Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Comics

  • Our Pitch For a ‘Superior Foes’ Series In the MCU

    Our Pitch For a ‘Superior Foes’ Series In the MCU

    I promised myself I’d swear off writing one of these on account of them taking so much of my headspace for weeks at a time but I just had to write it down because I dug the idea so much. One of the best things I’ve read in the past 5 years was Nick Spencer‘s Superior Foes of Spider-Man, a screwball spin-off featuring the Seinfeld version of the Sinister Six. The comic saw several D-list villains come together to try tried to make it as a supervillain team all the while dealing with each other’s bullshit. The comic’s unique tone reminded me of the works of the Coen Brothers and shows like Better Call Saul. How it deftly bridged the wacky irreverence of characters, the despicability of their actions, and the absurdity of the situations they get themselves in. So it was only natural for me to imagine this show as a dark comedy, in the vein of the shows I mentioned above, should it ever make it to the MCU. And yeah, I went the extra mile and tried to plot an entire season.

    SETTING

    Ever wondered what it was like to live in the 5 years when half of the universe disappeared? I have, which is why this Superior Foes story is set in that timeframe, approximately a year before Scott Lang escapes the Quantum Realm. That time gap is so ripe for interesting stories and themes. The main thing I wanted to figure out was what the quality of living was like in a world that essentially nosedived into chaos and oblivion. Does it feel post-apocalyptic? Does the world look like an episode of The Walking Dead? With half of the world gone, imagine how crippled law enforcement would be and how remaining criminal organizations would fill the void left by their rivals.  How does one make a living in a period like this? It already sets up an immensely intriguing arc. This story tries to address those ideas while staying true to the spirit and irreverence of Nick Spencer‘s comic.

    Mind you, this iteration of the team is a reimagined one with none of the characters from the comics with the exception of Beetle. Because the comic was super Spidey-centric, I wanted a team made of up villains that didn’t necessarily belong to one particular rogue’s gallery. Also given how finicky the live-action rights of Spidey characters are, I figured to just try to keep most of the characters within the legal rights of Marvel Studios. However, l think what made the comic so good was the type of characters it included; Overdrive and Boomerang are legit D-listers that added a fun irreverence to the story. The characters that show up in this story are in that vein and are some of the most ridiculous characters in Marvel’s history.

    PLOT

    EPISODE 1

    Prologue: Paladin’s origins

    Arms dealer and crime syndicate boss Sonny Burch gets word that a highly dangerous, “world-changing” piece of hardware is stashed in an abandoned AIM base in Arizona. Fearing the hardware falling into the hands of rival organizations, he commissions washed-up mercenary Paladin to form an extraction team of his own. Paladin brings his partner-in-crime Jeb into the fold along with four down-on-their-luck schmucks – Stilt-Man, Paste Pote-Pete, Jester, and Beetle. Jester is quickly kicked out of the team for being an asshole. Expecting some resistance from rival factions, Sonny Burch contacts former Stark employee William Riva to arm the team. The team heads to the hidden AIM base in Montana where they encounter a rival faction led by Grizzly. The two groups engage in a piss-poor firefight with Paladin’s team escaping with the hardware. The group takes shelter in one of Nick Fury’s hidden bases in the state. They open the hardware and see that it’s the severed head of Ultron. It awakens instantly and becomes sentient.

    EPISODE 2

     

    Prologue: Paste-Pot Pete origin story

    The robot’s awakening sends the entire team into a panic. They angrily debate on whether to surrender Ultron to Burch, who they think is planning to use the robot to take over the world. Fearing another world-ending catastrophe just after the snap, conscience strikes the team and they all agree to betray Burch and come up with a new plan: bring the head to the Avengers HQ and get compensated handsomely. The team departs Fury’s hidden base and soon after that, Burch gets an anonymous message informing them of their plans. 

    EPISODE 3

     

    Prologue: Stilt-Man origin story

    Tensions rise between the team as they make their way to Roswell, New Mexico, where Jeb has set up a rendezvous with a contact, a former Hammer Industries agent codenamed K, to get them to New York as soon as possible. Paladin and Beetle grow distrustful of one another, believing each other to have their own agendas while Stilt-Man and Paste-Pot Pete take a liking to Ultron, who is now an active participant in the team’s discussions, helping them navigate through the trip. They also meet Gary the Cameraman, last seen in Iron Man 3, who they befriend. The team makes an effort to keep Ultron a secret from K to stay out of trouble but is futile as K manages to see Ultron. Learning the full extent of their situation, K agrees to take them to New York. As they prepare to depart for New York, the team is ambushed by Jester and Grizzly’s crew, who are now working for Burch. The fight goes poorly once again and much to everyone’s dismay, Beetle escapes with Ultron in the middle of the fight.

    EPISODE 4

     

    Prologue: Beetle origin story

    The fight abruptly ends as everyone races to find Beetle. Both Paladin and Jester’s team make several attempts to outpace one another. Beetle rushes through the streets of Roswell when she is suddenly stopped by K, who reveals himself to be a Skrull named K’ravt. Both teams arrive in the nick of time just as K’ravt is about to steal Ultron from Beetle, much to their shock at the revelation. Nonetheless, they band together and have their own little Endgame moment, a posse of ragtag misfits against one evil alien. That sense of relief quickly goes away when a small Skrull aircraft hovering above them decloaks and beams down three more Skrulls, revealing the Skrull Kill Krew. Jester’s team zooms past everyone leaving Paladin’s team to fight them. Against all odds, the Skrulls are defeated by Paladin’s team but not without repercussions. Stilt-Man and Paladin are wounded in the fight. The aircraft they were supposed to use to fly to New York, which is actually a Skrull ship, has been destroyed. But most important of all, Jeb makes an earth-shattering revelation and reveals himself to be a Skrull.

    EPISODE 5

     

    Prologue: Jeb origin story

    With two members injured, having no resource to move on with their plan, Beetle having just betrayed them, and the revelation that Jeb is a Skrull, the team reaches an all-time low. They are helped by Iron Man 3’s Gary the Cameraman, who they meet in Roswell earlier. Gary helps them find shelter in a warehouse outside the city. This episode mostly has the team dealing with their trust issues and coming to terms with how screwed up they are. Paladin gets outed by Beetle for trying to secretly contact Burch throughout their trip. Paladin comes clean with his debt problems with Burch, but claims he didn’t sell the team’s location to him. Jeb is confronted by the team on whether he planned to surrender Ultron to the Skrulls. 

