The Official Contest of Marvels 3 Discussion Thread

[Phaedrus45]

Bracket 1
Match 1:
Basilisk-Basil Elks (POWDER-MAN)
vs.
New Son (WIEGEABO)
Match 2:
Mr. Fantastic (RANDOMHAVOC)
vs.
Xi'an Chi Xan (JEWISHHOBBIT)

Bracket 2
Match 1:
Doctor Doom (RANDOMHAVOC)
vs.
Miss Arrow (MIDNIGHTICE)
Match 2:
Mesmero (HARLEKIN)
vs.
Sabra (POWDER-MAN)

Bracket 3
Match 1:
Constrictor (WIEGEABO)
vs.
Demask-AoA (JEWISHHOBBIT)
Match 2:
Zhou Cheng (JEWISHHOBBIT)
vs.
Baron Strucker (RANDOMHAVOC)

Bracket 4
Match 1:
Smasher (AHURAMAZDA)
vs.
Snowbird (VANGUARD07)
Match 2:
Green Goblin-Phil Urich (HELLSTORMER)
vs.
Super Skrull (JEWISHHOBBIT)

Bracket 5
Match 1:
Spitfire (WIEGEABO)
vs.
Vidar (AHURAMAZDA)
Match 2:
Psylocke (WIEGEABO)
vs.
Weapon Omega-Michael Pointer (HELLSTORMER)

Bracket 6
Match 1:
Metalhead (JEWISHHOBBIT)
vs.
Ultimo (POWDER-MAN)
Match 2:
Firebird (MIDNIGHTICE)
vs.
Doom 2099 (POWDER-MAN)

Bracket 7
Match 1:
Amadeus Cho (HARLEKIN)
vs.
Washout (AHURAMAZDA)
Match 2:
Agent X (HELLSTORMER)
vs.
Whirlwind (HARLEKIN)

Bracket 8
Match 1:
Penance-Robbie Baldwin (RANDOMHAVOC)
vs.
Starlord-Peter Quill (HELLSTORMER)
Match 2:
Hogun (AHURAMAZDA)
vs.
Shathra (POWDER-MAN)

 

[Phaedrus45]

Round 2 Matches:

Bracket 1: Diablo(AHURAMAZDA) vs. Wasp(WIEGEABO)
Bracket 2: ???(POWDERMAN) vs. Mantis(POWDERMAN)
Bracket 3: Shriek(HELLSTORMER) vs. Vengeance(POWDERMAN)
Bracket 4: Madison Jeffries(HELLSTORMER) vs. Unuscione(PHAEDRUS)
Bracket 5: Power Princess(WIEGEABO) vs. Charcoal(RANDOMHAVOC)
Bracket 6: Meggan(HARLEKIN) vs. Blink(PHAEDRUS)
Bracket 7: Random(WIEGEABO) vs. Spider-Girl(HARLEKIN)
Bracket 8: ???(WIEGEABO) vs. Jesse Bedlam(HARLEKIN)

Upcoming Matches:

Powderman, JewishHobbit = 5
Wiegeabo, Hellstormer, RandomHavoc, AhuraMazda = 4
Harlekin = 3
Midnight Ice = 2
Vanguard = 1
Phaedrus = 0

 

[Phaedrus45]

Debating May Begin!!!

Location = Muir Island

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muir_Island

It's night. It's uninhabited.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Wieg and Powder, let me know who you want to move on in your matches.

Also, FYI, the version of Agent X is before he became obese. So, anything from his own series is ok to use, but the recent appearances in Deadpool wouldn't count. (That also means that he would not be aware of recent events in the Marvel Universe...only up to the point of his series final issue.)

Well, I get a total break this week.

 

[Phaedrus45]

JH, did you ever buy part 3 of Amazing Spider-Man? Or, were you too disgusted with yourself to sink any lower in your misery?

 

[JewishHobbit]

I bought it and skimmed it but haven't read it yet. Baby steps.


Also, I am wiped. First real week of Summer work at the School X10 what with helping clear out 2 schools in a week and a half (1 was 3 story with no elevator, 1 was 4 story with tiny elevator). We had to carry desks and tables and junk down steps with no air condition or anything and just wear ourselves out. It was good that I had a bye week or I probably would have done crappy as can be. I'm still worried about this week but I'm a little more used to it now so hopefully I'll have more energy to do something other than sleep.

