I now own the movie! I already reviewed the title so no retro review, but I’ll still be checking it out again all the same since this was easily the best non Avengers film in the MCU.
Captain America The Winter Soldier Update
4
Tag Archives: Captain America
Avengers Battle For Earth Review
I’ve wanted to get this Avengers game for years. Ever since it first came out, the game has looked like a blast and a half. Alas, it just never quite made the cut when I was looking to buy games for Christmas or my Birthday. Well, the wait is over and the game has certainly lived up to my expectations. It’s great even if you can tell that it’s not exactly a AAA title of technical mastery. A sequel would have definitely been a blast.
The plot of the game is based on the Secret Invasion arc from the comics. Skrulls have taken over the planet through deception and the heroes have to weed the fakes out from among the real heroes. The best way to do that is to beat them all up and that’s exactly what the heroes do. Some villains even decide to join in by the end like Magneto, Loki, Venom, and Dr Doom. Together, these guys can’t lose to the Skrulls right!?
The main campaign for the game is fairly short. There are 40 battles and each battle is a best of 3. Each individual round can sometimes only take about 10-20 seconds while the later battle are harder. This is one of the only games that you can play and complete for the most part with your eyes closed. With the exception of the final level in each of the 5 areas (5 Areas with 8 levels each) all of the battles can be won by simply flicking the nunchuck’s control stick up. Do that and you’re guaranteed to win just about every fight. It’s probably one of the easiest games of all time.
You can take a snooze while playing if you really want too. Granted, you can also use the Gamepad for similar results. Surprisingly, I found that the Wii Remote is much more effective in this game. Using special attacks is much quicker with that setup, which gives you a noticeable advantage in battle. For the remotes, you just have to flail around. For the gamepad, you have to draw the correct shape to use the attack. It’ll work out if you just main 2 characters and memorize the shapes, but if you’re playing around with a bunch of characters, you’ll be at a noticeable disadvantage. Such is the fate of Gamepad users this time around although I’ll admit that it may feel like more of an actual fighting game since you can just keep on swinging to victory with the Wii Remote.
The main reason why I used the Wii Remote in the first place was that using the Gamepad meant that you could only see the cutscenes on it. A work around is using the Wii Remote to shift the camera angle, but then you have to do that for every fight, which can get quite tedious. It’s an odd feature and one of the main hints that this isn’t your big budget 60$ Avengers game.
If fans were mad that Super Smash Bros had a few clone characters, they would be furious at this game. All of the characters are essentially clones. Sure, there are some cosmetic changes to the attacks, but every fighter basically has the same 5 moves along with a final smash. Some look better than others, but aside from the gestures being different (Or in different areas anyway as it cycles from around 5) you’re basically playing the same character the entire time. Hey, I said that it was fun, not that it was high budget!
The graphics are decently good, although this is where I may disagree with some of the reviews. The character models aren’t incredibly detailed and can come across as a little “free to play.” Certainly not what you’d consider Next Gen, but a lot of the attacks are very flashy and the character designs are all on point. The opening movie was a blast even if the graphics would not wow someone. The fights were neat to see and the animation certainly isn’t bad. It’s not great, but it works for me and I was satisfied with what I saw. Once again, I have to point out that all of the energy attacks look great.
The game also has an epic feeling to it. The story mode is actually really engaging. It’s a shame that there are only 11 big cutscenes in the whole game as the other levels just get a quick line of dialogue. Still, the cutscenes that we do get really show the importance of why comic panels can be good if used right and not as rather uninspired pages like in Mario Galaxy 2. The game’s ending also leads up to Siege/Dark Reign, which would have made for a very enjoyable sequel. Obviously, this game did not succeed nearly enough to warrant a sequel, but boy would I have enjoyed one!
The soundtrack’s a little forgettable, although it wasn’t bad. Mostly the themes are the kinds of music that you would expect from a game that doesn’t want to spend a lot in that area. Luckily, the presentation before the fights is always good as each character has a quick introduction and the 2 vs 2 format works well. It pops out at you and the matches feel really official. I wouldn’t mind Super Smash Bros taking a cue from that and having a similar introduction for 2 on 2 battles someday. It could be optional of course so it wouldn’t always slow a match down.
I can’t say that there is a whole lot of replay value though. You can finish Story Mode in under 2 hours and probably much quicker than that if you’re good at spamming the nunchuk control stick. Once you’ve beaten the game, you can play Arcade Mode, Challenges, or Trials to unlock costumes and character panels to use as your avatar. The unfortunate part is that there is a lot of on disc DLC like Street Fighter X Tekken. Some of these things you have to buy on the E Shop and others are related to UPlay. I’m not sure if UPlay is even up and running anymore, but either way it’s always unfortunate. I’m cool with DLC, but don’t clutter the mission select with it. As a result, my Game Completion% looks a lot smaller than it should because the DLC is actually counted. Boooo. There’s really no reason to play the game again unless you want to have a good multiplayer match.
Naturally, that’s the big hook of the game. The multiplayer is a lot of fun and even if it is a total button masher, it’s the kind of fighting game that is easy to play and you can have a lot of rounds in it without getting bored. It’s like a discount version of Marvel vs Capcom 3. Certainly not as good as that game when it comes to gameplay, replay value, graphics, or soundtrack, but it’s good for Wii U fans who want a piece of the action. The character roster is also quite good with non Avengers like Dr. Doom, Venom, Spider Man, and the Phoenix. It may just be me, but I feel like Phoenix is the strongest fighter in the game, although Black Widow has the best charge attack. You can easily defeat a foe just by spamming her slide attack. It’s quick and packs a punch.
Overall, Battle For Earth is a game that’s worth your investment. The price isn’t all that high nowadays anyway and you’ll be surprised at how well done the gameplay is. Considering that the game must have had a limited budget, it’s actually very exciting. There’s voice acting for all of the characters, the avatar pictures are cool, and the character roster is solid. Not to mention that the opening scene was a blast as well. The whole game had an epic feel to it, yet you can still tell that a higher budget would have improved the game immensely. I can only imagine how much fun a sequel would have been. Naturally, this game is best if you have someone to play it with you, but if not there’s still enough here to satisfy you with the single player experience.
