Supergirl getting her own show?

Arrow, The Flash, Constantine, Gotham, iZombie

All new upcoming shows, minus Arrow, that will center around popular DC characters. Deanpool has told me before that Green Arrow was a perfect character to be adapted into a TV series because of his similarities to Bruce Wayne/Batman. He relies on his own skill set to take down his enemies; his drive to being a protector of his city stems from a tragedy of someone close to him; family wealth gives him almost unlimited resources; Starling city forced respond to this new vigilante and his methods of taking down bad guys that are too much for just the police to handle. And the show has done a fantastic job hitting all those notes while building a supporting cast around Oliver Queen and his heroic "vigil-antics"(Deanpool made me use that word). Of course, there's one too many love interests when viewers already know who Oliver's "soulmate" will end up being but that's just apart of CW's formula to make a TV show popular. The one other thing that has worked in Arrow's favor is the inclusion of a flurry of B-list characters from the DC universe. While many may not know of the rivalry that Deathstroke and Green Arrow actually had in comic history, other characters like Black Canary, Deadshot, Amanda Waller, Huntress, and more expanded this TV universe that Arrow has slowly built. You would expect a Count Vertigo, Speedy/Arsenal/Red Arrow, and other Green Arrow characters. But then there was Barry Allen, who is getting his own spin-off in The Flash! You know Deanpool is quite excited for that one. That show in itself will likely present its share of DC character cameos and regulars.

Deanpool believes that The Flash will have its own lighter tone compared to Arrow, but will still have mysteries of its own that Barry Allen will be looking to uncover. Mainly, the mystery of who killed his mother to prove his father's innocence (something already alluded to in Arrow).

Constantine will be played on NBC. First off, let's give props to the casting team. The closer this show stays to CW's Supernatural, the better this show will be. It's about dark magic, mystic arts, kicking demon's butts with that smug, I-don't-give-a-f*** look. It is a side of DC that often gets overlooked. A lot of the "Justice League Dark" characters came from Vertigo titles, but their shift onto the DC brand didn't lead to long-lasting runs for many of these characters. But cameos of characters like Dr. Fate, Madame Xanadu, Zatanna (Deanpool is hoping for this one the most), Swamp Thing, Phantom Stranger, or Etrigan will really pull viewers in and get them excited for the show. DC can also use this to gauge how they should approach the long talked about Justice League Dark movie supposedly to be directed by Guillermo del Toro.

Gotham... c'mon now. Gotham = Batman = everyone loves Batman. Of course, there won't be a Batman in this show. But the Batman mythos is so well-known, that a TV series that will show many of the Batman character's origin stories is just as gripping and interesting. Centering the series around a young Jim Gordon will give the series a very "Detective Comic" style. However, Deanpool believes this may also be the biggest downfall of the series. There's plenty of detective mystery series in television already. Fox needs to take advantage of the comic background it has in order for this series to go past two seasons, especially on a network that is constantly looking for its next big television show. Gotham has the potential to be it. It has a blank slate to work with to creatively tie in how these various villains and characters turn into the popular characters we know them as in movies and comics. Plus, we're in a period of time where movies and writers are looking for different ways to portray popular villains or to creative ways to show a different side of the same story. Examples: Malificent; Oz the Great and Powerful; Pan (to come out in 2015 centered around Peter Pan and Captain Hook). It is a fad right now, why not do it with the universe of one of DC's most popular characters.

Which finally brings us to our main point of this blog, and finally tie in with the title.

Now there are rumors about a Supergirl series coming to television, and this is Deanpool's quick reaction to the news. Rumors say it's coming to the CW network too, joining The Flash and Arrow. Maybe her cameo will come in The Flash? Deanpool thinks they should do it through Arrow. Seems only right that its first successful show be the prism that branches out into two other TV shows. It would also reaffirm that all three would be apart of the same cinematic universe, giving possibility to one day having a major crossover event where all three shows can have related episodes. It's something to consider if one ever starts to plummet in ratings, just a little trick that seems to work in comic publications. But we're sure Geoff Johns already has that one up his sleeve. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves, the idea of a Supergirl show is a genius move on DC/WB and CW's part. They have shown success with the superhero shows and only stand to gain something by coming out with a third one that will have a female lead. There are only so many female heroines in the DC universe that can hold their own in a TV series. Deanpool's short list of female leads would be: Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Catwoman, Batgirl,  Zatanna, Black Canary, Wonder Girl, Harley Quinn.

Let's start crossing names off his list. Wonder Woman is apart of DC's trinity and can easily be considered an A-list character. She's also on her way to getting her own solo movie after her upcoming appearance in Batman vs. Superman. As cool as it would be to see the Amazonian princess deal with an island of Amazons and other godly foes, we'd rather see it on the big screen rather than week to week on TV. So how about Wonder Girl? Many of Wonder Girl's best stories came from her time on the Teen Titans. She didn't exactly deal with the same issues as Wonder Woman so it's not easy to assume that you can just adjust a Wonder Woman TV series to Wonder Girl. But this leads Deanpool to another idea... let's get a live-action Teen Titans show!

Catwoman would be plausible if she wasn't already going to be featured in Gotham. Batgirl would be an interesting show... but may not offer anything different than the already upcoming Gotham show. Any story that can be told with Zatanna is probably going to be in Constnatine. Black Canary has already been shown in Arrow. And to be honest, those three characters would be better off being supporting characters in those respective shows. Now Harley Quinn, as entertaining of a show as that would be, Deanpool doesn't think TV is ready for "that kind of hero" just yet. More antihero actually. It would probably be best to be a spin-off if she ever gets her cameo in Arrow. But even then, not sure if she can maintain a show for more than a couple seasons.

