#Comic books are funny because you get this in canon when they do ‘Hero X turns evil’ arcs/alternate universes

[kittykatninja321]

I can’t get into 90% of “Dark (Character X)” fics because I find that it usually means that the character in question is behaving less like themselves and more like a stereotypical evil seme/mustache twirling villain and often just being used as a prop to whump on Character Y. But every once in I do come across that 10% that feels real and beautiful and true and makes me go “while I don’t think that they would do something that fucked up if they did that’s exactly how they would do it”

[venuslarkspur]

Teen Hero Shenanigans

(like running away and stealing your pseudo sister’s costume and then your brothers bsf decides to come with you, young feelings are complicated yall)

Pairing: Damian Wayne x Twin!Sister reader (platonic) Jon Kent x Reader (romantic)

Picture me this, Reader is Damian’s Twin Sister who gets discharged from being Robin (She says fired, Bruce says discharged) shortly after Damian is brought back home after running away. Reader kind of feels guilty for wanting her twin to reject the role so she can stay as the Girl Wonder, but no he takes back the mantle, (which is like being left in the desert without water), her other siblings and batfam high key felt this was a bit cold of Bruce (especially Steph since she herself was also fired from being Robin)

The rest of her siblings just walk on eggshells cause they know what’s happened and try and comfort her but Reader gets so fed up of all the smothering and being fired being shoved in her face, so she literally just takes her phone and a couple essentials and whilst everyone’s asleep sneaks into the Batcave and steals one of the Batgirl costumes (specifically Barbara’s old purple and yellow one, as she was now going back to her identity as Oracle) and flees deciding she’s going to prove her worth by setting up post elsewhere and becoming the newest Batgirl. (While simultaneously sending her family into a worry)

(Not at all comic book canon but instead of Tim reclaiming the role the reader comes along costume ready since Tim needs to do something else besides being Robin 😭)

I thought about it and I thought it would be so cute for reader to have Jon Kent as a love interest, (there’s not enough Twin!Batsis x Jon Kent) like imagine being friends with Y/N Wayne and she announces she’s running away to go lead the rough life but you don’t want her to leave so you come with her and create double trouble together. (Would create so much drama considering his friendship with Damian) also I would age up Reader and Damian to be about 16 (since Dc aged Jon up and we can’t have nice things so they leave Damian the same)

It would be even funnier if Bruce and Clark connected the dots and both desperately want to be wrong until Oracle taps into the security footage of Metropolis where you were last seen and you and Jon are coming out of your little operations base and the whole Batcave is like “oh hell.” (Damian is convinced you kidnapped Jon and that the Lazarus Pit madness is getting to you, he’s still going to pin it all on Jon like your his only twin pff)

Reader won’t and will never kill again, yes she’s pissed at her father but even when her and her brother were with the League she never particularly liked the killing, now she’s grown to become very verbal of the no killing rule. Reader isn’t worried though, if things get too out of hand and she accidentally nearly slips up Jon will be there to put her back on track and bring her back to reality.

This all probably ends with them getting caught and turning themselves in because at the end of the day they are both just kids who miss their respective families. (Even Reader)

We also need more Cass x Batsis love (platonic) so I’m going to include some of that. But yeah. I need to write this shit now.

This is gonna be so dramatic but so funny at the same time.

(The prologue is out!)

[sinagrace]

Iceman’s been back on my mind lately. It started with the internet rumor that Shia Labeouf was being considered to play the role of Bobby Drake in a Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the X-Men. My DMs and @Mentions on social media were a mixture of intense reaction and then asking my take on who would make a great Bobby Drake (for the record: in my head I always saw him as a younger Antoni Porowski with a theater background, ‘cuz playing the funny guy with a vulnerable streak requires serious acting shops). My mind went back to the time of BC, when I was doing a lot of touring, and answering this very question because of my work on the Iceman book at Marvel. One thing led to another, and I decided to take a trip further down memory lane to look at my favorite volume of the series: Amazing Friends. Now, I know I’ve spent equal amounts of time publicly stating what a gift working on Iceman was, while also calling out the challenges that came with the experience, but the third volume really was a pure blessing. I was able to take every valuable lesson I learned as a writer, and apply it to telling a story that would be interesting to one person: Me. I’ve been a lifelong X-Men fan, I live and breathe comics, so my own expectations for a return to the series seemed like the only ones to really worry about meeting/ surpassing. The first two volumes had been so bogged down by rotating editors, complex continuity, company-wide events, multiple artists… The third volume was my chance to focus on what an Iceman series was outside of so much context. All that mattered was challenging myself to do an X-Men story that focused on the aspects of the franchise I felt were valuable and relevant, meaning: excuses to have Emma Frost be an asshole and finding an opportunity to make fun of Kitty Pryde’s haircut. Before moving on from Marvel, Axel Alonso made time to call me for a pep talk about the series. I wanted to get the series extended, and he wanted to help me succeed with the ten issues he could commit to. First, he offered an eleventh issue to give me more time on the stands. He took a look at everything I had planned, and basically told me to restructure with an eye for ramping up the pace. My writing background comes from prose and essays/ think pieces… both of which are methodical and provide some allowance from the reader to really take your time and set up the world before diving into the meat. That’s not the case with comics. You gotta work fast. Especially in today’s market, there is less and less room for a retailer to say, “give it two volumes, because shit starts really coming together by the third trade.” That was literally my speech for hooking people on such iconic series as Invincible, Fables, and Strangers in Paradise. Nowadays, every single issue is not a brick to be laid down as foundation so much as a bullet in your gun. Conflicting imagery, but that’s the point. Axel told me to think about the Big Moments in my life and sort out how to inject the mutant metaphor into it and make the most compelling comic book story I could. This was epic advice that I took with me into the new arc, but I struggled a bit with what could be bigger than the “coming out” storyline in volume one. Love was off the table because I wanted to keep Bobby single and ready to mingle. Death was off the table too, because my editor felt like we’d done enough with Bobby’s parents in the first two volumes. Upon looking at my own life, and considering the stuff me and my friends were dealing with, I landed on something a bit more reflective than LIFE or DEATH. I wanted to focus on that moment when a gay guy looks outside of himself and realizes the folks around him may not have it so easy. After everything we’ve been dealing with this summer, Iceman’s “big issue” of the arc feels oddly prescient. Bobby Drake had to reconcile his accidental complicit role in keeping the Morlocks down, and he has to investigate new approaches to being a better ally to those who don’t want to or can’t live under the protection of the X-Men. I used the Morlocks to allegorically speak to the issues that the trans/ NB community face today. Considering that trans folks are facing higher rates of homelessness and murder than other members of the LGBTQIA+ community, all I needed to do was find a perfect villain to treat the Morlocks as “lesser-than.” Cue Mister Sinister, who I wrote as particularly Darwinist with a major flair for interactive theater. While Amazing Friends definitely is the most fun I’ve had working on the book, it was also full of the heaviest shit I’ve written about. I’m so grateful that my editor let me use Emma Frost for a story about the trauma of gay conversion therapy with her brother Christian, but I’m still annoyed he wouldn’t let me put her in a sickening Givenchy outfit for her reveal. Similarly, creating the Madin character required that I chat with several mental healthcare professionals and members of the NB community to respectfully portray them as a resilient and fleshed out hero. I included personal lessons that I learned from years of the therapy (the sandcastle / sea image, a Jay Edidin fave moment). My editor and I weren’t always aligned, but we definitely were on each other’s side. He understood what I was trying to do and asked questions when something flew over his head, and he even had the good instincts to stop me from going too heavy handed with the ending. My original idea for the arc’s finale was to have Bobby become permanently scarred in his fight with Sinister, where he’d have a cool ice gash running across his face or something, a la Squall from Final Fantasy 8. The goal was to show Iceman stripping himself of his ability to pass as non-mutant to save the Morlocks, but the Mutant Pride fight scene being a stand-in for the Stonewall Riots kind of already made enough of a statement. Plus, no one in editorial wanted to deal with remembering to track his scar in other books. At first I tried to balk at his point of view, but when I looked over my original notes for the series, the point was to focus on optimism and hope. Giving Bobby a permanent scar and emphasizing the notion of sacrifice was too bleak a message for a series wherein the hero carbo-loads hoagies while riding an ice scooter and mutant drag queens emcee local festivals. Of course, the crowning achievement of the series… my mutant drag queen :) I’ve witnessed a lot when it comes to the world of pop culture and myth-making, and I 100% believe that you can’t plan the success of something. I’ve seen bands forced into breaking up because labels spend six figures failing at making listeners connect with an album. I witnessed firsthand how The Walking Dead was built from relatively humble beginnings as a buzzy cable drama into a literal international phenomenon over the course of its first three seasons. Everyone hopes for the best, but you never know how something will land with audiences. When the Shade character took off, I was truly astounded. Things I posted on Instagram while half-asleep became official quotes on major news sites. Queens and cosplayers were interpreting her like Margot Robbie had unveiled a new Harley Quinn lewk. The impact was so legit and immediate that we had to jump in and give Shade a proper Marvel hero alias, to truly welcome her into the X-Men canon. Hence the name change to Darkveil. (Funny story: I tried to fight hard for Madame X as an alias, but CB didn’t want another Agent X / “X-Name” character. Three months later, Madonna announced the Madame X album. Phew!) There was a time where I felt uncertain that the folks in charge at Marvel would bring Darkveil into any stories outside of the ones I wrote. My understanding was that Hickman was like the Cylons and had A Plan-- one that didn’t include her character. I made peace with my contribution to the Marvel Universe being contained, but then someone on social media pointed out that Darkveil showed up in an issue of Marvel Voices. After breaking down and reading Hickman’s House of X, I saw that his Plan was one of endless possibilities, and that he was moving EVERY character into new and dynamic places. I have hope now that he sees the possibilities with Darkveil, and takes advantage of her and all of her many body pouches. Amazing Friends really is my favorite thing I’ve done for the Big Two. I made a lifelong friend out of artist Nate Stockman (DC, please hire us for a Plasticman book), and I got to run a victory lap with the most encouraging and supportive readers out there. It was worth every dreadful conversation, every shitty thing a person said to me online, and all of the fun nonsense that goes into being creative for a living. Being stuck at home in quarantine has given me a lot of time to reflect on the gift that my career to date has been, and I feel so grateful to be where I am today. Other people may groan when they have to talk about something they’ve moved on from, but not me. I made people happier, I got to work with my favorite characters at Marvel, and and I'll say it again: it’s a frickin’ gift to make people move from your work. So, I will engage every tweet or message asking me my thoughts about who should play Bobby Drake in the Marvel Cinematic Universe… I’ll just never have a good answer.

[batfamily--headcanons]

I really want to understand this universe(the golden era I think) so could you guide me on which comics I should read

I will first admit that I am no expert on comics and I’m not particularly good at keeping track of the different eras. However, I can give you a list of what I think are some of the most classic Batman/Batfam/DC stories and the ones I just adore.

Batman: A Death In the Family-Classic story, everyone pretty much knows of this story but not everyone has read it. This is when Jason Todd (Robin #2) is brutally murdered by the Joker and it is the first introduction to Robin #3, Tim Drake. It gets really weird in the middle, when the Joker becomes an ambassador for Iran, but stick with it because Tim’s introduction is one of the most interesting Robin origin stories.

Batman: Death Of the Family-This is a different story despite the way too similar name. It’s newer and more gruesome than you might expect. This is the story where the Joker taunts the entire Batfamily and kidnaps them all. It has the whole Batfam in it which is what made me want to pick it up and read it in the first place and is definitely a great way to understand the characters as all of their greatest fears are revealed in this story. There are multiple issues spanning across different series from Batman to Red Hood and The Outlaws, so I definitely recommend getting the trade paperback of it because it’s easier than hunting down each issue in order.

Batman: The Long Halloween-This is such a classic story with lots of Batman Rogues running around and causing mayhem. They’re also speculating that this is potentially what the new Robert Pattinson Batman movie is based on, so it might be good to read if you’re excited for that movie (I have mixed feelings, but I’m hopeful). Also as a huge Agents of SHIELD and comic fan in general, I love so much of what Jeph Loeb does.

Tom King’s current Batman run-Pretty good until the wedding issue and then shit goes off the rails fast and it angered a lot of fans, myself included. Nevertheless, it did have some great moments. He also wrote Heroes in Crisis, which I do not recommend at all.

Batman:The Killing Joke-The animated movie did this story so dirty and I will always be mad. It’s one of the many possible Joker origin stories and the most popular by far. It’s not a very long story, but it absolutely regarded as a classic and it is when Barbara gets shot by the Joker so it’s also important for a major change in canon as well. Solid writing, beautiful art. I could go on about this forever. If you do decide to watch the movie, skip the first half, it’s ridiculous filler (with a ridiculous 90′s stereotypical gay character to boot).

Dick Grayson as Agent 37-This was a pretty fun storyline all things considered. It’s great if you want to fully understand Dick’s character without getting confused about the baggage that is having all of the Batfam characters around. For some people, they get the Robins easily confused (part of that is DC’s fault for literally drawing the same character but just taller or shorter) so it shines the spotlight on Dick.

Red Hood and The Outlaws (The one with Roy and Kori)-I so badly want to recommend this because I love these characters together, but Lobdell’s writing is not always spot-on and his depiction of Kori is comic book misogyny at its finest at times. Maybe read the first few issues just to get a better feel for post-Lazarus pit Jason, but it’s not the best series.

