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Zombie (comics)

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Tales of the Zombie #1 (Aug. 1973).<br /> Art by Boris Vallejo.

The Zombie (Simon William Garth) is a fictional supernatural character in the Marvel Comics universe, who starred in the black-and-white, horror-comic magazine series Tales of the Zombie (1973-1975) in stories mostly by Steve Gerber and Pablo Marcos. The character had originated 20 years earlier in the standalone story “Zombie” by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, published in the horror-anthology comic book Menace #5 (July 1953) from Marvel forerunner Atlas Comics.

Publication history

As Lee had done years before in reviving Henry Pym from a standalone science fiction story to become the superhero Ant-Man, then-editor-in-chief Roy Thomas likewise plucked a character from, in this case, a pre-Comics Code horror tale. The initial modern story, co-scripted by Thomas and Steve Gerber and drawn by John Buscema and Tom Palmer, was a 12-page tale that led into a seven-page reprint of the 1950s story (with the art slightly altered to give the Zombie shoulder-length rather than short hair). That original story was also reprinted in 1975’s Tales of the Zombie Annual #1, and again two decades later in Curse of the Weird #4 (March 1994), the final issue of a short-lived Marvel horror reprint series.

Following the premiere, all the Zombie stories were by Gerber and artist Pablo Marcos (one of these in collaboration with writer Doug Moench and artist Alfredo Alcala. The original series’ finale, set at Garth’s daughter’s wedding in issue #9, was a three-chapter story written by Tony Isabella (chapter 2 with co-scripter Chris Claremont), and drawn by pencilers Virgilio Redondo, Yong Montano, and Ron Wilson, respectively, and inker by Alcala (chapters 1-2) and Marcos (chapter 3).

Tales of the Zombie published the last work of Golden Age great Syd Shores, Captain America’s first penciler following Jack Kirby’s departure from the character in 1941. Shores had finished penciling two-thirds of the eight-page story “Voodoo War” for issue #5 (May 1974) before dying of a heart seizure. Dick Ayers penciled the remainder of writer Tony Isabella’s anthological horror tale.

Although laid to peaceful rest in Tales of the Zombie # 9 (he did not appear in the following, final issue, which contained a Brother Voodoo story and three anthological tales), Simon Garth was reanimated in the horror-comics magazine Bizarre Adventures #33 (Dec. 1982), in an out-of-chronology story hard to reconcile with the remainder of the character’s continuity. The Zombie returned to color comic books in a backup story in Daredevil Annual # 9 (July 1993). At the time of that appearance, the Zombie remained unearthed, and controlled by Donna, who pledged to have him eliminate other such enthralled undead.

Menace #5 (July 1953), cover art by Bill Everett.

The Zombie thereafter appeared in Peter Parker: Spider-Man Annual ‘97 (1997); in a behind-the-scenes references in Blade: Crescent City Blues #1 (March 1998) leading into a guest appearance in Spider-Man Unlimited #20 (May 1998); and in a solo story in the anthology series Strange Tales vol. 3, #1 (Sept. 1998). A decade later, he starred in a solo story in the one-shot omnibus Legion of Monsters: Man-Thing #1 (May 2007). He is also one of the main characters in Marvel Zombies 4.

Fictional character biography

Simon William Garth was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and became a work-obsessed executive of Garth Manor coffee, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Ambushed and kidnapped by his former gardener, whom he had fired, Garth is to be a voodoo cult’s human sacrifice. However, the cult’s priestess, Layla, recognizes Garth as her own everyday-life employer, with whom she is in love. Though her attempt to let him escape is thwarted, and though she is forced to mystically transform his corpse into a zombie with a clouded mind whom holders of the matching amulet could control, Layla, with her grandfather, Papa Doc Kabel, continue to try to help the uncomprehending Zombie reach his final rest.

Despite his zombie state, he retains some vestige of his soul. Layla and Papa Doc, for instance, allow Garth 24 hours in his restored human self in order that he might attend the wedding of his daughter, Donna.

Laid to rest once again, he was resurrected by the voodoo witch Calypso who discovered that, through acts of selflessness, this particular zombie possessed free-will, i.e. the ability to act of his own accord and not always at the request of whoever was wearing the Amulet of Damballah — an unusual feature for a member of the walking dead. In this case he ignored her orders and pushed Calypso aside in order to release the captive soul of his friend Papa Doc Kabel, whom Calypso had murdered as part of the process of reviving Garth.

Marvel Zombies 4

Main article: Marvel Zombies 4

Simon Garth had been a test subject of A.R.M.O.R. when the zombie plague killed everyone on the base. He retrieved the head of zombie Deadpool, and used the base’s teleporters to escape to the bottom of the sea, where Deadpool’s head infected all of the Men-Fish and their leader Piranha. Garth was compelled to travel to the island nation of Taino in the Caribbean Sea, where he told Black Talon about the zombie plague. Black Talon assumed control of Garth, and captured Deadpool’s head.

Powers and abilities

As the Zombie, Garth is supernaturally strong and able to heal mystically from injuries. However, he is also virtually mindless. Also, due to the Amulet of Damballah, which he wears around his neck, he must obey anyone who holds that item’s duplicate. Still, he has on occasion showed the ability to act of his own free will when friends or people he loved when alive come under threat.

Other versions

MAX

A revamped version of the Zombie appeared in a new continuity in Marvel’s mature-readers MAX imprint, in the four-issue mini-series Zombie (Nov. 2006 – Feb. 2007), written by Mike Raicht and illustrated by Kyle Hotz. Here, Simon Garth is a bank teller who, with his co-worker Layla, becomes tangled in the affairs of two robbers and an infectious zombifying gas. Simon plants paint bombs in the money bags that only he can defuse, so he and Layla are kidnapped and accidentally brought into the zombie quarantine zone, thinking that the barriers were to stop the robbers from escaping rather than to keep the undead in check. The series concludes with a bitten and bullet-riddled Simon, the only survivor of the outbreak, being taken into the custody of the military and extracted from the scene via helicopter.

Zombie was followed by a second four-issue mini-series, The Zombie: Simon Garth with Eric Powell replacing Reicht (with the cover of the first issue paying homage to the cover art of the first issue of Tales of the Zombie), which chronicles the events following the extraction, and Simon’s escapades as a “heroic” zombie.

Other Zombies

Other characters known as Zombie in the Marvel Universe include:

  • Otherdimensional counterparts of Marvel’s superheroes, supervillains and others in the Marvel Zombies series.
  • In Tales of the Zombie #4, a Zombie of Ancient Egypt appeared. The person died violently under unknown circumstances and was reanimated as a zombie by an unidentified man by calling upon Anubis & Ereshkigal. The man had him forced a woman to marry him, but the woman eventually learned how to control the zombie and she had it slay the man.
  • A new Zombie, whose true identity is never revealed and is known only as John Doe, is a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Paranormal Containment Unit. His only appearances occurred in the 2005-2006 series Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos.
  • A giant of unknown origin was known as the Zombie Master; he used a machine to transform others into a zombie-like state. His machine instead empowered Dr. Jack Castle, who defeated him and became the Fiery Mask. He was also known as the Master and appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #1.
  • In Black Panther vol. 4, #5, Zombie soldiers were sent to invade Wakanda, which forced the nation to be evacuated by Black Panther.

Collected editions

Some of the stories have been collected into trade paperbacks:

  • Essential Tales of the Zombie: Volume 1 (collects , Tales of the Zombie #1-10 and Dracula Lives #1-2, 592 pages, October 2006, ISBN 0785119167)
  • Marvel MAX:
    • Zombie (96 pages, April 2007, ISBN 0785119132)
    • The Zombie: Simon Garth (96 pages, July 2008, ISBN 0785127518)

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Young X-Men

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Cover of Young X-Men #5 (Oct, 2008). Art by Terry Dodson.

Young X-Men is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series, which began in April 2008, is written by Marc Guggenheim and penciled by artist Rafa Sandovol. It was confirmed in Marvel Previews #65 that issue #12 will be the final issue.

Plot summary

Final Genesis (Issues 1–5)

Blindfold has a vision of a team of X-Men facing off against a deadly old foe of the X-Men, Donald Pierce, former member of the Hellfire Club. After one of the members is murdered in the ensuing battle, she wakes up violently from the nightmarish dream. Elsewhere, Cyclops is seen across the world, recruiting, several teenaged mutants such as Eric Gitter, and former students like Sooraya Qadir (Dust), Nicholas Gleason (Wolf Cub); and Santo Vaccarro (Rockslide). Santo, however, refuses to join unless Scott accepts Ruth Aldine (Blindfold) who Scott had originally planned not to recruit, to be on the team as well.

