Wolverine – Page 32 – COMICS BLEND

Professor X’s Son Versus X-Men

David Haller is one weird cat! Simon Spurrier takes into the strange, quirky, snarky mindworld that is Legion in X-Men Legacy. David is the son of the late Professor X. David has multiple personalities with multiple mutant powers. The mentally disturbed David has disturbed the Marvel Universe in the past. He caused the Age of Apocalypse and Age of X so that gives you an idea of how powerful this guy is!

David was mourning his father’s death and trying to control his personalities in his own virtual mind prison when a pair of floating eyeballs pointed him in the direction of frightened mutant twins in Japan. The shattered David decided to follow his father’s legacy and save them.

This week Professor Xavier’s son has a showdown with his father’s prize students X-Men Legacy #4. Wolverine, Storm, Frenzy, Chamber and Beast confront David demanding they turn the children over to them. Spurrier unleashes some hilarious one-liners, psychic mindgames and serious bluffing in this confrontation. When the mutant Blindfold confronts David that’s when things really get strange. The X-Men may have a brand new enemy hiding right in front of their eyes and only David may be able to save them.

This is not your usual X-book. Offbeat is an understatement. Imagine Salvador Dali’s artistic mind channelled through cerebro with a slight touch of Nightmare on Elm Street dreamworld horror. As disturbed as David is he makes a strong case that maybe his father and the X-Men have had it wrong all these years. X-Men Legacy continues to be the weirdest Marvel book out there. I’m not ashamed to admit I don’t get everything that’s going on but I’m intrigued and rooting to David.

By Editor

Wolverine Attacks Jean Grey?

Beast brought the original X-Men into the Marvel Now hoping their influence could make Cyclops change his ways in All-New X-Men. The future truth may have been took much for the newly telepathic Jean Grey to take. By the end of the first arc a defiant Jean Grey knew her horrible future past and vowed to remain in the Marvel Now.

Marvel shared a preview of All-New X-Men #6 with Comics Newsarama that is frightening for fans of Marvel’s most famous redhead. The original team is staying in their future to make their dead mentor’s dream a reality. Are these images nightmares, reality or hints of things to come?

Cyclops, Magneto rush into to Jean. Scott, Erik, Emma Frost and Magik are based in the old Weapon X facility and have been recruiting new mutants for a revolution. Logan crashed into the scene killing Jean but not before the haunting image of the Phoenix flares up in her eyes.

I suspect this is a nightmare but who’s to say another telepath could be projecting these images in Jean’s mind?

Artist David Marquez joins Brian Michael Bendis for the next chapter.

By Editor

X-MEN Villain Resurrection

Spoiler Warning!

This post reveals the ending of Wolverine and the X-Men #23

Do NOT keep reading unless you read that issue!

Seriously!

Here it is:

Wolverine and the X-Men #23 courtesy Marvel

The finale of the Frankenstein Murder Circus arc ended with comeback of a villain I wasn’t expecting! Jason Aaron dropped a supernatural bombshell but has he been warning us of this old enemy’s return since the first issue?

Frankenstein’s Monster and a witch named Calcabring made an unholy alliance to enchant the X-Men into becoming circus freaks and helping the monster track his prey – the young Bishop of the new Hellfire Club aka the last Frankenstien!

The X-Men ultimately defeated Frankenstein, the witch and their circus of zombie clowns! On the final page we learned the witch has been serving Azazel! The demon looking mutant daddy of Nightcrawler appeared to have magically transported into our world!

Who is Azazel?

In a storyline called The Draco (Uncanny X-Men #426 – #434) writer Chuck Austen revealed that Nightcrawler’s father was Azazel. This mutant from Biblical times was banished by Angels to a dark brimstone dimension. He was able to escape the dimension for brief periods of time and visited Earth to father several demon-looking mutant children. Azazel fathered Kurt Wagner with Mystique. The X-Men stopped Azazel’s plot to claim the Earth via his teleporting demon children and the villain went into character no man’s land.

Azazel (played by Jason Flemying) was part of Sebastian Shaw’s Hellfire Club in X-Men: First Class. Director Matthew Vaughn didn’t reference the Nightcrawler connection and turned the reviled character into a sinister on- screen smash.

It appears Azazel’s popularity from the last film has inspired a comic book comeback. One of the many running storylines since Wolverine and the X-Men launched is the bamfs running wild at The Jean Grey School. The tiny Nightcrawler looking creatures escaped to the school when Beast opened a portal to their dimension. The little gremlins have been making mischief as the school (like stealing Wolverine’s whisky) but have they been agents of Azazel all this time? Could this lead to the resurrection of the real Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler?