 

[Phaedrus45]

The shame, the shame!!! Well, you held out pretty long. Maybe you'd be happy just sticking with Marvel Adventures Spider-Man. (I'm actually excited about M.A. Spidey #53. It looks like the comic will be starting in a whole, new direction.)

 

[JewishHobbit]

Unfortunately my comic spending is tight. I'm beyond my Max right now and if I pick up something new I have to choose something else NOT to buy. I'm buying the current arc of Spider-Man but the cancelation of Captain Britain & MI:13 justfifies it. And until the final issue of Cap comes out, I'm currently not buying anymore of Flash: Rebirth.

I figure I'll buy Spider-Man through this arc and maybe beyond that to the Ben Reilly stuff coming up and see how it goes. If for a moment I get ticked off or bored I'm dropping it. I can't afford to try stuff anymore. I actually want to try X-Men Forever more than Spider-Man but it's $4 an issue so I can afford it less. I've considered Marvel Age stuff but at the current prices I'd rather continuity. I'm a continuity buff so other stuff just seems pointless when I have to watch what I buy so tediously.

I was going to pick up some of the Dark Reign mini's based on Venom and the Hood because I like the characters, but at $4 a pop it's more difficult. I thought the coming end of War of Kings would justify it but with Blackest Night starting that takes over the money I've been spending on War of Kings, so the Hood and the Sinister Spider-Man won't be bought unfortunately.

And these $4 price hikes are killing me. Three minis or $4 ongoings and that equals one comic I have to drop to afford them. I have to drop something soon because Uncanny's going up to $4 an issue. Iron Fist is being replaced by a 5 issue mini at $4 a pop, and there's more minis/oneshots coming out that I want over the next 4 or 5 months than usual. Fortunately, Wolverine's "Old Man Logan" is coming to an end after one more issue and then I'm dropping the title, so that'll free up the money for those other jumps. "The End League" is also supposed to be ending soon so that'll help a bit more.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Dang... went and updated my buying list and realized I'm way over my monthly spending again so I'm going to have to start trimming. I usually try to keep it right about $20 a week, though I'll go $25 when we have the extra cash, but I don't plan for that because it's only once or twice a month and we don't really know when it'll happen.

I think my problem is that I've continued to buy Punisher when I was planning on dropping it, and I've somehow added Scaar and several Batman books to my buy list. Add an influx of minis/oneshots and I'm over my budget.

My current buy list looks like this:

Monthly Ongoing Titles: $73.00

Amazing Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man
Avengers: The Initiative
Batman
Batman & Robin
Cable
Dark Avengers
Echo
End League
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Guardians of the Galaxy
Mighty Avengers
New Avenger
New Mutants
Nova
Red Robin
Scaar: Son of Hulk
Secret Warriors
Punisher
Thunderbolts
Uncanny X-Men
X-Factor
X-Force
X-Men Legacy

Mini-Series:

JUNE: $36.00
Along with Ongoings: Average of $28.00/week

Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter 1
Captain Britain & MI: 13 Annual
Dark Reign: Young Avengers 2
Dark X-Men/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia 1
Flash Rebirth 3
Masquerade 4
Project Superpowers 0
War of Kings 4
War of Kings: Ascension 3
War of Kings: Savage World of Sakaar

JULY: $59.00
Along with Ongoings: Average of $33.00/week

Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter 2
Blackest Night 1
Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps 1
Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps 2
Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps 3
Dark Reign: Young Avengers 3
Dark X-Men: The Beginning 1
Dark X-Men: The Beginning 2
Flash: Rebirth 4
Immortal Weapons 1
Marvels: Eye of the Camera 6
Project Superpowers 1
War of Kings 5
War of Kings: Warriors 1
War of Kings: Ascension 4

