#new avengers (2004)

[avengerscompound]

Clint Barton

New Avengers (2004) #26

[vertigoartgore]

2004's Avengers Vol.1 #502 (turning 20 today, feel old yet ?) cover by artist David Finch, inker Danny Miki and colorist Frank D'Armata.

[petrerpkr]

X men for beginners

2008-2024

Marvel timeline & reading order & marvel comics Release calendar

New x men (2001-2008)

Young x men (2008-2009)

X men (2008-2024)

X-Men: Legacy(2008-2014)

X-force (2008-2024)

Astonishing X-Men /Manifest Destiny reading order(2004-2013)

Uncanny x men 500-534 (2008)

X men Schism(2011)

Avengers vs x men(2012 )

Uncanny xmen (2013-2017)

Wolverine and the X-Men(2013-2014)

All-New X-Men (2013)

Jean Grey (2017-2024)

Amazing X men (2013-2015)

Storm (2014-2023)

Gambit (1999-2023)

Rogue & Gambit(2018-2024)

Mr & Mrs X(2019-2019)

Wolverine (2010-2024)

X-23(2005-2018)

Wolverine Origins (2006-2010)

X Lives & Deaths of Wolverine(2022)

X men gold(2014-2018)

X men blue(2017-2018)

X men red (2018-2024)

Cable (2008-2024)

House of x (2019)/power of x

X men Hickman (2019-2024)

X of swords (2020)

X-Men – Hellfire Gala (2022-2023)

X-Men: The Trial of Magnetto (2021-2022)

Immortal X-Men (2022-2024)

[burningfudge]

Black Widow, Winter Soldier, and WinterWidow reading list

I made this list for another post, but I thought I'd put it here too.

Black Widow (1999) by Devin Grayson - Natasha's first solo. It's only three issues, and it's the start of modern Black Widow. It introduces important aspects of her character, like the Red Room. Yelena is introduced for the first time.

Black Widow (2001) by Devin Grayson - Another three-issue comic, which I thought was a fun read. It's a Natasha, Yelena, and Matt team-up comic. It's a part of Marvel Knights, which told more mature and darker stories so I have a soft spot for the 1999 and 2001 runs for this reason.

Black Widow: Pale Little Spider (2002) by Greg Rucka - Another three-issue comic. While not focused on Natasha, it's a Yelena solo. It's part of the Max comics line, which was an attempt to tell adult-only stories, and it definitely shows because Yelena visits a bondage sex club. A very important comic for Yelena.

Black Widow: Homecoming (2004) by Richard K. Morgan - I think this comic was extremely influential for modern Black Widow. A lot of her mythos originated from this comic. The movie took a lot of inspiration from this comic as well, like the pheremones thing.

Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (2005) by Richard K. Morgan - This one is decent. It's not entirely important, but I think it's worth a read. A classic Black Widow story where Natasha is on the run and doesn't know who to trust. While it's overdone at this point, I think this was the first comic to portray it. Yelena and Matt show up in this one too.

Captain America (2005) by Ed Brubaker - VERY IMPORTANT. Bucky is reintroduced as the Winter Soldier and shows up in #1. While it's long, every issue is worth it. Natasha doesn't show up until #27, but #27-#50 is peak buckynat. This run is one of my fav comics of all time.

New Avengers #48-64, Annual #3, Finale (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis - Natasha isn't super important in this, and she barely shows up, but Bucky shows up frequently. I wouldn't say it's entirely important, but it's during Bucky's time as Captain America, and when he interacts with the Avengers, so I recommend it just for that. Also, I'm a little biased because New Avengers (2005) is probably my favorite comic ever.

Black Widow (2010) by Marjorie Liu - The best Black Widow story ever written. I don't think anyone has disliked it. 10/10, I always love to reread it.

Black Widow: Deadly Origin (2010) by Paul Cornell - A miniseries about Natasha's origin. Not entirely important, but it's a solid Black Widow story. Appearances from Bucky and Wolverine.

Captain America #600-619 by Ed Brubaker - Again, it's very important for both Bucky and Natasha. It's a continuation of Captain America (2005).

Captain America & Bucky #620-624 (2011) by Ed Brubaker - Pretty important. It's a retelling of Bucky's life. #624 is all about buckynat and how they met. A lot of iconic buckynat content that the fandom gushes over is in it.

Widowmaker (2011) - Not super important and Bucky isn't in it. A fun team-up story about Clint and Natasha with Bobbi. I enjoyed reading it.

Winter Soldier (2012) by Ed Brubaker - I cannot tell you how much I love this comic. It's the best Bucky's ever been written and I don't think anyone will disagree when I say that no one has ever understood Bucky like Ed Brubaker. Extremely important for buckynat.

Winter Soldier: The Bitter March (2014) by Rick Remender - I'm not going to lie; I don't really remember much from this comic, but I know people like it.

Black Widow (2014) by Phil Noto & Nathan Edmondson - Another popular comic for Natasha. It's probably my second favorite Black Widow comic after Liu's. Another Black Widow is on the run story, but Liho is introduced in this! Bucky is in #8, 15, 17-18. A must read.

Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier (2014) by Ales Kot - This isn't my favorite, but the art is absolutely beautiful. I don't think it's essential. Natasha is not in this.

Black Widow (2016) by Mark Waid - I enjoyed reading this comic. I'd rank it third after Liu and Noto. Bucky is in #9-10. Essential Black Widow comic.