All that leaves Supergirl. In the same way that a Batgirl show sounded intriguing, Supergirl is perhaps an even better idea. Batman and Superman both respectively have two of DC's best supporting casts. In Gotham City we have Jim Gordon, multiple Robin's, Batgirl, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, and seemingly endless villains. In Metropolis, we have Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Perry White, Supergirl, Superboy, Steel, Lex Luthor, and much more. It's only right that the Superman/Metropolis universe get its own show as well. Other than the successful Smallville. A
Supergirl show meets a lot of criteria that CW needs to round out its superhero universe. A female lead with a rich background that has its own unique sense of cameo possibilities. We'll want to see a Superboy, a Lex Luthor, Jonathan and Martha Kent, heck even a Clark Kent would get us buzzing. As long as it stays very Smallville-esque, a Supergirl show will have the ability to hold its own with Arrow and The Flash. Seeing Kara as a young adult trying to balance her life and struggling to control her powers. Maybe even have her living under Superman's shadow. Hey can we get a Krypto in the show too? But as long as she's spunky, kicks ass, cute (but since it's CW this will probably be a requirement), and has that headstrong attitude, she'll be alright with Deanpool.

It's hard to say if CW can duplicate its success from Arrow into other shows without creating a stale formula that threads through them all. A Flash and Supergirl show would surely suffer if this is the case. Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl are three very unique characters in their own way and have potential to all coexist in the same DC/CW universe. It'll come down to the choices in storyline, casting, supporting characters, villains, etc. How they creatively adapt Supergirl's origins (multiple retconned origins for that matter) for TV will be a quick deciding factor for most fans. Who will they use as an arch-villain? Maybe a Brainiac or Bizarro? Zodd or H'el? Deanpool highly doubts CW puts things on a cosmic level with a villain like a Darkseid... we'd rather see him take on a whole Justice League anyways. Metallo, Parasite, Cyborg Superman basically any B-list Superman villain that can be easily portrayed would work.

What do you think of the upcoming DC shows and/or the possibility of Supergirl coming to TV?

Guess who's back!

Okay okay sorry for the long, 6-monthish hiatus. I've been busy. Deanpool has been busy. BUT after readjusting to new schedules we're going to try to be updating this regularly again. Might not be as much content as before but let's just see how things go.

So if you still follow/read, be sure to check back regularly once again!

Moon Knight #1, Magneto #1, Wolverine and the X-Men #1

Moon Knight #1
Deanpool was pretty excited about this Marvel Now debut. Moon Knight isn't one of the most exciting Marvel characters based off first impression, but he has his own appeal.

The intro starts off with a lot of dialogue about Moon Knight. Things like rumors and legends, a lot of hearsay of other people recounting stories of the Moon Knight. One theory was that Moon Knight had Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) previously known as multiple personality disorder. Some talk about his origin with the Egyptian god, Khonshu.

When we finally see Moon Knight arriving at the crime scene, we see a completely different, redone Moon Knight. No more cape and hood type thing, which means he gave up the whole ghostly look he had going on in earlier, more popular versions of Moon Knight. Instead we see him in an all white suit (like "suit and tie" type of suit) with a mask covering his whole face and the crescent moon symbol between the eyes. The whole comic sets their noir, detective tone right from the start. The artwork is very gritty and dark, showing a very distinct contrast to Moon Knight's all white appearance. The storytelling even has a very detective-like feel to it. Murder scene, mysterious killer, Moon Knight carefully deducing clues that no one else can catch. Lots of similarities to DC's Detective Comics, only Batman has a much bigger fan base and more interesting foes. Nonetheless, we dive into this murder mystery. Someone is going around slashing people, literally taking chunks and pieces of innocent people and leaving the rest. Moon Knight tracks down the killer into the sewers and discovers it's an ex-SHIELD agent who was injured in action. The agent cured himself using illegal supplies that doctors wouldn't sue on him and as a result, it turned him into a hideous looking monster. The agent would track down fit people, kill them and essentially take pieces of them and paste them into his own body using exotic medical machinery.

Much like the ancient Egyptian god, Khonshu, Moon Knight stands up for the overnight travelers. He accuses the SHIELD agent of harming innocent overnight travelers. In a fast sequence of events of what originally appeared like simple dialogue between the two characters, Moon Knight reveals that during the conversation he took out one of the agent's machines (that he was pretty dependent on) without him noticing with his moon-shaped disc. It's very similar again to Batman and his Batarangs. Moon Knight even uses them to deflect the agent's bullets. Soon after, Moon Knight finished the fight with ease. Not a bad first issue if you can make yourself look as badass as Batman, and do it in an all-white suit.

The issue then flashes back to before the events of the issue. It appears to be some sort of retreat where Moon Knight's alter ego is trying to get help for his DID. One of the therapists there reveals that Khonshu had four aspects: pathfinder, embracer, defender, and watcher of overnight travelers. And even a vengeful secret aspect, "the one who lives on hearts." This doctor/therapist/whoever then tells him that Khonshu has chosen him to bring vengeance to those who would harm travelers by night and that his brain cycles through the four aspects, struggling to define them. This is meant to explain the different identities. It's his brain trying to find a way to define the different aspects of Khonshu by taking on multiple personalities. Yup it pretty much ends here, in what was a very confusing ending. The doctor lady looked creepy, can't tell if it's in the man's head or actually happening. All we know is that eventually he goes to New York, where this issue starts the readers off.