    Ultron helps them devise a plan on how to deal with their two dilemmas: getting to New York and dealing with Burch chasing them. They decide to have Burch come to them under the pretense of surrendering Ultron. In actuality, they plan to steal Burch’s repurposed Quinjet, who has been seen using it in the first episode. They make the call and set a rendezvous. Burch makes several calls to various mercenaries to help him out but is unsuccessful. With no other option, Burch brings out a mysterious weapon. As Ultron helps the team strategize, we cut to an undisclosed laboratory where we see a kid sitting in front of several huge monitors mimicking and controlling what Ultron is saying through a mouthpiece in real-time. The kid turns out to be Amadeus Cho. 

    EPISODE 6

     

    Prologue: Amadeus Cho origin story

    The episode opens with 8-year old Amadeus Cho walking around the Avengers compound. He peeks out of a window to see Captain America and Falcon boarding a Quinjet. He walks by Bruce Banner’s office and looks inside to see if his favorite Avenger is in the room. Jump to 3 years later where he, his sister, and his mom, Helen, are living in the city. The snap happens and his sister and mom disappear. Cut to 3 years later, Amadeus is in a makeshift laboratory tinkering with something on his computer. We see him help law enforcement raid an illegal arms cache through remote hacking. Satisfied with the raid, Amadeus continues with studying the schematics of a redacted Ultron file he uncovers. He tracks the file’s origin to Arizona. On his computer, he parses through files of wanted active crime bosses. On the list is Sonny Burch among several others. Amadeus manages to remotely access the head of the Ultron bot and anonymously puts the word out that the head is up for grabs.  

    We then see various points of the season through Amadeus’ perspective; the heist, talking to the team, manipulating them to go through certain routes and locations, pinging Burch on their whereabouts, the arrival of the Skrulls until we get to the present. The team is now holed up in a bunker in Arizona awaiting Burch’s arrival. Expecting Burch to arrive with a slew of mercenaries, the team prepares a plan to take down Burch’s crew efficiently with Jeb masquerading as Paladin and Paste-Pot Pete planting a slew of traps. Things turn upside quickly when Burch arrives with his secret weapon: the Super Adaptoid. Of course, the fight doesn’t go as well as Burch had hoped as the Adaptoid doesn’t have any formidable abilities to adapt from his enemies. 

    The tide turns in favor of the team as they gain the upper hand. But just as they’re about to defeat the Super Adaptoid, the fight is interrupted by the intervention of an unexpected challenger: Bruce MF Banner, who is now Smart Hulk. The Adaptoid’s power level increases and the fight becomes a lot harder. But the team manages to come together and help Professor Hulk destroy the Super Adaptoid. Burch tries to make his escape but is stopped by Gary. The destroyed head of Ultron is uncovered in the rubble. 

    Burch is arrested once more and is shipped off to the Raft. Professor Hulk tracks down Amadeus Cho’s location where they meet in person for the first time. It is revealed that Cho was instrumental in Bruce’s success in merging both his and Hulk’s personalities as he anonymously corresponded with Bruce and sent formulas. Cho admits to taking a liking to Paladin’s crew and asks Hulk what happened to the team. Bruce reveals that he let the team go under the condition they attend Steve Rogers’ group counseling session on a weekly basis. Cut to the team sitting in a circle with Steve Rogers. 

    CHARACTERS

    Paladin – a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who excelled in the boot camp and wowed superiors but failed to be amount to anything on the field. Needless to say, Paladin peaked way too early. His days on the field as a SHIELD agent were a dud as several missions he was involved in were botched due to his incompetence. The collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. became Paladin’s opportunity to prove himself elsewhere so he turned to private military contracting where he failed as well. Desperate to finally win in life, he sets up an elaborate operation with the help of his friend Sonny Burch’s finances where his team is intended to come out successful. Paladin, once more, takes another L as the snap happens during the mission, leaving him as the only survivor. Paladin becomes in debt to Burch.

    Jeb/J’bronii – A shy soft-spoken Skrull who has assimilated on Earth for several years. Jeb was originally sent to Earth alongside countless others to help facilitate the pending Skrull Invasion.  His task was to infiltrate Hydra to learn the ins and outs of the organization. However, a misunderstanding leads Jeb to join an industrial company called Hydro. Jeb manages to work his way up the career ladder and is an assistant regional manager when the snap happens. Having not heard from his superiors or allies in years, Jeb starts feeling guilty – thinking the Skrull Empire has somehow failed the invasion of Earth – and starts a journey of self-discovery to reclaim the Skrull in him once more.

    Stilt-Man – A henchman whose claim to fame was that he squared off with Captain America in the Lemurian Star, an encounter that left him permanently injured. He befriends Jeb and Paste-Pot Pete after a chance encounter and the three begin hanging out regularly. When he gets the invite to join Paladin’s team, he is given a suit of armor that allows him to extend his height. Neither malicious nor decent, Stilt-Man is a bit of a dummy who thinks hanging out with supervillains would elevate his chances of being a famous superhero one day. Gets along with Ultron and Paste Pot Pete really well.

    Paste-Pot Pete – The everyman of the group. Paste Pot Pete began dressing up and fighting crime in his youth inspired by the adventures of Captain America. Unlike his teammates, Paste-Pot Pete has no ambition in power or wealth. Now, he’s a mild-mannered 60-year old man urged his late grandson who perished in the snap to relive his glory days as a cheesy costumed fighter from the 80s. Arguably the nicest member of the group.

    Beetle – Daughter of a retired crime boss called the Beetle. The Beetle in his heydey was one of the west coast’s most powerful crime bosses until the 21st century came along, where his traditional organization was left in the wind by the more tech-centric organizations like AIM. The Beetle eventually had to sell off most of his assets to a rival group, leaving him and his family broke. The power struggle left by the snap convinces the now-retired Beetle to urge his daughter to help rebuild his criminal organization. He sends her on a path that leads her to Paladin’s team.

    Amadeus Cho – a boy-genius who grew up in close proximity with the Avengers thanks to his mother Helen Cho’s involvement with the team. Cho exhibited breathtaking intellect at a young age, impressing the likes of Bruce Banner. Cho is instrumental in Bruce’s eventual transformation into Professor Hulk, anonymously corresponding with Bruce in every step of the experimental process. With no one left to assist the Avengers after the snap, Cho takes it upon himself to round off the remaining criminal organizations as a vigilante hacker. His masterplan essentially is to put a stop to Burch’s operation so he comes up with an elaborate scheme to entrap Burch.

    Sonny Burch – Since getting arrested by Jimmy Woo and the FBI, Burch has managed to slither back into society and is up to no good once more. Since we last saw him in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Burch has gone up the ranks of criminality and is now the top dog in his organization.

     

     

    Bruce Banner – Avengers: Endgame glossed over the finer details of how Bruce managed to merge his personality with the Hulk so I thought it neat to fill in some of the blanks of his transformation and build Bruce’s world a little bit. An Endgame deleted scene also showed Bruce rescuing a family in a burning building, which would have teased the Hulk actually doing some day-to-day superheroics. I figured what better way to showcase Bruce’s full transformation into a real hero by him going on missions himself to stop bad guys.