Tales of Suspense #100-104 by Matthew Rosenberg - A Winter Soldier and Hawkeye team-up where they look for Natasha after she was killed by Hydra Cap in Secret Empire (no need to read it; SE is trash). A fandom favorite, and I absolutely love it. Winterhawk exploded in popularity after this run.

Winter Soldier (2018) by Kyle Higgins - Natasha does not show up in this, but it's very important for Bucky. It's a short five-issue miniseries, and it's probably the best Bucky has been written since Brubaker.

Black Widow (2019) by Jen and Sylvia Soska - It's a miniseries, and it's a fairly dark one. Natasha is back from the dead, and she's PISSED. Bucky doesn't show up in this one, but Steve does, and it's after her murder at Hydra Cap's hands.

Web of Black Widow (2019) by Jody Houser - Another Natasha miniseries where she's on the run and her friends are worried about her. Bucky shows up in #2 and #5.

Falcon and Winter Soldier (2020) by Derek Landy - A fun team-up comic with Sam and Bucky. Natasha doesn't show up. Not essential.

Black Widow (2020) by Kelly Thompson - It's...not great. Many people have already talked about what they didn't like, so I won't go over it, but it has some fantastic buckynat moments. However, I will say that I really love Natasha, Yelena, Clint, and Bucky teaming up in this comic. That group together is highly entertaining. It doesn't seem like anything from this comic will be paid attention to in the future, but I would still read it.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (2022) by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly - Really trash. I didn’t like this at all. Bucky isn't written well, and I think Natasha shows up like twice. Skip.

Captain America: Cold War (2023) by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly - Another trash event. Skip.

Thunderbolts (2023) by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly - Buckynat FINALLY get back together after they broke up in Winter Soldier (2012). A boring comic otherwise.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Scarlet Witch reading guide

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of every appearance, but a walkthrough of what you need to read to understand Wanda's lore, history, and personal life events. I also have a breakdown of the Maximoff's powers and an explanation of their parentage and ethnic background. [This is an updated + condensed version of this post-- the formatting is messed up and I can't edit it, so I made a new one]

X-Men Vol 1 #4-11 (1964)-- Wanda & Pietro's first appearance as teenage mutants & Brotherhood members.

Avengers Vol 1 #16-27 (1965-66)-- The twins join the Avengers. Known as the "kooky quartet" era.

Avengers Vol 1 #91-108 (1971-72) -- Wanda begins a romantic relationship with Vision

Avengers Vol 1 #128-133 (1974)-- Wanda meets Agatha Harkness and begins studying witchcraft.

Giant-Size Avengers #1-4 (1974) -- Wanda meets Robert Frank and believes he is her father; Wanda and Vision get married.

Avengers Vol 1 #181-183 (1978-79)-- introduces Django Maximoff.

Avengers Vol 1 #185-188 (1979)-- also known as Nights of Wundagore, the twins return to Transia and learn about their birth on Mount Wundagore & the origin of Wanda's powers; Wanda is possessed by Chthon.

Vision & the Scarlet Witch Vol 1 & 2 (1983-85)-- Wanda & Vision acclimate to married life. Pietro's daughter Luna is born; the twins learn that Magneto & Magda are their birth parents; Wanda becomes pregnant and gives birth to twin boys.

Avengers West Coast #42-62 (1988-89)-- includes Vision Quest & Darker Than Scarlet storylines. Vision's memories and emotions are erased; the babies are destroyed by Pandemonium and Mephisto; Wanda learns that she is a Nexus Being while suffering the manipulations of Immortus. [the volume + issue numbering is weird on this one-- just look up the storyline titles and you'll find them.]

Force Works (1994)-- Wanda acts as team leader and begins a relationship with Simon Williams.

Scarlet Witch (1994)-- a miniseries which introduces Lore and expands on the concept of Nexus Beings.

Avengers Vol 3 #1-3; 10-11 (1998)-- Wanda learns more about chaos magic and resurrects Simon Williams.

Avengers Vol 1 #503-507 (2004)-- a storyline titled Chaos, which kicks off the Avengers Disassembled crossover. Wanda suffers an apparent mental breakdown and causes a series of calamities as her powers escalate to uncontrollable reality-warping.

House of M (2004)-- a sprawling crossover event set within an alternate reality of Wanda's creation; concludes with Wanda inadvertently erasing a large percentage of the mutant population. This is referred to as the Decimation, or M-Day. Wanda disappears and remains missing for several years.

Young Avengers; Young Avengers Special; Young Avengers Presents: Wiccan & Speed (2005-08)-- introduces Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd, who learn that they are Wanda's reincarnated sons and begin searching for her.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade (2010)-- the Young Avengers, Magneto, and Quicksilver discover Wanda as an amnesiac living in the care of Doctor Doom. They help her recover her memories and her powers are returned to normal.

Avengers vs. X-Men (2012)-- Wanda rejoins the Avengers. Alongside Hope Summers, Wanda helps banish the Phoenix from Earth and causes a proliferation of new mutant to manifest, the first step in her redemption for M-Day.

AXIS (2014)-- Wanda & Pietro learn that Magneto is not their father after all, and they're not actually mutants.

Uncanny Avengers Vol 2 (miniseries, 2015)-- the twins learn that their powers are the result of the High Evolutionary's genetic experiments.

