Storm and Black Panther are so over. Cyclops and Emma Frost are at each others throats as the Phoenix Force consumes the X-Men leaders. Hawkeye and Spider-Woman are the one Marvel couple that seem to be heating up due to action of Avengers vs. X-Men.
Marvel revealed art from Avengers #30 by Walter Simonson. Leinil Yu provides the cover showing the lovers on the run.
I think Clint and Jessica’s new romance will survive and thrive because of the conflict. Here’s hoping the hot duo will be part of Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers or New Avengers in the Marvel NOW relaunch.
Avengers #30 courtesy Marvel
Brian Michael Bendis did bring Jessica back from back burner status. Could she be a casualty of war and change of writers? Stay tuned? Avengers #30 is out September 19th.
I’m excited that one of the X-Men’s most colorful enemies is coming back with a vengeance! Marvel’s recent Hopeless, Walker, SURVIVE tease was a real headscratcher! Today’s reveal is an exciting addition to the Marvel NOW especially if you enjoy The Hunger Games and some forgotten teen heroes.
Marvel announced Avengers Arena #1 by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker will star 16 young heroes trapped in a game devised by the only and only Arcade! Marvel’s best and brightest young heroes will be in the fight of their lives on Murder World island. The X-Men have escaped Arcade’s deadly traps before but some of these kids may not be so lucky.
“Arcade has spent a lot of years building “Murder Worlds” that yield very few actual murders. He’s decided it’s time to get back a little self-respect. It’s time for a new kind of Murder World. AVENGERS ARENA is about the unlucky kids he’s chosen to help him try it out,” says Hopeless.
“I don’t want to give too much away, but I can promise a lot of murder in this new Murder World.”
Editor Bill Rosemann reveals the contestants: “Fans of AVENGERS ACADEMY will hopefully be excited by the next chapter in the lives of Hazmat, Mettle, Reptil, Juston and his Sentinel and X-23. Speaking of schools, who are the Braddock Academy? After his last appearances in War of Kings and NOVA, Darkhawk soars again! Staying with sci-fi, just wait until you see what Dennis and Kev have planned for Annihilation’s Cammi, baddest girl in all the galaxy. And last but certainly not least, direct from the pages of the dearly missed RUNAWAYS, we have Chase and Nico!”
“It’s sort of ridiculous how huge our cast is at the start. But if you’re going to kill a lot of characters you gotta have a lot of characters,” Hopeless adds.
I love all the kid characters but you had me with ARCADE! Avengers Arena #1 is out for the kill this December.
The New Mutants graphic novel cover courtesy Marvel.com
The New Mutants aren’t so new anymore but Dani, Sam, Roberto, Rhane and Xi’an will hold a special place in the hearts of many comic book fans. Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod gave us this next generation and future X-Men. Unfortunately these heroes are caught in the comic book paradox. In the real world these kids should have grown up to succeed Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine and company as the X-Men. These characters are so strong and loved that they will always find a home in the Marvel universe.
Dani Moonstar lost her mutant powers but none of the qualities that make her a great hero. The current New Mutants book is coming to an end. Karma is currently featured in Marjorie Liu’s Astonishing X-Men. Wolfsbane has been a star and become a mom in Peter David’s X-Factor. Will those characters and titles continue in the Marvel NOW relaunch?
In Liu’s Astonishing X-Men Karma has been the victim of a new villain and I hope Liu gets the chance to give Xi’an redemption and maybe a chance at love like Northstar did. I can’t imagine a month without Peter David’s X-Factor but Breaking Points sure seems like he’s wrapping up his run.
New Mutants #13 courtesy Marvel
I really love Dani as mentor of a New Mutants squad in New X-Men. Dani is a great leader, Valkyrie and I love her best as a teacher. I’d like to see Dani and Rhane join the Jean Grey School as teachers.
Could these young heroes face a darker future in the Marvel NOW? Legion is becoming the star of a brand new X-Men Legacy. Professor X’s son may try to recruit the mutants he once faced in their original series.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #14 courtesy Dark Horse Comics
In Buffy, The Vampire Slayer Season Nine #14 Jane Espenson and Drew Greenberg will introduce a new slayer. Billy is a new character who trains himself to fight like a slayer. As revealed in OUT Billy is openly gay.
