#or did he exist as a conglomeration of many ages that formed his identity to me

[dockaspbrak]

Clock keeps ticking and the date keeps changing even when i beg it not to

[your-frenchblondgirl]

Marvel's Loki: 12 Easter Eggs, Hidden Meanings, & Plot Details From Trailer

The God of Mischief is up to no good again.

Marvel President Kevin Feige unveiled the first in-depth look into Tom Hiddleston's debut solo series, Loki, which will follow the consequences of the 2012 version of everyone's favorite horned anti-hero as he makes a timeline-disrupting escape. From references to other Asgardians to apocalyptic alternate futures, Loki's trailer is full of hints to the show's mysterious plot.

Without further adieu, let's break it all down. Here are 12 things from the Loki trailer — including Easter eggs and hidden references — that you (probably) missed.

Endgame Effects

The first 25 seconds of the trailer contextualize where we are, and how we got here.

To recap, Avengers: Endgame's time heist was not a perfect mission. When the team of Tony Stark, Captain America, Hulk, and Ant-Man travel to the events of 2012's The Avengers, they successfully obtain the Soul and Mind Stones without problem, but fail to capture the Space Stone. After being knocked aside by an irate Hulk (stairs!), the Tesseract pops out of its briefcase, landing at Loki's shackled feet. Behaving like a true God of Mischief, Loki picks up the cube and dips through a portal.

From there, our solo series begins.

Iron Man Callback

Loki crash lands in a desert, located in what appears to be Mongolian-era China, considering the attire of the three people that approach him. Desert crash landings are no stranger to the MCU, as fans will recognize this moment as emulating Tony Stark's crashed escape from the Ten Rings' cave in Mark I of the Iron Man suit.

Owen Wilson

He may not have looked like him, but he sure sounded like him.

Owen Wilson makes his first appearance as a character that goes unnamed on-screen, but closed captions reveal him to be Mobius M. Mobius. What a name! Mobius does not have a rich comic history, but he has been involved in the prosecution of the Fantastic Four before. Interesting timing, don't you think?

Mobius takes a shackled Loki down an elevator, saying he's bringing him somewhere to talk. Loki, donning a Time Variance Authority prison jumpsuit, claims he doesn't like to talk, but Mobius immediately calls his bluff.

Here, Loki is a prisoner of the TVA for his time crimes. This group of timeline FBI officers are tasked with ensuring that everything operates as planned. When 2012 Loki escaped with the Tesseract, he essentially broke the timeline laws, and is now being remprimanded for it.

The Minutemen Meet Mysterious Figure

The TVA's cybernetic police force make their first appearance in what looks to be ancient China. Known as the Minutemen, these guys are tasked with carrying out TVA laws and directly deal with individuals that have interfered with the flow of time.

Here, the Minutemen are searching for someone, or something, in a past time period. If it is indeed ancient China, this would put it at the same location Loki crash landed into at the beginning of the trailer.

While the Minutemen execute their search, a mysterious cloaked figure drops a lantern on surrounding grass, and the smoke brings at least one Minuteman to his knees. There's no telling who this mystery man is, but if reports are to be believed, it could be Jonathan Majors's Kang the Conqueror debuting ahead of his lead antagonist role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang has been rumored to be introduced in Loki for months, and there seems to be more tangible evidence of his existence in future frames.

More on that later.

"Glorious."

The MCU is stacked with notable quotes, but there's no one that delivers a Shakespearean line quite like the God of Mischief.

In just one word, Loki calls back to his character-defining statement from 2012's The Avengers: "I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Oh, and this line is uttered in Stark Tower. Evident by the particular mirror design, it looks like Loki will return back to the timeline he escaped from.

The Three Faces of the TVA

Twice in this trailer we see three figures displayed in an area of prominence.

The three faces first appear behind Gugu Mbatha-Raw's high-ranking TVA executive, who is presiding over Loki's trial. The faces appear once again a couple of frames later, this time attached to full-scale bodies in the form of massive statues.

The faces have been speculated to belong to the Time-Keepers, three time-travelers who head the TVA. The trio, and the TVA organisation, have had disputes with none other than Kang the Conqueror, often fighting over temporal territory across the universe. Loki's timeline meddling might have disrupted Chronopolis, Kang's metropolitic city of conquest that combines all eras of the Conqueror's rule. If Kang is indeed an enemy of the TVA and Loki meddled with his city, Loki's may be in for a whole world of hurt.

Flashback Failures

Wilson's Mobius shows a shackled Loki footage of the God of Mischief's 2012 failed conquest of Earth, to which Loki disapproves. This could begin Loki's identity stuggles, which will be a central theme of the series.

Similar to how General Ross showed the Avengers their past destructions in Captain America: Civil War, it's likely that Mobius is taking Loki on an unpleasant trip down memory lane.

What will be particularly interesting is if Mobius shows Loki future events that he is unaware of. Remember, this Loki has only lived up until 2012's Avengers, so he has not experienced anything from Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Infinity War, and beyond. What if Mobius shows Loki that he did in fact get the Asgardian throne at the end of The Dark World? How will Loki react to watching Thanos choke the life out of him in Infinity War's opening act?

Roxxcart... Roxxon?

Loki is seen with the Minutemen embarking on a mission inside a supermarket.

'Roxxcart' is prevalent throughout the aisles and entranceways, making this location all the more intriguing. Fans will recognize the 'Roxx-' prefix as attached to the Roxxon Energy Corporation, a company that is prevalent on the Marvel comic page. Roxxon has been engulfed in some shady business in the comics, and has been teased to appear in live-action before. If this supermarket is under the Roxxon banner, Loki might have just gained a massive conglomerate adversary.

Upon entering Roxxcart, the Minutemen hold a man at taser-point, though it's unclear if he's their target or simply an innocent shopper. All the while this is going on, the cloaked figure from earlier in the trailer watches from security footage.

Mephisto

Mobius and a Minuteman approach a young boy in a church. The boy offers an object to Mobius, which he accepts. As the two speak, a notable stain-glass window sits behind them. The window depicts a devil-like figure sitting royally, with many speculating this could be the extra-dimensional demon, Mephisto.

Let's start deep diving into speculation.

Considering Loki takes place in a branched timeline and will utilize time travel as an integral plot device, it's fair to assume we will not only visit the past, but also the futures.

Dystopian futures.

We speculated in the WandaVision trailer breakdown that Mephisto would play an integral role to Scarlet Witch's series. Let's run with the idea that Mephisto is not only in WandaVision, but is defeated. Could this tribute-like window indicate this takes place in a future where Mephisto wins?

In the comics, Mephisto spans centuries, popping up in the earliest days of Marvel lore. What if this scene is in the past, when Mephisto was worshipped as some form of god-like figure? There is no telling how Mephisto will factor in to any MCU projects, but if he does indeed debut in WandaVision, this mural becomes a lot more interesting.

Avengers Tower in Ruins

Remember what I said about exploring dystopian futures? This frame gives us our strongest indication that that is a tangible possibility.

Here, stands alone in what is presumed to be Central Park. Around him are jagged ruins of collapsed skyscrapers, complete with overgrown grass indicating that some time has passed since this destruction occurred. Still standing somewhat upright in the skyline is none other than the Avengers Tower in rough shape.

These ruins likely take place some time after Avengers: Age of Ultron, considering the famous Marvel tower has a closer resemblance to its Avengers' style than its original Stark model. Could this be a future where Thanos wins, and humanity gives up on solving it? Or better yet, what if this is Ultron's success story?

Clean-Cut Loki

A suit and sunglassed Loki boards an aircraft looking a lot more like Tom Hiddleston than the God of Mischief we're used to.

