One of the darkest, most brutal stories I’ve read this year continues this week. In Daredevil: End of Days #3 reporter Ben Urich is tracking down Matt Murdock’s great loves. You can see by this Alex Maleev cover how Elektra may be the latest character of Daredevil’s essential cast to die. While Urich tries to solve the mystery of Matt Murdock’s dying word and final days a new Daredevil is stalking him. Who is wearing the red costume now?
Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Klaus Janson, Bill Sienkiewicz are crafting the epic final story of Daredevil – this is a modern classic in the making! Don’t miss it. Be warned – it’s brutal and addictive.
You may have noticed my intense love on this blog for Valkyrie, The Fearless limited series, The Defenders and Dani Moonstar of New Mutants.
You get all that plus the magnificent Misty Knight in Fearless Defenders from Cullen Bunn and William Sliney. Marvel shared the cover to issue 2 with Comics Newsarama.
It’s official: Danielle Moonstar of New Mutants will join Val and Misty in the new series. I love this clever cover by Mark Brooks. I would love to have a Dani Moonstar action figure!
How would you feel about Val reuniting with Patsy Walker aka Hellcat?
Avengers #1 is out this week! Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena go BIG with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! Bigger roster against bigger threats. The comic book so big is deserves a trailer!
Hyperion is back? What about the rest of the Squadron? Multiple Iron Men lying defeated? In the group shot – did you see a guy that looks a lot like Vulcan?
Avengers #1 is out this week. Thanks to Marvel.com for the trailer.
Is Rachel Summers ready for a big comeback? X-Men: Days of Future Past is based on the classic story that introduced the daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from a future timeline so it’s possible the character could appear in director the Bryan Singer directed sequel.
In comics Professor X is dead. Emma Frost is on the run. Rachel is the most powerful telepath at the Jean Grey School. Wolverine and the X-Men writer Jason Aaron teased Rachel’s future is his book:
“…she’s the top telepath at the Jean Grey School. That’s already a pretty huge role. Assuming she survives the current Murder Circus craziness, I’d expect to see Rachel getting back to what she was doing in issue #19: namely doing whatever she can to track down the Hellfire Club. For those that want to see more of Rachel unleashed, believe me, it’s coming,” Aaron told a fan on X-Position on Comic Book Resources.
X-Men #190 courtesy Marvel
Another movie/comic connection to ponder:
Jennifer Lawrence will reprise her role Mystique in X-Men: Days of Future Past. In the Claremont storyline the shapeshifter leads the Brotherhood of Mutants in an attack on a Senator. The X-Men must prevent the assassination to prevent a future in which Sentinels rule.
Mystique has been a key player in Rick Remender’s final Uncanny X-Force arc The Final Execution. Raven will be a huge villain in All-New X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men.
“I can’t say too much about what she’s up to without spoiling one of our big arcs for next year. But she’s obviously still working with Sabretooth’s crew, along with Lord Deathstrike and the new Silver Samurai, who are all currently being contracted by the Hellfire Club to track down some of the new mutants popping up around the globe. As for what happens when they find those mutants… well, I expect we’ll have an answer soon enough,” Aaron said.
Uncanny X-Force relaunches in 2013 with a new creative team and new roster. Psylocke takes command and recruits Storm, Spiral, Puck of Alpha Flight and a new character named Cluster. Sam Humphries and Ron Garney take over after an acclaimed run by Rick Remender. Humphries and Editor Nick Lowe talked about the future of the team, shared new art from Garney and variant covers from Kris Anka on Marvel.com. Humphries revealed his plans after Remender’s The Final Execution finale.
“I am on pins and needles for Rick Remender’s final issue of Uncanny X-Force. It’s so good. So many big things happen. I’ve been privy to it for awhile now and kept my mouth shut. I’ve been a fan of Rick’s run long before Marvel knew who I was, let alone was stupid enough to offer me a gig. The last couple issues are the equivalent of walking off the stage and dropping the microphone.”
Uncanny X-Force #1 courtesy Marvel
Wolverine has been the leader of both recent incarnations of the team. Humphries will tell how the title will pass from Logan to Psylocke.
“Something develops between Wolverine and Betsy that kicks off the whole formation of the team. He’s moved on to a new era in his life. That’s a story other people are telling. Despite that, there’s something about X-Force and what it represents that Wolverine will always respond to; not just the killing, but being an outside and on the fringes.”
