Siege Aftermath and the Restructuring of the Marvel Universe

First off, I know it has been way too long since my last post. For that, I apologize. This past semester at university was the busiest both academically and socially I’ve ever had. That being said, my readers don’t come to this site to hear about my personal life. They come here to read about some damn comics. To that, I say, “Hell yeah.”

So last night, Tom Brevoort asked over Twitter who people would like to see on an Avengers team. It got me thinking. After this Dark Reign thing is over, how many Avengers teams do there need to be? Who qualifies as an Avenger in the new Heroic Age? What happens to the people who are more suited to the underground lifestyle the New Avengers have been living? If Steve Rogers isn’t going to be Captain America in the near future, where does he stand?

Here’s what I think:

I think there needs to be a big, mainstream Avengers team. Most people I’ve talked to agree that Captain America (Bucky), Iron Man, and Thor need to be the core of this team. Everybody can spend all day arguing about who else deserves to be on this team (Spider-Man? Wolverine? Spider-Woman? Ms. Marvel?) I would say that founding Avenger Hank Pym needs to be on the main Avengers team, but it would be a disservice to his recent character development in The Mighty Avengers to be anything less than a leader. I’ll get to where I think Pym should be in a second.

We know that there is going to be a Young Avengers team, and that creators Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung will finally be returning to their characters with Young Avengers: Children’s Crusade.

In the aftermath of Dark Reign, Norman Osborn won’t be head of HAMMER. We don’t know if HAMMER is going to continue to exist as an organization, or if SHIELD will return. Maybe neither will exist and a new organization will be formed. I’m guessing that after Siege, the President will place Steve Rogers as the director of the peacekeeping organization.

Under this new organization, something will have to be done about The Initiative. There were rumors a while back about an Avengers Academy book, and I think that a book like this is needed. In the series the 50-State Initiative will be carried out by volunteers who wish to register  and work for HAMMER/SHIELD/other (for a salary). Instead of conscripting everyone with superpowers, State Teams will be made up of those with the drive to serve instead of people being forced or bribed to serve. This Avengers “Academy” would be lead by none other than Hank Pym. The character has shown himself to be a leader and has taken young heroes (Stature and Vision) under his wing in The Mighty Avengers and performed extraordinarily. It would also be an interesting story to have the real Hank Pym in charge of The Initiative after his Skrull replacement messed it up the first time around.

Finally, we have characters who aren’t necessarily the golden boys (or girls) that the Heroic Age Avengers need. Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Wolverine…these are all more “street” level characters. I think it would be cool to have a book that focuses on a team of street level Avengers taking care of business. It would almost be like the Ultimate Knights storyline in Ultimate Spider-Man. Marvel could even call the book Marvel Knights. It gives characters like Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and other street level characters who don’t necessarily sell well enough to have their own solo titles a chance to shine and have their stories told.

So I guess from a publishing standpoint, certain books would be replaced by books with new directions.

The Mighty Avengers –> The Avengers

Avengers: The Initiative –> Avengers Academy book

New Avengers –> Marvel Knights street team book

Update

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated. With all of the major news in the comic industry (Disney’s impending acquisition of Marvel, DC Entertainment, Marvel’s Siege event, and the announcements from the Baltimore Retailer’s Summit) you’d think I have something to say. You’re right. I do have things to say, but to be honest, they are things that have already been said on every comic-related site on the internet. I don’t want to repeat the same crap. It’s a waste of my time writing it and a waste of your time reading it.

I’ll make some comments soon on some of the things I’ve found to be awesome in the comic industry as soon as my university midterms are over. I’d like to thank the site’s visitors for sticking around.

‘Stark: Disassembled’ Cover

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Okay, so this 50/50 variant cover for Invincible Iron Man #20 by Patrick Zircher is awesome on multiple levels. Not only is it a good-looking cover on its own, it happens to be a modified tribute cover. The original artwork, by industry superstar Alex Maleev, is from the one-shot Civil War: The Confession.

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It’s a really cool take that represents how messed up the Marvel Universe has become for the heroes over the past few years. When Thor last spoke to Tony Stark, it was pretty clear the Thunder God wanted nothing to do with his former friend. What circumstances bring Thor to Iron Man’s side? The situation must be very serious, indeed.

I guess we’ll find out in November. Personally, I can’t wait. Fraction’s run on Invincible Iron Man has been fantastic so far, and I’m eager to see how everything plays out.

Kieron Gillen Tapped for ‘Thor’

Video game journalist and comic book writer Kieron Gillen has been selected to write at least six issues of Marvel’s Thor. He will be following the critically acclaimed run on the title by J. Michael Straczynski, and as he states on his website, “JMS’ sudden departure from the book leaves a pair of Galactus-sized shoes to fill, or at least waddle around amusingly in. So it’s a pressure situation.”

