Posts Tagged ‘ Avengers ’

No real surprise there – but I’m still glad that Bucky’s appears to be the one who’s carrying the shield post-Siege (eye color notwithstanding). I can only assume that Steve will be running an entirely different kind of SHIELD…

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The reason for the girly noise was, of course, the echo of this:

Like father, like daughter!

So let me get this straight: Eternity contains everything, including Hank Pym.

And because Hank Pym thinks everyone hates him…

Yeah, okay. I can live with that.

But really, Eternity loves Hank Pym!

Why? Because he’s Scientist Supreme!

Er…well, the title feels a little forced, but I guess I can live with that too. After all, it’s not like Hank’s the smartest guy in the room; Eternity admits that Reed Richards is a lot smarter but an explorer (presumably the Explorer Supreme!) and Stark’s an Engineer (Supreme!). I have a hard time thinking Stark’s brighter than Pym though, and Eternity doesn’t say he is – it’s just that these are the guys that Pym compares himself to most.

The fact that they’ve both been massive dicks to him in this series is probably another reason that Eternity calls them out.

Tangentially, you know who Pym doesn’t see as his equal?

That’s right, baby. Because Pym knows that no-one is equal to Doom.

Anyway. So it turns out that while Reed and Stark have the role of Explorer and Engineer locked down, Pym’s the Mage.

Er…like magic? He uses science like magic? So he doesn’t have to explain how he does what he does, kind of like how Forge could make anything before Warren Bloody Ellis blew him out his glory hole?

You know what? I like Hank Pym. I always have even with his many, many, many flaws – so I’m okay with this new role and the new-found confidence it instills.

You know what I don’t like?

Creepy ‘that’s-the-brain-patterns-of-your-dead-ex-wife-in-a-robot-your-robot-son-built-for-a-mate-you-weirdo-perv’ Pym-Jocasta moments.

At least Speed doesn’t like it either…

Oh, Karla…

I always liked her. Admittedly, not so much when she was a member of the Masters of Evil, wore a dorky white helmet, tried to play Baron Zemo and then got her neck broken because she forgot not to fly head-first into a wall…but aside from that, since she came back as Meteorite – and then Moonstone again, and now Ms Marvel – in Thunderbolts, she’s been one of those characters that was fun to watch as she slowly, inexorably, completely against her will, got dragged to the good side of the street.

She was always out for yourself, of course, but it was falling for Clint Barton – man, that guy gets around, doesn’t he? – that really set her on course for becoming a hero. Even if, along the way, she had a tendency to be a complete cow.

And then flamin’ Warren Bloody Ellis went and devolved her back into being a total self-centered bitch, even trying to kill teammates, when he took over Thunderbolts. And that was okay, that was fine – and then Bendis took the characterization, ran with it and threw her into bed with Kid Captain Marvel or whatever he’s called –

- and I thought, okay, that’s fine. But now…

…Bullseye?

Really?

Bullseye? Mr Gut-you-for-breakfast?

And then it becomes clear.

It’s all about Clint.

Man, when that gut hits his mark, it stays hit, doesn’t it?

And who knew that was a two-piece?

But here’s the thing: I have nothing against strong sexual characters, be they male or female – but unless Bendis has a very definite masterplan at work here regarding Karla’s motivations and goals, then this feels like sleaze for the sake of sleaze.

Karla, like Emma Frost both use their sexuality as a weapon. And not a subtle weapon; it’s more of a blunt instrument, smacking other characters – and the reader – in the face with it.

I’m not sure why, but that just makes me a little uncomfortable. I suspect that’s because I like to live in the fantasy that there are still kids reading these comics, and that they see role models in these characters.

Anyway. Nice art, I guess.

…with all this as the MM in question showed up at the end of this week’s Dark Avengers:

That’s quite the entourage that Owen’s got in tow, too – Mephisto, the Enchantress (who looks kind of mind-controlled with the old glowy-eyes), someone who looks like he might be Zarathos (although I’m not sure what’s going on with him in the pages of Ghost Rider) and…hey, is that the Beyonder?