After assembling the Young X-Men in the Danger Cave, he gives them their costumes, which have the appearance of the standard yellow and black training uniforms. He lectures them that he is reforming the X-Men, beginning with perhaps the last generation of mutants. Their first mission is to take down what he claims is the new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants, under the control of Sunspot (who is now Lord Imperial of the Hellfire Club) and is accompanied by his friends and former teammates, Cannonball, Magma, and Danielle Moonstar.

After they fail in training sessions against Brotherhood simulacra, Cyclops decides to send them after Moonstar and Magma in small teams, each with a specific target. When surprise-attacked by Dust, Rockslide and Wolf Cub in Los Angeles, Magma responds violently by destroying their Blackbird. In the Colorado Rockies, Moonstar proves herself superior to the young mutants Blindfold and Ink despite her lack of powers. However, she is taken down by an unseen force that Blindfold seems to know. Carrying the unconscious Moonstar back to their Blackbird, Ink asks Blindfold how her powers work. After she is done explaining, Ink immediately knocks her unconscious. Ink then delivers the unconscious Blindfold to a mysterious man in the shadows who happens to be Donald Pierce. When questioned about why they aren’t dead, Ink explains that he is a mercenary not a killer.

Rockslide, Wolf Cub, and Dust recover from their crash and attack Magma. Magma, though unprepared, is much more experienced. She turns Dust into glass, sends Wolf Cub packing, and turns Rockslide into a pile of rocks. Distracted by Rockslide, who reforms, she is eviscerated by Wolf Cub, knocking her out but leaving Wolf Cub with a nasty burn.

Sooraya’s sickness.

Cannonball and Sunspot are watching the battle in LA. After hearing nothing from Danielle, they are convinced that the Young X-Men are coming after them. Graymalkin watches Ink talk to Cyclops in the shadows, Ink having lied about what happened to Blindfold and Moonstar. Graymalkin appears to be talking to himself, knowing something nobody knows. He says “Very well. I’ll kill the Cyclops.” Danielle Moonstar confronts an awakening Blindfold and is very confused. Blindfold apologizes and points out that Donald Pierce is behind her. The other Young X-Men discuss Blindfold’s vision and Dust’s critical condition. Ink is surprised he is included in it as part of the team. Elsewhere, Donald Pierce ambushes Moonstar and Blindfold, and disappears.

Ink shaves his head and has a lightning bolt tattoo on it, assuming he will gain telepathy. Ink, Rockslide, and Wolf Cub lead an attack on the Hellfire Club to fight Cannonball and Sunspot. Graymalkin attacks Cyclops back at the Danger Cave, leaving the Young X-Men on their own. Wolf Cub wounds Sunspot, angering Cannonball. Graymalkin takes out the lights to the Danger Cave, saying it gives him more power. He then exposes Cyclops for who he really has been this whole time, Donald Pierce. Once both teams learn the truth, they go after Pierce, but arrive too late to save Wolf Cub, who was the then-unknown teammate that was killed in Blindfold’s vision.

It is notable that the first story arc of Young X-Men echoes a narrative pattern first established with the inception of the New Mutants in their eponymous graphic novel, which was also echoed in the first story arc of New Mutants volume 2, which gave rise to the New X-Men series that is the immediate antecedent for Young X-Men. All three of these storylines deal with the assembly of a new team of mutants, feature the cyborg Donald Pierce as the villain, and have one member of the team (Cannonball, Elixir, and Ink, in the respective stories) that initially works for Pierce before switching sides and joining the new team. This story pattern was also followed, to some extent, in the New X-Men arc that appeared within the House of M timeline. Further underscoring this continuity is the appearance of many of the original New Mutants in all three stories: as the protagonists in the New Mutants graphic novel, as teachers and mentors to the “new” New Mutants volume 2, and as the antagonists, the ersatz Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, in the arc in Young X-Men.

Graymalkin mentions a “Cypher” twice. The first is when he is alone the air ducts inside of the Danger Cave. He mentions that he is “not the only one that can help them. There is Cypher.” The second time is when he tells Donald Pierce (who was disguised as Cyclops) that “Cypher told [him] everything.

Membership changes

After the adventure where Wolf Cub died, Cyclops asked Sunspot and Moonstar to teach the Young X-Men, they both accepted. Blindfold decided to leave the team, since she is no great contribution on the field of battle. Meanwhile Moonstar asked Anole, also a former member of New X-Men, to join the new team.

Ink finds out he is not a mutant at all. The artist who made his tattoos is in fact the one who gave Ink his powers, this tattoo artist is a mutant. Ink decides, since he is not a mutant, there is no place for him with the Young X-Men and leaves.

The new Cypher, an African-American girl, reveals herself at the end of Young X-Men #8, however her codename is spelled “Cipher,” rather than “Cypher” (as it is spelled in earlier mentions). She had come to warn Ink that his teammates were in trouble and he is needed to come with her to save them. Although Ink is very skeptical about this young girl’s motivations or intentions, she is shown wearing the standard uniform of the Young X-Men, and has a jet from the X-Men’s headquarters to transport him to his team as well, to show that her information is legitimate, even though she refuses to give any more information, about herself or the team, other than that. However, she also gives into his demand to take him to his tattooist to give him some new abilities, even though she voices that she feels he is wasting his time while his friends are “dead or dying.” She is still able to get him to the battle with the Y-Men in time, though, where Ink is able to turn the tide and save his teammates. Later that evening, Ink begins to ask Graymalkin about his connection to Cipher and just who she is, while Cipher, in a transparent form, spies on the two from the ceiling above.

Cancellation

In the March 2009 solicitations of Marvel.com, it was revealed Young X-Men #12, which will be released in March 2009, will be the final issue of the series. It will be replaced by a new New Mutants series.

Cast

Issues Characters
#1–4 Blindfold, Dust, Ink, Rockslide, Wolf Cub
#5 Blindfold1, Dust, Graymalkin, Ink, Rockslide, Wolf Cub2
#6–8 Anole, Mirage3, Dust, Graymalkin, Ink, Rockslide, Sunspot3
#9–12 Anole, Cipher, Moonstar, Dust, Graymalkin, Ink, Rockslide, Sunspot
  • 1. Left the team in the next issue; not in the line-up for those issues
  • 2. Died; therefore no longer a member
  • 3. Chosen as the “coaches” of the Young X-Men and are also members of the team

Creators

Writers

  • Marc Guggenheim – Young X-Men #1–12

Art

  • Yanick Paquette – Young X-Men #1–5
  • Ben Oliver – Young X-Men #6–7, #10
  • Rafa Sandoval – Young X-Men #8–9, #11–12

Cover art

  • Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson – Young X-Men #1–7
  • Michael Ryan – Young X-Men #8
  • Chris Bachalo – Young X-Men #9
  • Billy Tan – Young X-Men #10
  • Pasqual Ferry – Young X-Men #11–12

Collections

Title Material collected Date Released ISBN
Volume 1: Final Genesis Young X-Men #1–5 December 2008 ISBN 0-7851-3154-X
Volume 2: Book Of Revelations Young X-Men #6–12, X-Men: Manifest Destiny #3 June 2009 ISBN 0-7851-3165-5

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X-Men: Manifest Destiny

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Cover of X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1 (Nov 2008). Art by Humberto Ramos.

Collected editions Uncanny X-Men: Manifest Destiny ISBN 0785138188 X-Men: Manifest Destiny ISBN 0785138188

“Manifest Destiny” is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics through the X-Men related titles and a number of limited series, including a self titled one. The arc was a follow-up to the storyline entitled “Divided We Stand” which started in the issues cover dated September 2008.

Storyline overview

“Manifest Destiny” deals with the change in the X-Men when they shift their headquarters from Westchester to San Francisco. This is the first time the X-Men have changed their headquarters since their brief relocation to Australia in the 1980s comics. This will be followed by “X-Infernus”, the sequel to “Inferno”.

