Noteworthy Marvel Minimates Toys R Us Wave 18 Figures

Totally skipped the Marvel Now minimate figures being sold at TRU for the reason that they're overpriced and hard to come by. The next wave of Toys R Us exclusives however, I might not pass on as its got Wolverine (again) and another Winter Soldier.

credit: Marvel Toy News

No photo has been released yet but here's the rundown of characters getting the Marvel Minimates treatment.

Marvel NOW! Thor & Absorbing Man
Age of Ultron Wolverine & Gold Ultron
Captain America & Red Skull/Arnim Zola
Falcon & Winter Soldier

credit: Marvel Toy News

My obvious pick from this set would be the Age of Ultron Wolverine and Golden Ultron plus the two-pack featuring Sam Wilson aka The Falcon and the good guy version of The Winter Soldier aka Bucky Barnes. The rest I'll probably sell, that's if I ever get to order this from the States given that these figures sell like hotcakes.

Source: Marveltoynews.com

Bad Ass Ultron Minimate Fig Coming AGE OF ULTRON Minimates Box Set

OK let's all admit that AGE OF ULTRON was a huge disappointment and was just Marvel's greedy way of selling more books and releasing Angela on the 616 but they it also did create one of the most terrifying designs for the robotic villain ULTRON and now it's crossing over to the Marvel Minimates toy line.

Thank you ART ASYLUM and DIAMOND SELECT TOYS for making this figure see the light of day. It's even more impressive once you see how everything just snaps on the base figure. Check out the design sheet for this nifty figure.



Then there's also that equally badass ANGELA minimate figure which would probably make her creator Neil Gaiman very, very happy.





Oh and they also have grizzled Nick Fury (who was never de-aged because there was no Nick Fury Jr. running around).





And to round up the set, oh goody, another Iron Man/ Tony Stark figure (like we really need another one).





And here's a group shot for the set which will be coming out next year...



And if you're looking for a Wolverine figure, you should be happy to note that they will have one based on the Canuck's appearance in AOU. However, the sad part is that it will be an exclusive for Toys R Us. And it'll come with the army builder which happens to be the gold Ultron drone.

Marvel Unlimited Baits Collectors with Limited Ed ROML Ultron from AGE OF ULTRON

Gotta hand it to Marvel to bait fanboys/ collectors to sign up to their new "Marvel Unlimited" digital comics initiative by offering a rare ROML (Return of Marvel Legends) Ultron action figure from AGE OF ULTRON.

This bad boy comes along with the MU welcome pack, which is now following the AGE OF ULTRON storyline in terms of giveaways. Aside from getting this figure (which really looks like a repainted version of the Ultron figure from the Iron Man ML wave) subscribers will also get a digital copy of AGE OF ULTRON # 10, a print of AU done by Salvador Larroca a membership card and an AGE OF ULTRON inspired comic box.



To know more about this check out the official website's details HERE

INFINITY # 1 Thoughts and Some Spoilers

Marvel Comics' INFINITY # 1 by Jonathan Hickman together with Jim Cheung is finally out and it's impressive. The book is thicker thanks to the additional pages from the FCBD issue but it's oh-so-good.

The portrayal of THANOS here is something fresh. He's more of the guy in the comfortable throne with his elite and his soldiers willing to literally die in order to serve him. You could say that THANOS has rebuilt himself as the classic Godfather archetype.

It's refreshing to see some bits and pieces (literally and figuratively) of the Spaceknights. That girl from ANNIHILATORS is back and she's not alone. Sadly, Hickman uses the return of the Spaceknights as a means to show just how powerful these "Builders" are. That one female Builder alone was really powerful. The threat presented here is no pushover but something that is really scary.

The outrider scenes and panels were bland in my opinion. The only thing that revved up those sequences were the appearances of Black Bolt himself and boy were those scenes majestic. I shudder to think what will happen to people who piss off Black Bolt outside of his brother Maximus the Mad. Oh and I almost forgot that Black Bolt and the rest of the Inhumans will be playing a really huge part in Marvel's INHUMANITY.

I foresee people scratching their heads due to the complexity of the thread. INFINITY has this complexity that I haven't seen in a Marvel Comics event book in years now. Other event books would probably reference a couple of books but this one takes the cake by making references to various events. However if you really want to stay 'in touch' with the book's context, I suggest you pick up Hickman's run on the current AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS books. 

