[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 6.] There’s an old proverb: “As one bad apple spoils the others, so you must show no quarter to sin or sinners.” In Tuesday’s episode of Daredevil: Born Again — which saw Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) each react to the graffiti artist/serial killer on the loose by taking the law into their own hands — Matt suited up as a masked vigilante for the first time since Foggy’s murder a year earlier, while Mayor Fisk pressured NYPD Commissioner Gallo (Michael Gaston) into gathering “every bad apple in the barrel” for Fisk’s handpicked Anti-Vigilante Task Force.

Bad apples like Officer Powell (Hamish Allan-Headley), the corrupt cop who had Hector Ayala/White Tiger (Kamar de los Reyes) framed as a cop killer, and the Punisher “fanboy” who shot and killed the vigilante after Matt had him acquitted.

“It appears your officers have a subculture amongst them,” Mayor Fisk tells Gallo of the crooked cops tattooed with the Punisher’s symbol. “People like to use the word ‘gang.’ I prefer motivated individuals.” Due to the extreme nature of Muse’s crimes, Mayor Fisk’s Task Force permits special powers and privileges: Overtime pay. No body cameras. And the use of excessive force.

RELATED: Daredevil: Born Again Pays Homage to a Spider-Man/Daredevil Villain

Fisk’s AVTF recruits Sergeant Cole North (Chicago P.D.‘s Jeremy Isaiah Earl), a Chicago transplant who was top of his class in the academy before making detective in just three years. Fisk instructs North to inform his fellow officers how he “lost it all” and ended up in New York, so he says he was responding to a call of possible drug activity in the park. He saw a drug dealer pushing OxyContin on an 11-year-old, but the dealer denied everything.

North explains, “I encouraged him to tell the truth. Captain didn’t see it that way. There’s a lot of sh-tbags in the world, sir. Now there’s a lot less of them.”

As founding members of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, Fisk has tasked Officers North and Powell — and another dozen officers with Punisher insignia — with hunting masked killers like Muse. Fisk sought these officers out because of their skills and ability to get results by any means necessary — and as New York’s Finest, Fisk wants them to be seen taking the city back.

In the comics, Detective Cole North debuted in the five-part “Know Fear” arc that ran in issues #1-5 of Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s Daredevil run in 2019 (a storyline that has more in common with Born Again than Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s eponymous storyline). Except Cole isn’t a crooked cop.

Law & Order

2019’s Daredevil #1 establishes that Cole, who transferred from Chicago to New York’s 18th Precinct, has a clean-cut, by-the-books attitude that clashes with the local officers.

When we meet him, Cole takes umbrage with two officers attempting to cover up vigilante Daredevil’s involvement in beating up a gunman despite Mayor Fisk officially outlawing the city’s heroes via anti-vigilante legislation: the Powers Act.

“This is not something we turn away from. There is no justice here. No law,” Cole tells the officers, explaining that Daredevil isn’t helping by hurting. Meanwhile, Matt, who had only recently returned to being Daredevil after recuperating from an injury, accidentally causes the death of a low-level crook while sloppily breaking up a liquor store robbery. (The crook, Leo Carraro, hits his head in the scuffle and dies from head trauma.)

As a guilt-ridden Matt investigates what he suspects to be a frame job by Kingpin-turned-Mayor Wilson Fisk, Cole doggedly pursues “New York’s most wanted killer”: Daredevil.

Crime & Punishment

It’s revealed later that Cole takes on the homicide case not to bring Daredevil to justice, but to bring down a criminal. As Cole tells himself, “I don’t care about ‘justice.’ I just want to stop crime.” To that end, he upholds Mayor Fisk’s law targeting vigilantism, but Cole is determined to arrest both Daredevil and the supposedly former Kingpin of Crime.

“I don’t think people should wear masks and dole out their versions of ‘justice,'” Cole tells Fisk in the mayor’s office. “I don’t think anyone should be above the law… Mr. Mayor.”

Meanwhile, Matt learns that Fisk wasn’t involved in setting him up, and it turns out that he killed a man, albeit inadvertently. Daredevil then decides to rededicate himself to helping people and not just hurting people, and being more careful with his violence. But being a masked vigilante who takes the law into his own hands makes him a criminal, so Daredevil has to be held accountable, according to Cole.

