So...about the leaked Iron Man 3 pics...

If you haven't heard yet, and there's no reason why you shouldn't have, a few images have been leaked from the Iron Man 3 set...

           

...and it looks like Iron Patriot.

Here's the thing: Iron Patriot is a character that I know nothing about. I stopped reading looooong before he came out.

According to the rumors, the character in the suit is Eric Savin...Coldblood.



Coldblood first appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #26 back in August of '89...so yeah, I probably read it. But if you've read as many Marvel books as I did back then, MCP was just filler to keep you busy until the other titles came out the following week.

My point is that I know very little about these guys, and they're appearing in the next instalment of the Marvel Movie Universe...and I don't know how I feel about that.

I know there are at least a few people who saw Iron Man, IM2... heck even The Avengers...who never picked up a book in their lives. And that's good in a way, because the films appealed to an audience unfamiliar with the characters and their comic-book histories.

But at least I knew who the heck they were.

So now I have Marvel Studios telling me...essentially...that I'm too damn old - and it bugs me.

Then I take a step back and realize that the MMU is its own thing. It's in great hands, and it will continue to grow...even if it means using/combining characters that I have no f**king idea who they are!


In Marvel Studios I Trust

X-O Manowar Part 40: X-O Manowar #24 (January, 1994)

The Visigoth returns to civilization.

I have this issue.

Aric returns to the offices of Orb Industries and tells Ken to shut down Spectar Enterprises. He also demands copies of Spectar’s personnel files and recent activities for the past year. Ken then fills him in on Randy’s activities while he was away.

Aric arrives at his house to talk to Randy, and she admits that the X-O armor has changed and that she’s the reason. She returns the X-O ring to him, and when he dons the Good-Skin he is surprised by the armor’s appearance. Fortunately, the armor is fine, and Aric tells her so. They then head to a bar for a beer and a talk.

At the bar, Aric tells her everything that happened in Peru, including the fact that Spectar Enterprises is a subsidiary of Orb Industries. She tells him that if he wasn’t there, the Yanomama still would have been killed.

Another group of people enter the bar, and one of them gets a little too close to Randy. He hits her, and Aric steps in – taking on the rest of the men. When it’s all over, Aric apologizes to the bartender for the incident and pays for the damages. Back at his house, Aric confesses to her that he’s not sure he can handle the “modern world”. She tells him that he doesn’t have to handle it alone…and kisses him.

The next day, Aric visits the men at the hospital where they’re getting patched up and gives them money…in gold pieces…to pay for their medical needs.

Notes of Interest:

1) Apparently, Aric knows how to play pool.

2) He also knows how to ride a motorcycle.

WTF? Moment: While at the bar, there’s a line of dialogue where Randy asks him if he plays pool and he replies “a little”. I don’t recall where I’ve seen him play billiards before, but I can see him learning it back when he was dating Lauren. It’s the motorcycle riding that bugs me. In what possible situation could Aric have needed the Good-Skin to teach him how to ride a motorcycle? A simple line of dialogue here could have cleared that up.

WTF? Moment #2: With all that’s been going on, Aric needed a good bar fight. He also needs a good “somethin’ else”, but it isn’t clear if he got that too…

Iron Man 3 Updates...

Okay, I've already discussed who should be featured in the film villain-wise, but internet intel says that two new characters have been thrown into the plot:

1) Coldblood


I know almost nothing about this guy, but he's been in several issues of Marvel Comics Presents, Deathlok, and had something to do with Civil War so that may be the direction the films are headed...

and 2) Firepower

I remember this guy from the Armor Wars storyline. He was brought in to stop Tony Stark/Iron Man from continuing his one man attack on all things Stark Armor-Tech related. Firepower blew up the Silver Centurion armor, which brought shell-head back to his more familiar red-and-golds.

Granted, this is all speculation at this point and I really don't see Marvel Studios combining plot points from both Armor Wars and Civil War into the same movie. Although...Favreau did work Demon in a Bottle into IM2, so anything's possible.

