Laid Back Comics: Secret Avengers #1

Not fond of this cover either

It is no shock I am a fan of Secret Avengers and I was very nervous hearing about Marvel NOW coming in as it might scrap the book for perhaps something else. But, I was relieved hearing that it was going to be coming back with a new writer in Nick Spenser and another roster change-up ; though upon reading the issue I did wonder if this was the right change to make.

If anything the book having the word ‘Avenger’ in the title seems a bit false. Make no mistake; this is a S.H.I.E.L.D. Book from the cast and the missions, which is not the only real secret the book is currently hiding. For what it is worth the first two ‘recruits’ Hawkeye and Black Widow didn’t seem interested in joining and then suddenly all read for the chance a panel later. Of course we don’t know why the sudden jump but only one of the many questions the books leaves us with as we get through it. The next plot point to all of this was that Hawkeye and Black Widow get nanoparticles that allow memories to be altered remotely. This all sounds pretty comic book super science which I have no real problems with. So in the end the missions are so secret they won’t even remember being on them or in the case of poor Hawkeye why he was in Bubdapest to start off with.

There are two things wrong I feel with this book and to start out it is trying very hard to connect with the Avengers movie using the ones who were working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Heck they even manage to make Coulson here look like actor Clark Gregg even though his first few appearances had him look nothing alike. But, if anyone is going to see this and expect the same Agent Coulson we fell in love with in the movies, we are sadly going to be disappointed. This Coluson along with Nick Fury ‘Jr.’ are out to save the world and in some way screw over Hawkeye and possible Black Widow. The reveal at the end to me seems to point to that happening sooner than later.

Spencer writing has never been bad, but never something I could say has blown me away either. Here is a book that has a lot of dialogue, and at times very witty, but low on the actually action portion.  It is hard to get behind a book that has so many talking heads and then quick action or off panel action. Art is much better with Luke Ross though wouldn't mind Black Widow having her zipper a few inches higher. I often don’t mention this and should but Matthew Wilson on color for this book did an amazing job and little disturbing job with a scene involving demon possession!

But, as the book comes to a close I felt more depressed than I was excited for the future issues. Maybe under has this been promoted as an S.H.I.E.L.D. book proper my expectations would be different and not blinded by volumes past. Here this title just lightly jogs in and stands around not doing much at all and doesn’t have much of a hook to keep me coming back.

OVERALL: 5.0 out of 10

Bryan "BAC" Clendening is a comic book reviewer and sometimes video producer on the internet, you can follow him on Twitter by Clicking Here.

NYCC Comic News: Spencer & Ross Reveal the Secrets of Avengers

 Marvel NOW continues its aggressive relaunch of titles, with either new jumping on points with new creative teams and/or directions. relaunches of titles or brand new titles, such as the recently announced Superior Spiderman.

  Another Marvel title that is getting relaunched is the Secret Avengers. Taking ideas from the Secret War, SHIELD is using memory re-writing tech in order to have its own group of Avengers. Thing is ... most of the roster doesn't even know they are on that team.

  The new Secret Avengers group will be SHIELD sanctioned and will include Nick Fury Jr, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Mockingbird, Taskmaster, Hulk and a brand new Iron Patriot whose identity has not been revealed. Bringing us this new team is writer Nick Spencer and artist Luke Ross.

  Spencer had this to say to Entertainment Weekly:

"Nobody on this team actually knows that they're on this team. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided that they want their own Avengers team, but Avengers are loose cannons: They're independent operators, they don’t have security clearance, they have a history of becoming bad guys."

 "I can’t reveal the identity of the Iron Patriot yet, but I think people are gonna like how he ends up in that suit," said Spencer. "That’s a suit that has a lot of history in the Marvel Universe, none of it good."

 Spencer wrote a few issues of the current run back last year  Fear Itself tie ins. No release date has been revealed yet.

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.

Avengers VS X-Men Battle Report # 5

AVENGERS vs X-MEN BATTLE REPORT #5

by Hector Ramirez & Frankie Rodriguez 

 And now it is time to catch you up with Avengers vs. X-Men Battle Report. Now, we are not going to cover the books that came out on June 20th. But we will cover all the other books of the last 3 weeks.





X-Men Legacy # 266 & 267:

   This 2-parter starts out earlier than the rest.We start with Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey going over what has been going on recently with Cyclops' faction of the X-Men and the Avengers. While there seem to be some that think that Hope can't handle the Phoenix, Rachel thinks she can. (Being her Aunt might have something to do with that). So, Rachel argues that they can no longer sit on the sidelines while Kitty disagrees. While the majority of the staff decide to stay in the school and look after the kids, Rachel and Bobby (Iceman), are the first to go join with Cyclops.