“It’s difficult to talk about Psylocke without spoiling Rick’s last issue. Even though this is a new era for X-Force, we’re not ignoring what has come before. Where Betsy is in her life is one of the strongest threads we pick up from Rick. She’s not satisfied with her life. Her and Storm have a lot to bond over. She’s a survivor on a lot of levels. I’m fascinated by all the changes she’s gone through in Rick’s run, to explore those and put her front and center. It’s her time to shine.”
Over the years the X-Force concept has evolved to fit the changing Marvel Universe.
“Taking the last idea and morping into something new is the X-Force tradition, from the 90’s to Pete Milligan and Mike Allred to Craig Kyle and Chris Yost to Rick. I’m excited to present stories from the mutant end of the Marvel Universe you can’t find anywhere else. This is a new line-up, a bunch of characters in a complex web with a complex history really together for the first time exploring the dark shadows of the Marvel Universe that don’t get touched on in Uncanny Avengers or All-New X-Men.”
“In a world where Rogue and Sunfire are Avengers, where Wolverine is running a prep school, there still has to be a dark side to this bright world.”
Uncanny X-Force #1 courtesy Marvel
One of the biggest shocks from the teaser poster is Storm’s new “old” look. Ororo is sporting her Mohawk again. She hasn’t worked a mohawk since the Chris Claremont/Paul Smith/John Romita Jr era. Humphries explains why he went retro with Ororo.
“I will take full credit for the return of Storm’s mohawk. I have more knowledge of the X-Men than I do of the United States. I am an old school fan. It’s a dream to not only be on an X-Men book, but one where I can touch on stuff we haven’t seen in awhile. The first time Storm had a mohawk, it was about the transformation she had been going through, coming down from the goddess pedestal. The mohawk is a symptom of the transformations in Storm’s life. She’s now going through an even bigger transformation. She was a goddess and a queen who got unceremoniously dumped, in my opinion. The future that she banked on is no longer there. Her family in the X-Men has changed. None of her friends are the same. She has to redefine herself and get back to the core of who she is.”
The new roster is full of tough women…and Puck?
“Puck has been a lot of fun to write. My biggest surprise,”
“Puck will be a breakout character,” added Editor Nick Lowe, “What Fantomex was to Rick’s Uncanny X-Force, Puck will be here. This isn’t a little guy who bounces around like a bowling ball, he’s a force to be reckoned with. This is a heroic take on Puck.”
Spiral was created by Ann Nocenti in the Longshot limited series then joined the Brotherhood (and most recently Sisterhood) of Evil Mutants. Spiral and Betsy share a long twisted history as both victims of Mojo. So why is Spiral working with X-Men?
“The hero of anybody who has played Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Spiral is front and center in Uncanny X-Force. She’s a deadly fighter from a crazy sci fi world. She’s trapped on Earth and needs to come up with a way to survive life on the fringe. She can’t be an Avenger, she can’t got to the Jean Grey School, she can’t join up with Cyclops; she doesn’t belong anywhere. She needs to decide where she’s going to be, which puts her on a collision with Storm and Betsy, and longtime fans know Spiral and Betsy have a long unpleasant history. The two of them spending more than 10 seconds together without drawing blood is a challenge. She’s been a villain, a great villain, but you’re going to see anew side of her. She’s a victim of Mojo, like so many others. We’ll see a little bit more of a grey area in Spiral.”
The first enemy this new X-Force will face is former X-Man Bishop.
“How and why Bishop comes back will have a huge impact on the team. It’s a situation they can’t walk away from. Bishop is such a great character who has had so many roles. I’m excited to take him on after he’s been gone for two years our time, stranded in the future. He went to great lengths to try to murder a little girl because he believed it was the right thing to do. Having failed to do that and coming to terms with the fact that maybe he was wrong is going to change a man. We’re going to see a Bishop who at his core is the same person, but who has been through a lot since we’ve last seen him.”
Uncanny X-Force #1 courtesy Marvel
As for Cluster – she looks like a female Fantomex?
“We have a lot of surprises and tricks up our sleeves. We haven’t even talked about Lady Fantomex or our other villains,” said Lowe.
“I wish I could say more about Cluster other than that she’s dressed like Fantomex,” Humphries added.
Ever since Messiah Complex the new X-Force has done the dirty work, wetwork and covert missions the other X-Men shouldn’t know about.
“How these characters feel about killing and black ops and their place in the Marvel Universe will be affected by the end of Rick’s run and where we begin here.”
“This is the book where we go to the dark places in the Marvel Universe. Sam calls it Mission Impossible or James Bond if it were directed by David Lynch,” said Lowe.