Publication history

The X-Men: Manifest Destiny mini-series itself, is an anthology. The lead story is focused on Iceman and his journey to San Francisco. It is written by Mike Carey, with pencils by Michael Ryan. There are two back-up stories in every issue, focusing on different characters (Karma, Boom-Boom, Nuwa, Juggernaut, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Mercury and many others) and their live in San Francisco.

Plot summary

Uncanny X-Men

The X-Men open their new base in San Francisco and send a telepathic invitation to every remaining mutant on Earth. Their first fights were against Magneto, Sentinels and the newly formed Hellfire Club. This is also the introduction to the Sisterhood of Evil Mutants and Madelyne Pryor is seen alive.

Astonishing X-Men

The Astonishing X-Men shows up with a new line-up (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Storm, Armor, Wolverine). Their first mission was to investigate the murder of an undiscovered mutant.

Cable

X-Force captures Bishop and brings him to the X-Men Headquarters in San Francisco, while Cable is seen fighting in the future.

X-Men: Legacy

Cyclops secretly meets with Xavier as one last favor to his former teacher and friend. Elsewhere, the Hellfire Club is discussing Sunspot leaving their ranks and the void that leaves. As Sebastian Shaw tries to create some order, Castlemere and his new found cybernetic “upgrades” lay waste to another member of the Hellfire Club.

Rogue makes her way to the X-Men’s former base in Australia and ends up having a heart to heart talk with Mystique, whose persona is still in her head after the events in Messiah Complex.

Young X-Men

Cyclops takes Sunspot and Danielle as mentors of the Young X-Men. After establishing an abandoned cathedral in San Francisco as their new base, the Young X-Men (along with mentors Danielle Moonstar and Sunspot) form their team which includes Ink, Anole, Rockslide, and Dust, but without Blindfold.

Manifest Destiny

Iceman lands at an hospital after taking a flight with Opal Tanaka, who reveals herself to be Mystique. Disguised as a doctor, Mystique injects Iceman with a neural inhibitor but he manages to escape and flee on a truck. Mystique finds him yet again and destroys the truck, much to the truck driver’s dismay. Iceman saves him and asks him to contact the X-Men, while he faces off with Mystique and tells her to shoot him while looking him in the eyes.

Other short stories include:

  • Boom-Boom being defeated by Nuwa but taking her revenge by using coffee.
  • Karma failing to possess Emma Frost and realizing she needs to get her focus back.
  • The Juggernaut hesitating between a life of crime or as a hero.
  • Emma Frost coming to terms with the fact that the X-Men have accepted her.
  • Anole and Greymalkin bonding over their sexuality while Beast explores Greymalkin’s history.
  • Wolverine and Nightcrawler failing to cheer up Colossus, whose mood lightens when he helps a girl save her kitty.
  • X-23 helping Mercury realize she is more than just quicksilver and no one can tell her she is not a person after she defeats some Hellfire Cult members.
  • Nightcrawler being depressed over his lack of use as an X-Men and confiding it in a Danger Room created Kitty hologram.

Strangely, about half of these stories refer to Kitty’s disappearance.

Eternals/X-Men Manifest Destiny

The last three issues of the short Eternals run sees the relocation of the X-Men to San Francisco collide with Ikaris, his war with Druig, and the sentinel in Golden Gate Park. The final issue sees the X-Men assist with repelling the horde which has been foreshadowed as coming since issue one of the Eternals series.

Wolverine: Manifest Destiny

Main article: Wolverine: Manifest Destiny

Issues

The following issues are related to the storyline:

  • Astonishing X-Men #25-30
  • Cable #6
  • Eternals (vol. 4) #7-9
  • Manifest Destiny: Nightcrawler (previously announced as X-Men: Quitting Time)
  • Secret Invasion: X-Men #1-4
  • Uncanny X-Men #500-507
  • Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1-4
  • X-Men: Legacy #215-216
  • X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1-5
  • Young X-Men #6-9
  • Runaways (Vol. 3) # 10

Collected editions

The storyline will be collected into a number of volumes:

  • Uncanny X-Men: Manifest Destiny (collects Uncanny X-Men #500-503, “X-Men Free Comic Book Day”, and Manifest Destiny, 208 pages, April 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3817-X)
  • X-Men: Manifest Destiny (collects Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1-4, “X-Men Manifest Destiny: Nightcrawler” and X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1-5, 200 pages, hardcover, June 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3818-8, softcover, September 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3518-9)
  • Eternals Volume 2 (includes Eternals (vol. 4) #7-9, softcover, 104 pages, September 2009, ISBN 0-7851-2979-0)

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X-Men: Divided We Stand

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Cover of X-Men: Divided We Stand #1 (Jun 2008). Art by Brandon Peterson. Collected editions Cable: Messiah War ISBN 0785129723 Uncanny X-Men: Divided We Stand ISBN 0785119833 X-Factor: The Only Game In Town ISBN 0785128638 X-Force: Angels and Demons ISBN 0785129766 X-Men: Divided We Stand ISBN 0785132651 X-Men Legacy: Divided He Stands ISBN 0785130004 X-Men Legacy: Sins of the Father ISBN 0785130020 Young X-Men: Final Genesis ISBN 078513154X

“X-Men: Divided We Stand” is the follow-up storyline to the crossover entitled “Messiah Complex”. The arc started with the issues of the X-Men related titles cover dated April 2008. This included: The Uncanny X-Men; Wolverine vol. 3; X-Factor vol. 3; and X-Men vol. 2, which was retitled X-Men: Legacy. It also launched three ongoing titles – Cable vol. 2, X-Force vol. 3, and Young X-Men – and a self titled, two issue limited series. Each ongoing series ran a separate story are with “Divided We Stand” providing an over all theme.

The arc was followed by “Manifest Destiny”.

Storyline overview

There is no main story, as the crossover deals with several characters trying to adapt to the X-Men’s disbandment. Here are the events that have happened in the titles so far:

