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Post by Marvel Boy on May 16, 2015 9:00:25 GMT -5
I think #44 was the final issue of this current volume of Avengers. I have yet to read it (just got it in the mail last week) but I think it's rather ironic that one of the few complete comic runs that I own is Hickman's volume of Avengers....go figure.
As for Secret Wars, I've read #1, bought #2 but haven't read it just yet either. For those who may not be aware, the Marvel Universe died last week...along with the Ultimate Universe...and quite a few prominent characters as well. And here's where my cynicism comes into play.
I have long hated the Revolving Comic Door of Death, publishers have trivialized one of the most powerful tools in a writer's arsenal, all in favor of the dollar and goosed sales. So while these characters 'died', I have a hard time accepting that it will stick. Yes, we're not entirely sure yet what the 'new' Marvel Universe will be like after SW but the emotional weight these deaths should invoke isn't there for me given Marvel's track record with these occurrences.
I don't hate Hickman but neither do I see the reasoning behind the overwhelming love he receives elsewhere on the Interweb. I do feel that his big scientific ideas sometimes supersedes actual characterization. I agree bobc, I don't like his wizened old Steve. I have no idea if his Tony is supposed to be the 'inverted' Tony from AXIS or not. And like spiderwasp said, sometimes I get lost in the dialogue because I feel like I missed an important detail somewhere.
But in his defense, Hickman does offer up some interesting character insights occasionally. From #43, I did like Reed's confession to Steve that while Reed may be fractionally smarter than Tony, Tony is better because he is able to multi-task solving problems while Reed normally focuses on one problem at a time.
But in my view, Hickman is far better than Bendis and look at the Time Runs Out story arc for the latest proof. Within TRO, you see Cyclops as the leader as 'Nation X', he has Sentinels at his beckon command, and he's acquired something called a Phoenix Egg.
What is Nation X? Why and how is Scott using Sentinels? And what is a Phoenix Egg and where and how did Scott acquire one? We don't know. Whereas other Marvel books have caught up to TRO's eight month time jump, Bendis hasn't. Because he's known for quite some time that he is leaving the X-franchise, it appears that he has been dragging out unimportant storylines. His Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier was beyond bad and seemed unending. Maybe this new X-development will be explained by Hickman at some point because Bendis, supposedly the head writer in charge of the X-franchise, sure hasn't.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 16, 2015 8:33:05 GMT -5
. What bothers me is that DC has a huge advantage over Marvel in one regard; DC's more prominent characters are more well-known than Marvel's characters. A decade ago, ask any general lay person who Iron Man was and they probably couldn't answer you. But everyone knows who Superman is, who Batman is, who Wonder Woman is, because of various pop culture exposure through the decades, either from films, TV shows, or even cartoons. I would have to disagree with you about that being an advantage. I think it's the other way around. DC has to deal with the love that so many people have (Myself included) for the Christopher Reeve version of Superman, the Michael Keaton (Or possibly even Adam West) version of Batman, and most definitely the Lynda Carter version of Wonder Woman. I can already tell you that they are going to have a difficult time ever finding anyone who can make me feel more like Wonder Woman has simply stepped off the pages of the book. Marvel, on the other hand, had such an awful track record in the past that the current crop of movies (Since X-Men) are setting the new standard. In the eyes of the audience, Robert Downey Jr. is Ironman, Chris Hemsworth is Thor, Chris Evans is Captain America, and so forth. No one said "I just can't accept Toby Maguire because Nicholas Hammond will always be Spidey for me. They have had to face this with Andrew Garfield but not with any of the other movies. For the record, I loved Garfield in the role. I just didn't think the movies were that great. DC is busy trying to reinvent the wheel while Marvel is introducing most of the audience to its wheels for the first time. I'm sure the same thing will happen in 20 years or so when Marvel tries to sell a new Wolverine and the audience just says "He's no Hugh Jackman." With that said, I will also say that the changes DC has been determined to make have not helped matters a bit. I'm not very excited about Superman v. Batman because Man of Steel was terrible. A good super-hero flick does need to make me gasp but it also needs to make me smile. There was no smiling during Man of Steel. Come to think of it, I didn't gasp much either. I mostly just shook my head. That is a valid point, one that I've failed to consider. With each new generation per se, DC feels the need to reinvent the characters but previous portrayals of them have been so memorable, that it does seem like they have a huge hill to overcome in offering up new versions of them. (Myself, I loved Keaton as Batman, in some ways, I think he did a better job with certain character aspects than Bale did) Marvel will face the same problem eventually. Rumors have swirled off-and-on over the years of how long RDJr will continue to play Iron Man. Hugh Jackman has gotten more and more selective over when he will play Logan (the last Wolverine movie was excellent BTW) So when the time comes to perhaps replace the current cast of the Avengers, I wonder how Marvel will handle it (and promote it for that matter)
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 16, 2015 8:23:48 GMT -5
Comparing the Flash to Daredevil is comparing apples to oranges. The most obvious disparity is the constraints of network TV. With the backing of Netflix, of course DD is going to be darker and be able to show more extreme actions than would be allowed on network TV such as the CW.
