Marvel revealed this teaser- let the speculation begin!
Invincible. Kieron Gillen. Greg Land. Coming November 12.
Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca are ending their run on Invincible Iron Man. This tease has to mean the Uncanny X-Men team of Gillen and Land are taking over with a brand new series starring the Armored Avenger.
Marvel NOW! starts in October 2012 and will include 20 new titles from the publisher.
A brand new, old school adventure with Marvel’s mutants drawn and co-written by a living legend. The First X-Men #1 is out this week kicking off a 5 part limited series written and drawn by Neal Adams with Christos Gage scripting.
“You guys probably know I was at one time associated with X-Men…then they canceled the book. I had great fondness for the original X-Men, had the time of my life, then they canceled it,” said Adams referring to this era (1969-70.)
“At the beginning, Stan and Jack were experimenting. You had Professor X, bald and in a wheelchair. These strange kids already in costume. It seems to me like this was not the beginning of the story, but the middle,” Adams tells Marvel.com.
“Of all the mutants on Earth, Professor X could easily pass as a human. Why would he want to get involved in this? Maybe all this was going on before Professor X was Professor X…when Professor X was a teenager. Maybe mutant kids were getting abused by the military, by the government. Somebody would have been looking out for them, but maybe that person came to Charles Xavier, realizing he couldn’t protect these kids. That was my pitch,” Adams revealed.
“Marvel was very generous to provide Christos Gage to me, who is an expert in all this stuff. He’s taking my pitch and turning it into scripts that are in my opinion groundbreaking. It’s the X-Men before there were X-Men,” Adams said about his partner.
The First X-Men by Neal Adams courtesy Marvel.com
From the preview it appears Logan is the leader of this team before the team.
“How deeply is Wolverine entrenched in the X-Men? Why was this first team…maybe a failure? Lots of questions to answer.
It takes place before the original X-Men and at a time when the government was snatching mutants up and doing scary things to them. Logan notices this and thinks somebody needs to look out for them. He recruits Sabretooth, who asks ‘Why?’ and so he pays him. Professor Xavier is a young man studying at Oxford, who’s engaged and wants nothing to do with this,” Adams reveals about the lineup.
“In those early X-Men stories, everybody hates and fears them, but we never really know why. It’s so core to the concept, but it was there before the series started. Here we found out why mutants are so hated and feared in a way that is different from any other super heroes,” adds X-Men Editor Nick Lowe.
Wolverine targets the future master of magnetism for his team. Gage says “They recruit this guy Erik Lensherr who is out there killing Nazis…”
“The natural instinct is that this is like the ‘X-Men: First Class’ movie, but it’s not,” Adams states but adds, “We didn’t mind stealing the Nazi Hunter version of Magneto though.”
Gage calls Wolverine a soldier putting together a unit not a school in this series and Adams reveals more of Logan’s team.
“There’s a character who calls himself Bombastic Aghast, but they call him Bomb. Wolverine saves him from a cave-in then gives him a leather jacket that fits like a tent. He looks ridiculous, but he thinks it’s his costume. Later, Wolverine buys him a jacket that fits, but he throws it back in his face. That jacket means so much to him and represents his relationship with Wolverine. That’s the origin of his costume,” Adams confirms.
Fans may assume this retro tale is from an alternate timeline but the X-Office says this is not
“This is firmly set in continuity. This is not a What If. This is canon. This is key to Wolverine’s history and his relationships with other characters. This will answer questions that have been out there for decades,” says Lowe
“They do encounter ‘hobo’ Sub-Mariner at one point.” Christos Gage reveals. “He throws a car at Wolverine!” adds Adams
“We wanted this to be something you could hand to somebody who just saw the X-Men movies and they’d enjoy it as a good X-Men story. At the same time, for giant nerds like me, FBI agent Fred Duncan from the early stories is in there, and when Professor X talks about his brother you know it’s Juggernaut,” says Gage.
“There will be early versions of the Sentinels. I did the giant ones, now I’m getting to do different one,” revealed Adams
The First X-Men by Neal Adams courtesy Marvel.com
“Wolverine was a mercenary, and mercenaries make a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be interesting to find that Wolverine’s mercenary work funded…” Adams teased.