  • ‘PAPER GIRLS’ Adaptation Shifts Into Gear at Amazon

    ‘PAPER GIRLS’ Adaptation Shifts Into Gear at Amazon

    Back in July, Amazon gave the green light to Paper Girls, a series based on the Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang comic that was published by Image Comics from 2015 to 2019. Now, a new casting call has surfaced that is anything but surprising, but that shows that development on the show is probably ramping up, with more details sure to surface in the coming weeks.

    The comic centers on the time-traveling adventures of a group of four young, you guessed it, paper girls, back in the year 1988. Erin, Mac, KJ, and Tiffany don’t start off as the best and closest of friends, but through their shared experiences of fighting to save the world and trying to travel back home, that will undoubtedly change.

    The new casting call lists the four characters as being 11-12 years old, with their backgrounds, ethnicity, and personalities fitting the comics’ to perfection. Erin, Asian American, the group’s new girl. Mac, tough as nails, raised in an abusive home, a survivor. Karina, the wealthy, over-protected white girl that dreams of rebelling and that loves sports. Tiffany, African American, the brains in the group, addicted to videogames. These were always to be the four characters the show could not deviate from, so it’s only natural they are the first priorities when it comes to the casting process. Hopefully, we’ll get some more updates sooner rather than later, as production should be eyeing a March start date.

    This is a show that is sure to make a huge impact in the way Stranger Things did back in 2016. As such, the comic it’s based on was listed here in Murphy’s Multiverse as one that could make for an amazing small-screen adaptation.

  • 10 Comics That Could Use The Film and TV Treatment

    10 Comics That Could Use The Film and TV Treatment

    With the release of the Invincible trailer reminding us that there are still many amazing comics out there that haven’t been picked up by major production companies, here is a list of ten non-Marvel and non-DC properties that would make for great projects either for the big or small screen. I tried to keep it a bit varied, both in terms of tone and genre, with books that left their mark when I first read them.

     

    BLACK SCIENCE (2013-2019, 43 issues)

    Both Marvel and DC seem to be diving headfirst into their own Multiverses in the coming years, with WandaVision, the Doctor Strange sequel, and The Flash. But it’ll be hard to top what Black Science achieved in that regard for six straight years.

    Here we follow Grant McKay, a member of the Anarchist League of Scientists, his family, and his team of scientists and military personnel as they try to maneuver through a seemingly infinite number of universes (the “Eververse”) tapped into following the creation of the device they call “the Pillar”. These “Dimensionauts” have then to deal with a malfunctioning Pillar, that much like we saw in Quantum Leap, throws them into random worlds challenging them every step of the way, as they try to make their way back home, and back to each other.

    Why it could work: I have a hard time trying to figure out if this project would lend itself to TV or cinema. Its visual spectacle deserves the biggest screen possible, but the storyline would make for an enthralling series through several seasons. What I do know is that the best stories, with the most fantastic premises, are only as good as the human elements presented to the audience. And Black Science is not only one of the best science-fiction stories I’ve ever read but also one of the most human, with all our dreams and flaws painstakingly presented, where family and friendships are the centers of one’s universe. And sometimes you just need to fight your way to get to them. What is more relatable than that?

    THE MASSIVE (2012-2014, 30 issues) 

    After an earth-shattering event, we follow the environmentalist crew of the ship The Kapital as they search the world for their missing sister ship, The Massive. With the world falling apart, we question what is there still to fight for, what is there to protect but the ability to rise above it all, as the tides did to dry ground.

    Why it could work: The biggest challenge we face as a species is for how long can we keep our planet our home. Earth won’t die, nature will adapt, we just have to make sure we are along for the ride. This book isn’t that optimistic as it shows us the worst-case scenario, where not only our home but our humanity is gone. At a time when every help in addressing global warming is a welcome one, that alone would make this a relevant show by making us look in the mirror at a time when everything we see is still avoidable.

     

    PAPER GIRLS (2015-2019, 30 issues)

    Stranger Things meets Back to the Future. A coming-of-age story about a group of four 12-year-old girls that due to unforeseen circumstances become involved in a war between two factions of time travelers. Unlike most other books and movies, here they have no problem in meeting up with their past and future selves, as they need any help they can get trying to get back home to 1988 while saving the world at the same time.

    Why it could work: Stranger Things was and still is, a phenomenon. But this show has the potential of going a step further in the cultural zeitgeist. Meshing 80s nostalgia with any other era’s they happen to choose (Time Travel!!) while keeping that Goonies vibe and throwing in Generation X and Y growing pains, it is something that can work on so many levels, on so many demographics, that in the world we live in of constant reboots and sequels it quite baffling that we haven’t yet gotten the chance to get this original project going. 

    THE PAYBACKS (2015-2016, 8 issues)

    A superhero comic with a twist. When heroes borrow money to finance their gadgets and genetic enhancements, there comes a time when that money must be paid back in full. When that doesn’t happen, it’s time to call The Paybacks, a team of bankrupt superheroes that work as repo men in order to pay their own debts. But this time, the hunters become the prey, and someone is coming to collect.

    Why it could work: Superhero stories rule the world. This isn’t necessarily a good thing, but from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the hottest streaming show right now (The Boys), it’s hard to say otherwise. So, right off the bat, this shows would seem like a safe bet. It would work as a sort of middle-ground between the more mainstream superhero movies and the TV-MA we sometimes get, a different take on the superhero gig where things aren’t as black and white as in other projects, but a lot lighter than being choked to death by a giant penis.

    PUNK ROCK JESUS (2012-2013, 6 issues)

    What if we could bring Jesus back to life through cloning? With the discovery of a sample of his DNA, that’s exactly what the entertainment company OPHIS did. But to make matters worse, they decided to raise him inside a Reality TV show with the entire world watching. Like many teenagers, most in far better circumstances, he rebels and turns to punk rock, with great religious and political consequences.

    Why it could work: Back in 2003 Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code took the world by storm as it tried to put into question centuries-old dogmas. Most people aren’t really big fans of reading, but that didn’t stop it from becoming a worldwide phenomenon that transcended reading habits and got everybody talking about the what-ifs Brown presented. A TV show that brought that same sort of discussions to an even more mainstream audience through an engaging storyline filled with modern cultural references would dominate our cultural climate, especially in the times we live in where everything can be a reason for outrage.

     

    SEVEN TO ETERNITY (2016-PRESENT, 13 issues, so far)

    A Lord of the Rings-style epic, set in a fantasy world filled with wonder, demons, witches, and Gods. We follow Adam Osidis, along with an order of magical warriors, on his quest to free the world of the God of Whispers’ enchantment that keeps everybody engulfed in despair and suspicion. He must then choose between doing what’s right, and following his own heart’s desires.