Loki is likely undercover here, or at least does not want to be recognized. From here, he jumps out of the plane, calling for Heimdall to time the Bifrost just right to prevent him from falling to his death, like Black Widow (too soon?).

His appearance resembles that of D.B. Cooper, a mysterious man that held a plane hostage, took its passengers' money, and leaped from the plane, never to be found. Could Loki be placing himself in key historical moments?

It is unclear if Idris Elba will return as the Bifrost's gatekeeper in the series, but it is worth noting that Elba has expressed interest in portraying Heimdall again.

Vote for Loki

The final shot of the trailer features a suited up Loki complete with a new horned crown and a 'LOKI FOR PRESIDENT' pin.

The God of Mischief is joined by armed warriors from different time periods, who quickly turn their weapons to the titular character. It is possible that Loki has been gathering some form of an army every instance that he travels through time, and this is the band of misfits he came up with.

Let's talk about that presidential pin!

It remains to be seen whether or not Loki is running a legitimate campaign or if the pin is just for show, but sign me up for an alternate future that sees Loki in the oval office.

While we covered as much as we caught, there's always more information to be found. Speculation has run wild about a possible Black Widow appearance in the trailer, and new findings are surfacing seemingly by the minute.

Loki is set to stream on Disney+ in May 2021.

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[dispatchdcu]

Jason Aaron has evolved into one of the most creatively rich and productive writers at Marvel, and frankly in the entire Comic Book Landscape. His stories are saturated with texture and steeped in foundational knowledge as well as character growth. From Wolverine to the Hulk, and even Doctor Strange, Jason Aaron has taken every character he’s touched at Marvel and reshaped them into something so much more!

Well, over the past eight + years, Jason Aaron has done the same thing with the God of Thunder. So, to help new readers jumping deep into the MCU or to those that have never taken the intense plunge into THOR, here is a thorough reading order for all related Jason Aaron THOR titles dating back to 2012. This should keep you current!

Plus, if you can hang on until the end, I’ve attached single issue reviews, as well as series reviews, for tons of other Jason Aaron titles from THE GODDAMNED, to SCALPED, and other amazing Marvel Heroes in between! Thanks for the read and I hope you enjoy it.

And if you’re all caught up on Aaron’s THOR, check out my latest review of THOR #5 by Donny Cates HERE, as well as links to get your hands on current THOR issues and trades.

Thor: God Of Thunder (2012-2015)

  Thor: God Of Thunder Volume 1: The God Butcher (#1-5) 

A trail of blood threatens to consume Thor’s past, present, and future! Throughout the ages, gods have been vanishing, their mortal worshipers left in chaos. The only hope for these ravaged worlds is for Thor to unravel the gruesome mystery of the God Butcher! In the distant past, the Thunder God discovers a forgotten cave that echoes with the cries of tortured gods – and is shocked to find himself among them! In the present, Thor follows the bloody wake of murdered gods across the depths of space. And thousands of years from now, the last god-king of a ruined Asgard makes his final stand against the God Butcher’s berserker legions. As three Thors from three eras race to stop the God Butcher, the full extent of his vicious scheme takes terrifying shape!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor: God Of Thunder Volume 2: Godbomb (#6-11) 

Somewhere at the end of the time, all the gods of the universe are enslaved, working to build a machine that will forever change the face of creation. What is the Godbomb? And what can Thor do to stop it? While Gorr’s master plan continues to unfold, all hope for divinity is lost when Thor finds himself in chains alongside his fellow gods. And even as Gorr’s dark origin is revealed, along with the truth behind his bloody quest to butcher the gods, three time-bending Thors unite to lead an army of slave gods in the fight against Gorr. But will it all be for naught as the clock ticks down and the massive Godbomb is triggered at last? And after the dust clears, what will be left of the universe’s deities?

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor: God Of Thunder Volume 3: The Accursed (#12-18) 

It’s the bloody return of Malekith the Accursed! The former lord of the Dark Elves escapes his otherworldly prison, and the chase is on across the Nine Realms to capture him! Thor finds new allies to join his Wild Hunt: A Dark Elf sorceress! A gun-toting Light Elf! A gargantuan Mountain Giant! A dwarf who loves dynamite! And a particularly surly troll! But when one teammate falls, will it mean war for all Nine Realms? And as a traitor within the group strikes and Thor prepares to take drastic measures, Malekith stages his final bloody raid – on Earth! Plus: What does it mean to walk the Earth as a god? What does Thor do when he’s not out saving the world with the Avengers? It’s the return of Thor’s longtime love interest, Dr. Jane Foster!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor: God Of Thunder Volume 4: The Last Days of Midgard (#19-25) 

Thor battles to save Earth, but who can he fight when the planet itself is dying? S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Roz Solomon has a suggestion: the nefarious energy company Roxxon and its ruthless new CE O, “the Minotaur!” Has Thor met his match in the form of a multinational supercorporation? Meanwhile, millennia from now, King Thor and his granddaughters, the Warriors of Thunder, face a very different battle to save what remains of the earth – from Galactus! But even if Thor wins, is the Earth still doomed? In the present, Thor makes a final stand against the Minotaur, Ulik the Troll, and Roxxon’s forces – but not even a god can save everyone. Plus: Young Thor vs. Frost Giants! The untold origin of Malekith! And King Thor’s granddaughters discover the startling secret of his Original Sin!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Original Sin (2014) 

Original Sin #0-8 (2014) 

Who shot the Watcher? Uatu, the mysterious space-god who’s been watching mankind from the moon for as long as we can remember…is dead. Thus begins the greatest murder mystery in Marvel history! As Nick Fury leads the heroes of the Marvel Universe in an investigation, other forces are marshaling and other questions are arising. Why is Black Panther gathering a secret team of his own, including Emma Frost, the Punisher, and Dr. Strange? Who is the Unseen? What was stolen from the Watcher’s lair? Fury’s cosmic manhunt leads to the far corners of the universe and beyond, but just when the Avengers think they’ve cornered their murderer…everything explodes, unleashing the Marvel Universe’s greatest secrets and rocking the heroes to their core! What did the Watcher see? What was the Original Sin?

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Original Sin: Thor & Loki – The Tenth Realm (Original Sin #5.1-5.5 2014) 

Thanks to the events of Original Sin, the deepest secret of the Nine Realms has been revealed: namely, the existence of a Tenth Realm! Now, Thor and Loki must embark on a quest to discover this strange new world – and to discover the sister that Thor never knew he had: Angela! But can Loki be trusted? And will brother and sister murder each other before the truth comes out?

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor (2014-2015) 

Thor Volume 1: The Goddess Of Thunder (#1-5) 

Mjolnir lies on the moon, unable to be lifted! Something dark has befallen the God of Thunder, leaving him unworthy for the first time ever! But when Frost Giants invade Earth, the hammer will be lifted — and a mysterious woman will be transformed into an all-new version of the mighty Thor! Who is this new Goddess of Thunder? Not even Odin knows, but she may be Earth’s only hope against the Frost Giants! Get ready for a Thor like you’ve never seen before, as this all-new heroine takes Midgard by storm! Plus: The Odinson clearly doesn’t like that someone else is holding his hammer — it’s Thor vs. Thor! And Odin, desperate to see Mjolnir returned, will call on some very dangerous, very unexpected allies. It’s a bold new chapter in the storied history of Thor!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor Volume 2: Who Holds The Hammer (#6-8, Annual #1) 

Who is the new Thor? That’s the question on everyone’s lips. Most especially the original Thor! And now he starts to narrow down the list of suspects. Meanwhile, tensions continue to flare between the All-Mother and All-Father, Malekith the Dark Elf forges his most dangerous pact yet, and the new Thor prepares to face her greatest challenge: the unstoppable machine of death and destruction that is…the Destroyer! As the battle for the hammer Mjolnir rages on, an unexpected character makes a shocking return – and the new Thor’s identity is revealed at last!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Secret Wars (2015-2016) 

Thors: Secret Wars Battleworld (Thors #1-4 2015-2016) 

The Thors of every domain, together in one book! As cosmic cops! Whenever there’s trouble on Battleworld, the Thors answer the call. But a string of mysterious murders leaves some of them asking questions that may unravel all of reality! A hard-hitting Marvel Comics police drama. With hammers. Lots and lots of hammers.

Click HERE to grab this trade.

SIDE NOTE: Check out the entire Secret Wars Event HERE. Trust me; you’ll love it!!!!!

The Mighty Thor (2016-2018) 

The Mighty Thor Volume 1: Thunder In Her Veins (#1-5) 

Dr. Jane Foster is the Goddess of Thunder -and it’s killing her. Her enemies are many as Asgard descends further into chaos, and unrest threatens to spread throughout the Ten Realms. Yet she wages her greatest battle against a far more personal foe: the cancer killing her mortal form. When Loki steps back into Thor’s life, will it ease her troubles or only add to her pain? There’s no such question about Malekith as he continues to fan the flames of a looming War of Realms – when he isn’t wedding planning, that is! And as Asgard is torn apart, the skies will shake in one of the bloodiest battles of all time: It’s Thor vs. Odin like never before!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

The Mighty Thor Volume 2: Lords Of Midgard (#6-12) 

The legend continues with Thors new and old! Loki spins a special ages-old tale of a young Odinson in action against a hulking great enemy. You wouldn’t like this Viking when he’s angry! But what incredible impact will this yarn from the past have on the present? Prepare for corporate espionage, Marvel-style, as some of the world’s most powerful and evil conglomerates go to war – with Thor caught in the middle! And as if Roxxon and the rest aren’t enough trouble, Jane Foster must contend with a new enemy: S.H.I.E.L.D.! Worse still, somehow millions of lives will depend on the God of Thunder saving Roxxon’s evil executive, Dario Agger!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

The Mighty Thor Volume 3: The Asgard/Shi-Ar War (#13-19)

As the War of the Realms rages on, the only way to defeat Malekith is with a united front – and it’s up to Thor to bring the many races together! Now heroes from across the ten worlds – including Lady Sif and Angela – unite under Thor’s command to form a new League of Realms, with the sole mission of bringing this conflict to an end! And their first mission is to infiltrate Dark- Elf-occupied territory! But when the war spreads to every branch of the World Tree, the League’s road to peace is fraught with challenges they hadn’t anticipated. To stand against the heroic allies, Malekith forms a wicked union of his own, calling on Loki and the all-new Kurse to take down Thor and her band of heroes!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Unworthy Thor TPB (#1-5) 

Unfit to lift his hammer, with another now wielding the power of Thor, the Odinson’s desperate quest to regain his worthiness takes him out into the cosmos – where he’s learned of the existence of a mysterious other Mjolnir! This weapon of ultimate power, a relic from a dead universe, is the key to the Odinson’s redemption – but some of the greatest villains of the Marvel Universe are anxious to get their hands on it as well. And when the Realm of Old Asgard vanishes, the Odinson’s hopes might go with it – unless good tidings from Beta Ray Bill offer fresh hope! Can the Odinson reclaim his honor, or will the power of thunder be wielded for evil? Let the battle for the hammer commence!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

The Mighty Thor Volume 4: The War Thor (#20-23, Generations: Unworthy Thor And Mighty Thor #1)

Who is the War Thor? The Ultimate Universe’s Thor died defending the Multiverse, but his hammer remains. Who wields it now? Ponder that question along with Jane Foster, the Mighty Thor, as she faces the Ultimate team-up! War is coming to the Ten Realms -and when the Queen of Cinders sets them ablaze, even the combined might of not one, not two, but three Thors may not be enough to put out the flames! Meanwhile, Malekith’s army grows, and the looming conflict reaches Asgard’s doorstep! But even the fire of Muspelheim pales beside the fury of the War Thor -and with his thunder comes vengeance! Plus: Generations collide as Jane and a young Odinson face an Apocalyptic encounter in ancient Egypt!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

The Mighty Thor Volume 5: The Death Of The Mighty Thor (#700-706, Mighty Thor At The Gates Of Valhalla #1) 

Marvel Legacy hits Asgard with a bang, with…the death of the Mighty Thor! The final judgment comes as the Mangog arrives. The War Thor will meet the beast head-on, but even the blood-thirst of this Ultimate hammer-wielder may pale in comparison to the Mangog’s might! The battle rages even as Jane Foster’s cancer takes a turn for the worse, and she might not have to wait for the final judgment at all. The clock is ticking, the War of the Realms is spreading, and Mjolnir cannot save her this time. Can even the legendary Hercules help avert disaster? It’s the beginning of the end – one that will lead to the most dramatic return in the Marvel Universe!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor (2018-2019) 

Thor Vol. 1: God Of Thunder Reborn (#1-6) 

Thor Odinson has regained his mantle – and with it, a wild new world of trouble on his mighty hands! The artifacts of Asgard have been scattered across the Earth, and to reclaim them, Thor will have to face some ugly truths. Like the production cost on hundreds of new hammers! And the Thunder God is going to need every last one of them if he’s going to stop the unstoppable Juggernaut. Jason Aaron takes the Prince of Asgard in a whole new direction with YOUNG GUN artist Mike Del Mundo joining him at the helm! And don’t miss the latest chapter of the King Thor saga with acclaimed BLACK BOLT artist Christian Ward, as the Thor of the far future encounters an old friend who’s undergone some startling changes.

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor Vol 2: Road To War Of The Realms (#7-11) 

Jason Aaron’s epic THOR run continues! Part the mists of time and peer into the distant past – for a tale of a young Odinson from the Viking age! Every time Thor travels to the mortal land of Midgard, he finds all the mead, battle and romance that a young god could possibly want. But he still can’t figure out how to prove himself worthy of the mighty hammer Mjolnir. Now Odin is determined to keep his son away from Midgard for good – and young Loki knows just the way to do it! Then, in the modern-day, Thor is held prisoner by the fearsome warriors of the Tenth Realm: Heven! Can even the intervention of Valkyrie and Thor’s deadly sister Angela help Thor escape the inescapable prison of angels?

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Thor Vol 3: War’s End (#12-16)

After years of Malekith’s plotting, the War of the Realms is raging full force – and for Loki, that means it’s time for a family reunion! Fatherly love is not something that the God of Lies is terribly familiar. Having been adopted by Odin as an infant and raised in the Asgardian royal family, Loki never had a chance to bond with his birth people – the fearsome Frost Giants. But now, the Giants have invaded New York City as part of Malekith’s war on Midgard. And you’d think that Loki would take the opportunity to find some quality time to spend with dear old deadly Dad! And he will. But not in the way you’d think…

Click HERE to grab this trade.

War of the Realms 

War of the Realms (2019) 

THE WAR OF THE REALMS is upon us! Malekith, king of the Dark Elves, has been conquering the Ten Realms and now has his sights set on the last one: Earth. And with armies of Frost Giants, Fire Goblins, trolls, angel warriors, Roxxon corporate soldiers, the Enchantress and the prince of lies himself, Loki, at his side, Malekith may just succeed. Asgardia is no more, Old Asgard is in ruins, and the majority of Asgardians are refugees on Earth. Now Thor and Earth’s heroes — including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and even such unlikely allies as Venom and Punisher — are all that stand in Malekith’s way! It’s an event five years in the making as the MIGHTY THOR creative team of writer Jason Aaron, artist Russell Dauterman and colorist Matthew Wilson reunite to save the Ten Realms!