This is a much grittier Moon Knight, and came out on his first issue more badass than ever. Deanpool likes the storytelling and is very interested in learning more about this version of the character. Maybe a hero spotlight soon? 8.5/10 DIDs.

Magneto #1
Deanpool loves stories/series where bad guys don't believe they are bad guys, especially when it's done right. DC's New 52 Green Lantern Vol. 1 where Sinestro was a Green Lantern again; DC's Forever Evil event; the new Loki: Agent of Asgard ongoing series. Okay those are the only two examples Deanpool can come up with at the moment, but he's hopeful that this series can be added to this list!

We start off with usual Magneto mythos. We hear from a witness that he took the metal fillings from a person's mouth and then impaled him with a street pole in the middle of the street. In a motel room, Magneto has a little monologue about the different names he's went by: Max, Erik, Magnus, Magneto. He ends it claiming all his actions are in the name of mutants, in which it goes to a flashback of him actually doing those actions claimed in the beginning. Yes, he impaled the man. He was a doctor who contributed to anti-mutant organizations. Those first couple pages set the tone for this series' direction. Magneto is going on a one-man mission to defend and protect mutants, and he will not hold back from killing. The creative team is sticking to Magento's strengths while still giving us a character we can root for. Punisher doesn't work much differently if you think about it. Also, it takes a while seeing Magneto look almost like a comic version of Jason Statham without the helmet in this series. Bald head, looks like he has a pretty imposing figure, and is typically dressed in all black. Guess he went with the Prof. Xavier look.


Anyways, as the issue goes on, it follows his actions in this motel room. He mentions that he's been hiding out in there, paying off maids to keep quiet about his presence, that kind of stuff. He also brings up how he's rarely recognized without his iconic helmet. In his motel room, Magneto has a set up of newspaper clippings and a map all connecting to deaths of mutants. He admits his resources are limited, but still manages to stay one step ahead of groups like SHIELD. Again, it's quite clear Magneto is on a vengeance for innocent mutants. He figures out his next killer, someone who murdered three mutants. But unexpectedly, the killer turned himself over to the authorities, complicating Magneto's mission a little.

When he enters the police station, the artist shows the metal items around him as Magneto identifies them. Again, Magneto's monologue talks about the different personas he has taken up: terrorist, savior, hero, villain. But instead of being stealthy, he uses his powers in the middle of the station, using all the metal in the room to form a new iconic Magneto helmet for himself. When he apporaches the killer in his cell for murdering those mutants, the man actually turns out to be a hybrid version of the Omega Sentinels! Cybernetics fused with human muscle and one, developed with a single purpose: hunt and destory. To kill mutants. Magneto deals with this surprise by ripping the metal from the man's flesh. Magneto notes that someone must have turned him into that machine, making him as much a victim as the mutants he killed. As the boy dies, he mutters a few words, "I'm not a killer... I couldn't stop myself... it was like i was on autopilot."

Magneto isn't a cold-blooded killer. He kills with a purpose. And with the way this issue ended, it brings Magneto out of his usual role of seeking vengeance for mutants. While it could be argued that Magneto may be motivated to find who turned that boy into a mutant-killing machine in order to protect mutants, it looked more like Magneto felt he made a mistake. All of his preparation and research, and his record for not falling for false information to draw him out, all failed. Bunn seems to have a good handle of how to write for Magneto and art gives off a gritty, dark tone to the series. Magneto and his creative team mean business and this issue hits all the right Magneto notes while still giving a slightly different take on a popular Marvel villain. It's interesting to see Magneto take his own path, apart from the X-Men or the Brotherhood (and it spins out of the events in Uncanny X-Men #16). Deanpool is hopeful for the series and will definitely pick up the next couple issues to see if it can keep up the solid work. 8.5/10 metal objects.

Wolverine and the X-Men #1
Okay, Deanpool doesn't want to be too harsh, but this issue did not stick with him at all. So warning everyone now, this review may feel very detached and make the comic seem boring... but the more appropriate way of phrasing it is "it wasn't Deanpool's cup of tea."

This one issue is all over the place and though it is a number one issue, it must be continuing off a previous ongoing series. Thanks to the prologue we know that Wolverine losing his healing factor is still in continuity. There's a new kid, Quentine Quire, who is destined to wield a mysteriously renewed Phoenix Force. All of this sounds interesting enough AND the artwork from the beginning looks amazing! But the rest just doesn't follow through as equally interesting.

The issue mainly follows different kids at the Jean Grey School. There's a new girl who joins with the ability to control and bond with animals. And gets dubbed Nature Girl. Yes, it's pretty lame. But this scene seemed more like one of those that are like a parody to the fact that there are so many different X-Men and different names. Elsewhere Wolverine is in some inter-dimensional prison and looking as badass ever with a new eyepatch. This looks more like a Wolverine we want to see who has lost his healing factor. Not changing anything about himself despite the loss of his power, still as scrappy as ever. Storm is the headmaster of the school, hopeful that kids ultimately get the guidance they need. Beast is off in space with a small group of his students. Doop is working in the cafeteria. Only noting it since Doop will be getting his own mini-series next month. Deanpool never even heard of the guy before this month.