  • In Uncanny X-Men, with the team disbanded, Cyclops and Emma Frost have taken a holiday to the Savage Land, but are called to San Francisco by Archangel because a hippie ‘goddess’ (actually Martinique Jason) has placed the city, as well as Hepzibah, Warpath, Iceman and Archangel, under her control and in a 60s style illusion. Also in the title, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus are traveling through Europe, when they are captured in Russia by the Red Room and interrogated by someone who wants to know why M-Day has left America with the most mutants and Russia with none. They soon escape and confront Omega Red while in San Francisco Scott and Emma confront Mastermind. They defeat her, freeing their friends and the city, including the mayor, who offers the X-Men a new home in San Francisco. Martinique escapes however, rescued by an anonymous woman, while a headline shows that San Francisco has rejected the Fifty State Initiative in favour of the X-Men.
  • In X-Factor, the team is struggling to deal with their own losses, as Wolfsbane leaves to join X-Force. Layla Miller is trapped in the future and Jamie Madrox now bears an M tattoo over his eye. They soon run up against Arcade, who holds Mutant Town hostage while most of the populace contemplates either changing the district’s name or leaving altogether. However, an ex-Purifier named Taylor has sabotaged the district and dies, causing bombs to explode throughout Mutant Town. Valerie Cooper is also pursuing Madrox and X-Factor in order to recruit them, an offer which Jamie violently rejects. Siryn has also discovered that she is pregnant after sleeping with Jamie, and intends to give birth to the child. Rictor leaves the team over guilt due to his dealings with Taylor in Messiah Complex. 5 months later, in Detroit, a former mutant comes to the renamed XF Investigations for help, meeting with a heavily pregnant Siryn, while Jamie is found by Cooper, who says that she won’t stop until they agree.
  • In new series Young X-Men, Cyclops gathers Rockslide, Wolf Cub, Dust, Blindfold and a new character called Ink to fight the new Brotherhood of Mutants, who are apparently now consisting of former New Mutants Sunspot, Cannonball, Magma, and Danielle Moonstar. However, Cyclops may not be who he seems. Blindfold has also had a vision of the team being betrayed and killed while fighting Donald Pierce and Rockslide demands she be added to the team or he won’t join, a condition which Cyclops grudgingly accepts. After they fail in training sessions against Brotherhood simulacra, Cyclops sends them after Moonstar and Magma in small teams, each with a specific target. Magma is attacked in Los Angeles and fights back violently, while Moonstar proves superior to the young mutants despite her lack of powers. However, she is taken down by an unseen force. Ink asks Blindfold after the fight how her abilities work before knocking her unconscious. A flashback sequence shows the origin of how Ink got the tattoo that allows him to use telepathic powers. Another flashback shows Cyclops setting up the team of Wolf Cub, Ink and Rockslide to attack the Brotherhood of Mutant members Cannonball and Sunspot. As the attack commences, Cyclops is blindsided by Greymalkin who realizes that Cyclops isn’t who he says he is. Back to the members of the Young X-men, Wolf Cub deals a rather lethal blow to Sunspot who is trying to convince the team that they shouldn’t be fighting. This attack causes Cannonball to consider all three Young X-Men a threat. Back at the base, Greymalkin reveals that Cyclops is really the newly reemerged Donald Pierce.
  • In the renamed X-Men: Legacy, the Acolytes have retrieved Professor X’s body, which is being kept alive by Omega Sentinel. Exodus heals Professor Xavier’s damaged mind while Magneto arrives and clashes with his former disciples. Meanwhile Sunspot and Sebastian Shaw are clashing within the Hellfire Club over an item in Shaw’s possession. Exodus loses a battle to Xavier on the Astral Plane, who then goes his own way to repair his mind. Gambit later comes to defend him from members of the Assassin’s Guild. Together they learn the Guild’s other targets, including Juggernaut, Hazard and Shaw. Rogue is also wandering the world. It soon becomes apparent that the targets are linked by their connections to Nathan Milbury and the Black Womb Project. Sinister’s psychic essence strikes out at them and apparently takes control of Xavier’s body while Gambit and Shaw battle the assassins.
  • In a relaunch of X-Force, the new group (consisting of Wolverine, X-23, Warpath and Wolfsbane) are sent after the Purifiers by Cyclops. They soon discover that Wolfsbane’s father Reverend Craig is helping them. They have also rebuilt Bastion, who is using Magus to create a ‘Choir’ of anti-mutant leaders including Donald Pierce, Leper Queen, Cameron Hodge and the reanimated forms of William Stryker, Stephen Lang, Bolivar Trask, and Graydon Creed. Wolfsbane is wounded after being captured by the Purifiers and injected with a large dose of heroin. The team take her to Archangel and Elixir, who help her but she then savagely attacks Archangel, ripping off his wings and taking them to Craig. Using Apocalypse’s T-O virus in them, Bastion creates several metal-winged Purifiers. Archangel also grows back his metal wings and regains his blue skin. However, he proceeds to attack his teammates.
  • Meanwhile in his own title, Wolverine has also been sent after Mystique by Cyclops to punish her for her role in Messiah Complex. As he tracks her, Wolverine remembers his own history with her, ever since they met in 1921. He eventually catches her and manages to fatally wound her after a brutal battle. However, he refuses to kill her and instead leaves her a gun. She manages to survive, and return in Manifest Destiny.
  • Cable has a new title, where he is in the future trying to protect the mutant baby while he is being pursued by Bishop, who desires to kill the child to prevent his dark future from occurring. Cable has recently encountered a much older Cannonball in the future, who says that the four of them are the last remaining mutants. Cannonball defends Cable and the baby as the time-travel equipment is damaged but is killed by Bishop. However, his sacrifice has bought Cable some time to escape.
  • The Free Comic Book Day issue focuses on Pixie as she returns to her old life in Wales. However, her investigation into several missing people leads her into conflict with the N’Garai. Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Wolverine come to her aid and she is offered a place among the new X-Men team forming in San Francisco after they defeat the N’Garai demons.

In the X-Men: Divided We Stand limited series, several characters are explored, mostly those who left the X-Men:

  • Gentle returns to Wakanda but is shunned by his people, even his own mother, due to his Russian father. He finds he prefers the New X-Men’s company, even though they annoyed him and using his powers has put his life at further risk.
  • Anole, even though he’s accepted in his home town, rejects his “normal” life when he realizes that his experiences with the X-Men have left him too violent. Northstar comes to help him adjust but Anole leaves his family, punches Northstar and claims the X-Men ruined their lives by not letting them do normal teenage things.
  • Scalphunter is making a living at a diner in the desert when he is confronted by Nightcrawler, who had appeared to kill him, but decided not to as Scalphunter is merely a clone. He instead tells him to redeem himself and ask for forgiveness before God, as faith is what will stop him being soulless. Scalphunter is later seen wearing a cross, taking the advice to heart.
  • Husk is taking Cannonball back home when they stop for lunch. Cannonball deliberately gets into a bar fight with several members of the Cabot family. Questioned by his sister he replied that he needed a Danger Room. He flies off, leaving Husk behind to worry about his mental state.
  • Hellion awakens in a civilian hospital, where he was transferred. Emma Frost tells him that the X-Men are no more and so he seeks another figure to follow: Magneto. Magneto rejects his service, but tells him to be ready, as mutancy’s next war might come sooner than he thinks.
  • Beast returns to the ruined mansion, where he destroys all of the X-Men’s files on mutants around the world. He also removes all of their advanced technology. He finally takes No-Girl with him and they leave the ruins behind.
  • Magik is in her castle in Limbo and recounts that she was an impatient child and plots to get her soul back. At first she plans to use her Bloodstone Medallion but changes her mind after remembering the lives it ruined. Instead by remembering her relationships with Shadowcat and Colossus she tries to reclaim her soul through love. She teleports to the Mansion but sees it in ruins. Sad and angry, she resolves to find the missing pieces of her soul through the suffering of those that have wronged her instead.
  • Forge returns to the Eagle’s Nest, ruined after the battle between Cable and Bishop. He starts to repair the damage when Bishop returns and takes him out. When he reawakens he finds that Bishop has stolen a robotic arm and all the notes on Cable’s time travel device. He tries to rewrite the notes, but fails due to a time paradox. He instead starts to secure the Eagle’s Nest against further attack, to prevent himself from being vulnerable again.
  • Havok is on a prison planet in Shi’ar space, listening to the tortured screams of Polaris, Ch’od and Raza Longknife. Vulcan appears on a monitor and taunts him by telling him the events of Messiah Complex. He says the baby, and all of mutantkind’s hope, is lost. Havok destroys the monitor and says that if one baby can be born so can another, meaning that there is always hope.
  • Danielle Moonstar is relaxing at her home in the mountains when Surge arrives, having run all the way there. Surge tells Danielle what has happened and how she believes her actions led to Hellion’s injuries. Danielle shares her experiences as a New Mutant with Surge and reveals that things will always get better, like the dawning of a new day. Surge replies that every day has a sunset.

Issues

The following issues have been confirmed to be related to the storyline:

February 2008

  • Uncanny X-Men #495
  • X-Men: Legacy #208
  • X-Force #1
  • X-Factor #28
  • Wolverine #62

March 2008

  • Uncanny X-Men #496
  • X-Men: Legacy #209
  • Cable #1
  • X-Factor #29
  • X-Force #2
  • Wolverine #63

April 2008

  • X-Men: Divided We Stand: Book 1 (of 2)
  • Uncanny X-Men #497
  • X-Men: Legacy #210
  • X-Factor #30
  • Young X-Men #1
  • X-Force #3
  • Cable #2
  • Wolverine #64

May 2008

  • X-Men: Divided We Stand: Book 2 (of 2)
  • Uncanny X-Men #498
  • X-Men: Legacy #211, 212
  • X-Factor #31
  • Young X-Men #2
  • X-Force #4
  • Cable #3
  • Wolverine #65

June 2008

  • Uncanny X-Men #499
  • X-Men: Legacy #213
  • X-Factor #32
  • Young X-Men #3
  • Cable #4

July 2008

  • X-Men: Legacy #214
  • Young X-Men #4
  • X-Force #5
  • Cable #5

August 2008

  • Young X-Men #5
  • X-Force #6

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Wolverine: Manifest Destiny

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Cover to Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1.<br /> Art by Dave Wilkins.

Wolverine: Manifest Destiny is a four-issue comic book limited series starring Wolverine and published by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jason Aaron with art by Stephen Segovia and colored by John Rauch. It is a part of X-Men: Manifest Destiny

Plot synopsis

After the return of his memory, Logan returns to San Francisco’s Chinatown to settle a fifty-year-old score.

Reception

IGN gave the first issue a 7.2 out of ten and the final issue a 7.8.

