Tag Archive: comics


Pullbox #8 – 10/5/11

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October 14, 2011

With the first month of DC’s universal re-launch behind us, Marvel has decided to start re-launching some more characters of their own in response. Along with Hulk coming out later this month, we see this week the conclusion of the Schism story line in the X-Men to pave way for several new X-Men monthlies featuring two different teams. So, what series are worth continuing in the DC re-launch and what can Marvel do to draw your attention away from it? And there’s a surprisingly good indie that came out this week as well that deserves you attention so without further ado, check out the Pullbox below!

1) Marvel – X-Men: Schism #5 (of 5): As a giant Sentinel came bearing down onto Utopia, Wolverine and Cyclops’ 30-year rivalry has finally come to a head with the two of them duking it out like never before. Meanwhile, while they try to work out their differences with Wolverine stabbing Cyclops several times and Cyclops blasting off Wolverine’s face, it is the young X-Men and Hope’s new recruits who come in and save the day. With a clear moral divide now present on the island, Wolverine decides to leave for good and several various members of the X-Men decide to join him. You need to see this just to see who breaks rank with Cyclops and to set up what looks to be an awesome foreseeable future for the two new X-Men teams. The best part about this mini-series is that it shows everyone how a re-launch should really take place. Marvel has been infamous in the past for screwing them up, but this coupled with the Hulk’s re-launch, both look promising depending on how they come out of the gate with their new respective series. DC has been pretty awful as well including this new universal re-launch. Some characters stayed the same while others were completely re-written or retconned and just had me scratching my head in many cases. It should be interesting to see where the X-Men go from here, but if I were you, start here and get ready for one wild ride.

2) Marvel – Deadpool #44: Moving away from the almost somber tone that the dividing of the X-Men brings, we look to the greatest comic relief character in comics, Deadpool. Still in England, Deadpool is hot on the trail of his would be psychiatrist/stalker when he goes into her apartment and finds a frozen version of…himself. Leaving it for the time being, Deadpool , having grown a small conscience and realizing that it is his fault that his shrink is about to commit murder, for once actually saves someone he dislikes. But in the end, the doc bites the big one and that frozen version of Deadpool? It looks like it’s going to be EVIL DOPPELGANGER time next issue! Yee-haw! Sorry. I, too, begin developing extra voices in my head after reading too much Deadpool. Anyway, Deadpool is always hysterical to read and sees him in the most over-the-top, off-the-wall situations in comics. With everyone else saving the world, Deadpool can barely even save himself most of the time, relying on his healing factor even more than Wolverine does, and it is always entertaining. Again, this issue wraps up a story arc and sets up the next nicely so it would be a solid point to jump in at and the laughs you’ll get from it makes this an easy choice this week.

3) Image – Last of the Greats #1: Earth is under attack and after not heeding the warnings from beings of tremendous power, they must now go to the last one and beg for his help against an invading alien force. Simple in it’s description, but so deep in its writing and art, that this is the most pleasant shock I’ve had in a while from an indie comic. I actually had a chance to speak to the author of this book, Joshua Hale Fialkov and we both agreed that the thing that should first draw people in is the cover, especially this alternate version you see to the left. Beautiful in its simplicity while harking back to a classic in the Watchmen with the smiley face with a drop of blood on it, Last of the Greats could become something that could rival Spawn for Image’s top monthly comic in my opinion because this first issue was just that damn good. It was dark in a way you rarely see in comics and in just the first issue had enough twists and turns that it made your jaw drop and that’s saying something considering these are characters we have no history with. I’m thrilled to hear this is a monthly and that the next three issues are ready for print (again via Fialkov) because I think this is going to be something really special and cannot wait to pick up issue #2.

4) DC – Swamp Thing #2: I admit that my first experiences with Swamp Thing growing up was the movies and later a short-lived cartoon. I never read the comics and so I had a very limited knowledge of the character until later in life and thought that its return at the end of the Brightest Day was one of the worst things DC had done in recent history. But maybe it is that poor rebirth penned by Geoff Johns and my cheesy childhood memories that had limited my expectations for this comic and led to my pleasant surprise that it has been pretty good. We learn more of the history of the Swamp Thing and it almost sounded a bit like the history of Spawn to be honest, but revolving around plant life. Still, Alec Holland having to face this global threat, unknown forces working against him, and the tremendous pressure for him to take back up the mantle of Swamp Thing, makes him a surprisingly deep character only two issues in to this new series. Whether you’re like me and don’t have the history with Swamp Thing or read everything Len Wein and Alan Moore wrote for the character, I think you’d be pleased with how this is going and should definitely pick this up.

5) DC – Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #1 (of 5): With Batman: Arkham City right around the corner and since The Penguin is a main villain in the game, I particularly enjoyed this comic because it gives rare insight into the character of the Penguin himself if you are unfamiliar with Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot’s rough upbringing. The ruthlessness the Penguin portrays as we see his psychological profile through the brilliant art of the book is really something Batman fans old and new will enjoy and it is nice to see this classic villain is another character mainly untouched by DC’s universal re-launch. It’s also a good comic because it is clearly a set-up for a much larger story as no Penguin story would be complete without interference from the Dark Knight. What new scheme is the Penguin working on or what is he covering up that will draw the Caped Crusader’s interest? I think this is an easy pick-up for all the Batman fans out there as true Batman fans know how underrated the Penguin can be at times as a villain and this arc looks like it might help put the Penguin back into the spotlight for a time. Proof positive to never underestimate even the runts in a litter as rotten as that of the Cobblepots.