The story continues to jump around to different scenes for different characters throughout the school. It feels similar to an after school, high school show: cafeteria scene, physical education scene, students wearing uniforms, students gossiping about recent news. A young mutant named Rockslide is seen trying to kill bamfs, no not Bad ass mofos, but more like mini-Nightcrawlers. Meaning they can teleport as well. Quentin is blamed for the little skirmish since he has the new responsibility of running the school. Not that he wants to anyways, he doesn't feel he should be running the school, but the X-Men have trusted him with this responsibility. Via context clues, we learn that Quentin has a run-in with some future X-Men where he must've learned something about his future connection with the Phoenix. Still, he seems pretty hard-headed about his new responsibilities. It's clear he is scared of becoming the Phoenix, something even the younger Jean Grey is going through in the All-New X-Men series. But the biggest thing bothering Quentin is that he feels he can no longer choose his own destiny.

Back with Wolverine, he finds Fantomex in the prison. Wonder if Fantomex will become a regular for this series, since he's already a member in the new X-Force comic. Deanpool forgot Fantomex is another mutant with a healing factor. After all the fighting, Wolverine reveals he is trying to recruit Fantomex to help out at the school and to help give him some sort of purpose. Fantomex believes he belongs in the inter-dimensional prison with everyone else in there.

The whole issue ends with each of the different settings see a Phoenix insignia popping up on all TVs, computers, and phone screens.

It may be harsh, but Deanpool just didn’t connect with the issue. Not too many old-school characters. Out of the new ones, none really seem relatable. It's hard to tell too much where this series will be headed or who the real voice of the series really is. There's some tease to the beginning of the issue in what looked like a "flash forward" that Wolverine may die. That rumor has been floating around now, so maybe it will happen in this ongoing series. The book definitely has potential for some interesting storylines, but doesn’t seem like "must read" material in the endless X titles. But the art is top notch talent. Can't take anything away from that aspect of it. Maybe for big X-Men fans looking for a fresh set of X characters or for younger readers who can relate to the school-type environment. But for Deanpool 5.5/10 bamfs.

Not a bad set of debuts for the first week of March for Marvel NOW. Minus the Wolverine and the X-Men one. Moon Knight and Magneto look like some promising series that are showing a newer version and telling of Marvel characters that have been around for a while. Don't forget to check out the Weekly Pick-Ups from the same week as these debuts. Thanks for reading!

One of the best variants ever.

Weekly Pick-Ups 3/05/14

Another week, another weekly pick-ups. Sorry for the lag, been really busy and haven't been able to keep up with all of M. Deanpool's readings. So apologies for being two weeks behind but we'll try to get caught up ASAP! But some juicy stuff this week so let's get to reviewing!

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

Night of the Living Deadpool #4
Part 4 of 4, so yes the last issue of this surprisingly interesting mini-series. Not that Deadpool is ever a boring story, but the fact that the story turned into a series that isn't just Deadpool slaying zombies left and right was actually a shock. So now we're following up from the last issue when Deadpool went all zombied out and completely destroyed the town that took him in. Until his healing factor finally kicked in and rejected the zombie virus.

As he walks through the town he destroyed, he finds Clarence (the ex-AIM agent/scientist), who also inevitably became a zombie. Deadpool decapitates the Clarence zombie, taking his head along with him hoping it'll guide him to the AIM facility that was the source of the virus. Cue many terrible, yet funny decapitation jokes. Deadpool admits that he's not entirely sure if Clarence's zombie head is actually giving him directions or if it's all in his imagination, but he still stumbles upon the research institute anyways. In the institute, there's one particular funny moment where Deadpool finds a flashlight but doesn't want to have both hands occupied with a flashlight and Clarence's head. So he makes a makeshift lantern using Clarence's mouth to hold the flashlight. Classic Deadpool.

He eventually finds a laboratory where he sees many different super-healing formulas, much like the ones he has. There's even a greenish-yellow color to it, very distinct from the black and gray palette. Foreshadowing? Or just for effect? In various tubes and tanks, there are also clones of Deadpool, likely from AIM's experiments trying to duplicate Deadpool's healing factor. Soon enough, the entire laboratory is surrounded by zombies. And with no way out, Wade drinks on of the healing formulas out of desperation. He goes into a flashback/monologue about how he meant to set out for a cure but that didn't work out as planned, so his plan B was hoping that the serum overdose would help him become a zombie killing machine. Instead, he let the zombies eat him alive. Similar to what happened in the previous issue, the infected bites mess with Wade's healing factor, but with the extra serum he drank, he still manages to stay alive.

Then the unexpected happens. A twist that Deanpool can't admit to have seen coming. The zombies that take bites out of Deadpool, start believing they are Deadpool. After they took a bite of him, their hunger for human flesh would disappear. In a more artistic sense, you can see these zombies start to develop more color, which by this point in the mini-series we've grown to relate with either Deadpool or the pre-apocalyptic world. Again the changes in color, or the presence of color actually, play a key role once again. The healing formulas were giving off a greenish color, a color extracted or at least related to Deadpool. Now, these zombies who start ingesting pieces of Deadpool, start changing back to a more colorful palette. Not exactly evidence that it's a cure per say... but they're not exactly just zombies anymore either.

Does it sound confusing? It is a little bit. But think of it like this, Deadpool's consciousness infected the zombies thus becoming an army of undead Deadpool's. They all share unified thoughts. They are essentially all zombie Deadpool's.

Interesting twist. One of the most interesting story-telling tools used is the creative use of color to equate with Deadpool and pre-zombie world. The background is still gray in the closing panels, evidence that the world is still very much filled with zombies, but one by one, this new Deadpool infection is spreading as the old zombies start biting into these Deadpool zombies. It's as if the healing factor mixed in with Deadpool's body as a matrix turned into another type of infection in a way. Although there was no sign of Deadpool physically at the ending panels, just his subconscious speaking through a bunch of walking zombies.