Because I do love me some Beyonder…

Er, in any case, it seems unlikely that the ‘man behind the curtain’ is Molecule Man – in which case, I’ll go with it being an empty Green Goblin suit, and everyone else is just playing along with his crazy (thanks, skaps!). Well, either that or the Void.

Because if Johnston did mean Marvel Man, or Miracle Man, or whatever he’s going by this week, then that’s the most random way to introduce him to the MU ever, and nobody else should have known him.

I mean, that’s like randomly throwing a Captain Marvel lookalike into the mix for the closing issue of a big crossover, isn’t it? And who would do that?

Oh…

Back when Osborn first assembled his Cabal, before Namor and Emma Frost flipped him the bird, Doom and Loki started plotting behind his back, and the Hood lost his powers (or at least his first set), Osborn kept them all in line with a shadowy figure behind the door.

The secret of the man behind the door is apparently key to the end of Dark Reign – which makes some amount of sense, but would make even more if he’d appeared more than once in the whole shebang.

Anyway, over at Bleeding Cool, Rich Johnston claims to have the scoop on his identity, and when check out the solicit for Dark Avengers #11 (and oddly, Dark Avengers #12 has the exact same solicit), alarm bells start ringing:

The Dark Avengers are pitted against a foe they cannot defeat: A man with the power over every molecule in the world!

Molecule, you say? MM, Rich Johnston says?

Could Owen Reese the Molecule Man be the power behind the throne?

If so, the last we heard of him, he was being busted out of the Raft (which may be less secure than Arkham Asylum) at the start of Secret Invasion…

…and its not like Bendis doesn’t love plotting stuff a while in advance.

If it is the Molecule Man, it begs the question of what could defeat him; after all, this is a guy who took on the Beyonder (indeed, I think he actually created the Beyonder if I’m remembering my Secret Wars III correctly), and this was back before Bendis ham-handedly attempted to retcon the Beyonder into being an Inhuman, which I can easily dismiss as a fever dream.

So if Owen Reese has gone back to his evil ways and regained his powers, how are you going to calm him down?

Easy. Bring in his squeeze, Volcana.

Owen does love his Marsha-Mallow, and then Dark Reign would, basically be ended by love. And puppies and rainbows for all!

Oh, you bastard, Fraction. Just when I’m harping on about how terrible you are on X-Men you gives us this page:

If there’s one page last week that got me choked up (well, not really; it’s only a comic) it’s this one. Of course, it would have had even more impact if anyone involved had been able to tell the difference between the Mariana Trench and the character Marrina, but whatever.

It’s still one hell of a page.

There are two other great bits in the comic too – the Stepford Cuckoos’ reaction to scanning Marrina as she approaches (and Namor’s subsequent reaction) -

- although it would have been nice if someone remembered that the Cuckoos can’t feel any emotions any more following that godawful Phoenix Warsong mini a while back.

Finally, of course there was Namor’s final confrontation with Osborn -

- which desperately makes me hope that Namor is involved in finally taking Osborn down, even if I’m almost certain he won’t be.

Of course, this wouldn’t have had any impact at all without the fact that Alan Davis and Mark Farmer are still one of the best artistic teams in comics. I just wish they worked more often.

Actually, you know what? I still don’t like Fraction on the X-Men – but I’d love him to take on a Namor series.

Last week’s DC books ran an ad revealing the JLA line up for the upcoming James Robinson/ Mark Bagley run on the book which, apparently, spins out of Robinson’s unintentionally amusing Justice League: Cry for Justice mini.

For those that can’t make out the tiny pic the full line-up is made up of four basic groups:

Stand-in Trinity: Batman (Dick Grayson), Mon-El, Donna Troy – I actually quite like this set of heroes but I wonder if they’ll be sticking around once Bruce and Clark make their inevitable return. I’m a bit behind on Wonder Woman so I’m not really sure why Donna’s here, but again, I like her so I can’t complain.