Speaking of Favreau, rumor has it he'll be back in IM3 as Harrold "Happy" Hogan. This makes me...happy.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

Happy Memorial Day Everybody!!!

I'm taking the day off today to spend time with Mrs. Adorkification and our "dork-ette".

I plan on wrapping up my X-O Manowar appearances later this week, along with commenting on Iron Man 3 news, other summer movies and whatever else comes up.

Enjoy yourselves, and I'll talk to you Tuesday!

X-O Manowar Part 39: X-O Manowar #23 (December, 1993)

Aric’s past comes back to haunt him…in several ways.

I have this issue.

Several Americans enter Aric’s Yanomama village representing Spectar Enterprises, a logging company that plans to develop the area within the month. Aric appears in time to stop one of the visitors from striking a Yanomama youth. He tells the messengers that the village is staying right where it is, and lets them go.

A few days later, Aric learns that Elib has gone missing. He goes out in search for his friend and learns too late that it was a ruse to get him away from the village. By the time Aric returns, the village is on fire and the tribe is slaughtered – all thanks to the returning Americans.

Enraged, Aric attacks and kills two of them before being surrounded, beaten and left for dead.

He wakes two days later, returns to the village and discovers that Spectar Enterprises is a subsidiary of Orb Industries.

Notes of Interest:

1) Aric is disgusted to learn that Spectar Enterprises planned the Hovito attack to either drive out or eradicate the Yanomama.

WTF? Moment: My one complaint about this issue is that it took Aric too long to figure out he was set up. I just don’t believe he’d fall for something like that. It would have made more sense for the Americans to take Aric on first, and then clear out the village.

So...um...about G. I. Joe: Retaliation...

Moving it to March, 2013? Not the worst idea in the world.

To convert it to 3-D? Absolutely the worst f**king reason ever!


Why not release the film "as is" this summer...like you were supposed to...and then re-release the film in 2014 in 3-D?

It worked for James f**king Cameron...

So…The Avengers is a “hit”…What’s DC gonna do about it?

I was on the fence for a while about posting this. My panic stemmed from the thought of someone at DC reading this, taking my advice and beating the pants off of any future Marvel Studios movies.

Then I realized - this isn’t about which company’s films make the most money…

It isn’t about which films are “better” or more successful…

This is about The Avengers proving once and for all that the Super-Hero genre of film is here to stay and will continue to be tapped for the rest of time…like Sci-Fi, Western, Horror, Rom-Com, etc…

So here is the open letter I wrote over a week ago and stressed about…until now.

Dear DC.,

I’m a Marvel Zombie from the eighties. I knew the universe inside-out, upside-down and sideways. Your stuff…not so much.

But I’m a fan of your characters and some of your films, but even more so – I’m a fan of the genre. Any successful film that can be added to the “comic-book movie” roster is a boon for us all (i.e. Sin City, and Hellboy)

So while I expect the awesomeness that is the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” to continue expanding for the next five or six millennia, I offer you some helpful hints to get your “stuff” together, your heads in the game and your DCMU on the screen…

1) Forget the Summer Blockbuster

Just look at Marvel’s schedule. They’ve got releases set for FCBD weekends and summers overall for the next 3 years. Don’t even try to fight it. Let it go and focus on the other high-volume movie season of the year – Christmas.

Remember - Superman: The Movie came out near Christmas, 1978. True, Thor 2 is slated to come out next November, but then Marvel would be treading onto your turf. What other cinematic competition exists? Oscar-nomination hopefuls? There’s nothing wrong with mixing a little Super-Heroic action in amongst sappy dramas.

‘Tis the season. Own It.

2) Forget about the real world

In your comics, you have Gotham and Chicago, Metropolis and New York.

Stop it.

