Sensational She-Hulk Volume One by John Byrne courtesy Marvel
Angie Harmon (Law & Order, Rizzoli & Isles) tells Conan O’Brien she wants to play She-Hulk! Stan Lee and John Buscema created the jade giant in Savage She-Hulk #1. Attorney Jennifer Walters is the cousin of Bruce Banner who got Hulked up after a blood transition from him.
She-Hulk has been a member of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Defenders, Lady Liberators, Heroes for Hire and SHIELD. Jennifer has been the legal counsel for numerous Marvel superheroes. John Byrne and Peter David had long runs writing Senstational She-Hulk in which Jennifer broke the fourth wall and talked directly with the comic book reader.
Jennifer’s romances include John Jameson, Starfox and she has a longtime crush on Hercules. Here’s Angie Harmon:
She-Hulk may not appear in an Avengers or her own solo movie but maybe a television series on ABC? Kind of a Sex and the City meets Ally McBeal with superheroes – if Angie is really willing to go green! Thanks to TeamCoco and Comic Book Resources.
Avengers vs. X-Men #9 The last Avenger standing is…Spider-Man? The embattled heroes stage a raid on the X-prison and the true nature of the Phoenix Force is revealed.
Earth 2 #4 Green Lantern, Flash and Hawkgirl against the ancient evil crawling out of the planet. Plus the debut of the Atom-Smasher!
The First X-Men #1 The legendary Neal Adams reveals a secret chapter Wolverine and the X-Men long before Professor founded the team.
Hawkeye #1The Avengers’ archer in a brand new series by Matt Fraction and David Aja with Young Avenger Kate Bishop under Clint’s wing.
X-Factor #241Is this the beginning of the end? Havok is on the way out. Strong Guy is ticked. All the book’s long running plotlines are coming together in Breaking Points. The big payoff for Marvel’s odd mutant detectives starts here!
The Avenging Archer’s solo comic book debuts this week. Hawkeye #1 marks the reunion of writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja. The duo (along with Ed Brubaker) last worked together on The Immortal Iron Fist.
Aja told Marvel.com his lifelong love for Clint Barton is what led to the reunion.
“Hawkeye was one my favorite characters when a kid,” he recalls. “One of first Marvel comics I read was Avengers #25, and I [fell] in love with [the] guy; he acted as real person, was a complete jerk, so I suppose I identified with him.”
For Fraction Hawkeye represents a challenge after taking on the X-Men, Iron Man, and Thor.
“Never had the chance to write a character like him, or to do a book like this before,” the writer reveals. “And I wanted to chronicle him in an ongoing series because it’d keep me from getting bored. Repetition bores me to death. I had this idea for how to do a book that wasn’t like anything else we’d seen him in before, wasn’t like anything I’d done before, and couldn’t stop thinking about.”
Hawkeye #2 courtesy Marvel.com
Fraction went on the describe this series as Clint’s life outside of team and what drives him after the events of AvX. I was excited that Kate Bishop (you could call her Lady Hawkeye of the Young Avengers) will be in the series.
“She’s his junior partner, his apprentice,” says Fraction. “It’s a very Avengers relationship—meaning Steed and Peel—and she’s as adrift as he is. What the hell are these two doing with their lives? Turns out, helping people is what they have to do to get through the night. In costume, in life, doesn’t matter. Good guys don’t punch a time card at 5:00.”
For the more from Fraction and Aja here’s the Marvel.com link.
Fraction is one of the luckiest writers at Marvel. Iron Man and Thor movies were released during Fraction’s early runs on the those series. I don’t remember his clever quote exactly (at an Emerald City Comicon panel) but I think it went something like “nice of Marvel to do a million dollar promo for my comic book.”
Hawkeye awareness will be at an all time high with the success of Marvel’s The Avengers then Jeremy Renner (who played Clint Barton) is on the big screen again this month for The Bourne Legacy. Good timing for a Hawkeye launch.
Hawkeye also is currently leading Secret Avengers by Rick Remender. No word on if Clint will be part of Jonathan Hickman’s Marvel NOW! Avengers relaunch.
Rogue is an Avenger? Rick Remender recruited the star of X-Men Legacy to be the wild card of his upcoming Uncanny Avengers – the first book of the Marvel NOW! relaunch. The mutant once took on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (she was under the influence of Mystique at the time) before becoming a heroic X-Man.
Rick Remender reveals to Marvel.com why Rogue is part of this Avenger/X-Men hybrid team and why longtime Avengers will accept her.
