Month: November 2015

This is How The X-Men Should Be!!

Posted on by GenoshaGirl85

Hello Darlings!!

It’s time to keep talking about some of the issues I’ve read recently. I’m excited! Are you?

But, before we begin, I want to talk about the blog itself. I was looking back through my posts the other day, and I realized that I’ve been spending a lot of time discussing the details of the individual issues, but less and less time talking about my impressions, the characterizations, powers, politics, etc. that I originally wanted to talk about. This is going to change. I want to get back to discussing these things. So, posts may change a bit going forward. For a little while longer, I’m only reading two titles, so I can continue giving summaries of the stories as well as my impressions and such. But once I add even one more monthly title, it’s going to be too much. So I’m going to have to streamline the format a bit. (Or quit my job to blog full time, which isn’t an option! Sorry my loves!)

And on that note, lets jump into X-Men #32 & 33. If I were Omnibus2reading X-Men in the pretty, pretty Omnibuses I wanted to read them in, this is where I would be finished with The X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 and starting The X-Men Omnibus Vol. 2. Isn’t it pretty? One day it will be mine!! But, for now, my Marvel Unlimited subscription is certainly paying for itself! Now I just need to remember to keep my damn Kindle charged so I always have my digital comics on me! I tend to carry my trades around in my bag at all times, but a lot of the time I can only read one issue, and then it’s time to switch to digital for X-Men and I don’t have a way to read them. I’ve tried reading them on my iPhone, but it’s WAY too small. I just can’t do it!xmen32

Anyway, enough about my inability to keep my electronics organized and charged! Lets move on to the real reason we’re all here: Mutants!! Or, in this case, SOME mutants and some black-magic enhanced wrecking balls of fury. That’s right my dears, JUGGERNAUT IS BACK!!!!

So, apparently the last time they fought Jugs, he fell into a comatose state. When the doctors couldn’t revive him, the police agreed to place him in Charles custody! (I know, right?! I think there was just a bit of mental persuasion on Chucks’ part if you know what I mean!) The Professor has been keeping his comatose step-brother locked up in the school’s basement for months and the X-Men knew nothing about it! How messed up is that?!? Guys, this is the shit I’m talking about when I say that Charles Xavier is totally a dick and a manipulator, and all the other things I’ll say about him as we go.

The Prof. has built a machine to try and remove the Juggernaut powers from Cain Marko and save him. But, of course, it backfires and Juggie wakes up even more powerful than before, AND with Chuck’s telepathy powers too! He lies in wait at the mansion while the kiddos are out and then defeats them when they return. He is just about to kill them all when he’s contacted telepathically by the mysterious Factor Three who convince him to leave the X-Men and join them in Europe to help them take over the world. The X-Men wake up, move the still unconscious Xavier to bed, and then Jean uses the “amplifier” to delve into his mind to find out what happened.

It’s here we learn the back story of the Ruby of Cyttork that turned Cain into Juggernaut. It had a guardian that was defeated and sent to the universe within the Ruby by the Ancient One. It’s also here that we get to see the kids work as the refined, disciplined super-hero team that they are for the first time. Without the Prof there, Cyclops fills in the leadership role seamlessly, and the kids work wonderfully together. This is really the first time we get to see that, perhaps, it’s their reliance on the Professor, and his refusal to ever tell them EVERYTHING that has been holding them all back. I love seeing them like this. And I love seeing Scott fall so naturally into being a leader and a decision-maker. He’s a master strategist on the battle-field (a fact that will be highlighted more in the future) and it’s nice to see this mastery start to take shape. I’m beginning to see bits of the character I fell in love with in the ’90’s.

Sorry, got a little side-tracked there by my fictional, mutant boyfriend. LOL. Basically, the X-Men recalibrate Cerebro to find the Ancient One. Dr. Strange (!!!!) shows up and tells them that two of them must go into the Ruby’s universe and bring back the “unearthly” version of the Ruby. Cyke chooses Jean to go with him, and the three boys head off to try to delay Juggie. Ok, I know I already went off about Scott once, but guys, I can’t even. The thoughts going on in both his and Jean’s head when he chooses her to come with him are ADORABLE. And also, Jean has never been written as more capable and sure of her powers as she is here. She takes initiative getting them to the cave, getting them past the soldiers patrolling near it, etc. She defeats the Outcast, and they get the ruby together, as an equal team. It’s wonderful and sweet, and I can’t handle the cavities it’s giving me!!