    Why it could work: This sort of fantasy epics have proven to have an audience, no matter the times we live in. The Lord of the Rings was as relevant at the beginning of the 20th century as it had been when JRR Tolkien first wrote the novel almost 50 years earlier. Game of Thrones became a cultural juggernaut for the entirety of its run and people are still clamoring for George RR Martin to finish the books. Seven to Eternity, unlike Thrones, has an ending within sight, and with a much less grounded setting, it would seem to be able to fill a thematic void The Witcher also managed to tap into.

     

    SHIRTLESS BEAR FIGHTER (2017, 5 issues)

    There’s really not much to say about this series that isn’t in its title. He’s a brawny bearded guy raised in the forest by bears. He’s shirtless (and sometimes naked). He likes to punch bears because they betrayed him. And he loves flapjacks. While not being innovating in any shape or form, this book has the potential to become the most entertaining 10-minute cartoon episode you’ll watch all day. Every day.

    Why it could work: In a world where short-form content gets all the views (unless you’re called Quibi), a cartoon with short episodes but with above-average laughs-per-second could go The Simpsons‘ way as they rose beyond The Tracey Ullman Show. Production costs should be low and being able to share it through social networks daily could help it grow beyond expectations. I mean, who wouldn’t like to see a (sometimes) naked lumberjack-type throw some bear-punches?

     

    THESE SAVAGE SHORES (2018-2019, 5 issues)

    Ever since it came out, if anyone asks me for a non-Marvel, non-DC comic to try out, this is my only answer. And with the right director, it would make for an amazing full-length motion picture.

    Set in the seventeen hundreds, as the British look into establishing themselves as an influential economic power in India, working behind the scenes to try and manipulate local rulers into wars only they would benefit from. This faraway territory also served as an escape for whoever needed to run away from western civilization, expecting never to be seen again. But when that someone is a monster that thinks of this as merely a new playground on which to feast, it’s hard to remain both unnoticed and unscathed. After all, there are monsters everywhere.

    Why it could work: Movies are supposed to transport us to different realities with a familiar starting point to help us identify with the events to come. This story, while not taking us to outer space or the far future, makes us connect with a period and location left mostly untapped in western film productions that still manages to keep you at the edge of your seat. Taking familiar horror elements and reshaping their food-chain status when faced with new foes can help audiences get away from the familiar tropes and dive into a new world of possibilities when it comes to fantastical beings.

     

    THE WAKE (2013-2014, 10 issues)

    This would make for an incredible couple of movies, as the story itself is already pretty much divided into two parts, one set in the present, the other in the far future. Think The Abyss meets Waterworld. We follow a team of scientists as they discover an aggressive new species locked away in the oceans below us since ancient times. This unstoppable alpha predator knows no rest and quickly conquers the planet, leaving little room for humanity to thrive.

    Why it could work: This is the blockbuster of the bunch. And there is always room for another one of those. The scope of the story and the incredible visuals lends themselves to an incredible cinematic experience and having the first movie end on such a sour note would make the anticipation for the sequel mimic what people felt in-between Infinity War and Endgame.

    WE STAND ON GUARD (2015, 6 issues)

    Independence Day meets Red Dawn. One hundred years in the future, Canada relies on a group of freedom fighters to protect its territory from a foreign threat. The United States of America. And so the USA becomes the faceless enemy, the technologically superior foe with the skewed ideals, looking to steal the natural resources it’s lacking (due to intentional oversight) from a more refined society.

    Why it could work: Growing up with mostly American-centered movies, there is always something refreshing when the USA (that like all other countries in the world, isn’t always on the right side of history) is shown as the antagonist. As in Dances with Wolves, we experience an invasion through a new perspective, making us question the authority behind military force, and how with great power comes great responsibility.

    (I can’t believe I just wrote that.)

     

     

    BONUS: DEADLY CLASS (2014-PRESENT, 44 issues, so far)

    I ended up wanting an extra stop on the list to get Deadly Class in here. Unlike the other series, this one has already been adapted to the small screen, having premiered in late 2018 on SyFy. It only lasted one season, being canceled after 10 episodes, but it was glorious and it deserved a second go. It’s set in the 80s and its plot revolves around Marcus, a disenfranchised orphan who enters a school for assassins, where the kids of the world’s most dangerous criminals look to live up to their families standards. But Marcus doesn’t care about any of that. All he wants is to try and kill the man he holds responsible for his parent’s death. President Ronald Reagan.

    From Hunter S. Thompson-style road trips to comic book stores, from severed heads to punk rock, it’s all there, as we explore the ethos and aspirations of the late 80s counterculture. It’s a shame we’ll never get to see what was to come in the following seasons on the small screen, but we’ll always have the unbelievable source material created by Rick Remender and Wes Craig to dive into, the way it was always meant to be experienced.

    Why it could work: Just go and watch the first season because.. it did work. If you like it, and since we won’t get more episodes out of it, go read the comics. Seriously.

  • REVIEW: X of Swords #1-5 is Hickman at his Most Hickman-est

    REVIEW: X of Swords #1-5 is Hickman at his Most Hickman-est

    I’m an unabashed fan of Jonathan Hickman’s work in comics. His work, both at Marvel Comics and as an indie creator, has always left me entertained, confused and made me walk away thinking deeply and often coming back to reread issues on multiple occasions. I was thrilled to find out that not only would Hickman be writing X-Men books but also that he was going to be “Head of X”, meaning that he’d be overseeing the entire X-line and that we were about to go on a long journey with one of the best longform narrators in comics.

    One of the things Hickman has proven very adept at doing during his tenure with Marvel Comics is subtly reworking and expanding the mythology around some of the publisher’s most popular and well-established characters and he certainly didn’t hold back in doing that when he launched this X-line with dual titles House of X and Powers of X, establishing an incredible series of events and placing Moira McTaggert right in the middle of the very convoluted history (and future) of the X-Men. HoX and PoX launched the first two waves of X-books, all of which have landed more punches than they’ve missed for me, which have been building up to the Hickman’s first big X-event: X of Swords. The line-wide event has just kicked off and I’ve caught up on the first 5 issues of the 22-issue event. Is X of Swords off to a strong start? I have some thoughts!