Click HERE to grab this trade.

After The War… 

King Thor (2019-2020) 

Superstars Jason Aaron & Esad Ribic conclude their epic Thor story! The creators of the legendary THOR: GOD OF THUNDER series that kicked off one of the most epic runs in Marvel history are back together for one last ride with the almighty Lord of Asgard! Seven years ago, Jason and Esad introduced the Thor of the far future, All-Father of a broken realm and a dying universe, as he stood in battle against the Butcher of Gods, wielder of All-Black the Necrosword. Now that nefarious blade has returned, in the hands of Thor’s all-time greatest enemy – his brother, Loki – for one final, cataclysmic showdown. Behold the book no comics fan should miss – the celebration of the end of a truly marvelous era.

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Valkyrie: Jane Foster Volume 1: The Sacred And The Profane (#1-5) 

Jane Foster is back! For years, you knew her as Dr. Jane Foster, one of Thor Odinson’s most steadfast companions. Then you knew her as Thor, Goddess of Thunder, who took up the mantle when no other hero was worthy. Now Jane takes on a new role as Valkyrie, guide, and ferrywoman to the dead! But her days of battle are far from over – especially when the Marvel Universe’s deadliest shot gets his hands on the sword of a god! With the Asgardian weapon Dragonfang, Bullseye has the power to kill a deity in a single stroke – and he’s about to prove it. Jane must learn a hard lesson: Not every death can be prevented. But who’s next on Bullseye’s list – and what is the assassin really after?

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Valkyrie: Jane Foster Volume 2: At The End Of All Things (#6-10) 

Jane Foster has been many things in her life, including the heroic hammer wielder known as Thor! Recently, Jane became the Valkyrie, guardian, and protector of the Norse dead, and she’s still finding her way in this new stage of her life. But now, Jane must return to the role she knows best – that of a medical doctor – when a supernatural medical emergency rears its head! Jane teams with Doctor Strange, Sorcerer (and Surgeon) Supreme; the tough-as-nails Night Nurse; Excalibur-wielding Dr. Faiza Hussain and more Marvel medics to crack a case that will give readers heart palpitations! Heroes of medicine will unite – but are they all about to become doctors to the dead?!

As of July 2020, it’s not released yet but it can be PRE-ORDERED

Click HERE to grab this trade.

Valkyrie: Jane Foster Vol. 3 (#11-15)

She’s faced the Marvel Universe’s deadliest assassin – armed with the sword of a god – and won. She took the Grim Reaper straight to his eternal reward. She’s come face-to-face with Death herself…in more ways than one…and saved Asgard from a force beyond even Death’s powers. Now Jane Foster – the one and only Valkyrie – embarks on a whole new adventure under the pen of rising star artist Mattia De Iulis! Valkyrie has already journeyed across the Multiverse in her new role…but now Hel awaits her. Along with its prickly rulers. But what does Hel want with Jane Foster? And what does Loki, the god of lies and mischief, have to do with it all? Find out in an exciting and action-packed mystery!

As of July 2020, it’s not released yet but it can be PRE-ORDERED

Click HERE to grab this trade.

BUT WAIT… THAT’S NOT ALL!!!

  If you or someone you know loves Jason Aaron’s THOR and is interested in other THOR related titles by Aaron, give the ongoing AVENGERS (2018-Present) title a shot! As of July 2020, there are close to 37 issues and seven trades you can really sink your teeth into.

Click HERE to get your hands on all the current AVENGERS trades!

Interested in more Jason Aaron stories?

Click HERE for a series review of his CONAN THE BARBARIAN run and links to the trades!

Click HERE for a review of INCREDIBLE HULK #1 by Jason Aaron and links to trades and issues in his run!

Click HERE for a review of WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #1 by Jason Aaron and links to trades and issues in his run!

Or, click HERE to grab WOLVERINE GOES TO HELL and HERE for related WOLVERINE stories by Jason Aaron!

Click HERE to snag trades of Jason Aaron’s DOCTOR STRANGE run too!

Lastly, if you’re simply a huge Jason Aaron fan, check out my series review HERE for THE GODDAMNED with links to get your hands on the trades.

Keep in mind Aaron’s sequel to this series just kicked off NOW called THE GODDAMNED: THE VIRGIN BRIDES #1, which you can grab by clicking HERE!

Additionally, check out my SCALPED series review HERE and my SOUTHERN BASTARDS series review HERE with even more access to these outstanding trades. And finally, if you’re looking for something else to read, check out my Amazon Online Comic Shop HERE. Thank you all again for the read and continued support. I genuinely hope this helped to spike you’re interested in one of the best writers in comics, as well as one of the best Marvel characters on screen and in the comics. Stay safe and stay healthy.

  Jason Aaron’s THOR: Reading Order And MORE #thor #janefoster #valkyrie #jasonaaron #odinson #Marvel #marvelcomics #comicbooks #comics Jason Aaron has evolved into one of the most creatively rich and productive writers at Marvel, and frankly in the entire Comic Book Landscape.

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I Washed My Hands With Blood

CHAPTER 1

On the night before her eighth birthday, Margaret Acomb escapes her home.

I lived my childhood with the predetermined knowledge that blood was dirty. It ran through our veins and permeated our body but as soon as it was infected by oxygen upon leaking from a cut, it was suddenly revolting. As the years passed and I came into my present circumstances, the difference between blood and grime became blurry, a thin line between something filthy and something only dirty due to the social stigma associated with it. I came to wash my hands with blood because blood could never be worse than what already covered them.

At some point in all of our lives, we have been covered in blood anyways. Such is the burden of humans, plagued by hypocrisy for damning the very substance they were born in. 

I similarly was born in blood to my mother, Mrs. Jessie Acomb, who was 20 years old when she labored for hours on April 4th, 1854. As I was of a darkness of memory that can only be attributed to the first formative years of a child’s life, I cannot give a perfect account of what happened that day, but as the story has been regaled to me often by my mother, I can provide a second-hand report.

The morning of my birth was blustery and frigid as was expected of the land surrounding our home, and in the first tendrils of light, my mother began experiencing childbirth pain. Upon feeling this, her husband, my father, Mr. Joe Acomb, immediately called for the midwives, settled my mother in her bed, and disappeared from the house. Lying in pain on the abrasive cotton sheets, my mother wallowed in agony alone for a few minutes, abandoned by her husband and accompanied by no one in a dangerous hour for every young woman. Then finally the housewives arrived with their shoes tapping against the grimy hardwood, and they did their best to make my mother’s noteworthy labor as comfortable as they possibly could.

Even as my mother attempted to expel me from her body, she continued into the late hours of the night, and the midwives grew exasperated. “This demon child,” they cried in frustration, “Born on the day of our Lord’s death and still refuses to cooperate!”

Then, as if on demand, I was born and plopped immediately on my mother’s chest. A girl, they declared me, then watched my mother cradle me and coo in exhaustion. They demanded a name for the birth certificate so a portly midwife named Mary could run over to the church and still return home in time for supper, but even that my mother could not give them. She sighed and told them, “My husband wanted to name her, but I don’t have any clue where he is,” she explained, then returned to my post-partum care.

Fora few effervescent hours, I was nameless. I was an identity floating in the cruel swamps of the universe, known only by the space I took up before the eyes of God. It was the only time I have ever been truly free in my life, unfettered by the associations of a name and the social standards of a feminine callsign. Again, the midwives cursed my existence, but as they had no title to identify me by, they merely groaned and mumbled and complained until they heard my father stumble into the house and slam the door closed to prevent the winds from howling through the house.

Inebriated, my father hovered in the arc doorway of my birthroom, cast a single sweeping glance over me and my mother, and then rubbed at his eyes.

