Bought / Thought April 22, 2009 SPOILERS

[SouLeSS]

No, he'll have him actually kill Fisk in Back in Black.

Oh wait...

 

[Dread]

I like the idea of GOTG having a massive roster..especially if DnA keep handling the characters as well as they are.

Seriously, the more the better.

Normally I am wary of rosters once they surpass 7-8 active members, but Abnett & Lanning are juggling them well. Splitting them into squads is the best way to go. Focus on a few at a time every issue.

I'm loving the GotG roster. I was worried that after the last arc we'd be saying goodbye to some of the 2nd tiers again like Bug and Groot, but fortunatley they've stayed. Makes me a bit worried though that there's such a big roster going into the War of Kings. People die in in these big space events often and I'm worried there may be a little house cleaning in this title.

Have we lost anyone yet in War of Kings? It was thought that Raza was dead but he's just taken over by the symbiote thing. No one else so far though, right?

Raza was taken over by a symbiote and left behind on the flooding Shi'ar prison world by the Starjammers fleeing from the water pressure and the Imperial Guard in KINGBREAKER #4. His status would be "MIA". Of course, Eddie Brock's symbiote during the 90's was capable of all sorts of feats, such as allowing him to take some of Juggernaut's punches or even storing limited supplies of air so he could swim for quite a while without needing to surface. Raza's return at some point is more than possible. The question would be how much in control the symbiote would be by then.

Still, said symbiote was unleashed on the Starjammers by Vulcan, so in a way he is responsible for Raza's fate.

So far we haven't "lost" anyone. Ronan was critically injured battling the Imperial Guard, but he'll live. Lilandra's execution is planned but I highly doubt she'll die (despite how boring she usually is). The event is barely at the midway point, though. Hell, if anyone, we've GAINED someone; Moondragon was killed by Ultron in ANNIHILATION CONQUEST, but Phyla & Drax managed to save her from Oblivion's realm.

I do hear you, though; with a GOTG roster that large, the possibility of someone dying during a battle is high. Especially with a few members doing something like aiding the Starjammers in a rescue, as seems to be the case for Major Victory, Rocket Raccoon, Drax and Groot. Heck, they may not only have to rescue Lilandra, but Adam Warlock as well. I am curious if one will be covered in WAR OF KINGS #3, and the other in the next issue of GOTG.

What mastermind? He shot a Skrull on national TV. That's literally all that brought him to power. He's smart enough to capitalize on things, but he's still a barely contained psychopath with his Goblin persona always waiting on the edge of his sanity. Granted, the stutter early on in the issue when he's getting cornered by all of the other Illuminaughties was a little over-the-top, but it was fairly minor.

As for Quicksilver, I guess we just want different things from the character. I hated the idea of him reverting to villainy at the drop of a hat, but even so, it's not like he's happy-go-lucky here. He's still arrogant to a fault, but he just loves his sister and wants to find out what's going on with her, so he'll (in his mind) debase himself by deigning to join Pym's band of misfits if it offers him a chance to do that.

For everyone else, I chalk their acceptance of Wanda up to different things. US Agent served with her for a long, long time on the West Coast Avengers and saw her overcome bouts with insanity and personal problems before. Herc's literally been in her shoes, having killed his own family due to his uncontrollable rages earlier in his life. Jarvis is just that good-natured. Jocasta will seemingly follow Hank off a cliff at this point, so if Hank trusts Wanda, she will. Hank believes in offering a chance for redemption to all who need it now. The only other people who could show a little bit of distrust are Cho and Vision, Jr., so I agree with you on them.

Yeah, while Osborn may have had "savvy" in running the Thunderbolts before the Invasion, his big claim to fame was taking down Veranke after the Skrulls invaded and shut down Stark's tech. You could argue it was Stark's fault only insomuch as it was his planet's fault for placing all of their eggs in one basket, as if Stark technology had never been hacked before nor the planet ever invaded by aliens, but that's modern Marvel for you; if Bendis or Joe Q haven't done it, it hasn't been done.

