Okay, So...Miracleman/Marvelman Has Joined The Regular Marvel Continuity

I've been enjoying, "Avengers: Armageddon." It discusses the usual interesting, "Why don't superheroes actually do anything?" concept that various famous mini-series have done, but we see less in ongoing comics because, well, if the heroes change too much, the comic quits working due to a lack of conflict. When you have a comic where the superheroes end up taking over or solving the World's problems, there isn't much to do from there. You can tell a story about the heroes trying to hold onto power, ruling a dull Utopia, or blowing up the World and destroying everything. The Authority took over Wildstorm, and it was boring, so they gave the power back...and then the whole Wildstorm continuity was literally blown up, and the comics persisted a bit in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In, "Watchmen," we witness Doctor Manhattan tricking Earth into World peace, and then there is little else to tell, so the story ends (until we got the television show with its remix of some past elements and a story set in the future/present that shows the undoing of Manhattan's work). The character David Colton gained a bunch of mysterious powers in a previous mini-series, and the fourth issue that came out today had a big reveal about his powers. Another hero who once took a lot of action.

Yes, one hero who did a lot was Marvelman/Miracleman when Alan Moore and Gary Leach took over the series in the 1980s and did an epic deconstruction of superheroic tropes. It ended up being unfinished. Then the work was in copyright Hell for years; Marvel got the rights in 2009, but seemed to have little clue what to do with them. They reprinted old stuff, started publishing some new material (with writing by Gaiman that now will most likely never conclude due to...yeah). In 2021, a one-shot hinted at Miracleman coming to the 616 Universe... then, crickets. Until now in, "Avengers: Armageddon," #4. When it looks like the Red Hulk (Thunderbolt Ross) has almost successfully killed Colton, he says the magic word, "Kimota," to turn into Miracleman/Marvelman, or some version of the hero. Fun, sure, but...huh?

Buckle up because this gets weird. Okay: David Colton first appeared in the early issues of the latest, "Captain America," run as a man who tried to be a replacement Captain America while Steve Rogers was, "In the ice," before thawing shortly after 9/11 (yes, the Marvel timeline always is shifting; don't think about it too hard). He quit and was given some tech by Tony Stark to keep him alive, due to the super-soldier treatment significantly shortening his lifespan/weakening his heart. In the, "Weapons of Armageddon," mini-series that set up "Avengers Armageddon," he nearly died fighting the latest nefarious organization experimenting on mutants (this time in an attempt to make some newer super-soldiers) but was saved by a mysterious Origin Box. What is an Origin Box, you may ask? Well, they came over from the new Ultimate Universe and contain various mysterious powers that are granted to the people who are supposed to open them if they so choose--Miles Morales brought some over when he stopped over in the latest Ultimate Universe, and one with unclear powers was used on Colton--it made him superhuman and now into Miracleman/Marvelman. Why was there an origin box for such a hero in the latest Ultimate Universe and that wasn't discussed at all in any of those comics? I have no clue; maybe the fifth issue of, "Avengers: Armageddon," will explain this mess of continuity I have (poorly) attempted to summarize. In short, a dude who was a replacement Captain America is now possibly the most powerful being in the Marvel Universe--maybe rivaled by Sentry, depending on which writer you ask?

From seeing all this happen, especially considering how long Marvel had the rights, all I can ask is something along the lines of that, "Simpsons," meme with, "Why now? Why not seventeen years ago?" when they first acquired the rights and did F-all with them for nearly two decades? If I squint really hard I can kind of see how David Colton and Mircleman/Marvelman align as heroes who want to make a big difference in a World that has grown indifferent to superheroes. That said, this is the 616 Marvel Universe, the main continuity! Any big change usually finds itself undone and reverted to a status quo (or something very close to the status quo) within a year or two. 

