Tag Archive: marvel


X-Men: First Class Character Profile: Sebastian Shaw

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May 25, 2011

Originally Published: May 25, 2011, on Comicvine.com

We are all very aware that there are clearly going to be many differences between the X-Men: First Class movie and the comics it is based off of. Another story arc that we are sure to see some loose liberties taken with in the movie will be the Hellfire Club and its leader, Sebastian Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon.

Sebastian Shaw first appeared in January 1980 in X-Men #129 as the Black King of the now infamous Hellfire Club. A shrewd businessman and strategist, Shaw was a self-made billionaire by age 40. This rapid influx of wealth caught the attention of Ned Buckman, the head of the New York branch of the Hellfire Club, which at the time had a very anti-mutant agenda unbeknownst to Shaw.

Shaw was invited into the club’s Inner Circle as the Black Bishop. But when Shaw and his lover came under attack for being mutants, his lover being killed, Shaw used Emma Frost to coerce Buckman into killing himself and all other members of the club’s Inner Circle instead. This left a power vacuum that Shaw quickly plugged as he announced himself the new Black King and began his pro-mutant machinations for the club and his ultimate goal of world domination.

Shaw’s first appearance in the comics would help set up one of the most dramatic story arcs in X-Men history as it would start The Dark Phoenix Saga and also marked the first appearance of two other very popular characters, Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost. Emma was Shaw’s right hand lady with her psychic abilities and Shaw had sent Emma to distract the X-Men and test their limits when they went to investigate the manifestations of Kitty’s powers. This was all to allow original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants member, Jason Wyngarde, the original Mastermind, a clearer chance to manipulate Jean Grey’s mind while the X-Men were distracted and split up (Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, and Professor X went to see Kitty while Cyclops, Jean, and Nightcrawler went looking for Dazzler in New York) and begin preparing her to become Shaw’s Black Queen for his vision of the Hellfire Club. Of course, this would backfire, drive Jean mad, and unleash the Dark Phoenix, but that’s another story for another time.

Aside from being a brilliant tactician, Shaw also possesses a mutant power similar to that of Bishop’s in that he can absorb kinetic energy and re-metabolize it. Shaw cannot redirect the energy into blasts of his own like Bishop, but like Bishop he can use it to increase his strength, speed, stamina, and invulnerability and often takes a pummeling early in a fight from his foes in order to build up his reserves and dish out punishment on a more personal level with his fists later on.

Now we haven’t seen much of Shaw in trailers or whatnot except that members of his Hellfire Club usually accompany him or there is one shot where he is talking to Angel Salvadore. Since I highly doubt we’ll see anything in regards to Dark Phoenix, I think it would make sense for Shaw and his Hellfire Club to have their own agenda for the mutant race and this is what puts them in conflict with the X-Men and maybe even gives Magneto the inspiration to form the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants later on. And this would at least stay true to Shaw as a character who plans for world domination through force and his vast fortune.

Also, even though Kevin Bacon is not nearly as imposing a physical force as Shaw comes across as in the comics, I’d at least like to see him get his hands dirty and slug it out with some of First Class’s heavy hitters like Beast, Havok, and maybe even Darwin. You could very easily have him absorb one of Havok’s blasts and go to town on some of the X-Men who use more hand-to-hand techniques when fighting their foes. No matter what though, this classic X-Men villain is sure to give these First Class recruits a run for their money.

So what do you guys think? Just how far will Shaw and the Hellfire Club go in the movie? Will Shaw get his hands dirty when push comes to shove or will he remain more simply as the brilliant tactician behind this odd roster of the Inner Circle of Emma, Riptide, and Azazel? Let us know what you think with comments below!

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X-Men: First Class Character Profile: Darwin

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May 23, 2011

Originally Published: May 23, 2011, on Comicvine.com

I readily admit that I am one of the people that are waving their torch and pitchfork at the X-Men: First Class movie for its very liberal changes to what many of us see as the comic canon. I understand this is supposed to be a different universe and I know that movies are going to have to make changes to try to appeal to a larger audience, but mostly everything I’ve seen so far has me grinding my teeth when I go to bed at night. One change that I can live with though is the addition of Darwin to this team.

