Okay X-Maniacs, since I've finished up this week's new comics two days early, I get to review something other than new comic books... So what did I choose? How about the Thor movie that came out earlier this year? So for only the third time EVER here on the blog, I'll be reviewing something other than a comic book/trade. As for tomorrow, I have some ideas, and if those ideas come to fruition, I may just be reviewing something other than a comic book or a movie... But that's tomorrow... For now, the coming attractions are almost over, so I'm going to shut my laptop now and watch me some Thor.
Thor (2011):
What Happened: For being arrogant and all around unlikable, as well as directly disobeying his father, Odin, and invading the realm of the Frost Giants, Thor is stripped of his godly powers and banished to Earth. Sure, there was a bit more to Thor's banishment than that, some of it involving Loki, but come on, you can't expect me to review this movie minute by minute, can you? Anyway, after banishing Thor, Odin sends Thor's hammer to Earth as well, but enchants it so that only somebody worthy of wielding it(ie: not Thor at the moment) could lift it. So Thor lands on Earth, bumps into three scientists(Jane Foster, Eric and Darcy) and basically acts like an ass to them. With Thor acting like an ass, and coming across as rather insane, Eric feels the best bet is to get away from him, but alas, Jane is smitten by Thor and wants to help him regain his hammer, which was being watched over by SHIELD. Thor manages to coerce Jane into giving him a ride out to the hammer site, and after fighting his way through some SHIELD agents finds himself unable to lift his hammer, which leads to Thor sadly surrendering to SHIELD. Meanwhile, Loki learns that he's actually a Frost Giant that Odin took in as his own and kind of flips out about that. Odin ends up falling into the Odinsleep at this time, which leaves Loki on the throne of Asgard. Loki sends an image of himself to Thor and tells Thor that Asgard was nearly at war with the Frost Giants, Odin was dead, Thor's mother hated Thor for his role in Odin dying of a broken heart, and oh yeah, that it was all Thor's fault. Thor is devastated, and decides that he'd live out the rest of his life in exile, which is exactly what Loki wanted. Anyway, for some reason, SHIELD lets Thor leave with Eric(who came to bail him out at Jane's request), and the kinder, gentler Thor serves breakfast to his mortal friends and does other nice acts. Back in Asgard, Loki plots with his birth father, Laufey of the Frost Giants, to kill Odin, thus solidifying Loki's grip on the throne. Fearing treachery from Loki, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif head to Earth to retrieve Thor and try to set things right in Asgard. Afraid that Thor's return could screw up all of his plans, Loki sends the Destroyer to Earth to destroy Thor and anything else in it's path. The Warriors Three and Sif tell Thor that Odin wasn't dead, but was actually in the Odinsleep and that most of the things Loki told Thor were untrue, meaning he didn't have to remain exiled. By this time the Destroyer has begun it's approach, so Thor and his three mortal friends evacuate the town while the Warriors Three and Sif try to beat the Destroyer. Sif and the Warriors fail, and Thor, not wanting to see any harm come to his friends, approaches the Destroyer alone and unarmed and begs Loki to simply kill him and leave everybody else alone. Loki bids the Destroyer to do just that, and it pounds Thor, seemingly killing him... But wait! Since Thor was now worthy of the power of his hammer, it flies to him and revives him, granting him his full power again. Thor beats the Destroyer and declares that he'd head to Asgard to settle things with Loki. After getting a kiss from Jane, Thor and his Asgardian allies return to Asgard and Thor heads towards Odin's chambers. Before Thor arrives though, Laufey enters the chambers of the comatose Odin and prepares to kill him... But is stopped and slain by the timely arrival of Loki! Yes Loki. Thor soon enters the room and is blasted out of it by an angry Loki. From there, Loki heads to the Rainbow Bridge and uses some magic to slowly destroy the realm of the Frost Giants, figuring that act, along with saving Odin's life(from an assassination he orchestrated) would bring him the love of the Asgardians and make him Thor's equal in everybody's eyes. Thor confronts Loki and the two battle, since Thor wasn't going to allow Loki to annihilate an entire race(the Frost Giants) simply to gain some love. Ultimately Thor defeats Loki, but can't figure out how to shut down the magic that was destroying the Frost Giant's realm. With no choice, Thor decides to destroy the Rainbow Bridge, which would save the Frost Giants, but separate him from Earth and Jane. Loki tries to stop Thor from ruining his plans, but in the end, Thor succeeds in destroying the Bridge and the two fall towards the abyss, only to be saved by the timely arrival of the recently awakened Odin. Loki tries to explain to Odin that everything he did was to try to gain Odin's favor, but seeing that Odin still favored Thor, Loki lets go of Thor and falls into the abyss, seemingly perishing as a result. From there, Thor is now a more humble hero, Jane is working with SHIELD to try to reach Asgard and Odin is still the lord of Asgard. This one ends(after the credits roll) with Nick Fury bringing Eric to a secret SHIELD base and showing him the Cosmic Cube(which SHIELD collected after the Captain America movie). Fury figures that a scientist of Eric's caliber may be able to figure out how the Cube worked, and we discover that Loki was actually in possession of Eric's body, and is more than happy to take a look at the Cube...
The Good: Basically everything that took place in Asgard or the Frost Giant realm was good. All of the Asgardians were very well portrayed here, from Thor to Odin to Loki. Speaking of Loki, I tip my hat to the actor who played him because he did an exceptional job. Here's hoping Loki is the main threat in the upcoming Avengers movie. The special effects were quite good, from the way Asgard looked to the battle with the Destroyer. I enjoyed the fact that Loki wasn't exactly pure evil here... Everything he did he did to try to prove that he was as good as Thor, and after learning that he was a Frost Giant, his crazy actions made a lot of sense. To Loki, Odin would never see him as Thor's equal, so he had to do things like save Odin's life, eliminate Thor and kill all of the Frost Giants so Odin had no choice but to see Loki as Thor's equal. Naturally I loved the Hawkeye cameo.
The Bad: While I enjoyed all of the Asgardian stuff here, the opposite can be said of Thor's time on Earth... The “comedy” wasn't funny(“Oh look, Thor's been hit by a car... Twice! Now Thor's been tased! Now he's been stuck in the ass with a needle! HAHAHAHA!!!”), and I found Jane, Eric and Darcy to be insanely annoying. It's a little thing, but Earth was never called Midgard... The SHIELD agents simply letting Thor leave, but keeping him under surveillance was bizarre... So he's been trained to be able to out-fight SHIELD's best agents, but we'll let him leave even though we know his cover story was a fake... While I loved seeing Hawkeye in this movie, I hate that he's a SHIELD lackey in the movies... Clint as a renegade? Awesome. Clint as a boot lick? Not as awesome.
The Verdict: Overall, this was a good movie. However, it was really a tale of two movies for me... The Asgardian stuff was great. The Earth stuff was terrible. Yes, I know that we needed to get Thor on Earth so he'd become a more humble hero, but why the hell did everybody on Earth(including Thor) have to be so annoying? Yes, I'll admit that I chuckled at a few of the MANY one-liners and quips, but for the most part the “jokes” made me roll my eyes in embarrassment. Seriously, I was rooting for the Destroyer to kill Thor's mortal cronies... Really, couldn't the Destroyer have at least kill Darcy? Although I'm sure somebody would have made a bad joke about that too... Anyway, I'd recommend this movie simply for the Asgardian parts, and especially the stuff with Loki, which was way deeper than I would have ever imagined. Everything else? Good luck with that. Hopefully you have a better sense of humor than I do...