Cole eventually cuffs and arrests Daredevil after a brutal street brawl witnessed by his fellow officers. (Half of them are cops Daredevil saved; the other half are dirty and too scared to interfere.) Cole calls out the officers for letting an unlawful vigilante run loose in Hell’s Kitchen, and goes to unmask the apprehended Daredevil before another good cop — considering Daredevil one of their own — stops him.

Blue & Red

Later, when the Governor’s office orders police precincts in Hell’s Kitchen not to respond to crimes, and a gang war breaks out between rival crime families, all hell breaks loose in the Kitchen. Cole still wants to do things by the book, but ultimately teams up with the still-outlawed Daredevil to save Hell’s Kitchen in “Inferno.” When he’s ordered by Mayor Fisk to arrest Daredevil, Cole refuses the order — only for Daredevil to hand himself over to the authorities, because Cole was right: vigilantes need to be accountable.

Cole ends up becoming one of Daredevil’s trusted allies, and as he tells the masked man in Daredevil #11, “We thought we could do better working as part of some system. But the systems infect you, don’t they? Chip away at your compass.”

At least for Cole’s counterpart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seems Sgt. North has been corrupted by the system.

New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again air Tuesday nights on Disney+.

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[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again episode 5.] “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” Marvel’s Daredevil began with Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) in a confessional booth, recounting something his grandmother, a God-fearing Catholic, used to say: “‘Be careful of the Murdock boys. They got the devil in ’em.'” For his father, boxer “Battlin'” Jack Murdock, that meant he would batter his opponents into the corner of the ring and “let the devil out.” For Matt, that meant battling his demons as the guardian devil of Hell’s Kitchen.

Matt hasn’t let the devil out since Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) shot and killed Foggy (Elden Henson), and a wrathful Daredevil sinned by breaking his no-kill rule. Bullseye survived only because of his Cogmium-reinforced skeleton, but a line was crossed, and Matt still has yet to suit up as Daredevil a year later.

That nearly changed in Tuesday’s “With Interest” episode of Daredevil: Born Again. On St. Patrick’s Day, Matt visits New York Mutual Bank to secure a loan for his law firm, Murdock & McDuffie, which is regretfully turned down by assistant manager Yusuf Khan (guest star Mohan Kapur, reprising his role from Ms. Marvel and The Marvels).

RELATED: Daredevil: Born Again May Have Just Hinted the Biggest Fan Theory Is True

When five armed robbers storm the bank, each wearing a different colored balaclava — Green (Cillian O’Sullivan), Red (John Ford-Dunker), Yellow (John Anthony Gorman), Blue (Cameron Moir), and Purple (Ryan Ward) — Matt feigns the role of an unassuming blind man to embed himself within the group of hostages rounded up by Green (a.k.a. Devlin).

They’re Luca’s (Patrick Murney) men, there to steal a diamond worth the $1.8 million that Luca owes Viktor (Gino Anthony Pesi) as restitution to keep the peace among New York’s Five Families. (Devlin is the gunman who committed a double homicide in a truck hijacking at Red Hook Port back in episode 3.)

He Who Is Without Sin

Wearing a green balaclava and wielding an assault rifle, Devlin’s look resembles Sin-Eater, a short-lived villain who had a run-in with Daredevil and Spider-Man in “The Death of Jean DeWolff,” a four-part storyline spanning 1985’s Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110.

After Spider-Man’s friend, Captain Jean DeWolff, is found murdered in her apartment as the victim of a double-barrelled shotgun blast, the wall-crawler investigates her murder with Detective Stan Carter. But it’s blind defense attorney Matt Murdock who is the first to encounter Sin-Eater in Spectacular Spider-Man #107, when Matt’s radar sense detects the assassin lying in wait in Judge Horace Rosenthal’s chambers.

Matt’s old friend is gunned down as Sin-Eater’s second victim, making him the target of both Daredevil and Spider-Man. Sin-Eater’s next kill is a reverend in a confessional booth, the third victim of the masked murderer proselytizing about his mission to purge “sinners.”

Spider-Man and Daredevil both turn to Wilson Fisk, Kingpin of Crime, for information on the Sin-Eater, who’s next target is The Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson. The Sin-Eater turns up at the Bugle offices with a shotgun and takes hostages, but he’s disarmed by editor Robbie Robertson and an uncostumed Peter Parker. Unmasked as Emil Gregg, Daredevil’s hyper-senses determine that the schizophrenic Emil is a copycat.

