Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Another comic book movie has been released on the big screen, so it’s time for another review!

This time around, it’s the first of at least two planned prequels to the X-Men movie franchise: X-Men Origins: Wolverine.


Ever since Hugh Jackman graced the screens with his first major movie role as Wolverine in 1999’s X-Men, his star has kept on rising in Hollywood. Could it only have been a mere ten years since he made his big screen debut as arguably the most popular character in comic books today?

What a performance Hugh delivered. Not only did Jackman look exactly like what most fanboys thought Wolverine would look like (albeit an extremely taller version) in a movie version of the X-Men, he pulled off Wolverine’s angst, berserker rage and had a certain gravitas and gruff style about him: Jackman didn’t PLAY the role of Wolverine, he WAS Wolverine!

There was no doubting that Jackman was the star of X-Men the movie. Which is something considering the company he was in: Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan...but this unknown Aussie actor was THE breakout star of the movie?

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was certainly hyped up worldwide; with Jackman being the obvious star attraction from what were essentially three ensemble movies, surely he could do no wrong in a standalone movie!

The movie was hyped up more in Australia, what with Jackman being the hometown hero and most of the movie being shot in New South Wales; in fact, some of the actors appearing in the movie were Aussies who most people would find familiar, because they were recently on our TV screens in one of the most-watched productions of all time. But more on that later.

And there was even that whole thing where the movie was leaked onto the internet where people could download copies illegally and watch the movie weeks before it made its theatrical debut in cinemas. Yes, that certainly “stole” profits away from the creators of the movie, but more press, even the bad stuff, is good press, hey?

We’ve been treated to two other X movies since the first X-Men movie, with X2 being the best of the bunch and X3, while having heaps of cameos and some great battle scenes, best left forgotten from the X-franchise. X-Men Origins: Magneto will be out in the next year or so and who knows what other spin-off movies will emerge from the X-franchise. But first, the Wolverine standalone movie.

So, was the movie any good? Did it live up to all the hype? Let’s just say that, given the chance, I would have watched the version that was circulating on the internet, simply because I wouldn’t have needed to pay to watch this movie.

Once again, the obligatory spoiler warning.

I'll be revealing some plot points from the movie so if you haven't watched the movie or don't want to find out what happened, stop reading from here onwards!

It’s not that the movie was bad. It just wasn’t very good.

The script was not strong at all. Even if I could look at the movie from a non-fanboy’s perspective, the script was still pretty weak in places. There was quite a lot of action and some good action sequences, and quite a bit of dialogue that fleshed out the character and his supporting cast. But it seemed like the action and drama bits were just jammed together in a random mishmash and out came a script.

No doubting that this movie will do well at the box office regardless; it’s Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman after all! But surely it will also be one of those forgettable comic book movies. Certainly not a classic like X2, Spider-man 2 or Batman Begins; more in the vein of The Punisher and Daredevil and, dare I say it, Ang Lee’s Hulk. Ok, not quite as bad as Ang Lee’s Hulk.

As usual, I’ll review the good and the bad parts of the movie, in my opinion. First, the good.


Casting
The casting of characters was exactly like the recent Watchmen movie: spot on!

In recent comic book movies, they have fantastic eclectic casts where the actors chosen seem to embody the very best of the character, from looks, to portrayal of that character to all the little fine nuances that one would come to expect of that character.

We’ve seen that in Watchmen, the two latest Batman movies, Iron Man, and now X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A lot of thought was put into choosing the perfect actors to play the characters. A pat on the back for the casting crew!

Which leads directly to:


Deadpool
My favourite part of the movie is seeing Ryan Reynolds bring my favourite Marvel character to life on the big screen. What an inspired choice in choosing Reynolds, who has a knack for playing smart-alecky characters in his movies, to play the merc-with-a-mouth!

Sure, we see Wade Wilson BEFORE he’s hideously scarred due to his cancer, but in the short five minutes where he’s running off his mouth, he steals the show. It’s unfortunate that Deadpool doesn’t break the fourth wall as he so usually does in his comics, but hey...this IS his first big screen outing after all.

Deadpool seems even more of a badass than Wolverine is in this movie. Reynolds shows there are two sides to this character: the lippy merc who lives a carefree life and shows no fear, and the stone-cold psychotic killer. Bravo!

The major disappointment is that Deadpool is pretty much a bit player in the movie...well, the Deadpool at the start of the movie anyway, more on that later. I would have loved to see more of my favourite Marvel character in action on the big screen. Hell, just having him chat up a storm for half an hour without any other sort of action sequences and I would have been happy!


Gambit
Finally we see Gambit in a movie! Where was he in the other three movies? Ok, sure, it wouldn’t make sense for him to be in the first movie. Perhaps it would have been premature for him to be in X2. But in X3 where there are so many cameos, they couldn’t squeeze Gambit in?

The wait for Gambit to finally appear on the big screen pays handsome dividends though. Taylor Kitsch is the perfect choice to play the raging Cajun. He certainly looks very much the part; suave, charming, but physically nimble and agile and ready to rumble at the drop of a hat.

Perhaps Kitsch’s southern Cajun drawl isn’t great, but he does try and he more than makes up for it by oozing “cool”. As expected, we first see Gambit at a poker table, showing off his card skills and tricks to the ladies (and other gamblers).

We see Gambit’s famed agility and fighting skills with his quarterstaff in a brief fight scene with Wolverine. And we also see his kinetic-charge powers in action, though his cards don’t explode like they do in the comics, but it makes perfect sense in the movie...the powers are kinetic based, not explosions anyway!

The one disappointment here, like Deadpool, is that Gambit doesn’t have a lot of screen time and you could just about get any other mutant-of-the-week and throw him in the plot in place of Gambit’s character. We also don’t see enough of Gambit’s kinetic-charge powers; the only things he throws during the movie are his playing cards, albeit a very cool sequence when we see him do that.


Sabretooth
Liev Schreiber is great in anything he’s in, movie or TV program, and there’s no exception here. Just like Jackman is Wolverine, Schreiber IS Sabretooth! Though we never hear him being called that at all in the entire movie: he’s just known simply as Victor.

Schreiber bulked up for this role and he is an imposing and fearful figure. His Victor Creed has a fearsome snarl and he fights dirty. Victor has no compassion for human life at all and his relationship with his brother, Wolverine, is tenuous at best. Wolverine has to keep restraining Victor from giving into his blood lust and becoming the efficient killing machine that he is.

Thank goodness for Schreiber’s performance as he made me forget the atrocity that was Sabretooth in the first movie, played by the very stiff former pro wrestler Tyler Mane!


Great cameos
Such as the one from Professor Charles Xavier at the end of the movie, though he looks very feminine and looks like he’s wearing tons of make-up!

Professor X travels in his helicopter and he rescues the mutants captured by William Stryker at the end of the movie, thus heralding the birth of his X-Men with his first encounter with Cyclops. And what’s really awesome is that THIS Professor X still has the use of his legs and isn’t confined to a wheelchair!

