#he's not even the only spider-man to have one. spider-man unlimited is also a thing that exists.

[stairset]

I think the portrayal of Spider-Man 2099 in Across the Spider-Verse is in-character in that aside from like Shattered Dimensions he's always been portrayed as a bit of an asshole who slips into anti-hero territory at times and generally has a "needs of the many over the needs of the few" mindset and given his specific circumstances in the movie it's not unreasonable to think he could take the actions he does. However it does kinda suck that since like 99% of moviegoers had no idea who he was before the movie came out their first impression of him is when he's in an antagonistic role and people think "antagonist" and "villain" are synonyms so now I'm gonna have to listen to people who've never read a comic saying he's a villain or isn't a real Spider-Man for the rest of time or at least until he inevitably changes his mind in the third one.

[thebibliomancer]

Universe X #X!

Still a baffling numbering choice.

Cover featuring: the afterlife versions of Captain America, Quicksilver, Iron Man, Wasp, someone else tiny, Bucky Barnes, Ghost Rider, an elf in a suit?, lady with a gun, Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, someone else, Phoenix, Falcon, and astral projected Dr Strange.

And more. The back cover continues the image but wasn’t included in the unlimited version. I’ll post the combined covers stitch when I make the index for this liveblog.

At this point, with thirteen issues and five specials, I can’t effectively sum up everything. So here’s the pressing bits. The world is doomed again, either from a wonky axial tilt destroying the climate or from Absorbing Man’s rampage. Mephisto’s plan to create a splinter timeline has been stopped. Mar-Vell’s uprising in the realm of Death is falling apart. He has all the pieces of omniscience but is hesitant to risk uniting them.

As a summary, that’s next to useless unless you already know most of what I’m talking about. But we’re neck deep in a very dense story.

Nighthawk repeats the revelation from last time that Mephisto isn’t even the real devil. Mephisto is so offended he fucks off to the Realm of Death to go ruin dead Mar-Vell’s day.

Vision single-handedly resolves the Giant Size Absorbing Man rampage by making Creel intangible so he can’t do any more damage.

I didn’t know he could do that.

But now Absorbing Man can’t interact with the world anymore. He’ll spend the rest of his day essentially as a ghost.

Child Mar-Vell and Thor track down the Silver Surfer where he fell last issue. Marv explains to the shiny space man that there’s one last item on the scavenger hunt. And probably the real reason Mar-Vell asked Silver Surfer to stay in New York.

He needs the power cosmic. And the only way to get it out of Surfer and into Mar-Vell is for Norrin Radd to walk through the Cloak into the Realm of Death and… die.

Silver Surfer is heroic enough to agree to die for the Greater Good. But a dumb problem has emerged. I guess they were in the area of effect when Vision intangibled Absorbing Man. Mar-Vell and the Surfer are also intangible so Surfer can’t enter the Cloak.

Mar-Vell laments that his plan has failed.

And in the Realm of Death things do look dire. Mar-Vell reunited the cosmic consciousness but without the power cosmic, omniscience was too much for him and he’s fallen unconscious.

Mephisto has no trouble knocking out Mar-Vell’s defenders and having him dragged to Death’s throne.

Where Thanos spitefully kicks Mar-Vell repeatedly for always getting in his way.

Mephisto tells Thanos to get out of the way so he can tear out Mar-Vell’s heart. Which won’t do much, since he’s already dead and you can’t double die in the Realm of Death. But it will let Mephisto do dumb wordplay. See, everybody always told him he doesn’t have a heart but now he’ll have one to show off to people.

Just when Mephisto is also done mocking Astral Projection Strange that there’s no hope in the Realm of Death, a huge number of reinforcements arrive to join Mar-Vell’s cause.

Hey, including Captain America! He died earlier in this series but that just moves you over to the dead side of the plot.

He’s wielding his triangular shield because his round shield is indestructible and can’t die, I guess. Who knows how the metaphysics of this all works.

And for those sweating the already established fact that the dead don’t know they’re dead, Captain America was given awareness when he looked into Mar-Vell’s Special Eyes right before his death. The narration establishes that.

Astral Strange is still grim about their hopes for victory, saying this was all about timing and they’ve run out.

But back on Earth, Unpersoned Loki talks Vision into making Absorbing Man tangible. Vision is very reluctant because he wants Creel to be punished for killing the Avengers and one-third of the world. But Loki has a silver tongue, even now that he’s not the god of mischief.

Boom, Creel is tangible. Boom, Silver Surfer can walk through the Cloak and enter death. Boom, Mar-Vell gains the power cosmic and master cosmic consciousness.

Boom, he goes super saiyan.

Mar-Vell explains what was already hinted at. Mephisto is no devil. He’s just another cog in the Ceelstial scheme. He forces Mephisto into his original form so he can’t hide from the truth and then tells him to gtfo.

Then Mar-Vell pulls out the Ultimate Nullifier and says he’s going to ultimately nullify Death to death.

Thanos gets in his way so Mar-Vell has to drop some comic consciousness truth bombs on him.

Thanos only loves Death because for some twisted reason he thinks she his mom. She’s not. She’s an Elder of the Universe, a survivor from the previous one. And the realm of Death is the ruins of that universe.

Um. Alright.

And! Thanos’ mom was a Skrull and that’s why his chin is like that! He raged against Titan because his mom’s fears of what would happen to her if she was discovered! But Thanos’ attack on Titan killed his mom! But Mentor hid her body so nobody would find out she was a Skrull! And that’s how Death was able to manipulate Thanos! This is a lot to reveal in the last issue when Thanos hasn’t really been that important up until now!

Thanos quietly denies all of this as lies but Mar-Vell hands him the Ultimate Nullifier. And ultimately, Thanos turns it on Death for manipulating him.

Death is dead and now Mar-Vell can build heaven.

Back on Earth, Unpersoned Loki has a talk with Absorbing Man before he can continue his rampage.

He tells him that he’s actually far more powerful than even he knows. His is the power of pure imaginatiiion. He can become anything he decides to be so he doesn’t need to be what others define him as.

If Loki can be a hero now, so can Absorbing Man. In fact, the whole world is in his hands right now. If Absorbing Man became just a whole bunch of vibranium, Iron Maiden could guide it to where it needs to be to correct the Earth’s axial tilt. Absorbing Man could save the world. And if not just to prove everyone wrong that only ever saw him as a villain and a killer, then to save anyone on Earth that Creel cares for.

And thinking of Titania, Creel agrees. But he asks if he’ll get a statue for saving the whole damn world and Loki says it’s quite up to him.

And he does leave his Giant-Size Absorbing Man city themed body behind looming over New York as his insides transform into vibranium.

That’s just New York now. It’s shaped like a giant man.

In the realm of Death, Mar-Vell boots Astral Strange back to his body because the world still needs him. And time is weird between the living world and the dead world, apparently, because Strange wakes up from his coma two months after Absorbing Man saved the world.

Which allows for a jump forward to see how everything is getting along now that the world has been saved again again.

Reed Richards and co unabandon Earth and come back in time for Pope Immortus to apologize about that big angry mob he gathered. He concedes Reed was right all along and promises he’ll do what he can to fix the damage he’s done.

Black Knight, over in England declares to the Iron Avengers that they won’t just be England’s guardians anymore, they’ll guard the whole world. King Britain asks Medusa to marry him. Since Black Knight won’t take up the Inhuman throne but has agreed to be heir to King Britain, this will assuage Medusa’s worries about her son. Maybe she and Brian will love each other in time but also the Queen of the Inhumans marrying the King of England will unite the world under England’s rule. Yeah, apparently England just took over the world.

Weird world, Earth X.

The circus X-Men have moved to the Savage Land, into the newly refurbished Sentinel City, now that Magneto is their pal. Belascocrawler lurks in the jungle wondering when the X-Men will redeem him, now that he knows he’s actually Kurt Wagner.

My guy. Just go up to them and say the devil brainwashed me but now I want to be friends again. They don’t even KNOW you’re creeping in the trees, sighing wistfully at them.

Captain America’s face has been carved into Mount Rushmore. That’s apparently what Ben and Alicia Grimm were up to during the big climax. Ben even grouses about it. And wonders, humorously, what’s the big deal about having a face made outta rock.

-laugh track-

Anyway, hugely disrespectful to carve more faces into the sacred mountain. I think Steve himself would be a bit embarrassed by this.

Up on the Moon, Aaron Stack, Machine Watchman, decides that now that he knows about the multiverse, he can’t just leave all those myriad Earths to their own devices. Despite Uatu begging him not to do anything, Uatu is very much planning to Do Something to other worlds.

At a guess, Iron Man 2020, MC2, and Days of Future Past. Pretty popular Marvel AUs and also Iron Man 2020.

For some damn reason, while visiting Gargoyle’s grave, Nighthawk becomes a 3D man.

I’m at the point where I’m thinking this may as well happen.

Despite Nighthawk’s role in the plot being done, I guess he’s getting a new narrative lease on life to continue being important in the next series.

What I think is going on is that he’s still linked to the cosmic consciousness, still tapped into omniscience. I don’t know why that made him 3D when it just turned Mar-Vell into a super saiyan.

As I said, this may as well happen.

Down in the Realm of Death, Mar-Vell shines a light among the dead which sets all their costumes to the proper colors. This is symbolic, I think. He’s enlightening his followers. With light.

