#i loved we got a follow up on Rogue & Gambit (2018) and after knowing how she felt he MARRIED HER

[laughingdrawingaces]

Rogue and Gambit in Scott and Jean's wedding issue you're so dear to me

X-Men (1991) #30

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 5 February 2018

Quick Bits:

Armstrong & The Vault of Spirits is a fun one-shot that uses Aram’s collection of wine to weave together the “true story” of Noah, the emergence of a previously unknown arch-nemesis, the secrets societies that continue to plague Archer & Armstrong, and the often hidden emotional connection that Armstrong has with his family. It’s really nice to see Fred Van Lente back chronicling these characters, even if just for one special right now.

| Published by Valiant

Avengers #679 tags in Kim Jacinto for art duties, appearing to be up to the challenge laid out by Pepe Larraz in quality of work on this book. We get the stakes of the match here between the Grandmaster and the Challenger, of whom we also get a history, and it manages to make all of the destruction and battles seem like mere whims of these members of the Elders of the universe. I suspect when discovered, this isn’t going to sit well with the Avengers. As only part five, this also makes me wonder what else Mark Waid, Al Ewing, and Jim Zub have up their sleeves.

| Published by Marvel

Black Bolt #10 has a brief crossover segment with Inhumans: Judgment Day, illustrated by guest-artist Stephanie Hans. It’s beautiful, and an interesting way to work in the events of the broader Inhumans saga into the current arc in this series. I like how Saladin Ahmed handles Lash’s plan to advance all of the interwoven spinning plates.

| Published by Marvel

Coyotes #4 closes out the first arc along the theme of upheaval. There are some interesting parallels put forward in the Duchess and Red’s situations, as well as the comeuppance against the coyotes who have been hunting women. As usual, Caitlin Yarsky’s art elevates everything. I highly recommend picking up these issues or pre-ordering the collection for April; Sean Lewis and Yarsky did something great here.

| Published by Image

Extremity #11 is the penultimate issue of the series as the final battle is enjoined. Daniel Warren Johnson mainly focuses here on the action and as usual the artwork is gorgeous. I’m going to really miss this series when it’s done.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Giant Days #35 somewhat skirts the issue of the fallout of Ed’s admission of love to Esther last issue for now, instead following on a visiting Sarah and Lottie Grote. It’s funny seeing Daisy and Susan trying to look after a kid, plus the interesting development that Daisy may finally be cluing in that Ingrid is absolutely horrible.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / Boom! Box 

Incognegro: Renaissance #1 kicks off a new mystery with the death of a black author at a literary shindig, with the police appearing completely disinterested in the case completely. Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece deliver an interesting start.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Infinity Countdown: Adam Warlock #1 acts as a bridge between Guardians of the Galaxy #150 and, as well as a primer for, Infinity Countdown: Prime. Adam Warlock has been reborn and this issue gives us a summary of Warlock’s history and teases what’s to come at the end of time, as he enters into an uneasy alliance with Kang the Conqueror. A lot of this issue has Gerry Duggan recapping events and foreshadowing what’s to come, but it is highly elevated by the art of Mike and Laura Allred. 

| Published by Marvel

Koshchei the Deathless #2 continues to be a fun and exciting fable of Koshchei telling Hellboy his story. Mike Mignola does a great job of including some subtle humour into the telling, along with the absurdity of some of the Russian folktales (or the like), and Ben Stenbeck (with Dave Stewart’s colours) is again phenomenal.

| Published by Dark Horse

Mech Cadet Yu #6 has the kids face off against baby Sharg and it’s all kinds of awesome.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

No. 1 With a Bullet #4 finds new and inventive ways to ruin Nash’s life further, with weirdness continuing and lies emerging to cast her as a willing participant in her sex tape.

| Published by Image

Noble #9 is a kind of coda to the first two arcs, allowing David and Astrid a bit of quiet time and reflection before tackling the next stage in their lives. It’s interesting in their dealings with Foresight and Lorena Payan here that even when they manage to get somewhat free, Payan has to remind them that even their personal lives are still under observation.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon #4 amps up the action in this penultimate issue of the series. Christopher Mitten (with colours by Dave Stewart) is on fire this issue.

| Published by Dark Horse

Rogue & Gambit #2 reminds me again that I don’t like Rogue and Gambit as a couple, something about them together just seems like nails on a chalkboard at this point, but I do like Kelly Thompson writing about them. There’s a nice mix of humour, action, and history that keeps this flowing nicely. It also helps that the art from Pere Pérez with colours by Frank D’Armata is amazing.