Scott Summers and Emma Frost also make nice cameos in the movie. Scott has a “larger” role when he’s captured by Sabretooth and Stryker and we see him use his destructive optic blasts for the first time. We then see his qualities as the future X-Men leader when he guides his fellow captive mutants out of the Weapon Plus facility, though with a lot of help from Charles Xavier talking to him telepathically.

Emma Frost aka the White Queen also has a nice cameo where we see her changing her skin to diamond when the captive mutants are trying to escape. Wish they had chosen a more bimbo-blondish character to portray Emma Frost though as this one doesn’t look like her at all...perhaps my only gripe with the casting of the characters in this movie.

It was a really nice touch having Scott and Emma interact with each other as they try to escape. After all, these two form a relationship in the comics after Jean Grey dies for the umpteenth time. The two future leaders of the next generation of the X-Men, interacting with each other and then coming into contact with the X-Men’s founder, Professor X! Fanboy geekgasm all around.

Fred Dukes as the Blob...all I can say is HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!


A nod to Wolverine’s comic book origins
In this case, I’m referring to the 2001 Origin mini-series by Paul Jenkins and Andy Kubert, and the Weapon X saga by Barry Windsor-Smith that was featured in Marvel Comics Presents back in 1991.

We get to see Wolvie pop his bone claws for the very first time! And we also see the adamantium bonding process that made Wolvie pretty much indestructible.

We also see Team X in action for the very first time, which is a nice nod to the comics once again. The comic version only consisted of Wolverine, Sabretooth and Maverick (who is actually Agent Zero in the movie), but it makes sense for more characters to be part of the movie team.


William Stryker is a badass!

While I would have loved seeing Brian Cox reprise his role from X2, Danny Huston does a great job portraying a younger Stryker. This Stryker is a master manipulator, playing both sides and also playing his former Team X members against each other.

His evil machinations nearly come to fruition and it's revealed why he hates the mutant population so much, but is not above actually using them for his own sinister purposes. Not many people would come face to face with Wolvie and Sabretooth and just stare them down without blinking.


The opening sequence
After the origin, we see Victor and Logan fight together in the major American wars: the Civil War, World Wars I and II and the Vietnam war. These two have built a bond since they escaped from the Howlett household together in the 19th century and we see how their camaraderie changes oh-so-slightly, with Sabretooth slowly giving into his bloodlust and Wolvie trying to pull his brother away from the dark side.


Australian actor “cameos”
Two that I noticed: Asher Keddie, who plays a doctor assisting William Stryker with his Weapon Plus experiments, and Peter O’Brien who plays John Howlett, Wolverine’s supposed father.

Both actors were familiar to me because they are both in the Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities TV series that is currently showing on Australian free-to-air TV. Keddie plays the role of Victorian police officer Liz Cruickshank while O’Brien plays Sydney underworld figure, George Freeman.

I’m sure there were more Aussie actors in the movie since the movie was filmed in NSW!

Unfortunately, there was also a whole heap of bad. As mentioned earlier in this review, the script wasn't very strong and it wasn't a good mix of action sequences and character-building sequences at all. But I won't critique the plot too much, except for when it really gets my goat.


The main villain, Weapon XI

The "X" for Weapon X is the roman numeral for the number ten, as William Stryker so eloquently puts (a nice nod to Grant Morrison's "Weapon Plus" storyline from the New X-Men comics in the 00s) and so Weapon XI is actually Weapon 11.

Since the adamantium bonding experiment on Wolverine was a success, Stryker decides to experiment once more with the next incarnation of the Weapon Plus program and creates Weapon XI, who has a fusion of powers from some of the mutants that was captured by Stryker. Paper thin plot here!

Anyway, what really annoys me is the fact that Deadpool is Weapon XI! What the?!

There's a really nice scene where Stryker explains how Deadpool got his name, but it goes downhill from there. Basically Weapon XI/Deadpool has the teleporting powers of Wraith, the optic blasts of Cyclops, the healing powers of Sabretooth, and his twin katanas, now coated with adamantium, have been embedded into his arms a la Wolverine's claws. Weapon XI is a monster who has his lips sewn shut so we don't get the traditional Deadpool banter.

I don't like this final protagonist at all. Surely we didn't need a villain like this Frankenstein creature! Plus, it sort of kills off any hope of a Deadpool standalone movie. Now that Deadpool has all these extra powers and is seemingly killed at the end of the movie, even if he's brought back, how does one "remove" these powers? Boooooo...what were you thinking, scriptwriters!


Sabretooth wussing out

I think Sabretooth should have been Wolvie's final adversary. But he acts too much like a big brother for the entire movie; he's looking out for Logan, then he has this intense hatred for him (sibling rivalry perhaps!), then he wusses out and refuses to deliver the killing blow. And right at the end, he walks away (or rather, jumps away) without engaging Wolvie in a final fight!

These two are eternal enemies. While I don't like the fact that they are blood brothers in the movie (I think they are half brothers in the comics), it's certainly something that works for the movie. But this Sabretooth is a wuss when it comes to fighting Wolvie! Sure, he gets in a few good licks, but then becomes all chummy and acts like a proper big brother should; protecting his little brother. Yuck.


Maverick/Agent Zero

The David North character in the movie, Agent Zero, is nothing like the character in the comics. Which is alright...but surely you would have thought that they would at the very least pay some homage to the original character, who was a hero, not a villain.

Agent Zero is a sharpshooting mercernary in the movie and his powers seem to be deadeye-dick accuracy a la Bullseye from the Daredevil comics and movie and increased speed and agility. So not like the Maverick from the comics who has the power to absorb kinetic energy generated by impact without any harm to himself.
Sure, this is a power that's kinda hard to "show off" in the movie without it coming off as him being some sort of invulnerable mutant. But really, if they wanted a character to be an evil protagonist who's loyal to Styker, surely they could have chosen other mutants from Marvel's pantheon of characters.


Wolverine's more "human" moments

Ugh. I wanted to see Wolvie unleashing his berserker rage (which we don't really get to see at all in the movie), not his tender, touching side!

I understand that they needed to build up between Logan and Silver Fox so that when she is "killed", he will seek his revenge on Sabretooth. But there was no necessity for that whole "moon" story in that intimate scene between the two. Lynn Collins as Silver Fox though...roooowr! What a hottie.

And who really wants to see Wolvie working as a lumberjack? Yeah, that builds up the backstory, but the lumberjack job scenes took too long. I don't really want to see or know about Wolvie interacting with his job buddies making fun of him for kissing Silver Fox in full view of them!

There's also a nice tender "Ma and Pa Kent" moment when Wolvie, freshly escaped from the Weapon Plus facility, comes across this elderly couple who helps him get back on his feet. Yeah, if I wanted to watch Wolvie being mollycoddled by two old folks, I'd go watch old episodes of Smallville. Thankfully, "Ma and Pa Kent" are killed after taking up about 15 minutes of screen time.