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
Showing posts with label Thor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thor. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Friday, June 18, 2010
Avengers Prime #1
Avengers Prime #1: Writer: BENDIS! Pencils: Alan Davis(!)
Review: We open this comic up at the very end of the Siege storyline, with Thor, Capt. Rogers and Iron Man looking over the ruins of Asgard. Cap and Iron Man get into an argument as Cap puts the screws to Tony(in what was actually a kind of funny, if childish scene), before Thor gets agitated that instead of assisting him and Asgard, his two oldest comrades are more interested in acting like unruly children. Thor gets through to the two men, and once everybody calms down, Thor takes Cap and IM to the underbelly of Asgard and shows the fractured portal to the other seven realms(Asgard and Earth being the other two), telling the two heroes that something needed to be done to make sure nobody from Earth snuck into the other realms, and vice-versa. Before the heroes can come up with a course of action, the fractured portal erupts, and sucks Cap, IM and Thor in. IM finds himself alone in an empty field, and decides to tinker with his armor so he can see where he was. While tinkering a large shadow appears behind Tony... From there we head to Cap, who after realizing he was no longer on Earth due to the unusual sky, finds a village and enters what seems to be a tavern full of trolls. Cap apologizes for disturbing the trolls(because he's awesome), before telling the trolls that he was lost, and that he was an ally of Lord Thor. Upon hearing that, all of the trolls decide to attack and eat Cap, but that's a mistake, as Cap beats down dozens of weapon wielding trolls(because he's awesome!). Upon trouncing every troll around him, Cap takes a sword, some chain mail armor, a shield and some arrows and leaves the tavern to continue trying to figure out where he was. Finally, Thor arrives in the realm of Vanaheim(which rhymes with Anaheim), but finds none of its citizens. After some wandering around, Thor is blasted from behind by some strong magic, and turns around to see the Enchantress(with some minions)telling Thor that his days were now numbered, ending this issue.
What I Thought: What the hell!?! This was the BEST BENDIS written comic I've read in quite some time! None of his usual painful dialogue was included, and the dialogue that was here made perfect sense, and showed that BENDIS does seem to have some grasp of Avengers history(which is something I honestly didn't think he had)... I mean, wow! The story was great and engaging, Alan Davis's artwork was exactly what you'd expect from a comic book legend, and the dialogue was excellent(which I can't mention enough!). Iron Man's scene was good, Cap's scene was fantastic, and Thor's scene was great... I really couldn't ask for anything more. One thing though... Spider-Man, Luke Cage and Wolverine didn't show up in this comic, which goes a long way in proving my point that those three characters bring out the absolute worst in BENDIS. If this keeps up, BENDIS will revert back to Bendis, because I'll have no reason to get on his case anymore.
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Those poor stupid trolls never stood a chance!
Review: We open this comic up at the very end of the Siege storyline, with Thor, Capt. Rogers and Iron Man looking over the ruins of Asgard. Cap and Iron Man get into an argument as Cap puts the screws to Tony(in what was actually a kind of funny, if childish scene), before Thor gets agitated that instead of assisting him and Asgard, his two oldest comrades are more interested in acting like unruly children. Thor gets through to the two men, and once everybody calms down, Thor takes Cap and IM to the underbelly of Asgard and shows the fractured portal to the other seven realms(Asgard and Earth being the other two), telling the two heroes that something needed to be done to make sure nobody from Earth snuck into the other realms, and vice-versa. Before the heroes can come up with a course of action, the fractured portal erupts, and sucks Cap, IM and Thor in. IM finds himself alone in an empty field, and decides to tinker with his armor so he can see where he was. While tinkering a large shadow appears behind Tony... From there we head to Cap, who after realizing he was no longer on Earth due to the unusual sky, finds a village and enters what seems to be a tavern full of trolls. Cap apologizes for disturbing the trolls(because he's awesome), before telling the trolls that he was lost, and that he was an ally of Lord Thor. Upon hearing that, all of the trolls decide to attack and eat Cap, but that's a mistake, as Cap beats down dozens of weapon wielding trolls(because he's awesome!). Upon trouncing every troll around him, Cap takes a sword, some chain mail armor, a shield and some arrows and leaves the tavern to continue trying to figure out where he was. Finally, Thor arrives in the realm of Vanaheim(which rhymes with Anaheim), but finds none of its citizens. After some wandering around, Thor is blasted from behind by some strong magic, and turns around to see the Enchantress(with some minions)telling Thor that his days were now numbered, ending this issue.
What I Thought: What the hell!?! This was the BEST BENDIS written comic I've read in quite some time! None of his usual painful dialogue was included, and the dialogue that was here made perfect sense, and showed that BENDIS does seem to have some grasp of Avengers history(which is something I honestly didn't think he had)... I mean, wow! The story was great and engaging, Alan Davis's artwork was exactly what you'd expect from a comic book legend, and the dialogue was excellent(which I can't mention enough!). Iron Man's scene was good, Cap's scene was fantastic, and Thor's scene was great... I really couldn't ask for anything more. One thing though... Spider-Man, Luke Cage and Wolverine didn't show up in this comic, which goes a long way in proving my point that those three characters bring out the absolute worst in BENDIS. If this keeps up, BENDIS will revert back to Bendis, because I'll have no reason to get on his case anymore.
Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Those poor stupid trolls never stood a chance!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Best of the Rest!!! June 5th edition.
It's Saturday, which means it it's time for me to give my uninformed, overly sarcastic and at times offensive opinion on comic books and their creators, that's right, it's time for a new installment of The Best of the Rest! Ahh, that run-on sentence never gets old! And thus begin the excuses... So you see, I only have three pseudo-reviews to bust out tonight on account of my busy week(in other words, I've been lazy...). Now I'm sure you're probably thinking to yourself, “Well shucks, if he only has three reviews to do, these here reviews are gonna be DY-NO-MITE!” Sadly, that's not the case... No, be it thirty-seven reviews or three, I'm not going to bother putting together a really good Best of the Rest, I just can't. Nope, this post will be as bad(or maybe even worse!)then all of the other Best of the Rest posts, or my name isn't BENDIS! Um, I mean X...
Deadpool #22: So Deadpool is on a bus to Georgia as a part of his seemingly never ending quest to become a better super-hero... I'm not really sure how he expects to learn the finer points of super-heroics in Georgia, but whatever. DP's bus winds up getting hijacked by a bunch of slack-jawed redneck types, and DP decides to put a world-class whooping on them(that's how you say, “He's going to beat them up” in redneck). So DP is showing up the hillbillies when a really large redneck wearing a big ol' battery pack moseys on over to DP and blasts him full of electricity(That's redneck for, “They shocked DP up but good!”). DP wakes up and after finding a police radio realizes that the robbers had to be local police officers. So DP heads down to the station house and finds one of the yokels who robbed his bus settin' behind his desk(that's redneck for, “sitting behind his desk” yeah, it's not much of a difference, but still)DP locks up the crooked cop and discovers a rather attractive female cop also at the station. The female cop tells DP where he could find the rest of the crooked cop posse(that's redneck for, “crooked police officer gang” that's right, I'm going to BEAT this gag into the ground!), so DP heads out to shut those lousy cops down hard, but not before he locks up the female cop after he figures out that she was the brains of the operation... This is actually revealed at the end of this comic, but since it's my review(or pseudo-review)I don't have to follow a linear path! Hell, one day I might just review a comic backwards! Anyway, back to the story... DP tracks down the crooked cops, and shuts them down. The end... What? That's more or less what happened here. DP beat up the crooked cops, left them for the ATF(because the crooked cops were also making moonshine)and leaves town with a spring in his step and a song in his heart. The real question is, what's up with Daniel Way and the state of Georgia?! Ah reckon he ain'ts like's 'em folks much(that's redneck for, “I don't think he likes those nimrods much”)... Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Is he even speaking English!?! Sheesh...