Deanpool isn't particularly fond of this ending, but hey it had to end someway or another. Whereas the second and third parts of the story brought int more of a sense of tragedy, this fourth one lacked that. Despite Deadpool's little sacrifice play. Overall, 7/10 un-Deadpool zombies. Hah good one Deanpool.

Forever Evil #6
Easily the most anticipated issue of this batch. Just by looking at the cover, it appears we'll finally learn what the big surprise is with Nightwing's fate. Again realizing this review will be coming out 2 weeks+ late, the spoiler has probably already been floating around the net. But here's our review anyways.

Starts off with Lex in a little monologue about how he would never picture himself working with Superman. And Batman would probably be the second person on that list. Lots of banter between the two, continuing the power struggle of it being Lex's team of supervillains and Batman wanting to take the reigns from Lex.

Elsewhere, the Crime Syndicate are worried that Power Ring's ring (who's dead now) is acting as a beacon that is signaling their "destructor." These are some powerful characters but even they seem worrried that their "destructor" is attempting to break through the multiverse, explaining the red lightning from the last installment as actually a tear in the multiverse.

Lex, Batman and the rest of the Injustice League are surprised that the Crime Syndicate aren't at the Watchtower (which they have used at their own base of operations). Sinestro uses his ring to analyze that two beings from Earth-3 are in the Watchtower, but size are elsewhere (observing the red lightning/tear). But they also note that Grid shouldn't have a heartbeat or frequency since he doesn't have a heart. As readers, we know one of them is Owlman's Alfred aka the Outsider. Who's the other? Some readers may remember the masked prisoner the Crime Syndicate keep in the Watchtower, but it's not clear if this mystery person is for sure the other heartbeat. Meanwhile, inside the Watchtower, Grid tells Outsider that he has left Nightwing unharmed, but placed in an inescapable device due to orders from Ultraman. It's contraption called the Murder Machine, made to imprison Doomsday.

The Injustice League make their move, seeing a prime opportunity to take out 3 as opposed to 9. Alfred and Grid become alerted to the breach, and the Outsider informs Owlman instantly. Owlman shows concern only for Richard Grayson aka Nightwing, but Outsider disobeys his master, believing that the priority should be making sure their masked prisoner doesn't get loose. Then out of the shadows Black Manta comes out and kills the Outsider. Another Earth-3 member down! Batman, Catwoman, Lex, and Bizarro find Nightwing detained. Then become trapped in the room, with no way out. Deathstroke, Sinestro, and Black Adam are seen wandering another part of the Watchtower. Sinestro's ring was picking up energy from Firestorm, but it was probably the Firestorm matrix that has the rest of the Justice League members imprisoned. Until they were ambushed by the Crime Syndicate, responding to the break in.

The next couple events happen so fast and jump between 3 settings. Batman learns that a bomb is strapped to Dick Grayson, which will only disarm if Dick's heart stops. Batman is determined to somehow get Dick free, refusing to abandon him and refusing to look for somewhere to escape to. Lex shoots Batman, realizing the only way to save his life and everyone else's, Dick must die.

Black Manta and Captain Cold unmask the prisoner after killing the Outsider. All that was revealed was a man's face and his red hair. Atomica and Johnny Quick meet up encounter them. Up to this point in Forever Evil, these two have arguably been the most violent, always looking out for a fight and taking out their foes with ease. And in this scene, Black Manta and Captain Cold really shine as characters. Manta's watertight suit even on the microscopic level protects him from Atomica getting into his skin, literally. Cold matches up against the Flash doppleganger, so we already know he's dealt with speedsters before. And Captain Cold gains the upper hand on him in such an awesomely nerdy way. He self-proclaims himself the man who mastered absolute zero, but Johnny Quick uses his speed to quickly take away Cold's gun, believing he's useless unarmed. Captain Cold activates a voice trigger by saying the phrase, "Jingle bells, Batman smells." The gun fires into Johnny's leg and Cold seizes the moment by kciking the frozen leg, basically shattering Quick's leg. Cold goes on to say that he and Flash have a mutual respect. It's a nice little detail by Geoff Johns to add in to really showcase another side of these villains other than them being nothing more than rivals to super-heroes. Really showing his understanding of these characters as more than just villains.

Best voice-activated pass-phrase ever.

Back in the Murder Machine room, Batman claims he'll kill Luthor if he harms Dick. But he has to deal with Bizarro first, using a secret weapon he'd normally use on Superman, a Kryptonite ring. The things really start to get interesting. Atomica is taken back at what happened to Johnny's leg. Can't be a speedster without a leg. But then she notices the red-headed prisoner's tape has been removed from his mouth. Making a big case about putting the tape back on his mouth and shutting him up. What harm can a word do right? Well then he mutters the word MAZAHS. In case you can't see it right away, it's SHAZAM backwards. A dark lightning strikes the prisoner, in typical Shazam fashion.

