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Remender’s Uncanny X-Force Finale

Uncanny X-Force: The Apocalypse Solution cover courtesy Marvel.com

  This week’s Uncanny X-Force #35 is Rick Remender’s final issue and the final issue for this team. The storytelling was ambitous, violent, senses-shattering. Uncanny X-Force may have not been the “flagship” but look how it influenced the entire X-Men line and Marvel Universe. Angel and Evan’s stories became part of Wolverine and the X-Men. I think no writer since Claremont has evolved Psylocke they way Remender has. Betsy will be team leader of the Uncanny X-Force relaunch in 2013. Remender is now writing the Marvel Now flagship Uncanny Avengers.

  Earlier Remender told Comic Book Resources he’s leaving the series:

  “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.”

Uncanny X-Force #35 courtesy Marvel
Uncanny X-Force #35 courtesy Marvel

  Uncanny X-Force was always violent but not just for shock effect. Each act led to incredible character development and an exploration of consequences and reflections. Fantomex made a deadly decision in The Apocalypse Solution, Betsy was forced to kill the man she once loved in The Dark Angel Saga, Wolverine shared a bloody resolution with his son in The Final Execution.

Every member has been punished for their actions during this run. After so many shocks how will Remender end it?

By Editor

 

 

Who Will Be Avengers?

 

Avengers #2 courtesy Marvel
Avengers #2 courtesy Marvel

In Avengers #1 Jonathan Hickman went big! The Avengers confronted a God-like new enemy on the moon with disastrous results. Captain America was forced to wake the world! Which heroes answers Cap’s call? Can a bigger roster of heroes hope to defeat the powerhouse alien that wants to remake Earth? We find out in this week’s Avengers #2.

Hickman told Marvel.com how he assembled his expanded roster:

  “Well, it all starts with Iron Man and Captain America, with Tony and Steve. They can smell it in the air. They sense in the same way that we in our everyday lives know that something is not right with society. We know that things aren’t functioning properly. We have an impending sense that it’s possible that calamity is right around the corner. It’s a very real thing in society right now. Whether that’s a result of too much dystopian fiction, whether that’s a result of too many horror movies, or whether that’s financial calamity, whatever it is, it’s a very real thing in society, and this book very much starts with that: the idea that very bad things are on the horizon. As a result, they begin constructing a failsafe against that, and what happens is it is triggered, and that means they have to assemble the Avengers World.

  They enact the Avengers World scenario where they have to gather all the guys together. That’s kind of the first three issues, the inciting incident and the team-has-assembled kind of deal, and then we back off for three issues and we reintroduce some of the newer characters, and then we have another three-issue arc after that where the whole team is together again, and then we have three issues after that where it’s more an introduction to the other characters again, the ones that we haven’t visited yet. Anyway, it’s kind of a way to keep the velocity of the book up and at the same time introduce everyone that people may not be familiar with or brand-new characters that the readers don’t know anything about. Again, all of that is leading to something further down the road.”

Chapter Two of Avengers World hits this week!

By Editor

No Capes, No Problem! 5 Non-Superhero Comics

  Think you’re old to read superhero comics? You want something else out of literary escapes besides or instead of costumed heroes? Here are 5 of my favorite non-superhero genre series that gripped me in 2012 and wouldn’t let go.

The Walking Dead #100 courtesy Image/Skybound Comics
The Walking Dead #100 courtesy Image/Skybound Comics

  The Walking Dead This year it was time to stop just surviving and start living. One beloved survivor is on longer living in the larger world. The Walking Dead #100 ended with one of the most gripping, sick and painful moments of the year as “Lucielle” changed the survivors forever. I almost hope the television series doesn’t last long enough for me to have to watch that moment again. 100 issues and this series is just as provacative and powerful as ever.

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 courtesy IDW Publishing
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 courtesy IDW Publishing

  Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 The Time Lord (along with Amy and Rory) beamed aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise at a time when Federation worlds are under attack from Cybermen working with the Borg. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Doctor must find a way to work together to save the Federation. The creative team captures the spirit of each franchise and demonstrates how each character would react, relate, bond and clash with each other.

