The Batcave is infested with Talons. Alfred is trapped. Batman is surrounded. Scott Snyder weaves the first part of Batman #9 with a violent game of war and wits as Bruce faces a relentless squadron of assassins in his inner sanctum. This a Batman pushed to his limits and ready to roar back at the Court of Owls with a vengeance. Greg Capullo pulls off another stunning chapter with eerie style and a cover that captures the hell inside Wayne Manor. The back story begins unveiling a secret Alfred’s family has been keeping from the Waynes. It feels like a hybrid of Charles Dickens and noir. I’m intrigued to see how this untold story plays out.
Batgirl #9 courtesy DC Comics
The Night of the Owls crossover hits home for Barbara Gordon in Batgirl #9. Jim Gordon is a target and a pawn of the Court of Owls at the same time. The issue begins with the female Talon’s tragic origin story. Gail Simone and Ardian Syaf deliver a fast paced chapter with great fights scenes and daring attack on Gotham Central. Batgirl and her dad learn too late their roles in the Council of Owls’ plot to seize the city.
If you haven’t seen Marvel’s The Avengers yet you may not want to keep reading this post.
WARNING
SPOILER AHEAD
SERIOUSLY
IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE AVENGERS MOVIE DON’T KEEP READING
OK
HERE IT COMES
Joss Whedon always kills the ones we love and we love him for it. Death has meaning, impact and drama in Buffy, Serenity, Angel, and The Avengers. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes needed someone to avenge. Agent Phil Coulson had to die. But Whedon tells io9 it wasn’t completely on him this time.
In our first meeting Kevin Feige said, this is what we’re gonna do and I said, “Oh but you have to go out there and tell everybody that it was your idea because this is going to get me so much s—. Because they are all going to be like, “Oh he did it again!” It was stipulated from the beginning, and I completely agree that it was the right thing to do, and so did Clark. Who said in the early days, when I was busy apologizing for it, “In a movie like this, with what’s going on if there isn’t some toll, it’s just irresponsible story telling.”
This Geek’s Take: It never occured to me that Agent Coulson would die because I was so caught up in the movie. Phil, you will be missed. I’m glad Coulson will live on in the Marvel comic universe.
Avengers vs X-Men may be a fight about the future of the Marvel Universe but X-Men Legacy #266 reminded Rogue about her criminal past. It starts with slow burning tension at the Jean Grey School. Rogue and other teachers are reflecting on whether to rejoin Cyclops or stay at the school.
Rogue is constantly reminded how she took on Thor, Captain America and other heroes in the classic Avengers Annual #10. This Chris Claremont/Michael Golden story featured Rogue (under Mystique’s influence) taking down Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. We see the regret in Rogue’s mind as she remembers the mistakes of her past including the fateful battle with Ms. Marvel that too years for both of them to recover.
An Avengers task force arrives but the line is drawn…but not for long until there’s a brawl in the schoolyard. The cover promised a Rogue & She-Hulk throw down and the issue doesn’t disappoint. I like how Christos Gage is handling Frenzy in this issue. This was a great tie-in issue to AVX with a big cliffhanger as one of the big three Avengers jumps into the fight.
I’m still hoping to see a Rogue/Ms. Marvel rematch before AvX is over. I love both characters but it would make for great drama given the tragic history between these women that Chris Claremont wrote so perfectly during his X-Men run.
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker clashes with the Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man on the big screen this summer but worlds collide in the comic books. Spider-Men unites Marvel’s Peter Parker and the Ultimate line’s Miles Morales in a new adventure by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. Senior Editor Mark Paniccia reveals the story behind the team-up and new art on Marvel.com.
“We were at a Publishing meeting going over the upcoming anniversaries and plans for 2012. Joe Quesada suggested having Peter and Miles meet. Usually we’re all very conservative when it comes to the idea of crossing over between the two universes, but the 50th anniversary of our favorite wall-crawler seemed like a pretty good time to do something like this. We had lots of interest and momentum built up with Miles Morales and we in the Ultimate Office loved the idea of giving more readers the opportunity to discover this new Spider-Man.”
The Editor says Bendis is up to the challenge of comparing and contrasting the personalities of the different Spider-Men.
Spider-Men #4 courtesy Marvel.com
“The similarities are brilliantly choreographed and designed by Brian. Every Peter Parker paradigm has a cool twist. Peter can look at Miles and see so much of himself inside. He can see, has felt and can understand so many of the things that Miles is going through. It’s gut-wrenching stuff. And fun. There are plenty of times you’ll find yourself smiling as you read. But at the end of the day they are very different characters and part of the journey is discovering how.”
Paniccia confirmed Mysterio will be the villain and Peter Parker will learn his Ultimate counterpart is dead.
“A great skill Brian has is getting his readers to connect with the characters. In a lot of cases, you think, “wow, that’s just what I would do” or “that’s how I would feel.” So all you have to do is think about how you would react to something as shocking as this. That you’re feeling that impact along with Peter is a testament to Brian’s talents.