The premise for DARK REIGN is lunacy. No matter how cynical you think the world is, an ex CEO who is a convicted murderer, terrorist, and mob leader who was still leading criminal break-outs and supervillain attacks not very long ago (Mark Millar even wrote one of those stories!) would suddenly become an unelected Vice Vice President because he shot an alien in the face on live TV is almost more absurd than gamma radiation empowering someone. It very clearly seems to me a plot-line left over from the Bush/Cheney years, as many accused them of exploiting 9/11 to run their reign of tyranny. What Marvel has failed to understand is that while there is some anger at the government still, times have changed. The same figures are not in power. Either this was a story planned far enough before election day that some thought McCain would win (and trust me, if he had, he wouldn't have been starring in fist-bumping team up's with Spider-Man), or Marvel seriously was that detached from reality that they were unaware of Obama's high favoritism to win, of the Democratic ticket's high favoritism to win when Hillary seemed "inevitable", and that Republicans were out of Congressional power since 2006. Marvel's always been involved in some political commentary since the 60's, and it often was usually very blunt. I just think this time it was mistimed about a year.

That said, some of the outcome of DARK REIGN has been interesting. It's allowed them to run similar tales as the Initiative, just Osborn and his Lunatic Avengers make better foils than Stark and his Mighty Avengers. The premise is ******ed, but the result has been fine thus far, least in the non-Bendis books that I read.

As for MIGHTY AVENGERS, redemption is the theme of the team and naturally most of the members feel as if they have something to prove. It may seem odd that Stature is the only one who genuinely distrusts Wanda, but she killed her father, so it makes sense. Pym outright said he is "keeping enemies close" and even sees Quicksilver as a way of cracking the mystery, so there's some doubts in his mind, too.

Guardians of the Galaxy was alright, but honesty, I've been disappointed with Marvel's cosmic books as of late. War of Kings is probably the worst of the 3 events so far, and Nova has gotten pretty boring. I think the only things that keep Guardians afloat for me is Rocket Raccoon and Cosmo.

I disagree. NOVA's been great for a while. WAR OF KINGS has been better than CONQUEST so far, and GOTG is solid. ASCENSION is the weakest link so far, but that could change. To each their own, though.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Raza was taken over by a symbiote and left behind on the flooding Shi'ar prison world by the Starjammers fleeing from the water pressure and the Imperial Guard in KINGBREAKER #4. His status would be "MIA". Of course, Eddie Brock's symbiote during the 90's was capable of all sorts of feats, such as allowing him to take some of Juggernaut's punches or even storing limited supplies of air so he could swim for quite a while without needing to surface. Raza's return at some point is more than possible. The question would be how much in control the symbiote would be by then.

Still, said symbiote was unleashed on the Starjammers by Vulcan, so in a way he is responsible for Raza's fate.

Yeah, when Marvel kinda screwed up that story with releasing WoK 1 before Kingbreaker 4, I assumed Raza would die and was kinda interested, hoping it would be well done. I was even more preasently surprised to find out what happened. It's more interesting than Death with an unpredictable outcome.

Symbiote Raza should join the GotG too If he doesn't die... or kill them.

So far we haven't "lost" anyone. Ronan was critically injured battling the Imperial Guard, but he'll live. Lilandra's execution is planned but I highly doubt she'll die (despite how boring she usually is). The event is barely at the midway point, though. Hell, if anyone, we've GAINED someone; Moondragon was killed by Ultron in ANNIHILATION CONQUEST, but Phyla & Drax managed to save her from Oblivion's realm.

That's true. I was never a big Moondragon fan but it's nice to see her again, and I really curious where that story will be taking Phyla. And on a side note, good to see her have a code name of her own now, and not a borrowed Captain Marvel or Quasar.

I do hear you, though; with a GOTG roster that large, the possibility of someone dying during a battle is high. Especially with a few members doing something like aiding the Starjammers in a rescue, as seems to be the case for Major Victory, Rocket Raccoon, Drax and Groot. Heck, they may not only have to rescue Lilandra, but Adam Warlock as well. I am curious if one will be covered in WAR OF KINGS #3, and the other in the next issue of GOTG.

I'm kinda expecting either Captain Victory or Starhawk to die during War of Kings (moreso Starhawk). I'm not against losing Korvus from the starjammers or a few of the recognizable Nova Centurians, which if done well could be a very touching scene, but I've become rather attached to the rest of the cosmic characters. I'm sure Abnett and Lanning will do a great story either way and anyone who dies will get a fitting death, but still, I'd hate to see anyone other than those listed above go.

 

[Harlekin]

Just read New Avengers #52.

Man, I just wish Bendis would learn to write these characters.

It's not really that hard.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

The man has no idea how to write in different voices save than putting "bub" at the end of every sentence and making Spider-Man extra annoying. Everyone else? You could literally switch their dialogue around in like 2/3rds of the book and not notice.

 

[Harlekin]

I know, it's quite saddening.

The man has skill. Daredevil and other work has shown that.

But he can't write these characters to save his life.