Second, the tones of each show are completely different. The most accepted genre for DD is noir, so any decent adaptation of it will include darker elements. The Flash's tone is lighter, more in line with the Silver Age, mixed in with some pure wonderment of it all.
I love the DD show, I think the producers did an outstanding job, the casting is spot-on, and the action is intense and violent, as it should be for this genre and character. But I love the Flash more because the show and it's producers have done a great job in adapting/translating more comic elements into the show. Costumes, superpowers, wild tech, campy characters yes, Wentworth Miller as Captain Cold is the campiest character I've seen since the late, great Frank Gorshin and I love it. But that's the Rogues and they're slowly building up a decent adaptation of these zany group of villains. Heck, they just did a Gorilla Grodd episode, an entire episode devoted to a talking gorilla, and it was GREAT!
It does come down to differing tastes but in terms of recreating the fantastic elements of a 'normal' comic, DC's TV shows still beat out Marvel's attempts in my opinion. With the new spinoff show Legends of Tomorrow set to premiere next season, we're watching a burgeoning DC TV universe evolve, one I'm much more interested in seeing than anything I've seen so far on the big screen from them.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 10, 2015 10:49:32 GMT -5
Instead, it's just a good book that you wish someone else was drawing (or that JRJR was drawing like his old self from Demon in a Bottle days). Seriously? I haven't seen these comics you're talking about so I assumed you were comparing the art unfavourably with JRjr's mature work so I was pretty shocked when you then state that his 'Demon in a Bottle'stuff is the thing to aim for. I can only say that you must have extremely conservative taste in comic book art. JRjr is my favourite comics artist but quite frankly he doesn't stop being a knock off of his father until his last few issues of Stern's Amazing Spider Man when his own style blossoms and would be seen to great effect in his subsequent work on the X-Men and Daredevil and made him one of comics leading artists for the last 30 years. Perhaps I'm getting the wrong end of the stick, but are you actually arguing that only his very early work on Amazing and Iron man is any good -because I'd take the view that, whilst enjoyable enough, those are his weakest work. Also, you think that mid-70's Kirby Cap is something to emulate? It's a strange world. Marvel Boy wrote:Yeah that's amazing isn't it -Brubaker's run on Cap is the best ever in my view (rivalled only by the relatively brief Stern/Byrne era). A modern classic. When reading it I really got the sense of what it was like reading comics when I was a kid again which is something that just doesn't happen for me with pretty much all other modern comics. Obviously bringing back Buck is heresy and it will almost certainly cause genuine problems for writers of Captain America in the future, and the character's legacy, as Bucky will inevitably endure the comic book cycle of dying and coming back to life repeatedly now. Nonetheless, it's done so well here and the story is so great that it's worth it in a comic that has frankly had too few great moments in its history. Brubaker's run is also huge. Having read it I was concerned that it wouldn't translate to the big screen and the lack of it's role for comics fans as the holy grail of comic deaths, with the many false resurrections we've been teased with over the years, would leave the story as nothing more than a dramatic cliche. I was delighted to find that my fears were totally unjustified and upon asking non-comics fans about the movie and the impact of the resurrection the feedback has also been overwhelmingly favourable. JRJR is also one of my favorite artists though I enjoy most, if not, all of his work that I've seen. As pointed out by others here, artists first starting out at Marvel invariably imitate those that came before them or emulate the stylings and framework of the art they grew up with and read themselves, which is only naturally. So if JRJR emulated his father's famous style, I can't fault him for it for I find his Iron Man work to be rather good and dynamic. But having developed his own signature style now, his work is definitely more mature. His collaboration with Miller on Daredevil Man Without Fear is a classic, I would rank the quality of his run with Claremont on X-Men right up there with my other favorite X-artist, Paul Smith, his work with Nocenti on DD matched her unusual storylines (No else can draw Typhoid Mary like JRJR) and he imbued Thor with power and grace when he teamed up with Jurgens on the Thor relaunch after Heroes Reborn. He's currently working with Geoff Johns on Superman and his art and work is as exciting and dynamic as ever. Bucky's resurrection is certainly a huge caveat in Brubaker's hat. You're almost treading on Uncle Ben territory here but Brubaker handles it so deftly that you begin to wonder why he wasn't revived before now. And the cinematic portrayal is equally good as well, I thought Stan's portrayal of Bucky was a highlight amongst so many for that film. But I think you may also be right about too few crowning moments of Cap's run over the years. Stern/Byrne's limited output seems more like a blip on the radar, I have a smattering of issues where Zeck was the artist and I still love his powerful renderings of Cap. I was surprised to see awhile back that Marvel had indeed reprinted some of Gruenwald's iconic run, especially the issues leading up to Steve retaking the Cap America identity after being simply the Captain for awhile (#350, I believe it was, an issue that I recall loving upon first reading it all those moons ago) But as I mentioned before, sometimes Marvel felt the need to try and reflect the social mores of the times in Cap and that made it somewhat hard to get into. I've even read some of the early issues of Lee/Kirby after they brought Cap back and while the Red Skull storylines were interesting and fun, the first half of those issues were always Steve whining about being a man out of time. Which, of course, is an interesting character development but there is only so many ways to expound upon that for the umpteenth time before it gets old (even if it is Stan doing the expounding).