| Published by Marvel

Rose #8 gives a bit of history on Drucilla, with Felix giving excuses for why she’s grown into a selfish, evil monstrosity. It’s interesting to see the lengths we’ll go to in order to explain away bad behaviour of family members. Ig Guara, with colours by Triona Farrell, also deserves more attention.  Their art on this series since day one has been impeccable. 

| Published by Image

Scarlett’s Strike Force #2 advances many of the story threads in an interesting fashion, particularly Skywarp’s disillusionment with the Joe’s in fixing his teleportation and the burgeoning mystical aspect to Cobra. There’s also a humorous exchange between Raptor and Croc Master.

| Published by IDW

Spirits of Vengeance #5 concludes what was an unexpected, but excellent, mini-series from Victor Gischler, David Baldeón, and Andres Mossa. It was a nice mix of humour, action, and gorgeous art playing with some of Marvel’s lately underutilized supernatural characters. I know that they’ll likely reappear during the upcoming Damnation event, but I’d definitely like to see more from this creative team.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars #43 brings the “Ashes of Jedha” arc to a close with a surprising twist. Also, some great art again by Salvador Larroca and Guru-eFX.

| Published by Marvel

TMNT Universe #19 begins a new arc “Service Animals” by Ian Flynn, Dave Wachter, and Ronda Pattison, as a well as a prelude for the upcoming Kingdom of Rats storyline in the main book, by Bobby Curnow and Pablo Tunica. It’s always great to see Wachter’s art, especially with how expressive his turns at Alopex are here.

| Published by IDW

Transformers: Lost Light #14 is mostly a Scavengers story, but unlike most of them, this one is no light-hearted romp. Like the recent Getaway arc, this gets pretty serious and pretty dark.

| Published by IDW

Transformers vs. Visionaries #2 gets into more of the internecine warfare and skirmishes between the factions of the Visionaries themselves as the Darkling Lords and the Spectral Knights battle for the soul and honour of their people. I like what Magdalene Visaggio is setting up here and Fico Ossio’s artwork, with colours by David Garcia Cruz, is beautiful.

| Published by IDW

Twisted Romance #1 is off to a good start. This issue has a trio of tales that largely mix horror/supernatural with love/sex/romance. The highlight for me is Sarah Horrocks’ piece that reminds me of the existential eroticism of Clive Barker’s work, but all three are worth the price of admission. Alex de Campi and Katie Skelly’s story is a bit of revenge on a cheating partner’s lover with a confrontation between an incubus and a succubus, while Magen Cubed delivers a sweet prose story of a monster hunter and the vampire who loves him.

| Published by Image

Venom #161 has some truly excellent artwork from Javier Garrón (with colours by Dono Sánchez-Almara and Erick Arciniega) as Mike Costa pens a done-in-one story advancing some of the series’ sub-plots while giving a fitting confrontation between Venom and Spider-Woman. With this issue sandwiched between two crossovers (the just finished Venom Inc. on one side and Poison-X on the other) it’s nice to see how the team make this wholly satisfying on its own.

| Published by Marvel

Vs. #1 debuts with gorgeous artwork by Esad Ribić and Nic Klein, perfectly capturing turning war into a commercialized sport. Along with the lettering from Aditya Bidikar and graphics by Tom Muller, it manages to have a nice European, particularly Humanoids, feel to it, despite not being particularly over the top.

| Published by Image

The Wicked + The Divine 1923 is quite possibly the greatest issue of this already magnificent series, and a must buy for the people who may have otherwise been missing out on the tangential one-shots. This one is meaty with story and purpose as Kieron Gillen and Aud Koch blend prose and comics, along with conventions of pulp mysteries, silent film, and more to create a ritual that helped shape the rest of the 20th century as a kind of prelude to the main WicDiv series. This is a thing of beauty.

| Published by Image

Witchblade #3 goes deeper on both Alex’s history and the mystery of the supernatural stuff going on around her. I may sound like a broken record, but again I have to commend Caitlin Kittredge, Roberta Ingranata, and Bryan Valenza for this series, because it’s got a great story and beautiful artwork.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

X-Men Red #1 is off to a pretty good start. The artwork from Mahmud Asrar with colours by Ive Svorcina are a real draw, as is the return of Jean Grey to the X-Men, but the breakout star is still Tom Taylor’s characterizations. Particularly of Honey Badger.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: 30 Days of Night #3, Amazing Spider-Man #795, The Backstagers 2018 Valentine’s Intermission #1, Black Comix Returns, The Damned #8, Daredevil #598, Dejah Thoris #1, Get Naked, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call #3, The Gravediggers Union #4, Half Past Danger II: Dead to Reichs #5, Hawkeye #15, Iron Fist #77, Jazz Maynard #7, Legenderry: Red Sonja #1, Monstro Mechanica #3, Paper Girls #20, Rock Candy Mountain #8, Runaways #6, Scales & Scoundrels #6, She-Hulk #162, Spider-Man #237, Spider-Man vs. Deadpool #27, Tomb Raider: Survivor’s Crusade #3

