Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Superhero Teams I’d Like To See In Marvel Post-Secret Wars

So, a while ago, I talked about characters I’d love to see make it into the new Marvel Universe when the dust settles and Secret Wars is over. As such, let’s talk a bit about some superhero teams I’d love to see either be a thing or continue to be a thing post-Secret Wars. Now, technically, we already know of one team that’ll exist, as we’ve learned that Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Vision, Ultimate Spider-Man, Iron Man, Nova, and Thor will be teaming up as the All-New, All-Different Avengers. But will that be the ONLY Avengers team? I highly doubt it, honestly. And frankly, there’s at least ONE other Avengers team that exists in the new universe. So, might as well start there. These are the five superhero teams I’d like to see in Marvel Comics post-Secret Wars, starting with the aforementioned Avengers team I’d like to see post-Secret Wars…

Potential Members: Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Black Widow, Storm, Medusa, Angela, Wasp, Sif

As I’ve said before, a team of Marvel’s greatest superheroines? YES PLEASE! 😀 That said, while I get the feeling the version in Secret Wars will pretty much be damned near EVERY Marvel superheroine, I’m thinking the post-Secret Wars team should be a bit more streamlined. Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, or Storm would all be good choices to potentially lead the team, while the rest of the team should really be varied in terms of powers and walks of life. Of course, Black Widow works great as the least super-powered of the group, Angela or Sif would be good choices for representatives from Asgard, and there should at least be one Mutant and one Inhuman. And of course, there’s always room for long-time Marvel heroines like Wasp or Spider-Woman.

Potential Members: Steve Rogers, Thor Odinson, Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Sabretooth, Quicksilver, Wolverine

Honestly, I see no reason to put the kibosh on this team. In fact, it might even be to the benefit of those that want to see Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson continue as key players of the Marvel Universe if they rejoined the team. Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, and Quicksilver all work as members too. As for Sabretooth, I can see him sticking around, though it may make things awkward if Wolverine DOES, in fact, return from the grave and rejoin his old team, considering their long and bloody history. And speaking of which…

Potential Members: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Havok, Beast, Emma Frost, Angel, Dazzler, X-23, Iceman

Would not shock me if, after Secret Wars, the All-New X-Men are more or less done away with, but that their future selves are influenced by their actions and thus end up in Cyclops’ camp. Would certainly make for an interesting scenario if Jean Grey, back in her adult form, was brought back, and now is on the same team as Cyclops and Emma Frost. Still, hopefully with the reboot, we can start to see Cyclops distance himself from his douchey and at times blatantly evil behaviour and try to make something better of himself. As for the other X-Men, well…

Potential Members: Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Rachel Grey, Jubilee, Psylocke, Colossus, Pixie, Rogue

As I said before, I’m pretty sure the return of Wolverine is all but inevitable. As such, seeing him return to the X-Men would be a huge plus. And while I showed the logo for Astonishing X-Men, really, it doesn’t HAVE to be. It could be Amazing X-Men and be just fine. And, of course, all the big names in that particular camp of X-Men would be among its roster, though I wouldn’t be shocked to see some of the other students at the mansion and other X-Men join in from time to time. Now, while I would like to see Adjectiveless X-Men continue, there is one OTHER superheroine team I’d like to see get picked back up for the new Marvel Universe…

Potential Members: Valkyrie/Annabelle Riggs, Misty Knight, Dani Moonstar, Warrior Woman, Clea, Elsa Bloodstone, Ren Kimura, Nova (Frankie Raye)

I’m sorry, but I gotta know what the hell next happened with these characters! I haven’t seen them since the book ended, except for Valkyrie, and her appearances (that I’m aware of) didn’t allude to Annabelle or the team at all! Did they stick together? Did they split up? Are they still fighting Caroline and Morgana le Fey? Did Valkyrie, Annabelle, and Red get into some kinda twisted love triangle? Did they eventually end up fighting Galactus like Cullen Bunn wanted? WHAT’S HAPPENING?! lol

Anyway, those are five teams I’d love to see make it into the new universe. Got one that wasn’t here? Lemme know in the comments, and we’ll see what becomes of the Marvel Universe in September. Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Fearless Defenders #12, Batman/Superman #6, The Movement #7 (WARNING – SPOILERS) + Farewell Fearless Defenders

Well, tis Wednesday, meaning it’s time to look at…

And no, I didn’t forget last week, I just didn’t buy anything. The weather was nasty out, so I didn’t go out. Also, I’ve been home sick with a cold, and I got my early Christmas present, the Wii U, a bit earlier than expected, hence why I haven’t writing much. But, I’m back, which means I now have the unfortunate responsibility of sending of one of my favourite books from this past year: The Fearless Defenders.