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 10, 2015 10:18:40 GMT -5
Hm, I can't recall offhand any real connection between the FF and the gov't. The FF are an incorporated business after all, so unless they violate some business or trade law, I'm not sure if the gov't could intervene in any of their outside adventures. (Unless this is somehow addressed in the Civil War story, which I haven't read just yet, but will now that it seems to form a basis for the next Cap film).
The official gov't liason with the team was a nice inventive touch. Gyrich was always a character you loved to hate and I did like how Busiek treated the role in Vol. 3 of the book. But I rather it be a loose affiliation than outright annexation for nowadays, for all intents and purposes, the team is practically a subsidiary of SHIELD, on call for whenever Maria Hill may need them.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 10, 2015 9:58:57 GMT -5
Really? Wow, then kudos to Ewing for doing his homework then.
I can see where it might be viewed as comic, but the sense I got was that it was rather distressing. For the mutation that he suffers in this issue is rather...shocking.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 10, 2015 9:51:46 GMT -5
IMHO, the Flash is the best adaption of a comic book on TV so far. It's got heart, drama, rather faithful adaptions of characters, and the level and breadth of effects are quite amazing. Arrow is darker (especially since they've adapted certain Batman mythos elements into the show) but at it's core, the love and emotions of the relationships are what holds the show together.
(Y'see, this is why I can't get into AOS. It's a dry procedural show, either something is stolen that they need to retrieve or they need to steal something themselves. Arrow and Flash are, at their core, soap operas. Some of the characters just happen to dress up as vigilantes)
But DC seems to want to follow Nolan's formula for the rest of their movies: grim, serious explorations of these characters. But if anything, DC's characters have always been about hope and I don't get that impression from these films or their outlines. Watch Christopher Reeves in the original Superman film and then watch Cavill in MOS. Do you get the same feeling of hope and wonder from Cavill's portrayal as you did from Reeves' portrayal? I don't.
What bothers me is that DC has a huge advantage over Marvel in one regard; DC's more prominent characters are more well-known than Marvel's characters. A decade ago, ask any general lay person who Iron Man was and they probably couldn't answer you. But everyone knows who Superman is, who Batman is, who Wonder Woman is, because of various pop culture exposure through the decades, either from films, TV shows, or even cartoons.
Marvel had to build up their characters in solo films first, so that when Avengers did happen, they didn't need to waste time with needless exposition. DC shouldn't have to do that. If you don't know the origin of Superman or even Batman by now, then you've been living under a rock in the middle of Alaska. DC should just put these characters in a dynamic, moving story and GO!