    REVIEW: X of Swords - Creation #1 Is an Ambitious Start to Marvel's X-Men First Crossover

    The first title, X of Swords: Creation, came out swinging and set up perhaps Hickman’s most ambitious and far-reaching work at Marvel to this point. Hickman has spent a good deal of time in Dawn of X rewriting the history of Krakoa, reestablishing the importance of Otherworld and continuing to add to the already impressive personal history of one of Marvel’s most fascinating characters, Apocalypse. Hickman has always been a master world builder and his efforts during Dawn of X might well top any of his work at Marvel to this point. As usual for me, I’ve had to work through multiple rereads of multiple issues to try to get a handle on the disparate threads that are now weaving together in X of Swords but after finishing the first 5 issues of the event, I feel it is safe to say it was time well spent and that we might be in the opening act not only of one of Hickman’s best but also one of Marvel Comics best event-style arcs ever.

    Obviously this isn’t just Hickman at work here, though the narrative is certainly his concoction, and the group of writers who have been working to set up the chess board for this event have done a great job of telling their own stories while staying aligned with Hickman’s vision. Specific to this review, the works of Gerry Duggan (Cable and Maruauders), Benjamin Percy (X-Force and Wolverine), Leah Williams (X-Factor) and though her book wasn’t one of the first five issues of the event, Tini Howard (Excalibur). Of the group, Howard’s exquisite Excalibur book has laid much of the foundation for the first 5 parts of the event, bringing Otherworld to the forefront of not just the line of X-books but potentially the entire Marvel Universe. The amount of planning that had to have gone into this is staggering and, I imagine, on par with the 2007-08 Messiah Complex event under the direction of Christopher Yost, yet the team has made it work incredibly well.

    What Worked Well:

    Pretty much everything. The biggest payoff comes in the form of the latest chapter of the history of Apocalypse. We’ve seen bits and pieces of his past brought to light over the past several months, but the opening salvo of X of Swords clarifies what has to be one of the most shocking retcons in recent memory and something that has been a looming mystery since we were teased with this Sinister Secret all the way back in Powers of X #2:

    “For years, this fittest-of-all mutant has routinely surrounded himself with a particular-numbered entourage. These hangers-on stick around for a while until they are eventually replaced with newer, more exciting members. What most people don’t know is that if the original members returned, these pretenders would be dropped so fast their heads would spin.”

    As we learned from Krakoa itself (via Cypher), Krokoa is half of a whole with its other half, Arrako, having been separated in an ancient war when the Twilight Sword opened a rift in reality allowing an army of demons to pour through. Here Apocalypse and his original horsemen made a stand against the horde, saving Earth but at the cost of Arrako and the Horsemen being lost in another dimension that Apocalypse was unable to access until now. All of Apocalype’s machinations to this point have been about him finding a way to access Otherworld and then finding his way back to Arrako and now we know why: the original Four Horsemen are the children of Apocalypse, his true heirs and his actions cost him the life of their mother and doomed them to an eternal battle. Once reunited, it isn’t long before Apocalypse is betrayed by his children and the Summoner of Arrako forcing the X-Men to rush to his side and setting in motion the ambitious “contest of champions” that will pit 10 X-Men against 10 Swordbearers of Arrako with the fate of not just mutantkind but mankind at stake! For the first time in a long time, Apocalypse isn’t the one in charge of the game board, finding himself and his nation bending to the will of Saturnyne, the ruler of Otherworld. It’s here where it hit me that this event seems to truly be written for hardcore fans of the X-Men  who have poured not only through the Dawn of X books but also the 6 decades worth of stories that came before. Seeing a character like Saturnyne become a major power player by establishing a tournament, the repercussions of which will almost certainly be felt throughout the larger Marvel universe, seems incredibly satisfying as someone who has been a fan of X-books since the early 80s.

    X of Swords: Wolverine Blames Krakoa for Marvel's Mutant War

    I loved the verses recited by Polaris that hint at who the X-Men’s Swordbearers will be and much of what we saw in the first 5 issues (and will see for the next several more, I assume) is the individual journeys of those Swordbearers as they work to acquire their blades and find their way to the circle of Santo (I made that up). While some of the X-Men Swordbearers were predictable before the start (Magik and Wolverine were in the “oh yeah for sure” category for me) and another became obvious in his solo book (Cable), others were more of a surprise and, of course, we get to meet some new and memorable characters on the other side of the contest, such as Solem who has already become an incredibly intriguing character. Through the first five issues, Marauders #13 and the connected narrative of Wolverine #6 and X-Force #13 detail the events of two characters, Storm and Wolverine, in pursuit of the blades they’ll need to join the contest. Both characters are forced to confront their pasts (Strom must infiltrate Wakanda and Wolverine must go back to Hell) in order to acquire their blades. Storm’s tale was especially enjoyable as it allowed readers to revisit her past both as Queen of Wakanda and as a master thief while finding a way to add to the already well-developed history of Wakanda by introducing the Skybreaker blade. If these two stories are the template for what we can expect over the next several weeks as the other key figures gather their swords, we’re in for a treat. These stories are a great reminder of a constant theme in this review: it’s not JUST the mutant nation of Krakoa at risk here.

    And finally it’s the emergence of a true threat to the mutants that gives this event the promise of true stakes which then makes it worth reading. Since Hickman established the mutant resurrection protocols with the HoX/PoX relaunch, death has simply become an obstacle to mutantkind and one that is easily overcome. The death of Santo in Otherworld, however, changed the rules of the game as it was revealed that dying in Otherworld, the Nexus of all Realities, means that resurrection is a crap shoot as the “new” Santo was an amalgamation of all Santos (that’s some serious Hickman-ness). So while these brave heroes prepare this tournament, their lives are now truly on the line as they fight for everything they just established.

    The first 5 issues are truly Hickman at his most Hickman-est: weaving together multiple threads of complex world building, revealing secret histories of characters and places we thought we knew and quickly establishing that pretty much everything we thought we knew was wrong. It also goes ties back to one of his constant Marvel mantra: everything dies.

    What Didn’t Work Well:

    It’s hard to give something a fair review when you don’t have anything negative to say. To me this is the type of event story telling I love. It’s complex, layered, requires a lot of prior knowledge and sets up many potential new arcs even as it deals with ones that have been ongoing for some time. By nature then it includes a lot of moving parts and a ton of characters and could, for those reasons, be really off-putting to someone who hasn’t been keeping up. So it probably isn’t the ideal jumping on point if you’re looking to dig into X-books but more of a gift to the hardcore X-fans.

     

    Takeaway:

    A well-crafted start to an event that promises big things, X of Swords #1-5 are worth the money and effort you’ve invested so far but might not be for everyone, especially if you’re not up to date on Dawn of X.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Al Ewing Launches New ‘S.W.O.R.D.’ Series This December

    Al Ewing Launches New ‘S.W.O.R.D.’ Series This December

    As Al Ewing and Dan Slott’s Empyre event came to an end, former S.W.O.R.D. director Abigail Brand assured the Avengers and Alpha Flight that she had better things to do with her time than to clean up their messes when they leave her out of the loop. Now we know what she had in mind: Brand is bringing back S.W.O.R.D…with a twist.

