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Marvel’s Headmaster: Avengers Academy and X-Men Legacy Writer

 

X-Men Legacy #261 preview art courtesy Marvel.com

  School’s in session for Christos Gage. He’s not just a popular writer he’s kind of like the Secretary of Education for Marvel’s next generation. The writer behind Avengers Academy and now X-Men: Legacy talked about the difference between attending the Academy and Wolverine’s Jean Grey School.

  “Being an Avenger is a choice, being an X-Man is almost part and parcel of being a mutant,” says Gage.

  “That wasn’t always the case, but now that there are so few mutants left, that’s how it is. So for the X-Men, it’s more about ‘This is the hand we’ve been dealt—what’s the best way to approach life?’ [where] with the Avengers it’s much more the traditional super hero philosophy of ‘Let’s use our talents to serve mankind.’ Not that the X-Men don’t care about that, but it’s just one part of a whole. 

  “Being an Avenger is a part-time thing, and when you’re not doing that, you’re being a billionaire industrialist or whatever. Being an X-Man is a full-time job.”

X-Men Legacy #261 preview art courtesy Marvel.com

  While Gage will focus on the staff (Rogue, Gambit, Frenzy) of the Jean Grey School, we’ve already seen intense interaction with the students. I really loved Rogue’s lesson that helped Rockslide reach a new level of his mutant power. I’m thrilled to see Gage using the Guthries (Cannonball and Husk) in the book too.

 For his complete Marvel interview click here.

  X-Men: Legacy #261 arrives in stores this week.

Avengers News: Toys, Covers and Villains!

3 updates for Avengers fans!

Hasbro's Marvel's Avengers Toys courtesy Marvel.com

1. Hasbro revealed images of their Marvel’s Avengers toy line. The group shot is here but if you want to see individuals click here.

2. It’s choose your Avenger week as the latest Empire magazines hit shelves with 4 different covers: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Scarlet Witch. Don’t feel too bad for Hawkeye.  Jeremy Renner is getting double exposure in this issue for his roles in The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy. Here’s the link to see all the covers.

Courtesy EmpireOnline

 3. Remember all the rumors that the Skrulls will be Loki’s secret army in the movie or that the Red Skull will appear? Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige responds to all those rumors. Because his comments are spoilers – I will not post them but here’s the Spinoff Online link if you want to know.

We Can Be Heroes – DC Campaign to Fight Hunger in Africa

Courtesy DC Comics The Source

  DC Entertainment revealed a new giving campaign to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.  This commitment will feature the iconic Justice League characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg) sounding the call to action, “We Can Be Heroes.” 

  We Can Be Heroes will support three humanitarian aid organizations working in Africa—Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps—to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.    

  Here is the website, www.WeCanBeHeroes.org where you can make donations which DC Entertainment will match 100 percent (up to $1 million in donations), purchase specially branded merchandise, with 50 percent of the purchase price going to fight the hunger crisis via We Can Be Heroes,  sign up for newsletters and updates, and join the We Can Be Heroes online community.  The site will also feature information on each opartner organization and updates on conditions in the Horn of Africa.

  “The members of the Justice League are an international team of super heroes beloved by a broad range of fans, including men and women, young and old.  This makes them the perfect ‘spokescharacters’ for this campaign,” said DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson.  “Their dedication to social justice and commitment to band together to defend the helpless brilliantly supports the ideals of the We Can Be Heroes campaign.  The hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is something we can reverse if we all work together.  I’m proud and grateful we’re able to harness the power and standing of the DC Comics brand and iconic characters as well as for the support from both Warner Bros. and Time Warner that has allowed us to pursue this unprecedented initiative.”

For more information on We Can Be Heroes, visit www.WeCanBeHeroes.org.  For more information on the campaign’s partner organizations, visit their websites: www.savethechildren.org (Save the Children); www.rescue.org (International Rescue Committee) and www.mercycorps.org (Mercy Corps).

For more of this story visit The Source.

Prophet #21 May Make Me Become a Vegetarian

  That was some freaky —-.

  My Seattle store’s Comics Round Table group chose Prophet #21 as the first book to discuss for next month. Well, I always say I’m open to something new – I got it. 

  John Prophet lands on a future Earth – it’s a strange trip and I think I’ll be back.

  Image Comics is relaunching Extreme Studios, taking Rob Liefeld creations and remaking them completely. There’s no big bulging muscled warrior with a huge sword. 

  John Prophet lands on a scary bleak future Earth with strange animal hybrids roaming and consuming each other, then he enters the jell city – many layers and levels of oddness ensue. There’s a lot of depictions of and referencing eating meat – strange meat. Prophet is apparently on Earth to awaken the Human Empire.

  This issue is like a movie you can’t say you liked or hated it – you experienced it and kept thinking about it.

Deathlok, Deathstrike, Death to Secret Avengers?

Lady Deathstrike on the cover of X-Men #205 courtesy Marvel.com

  Rick Remender continues revealing the new enemies facing the Secret Avengers. The Descendents are evolved from the most famous (and infamous) robots and androids in the Marvel Universe. In the latest Father Files on Marvel.com he revealed Cyborgs Deathlok and Lady Deathstrike and her Reavers are part of this new race.