Editor Scott Allie tells Comic Book Resources part of Billy’s introduction is tied to the wedding of Northstar in Astonishing X-Men and revelation of Alan Scott in Earth 2.
“It’s funny. When we started seeing what Marvel and DC was doing, we thought, ‘Damn. They’re racing to get these stories out one after the other, so it’ll look like we’re chasing them. But we’d had this story planned for quite a while,” Allie said. “But I think you can see this as a natural extension of stuff Joss has done all along. Getting a gay male character doesn’t seem unusual for ‘Buffy.’ And it wasn’t so much that we wanted to get a gay character out in the mainstream for whatever reason. It was more that this is a story that Jane Espenson and Drew Greenberg wanted to tell. When you read the story, you’ll see that it’s responding to things in the culture beyond just representing gay male characters. There’s a bit of a response to the whole ‘It Gets Better’ campaign in a way that’s more than subtext. For Jane and Drew in particular, with the kinds of stories they’re used to telling and what they care about, the Buffy mythos was an extremely appropriate place to empower this young guy who needed to find a way to stand up for himself.”
The New Mutants graphic novel cover courtesy Marvel.com
I was thrilled to see two New Mutants in the lineup of the upcoming Avengers relaunch. Jonathan Hickman welcomes Cannonball and Sunspot to his massive roster that’s still be revealed. Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort tells Comics Newsarama why Sam and Roberto are on board.
“The real answer to that is at least trifold. We’ve talked about this a little bit going into Marvel NOW! — we’re making a concerted effort to erase the invisible fence that exists around the world of X-Men. By the nature of those books, and it goes back 20-25 years at this point, the X-Men, while they exist in the Marvel Universe proper, tend to sit in their own corner a lot. We’re actively looking not to make everything the same, but to erase those boundaries; erase that feeling that it’s strange or weird when an X-Men character shows up in a non-X-Men book, and vice versa.
In the same sort of way that in the adjectiveless X-Men book they’ve been doing a lot of work to try and get the X-Men out interacting with other heroes in the Marvel Universe, and fighting villains that are not just the same core of X-Men mutant villains that they’ve always battled, we’re going to be trying to do the same sort of thing in a more global sense. It’s not like we’re going to be forcing X-Men or X-Men villains into Spider-Man, or whatever, but we’re trying to make it a little easier if there’s a Spider-Man story to be told that involves some aspect of the X-Men, for people to feel like, “Yeah, that’s easy.” It’s like using anybody else. It’s all one place and one Marvel Universe. So the fact that we’re bringing in some other characters from that corner just serves to underline and reinforce that a little bit.
It also sort of shows that the movement taken in Uncanny Avengers and the motivation for that team is not simply a token outreach. The impel that will drive the world to have a more comingled Avengers and mutant and non-mutant set-up is not limited to one crew of folks. Plus, as usual, we wanted to bring some new faces in. Jonathan wanted to bring in characters that he was interested in and likes, and he really loves Cannonball and Sunspot. It’s good to have some relatively younger characters in the Avengers mix, that always makes for a good dynamic. They are a good two-hander comedy act in the way of Ben and Johnny or Ben and Spidey over in the FF books. It just puts them on a different playing level. Plus, they’re storied enough characters now — they go back to 1982 — that they feel legitimate as Avengers. It’s a funny thing, and I really didn’t codify it even for myself quite until Brian was doing New Avengers, but once characters have been around in the Marvel Universe a certain amount of time — it’s a vague amount, there’s no set time, it’s just a feeling — you put them in the Avengers, and they feel legitimate. Luke Cage being an Avenger, nobody really blinked at that. He goes back to the ’70s, he’s a quote-unquote “real” Marvel character. He’s not a Johnny Come Lately or a fly-by-night or a new fangled idea. He’s real Marvel. Spider-Woman is real Marvel. Iron Fist is real Marvel. And at this point, Cannonball and Sunspot are real Marvel. You see them there, and you go, “It’s interesting, it’s different, it’s odd, I’m not used to seeing them hanging out with those people” — but they don’t feel like they haven’t earned their place. They’re still youthful characters in relation to the other characters around them, but they’re storied enough that you can look at them standing in the midst of all of those other guys and go, “Yeah, OK, I buy it.”
Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel
Brevoort addresses concerns over the blending of X-Men and Avengers.