Scarlet Witch Vol 2 (2016)-- Wanda returns to her magical focus and has henceforth been written as an adept spellcaster. The series does a lot of worldbuilding around witches and witchcraft. The twins learn that their birth mother was actually Django's sister, Natalya Maximoff, and that they are descended from a lineage of Scarlet Witches.

Doctor Strange Vol 4 (2016)-- Wanda is featured in the Last Days of Magic storyline.

Uncanny Avengers Vol 3 #26-30 (2017)-- Wanda rejoins the Avengers Unity Division and begins a relationship with Doctor Voodoo.

Avengers Vol 1 #675-690 (2018) -- a crossover event titled Avengers: No Surrender.

Quicksilver: No Surrender-- an excellent miniseries following the previous event. Wanda and Jericho use magic to aid Pietro.

Avengers: No Road Home (2019)-- a sequel to No Surrender.

Strange Academy Vol 1 (2020)-- Wanda becomes a faculty member at a school for young magic users.

Darkhold (2021)-- the original Darkhold is discovered; Wanda's prior experiences have made her strong enough to handle it without corruption; she merges the Darkhold with her own soul and uses it to bind Chthon.

Trial of Magneto (2021)-- Wanda stages her own death as part of an elaborate scheme to gain access to, and magically enhance, the Krakoan resurrection system, leading to her final redemption for M-Day.

Scarlet Witch Vol 3 (2023)-- Wanda opens a metaphysical shop in upstate New York and constructs a magical portal called the Last Door. New friends, enemies, and a new status quo are introduced.

Avengers Vol 9 (2023)-- Wanda joins a new iteration of the Avengers, led by Captain Marvel.

Contest of Chaos (2023) -- a crossover event. Agatha attempts to create a new Darkhold, much is revealed about the origin and nature of chaos magic.

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver; Scarlet Witch (2024)-- a special anniversary miniseries which leads into the solo title relaunch. The twins are hounded by an abstract entity called the Griever as their powers begin to expand beyond their prior limitations; new context is given to Nexus beings; Chthon escapes containment.

Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol 3 (2025)-- an upcoming miniseries, continuing from the previous volume of Scarlet Witch.

[badnewswhatsleft]

scanned the little patrick interview from kerrang winter 2023<3

transcript under cut:

Patrick Stump’s mum is a methodical accountant who likes to plan ahead and think things through. She would bestow this organisational wisdom upon her son when he was growing up. When his band Fall Out Boy got signed, however, thereby kick-starting one of the most exciting trajectories of the past 20 years, Mrs Stump quickly realised there were limits to what she could assist him with.

“She said to me, ‘I can’t help you anymore - you’re beyond my area of expertise,’” Patrick recalls with a laugh.

In the years since, there has been no end of through-the-looking-glass moments for Fall Out Boy, a litany of incredible achievements highlighted by the ever-growing shows the Chicago four-piece - completed by bassist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley - have played. It’s an upscaling Patrick admits he still can’t fully process.

“I’m probably never going to get used to it, and I think I’m at peace with that,” he admits, taking time out backstage at Hamburg’s Barclays Arena on the band’s epic So Much For (Tour) Dust jaunt, which recently visited the UK.

Thankfully, Fall Out Boy will be back on these shores next summer, having been announced as headliners for Download Festival 2024, alongside Queens Of The Stone Age and Avenged Sevenfold. The news has given Patrick cause to reflect upon the pivotal shows and tours that have made FOB the band they are today, with a self-deprecating appraisal of the good times and the bad, the tiny gigs and the Hella Mega ones.

“A lot of my life makes sense to me, where I understand the various points of what happened and why, but there are moments with the shows we’ve played that make no sense at all,” Patrick reflects. “You go to arenas and they have pictures in the hallway of all the big artists that have played there, then they’ll have pictures of us, which sticks out to me!”

THE BAND’S FIRST-EVER SHOW AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY CAFETERIA, 2001 “We were playing with some pretty cool math-rock and emo bands. When we got out there, we were horrible - I mean really terrible - and there were about three or four people there. I can’t remember what our band name was at the time - it wasn’t Fall Out Boy, and we were tossing some names around. I remember suggesting one of the names we had in mind to the drummer in one of the other bands and him telling me it sucked. We had a guitar player who I’d only met the week before and I’ve never seen since. I hope he’s doing good things. I heard he became a bike messenger. I cannot imagine a humbler beginning for a first show!”

FALL OUT BOY’S FIRST GIG WITH ANDY HURLEY, 2003 “I think it was with Andy’s other band, The Kill Pill. Andy played in both bands that night. It was a bigger show for us, opening for [Florida melodic hardcore band] As Friends Rust, and we didn’t have a guitar player, so I was playing guitar. It was weird because we were playing some newer songs, which stood out, so it felt like we’d started to actualise the band. I’m a drummer originally, so I was picky about drummers. But when we played with Andy, it was the first time that it felt right. I remember saying to a friend of mine who was there at the time that we were still a bad band then, and she said, ‘You guys couldn’t see it, but even then, it felt like the beginning of something.’”

THE FIRST UK TOUR, 2004 “One thing I remember was going to a Mexican restaurant, ordering tacos, and being unable to describe the things that arrived at the table - and not in a good way. That first UK tour was with Mest, and it was surreal. I think that might have been the first time I’d ever left the States, so going to another country felt like a big deal. When I got there, I realised the UK is similar in a lot of ways - particularly thanks to our shared musical history. One difference was that the venues all felt so much more punk rock than those in the States, with an unhinged basement vibe, which surprised me but was also thrilling.”

