WOLVERINE and His Avenging Friends!

Wolverine #3 courtesy Marvel
Wolverine #3 courtesy Marvel

Paul Cornell comes back to Marvel in a big way! Cornell and legendary artist Alan Davis launch a brand new Wolverine #1.

Logan is an X-Man, Avenger, Headmaster. For his reputation as a loner the hero may actually be a super “people” person.

How will Wolverine’s friends and allies play roles in the series

“He likes people. He’s actually a very strange creature. He chooses to keep himself grounded and involved with human beings, to be both an effectively immortal mutant with additional military implants, and this guy who likes bars and beer,” Cornell tells Marvel.com,

I think [he sees] them as fellow professionals, people who do the same job he does. “Hero” would be a difficult word for most of them. He takes responsibility, I think, and he likes the company of others who do the same, particularly Continue reading WOLVERINE and His Avenging Friends!

SECRET AVENGERS (Don’t Tell SHIELD!)

Secret Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel

The potential SHIELD series could begins its mission this Fall. Avengers 2 is two years away. You can get your Marvel super spy fix starting with this week’s brand new Secret Avengers series. It’s a top-secret team even the Avengers won’t know about! Writer Nick Spencer, Editors Tom Brevoort and Lauren Sankovitch opened up the files on the espionage themed series on Marvel.com.

“There’s a new S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Universe under the watch Continue reading SECRET AVENGERS (Don’t Tell SHIELD!)

The Brubaker WINTER SOLDIER Finale

Winter Soldier #14 courtesy Marvel
Winter Soldier #14 courtesy Marvel

Bucky Barnes and Natasha Romanoff are the hottest couple of the Marvel Universe. Evil operatives, brain washing and cold war comebacks have ripped Bucky and Black Widow apart. All the men in Natasha’s life (Wolverine, Nick Fury, Daredevil)  have guest starred in this action packed epic but it all comes down to Bucky.

In this week’s Winter Soldier #15 what will Bucky sacrifice to save the woman he loves? It’s the grand finale of the Black Widow Hunt and the final Marvel comic from Ed Brubaker – for now.

(Brubaker’s creator owned Image book Fatale is a must!)

Brubaker’s final Captain America issue was last fall but this week’s Winter Soldier is the end of a an era. The return and redemption of Bucky Barnes will stand the test of time – and is the inspiration for the next Captain America sequel. Brubaker made Marvel’s dark underworld of gritty espionage a perfect setting where Steve Rogers, Bucky, Natasha and Nick Fury could rise to newfound glory.

Thanks to Ed Brubaker for an amazing run. Long live Bucky!

By Editor

Secret Avengers 2013 Declassified!

Secret Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel

    I spy a brand new Secret Avengers series in February 2013. A top-secret team even the Avengers won’t know about! New writer Nick Spencer, Editors Tom Brevoort and Lauren Sankovitch opened up the files on the espionage themed series on Marvel.com.

  “There’s a new S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Universe under the watch of Daisy Johnson and Maria Hill with Nick Fury Jr. and Phil Coulson as the top agents. One of the initiatives they’ve undertaken is building their own Avengers team. Maria Hill has direct supervision. They’re using tech first seen in Brian Bendis’ Secret War: memory implants so members of the team will not remember the missions. That’s how secret these missions are,” revealed Spencer.

  “Hawkeye and Black Widow will be front and center in the first issue, Taskmaster shows up in issue #2, Hulk, Mockingbird and a new Iron Patriot are coming down the line, plus the Winter Soldier, who will be featured, but not a member of the team.”

   Agent Phil Coulson on The Avengers movie will be part of the team. He’s just one of the many different voices Spencer will tackle.

  “I love writing Coulson, trying to bring that amazing voice Clark Gregg established in the films over to comics. I found Taskmaster to be a lot of fun to write. Hawkeye and Black Widow have always been two of my favorite Avengers. Just being a part of introducing this new Nick Fury and new S.H.I.E.L.D. into the Marvel Universe is a big honor.”

