Marvel Comics Universe

[turtlex]

Very much. For one thing, without you posting them - they'd have been off my radar completely.

[Merlin1958]

Well cool then. Have to admit they are kinda unique. Sports and Comics are pretty rare!!!!

They did a good job marrying the two for the upcoming season as well.

[turtlex]

turtlex comments : Looks like some very interesting things coming for the Marvel Universe.

Real world to collide with heroes & villains
By MATT MOORE, Associated Press


.PHILADELPHIA – The real world is intruding in a real way for the heroes — and villains — of the Marvel universe.

The publisher — whose characters range from the wall-crawler Spider-Man to mutant outcasts X-Men — said Tuesday that the fear, uncertainty and overarching anxiety that has gripped today's world will play havoc with its fictional heroes next spring as it embarks on "Fear Itself," a seven-issue limited series that will reach across numerous titles and leave its characters scarred but smarter.

The story line starts in March with a one-shot prologue penned by Ed Brubaker.

The prologue, said Marvel executive editor Tom Brevoort, will involve Captain America, Namor and the Invaders "and a mission in World War II that sets the stage for what's to come in the main 'Fear Itself' book."

From there, the seven issue miniseries will launch in April, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Stuart Immonen and will, Brevoort said "be, in terms of its size and scope across the Marvel Universe" analogous to the multi-issue, cross-title epic "Secret Invasion" that focused on the subtle, behind-the-scenes invasion of Earth by shape-shifting Skrulls.

Marvel has never shied away from cataclysmic story events. In "Civil War," the company put its heroes on the front lines of personal civil liberties and freedoms, a story that ultimately ended with the death of Captain America.

"Fear Itself" will run through numerous issues, too, and, Brevoort said, shake up the Marvel universe.

Fraction said that the story would be relatable the world at large.

"It is something that speaks to the world we live in," he said in videotaped address at a press conference in New York. "It feels like there is this great shadow over us all, this anxiousness, this anger. It feels like reason and discourse have taken a back seat to mob mentality and hysteria. And everyone is afraid of something right now."

The details of the story, and its path, were closely guarded, but Fraction said it would feature heroes versus a "God of Fear" who draws his power from fearful feelings.

"The more you fear him, the stronger he gets and we are all his weapons," Fraction said.

Joe Quesada, editor-in-chief and chief creative officer at Marvel Entertainment said the story was born out of plans for bigger stories for Marvel's universe.

Brevoort and Axel Alonso, another Marvel executive editor, said the thread of the story will be woven in the coming months and involve major characters from the X-Men to Dracula.

What the outcome will be is still a secret, but Alonso remarked that with the tension plaguing the world at large, the aim is to "tap into the Zeitgeist of the day."

[fernandito]

If it's structure or pay off is going to be anything like Secret Invasion, count me out. Secret Invasion was little more than a means to an end for Norman Osbourne's ascend to power; the Skrulls - which were being fleshed out as world conquering entities - ended up going out with a wimper, a graphic novels version of blue balls.

[turtlex]

More on F4 ( spoilering for those who don't want to know )

Spoiler:

Death is in store for one of the Fantastic Four
By MATT MOORE, Associated Press

.PHILADELPHIA – The Fantastic Four — superheroes whose creation nearly 50 years ago helped usher in the Silver Age of comics for Marvel — is about to become a trio.

Marvel Comics said Wednesday that a member of the foursome — Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and the Thing — will die in issue No. 587 next month, a change that the company said will ripple across the Marvel Universe like never before.

But who will die? That's a secret protected with more might than the Incredible Hulk and Sentry possess, but executive editor Tom Brevoort, who oversees the comic book, says plenty of clues have been offered during the course of writer Jonathan Hickman's run, including the current "Three" story line.

"I think we've given plenty of hints as to who may die — perhaps too many, in that every one of our lead characters is left in a dire, life-threatening situation the month before," Brevoort told The Associated Press. "So, hopefully, that will help to heighten the suspense, while preserving the surprise as to which member doesn't make it out alive."

Marvel is taking no chances in trying to contain that secret like it were the wish-granting Cosmic Cube itself.

Readers will find out for themselves when "Fantastic Four" No. 587 is released in January, though it'll be wrapped in a black polybag designed to keep snoops from finding out and spilling the news.

It won't appear on newsstands, either.

"The surprises in this issues — and what comes next — constitute one of the biggest events in Marvel history," said David Gabriel, senior vice president for sales and circulation at Marvel.

But is death really the end and, more so, will it be permanent? After all, death has visited the Fantastic Four, which was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in 1961, before.

Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, supposedly died, but that was just a ruse. Similarly, her husband, Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, was thought dead after being caught in a blast with his archenemy, Dr. Doom. Instead of death, however, Richards and his nemesis were snatched away to another dimension.

This time, however, Marvel is adamant, noting that once the current story ends in No. 588, the Fantastic Four will cease to exist.

"We've been building to this story and this moment since Jonathan began writing the series around a year and a half ago," Brevoort said. "It's a story that will have a transformative effect on these characters — virtually nothing will be the same after the events of this story. And that was the reason to go this route — to bring about these seismic changes to the characters and to the series."

Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada said the story is part of a wider effort to not only keep readers entertained, but engaged.

"The beauty of the Marvel Universe is that it is in constant change. Things are always happening, very much like life itself," he told AP. "For us, being stagnant just means that we're not doing our job. At the end of the day, its about characters, soap opera, dramatic events and things that keep our readers coming back for that next installment."

[flaggwalkstheline]

"The beauty of the Marvel Universe is that it is in constant change. Things are always happening, very much like life itself," he told AP. "For us, being stagnant just means that we're not doing our job. At the end of the day, its about characters, soap opera, dramatic events and things that keep our readers coming back for that next installment."


in Joe Q's MU change is a temporary thing because the "status quo" is held above all else

For example
Captain America: dead then brought back through a billy pilgrim knockoff
Hulk: wandering the earth again after supposedly seismic events (ripoff of peter davids' grey hulk run)
Spiderman: OMD and OMIT, that is all
Ironman: After briefly becoming a fugitive (which was partly his own fault) and going on the run from norman osbourn, tony is now back to being everyone's favorite ironsuited billionare playboy, lessons unlearned
That whole initiatve thing that lasted from civil war until the heroic age? gone gone gone

As stated above, various members of the fantastic four have died before and it's been plenty hyped

bottom line, Joe Quesada speaks with a forked tongue

[fernandito]

Spiderman OMD is a stain on comic storytelling that will not be washed away for at least another 100 years.

[Sam]

I would also like to remind everyone that Aunt May actually died and was buried beside Uncle Ben in Amazing Spider-Man #400. It was very sweet and fitting, and yet, she is alive and well in Amazing Spider-Man today. Btw, she has also died on at least one other occassion that I know of.

[turtlex]

I love you guys. Sincerely. You're great.



I agree with JQ is a little short sighted - if it happens even in an alternate path, he's all about "it's change" and "fluid", etc. Blah.

I mean, does anyone ever really die in the Marvel Universe? I think they're scared of losing even one reader, should they kill off someone permanently.

[Yaksha]

Well look at what they did. There were 2 golden rules in Marvel Comics. No matter what

1. Bucky is dead and he stays dead.

2. Uncle Ben is dead and he stays dead.

And the status of these rules? Buck was brought back as the Winter Soldier and is now Captain America. And Uncle Ben in some form or fashion has come back so many times it is pathetic. No one stays dead in the Marvel Universe. Hell, they even made a joke about it in an issue of X-Men. Wolverine said Jean Grey was dead and Agent Brand sarcastically commented about how long it would last this time.