But up in the mortal world, Thor goes into the cave where Donald Blake found Mjolnir all those years ago. And Thor realizes that Loki was being honest about the truth of the Asgardians and how Odin was manipulating everyone.

So Thor sex changes into a male man again and plaintively asks thin air “Father. Why?”

Add that to the follow-up pile. Mar-Vell is going to build heaven. Immortus is going to make amends. Thor is probably going to confront Odin. And Aaron Stack is going to Do Something about Celestial embryos in other Earths.

Paradise X is already writing a big check.

So as a whole thing, as fourteen issues and five specials, what did I think about Universe X?

I have a lot of thoughts.

Unfortunately, where they start is that Universe X just isn’t as good as Earth X.

It still had some interesting ideas. Whether or not I like those ideas, they are interesting. Universe X adds to the grand unified celestial theory of everything Earth X posited by adding in more details and filling in some more blanks. Mostly with Mephisto.

I like that the resolution of last series created consequences that the heroes had to grapple with this time. Galactus slurping out the Celestial embryo messing up Earth’s tilt and depleting the core of vibranium. Reed Richards finally understanding what caused the mass empowerment event and building the Human Torches to turn back the clock but only succeeding in aggroing Immortus and his followers.

But its pacing is just so much worse than the first series. The story crawls. Big plot points like the Earth’s axial tilt being screwed up just don’t get a lot of attention. The plot progresses based on new item checked off Mar-Vell’s scavenger hunt or piece of Creel stolen by Wong’s Tong. And when most of the items Mar-Vell collected don’t wind up being relevant, the time feels wasted.

Creel being convinced to save the world is a genuinely clever twist. And a good use of your Unpersoned Loki who has broken free of his narrative. But it doesn’t feel like it’s a culmination of the story.

As far as the pacing goes, it feels like the issue by issue plot was written by the seat of the pants. Like Krueger knew the big plot points but he didn’t have time to brainstorm how to connect them organically.

Universe X started not long after Earth X finished. Marvel wanted to hit the iron while it was popular. And in addition to the fourteen main issues, there were five double size specials. Which I’m pretty sure were written out of order. And Krueger wrote everything.

There’s enough typos in the back of book appendices that I’m sure these books didn’t get a lot of editing passes. No time to fix spelling errors suggests definitely no time to let the plot stew simmer in the ol’ brain pan.

This isn’t an episodic book, it’s a huge epic that’s trying to coherently explain All of Marvel. It needs more careful plotting.

And as a side complaint, while it makes sense to focus on Mephisto as the big villain, given his role in the Celestial plan, I think it left Death without the focus she needed, given she was actually the antagonist of half the plot.

Mar-Vell just drops the lore that she predates the universe and that her realm is the ruins of the previous universe and then we don’t explore what her goals are. Why she was humoring Mephisto by pretending to be subordinate to him. Why anything. We’re not done with Mephisto but we’re done with Death and she didn’t get her due.

It’s theorized by Aaron once that maybe death is fake and something the Celestials invented and Death maybe not being the anthropomorphic personification of death would support that but then, why death? When everything serves the Celestial plan, what is the point of keeping souls or whatever in some vast holding pen endlessly fighting the battles from when they were alive?

So, unfortunately, it’s just not as good as Earth X. Still interesting. Maybe still influential on the rest of Marvel in weird ways.

This won’t be the only time Death is killed thanks to Mar-Vell. We’ll have to see if things work out better than they did for the Cancerverse.

But I’ll probably take a break from Noun X for a while.

Let things settle in my brain before I launch into the next wild thing Earth X brings. And with Mar-Vell promising to build Heaven, how can Paradise X be less than wild?

[bookwormlover10]

look i love people talking about Terry, it's nice to have some more people in the fandom. But what REALLY rubs me wrong is how people are treating the Epilogue Clone Son Twist like it's Everything about Terry's character. You would Not introduce Harley Quinn as an anti-hero with her gf Poison Ivy. You would go into her PHD and history with the Joker first. I don't like how the "Batfam" fans just gloss over and "blorbo-fy" Terry into "poor widdle baby clone" and "sassy Future bat #7". His FAMILY and his attempts to keep his relationships stable despite being Batman ARE the things that make him stand out in the Batfamily. His past as a gang member and his acknowledgement of his mistakes with his repayment IS important to him - stop making him Damian but Better! or Jason but Better! He's Terry! he's a 90s child with all the cringe that goes with it!

Yea I agreed with you on somethings. Even though I personally don't really like the half clone twist, in the Grand scheme of things. The whole clone thing was only in one episode of justice league unlimited and they never brought it up again. It was never batman beyond itself. I don't read much comics but from I know the clone thing was Recon in comics. But that what people remembered and when people hear about they forget everything else that is interesting about his character! Which makes me not really liking the existence of epilogue. Even Thought I think the the episode fine on it own ending the cadmus ark

For the blorbo thing. It something that I noticed in a lot of fandoms. I just learned to ignore most of it.

For the Damian but better! Is something I don't really see. Because Damien was raised by literal assassins and Terry had a normal childhood. Don't really see how Terry could be Damien but better..... There origins or nothing alike.... There anger issues maybe. But that a common trait with bat boys. Like dick has it and Jason has it. So that not special. The only thing that I could think of that they have in common is there sperm donor and that their both future batman. Thought I personally think that there dynamic has potential

Jason but better is something I understand with giving how similar they are in a lot of things. Even fashioned tastes. But Terry was rocking the brown leather jackets and red bat symbols longer than Jason did... But seriously though with the simulator organs in some places. Terry was still a kid with a normal childhood was both his parents. He only started acting out is cause he couldn't handle his parents divorce and was a really bad kid. ( And from from what I know Terry is in the middle class) For what I know ( don't at me I haven't read a lot of comics) in his post crisis ( his second one) organs Jason only act up to survive. But overall was a good kid. ( For the most part. I think from my research...) I'm not going to continue this part before I butcher something. Their morals quiet different to. sent I got interested in Terry first I compared Jason to Terry. This that they would have an interesting dynamic.

For the sassy future batman is something I could see. Thought me personally I see Terry like a spider man like Batman.( Maybe because I'm bias and I like Spider-Man) Terry organs has things similar to a spider man story. ( But people have talk to death about that.) Terry also has that spider man humor. Thought he is seared when need to be. ( This is just me rambling at this point)

[pedrocomicreviews]

Lightning Round Reviews #2

I read a lot of comics every week but don't have it in me to write a small dissertation about each one, so here's some thoughts about a few books! This time it's Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil, The Incredible Hulk, Thunderbolts Doomstrike, Superman, Justice League Unlimited, and X-Manhunt Omega jesus lord that's a lot of comics. This is the big post for the week of March 26 2025.

The Amazing Spider-Man #70 

Overall, 8 Deaths had two jobs: being a fun Spider-Man story post-Paul, and being a One World Under Doom tie-in. It did both of those well enough, and I’ll probably read the new ongoing when Kelly takes over. I did think it’s a little off-brand that Doom made objectively the right choice by getting Peter to do this, since so much of One World Under Doom’s tie-ins are about showing the cracks in his armor. But as they end, you kinda start feeling like the stories only really work if he was at least kinda right, or if he had a reasonable enough plan to make the world a better place by doing bad things first.

Overall a good time, even if I don’t like the current cast in Spider-Man aside from Bailey. Kelly’s still got it, the art was decent most of the time, and although it was a magic and mystic arts story with Spider-Man in it, I’m kinda glad it was also just a solid Spider-Man book.

Daredevil #19

This was really silly and I can’t believe this story lasted 19 issues. I really don’t have much to say aside from no one acts right in it and it asks me to care about things that just don’t feel right. That “choice” Ahmed had Matt make just doesn’t register and I don’t think it’s just me being cynical. I don’t know what the point of this was but it didn’t really do it for me. 

Incredible Hulk #23

I feel like this book has meandered too much and it really needs that Imperial shake-up that has been announced. Maybe it was already supposed to have ended or maybe it’s stretching to get to the crossover, but it kinda… it’s kinda the same thing every issue, and this many issues in I’m kinda not interested anymore. It’s still well written and has great art, but nothing’s happening. It’s just kinda grotesque for the sake of aesthetics and then the characters do the same thing they’ve been doing for two years.

That shot of Hulk squeezing a demon out of Charlie’s skin like toothpaste was wild though. And you’re telling me Red Label books ever had a chance.

 

Thunderbolts Doomstrike #2

What’s even the point of liberating Austin, Texas from Doom. It’s not like Austin is isolated on a map, like… what about San Antonio? Can you just see the line where Austin ends now? Because the rest of the places have electricity? And schools? Hospitals even?

Like, look, I understand I’m supposed to be rooting for Bucky here, it’s just… yeah, no, he’s doing this for himself. Shelbyville was destroyed by Doom, yes, but he retaliated after Bucky lost a fight he started. The “stop hitting yourself” feel to this whole situation is impossible to wade through. Even the story says so, but it’s the villains saying it, so it’s supposed to be wrong. I don’t know, am I losing my fucking mind here? Is this just not that well pulled off?

It’s also just another book where the Hivemind adds a “Wild West” aesthetic to characters, and in my experience I just don’t like those. Guardians of the Galaxy did the same, if I recall. 

Anyway, the Thunderbolts are being destroyed one by one so they look like the movie version in a few months, this is what this tie-in is actually about. Oh well, I really liked the Revolution era.