Especially Son of Satan. Man, that was an abomination.

P.S. The Sorcerer Supreme thing? Totally not how that works.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

why do you people keep reviewing DC comics in the marvel comics section ?

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

This is the more active forum in the comic book section so as far the bought/thought thread goes, everything (Marvel, DC, Image, Darkhorse, etc.) goes in here.

 

[Harlekin]

Yeah, Bought/Thought does not discriminate.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, there are no boundaries in the Bought/Thought thread. The Bought/Thought thread welcomes all comers.

Shut up, I know what you pervs are thinking about that sentence.

 

[Dread]

Just read New Avengers #52.

Man, I just wish Bendis would learn to write these characters.

It's not really that hard.

Bendis has had that problem since forever. I am both glad and saddened to know it hasn't changed since I abandoned his titles. He's developed one way of writing dialogue and by and large doesn't change it for any character, beyond minor, occasional trappings like the ones you mentioned.

Sadly, for him and for us, editorial support usually means he never HAS to learn.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Now that the decompression fad is finally starting to die out, Bendis' method of storytelling stands out as even slower than it was before.

 

[Harlekin]

Yeah, I know. Just horrible. At least half this issue could've been cut down.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

I don't have the issues in front of me, but iirc he actually repeats a lot of the exposition about having to be replaced as Sorcerer Supreme, even down to Doom being a possible candidate, that he had with Wiccan to the New Avengers.

All I could think was, "Really, Dude, you're trying to waste pages that badly?"

 

[bryanss3]

Yeah I understand he likes dialog, but these are comics about super heroes. this issue was 10 pages of NA sitting at the round table talking to Dr. Strange, cut to the hood doing something, 10 pages of NA/Dr. Strange talking in the quinjet. This would be great if NA was about the small talk in between saving the world, but its not. At a 3.99 price tag we should at least get to see the super heroes do something other than talk. I get that he wants to build up to the fight scene, but he does this every arc.

 

[BlackSymbiote]

In reading New Avengers, I just realized how tiresome Bendis's dialogue has become. It was great when I first started reading, but now it really grates on me. Worst of all, it's almost entirely redundant. You could cut half of the words out and lose none of the content, but since NOTHING HAPPENED in the issue, you could cut the all of it and miss nothing.

 

[Phaedrus45]

As for Quicksilver, I guess we just want different things from the character. I hated the idea of him reverting to villainy at the drop of a hat, but even so, it's not like he's happy-go-lucky here. He's still arrogant to a fault, but he just loves his sister and wants to find out what's going on with her, so he'll (in his mind) debase himself by deigning to join Pym's band of misfits if it offers him a chance to do that.

For me, Quicksilver's change totally fit his character. If there is one person in the mutant population who would go to extreme lengths to get their powers back after "No More Mutants," it's Quicksilver. And, Peter David did some great things with him in X-Factor. I find it more ridiculous turning him into a joke, chasing around the Mighty Avengers, begging them to let him join the team. (Plus, I think Quicksilver would know how uncharacteristic of Scarlet Witch the Loki version is, even in these few appearances.)

Still, I can understand some people's love for this Avengers. After the years of Bendis New Avengers, this is a little more like the old days. (Just, when Bendis had Mighty Avengers, they really were mighty. This is more like B-List Avengers.)

 

[imdaly]

We'll probably see it if they keep doing those 5 What If specials every year or two. Probably a "What if Spider-Man never started his Brand New Day?" to open up that can of worms again, too. Joe Q likes riling the fanbase.

He'll probably have Aunt May die in a hospital and MJ get promptly run over by a bus so that he can yell, "See! See! OMD was a good thing!"

No, he'll have him actually kill Fisk in Back in Black.

Oh wait...

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Still, I can understand some people's love for this Avengers. After the years of Bendis New Avengers, this is a little more like the old days. (Just, when Bendis had Mighty Avengers, they really were mighty. This is more like B-List Avengers.)

Only in terms of popularity.

You've still got a team with Hank Pym, Hercules, Quicksilver and Amadeus Cho on it and that's nothing to sneeze at.

In fact aside from the Sentry (who was useless 90% of the time), I'd say Pym's Avengers nearly stack up to Tony's.

 

[Tron Bonne]

What happened in that issue? Did he just kill Fisk or was there more?

 

[Belvedere]

Why is there always one really out of place character that's only there because their individual ongoing has recieved alot of praise? It was Iron Fist, now it's Captain America.