While the boxing match between Logan and the Blob was extremely funny, it made no sense whatsoever. Why would Logan even willingly take part in a boxing match against the Blob so that he can win and extract information from Fred Dukes? Wouldn't he just pop his claws and threaten the hell out of the Blob until he reveals that secret information?

So so out of character. Speaking of which...


Wolverine acting out of character

Logan goes to fight Stryker and Sabretooth and after a simple conversation where they discuss Silver Fox's staged death and how everything was just meant to get Wolvie to volunteer for the adamantium process, Wolvie decides to walk away without a fight?

What the?! Sure, he comes back after he hears Silver Fox's screams where Sabretooth is about to gut her, but the fact that he walks away in the first place just left a really bad taste in my mouth.

The fact that they would just stand around to have a conversation is just plain silly as well. Oh, I've come here to kill you for ruining my life but I'll just stand here and listen to you reveal your evil master plan first and then decide not to kill you anyway because I've changed my mind. Ugh.


No Magneto!

Just a small nitpick, but I think they've missed out on a great opportunity to introduce the next X-Men Origins flick based on Magneto.

It would have been so apt and perfect if there was a Magneto cameo, notable in the scene where Professor X shows up to rescue the other mutants. Magneto and Professor X were friends after all, and since Professor X still has the use of his legs in this movie, that means that they haven't had their falling out yet and Magnus hasn't yet crippled Charles intentionally.

Ah well.


The two extra scenes during and after the end credits

I wish they had done more with these extra scenes. I remembering watching an interview with Hugh Jackman where he urges the audience to stay until the credits have ended because fans would be treated to more footage. So here I thought it was going to be GOOD footage.

Not long after the credits have started rolling, we see the Army picking up William Stryker, wanted for murder. Pfah, how boring. Why didn't you show perhaps the first generation of mutants taught by Professor X instead? Or what happens to Gambit or Sabretooth after the movie? Or even Wolvie making the trek up to Canada up to the point where we first see him in the first X-Men movie fighting in a cage match?

The last scene showed Wolvie in Japan, drinking to try and remember his life as his memories were scrambled after being shot in the head twice with adamantium bullets by Stryker.

I would certainly have preferred to see that same scene in a bar where Wolvie is drinking, but not in Japan, rather, when he's in the Canadian bar and Rogue approaches him for the first time. It would have been a perfect lead-in to the X-Men movie.

But they showed this instead. Wolvie has a huge backstory in the comics based in Japan...maybe this is a lead-in to a possible Origins sequel for him? Here's hoping!



All in all, a good movie, but not great. Certainly not one of my favourites, though I'd be happy to keep watching footage of Deadpool!

Not quite sure if they'll do a Deadpool movie now, with the events of this movie transpiring the way it has. I'll be happy if they still do it though, and I'll settle for a Gambit standalone movie as well.

And a Liev Schreiber standalone Sabretooth movie would be the icing on the cake.

More of Jim Lee's comics...for Jim Lee to sign!

Went to the Camberwell Fair at the Camberwell Civic Centre yesterday morning...and there were quite a number of sellers there with comic book stock! Old issues, really really old issues from the Silver Age and new issues as well...I'm sure if I spent more time there and hunted around, I probably could have picked up single issue comic book gold like Amazing Spider-man #129 (1st appearance of the Punisher) and The Incredible Hulk #181 (1st appearance of Wolverine)...not that I could afford it.

I was there with two friends, Marcelo and Kim, so that was a good thing because I'm sure I could have spent AGES there browsing through all the wares. I went to each seller's booth though, just to quickly check out the wares and have a feel for where I thought I could get the best bargain or where I would find something I would purchase. Eventually stopped at the corner booth where they seemed to have the most variety (and the most number of) comics.

The seller was very informative and from chatting to him, he was a true comics fan...who actually read his comics! There are a lot of collectors who simply purchase comics because of the perceived (real or otherwise) increase in value after a period of time and they are more in the business to make money than true comic book fans. This guy certainly was not like that.

I wish I caught his name, but he worked in Evil Empire Comics in Coburg. He definitely knew his stuff though, because when I picked up some X-Men comics, he engaged me in a conversation about going to Armageddon 2008 because Jim Lee was there and we started chatting about the storylines in X-Men. In the particular bundle of comics I was browsing through, he was telling me that it had some valuable issues like issues #1 (still the best selling single comic of all-time with five variant covers...though there was only the gatefold cover),#25 (part of the Fatal Attractions storyline where Wolverine had the adamantium yanked out of his body) and #30 (wedding of Scott Summers and Jean Grey).

I mean, I knew all that information already, but it was nice chatting to someone who actually knew his stuff! So we talked about Jim Lee being at Armageddon and how, in that bundle, there were only 11 issues or so actually illustrated by him. It was nice that he actually warned me about that in case I thought all the comics in the bundle was illustrated by Jim...as I said, I already knew that, but it was information that was much appreciated.

So how could one not purchase something from his store? I bought the bundle of the first 30 issues of X-Men, which I used to own many many years ago but didn't anymore. There was another bundle for the first 80 issues, but not only was it more expensive (obviously), but I actually owned a lot of those issues already back in Singapore. I couldn't remember which issue I started from exactly so I thought it was probably better just to get the smaller and more inexpensive bundle of single issues...if I were missing out on certain issues from my collection I'm sure I could always obtain them from elsewhere!

So now I've got 30 issues of X-Men to read finish before this Saturday...or at least those issues drawn by Jim Lee, since I want to bring them all for him to sign at Armageddon 2008! I've already got Absolute Batman: Hush, All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder Vol.1 HC and Fantastic Four: Heroes Reborn TPB for Jim to sign.

Only five more days to go. To coin an Australian phrase: How excitement!

Jim Lee is coming to Armageddon 2008!

Armageddon Multimedia Expo Australia 2008 is almost upon us!

But first, the link to the official website:

Armageddon 2008

I remember really enjoying last year's Expo even though Marcelo and I were there for perhaps 3/4 of the day. Even though we just walked around and visited the same booth a couple of times, it was still an enjoyable experience!

The comic book writers/artists that were there last year were Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Connor, Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. While I'm a fan of Palmiotti and Simone, I didn't really have anything for them to sign, nor was I inspired enough to actually go up to the booths to have a chat with them.

This year, that all changes.

When I saw the brochure for Armageddon 2008, the first thing I noticed was Jim Lee's Batman art from his Hush run. The first thing I thought to myself was "I can't believe they actually took Jim Lee's art to promote Armageddon. How shameless." And then I actually flipped through the brochure and found that they weren't shameless using Lee's art for no good reason: they were actually using his art BECAUSE JIM LEE WAS GOING TO BE A GUEST AT ARMAGEDDON 2008.