HEADLINING DECAYDANCE FEST AT THE HAMMERSMITH APOLLO, 2007 “I look back on some moments and realise they were bigger than I noticed at the time. The other bands on that bill - Panic! At The Disco, Gym Class Heroes, The Academy Is…, Cobra Starship - were all bands we’d played with a lot before that and were friends with, so at the time I thought, ‘Every show we do is Decaydance Fest!’ Then that moment in time was gone and I soon realised that it was crazy that we were able to get all those people together to do that show. You don’t necessarily realise you’re part of a thing when you’re part of a thing, so when I think back now, I’m amazed.”

THE LAST GIG BEFORE GOING ON HIATUS AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 2009 “It was such a strange show. I had checked out at the time, and was busy thinking about solo stuff, but really I just wanted to make lots of music. One of the things that was crippling was making a record and then going on the road for two years to promote the record. For me, making records is what’s important, so the grind of having to make them so slowly was killing me. I was therefore in a bad space with the band. I think we were out with +44, and I remember Mark [Hoppus] shaving Pete’s head onstage. Pete had the famous haircut and that was the end of it. It was kind of a joke to do that, but it ended up proving to be fairly symbolic, as it really was the end to that whole moment.”

FALL OUT BOY’S FIRST GIG BACK AT SUBTERRANEAN, CHICAGO, 2013 “The whole thing happened so fast and so suddenly! We had a meeting in New York. The four of us met at our manager’s apartment and we talked about maybe getting together and seeing what happened. It was tense, actually, as we hadn’t talked to each other in a long time and there were all these old grievances - but there was also this sense that we were older and wiser. We put together some songs, and one of them was My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up). On the morning of the show, we appeared on a radio show and the whole station felt excited about the song. It felt like the beginning of a rollercoaster. That night, when we played Light Em Up, a song people could only have heard hours ago, the room exploded!”

CO-HEADLINING THE MONUMENTOUR WITH PARAMORE, 2014 “That was one of my favourite tours! Andy and I would do a drum-off, so we got to play together, which was a full-circle thing for me, as I had never got to play drums in front of people with the band before then - so that was fun! I remember thinking on that tour that we were really getting somewhere as a band. Our first show, we were a pretty bad band. For a while in the early days, we wrote better than we played, and we thought better than we wrote. But as time passed things really came together. That tour was a point where we felt that we were really getting somewhere. Plus, the audiences were great on that tour - incredibly excited and giving.”

HEADLINING WRIGLEY FIELD BASEBALL STADIUM IN CHICAGO, 2018 “When I was a kid, the height of my ambition was to play the [1,100-capacity] Metro in Chicago. I never thought in a million years that we’d get to play Wrigley Field - I didn’t even know that bands played there. It’s not a venue, it’s where the Cubs play. I’m still in disbelief that we’ve now played it three times! That doesn’t make any sense to me. The first time we did it was terrifying, but also familiar. We used to have an apartment in Roscoe Village, which is walking distance from Wrigley Field. I remember Pete and I writing [2003 single] Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy together, then we went jogging around Wrigley, and a group of drunk Cubs fans shouted ‘Fucking losers!’ at us. Being inside that structure years later, singing that song, was therefore so surreal.”

HAVING A FREDDIE MERCURY EXPERIENCE HEADLINING READING & LEEDS FESTIVAL, 2018 “I think about that regularly. I’m not a natural performer. I used to act, so I could act as a character, but I couldn’t really be me and sing onstage - that never used to be comfortable for me. I have this very specific memory of This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race. There was this part where I sling my guitar to the stage and I’m just singing and having the crowd sing with me. The way they responded at that point made me suddenly think, ‘Oh, I can do this!’ I remember running towards the audience with the microphone and the life that came back at me just blew me away. When you have an audience like that, you’re Freddie fucking Mercury! I think about that on an almost daily basis when we’re on tour. That song has a whole different life now because of my experiences at Reading & Leeds.”

PLAYING THE HELLA MEGA TOUR WITH GREEN DAY AND WEEZER, 2022 “I couldn’t have been more obsessed with a band than I was with Weezer in 1998-’99, when I was in high school. Then, years later, they’re your buddies and you’re playing with them and they’re playing some of your favourite songs ever. That is so strange. One of my musical origin stories was in fifth grade, when this kid in the middle of class beckoned me over. We snuck under a table, and he puts headphones on me and he plays Dookie. I was like, ‘What is this?!’ On that tour, Billie Joe Armstrong said I was a really good singer. I’m still recovering from that.”

[positivelybeastly]

Love reading through your analyses and I was wondering if you had insight on something I noticed with Hank/Beast and Kurt/Nightcrawler: writers often use both of them in the visible mutation metaphor and emotional cores, but Kurt's approach is more from faith and Hank's is more from curiosity. Often when one or either are gone/dead/changed, things seem to get worse for the Team overall.

Do you think those two would benefit each other's characters? Even just to have spirited philosophical discussion?

So, this actually touches on a funny thing that I've noticed with Beast and Nightcrawler over time - which is that they're almost never on the same team together, probably precisely because they serve an extremely similar function in a team composition, for the reasons you've kind of touched on here.