Uncanny X-Force #2 courtesy Marvel
“Of all the books that have Uncanny in the title, this one will be the Uncanny-est of them all. If the X-Men are feared by mankind, Uncanny X-Force deals with the stuff that’s feared by the X-Men.”
Earlier teasers made it seem like Psyocke would lead the team but Humphries says that role may change.
“In my mind, Psylocke is as strong in the Marvel Universe as Wolverine or Rogue or Storm. Who’s calling the shots? That’s an open character. We’ve got at least one other character on the team with leadership potential in Storm. They’re friends, they’re both working through things and changing. We’ll see.”
“Gender, race and nationality are all things we thought about when making this team. It’s a team of outsiders. But then again, it wasn’t any sort of affirmative action. It’s about the team dynamic and previous relationships.”
Uncanny X-Force #3 courtesy Marvel
In 2013 the Marvel Now will have two X-Force teams. Will this team interact with Cable and X-Force by Dennis Hopeless?
“As far as my team is concerned, they are the ONLY X-Force team. If these two teams ever intersect, it’s gonna be heavy! Dennis Hopeless smells!” said Humphries, “Right off the bat, you’ve got Cable leading one team and Bishop fighting the other. Those two cannot be on the same planet in the same year without trying to beat the crap out of each other. Let’s just say those two have unfinished business.”
For the entire liveblog here’s the Marvel.com link.
This week Earth’s Mightiest Heroes relauches with a new creative team, bigger roster and new #1. As we wait for the debut of Jonathan Hickman’s upcoming Avengers roster I was inspired to share my favorite rosters:
Young Avengers In the aftermath of Avengers Disassembled these teens tried to fill the void of the missing heroes. We learned how these kids were connected to Marvel icons, secrets were revealed and they challenged their adult heroes. Patriot, Iron Lad, Hulking, Wiccan, Stature, Hawkeye, Vision, and Speed became a dymanic team devoted to friendship and carrying on the Avengers legacy. Action, emotion, relationships – Allen Heinberg and Jim Cheung delivered in every issue from the first series to Avengers: Children’s Crusade – one of the most beautifully written and drawn series ever!
New Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel
New Avengers Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman answered the call in breakout when Marvel’s biggest prison was busted. Brian Michael Bendis made the team Mightier by adding popular favorites Spidey and Logan. Spider-Woman, The Sentry, Echo, Iron Fist and Daredevil were more surprise choices. One epic led to another! Loved all the action, conspiracies and fights but I think I loved the Luke and Jessica romance, the tragedy of Robert and Lindy and the redemption of Jessica Drew most of all.
Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel
Heroes Return In the wake of Heroes Reborn Marvel assembled legends Kurt Busiek and George Perez to return Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to greatness. The lineup was Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Hawkeye, Giant-Man, Wonder Man, Wasp, Vision and Warbird (Carol Danvers but in Ms. Marvel uniform.) Firestar, Silverclaw, Triathalon and Justice (Vance Astro) were the new members. A pitch perfect creative team at the top of their game threw the team up against Morgan Le Fay, Squadron Supreme and the ultimate enemy: Ultron!
Avengers #181 courtesy Marvel
Avengers (Korvac+ era) This is a sentimental vote because this was the first comic book subscription I had as a kid. Can you imagine a young geek buying the issue where Michael Korvac blasted the entire team? The massive team was shortened (in part by government liaison Henry Gyrich) to Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wasp, Yellowjacket, Quicksilver, Beast, Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man and Jocasta. Jim Shooter, David Micheline, Roger Stern, George Perez and John Byrne were among the creators during this mighty era.
A Star Trek living legend will boldly go…to Riverdale this week. George Takei will guest star in Kevin Keller #6 from Archie Comics according to BuzzFeed.
Cartoonist Dan Parent pitched the idea to Takei at a recent comic book convention so Riverdale’s most famous gay resident could meet his hero. Takei came out in 2005, married his long-time partner Brad Altman in 2008 and has been a champion for marraige equality and fighting bullying and homophobia.
Kevin Keller recruits Jughead to go in search of the Star Trek star at a convention but “Oh My” Takei has a big surprise for the Riverdale gang this week!
Before Marvel married an X-Man and DC made a Green Lantern gay, Archie Comics was nominated for a GLAAD media award for creating Kevin Keller. The first openly gay character in Riverdale now has his own series and made mainstream headlines for the gay dream wedding issue.