   Shortly after their departure, Falcon, Moon Knight and She-Hulk arrive to ... well, to make sure that no one else is the Jean Grey School joins up with Cyclops' faction. At which point, both Frenzy and Gambit were ready to rip their heads off for coming into their home and telling them what to do. After Kitty asks to speak to either Wolverine or Beast, Falcon answers that they are not available. And Moon Knight chirps how if they want to believe everything will be okay is fine but not to have "you people" add to the problems Which Frenzy replies with . .."Did the guy in the White Hood just say You People." After Kitty lays down the law, everyone returns to class while the 3 Avengers must watch from 100 yards away. That is till Frenzy returns to keep an eye on them. After a brief insult from Moon Knight, Frenzy returns the insult with mocking how Moon Knight was crazy even before he put the costume on. And then ... FIGHT ENSUES. Rogue ends up going old school with her powers and Iron Man shows up .... let's just say that things look bad but definitely an awesome battle to behold.



Wolverine and the X-men #11:


 We start off with Kid Gladiator and Warbird fleeing the planet under Gladiator's orders, but Kid Gladiator decides to join the X-Men in battle. As this happens Hope and Logan are attacked by Shi'ar Death Commandos but Hope dispatches them with a Phoenix burst. Multiple battles ensue including a repeat of Spidey vs Colossus with an inaccurate panel and Gambit being knocked out by Cap again. Iceman turns the table on Red Hulk after a seemingly one sided ass whooping. Bobby's victory was then followed up by Kid Gladiator sucker punching Red Hulk. Now, both teams are in trouble with the arrival of Gladiator looking for his son.


Avengers #27: 

   The Protector betrays the Avengers by getting the Anti-Phoenix machine to the Kree Supreme Intelligence while the original outer space team still is reeling from their confrontation with the Phoenix.


AvX Round 5: 

So the Avengers and X-Men are fighting it out on the moon after Logan betrays Hope to the Avengers and is in turn betrayed by Rachel. Hope loses her temper with all the fighting around her and the close proximity of the Phoenix causing another burst. She pleads with Logan to kill her but Scott stops him. Meanwhile, Tony Stark has built a machine to kill the Phoenix but it instead diverts the Phoenix Force into Scott, Emma, Magik, Namor, and Piotr. As the Phoenix Five the return to Earth with a mission of evolution. No clear battles.


Secret Avengers #27:

     So, Captain Britain seemingly feels like a fish out of water or putting his foot in his mouth with the Secret Avengers. Meanwhile, the Kree have brainwashed Captain Mar-vell but still very much the hero he always was at the core. Seeing him justifying what he's doing while still serving the Kree is proving interesting.


Avengers Academy #31: 

 After spending last issue fighting amongst themselves, Shaw revealed that he was trying to free the Generation Hope Kids from the Avengers Academy staff (including Tigra, Hercules and more). The issue seemed to have a big turn as the two faction as X-23, Richocet, Hollow and Wiz Kid help the Generation Hope kids. Tigra then talks to Shaw and decides to help the children escape.



Uncanny X-Men #13: 

As the events of AvX Round 5 unfold Storm, Magneto, Psylocke, and Mr. Nemesis find themselves in an abandoned building swapping stories of domestic abuse, traitorous children, arm breaking Hulks, and in the case of Nemesis incoherent babbling all results of war. They all of course wish they could be in the thick of things. Meanwhile Hope's friends from Utopia attempt to find their place in the events unfolding by questioning Unit. Unit speaks of a former Phoenix host bringing revolution to hert planet with the help of 5 underlings. Believing they were meant to help Hope do the same seek to do that but Unit has Danger stop for he is curious to see what a Phoenix does without such help. No Avenger/X-Men battles but Danger sure beats the shit out of the would be Phoenix crew.

