Captain America: The First Avenger promo art courtesy Marvel.com
The Red Skull is enemy number one in the Marvel Now revamp. Rick Remender and John Cassaday brought back the Captain America villain in Uncanny Avengers #1. The mad scientific genius has an anti-mutant agenda and a shocking weapon to execute it. The Red Skull’s sickening act inspired this reaction from me.
The Red Skull was a huge presence in the Winter Soldier epic but if the character makes it back on the big screen – it may be with a new actor. Hugo Weaving may not reprise the role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Weaving tells Collider about appearing in the Cap or Avengers sequel.
“I did that for Captain America. I think the tendency, with those films, would be to probably not bring a villain back. They might for The Avengers, but I didn’t think I’d be in Captain America 2 or 3. I don’t think Red Skull will be there. And it’s not something I would want to do again. I’m glad I did it. I did sign up for a number of pictures and I suppose, contractually, I would be obliged to, if they forced me to, but they wouldn’t want to force someone to do it, if they didn’t want to. I think I’ve done my dash with that sort of film. It was good to do it and try it out, but to be honest, it’s not the sort of film I seek out and really am excited by. As an actor, to do all sorts of different films is great. It stretches you in different ways. But, I increasingly like to go back to what I used to always do, which is to get involved with projects that I really have a personal affiliation with.”
In The Winter Soldier storyline the Red Skull is assassinated at the very beginning but there’s a twist I won’t reveal (Ed Brubaker Cap fans know how awesome it is!) so Weaving could do the job in the studio with just his voice.
Maybe Cap will face the Red Skull’s sinister daughter, Sin, and her man, Crossbones. I hope Weaving returns.
AvX: Consequences #2 Cyclops was right about the Phoenix’s return. Yet the former X-Men leader sits in prison. Wolverine shows up for a visit- it ain’t a friendly one. The aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men continues here.
Batwoman #13 Wonder Woman. Batwoman. Medusa.
Cyberforce #1 Marc Silvestri’s superteam is back as part of Top Cow’s 20th Anniversary. A modern reimagining with creator Silvestri co-writing, art director and cover artist starring Velocity as the lead.
Hawkeye #3 Clint Barton takes Kate Bishop under his wing. This is one of the unique superhero book out there showing you life when an Avenger isn’t on duty.
Marvel Now! Point One It’s a big book with lots of stories that will set the stage and leave clues about the big revamp of the Marvel Universe.
The end of Uncanny X-Men…again. It was shocking when Uncanny X-Men was cancelled and relaunched after the Schism event but the book truly was a very all-new, all-different book.
Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco unite on this week’s Uncanny X-Men #20 and end the second volume they kicked off. When Uncanny X-Men relaunched Cyclops formed the Extinction Team (Emma Frost, Magneto, Storm, Colossus, Magik, Namor and Pixie.) Ironic that it was called the extinction team.
This assembling of the most powerful mutants was to show the enemies and the world that the X-Men (and those they protect) were not to messed with. The old tagline of protecting a world that fear and hates them with a stronger emphasis on the fear.
Uncanny X-Men #9 interior art of UNIT courtesy Marvel
The series was designed to be a prelude and companion book to the Avengers vs. X-Men event. Gillen did the unthinkable (in my opinion) and revamped Mister Sinister into an even more bizarre and compelling enemy. Gillen gave us what I think is one of the new one villains in a long time. Unit could have been the X-Men’s version of Ultron. This alien android was a combination of C3PO and Hannibal Lecter (Gillen’s description.) I’ve already asked Gillen via Twitter to use Unit against Tony Stark in his upcoming Iron Man run.
I will remember Gillen’s run for the decontruction of the ultimate mutant power couple. Scott Summers and Emma Frost had a good run. She’s still the best thing that ever happened to him – sorry Jean fans. Utopias are always an illusion. The sexual tension between Emma and Namor, Scott’s growing zealotry, the ghost of Jean were always there and Gillen wove the undoing of Scott and Emma with perfection.
Uncanny X-Men #9 courtesy Marvel.com
Cyclops is in prison – even though he was right after the Phoenix’s return and Hope’s destiny. Magneto, Magik, Colossus, Namor and Emma Frost are fugitives. Colossus will turn up in Cable and X-Force. I hope Emma Frost and Magneto form their own Avenging X-Men. I’d love to see the isolated Namor become Marvel Universe enemy #1 in a new series by Gillen or clash with Tony Stark in Gillen’s Iron Man run.
The X-Men as I’ve known them are long gone but that’s why I’ve loved them all these years. The mutants keep mutating but no matter who is writing or drawing I love these characters.
The Batwoman/Wonder Woman crossover continues this week! DC Comics brought together the most iconic woman in comics and the most buzzed about new heroine of the modern age. Wonder Woman guest starred in this Batwoman #12 as Kate Kane chased the urban legend, Bloody Mary.
Batwoman #12 courtesy DC Comics
In this week’s Batwoman #13 Wonder Woman and Kate teams up to fight Medusa!