   “Part of the thrill of this new Nick Fury is that he’s on the field, he’s on the missions, he’s with the team. It’s a contrast from what we saw from the old Fury over the last couple decades, giving intel then fading into the shadows. It’s fun having a Fury who’s in the thick of things and also who this is all new to. He’s got a lot to learn. Getting to write that journey is a blast.”

Secret Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel

  “Nick Fury is the Captain America of the Secret Avengers. He’s the lead guy on the field. He’s different from Cap, he’s got a different approach, but he’s the first guy on the ground leading the charge,” Editor Brevoort

  “One of the things I’m learning my way through is finding the balance between a good black ops spy book that’s also an Avengers book. I think you’ll like the mix. We’re trying to make it feel like Mission: Impossible, but at the same time it takes place in the Marvel Universe. The mix and match has been really cool for me to play with,” said Spencer.

  “Every adventure these characters have is a caper, it’s a Bond movie, but it takes places within the Marvel Universe, and there’s no mission you can pull out of that context,” said Brevoort.

  Norman Osborn wore the Iron Patriot armor in Dark Reign. The Iron Patriot will appear in Iron Man 3. Who wears the armor in this new series?

  “I think we came up with a pretty cool way to introduce this new Iron Patriot. There have been a lot of questions about who is in the suit, but how they end up in the role is what I think will be really interesting.”

Secret Avengers #2 courtesy Marvel

   SHIELD will use mindwiping techniques on the team – we saw what happened with that in Secret War.

   “Every member of this team signed up for this of their own volition. They agreed this was the way to go. Of course then they forget that they agreed to it, and when they’re on missions, they don’t know about it. The S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m writing works in gray areas, but it’s important to me at the end of the day we understand why they do the things that they do, which is for a safer better world. That doesn’t start with forcibly brainwashing people if they can help it. Why these people signed up for this won’t always be known, and we’ll have fun with this.”

  “They’re not starting over every mission. When they have the keyword, they remember that they’re on the team and what they need to from previous missions. They’re not strangers every time they meet up.” 

“The Avengers don’t know about this. Nobody outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. knows about this initiative.”

 

Secret Avengers #2 courtesy Marvel

How does an Avengers villain like Taskmaster fit with this team?

  “Taskmaster has a pretty unique role in the book. I’m having a lot of fun writing him. When we were coming up with the roster, he was the last addition. I kept feeling like something was missing. As soon as he came up, it was so perfect. He’s got some history already with Nick Fury, which is a big draw for me. The chemistry between the two of them has been fun for me to write. I like throwing the wrench in there, and Taskmaster does that. He’s there for the paycheck and that makes for some fun story turns.” “I’m a huge fan of Indestructible Hulk already. It all connects. It’s all part of Maria’s vision for what S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to become to adapt to new threats in the Marvel Universe. She’s such a huge part of this book. In Avengers, Cap and Iron Man are saying they need to become bigger, and here, S.H.I.E.L.D. is saying the same thing.”

  Bruce Banner is working with Maria Hill and SHIELD in Mark Waid’s Indestructible Hulk. How does a weapon of mass destruction fit in an undercover spy book?

  “The use of the Hulk here is judicious. He’s the bomb. How is he on a stealth team? He’s not deployed until it’s time to blow stuff up.”

  “This S.H.I.E.L.D. is smaller and scrappier than they were back in the day, but the problems aren’t any smaller. It’s a big job for people just starting out. They know they need operatives who can function on the level the world and the universe is at now,” says Brevoort.

Secret Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel

  Luke Ross (The Ultimates) will be the artist on the series.

  “Luke Ross has a realistic style with a lot of energy. His enthusiasm brings a lot to the book,” says Lauren Sankovitch.

Spies, dark heroes, mindwipes and Taskmaster! The new Secret Avengers declassified!

By Editor 

 

ABC Greenlights SHIELD TV Pilot by Joss Whedon

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill in Marvel’s The Avengers courtesy Marvel.com

  ABC has ordered a pilot for a live-action television series from Marvel’s The Avengers writer-producer Joss Whedon according to Deadline. Whedon will co-write and possibly direct!