Vs #3: 

We start off with Red Hulk tearing Colossus up and getting bored so he tosses him to The Thing and thus begins our first fight.Ben starts beating Piotr's(see that writers Piotr not Peter get it right dammit) face into the ground who retaliates by smacking him with a slab of stone.Ben recomposes himself and throws a stone down Piotr's throat then headbutts him in the gut. This sends them flying to an area of the moon with no oxygen where Ben can't keep up and Piotr knocks him unconscious, X-Men's victory. Next, Piotr's little sister Illyana aka Magik takes on the lovely Black Widow. While Natalia is a formidable opponent even when being attacked by demons in limbo (where the writers thought untranslated bits of Russian dialogue was a good idea :/) Magik turns the tables on Natalia by impaling her from behind with her magical blade thankfully only rendering her unconscious with its magical properties. And thus the Rasputin bunch has won this issue for the X-Men.

AVX BATTLE RESULTS:


Rogue vs. She -Hulk;    Winner: No Contest (due to switching fighting partners)


Frenzy vs. Moon Knight   Winner: Frenzy (both verbally and physically) 


Rogue vs. She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Falcon & Iron Man [Drone]   Winner: ROGUE!!!


Iron Man [Drone] vs. Gambit      Winner: Iron Man [Drone]


She-Hulk vs. Frenzy    Winner: No Contest


Hellion, Match & another Mutant vs. She-Hulk      Winner: She-Hulk 


Sebastian Shaw vs. Avengers Academy Staff       Winner: No Contest (stopped by Students)


Avengers Academy Students vs. Generation Hope, Ricochet, Wiz Kid and Hollow.     Winner: Gen Hope


Unit & Danger vs. Generation Hope             Winner: Unit & Danger 


The Thing vs. Colossonaunt                  Winner: Colossonaunt 


Black Widow vs. Magik                   Winner:  Magik

Protector vs. The Avengers                 Winner: Protector


Iron Fist vs. Marvel Girl (aka Rachel Grey)     Winner: Marvel Girl 


Iceman vs. Red Hulk                     Winner: Iceman 


Death Commandos vs. Hope Summers & Wolverine             Winner: Hope Summers & Wolverine


Black Panther vs. Storm          Winner: No Contest 


Avengers vs. X-Men (Match 5)     Winner: The X-Men 


The Phoenix vs. Iron Man & his Anti Phoenix Buster      Winner: THE PHOENIX 

INJURY LIST:

- Gen Hope got some minor concussions and their minds tampered with.

- Any Avengers or X-Men on the Moon were burned by Hope and the Phoenix.

- Magik has a slightly cracked jaw

- Black Widow has to deal with the Soul Sword messing with her soul.

- Psylocke has a broken arm.

 - Thing's skin got cracked

 - Cyclops has some cuts and concussions thanks to both Wolverine and Captain America.

- Red Hulk has frost bite.

 - Iron Fist has to deal with massive headaches.

 - The Avengers Academy staff and Sebastian Shaw have bruises.

 - The Death Commandos are ... well, mostly dead.

 - Hope has bullet holes and cuts in her ... no ... wait  ... she mimicked Wolverine. She's good.

- Danger is dealing with being hacked by Unit.

 - The Phoenix got split into 5 thanks to Tony Stark.

- Hellion has ruptured Ear drums.

- Captain Britain is eating crow like it's going out of style.

- Dr. Nemesis is still reeling from Black Widow's stingers.



NOTES:


- So yeah. Thanks to Tony Stark ... the Phoenix now has 5 hosts. 


- Scott Summers is a host of the Phoenix. So is Emma Frost. So is Namor. Heaven help the Avengers. 


- You know, with Falcon, She-Hulk and Moon Knight rolling up to the Jean Grey School like they did, the Avengers are REALLY starting to look like Bullies. 


- Magneto, Storm & Psylocke toast wishing they were with the others on the Moon. Let's thank God that they weren't there. 


- Unit is reminding me of Sinister. 


- First, we get implied racism from Moon Knight. Then we get nearly overt racism from She-Hulk when she calls a mutant a Monster. Pot CALLING Kettle bitch!


- The Death Commandos ... glad they are dead but wish Rachel had killed them. 


- Rogue beats the Avengers . ...AGAIN. 


- Gambit is faster than Iron Man (Drone) targeting systems. Go on Gambit. 


- Frenzy is proving herself quite the X-Man. 


- Storm is gonna start calling T'Challa her Estranged Husband. That's NOT GOOD! Bad enough one marriage is on the rocks (Luke  & Jessica Cage) but now Storm and Black Panther too?!


- So Colossus now has his own power, the powers of the Juggernaut AND the powers of the Phoenix. Oh my GOD! 


- Iceman beating Red Hulk ... DAMN!!!


- Thank Tony Stark for trying to kill the Phoenix. 


NEXT: And now ... The Scarlet Witch! (This time, for sure.)

