Posts Tagged ‘ Ms Marvel ’

This…I would have heard about this if it was real, right?

Right?

Via

I can’t say I’m sorry or surprised to see Ms Marvel end at #50 (although I do like the cover homage).

I started reading the book with high hopes but over the first 16 or 17 issues, was frustrated by the lack of development of a decent supporting cast and even more frustrated by the lack of development of the main character herself.

Carol Danvers has a pretty interesting history and a lot of potential – but it felt like Carol wasn’t really been looked at too much; Ms Marvel was the focus to such an extent that any attempt at a normal life by Carol was completely ignored.

It didn’t help that the book seemed to try a ‘bold new direction’ every six issues or so, either – that just added to the feeling that it was being made up on the run.

And yes, I know that everything’s made up on the run, but the feeling I got was that the thrust of the first arc – ‘being the best hero she could be’ – got thrown out once Civil War hit. After that, the ‘roaming agent of SHIELD’ arc got thrown out with Secret Invasion (which I picked the book up for) – and so on and so forth.

I suspect that more than any other book – except perhaps Thunderbolts - Ms Marvel has been bounced around at the whim of the big events in the Marvel Universe, but while a lot of the Thunderbolts developments at least felt somewhat organic, Ms Marvel‘s changes in direction always felt too artificial.

So no, I’m not sorry or surprised to see it go and I hope for a relaunch under a different writer that can do the character justice – you know, I happen to know David Gallaher has some ideas for Carol…

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.

I’m not sold on the current series under writer Brian Reed and I’m not sold on Moonstone/Ms Marvel taking over from Carol Danvers as the star of the Ms Marvel book – but honestly I may take a look at the book again just because this costume is probably my favorite female super heroe costum, hands down (and admittedly because I think Karla Sofen’s a much more interesting character than Carol Danvers).

Although personally, I do prefer the Farah flick of the original…

I’m curious.

Is there some kind of scheme afoot in Marvel to turn Doom into an also-ran, a second-rate villain?

First we have that whole out-of-character rant about the size of Miss Marvel’s ass, followed by a whupping at the hands of the Sentry and imprisonment for crimes against humanity.

Then there was that kow-towing to Norman Osborn thing because someone scary was hiding in the shadows.Oooh.

And now we have the latest in Mark Millar’s Fantastic Four run (which I’m actually quite enjoying otherwise), which has Doom’s masters returning to Earth – this following his defeat at the hands of the new kids just to make them look cool.

I’m sorry, but the ‘Masters of Doom’? I thought it had been established that Doom bows to no man. Hell, he doesn’t even bow to omnipotent beings with the power to destroy the universe. So the ‘Masters of Doom’?

I don’t think so!

From IGN the cover to Dark Avengers #1
According to the article, Tom Brevoort had this to say:

Who are the Dark Avengers? That’s the question that all of Marveldom is going to be asking as Secret Invasion gives way to Dark Reign. Are they clones? Doppelgangers? Future Echoes? Or something more immediate and horrifying? And once their identity is revealed, that will only propel the Marvel Universe onto a path that will carry it forward towards an inevitable, explosive climax.

Just as initial look, that looks a lot like the Iron Patriot (whoever he may be), Wolverine, Venom, Hawkeye and Ms Marvel in her old outfit – or perhaps Ultra Girl.

Still, I actually get a bit of a different vibe when I look closely – the Ms Marvel character reminds me a little like Thunderbolts’ Moonstone, Hawkeye’s mask reminds me of Batroc’s and Wolverine…doesn’t Wolverine look a little slim and clean-cut in this pic? And is it my imagination or does ‘he’ breasts?

Consider my interest piqued!

…rampant speculation and possible SPOILERS below (well, if my random speculation is right)…

In the latest post-Secret Invasion issue of Ms Marvel, we end with the out of the blue realization by Carol Danvers of what she needs to do next:

Then in this week’s issue of Deadpool, the crazy merc’s data about how to kill the Skrull Queen doesn’t reach intended recipient Nick Fury because it’s hijacked by…Norman Osborn.

And then there’s this preview of an upcoming Moon Knight.

Uh, what was that again?

Is that a SHIELD agent about to address Osborn as ‘Director’?

Now granted, he could be referring to him in his capacity of Director of the Thunderbolts, and I’m not even sure if Moon Knight is set after the invasion or not, but I was linking some dots here

We know thanks to this that there will be casualties at the end of Secret Invasion. And we know that Nick Fury will still have his Secret Warriors at the end of the war – and from the sound of it they’ll still be secret, which suggests to me that Fury may still be underground and not SHIELD leader.

It’s pretty much a given that Iron Man won’t be Director following the war too, what with his Iron Man, Director of SHIELD book being cancelled in favor of Invincible Iron Man.

I think Norman Osborn will be filling the position. And I think he’ll be doing some double dealing that costs a lot of lives to get there – but maybe only certain people, such as, say Ms Marvel, will know what went down.

That would certainly tie in with new Thunderbolts writer Andy Diggle saying that the book will be taking some new directions, especially if they end up being a SHIELD black ops unit with international reach.

So. Norman Osborn, Director of SHIELD. What do you think?

No, it’s the fact that you’re just pretty much unlikeable. And dull. I could probably live with you being unlikeable if you were at least interesting, but instead you bounce around from bold new direction to bold new direction every six months with little regard to what’s come before.

Can someone, somewhere, somehow please stop Greg Horn from doing covers at Marvel?

Please?

Marvel have just premiered the Secret Invasion double cover variants for Ms Marvel #25 and Captain Marvel #4 by Terry Dodson and damned if they don’t look good.

Is it just me or is Ms Marvel’s 70s costume so much better than her current one? Now if her book was better…

…everywhere a Skrull-Skrull.

Well, Brian Reed did say that three characters he’s been writing the past year are Skrulls…

Okay, with the New Avengers #31 revelations – not to mention the sneak preview of New Avengers #32 I posted yesterday - and Bendis’ interviews on CBR and Newsarama, let’s consider who’s a Skrull and how…

Elektra – definitely Skrull. And dead to boot. Bendis mentions that she was killed twice in Wolverine‘s Enemy of the State. I recall the first time – when the Hand captured her – but when was the second? Irrespective of that, I think that having her continue to lead the Hand at the end of that arc is somewhat contradictory to how she had been portrayed in the few years previous in the MU. As a result I suspect that she was replaced at some point in that storyline – although she showed up in Daredevil helping him since then…

So where’s the real Elektra? My gut says currently six feet under – but she’s been there before…

Jessica Jones-Cage and the Baby – Does the baby even have a name? The baby was born post M-Day, so it isn’t a mutant – and those glowing green eyes would sure suggest Skrull-ism. Add to that that Jess isn’t breast feeding (more the fact that it was in the comic, not that that’s not a valid choice) and I think you can add her to the list of the Skrull-ified. So when were they replaced?

Well, we never did see them return from Canada after they fled there during the Civil War, did we? So my money’s on them still being up there wondering why Luke hasn’t called.

Other Suspects – well, there are a few aren’t there?

Spider-Woman – her double-triple-quadruple crossing since her return has been kind of questionable, so what if she’s one of them? It would explain why she was choking after Doc Strange cast a ‘root out the evil’ spell a while back, right? As for when she was replaced, after the Hydra guy found her – because he’s a Skrull too. Not only that but Mark Bagley’s interview suggested that he’ll be drawing both Ms Marvel and Spider-Woman during his Mighty Avengers stint – so at the very least she appears to be switching teams.

Maria Hill – She came out of nowhere and managed to become head honcho of SHIELD when Fury did a runner. She influenced Civil War by trying to arrest Cap immediately. Plus she’s in a perfect position to do all the evil stuff SHIELD did back at the start of New Avengers.

Miriam Sharpe - Okay, I just don’t like her…

Colossus – Mike suggested this one, and while I can certainly see where he got the idea from I can’t see Whedon going along with it. Beside, who says he’s going to survive Astonishing X-Men#24?

In fact, Mike was on a roll – suggesting Norman Osborne and Cap aswell. As Skrulls revert to their true form on death, Cap seems like a no-no. I also think Norman is somewhat negated as a choice by the fact that he is clearly bat-shit crazy on meds – unless the Skrulls identities are buried so deep that they don’t even know they’re Skrulls till they’re ‘activated’.

Bendis also hinted that maybe not all of the Illuminati may have made it off the planet in Illuminati #1 – so some of them may be Skrulls. I think that’s a red herring; having had Reed Richards, Doc Strange, Iron Man, Namor or Xavier being Skrull replacements for the past thirty years worth of comics would be absolutely ridiculous – the majority of them have been through so much – not to mention starring in books for most of that time. As for Black Bolt, seems that would invalidate lots of books including the currently running Silent War so I don’t buy that either.

