The Night of the Owls crossover claws into two more Bat-titles this week. The Council of Owls have unleashed a wave of assassins on Gotham City’s most prominent leaders in a bid to seize control. Nightwing #8 featured a battle to save the Mayor. Batwing #8saw David the only between a Talon and Lucius Fox.
This week Batman #9 takes us back into Batcave for showdown between Batman and the invading Talons. The back up story delves into the past. What secret did Alfred’s family keep from the Waynes? The tie between Bruce and one of his closest allies has been twisted. Will Bruce loose Alfred too?
Batgirl #9 courtesy DC Comics
Batman’s allies are answering his call to protect the Council’s targets but for Batgirl it’s personal in Batgirl #9 as a Talon goes after her father, Commissioner Gordon.
Batman and Robin #9 Robin alone against a Talon. Can Damian survive a fight with this ultimate, unstoppable killer?
Greg Capullo deserves huge credit. After creating the Talon in the first Batman arc he created various versions of the Council of Owls’ assassin from Gotham’s past.
Avengers Origins: Ant-Man & The Wasp courtesy Marvel.com
Marvel’s The Avengers exceeded all expectations! The ending left us with the promise of cosmic level villain and storyline. More on that ending here – careful there be spoilers!
I would love to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes take on Ultron because that would also mean the introduction of Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne (aka Ant-Man & the Wasp!) (I can’t be root for Firefly reunion with Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau in those roles)
Ultron is a criminally insane sentient robot obsessed with the eradication of humanity. Dr. Henry Pym used his own brain patterns in experiments to create a sentient artificial intelligence. The robot gained Pym’s intelligence and his mental instability but without any human conscience.
Avengers #22 courtesy Marvel.com
Ultron created the Vision to infiltrate and destroy the Avengers but he betrayed his maker and became an Avenger (and husband of the Scarlet Witch.) Janet was Henry’s girlfriend and eventually became known as the Wasp. Ultron created a robot bride Jocasta modeled after Jan. Jocasta turned on her maker too.
Maybe that’s too many new Avengers and too many robots but what a villain! This cover is from the excellent Kurt Busiek and George Perez Avengers era.
That’s just a geek dream. After Joss Whedon’s direction and Marvel Films production of The Avengers I’d even be excited about Egghead as the villain in the sequel!
Batman #9 The Night of the Owls crossover continues with a battle in the Batcave. Bruce’s last safe haven is invaded by the Talons. How will he save Alfred from a strike force of the undead assassins. What has Alfred’s family kept from the Waynes. Gotham City’s darkest family secrets are revealed in a back story.
Fatale #5 This mystery noir series with twists of supernatural horror has creeped with a slow burn until last issue’s violent shocker. Josephine may be immortal but her latest lover may not survive. Are they being chase by mobsters or monsters? Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips latest collaboration will deliver a bloody showdown as the first arc races to the finish.
New Avengers #26 Answers to one of the biggest and mind tingling mysteries begins here. How is Danny Rand connected to the Phoenix Force? Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato reveal the secret history of the firebird in a book of the dead Iron Fists. This is a crucial tie-in to Avengers vs. X-Men.
Trio #1 The legendary John Byrne is back with a brand new superhero series. The world calls them Rock, Paper, Scissors. I’m hoping this will capture the spirit of Byrne’s classic Fantastic Four run.
Uncanny X-Force #25 The Final Execution begins here with new villains after Wolverine’s covert team. Rick Remender has teased a team of enemies born from Omega Red and shopping mall for assassins in the sky. I suspect this will be another violent, game changing epic like The Dark Angel Saga – definitely watch this series.
DC revealed Detective Comics Annual will hit August 29th. Tony Daniel puts Batman in a battle with The Black Mask. This special Annual is illustrated by Romano Molenaar and Sandu Florea.
Roman Sionis appeared in last week’s Detective Comics #9. I called this one hellish hour in the Night of the Owls. Black Mask was a pawn in Jeremiah Arkham’s insane plan to escape when an army of Talons invaded Arkham Asylum.
If you want to know more of Tony Daniel’s plans for Detective Comics including the New 52 version of an old foe here’s my interview with him from last month’s Fan Expo Vancouver.
With a $200.3 million dollar opening it’s hard to imagine (and if you’re coming to comic book site) that you didn’t see The Avengers on the big screen.
Let’s talk about that ending and have some fun geek-speculation! J
Just in case you didn’t see Earth’s Mightiest Movie here’s a WARNING!!!
SPOILER AHEAD
SERIOUSLY
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE POST CREDIT SCENE/ENDING OF THE AVENGERS DON’T SCROLL DOWN ANY MORE
FOR REAL
OK HERE IT IS…
I have to admit I was shocked to see the mystery villain appear every so briefly but sporting a sinister grin. The Chitauri leader is seeing talking to a menacing figure saying the humans are not to be underestimated and to face them would be “to court death itself.”