Every big event is discussed as, "Changing everything forever/nothing will ever be the same!" and then does not last, with minor exceptions (the OG Captain Marvel has been dead since the 1980's, Skrull impersonator aside). It is being revealed that Colton/Miracleman/Marvelman will be joining the latest iteration of the Avengers in a new, "The Avengers," comic that launches at the end of this year, so it appears he's sticking around. We might get some good stories from this, and we'll see a big boost of interest in the character and some classic yarns that feature him! That, or it could be like when Marvel got the rights to Angela from the, "Spawn," comics, and after a year or two, pretty much nobody cared. As I said, besides wondering why Marvel waited so long to do this, I don't have strong feelings on Miracleman/Marvelman popping up in this continuity now; it was quite messy how this occurred, and I hope it's explained and ends up working.

Let's Check in On, "Deadpool," With his Latest #1 Issue!

Deadpool is one of the, "Newer," characters at Marvel in the sense he came about in the 1990s as opposed to decades before. The thing with the passage of time is that now in some ways it seems like he's been around forever with a new guard of even fresher characters on the scene in the past decade or so (Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, and so forth). There have been times a metric ton of books featuring Deadpool were coming out and times the flow of titles is a bit lighter. Lately, it feels like his, "Main," series has kept re-launching and that isn't just me thinking such a thing--this latest series is the fourth in five years. Why Marvel keeps starting over with a new #1 is beyond me (I mean, I guess that attracts new readers sometimes and gets sales), but here we are in 2024 with the latest, "Deadpool, "#1. I haven't read a Deadpool-centric book in a while so I thought I'd check it out.

This was a solid debut issue. It discusses events from some past, "Deadpool," series I recall (his daughter, Ellie) and things I am unfamiliar with (he was in love recently and also now has a new symbiote daughter-pet creature he was, "Pregnant," with a bit ago). Everything is mentioned in a manner that readers can pick up the gist of what is going on and enjoy the main thing many folks read Deadpool for--Jokes and violence. Between some sadness and humanity (I do like it when Deadpool isn't purely a joke machine) we get quips and a number of body parts going flying. The creative team of Cody Zigalr (writer), Rogê Ântonio (artist), and GURU-eFX (colors) all synergize wonderfully. I was especially tickled by a busy page of a car chase where Deadpool does his signature breaking of the 4th wall and remarks it was probably a pain for the artist to draw--but man, does it look awesome too.

"Deadpool," #1 introduces us to the character's latest status quo and gives us a mysterious new villain Deadpool encounters while on a mercenary mission (Death's Grip). Sometimes the debut issue of a series is so busy setting up stuff or filling us in on past events it forgets to entertain in its own right--thankfully the first issue of, "Deadpool," avoids that trap and is a superb read. If you like, "Deadpool," this should successfully scratch your itch for more of his shenanigans.

5 out of 5 stars.

Spider-Man's Clones Are Going to Fight in Summer 2024

Before all the different universes existed with a wide range of Peter Parker's, Miles Morales', Gwen Stacy's, and so forth, the hot thing was giving Peter Parker clones. The two most notable clones to ever be produced from good ol' Peter would be Ben Reily and Kaine. Ben was the Scarlet Spider for a bit, the main Spidey at points, and recently became evil--insert scary thunderclap here--and goes by Chasm. Depending on who's been writing Kaine, he has been slowly dying from his cells being unstable, acting as a hero in Houston Texas going by the name Scarlet Spider too (it is a popular title), and otherwise popping up in Spidey-related events. Speaking of such a thing, it seems Ben and Kaine are going to fight in an upcoming event/mini-series/something.

On Christmas day Marvel teased that something was coming with Chasm/Ben and Kaine. Apparently titled, "Chasm: Curse of Kaine," it'll feature the clones going to head-to-head, one would think. What else the focus will be is a mystery. This could be some kind of event, a mini-series, or something else. It could even end up with Ben and Kaine working together to fight some bigger problem like a buddy-cop movie where the two people don't like each other at first but then learn to get along. Nobody knows for sure, but if you grew up in the 1990s like me then you get a nice twinge of nostalgia for Spider-Man clones in the same way kids today love all the multiversal Spideys. I imagine as we near the Summer of 2024 more answers will be forthcoming about what exactly this is. Till then, we shall wait!