  S.H.I.E.L.D. is the peacekeeping organization run by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) as seen in Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. The pilot will be written by Whedon, his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) were agents of SHIELD.

  Can we get Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) out of her contract and in this show?! I love Maria Hill!

  Here are links to some of my favorite SHIELD stories you might enjoy: Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD by Jim Steranko, Nick Fury vs. SHIELD by Bob Harras, Secret War by Brian Michael Bendis and The Ultimates: Ultimate Collection by Mark Millar.  Here’s a link to Marvel’s The Avengers on Blu Ray.

By Editor

Nick Fury Jr Shapes Marvel NOW!?

courtesy Marvel.com

  Who will shape the future of Marvel NOW!? Marcus Johnson aka Nick Fury Jr is seen peering through the words in this new teaser image courtesy Marvel.com. The younger Fury was also seen on the Marvel NOW! preview art by Joe Quesada. Nick Fury was a major force behind the scenes and this new image shows his son may be a key figure in the new world order.

  The soldier introduced in the Battle Scars limited series looks to have a significant role in the post AvX Marvel Universe. More will be revealed about Marvel Now! Point One at the Cup O’Joe panel at Comic Con.

  Earlier this year a massive Point One issue launched major 2012 plotlines and new series including the return of the Phoenix, the Scarlet Spider and Nova.

By Editor

Bucky Barnes, Black Widow and Doctor Doom: The Final Showdown?

The Winter Soldier #2 courtesy Marvel

 Talk about an odd but bad ass IMF team – Bucky Barnes, Black Widow and Doctor Doom clash with Doombots, Russian super soldiers and machine gun-toting gorillas! Let’s see Cruise beat that in a Mission Impossible movie!

 Jokes aside – the first arc of The Winter Soldier has been thrilling fun from page one. Nick Fury tasks Bucky and Natasha with finding the other sleeper agents he trained. The mission led to Red Ghost, his super apes, the return of a crucial villain from Brian Michael Bendis’ Secret War and of course Doom.

  Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice delivered an action packed spy caper in the dark underbelly of the Marvel Universe. This week’s Issue 5 shows us Bucky, Black Widow and Doom fighting together to prevent all-out war. I definitely recommend picking up this arc in the trade but this story is far from over. This issue comes with a cliffhanger sending Bucky on a new mission and facing his violent past.

By Editor

 

Avengers SHIELD Agents on Respecting Comics Mythology

  

Cobie Smulders in The Avengers courtesy Marvel Films

 Cobie Smulders brings SHIELD operative Maria Hill to the big screen in Marvel’s The Avengers. Hill was created during the Brian Michael Bendis Avengers run and went up against Nick Fury and Tony Stark. Smulders joins Clark Gregg who’s played Agent Phil Coulson in Iron Man and Thor. The Marvel comic book version of Coulson made his debut in Shattered Heroes – along with an African-American Nick Fury (Jr.)

Scarlet Spider #5 courtesy Marvel.com

  Gregg tells The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision the Marvel movies make a strong effort to be respectful of the comic book source and that resource was on set as he built his character.

 “The fanboys and girls are very interested in [mythology] like, ‘that goes directly against what goes in the comic’,” Gregg said. “And they can’t do that with me. I feel like these movies are designed to respect those comics, so I always made a point of checking out what there was about S.H.I.E.L.D.”

 “The great thing is that the Marvel guys are there and you say, ‘I need a little more background on Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.,’ and the next day they hand you this thing that any fanboy would die for, kind of an encyclopedia illustrated about the history of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

 

courtesy Marvel.com

Smulders says Joss Whedon helped her translate an iconic character.

 “Joss Whedon, he is really hands-on and he wants every character to have a life on and off-screen,” Smulders said. “He is really involved in making sure that every person has their moments. And I really felt like a part of a team – I really felt linked to Coulson and to Fury and especially our role in the film.”

 For the entire interview and a video here’s the Heat Vision link.

By Editor

Here’s hoping we might see a SHIELD/Nick Fury movie – here are my thoughts on Marvel stories that would translate to the big screen.