Marvelous May – And The Winner Is…!

Welp, Marvelous May has come and gone. And now, after all this, it’s time to announce the winner of this month-long fan-vote tournament. And so, our winner, and #1 Marvel Superheroine is…!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…GRANNY GOODNESS!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…Nah, I’m kidding, it’s Kamala. lol

And really, was there ever any doubt? This young woman has won the hearts of damned near every single person to read her book. She has earned her position as this generation’s favourite Marvel superheroine, a member of the Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and the winner of the 2016 Marvelous May fan-vote tournament of superheroines. So congratulations to Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel. 🙂

And a big hand for everyone else who competed, as well.

Aaaaannnd I’m pretty sure this’ll be the last time I ever do something like this. lol That said, I’m glad I did it, and I’m very thankful for everybody who voted. But, now that this is over, be sure to check back in for updates on my Nuzlocke run, as well as my thoughts on DC Universe Rebirth #1, AND one last send-off/rant for DC’s The New 52. Ja né!

Marvelous May – Rogue vs Jean Grey

Welcome back to Marvelous May! Today, we’ve got two X-Men facing off, with Anna Marie, AKA Rogue, vs Jean Grey, AKA Marvel Girl/Phoenix!

Rogue

…I would just like to say for the record that this is my favourite member of the X-Men, and for many years held the title of my favourite superheroine. What can I say? I have a known weakness for tough, southern belles. 😉 Anyway, Rogue’s back-story is a little complicated (although I think her competition for today has her beat in that regard), but long story short, after finding out she was a Mutant with the power to literally drain the life from anyone she touches, Anna Marie decided from then on to wear body-concealing clothes to prevent anyone from touching her skin. Of course, it seemed as though this also caused her to drain their psyche, and in the case of Mutants and other people with superpowers, gain their abilities for a fixed amount of time. As such, her foster mother, Mystique, who drafted her into the Brotherhood of Mutants, gave her a job: Grab Carol Danvers and DO NOT LET GO. Having turned the girl to evil by playing off her loneliness and bitterness, Rogue did just that, holding on for so long that she permanently gained Carol’s strength, speed, flight, and seventh sense (Carol eventually got better, though). However, there was an unexpected side-effect: She began to see Carol’s memories as though they were her own, and went to Professor Xavier for help out of fear of losing herself in these memories. Either out of a genuine desire to repay them for their charity, or because of Carol’s influence on her mind, Rogue was eventually reformed and became one of the X-Men. Over the years, she’s even managed to gain control of her Mutant power (and lose it again from time to time), and lost Carol’s abilities, causing her to basically start over from scratch. Regardless, she is a powerful and adaptable member of both the X-Men and of the Avengers Unity Division, AKA the Uncanny Avengers.

Jean Grey

Oh God, I’ve been dreading this moment. I now have to talk about Jean Grey’s back-story, and considering how many different deaths, revivals, and retcons that character has been through, it’s kind of a mess. Here’s the important part, though: She’s one of the original X-Men, having joined when the team consisted only of Cyclops, Angel, Beast, and Iceman. So, for those that have only seen the movies, yes, there IS history to the X-Men that didn’t involve Wolverine. lol She’s also the first major psychic of the team, excluding Professor Xavier, originally only possessing telekinesis, but eventually was revealed to possess greater raw psychic power than even Professor X himself. She can read people’s thoughts and emotions, put up telepathic defenses and cloaks, can detect and locate other Mutants, is capable of astral projection, can levitate herself or other people/objects, and can even brainwash and mind control people if she so chose. It was also made apparent that she was the avatar of the Phoenix Force, one of the most powerful Cosmic entities in the Marvel Universe, and grants her both the power to destroy at sheer INSANITY levels, as well as resurrect the dead, whether that’s others or herself (the latter of which has happened frequently, lol). Despite this, she apparently died for good back in 2004…until her time displaced younger self was brought to the present and has opted to remain there until she’s cleaned up some of the messes her older self and her friends made over the years, despite the fact that the longer she stays in the present, the harder it’ll make things for when she eventually has to go back to the past.

