Pure evil in X-Men comics has taken many forms over the years. The Shadow King. The Adversary. Annihilation. They’re the villains who can’t be turned or reasoned with, more force than foe. The ones who manipulate events from the shadows and return like clockwork every few years to remind the light that the darkness exists…
The Darkhold is a mystic tome that holds nearly all the secrets of black magic, a book so powerful it can drive its possessor insane. Also it was in WandaVision. Nowadays, it’s apparently also a child? As revealed in those “Contest of Chaos” annuals where Agatha Harkness made superheroes fight? (Imagine if “Shattershot” came out…
Doctor Strange. Black Cat. Taskmaster. Hunter’s Moon. Together, they are … a bunch of characters Jed MacKay has written in the past five years! No shade, though. Marvel writers teaming up their pet characters is a time-honored tradition. It’s how Misty Knight ended up being Jean Grey’s roommate in the 1970s. It’s why Norrin Radd…
Last time, in X-Force #48, the team awakened a clone of Beast whose memories date to when he was a member of the New Defenders, meaning he’s missed out on about three “We Didn’t Start the Fire”s’ worth of events. Don’t worry, Hank, we’ll catch you up. Defenders split, X-FactorThen the Mutant MassacreWarren gets some…
Given we’re headed toward a linewide Marvel event involving vampires, it’s probably a good time to check in on Blade, whose whole deal is killing vampires. Currently, Blade is trying to stop an ancient supernatural force called the Adana. To that end, he’s been going on various fetch quests and teaming up with Marvel characters…
Recently, right-wing pundits have begun to circulate the theory that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship is a psy-op for the government, and that at halftime at the Super Bowl, they will preempt Usher to announce their endorsement of Joe Biden for president, using Swift’s vast influence as a pop culture icon to steer the…
I’m gonna be honest: I’m not loving this Talon-inside-Synch’s-body subplot in X-Men. It’s another example of the woman having to suffer to further the male hero’s arc, and it came during a week when Gerry Duggan was writing a lot of women — Laura, Emma Frost, Riri Williams, Jean Grey — as props for their…
Previously, in Dead X-Men: Remember that? Fun times. Even with resurrection seemingly off the table for now, mutants are finding all sorts of ways to come back. Jean Grey found herself communing with the Phoenix Force again in the White Hot Room. X-Force has a clone of Beast circa his New Defenders era just lying…
It’s always interesting to see Magneto fight a non-mutant superhero. What would they even have to banter about between punches? “So, you do spider-things, eh? Well, no matter, Magneto will see you driven before him, another enemy of Homo superior removed!” “You fancy yourself a god? See how easily I cast your metal hammer aside,…
Remember when Dazzler made the X-Men and then a giant xenophobic robot smashed into her and all her new teammates at the Hellfire Gala? More importantly than that, remember how much fun X-Terminators was? Seriously, come back to Marvel, Leah Williams. The X-line needs your feral energy now more than ever. Anyway, on Earth-65, the…
Ryan Q. “Dinosaur Comics” North loves a disembodied brain. Look at his epic run on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, in which he reforms Nazi scientist villain Brain Drain – a disembodied brain and eyes in a robot body – into Werner Herzog-style comic relief. God, that series was good. Marvel used to be a proper…
People always seem to think breaking into and sneaking around Doctor Strange’s house is a good idea. What’s up with that? The Silver Surfer crashes into it in The Infinity Gauntlet, the New Mutants Scooby-Doo it up there in Dead Souls. Heck, Sage and Domino just broke into it in X-Force a couple months ago….
The previous issue of Uncanny Avengers ended with Captain Krakoa being revealed as the evil Captain America from everyone’s favorite Trump-era Marvel crossover, Secret Empire. (We did Nazi that coming!) This issue – the final one of this volume – appears to open with another reveal: Evil Steve prefers to be called Grant now. “The…
Hmm. Moon Knight, huh? Gonna be honest, I have no idea what to say here. It is my understanding from smart people that Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio’s run has been well received. And that while this is the final issue of this volume of Moon Knight, MacKay and Cappuccio will return next month with…
For an indeterminate amount of comic book time, the members of Alpha Flight have been harboring mutant refugees in a secret Canadian base they dubbed Krakoa North, from which they intended to transport them to safety on the Shi’ar throneworld of Chandilar. But due to some antsy mutants, the Canadian government has found Krakoa North…