#Marvel M-Tech Comic Books

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WIZARDS The Podcast Guide To Comics | Bonus: X-Men Special '99

We’re joined by Brad Gullickson from the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast for a very fun discussion about the Wizard X-Men Special issue from 1999 including the outrageous creation of your favorite mutants, the 10 Best X-Men stories ever told, learning how Wolverine got his Adamantium back and so much more. You can enjoy an UNCUT version of this episode with extra conversation and a scan of…

[historyhermann]

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Spoiler-Filled Review

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, also called Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur or Moon Girl, is an animated superhero adventure series created by Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland. It is based on the 2010s Marvel Comics series, Moon Girl, by Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, and Natacha Bustos.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-? article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on April 24, 2023.

The plot of Moon Girl centers on a young girl named Lunella Lafeyette (voiced by Diamond White). She is secretly a superhero named Moon Girl, named after her favorite scientist, and a student by day. She uses a dimensional portal to bring a T-Rex named Devil Dinosaur (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), to the streets of New York City. Her best friend, Casey (voiced by Libe Barer) helps her, while she fights against villains like The Beyonder, a mischievous and curious trickster voiced by Fishburne.

Lunella's family have an important role in this series. Her grandmother Mimi, mother Andria, father James Jr., and grandfather "Pops" are protagonists. They are voiced by acclaimed actors such as Alfre Woodward, Sasheer Zamata, Jermaine Fowler, and Gary Anthony Williams. I personally remembered Williams for voicing characters in Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Resistance, Velma, The Cuphead Show!, and The Owl House, or when Zamata voiced Jade in the subpar film, The Mitchells vs. the Machines.

From the get-go, I knew that Moon Girl would have a superb animation quality because the show's production companies include the animation arm of Disney (Disney Television Animation), a Marvel Studios subsidiary (Marvel Animation), and two animation studios: Titmouse and Flying Bark Productions. The latter two are known for Star Trek: Lower Decks, Fairfax, The Legend of Vox Machina, Glitch Techs, What If...? and Pantheon.

Fishburne's own production company, Cinema Gypsy Productions, is helping produce Moon Girl. This could be part of the reason the series got a favorable reception from executives, resulting in renewal of a second season before the first season had premiered. The animation style is said to be inspired by Spider-Verse, pop art such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Keith Haring, along with comic book and graffiti style, and other influences.

Moon Girl has an impressive cast including well-recognized names like Indya Moore, Craig Robinson, Pamela Adlon, Jennifer Hudson, Anna Akana, and Asia Kate Dillon. It includes actors of Indian, Iranian, Puerto Rican, Vietnamese, and Palestinian descent.

This is reinforced by executive producer Steve Loter, composer Raphael Saadiq, and producers Pilar Flynn and Rafael Chaidez. Loter is an executive producer of The Ghost and Molly McGee and has been recognized as a former Kim Possible producer. Saddiq previously did the discography for Lovecraft Country Season 1. Flynn was co-producer of Elena of Avalor.

Show director Trey Buongiorno previously been a storyboarder on Glitch Techs and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Samantha Suyi Lee storyboarded on Cleopatra in Space, Christine Liu on Steven Universe, Rodney Clouden on Futurama, and Ben Juwono on Big Hero 6. Show writers Jeffrey M. Howard, Kate Kondell, Halima Lucas, Liz Hara, Taylor Vaughn Lasley, Maggie Rose, and Lisa Muse Bryant have written for Elena of Avalor, Rugrats, Sesame Street, Broad City, and Kenan.

The cast and crew of Moon Girl support the series' aim to be something for "everyone" and have tones of "heart...comedy, incredible action and great music" as Loter put it. What he is saying has validity since the series is clearly smart, punchy, dynamic, dazzling, and enchanting, with a unique personality.

Representation in Moon Girl is central to the show's storyline. In an interview with the show's producers in February 2023, Loter noted that the show started with Laurence Fishburne loving the Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comic series because he had read the original late 1970s Devil Dinosaur comic. Supervising producer Rodney Clouden said that it "means a lot" for the series to have the first Black female protagonist in a superhero series by Marvel.

Later in the interview, Clouden added that Lunella is more than young Black girl into science and math, but is about helping her community and family. This is because her brains are her superpowers, not any other special abilities. She is a 13-year-old who has teen problems that are relatable, and universal. This is done with the intention of making the series inspirational and creating "sophisticated and elevated children’s program", to summarize Clouden's words.

There is more beyond the interview with Loter and Clouden. Like The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Craig of the Creek, or My Dad the Bounty Hunter, the series has a Black-majority main cast. Moon Girl is different than those two series, in that it is centered on superheroes. There are very few other Black superhero animated series, apart from three prominent series, either Vixen in the 2010s, Static Shock in the 2000s, or Todd McFarlane's Spawn in the 1990s. Various additional Black cartoons aired since the 1970s, but few are in the superhero genre.

Moon Girl has outward LGBTQ representation. This includes Lunella's classmate, Tai, and living/A.I. supercomputer named LOS-307, which are both non-binary, and Brooklyn, an openly trans character. Furthermore, Casey has two dads: Isaac and Antonio.

The voice actors for Tai and LOS-307, Ian Alexander and Asia Kate Dillon, are non-binary in real life, while Indya Moore, the voice of Brooklyn, is trans and non-binary. In addition, Wilson Cruz and Andy Cohen, who voice Casey's dads, are both gay actors. It remains to be seen if any of the main cast will be shown as LGBTQ or not. Some fans have seen hints of romantic attraction between Casey and Lunella, shipping them either as "Lucasey" or "Mediamoon", but ship this has not been confirmed presently. Furthermore, it is possible that since Michael Cimino, who voices Lunella's loud friend, Eduardo, has seemed to say his sexual identity is fluid, this may be reflected in his character.

In watching Moon Girl, I was reminded by the fact that Moore previously voiced a trans character in animation (Shep in Steven Universe Future). Recently, Dillon provided the voice for the genderfluid and pansexual Val/entina Romanyszyn in the ever-controversial and problematic gen:LOCK. This series appears to be the first voice role for Cohen, but not for Alexander or Cruz.

This is not unique to Moore and Dillion. Diamond White has provided her voice for characters in Phineas and Ferb and Sofia the First. Tatasciore has voiced characters in animated series since the 1990s. Fowler prominently did voices for Tuca & Bertie and BoJack Horseman. Others have voiced characters in wide-ranging series including We Bare Bears, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Mira, Royal Detective, The Simpsons, and Hamster & Gretel.

The show's first episode began with a bang and pulled me in almost immediately. I've been lamenting the reality that few present series have roller-skating protagonists. This could be because wearing such shoes seem almost retro these days. It is part of Lunella's shtick, as she skates around fighting villains with the help of her dinosaur (Devil), using her gadgets for good.

Having a protagonist move around in roller skates puts in her good company alongside protagonists such as Sakura Kinomoto in Cardcaptor Sakura and Candace Flynn in Phineas and Ferb. Occasionally Kim Possible of Kim Possible and Milo Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law wear them. The same is the case for characters in the Steven Future Universe episode "Bismuth", possibly Jenny /XJ-9 in My Life as a Teenage Robot, and more directly, Neon Katt as shown in some RWBY volumes.

What further endeared me to Moon Girl was the setting, in New York's Lower East Side, and character's relatability. In the 44-minute first episode, Lunella almost abandons being a superhero, after Devil is seriously injured by Aftershock. She is reassured on her path by her wise grandmother, Mimi (voiced by Alfre Woodard). The latter makes even more sense after the revelation in the season one finale that Mimi knew that Lunella was Moon Girl the entire time!

I can see how Moon Girl is like the musical coming-of-age comedy, Karma's World, created by rapper Ludacris. Both series emphasize the importance of community, family, and history. The latter is manifested within Moon Girl with blending of the old with the new. Moon Girl uses a cassette player as a device. The show's fight scenes featured music which fits perfectly with the story and action, while in-keeping with the series style. As a person who enjoys interacting with "analog" technology, or possibly soon-to-be analog (CDs and DVDs), I liked this part of the story.

The series has similarities with Karma's World and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder when it comes to episodes about the dangers of fighting online trolls, and themes of cooperation (rather than competition), friendship, self-acceptance, patience, and Black girl's hair. One episode even echoes the "Sugar Rush" episode of Elena of Avalor. Lunella speeds up tasks because they are taking "too long", reminding me of Elena using her powers to speed up the making of chocolate desserts. Another episode slightly mirrors Steven Universe finale "Change Your Mind" where Steven fuses with himself (Pink Steven), when Lunella comes back together with her hair, Mane (voiced by Jennifer Hudson), promising to take care of it.

Moon Girl has recurring villain-of-sorts, as noted earlier. He is one of the most playful I've seen in animation and is named the Beyonder. He is not conniving like Cece Dupree in Karma's World or downright evil such as Salem in RWBY. He can be playful and fun, but can do a lot from the snap of a finger. In fact, he even threatens to destroy all of humanity in the show's seventh episode, unless Lu "proves" to him that humanity is worth saving.

