The only Avengers book I’ve been reading regularly since the end of Secret Wars is All-New All-Different Avengers. That is mostly because of the presence of Miles Morales. (I read Uncanny Avengers for about 5 minutes before Peter Parker/Spider-Man left the team.) And much like I mentioned in my Spider-Women Alpha review, I’m a sucker for crossovers, especially those that interrupt my regular monthly readings with tie-ins. As such, I’ve been reading the Avengers Standoff event. Some spoilers and thoughts on the latest chapter, Uncanny Avengers #8, after the break.
Most alternate realities that make up the multiverse at both Marvel and DC Comics are variations on a theme. There are some completely originally universes, but most are inhabited by Elseworlds and What If? stories that take our familiar heroes and villains and apply a twist. Maybe the hero and villain have changed roles. Or our hero was raised in Russia instead of on a farm in the middle of the US.
A common twist is to time displace characters. For example, what if Batman was around in the days of Jack The Ripper? In 2003, writer Neil Gaiman transplanted the Marvel Universe to the Elizabethan Era in the hit 1602. Not surprisingly, a domain of Battleworld gets dedicated to this time period in 1602 Witch Hunger Angela. Unfortunately, while the original series was a huge success, this Secret Wars version is quite poor. But to fulfill my contract here at Gabbing Geek, I still need to cover the last two issues after the break.
In much the same vein, the Secret Wars series 1872 takes the Marvel Universe and places it in the old West. So after the break I’ll also be cluing up the final 3 issues of that series…for better or worse. (For worse if you ask Ryan.)
Life is funny sometimes. When I wrote my walk through of Secret Wars #9 I mentioned that I had read all the events books except for Armor Wars #½. Since it was a limited giveaway at Toys R’ Us (a store I don’t frequent) I had a hard time getting my hands it. Strangely enough, it was literally half an hour after that review posted to the website, I happened upon a copy.
After the break I will inch closer to completing this odyssey with the aforementioned Armor Wars #½, as well as finish off Weirdworld (#3-5) and X-Men ’92 (Infinite) (#7-8). As usual, this way be spoilers.
Last week, I covered a character that was mostly used by one creator during a comic run for a team book. That was DC’s Faith. It seems only fair to do that again this week for Marvel. Only this time, the creator in question was writing that team for a very, very long time.
This may also just be a retcon gone wrong. This week, we’re looking at Sage.
What if our favorite Disney Princesses decided to don a new look, and dress up as Superheroines? Who would they be? Well, thanks to Artist Isaiah K Stephens we can see what these amazing women would look like with their alter egos. For example, Aurora above has chosen to dress up as Daenerys Targaryen. See Belle, Ariel, and so much more after the break.
Deck building games are one of my favorite board game genres and Legendary has earned a spot as one of my favorites in this category. Find out why after the break.
Grant Morrison was, at best, a crazy fit for the X-Men. He came onboard at a time when X-Men continuity was extremely tight and tried to make some interesting changes that long term didn’t stick too well. To be fair, at least one of his changes didn’t really make a lot of sense. Having Magneto working undercover in the Xavier School as the mutant Xorn, claiming to be a Chinese mutant healer with a star for a brain, wasn’t a bad idea, and even the helmet blocking the psychic scans of Professor Xavier, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost works, but it never explained how he fooled Wolverine’s advanced senses. Likewise, Morrison’s take on Magneto as some sort of flaky cult leader who had trouble taking out a single NYPD officer with a handgun was rather embarrassing for the longtime friend and foe of the X-Men. No wonder Chris Claremont reversed that whole thing the minute he got back and declared Magneto was never Xorn. Other ideas of Morrison’s, like secondary mutations, the U-Men, and Cassandra Nova had lasting effects to one degree or another, but the final image of his run was Cyclops and Emma Frost making out on top of Jean Grey’s grave…with her approval from some point in the distant future. Yeah, it was a screwy run in many ways, and Morrison’s style of storytelling may not fit too well with Marvel Comics, while DC’s emphasis on spectacle and wonder over personality seems to work out for him fine.
That said, Morrison gave the world Beak during his time on the X-Men, and that alone was a stroke of masterful storytelling.
With successful shows like Arrow, The Flash, and Gotham on the rise, it’s no wonder that Fox is chomping at the bit to get into the game and cash in on the popularity that are Superheroes on TV. And without further adieu, we bring you a live action X-Men that’s about to join the gambit of shows already slated. Gambit. Heh-heh!
You think you know Superman? You think just because you read some comics and watched some movies that you know Clark Kent? You suppose that since you’ve seen 7 different Batmen, that you can pick one out of a crowd? Want to test your ability to psycho analyze? Well step right up – and compare your abilities to the best psychologists out there.
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