Don’t do it in your movies. Marvel’s all over the real world. Embrace your fictional Earth so you can begin building your fictional universe. Let Bruce Wayne train in Nanda Parbat. Have a young Dick Grayson meet Boston Brand at a circus in Central City. Make Tim Drake attend a “Detective’s Convention” seminar by Ralph Dibny in Metropolis.

3) Convince Warner Bros. to get off the pot

Warner had the potential to be the predecessor to Marvel Studios by decades. Marvel knew it, you guys knew it, your fans knew it…

…but they’ve dropped the ball too many times.

Green Lantern was their shot. They had their marketing machine behind it…their full support…their influence. In short, they had too many of their fingers in the pie. Don’t forget, Warner wasn’t even supportive of Superman: The Movie....at first.

Take matters into your own hands. Get whatever you need to make it happen and start from scratch on your own terms.

4) Start small

Whatever you do, don’t start with your big three. Build up to them. I’ve been itching for a World’s Finest type film for twenty years. Other fans even longer. Guess what, we’ll wait some more - as long as we see some headway in that direction. Word is, you’re working on Flash and Lobo as possibilities. My opinion? Start with Flash…he’s been known to kick-start an Age or two.

5) Verisimilitude

It’s what made Superman: The Movie work - full and complete belief.

Nolan proved it again with his Batman Begins trilogy (which is awesome by the way), but I’m sure he cut a deal stipulating that there would be no “outside influence” in his films. No Metropolis, no Coast City, no Apokolips – nothing of your ‘verse beyond Batman. Which is okay, but does nothing to help establish your overall presence in cinema.

Healthy competition is one of the things that has built the medium of comics to its present level, and has been a driving force between you and Marvel. Only now it has sprawled over to another powerful form of entertainment. The bar has been raised.

Step up!

HEY...NETFLIX...WTF?

So I open up Netflix this morning and see that they're reminding me that my use of their service is subject to their Terms of Use. Then they ask me to take a moment to review their Terms of Use and then confirm that I both read, and agree to, their Terms as well as their Privacy Policy.


So I do.


And what do I find among their Terms of Use under "Right to Terminate"?


"We reserve the right to terminate or restrict your use of our service, without notice, for any or no reason whatsoever."

X-O Manowar Part 38: X-O Manowar #22 (November, 1993)

Aric finds a new life for himself.

I have this issue.

Aric is deep in the Peruvian jungle when he comes across four hunters chasing after a man and a small boy. The boy is killed before Aric’s eyes, and he attacks…and kills…all four hunters. The survivor’s name is Elib, a member of a Yanomama tribe that immigrated to Peru from the Brazil-Venezuela borderlands. He explains that the hunters were Hovito, and leads Aric, carrying the deceased Hanewoe, back to the Yanomama village. When they arrive, Elib tells the village shaman what happened, and Aric is welcomed as a friend of the tribe.

That night, Hovitos attack the village and kidnap the shaman. Aric blames himself for this retaliation and tells Elib to gather a small group of men to raid the Hovitos’ camp.

The raid is successful and the camp is destroyed, but Aric learns that the shaman was killed before they arrived.

Back at the Yanomama village, Aric is accepted as one of them and is invited to go on a hunt the following day.

Notes of Interest:

1) Aric’s flair for language comes up again here, as he learns a form of what I assume to be Portuguese in Spanish…some of which he uses less than a day later.

WTF? Moment: The Hovitos. Geez…haven’t heard from them since Raiders.

WTF? Moment #2: Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that every village Aric encounters winds up following him? What makes it even more interesting is that he does so while honoring and following their customs. He doesn’t just walk in and take over like Doctor Doom would. I would love to see Aric meet up with T’Challa.

X-O Manowar Part 37: X-O Manowar #21 (October, 1993)

Aric pays his respects to someone from his past.

I have this issue.

Aric visits M’rrha’s village in Peru before continuing on his journey.

Notes of Interest:

1) Nothing character development-wise to note here, but having him return to an important place in his life was a nice touch.