Suffice to say, Fearless Defenders, despite one or two dipping points, has been a delight to read this past year. I still haven’t had the chance to grab the first few issues before the one that hooked me, the issue with the awesome tournament fighter select screen cover, but I plan to, as soon as I can find them. In the meantime, though, I’ve loved what I’ve read of the series. If I haven’t made it clear, my favourite characters of the book have thus far been Annabelle, Valkyrie, and the newly created Ren Kimura. Still, the other members of this all superheroine team have been awesome in their own ways. It’s a shame to see their comic go, but at least we’ll always have the memories. And with that said, let’s look at Fearless Defenders #12.

So, long story short, Enchantress and the other Doom Maidens that Caroline LeFay let go ratted her out to the Defenders, so they go to where she and the rest of her team are hiding, while picking up a new member for the ride. It seems that Annabelle and Valkyrie are kind of having troubles, since it turns out part of the agreement with the All Mother to allow their little trick and let Annabelle return to the realm of the living was for her to remind Valkyrie of her duty to bring together shieldmaidens, not defenders. Also, Valkyrie’s a bit bothered by the fact that, every day, she’s becoming more and more like Annabelle. However, Annabelle counters that she agrees with Valkyrie, that the world needs Defenders, not shieldmaidens, and that she too is becoming more like Valkyrie. It’s a lot like Yugi and Yami Yugi from Yugioh: The two are balancing each other out. So, after hinting that Valkyrie likes Red too (thanks for suggesting the threesome that can never be, Cullen, lol), Valkyrie and the other Defenders go to work and stop the Doom Maidens, while Caroline decides to sacrifice herself to a pit sending off energy to summon something. The Defenders have their new recruit, Frankie Raye, AKA frigging Galactus‘ former herald, siphon off the energy to stop the pit, but it appears to have nonetheless summoned Morgan LeFay back to Earth. Still, the Doom Maidens are defeated, which is likely a huge hindrance to her plans, so I’m calling it a win for the heroes, which is good to see for the final issue. Still, I totally wanted to see Cullen Bunn’s plans for the book come to be, particularly them going into space and confronting Galactus. Although, I suppose revealing said plans may be a way to entice people into wanting to see the book come back. 🙂

Batman/Superman #6, still going with the gimmick of turning it on its side, apparently gonna be a thing for this arc. But regardless, we open the comic and we find that, following his VERY short fight with Mongul at the end of #5, Batman is dead…No, I’m not kidding. Mongul put a smoking hot hole in Batman’s chest. He’s DEAD. BUT, since it’s Batman, and this isn’t a major storyline that would get tons of attention, naturally he gets a get-out-of-jail-free card. A nanotech cloud formed by the players in what they still believe only to be a game brings him back. Fortunately, this gives him access to whose playing, and as soon as Supes finds out Jimmy Olsen is sitting in, he yells at him to knock it off…I think Olsen may have soiled himself right then and there. lol Anyway, Batman uses new powers granted to him through the tech holding him together to try to destroy the machine holding the game (and now himself) together, but Jimmy and the players stop him by taking over, having figured out now that it’s all real and not wanting Batman to die. Instead, they help him deal with Mongul when he starts attacking people, while Superman battles Mongul head on. However, Mongul has another trick up his sleeve. Remember how in last issue everyone’s heart rate went up, and now people have been a bit more prone to anger and violence? Yep, Mongul spread the pollen of a blossom that increases the urge for violent behaviour in people. And with the game up and running, now open to a ton of people who are affected by the pollen, and with Batman under their control, Mongul has the army he wants with the appropriate weapon for them to use: A super-powered Batman on equal footing with Superman. Unlike Earth 2, however, I like this twist, as we know this won’t be permanent, for obvious reasons, and that either Superman will find a way to free him, or Batman will override the system somehow, or Olsen and the others will free him. And hey, at least they’re doing this with Batman instead of Superman for the who-knows-how-many’th time this year.

