On May 6, 2015, the Marvel Universe came to an abrupt and dissatisfying end. There were a number of reasons for its ending (some of which require understanding the mystical implications of Donald Trump deciding to run for President of the United States), but one of them must be understood through the context of a work which concluded exactly one week prior. A book about destroying the universe and replacing it with a better one. I am, of course, talking about Aleš Kot and Michael Walsh’s Secret Avengers
Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodata created The Secret Avengers as a black ops team of superheroes who would take on missions that the world must never know happened. Described as more of an action based book rather than a character one, inspiration for this book is often cited as Jim Sterenko’s SHIELD work. Other runs include work by Nick Spencer, Warren Ellis, and Rick Remender, who took the spy craft nature of the concept in different directions. Kot, meanwhile, had their own ideas. [Read more…] about Marvel Then! Secret Avengers – The Symbolic Value of Superhero Iconography in Relation to the World
” storyline in Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Now even the youngest of superhero fans know that there are multiple spider-folk due to the cinematic adaptations Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2018 and 2021, respectively. That overarching philosophy of selflessness in the face of the grimmest of circumstances still remains true throughout the entirety of the multiverse. No Spider-Men are afraid to make the ultimate sacrifice. 
mini will undoubtedly go down as the best solo title ever for El Tigre Vic, the Slasher, the Butcher—though, admittedly, the bar for that metric has always been pretty darn low*. But probably, this five-issue story will prove one of the most successful minis of the past several years, as well. As we’ve come to expect in