Tag: Avengers

Marvel NOW! What?

 

Marvel NOW! image by Joe Quesada courtesy Marvel

  Marvel NOW! shows the bold direction the publisher is taking post AvX. We know some creative teams and new titles but there are ton of questions still out there. Here are my top burning questions:

Emma Frost? The original Jean Grey is returning. Scott and Emma’s shaky relationship is getting rocked by the Phoenix Force possessing both of them. AvX 11 shows them attacking each other. I hope Emma survives to form her own Avenging X-Men.

Matt Fraction Here’s hoping his Defenders keeping going on their strange trip and I’d like see Fraction’s take on the Fantastic Four.

Jason Aaron and the kids? Wolverine and the X-Men is my favorite post Regenesis title. What will happen to Broo, Kid Gladiator, Kitty Pryde, Idie and all the kids and staff that call the Jean Grey School home? Jason Aaron even made me love Quentin Quire!

Kieron Gillen? His Thor run was brief. He managed to reinvigorate Mister Sinister and created what I think is the best new Marvel villain – UNIT. I’d love to see him take on the Avenging X-Men idea of mine or head back to Asgard.

Professor X? The leader recently united with Cyclops on Pax Utopia and questioned his Phoenix fueled agenda. All New X-Men by Bendis stars the original five X-Men transported to a future they don’t like. How will Professor X react to seeing his original students?

Brian Wood The X-Men “security team” led by Storm is perfection. It’s a cool hybrid of the Chris Claremont/Paul Smith era X-Men blended with Torchwood. Storm reigns under Wood and Lopez.

Winter Soldier? Ed Brubaker is leaving Marvel after an incredible run with Captain America and Bucky. I think Cap’s solo title will become more upbeat, larger than life adventures like Daredevil’s recent revival leaving Winter Soldier to continue his role as the spy on covert missions across the Marvel underground.

Young Avengers? I would love to see an ongoing by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. The Children’s Crusade was epic, thrilling and moving but was is Heinberg’s final story starring the teens? Given the huge cast Jonathan Hickman is planning his new Avengers may some of the teens will graduate to the big league.

By Editor

Thor 2 Villain(s) Revealed?

courtesy Marvel

  The Thunder God’s next film is now called Thor: The Dark World. Madds Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Clash of the Titans) dropped out due to his commitment to play Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal. A new report reveals the villain he would have played. That means it’s time for….

 

SPOILER WARNING

 

IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE POSSIBLE VILLAINS STOP READING

 

SERIOUSLY

 

HERE IT COMES

 

  An interview on I Review Too with stuntman James Grogan reveals the enemies facing Thor and his fellow Asgardians..

  Grogan says “I had a load of stunt guys in and the director came in and he said ‘Look, we want you all to be elves,’ and I was like ‘What the hell is an elf anyway?’ and he said ‘I want you all to walk around like these supernatural animals,’ honestly it was the most ridiculous thing ever but you just have to not be self aware and get on with it.”

 Back to comic book lore – those elves could be the Dark Elves of Svartlalfheim. Malekith the Accursed is the leader. This was my guess when it was first announced that Mikkelsen was cast. I’m still hoping Amora the Enchantress will bewitch Thor in the sequel!

Thanks to Dark Horizons.

By Editor

New Captain Marvel Ready To Soar

Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel courtesy Marvel

  Carol Danvers flies solo in a new series by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Dexter Soy. Carol is sporting a new uniform and finally accepts the mantle she earned a long time ago in this week’s Captain Marvel #1.

  DeConnick kicks off the issue with Carol and Captain America in a showdown with a classic bruiser that’s packed with action and wit. Carol is a Colonel so she really does outrank Cap! The two Avenging friends also share a moving debate over Carol taking the title. Carol show she has the heart of a fighter and a humble hero. 

  There’s a scene that really hit me. I just fly home to take my mom to her first chemo treatment so the scene with Carol caring Tracy is moving and ironic. Tracy was Carol’s editor and is now going through chemo. That encounter leads to tragic news concerning the woman who was Carol’s biggest inspiration. DeConnick takes inside Carol’s mind as she remembers meeting, says goodbye and pays tribute to the female pilot who sparked her dream of flying.

   I loved the old costume but as DeConnick told me earlier this year, Carol is a pilot and needs a uniform. Jamie McKelvie designed the sleek new look worthy of a Captain.  Dexter Soy shows great promise. I think the art was too dark and Carol’s hairstyle was inconsistent.

Captain Marvel #1 courtesy Marvel.com

 

  I commend Marvel for a bold rebirth for one of their leading female heroes. Carol assumes her new identity and is ready to push herself. Kelly Sue DeConnick gives Carol a dramatic premiere filled with action, humor and emotion and sets the stage for an exciting new era for the high-flying powerhouse.

By Editor

Remender on the Future of Secret Avengers, Uncanny X-Force

Secret Avengers #29 courtesy Marvel.com

 Rick Remender is leading the charge into Marvel NOW! with Uncanny Avengers. The new book will feature a hybrid team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Children of the Atom. Remender has won acclaim for his work on undercover teams for both franchises (Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers) and for making eclectic team rosters work.

 Before AvX tie-in issues Remender created an ominous new threat in Secret Avengers. The Masters of Evil are back with a new leader and an entire nation under their control. The Descendants are a new race evolved from the most famous and infamous robots in Marvel history. Remender tells Marvel.com about what’s next for Hawkeye’s covert team.