He stands around for most of the issues and says a sentence ever 10 or so pages, he might aswell not be there. I'm worried about him being on the team because Bendis might actually try to do something to him, or atleast that messes with Bru's great characterization so far.

 

[Alastor]

Yeah, I'm done with it. Granted I've only been picking it up since 47, but this is just boring. Spideys ID reveal was nice tho. It seems the whole Dark Reign premise would allow this group of underground, resistance Avengers to shine, but I feel its being wasted.

 

[BlackSymbiote]

Shooting MJ is what should've happened in the first place, since it would have made a lot more sense for Spidey to sacrifice his marriage in order to have MJ live again.

 

[Dread]

Now that the decompression fad is finally starting to die out, Bendis' method of storytelling stands out as even slower than it was before.

I was feeling that last year when I was still on NEW AVENGERS. His style can work when he is doing what I consider his strongest stories; one-shot character pieces (focusing on 1-2 characters). But when he tries to handle team action, he's usually mediocre at best for a variety of reasons, decompression being only one of them. DAREDEVIL and ALIAS, and to a degree ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN for the first few years, catered to these strengths. AVENGERS books don't for him, and haven't since 2004 really. Sadly, they've proven popular.

The signs were on the wall for his year run on ULTIMATE X-MEN, when his first 6 issues relied heavily on a leftover ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP story starring Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Daredevil with only token appearances by the X-Men the last chapter or so. Then the second six issues that focused on Angel & Storm for the first issue and then found clever ways to avoid that team stuff.

Yeah I understand he likes dialog, but these are comics about super heroes. this issue was 10 pages of NA sitting at the round table talking to Dr. Strange, cut to the hood doing something, 10 pages of NA/Dr. Strange talking in the quinjet. This would be great if NA was about the small talk in between saving the world, but its not. At a 3.99 price tag we should at least get to see the super heroes do something other than talk. I get that he wants to build up to the fight scene, but he does this every arc.

Agreed. That got on my nerves, too.

In reading New Avengers, I just realized how tiresome Bendis's dialogue has become. It was great when I first started reading, but now it really grates on me. Worst of all, it's almost entirely redundant. You could cut half of the words out and lose none of the content, but since NOTHING HAPPENED in the issue, you could cut the all of it and miss nothing.

I remember quite often when Bendis would sometimes stretch an arc out by basically redoing the issue but only adding maybe 7 or less pages of new lines because he was changing the POV. When he did it the first time for USM, everyone declared it brilliant. Now it is just annoying. Be careful what you praise, is my lesson from this.

For me, Quicksilver's change totally fit his character. If there is one person in the mutant population who would go to extreme lengths to get their powers back after "No More Mutants," it's Quicksilver. And, Peter David did some great things with him in X-Factor. I find it more ridiculous turning him into a joke, chasing around the Mighty Avengers, begging them to let him join the team. (Plus, I think Quicksilver would know how uncharacteristic of Scarlet Witch the Loki version is, even in these few appearances.)

Still, I can understand some people's love for this Avengers. After the years of Bendis New Avengers, this is a little more like the old days. (Just, when Bendis had Mighty Avengers, they really were mighty. This is more like B-List Avengers.)

One could argue that aside for Iron Man, Bendis' Mighty Avengers weren't terribly A-List, either. Sentry was never more than B-List, same for Ms. Marvel or Ares. Black Widow has been such a professional B-Lister for ages that she spent much time as Daredevil's unofficial (and official) "partner", akin to the Black Cat in Spider-Man lore. Bendis himself is of higher hype level, and usually got more notable artists, like Frank Cho or Mark Bagley.

Chthon was as big a threat as the Avengers usually face, just he isn't as well known as Ultron or symbiotes, so the hype was less.

As for Quicksilver, he may have a good reason for not instantly thinking something is amiss with Wanda; the last time he was in contact with her, she had gone out of her mind. He may figure she's "changed" somewhat. He's also seen very, very little of her. I will be curious to how this goes in the future. You could argue that as he is perhaps the most desperate to be reunited with her, he would be the easiest for Loki to fool with an illusion. Stature is outright hostile towards "Wanda", and Pym is merely "keeping her close" to be wary. Unlike Thor, at least Pym is aware of a potential enemy in his midst.

Shooting MJ is what should've happened in the first place, since it would have made a lot more sense for Spidey to sacrifice his marriage in order to have MJ live again.

Indeed, it would have made the deal to Mephisto at least more of a noble gesture, even if dealing with the devil when things are inconvenient is the sort of thing most heroes who aren't Ghost Rider shouldn't be doing.