Guilty as Sin

In Spectacular #109, Spider-Man and Daredevil discover that Stan Carter is the real Sin-Eater just as he targets the Jameson residence. When he instead finds the Bugle‘s Betty Brant with Marla Jameson, Sin-Eater reveals his reasons for killing: He killed the “sinner” priest for opposing capital punishment, he killed the judge for coddling criminals, and he wanted to kill Jameson for opposing masked vigilantes.

When Daredevil tries to stop an enraged Spider-Man from brutally beating Carter, the two costumed vigilantes come to blows, and Spider-Man nearly leaves Carter at the mercy of mob justice before pulling him out of the crowd. Once the Sin-Eater is exposed as a police sergeant and Carter is back in custody, Spectacular #110 ends with another unmasking: Daredevil deduces that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, so he reveals his secret identity as Matt Murdock.

All My Sins Remembered

Carter was eventually released from a mental hospital, and the voices in his head caused him to resume his Sin-Eater alter-ego (who he came to believe was a separate person). To free himself of the Sin-Eater, he took a young boy hostage and was gunned down by the police in 1987’s The Spectacular Spider-Man #136. It was then revealed that Carter never loaded Sin-Eater’s shotgun.

While other masked men took on the identity of the Sin-Eater, Stan Carter remained dead until 2020’s Amazing Spider-Man: Sins Rising Prelude. It was revealed that Carter was in Hell for his sins, only to be resurrected as a sins-cleansing supervillain by Spider-Man’s demon archvillain Kindred (in the Nick Spencer-penned “Sins Rising” arc in Amazing Spider-Man #45-48).

New episodes of Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again air Tuesday nights on Disney+.

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Invincible’s third season is one of the best television seasons to arrive in 2025 but this doesn’t make it flawless. Mark Grayson’s fight against the villainous Conquest, his own dark doppelgangers from other dimensions, and even Cecil Stedman were some of the best animated battles of the year. Throughout the many traversals of the Earth-bound hero, there was one major element that took something of a backseat to what was taking place. Nolan Grayson, aka Omni-Man, is still dealing with the weight of what he did in season one for the Viltrumite empire and we wish we had seen more of Nolan’s struggle.

Invincible’s second season featured Omni-Man’s surprise return, as Nolan was featured in multiple episodes with not just his reunion with Mark but also thanks to the new life he made for himself on an alien world. Once captured by the Viltrumite Empire, Nolan finds himself trapped in their grasp alongside the likes of Allen the Alien and Battle Beast. While the trio are able to give viewers quite the adventure as they fought against their captors, it didn’t give us as much time exploring Nolan’s present state of mind as we would have liked. The road to redemption is a long one and Nolan’s character arc is sure to be an interesting one.

[RELATED: Invincible Fans Defend Cecil’s Controversial Season Three Decision]

Gone But Not Forgotten

While Nolan might not have been featured in as many episodes as the first two Invincible seasons, season three did find ingenious ways to have his shadow touch on Mark’s life. Specifically, the villain known as Powerplex, played by Aaron Paul, made his debut, wanting revenge on Invincible for losing family members in Mark’s fight with his father in season one. It was in this episode specifically where Powerplex makes his debut that we are able to see the differences between Mark and Olliver as the brothers look at what their father did very differently.

Since Olliver wasn’t there to see the carnage firsthand, the half-Viltrumite younger brother to Mark wonders why everyone can’t forgive Omni-Man. On the flip side, Mark finds himself still unable to truly forgive his father for the deaths of so many people when he was a loyal subject of the Viltrumites. While never physically returning to Earth, Nolan’s presence is still felt even when the planet is swarmed with evil Mark Graysons.

Just Like The Comics

To be fair, Nolan’s general absence here plays true to the source material, as Omni-Man was able to escape the clutches of his people thanks to an assist from Allen and Battle Beast. Without diving into spoiler territory, Invincible fans should prepare to see a lot more of Nolan in the future, as well as having some big reunions that no one will be prepared for. With creator Robert Kirkman already confirming that the upcoming fourth season will have a brand new storyline that wasn’t a part of the comics, it will be interesting to see if this underworld tale might give Nolan a chance to return that we hadn’t seen in the Image run.