  “I kind of look at [AvX] as an interlude [with the temporary team]. So, coming back into the regular fold, we open up with Hawkeye discovering that things are amiss in Bagalia, the red light nation, where we saw [him] and Captain America take a visit back in SECRET AVENGERS #21.1. And this is the arc where I am wrapping up all of Ed [Brubaker] and Warren Ellis’ Shadow Council stuff, taking all those threads and moving them toward one big story that ties in with the Master of Evil, Bagalia, Ibis [and] the Shadow Council. We drop in a squad of Secret Avengers who expect something is amiss but they don’t have any idea of quite the magnitude of what they’re about to deal with. You always want that escalation.

 So Hank Pym and Captain Britain are out dealing with Descendants investigations, trying to figure out what’s going on. We keep that Beast story percolating in the background, and the team here is Hawkeye, Venom, Ant-Man, and Valkyrie being sent down to Bagalia to investigate what’s going on, and that leads us to a four-issue story which I’m just calling “Masters of Evil right” now. The new Masters of Evil and how they all came together has a nice twist that [will] get revealed around issue #30.”

Uncanny X-Force #32 courtesy Marvel.com

  Remender revealed that Uncanny X-Force is getting a new member.

 “Well it’s something that we saw Grant Morrison touch upon in his last arc, with the evolution of E.V.A. becoming her own person, and I would put a big Spoiler Warning over this: If you’ve read UNCANNY X-FORCE #27, then you know that Fantomex takes the hit. It was something that Grant had set up as happening in his future story and I thought that it would be nice to respect that and actually show it happen. Beyond that, I also wanted Fantomex to take the hit because this is going to be a very Wolverine-centric arc. All the characters have had a lot of spotlight time in this, but Wolverine has not had a lot of personal stuff to deal with. And here he is now where the methodology of X-Force and what they’ve done with Evan, and then Fantomex cloning and growing a new Evan, have left Wolverine in a bit of a spot where he’s got this student of his who’s Apocalypse. And this is because of Fantomex, and now Fantomex is not there. Fantomex is off the picture so he’s dumped this in Wolverine’s lap to deal with.”

For the entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

Comic Book Picks for 7/18/12

 

courtesy Marvel.com

Avengers vs. X-Men #8 The Phoenix Five alliance is fracturing. An insane Namor is invading Wakanda to wipe out the Avengers. The Phoenix Force feeds on passion and the secret between Namor and Emma could lead to a cosmic level heartbreaking confrontation.

Captain Marvel #1 Fan favorite Carol Danvers is sporting a new name, new costume and new mission. Captain America guest stars as Ms. Marvel gets a well deserved promotion and new series.

Danger Girl/G.I. Joe #1 Two of the world’s most exciting covert teams together in a new series from IDW. The Girls and the Joes face COBRA, ninjas, and counterspies.

Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimiliation2 #3 The Time Lord and Captain Picard face an unholy alliance of the Borg and Cybermen. How did these evil forces join forces?

X-Men #32 This has become my favorite X-book with an old school vibe that will remind you of the classic Chris Claremont/Paul Smith era. Storm’s elite team have disovered a new race of mutants. Why is keeping this secret from Cyclops and Wolverine?

A-List Creators for A+X

 

A+X #1 courtesy Marvel.com

  Marvel teased a new series! Drop the Vs. and you will have A+X with the promise of creators like Jeph Loeb, Dan Slott, Ron Garney, Dale Keown on board. Wolverine, Hulk, Captain America and Cable were mentioned in the tease but we see Spidey, Doop and Iceman front and center of this cover image. Could this be a new version of the classic Marvel Team-Up or Marvel Two-In-One style series?

By Editor

AvX Death and Consequences?

AvX Consequences #1 courtesy Marvel.com

  We know it wasn’t going to have a happy ending for everybody? Marvel is now teasing AvX Consequences by Kieron Gillen. Senior Editor Nick Lowe tells Marvel.com  “It deals with the effects of AvX on both the X-side and the A-side!” and that he could not comment further “without spoiling AvX!”

 “It is pretty hardcore. If you like what Kieron’s doing on ‘Uncanny,’ this book will blow your mind,” Lowe continued.

“‘AvX’ ends with a bang, it’s going to be very controversial,” says Editor in Chief Axel Alonso. “A lot of you will be very pissed at us, a lot of you will be clapping,” he said, mentioning one team will deal with the question of new leadership.

  Does this mean the death of Cyclops? Cyke was seen on the Joe Quesada Marvel NOW! promo art but that doesn’t mean it’s the current Scott Summers. Gillen has been writing the flagship X-book for a while and there’s no mention yet of his role in the Marvel NOW! revamp. With Havok taking a leadership rile on the Uncanny Avengers, Uncanny X-Men ending to make way for All-New X-Men starring the original five students of Xavier and no word on the future of Scott and Emma could this signal the end of Cyclops?

I’ve been playing with the idea of Emma Frost’s Avenging X-Men. This is just speculation but let me know what you think? Do you want to see Cyke killed at the end of AvX?

Hawkeye #1 Variant Hits the Mark

 

Hawkeye #1 courtesy Marvel.com

  Earth’s Mightiest Archer gets his own series this August. Clint Barton takes Young Avenger Kate Bishop under his wing for all new adventures by Matt Fraction and David Aja (The Immortal Iron Fist). 

 

  Marvel.com provided this sleek Hawkeye #1 variant cover by Adi Granov. Here’s the post with Fraction and Aja discussing the upcoming series.  By Editor