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EGM Review: Spider-Man: Edge of Time

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One hell of a paradox

Trying to capitalize on their success with last year’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Beenox brings us now Spider-Man: Edge of Time. A new villain in the year 2099, Walker Sloan, is at the forefront of time-travel and finally cracking the fourth dimension. Working for Alchemax, Sloan uses the corporation’s mass resources for his own purposes though and constructs a time machine that propels him back into the 1970s. With over 100 years of future knowledge, Sloan pilfers many of the late 20th century’s great ideas years ahead of their conception in order to re-write history and the Alchemax company into his own image. Now, Spider-Men from two ages must work together across space and time in order to put things back the way they once were and close up the wormhole that Sloan has opened up with his time hopping.

There are a lot of good things that Beenox has done with the Spider-Man franchise to date and some of these things continue in Edge of Time. Unfortunately, they get away from two things that I feel are critical to any Spider-Man game dating back to Spider-Man for the N64/PS1: lots of web-slinging and lots of villains. With the entire game taking place inside a single building, you do a decent amount of wall-crawling, but there is not as much room as you’d like to swing and something that has been a staple I feel of all the great Spidey games of the past 10 years has been a fair amount of web-slinging. This lack of web-slinging makes Edge of Time feel more like a generic brawler whose heroes happen to occasionally walk on walls than a genuine Spider-Man game.

Also, Spidey’s Rogues Gallery is one of the most diverse in comics and is only trumped probably by Batman over at DC. So to see Beenox go from over a dozen classic villains in Shattered Dimensions to only a handful of low appeal ones in Edge of Time really felt like a punch to the gut that knocked the wind out of this game. Mind you, without giving anything away, fans of that old-school Spider-Man from the N64/PS1 will likely draw parallels to a new villain who appears in Edge of Time, but besides that fleeting moment of recognition, none of the villains featured in this game got me as excited as those from Shattered Dimensions.

Still, there is a lot of good in this game and fans of Spider-Man will likely walk away pleased with the overall experience. The story, written by original Spider-Man 2099 creator Peter David, is one of the more compelling Spidey tales I’ve seen in a while and has so many twists and turns that you’ll find yourself willingly falling further down the wormhole just to find out what is going to happen next.

Another brilliant aspect of the game is how fresh each chapter feels compared to most other brawlers out there. Bouncing back and forth between Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 feels like a new experience each time as they level up because their fighting styles and special powers are so different from one another.

We also see a huge upgrade with the return of the free-falling levels with Spider-Man 2099 that were introduced in Shattered Dimensions. Although you won’t be fighting any villains this time in elevator shafts and various other vertical corridors, you’ll be dodging a lot more obstacles and a new targeting reticule has been introduced that lets you know exactly where you’ll land on your current path, which makes dodging all those obstacles that much easier. No villains though may make it feel like a mini-game for some, but for me it was one of the most fun mini-games then that I’ve played in a while and are the levels I would replay the most in both Shattered Dimensions and here again in Edge of Time.

Throw in hysterical mid-level dialogue between the two Spider-Men because of a psychic link they have through the wormhole and the relationship between the two becomes a fast growing bond that is enjoyable for the player on a lot of levels. The dialogue is also very strong because Spider-Man 2099 is played by Spider-Man: The Animated Series star and Spider-Man Noir in Shattered Dimensions, Christopher Daniel Barnes, and Amazing Spider-Man is played by Spectacular Spider-Man star and Ultimate Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions, Josh Keaton, which only makes it feel all the more authentic for diehard Spidey fans.

All in all, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is a good game with a couple of flaws that keep it from being elite. The game play would have been perfect if Beenox could have shoehorned in some web-slinging and some more villains, but everything else is up there with some of the better Spider-Man games of the past in terms of combat and plot. The game may also be a little short in the grand scheme of things, clocking in at just under 10 hours for me, but with a bevy of collectibles and costumes to unlock, there is enough reason to come back to this a couple more times if you’re a diehard Spidey fan and is worth checking out at least once for the more casual fan.

SUMMARY: A lack of web-slinging and villains knocks this worthy Spider-Man tale down a couple of pegs in terms of a game, but should appease many Spidey fans out there overall.

  • THE GOOD: Great plot, great action
  • THE BAD: Not enough villains or web-slinging
  • THE UGLY: My head exploding after trying to understand time-travel as explained by Spider-Man 2099

SCORE: 7.5

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EGM Review: X-Men: Destiny

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A new child of the atom

I think it’s every geek’s dream to develop superpowers in some way. And so like moths to flame we are drawn to games where we can not only play as our favorite heroes but can craft our own personal character in the universes we have come to enjoy through various forms of media. So as a diehard X-Men fan, I was particularly stoked about the release of ­­X-Men Destiny.

Based in the X-Men universe, this is an original story line inspired by, but having no direct tie-in to, the ongoing monthly comics from Marvel. You play as one of three new mutants attending a peace rally in San Francisco as the relationship between human and mutant grows more strained by the day. After an apparent attack on the crowd by Magneto causes panic to spread amongst the crowd, your powers manifest as you attempt to defend yourself. As you learn about your newfound abilities, you’ll uncover a conspiracy that will shake the mutant world to its very core, all the while you make and break alliances with both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

The anticipation I had for this game’s release was soon replaced by disappointment. The best way I could describe how X-Men Destiny was that it felt incomplete. The game is riddled with glitches, has an inconsistent checkpoint save system that sometimes places saves right on top of one another or places them at opposite ends of levels and makes you replay the whole thing over if you die, and the plot, quite simply, is just too damn short for a proper X-Men game, no matter how well written it may be. I beat the entire thing, on the hardest difficulty, in less than eight hours.

I was also displeased with the three character stories and power choices we were forced into. Instead of letting the player truly craft a character they could relate to, you are forced into one of three outlandish protagonists and follow their story as it unfolds. Since many action/adventure games actually do this, it’s not the concept that bothers me, its the fact that the game tries to sell itself as an RPG that gives you a lot of choice and this is simply not the case. And to make matters worse, the few choices you are given are so spread out throughout the game that you never reach your full potential until the very final level of the game. And again, this goes back to the length of the game. Just when you seem to start hitting your stride with whatever powers you were pigeonholed into, it ends.

Mind you, there are some positives to X-Men Destiny. The plot, written by X-Men: Legacy writer Mike Carey, is worthy of the X-Men universe and features cameos or the chance to fight alongside many of your favorite characters while taking on classic X-Men threats. Whether you choose to be good and trade quips with Iceman against the Purifiers or be bad and burn stuff to the ground with Pyro in a U-Men bunker, when the game has you working with your favorite characters on the missions, you actually feel, albeit briefly most of the time, like an X-Man.

The audio was also very good as the music helped set a mood worthy of an action game and the voice acting was superb. Nolan North, better known as Deadpool in most other X-Media, came on to do Cyclops and surprised me as the stoic and steadfast leader of the X-Men. Include other voice over royalty like Phil LaMarr as Gambit and Forge, Yuri Lowenthal as Nightcrawler, Jason Marsden as Iceman, Fred Tatasciore as Juggernaut, and Steve Blum returning to reprise Wolverine and the voice over work in this game is as good as any other cast of X-characters represented in animation or other games.

Still, as good as it felt to fight alongside some of my favorite comic book heroes in this game, there are just too many shortcomings to make X-Men Destiny as special as many of the characters it features. My recommendation is that the game is worth a rental, but is only worthy of purchase by the most diehard of X-Men fans who will play through it several times, despite the glitches, and try to collect the several dozen collectibles featured in the game.

SUMMARY: Short, glitch-riddled, and lacking the choices of a true RPG, X-Men Destiny falls short of the high expectations of most X-Men fans and should only be checked out by the most forgiving of souls.

  • THE GOOD: Fighting alongside many of your favorite heroes from the comics
  • THE BAD: A surprising lack of choice given to the player for an RPG
  • THE UGLY: A lack of polish shows up often considering how short the game is

SCORE: 6.0

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Pullbox #7 – 9/29/11

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Although a lot may have come out this week, much of it wasn’t nearly as strong or enjoyable as I would have preferred. And surprisingly, an indie easily topped my list of everything that came out this week. But once you see what it is, I’m sure most of you will understand. So without further ado, here is this week’s Pullbox!

1) IDW – Ghostbusters #1: Being nearly 20 years since they’ve had their own monthly, Ghostbusters #1 is the response to the huge popularity of inconsistently published one-shots and mini-series featuring the boys in gray by IDW. And now that it is here, this first issue does not disappoint with plenty of references that die-hard fans of the movies, cartoons, or video games will likely understand while still having them face off against some pretty pesky poltergeists. Opening with a dream sequence in which Ray Stantz is having a nightmare about previous adventures, which features a humorous cameo by the ghost of John Belushi that may or may not be hinting at a third movie as well as what could have been as he was originally supposed to play Peter Venkman before his unfortunate passing, this first issue hints at old problems still lurking out there in the shadows, while the Ghostbusters must concentrate on the here and now of other paranormal threats in and around Manhattan. All I can say is that if bustin’ makes you feel good, then this is a clear must have this week.

2) Marvel – New Avengers #16.1: With Fear Itself, Spider-Island, and several other large events going on in the Marvel universe, the long-term fallout of previous events like Norman Osborn’s reign as the world’s top cop have yet to be fully explored. Until now. After rotting on Ryker’s for some time, the backed-up legal system finally has gotten around to Norman Osborn’s trial for his crimes against humanity. Due to the nature of this case and the fact that Osborn’s H.A.M.M.E.R. organization still has cells out there, the Avengers have been called into escort Osborn to his day in court. But even with all the planning the Avengers had set up in terms of a security detail, the crafty Osborn still finds a way to elude them and sets up the Avengers for a world of trouble in the future. With long term ramifications for this Avengers team and a chance for Brian Michael Bendis to really let Spider-Man shine as Osborn is traditionally one of his villains, this looks to be the only book in the “.1” series that is more than just a one-shot adventure as it looks to set up at least the next few issues of the regular monthly series. Punctuated by great art from Neal Adams and any fan of this monthly up this point should pick up this “.1” as we look ahead to the future of the New Avengers.