“Please Mr. Acomb, name her,” the midwives begged him. “Our husbands and children are hungry.”

My father grumbled beneath his breath and supported himself on the hickory doorframe, belching and attempting to make sense of the swimming colors hovering before his eyes.

“Margaret,” my father mumbled finally, then scowled with a tremendous big sneer and stumbled backward, bracing himself on railings and wooden beams. The midwives stared after him, then looked back to my mother, who hid her face in hot shame potent enough to climb up her ears. They erupted into whispers, then inched closer, and Mary stepped from the throng of midwives.

Mary advanced with a bustle in her step and offered the birth certificate to my mother, who ceased her feverish attendance to sign my name and her own signature in curvaceous lettering. Mary leaned back and away from the bed, then passed through the midwives like the Holy Spirit passing through the hollow streets of Egypt. A solemn procession occurred then as midwives, young and tall, old and small, made their exodus from the Acomb residence. They carried on to the church with silence fit for a funeral full of teary-eyed women and their firm husbands, aware that they were supposed to be celebrating new life and yet grieving all the same. Although unsure what precisely the midwives were grieving, they grieved, and they grieved for as long as it was socially acceptable until the neighbors began inquiring in high tones on the presence of black in their wardrobe. When the midwives couldn’t provide an answer for their mourning blacks, they resumed life as usual and passed by this wretched chapter in their lives, but no midwife could ever imagine the cross my mother was forced to bear.

Every morning, I cried and sobbed and sniffled. My mother awoke from fitful sleep, padded the cold three meters that separated us, then soothed me in the basket cradle she wove by hand months prior. She returned to her bed, sometimes empty and sometimes occupied by my father, slept for another three hours, then woke again to quell my anguish once more. She did not show her face in the village for four months, wearing black even when not in the presence of company, and the townspeople avoided our tiny cottage for an entire year. There were superstitions that no one lived there anymore, and on Sundays when the village children returned from Sunday School, they’d trek the long path up to our cottage and dared each other to rap their knuckles against our oak wood door.

My mother despised these childish games with such a burning passion, a hatred that consumed her entire abdomen, but the best she could do was part the drab, old curtains on the windows and send glares from behind the fogged glass.

Our country was a wet one. Five days out of seven were dreary and drizzling, with one rare downpour, and the days in between were cloudy at best. Our village, named Grimsby for its intrepid founder, rested flush against the Western Lake, so called for being the westernmost lake of a conglomeration of five small ponds. Other villages of similar size were set up along the other four lakes and were connected by a winding series of roads and canals, but Grimsby was most noted for sprawling farmland and terrace steppes. Across the pond, towering hills covered with grass and fairy moss clawed at the calm gray skies and buffeted the frigid northern winds, protecting our lovely village on the southern bank of the pond. We were relatively isolated from the rest of the country, and we had not heard of Victoria’s coronation until nearly a month after.

At the base of the northern mountains, a sprawling forest consisting entirely of beech, spruce, and sycamores ran along the north shore. Across the way, ridges made tall by towering trees created a compact cliff for the inky black water of the lake to crash against. On days when the sun peeked through cloud cover, and the water was temperate, village boys snuck away from their agricultural duties to leap from these makeshift cliffs and into the frothing waves.

The villager's view of this forest was characterized by horror and spine-tingling cowardice. So many children were swallowed up by the wilderness in this forest that their devastated parents came to call this woodland the Nightmare Forest, a name only passed on lips through whispers and gossip. Those who passed through this forest, either on dares or sheer ignorance, always came stumbling back to the town, reporting a massive black dog with eyes that glowed red in the thick underbrush. Others, hunters mostly, reported coming upon herds of red deer, their bellies cut open and their heads separated from their necks. Although my mother kept informing me of these tales throughout my childhood as a means to prevent me from disappearing into the wooded fog, her ghostly stories only served to pique my curiosity.

On one night, just before I was to be put to bed the day before my eighth birthday, I inquired into Nightmare Forest once more. My mother’s face drained of blood, and she acquired a pallor that made her red hair even more striking. Her green eyes grew wide, but she smiled anyway, a tight-lipped smile that I couldn’t interpret accurately at that age. 

“Children disappear in that forest,” mother tried, but upon seeing my head bob in motion for her to continue, she sighed and made another attempt. “They never come back. You would never have another birthday.”

Such was a dire threat to my happiness, as my mother knew that my birthday was my favorite day of the year. Nonetheless, I persisted, fixating her with weighted silence. 

“Did you know that Reverend Eremiel’s daughter went missing in that forest?” she said finally, donning a grave expression. “She never returned, lost to the woods.”

At the time, I did not see how bad this could be. I tipped my head to the side and narrowed my eyes, pressing her for further explanation. With my silence, I dared her to give me reasons for why I was forbidden to enter Nightmare Forest.

“I love you very much, Margaret,” she continued with such conviction it left no room for doubt. “I love you more than the moon can love the sun. You are my light. You cannot enter that forest under any circumstances.”

I heard my name in full, and I coiled beneath her gaze, a stir in my belly. My name, Margaret, had too many syllables for my infantile tongue to form, so those around me came to refer to me by “Maggie” rather than “Margaret.” Hearing her say my entire name without even a quiver in her voice, I knew this matter was serious, so I wisely recoiled from arguing. I shrunk back into my flat pillow and pulled my scratchy wool blanket closer to my face. I breathed in the smell of my late grandmother, for she had knit the quilt for me once my mother was with child, and avoided my mother’s gaze.

“Please promise me,” my mother pleaded, and the desperation in her tone drew my wide blue eyes to her face. “Please.”

I watched her in poignant silence for only a moment more before nodding finally, although hesitant in my compliance. I wished just to see her smile.

Finally, she did, and the pale white of her teeth only served to make the fiery red color of her hair more striking. Briefly, I compared my own hair to my mother’s and grew sad upon seeing that my hair was a dull brown instead of blazing orange, but the feeling did not linger. Within moments, my mother leaned in close, pressed her lips to my forehead, and whispered a soft prayer over my head. Her smile gradually faded and left in its place were premature wrinkles and thinning hair that did not detract from her beauty. I watched her go with wide eyes as she disappeared into the darkness of our cottage.

My room was a small, tucked away corner of our house initially meant for storage rather than a growing child. My mother reasoned that once I grew out of it, I would have to move to a different room, but as there were no other bedrooms suitable for young adolescent anywhere else in our timber-frame home, this sentiment confused me greatly. I told her that there was nowhere else for me to go, and when I confronted her with this information, she paled, glanced back and forth, and offered me an ingenuine smile. She told me that I was too smart, and once I was smart enough to help expand the house, we could work on making me a new room together. Upon asking if my father would help as well, she nodded and avoided my gaze.

Yet even then on the night before my eighth birthday, I still remained in the tiny corner enclosed in rotten oak planks and sagging furniture.  There was a single window on the right wall that was a few meters above my head and a meter in diameter. It was at a prime height so that every night, when the moon was not covered in black, my humble abode was washed in pale, silvery moonlight. I spent many of my days staring longingly past the dirty glass of that window, wondering what might exist beyond the walls of my kind prison. Now, however, with the moon absent from the night sky and clouds covering the heavens, all I could do was lie in my rickety bed and watch the shadows climb along the walls.

They made strange shapes in the darkness. Clutching my grandmother’s blanket even closer to my nose,  I peered through the gloom in a pitiful attempt to exacerbate stories from their macabre artistry. 