Red Hood:The Lost Years:I am a slut for Jason Todd angst, I won’t lie and so this is one of my personal favourites and it helps to establish resurrected Jason’s character to new readers. You really see how he struggled after his death and Talia al Ghul is there too which is even better. Jason is one of the most interesting and complex characters in all of DC comics and they almost never do anything exciting with his character so this series is a breath of fresh air. 

Batman:Under the Red Hood-This is about Jason’s return to Gotham after being resurrected and it’s great. The conflict between him and Bruce once he learns that it’s Jason under the hood is so well-written and you find yourself agreeing with both of them to an extent. Another great Jason Todd story. There’s also an animated movie based on this as well and it’s pretty good all things considered (I have Jay’s speech to Bruce at the end memorized so that should tell how much I enjoy it).

A lot of the new 52 stuff is not great. Tim’s new 52 Titans team were just kind of meh and like I said, Red Hood and the Outlaws had potential but was brought down by not so great writing. I wish I could remember some good Tim or Damian stories right now, but I’m blanking. Super Sons is newer, but I liked it quite a bit. It’s about Damian, Bruce’s blood son, and Jon Kent, Superman and Lois’ son fighting crime and going on adventures together. It’s a nice bit of fluff in the darkness that comics has become these days.

Harley Quinn (The Jimmy Palmiotti/Amanda Conner series)-This one is probably one of my favourite new 52 releases. I love where they’ve taken Harley’s character, she’s more than just the Joker’s girlfriend and this series shows it. It’s not too serious and most of the time, it can be downright weird, but it’s so fun you can’t help but love it. I own every single issue from the Conner/Palmiotti run. I haven’t read it since they left, so if anyone has, let me know if it’s any good because from what I did see of it, I wasn’t super impressed.

I do have some non-DC recs too so I’ll put them here as well because why not

House of X/Powers of X-The best X-Men story in recent memory and I love the X-Men so much so this makes me so happy. They’ve done some very interesting things with the characters and I love the acknowledgement that Franklin Richards is technically a mutant and the catty way that Cyclops does it is great.

House of M-One of the best X-Men stories and probably what WandaVision will be taking a lot of inspiration from. If you like alternate universes and reality bending, this is for you.

Matt Fraction’s run on the Hawkeye solo series-This is what made me fall in love with Clint and Kate as characters. It shows that the Hawkeyes are not useless Avengers and it has a bit of humour to it, which I love. The Kate Bishop follow-up to this is pretty good too, but I haven’t finished it yet so I can’t vouch for the whole series.

Deadpool Killustrated Series-This is just Wade murdering his way through the Marvel Universe and then through the classic literary characters that those characters were based on. It’s dark, funny, strange story that’s a whole lot of fun without having to worry about keeping up with 80 years of canon. 

I hope this helped in some small way. I am always up for talking comic recommendations since none of my real life friends care about comics. If anyone has any recommendations for me, I am all ears. I read stuff from all over so brand is no issue. I don’t really feed into that Marvel vs DC stuff anymore. Both companies have their strengths and weaknesses and that’s okay. It’s really late here and I’m procrastinating writing a paper so do forgive any spelling errors or completely incoherent sentences :) Stay safe everyone!

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle #1 Thoughts

Well...this was odd.

I’ve never read a Round Robin before, not in comics or any other medium.

I think the first thing to acknowledge is that this wasn’t intended to be taken strictly seriously (let alone canonically) and certainly wasn’t treated as such by the creators. It’s more a creative exercise or experiment, the reading equivalent of a theme park ride I suppose.

That makes critiquing it weird and tricky. Thus I’m going to treat this more like an anthology book than one big story as the creative teams were not put in the best position to make everything hang together. I’m going to briefly talk about if I liked the art, the characterization of Spidey (and any other regular characters who pop up) and really that’s it. I don’t think it’s fair to lambast a this comic for taking Spider-Man into space or into a mystical direction as it’s supposed to be weird, wacky and fun, not taking itself seriously.

Also I’ll be writing about each part immediately after I’ve read it and before I’ve read the next part.

Awaaaaaaaaaaaay we go!

Part 1

Didn’t care for this one. Perhaps it’s because it’s the opening chapter and gets to set the stage, I can’t give it as much slack as everything else.

I’ve never liked Hickman and whilst the stuff about his work that annoys me wasn’t present here, his characterization of Spider-Man was very off. It felt ripped straight out of Brand New Day in how buffoonish and infantilized Spider-Man was (he even unmasks in the corner for no reason), the art not helping in this regard.* The art itself wasn’t very good because...well it’s modern day Bachalo and he’s literally leaving panels blank for no reason. Plus in some scenes I genuinely couldn’t tell what was happening.

The final thing to not about this part is that it might be set in the 1980s as Spider-Man is wearing his black costume and the recap page claims this to be an untold tale for Spider-Man. plus it features Hasslhoff Fury instead of Jackson Fury.

Big take away.

Hickman shouldn’t write Spider-Man in the future.

*Not to mention other people were treating Spider-Man as a joke.

Part 2

I liked this one much better. There was one moment of buffonishness with Spider-Man where he was in his underwear, but the other gags (like Spider-Ham and Fury shooting a ferret) I thought were earned enough. I also liked that Duggan provided a way to allow for the black and the red costumes to appear in the story. I adored the reference to the Florida Spidey theme park ride and the art was beautiful.

The only questionable parts were Spider-Man’s webbing working in space (how, there is no gravity?) and the werewolves kind of coming out of nowhere. Maybe that’s a little too harsh on my part given the nature of this story though.

My takeaway is that Smallwood should draw more Spider-Man and Duggan might deserve another shot at Spider-Man as this wasn’t all that bad.

Part 3

Wow.

In a project that was supposed to just be silly fun Nick Spencer put in way more effort than he had to.

First of all the art is lovely even if the human faces are a tad stiff.

Second of all, if you were in doubt that Spencer is qualified for the job as ASM writer, this should dispel those reservations.

Whilst the story has some wacky comedy ala Superior Foes it also has a dash of depth and plot development too.

In a story that thus far has featured Spider-Ham, falling from space and wacky hijinks, BAM, Spencer organically brings up Spider-Man’s origin in a way that’s logically consistent in a story inherently illogical in the first place.

More than this he throws in another brief yet organic reference to Man-Wolf and even uses the continuity of the book itself by referencing the previous two stories.

He ties this all together with the theme of choice and the random unintended consequences of those choices, thus delivering a meta commentary upon the inherent premise of this comic book. It’s actually rather ingenious and he did it in like 10 pages!*

Also I hope and suspect that werewolf MJ will become a fondly referenced moment in the future of the fandom.

*It also touches upon similar themes of quantum theories present in the current 2099 centric storyline in ASM.

Part 4

Mixed feelings.

I really liked Thompson’s Rogue/Gambit mini-series and whilst I’ve not gotten around to checking out her Mr. And Mrs. X ongoing, I made a point of buying the book.

But she’s never written Spider-Man before to my knowledge and whilst this isn’t awful...my eyebrow was raised.

Putting aside how we’re in Forest Hills when the last story clearly didn’t leave off there, there are some lines early on which don’t ring true to Spider-Man at all.

Case in point.

Spider-Man treats his problems like nails he has to hammer because he’s an Alpha super hero. Um...what character has Thompson been reading for 55 years? How many times has Spider-Man NOT tried t resolve problems via simply punching it, even in the Ditko days?

Peter feels like he’s always been alone? Aunt May and Mary Jane are literally in this story!

And where did the man in the box’s psychoanalysis randomly come from?

A part from that the art was beautiful here and I loved Peter’s upset over werewolf MJ and his consideration in subduing her. I also really liked the ending and the main action set piece.

Maybe Thompson could do better with a second bite at the apple, but this wasn’t a strong first impression for her grasp of the character.

Part 5

Holy shit that was awesome.

Al Ewing to my knowledge has never really written for Spider-Man before but goddam I’d love for him to do it more often!

This was fantastic, the first story in this comic book to dive into who Peter Parker is.

It retained the wacky humour the rest of the comic possesses via the inclusion of the Spider-Hams, but it used them for deeper purposes.

Classic Spider-Ham represented Peter’s more positive impulses, or positive assessments of himself.

Black Spider-Ham represented the more negative impulses, the times Peter has questioned himself and wondered if he’s nuts or doing the right thing.

Bag-Ham represented Peter’s humours side.

Seeing Ham and Black Ham argue over Peter’s nature was rather meta as it has often been debated in fandom about whether Peter’s driven by guilt or by the desire to be good, whether he’s fighting the good fight to make him feel better about Ben’s death because he can’t move on, or if he’d do it regardless. There is an answer to that, but I’d rather not dive into it here.

But it is simply brilliant writing on Ewing’s part to include it at all, and he continues the character exploration in the form of Peter’s conversation with ‘the man in the box’. Apart from some funny dialogue and the further debate about Peter’s life style, the conversation lays new layers of intrigue into the story. Could the Man in the Box be the weapon? Or could it be Peter? What if the Man in the Box isn’t real at all?

Ewing also takes the weird wacky situation thrown to him and actually brings things together a little more with a plan for world domination and world order that, whilst comic book mad science, kind of makes sense. It’s impressive that he made such great lemonade out of the lemons handed to him frankly. I also liked he made the werewolves thinking and rationalizing rather than feral animals, as that’s something you rarely see in werewolf stories.

Aaron again, brings it all back around to Spider-Man’s character though because Peter’s presented with a situation that echos his origin story. He has the chance to stop bad people doing a bad thing, but this time the end result could be something positive.

Like Spencer’s story it’s just brilliant and demonstrates a writer who cares enough to put in way more effort than they had to.

The art was quite nice too.

Part 6

Nice art off the top.

And a funny ending.

Considering this was Zdarsky this wasn’t that bad. The worst stuff I could say involves the idea that Peter was psychoanalyzing and second guessing himself earlier, but of course those stories were not written with the intention of being a future version of Peter.

I guess that makes Zdarsky bad for retroactively screwing stuff up but really I’m not holding that against this type of story.

What did make me confused though was that the idea of Nick Fury being an imposter beginning at the end of Part 3 seems weird because, the story lines up. Fury’s eyepatch was on the wrong eye but does that mean this comic was more planned out that it was letting on??????????

I don’t know.

I do know that I’m not fond of Fury and Logan turning this into a Marvel team-up/Zdarsky Spec Spidey story.

Also I don’t get why Fury was unaffected by the transformation and why Peter randomly reverted to normal.

Finally...fuck...I hate the High Evolutionary in Spider-Man stories. I really do.

Part 7

I don’t know how to feel about this one.

I’ve never been fond of Aaron, and his take on Spider-Man is very much from the BND era of ‘he’s a loser we can trash on’ camp.

He does however embrace the Round Robin nature of this comic book like perhaps no other author before in this story.

He does this by simply upending half of everything up until this point (the man in the box is retconned again and dispatched with little ceremony) and then he throws a hell of a cliffhanger for the next person to resolve.

Essentially he did random stuff that ignored the random stuff before him then did more random stuff to make it harder for whoever to bring it home.

You also got the impression that he was throwing shade at how dumb and insane everything had been up until this point, hence he summed up most of it in the final lines of his story.

All of which can be forgiven due to his utterly hilarious Kraven’s Last Hunt homage.

It totally doesn’t jive with what came before but it’s so great I do not care.

The art though, whilst getting the job done, is the weakest after Bachalo’s.

Part 8

Jesus Christ!

I wasn’t expecting that at all.

Walking into this I thought I might get some good art with some funny moments and wackiness upon wackiness due to everything becoming deliberately convoluted.

I wasn’t expecting great craftsmanship like Spencer’s story or a an outright GEM like Al Ewing’s story.

And I certainly wasn’t expecting a grand summation about Spider-Man as a person or life in general.

Now look...it doesn’t really make sense, let’s not pretend it does. There are plenty of loose ends.

But whilst I was never expecting this story to deliver a coherent narrative (that was if anything the opposite of the point), I was equally not expecting the whole thing to wind up being as good as it was.

Al Ewing’s story set up a debate about the nature of who Spider-Man as a person is and as weird as it is to say once you’ve read through the whole comic book, this final instalment essentially answered it. It folded in the convoluted nature of it’s premise and tied it in with Spider-Man’s origin.

Having read the e-mail chain at the back of the comic the resolution to the story makes a lot of sense.

Essentially Ewing provided the basis for a resolution that Spencer tweaked and then made work via Spider-Man’s character and emotional journey. The hypothetical dialogue he proposes as a resolution is almost identical to the finished product.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the best element of this final part, the part that nails Peter as a person, came from Spencer but there you go.

This story, whilst honestly not worth $10, is very much worth a read.

[aion-rsa]

Avengers: Endgame - The History of Captain America's Climactic Moment

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Remember in Avengers: Endgame when Captain America picked up Thor's hammer? We sure do! Here are other times he did that!

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This article consists of nothing but massive Avengers: Endgame spoilers. You’ve been warned. We have a completely spoiler free review right here.