Luckily, fans won’t have to wait as long for Invincible season four as they had in the past with previous seasons. At present, Kirkman is hoping for the animated series to have around eight seasons to follow all the events that took place in the comics, meaning we should expect a lot more Omni-Man and J.K. Simmons’ portrayal of him in the future.

Want to see when Omni-Man will make a comeback? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Invincible and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

The post Invincible: Here’s the Big Problem With Season 3 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

People all over the world have dreamed about reaching the stars, and that dream becomes a reality in ComiXology Originals’ new graphic novel Major Thomás. Major Thomás is a new YA graphic novel that tells the story of a Mexican-American farmworker named Thomás Mùnoz who achieves the once thought impossible task of becoming humanity’s first hyperspace traveler for NASA, and It’s created by an entirely Latino creative team that includes writer Omar Morales, artists Serg Acuña and Mau Mora, colorists Raúl Angulo and Fabi Marques, letterer Taylor Esposito, and graphic designer Gab Contreras. Major Thomás is available now right here, and you can check out an exclusive preview below.

“I created Major Thomás to inspire young brown people from all over the world to reach for their dreams, no matter the obstacles, no matter their circumstances,” says writer Omar Morales. He continued, “The fictional characters in Major Thomás are inspired by real-life Latino heroes, and put into a fun, sci-fi adventure story.”

Major Thomas features a foreword by real-life astronaut José M. Hernández, who was a former migrant farmworker who went to space in 2009. Hernández’ story inspired the Amazo Original Film A Million Miles Away, and reading Major Thomas brought back a number of memories from his unforgettable journey to space.

“Reading about Major Thomás’ adventures on the mysterious planet Wolf 1061C, alongside an unforgettable cast of aliens and robots, brought back memories of my own journey—from migrant farmworker to NASA astronaut. . . For anyone with a dream, this comic is a testament that anything is possible—no matter where you start or how far you have to go.” – Astronaut José M. Hernández

[RELATED: Papercutz’ Hit OGN is Getting a Sequel in Double Booking Vol. 2 (Exclusive)]

Major Thomas is now available from ComiXology Originals, and the release also features an educator’s guide from Creators Assemble. You can check out the official description for Major Thomas below.

“Thomás Mùnoz was born into poverty with one dream—exploring the cosmos as an astronaut with his best friend, Lisa. While Thomás studies and overcomes many of his circumstances to become Major Thomás, a NASA astronaut, he continues to suffer from anxiety and imposter syndrome.

In the near future, the launch clock to all of Thomás’ dreams counts down, but even after years of elite NASA training, he’s still not ready to let go of Earth. When he ends up lost in space he is stranded far away from our solar system and becomes entangled in a savage intergalactic war. Violent reptoids are hell-bent on destroying Thomás, and the robots he befriends, in their quest to control all of the resources in the star system. Throughout the brutal war, Thomás’ mind remains focused on cultural lessons learned from his mother and now-love interest, Lisa, who is back on Earth, working on a rescue plan with NASA. Will Thomás survive both the intergalactic battle and overcome the war raging inside of him?”

Will you be reading Major Thomas? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @Knightofoa!

The post ComiXology Originals Soars into Hyperspace with Major Thomás First Look Preview (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

There are few names more iconic in the realm of horror than George A. Romero and John Carpenter, and it will be Carpenter bringing Romero’s famous lost film to life in The Amusement Park Graphic Novel. Storm King Comics has teamed up with Carpenter, writer Jeff Whitehead, and illustrator Ryan Carr to bring the film to life in a brand new format, and we’ve got your exclusive first look ahead of the graphic novel’s June 10th release.

The Amusement Park was thought to be lost for quite some time, but The George A. Romero Foundation restored the film in one of its first projects. The Amusement Park takes aim at ageism and society’s treatment of the elderly, all through Romero’s trademark horror lens, and Whitehead and Carr knew this would be a perfect fit for the graphic novel format. That’s when Sandy King’s Storm King Comics entered the picture, and now the graphic novel is finally becoming a reality.

“George A. Romero’s films are legendary. They already were legendary when I was just a student, and The Amusement Park has a fascinating history. This is a project that’s so important to his legacy as a filmmaker, so I’m glad to lend my name to it,” said John Carpenter.

