Avengers vs X-Men Battle Report # 6 (Super Sized)

 

  Welcome Ladies & Gentlemen. Battle Report comes back with a MASSIVE update and return. We will catch up to date on all things AvX. We are gonna catch you up on all the hard-hitting action and events since the last battle report. There is a  LOT of ground to cover. So, sit back, hold on tight and brace yourselves cause this will be a bumpy ride.






Avengers vs. X-Men Round 6

       If you thought things were crazy before, the first part of the second arc of Avengers vs X-Men will make you go nuts. The Phoenix Five (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik & Namor) lead the X-Men into helping the world proactively. They grew crops in deserts. They end wars. The Phoenix Five, under Cyclops' direction, mean business. They  rebuild Utopia into a stronger country ... more so than it ever was; which gives Magneto glee while Charles Xavier does not seem to fond of the methods of the Phoenix Five.
   The Avengers, particularly Captain America, Iron Man and Black Panther, are finding all the work that the Phoenix Five are doing disturbing and set the Avengers to go after Hope. Yet, before they go, there is an exchange on how to KILL the Phoenix Five if need be. At which point, Beast is disgusted and quits; stating that he no longer has a home on either side.
    Back on Utopia, Hope talks with her grandfather, Cyclops, about how the Phoenix still calls to her but Cyclops tells her that she does not deserve the power; even though she was chosen to be the true Phoenix host. The Phoenix Five start an attack on the Avengers, stating that the Avengers are now looked upon as renegades. Yet, before they can collect Captain America ... Scarlet Witch arrives. Cyclops touches her, which hurts him. The Avengers escape while Cyclops orders for Scarlet Witch's head after they escape with Hope, who is more than willing to leave with the Avengers.


New Avengers # 25-27 

    The Phoenix/K'un L'un Connection is established as a former Iron Fist was also the host for the Phoenix at one point. And there are legends of the Phoenix fighting a crimson demon ... who points at a particular heroine on the Avengers. It moves from past to present as the Avengers are able to get Hope and have her, Spiderman and Iron Fist take her to the city of K'un L'un.


Secret Avengers #28

    The final part of the Kree connection in Avengers vs. X-Men as Captain Mar-vell has some long words with Carol Danvers. This issue helps set up Carol as the new Captain Marvel.


AvX:Versus #4 

    Psylocke vs. Daredevil. Phoenix Emma Frost vs. Thor. And that fight get brutal as Emma gets shattered during the battle.


Avengers vs. X-Men Round 7 

   Almost picking up where the last issue left off, the Phoenix Five are after the Avengers. Yet, the Avengers know that the Phoenix Five are not found of Scarlet Witch or her powers. They hatch a plan to use special disguises to make multiple people look like Wanda as they fight the X-Men on multiple fronts. Several Avengers are taken captive while Hawkeye is also burned alive. Scarlet Witch, once again, proves herself being able to hurt the Phoenix Five, teleporting Namor back to Utopia from the other side of the world. Yet, at the end of the issue, Emma makes out with Namor and convinces him to go attack Wakanda.

Avengers Academy #32 & # 33

    Emma Frost, powered up by her portion of the Phoenix Powers, decides that it is time to go to the Avengers Academy and make an example of the students there; particularly the young student that controls a  Sentinel. Emma Frost does end up killing the Sentinel but also contends with a hard battle; not only fighting the Avengers Academy staff but also the students themselves; including former New X-Man X-23. X-23 threatens to kill Emma but Emma ends up retreating.

Uncanny X-Men # 14 - #16

  UNIT's control of Danger has her taking down the Generation Hope kids and rewriting their memories. Meanwhile, the main story of these issues deal with Sinister making his ultimate play against the X-Men, hoping to get the Phoenix Five in order to control them. And he attacks the Extinction Team with legions of Sinisters, Madelyn Pryor & Gambit clones. His castle bases rests on top of a clone of Krakoa. And it looks that he is enough of a match for the Phoenix Five; leaving Psylocke, Storm, Magneto and Danger to the rescue.


X-Men Legacy # 268 

    While there are some details of the Phoenix Five dealing with a countries issue of war, this issue focus's on Frenzy and her brother. Readers get a good look to see where Frenzy's head is at these days.

Wolverine & the X-Men # 12 

   Focused on Rachel Grey, Rachel fends off the Avengers as she is tasked with hunting down Wolverine and the Avengers. Rachel is definitely not happy about this as she wonders if she did the right thing. After a disturbing talk with her father, Cyclops, Rachel ends up tracking down Hope ... then letting her go. (Good job Rachel. You are an awesome aunt.)

Avengers vs. X-Men Round 8

      It is devastation. It is gore. It is a Phoenix Namor, bringing a large tidal wave into Wakanda. Wakanda is devastated by this attack and the Avengers Assemble, with Scarlet Witch as they go all out against Namor ... and win. Finding that once they defeat a Phoenix powered member of the Phoenix Five, it leaves them and splits between the remaining hosts. Plus, Professor Xavier threatens Cyclops to stop this and Cyclops decides NOT to heed his old teacher.

New Avengers #28

   We see Spiderwoman, Hawkeye and Luke Cage escaping from their cells on Utopia as they fight off Magma, the Cuckoos and more, only to be stopped by Phoenix Colossus, Havok, Polaris, Gambit and Psylocke. They look as if they still are going to escape when .... oh no. It was a dream. Made by Unit and Danger. Nice try though.

Wolverine & the X-Men # 13 

   The origin of Warbird. Plus, an angry Gladiator, who is the Emperor of the Shi'ar. The Death Commandos and more. Gladiator takes on the Phoenix Five ... and Loses.

X-Men Legacy # 269 -270

  Rogue takes center stage these issues as we look at how far she has come. It is the long anticipated rematch between Rogue  and Ms. Marvel ... which she wins. When Phoenix Magik shows up, she introduces Rogue to the new prison they have been sending the Avengers . .. a mountain that Magik has transformed to be part of Limbo. This leads to Rogue deciding to help Ms. Marvel ... only to have them fight Phoenix Magik ... and lose. Ms. Marvel is put back to her hellish prison while Rogue is banished to another dimension.

Avengers #28 

   Red Hulk deals with why he's even involved in this conflict then decides to try to assignate Cyclops. And he gets his big Hulk self beaten badly by the Phoenix Five for his trouble. They even break Red Hulk's arm!

Wolverine & the X-Men # 14

   Phoenix Colossus drops by the Jean Grey School, being looked after by Kitty Pryde with flowers. The two go on a date and Colossus pops the question. And Kitty says ... NO. Meanwhile, Iceman, Rachel, Angel and more decide to defect from the Phoenix Five's side.

The King and Queen of Mutants Take a Stroll.

Avengers vs. X-Men Round 9 

    Wakanda starts to work on healing itself as Black Panther annuls his marriage to Storm after she admits that he was right. (BOOOOOOOOOOOO!) The Avengers numbers are dwindling till Scarlet Witch works her magic while Spider-man gets his moment to shine as he takes down BOTH Phoenix Colossus and Phoenix Magik by himself. Now, the Avengers got most of their comrades back: Spiderwoman, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Thing & Thor. The stage is being set for the final showdown. And the only 2 Phoenix bearers left are Cyclops and Emma Frost.