AUGUST: $47.00
Along with Ongoings: Average of $30.00/week

Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter 3
Blackest Night 2
Blackest Night: Batman 1
Blackest Night: Superman
Blackest Night: Titans 1
Dark Reign: Young Avengers 4
Dark X-Men: The Beginning 3
Flash: Rebirth 5
Immortal Weapons 2 (Bride of Nine Spiders)
Project Superpowers 2
War of Kings 6
War of Kings: Warriors 2


I guess I'll cut all the DC minus the Green Lantern/Blackest Night stuff. That gets rid of Flash: Rebirth, Batman, Batman & Robin, and Red Robin... that'll free up $12 a month. I'm interested in them but not by much because this new status quo is just starting. I can just include the Battle For the Cowl storyline I have in with an aftermath of Final Crisis and still feel complete in my binding projects, so no loss there. I was debating on dropping Red Robin and Batman & Robin anyway. It's still not enough though. I don't see myself cutting anything else so I guess I may have to stop trying to give Spider-Man a shot. Just dropping that title frees up another $9 a month, making it $21 a month and that should get me back close to where I should be, though I may need to drop another title or two. Maybe Scaar or Punisher, though I'm really enjoying those and don't really want to. Maybe Echo... God! There's nothing else I'm willing to drop! I hate this stupid $4 crap. And to think... if Marvel and DC didn't bump the prices to $4 for each mini and those ongoings, I'd have an extra $10-$14 a month right now, which means I'd allow myself another 4 to 6 comics a month. Chances are they'd be X-Men Forever, Batman, Spider-Man (3x a month), and Incredible Hercules.

We'll see how things go once Dark Reign ends. I'm expecting to drop New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Secret Warriors, Avengers: Initiative, and Thunderbolts at that time. That'll free up $16 a month plus several minis and oneshots I'm guessing. That might restructure my buying habits right there.

Oh... and sorry. Just typing out my thoughts.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Hmm... still a bit high after some figuring. I might dodge the Blackest Night: Teen Titans mini since I dont read Teen Titans. I'll skim the Superman and Batman ones though, but if they don't tie-in with the Blackest Night proper or the Green Lantern titles then I might drop those as well. That could potentially save me another $12 a month and that'll definately do it.

 

[wiegeabo]

When is Marvel and DC going to learn that these prices, for this many titles, and with this economy, just isn't sustainable. Especially when stuff crosses over and relies on other titles. Just means when someone can't afford one title, they'll end up dropping all the related titles.

 

[wiegeabo]

Hmm... still a bit high after some figuring. I might dodge the Blackest Night: Teen Titans mini since I dont read Teen Titans. I'll skim the Superman and Batman ones though, but if they don't tie-in with the Blackest Night proper or the Green Lantern titles then I might drop those as well. That could potentially save me another $12 a month and that'll definately do it.

Just go ahead and avoid those BN tie-ins for now. I'll let you know if they're necessary reading or not.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I'll probably do that. I was most interested in the Batman one but with dropping the rest I don't care as much. We'll see. I'm almost certain I'll drop the Titans one as I know nothing about them and don't care to. Superman I'm a little more interested but not by much. If Batman and Superman show in the main series then I think I'll be good.


And on an unrelated note... I think I love THIS guy. He seems so fun.

I was just researching the Acts of Vengeance crossover and accross him. He's silly but potentially effective. One of these days I'll actually read the AoV storyline. I've read some offshoots, such as the Cosmic Spidey stuff and the Psylocke/Mandarin story in Uncanny, but never the actual story. I did just buy and read the Captain America issue of Magneto vs. Red Skull. That issue was freakin' awsome!

 

[JewishHobbit]

I'll probably do that. I was most interested in the Batman one but with dropping the rest I don't care as much. We'll see. I'm almost certain I'll drop the Titans one as I know nothing about them and don't care to. Superman I'm a little more interested but not by much. If Batman and Superman show in the main series then I think I'll be good.


And on an unrelated note... I think I love THIS guy. He seems so fun.