One of my favourite artists of all-time, coming to the city I live in? Hot damn. I couldn't believe it. Jim's X-Men #1 was the reason I got into collecting comics. I had read comics before fleetingly, but it was never really a hobby...reading comics was just something a kid my age would just gravitate towards.

It was only after I purchased my copy (and it was one of those shoddy copies available from our local newsstand, with the price sticker attached to the cover) of X-Men #1 did I seriously give collecting comics any thought. I actually started purchasing comics regularly for a few months, albeit those shoddy copies from the newsstand, but after a while, I just stopped because the quality of those comics in terms of cover damage, spinal damage etc etc (and not the actual interior art or writing) was so poor, having changed hands from one reader to another before being sold.

I started collecting comics seriously a few months later (or a year later, can't remember which) when I went to a proper comics shop, Comics Mart, which is still located in Serene Centre at Farrer Road. And then I discovered Comic Art Gallery at Bras Basah Complex, which was the place I went to regularly until their shipment schedule became erratic. Thankfully, at that point of time, a new shop, G&B Comics opened up a level above Comic Art Gallery at Bras Basah, and that's been where I've purchased my comics for the last nine years or so, even while I've been here in Australia since they still keep my list of standing orders!

But this post isn't about my comic collecting history. I'll get to that some other time. X-Men #1 was the first real comic that I actually "collected", even though I wasn't really collecting back then. It was a combination of Chris Claremont's fantastic writing and Jim Lee's spectacular art that got me hooked...moreso the art than the writing! I've always been one who prefers a great story and shoddy art than fantastic art and a bland story.

But X-Men #1 perhaps was one of the exceptions to the rule, in those early days at least when I favoured the story over the art. Not that the story was bad...it was just that the artwork was in a league of its own! Beautiful beautiful beautiful.

So my love affair with Jim Lee began and he became one of my favourite artists. He still is...I know I've blogged about my favourite writers before, but I've never actually blogged about my favourite artists. Will have to do that one of these days.

Anyway, with Jim Lee going to be at Armageddon 2008, I might go for TWO days instead of just the one. I want Jim to sign my Absolute Batman: Hush HC and All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder Vol.1 HC books, along with any other Jim Lee books I actually have or can purchase. Plus, if Jim's actually going to do sketches, I might ask if I could commission him to do a few sketches for me.

I've already asked Stephen and he's asked if he could get a Catwoman sketch. I know I'd like a Psylocke sketch and perhaps a Rogue sketch too. Basically, when it comes to Jim Lee, you need to ask him to draw women! Though I wouldn't mind a Gambit/Wolverine sketch either.

But since each person probably can only request or purchase one sketch, I going to get Marcelo to stand in line with me so that he can get sketches too...well for me anyway!

Another three more weekends to Jim Lee being here in Melbourne! How awesome is that?

Review: New X-Men (E is for Extinction storyarc)

Time for another review! And this time I’m going to be reviewing the first story arc of one of the most groundbreaking and popular arcs in recent X-Men history: the one that put the team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on the radars of mainstream comic book fans, the one the revitalised the X-Men after years of stagnation, the E is for Extinction storyarc in the pages of New X-Men #114-116.

The X-Men comic books had been going nowhere quickly for the last decade or so. The X-books were the best-selling comic books for years before that and had seen creators such as Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Andy Kubert and Joe Madureira cement their fame on the various X-titles.

However, the X-Men were victims of their own popularity, with seemingly spin-off title after spin-off title flooding the market only to succumb to cancellation after low sales numbers. While there were the two main X-books in Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, there were also a bevy of titles, some of which were a modicum more popular than the others: X-Force, X-Factor, Excalibur, X-Treme X-Men, X-Men Unlimited, Generation X, not to mention the many one-shots and mini-series of the X-characters.

The last big storyline that was successful in the X-Universe was the much loved “Age of Apocalypse”. The “Onslaught” storyline, for all the hype, fell short and was the last big X-story before 2006’s House of M put Marvel’s merry mutants on the map again.

But before House of M, two Scotsman named Morrison and Quitely revitalised the X-Men, bringing with them pathos, dark humour, adult-oriented themes and sweeping changes to the status quo. It was time for the X-books to step to the top of the sales charts again. The X-relaunch was so huge that they even changed X-Men to New X-Men.

Morrison and Quitely’s first arc, “E is for Extinction”, set the tone for what was to come in their 41-issue run.

They introduced a new uber-powerful villain, Cassandra Nova. She was as evil as evil gets and was the polar opposite of Magneto in terms of ideology. While Magneto wanted mutants to rule the world, Cassandra Nova wanted to kill all mutants!

She was evil and Quitely’s art made look extremely creepy. Sticking her fingers through one’s neck and having her fingers poke out through the orifices in one’s face…ouch! And why did she look so much like a female version of Charles Xavier? But more on that in another review…or you can always read the many TPBs and HCs that reprinted the legendary Morrison and Quitely run to find out for yourself.

Cassandra Nova didn’t just talk the talk, she walked the walk too. Her threats to kill mutantkind weren’t just idle threats. First she assimilates Donald Trask, heir to the Trask legacy of building the mutant-hunting Sentinels, then gets the Mastermold to build millions of sentinels to wipe out the mutant inhabitants of Genosha. Just look at how quickly the numbers fall in the mass-genocide from the panels below!

New, terrifying villain? Check. One ingredient of a successful run fulfilled. But Morrison doesn’t stop there. Oh no. He also radically changes everyone’s favourite X-Men by introducing a femme fatale to the team, the uber sexy Emma Frost.

How does Quitely draw her like that? It’s absolutely gravity-defying! Does she use double-sided tape to hold up those pieces of cloth to her boobs and sides of her body? And what a case of camel toe!

And once again, invisible gum-tape must be Emma Frost’s best friend. Emma Frost became one of the most popular X-Men as a result of Morrison and Quitely’s run. Yes, they gave her a British accent, which was completely unnecessary, but not did she know she was beautiful and her beauty to her advantage, she was also a A-grade 100% badass ultimate bitch.

In fact, she even ACKNOWLEDGES she’s a bitch in this little exchange with Jean Grey:

Another notion that Morrison introduces to the mutant-verse is that of secondary mutations. Mutants, which as a species, were far evolved from normal homo sapiens, could further evolve and develop new powers! As can be seen from the two panels above, Emma Frost, as drippingly sexy as she is, was obviously never a shiny-happy-people person. While she was still one of the world’s most powerful telepaths, Morrison gave her the secondary mutation (and power) of being able to harden her skin so that she became diamond-hard.

One of the more memorable (and perhaps controversial) secondary mutations was evolving Dr Henry McCoy from the ever-loving bouncing Beast to something you’d see out of a Disney cartoon…or horror movie, take your pick.

Beauty and the Beast? How apt. But no, really. It really WAS Beauty and the Beast.

Doesn’t Mrs McCoy’s bouncing baby boy look like he’s about to take Esmerelda out onto the ballroom floor, complete with clocks and candlesticks and dishes and cutlery all dancing and singing in tune?

