Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Heroes Case File #60: Ronin

You’ll never guess who’s behind the mask. Seriously. Even I’m not sure here.

When Brian Michael Bendis took over the Avengers titles, he decided to blow up the team.  That was literal in more than a few cases, like Jack of Hearts.  Hawkeye, who Bendis claimed was his favorite character, died in another massive explosion but emerged later thanks to House of M.  These things happen.

But Bendis then brought in a new team that he saw as a chance to do an all-star team like the original Avengers line-up was, but with the all-stars that existed then.  Not all of them made sense, and some of them were questionable picks.  But among the promotional art was a “new” character called Ronin.  Who was Ronin?  Well, that depended on what comic you were reading.

Moon Knight? Really?

Daredevil has been a roaring success for Netflix, and with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist on the way, plus Elektra and the Punisher being added to Daredevil, it does seem to be a good place for Marvel’s street level heroes to get some exposure.

As it is, rumors suggest Netflix may be interested in Moon Knight for his own show.  Who is Moon Knight?  Answer after the cut.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars XXI (Master Of Kung Fu Edition)

As I’ve made my way through reading all the Secret Wars tie-ins, some titles naturally gravitated to the bottom of my “to read” pile for some reason or another.  Upon agreeing to work on the Power Rankings, I had to catch up on those “bottom of the pile” reads, and quick.  Some turned out to be true gems (Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos, Inhumans: Attilan Rising) while others turned out to be better than expected (M.O.D.O.K. Assassin, Master Of Kung-Fu).  (Where Monsters Dwell was in that list too.  While not a true gem, it is definitely better than expected and in the second tier of titles in the rankings.)

One of those titles has come to completion, and after the break we will look at the drunken adventures of Shang-Chi, the Master Of Kung-Fu.

Related links:
Secret Wars Power Rankings
Tom’s Road To Secret Wars: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7.
Other parts of this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars Part Ten (Secret Wars Journal Edition)

There is a common title that pops up during Marvel events that tries to give a “view from the common man”.  These books tend to revolve around a newspaper and their staff as they cover the events of the, uh, event.  And they generally manage to get into some hi-jinx of their own.  You might notice a common theme with the naming of these books: Civil War Front Line, Secret Invasion Front Line, World War Hulk Front Line and…Siege Embedded.

In this mixed up, messed up planet that is Battleworld, there really isn’t an opportunity for Marvel to roll out a Front Line-esque tie-in.  Instead they’ve given us not one, but two short story anthology books: Secret Wars Battleworld and Secret Wars Journal.

I’ve looked at the first two issues of Battleworld in Part Four and Part Five respectively.  After the break I’ll have a spoilery look at Secret Wars Journal #1,  Secret Wars Journal #2 and Secret Wars Journal #3.

Also, if you are like me and haven’t read all of Johnathon Hickman’s Avengers run leading up to Secret Wars, be sure to take Tom’s Road To Secret Wars course at gabbinggeekuniversity.com.  The reading materials are online here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six and Part Seven.

And that course is a prerequisite to the other parts of this series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three,Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine