Posts Tagged ‘ Hulk ’

Over the course of SDCC, Marvel has been revealing pre-production art of the Avengers – and they fit together…

(Click to make a bit larger)

Black Widow, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Agent Coulson all look pretty damn good here – and honestly, I’m getting a little excited by next year’s movie especially after the post-credits bit on Captain America…

Oh, and if the Skrulls are in the movie as rumored, I’d say the chances of Coulson being one are pretty damn high, no?

I mean, Booster Gold‘s chalkboards?

Pfft.

Like Marvel would lift something like that wholesale and plunk it into their books…

…oh.

According to CBR the above page is from Avengers #5, so it looks like I’m wrong…

Anyway, let’s have a little breakdown shall we?

Going from left to right along the timeline…

• Siege

– Well, we know what that is, I guess. It seems to be quite a way before the next events, at least one of which takes place prior to it. Probably an aspect of time being broken in the arc the panel appears in. Or an editorial slip.

• Captain America Reborn – Again, aside from placement no surprise here. There’s a little side note asking ‘What did Cap see???’ referring to his vision at the end of the series, which bore some resemblance to the War of the Worlds-esque (or Tripods-esque, depending on your frame of reference) alien invasion from Killraven‘s alternate future.

• Nine Worlds in Disarray -this presumably links into Matt Fraction’s upcoming Thor run, which will apparently deal with the nine worlds of Norse mythology, of which Asgard is only one. Again, the timeline appears slightly skew-wiff as this presumably takes place before the next notation…EDIT: Apparently Avengers Prime concerns the Nine Worlds being in disarray – thanks, Kunstgriff!

• The Heroic Age Begins! – I guess there’s not much mystery there.

• Three! – a reference to the upcoming Fantastic Four arc which apparently promises the death of one of the core characters (because that’s never happened before).

• Hope Returns!? – presumably referring to the recent Second Coming in the X-Men books featuring the return of Hope from the future.

• There’s a dotted line leading down to the next comment that I can’t quite make out “Spider on the …” Horizon? Horror? Whatever it is, it seems to begin with HO and end with ON. Horton? I’m guessing this is Spider-Man related…

• Man Without Fear – no real secret here, either, as Black Panther is becoming the new Man without Fear and taking over Daredevil’s book.

• Throwbacks! - Okay. I have no idea what this refers to. Any ideas?

• Chaos! – The upcoming Chaos War event, of course.

Next slide, please…

• EDIT: There’s a bunch of equations including the words ‘Similar Form‘ and ending in ‘Paired‘. Not sure what this could refer to but open to suggestions!

• Five Lights – A not-so subtle reference to the current Five Lights arc in Uncanny X-Men leading to Generation Hope.

• Who is Worthy? – 9,9,9, – these linked comments outside of the timeline presumably refer again to Thor‘s nine worlds and perhaps an indication that someone else is going to try hefting mjolonir for a while – or that Thor himself may not be worthy? We’ll see.

• EDIT: Crossed out below this is something else I can’t make out: What Wouldn’t Do ?????? Any suggestions?
  Back on the timeline…
  • What is Where Asgard Should Be? – Thor again. A valid question; if Asgard’s in Oklahoma, what’s occupying it’s old position at the end of the rainbow bridge?
  • Master of Kung Fu – Shang-Chi’s making a comeback in Shadowland, and there’s a new Heroes for Hire series on the horizon – so maybe he’ll have a part in that? Or will there be a new Master of Kung-Fu? Replacement heroes are all the rage, you know.
  • Nova Antiquus – perhaps an earlier bearer of the Novaforce will be making an appearance wherever Nova himself ends up?
  • Academy Traitor! – I’m guessing there’s a traitor in Avengers Academy?
  • Return of the King – There’s a few people this could refer to; Magneto has been referred to as a king a few times in the past; the Black Panther’s in exile of some sort from his own country; the Kingpin perhaps? Or it could (hopefully) be the return of Black Bolt who died at the end of War of Kings. In any case there appears to be a King. And he appears to be returning.

  Off to the side of the timeline -

  • EDIT: The one I couldn’t quite make out earlier is The Drumm of Revenge – presumably pointing towards a Dr Voodoo (Jericho Drumm) story – or perhaps his dead brother? Either war I’d put money on this happening in New Avengers.