AvX Battle Results: 

Red Hulk vs. Phoenix Five    Winner: Phoenix Five
Psylocke vs. Daredevil      Winner: Draw
Magik vs. Hawkeye        Winner: Magik
Spiderwoman, Hawkeye & Luke Cage vs. Utopia   Winner: Danger & UNIT

Dogpile Phoenix powered Namor.

Rachel Grey vs. Thor   Winner: Draw
Rachel Grey vs. Iron Fist   Winner: Rachel Grey
Rachel Grey vs. Black Widow   Winner: Rachel Grey
Scarlet Witch vs. Namor       Winner: Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch vs. Magik      Winner: Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch vs. Cyclops & Emma Frost    Winner: Scarlet Witch
Gladiator vs. The Phoenix Five     Winner: Phoenix Five
Death Commandos vs. The Phoenix Five   Winner: Phoenix Five
Wolverine vs. Cyclops    Winner: Cyclops
Rogue vs. Ms. Marvel          Winner: Rogue
Rogue & Ms. Marvel vs. Magik    Winner: Magik
Captain  America & Black Panther vs. Emma Frost  Winner: Emma Frost

Emma Frost vs. Avengers Academy Staff    Winner: Emma Frost
Emma Frost vs. Sentinel                Winner: Emma Frost
Emma Frost vs. Entire Avengers Academy   Winner: Avengers Academy
Emma Frost vs. Thor    Winner: Emma Frost
Iceman vs. Spiderman   Winner: Spiderman
Sinister vs. The Phoenix Five    Winner: Sinister ... kind of.
Namor vs. The Avengers     Winner: The Avengers
Spiderman vs. Magik & Colossus Winner: Spiderman




Injuries

 Where do I begin?

 - Emma as shatter and put herself back together.
- Hawkeye was burned alive then healed by the Phoenix Five
 - Namor got a few concussions after that battle in AvX Round 8
- Red Hulk's arm was busted with some other parts of him.
- Almost everyone has cuts and bruises
- Storm & Black Panther's marriage is pretty much broken
- Wolverine has burns, cuts, broken bones and more.
- Colossus's mind must be so messed up as he has the Phoenix & the Juggernaut in him. Well, had the Phoenix.
 - Rachel is hurting mentally because of being forced to hunt down the Avengers and her own niece.
 - Iceman was shattered several times.
- Rogue must deal with demon power and getting thrown into another dimension.
- Sentinel is dead.
- Hawkeye, Spiderwoman, Luke Cage & Gen Hope all got mind fucked by Danger & UNIT

Spidey gives Hope a pep talk about a person's moment in time.

- Danger being a slave to UNIT

- The Avengers egos got hit hard.

And those are just for starters.






NOTES

  We are seeing the beginning of the end.

- The Illuminati are coming back together for this event which means they may use the Infinity Gauntlet.

- What will Professor Xavier's role be if he goes up against Scott and Emma.

 - The X-Men seem to be leaving Scott's side. Which means ... WOLVERINE WAS RIGHT.

- The Avengers Academy might be ending soon with the recent announcement from Tigra and Hank Pym that they are closing the school.

- No matter what happens, both the X-Men ... well, Scott's X-Men more than the others and the Avengers are gonna need some major looks into their leadership. It is clear that this whole situation could have been avoided with better leaders.

- What the hell is up with Havok & Polaris showing up but no lines?  And siding with Scott?

- Spiderman proves why not only he deserves to be an Avenger but why the group NEEDS him.

- Scarlet Witch is a BAD BITCH! Werk it mija!

She is saying "Yes, I'm Back. And I'm a Baaaaaaaaaad Bitch!"

- Vision seems to be lightening up on Wanda ... a little.

- Where are Scarlet Witch's sons? I would figure they would want in. Well ... Speed more than Wiccan.

- Carol giving Rogue the benefit of the doubt and said that she proved herself speaks volumes on how far these women have come.

- Emma maybe getting too corrupted by the power, hmm?

- Storm and Black Panther's annulment is pure BULLSHIT!

- Again, Scarlet Witch is a BAD BITCH!



In 2 Weeks: More Battle Report. I promise.

Marvel NOW Updates - Behold ... the Uncanny Avengers & More.

Uncanny Avengers by John Cassidy

 There has been A LOT of buzz around Marvel's upcoming relaunch, Marvel NOW. Marvel NOW, for those of you who have been gone all holiday weekend, will be a 22 title relaunch initiative that Marvel will start this October and will have 1 title, every week, till February 2013. Yep. 22 new titles. So it is not a complete, line wide restart.

  Now more news has come out recently about Marvel NOW ... as I am sure it will throughout the next several months as we do not have full confirmations of what all the 22 titles are. In the previous article, we heard that Avengers, All -New X-Men and Uncanny Avengers are among the relaunch titles. It has also been confirmed that Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca will move from Iron Man to Fantastic Four at the end of Jonathan Hickman's run on the title.



 What do we have now? First, as you can plainly see, the full roster of the Uncanny Avengers, which will be written by fan favorite writer, Rick Remender with art by John Cassidy. The roster will include Captain America, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Rogue and Havok. Yep. The book will start with this group coming together, in the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men, as a way to make peace between the two teams. Also, they will have to face off against the Red Skull.

Also, remember we mentioned All-New X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis? Yep. We confirmed that it will open with the original 5 X-Men going into the present from the past. And boy, it is gonna be a shocker. But what is even more interesting? Here are comments from Marvel EIC, Axel Alonso made to CBR:

When we first entertained a story that would bring the Lee/Kirby X-Men into the present, Brian was the one who immediately latched onto it. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who reads Brian's work because he has a special gift for writing compelling, nuanced stories featuring young characters that either come to terms with new powers or deal with strange new situations, or both. No one tells a better ground-level story that introduces readers to a world through a young person's eyes -- and that's apparent from the first two scripts Brian's already written -- yep, already written! [Laughs] This is young Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman and Angel traveling into the future and seeing what happened to Xavier's dream. And some of them will find out they didn't even make it this far! [Laughs] Imagine you're 17-year-old Jean Gray and you crash-land in the present. It'd be, like, "Why is everyone looking at me so strange...?"

And let me be very clear: Once the Lee & Kirby X-Men come into the present, they're here for the long haul. They're here for the foreseeable future, and that's something they -- and the rest of the Marvel Universe -- will have to come to terms with.

  So yeah. The original X-Men are here to stay for a while. So, Jean Grey is back ... sort of. It is before she died though. And the original 5 will be here for a WHILE. Time paradox anyone?


And Jumping back into the Avengers, Jonathan Hickman will be joined by Jerome Opena for the bi-weekly main Avengers book while it has been confirmed that former Avengers artist, Steve Epting, will return to the Avengers franchise as the new artist on New Avengers. It has been confirmed that all these titles will have new #1s. And the only Avengers that we know for sure on the Avengers will be Captain America, Thor & Shang Chi.