Overall 8/10
Civil War #3 The Return of Thor Review
Whoa, I’m reviewing a stand alone issue instead of a trade paperback? Well, these things happen I guess and it was pretty awesome to have acquired this issue. Nothing beats reading a comic in its true form right? Naturally, the comic is short though and you can read it in around 5 minutes or so. Following that logic, this review will naturally be on the short side. This is in the middle of the Civil War event, but it’s still easy to understand what’s happening. There’s even a previously segment just in case readers did jump on here.
The government passed a bill for heroes to surrender their secret identities or they would be hunted down. Captain America leads the side for freedom and Iron Man is on the side of the government. Most of the issue follows Iron Man as he tries to recruit as many allies as possible. Doctor Strange says no and then the X-Men also refuse. Iron Man does leave some subtle threats and clearly can’t be trusted, but such is the way that things go when politics are involved. Captain America’s team is really just lying low, but when they hear that a few hundred people are trapped in a factory, they decide to make their move. Unfortunately, it turns out that it was a trap by Iron Man’s team and the big battle to decide the fate of the country begins.
Definitely a fun issue and Marvel’s art was really at its height here. There aren’t any current Marvel titles that can match this level of quality. You can really feel the epicness as the teams go at it and every character design is really on point. The energy blasts look great and the issue is over before you know it. It helps that there is an ad on every page of course. I wonder how many people actually care about the ads enough for it to affect their purchasing habits. Hopefully a lot, but I don’t really mind the ads since it does make the comics feel official somehow.
I’m still on Cap’s side as always and they certainly seem to be portrayed as the heroes, but it does depend on who you think is in the right. That being said, Cap’s team is at a big disadvantage as far as power and numbers are concerned. It’s why having the X-Men on Cap’s side would have really tipped the scales. At least having Spider Man at the ready would help the resistance and those who followed the event definitely know what side he ultimately ended up on.
The cliffhanger for the issue is definitely pretty intense even if it’s obvious that this cannot be the real Thor. “Operation Lightning Bolt” definitely sounds ominous right when the characters utter the phrase and it certainly doesn’t help Cap’s chances of getting through this in one piece. It would have been really cool for Hulk and Thor to have shown up, but as the event was only 7 (Really short) issues long, it probably would have been very rushed so better not to bite off more than you can chew right.
Overall, Civil War is still one of the best Marvel arcs out there. It was short, but it definitely changed the status quo for a little while and I’m always up for seeing heroes fight other heroes. It does make you have to wonder how these guys can ever work together again, but that’s just the nature of the business. Of course, people do seem to love having Captain America and Iron Man fight so they have a lot of disagreements in the modern comics. Cap’s usually in the right if you ask me, which is almost a little odd since you would expect Iron Man to be the guy who defies the government. In the upcoming film remake, it’ll be interesting to see who’s on the right side as Iron Man seems to be the guy that I will be rooting for so far. So far……it’s likely going to be a tough call though. Either way, if you’re looking for a good single issue to buy, definitely check this one out. There’s a lot of action and Spider Man certainly gets his props as he gives Cap a good fight!
Overall 9/10
Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled Review
I always try to grab a poster or a picture that has the title in some form, but that wasn’t really possible this time. (*Possible = Quick Google Search) The image that I did grab was still pretty neat though. The Lego craze continues and it’s a fad that I much prefer to the stop motion from back in the day so I’m cool with it. Lego films don’t have the highest amount of replay value out there and they tend to reuse jokes after a while, but they’re always fun the first time around and this one was handled well. Lego’s leave little room for hype moments, but that’s not the point of Legos anyway. This ended up being a solid Lego adventure and one of Marvel’s better ones. (Wait a sec, how many Marvel Lego adventures are there anyway?….)
The Avengers were getting ready for a nice party when Iron Man’s suit is hacked by Ultron! Locked into his suit, Tony can only watch as Ultron tries to humiliate the Avengers by messing up their party. The Avengers will have to think quickly if they want to win this round. Ultron’s army of droids are not going to be easy to defeat and the Avengers are forced to call in a little help to deal with the menace. The Avengers roster has been strengthened with the addition of Vision, but the twins are nowhere to be found. Perhaps for the next special although Scarlet Witch may be the only one to join due to Quicksilver’s ending.
I have to say that Captain America definitely stole the show here. He made a lot of good puns about Ant Man throughout the film. The other characters would always grimace and wince, but that just made it all the better when Captain America would continue. He was unfazed by the reactions of his partners and rightfully so. When others doubt your puns, that doesn’t mean that they are bad. I thought that they were quite clever and he was easily the best character in the entire film. He did a good job during the fights as well.
This short is a comedy first and foremost of course even though there are some quick action scenes. The fights are enjoyable and there are a lot of homages to the actual film. This was to be expected of course and it’s always interesting to see how closely the Legos can emulate the style of the original film. Hawkeye’s costume is barely trying to emulate the film style though as it really stands out with all of the red coloring. It’s hard to totally see what the film was going for, but I actually did like the style though.
We even get some guest stars to show that this is in the same continuity as the Ultimate Spider Man show. Spiderman and Iron Spider arrive to turn the tides and let the heroes know what is going on. They’re left behind so the role is definitely a very small one, but it’s always nice to have a cameo from our favorite wall crawling superhero! There’s not a whole lot more to say about the characters. They’re all in character and slightly more comedycized (New word now folks!) like in Teen Titans Go, but not over the top to the point where the characters would not be likable.
I’m definitely ready for a DC vs Marvel Lego adventure at this point. The possibilities would be endless and I could finally have Batman and Superman defeat their Marvel counterparts. I could almost see Iron Man being the one to fight Batman since the MCU has made him really popular, but either way, DC should take the fight. They’ve always been portrayed as the stronger verse in my eyes and seeing them get some credit would be fun. Even if it’s just a comedy adventure, I could see both sides getting some decent Lego fights in there and the format would also mean that Superman wouldn’t need to hold back! If he broke his opponent, it would just be accompanied by a pun after all.