Ever since Thanos showed up in the mid-credits of the first Avengers movie, there was one scenario that most comic book fans knew was going to one day happen: Captain America was going to at one point lift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir and bash Thanos’ stupid face with it. Until Hela broke Mjolnir in Thor: Ragnarok. Then we all went, “Oh, never mind, I guess,” and thought about what could have been.

Well, time travel is funny like that. It gives you a mulligan. Avengers: Endgame gives us one of the most triumphant moments in superhero movie history, when Captain America is able to lift Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and use it to beat the ever-lovin' crap out of Thanos for a few minutes. Not only can Captain America lift Thor's hammer, he's able to call down the lightning just as Thor would. It's a huge, cathartic, and historic moment in the history of the MCU, but it's something long familiar to Marvel Comics fans.

How Can Captain America Lift Thor's Hammer?

Simple: Steve Rogers is worthy. The inscription on Mjolnir reads "Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." It doesn't matter how strong you are, if you aren't worthy, you can't lift Thor's hammer, no matter how hard you try. It's why Thor, at a low point in his life, is so relieved to find that he can still call and hold Mjolnir when he travels back to the events of Thor: The Dark World.

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, we got the slightest hint of what was to come when Cap was able to slightly budge the hammer when trying to pick it up. Thor's reaction shot there was priceless, and teases the moment in Endgame when Steve finally gets to call down the lightning. Of course, the big payoff in Age of Ultron was that Vision (not Cap) was able to wield it near the end of the movie as a way of proving his fidelity, but many of us knew that there was more to it, including Thor, who exclaims "I knew it!" when Cap gets his big moment with the hammer.

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There is comic book precedent to Cap picking up Mjolnir. While not the first non-Thor character to pull that off in Marvel canon (that would be the delightful Beta Ray Bill), he’s had a couple moments where he’s been able to prove his worthy worth and cracked some heads with the uru metal.

Here’s some American history with a mix of Asgardian shop class.

THE ORIGINAL

The Mighty Thor #390 (1988)

Around this time, Steve Rogers had lost the right to be Captain America and just fought crime as "The Captain." This meant dressing exactly as Captain America, but in a black costume with red and white stripes on the front. Thor stopped by Avengers HQ, saw this guy with head wings and a shield and went, “I never saw you before in my life! Who are you?!” Then he threw Mjolnir at him in mid-sentence before realizing that it had to be Steve Rogers because of how fast he could dodge the attack.

I swear, Thor must scream, “STRANGER DANGER!” whenever Jane Foster gets a haircut.

Cap later explained his whole status quo, as well as his current feud with Iron Man (that happens a lot). So the government considered him an enemy and he was at odds with Iron Man for ideological reasons. Same as it ever was. While Thor mused over all this, one of his villains, the god Seth, sent an army after him. Cap, of course, helped out his stupid, stupid friend.

read more: Avengers: Endgame - Complete Marvel Universe Easter Eggs and MCU Reference Guide

Thor dropped his hammer after being tackled by generic grunt Grog. Grog tried to lift Mjolnir, but couldn’t budge it. Instead, he started torturing Thor with a laser. Cap didn’t quite understand the whole “worthy” gimmick at the time and figured it was just really heavy. Even though Grog, a brick shithouse of a miniboss, couldn’t do it, Cap decided it was worth trying.

Wouldn’t you know it, The Captain picked it up and wiped the floor with the dogpiling goon squad. He tossed it back to Thor, who proceeded to finish off the bad guys.

Afterwards, Thor admitted that while he had no idea what was really going on with Steve and Tony’s current argument, he sided with Steve due to his ability to pick up the hammer. Cap nodded, rushed into a Quinjet, and flew off to go break Tony Stark's nose several times over.

2099 PROBLEMS

2099: Manifest Destiny (1998)

Even though it's been brought back a few times since, 2099 was one of Marvel's big fixtures in the 90s. It was how 90s comics felt the future would be like. The story was that the heroes had long gone missing and there were no surviving records of what happened. Either way, Thor was worshipped as a religious figure and many awaited his return.

When serial-pointer Miguel O'Hara got powers and became the new Spider-Man of the era, someone pointed out that he was the first of many who would take up the mantle of a long-forgotten hero. This would continue until the coming of Thor 2099, who would deliver them all. Sure enough, we got Ghost Rider 2099, Hulk 2099, Punisher 2099, X-Men 2099, etc. After a few years, the line of comics lost its luster and they wrote it off with this one-shot where they found Captain America's frozen body.

read more - Avengers: Endgame Sidelines the Captain America/Bucky Relationship

As Steve got accustomed to this new world, Miguel gave him Donald Blake's walking stick. With a little reluctance, Steve accepted the gift and struck it to the ground, transforming it into Mjolnir and transforming himself into a gaudy Cap/Thor hybrid. He and Miguel started a new Avengers team, but on a space mission, things went haywire and it looked like Captain America was going to be knocked into deep space. His last act was to throw Mjolnir to Miguel, who caught the weapon and turned out to be just as worthy.

Yes, in a wonderful twist, Spider-Man 2099 wasn't just the herald of Thor 2099. He WAS Thor 2099!

With this power and the slow aging that came with it, Miguel turned the galaxy into a utopia. By the time he was done with his duty in 3099, they discovered Captain America's frozen body yet again. The poor guy just couldn't catch a break, but at least he got the hammer back.

THE HELLSCAPE OF APOCALYPSE

What If? Featuring X-Men: Age of Apocalypse (2007)

Age of Apocalypse was a pretty big deal in the '90s and the world it depicted was a nasty one. At least it had Magneto’s X-Men to make some kind of difference to offset Apocalypse’s evil. Naturally, Marvel’s What If series had a couple of takes on the big event. One had its continuity move forward and show how that Earth would have handled the coming of Galactus. One had Legion succeed in killing Magneto in the past, showing a world where Charles Xavier could better fight for a world where mutants were accepted.

Then there was this ridiculous one-shot where Rick Remender came up with the idea of Legion accidentally killing both Magneto and Xavier. The event had terrible repercussions, leading to governments to discover the existence of mutants earlier and going straight for the persecution. Apocalypse made his big appearance and the world got weirder than in normal Age of Apocalypse continuity. For one, Apocalypse’s army included a nest of Peter Parker clones connected by a big Venom symbiote blob.

read more - Avengers: Endgame Ending Explained

The resistance team included the likes of Nate Grey, Molecule Man, Wolverine, Colossus, Thing (with robot arm), Doctor Voodoo (introduced a year or so before Brother Voodoo was the Sorcerer Supreme in canon), Captain Britain in Mach I Iron Man armor, and the leader Captain America. With no real context given, he wielded Mjolnir throughout the story and constantly fought maskless.

The whole issue was mainly these Defenders jumping from one spot to another, facing different threats and gradually losing members. Towards the end, Nate Grey killed Apocalypse, stole his armor, killed Molecule Man, and opened up a portal to the past so they could prevent the deaths of Xavier and Magneto. Fearing that Grey would become a tyrant as bad as Apocalypse himself, Cap killed him via Mjolnir and allowed the portal to close.

He and Wolverine were the only survivors of the adventure.

WAR OF THE WORTHY

Fear Itself (2011)

Fear Itself was a Captain America/Thor crossover idea that Marvel decided to turn into a full-on event. It was...there. The tie-ins were better than the main plot, honestly.

Watch everything Marvel and more with a FREE Disney+ TRIAL, right here!

The Red Skull’s daughter Sin came across a mystical hammer that transformed her into the deity Skadi. She helped unleash forgotten Asgardian god The Serpent, who in turn created seven hammers that would possess and empower those worthy of unleashing fear. They were Hulk, Juggernaut, Thing, Titania, Absorbing Man, Grey Gargoyle, and Attuma. Then Nazis in mechs started swarming Washington DC and the whole thing was a big mess.

read more: What's Next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in MCU Phase 4?

Around this time, Bucky Barnes was Captain America and the story partly existed to have Bucky fake his death and move the Cap identity back to Steve Rogers (and you thought Endgame treated the Bucky/Steve relationship poorly?). A lot of good it did for him, as The Serpent was able to shatter the shield with his bare hands.

To turn the tide, Tony Stark and Odin made some special weapons for the superheroes to wield. As for Cap, he simply found Mjolnir lying around on the battlefield and used it to go to town on Skadi. They hyped all this magic weapon stuff up like crazy in the adverts, but the whole thing was really background noise. The fight just kind of ended after Odin pulled away all the hammers and Skadi went back to being Sin.

THE MIRROR MATCH

Secret Empire (2017)

And then there’s this load. Nick Spencer did a lengthy story about Steve Rogers revealing he was really an agent of Hydra all along. Marvel was really adamant that it was really Steve Rogers and that he wasn’t being mind-controlled. Also, the company insisted that Captain America wasn’t a Nazi because Hydra weren’t Nazis. TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING. Because, you see...look over there!

Hydra Cap then turned out to be a version of Steve Rogers created by a little girl with reality-warping powers (sure), who was manipulated by Red Skull. Cap ended up taking over the US and shockingly beat up opposing superheroes via wielding Mjolnir. That too seemed to be a product of the reality-warping as the inscription/rules of the hammer were different and you had to be a bulky Hydra asshole to pick it up.

read more: Full MCU Marvel Movie Release Calendar

By the end of the event, the little girl conjured the original version of Captain America to beat up his please-don’t-call-the-Nazi-a-Nazi doppelganger. When Hydra Cap went for the hammer out of desperation, it had already reverted back to normal and he wasn’t worthy enough to pick it up. Regular Cap picked it up and walloped his douchebag counterpart.

"Your ass will never be America's ass." (not actual dialogue)

Yeah, everyone knew that the status quo would return in the end, but the whole Hydra Cap business was as well-timed and tactful as showing off your chainsaw and hockey mask to your son, in the middle of the night, when Sideshow Bob is trying to kill him. It also killed the end of Gerry Duggan’s otherwise legendary Deadpool run, which I can never forgive.

HONORABLE MENTION

There’s only been five comic scenarios where we’ve seen Captain America wielding Mjolnir, so let’s just move those goalposts a little and talk about times when superheroes have kicked ass with the shield AND the hammer at the same time.

First up is Crusader from an issue of What If based on the original Secret Wars that showed what would have happened had all the heroes and villains been stranded on Battleworld for 25 years. While some died in that time, others got busy and we got a new generation of heroes and villains. One of which was Sarah Rogers, daughter of Cap and Rogue.

read more: Marvel Movies Watch Order - An MCU Timeline Guide

No, the comic doesn’t answer the question of how that conception worked.

Even though her boyfriend Bravado was the son of Thor and Enchantress, it was Crusader who ended up being able to pick up the hammer and turn the tide against Vincent Von Doom. She also had stolen her dad’s shield from his closet when he wasn't looking, but that’s less impressive.

Then there’s Superman. The miniseries JLA/Avengers was the final crossover between Marvel and DC and it finished with a bang. Leading both hero teams into battle, Superman was entrusted with Captain America’s shield. During a pivotal moment, in order to break into the villain Krona’s stronghold, Thor threw Mjolnir to Superman. Superman caught it and smashed his way in.

read more: Does Steve Rogers Still Have a Place in the MCU?

Later on, after the dust had cleared, Superman found himself no longer able to lift it. As Thor put it, Odin may be strict, but he knows when to cut you slack when times are desperate.

I have to imagine we’ll be seeing more Cap/Mjolnir moments going forward. Marvel really seems to enjoy having comics imitate movies that imitate comics. God, remember when Spider-Man 3 came out and comic Spider-Man just happened to start wearing black again?