Instead, with every relaunch, we get a new origin, a new take, a new revamp. It's like they want to put themselves in a corner from the very start.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 10, 2015 9:32:50 GMT -5
We went to a late showing of the film this weekend, not really crowded which was nice and no real distractions from among those around us. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the action scenes were frenetic (another poster elsewhere commented on a faithful depiction of one comic scene and I agree, wonderful job: The personal beats were good, the romance in question was a surprise but I rather like the development and I'm interested in seeing how it plays out in later films. I did like Pietro and Wanda, though I'm still slightly confused over Wanda's powers. How exactly was she able to produce visions of the future in certain people? The last shot of her in the film, quite remarkable. James Spader was terrific, and you all are right, for being revealed so late in the film, the Vision was a very pleasant surprise, such a wonderful adaption of his character, really looking forward to seeing more of him. The biggest surprise for me was Hawkeye. This whole time, from Cap 2 to the AOS TV show, I kept wondering, where was Hawkeye during all of this? Some nice background exposition for him, with all the discussion over are they 'monsters' or not, Clint seems to be the most grounded one of them all (really liked his comment of how the team are 'his mess') Apparently the Thor subplot was supposed to be much longer and actually make sense for one thing. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen more of that aspect so maybe those scenes will be included on an upcoming DVD release (similar to what Singer is doing with X-Men DOFP, a new release this July will see all of Rogue's scenes reinstated into the film, SO looking forward to that). As for trailers, we saw the Ant-Man trailer, which looked fun, I'm assuming the bad guy ends up being Yellowjacket?! We also saw Tomorrowland, which looks interesting. My only quibbles with the film, I would have loved to have heard Thor say at one point, "Ultron, we would have words with thee" and my position is, yes, Steve should be able to lift Mjolnir, though rather surprised at who else was able to.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 3, 2015 19:20:12 GMT -5
#2 has been released though oddly it's entitled New Avengers: Ultron Forever.
The action picks up from the cliffhangers last issue as the Doom of this future keeps track of the various teams of Avengers' assault on Ultron's empire. Ewing does another good job here with characterization and dialogue, keeping the pace and surprises flowing well. Doom's reasoning for picking these specific time-tossed Avengers comes to light (a Thor whose immune to death, Jim Rhodes wearing primitive-tech armor, a Hulk that's not quite settled into his transformation yet). Our team(s) manage to triumph though to some, it seems too easy. Of course, things are not as they seem as the team realizes that Doom has schemes of his own for Ultron's empire which sets up for another good cliffhanger for the last issue (entitled oddly enough Uncanny Avengers: Ultron Forever)
I do have a question though about the early Hulk. Editorial does a nice job with footnotes (you remember those?) with informing readers of the past issues dealing with the certain situations these characters face (such as Thor under Hela's curse and Rhodes' physical problems wearing the Iron Man armor). One footnote goes all the way back to Hulk #6, in which Banner uses a gamma ray machine in trying to stabilize his transformations into the Hulk because of some unusual mutations that have occurred. (One flashback scene shows the Hulk's body with Banner's head as Rick Jones looks on aghast). This helps to inform a very unusual mutation that Hulk endures as this story progresses. So I was wondering how severe some of these mutations became until the transformation became more 'normal'. Was this an ongoing situation for awhile or did he only suffer this for a few issues or so? Frankly, this is the first time I've heard of this but it does seem rather interesting.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 3, 2015 9:33:40 GMT -5
Captain America is considered "peak human" level. He can lift about 850 lbs. The super soldier serum not only takes him to the pinnacle of human strength, it also gives him nearly superhuman stamina. He works out to hone his fighting skills. Different writers have said he doesn't have any powers but that isn't exactly true. So, in essence, the serum keeps him at that strength level regardless of any exercise he may undertake? Some of the explanations that I read elsewhere would suggest that, given the circumstances, it's possible that on a certain day, BP or DD may be stronger than Cap but the next day, after working out, Cap may edge out everyone else. It sounds fanciful to me, I would think the serum's purpose would be to constantly maintain the subject at peak human levels, regardless of extra exercise or intent. Like you mentioned, Steve works out to hone his fighting skills. But any regimen he would use to increase muscle mass or increase strength would be useless since he's already at the upper limit, right? @hb, Nick Fury and others used the Infinity Formula to stall aging. Though I can't recall if it's a derivative of the S-serum or not.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 3, 2015 9:18:08 GMT -5
Hm, favorite house chore, well, it's not inside the house technically, but I'd have to say mowing the yard. With the steady rumbling of the lawn mower engine and especially if it's a nice day outside, I find that it can get rather meditative in it's own way. (Of course, once finished, you have to slap the mower into 5th gear and take your well-deserved victory lap around the yard) Least favorite is easy, cleaning the cat's litter box. Ew. :lol: A Lord of Order would certainly be beneficial, but would Strange have to use any magic for I would think that Wong would handle most of the household chores in the Sanctum Santorum. That'd be a messy job though, not only doing the daily cleaning but then having to clean up any leftover demon ash, remove burn marks from the walls, making sure there's enough candles on hand for all the rituals, etc.