Recommended Collections: Avengers & Champions: Worlds Collide, Backstagers - Volume 2, Clue, Incognegro, Inhumans: Once & Future Kings, Scales & Scoundrels - Volume 1: Into the Dragon’s Maw, Secret Weapons Deluxe Edition, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra - Volume 2: Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit, TMNT - Volume 18: Trial of Krang, Transformers/GI Joe: First Strike, Transformers/GI Joe: First Strike - Champions

d. emerson eddy believes that you shouldn’t be the problem, be the solution.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1223

Monday, July 30, 2018

 Many comings and goings here recently. I had a visit with a friend from Victoria, BC over the weekend. Treated him to a fishing trip and he had a blast. My niece is moving to Bahrain tomorrow after being home from Japan for 8 months. I will miss her but we will keep in touch via social media. Penny is off on a road trip today to visit family up north and friends in Huntsville and Barrie, Ontario. She'll be back in time to welcome dear friends from Calgary, Alberta arriving next weekend while they are here visiting family. I'm not going anywhere soon but that's the way this homebody likes it.

 Detective Comics #985 - Bryan Hill (writer) Philippe Briones (art) Adriano Lucas (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). I like the short and sweet origin story for this new super villain Karma. We find out why he's terrorizing Gotham City and what his demands are. This is a really good challenge for Batman and his allies.

 Moon Knight #197 - Max Bemis (writer) Jacen Burrows (pencils) Guillermo Ortego (inks) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). It's a sit down dinner with a select group of extreme sadists. I question the "Teen+" rating for this issue. It definitely should have been rated "Parental Advisory". I mean, even I got a little queasy reading each guest's story. I kept waiting for the host to announce that they were going to kill someone for the main course. Yuck.

 Infinity Wars Prime - Gerry Duggan (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This story starts off promising enough with Loki in a library reading old stories about himself. This leads to Loki going to the Quarry of Creation to find some missing parts to one of his stories. I felt like I was missing a lot as I continued to read since I did not follow the Infinity Countdown and related tie-in books. I was left wondering what the fork was going on when Adam Warlock pays a visit to Doctor Strange. By the time the inevitable super villain was introduced I was feeling so lost that I decided to skip this war altogether. Other readers may be intrigued enough with the mysterious character with the infinity goggles to want to see what happens to the stones. I was completely shocked by the one death in this issue though.

 Justice League Dark #1 - James Tynion IV (writer) Alvaro Martinez Bueno (pencils) Raul Fernandez (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). When Peter Milligan (writer) first introduced this team to the racks in 2011 I did read some of their adventures but I stopped before that run came to an end in 2015. I guess the team was disbanded but now there's a threat to magic in the DCU and all the mystical members have to join together to survive. This time they will be lead by Wonder Woman. Zatanna and Swampthing are front and center in this issue but there are plenty of other magic users waiting in the wings. I like the new Man-Bat but I'm not a fan of Zee's braid.

 Saga #54 - Fiona Staples (art) Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Fonografiks (letters). Many shocks this issue, the least of which is the announcement that Saga in going on a year long hiatus. Brian Michael Bendis (writer) walking away from Miles Morales bummed me out and this news also makes me sad. Having Hazel narrate this stunning issue prepares me for the major changes coming when this title hits the racks again next summer. I hope the creative team enjoys their much deserved break and look forward to the continuation of Hazel's story.

 Mr. & Mrs. X #1 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Oscar Bazaldua (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Love & Marriage part 1. I did not read the heavily hyped wedding issue where Kitty and Piotr followed in the footsteps of Batman and Catwoman so I don't know why they didn't tie the knot. Somewhere in there though Rogue and Gambit decided to take their on and off relationship and really get it on Marvin Gaye style. So we are gathered here to witness the wedding and part of the honeymoon until they are called to duty and have to retrieve something out in space. I like that Kelly toned down the southern drawl for Rogue and the Cajun inflections for Gambit so that their dialogue didn't get too annoying in my head. I loved the art and wish that Storm would wear her hair like that all the time. Very stylish and classy. Good job Oscar. Remy and Anna Marie make a cute couple and a surprise appearance on the last page will make for a fun threesome.