Well, that’s all for now. Be sure to vote on who you think should win this match before May 12th, when the winner takes on either Storm or Gamora. Until then, check out the links below to learn more about these two, and come back to see the first match-up of the second round. Ja né!

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Rogue_(Anna_Marie)_(Earth-616)

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Jean_Grey_(Earth-616)

Marvelous May – The Finalized Roster

Well, the time is nearly upon us, folks. Jyger’s Rant’s first-ever fan-vote tournament will begin in four days. As such, it’s now time to reveal the final roster of heroines that will compete in this tournament. Here are the 16 individuals who will battle it out, with the winners determined by you, the audience.

Quake, Mayday Parker, Ms. Marvel, Storm, Wasp, Squirrel Girl, Emma Frost, Gamora, Rogue, She-Hulk, Jean Grey, Jane Foster, Spider-Gwen, Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch, and Spider-Woman

And, after finalizing the roster, I also set up the tournament brackets to determine who will face who at the start of May.

And that’s everything. Be sure to check back in on May 1st as the tournament begins with Captain Marvel vs Emma Frost. Ja né!

Marvelous May One Week Reminder

Just letting everyone know, we’re one week away from the official announcement of the full list of competitors in Jyger’s Rant’s first-ever Marvelous May fan-vote tournament of Marvel superheroines. You still have one week to leave a comment and let me know who you’d like to see in this tournament, as there are currently 8 spots unconfirmed. For those who didn’t see on my 5th Anniversary post, here’re the 8 confirmed competitors thus far, or the Initial 8 if you will…

Spider-Gwen, Jean Grey, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Jane Foster, Ms. Marvel, Storm, and Squirrel Girl

…and, just for reference, here’s a quick look at just SOME of the heroines you could see in this tournament.

Is your favourite not present? Well vote for them, then! XD

Lastly, here’s the actual tournament bracket, or at least how it looks for now.

The eight individuals that will be voted into the tournament will take up the empty spots. So, if you wanna see someone in this tournament, please let me know in the comments below, on Twitter, or on Facebook by April 26th, after which, I’ll be posting the full tournament bracket on April 27th, and then opening voting for the first match-ups on May 1st. See you all then!

Jyger’s Rant 5th Anniversary + 8 Confirmed Heroines For Marvelous May

So, I’d just finished typing up the parody lyrics to Talk Dirty, when all of a sudden, I get a notice from WordPress that IT’S MY FIFTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

On this day, five years ago, I felt the need to rant about some random crap to an audience. Thus, Jyger’s Rant was born, my very own blog where, for the past five years, I’ve pretty much rambled on about whatever strikes me at any given time. Comics, anime, Pokémon, wrestling, Power Rangers, Dungeons & Dragons, and just random stuff from my personal life. And on this, one of the most important days in the history of said blog… … …I have nothing planned! XD Yeah, for those that don’t have blogs and are considering getting them, just know that this happens. I just had so much planned for other occasions that this kinda slipped my mind. However, having said that, there IS something I’m planning for next month that I can give some info on: Marvelous May.

As you’ll recall, last year for the month of May, I did all articles based mostly around Marvel Comics, the movies and TV shows based off of them, and so on. This year, though, I’m doing something a little different. Namely, I’m going to be doing a fan-vote tournament between different Marvel superheroines. Ultimately, I’ve decided to go with 16 combatants for this tournament of female Marvel heroes, and based on reactions I got the last time I brought this up, I’ve got a good idea of who to put in this tournament. For now, though, here are the first 8 opponents I want to announce. They are…

Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel

Ororo Munroe, AKA Storm

Doreen Green, AKA Squirrel Girl

Gwen Stacy, AKA Spider-Woman

Jennifer Walters, AKA She-Hulk

Jean Grey, AKA Marvel Girl

Jane Foster, AKA Thor

And, last but not least, the most requested entrant into this tournament…

Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel

The remaining entrants of the tournament will be announced on April 27th, so if there’s someone you want to see in this tournament that hasn’t been announced yet, you need to let me know either in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Twitter by April 26th. That’s the absolute latest I’ll be taking votes. Until then, I hope everyone will have a Marvelous May next month. EXCELSIOR! 😀