Batwoman #14 courtesy DC Comics
DC Comics shared a preview of Batwoman #14 in November. The Batwoman/Wonder Woman team up continues but Kate may be in over her head against Medusa.
Marvel is aiming for the stars with Guardians of the Galaxy. A movie directed by James Gunn is in development. The publisher has recruited three superstars for a brand new Marvel Now series. At New York Comic Con Marvel announced Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven will create a new Guardians of the Galaxy series premiering in February 2013. The third superstar? Iron Man.
Guardians of the Galaxy will spin out of Avengers Assemble with a team of Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, Gamora and Iron Man. Bendis tells Marvel.com he’s been digging into the book’s history as he prepares to blast them into the Marvel Now.
We were talking about the characters, what they want and their reliability. I dug up some of their origin stories, particularly Peter Quill’s origin story, which as I tweeted recently I had come across, and decided that it was, for my money, as good as Superman or Spider-man’s origin—it was just no one knew it! It was literally a two-page story in MARVEL PREMIERE about 34 years ago, and I just really really liked it. As the movie was getting closer, and more drafts were coming in, they called me and said “Listen, you were so excited during the Guardians movie calls, we need to get this book back in the public eye. We really want to make it more a part of the Marvel Universe.”
Sometimes the cosmic books are in their own little corner—and sometimes that’s charming, but it’s a lot of the reason that they don’t have a bigger audience. I had voiced how cool it would be, and how easy it would be, to guide them closer to the center of the Marvel universe, to be almost part of the Avengers franchise instead of off on their own. I was talking about it as a fan, more just like what I’d like to see, and then they called and said that they really want to do this book, how about you and someone like Steve McNiven? Steve and I worked together years ago on NEW AVENGERS, and I was just waiting patiently for my turn to work with him again. And I said, “I’ll tell you what, if you get Steve McNiven, I’ll do it.”
In terms of the cinematic Marvel Universe – Tony Stark is the biggest gun. Bendis is the guy who recruited Wolverine and Spider-Man for the Avengers. Bendis explains why Stark is joining this team.
“It’s more about that he’s a futurist, and he’s an explorer, and he’s a scientist, and an adventurer. You could certainty see Tony getting to a place in his mind where number one, he needs a vacation more than anyone on the planet. But number two, more like a working vacation, and thinking, you know what, I kind of hit a ceiling with my technology. I want to go out and explore some new stuff and see things from a new perspective, and really look at the Earth from a new perspective, and come back and see if that doesn’t help him break past whatever ceiling he’s hit with his work.
And plus, we’re going to have some fun with Tony trying to live out his William Shatner/Captain Kirk space-girl fantasies. So Tony will come out here to be part of the Guardians, to explore the ideas that the Guardians had put in his head during AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, that the Earth is a very important part of the cosmic civilization for the next generation. So Tony literally needs to go out and look at it from their point of view to see what he can do to help. And so he gets to have space adventures, he gets to live the William Shatner/Captain Kirk, he gets to explore, he gets to invent, and Tony gets to see the world from a different perspective.
When Tony’s with the Avengers, he’s always top dog, alpha male, he’s always kind of in charge. Here, he’s going to be a fish way out of water. Even though he’s been to outer space a few times, this is living in outer space, which is a completely different thing. And basically living on a pirate ship!”
Avengers Assemble #6 courtesy Marvel
In The Avengers movie Earth now has its Mightiest Heroes but it has become a target to alien races. That awareness is part of the premise of this upcoming series Bendis explains.
“As far as what the premise of the book is, we hinted at it a little bit in AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, that it’s very clear to the cosmic civilizations of the Marvel universe—which is the Kree, the Skrulls, the Badoon, and the Chitauri—they all are looking at Earth. Earth seems to be a very important element; it’s literally the center of the universe. Here we have this one-of-a-kind amalgam of super heroes and Guardians and alien technologies and mutants, and it’s just this smorgasbord of powers and choices.
Look at it from a distance, say from the Kree’s point of view. Earth is very scary because it’s got all these things and it almost looks like a cauldron of craziness. It’s only one generation away from being able to join the cosmic civilization. From this point, it looks like they’re either going to be this warring tribe of barbarians with laser guns, or they’re going to be able to join us.
And it becomes clear to the leaders of the other civilizations that Earth isn’t being left alone to develop itself. Every five minutes, there’s some kind of alien interaction on Earth that is damaging to Earth’s development. Like the Skrull attack, the Kree experiments on us—there [are] all these things going around and Earth isn’t being allowed to be just Earth. If this continues, if people keep poking at it or attacking it, when Earth is able to join the cosmic civilizations, they’re going to come at us as a war tribe.
We have two choices: We can either blow the Earth up and put ourselves at war with Asgard; or we can make a new rule, and the new rule is that no one is allowed to touch Earth. You’re not allowed to touch it. You’re not allowed anywhere near it, and if you do, you’re breaking the number one cosmic law.
Peter’s father, who is the King of Spartax, asks Peter to lead the Spartax army to guard Earth, because Peter is half-Earthling. Peter doesn’t trust his father, and he’s right not to trust his father, so instead he takes the Guardians and makes them in charge of protecting Earth without him touching it. Tony is going to be involved in a very large terrorist attack on Earth that happens in the very first issue, and from that will decide to join the Guardians in this endeavor.”
