#skrull steve trutherism

[thisweekinfandomhistory]

Avengers... Assemble! This week, a COVID-ravaged V and hardier Emily discuss a fannish, and mainstream, event they know all too well: the release of "the most ambitious crossover event in history," Avengers: Endgame. While living in a fandom bubble can make it feel like "the audience" wants one thing, big blockbusters like Endgame remind us all too harshly that fandom is still just a bunch of weirdo outliers, and as far as studios are concerned, "the audience" wants something that is -- often -- the opposite of what fandom wants. Does the thought of Steve's ending also fill you with unbridled rage? What blockbuster movie left you with a hole in your soul?

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

[martelldoran]

unsolicited tfatws opinions because i have them vol. 1

warning: here be spoilers

starting on the positive because there were things i did like in the episode

things i liked

sam wilson: *exists*

me:

sam's storyline was definitely the strongest of the two in this ep and i liked pretty much everything he did.

the opening aerial fight! was! so! cool! seeing batroc again was a nice nod to tws too and an interesting parallel to steve's lumerian star fight. i loved seeing his quick tactical thing, seeing how he fights, and the way he utilises the wings even in close quarters.

sam speaks arabic!

sam fixes redwing! (validation of a hc of mine that he's good with robotics. maybe that's a widely held fandom one as well? idk)

i instantly found torres to be really endearing and i'm looking forward to seeing more of him throughout the series. the relationship between him and sam has a lot of potential.

the manipulation of the government and general set up for sam's storyline felt strong. good basis for a story and pertinent to the current political landscape.

sam's speech as he handed over the shield was well written and gave me the same kind of vibes as the 'the price of freedom is high' speech. they could be quite nicely paralleled side by side.

sam's family! look, i'm a sucker for domestic moments for our faves so the entire sequence where we got this insight into sam's past, his relationship with his sister, and where he's come from was brilliant. i like sarah a lot and seeing her frustration with her brother for trying to come in and fix things when he's been gone for so long felt really realistic. i felt for her a lot. because you can tell there's so much there bubbling under the surface, a mix of love and resentment and frustration that was palpable as they talked about what to do with their parents' house/boat/business. so, give me all of the sarah wilson moments pls n thnx.

seeing the consequences of the snap (hi, i am refusing to call it the fucking blip. marvel, my god, get better names for shit.) idk how in depth they're really going to go into it all but at least they attempted something here with the scenes at the bank.

bucky's nightmare sequence as the winter soldier. it was such a brilliant reminder about how terrifying tws actually is. he's silent and ominous and THAT MUSIC. his presence is legitimately unsettling from the moment you see him. (but he runs around like a bull in a china shop which does make me 🤔 when i remember he's supposed to be a g h o s t s t o r y. idk. not exactly stealth and shadow work. but that doesn't look cool on screen so 🤷🏻‍♀️)

and on that note, vindication of my 'they sleep on the floor after coming back' headcanon. literally had raymond holt screaming in my head the second i saw bucky wake up on his living room floor. does my heart break for him? yes. was i smug about being right? also yes.

leah seems cool. could she actually be telepathic??? since she hit every single one of bucky's boats while they played battleships? i would like to see it. 😂 there's def more to her character than meets the eye since she's slated to be in all six episodes.

bucky having one (1) old man friend even if the reason behind it was heartbreaking.

so, yeah. these things i genuinely liked.

things i didn't like

the therapy scene. i genuinely hated it. there's a different between a no nonsense therapist and someone being deliberately antagonistic and that definitely erred on the side of the latter imo. she tells him to 'get over it' and mocks him for not reaching out and meeting people. media in general doesn't do a good job of depicting therapy so this is just yet another poor offering into the canon. i'm tired. i want healthy depictions of therapy already. it's supposed to be a supportive environment ffs.