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War is Hell (comics)

Monday, June 8th, 2009

War Is Hell #9, the first issue with original content<br /> art by Gil Kane (inks possibly by Dick Giordano[1])

War Is Hell was a horror/war comic book series from Marvel Comics in 1973-1975. For its first six issues, it featured reprints of old war comics, followed by two issues of reprints of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. Beginning in issue #9, the series featured new material; the star of the series became Death, who forced a dishonorable Polish man named John Kowalski, killed in the Invasion of Poland (1939), to die countless deaths from other lives. A War Is Hell limited series featuring Phantom Eagle appeared in 2008.

John Kowalski

During the series, Kowalski inhabited different bodies of those about to die, not necessarily of the same side or gender, sometimes not even the same time period (although set primarily during World War II, including both the European and Pacific theatres), and needed to change things for the better before he was killed. Death would summon him from the nether regions each story, and Kowalski wondered how many times he would have to do so as penance. The series was created by writers Tony Isabella, Roy Thomas, and Chris Claremont with an uncredited assist from Steve Gerber on issue #9 (acknowledged in the letter column of issue #12), and artists Dick Ayers and Frank Springer.

The series was canceled with issue #15, and we learned Claremont’s intentions for Kowalski when he wrote volume 2 of Man-Thing and incorporated the character into its final two issues (#s 10 & 11). By this point (the early 1980s), Kowalski had become an aspect of Death. He made Bobbie Bannister (a recently-orphaned by murder rich girl introduced by Claremont in Man-Thing vol. 2 #5) another aspect of Death as they battled Sheriff John Daltry, who was possessed by the sword of Captain Fate. He caused the deaths of Doctor Strange, Man-Thing, Jennifer Kale, and Chris Claremont himself, although these deaths were undone by the end of the story, in order to battle Thog the Nether-Spawn, who was using Fate and Daltry as his pawns in another gambit to take over Earth-616.

Kowalski later appeared with Scarlet Witch in a story by Dennis Mallonee (writer) and John Ridgway (artist) in Solo Avengers #5.

Bibliography

  • War Is Hell #9 – “War Is Hell!” Isabella, Thomas, Claremont, [Gerber], Ayers, Springer (19 pp)
  • War Is Hell #10 – “The Corridor” Isabella, Claremont, Ayers, Springer (18 pp)
  • War Is Hell #11 – “Winter Kill” Claremont, Perlin, Trapani (18 pp)
  • War Is Hell #12 – “My Love Must Die” Claremont, Perlin, Hunt (19 pp)
  • War Is Hell #13 – “Today Is a Lovely Day to Die” Claremont and Trimpe (17 pp)
  • War Is Hell #14 – “The Duty of a Man” Claremont and Evans (17 pp)
  • War Is Hell #15 – “A Christmas Eve in Hell” Claremont and Trimpe (17 pp)
  • Man-Thing vol. 2 #10 – “Came the Dark Man, Walkin’, Walkin’…” Claremont, Perlin, Wiacek (22 pp)
  • Man-Thing vol. 2 #11 – “Hell’s Gate!” Claremont, Mayerik, Wiacek (22 pp)
  • Solo Avengers #5 – “A Love That Never Dies” Mallonee and Ridgeway (11 pp)

Phantom Eagle

Main article: Phantom Eagle

In 2008, a new five-issue limited series, titled War Is Hell: The First Flight of Phantom Eagle, appeared under the MAX imprint. Phantom Eagle (Lt. Karl Kaufman) was a World War I hero created by Gary Friedrich and artist Herb Trimpe (artist) in 1968, and the new fstory was by Garth Ennis (writer) and Howard Chaykin (artist).

Reprints

The series began as a reprint book, mostly from Atlas Comics-era war comics, adding Sgt. Fury for its last two issues before printing new material. The first six issues contained four stories an issue, each around five pages.

  1. Reprinting stories from Battle #30 (1 story) and #55 (3 stories)
  2. Reprinting stories from Battle Action #30, (1 story) Battlefront #30 (2 stories), and Battle #55 (1 story)
  3. Reprinting stories from Battle Action #15 (1 story) and G.I. Tales #5 (3 stories)
  4. Reprinting stories from Battleground #15 (3 stories), and War Comics #17 (1 story)
  5. Reprinting stories from Battlefront #34 (1 story), and Battleground #20 (1 story) and # 18 (2 stories)
  6. Reprinting stories from War Comics #30, “Court Martial” by Werner Roth, Battleground #15, and War Comics #17
  7. Reprinting Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #17
  8. Reprinting Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #18

Collected editions

  • War is Hell: The First Flight of The Phantom Eagle (Marvel Max, hardcover, 120 pages, November 2008, ISBN 0-7851-1643-5)

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Ultimatum (Ultimate Marvel)

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Cover of Ultimatum #1 (Nov, 2008). Art by David Finch.

Ultimatum is a five-issue comic book story arc from Marvel Comics, which began publication in November 2008. It falls under Marvel’s Ultimate Marvel imprint & is written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by David Finch.

Production

During Ultimatum, Ultimate Marvel titles Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four will contain side stories about various characters and events that occur throughout Ultimatum. Rogue has already been confirmed to appear in a run of Ultimate X-Men during the Ultimatum event and The Thing (Ben Grimm) has been confirmed to appear in the story which runs in Ultimate Fantastic Four for this period. Elements of Ultimatum’s story were established in the Ultimates 3, Ultimate Power, and Ultimate Origins miniseries.

Loeb commented in an interview with Comic Book Resources.com that the series “will hopscotch back and forth between the two books [Ultimatum and Ultimates 3] and conclude what I would like to say is the first chapter of the Ultimate Universe. What that means and how that’s explored is the basis of our story and we’re not letting any cats out of the bag.”

In a recent interview on YouTube, artist David Finch confirmed that Loeb would be bringing much to all of the Ultimate Universe to a close. At the 2009 New York Comic Con it was then announced that the Ultimatum would in fact end the entire Ultimate Marvel Comic line. Which would then be relaunched as Ultimate Comics. With it comes many new titles that are meant to help bring in new readers.

During the Marvel Ultimate Universe panel, at the 2008 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Jeph Loeb said that Aron Coleite’s run on Ultimate X-Men would tie-in to Ultimatum, but did not indicate that this Ultimate Marvel series would end. It has since been revealed that both Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four will be canceled following the events of Ultimatum.

Loeb also commented that Ultimates will continue as New Ultimates coming out after Ultimatum and that he and Frank Cho will be working on that series. It has also been revealed that Mark Millar, writer of The Ultimates, The Ultimates 2, and founding writer of Ultimate X-Men, will be launching an Ultimate Comics Avengers title with a rotating team of artists to include Leinel Francis Yu and Carlos Pacheco. Ultimate Spider-Man will also be relaunched after the end of the Ultimatum as Ultimate Comics Spider-Man with Brian Michael Bendis writing and art being done by David Lafuente.

A teaser promo shows a tombstone marked with 2000-2008 only with the 2008 piece broken from its place.

Plot

Premise

The first shot of the events of Ultimatum seems to have been fired in the first issue of Ultimates 3 #1, when – as is revealed in #5 – a lovesick Ultron shoots and kills the Scarlet Witch, with whom he believes he is in love, but whom he can never possess. Ultron’s rebellion and Wanda’s death lead to a series of events which end with the death of Wanda’s brother, Quicksilver – killed unintentionally by Hawkeye, who had targeted Magneto instead. Magneto, sick with grief, vows ultimate revenge on the Ultimates (”For what they have done, they must pay the ultimate price.“). Before escaping the Ultimates, Magneto is able to steal Thor’s hammer. A further twist is revealed when the destroyed remnants of Ultron are pondered over by Doctor Doom, who states it was he who arranged for all this to happen.

