The Official Stupid Question Thread: Marvel Edition - Part 4

[Havok83]

heh I've been confused with everything since NOW started lol

and that was Marvel's attempt at simplifying and streamlining things

 

[smallville fan]

heh I've been confused with everything since NOW started lol

me too!

 

[Vartha]

and that was Marvel's attempt at simplifying and streamlining things

WHAT caused it tho? lol I could SEE if Age of Ultron was the cause but that started after didn't it?

 

[Havok83]

WHAT caused it tho? lol I could SEE if Age of Ultron was the cause but that started after didn't it?

AvX

 

[chamber-music]

Nope. AoU starred Wolverine and Wolverine. With a guest appearance by Sue Storm.

My favourite part was when wolverine killed wolverine who was earlier attacked by another wolverine

heh I've been confused with everything since NOW started lol

Me too

 

[runawayboulder]

I'm not finding it confusing. All of the books have pretty much moved on from AvX with the exception of Uncanny Avengers, New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men. Their current stories have kinda spun out of what went down in AvX. Iron Man has as well to an extent.

 

[Vartha]

AvX

Haven't read that yet. I'll have a look tho.

 

[That person]

Why is the Hulk wearing armor now? It says in the title of the book he's Indestructible, so that seems weirdly redundant.

What's Flash Thompson's current relationship with the US Government? I know he was initially given the Venom symbiote to go on government missions, but are his current activities in Philadelphia still sanctioned by them?

 

[WolfCypher]

The Hulk's armor is to also monitor his vitals and stats, it allows him to keep in touch with SHIELD, and he can now carry things without the worry of losing anything he may have on him after his clothes explode from Hulking out.

The governmental team that Agent Venom worked with was closed down by Captain America. Venom's acts as a freelance superhero now.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

Also, the "Indestructible" part of the title's name isn't so much about the Hulk being invulnerable, but rather that Banner has accepted that he'll never get rid of the Hulk.

 

[That person]

The Hulk's armor is to also monitor his vitals and stats, it allows him to keep in touch with SHIELD, and he can now carry things without the worry of losing anything he may have on him after his clothes explode from Hulking out.

That makes good enough sense, although I don't care for it visually.

The governmental team that Agent Venom worked with was closed down by Captain America. Venom's acts as a freelance superhero now.

That explanation seems a bit more questionable, but this arc seems entertaining enough so perhaps I should enjoy it for what it is.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I kind of wish they'd scale down the Hulk's armor myself. It makes sense for the story, but it's so bulky and ugly. Maybe just a wrist cuff to monitor his vitals and expandable trunks for all the practical considerations.

As for Marvel NOW, I love it. It's what a lot of people have been asking for for a long time: self-contained, quality stories featuring the characters. A few things are still building to events and such, like Avengers with Infinity, but the majority are just doing their thing. Thor: God of Thunder, Indestructible Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man are all focusing on their own self-contained stories, along with titles like Daredevil, which had been doing that all along.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Eh, I don't really think that's true. It just feels that way because of the abusive shipping schedule. We've only had about 8 or so months since Marvel NOW started and we're already heading into our first big crossover event with Infinity and minor crossover event with the X-Men books. And that's not including the first event since NOW started with Age of Ultron, which did loosely crossover with other titles. Also, we've had Superior Spider-Man influence Avengers and both of his titles. Was Minimum Carnage post-NOW? If so there was that. There's the Captain Marvel/Avengers Assemble crossover going on. All New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men have been playing off each other since it started, and Wolverine & the X-Men has pulled from them a time or two. Thor's axe being embedded in Immortus' head (I think it was Immortus) in Uncanny Avengers will later be explained in Thor: God of Thunder.

And of course we still have Wolverine in more places than he should ever be in. We still have various characters showing up in solo books and multiple teams without much cohesion (like is Rogue with the X-Men or the Avengers? Wolverine? Beast? How many X-Men teams is Storm on? What classifies the Secret Avengers team from the Avengers or Avengers Assemble books?). We still have a thousand Avenger and X-Men titles. I honestly don't see any difference between now and pre-Marvel NOW. They're just cramming the normal Marvel formula into a shorter time-frame. There's still crossovers and titles influencing other titles and an over-saturation of Avengers and X-Men (actually, even MORE saturation than pre-NOW). Also, books with titles that haven nothing to do with the interior (such as Avengers Arena... which has nothing to do with Avengers... or Avengers A.I., which has 1 Avenger in it).

So yeah, the only difference I see with Marvel NOW is creative team switch ups and more mandatory spending in order to continue the books you want to buy.

 

[KevanG]

I was flipping through Astonishing X-men and after the good part (the end of Breakworld) they do the ghost box storyline. They ever do anything else about that or has that just been left dangling?

 

[Anubis]

Wasn't that Ellis' run?

I believe that s**t was ignored....for the most part.

 

[Havok83]

yeah they just brought Forge back and I don't think they even bothered to explain why he wasn't dead

 

[Scarecrow_King]

I can only imagine how hard sales dropped after Whedon left the book. Even with someone with as much prestige as Ellis following him.