Avengers Annual #7 courtesy Marvel.com
The figure turns. Thanos is revealed! I think I exclaimed “oh s…!” My non-comic book reading friend said “who is that supposed to be?”
Thanos is the Mad God of Titan and he’s obsessed with death. In the Marvel Universe Death is an entity and he courts her. Thanos debuted in the pages of Iron Man but you need a lot more than the Avengers if you take on this cosmic monster.
Thanos was born on Titan, a moon of Saturn. He’s a member of the Eternals (a God-like but human looking race ) but was born with a Deviant (their monstrous looking cousins) gene so in a way Thanos is a cosmic mutant.
Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, The Silver Surfer and many more heroes banded together in The Infinity Gauntlet when Thanos wiped out half the universe as an offering to Mistress Death. The gauntlet holds 5 gems of power. The artifact was seen briefly in Odin’s vault in Thor.
Infinity Gauntlet #4 courtesy Marvel.com
Adam Warlock and Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) are key players in any Thanos storyline so can we expect them to appear in upcoming sequels to Thor, Iron Man and Captain America?
Warlock is an artificial warrior created by the Enclave, a team of scientists, and fought Thor. Warlock became a hero, member of Guardians of the Galaxy and the Infinity Watch.
Mar-Vell is a Kree warrior who turned against his alien empire and became a champion of Earth and an Avenger. Thanos was at Mar-Vell’s side as he died of cancer in the classic The Death of Captain Marvel, Marvel’s first graphic novel.
But what about Silver Surfer last seen in Fox’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer? Not sure about the rights to this character but Norrin Radd is a key player in a battle against Thanos.
After the amazing portrayal of the Hulk in The Avengers I can see the same process turn an actor like in the cosmic big bad guy. Thor displayed the Infinity gauntlet in Odin’s vault so expect more cosmic seeds for a cosmic showdown with the Mad God planted in the sequel.
If you’d like to read more about the Mad God here’s his bio link on Marvel.com. A huge credit goes to the legendary Jim Starlin, who revitalized Thanos, Adam Warlock and wrote the classic Avengers Annual #7, The Death of Captain Marvel and The Infinity Gauntlet. Starlin’s contributions to the Marvel Universe are majestic and maybe the most appropriate word – COSMIC!
If you’re familiar with Thanos who do you think should play him? Do you like the idea of a cosmic size Avengers sequel?
This Geek’s Opinion: The Avengers exceeded all my expectations! Joss Whedon delivered an action packed epic with drama, humor and big surprises. The entire cast delivered pitch perfect performances but if I had to pick an MVP, I keep thinking how much I loved Black Widow.
I knew Natasha would kick ass in the action scenes I loved getting more of her back story. Joss Whedon and Scarlett Johansson crafted a multi-faceted, fractured and fascinating Natasha Romanoff. They gave us enough of her haunted past to make us connect with the Widow. The two ‘interrogation” scenes were the skillful marriage of script and acting. I never expected Natasha to take on Loki one on one.
Hawkeye & Black Widow in Marvel's The Avengers courtesy Marvel
I’m not sure a Black Widow solo movie will happen but I’m still hoping for SHIELD movie with the Widow, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and I definitely hope Scarlett will be in Captain America 2.
If you want to see Black Widow at her sexy super spy best then you should definitely read The Winter Soldier series.
Daniel Craig’s new James Bond mission is embroiled in a secret from M’s past. In a new videoblog released on 007.com we see a brief first video of who I think is Ralph Fiennes with Daniel Craig and Judi Dench in M’s office. Fiennes is playing an MI6 agent. It’s been rumored Fiennes’ character will take over as the new M in this film.
Oscar-winning production design Dennis Gassner is the real star of this latest videoblog showing off the sets he’s created for Skyfall. There’s an elaborate underground station that’s a MI6 headquarters and a scene set in a Shanghai high-tech office you may recognize from the first offical photo.
Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! Here’s a link to find a participating store near you. Check with your local store for guidelines and rules. Don’t think you’re getting some leftovers!
The big publishers are going all out with brand new stories by big name creators. DC Comics The New 52 will feature a story starring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the new mystery villainess, Pandora.
Marvel presents Avengers The Age of Ultron Point One by Brian Michael Bendis and Bryan Hitch.
Dark Horse Comics is giving double doses of sci-fi goodness with a Star Wars/Serenity flipbook. One story of Han Solo and Chewbacca and one Mal Reynolds story in one free book! And there’s a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer/The Guild flipbook.
Here are more FREE COMIC BOOK DAY highlights. Since you’re getting a freebie, why not support your local comic book shop and buy a book or two while you’re there? See you Saturday!