What makes Darwin compelling is his unique power in that it is not done by conscious thought, but instead as a “Reactive evolution or adaptation”. If Darwin is falling from a tremendous height, his body may turn to rubber to avoid injury, or if found in deep space, he may no longer need oxygen to breathe. But, with no way to control his power, Darwin often finds himself at the whim of his body and does not always evolve abilities that make him terribly useful to the team as he just finds a way to survive. The most notable example of this came up when the Hulk attacked the Xavier Institute in World War Hulk. When Darwin went to attack the Hulk, Darwin developed the ability to siphon off gamma energy. When the Hulk started producing more energy than even Darwin could handle though, his body felt the best defense would be to teleport him away from the battle.

Darwin was created by Ed Brubaker and Pete Woods and introduced back in 2006’s six-issue Deadly Genesis mini-series that explained how some of the original X-Men’s memories of their fateful battle with Krakoa, a living island that feeds on mutant energies and trapped the original X-Men when they went to investigate it, were falsely planted by Professor Xavier and that in reality a second smaller ground of X-Men were used by Professor X to save the originals. Unfortunately, in the ensuing battle against Krakoa, of the four new X-Men Xavier sent, only Vulcan, the younger brother of Cyclops and Havok, and Darwin were able to survive. Darwin showed some of the lengths his powers would go to though by converting himself into pure energy that Vulcan absorbed and carried with him for years until Rachel Summers finally freed him. And due to this strong link to the original X-Men, I can live with him being a part of this origins movie.

The big question though is how big a role will he play in the movie. How will he be introduced to the team? It’s not like we’re going to see him take on Krakoa after all. In the comics, he is originally found by scientists who experimented on him before being rescued by Moira MacTaggert and brought into the fold to join the “Missing X-Men”, so will it be something as simple as being found by a Cerebro scan or will there actually be some flesh to his back story in the movie?

Also, I spent much of my Sunday morning digging for the single still you see at the beginning of this article that shows Darwin, played by Edi Gathegi, dunking his head in a fish tank in order to grow gills and demonstrate his power. With many of the commercials and trailers out there, we’ve never seen Darwin for more than a few seconds total between all of them and he isn’t even on the movie poster! Is this because his power is too unpredictable and therefore Xavier keeps him behind most of the time until he can control it? Or is it that maybe a highlight of the movie will actually be seeing Darwin in action and Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox actually don’t want to giveaway ALL the surprises of the movie, including how Darwin may solve some of the problems put before him?

Well, I know Darwin is one character I’m going to be looking to keep on eye out for, but what do you folks think? How much of Darwin will we actually see in the X-Men: First Class movie? How effective will his powers be as a part of the team? What weird adaptations might we look forward to? Let us know what you think with comments below!

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Astonishing X-Men #37 Review

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May 14, 2011

Originally Published: May 11, 2011, on Comicvine.com

Armor continues to mourn her personal losses while Cyclops, Wolverine, and Emma Frost look for a way to calm down Fin Fang Foom before their recent trip to Japan becomes too much more like a bad Godzilla movie.

The Good

There is a lot of action in this comic as Cyclops, Wolverine, and Emma try desperately to figure out how to take down Fin Fang Foom and figure out why exactly he is attacking Tokyo right then and there.

It was also very good to see some strong, much needed, character development for Armor, which is sprinkled in at solid moments to break up the chaos with the other X-Men. In fact, it was great to see Armor at all as I think this is a character that needs to be more heavily featured in the other X-Men monthlies.

The Bad

The worst part about this comic is trying to remember what happened in the last issue since the release of this has been so sporadic in the past two years. Never have I read a comic that needed its “Previously In” page more than this.