Thor #610: And so we pick up after the Siege storyline... Who the HELL opens up a review(or pseudo-review)by saying, “And so”? What horrible sentence structure... Anywho, Balder(who is the current king of Asgard FYI)is roaming around the ruins of Asgard thinking about what a crappy job he's been doing as king... Well, considering you allowed your people to be pretty much spanked by Norman “Freaking” Osborn, I'd have to agree. Thor arrives to tell Balder that he's done an admirable job as king(um, really?), and that Balder should remain the king of Asgard, but with Thor as his advisor. So yay, Thor is un-exiled from Asgard(“un-exiled”?)and Balder the Jellyfish is still the king. All is right and good in Asgard... Or is it?!? I'll answer that one myself, no, everything most definitely ISN'T good in Asgard! Thor's deranged clone, Ragnarok, climbs out of some rubble and decides to beat down some Asgardians in an effort to get Thor's attention... Man, for gods, the Asgardians are being trounced by just about everybody lately! Thor confronts his wacky clone, and after a few shouts of “verily”, “thou” and “Pretender” the two battle, with Thor pretty much demolishing Ragnarok in quick fashion... Huh, that was... pretty anti-climatic actually... Oh, and that was also the end of this comic... Score: 7 out of 10.
HEY!!! What's Green Arrow doing in Asgard!?!
Justice League: Generation Lost #2: This issue kicks off with the former JLI members(or the c-list members of the JLA, if you prefer)trying to convince Superman that Maxwell Lord had erased knowledge of his existence from every person on Earth(and maybe Mars too, who knows). Supes(being an a-lister)doesn't have time to humor a bunch of losers, and pretty much says so(but in his non-offensive, Superman sort of way)before leaving. The c-listers decide to split up and see if they can convince anybody that they're telling the truth... You know, if the world's biggest boy scout won't believe you, I don't think anybody else will... Booster Gold heads to the Batcave, where Batman won't believe him, while Fire learns that she was fired by Checkmate by Wonder Woman, who insists that she had never killed anybody by the name of Max Lord. But she did! I read it!! Oh wait, Max Lord must have erased her memory! Of course... Ice tries to convince Guy Gardner that Max Lord is trouble, but Guy refuses to listen, since Max had put some false memories in his head making Guy think Ice was crazy... Wait, so Max Lord was able to alter the mind of a Green Lantern?!? Huh... Captain Atom heads to his military base and spots Max Lord, and immediately attacks him. Atom beats up Max, and during the beating, Atom realizes that he wasn't beating up Max, but that he was pummeling his commanding officer! Whoops!! Atom runs away from the military base, and meets up with the other JLI members, and the c-listers share their sob stories. They all figure out that Max was discrediting them(ya think?!?)and Fire and Ice leave, deciding that they didn't want to deal with the situation anymore. Atom and Booster are told by Skeets(you know, that little sassy robot thing that's always haunting around Booster)that they were being monitored by something in El Paso, Texas. So the two heroes head to the great state of Texas to find... Oh come on... the fake Blue Beetle being beaten up by a bunch of OMACs. Way to ruin a perfectly good comic there guys! Score: 9 out of 10.
Isn't it funny how I didn't even mention Magog in this review, but then I posted a page with him? And THAT ladies and gentlemen is why I call them, pseudo-reviews!
Deadpool #22: So Deadpool is on a bus to Georgia as a part of his seemingly never ending quest to become a better super-hero... I'm not really sure how he expects to learn the finer points of super-heroics in Georgia, but whatever. DP's bus winds up getting hijacked by a bunch of slack-jawed redneck types, and DP decides to put a world-class whooping on them(that's how you say, “He's going to beat them up” in redneck). So DP is showing up the hillbillies when a really large redneck wearing a big ol' battery pack moseys on over to DP and blasts him full of electricity(That's redneck for, “They shocked DP up but good!”). DP wakes up and after finding a police radio realizes that the robbers had to be local police officers. So DP heads down to the station house and finds one of the yokels who robbed his bus settin' behind his desk(that's redneck for, “sitting behind his desk” yeah, it's not much of a difference, but still)DP locks up the crooked cop and discovers a rather attractive female cop also at the station. The female cop tells DP where he could find the rest of the crooked cop posse(that's redneck for, “crooked police officer gang” that's right, I'm going to BEAT this gag into the ground!), so DP heads out to shut those lousy cops down hard, but not before he locks up the female cop after he figures out that she was the brains of the operation... This is actually revealed at the end of this comic, but since it's my review(or pseudo-review)I don't have to follow a linear path! Hell, one day I might just review a comic backwards! Anyway, back to the story... DP tracks down the crooked cops, and shuts them down. The end... What? That's more or less what happened here. DP beat up the crooked cops, left them for the ATF(because the crooked cops were also making moonshine)and leaves town with a spring in his step and a song in his heart. The real question is, what's up with Daniel Way and the state of Georgia?! Ah reckon he ain'ts like's 'em folks much(that's redneck for, “I don't think he likes those nimrods much”)... Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.
Is he even speaking English!?! Sheesh...Thor #610: And so we pick up after the Siege storyline... Who the HELL opens up a review(or pseudo-review)by saying, “And so”? What horrible sentence structure... Anywho, Balder(who is the current king of Asgard FYI)is roaming around the ruins of Asgard thinking about what a crappy job he's been doing as king... Well, considering you allowed your people to be pretty much spanked by Norman “Freaking” Osborn, I'd have to agree. Thor arrives to tell Balder that he's done an admirable job as king(um, really?), and that Balder should remain the king of Asgard, but with Thor as his advisor. So yay, Thor is un-exiled from Asgard(“un-exiled”?)and Balder the Jellyfish is still the king. All is right and good in Asgard... Or is it?!? I'll answer that one myself, no, everything most definitely ISN'T good in Asgard! Thor's deranged clone, Ragnarok, climbs out of some rubble and decides to beat down some Asgardians in an effort to get Thor's attention... Man, for gods, the Asgardians are being trounced by just about everybody lately! Thor confronts his wacky clone, and after a few shouts of “verily”, “thou” and “Pretender” the two battle, with Thor pretty much demolishing Ragnarok in quick fashion... Huh, that was... pretty anti-climatic actually... Oh, and that was also the end of this comic... Score: 7 out of 10.
HEY!!! What's Green Arrow doing in Asgard!?! Justice League: Generation Lost #2: This issue kicks off with the former JLI members(or the c-list members of the JLA, if you prefer)trying to convince Superman that Maxwell Lord had erased knowledge of his existence from every person on Earth(and maybe Mars too, who knows). Supes(being an a-lister)doesn't have time to humor a bunch of losers, and pretty much says so(but in his non-offensive, Superman sort of way)before leaving. The c-listers decide to split up and see if they can convince anybody that they're telling the truth... You know, if the world's biggest boy scout won't believe you, I don't think anybody else will... Booster Gold heads to the Batcave, where Batman won't believe him, while Fire learns that she was fired by Checkmate by Wonder Woman, who insists that she had never killed anybody by the name of Max Lord. But she did! I read it!! Oh wait, Max Lord must have erased her memory! Of course... Ice tries to convince Guy Gardner that Max Lord is trouble, but Guy refuses to listen, since Max had put some false memories in his head making Guy think Ice was crazy... Wait, so Max Lord was able to alter the mind of a Green Lantern?!? Huh... Captain Atom heads to his military base and spots Max Lord, and immediately attacks him. Atom beats up Max, and during the beating, Atom realizes that he wasn't beating up Max, but that he was pummeling his commanding officer! Whoops!! Atom runs away from the military base, and meets up with the other JLI members, and the c-listers share their sob stories. They all figure out that Max was discrediting them(ya think?!?)and Fire and Ice leave, deciding that they didn't want to deal with the situation anymore. Atom and Booster are told by Skeets(you know, that little sassy robot thing that's always haunting around Booster)that they were being monitored by something in El Paso, Texas. So the two heroes head to the great state of Texas to find... Oh come on... the fake Blue Beetle being beaten up by a bunch of OMACs. Way to ruin a perfectly good comic there guys! Score: 9 out of 10.