“The concept that Charles Xavier could pass for a human I don’t think has ever really been explored. At some point in his life, he made the difficult decision to step forward as leader of the X-Men and as a mutant. He could have wiped all of this out of the world’s collective mind. Why didn’t he? Stuff to think about,” Adams says of the mutant leader.
The First X-Men arrives this Wednesday 8/1/12. For the entire transcript here’s the Marvel.com link.
The Dark Knight Rises teaser poster courtesy Warner Brothers
If you want to read a compelling story that inspired The Dark Knight Rises then check out Batman: No Man’s Land. A new edition of volume three is out this week.
SPOILER WARNING
KEY PLOT POINTS OF “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” AHEAD
SERIOUSLY
HERE IT COMES
Batman: No Man’s Land Volume Three New Edition courtesy DC Comics
In The Dark Knight Rises Gotham City is cut off from the rest of the world and under siege from criminal factions thanks to Bane. In the comic books an earthquake rocks Gotham City in Cataclysm. The governor declares the city uninhabitable and orders everyone to leave. Those left behind in No Man’s Land are caught in the turf war between Gotham’s biggest and new crime lords. Batman and his family (Catwoman, Robin, Batgirl, Nighwing) are the only protection for those stranded.
The big difference in the comic book storyline is Bane is on a mission for Superman villain Lex Luthor. The Joker plays a critical role in the finale of the crossover in a showdown that affects Commissioner Gordon. This storyline featured many top writers (Chuck Dixon, Greg Rucka, Dennis O’Neill) at the top of their game.
Rogue is an Avenger? Rick Remender recruited the star of X-Men Legacy to be the wild card of his upcoming Uncanny Avengers – the first book of the Marvel NOW! relaunch. The mutant once took on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (she was under the influence of Mystique at the time) before becoming a heroic X-Man.
Rick Remender reveals to Marvel.com why Rogue is part of this Avenger/X-Men hybrid team and why longtime Avengers will accept her.
“There’s a chaos factor in the first arc. It’s not necessarily somebody going through a list for all of the members. That would be a perfect person. There is a story that unfolds and the team is sort of forced to come together and work together during the course of this very heinous plot that The Red Skull is hatching, and Rogue is involved in that. I don’t want to give away all of the reasoning as to why she sticks around, but it’s definitely tumultuous. Thor is not a fan of her at all. He sees her as the exact opposite kind of mutant they need on this team. Now they’ve got two women who have both been in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and if they’re trying to do something that’s going to be public and help sort of heal mutant/human relations, having two former members of something called the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is probably frowned upon by the PR people. But then again, there’s recollection and the reality is the X-Men almost disbanded when Rogue first joined. It was Xavier who said every mutant deserves a second chance. He was the one who vouched for her and put himself out there for her. In the case of this, there’s a somewhat similar situation. And it’s somebody who doesn’t have a track record like Wanda at this point. So when Thor points at her and sees the woman who was with the Brotherhood and attacked him, all she has to do is point and go “Hey, there’s Magneto’s daughter who almost wiped out reality and she’s an Avenger. You’re okay with her though, right? ‘Cause you have history.”
X-Men Legacy #262 courtesy Marvel
“There’s so much great character grist there. Everybody’s got a very unique perspective and I wanted there to be a lot of chaos here because that also helps me define the argument between humans and mutants and what the problems are with this movement in the Marvel Universe. Each one of these characters is having this very unique history and this very unique perspective—Rogue included. Rogue doesn’t necessarily want to be an Avenger. You have to remember she was basically raised through her teens by Mystique to be a terrorist and hate the Avengers. The Avengers were, like you said, one of her very first targets. So she’s got her own issues with the fact that these golden super heroes who everybody loves didn’t do a damn thing to come to the X-Men’s aid on so many occasions. Her landing on the squad— it’s definitely a lot of drama coming up.”
Uncanny Avengers arrives this October. It’s the first of 20 new Marvel NOW! titles. X-Legacy is going away. Remender confirmed Rogue will only appear in the new book.