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Post by Marvel Boy on May 3, 2015 9:02:01 GMT -5
We're going to wait a week or so before trying to see the film. My wife is agoraphobic and crowded theaters make her very uncomfortable so this opening weekend is definitely out. So hopefully by the middle of next week, in the afternoon, the crowds will have tapered off some.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 26, 2015 9:34:13 GMT -5
While doing chores around the house the other day, I generally leave the TV on as background noise. Well, I stumbled across some excellent noise when I saw that the Esquire Network was airing a day-long block of the old Incredible Hulk TV show. I can't tell you the last time that I saw any of these episodes and they were airing some of the ones I remembered liking the most.
There was that two-parter, I forget the actual set-up, but it had to do with meteorites, a blind woman, and the Hulk being captured and imprisoned deep underground in a military base (ala NORAD). McGee was there, sneaking into the base, trying to uncover secrets and where the Hulk was at.
The other one was, I think, another two-parter, where Banner encounters the old man scientist, who's able to turn into the mean, skinny Hulk. The ending was intense, where Banner had the cure, was about to administer it to the old man, causing the old man to freak out, turn green, and he ended up destroying the cure. Which, of course, made Banner angry so he freaked out. But it was just his cries of frustration over the loss of the cure as he changed that really made the scene more intense.
It brought back some good memories and I think the show still holds up well today. Also, I've met Lou Ferrigno once, at a con, HUGE man, yikes!
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 26, 2015 9:19:04 GMT -5
Say, here's a geeky fanboy query: We have the great established frenemy rivalry between Namor and Herc. . . but has there ever been any examination of Namor vs Thor? Have they ever fought? Or teamed-up? Seems to me like Thor would not put up w/ Namor's imperial attitude for very long at all. . . HB That's a good question. The only instance that comes to mind is they teamed-up in Thor Vol. 2 #4 by Jurgens and Romita Jr. It was rather an epic battle to save NYC from a leviathan creature summoned by Sedna, the Sea Spirit. (An odd role reversal for Namor, for sure) I have a question about Cap's strength though. I came across a recent explanation that the Super-Soldier serum jumped Steve up to peak human strength. But Steve has to continually exercise and workout to maintain that level. For some reason, I'd always assumed that the serum maintained him at that strength level regardless. However it appears to be that the serum only allowed Steve to cheat to get to that level and it's up to him to stay at that level. Does that make sense to anyone here?
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 19, 2015 9:54:32 GMT -5
The first official trailer for Batman V Superman has been released online and after watching it, I feel kinda depressed. It's SO serious. I'm glad Warner is doing more, planning more, to bring these classic characters to the big screen but they seem to be missing out on Marvel's formula for film success: a healthy mix of humor, action, and drama. Yet MOS was so serious and dark and it's sequel seems to be following suit.
Which I find strange. DC's characters can be fun, humor can help lighten the tone occasionally without sacrificing the quality and message of the story. But Nolan with his Batman trilogy seems to have set some form of standard for them to follow and I'm not sure that's the right thing to do, especially since you're essentially playing catch-up with Marvel in the film dept.
Do we like or need such serious heroes? Or is it such a crime to see Clark or Bruce crack a smile every so often?
Thoughts?
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 19, 2015 9:41:57 GMT -5
Well HB, to me, you seem to be describing more of a manipulator rather than a tactician. Kang and Fury both have the capability of manipulating events and people to their own ends, qualities that I think have overshadowed their innate talents on the battlefield. Kang is an excellent warrior and general and lest we forget Nick's leading of the Howling Commandos.
But to me, a tactician implies someone who is able to lead their forces effectively in a battle. Cap certainly fills this bill, from his time in WW II to his leading the Avengers. Cyclops also fits this bill, although this has been brought more sharply into focus in recent years with his leading the remaining mutants on Utopia. Though Claremont had already highlighted this quality in Scott over the years.
Actually, I would pick Scott over Steve now that I think about it. If we are considering the qualifications of Batman, one of those has to be knowing the weaknesses of your foes and taking advantage of them. Scott is more than capable of this, a perfect example being Uncanny X-Men #175, wherein Scott is forced into combat against the team and he systemically takes them all down, on his own, by exploiting their weaknesses. Most impressive.
Although if we also consider Batman's ability to anticipate every single type of contingency for an event and plan accordingly, I think Tony would qualify as well. It's very hard to out-think Tony.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 19, 2015 9:29:29 GMT -5
Oooh, a character strength chart!