They are, after all, both heavily visibly mutated individuals who were, or are, considered figures of great integrity and morality, with a strong code of ethics and a depth of feeling that expresses itself in a deeply vivacious personality - romantic, friendly, charming, and erudite.

Therefore, having them both on a team is, unfortunately, somewhat redundant.

That being said! They do still interact, and they're shown to be sources of great comfort and friendship for one another. Their first meetings were - somewhat inauspicious . . .

See, this is the funny thing about old comics - storylines just flow and flow and flow. Comics didn't stop after ten issues and get restarted with a new #1 every few months, they just ran and ran and ran, and the pacing reflected that.

There aren't usually month long gaps where you can assume nothing happened and people just got to hang out, they're working hard! Hank has been working with the Avengers so much that he literally hasn't even had time to meet the new X-Men properly! Wild.

But, eventually, things did slow down, and they got a chance to properly socialise, and, as expected, they got along like a house on fire.

Like, these two are just born to be friends. They have so much in common. Where Hank leans more to the obscure, the erudite, and the scientific, Kurt leans more to the dashing, the swashbuckling, and, of course, the religious, but they're still both fundamentally cut from the same cloth - acrobatic, charming, philosophical, heroic, fun.

But, that same alike quality means you don't get a ton of interaction between them, so I cling to what they do have. One of my favourite interactions between them is in Nightcrawler's 2004 solo series.

First off, absolutely adore Hank in this art style. The fact that the artist decided to include the detail of his fur poking out of the shirt like that is just. It transfixes me. I really want to go over and just. Run my fingers through his side fur. But mostly, I just like their chemistry? Hank's a great supporting character because he's so emotionally intelligent and reflective, and he's great at giving people perspective, usually with a healthy dose of sarcasm and teasing.

That being said, this scene is always the one I point to whenever I say that the X-Men really have no idea what's going on in Hank's head a lot of the time, because this took place after Hank had been psychically brutalised, nearly beaten to death, and one of his best friends had just been murdered - and he's doing a really very good job of hiding that trauma.

So much so that Kurt thinks he's just fine. He's just fine. There's nothing to worry about. But it's not Kurt's fault, and it's nowhere near unique to him, either. He had no way to know, he had his own stuff going on (the subject matter of this solo series, as it happens), and Hank is doing well enough that it isn't interfering with things, so, let him deal with it in peace, I suppose.

At least on this occasion.

Kurt is, after all, an emotionally intelligent and caring individual. You can't stop Nightcrawler from trying to help where he can. And I think that even just the reaching out, just the show of support, can be enough for a character like Hank.

Moments like these matter, in my opinion. It's important to show that teammates and friends care about each other, in the moment to moment stories, otherwise it can all feel very impersonal and like no-one cares about one another. This is how you establish dynamics over years, even between characters who have, technically speaking, never really been on a team together before.

The next big milestone I can think of comes after the X-Men's move to Utopia, where, again, Hank and Kurt don't share a ton of panel time together, but . . .

This is one of the few times you'll ever hear anyone say that Hank was right. And it's not really a surprise that it comes from Kurt, because, again, these men are cut from the same cloth. They come at it from different angles, but they believe in much the same things.

And . . . that's why it hits so hard when Kurt dies.

I don't necessarily agree with the decision to have Hank break from the literal funeral procession to call Scott out for Kurt's death. Some fans of Nightcrawler really appreciate that moment, because it shows how much Kurt's death affected Hank, but I personally just. Don't think it tracks, for Hank to be quite that disrespectful.

After the funeral, or even before, but during it? Nah. Matt Fraction made a good few Hank characterisation choices I don't agree with, and this was one of them.

This felt a bit more apropos.

Remember what I said about how little moments build to dynamics between characters who have never been on teams together? I buy this moment so much more with the context of that moment from Endangered Species, where Kurt is literally positioned as the light trying to pull Hank out of the dark path he's following with obsessive fervour. The fact that he was trying went a long way. Hank felt it, even if he didn't take him up on it at the time. That moment mattered.

And that's why I absolutely buy Hank's reaction when Kurt came back to life.

Hank believes in Kurt. He believes the very best of him. On teams where Hank can often feel alone or isolated, someone like Kurt will reach out, and make him feel connected, and welcome, and pull him back. Temper his scientific pessimism and realism with optimism and belief. Restore his fervour, and remind him of simpler, happier times.

A lot of the best scientists, who have contributed the most to scientific inquiry, were religious, because for a lot of them, there's no real conflict between science and religion, they're both two sides of the same coin, in a way - a belief in a higher power. It's just how they react to that higher power that changes.

And while Hank was explicitly religious for a while, I always interpreted him as losing that faith over the years, becoming bogged down in the real over the sublime as what he went through wore him down. Someone like Kurt was able to spark that in him again. Maybe not his faith, per se, but at the very least belief in the human spirit.

It's important. As you say, massive benefit to each other's characters. Underrated dynamic, these two. Absolutely love 'em.

[spider-man-sass]

New Avengers (2004) #4

Spider-Man read her Wikipedia article.