As Rogue moves on and X-Men Legacy ends I can’t help but think of Mike Carey’s long run on the title. Carey wrote Rogue better than anyone since Chris Claremont. I look forward to seeing how Remender writes one of the best X-Women.
Double duty for 007 during the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics! James Bond escorted the Queen to the event in a film by director Danny Boyle then starred in a new spot for Skyfall – take a look!
Thanks to 007.com. Skyfall opens November 9, 2012 in the U.S. By Editor
The top-secret shoot revealed and a highlight for 007 fans! James Bond (Daniel Craig) escorts Her Royal Highness to the London Olympics Opening Ceremony! The film was directed by Danny Boyle. Here it is again courtesy 007.com.
This is also the 50th Anniversary of the James Bond film series. James Bond returns in Skyfall this November.
Uncanny Avengers is the first of 20 new titles in the Marvel NOW! relaunch. New books, new creators, new costumes and a new start for one of Marvel’s most controversial characters: Scarlet Witch.
The mutant Avenger who decimated the Children of the Atom is on the path to redemption in Uncanny Avengers by Rick Remender and John Cassaday. Wanda Maximoff is back in Avengers vs X-Men but the new book will see her back on a team after a long absence. How will the woman with hex power fit in the team dynamic which includes Avengers and mutants like Havok and Rogue?
“She’s in a unique situation. She and her brother were the first mutants that Cap ever tapped for the Avengers, and they were on the second Avengers team. So she is a long-time Avenger who caused a lot of heartbreak and death, and depowered a whole lot of mutants. Obviously the events that led to that, she was not entirely in her right mind. Doctor Doom had helped confuse her with an energy source that had driven her quite crazy. And she had lost her kids. There’s redemption potential there, but I want to make sure that I’m careful with it.
Avengers Children’s Crusade #7 by Jim Cheung courtesy Marvel.com
She’s a great character and she’s sort of torn between these two worlds. She’s always really been an Avenger when it comes down to it, but her community should be the mutant community. But they don’t necessarily dig her. She’s the daughter of Magneto former Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, an Avenger—she’s never really fit in with the X-Men. But at the same time, it’s kind of her people. Or should be. So she’s in a situation now where she’s reviled by most mutants for what she did, at least those who know what she did. And then you’ve got the Avengers, who she also played a big whammy on. It’s still not necessarily very easy to go “Oh, well if charged up you can alter reality—that’s a bad thing and we might maybe not want to go down that road with you.”
But, conversely, you’ve got somebody who’s a friend and a long-time Avenger, and somebody who really wants to make a difference. Wanda is very motivated to never be used as a weapon again, to never be a tool, to never be a thing that somebody can grab and misuse. She wants to stand up and she wants to be the face for mutants and sort of promote peace between the people—but she can’t. That’s not really a thing she can do. So she has to sit in the sidelines and sort of earn her redemption here—if that’s even possible—but in the meantime it’s kind of a case of “You’re going to be out there and doing the good work, but we should keep your public profile to a minimum. Keep you out of people’s eyes, probably.” And that continues to drive a knife in her belly.”
The way Rick Remender writes Psylocke in Uncanny X-Force makes me very excited with him handling the return of Scarlet Witch. For a real Scarlet Witch flashback – check out Avengers: Nights of Wundagore in which the Witch is possessed by the Elder God Chthon in a classic tale by David Micheline and John Byrne.
In the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men a new team will be born. Uncanny Avengers is the first of 20 new titles in the Marvel NOW! relaunch kicking off in October. Rick Remender and John Cassaday craft a team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Children of the Atom.
Remender (Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers) promises a different take on the two franchises. Some surprises have been revealed: Havok (X-Factor) will be team leader. Captain America will take orders from Cyclops’ brother? Scarlet Witch is on the new team seeking redemption. The villain is a reborn Red Skull.
The AvX war will be over? The healing begins? How is the new book tied to the end of AvX?
“I know what they’re doing. And fortunately, as Jason was writing the final issue I got to chat him up a bit. We coordinate very well. I think we’ve done a great job in the X-Office of tying the books together subtly in ways that link but feel natural. That’s something that I benefit from having with Jason. We [talked about] how he’s ending things in the issue itself and I gave him my first script and we changed a few things to kind of meld them together. Tom’s obviously the editor of both so I’m hip to what’s going on. We’re all in communication about these things to make sure that it’s cohesive,” Remember tells Marvel.com.