Thankfully, despite Beast being subjected to a somewhat “hideous” cat-like transformation, he still retained his sense of humour.

In fact, one of the hallmarks of Morrison and Quitely’s run is the dark humour in the series, which was evident in the first storyarc. “Your dating days are over” indeed. Absolutely hilarious…it’d have been even more perfect if Beast had somehow quoted the bard, Shakespeare, with the classic line “Alas, poor Yorick” somewhere in the above panel.

And what happens when you ask a mutant who’s only power is to be hideously ugly if he was any good in a fight? You get the following panel:

But for all the humour in “E for Extinction”, we’re quickly reminded that the X-Men’s world has been given a healthy dose of adult-oriented reality and violence when Cassandra Nova “possesses” Charles Xavier. Charles surprises everyone by grabbing a gun he keeps close to him, pointing it to his temple and uttering:

Yeesh! Why does Charles even keep a gun there in the first place? He later explains that he knows he’s the most powerful telepath on the planet and needed to take precautions in case there were ever situations like what had happened, when his mind or body had been controlled by external sources.

Cassandra Nova almost wins the day though, when she infiltrates the X-mansion and wears the Cerebra (the telepathic-magnifying Cerebro’s more powerful sister) helmet and is about to snuff out all mutant life on the planet. In comes Emma to save the day in brutal fashion.

Omigod! An X-Men snapping someone’s neck in the comic books? What is this, R-Rated XXX-Men? Surely the X-Men’s boy scout, Scott Summers aka Cyclops, would NOT stand for this!

Well, uhm ok. If Scott’s ok with this. Must be another one of those Morrison-modifications. The old Scott Summers would never stand for this.

But that neck snap doesn’t kill Cassandra Nova! She still struggles on, despite having a couple of vertebrae snap into pieces. Just when the X-Men thought they had lost the day, in comes an unlikely “saviour”…

The gun that Charles used to earlier point at his own temple ends up being the gun that kills Cassandra Nova. So Scott Summers is okay with someone’s neck being snapped and now we’ve got Charles brandishing a gun and going all Punisher-like on an enemy mutant. Which brings me to my favourite panel and one-liner of the arc:

Hardcore indeed.

That would have been a fantastic end to the first story arc, but no, Morrison saves the best for last. He throws one more spanner into the works that brings down the axe on Xavier and his merry X-Men…Xavier, the world’s foremost expert in mutants and the champion for human-mutant relations, reveals why he has always been for the mutant cause:

And the house of cards all come crashing down.

Marvel’s merry mutants are back!

Attracted to Magneto!

Alrighty...here's the final script that I wrote and posted on 28 Geeks Later. There aren't any more scripts...unless I write new ones sometime down the line...and that would be very unlikely.

This last strip carried on with the Ian McKellan theme, but this time, featuring him as Magneto. I wanted to go out with a bang so I roped in an obscure 90s group to "spice" up the story, so to speak. ;)

23 July 2007:


Panel 1 - Dialogue box: "And even more outtakes from Sir Ian McKellan's vault!"


Panel 2 - Wolverine is stretched out in mid-air, courtesy of Magneto's powers. Magneto approaches Wolverine with an arm stretched out and a clenched fist. He's eyeing something in Wolverine's nether regions...wanna guess what?

Dialogue box: "X-Men!"

IM: "You must be Wolverine. That remarkable metal doesn't run through your entire body, does it?"

Wolverine: "What do you want with me?"


Panel 3 - Silence. Magneto, with his arm still stretched out, slowly opens up his fist. As he does so, a bulge in Wolverine's spandex suddenly grows bigger...or longer. It depends how you want to illustrate this panel and not make it look TOO graphic. ;) Wolverine's eyes go wide (0.0) as he comes to a realisation as to what Magneto really wants.


Panel 4 - Wolverine stares down at his package with his eyes still wide open. Magneto reaches out and...grabs/caresses/fondles Wolvie's bulge.

IM: "My dear boy, whoever said I wanted YOU? Don't you know what *I* really want?"


Panel 5 - All of a sudden, the Spice Girls burst into the scene in the background. Wolvie and Magneto turn to look at them in astonishment.

Baby and Sporty Spice: "So tell me what you want, what you really really want!"

Posh and Scary Spice: "I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna..."


Panel 6 - Silence. Magneto suddenly thrusts out his free arm towards the Spice Girls and they either all get blown violently off panel, or their heads explode with blood covering the panel, courtesy of Magneto pulling the iron from their bodies.


Panel 7 - Magneto, looking back at Wolverine. Wolverine has fainted. Magneto speaks with drool gushing out of the side of his lips.

IM: "I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha."

[PREVIEW] Ultimate Power #8

Ultimate Power, drawn by Greg Land, is soon coming to an end! I can't wait to buy the final two issues and then put the entire series together and read it in one sitting.

Here's a preview of issue #8:


[PREVIEW] ULTIMATE POWER #8
Who’s throwing the Ultimates off their game as they battle the Squadron Supreme?

Posted October 28, 2007 10:15 AM

A new player has been thrown into this cosmic game of survival, upsetting the plans of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury. The Ultimates suddenly find themselves at the lowest point in their struggle against the Squadron Supreme. And that’s very bad news for our Earth.

ULTIMATE POWER #8
Written by JEPH LOEB
Penciled by GREG LAND
Cover by GREG LAND
Rated T+…$2.99
On sale 10/31/07

Marvel Mondays: X-Men

I'm not one for the X-men and X-Universe anymore. While one of my favourite characters remains Deadpool and I've been following the X-titles faithfully for years, I stopped right as Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely were starting their run on the title they renamed as New X-Men.

How silly, as it was one of the best X-men arcs for years. I've got all the TPBs of their run though, so no worries there. However, I still haven't gotten back into the X-universe since I stopped buying the single issues. I purchased the House of M mini-series but that was more of a company-wide event that HAPPENED to have mutants at the core of the story.

The only X-title that I DO get is Astonishing X-Men, by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. And that one is pretty much self-contained in itself anyway. And it's a brilliant must-get book that Marvel puts out. It's an X-title, but I don't see it as being one.

But the new Messiah Complex storyline seems interesting and though I know I won't really be purchasing it, if it's interesting enough, I might get the TPB!


MARVEL MONDAYS: X-MEN
With ‘Messiah Complex’ looming, writer Mike Carey gives six straight answers about X-Men #204 this week
By Brian Warmoth

Posted October 22, 2007 11:45 AM

Sinister and Exodus are both breathing down the necks of the X-Men with the clock counting down to the fall mega-event Messiah Complex. This week’s X-Men #204 sets the stage as “Endangered Species” careens toward a halt. Writer Mike Carey fielded six big questions about what’s going on in his X-books, as Marvel offers an exclusive glimpse of what will take place.