plus she kept calling him james 🤮 genuinely wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be a bad guy plant. which i think is a cliche at this point? 🤔

bucky's new look. which i know we've seen before now but i've not offered my unsolicited opinion on it. it's just sebastian stan in an ugly leather jacket. it's generic male lead#346. it's broification. someone said they made him look like brock rumlow and now i can't unsee it. 😭 rip to bucky with the good hair. i'd have loved to see him with some curls tbh. or a wave that kind of calls back to his pre-war days. anyway. i digress. character design is 0/10.

would have been nice to see him cut his hair as a marker of him starting a new chapter and coming into his own personhood.

rhodey's disability was just? glossed over? no visible assistive tech at all?

the date. just the fact it was there at all. it was heavy handed and not subtle and we know why they put that in there within the first 10 minutes of bucky's screen time. that's all i'm going to say about it. if you follow me, you know where i stand. we don't need poorly written romance. get it in the bin.

there was no acknowledgement of bucky's relationship with steve. if there was a memorial to be had then bucky should have been there. maybe these will come later but i'm not holding my breath.

is steve dead? i assumed that the party line was that young steve died in the battle and no-one knew about old steve . but did they actually kill steve off-screen? what a kick in the teeth if that's the case. let me just cut open a wound for them to pour the salt straight into, shall i?

things i'm mostly neutral on

john walker. he looks like a cop and his wink at the camera gave me the creeps but i'm interested to see how that pans out. i hope sam beats 50 shades of star spangled shit out of him.

the flag smashers. premise of a world without borders is interesting and a believable concept given what's happened in universe. there's a lot of scope there i think. that said, the name is dumb.

right. i think that covers everything for now. my expectations going in were really low, i won't lie. before the premiere i tried to stay away from the trailers and tv spots and the hype in general so i was pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed certain aspects of the show.

in conclusion, some good, some bad, some ugly and i will be cherry picking my favourite nuggets for fic at a later point. also, i'm still a skrull!Steve truther. real steve is chilling with some wakandan goats 😌💖✨

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 29 April 2019

Quick Bits:

Angel #0 spins out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4 (the ending events of which are presented again at the beginning here), giving us a flashback of Angel in Los Angeles and a case involving a werewolf. The tone here from Bryan Edward Hill, Gleb Melnikov, Gabriel Cassata, and Ed Dukeshire is bleaker than the Buffy series, but it’s fitting.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Barbarella/Dejah Thoris #3 is a whole lot of flirting. Gorgeous artwork from  Germán García and Addison Duke with some impressive lettering from Crank!

| Published by Dynamite

Batman #70 wakes up from its “Knightmares” for the first part of “The Fall and the Fallen” by Tom King, Mikel Janín, Jorge Fornés, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles. It throws down a gauntlet of Bats’ rogues as he fights to escape Arkham Asylum.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #1 is the first of these series that I’ve picked up, so I didn’t initially clue in that this wasn’t necessarily how this crossover had played out previously, but this first issue features a world of the two properties mashed-up in a combined reality. It’s an interesting start from James Tynion IV, Freddie E. Williams II, Kevin Eastman, Jeremy Colwell, and Tom Napolitano with some gorgeous artwork.

| Published by DC Comics & IDW

Black Hammer ‘45 #3 features a guest-spot for a young Abraham Slam, who seems to rub the Black Hammer Squadron the wrong way through trying to follow through with ideals and principles. It’s an interesting underlining of whatever potentially grey area operation the squad is on, as Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes, Matt Kindt, Sharlene Kindt, and Marie Enger continue to let that plot point simmer.

| Published by Dark Horse

Champions #5 is a tie-in to War of the Realms and also serves as a bit of glue to hold together different parts of the event, building upon things across different areas of the Marvel universe. It also gives us a very heartfelt reunion of Ms. Marvel and Cyclops, wonderfully told by Jim Zub, Juanan Ramírez, Marcio Menyz, and Clayton Cowles.

