The Last Defenders

[PhotoJones]

No pants FTW.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I've typed far more about far less interesting topics, man. Don't be a sissy. It isn't like you have a lot to do.

Kidding. Didn't mean to offend you. I was trying to be light hearted.

It is bemusing to me that I basically went on a few pages of debate over Colossus' refusal to wear pants a few pages ago in this topic, and then AMERICAN GLADIATORS comes out and none of the men there wear pants, either (they do wear shorts, though). And naturally no one will call one of them a sissy, because they're angry steroid freaks.

I don't have time for a blog, and only emo sissy teenagers bother with those.

Emo, verbose, sissy teenagers. Oh, and narcissistic.

But you could probably make a pretty good blog, Dread. You gots da werds for it.

 

[PhotoJones]

He also whines and cries like only a good emo boy can.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Well, we all do, though. We all know it. It's like a requirement for posting on a comic book message board.

 

[PhotoJones]

We ***** and moan here and there. Dread actually exceeds the Hype's character limit when he does it.

 

[Dread]

Emo, verbose, sissy teenagers. Oh, and narcissistic.

But you could probably make a pretty good blog, Dread. You gots da werds for it.

I have enough to do online without wasting time on that. I type, I have AIM, email, resumes to send out, and playing some message board RPG's. I even run one.

He also whines and cries like only a good emo boy can.

When you post stuff like this, it makes me regret not making fun of you more for being so DAMNED sure Kang was the big bad in ANNIHILATION CONQUEST. Yes, sir, all the signs were there. It was right there in the title, man, clear as day.

Well, we all do, though. We all know it. It's like a requirement for posting on a comic book message board.

We all do it and know it, but I'm the only one who'd admit it. Then others mock me for admitting it. Hence, why no one admits anything.

 

[PhotoJones]

When you post stuff like this, it makes me regret not making fun of you more for being so DAMNED sure Kang was the big bad in ANNIHILATION CONQUEST. Yes, sir, all the signs were there. It was right there in the title, man, clear as day.

I don't see what my theory about AC has to do with you being emo.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

We all do it and know it, but I'm the only one who'd admit it. Then others mock me for admitting it. Hence, why no one admits anything.

I'm pretty sure I just admitted it, too.

 

[Dread]

I don't see what my theory about AC has to do with you being emo.

It doesn't. I was just commenting how you get on my ass for stuff and I rarely get on you for stuff and I should probably rethink that.

 

[PhotoJones]

Stay away from my ass, Dread.

 

[Dread]

Stay away from my ass, Dread.

Stay away from mine. Good lord whenever I type anything, you're always the first person there to nitpick it to bloody death.

Anyway, hopefully whichever "big longtime villain" that Casey wants to truck out for this series is cool and handled well. Marvel seriously needs some heavyweight bad guy moments. I'm all for decently amping up rogues.

 

[PhotoJones]

Stay away from mine. Good lord whenever I type anything, you're always the first person there to nitpick it to bloody death.

Hardly. I'd have to read your posts in order to nitpick them.

 

[Dread]

Hardly. I'd have to read your posts in order to nitpick them.

That actually was a nice burn.

So, who was that who was supposed to be behind AC again?

 

[PhotoJones]

Ultron.

 

[Dread]

Ultron.

Naturally.

You promised Kang, but whatever.

 

[PhotoJones]

I said nothing of the sort.

 

[Dread]

I said nothing of the sort.

You were beating us over the head with the title proving it. Conquest, Conquerer, it was clear as day.

Speaking of villains, usually Defenders enemies were magical or other-dimensional in nature, such as Yandroth, and I wonder if Casey will go that route or more for something more Earth-based. I think I'd prefer one of the many regular villains who could use a proper boost. But we'll see what comes.

After all, the Brothers Grimm have magical-based abilities...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'd prefer magic villains. That's what the Defenders are all about. Plus, they could work Colossus in by claiming his skin is similar enough to iron that it's resistant to magic somehow.

 

[Dread]

I'd prefer magic villains. That's what the Defenders are all about. Plus, they could work Colossus in by claiming his skin is similar enough to iron that it's resistant to magic somehow.

Technically, that has already happened. Colossus proved at least partially (if not highly) resistant to magic during battles against the Adversary and some other magical menaces (like during INFERNO when he didn't change into a demon). It isn't mentioned in handbooks lately, but it happened. His wikipedia profile notes it, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_(comics)

Scimming it, I was reminded that while She-Hulk has a rep for sleeping around, for a "quiet guy", Piotr has had a slew of girlfriends. Including a three-some with two Savage Land women to lose his virginity and swapping spit with Rogue after his organic steel form proved resistant to her lifeforce-absorbing touch for a while. He's also had a girlfriend die on him before via Zsaji on Battleworld. Colossus is a mack.

http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/spotlight/showquestion.asp?faq=10&fldAuto=77&page=2

A better online Bio, which, hoo-boy, shows how much tail Colossus got.

 

[Dread]

Figured I would post the 3 inked pages from Jim Muniz:

Spoiler

And the CBR interview with Casey:

Spoiler

GETTING DEFENSIVE: CASEY TALKS “THE LAST DEFENDERS”
by Dave Richards, Staff Writer
Posted: January 14, 2008 — More From This Author

"The Last Defenders" #1 of 6 on sale in March
In the aftermath of “Civil War,” the Marvel Universe is suddenly crawling with super teams. There are two separate groups of Avengers and it’s the goal of The Initiative to put a super team in every state. As such, it only seems fitting that a new incarnation of The Defenders, one of the MU’s more popular teams, would form. The team makes its debut in March's “The Last Defenders” a new six-issue miniseries by writer Joe Casey and artist Jim Muniz. CBR News spoke with Casey about the project.