“First of all, I think the fear that having mutant characters appearing in Avengers or other books is going to water everything down or destroy the X-Men is a baseless fear. It’s a fear that stems from literally just fear itself. “You’re going to break this thing that I love by mixing it up with this other stuff that I don’t care as much about.”
“The premise of X-Men is that it’s a book about a demographic. It’s a book about these people, and their struggle of their existence. They wake up at a certain point and they have wings, or they have fur all over their bodies, and they have to deal with that, and adjust to that, and that’s the world they live in. In the same sort of way that Spider-Man being on the Avengers didn’t mean the average Spider-Man adventure was about him rocketing to the moon to fight cosmic bad guys over the Infinity Gauntlet, having X-Men in the Avengers doesn’t mean that every X-Men story is now going to be an Avengers story.
All New X-Men #1 courtesy Marvel
“In some ways, it may hopefully mean the focus of X-Men stories can be more concretely about what that series is about, what that premise is, and the ongoing soap opera of those character relationships, and dealing with one another, and dealing with being part of this particular minority who’s hated and feared by a world that doesn’t understand them. Those themes always work for the X-Men, and they’re really the heart of the X-Men. The fact that the X-books sort of became segregated; that I don’t think had anything really to do with the heart of their appeal. That was just something that happened, and then everybody kind of got used to it, and it’s “the way things are, therefore, it’s the way we like it.” But I don’t believe there’s any real relationship between the books staying to themselves, and that is why people like them. I think people liked them why they didn’t, I think people liked it was just one comic book, and it was just done really well, and people dug the characters and dug the conflicts that they were doing through — and the soap opera, and the romance, and the life or death struggles. I think all of that stuff can, should, and hopefully will be maintained on the X-books going forward. Certainly Brian’s not coming on X-Men to take a half-hearted stab at doing great X-Men stories.”
New Mutants #16 courtesy Marvel
I have posted before that New Mutants are like the Teen Titans and Cannonball is like Nightwing. In the real world these younger heroes would take on the leadership roles and become the big iconic heroes of their respective universes.
This is comic books – Cyclops, Storm or Wolverine will always be the X-Men leader so I’m excited to see Sam shine as one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and represent the mutant race on the Avengers.
Avengers vs. X-Men could be retitled Operation: Hate Cyclops. When AvX was first announced I was on fully on board with Cyclops and the mutants. I posted “Cyke Is Right!” on my blog and all over rallying my fellow X-Men fans. X-Men were my first comic book and I’ve always identified with them. Captain America and the Avengers were yanking away the one Hope the mutants had to save their species.
The architects of AvX turned the greatest hero and leader in comic books into an arrogant, power mad egomaniac. The Marvel masterminds even did the unthinkable – turn me against Scott! I’ve actually rooting for the Avengers. Cyke was right. Now I’m not so sure.
AvX is a dark and critical chapter in Scott’s life. The man Professor Xavier chose to lead the mutants has never had it easy. He’s been put in incredible scenarios against impossible odds and faced tragedy after tragedy. His fellow mutants have constantly been under attack and he’s been forced to make tough calls without a single Avenger coming to his aid. That’s what I love about him.
Scott Summers must always been in control. Holding back his optic blasts is a symbol of the life Scott has been forced to lead. Professor Xavier made him team leader. Cyke pushed himself to be a better leader while the other X-Men got to laugh and escape from training at Harry’s Hideaway. Scott is always living in the Danger Room.
Scott has lost Jean, Madelyne, Nathan. Cyke has hold firm despite insults from Wolverine and wavering support from longtime friends. He’s a better X-Man than any mutant…including Logan.
Avengers vs. X-Men #11 courtesy Marvel.com
This week’s AvX #11 sees the Phoenix possessed Cyclops and Emma Frost turn on each other because there can be only one. AvX appears to be the end of a powerhouse Marvel romance. Grant Morrison slowly separated Scott and Jean and paired Cyke with the reformed Emma Frost during his New X-Men run. Joss Whedon united Scott and Emma as the mutant power couple in his Astonishing X-Men epic. As much as I love Jean, Emma is the one true woman for Scott.
The Phoenix Force is now divided between Scott and Emma. Scott has been transformed into arrogant cosmic level zealot. The God-like power of the Phoenix Force has twisted Scott’s intense dedication to save his race. Emma’s behavior is now dangerously similar to the Dark Phoenix. The reformed White Queen has always kept her ruthless streak and it’s been necessary and easy for her to slip back into the role of a villain (Dark Reign & Dark X-Men Saga) to use it for the sake of saving the mutants.