3) Marvel – X-Men Legacy #256: As Rogue, Gambit, Frenzy, and Magneto try to rescue their comrades, Havoc, Polaris, and Rachel Summers from a space station that is in a deteriorating orbit and ready to crash into a star, their problems are confounded when Rogue loses the teleportation abilities she had temporarily acquired to get her team there. Although the middle of an arc, this is still a decent jumping off point because it reveals a new enemy and establishes new problems for the small band of X-Men it affects. This is also a great issue to pick up because finally, after being trapped on the outskirts of the galaxy, this arc, when resolved, will hopefully bring Havoc, Polaris, and Rachel Summers back into the fold of the main X-Men and end their galaxy gallivanting ways as these powerhouses have been ignored for too long after their war with Vulcan, Havoc and Cyclops’ third and forgotten brother. X-Men Legacy is just another book in the long line of X-books to have been released in past months that has me saying that anything involving the X-Men right now is probably the best thing going in comics right now.

4) DC – Teen Titans #1: Yet another book in DC’s “New 52”, Teen Titans #1 has one of the more interesting dynamics we’ve seen in the new universe as it has characters who have been largely unaffected by the re-launch, like Tim Drake, a.k.a. Red Robin, now teaming up with some of his best friends like Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Kid Flash, that all act like they don’t know each other and have never worked together since they’ve all been re-imagined. It is moments like these that make me really question titles that revolve around teams when doing a re-launch because it loses a lot of the original flavor and changes the characters in ways that are not normally for the better. On the other hand, this book also brings back the men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E., a Grant Morrison original who only made several appearances on New Earth before being mostly forgotten about. Their purpose is to destroy all that is considered “unnatural” in the world, including many super-heroes and villains, and they have taken aim now at the team that will become the DCU’s new Teen Titans. Can the re-imagining of these once lesser villains as a bigger threat keep this new Teen Titans in my pullbox for long? Or will my disdain for the re-invented Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Superboy, and others force me to give up on this comic? We’ll have to wait and see, but this first issue is worth picking up just incase.

5) DC – Green Lantern New Guardians #1: Unlike Teen Titans #1 and many of the other books in the DCU, Green Lantern New Guardians #1 spends a couple of pages re-telling Kyle Rayner’s story of how he became a Green Lantern, before throwing him right back into the action from where he left off when the re-launch happened. Patrolling Earth and the rest of Sector 2814, Kyle realizes something has gone terribly wrong when rings from other colors of the spectrum have left their original hosts and all flown to him. Now with the entire emotional spectrum looking to be represented by Kyle, other ringbearers from their respective spectrums are out for blood, as they don’t care why Kyle has those rings, only that they want them back. Although it takes place primarily on Earth, the comic still has that cosmos-exploring feel that makes the Green Lantern comics so exciting. With all the ringslinging that is due to take place in the coming months, I think this has been the most exciting Green Lantern comic so far in the “New 52” and is a must have for fans of the most junior member of Sector 2814’s Honor Lantern Guard.

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Pullbox Issue #6 – 9/21/11

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September 22, 2011

There were a lot of issues that I wanted to put on my list this week, but then after reading them I was disappointed and had to fall back onto some old standbys to get me through. So as much as I like to mix it up and try to give a variety of monthlies and one-shots, I ended up picking the next issue in some series’ I’ve already featured because even though I grabbed a couple dozen comics this week, including a lot of DC #1’s, these are my five best overall stories.

1) DC – Red Hood and the Outlaws #1: So this one came a little out of left field for me because I haven’t been the staunchest of Red Hood supporters, but from the get-go this comic sucks you in with a lot of action, throws in some spectacular art of Starfire coming out of the ocean in the middle, and then leaves you with a cliffhanger mystery ending. This comic screams pick me up and I got to love a writer and artist who both agree that the best part of their first issue together was the above panel because it was my favorite as well. My friends and I several years ago came to the conclusion that the three hottest chicks in comics were She-Hulk, Mystique, and Starfire (no particular order) and this comic shows that we were at least correct on that last one for sure.  Seriously though, this comic has such awesome potential and the three characters are such stark contrasts to each other, but play so well together that every page written by Scott Lobdell was a joyous read and combine that with the great art by Kenneth Rocafort and I’m sold on Red Hood and the Outlaws. Only question will be, can they keep it up?

2) DC – Nightwing #1: I think part of the reason why I disliked Dick Grayson so much as Batman was that it stepped out of character for him too much. He was trying to be Bruce Wayne and fill that shadow and just when he might have been starting to turn that corner, he goes back to being Nightwing. After reading this comic though by Kyle Higgins, I can say without a doubt that was where he should always have been. Dick is back to being the jovial, do things his way, screw up with a smile and Higgins’ writing pulls it off as if the character never missed a beat and there was never that year when he was Batman. I also like the prospect of new villains being introduced as it can help Dick to become his own character again much like when he first took the Nightwing mantle. Also loving the Batman Beyond-esque red logo to show that the character has changed somewhat from his time as Batman. Definitely a must pick up as in terms of the Bat-family, it feels like things are starting to get back to normal.

3) Marvel – Uncanny X-Men #543 (Fear Itself Tie-In) – I don’t think there was any way I could not feature this issue after reading it. Colossus has taken the power of Cyttorak away from the Juggernaut, with help from his sister Illyana, in an attempt to weaken the Juggernaut enough in the hopes that fighting magic with magic will be enough to save San Francisco. How Colossus describes his mindset once he is empowered by Cyttorak gives brand new insight into both his character as well as that of the Juggernaut’s after so many years and to see Colossus, the X-Men’s gentle giant some would say (or at least powerhouse), so easily bent to the will of Cyttorak and his hunger for chaos is a sight to behold. This also opens up so many new paths for Colossus and Juggernaut as characters once Fear Itself ends that we could really see the X-Men turned even more on their head with Schism wrapping up soon as well. Once again, this is proof positive why any comics featuring the X-Men are must reads if you’re a Marvel fan.