  

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.

Countdown: Top 10 Avengers

by Darryll YTC Carter

Two weeks ago I posted my top 10 mutants showing the people I'm rooting for during the Avengers vs X-Men event. This time its the Avengers' turn. Let's get to it.

Captain America

     Without any contest remotely, Cap is my number one Avenger. I mean…. He’s Cap. He earned my respect from the pages of the Ultimates back in my high school days. I’m pro-American and Cap is as pro-America as it gets (before it becomes unhealthy or just racist). He is pure American everything that we should be. Everything that any self respecting and aspiring hero wants to be.  Then there is the shield. He’s surgical with that thing. Not to mention till this day he’s the only man I’ve seen literally walk up to the Hulk and just slug him one.

 Hulk

     If you would have seen me when I first saw the Incredible Hulk or maybe the time I saw the Hulk jump out of a nuclear explosion, you would know my appreciation for the Hulk is borderline orgasmic. That’s right I swoon folks, swoon when I see the Hulk go on his rampages and exert his power and the devastation it relinquishes upon the battlefield or an unsuspecting alien’s face. “Hulk Smash!” = Me happy.

Spider-Man

     Good ole Parker. My favorite superhero tied for first place with none other than Bruce Wayne himself. He’s got the jokes, he’s got the smarts and he had the girl… redhead that is. She’ll be back again don’t even worry about it Pete. We’ll be okay. We’ll be okay… Maybe you can hook up with Patty Spivot, she looks a lot like your recent ex, especially since she wants nothing to do with Flash.

Scarlet Witch

     

      Mmmm, Wanda. I said why I liked her in the Mutant countdown and interestingly enough she clutches the #4 spot again. I like her enough that she appears on both lists. Here’s an excerpt from the Mutant countdown on Wanda:

Often viewed as the favorite child of Magneto, Scarlet Witch is a top tier mutant not to be trifled with. Scarlet Witch manipulates probability fields and reality via her hexes. While she has been deemed unstable on more than one fair occasion, Wanda once firmly warmed a seat in the Avengers alongside her love, Vision. To put into perspective just how powerful Wanda is, I only need to mention House of M. Don’t know what that is? Google it or go buy it. Man I love women with power.

Valkyrie

      Valkyrie is pretty much what I’d go for if I were a superhero. Like Wanda she is a mesh of power and beauty. Besides riding shotgun and being the resident strongman for the first version of the Secret Avengers she has a very poetic and archaic way with words. And who doesn’t like a girl who can wield a big ass sword. Ring Ring. Hello? Valk, it’s for you. Cloud wants his buster sword back.

Iron Man

      Tony Stark would probably have been number three or four on this list before Civil War went down. While his side did come up on top, we all know he regrets the brunt of his actions. Downey and the Iron Man films saved Tony for me. Saved him from the abyss he was doomed for in my mind. That said, Its hard to hate the guy. It is like really hard. You have to try. Like discover a new element try.

               

Black Widow

     Scarlett Johansson.

She Hulk

      Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters; experienced and great lawyer by day, big green, sexy, muscle pounding machine by choice. The beauty of She Hulk’s character is that she chooses to be She Hulk. She’s in perfect control of her transformation, thanks to the opposite effect it had on her as opposed to her cousin.

Wasp

     I’m not sure how to explain how or why I like the wasp. Is it that I like the Wasp or is it that I like what happened to the Wasp? Vague? I’ll explain. In the Ultimates, the Wasp was married to Hank Pym, Giant Man, who also happened to be abusive. One day after an argument he decided to spray her with some bug spray and have his mind controlled ant army ravage her. (Not like that…) They roughed her up a bit… a lot. Cap handled that nasty business. I’ve always thought that was an amazing writing choice. To put that in there. A hot head hero, who abuses his mutant wife, who can shrink down to the size of an insect and sprout wings, with bug spray. It was near genius.

Thor

     “By Odin’s beard!” That’s pretty much the extent of my appreciation. LMAO. Who says that? Thor, that’s who. Oh and Mjolnir. It doesn’t take much to please me folks.

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.

INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK ZIRCHER

Welcome once again. It's CBC EIC again, Frankie Rodriguez with a brand new interview with Captain America upcoming artist, Patrick Zircher.

1. You recently finished doing art for Hulk's Hulk of Arabia with Jeff Parker in Marvel. How did you like the project and how was it working with Jeff Parker?