[artbyblastweave]

My sense of what Crossovers are for, conceptually, the thing they do that other works can't, was entirely formulated by my early-childhood exposure to Kurt Busiek and George Perez's seminal 2004 Marvel/DC crossover JLA/Avengers. Like most stuff Busiek writes it's a love-letter, and part-and-parcel with its status as a love-letter was that he took the time to render the horror and bewilderment that the respective teams had upon encountering the status-quo of their counterpart's setting. The JLA encounter the anti-mutant hysteria, the supervillainous fiefdoms like Latveria, figures like Hulk and Punisher being allowed to roam free, all those tonal hallmarks of Marvel, and they come to the conclusion that the Marvel Universe is hanging on by its fingernails and that the Avengers are somewhere between in over their heads and actively negligent. Meanwhile the Avengers explore the shiny, forward-thinking, optimistic DC universe, encounter the ubiquitously positive reactions they get from people on the street just for visibly Being Superheroes, see things like the Flash Museum and the Hall of Justice, and Captain America comes to the conclusion that the Justice League obviously must have led a fascist takeover of America. Then they hit each other a lot. Anyway, if you're writing a crossover between two works and you want me to care at all, you need to meet the JLA/Avengers Bar. When a character from one work is placed in the context of another work's setting, what commentary on the original work is that character in a position to provide through their outlook and worldview? What insight, in turn, can their commentary provide on on the assumptions and conventions of their native narrative? Have all characters involved experienced enough of the events of their own work that they've actually got something to compare and contrast with, or is the crossover occurring so early in one or more of their respective timelines that you're basically dealing with OCs due to the butterfly effect? Are you actually acknowledging the different properties as discrete narratives that are abrading each other in interesting ways, or are you for the one millionth time reimagining Izuku Midoriya as a native resident of some other setting (seemingly decided via roulette wheel?) And of course, are you correct in your assessments of how these are bouncing off each other? How many times am I getting hit with "They would not fucking say that/react like that/understand their new surroundings in that way/go five minutes without trying to disembowel this fan-favorite character from the other work that you've decided they're getting along great with?"

[sineala]

18+ 616 Steve/Tony Discord Book Club: Iron Man: Extremis (IM v4 #1-6)

It's Iron Man week for Book Club on You Gave Me A Home. We are still preparing for our upcoming Civil War fanwork exchange, so we are repeating some Book Clubs we have previously done in order to get everyone up to speed on the relevant canon. We alternate Cap, Iron Man, and Avengers. Last week it was the first arc of the Brubaker Cap run, so this week it's Extremis!

As you probably know Extremis is a 2004 Iron Man storyline, the arc that kicks off volume 4 of Iron Man, which will run headlong into Civil War in about a dozen issues from the beginning. The majority of v4 was written by Daniel and Charles Knauf, but Extremis here (IM v4 #1-6) is by Warren Ellis, with art by Adi Granov. Most people in fandom have probably read this arc, but if you haven't, you should. Also, if you're looking to get into the comics side of Steve/Tony, Extremis is a great starting point for Iron Man, because it has a modern take on Tony's origin story (though this is no longer his current origin story) and is a pretty solid introduction to the character. A whole bunch of us got into Steve/Tony fandom reading this IM run, the contemporaneous Brubaker Cap run, and Bendis' New Avengers -- so, you know, it's a good place to start.

Extremis is the arc that introduces transhumanism to Tony's character, taking him from being a baseline human with generally a lot of cardiac problems to an actual superhuman with an actual healing factor. Mostly this means he can do even more dangerous things to his body. Over the span of about three days, Tony sustains massive physical injuries, shoots himself up with this cool new mostly-untested super-soldier experiment (whose only other human subject is running around murdering people), and then has to go hunt down the other guy. Also he can make phone calls with his brain now. It's exactly the superpower he would have wanted. Because he got to pick.

(And then tune in for the next Iron Man book club, where -- schedule permitting -- we will find out what Steve thinks of Tony's personal developments. You'd think Captain America would be fine with his teammate being a super-soldier now, but you would be wrong about that. To be fair, the serum didn't make Steve murder people against his will, which is a pretty big difference.)

Come join us on You Gave Me A Home, an 18+ comics Steve/Tony Discord server! Again, we will be having a Civil War fanwork exchange soon (details still TBA) and you don't want to miss that.

Our snazzy custom invite URL is still not currently working, so our invite URL is still boring, alas.

[avengerscompound]

Clint Barton & Wanda Maximoff New Avengers (2004) #26

[vertigoartgore]

2004's Avengers Vol.1 #500 cover (turning 20 today ; feel old yet ?) by artist David Finch, inker Danny Miki and colorist Frank D'Armata.

[petrerpkr]

Scott & Jean comic reading order

Comic timeline & reading order + here

2000-2024

Scott

X-Men First Class(2007)

X-Men Season One(2012)

X-Men Origins – Cyclops(2010)

Cyclops (2001)

New X-Men(2001) #114-141

X-Men (2004) #157 -174

X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong (2005)

X-Men: Phoenix – Warsong (2006)

Young X-men (2008)

Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 (2004)

X-Men: Endangered Species(2007)

X-Men : Messiah Complex(2007)/reading order

X-Men : Messiah War(2009)/reading order

Avengers/X-Men: Utopia(2009)/Utopia

Nation X (2010)/reading order

X-Men : Second Coming/reading order (2010)

Uncanny X-Men #534.1; 535–539 (2011)

Uncanny X-Men #540–544(2011)

Uncanny X-Men (vol. 2) #1 -10(2012)

X-Men: Prelude to Schism(2011)

X men Schism(2011)/reading order

Avengers vs. X-Men + AvX: Consequences  /reading order

Uncanny X-Men Vol. 3 (2013)

All-New X-Men (2013)