I Don't Get the Fans Who, "Love," Marvel so Much that they Hate It

"The Marvels," movie was first place in the box office when it came out last weekend. That said, it was a quiet week and it did not make as much as other Marvel movies have lately so it was posted about on many sites as, "Bombing." I haven't gone to a movie since the birth of our second child, but when it was easier to see Marvel flicks I did, and I liked the, "Captain Marvel," movie when I viewed it in theaters. A chunk of folks hated it for various reasons (some of the internet despises Brie Larson for being an outspoken feminist) and this is a bit of a sequel to that first movie (and incorporates characters from, "Wandavision," as well as the, "Ms. Marvel," shows on Disney+). Perhaps there just wasn't a big hook for people to go see, "The Marvels," or maybe it is the time of year, Hell, perhaps there is, "Superhero fatigue," setting in among some viewing audiences. That said, "The Marvels," didn't do super hot in theaters and one imagines Marvel's biggest fans would be disappointed, right? Well, some people who claim to be the biggest comic nerds seemed to celebrate this stumble from the company.

You can go on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, or anywhere online and find people who claim to be the biggest fans of the comic format and comic movies spewing outright hatred at Disney and the MCU. They complain about, "Forced diversity," of race and gender as if having women or people of color hurts their entertainment. They whine that you can't call Miles Morales as Spider-Man as Peter Parker is the only true Spider-Man. I see these people state comics are, "Too woke," as if back when these books were first coming out they weren't tackling heavy subjects (the X-Men are one big metaphor obviously, to give a single example of countless). I fans who claim to love what Marvel, "Used to be," now just expressing little but hatred for the thing they say they're a big fan of. I don't get it.

They're mad like someone forced them to watch this movie
that they clearly went into planning to dislike.

If you once loved something but hate it now, just give it up. It isn't going to change back for you. It is only going to keep altering itself in ways that some may like and others may dislike. The change will be constant though because when you quit evolving you are extinct. I sometimes feel like the people who criticize Marvel's comics and movies the loudest would prefer it went out of business. Something similar can be witnessed with, "Fans," of DC movies who only like the movies if Zack Snyder has made them. Funnily enough, Snyder is by all accounts very friendly and chill, but the, "Snyderbros," tend to be extremely hateful and mean to others.

It isn't like I want to be sitting here defending a big corporation. Marvel is owned by Disney, and at the end of the day, the companies have absurd amounts of money and power. That said, it just befuddles me to see people online who love something so much they seem to outright despise it at the same time and look at its past with a skewed view as if it wasn't always political, progressive, and topical. If you want your comics stuck in a past that never existed that's your prerogative but you don't have to post 20-minute diatribes on YouTube about the, "M-She-U," or how, "Going woke is bad," or whatever. I'll write on this blog about if I try to watch/read/etc. something and dislike it, but I don't continue to dedicate my time to a thing I hate. That's just ignorant and self-punishment. Why would you do that to yourself unless it is part of a gift to play on others' emotions and make money from their anger via clicks and views? Oh, it's that too? Makes sense.

"Ultimate Invasion," #1 Sets a Lot of Intrigue in Motion

Jonathan Hickman is a writer who has done a lot of cool comics and written some big stories at Marvel, especially. He took the Ultimate Universe Reed Richards years ago and helped start him on a dark twisted path to becoming The Maker. He did a massive run on, "Avengers," and, "New Avengers," which led to the last, "Secret Wars." He relaunched the X-Men into their current status quo of having the big island of Krakoa (then either left the books a bit early of his own volition or was pushed off, it seems unclear). Now it has been revealed Hickman will be relaunching the Ultimate Universe in some fashion, with, "Ultimate Invasion," kicking things off via a four-issue mini-series. The artist for this is, fittingly, Bryan Hitch, a man who was there quite early in the life of the original Ultimate Universe with, "The Ultimates."

