Once again, this week seemed to belong to Marvel. And why shouldn't it?
With Captain America: Civil War now in theaters with an estimated $680 million take-in at the box office already, sometimes you've just got to hail to the king. But that's not all the entertainment juggernaut has had going for it this week. The Russo Brothers, directors of Civil War and the upcoming, but soon to be re-titled, Infinity War, spilled the beans that Captain Marvel will be popping up in the two-parter.
Also, Kevin Feige says the company is still committed to a Black Widow solo film. And they should be, since we need more strong female leads. Come on Marvel, you've got Squirrel Girl, Kate Bishop, Spider-Woman, She-Hulk. Let's get it going.
But in other comic book news, it was free comic book day on Saturday, and patrons went out in droves to support their local shops. Me? I picked up the first volume of Irredeemable. After all, it looks like Mark Waid's superhero drama is headed to the big screen.
No matter which side you're on, here are some must-reads for this week.
Batman Superman #32
With the New-52 Superman set to kick the bucket any day now, DC is setting up for some new heroes to take his place. One of those is Supergirl, who we've already touched base with a few issues back. With Rebirth coming up, a new series titled New Super-Man is set to make its debut with Kenan Kong, a Chinese teenager imbued with the power of Superman.
So, fans have been speculating, does Kong make his first appearance in this issue? Well, it's complicated. Here we see Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman chasing a solar clone of Supes into Chinese airspace, where they team up with China's version of the Justice League to try and take him down. But we also catch a glimpse of a newborn, who many claim in Kenan Kong. But is it? I guess we'll find out in the next few months.
Midnighter #12
Well, it was fun while it lasted. This week, Steve Orlando's acclaimed
Midnighter
series has come to an end. But it was a great ride, showing us a strong gay character who is like Batman meets the Punisher. He teamed up with Dick Grayson, Spyral, Suicide Squad and more, and never left us wondering how far he'd go. Hint: Very, very far. I mean, this series has been brutal.
And this issue was no slouch. Midnighter breaks bread with Apollo, and they decide to try things out for a while. It also looks like Amanda Waller might be courting Midnighter to the Suicide Squad. Hmmm, I think I could that a while back. Either way, we're excited to see how he fits into Rebirth, because one thing is for sure, if Midnighter goes, we riot.
The Punisher #1
Marvel couldn't have timed this new series any better. After being introduced to John Bernthal as the Punisher in
Marvel's Daredevil
, we're treated to a very similar introduction here. And though this new series is no reboot, it's a great jumping on point.
This issue has The Punisher taking down a gang while hot on the trail of a DEA investigation. And if you know Frank Castle, he's not the biggest fan of the legal system. He's more of a self-judge, jury and executioner kind of guy. But here we're also introduced to Olaf, one of Frank's commanding officers from the Marines. He seems to be with the bad guys, but he's helping Frank for now. We'll have to see where this goes.
Thunderbolts #1
Straight from the pages of Avengers Standoff comes the new team of Thunderbolts, a legacy Marvel team made up of reformed (or sometimes not) villains taking on secret suicide missions. Yes, it's exactly like Suicide Squad. This incarnation of the team is led by The Winter Soldier, though, and its soul is Kobik, the Cosmic Cube girl from Pleasant Hill.
As a first issue, this one wasn't so bad, but you care a lot less about these characters if you haven't read Standoff (You should definitely read Standoff). Anyway, there's a lot of in-team fighting, which is usual for a concept like this, as Moonstone and Bucky fight over who is the boss. The writing is clean, succinct and funny, and the last page's sudden twist will have us guessing until #2.
The Wicked + The Divine #1
The war of the Pantheon begins as Ananke sends her troops onto Laura and crew. This may be the first real lengthy arc this series will get, and I'm definitely excited to see where it goes. Who will be on what side, and how long will it take before everyone turns on Ananke like they should?
With the original creative team back on the book, Wicked + The Divine is about to shake things up again. If this isn't on your pull already, make sure it's there now.