Superman #24

Event Leviathan was months ago?! Be so for real right now, that was half a decade ago. I guess they mean Shadow War…? What the hell was Shadow War, even? Does anyone want to remember?

I’m sorry, the issue has some interesting points to it– Superman dealing with whether or not he should actually help the world with technology and advancing humanity or just keep punching people is always topical, but, god, holy shit, the timescale is so fucked.

But yeah, this is just the beginning of a reset to the status quo for these characters for when Slott takes over. The cool things I liked about the setting are being put back to where they were and characters have to regress or simply act out of line for it to happen. Rip Supercorp and Rip jacket era, you were too fun for this world, you rocked too hard, you swagged too different.

Justice League Unlimited #5

The mystery box opens revealing an okay twist aided by astounding art, maybe some of the best in Dan Mora and Bonvillain’s lives. Genuinely worth reading just for that.

The rest of the comic continues to not really have main characters, arcs or anything more than a plot that’s going into a crossover. I hope the second story we tell in Unlimited focuses on less characters, because these issues are really the same issue over and over again. Beautiful, though, for real.

X-Manhunt Omega

Let it never be said I’m not fair: the end of this has settled the differences the mutants have with each other, and despite the quality of the event itself, it has ended in a way that I believe will take this franchise to a better place than it is at now. It was also a fun little homage to the beginning of the Krakoa era, and ends more or less how I expected that era to end.Whether or not it’s worth a read will vary per person but hey, goofy ahh storytelling decisions aside, I am now once again looking forward to seeing some of these characters, which wasn’t the case last week.

[romancomicsblog]

5 DC Animes I want to see after My Adventures with Superman

My Adventures with Superman opened the door for DC in a big way. Not only did it revitalize fans for more Superman content ahead of Superman: Legacy, but quickly put Jack Quaid up there in the conversation for best portrayal of Superman.

While that conversation is yet to be determined, I think the fact that this version of Superman connected with people made one thing clear, people are hungry for more quality animation.

While I am excited at the potential of more Jack Quaid Superman, I think DC would be kicking themselves if they didn't branch out this universe and try to build to something greater.

I have 5 pitches for characters who I think should get a My Adventures with Superman style show, ideas of who could play them, and what they could bring to this already fantastic universe. Also I gave them all fun titles. Enjoy.

5. Mysteries of the Question

The Question is a character many know from the hit DC show Justice League Unlimited. A wack job with a theory about who is pulling all the strings in the DC Universe, The Question is a ridiculously fun character I'm surprised hasn't been seen in a while.

Putting the Question at the center of a mystery and having to solve cases day to day would make for classic television, all while setting it in a crazy DC world.

The cop chasing him could be the 2nd Question: Renee Montoya, and the mystery could be something as big as an incoming alien invasion or as small as who is leaving riddles across Gotham? Hell he could be after Amanda Waller.

He can run into other detectives like Detective Chimp, Martian Manhunter, even the Batman, and through this side character we introduce half the Justice League.

I'd love a comedian like Charlie Day to voice this mad man, but a good friend of mine brought up Will Arnett and I can't unhear it. The role could be overly dramatic and silly, but can go to the sad levels of Bojack Horseman. He'd be perfect for this universe.

Having a detective who needs to get the a major story out could lead him to our three favorite journalists, making a fun mini crossover imminent.

4. Strange Tales from Arkham Asylum

While What If? Is not my favorite MCU project, the premise itself is quite fun. A narrator telling warped tales of stories we know in a freshing new take.

I'd like to take that concept and add it to DC by exploring Batman's Rogues Gallery in one off, anthology episodes narrated by one Hugo Strange.

Fan favorite characters like Clayface, Mister Freeze, Catwoman, and yes, even The Joker, can be introduced via their backstory with exciting different voice actors, all leading to a breakout in Arkham.

I'd like this to serve as a partial retelling but also reimagining of new characters with an emphasis on the creepy, the macabre, but also the sympathy. I want this to fix the mistakes of past villains in My Adventures with Superman and make them more 3 dimensional and iconic.

For Strange we need a maniacal evil voice who can narrate and keep us captivated. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor for this, and will be happy for the inmates to take him down by the end.

3. Evil-Doers fear the Wrath of Wonder Woman

I'm having fun with these titles.

It is incredibly insane we do not have a definitive Wonder Woman show. I'd like a classic Spectacular Spider-Man or My Adventures with Superman style show centered around ya girl Wonder Woman.

Ares, Giganta, or Cheetah can be the main villain. Hell make her main antagonist Black Adam, but having a magical god character immediately makes the world bigger and the threats greater.

She can run into Shazam (due to their god powers) and round out the League more, but really this is just a project that should already exist. It's wild it doesn't.

Since it is voice acting and we can go any which way with it, I love the voice of Ming Na-Wen. Having a powerful Disney Princess playing Diana also feels appropriate, and brings a sort of wisdom to the League.

2. Blue Beetle Back in School

Blue Beetle in a character basically built for anime.

With the overall critic and audience reviews being positive but the film underperforming, it's clear Blue Beetle has an audience that can steadily grow over time. I think animation is a great way to softly continue the story without it technically being in continuity.

The story should center around Jaime continuing college post getting the scarab, and meeting young heroes like himself along the way all while trying to having a normal life. Classic superhero stuff.

This leaves room for it to be part of any universe you want it to be, or mostly be true, or not at all. Either way, we grow with the character of Blue Beetle, and await his return in the DCU.

This could be a fun way to flesh out the young heroes of the DC universe: Robin, Raven, Cyborg, etc.

It could also start a fun trend of Xolo playing the character across mediums. It's clear Xolo Maridueña loves the character, and if the voice fits, why change it? If Mark Hamill can play the Trickster across animation and live action, so can Xolo.

1. Green Lantern: Cosmic Chronicles

The character done most dirty since his live action debut, Green Lantern could add dynamic interesting fighting to an anime universe. Take Atom Eve from Invincible and her spin-off episode.

Using that type of animation and fluid fight choreography would make for excellent television.

Although we already have a fantastic Green Lantern show (Green Lantern the animated series) with an excellent narrative, I think introducing more Lanterns and wider universe of DC aliens could be really fun. Martians, Thanagarians, Lobo, Mongul, etc all trying to be contained by Lanterns but failing horribly would be awesome. It could all leading to an alien invasion on Earth, putting them directly in line with Superman.

A Green Lantern show could rejuvenate faith in Lanterns before its release, and lead up to the big anime crossover we know we all need.

While I'd love to see all Lanterns, I think having Hal Jordan at the center of it and bringing in others down the line is a good way to go.

Alan Ritchson has played Aquaman, Hawk and even Raphael in Ninja Turtles. A little more hard headed Jordan could be fun to pit against Jack Quaids more hopeful Superman.

While all these shows should get made, I think Lanterns is the most likely. Honestly, I'd be happy to see anything more in the DC Anime Universe.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me you can find all my socials here!

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Part of the Furniture" Episode Followup, Part 2

Orli's Day: Mk. II shall continue! Don't pop those limbs off being pulled every which way, Orli.

Below the break.

That's the world's most fake plane. Not even an Odd Squad seal on it, so clearly Orwell didn't take OddAir.

Ha...wait, hold up, he's a PILOT???

Since when?! What are his qualifications?! Is he in pilot school? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING AND WHY WILL WE NOT GET AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS.

Okay, these bits with Ozzie and Terry are actually pretty funny. The man's teaching the kid how to be aggressive, bless his heart.

And Ozzie...Ozzie is trying. He is trying very hard. Cut him some slack.

See? He's trying! He's bound by PBS Kids S&P, but he's trying his best!! Good for him!!!

I just let out the most deflated and saddest moan I've ever let out since Season 3 pulled that shit with "Ahead of the Times". And that had Olaf explicitly be mentioned, whereas I...don't have high hopes for this one.

Oh!! Oh, but it's unique because it involves seconds, ooooooh- shut. Just shut. This is not spicing things up any. SHUTTY-UPPY.

"Oh. Maybe it's fine?"

NO YOU I D I O T THE ROOM IS STILL RED ARE YOU C O L O R B L I N D .

Now, see, if she were green, she'd be dead.

And I am very happy I got to make that reference twice in recent memory.

Putting aside the reused spider-cat animation: if they freak out over this, never let 'em step foot in Precinct 13579. God forbid.

(On a side note: Asha really should have re-recorded her "I should say no more often" line. Tonally, it sounds too scripted.)

*violent coughing*

I'm sorry, but I'm finding it hilarious that there exists a gadget that apparently does agents' jobs for them. Like, you could base the entire fucking franchise around this one gadget. It removes any oddness? Has unlimited ammo? Hell of a Mary Sue!

God...Gemma, honey, what are you smoking?

You can hear the record scratching from where you're sitting. It's like Orli brought a gun to the world's craziest rave.

Or, for a more kid-friendly comparison, it's like that "girls at a party looking at you like you're gross" meme image.

"as usual" W-what??? TF do you mean "as usual"??? You've been fitting in since at LEAST the fourth episode, Orli, and you're pretty much part of the precinct's body. There is no "as usual" AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW IT.

Having a villain deliver this message is less impactful than when Mr. Sides delivered the falsehood that "your group has no leader" in "Odd Squad in the Shadows".

Only here, it's even stupider. There's still a falsehood, it's just a stupid lesson for being this far into the season. At least "Shadows" was early on, y'know?