I know you've seen this already but just one more time. Let it sink in.

Any other Avengers, we will have to wait and see down the road how that goes. Yet, before we part, many have often compared Marvel NOW to DC's New  52. Here's Axel Alonso talking about that in his own words to CBR:

Well, one thing we did learn is that slapping a #1 on a bunch of cover sure gets you noticed! [Laughs] Look, DC does what it needs to do; we do what we need to do -- and we've been building toward this for some time. Marvel NOW! hearkens back to 11 years ago, when "NuMarvel" employed the simple strategy of "Great writer, great artist, great character, great hook...GO!" Only this time, we're embracing the #1 on the cover -- and we're determined that each issue is earns it -- and we're very conscious that these stories take place in one universe. We're leaning into the concept of shared-universe; while each title tells an independent story, they're part of a larger whole. 


And a couple things I want to emphasize: Marvel NOW! starts with the creators, so don't expect writer shake-ups across the line by the fourth or fifth issue, or half the titles to get cancelled and replaced by a new #1. We aren't throwing $#!# at a wall, seeing what falls off and then replacing it with more $#!#. [Laughs] We're building books we expect to last. Retailers that order them, and fans that read them, will be purchasing new ongoing titles, not limited series. Also, Marvel NOW! unfolds across four months, not one. Each week, we will be offering at least one new entry-point into the Marvel Universe for readers -- old, lapsed and new. It's a patient rollout that demonstrates respect for the fan and his wallet. 


Hmm .... sounds like fighting words to me. Let's see how it goes. Keep your eyes peeled here, in the Infinite, for more on Marvel NOW and other comic book news.

Top 10 Greatest Avengers Villains

Heroes are only as great as their villains and the Avengers have a collection of some of the greatest villains out there. And we are gonna take a look at those villains now with all their dark, deeply rooted. deeply insane and vile ways of how they are by far among the most evil of them all.  Warning: This is mostly personal opinion. Feel free to comment.


TOP 10 GREATEST AVENGERS VILLAINS

by Frankie Rodriguez



10 -  PROCTOR & THE GATHERERS 

     Never heard of them. I know. During the times when the team consisted of Black Widow, Hercules, Black Knight , Sersi and Crystal; The team faced some of its hardest challenges. Not because of the threat they represent a lone. Oh no. But for far more personal and sinister. Proctor's Gatherers proved themselves a match for the Avengers when they took down the team with an Alternate Reality version of the Swordsman, infiltrated the Avengers by switch out minds from their Vision with our own, and started to make Sersi crazy enough that she was killing people more often than not.
 
    This time proved a highlight in the career of Dane Witman, the Black Knight as he fought the Gatherers and was also starting to go nuts cause Sersi decided to do some weird mind meld thing with him which pissed off Proctor. And Proctor ... why he's the Alternate Reality version of Black Knight ... completely possessed and driven mad by being Sersi's former lover and the mystical Ebony Blade. This group was able to take down Hercules and Thor on more than one occasion and the evil Vision proved to be even creeper than the last time Vision was evil. You know ... with the right writer ... this team can once again to prove to be an even bigger.


9 - HANK PYM 

    I know. I know. You say I am cheating. You say he's one of the founders and greatest Avengers ever. That isn't debatable but let me take a minute to point out something. Hank Pym is responsible for the follow deeds that are deemed evil:

   - being so insecure of himself that he becomes a wife beater and goes a little nuts.

   - being the father of Ultron, who has one of the highest body counts on Marvel 616 Earth.

    - Alongside Tony Stark and Reed Richards, was responsible for making the Thor Clone Ragnarok that killed longtime friend Bill Foster aka the current Goliath.

  I am sorry. Hank was not mystically made into creating Ultron or making a clone of Thor. He wasn't coerced. He did it of his own free will. And still, to this day, has issues with his insecurity. I am sorry. For all the Scarlet Witch haters ... as revealed in Avengers: Children's Crusade: She was being manipulated by Doom. And while she did kill 4 Avengers ... 3 of which she did resurrect, she was not in control of herself cause of someone else. Hank Pym, on the other hand, did this all of his free will. Scarlet Witch and Tony's evils were easily swept under the rug by being controlled by others ...while Hank is still Hank. So, he's a toast to Hank Pym . . . hope you are happy!


8 - NORMAN OSBORN

   Say what you will but Norman has definitely advanced in the world. He went from being Spiderman's Greatest Nemesis to one of the Avengers greatest villains within the course of the last six years. Norman's rise to power can be thanked since Tony decided to give Norman a chance to redeem himself by making him in charge of the Thunderbolts during the days of the Initiative. After Norman gives himself one of the greatest heel to face turns (for all those not into wrestling: a heel is a bad guy while face is a good guy) by shooting a Skrull Queen in the face.  And once he took over as top cop, he deputized villains into cops, turned the New Avengers into outlaws and then does something much worse: Have some of his Thunderbolts and some new members dress up as Avengers with him leading the team in Iron Man armor he modified to look patriotic.

  Bullseye became Hawkeye. Moonstone was Ms. Marvel. Daken became Wolverine. Just to mess with the Avengers. He threatened Luke Cage and his family multiple times. Norman later fell because he thought he could control the Sentry . . . and he was wrong. And while Norman was finally put in jail, he eventually escaped because of a new version of his organization called H.A.M.M.E.R. And what does he do when he retreats?

   He insights riots and protest against the Avengers, proclaiming that he was held without due process. He teams up with Viper's sect of Hydra, members of the Hand and the remainder of H.A.M.M.E.R., he gets a genetist to give his soldiers powers of the Hulk and he reforms the Dark Avengers with a brand new line up to take down the New Avengers while his soldiers and Viper take down the Avengers team. Yeah. Norman Osborn has became quite a threat. A very personal threat. Not just to Spiderman but to Luke Cage, Jessica Jones-Cage, Ms Marvel, Spiderwoman, Hawkeye and more.


7  - MASTERS OF EVIL


    The Masters of Evil have been a thorn in the Avengers side again and again and again. But none where they more a problem as when the Masters of Evil, lead by Baron Zemo, entered the Avengers Mansion and began their seige. They tortured Jarvis and they began to pick off Avengers one by one. They put Hercules in a coma. They crippled then chairman Wasp to the point where she stepped down. The Masters had the Avengers near dead to rights till Thor and Captain America turned the tied . .. barely.

   Since that day, the Avengers problems with the Masters were more personal. Facing off with them over and over again till Zemo's Masters became the original Thunderbolts. When some of the Thunderbolts proved themselves worthy of rehabilitation, the Avengers begrudingly gave them a chance. Hawkeye even left the Avengers and became the Leader of the Thunderbolts for a team. The new Masters of Evil, lead by Crimson Cowl, became the Thunderbolts problem, giving way to why the Masters ranked lower.


6 - KREE/SKRULL

   No other 2 species has had such a profound affect on the Avengers in there many forms than these two. The Kree have faced the Avengers time and again but also are the keys to such members as Captain Mar-vell, Ms. Marvel and Crystal.  The Skrulls have fought the Avengers over and over again, always wanting to use them to help them eliminate the Kree. And while the Skulls have been more active with the Fantastic Four, their constant war with the Kree has brought them in the Avengers doorstep over ... and over ... and over again.

