New Avengers # 9 Spoilers

In this issue written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Mike Deodato Jr. we find out a couple of things.

1. Namor without Atlantis is really nothing. It diminishes his strength in some way.



2. Black Panther (T'Challa) is a non-king not to be trifled with.



3. The X-Men's School should really build a fortress if they want to keep their students safe.



4. Namor can be a smug bastard and can also be a conniving bastard...



5. When a powerful psychic gets a drop on Doctor Strange, the latter can be pretty useless.



6. The X-Men should really train harder against psychic attacks.

UNCANNY X-MEN # 11 Spoilers

Spoilers for UNCANNY X-MEN # 11 by Brian Michael Bendis and art by Frazer Irving

I take it back, Frazer Irving's art is gorgeous when you give it the right theme and guidance and context. I guess his art was really just an ill-fit for the Dormammu story arc.

In this issue Team Cyclops face off against a new and deadlier kind of Sentinel...

The X-Men think that it was sent by SHIELD but SHIELD is clueless. They turn to Dazzler (Alison Blaire) who has currently infiltrated Madripoor (and is currently knocked out thanks to Mystique).

Magneto ends the fight with the mystery Sentinel (with broken powers and all). Sentinel disintegrates and we find who the mastermind is...

Looks familiar? Should be, Bendis admits that this was THIS guy:

UNCANNY X-MEN # 11 is out now!

INFINITY # 2 Preview

Check out the preview for Marvel Comics' INFINITY # 2 by Jonathan Hickman, Dustin Weaver and Jerome Opena.

• The Inhumans pay the tribute.

• Victory in deep space.

• The secrets of Thanos.

Looks like the rest of the Illuminati are screwed while the Avengers are off planet... And that's also the reason why Doctor Strange has been absent lately.

Full version of the cover (which looks like it was done by Adam Kubert)

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

New Avengers # 8 Spoilers - Atlantis versus Wakanda

Black Panther can be an asshole sometimes as seen in the issue of New Avengers # 8 by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato Jr.

"LORDS OF CHAOS" As casualties pile up in the ongoing war between Wakanda and Atlantis, an Illuminati member is forced to make a hard choice.An Inhuman learns of the Illuminati's plans.Prelude to INFINITY: Everything falls apart.

So Black Panther is still a bad ass in my book but he's also a supreme class dick.

He frigging gloats over the fact that there are Wakandan troops in Atlantean territory.

Obviously Atlantis never stood a chance without Prince Namor at their side. I like stuff like for a number of reason:

(a) It brings tension and new dynamics to a team book.
(b) It shows a different side to a character in this case, T'Challa who is still pissed over the fact that Namor destroyed Wakanda when he was still possessing the Phoenix force back in AVX.
(c) It shows a desperate albeit failed attempt at returning. It shows a characters vulnerability (a word Namor despises so much.)

It's not world shattering but its definitely going to be a big issue for the team in NEW AVENGERS and even reshape the world politics in 616.

Learn the whole story in NEW AVENGERS # 8. Available at:

Marko Djurdjevic's Infinity Variant Cover Looks Like a Movie Poster

... and this movie poster features important key figures like main villain Thanos plus Inhuman leader Black Bolt together with heavy hitters from Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers.

If you've read the early scans from the FCBD issue of Marvel Comics' Infinity, you'll know that Thanos has sent his outrider to Earth with the hopes of finding something or someone. Knowing Thanos, this must be the Infinity gauntlet and the six infinity gems. Sadly though, the Illuminati broke the Infinity gems in Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers.

New Avengers Annual # 1 Shows How Badass the Iron Legion is

Seen the second trailer for Iron Man 3 with Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes (played by Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle respectively)? Awesome right? Too bad we have to wait till April 25 to see Iron Man 3. To whet your appetite for the so-called Iron Legion, here's some scans from the now hard-to-find New Avengers Annual  #1.

In this tale written by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel, we get a glimpse of the New Avengers during a down time.