Cry for Justice refugees: Congorilla, Hal Jordan , Green Arrow, the Atom – Oh good, more angst. While I like most of these characters – with the exception of Congorilla, who I don’t really know – I don’t like how Robinson’s writing them in his mini. Hal’s really out of character, Ollie lacks the humor and snark that he normally has, and having Ray resort to torturing someone in pretty much the same way that his ex-wife killed Sue Dibny is outright wrong. I think I’d rather see Ryan Choi in the book, actually.

Titans refugees: Cyborg and Starfire (not to mention Donna and Dick) – It’s funny, but the non-marquee names on the Titans bore the shit out of me. Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy are just plain dull. I should probably thank my lucky star’s Gar’s not in the book.

Superman refugees: Guardian and Dr Light – both are appearing in Robinson’s Superman book, even if Light’s only shown up to swoon at Guardian a bit. Guardian’s past makes for an interesting angle, and his relationship with Mon-El should carry over here – although I’m not sure how he’ll play with the others.

It’s an odd line up, and not one that I think can work for very long; it kind of reminds me of the Avengers #300 line-up for some reason; old standbys, members of another team and some random character thrown in.

Which, I guess, makes Congorilla Gilgamesh.

I’m also wondering how Titans will operate as a book. It looks like Gar might be shifting over to Teen Titans which will really only leave Raven (also boring) and Wally (who I assume will be in Flash in some role) not on the JLA; so is Titans going to be canceled again? It might be a blessing…

Over at IGN, there’s a preview of this week’s Dark Reign The List X-Men; apparently something big likes delicious blue sushi, and is eating Atlanteans.

The X-Men, these days being led by Master StrategistTM Cyclops, naturally have a plan now that Namor’s wearing a big ‘X’ on his belt.

Anyway, there’s a bit of luring the big sushi-eater to come get some -

- and then the preview ends.

To me, that approaching beast sure looks familiar; in fact back when the Avengers were being run by Dr Druid (heady days indeed), Namor slew a very similar looking beast himself -

- a beast which was actually his mutated bride, Marrina. Marrina, a former Alpha Flight member, was actually a member of the alien Plodex and mutated when she became pregnant. Subsequently, she laid some eggs – which hatched, leaving little Namor-Plodex hybrids to go swimming into the sea – and then was put out of her misery by Namor, using the Black Knight’s Ebony Blade.

She returned to normal and was buried at sea, but the pretty-lame-as-masterminds-go Master of the World (bet he didn’t get invited to the villains brain-trust meetings) later, during the Kang War apparently used her body for science experiments some time later, although this was never found out by Namor or the Avengers.

Over at Newsarama, an early review of Dark Reign The List X-Men has this to say-

I expect that there will be some discontent from some quarters about what’s done to a particular, possibly obscure, character, but it fits the profile of Norman having gone very much around the bend.

- so I’m left to wonder; has Osborn re-mutated Marrina and sent her out to snack on Atlanteans to get back at Namor?

And if not, shouldn’t I really be writing for Marvel to come up with a cockamamie theory like this?

Images from the always excellent Comic Vine

Posted via web from Comic By Comic’s Wonderous Posterous!

Last week was a huge week, so let’s get to it (some spoilers below) -

Detective Comics #854 – Beautiful artwork, solid story – and that’s on both Batwoman and The Question co-feature. I have to say that I like this version of Kate Kane more than the version we met in 52. Like the look, like the base, like her dad helping…good stuff all around.

Gotham City Sirens #1 – Store I went to was out. Maybe next week.

Green Lantern #42 – A bit of a let down, partly because I find Blue Lanterns of Hope stupid, partly because I find Larfleeze a daft villain, and partly because I’m sick of all the Lanterns just assuming that the Guardians are right, or at least being unwilling to question anything. This is on the endangered list post-Blackest Night.

Justice League of America #34 – Adequate wrap-up to the Starbreaker arc – although I still don’t really get why Cowboy Batman was there and the revelation about Sun Eaters being larvae Starbreakers is pretty much nonsensical. Let’s move on, already.

Superman #689 – A so-so ‘day in the life’ issue, with Valor touring the world and having splash page adventures in every country he visits, along with a one-panel inset where he sees something beautiful. Aw. Yes, it’s as cloying as it sounds.