I don't feel the appearance of Thanos' new posse worked here. Corvus Glaive and the rest of his team might seem like strong opponents but it feels like they were just set pieces as opposed to characters (antagonists) that needs more breathing room to grow. Remember how in Superman, there were tiny tidbits of Doomsday at the end of every issue until the damned thing finally broke free, that for me works. And I think if could have been executed flawlessly with Hickman at the helm. 

One thing I find stupid really. If Thanos had the capability of acquiring these individuals and raising an army, why didn't he do it then? It seemed rather contrived that out of half a dozen or so times that he tried to conquer Earth, it's only now that he had the brains to start slow and keep in the dark. 

Another stupid Thanos moment is the idea of getting scared of the Avengers and seeing the opportunity to strike now that the Avengers are leaving Earth to join the universal fight against the Builders. Didn't he think about getting resistance from the same people that was mentioned, namely the Inhumans and the X-Men. Don't forget there's also the Fantastic Four and the other heroes who made it to "Reservist Avengers". 

Still, INFINITY # 1 is worth picking up. It's the perfect super burn heal...

... for those that got burned by the last event which was AGE OF ULTRON (although that book had some merits to it). 

Pre-order you copies of INFINITY # 1 from CASTLE GEEK and COMICX HUB

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY # 5 Spoiler Review

Here's my review for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy # 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sarah Pichelli courtesy of course by Comicx Hub and Castle Geek.

Oh and it's spoiler heavy...

So this issue is an important issue because this is the second appearance of Angela in the Marvel 616 Universe. Other than that it also picks up what happens to this GOTG team after their fight, abduction and subsequent escape from the Badoon. 

All right I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you as early as now - don't expect too much on Angela because while we get to see her vent and act all confused, she's hardly the POV character for the issue. That distinction belongs once again to Peter Quill aka Star Lord. And it's a smart move on Bendis' part.

The main drive relies on Peter Quill's solo adventure in a different part of the galaxy looking for his former teammate Mantis who has now chosen a quiet life. The reason for this is to make sense out of the recent 'flood of memory' that Quill got zapped with after the events of AGE OF ULTRON.

Tony Stark and Rocket Raccoon share some great page time with the former getting schooled by the latter. Some of the dialogue here is just comedy gold and the sheer situation that Stark is finding himself in is just hilarious such as his awkwardness with teammate Gamorra or when he tries to quote Star Trek...

While the Quill side of things do not crossover with Angela's story it does hint to something bigger and more destructive tying the book neatly to where Marvel is going in the next couple of months (hint: it's called INFINITY). That part is what really makes this book a nice find. It's going on two separate fronts, has its own spills and tumbles but still makes for a great issue.

Ms. Pichelli's art here was exceptional. It's gorgeous to look at and it's on the same level as Steve McNiven but it's distinctly hers. Also I'm not sure if it's just really the material she's handling but it's so far away from her previous work in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. Really damn good.

And that ending?

I must say this.... Something wicked this way comes.

VERDICT: 9/10

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY # 5 is available now at CASTLE GEEK and COMICX HUB (order HERE). Also check out the variant covers also available online (Comicx Hub also has a variant sale)

Drawing Parallels Between Age of Ultron and Avengers 2

My feed is ablaze with so much Avengers 2 (now called AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON) that I just needed to draw parallels between the event book "AGE OF ULTRON" and AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. Here are a few things.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON director Joss Whedon was quick to point out that the movie is an origin story for Ultron. It's an origin story without Hank Pym. Now before you release the fanboy/ fangirl rage, it seemed like Whedon was choosing his words wisely. He never really said anything about the removal of Hank Pym (Ultron's creator) in the story but more on the lines of the would-be Ant-Man not being present in the second movie.

If you squint closer or lean closer, you might have also noticed that this is very similar to what occurred in the comic book written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Carlos Pacheco, Brandon Peterson, Bryan Hitch and Joe Quesada.

In this world, Ultron had won by going into the future, taking over the Vision from there and then wiping the floor with the rest of the world's superbeings and then getting taking over the world. The story has been notoriously looked down upon for being a 'forgettable' event book. But it does have a couple of shock factors.