Battle of the Atom

Cyclops Vol. 3 (2014)

Death of X #1 (2016) +

inhumans Vs X-Men

All-New X-Men Vol. 2 (2016)

Champions Vol. 2 (2016)

X-Men: Blue (2017)

X-Men: Gold #13 #14 #15

Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey (2018)

Uncanny X-Men v5 .Annual 1(2019)+ Uncanny X-Men #11 to #22(2019)

X-Men (2019)

House of x/power of x

X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus

X-Men (2024)

Jean

Phoenix Saga (1976) – X-Men #101-108

Dark Phoenix Saga (1980) – X-Men #129-137

New X-Men #114 -154(2001)

X-Men: Phoenix Endsong + Phoenix warsong (2005) &(2006)

All-New X-Men (2013)

Battle of the Atom

The Trial of Jean Grey

All-New X-Men Vol. 2 (2016)

Inhumans vs. X-Men

X-Men: Blue (2017)

Jean Grey (2017)

Generations: Phoenix & Jean Grey (2017)

Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey (2018)

X-Men: Red (2018)

X-Force (2019)

Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost

Wolverine (2020) #1 #2 #17 #20

X-Men (2019-2024)

Hellfire Gala (2022-2023)

Immortal X-Men (2022)

Uncanny X-Men vol 5 (2019)

House of x (2019)/power of x (2019)

X-Force (2020)

Cable (2020)

X-Men: The Trial of Magneto (2021)

Dark Web (2022)

Dark Web: X-Men (2022)

Original X-Men (2023)

Jean Grey (2023)

X-Men: Forever (2024)

Fall of the House of X/Rise of the Powers of X(2024)

Phoenix (2024)

[pers-books]

Four new trips to Gallifrey

To mark the twentieth anniversary of the Gallifrey range, Big Finish Productions presents Echoes Through Eternity, a brand-new collection of short story readings, due November 2024.

Gallifrey. Ancestral home of the Time Lords. Some have lived there all their lives, some have adopted it as their own. Allies, thrown together by circumstance and strife, have forged lasting friendships in the furnace of politics, alternate realities, and the Last Great Time War. 

Gallifrey is constant, but its inhabitants must change to survive. Perhaps none more so than Narvin... 

Gallifrey has watched over the universe since the dawn of time – and, at Big Finish Productions, since 2004. The audio drama range following intrigue and adventure on the Doctor’s homeworld is now twenty years old. 

Marking the occasion is Echoes Through Eternity, a collection of four brand-new stories, in the style of Big Finish’s Short Trips. These tales are set across the timeline of the Gallifrey range and feature some of its most iconic characters. 

The set includes two stories by Gary Russell, the range’s original creator. Both follow Celestial Intervention Agency Coordinator Narvin and are read by Seán Carlsen. The other two stories focus on the characters of Braxiatel and Ace, with their original voice actors Miles Richardson and Sophie Aldred reading. 

The Worlds of Doctor Who – Gallifrey: Echoes Through Eternity is now available to pre-order (as a digital download only) for just £11.99, exclusively here.

The four stories are: 

Damned If You Do by Gary Russell, read by Seán Carlsen 

CIA Coordinator Narvin is unwillingly called upon to find some lost students – aliens admitted to the hallowed Academy. But when Narvin and Cadet Kransa enter the Catacombs, nothing will be the same... 

The Questing Beast by Fio Trethewey & Georgia Cook, read by Miles Richardson 

Battling the Lord Burner, Braxiatel is separated from his friends as they fall through a multitude of alternative Gallifreys. He arrives in a realm where science is magic and there is a Dragon to be slain... 

In Search of Lost Time by Una McCormack, read by Sophie Aldred

Old Time Agents never die – they just lose their memories. Back on Earth after her involvement in the Time War, Ace is having trouble fitting in – and coincidence seems to be following her... 

Damned If You Don’t by Gary Russell, read by Seán Carlsen 

As the Time War rages, Narvin is at the heart of the action – but he has lost so much, he may not have the will to carry on. Until his past returns to haunt him... 

Producer Heather Challands said: “One thing that was very apparent when I came on to the Gallifrey range was how well-loved it is by the listeners. 

“Gallifrey has introduced us to so many different characters, timelines, conflicts and so much creativity over the years that it only felt right to celebrate the 20th anniversary by revisiting some old favourites. A small slice of a very storied history, explored by four brand new stories set from the earliest days in the Citadel to deep in the heart of the Time War.” 

The Worlds of Doctor Who – Gallifrey: Echoes Through Eternity is now available to pre-order (as a digital download only) for just £11.99, exclusively here.

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release. 