   - The Kree/Skrull War was the first galactic war that the Avengers dealt with.

   - Captain Mar-vell (a Kree) & a Skrull Princess gave birth to Young Avenger Hulking.

    -The Kree were responsible for forcing the Kree to go to war with the Shi'ar, which brought forth the Nega Bomb.

   - And the Skrulls were responsible for Secret Invasion, replacing everyone including Mockingbird and long time Avengers butler, Jarvis. Only to be hunted by the Inhuman ruled Kree after the event.

So yeah, the Kree and the Skrull have long be intertwined in the Avengers for a looooooooong time.


5 - LOKI

    The God of Mischief has been a thorn in the side of the Avengers over and over again. He was responsible for putting Hulk under the spell to attack which caused the formation of the Avengers. He causes the Avengers to form in the movies. He causes the Avengers/Defenders War. He helps Norman Osborn's Dark Reign get established. He gives powers to Parker Robbins aka The Hood so that he could still be the Kingpin of Super Criminals. Loki's actions with helping Norman ended up bringing about the fall of Asgard.

  With all that, the reason why Loki isn't # 1 is quite simple; he's got a very sad back story that makes you feel for him and he has since turned to the side of the angels. Before his death during Siege, Loki felt bad for what he did and helped the Avengers fight the Void, only to die. When reborn as a child, Loki has since wanted to make up for his past deeds.


4 - THE SERPENT (ASGARDIAN GOD OF FEAR) & THE WORTHY

   Before I get the "are you kidding me"s, take a moment to reflect. When Sin aka Red Skull II found the first Hammer of the Worthy, she made her way to find the Serpent. When the Serpent was freed, 7 more mystical Hammers came to Earth and that's when the real fun begins. We had Avengers not only fighting mystically charged villains like Absorbing Man, Titania and Grey Gargoyle; we had them fight friends as well as the Hulk and The Thing were both possessed by these hammers and fought against our heroes.

They invaded New York. They invade Washington DC. And over and over again, every attack, with one of the Worthy and other soldiers gave way to more and more devastation. People were dying. Avengers Academy members were forced to kill attacking Neo-Nazis. Thor was forced to "kill" the Thing by putting his hammer through the Thing's chest. Red Skull II had "nearly" killed Bucky Barnes; who was seemingly dead at the time.

 There were vast casualties. And that is what made this all the more frightening. That the Worthy's trail of destruction was just giving more and more dead bodies, forcing the Avengers to go beyond to stop them. If not for the Avengers, the world would have been destroyed twice in a row: once my the Serpent and his Worthy and a second time by Asgard and Odin himself.

    Thor "died", slaying the Serpent but it certainly left lasting marks on the Avengers. Because this was the only time the Avengers went up against the Worthy, that explains its low racking. Because of what happened during the course of Fear Itself, they absolutely were given a spot. High stakes. High reward. And lots of carnage in between. The Avengers over came. The event made Captain America cuss. He NEVER cusses. But this was believable enough to understand why Steve Rodgers would mouth an obscenity.

3 - KORVAC 

  Okay. How do I put this? The man killed the Avengers. Seriously. He killed the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. There were multiple show downs between the Avengers and him till he kills most of them, save for Thor. Each of these showdowns, the battles with Korvac became more and more personal.

   Korvac was a man who ended up becoming a cyborg with godlike powers. And boy, did he ever abuse them. Wanting death to the Badoon, he came from the 30th Century to our century to kill them and the Avengers stood in his way. And while he kills them . .. the team does eventually get resurrected by him before he commits suicide.

    Love and personal loss were a focal point in this storyline and while the Avengers did not survive their first bout with Korvac, they did survive their next couple of battles with him when he returned. Hence why he ranked # 3 and not # 1 or 2.


2 - ULTRON 

  Having one of the highest body counts in Marvel history, Ultron is the evil bastard son of Hank Pym. He is cold, metal and seeks a universe where only metallic beings rule and organic begins are destroyed. And why that goal has had modifications depending on the incarnation of Ultron, his ultimate goal stayed. Ultron became obsessed with Hank Pym and wanting a family of his own, creating 2 different brides: Jocasta, who later became an Avenger and War Toy, who still is a problem in her own right.

  Ultron had decimated countries, taken over Iron Man's body, caused weather problems worldwide and even took over as leader of the remaining Phalanx species out in space. Ultron had become a problem unlike any other but has gone toe to toe again with the Avengers, the Avengers West Coast and even the Guardians of the Galaxy.

  Ultron has killed so many people that his presence is gonna end up citing a war in the future. A war that the Avengers want to stop. But watch out ... cause if the war that is coming is any indication, what he did to the country of Slorenia (killing every last organic thing on it) will be nothing to what will happen next. The ONLY reason why Ultron is not # 1 is because his strange need for family and cause he's responsible for creating the long time Avenger, the Vision.


1 - KANG 

   Kang is from the future. Kang is relentless. He is always learning. Always getting himself prepared for what is next. Kang is a Conqueror and while the Avengers had defeated him and repelled his invasions over and over and over again; eventually, they failed.

That is right. KANG WON.

 KANG CONQUERED EARTH AND DEFEATED THE AVENGERS.

   Kang's Dynasty became the opus of Kurt Busiek's run on the Avengers. Kang cleanly invaded the planet, took down the UN and his armies took over the world. Kang had won. The Avengers spent MONTHS dealing with Kang and freeing the world. Captured Avengers were in camps. Other Avengers were working as freedom fighters. Kang had made Wasp, representing the world and the Avengers, sign over control to the planet to him on world wide television. Yet, it took Ms Marvel to kill the Master of the World and the efforts of nearly every Avenger they had in order to finally take down Kang.

  And Kang still ended up escaping and started a hard war in the future. A war he has now began to orchestrate after manipulating the Avengers recently. A war ... with Ultron. Kang's prove his superiority and while defeated, no other villain has so completely pushed the Avengers as much. Kang's younger self was even a founding member of the Young Avengers, Iron Lad. And the Avengers and his own actions led to the creation of Kang the Conqueror. No other villain had so completely defeated the Avengers. This is why Kang is the Greatest Avengers Villain.




I hope you enjoy Avengers Month. Next week ... News and more from Wizard World Philly.

Take Care Clashers.


 Frankie Rodriguez.

THE TOP 10 GREATEST AVENGERS STORYLINES

As we continue this months' Avengers month, we are gonna to cover the storylines that made the Avengers what they are today. In all of their various incarnations: Avengers, Avengers West Coast, New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Secret Avengers & even Young Avengers, we are gonna to examine the milestone stories that solidified their legend.

10: Under Siege: Avengers #273- #277


    We start with a hard hitting story from the Stern days of penning the Avengers. And it is simple. Baron Zemo was tired of losing. So he reforms the Masters of Evil, invades the Avengers Mansion.

  Sounds simple right?