In another, he kidnaps Lunella's mother and Casey, threatening to send them to another dimension, where she will never see them again. He never considers how his actions will cause trauma, only claiming that what he is doing is "helping" her, which is questionable. Hopefully, Lunella doesn't have a meltdown like Ruby Rose in Volume 9 of RWBY, who takes her own life, or Steven Universe in Steven Universe Future who becomes a monster.

The ninth episode of Moon Girl mirrored some plot points in the classic Futurama episode "Time Keeps Slippin'" and the more-recent Cleopatra in Space episode "Do-Over". In all three cases, skipping forward in time goes horribly wrong, but with completely different results. In the case of Moon Girl, the episode points to the dangers of A.I., as shown by the Skipster App, and hints at possible future scenes in the show's second season.

The value of a work-life balance is emphasized through Lunella faking a sickness to get out of a photoshoot. This reminds me of the Cleopatra in Space episode "Cleopatra Needs Space". The difference is that Lunella lies to her friend Casey, claiming she cannot get of bed so she can have a break, while Cleo wants to get away from her two friends who are flirting with one another. However, Moon Girl doesn't as directly counter the issues with overwork, making it different, in that regard, from the isekai anime, I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, which emphasizes this theme repeatedly.

I further enjoyed the episode in which Lu rallies her community against the Muzzlers, two White home inventors, who are trying to gentrify the Lower East Side. The episode examines gentrification as much the Season 2 finale or three-part Season 4 finale of Karma's World, both of which approach the topic in their own ways. Moon Girl is more poignant on this topic than the construction by the golf-addicted Mafia in Birdie Wing, in which the protagonist's family are evicted, or that shown in City of Ghosts.

The last few Moon Girl episodes, which focus on value of chosen family, facing your fears, and being perfect the way you are, strongly end the first season. These episodes also center plotlines about Jewish traditions (since Casey is part Jewish) and the issues with clout-chasing. The latter is somewhat reflected in certain episodes of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

The two-part season one finale of Moon Girl is unique. The villain, Maris Morlak (voiced by Wesley Snipes), wants to construct a dimensional portal so he can gain recognition for his contributions from White leaders, which are those with authority.

Maris reveals that his work, and that of Lu's grandmother, Mimi, were ignored by their White bosses, with White scientists taking all the credit when speaking to the U.S. military generals. This story of casual and institutional racism is more relevant than ever, with  White supremacy currently running rampant across society. I liked how even though Mimi disagrees with his method (opening the portal), she agrees with his concerns, but says he doesn't need others to validate him.

The actions of Maris go beyond the actions taken by other series villains, such as the Rat King, Abyss, and Gravitas, and Odessa Drake. He has an army of followers to support him, called the Enclave, and is willing to do anything to achieve his goals. In fact, he is probably the most ruthless villain of the series, destroying Lunella's underground lab, even when Devil is trapped inside, causing Lunella to drop to her knees and think Devil died. Although this is not the case, it undoubtedly deepens Lunella's growing trauma, which may be addressed more in season 2.

The first season of Moon Girl ends on a cliffhanger, with Mimi and Lu turning off the dimensional portal from each side. It could possible provide fuel for crossover fan fictions to be written by dedicated fans. The second season of Moon Girl may feature more of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its Agent, Maria Hill (voiced by Cobie Smulders), tying the series more into the Marvel Universe.

The growing friendship between Lunella and Casey will likely be an important part of the next season. By the end of the season, Casey becomes almost becoming the equivalent of Tomoyo Daidouji in Cardcaptor Sakura, who made all of Sakura Kinomoto's Cardcaptor outfits. This is because Casey made the outfits that Lunella used as a superhero. In addition, it is possible that the Beyonder will have a bigger role in the next season, and there be more fourth-wall breaks. The series might even have a storyline akin to the OK K.O. episode "Your World Is an Illusion", in which K.O. realizes that his whole world is an illusion.

Moon Girl fills the void left by the season 2 finales of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder on February 1 and Star Wars: The Bad Batch on March 29, and the series finales of The Owl House (on April 8) and Amphibia in May 2022. Unfortunately, with the last episode of Moon Girl airing on the Disney Channel on May 6, it may be some time before any other series with as strong plot, characters, animation, and writing airs on Disney+ or other Disney-related platforms.

Although Kiff and Hamster & Gretel have their merits, as do any of the other animated series on Disney+ or Disney Channel, none of them measures up to Moon Girl, or the quality of The Bad Batch, Amphibia, and The Owl House. The same may be the case for upcoming series such as Hailey's On It!, Primos, Iwaju, Cookies & Milk, Tiana, or Moana: The Series, something which can only be proven or disproven after said series begin airing.

Although the episode-dumps on Disney+, the equivalent of Stevenbombs, undoubtedly reduced the possible audience, Moon Girl remains a shining example of a recent animated series. It can be enjoyed by all, even though it is primarily aimed at children. It is for that, and reasons I have previously stated, I recommend this series and look forward to the second season.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is currently airing on Disney+.

[firebrands]

speak easy | steve/tony

1.9k, M (for alcohol and recreational drug use), drunk steve, drunk tony, a few kisses and an unexpected confession | stony bingo prompt fill: this comic book cover | on ao3

*

It was a normal Tuesday between the two of them, stressed and under duress and Tony needing a drink. Tony had escaped his office to work with Steve, using the excuse that a change of scenery made him more productive.

Steve was just happy to spend time with Tony, really.

“I need a drink,” Tony said over their laptops.The sun was beginning to set outside the cafe they frequented when they needed to get work done.

“Okay,” Steve said. “I think I’ll join you.”

Tony looked up from typing on his laptop, surprised. “Really?”

“I mean, once in a while is okay,” Steve said, nonchalant.

A slow smile spread over Tony’s lips, and he pulled out his phone to type out of a text. “Great. Wonderful. There’s this place I think you’ll love.”

***

They’re two drinks in before their dinner arrives, and Tony’s eyes are half-lidded with the beginnings of intoxication. Steve is along the same route.

“Jeez,” Steve says, scrubbing his face with his hand. “It’s been a while.”

Tony makes a small noise of understanding, digging into his steak.

The bar is dark, all leather and wood, with paraphernalia from the 20s strewn about. They even have lamps that look to be from that period, but tables are candle-lit. Over the speakers comes muted tinkles of jazz.

“They’re really leaning into the speakeasy atmosphere, aren’t they,” Steve says, sipping his drink.

“One hundred percent,” Tony says, settling back into the chair and sighing, cheeks pink with a pleasant buzz.

They don’t talk about work, about the little amount of sleep they’d had over the past few days, about how much they both just needed to take a breather, even if only a few hours.

When they’re done, they step outside of the bar and Tony lights a cigarette. “Where to next?” He asks.

“My place is just a few blocks down,” Steve says, eyes opening and closing too slowly.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Tony says, orienting himself by looking up at the buildings around them.

They begin walking unsteadily towards Steve’s apartment, Tony’s hands occasionally holding on to Steve’s arm to keep steady.

They’re quiet, tonight. Tired, drunk, ready to lie down. They say nothing as they lean against each other and wait for the elevator to bring them up to Steve’s room.

***

Tony kicks off his shoes when they get to Steve’s apartment—he’s used to house rules by now, and plops down on Steve’s sofa as Steve bends down to unlace his shoes. Steve is setting them aside properly in their assigned space on the rack when Tony makes a small, pleased sound. Steve looks up to see him holding up a small ziplock bag.

“Oh, Tony, I don’t think—”

“Just one,” Tony grins, tapping some weed onto rolling paper. “Come on, we should unwind. There’s still so much week left in this week,” he says, rolling for a bit more before licking the joint closed.

Steve, after all these years, knows when to choose his battles.

They move toward Steve’s balcony and Tony lights up, taking a long drag before passing the joint to Steve. Steve wonders idly if Tony just has drugs on his person at all times, but wouldn’t put it past him; after all, he’s Tony Stark. Even after all this time, it’s still a marvel to him that they’re friends—that they could be more than that, if one of them decided to finally make a move.

They’d met at a charity auction by chance, Tony had won the bid on Steve’s art.

“The first one that actually caught my eye,” Tony said.

“You bought a Monet,” Steve responded, unimpressed by the come-on.

Tony blinked at him. “Yeah, and?”

Steve couldn’t help but be charmed, and that’s how it started—coffee and dinner, whenever they were free and Tony didn’t have plans with his then-girlfriend, Jan. Steve still kept his full-time job, even if Tony bought enough of his art to pay his rent for the year, but they started as friends. Steve didn’t know how to make them more than that—it feels like that ship has set sail.

Tony flicks the roach into the air, watching as it floats down into the empty alley in the back of Steve’s building.

Steve tsks, even if he’s already pretty cross-faded from the drinks and the joint. Tony smirks in response.

“I need to lie down,” Tony says, walking back inside Steve’s apartment. He was very good at acting like he owned any place he stepped into.