There is only one returning Defender in the line-up of “The Last Defenders,” but his teammates will all be familiar to Marvel fans. The returning Defender and team leader is Nighthawk AKA Kyle Richmond, and his teammates are Colossus of the X-Men; She-Hulk, formerly of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers; and the Blazing Skull, a member of the now defunct Invaders. Assembling such an eclectic team of characters was no easy feat for Casey and his editor Steve Wacker. “The fact that we were pulling heroes from all corners of the Marvel Universe meant that we needed to get clearance from multiple areas of Marvel Editorial,” Joe Casey told CBR News. “Luckily, Wacker is on par with the best U.N. diplomats in that regard and he was able to properly facilitate whatever was necessary to eventually get the cast we wanted.”

Nighthawk has recently been seen fighting along side the other members of the U.S. government’s super powered fighting force, The Initiative. He ended up joining the group after making the painful decision to defect from Captain America’s band of Anti-Registration heroes during “Civil War.”

“I'd imagine that while he was on Cap's side, Nighthawk felt pretty much like anyone would when you do something you believe in but it pisses off the boss (or, on the flipside, doing something you don't believe in to avoid pissing off the boss),” Casey explained. “In this case, you have a guy who eventually let his head dictate his actions. But when you betray what's in your heart, there’s going to be consequences. But fundamentally, I think Kyle Richmond has aspirations that go way beyond the current political climate of the Marvel Universe. He's both a romantic and a pragmatist. Very much like Tony Stark/Iron Man, in a way. Comparing and contrasting those two characters in particular has been an interesting facet of the series.”

The original line-up of Defenders was notorious for their dislike of one another, but the dynamic among Nighthawk’s team will be different. “This is a team that was not brought together by fate,” Casey remarked. “That makes a big difference where the internal chemistry is concerned. Group dynamics are the whole reason people read team books, and we're intending to make these particular dynamics as dynamic as possible.”

According to advance solicitations, Nighthawk’s team was brought together for a specific “political” purpose, but “The Last Defenders” wont be a book strictly about politics. “That was mainly a reference to the Fifty-State Initiative that the team is formed to be a part of,” Casey confirmed. “It's funny how many fans on message boards have reacted to the use of that word in the solicitation. They might be putting more of an onus on the word than we are, in the context of the series. Since ‘Civil War’, you could say the entire Marvel Universe has been politicized, maybe too much for some people. But I think it's an accurate reflection of what’s happening in our world, so there's a bit of relevance there, ham-handed as it might be. Honestly, I'm more interested in exploring what comes after this latest phase of the Marvel Universe, this whole superhero politics/conspiratorial thing that some writers have taken a shine to.

“The tone of ‘Last Defenders’ is, I think, unique in the current crop of Marvel books. It's classic and forward-thinking at the same time. We're playing with the themes of the post-‘Civil War’ Marvel Universe, but we're also playing pretty far beyond them. That's something that marketing never gets across. But it's absolutely what we're doing.”

In addition to exploring new story ground, “The Last Defenders” will explore new settings as well. Unlike many of Marvel’s team books the action in the miniseries won’t revolve around New York City. “New York already has its own superhero team. It's one per state these days, remember?” Casey remarked. “The Defenders are certainly assigned a state of their own, but the series definitely bounces around the four corners of the Marvel Universe and even through different time periods. I think, unlike DC, the history and the chronology of the Marvel Universe is a pretty rich tapestry and literally one big, long story. It's fun to dip into that and illuminate the dark corners, not only of the universe itself, but of its history as well. It's kind of a quantum mechanical way of approaching a story, but in this case it works perfectly, especially when it comes to the ultimate aim of the main villain.”

The main villain of “The Last Defenders” won’t be making things easy for his opponents. Before the team even gets to deal with him they’ll have to overcome a multitude of obstacles and adversaries. “These guys will see some pretty significant action right away,” Casey said. “Hell, the team was put together to be immediately thrown into the fray and that's exactly what happens in the first issue.”

Casey couldn’t be happier with the way the artistic team of “The Last Defenders” has brought the series to life. “Jim Muniz is both a great guy and an uber-talented artist. We've been waiting literally years to work together specifically on a big superhero book,” Casey said. “I've known since his first work for Marvel that Jim has the chops to be a heavy hitter. This series will prove how right I was. And Cam Smith is the perfect inker for Jim. I mean, this is some of the best looking art that's ever graced a mainstream, work-for-hire book that I’ve written. And I've worked with some drop dead brilliant artists. Jim's right up there with them.”

Casey hopes “The Last Defenders” strikes a note with comic readers and retailers, because he hopes to pen more adventures of Nighthawk and company. “I bug Wacker all the time about how this should be a monthly series,” Casey stated. “I have no idea what the rationale of the higher-ups could possibly be to saddle this with miniseries status, since books like these almost always do better when they're brought out as a continuing, monthly series. Fans want to really invest themselves in team books; they like the ongoing engagement with the characters when the book's done well, and I think this book is some of the best work I've ever done on a mainstream title so naturally I'd love for it to go on and on. I just hope, if the readers respond and the sales are there, that Marvel doesn't waste any time putting this series on the monthly treadmill. But that could be the hallucinogenics talking. Right now we're just concentrating on knocking these six issues out of the ****in' park.”

 

[Vanguard07]

I'm looking forward to this

 

[PhotoJones]

I like Casey's attitude about the whole thing.

 

[Darthphere]

I like the art, it's almost Immonenesque.

PJ: "Not, it's not."

 

[PhotoJones]

It's sort of like Immonen and Walker made an art style baby.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

With small hands.