Then, with a creak of groaning wood and glue, I heard footsteps crash against our ancient floorboards. It was a staccato, incessant stumbling, the perpetrator letting out breathy groans and low mumbles to himself. Had I been any other child, I might have felt frightened by this sound rattling into my tiny bed space, but with the way I had been raised, such odd machinations hardly ignited a stutter in my heartbeat. It was only my father returning from the bars drunk and in a violent state of mind.

I knew his head to be unstable and his fists prone to bloodlust. I glanced down my grandmother’s knitted blanket to observe my stomach, small and withered from lack of food, and studied the fading bruise above my stomach and slightly below my ribcage. It was still an angry purple, disgusting against my pale skin, but the edges were beginning to fade into sickly yellow, just starting to disappear. It was then I realized I no longer desired to be my father’s victim anymore, so I tore my grandmother’s blanket away from my body, balled it up in my fists, and held it close to my chest.

My father’s muddled footsteps drew closer, crashing against the floorboards and tripping against loose nails he placed there himself. While I did not feel scared, my heart betrayed me and began to pump faster, causing my arms to tingle and my legs to twitch. My nightgown was paltry and the night was dark, but I knew what I had to do.

With as much grace as I was allowed, I silently pulled a wooden chair from the corners of my crawlspace. Its leg was broken from when my father threw it to the floor during dinner the day I turned seven, and eons of use culminated in scratches and splinters on its rough surface. It whined against the floorboards as I moved it, and beneath that whine, my father’s approach grew faster. My movements became sloppy and unrehearsed as adrenaline made my fingers jittery. I dropped the chair twice and kicked it once in my rush to align it with the bottom of the tiny window leading to freedom.

Once the chair’s back was flush with the paint-chipped wall, I scrambled atop it and fumbled with the window. Behind me, my father burst through years of clutter and worthless items, shouting with a ferocity I was all too familiar with. I did not spare a glance over my shoulder when the window popped open, and I launched myself through it. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the thorns of the rose shrubs my mother gave up cultivating a long time ago.

It never came, and instead there was a hand gripped tight around my ankle. The windowsill dug deep into my ribs and my ankle twisted with agony every time I wiggled about. My father wrenched my leg back, but I kept my arms locked on the faded wood paneling on the side of our tiny cottage. With every jerk, my body cried in torment, but nevertheless, I endured until my father’s grip slipped from my ankle, and I tumbled forth into the rose thorns.

My leg and ankle ached with pressing pangs, and my skin was torn apart by botanical tormentors, yet I was free. My father screamed from the windowsill, but he sounded distant and far-off as if he had never existed in the first place. I knew he existed, as my ankle could testify, but with my excursion into town, I could forget for a paltry hour.

With a potent limp, I pulled myself up from the roses and grew enamored by the scent that lingered. Although it was mixed with the beads of blood running down my arms and hands from stinging scratches, it was pleasant nonetheless and an aroma that transported me to a better timeline. The icy night breeze made them ignite with pain and the wind howled in my ears, but on my tongue, I tasted freedom, although fleeting. I ignored the cold that settled into my bones and continued forward, unsure of where to go.

My destination never mattered, however. No matter which wrong turn I took, I never failed to arrive at the ivy-encrusted gates to Nightmare Forest.

[multiverseforger]

Edit

Simon Williams is the son of rich industrialist Sanford Williams, owner of Williams Innovations. Simon inherits the munitions factory after his father's death, but the company's profits fall due to its biggest competitor Tony Stark and his company Stark Industries. On the advice of his brother Eric, Simon tries to embezzle funds from his company but is caught and incarcerated. Simon blames Stark for this and accepts the proposition of master villain Baron Heinrich Zemo after the Enchantress pays his bail, as a pawn is required to infiltrate the Avengers. The desperate Simon Williams agrees and is transformed into an ion-powered being with superhuman powers. His powers are tested, and he is shown to have great superhuman strength and durability, even defeating the Executioner. Called Wonder Man by Zemo, he is then sent to meet and join the Avengers, with instructions to betray them at a critical moment so that Zemo's Masters of Evil can destroy the Avengers. Zemo ensures Wonder Man's loyalty by advising him that as a result of the treatment his body now requires periodic doses of a serum to survive—a serum that only Zemo can provide. The Avengers are lured into a trap and captured. The plan fails when Wonder Man decides to save the Avengers and aid them against Zemo, apparently at the cost of his own life. Iron Man (Tony Stark) records Wonder Man's brain patterns in the hope that one day he can be revived.[9] Unbeknownst to the Avengers, Wonder Man's body has simply entered a catatonic state as it adjusts to the effects of the treatment.[volume & issue needed] Eric Williams becomes distraught over the apparent death of his sibling and, blaming the Avengers, assumes the identity of the Grim Reaper in an effort to destroy them. The Grim Reaper steals Simon's body at one point,[10] and attacks the Avengers three times before Wonder Man finally returns.[11]

Wonder Man remains in suspended animation for years, and it is during this period that Ultron, the evil robot creation of Hank Pym, steals the brain patterns recorded by the Avengers for use as a template for the synthezoid Vision.[12] It is later revealed that Vision is built from the original Human Torch, an android created by Professor Phineas Horton.[13] This only happened in mainstream continuity and other origins were possible courtesy of the Forever Crystal of Immortus.[14]

During this vulnerable time, Wonder Man is used as a pawn on three occasions. Wonder Man is briefly revived by Kang the Conqueror to battle the Avengers as part of his Legion of the Unliving,[15] and later "resurrected" as a zombie by Black Talon and the Grim Reaper to attack the Avengers once more.[16] On the final occasion, the Living Laser hypnotizes a now-awake but still very weak Wonder Man, in an unsuccessful attack on the Avengers.[17] After this encounter, Wonder Man was restored to true life and chooses to remain with the Avengers, aiding them against Attuma and Doctor Doom.[18] He also fought the Vision, and helped the Avengers battle Graviton.[19] He soon after defeats the Grim Reaper, who was intent on destroying the Vision as he was "artificial" and a "mockery" of his brother; Wonder Man at this point is revealed to have become a being of ionic energy.[20]

Wonder Man eventually joins the Avengers in a full-time capacity and becomes close friends with his teammate, the Beast. For several months after his resurrection, Wonder Man suffers from slight claustrophobia and a fear of dying in battle, as he did once before. Wonder Man finally overcomes his fear of death during the final battle with Korvac.[21] Wonder Man invaded his former plant which had been taken over by the Maggia, and fought Madame Masque and the Dreadnought.[22] Developing an interest in acting, Wonder Man stars in minor roles before moving to Hollywood, where fellow Avenger Hercules uses his contacts to establish Wonder Man's career.[23] Wonder Man also works for a time as a stuntman, an ideal vocation since he is invulnerable to virtually all conventional weapons.[24]

Wonder Man helps form the West Coast Avengers,[25] and his new-found confidence begins to become arrogance. He develops a serious rivalry with Iron Man, but sees the error of his ways after a brutal battle with the Abomination.[26] He also foils Doctor Doom's plot to control the world.[27] Wonder Man eventually accepts the Vision as his "brother", but there is a setback when the Vision is dismantled and rebuilt as an emotionless machine by a global conglomerate. The Scarlet Witch—the Vision's wife—asks Wonder Man to provide his brainwaves once again in order to rebuild the foundational personality matrix of the original Vision, but Wonder Man refuses, having feelings for her himself. The Wasp further deduces that the Vision's original relationship to the Scarlet Witch may even have been predicated by Wonder Man's initial donation for the original personality matrix; at this, Wonder Man confirms that several of his hesitations about making the attempt arise from these doubts and the subconscious desire he's felt toward the Scarlet Witch since her separation from her husband.[28] He is then ensorcelled by the Enchantress, and battles the Avengers.[29]