Steve follows and pours each of them a glass of water. “Okay,” he says, drinking it down in one go. He hands the full glass to Tony, who takes a sip as he undoes his tie; Steve tries not to stare.

Tony walks into Steve’s bedroom before Steve, yawning before lying down.

This isn’t new, either. Lying awake on each other’s beds, sometimes talking, but most of the time, not. What is new is Tony turning towards Steve and sliding an arm under his neck, pulling him close.

Steve feels pliant and loose, doesn’t really give a shit about anything so small as a cuddle, if that’s what Tony needs then, okay, okay.

It doesn’t have to mean anything, is all. His mind settles into a pleasant hum of emptiness, savoring the simple physical act of closeness. He tips his head up a little. He misjudges the angle, and their noses brush. Steve looks up at Tony, a little startled, and sucks in a breath when he sees Tony looking back at him, an intense, unreadable look in his gaze.

Tony’s eyes flick down to Steve’s lips, then back up.

Steve breathes.

He’s never been this close to Tony, close enough to see how close his shave is, to feel the faint ghost of Tony’s breath on his chin. Steve blinks, slow, languorous, before moving closer.

Thankfully, Tony meets him halfway.

They kiss gently, in the way only two drunk, stoned people do. Open mouthed and soft, luxuriating in each touch of their lips against each others’. Steve can feel every point of touch between them, can feel the heat emanating from under Tony’s clothes. Tony pushes against him, holds him close, kisses him until Steve groans.

Steve reaches up, fingers skimming Tony’s neck, before slowly unbuttoning his shirt. Tony huffs in response, kissing Steve again, again, again, and when Steve moves to unbutton the next—

Tony jolts up and backs away so quickly he almost falls off the bed.

Steve pushes himself up blearily, trying to get his bearings.

Tony holds his shirt closed, looking wide-eyed.

“What—”

“Steve,” Tony says, sounding out of breath. “Sorry. I just—I have to go.”

“Wait,” Steve sits up properly now, moves to get up, but Tony’s out the door before Steve can get any words together. Still, Steve tries, runs out the door after him and catches Tony standing in the elevator lobby, shoes in hand.

“What the fuck,” Steve manages. He feels half-sober, now, painfully so. It’s like he’s drunk and hungover at once, and rejected on top of everything.

“I can’t,” Tony says, not meeting his gaze. “Sorry.”

Steve rolls his eyes and sighs. “For god’s sake, Tony. Come back inside and put your shoes on there.”

Tony blinks at him.

Steve looks at him, then massages his temples. “I’m not going to let you leave in your socks. Come on. Have some water.”

They walk back to Steve’s apartment quietly, and Tony frowns at the glass Steve hands him.

“Are you for real?” Tony asks, sounding surprised.

Steve sits down and sighs. He drinks from his own glass before answering. “You can just tell me if you don’t like me, I can take it,” he says. For a brief moment, he goes back to what was happening barely an hour ago—minutes ago, even. Strange, how life is.

Tony sits down across him and sighs. He buttons up his shirt and downs the rest of his water.

“It’s not that.”

Steve raises his eyebrows, waiting.

Tony rests his head in his hands and sighs.

“How long have we known each other?” he asks.

“What?”

“Few years now, right?”

“Why does it matter?”

Tony bites his lip and looks away. Steve returns to massaging his temples.

“I am too fucking drunk for this,” Tony says, his voice just above a whisper.

Steve snorts. “Join the club.” Despite his words, he wants to touch Tony so badly it feels like an ache, but it doesn’t feel very appropriate.

Tony looks back at Steve, frowning.

“You know, I’ve wanted to do that for a while.”

The words punch the air out of Steve. “What?” He recovers then adds, “I mean, me too, but.” He looks away, then looks back at Tony, feeling out of his depth.

Tony purses his lips, then sighs. “I knew getting drinks with you was a bad idea,” he murmurs.

Steve shakes his head. “You always go too hard.” Then the realization hits him: he knows for a fact that Tony only ever does this when they're together. It’s never been explicit, never discussed or planned ahead, but in the times they’ve spent with other people, Tony’s as in-control as usual.

It’s only when it’s just the two of them that Tony drops the act.

“What is it?” Steve asks. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Tony frowns some more, then takes a deep breath. “I know this is going to sound crazy. But bear with me.”

Steve nods slowly in response, dubious and a little worried.

Tony slowly unbuttons his shirt, and Steve realizes he’s holding his breath. He gasps when Tony undoes the fourth, then the fifth, pulling at the hem to show his chest—and what’s embedded in it.

“I—“ Steve says, his brain failing to come up with any thought other than loud screeching. “What?”

Tony looks up at him. “I’m Iron Man.”

Steve sputters. “No you’re not.”

“What?”

“You—I. What? How? When? What is that?” The questions tumble out of him and Steve has to consciously loosen his grip on the table.

“It’s reactor tech,” Tony says. “It functions like a pacemaker, when I’m not…” he trails off.

“When you’re not Iron Man,” Steve finishes for him. He feels unpleasantly lightheaded. “All this time?”

“I’m sorry—”

This snaps Steve out of his thoughts. “Why?”

“I should have told you sooner, I was such a coward—I just didn’t know, there’s just—”

Through the static noise of his thoughts, Steve notices that he’s never heard Tony speak so haltingly. He reaches over and takes Tony’s hand, caring for him coming as second nature at this point. “You don’t have to be sorry. I don’t know if I would have told you, either, if I was in your place.”

Tony’s staring at his hand, nestled in Steve’s palm. “You’re not mad?”

Steve reaches over again, this time to tilt Tony’s head up to meet his gaze. “Of course not.”

“But I might be,” he adds, smiling a little encouragingly at Tony. “If you don’t let me kiss you.”

A small, slow, shy smile blooms on Tony’s lips. “Good thing I’d like you to keep kissing me,” he says softly.

Steve stands up from his chair, leans over, and pulls Tony close. Through the haze of it all—the swirling effects of liquor and drugs, the surprise, still, of Tony’s confessions—the real revelation comes in the way Tony’s lips feel against his, quiet as a promise.

[acaseforpencils]

Adrian Tomine.

Bio: Adrian Tomine was born in 1974 in Sacramento, California. He began self-publishing his comic book series Optic Nerve when he was sixteen. His comics have been anthologized in McSweeney’s, Best American Comics, and Best American Nonrequired Reading, and his graphic novel Shortcomings was a New York Times Notable Book of the year. His most recent book, Killing and Dying, appeared on numerous best-of-2015 lists and was a New York Times graphic bestseller. Since 1999 Tomine has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughters. His latest book, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist, a “comedic memoir about fandom, fame, and other embarrassments,” is out today.

Buy this print here!

Buy this print here!

Tools of choice: 

Muji Low Center Gravity mechanical pencil

Uni 0.5 mm mint blue Nano Dia lead

Tombow Mono Zero eraser

Tachikawa school nibs

Tachikawa T-25 nib holder

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen, sizes XS, S, F, and M

Winsor & Newton series 7 brush (size 3)

Dr. Ph. Martin’s ink, either TECH or Black Star

Muji correction pen

I don't use tablets, but I do the coloring on my computer, using a bizarre mix of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign...all in service of a coloring style that replicates the pre-digital era. 

I've never tried one of those screens that you draw directly on. I mostly just use the old, non-wireless mouse that came with a computer I bought decades ago. I sometimes use a tiny Wacom Intuos, but that's really just like using a mouse shaped like a pen.

Tool I wish I could use better: Computer, tablet, Photoshop, etc.

Tool I wish existed: An intern/assistant that I wouldn’t feel guilty about employing.

Tricks: They might seem like an unnecessary or esoteric extravagance, but I will heartily endorse Dr. Martin’s Bombay pen cleaner and B&J brush cleaner. They’re both relatively cheap, and they have definitely extended the life of my nibs and brushes. (Also, I just love that these antiquated, ancillary items are still being produced, and can’t help but feel some kind of kinship with whoever else is still buying them.)

Misc: Like every other aspect of my work, I learned a lot from basically copying other artists. I was definitely influenced by the color work of Dan Clowes and Chris Ware, but I hope I've arrived at something that's a little bit my own. I think I'm a little more pastel-y and low-contrast than those guys, and sometimes I have to really force myself to type in the numbers of a bolder color if I need it for emphasis. 

Even though he doesn't work digitally, I learned a lot about color from the cartoonist Seth. He taught me a lot about muddying up colors, moving them away from their primary versions, and not feeling obligated to use all the colors at my disposal.

And as far as the evolution towards a more subdued palette, you're absolutely correct [Editor’s Note: I asked him what caused his color palette to evolve from the brighter colors of his earlier work with Optic Nerve to the more subdued palette that he employees today]. When I first started making comics, I still had the comics of my childhood in my mind as my primary inspiration for color, and I carried a lot of the quirks of that influence with me for awhile. For example, if I was drawing someone with black hair, I'd think back to something like Superman, who often had blue highlights in his ostensibly black hair for some reason. I was conscientious of the fact that my work was going to be sitting on the racks in comic book stores, so I felt like I had to "fit in" to some degree. And eventually I realized that it was actually better to make something that stood out from the Marvel and DC and Image stuff, not only to differentiate my work, but also because it was truer to my own aesthetic taste.