Gavin Jasper writes for Den of Geek and when Captain America throws his mighty hammer, all those who attempt to...stammer that hammer must clamor...? Read his other articles here and follow him on Twitter @Gavin4L

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Gavin Jasper

Nov 25, 2019

Marvel

Avengers: Endgame

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[detectivehole]

Go comic feral, i followed this blog for a rEASOn and it's bc i like to hear your random vents and rants and also you reblog cool stuff. But i digress, go comic feral i am hERE for it

fine

PETER PARKER BEING RICH IS STUPID  he didnt even ern what he has himself it was nt even himn he wasnt in his body maybe if i had got to see him start fron nothing to being a cool ceo or whatever id be able to stand it but nooooooo he just GOT is for nothing so it feels stupid like “ha ha what if like tony stark haha” its DUMB and i haven’t read a spider man comic for a long time

deadpool/spiderman crossover comic bad. feels out of character a lot. funny concept and full of funny jokes but as far as characterization its bad in my opinion- was made to capitalize off the hype of the ship and we all know it

don cates should be banned from writing comics bc he fucking sucks and ill never forgive him for what he did/tried to do to venom

deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good deadpool good dea

the venom movie was a lot of fun but it was very ooc a lot HOWEVER seeing some of the cut scenes and scripts you can see that it used to be actually fairly in character for the comics but a lot of scenes with eddie establishing himself as not actually the most nicest of guys (not that eddie isnt a nice guy deep down but he is a good amount fucked up with a big ol hero complex and a problem with ‘i can do no wrong” mentality sometimes) were cut and considering how the fandom for the movie treats him i can see why the cut those bits out bc i dont think movie goers would have liked him as much wich is a shame bc he is a good guy at the end of the day just fucked up

straight white male comic fans are the worst people in the world and breaking their fingers is a daydream i indulge in 

matt murdock is a himbo

foggy nelson is a good man who deserves better friends

i can tell what deadpool comics someone has read based on how they characterize wade in their fan works and i have a 80% success rate with it. the most common was the daniel way run but now its the spider-man/deadpool crossover series

soulda used miles for the mcu spidey instead of cannibalizing his story for parts like they did. dick move, Disney

mcu bad

i think just the idea of dc’s Red Tool is fucking hilarious but i dont like his character at all

batman and superman should fuck but they wont :/

matt and foggy should to but the comic industry is afraid of making long running characters lgbt bc theyre WEAK

deadpool need a canon bf they cant keep telling us hes pan and not showing us for reals- hell he could just go on one date or be shown having a one night stand or something- something beyond a damn joke

cable gay. no i will not listen to any other opinions.

im excited to read moon knight i have a book waiting i just have to finish my current one

SCUD the disposable assassin is the most underrated comic EVER and i LOVE IT however i think it ended stupid and bad however it went on fucking hiatus for like a decade and then was rapped up really fast so any ending is a godsend

i desperately want a long-form stand alone series abt wanda wilson bc shes the perfect foil for a good Feral Dumbass Woman comic. think abt it; shell sell immediately bc of recognizable brand, and then she can just go on violent stupid adventures without any of the other dp corps. it doenst have to line up with any canon i just want insane lady dp adventure comic. this is an unreasonable dream but mine none the less

i though that agent venom was stupid

tank girl is fucking amazing and i love it i never understand whats going on and i enjoy the confusion

reading early hulk comics feels like watching a weird, poorly produced old black and white sci-fi soap

there needs to be better, more easily accessed, official reading-order guides published and posted on the walls of comic shops everywhere

the 80s and 90s were the best time for marvel comics and no one can tell me otherwise. that was peak comic time

the worst time for comics was the 2000s and early 2010s

sometimes i am shocked by the art that gets the editors pass in comics. some of it is so bad and im not even talking about the disproportionate ladies

the lego marvel and dc movies are way better than the live action movies and im not even being sarcastic

seriously the 2000s made some horrible comics

i feel like committing acts of mass violence every time someone says comics arnt real reading/stories/implies theyre worth less of any value than a novel

i read the first deadpool comic i got so much that the art itself is so ingrained in my mind that people have shown my just the corners of panels and ive identified them correctly

i distinctly remember the first time the woman at the book store stopped asking me for parental permission to buy the comics i was getting (12yos) because i went there so often that she just remembered who i was and that the adult would say its fine

i refuse to talk about comics with people at cons because i am gatekept or flirted with every single time no matter what and there is no in between. and yea its because i have tits. youd think that eventually theyd learn but gross comic men never do and all the others have adopted the same policy as me so the closest i come to positive comic interaction at cons is standing in the same vicinity as another chick, looking at the same section, and the kinda smiling at each other

i think the avengers are boring. really really boring. the x-men are way better

i related to gwenpool too much when she first started and it scared/offended me so i stopped reading for a while until her character developed more and we stooped being so similar

i have spider-man bedding. i picked it out only a few months ago. its good it makes me feel cool in a very uncool way

watching spider-man as a kid made me wanna be a scientist. watching batman as a kid made me want to do martial arts. i ended up failing chemistry and falling on my face a lot instead.

i had a huge venom toy and a huge spiderman toy as a kid and while i did make them fight a lot i also made them hug just as much. i wanted them to be friends

on that note PETER IS MEAN TO THE SYMBIOTE NOW AND HE DONT EVEN HAVE A REASON NO MORE hes just such a dick about criminal reform eddie and the symbiote aint special with this- he says he believes people can be better but he really doesnt show it. he tends to think people are set in their ways and while this makes sense forthe most part considering how much hewas bullied as a kid/adult (that also contributes to his mild “i protect my own” mentality  tho at least he consciously fights that one) it stil pisses me off

i can think way more but i need to sleep i think

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Deadpool 2 review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ PAST THE BREAK WITH CAUTION!

It’s about time I reviewed this.

I put off reviewing this movie because of some barely-worth-mentioning drama, and it has been on the backburner for months. But after finally watching the Super Duper Cut, it’s time to break my silence and talk about this year’s biggest breath of fresh air and its funniest comedy.

Deadpool 2 is the Aliens of superhero movies. It takes the groundwork laid out by an already fantastic first film and just amps up everything: the humor, the action, the character interactions, all of it is just fine tuned and perfected. Where the first film was an impressive work for a first-time director, blending a romantic arc and an origin story together while delivering all the fun and laughs you’d expect from a character like Deadpool, this movie features a lot more impressive action, which is fitting since it’s given to us by the man behind John Wick and Atomic Blonde, while still delivering all sorts of gut-busting laughs and wonderful character interactions.

So what sort of mess has Wade gotten into this time? Well, after a life-changing event, Wade is down in the dumps and trying to figure out what to do with himself. In his attempts at straightforward X-Men style heroism he ends up being sent to jail alongside the superpowered kid he was trying to save, Russel. Russel soon ends up as the target of the time-travelling cyborg badass known as Cable, and after getting the shit kicked out of him Wade realizes his true calling: saving this kid from Cable. Armed with guns, katanas, a bigger budget, and his all-new X-Force team, can Wade hope to stop Cable from axing Russel?

The beauty of this film is, ultimately, how it manages to subvert expectations. A lot of movies lately have made being subversive into a big selling point; sometimes it works out really well and the movie is all the better for it - see Infinity War, a film that features the heroes failing miserably and ending on a shot of the villain contentedly relaxing after committing galactic genocide, the opposite of what you’d expect from a superhero blockbuster. Sometimes, it works poorly - see The Last Jedi, which features things going the opposite of how you’d expect due to bad writing and characters acting like idiots and trusting the shadiest people possible, the sort of idiocy we thought Star Wars had moved on from after the first two prequels. And then you have films like this, where everything is subverted for hilarity. And nothing in the world is funnier than how it subverts your expectations for Deadpool’s X-Force. Filled with unique and quirky characters like Shatterstar (who remains an alien from Mojoworld, meaning that Mojo is in fact canon in the X-Men cinematic universe. Put him in a movie, Fox) and big names like Bill Skarsgard as Zeitgeist and Terry Crews as Bedlam, not to mention the hilarious everyman without powers that is Peter, the film builds up and hypes their big skydiving scene, blasting “Thunderstruck” as they leap from the plane onto a convoy to save Russel from Cable…

...And then each and every one of them dies brutally, painfully, and horribly. And HILARIOUSLY, that’s the most important thing. I don’t think there is a funnier bit of black comedy in any other film, let alone a superhero film. Even funnier is that the invisible character, who has not spoken a word and who one could easily assume did not actually exist, has an amusing reveal right upon his death, which is the most hilariously wasteful use of an actor I have ever seen. The entire scene is just brilliant in its subversion of our expectations for a badass new hero team, helped for once by the advertising, which built things up so one would expect this team to stick around.

Of course, we have one survivor - Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, a mutant with luck-based powers. She’s one of the numerous highlights of this film, and she plays the character with the laid-back, rolls-with-the-punches attitude a character like Domino deserves. Frankly, I like her a bit more than her comic version. And speaking of new characters, let’s talk about the best new element of the film, Deadpool’s beleaguered badass bro-for-life, Cable. Played by Josh Brolin - complete with the requisite references to The Goonies and Infinity War from Deadpool - he is the ultimate straight man, his gritty, grim badassery contrasting to Deadpool’s zany, wacky bullshit. Of course, that’s not to say Cable gets no good laughs; there’s something to be said for a man who can growl “Dubstep is for pussies” with a straight face. I’m fully of the mind Cable is the best addition to the movie, and I’m praying we get even more of him and Wade interacting in potential sequels.

Then we have our special guest of the hour, the character we’ve all wanted in the X-Men universe, the one, the only, the unstoppable motherfucker to end all motherfuckers… IT’S THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH. And lord is he incredible, especially compared to the dipshit from The Last Stand. Sadly he does not utter “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” at all in the film, but he does rip Wade in half, confirm he’s Xavier’s half-brother, and threaten to turn Colossus into a cock ring, so it all evens out in the end. In this film, he actually FEELS unstoppable, and though he’s only onscreen in the third act, he definitely uses that screentime effectively, delivering the epic, ultimate smackdown between him and Colossus in what Deadpool helpfully informs us is the movie’s big CGI fight scene.

And speaking of Colossus, he’s even better here than in the first film. His interactions with Wade are hilarious and priceless, which is aided by Wade’s blatant crush on him - Wade at one point gropes his ass, and there is a romantic musical scene that calls back to a similar scene in the first film. He also gets a bit of character growth here, which is great and unexpected. Sadly I can’t say the same for Negasonic Teenage Warhead; she’s relegated to a bit part here, which is a damn shame since she was one of the highlights of the first film. On the plus side, not only is she revealed to be gay, but her girlfriend Yukio is absolutely adorable and charming… though, sadly, she also gets very little to do in the film aside from a cute running gag with her and Wade cheerily exchanging greetings.

Stuff like that is honestly the biggest problem with the film, and even then, the biggest problem is what amounts to a nitpick. Yes, it does suck that some of the characters are underutilized, but it’s hard to be too angry when the rest of the film is so gutbustingly hilarious and action-packed. One thing that did disappoint me a fair bit is Vanessa getting killed in the movie’s opening. Now, unlike many others, I’m not going to whine about “stuffing her in the fridge,” because I think that concept is so absolutely stupid and is used for literally every time a woman gets killed in a story, even if it makes sense for the story and progresses the plot meaningfully and in a well-done way. I don’t think this was awful or tacky, and regardless of anything else, the post-credit scene renders her death a moot point; still, I’m upset that she didn’t get to do anything in this movie aside from be a stand in for Lady Death. I would love if Vanessa got her comic book powers and fought alongside Wade, making them the ultimate power couple. It’s just mild disappointment, though much like with X-Force, it is a pretty subversive move to kill the love interest so abruptly and so quickly, especially when there was every indication Deadpool would get a happy ending… and then even more subversion comes at the end when Deadpool saves her (among many other hilarious moments) via the magic of time travel.

Aside from that, there’s not much else to complain about. The only other minor complaint is that the turn towards more serious elements isn’t always perfect, and some of the stuff with Russell could have been done better, but really, it’s just too hard to get worked up over the flaws. This is a fantastic, funny movie, and one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen. It’s bigger, funnier, flashier, and introduces so many more exciting elements into an already great series. This is how you make a superhero sequel, this is how you make an action-comedy, this is how you make one of the best movies ever. If you like Deadpool, if you like superheroes, if you like action-comedies, movies with great choreography, or love seeing a good subversive film, this is a movie you shouldn’t miss.

As for what version to watch, the Super Duper Cut or the theatrical cut… I have to say that the Super Duper Cut fleshes the story out a lot better and gives some much needed context, as well as adds in some new jokes that were cut from the original, as well as delivering callbacks a lot better and staying more cohesive… but I will say the theatrical cut had some much better jokes that were replaced with some less impressive takes in the Super Duper Cut. Still, the Super Duper Cut is the one I’d recommend watching, just because the story feels more fleshed out, and also because it features Deadpool trying to kill baby Hitler.

Also, I just want to say this: “Ashes” is a better Bond theme than the piece of shit theme song to Spectre.

[lifeofkj]

Wonder Woman!

Ever since this movie was announced, I've been both excited and afraid. Excited, because of course I was excited. Even though I'm not super familiar with the Wonder Woman mythos (probably my strongest exposure was from the 1970s and '80s Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon), and I don't have the deep connection with the character that many of my friends share, I'm well aware of her stature in the mainstream superhero canon and her importance as a feminist icon. But precisely because of her iconic nature, and also the habit of Hollywood to use the failure of high-profile superhero films with female leads as an excuse not to make more, there was an awful lot of pressure to get it right. Not to mention the way that Hollywood blockbusters tend to misunderstand and objectify female characters. There were good signs -- a female director, promising previews, Diana being hands-down the best part of last year's Batman vs. Superman -- but I didn't want to get my hopes too far up, especially given the lack of high-profile marketing in comparison to other DCEU films (although ScreenRant presents an interesting counter-argument). 