Ultimatum

Ultimatum begins with scenes depicting the characters of the Ultimate Universe in routine circumstances. Reed Richards is proposing to Sue Storm, Ben exercises, and Franklin Storm encourages Johnny to be mature, like his sister. Giant Man has now adopted the Yellowjacket uniform (though Hawkeye wasn’t impressed by it). Captain America convinces Tony Stark to stop drinking and be ready for what disaster awaits them. Thor is doing his usual training with Valkyrie, Peter Parker and his friends (including a resurrected Gwen Stacy) are planning what to do with their day, and Dazzler, Angel, Nightcrawler and Beast are talking about a play. Everything seems well until a series of disasters befalls a few major cities: a lightning storm suddenly appears in New York City and a tidal wave hits Manhattan. Reed Richards and Sue Storm attempt to make it back into the Baxter Building while the Thing attempts to hold off a blue whale that crashes into the building. Giant Man breaks out of Tony Stark’s mansion looking for Jan. In the flooded streets in New York City, Bruce Banner appears to have drowned only to turn into his Hulk persona. He then notices that a Watcher is in the middle of New York. Kitty Pryde helps Peter get on his Spider-Man costume and encourages him to save as many as he can. Angel rescues an unconscious Dazzler whom he believes is dead. Iron Man proceeds to rescue Captain America, stating that many people have died and that he doesn’t know where the rest of the Ultimates are. With New York City underwater and time running out, Sue Storm manages to push all the water back out of the city with a colossal force field which knocks her unconscious and leaves her on the brink of death. Reed later assumes that Namor was the one who caused the tidal wave. Namor aggressively denies any part in the destruction of New York City, his reasoning being that he would never knowingly put Sue in danger. After knocking him out, Reed wonders who it truly was. In Latveria, Doctor Doom leaves his castle to notice that everyone and everything is frozen. Professor X states that millions have died and telepathically tells Captain America, Reed Richards, Iron Man, the Thing, and Spider-Man that Magneto has arranged for all of this to happen. Magneto is then revealed to be in his floating citadel with Thor’s hammer Mjolnir.

At the time when the Ultimatum Wave slammed into New York, Aunt May was being questioned about Peter Parker’s connection with Spider-Man. Kitty Pryde is shown attempting to rescue people on the L train while Spider-Woman swings down to save Aunt May, who in turn is trying to save Detective Mary Lambow.

William Stryker’s wife and son are killed by the Ultimatum Wave. At Xavier’s school, Jean Grey tells the team that Dazzler and Nightcrawler are dead. She refuses to allow Rogue to become involved following her recent use of Banshee. Upon Toad stating that the X-Men don’t trust her, Rogue leaves the mansion. A group of survivors, incensed at Magneto’s actions, find William Stryker in Central Park and offer him the opportunity to lead an anti-mutant militia using armor plating scavenged from the remains of destroyed Sentinels. Rogue flies to Canada to find Alpha Flight member Vindicator, revealing that she knows he is actually former Weapon X watchdog John Wraith. He tells Rogue that he will help find former Weapon X agents who are working for Magneto. They find Sabretooth and Juggernaut in a pub and incapacitate them. William Stryker and his armored death squad begin hunting mutants in upstate New York; their first act of violence is against Syndicate.

Following the Ultimatum Wave attack, Franklin Storm is found dead, Sue is in a coma, and Johnny is missing. The Thing is alone at the Baxter Building while Mister Fantastic searches for him. Thing travels to Pinehead Buttes, Montana in search of Dr. Arthur Molekevic. Josie and her team lead Thing down into the caverns where Dr. Molekevic is discovered, imprisoned by the Lava Men. Thing manages to rescue him and return to the surface. Upon reaching New York, Molekevic agrees to help Susan in any way he can; after examining her, they conclude that they will have to travel into her body. Dr. Molekevic asks Thing if he has access to Pym Particles.

Hulk assists Spider-Man in freeing a New Yorker trapped beneath a car. At the Triskelion, Iron Man arrives with Captain America’s lifeless body, and convinces Carol Danvers to put Cap on life support. Hawkeye volunteers to help Hank Pym search for Jan, stating that nobody deserves to suffer the loss of a loved one. Back at the Baxter Building, Ben Grimm watches over Sue Storm, who remains comatose after saving the city. Her powers remain active but uncontrolled, and Grimm nearly falls victim to her unrestrained telekinesis. Meanwhile, Doctor Doom and Zarda confront Reed Richards, for help in stopping Magneto, which necessitates retrieving Nick Fury from the parallel universe which is home to the Squadron Supreme. Thor seeks the land of the dead to save Valkyrie and is confronted by Hela, who forces Thor to battle Hela’s army of fallen warriors to reach Valkyrie. Captain America appears, implying that he died in the Triskelion. Hawkeye and Hank Pym notices something on a flooded New York street: Blob eating the remains of the Wasp. Meanwhile at Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Children, Magneto confronts Professor X. Magneto tells him that the deaths of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch “merely opened [his] eyes”, stating that man has been in the constant decline spreading disease, war, ecological ruin, and famine. Magneto alludes to the biblical flood, but Xavier says that Magneto is not God, and that upon captured or death he will be recalled as a monster. Enraged, Magneto snaps Xavier’s neck.

The Daily Bugle staff relocates to New Jersey where J. Jonah Jameson starts writing articles to support Spider-Man after witnessing his daring acts of heroism when the Ultimatum Wave hits. As Spider-Woman rescues Aunt May, Spider-Man persuades the Hulk to help save people from the Ultimatum Wave. After Hulk uses his power claps to douse some building fires, he and Spider-Man find the body of Daredevil. When Hulk regresses to Bruce Banner, he blames himself for the carnage that has happened. Spider-Man tells him that it wasn’t him who caused the damage which Bruce was witness to, but Banner is inconsolable. He asks Spider-Man to kill him, as he transforms back into the Hulk, who attacks Spider-Man. While Spider-Man swings over to Greenwich Village to escape, he sees that the Sanctum Sanctorum had been hit by the Ultimatum Wave; dozens of demons emerge when the Sanctum Sanctorum’s roof collapses.

General Thunderbolt Ross shows up to oversee the Thing and Dr. Molekevic’s mission. They prepare a vehicle that they will use to travel into Susan’s body. When the Awesome II vehicle is complete, Dr. Molekevic and Thing head into her body and go through various parts to get to her brain stem. When they get to the brain, Molekevic uses his laser to stimulate the appropriate section. They fight off the remaining nano-bug on their way out (at rapid speeds since the bug damaged their size-holding processor). As Susan Storm wakes up, Ben is offered a job as a test pilot for the Army. Sue discovers that the nano-bugs were created by Reed for some unknown reason. She uses this discovery to postulate that they can find Johnny if he has the same bugs in his system since they give off a microscopic signal.

William Stryker’s Sentinel units invade the X-Mansion and managed to deliver the final blow on Syndicate. At Department H, Rogue convinces Sabretooth to help out while John Wraith does the same for Juggernaut. Rogue receives contact from Psylocke that William Stryker’s goons have invaded the X-Mansion. When William Stryker’s group surround the school, Liz Allan (who had just joined the X-Men as Firestar) starts throwing fireballs at them. One of Stryker’s men fires at Liz, but Toad blocks the attack and is nearly killed. Rogue and the others arrive. One of them fires a poison dart into Juggernaut’s eye where he apparently dies in Rogue’s arms. Rogue gets angered by this and attacks William Stryker.

Mystique taunts Magneto about destroying the world for his “little girl,” and some of the mutants begin turning on Magneto for killing other mutants – seen as “turning on his own people.” Hank Pym, furious at the death of Janet, bites Blob’s head off before carrying her body back to the Triskelion. The X-Men are also mourning their dead, and Angel swears he’s going to kill Magneto for what he’s done, and when Jean tries to reach out to the professor, she tells the others that he’s dead as well. Thor officially sacrifices his life to save Valkyrie and Captain America from Hela’s realm. Meanwhile, a horde of Jamie Madrox’s dupes act as suicide bombers, attacking Ultimates headquarters as Iron Man and Carol Danvers struggle to hold them off. Eventually, Hank arrives back and realizing the direness of the situation. He sacrifices himself to destroy the clones by taking them out to the water, but not before instructing Tony to take Wasp’s dead body and find an encrypted file titled “The Jocasta Project”. Captain America wakes up not long after. He is infuriated by the death of both Hank and Janet, the woman he loves. Captain America then orders the Ultimates to hunt down all remaining heroes as they are going after Magneto.

While looking for Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Thing, and Doctor Doom find Mister Fantastic’s signal in the Squadron Supreme dimension.

Jamie Madrox’s duplicates attack the X-Mansion and Rogue uses her powers to copy his in order to fight them. Wolverine heads to the Savage Land to find Jamie Madrox. With the help of Ka-Zar, Wolverine finds Jamie and kills him.

