Producers of The CW hit ARROW are making it hard for die-hard sci-fi fans not to tune in! Ben Browder (Farscape, Stargate SG-1) will join the series as DC Comics character Ted Gaynor according to IGN.
The Blackhawk Squadron member will be the former commanding office of bodyguard Diggle on the series. Browder recently guest starred on the Doctor Who episode A Town Called Mercy. I LOVED Browder as John Crichton on Farscape. Ted Gaynor hits Starling City in the eleventh episode.
John Barrowman (Torchwood, Doctor Who) will join the series in a yet undisclosed role.
This review/post reveals key elements of AvX: Consequences #4 and #5.
Seriously.
Here is comes.
AvX: Consequences #5 courtesy Marvel
Kieron Gillen wrapped the second volume of Uncanny X-Men but he has more mutant stories to tell that propelling fan favorites into the Marvel Now. Gillen’s Extinction Team have been the stars of AvX: Consequences. This 5-part epilogue to Avengers vs. X-Men reveals how the Phoenix Five are facing the consequences of their actions while possessed by the cosmic entity.
In Chapter 4 Cyclops submits himself to Tony Stark as a cosmic lab rat. Scott has been playing the martyr but is he really playing possum to outwit the genius?
Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. has been keeping secrets. She’s hiding fugitive members of the Phoenix Five and she reveals that she’s more than a green haired alien. I really hope Brand might pop up in Gillen’s upcoming Iron Man run.
If you’re wondering about Hope and Namor’s roles in the Marvel Now this is the issue! Hope and the King of Atlantis share an exchange in the underwater ruins of Utopia. In one line Gillen captures the personality of Namor and why I love him so much.
Storm and Colossus fought it out in Brian Wood’s final issue of X-Men but here Peter and Ororo share a bitter reunion. Colossus may be free of his demons but his former little snowflake left him filled with hate. I know that Peter will be part of Cable and X-Force and I can’t help but think of when Nathan recruited a rage filled Warpath to join his first incarnation of the team.
Wolverine comes back to prison to deliver sad news to Cyclops. I really enjoyed this encounter. After the bitter fallout of Schism and AvX I think Gillen is setting the stage for a reconcilation between Scott and Logan. (I wrote this part of the post before I read issue #5)
I think the most exciting plot springboard is when the fugitive Magneto finally makes his appearance. Erik is back playing the role we all know he can do best: the villain.
This week’s final chapter picks right up with a new mutant unholy trinity: Magneto, Magik and Danger. The clues have been there the entire series but I wanted to believe Scott Summers was accepting his role as the martyr and on the road to redemption.
Logan said it best when he tells the Avengers, “Scott is gone.”
Magneto, Magik and Danger stage a daring jailbreak and execute Cyclops’s severe punishment on his prison tormentors. Scott leaves a note for Logan. The letter sums up what Kieron Gillen has pulled off: the role reversal of Wolverine and Cyclops. The bad boy who did the dirty work to keep mutants safe is now the heir to Professor Xavier’s legacy of teaching young mutants. The former golden boy is now the self-appointed and ruthless defender, protector and avenger for the mutant race.
All-New X-Men #1 courtesy Marvel
From the preview art for All-New X-Men #1 we know Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto and Magik will be part of Brian Michael Bendis’s Marvel Now X-Men era. Marvel has teased another Bendis book (with Chris Bachalo on art) with the simple word: Uncanny.
From the finale of AvX: Consequences #5 it looks like my theory of an Avenging X-Men may not be that far off! You may have read my earlier op/ed about how AvX should have been called Operation Hate Cyclops. This week’s finale may cement the hate for some of you.
All-New X-Men #1 courtesy Marvel
All-New X-Men #1 is out November 14th. Maybe we’ll find out then?
The Cast of X-Men: First Class courtesy Marvel.com
Why did X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn decide not to direct the sequel? Mark Millar explains that the Kick-Ass director will take on a movie based on The Secret Service.
“We thought Matthew was going to do X-Men first, but we found out there were actually a few imitators of ‘Secret Service’ in the works. People think you’re lying when you say you’re not trying to get your comics made into movies so quickly, but the two reasons it happens like that is first because it’s the best ad for the comic you’ll ever have. And for me, selling the book is the most important thing. The second reason is because people are always trying to rip you off. Somebody will start to work on a spec screenplay about your idea. There are three other projects I know of now about a James Bond kind of guy taking a street kid and turning him into a spy. Three screenplays were already going through Hollywood about this! So Matthew and I said, ‘Fuck this. We’re not letting anyone steal our ideas,'” Millar tells Comic Book Resources.
Bryan Singer is the front-runner to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past. Kick-Ass and The Secret Service are Millar’s creator owned titles. Millar was recently hired by Fox as Creative Consultant for their Marvel properties (X-Men, Wolverine, Fantastic Four.)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Willow Wonderland #1 courtesy Dark Horse Comics
Let’s celebrate the approval of marriage equality victories in Maine, Maryland (and my state Washington) by celebrating the gorgeous and enchanting lesbian of the Buffyverse!
Willow is back in a brand new series!
