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.
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.
Kitty Pryde and Colossus are my all time favorite comic book couple. Death. Trapped in a space bullet for eternity. Demonic possession. Writers have ripped apart and reunited Kitty and Peter so many times. The two lovers split most recently due to the events of Fear Itself and Schism. Kitty took off the co-found the Jean Grey School with Logan in Wolverine and the X-Men. Colossus is now one of the Phoenix Five in Uncanny X-Men and AvX.
Jason Aaron raised our hopes when Kitty was pregnant. Fans like me were hoping against hope it was Pete’s baby but once again hopes were dashed when it turned out Kitty was impregnated with Brood. Thank you Dr. McCoy for saving her!
In the upcoming Wolverine and the X-Men #14 looks like Kitty agrees to a date with Peter and he’s using his Phoenix Force to woo her…but will they reconcile? Will either of them be around after AvX?
Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy from X-Men: First Class courtesy Marvel.com
Director Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Simon Kinberg are working on the script for a sequel to X-Men: First Class. While promoting Elysium at San Diego Comic Con writer Simon Kinberg gave Collider hints of what to expect in the mutant sequel.
“I wish I could tell you about it, but literally, it’s like the most guarded state secret I’ve ever been around. I can tell you that it’s going really well, and I can tell you that I’ve been working closely with Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman on the script of the movie and that we hope to be shooting in Spring of next year to come out in July of 2014 and that I’m really excited about it, because the only thing I can say, because I have to be extraordinarily vague about it, because the last time I talked to anybody about it, I got in trouble…big trouble…what I can tell you is [that] it’s extraordinarily ambitious. It is unlike the other X-Men movies and yet very much a celebration of the X-Men movies.”
“I don’t know enough of what he [Vaughn] has or hasn’t talked about. I can tell you it’s been a very fluid process in the sense of we really went into it, Matthew, Jane and myself, just wanting to create a movie that was as…I’m very proud of First Class…as dramatic as that movie, I think it is as dramatic as that movie, but more epic, mythic in a way as well. So, there are ideas that we’ve started with that haven’t survived, there are ideas that we started with from conversations we had from making First Class that are going to be in the sequel. So, it’s vague but…”
The Cast of X-Men: First Class courtesy Marvel.com
“It’s one of those movies that, because it’s such a big deal for the studio, they have some sense of what it is that we’re writing and they are ambitious about the movie, too. I don’t know what the budget’s going to be, we’ve got to finish the script before we have a budget, but I would assume that it is a bigger movie than the last in physical scope, and that we have the license to do that because of the success of First Class. And because I think Fox has had success with interesting movies in the last couple of years in the genre, like Planet of the Apes was a really good movie, Chronicle was a cool movie, First Class, they’re just narratively or creatively a little bit more ambitious. So they’ve encouraged us to do that with the sequel.”
For more of this interview here’s the Collider link.
The full cast is on signed on to return. I’m still hoping we may see Magneto’s children: Polaris, Scarlet Witch or Quicksilver. I wonder if the success of the prequel inspired the Marvel NOW! decision to bring the original five X-Men into the current time in All-New X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis?
A Geek can dream: Dwayne Johnson could be playing a Greek demigod or an alien bounty hunter next but I think he was born to play another famous comic book alien. Johnson is in talks to play Hercules based on Radical Publishing’s Hercules The Thracian Wars and Lobo of DC Comics.
After reading Wolverine and the X-Men #13 it came to me how Johnson would be perfect as Gladiator, the ultimate Shi’ar warrior turned Emperor. I don’t want to spoil the ending of that issue so I’ll go back in time.
I was a young geek when I first marveled at Gladiator and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard. Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin had already blown my mind with what would become the Dark Phoenix Saga. As I opened Uncanny X-Men #137 to see my favorite heroes on a Shi’ar spacecraft surrounded by Empress Lilandra and her Imperial Guard. This elite squadron of warriors was led by a muscle-bound alien with mohawk. Gladiator (real name Kallark) is a Strontian warrior created by Claremont and Dave Cockrum. Strontians have the capacity for incredible strength and various powers as long as they are completely devoted to a sole purpose. Kind of a Zen Superman.
Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com
Gladiator has fought with and against the X-Men to protect the universe from the Phoenix. Emperor Kallark now leads the Shi’ar Empire and his son is at Wolverine’s school – protected by Warbird. The Phoenix is back on Earth. Gladiator and his Shi’ar army arrived to save his son and take on the Phoenix Five in a cosmic throwdown.
Only the Marvel editors know the final fate of Gladiator after this week’s Avengers vs X-Men tie-in but the Marvel Universe would not be as amazing without him in it.
Fantastic Four #249 courtesy Marvel.com
Given the cosmic direction Marvel movies are going maybe we’ll see the Shi’ar Empire in an Avengers sequel or the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Dwayne Johnson has the powerhouse body and presence to portray one of the coolest aliens to grace comic books and may be it’s worth considerating a Gladiator series and solo movie. Thanks for reading the casting dream of a devoted geek.
Wolverine and the X-Men #13 by Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw featured a cosmic level slugfest between Gladiator and the Phoenix fueled X-Men but the real star was Warbird. The creative team showcases the warrior’s fury and reveals Ava’dara’s tragic past. This issue proves this new character deserves to a major star in Marvel’s future.
Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com
Aaron and Bradshaw deliver a brutal showdown between the Phoenix Five and their former ally while revealing Warbird’s brutal upbringing and violent past. The Shi’ar have always been portrayed as regal rulers over their sprawling empire but Aaron rips away the facade and shows life growing up as a Shi’ar warrior and how an act of compassion landed her on Earth in her current role.
Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com
Aaron takes Ava’dara’s attraction to Bobby Drake that started in Marjorie Liu’s first Astonishing X-Men arc and plays with that plot here even as the allies have become enemies.
Here’s hoping Gladiator survives but I have a newfound obsessive love for Warbird! Jonathan Hickman’s new Avengers series is said have a huge cast and he favors the old school cosmic epics so maybe Gladiator or Warbird might turn up on his book. And given the cosmic direction Marvel movies are going maybe we’ll see the Shi’ar Empire in an Avengers sequel or if a Guardians of the Galaxy movie happens?
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 #3The 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?
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?