   Well, Jarvis gets tortured. And then the Masters pick off Avengers left and right till Thor and Captain America arrive. The Masters put Hercules into a coma. Wasp and several other Avengers had to step down from active duty because of how bad the Master beat them. A rare, hard defeat that the Avengers turned into a win. But not without scars.

9:  Ultron Unlimited - Avengers #19-22 (Volume 3)

        Ultron. The robotic creation of none other than Hank Pym, Ultron has always been amongst one of the Avengers greatest enemies. And as such, when Ultron returned with his second mate, the devious android known as Alkhema aka War Toy, ends up giving the most vicious attack he has ever done: slaughtering the Baltic nation of Slorenia. 

      With the entire nation dead, the Avengers move in to attack him but only find that they play into Ultron's hands as he kidnaps Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Eric Williams (aka Grim Reaper) & Wasp to use them to give brain patterns to new children that he has been cooking up. 

     Hank Pym and the rest of the Avengers have a grand showdown, with Justice, Black Panther & even War Toy giving big assists but this nightmare of a storyline by Kurt Busiek & George Perez left the Avengers wondering how they failed as an entire nation was killed by Ultron. 

8: Dark Reign/The Seige: Dark Avengers (Volume 1), New Avengers (Volume 1)

       After Norman Osborn became the top cop on the planet (cause of him doing something on tv during Secret Invasion), he gathered many of his Thunderbolt teammates, the son of Wolverine & Avengers Ares and The Sentry and formed his new Dark Avengers team. And while they were in charge, the New Avengers, lead by Clint Barton (then Ronin), were outlaws on the run from Osborn's H.A.M.M.E.R. (still have NO clue what that means) while still defeating other baddies. 

       After over a year of comics and multiple storylines, it culminated with Osborn,as a member of the Anti-Illuminati known as the Cabal, ordering the strike on Asgard, fooling Loki into thinking that he was doing it in order to help him gain control over it. And boy, was he wrong. The New Avengers, Nick Fury's Secret Warriors and more gathered in secret to help Thor defend his home of Asgard (now over a town in the midwest) being lead by then-former Captain America, Steve Rodgers. The Avengers won the day and took down Osborn but not with out some casualties as Ares was killed by Sentry and Thor ends up killing the Void, who had over taken Sentry's body. 

7: World Trust:  Avengers # 57 - #61 (Volume 3)

    I know people are surprised that this story got on the list. Even more so than other classics like Under Siege, Hank Pym's fall from grace or the Kree/Skrull War. Allow me to explain. World Trust did something very different for the Avengers. When every capital city disappears in another dimension alongside the World's leaders, the UN decides to put the Avengers in charge .... or the entire planet.

  Yep. The Avengers get put in charge of the entire world. Why would they do this? Well, it is cause of a particular victory that is actually on this countdown. Here's a hint ... check #5.  So, the Avengers, with Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Captain America, She Hulk, Warbird, Ant Man Scott Lang, Jack of Hearts, Iron Man, Namor and more end up becoming the leaders of the planet while also finding out what was going on.

  Come to find out, a brand new Zodiac is behind the kidnappings and dimension hopping. Each Avenger got to shine as they worked together to not only save the planet from villainy but also, run the planet. And for their service ... Avengers Mansion is considered a sovereign nation of it own. Yep. Avengers Mansion was considered its own country. It was different. It was pretty damn dynamic. And it made being an Avenger that much more important. Yet, this gets thrown all out cause of Dissembled.  

6: The Avengers/Defenders War: Avengers #115-118, Defenders # 8-11

      In a bid to take care of both their enemies and to conquer Earth and have it be absorbed into the Dark Dimension, Loki had teamed up with Dormanmu and set up both groups in order to fight each other. Yes. Avengers vs. X-Men isn't the first time that the team faced another super hero team in a major storyline.

   The Defenders had two former Avengers, Hulk and Namor, in their ranks and they were not happy with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, thanks to the manipulations thanks to both villains. And the Avengers were not pleased with the Defenders either as both teams raced to gain control of the mystical Evil Eye. 

5: The Kang Dynasty: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty # 1, Avengers # 41-55

        I want to say this right now. Kang had won. He had conquered Earth. With the help of his son Marcus, Kang had finally succeeded in his goal of many years against the Avengers. Kang had taken Earth. He had attacked and decimated the United Nations. He had set up prison camps. Kang had truly become the ruler of the planet. 

      In that time, the Avengers continued to fight as the resistance against Kang. For the first time in decades, there was a long standing Avengers storyline that lasted OVER a year. And did the Avengers every assemble for this: Ms Marvel (then Warbird), Thor, Firebird, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Iron Man, Vision, Captain America, Wasp, Wonder Man, Jack of Hearts and more were all apart of this epic storyline as an Avenger killed, friends died and more. 

     And while it ended with a smash mouth battle between Kang and Captain America, the Avengers will always remember one of their biggest defeats. 

4: Operation: Galactic Storm :  Captain America # 398-#400, Avengers West Coast # 80- #82, Quasar # 32- #34,  Wonder Man # 7 -#9, Avengers # 345-#347, Iron Man # 278 & # 279 and The Mighty Thor # 445 & #446 . 

     The Shi'ar Empire and the Kree Empire have gone to war. And their war became so vast that it was going to effect Earth. As Quasar tried to prevent issues of war with the Shi'ar, Wonder Man and other Avengers seem to be having issues with the Kree. 

    So the war has begun and the Avengers ... both East Coast and West Coast Branches had mobilized to stop them. With the Avengers even framed for murder, they teams backs are against the wall and when the Nega Bomb is launched ... their entire galaxy was put into chaos. With manipulations from Kree, Shi'ar & even Skrull, this war takes more and more prisoners from both sides than the Avengers wanted. Yet, how the Avengers overcome these odds prove they are Earth's Greatest Heroes and more.

3:  Avengers: The Children's Crusade #1- #9 
    Funny how dangling storylines end up getting tied up. For years, fans had clamored for more from the Young Avengers since their debut. With the mysterious appearance of the heroes named Wiccan and Speed, Wiccan surmised that they were the missing sons of Scarlet Witch and the original Vision. As time passed, we found that that indeed that they were the sons of the Scarlet Witch, who had lost her memory. When Wiccan and the Young Avengers, alongside grandfather Magneto search and find Wanda, they find Dr. Doom with her ... and in love.

Ewww.

    What ends up happening because of this search? Well, since Scarlet Witch's powers were responsible for the near extinction of mutantkind, some  people, like Wolverine, wanted blood. So we had Avengers vs Young Avengers. We had Avengers vs the X-Men, which served as a prelude to the current AvX maxiseries event. We had the big reveal that Dr. Doom was the guy that drove Wanda insane and made her take away the powers of mutants and caused House of M. We get a resurrected Ant Man and Jack of Hearts (for him, it was like 2 minutes) only to watch in horror as Scott Lang gets to see his daughter die. We see Iron Lad's dark road open towards his destiny as the future Kang. We see Wanda try to make up for her past sin by giving Rictor back his powers. And ... we see a family reunited ... at such a steep price. Stature and the new Vision were killed. The X-Men scoffed at Scarlet Witch. The Young Avengers seemingly disbanded. Through it all, the story proves so many endings and opens new doors as well. And while many felt that the story was lackluster compared to the original Young Avengers series, this proved to be a story which will have impact for decades to come. Fans complained at Bendis over what he did to Wanda and when Heinberg REDEEMS the character, it does seem to be enough. Still, a great story with families at the heart of it all.