In a world without magic Willow Rosenberg grabs Buffy’s scythe and sets out to set things right!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow Wonderland #1 begins the new adventure this week. Jeff Parker and Brian Ching weave a new tale starring the sweet witch of the Buffyverse from Dark Horse Comics.
I’m loving this cover by David Mack.
Willow is a groundbreaking character. She may bring magic back to the world of Buffy. Willow can now marry in more states in the U.S.
The director of the final four Harry Potter films will swing from Hogwart’s to the jungle! David Yates will helm a new big-budget movie version of Tarzan for Warner Brothers according to Vulture.
The report says the director will meet with Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Immortals) Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) and Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) about playing the Lord of the Jungle.
I’m rooting for Henry Cavill. The British actor is already playing Superman for the studio and he may reprise the role in a Justice League film so scheduling might be a problem.
I have loved this creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs in all form – from Ron Ely on television to the Saturday morning cartoon to Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes which starred Christopher Lambert.
Tarzan has starred in comic book series for Marvel, DC and Malibu comics.
James Bond journeys to Scotland in Skyfall. Bond’s father was Scottish. Sean Connery is Scottish. You see where I’m going?
A Sean Connery appearance in the latest 007 film for Bond’s 50th Annivesary?
Director Sam Mendes tells Huffington Post that there was a possibility of a Connery cameo.
“There was a definite discussion about that — way, way early on. But I think that’s problematic. Because, to me, it becomes too … it would take you out of the movie. Connery is Bond and he’s not going to come back as another character. It’s like, he’s been there. So, it was a very brief flirtation with that thought, but it was never going to happen, because I thought it would distract.”
Did Mendes and the producers make the right call?
A Bond fan confession: My first 007 film was Moonraker. I grew up on Roger Moore and one night while waiting for the ABC Sunday Night Movie with my dad – up comes the pre-credit sequence then title sequence for From Russia, With Love. I turned to my dad and asked “Who is Sean Connery?”
From Russia, With Love is now my all-time favorite 007 film. I love all the Bonds for what they are and what meant then and now.
I hope the franchise continues for decades and a kid may one day turn and ask “Who is Daniel Craig?”
Daredevil End of Days #2The final story of The Man Without Fear? Last issue delivered two shocking deaths. Four powerhouse creators crafted some of the most brutal images ever in a book. I could almost feel the punches! What will Bendis and Mack do in this issue? What does Matt Murdock’s dying last word mean?
Iron Man #1 Deadly tech is on the black market. Tony Stark suits up in brand new armor to get it back before Extemis becomes a terrorist weapon. Kieron Gillen and Greg Land launch a brand new series propelling Iron Man into the Marvel Now.
Manhattan Projects #7 A top-secret Cold War era meeting that brought the Americans and Russians up against the mad scientists of the Manhattan Projects! Jonathan Hickman’s epic of weird science and twisted history will entertain and warp your brain!
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive #2 Captain Picard faces a new enemy so fearsome he may consider an alliance with – the Borg? Star Trek Television/Movie Producer Brannon Braga co-creates this brand new adventure.
X-Factor #246 A behind the scenes, day in the life at X-Factor Investigations! Peter David puts Pip the Troll in the spotlight. This could compete with the Doop-centric issue of Wolverine and the X-Men as the most hilarious and unique issue of the year!
This week is the finale of Rick Remender’s Final Execution in Uncanny X-Force #33. It’s been brutally violent, insanely ambitious and packed with “OH —-!” moments. This may be Wolverine’s covert team but the incredible way Remender evolved Psylocke, Angel, Deadpool and Fantomex has been masterful.
As Final Execution concludes it’s the manipulations of Mystique at her best (or should I say baddest?) and the Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler that may seal the face of the team.
This series has not been just about these dark heroes but about a child named Evan. A kid murdered, brought back as a clone, kidnapped and mentally tortured. This poor child is Apocalypse. The heroes of this series have shattered the lines of right and wrong and the story of Evan is the story of good and evil and can it be altered? Does a child destined to be a force of evil be changed?
In the final chapter of The Final Execution in Uncanny X-Force #33 Logan’s team strikes back at the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in an effort to save Evan but they were betrayed by one of their own.
Remender told Comic Book Resources he’s leaving the title with December’s Uncanny X-Force #35. The last chapter of Final Execution will be the series finale.
“There were a lot of different factors involved. It was a very tough decision to make and it came down to a conversation I had about it with Kieron Gillen about how long I would stay past this. He said, “Know when to get off the stage.” That’s something that we maybe overlook.
I’m now doing “Uncanny Avengers” and “Captain America” and I realized that in order for me to do those and not want to blow my brains out, I might have to walk away from “Venom,” “Secret Avengers” and “Uncanny X-Force.” That was a bummer because I put so much into building them and getting the trains out of the station. I love all the characters, but that’s just the reality. With “X-Force,” I feel like this final story, which I’m very excited and have been building towards for a while now, pretty much wraps up everything we’ve been doing. It says everything I wanted to say about a kill squad while also really digging into the X-Universe that I loved so much as a kid growing up. So it really did come down to the fact that it was time to get off the stage.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to stick a nice landing with “Final Execution” and people will really enjoy it, so the series will never have that part where it tapered and stopped being as good. That’s the upshot. You do your best work — and we all have — and then you wrap things up and walk away from it.”