“John and George often talked about ways they might collaborate, and this project felt like a fantastic opportunity,” King explained. “We’re really happy to come together for this project, which represents George Romero’s vision through and through, filtered through the artistic lens of Ryan and Jeff.”

[RELATED: Hellboy Meets Something is Killing the Children in Mad Cave’s Underworld Crossover Endless Night (Exclusive)]

“The Amusement Park holds a special place in George’s body of work because it tackles such a deeply human issue—ageism—through the lens of horror. Adapting it into a graphic novel allows us to bring his unique vision to a whole new audience. We are thrilled to collaborate with John Carpenter and Storm King Comics on this project, which honors George’s legacy in such a meaningful way,” said Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, founder and president of The GARF.

John Carpenter Presents George A. Romero’s The Amusement Park will land in comic stores on June 10th, and you can find the official description below.

“In John Carpenter Presents George A. Romero’s THE AMUSEMENT PARK, an
impatient businessman in his 20s meets an elderly man who spins a fantastic tale about a long-gone amusement park. As the conversation continues, the younger man is disturbed to learn the story of an elderly man eager to recapture the memories of youth. Instead of pleasant memories, however, this trip to the amusement park becomes a surreal microcosm of aging and its inherent challenges as bodies and minds begin to break down.

The old man finds himself abused, pushed into a horrifying series of attractions that mimic the later stages of life. Increasingly battered both mentally and physically, the man realizes he is trapped in a loop, force to relive the harrowing experience over and over. And the young man, William Lincoln, soon discovers that he and the old man have much more in common than they suspect.”

Are you excited to see The Amusement Park get the graphic novel treatment? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Storm King Reveals First Look Preview of George A. Romero’s Lost Film Graphic Novel The Amusement Park (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man is about to have his first team-up with his new sidekick. Ultimate Spider-Man has been a runaway success and arguably the breakout hit of Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe reboot. Watching Peter Parker learn how to be Spider-Man as a married adult with two kids has been a joy to watch, but there’s also been a steep learning curve for the web-slinger. The Sinister Six is breathing down his neck, and a result of this is the loss of Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin. But help is on the way in the form of a new sidekick wearing the infamous black suit.

Marvel released a preview of Ultimate Spider-Man #15 by Jonathan Hickman, David Messina, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Cory Petit. It picks up after the previous story arc that featured Peter Parker and Harry Osborn as prisoners of Kraven the Hunter. The duo was hunted by Kraven in the Savage Land, with only Peter making it out alive. But Kraven knows their secret identities, which means Peter’s family is now in danger. Luckily, Peter’s son Richard Parker stayed busy while Peter was missing by dressing up as Spider-Man in the black suit.

[RELATED: Why I Think Ultimate Spider-Man is the Best Thing Marvel’s Done in Years]

Peter takes his family on a vacation out of New York City to get away from all the danger waiting for them back home. The preview of Ultimate Spider-Man #15 finds Richard standing alone on a tall rock cliff, texting with his new BFF, Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat. Richard encountered Black Cat while out on patrol one night. They started as adversaries and then discovered they have a lot more in common, so now they’re texting. Richard lets out some bad words when his text doesn’t go through because of a bad signal, forcing Peter to reply, “Language!”

It appears that Peter has brought Richard out somewhere alone so they can do some training as Spider-Men. Peter doesn’t want what happened to Harry to happen to Richard. Richard reminds Peter that he has the black suit, which is what Peter wants to have a chat about. When Richard says they are talking about it, Peter responds that he’s not talking to his son, he’s talking to the suit. It’s a pretty brief preview, but it’s enough to send Ultimate Spider-Man fans into a flurry of excitement to see what kind of drama Peter and Richard get themselves into.

The black suit in Ultimate Spider-Man is different from the symbiote readers are used to in the main Marvel Universe. They both have a consciousness, but the Ultimate Universe black suit is a picotech costume that is AI-driven. It has a download of Peter’s consciousness, which is why it so quickly bonded with Richard while Peter was gone. That parental gene knew it had to protect the family, which is why it pretended to be Peter so they wouldn’t know he was missing.

