Tag Archive: ray carsillo


Gotham City Sirens #23 Review

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May 25, 2011

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

After a brief respite for the Judgment of Gotham crossover, Gotham City Sirens comes back with a bang as Selina struggles with loyalty issues and Harley is seen helping the Joker turn Arkham into something similar to the Arkham Asylum video game, but gets resistance from an unusual suspect in the new Black Mask, Jeremiah Arkham!

The Good

This marks the beginning of a new story arc for Gotham City Sirens and as previous issues seemed to be spiraling into a valley, this issue looks to be pulling us back towards a peak again. Tons of action and chaos as Harley and Joker survey the carnage they’ve caused around them while torturing the Arkham guards unfortunate enough to cross their path. Throw in some cameos by Clayface and Mr. Zsasz and you’ll have flashback to the Arkham Asylum video game.

The key to this issue though is conflict. Catwoman versus herself as she weighs whether or not she should help Harley out over in Arkham. Ivy versus Harley as the two friends confront each other as Ivy has had it with her love sick puppy spells she goes into when she’s near the Joker. Joker versus Jeremiah Arkham as Arkham has been slowly buying or twisting many of the prison guards to his means and the Joker’s rampage is undoing the plans he put in motion months ago. And, of course, the set up for Batman (Bruce Wayne) versus them all as he lets Catwoman know that cases involving the Joker are his personal responsibility and are not to be handled by Dick. This is a great build up for a new story arc as we’ll see the effects of the previous ones finally play out here in one of Gotham’s grandest stages.

The Bad

The only real negative that seems to come from this comic is the lack of originality. Will every major arc that guides its way through Arkham Asylum and the Joker deal with a giant breakout that causes chaos and riots in the Asylum and force Batman to come inside the haunted padded walls to quell the threat? It just sounds a bit too much like this arc is already getting ready to help build up some more hype for Arkham City along with the five-issue mini-series that is being released as well.

The Verdict

What I thought of as a lack of originality aside, this comic features a lot of action between many different characters and sets the stage for what looks to be a mighty test for both Catwoman and Batman in the future issues. If you haven’t been reading this comic, you might be a little lost since even though it’s technically a new arc, you’re really jumping into a continuation of the last one, but you should be able to catch on quickly enough to still enjoy it.

4.5/5 Stars

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X-Men Legacy #249 Review

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

The X-Men continue to recuperate after the events of Age of X as Rogue and Magneto realize just how much they’ve been through together both in reality and fantasy. Meanwhile Legion continues to try to bring his thousands of personalities under control and Frenzy attempts to figure out how to let go of a dream that felt more natural than the reality she finds herself trying to sleepwalk through.

The Good

No matter how many times now we may revisit Magneto’s past in a concentration camp, it gives me chills each and every time. And when he shares those experiences with Rogue in order to teach her a lesson of how he was tainted by that universal evil, you appreciate the strength of the character more and more with every passing issue.

It was also very interesting to see how Frenzy is developing as a character and was a surprisingly compelling sub-plot to this issue. All the while Legion has an unexpected setback that can set up a plethora of future problems for the X-Men that has me holding my breath in anticipation.

The Bad

Although I think the two sub-plots of this issue were very well done, I think they took away from the power and impact of Magneto’s story. With the way this comic started out, I much would have preferred if the entire issue was dedicated to Rogue and Magneto and their relationship and could have waited on seeing Legion and Frenzy again until the next issue.

The Verdict

This looks to be the right time to start getting into X-Men Legacy if you haven’t been already as the aftermath of Age of X is starting to come to a close and you’ll have a good jumping off point to see just where Magneto, Rogue, Frenzy, and Legion are when the next big arc starts up.

Couple this with an always powerful Auschwitz story from Magento and great character development all around and I would highly recommend picking up this issue as we look forward to the future of the characters featured in these pages.

4.5/5 Stars

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Uncanny X-Men #537 Review

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

Kruun’s plans for revenge begin to come to light and he has made sure that most of the X-Men are powerless to stop him. Can Kitty Pryde find a way to warn the others in time or will Kruun’s suicide mission be the end of the X-Men and Utopia?

The Good

It looks like we might finally start to get some resolution to the entire Kitty Pryde intangibility issue and thank goodness because I can’t take it anymore. Along with this, Kruun’s plans are finally fully revealed to us and the action begins to amp as we being moving to a climax and resolution in this story arc that sees the Breakworlders visiting Utopia.

The Bad

I had some problems with a lot of the things that took place in the pages of this comic. The most notable had to be with Wolverine. There is a systematic telling of how Kruun planned for every mutant who could interfere with him…except he conveniently forgot about Wolverine. If there is one mutant on Utopia who you should try to plan for, I think it would be Wolverine.

Not to mention, there is this huge build-up for a fight between Kruun and Wolverine in the next issue, but honestly if that fight lasts more than two or three pages I’ll be disappointed. It’s Wolverine versus a one-armed humanoid alien that he’s already kicked the snot out of before, and that was when the alien had the home turf advantage and both his arms. This issue seemed more like an attempt at just showing how formidable Kruun still is, but in reality he shouldn’t be and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense except as page filler.

The Verdict

If you’ve been reading this Uncanny storyline, then you’re going to want to see where it ends up, but I’m tempted to tell you to pass on this comic due to blatant page filler moments and the unnecessary build up of a character that just doesn’t need all this attention. Not to mention I still can’t stand the intangible Kitty Pryde thing, even if it does look to be coming to a head soon.

Also, if you’re looking to get into Uncanny X-Men, this is definitely not the issue to do so and I would wait until this arc at least finishes up before adding this to my weekly pull box.

2.5/5 Stars

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X-Men: First Class Character Profile: Sebastian Shaw

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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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From My Mom’s Basement – Vol. 2 Ep. 12 – Super Fighting Robot

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May 22, 2011

Originally Published: May 17, 2011, on Youtube.com/Rcars4885

I come to you once again with your weekly geek fix. This week I review Brink from Bethesda and Mega Man #1 from Archie Comics. My hot chick pick of the week is Kate Upton and this week’s theme is the Mega Man theme from Marvel vs. Capcom 1.

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Red Robin #23 Review

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May 14, 2011

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

Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox are targeted for assassination by the Scarab while she is still in jail! What is going on here and can Red Robin put the clues together in time before he ends up being the one feeling Scarab’s sting.

The Good

I am really enjoying the fact that Lynx seems to be turning into Tim Drake’s version of Catwoman and that as much as he may not be ready for it, his life is paralleling Bruce’s more and more with every issue and story arc he appears in.

This issue also launches a story arc that will look to tie up some loose ends that were put on hold for the time being as Tim re-enters the shady world of international assassins to catch those who would target Lucius and Bruce. And making Lucius a target is great because Tim has to interact with Tam, Lucius’s daughter, and you see a glimpse of the difficulty of balancing Tim’s life with Red Robin’s, even though Tam is aware of his alter-ego.

The Bad

If you haven’t been reading previous issues of Red Robin, you might be at a loss to who all these new villains are that Tim is dealing with and not appreciate as much the clear character development you are seeing on a issue to issue basis with this series.

Also, I understand that Tim is kind of a wild card within the Bat-family, but to see Dick and Bruce just follow his lead seemed weird. When Tim is on his own, I have no problem with him doing all the work, but to be using Dick and Bruce like pawns in one of his own plans just rubbed me the wrong way.

The Verdict

If you haven’t been reading Red Robin, you might get confused, even with this being the first issue of a new story arc. It features a lot of characters that had been introduced in previous issues of the series as major players in this arc and so you might want to check out some back issues first if you want to use this issue as a jumping on point.

Aside from that, Red Robin looks to be leaping head first into a complicated yet thrilling new direction that should rock Tim’s world with this issue and has me really looking forward to next month to see just how Tim resolves all these messes in his crime-fighting life.

4/5 Stars

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Astonishing X-Men #37 Review

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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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