I was just researching the Acts of Vengeance crossover and accross him. He's silly but potentially effective. One of these days I'll actually read the AoV storyline. I've read some offshoots, such as the Cosmic Spidey stuff and the Psylocke/Mandarin story in Uncanny, but never the actual story. I did just buy and read the Captain America issue of Magneto vs. Red Skull. That issue was freakin' awsome! I just can't seem to find a layout by anyone of what issues the MAIN story can be found. I'm assuming all 3 Avengers titles at the time (Avengers, West Coast, and Spotlight). But I don't know if Quasar, Captain America, or Iron Man would be considered a big part since they were all Avengers. And I didn't know if any other titles had strong tie-ins with some of the key members like Magneto and the Red Skull, etc. It's a bit of a huge storyline to just jump into buying them.

 

[JewishHobbit]

When is Marvel and DC going to learn that these prices, for this many titles, and with this economy, just isn't sustainable. Especially when stuff crosses over and relies on other titles. Just means when someone can't afford one title, they'll end up dropping all the related titles.

That's the problem I'm having. There's some stuff I've never started, dropped, or will be dropping (Incredible Hercules, Batman, Ghost Rider, Invincible, etc.) that I'd like to read over some of the stuff I'm keeping (New Mutants, Secret Warriors, New Avengers) but I find it hard to read parts of a grouping and not all, especially when they are so closely nit. I'm too heavily steeped in the Avengers line right now and am really enjoying the majority of them (and I lump Punisher in there as it's dealing with Norman and the Hood). However, one Dark Reign finishes and Norman's dethroned, I'm looking for a stopping point on all of them. The one title I really don't want to drop is Avengers: The Initiative, but it ties in closely with the rest and I don't want only part of a story or event, so I'll probably drop them all.

It's either the Avengers, the X-Men, or Cosmic. Cosmic is my favorate line at the moment. X-Men and Avengers are fairly close at the moment, though the main X-Titles are my least favorate of them (Uncanny, Legacy, Astonishing). I love X-Force, Cable, and X-Factor though. As for the Avengers I like Dark Avengers, Punisher, and Initiative. Thunderbolts and Mighty are enjoyable but I can take them or leave them. New Avengers and Secret Warriors I'd rather ditch but can't. Everything branches out of New, and there's promise that this whole Shield/Hydra thing in Secret will become a big thing so it seems fairly important.

The Avengers are the center of the Marvel universe, but Cosmic stuff is pretty separate, and the X-Titles are as well for the most part. I've dodged the Avengers/Marvel aspect of Marvel for years until Disassembled, I can do it again.

 

[Phaedrus45]

It's actually a hell of a lot cheaper to buy back issues than new stuff these days. I just bought about 170+ back issues off of mycomicshop.com. They recently lowered their prices. (Previously, the lowest price on comics were $1.49. They lowered them to $1.40, and you can get VF for $1.20. After my discount, I got quite a few of my comics for 88 cents.)

 

[Phaedrus45]

We still have a little over 24 hours to get in opening debates. Here are the characters and participants who I believe still need to get something in:

Thread 1:

Miss Arrow(MIDNIGHTICE) vs. Doc. Doom

Thread 2:

Snowbird(VANGUARD) vs. Smasher

Thread 3:

All finished!

Thread 4:

Agent X vs. Whirlwind(HARLEKIN)

 

[Phaedrus45]

Thanks Powder and Hellstormer. The above list has been updated.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Wow! I just got an email from milehighcomics.com. They have a bunch of comics for under a buck, many FINE condition comics that I see for 70 cents! I'm going to have to go through their list tomorrow, def!

 

[Ahura Mazda]

Is vanguard still in the game? I have not seen him around for quite sometime.

 

[Phaedrus45]

I'm not sure. I sent him a PM about his debates.

 

[Midnight Ice]

I want to apologize for not getting in opening debates. My sister goes to school at AMDA in New York, NY and she is home for a few weeks. I have been busy with family stuff. Luckily for me, my two matches are VERY one sided, and they are not on my side, so no harm done against me. The other debates I have been reading are pretty good this week though.

 

[POWdER-man]

I hope Vanguard is still around, I hate to see another player leave. Although I think Random was a great addition.

 

[random_havoc]

... Although I think Random was a great addition.

Me too! He may be the single greatest debater I've ever seen. Statues should really be erected in his honor...t:



Seriously though, thanks for the kind words and the welcome everyone's given me

 

[Phaedrus45]

Debating Is Over!

Voting May Begin!!!