One of the biggest shocks that AGE OF ULTRON (the book, has provided) was this:

Yes, in a nutshell, Wolverine and Invisible Woman travel to the past with the intention of murdering Hank Pym in order to stop Ultron from ever becoming, well, Ultron. Things go from bad to worse as they find out that a world without Hank Pym as an Avenger is even worse with IRON MAN taking over the world as it's top hero/ cop while Morgan Le Fey tries to conquer it. 

So what's the common factor? it's a movie or a world without Hank Pym. In a way it could be said that without Hank Pym aka Antman to help out (or cause in some cases) there's bound to be chaos. Pym is both the instigator and the unifier. Sadly Marvel Studios really plans to NOT show Pym in the movie set for release this coming 2015.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens 2014 and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Cobie Smulders and Clark Gregg. It's directed by Joss Whedon and will be released by Marvel Studios to be distributed locally by Walt Disney Studios Philippines. 

Avengers A.I. # 1 Review

Reviewing Avengers A.I. # 1 by Sam Humphries and Andre Lima Araujo for Marvel Comics.

Soooooo. another Avengers book eh. Well color me delighted with this one. It actually spins from the ending of Age of Ultron #10 and #10AI (which was a retrofitted history lesson about Hank Pym). And though I failed to review 10AI I can certainly say that I loved that one.

In this issue, the same madcap capers and A.I. hijinks that Pym is very much used to is still present. In fact it triples during the middle and if the cover (and ending) is any indicator, it's going to quadruple next issue. So what's the lowdown in this book. SHIELD drones go missing Hank Pym is the primary suspect. He assembles a new team of 'Avengers' to combat this threat specifically. He includes Runaways member Victor Mancha, a newly rebooted Vision and a refurbished Doombot as his main team. 

On Hank Pym: I love the current Hank Pym. We sort of admit that he's crazy and that it's usually good crazy. We also know that he's partly responsible for the evolution of the anti-ultron virus and it's also his goal to eradicate that task. I love that he's kooky and brash and that he's decided to forgo using any alias. 

On the Avengers roster for A.I.: The team is a nice pairing.We have Victor Mancha working together with his 'brother' Vision or Vizh (which I prefer to calling him because it's so ghetto). They work well and complement each other a hundred percent. Plus I like how they're not fighting unlike other comic book stories where when one brother shows up, you can bet that the next issue would be a dragged out, 22 page fight. This one is better and simpler. And they get along. 

On Doombot: Damn, Doombot was the almost star of this issue. From belittling his 'teammates' to showing the drones who's boss, this version of the Doombot spells badass with a capital letter B.

Verdict: 10/10 

Galactus Poised to Gobble the Ultimate Universe

Another fallout from the events of Age of Ultron is the advent of Galactus in the Ultimate Universe. 

It's an interesting concept as it's been a year or so since the last major event in Marvel's Ultimate Universe.

Update: CBR has more details regarding this story and it looks like Brian Michael Bendis and Joshua Fialkov will be scripting this titanic crossover. Check out the other covers for HUNGER...

Again, CBR has a tl;dr story about this new miniseries and also yields a number of preview pages. Here's my favorite pages from the preview so far.

Hunger # 1 will be gobbling planets in stores in July, 2013

Age of Ultron # 10 Spoiler Heavy Review - How Angela Came to the 616 Marvel Universe

The question half of the Marvel fans are asking now that Age of Ultron # 10 has been released is how did Spawn character Angela reach the Marvel Universe. Here's a simple explanation. Be warned though, spoilers from Age of Ultron # 10 as well as a few other issues.

Read more after the cut.

Could Karen Gillian Be Angela for Guardians of the Galaxy?

Redditors are recently talking about a newspaper article in England claiming that Doctor Who star Karen Gillian will be playing the role of former Spawn main character Angela in Marvel Studio's Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Check out the scan of the aforementioned clipping after the cut...

Age of Ultron # 9 Review

Marvel's Age of Ultron is almost over and soon we'll be able to see Angela join the Marvel 616 Universe. For now, we have to follow up on Wolverine, Sue Storm and the rest of the Defenders in Age of Ultron # 9 by Brian Michael Bendis, Carlos Pacheco, Brandon Peterson and more. This review of course is done in partnership with Comicx Hub. 

So what's in this book? It's much like this week's Game of Thrones. It's filled with death and dread and depression. However unlike the Red Wedding and the episode "Rains of Castamere", this one ends with a slightly creepier vibe and a small glimmer of hope for the heroes.