If I have a complaint for this adventure, it’s just the same complaint that I have with basically all Lego films. A lot of the jokes you’ll see a few miles away and they tend to not actually be that funny. I typically won’t laugh at any of the jokes, but I tend to not laugh at most jokes so it’s not saying much. It’s fairly enjoyable, but I’m still not a fan of Lego animation either and it does prevent the specials from having any real fight scenes. Again, it’s more a complaint for the format than anything and watching this is still a nice way to spend 20 minutes.
Overall, The special is pretty fun. It makes for a fun little watch and that’s why there’s not much to say about it. To an extent, it’s like reviewing an episode, which is why I don’t do that. It would be hard to elaborate an awful lot about it and even then, the average episode has more content to be discussed than a Lego film since the Lego adventure is just a quick battle without the extra layers of characters and plot. It works well for what it is and I still say that this is a fairly solid Lego adventure. It inflates the Marvel animation count and that’s what counts in the end. I recommend checking this out and you can watch it while cooking lunch instead of having a conventional timer.
Overall 7/10
Invaders Classic The Complete Collection Volume 1 Review
The Invaders were a classic group of Marvel heroes from back in the day. I believe that a retcon turned some of their adventures into Earth II romps, but many fans remember them from back in the day. I also could be thinking of DC as retcons affected their old issues a lot more than Marvel’s. These issues helped people vent out their frustrations as the heroes took the Nazi’s down a few pegs and helped the US look quite good. It’s always a blast to see them winning battles and these retro comics never get old. There were more super threats here than I would have expected like the tricky Master Man.
There are quite a few issues are you would expect from such a large collection. For the most part, the issues are all stand alones and while there is certainly a continuity present, you don’t need to worry about it all that much. Some stories do go on for a little while though like Toro being shot, which pushed the Human Torch over the edge for a little while. The villains went too far that time and they certainly ended up regretting it. Another story arc, which actually lasted the longest involves Union Jack as he decided to come out of retirement to help the heroes.
His daughter was distraught about this as her father was quite old and would almost certainly perish in these battles. She wasn’t wrong as he was crippled very quickly and then she decided to fight with the heroes as Spitfire, after a blood transfusion from the Human Torch gave her the ability of super speed. Union Jack couldn’t fight anymore, but he gave his costume to his son who ended up inheriting it. Considering how old some of these comics are (Not as old as you would expect though as the issues actually came out in the 1970’s, but are made to feel like the 1940’s.) the story lines can be quite deep and intense. For the most part though, you’re just here to see the heroes beating the Nazi’s and you don’t need much of a plot beyond that right?
Another really fun pair of issues was when the mind controlled Invader’s had to fight the classic heroes like the Whizzer, Guardian, and a few others. It was like watching old heroes fight ancient ones and while the Invader’s had the massive advantage in skill, the old timers put up a good fight and showed that they can still fight. While the Whizzer and one of the other members were constantly bickering, they still had powers for the most part so they were useful in the fights. Team against team battles are always a blast.
The heroes are all fairly likable. The Human Torch is my second favorite hero and he nearly passed Captain America for me, but the drama with Spitfire hurt his case a little. He was actually active as a hero long before Captain America joined the crew so he has the most experience and he’s certainly not afraid of fighting with Namor. He relishes the challenge and Human Torch will do whatever’s necessary to protect the US. It’s cool to see him from these days as he finally became a major player in the modern FF comics from not too long ago.
Captain America is true to character and essentially identical to his modern incarnation except that he’s far more heroic. He doesn’t need to make any of the tough calls here as he just fights for what’s right and makes sure that everyone else is in line. At one point, Bucky is kidnapped so Captain America declares that if he has been harmed, he shall commit cold blooded murder for the first time! The characters like to make very grand and bold gestures like this one and it shows that they’re finally getting serious. The heroes are all tempted to destroy Hitler at one point, but they decide not too. It’s all about showing that they will stick to their morals through thick and thin. Despite Captain America’s words, he didn’t actually destroy everyone, but Bucky was safe. If he hadn’t been, you could tell that Captain America meant business. Did this all sound contradictory? Good.
Namor is an interesting case as he is technically the strongest member of the group and makes sure to mention this as much as possible. He fought off the other Invaders when things got personal as one of his underwater troops decided to join the Nazi’s. He’s typically useful even though he threatens the rest of the surface dwellers a lot and aims to defect once the war is over. His true allegience is to the sea after all and the other members are aware of this. That being said, his weakness to any form of humidity is a big one and it takes him out of action very quickly at times. I don’t mind him disliking the humans, but Namor can be a little annoying at times.
Spitfire joined the group in the second half of the collection and her talents certainly come in handy. I could have done without the drama between her, Human Torch, and Captain America, (To his credit, he is basically oblivious to the whole thing) but her super speed instantly makes Spitfire one of the strongest members of the team. Who knows, maybe you could make a case for her being the most powerful individual on the team. It was cool that she got to help keep the family name going since her father retired. I liked the original Union Jack a lot so I was worry to see him go. The british catchphrases were a lot of fun, but the new Destroyer fellow should do a good job of keeping up the mantle. I was worried that the original Union Jack would be jealous for a while, but it only took him an issue to get over this ordeal.
Bucky is sort of like Robin from these days. He was really vocal when talking about how cool Captain America is and he never let anyone insult him, which made for a few fights between him and Toro. Bucky definitely has the edge in hand to hand combat, although Toro would wreck him in an all out fight. Bucky means well and was likable for the most part, but he did look bad in the comic where he assembled some heroes to beat the brainwashed Invaders. (Unlike the JSA, who never helped the Nazi’s, the Invaders were forced too) Instead of telling the other heroes about his plan or just waiting the extra 5 minutes to discuss it with the government, he decided to fight the Guardian on National Television and act like the bad guy. There was no reason for this and he comes off as a little insane to the viewers. What if the heroes had decided that he wasn’t good enough to lead them or that it was some kind of joke?
Toro got quite a few plot twists about his backstory which gave him some development. The twists weren’t really needed I suppose, but why not right? It’s better than nothing and makes him a more relevant character when you think about it. He’s no Human Torch, but he helps out in the fight. His bond with the Torch is so strong that when he was shot, the Human Torch instantly incinerated the guy who shot him. That was probably the only death in the comics where we saw the hero do it with the intent to destroy the guy. It was certainly a deep moment even if the comic tried to quickly brush it off.