 Silencer #7 - Dan Abnett (writer) Viktor Bogdanovic (pencils) Viktor Bogdanovic & Jonathan Glapion (inks) Mike Spicer (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). Honor's mission to make sure Talia al Ghul stays dead takes her and her family into the friendly skies. Unbeknownst to her Cradle and Grave are on the same flight. I like how the inevitable fight shows off what her super suit can do. I know she won't be successful in killing Talia for good and gone but it will be fun to see her try.

 Doomsday Clock #6 - Geoff Johns (writer) Gary Frank (art) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). We're at the halfway mark and this is my favourite issue yet. It's an all villains issue. I like how the Marionette and the Mime's origin story is woven in. This mature version of the Joker is much more interesting and I can't wait to find out what he does with the incapacitated Batman.

 Multiple Man #2 - Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Andy MacDonald (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). This story is confusing enough with the time travelling but adding in the many Jamie Madroxes makes it even more confusing. I was almost willing to continue reading more issues when someone who knows stuff showed up but she was only there for a cameo. Layla was my favourite X-Factor member.

 Action Comics #1001 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Patrick Gleason (art) Alejandro Sanchez (colours) Josh Reed (letters). One of my favourite things about Brian's writing is his nice flowing dialogue and there's plenty of it in this issue. We find out who is setting fires all over Metropolis as a new super villain is introduced. Her name is Red Cloud and she is as fatal as a sarin gas attack.

 Amazing Spider-Man #2/LGY #803 - Nick Spencer (writer) Ryan Ottley (pencils) Cliff Rathburn (inks) Laura Martin (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Back to Basics part 2. Boy, talk about getting back to basics. We start off with a little fight with Man Mountain Marco and the Ringer and then another fight with the Black Ant and Taskmaster. Gee, Stan the Man and Steve Ditko used to do this sort of stuff every issue too. What is really tickling my fancy are the changes going on in Peter Parker's life. For one thing Stan and Steve never showed Peter and Mary Jane waking up in bed together. Then there's the surprise on the last page. Who is that masked man?

 Marvel 2-In-One #8/LGY #108 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Ramon K. Perez (art) Frederico Blee (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Ben and Johnny are powerless now and stranded in a universe where Spider-Man is a despot. It's very dramatic when Johnny finds out that Ben didn't tell him that Reed, Sue and the kids are dead. I don't believe that for a second. Who's going to be in the new Fantastic Four comic book if that's true? Chip is doing an excellent job writing this.

 X-23 #2 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Juann Cabal (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The Stepford Cuckoos suffer a death in the family and they go cuckoo for real. This leads to Gabby being captured and Laura needing to come to the rescue. This book gets my highest recommendation.

 The Sentry #2 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Kim Jacinto & Joshua Cassara (art) Rain Beredo (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I was not prepared to like this as much as I do now. Jeff has made this character a lot more interesting with the crazy situations and supporting cast. This book and Moon Knight are weirdly psychological.

 Wakanda Forever: X-Men #1 - Nnedi Okorafor (writer) Ray Anthony-Height & Alberto Alburquerque (pencils) Ray Anthony-Height, Ray Anthony-Height, Juan Vlasco & Keith Champagne (inks) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). It's Storm, Rogue and Nightcrawler's turn to team up with the Dora Milaje to fight Malice and her doomsday weapon Mimic-27. So just three X-Men then. Colossus isn't in this like he is on the cover. This issue leaves Mimic-27 more powerful than ever so we'll see what the Avengers can do when Wakanda Forever: Avengers #1 hits the racks August 22. I'm going to guess that T'Challa is going to set the lovestruck Malice straight and Mimic-27 will be blowed up real good with the help of, oh I don't know, Captain America and maybe She-Hulk.

[briangroth27]

Fox Should Wait to Recast the X-men's Logan

With Hugh Jackman retiring from the Wolverine role as of Logan, I can imagine the pressure to introduce a new Wolverine is overwhelming. He’s the most popular X-man and has been the face of the film franchise since it started (and arguably, the face of the comics franchise since at least the 80s). He’s the only X-man besides Deadpool proven to be a solo hit at the box office. There are three new X-films coming out in 2018—New Mutants, Deadpool 2, and X-men Dark Phoenix—any of them an opportunity to introduce a new Logan within a year. However, that’s the opposite of what Fox, Bryan Singer, and Simon Kinberg should do. The X-films are still my favorite superhero film franchise, but I think they can stand to give Logan a rest for a while.

Can Anyone Measure Up to Hugh Jackman? Wolverine was around decades before Jackman put on the claws and he’ll be around long after whoever suits up next. However, Jackman’s made his Logan the iconic version for many, despite the physical differences from the source material (comics Logan is just 5’3,’’ for instance). Any actor hired to take his place is immediately going to face scrutiny from both comic fans and general audiences, making it that much harder to sell someone else in the role.