  “In UNCANNY X-FORCE, we’ve recently seen a band of Deathloks from a future where Deathloks win out and took down the super-humans and acclimated them to the Deathlok program,” explains Remender. “They made everyone easily controlled and removed the chaos factor from life in the Marvel Universe. Those Deathloks were created using the body of another Deathlok from another timeline that was created by Roxxon. That technology was then acclimated by Father and hyper-evolved in The World and then used. We saw that version of Father killed by Deadpool and those Deathloks disappeared.”

Deathlok #1 courtesy Marvel.com

  “The Reavers in their origins were never made very clear,” he says. “They hated mutants but we never really found out why. In terms of what their motives were and why they hated mutants so much, there were obviously a few things hinted at, but we’re going to show why they were built and by whom. In Uncanny X-Force 5.1 we saw Deathstrike talk about the coming revolution. At this point, her body has been rebuilt and destroyed so many times she’s more machine than anything else. Her consciousness has remained intact and with Father’s help, she has become even more evolved and we’ll see exactly what she’s capable up in upcoming issues. She is Father’s right-hand woman. If you were going to make an analogy to old X-Men comics, she’d be Wolverine to Father’s Cyclops, back when those guys were still working together.”

  “We saw her working with the Reavers when the X-Men lived in Australia. We saw them come back as a force with Donald Pierce and kick the [expletive] out of them. The Reavers hate mutants, they just hate them. When you mix in Cole and Reese, some of the Hellfire guys who were turned into cyborgs after being cut into pieces by Wolverine, their motives are a little more clean and clear. I looked to make this something that fits in with their history. Deathstrike had worked with the Reavers at this point in time; things have changed and she has higher goals now. She still has a real hatred for Wolverine, but her bigger goal here is to serve Father and the plot they’re working on is to see the Descendants rise. The rise of the Descendants might go further than people expect it to, I’ll say that.”

For more of Remender’s notes click here.

Kelly Hu played Lady Deathstrike in X2: X-Men United. Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri were on board the Uncanny X-Men when The Reavers infamously crucified Logan in the Outback – a haunting cover.

 

Vampires Invade Gotham City

I, Vampire #5 courtesy DC Comics

  The Dark Knight is the talons of the Council of Owls in Batman. Now Bruce’s hometown has another enemy with sharp teeth to face. Vampires are taking their war to Gotham City. DC Comics revealed on The Source that Andrew Bennett and the Queen of Blood are coming to Batman’s town in I, Vampire.

  “Up until now, we’ve been telling a story that’s very insular, and the vampires have struck and run. Well, in issue 5 that ends. Now they come face to face with the Batman, and it’s not going to end well for anyone. Plus, doesn’t Batman have those friends who call themselves the Justice League Dark?” teased writer Joshua Hale Fialkov.

  The I, Vampire, Justice League Dark crossover begins in March.

Johnny Depp, Vampire, Doctor Strange?

Johnny Depp in Dark Shadows courtesy The Hollywood Reporter

  The first photos of Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins in Tim Burton’s big screen version of Dark Shadows are hitting the web.

  The Hollywood Reporter features two photos and does a Barnabas/Edward Cullen from Twilight comparison.

  What popped in my comic geek mind? Depp as Doctor Strange. Some other nerd probably already posted this on the web before. I know some will say Depp is in everything already. In fact, I said that to a friend in an online chat when they suggested Depp for a big screen Doctor Who. I wanted Jude Law for the Time Lord.

Doctor Strange: The Oath cover courtesy Marvel.com

  Back to Depp as the Master of the Mystic Arts – pure magic or do you think I’ve been smoking something mystic? I can picture Depp as the arrogant surgeon with a tragic past who finds his destiny fighting demons and rivals to save the Earth.

Cyclops Secret Weapon for AVX?

The Sentry #5 courtesy Marvel.com

  This is the final year of Brian Michael Bendis on The Avengers, which includes the upcoming Avengers Versus X-Men fight fueled by the return of the Phoenix Force.

  The Sentry/The Void could be a key factor in all three of these Marvel events.

Warning: There are potential spoilers of previous Marvel events you may not have read.

  Robert Reynolds is one of Marvel’s most powerful and tragic characters. Bendis made the The Sentry (Robert Reynolds) and his evil alter ego The Void a central character of his Avengers run until Bob was struck down by Thor in the finale of Siege. At Bob’s memorial service his computer companion CLOC said he was preparing for The Sentry’s eventual return. A section of The Void was held in Emma Frost’s mind until Cyclops locked it away in a sealed part of his mind.

New Avengers #8 courtesy Marvel.com

  Will Bendis bring The Sentry back as part of his final Avengers arc? Can Cyclops use The Void (should he even tap into that evil force?) against the Avengers in AVX? Is The Sentry/The Void possibly the only power that could counter the Phoenix Force? What if the entity bonded with a resurrected Robert Reynolds?

  You can read more about The Sentry and The Void at his Marvel.com bio.