    S.W.O.R.D. #1 cover by Valerio Schiti

    Ewing will reteam with Empyre artist Valerio Schiti to bring Brand’s all-new, all-mutie version of the Sentient World Observation and Response Department to not only Jonathan Hickman’s line of X-books, but also to the larger Marvel Universe. Ewing, whose work on The Immortal Hulk earned him an Eisner nomination in 2019, has been one of Marvel’s most prolific and impressive writers over the last 5 years and this book will see him return to space where one of his best works, 2015’s Ultimates, took place.

    “It’s an absolute blast to be working with the X-team, and to bring Marvel’s merry mutants into the new Age of Space—and introduce space to the new age of Krakoa!” Ewing says. “And it’s not just X-readers and space explorers who get what they want—fans of my more cosmic Marvel work will have plenty to digest as well, as mutantkind thinks even bigger and takes it even further, into realms I’m almost surprised they let me get away with. After conquering death, what’s next—and will we survive the experience?”

    Brand’s new squad will feature Magneto, kid Cable, Eden Fesi, aka Manifold, Frenzy, Wiz-Kid and a very different looking Fabian Cortez, thanks to Schiti, whose designs for some of the other members were shared via Marvel.com:

    S.W.O.R.D. character design sheet by Valerio Schiti

    S.W.O.R.D. character design sheet by Valerio Schiti

    S.W.O.R.D. character design sheet by Valerio Schiti

    As is always the case with X-teams, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, so while there are some interesting choices here, including some reformed villains (Krakoa is for all mutants, afterall), Schiti assures us they are all here for a reason as the X-Men move forward following their upcoming event, X of Swords.

    “I can’t say much about what S.W.O.R.D. does, but I can say that every team member will have a peculiar role to play. That’s why I designed their uniforms with technical clothing, urban outfits, and even ceremonial uniforms: every role needed a different reference and a different starting point. The space outfits are inspired by trekking or hiking clothes, far from the typical space suit because these characters are explorers, not astronauts.”

    S.W.O.R.D. will be available for pre-order later this week and in your local comic shop this December.

  • ‘Shang-Chi’ Faces His Family History in Motion Comic Trailer

    ‘Shang-Chi’ Faces His Family History in Motion Comic Trailer

    We still have to wait for a bit until Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is finally released. Luckily, Marvel is using the time to give us a brand new storyline featuring the master of martial arts. To celebrate the launch of a brand new ongoing series for Shang-Chi, Marvel has created a motion comic trailer for the first issue’s upcoming release. The new series will be written by Gene Yang and penciled by Philip Tan and Dike Ruan.

    As the trailer suggests, Shang-Chi will be hunted by an ancient secret society. After their leader, Zheng Zhu died, his son Shang-Chi was to take over the role of a leader. This forces the master of martial arts to return to a world he tried his utmost to leave in a past life. Of course, this release is to build up some hype towards Shang-Chi‘s film release. It’s also a perfect time to expand the iconic martial artist’s mythology.

    It will be interesting to see if they will intersect Shang-Chi’s new secret society with the mythology that is being set up with the Ten Rings. While he won’t have the Mandarin connection, they might explore a similar dynamic with Zhu. He will be dead during this ongoing series but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any flashbacks. I also have to say that I love the art for this series. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. Personally, I am a huge fan of series that build up mythology so this is right up my alley.

    Source: Twitter, Marvel

  • Marvel Comics Relaunching ‘ETERNALS’ This November

    Marvel Comics Relaunching ‘ETERNALS’ This November

    Award-winning writer Kieron Gillen will team with one of comics most singular artists when Marvel Comics launches a new Eternals series this November. Gillen, whose knack for telling winding stories that challenge readers’ established notions of characters such as Loki and Iron Man, is thrilled to take on the Eternals, a group of immortals whose incredible story hatched in the imagination of Jack Kirby:

    I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I’ve never done before. This is exactly that. This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged. While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I’m applying all the skills I’ve developed when I was away. It’s a lot. It’s everything. There’s enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you’ll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially ‘Eternal’ has to mean ‘never going out of style,’ which means we’re aiming for ‘instant classic.’ Also — fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!

    The trailer, which gives the tagline “Never die, never win”, seems to indicate some tension between Ikaris and Zuras, the leader of the Eternals. It also gives first looks at several characters key to the series and the ongoing mythology of the Eternals such as Sersi, Makkari, Sprite, Thena and more while also seeming to promise a take on the Eternals place in the history and evolution of mankind.

    Gillen and Ribac represent a next-level creative team for the book. Gillen has consistently proven to be able to interweave fantasy and science fiction and Ribac’s art, as seen recently on Jason Aaron’s Thor and Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars, will add to the depth of the story and push Gillen’s creativity at the same time.

    Eternals #1 will be up for pre-order this month once Marvel Comics November 2020 solicitations are made completely available.

  • John Ridley’s Batman Mini-Series to Impact The Future of the Character

    John Ridley’s Batman Mini-Series to Impact The Future of the Character

    Enough about games and movies, let’s talk a bit more about comics. The Hollywood Reporter got a chance to sit down with DC’s Jim Lee to discuss the future of the company. Many have been worried after it was announced that WarnerMedia was laying off up to 600 employees, downsizing the company by 20%, that the comic department would be hit especially hard. Senior editors were already let go, so the uncertainty could have larger implications for the industry. Lee was quick to point out that they will remain in the comic industry and that no work has been halted.

    While discussing the future of the comics, he also teased the importance of John Ridley‘s involvement with Batman. He is currently involved with various projects in the DC Universe. He is a contributor to the Batman: The Joker War Zone anthology with the art of Olivier Coipel. The Oscar-winner also is behind the upcoming DC Black Label mini-series The Other History of the DC Universe. This will reframe iconic moments of DC history from the eyes of heroes from disenfranchised groups. According to Jim Lee, his addition to the Batman mythology will have a large impact on the character’s future. It is always intriguing when what seems to be a smaller story will actually have a much bigger role moving forward.

    The Oscar-winner has quite a history with comics, as he wrote The Authority in 2004 and collaborated on the limited series The American Way. It’s great to see DC Comics as a steady rock within Warner Bros. Even during these trying times, they seem to be keeping their eyes on the future. They are also bringing back the Milestone label to offer more spotlight to under-represented heroes and creators. It’s a new era for DC and it looks like a lot of interesting things are heading or way.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, DC Comics

  • 12 Comic Writers Who Will Shape the MCU’s Future

    12 Comic Writers Who Will Shape the MCU’s Future

    A couple of weeks ago, we published a piece on the most influential comic writers and artists who shaped the first 10 years of the MCU. This is the other half of that piece. Here are some of the writers who will shape the next 5 years of the MCU. If you want an idea of how the MCU is going to look like, check out these writers and their books.