I haven’t read anything of his before, but the editors at Marvel obviously have faith in him, having given him S.W.O.R.D. and Thor to write, so let’s wait and see what he can do.

Exclusive: New Ultimates Update

Tuesday night, I was at Comics, Cards, & Collectibles in Reisterstown, MD for a Marvel 70th Anniversary party. In attendance was Frank Cho, who was gracious enough to stop by the store for a signing even after the busy Chicago Comic Convention. I got him to sign my copy of Mighty Avengers #1 and a copy of his art book, Apes and Babes, in which he drew a quick sketch of his famous T&A.

Anyway, I asked him about how his work was coming along, and he gave me a surprising answer. He proceeded to tell those of us at the store that he had finished penciling the first issue of New Ultimates, which should be on sale in December if everything goes according to plan. It really got those of us hanging out in the store talking about New Ultimates, Ultimate Comics Avengers, and pretty much anything Ultimate.

I felt that people who are excited for the New Ultimates book should be given the good news that they won’t have to wait much longer.

Ultimatum, Ultimate Comics, and Lingering Questions

Okay, so while I’ve seen mostly negative reviews for Ultimatum #5, the comic stores I’ve visited in the past week couldn’t restock the shelves with the book quickly enough. I got the gatefold cover because I think it makes for a cool poster for my wall (as if I needed yet another comic-related poster in my apartment).

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SDCC 2009 Favorites

I could have spent the last few days writing articles about the various announcements at Comic Con International, but that would have been a bit redundant and a waste of my time. Dozens of sites exist that are already devoted to bringing the fans up-to-the-date announcements. What I will do, however, is point out some of the things that appealed to me personally.

Please comment on my favorite SDCC moments and also name some of your own in the comments section below.

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Casting Commentary – “Green Lantern” and “Thor”

Ryan Reynolds was cast as Hal Jordan in DC Comics’s Green Lantern film. The news spread from Variety.com across the social media outlets. Both “Green Lantern’ and ‘Ryan Reynolds’ reached the trending topics on Twitter. I was surprised to see mostly positive response to the news, as the internet is usually the center of hate and cynicism.

I did, however, see a few people angrily respond to the news because they believed that the Green Lantern is black. Obviously, they’re thinking of Green Lantern John Stewart. This leads me to believe that a portion of the mainstream’s only exposure to the Green Lantern franchise was through the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. While this doesn’t really bother me, the attitudes of some of the people who thought a black role was given to a white actor was appalling. All I ask is that these people do some research before they take a militant stance on something.

Marvel Studios issued a press release this afternoon, announcing that Natalie Portman has been added to the cast of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor film. Portman is going to play the part of an updated Jane Foster, who was one of Thor’s early love interests. She joins fellow cast members Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki).

I have to say that I really have confidence in this Thor film. The kind of talent, and the amount of talent, involved in the project really goes a long way to show that Marvel is serious about making quality films and not just quality comic book films.

Ultimate Comics Foilogram Covers

When Marvel announced today that they were going to have foilogram covers (foil + hologram = foilogram), they just had to know that a certain segment of fans would start screaming, jumping up and down, and flinging their poo against their cages. I’d be flinging right alongside them…if I didn’t know how to read.

“Retailers and fans don’t need to worry. We’re only doing this on a limited basis. You won’t see one on Ms Marvel #46 or Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #4. We’re using them to mark very special occasions…such as the launch of Ultimate Comics line.”

I know the nineties had ridiculous covers. I know we’re going to arrive at that point again. The warning signs are all there. See one of my earlier posts on Alex Ross variant covers for how I feel on that subject. This, however, is not one of them.

I’ve already seen people on Twitter, Facebook, and messageboards complaining about these covers and how the industry is going to crash again, or how foil covers brought about a collapse of the industry.

Please…I’m begging you. Read the whole press release before going into full nerd rage mode. I’m sure the forum moderators will appreciate it. If Marvel announces that the foilogram covers were such a success that they’re expanding the use of them, then by all means, act like a caged chimp.

Ender Hardcovers

If you haven’t been reading Marvel’s adaptation of the Orson Scott Card novels Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Ender’s Game happens to be my favorite novel of all time, and I’m glad Marvel is keeping Christopher Yost and Pasqual Ferry on the next volume of Ender’s Game. Mr. Ferry’s artwork brings the first part of the novel to life in a way that reflects the youthful eyes the events of the novel are viewed through, and I was especially delighted with his representation of the Battle Room.

The hardcovers for the first volumes of Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow come out on July 15th, and the cover designs have just been unveiled.

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