So. Storm and Cyclops kissing. What the actual fuck, Marvel, really.

So Peter Parker of the Ultimate universe was prominently featured recently in the Death of Spider-Man storyline, and – here’s a shocker – bit the bullet in the end. Nobody saw that coming, really. Anyway, Marvel just recently debuted the brand-new Spider-Man for the alternate Ultimate Universe, and I’m really loving this little development.

Welcome, Miles Morales. Hope Marvel doesn't shit on your life... much.

Here’s an except from Marvel’s announcement in USA Today:

Revealed in Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Fallout Issue 4, out Wednesday, the new Spider-Man in the Ultimate universe is a half-black, half-Hispanic teen named Miles Morales. He takes over the gig held by Peter Parker, who was killed in Ultimate Spider-Man Issue 160 in June.

In his first appearance, he simply breaks up a fight. But readers will learn the true origin of Morales and how he became the new Spider-Man when Ultimate Spider-Man relaunches in September with a new No. 1 issue [...] In addition to an alliterative name, Miles has a connection to his predecessor in how he received his powers. But he will have different abilities, too. Supporting characters such as Peter’s Aunt May and Gwen Stacy also will give Miles nuggets of wisdom to help his transition from young kid to New York City superhero.

I’m just afraid that with Brian Michael Bendis writing a half-black, half-hispanic Spider-Man, his signature heavy-handedness might get too unbearable. Let’s just see, alright?

Welcome to the (Ultimate) Marvel Universe, Miles Morales. Hope you become popular enough to not get killed and be replaced by your (non-minority) predecessor.

I haven’t seen Captain America: The First Avenger yet, but I didn’t care if I spoiled myself a bit to watch the final scene. Which, as every comic book movie fan worth their salt should already know, is the trailer for the Avengers movie directed by Joss Motherfuckin’ Whedon.

Watch it here, if you don’t mind spoilers:

Damn. I am SO stoked. What do you think?

From the general consensus on the internet (like Bim of Comicology hating it to bits), it looks like I’m the only guy here who actually liked the just-released trailer for the Marc Webb-directed reboot of the Spider-Man movie franchise, The Amazing Spider-Man.

It does show some nice bits, like Peter’s parents (I hope they’re also S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for this version) and forced awkwardness from him care of Andrew Garfield’s acting. I didn’t care for the spider biting him on the neck, instead of the right hand, but if everything else works out I’ll give it a pass. Also, they seem to be portraying Curt Connors/The Lizard (Irrfan Khan) as a straight-up evil/ambitious villain instead of the more traditional sympathetic portrayal he has in every fucking adaptation. I hope this isn’t how he ends up in the final cut, because I swear, I will step on a kitten if they do that. (continue reading…)

So, over on Tumblr, Marga asked me what I thought of X-Men: First Class. I was planning to give a quick and concise answer, something along the lines of “It wasn’t the best comic book movie, but it completely captured the spirit of the X-Men quite right and for that it’s great,” but I ended up writing a mini-review already. I thought it was best to post it here anyway.

I’m not much of an X-Men fan, but I know that they took a lot of liberties with the comic book canon (EXCEPT FOR BEAST, THOSE WEREN’T THE FIRST X-MEN! XAVIER LOST THE USE OF HIS LEGS IN THE ARMY, BEFORE HE FORMED THE X-MEN! THERE WAS NO SEXUAL TENSION BETWEEN MAGNETO AND XAVIER! MAGNETO’S REAL NAME IS NOT ERIK LENSHERR!), and I’m okay with that. Unlike Green Lantern, which tried to closely follow the comic book canon but completely missed what made the comics so great, X-Men: First Class understood what made all these characters tick, and told a compelling story to boot. (continue reading…)