    NEIL GAIMAN

    Arguably the most recognizable name on this list, a lot of people don’t know that author Neil Gaiman dabbled in Marvel Comics amidst his successful stints as a novelist and graphic novelist. In 2006, Gaiman, with the help of famed artist John Romita Jr., revitalized the classic Kirby-creation, Eternals, a title obscured from comic shelves of the time.

    Gaiman plucked out characters like Ikaris, Makkari, Sersi, and Thena and reimagined them as people living normal lives, unaware of their dormant cosmic powers and origin. The story isn’t by any means amazing but it did check enough boxes for Marvel Studios to use it as the basis for their upcoming film.

     

    MATT FRACTION

     

    Matt Fraction is on this list for a couple of reasons. His Iron Man run has a fantastic Mandarin story ripe for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to draw from. The Iron Fist run he co-wrote with Ed Brubaker was the seminal story for the character. But the thing that Fraction is truly celebrated for is his iconic Hawkeye run.

    Fraction deconstructed the myth of being in the world’s biggest superhero team through the eyes of the team’s most human member, Hawkeye. The superhero life isn’t as glamorous or high flying as we thought it was. Clint Barton wasn’t a big superhero saving the world from an alien invasion in this comic. No, Clint was just a guy who wanted to get the lights of his house fixed. Add a feisty partner in Kate Bishop and some neighborhood goons to that scenario, and you have what is the most fun comic in recent memory. 

    The comic was such a seminal depiction of the character that it’s not at all surprising to see that they’re using it as a template for the upcoming Hawkeye series. Goons included. Granted, there are some changes to be expected. Clint Barton, in the comics, is a single childless man while he’s a family man in the films. He lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere while in the comic, he lives smackdab in the city. It’ll be interesting to see just how faithful they get in this retelling of the Fraction comic.

    TOM KING

     

    Former CIA agent-turned comic writer Tom King has only ever written one Marvel comic in his esteemed career but it’s already up there as one of the genre’s most inventive and unique. Simply titled Vision, the book was a character drama about the Avengers’ resident android and his attempts to hold together a family of like-minded androids living a suburban life. 

    Though stylized as a superhero, this story is a study on familial dysfunction and identity. What transpires in this 12-issue run is a heartbreaking unraveling of who these androids really are underneath the nuts, bolts, and suburban normalcy. One look at Wandavision’s premise and you can already envision how Tom King’s run could serve as an inspiration. And if this comic is any indication of how good Wandavision could really be, we’re in for a treat.

    G. WILLOW WILSON

    Kamala Khan is inarguably one of Marvel’s biggest successes in the past 10 years. The character has amassed a huge fanbase and become an inspiration for people of different religions, garnered critical acclaim and multiple awards, and is already on track to have a solo series on Disney+ all in under 6 years. 

    The success of the character can be attributed to the minds of writer G. Willow Wilson and editor Sana Amanat who sought to tell the Muslim-American experience not through overtly religious lenses but through a teenager’s quest for self-identity and self-worth. Amanat described the events of the first Ms. Marvel volume as, “what happens when you struggle with the labels imposed on you, and how that forms your sense of self.”

    Last we heard, the production of Ms. Marvel was knee-deep in their search for the next big MCU star that will play Kamala Khan. The character has a treasure trove of inspiration to draw from in the comics so it won’t be hard to imagine how amazing this show can be. Much like the MCU version of Peter Parker, we have the opportunity to see this live-action Kamala grow from being a teenager struggling with who she is to an Avenger standing next to all her heroes.

    JEFF LEMIRE

     

    Of all the Marvel street characters, Moon Knights seems like the trickiest to write. With a complicated origin and an even more complicated mental state, it’s extraordinary to see Marc Spector be such a celebrated character today. The success of Moon Knight can be attributed to writers like Jeff Lemire, who really deconstructed the character’s mental state and its connection to Spector’s allegedly mystical origins.

     With the help of artist Greg Smallwood, the resulting comic is nothing short of amazing as the comic brilliantly chronicles, in Chuck Palahniuk fashion, Spector’s efforts to get to the bottom of his origins, all the while trying to survive in a mental institution run by literal monsters. If you take this premise and combine it with the classic Batman trappings of Marc Spector, you have the formula for a potentially amazing series. 

    On top of his work on Moon Knight, Lemire also took over Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye run as soon as it wrapped and wrote some pretty cool Clint Barton and Kate Bishop moments that the upcoming Hawkeye could use for inspiration.

    MARK GRUENWALD

     

    With all the attempts to modernize and keep the MCU as contemporary as it can be, modern comics tend to be easily favored over some of the older runs. You’ll notice that the majority of writers listed in this two-parter are people who have actively worked in the industry in the last 15 years or so. So it’s an extraordinary thing to see the work of late writer Mark Gruenwald inspire the next few years of the MCU. 

    Gruenwald loved challenging the idealism of what it meant to be Captain America. He brought into question the myths of being symbols of patriotism. In the 1980s, Gruenwald introduced several villains that would become villainous staples of the Captain America mythos. Crossbones, the Serpent Society, and Flag-Smasher were all villains Gruenwald created to be idealistic foils to Steve Rogers’ colors. 

    None of it is more evident than with the introduction of the Super-Patriot. Gruenwald toyed with the idea of having a version of Captain America minus the innate goodness of Steve Rogers. What if a hard-headed patriot from the south became Captain America? Someone wouldn’t think twice to chant “USA!!” at any given moment. Therein lay the impetus that led to the creation of John Walker, the Super-Patriot, a character we now know today as US Agent. 

    It doesn’t take a genius to realize how influential Gruenwald’s work is for Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Creations of his like John Walker and Battlestar are already expected to show up. The show is set to tackle the very same themes Gruenwald sought to question.; what does the shield mean politically? What does patriotism truly mean? Gruenwald may no longer be with us but his vision lives on in the future of the MCU.

    JASON AARON

     

    Who could have predicted that a Southern boy from Alabama would one day write one of the most out-of-this-world, larger-than-life comic runs starring a Norse god with a hammer? Jason Aaron’s Thor run, beginning from 2012’s Marvel NOW relaunch all the way up to 2019’s King Thor finale, has been nothing short of legendary. 

    Aaron broke the era’s streak of Midgard-centric stories like Siege and kicked off with a story about three generations of Thor battling a being called the God Butcher. Thor: God of Thunder returned to the grandiosity of the classic Thor books and soon saw the Odinson face off against classic Walt Simonson villains like Malekith and Mangog. 