4) Marvel – Heroes for Hire #12 – I’m going to admit it was a toss-up between this and Daredevil this week as my second Marvel title. I’ll probably get to him next month, but I wanted to feature Heroes for Hire because I feel it’s a book that isn’t getting a lot of love, but is a lot of fun to read. You never know what heroes are going to show up and it offers Marvel a chance to feature several heroes who may have become buried in recent years due to all the major events going on. For example, this issue features Stingray and Silver Sable. Next month though could feature Spider-Man and Big Bertha or Punisher and Squirrel Girl for all we know. And the same goes for villains as it’s also already featured Fantastic Four classic villain Puppet Master in its opening arc. It’s this unpredictability combined with the solid writing to work all these characters in to make this a worthwhile read. And since next issue will be the Fear Itself tie-in, I feel this a good standalone issue to jump onto the series bandwagon if you haven’t already.

5) IDW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 – Again, there were some other indie comics that caught my eye this week including some Star Wars titles, but the best book I picked up hands down was the next issue in the new TMNT. We see Raph’s legendary friendship with Casey Jones begin to develop as well as via flashback see how Hob the Cat and the Turtles all mutated. The flashbacks interestingly enough also foreshadowed the appearance of the Foot Clan at some point down the line. We also learn that Raph is suffering from amnesia, and although we can speculate why from the flashbacks, not everything may be as it seems as the other turtles are continuing to look for their lost and wandering brother. I’m really loving the old school art and hard lines seen in most panels and seeing the turtles in their old school universal red bandanas still brings a smile to my face as most people from my generation think of them in the more widely recognized purple, blue, orange, and red that were used to differentiate them beyond just their weapons and fighting styles and you know this move to go old-school has Kevin Eastman written all over it. Any child of the 80s must pick up this book, period.

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Deadshot Revealed as Latest Arkham City Inmate

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World’s Finest Assassin comes to Arkham City

THE BUZZ: Yet another foe in Batman’s lengthy Rogues Gallery has been added to Arkham City. This time, the World’s Finest Assassin, Deadshot, has been revealed by Rocksteady Games and confirmed by GTTV’s Geoff Keighley as being the latest addition within the city’s walls. Interestingly enough though, Batman is not Deadshot’s initial target, but if he gets in the way of the assassin’s hits, I’m sure Batman will make the list soon enough. Expect screens and trailers of The Man Who Never Misses as they become available.

EGM’S TAKE: A surprising choice to say the least as Deadshot’s inconsistent personality over the years depending on who has written him has led him to have a small following at best compared to many of Batman’s more iconic villains. After hearing that a new villain was to be revealed, I personally had predicted the unveiling of the Mad Hatter, especially as Paul Dini’s 5-issue comic mini-series branching Arkham Asylum to Arkham City and published by DC Comics showed classic Hatter henchmen The Carpenter and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in its final pages within the confines of the city. Not to say they won’t be there in the end, but Deadshot was definitely a shock as a diehard Batman fan, especially with his new, toned down design in lieu of his typical body armor and helmet seen in the comics. The simplified look is being played off that Deadshot needed to sneak into Arkham City to complete his hits and so he posed as a more common inmate, but the cockiness of the character rarely puts him out of his traditional body armor for long so this haphazard hand-me-down was a bit disappointing to see, but those wrist cannons look like they can get the job done no matter how second hand they may be.

If curious to know more about Deadshot, check out my full profile of him over at the EGM Geek Now page by clicking here.

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Deadshot Profile

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The Man Who (Almost) Never Misses

Deadshot first appeared back in June of 1950 in Batman #59 and was created by original Batman creator Bob Kane along with fellow writer David Vern Reed and artist Lew Sayre Schwartz. This powerhouse classic creative team makes it even more surprising that Deadshot never really caught on with fans considering he is one of Batman’s oldest villains, coming to life years before many other Batman Rogues Gallery mainstays like Mr. Freeze (1959), Poison Ivy (1966), or Ra’s Al Ghul (1971).

As his origin goes, Deadshot, real name Floyd Lawton, was the younger of two brothers and grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Edward. So as Edward walked around being the hero, Floyd decided to be the villain and was a problem child from an early age because of it. That is until one day the boys’ mother asks the pair of them to kill their father. Edward accepts this request but Floyd refuses to kill his own father and so Edward locks him in the shed behind the house. Floyd breaks out and to save his father, picks up a rifle (that is so conveniently lying around) and climbs a tree. He looks in the window of the house and sees Edward ready to shoot his father. Floyd attempts to shoot the gun out of his brother’s hand but at the last moment the branch upon which Floyd was perched, snaps, and he accidentally shoots and kills his own brother. Floyd has lived, as he sees it, a “meaningless” lifestyle from then on.

Deadshot’s lack of popularity, aside from a rather weak origin story, more often comes from being inconsistently written over the years. Originally created as a “mirror image” style villain, Deadshot posed as another Gotham crime-fighter alongside Batman, but really only had machinations to replace Batman so then no one would get in his way and he could do what he wanted with the city. When the illusion of him being on the side of good fell away, Deadshot turned to the underworld and attempted to become the top dog of Gotham’s underbelly, but he never had the leadership qualities needed to keep that many criminals in line and was easily brought to justice by Batman and Commissioner Gordon.