Why does someone not know how to put a coaster down after they've poured some TEA???

DISGUSTANG!!

nice agent, even nicer agent

Yep, PBS Kids execs have their dirty-ass hands all over this and I'm about to go RIP UP A FUCKING FENCE, TEAR UP THE YARD, AND GET A DOG TO SHIT ON IT.

Fuck you, genuinely. You tainted something good. Go to hell.

And your credits for this episode. Looks like Celestia's pet bird made an appearance in here...somewhere.

------------------------------------------

Overall, this was a swing and a miss for Gemma. It's basically taking the plot of "Olympia's Day" and sapping out what made it fun -- not just the wild hallucinations and the sanity slippage we saw along the way, but also replacing the character in question with one that has no motive in life. And that's not even getting into the math lesson torn from such episodes as "6:00 to 6:05" and twisted to include seconds like that means anything of merit in terms of uniqueness. It does not. Oh yes, and the whole "nice agent. not-nice agent" thing. It's watered-down preschool stuff. "Good cop bad cop" would have done fine and gotten past censors just like it did all those years ago. It being British, "constable" would have been a better-suited term. "Good constable, bad constable" would have worked. (Likewise, a slang term could have been used -- "bobby" is apparently popular.)

So yeah. No. Throwing this one in the trash too. Sorry, Gemma, but you need to try harder.

Next up will be "The Odd Ness Monster", which I hear is actually pretty good. At this point I'm at the whim of the fandom when it comes to "is this episode good or not?" I don't think I can trust myself to not keep getting disappointed like this.

Seren out!

[paragonrobits]

some fun facts about Spider-Man 2099:

He’s probably older as a character than you might think; he was first published in August 1992, and was created by Peter David (who is likely most well known among Marvel fans for, alongside Greg Pak, being the biggest contributor to some of the Hulk’s best stories)

He’s not a standalone character. Miguel O’hara is part of the Marvel 2099 sub-continuity, which can be best described as a cyberpunk dystopia spinning off after a bad future for the rest of the Marvel universe as a whole. It is very much in the model of a standard cyberpunk setting with corporations running the world into the ground and oppressing people in the name of profit. In this era, there have been no superheroes and most of them are remembered only as vague stories that people desperately want to believe in, or iconic folklore that people really behind.

In this regard, it may also be possible to view O’hara as a contrast to Spider-Punk, who also comes from a dystopia oppressed by corporations, though they ultimately have broadly opposite reactions to it.

Miguel is notable for having a great deal of differences from the ‘average’ Spider-Man incarnation, with a great deal of purely physical alterations that are otherwise not very typical in spider powers.

His best friend is an AI, whom was seen glimpsed at the end of Into The Spiderverse

He arguably has a very important role in Spider-Man history; while Miles Morales has definitely eclipsed his fame and become a part of the main Marvel universe, Miguel was significantly more popular than the other 2099 stories and remained fairly well known across comics at the time, which also ties into his cameo in Into The Spiderverse; he arguably had the most amount of importance as a Spider-Man legacy character before Miles, and was the most prominent non-Parker incarnation, even moreso than Mayday Parker.

There was a short-lived animated series called Spider-Man Unlimited that I always interpreted as an attempt to adapt aspects of Miguel O’Hara, though the most it has in common is that the suit Spider-Man wears in it looks an awful lot like Miguel’s look; its otherwise not very much like 2099 at all, besides a cyberpunk angle, and features a displaced Peter Parker.

There is likely some interesting angles in comparing and contrasting the respective settings of Miles’ original world (the Ultimate universe) and Miguel’s. Miguel is, as noted, fundamentally a cyberpunk character, and was technically one of the more positive characters in it, a true hero in a world of bleak despair amid corporate control; while there were other heroes, there weren’t enough, and things were bad enough that Doctor Doom popping up to take over the world made him seem like an anti-hero at worst. In contrast, Miles was one of the few purely positive figures in the Ultimate setting, which in its attempts to imitate the likes of the Authority often depicted classic Marvel heroes in horrific ways; the Hulk was often implied to be a sexually violent cannibal, Wolverine tried to sleep with an underage girl, Carol Danvers gets downright enthusiastic at the prospect of torturing an alien who had been her friend.. even Miles’ dad was an anti-mutant bigot. Miles himself, though, was a whole and genuine hero (if a reluctant one) who was one of the few truly noble people in the setting, so there’s an element in their conflict here.

[cherrrydragon]

hiya pooks, i wanted to get to know you more so i have a couple fun questions for you that include my personal answers! (i’m an oversharer)

1) fav media of spider-man?

i looooooove ultimate spider-man. i think it’s so over hated because the kids who watched spectacular grew up and were upset the next spider-man show was a kids show and not an adult show made for them. the fact that there just so much room for cameos from all other marvel media really helped me build a love for marvel as a whole. i wouldn’t know half as much marvel lore or characters without it since i never read the comics. (too poor to continuously buy growing up + can’t read comic panels over screen cause bleh. i think it was our first time meeting miles on screen too, which was awesome!)

it showed me who spider-man was at his core, a good person. and that’s what stood out to me. it also showed me that spider-man was super funny and always had a ‘quip’ lol. bonus points for ps4 spidey for being the first game i played of him and into the spider-verse for literally changing animation for the whole world. straight up best movie ever made.

2) fav media of dc?

gotta be the 2022 batman for me. i was so happy they finally got him right on the big screen! it took so long for people to realize that batman is only fear to his enemies, but hope to the people. they also count have picked a better catwoman! and the fact that the riddler is just some guy? mwah, perfection, amazing, incredible!

side rant; everytime i see someone mention how they thiugtt he robert patterson didn’t play a good bruce i wanna scream. how are we lacking so much media literacy nowadays that we can no longer recognize this is before he gets his whole playboy persona. he doenst even have financial stability! he’s literally just learning who he is. there’s deadass a whole scene dedicated to him trying to go into the club as batman and getting turned away vs being welcomed in as bruce and realizing bruce wayne has actual value to fighting crime.

3) fav non live action character?

sam anderson’s nova is so fun! he’s such a sweetiepie. i know earlier i said i don’t read the comics, but i do listen to them. i really wish they would put him in as teen trying his best with the guardians of the galaxy <3

klarion the witch boy is so silly (especially in young justice. his va is perfect for him.) he literally just terrorizes people for funsies. gotta love the lord of chaos and his cat.

hi hi! i just wanna preface this by saying a lot of media im a fan of i havent actually watch/read/played just because i cant truly sit down and consume content like i used to when i was younger. literally yesterday i watched the second deadpool movie after like, maybe 2 years since watching the first one (and i probably wouldnt have watched it if the new dp and wolverine movie didnt come out LOL) so i can't really answer these as efficiently as id like but ill try my best

fav media of spider-man?

before it would've been mcu spiderman simply because i havent watched the raimi or amazing spiderman ones, but now without a doubt i can say the spiderverse movies are my fav ones! all movies are pieces of art, but the spiderverse movies are truly by and for art kids. the animation and art is beautiful and i think the way it so artistically connects all things spider-man is really cool.

2. fav media of dc?

so... the last time i watched any dc media was when i was way younger LOL. i distinctly remember watching dc super hero girls, justice league unlimited, the flash (tv) and i think arrow (tv)? but like i said, i was young and don't remember much. ive seen from numerous people that the dc timeline is kind of a mess and that + the fact that there's so much content is what's keeping me from consuming it now. on the topic of batman 2022 there's literally nothing stopping me from watching it but i havent LOL i just cant sit down and watch it. i think the brainrot got to me rip.

i think what stops me from consuming content is the fact that i become a fan of it without actually participating. i read so much fanfic that i learn the plot of things through there, and because i already know what happens i dont desire to spend time and take it in. i might be cooked ngl. but anyway, no official favorite dc media from me

3. fav non live action character?

dude theres like way to many to name but one that comes to mind immediately is black cat (i dont think she's been in any live action from marvel yet?) something about those cat burglars man... LOL. i know this doesn't really count but i really like her portrayal in "Dark Matter" by mysterycyclone on ao3 (and amazing peter parker in gotham fic, highly recommend) i truly love the idea of the thief becoming friends with their crimestopper, because like catwoman, they aren't really hurting anybody (at least, from what ive seen)

as for dc... like i said i have not consumed enough media to pick LOL my bad 💔

[dayfalwastaken]

Red, Black and Blue - Spider-Man Fanfiction; Chapter 2!

Excerpt:

He frowned harder. The yard was empty and quiet, devoid of any activity, but Peter could still imagine the towering form of his possible archnemesis just standing there, camouflaged, stalking him from outside his home.

Nothing quite measured up to the knowledge that your deadliest foe yet knew where you lived and who you were under the mask. Nowhere was safe; wherever you were it always felt like you were being watched, you couldn’t go home for fear of your family being targeted, your Spider-Sense wouldn’t trigger despite the scent of death you could smell in the air, you couldn’t sleep or even relax for fear of what would happen when you weren’t paying attention, you’d constantly be looking over your shoulder thinking now the bad guy might strike, only for the “now” to become two and then three and so on until you drove yourself mad—!... That was no way for one to live. He wasn’t planning on going through it anytime soon, that was for certain.