Certainly, not just one actor gets to play each character and just because selling a new actor is difficult doesn’t mean the role should never be recast. Most would say Christopher Reeve is the iconic Superman, but that hasn’t stopped others from being (at least arguably) just as good in the role. Each actor brought different aspects of Clark Kent to the surface, making the role their own. And we do already have a great, recast Professor X in James McAvoy, as well as strong actors cast as young Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Jean Grey, so the X-roles aren’t sacred and recasting doesn’t take anything away from the original. Sabretooth, Colossus, Jubilee, Gambit, Psylocke, Angel, Moira McTaggert, and Emma Frost have been reimagined as the movies’ narrative evolved, casting new actors in every case (three actresses have been Kitty Pryde!). However, Jackman’s tenure as Logan feels different from those roles, since he’s existed in both the not-so-distant-future and the prequel eras of the franchise. He’s already been established as the Logan of the Apocalypse era, so it’ll be a larger disconnect to see him recast now. It also feels a little dismissive of Jackman’s 17 years in the role and the character’s recent death in Logan to recast him in the near future.

The X-men are Bigger than Wolverine Wolverine’s one of my all-time favorite X-men, but he’s far from the only one worth telling stories about. The team is more than just “Wolverine and his Uncanny Friends,” and it’s past time the movies reflected that. With McAvoy, Fassbender, and Lawrence wrapping up their contracts (though I’m sure at least McAvoy will be back for New Mutants or Dark Phoenix) and Jackman retiring, now is the perfect time to put more focus on the younger cast and flesh out the other A-list X-men. We don’t need Gambit, Deadpool, or a new Wolverine to act as the franchise lead. I’d love it if the X-men films were reframed as true ensemble pictures, like the first movie was. At least let a different trio of characters headline each film while the rest of the team acts as supporting players, rotating them each film so everyone’s fleshed out. I’m more than ready for the films to focus on the other X-men and reintroducing Wolverine could very easily derail that. So many of the characters we’ve already got on screen have compelling stories to showcase:

 Cyclops Explore Scott dealing with the pressure of saving an entire species while he learns to be a leader. What if he’s secretly not confident he’s the right mutant for the job (reflecting his belief that Alex was supposed to be the guy who changed the world, not him), but like his optic blasts, he feels he has to keep those doubts bottled up or the team will fall apart? How does he learn to open up and let go when he’s been trained to believe strategic planning is the only way to save everyone? How does his usual status of “married to his job” (leading the X-men) affect his relationship with Jean? Can she get him to open up and relax? In addition to his weaknesses, let’s see his strengths! Show his ability to rally the X-men—and mutants in general—to his side to fight to protect a world that hates and fears them. Rather than the team blindly charging into battle, let’s see Cyclops’ strategic brilliance at work. Scott’s the X-men’s Captain America (with hidden some insecurity/confidence issues) and it’s time the movies played that up.

Rogue Reintroducing Rogue with her comics origin—a supervillain who permanently absorbed the super-strength, flight, and memories of a hero (there, Carol Danvers, here, it can be any random mutant), leaving her to question who she is—would give us a hero with a dark past seeking peace and redemption, much like Logan was...only comics Rogue balanced her angst with a flirty and fun side. The question of whether her heroic instincts were absorbed from the random Flying Strong Mutant or are her true nature coming out as a result of the kindness the X-men showed her would be a great line to walk. If Jean dies or loses her powers in Dark Phoenix, the field team will need a telepath and Rogue’s ability to absorb memories could come in handy, with the built-in disadvantage of also taking on the personalities of people she absorbs. And including that ability instead of just mentioning it happening offscreen, that’d be a fun challenge for any actress.

Storm Ororo stood by while Cairo was leveled—what’s she going through? How does her experience as the beloved leader of that group of Cairo children (making her the only mutant in history willingly followed by humans) inform her choices, viewpoint, and leadership style? Could this drive her to be overly proactive and overprotective of the New Mutants? Could we see her go a little dark, like punk Storm in the comics? Play up both her desperate thief past and her serene, nurturing side from the comics (of all the characters in the original trilogy, Storm’s multiple facets and complexities were flattened out the most). While her villainous arc was my least favorite part of Apocalypse, it’s certainly left her in an interesting position and I want to see her explored more. Could being party to the near-destruction of the planet lead her to take on the responsibility of bending nature to her will to revive the Earth? Controlling the weather is an immensely important power that has practical applications, and I’d love to see how she uses it to improve the world.