It wasn’t until his next story line that he took on the mantle of a hired gun, which is what he is best known for, where he joined Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad and the character developed a bit of a conscience, taking several hits that he failed to carry out including another confrontation with Batman who infuriated Lawton by insinuating that he pulls his shots around him. Unable to concentrate after being psychoanalyzed, Batman again defeated Deadshot, but he rejoined Waller’s squad after she pulled some of her many government contact strings.

His next character shift comes after he leaves the Suicide Squad and suddenly he has a family and the loner type who had been crafted for years was shattered, although Deadshot was still infamously precise with his pistol. This would in turn continue to develop Deadshot’s conscience, which would drive the character up to his most recent incarnations in the Secret Six comics.

So if he can’t keep an audience, what keeps causing writers to bring him back? He was even the centerpiece in one of the six animated shorts that were part of the Gotham Knight DVD that took place between Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight films. Probably the fact that he is one of Batman’s most realistic villains and when things get too crazy, as will be the case in Arkham City, Deadshot can give fans a heavy dose of reality. Simply armed with a boat load of guns, expert marksmanship, some sweet armor that makes him almost Boba Fett like in appearance, and a fearless attitude when going out on a hit, Deadshot has just enough appeal to serve as filler between more major arcs with Batman’s more traditionally insane rogues, or to be part of a much larger and over-the-top ensemble, again, like in Arkham City.

It should be interesting to see just how big of a piece of the Arkham City puzzle The World’s Finest Assassin will be. Will he be overshadowed by the other villains? And who will play his voice? What other villains do you hope can be jammed into Arkham City and how do you feel in general about Deadshot? Let us know by commenting below!

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The Pullbox Issue #5 – 9/14/11

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DC’s re-launch continues while Marvel’s event based barrage tries to win over the hearts and minds of comic purchasers everywhere. Meanwhile, the Indies are putting a strong fight themselves with a barrage of both new titles starting this week and old stand-bys continuing on. So with all these new comics coming out, what should you pick up? Scroll down to find out!

1) Marvel – New Avengers #16 (Fear Itself Tie-In) – It seems like nowadays almost anyone can be an Avenger as a revolving door of characters have been coming through the Mansion over the past couple of years. So when you see Daredevil on the cover, you can just imagine that this is the moment when The Man Without Fear gets his chance at Avengers membership as Marvel continues his recent re-imagining. But what was interesting was how Brian Michael Bendis bookends this issue with more well-established Avengers talking about what it means to be an Avenger and basically sets up a chance for Daredevil to show off his moves so that even if you’re not as familiar with the character or just haven’t paid attention to him in a long time, you realize just what makes this guy so special and why he keeps coming back any chance Marvel gets. As Fear Itself begins to wind down, this is a great pick-up as we can almost start looking ahead to the Marvel universe after this major event.

2) Marvel – Fear Itself #6 (of 7) – I normally don’t like doing a pair of issues from the same event like this, but Marvel had a weak week in my opinion, even though I picked up several comics from them. Fear Itself though finally seems to really be hitting its stride in terms of impact on the Marvel universe. Unfortunately, it almost feels like its going to be rushed now and that things are going to come to a head much too quickly in next month’s final issue as some crossover arcs are starting to come to a close. Still, this was a pretty awesome comic as we saw Thor get his second wind, Captain America reach his breaking point, and Iron Man prepare for the ultimate leap of faith. Meanwhile, the Serpent is nearly back to one-hundred percent in terms of strength and if he reaches his full potential, it all might be too little, too late. This issue is the set up for what should be a very epic final issue in yet another Marvel event and it I can’t wait to see how this shakes up Asgard in the future.

3) DC – Batman and Robin #1 – Continuing with DC’s universal re-launch we go back to Gotham as another Batman series looks to introduce another new villain, one who isn’t very fond of Batman, Inc. and wants to send a very brutal message to Gotham’s Guardian. What’s great about this book though is that is solidifies Bruce Wayne’s return to the cowl as he now tries to not only be a crime-fighter, but a father to young Damian, his illegitimate son with Talia al Guhl, who has now almost by birthright inherited the mantle of Robin. It gives the dynamic between Batman and Robin a unique twist as Damian doesn’t have just the rebellious nature of Jason Todd or the athletics or Dick Grayson or the intelligence of Tim Drake, he has a bit of all of them and his rebelliousness is specifically tailored to being in his late adolescence and looking to rebel against a father who was never there for him, even arguing that when Dick wore the cowl he got more respect with Bruce responding that he still hasn’t earned it from him yet. Brilliant writing by Peter Tomasi makes the decision easy to keep this as a pick up for me every month.

4) DC – Green Lantern #1 – There were a lot of very good comics out there from DC this week so I decided to go with an old standby in Green Lantern. I was curious to see where they would go with Hal Jordan now being powerless and with Sinestro being a Green Lantern again. Although it was somewhat comical how Hal got around without his ring, almost as if it was more influenced by the movie version of Hal than the comic version we’ve seen for decades, but it actually worked and I liked that they moved away from it quickly as, even though it could be a deal with the devil, Sinestro came to Earth to offer Hal a chance at getting his ring back. The long term plans for Green Lantern have me curious, especially since we haven’t seen much of the rest of the honor guard in Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner, but at least it looks Hal won’t be powerless for long, which pleases me tremendously because I still think he is the first Green Lantern people think of when you think of ring slinging and it would only hurt the character in the long room to keep him de-powered. Also, the comic continued to portray the Guardians in a pretty unsavory light and it should be interesting if and when that aspect of their budding personalities comes to a head.