There are a few named villains scattered throughout the comics, but there were really just two who gave the heroes a run for their money. One was the Master Man, who was essentially a Nazi version of Captain America. His ideals are the opposite of the American hero and he certainly means business in a fight. He can fly and his super strength is greater than Captain America’s. I always found that ironic since everyone wants the super soldier serum even though it has been surpassed so many times. Master Man’s definitely not a likable character, but as a villain he is certainly a threat. He was shown to easily be able to defeat the Invaders and the heroes can never win against him without plot devices. Seriously, you could call the guy overpowered as he just makes the heroes look bad whenever they fought.
Making matters worse for the heroes was the debut of the Warrior Woman. She took her own Super Soldier serum and her abilities were about on par with Cap’s. This meant that she was still a little too tough for most of the Invader’s. Hitler was still obsessed with showing off his power though so he arranged for Warrior Woman to marry Master Man instead of joining in the fight. She didn’t like this, but didn’t do anything about it. That certainly helped make sure that she wouldn’t be a likable character either. At least there were now two villains for the Invaders to fight, even if it meant that they really should not have a ghost of a chance! It was interesting to have two super villains in the WW II days and this certainly spiced up the fight scenes. Namor became the only hero who could fight these two opponents on equal ground.
One of the issues was a lot of fun because the Invaders were warped to the future to fight the Avengers. The story had already happened in the Avengers title so this way we got to see it from the Invader’s point of view. That was definitely a neat experience and it helped to remind the readers that this is still relevant to the rest of the universe. To be honest, I was definitely rooting for the Invader’s this time and while it’s safe to say that they were losing, they put up a good fight. Dealing with foes like Vision and Black Panther can just be a little dicey. I can see Captain America beating the Black Panther, but he had his old shield and was likely tired from his adventure. Yellow Jacket would be doomed against anyone, but Vision’s the true threat. Either way, while it may have been a little out of place in the down to Earth WW II stories, it was a very fun issue.
The art is quite good as you would expect from a retro Marvel comic. All of the character designs are on point and the simplicity of the art allows you to read through the comics very quickly. The fights are also pretty engaging and are actually drawn at length rather than being rushed into a page or two. The colors are not quite vibrant as they’re purposefully pale, but they work in this context.
As always, the writing is one of the strengths of the issues. I particularly like the subtle USA vs Britain debates that the heroes have as Captain America uses his American jokes and Union Jack purposefully uses his Britain slang to get his point across. Cap asks him if he’s half American at times, which Jack always denies very quickly. They’re both proud of their countries and it makes for some nice team ups. I still wince a little when the UK characters call the heroes “Yanks” but I suppose that it was an acceptable nickname at the time. I dunno, it just feels unrefined and I prefer “chap” to be honest. (That used to be the British slang for pal or person anyway)
You can also tell that this is an older comic as all of the heroes bow their heads and pray in the final comic as the original Union Jack says to leave it in the hands of the one who will really decide his fate. You likely won’t see everyone praying like that in a modern comic. It’s really good to see and scenes like this show that despite their super powers, all heroes can still acknowledge God and his sovereignty. Definitely a great way to end the main issues.
Overall, This Invader’s collection was actually a lot of fun. I just eat this stuff up and I’ve always had a soft spot for the old comics. They were just pure popcorn entertainment that you could read at anytime. If only the modern comics would take a few pointers from these issues right? I actually didn’t know that there was a volume 2 for a while as I didn’t notice the large one on the cover, but hopefully the library gets that part soon. Either way, I definitely recommend checking this comic collection out. It may be around 500 pages, but maybe that’s a good thing since this way you get more value for your purchase! There is a lot of commentary from the writers throughout the issues as well, which is definitely a lot of fun! You won’t regret this read.
Overall 8/10
Superior Spider Man Volume 1 Versus Review
It’s time to delve into the world of the Superior Spiderman once more! The concept was certainly dicey for many people as some did not want a new Spiderman and others were willing to give this one a chance. Peter Parker hadn’t been portrayed very well in a long time so maybe the writers would do a better job with Doc Ock. Well, they definitely know how to write him much more efficiently than Peter Parker, but maybe it’s just because they want to stress how much better he is at the gig than Peter. Peter Parker will always be the true Spiderman, but the run was still pretty enjoyable and this collection gives us some nice guest stars.
The first issue brings in the Avengers, which is a good way to start up a team collection! They’ve been on Spiderman’s tail for quite a while since the hero has seemingly turned rogue. He’s been targeting various heroes so the Avengers arrive to stop him. Is Spiderman really off the deep end or is there something to this whole situation that the Avengers just don’t understand?
You definitely can’t blame the Avengers for thinking that Spiderman has turned given what had been recently happening. This was a fun story and easily the best comic in the collection. Hyperion becoming possessed by the galactic virus was certainly cool even if he probably should have won the battle. Yes, the virus is why Spiderman had seemingly been attacking so many heroes, they had not been in control of their actions at the time. The issue is really just a big battle, which works for me. Spiderman also got a lot of hype since Thor and Hulk were both grabbing onto him to make sure that the hero didn’t get away, but they could feel him straining.
Next up was the two part story with the Scarlet Spider! He has come back to town, but was not expecting a hostile reaction from Spiderman, whom he considered to be a friend. Doc Ock does not like the Scarlet Spider since he basically destroyed him back in the day so they come to blows. Meanwhile, the Jackal is also around and he plans on making more clones while destroying the originals. The Superior Spiderman will have to make a decision to team up with the Scarlet Spider or risk his own destruction. It ends up being a tough choice!
This was the weakest story in the collection. Mainly this was because I felt bad for the Scarlet Spider. Spiderman is incredibly rude to him the whole time and openly tries to murder the guy. Not only is this odd behavior from a so called superhero, but the Scarlet Spider’s at a pretty tough time in his life at that moment. He had been looking for words of encouragement, not insults to push him even further down. It’s sad because he doesn’t even get a happy ending and while I’m sure that things ultimately start to look better for him later on, it’s too bad that he got such a bad deal. The character was nice enough and hopefully Peter is able to patch things up with him later on or the Scarlet Spider finds out about Doc Ock taking control.
