanos was born on Titan, a moon of Saturn. He’s a member of the Eternals (a God-like but human looking race ) but was born with a Deviant (their monstrous looking cousins) gene so in a way Thanos is a cosmic mutant.
Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, The Silver Surfer and many more heroes banded together in The Infinity Gauntlet when Thanos wiped out half the universe as an offering to Mistress Death. The gauntlet holds 5 gems of power. The artifact was seen briefly in Odin’s vault in Thor.
Infinity Gauntlet #4 courtesy Marvel.com
Adam Warlock and Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) are key players in any Thanos storyline so can we expect them to appear in upcoming sequels to Thor, Iron Man and Captain America?
Warlock is an artificial warrior created by the Enclave, a team of scientists, and fought Thor. Warlock became a hero, member of Guardians of the Galaxy and the Infinity Watch.
Mar-Vell is a Kree warrior who turned against his alien empire and became a champion of Earth and an Avenger. Thanos was at Mar-Vell’s side as he died of cancer in the classic The Death of Captain Marvel, Marvel’s first graphic novel.
But what about Silver Surfer last seen in Fox’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer? Not sure about the rights to this character but Norrin Radd is a key player in a battle against Thanos.
After the amazing portrayal of the Hulk in The Avengers I can see the same process turn an actor like in the cosmic big bad guy. Thor displayed the Infinity gauntlet in Odin’s vault so expect more cosmic seeds for a cosmic showdown with the Mad God planted in the sequel.
If you’d like to read more about the Mad God here’s his bio link on Marvel.com. A huge credit goes to the legendary Jim Starlin, who revitalized Thanos, Adam Warlock and wrote the classic Avengers Annual #7, The Death of Captain Marvel and The Infinity Gauntlet. Starlin’s contributions to the Marvel Universe are majestic and maybe the most appropriate word – COSMIC!
If you’re familiar with Thanos who do you think should play him? Do you like the idea of a cosmic size Avengers sequel?
This Geek’s Opinion: The Avengers exceeded all my expectations! Joss Whedon delivered an action packed epic with drama, humor and big surprises. The entire cast delivered pitch perfect performances but if I had to pick an MVP, I keep thinking how much I loved Black Widow.
I knew Natasha would kick ass in the action scenes I loved getting more of her back story. Joss Whedon and Scarlett Johansson crafted a multi-faceted, fractured and fascinating Natasha Romanoff. They gave us enough of her haunted past to make us connect with the Widow. The two ‘interrogation” scenes were the skillful marriage of script and acting. I never expected Natasha to take on Loki one on one.
Hawkeye & Black Widow in Marvel's The Avengers courtesy Marvel
I’m not sure a Black Widow solo movie will happen but I’m still hoping for SHIELD movie with the Widow, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and I definitely hope Scarlett will be in Captain America 2.
If you want to see Black Widow at her sexy super spy best then you should definitely read The Winter Soldier series.
Daniel Craig’s new James Bond mission is embroiled in a secret from M’s past. In a new videoblog released on 007.com we see a brief first video of who I think is Ralph Fiennes with Daniel Craig and Judi Dench in M’s office. Fiennes is playing an MI6 agent. It’s been rumored Fiennes’ character will take over as the new M in this film.
Oscar-winning production design Dennis Gassner is the real star of this latest videoblog showing off the sets he’s created for Skyfall. There’s an elaborate underground station that’s a MI6 headquarters and a scene set in a Shanghai high-tech office you may recognize from the first offical photo.
Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! Here’s a link to find a participating store near you. Check with your local store for guidelines and rules. Don’t think you’re getting some leftovers!
The big publishers are going all out with brand new stories by big name creators. DC Comics The New 52 will feature a story starring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the new mystery villainess, Pandora.
Marvel presents Avengers The Age of Ultron Point One by Brian Michael Bendis and Bryan Hitch.
Dark Horse Comics is giving double doses of sci-fi goodness with a Star Wars/Serenity flipbook. One story of Han Solo and Chewbacca and one Mal Reynolds story in one free book! And there’s a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer/The Guild flipbook.
Here are more FREE COMIC BOOK DAY highlights. Since you’re getting a freebie, why not support your local comic book shop and buy a book or two while you’re there? See you Saturday!
Cobie Smulders in The Avengers courtesy Marvel Films
Cobie Smulders brings SHIELD operative Maria Hill to the big screen in Marvel’s The Avengers. Hill was created during the Brian Michael Bendis Avengers run and went up against Nick Fury and Tony Stark. Smulders joins Clark Gregg who’s played Agent Phil Coulson in Iron Man and Thor. The Marvel comic book version of Coulson made his debut in Shattered Heroes – along with an African-American Nick Fury (Jr.)
Scarlet Spider #5 courtesy Marvel.com
Gregg tells The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision the Marvel movies make a strong effort to be respectful of the comic book source and that resource was on set as he built his character.
“The fanboys and girls are very interested in [mythology] like, ‘that goes directly against what goes in the comic’,” Gregg said. “And they can’t do that with me. I feel like these movies are designed to respect those comics, so I always made a point of checking out what there was about S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“The great thing is that the Marvel guys are there and you say, ‘I need a little more background on Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.,’ and the next day they hand you this thing that any fanboy would die for, kind of an encyclopedia illustrated about the history of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
courtesy Marvel.com
Smulders says Joss Whedon helped her translate an iconic character.
“Joss Whedon, he is really hands-on and he wants every character to have a life on and off-screen,” Smulders said. “He is really involved in making sure that every person has their moments. And I really felt like a part of a team – I really felt linked to Coulson and to Fury and especially our role in the film.”
For the entire interview and a video here’s the Heat Vision link.
By Editor
Here’s hoping we might see a SHIELD/Nick Fury movie – here are my thoughts on Marvel stories that would translate to the big screen.
I bought Batwing #9 only because it was part of the Night of the Owls crossover. Don’t just me unworthy, even a geek with a blog has a comic book budget. I was impressed with this new hero and enjoyed Judd Winick and Marcus To’s tie-in to the crossover.
Spinning out of Batman, The Court of Owls have unleashed their Talons on targets all over Gotham City. Bruce Wayne’s trusted ally Lucius Fox has been judged unworthy. Batwing must stop the death sentence during a Batman Incorporated event.
The script was tight and action packed but gives you insight into David – and I was immediately engaged. It’s too obvious and cliche to say he reminds me of working man’s Black Panther because they’re both from Africa but I also see the some of Hawkeye’s personality in David. This was my first Batwing issue and the first of many more.