Working with Jeff is a great experience. He's terrifically talented and capable of weaving stories together out of any number of ideas. He's also open to including characters that the artist would like to draw.  That's fun for an artist and really appreciated. 

2. You also did the recent Secret Avengers #21.1 issue, dealing with Captain America and Hawkeye. How did it feel to come back to drawing Hawkeye? How did you feel about the issue itself?

Coming back to drawing Hawkeye felt fresh, fun, with his new look being a part of it.  Old Hawkeye fans are going to shoot me full of arrows but I'm a big fan of Hawkeye's current costume-- more so than his old one.  The issue turned out nicely, but, as is the case with some one-shots, it could have used a little more space to tell its story.

3. As an artist, do you feel connected to the characters you draw again for a lengthy amount of time or does your excitement on your work depends on the story and what you can do with it?

Drawing the first issue is always exciting.  That's about a month's work.  After that, well you can only psyche yourself up so much-- whether the excitement remains high is very much dependent on the quality of the script and plotting. I try to feel connected to all the characters so that the 'acting', the expression and mood in the art, is as good as it can be.

4. What made you want to become an artist?

A hatred of alarm clocks.  I needed a job that didn't require one.  Really though, I've been drawing since I was a kid and-- this part is important-- received enough encouragement that I never stopped.  I always wanted to be an artist.

5. For readers who don't know, you started out doing art for table top RPGs. What made you decide to go from that to comics?

I spent my lunch money buying comics instead of eating and was a diehard comics fan by the time I was 8 or 9.  Drawing comics was always a dream for me.  In high school, I played D&D and just about all the other RPGs that were out.  At that time, the art for these games was such that, young as I was, I was able to get work published in them.  As I improved, comics work became available.

6. You've done a lot of work over the years. How do you feel that your style has evolved in terms of sequential storytelling?

This sounds arrogant but, even now, I'm a better artist than I was last year and expect I'll improve going forward.  I've never wanted to settle on a 'fixed' way of drawing things so my work has evolved-- and, hopefully, always will.  When I'm not drawing, I'm usually immersed in one book of art or another.

7. I was first introduced to your work during your stint on New Warriors back in the 90s and it seems you have done a lot more Marvel work than other companies. Do you have a particular affinity with the Marvel Universe? What do you believe is what connects you so well to drawing so much of the Marvel Universe?

Part of that connection to Marvel was the exclusive.  I just finished an exclusive, that with extensions, was for 5 and a half years-- but it's more than that.  Marvel has given me an opportunity to draw books I have a vested interest in. Iron Man, Terror, Inc., Thor, Mystery Men, Hulk, and Captain America were all titles I wanted to draw, not just 'assignments'. That willingness to work together to find the right project is special.

8. Who are some of your artistic influences?

There's been so many; all the great Silver Age comic artists, and later, horror book illustrators, manga artists, foreign artists, early 20th century illustrators; even if their styles were disparate.  In the long run, the influences boil down and you find your own way.

9. You have worked with a slew of creators and characters over the years. Who are some of the creator's that you have yet to work with that you would love to? What are some of the titles and/or characters you would love to work on in the future?

I'm an artist so writers come to mind, vets who really know their craft and exciting young writers who are influenced by them.  I can't possibly list them without missing someone I'd love to work with.  Characters are not as much a consideration in what I'd like to do as strength of writing.  A lot of comic characters are a kind of tabula rasa, aside from a few constants, they're blank slates on which to tell your version.  In other words, it's not the character, it's the characterization; it's what you do with it.

10. So what is next for you? Can you tell us or give us a hint? Any of it creator owned like your Samurai 7 work?

First, I can't believe you remember Samurai 7. Thanks.  Next out will be an arc of Captain America with writer Ed Brubaker.  I'm really taken with drawing again and find myself wanting to work every single day-- so I'm making a lot of comics.  I'm freelance in the truer sense of the term again so, in addition to Marvel, I'll be doing work for other companies, things I'm very excited about.  But I'm always hungry for more, another slow-building, 'back-burner' project-- just so I can do what I love every day.

11. Finally, Anything you want to say to any potential artists? Any advice or final words to our readers you would like to give?

Best of luck to all of you, it can be a really enjoyable way to make a living-- but get into a relationship or keep the ones you have.  You'll work alone, long hours, and you don't want to find yourself talking to the dog all day.

