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Marvel Reviews

The Complete Ultimates by Al Ewing Review!

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A simple, yet elegant ethos greets the reader on the first page of Marvel’s The Ultimates.

“Start with the impossible and work up.”

Promising at once a cerebral parascientific adventure and a modern framework for the nuts-and-bolts workings of the Marvel universe, The Ultimates is certainly bold in its artistic vision. Does it stand under its own weight? Maybe you’ve been recommended The Ultimates as just such a sci-fi adventure. Maybe you’ve seen characters such as Monica Rambeau and America Chavez making their way to the big screen, and you’ve found this weird little book with them in the main cast. Just what have you gotten yourself into? (Spoiler: It’s really good!)

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Wolverine Epic Collection: Blood and Claws Review

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Throughout Wolverine’s long history, Larry Hama, having done more to develop the character than any writer aside from Chris Claremont. Blood and Claws, the third Epic Collection volume for Wolverine’s solo series, features the beginning of Hama’s storied run and showcases how the author put his stamp on the character right from the beginning. working alongside artist Marc Silvestri (who was also new to the series and became Hama’s chief partner on it) to transform the series as a whole from its history as a largely self-contained action/adventure book into a series with more overt comic book trappings and stronger ties to X-Men continuity, transforming Wolverine himself into a character that could support big story ideas and complex character development.

With that in mind, let’s break Blood and Claws down into its composite parts and look more closely at the stories collected in this volume. [Read more…] about Wolverine Epic Collection: Blood and Claws Review

Black Widow Movie Review: The Reboot Redefined

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The number one question I’ve had about Black Widow since its announcement as a belated Phase 4 MCU project is *why* finally getting to a Scarlett Johansson solo movie made since for this new era. After all, the narrative is set between 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. So why wasn’t this movie planned for *that* time period, apart from Marvel Studios (specifically Ike Perlmutter’s) absolute terror of delivering a feature film with a woman lead?

Ultimately, regardless of the success of the film as Marvel’s mixture of The Americans, cold war spies, and classic Black Widow superhero intrigue, I’m going to fixate on the purpose (glorious or no) of Black Widow as a Phase 4 film. Delivering a massively belated ScarJo spy movie just because it’s better late than never simply rings hollow.

So does Black Widow deliver as a turning point for this post Avengers: Endgame MCU landscape? [Read more…] about Black Widow Movie Review: The Reboot Redefined

How to (Re)Read the Hickman Era of X-Men: Xavier & Magneto’s Coup Against Moira X- the Ultimate “Precog”?

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Before stepping back to Year 1000 in POX 5, let’s briefly look at this devastating cover to POX 6. Already we’ve speculated about this image, that it speaks to the potential tragic fallout of Moira’s own hubris. (Why would she otherwise be the one left standing?) The only other thing to mention for now is that those trees do resemble cherry blossoms, symbolic for the Japanese of the ephemerality of life.

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

More in this series!

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Generation X Epic Collection: Back To School Review!

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Generation X is a strange spot in the larger X-Universe in such a unique way. Whereas Simonson’s X-Factor was a bit of an odd duck with so many elements that would become such important staples for the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe, Generation X starts out with such a specific voice and strong characters, but for the longest time felt forgotten in the larger scheme of the X-Men line.

Arguably the most popular character from the book is Jubilee who had a head start by being a member of the X-Men proper and made even more popular by being a mainstay on the iconic cartoon. Following Jubilee in popularity would be Monet, who outside of this series, was a mainstay of Peter David’s X-Factor amid other scattered appearances. As for the rest, there didn’t seem to be much love for Chamber, Synch, Husk, Skin, and their time at the Massachusetts campus of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

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