[lilsoupboiii]

Marvel Easter Eggs, Notes and Other Stuff: Deadpool and Wolverine

- TVA

- Happy Hogan

- MCU is Earth 616

- Paradox

- Thor crying over Deadpool on a monitor (kinda implied to be an upcoming Avengers movie, but it’s also just the scene from Thor The Dark World when Loki “dies”)

- The Wolverine variants

- Noteably: Comic Accurate Height, Weapon Omega, Patch, Old, Crucified, vs Hulk, Cavillrine

- Half buried 20th Century Fox Logo in the void

- Johnny Storm (Fantastic Four 2005)

- Pyro (X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand)

- Sabertooth (X-Men)

- Toad (X-Men, X-Men: Days of Future Past, not the same actor)

- Deathstrike (X2, not the same actor)

- Azazel (X-Men: First Class, not the same actor)

- Juggernaut (X-Men: The Last Stand, Deadpool 2, not the same actor)

- Cassandra Nova

- Deadpool does Spider-man web thwips

- Scarlett Witch stone wall

- X-23 (Logan)

- Elektra (Daredevil, Elektra)

- Blade (Blade, Blade II, Blade Trinity)

- Gambit (X-Men Origins Wolverine, not the same actor)

- The Punisher, Quicksilver, and Daredevil were all apart of their team before they died

- Also presumably Magneto

- Elektra is indifferent to Daredevil dying (because Jennifer Garner’s Daredevil is Ben Affleck, her ex husband)

- Reference to so many Punishers

- Reference to only one Blade (there’s a new upcoming Blade movie)

- The Deadpool variants

- Noteably: Lady Deadpool, Dogpool, Headpool, Kidpool, Cowboypool, Dancepool, Nicepool

- B-15

- Captain America’s Sheild prototype from Iron Man and Iron Man 2

- Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor

- Pepper Potts Forbes cover

- The picture of Tony and Peter with Peter covered (some people argue Peter’s covered because everyone has forgotten about him, but I assumed it’s a nod about Sony’s licsensing issues)

- The kid Iron Man helmet from Iron Man 3 confirmed to be Peter Parker

- Reed Richard’s mention

- The Fantasticar

- The Ice Cream Truck (Moon Knight)

- Quill (X-Men: The Last Stand, not the same actor)

- Callisto (X-Men: The Last Stand, not the same actor)

- Bullseye (Daredevil, not the same actor)

- Psylocke (X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Apocalypse, not the same actor)

- Arclight (X-Men: The Last Stand, not the same actor)

- The Russian (The Punisher 2004, not the same actor)

- Alioth (s1 e5 of Loki)

- A sentinel’s foot

- Asgard in the void

- Thanos Black Order Ship in the void

- Hellicarrier in the void

- Tony Stark’s Hot Rod (Iron Man and Iron Man 2)

- Deadpool’s Chimichanga Truck

Easter Egg Masterlist

[gunsandspaceships]

Review of Official MCU Timelines: Phase One Official Timeline

My (unofficial) but logical (correct) detailed timeline of Phase One

Now that we have a timeline with evidence from the movies, we can compare it to the official timelines. Yes, there's more than one, and they contradict each other.

First, I'll look at the official Phase One timeline (the "old timeline"), created by Brad Winderbaum shortly before The Avengers came out.

In this timeline, Marvel used "BIM" (Before "I am Iron Man") and "AIM" (After "I am Iron Man"). So the starting point in both directions is May 25, 2008, although this date is not defined in this timeline, but it is defined in the new official timeline, as well as in my timeline.

Correct dates are highlighted in blue, questionable or too vague - in orange, and incorrect ones - in red.

Odin fought the Frost Giants on Earth and adopted Loki - 1000 years BIM (old timeline)/965 AD ("Thor", new timeline, my timeline):

The old timeline uses a vague "1000 years BIM", which, to be precise, corresponds to 1008 AD, not 965 AD.

Odin hid the Tesseract on Earth - 600 years BIM (old timeline)/ "undetermined time" (movies, new timeline, my timeline):

Then we have a date that only appears in the old timeline - 600 BIM, which corresponds to 1408 AD. The new timeline mentions the event, but also says that it is unknown when it happened.

Hydra stole the Tesseract; Rogers became a super soldier - 67 years BIM (old timeline)/March 1942 and June 1943 (CA:TFA, new timeline, my timeline):

2008 minus 67 is 1941. According to the movie (CA:TFA), Schmidt invaded Norway in March 1942. Steve Rogers became a super soldier in June 1943.

Valkyrie crash, Rogers frozen in Arctic - 64 years BIM (old timeline)/January 1945 (my timeline):

"64 years BIM" in the old timeline is also not quite true. If we were to believe that, we would have Rogers going into suspended animation in the Arctic in 1944. We found out that was early 1945, which also corresponds the new timeline. My timeline narrows it down to January.

Creation of the Hulk - 5 years BIM (old timeline)/March 2004 (my timeline):

According to the old timeline, this would have been 2003. More detailed analysis gave me March 2004.

Tony's kidnapped in Afghanistan - 9 months BIM (old timeline)/4 months BIM (IM1, new timeline, my timeline):

Tony was kidnapped in late January or early February 2008. He spent 3 months in captivity and then almost a month at home before the famous press conference. See IM1 timeline.

Events of "Iron Man 2: Public Identity" tie-in - 3 months AIM (old timeline)/Never (movies, new timeline, my timeline):

The old timeline includes events from the Iron Man 2: Public Identity comics, which are absent from the new official timeline and the movies (it also contradicts them). As such, for now, I will not consider Public Identity canon and will not include the events in the timeline. I will review the comics in the future.

Chase after Bruce Banner in Rio; Tony is attacked by Ivan Vanko in Monaco - 6 months AIM (old timeline)/~September 4, 2009 and May 23, 2010 (my timeline):

Absolutely no way it could be 6 months AIM, just as there was no way it could be 9 months BIM before. See IM2 timeline, part 1.

Those movies even took place in different years. Thanks to Fury's Big Week, we got an abomination in the timeline.

Fury's Big Week will be reviewed in detail in another post.

Review of The MCU Guidebook timeline