How To Drop The Ball In Comics: What Bothers Me About The X-Men’s Plight

…Okay, before anyone sees that title and asks, no, I don’t hate the X-Men in any way, shape, or form. I love the X-Men. In fact, I think it’s that love of the X-Men that helped me realize this issue of mine. See, a few days ago, while discussing the possibility of the X-Men and Fantastic 4 being phased out in terms of importance to the Marvel Universe, I mentioned how, and I quote, “the X-Men’s continued plight as being loathed by humanity becomes more absurd the more you think about it and the more time goes by”. I also mentioned how I’d like to see Marvel Studios come to some kind of deal with Fox to be able to incorporate the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if for no other reason but to have Wolverine potentially join the Avengers for a mission or two. However, looking back on that, I think that would only make the same problem I have with the X-Men in the comics present in the movies. And for those wondering what that is, I will spell it out for you: The X-Men and mutantkind in general being hated and mistrusted by ‘normal’ human beings MAKES NO SENSE when they exist in the same universe as the Avengers, who are seen as the legitimate heroes of Earth. Hell, it doesn’t make any sense when presented in the same universe as ANY superhero team that has super-powered members of any kind. Every excuse I’ve ever heard, be it that they’re too powerful, too different, were ordinary humans changed to be superhuman, can read minds, none of them have any kind of leg to stand on when you really analyze them. And, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to present my evidence in a very simple bulleted list.

• The Avengers have plenty of super-powered individuals that can be seen as being as powerful or more-so than the average mutant. And don’t split hairs with me, you know what I mean by average. The number of mutants that could take Thor or the Hulk in a one-on-one fight are probably a bit on the short side. So, those that fear that mutants are too powerful have clearly never taken a good look at Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
• Members of the Avengers have come not only from various walks of life on Earth, but from different worlds and even whole different realms of existence. And while I’m not saying that people aren’t afraid of Thor for being different, I would go out on a limb and suggest that they are considerably less than the number of people that fear mutants for the same damned reason.
• There exist plenty of superheroes both on the Avengers and other superhero teams (hell, EVERY MEMBER of the original Fantastic 4) who were ordinary humans that were altered, empowered, or transformed in some way, shape, or form that all get free passes from prejudice and hate. Now, granted, there are those that ARE feared and hated, too. Probably the biggest example of such would be the Hulk. However, let’s look at the biggest example of a human being who was changed and became able to perform superhuman feats: Steven Rogers, AKA Captain fucking America. Granted, at the end of the day, he’s still a human being with basic human weaknesses, but he can lift more and run faster than any non-enhanced human being, and can process information quicker than the average person too. And while I wouldn’t wanna make an ass outta you and me, I’m nonetheless going to assume that significantly fewer people fear Captain America than mutants.
• Mutants aren’t the only individuals in the Marvel Universe that possess a form of telepathy. Granted, the list of humans that can use telepathy and aren’t considered mutants is pretty frigging short, and mutants employ several of the best telepaths in the universe, but they aren’t the only ones. Hell, Sam Wilson has a telepathic connection with his fucking bird, and no one raises an eyebrow. Look, I get it, the idea of people able to read our thoughts can be kinda creepy, and there are those in the mutant community that don’t exactly do a great job of diffusing such fears. I’m not even necessarily talking villains here, either. Recently, the time displaced Jean Grey of the past (long story short for those that don’t know, the original five X-Men of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, and Beast were brought to the present and have refused to go back until they fix the mess their future selves made) revealed that Iceman was gay by going into his brain and reading his thoughts without his consent and continued to do so even after he asked her not to. Still, it’s not like that’s a scenario exclusive to mutants. Oh, and speaking of which, I can’t help but notice that Earth in the Marvel Universe has, like the real world, become a place where we’re becoming more accepting of people of different races, religions, orientations, genders, and anything else that could divide us as a species…and yet, mutants, which have been used as a metaphor for all of those things, are still not accepted. That’s a problem. lol

Anyway, I think that pretty much covers most of… … … … …Oh wait, I almost forgot…

X-MEN MEMBERS HAVE JOINED THE AVENGERS!!!