NEWS EDITION # 13 - NYCC COVERAGE: EXTREME STUDIOS RETURNS, SHAOLIN COWBOY, THE NEW SECRET AVENGERS TEAMS, THE DARKNESS WITHIN HINE & HAUN, ASPEN 1st ONGOING AND CURSE OF SHAZAM

This week's news edition breaks down the news we've heard this past weekend at the NYCC. And boy there are some BIG announcements.


EXTREME STUDIOS COMEBACK IN 2012 WITH  SEELEY, MCLAUGHLIN & MOORE (& MORE)


     Rob Liefield mentioned this some time ago: that Extreme Studios was going to come back to Image. Yet, there were little to no details as to which titles and who would be attached. Well, this past weekend at the New York Comic Con, we got those answers . . . in spades. Extreme Studios will be bringing back a slew of their old titles; not only bring them back with new creative teams and stories but actually continuing on with their original numbering. Liefield went on about how excited he is about Extreme Studios coming back alongside Image mainstay, Eric Stephenson as they gave a slew of titles to hit sleeves in early 2012, just in time for Image's 20th Birthday.
     The following are the titles that will be surfacing next year with their creative teams and boy . . . the star power with these titles will ASTOUND you.
 
  Prophet will return this January with issue #21, being the first title brought back from Extreme Studios. Yet, it will be written by Brandon Graham, the creator and writer for hit King City. Art duties will be handled by Simon Roy. Liefield went on to say that this series will be the one with the biggest change, saying that John Prophet has now woken up to a harsher new reality.

 Glory is next as the female powerhouse gets new life in with a tweaked origin and will be written by Joe Keantinge, known for his work in the anthology "Popgun" with art by Ross Campbell.

Bloodstrike gets back to its glorious, goriest duties when the team returns compliments of fan favorite writer Tim Seeley and art by Franchesco Gaston. And Seeley will be making sure this team is as dangerous as ever.

Youngblood, the flagship title of Image & Extreme Studios back in the 90s, returns with a vengeance with Youngblood #71. Why #71? According to Liefield, the previous Youngblood minis will now count as one volume instead of Volume 2 and so forth and Liefield promises that the 75th issue of Youngblood will be full of excitement and surprises. Yet, what fans will really drop their mouths at are the creative team for Youngblood . . . art by Jon Malin (whose done work with Liefield before in NitroGen & worked on New Warriors and Cable/Deadpoo) and writer John McLaughlin (Writer of the Academy Award Winning movie Black Swan!). Liefield stated that McLaughlin has returned Youngblood to a more serious government group yet filled with new ideas and concepts including  . . . a sex change for Proton?!

And Finally, Supreme, the ultimate super man of Extreme Studios, will return with issue #57.And for the ride .. . we have artist and Image founding member Erik Larsen and written by the legendary Alan Moore. Yes, the final scripts of Alan Moore during his landmark run with his character will finally reach its conclusion as Liefield,  Stephenson and Kirkman were able to convince Larsen to work on finish the work that Alan Moore began. And once those scripts are done, Larsen will stay on as writer and will have art by Cory Hamscher; and Larsen will tie up the visions of the arrogant superman that first appeared alongside Moore's retro version once they are done the Moore Scripts.

Extreme Studios seems to be aggressively coming back into the comic world. Let's see how the fans will respond. We will find out as Extreme Studios returns starting this January.


DARK HORSE BRINGS BACK SHAOLIN COWBOY


 Geof Darrow's original Shaolin Cowboy featured the main character in a world of violence of his own making in a world where yesterday, today and tomorrow collide. And it was under an independent press which had printed it 5 years ago. Now Dark Horse and Darrow bring back Shaolin Cowboy for new adventures in 2012.


SECRET AVENGERS' FACE LIFT  AS REMENDER & HARDMAN ENTER

   Rick Remender has become one of the go to guys in Marvel when it comes to writing covert ops groups within the Marvel Universe. Holding such acclaim with his work on Venom and Uncanny X-Force, he will now embark in a new adventure; as he and artist Gabriel Hardman (known for his recent work on the Hulk) will unite to take the reigns of Secret Avengers after Ellis's run is done.
  Remender comes in with issue 21.1 issue, with art by Patrick Zicher, as Captain America Steve Rogers has a talk with Hawkeye. And that starts the many changes with the group as Hawkeye becomes the new leader of the Secret Avengers, personally passed command from Cap. Remender comments on Hawkeye's entrance to the group:

"I think what you've got in Hawkeye, because of his childhood, is somebody who is roguish and a little unpredictable. He's got a real sense of responsibility and a solid ethical compass, but he's also willing to go to lengths that maybe Steve Rogers isn't. That's one of the reasons that Steve chose and one of the reasons that we chose him for this book. Now they're operating with a no kill rule, but we're going to put that to the test. For me there needs to be a difference between 'X-Force' and 'Secret Avengers.' This is the brighter, shinier covert operations team whereas I think 'X-Force' is a little dirtier. The fun of it is that you've got to cook up threats of such a grand scale that haven't yet boiled over and must be dealt with before they do. They're dealing with dire straits and something that they're potentially in over their heads with, but on top of that they must maintain their anonymity. They can't be seen so the team is still a secret to the villains of the world.


