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AVX Hope Jets in Avengers Vs X-Men Zero

AvX #0 courtesy Marvel.com

  Hope Summers jets into action on Marvel.com in a first look at interior art from AvX #0 by Frank Cho. Brian Michael Bendis and Jason Aaron are writing the issue out March 28th.

  Jason Aaron talked about how the mutant messiah’s experiences have made her ready for her role in Avengers Vs. X-Men:

 “That’s a big question at the opening of the series. Is she prepared? Does she even really know what she’s getting herself into? She was raised by Cable in a time-traveling Lone Wolf and Cub style adventure. She’s been told all her life she’s destined to do something great. But when the Phoenix is involved, a force that can be used for good or that can destroy entire planets, people are always going to be a bit uneasy. In Hope’s mind, she’s ready for whatever’s coming—or at least that what she says. Regardless, her resolve and readiness will be severely tested, all throughout AvX.

A great question from Ben Morse: Does Hope believe she’s the mutant messiah?

  “I think at this point there’s no question she’s the mutant messiah. When Hope came back, new mutants came back with her. Just a few, but still, where once there were no new blips on Cerebro, now there are blips. I think people’s faith in her—especially that of Cyclops—has been resoundingly rewarded. But everything that came so far was just the warm-up. Her true destiny still awaits. As for Hope’s feelings, I think she’s still trying to figure out what her role is. She most definitely doesn’t want to just stand around and let herself be defined by other people. She’s going to get out there and figure things out for herself.

AvX #0 courtesy Marvel.com

How does AVX #0 set up Hope for the event:

 “I think it establishes her mind-set and relationship with Cyclops. Longtime X-Men fans will see Hope anxious to embrace the destiny that has for so long been teased for her, a destiny of which she seems to have a little bit better understanding. And for fans new to the X-Men who’ve never read a story with Hope in it, hopefully this issue will show them why they should care about her in the first place, why she’s an interesting character, and why she’s totally badass.

You can ready Jason Aaron’s entire interview and more preview art here.

X-Men: First Class Sequel Will Be Magneto Focused

 

Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy from X-Men: First Class courtesy Marvel.com

  I’m thrilled Fox is moving forward with a sequel to X-Men: First Class. Matthew Vaughn is directing. Michael Fassbender and the entire cast are locked in. 

  I’ve been posting how much I hope we might see Magneto’s fractured family (Polaris, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver) in the next film. No word on if those characters will appear but Magneto will be the focus of the sequel according to the screenwriter.  Simon Kinberg spoke with MTV News about his love of the X-Men and how he will continue exploring Magneto’s evolution.

 “That’s what was so cool about the first one and what we want to continue,” Kinberg said of exploring the villain’s tortured origin. “Magneto becomes the villain ultimately of the franchise but he’s a much more complicated character as a young man. He’s someone you sympathize with, you care about you root for even though might not necessarily agree with his methods, you understand his philosophy.” 

 Fans may be wondering if Magneto will be a total villain or still in between good guy and bad guy roles.

 “We’re still figuring that out. I think the truth is ultimately that because Michael is such an interesting actor, he’ll never be full-on anything. He’ll have a villainous side and he’ll have a sympathetic human side you’ll be able to relate but you’ll also be afraid of him. He becomes Magneto, he says ‘Call me Magneto’ at the end of the first movie.”

 You can watch the entire interview here.

 

Magneto: Not a Hero #2 courtesy Marvel

  I would love to see Michael Fassbender play Erik when he was married to Magda and the tragic events surrounding their children. That could be a flashback leading to a present day (as in the 60’s or 70’s since it’s set in the past) reunion with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

Astra is good possibility for due to her love/hate relationship with Magneto. The legendary Alan Davis created this mutant teleporter when he on Uncanny X-Men. Astra was Erik’s first recruit to the Brotherhood. You can read more about Astra in the current Magneto: Not a Hero limited series out now.

Idris Elba on Prometheus

Idris Elba courtesy IMDB

  Perhaps the coolest man on the planet is Idris Elba. The British star has appeared in Thor and now Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. I’m still hoping Elba will play King T’Challa in a Black Panther movie.

  Elba is part of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. While promoting Ghost Rider with Dread Central he talked about his experience on Prometheus.

THOR DVD Cover courtesy Marvel Films

“It’s incredibly visually stunning. Ridley Scott is a genius,” Elba said. “We’re really mindful of the audience knowing too much before they get there because it’ll spoil it, but it’s a very exciting film. Fans of Ridley and his legacy will be very proud of it.”

Elba plays Captain Janek in Prometheus and will hopefully reprise his role as Heimdall in Thor 2.

FX Artists Praises Marvel’s Avengers

 

Thor and Captain America in Marvel's The Avengers image courtesy USA Today

  Praise for The Avengers that should get fans excited! The FX artist with a resume full of Marvel superhero films says The Avengers is the best he’s worked on to date. Chris Wells is a supervisor at visual effects house Hydraulx and seen a rough cut of the film. His company is working on the prologue.

  “I went to a screening with all the temporary visual effects and it was pretty fleshed out. It’s a long movie but it doesn’t feel like it. Out of all the comic book movies and franchises I’ve worked on, this is the best one I’ve seen so far,” Wells tells Starburst Magazine. 

   “This thing has gone so big that Marvel are dwarfing their other franchises. For people who enjoy the comics and haven’t really liked the way some of the characters were treated in other movies, I think they’re going to be a little more appeased by this one. Especially the Hulk. They let the Hulk be Hulk and that’s great. He acts more like the comic book Hulk”.

Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner on sete in The Avengers courtesy Marvel.com

  “I think he [Joss Whedon, director] did a very good job of setting up the characters based on what we know from the Marvel franchise, integrating them together with all their differences and similarities and then getting on with business. And just when you think the movie is a character piece it just goes nuts.”

  Thanks to Dark Horizons for the story. I’m thrilled by his comments – especially the Hulk! The Avengers Assemble this May.

Batman’s Death Sentence

  “Hurt him…more.”

 

Batman #6 courtesy DC Comics

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s macabre masterpiece that is Batman Vs The Court of Owls continues with a bloody night at the theater . After last month’s mind warping journey through the Owls’ labyrinth Batman takes a vicious beating while the Court cheers on their sinister champion, the Talon.

  Capullo makes you feel the pain in Bruce’s battered body and you get uncomfortably close enough to his bloodshot eyes. We see just how massive, depraved and creepy the Council is and their surprise they’re about to unleash on Gotham City and Batman is chilling.

 

Storm Vs Valkyrie (This Ain’t AvX)

Fear Itself The Fearless #9 courtesy Marvel

  Valkyrie Vs Storm! Fear Itself: The Fearless #9 featured a blistering battle between the X-Men’s Weather Goddess and the Warrior Woman of Asgard. This is one of the smartest written sequence with Ororo I’ve read in a long time. The power, passion and devotion of these women’s causes is felt in every panel.  

  We learn Valkyrie’s hidden reason for her mission to collect the Hammers. Doctor Strange and Captain America confront her with the truth when Sin’s forces strike. If Valkyrie is the haunted angel then Sin is the devil. I can’t wait to see these opposite forces finally clash.

  I really love this book. As a longtime fan of Valkyrie – it’s great to see her in the spotlight and taking on the Marvel universe.

Generation Hope: The End Begins

Generation Hope #16 courtesy Marvel.com

  Generation Hope #16 arrives today and marks the final story. I wanted to share some of this interview with former and current Generation Hope writers Kieron Gillen and James Asmus. They talk about the how Hope Summers has grown and her role in Avengers Vs X-Men.

  “To state the bloody obvious, she’s had it hard. None of the futures she’s lived through have been in any way pleasant. She’s survived in some genuinely vile worlds, been chased through time and ended up coming back to Earth onto to have her Dad die in front of her. To be honest, she’d have every right to curl up in a ball and having a good old cry for the next 24 issues,” says Gillen.

“I like to think that—though she’d refuse to admit it—Cyclops has become a significant influence for her.  Hope lost her father almost as soon as she made it to the present day Marvel Universe. So even though she had heard a great deal about the world she now lives in, she’s needed her fellow X-Men to actually get integrated and really start to understand her new world,” Asmus said.

“As for the tight-knit young mutants she runs with in Generation Hope, I think each one has brought something different out of our Mutant Messiah. If anyone really gets into Hope’s head and makes her think a little differently, it would have to be Laurie, aka Transonic. Kieron did a great job of setting Laurie up as an intellectual and philosophical person—in stark contrast to Hope’s more gung-ho, rough-and-tumble tendencies,” he continued.

AvX1 preview art courtesy Marvel.com

  Hope’s role as the mutant messiah will make her the central role of AVX. What do expect to see happen to Hope in the event?

  “I’m never anything but afraid for what could lie ahead for Hope. Even the absolute best that could happen could be pretty horrific. Her life’s an arrow, aimed at a target. Whether she hits it or misses it almost doesn’t matter. Either way, it could be the end of her,” Gillen replied.

  “I am looking forward to [a] definitive and life-changing story for Hope.  I can’t wait to see her completely confront her potential destiny, and to see her transformed by the process. I know that things are absolutely not going to unfold as people may expect and I’m thrilled to read how some of favorite creators are going to unfold it all for us,” Asmus said then had a dire prediction.

“As for my fears? I’m not sure if I’m more afraid that she’ll have her own heart broken by the events—or if she just might be the destroyer others fear her to be…”

Generation Hope #16 arrives today. AVX #0 arrives next month.

For their entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

Iron Man No More?

 

Invincible Iron Man #516 courtesy Marvel

  What will make Tony Stark give up being Iron Man? Writer Matt Fraction previews his next arc Long Way Down on Marvel.com. Salvador Larroca’s art sure looks like Tony will no longer be the Armored Avenger.

  “As we’ll see at the end of Demon, General Babbage, [Tony’s] primary antagonist at the Pentagon, and Justine Hammer of Hammer Industries, present Tony with an ultimatum,” says Fraction. “Accepting it is the only way he can remain in control of the Iron Man without losing everything. And Tony very quickly finds that arrangement to be unacceptable. The ramifications of that are what ‘Long Way Down’ is all about.

“So basically…Tony quits.”

  A mole inside Stark Resilient will be exposed. Fraction says expect dire repercussions:

“People start dying. Bethany Cabe starts earning her paycheck.”

Invincible Iron Man #517 courtesy Marvel.com

 “All the pots from the very beginning of Invincible Iron Man are coming to a boil,” he says. “Mandarin and Stane’s alliance, the revamped and upgraded rogues gallery, the Hammer girls, Spymaster’s infiltration—‘Long Way Down’ deals with all of it.”

Fraction says there will be a new Iron Man. Who will wear the armor? For Fraction’s entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.  Long Way Down begins in Invincible Iron Man #516 this May.

  Fraction and Larroca have been on the title four years – sounds like they’re ramping up to a swan song on the title. How cool would it be for this team to take on the Avengers after Bendis wraps up his run on the franchise!