Rick Remender and John Cassaday assemble a new team in the aftermath of Avengers Vs. X-Men. Captain America and Wolverine gather an elite team from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Children of the Atom in Uncanny Avengers – the first book of the Marvel NOW! relaunch.
Marvel revealed the Uncanny Avengers #2 cover by Cassady and more information about the classic villain. The Red Skull has been reborn as the most powerful man on Earth, anti-mutant sentiment is at a boiling point and he has a new army to enforce his evil agenda. Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, Rogue and Havok must take down the Skull and his S-Men.
I love the Jim Steranko vibe I’m getting from this cover!
A blast from the past in this week’s New Mutants #47 in Fear the Fututre Part 1. Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett ignite an old rivalry by raising the Hellions!
Back when Emma Frost was still the White Queen of the Hellfire Club she had her own students that often clashed with Professor Xavier’s New Mutants. The original Hellions debuted in New Mutants #16 – volume one of the series. In Uncanny X-Men #281 the Hellions were brutally slain by Trevor Fitzroy and his Sentinels. This massacre led Frost to see their error of her ruthless ways and began her path to redemption and partnership with the X-Men. Empath was the only known survivor. Warpath was an original member of the Hellions because he blamed Professor X for the death of his brother, the original Thunderbird. James Proudstar eventually came to terms with his anger and later joined the X-Men and Wolverine’s X-Force.
Some of the dead Hellions were revised by Selene in the Necrosha epic. No word on
New Mutants #16 courtesy Marvel
You can see the old school Hellions on the cover of New Mutants #48 Marvel.comNew Mutants #48.
New Mutants #48 courtesy Marvel.com
The Hellions are back (looking all techno zombie resurrected like they did in the Necrosha event!) For more of the Abnett and Lanning interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
Here’s an earlier post talking about the possibility of a New Mutants movie, my hope some of the characters appear in the next X-Men: First Class film and The Hunger Games star who’d be perfect for one of the kids.
Supportive and sensitive ex-boyfriend. Teacher. Gambit?
James Asmus shows us that the Cajun mutant hasn’t been fully domesticated yet in a brand new series out this week. Remy LeBeau ditches the purple tights for a walk on the wrong side of the law in Gambit #1. It’s good to welcome the scoundrel back to his thieving ways.
Remy decides he needs a detour from life at the Jean Grey School and finds a way to steal from the rich and infamous. Our anti-hero suits up (like he’s styled by GQ) for a charity event and shows he still knows how to work a room and case a joint no matter how big and swanky it is. Gambit is the wolf in sheep’s clothing and Sitch is an arms dealer posing as a benevolent socialite. It’s great fun to see Remy charm and scheme his way into Sitch’s secret stash but the prize comes back to bite him…literally.
Writer James Asmus and artist Clay Mann takes us on thrilling ride. The story is cinematic with scenes worthy of a James Bond or Mission Impossible movie. Asmus gives us the old Gambit we’ve been missing and captures the spirit without overdoing the Cajun sayings. Remy may be from New Orleans but he’s a world-class thief and it’s a joy to see him back doing what he does best.
I kept thinking of how Remy looks like a buffer, built Matt Smith (the current Doctor Who.) I enjoyed Clay Mann’s art on X-Men Legacy and he’s evolved to more of a painted style. I like what Mann, (Seth) Mann and (Rachelle)Rosenberg are attempting to create in Gambit’s world away from the X-Men.
A new villain with nasty connections to the entire Marvel underworld, a mystery woman with tattoos (she reminds of girl who used to work at my local comic book shop) and Remy left in a painful cliffhanger make me want to come back for more. This first issue’s heist story may be familiar but it’s a great way to reintroduce the charming thief we love and hopefully thrust him into dangerous new territory and stories.
Archer & Armstrong #1The Valiant comeback continues as Obadiah Archer begins a quest to wipe out the ultimate evil. His target: the immortal Armstrong. The new origin of this unlikely heroic duo and their journey to uncover the dark history of the relaunched Valiant universe.