Even before the Unity Division, AKA the Uncanny Avengers, X-Men members like Wolverine, Storm, and Beast have joined various incarnations of the Avengers. Hell, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have been longtime members of the Avengers, and they used to work for the Brotherhood of Mutants. Y’know, the bad guys? Don’t recall that ever being a problem, or if it was, I never heard of it being so.

 

So, with all of that said, the only conceivable answer I can come up with for why mutants are still loathed and feared in the Marvel Universe when there are people like the Avengers and the Fantastic 4 running around is because humanity is either immensely hypocritically bigoted, or it’s fucking stupid. And, as I’ve said before, if a story only works because the characters involved are morons, the story ultimately fails… … …which, to be perfectly frank, is probably why the X-Men and the struggles of mutantkind being pushed aside a bit in the grand scope of the Marvel Universe, and not being an element of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, are good things. And again, I love the X-Men. I love seeing the characters show up and be awesome, and watching them take part in big, epic events to save the world is great. And the stories that focus primarily on them are still good. It’s when I’m asked, in a story involving the Marvel Universe in general, to believe that they’re still despised by humanity in spite of every reason why they shouldn’t be that I find the severe logical problem in storytelling, which is one reason why I REALLY didn’t like Avengers vs X-Men… … … … …And oh God, do I ever dread the day when I’ll have to give my full thoughts on that event. -_-

Anyway, those are my thoughts on that particular subject. Lemme know what you think of it in the comments section below, and be sure to bamf back here the next time I have a random thought about how a comic idea can kinda fail sometimes. Ja né!

More Post-Secret Wars Wishes & Expectations + Which Ones I’ve Gotten Right So Far

So, back in February, I made a list of 10 things I either expected to happen in the post-Secret Wars Marvel Universe, now referred to as either the NEW MU or All-New, All-Different Marvel, or what I simply hoped might happen. Well, four months and a birthday later (yeah, I turned 30 on June 3rd, much to my dismay at now officially being ‘old’), I looked back on what these wishes and expectations were and which ones I got right. So, let’s take a look at these first before I go through a few more.

#1 – Wolverine Brought Back

CONFIRMED! According to recent banners for the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Old Man Logan is apparently gonna be a part of this new universe…which hopefully doesn’t result in us having to see the incestuous children of the Hulk and She-Hulk from his universe (EW), but nonetheless should result in some interesting scenarios. And, in addition to him being back, my other request was confirmed as well, since not only is X-23 sticking around, but she might be inheriting the position of Wolverine from him. I’ll get back to her later, though.

#2 – Tony Stark Becomes Good Again

CONFIRMED! On top of that, he seems to be the new flagship character for this new age. Of course, as I’ve mentioned before, this leaves us with more than a few questions, but it could prove to keep things interesting, at least.

#3 – Ms. Marvel Sticks Around

CONFIRMED! Not only is she sticking around, but she’s having a team-up with Captain Marvel, and is joining the Avengers! Also, Ms. Marvel #1 is getting reprinted AGAIN in September (which I believe makes at least 8 times now) with a bunch of #1 issues of female led comics. 😀

#4 – A New Young Avengers-like Team Book

…Ehh, not exactly. I mean, the new Avengers team kinda has shades of it, in that 3 members are teenage inheritors to legacy hero titles, but I wouldn’t really call it a team that specifically focuses on teen superheroes. In fact, the more I learn about the Young Avengers (because I didn’t read the book, which I admit is totally my bad), the more I realize that team needs to be brought back with them picking up where they left off.

#5 – Miles Morales Stays

See Ms. Marvel. In other words, CONFIRMED! lol Also, apparently, while Spider-Gwen will apparently be keeping her Earth, she’s apparently gonna be doing some dimension hopping between her world and the mainstream one, so expect some team-ups between the two.