  And back on the timeline again –

  • Night Falls – Well that’s not ominous at all. A sign that something bad is coming? Perhaps it’s horror-related somehow? Who knows.
  • Iron Lad Returns – Looks like everyone’s favorite young Kang/Young Avenger is on his way back through the timestream somehow, presumably in the the Children’s Crusade mini.
  • All Hope Lies in Doom! – Well, when doesn’t it? Sounds like Doctor Doom is going to be getting some pagetime, maybe in the Fantastic Four, maybe in an Avengers book – but somewhere.
  • Schizm! – Sounds like there’s going to be a split somewhere along the line. Could be in a team, could be in reality, hell, could be anywhere. Or it could be some new character causing trouble – but my money’s on the first option. I think there’s going to be a falling out between characters somewhere again.
  • Stark Resilient – I’m guessing that’s a reference to the current Invincible Iron Man arc of the same name, in which case that book is ahead of the curve.
  • Where is Wanda? – Probably the end of the current Avengers: The Children’s Crusade mini series starring the Young Avengers that’s running right now.
  • Galactus Seed – That just sounds…wrong. More likely to be another arc in Hickman’s Fantastic Four than about Galacta, which is a shame.
  • ST….365NRATS – I have no clue. As long as it’s not Marvel’s answer to Lab Rats.
  • Fear without Man – I suspect that this will be an arc either following Daredevil Reborn (or perhaps that series itself) or simply an arc in the Black Panther’s run.
  • What’s in the Rings?!?! – Despite the earlier Return of the King reference, I guess this isn’t about bringing Gandalf and co to the MU. Instead, I think we’ll see the Mandarin’s rings being explored somewhat – mainly because I can’t think of any other rings of note in the MU.
  • Steve’s Vision! – Sounds like that vision we were talking about earlier is going to come to pass relatively soon.
  • Ultron War – Is Hank Pym’s greatest mistake coming back? Again? Honestly in light of the Ultron Imperative and Annihilation Conquest, any more Ultron stories seem redundant.
  • Yesterday’s X-Men – Possibly referring to that teaser of dead X-Men that popped up recently? Or something else? It’s off to the side of the main timeline so it may not take place around this time.
  • Born To Burn – Given that I think Johnny Storm will be the missing FF member at the end of ‘Three’, I would guess that this would be his return to the fold.
  • We Are Here – The point at which Avengers #5 takes place.
  • Kang’s Forces – I think this refers to a big ol’ timewar that’s going on in the Avengers book, which I’m getting in trades, and probably not the big Kang War we had at the end of Kurt Busiek’s run. Or, sadly, The Crossing (which I’m expecting to get the big Omnibus treatment any day now…).
  • Scorched Earth? – Sometimes the only way to win is to destroy what you’re fighting for. Whether a reference to the Kang thing, the Killraven thing, or something else I don’t know. EDIT: Apparently Jeff Parker’s first storyline in (Red) Hulk, starting with this week’s #25 is called – wait for it – ‘Scorched Earth’, named for the Intelligencia’s plan. Safe bet that this refers to that.
  • 3PION - Well, not a ‘P’ but a Punisher skull symbol. Probably not the return of Lynn Varley and the other Punisher stand-ins, sadly. EDIT: I’ve read that this could be deciphered as 3SkullION or Triskelion – which would be the Ultimate Avenger’s HQ over in the Ultimate Marvel U. Is there a crossover in the offing?
  • INFINITE FUTURES!! Again, I suspect this has to do with the future being hazy after the Kang thing wraps up. Or that Marvel hasn’t had it’s 2012 editorial retreats yet.

  Lots to clear up here, and lots of hints.

  But Booster Gold still did it first!

  Continue Reading »

Good lord.

There are no words.

Via

From the stage at SDCC2010 – the cast of the Avengers movie – (L-R) Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Joss Whedon (Director), Kevin Feige (Marvel Studios).

Do I have my concerns about this? A few.

But right now?

I’m just pretty damn excited about it.

Via

What, too soon?

Available at my tee shirt store (click directly for item). Right now I only added Men’s tees for them, but I can add womens too – just let me know.

With the concept art for Thor and Captain America hitting the internet the past few days, I figured it was time to flex my not-so-mighty photoshopPixlr skills and mash up a few images…

And you know what? As thrown together as it is, I kind of like it.

I don’t watch American Idol - at least, not in the way that people watch it regularly. It’s on sometimes before I start watching Lost. Just to be clear.

That said, this week was Sinatra week and contestant Big Mike came out suited appropriately and belted out ‘The Way You Look Tonight’. And while I was watching the performance, I thought he looked very, very familiar…

You see it yet?

That’s right – Big Mike IS Joe Fixit!

Seriously, if Joe Fixit shows up in any potential future Hulk movies, ditch the CGI, slap some gray make-up on this guy and away you go!

From Jon Favreau’s twitter last week:

Before. RT @ThiagoSiQueiraF: Just watched “The Incredible Hulk” Gotta ask you:Does “Iron Man 2″ takes place before or after Hulk movie?

I don’t know why, but the fact that these things are actually thought about makes me giddy with anticipation for the upcoming Marvel movies.

Newsarama posted a preview of the upcoming Fall of the Hulks: Alpha earlier –

- and although I’m sure this will be the equivalent of a Michael Bay movie, what with Loeb on board, I can’t help but think, ‘I like Michael Bay movies, they’re awesome.’

So, yes, I’ll be picking this up in spite of the Purge.

Plus, homage cover to one of my favorite non-crossover crossovers ever, so bonus there.

I had a brief Twitter conversation recently about how absolutely perfect the characterization of Banner is in the current run of Incredible Hulk, but on retrospect I don’t so much think it’s a perfect representation of who the character has been in the past; moreover I think it more accurately reflects who the character has become over the past five years or so since Greg Pak started writing him.