But he also wasn’t a cop. He didn’t have a whole department’s worth of backup at his disposal, ready to defend him if a criminal made things personal, nor did he have unlimited resources. There was no cave to serve as his HQ, no supertech to bail him out of trouble and no teammates he could rely on (excluding present company). Eddie Brock or his wife showing up on his doorstep and asking him to come outside so they could “talk”—he wasn’t winning that one. Not with all limbs attached.

And letting May go through another home invasion?

“...Forget it. Let’s not keep her waiting, hm?” At his words the Symbiote poured out of his skin and shaped itself into proper clothes, choosing an outfit that Peter was, regrettably, deeply familiar with: checkered tie with a white shirt tucked underneath blue trousers and that sweater vest he’d gotten from Uncle Ben. The cherry on top was a round pair of glasses.

He struggled not to cringe. Really, he did.

Yeah, it was no wonder he used to get bullied so much. How had he ever believed his folks when they’d said it was a good idea to start highschool looking like he came right out of the ‘60s’? Just went to show how sheltered he’d been growing up.

Host. Observation?

Oh God, Symby was proud about it—

“Um, yeah , this is-this is great! Yeah, I was just, um, thinking of something more along the lines of, like, a hoodie…some sweatpants…y’know, baggier stuff? Or maybe a jacket or….”

Self. Skills. Insult!

“Wait, I wasn’t—”

Humor! Scare. Amusement , it interjected, savoring the surprised look on his face before morphing into proper street clothes.

…Appreciation?

“… Miles better. Also, when did you start hanging out with Johnny? You just got here!”

Self? Negation.

Host.

“I dunno ‘bout that. You couldn't have gotten it from me ‘cause I only teach people how to quip.”

Denial. Host. Humor.

Swear.

“Yeah, right.”

[randomvarious]

2 Unlimited - "Here I Go" 1995 Eurodance / Eurohouse

So, yesterday, we had Belgian-Dutch dance project 2 Unlimited at their saddest, with their lame Euroreggae-pop hit, "No One," but today we have them at quite possibly their scariest, with "Here I Go," which sees them back on the dancefloor in order to catchily contemplate their potential and very literal descent into hell! 😈😱

And really, the only way their songs could've ever had some semi-coherent theme to them like this in the first place is if rapper Ray Slijngaard supplied bars that consistently stayed on some kind of topic, which he hadn't really done much of on any of 2 Unlimited's prior singles. But on the group's third album, Real Things, you started to see their songs acquiring, like, maybe, a quarter-inch of depth to them, as they tried to make music about, well...real things...😅.

There's no way out, man you try to escape Concentrate your mind cause it might just break Into half, crack down fast I keep my face straight no need to laugh I did some right, I did some wrong I regret these things, but I gotta stay strong I feel depressed, now don't you know Catch me, 'cause I'm falling deep down below

Reads a little bit like a very rough draft of an angst-ridden Linkin Park verse, doesn't it? And hey, weren't they fronted by a rapping and singing pair too? 🤔

Now, try not to read this following chorus from singer Anita Doth as if it's being delivered by Chester Bennington instead:

Oh, I can't escape I'm trapped and there is no safe place to go And I do regret the things I did but how on earth could I know? Here I go Here I go catch me I'm falling deep Here I go Here I go catch me I'm falling falling

Now, folks, am I really about to uncork one of the hottest and also single-stupidest takes in the history of music blogging here? Yes; yes I am:

The late period of 2 Unlimited's initial run in the mid-90s, when the lyrics on their singles started to employ actual themes, represents a clear predecessor to Linkin Park. In fact, the year that Ray and Anita both left 2 Unlimited was the same year that Linkin Park formed under their first name, Xero! It's actually all on the same continuum!

Anyway, this black-and-white video for "Here I Go" is pure, unadulterated nightmare fuel too, as people seem to be falling from very high distances, only to be caught by spider webs made of thick rope, which seems to delight some freaky-looking, underground-dwelling humans who live down there. And each one of those humans were all probably once one of those people who fell into one of those webs too. But now some of them very unsettlingly crawl on stilts, and the leader of the pack appears to get around in some kind of insectoid contraption.

Never could've imagined that exploring 2 Unlimited's videography past their popular US singles would ever lead me down into such a deep and dark hole, but here we apparently are right now! And "Here I Go" appears to have marked a turning point for the group as well, as it was their first single to not chart as highly throughout Europe as they'd probably hoped and expected. But funnily enough, while the well was clearly starting to run dry in 1995 with this one, two of the group's earliest hits, "Get Ready for This" and "Twilight Zone," would end up appearing Stateside on the platinum-selling first volume of Jock Jams that same year. And then further appearances on future installments of that series would end up extending 2 Unlimited's relevancy in the US far past the time of their initial breakup, which most Americans were undoubtedly completely unaware had even ever happened!

More fun videos here.

[zaptap]

i just reached 1990s spider-man comics. almost halfway there in terms of years, definitely not in terms of comics though (i guess there were a TON in the 90s, and the 60s was pretty much just amazing spider-man which meant it had the fewest)

i'd heard before starting the 80s ones that that was widely considered the best decade for spider-man comics, and it certainly lived up to it. roger stern's run was really good, hobgoblin was a pretty interesting villain up until they screwed up at the end after 4 years because the people making the comics all had different opinions on who should be under the mask and were even sabotaging each other (instead of just using the guy who was originally supposed to be him. which i guess got fixed via retcon in the late 90s)

secret wars was pretty good (only because the heroes and villains involved largely weren't that interested in playing the beyonder's game, and dr doom derailing the whole thing made it interesting)

and secret wars ii asked the question of "hey wouldn't it be fucked up if there was a guy who had unlimited power to do anything and he just wanted to try to figure out what his place was in a universe he could fundamentally change with a whim" and yeah it was fucked up. and that's what made this one interesting

also we finally have people who know spider-man is peter parker and don't either die or lose their memory soon afterward, which was the case for like 20 years. mary jane comes back after being completely absent from the comics for a couple years or so, and reveals she'd known peter was spider man "for years" (later revealed to be since the night uncle ben died, which was long before they'd even met) and then peter has someone to talk to about spider stuff

anyway. 90s had a lot going on. i guess there's more symbiote stuff (venom was introduced in 1988, carnage should probably be on his way soon), and then there's infinity gauntlet/war/crusade which if anything should be better than what the mcu did with them

and then there's the infamous clone saga which apparently lasted about 2 years, and with 4 ongoing monthly series ("spider-man" starts in 1990) that'd mean about 100 comics? yeah no wonder people got tired of that. i'll see how it goes though

also i'm reading about other spider-people too (keeping an eye on appearances of jessica drew and julia carpenter, the two spider-women so far, as well as reading spider-ham on the side--a few more 5-page stories and he's gone until like 2010) so i'll be starting 2099 after i get into 1992

tbh even if the 90s and newer comics arent as good, the fact that i'll be reading stuff from within my lifetime should probably do something for my enjoyment of them. like yeah the 80s ones were great but it still had that "this was before my time" quality to it you know

[xwonderfuldeath]

o| Misunderstanding : 16 |o.

Warnings : This contain some toxic behaviors depiction.

Please, consider supporting me on Patreon ♥

"- Where are our little friends in their wars?

- I don't know, since your stupid article about me and Yoongi getting married soon, he hasn't spoken to me.

- Do you think they suspect anything?"

The large hand runs through the little princess's powdered hair as she sits on his lap. He seems to be thinking of something funny, and we can see a smile bloom on his lips. Heisukei Damarro had been gleaming for some time now; he didn't have to worry about fighting all of them, and he had significantly increased sales for his own network. His eyes stay fixed on the little girl, all cute in her pink dress, with her princess crown in her hair and her big brown eyes.

Nothing about her made it seem like she was his, yet as soon as he laid eyes on her round cheeks, he was convinced: his wife had given him an heir. A child. So, Heisukei couldn't let her go. He needed assurance that Elyzabeth would return, and for the past two years, he had taken care of the little girl as if she were his own.

Yet, she must have inherited her mother's bad temper. Despite everything he had done, he had never been able to make her call him "dad." But never mind, in ten years, she would surely do it, and would stop crying over her damn mother. Elyzabeth must not have loved him as tenderly as this kid did.

He shifts his gaze to the young woman in front of him, Seehun, who seems even more superficial than usual, redoing her nails. Her hair is pulled back into a strict ponytail. He still wonders what he can find in her.

But well, at least she was flexible and easy to satisfy. Even though he preferred women much less easy, the young dancer was a very good asset for his solitary nights, waiting for his wife to return, of course, or even after.

"- You're going back.

- And what else? You promised me it would be the last time.

- You want your check and your life of luxury? Go back. Try to make them understand that this war is important.

- And if they don't want to listen to me?

- Present them the evidence."

He lowers the little girl from his lap, setting her on the floor with a small thud, pushing the little girl toward a visibly disgusted Seehun. She had already had to pretend to be pregnant for this stupid mission, now she was going to have to take care of another brat? She points at her with her chin, as if the little girl had a deadly virus.

"- What do you want me to do with this thing?

- Take her back to her mother. You want to go see mommy, right, Avabel?

- Oh yes!"

Finally, a smile spreads across her little face. His plan was perfect. Of course, he was the one who had come up with it. He was going to return the child to Elyzabeth, with a card from that good-for-nothing Hoseok. That guy was a parasite. Taking an apartment right next to his wife? He was sure he had drilled a hole in the wall. This... No, he needed to stay polite for the little one.