I also don’t like the fact that Mentallo is the bad guy here pulling off this crazy extortion plot against Roxxon. It just doesn’t seem to fit with the threats the X-Men are always facing in their other monthlies and unless he is working for someone bigger and badder behind the scenes, which would be more his M.O., it just doesn’t work for me.

The final part about this comic that irked me the wrong way was how it portrayed Wolverine. Maybe its because he’s in Japan or maybe he can relate to something being mind-controller, but normally he would not show as much concern as he did for something like Fin Fang Foom like he did once he realized someone else was pulling the strings.

The Verdict

There was some solid action going on in this issue along with some much needed character development for Armor, which I really enjoyed. I have a problem though with Mentallo getting this much attention and Wolverine acting out of character a bit.

In the end, if you weren’t picking up Astonishing X-Men before or can’t remember what happened in the last issue because of such a long delay between releases, then you are probably better for it. Unless you’re a diehard fan of this series, you can give it a pass this go around until it starts being released regularly again.

2/5 Stars

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New Avengers #12 Review

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Originally Published: May 11, 2011, on Comicvine.com

Mockingbird continues to fight for her life in an operating room while a flashback of Nick Fury’s first Avengers in 1959 continues where they are in the process of hunting down the Red Skull.

The Good

The different art styles between Deodato and Chaykin really do a nice job of making a pointed difference between the two time periods this book takes place in, especially since this is the fourth issue in a row where they’ve been going back and forth with these flashbacks to Fury’s 1959 Avengers.

It was also great to see Hawkeye get mad again. When Hawkeye gets mad and he rushes headlong into a conflict, you tend to get some great action sequences and that has me looking forward to some issues down the road.

The Bad

The worst part about this issue is that we are now four issues in and we still haven’t the slightest idea what the point of these Nick Fury flashbacks are, especially since he doesn’t have anything to do right now with the current New Avengers.

On top of this, the flashbacks comprise most of the book, with only seven pages taking place in current times, two of those have Mockingbird on an emergency surgery table and Hawkeye vowing vengeance. At this point, if the Nick Fury flashbacks do not have some earth shattering reveal that saves Mockingbird when all is said and done, this could be the most drawn out waste of time way to kill a character and could be the most pointless story arc I’ve read in quite some time.

Then combine all this with the fact that we’ve seen this flashback story happen before a million times, just not with these characters. How many times has Captain America, Nick Fury, or some other patriot gone after the Red Skull for it simply to be a clone, a body double, or a robot? It’s not special now that Sabretooth has joined that crowd of not finding the real Skull.

The Verdict

I was really excited at first bouncing back and forth between flashbacks of Fury’s 1959 Avengers and the current New Avengers, especially when Mockingbird got shot. Lots of action coupled with a plot that was clearly laying the groundwork for something big for these characters. Four issues into this though and things have come to a grinding, mind-numbing halt and whatever originality we were hoping for seems to be getting thrown out the window.

At this point we’ve seen all the double crosses and triple crosses and the Red Skull Herrings and for it to drag on over four issues is becoming borderline tortuous and definitely tedious. If things don’t come to a head in the next issue with something unexpected, there is a good chance I’m kicking this from my pull box. Only pick up this issue of New Avengers if you have been reading it to this point, otherwise steer clear.

1.5/5 Stars

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From My Mom’s Basement – Vol. 2 Ep. 11 – God of Thunder

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May 10, 2011

Originally Published: May 10, 2011, on Momsbasement.org

I come to you once again with your weekly geek fix. This week I break out a Thor theme and review the Thor movie, the Thor: God of Thunder video game from SEGA, and Fear Itself #2 (of 7) from Marvel. My hot chick pick of the week is Kat Dennings, who plays Darcy in the Thor movie, and I have two songs this week: The 1966 Thor cartoon theme and the Marvel vs Capcom 3 Thor theme.

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Herc #2 Review

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May 5, 2011

Originally Published: May 4, 2011, on Comicvine.com

A mortal Hercules will have his hands full with the Hobgoblin and a pouch filled to the brim with pumpkin bombs. Can the Lion of Olympus and his enchanted arsenal take down the pilfered tech of this hooded horror?