And Hawkeye isn't the only new edition as the team goes through a line up change. While Beast, Black Widow and Valkyrie are all staying, the team gets other new members such as Giant Man Hank Pym; who is also running the Avengers Academy . . .and first time Avenger, UK hero Captain Britian. Remender promises that Hawkeye will be dealing with issue with the UK hero as their personalities and backgrounds will clash. And promises that many of the fixtures in Captain Britain's life, such as Otherworld, Jamie Braddock and his twin sister Psylocke (who Remender writes in Uncanny X-Force) and connecting them into storylines for Secret Avengers while dealing with what its like being an Avenger.

And while Remender is well versed in Brain Braddock and his mythology, artist Gabriel Hardman is entering new territory as he commented:

Captain Britain is almost entirely new to me. I may have read a couple issues of 'Excalibur' in the '80s, but I don't think I've ever drawn him. It will be a challenge to find an angle on this character."

And Captain Britain as a character will not only be explored but Otherworld, the dimension Brian Braddock rules will also have major storyline implications in Secret Avengers. And thus having Captain Britain on the team will open unlimited possibities for stories for the covert team remarked Remender. Remender says that he is also picking up the plot line dropped from Uncanny X-Force 5.1, where Lady Deathstrike downloaded herself and how that connects to the first threat the new team faces, the mechanical beings known as the Descendants. After that, the team will face the emergence of an all new Masters of Evil and how they are connected to the Shadow Council.

Adding new concepts and visuals are just one of many reasons why Remender and Hardman are happy to be working together again; as Hardman states:

"I had a great time doing flashback sequences on the late lamented 'Doctor Voodoo' and working with Rick again was a big factor in me deciding to take this book. Anyone who's read his work knows he's full of huge, inventive ideas and his 'Secret Avengers' scripts are no exception."




With two jump on points, #21.1 or #22 of Secret Avengers is a perfect time to get a taste of the where this new Secret Avengers team is going and work from Remender and Hardman. Secret Avengers #21.1 will hit stores in January while Secret Avengers #22 hits stores in February.


VIDEO OF THE WEEK: 

Premiered this past weekend during NYCC . . . the upcoming DC Animated movie: Justice League DOOM.


HINE & HAUN TAKE OVER THE DARKNESS

   The Darkness seems to be enjoying a new surge of popularity again with the new game to be released and his roles in the Top Cow Universe. And as of issue #101, there will be a new creative coming in and taking on Jackie Estacado in the forms of writer David Hine and Jeremy Haun. The new creative team jumps in to bring The Darkness more in touch with both his horror and mobster roots.
   Hine commented on how the powers of The Darkness are mixed between that of Spawn and Green Lantern and will be testing those powers through out the story while testing visuals for Haun to render for the reader. Hine also commented on how he is using of the events of recent issues of The Darkness and Artifacts that will help him set up his new direction that starts in #101.
    Hine hinted at what he plans on doing:

"There are some fiendish twists coming, but I don't want to give any of them away, which leaves me with very little I can say specifically, except to say that I'll be taking Jackie in a very different direction to what has gone before. I think readers will be pleasantly surprised -- no scratch that -- there's nothing pleasant about what we have planned. In fact, I've been giving myself nightmares. I had one last week that had me waking up in a cold sweat and gave me the opening scene to the third issue of my first arc. It involves cats, and I apologize in advance to all the cat lovers out there. Honestly, I love cats. I have two of my own. But when a scene comes to you in a dream, you just have to go with it."

 Hine also hinted that an Eastern European Mob are trying to move in on Jackie's turf during his first arc; where Jackie is back to being a gangster himself running his own mob. And all this will be rendered by Haun as Hine stated that he wanted to make sure that a horror element was very much a part of the book. So, it will be a mix of mob crime dramas and horror in which Hine will drive the Darkness during his run; picking up on elements that current scribe, Phil Heister, will produce during the issues leading to #100.