Website, etc.:

www.adrian-tomine.com

www.instagram.com/adriantomine/

BOOK: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist is out today. Be sure to pick up a copy here or from your favorite independent book store! You can read more about it here!

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Editor’s Note:You can also find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! There is also a Patreon and a Ko-Fi account Thank you!

[popculturebuffet]

The Legion of Super Heroes Reviews: The Legion of Substitute Heroes or Unsung Heroes

Happy 29th Birthday to Me! Yes it’s my birthday which means it’s time for reflection, griping about getting older and cake. And after an exausting weekend of grappling with a growth, i’m not going to go into anymore detail, I can finally, relax celebrate and get back to reviewing. And since i’ts my big day, that means I decided to dedicate today’s reviews to things that mean a hell of a lot to me and in one way or another shaped me as a person. A self indulgant way to reflect on my past, look to the future and show y’all some stuff I really like. So with that out of the way let’s talk about the Legion of Super Heroes.. and their oddball sub team I love dearly. 

This is also my first chance to talk about DC Comics on my blog. I’m honestly shocked that in the year i’ve been reviewing stuff regularly, the other half of the big two superhero comic publishers hasn’t come up. While I do tend to lean towards marvel, in part because Marvel is simply better at collecting their stuff and putting it on sale more often, it’s still the home of some of my faviorite properties: Justice League International, The Green Lanterns (Minus Hal), Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, Oracle, Batgirl (All of them, particularly Steph and Cass), Young Justice, Supergirl, my personal boy The Martian Manhunter.. the list dosen’t go on by much but it indeed goes on. I”ve been reading dc comics since I was in middle school, and I haven’t stopped since and don’t intend to stop now and maybe in the next year I can get around to tackling some of their awesome cartoons and comics more eh? But yeah among these titans, including the actual titans, are the Legion, one of the most unique and awesome super team concepts in my humble opinon and , even for DC, one of the teams with the most tangled up histories. 

First created in the Silver Age by writer Otto Binder and Artist Al Plastino, The Legion of Superheroes is DC”s first successful teen superhero team, predating the titans by a few years, though I dearly love both wildly diffrent teams. The Legion is defined by their high concept: A thousand years into the future, three super teens from diffrent worlds who happened to be on the same ship with billionare RJ Brande, saved Brande from some goons hired by his crooked buisness partner. 

And exposed him. Inspirired by their courage, heart and skill, Brande latter called the three together to form them into a super team, one inspiried by the legends of teen hero Superboy. 

No not Conner though it was nice to get to show off my poster of him. While he was part of the second continuities legion, we’ll get to that, he’s not the superboy we’re looking for. He is damn great though and it’s good to have you back bud. 

Not Jon either, though I do miss this kid’s pre-bendis version and he was the inspiration.. for another version of the legion. (SIGH). Try. AGAIN IMAGE SEARCH. 

...... 

No not the cool bad boy turned troubled good boy, not the child who was inexpciably aged up by that bald smeghead, and not the great idea turned into a editiorial mouthpiece. I”m talking about THIS superboy. 

This is where the name came from: From the silver age till crisis on infinite earths, Clark Kent was active as a kid in smallville, and thus was Superboy, superman when he was a boy. He dealt with similar stories just with Lana replacing Lois, and Luthor as a ginger teenager. And it was these deeds as a teen hero on his own, one of the first honestly, that inspiried the legion and brande and forged the team. 

And it was naturally a super boy story where they were first introduced as the legion’s founders went back to recruit Superboy after putting him through some trials, and were intended as just one of many silver age one off concepts.. but caught on with the readers so much they were brought back, and had their ranks expanded and eventually not only added supergirl, yes the one your thinking of this time, to their ranks, and yes sometimes she and superboy were in the same place at the same time, Clark willingly had founding member and telepath Saturn Girl put a mental block in his head for any info he’s not supposed to know yet so it’s cool . But yeah not only that but they eventually became their own feature in Adventure Comics, where Superboy’s stories were published, but overtook him in popularity with time.  Over time a number of distinct aspects were established: The roster eventually got as large as 20 plus legionarres, almost all from diffrent worlds, and they eventually set up bilaws. Some are silly and dated such as “Legionarres marrying means they retire” which was eventually done away with in the 70′s, but others were simple logic: each member must have a unique power, no using weapons and such which rather than be super power snobbery is so said tech dosen’t fail and the legion later fully allowed Karate Kid, a martial artist, to join, no killing.. just common sense stuff that adds to it. And one of those is the centerpiece to today’s story, which we’ll get to in a moment.  Obviously given they’ve been around since 1958, there is a LOT more to the Legion’s history I will dig into at a later date: The short version is that Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dc’s first big reboot, fucked the team up badly by retconning superboy out of existance and dc editorial made it worse by shooting down EVERY solution the team came up with to fix the issue. So eventually things got so messy they nuked the whole thing during the event Zero Hour and rebooted fresh with Mark Waid taking the helm and updating the concept for the 90′s and being a more lighthearted, if still not without weight, comic in the sea of 90′s edge. Waid would reboot the team again due to sagging sales, a far weaker reason this time, with a more rebllion slant, the original team would be reinstated, and then ended for a while before recently being rebooted by Brian Micheal Bendis... who sadly is long past his creative prime from books like Ultimate Spider-man and alias and is instead stewing in his own toilet dinner these days and thus it’s not pretty.. well okay art wise i’ts VERY pretty, it’s just story wise it sucks dirty ass in thunder storms. There was also an awesome cartoon that sadly lasted only two seasons that I will DEFINTELY be digging into, especially since unlike x-men evolution, it’s not you know 50 some episodes and me biting off way more than I can chew but a slim 26 that still has fans to this day. I”ll get into ALL OF THIS, some ohter time hopefullly and I mostly outlined it since some of you might be familiar with another version or “Sigh” the reboot and this helps clear things up.  So yeah with all that out of the way we’re going back to the silver age and the first story I ever read of hte team, how I met them with “The Legion of Substitute Heroes” and a later subs story I genuinely love. I first read this story in one dc’s old expensive archives collections I got from the library. Oh how I miss the library. Your probably wondering who the legion of susbstite heroes are.. but since the first story covers that we can jump right in after the break!

So we open with a teen in a parka uniform disembarking from a spaceship from another planet, which a passerby notes is just like the airplanes people used to ride from country to country. 

But we meet our hero, Polar Boy, whose in a winter themed outfit and has come to try out. This is the tradition I was saving for now: The Legion Tryouts. Like a club or sports team would, but I like it because it makes sense: The Legion NEEDS to be as big as it is because while their headquartered on earth, their mission scope is anywhere in the united planets which spans GALAXIES. They could be called on any time and need their full force or need to have severa l members on a smaller mission and frequently having members away on a mission was cleverly used to reduce the cast to whoever was needed for the story. 

So it only makes sense to frequently look for new membbers to help strengthen their ranks... but given their teens and are recurting teens they need to be careful and need a logical way to reduce crowd flow. I mean you saw how many people used to line up for american idol before that died a justified death, people will do anything to be famous and they need to weed out those whose powers and skill just aren’t up to snuff yet, or those who are just dicks as, unsuprisingly, several stories have been built on assholes who applied and were rejected turning evil and attacking.. even though the Legion wasn’t even paticuarlly harsh. They also are more than fair as applicants CAN try again or if they prove themselves in other ways can be let in, as Bouncing Boy, my favoirite legionarre, was intially rejected for his power of .. well...

Yeah.. on paper inflating like a ball and bouncing around is kind of silly. In practice he can ricochet off enemies, walls, and obstacles and is fairly durable in that state. It’s why I don’t really brook mocking the guys power: yes it’s goofy.. but say that again when he hands you his ass. It’s the same with matter eater lad who yes is an actual character: While being able to eat anything is gloriously goofy.. it means he can chew through ANY substance and digest ANYTHING. Hell in the cartoon episode intorducing the subs they used both of these guys to great efffect: Bouncing Boy, who in the cartoon had to try out multiple times in his backstory, encouraged the future subs while Matter Eater Lad got in by EATING A FUCKING BOMB. He also had shades which I dind’t know he was missing but now I do. My point is the process is fair and well thought out and leads to some really fun scenes. 