Isn't it funny how I didn't even mention Magog in this review, but then I posted a page with him? And THAT ladies and gentlemen is why I call them, pseudo-reviews!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Thor #609
Thor #609: Writer: Kieron Gillen. Art: Rich Elson, Billy Tan & Batt
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.
Review: This comic takes place directly after the fall of Asgard in Siege #3. Volstagg crawls out of the rubble while the other Asgardians try to fight off the Hood's men who were still lurking around the ruins of Asgard. Loki chooses this moment to reveal himself to the king of Asgard, Balder, but Balder refuses to believe Loki's claims that he had nothing to do with Osborn's invasion of Asgard, although he does readily admit that he isn't saddened by Asgard's fate. Balder decides to rally the few Asgardians who were left, and once he has called his forces to him, he exiles Loki from Asgard forever. This issue ends with Loki smiling and saying to himself that although exiled, he will still wind up responsible for saving Asgard and getting the last laugh at Balder.
What I Thought: This issue really didn't do much for me. Thor didn't show up, nor did Ragnarok, and Loki's parts were just kind of weird. I'm not sure why he wouldn't take credit for Osborn's attack, while claiming that he was partially responsible for what happened. That just didn't really make sense to me... Besides that, there was some back story that was being wrapped up, as well as Volstagg still bumbling around. Not exactly the ingredients to a great comic in my most humble opinion.
Score: 6 out of 10.
I just figured I'd post a pic of Loki being abused...
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.
Review: This comic takes place directly after the fall of Asgard in Siege #3. Volstagg crawls out of the rubble while the other Asgardians try to fight off the Hood's men who were still lurking around the ruins of Asgard. Loki chooses this moment to reveal himself to the king of Asgard, Balder, but Balder refuses to believe Loki's claims that he had nothing to do with Osborn's invasion of Asgard, although he does readily admit that he isn't saddened by Asgard's fate. Balder decides to rally the few Asgardians who were left, and once he has called his forces to him, he exiles Loki from Asgard forever. This issue ends with Loki smiling and saying to himself that although exiled, he will still wind up responsible for saving Asgard and getting the last laugh at Balder.
What I Thought: This issue really didn't do much for me. Thor didn't show up, nor did Ragnarok, and Loki's parts were just kind of weird. I'm not sure why he wouldn't take credit for Osborn's attack, while claiming that he was partially responsible for what happened. That just didn't really make sense to me... Besides that, there was some back story that was being wrapped up, as well as Volstagg still bumbling around. Not exactly the ingredients to a great comic in my most humble opinion.
Score: 6 out of 10.
I just figured I'd post a pic of Loki being abused...
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Siege #3, Avengers: The Initiatve #34 & Thor #608.
Hey there X-Maniacs, I was going to do some terribly unfunny post for April Fool's Day, but I decided to spare all of you, and instead just stick with a few reviews. I'm also currently watching the Batman comic where Jason Todd makes his first appearance on eBay, there's 20 minutes to go, so I'm hoping the price stays around where it is so I can swoop in and snag it, since I'm on a Jason Todd kick(as is pretty evident by the spotlight over at my scan site!). Anyway, I have a trio of Siege related comics to go over tonight, starting with the penultimate part of the mini-series. So far this series has impressed me WAAAAY more then I expected, and to be honest, it's been a lot more cohesive then the huge mess Blackest Night became towards the end.
Siege #3(of 4): Writer: BENDIS. Pencils: Olivier Coipel.
Last Issue: 7 1/2 out of 10.
This comic gets started with the President of the United States and his cabinet watching the events of Norman Osborn's Siege on Asgard take place. The President is angered that Osborn went against his orders and went and attacked the Asgardians anyway. After some debate, the President decides to send in the military to arrest Osborn and shut down HAMMER. While that's happening, Captain America(that would be the original, Steve Rogers), and his ragtag group of Avengers launches an all-out assault against Osborn and his forces of evil. That fight rages for a while, while a little bit further off, the main event is taking place, with the Sentry, now fully under the control of his evil alter-ego the Void, battling the Thunder God himself, Thor. Thor hits the Sentry with everything he has, and the Sentry simply stands through it all... Well, THAT'S definitely NOT a good thing! Osborn, who is being trounced by the Avengers, calls for assistance, and the Hood and his army of super-villains arrive on the scene to assist Osborn. The Young Avenger Speed, brings the suitcase containing Tony Stark's Iron Man armor to Stark at the behest of Captain America himself, hopefully serving to bury the hatchet between those two heroes. The US Air Force attacks the HAMMER helicarrier and brings it down, while Osborn watches in disbelief, as his house of cards literally comes down all around him. Cap takes that opportunity to attack Osborn, but with his armor, Osborn is still more then a match for the Sentinel of Liberty. Osborn goes to blast Cap, however his armor becomes unresponsive, and as he tries to figure out what happened, Tony Stark, now in full Iron Man mode, arrives on the scene and tells Osborn his armor was being shut down. Osborn begins to panic, sensing the end, so he sends word to the Sentry to bring down Asgard itself, to which the Sentry stunningly does, completely destroying the floating city, sending it crashing to the Earth. From there, Cap tells Osborn he was under arrest, and Iron Man forcibly removes the armor from Osborn, revealing that his face was painted in the colors of the Green Goblin(???). The heroes knock Osborn down, and he tells them that they had made a grave mistake, as the Sentry hovers above all of the gathered heroes menacingly, while the sky around him turns black, which ends this issue.
Damn it, I didn't win my Batman comic... Anyway, this was another solid effort from BENDIS, although I liked it a little bit less then the awesome first issue, as some of BENDIS'S annoying dialogue began to rear its ugly head again. There was a lot to like here, such as Cap and IM appearing to finally make nice, Asgard being destroyed(I'm sorry, but I NEVER liked the idea of Asgard, home to Norse Gods, floating above Oklahoma!), and Osborn finally getting pulled out of his Iron Patriot armor. There were also a few, “What the HELL?!?” moments as well though, such as Osborn's face for some reason resembling the Green Goblin, and the Sentry transforming into a... giant spider looking creature... That's the best I can describe it! Also strangely enough, Loki has been absent through it all, even though it was his machinations that started this whole Siege on Asgard in the first place! So next issue, which is the last issue, should give us everybody vs the Sentry/Void. Since this is Marvel, and this is their yearly big event, I guess the main thing to wonder is, which character is going to die as this mini concludes?
Score: 8 out of 10.
Umm, huh???