This debut issue lays a ton of groundwork, with The Maker breaking out of a specialized prison in the, "Regular," 616 Marvel Universe and the Illuminati coming together after he takes a ton of their tech. We also witness as the Maker/evil Reed makes an offer to Miles Morales to go back to the Ultimate Universe as they are the only two refugees from there and Miles politely declines. Eventually, the Maker does seem to escape and the 616 heroes worry just how bad his plans might be. If I may spoil the issue's end, something interesting happens that shows we are possibly getting a different Ultimate Universe indeed. It's the present yet events from the past are just about to happen with a unique spider nearly biting teenager Peter Parker...before a somewhat-disguised Maker stops it. 

This seemingly new Ultimate Universe might end up being familiar but also have some big differences. I'm eager to see how Hickman and Hitch tweak the Ultimate Universe formula. After all, the original take was basically, "The Marvel Universe, but more modern, more edgy, and lots of characters are kind of jerks." Then it spun off in all kinds of wild directions with twists way different than the main Marvel Universe and ended up being destroyed along with a variety of other Universes during, "Secret Wars." I'm quite curious what Hickman and Hitch are going to give us as, "Ultimate Invasion," concludes and a possibly new and significantly different Ultimate Universe hits the scene. It'll be fun to find out what happens!

5 out of 5 stars.

Marvel Announces, "Ultimate Invasion," is Coming this Summer

Ever since Marvel's Ultimate Universe ended during the, 2015 "Secret Wars," event there have been hints of something brewing with its possible return. The Ultimate Universe's Reed Richards (who became an evil fellow named The Maker) popped up in the, "Venom," series while Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman worked on it, and Miles Morales originated in the Ultimate Universe before being folded into the main 616 continuity after, "Secret Wars," with issues arising at times for him due to that (the, "Other Miles," also called Ultimatum). Things are coming to a head, however, with, "Ultimate Invasion."

Writer Jonathan Hickman (who did a chunk of work with the Ultimate Universe when he came to Marvel) and illustrator Bryan Hitch (who was basically involved with the Ultimate Universe from the start back in the 2000s) will be doing, "Ultimate Invasion." It'll have The Maker and Miles Morales heavily involved along with heroes from both Universes seeming to face off with that troublemaking Illuminati that Bendis created in, "New Avengers," and Hickman also wrote having some involvement too --possibly an Ultimate Illuminati? The exact details of the event are scarce, but with a solid creative team and a fun concept, I'm already on board to at least try the event out. I just hope it doesn't have a ton of tie-ins as that gets tiring (although it is often easy to skip a chunk of those if needed). More of, "Ultimate Invasion," will apparently be revealed in a Free Comic Book Day offering from Marvel with the first issue following in June.

The Comic, "Variant," Mess That C2E2 Wrought

The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo just happened and the event itself was a good time, by all accounts. That's not what everyone in the comic-sphere is discussing at the moment. A company by the name of Black Flag had an old, "Ultimate Fallout," #4 reprint (the first appearance of Miles Morales) variant laying around so they stapled a new acetate cover to it. Then they got this bootleg cover of sorts graded by CGC as an official thing and solid it at C2E2 to a bunch of vendors and popular, "Influencers," in bulk. This made it hard for other folks to get the thing and a perfect storm of controversy erupted. The talking points are...

1. Black Flag basically mutilated their original comic by stapling on a plastic cover that makes the whole thing ugly and has a grammar typo (it reads, "In God We In Trust,") yet CGC graded it with a universal label as if it is its own unique comic.

2. Marvel did not approve the alterations to the comic beyond the initial variant cover so it is essentially counterfeit in the eyes of Marvel, is being reported by folks as not legitimate on eBay, yet got graded as if it were legitimate.