(and a Spidey Annual with a story by O'Neill with art by Miller and Janson?! I'm gonna have to track down a copy of this book)
Why is Cap listed amongst the bottom? I wouldn't consider him to have superhuman strength per se but I would think the serum would've given him the extreme upper limit of human strength, so for me, he's far stronger than everyone else in that grouping.
No, Colossus is far stronger than Spidey. And GR has superhuman strength?
The addition of Sasquatch is interesting although immersed in water, I would consider Namor to be the strongest of that grouping.
And no, Iron Man doesn't belong at the top (sorry Tony).
To answer the OP, my first instinct is Jen, the gamma radiation gives her an advantage alongside her body proportions. Although I seem to remember reading something about how gamma radiation affected people differently which is why different abilities are created (ala the Leader) but I could be mistaken. So does anger affect Jen's strength levels? I don't recall ever seeing her as angry as Bruce.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 5, 2015 10:21:27 GMT -5
As reported awhile back, this OGN sees the return of Starfox (Yay!) as he seeks out the Avengers' help when Ultron takes over the moon Titan. Written by Remender with art by Opena, this is a very solid story with some amazing art. Remender continues to mine conflict from personal drama as he explores the bond between Hank Pym and his 'son' Ultron, first in a flashback that shows how Ultron arrives on Titan (and how Hank manipulated Ultron in that defeat) to today, when Starfox arrives, warning of disaster. The best bet in defeating Ultron now is a device created by Hank that terminates AIs, something which Vision (amongst other Avengers) finds reprehensible. But it may be too late, as Ultron now has the power of a computer-networked moon behind him.
The story ends with a MAJOR status quo change for Hank, which has generated some debate given Marvel's latest issues with continuity. It's unsure of when this story happens, but according to Remender and Alonso, this does count so it'll be interesting to see how this moves forward. But really, an amazing comic, with some great characterization and drama and Opena delivers some stunning action sequences.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 4, 2015 9:15:24 GMT -5
It may also be a matter of perception. Hank's inventions and discoveries may be more 'amazing' (for lack of a better term) than Reed's work. Size-changing, the creation of a true AI, work with pocket universes, thought-control to an extent, these are wide-ranging 'fantastic' creations. Whereas Reed, whose genius work is admirable, follows more or less a traditional scientific path. It's also interesting to note, that of all the 'big brains' of the MU, Reed has suffered the least amount of trauma of them all, certainly nowhere near the level that Bruce and Hank have endured. But we could sum this up thusly: Hank created Ultron. Reed created Herbie.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Apr 4, 2015 8:53:37 GMT -5
This past Weds saw the release of #1 of this new 3-issue mini featuring a time-tossed team of Avengers, written by Al Ewing with art by Alan Davis.
The story is set in the Planet Ultron future first seen in Hickman's Avengers during the storyline where Cap is being shot through the future by the shattered Time Gem. To refresh your memory, here, Ultron has finally succeeded in conquering the Earth, decimating most forms of resistance, enslaving a large portion of humanity, and even has his own slave Avengers team. (Oh, and he's also the All-Father of Asgard).
The Doom of this time, whose been helping the human refugees of this onslaught, gathers six Avengers from throughout time to help overthrow Ultron's rule. They are:
Lady Thor - the only 'current' Avenger present
Black Widow, along with Vision who is accidentally taken as well when Natasha is kidnapped - judging by their dialogue with Lady Thor, this pair is from the most recent past, possibly as long as from a year ago.
Thor - in his armor, when he was suffering from Hela's curse.
Jim Rhodes' Iron Man
Hulk, from before the Avengers were even formed.
and finally, Danielle Cage, the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, from a future where she's adopted the identity of Captain America.
Ewing does a nice job with the characterizations and the plot moves along at a brisk pace (the team separates, launching various attacks on Ultron's empire with some dire results that made for some good cliffhangers for next issue). I've always enjoyed Davis' art and here, he delivers some excellent work (his early Hulk does look rather brutish) but there was something I found off about his Danielle, maybe it's that her lips or mouth are too big, I'm not sure but overall I liked the art.
Yes, this may be another tie-in grab at the upcoming Ultron craze, but with this first issue, seeing these pairings together and how they interact, this story is off to a good start.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 30, 2015 19:52:20 GMT -5
I can't recall the specifics on why Hank was picked for such a title, but that's an interesting view. Reed, Hank, Bruce, Tony, Victor, the most brilliant minds of the MU but how to rank them individually? Reed (and thus Victor) may rank atop but would that be because Hank's ongoing mental issues are holding/weighing him back to some degree? Reed may be adept at building technical marvels, but would Tony be considered a better engineer than Reed? Would Bruce be considered the premiere expert on radiation? (Then what of Doc Ock?)