Wonder Man battles old foes Goliath[30] and the Enchantress,[31] before meeting his would-be sidekick "Spider" and battling Gamma-Burn, resulting in wrecking his jet-pack.[32] Wonder Man then battles the assassin Splice for the first time.[33] Wonder Man takes part in the Kree/Shi'ar War, and had his powers altered when he and the Vision failed to prevent the Shi'ar Nega-Bomb from detonating.[34] He battled Angkor,[35] and then journeyed to Hades where he battled Mephisto, Blackheart, the Enchantress, and the Grim Reaper; he then learned that he was immortal.[36] When Avengers West Coast (renamed) disbands after a dispute, Wonder Man becomes a founding member of its successor group Force Works, but is disintegrated in an explosion during their first mission against the alien Kree.[37] Many months later, the Scarlet Witch accidentally resurrects Wonder Man in ionic form; while in this form he appears when she is in need.[38] Several months later, the Scarlet Witch is able to fully revive Wonder Man and he now exists in an independent, more human form. It is also discovered later that the Grim Reaper - dead at the time - is also revived.[39] Wonder Man becomes romantically involved with the Scarlet Witch, but ends their affair during the Kang Dynasty saga, due to her residual feelings for the Vision.[40]

Wonder Man is blackmailed into working for S.H.I.E.L.D. during the Civil War storyline. Due to charges of misappropriation of funds in his non-profit organization, Wonder Man is pressured to work for the pro-registration side in the ensuing Civil War drama. In addition to capturing renegade vigilantes and criminals, Wonder Man is instrumental in creating televised messages to educate the public and yet-unregistered superhumans about the specifics of the Registration Act.[41] Wonder Man became a member of the Mighty Avengers.[42]

Wonder Man began a romantic relationship with fellow Mighty Avenger Ms. Marvel warning her not to use her position as leader of the Avengers to keep him out of potentially dangerous situations just because of their relationship.[43]

Following the events of the Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn created a new team of Avengers, effectively retiring Wonder Man during the Dark Reign storyline. Wonder Man later appears on television, lamenting his tenure as an Avenger, claiming it was all a waste of time, and that using violence to uphold justice has caused nothing but heartache and death. He ends his speech by sadly admitting that having Osborn in charge is exactly what the country deserves.[44] After this, Wonder Man is imprisoned as a member of the new Lethal Legion. This group opposes the tyrannical efforts of Osborn; Wonder Man joins to try to keep them from hurting innocents.[45]

Wonder Man has been seen alongside his old West Coast Avengers teammates, Ronin, Mockingbird, Tigra and War Machine in battle with a new version of Ultimo.[46]

During the Heroic Age storyline, Simon is approached by Steve Rogers to join the new team of Avengers. Simon refuses stating that the Avengers have caused more problems than they have solved and implies as Rogers leaves that he will make sure his old allies realize the mistake they are making. Simon also mentioned as having been in jail until Steve bailed him out.[47] After learning that Rogers had disregarded his advice, Wonder Man attacks the new team causing some damage to their base before inexplicably disappearing.[48] Thor and Iron Man later contact him to try and reason with him, but Simon refuses to listen to their arguments, stating that the dead heroes that have resulted from the Avengers working together should be a clear sign that the concept is doomed, departing as Thor and Iron Man try to argue that all heroes are aware of the risks when they begin. Significantly, Iron Man notes that Simon is 'leaking' ionic energy, suggesting that his current mental condition may relate to his powers rather than being simply a matter of choice.[49]

Wonder Man put together the Revengers, a team of super-powered people to stop the Avengers because he believes they do more harm than good, blaming the Avengers for Ultron's existence, the damage caused by the Scarlet Witch and the Hulk, the Civil War, and Osborn's Dark Avengers. His team subsequently defeats the New Avengers in a quick attack on the mansion before he moves on to attack Avengers Tower,[50] stating that he will destroy the tower unless the Avengers immediately disband. Although Iron Man manages to trap him in a prison specifically designed to contain his ionic energy with the Revengers being quickly defeated by the combined Avengers teams, Wonder Man has still successfully managed to spread doubt among the population about the merits of the Avengers as a concept particularly since Captain Rogers has yet to officially rebuff any of his arguments, asking Beast to remember his words simultaneously reflecting that he may be able to see the Avengers from the outside as he has not been 'real' since his resurrection before he apparently disappears from his prison.[51]

Wonder Man later reappears to Captain America (Steve Rogers), telling him that he feels sorry for his past actions and that he is trying to redeem himself. Before he can accept help from the Avengers, he is attacked by the Red Hulk. He managed to take him down and looks at Avengers Tower, claiming that he will "earn his way back".[52] He later plays a pivotal role in rescuing the Wasp from the Microverse. After this, Wonder Man is shown celebrating Jan's return alongside the rest of the Avengers at Stark Tower.[53]

At Wasp's urging, Simon later joins the Avengers Unity Squad. During conversations with Jan and Sunfire, he makes it clear has no intentions of fighting, and only wants to help use his PR skills to win over skeptical citizens.[54] He and the Scarlet Witch rekindle their relationship. During the final confrontation with the Celestial Executioner, he allows Rogue to absorb him to give her the power to oppose the Celestial,[55] but his essence remains in Rogue after Wanda expels the other absorbed powers from her,[56] leaving Rogue with Simon's powers and once again unable to touch others.[57]

During the AXIS storyline, Wonder Man's consciousness was still in Rogue at the time when the X-Men and the Avengers were inverted by an inversion spell. Rogue used Wonder Man's powers when helping the X-Men.[58]

At the time when the Avengers Unity Squad traveled to Counter-Earth to find Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, Rogue was captured by High Evolutionary's right-hand man Master Scientist who removed Wonder Man's consciousness from Rogue.[59]

After Rogue was unable to see or hear Wonder Man, he was still in Rogue's mind. When Rogue kissed Deadpool, Wonder Man was freed from Rogue's body as the result of Deadpool's healing factor acting like a circuit breaker that enabled Wonder Man to escape from Rogue's body.[60]

During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Wonder Man appears as a member of the Underground which is a resistance movement against Hydra ever since they took over the United States.[61]

During the "Empyre" storyline, Wonder Man, Quicksilver, and Mockingbird deal with the Kree and the Skrull's fight with the Cotati near Navojoa. When Quicksilver is hit by special spheres fired by the Cotati magicians, Mockingbird and Wonder Man come to his aid and help the Kree and the Skrull turn the tide against the Cotati.[62

[captainbashybae-blog]

The Advent of Remixes and the Shade of Triple Q

__________

If you were to ask me, the remix is more a part of the millennial culture than an archetypal motif of postmodernism; even if the definition of a remix lends itself to postmodernism well.

If you were to ask Kirby Ferguson on the matter, he cites remixes appearing as back as the early hip-hop days of the Chic sampling music off the Sugarhill Gang in the late seventies. And if you watched his documentary “Everything is a Remix”, Ferguson argues that all ideas are derivative off the success of others—which is pretty much postmodernist ideas in a nutshell.

After all, Isaac Newton famously wrote in a letter to Robert Hooke, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

What is a remix?

To remix something is to simply mix it again, a definition that seems blatantly unhelpful in elucidating the concept of a remix.

But like that definition implies, you take copy an original concept, you alter it in transformative manner, and you combine the two together into something new.

To simplify, you copy, transform, and combine.

Led Zeppelin’s song, “Stairway to Heaven” is an early example of a remix: Zeppelin took part of the melody of Randy Wolfe’s “Taurus,” used it as the opening of a new song, and earned a reputation that skyrocketed his band to fame.

One might ask what’s transformative about gluing on someone else’s riff onto their song; they’re not wrong in asking this. “Stairway to Heaven” is only one of many notable (and recent) instances of music copyright reaching the ears of judicial court.