3. Some folks were claiming that influencers and vendors were cutting the line for copies of the comic and the popular app Whatnot actually was involved in getting them access. I actually have a friend who wishes to remain anonymous and they attended C2E2. They filled me in on what they witnessed of this debacle. They say those people had pre-paid for the comics and were picking up their bulk orders, but were not skipping the line according to what my friend witnessed. Also, Whatnot itself had nothing to do with it, it was just some sellers who are popular on Whatnot that took the initiative to order a bunch of copies in advance. Apparently, the Whatnot app staff/owners were as caught off guard by all of this as anyone else.

4. Black Flag raised the price on the comic once people started flooding the booth trying to get it, hearing it was, "Hot," from those vendors and influencers on Instagram/Whatnot/etc. They started charging even more because everyone suddenly wanted this controversial comic and it sold out quickly because--as mentioned--a bunch of people had bought copies in bulk.

5. Black Flag has said they are going to do this whole stapled-on-acetate-cover again at an upcoming convention and has outright announced they will have two lines. A line for people they deem big enough, "Influencers," who can buy 10 copies of their new comic at once to then resell, and a line where normal folks can buy a single comic. This has rubbed people the wrong way that Black Flag is outright selling stuff to resellers for the purpose of reselling as some folks view comic reselling and speculation as a plague upon the industry. I like to buy and sell comics for fun as the ones I, "Flip," help pay for my personal collection, so my feeling on speculation and reselling are not that negative, but intentionally playing to speculators is just a losing game that results in a bubble waiting to pop--look at the comic crash of the 1990s.

Fans are pissed, CGC is embarrassed, Marvel is upset, Black Flag is unrepentant, and things are probably only going to get crazier at this rate.

"What If...Miles Morales," #1 Holds a Promising Start

I (almost) always love a good alternate reality tale. DC has done them with titles such as, "Elseworlds," or, "Flashpoint," which had an alternate reality outright change the main DC Universe (the New52). Marvel has off-and-on done their, "What If," comics and they tend to either be quite great or just terrible (with rarely an in-between). I was curious what exactly was the idea behind a, "What If," mini-series focused entirely on Miles Morales becoming a different superhero in each issue. Was it a silly cash-grab because Miles is so popular or a clever way to explore the character of Miles through different heroic lenses? Well, having read the first issue where Miles becomes a new Captain America (after exposure to the latest super-soldier serum in the present day) I enjoyed what I read a good deal and see some interesting possibilities for future issues.

If I may spoil a smidgen, it is clear this issue is not a standalone tale, as multiversal travel is discussed and it seems to be strongly hinted various Miles are going to be needing to team up to face the threat of reality itself falling apart. That adds a fascinating little meta element beyond, "Let's have Miles be a different superhero in each issue and leave it at that." Cody Ziglar's writing hints at even more cool stuff coming and Paco Medina's art is always a treat as well. It's a fun issue and the hints that things are going to get crazy (maybe a Spider-verse but just with Miles...a Miles-verse) has my interest especially piqued. This first issue is definitely worth reading, in other words.

5 out of 5 stars.

How Clarkson and I Reacted to the News of Brian Michael Bendis Leaving Marvel for DC

The above video of Clarkson responding to me telling him the news--Brian Michael Bendis is leaving Marvel for DC--sums up my feelings pretty well too. I wanted a snack and let out an exhausted sigh. Bendis has for over a decade been associated with Marvel ever since he did some indie and Image stuff before the company scooped him up. He's written almost all the most popular characters at the company (Daredevil, The Avengers) and created a few popular individuals himself too (Jessica Jones, Miles Morales). The man's love for Luke Cage helped the lesser-known character become a household name and lot of the Marvel stuff that made it to Netflix is based on his character work with Cage, Jones, and Daredevil (not so much Iron Fist, that was more Ed Brubaker who revitalized that character) and even if his most recent stuff has been weak (anything X-Men related) he created some stellar stuff and still was masterful at writing solo-books although I personally feel outside of his first, "New Avengers," stuff that he struggles horribly to do team-focused books.