2:  The Korvac Saga : Avengers #167-#177 (Volume 1)

     This is arguably the Avengers greatest defeat. And it was all to one man, Michael Korvac. Well, there are issues with Ultron but he's not the main protagonist in this saga. When Quicksilver disappears and the first appearance of young Vance Astrovick (former New Warrior and Avenger known as Justice) get saved by a humanoid named Charlie-27, the things really begin to flare up. Korvac has come. 

 Korvac was a scientist from the 31st century who helped Earth to get enslaved by the aliens known as the Badoon. Yet, after they betray him and graph him to a cybernetic module, all he wants was revenge. He goes back in time to the present day after he fights Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy in the 31st Century. When he does come, he finds Galactus's ship and absorbs data and energy from it, becoming a god-like being with data and cosmic power. 

    As he comes to Earth, he falls in love with The Collector's daughter, Carina. She returns his feelings yet he is determined to destroy the Badoon in the past. The Guardians team with the Avengers to find Korvac ... with Starhawk going off on his own ... and getting killed for his trouble in the astral plane. Yet, Korvac recreates him but makes sure Starhawk's powers can't detect him. 

    The Collector begins to kidnap the Avengers to save them from Korvac but was killed for his help. Then, the Avengers and Guardians took on Korvac ... and DIED. Let me repeat that. Korvac killed the majority of the Avengers & the Guardians of the Galaxy. As Thor, Starhawk, Iron Man & Vision were the only ones left standing, Korvac wanted support from Carina. Yet, she was feeling guilt and doubt. Korvac noticed this and gave him. He COMMITS SUICIDE in his depression, allowing the Avengers to kill him in battle. Carnia then KILLS Iron Man, Starhawk and Vision, leaving Thor alive but she then allows Thor to kill her, cause she didn't want to live without her love. Korvac's final gift is to give enough life in all that died so that Thor's alter-ego, Donald Blake, could bring them all back to life.  

   Remember, this is the greatest defeat in the Avengers history.

1: Civil War  (Various)

    This event changed 616 Earth  . . . honestly, forever. Think about it.  We had government intervention with Super Heroes on such a large scale. We had registration of super heroes. We had Civil Rights trampled on because someone wants to put on a costume and help people. On one side, we had Iron Man, leading heroes who were for registration of heroes. On the other, we had Captain America, who felt that the law that  was being introduced was trampling on the civil rights of the people who were being defended.

   This event caused such a great change in the landscape of Marvel, characters are still feeling its affects. Spider-man being chief among them. Cause let's face it ... if it wasn't for Civil War and his unmasking, there would have NEVER been One More Day.

Let that sink in for a minute.

   Civil War caused One More Day which caused OMIT which caused Dan Slott's current (and Exceptional) run on Amazing Spiderman.

Civil War almost destroyed the Fantastic Four more than any villain ever could. It broke up Sue and Reed Richards to the point where divorce was looming.  And the Thing, not wanting to have anything to do with it, went to France.

  It caused Norman Osborn's rise to power.

  It had pretty much turned the New Warriors into pariahs.

   It had made Tony Stark into one of the biggest douchebags of the Marvel Universe.

   It had Tony Stark, Hank Pym and Reed Richards create a clone of Thor ... who ended up murdering Goliath, which ended up having his nephew join the Anti-Avengers group, The Revengers while the Thor clone, Ragnarok, ended up in Norman Osborn's hands and part of the recent incarnation of the Dark Avengers.

  It caused Luke Cage to step up, becoming leader of the New Avengers for the very first time.

  Captain America Steve Rodgers ended up dying because of these events, which then brought forth Bucky Barnes recent stint as Captain America and which ultimately becomes a catalyst for Steve Rodgers for wanting to form the Secret Avengers.


 And it was the key point Marvel event which created how Marvel events are done from this point on. It effected everyone on Earth. The only escape from Civil War seemed to be in space.




  

AVENGERS VS X-MEN BATTLE REPORT #3

Hey there Clashers, we’ve been covering  one of the most major clashes in comic history. Avengers vs. X-Men has been phenomenal so far and  just keeps getting better.  This week is action packed with the release of VS issue 1, containing two battles too epic for just a few panels. Now to jump into things.


AVENGERS VS. X-MEN BATTLE REPORT #3 

by Hector Ramirez, Darryll "YTC" Carter & Frankie Rodriguez


Avengers Academy # 29

   The teens that were left on Utopia (Gen Hope crew), were all captured and being "held" at the Academy. And what do we get for it ... A race between Transonic and Lightspeed , Sebastian Shaw planning something to free the Gen Hope crew and NAKED HERCULES! *sigh* NEXT!!!

Uncanny X-Men # 11

   Red Hulk vs. Colossonaunt. And it ain't pretty. Winner of said bout is in the bottom.


New Avengers # 25

  The secret history of the Iron Fist ... and the Phoenix. And when we say they have history and they are connected ..  . we're NOT kidding.

Secret Avengers #26
A  team has been sent into space to try to intercept the Phoenix. Those of Kree influence realize that the Phoenix reaching Hala is in the best interest of the Kree and they cannot let their teammates capture it. As they contemplate that, Captain Marvel shows up and propose they kill the Avengers. No battles but the Phoenix put a serious hurting on War Machine and Thor.

AvX: VERSUS # 1

Oh how glorious. There is no plot in this title, only the two fights. First was Iron Man vs. Magneto which Tony won only because Magneto was caught by the gravity of the situation when he sensed the Phoenix destroy one of the planets he was drawing power from. Stark ceased this distraction knocking Erik out as he floated there barely conscious he says “Wanda, find Wanda. You’re going to need my daughter.” Next, Namor goes up against The Thing, although Namor would have seemingly been at an advantage since they were fighting underwater. Keyword being seemingly. Namor employs the help of a large carnivorous fish but Ben rips two of the fishes fangs out and uses them to pin down Namor by the throat.


Avengers vs. X-Men Round 3

   Logan fails to dispatch Hope Summers and is incinerated down to the bone. Captain America finds out about his attempt and isn’t happy about it. The Avengers split up to locate Hope and as they were flying over the ocean Cap confronts Logan  and with the help of Antman knocks him out and throw him into the water. In a sense that’s a win for the Avengers, but it also removes Wolverine and his cohorts from their ranks.


AvX BATTLE RESULTS

Red Hulk vs. Colossus (Juggernaut powered) - Winner: Red Hulk ;
     Not out of strength but because Thunderbolt Ross is an cunning bastard.

Magneto vs. Iron Man - Winner: Iron Man ... wait ... really? Um ... yeah. 
     Just attack Magneto when he's distracted by sucker punching him.

The Thing vs. Namor - Winner:  The Thing ... 
    That's just brutal.