Batgirl #12 courtesy DC Comics
Batgirl #12Batgirl vs Batwoman!
Batman #12 The aftermath of the Court of Owls epic. Guest artist Becky Cloonan joins Scott Snyder for a stand-alone story of the girl who saved the Batman.
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #2Inside the secret life of the world’s smartest man. Comic legend Len Wein returns to the epic he edited with Jae Lee at the top of his artistic game.
Daredevil Annual #1The Man Without Fear, Doctor Strange and Marvel’s strangest cosmic clan. Legendary Alan Davis brings back the ClanDestine to cross paths with Matt Murdock
Gambit #1The fan favorite X-Man is back to his criminal ways! Marvel’s ultimate thief and smooth talker is after a big score but it may end up biting him.
Kevin Keller #4Romantic hopes and hijinks at the London Olympics. Kevin reconnects with an old friend but will Veronica’s “help” hurt his chances?
The Massive #3 How can peace-loving pacifists hold on to their beliefs in dark new world where pirates rule the oceans and the civilized world is in ruins? The crew is on the run
The Mighty Thor #18 courtesy Marvel
The Mighty Thor #18 Can the God of Thunder and Kid Loki save the Nine Realms from a dark war? Everything Burns is Matt Fraction’s final Thor story with the legendary Alan Davis on art and crossing over into Journey Into Mystery.
New Avengers #29 The Illuminati are back! Some of the most powerful players in the Marvel Universe gathered in secret for years on covert missions – sometimes with dire results. In this Avengers vs X-Men tie-in the group gathers once again to see if they can defeat the Phoenix.
The Cajun X-Man in his own series. Gambit #1 by James Asmus (Captain America & Bucky, Generation Hope)and Clay Mann (X-Men Legacy) debuts this week.
“This story will break Gambit out into the larger Marvel Universe. We are trying to make it as accessible to new fans as well as everyone who loved Gambit in the past,” teases Asmus.
Before he was a hero, Remy LeBeau was a master thief. Remy’s criminal past came back to haunt him – especially his connection to Mister Sinister and the Mutant Massacre.
“He’s one of the greatest thieves in the Marvel Universe,” Asmus continued and confirmed Rogue will play a part in the series.
This Geek’s Opinion: I’m a big fan of James Asmus and Clay Mann’s art. I love Gambit but as part of a team. Remy is currently part of X-Men Legacy, where’s a slow burning attraction building with Frenzy and the smooth talker shares a flirtation with Cecelia Reyes in Astonishing X-Men. Who knows which or if Remy will end up on a team in the Marvel NOW! relaunch. Gambit, Asmus, Mann – I’ll definitely give Remy’s new solo series a shot.
Marvel is teasing more new creative teams: Rick Remender and John Romita Jr on The Winter Soldier, Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley on Fantastic Four, Simon Spurrier and Tan Eng Huat on X-Men Legacy? The Marvel NOW! universe of 20 relaunched titles is shaping up.
MTV Geek revealed Spurrier, Huat, Legacy. Does this mean X-Men Legacy will relaunch? Spurrier wrote a great mini starring the hilarious X-Club. My thought is that since All New X-Men by Bendis will feature the original teen mutants as the flagship X-book, this relaunched Legacy will focus on the current X-Men that surive AvX.
courtesy Marvel.com
IFanboy revealed Remender, Romita, SOLDIER tease but does this mean the duo is taking over Captain America or The Winter Soldier book? Remender is writing the Marvel NOW! kickoff book Uncanny Avengers featuring Cap but given his track record (Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers, Venom) I’d love to see how he writes Bucky.