Luke Cage and Jessica Jones at this point isn't married yet. They will be, however, at the end of the issue. Just right after the team fights off the attack of the vengeance seeking Yelena Belova, who also happens to be the second Black Widow. At this point in continuity, the New Avengers have just begun operating and foiled a conspiracy in the Savage Land. Poor, poor Yelena however is burned by Sauron during the encounter with the Avengers. Later, HYDRA offers to graft Super Adaptoid technology into her to get even with Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Yelena's managed to defeat the team's heavy hitter, The Sentry, by absorbing his powers...

Spider-Man uses his big brain to give Iron Man an idea on how to effectively stop the rampaging Belova...

Stark leaves the battle for a bit and makes a heroic return...

... together with the rest of the armors in his armory...

That's not even the coolest bit, as we find out that the billionaire playboy philantrophist is nowhere in the battlefield but is actually in the comfort of the Avengers Tower controlling the movements and the actions of each and every armor with the help of the Extremis virus in his system.

I also want to point out that Tony Stark here in this particular scene looks so much similar to the Tony Stark we're seeing in the trailer (during the parts where he's testing out the new armor, with the said armor shooting straight towards his hand).

Of course, I'm not going to spoil anything more than what I already know, but it does not end well for Belova. On a lighter note, the team later celebrates the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Luke Cage.

The team even goes and get their picture taken, which is pretty, pretty sad. Sense of nostalgia and all that.

If anybody ever encounters this issue, don't go and think, just bloody the issue.

New Avengers # 3 Spoilers - Infinity Officially Begins

The seeds for the Marvel's cosmic crossover Infinity has been sown in New Avengers # 3 by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting.

There are massive spoilers here so if you haven't read the book, you might want to skip this. 

In this issue Beast officially joins Marvel's Illuminati and it's just in time witness the team's efforts to stop the incursion from happening. This plan is enacted by Captain America and involves the use of the Infinity Gauntlets and the Infinity gems as well.

With the gems all together in one place, it automatically summons the Infinity Gauntlet. The summoning does not go unnoticed as we see a panel wherein three of Marvel's big cosmic characters notice this disturbance in 'The Force'. Unluckily for the Illuminati, one of three beings that notices the appearance of the gauntlet is it's former master Thanos.

To stop the imminent death of two Earths, Captain America reluctantly wears the gauntlet and uses it to push away the other Earth...

He manages to push away the errant Earth but it came with an ultimate sacrifice...

FUCK!!!!! The most powerful items in the Marvel Universe suddenly breaks apart like they were nothing... 
:(

Later as the team reconvenes in Wakanda's Necropolis, the rest of the Illuminati ponder the fate of Captain America whom they ultimately blame for the dismantling of the gems and the loss of their biggest secret weapon. 

It's Tony Stark who actually asks Doctor Strange to pull the magical 'trigger' and mindwipe Steve Rogers about his time as a member of the Illuminati. 

For a superhero book with clandestine activities, this has got to be one of the more ruthless moments for these supposed 'leaders'. Still its a pretty good read and I'm still wondering why Hank is still drawn in his cat mutation. Should the events here be placed chronologically as happening before All New X-Men # 1?

New Avengers # 34 Spoiler Heavy Review - Welcome Back Doctor Strange

While there might be a new volume of New Avengers looming in the horizon, we should look at how the final issue of the current volume ended.

So the other Brother Voodoo still has a raging mad-on for the the death of his brother Jericho Drumm (who became the new Sorceror Supreme around New Avengers # 1 Vol. 2). 


To make Strange suffer for this failure to save his brother, the insane Brother Voodoo mind controls every member of the two Avengers teams gathered in Avengers Mansion. 

New Avengers # 1 Provides the Coolest Intros for Main Stars

Check out the preview for New Avengers # 1 by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting.

NEW AVENGERS #1
Jonathan Hickman (W)
Steve Epting (A)
Cover by JOCK
Variant Cover by J. Scott Campbell
SKETCH VARIANT BY J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
Variant Cover by STEVE EPTING
Young Baby Variant by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Blank Cover Also Available
To prevent the collision of our universe with another, the Illuminati, led by the Black Panther, must assemble NOW! It’s the most powerful and brilliant team in the Marvel Universe--The Black Panther, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Mister Fantastic, Namor the Sub-Mariner and The Beast--against an infinite legion of parallel realities.
32 PGS. /Rated T+ …$3.99