Amazing Spider-Man #598 – Darker than usual, with Spidey getting a fistful of torture from Bullseye while Harry flounders and Norman proves he has a prediliction for blondes around his son’s age. Also, nodbody’s surprised that this guy seems to have been forgotten by everyone. Can it be? Did OMD delete Sins Past? Because if it did, I’m all for it!

Astonishing X-Men #30 – I asked last week if anyone still cared about this title. The answer is probably not. I’m kind of pissed off that Ellis killed Forge after turning him a little more crazy, though. I always liked him. Beautiful art, though.

Avengers The Initiative #25 – Good solid wrap-up issue as we get the new status quo of the Initiative. Lots to like here – dropping Gravity into the GLA is a genius idea (mini series, please!); I like the idea of the Avengers Resistance – especially with a newly-revitalized Tigra leading it; and Gauntlet sucker punching Ares out of the window of Avengers Tower. Good stuff.

Dark Avengers #6 – So. Norman’s still insane. Sentry’s still useless as a character. Mike Deodato still draws exceptionally well. And the cover doesn’t represent a single thing that happens in the issue. Still good fun.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1 – Okay set-up issue for the crossover, but I’m becoming less and less a fan of Fraction’s work on the X-Men, and that carries over here a little. Also, I’ve never been a fan of ‘torn from the headline’ stories, and Proposition X and Proposition 8 are a little too close for me to fully embrace the story yet. Oh, and the apparent treatment of Xavier seems a little pointless given the amount of time we just spent traipsing around the world with him getting him back. And, even though I’m told otherwise, I still think the Loki thing was a screw up.

Dark Reign Lethal Legion #1 – I picked this up because Tieri promised Crusher Creel. Well, he’s in it, barely, but I’ll forgive the false advertising. The majority of the issue focuses on Tiger Shark, in prison, telling how the current Lethal Legion – him, the Grim Reaper, Creel, Mr Hyde, Nekra (who also popped up in Utopia, oddly enough), the Grey Gargoyle and a final mystery member – got together and got set up. I’m not sold on the flashback-heavy structure of the story, but it’s got potential. Oh, and the art by Mateus Santoloco is very reminiscent of Darick Robertson.

Guardians Of The Galaxy #15 – The Guardians wrap up their War of Kings involvement in typical strong fashion; Moondragon’s not the woman she used to be; Warlock might be the man he will become and used to be (look, it makes sense); Crystal’s no helpless hostage; Lockjaw might be god (at least if you’re Cosmo) and Groot is Groot. Simply awesome. What comics should be.

Incredible Hercules #130 – Slight misstep this time out as Zeus gets put on trial, simply because he’s such a pompous ass that you really don’t want him to be saved. That said, there’s some good stuff with Cho and his parents (and Aegis, of all people), and Hercules’ speech in defence of his father is great. So even when this comic’s isn’t firing on all cylinders, it’s still better than 90% of the comics out there.

Nova #26 – A great book, but I’m not a fan of the reintroduced Corps. I don’t want a second rate Green Lantern Corps, I want Rich Rider. Let’s get this back on track and I won’t even mention that Robbie Rider’s supposed to be missing a finger, okay?

Secret Warriors #5 – Best issue so far, and the first one not to feature the team. What does that tell you? That nobody cares about the team because their characters haven’t been developed at all? Probably.

Skaar Son Of Hulk #12 – Some smashing and more than a few surprises. A light, fun read – and there’s more to Skaar than meets the eye. I’ll be picking up Incredible Hulk #600 to see where Skaar and his dad land next.

Thunderbolts #133 – Okay, well…if Black Widow isn’t who we think she is, who is she? Tasha? Mystique? This just got a lot more interesting between that, her real boss, Ghost’s connivingness and Eric O’Grady potentially stepping up in a big way. On top of that there were more examples of HAMMER’s gestapo-like tactics and the welcome return of Songbird. One of Marvel’s most unpredictable titles right now.

Uncanny X-Men #512 – So. Looks like it’s not just Greg Land’s static posing that makes Uncanny a bit of a mess right now, is it? Fraction is not on good form here. The whole X-Men science team thing seems like a good idea but plays like a second rate Planetary, to be honest.