How does this new team/book show fans the post AvX world?
“There’s something that Cyclops said to [Captain America] on Utopia that’s ringing in his head. He didn’t do enough to help. And Steve is taking that to heart. Coming out of AvX with the landscape shifted and changed as much as it is, there are events that lead Steve to recognizing that he needs to do more and there are five new things that lead to the creation of the team. The team itself really isn’t even created until halfway through the first year. It’s still chaos. I didn’t want it to just be like “And now everybody shakes hands and hugs!” There’s still a really good arc of these things kind of coalescing and cooking into a soufflé of A and X. So without being able to discuss the specific events, I’ll just say that it comes from a place of healing and it comes from a guy who has firsthand experience with the horrors of prejudice and hatred and sees that this is his potentially final opportunity to stand and do something about it and help.
Now, that’s just where Steve’s at. I have gone to great lengths to make sure every character involved has a very specific reason for being there, a very specific reason for being put on the team, and chosen, and they all have very unique perspectives on the team’s necessity, where they’re at as people and why they think that this is a good thing to do. Wolverine’s motives come half from AvX and the other half from the end of the “Final Execution” arc in UNCANNY X-FORCE. So those two things, without giving them away, [change] him in a way that I’m really excited to be writing. I think that we’re helping to really develop and progress Wolverine as a character in these books.
X-Factor #71 courtesy Marvel.com
A move that may have fans stratching their heads: why does Cap chose Havok?
“I think that the bottom line is that he sees the value in people seeing Captain America and Havok descend down to save the day when things go gnarly. There needs to be a face in the Avengers that could be the Captain America for [mutants]. And going through his list, Havok is the very best choice for that. You’ve got somebody who’s trained by Xavier, he’s a beloved X-Man, he’s well-educated, he’s formerly a government agent—with X-Factorbeing what it was in the nineties he was part of a government-sanctioned unit—so he’s got a shiny veneer that you can present to the public and hopefully help people see mutants as something different. There’s other reasons as well—two, three huge ones coming out of AvX—that will lead to that decision, but that’s how Havok becomes the guy that Cap sees as “You’re going to lead this squad, you’ve got a ton of experience leading, and this is your time to stand up and be the big public face of the Avengers.” And of course Alex, having had such a chaotic past for the last, you know, forever, this is going to be a very difficult situation, and not one that he’s necessarily going to just grab the reins on.”
X-Factor #243 courtesy Marvel
Why did Remember choose Havok?
“I always saw him as the black sheep of the Summers family. He was always one of my favorite characters reading the X-Men growing up. He’s conflicted, and I love the idea that the older brother—who is the star football player, basically—Cyclops is the beloved son, leader of the X-Men and the first guy who they turn to and he’s basically the star pupil in terms of the Xavier School. I like the idea that his younger brother has not hostility toward him necessarily, but he’s always walked a very different path. And I like him as a character because he’s a little rock and roll. I mean, going back to that [HAVOK & WOLVERINE: MELTDOWN limited series]—which was one of the things that really solidified him as a favorite of mine—where he’s James Dean. He’s sunglasses and a pint of scotch and a convertible on the weekends and I think I’d like that rock and roll attitude that he’s got. He’s got a dry, sarcastic wit. He’s somebody who’s never been in the forefront in a big, huge public way of anything, not like his brother has, and he’s okay with that. I’ve never seen Alex as somebody who’s seeking that out. That’s all the more reason that it’s exciting to take him and put him in the most chaotic point in mutant history and the most chaotic point in the Marvel Universe, to have Captain America come tap him and say “You’re going to lead the Avengers,” that, to me, is drama. There’s just so much meat there for character that—it all just seemed perfect, I couldn’t think of anybody who I more wanted to put in that situation beyond just having an affinity for the character from youth.”
Remender confirmed Havok, Scarlet Witch and Rogue will be solely be in the new book. That means Havok is leaving X-Factor and Rogue is out of X-Men Legacy. For his entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