#6 – One More Day Reversed

…Maybe? Looks like they MIGHT be, but I don’t really know yet. We’ll see. And speaking of which, I heard someone suggest that the reason Iron Man is being made Marvel’s flagship character is because, for the longest time, Spider-Man was considered the guy in Marvel, the most recognizable hero in their roster of characters, their answer to DC’s big name heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and it would be inappropriate for them to have him be their guy when he made a deal with the literal devil of their universe. And granted, that WOULD be a reason to lessen his overall importance and position in Marvel, but considering he’s being replaced with the guy that cloned his believed-to-be dead friend to hunt down superheroes for the oh-so-terrible crime of wanting to keep their identities a secret, mind wiped Captain America to cover up his own crimes, and basically screwed over his world by perpetuating the idea that they could stop the incursions when he knew it was outside of their ability to do, something he admitted to being a liar about, I somehow doubt that’s the case… … …Seriously, I hope that this new take on Tony Stark takes steps to see him make up for all of these terrible things. If I may be allowed to get up on my soap box for a second, I WANT to like Iron Man. I NEED to like Iron Man. We need a character like him to be on the heroic side of things. And the same goes for Spider-Man. I need to know that this guy can look back on what he did in One More Day and legit say to himself “…I screwed up. HORRIBLY.”, and then work to make up for what he did, really take responsibility for his actions. We need heroes who can do more than just save the day when called upon. We need heroes that, when they make mistakes, will learn from their mistakes and spend everyday afterward making up for them and never do it again.

#7 – A Simpler History

Not confirmed yet, but hopefully, we’ll get some simplification, particularly where it relates to Jean Grey and the Phoenix.

#8 – Old Heroes Retaking Their Mantles

Actually, if anything, DISPROVEN, at least for the moment. Sam Wilson is still Captain America, Jane Foster is still Thor, and it looks like we might even be getting MORE of these, as X-23 looks to possibly be taking up the mantle of Wolverine, and there’s been rumours afloat regarding a new Hulk…which, combined with news that the possible future evil Hulk known as Maestro is gonna be sticking around, makes me concerned as to what’s happened to Bruce Banner, and wonder if She-Hulk might just need to use that cure on him after all.

#9 – The A-Force

CONFIRMED, thank goodness! 😀

#10 – Character Histories Merged

Not really confirmed yet, but we’ll see. In fact, I’d be very shocked if Miles is the only survivor of the Ultimate Universe, with characters from that world becoming merged with their counterparts… … …Seriously, I can’t stress this enough: Fuck Marvel Universe Aunt May, Ultimate Universe Aunt May is AWESOME. XD

Soooo, yeah, about half of them confirmed, four of them still up in the air, and one that’s actually been thankfully disproven… … … … …Let’s try my luck with a couple more! ^_^

#11 – X-23 Joins The All-New, All-Different Avengers

During Marvelous May, I made a list of possible recruits for the All-New, All-Different Avengers…I can’t believe I didn’t add Laura to that list. And right now, with the reveal of her in the Wolverine costume, I think the odds are better than ever that she might be joining this team, unless she’s otherwise too busy with the Wolverines (assuming they’re still around post-Secret Wars) or the X-Men (because I would assume that, as the apparent successor to the Wolverine lineage, the X-Men would WANT her on the frontlines of their team). And, before anyone points it out…again, I am aware that Logan didn’t want Laura to become Wolverine and live the same life that he did. Well, first off, that didn’t stop Dick Grayson from becoming Batman for a time. And secondly, honestly, I think most of us knew she would eventually take up the role of Wolverine if Logan was unable, because, as his clone/adopted daughter (which I just realized how weird that must sound to non-comic fans, lol), she’s a lot like him.

#12 – The Return of Otto Octavius

I think the end of Spider-Verse pretty much made it obvious that this was gonna happen. The second he realized he was gonna disappear and that Peter would retake control of his body, it was clear he was setting up plans to orchestrate his later return. Now, the question remains, will he come back as the Superior Spider-Man, or as Doctor Octopus? Honestly, and I know I’m gonna take flak for this…I think he should continue to wear the Superior Spider-Man costume and have those powers. It makes him a bigger threat. Hell, let’s go one bigger: What if evil Tony DOES wind up being his own separate character from good Tony post-Secret Wars? Could we possibly see a Superior team-up?

#13 – The Fantastic 4 Taking A Break

While I suspect the team won’t up and vanish, it looks like the individual members might be doing their own things for a while, with Thing joining the Guardians of the Galaxy and Human Torch helping out the Uncanny Inhumans. And again, I know a lot of people suspect that, because Marvel Studios doesn’t own the rights to Fantastic 4, they’ll just phase the team out completely, but I honestly don’t believe that to be the case. Still, don’t be surprised if the team takes a break from the spotlight for a little while, at least AS a team. Although, in the absence of the Fantastic 4, we could be seeing more of the Future Foundation.