The Massive #6 courtesy Dark Horse Comics
The Massive #6 courtesy Dark Horse Comics

  The Massive How do you remain a conversationist when you world you hoped to save has gone to hell? How do you remain a pacifist when you must dodge ruthless pirates to get food and supplies you must have to survive. Welcome to  a new world where cities have sank, economies have tanked and civilization is crumbling. The crew of the Kapital sail the oceans in search of their friends on their sister ship, the Massive, and for necessary supplies in order to stay alive. Brian Wood has created a thrilling morality tale while building a dangerous new world that serves a a cautionary tale for humanity.

  Manhattan Projects Jonathan Hickman’s gripping story of twisted history and weird science shocked and challenged me with every new issue. Building the atomic bomb was nothing compared to the staggering creations of this government think tank.

 

Fatale #1 cover courtesy Image Comics
Fatale #1 cover courtesy Image Comics

Fatale Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’s mixed crime noir with supernatural horror in two tales of a woman who may be immortal and the men who die for her. The second arc just wrapped. An actor crosses Josephine’s path and all hell runs wild in 1970’s Hollywood with killer cults.

Teen romance, horror, crime, western? Visit your local comic book shop in 2013 and ask for a book to fit your genre tastes!

By Editor

Uncanny X-Men Burning Questions

Uncanny X-Men #1 courtesy Marvel

Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo will launch a brand new Uncanny X-Men in 2013. It’s not quite the Avenging X-Men concept I predicted but it is a darker Children of the Atom. All-New X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men represent Xavier’s dream. The new Uncanny X-Men team is on a mutated mission for mutants with Cyclops following Magneto’s more extreme vision and tactics. Brian Michael Bendis recently previewed his upcoming Uncanny X-Men but this geek has some burning questions:

Sebastian Shaw? The former Black King of the Hellfire Club was mindwiped by Emma Frost but recently learned about his evil past. Shaw was last seen helping teen mutants escape from captivity during AvX. Will he return to his evil ways and seek revenge against his former White Queen? I would love to see Shaw recruited by Scott. I remember in New Mutants #35 when the fragile alliance of the then Hellfire Club (Shaw, Magneto, Frost and Selene) was shattered in that powerhouse issue.

Stepford Cuckoos? I love Emma’s girls. Will the triplets reunited with Emma? I could see Mindee, Celeste and Phoebe become powerful recruiters in the search for new mutants.

Uncanny X-Men #2 courtesy Marvel

Namor? The long simmering passion between Namor and Emma flared up in an explosive way during Avengers vs. X-Men with devastating results. I loved the Sub-Mariner’s alliance with the X-Men and wondered where the King of Atlantis would turn up in the Marvel Now. Scott and Emma are over. Namor will be a huge part of Jonathan Hickman’s New Avengers series. Could Emma start a long distance relationship with Namor to make Scott suffer?

Cyclops’s New Headgear? I love Chris Bachalo’s new costume designs but Cyke’s headgear is a curiosity – no visor? How does the optic blast…blast out?

The Void? During AvX I kept thinking Scott’s extremist behavior was because he was holding a sliver of The Void in his mind. The Sentry’s battle with his evil alter ego was a big story threat during Bendis’s Avengers run that affected the X-Men’s power couple. First Emma Frost and then Cyke held a sliver of the Void in their mind.Perhaps Bendis will revisit this in Uncanny X-Men.

 

Those are some of the burning questions I have but I will trust in Bendis! He made me love Avengers again 8 years ago.

By Editor

Comic Book Picks for 12/19/12

All-New X-Men #4 courtesy Marvel
All-New X-Men #4 courtesy Marvel

All-New X-Men #4 This is the confrontation we’ve been waiting for since Brian Michael Bendis revealed he was bringing the original X-Men from the past into the Marvel Now! The original Scott, Jean, Bobby, Warren and Hank confront Cyclops, Emma, Magneto and Magik! Will it be Cyclops vs. Cyclops?

Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 Jason Todd may have more reason to hate the Joker than any of his victims. In this Death of the Family tie-in Red Hood and Red Robin team up to take on the Joker! Could this teaming turn into a clash between the Teen Titans and the Outlaws?

Saga #8 Alana is a former warrior turned new mom. She and her husband have dodge alien monsters, armies and assassins. Will she survive meeting her in-laws/

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimiliation2 #8 The final chapter in the epic crossover starring to huge science fiction franchises! The Time Lord and Enterprise crew launch an assault behind enemy lines to stop the threat of the Cyberborgs!