Nightcrawler Can Kurt find and keep his faith (and sense of humor) in spite of a world that largely hates his face? How does a religious mutant interpret God’s will and Word, if humans were made in God’s image? It’d be a departure from the comics, but could Kurt start his own denomination of mutant-based Christianity? Let’s explore the mutant subculture in New York through the guy who sticks out the most—we know some humans think they’re cool, we know others hate them, we could meet the Morlocks, etc. A jovial, swashbuckling skirt-chaser with the face of a demon and a strong faith is a great comedic (and potentially tragic) juxtaposition that deserves to be explored more. What happens when he realizes Mystique is (maybe) his mother?

Jean Grey Dark Phoenix will likely focus on Jean’s evolution into the comics’ cosmic force (that was Singer’s original plan for X3). How does she deal with the primal force of her evolved state? Will she want to continue to control herself, or will the power she displayed in dispatching a deadly threat like Apocalypse be too easy an answer to mutants’ problems? What can she do for the world with endless power? Is she the only mutant to achieve the next stage of evolution, or are there others? Are her concerns bigger than human/mutant relations now? What does a person do when they essentially become a goddess? Hopefully she’ll do much more than achieve ultimate power, only to stand behind a different villain like in Last Stand.

Quicksilver Will Peter find his purpose not that he’s gotten out of his parents’ basement? Will he make Erik a better man, or will Erik’s crusade rub off on his son?

 While there are some interesting aspects of Logan we’ve yet to see (which I discussed here), I can wait to get to those until we’ve gotten more from the others. We don’t need to see the Cyclops/Jean/Logan triangle again (particularly after they already resurrected it in Last Stand after it was settled in X2) and we’ve seen him mentor tons of people now, so the comics’ recent “teacher Logan” isn’t really needed here either. Just like the films need to use villains beyond Magneto and Stryker, lest they wear them out, they need to dig into the untapped potential of heroes beyond Wolverine.

 There’s a Great Wolverine Already Cast It’s possible they’ll have another version of Wolverine, like Jimmy Howlett, Logan’s son from the Ultimate X-men comics, take over the mantle in the main X-men films (which is the plan for the current X-men Blue comic). He’d be young enough that it’s not creepy to be in a love triangle with Jean and Scott (though if Dark Phoenix is set in the 90s, they’d be in their 20s). Daken, Logan’s son from the main Marvel continuity, is another possibility, though he’s a villain. 

Still, there’s already a perfect Logan replacement. Her name is Dafne Keen. Fox should follow her adventures in the future in Logan sequels. The best way to avoid Jackman’s shadow is to do the opposite. While either of Logan’s sons are valid options, it’d probably feel forced and redundant to introduce yet another guy with claws who happens to also be Logan’s child. Keen, however, already had the torch passed to her and is ready to go. She’s got the grit to do the crowd-pleasing berserker rage when needed, displayed a more vulnerable and caring side (as well as comedic chops), and she’s young and talented enough that they can take her character wherever they want as she grows.

Plus, Keen would be a ready-made and audience-tested female superhero franchise lead, something Fox could’ve had with Storm, Rogue, and/or Mystique already but haven’t and something WB and Marvel Studios are unfortunately only just starting to dig into. I also wouldn’t hate it if they rolled Laura into the New Mutants film and set it in the future of Logan, which I think should be relegated to its own timeline because of how defeatist in terms of Xavier and the X-men’s legacy it is (as I discussed in my Logan review). No matter where she pops up next, Keen was fantastic as Laura/X-23 and if she’s up for more, Fox would be crazy not to capitalize on this star in the making.

 I’m sure at some point, the X-universe will be fully rebooted and a new Logan will be cast. They’ll probably recast a new Logan before that, but I think they should explore the rest of the universe instead of relying on the cache of one mutant. Keen can carry the Wolverine name while Fox gives everyone else time to become stars too. If they must bring back Logan sooner rather than later, I just hope they remember he’s only one member of the team, not the entirety of the X-men.

[wbwest]

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West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 3/10/17

  In movie news, a lot is going on with the Deadpool sequel. At the beginning of the week, it was reported that David Harbour of Netflix’s Stranger Things was being sought after for the role of Cable. While fans have wanted a bigger name, like Ron Perlman, Harbour is definitely gonna be cheaper, fitting right in with the movie’s budget. Meanwhile, it was reported that actress/singer Janelle Monae was the studio’s frontrunner for the role of Domino. Yesterday, however, Ryan Reynolds tweeted the above image, confirming that Atlanta‘s Zazie Beetz had gotten the role. I swear, with Donald Glover off Lando-ing in the Han Solo movie, and Zazie in Deadpool 2, Atlanta ain’t ever coming back. It’s already “on hiatus”, and I fear that it’s gonna be like Curb Your Enthusiasm – something Glover comes back to when he gets bored and has the time to do it. So, look for Atlanta season 2 in 2025.