WTF? Moment: I know I’ve bitched and moaned in the past about the lack of pages certain characters appear in while technically considered “appearances”, but here - where Aric is in all of one page – it makes perfect sense. The bulk of this issue is about Randy getting to know the armor and facing one of Aric’s old enemies. It’s a good story, and when I review her character apps I’ll go into it in greater detail. With Aric "out of the world" for a spell, his brief appearance here shows that he’s still part of the book yet distanced from the thick of the Valiant Universe.

X-O Manowar Part 36: X-O Manowar #20 (September, 1993)

Aric takes care of business, and then goes on walkabout.

I have this issue.

Aric wakes up to find himself buried under two-hundred tons of ice and rock. He blasts free and goes after Randy – who according to the X-O’s remote eye is in trouble. He rescues her, and as she takes a chopper to where she can make her way back to the states, Aric finds the Deep Freeze Project – a C.I.A. funded plan to bury the X-O armor under ten miles of ice until they figured out how to use it – and destroys it.

Several days later, Aric has a meeting with Toyo Harada regarding Senator Ackerman and calls in the life-debt of honor Harada owed him. That evening, Aric pays a visit to Ackerman’s house, and threatens to release all the data the X-O armor downloaded from the Amundsen-Scott Station to the press unless ownership of Orb Industries returns to him. The next day, Aric returns to Orb Industries and informs I.R.S. agent Ms. Mandrake that the Senator is on line one and kicks her out of his building.

Aric’s learns later that evening from Randy that Harada honored his debt and Aric is now officially an American citizen. Then he tells her that he’s grown tired of the “civilized” world and is leaving for the foreseeable future. Aric gives her the X-O command ring, telling her that she’s the only one he can trust to look after the armor while he’s gone, and walks out.

Notes of Interest:

1) This issue takes place immediately after X-O Manowar #19.

2) The “life-debt” Harada owes Aric was made back in X-O Manowar #4 when Aric rescued him from Harbinger.

3) We learn that the X-O armor, while immensely powerful, isn’t able to lift two-hundred tons of ice and rock, forcing Aric to use the armor’s ion cannons to get free.

WTF? Moment: Ion Cannons? Whatever happened to “fire-light”?

Marvel Studios + Sony + Fox = Happiness...

One of my lingering curiosities regarding Marvel Studios, now that they’ve proven to Hollywood what dorks like me have known for over twenty years, is how Sony and Fox might react to the success of The Avengers..

Here’s how I think it would play out:

1) The Amazing Spider-Man will come out later this summer – and while not being nearly as successful as The Avengers will still be a profitable hit – but after paying back what they spent making the film, what they spent promoting the film and what they owe Marvel for use of their product, Sony will look at their revenue and realize that they’ve got less than Paramount and of course Disney.

2) Wanting more money, Sony will approach Marvel Studios and propose a deal…$100 million (or some other outrageous amount) to give Spider-Man back free-and-clear, or $25 million (or some other significantly smaller amount) for Spider-Man but with a percentage of future movie profits.

Only in Hollywood…

3) Marvel Studios would want to take the $25 million deal, but Disney would step in and choose the $100 million option.

4) Seeing this – Fox would get into the action and offer a similar deal for Fantastic Four. But knowing that the FF aren’t enough to seal the deal, Fox would also throw in Elektra and Daredevil (unless they’ve already been sold back, I honestly don’t know) and various elements of X-Men to “sweeten the pot”. Fox would be stupid to let Wolverine, Xavier, Emma Frost, Magneto and Deadpool go, but possibly The New Mutants, maybe Cable and the Shi’ar.

5) Disney would again step in, and with Fox hammer something out eventually.

Not sure how it would work, but anything that brings more characters back into Marvel Studios’ hands is a win because…

In Marvel Studios I Trust

X-O Manowar Part 35: X-O Manowar #19 (August, 1993)

Aric’s in Antarctica and faces an ultimatum by government agent Peter Garrett.

I have this issue.