WIZARD: The story for issue #204 is titled as an epilogue. What’s going to be ending, and are the events in the story going to be setting any sort of tone for things to come?

CAREY: It’s an epilogue to the “Blinded By the Light” story arc, most obviously, but in another sense it’s an epilogue to everything we’ve been doing since “Supernovas.” Rogue’s team is in terminal disarray, the X-Men are reeling from the events of the past few days, and we all know something really big is about to hit the fan. So we take the opportunity to play out some of the emotional beats arising from the intense action of recent issues, touching base with Iceman, Cannonball, Cyclops, Rogue, Gambit, Mystique, Sinister and others. And yeah, it’s a prologue as well as an epilogue, because it ends with a very significant event which feeds straight into Ed’s Messiah Complex one-shot.

Who is a bigger threat right now, the Marauders or the Acolytes? And how do their plights compare to each other right now?

CAREY: Well, the scariest thing is that these two groups—each formidable in itself—have managed to join forces despite the different perspectives of their leaders and their not entirely compatible agendas. Are the Marauders or the Acolytes the bigger threat? Hard to say, but if I had to call it I’d say the Marauders: Exodus has more raw power, but Sinister is the deeper schemer, harder to read and harder to reason with. You just know that in his mind, everyone and everything is potentially expendable. There’s no safety net with this guy. And the Marauders now have Mystique in their ranks. Can you think of any female character in the X-verse who’d be more formidable or more terrifying to go up against? I can’t.

What is Blindfold’s status now? Is she totally healed and in the clear?

CAREY: She’s stable, and she’s no longer in any danger as far as her physical condition is concerned. She knew what she was doing, and although she cut it as close as it could be cut, she survived. There are a number of Blindfold beats in this issue, and again we see her looking forward to what’s about to happen. For more of Ruth’s own story, though, you’ll have to wait until next year: There are some major revelations in store there.

When are we going to find out what she woke up screaming about?

CAREY: Very soon. In fact, on Oct. 31...

Have we seen the last of Dark Beast in the “Endangered Species” storyline, or will he be showing up again in Chapter 17? If not, does he still have a role to play as things unfold?

CAREY: Dark Beast isn’t going to be playing any further role either in “Endangered Species” or in Messiah Complex. But you can bet we didn’t bring him in just for the sake of this one story: He’s back in play, and he’s got ideas of his own arising out of the little journey of discovery he’s just been on. Look to see the Doc in a major X-book in 2008.

How about Mystique and Iceman? After she spared his life with a sharp threat in #203, are the two of them going to be able to avoid one another with everything going on at the moment?

CAREY: No comment. But again, the way that relationship played out has left a number of things hanging. Mystique in particular showed an unaccustomed vulnerability at the moment when she was seeing the fulfillment of some very long-term schemes. The unfinished business will be finished, but I can’t say when or where.


For a sneak peek at the upcoming X-events, check out these pages from X-Men #204:

Comic Book Movie Poll

Wizard Universe has got a fabulous comic book movie poll! Go log onto their site and vote for your favourite answers!

I'll be commenting on which my selections would be within the post.

COMIC BOOK MOVIE POLL
Best actor? Sexiest heroine? Worst movie? Tell us what you think about your favorite (or least favorite) comic book movies!

Posted October 8, 2007 11:45 AM

Here at Wizard, our favorite types of movies are, of course, those based on comic books. We can be the biggest critics, but now, we’d like to hear what you think! We’ve assembled a few questions about comic book movies that have come out already and would like to know your opinions! Check for the results in the next Wizard Movie Spectacular issue, on sale Dec. 5th in comic book shops!

Of the following, which male actor gave the best performance as a superhero in a movie based on a comic book?
Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine in “X-Men”
Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in “Spider-Man”
Ron Perlman as Hellboy in “Hellboy”
Welsey Snipes as Blade in “Blade”
Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent/Superman in “Superman”
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman in “Batman Begins”

This is a tough one. A VERY tough one. I'd have to think long and hard before actually voting for this one. I love Maguire's turn in Spider-man, just like I loved Jackman's role as Wolverine. But because Christopher Reeve preceded them a good 20+ years ago, that would have to be my vote.


Which of the following female actors gave the best performance as a non-superheroine in a movie based on a comic book?
Natalie Portman as Evey in “V for Vendetta”
Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo in “300”
Hope Davis as Joyce Brabner in “American Splendor”
Rachel Weisz as Angela/Isabel Dodson in “Constantine”
Thora Birch as Enid in “Ghost World”

Not much choice, eh? I really like Thora Birch in Ghost World, but this one would easily be Natalie Portman. And no, I'm not biased or anything. :p


Who is the hottest movie superheroine?
Helen Slater as Supergirl in “Supergirl”
Halle Berry as Storm in the “X-Men” movies
Famke Janssen as Jean Grey in the “X-Men” movies
Pamela Anderson as Barb Wire in “Barb Wire”
Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman in the “Fantastic Four” movies
Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl in “Batman and Robin”

Ugh. Who's the hottest movie superheroine or who's the hottest out of all these women who HAPPEN to play a movie superheroine? Ask me ten years ago, I would have easily answered Alicia Silverstone. I didn't like Alba's bimbo-esque Sue Storm though, so I'm giving this to Famke Janssen, just because I loved her interpretation of Jean Grey...though Jean could have been so much hotter.


Which of the following is the best movie based on a Dark Horse comic book?
“Sin City”
“300”
“Hellboy”
“The Mask”
“Mystery Men”

Close one between Sin City and 300. And I really loved Hellboy too. But I think I'll go Sin City.


Which of the following has done the best job directing a comic book movie?
Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man” movies)
Christopher Nolan (“Batman Begins”)
Zack Snyder (“300”)
Guillermo del Toro (“Hellboy”)
Bryan Singer (“X-Men” and “X2”)
Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller (“Sin City”)

Bryan Singer for sure. Not only did her predate the rest of the directors for comic book movies, he almost singlehandedly revived the genre with the success of X-men, after Batman and Robin pretty much crippled the comic book movie market. Plus Sam Raimi gets knocked down a few rungs because of certain scenes in Spidey 3.


Which of the following was the coolest shout-out to die-hard fans in a comic book movie?
The Fastball Special in “X-Men: The Last Stand”
Sentinel head in “X-Men: The Last Stand”
Stan Lee not being able to get into Sue and Reed’s wedding in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”
Uncle Ben telling Peter, “With great power comes great responsibility” in “Spider-Man”
The appearance of a dormant Roger the Homunculus in the BPRD headquarters in “Hellboy”
The appearance of Willie Lumpkin the mailman in “Fantastic Four”

Stan Lee not getting into the FF wedding was hilarious. Uncle Ben's speech to Peter was poignant and fantastic...just a classic moment. I hated the Fastball special. But I think, to answer the question, the coolest shout-out for comic book fans had to tbe the Sentinel head.