Avengers: The Initiative #34: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Jorge Molina.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
This comic follows two stories, the Avengers Resistance battling the Hood and his gang at Camp HAMMER and the Taskmaster's role in the battle for Asgard. I'll begin with the Avengers Resistance story. The Resistance puts up a good fight, but are unable to bring down the Hood, who is using the immensely powerful Asgardian Norn Stones to empower himself and his henchmen. All looks lost until Penance(the former Speedball), decides to assist the Avengers Resistance, which is filled with many of his former New Warriors teammates. With the added muscle from Penance and the other non-evil members of the Initiative, the Resistance begins to turn the tide of the battle. At that very moment, the Hood is summoned to join Osborn's forces in Asgard, and he takes several of the evil Initiative members with him, leaving the other evil Initiative members at a strong disadvantage. Back in Asgard, the Taskmaster realizes that it's all falling apart for Osborn, but he decides to take a shot at Captain America, figuring that even if Osborn loses, beating Cap would help his rep as a mercenary. Taskmaster and Cap go at it for a bit, until Cap switches off with Bucky, since Taskmaster had never studied Bucky, and as such wouldn't be able to mimic Bucky's fighting style. Bucky and Taskmaster continue their battle until the fighter jets blow the HAMMER helicarrier out of the sky, at which point they both stop to watch the fireworks. This issue ends with the Sentry bringing Asgard down, while several members of the Initiative are still trapped inside, including star-crossed lovers, Constrictor and Diamondback.
This was a pretty good comic that did a marvelous job tying into the main Siege storyline. Stuff that happened in Siege #3 also happened here, giving the two books a very nice feeling of cohesion. Since most of the things that happened here simply expanded or retold what happened in Siege #3, I think it's pretty fair to give this comic the same score.
Score: 8 out of 10.
My only complaint is that this fight didn't last longer!
Thor #608: Writer: Kieron Gillen. Art: Billy Tan, Batt & Rich Elson.
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.
This comic follows the Asgardians themselves during the events of Siege #3. While the majority of Asgardians are fighting against Osborn's forces on Asgard, Volstagg is being harassed by Thor's evil clone, Ragnarok. Ragnarok wants to kill Volstagg for what happened at Soldier Field in Chi-Town, but Volstagg is afraid to battle Ragnarok, fearing that he might inadvertently kill innocent bystanders again, just like in the Chicago incident. Instead of battling Ragnarok, Volstagg makes a run for it, and is pursued by the crazed Ragnarok. Ultimately Volstagg leads Ragnarok to the uninhabited area directly underneath the floating city of Asgard, and the two battle, since Volstagg can cut loose without worrying about collateral damage. The two fight for a few pages, and Ragnarok ultimately gains the upper-hand, knocking Volstagg away from the floating city. Before Ragnarok can reach Volstagg to deliver the death blow, the whole of Asgard collapses onto Ragnarok, ending this issue.
As with the Initiative book, this comic did a wonderful job of enhancing the main Siege storyline. You know, as much as I hate to say it, with how chaotic and disconnected several of the Blackest Night x-over comics were from the main Blackest Night mini-series, DC should REALLY take some notes from Marvel and Siege, because ALL of the Siege x-overs have blended PERFECTLY into the main Siege story! If nothing else, that's what has impressed me the most with the way Siege has moved forward, all of the various x-overs fit with the main story so well. This comic was no different, as it gave us some more of the Thor/Sentry battle from Siege #3, as well as showing the Asgardian's plight as they faced the magically powered Hood, who appeared in Asgard by way of Initiative #34 and Siege #3. Not only that, but it also gave us its own story, with Ragnarok battling the oafish Volstagg. The only thing that disappointed me was the ending, when Asgard fell on Ragnarok... I really hope that isn't the way Ragnarok goes, because I'm still awaiting a Thor/Ragnarok showdown. Here's hoping Ragnarok somehow managed to avoid the falling city before it was too late.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Fake Thor vs a fat Asgardian... Strange...
Siege #3(of 4): Writer: BENDIS. Pencils: Olivier Coipel.
Last Issue: 7 1/2 out of 10.
This comic gets started with the President of the United States and his cabinet watching the events of Norman Osborn's Siege on Asgard take place. The President is angered that Osborn went against his orders and went and attacked the Asgardians anyway. After some debate, the President decides to send in the military to arrest Osborn and shut down HAMMER. While that's happening, Captain America(that would be the original, Steve Rogers), and his ragtag group of Avengers launches an all-out assault against Osborn and his forces of evil. That fight rages for a while, while a little bit further off, the main event is taking place, with the Sentry, now fully under the control of his evil alter-ego the Void, battling the Thunder God himself, Thor. Thor hits the Sentry with everything he has, and the Sentry simply stands through it all... Well, THAT'S definitely NOT a good thing! Osborn, who is being trounced by the Avengers, calls for assistance, and the Hood and his army of super-villains arrive on the scene to assist Osborn. The Young Avenger Speed, brings the suitcase containing Tony Stark's Iron Man armor to Stark at the behest of Captain America himself, hopefully serving to bury the hatchet between those two heroes. The US Air Force attacks the HAMMER helicarrier and brings it down, while Osborn watches in disbelief, as his house of cards literally comes down all around him. Cap takes that opportunity to attack Osborn, but with his armor, Osborn is still more then a match for the Sentinel of Liberty. Osborn goes to blast Cap, however his armor becomes unresponsive, and as he tries to figure out what happened, Tony Stark, now in full Iron Man mode, arrives on the scene and tells Osborn his armor was being shut down. Osborn begins to panic, sensing the end, so he sends word to the Sentry to bring down Asgard itself, to which the Sentry stunningly does, completely destroying the floating city, sending it crashing to the Earth. From there, Cap tells Osborn he was under arrest, and Iron Man forcibly removes the armor from Osborn, revealing that his face was painted in the colors of the Green Goblin(???). The heroes knock Osborn down, and he tells them that they had made a grave mistake, as the Sentry hovers above all of the gathered heroes menacingly, while the sky around him turns black, which ends this issue.
Damn it, I didn't win my Batman comic... Anyway, this was another solid effort from BENDIS, although I liked it a little bit less then the awesome first issue, as some of BENDIS'S annoying dialogue began to rear its ugly head again. There was a lot to like here, such as Cap and IM appearing to finally make nice, Asgard being destroyed(I'm sorry, but I NEVER liked the idea of Asgard, home to Norse Gods, floating above Oklahoma!), and Osborn finally getting pulled out of his Iron Patriot armor. There were also a few, “What the HELL?!?” moments as well though, such as Osborn's face for some reason resembling the Green Goblin, and the Sentry transforming into a... giant spider looking creature... That's the best I can describe it! Also strangely enough, Loki has been absent through it all, even though it was his machinations that started this whole Siege on Asgard in the first place! So next issue, which is the last issue, should give us everybody vs the Sentry/Void. Since this is Marvel, and this is their yearly big event, I guess the main thing to wonder is, which character is going to die as this mini concludes?
Score: 8 out of 10.
Umm, huh???Avengers: The Initiative #34: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Jorge Molina.
Last Issue: 8 1/2 out of 10.