Aric agrees to Garrett’s demand and gives up the X-O armor. He’s then taken prisoner, along with Orb Industries Security Chief Randy Carter, and is brought to the Amundsen-Scott Station located under a giant crater near the South Pole. Aric learns that the station’s primary goal is to study the explosion that causes the crater two years earlier, and after being led through a brief tour of the facilities, he and Randy are put in a cell awaiting the arrival of Colonel Gardner.

While they wait, Randy explains that Garrett is not to be trusted, and Aric tells her more about the Good-Skin and its control ring – which Aric still wears. After downloading all files related to the station Aric calls the Good-Skin to him, freeing them from their cell in the process.

Aric makes short work of Garrett’s troops and destroys most of the station before Garrett buries him under an avalanche.

Notes of Interest:

1) This issue takes place immediately after X-O Manowar #18.

2) Aric learns that Randy was…and may still be…an agent of the Canadian Secret Service.

3) It is clear that Aric cares for the Good-Skin, showing concern for its/her well-being.

4) We’re also reminded of how Aric responds to failing to honor one’s agreement with him.

WTF? Moment: Again with Aric and the cold. This isn’t the first (or second, or third) time Aric’s been in a cold environment with little or nothing to wear. Here, he at least has the wherewithal to grab a coat from one of Garrett’s fallen soldiers.Of course, he’s still pants-less and walking around barefoot in the snow…in Antarctica! Damn!

Avengers...Cast from the Past

I've been waiting a loooong time for any Avengers-type movie to come out, and being the dork I am, I had in my head what I considered at the time to be the perfect cast.

So using the characters that wound up in the film, I've gone through and made some revisions...

1) Captain America



I'll admit it...Chris Evans is Cap. But fifteen years ago, I had another guy in mind - Brendan Fraser



This was around the time when The Mummy came out, and whenever I read The Adventures of Captain America, I could see Brendan playing the part. He had the seriousness, the awkwardness and acting chops to carry the role.

2) Hawkeye



This is probably the biggest call to come from out of nowhere.

Jeremy Renner did a decent job, and granted - there wasn't as much of the character than the others, but Clint always struck me as a brash punk. To paraphrase Die Hard 2, "he's an a$$hole...but he's our kind of a$$hole." And charming as all hell, with a carny attitude that would cheat when he had to (and he has). So I always pictured Ben Browder.



Yeah, he was in Stargate-SG1, but I remember him from Farscpae. To be honest, I can see Browder in The Avengers as it stands. Again, not to take anything away from Renner's talent, but he was simply miscast. However, if Browder was interested in joining the MMU, he could play someone against Renner's Hawkeye...someone to but heads with...Hmmm...



3) Iron Man



Fifteen years ago, if you told me that RDJ would even have a chance of playing Tony Stark, I'd tell you you were out of your mind.

While Sean Connery was the second choice to play Bomd (Patrick McGoohan turned it down) there's no question - he owned that role. He defined it. And even though other actors have played Bond since (just as others will play Stark down the line, let's be honest) Connery will forever be linked to the character.

The same is true for Robert Downey Jr.



I recently heard that Marvel Studios is giving him $50 million to continue playing Stark. That may be true, it may be rumor, but RDJ deserves every penny. Not only did he define the character, he helped start the MMU.

Fifteen years ago, the only way it might have worked is if Marvel went with an unknown, the way Christopher Reeve was discovered for Superman.

But RDJ is Tony Stark. He is Iron Man. We're done here. Let's move on...

4) Hulk



Bill Bixby left us far too early, and while he would have been too old for Banner fifteen years ago, he left his imprint on the character - the way Lynda Carter did with Wonder Woman.

So who could have taken his own spin on it? Another of RDJ's group of actors...Anthony Michael Hall.



It was The Dead Zone that convinced me. Now - Dead Zone didn't come out until 2002, but I never would have thought this guy could do what he did with a character once played by Christopher Walken.