In other movie news, the Valiant comic universe is getting closer to the big screen, as Dave Wilson has been tapped to direct the Bloodshot movie. Wilson comes from Blur Studio, known mainly for video game trailers, and co-founded by Deadpool director Tim Miller. If you don’t know anything about Bloodshot, you’re not alone. He looks like some kind of albino madman. From what I’ve read, he’s basically a zombie soldier who’s animated by nanites. I’ve never read a Bloodshot comic, though, so what do I know? Here’s where it gets interesting: there’s currently a webseries being made by Bat in the Sun called Ninjak vs The Valiant Universe. Starring Michael Rowe (Deadshot from the Arrowverse), the webseries pits the character of Ninjak against other characters in the Valiant Universe – where Bloodshot just happens to be portrayed by original Green Ranger, Jason David Frank. Now, JDF used to go to all of his convention appearances promoting the Power Rangers brand, but lately has been doing it dressed as Bloodshot. This project isn’t big enough to warrant that kind of dedication. No, I’m convinced he’s lobbying for the role in the big screen film. This is like when Sean Young used to go out in public dressed as Catwoman just so she’d get the role in Batman Returns. I don’t know whether to be impressed or saddened. I mean, he’s lobbying hard, but there’s no way he gets that role.

Though the news got sort of lost in the cycle last week, Nickelodeon announced that the new season of the 3D Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, premiering March 19th, would be its last. After five years, the show is ditching its serialized approach and is rebranding into an anthology format with the new title Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Once the series ends, a new 2D cartoon, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is slated to premiere in 2018.

In other TV news, folks are wondering if Glenn Howerton is leaving It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The show aired its 12th season finale this week, where we learned that Dennis had a son from a layover in North Dakota. At the end of the episode, he decides that he can’t carry on as he’d been doing the past 12 years, and that he needed to leave and go be with his son. This episode aired the same day it was reported that Howerton and Patton Oswalt had been cast as leads in an NBC pilot where Howerton plays an Ivy League professor who loses out on his dream job, and ends up teaching high school science. Currently known as AP Bio, the series is produced by Seth Meyers and Lorne Michaels, so I think it’s likely it’ll be picked up. Now, Kaitlin Olson currently juggles working on Sunny and The Mick, but Howerton has a bigger role on Sunny, as he also writes and produces. In an interview with Uproxx, though, Howerton said that he wasn’t sure if he was coming back. He said the decision doesn’t have anything to do with his relationships with the other cast members. Sunny still has two seasons ahead of it, but even Danny DeVito recently mentioned that he might be done soon, too. The show really matured this season, as a lot of plotlines came full circle. I don’t even know what they’ll do with 20 more episodes (their seasons tend to be 10 episodes long), but I definitely don’t know how they’d do it without the character of Dennis.

In comic news, Marvel announced that Astonishing X-Men would be returning in July, written by Charles Soule, with art by…unknown at the moment. If you remember, Astonishing X-Men debuted as a miniseries during the “Age of Apocalypse” story in the mid 90s, but its claim to fame was the ongoing series written by Joss Whedon in the early ’00s. This incarnation of the team stars Old Man Logan, Archangel, Rogue, Gambit, Mystique, Psylocke, Bishop, and Fantomex. This, combined with the previously announced X-Men Gold, just proves that Marvel is trying to initiate a 1991-style refresh of the X-Men franchise, and I am here for it! This Astonishing team is basically a refresh of the 90s Blue Team from “adjectiveless” X-Men, while the team in X-Men Gold is pretty much a refresh of the 90s Gold Team from Uncanny X-Men. I love the Old Man Logan character, though I fear he’s approaching typical Wolverine levels of overexposure. Meanwhile, it’ll be interesting to see how Bishop redeems himself considering he spent the bulk of the last Cable series trying to kill a little girl. And it’ll be an interesting dynamic between mother and daughter Mystique and Rogue, as well as starcrossed lovers Rogue and Gambit. I still hate Fantomex, though, and I wish Marvel would stop trying to make him “happen”. Anyway,  I don’t get excited for much, comic-wise, but I’m really looking forward to this book.

In sports news, Jay Cutler was cut from the Chicago Bears after 8 seasons. Now, if you know anything about me, you know I don’t give a shit about sports. Still, there’s a funny anecdote here. You see, when Lindsay and I first started dating, Cutler was the starting quarterback of her beloved Denver Broncos. She bought me my first NFL jersey, which happened to be a Cutler jersey. After all, there was no way he was going anywhere, right? Well, he got cut after that season, and I couldn’t really wear the jersey anymore. He ended up going to the Bears, who had the same color scheme. I thought that meant I could still wear the jersey, but apparently that doesn’t fly with sports fans. Anyway, he’s also married to Kristin Cavallari of Laguna Beach/The Hills fame, so I guess there’s your pop culture connection to justify my mention of him.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Director Joe Carnahan has exited the third Bad Boys film, Bad Boys For Life. Maybe I’ll get around to finally watching the first two before this thing gets made.