5) Image – PIGS #1 – As a bit of a history buff, I was curious when I heard about PIGS. It is the story about a fictional sleeper cell of Russians who were left in Cuba after The Bay of Pigs in the early 1960s. Now in the modern day, the family of that sleeper cell has been awakened and kidnapped the president of the United States. Now, the FBI and CIA must get to the root of all this. All I can is that for as much exposition as there was to set everything up, this was a brilliantly written first issue for this new series and I’m excited to see how further issues will develop this very realistic based story. The first thing I thought after reading this was that people who fans of Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Warriors from Marvel or the story behind Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops will more than likely enjoy taking a look at this comic from Nate Cosby and Ben McCool.

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Pullbox – Issue #4

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Summer may be almost over, but things are still hot in the comics world as DC’s New 52 is really coming out in full swing starting this week and so we’ll see a lot of “Number One’s” from them for the foreseeable future. Not to be outdone though, Marvel has some big issues of their own that came out and even the Indies are not standing idly by as there were a handful of really solid issues from Image, Dynamite, and IDW to be released as well, so there were some hard decisions that went into this week’s Top 5, which you can see below!

1) Marvel – New Avengers Annual #1: Some time ago, after the conclusion of the Civil War, former Avengers powerhouse Simon Williams, a.k.a. Wonder Man, warned the current Avengers roster that they needed to stop banding together as their actions were just as threatening to the universe as the threats they quelled. Feeling Simon was simply having an episode of sorts, they went about their business as usual as Simon fled to parts unknown to see if his warning would be heeded. It was not. Now in a story arc across annuals that is kicking off here, Simon has formed his own team of super-heroes and reformed villains and looks to bring it to the Avengers like never before. Honestly, the first thing that really gripped me about this comic was the art, especially the five double-spreads that start everything off since you just don’t see that in comics anymore. Very powerful stuff. And then when you hear Simon’s arguments, he sounds mad and delusion, much like a super-villain would, but at the same time makes awesome points, like the rational, prominent Marvel universe hero that he once was. Throw in amazing action sequences and this story arc is going to be something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

2) Marvel – Wolverine #15: We begin to see the aftermath of the Red Right Hand story arc that just concluded as Wolverine, unbeknownst to him, has just slaughtered several bastard children he never knew he sired after they were sent to kill him in the delicious irony that all of Wolverine’s children are out to kill him and he had to kill them instead. And he never even knew until it was too late so it was all in cold blood. Now, Wolverine is punishing himself by constantly climbing up a mountain, throwing himself off of it, healing, and repeating. A tremendous comic as you see Wolverine’s psyche truly break down at several moments and leaves us on this awesome cliffhanger that we just don’t know what Wolverine will do next or if he’ll be able to recover from this anytime soon as this series has amazingly continued to mentally dissect one of Marvel’s most popular heroes for the first time really all the way since issue one. A must pick up for all Wolverine fans.

3) DC – Swamp Thing #1: So far the DC New 52 has surprised me because a lot of comics I was expecting to disappoint me, wowed me, and others I thought that would impress me have been bleh at best. Swamp Thing #1 falls into the former as cameos by some of DC’s biggest superheroes highlight the internal struggle between the newly reborn Dr. Alec Holland and how he must try to cope with the actions he did while he was in the form of the Swamp Thing, all the while trying to avoid becoming a creature of the green once more. Much like the sprouting of a seed, the comic is defined by a lot of brown, bland tones in its first few pages, but as the comic progresses and more plantlife begins to be prominently featured, brilliants shades of green, purple, blue, and other bright colors pepper the pages telling a story as much through the subtly of the art as the word bubbles in each panel. With some interesting super-natural threats looming on the horizon, it should be interesting to see how nature’s greatest defender will evolve in future issues.

4) DC – Batman: Detective Comics #1: A comic book powerhouse for over 70 years, seeing Detective Comics reset to number one may have been the hardest for me to take as it typically featured many of my favorite Batman stories. Needing to pick it up, I was not surprised to see Bruce Wayne don the cowl once more as it was alluded to in the closing issues of what will likely be known as the first volume of Batman related comics. Batman is back to his old tricks of skipping dates, having Commissioner Gordon as his only friend in the police force, and chasing down the Joker, Detective Comics #1 does a great job of both giving you everything that makes a Batman comic great, which in and of itself is almost like paying homage to what came before it, and setting up a new villain to work with Joker (at least in this particular arc), continuing a theme started in the last run of expanding Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Dark, twisted, and seemingly going back to its roots, Detective Comics #1 is a solid way for Batman to kick-off the new 52.