The Good

Herc #2 features epic action from cover to cover. With the Hobgoblin pulling out new goodies from that pouch of his to hold Herc at bay, Herc needs to use his mind as much as his limited remaining might to overcome his foe while also protecting the damsel he accidentally put in distress at a Brooklyn construction site. Swords, arrows, and pumpkin bombs fly for more than a dozen pages before Herc gets the upper-hand.

Combine this with the Kingpin making his first in-person appearance of the series and you know that this is just the beginning of Herc’s non-Olympus related problems.

The Bad

The overall plot for this opening story arc that finds Herc in Brooklyn to find his followers and quash the Ares uprising progressed a little more slowly than I would have liked. Also, the end reveal of who Herc’s foe really is means that his Olympus related problems are separate from this business with the Kingpin, which will likely be put on hold for some issues, but that the action is just getting started and business is about to pick up!

The Verdict

A lot of great action coupled with a great villain reveal at the end of this issue has Herc shaping up to be one of the best new series to come out in a long time. I can’t wait for each new issue each month and because of the villains who have popped up here in just the first two issues allows me to forgive the plot for moving along a bit more slowly than you would expect at the launch of a new monthly.

If you haven’t picked up the first issue of this series, then go get it and then pick this up so you can join the rest of us as we wait with baited breath for the next action packed issue of Herc’s new adventures as the number one champion/bartender of Brooklyn.

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Avengers Academy #13 Review

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Originally Published: May 4, 2011, on Comicvine.com

After their epic throw down with Korvac, the Avengers Academy stress levels are at an all-time high. In order to try and calm things down and provide a sense of normalcy, Hank Pym and Tigra have invited some former members of the Initiative to show the members of the Academy a time they’ll never forget. Time to boogie: Avengers style!

The Good

This issue shows off a lot of characters we haven’t really seen or heard from since the closing of Camp Hammond after Norman Osborn’s takeover of the facility, including one of my favorites, Butterball. It was a good chance to remind us that these characters are still out there, maybe for some team-ups with the Academy kids in the future, and was fun to see them interact with the Avengers Academy members.

Couple this with the odd setting for a lot of character development and loose ends to be tied up in and this was definitely a change of pace compared to the first dozen issues of this high octane series.

The Bad

Unfortunately this change of pace insures really nothing happening action wise in this issue. This is plainly just a chance to reset where a lot of the characters are with their development before they are forced to tackle their next obstacle, which looks to be the Sinister Six.

This leaves most of the comic dragging between the handful of light bulbs that go off in the characters’ heads as they begin to pair off into couples and overcome some of the shortcomings that have been plaguing them in the first 12 issues of this series.

The Verdict

If you haven’t been reading Avengers Academy then this is a great place to jump into the series since it resets all the characters and where they at in their lives as we wait for the next story arc to jump off.

Unfortunately, this issue really doesn’t do much in terms of action and so if you have read the first dozen issues, then this comic will be very boring compared to what you’re used to and even cameos by Gravity, Firestar, and Butterball can’t save this issue as a whole.

If you haven’t been reading Avengers Academy, this issue would be a great time to jump into it, as we get ready for the return of the Sinister Six. If you have been reading it and your comic budget is tight this week, then don’t feel bad if you miss this issue since you’re not really missing anything you haven’t already seen in the first dozen issues and save up for next month’s issue.

2/5 Stars

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From My Mom’s Basement – Vol. 2 Ep. 10 – I’m Melvin

Filed under: From My Mom's Basement — 1 Comment
May 4, 2011

Originally Published: May 3, 2011, on Momsbasement.org

I come to you once again with your weekly geek fix. This week’s episode sees me announce a partnership with Momsbasement.org and review Secret Avengers #12 from Marvel Comics and Portal 2 from Valve. My hot chick pick of the week is Desiree Elyda Villalobos and this week’s theme is the end credit theme to Portal 1, Still Alive.