Bendis confirmed S.W.O.R.D. (SHIELD of outer space) will appear in the first issue.
For more of his interview and Steve McNiven here’s the Marvel.com link.
The Cheetah attacks in this week’s Justice League #13 with guest artist Tony Daniel. The recent Detective Comics writer/artist teams with Geoff Johns to reintroduce this infamous Wonder Woman enemy to DC Comics The New 52. The Cheetah’s roaring reintroduction in Justice League #13 is part of the buildup to The Trinity War.
“I’m thrilled and honored to again work with Geoff Johns on this JUSTICE LEAGUE arc,” Daniel told THE SOURCE. “It’s going to be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to work on my favorite characters. JUSTICE LEAGUE is the first book I pull because of the big stories and the great Jim Lee art inside. I’m very happy that I get a chance to focus all my energy on making my best artwork for Geoff and the fans of JUSTICE LEAGUE.”
“Tony and I will be re-introducing one of DC’s iconic villains – the Cheetah – and uncovering her mysterious connection to Wonder Woman and the Justice League,” added Johns. “For me, the Cheetah is up there with Black Manta, Sinestro and Captain Cold as one of the most iconic villains in the DC Universe, and she’ll become a major villainous force in 2012 and beyond. The fallout from JUSTICE LEAGUE #12 starts here as we head towards next year’s TRINITY WAR.”
Justice League #13 arrives this week. Tony Daniel will join Andy Diggle on Action Comics in 2013.
Agent Maria Hill assembles a powerhouse roster for a new Secret Avengers by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross. At New York Comic Con Marvel revealed plans for a new Secret Avengers #1 debuting February 2013. The team will include Phil Coulson, the new Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Mockingbird, Hulk, Winter Soldier, and a brand new Iron Patriot.
“These operatives were hand-picked by S.H.I.E.L.D. based on a number of factors,” revealed Spencer. “Some have experience in black ops missions. Some have military training. Some are walking weapons of mass destruction. The combination is a potent one, and a veritable dream team for these kinds of assignments. But I should also say they’re not the only ones. A big part of the fun is anyone can get the call. And then forget they got it, once the mission’s done.”
Spencer says the mission debriefing will take fans back to the awesome Secret War limited series by Brian Michael Bendis.
“In Secret War, we saw Nick Fury used mind-wipe/memory plant tech to bring together a team of super-powered operatives to take down an off-the-books threat,” he reminds. “The end result of that mission was a full-scale disaster, and essentially set off a chain of events that ripped S.H.I.E.L.D. apart. But now that there’s a new S.H.I.E.L.D. up and running, there’s already interest in re-visiting this initiative. Because at the end of the day, there are limits to what their own agents can do—they need high-powered operatives to tackle high-powered threats. They need Avengers.”
Spencer explains how this team’s missions will differ from Jonathan Hickman’s book.
“As I said, this is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s team, so the kinds of threats they deal with look very different from the ones the core Avengers team might come up against,” Spencer says. “These are rogue states, terrorist groups, arms dealers. The missions are often diplomatically sensitive and highly classified. They’re working in a world with a lot of gray in it, making tough decisions in order to prevent war and protect the peace.”
Any guesses on who’s under the helmet of the new Iron Patriot suit?
Op/Ed: Mindwipes are never good S.O.P.
For more of Nick Spencer’s interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
The Joker returned in Batman #13 and will target all of Bruce Wayne’s allies in the Death of the Family storyline. DC Comics presented a Death Comes to Gotham panel at New York Comic Con will Batman family creators and chilling new art from the titles. Batman writer Scott Snyder revealed the thinking behind the foe’s plot against his rival.
Batgirl #16 courtesy DC Comics
Snyder said the Joker believes he is Batman’s court jester and it’s his job to challenge Batman because “He believes if Batman survives them he comes out stronger, he’s a better king.”
courtesy DC Comics
“A year ago he allowed his face to be cut off…and he also has a secret on Batman that’s going to come out later on,” Snyder said adding, “Joker [says to the Bat allies], ‘You don’t deserve him….I’m going to show you how he loves us more than you and he wishes you dead, and then we’re going to make you dead.’”
Batman and Robin #16 courtesy DC Comics
The covers were chilling: the Joker wearing parts of the Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl costume like trophies, a Nightwing cover showing Dick in makeup and grinning like the crown prince of crime, Batman and Damian fighting each other while looking like they’ve been possessed by the Joker, Red Hood and Batgirl appearing like they’ve been Jokerized.
Nightwing #16 courtesy DC Comics
Will a major ally be killed by the Joker? Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd have suffered the most at the hands of the villain. Will these heroes be pushed to seek the ultimate payback? Batman doesn’t kill but will Bruce or one of his friends be pushed beyond the moral line by the Joker’s actions?
Teen Titans #16 courtesy DC Comics
Bruce may never be the same after what happens to his closest friend – if you read the shocking ending of Batman #13 you may what I mean.