Here’s my review of Wolverine and the X-Men #23.

By Editor

Wolverine vs. Frankenstein

It’s Alive! It’s Allllliiiiiivvvvvvveee!

Those mad scientists behind Wolverine and the X-Men create a smashing finale to the Frankenstein’s Murder Circus arc! Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw pack Wolverine and the X-Men #23 with horror, humor, action, dramatic character development and one hell of a surprise ending!

A witch’s magic mind control turned the X-Men into circus freaks. Idie became unexpected allies with a member of the new Hellfire Club. Frankenstein was obsessed with killing the sadistic little brat. The mutants were facing zombie clowns! Yes, zombie clowns! Trust me, Aaron and Bradshaw make it work!

In The Last Frankenstein we learn the young villain’s monstrous past, see a glimpse of hope that he might be redeemed and a potential rattling in the status quo in the Hellfire Club. Maximillian Von Katzenelbogen isn’t the only teen who undergoes a big change in this chapter. The blossoming attraction between Idie and Quentin Quire takes an interesting turn. Is the smitten Kid Omega possibly changing his arrogant bad boy ways as Idie sinks deeper into the dark side?

Nick Bradshaw is an artistic madman conjuring zombie clowns, teen angst and a poptastic splash page of Wolverine and the X-Men ready to to drop the big top on the murder circus! Doop fans will LOVE this issue!

I enjoyed every frame then Aaron and Bradshaw and pull a bombshell for theie final magic act! The comeback of a forgotten villain that may be tied to a running gag since the series began. This issue shows yet again this is the X-book is the most mutant fun you can have and maybe the most fun you’ll have with a Marvel title!

By Editor

THE WOLVERINE Movie vs. Comic

Hugh Jackman as The Wolverine courtesy Marvel and 20th Century Fox

Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Logan in The Wolverine. The story will be set in Japan and based on the limited series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. Director James Mangold told Entertainment Weekly how closely the film will follow the classic story.

“It’s definitely more. A lot of that story and a lot of beats from that saga are in there — and a lot of characters. Without being religious about it, I think it’s a very admiring adaptation. Obviously when you’re adapting anything you make some changes. But all the characters are there – Yukio, Viper, Mariko, Shingen, and Logan obviously. The whole cast of characters that exist in that world exists in our film.”

Mangold confirmed this film is set after X-Men: The Last Stand but does not act as a sequel. The director says why he chose to set this film after the first three X-Men movies:

“Because of some of the themes in the Claremont/Miller saga. I felt it was really important to find Logan at a moment where he was stripped clean of his duties to the X-Men, his other allegiances, and even stripped clean of his own sense of purpose. I was fascinated with the idea of portraying Logan as a ronin – the definition of which is a samurai without a master, without a purpose. Kind of a soldier who is cut loose. War is over. What does he do? What does he face? What does he believe anymore? Who are his friends? What is his reason for being here anymore? I think those questions are especially interesting when you’re dealing with a character who is essentially immortal.”

For the entire interview here’s the EW link.

Hugh Jackman will play Wolverine again in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

By Editor

Comic Book Picks for January 9, 2013

Detective Comics #16 While the Joker has been attacking the Batman family a smoother criminal has made his power play in Gotham City. Batman forms an alliance with the Penguin? Is the fowl rogue an endangered species?

Mars Attacks KISS Big brained evil aliens versus the Rock and Roll legends in 1970’s New York in a tale inspired from the original 1976 KISS comic book.

Star Wars #1 Rebels on the run. The Empire ruled. Go back in time for a new stories set before the destruction of the Death Star! The Force is with fans of the original trilogy in this new Dark Horse series from Brian Wood.

Superior Spider-Man #1 After the shocking events of Amazing Spider-Man #700 there’s a brand new Spider-Man vowing to be superior to Peter Parker!

Wolverine and the X-Men #23 Wolverine vs. Frankenstein!? Yes, Wolverine vs. Frankenstein! Will one of Logan’s students become a victim of the Murder Circus?

By Editor

Why Sunfire Makes an Uncanny Avenger

Sunfire the Avenger? That may inspire exclamations of “YES!” or “say what?”

Children of the Atom are moving up to join Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Captain America recruited New Mutants Cannonball and Sunspot to Avengers (by Jonathan Hickman.) Sunfire will join Uncanny Avengers in issue 5. Professor X invited the Japanese mutant to join his cause back when Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus were the all-new, all-different X-Men. Sunfire said no and Shiro Yoshida’s heroic career has gone to hell. Sunfire even became a Horseman of Apocalypse.