5) Dynamite – Kato #12: If you’ve been following the new string of Green Hornet comics then you know that basically this is a new generation of Green Hornet with the original Kato’s daughter taking over and helping out the original Green Hornet’s son live up to the mantle of their crime fighting dads. This title though centers more around Kato and the enemies that she and the Green Hornet have quickly acquired. Although this is the middle issue of an arc, I chose it as my Indie pick of the week because a lot of the comic has Kato fighting for her life in a video game. Meant to tax her brain to the point where she becomes brain dead in the classic, the villain taunts way too much kind of way, Kato is able to overcome the machine’s programming and break out of the spell. Kato even admits to being an avid gamer and when you throw that in with the very provocative cover (those are buttons by the way) and well, what can I say? Hot Asian girl that likes to play video games. Me likey. And you’ll probably be surprised by how solidly written this comic is, too, so it’s definitely worth a look if you’ve got a few extra bucks.

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The Pullbox – 9/6/11

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment
September 13, 2011

Originally Published: September 6, 2011, on EGMNOW.Com

Summer may be almost over, but things are still hot in the comics world as DC’s New 52 is really coming out in full swing starting this week and so we’ll see a lot of “Number One’s” from them for the foreseeable future. Not to be outdone though, Marvel has some big issues of their own that came out and even the Indies are not standing idly by as there were a handful of really solid issues from Image, Dynamite, and IDW to be released as well, so there were some hard decisions that went into this week’s Top 5, which you can see below!

1) Marvel – New Avengers Annual #1: Some time ago, after the conclusion of the Civil War, former Avengers powerhouse Simon Williams, a.k.a. Wonder Man, warned the current Avengers roster that they needed to stop banding together as their actions were just as threatening to the universe as the threats they quelled. Feeling Simon was simply having an episode of sorts, they went about their business as usual as Simon fled to parts unknown to see if his warning would be heeded. It was not. Now in a story arc across annuals that is kicking off here, Simon has formed his own team of super-heroes and reformed villains and looks to bring it to the Avengers like never before. Honestly, the first thing that really gripped me about this comic was the art, especially the five double-spreads that start everything off since you just don’t see that in comics anymore. Very powerful stuff. And then when you hear Simon’s arguments, he sounds mad and delusion, much like a super-villain would, but at the same time makes awesome points, like the rational, prominent Marvel universe hero that he once was. Throw in amazing action sequences and this story arc is going to be something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

2) Marvel – Wolverine #15: We begin to see the aftermath of the Red Right Hand story arc that just concluded as Wolverine, unbeknownst to him, has just slaughtered several bastard children he never knew he sired after they were sent to kill him in the delicious irony that all of Wolverine’s children are out to kill him and he had to kill them instead. And he never even knew until it was too late so it was all in cold blood. Now, Wolverine is punishing himself by constantly climbing up a mountain, throwing himself off of it, healing, and repeating. A tremendous comic as you see Wolverine’s psyche truly break down at several moments and leaves us on this awesome cliffhanger that we just don’t know what Wolverine will do next or if he’ll be able to recover from this anytime soon as this series has amazingly continued to mentally dissect one of Marvel’s most popular heroes for the first time really all the way since issue one. A must pick up for all Wolverine fans.

3) DC – Swamp Thing #1: So far the DC New 52 has surprised me because a lot of comics I was expecting to disappoint me, wowed me, and others I thought that would impress me have been bleh at best. Swamp Thing #1 falls into the former as cameos by some of DC’s biggest superheroes highlight the internal struggle between the newly reborn Dr. Alec Holland and how he must try to cope with the actions he did while he was in the form of the Swamp Thing, all the while trying to avoid becoming a creature of the green once more. Much like the sprouting of a seed, the comic is defined by a lot of brown, bland tones in its first few pages, but as the comic progresses and more plantlife begins to be prominently featured, brilliants shades of green, purple, blue, and other bright colors pepper the pages telling a story as much through the subtly of the art as the word bubbles in each panel. With some interesting super-natural threats looming on the horizon, it should be interesting to see how nature’s greatest defender will evolve in future issues.

4) DC – Batman: Detective Comics #1: A comic book powerhouse for over 70 years, seeing Detective Comics reset to number one may have been the hardest for me to take as it typically featured many of my favorite Batman stories. Needing to pick it up, I was not surprised to see Bruce Wayne don the cowl once more as it was alluded to in the closing issues of what will likely be known as the first volume of Batman related comics. Batman is back to his old tricks of skipping dates, having Commissioner Gordon as his only friend in the police force, and chasing down the Joker, Detective Comics #1 does a great job of both giving you everything that makes a Batman comic great, which in and of itself is almost like paying homage to what came before it, and setting up a new villain to work with Joker (at least in this particular arc), continuing a theme started in the last run of expanding Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Dark, twisted, and seemingly going back to its roots, Detective Comics #1 is a solid way for Batman to kick-off the new 52.

5) Dynamite – Kato #12: If you’ve been following the new string of Green Hornet comics then you know that basically this is a new generation of Green Hornet with the original Kato’s daughter taking over and helping out the original Green Hornet’s son live up to the mantle of their crime fighting dads. This title though centers more around Kato and the enemies that she and the Green Hornet have quickly acquired. Although this is the middle issue of an arc, I chose it as my Indie pick of the week because a lot of the comic has Kato fighting for her life in a video game. Meant to tax her brain to the point where she becomes brain dead in the classic, the villain taunts way too much kind of way, Kato is able to overcome the machine’s programming and break out of the spell. Kato even admits to being an avid gamer and when you throw that in with the very provocative cover (those are buttons by the way) and well, what can I say? Hot Asian girl that likes to play video games. Me likey. And you’ll probably be surprised by how solidly written this comic is, too, so it’s definitely worth a look if you’ve got a few extra bucks.

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