 

[Manic]

That's the funny thing about Warren Ellis. People love his original work, but nobody ever takes to his "for hire" work on others' characters. I didn't read his old X-Force and Generation X work from the turn of the century, but I've always heard bad things.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Astonishing hasn't really had that great a run after Whedon left. Gage's space arc that introduced Broo (that shipped every-other-month opposite his Japan arc.... which was a weird way to do it) was probably my favorite of the bunch. The issue featuring Emma and Danger right after that was also decent. Liu's run, I hear, hasn't been bad, and the current arc has been pretty good for the two issues I've read, but the art's kinda sketchy. It's turning into a great Iceman saga though.

But yeah, Astonishing needs an overhaul in the worst way. Or better yet, it needs discarded. I mean, really, do we need 6 X-Men books? Especially when Wolverine, Iceman, and Kitty are in 3 of them and Storm's in two of them plus Uncanny X-Force. Even Deathbird's doing double-duty on two titles. Not to mention Wolverine, Rogue, and Beast who are also pairing up in Avenger titles.

Keep All New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, and Wolverine & the X-Men. Lesson Wolverine, Kitty, Iceman, and Storm's roles to make room for people like Gambit, Warpath, and Karma. Then fill Astonishing X-Men and X-Men Legacy's spots (since they're selling badly) with more unique titles like Generation X and New X-Men (focusing on the students who aren't original five). Give more characters a chance to shine.

 

[JewishHobbit]

That's the funny thing about Warren Ellis. People love his original work, but nobody ever takes to his "for hire" work on others' characters. I didn't read his old X-Force and Generation X work from the turn of the century, but I've always heard bad things.

I was ticked off that he killed Synch right from the get go, but his Generation X stories really were better than they'd been in years. Then when Brian Wood took over for the last few issues they rocked. That's why I want a new Generation X title with Wood at the helm. He's already said he'd love to do a new Gen X series, so let him do it.

As for Ellis' X-Force, yeah it was a horrible switch in tone and his characters didn't feel like the ones we knew. That said, he did wonders for Bedlam and brought Pete Wisdom further into the Marvel Universe than his minor role in Excalibur. I'm still undecided by his attempt at making Warpath a flyer.

And while also shocking by the upheaval, his X-Man direction ended up being a fantastic story.

 

[Anubis]

That's the funny thing about Warren Ellis. People love his original work, but nobody ever takes to his "for hire" work on others' characters. I didn't read his old X-Force and Generation X work from the turn of the century, but I've always heard bad things.

Yeah, he was the original of the indie writers who just can't seem to write characters they didn't create well. I mean, he wrote Planetary. One of the greatest comic series ever written. But then he also wrote World Engine. One of the s**tiest runs Thor has ever had. It goes to show you that some writers may be too creative for the big two....asinine as that may sound.

 

[Specter313]

Astonishing hasn't really had that great a run after Whedon left. Gage's space arc that introduced Broo (that shipped every-other-month opposite his Japan arc.... which was a weird way to do it) was probably my favorite of the bunch. The issue featuring Emma and Danger right after that was also decent. Liu's run, I hear, hasn't been bad, and the current arc has been pretty good for the two issues I've read, but the art's kinda sketchy. It's turning into a great Iceman saga though.

But yeah, Astonishing needs an overhaul in the worst way. Or better yet, it needs discarded. I mean, really, do we need 6 X-Men books? Especially when Wolverine, Iceman, and Kitty are in 3 of them and Storm's in two of them plus Uncanny X-Force. Even Deathbird's doing double-duty on two titles. Not to mention Wolverine, Rogue, and Beast who are also pairing up in Avenger titles.

Keep All New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, and Wolverine & the X-Men. Lesson Wolverine, Kitty, Iceman, and Storm's roles to make room for people like Gambit, Warpath, and Karma. Then fill Astonishing X-Men and X-Men Legacy's spots (since they're selling badly) with more unique titles like Generation X and New X-Men (focusing on the students who aren't original five). Give more characters a chance to shine.

Well, you're getting your wish at least as it comes to Astonishing. It ends in October.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I just saw that. I hope Liu goes to something good (as she's too good a writer to be placed on a 6th tier X-Men book), and I hope that they replace Astonishing with something that doesn't have X-Men in the title... unless it's New X-Men with the students. There was that "commissioned" New X-Men image that promoted Bendis and Mann as the creative team. I'd love to see that come to light. Bendis isn't the best at humor, but I feel like he'd nail Rockslide's immature humor, and he's doing great at the other X-titles. I just don't see him writing a 4th ongoing at the moment.

 

[Panthro]

Yeah, he was the original of the indie writers who just can't seem to write characters they didn't create well. I mean, he wrote Planetary. One of the greatest comic series ever written. But then he also wrote World Engine. One of the s**tiest runs Thor has ever had. It goes to show you that some writers may be too creative for the big two....asinine as that may sound.

Certain writers mesh well with certain characters and some don't. Why is anyone's guess...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Probably doesn't help that Warren Ellis straight-up doesn't like superheroes. He's mentioned it in interviews and such.