“There’s a chaos factor in the first arc. It’s not necessarily somebody going through a list for all of the members. That would be a perfect person. There is a story that unfolds and the team is sort of forced to come together and work together during the course of this very heinous plot that The Red Skull is hatching, and Rogue is involved in that. I don’t want to give away all of the reasoning as to why she sticks around, but it’s definitely tumultuous. Thor is not a fan of her at all. He sees her as the exact opposite kind of mutant they need on this team. Now they’ve got two women who have both been in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and if they’re trying to do something that’s going to be public and help sort of heal mutant/human relations, having two former members of something called the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is probably frowned upon by the PR people. But then again, there’s recollection and the reality is the X-Men almost disbanded when Rogue first joined. It was Xavier who said every mutant deserves a second chance. He was the one who vouched for her and put himself out there for her. In the case of this, there’s a somewhat similar situation. And it’s somebody who doesn’t have a track record like Wanda at this point. So when Thor points at her and sees the woman who was with the Brotherhood and attacked him, all she has to do is point and go “Hey, there’s Magneto’s daughter who almost wiped out reality and she’s an Avenger. You’re okay with her though, right? ‘Cause you have history.”
X-Men Legacy #262 courtesy Marvel
“There’s so much great character grist there. Everybody’s got a very unique perspective and I wanted there to be a lot of chaos here because that also helps me define the argument between humans and mutants and what the problems are with this movement in the Marvel Universe. Each one of these characters is having this very unique history and this very unique perspective—Rogue included. Rogue doesn’t necessarily want to be an Avenger. You have to remember she was basically raised through her teens by Mystique to be a terrorist and hate the Avengers. The Avengers were, like you said, one of her very first targets. So she’s got her own issues with the fact that these golden super heroes who everybody loves didn’t do a damn thing to come to the X-Men’s aid on so many occasions. Her landing on the squad— it’s definitely a lot of drama coming up.”
Uncanny Avengers arrives this October. It’s the first of 20 new Marvel NOW! titles. X-Legacy is going away. Remender confirmed Rogue will only appear in the new book.
As Rogue moves on and X-Men Legacy ends I can’t help but think of Mike Carey’s long run on the title. Carey wrote Rogue better than anyone since Chris Claremont. I look forward to seeing how Remender writes one of the best X-Women.
Captain America is going into darker territory in his sequel but Marvel films picked two directors known for comedy to take the Star Spangled Avenger there. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is based on Ed Brubaker’s gritty epic in which Steve Rogers faces a mysterious Russian assassin and a ghost from his past.
Anthony and Joe Russo (Community, Arrested Development) are writing, producing and directing the Cap sequel and gave a preview of what to expect in the modern-day set sequel based on the Brubaker storyline.
Chris Evans as Captain America in Marvel’s The Avengers courtesy Marvel Films
“Well, we like the [story]. I can’t talk too much about specifics, that’s the way Marvel handles things. I can say in general that there’s sort of a darker, edgier sensibility at work there that we found appealing, and that is going find its way into Captain [America] in the modern-day,” Russo tells Huffington Post.
Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger was an homage to World War II films so how will the tone change in the new film set in the present day.
“I have to be very careful how I answer this, because it does border on issues of what the movie is. But yeah, he is in a very different time and place. For as well as that style worked for his World War 2 experience and the origin of Cap — part of the fun of picking a guy out of one time period and plopping him down in another is that all bets are off. The whole world is different, and that’s part of the struggle of the character and the challenge the character faces,” Russo explains.
Black Widow and The Winter Soldier from the cover of Captain America and Bucky #624 courtesy Marvel.com
In the modern age Cap falls for SHIELD Agent Sharon Carter (niece of Peggy Carter from the first film.) No word on if Sharon will appear but Anthony Mackie is in talks to play Cap’s partner, Sam Wilson aka the Falcon. Sebastian Stan is set to return as Bucky Barnes.
Will Hugo Weaving return as the Red Skull? How will the Russos explain the archenemy’s return. I do have this geek casting dream Christoph Waltz as Aleksander Lukin, the KGB mastermind who becomes a billionaire with a twisted connection to the Red Skull. Could we see a Black Widow cameo or even as major cast member since Natasha was crucial to Brubaker’s storyline and is currently co-starring in the Winter Soldier book.
So many good comics this week I’m compelled to double down and make a top 10 week!
Batman Incorporated #3 courtesy DC Comics
Amazing Spider-Man #690 Love the new movie then grab this summer’s thriller in the comic shops. More than one Lizard is on the loose while Spidey tries to save the city from the mad Morbius. Reptiles, a vampire plus Madame Web, the Kingpin and Hobgoblin weave into the storyline as Marvel counts down to the miles 700th issue of Spidey!
