Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 courtesy IDW Publishing
America’s Got Powers #2 Super teens compete in the world’s biggest reality game show. A kid who thought he’d only be comic relief has the chance to be the ultimate hero. This is an action packed cautionary tale that skewers our obsession with youth, reality television and media manipulation.
Batman Annual #1 Forget Ar-NULD – this Mr. Freeze is not joke. The ice-cold criminal makes his New 52 debut. How it he connected to the of Court of Owls? Is Freeze an ally or a target for assassination.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who Assimilation #1 Two of the biggest science fiction franchises together! The Captain Picard and crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Doctor Who join forces when Borg and Cybermen form an unholy alliance threatening the galaxy.
Wolverine and the X-Men #11 Will the Red Hulk turn Iceman into crushed ice? Kid Gladiator takes on the Avengers! Which side will Logan’s students choose in the war between Avengers and X-Men? They better choose quick. Gladiator and the Shiar Death Commandos are headed for Earth.
X-Men Legacy #267 Rogue vs She-Hulk was just a warm up! When Avengers showed up at the Jean Grey School to put the students under house arrest it didn’t sit well with the X-Men. I love Rogue but can she defeat Iron Man?
Fans are celebrating Northstar’s upcoming wedding to his boyfriend Kyle. Marvel revealed the proposal in Astonishing X-Men #50 and the ceremony in next month’s #51. Maybe it was just a dream wedding?
This week’s issue #50 made good on the proposal but not where I expected it. Marvel and writer Marjorie Liu are being praised for the landmark gay wedding announcement but let’s not forget this writer knows how to deliver action, twists as well as emotion.
Northstar seeks advice from fellow X-Men on how to resolve his issues with Kyle as they investigate the mystery behind the recent attack by a new team of Marauders. Jean-Paul’s romantic actions don’t go off as planned. Wolverine gets an assist from Avenger Black Widow in their mission. Warbird continues to be a perfect scene stealer. Bobby gets the best lines. Liu sets up a moment and Iceman zings it home.
Given the media attention you may have been expecting a heavier dose of romance this issue. Liu and artist Mike Perkins are far from finishing this mystery. Hints of a SHIELD cover-up, Kyle in the crosshairs of a stalker and Northstar’s nightmare from issue #48 coming true have to be wrapped up before the big day next month.
The upcoming wedding of Northstar to Kyle in Astonishing X-Men #51 next month is the latest reason to celebrate our love of the mutant super heroes. From the beginning the X-Men represent diversity and overcoming differences. These heroes don’t just fight bad guys. They fight discrimination and intolerance.
When Stan Lee created X-Men #1 his young heroes had powers because of genetics. Stan the Man conceived “Born This Way” before Lady Gaga made it an anthem. Professor Xavier taught his students how to use their powers for the good of all humanity. Magneto was a Jew and his horrific experiences in World War II brought him into direct conflict with Xavier’s teachings.
In the 1970’s Len Wein and Dave Cockrum helped introduce the “all new, all different” X-Men. The team’s new additions reflected the changing world. Ororo Munroe aka Storm was an African woman. John Proudstar/Thunderbird was an Apache Native American. His brother James would eventually take the code name Warpath. Shiro Yoshida was the first Japanese X-Man code-named Sunfire who later had his own team and title: Big Hero Six.
German Kurt Wager is still my favorite X-Man. Nightcrawler lived the ultimate in irony. Kurt was a compassionate, devoted Catholic, sweet soul but genetics gave him the appearance of a demon. My other favorite is Kitty Pryde, a Jewish girl from Chicago who joined the X-Men as a teenager. Kitty was frightened of Kurt for years and their evolving friendship was one of my favorite ongoing storylines.
Writer Chris Claremont was the creative force behind the X-Men for nearly two decades. Claremont made Storm leader of the team. In the early 1980’s having an African-American female in charge of the team was a big breakthrough. Storm would fall in love with Forge, a Native American mutant and Vietnam veteran. Storm would later become leader of X-Treme X-Men, the Queen of Wakanda (she married the Black Panther) and became an Avenger.