This comic follows two stories, the Avengers Resistance battling the Hood and his gang at Camp HAMMER and the Taskmaster's role in the battle for Asgard. I'll begin with the Avengers Resistance story. The Resistance puts up a good fight, but are unable to bring down the Hood, who is using the immensely powerful Asgardian Norn Stones to empower himself and his henchmen. All looks lost until Penance(the former Speedball), decides to assist the Avengers Resistance, which is filled with many of his former New Warriors teammates. With the added muscle from Penance and the other non-evil members of the Initiative, the Resistance begins to turn the tide of the battle. At that very moment, the Hood is summoned to join Osborn's forces in Asgard, and he takes several of the evil Initiative members with him, leaving the other evil Initiative members at a strong disadvantage. Back in Asgard, the Taskmaster realizes that it's all falling apart for Osborn, but he decides to take a shot at Captain America, figuring that even if Osborn loses, beating Cap would help his rep as a mercenary. Taskmaster and Cap go at it for a bit, until Cap switches off with Bucky, since Taskmaster had never studied Bucky, and as such wouldn't be able to mimic Bucky's fighting style. Bucky and Taskmaster continue their battle until the fighter jets blow the HAMMER helicarrier out of the sky, at which point they both stop to watch the fireworks. This issue ends with the Sentry bringing Asgard down, while several members of the Initiative are still trapped inside, including star-crossed lovers, Constrictor and Diamondback.
This was a pretty good comic that did a marvelous job tying into the main Siege storyline. Stuff that happened in Siege #3 also happened here, giving the two books a very nice feeling of cohesion. Since most of the things that happened here simply expanded or retold what happened in Siege #3, I think it's pretty fair to give this comic the same score.
Score: 8 out of 10.
My only complaint is that this fight didn't last longer!Thor #608: Writer: Kieron Gillen. Art: Billy Tan, Batt & Rich Elson.
Last Issue: 8 out of 10.
This comic follows the Asgardians themselves during the events of Siege #3. While the majority of Asgardians are fighting against Osborn's forces on Asgard, Volstagg is being harassed by Thor's evil clone, Ragnarok. Ragnarok wants to kill Volstagg for what happened at Soldier Field in Chi-Town, but Volstagg is afraid to battle Ragnarok, fearing that he might inadvertently kill innocent bystanders again, just like in the Chicago incident. Instead of battling Ragnarok, Volstagg makes a run for it, and is pursued by the crazed Ragnarok. Ultimately Volstagg leads Ragnarok to the uninhabited area directly underneath the floating city of Asgard, and the two battle, since Volstagg can cut loose without worrying about collateral damage. The two fight for a few pages, and Ragnarok ultimately gains the upper-hand, knocking Volstagg away from the floating city. Before Ragnarok can reach Volstagg to deliver the death blow, the whole of Asgard collapses onto Ragnarok, ending this issue.
As with the Initiative book, this comic did a wonderful job of enhancing the main Siege storyline. You know, as much as I hate to say it, with how chaotic and disconnected several of the Blackest Night x-over comics were from the main Blackest Night mini-series, DC should REALLY take some notes from Marvel and Siege, because ALL of the Siege x-overs have blended PERFECTLY into the main Siege story! If nothing else, that's what has impressed me the most with the way Siege has moved forward, all of the various x-overs fit with the main story so well. This comic was no different, as it gave us some more of the Thor/Sentry battle from Siege #3, as well as showing the Asgardian's plight as they faced the magically powered Hood, who appeared in Asgard by way of Initiative #34 and Siege #3. Not only that, but it also gave us its own story, with Ragnarok battling the oafish Volstagg. The only thing that disappointed me was the ending, when Asgard fell on Ragnarok... I really hope that isn't the way Ragnarok goes, because I'm still awaiting a Thor/Ragnarok showdown. Here's hoping Ragnarok somehow managed to avoid the falling city before it was too late.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Fake Thor vs a fat Asgardian... Strange...
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Avengers: The Initiative #33, Dark Avengers #14, New Avengers #62, Thor #607 & Thunderbolts #141.
Well, with the next few days looking free and clear for me schoolwork-wise, I've got a lot of comic reviews to try to bust out before I wind up getting swamped with homework/papers/exams again... With that said, I'm going to post not one, not two, not even three reviews tonight, I'm going to post a whopping 5(!)reviews, and all 5 are a part of Marvel's latest money-grab... I mean MAJOR CROSSOVER EVENT, Siege!!! No, this isn't going to be a, “Let's bash Marvel post”(or at least I don't think it will be...), so far I've been pleasantly to SHOCKINGLY impressed with Siege so far. While Blackest Night continues to drag along in the DCU, Siege has been a well-paced, fast-moving x-over. And the biggest surprise of all? It's written by BENDIS! I'm sure the other shoe will eventually drop, and this x-over will leave me feeling sad and angry, but thus far, BENDIS has been alarmingly on his game, which is very much unlike him... OK, with all of the warm and fuzzies out of the way, let's see if these x-over comics continue to leave me happy, or will reality finally set in?
Avengers: The Initiative #33: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Jorge Molina.
OK, we have a few different storylines here, so I'm going to tackle them one at a time to keep this review somewhat coherent... Or at least that's the plan. Besides that, it should be noted all of the action here takes place during the events of Siege #2. Osborn and his crew stand triumphant over Thor, which has Taskmaster grinning from ear to ear. Before he can do a happy dance or anything, Osborn disciplines him for attacking Thor against orders and sends him back to Asgard. However, Osborn allows Diamondback to remain, which leaves her wondering if he had managed to figure out she was a double-agent, also working with the Avengers Resistance. Before she discovers why Osborn asked her to stick around though, Maria Hill strikes and rescues Thor, while Constrictor arrives on the scene to spirit Diamondback out of there. After being sent away, Taskmaster battles a few Asgardians, only managing to get away from them after the Asgardians stop to watch what Sentry did to Ares. Away from all of this, at Camp HAMMER, the Avengers Resistance is attacking the undermanned facility, and are doing a pretty good job of making their way into one of Osborn's main bases. Before they manage to gain entrance, the Hood shows up and begins to blast the heroes with magic, rendering them unconscious. Before the Hood can kill anybody, he is attacked by Tigra, who was still looking for revenge against the Hood due to his brutal attack on her several months back. We end this issue with the Hood telling Night Thrasher of the Avengers Resistance(who he had been secretly conspiring with)that if he killed Tigra, the Hood would use his magics to return the original Night Thrasher to life.
You know, I don't know what's going to become of the Avengers titles after Siege, but whatever happens, I REALLY hope Christos gets one of, if not THE main Avengers book, because he's been incredibly solid on this series since he took it over. He did a wonderful job of blending his story into the main Siege storyline, while continuing to move the storylines from this series forward. We're definitely starting these reviews out on the right foot, with this one...
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
I'm so glad the Taskmaster is finally getting some respect in the Marvel U.
Dark Avengers: #14: Writer: BENDIS. Artist: Mike Deodato.
This issue actually takes place before Siege gets underway, and yet it has the Siege banner adorning the cover... We kick things off with Osborn's second in command, Victoria Hand, telling Osborn that he should go to see a psychologist to make sure that his Goblin side doesn't re-emerge due to the stress he's been under. Osborn says no, Hand says yes, and after several pages of this, Osborn finally agrees to do as he's told. From there, Hand walks into the Avengers conference room where Moonstone and Bullseye were in the throes of passion and blasts Moonstone with a gun that can even harm Moonstone as a lesson to stop disrespecting Osborn. From there, the Sentry, who is now fully possessed by the Void launches an attack on NYC with tendrils of darkness striking down from the heavens, causing widespread damage. The Dark Avengers hit the streets and try to save as many people as they can, and Osborn heads into the sky to try to talk the Void down. The Void complains about his Sentry side, and the Sentry's wife. The Void then insults Osborn, telling him that Osborn has no way to stop his rampage, but Osborn informs the Sentry that although he can't stop the Void, there are several other heroes who can. That gives the Void pause, and Osborn tells the Void that if he ceases his tantrum, he'd do something that would make the Void quite happy. With that the Void halts his attack on NYC, and this issue ends with Osborn heading into Bullseye's room later that night to inform him that when he gives the word, he wants Bullseye to murder the Sentry's wife.