Well, after all these years it was announced today that Brian Michael Bendis of all people has signed a big, "Multiyear, Multi-faceted deal," with Marvel's biggest competitor. I at first thought it was a joke when I saw some comments about this on Twitter, but then a number of creators along with Bendis himself were confirming it. The official DC tweet is as such:

I'm no really upset or happy about this. It just is if anything stressful (making me want a relaxing snack) to wonder how this will impact books at both companies as Bendis is a writer who either makes awesome stuff or really underwhelming-to-awful books--it is hard to recall a purely mediocre title by him, they just fit into extremes. All I can do is what my son does at the video's conclusion, let out a big sigh and see how things turn out. Perhaps we will get more of, "Awesome Bendis," and a lot less of, "Terrible Bendis."

Film Friday: Spider-Man: Homecoming

That Was a Good Movie! 

It came out a bit ago and last weekend I finally saw it after being pretty good about avoiding spoilers, and I have to say, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," was a really good movie even if it isn't one of the best Marvel movies ever. I suppose the problem is that with so many Marvel flicks now that are at least good it can be hard to be the, "Best," but when you're super-enjoyable like, "Homecoming," that's perfectly fine.  You've probably seen, "Homecoming," by now or don't mind spoilers so know I'm going to throw some out there. How about we break things down by what I liked and what I didn't like that much? Yeah, let's do that!

What I Liked

The acting was superb. Tom Holland makes a pitch-perfect Peter Parker and Spider-Man, Robert Downey Junior as Iron Man continues to be amazing, and Michael Keaton steals the show as he illustrates why he is such an amazing actor. That scene where Peter is driven to Homecoming by Keaton (who is revealed to be his date's dad and we already know by then he is the Vulture) whilst Keaton slowly realizes how Parker is Spider-Man has got to be my favorite scene in the movie. Plus, Marisa Tomei is always welcome.

The street-level view of a world where the Avengers exist is clever. It's a world with heroes which has therefore changed, but still is recognizable. I know the  Marvel Netflix shows kind of do this too (and, "Agents of Shield," if you remember that exists) but this movie really delves into that, which I like. We also answer the question finally of how all that damage to NYC from the first Avenger's movie was cleaned-up.

Thank God we don't get a ton of origin or back-story, because at this point I think watching Uncle Ben die one more time will drive me insane. At one point a spider-bite is mentioned and the movie has a prologue where we see Spider-Man's role in, "Civil War," fleshed-out a bit, but no long drawn-out tale of how he got his powers. Thank you God.

The movie is funny, as most of the Marvel flicks are, but doesn't border on too funny like the, "Guardians of the Galaxy," flicks sometimes get dangerously close to doing, bordering on being more of a comedy. "Homecoming," knows when to crack some jokes and when to give us some serious bits.

What I Didn't Like

I wish we got more Donald Glover. He is so great and clearly they are hinting he could become the Prowler based on his character's name--plus the mention he makes of a nephew hints that Miles Morales exists too!

It's a little nit-picky, but how is Spider-Man getting away with operating in Queens so flagrantly when heroes are supposedly regulated now? The, "Sokovia Accords," even get mentioned when Peter is in a class. Is the fact the Spider-Man mainly sticks to Queens as opposed to going to other countries what keeps him exempt from that sort of regulation? I mean, he isn't exactly under-the-radar as evidenced by when he makes National news saving people at the Washington Monument (which is damaged in manner that is actually mostly his fault, but people don't know that, thankfully for him).

Closing Observations

Nothing else really occurred that I disliked, it all was pretty good, if not utterly amazing. In some ways the lack of much that made me go, "Whoa," outside of that stellar car-scene is a little bit disappointing, but if I can see a movie that is a solid 4 out of 5 stars.