Uncanny X-Force #35 Rick Remender’s final issue! The last chapter of The Final Execution! Wolverine’s covert team (Psylocke, Deadpool, Archangel, Fantomex) has been to hell (The Age of Apocalypse, Otherworld) and back with a bloody, brutal connection to the child who could become Apocalypse. There’s been death, rebirth, betrayals and shocking developments no one could predict. How will Remender end his epic run? This may be the issue of the year!

By Editor

Who Is Next To Die In Avengers Arena?

Avengers Arena #2 courtesy Marvel
Avengers Arena #2 courtesy Marvel

In Avengers Arena #1 X-Men villain Arcade and writer Dennis Hopeless showed they meant bloody business! Young heroes of the Marvel Universe (including Avengers Academy and Runaways) woke up in a Murder World with orders to kill each other in Battle Royale style games.

In this week’s Avengers Arena #2 who will face Deathlocket? Is that a freaky as I think it is? Will another young hero die? And we meet a crew of kids with a connection to Captain Britain.

By Editor

Cyclops vs. Cyclops in All-New X-Men!

All-New X-Men #4 courtesy Marvel
All-New X-Men #4 courtesy Marvel

It’s the confrontation we’ve been waiting for! Scott, Jean, Bobby, Warren and Hank confront Scott, Emma, Magneto and Magik in this week’s All-New X-Men #4. The modern Beast brought the original five X-Men from the past into the Marvel Now hoping the idealistic young originals could be the key to preventing what could be the end of the mutant race.

If you think the modern Cyclops is a match for his younger self think again!After last issue I developed a theory about the mutant race post AvX. Tell me what you think.

In case you missed it here’s my op/ed on the transformation of Scott from hero to zealot to hopes for his redemption.

By Editor

Cable & X-Force: Past, Present, Future

Cable and X-Force #3 courtesy Marvel
Cable and X-Force #3 courtesy Marvel

  I admit – I’m not a big Cable fan. Way back in New Mutants when we first met Cable I thought he was going to be this cool non-mutant warrior who wanted to help train young mutants because he lost his mutant son. New Mutants became X-Force, which led to X-Cutioner’s Song which led to lots of crossovers and mini-series and a very confusing future origin story.

  My favorite Cable moments were in Mike Carey’s X-Men run when Nathan teamed up with Rogue’s squadron and in Second Coming. Yes, my favorite Cable moment is when he “died” to save Hope. The writing of the difficult Nathan, Scott, Hope dynamic was powerful.

  You can’t keep a bad ass cyborg down for long!

  Nathan blasted into the Marvel Now in this week’s. Dennis Hopeless. There’s a huge threat and only Cable and his team can stop it – but they’ve been branded terrorists. Hopeless talked with Marvel.com about the Summers family connections – given that Cyclops has become a revolutionary

  “I play with that early on. I’d like to do stuff with Cyclops at some point, and we probably will. The plans for that are out [for now] because of what Brian [Michael Bendis is] doing with those characters over in All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men. He needs some space to deal with all that. I’m getting the Summers tie and the “What the hell are you doing to our family name?” with Havok. Because Cyclops is off doing this thing, and because of where Havok is, I have him sort of obsessed with the idea that, “obviously whatever Cable is doing is not what it looks like, but I have to be the one that brings it in and figures it out. I need to be the one who solves this problem, because by God the Summers name is not going to be this sullied.”

Cable and X-Force #3 courtesy Marvel
Cable and X-Force #3 courtesy Marvel

  Havok and the Uncanny Avengers appeared in the premiere issue.

  “Yeah, Rick [Remender] was very adamant when I talked to him about Uncanny Avengers being a part of the book, that they’re not cops. They’re not going to just assume that this stuff is all what it is on face value. Because number one, Wolverine’s on the team, and he just led an X-Force where they did a bunch of killing, so they’re not going to immediately think someone that they know to be a hero has turned into a villain. At the same time, Cable refuses to explain himself, and he makes it very difficult on them to accept that what he’s doing must be good, and there are story reasons for that. He’s seeing the future, and the more he explains it, the less likely it is to happen as he’s seeing it. In his mind, everything he’s doing makes perfect sense. [Laughs]”

Cable and X-Force #2 arrives next week.

By Editor