For more of the interview and preview art here’s the Marvel.com link.
I’m excited for this crossover and I’m sure this Miles Morales fan is too. I met him at Fan Expo Vancouver – it’s cool so see an Ultimate character get the fan costume treatment!
Avengers: Battle for Earth game has been declared by Marvel and Ubisoft. The game for Kinect for Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii U is based on the popular series Secret Invasion. That epic storyline featured the shapeshifting Skrulls. The aliens had infiltrated nearly every super hero team, government agency and even criminal organizations for years setting up their takeover of Earth.
The game will feature 20 different characters. For more information you can visit AvengersBattleforEarth.com.
IF HAVE NOT SEEN MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS MOVIE OR READ THE COMIC BOOK AVENGER ASSEMBLE #3 YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ ANY FURTHER!
SERIOUSLY!
FOR REAL!
OK HERE IT COMES!
The clues were there – even in Thor – but Marvel’s The Avengers delivered a cosmic shock finale revealing that Thanos was the master of the Chitauri in the movie. But the Mad God of Titan was the mystery villain behind the new Zodiac as revealed in Avengers Assemble #3.
Thanos returns in Avengers Assemble #3 courtesy Marvel
It’s a one, two punch and major comeback for the big purple bad ass that once wiped out half the universe. Today Avengers Editor Tom Brevoort said these appearances are just the beginning for the Death-worshipping alien.
“Since we designed AVENGERS ASSEMBLE to be a nice, easy entry point for people coming out of the film, for all that it still exists within our current Marvel Universe, it was a bit of a no-brainer to have Thanos be the villains behind our first storyline,” shares Marvel Senior VP – Executive Editor Tom Brevoort on Marvel.com. “More than simply bringing him back, this storyline will be setting him up for bigger things that are just off on the horizon—it’s the first step towards something we’ve been working on behind the scenes for a while now.”
“He’s a villain of such power and stature that he can give the Avengers a fight all by himself,” he notes. “There’s no such thing as a small Thanos story—he operates on an intergalactic scale. And he’s a fascinating, nuanced character, with passions and neuroses all his own that make him stand apart as an individual, and not just a cookie-cutter moustache-twirler.”
Get ready for a new action heroine! Marvel and Benefit Cosmetic intoduce the first ever beauty inspired hero, SpyGal.
“The superpowers of our bestselling pore minimizer, the POREfessional, created such an international sensation, we knew it was destined for greatness!,” said Julie Bell, EVP Global Marketing at Benefit Cosmetics. “Marvel, the world’s top storytellers, helped us bring our action hero SpyGal to life in the first ever beauty-inspired comic book.”
Writer James Asmus (Captain America & Bucky, Generation Hope, Gambit) and artist Phil Noto will chronicle SpyGal’s adventures to inspire women.
“Marvel and Benefit both know that humor and intelligence can be a heroes’ greatest strength, especially when faced with life’s modern problems,” said Marvel Custom Solutions Editor Bill Rosemann. “SpyGal dispenses justice, beauty tips and witty life advice with an effortless grace, while also grappling with work and dating worries. Can SpyGal ever find Mr. Right…or must she sacrifice romance to the demands of her job helping powerful women spread their influence around the world? Writer James Asmus and artist Phil Noto reveal all in SPYGAL #1!”
This is definitely a unique merging of comics, marketing and makeup and will maybe lead more females into the comic shops. Asmus and Noto are a dynamite team for this character.
Marvel’s The Avengers may be dominating the global box-office but will they vanish from the comic book universe? Avengers vs X-Men pits the two super teams against each other. The Phoenix is coming to Earth for a young girl hailed as the mutant messiah. The Avengers wanted to take custody of Hope to save the planet. The X-Men said no believing the Phoenix could mean a new beginning for the dying mutant race. War erupted.
The X-Men’s fight to save their people began when a possessed Scarlet Witch said “No More Mutants” and the race was decimated. Now Cyclops has declared “No More Avengers.”
Today Marvel.com revealed this ominous image for Avengers vs X-Men #5 and this description:
“Following the world-changing effects of AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #5, the Marvel Universe will face a dramatic change unlike any ever seen before bringing the action packed first act to a close. Then, the comic book event of the summer kicks into overdrive as Act Two begins in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #6! Think you know everything about the Phoenix Force and what it’s capable of? Think again!”
AvX #5 by Matt Fraction is on sale 6/6/12. AvX #6 by Jonathan Hickman is out 6/20/12. What does this mean? Who would have the power to remake the Marvel Universe? Hope? Scarlet Witch? Mister Sinister? The Void (which is locked inside Scott’s mind) or maybe the Celestials? The God-like beings have been a key part of Kieron Gillen’s Uncanny X-Men run but the Dreaming Celestial has been a part since the X-Men moved to San Francisco.