Sunfire, Wonder Man and Wasp will join Rick Remender’s Uncanny Avengers lineup. The writer talked about why this fallen hero made the team and his search for redemption with Marvel.com.

“First off, it’s the “what if?”of it all. Here’s the one guy who refused Xavier’s invitation to be part of the “All-New” X-Men. He was the guy who was like, “oh this is the coolest era of the X-Men coming up? No thanks, I’ve got stuff to do.” And then he pops up once in a while and he’ll be involved, but he’s such an [expletive]. He’s just an [expletive]. He’s just like “shut up stupid people, dear god you Western morons,” and I’ve never really had a chanceto write just such an unabashed jerk.

And he’s also crazy powerful. I know in the Age of Apocalypse version, his body is gone and he becomes a living being of energy, of fire. But I don’t think we need to turn him into that, necessarily. Power level wise, he can nuke a city. And you put Sunfire on the team, he’s a very powerful character, and he’s also someone that should have been one of the X-Men, but refused it, and he’s someone that’s at the lowest point of his life; really, he should have been on X-Force. He would have been a perfect addition to that squad. He’s been a Horseman, Mr. Sinister has manipulated him, he’s been a Marauder, he’s lost his legs and has had them returned, he’s lost family members; he’s gone through so many changes.

His core belief that Japan is the center of the universe was skewed and he lost who he was. He’s broken. So when we find him, he’s purposeless, shattered, manipulated and broken, which was attractive to me in taking that angle with him; he’s that tone of damaged and probably going to do some crazy things and is way more powerful than anyone else that we’ve seen in that situation. Shiro, to me, is an opportunity to make good on what could have happened in Giant-Size X-Men #1, when he declined to join the team. Now that Xavier’s dead and here’s this guy that’s lost his honor, it’s an opportunity to redeem himself as well.”

Remender says Wolverine recruits Shiro to the team. It will be exciting to see how Sunfire reacts if he encounters his former master. Apocalypse and Kang are the villains of the next Uncanny Avengers arc.

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

By Editor

Comic Book Movies 2013

As we celebrate the finale of The Dark Knight Trilogy, the success of The Avengers and the return of James Bond in in Skyfall in 2012, it’s time to look at some of the genre films that will thrill us in 2013.

Here are my most anticipated comic book films of 2013.

HughWolverine — Hugh Jackman as The Wolverine courtesy Marvel and 20th Century Fox

The Wolverine Hugh Jackman plays the X-Man in his second solo movie based on the classic story by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. It’s Logan in Japan fighting Yakuka, Ronin, the Hand and The Silver Samurai! This film introduces three iconic women of Wolverine’s list of romantic conquests: Lady Mariko – daughter of crime lord, Yukio – the wild assassin who inspired Storm to get a mohawk, and Viper – ruthless terrorist leader. With James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma) directing from the classic source material, I think this film will be a showcase of action and great acting Jackman. Jackman and Wolverine are one of the greatest combining of actor and role ever.

Thor: The Dark World Chris Hemsworth as the Thunder God goes home again when a new threat targets Asgard! Malekith (played by former Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston) leads the Dark Elves on a quest for vegeance that threatens the Nine Realms. Adwele Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays another classic comic book enemy: Kurse. I hope to see a bigger role for Lady Sif (Jaime Alexander) and look forward to that bloody Shakespearean drama from Anthony Hopkins, Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Odin, Thor and Loki.

Iron Man 3 Marvel is injecting new creative blood (director Shane Black) and a classic enemy – Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin – in Tony’s third solo movie. The story is based on the classic Extremis story and introduces new armor including the Iron Patriot.

Man of Steel With a team like director Zach Snyder, producer Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer will this darker, realistic Superman work the way Dark Knight did? Henry Cavill will face Michael Shannon as Zod and possibly more evil Kryptonians.

Star Trek: Into Darkness To boldly go where no franchise has gone before! J.J. Abrams rebooted the sci-fi classic by honoring the original series while moving forward at warp speed. Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise crew track a mystery villain (Benedict Cumberbatch) villain out to destroy the Federation.

What’s on your list to watch for in 2013?

By Editor

COMICS BLEND

Escape. Engage. Enjoy.

Tag: Wolverine

Professor X’s Son Versus X-Men

Wolverine Attacks Jean Grey?

X-MEN Villain Resurrection

Wolverine vs. Frankenstein

THE WOLVERINE Movie vs. Comic

Comic Book Picks for January 9, 2013

Why Sunfire Makes an Uncanny Avenger

Comic Book Movies 2013