But yeah joining the legion is naturally Polar Boy’s dream, as he walks down the avenue of heroes, basically a series of statues honoring the legion and hopes all his hard work paid off. We then cut to the auditions, where he apparently waited all night. What I like about this story is that unusually for the silver age legion where it was mostly a sea of powers attached to a bunch of cardboard, really the dc silver age in a nutshell and why marvel broke out so much for having more dynamic and realistic characters, Polar Boy has more of a personality. It’s not MUCH but he’s a dedicated, hard working kid who just wants to join his heroes and seems really in awe of htem, a feeling we can all relate to. We’ve all had people we’ve looked up to, admired, and we’ve all had groups we wanted to join as kids, teens or what have you. And of course.. we all know what it’s like to be rejected by someone or something you badly wanted to be a part of.  And that’s what happens to poor polar boy, who comes from a world with an intense sun thus his people developed super cold powers.. but he can’t control them well so while their impressive, they also freeze the legion. HIs powers are good... but due to their strength and radius he’s also a liablility. They give him an consolation anti-gravity belt.. they had these before eventually compressing them into the much cooler flight rings.. which I still desperatly want one of. I have the flash’s costume ring and a green lantern corps ring, but still no legion ring. 

Naturally this devistates the poor boy and he wonders around dispondent till nightfall, convinced he’ll never be one of them. He soon meets Night Girl, a fellow reject with super strength given to her by her dad’s formula.. but only in darkness as she’s from a world without sunlight. She also faces a “hopeless future” but it’s then Polar Boy’s true strength reveals itself: he decides screw giving up on their dream and if they can’t be in the legion they’ll start their own Legion. 

Though not to compete but to serve as a subtistute, in case the legion is ever incapacitated. So Night Girl gathers the other rejects the next morning. Cleverly one of them, Chlorophyll Kid was seen with Night Girl herslef at the tryouts behind Polar Boy. We soon learn about them and each of their origins: Stone Boy can turn himself into an immobile stone statue, as his world has half a year long nights and thus his people hybernate, Fire Lad who can spit hot fire literally and set anything combustable on fire and Chlorphyll Kid who can make plants grow rapidly. Each were rejected for resonable powers: Stone Boys powers too static, Fire Lad’s is too dangerous and Chorlpyl Kids toos pecific. But upon seeing all of this Polar Boy says they STILL have fantastic powers and still can help people and the legion. 

Thus the Legion of Substittue Heroes is born. And I love them as much as the originals. As a bit of a misfit myself I relate to these guys: They have strange specific powers, got rejected by the big team.. while that trope is nothing new at the time it was unique and even now it’s a nice and inspiring message. Instead of giving up they form their OWN team to do what htey can anyway. They might not be the best like the legion but they can still help and still do what’s right even if not on their scale. It’s a great concept and really makes them endearing. Again I have a thing for the underdogs but I still really like these guys. It’s why it annoys me they got kind of spat on with time: While I love Keith Giffen and Paul Levitz run on the legion, and feel it’s the best of that contnuinty it’s not without fault and the two basically spent a full issue mocking the team and split polar boy off from them before making their own subs with only ONE of the originals. It just felt.. disrspectful. And so far no continuity has used them again until the recent bendis run, which has them announced for the Future Slate special. It took BENDIS, who dosen’t get how to use the team properly and is up his own ass, to bring them back in a new continuity and I find that obnoxious. The subs are a great concept and deserve to be honored as such and as such are one of my favorite superhero teams. 

But their careers don’t start well as they doubt themslves, except for Polar Boy who boisters them along, and constnatly just end up going to missions the legion already has covered and when the legion go to fight some robot ships, they refuse the subs help.. which is fair though, as Brainy puts it they can’t risk putting untrained volunteers in harms way. Their about to just quit, in a really sad moment.. when CK, because I can’t spell cholophill and hate having to use spell check notices some odd seeds spread about.. and when he grows one a horrifying tree man shows up. They struggle with it till the setting son finishes it’s job, meaning Night Girl is at full power and whollops it and the subs spend the night destroying the seeds.  They  find out the next day the seeds came from the same planet as the robot ships, meaning the ships are a distraction for whoevers doing this and since they can’t just call earth, as the full force of the legion is needed with the robots and all it’d do is cause a panic, it’s down to them. Night Girl however is scared.. and I like that. It shows that while their regaining their confidence.. it’s sitll risky. Their a bunch of barely trained fanboys, and girl, going up against an alien invasion, with it down to them. They CAN save the world but it’s alright to be entirely terrified when your thrust into it this fast. 

They make their way to the planet, having built a ship earlier and lie low, finding out what’s going on: The plant men are fully intellegent, and grow themselves..though how they know to attack and go to the bathrom and what not out of the seed I don’t know but I assume it’s a genetic thing or they might be some form of hive mind. point is the seed plan is to grow troops all over the world via rockets for an invasion, and it’s a brilliant concept for one too. Aliens who simply GROW the troops right into battle, born with the knowledge to do so, and right where they can ambush them. It’s down to our heroes and Stone Boy, whose been the most pesemistic, valiantly dives in to provide a distraction so they can destroy the factory and the seeds. Turns out he is useful as the most the treeple have is a space lead pipe.. yes really. I love the silver age. But they’ll bring ray guns soon, so Stone BOy knows it’s a suicide mission and now our heroes have a timer. But luckily.. our heroes are stronger than they think. Night Girl punches a way in till Night passes, while Polar Boy and Flame Lad use their powers in concert to make an opneing.. but with time running out Polar Boy finishes things by having CK grow all the seeds now they have acess.. thus exploding the planets population, destroying several cities from the number of bodies, and thu discourguing the treeple from trying again. Stone boy is able to flee with the rest of our heroes and the day is saved. 

The heroes opt not to tell the public, as to take away glory for the Legion. It’s a noble gesture.. they do DESERVE credit, but they choose not to take it, preferring to let the legion get theres for stil lsaving the world from the robots. They stand firm, now confident they may someday make it to the big leagues.And it’s this that really makes me love them: Thier not the strongest or best, but they try anyway for the reasons a hero should: to help people, and not for the glory. THey remain unsung heroes and are fine with that.  Eventually the Legion WOULD find out about them, but naturally instead of being dickheads about it, fully accepted them, even offering them some contests for membership, but that’s a story for another day. THey’d remain stalwart allies and valuable backup in crisis situations for years to come until the bollocks outlined above. But they’d never leave my heart and thanks to them.. the legion never left either. 

Final Thoughts:  While I do love the story for it’s personal signifigance to me, It’s stilll a really good story for the time. A bit stilted as was the style, but still good, well paced and with an endaring cast of underdogs who prove themselves in the end. It’s something diffrent from the usual clean cut ahead in life wasps these stories usually followed at the time. While the team’s still all white and all that, their outcasts and misfits who just want to help and have trouble beliving in themselves. Their a good standard to live up to.. and a good inspiration for me and my constnatly self hating self doutbing self. And I hope you enjoyed htem too.  If you’d like to comission your own review, just dm me. It’s 5 bucks for individual issues. Later days. 

[mst3kproject]

Exo-Man

Failed series pilots were very much part of MST3K’s stock in trade.  We’ve sat through San Francisco International, Stranded in Space, Code Name: Diamond Head and I’m sure there were others.  I generally recall all of those movies being kind of dull and lacking in personality, and I can’t imagine this 70’s superhero mess being much better.  I don’t think anybody in Exo-Man was ever on MST3K but Jose Ferrer (the first Latino actor to win an academy award, for 1950’s Cyrano de Bergerac) was once in a movie called Zoltan, Hound of Dracula, which I am deeply remiss in not having seen yet.  You may also recognize Harry Morgan, who was Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H.

Dr. Nick Conrad is a wacky physics professor of the type nobody has ever encountered in real life.  He’s somehow both smart enough to invent anti-gravity and memory plastic, and stupid enough to chase after a fleeing would-be bank robber.  The latter stunt, set to wakka-chicka Mitchell music, makes Nick the target of a mafia assassin, who kills his lab assistant and leaves Nick himself paralyzed from the waist down.  He wallows in self-pity for a while, but then rediscovers his passion for invention and builds himself a suit of armor that will allow him to walk again… and to take on the mob single-handedly.

I don’t know why they called the movie Exo-Man.  That name is never used in the dialogue.  I guess the more accurate Fiberglass Avenger just wouldn’t have sounded as cool.

The first thing you’re likely to notice from the plot summary is that Nick’s story starts off as Dr. Strange and then takes a hard left into Iron Man.  I’m pretty sure the latter at least was an intentional ripoff, with bits of the first thrown in, knowingly or not, to distance Exo-Man from Marvel’s lawyers. What’s funny is that posterity has actually made it a hat trick: the movie opens with a weirdly homoerotic jogging scene, so now he gets to be Captain America, too!

Exo-Man is a really stupid, often boring, and consistently ugly movie.  The actors are mediocre, the music bland, the effects terrible, and stuff is made to look ‘high tech’ by sticking lots of blinky lights on it.  Way too much time passes before we get to the action and when we do, we find a deep pit of disappointment.  Yet at the same time… I kind of enjoyed it.

A major part of why has got to be the incredibly dopey super-suit the main character wears, which looks less like ‘Iron Man’ and more like ‘Fiberglass Commando Cody’.  It moves really slowly and I doubt the guy in the costume can see very much.  Nick controls the bottom half of it using switches on one sleeve, which appear to have simple functions like ‘sit’, ‘walk’, and ‘jump’ (there is, of course, no ‘run,’ because nothing happens fast in this movie). He puts the thing on by lying down in what looks like a tanning bed (or maybe one of those contraptions from Avatar).  My personal favourite is the warning light labeled malfuntion.