The jury adjourned to let Zeppelin’s song sing free in a court case akin to a soap opera, but copyright cases are not always black and white. In 2013, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams payed 5.3 million to Marvin Gaye for the use of his bass line in “Got to Give It Up”, and Funkadelic sued hip-hop group NWA for a single guitar riff. Even the first rock-themed copyright case, The Beach Boys v. Chuck Berry, ended with a strange compromise that allowed the Beach Boys to continue playing without Berry’s credit, but Berry’s company earned publishing rights.

The remix became the crux of the copyright debate as we approached the digital era, an era that once celebrated innocuous cat videos and inside jokes about hamburgers and green frogs (the ones who didn’t cause riots on the Internet). As Lawrence Lessig alluded to in his TED talk about user generated content ( http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling _creativity?lang uage=en), people on the Internet have unique ways of expressing their creativity that don’t lend itself to traditional copyright law. And like the farmers who tried to sue airplanes from flying over their land only to fail miserably, the way modern times explore content should be reflected accordingly in its laws.

What’s a remix today?

The remix in modern times evolved to encapsulate many forms of media—especially in the digital era.

If I wanted to discuss the modern remix in context of online video, I can cite the many anime music videos (AMVs) that inundated the early 2000s.

I can discuss the recent landmark case of Matt Hosseinzedah and H3H3 that massively benefited the content creators who used the videos of others in a transformative manner. I can write about a similar precedent where YouTuber Ray William Johnson lost to Junkin Media in court for the “misappropriation” of the company’s content and the struggles of a website that chooses to stay neutral in all copyright disputes.

Perhaps I can talk about the many movies in the last two decades that lovingly homage themselves to previous films and genres. One that comes to mind is Quentin Tarentino’s Kill Bill, a great movie that heavily borrows from blaxploitation film, spaghetti films and Bruce Lee movies.

I can even recount the stories of Jane Eyre but with Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, books that take inspiration from historic precedent and reimagine them completely in the form of a gimmick. These books fall under copyright law as derivative work.

Let’s not forget that Fifty Shades of Gray was (and still is in my opinion) just Twilight fan-fiction set in a modern era—mixed in with torture smut. The author of Twilight did sue author E.L. James for infringement, a case dropped only after the alteration of a couple names of characters, and remains a dubious nonexample of copyright theft.

Instead, I wanted to discuss how remixes have musically flourished in the world of SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube. I want to celebrate a place where creators embrace the derivative nature of their content, a place that gives them a chance to shape their own identity and content through an audience that stretches as far as the bandwidth of a computer.

More specifically, I wanted to look at the “mash-up artist”, creators who take two or more existing songs and combines them for the sake of a new musical aesthetic. In the case of the last couple years, the rise of YouTube channels like SilvaGunner took inspiration from the phenomenon of “Rick-Rolling” to create mash-ups of music for the sake of satire and innocuous trolling.

The content creator I’ll be discussing embraces both aspects of the art form to great success. He’s best known for frequently mashing up the songs and lyrics of Korean pop star PSY with different genres of music, amassing over 36 million views and 112,000 subscribers on YouTube.  Though these numbers pale in comparison to that of more popular, trending channels online, Triple Q’s prolific online presence beyond YouTube speaks volumes to the success found in even niche aspects of music.

The video I’ll be looking at.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1zeoDrN2Lo

#SELFIE is a new and original song which doesn't plagiarize at all

 Uploaded on May 2nd, 2014, “#SELFIE is a new and original song which doesn't plagiarize at all” doesn’t hide the fact that the video pokes fun at the Chainsmokers highly derivative single “#Selfie”, a song that pokes fun at the vapid narcissism of selfie culture. However, ironically intentional or not, the song also borrows heavily from Sir Mix-a-lot’s “Baby Got Back,” utilizes a music composition similar to songs like “Valley Girl” and LMAFO’s “Party Rock Anthem”, and tries to copy the viral nature of “Harlem Shake” with its bass line. As one YouTuber, Irvan Issacs, commented on the original video from the DJ duo, the song is “90% taking, 10% song,” and music critic, Miles Raymer, of the Chicago Tribune, slammed the song as “garbage, paint-by-numbers, EDM only there to deliver the meme.” Nevertheless, the song earned 550 million views and was a success for the Chainsmokers.

 The title of Triple Q’s mashup of the song uses sarcasm underscored by its blatant lack of capitalization. Though not an ironclad rule on the Internet, content creators often forego proper title punctuation with long run-on sentences in order to preface a joke or meme; this is the case with this video.

 The second thing to note after the title is the image used for the video: a portrait of PSY centered above a #SELFIE logo, accompanied by fictional video game attorney Phoenix Wright, record producer Bauer, Redfoo of LMFAO, Deadmau5. Wolverine, Mikoto Misaka of A Certain Scientific Railgun, a wisp from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and Pharrell Williams—all overlaid with what looks like Dark Souls boss Demon of Song (pics below).

(the overlaid image)

 It’s noted that this 3 minute 47 second song samples from 14 tracks, all cited in the video’s description:

"Pursuit ~ Cornered" - Masakazu Sugimori - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

"I Wanna Take You For a Ride" - Tetsuya Shibata - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

"Harlem Shake" - Baauer

"#SELFIE" - The Chainsmokers

"Gentleman" - PSY - Psy 6 (Six Rules),

Part 2 "Party Rock Anthem" - LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock - Sorry For Party Rocking

"Animals" - Martin Garrix

"only my railgun" - fripSide - To Aru Kagaku no Railgun

"Move For Me" - Kaskade & deadmau5 – Strobelite Seduction

"sister's noise" - fripside - To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S

"Happy" - Pharrell Williams - G I R L

"Planet Wisp: Act 1" - Kenichi Tokoi - Sonic Generations

"Gangnam Style" - PSY - Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1

Dark Souls death sound

It’s clear from these elements that the song is remix. It copies the original song, “#SELFIE”, transforms the song by extracting its bass and melody (or whatever melody it had), and combines it with 14 different songs and a death sound into a song. It’s also just catchy.

In fact, it’s a variation of a remix known as a megamix, a medley remix containing multiple songs in rapid succession.

The composition of this megamix follows the same order of the song list in its video description. It starts off with a combination of “Pursuit~ Cornered” and “I Wanna Take You For a Ride" and ends with the Dark Souls death sound. However, what’s consistent throughout the song is the use of the bass tracks of Harlem Shake, #SELFIE and “Party Rock Anthem”, all bass tracks that are near indistinguishable from one another. This choice of composition is not only a way to harmonize very different genres of music, but it also demonstrates how derivative and musically bland #SELFIE is as a song.

Whether effective or even intentional, “#SELFIE is a new and original song which doesn't plagiarize at all” interestingly uses a copyright tactic popularized by fellow YouTuber, Jim Sterling. Though mashups of this nature are often beleaguered by automated copyright claims from media conglomerates looking to cash in on video revenue, “#SELFIE is a new and original song which doesn't plagiarize at all” has enough copyrighted material to be claimed by more than one company. In the worst-case scenario that this song is protected by copyright despite being transformative under fair use, multiple companies cannot take further action without personal negotiation—negotiation often foregone to save time and effort among all parties. Regardless, Triple Q is well-known for challenging copyright through blatant defiance regardless of the consequence.

Conclusion

Now more than ever, the remix is a symbol of post-modernist ideals that shaped the way people look at entertainment and culture. And with the proliferation of the Internet and meme culture, Space-Jam mashups and anime shitposts will probably still persist somewhere.

And as a genre of music, mashups have introduced me a much wider range of music that I would never listen to without the work of artists like Triple Q and Botanic Sage; the two of them shaped my taste in music for better or worse.