"- Fine, and what if they think I was the one who orchestrated everything?

- Don't be stupid, alright? You're not smart enough for that kind of thing, and even they know it."

He looks at her with disgust, as if this doll-like woman could have the same IQ as him. What a joke. A bitter smile passes the young woman's lips as she snaps her fingers, freshly manicured, to call her gorilla. The man enters the room with his dull expression, and she gestures toward the little girl, signaling him to take her and bring her along. Also, buy a bouquet of hibiscus flowers.

When she leaves the office, Heisukei tugs at his jacket before brushing it off as if it had just dropped thousands of spiders on it. Finally, he takes it off. Seehun was only good for spreading her legs. This good-for-nothing better do everything correctly, or her unlimited card would be blocked. Why not make her sleep in the large room under the stairs? No. She would probably appreciate something that physical, and a long shiver runs down his back, something between disgust and strange excitement. He should have emptied himself into her in that office before letting her leave. She wouldn't have said no anyway.

-x-

The car is silent as it stops in front of the immense building that is Min Yoongi’s house. The little one had finally fallen asleep after crying and screaming for what seemed like an eternity, giving her an impossible migraine. She was going to need some tenderness and hoped he had finally reappeared. She taps in the code she knows by heart, her heels clicking as she enters, pleasantly surprised to see a pair of shoes right at the entrance.

"- Mr. Min, are you here?"

Seehun wasn’t opposed to him finally accepting her advances. It had been difficult to get a sample from the great Jeon Jungkook, hardly drunk enough to have only his husband in his mouth. She opens her blouse, unbuttoning three buttons, and pulls up her already very short skirt, removing her heels with a smooth motion to look around, hoping to see him.

No one in the living room, and even less in the kitchen. She wrinkles her nose, making a pout that she would call cute before advancing toward the bedroom door. The house is cold, rather calm, so she allows herself to open the sliding door to take a peek into the bedroom. Maybe Min was in the shower. Just the thought makes her uncomfortable in her skirt. She passes the door to reach the bathroom door.

Once again, she finds nothing. No one in the bathroom either. She wrinkles her nose. Why are all rich men either taken or completely delusional? She is frustrated when she goes down the stairs to head back to the living room and kitchen, screaming in fear when Yoongi appears in the doorway.

"- Oh my God, Mr. Min... You scared me!

- What are you doing here so late?

- You disappeared, I wanted to make sure you were okay.

- I was on vacation, with my new boyfriend."

He looks her up and down, and she feels strangely uncomfortable. Something in the man's gaze sends a shiver down her spine, forcing her to clear her throat and think before speaking, which she doesn't always do.

"- Oh, your manager didn’t tell me.

- Well, now you know.

- Perfect. I'll leave you. Your boyfriend probably doesn't take too kindly to you seeing other girls behind his back.

- I take it rather well, thank you for worrying."

Once again, she jumps. Seehun can feel her heart beating between her lips, her whole body tensing as she slowly moves toward the exit. This whole story is strange. Something isn't right. And she has no idea what that could be. She had been discreet. No one could know that she worked with Mr. Damarro.

"- Mr. Park. It's been a long time.

- Oh yes, since you brought Kiyeon to Taehyung.

- Yes. Exactly. I'm glad to see you're doing well... Well, I’ll leave you now."

She moves more quickly than she intended to reach the door, typing the opening code, which is refused under Yoongi's small laugh. The sound of a lighter being lit sends an unpleasant shiver through her, and Seehun feels herself faltering.

"- We changed the code, we wanted to make sure... parasites like you couldn't leave.

- You'll never find the kid if you do anything to me! I’m warning you, Mr. Damarro is going to kill her!

- That's weird. I'm almost sure Hoseok has already picked her up.

- It was a bit stupid to leave her with his henchman, but well, predictable."

Her heart tightens, and before she can say anything, Jimin slams his head against the front door. Her body crumples to the ground with an unpleasant sound as Yoongi takes a deep drag of his cigarette.

"Damarro, huh? We'll have to pay him a visit."

[chanceshirley]

A Golden Age

It’s been said (by Comics Buyer’s Guide editor Maggie Thompson, or maybe it was comic book writer Roy Thomas) that the golden age of comics is five. Meaning that no matter how comics historians might define the Golden Age of comic books (and the Silver and Bronze Ages), what really matters to the individual comic book reader is the time that they started reading comics. I was probably interested in comic books when I was five years old (this was the mid-1970s, and it seemed like comic books were everywhere then, but I particularly remember seeing them in grocery stores and convenience stores), but I didn’t actually read my first comic book till I was seven.

I wasn’t a great reader at that point. It took me hours to read that first comic book because I was still at the stage in my reading life where I had to sound out every word. (And I probably had to ask my poor parents to help me out with several words per page.) But having spent so much time with my first comic book, I remember it vividly 40-plus years later — it was the 180th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, a story titled “Who Was That Goblin I Saw You With?” The DC superheroes (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and pals) were on TV every Saturday morning back then on the Super Friends cartoon. And Super Friends was appointment television viewing for me, but I first saw Spider-Man on The Electric Company, a PBS educational show I watched every weekday afternoon. Spidey was on The Electric Company to encourage kids to read (this version of the character didn’t speak out loud — his words were all presented in on-screen comic dialogue balloons), but Marvel, the publisher of Spidey comic books, surely didn’t mind that seeing Spidey on TV probably encouraged a few kids to buy Spider-Man comic books.

That was certainly the case with me. One morning I asked my dad if he’d pick me up some comic books on his way home from work. He asked me which comic books, and I said “Spider-Man!” And that afternoon Dad brought me home Amazing Spider-Man no. 180. I think he also brought me home a Batman book and, possibly, a third comic. But this was a very long time ago — I don’t even remember if I bothered to read the other book (or books) he brought home that day. (Owning more books than they read is a thing that all book people do, right?)

I still love Spider-Man (and I am not alone — he’s a big movie star now), and I still love Spidey comic books, especially Spidey comic books from the late 1970s. Because that’s my golden age of comic books. I’ve been thinking lately about how, if I’d been enterprising enough to find a job that would hire a seven-year-old in the late 1970s, I could have read all of the Spidey books of the era plus most everything else that Marvel published at the time. These comic books were, after all, generally only 35 cents a piece (about $1.60 a piece in 2022 money). An hour or two of minimum wage work would earn you enough to buy a week’s worth of Marvel books.

They say you can’t go home again. But thanks to the internet (something we definitely did not have in 1978) and services like Marvel Unlimited and Comixology, you can read a whole lot of old comic books. So I decided it might be fun to go back to the month my first comic book hit newsstands (which according to the Fandom.com Marvel wikiis February 1978) and read all (or at least most) of the Marvel comic books of the era in the order of publication. And then I decided if I was going to read all of those comics, it might be fun to write a little about the experience. 

Based on a quick survey of a few months in 1978, Marvel was publishing (in the United States) around 40 titles a month in those days. My first thought was to write a comic-book-a-day column (with due respect to Brian W. Collins’ iconic Horror-Movie-a-Day blog) about my Marvel Time Warp, covering a month of 1978 books in a month of columns. But I’d need to read (and write about) approximately 1.3 comic books per day to keep up a month-for-month pace, and I’m probably not going to be able to manage that. Because, if nothing else, I have a bunch of other nerdy hobbies that I like to spend time on.

And I’m also not sure how much I will have to say about some of these comic books. I expect for the first month or two I will have a good bit to say because a lot of these books and characters (at least the 1978 versions of these characters) are new to me. But after that, who knows? Which is fine! So far I’m having a lot of fun (and learning a lot of new things about the comic books of my youth), and I’ll keep on with the reading (and with the writing about the reading) as long as it is fun.

And if you’re reading my writing about my 1978 comic book reading, hopefully you’re getting some entertainment out of this little adventure, too!

In the tradition of many comic book stories of the 1970s, I’ll close out this premiere column with a tease to (hopefully) get you to come back for my second column…

[possibleplatypus]

more thoughts on ant man

So I rewatched Ant Man and the Yellowjacket presentation and it’s really striking how they sound like they’re right out of a fascist military playbook *cough*Hydra*cough*:

We live in an era in which the weapons we use to protect ourselves are undermined by constant surveillance. It’s time to return to a simpler age, one where the powers of freedom can once again operate openly to protect their interests. An all-purpose peacekeeping vessel, the Yellowjacket can manage any conflict on the geopolitical landscape, completely unseen. Efficient in both preventative measures and tactical assault. Practical applications include: surveillance, industrial sabotage, and the elimination of obstructions on the road to peace. A single Yellowjacket offers the user unlimited influence to carry out protective actions, and one day soon, an army of Yellowjackets will create a sustainable environment of well-being around the world.

But it also sounds like how Tony Stark or Justin Hammer might do a military presentation (remembering Tony talking about the “crown jewel of Stark Industries’ ‘Freedom’ line” and his “I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once,” quip in Iron Man, followed by his toast “to peace!” after his Jericho missiles decimate a mountain landscape). And it sounds a lot like Tony’s “suit of armor around the world” that he still thought he was right to create, even after Ultron. 

Not to mention Nick Fury gushing about Project Insight (“These new long-range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles per minute. The satellites can read a terrorist’s DNA before he steps outside a spider hole. We’re gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.”) or Alexander Pierce justifying all of Hydra’s atrocities to Bucky (”Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century. And I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow we’re going to give it a push. But if you don’t do your part, I can’t do mine. And Hydra can’t give the world the freedom it deserves.”)