All this is in a movie that sometimes manages to be surprisingly subtle.  We are introduced to Nick while jogging, we watch him play tennis with his girlfriend, and see him maintain this exercise regime even while he’s supposed to be under police protection.  These shots are in brilliant sunshine, and the camerawork is as active as the subjects. Post-injury, Nick never outwardly complains about his inability to participate in sports, but we now see him sitting in his wheelchair in dark surroundings, with the camera held perfectly still.  We feel that he has lost something he loved dearly, and we never need to be told it outright.

We are also introduced to Nick as somebody who is devored to furthering minorities.  His two lab assistants are an east Asian student and a Jewish one (the latter identified as such by a surname, rather than appearance), and the reason he was at the bank was to help a Latino student get a loan.  Again, the script trusts the audience to get this without having to draw attention to it through dialogue.  These minority characters are, of course, still just accessories to Nick’s story. The Jewish guy in particular is there to be fridged – its his death that leads to Nick flaunting his police protection and getting hurt.  But the effort was made to say that minority rights are important to Nick, without hitting us over the head with it.

Theme-wise, Exo-Man is about a man coming to terms with a disability.  I should preface this by saying that I am not disabled, so my perspective is necessarily biased.  If anything I say below is offensive, that is out of ignorance, and please let me know so that I may edit or delete the review and do better next time.  I was actually pretty impressed by how the script and director handled the life-changing nature of Nick’s injury… mostly.  I’ll start with the bad stuff.

The attack on Nick comes with a heaping helping of victim blaming.  As an important witness in the bank robbery, he was offered police protection.  The assassin tries to get around this by putting a bomb in his car, but one of the lab assistants borrows the car for a late-night pizza run, and gets killed in Nick’s stead.  This leads Nick to deliberately place himself in a vulnerable position, hoping to draw the killer out for capture and punishment.  In the hospital with a broken back, Nick blames the police for failing to protect him, but I’m pretty sure the movie wants us to think that this is really Nick’s own fault.  Like the tragic accident victims in Days of our Years, he has nobody to blame for his own misery, or that of his loved ones, except himself.

After that, however, the movie’s treatment of Nick’s disability improves quickly.  His girlfriend Emily leaves him, but that’s not because he’s in a wheelchair, it’s because he’s too busy wallowing in self-pity to even let her into his apartment. Later when he apologizes to her, she takes him back and they resume their happy relationship, and the fact that they can’t play tennis together anymore is not an issue.  She does not treat him as something to be pitied, she speaks to him on his eye level, and they avoid that weird trope of having the abled partner sit in the wheelchair-user’s lap.  Emily loves who Nick is, not what he can do.  His colleagues and students, likewise, treat him with respect and help him with his chair, and never make the latter feel like a burden.

By the end of the film Nick has come to terms with his disability.  The suit he’s built is not a cure for his condition: in fact the first time he wears it out, it breaks down and he needs help getting back to his high-tech armored van.  It’s a tool he has built for a purpose, and he doesn’t feel the need to wear it in non-superhero situations.  Based on what we see, he could have built a legs-only version to wear under his trousers and let him go jogging and play tennis again, but that is no longer who Nick is.  And when and whether to wear the suit is always Nick’s own choice, not something imposed on him from the outside.

Of course, it would also be really helpful in later maintaining Exo-Man’s secret identity, and I suspect the writers were thinking of that a lot more than they were of things like parents forcing questionable ‘cures’ on disabled children.  The secret identity probably would have been a big deal if the pilot had sold, but in this stand-alone story, I thought the suit worked well as a metaphor about a disabled man at peace with himself.

Exo-Man also takes a quick little peek at the morality of vigilante justice, although this comes in pretty late and clearly isn’t something they wanted to get into in any detail.  The first person Nick confronts in the suit is the assassin who actually beat him up. He says he didn’t go into this encounter with any real plan… perhaps he just wanted to scare the guy.  What ultimately happens is that the assassin climbs a drainpipe to get away from the terrifying robot man, the pipe comes off the wall, and the man falls to his death.  Nick feels this is his fault, and so the next time he takes the suit out he does so with a particular goal in mind: he wants to capture the mob boss and provide evidence of his wrongdoing to the police, not to kill anyone.

The mob boss’ name, by the way, is Kermit Haas, which is probably the least intimidating name a movie has ever given to its big bad.

Would that work?  Is evidence a guy in a robot suit left in your dumpster for you admissible in court?  Isn’t where stuff was found kind of important?  I honestly have no idea and I’m not sure how to go about finding out.  People might wonder why I want to know and I don’t think saying it’s for my blog would allay their suspicions.

At the end of Exo-Man, I was more entertained than not, but mostly on the level of laughing at the dumb-looking suit and appreciating the fine art of ripping off comic book characters.  If that’s your kind of thing then this movie ought to put the fun in malfuntion for you. If that’s not your thing, well… this is an MST3K blog.  What are you doing here?

[in-a-cave-with]

Can you recommend me a list of comic of the principal's chronology? I'm tony's centric but also I want to read the rest. I just finished Iron Man (1998), the invencible Iron Man and Superior (I really don't know why I read it) Thanks, I love ur account. ❤️

hi! thank! 

also, uh, 616′s timeline is…..very convoluted and not as easy to discern as ults, plus there are a bunch of people who have, you know, read more comics than i have who know more about What’s Going On. however you can parse together a vague understanding of events through just reading avengers comics and the crossover events some issues tie into. (you could also read Basically Everything, in which case i recommend following this guide written by a person with far more comic book knowledge than i will ever possess probably). 

so anyway here’s the marvel 616 storyline after iron man (1998), told through only avengers comics, iron man comics, and big Events. however if you don’t want to read some of them then reading the wiki page is ok too especially for stuff like. civil war 

also: a lot of other solo comics that i’ve read that don’t involve tony don’t really…tie into the “main” storyline that much?? hence why this is just a list of avengers comics + when iron man comics take place around them. there are also tony comics that don’t tie into the main story a lot but i still put them there bc some of them make more sense w/ context

avengers team breaks up: avengers disassembled (2004) 

wanda apparently erases mutants???? idk i didnt read this im confused: house of m (2006)

avengers team gets back together again, tony gets the power to control computers: new avengers (2005) #1-20 // iron man (2005) #1-12 

*sigh* civil war. new avengers break up: civil war (2006) // iron man (2005) #13-14 // new avengers (2005) #21-25

cap’s side of the avengers tries to avoid being arrested, tony is miserable: fallen son: the death of captain america (2007) // new avengers (2005) #26-31 // iron man (2005) #15-32

oh shit there are skrulls (tony has no idea though): invincible iron man (2008) #1-7 // new avengers (2005) #32-39

SKRULLS INVADE: secret invasion (2010) // iron man (2005) #33-35 // new avengers (2005) #40-47

norman osborn becomes director of SHIELD because of fucking course. also tony deletes his brain: new avengers #48-60 // invincible iron man (2008) #8-19

tony gets rebooted after he deletes his brain?? i have no idea how stark disassembled fits in the timeline honestly: invincible iron man (2008) #20-24

norman osborn invades asgard: new avengers (2005) #61-64 // siege (2010)

steve and tony realize that they still do like each other actually: avengers prime (2010)

THE HEROIC AGE! EVERYTHING IS BETTER NOW but tony’s life still sucks: invincible iron man #25-33, #500-502 // avengers (2010) #1-12

evil norse mythology forces attack earth: fear itself (2012) // avengers (2010) #13-17 // invincible iron man (2008) #502-509

avengers do their thing. however have i mentioned that tony’s life sucks?: invincible iron man (2008) #510-527 // avengers (2010) #18-24

the avengers….fight the x men?? what the fuck??? why?????: avengers (2010) #25-30 // avengers vs x men (2012)

avengers find an old friend….and lbr this is THE best arc in this comic: avengers (2010) #31-34

tony fucks off to the moon and other weird shit that he does in his free time, a collection: iron man fatal frontier (2013) // iron man vol 5 (2013)

somewhere along the line the illuminati realize the multiverse is collapsing and different earths are colliding with each other. they put together their infinity stones and have steve wield the gauntlet to try to stop the incursions, but he fails. the illuminati decides to wipe his memory of ever knowing about the incursions because they know that he will object to their only other option which is aiming a killer weapon at any other earth on a collision path with 616: avengers (2013) // new avengers (2013) // original sin (2014)

tony turns into an asshole: superior iron man (2015)

the incursions keep happening. earth 1610 (ultimates) is on a collision path with 616: avengers: time runs out (2015) // secret wars (2015)

something happens with dr doom and miles morales but i don’t exactly know what, but 616 gets rebooted and now miles lives on earth 616 now

all new! all different!: all-new all-different avengers (2015) #1-12 // invincible iron man (2015) #1-11

also tony finds out about his adopted mom: international iron man (2016)

*deeper sigh* civil war part 2 electric boogaloo. anad avengers break up: invincible iron man (2015) #12-14 // all-new all-different avengers (2015) #13-15 // civil war ii (2016)

on the bright side, riri williams. and victor von doom!: invincible iron man (2017) #1-11 // infamous iron man (2016)

ok so let me get this straight. steve was HYDRA the entire time?? and was the main reason behind c*vil w*r 2? and now he’s CAPTAIN HYDRA and TAKES OVER THE COUNTRY???? also fuck you nick spencer leave ai tony alone: secret empire (2017)

riri and friends go on a journey because TONY IS ALIVE: invincible iron man (2017) #593-600

original avengers are FINALLY back on a team together: avengers (2018) #1-17

tony is rebooted once again and has this cool new VR tech that backfires obviously: tony stark - iron man (2018) #1-12

evil norse mythology forces attack earth part 2 electric boogaloo: tony stark - iron man (2018) #12-13 // war of the realms (2019) // avengers (2018) 18-20

and honestly that’s..pretty much where we’re at in this point in time. tony stark - iron man’s gonna lead into iron man 2020 which is another big comic event but i DO NOT want it at all

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1301

Monday, February 17, 2020

 Happy Family Day. I'm grateful for my extended family of fellow comic book aficionados. Sharing the love of our hobby keeps me young and brightens my life. I miss seeing many of you but you are in my thoughts.