Jason Isaacs was cast as Captain Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery. I…don’t know who that is, so it’s done nothing to get me excited about this show.

It was a week packed with renewals, as One Day At A Time was renewed by Netflix, Riverdale was renewed by The CW, and Baskets was renewed by FX. I pretty much only have interest in one of those shows. Can you guess which one?

Emma Dumont was cast as Polaris in Fox’s untitled mutant series, which will be interesting since she’s Magneto’s daughter and all…

The embargo for reviews of Netflix’s Iron Fist was lifted, and they weren’t pretty. It seems the problems are with the structure and not necessarily the casting, so it looks like the folks lobbying for an Asian American lead dodged a bullet there.

Who knew Josh Radnor had been working since How I Met Your Mother ended? Well, he’s not anymore, as his PBS series Mercy Street was canceled yesterday.

Now, I know Logan had a great week. It came out to rave reviews, and it opened to $238 million worldwide. Still, I kinda got things off schedule. You see, it got the West Week Ever last week before it had even performed. I don’t really want to start this trend of the same thing getting the WWE two weeks in a row just because I just had to see it opening night, hours before pushing “Publish” on the next post. So, yeah, Logan had a great week, but it was the best thing I experienced last week. Now, I’m gonna talk about the best thing I experienced this week.

Since its debut in 2015, I’ve been a big fan of the FXX series Man Seeking Woman. Starring Jay Baruchel (you know who he is, even if you don’t know his name), it follows Josh Greenberg, a down on his luck Millennial who tries to navigate the waters of modern day dating. Like a less contrived version of How I Met Your Mother, the first two seasons saw Josh go on date after date, trying to find The One, but always coming up short. That all changed this season, however, as he met Lucy. He meets Lucy in the season premiere, marries her in the season finale, and their courtship fills out the middle. Lucy’s not only perfect for him, but she also helped the show take on a new direction. We started seeing things from a female perspective, as the show became as much about her as it was about Josh. We got to see her deal with having to give up her fun party life to settle down. We see her deal with the temptation of another possible suitor. But in the end, she chose Josh. This season, it was as much Man Seeking Woman as it was Woman Seeking Man.

This week saw the season finale of the show and, as I mentioned, it focused on Josh and Lucy’s wedding. The show hasn’t been picked up for a fourth season yet, and I’m hoping it doesn’t. As much as I’ve loved it, it has served its purpose. Over the course of 30 episodes, it set forth a goal and it achieved it. Sure, there are a lot of shows that evolved past their initial concept (looking at you, Cougar Town), and I’m sure the show could keep going as we see Josh and Lucy navigate married life, have a kid, etc. But I think I like it where things ended up. We don’t have to see all of that to know it happens, and I don’t think the show as a whole would be any stronger if we did see all that. Instead of overstaying its welcome, I’d prefer it take the British approach of “less is more”. Three seasons is a good run, and it did what it set out to do. It found Josh a woman. Now, if they did want to continue the show in some capacity, I would love if they flipped it to Woman Seeking Man. You see, every season, there’s one episode that stars Josh’s sister, Liz, as we get to see her life in contrast to Josh’s. While Josh is an unlucky in love office manager who lacks ambition, Liz is a driven workaholic attorney – who also happens to be unlucky in love. The Liz episodes tend to be the strongest of an already strong season, and it’d be great to see more focus on her. Josh and Lucy could still pop up as supporting characters, but the focus would now be on Liz.

With all of this gushing, I haven’t really explained what’s so great about the show. After all, it probably sounds like a run of the mill sitcom, but it’s far, far from that. There’s a streak of absurdity to the show that really lends to its tone. For example, in the pilot, Josh’s girlfriend, Maggie, leaves him to date Adolf Hitler. Last season, Liz had an affair with Santa Claus, while Josh dates a girl whose ex-boyfriend was Jesus Christ. Yeah, it’s not your run of the mill comedy. You’ve got to see it to fully experience it, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The season finale ends with a scene that brings the show full circle to the pilot. If there is another season, I hope they don’t fuck it up. If there isn’t, though, I love what they did, and how they did it. Everything was wrapped up with a nice bow, and it’s a strong series from beginning to end. That’s why Man Seeking Woman had the West Week Ever.