The art by Carlos Pacheco is the true winner here in this issue. I felt that I needed more past-Pacheco art. I sorely needed that after all issue # 8 only had a couple of scenes and then the rest was given to Peterson. Don't get me wrong, Peterson's art here was effing cool as well, but it's really just I grew up reading and re-reading X-Men stuff that Pacheco did (around X-Men # 70).

Age of Ultron # 9 is just rich with dozens of meta-esque discussion and topics. For example, a dying Tony Stark points out the reason why time travel is a no-no [that being that time according to Iron Man, is a living organism]. Then there's the part where our heroes ponder on what to do. Obviously killing Hank Pym was a stupid idea so they head for other possibilities. Which I will not spoil. You have to buy and read the book folks for you to grasp what they've come to.

There's drama and humor injected in number 9. There's a lot of the former and only a few for the latter but it still works to Bendis' advantage. If there's anything at all that I really didn't like about this issue its the first few pages. Explosions are cool and all but what's simply happening is Wolverine gets injured and needs time to recover. We don't need a full exposition on Logan's feelings. Also it seems like the ol' Canucklehead is losing his edge as it took him a while before recovering from his injuries. Is he starting to follow Superman in the 'magic-is-my-weakness" department? I certainly hope not.

Overall: The pacing started bad but the pace picked up at the end. Great art from Pacheco and Brandon Peterson. Bendis scripting has some spots here but not to much to hinder you from enjoying the book. 

Verdict: 8.5 / 10

This review is brought to us by Comicx Hub and Castle Geek. Buy your copy of Age of Ultron # 9 and from 'hub and get it shipped straight to your door.

Joe Quesada's Age of Ultron # 10 Variant Cover with Angela

Marvel still has some juice left to hype up AGE OF ULTRON as we're looking at the Joe Quesada variant cover for Age of Ultron # 10.

Age of Ultron # 10 will be written by Brian Michael Bendis with art from Brandon Peterson, Bryan Hitch, Carlos Pacheco, Butch Guice, Alex Maleev and David Marquez.

Uncanny Avengers # 8AU Spoilers

Some spoilers for Uncanny Avengers # 8AU which ties up neatly to the ongoing Age of Ultron event. 

You'll see the spoilers after the cut...

First Look at the Gaiman's Angela for the Marvel Universe

It was all over the news months ago that Neil Gaiman's Angela will be making an appearance in "Age of Ultron" so its absolutely about time to get our first glimpse of the character. And now here she is done by Marvel big boss Joe Quesada.

EW got the first dibs on this too...

So anyway it would appear that Angela will be making a huge splash when she joins the Marvel Universe. According to reports, her appearance in Age of Ultron will not be the last. She is also slated to join the Guardians of the Galaxy for an adventure written by her creator, Neil Gaiman.

Age of Ultron # 7 Spoilers

So what happens after Wolverine and Invisibile Woman kills Hank Pym in the past? The fallout of the murder occurs in Age of Ultron # 7 by Brian Michael Bendis, Brandon Peterson and Carlos Pacheco.

In this issue Logan and Sue return from New York and goes back to their proper timeline. Emerging from the cave they find out that the Savage Land has become a spaceship graveyard which is pretty weird. They hijack Fury's car which is still where they left it and travel to New York once more. 

Who Dies in Age of Ultron # 6 - Spoilers

In this week's Age of Ultron # 6 we get to see a couple of key Avengers characters get killed. Who are they and how did they perish? Here are the spoilers for Age of Ultron # 6.

Before that though, here are some interesting tidbits from the issue written by Brian Michael Bendis, Brandon Peterson and Carlos Pacheco with Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia for colors and Roger Martinez on inks.

How Did Black Widow Get Her Facial Injury in Age of Ultron - Avengers Assemble # 14AU

One of the mysteries during the opening moments of Age of Ultron was who or what did the damage on Black Widow's face? It never gets touched or mentioned in the main story though. Avengers Assemble #14 AU.

Spoilers after the cut...

So apparently, Natasha was in San Francisco when Ultron attacked (which is also where we find her during the start of the story). It's also here that her friend George goes crazy after Ultron hijacks his brain via the prosthetic arm that he got from Tony Stark. It's ultimately the hand that slashes Nat's face...

She later gets inside one of Nick Fury's not-so-secret bunker where she works allies herself with Moon Knight who was also in a mission when the attack happened.

She's in a really bad shape here.