X-Force #16 – The Messiah War concludes with not so much a bang as a whimper. A pity, because it had been pretty good fun up to hear – but at this point its difficult to see what, if any, changes to the status quo of either books this story has really made.

X-Men Forever #2- It feels a little wrong that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. From a page-long soliloquy from Nick Fury to hearing a sound in a corridor, to Wolverine apparently having adamantium hair, there’s so much wrong here that it’s difficult defend. And yet…and yet…it’s still strangely great.

Proof #21 – As much as I like the concept of this book, I think I’m about done. It’s well done, but over the last few arcs it feels like its lost its way – and that’s a damn shame because for a while there it was one of my most anticipated books. I’m out after the conclusion of this arc.

In this week’s Utopia #1, the kick-off of the big X-Men/Dark Avengers crossover, there’s a scene where various parties around the world react to the unrest in San Francisco.

Let’s take a look at that last scene again -

- er, doesn’t Loki look more like this at the moment?

Did anyone mention that to Marc Silvestri, or his assists?

Anyone, anyone, editors, anyone? Bueller?

Better late than never – and still ahead of this week’s releases, which is good.

Action Comics Annual #12 – A steaming pile of crap. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve read a worse comic in a long time. Where to begin? Perhaps the grating, omniscient third party narration? Perhaps the fact that their origins are contrived? Perhaps the fact that we may know their history but we don’t really know them? If you haven’t bought it, don’t.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 - The store I went to didn’t have it. I choose to take this as a sign that it is not destined to be a monthly pull of mine. Alternatively, I may pick it up this week.

Outsiders #19 – Not bad, not good, just forgettable. The good news is that it has Vandal Savage (who’s always fun, in spite of Morrison’s makeover) and it also has Ra’s Al Ghul. IN A BEAR HEAD-HAT.

Power Girl #2 – Aaand I’m out. Well, that was quick. I’ve been looking forward to this comic since it was announced over a year ago, but I’m done. Two issues in and I get half an issue dedicated to the origin of a villain I don’t care about? Not only that, but the book suffers from serious verbal diarrhea. It’s the opposite of decompressed storytelling – which is fine until you realise that you don’t really care about the story anyway.

Supergirl #42 – Solid issue, with Lois reliably under control mourning her sister’s (apparent) death. It’s funny, but for all the fuss about Supergirl being back on track (and it is), I kind of view this book as the home of the Superman supporting cast right now – Lois, Sam Lane, Lana, Cat Grant; they’re all here. And the book’s the better for it. Oh, and Jamal Igle’s art on here is fantastic. He and Sibal are really working well together.

All-New Savage She-Hulk #3 – A great fun little mini. I find myself liking this more and more, and having the original She-Hulk punch out the Sentry is icing on the cake. Although…who wants more tiny little Normans running around? Sure, Harry’s okay, but the two-whose-name-shall-not-be-spoken weren’t enough? Although…would a Norman/Lyra mix still have his brillo pad hair?

Amazing Spider-Man Family #7 – A Roger Stern-penned Spidey tale is always a must, even if it is about Aunt May and Uncle Ben first getting together – but on the eve of May’s wedding, its a nice little retrospective. Throw in Spider-Girl (still entertaining) and Fred Hembeck’s l’il Peter Parker meeting the Brothers Voodoo, and you’ve got a nice little book.

Cable #15 – The whole Messiah War thing has basically become one big fight scene. Enjoyable fluff, but no depth to it.

Captain Britain And MI 13 #14 – I mentioned how much I liked this last week – but allow me to add this:
Heh.

Dark Reign Fantastic Four #4 – The more I read this book, the more concerned I am with Hickman taking the reigns of the regular title. Reed is back in ‘fix everything’ mode (which is the title of Hickman’s first arc), Ben, Sue and Johnny are supporting characters, and Franklin and Valeria are funny but kind of brattish – and they really shouldn’t be one of the main focuses of the book in my opinion. On the plus side, Norman Osborn is reliably crazy and the end of the issue promises a great smack-down which will, no doubt, not be delivered.