The art was also intriguing for this comic. All of the issues had pretty good art, which flowed well for the characters and the fight scenes. Almost at DC’s level to be honest as it was pretty smooth although not quite as good at depicting the character designs. However, part two of this saga had a completely different art style due to it being from a different series. It was going for a cell shaded/CGI kind of look similar to the cutscenes from Shattered Dimensions. It was certainly different. To an extent, I think it looked good in some parts and not as good in others. I certainly prefer the regular art from the other issues, but Spiderman’s design looked nice in this set up.
The next saga introduced a new character named Fulmina. Thanos and his forces had attacked the Earth and the Avengers were busy in space trying to deal with the threat. It was up to Spiderman, Luke Cage, and a lot of the other ground threats to deal with the waves of minions that were attacking the world and Spiderman decided to do a little recruiting when a girl obtained powers. Unfortunately, they ended up corrupting her rather quickly and she decided that a world without technology would be great. Can Spiderman show her the truth?
This comic was fairly good. Perhaps a little anticlimactic and light on action for an Infinity tie in, but it was fun to see Spiderman match wits with Fulmina in her mind. He had a lot of good points about her not wanting to accept that her vision of a prehistoric world would leave Earth vulnerable to attack from aliens and any random villain. I thought Spiderman looked great here, but Fulmina ended up not being a great character. She certainly didn’t end up using her powers well and since an alien invasion was occurring, you’d think that she would prioritize that. She corrected her mistakes in the end though even if it may have come at a heavy price. If she never appears again, she certainly had a very short comic life.
For the most part, the Superior Spiderman is a likable character. You just need to keep in mind that he’s no hero. Spiderman tried to destroy the Scarlet Spider a few times and while he convinces himself that he’s a hero, he just does whatever he wants. His desire to turn over a new leaf is half hearted at best. As an anti-hero/antagonist, Spiderman can be fun to have around with his constant sarcastic remarks about the rest of the characters. He really pities everyone and speaks in a very dramatic style that is a lot of fun to read. The only comic I didn’t like him in was the Scarlet Spider issue, which I already mentioned. Beyond that, he certainly works well as the lead character.
Overall, This was a fun volume of Spectacular Spiderman Team Up! The art is solid and the writing is actually good throughout the collection. It can still be a little sad for Peter fans to see Doc Ock messing up his life, but it’s still a fun concept to play around with. I definitely recommend this one if you want to see some fun stories with a lot of superhero action. There aren’t really any high stakes here so it’s really just about popcorn fun and enjoying the fights, but the adventures move very quickly since they’re all 1-2 issues and sometimes it’s fun to just enjoy some one shot adventures between the big events. With this collection done, it’s time to go back to DC for my next comic review!
Overall 7/10
Marvel Masterworks The Avengers Volume 4 Review
The Avengers are known as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and considering that the Justice League don’t exist in Marvel, I must agree. The Avengers have always been a team of powerhouses who could tackle any threat. That being said, this volume occurs when the team is actually not looking too powerful so they must use their quips and wit to outsmart the foes who stand in their way. It is an interesting concept, but the volume isn’t quite up to taking on the average Avenger collection thanks to its high standards. Still makes for a fun read of course.
There were around 10 issues in this collection, which is a reasonable amount. The first few issues deal with the Sons of Serpent organization. While they may appear to be extremely weak on the surface, they are powerful when in great numbers. They manage to capture Captain America so the rest of the Avengers are pressured into supporting the political views of the enemies. It’s always intriguing to see politics addressed in comics, but they made sure to not get too involved with those issues. I’m sure that the Avengers won’t underestimate the group again after this!
The next two issues featured The Living Laser! This guy was typically an Iron Man villain, but this time he decided to take on the Avengers because of his feelings for the Wasp. Little did he know that Heart, not feelings, wins battles. He was outmatched from the start even though he nearly finished off the Avengers for good. After that was a two part adventure featuring the Ultroids. They weren’t exactly Ultron, but these androids were still decently powerful and they could copy the abilities of the foes that they defeated through their technology. They managed to cream the Avengers for a while, but they overestimated themselves, which doomed the villains.
Finally, a three part epic involving the famous Hercules arrived. He was tricked by the Enchantress into attacking the Avengers and then he helped them out against Namor. That was a decently fun trilogy although it is always sad to see the heroes mind controlled so easily. Their strength of will should suffice to keep them safe from danger and harm. Ah well, at least Hercules realized what was up with some help and then stuck around to help the team when they were in a jam. I still consider him to be a watered down Thor who is not quite as impressive physically or mentally, but Hercules is still stronger than the rest of the cast at the moment so that’s always a plus.
We start to see why Hank Pym isn’t one of the greatest heroes in this collection. While he has some good moments like talking back to Hawkeye and taking charge, he’s definitely not very nice to the Wasp. When she’s in danger he gets riled up of course, but he basically tells her to leave when she was trying to help him with an experiment. He certainly doesn’t have a whole lot of tact and I can see why they drifted apart. The Wasp is a decent character here, but she’s still not close to how she was in later years as she can still be a bit of a flirt.
The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are good heroes here and they are finally confident in the fact that they are Avengers. They had some iffy moments down the line, but they now know their place on the team. With two of the stronger team members back with the Avengers, they helped to give the heroes some much needed muscle. Hawkeye does a lot of trash talking for the team and he’s always got an arrow at the ready. It’s scary to think that he’s actually one of the tougher members on board, but that’s simply what the Avengers had been reduced too in this era. He’s always a fun character to have around.
Captain America is the best Avenger so I was sad to see him go. I know that he eventually comes back, but it must have been tough for fans of the team to see the final member of the big three leave. With only the B list heroes on board, The Avengers really needed him to stick around. As far as the villains go, The Living Laser was one of the only ones that I recognized. He looked pretty bad here as he was just attacking people to get the Wasp to like him. He had some good dialogue, but such a petty reason for being a villain definitely ensures that I wouldn’t care for him as a villain. That’s just very shallow.