I kept hoping Scott and Emma’s extreme and ruthless behavior was a result of having slivers of The Void (The Sentry’s evil alter ego) in their minds. It was these two mutants who sacrificed to trap the Void when the Avengers couldn’t stop him. I wanted some excuse so it would be easy to redeem Scott and Emma for their actions. Alas, I can blame the Phoenix Force but isn’t the entity just feeding off and empowering the emotions and motivations existing in my favorite Marvel power couple?
Avengers vs. X-Men made me side against Scott and Emma. This week’s chapter is teasing a fatality. Will Cyclops destroy his lover or his father figure and mentor? Can Scott live with it if he does kill Emma or the Professor?
Every hero falls. Every fan loves redemption. I hope Scott and Emma survive AvX to rise to greatness again in the Marvel NOW.
Avenging Spider-Man #12 Spidey and Deadpool go back to high school? I’m sure there’s something much more sinister going on but the idea of Peter Parker and the Merc With a Mouth in detention is too good to pass up!
Avengers vs. X-Men #11 courtesy Marvel.com
Avengers vs. X-Men #11X-Men join the Avengers in a last stand against the cosmic might of the Phoenix Two. What happens when Cyclops and Emma Frost turn on each other? What is Professor X prepared to do to save humanity? Marvel is teasing a fatality – who will pay the ultimate price to defeat the Phoenix Force?
Batman #0A look into the past. Bruce Wayne returns from his global quest ready to launch his war on crime. See how the gadgets, Batcave, costume and more were born.
Manhattan Projects #6 Some of the most famous scientific geniuses in history as you’ve never seen them before. Creating the atomic bomb was nothing compared to what this American think tank was really up to. You can catch up with the first 5 issues in a new collection. Now see the other side of this twisted alterate history and weird science. Go back into the Cold War days and inside the Russia’s scientific counterpart to the Manhattan Projects.
The Massive #4How you continue to have the moral companss of a pacifist when the world has gone to hell? A crew of environmentalists sail the poison oceans in search of their friends and trying to survive modern day pirates. What happens when the Captain meets a ghost from his past when he was a corporate mercenary.
I could have written a top 15 this week there are so many good books out there! Here’s my previews of the Doctor Who Annual, more Batman Family Zero issue books and a legion of X-Men books!
Could The CW become the destination for DC heroes? Producers of the upcoming Arrow television series express support for a potential Wonder Woman series on the same network. The CW, Warner Brothers and DC Comics are reported to be developing a script called Amazon. Allan Heinberg is working on an origin script.
Arrow producers say they welcome another hero on The CW.
“It harkens back to the years of my childhood where you had The Six Million Dollar Man and Wonder Woman and all these superhero-like genre shows all on the dial and all you had to do was change the channel,” Arrow Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I think there’s totally room for both shows. It would be fun to share a night with them; the CW programs two hours a night and that’d be a pretty kick-ass night of television.”
Andrew Kreisberg points out the focus of Arrow and how it will differ from Smallville or a potential Wonder Woman series..
“Our show definitely takes place in a much more realistic world,” Kreisberg adds “There’s no superpowers, superheroes and aliens. With Wonder Woman, Diana of Themyscira, there are superpowers. I don’t foresee crossovers but one of the great things about superheroes is that they’re constantly being reimagined. There’s the Adam West and Christopher Nolan versions of Batman and one doesn’t obviate the other. The Lynda Carter version was great and now the CW is hopefully developing another wonderful version that will be a nice compliment to Arrow.”
Producers will introduce villainess China White (played by Kelly Hu aka Lady Deathstrike of X2: X-Men United) and Huntress (played by Jessica De Gow) as a potential love interest for Oliver Queen.
Arrow debuts October 10th.
By Editor
Op/Ed: When I was a kid there were live action superheroes all over television! Wonder Woman, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman in prime time. Batman and Robin afterschool and Shazam and Isis on Saturday mornings!
I have to raise issue with comparing Lynda Carter to Adam West in terms of their portrayals. Lynda Carter was physical and emotional perfection as Diana. While the series had camp moments – Carter was a Wonder and did justice to the Amazon!