Anyway, I think that’s all for now. Let’s see what happens when Secret Wars ends before I look back on these again or make any more. In the meantime, lemme know what you guys think of the odds of the predictions that are still up in the air happening, how things are developing overall for the NEW MU, and if there are any predictions you guys have too. Ja né!

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!

10 Post-Secret Wars Wishes & Expectations

So, Secret Wars is quickly approaching, and with it, the end of the Marvel Universe as we know it, as it will be merged with the Ultimate Universe in a sort of pseudo-reboot. However, it seems that other worlds in the Multiverse are also involved, as are various points in time throughout the mainstream Marvel Earth (Earth 616). It’s pretty clear that the HUGE Multiverse in Marvel Comics is being shrunken down with this. Most people are saying it’ll disappear altogether, but let’s keep this in mind: The Marvel Cinematic Universe is considered part of the Multiverse, and they aren’t ending anytime soon. Same goes with the other movie and television franchises featuring Marvel characters. On top of that, Spider-Gwen is only JUST starting next week, though she has been part of the Spider-Verse event all along, so I doubt it’ll only last as long as it takes to get to the end of Secret Wars. And frankly, doing away with the Multiverse altogether seems like a waste, as it takes away a lot of potential story-telling possibilities.

Either way, though, we can expect the Marvel Universe to be vastly different post-Secret Wars, with Earth 616 and Earth 1610 (the Ultimate Universe) merging together and their histories becoming blended, and with probably a few things being rebooted back to square one and others being retconned out of existence. Now, this prospect is more than a little frightening, especially because we’ve seen something like this done a few times before (mostly by DC). However, one advantage there is that Marvel can look at everything that did and didn’t work with DC’s various reboots and learn from those instances. Plus, this is a good chance for them to bring back old ideas and give them a new twist. So, with that said, here’s a few things I wouldn’t mind seeing post-Secret Wars, as well as some that I expect will happen whether they sound good or not. Let’s start with probably the most obvious thing people expect to happen…

#1 – Wolverine Brought Back

Face it, bub, you KNEW Wolverine wasn’t going to stay dead forever. It was just a matter of the right scenario to come along and justify his re-existence. Well, Secret Wars could prove to be just that. My one concern going into this, though, is that this puts us right back in the same position we had with the character prior to his losing his healing factor, and that’s that, after a while of being shown he’s all but invincible and immortal, it’s hard to get invested in his stories. As such, I’m hoping that some sort of limitation is put on his healing factor so that he’s at least given SOME kind of vulnerability. Also, I wouldn’t try to demote X-23 with his return in any way, and have the two continue to act as equally important characters, but I’ll get back to her in a bit…

#2 – Tony Stark Becomes Good Again

Okay, really, this isn’t even just a matter of me not liking Superior Iron Man. This is a matter of me not liking a LOT of what’s been done with the character for years now, starting with Civil War. If you haven’t noticed, I’m more than a bit concerned about the fact that Captain America 3 is going to be a loose adaptation of that story, and ultimately, it comes down to one point: Tony Stark should not be a villain. Now, they could maybe do something neat where we get good Tony back and Superior Iron Man becomes his own evil character spun off from him, but there HAS to be a good Tony we can root for that isn’t held down by crap like the Superhero Registration Act or having Captain America’s mind wiped. I want THAT Tony Stark back.

#3 – Ms. Marvel Sticks Around

Yeah, if you haven’t noticed, I’m a big Ms. Marvel fan. Kamala was easily the best newcomer of last year, and I would HATE to lose her. Now granted, I’ve been told by writer G. Willow Wilson that there’s “nothing to fear”, but at the same time, I’m seeing advertisements for her tie-in to Secret Wars being about how “Kamala has to grapple with the end of everything she knows, and discover what it means to be a hero when your whole world is on the line.” So I guess we’ll just see, but either way, I’m hoping she sticks around, and we have our inevitable Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel crossover, along with something else I’d like to suggest…