The Movement #7…Yeah, I think I’m dropping this book. Make no mistake, though: I still support this book. I still want this book around. I like the characters. I think I proved that when I made Virtue a character in my Birds of Prey fanfic. The reason I’m dropping this book is out of necessity. I don’t wanna get too much into it, but money is going to be an issue for myself and my family for a little while, and there’s some books coming out next year I wanna get, so I have to even it out. As a result, I will most likely be dropping The Movement, as well as one or two others. So, why The Movement? Well, because while I like the characters and the concept for the story, the plot itself seems a bit unfocused and goes back and forth on what it wants to do. Characters will just do complete 180 turns on their plans with little contemplation, like I mentioned before with Tremor, or here where Vengeance Moth tells Burden that the exorcism last issue was bunk. The only one that seems consistent is Virtue, I LOVE Gail Simone’s writing (which is why I’ll be more than happy to start buying Batgirl again once the current arc is done), and these characters are really special to me, but this story needs better focus.

Anyway, lemme know what you thought of this week’s comics, and join me next week as we look at Batman #26 and Nightwing #26. Ja ne!

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What I Bought Today – Nightwing #24, Red Sonja #4, Fearless Defenders #10 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, other than Batman #24, I did get some other comics, so let’s once again check out…

So, to start with, let’s talk about The Fearless Defenders #10!

Before I start, I should note that this is technically a tie-in to an event going on in Marvel entitled Infinity. And I’m just gonna say this right now: I know precisely jack squat about what’s going on in Infinity. I know it has to do with an invasion by Thanos, and that the Avengers are otherwise occupied, and that tons of characters are involved so we see the various perspectives as the invasion occurs, but I honestly don’t know much else. In fact, this is the second time this has happened recently, as Adjectiveless X-Men is currently involved in a crossover with the other X-Men books. Maybe I’ll pick up the trade if it turns out to be any good, but for now, I have no idea. Otherwise, I just wanna say, DC and Marvel really need to hold back on major crossover events until a comic has at least hit 12 issues. Seriously, this keeps happening. You need to actually have a status quo BEFORE you can shake it up. lol

Thankfully, you don’t really need to know too many details of Infinity, as the opening narration gives just enough that you get the jist of what’s going on in this issue at least: During Thanos’ invasion, Attilan, home of the Inhumans, has blown up in the skies over Manhattan, and now people are turning into cocoons. One such individual is a girl named Ren Kimura, a young girl who has issues with her parents over her love of dance and lesbian lifestyle. Hatching from the cocoon, however, she finds her hands being covered in razor-sharp ribbons that are as strong as steel. Long story short, she gets attacked by one of the Wardogs of Thanos while his buddies are Caroline LeFay’s Doom Maidens, but is saved by the Defenders. LeFay wants the people in the cocoons for herself and tries to take Ren by force, but apparently she can launch out more ribbons at long-range, and using her various dance techniques, she’s able to defeat Scorpia and Shriek, while the Defenders send the rest packing too. Thus, the comic ends with Valkyrie becoming Annabelle, who convinces Ren to join the team, and it seems the two may be somewhat smitten with each other. Overall, fun comic as always, and Ren is a very welcome addition to the team.

Nightwing #24 picks up where the last one ended, with Tony Zucco offering to help. Apparently, Prankster‘s father, Harold Loomis, was the electrical engineer of a train line project the now-Mayor and his brother convinced City Hall to go through with, but Loomis died on Halloween in an accident, and Cole’s brother, William, took the fall for it. Wallace Cole never actually stole any money, and Prankster killing criminals was to make it so that when he told the people of Chicago that Mayor Cole stole $52,000,000.00, they believed him. All he’s really after is revenge for the death of his father. Prankster’s also planted enough explosives in Pilsen Station to cause Chicago’s entire south end to collapse in on itself. Luckily, with a little help from Zucco, Nightwing is able to save the Mayor, send the bombs into the lake to explode harmlessly, and bring Prankster in, Zucco deciding to let himself be apprehended as well. He doesn’t want to run anymore, and wants his son to know he took responsibility for his actions, but it seems it’s too little, too late: Zucco’s wife and son have left him, leaving him with the choice of beating the charges against him and going back to his old life, or going to jail and being a martyr for a life that doesn’t exist anymore…Also, that guy Maxwell is a super-villain.