The Darkness #101, written by David Hine with art by Jeremy Haun will hit stores in March 2012. .



JOHNS & FRANK ADD A CURSE OF SHAZAM TO JUSTICE LEAGUE

  The convention has definitely been filled with surprises and exciting announcements. This one is no different.  Starting with January's Justice League #5, there will be a back up story that will run through the ongoing dealing with Captain Marvel. Curse of Shazam will beginning its backup run on the Justice League book, running along side the Steel back up on Action Comics.
    Justice League scribe Geoff Johns works with Gary Frank again to give us a brand new rendition of Captain Marvel in this DCnU. Johns and Frank come with a fresh, new perspective as they give Captain Marvel and many of his long time characters a modern update . ..  including a new costume.

Frank commented on the look of Shazam:

"Both Geoff and I were keen that our costume should look different to the rest of the Justice League's costumes since it comes from a different place. We're still ironing it out but, whereas the other costumes feel very modern and cool, ours needs to feel timeless and, hopefully, cool. We are dealing with magic rather than tailoring, so this has to be in there somehow."

Another change that may stick is that the hero may longer be referred to as Captain Marvel . . . but as Shazam as many fans already use that name Shazam to differentiate him from Marvel's Captain Marvel; let alone the legal ramifications. Yet, we will not find out for sure till the back up premieres. And note, this project was finished after the recently finished but yet to be printed Batman: Earth One graphic novel, which will also hit stores in 2012 which Frank stated:

"I enjoy working with Geoff so much that he was always going to be my first choice as a collaborative partner. When I first suggested finding another project, it was in response to the fact that there was going to be such a long time before Batman[: Earth One] hit the shelves. I wanted to get another project going so that I would have something out there."


Justice League # 5 written by Geoff Johns with art by Jim Lee with the Curse of Shazam backup also written by Johns with art by Gary Frank will hit stores January 18th, 2011.


ASPEN'S FIRST ONGOING SERIES

  Aspen has been notorious for several things: books that seem to have a very dubious, sporadic schedule; a wide variety of books in their line; multiple miniseries starring their properties like Fathom and Soulfire; and finally, the founder being the late Michael Turner.
    Well, things are about to change in Aspen as it announced its first ongoing series this past weekend. With the success of their weekly, summer crossover event known as Hit List Agenda, Aspen fixed their scheduling conflicts. And now, they will unleash their popular property, Executive Assistant: Assassins, created by David Z. Wohl, in 2012.
   Executive Assistant: Assassins deals with women who take up roles as Assistants, Bodyguards and Assassins for their high-powered Chinese superiors. Oddly enough, it is not Wohl but Aspen EIC Vince Hernandez himself who will be scripting the ongoing comic. When asked to why this title being the first given ongoing status:

The Executive Assistant property has been great for us. David Wohl, Brad Foxhoven and Michael Turner created not only a wonderful first two volumes containing a rich storyline and a diverse cast of personalities, but also an entire world filled with possibilities for future stories and new characters. We felt it was time to tap into that and explore different takes on the concept.

Executive Assistant:  Assassins will allow for that with the ongoing format and the open-ended nature of it. For instance, there are several fan-favorite characters from the first two volumes and the crossover that didn’t get as much time in the sun as the primary cast, and this will be an opportunity for fans to see them in more expanded tales and adventures.

The choice to do this particular title at the point is really just a matter of timing in our production schedule. We’ve discussed the ongoing format plenty of times before for different properties, and actually, there will be more upcoming announcements involving the ongoing format with our other popular titles that I think people are gonna get really excited about.

Hernandez also stated that the books will have clear arcs to follow with a beginning and an ending; and to note that there will be cast changes to follow other EX:As depending on the arcs. Many characters that we did see before, who are still alive anyway, will return during the ongoing. The first arc will be 3 issues entitled "Life After Death", featuring volume one veteran, Iris. After that, there is a 2 part arc with another EX:A.

The espionage, action pack femme fatale fest will begin in 2012.

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THIS WEEKEND IS TAKII: AN ANIME CONVENTION IN PHILADELPHIA

AND AT THE CONVENTION IS . . ..EVE OF CHAMPIONS

On Sunday, October 23rd, J1 Studios in conjunction with The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational will be hosting the Eve of Champions tournament!!! Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is the game, $10 to enter, and there's prizes in store for everyone.

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And that is it for this week. More news next week. See ya then.