But, back to the action. They manage to get the Ruby, and then meet up with the rest of the team. The other guys are holding Juggie off at the airport, and it’s not looking good. Marvel Girl and Cyke show up and trick Jugs into holding the unearthly prototype of the ruby. It sucks him into the ruby universe and saves the day. But, when the kids return to the school, Xavier is gone!! He’s been kidnapped! It seems Factor Three was merely using Jugs as a decoy to draw the X-Men from the mansion, so they could kidnap the unconscious professor.

So, I know I went into a lot of detail about this arc, and already talked a lot about Jean and Scott, but there were a few other things I wanted to talk about. First, Bobby’s 18 now! They started the arc at the coffee shop Bobby and Hank frequent in the Village celebrating. Bobby and Hank’s girlfriends where there, and Scott and Jean. Warren shows up with Candy! It’s awesome to see him with someone else, and Scott and Jean able to bumble their way along towards their eventual relationship. They dance, and I nearly die of happiness!! And, after the party, our lovebirds walk home together, and have a talk about Scott’s commitment issues and fear of his eyes. It’s the first time we get to see these two (or ANY of the X-Men for that matter) open up to one another about their fears and dreams. They all keep everything so locked up most of the time, so it was really refreshing to see Scott open up. It’s how real teenagers/twenty-somethings act with their friends and teammates.

All in all, this was my favorite arc thus far. This is what I love about the X-Men. Scott and Jean together (even if they’re still not sure about it all)and equals, the team working together and Cyke leading well, the Professor being his normal shady self and it biting him in the ass, a huge, over-zealous bad guy with a grudge. It’s nearly perfection! So, on that happy note, I’m going to end this here, and we’ll pick up with Avengers in the next post!

For now, my loves, keep searching…

 

Why Stan Lee is Basically George Lucas!

Posted on by GenoshaGirl85

I’m back! With most of 1967 finished now! I’m really starting to get into the reading more now, and am enjoying some of the stories more then before.  I really think I just needed to get acclimated to the ’60’s style of writing. Or,  I just needed to get to a point that Roy Thomas was writing everything. LOL.

In all honesty, I think that has a lot to do with my increased enjoyment. My husband, C, put it perfectly when I was trying to explain why I prefer Thomas’s writing to Stan Lee’s. He said that Stan Lee is a lot like George Lucas. He’s AMAZING at world-building, big idea stuff. But when it comes to the details and the human relationships, he’s better when he has help. I think C nailed it. Stan and Jack Kirby created an amazing world with amazing characters within the Marvel 616. But when it comes to writing the day-to-day stories of those characters, Stan is better as an editor and not the writer.

With that said, let’s talk Avengers. I’ve now read through Avengers 42, but we’re only going to talk about Avengers #39 & 40 today. Like I said earlier, I’ve read most of the way through 1967, and I think we need to break it up over multiple posts! So…here we go!

avengers39In issue 39, the Avengers are captured by the Mad Thinker and his Triumvirate of Terror (Hammerhead, Pile Driver, and Thunder Boot). Cap is still gone, and everyone thinks Black Widow is a traitor. (We knows she’s not, obvi! But poor Hawkeye isn’t too sure.) Anyway, Mad Thinker succeeds in capturing all the Avengers and is holding them prisoner in Avengers Mansion. Just when it looks like he’s won, Hercules returns from a night on the town and saves the day. Guys, I love Hercules. He’s so powerful, and so full of himself. It’s like having Thor around, but with more self-importance. Where 60’s Thor can sometimes pull his punches literally and figuratively when dealing with mortals, Herc is always Herc. He goes full boar always, demolishing anything in his way (including Goliath’s training equipment) and constantly complaining that he’s not being challenged by the mortals and super-villains he fights. It’s what I imagine hanging out with Kayne West is like. Dude is totally in love with himself, but he’s so good, you kind of can’t fault him.