Red Sonja #4…Seriously, if you love Gail Simone‘s writing but are not getting this book, there’s something wrong with you. We see that Annisia is kinda completely butt-fucking INSANE, as a farmer who tries to break quarantine insists that no one has died of the plague since the king was killed and Sonja was sent away, but Annisia talks to her invisible friends, I-I mean the souls of the dead, if she should offer him mercy, and then proceeds to cut his head off. Ayla and Nias, the twins assigned by King Dimath to be Sonja’s bodyguards, give her some of the elixer created by the king’s son, Timath, and tell her that if they can get her home, Timath can cure her…and Sonja, being Sonja, is more concerned with whether or not they brought alcohol. XD

Anyway, they begin their trek back to the quarantined kingdom as Sonja has flashbacks to her time with Annisia in the colosseum, where the two fought as sisters for their survival. However, along the way, Ayla and Nias are attacked by men of the deep (basically fishmen), led by Toda the Tormentor, a slave-driver. Toda’s men are about to kill Ayla, but Sonja recovers enough of her strength to take them all down, despite having to be blindfolded earlier to keep her eyes from being harmed by the sun. And so, the comic ends with Sonja removing the blindfold and declaring that she’s coming for Annisia. Again, GREAT issue. 🙂

So, that’s it for this week’s comics. Now, as you all know, I have a certain purchase to make this weekend. However, instead of a What I Bought Today, I will instead be giving updates on my Twitter, as well as talking about information officially unveiled upon the game’s release, and giving an overview after I’ve defeated the Elite Four. I might do day-end updates on my progress in the game on here, too, haven’t decided yet. In the meantime, though, check in next week when I look at Batman and Robin #24 and Supergirl #24. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – The Fearless Defenders #9, Batman: The Dark Knight #23.1, Red Sonja #3 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Yep, it’s Wednesday once again, which means it’s time to check out…

Thankfully, this week turned out to not be as expensive as I thought it would be, and I probably won’t be getting any more comics for this month. Reason being, I’ve made the decision not to buy any more of Villains Month (aside from what I got today since it was minus the 3D cover and had been set aside for me anyway), and I don’t really have any interest in Battle for the Atom (seriously, what is it with comic book crossovers involving books that aren’t even a year old yet lately?). So, with that in mind, let’s start with Cullen Bunn before we move on to the one-two punch from Gail Simone, here’s Fearless Defenders #9.

This issue was just straight up funny in all kinds of ways. First off, just the cover. HILARIOUS. Second, the Defenders having their friendly banter between themselves and the criminals they’re fighting (The Enchantress, Chondu, Arthur Nagan, Ruby Thursday, and Quicksand). Third, their (sorta) boyfriends getting together to plan an intervention for the women at the Luck O’ The Irish Pub, saying it’s because they lack guidance as a team, only to have Molly Fitzgerald dress them down and cut to the meat of the matter: They’re jealous they aren’t on the team, and don’t believe an all-girls team will work. Fourth, we get a little insight on how Valkyrie and Annabelle are handling their little “time-share” situation, especially as it pertains to their individual love lives. And, of course, when the two groups meet up to beat down the baddies and the men get told to piss off and let them do their jobs. Also, that Clea wants a divorce because Doctor Strange is kind of a twat. Anyway, good stuff, and with the kick-ass action to accompany it, just tons of fun.

Batman: The Dark Knight, AKA Ventriloquist, AKA Why The Hell Isn’t This Batgirl, Especially When She Actually Gets Mentioned In This Book And Batman Isn’t? This book’s already been out for a week, so there’s not much to say on it that hasn’t already been said. Thus, I will keep it simple: Ventriloquist’s origins are kinda cliché (another jealous sibling story?), but at least she remains thoroughly messed up to the point that some ambiguity is still present for her. Overall, it’s good, but I’m hoping this isn’t the last we see of her, ‘cuz if it is, then she’s not really going out on so much of a high note.

Red Sonja, holy shit, this book continues to be awesome. And I love that every time I think I know where this book is going, it slaps me in the face and goes “No you don’t.” We get a little look at Red Sonja’s origins, which I honestly don’t know if they’re revised or not, since the only thing I saw of Red Sonja before Gail’s book was the sorta shitty movie (thought I will admit it’s not as notoriously bad as Arnold claims it to be). Either way, we learn a bit about how Sonja got to be the person she is, the tragedy of her life, and in the end, we’re teased with the possibility of her being dead, just before her ‘bodyguards’ return with news of a cure for the plague she’s been infected with. Overall, great stuff, can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Anyway, that’s it for this week. As I said, probably won’t be buying any comics for the rest of the month, but there MIGHT be a game I’ll be buying this month, we’ll see. Ja né!

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