Although I was annoyed that this issue had NOTHING to do with the Siege storyline, even though the cover clearly states that this was a Siege x-over issue, I have to say, this comic was quite good, which kind of scares me... I mean, whatever happened to BENDIS, the man who I could always count on providing a horrible story? I used to be able to say with confidence, even before I read a BENDIS comic that it would be terrible... However, lately BENDIS has been busting out some of his best work in YEARS! If he keeps this up, I may have to stop calling him by all caps... Now, there were a few dead spots in this comic, such as the LOOONG and boring conversation between Hand and Osborn(sorry, I have NO interest in Hand at all), but for the most part, the story was sound, BENDIS refrained from his usual annoying dialogue(for the most part anyway)and the cliffhanger ending was good. So yeah, as weird as it feels, I have to say that I did like this comic.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
A shiny new penny to the first person who tells me why this comic was a Siege x-over issue!
New Avengers #62: Writer: BENDIS! Pencils: Stuart Immonen.
This issue begins with Spider-Woman trying to kill Spider-Man thanks to the telepathic influence of Mandrill, who is basically a talking monkey-thing... *Sigh* This fight goes on for most of this issue, and eventually ends when Spider-Man somehow gets through to Spider-Woman, freeing her of her mind-control. The two heroes then take care of Mandrill and Griffin. Back at the New Avengers not-so-secret headquarters, Bucky and Steve Rogers manage to take care of some HAMMER agents and the Living Laser with some help from BENDIS'S FAVORITE character, Luke Cage, because in BENDIS-Land, one Luke Cage is WAY better then two Captain Americas... OK, since thinking about this comic is actually starting to piss me off, I'm just going to fast forward to the ending. All of the Avengers meet up at one of Nick Fury's bases and decide to go to Asgard to help Thor... Hey wait, didn't I already see this EXACT scene play out in Siege #2?
Well, this is what I get for complimenting BENDIS... Serves me right I guess. This comic was complete and total rubbish. BENDIS writes a HORRIBLE Spider-Man, probably because he writes mainstream Spidey in the exact same manner he writes teenage Ultimate Spidey. The dialogue was crappy, the story was pointless, and the payoff was something I've already read about in the Siege mini... In other words, reading this comic was a complete and utter waste of time.
Score: 3 out of 10.
No comment...
Thor #607: Writer: Kieron Gillen. Artists: Billy Tan, Bat & Rich Elson.
We open this issue up with the Asgardians chilling(I guess Asgardians chill...)at a big old banquet dinner. While they're all eating and being merry, Fandral and Hogun alert the current king of Asgard, Balder, as to what transpired between the U-Foes and Volstagg at Soldier Field in Chi-Town. The two Asgardians explain to Balder that Volstagg, feeling terrible for the tragedy he was unwittingly a part of had surrendered himself over to the Oklahoma police force. While the Asgardians are discussing how to make matters right, Knut, who can apparently see the future(although he is more often wrong then right)rushes into the banquet hall and warns the Asgardians that Asgard will fall the following morning. Nobody buys Knut's ramblings, and Loki promises to take Knut back to him room, telling the other Asgardians that Knut probably simply had too much to drink. Knut begs Loki to believe him, and to Knut's surprise, Loki tells the old man that he does, after which time Loki kills Knut so he wouldn't be capable of warning the Asgardians to what was to come. The following morning, Loki manages to lock the watchman of Asgard, Heimdall, in some sort of magical nether-dimension, so he would be incapable of warning the Asgardians nor assisting when Osborn's forces attacked. With that, Osborn and company launch their attack, and the Asgardians, caught by surprise begin to mount a defense. Upon hearing about what was transpiring, Volstagg asks the cops who were watching over him to let him speak to the country to offer his forgiveness. The cops allow Volstagg to use a webcam to apologize, while casting doubt on Osborn's story that Volstagg acted alone. Volstagg then leaves the prison to help his fellow Asgardians, but he is met and attacked by Ragnarok(!!!).
This was actually the first Thor comic I've read in probably two years(I stopped reading after they turned Loki into a woman), and I have to say, I really enjoyed it! The story basically gave us some idea of what the Asgardians were going through while Osborn was rallying his forces against them. Plus the inclusion of Ragnarok at the end was VERY welcome. I've been waiting to see Ragnarok pop up again after he left the Initiative series, and it makes perfect sense for him to show up in this book. I know I'm definitely looking forward to a Thor/Ragnarok showdown. All in all, this comic was so good, I'm a little bit tempted to grab a few trades to see just what I've been missing.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Man, I'd forgotten just how awesome Loki could be!
Thunderbolts #141: Writer: Jeff Parker. Artist: Miguel Sepulveda.
The T-Bolts get orders from Osborn to sneak into Asgard while Osborn and his forces occupy the Asgardians in order to steal a supremely powerful Asgardian artifact from Asgard's armory called the Spear of Odin. Osborn figures if he were to wield an Asgardian weapon against the Asgardians, he could possibly defeat all of Asgard. With that, the T-Bolts sneak into Asgard, make their way to the armory, fool around a little bit, and eventually discover the Spear. Before they can escape with the Spear, they are confronted by an Asgardian guard, who Mr. X actually manages to kill(!), before they run into the Mighty Avengers, ending this issue.
This was another comic I used to collect before I started reading DC books and had to cut back on my Marvel expenditures, and much like Thor, I was pleasantly surprised by this comic. Having not read it for quite some time, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was into the story from the get go, which means the writer did a good job. Once again, if I have some extra money laying around, I may try to grab a few T-Bolt trades to see what I've been missing.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Wow, I wonder who decided to start using Mr. X... What an utterly obscure character.
Avengers: The Initiative #33: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Jorge Molina.
OK, we have a few different storylines here, so I'm going to tackle them one at a time to keep this review somewhat coherent... Or at least that's the plan. Besides that, it should be noted all of the action here takes place during the events of Siege #2. Osborn and his crew stand triumphant over Thor, which has Taskmaster grinning from ear to ear. Before he can do a happy dance or anything, Osborn disciplines him for attacking Thor against orders and sends him back to Asgard. However, Osborn allows Diamondback to remain, which leaves her wondering if he had managed to figure out she was a double-agent, also working with the Avengers Resistance. Before she discovers why Osborn asked her to stick around though, Maria Hill strikes and rescues Thor, while Constrictor arrives on the scene to spirit Diamondback out of there. After being sent away, Taskmaster battles a few Asgardians, only managing to get away from them after the Asgardians stop to watch what Sentry did to Ares. Away from all of this, at Camp HAMMER, the Avengers Resistance is attacking the undermanned facility, and are doing a pretty good job of making their way into one of Osborn's main bases. Before they manage to gain entrance, the Hood shows up and begins to blast the heroes with magic, rendering them unconscious. Before the Hood can kill anybody, he is attacked by Tigra, who was still looking for revenge against the Hood due to his brutal attack on her several months back. We end this issue with the Hood telling Night Thrasher of the Avengers Resistance(who he had been secretly conspiring with)that if he killed Tigra, the Hood would use his magics to return the original Night Thrasher to life.
You know, I don't know what's going to become of the Avengers titles after Siege, but whatever happens, I REALLY hope Christos gets one of, if not THE main Avengers book, because he's been incredibly solid on this series since he took it over. He did a wonderful job of blending his story into the main Siege storyline, while continuing to move the storylines from this series forward. We're definitely starting these reviews out on the right foot, with this one...