I also saw him play Bill Gates in Pirates of Silicon Valley, and while that role touched on the nerdy characters he's played in his youth, he showed a level of maturity that comes with age.

His portrayal of Bruce Banner would have been cool. Sort of a blend of Norton and Ruffalo.

5) Thor



Both Thor and Kingpin are very tricky characters to cast. You need the size necessary to convincingly play the part, but also the talent behind (or underneath) the size to successfully portray the character...



Dolph Lundgren.

Hear me out. His Frank Castle wasn't bad at all, and fifteen years ago would have been a good age for him to play Thor. He played He-Man for crying out loud...F**KING HE-MAN!!!


6) Black Widow



Women have a heck of a time getting good roles in Hollywood to begin with. Action roles even more so. Comic-book action roles are almost non-existent, especially serious ones.

In 1997, Batman & Robin came out. At the time, it was the movie to see...until people started seeing it. Uma Thurman and Alicia Silverstone had a chance to show what women can do in this genre, but Joel Schumacher went the campy route instead and we all suffered.

Kill Bill wouldn't come out for another six years, but I'd like to think that if Marvel Studios was around, Uma would have turned down Poison Ivy...and made a fantastic Black Widow.



This movie wouldn't have been be the powerhouse The Avengers is, but it sure would have been something to see...

In Marvel Studios I Trust

So...um...an actress has expressed interest in playing She-Hulk

Not too long ago, I discussed who could show up in a future Marvel Studios Production, and an actress has admitted in an interview that after seeing Avengers, she really, really wants to play Jennifer Walters...

...Angie Harmon



So much so that she posted a photo of herself acting as She-Hulk (which a follower of hers photoshopped even further) -




I'm, not sure what's more exciting...

1) ...the fact that an actress is actually interested in playing a Marvel Super-Hero...
2) ...the lengths she has gone to show her level of interest...
or 3) ...the fact that this could actually happen.

I'm just happy that while all the other studios scrambe to get more comic-book themes projects made, Marvel Studios now has talented people beginning to approach them.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

X-O Manowar Part 34: X-O Manowar #18 (July, 1993)

After defeating organized crime, Aric faces a new opponent…politics.

I have this issue.

Aric is driving home one night when he’s pulled over by the local police. A man identifying himself as Peter Garrett arrives on the scene and tells the officer to watch the car while he takes Aric to meet Senator William Ackerman. Aric arrives at the Ackerman residence and meets the senator along with Helen Mandrake of the Internal Revenue Service.

Ackerman informs him that the U.S. Government knows that Aric possesses the X-O armor and wants to learn more about both the armor and the alien race that created it. Mandrake tells him they know about (some of) the circumstances behind Aric’s takeover of Orb Industries and threatens to throw him in jail.

Aric, naturally, tells them to go to hell.

A few days later, Aric finds Garrett at Orb Industries talking to his Security Chief Randy Carter…and literally throws him out. That night, Aric gets a phone call from Garrett saying that he’s taken Carter prisoner. He wants Aric to meet him in Antarctica and turn over the X-O armor for her.

Aric arrives at the South Pole and is bombarded by military ordinance. He fights back, but stops when he sees Garrett pointing a gun at Carter’s head. He offers Aric a choice – go with them now, or Carter dies.

Notes of Interest:

1) Apparently, Aric is a strong supporter of the American Lung Association.

2) Aric finally reveals the X-O armor to his Chief of Security.

WTF? Moment: I gotta say – I love the way Aric handles Mandrake. You can just tell how much she bugs him and he responds in kind. My only gripe is that Ackerman is also smoking…albeit a pipe, not a cigarette. Why doesn’t Aric do the same to him? Maybe it’s because of how they’re positioned in the room, but one look from Aric – resulting in the Senator putting his pipe out – would have been even funnier.

X-O Manowar Part 33: X-O Manowar #17 (June, 1993)

Aric has a run-in with the mob.

I have this issue.