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X-Men #10 Review

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April 27, 2011

Originally Published: April 27, 2011, on Comicvine.com

The X-Men and Spider-Man wrap up their expedition in the sewers of New York City as they try to stop Dark Beast and his mad experiments on Dr. Curt Connors and the unsuspecting citizens of Manhattan.

The Good

Any story arc with Dark Beast in it is a win for me because he poses a threat on so many levels to the current X-Men. This is also an ideal time to have him re-emerge in the X-Men’s lives since we know he will be a major player in future X-Force issues, even though we don’t know the details on that as of yet.

The banter back and forth between Emma Frost and Spider-Man was also very well written as they are burdened with the task of rescuing the rest of the X-Men after they fall under the spell of Dark Beast’s lizard transformation device.

The Bad

This arc started off so strongly, with a brief spike at the Dark Beast reveal, but has been on a downward slide ever since with this final issue hitting rock bottom. Most of the issue is Emma and Spidey crawling through the sewers trying to regroup and escape from the barely coherent Lizard X-Men. Although the banter was entertaining, it just felt like filler before we got to what was a short and quick resolution with Emma freeing the original Lizard, Curt Connors.

Due to the cramped quarters, you also never really see Wolverine, Spidey, or anyone else with any speed or agility really ramp up and let go in the limited fight scenes. If anything, Spider-Man felt like an unnecessary addition to this entire adventure and was there simply because it is his turf and he’s had experience with the Lizard before and reminded me why I don’t particularly read most Spider-Man comics anymore.

The Verdict

Although the banter was well written, there was far too much of it and made this comic feel like it was dragging two pages in. To sort through all that filler and end on such an anti-climatic resolution on top of it just left me shaking my head.

Spider-Man was nothing but useless aside from acting as foil to Emma and this entire story arc felt like a cheap way of bringing Dark Beast into everyone’s mind before he makes his impact on the Age of Apocalypse storyline with X-Force coming in June. Even if you’ve been reading this arc, I’m tempted to tell you to steer clear and hope for better things next month.

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Generation Hope #6 Review

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April 20, 2011

Originally Published: April 20, 2011, on Comicvine.com

While continuing to have her group of Five Lights trained and tested by Doctor Nemesis, Wolverine, and others on Utopia, a new light has been detected by Cerebra in Germany and it is up to Hope and her lights to bring the situation under control.

The Good

The adventures and action derived from discovering new mutants is exciting as each situation is so different from the last one. Now, with a psychic on their hands, Hope and the Lights (they sound like a cheesy 80s band) must put their limited training and teamwork to the test like never before.

Include a whole new team dynamic as Kitty Pryde has taken over as the team liaison for Rogue and not only does Hope have one less ally, she has one less person to rely on incase things awry as Kitty is still stuck in her bubble boy outfit since she can’t unphase yet.

The Bad

The new mutant is an unborn baby. WHAT?! I understand that things are different now and Hope proved this by having her powers manifest as an infant, but for an unborn baby to have the kind of psychic potential it is showing at this stage is unbelievable (even for X-Men standards). And if Hope does bring it under control, will it be left in a weird mental or physical state like Teon’s feral mentality or Kenji’s odd-shape shifting form? Although interesting to consider, with all the threats the X-Men face on a daily basis, having a baby taken to Utopia is the last thing needed right now and could provide for a very weird dynamic in future issues.

The Verdict

Although a weird situation, it is just weird enough to have piqued my curiosity and not turned me off. An unborn psychic mutant is definitely the off the wall kind of adventure we should probably get used to with Generation Hope. This is another well-written comic by Kieron Gillen as you clearly see the dynamic personalities of all the individual members of the team whenever they speak, and it has now been mixed up even more with the straight-laced Kitty Pryde as liaison. This is a comic I look forward to every month and can’t wait for the next issue just to see how Hope will work her way out of every crazy situation thrown into the path of her and her lights.

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