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
I'm so glad the Taskmaster is finally getting some respect in the Marvel U.Dark Avengers: #14: Writer: BENDIS. Artist: Mike Deodato.
This issue actually takes place before Siege gets underway, and yet it has the Siege banner adorning the cover... We kick things off with Osborn's second in command, Victoria Hand, telling Osborn that he should go to see a psychologist to make sure that his Goblin side doesn't re-emerge due to the stress he's been under. Osborn says no, Hand says yes, and after several pages of this, Osborn finally agrees to do as he's told. From there, Hand walks into the Avengers conference room where Moonstone and Bullseye were in the throes of passion and blasts Moonstone with a gun that can even harm Moonstone as a lesson to stop disrespecting Osborn. From there, the Sentry, who is now fully possessed by the Void launches an attack on NYC with tendrils of darkness striking down from the heavens, causing widespread damage. The Dark Avengers hit the streets and try to save as many people as they can, and Osborn heads into the sky to try to talk the Void down. The Void complains about his Sentry side, and the Sentry's wife. The Void then insults Osborn, telling him that Osborn has no way to stop his rampage, but Osborn informs the Sentry that although he can't stop the Void, there are several other heroes who can. That gives the Void pause, and Osborn tells the Void that if he ceases his tantrum, he'd do something that would make the Void quite happy. With that the Void halts his attack on NYC, and this issue ends with Osborn heading into Bullseye's room later that night to inform him that when he gives the word, he wants Bullseye to murder the Sentry's wife.
Although I was annoyed that this issue had NOTHING to do with the Siege storyline, even though the cover clearly states that this was a Siege x-over issue, I have to say, this comic was quite good, which kind of scares me... I mean, whatever happened to BENDIS, the man who I could always count on providing a horrible story? I used to be able to say with confidence, even before I read a BENDIS comic that it would be terrible... However, lately BENDIS has been busting out some of his best work in YEARS! If he keeps this up, I may have to stop calling him by all caps... Now, there were a few dead spots in this comic, such as the LOOONG and boring conversation between Hand and Osborn(sorry, I have NO interest in Hand at all), but for the most part, the story was sound, BENDIS refrained from his usual annoying dialogue(for the most part anyway)and the cliffhanger ending was good. So yeah, as weird as it feels, I have to say that I did like this comic.
Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.
A shiny new penny to the first person who tells me why this comic was a Siege x-over issue!New Avengers #62: Writer: BENDIS! Pencils: Stuart Immonen.
This issue begins with Spider-Woman trying to kill Spider-Man thanks to the telepathic influence of Mandrill, who is basically a talking monkey-thing... *Sigh* This fight goes on for most of this issue, and eventually ends when Spider-Man somehow gets through to Spider-Woman, freeing her of her mind-control. The two heroes then take care of Mandrill and Griffin. Back at the New Avengers not-so-secret headquarters, Bucky and Steve Rogers manage to take care of some HAMMER agents and the Living Laser with some help from BENDIS'S FAVORITE character, Luke Cage, because in BENDIS-Land, one Luke Cage is WAY better then two Captain Americas... OK, since thinking about this comic is actually starting to piss me off, I'm just going to fast forward to the ending. All of the Avengers meet up at one of Nick Fury's bases and decide to go to Asgard to help Thor... Hey wait, didn't I already see this EXACT scene play out in Siege #2?
Well, this is what I get for complimenting BENDIS... Serves me right I guess. This comic was complete and total rubbish. BENDIS writes a HORRIBLE Spider-Man, probably because he writes mainstream Spidey in the exact same manner he writes teenage Ultimate Spidey. The dialogue was crappy, the story was pointless, and the payoff was something I've already read about in the Siege mini... In other words, reading this comic was a complete and utter waste of time.
Score: 3 out of 10.
No comment...Thor #607: Writer: Kieron Gillen. Artists: Billy Tan, Bat & Rich Elson.
We open this issue up with the Asgardians chilling(I guess Asgardians chill...)at a big old banquet dinner. While they're all eating and being merry, Fandral and Hogun alert the current king of Asgard, Balder, as to what transpired between the U-Foes and Volstagg at Soldier Field in Chi-Town. The two Asgardians explain to Balder that Volstagg, feeling terrible for the tragedy he was unwittingly a part of had surrendered himself over to the Oklahoma police force. While the Asgardians are discussing how to make matters right, Knut, who can apparently see the future(although he is more often wrong then right)rushes into the banquet hall and warns the Asgardians that Asgard will fall the following morning. Nobody buys Knut's ramblings, and Loki promises to take Knut back to him room, telling the other Asgardians that Knut probably simply had too much to drink. Knut begs Loki to believe him, and to Knut's surprise, Loki tells the old man that he does, after which time Loki kills Knut so he wouldn't be capable of warning the Asgardians to what was to come. The following morning, Loki manages to lock the watchman of Asgard, Heimdall, in some sort of magical nether-dimension, so he would be incapable of warning the Asgardians nor assisting when Osborn's forces attacked. With that, Osborn and company launch their attack, and the Asgardians, caught by surprise begin to mount a defense. Upon hearing about what was transpiring, Volstagg asks the cops who were watching over him to let him speak to the country to offer his forgiveness. The cops allow Volstagg to use a webcam to apologize, while casting doubt on Osborn's story that Volstagg acted alone. Volstagg then leaves the prison to help his fellow Asgardians, but he is met and attacked by Ragnarok(!!!).
This was actually the first Thor comic I've read in probably two years(I stopped reading after they turned Loki into a woman), and I have to say, I really enjoyed it! The story basically gave us some idea of what the Asgardians were going through while Osborn was rallying his forces against them. Plus the inclusion of Ragnarok at the end was VERY welcome. I've been waiting to see Ragnarok pop up again after he left the Initiative series, and it makes perfect sense for him to show up in this book. I know I'm definitely looking forward to a Thor/Ragnarok showdown. All in all, this comic was so good, I'm a little bit tempted to grab a few trades to see just what I've been missing.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Man, I'd forgotten just how awesome Loki could be!Thunderbolts #141: Writer: Jeff Parker. Artist: Miguel Sepulveda.
The T-Bolts get orders from Osborn to sneak into Asgard while Osborn and his forces occupy the Asgardians in order to steal a supremely powerful Asgardian artifact from Asgard's armory called the Spear of Odin. Osborn figures if he were to wield an Asgardian weapon against the Asgardians, he could possibly defeat all of Asgard. With that, the T-Bolts sneak into Asgard, make their way to the armory, fool around a little bit, and eventually discover the Spear. Before they can escape with the Spear, they are confronted by an Asgardian guard, who Mr. X actually manages to kill(!), before they run into the Mighty Avengers, ending this issue.
This was another comic I used to collect before I started reading DC books and had to cut back on my Marvel expenditures, and much like Thor, I was pleasantly surprised by this comic. Having not read it for quite some time, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was into the story from the get go, which means the writer did a good job. Once again, if I have some extra money laying around, I may try to grab a few T-Bolt trades to see what I've been missing.
Score: 8 out of 10.
Wow, I wonder who decided to start using Mr. X... What an utterly obscure character.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Superman vs. Thor
Yep, Superman took down Thor. I love the panel where Thor is charging head-on into Superman's heat vision. That is a thing of beauty. Besides that, this scene proves that George Perez is one hell of an artist, no?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Polish that hammer baby!
A word to the wise Thor, if a woman wants to "polish your hammer", don't complain! I know I wouldn't be complaining! Oh how I love all of the double entendres you can find in old comic books!
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