Then the buzz from pre-release reviews started building. Between rapturous comments from people who'd gotten an early look at the film and the sky-high Rotten Tomatoes rating (96% pre-release, which made it the highest-rated superhero movie in RT history; it has since settled at 93%, which puts it just behind Iron Man and The Dark Knight), it was impossible not to get at least a little hopeful. I saw the film yesterday, with T and three friends, and I am thrilled to report that my hope was warranted. Wonder Woman is a solid movie, one of the best examples of the mainstream comic book superhero genre so far. I had fun watching it, I walked out of the theater happy, and even after a day of reflection, I can't find much to complain about. (Not nothing, of course; it was by no means a perfect movie. But it doesn't need to be a perfect movie. Its average rating on Rotten Tomatoes is around 7.5 out of 10, a respectable score for an action blockbuster, and that feels about right to me.) Some non-spoilery thoughts: Gal Gadot was fabulous, perfectly cast as Diana, able to pull off all the emotional beats as well as the action and a number of fish-out-of-water moments (some funny, some poignant) that hit all the right notes. The rest of the cast were also great; I particularly liked Robin Wright as Amazon war leader Antiope (and how fantastic was it to see a middle-aged lady in such a strong action role?) and Lucy Davis as Steve Trevor's secretary, Etta Candy. Both of these roles were fairly small, but they stuck with me in a good way. Chris Pine was a fine Steve, too, acting alternately as Diana's support and as her foil as circumstances dictated. The action sequences, mostly set pieces that could have been lifted from any modern superhero film, did get a little draggy in places. The film's action was at its best when it focused on Diana: her strength, her agility, her determination, and the high-quality fight choreography that showcased all of these things. Apparently Gal Gadot undertook extensive martial arts training for this role, and it shows. Maybe more than anything, though, is that Wonder Woman is a superhero movie that takes a solid point of view: on the horrors of war, on the twin pillars of goodness and evil that are innate in humanity, on finding a reason to fight the darkness without and within. I also appreciate how little Diana was sexualized, and for the most part neither were the Amazons. Instead, they were presented as images of female agency and power. I suspect Patty Jenkins, the film's director, should take credit for this achievement. What a difference it makes, not to have a male gaze behind the camera's lens. ( And now for some spoilers ) In conclusion, it was awesome. Not perfect, but what film is? And it shouldn't need to be perfect -- Hollywood should also have room for mediocre superhero movies featuring female leads, and it sucks that Wonder Woman needed to be twice as good to get half the buzz. That said, the opening weekend has been strong (at $100.5 million domestic and $200 million worldwide, it shattered the record for opening day take for a female director), and between the finances and the solid reviews, I have to expect that a sequel is on the horizon. And maybe now we can start getting all the other female heroes we ever wanted. Give me Black Widow, give me Ms. Marvel, give me Oracle, give me Storm. Give me all of them, good and bad and everywhere on the spectrum in between. You can do it, Hollywood. I have faith. x-posted from My Dreamwidth Journal | Feel free to reply here or comment there

[thepicturepixie]

Why I hate Batgirl

Okay so this is talking about Barbara Gordon. Not really her more the idea of her...if that makes sense? This is not up for debate either. I may come to like her later but screaming your views of her is not going to change my mind. Half of the reason I don’t like her is because of her fan base. If you like her and want to hear why I don’t, keep reading. Mind that since I DON”T like the character I do not read her comics. What I know is from what I have read or heard about in some cases. 

So 1 She’s not the first. Let’s get this out of the way. Yes, Barbara is not the first batgirl or the first female partner to the batman. That goes to Batwoman. Ms. Kane had a niece Betty Kane who was the first batgirl. She was added to prove Bruce and Dick weren’t gay for each other.  Katherine Kane is gay, so this is funny to me. My point, she’s not the first. That gone we can move on.

She started off as Bruce’s love interest. As she was 25 or so and taught HERSELF how to fight after a run in with Bruce and the Batman. She took it on for fun as her life was boring. 

1 She was using Bruce’s love of rare books so she could keep him close. It makes her seem selfish, as she doesn’t care for HIS welfare only her fun. 

2 I have a hard time here. This is later re-written as her being 18 to robin’s 15 but this needs to be stated. PICK A DAMN AGE. Now she’s 21 maybe? But it ticks my off. When she became Oracle I believed her to be will in her mid 20′s. Even if you count her as being batgirl for 1 year (if she was 18 when she started) She couldn’t have been in the wheelchair for that long as she NOW got back surgery to walk again. I got off track but the age is a factor. 

3 This means she has no real reason to be here. The other batgirls have had hard lives as did all of the robins. She can and has left. She’s not a want to be cop but daddy won’t let her. She’s bored... Or she wants to help people?! you say. No bored. There are many ways to be a hero kids. Dick was a cop and Bruce does open charity work. This is in Dick and others too. But Bruce is shown to be the only person to really handle joker them/ doesn’t like doing it, but feels he most. And Dick was also a cop/spy clearly he likes doing it but also feels he can work with the police and government....Babs? bored. As her father is proof of how she can help within the law.

 Robin had a crush on her but this was not how they started in the comics. They did date and broke up (2000-2004) but DC started on this high-school lovers thing.  Dick’s long time girlfriend was Starfire from the teen titans.... I’m not going to talk about my love for DicKori. But DC treats the pairing poorly to show favor on Dick x Babs. Dick was written to have cheated on Kori with babs making the Dick/Babs pairing extra awful in my book. It’s not romantic. It’s mean spirited. This wasn’t building up it’s newly added.

DC wanted Dick back with Batman and used BG to do it. Adding things were Bruce and Babs talk about him dating Kori and “it not lasting”..... I could talk about this but maybe later the age rant wasn’t needed but it does bug me. She’s written as jealous.... and unwilling to fight for Dick. Babs goes to see Dick but is met with Kori, she runs off and tells Dick later about it.... *sigh* I feel like this is gas-lighting in a way. He’s dating you now, you do NOT need to talk about his ex. Babs does something like this again with Helena (Huntress) when she finds out they (Dick and Helena) had a one night stand six years before they started dating..... She slut shames her (This is in no man’s land) and gets Black Canary to do it too by lying to her. This romance is making her look bad. She lies again to Helena and at this point I’m like “yeah fuck you”. She breaks up with Dick, and some time before? (Oracle when they dated, Batgirl when she says this) tells him to look for someone else... Why not Kori? She helped him through a lot of his issues when they dated....FOR 10 FUCKING YEARS!!! 

The Killing Joke... This is a one shot that was so well loved it become canon. In this she gets shot....I’m not going to lie, I’m numb to this. It’s not sexist that she was shot. The point to the book was to show how 1 bad day can change your life for the worse and staying sane is a lie. Jason was BEATEN TO DEATH. DICK WAS ALSO SHOT BY THE JOKER! No one goes on about gender politics with them. Joker didn’t rape babs either. Alan Moore, the writer has stated this many times. You know who was raped? Dick was raped twice, Jason was stated may have as a child, Tim almost got raped, Bruce was raped and got Damian from it and deadpool but that’s marvel. Never happened to Babs. After this she gets PTSD which many of her fans use when she’s badly written. All of the batfamily should have PTSD in some way. Hell Bruce. The death of his parents left him a such a state that he can’t have real relationships with people, plays mind games with family/friends that could be abusive if you really think about it. And can not live past it or find happiness. This is in no way to make light of people who have gone through this. Any of these things. If you like Babs and find strength in her. I’m happy for you and glad something good came from this. But this does not give her a free pass. It takes away her agency for HER actions. She lied, she was controlling, and selfish. She hurt others people and NEVER said she was sorry for it. (I’m talking about her, Kori and Helena) Dick tried to help her and she pushed him away even when he was hurting. (Dick has gone through a lot) Just because something bad happened to you, it does not give you the right to hurt other. Helena didn’t like being lied on, to and treated the way barbara treated her. 

Even when she’s out of comics EI the cartoons she’s pretty damn awful and in everything. 

People need to let the PTSD thing go. As a character you like? shouldn’t have to live with it forever. There are so many character who have gone though worse. Cassie, Steph, Tim, JASON!!! Dick. Bruce.  They all should have it. But there is so little to her character that people treat it like it’s the only thing. Starfire was a freaking slave who watched her parents die, her sister tried to kill her AND was so upset by the death of her friend and break up with Dick, she left the planet... Tim lost his dad, Bruce and Conner. And let Jason loose to go on a murder spree. All of their lives sucks. All of them her gone through hell. No one pats them on the back.... Shiro from Voltron, Sasuke Uchiha, Katnis.... all characters with PTSD. I don’t hate it in fiction. I hate it being handle poorly or over and over again. OR it becoming the only thing to a character. I’m going in circles.

What I have read/seen doesn’t make me what to read/watch more. These are some of the things she has done and everytime I think of her I go back to some of these things. Dick was wrong for cheating on Kori, Babs knew. I’m not sticking behind “girl power” if she can’t even respect another woman/women... 

It’s the unfair treatment of other characters and way her fan base treat her. Batwoman needs more love and respect. “I’m too smart for grayson” Fuck you, babs~ 

[rahliterature]

CBC: Three Page Paper: Select one comic or Sequential Art object that you have read in full either to series completion, or to a story arch completion, and analyze the comic for content, including one to three major themes discussed in the author lectures in Module Three. (Marvel Tsum Tsum)

One of the biggest complaints adults have in regards to children’s media is that it is too commercial. Often times television shows and movies can feel like one giant advertisement for their toys, trading cards, and video games. Some shows, like Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh!­ were created with the main purpose to advertise their merchandise. So, when a comic book that was based around a cute fluffy toy came out, it turned many people off, making them think it is just another advertising ploy. The beauty of Marvel Tsum Tsum Takeover by Jacob Chabot and David Baldeon is that this comic is not just a long advertisement for Disney’s tsum tsums. It does a good job in making the reader want to buy a tsum tsum to cuddle. Through a short four volume issue, this fun and action-packed comic not only brings a little joy and humor into a series that has become pretty dark and bleak in recent years but also questions the definition of a hero as well.

           The name tsum tsum comes from the Japanese word “tsumu” which means to stack1.  Tsums tsums are stuffed toys that are easily stacked hence the name. They come in four different sizes and hundreds of different characters: from classic Disney characters like Mickey and friends to every episode of Star Wars, from Disney Princesses to Marvel superheroes and villains. These cuddly things have been around since 2013 in Japan and 2014 in the United States1 and new tsum tsums are released bimonthly. In August of 2016, from the inspiration of the marvel tsum tsum app as well as the cuddly toys, comic writer Jacob Chabot and penciller David Baldeon decided to create the first volume of Marvel Tsum Tsum Takeover2. Chabot was not new to the idea of taking a child’s toy and turning it into a comic series. From 2013-2015, Chabot worked on a 6 part “Hello Kitty” comic book series3, turning a cute and cuddly cat toy into a real character with emotions and feelings. While “Hello Kitty” does have some plot and character developments in video games and a few mini-series television shows that have come out over the years, there is nothing really cohesive or a well-defined canon to turn into a full-fledged comic. On the other hand, Chabot has also worked on 74 issues of “Sponge Bob Square Pants” comic books over the years3 which has an over abundance of plotlines to turn into a comic series. Both of these different comic issues show how he is used to creating stories with either a little or a lot of source material. It also shows how Chabot is used to drawing inspiration from unusual source material that most people wouldn’t consider turning into a comic book. Prior to the comic release, tsum tsums had no plot or purpose behind them. The app, Marvel tsum tsums, was more of a “Candy Crush” style game without any real cohesive plot line. Disney has never released a back story to go along with the tsum tsums; they are simply cute toys to play with and cuddle. Chabot was able to take these cute toys and give them a purpose and a story that was unique and exciting, just like he had done with other characters in the past. He managed to craft the story in a way that uses the cute and ridiculous nature of the tsum tsum and make that tell a story, rather than telling a story about a cute toy. He was able to do so because of his past experience, both with unusual comic topics but also with normal American comic plot lines as well.

Chabot has worked on previous Marvel comics, specifically X-Men and Spiderman comics, so he knew how superhero comics in a traditional American way worked and he was aware of how dark Marvel comics have become. In the same month as the first tusm tsum volume release, 33 different issues in the Civil War II arc were released as well4. Just a few months prior, the entire world was shocked and angered at the reveal of Captain America being a Hydra agent. This was a dark time for Marvel. Superheroes were punching each other, both in comics and on the big screen as Civil War had just been released in the MCU that May as well. One of the most beloved Marvel characters had just become evil and at the time there seemed no hope of redemption for him. Marvel Tsum Tsum Takeover was like a breath of fresh air. It’s simply a fun comic. There are these cute little toys becoming miniature versions of some of marvel’s favorite superheroes, running around with miniature versions of their powers, and chaos ensues. It’s fun without being too silly. There is a cohesive plot line in the story with real character development. Although there are toys that are alive, in the comics they are an alien species, giving credibility through comic logic on how these toys are alive. The comic doesn’t take itself too serious though as there are times when other characters question whether or not the tsum tsums are toys, creating a great moment of dramatic irony in the story. The story does a good job of straddling the fine line of humor and silliness, keeping the light-heartedness of the story flowing without comprising the story. There is real character development not only with the tsum tsums but also with the human characters as well, making this a real story instead of simply a long advertisement. That growth is found, not only in the three main characters, Albert “Bert” Ergle, Holly Hae, and Duncan “Dunk” Diggs, but in their families and even in the main human villain as well. The combination of plot, real character development, dramatic irony, and the silliness that comes with using tsum tsums creates this funny comic that is just fun to read. It can reach a large audience, from children to adults, because it is so light-hearted and fun. It’s a reminder that comics don’t have to be dark in order to accomplish character and plot development; fun and light-hearted comics can deliver a message just as efficiently and maybe even better than a dark and grisly comic.