Continuing the (rather bad) story from X-O Manowar #16, Aric finishes off destroying the remaining alien tech he faced last issue. He then heads home to find Ken hosting a fundraiser in an effort to get a seat in the Senate. After throwing everybody out and making it clear to Ken that they are not friends, Aric laments over being alone in the world with the exception of Turok - his only true friend.

The next evening, Aric learns that Ken was almost killed in an explosion. This being the latest threat from the Carboni family against Orb Industies’ plans to develop some land that the Caboni’s have a “special interest” in. Aric responds by meeting members of the Carboni family – alone and without the X-O armor. They boat Aric out into the middle of the Atlantic, knock him unconscious, tie chains around his legs and toss him into the water. Drowning, Aric calls for the Good-Skin. It arrives in time, and Aric destroys the boat and kills all but one of the gangsters. He gives the survivor a message to convey: “Leave Orb Industries alone”.

The following day, Aric gets a package from the Carboni family apologizing for the “misunderstanding”.

Notes of Interest:

1) Nothing major, but it’s clear that Aric is questioning his place in this time and wonders if Turok had the right idea when he went off to “roam the Earth”.

WTF? Moment: From what we’ve seen, Aric’s been a fighter, a leader, a strategist and a ruler. But there’s nothing that showed him as an artist – specifically a sculptor. So how is it that he has three different statues of Turok on his table?

It’s possible that with all his money, Aric paid someone to make those things, but to do that he’d have had to provide the artist with images to base the work on…or at least descriptive notes written from memory. It’s also possible that Aric did the work himself, with the X-O’s help.

But why would he have them at all?

Some would call that a sign of obsession…

X-O Manowar Part 32: X-O Manowar #16 (May, 1993)

Aric faces his biggest threat yet – bad writing.

I have this issue.

After settling a workers’ strike at one of Orb Industries oil rigs, Aric learns that two employees have gone missing at one of Orb’s subsidiaries. The local police can’t get involved because the company was originally run by Spider-Aliens. Ken is allowed to investigate, and is taken prisoner.

Thanks to Ken’s X-O arm, the Good-Skin informs Aric of Ken’s situation and comes to the rescue, but the kidnappers fight back…using alien weapons.

Aric discovers that the CEO of the subsidiary has been selling the alien tech that was discovered there to a criminal cartel, and that the final meeting was about to take place. Aric intervenes, and destroys the alien weapons.

Notes of Interest:

1) The only significant thing we learn here is that the X-O Armor can be hurt by a sustained burst fired simultaneously from several of the alien weapons.

WTF? Moment: This is, hands down, the worst issue of X-O Manowar to date. Obviously a “done-in-one” filler issue (not written by Layton by the way), the artwork by Jose Delbo makes Aric look like he came out of the 1970’s. Maybe that’s Delbo’s style, but it doesn’t work here. Especially after two issues of Bart Sears’ version.

WTF? Moment #2: Another example of how badly written this issue is: Aric settles the worker’s strike “barbarian-style” off-panel. This is dramatically different from how he settled the dispute way back in X-O Manowar #5. Now, an argument can be made about how Aric thinks more like a warrior and less like a king since the events of Unity, but even then I would have rather seen the event than read about it.

X-O Manowar Part 31: X-O Manowar #15 (April, 1993)

Aric makes a friend for life.

I have this issue.

Aric brings Turok to New York, and they learn that bionisauruses have made their way into the city. Aric dons the X-O, and with the dinosaur hunter track the beasts into the sewers where they rescue a human prisoner. After taking care of the remaining reptiles, they find a nest, which Aric destroys.

Later, Aric learns of Turok’s plan to travel the country in search of his people. Aric respects his decision but is disappointed to see his new friend go, so before Turok leaves he and Aric become blood brothers.

Notes of Interest:

1) Aric considers Turok a friend, even though the dinosaur hunter calls him “Lord Aric”.

2) Turok is a better hunter than Aric when he’s not wearing the X-O armor.