Since Greg Pak took over, Banner has been shot into space, seen Hulk claw his way to power on Sakaar and return to Earth for revenge but, more significantly, he’s been okay with it. Banner reached an understanding with the Hulk – and his bride, Caiera – that he’s never had before. It wasn’t the uneasy detente of Peter David’s run, it was a full fledged complicity in Hulk’s actions – and it’s revealed aspects of Banner’s character that has been dormant for far too long.

Banner’s a genius, yes. But the shroud of social incompetence he used to wear has been shrugged off; he’s cold, calculating and brutal. He’s now taken to training up his son, Skaar, to be able to kill the Hulk when he inevitably re-emerges – or at least that’s what he’s leading everyone to believe.

He’s willing to go to extraordinary lengths to protect his son as well. Take this most recent issue, which culminated in Daken using that claw with the ability to block healing abilities (apparently) to gut Skaar; Banner doesn’t hesitate to pull an old-power-powered gun on Wolverine.

Problem is, Daken doesn’t believe he’ll use it and he’s not the only one.

And that’s when Banner talks about his past; his killing of his abusive father was established in Peter David’s run and there, if I remember correctly, it seemed that the Hulk had more problems coming to terms with it than Banner did.

Of course, some people still need convincing…

…and convince them he does. Here’s the thing, though, it was originally suggested that the Hulk was basically born of the guilt from Banner’s act of patricide – and Pak here takes it one step further. Here, Banner suggests that the Hulk isn’t Banner’s repressed violent side; it’s his outlet to protect the world from Banner. He can’t be Banner while he’s Hulk – which means that Banner can’t plan.

It’s a great take on the character, and elevates him to a level that we haven’t seen before.

Also, Bendis’ thing about the Hulk killing people in his rampages? Gone forever, apparently – and good riddance.

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

I’ve been silently (and occasionally not so silently) mocking Marvel for their recent influx of ‘Dark’ versions of their pre-existing characters.

Dark Wolverine. Dark Ms Marvel. Dark Hawkeye. DarkSinister Spider-Man…

And so forth.

I have to admit that when I saw that the Hulk and Thundra’s daughter from the throwaway Raging Thunder one-shot was coming into the Marvel U as the All-New Savage She-Hulk, I groaned because obviously this was just another attempt to create a dark counterpart to an existing character.

Well I can admit when I’m wrong. Much to my surprise, the All New Savage She-Hulk was a great mini that introduced Lyra in to the fold without compromising the Jen Walters She-Hulk. And Jeff ParkerFred Van Lente (EDIT: My mistake! I think Parker wrote Raging Thunder though. Maybe.) even went and made a joke about it.

So, okay. I hold my hands up. I like the new She-Hulk and chances are that I’ll be following her into the pages of Incredible Hulk #601.

But I do think I’ll miss Jen a bit – and I worry about what Jeph Loeb’s going to do with her especially after the new Red She-Hulk debuted at SDCC.

In spite of myself (and how stupid I think Red Hulk and Red She-Hulk are), I find myself thinking that World War Hulks may be interesting after all…although, seriously, Red Hulk? Still stupid, okay?

I’m not one for animated Marvel movies (mainly because the only one I’ve seen, Iron Man, was a bit lame) but damned if this doesn’t look good.

Any chance that this will lead into a World War Hulk?

Cabbies beware!

Hulk no like being stuck in traffic!

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.

…because he continues to be a great artist (not darkly realistic, but with a great comic style) but he continues to be dragged into Jeph Loeb-penned messes like Hulk.

Why, Ed, why?

(Although the more I look at that cover the more I think it looks like Paul Pelletier, but my point still stands…)

Yesterday Marvel announced changes to it’s film slate, with their revised offerings now playing out like this:

IRON MAN 2 – May 7, 2010
THOR – June 17, 2011
THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA – July 22, 2011
THE AVENGERS – May 4, 2012

Essentially, Thor has been pushed back a year, as has The Avengers.

I’d say that was a smart move. For an uncast movie that’s bound to be special-effects heavy, I think the turnaround on Thor was unrealistic. Now that it’s pushed back, we can look forward to a well produced, unrushed version – and with Kenneth Branagh behind it, I’m more than happy.

The move also makes more financial sense, spreading the risk and cost over a longer period, enabling the company to offset the cost with recouped profits on DVD sales on other movies somewhat (from a cashflow basis, anyway). I’m a little leery of the fact that Marvel Studios is pretty reliant on financing to get these films made in the first place, but this should spread the risk a little.

Just as long as the market starts recovering at some point…

I’m a little disappointed, if not surprised, that there’s no Incredible Hulk 2 on there, though. I like the idea of him being a driving force in getting the Avengers assembled in their movie, but by that time he will, presumably, have been off the big screen for four years. Can we get a big green cameo in any of the other movies along the way?

Bright side to the delay. None of this:

No, did I?

Because somehow Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld’s Smash! one-shot – which apparently leads to Smash! Extreme (ah, shades of Extreme Sacrifice and Extreme Prejudice) – slipped by me.

I mean…does this seem vaguely familiar to anyone else?

Anyone at all?