| Published by Marvel

DC’s Year of the Villain Special #1 gives a trio of teasers, two largely for the two sides of the Justice League/Legion of Doom stuff that has been going on, providing a backbone for the Year of the Villain event, and the third for Brian Michael Bendis’ brainchild of Event Leviathan, which unfortunately feels kind of out of place with the rest of it. As though the two separate stories are competing for resources, rather than being part of a cohesive whole. That said, all of the teasers do their job fairly well, piquing interest in what’s to come.

| Published by DC Comics

DCeased #1 is basically DC’s answer to Marvel Zombies by way of Stephen King’s Cell, but it’s damn entertaining work from Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, James Harren, Stefano Gaudiano, Rain Beredo, and Saida Temofonte. The set-up for the series with Darkseid meddling with the Anti-Life Equation and winding up with something worse is perfect.

| Published by DC Comics

Deathstroke #43 is kind of the conclusion to “The Terminus Agenda”, on paper at least. There’s still an epilogue over in the next issue of Teen Titans and the final page of this one sets up something huge going forward.

| Published by DC Comics

Descendent #1 begins another new conspiracy thriller, building off a child abduction and a “truther”, from Stephanie Phillips, Evgeniy Bornyakov, Lauren Affe, and Troy Peteri. It’s a bit of a slow build, working to develop the characters nicely, but there’s an intriguing mystery here.

| Published by AfterShock

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #7 continues the hunt for the Stilean Flesh Eaters as the Doctor and the team cross paths with some familiar faces. Gorgeous layouts and art here from Roberta Ingranata, Enrica Eren Angiolini, and Viviana Spinelli.

| Published by Titan

Eclipse #15 reaches a boiling point in this penultimate issue. Zack Kaplan, Giovanni Timpano, Flavio Dispenza, and Troy Peteri have at least partially turned this arc upside down, causing us to have some serious questions about the morality of either side in the conflict. It adds a great depth to the characters’ actions and makes me unsure as to what exactly I’d like to see in the finale.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Elephantmen 2261: The Pentalion Job #1 begins a new digital original mini-series from Richard Starkings and Axel Medellin. Burba sees himself released from prison early, only to be set up to do a new enormous heist. Starkings builds this one greatly out of what’s come before in the series and the art from Medellin is gorgeous.

| Published by Comicraft

Fallen World #1 is a very welcome return to the future of the Valiant universe, spinning out of the changes made to the world in 4001 AD and War Mother, with Dan Abnett, Adam Pollina, Ulises Arreola, and Jeff Powell weaving gold out of the fallen threads of the fallen New Japan. You needn’t have read anything prior to this, Abnett does a wonderful job filling in necessary details of the world and the characters. The art from Pollina is probably the best I have ever seen from him, there’s detail, grace, and expressiveness that has leapt so far beyond even the beautiful work he’s done before. He and Arreola make this a damn impressive book to look at. Highly recommended.

| Published by Valiant

Giant Days #50 features a cricket match, including an explanation of the game that makes more sense than I’ve ever seen it explained before. John Allison, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar, and Jim Campbell deliver another hilarious issue, with one hell of a final page.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / BOOM! Box

The Girl in the Bay #4 is the end to this mini from JM DeMatteis, Corin Howell, James Devlin, and Clem Robins. It answers what happened in order to create two Kathy Santoris, and her murderer’s deal, but it maintains the weirdness set from the beginning.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Gogor #1 is an entertaining start to this fantasy series from Ken Garing. The set up for the Domus taking over is interesting, as is the introduction of the seemingly Hulk-like saviour in the titular character. Gorgeous artwork throughout.

| Published by Image

Green Lantern #7 is a standout issue in an already astounding run, as Hal Jordan and a friend he finds in Pengowirr try to escape from Hal’s dying power ring. Great twists and turns throughout from Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, and Tom Orzechowski. The layouts for many of the pages, playing with the shape of the Green Lantern symbol are very impressive.