Claremont explored the issue of apartheid with the creation of Genosha. On this island nation off the African coast mutants were enslaved and considered natural resources not equal citizens. The X-Men were involved in liberating the mutants of the nation over several storylines.
The New Mutants graphic novel cover courtesy Marvel.com
Claremont was creator of the future generation of X-Men. The New Mutants continued the legacy of creating diversity. Danielle Moonstar was a Cheyenne Native American and became team leader. Karma was a devout Catholic from Vietnam. Shan later came out as a lesbian. Sunspot was Brazilian.
John Byrne was a co-plotter and artist on the early Claremont era. Byrne created the Canadian team Alpha Flight including Northstar. Byrne said he intended to have Jean Paul come out back in the 1980’s but it was against editorial policy at the time and the comics code authority. In 1992 Northstar came out in Alpha Flight #106 under writer Scott Lobdell.
Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza were the primary writers of the X-Men in the 1990’s. Lobdell co-created Generation X which included Skin, a Hispanic American who escaped from gang life in Los Angeles to join the team. M (Monet St. Croix) is Algerian, Muslim and became a popular member of X-Factor.
Generation Hope #10 courtesy Marvel.com
The X-Men welcomed Bishop, an African-American mutant from the future. Dr. Cecilia Reyes is a doctor of Puerto Rican background. She reluctantly joined but focused on her career as a surgeon instead of being a superhero. Neal Shaara is a Hindi from India who joined the team. Jubilee is an Asian-American “mall rat” who joined the X-Men and Generation X. Wolverine’s former sidekick is now a vampire. This is yet another example of how X-writers explore differences while telling a compelling action story.
The 21st century saw the creation of more mutant heroes from diverse background. Dust is a devout Muslim Wolverine rescued from Afghanistan. Oya of Generation Hope is from Kenya and her religious beliefs make her think of herself as a monster. Frenzy is an African-American ex-villain who recently joined X-Men Legacy.
X-Factor's Shatterstar and Rictor courtesy Marvel.com
Peter David pushes boundaries in X-Factor. After years of hinting that they were attracted to each other Shatterstar (a warrior from another dimension) and Mexican mutant Rictor fell in love. It’s not all perfect for this mutant couple because they often fight because of Shatterstar’s flirting. X-Factor has been nominated by GLAAD for Outstanding Comic Book Series. Other GLBT characters in the X-family include Anole, Bling and Graymalkin.
The X-Men writers and editors have always reflected our world. Characters and storylines have been a way to directly or indirectly explore the issues of race, religion and sexual orientation. X-Men will always be a best-selling title because we can see ourselves, the conflict and the hope that we’ll learn from our differences, survive and thrive.
By Editor
I know there’s probably a favorite mutant I may have left out of this story. Please add a comment or email me who you think deserves to be added.
Marvel told fans to “save the date” for a wedding in Astonishing X-Men #51 this June. Fans speculated that Marvel’s first openly gay hero Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) would marry his boyfriend Kyle. Today it’s official – the ladies of ABC’s The View made the announcement. Astonishing X-Men #50 by Marjorie Liu and Mike Perkins is out this week – in which Jean-Paul proposes to Kyle Jinadu.
courtesy Marvel
Jean-Paul is a native of Quebec and introduced in the 1980’s in Alpha Flight. Creator John Byrne said he always planned to have Northstar come out but Marvel’s editorial policy at the time wouldn’t allow it. Northstar came out in Alpha Flight by Scott Lobdell in 1992. Professor X recruited Northstar to be an X-Man and teach at the school. After joining, quitting (he was killed by a brainwashed Wolverine but resurrected) the X-Men and rejoining Alpha Flight Northstar started his own sports events company. He fell in love with his company manager, Kyle.
Astonishing X-Men #49 preview art courtesy Marvel.com
After Alpha Flight disbanded Northstar accepted Wolverine’s offer to be part of the Jean Grey School for mutants. Jean-Paul and Kyle will live in New York City and Northstar would commute (he’s a super speedster) to the school update.