Through the light-hearted story, the comic poses the question of what is a hero and what do they fight for. The initial thought would be that the tsum tsums are the heroes of the story; after all, they are the titular characters with superpowers. In a normal comics, they would be the hero of the issue. Instead, this comic seems to focus on the three children dream of being superheroes5. They draw their own comics and do stupid stunts to try and gain superpowers. The reader, along with the Avenger tsum tsums, watch as Bert and Holly are scolded by Bert’s mother for running around and playing superhero when Ultron has been attacking the city. This panel puts an emphasis on the children as the main characters with the tsum tsums on the sidelines. This panel is also is a major turning point in the comic as well. Before, the children were focused on the superpowered superheroes and trying to gain powers like them. When they found the tsum tsum, they get swept up in the excitement that came with discovering the tsum tsum’s powers and what amazing deeds they could accomplish. Bert’s mother acts as the voice of reason, reminding the children that they aren’t superheroes with superpowers. She reminds them of the very real danger that exists in their universe, with real villains who have killed before. After this wake-up call, they seem to end their superhero shenanigans. Until something goes wrong with the tsum tsums and they don their superhero costumes, this time to help their friends instead of for glory. The children go to fight in a battle they know they cannot win, not for the glory or the chance to show-off to the Avengers but to protect their friends, the tsum tsums. They become heroes in this story, not because they fearlessly ran into battle but because they ran to help their friends even though they were scared. Fighting beside the Avengers and the tsum tsums, the children are viewed as the real heroes of the comic. The comic shows that it’s not superpowers that make a hero; someone is a hero when they fight to protect their friends and family.

It doesn’t take a dark and gritty comic to communicate a message to an audience. Even a light-hearted and somewhat silly comic can send a powerful message of what it means to be a hero to an audience. Comics can use any medium to communicate this message, even fluffy cute toys called tsum tsums. Just because something is based off of a toy doesn’t mean there isn’t a message to be learned. Creating a comic from a toy can be a great way to advertise the toy, but it is also a way to reach an audience at a level that they can relate with, both as children and adults.

 Refences:

1.      Graser, Marc. “Will Japan’s ‘Tsum Tsum’ Characters Translate in the U.S. for Disney?” Variety, 1 July 2014, variety.com/2014/biz/asia/will-japans-tsum-tsum-characters-translate-in-the-u-s-for-disney-1201256414/.

2.      Kieranshiach. “Disney Tsum Tsum Invades The Marvel Universe.” ComicsAlliance, 16 May 2016, comicsalliance.com/disney-tsum-tsum-variant-covers-series/.

3.      “Jacob Chabot (Person).” Comic Vine, comicvine.gamespot.com/jacob-chabot/4040-55702/.

4.      “Calendar | Comics.” Marvel.com, marvel.com/comics/calendar/month/2016-08-01?byZone=marvel_site_zone&offset=0&tab=comic&formatType=issue&isDigital=0&byType=date&dateStart=2016-08-01&dateEnd=2016-08-31&orderBy=release_date%2Bdesc&limit=300&count=21.

5.      Reviewer, Joey Edsall Best Shots. “Best Shots Review: MARVEL TSUM TSUM #1 'Removes The Doubts Imposed By Adulthood Cynicism'.” Newsarama, www.newsarama.com/30488-best-shots-review-marvel-tsum-tsum-1.html.

These are two of the panels I referenced in this paper.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1306

Monday, March 23, 2020

 I don't know how much longer I will be able to write off the rack. New comics are still being shipped every week but the store is cutting back orders and rack copies are going to be very restricted. I have already been borrowing comic books from dear friends Ryan, Rebecca and Doug, with their permission when there are no copies left after pulling subscription service orders. This pandemic is a wake up call for all of humanity. No super heroes are going to swoop in to save the day. It's up to us to be careful and stay safe. I have not left our house except to go for walks since last Tuesday when I went to work to receive the new comics. I will be going to work tomorrow and then coming straight home after. I hope everyone is okay wherever you are.

 Runaways #31 - Rainbow Rowell (writer) Andre Genolet (art) Dee Cunniffe (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Part 7 of "Canon Fodder" concludes this lengthy story with the evil Doc Justice showing his true colours. The villain may have been defeated but Doc Justice might live on. It's this possibility that will keep me reading.

 Batman #91 - James Tynion IV (writer) Rafael Albuquerque, Jorge Jimenez, Carlo Pagulayan & Danny Miki (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The Designer is a puppet master who has manipulated the Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman and the Joker into taking over Gotham City. I like the unpredictability of what the four puppets are going to do. Next issue's feature villain is the Riddler and I can't wait to see what riddles he has in store for Batman.

 The Red Mother #4 - Jeremy Haun (writer) Danny Luckert (art) Ed Dukeshire (letters). This is a really good creepy comic book. Daisy's visions are getting worse, which I'm hoping will lead to the appearance of the Red Mother. But I want to meet the black smoky scary guy with the white smiley face mask.

 Marvels X #3 - Alex Ross & Jim Krueger (writers) Well-Bee (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Spider-Man and Daredevil try to get the last human being on Earth into the Baxter Building to see if Reed can find a cure for whatever is giving everybody super powers. I don't see how the kid is going to survive given who has him in his clutches now.

 Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #4 - James Tynion IV (writer) Steve Epting (art) Nick Filardi (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). This issue's conclusion convinced me that I dislike the Batman Who Laughs a lot and I don't care what Perpetua does to the multiverse. But if you care, continue to read the story in Dark Nights Death Metal #1, the first of a 6-issue mini hitting the racks May 13.

 Archie #712 - Mariko Tamaki & Kevin Panetta (writers) Laura Braga (art) Matt Herms (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I'm reading this Katy Keene story because I miss Fashion Television.

 Outlawed #1 - Eve L. Ewing (writer) Kim Jacinto (art) Espen Grundetjern (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This $4.99 US one shot is a prelude to the return of the Champions to the racks. But now the kids are going to be on the wrong side of the law. The government has banned all activity by under-aged super heroes because of a major disaster. That feeling of déjà vu you're getting is because Marvel did this already with the New Warriors. If you want to see these youngsters fight against the Child hero Reconnaissance And Disruption Law Enforcement organization or C.R.A.D.L.E., pick up Champions #1 April 8.

 DCeased: Unkillables #2 - Tom Taylor (writer) Karl Mostert (pencils) Trevor Scott, Neil Edwards & Karl Mostert (inks) Rex Lokus (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Now that the good guys and the bad guys have to work together to survive the zombies this story got more interesting. I like the familial element with Shiva and her daughter Cassandra/Batgirl and Deathstroke and his daughter Rose. I really liked how Vandal Savage meets a gruesome end. I can't wait to see what new hell is unleashed in next issue's conclusion.

 X-Ray Robot #1 - Michael Allred (writer & art) Laura Allred (colours) Nate Piekos (letters). This science-fiction story about a scientist and his interdimensional travelling robot invention is typical Michael Allred whacky fun. There's a lot of crazy kinetic energy in these pages and you have to pay close attention so you don't get lost. Doctor Max Wilding is a hero in waiting.

 Spider-Woman #1 - Karla Pacheco (writer) Pere Perez (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I'm sad that my friend Gord McDougall, who passed away last year, isn't around to see his favourite super hero get back on the racks in this excellent debut. I really like the new costume. Jessica is hired to protect a billionaire's daughter at her sweet sixteen birthday party on a mega yacht (that spelling baffles me). When kidnappers attack we see how awesome Jess can be. The art is gorgeous and I'm going to add this to my "must read" list. The back-up story with art by Paulo Siqueira (pencils) and Oren Junior (inks) shows us how Jessica gets her new costume. There's something funny going on with it and this subplot makes this $4.99 US debut seem cheap at twice the price.

 The Resistance #1 - J. Michael Straczynski (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). J. Michael Straczynski, now that's a name that I haven't seen on the racks for a while. I'm so glad he's back. This is the comic book of the week if not the year. It starts off with a global pandemic which immediately pulled me in because of what's currently happening in real life. By the end of this first issue I realized that what happened in the comic was just a way to grant random people super powers all at once all around the world. Not a new concept I know, but it's being done by one of my favourite writers and a very good artist. I'm adding this 6-issue mini to my "must read" list. This book is from brand new publisher AWA which stands for Artists, Writers and Artisans. I will be looking for their books by Frank Cho, Peter Milligan, and Garth Ennis when they hit the racks in the future. You should too.

 Conan the Barbarian #14 - Jim Zub (writer) Roge Antonio (art) Israel Silva (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). The explanation of how Conan survives being run through with a sword made me groan but I read on. Conan and the remaining warriors must work together to survive the rest of the gauntlet but one of them is a treacherous killer. Who that is keeps me interested.

 Something is Killing the Children #6 - James Tynion IV (writer) Werther Dell'Edera (art) Miquel Muerto (colours) AndWorld Design (letters). A new story starts here. It looks like we're going to get Erica's origin story and I'm looking forward to finding out more about Ms. Slaughter.

 Guardians of the Galaxy #3 - Al Ewing (writer) Nina Vakueva, Chris Sprouse, Belen Ortega & Juann Cabal (pencils) Nina Vakueva, Karl Story, Belen Ortega & Juann Cabal (inks) Federico Blee (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). In the aftermath of Peter's "death" (he'll return eventually I'm sure) the rest of the Guardians must get on with their lives. A new client hires them but I see a big conflict of interest in their new mission. Their new client made me wonder if a copyright infringement was being made by Marvel. Someone over there forget about Bucky O'Hare? Is Blackjack related? Okay, a quick search confirms that Blackjack O'Hare first appeared in a Marvel comic in May 1982 and Bucky first appeared in the Continuity Graphics title Echo of Futurepast #1 in May 1984 with some sweet art by Michael Golden. Law suits averted.

 Fantastic Four #20 - Dan Slott (writer) Peco Medina (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This is a great one-shot story for fans thinking about adding this book to their sub. The Four return from their space adventure on Spyre with Johnny's soul mate Sky. Then the new couple goes to help Wyatt Wingfoot with an attack by the Mole Man. Everything is wrapped up nice and neat in this one issue and you will get the warm and fuzzies getting to know Marvel's First Family. I still like this book.

 Valkyrie #9 - Jason Aaron & Torunn Gronbekk (writers) Ramon Rosanas (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). How many times can Jason Aaron bring about a Ragnarok-like event? As many times as he wants as far as I'm concerned. Here we have Tyr unleashing an ancient dark power and now it's up to Val to stop it. This title is still top tier.

 X-Force #9 - Benjamin Percy (writer) Joshua Cassara (art) Dean White (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I continue to read books that I feel aren't that great for a variety of reasons. I'm not fond of the art in this title and the missions that this team goes on are okay, not great. I do however, like that Domino and Wolverine are on this team. Their behaviour in this book will determine how long I stay a fan.

 Robin 100-Page Super Spectacular - These one-shot anthologies are a great way to catch up on characters. There are 10 short stories featuring the 5 Robins: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne. There are a couple of retro stories by Marv Wolfman and Chick Dixon that were hokey. I preferred the current stories by James Tynion V, Peter J. Tomasi and Robbie Thompson. The last story made me curious about what's happening with Damian leading the Teen Titans. Pick up this $9.99 US 80th Anniversary book to get a nice picture of one of comics' iconic sidekicks.

[omniversalobservations]

On Tuesday, four Ringer staffers assembled in the company’s studio to draft imaginary movie characters and debate how well their imaginary teams would fare in imaginary battles with each other. Deputy editor Mallory Rubin was ruled the victor by judges Jason Concepcion and David Shoemaker, but not without controversy. So, the team managers and one of our judges have gathered here to defend their choices. We’ve also included teams selected by other staffers, who had the privilege of selecting any heroes on the board, as well as some of the best teams submitted by our readers.

***

Jason Concepcion: Mallory had the strongest team and I ruled as such. Amanda’s team gave Mal some matchup problems, it’s true. But ultimately, that’s not enough to swing the outcome. The Flash can get Magneto’s helmet off before the Master of Magnetism can even comprehend what’s happening. Then Professor X shuts him down, and Doomsday and Silver Surfer go in and clean up. I’m aggrieved that certain people (i.e., the people who I will not name and who designed this system, which included numerous misclassified heroes and an unfortunate punctuation error pertaining to Dark Phoenix) who don’t understand comic books, or really how a fantasy draft should be run, disagree with this decision. But it is correct and it is final.

Mallory Rubin, a.k.a. The Ringer’s Superhero Draft Champion: I’m tempted to just say “Scoreboard” and leave it at that, but despite what the violently competitive tenor of Tuesday’s live draft might have indicated, I’m a team player! While I will not be goaded into relitigating this entire process—a process that left me with a metaphorical crown on my head and very real pride in my heart—I’ll gladly [extremely Binge Mode voice] offer a brief refresher on what actually transpired when I built my team.

Here’s my victorious squad, presented in the order in which it was drafted:

Round 1: Iron Man (No Powers) Round 2: Doomsday (Villain) Round 3: Professor X (Born With Powers) Round 4: The Flash (Acquired Powers) Round 5: Silver Surfer (Cosmic Powers)

I’d like to quickly stress the “order in which it was drafted” point: It’s really dope that a bunch of Ringer staffers, viewers, and readers are getting in on the fun by constructing their own teams; it’s worth remembering, though, that they can do so absent competition. Picking against three other people in a live snake draft introduced a crucial variable into our shared experience: unpredictability. And so I attempted to account for that by crafting a strategy built on the power of scarcity.

Cosmic Powers is loaded, undeniably the deepest group of the bunch. Why take a character from that category no. 1 overall (cough, Chris Ryan) when you can wait and still get great value there in Round 5? Conversely, I identified early in my draft prep that the No Powers bunch was a wasteland, far and away the weakest in the game. I knew that if I got the clear top pick in that field, I’d be as well positioned as I was after selecting second baseman José Altuve in the first round of one of my 2017 fantasy baseball drafts.