Namor was a neat guest star and he looked fairly impressive as he held his own against Hercules. Hercules is certainly stronger of course, but Namor found the Cosmic Cube and that helped him out a lot. I didn’t expect to see such a powerful cosmic item come into play either so the final issue really raised the stakes on the adventure. Namor’s still antagonistic here, but you can’t blame him for being fed up with the humans since they constantly attack his home. So long as Atlantis is under the sea, humans will never leave it alone so it is an endless fight.
The Black Widow has a subplot where she tries to join the Avengers once more, but Giant Man doesn’t trust her and she doesn’t give the heroes much reason too. She ultimately takes on a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. which puts a damper on her plans and I guess that her plot will likely continue more in future issues. I don’t remember her really appearing in volume 5, but she may have been around briefly. This old version of her was certainly very different from her modern incarnation.
If I had one critique for the collection, it would just be that the stakes are typically very low. It’s hard to get very excited about some of the issues and some more well known characters would have been nice to have. The plot in X-Men was more interesting for me and the characters may have actually been slightly better although the writing here beats that of the X-Men’s. It’s still a fun comic that you will be able to coast through, but you won’t be as invested as you typically would be in one of these classic Marvel issues.
As always, the art is quite good for the Avengers collection. The classic designs for the characters are always fun to look at and the fight scenes are engaging. Quicksilver’s speed here looks more impressive than it did in other instants and we are finally starting to get to the point where his speed is at in the modern days. He’ll never be quite as fast as someone like the Flash, but this is still a nice start. The writing is also quite good as the heroes trade good one liners with the villains. We really don’t see dialogue like this anymore, which is too bad. It’s one of the reasons why comics were so awesome in the first place after all. The burns were certainly real.
Overall, This was a good collection of the Avengers, but it just wasn’t as exciting as it could have been with Captain America missing some issues and Iron Man/Thor not being around. I always miss the big three when they’re not together as they are The Avengers for me. I recently reviewed volume 5 so I’m already okay on that front. I’ve still got another Marvel Masterworks coming up, but after that one, it could be gone for a while. The series has been a fun way to read up on the old series though so I won’t be forgetting about it anytime soon. If you’re a fan of the classic Marvel stories, this is definitely the comic for you. It’s still a solid action title that makes for a good read.
Overall 7/10
Secret Avengers Volume 1 Mission To Mars Review
It is time to start another Avenger series! The Secret Avengers has always been an interesting concept. They strike from the shadows instead of taking on big threats in the spotlight. This would be impossible to an extent if no other heroes were around, but since there are numerous fighters ready to defend the world, Captain America can afford to lead this team in the shadows. Of course, it is much easier to cross the line and start to become the villains while in the shadows so Captain America will have to make sure that he has what it takes to hold onto his integrity.
The Secret Avengers have located a mysterious crown that they stole from an evil organization and find out that it has something to do with the Planet Mars. Captain America sends Nova to scout ahead, but the cosmic hero disappears. The Secret Avengers must now head outside of their element so that they can find their ally. Of course, if something could actually defeat the mighty Nova, what chance does Captain America have of victory!? This could be their most dangerous mission yet!
The roster for the Secret Avengers is fairly unique and the team has got a good balance. Captain America brings his experience to the table and he was always a great leader for the Avengers. This portrayal of him shows that he is always willing to risk his life for a teammate and he gives his allies their due respect unlike some of the other Avengers. He’s a little out of his league against the cosmic threats, but something helps to even the playing field for the climax.
Black Widow makes perfect sense for the team since she is all about espionage. She doesn’t get to fight all that much aside from the intro scene because facing a planet buster is not really her style. Widow’s style of completing a mission certainly contrasts with Valkyrie. I certainly prefer the Asgardian and she would be a much more powerful ally. Black Widow doesn’t look bad though and she helps out a lot more than the next member.
Beast managed to make it onto the team and that’s too bad. I’m not a Beast fan and he is one of my least favorite X-Men members. He’s joined the Avengers on a few occasions as well. He may be smart, but that’s really all that he brings to the table. He helps the team find out about the crown and he means well, but I’ve seen the Beast make too many questionable decisions in the comics and the films. He’s not an ally that I would trust when the chips are down.
Valkyrie is the team’s heavy hitter. She is certainly not as strong as some of the other previous power houses like Thor and Hulk, but this is a team that is not meant to tackle many super threats so it may be fitting. She is still very powerful and could easily beat the rest of the team, but I would consider her closer to Thing level than the two that I previously mentioned. Valkyrie is a fighter with honor and her personality has always been a good one. She’s easily one of the best members on the team.
Next up, we have War Machine! He doesn’t get a chance to do much, but he has a lot of experience like Captain America. We’ve seen the War Machine suit many times in the past so we know what to expect from it at this point. He can hold his own in a fight. Unfortunately, War Machine really doesn’t like the new Ant-Man and makes sure to bring it up whenever possible. Calling the young hero a “kid” is just plain insulting and it certainly won’t make you gain any respect for the guy. Moon Knight is also around, but he hasn’t done anything yet. He’s the mysterious figure of the group and I assume that he has something up his sleeve. I definitely wouldn’t trust him as he seems to have an agenda and isn’t typically a team player. I guess we will just have to wait and see with him.
Finally, we have the Ant-Man. This isn’t Hank Pym or Scott Lang, but a guy named Eric. He has an intriguing history and it seems like he is constantly jumping from hero to villain and vice versa. Obviously, War Machine has a reason to not trust him so I won’t be too hard on the guy. Eric does actually make a questionable call at the end as he blows up a few agents from the shadow organization. They had been heading to Mars to blow it up, but Eric forced them to speed up the process. I think that he certainly should not have gone for the kill so quickly. None of the other characters really noticed that this happened so we haven’t dealt with any repercussions. Still, this could be the beginning of a defection by Eric.
Sharon Carter is essentially the director of the team. Cap’s the leader, but she helps to coordinate everyone from the shadows and she has a subplot where she tries to recover one of the mysterious crowns. She seems like a tough individual and I’m glad that she didn’t wait for backup when she headed for the crown. That being said, she’ll have to work hard to back up her tough talk as she was defeated in a single blow during her first fight. That’s definitely not the right way to earn hype and respect from the readers.