| Published by DC Comics

Harley Quinn #61 is the first of this series I’ve picked up, due to Otto Schmidt taking over regular art duties, and I quite like this. This is the first part of “Role Players” from Sam Humphries, Schmidt, and Dave Sharpe, porting Quinn off to an alternate realm steeped in Dungeons & Dragons fantasy tropes. It’s pretty entertaining, with great art from Schmidt.

| Published by DC Comics

Hashtag: Danger #1 is another entertaining addition to the second wave of Ahoy’s comics, with Tom Peyer and Chris Giarrusso’s humorous take on the Challengers of the Unknown formula graduated from back-up to series. It’s rounded out with the usual back-up strip, text piece, and prose.

| Published by Ahoy

Justice League #23 has one hell of a gut punch for an ending (granted, it’s a little undercut by the DC’s Year of the Villain Special, but how could we expect something like that to remain anyway?). Absolutely stunning artwork from Jorge Jimenez and Alejandro Sánchez who only seem to outdo themselves with each subsequent issue.

| Published by DC Comics

Marvel Team-Up #2 continues the team-up between Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man in this Freaky Friday take from Eve L. Ewing, Joey Vasquez, Felipe Sobreiro, and Clayton Cowles. Interesting exploration of Peter and Kamala as they navigate aspects of each other’s lives.

| Published by Marvel

Meet the Skrulls #4 unveils what was a the heart of Project Blossom as fractures continue to develop between the Warner family. Great twists and turns from Robbie Thompson, Niko Henrichon, Laurent Grossat, and Travis Lanham as the series winds up for its conclusion.

| Published by Marvel

Nobody is in Control #1 features some very dense storytelling from Patrick Kindlon, Paul Tucker, and Wallace Ryan in this debut issue that goes down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and seemingly random information. It reminds me a bit of the structure of Steve Seagle and Kelley Jones’ Crusades from Vertigo ages ago, but with a more likeable protagonist and a decidedly different narrative.  

| Published by Black Mask

The Punisher #11 is the explosive conclusion to “War in Bagalia” from Matthew Rosenberg, Szymon Kudranski, Antonio Fabela, and Cory Petit. When I say “conclusion”, though, I only mean it’s the end of the arc, it doesn’t really conclude anything with Jigsaw or Zemo. Great art from Kudranski and Fabela.

| Published by Marvel

Red Sonja #4 delves a bit more into Sonja’s past and training, seeding something interesting, while the first assault after being resupplied takes place. Mark Russell, Mirko Colak, Bob Q, Dearbhla Kelly, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou are continuing to tell an engrossing, thought-provoking story with this series.

| Published by Dynamite

Savage Avengers #1 is a good debut from Gerry Duggan, Mike Deodato Jr., Frank Martin, and Travis Lanham. It spins out of Avengers: No Road Home, but only inasmuch as depositing Conan in the Savage Land. We’re getting a bit of a gathering of the team here as an ancient cult tries to summon a bloodthirsty deity from a planet past Pluto.

| Published by Marvel

The Six Million Dollar Man #3 is another hilarious issue from Christopher Hastings, David Hahn, Roshan Kurichiyanil, and Ariana Maher. The comedy of errors increases as Steve tries to recharge himself through acting as a lightning rod. Just wonderful stuff.

| Published by Dynamite

Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #8 sees Seanan McGuire continue to absolutely nail the character development and interpersonal interactions between the characters in a compelling and intriguing way that hooks you well on their drama, even amidst all of the action, mystery, and excitement. Also, the art from Takeshi Miyazawa and Ian Herring remains incredible.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Han Solo #1 gives us a sweet smuggling run set between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back as Han and Chewie are still carving out what their place happens to be in this world, from Greg Pak, Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, Tamra Bonvillain, and Travis Lanham.