And so I took Iron Man, whose riches, brilliance, technological capabilities (Hulkbuster, my dudes!), leadership, and battle experience made him great value regardless, and exceptional value given the putrid state of the No Powers field. I got Gronk in a tight end pool full of Ben Watsons.

In hindsight, I have only one real regret about how I argued my case at the end of Tuesday’s draft, as the coffee exited my bloodstream, the room of formerly cherished colleagues turned against me, and Amanda attempted to blind judges and viewers alike with her team’s sexiness. A large portion of Amanda’s argument, the judges’ (brief) support of her team, and Chris’s pro-Amanda betrayal of yours truly hinged on Batman’s plot armor, a.k.a. the belief that he’d figure out a way to beat my team, because he always figures out a way. Yet Amanda had already thrown her star game-day player under the bus, saying on Tuesday, “I was going to take Iron Man, so I think I’ll just take poor man’s Iron Man and go with Batman.”

A large portion of the pro-Amanda sentiment also more correctly hinged on Magneto, an undeniably formidable foe. But as soon as I drafted Professor X, who bafflingly fell to the third round despite being the clear top pick in the Born With Powers category (the second weakest of the five fields), I knew I’d need to account for the Magneto Problem other teams would try to use against me. That’s why I pivoted to selecting the Flash despite the availability of other characters, like Captain America, whom I’d ranked above him in Acquired Powers. This draft didn’t exist in a vacuum; I had to react not only to the team I was building, but to the teams others were building. Worried that Magneto will turn Iron Man into a tin can or render Charles irrelevant? I’ve got my dude Barry Allen on the case: Before Magneto could even think to act, Flash would rip off his protective helmet, and feeble Erik would bend to Professor X’s will or get absolutely crushed by Iron Man or Doomsday (my choice!). And if the unthinkable occurs and I lose? Barry runs into the past. New game, new day, new hope. The Flash gives me a fail-safe.

The moment when I knew I’d won the draft came long before Amanda selected Magneto or I chose the Flash, though: It came at the end of Round 1, when ALL three of my foes had selected someone from Cosmic Powers, the most stacked category. They couldn’t select another character from that field, meaning I had the luxury of waiting until my final pick to target my CP player—who happened to be my no. 1 pick in that category and no. 2 player overall (again, for the purposes of this draft, where Iron Man earned my top ranking because of how I valued scarcity).

Silver Surfer is not here for your bullshit. His Fantastic Four cinematic presence might not have wowed you, but he’s a true force. He wields the power cosmic, can manipulate the universe's energies, can scale his strength, and is almost indestructible. If (perish the thought!) the Flash falters, Silver Surfer’s got that time-travel shit on lock. His surfboard also becomes a lot less silly when you realize he can control it with his mind. Oh, and he can absorb energy from anything, meaning he can pull (and has pulled!) the radiation out of Hulk, rendering him moot. The same principle applies to Superman, who, again, went no. 1 overall in our draft. My guy might be a little moody, but last time I checked, emotional fortitude was never Jean Grey’s or Batman’s strength.

Ultimately, in a 20-player draft, I wound up with three of my top four overall players (no. 1 Iron Man, no. 2 Silver Surfer, no. 4 Doomsday) and four of my top 10 (no. 8 Professor X). The only character I selected from outside of my personal top 10 was the Flash (no. 18), who provided such undeniable strategic value for my team that he elevated above his station. (Also, I know this is about movies, but TV Barry is really dope. Come at me, CW haters!)

As Professor X says, “I don't want your suffering! I don't want your future!” I want my future: The one where my team easily wins.

Micah Peters: Let’s set aside for a moment the fact that Blade, the movie Blade, the one that I was talking about, was born to a mother who was bitten by a vampire and therefore was—per the parameters that were agreed upon—Born With Powers. I can’t control the way the draft goes, but I can pick the most wild cards without obvious weaknesses beyond Not As Brawny As The Hulk or Superman. We don’t need to win a whole final series, we just need to frustrate the other team into a loss for a single game (fight). Take, for instance, Doctor Strange, who was tremendously undervalued, for reasons not lost on me. It’s not Benedict Cumberbatch’s fault that his name and face are so funny, but I assure you Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is no joke. His powers include: … literally any and everything you can think of, and some other things you probably can’t. Matter and energy manipulation, interdimensional travel, mental possession, all of that. He is also technically immortal.

I’ll admit that War Machine was mainly for coverfire. But Black Panther? Also not a whole lot of weaknesses to speak of. In fact, the only way to beat him is for him to know nothing about you, which isn’t exceedingly possible. If anything could, at any point, be a threat to Wakanda—which includes everything inside of and outside of its borders, in whichever universe—then he’s researched a way to neutralize it. Or kill it, which he’s willing to do. The only reason that Captain America and Batman have thicker plot armor is because they’re canonically white, it’s just that no one likes to say so. As for General Zod, he’s just here because you still need someone to go toe-to-toe with the Class 100 dudes while TWO OF THE SMARTEST PEOPLE IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE figure out the rest.

Chris Ryan: It feels weird to defend drafting Bryce Harper, LeBron James, and J.J. Watt, but here we are. I thought that picking mutli-tool players from traditionally powerful superhero programs (X-Men, Avengers, Justice League) would put me in a good position to win. I thought the draft more as a popularity contest, or drafting heroes I'd like to fight with (for the most part), and less like a Dungeons & Dragons game that involved a lot of planning for weaknesses. [Andy Reid voice] That's on me. I have to be a better general manager.

Amanda Dobbins: As previously discussed, I have seen 15-20 superhero movies out of professional obligation and have otherwise never sought out the content in any form. That said, I know a star when I see one—and as luck would have it, the true superhero stars are the ones that win the battle at the end of the movie. So my strategy was simple: pick the cool ones, and the rest will follow. Wonder Woman is a no-brainer in this context; Gal Gadot’s Diana is the only superhero character who has ever made me tear up, and her comic timing is impeccable. (Also, Greek mythology–related superheroes >> all other superheroes.) I wanted Iron Man but had to settle for Batman, the least bad option in that lame category. Magneto was played by Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender in a turtleneck, so that’s a layup. I like Chris Evans. And finally, I picked Jean Grey because my friend Sean Fennessey told me she was a good mutant, and I didn’t feel like investigating further. Thank you for your support. My team should have won. Staff Teams

Jack McCluskey:

No Powers: Iron Man Acquired Powers: Spider-Man Cosmic Powers: Wonder Woman Born With Powers: Professor X Villain: The Joker

My superhero team has it all:

- young energy (Peter Parker is best as a fast-talking teen, and you know it); - earned wisdom (Charles Xavier’s been around a while, has seen everything, and can teach the next generation a thing or two); - righteous power (Wonder Woman, duh; haven’t you seen the no-man’s-land scene?); - deep pockets (between the glowering Bruce Wayne and the wisecracking Tony Stark, I’ll take the funny, brilliant inventor any day); - and pure, unadulterated chaos (as Alfred says in The Dark Knight, “Some men just want to watch the world burn”).

In this scenario, Professor X is the one calling the shots, Iron Man is the one financing and outfitting the team, Wonder Woman is the straight-ahead superhero focused on the task at hand, Spider-Man is making cracks and occasionally screwing up (as kids do), and everyone is trying to rein in the Joker, who is constantly undermining everything because he just can’t help himself. (He just wants to put a smile on that face, after all. And, yes, Heath Ledger is the Joker now and forever, amen.) Technological prowess, agility, power, brains, and unpredictability make for a potent (and entertaining) package.

Danny Chau:

No Powers: Batman Acquired Powers: The Flash Cosmic Powers: Thor Born With Powers: Iceman Villain: Apocalypse

My superhero team is actually built around my villain, Apocalypse, which means I have, for the first time in many years, successfully established an inverted pyramid.

The construction is centered around two of Apocalypse's powers: external energy absorption, and power enhancement. Thor is the God of Thunder, one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel universe; on my team, he’s a handsome battery. The Flash is so fast he created the Speed Force, an otherworldly dimension that doubles as the source of his power; on my team, he is simply the liaison to a successful merger between the Speed Force and Apocalypse. Bruce Wayne is super smart and super rich, I’m sure he’d be able to figure out a way to augment Apocalypse’s power even further. That’s Phase 1.

Phase 2 involves Apocalypse’s ability to amplify the powers of other mutants. The classic read on Iceman is that he’s a font of untapped potential—the Kwame Brown of the X-Men. But imagine if Michael Jordan didn’t verbally abuse Kwame at every Wizards practice and instead was like, “Hey rook, let me give you all of my talent and indefatigable will to embarrass my competition.” Iceman is categorized as an Omega, the most powerful class of mutant there is. And with a nudge from Apocalypse, Iceman ought to be able to freeze all life across both cinematic universes.

Michael Baumann:

No Powers: Batman Acquired Powers: Winter Soldier Cosmic Powers: Silver Surfer Born With Powers: Professor X Villain: Magneto

The one must-have on this team is Magneto, who is the most righteous of superhero villains, and has shown he can work well with the good guys under the right circumstances. My hero with cosmic powers is the Silver Surfer, because Superman—an immortal being who has the power of flight, X-ray vision, and unlimited strength and stamina, and is literally called Superman—is the dumbest creation in the history of superheroes, if not all of narrative fiction. I don’t care how popular or powerful he is, I won’t have him on my team. Give me the guy who can travel faster than light and convert matter to energy and whose creation required more imagination than “God with a pair of neoprene briefs.”

Because Silver Surfer can do so much of the heavy lifting, I don’t, strictly speaking, need an ass-kicker on this team, which means I can carry Professor X, who can temper Magneto’s more destructive impulses and literally read minds, which also obviates the need for a sneaky reconnaissance person like Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, or Spider-Man. That means Winter Soldier doesn’t really fill a need, but the Acquired Powers category is light on people who do, unless you go with Reed Richards or the Hulk, and I worry about those two causing chemistry problems with Professor X and Magneto. There’s such a thing as too much brainpower.

Clearly you want a superhero who can harness the only cosmic force that eludes the Silver Surfer—capitalism—but why Batman and not Iron Man? So why the Winter Soldier, and not Deadpool or Captain America? The answer there is also chemistry: The team I’ve created is composed entirely of sad people. If Iron Man or Deadpool is in there cracking jokes or Spider-Man’s giving off his annoying teenage energy, that act is just going to annoy the rest of the team. Better to go full Listening To Nothing But Julien Baker, just so everyone’s on the same page.

Andrew Gruttadaro:

No Powers: Iron Man Acquired Powers: The Flash Cosmic Powers: Star-Lord Born With Powers: Wolverine Villain: Loki

What are we building a team for, exactly? Are we to assume the goal is global domination? Well, I’m a pacifist, so I’d rather build a team based on who would actually be decent to hang out with. In which case, look at that murderer’s row of fun personalities above. (Well, besides the very emotionally damaged Wolverine, but every crew needs a dark friend.) Can you imagine the witty banter these five would dish out? Star-Lord and Loki would get into a funny argument about galaxies, Wolverine would brood in the corner, and when Peter Quill inevitably compares himself to the Cars (or something), the Flash could chime in with a classic “I wasn’t even born yet” quip. And Iron Man could foot the whole bill—it’d be a great Friday night.

Also, for the sake of argument, I think these guys would put up a pretty good fight if any other superhero teams stepped to us.

Daniel Chin:

No Powers: Batman Acquired Powers: Hulk Cosmic Powers: Green Lantern Born With Powers: Phoenix Villain: Magneto

Every team needs its leader, and Batman is one of the smartest guys out there. The world’s greatest detective would have an answer for anything, and he’d be able to devise a plan that’d utilize each of his teammates to their fullest potentials. Like a young Steve Nash, this guy would bring the best out of everyone else’s games.

Hulk, a.k.a. “The Strongest Avenger,” is a wild card, no doubt, but his upside outweighs the risk. Put him toe to toe with any of the other big bodies on this list, and I’d bet money on the angry green guy every single time. His unparalleled strength makes him a worthy team member.

Green Lantern was a terrible, terrible movie, but that doesn’t stop him from being the ultimate utility man. Just like Ben Zobrist, put this guy anywhere in the field, and he’s going to come up with results. That shiny ring of his allows him to create anything his mind is capable of thinking up, whether it be a shield to protect one of his teammates or, I don’t know, a massive rock to drop on any of his enemies.

To not have a telepath on your team—someone who could rip apart the opposition by just getting in their heads (like Draymond Green)—would be a little foolish, I must say. Phoenix is the most powerful one in the X-Men universe. I do, however, wonder what she would do to this team’s already suspect chemistry. After all, she did kill the love of her life and disintegrate the guy who practically raised her. But, like Hulk, I think I’m gonna roll the dice on this one.

Lastly, Magneto provides the defense for this team. Not only does his helmet protect him from anybody trying to do some Jedi mind tricks on him, but Magneto (you guessed it) can manipulate metal. So if a member of your squad has any of that on him or her whatsoever—say maybe the man named after iron—then it’s already over. Oh, your team has Wolverine? Dope. With him anchoring down this All-Star lineup, no way any other stands a chance.