Mary Jane gets angry that Kitty sent Spider-Man out to save people. Kitty leaves to get Spider-Man back. Spider-Man and Hulk enter the Sanctum Sanctorum and fight various demons. They then encounter Doctor Strange who has been overtaken by Nightmare. It turned out that Nightmare possessed Dr. Strange’s (dead?) body and has been responsible for the demons that have been released from Dr. Strange’s house. In the midst of the battle, Nightmare attacked Spider-Man and Hulk. Nightmare creating the hundreds of dead bodies Hulk killed as a part of his nightmare and re-created Peter’s villains/fears in the shapes of the Green Goblin, Venom, Carnage, a dead Uncle Ben, and numerous others, leaving Peter to wonder if being a hero was really worth all the death and suffering. However, upon solidifying into a young looking purple being, the Hulk attacked him in response to the nightmares. In doing so, the Hulk created an explosion with Peter, Nightmare, Kitty Pryde, and the Hulk trapped in the center of the blast.

Cast

Here is a list of who is featured in this storyline. Names that have been crossed out indicate that the character has died, or is presumed dead:

Heroes

  • Captain Britain – Presumed dead. Blown up by Madrox. (Ultimate X-Men #100)
  • Daredevil – Found dead by Spider-Man. Presumably killed by the Ultimatum Wave. (Ultimate Spider-Man #131)
  • Doctor Strange – Overtaken by Nightmare. (Ultimate Spider-Man #132)
  • John Wraith
  • Ka-Zar
  • Namor
  • Spider-Man
  • Spider-Woman
  • Shadowcat
  • S.H.I.E.L.D.
    • Carol Danvers
  • Ultimates
    • Captain America
    • Hulk
    • Hawkeye
    • Iron Man
    • Thor – Trapped in alternate plane of existence. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Wasp – Her body was found dead and was being eaten by Blob. (Ultimatum #2)
    • Yellowjacket – Killed by Madrox. (Ultimatum #3)
  • Ultimate Fantastic Four
    • Mister Fantastic
    • Invisible Woman
    • Human Torch
    • Thing
    • Franklin Storm – Killed by the Ultimatum Wave. (Ultimate Fantastic Four #58)
  • Ultimate X-Men
    • Angel
    • Beast – Killed by the Ultimatum Wave. (Ultimatum #1)
    • Cannonball – Killed by Madrox. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Cyclops
    • Dazzler – Killed by the Ultimatum Wave. (Ultimatum #1)
    • Emma Frost – Killed by Madrox. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Iceman
    • Jean Grey
    • Liz Allan
    • Nightcrawler – Killed by the Ultimatum Wave. (Ultimatum #1)
    • Polaris – Killed by Madrox. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Professor X – His neck was broken by Magneto. (Ultimatum #2)
    • Psylocke
    • Rogue
    • Storm
    • Sunspot- Killed by Madrox (Ultimatum #3)
    • Syndicate – His heads were blasted off by William Stryker, Jr. (Ultimate X-Men #99)
    • Toad
    • Wolverine

Villains

  • Brotherhood of Mutants
    • Magneto
    • Blob – His head was bitten off by Yellowjacket. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Detonator – Tortured and killed in the Savage Land. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Forge – Tortured and killed in the Savage Land. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Hard-Drive – Tortured and killed in the Savage Land. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Longshot – Tortured and killed in the Savage Land. (Ultimatum #3)
    • Lorelei – Killed by Wolverine. (Ultimate X-Men #100)
    • Madrox – Killed by Wolverine. (Ultimate X-Men #100)
    • Mystique
    • Sabretooth
  • Doctor Doom
  • Juggernaut – Hit in the eye by a poisonous dart shot by a Sentinel soldier. (Ultimate X-Men #99)
  • Nightmare
  • William Stryker
  • Zarda

Other Characters

  • Aunt May
  • Dr. Arthur Molekevic
  • General “Thunderbolt” Ross
  • J. Jonah Jameson
  • Robbie Robertson

Bibliography

  • Ultimatum #1-5
  • Ultimate Fantastic Four #58-60
  • Ultimate Spiderman Vol. 1 #129-133
  • Ultimate X-Men #98-100

Reception

Jesse Schedeen of IGN.com has said, “Loeb’s handling of these characters is at best misguided, and at worst completely disrespectful.”

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Ultimate Origins

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Cover to Ultimate Origins

Ultimate Origins is a comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics, released in June 2008. It falls under Marvel’s Ultimate Marvel imprint. It was written by Brian Bendis and illustrated by Butch Guice. It was intended to be a “chapter in the development of Ultimatum, a crossover event scheduled to begin in September 2008.

Jeph Loeb has stated in an interview with Comic Book Resources: “What Ultimate Origin is going to do is sort of tell us how it all began. … The Ultimate Universe isn’t very old, so this isn’t a cosmic story. You’re not going to see the birth of a planet. What you’ll see is how the superhero community was introduced into the human population. So you’ll learn the importance of things like the Super Soldier program, which has been hinted at in Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimates 1 and 2. Now, Brian is going to connect the dots.”

Plot summary

The story opens with Spider-Man confronting a deranged Bruce Banner, who tells Spider-Man in desperation that “it’s all connected.” General Ross arrives, and despite Spider-Man’s attempts to defuse the situation, Banner transforms into the Hulk and escapes.

In 1942, at the Battle of Tenaru, an American super-soldier (a normal GI dressed in a special uniform) rallies his men in the face of a Japanese onslaught. However, the soldier is shot and killed, his blood staining the American flag. A photograph of this image is released around the world, and then-President Roosevelt demands a true super-soldier from his advisors, rather than a normal soldier wearing a special uniform.

A year later, during the invasion of Sicily, three soldiers, (American privates Fisk (the grandfather of The Kingpin) and Nicholas Fury, and Canadian soldier James Howlett), attempt to loot a house. Military police arrive to arrest them, and all three are subdued. Fisk is grazed by a bullet, while Fury and Howlett, despite the latter’s protests that he’s Canadian, are shipped off to separate unknown locations.

Fury is selected to be the next test subject for Project Rebirth, as his bloodwork most closely matches that of subject 22, the most successful of the previous test subjects. He is injected with a serum that gives him super-strength, which he uses to free himself and the other prisoners, who then escape. The scientists who were working on him let him escape, deciding that they have all the information that they need for now. Elsewhere, Howlett awakens in a tank of water inside the Weapon X complex. He escapes the complex, but is fatally shot as he nears freedom. Miraculously, Howlett’s wound heals completely and he is recaptured. Dr. Cornelius, Weapon X’s head scientist, explains that in attempting to create their own version of Captain America, Weapon X accidentally discovered a genome that, when genetically altered, grants the person carrying it various abilities based on their DNA. He calls these altered humans “mutants”, (with Howlett as “Mutant Zero”), and states that mutants will be how humanity survives.

The story then flip-flops between Captain Carol Danvers at Project Pegasus finding the artefact known as the Watcher and the events leading to the birth of Captain America. Project Pegasus is shown as a government-issued warehouse for objects with mysterious origins and, usually, mass destructive value.

Steven Rogers, with a bad limp, is recruited by Dum Dum Dugan into the Super-Soldier Program; Project Rebirth. Through many different treatments, Steven Rogers is reborn as the ultimate super-soldier and leaves his fiance Gail behind to start his life in World War II.

Later, a teenaged Erik Lehnsherr visits the Weapon X complex and sets Wolverine free, letting him know that his name is James. When Magneto’s mother tries to stop him, he murders her and proclaims that he hopes there “is a hell.” Before his mother’s death, she justifies her work with Weapon X by declaring that she only wanted to find a cure for Erik and the others.

Even later in Erik’s life, he reads a book published by Charles Xavier and is determined to meet him. Showing up in the class that Xavier teaches, they soon realize that Charles’s telepathic powers do not work on Magneto. They discuss the theories involved with having mutananity accepted and eventually relocate to the Savage Land, where Magneto’s brotherhood is waiting to be trained by the two.

Sometime later, Nick Fury is questioned by General Ross while lying in a hospital bed after seemingly being saved by Wolverine during an earlier war. General Ross feverishly questions him about his previous involvement with the mutant known as Weapon X and the nature of Nick Fury’s unique physiology. After Fury dismisses his use as the “new” Captain America, he wonders about his usefulness in other ways.