Nova is a member who’s not always around. You can essentially say that he’s on stand by. He’s a clear powerhouse so it’s good to have him ready, but he doesn’t look good here. He is essentially mind controlled for the entire volume, which isn’t cool. I don’t think that he would be taken over so easily or lose control of his mind like that. This is Nova that we’re talking about, not some new recruit who is just joining the superhero game! Ah well, I haven’t seen Richard Rider in a while so that was neat. His abilities looked good, but he still should have looked a lot better.
Nick Fury gets a big role in the final comic as we learn that he actually hadn’t been around during the first issues. We have been dealing with a clone of him who is now called Max. Max still has his heroic personality in theory so I’m assuming that he is simply being duped. He shouldn’t be much of a threat to the Avengers, but with his knowledge I suppose that he can certainly complicate matters.
Secret Avengers ended up being a fun read as the plot was very interesting. This lineup of Avengers is a good one and I look forward to seeing where their adventures take them next. This volume didn’t have much of a villain although I suppose that you could call the mind controlled Nova the main antagonist. We still did get some nice fight scenes and the robot that shows up to fight Nova was cool. He lost in a quick hit so that certainly didn’t last long, but the important thing is that he tried.
The art also works well for this collection. The fight scenes really stand out and the panel of Valkyrie fighting Nova with a big energy clash was particularly good. The energy effects really stand out compared to the rest of the comic since it is not very bright. While the comic does use darker colors, it still looks very streamlined and works. The characters aren’t as detailed as X-Sanction, but few comics are up to that level of detail without overdoing it. As it stands, the comic did a good job.
The most interesting thing to follow will be if the Avengers can stay true to themselves or not. Some members like the Beast and Black Widow likely wouldn’t hesitate to cross the line or make a shady decision. Likewise, War Machine would likely not mind for the government and Ant Man was a criminal. Valkyrie likely destroyed many while on Asgard and Captain America can be super heroic one minute and a criminal the next. Moon Knight’s a wild card in all of this. I’m hoping that the team remembers that they are super heroes and do the right thing. If not, hopefully we get a fight between the Secret Avengers and the real ones.
Overall, The Secret Avengers is a team that you don’t want to mess with and they should go far. The art is good and the writing is on point, which results in a fun comic book. This collection brings 5 issues instead of 4 so it will be slightly longer than the average one, which is typically a good thing. It seems like Nova won’t be appearing too often, but I hope that he gets to appear in a better role in the near future. I assume that the Nick Fury LMD will be the main plot so we will see how he holds up against a team of superheroes. I certainly recommend this comic and especially if you’re the kind of person who liked reading comics where the superheroes are making tactical decisions and not simply beating one on another because the fate of the world is at stake. Avengers has another winner now!
Overall 7/10
Rage of Ultron Review
After watching the Age of Ultron, I felt like I needed to read the Rage of Ultron! I didn’t think that I would be reading it anytime soon, but fate presented itself when I came across it. I was ready for intensity and supposedly this comic was even better than the Age of Ultron comic. Knowing that it was only a matter of time until things got intense…I launched myself into the book!
The story really has two parts. The intro has Ultron attack the Avengers and the original roster manages to barely defeat him when the heroes launch him into space. Many years later, Ultron lands on Titan and infects the planet. He is now one with the multiverse…or at least the planet..and his first order of business is to take out The Avengers! The new roster has never seen something as fierce as Ultron so it is safe to say that the heroes could be outmatched. Can they really beat Ultron?
It was fun to see a version of the old team appear back in the day. We got to see how heroic the classic Captain America was and the original members were just so good. As for when the roster was, that’s an interesting question. Some things just didn’t seem to add up. How could Iron Man still be in one of his most basic armors when Yellowjacket was already around and Hawkeye was in a slightly more modern gear? The eras seemed to be a little mixed up. The author has said that Rage of Ultron is canon and I’ve seen an article that questions how this could be.
Quite a few places are wondering about this and you will as well as soon as you read the comic. I don’t really see how it could be canon to be honest. It just doesn’t work and it is best to read the comic as a what if/AU. Still, whether it is canon or not, it’s still fun to see Ultron back in biz and fight the new roster of Avengers. I don’t have any real experience seeing Falcon’s team so it is nice to meet the heroes. This may not exactly be a powerhouse of a team, but I suppose that they get the job done. Although, they don’t do extremely well against the legend that is Ultron.
There’s one scene that will also have you asking questions, but with different circumstances. At one point, Spiderman webs away the hammer from Thor and then saves Falcon. How did Spiderman just push the hammer like that? He is virtually lifting the hammer since he’s lifting it through his webbing and it seems like another exception to the rule that I don’t necessarily buy. I am glad that Spiderman got his props here and he looked quite good, but it was still an odd moment. I don’t think that the comic was trying to say that he was worthy or anything like that because it was incredibly brief. I think the author just figured that it was okay to yank the hammer away so long as Spiderman didn’t actually lift it, but I am not so sure about that.
The comic deals with the tricky issue of whether A.I. programs have souls or not and how the Avengers should handle them. Is it ethical to destroy them? Well, I don’t believe that A.I. programs can ever develop souls. I don’t think that it is possible and it is why I’ve never had much of a problem with heroes destroying robots. That being said, I think that pain receptors are where it is time to draw the line. Once a robot/android can feel pain, then I think that simply arresting them is the best bet. There’s a prison for every villain and I’m sure that there is even one, which can keep Ultron contained.
That being said, Hank Pym is certainly not going to agree with that notion. Ever since the Ultron event, Pym has been determined to rid the world of such machines. He ruthlessly executes them and Vision is outraged by this. The other Avengers are also upset and trade insults and threats with Ant Man. Ant Man talks tough, but he wouldn’t stand a chance and it is hard to root for him. I really didn’t like Pym here. He ultimately crumbles and doesn’t resist Ultron when it counts and he makes more than a few questionable calls. Pym is likable in some comics and is unlikable in others. It seems to really depend on the title and this just wasn’t one of his better moments. The relationship between him and Ultron is explored a lot, but it still doesn’t do wonders for Pym.