Northstar to the rescue. Courtesy Marvel.com
I’m a big fan of Northstar’s twin sister Jeanne-Marie (Aurora.) Hope she’s able to come to the ceremony. Here’s a previous post with background on the GLBT mutants. We’ve come a long way in this country. I never knew when I wrote this post asking for Marvel to bring Northstar back into the X-Men family back in November of 2011 that I would be posting about his upcoming nuptials.
Astonishing X-Men #50 Who’s the mystery woman behind the new Marauders attack on the mutants? Sure looks like a villainess from the classic Alpha Flight era. Marvel promised an X-Men wedding and a controversial ending to this issue – does that mean Northstar will propose to boyfriend Kyle – if they survive?
Batman Incorporated #1 by Chris Burnham courtesy DC Comics
Batman Inc #1 What’s better than Batman? How about Batmen stationed around the globe? The mastermind of the Leviathan organization is revealed and a new assassin is out for Batman and Robin. Goatboy may not sound menacing but remember mad man Grant Morrison is behind this and remember his Pyg?
Resident Alien #1 A stranded alien lives the life of a small town doctor until a murder mystery threatens to expose his cover.
Secret Avengers #27 It was suicide mission to stop the Phoenix from reaching Earth. The Protector betrays the team. Captain Marvel back from the dead? How do the Kree factor into the return of the Phoenix.
True Blood #1 courtesy IDW
True Blood #1 Ahhhhh Sookie! A new ongoing comic book series featuring the romantic exploits of HBO’s favorite telepathic fairy waitress and the two vampires who want her. With show creator Alan Ball and legendary comics writer Ann Nocenti on board this is sure to be a tempting comic to satisfy fans until Season 5 returns.
Let me say first that I loved Marvel’s The Avengers. I commend Joss Whedon for making the Black Widow work. Natasha is known for her Widow’s Bite. We kind of saw in the movie but it was never blatantly referenced. Black Widow is armed with bracelets that fire energy blasts – her bite. She kind of blasted one of the Chitauri in the big battle.
AvX Vs #4 interior art courtesy Marvel, a Comic Book Resources exclusive
I was reminded of that my by friend and fan Mitch and when I saw this awesome interior preview art (courtesy of Comic Book Resources in this week’s Axel-In-Charge column) of AvX Vs #3 by Terry Dodson. In this issue of the ‘all fights’ series the Russian superspy takes on the Russian mutant sorceress.
AvX Vs #4 interior art courtesy Marvel, a Comic Book Resources exclusive
Natasha vs Illyana doesn’t seem like a fair fight. Magik is the queen of a demon dimension. These preview pages don’t look good for Natasha but never underestimate the fighting and survival skills of the Widow.
Ultimately I want the X-Men to win but I’m picking Natasha to win this one.
Avengers vs X-Men pounded into round four this week at comic book shops. A Seattle rivalry heated up in an entertaining way this week. Thursday was the first ‘meeting’ between rivals Phoenix Jones and Rex Velvet on a Seattle morning radio show.
Jones is the leader of the Rain City Super Hero Movement and patrols the streets as a costumed crime fighter. Rex Velvet proclaimed himself “The People’s Villain” in two You Tube videos, a Facebook page and Twitter handle. Velvet has been challenging Jones and mocking him and his supporters.
You can listen to the exchange from Jackie & Bender on KISS FM here. The best quote has to go to Jones calling Velvet the “Kim Kardashian of Villains.”
courtesy Rex Velvet?
Earlier I spotted the Social Villains Alliance on Velvet’s Facebook page. Tonight on Velvet’s Twitter he teased a possible next move next week posting that Jones “has no idea what’s coming.”
A new video? A face to face meeting?
What do you think of Seattle’s super hero and villain rivalry?
This August Marvel’s secret society reunites against the threat of the Phoenix Force. The preview for New Avengers #29 given to Comic Book Resources teases the return of the Illuminati.
Tony Stark, Professor X, Reed Richards, Namor and Doctor Strange gathered in secret over the years to protect Earth. This secret history was created by Brian Michael Bendis on his Avengers run. The group disbanded after the split decision to forcefully send the Hulk into space.
From the cover by Ron Garney is appears Captain America is joining the super group. This is the first hint that Professor Xavier will join the Avengers vs X-Men conflict.