 Catwoman #20 - Joelle Jones (writer) Fernando Blanco (art) FCO Plascencia (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Mrs. Creel poisons her party guests showing us what a nasty woman she is. Catwoman fights through a bunch of zombies to get some Lazarus Water to save a friend. Selina's final obstacle will be Mrs. Creel. I can't wait for this story to end. It's been kind of blasé.

 Thor #3 - Donny Cates (writer) Nic Klein (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Lots of KRAKKABOOMS this issue as Thor fights Beta Ray Bill. Horseface doesn't have a chance with All-Father Thor boosted with Galactus given power cosmic. Don't build a funeral pyre for Bill yet. Someone comes to his rescue and that person is a surprise.

 The Dollhouse Family #4 - M. R. Carey (writer) Peter Gross (layouts) Vince Locke (finishes) Cris Peter (colours) Todd Klein (letters). Alice and her daughter recover from the horrible explosion from last issue but their survival cost them an arm and a leg. When Alice gets back to the dollhouse, she finds there's a new tenant and she's not nice at all. This horror title isn't horrible. You should come visit.

 Hawkeye: Freefall #3 - Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Otto Schmidt (art) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This issue explains how Clint can be in two places at one time. It's dumb but I don't mind because this story is kind of dumb. I like it for the guest stars. The Black Widow shows up and the hero on the last page is a favourite of mine. If the new Ant-Man mini had been this much fun I'd still be reading it.

 The Batman's Grave #5 - Warren Ellis (writer) Bryan Hitch (pencils) Kevin Nowlan & Bryan Hitch (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) Richard Starkings (letters). I don't know if it's just me, but I find that I lose interest in a Warren Ellis story somewhere and this issue might be it. I've forgotten what the mystery is that put Batman in detective mode even though he's following a lead in Arkham Asylum this issue. I like seeing Batman kick bad guy butt as much as the next fan, but 8 pages of it here seems to be padding the story. Methinks this 12-issue story could've been told in 6.

 Savage Avengers #10 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Patch Zircher (art) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Conan and the two Doctors, Doom and Strange, battle Kulan Gath. Guess who wins? This issue made me laugh out loud.

 Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #3 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Now this is a much more enjoyable murder mystery than Batman's Grave. I know exactly what's happening because Kelly Thompson recaps as the investigation continues. There's even an extended 5-page fight scene where Jessica and Elsa Bloodstone fight creatures from the Black Lagoon but it isn't boring because they're bantering about the case all the while. The rest of this 6-issue mini can't come out fast enough for me.

 Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #6 - Jody Houser (writer) Adriana Melo (pencils) Mark Morales (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Gabriela Downie (letters). Harley and Ivy's adventure comes to an end with a battle between good and evil Ivy. I liked how they left the fate of Poison Ivy a mystery. Who knows how she'll act the next time she sees Harley?

 X-Force #7 - Benjamin Percy (writer) Oscar Bazaldua (art) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This issue features Domino who was rescued from the bad guys recently. The bad guys managed to steal her good luck powers and have transferred them to someone else. This newly empowered individual is an assassin going around killing mutant supporters. Neena's not too happy about that. I wasn't too surprised by the reveal of the assassin's identity on the last page but I'm sure some new fans will be.

 X-Men #6 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) Matteo Buffagni (art) Sunny Gho (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This issue features Mystique. She's my favourite shape-shifter. She's sent on a mission to infiltrate the space station designed to fight against the mutants. I liked how the flashbacks merged with this story to culminate at the ominous last page.

 The Immortal Hulk #31 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (main story pencils) Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo & Cam Smith (main story inks) Paul Mounts (main story colours) Javier Rodriguez (McGowan sequence pencils & colours) Alvaro Lopez (McGowan sequence inks) VC's Cory Petit (letters). We get into the heads of Scientist McGowan and the Hulk this issue. Matters of the mind shouldn't surprise fans what with Xemnu being in this story.

 The Amazing Spider-Man #39 - Nick Spencer (writer) Iban Coello (art) Brian Reber (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This issue reminded me of the Odd Couple, Oscar and Felix. Spider-Man agrees to be a guest on Jonah's podcast and sparks fly as the two antagonists butt heads. It's all talk radio until the super villain crashes the party. Next issue should be less talk  and more action.

 Superman: Heroes #1 - Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction & Greg Rucka (writers) Kevin Maguire, Mike Perkins, Steve Lieber, Mike Norton & Scott Godlewski (art) Paul Mounts, Gabe Eltaeb, Andy Troy & Nathan Fairbairn (colours) Troy Peteri, Clayton Cowles & Simon Bowland (letters). This $5.99 US one-shot is tied-in quite closely with what's been going on in Action Comics & Superman. It looks at the consequences of Superman revealing his secret identity and it's well worth reading.

 Doctor Strange #3 - Mark Waid (writer) Kev Walker (art) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This is a great one issue story if you want to check this new run out. Doctor Strange fights an artistic demon to save lives.

 Gwen Stacy #1 - Christos Gage (writer) Todd Nauck (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I liked this better than The Amazing Mary Jane maybe because it deals with a younger high school aged Gwen. This story takes place before Gwen and Peter become friends and lovers and involves her father Captain Stacy and his investigation of New York's mob. There are a trio of bad guys that you'll recognise but the big deal super villains don't show up until the last page. If they don't get you to pick up the next issue, nothing will.

 Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P. #1 - James Tynion IV & Peter J. Tomasi (writers) Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferreira, Chris Burnham, Marcio Takara, Diogenes Neves, David Lafuente and Sumit Kumar (art) Adriano Lucas, Rex Lokus & Nathan Fairbairn (colours) Travis Lanham & Thomas Napolitano (letters). This one-shot tribute to Alfred shows us what a dysfunctional family Bruce has created. I would have preferred a more touching send off to this beloved character like the one Brian Michael Bendis wrote for Ultimate Spider-Man/Peter Parker. Damian, Tim, Jason and Barbara reminisce about the butler and then Ric Grayson chimes in with a story about Nightwing. Who the heck is Ric Grayson? I thought Alfred deserved better than this.

 Nebula #1 - Vita Ayala (writer) Claire Roe (art) Mike Spicer (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I'm ambivalent when it comes to this cyborg killer but I wanted to see if that might change by reading this 5-issue mini. She finds a scientist who has built a device that can predict the future and has him implant it so it's integrated into her cybernetic system. The untested tech winds up screwing with her head. I didn't change my opinion of Nebula with this first issue and I can see where the rest of the story is going so I'll leave the rest on the racks.

 Superman #20 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Ivan Reis, Joe Prado & Oclair Albert (art) Alex Sinclair & Jeremiah Skipper (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). There's action: Superman dukes it out with Mongul. There's drama: The Daily Star is trying to discredit Clark, Lois and the Daily Planet. And there's a surprise appearance of an old friend. There's everything a good comic book needs to grab my attention and want to keep reading.

 Marvels X #2 - Alex Ross & Jim Krueger (writers) Well-Bee (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I was fooled by the truck driver who picked up the kid because of the red beard, sunglasses and No Fear baseball cap. I thought it was Matt Murdock in disguise but I was surprised by who it actually was. Daredevil does turn up later in this issue as he and Spider-Man help to keep David safe. The kid's important because he could help find a cure for what's infecting humanity.

[ao3feedstuckony]

Steamships, Cyborgs, and Self-Determination: A Steampunk Story

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

by JacarandaBanyan

The Cyborg Assassin formally known as Bucky Barnes is sent on a double assassination mission. His Targets: Anthony E Stark, brilliant inventor and scientist, and Steve Rogers, subversive artist.