Kate Halliwell:

No Powers: Ant-Man Acquired Powers: The Flash Cosmic Powers: Silver Surfer Born With Powers: Professor X Villain: Hela

Professor X is an obvious choice from not only a powers-based standpoint, but from a leadership one. He can unite even the most ragtag team through sheer wisdom and charisma, and if that doesn’t work, well … he’s got the whole mind-control thing on lock. This one’s a given.

The Flash is an underrated ultra-powerful superhero, mainly because people tend to diminish his powers by saying he just “runs really fast.” Barry Allen can run *so* fast, he’s able to travel back in time. Imagine that awesome Quicksilver X-Men movie scene, but with the added benefit of time travel. Yep, Barry’s in.

The Silver Surfer’s powers are arguably limitless. While the technicalities of his powers tend to vary based on comic-vs.-screen interpretations, the consensus seems to be that he can at least travel across the galaxy, destroying (or healing) planets and peoples at will. In the better-forgotten Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, it’s established that his only weakness is his board—without it, he loses access to most of his powers. But as long as we get him one of those surfboard-ankle connector things, dude is unbeatable.

Ant-Man may seem like the dead weight of the group, but in his solo Ant-Man film, it’s explained that using Hank Pym’s shrinking technology, Ant-Man can shrink between molecules and access the quantum realm, where space and time cease to follow the rules of nature. If anyone can help Scott figure out how to best wield this power, it’s Professor X. Also, you know, Paul Rudd’s one-liners will be good for morale.

Hela is a risky choice, but not when you’ve also got Professor X on the squad. As demonstrated by Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor is as susceptible as anyone to mind control. Since Hela is an Asgardian like her brother, there’s no reason to think Professor X couldn’t easily keep her in line. The Goddess of Death took down Thor, Loki, all of the Valkyrie, and thousands of Asgardian soldiers. Also, she looks like Cate Blanchett. I see no downsides here.

Source: The Ringer

(images via Twitter)

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The top 20 female superheroes of all time

Superhero comics are hardly sexism-free these days, but there’s no denying this is a great time for female superheroes. Wonder Woman made a huge comeback this summer, Kamala Khan is one of the most popular new superheroes of the decade, and everyone seems to be obsessed with Harley Quinn—despite the Suicide Movie movie being kind of a mess.

To help you get acquainted with some of the best female superheroes, we’ve put together a list of our favorites. They run the gamut from weird vintage characters (Ma Hunkel) to modern fan-faves (America Chavez), and several of them have their own screen adaptations in the works.

The best female superheroes of all time

20. She-Hulk

Why isn’t there an Ally McBeal-style legal dramedy about She-Hulk? Seriously, she’d be perfect for it. She-Hulk is an irresistibly fun character with a unique role in Marvel comics: lawyer to the superhero community. She shares her cousin Bruce Banner’s Hulk powers, but unlike him, she retains her original personality after hulking out. Her power manifests as super strength, green skin, and a confident personality, and her legal career fills an interesting niche in a universe where many heroes “solve” their problems with physical fights.

Photo via Marvel Wiki

19. Zatanna

Tuxedo-wearing magician Zatanna has the capacity to be funny, weird, and deeply charming, and while she mostly exists as a team player, she definitely deserves more solo comics. She’s a stage magician with actual magical powers and acts as an entertaining foil for the seriousness of Batman.

Photo via DC Comics

Zatanna in her signature tuxedo

18. Supergirl

Supergirl‘s role overlaps a lot with Superman, and that’s just fine. She represents a kind of cheerful, optimistic heroism that’s kind of rare in modern superhero media, and her ongoing TV show celebrates that legacy. It’s arguably a better adaptation of the Superman mythos than the Justice League movie franchise, benefiting from a healthy dose of family-friendly feminist themes. As for her role in the comics, Supergirl’s vintage back-catalog includes some delightfully wacky storylines, like that one comic where her horse turns into a dude and they fall in love.

Photo via CBS

17. Ma Hunkel

Golden Age Z-lister Ma Hunkel is an early superhero parody, and she’s completely awesome. She’s a sturdy middle-aged mom who dons thermal underwear and a helmet made out of a cooking pot, adopting the name “Red Tornado” to fight petty criminals in her neighborhood.

Photo via Sheldon Mayer/DC Comics

Ma Hunkel in ‘The Red Tornado and the Cycone Kids.’

16. Elektra

This deadly assassin exists on a knife’s edge between hero and villain, not exactly evil but hardly an altruistic role model either. Armed with her trademark sai—a pair of triple-pronged daggers—she often appears alongside Daredevil, with whom she shares a tumultuous love story. She’s one of the few female superheroes to get her own solo movie, although we prefer her depiction in Marvel’s Netflix franchise, both due to Elodie Yung’s sensitive yet menacing performance and her thoughtfully redesigned costume.

Photo via Netflix

15. Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Negasonic Teenage Warhead is on this list because her name is NEGASONIC TEENAGE WARHEAD, a truly world-class superhero name. She’s goth as hell, and she’s in the Deadpool movie; that’s all you need to know.

Photo via Fox Movies

READ MORE:

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14. Kate Kane (Batwoman)

Batwoman has a rather ironic origin story, given her later role in the comics. She first appeared as Batman’s love-interest in the 1950s, shortly after the publication of Seduction of the Innocent, a book that accused Batman of homosexual propaganda. In recent years she was rewritten to be gay herself, a controversial decision that led to some problems of its own. While her comic’s creators wanted her to marry her girlfriend, DC Comics nixed the decision by saying heroes “shouldn’t have happy personal lives,” a dubious statement that sounds pretty ridiculous in the context of, say, Superman. Despite all this, she’s undoubtedly the most high-profile lesbian superhero around, with a key role in the Bat-family.

13. Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl is officially the most powerful character in the Marvel universe, and unofficially one of the most fun. Born with squirrel-related powers, Doreen Green has a giant, bushy tail and can communicate with squirrels. Her recent solo comics are a cult favorite due to their genre-savvy humor, and she’s about to star in a an ensemble TV sitcom called New Warriors.

Photo via Marvel

12. Fantomah

This one’s a deep cut from the very early days of superhero comics, but we’d love to see some kind of modern reboot. Fantomah is a jungle ghost superhero whose face turns into a skull when she uses her super-strength. What’s not to love?

Photo via Jungle Comics #15/Wikimedia (Public Domain)

Fantomah, a super-strong jungle ghost

11. Ayo and Aneka

These fearsome freedom-fighters met and fell in love as members of the Dora Milaje, the all-female squad of highly trained warriors who guard the king of Wakanda. They act as antagonists in the current Black Panther series, but they’re definitely not the bad guys. It’s a complex story that positions them as vigilante heroes, protecting civilians during a time of political upheaval. And while they aren’t technically acknowledged as superheroes, they definitely qualify due to their heroic role, distinctive costumes, and nickname: the Midnight Angels. It’s just too bad their solo series, World of Wakanda, was canceled in 2017.

Photo via Black Panther #1/Marvel

Ayo and Aneka from the Black Panther comics.

10. America Chavez (Miss America)

America Chavez had a slightly awkward start in a limited series called Vengeance, portrayed in a ludicrously skimpy costume. Her real breakthrough happened in the cult favorite 2013 Young Avengers comics, where she got a cosplay-friendly makeover from artist Jamie McKelvie. She has a bunch of superpowers: strength, flight, interdimensional travel, and the power to punch something and make it dissolve into stars. This made her one of the heavy-hitters of the Young Avengers team, and this year she finally got a long-awaited solo series.

Photo via America #1/Marvel

9. Black Widow

Natasha Romanov (or Romanoff, or Romanova, depending on the comics writer’s familiarity with Russian naming mechanisms) is an enigma, a black-clad Soviet spy whose Cold War storylines sometimes overlap with the Winter Soldier. Her roles range from femme fatale to pragmatic S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, operating with opaque motives and using psychological manipulation to handle her enemies. Unlike most comic book heroes, who remain within the same static age range for decades, Black Widow has a canonical explanation for her eternally youthful appearance. In some versions of her story, she benefits from bioengineering that slowed the aging process—meaning she could actually be in her 60s or 70s. This doesn’t seem to be the case in the MCU, but who knows? They haven’t made a Black Widow movie yet, so her backstory is kind of a mystery.

Photo via Marvel Entertainment/YouTube

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8. Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle)

Looking at the DC contributions to this list, the Bat-family’s impact is impossible to ignore. Barbara Gordon is one of the most influential examples, as the daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon and protégé to Bruce Wayne. She was the original Batgirl, changing her callsign to Oracle after the Joker infamously broke her spine in The Killing Joke. It’s a dark and controversial moment in Batman canon, but it led to a unique recovery arc for Barbara, as she forged a new role for herself as the information center of Batman’s team. Since she’s one of the only well-known superheroes to use a wheelchair, fans weren’t pleased when DC rebooted her to her pre-Killing Joke state as Batgirl in 2011.

Photo via DC Comics

Barbara Gordon, who has been both Batgirl and Oracle

7. Jean Grey

Jean Grey arrived on the original X-Men team in 1963, and since then she’s gone through a rollercoaster of plot twists and transformations. Introduced as a teenager with telepathic and telekinetic powers, she’s one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel canon, and she plays a central role in decades of iconic X-Men storylines. Along with ongoing friendships with Storm and Charles Xavier, and romances with Cyclops and (kind of) Wolverine, she starred in one of the most influential X-Men storylines: the Dark Phoenix Saga, which is being adapted into a movie starring Sophie Turner.

Screengrab via 20thCenturyFox/YouTube

Sophie Turner as Jean Grey

6. Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel)

Kamala Khan is one of the biggest breakout superheroes of the 21st century, following in the footsteps of teen heroes like Kitty Pryde and Peter Parker. She’s a lovable, dorky kid who just wants to do the right thing, but finds it hard to juggle her newfound shapeshifting powers with her obligations to friends, family, and school. Her comics blend classic superhero themes with a contemporary tone, and they’ve been widely praised for bringing a Muslim hero into the mainstream.

Photo via Ms. Marvel/Marvel

Kamala Khan, the teen superhero Ms. Marvel

5. Captain Marvel

Carol Danvers used to be known as Miss Marvel, holding the title before Kamala Khan took over. While Danvers played a background role in Marvel team comics since the 1970s, her popularity exploded when writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Dexter Roy rebooted her as Captain Marvel in 2012. Her sporty jumpsuit is now a cosplay staple, and her fans are known as the Carol Corps. Her actual powers are pretty conservative—super-strength, flight, and energy projection—but her real strength lies in the quality of her solo comics. Captain Marvel arrived at a time when fans were crying out for a simple, high-quality superhero book about an admirable female hero, and DeConnick and her collaborators delivered. Danvers is now on Marvel’s A-list, featuring heavily in recent crossover events (for better or worse), and soon to appear in a movie franchise starring Brie Larson.

Photo via Marvel

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4. Harley Quinn

Devised as a side-character in Batman: The Animated Series, no one could have predicted that Harley Quinn would become one of DC’s most recognizable characters. As a quirky sidekick and lover to the Joker, she’s a controversial character whose role means different things to different people. To some she’s just a sexy pin-up; to others she’s a sensitive portrayal of mental illness and survival in an abusive relationship. Her star power is such that when Suicide Squad came out last year, she became the main selling point of an otherwise disappointing movie. She’s basically DC’s Deadpool: a queer and unpredictable antihero with a weird sense of humor and a dark past.

Screengrab via Warner Bros. Pictures / Youtube

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

3. Storm

Ororo Munroe is a queen, a weather goddess, and a mutant leader. She’s also unequivocally cool, from her punk look in the ’80s to her badass lightning powers. While Storm doesn’t have as many solo comics as she should (and wasn’t treated very well by the movie franchise), she remains one of the most beloved X-Men characters. Along with all her adventures as a member and leader of X-Men teams, she also has an epic romance with Black Panther, the superhero king of Wakanda.

Screengrab via 20th Century Fox/YouTube

2. Catwoman

While Marvel leads the field in terms of mainstream superheroines, DC wins in the category of female villains. Catwoman and Harley Quinn both enjoy worldwide popularity as engaging, morally ambiguous characters with a wide range of canonical interpretations. Originating as a burglar, Catwoman is one of Batman’s most well-known antagonists—as well as being a sometimes love-interest.

Superhero comics being what they are, almost every superheroine wears a skin-tight costume and frequently gets drawn in weirdly sexualized poses. However, Catwoman is one of the few characters for whom performative sexuality is a legitimate aspect of her role. This sometimes leads to insultingly exploitative depictions (shout out to the Halle Berry movie), but plenty of creators get the balance right. Michelle Pfeiffer and Eartha Kitt created iconic depiction onscreen, and Catwoman maintains a timeless appeal as a woman who takes what she wants and doesn’t care what other people think.

Screengrab via Mindd Kidzag/YouTube

1. Wonder Woman

The A-list of the A-list. A literal goddess. A feminist icon, to the extent that when her solo movie came out in 2017, people debated whether it somehow “failed” because she couldn’t represent every feminist viewpoint on Earth. (She obviously can’t, but that’s kind of the point.) Created in 1941 as a combination of utopian hero and fetish character, her long career covers everything from Greek mythology to political allegory to conventional superhero team adventures with the Justice League. She’s also canonically queer—something it took DC Comics several decades to admit out loud. 

Photo via Wonder Woman/Warner Bros.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

Read more: https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/female-superheroes/

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