Invincible Iron Man #14 – Apparently I missed last issue which is why , but I’m all caught up now. Fraction handles this book much better than he does Uncanny X-Men. Focused, smart and funny, he’s on fire here, and Sal Larocca’s work is gorgeous. I’m a bit confused about Crimson Dynamo as I thought Dmitri was out of the suit, but that’s not enough to put me off.

Mighty Avengers #26 – Better than last issue, which isn’t saying much. I’m still not entirely on board but I want to see how this plays out. Honestly, though, the book needs a better art team than this.

Punisher #6 – Didn’t pick it up. So its been moved to the trade list!

War Of Kings Ascension #3 – This issue turned the spotlight on Chris Powell as opposed to Darkhawk and was the better for it. The art’s a lot less confusing without the two Darkhawks running around, and I feel like I’m getting to know the protagonist. And the book has finally dovetailed with War of Kings.

X-Men Legacy #225 – A decent enough wrap up to Xavier’s arc, but after a year and a half of him as the central star, I still don’t really care about him. So I suspect that the book’s failed, really, in spite of solid writing on Carey’s behalf. Nice art though.

I was one of those who was looking forward to Dan Slott’s take on the Avengers when it was announced that he was taking over Mighty Avengers when Bendis left to take over Thunderbolts create Dark Avengers.

I’m an Avengers fan since the days of Roger Stern’s stint as scribe, and I’ve read/now own a good chunk of what came before that, so I was all up for a return to an old school feel for the book – something that Bendis’ Mighty never achieved, in spite of the initial claims that it would provide that feel.

Instead, we got a weak and muddled three-issue opening arc which dealt with magic, Wundagore Mountain and Modred the flamin’ Mystic, perhaps the least useful magical character in the MU. As someone who doesn’t like much magic outside of Dr Strange, this wasn’t an ideal arc for me – but more than that, something felt off about Pym’s portrayal.

It wasn’t the new codename or outfit – in spite of Hercules’ concerns. It wasn’t even in the way that Iron Man reacted to him leading the team; it was in Pym’s reactions to everyone else.

Let’s see…he’s lost Jan and is hanging out with the robot whose brainwaves are based on hers. He’s desperate to prove himself as a hero, apparently to partly honor Jan’s memory but also apparently for himself.

He’s also overbearing and more than a little condescending to the younger members of the team, including but not limited to Cassie, who’s been quite successfully proving herself a hero for a while now.

He grossly over reacts to Jocasta shutting off their lab to protect it – to the point where you have to wonder if Slott’s really on board the Pym redemption train as he’s claimed to be.

Oh, and not only is he displaying some very erratic behavior, building a robot called Salvation Two (presumably because Salvation One went so well), but he’s also picking a fight with Reed Richards.

I mean, granted Richards was being uncharacteristically dickish, but still…

And, oh yeah, his team’s being led round by the nose by Loki.

What really bugs me is that Reed and Stark, prior to the Skrull invasion would never have treated Pym this way. They both respected his scientific prowess, regarded him as a friend and treated him as an equal. But now they’re both acting like heels and Pym’s disintegrating.

It’s not an Avengers that appeals to me; it’s not what I thought Slott would deliver, it’s making me actively dislike one of my favorite characters and to be honest, it’s not a lot of fun.

I’m disappointed, and if things don’t turn around in this FF arc, then I think I’m actually going to do something I’ve never done: drop an Avengers book.

If this doesn’t make you grin like a loon, then you’re on the wrong blog…

Right, back to moving.

Via

Bullseye calls Osborn on being a lunatic and his hair?

When did Bullseye become the voice of reason in any team?

There’s an Avengers movie coming up, you know, and although I’m absolutely certain that it won’t feature the Masters of Evil, this tweet a while back by Jonathan Ross got me thinking:

Who would be the ideal Masters of Evil, cast so that they could spin off into a Thunderbolts movie, perhaps?

Well for a start off, you take the team from the Under Siege storyline circa Avengers #269-277. It was such a great collection of villains that you’d be hard pushed to beat it.