Wolverine vs. Captain America ... and Giant Man . . . Winner: Captain America & Giant Man
     Wow, Cap. Showing that you have class. But then, the stakes being what they are, I guess I understand.

Avengers: 4 
X-Men: ZERO
Wolverine: Zero

AvX Round 3 Impressions
   Now with every Battle Report, one of the CBC will give their impression of the particular Round Issue at the time. And now for this Battle Report's Round Impressions, we got to Darryll "YTC" Carter:


Leave it to MARVEL to have an event that gets me reading there comics again. I havent read a MARVEL comic in so long and have been meaning to jump back in. AvX seemed like a good place to start. I’m more partial to X-men myself and I’m somewhat impressed with how Cyclops has managed to outplay the Avengers. While, Hope is in the wind and Wolverine as well, I’m feeling more confident about my fellow mutants chances in this whole shindig. I also feel like Cap might be headed toward one of those rude awakening scenarios. Let’s hope not, though he’s been surprisingly obtuse and cavalier about this whole thing in my opinion. And as far as Rachel is concerned, She was the last person I expected to help Scott and his mutants out. I was expecting Rogue. I guess Wolverine nose isn’t working as well as it used to. Or maybe it is…



Injury List
Namor got a fang to the throat but will live.

Colossus let himself get knocked out by the Hulk.

Wolverine just recovered from being burned and tgot beat up by Cap and Giant Man. Yay.

Iron Man is still feeling it from Magneto.

Magneto's jaw ain't as strong as it used to be.


NOTES 

- So ... the Utopia kids are prisoners in Avengers Academy ... For what crime?

- Hope burned you Wolverine and you want more. That won't spell disaster.

 - Iron Man won by sucker punching Magneto ... I'll let that one slide as long as it doesn't happen again.

- Hope is gonna be like her dad and do what she feels she has to.

- Looks like Danny Rand will have no choice but to help Hope soon as we learn more about the connection of the Iron Fist and the Phoenix.

- CAPTAIN MAR-VELL is back and he is asking Carol and Protector to betray the Avengers. Well, Protector, I wouldn't be surprised. He TORTURED Scarlet Witch's son: Wiccan and some of the other Young Avengers during Civil War.

- Rachel helped her daddy. I am a little surprised but not at the same time.

-So Mar-vell is back. Scarlet Witch is coming. So, with Hulkling and Wiccan be driven apart by their parents?



NEXT: SCARLET WITCH

AVENGERS VS X-MEN BATTLE REPORT # 2

by Hector Ramirez & Frankie Rodriguez

   Welcome once again Clashers to Avengers vs X-Men Battle Report. We are gonna catch you up to the event as well as lay out what happened, who got hurt and more. One thing I will express is an apology to you all and especially Hollatchaboiy who was correct, Nova is in a coma right now. 

In New Avengers #24:

    This issue actually takes place right before the fighting begins in AvX # 1. It shows Captain America gathering the troops together. And when he does, we get marital discord. First, we have Storm who walks out after the mere mention of the Phoenix. Then, we have Luke Cage and his wife, Jessica Jones-Cage. After a heart felt plea for his wife and daughter to come home on national tv, Luke Cage sees his wife returning with daughter and Squirrel Girl. Yet, what happens later is that Jessica has decided to leave the Avengers, with their daughter ... forcing Luke Cage to have to choose between his family or the Avengers; a choose that Jessica did not like to give to Luke. 

Wolverine & The X-Men # 9: 

The staff and students of the Jean Grey School are made aware of the approaching Phoenix Force through technology and telepaths. Captain America comes to ask for Logan and Hank's help. Logan tells the staff and Gladiator tries to inform Warbird of the Phoenix but can't. So,he is coming to Earth. 

Avengers # 25: 

Thor returns in time to raid an AIM facility. Cap is feeling the stress of being leader of the Avengers. Meanwhile, the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree Empire (thought he was dead) sends Noh-Varr (aka Protector) to stop the Phoenix Force no matter what.

Avengers vs. X-Men Round 2: 

    The fight has begun between the two teams and boy, is it big. We got Namor saying he is beating up the Avengers with a heavy heart. We got Red Hulk going up against Colossus. We have Iron Man vs Magneto and  Emma Frost. We have Quicksilver joining the Avengers vs Magneto. We have Magik vs Dr. Strange. Wolverine being called a traitor by Domino and Sunspot. And the reveal that Storm and Black Panther have been seeing a marriage counselor. 

   Meanwhile, Beast, Valkyrie, War Machine, Ms. Marvel, Protector, Vision, Captain Britain & Thor are in space ... about to take on the deadly Phoenix. And Hope, angry that she is being put out of the fight, figures out that all this is for her and Wolverine tries to kill her. TRIES being the operative word. 

INJURY REPORT:

Avengers: 

 - Luke Cage & Jessica Jones-Cage's marriage is pretty damn broken. 

 - Black Panther & Storm's marriage is hurting pretty bad.

X-Men: 

 - Cyclops must have several concussions ... as does Captain America.

- Bruises and cuts from all combatants.

- Beast JUST had his stomach fixed up after having Sabertooth rip his guts out.

- Multiple members of Generation Hope have broken noses including Transonic.

- Wolverine, Spiderman & Generation Hope suffering burns because of our little Mutant Messiah.

CASUALTIES: 

  None ... yet. 

NOTES: 

 - First, while Cyclops believes all mutants are soldiers ... he has Generation Hope hang back with Hope. Hmm ... how very ... Rogue-like for him. 

- Captain America is in full war mode here. He reminds me of how he was during Civil War. And Red Hulk is more than happy to follow orders. Red Hulk's military man like personality shines through. 

- Wolverine tries to kill Hope instead of just take her and Spidey tells him to stop. Like that was gonna work. 

- Dr. Strange vs. Magik. I don't know about you but we are looking forward to this. 

 - Countess Von Doom has a thing for Hulks. And it is kinda nasty. 

 -  The space team is staring down the Phoenix, with only Beast having any real experience with it. 

 - Wolverine is honest and upfront with the staff of the Jean Grey School about the Phoenix. 

- Quentin & Rachel feel the Phoenix coming and it knocks them out. 

 - This it the second time that Jessica Jones-Cage has ran away from her husband. The 2nd! Does not bode well, that marriage. 

 - Storm and Black Panther stop to have a martial spat between the war. I would normally say that that is insane but this is Black Panther and Storm we are talking about. 

  - The Battle between Red Hulk & Colossus shakes the shoreline. Oh wow. 

 - Sunspot calls Wolverine a traitor after saying that he and the other mutants in Utopia had their head up Cyclops' butt too long. 

 - Captain America went into the Jean Grey School; had a Danger Room pop quiz ... and only got a B-. 

- The Protector is planning to stop the Phoenix for the Supreme Intelligence. But at what cost? 

 - Thor vs. The Phoenix ... another battle that we have never seen but always wondered about is about to happen.

 - Hope developing her Phoenix powers more and more as it gets closer. And notice ... she did NOT kill Wolverine or Spidey. 