WTF? Moment: I like that writer Bob Layton gave Aric a kindred spirit to relate to. We’ve seen Aric as a confident, adaptable person, but it’s good for him to have someone to rely on besides the Good-Skin.

WTF? Moment #2: One of the sub-plots of this story is that Aric sent the X-O to Ken before he left Columbia with Turok, meaning that Aric is without the Good-Skin at the beginning of the hunt. Aric had to “aquire” passports for both of them before they could enter the States, and not only that, they arrive on a commercial airline. Why didn’t Aric just wear the armor and carry Turok across the border? Was it Turok’s fear of “not being on solid ground”? Why didn’t Aric, who has a TON of money, buy a private plane or use the Orb Industries jet to get them home? They’d still need passports, but there’d be a lot less hassle.

WTF? Moment #3: Bart Sears’ art hasn’t improved here, and some of the blame has to go to inker Randy Elliot. More chunky clunky-ness with both Aric and the armor.

Mother's Day...Avengers Style

I thought it would bee kinda cool to dig into the Avengers roster a bit and look at those who have joined the ranks of Motherhood over the years.

Because let's face it - May is Avengers Month.

Note that this list isn't meant to be all-inclusive and there's no ranking of any kind, so there should be no hard feelings about anyone I've missed or forgotten.

1) Susan Storm

For those of you born after 1990, both Sue and Reed joined the Avengers in Avengers #299 (Jan, 1989) during the Inferno storyline that ran throughout the Marvel Universe. Children were disappearing, and a being named the Orphan-Maker was after another one...Franklin Richards. Sue's "Mommy-ness" kicked into high gear and fought the villain off along with Reed, Thor, Steve Rogers and Gilgamesh. She became an official member by issue's end.

2) Julia Carpenter

Julia is a single mother who wound up getting involved in the Beyonder's Secret War when her Denver suburb became part of Battleworld. She started appearing in Avengers West Coast starting in issue #70, but became a full member of the team in #74 (Sept, 1991).

3) Jessica Jones

I admit, Jessica Jones was introduced long after I stopped reading so I don't know much about her, but I can tell you that she joined the New Avengers in New Avengers #27 (April, 2007), is married to Luke Cage, and they have a daughter - Danielle.

4) Crystal

A member of the Royal Family of Inhumans, Crystal was also a member of the Fantastic Four for a while. She's had a very rocky relationship with her husband Quicksilver but together they had a daughter named Luna. During one of low points of her marriage, Crystal moved into Avengers Mansion with her daughter and joined the team in Avengers #343 (Jan, 1992).

5) Mantis

Okay - sit back for this one. Mantis was a human who was given to a religious group of the Kree race to be raised as the Celestial Madonna who was destined to give birth to the Celestial Messiah. After she finished her alien training, she was returned to Earth to gain "life experience", and it was then that she joined the team in Avengers #114 (August, 1973). She eventually did give birth to a boy named...Sequoia.

6) Wanda Maximoff

When I was reading Avengers and Avengers West Coast back in the day, she was simply a mutant happily married to an android with twin sons Thomas and William. I'd like to think that after all the S#!T that's happened to her since, she's still a mutant...married to an android...with twin sons.

AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN SAY THAT WILL CHANGE THAT...EVER!!!

7) Carol Danvers

Marvel really messed up, because this is a fantastic character both before and since that storyline.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me that she shows up in Avengers 2 or 3 to face Thanos...ARE YOU LISTENING WHEDON?

8) Lionheart

I know nothing about this character except that Kelsey Leigh is a British single mother of two, and at one point became the next Captain Britain.

9) Madeline Joyce

Who's that you ask? She was a member of the Invaders, the Liberty Legion and the All-Winner's Squad during WWII under the name Miss America. She married fellow teammate The Whizzer and they had a son - future Avengers villain Nuklo. She became an honorary Avenger post-humously.

Happy Mother's Day!