Simultaneously, we next see Dick's heart monitor flatlining. Batman makes good on his promise, begins pummeling Lex out of anger, calling him a murderer. However, Lex insists that everything is under control, calling Batman an idiot. After being struck by the lightning, the prisoner snaps Johnny Quick's, assuring his death (another Eath-3 member dead) and then takes his power. The last page of the issue reveals he is Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 (Fun Fact: first appearance in Crisis of Infinite Earths #1. It may go up in value if this character makes a bigger impact other than this semi-surprise appearance.), and is out to kill everyone. Oh and he's wearing an Earth-3 Shazam-like outfit. Deanpool isn't so much surprised that it's a Luthor, even read his old post here on Forever Evil #4. Just seemed natural the Luthor's would be the stars of an event titled "Forever Evil"

Wow... we knew a lot had to happen in the second to last installment of the 7-month long event. But the ending is looking to become an even more epic conclusion than originally anticipated. Is Nightwing really dead? How/when will the Justice League members break out of the Firestorm matrix? Where's Cyborg and the Metal Men? Isn't there supposed to be a Blue Beetle appearance soon? Who's the bigger enemy here: Alexander Luthor, who can likely take out the rest of the Earth-3 members or the Crime Syndicate, who have been the big, bad guys throughout this whole event? A lot has to be answered in the next action-packed chapter. Deanpool just hopes that it delivers well and doesn't jam-pack everything too much. 9/10 murder machines.

Detective Comics #29
The ending of a three-parter, when in all honesty, only the first part was interesting. The Gothopia element from the first part is essentially gone, even though it was evidenced in the last issue. But Deanpool checked it out anyways.

It's not clear from the beginning, but the issue actually starts off five hours into the future. Through flashbacks we see Poison Ivy and Batman being attacked by the Bat-characters under Scarecrow's spell: Catwoman, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, and Batwoman (and Deanpool thinks Batwing too). Batman puts up a fight against his friends, but ceases his attack when Scarecrow threatens to kill Catwoman. Typical bad guy move. Scarecrow gives Batman his new version of fear gas. Batman then gives a play by play analysis of what someone would experience when the toxins get into your skin, body, and mind. Even mentions that this gas is not Scarecrow's typical fear recipe. Those who read the previous issue (or Deanpool's review of Detective Comics #28) remember that Ivy kissed Batman, giving him immunity to Crane's fear gas.

Nevertheless, it appears that Batman is under Scarecrow's control and begins attacking Ivy. But we learn soon after that it's all a ruse. The antidote that Batman concocted with Poison Ivy makes him immune even to this new type of fear gas. Batman is simply acting like he's under Scarecrow's control, turning on Ivy was part of the plan to earn Scarecrow's trust.

Under "Scarecrow's command," Batman performs some of the fear experiments with Professory Pyg and Merry-Maker. Doesn't seem like Batman, even if it's to learn more about Scarecrow's operation, but it's interesting that he chooses which people to perform experiments on, leading Pyg and Merry-Maker. He acknowledges that he is worried that too much exposure may lead to permanent scarring. But this is all info we already know from earlier issues. Batman explains that the exposure to fear gas while under the prolonged effects of contentment toxin produces a specific change in brain chemistry, which produces a power fuel for further toxins. He learns that Scarecrow is planning on releasing these new toxins over the country and multiple states via blimps filled with the toxins.

Wouldn't that image drive you suicidal too?

The clever Dark Knight admits to the reader that the people he did the experiments on were criminals and lowlifes he’s been unable to put behind bars. Deanpool knew Batman wouldn’t hurt people. He also reveals that he slipped one of his antidote counteragents into one of the extractions that Merry-Maker handed over to Scarecrow. As the blimps begin exploding, Scarecrow believes it is releasing his fear toxins. But instead, it's an antidote reversing his toxin's effects.

Batman’s allies finally gain clarity and join him in his fight against the various villains. Batman himself takes down Scarecrow. We next see Scarecrow in a similar pose that Batman was in in an earlier issue. Batman reveals he gave Crane a taste of his own contentment serum where Scarecrow sees himself breaking free from Batman and killing him. He also says he gave Poison Ivy a pass for helping save Gotham.

Left image is from Detective Comics #28. Right is from #29.

Later Catwoman appraoches Batman about what happened. Batman knows it isn’t easy, but he tells Catwoman that the contentment serum made him only see a safe Gotham and that’s all he wanted. Not a partnership or relationship with Catwoman, which is what she ultimately wanted to talk about. Not easy being the Dark Knight.

It's an okay issue, with an interesting way to end it but logical. Just sort of seemed like the story just had to reach an end. There was a lot more detective side than Batman and company kicking butt, which is expected in Detective Comics. But still wasn't exactly a highlight. Deanpool is excited for Buccaletto to take over, hoping for some fresh new adventures of Batman. He would be especially excited if a Flash-Detective Comics crossover were to come up! 7.5/10 fear experiments.

Iron Man #22

It's the end of "Iron Metropolitan," a story that started off strong and has now lingered to a point where we just want to start the next storyline and see more of the Mandarin Rings. Recap: Tony has a secret brother, he was actually adopted, his brother is the actual biological son of his parents. The two work on a project called Troy: building cities with built-in defense to ensure survival of human race. First was Mandarin City. 10 rings seeked new hosts, we only saw 3: Abigail Burns, Lord Remaker, and a new Inhuman. However recently, Abigail has changed sides and has allied with Tony. Arno, the brother, possibly died end of last issue.

It starts off with Abigail narrating why she's changed sides. She believes Tony's idea is good, but believes Tony is the problem. Siding with Tony, the two take on the two other Mandarin-ring wielders and their little army. They address right away if Arno is dead or not from the previous issue. At the risk of spoiling it for everyone, yes he's still alive. And he's seen in a giant Iron-Man like suit of his own made by himself, taking pride in making it himself instead of Tony making one for him. So there it is, the big event that concluded the earlier issue is solved within the first couple pages of this one.

Arno's suit is ridiculously awesome.