Words: 2711, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Prompt Fill, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Comic Book Science, like really, The tech in this is suuuuper reliant on suspension of disbelief, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, POV Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Mild Gore, No one gets hurt onscreen but there's evidence of past hurt, Body Horror, Body Modification, Cyborgs

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

[stony-ao3-feed]

Steamships, Cyborgs, and Self-Determination: A Steampunk Story

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

by JacarandaBanyan

The Cyborg Assassin formally known as Bucky Barnes is sent on a double assassination mission. His Targets: Anthony E Stark, brilliant inventor and scientist, and Steve Rogers, subversive artist.

Words: 2711, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Prompt Fill, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Comic Book Science, like really, The tech in this is suuuuper reliant on suspension of disbelief, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, POV Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Mild Gore, No one gets hurt onscreen but there's evidence of past hurt, Body Horror, Body Modification, Cyborgs

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

[ao3feed-buckyxtony]

Steamships, Cyborgs, and Self-Determination: A Steampunk Story

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

by JacarandaBanyan

The Cyborg Assassin formally known as Bucky Barnes is sent on a double assassination mission. His Targets: Anthony E Stark, brilliant inventor and scientist, and Steve Rogers, subversive artist.

Words: 2711, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Prompt Fill, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Comic Book Science, like really, The tech in this is suuuuper reliant on suspension of disbelief, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, POV Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Mild Gore, No one gets hurt onscreen but there's evidence of past hurt, Body Horror, Body Modification, Cyborgs

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

[newx-menfan]

Opinions on Uncanny X-Men #7:

*Semi Spoilers*

You know it’s kind of bad when your hoping that you read the release date wrong and because of the holiday season this comic will be postponed for next week because you just need a break from all the disappointment… but alas, it was NOT postponed.

God was this issue…just plain stupid. There’s just no way to even put it nicely; instead of feeling any sort of stakes it just felt like worthless preaching around ‘all decisions are hard, nothing’s black or white’.

This issue exists SOLELY to absolve the X-Men from being assholes…without the X-Men ACTUALLY admitting that they made mistakes but by having Hisako ‘realize it all last second’. And to apparently try and make Glob look badass… which…kind of defeats the whole purpose of his character.

Notes: * Apparently Armor and Glob are trying to find a way out of AOA and Pixie and Rockslide are planning on murdering X-Man… * The weird mix of Glob trying to be funny but also becoming really violent at times…just doesn’t work and makes him seem really creepy * X-Man’s back story * I could believe both Pixie and Rockslide could be down for murder…what irritates me is that there is literally NO MENTION of either one’s past-Pixie WENT THROUGH being taken to Limbo and having her soul taken. Rockslide WATCHED all of his friends horribly die and felt helpless for Brian’s death. Their heel-turn COULD be believable; if their past was actually touched on! HELL, this could all be believable if writers took the time to SHOW these characters seeing the horrors of AOA more. The problem is, is if writers BRING UP the past the main heroes they all idealize as ‘perfect’ stop looking so squeaky clean and in the right with their arguments 🙄 * SERIOUSLY HAS NONE OF THE X-OFFICE EVER READ NEW X-MEN???!! * Everyone changing their stances conga line for stupid plot reasons… (🙄) * X-Man accurately states that in all likeliness the X-Men are going to just leave your asses here… * M'Kraan Crystal WILL NOT be the Deus Ex Machina like it was in the original AOA (sure it won’t, writers, sure it won’t… 🙄) * Glob’s badass moment (CAN we STOP trying to make Glob a thing Brisson?!) *Why is Glob calling Santo Vic?? Are we really supposed to believe Glob can figure out a way to defeat Santo that no one knew about when he can’t even get his name right??? Do the writers know the difference between Anole and Rockslide, anymore?? Have they just morphed into the same person in Marvel writers minds because they’ve been friends for so long?? Where the HELL are the Editors on this??! Is this like Anole’s arm where it’s just become such a problem to remember NXM’s names that they’re just all going to get called Victor?? These are all valid questions I have… *The generic ‘I’m not a killer’ plot point ( Thought all the NXM basically got over the ‘don’t kill’ thing in KYOST’s series…except maybe Julian, but even then he had the whole Karima moment…) * Where the HELL is Pixie’s souldagger?!! If she can TELEPORT shouldn’t she STILL in story have that as well?!! * If Santo doesn’t need to eat or need Oxygen, can he choke?? (This question is me being sarcastic because I know the answer Marvel-NO HE CAN’T!) * Hisako making ANOTHER mood shift and deciding to kill X-Man while monologuing about how she understands the adult X-Men now (sigh).

So…Overall:

Honestly…I wouldn’t even bother buying this issue.

It’s predictable, literally NOTHING from NXM is ever going to be addressed with the motivations of the characters, and again all this series is- is Marvel basically telling NXM fans to shut up. It’s ‘See we addressed your complaints’, without ACTUALLY addressing them. It’s essentially like taking a computer to a repair store only for the tech person to say ‘it’s fixed’ even though it still won’t turn on. It’s ‘The NXM are kinda in this comic and their issues kinda addressed, but with the slant of the adult X-Men were right and also M-Day/KYOST never really happened apparently…’

Since it’s the holiday season- DON’T pick this up and instead have a nice holiday. Use that comic book money to buy a new outfit, wine, hot chocolate, etc…. Spend that extra 15 minutes reading a book, or spending time with your loved ones; because you will feel like you wasted 15 minutes of you life when you read this issue.

At the very least-postpone reading it for another week and have a nice disappoint-free holiday… (Unless the gifts you received from friends and family were horrid and you’re already pretty disappointed-I really can’t help you with that…)

Because all this is, is just going to potentially make you angry and/or largely disappointed.

[ao3feed-buckybarnes]

Steamships, Cyborgs, and Self-Determination: A Steampunk Story

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

by JacarandaBanyan

The Cyborg Assassin formally known as Bucky Barnes is sent on a double assassination mission. His Targets: Anthony E Stark, brilliant inventor and scientist, and Steve Rogers, subversive artist.

Words: 2711, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Prompt Fill, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Comic Book Science, like really, The tech in this is suuuuper reliant on suspension of disbelief, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, POV Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Mild Gore, No one gets hurt onscreen but there's evidence of past hurt, Body Horror, Body Modification, Cyborgs

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

[ao3feed-stevebucky]

Steamships, Cyborgs, and Self-Determination: A Steampunk Story

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

by JacarandaBanyan

The Cyborg Assassin formally known as Bucky Barnes is sent on a double assassination mission. His Targets: Anthony E Stark, brilliant inventor and scientist, and Steve Rogers, subversive artist.

Words: 2711, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Prompt Fill, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Comic Book Science, like really, The tech in this is suuuuper reliant on suspension of disbelief, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, POV Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Mild Gore, No one gets hurt onscreen but there's evidence of past hurt, Body Horror, Body Modification, Cyborgs

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2LcCPQy

[ao3feed-stucky]

by JacarandaBanyan

The Cyborg Assassin formally known as Bucky Barnes is sent on a double assassination mission. His Targets: Anthony E Stark, brilliant inventor and scientist, and Steve Rogers, subversive artist.

Words: 2711, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Past Relationship(s), Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Prompt Fill, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Comic Book Science, like really, The tech in this is suuuuper reliant on suspension of disbelief, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, POV Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Mild Gore, No one gets hurt onscreen but there's evidence of past hurt, Body Horror, Body Modification, Cyborgs

[ao3feed-janefoster]

Fight for the Right of Life

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/Au6haST

by SilverRowan_Ivy630951

When Yggdrasil gave Frigga a vision, Steve and Bucky began training for a future that they wouldn’t know until it came to pass. But what is that fate? They’re ready for war, when it comes, but are they ready for what comes after? Are they ready for what they’ll have to do?

*Note* You don’t have to know anything about Harry the Potter world to read this. More in the beginning notes.

Words: 12968, Chapters: 16/29, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Harry Potter/Magic AUs

Fandoms: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Loki (Marvel), Yggdrasil (Marvel), Peggy Carter, Jim Morita, Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan, James Montgomery Falsworth, Gabe Jones, Jacques Dernier, SHIELD Agents & Staff, Nick Fury, Darcy Lewis, Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Thor (Marvel), Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Maria Hill, Frigga | Freyja (Marvel), Odin (Marvel), Hela (Marvel), Jane Foster (Marvel), Thanos (Marvel)

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers

Additional Tags: ww2 bucky barnes, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Captain America Steve Rogers, POV Steve Rogers, Established Relationship, Secret Relationship, Soulmates, Fated soulmates, Magic, Wands, Steve and Bucky die on the Valkyrie, But not really because they come back, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Comic Book Medical Magic, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Life and Fate, Prophecy, BAMF Bucky Barnes, BAMF Steve Rogers, Sassy Bucky Barnes, Sassy Steve Rogers, Awesome Howling Commandos, Protective Howling Commandos (Marvel), Darcy Lewis Is a Good Bro, Darcy Lewis Is Good With Tech, Good Loki (Marvel), Mind Control, Cognitive Recalibration, Magic Revealed, Cameos, Happy Ending

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/Au6haST