I haven’t watched Far From Home or No Way Home, but I understand that EDITH is essentially Project Insight lite, which... 🤢. And let’s not forget the Falcon suit that Wakanda gives to Sam in TFATWS, which basically does the same thing. 

And all of these elements could have come together for a genuine critique of the American military industrial complex and the surveillance of private citizens, but Disney would never say anything meaningful about that, of course, other than the technology is Good as long as it’s in the Right Hands, even when it shows us how bad this technology actually is in other movies.

[evilwickedme]

hey hey hi I just finished reading the two spidergwen omnibuses ( Spider-Gwen: Gwen Stacy & Spider Gwen: Amazing Powers) that were in my library and i have no idea where to go from there please help please. I have no idea how comics work i only just started reading them i just want to read about earth 65. Also any fic recs centered around Gwen for earth 65? Or what's left of the parker family? Frank Castle?? I love Murderdock so much but he's taken over.

Hi, thank you for asking and I'm so glad you want to read more Gwen content! Unfortunately, this is actually at least two separate questions and I'm going to choose to address only the reading order in this one to avoid incoherence.

Firstly, just clarifying your terminology, what you read was not an omnibus. This is an omnibus:

What you read, dear anon, was a new kind of trade paperback marvel's been putting that Goodreads calls "digest size collections":

As you can see, they're shorter and thicker than normal trades, and cover about two volumes of regular trades. The two books you read are essentially volumes 0-3 of the original Spider-Gwen series. This matters because there is actually a Spider-Gwen omnibus which would have simplified all of this considerably.

This means you've already missed a story! Between volumes 1 and 2 Gwen was part of a crossover event with Silk and Spider Woman called "Spider Women". It is entirely out of print and I only found it secondhand, but it's all on marvel unlimited which is where I read it originally. This is a required story! It has a whole bunch of important plot elements introduced in it for later Spider-Gwen stuff.

Your options from there are varied. You can find the next two digest sized collections - unlike spider women, volume 3 of this series, Spider-Gwen: Deal With the Devil does actually collect the Miles Morales crossover which I adore (but oddly enough is not a requirement like Spider Women is...) - or you can find Spider-Man/Spider-Woman: Sitting in a Tree and volumes 4-6 of Spider-Gwen. Of course, all of this is available on marvel unlimited, which is, again, where I read the series originally, I bought my physical copies later on.

I do have a reading order I've made previously with everything Gwen has been in and before all of this you technically should've read Spiderverse (2014), since that's her first appearance and a story that really sets her themes going forward (and also just a story I enjoy), but if you don't feel like reading it (it's a bit of a chonker) that's fine I guess. Unfortunately the next thing to read is Spidergeddon, which is bad and not good. I'd say? Just read a summary on Wikipedia so you can understand the next bit of mainline Spider-Gwen comics.

What comes next is two separate series with very confusing names, Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider, and Ghost Spider. Yes, these are two separate series. Both of them are ten issues long, except Ghost Spider also has an annual that's really worth reading. The first series transitions Gwen into using the Ghost Spider moniker, and then once she starts going by Ghost Spider there's no need for the Spider-Gwen title anymore. Oh I should mention much of this is out of print, I actually don't even have Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider volume 2 in a physical copy at all, and Ghost Spider I only have in single issues.

Too bad Tim Seeley never read a single one of her comics tho, cause the next series to read is Spider -Gwen: Gwen-Verse miniseries. I say "to read" as though I recommend this series. It's not good. I was really looking forward to Gwen-Verse. I love Spider-Verse, the movie and the comic, I love Gwen, I was like, this should be my shit. Instead it was just plain shit. Like I said, it seems to me as though Tim Seeley had simply never read a single Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider comic before writing this comic and at the very least had not read the Ghost Spider titles. I have Opinions on this one to say the least.

We don't yet have any more Gwen comics, although there's another miniseries coming out later this year, so I have no way of knowing if Gwen-Verse is important yet, but I will say for now I'd skip it entirely. Finish with Ghost Spider Annual #1 and move on to other things.

Okay so to summarize:

First comes Spiderverse, which you have already skipped

Then comes Spider-Gwen vol 0 and 1, which you read in one collected edition

Then comes Spider Women

Then Spider-Gwen vol 2-3 which you read in one collected edition, and Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a tree, and Spider-Gwen vol 4-6, which can be read in two similar collected editions

Then Spidergeddon, which you should skip

Then Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider

Then Ghost Spider, not forgetting the annual

Then Spider-Gwen: Gwen-Verse, which isn't even a multiverse story and you should skip cause it's bad

Upcoming "Shadow Clones" miniseries, scheduled for April I believe

Steps 2-4 can be replaced with reading the actual Spider-Gwen omnibus, which is in print but also expensive. Every single issue of this reading list is available on Marvel Unlimited.

I haven't read the newest "End of the Spider-Verse" event that's been going on yet, I'm waiting for it to be over and then I'll read the whole thing, but it's my understanding that Gwen spends most of it possessed, so I'm not including it on the reading list.

I hope it's clear why I didn't also want to rec fics in this, just like, length wise. Another time?

[guardianofthepeanutwrites]

Skirts and dresses Part 4

Part1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 5

Tag list: @purplefreakwolffish  @mayucerise​

This chapter is for @sarcastich​​ and @starkeraddictbaby​

Thanks to Gypsywoman13 for beta-reading!

CW: genderfluid Loki, Kinda asshole Thor

PeterParkerBingo2021: square Pet Names (card below)

Thor & Loki

Because Peter had been fairly young when he moved inside the compound, they had put his room next to Tony’s quarters since he was the one in charge of their youngest member. Then one day a door appeared in the middle of his room, connecting it to the Stark’s private quarters. They had a long discussion about boundaries: “Ask before putting doors in my bedroom” and “don’t threaten people because they hurt me” etc. Tony had argued it was easier (it was, but that was not the question) because they spend more and more time together. Which was true. 

Tony and Pepper had started to teach Peter some things about business practice. They took him to smaller meetings and introduced him as Tony’s intern; it suited Peter very much. That, plus his patrols, as well as other Avenger business, like training, and his new business classes...Peter was now even busier than he already was.

Except on Sundays. Sundays were days Peter could rest, sleep, visit his aunt May, hang with Ned and MJ, and watch movies with Bucky the other Avengers.

Every Sunday morning, before leaving their quarters, Peter and Tony would eat the most decadent brunch that Peter would let Tony buy him. From all the changes that happened in his life since he got adopted by Tony Stark, Sunday brunches were certainly Peter’s favorites. He loved those calm moments with the man that he admired so much. He also loved that he could put on whatever clothes he wanted because FRIDAY would only let people in the know enter.

That Sunday, they were finishing their meal when Steve entered. He briefly stopped at the soft pink hoodie, gray and pink plaid skirt, and long white socks Peter was wearing before dismissing it and greeting the two men.

“So, Steve, what can we do for you?” Tony asked, forgoing the pleasantries. Peter knew Tony hated being interrupted during Sunday brunches, and saw that Steve started to move from one leg to the other, a bit nervous. Peter frowned.

“Oh, I-I mean, I wanted to apologize for-” Peter tried to interrupt Steve, he had told him many times that Steve was forgiven, but the man was stubborn and didn’t let him talk. “I know, you already told me, but I- I made this for you.” Steve gave Peter a piece of paper. 

On the paper was a beautiful drawing of Peter in the purple dress that he had been wearing when Steve had discovered his secret. Peter was startled out of his stunned silence when his dad gently took the paper from his hands.

Tony simply whistled when he saw the drawing. “Aunt Peggy had told me you could draw, Rogers, but this is something else.” Steve looked at Tony, in shock.

“Au-Aunt Peggy? But you-you weren’t-” 

Tony snorted, irked. “I went to her grave later, Rogers, because there was an emergency, and if there was something Aunt Peggy could understand, it was emergencies. She was Howard’s friend, and my godmother.” Peter, who had been told the story, silently stroked his dad’s back in support as he continued. “We also fought a lot when you came back.” Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Tony didn’t let him. “Not that it’s any of your business, Capsicle, but who do you think covered the truth about Howard’s death? Who do you think had enough power for that? Peggy Carter. She let me think my father killed my mom because he was a fucking alcoholic.”

Steve looked as if he had swallowed a lemon, grimacing. “I didn’t know. I am sorry, Tony.”

Tony lifted his hand. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” He lifted the paper with Steve’s drawing on it, looking at it pensively. “You’re very talented. We should make you an art studio. There is an empty room with great lighting.” Tony turned to Peter to watch him. “What d’you think kid? Wanna design it?” 

Peter felt excited to be offered this opportunity; he nodded with way too much enthusiasm. It made Tony smile, proud.

“You’re gonna make some blueprints, and we will see with the Captain what he needs and likes. No, Cap, don’t argue, it will be good training for the kid. Now, Steve, if you don’t mind, I was having brunch with my kid.”

Peter only had 30 seconds to thank Steve for the drawing and promise him he would make the best art studio there was before Steve left. After Brunch, Peter framed the drawing and put it on his shelf with the piece of his first skirt and the picture of his dad in a dress.

--

Later that day, while Peter and Tony were looking at a movie, before heading out for a diner with Aunt May, someone crashed into their quarters through the window.