The Remaker tries fleeing from the battle in order to set off more bombs like the one that was meant to kill Arno. As he is fleeing, he is attacked by a mysterious person. All that is shown is a hand with that has a Mandarin ring of its own. Though with all the hype about Malekith being the main villain of the next Iron Man storyline... It's probably Malekith's gross hand. Abigail uses her ring to search for the Remaker, making sure he doesn't get away. The Inhuman Victor Kohl had managed to slip away from Tony. When Abigail discovers the Remaker is dead and his ring is missing, the same mysterious person attacks. This time using a giant sword that can wield itself.  The giant sword cuts off both of Abigail's hands, stripping her of the ring and her powers.

 

The panel jumps to a hospital setting, where Abigail seen with bandaged nubs from her missing hands. Abigail explains to Tony and Marc that she wasn’t able to see her attacker despite her time-dilation power. She said that all the rings wanted to cause chaos and despised Tony. They’ll look for anyone who’s against the status quo and hates Tony Stark. Of course, as readers we already knew this from earlier issues, but now Tony has a somewhat better idea of who may have a ring. Though it may be easier to count friends of Tony Stark as opposed to enemies. She also refuses to accept Tony’s patronage for prosthetics. 

Abigail goes on to say that he is the reason there is a target on Mandarin City. She admits she loves the city, but he’s the problem. As long as his face/name is associated with Mandarin City, he puts a target on the city. Tony has a press confeence that he quits the project, leaving it in the hands of Arno. He returns to his mansion in California where we see him break the last bottle of wine from the Stark Vintage. Signs that there are still repercussions from him dealing with his revelations that he is adopted and not the real son of Howard and Maria Stark. Regardless, he looks ready to take on the Mandarin rings and return back into a more offensive role.

The ending panels show Malekith with 3 rings: Remaker’s and Abigail’s. The third being the one he had when we first saw his hand attack Remaker. Maybe one of the rings found him originally. Malekith claims he desires the set of the Mandarin rings. Should be an interesting storyline, bringing in a big name (at least now thanks to Thor: The Dark World) in to be a villain for the Iron Man series.

Issue seemed to go by too fast. It all had to end, but it seemed to end so abruptly. Arno was revealed to still be alive right away. The battle lasted 2-3 pages before Malekith ended it by taking two of the rings. The Inhuman managed to get away. Arno taking control of Troy project and Mandarin City sounds like a step toward a bad path for him. Another step towards Iron Man 2020, plus his new suit just seem like the story will lead to him becoming more independent about Mandarin City. If the two brothers clash, it'll definitely be an interesting match-up since they are both highly intellectual. Also, Deanpool hopes Malekith’s story will shift a focus back to Tony Stark and Iron Man kicking butt. 7.5/10 nubs.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #2

Arguably the biggest surprise out of last month's Marvel Now debuts and perhaps the only one worth following. Punisher makes a close second with X-Force, New Warriors, and Fantastic Four getting honorable mentions. The whimsical storytelling mixed with Loki's trademark deceit create engaging plots as we watch the God of mischief attempt to literally wipe his slate clean in his reinvigorated, youthful form.

Loki does speed dating? In traditional Asgardian clothing?

So Loki is still doing missions for Asgard. The mission for this issue is to bring Lorelei back to Asgard. We also learn that Loki has some history with this character. Not too much detail about it, just seemed like some type of playful romantic relationship. But the issue starts off with a speed dating scene from a girl's point of view. We see her reject guy after guy and she has this uncanny ability of recognizing when a guy is lying, which is why she rejects all these guys. Loki shows up next in the seat, donning his more traditional Asgardian outerwear as opposed to blending in with the scene. He sits in the seat and explains to the mystery girl his story about his search for Lorelei. And with her uncanny ability, she realizes that he is telling the truth.

Reference to Loki taking over
his younger version's body.

Loki begins informing the girl, and the reader, that Lorelei is an enchantress than can even evade the great Heimdall's gaze. And she's also an occasional enemy of Asgard. In this little flashback, we see another reference to how Loki annihilated the new iteration of himself and stole this version's body. Loki tracks Lorelei's footsteps by keeping tabs on scandals and scams that he all connects to her. He goes on to say that it's all practice leading up to a bigger score, stealing money from a vault in the Monte Carlo. We see Lorelei and her crew (two other females) pull off their little magic trick to get into the vault, but are stopped. As readers, we assume it's Loki being the only one to see through the deception, but it's actually an Interpol agent. One of those elements that is beginning to become a theme in this Loki series: things aren't always as they seem. Lorelei kisses the agent and sends him into a romantic dream and giving her crew more breathing room for the heist.

Not Charlie's Angels. It's Lorelei and her heist crew. Not as catchy.

It is then revealed that Loki sneakily switched one of the girl's Amulet of Invisibility with a fake, thus easily getting herself caught when she wandered back out onto the floor. This is also an example of how Loki must have acquired all the other magical items in his arsenal. He then tells Lorelei that he's actually shape-shifted himself into being the third member of the group this whole time. Again, things aren't as they seem with this trickster. He tries to confront Lorelei, claiming he's not trying to bring her back to Asgard but she still escapes through a mystic portal in her bag.

Loki with his new toy. Lorelei making her grand escape.

Back to the speed dating scene, Loki tells the girl that Lorelei will be regrouping by looking for single types looking for love... like speed dating. Loki also points out that it’s weird that this mysterious girl can see through his disguise as a divorced 40-year-old. Meaning he's not actually sitting there in his Asgardian look, but to everyone else in the room he's putting up the illusion that he is blending in. Yet this girl only sees Loki as he is. At this point we begin suspecting that this mystery girl is Lorelei, but Loki reveals she was at the table before the mystery girl, where she didn’t even notice his guise. Loki tells the girl he gave Lorelei his wallet with his calling card in it, meaning she'll realize who he was soon enough.