courtesy Marvel.com
Matt Fraction (Thor, Invincible Iron Man, Defenders) is succeeding Jonathan Hickman as writer of Fantastic Four. USA Today revealed the teaser Hickman, Bagley, Family and the teaser Fraction, Allred, Extended. Could this mean the FF (Future Foundation) book will continue with Mike Allred (Madman)on art. Fraction’s new Hawkeye book with David Aja debuted this week.
courtesy Marvel.com
Let’s recap the other teasers of the week:
Kieron Gillen and Greg Land, Invincible=Iron Man
Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic, Worthy=Thor
Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu, Indestructible=Hulk
Brian Poesin, Gerry Duggan, Tony Moore, Chichimangas=Deadpool
Producer Bryan Singer confirms that the sequel to X-Men: First Class will be titled Days of Future Past and based on the classic story by Chris Claremont. For an X-Men comic reader – it’s close to the Holy Grail of mutant epics.
“It’s going to be very ambitious. It deals will aspects of that comic but also some very new things”Singer tells IGN.
Uncanny X-Men #141 courtesy Marvel.com
In Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142 the Days of Future Past was a powerhouse two-part story in two timelines. In a future North America rules by Sentinels (mutant hunting robots) most super heroes have been hunted down and exterminated or imprisoned. Magneto, Storm, Colossus and his wife Kate (Kitty Pryde) are in the camp. Rachel Summers (daughter of Scott/Cyclops and Jean Grey) and Franklin Richards (son of Reed and Sue of the Fantastic Four) are together and living in the prison camp too. Wolverine is with an underground resistance movement.
The future X-Men conceive a daring plot to rewrite history and change the nightmare future. Rachel uses her psionic powers to send Kate’s consciousness into the past and into the body of Kitty Pryde who just joined the X-Men. Kitty must convince the mutants to go to Washington, D.C. to prevent the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Mystique. The killing of Kelly led to the country’s hatred of mutants and implementation of Sentinels. While the past X-Men race to prevent the assassination, the remaining future X-Men fight the Sentinels.
Uncanny X-Men #142 courtesy Marvel.com
Since this storyline features a much older Wolverine and Hugh Jackman is getting older…maybe Jackman could make an appearance as the older Logan leading the underground resistance movement in the future.
The next X-Men film will likely not follow the storyline exactly but it could be an exciting way to reboot the entire film franchise but like Spock created a new timeline in JJ Abrams Star Trek.
We could forget X-Men: The Last Stand ever happened. Professor Xavier and Cyke would still be alive. It could be a whole new beginning for the film franchise and I love Rachel Summers.
Avengers vs. X-Men #9 is a dramatic, action packed epic with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the run, heroes switching sides, chilling hints of what’s to come and….heart and humor?
The truth nature of the Phoenix Force is being revealed…and it’s scary as hell. But the true nature of a hero is what makes this issue a standout and a testament to why I love comic books. Jason Aaron successfully balances personal drama with big screen spectacle.
The Phoenix Four are more powerful than ever after last issue’s shocking battle. Tony Stark’s genius is stalled. Thor’s might is crushed. It’s hard for the remaining Avengers to be inspired by Captain America’s leadership. Who knew your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man could be a crucial factor in a cosmic level clash?
Peter Parker takes on the Phoenix fueled Colossus and Magik! Spidey sacrifices himself to save his fellow heroes. Peter takes a beating and uses his wit…and that may drive a wedge that may be lead to the final undoing of the Phoenix Four. Jason Aaron nails Peter Parker as the “everyman on the ground” in this epic conflict.
Avengers vs. X-Men #11 courtesy Marvel.com
As that bloody battle plays out two of Marvel’s signature couples are being shattered. Black Panther and Storm stop fighting long enough to finally talk in the aftermath of the devastating battle in Wakanda but is may be too late. Emma Frost is trying to warn Cyclops about the danger from within but it maybe too late. Emma Frost may on the way to causing a cosmic carnage worse than the Dark Phoenix Saga. The seeds may be planted for an Avenging Emma and for the final act: there can be only one!