Batman Inc #3 The Dark Knight is on the trail of the assassin after his son plus the New 52 return of Matches Malone! Never heard of this Gotham City mobster? He may be the key to solving the case. UPDATE: This book has been postponed due to the events in Colorado.
Manhattan Projects #5 This brilliant alternate history book challenges graphic storytelling and will challenge your mind. The mad scientists behind the think government tank look at the new future they created. Are we a better or worse word because of their breakthroughs?
Secret Avengers #29 courtesy Marvel.com
Secret Avengers #29 Hawkeye’s covert team may be blowing up and falling apart! A traitor, bitter rivalry and hidden romance threaten the squad. Hawkeye better get it together because the new Masters of Evil and an army of evil androids are ready to wipe them out!
Star Wars: Blood Ties: Boba Fett Is Dead #4 The mastermind behind Fett’s murder unleashes mercenaries to wipe out Boba’s child, ex-wife and family. But you can’t keep the galaxy’s most badass bounty hunter down. Revenge is going to be a blast in!
Star Wars: Darth Maul: Death Sentence #1 The red menace is back from dead with a new partner in crime. The horned Sith has a price on his head and he better hope the Jedi find him before the “others” hunting him do!
True Blood #3 Eric and Sookie on the trail of…Godric? An ancient vampire with chilling ties to Eric’s maker is deadly in Dallas. If the HBO series leaves you hungry for more…take a bite of this series!
Winter Soldier #8 Bucky vs. Black Widow! Have Marvel’s hottest couple turned against each other? Sexy, gritty, spy games heat up with old enemies coming out of cold targeting the Winter Soldier.
X-Treme X-Men #1 courtesy Marvel.com
Wolverine and the X-Men #14 Kitty Pryde on a date with Colossus? Are my favorite X-couple finally back together? Mutant romance goes cosmic as the Phoenix fueled Colossus woos Kitty. Plus the aftermath of last issue’s fateful clash between Gladiator and the Phoenix Five – what will this mean for the Shi’ar heir and Warbird?
X-Treme X-Men #1Captain (Wolverine with a stache!) Howlett, Kid Nightcrawler, Emmeline Frost and Dazzler? Greg Pak sends a mutated team of teams across the multiverse but will everyone come back from the mission?
Marvel’s The Avengers! The world’s biggest movie. The biggest comic franchise. No pressure Jonathan Hickman. The man who reenergized Marvel’s First Family is taking on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the post AvX, Marvel NOW! universe. The Avengers with Jerome Opena will be a twice-monthy book launching in December followed by New Avengers the next month. Hickman tells Comic Book Resources why he’s expanding the roster.
“The idea is that the Avengers have to get bigger. That means bigger in every sense. That means the roster has to be bigger, and the missions have to be bigger, and the adversaries and scenarios they find themselves in have to be larger. I’ve played with this stuff a little bit over in the Ultimate Universe. Obviously, it’s a completely different weight class here, but in a lot of ways that’s the kind of velocity that the book should have. We (Tom Brevoort and I) also felt like that if the book was going to be about an Avengers world, it should look more like the world. Of course there are complications starting out when the necessary movie characters are five white dudes and a white lady, but, you know, bigger roster. Frankly, I’m really, really excited at how we address that. The lineup is killer.”
With a massive cast of up to 18 members in Avengers why have a New Avengers? Hickman can’t reveal that book’s lineup but says it will make sense.
“It’s not like that at all. There’s one big massive Avengers team that is the Avengers, and there’s this other thing that’s going on in ‘New Avengers.’ When we announce exactly what ‘New Avengers’ is, it will make perfect sense and everybody will like, ‘Oh yeah! Of course,'” Hickman explains. “‘Avengers‘ and ‘New Avengers’ are the same book — just from two different sides of the world.”
Hickman’s acclaimed Fantastic Four run is coming to an end. I also recommend his SHIELD series with Dustin Weaver and Manhattan Projects from Image – but warning, this book has graphic violence and language.
Carol Danvers is sporting a new look as the new Captain Marvel. The premiere issue of the new series by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy sold out in the first week!
This week’s X-Men Legacy #270 clears up unfinished business between Carol and Rogue in this Avengers vs. X-Men tie-in. The powerhouse women share a tragic connection. The rivalry flared up again last issue but writer Christos Gage gave us twist. This was far more than an old grudge match. Marvel teases one woman will switch sides in the AvX before the issue is over.