The girl reveals her name as Verity Willis and claims that no one can lie to her. She can see right through them no matter how small or well-intentioned the lie is.  She doesn’t even like fictional movies, studies mathematics, programming and physics because they’re always true. That whole deal. Loki eventualy meets with Lorelei later, telling Verity he’ll see her again soon. He admits to Lorelei that he’s scheming against the All-Mother and tells Lorelei he’s putting together a crew. The issue ends with Lorelei teasing Loki about the girl at the speed dating, but Loki claims that Verity is far from his mind... except the readers see Verity eavesdropping in the shadows and smiles knowing that Loki's statement is a lie.

Not as good as the first issue but still produces a story that’s fitting for Loki’s character as we see his story may not be as much about redemption as we may think. And if there's one thing that's guaranteed in this series, things aren't always as they seem. It somewhat feels disconnected since it doesn’t pick up at all from the ending of the first issue (old/bad Loki returning in front of the All-Mother). But the two possible love interests make things interesting. For the most part, a Loki scheming is the best kind of Loki. And with all the back story on Verity, it’s clear she’s meant to play a bigger role than just an extra character for one issue. But what is Loki scheming next?! 8/10 speed dates.

Nova #14

Following last issue, Beta Ray Bill and Nova are off in space on a mission to save Beta's people. But the issue first starts off with the two assisting a ship that was hit by Skaarn, tying everything back to the original reason Nova is involved in the first place. That is, that Sam wants to redeem himself for helping out a bad guy like Skaarn without knowing all the facts. He's still a young hero and has much to learn about superheroing so he's determined to make good on his mistake.

There are some nice light moments between the two characters when they are flying through space at cosmic speeds. They both take such joy and excitement when flying through the wonders of space, something you don't see often in comics since it's practically the only way to travel in a comic universe. The story shifts to Bill telling a story about how a Nova once saved his life. Now Deanpool suspects that the Nova could have been Sam's dad, but that connection wasn't clear or even touched upon too much. Bill also goes on to give Sam some advice about his inexperience. It's a nice couple scenes between the two as Bill acts as a temporary mentor for the young Nova, who is learning the super-hero business on his own without one. Sam's commentary throughout the whole issue continues to be fun and light, similar to Peter Parker as Spider-Man. The teenage hero point of view is refreshing after reading much more serious, darker, and/or mature heroes.

Thanks to Sam's memory, Bill figures that Skaarn and his crew must be heading towards Knowhere, the head of a celestial that was murdered and now a place where many people hang out. Starts looking like the Mos Eisley spaceport bar from Star Wars. Bill actually does find Skaarn and confronts him, but Skaarn threatens to airlock his people if he is harmed. We saw that Skaarn was in the middle of a transaction for a "war bringer" aka the big machine looking thing on the cover of this issue. The transaction was quite one sided as Skaarn took the remote for the machine and killed the seller. The War Bringer beings attacking Nova. Nova tries fighting back but once again uses his creativeness and cleverness to use wires from Skaarn's ship to make a noose for the giant robot. It worked effectively because Nova remembered he had charged it with Nova force back when he helped out Skaarn with his ship. This whole sequence was pretty awesome as far as art and the way it was sequenced. It really showcased Nova impressively.

Back to dealing with Skaarn, Bill and Nova come up with a ruse to comply with Skaarn's demand to teleport the two to the other side of the galaxy. Beta Ray Bill allows himself to be transported, but Nova simply uses his powers to make an illusion of himself appear to be transported with Bill. He actually stays behind in Skaarn's ship to try and teleport Bill back to buy some time and save his people. All goes according to plan until a psychic begins communicating to Sam in his head from inside the ship. Sam follows where the voice leads him, and it turns out to be a psychic dog named Cosmo. No not a green fairy godparent. The dog explains that he was hit by poison from Skaarn and that it has made him weak. The dog seems intelligent, but still has all the tendencies and personality of a dog. It's an amusing combo.

Lots of good moments in this issue, but the story doesn't seem much closer to being done. Not a bad thing, just didn't seem like the story moved forward much, and now it seems like there's a new element involved. Beta Ray Bill is taken back out of the picture, shifting the focus solely on Nova (which is fine, it's his series), but the team-up was one of the more exciting aspects. How does Cosmo play into the storyline? And will we still see much Beta Ray Bill next issue? Regardless, this storyline still has something to prove now that one of it's key elements may be gone, but Sam's voice for the story will likely remain entertaining. 8.5/10 psychic dogs.

Check out Magneto, Moon Knight, and Wolverine and the X-Men in a separate post, but were also picked up from this week!

Wow, so many good issues from this first week of March. Even though this post is coming out towards the end of March. A lot on my plate and Deanpool's plate lately so sorry for all the late posts (and the subsequent posts will ultimately be late as well.) Who knows when we'll catch up. But stay tuned for more! Pick of the Week easily goes to Forever Evil #6. The story is finally coming together with the biggest cliffhanger thus far. A couple "end of story" issues too: Iron Man, Detective Comics, and Night of the Living Deadpool. But Deanpool is kind of glad those ended. All 3 had their moments, but end as good as they all began. Hoping the next storylines for Iron Man and Detective Comics are stronger, and same goes for the next Deadpool mini-series (which is supposed to be Deadpool vs. Carnage!). Thanks for reading!

A little tribute to Nightwing... just in case.