Ms Marvel’s agent, whatever her name is, seems a shoo-in (shoe-in?) – she appears to have been manipulating Carol from the start of that book.

Hank Pym’s also been suggested and I would love the real Pym to be off trapped in a cupboard somewhere – but again, all the meds he’s taking and his general ‘woe is me’ attitude seems a little too self-pitying for a Skrull.

Unless…meds are needed to keep them in their forms for prolonged periods? So maybe Norman Osborne and Pym are Skrulls? Gah. My head’s exploding.

I’ll throw a few other names out there as well – Emma Frost has certainly been through some character changes in the past few years, Luna (Pietro and Crystal’s child), Callisto, Ares on Mighty Avengers certainly bears little resemblance to the Ares of years gone by, Storm’s gone awfully submissive with her marriage and all, Magneto’s been swinging from positive to negative for years now…the list goes on and on and on….

As per usual last night I made my way to the store and picked up a fresh batch of books -

52 #46 – Damn -when Black Adam goes all out, Black Adam goes all out. I’m glad that he’s rumored to be getting a new series post-52 (Frank Tieri, please?) but I wonder, post-Oolong Island, post-JSA what state he’ll be in…Also, is it just me or did the reveal in the solicits that the upcoming Outsiders/Checkmate crossover takes place on Oolong and deals with Egg-Fu take some of the woomph out of this issue? Lots of New Gods/Apokolips references from Veronica Cale, and a bit of traction on the Luthor story were all welcome too.

The Brave and the Bold #2 – I liked it, but this felt very, very old-fashioned again. I can’t see the book surviving too long post-Perez if something isn’t done to make it a little more contempary. Also, I really really didn’t need to see Supergirl hitting on Green Lantern – even if Hal’s reaction (“17. 17. 17.”) was priceless.

The Flash #10 – I’m not sure that the pace is helping here; Guggenheim throws in Inertia, Zoom, Captain Cold, Heatwave and another surprise ‘villain’ in the mix in this issue; Zoom and Cold especially deserve more focus than this issue gave. And I’m still not sure that Bart’s a good Flash – and saddling him with Wally’s rogues seems forced. But maybe people said the same thing when Wally took over…

Justice Society of America #4 – There are no words for how awesome this book is. Whereas the JLA relaunch has bored the crap out of me, this has hit every note right in two less issues than that one. This issue, Wildcat (or Wildcats), Damage and Red Tornado all got a chance to shine – plus there’s some Obsidian action as he and Sand spark off some new plotpoints (Huntress? Not on this Earth…). Even the threat promise of a crossover with the aforementioned League doesn’t put me off next issue.

I picked up the regular armload of books last night on the way back from work but as we were going out for dinner, I ‘ve only read two so I’m keeping my head down today.

The two that I read – Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Ms Marvel were both great. In the former, its great to see the old black costume back and a down-on-his-luck Peter actually made me reminiscent. Oh, and though it didn’t spoil the next issue of Amazing, I did draw some conclusions that eased my worries a little bit. This might work out after all.

While the Spider-suit has always been an escape for Peter, it looks like this might be more true now than ever – and maybe that’s how it should be. Also lots of nice subplots going on – and could we be seeing the return of the nice-guy Sandman? I’m not holding my breath, but I will cross my fingers.

And speaking of subplots, Ms Marvel has them in spades – Carol’s love life, her failures, her mysterious benefactors, her agent, and then there’s Anya (Arana), Carol’s erstwhile sidekick…can someone classify as a Woman in (a) Refrigerator if what happens to her happens to advance another woman’s character? I’ll let Marionette and Ragnell debate that one…

Also, was it just me or was the comic store busier than usual yesterday? I put it down to The Dark Tower, so more power to it. I’ll be picking up the trade.

I also ditched a couple of books off my pull list, putting them back on the shelf with a not a little self-satisfaction. One was Supergirl, one that you’ll probably know that I’ve been bitching about for ages (just click the Supergirl label below to see what I mean, or click here), one was Nightwing and the other was Detective. I hadn’t been all that enthused with Marv Wolfman’s return to the character on the former, and I realised that I’d missed a couple of issues of the latter and it hadn’t bothered me…I’ll probably pick Dini’s stuff up in trades from now on and see who takes over next before deciding whether to go back to it or not.

Three down – about a hundred to go!