- There isn't much reaction from the JGS X-Men yet but I am sure we will see it soon enough. 

- Gladiator is heading toward Earth to save his son; to hell with the rest of the planet & the X-Men. 

 - Second part of that, Gladiator said it was okay to activate the Death Commandos ... you know them. The Shi'ar force that was responsible for killing nearly every single member of the Grey blood line save for Cable, Nate Grey & Rachel. And Rachel got to watch it all. So ... yeah ... Rachel is gonna be PISSED.

NEWS EDITION # 28 - THUNDERBOLTS GO DARK, INFINITE HORIZON & STEVE NILES CHANGES HOW COMICS ARE DISTRIBUTED

Welcome to the News Edition #28 for the week of March 21st, 2012. We got some news from Wondercon. Are you ready?


THUNDERBOLTS GIVE WAY TO DARK AVENGERS 

by Frankie Rodriguez 

  It seems that the Thunderbolts have been given a bad wrap. Sure they started out as villains disguised as heroes and since then have become people who seek redemption .. . well, most of them. Yet now, it seems that the Thunderbolts are coming to an end ... again. But they are NOT getting cancelled? Oh no. They aren't getting cancelled , they are merely getting replaced.

   The majority of the brand new Dark Avengers introduced in the current storyline from New Avengers (Trickshot, Skaar, Ragnarok, Dark Spiderman & Dark Scarlet Witch) are all taking over the title, being renamed Dark Avengers as of issue #175. Writer Jeff Parker & artists Declan Shalvey and Kev Walker will remain as the title switches over.

  Another part remaining in the Dark  Avengers is Luke Cage, who will be overseeing the Dark Avengers like he did the Thunderbolts .. . yet this time, it is a bit more personal.

Jeff Parker added:

The overseers of Thunderbolts obviously knew who they were picking when they recruited the Dark Avengers for this upcoming mission, it's not some random choice that happened to be the last people on Earth Luke would want to see again. And Luke isn't into being manipulated like that, so he's staying on.

Dark Avengers #175 will be the new jump on point for the boo this June.


IMAGE COLLECTS AN INFINITE HORIZON


From Image Comics Website






The completion of Gerry Duggan's and Phil Noto's Odyssey-inspired THE INFINITE HORIZON hasn't taken quite as long as Odysseus's journey home, but the nearly five years since the publication of the first issue of the Image Comics series to the April publication of the 186-page trade paperback collection (FEB120448) have been a saga of their own.


"When Phil and I began the comic in 2007 we tried to imagine scenarios that would make make a soldier's ten-year journey home believable," said writer Duggan. "I hope we made some interesting choices about the loss of technology and a crippling energy crisis, but I know we did a pretty good job of imagining a world that's pulling itself apart. We could not have imagined the Arab Spring, but the fractured world of The Infinite Horizon seems much less fantastic just five years later."


THE INFINITE HORIZON takes place in the not-too-distant future, with a small group of abandoned soldiers being led home by one man: The Captain. To get back, he’ll have to cross half the globe and endure deadly encounters with mythic enemies.


The Captain escapes shipwrecks, beats a vicious opponent wearing a cycloptic combat armor...and resists the siren's call of a predatory society, all while encountering everywhere dying breaths of a great and horrible war. Artist Noto depicts the horrors of war and The Captain's long trek home with an understated palette, the violence taking on a haunting quality as The Captain sacrifices more and more of himself to return home.


Duggan found his inspiration both in Homer's 2700-year-old epic and current events in global conflict. "In the years following the 9/11 attacks I re-examined the poem and found it to be very fresh and relevant to our society," he said. "We're now living in a state of almost perpetual war. Contractors and drones will probably remain behind long after combat troops are withdrawn. The burden of these conflicts are not shared. Military families shoulder the load, and I have doubts about whether or not they are adequately supported for their service and sacrifice."


THE INFINITE HORIZON is a full-color, 186-page trade paperback for $17.99. It collects issues #1-6 of the series, as well as bonus material from Phil Noto


NILES & EPITAPH RECORDS TO DISTRIBUTE INDY COMICS

From CBR & Digital Spy

Steve Niles and Matt Pizzolo are teaming up with Epitaph Records to distribute indie comics.

The creators, who will join forces with the punk rock label to support the creator-owned scene, announced the new venture at WonderCon over the weekend.

"We teamed up as like-minded people who both came from music backgrounds. So we went and met with Epitaph Records and their subsidiary King's Road Merchandise," Niles told CBR . 

"We are talking to them now about comics we will produce, a special line of comics yet to be named by the studio, that will be distributed through Epitaph."

Niles, who is best known as the writer of 30 Days of Night, said that he also struck up the deal because the entire comics industry is dependent on the success of Diamond Comic Distributors.

"We only have one distributor - one distributor that at any moment for any reason could go under. If they're strong now, great. If they're weak now - it doesn't matter. We have one distributor holding up our entire industry. I found it really scary," he explained.

Niles, Pizzolo and Epitaph are expected to finalize the deal soon.




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#27 - SPIDER-ISLAND: POPULATION 8 . . . LEGGED FREAKS

SPIDER ISLAND MINI EVENT

Main Story: Amazing Spiderman  #666 -#673 (Prelude, Parts 1 - 6 & Epilogue)

Side Stories: Various Spider-Island miniseries, one shots & tie in issues.

Marvel Comics

Review by Hector Ramirez

Clashers greetings, salutations and what’s up. Hector here. So as some of you may or may not know, New York has recently been infested with bedbugs (which is why I missed New York Comicon ) Marvel tells us true believers that this is due to one Dr. Miles “The Jackal” Warren (well technically there were multiple Miles Warrens but you know what I mean). He released genetically enhanced bedbugs to spread a spider-virus in an attempt to build an army of mutant spiders for The Queen, a former super soldier with her own spider based powers. So all of Manhattan is loving the spider powers until they start mutating. With all this a tribe of wasp people is out to destroy all spiders causing Spider-girl to team up with Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk and Hobgoblin. Also, Shang Chi and Iron Fist are kidnapped by a hypnotized Bride of 9 Spiders and have to fight Ai Apaek. Meanwhile, Cloak and Dagger come up against Mr. Negative when Dagger is foreseen as his downfall in the thick of it all. They end up switching powers. In the end, Spidey saves the day with the help of Eddie “Anti-Venom” Brock’s symbiote suit which was synthesized into a cure (which actually turns Kaine into a perfect clone of Peter which sets up for the new Scarlet Spider series).

This was definitely a great read lots of action, twists, and turns. The entire city with spider powers definitely not expected. As this goes on, you get to see Peter Parker as a person and so does everyone else. Swinging in his shoes, they (the people) get a feel for what it is he’s going through. It sucks his girl(Peter's) left him but there seemed to be hints that he may reunite with Mary Jane….again. I’m also interested in where this will leave Eddie Brock. The side stories are good too, and usually I don’t follow side stories. All in all, I recommend this mini-series for all true Spidey fans. It’s pretty epic and will most likely make a miniseries countdown in the future. Well that’s all for now. See you next week until next time friends, keep clashing.