Still for the sake of having a manageable roster, I’d leave the Wrecking Crew out of it – because that still leaves plenty of power.

First up, Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man – a favorite of mine and Frank Tieri. Here, you go with Jonathan Ross’s suggestion because it’s just about damn perfect: Vin Diesel.

For Titania, Crusher’s partner-in-crime and lover, I was going to go with a wrestler until I realized that I don’t know any – so I thought I’d settle for a statuesque actress. Sure, she’s been in other Marvel movies, but get her back in the gym to muscle up a bit and I don’t think you could do better than Rebecca Romijin:

As budget’s no constraint, I started thinking about Mr Hyde as CGI – but then I relized that I didn’t need to; if you can pay anything, there’s an obvious actor who could portray the villainous Calvin Zabo if you could afford him: Sylvester Stallone:

Every story needs a twist and in the cases of the Masters, it’s the fact that the female Yellowjacket, Rita DeMara, is in over her head and actually ends up helping the heroes. Sounds like a job for Kristen Bell to me:

Erik Josten, former Power Man, is Goliath in the Masters. A career soldier who can handle himself, you need someone physically tough. I’ll take Jason Statham for ten, please; I mean, you’re going to use CGI to make him look taller anyway, right?

For Blackout, the Masters’ mentally unstable darkforce controller, I thought of an actor who appears to have had some experience with this kind of character recently: BSG and Smallville alum Sam Witwer:

I had a problem with Moonstone; on the one hand you need someone who can be evil, but on the other hand you need someone beautiful enough that she can get you to let your guard down. Ever seen Election? I finally settle on Reese Witherspoon; it’s casting against type but I think it could work.

Then there’s Fixer. Slimy, brilliant and egotistical, Norbert suffers from a seriously dorky outfit (but looks much better later on as Techno, so I used that pic) and the fact that he’s not the man that he likes to think he is – and that sounds tailor made for Casey Affleck:

Finally, there’s Zemo himself. Aristocratic, arrogant, commanding and ruthless, you really need an Englishman for this, don’t you? Paul Bettany should do the trick!

Obviously this cast is somewhat flawed as (a) you’d never be able to afford them, (b) half of them wouldn’t do it, and (c) it ain’t ever going to happen, but still – what do you think?

Newsarama reports on a Variety story about Marvel creating a stable of writers for it’s movie projects, and drops a few hints about some potential future projects:

Gathering of scribes will help Marvel come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Nighthawk and Vision.

Some interesting names there…and if I could play casting advocate for just one moment…

Black Panther‘s easy; he’s already doing the animated series, he’s tough as nails and he’s got the bearing to be regal while kicking your ass: Djimon Hounsou -

Cable needs an older actor who can do gritty – somehow, I don’t think Clint Eastwood would be available, but I’d settle for BSG‘s Michael Hogan:

Doctor Strange is a tough one. You need someone who can project authority, be otherworldly and have a nice line in dry humor. Or, you know, be Johnny Depp:

Iron Fist‘s another tough one. A caucasian martial arts star that can act? I’d stick with the guy who’s been linked to the role for the past seven years, Ray Park. And I’d shell out for acting lessons and a vocal coach.

Nighthawk‘s a little difficult. You want someone who can play a cocky young business man who aspires to being a hero. How about FNL‘s Scott Porter?

And finally, the Vision. Well, if you want someone to play wooden one name springs to mind instantly…

…I’ve started buying a few Marvel toys. I don’t have any where to put them, but I’m concentrating on specific teams and characters, so it’s not too much of a problem. Honest.

Still, you know what would be a problem? If they made (in any format) certain characters that I know – know – they never will.

Thunderstrike, Mockingbird, US Agent, Justice, Firestar, Quasar, Starfox, Jack of Hearts, Black Goliath…you know, like these guys:

There are some figures I’d love, though – a Masters of Evil set (with Thunderbolts variants), a New Warriors set, a Clint Barton Goliath…

Lucky for me that (a) they’ll never happen, and (b) I don’t have the inclination to start customing!

Via