Another thing I love is the attention to continuity and the timelines paid in the early years. Right now, in Tales of Suspense, Cap is off chasing a lead that may take him to Bucky, and is undercover pretending to work with Red Skull. So, he’s missing from the Avenger’s adventures and they make mention of his exploits. It’s nice. It seems that so often with current comics, the timelines don’t add up, or characters are everywhere at once when stories are supposed to be taking place simultaneously. Wolverine, for example, spent years on the X-Men or Uncanny X-Force, but was also an Avenger, and had a least one current continuity solo series going on. No way he’s in all those places at once. It gets confusing…

I know it’s harder to do now that there are so many monthly on-goings. I get it. But it’s refreshing to read this older stuff and have the characters only on one adventure at a time. It grounds the 616 in a bit more reality. And that’s the end of my little rant.

xmen31Let’s talk about X-Men 31, shall we? Here, the X-Men battle Cobalt Man, and we get to see a bit more of our teenagers’ lives outside of their costumes. The Professor tries to play match-maker with Scott and Jean (You go, Chuck!!) by asking Scott to take some library books back to Jean at school on the boy’s night off. Warren offers to drive him (because, you know, dumb love triangle. GRR). Bobby and Hank head to the Village to see their girlfriends.

Meanwhile, Jean is on a date of sorts with Ted. They’ve met up with his older brother Ralph. Ralph is a scientist who is trying to create armor like Iron Man’s to give to the government. The three of them meet up with Scott and Warren for dinner, and then they go to Ralph’s labs. Warren doesn’t go, clearly seeing how into each other Scott and Jean are, and decides to go out on his own. (*insert happy dance here*)

While at the labs, Ralph, who has a concussion, tries on his suit for Ted and he loses it a bit. He goes crazy, and decides to go after Iron Man. Scott and Jean rush into action, and the Prof telepathically sends the other three to help them. They manage to stop Ralph before his suit blows up from radiation, and he comes to with no memory of what happened after he hit his head. But, in the last panel, Ted hints to Marvel Girl that he may know she’s really Jean Grey!

We’ll see how that revelation plays out going forward, especially if Ted begins to see Scott as a threat for Jean’s affections (which he should!) It’s a lot of fun to see Cyke and Marvel Girl fight together. We get to see the beginning of the spark these two grow to have on the battle field. They become a seamless pair in many ways, and this seems like a nice beginning. It’s also about time that Warren moved on from Jean, and it’s nice to see that happening. He meets up with his old friend Candy in this issue, and they seem to hit it off right away.

So, with that thought reassuring my Cyclops-loving heart, let’s head back over to NYC and Avengers Mansion, shall we? Avengers 40!  Cap is still gone, “working” with Red Skull. Widow is still undercover in the “Far avengers40East”. Wanda is bed-ridden. (The Mad Thinker caused her hex power to kind of back-fire on her last issue, and it’s messed her up a bit.) The Avengers receive a message from Cap that they need to try to go find the Cosmic Cube (for those who’ve seen the Marvel movies, this is what they call the Tesseract in the MCU). They head off towards the coordinates Cap left them, but meanwhile, Namor is headed there too. It seems there have been submarines in his neck of the ocean, and he’s not happy about it. He’s headed to the naval base to destroy all the subs. When the Avengers (plus Hercules) arrive, they battle Namor thinking he’s after the cube as well. Namor manages to get his hands on the cube, and is winning the battle, when his pride kicks in. He wants to fight Hercules on even terms to prove he’s better. During the battle, the Wasp manages to get him to drop the Cosmic Cube, but it falls into a crack in the ocean floor before anyone can get it. It lands near the Earth’s core, where it is discovered by Mole Man, who just as quickly tosses it away, not realizing what it is!!

This was a fun issue. I always love seeing Namor, and it’s fun to watch he and Hercules battle. They’re basically evenly matched strength-wise, and Namor’s ego could give Herc’s a run for it’s money. This is also the last issue in this trade, so we’ll be moving on next post!

X-Men #32 is the beginning of a two-issue arc, so we’ll talk about that next time. Just know, I’m about to get really excited about the return of a certain giant bad guy!

So, until next time, my lovelies…keep searching!