The story skips forward for the brief description of Project Rebirth 2, including Fury later becomes involed with Project Rebirth 2, which includes the involvement of Dr. Franklin Storm, Bruce Banner, Dr. Hank Pym, and Dr. Richard Parker. During this time, Dr. Storm is contracted to work with the Baxter Building project as well as Project Rebirth. Their work with the facility is helped along by the use of a vial of Fury’s blood of which, none of the scientists know the truth of where the blood came from, (except Parker who suspected it). When Banner seems to have had a breakthrough, he and Dr. Pym decide to try it on themselves, starting with Banner. The trial goes horribly wrong and Banner, now as the Hulk destroys the building and seemingly kills both Richard and Mary Parker, leaving their infant son Peter an orphan.

The sight of the infant son in his mother’s arms shocks Banner back to himself and is quickly subdued by Fury. Taking the infant in to his arms, he whispers that it is good that Peter is young, because he won’t remember a thing.

Later, Fury infiltrates the Weapon X project, and, after the shock of the environment sinks in, Fury realizes that neither man nor mutant should ever know of man’s involvement in the mutant gene. This conclusion is acted upon when he kills all of the scientists and their experiments. The only mutant to make it out alive is T’Challa, whom Fury feels a connection with due to their tragic pasts.

Charles Xavier is next seen being speared in the back as an act of retaliation by Magneto, who claims Charles tried to attack him in his own mind. Magneto speaks of the mutant race’s fate to ascend like gods over homo sapien and his belief that God willed this to be.

In the present day, the Watchers speak through Sue Storm and tell of a certain doom that awaits before picking a herald. While the Fantastic Four wonder who this could be, Rick Jones is found by his family glowing in the backyard.

Retcons

Ultimate Origins provides a soft retcon for several stories originally presented within the various Ultimate imprints.

  • Nick Fury had displayed no indication of possessing any super-normal abilities except when he got his arm back in Ultimate Power after losing it in Ultimates 2.
  • Doctor Cornelius is portrayed in Ultimate X-Men as being a middle-aged man, certainly not an adult during WW2.
  • In Ultimate X-Men, Magneto wears a helmet to protect Xavier from reading his mind. In Ultimate Origins, Xavier can’t read Magneto’s mind even when he isn’t wearing it.
  • In Ultimate Spider-Man during the Venom arc, Peter’s parents are shown to be still alive when he is five years-old.

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True Believers (comics)

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Cover art for True Believers #1.

True Believers is an American comic book limited series from Marvel Comics, written by Cary Bates, with art by Paul Gulacy.

Publication history

The series launched as a five part storyline in July 30th, 2008.

Characters

The four main team members are:

  • Payback – Mavis Trent, a S.H.I.E.L.D. data analyst who uses her position to keep the True Believers safe from the Superhuman Registration Act.

Powers – Due to being bonded with an alien symbioite, Trent is able to transform into a silver skinned energy form. Unlike the Venom alien, this one is sustained when its host is in a state of bliss.

  • Headtrip – Tayln Roark , A relationship expert with hieghtened emapathic abilities. Max Trent’s former Girlfriend and first recruit in the True believers.
  • Red Zone – Theo Bomba, Fringe Conspircist with Heightend mental abilities due to accidental fusing of skull with alien alloy.
  • Battalus – Ozzie Tanaka , Former S.H.I.E.L.D. R&D Scientist. Uses Adavanced Battle Armor developed for Urban Combat Ozzie also has A Form of BPD Borderline Personality Disorder.

Plot

The series involves a team of new characters digging into the background goings-on in the Marvel Universe. The team is led by Payback, Mavis Trent, a S.H.I.E.L.D. data analyst.

Though a miniseries, True Believers is unusual in that each issue contains a central plot that is resolved by the end. Issue 1 features the team ending an underground fight club. This club is run by rich and powerful men who pay to have women abducted, drugged and forced to fight one another.

The second issue deals with a conspiracy to frame Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, for driving under the influence of alcohol. This issue also sees Payback with Reynolds’ psychiatrist Dr. Cornelius Worth discussing her feelings with her father.

The third issue reveals the origin of Payback, and begins the search for the murderer of Payback’s Father.

The fourth gives the origins of Battalus and Red Zone. and reveals there’s more to The Murder of Payback’s Father

The Fifth reveals the Truth behind The Murder of Payback’s Father.

Reception

The first issue had estimated sales of 17,151 copies, placing it at number 132 in the sales chart. Issue #2 dropped to an estimate of 12,838 (149th).

True Believers has received mixed reviews. For instance, Broken Frontier was less impressed, feeling it didn’t live up to expectations suggesting “it is rather disappointing given what one might have hoped for” and that the “tone established by the writing crosses over to the art as well: it shows some nice potential, but fails to realize it fully”. However, they also feel that all hope isn’t lost and if “Bates and Gulacy really put their minds to it and are willing to push the limits of what they can do with this concept, it just might turn into something very special indeed. Keep an eye out for future issues” Comic Book Resources agrees and suggests that the story “is an original and timely concept, but the weak execution doesn’t carry it well. Bates’ craft seems to be a little rusty at best, and feels more than a little outdated at times” and that problems with the art partly come from script problems as “any artist would struggle to fit 15 panels on one page and still maintain a good flow.” Comics Bulletin is largely positive and concludes that “overall this issue presents an interesting if somewhat vague introduction to the characters” with the only downside being the colouring “Beredo does an estimable job but the technique seems so common that it fails to add anything”. They stop just shy of awarding full marks to the second issue, largely because the reviewer feels “a certain detachment from the principal character,” but the minor niggles about the art in the first issue have been addressed and they declare that they are “prepared to ratchet up my praise for Rain Beredo’s colours, too”. The online comic book reviewer for Scifipulse.net, Nicholas Yanes, is equally positive, writing that “this is a title that everyone should have on their pull list.”

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The Twelve (comics)

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Promotion art for The Twelve #1<br /> by Kaare Andrews.

The Twelve is an American comic book limited series from Marvel Comics, which the company announced in July 2007 would run twelve issues beginning spring 2008, with the creative team of writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Chris Weston. The series stars 12 obscure characters from Marvel’s earliest incarnation as Timely Comics from the 1940s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.

Publication history

According to Universaldork.com, on January 11, 2009, fans of the Marvel comic The Twelve, which started publishing in 2007, received some disappointing news from Joe Quesada:

THE TWELVE has momentarily become a casualty of the success of its creative team. First J. Michael Straczynski became one of the most sought after writers in Hollywood following the release and success of the film he wrote, CHANGELING.Then, Chris Weston signed on to do conceptual art and storyboarding for a completely separate film project at around the same time! So for the moment, while they stick pick away at it, THE TWELVE is on hold until such time as Joe and Chris free up from their incredibly hectic schedules. “

The Twelve #9 has been cancelled and will be re-solicited at a later date.

Plot synopsis

As related by the Phantom Reporter: During the World War II Battle of Berlin in 1945, a dozen of the many superheroes and masked crimefighters of that era are ambushed by Nazis in the basement of an SS building, where the heroes are gassed and placed into cryogenic suspension for later experimentation, but the building is air bombed soon after and anyone aware of their situation is killed. In the present day, construction workers find this bunker, and the Twelve, as they become known, are revived. Put into the care of the U.S. military, they are housed together in a mansion where they receive counselling and support, are gradually made to understand that decades have passed, and are offered a role as heroes in the 21st century.

The Twelve adjust in various ways: The Blue Blade becomes a celebrity; the Phantom Reporter starts a column for the Daily Bugle, Dynamic Man allies himself with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies and throws himself into heroics; the Black Widow reconnects as the “instrument of vengeance” of an unknown party and begins going on missions; and Rockman bemoans being cut off from an underground kingdom that may or may not exist. On ballistics evidence, police arrest the Laughing Mask for a 1940s murder. In addition, the daughter of the creator of the robot Electro reclaims possession of the robot.

In framing story set “much later”, the Phantom Reporter, gun in hand, stands over the body of the Blue Blade, regretting the man’s death.

Membership

The Twelve are:

  1. The Blue Blade
  2. The Black Widow (not the modern character of that name)
  3. Captain Wonder
  4. Dynamic Man
  5. Electro
  6. The Fiery Mask
  7. The Laughing Mask
  8. Master Mind Excello
  9. Mister E
  10. The Phantom Reporter
  11. Rockman
  12. The Witness

Collected editions

The series is being collected into two volumes:

  • Volume 1 (collects The Twelve #1-6, 144 pages, hardcover, October 2008, ISBN 0-7851-3372-0)

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