Which of the following comic book movie moments gave you the biggest goose bumps?
Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent ripping his shirt open to reveal the big “S” on his chest in “Superman”
Christopher Reeve as Superman heralding his return by saying, “General, would you care to step outside?” in “Superman II”
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine baring his claws for the first time during the fight in the seedy Canadian bar in “X-Men”
Michael Keaton as Batman saying, “I’m Batman” in Tim Burton’s “Batman”
The first time Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze transforms into Ghost Rider in “Ghost Rider”

The comic book movie moment that gave me the biggest goosebumps isn't one of the choices...it was in X-Men 2 when Colossus "armoured up" for the first time. But that isn't one of the choices, so I'll go with Christopher Reeve ripping his shirt open. Such an iconic image.


Of the following, which was the best one-liner in a comic book movie?
“You’re a d--k.” –Wolverine to Cyclops in “X-Men”
“What do they call you? Wheels?” -Wolverine to Prof. X in “X-Men”
“I’m giving away money, and where is the Batman? He’s at home, washing his tights!” –Joker to henchman in “Batman”
“Do you know why the number 200 is so vitally descriptive to both you and me? It’s your weight and my I.Q.” –Lex Luthor to Otis in “Superman”
“That’s a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you?” –Spider-Man to Bonesaw McGraw in “Spider-Man”

"Wheels!" Easily, out of the other choices. There are so many more classic one-liners though, and I've got so many other favourites than those listed here.


Which superhero looked best in their panel-to-screen translation?
Daredevil in “Daredevil”
Ghost Rider in “Ghost Rider”
Superman in “Superman”
Batman in “Batman Begins”
Spider-Man in “Spider-Man”

Spider-man. Superman did look kinda cheesy in his costume even though he made everyone believe a man can fly. And while Batman really looks awesome, it's gotta be Spidey, simply because of the acrobatics involved when swinging around in New York City and the breathtaking camera angles.


Which is your favorite comic book movie city?
New York in “Spider-Man”
Gotham City in “Batman”
Gotham City in “Batman Begins”
Metropolis in “Superman Returns”
Sin City in “Sin City”

Sin City comes close, but let's go with the ONLY city listed there based on a real city: New York.


Which is your favorite headquarters in a comic book movie?
Xavier’s Mansion (“X-Men”)
Matt Murdock’s apartment (“Daredevil”)
Fortress of Solitude (“Superman” and “Superman II”)
BPRD headquarters (“Hellboy”)
The Batcave (“Batman”)
The Baxter Building (“Fantastic Four”)

Xavier's Mansion. Because we got to see so many cool cameos within the mansion. Plus, Danger Room!


Which of the following is the coolest comic book movie vehicle?
The Fantasticar in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”
Ghost Rider’s motorcycle in “Ghost Rider”
The Tumbler in “Batman Begins”
The X-Jet in “X-Men” and “X2”
The Batmobile in “Batman”
Green Goblin’s rocket sled in “Spider-Man”

I thought the Tumbler would look ridiculous before actually seeing the movie, but it came off really well. So that's my coolest comic book movie vehicle...mainly because that really could be something that could be developed in real life. For a long time, I thought the original Batmobile from Burton's Batman was awesome though. I still do...Tumbler edges it out though.


Which of the following comic book movies had the best special effects?
“X-Men: The Last Stand”
“Spider-Man 3”
“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”
“Ghost Rider”
“Hellboy”

I'd actually have gone with X-Men 2. But since those are the choices...I think I've got to go with Spider-man 3 because of Venom!


Which is the best series of comic book movie films?
“X-Men,” “X2” and “X-Men: The Last Stand”
“Superman,” Superman II,” “Superman III” and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace”
“Batman,” “Batman Returns,” “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin”
“Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Spider-Man 3”
“Fantastic Four” and “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”
“Blade,” “Blade II” and “Blade: Trinity”

OoOo...tough one. The first two Superman movies are perhaps the most iconic comic book movies of all time. But III and IV were just poo. I liked Batman, but being lumped with Batman and Robin means it's out of contention. Only watched Blade and not the other. Fantastic Four was ok...nothing spectacular compared to the rest. Even though X-Men 2 is probably my favourite comic book movie of all time so far, I'd have to go with the Spider-man series.


Which of the following theatrical releases was the worst movie based on a comic book?
“Howard the Duck”
“The Punisher” (1989)
“Superman IV: The Quest for Peace”
“Batman and Robin”
“Steel”

What, you mean there's a choice? Batman and Robin wins hands down EVERY TIME.


What is your favorite straight-to-DVD animated movie from the past two years?
“Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms”
“Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron”
“Ultimate Avengers”
“Ultimate Avengers II”
“The Invincible Iron Man”
“Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme”
“Superman Doomsday”

Really hard to choose, since I've only watched Ultimate Avengers I and II. I'll go with Ultimate Avengers though.


Who’s your favorite X-Men movie villain?
Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto in all movies
Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut in “X-Men: The Last Stand”
Brian Cox as Stryker in “X2”
Aaron Stanford as Pyro in “X2” and “X-Men: The Last Stand”
Tyler Mane as Sabretooth in “X-Men”
Rebecca Romijn as Mystique in all movies

Geez, the deck is stacked in this choice. Obviously Magneto.


Who’s your favorite Batman movie villain?
Jack Nicholson as the Joker in “Batman”
Liam Neeson as Ra’s Al Ghul in “Batman Begins”
Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in “Batman Returns”
Jim Carrey as Riddler in “Batman Forever”
Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy in “Batman and Robin”

As much as I liked Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Ra's Al Ghul, portrayed by Liam Neeson, wins hands down.


Who’s your favorite Spider-Man movie villain?
Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin in “Spider-Man”
Topher Grace as Venom in “Spider-Man 3”
Thomas Haden Church as Sandman in “Spider-Man 3”
Alfred Molina as Doc Ock in “Spider-Man 2”
James Franco as the new Green Goblin in “Spider-Man 3”

VENOM! Actually, no, because he wasn't given that much screen time. Topher Grace was awesome as a big jerkoff though. I'd vote for Dock Ock for this one.


Which was Stan Lee’s best cameo?
As a security guard in “Hulk”
As a hot dog vendor in “X-Men”
As a man dodging debris in “Spider-Man”
As Willie Lumpkin in “Fantastic Four”
As himself in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”

Hot dog vendor! I suppose his most SIGNIFICANT role would be as Willie Lumpkin, but hot dog vendor was the first classic appearance.

Catching up on reading TPBs

No new updates from Wizard Universe today, unfortunately...nothing that really interests me much. There's an interview with Ed Brubaker, Mike Carey and Chris Yost about the latest storyline, Messiah Complex, that's going to be the prevalent storyarc in the X-Men titles, but I've been weaned off the X-Universe for quite a long time now that it doesn't really interest me much anymore. The last real storyarc/series I read was Morrison and Quitely's run on New X-Men...and not only was that ages ago, but I didn't even get the single issues and resorted to purchasing the HCs and TPBs to read the entire storyline! Oh yeah, must remind myself to save up for that New X-Men Omnibus...I really love those Marvel Omnibuses which are something like the DC Absolute Editions, though with less extras but more issues collected.

