Saturday, October 16, 2010

The List #42

New Avengers #5
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Stuart Immomen
This week was all about re-asserting how Wolverine is the MOST POWERFUL SUPERHERO IN THE ENTIRE MARVEL UNIVERSE. Sorcerer Supreme? That ain't SHIT next to 9-inch metal claws. The power of the Phoenix? Bitch, have you seen his healing factor? Galactus? Fuck no, Wolvie's fighting training spans centuries, he can kick G-Dawg's ASS!

No seriously. I get pandering to Wolverine fans makes it so that people want to buy the issue, but holy shit, does he always have to be the MOST POWERFUL, BIGGEST THREAT, and RIDICULOUSLY BADASS? The writers do realize that there are people reading who
aren't fans of Logan and just can't suspend their disbelief in the face of this ridiculously assertion of Wolverine's importance to everything.

Anyway, besides the ridiculous part at the end where Wolverine is decided to be the best vessel for the combined powers of all everyone there, this arc provided an image of just how ridiculous this book's current cast is (I'd post it, but my blog post's width is too narrow...I'm not even kidding) with 12 characters being involved. Plus Hawkeye for two minutes to tell us he wasn't actually on the team which just read like BMB threw this in the script last second just to make the fanboys aware of the roster. But yeah, the amount of characters involved in this arc is ridiculous, and we were already working with a large cast in the first place.

Oh also at one point the ridiculous amount of chatter was lampshaded through the use of one of the villain-figures commenting on it. K......BMB? Just because you joked it off doesn't make it any less annoying that 12 characters are all talking at the same time with none of it being of any use to the story or just for the purpose of updating the other characters on things that the reader already knows.


X-Men #4
Writer: Victor Gischler
Artist: Paco Medina
This entire book is one big fucking cliche. First, there's vampire cliches where we have Wolverine toting the Vampire cause by trying to persuade the X-Men that it's cool to be vampin' with the most typical dialogue of 'vampire-to-human-persuasion' you could have ever thought up. Also, there was the now really familiar scene of a band playing while there's a fight scene going on around them and people assuming that it's just part of the show. Second, there's the X-Men cliches with the second assertion this week that Wolverine IS THE MOST VALUABLE X-MAN. Then there's the whole cliche possessed person dialogue where the characters try reasoning with the possessed person even though they know that character is not themself. Honestly, X-Men thus far is a really big piece of fanfic, and it's really failing to justify why it's existence is necessary. Now onto the poll:

This past poll turned out some good results especially with the option for multiple answers. It seems you guys fucking hate Darwin considering he was the consistent leader of this poll. This probably the only way he'd ever get that much attention. The next person on our collective shit-list is that bitch Rahne and I have to say at that point it thrills me to know we're all on the same page here. Longshot and Strong Guy then followed which I have to say are strong choices. Then it followed with Shatterstar, Monet, and Multiple Man at the bottom of the voted-for list. Most surprisingly, despite the option to choose the entire cast if one so chose, it seems no votes went out to Rictor, Siryn, or Layla Miller. Anyway, thanks to everyone who voted on this poll, very fun results, and please do go vote on the next one.

3 comments:

Suzene said...

THANK YOU! Characters commenting on the weaknesses in a story/genre do not give the author a pass for allowing said weaknesses to persist, it only underlines the fact that said writer was aware of the problem, but too flipping lazy to address it. It's not winking at the audience, it's telling the audience that you don't really give that much of a damn. Possibly because you have too many other books to write that month.

Oh, look. Utopia's under siege again. Gosh, it sure was a great idea to move 98% of the world's surviving mutants onto an island with no easy means of escape, you bet'cha.

As always, thanks for the recaps.

X-23 said...

Oh, joy!!

X-FACTOR #213
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by VALENTINE DE LANDRO
Cover by DAVID YARDIN
In the aftermath of the battle with Hela, the team is in upheaval. One member leaves...another arrives...Rictor and Rahne finally have it out over the identity of her baby's father. Guaranteed to be the most emotional issue of X-Factor this month!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/201101/134_X_Factor_213.jpg

Mr. Hellfire said...

@Suzene, haha, yeah, and seriously, if Bendis can't write quality he should just turn over writing duties of one of the titles to someone else. I think I could get by without him on multiple Avengers titles.

And yeah. Utopia. The subject of sooo much of my bitching on this blog.

@X-23, RIGHT?! It's like he heard our cries to boot Darwin off the team. :D