And that's not even considering Peter, Franklin (both young and adult) and Valeria yet. Hm......
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 30, 2015 19:44:09 GMT -5
Thordis? Man, sounds like a pill I should be taking every morning. :lol:
Jane has appeared in Aaron's run, she was in remission after facing a bout of cancer and Freyja had allowed Jane to move to Asgardia, in effect, becoming an ambassador of humanity/Earth to them, so she at least had an opportunity to pick up Mjolnir. But Lady Thor's inner thought monologues seem to point more towards her being Roz.
I just hope at some point, with all this SW stuff coming up, that they reveal what secret Old Nick Fury whispered into Odinson's ear that caused him to become unworthy. What could possibly become known that would have such an instantaneous effect upon Mjolnir? (and under Aaron's pen, there are some strong indications that Mjolnir may be more sentient that first thought. The hammer has even refused to obey Odin's commands.)
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 30, 2015 19:28:02 GMT -5
My initial "thought" is that this very young-looking "Avengers" team reminds me of that NEXT AVENGERS DvD that came out a few years ago, and I had no interest in and avoided----- My next thought is I will ONLY be checking this book out if it is a freebie for FCBDay. And I'm left with a feeling of disappointment, another Avengers title I probably won't be interested in... I just want something SOMEWHAT reminiscent of Avengers volume 1 or 3, or West Coast Avengers. It's hard to get my Avengers fix these days. oh well, that movie in May looks pretty good...... Yes, this is the issue for FCBDay. About the replacements, I'm somewhat surprised that they are still there. With Secret Wars being made out to be such a BIG event, I would've thought that Odinson and Steve might end up re-assuming their hero identities but apparently not. So I find it interesting that Marvel is charging ahead with Lady Thor and Falcon-Cap. And so far, no clue as to whom is actually under that Iron Man armor. But for me, the biggest part of this announcement is Mark Waid. I'm not sure how you all may feel about him as a writer, but from my experience reading his work over the years, Waid GETS it. After 2-3 years of celestial, multiversal, non-linear epic stories from Hickman, Waid may end scaling the adventures back down to something resembling traditional, especially if this is the ongoing size of the team, without the bazillion number of reserves and alternates in the wings.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 29, 2015 10:46:23 GMT -5
Well, I have a special appreciation for Hank, I started reading Avengers around the time of the Trial of Egghead so I was introduced to Hank's mental woes from the get-go.
His Ultron-guilt seems to be a long-standing element regardless of the character or costume changes, I think that guilt was handled best in Avengers Vol. 3 by Busiek, seeing Hank try and finally come to terms with that guilt amidst all that ruin and devastation caused by Ultron, Hank's final lashing out at Ultron with the Vibranium at the story's end felt very cathartic.
But one interpretation of Hank that I liked was in Slott's Mighty Avengers, when Hank earned the title of Scientist Supreme, whose technical achievements are so impressive and inspiring as to be almost akin to magic. It may sound a bit hokey, but I thought it was an original look at the extreme technical prowess of Hank, mental issues aside.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 29, 2015 10:33:38 GMT -5
I'm a longtime Iron Man fan and I must say, the only reason I'm getting this title is because it's delivered right to my doorstep in the mail. Oh bother, where do I start?
From the mess that was AXIS, the only two long-standing consequences appear to be the 'inverted' Sabretooth and Tony Stark. Tony, free of moral compunctions, free to spread his genius however he sees fit, Tony the social drinker again.
To me, this new 'inverted character, is a huge step backward, especially in light of Gillen's fine previous run. Swept to the side are any implications and consequences of Tony's true parentage and his ongoing relationship with his new-found brother Arno, now we are focused on a more hedonistic Tony, whose determined to help humanity (while pursuing costs) however he can.
But what gets me is his return to drinking, his casual nonchalance over throwing sobriety away. It's galling. The last time he fell off the wagon hard, it was under the masterful pen of Denny O'Neill, when Obadiah Stane came after Tony, Iron Man, his company, his way of life. It took Tony over 20 issues to recover from that fall. Now, if Tony is driven to drink again, I'd rather it be due to some personal issues, tragedy, what have you, and not due to some ill-defined magic spell. That seems like poor characterization to me.
Cilnar's art has been great, of course, the only saving grace for this title for me. Tom Taylor, who is a new writer for me, is given the task of making this 'inverted' Tony something of a hero in his own title (though when Daredevil made some guest appearances, Taylor handled Matt's characterization rather well, in fact, I'd like to see how Taylor would handled DD on a monthly basis).