I'd finished reading Preacher Vol.7, so I'm about 70 to 80 per cent through the entire series. Jarrod from Classic Comics rang me yesterday evening to inform me that Preacher Vol.8 is in store now, so once I get it, just another two more TPBs to read and I'd have read the Preacher series for the third time. It gets better everytime I read it...learn so much more! I'd really love for one day to have loads of free time to read the entire series from cover to cover in one go. Would take me a good portion of the day methinks. But hell, it'd be worth it.

Obviously, I needed something else to read in the meantime, since I didn't know when Preacher Vol.8 was going to be available, so I started on Brian K. Vaughan's Y - The Last Man Vol.8. I've got the seven previous volumes back in Singapore and I THOUGHT I'd remember enough of the story to make reading the latest TPB worthwhile...but alas, it felt like just jumping into the series midway with not much of an idea what had happened previously before! That's one of the reasons why I decided to get the ENTIRE Preacher series again here...I wanted to have the whole collection to read in the one go. Y - The Last Man is absolutely brilliant as well and well worth getting the entire series too. Hmmm...priorities.

I started on the Ed Brubaker run of Daredevil as well last night, which is kinda nice because while it was good to have some previous idea of what happened in the past in Brian Michael Bendis' run, it certainly wasn't necessary to know ALL that had transpired. Got through the first three issues in the TPB and it's as good as the critics have said. I really love the whole notion of Daredevil's secret identity being outed in the press, then everyone looking at him as if he's this street urban vigilante who fights crime at night but fights evil in the court of law in the day. Which is exactly what he does...but now with the added "twist" that people know and shoot accusatory glares at him!

It's funny seeing how Murdock keeps denying that he's Daredevil, but then proceeds to prove that he's anything BUT a blind man. Take for instance: Murdock is thrown in jail and he keeps telling the prison warden that he's not Daredevil. So the prison warden, who's been bought off, sets a trap for him in which a group of superthugs all jump Murdock, hoping to shiv him. A couple of panels later, the prison guards bust in and they find everyone bruised, bloody and down for the count...all except Murdock, who's ATTEMPTING to hide in the corner, completely unharmed. Murdock's excuse? That the thugs (who ALL work for the same person) just started beating up on each other and in the panic, he was trying to find some corner to escape the violence. Yeah, I'm sure they'd believe that.

There are too many incidents in the prison where the prisoners all start heading to the infirmary, one by one. And is it a massive coincidence that these prisoners all have had run-ins with Murdock BEFORE being sent to the hospital? It doesn't look good for Murdock's secret identity, but I love the way that it's playing out this way. Oh! In the last panel of the third issue, we see a man snapping the neck of a wannabe rapist. A bunch of cops see this happening and they rush up to arrest the man. The man opens up his trenchcoat and then puts his arms up in the air, asking for the cops to arrest him and take him to prison...the same prison that Murdock is in.

All this is well and good, until they focus in on the man's chest and there's this eerie huge fricking skull on his chest. You guessed it...the Punisher wants to go to prison! Does he want to save Daredevil, his one time ally? Or does he want to kill him, since Daredevil has been his long-time nemesis...not nemesis in terms of "I want to kill you because you're my enemy", but nemesis because both of them don't agree on the way to deal with villains. Daredevil wants villains to go through due process in a court of law, while the Punisher, well, he wants to punish them by killing them all and letting God sort them out.

I can't wait to read the rest tonight!

X-Men: Messiah Complex

Howdy! After a couple of days away, thanks to the move to the new home, I'm back!

I haven't read X-Men in ages. Just haven't been that interested in Marvel's mutants for a couple of years, not even when the movies came out! Guess I just can't relate to them anymore.

Even when mutant fever was at its height in Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men, I only purchased the first couple of issues, then dropped the X-titles off my standing orders list altogether. I felt the stories were getting stale...of course, that was silly since Morrison's run was one of the best ever runs on X-men and my two hardcover collections of his run says just that, PLUS I'm thinking of getting the omnibus.

Anyway, I don't think I'll jump back into the X-universe again anytime soon, but the new direction the X-Men are being taken towards since the House of M company-wide crossover seems promising!


WIZARD EXCLUSIVE: KILLING FIELD
Marvel provides the four key questions—and unbelievable answers—that will rock Marvel’s mutants to the brink of extinction in this fall’s ‘X-Men: Messiah Complex’

By TJ Dietsch Original Illustration by Billy Tan

Posted September 20, 2007 8:35 AM

The drums of war beat loudly for the X-Men this fall.

October’s “Messiah Complex” one-shot kicks off a crossover between X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, New X-Men and X-Factor through January.

“‘Messiah Complex’ will cause characters to choose sides once and for all,” explains Group Editor Axel Alonso. “They’re standing on the edge of a cliff when it comes to their existence.”

And their existence revolves around four key questions, provided exclusively by Marvel, and the answers can be found here. Think you can figure it all out? Let’s get started…

Who Will Lead Them?
“Our leader will make very hard decisions, like a general in war,” says Alonso. “It will change this person’s relationship with everyone.”

We see three contenders: Prof. X, but he’s been kinda shady in that category lately. There’s Cyclops, but are his leadership methods too antiquated for the task? And there’s the radical Cable, but could his terrorist ways go too far? Oh, and there’s the fact that Cable’s currently dead. Perhaps new blood takes the reins.



Who Will Betray Them?
This betrayal of mutantkind, Alonso promises, will be the biggest the X-Men have ever seen, and could mean curtains for all mutants.

Mr. Sinister ordered mass genocide by slaughtering the Morlocks, so he’s a prime suspect. So’s the conniving Mystique, who goes to great lengths to get what she wants. And how much do we really know about Bishop and his future, anyway?

Who Will Die?
One of the mutants to the left WILL die.

“If there are no casualties in war, ultimately you stop believing in the peril,” X-Men writer Mike Carey explains. “The deaths will have power.”

The death of a big gun like Beast, the brains of the X-Men, could truly cripple the team. Or even the demise of Rogue, a Marauders prisoner, or hard-to-kill Madrox, the duplicating star of X-Factor, would show the X-Men how serious their enemies are.

Who Holds the Fate of Mutantkind?
Could it be…an infant? “A child is born and we don’t know, but we suspect, that this could be evidence of a new mutant birth,” teases Alonso.

If not the child, then who? You can’t discount Storm’s access to the most technologically advanced country in the world. Or the fact that Wolverine is mutantkind’s ultimate survivor. Or that X-23 is a clone of Logan. Regardless, Alonso reiterates the stakes very plainly:

“‘Messiah Complex’ is like a shot heard around the world,” Alonso says. “It shows the X-Men there’s no more time to f--- around. It’ll hit like a rocket ship to the gut.”