There is a character who is worse than Pym though and that is Starfox. He is still a black spot in the hero community and I don’t see why the Avengers even bother with him. His methods of using people should be highly illegal. He may be an immortal, but that shouldn’t stop the heroes from putting him behind bars. His first scene is really just there to remind us why he is such a bad character and even his big moment at the end is pretty cheesy. I don’t think that it should have worked to be honest. This is one fighter that I could have done without.
As for Ultron, he is a little more emotional than you might have expected here. He’s not cracking jokes or anything like in the movie, but he still doesn’t feel like the cold and calculating monster that we have come to know. Pym’s first plan only works because of Ultron’s emotions. Pym pretends to be injured so Ultron flies over to gloat and that’s when he is stuck in the rocket with no way out. In the second battle…emotions are the main reason as to why he was ultimately defeated. Both defeats were ones that I couldn’t really buy.
Still, his power was accurately portrayed. He was able to hold Thor and Iron Man with one hand each and he bested both of them with minimal effort. That’s the Ultron that I have come to expect and he starts to take over the Galaxy with ease. He even overwhelms tech that was built on Titan in a matter of moments. Ultron went a little farther with the mind games than he typically does, but overall, I did like Ultron as a villain here. This certainly won’t rank in his top 5-10 incarnations, but power levels are one of the most important things and his design was also great. Ultron came out swinging and he is not a force to be forgotten.
Whether Ultron stayed true to character or not, the writing for the comic was pretty good. There are the usual puns that make you wonder how seriously the Avengers are taking the end of the world, but beyond that, it was good to see them discuss robot ethics and Ultron’s talks with Pym were always amusing. I’m not too crazy about how the inner monologues were thrown onto the screen with the rest of the dialogue though as it could be a little hard to follow. I would typically just read all of the monologues on the page and then read the actual character panels. I am glad that we have monologue though as it is always good to hear what the characters are actually thinking.
The art is fairly unique. It’s not quite as good as the art for the upcoming All New All Different Avengers series, but we still get some really fun action scenes. I feel like this art works best for the energy blasts and fights. For the characters, they can look a little off at times. Giant Man’s eyes always seem to be pitch black or half closed. I think the artist may not have been too used to drawing them. Beyond that, the art is still solid. The extra detail works better than it does for most titles like Kingdom Come or Marvels. Some scenes just look better than others and it is all in how you look at it.
Overall, Rage of Ultron was a very interesting Avenger comic. It was certainly a lot of fun and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish. It is very short so you will be able to power through it in a very short amount of time. It took an interesting approach and I don’t think that it succeeded with Ultron or Pym. Its validity as being in canon is also up for dispute thanks to how it is handled. The important thing is that the art makes for good fight scenes and there is a decent amount of action here. This can help you to directly compare the classic Avengers to the new ones so that you can decide which group was better. It is interesting to see Quicksilver don a uniform that is similar to his Days of Future Past attire. Another move that I don’t really agree with as I prefer his new outfits, but he gave it a whirl I suppose. There were certainly quite a few minor things that I mentioned here, but there are no real big negatives that should hurt the experience of reading this comic. You’ll have a fun time reading it and now you will be prepared to watch The Age of Ultron in the theater!
Overall 7/10
Avengers #1 Review
All right, it is time to bring back the Big 2 as far as comics are concerned. Marvel’s given us a glimpse of what the new Avengers roster will look like and how they perform as a team. Comically given the term, the PC (Politically Correct) Avengers online, it would be interesting to see how good the comic was. I think it is safe to say that it was a little more fun than I had anticipated.
The Avengers head off to stop the Radioactive Man. While half of the team deals with a giant lizard that has appeared, the kids head inside the warehouse to fight the main threat. The comic seems like it will be good light hearted fun even if we do already have some casualties. The bodies are off screen, which helps for that, but I guess we’ll see if the series decides to go Uncanny Avengers level of serious on us soon or if they go for a cheery atmosphere. It’s been a while since we got the former with the Avengers so that would be fun to see.
As for the members, well, I doubt that anyone is going to prefer these guys to the originals. Falcon is not quite the same Captain America that Steve Rogers was. He overreacts quite a bit and he’s insecure about his position. Iron Man…well, we know that it’s not Stark even if he hasn’t said anything yet. The theory that it is Pepper seems to be right on. She is more experienced than the others and that’s good since the team needs someone who knows their stuff. Nova, Ms Marvel, and Spider Man are the rookies so they will grow up during the series. Right now, Nova would be my favorite from the three as he jumps into danger. He’ll likely be heavily nerfed throughout the series since he outranks the other heroes so badly. The new Thor doesn’t get many lines, but she will certainly stay as the team’s power hitter. I look forward to seeing who her alter ego is once that twist finally comes out.
While a lot of the members are new, I wouldn’t actually call them weak. It’s a little surprising, but when you really think about it, these guys have what it takes to still be Avengers level. Thor and Iron Man give the team a good amount of raw power while Nova and Spider Man help out on the speed angle. The other help give the team the sheer numbers advantage and it all adds up to a fighting force to be feared. We shouldn’t underestimate the new generation!
The art is nice and streamlined, which makes for some nice fight scenes. It’s splendid and I’m glad that Marvel has once again done a good job on the areas that count. Writing and artwork. This series has the potential to be one of the better Avenger titles even if most of the members are rookies. I forgot which comic had a hero saying this, but it sure has become easier to join the Avengers nowadays. I guess it is just something that happens with time.
Overall, Avengers succeeds in what it sets out to do. It gets you engaged in what’s happening and eager to read the full comic. We jump to the action scenes right away and the pacing seems like it will be nice and quick. While I wouldn’t want this as the main Avengers title, it seems like it’ll be a good team book to check out from Marvel. If the X-Men could have around 6-7 series back in the day, the Avengers should be able to juggle a few as well. We will see if Falcon ends up getting used to the leader role or if he is eventually forced to relinquish the title. While this issue is more exciting than Secret Wars, I preferred the latter as it still looks like it will be a blast to read. I’m highly looking forward to that big event.
Overall 8/10
DReager1.com 