For all the changes Secret Wars seems set to unleash, I hope reversing this 'inversion' is one of them.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 29, 2015 10:19:10 GMT -5
As you may or may not know, Jason Aaron and Marvel received quite a bit of flak when it was announced that a new female Thor was set to appear. But they also received strong encouragement and thanks from female fans for portraying another strong female lead character.
All I can say, since it's start, the new Lady Thor series has been quite entertaining. Odin has returned and he is bemused and scornful over Freyja's handling of Asgardia's affairs but he really bristles when he learns of this new female Thor. The real Thor (who goes by the name Odinson now) is at a loss, bereft of hammer and now his identity, Aaron devotes a whole issue to Odinson and the new Thor (excuse the pun) hammering out their differences.
Aaron swears that the secret identity of this new female Thor is someone whose already been introduced in his run. Clues would seem to point to SHIELD Agent Roz Solomon though part of me wishes it could be Jane Foster (for how cool would that be, that after all these years, that she would be worthy enough to pick up Mjolnir).
Dauterman's art has been a blessing on this book, giving the Lady Thor her own regal flow about her.
So, for as long as this title lasts (with SW looming), it's been quite the thrill ride.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 29, 2015 9:56:57 GMT -5
While details have been scarce about the nature of the MU after Secret Wars, Marvel has released the line-up of the new Avengers team set to premiere on Free Comic Book Day: There's Falcon-Cap, Vision, Lady Thor, an Iron Man, Nova, Ms. Marvel and Miles Morales the Ultimate Spider-Man. Early word is that Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar will be the creative team. So we're going younger, perhaps scaling back on the team size and going in an All-New direction. I admit, I'm intrigued. Thoughts?
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 29, 2015 9:41:47 GMT -5
As of yet, I haven't followed UA into this new volume. AXIS left such a poor taste in my mouth, with it's rushed plotting and nonsensical results. I almost wish that Editorial had left Remender's idea alone so he could have executed it more properly as the ending of UA Vol 1.
As for whether this title might continue or not, Marvel recently confirmed that at least 33 of their titles will be cancelled (for now) in lieu of the Secret Wars event. Here's the list:
All-New Captain America All-New Ghost Rider All-New X-Men Amazing Spider-Man Amazing X-Men Angela: Asgard’s Assassin Avengers, Avengers World Captain Marvel Cyclops Deadpool Elektra Fantastic Four Guardians 3000 Guardians of the Galaxy Hulk Inhuman Iron Fist: The Living Weapon Legendary Star-Lord Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man New Avengers Nightcrawler Nova Rocket Raccoon Secret Avengers Spider-Man & the X-Men Spider-Man 2099 Storm Superior Iron Man Thor Uncanny X-Men Wolverines X-Men
So UA may survive the cut, but we still got April to go so that may change.....
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 29, 2015 9:26:44 GMT -5
How about this for a crossover? Awhile back, Hugh Jackman was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon promoting his new film, Chappie. As he is wont to do, Jimmy likes playing silly (but amusing) games so he invited Hugh to play, I forgot the name of it, but it's Musical Chairs but with beer instead. They have this wide table set up with various groupings of cups of beer, the players have to circle the table and when the music stops, everyone tries to grab a cup of beer. The player(s) who don't are out.
Needing more players, Jimmy invites out some other guests and celebrities, one of whom was Chris Hemsworth (who was in NYC I think to host the SNL you referred to Starry). So yeah, Wolverine and Thor played Musical Beers, quite hilarious, google the scene if you want to know how they fared.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Mar 29, 2015 9:18:37 GMT -5
I'm not the most tech-savy person in the world so I don't know what happened, it's just for quite a few months there, every time I'd try to come here, the board wouldn't load. It would lag and lag and lag and never load and that was on my laptop, my Kindle Fire too. Strange. So on a whim, I tried it again the other day and BAM! it's back. And so I am. Yeah, I'm still reading the Avengers with some New Avengers tossed in. Since the Time Runs Out storyline began, I've enjoyed the title more, Sam and Roberto have been getting some quality time (at last) and Sam raising a child with Izzy is an interesting development. But Hickman's story is still a bit too GRAND for my taste. From what I gather elsewhere on the Interweb, this culmination of his storyline which leads into Secret Wars has it's roots going all the way back to his run on FF, in fact, seemingly every Marvel title he's written so far has laid the seeds for this event. Give the man credit, he does play the long game but if you haven't read all of his material, then some reveals and twists make little to no sense.
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