Tony was ready to fight in seconds; his watch changed into a piece of armor around his right fist, while his left arm pushed Peter behind him, only to find that it was Thor, son of Odin, that had crashed on the ground. Peter couldn’t help but find it kind of cute that his dad would try to protect Peter with his body when Peter could take the most damage.

“For fuck’s sake, Point Break, what the ever-loving fuck?” Tony let the gauntlet recede back into his watch and put his hand on his heart. “I have a heart condition, you know? And we have doors. FRI, baby, tell everyone in the compound there is no immediate emergency. Put the compound in code orange until further notice,” Tony turned to look at Peter, seeing the pink skirt, the hoodie, and the panicked glances his kid was giving, then added, “Tell them there is no need to come and lock the quarters immediately.” 

Peter relaxed some and started to play with the hem of his skirt. 

“I apologize, Man of Iron. It seems like I missed the door.” Thor stood up from where he had crashed, and he opened his arms to hug Tony. “It has been too long my friend. How are you doing?” Tony frowned, but he let the god hug him. 

After they separated, Tony started to give instructions to FRIDAY for the reparations while Thor turned to look at Peter. There were a few seconds where Thor paused to take in how Peter was dressed before he widened his eyes.

Before Peter could react, Thor bowed deeply before speaking. “Good day, Lady Peter.” 

Peter winced. Why would he be a lady? Just because he was wearing a skirt?

“I-I, no, Thor. I-I am a man.” Peter hated how his voice shivered. 

Thor righted himself, beaming at Peter as if nothing had just happened. “Good, how are you doing Man of Spiders?” 

Peter looked at the god, completely lost by what had just happened. “I-I am fine? Thank you, mister Thor,” Peter said with a small voice. 

The god nodded happily. “I am happy to hear that.” Thor promptly turned to Tony. “Man of Iron, I am in great need of a favor.” 

Tony scowled looking at the damage. “Is it more important than repairing the hole in my wall?” 

Thor’s face became serious in a blink, making Peter shiver. “I am afraid it is really important, my friend,” Thor said in a deep voice. 

--

The meeting had been going on for hours, and Peter was exhausted. 

Thor wanted their help to get some information out of his brother Loki. The Asgardians had a reason to think that Loki hadn’t been the one behind the invasion and could even have been a victim of the scepter like Barton and the others, but Loki wouldn’t talk. Thor hoped that maybe someone on Earth could help them because they had tried everything.

The news was welcomed by an uproar, led by Hawkeye and Fury, and had calmed down after Thor had explained that if his fears were correct, there was something worse coming to Earth. He also promised that they wouldn’t need to bring Loki for them to interrogate him and that there was a magic mirror they could use to talk to him.

It was decided the mirror would be locked in Tony’s lab, the most secure room at the compound.

However, they all forgot Peter had unlimited access to the room.

--

The first time Peter saw Loki, Peter was walking along the glass walls of the main lab. He could see Natasha and Maria Hill looking frustrated at a mirror. In the mirror, there was a gorgeous woman with long, raven black hair; she had piercing green eyes, green lipstick, and she was wearing a stunning, black leather dress. 

If Peter hadn’t been gay, and stupidly in love attracted to Bucky, he knew that he could have fallen for this beautiful lady.

Then his brain started to work again and realization clicked: The woman was Loki. Loki was wearing (and rocking) a dress. He looked like a woman, but how? When she/he/the God of Mischief saw Peter, they winked. Peter startled and simply walked faster to the B-Lab where Bruce was waiting for him.

--

Peter couldn’t get Loki out of his mind. The God didn’t look uncomfortable wearing a dress or looking like a woman in front of his enemies. 

After some days, Peter decided to go to the main source of information about Loki: Thor.

“Oh, yes, Loki sometimes, uhm, switches? Mother always said to respect the gender he looks like, but you know that Loki is my brother, so it was difficult at first.” Thor massaged his neck, uneasy. “But then, Loki started to play vicious pranks on the people who would call him a man when he was dressed like a woman. So, I learned to, uh, call Loki a lady when he wears a dress.”

And then Peter understood. “That's why you called me a lady the other day!” 

Thor nodded. “But luckily you don’t ask me to call you a woman.” 

Peter frowned. “Why do you say luckily? I mean, I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking someone to call you a woman if… you feel like a woman?” Thor, confused, looked at Peter and was about to reply, but Tony (since when had he been in the room?) answered first, making Peter and Thor startle.

“No, there is nothing wrong, Peter. Loki is genderfluid, which means that they don’t identify themself as having a fixed gender.” Tony, who was at the door, walked into the room and up to Peter. “We asked Loki and he said you could use the pronouns depending on what he looks like. It’s easier because Loki is a shifter, and can change depending on his moods. But if you ever meet another genderfluid person, you can just ask them what gender they identify with at that moment.” 

Peter nodded. It made sense. 

Thor looked a bit crushed when he started to speak again. “So, it’s not only Loki?” Tony simply shook his head. “Oh. I think I need to talk to my br-Loki.” With those words, the god left the room.

--

Peter did some research about genders - Tony helped - and he concluded that he was a man that liked to cross-dress and that there was nothing wrong with that. Peter had felt very loved that his dad, who was always so busy, had taken the time to explain all of those terms to Peter until they found the ones that felt right.

But Peter was a curious person, and it was what led him to be bitten by a radioactive spider in the first place... Peter wanted to talk to Loki. He wanted to talk about the dress, and about being genderfluid. He knew that the god was not a good being, but Loki was already in prison. What could go wrong?

--

“The mighty Avengers are sending me a child, now? Interesting.” Loki’s bitter words made Peter flinch. Peter silently closed the door behind him, before he entered the lab.

“No. I- I mean, I am an Avenger, but they didn’t send me.” Peter nervously played with the plaid shirt he was wearing that day.

“Then why are you here?” 

Peter lifted his head and looked directly at Loki for the first time. He noted that Loki was in a male form. 

“I learned that you are genderfluid. I- I just wanted to talk.” 

Loki’s face softened a little bit. “Oh, yes. People of Midgard have been strangely open-minded about it.” His face then hardened again. “What do you want? Do you want to see the shift? Do you want me to become a female?” 

Peter winced. 

“What? No! Only if it’s what you want. But, no, who would want you to do that? You’re not some kind of animal.” Peter was horrified, just thinking about it. Loki huffed but said nothing, watching Peter with piercing eyes. Peter took a deep breath and gathered his courage. “I-I like to wear dresses. It is called cross-dressing here.” 

Loki looked at Peter like he was analyzing Peter’s very soul. “Why are you telling me this, human?” he seemed perplexed.

“I saw you in that dress the last time, and you were gorgeous. I mean, that dress, it looked like it had been made just for you.” Peter couldn’t contain the excitement in his voice. Loki raised an eyebrow, but Peter could see that he was fighting a smile.

“That would be because it was crafted for me. I am a prince of Asgard, little one.” The reply was unexpected, and Peter felt his eyes open with shock that was rapidly replaced by glee.

“Oh yes, my da- Mr. Stark let a tailor come to the tower, and he wanted to tailor some things, but I wasn't ready yet. Mr. Stark said that the man could come back later. ” 

Loki didn’t fight his smile this time.

“And why weren’t you ready, yet, dear?”

--

Peter and Loki talked a big part of the night until Peter started to yawn too much, then Loki sent him to his room. As days went on, after his patrol and doing some homework, Peter visited every night to talk about stuff with Loki.

--

“By the Norns! Dear Spider, why would you not simply tell the man that you want him?” Loki asked, sitting against the wall of his prison.

“What? No! He doesn’t feel that way about me,” Peter answered stubbornly while painting his nails with a green nail polish that had been approved by Loki.

“You won’t know until you try, dear.” Peter shrugged and changed the subject.

--

Of course, after a visit one night, they were discovered. While Tony and Natasha (and Bucky) hadn’t been really happy about it, there was nothing they could do or say to change Peter’s mind.

--

“You what?” Peter asked, dumbfounded.

“I stabbed the mongrel,” Loki answered, way too smugly if you asked Peter.

“Because he slapped your ass? Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“Oh my sweet, sweet, little Spider. If you let men get away with unwanted touching, they will think it is alright to do it again and again. No one should dare touch a lady like that without consequences.” Loki played with the knife that had been in his hand since they started to talk that day.

“Yes, but still, Thor is your brother.” Peter never had had a sibling, but if he had, he wouldn’t have stabbed them, for sure.

“After that, neither Thor, nor any of the savages he called ‘friends’, ever touched me without my consent.” The smile Loki sent his way made Peter shiver.

“Yeah, ok, fair.” The god did heal fast, so Peter guessed that it was okay-ish.

--

Peter had been surprised when a raven had given Peter two identical letters one morning after breakfast. He was even more surprised when the letters ended up being Loki’s complete confession. One had been addressed to ‘The Mighty Avengers’ and the other to ‘Sweet Spider’. 

Loki explained how he had fallen into Thanos’ lap after the destruction of the rainbow bridge; he mentioned the torture, the scepter, and how the beating that the Hulk gave him had helped him evade his conditioning. He also laid out Thanos' strengths and weaknesses, including how and when to beat him.

At the end, Loki wrote that he would never have written his confession if it weren’t for Peter. 

Peter then took the last page, where Loki had drawn them both and had it framed to be placed on his beloved shelf.