#4 – A New Young Avengers-like Team Book

Let’s face it, folks, there are still plenty of younger heroes out there that could form a new team of heroes. Ms. Marvel, X-23, Miles Morales, Kate Bishop, and who knows how many more? Is Marvel REALLY going to wipe them ALL away post-Secret Wars? And frankly, I don’t care what they call themselves. Young Avengers, Avengers Academy, the Ultimates, whatever works for them. I would just love to see this team. And speaking of one of them in particular…

#5 – Miles Morales Stays

I’ve said it before, and I will continue to say it for as long as it’s the God’s honest truth: The best thing going for the Ultimate Universe (and the only thing nowadays, in fact) is Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man. The question is immediately brought up, then: What do you do with the character after Secret Wars? Tossed aside? Probably not. Do you have him continue to act as Spider-Man, and just have two of them, having him operate in a team with Peter? Tricky, but doable. Do you perhaps make use of the fact that Kaine recently died in Spider-Verse and make him the Scarlet Spider? Sure, I could see Miles fitting into that role just fine. However, there’s one other avenue they could take…

#6 – One More Day Reversed

Recent info dumps have revealed the existence of a version of Peter Parker on Battleworld that hasn’t made the deal with Mephisto yet. This could be where we finally undo all that nonsense, and have Peter and MJ be brought back together, possibly having Mayday, and hell, Pete could even pass the role of Spider-Man down to Miles, though he’d likely be able to come out of retirement from time to time to help him out. If nothing else, though, Marvel, please, hear my cry, in the name of all Spider-Man fans that know him to be better than the one who made that almost 100% literal deal with the devil, undo this terrible act. And if you need any more incentive to do so, Linkara has gone on record in saying that, if the deal with Mephisto is ever reversed, not even necessarily that Peter and Mary Jane get married again, but that the deal itself is nullified, he will buy every Spider-Man story that’s come out since. That’s 8 years worth of comics he’d be purchasing from you guys. May not seem like a lot of money, but from one person, could you ask for much more?

#7 – A Simpler History

Yyyeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhh, one problem Marvel has with its LONG history is just how complicated some stories can get. Probably the most notorious of all is Jean Grey’s entire history, as well as that of the Phoenix. In fact, most of the more complex and overly complicated and difficult to follow stories can be traced back to the X-Men. So, if there’s a chance to simplify some of those stories without changing too much or taking too much away, I’d suggest Marvel takes this opportunity to do so now.

#8 – Old Heroes Retaking Their Mantles

For better or worse, I think we all see this coming. Granted, I don’t see Carol Danvers giving up the role of Captain Marvel, since she’s got a movie coming up, but Steve Rogers is probably going to be Captain America again, and Mjolnir will likely find its way back to Thor Odinson. Hopefully, though, their recent replacements aren’t tossed aside, and are instead given whole new leases on life now that they’ve been established as characters deserving of being among Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, particularly the new female Thor (‘cuz somehow I doubt I have to worry too much about Falcon).

#9 – The A-Force

When I first heard about A-Force, I immediately adored the idea, so much so that I’m hoping it sticks around long past Secret Wars. Just the idea of seeing all these kickass Marvel women teaming up, without even really needing a set roster and just being about them all coming together to fight injustice, I just LOVE the idea SO FRAKKING MUCH (seriously, you can’t see me, but I’m fanboying out SO BAD right now, lol).

#10 – Character Histories Merged

Lastly, one thing I kinda expect to happen is that characters that exist on both Earth 616 and Earth 1610 will have their histories and elements of their personalities merged together. Somehow, I suspect that, when the dust settles, there’ll only be one Nick Fury, and he’ll be the one that physically resembles Samuel L. Jackson (‘cuz let’s face it, the movies DO still dictate a lot of what happens in the comics, for better or for worse), unless they plan on revealing him to be Nick Fury, Jr. in said movies. Also, I’m personally kinda hoping that the mainstream Aunt May gets downsized in favour of her more awesome counterpart. Seriously, words cannot describe how much I prefer Ultimate Aunt May to her counterpart.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of for right now. Got any I haven’t thought of? Perhaps even a few concerns? Leave in the comments below, and we’ll see what happens when Secret Wars hits. Ja né!