    Aaron further broke the mold by doing the unthinkable; making Thor himself unworthy of his hammer. Suddenly, the character was in untouched ground and the fans were all for it. But it wasn’t until Jane Foster’s transformation into new Thor that Aaron truly changed the mythos. 

    Come 2022, we’ll see the fruits of Aaron’s labors on the big screen with Thor: Love and Thunder. Natalie Portman is back with a vengeance as she’s been confirmed to take on the mantle of Thor this time around. Famed Batman actor Christian Bale is also set to make his MCU debut in this movie, with fans speculating his character to be either the God Butcher or Dario Agger, an Aaron creation.

    JEPH LOEB

     

    It’s easy to forget that Jeph Loeb was a comic writer before he dabbled in TV. And he wasn’t just some writer. Loeb wrote seminal books like Spider-Man: Blue and Superman: For All Seasons, and Batman: Hush. But just like his track record with his television work, his comic work has been also widely hit-or-miss. For every amazing  Loeb has done, he has an Ultimatum (roughly the worst comic Marvel has put out in 20 years) to even it all out. 

    In the late 2000s, Loeb wrote a 25-issue long Hulk run which brought some very interesting changes to Hulk’s status quo. Loeb turned the supporting cast’s world on its head when he turned staples like Betty Ross and Rick Jones turned into giant monsters. Villains like MODOK and Leader found new prominence. But arguably Loeb’s biggest change to the Hulk canon was turning Thunderbolt Ross into the Red Hulk, a change that reinvented the character, who found his way into the big leagues like the Avengers and Thunderbolts. 

    The fate of Thunderbolt Ross in the MCU has long been speculated on. There have been rumblings of him possibly becoming the Red Hulk in the upcoming She-Hulk series. While that remains to be seen, it’ll be interesting to see how much of Loeb’s writing makes its way onto the first Hulk outing since 2008’s Incredible Hulk.

    KURT BUSIEK

    The 90s was a very controversial period for comics. It was a time of excess of the highest order, comics were selling like crazy regardless of quality, and some of the magic of the eras that came before went and disappeared. Kurt Busiek was one of the few writers who kept that magic alive.

    In 1993, he and artist Alex Ross penned Marvels, a slice-of-life comic that followed the life of a photographer named Phil Sheldon as he witnessed from the ground level events that changed the course of Marvel history. In 1997, Busiek created the Thunderbolts and shocked the world with a twist that was unthinkable; these heroes weren’t good guys at all but the Masters of Evils in disguise. The twist was regarded as one of the industry’s best and it propelled the title to prominence. 

    Of course, throughout the years, the core idea of a team composed of bad guys trying to do good remained despite constant line up changes. Rumblings of a Thunderbolts appearance in the MCU has been around since Zemo was introduced in Captain America: Civil War. And with his return in Falcon and the Winter Soldier imminent, it’s about time he bands with the surviving villains of the MCU to start an evil team.

    JONATHAN HICKMAN

     

     

    There’s something cinematic with the way Jonathan Hickman writes his stories. Be it his epic Avengers run leading to his Marvel masterpiece, Secret Wars, or his title defining Fantastic Four run, or his high-concept take on the X-Men, Hickman sure knows to ripen a story for any potential live-action adaptation.

    Case in point, during his Avengers run, Hickman plucked Shang-Chi out of the D-leagues and painted him in a way that had never been seen before. Hickman turned him into a Bond-like globetrotting agent of the Avengers that oozed badassery. With Avengers: World, Hickman took Shang-Chi to another level. Shang-Chi was no longer just a man who mastered kung-fu. He was a warrior that could go toe-to-toe with a kaiju. It’ll be hard to imagine the Shang-Chi film not at least taking inspiration from some key Shang-Chi moments in Hickman’s run. 

    Shang-Chi is merely one of the many stories Hickman has done that will likely make it onto live-action at some point. Some of the best Doctor Doom and Fantastic Four stories are from him and come their live-action due, they’ll likely draw from it as well. When asked about his return to Marvel following his departure after wrapping Secret Wars, Hickman gave a very peculiar quote that may pertain to the Fox acquisition by Disney. Hickman said, “What I’d like to do if I came back, what he’d like for me to do, and some vertically-integrated opportunities at the company that were not available when I was there last.” 

    Some of his work has already made it onto the MCU. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler cited Hickman as one of the inspirations for the script. His work on the Secret Warriors was used on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And more recently, both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame featured his creations the Black Order.

    NICK SPENCER

     

    Having Sam Wilson take over the mantle of Captain America was never gonna be an easy job but writer Nick Spencer sure made it look easy. Nevermind the naysayers whose pitchforks were raised when the idea was announced or the “I-told-you-sos” when the mantle had to return to Steve Rogers. Spencer did a fantastic job of reshaping what Captain America meant to the world. 

    It goes without saying that Sam Wilson was always gonna have a very different view of America than Steve Rogers and that America was always gonna have a different view of Sam Wilson wielding the shield.  Spencer tapped into the current political zeitgeist pervading our news cycle and morphed into something that was compelling, meaningful, and kick-ass at the same time. 

    Arguably the biggest status quo change at the tail end of Avengers: Endgame was the passing of the shield to Sam Wilson. The ending put to rest the long-standing Falcon vs. Winter Soldier debate among fans and for good reason. Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to tackle the very same issues the made the Sam Wilson Captain America run so fantastic. Expect the show to be as political, if not more, as the comic.

    ALLAN HEINBERG

     

     

    Like his contemporaries Joss Whedon, Jeph Loeb, and more famously, Kevin Smith, Allan Heinberg is a writer who has managed to traverse both Hollywood and the comic industry. Heinberg has multiple TV credits to his name, wrote the massively successful Wonder Woman movie, and more relevant to this piece is the creator of the Young Avengers, a superhero team composed of teens with connections to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. 

    The book was a breakout success as fans quickly gravitated towards the team’s roster. The dynamic of Patriot, Hulking, Wiccan, Speed, Hawkeye, Stature, and Iron Lad breathed new life into the Avengers brand, as the book tackled themes of drug use, sexuality, abuse, and identity. Heinberg’s stint with the team also provided some much-needed spectacle as the team crossed paths with heavy hitters like the actual Avengers, X-Men, Kang the Conqueror, and Doctor Doom. 

    If you’ve been following all the rumblings about upcoming MCU properties, then you’re likely aware of the seeds that are getting planted for Young Avengers. The Hawkeye series is set to star Kate Bishop. Wandavision will feature Wanda’s twin sons as evidenced in the teaser. Isaiah Bradley, grandfather to the Young Avengers’ Patriot, is rumored to have a role in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Kang the Conqueror, who is an alternate version of the Young Avenger Iron Lad, is rumored to appear in the Loki series. And last but not least, Cassie Lang is in the right age to take the mantle of Stature.