| Published by Marvel

Transformers #4 maintains the slowburn for this story arc, delivering a bit more information, a Cyclonus that might be insane, and Brainstorm’s funeral. Also, I’d swear that the story is hinting that the newly forged Transformer is the murderer, but that may just be me putting together dots that don’t actually align. It’s really nice to see art here from Sara Pitre-Durocher and Andrew Griffith as they join Angel Hernandez this issue.

| Published by IDW

Volition #5 throws a boatload of betrayals and twists at us as Amber and Hale continue to try to track down their creator...and her dog. Ryan Parrott, Marco Itri, Leonardo Paciarotti, and Marshall Dillon are very nicely raising the tension levels in this issue.

| Published by AfterShock

The War of the Realms #3 sees Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson, and Joe Sabino continue to juggle the massive amount of characters and threads going into this event (even if some of the tie-in mini-series don’t seem to line up with the main event book itself). Gorgeous art from Dauterman and Wilson.

| Published by Marvel

The War of the Realms: Strikeforce - The Dark Elf Realm #1 is a one shot from Bryan Hill, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Matt Hollingsworth, and Joe Sabino further exploring the team of Freyja, the Punisher, She-Hulk, Blade, and Ghost Rider before they ride off to Svartalfheim in War of the Realms #3. Some interesting character explorations and the nightmare of thousands of fluffy kittens.

| Published by Marvel

Young Justice #5 is huge, potentially exponentially huge, as it seems to pull at the fraying threads of the New 52 and Rebirth to hearken back to the pre-Flashpoint DCU. Brian Michael Bendis, John Timms, Kris Anka, Doc Shaner, Gabe Eltaeb, and Wes Abbott may be playing with fire but it’s a very welcome warmth. Bring marshmallows.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Amazing Spider-Man #20.HU, Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command #2, Beasts of Burden: The Presence of Others #1, Black AF: Devil’s Dye #3, Devil Within #4, The Dreaming #9, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #5, Female Furies #4, From Hell: Master Edition #5, Goosebumps: Horrors of the Witch House #1, Grumble #6, Hillbilly: Red-Eyed Witchery From Beyond #4, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #9, Marvel Action: Avengers #4, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #3, Outcast #41, Paper Girls #28, Self/Made #6, Star Wars #65, Star Wars Adventures: Flight of the Falcon, TMNT: Urban Legends #12, Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale

Recommended Collections: Aliens: Dust to Dust, Amazing Spider-Man - Volume 3, Art of War of the Realms, Bloodborne - Volume 2: Healing Thirst, Bone Parish - Volume 1, Doctor Strange - Volume 2: Remittance, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option, House Amok - Volume 1, Killmonger, Man Without Fear, Midas, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Volume 8, Olivia Twist: Honor Among Thieves, Princeless - Volume 7: Find Yourself, The Quantum Age, The Silencer - Volume 2: Helliday Road, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Terra Incognita, Stranger Things - Volume 1: The Other Side, Takio, TMNT - Volume 21: Battle Lines, Wonder Woman & Justice League Dark: Witching Hour, The Wrong Earth - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy would like to remind you that it’s Free Comic Book Day. Get out there and free some comics from the shackles of oppression. May the fourth be with you.

[freyaswolf]

Me, listening to this entire podcast. Nailed it. Endgame made no sense. All of us could have written it better. Fuck Tony Stark.

Avengers... Assemble! This week, a COVID-ravaged V and hardier Emily discuss a fannish, and mainstream, event they know all too well: the release of "the most ambitious crossover event in history," Avengers: Endgame. While living in a fandom bubble can make it feel like "the audience" wants one thing, big blockbusters like Endgame remind us all too harshly that fandom is still just a bunch of weirdo outliers, and as far as studios are concerned, "the audience" wants something that is -- often -- the opposite of what fandom wants. Does the thought of Steve's ending also fill you with unbridled rage? What blockbuster movie left you with a hole in your soul?

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!