Peter’s time away allowed Richard to get some reps in as Spider-Man, and he even had his first supervillain fight with Black Cat. There are some obvious sparks between Richard and Felicia, which should make things awkward and uncomfortable down the line once Peter finds out. Future issues of Ultimate Spider-Man reveal a team-up of Spider-Men to fight the Sinister Six.

“THE ULTIMATE SANDMAN ATTACKS!” the solicitation for Ultimate Spider-Man #15 reads. “As the dust settles from the events of recent issues, Peter, MJ and the kids take a family vacation — but nowhere is safe for Ultimate Spider-Man!”

Ultimate Spider-Man #15 goes on sale Wednesday, March 26th. Let us know what you think of the preview in the comments below!

The post Spider-Man Finally Has the Ultimate Team-Up Fans Have Been Begging For appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get access to the one franchise that every Marvel fan wants to see: the X-Men. They were once Marvel’s most popular property, selling millions of comics, starring in animated series, and helming big-budget movies that grabbed fans’ imaginations and showed what Marvel could be on the big screen. There are hundreds of great heroes and villains on the X-Men side of the Marvel Universe, and many of Marvel’s best stories have had the name “X-Men” on the cover. The X-Men have all the potential in the world in the MCU, and the franchise could bring the team back to the top of the superhero charts.

Obviously the MCU doesn’t straight-up adapt comic stories, but instead uses them for inspiration. The X-Men have over 60 years of amazing stories that can inspire modern MCU content, and supply fans with what that they want from Marvel Studios.

These five X-Men stories would make the best MCU movies, showing off the flavor of the X-Men comics to a wider audience.

X-Men (1963) #1

One of the biggest questions about the X-Men is how the MCU is going to approach the team. Will they start out with more popular characters like Wolverine and Storm, like Fox did, or will they start at the beginning? An argument can made that they should start at the beginning, and that means taking inspiration from the team’s first appearance, X-Men #1 from 1963, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

This story introduced the world to Charles Xavier and his X-Men, and started the saga of Magneto. It sees the X-Men trying to stop Magneto’s attack on Cape Citadel, and is the perfect way to introduce the heroes and villains of the series. Magneto’s disposition in the MCU is another big question, and using this story first would answer that question, giving the MCU time to develop Magneto in whatever way they want. It’s a great starting place that can be easily modernized and serve as a perfect re-introduction to the X-Men.

X-Men (1991) #1-3

X-Men (1991) #1 is the bestselling comic of all time, and kicks off a three-issue story, by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, that resets the relationship between Magneto and the X-Men for an entirely new generation of fans. A group of mutants is chased to Magneto’s Asteroid M by S.H.I.E.L.D., which draws Magneto back into the conflict between mutants and heroes. The X-Men spring into action, with the group’s Blue Team battling Magneto’s Acolytes and Magneto himself, leading to an X-Men versus X-Men battle and a surprising end for Magneto.

This is another story that does an amazing job of setting out the relationship between Magneto and the X-Men, and is full of amazing action-packed scenes. If the MCU wants to start with the X-Men already extant, this is the perfect tale to begin with. On top of that, the X-Men Blue Team has some of the most popular mutants of all time — Wolverine, Cyclops, Rogue, and Gambit — giving moviegoers a fan-favorite team to root for in the battle against Magneto. It’s a win-win.

God Loves, Man Kills

God Loves, Man Kills, by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson, is one of the most important comic stories of all time. It introduces readers to Reverend Stryker and the Purifiers, a group of religious bigots who start killing young mutants. This spurs the X-Men into the action, where they are joined by an unforeseen ally — Magneto. It’s a monumental story, using the underlying themes of the X-Men to take a look at bigotry in society and the problems with organized religion.

The MCU isn’t exactly known for its depth. The franchise’s superheroes are quippy and sarcastic and the stories are light, breezy action-comedies. This has been a major stumbling block for the MCU and God Loves, Man Kills is the way to change that. Superheroes like the X-Men are perfect for social commentary and the MCU needs to go in this deeper direction. God Loves, Man Kills, if done right, could change the way everyone looks at the MCU forever and use the X-Men in the exact way they should be used.

“The Brood Saga”

“The Brood Saga”, by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, is a classic X-Men story that showed just how versatile the team could be. The X-Men are called for help by their allies in the Shi’Ar Empire for help against a new alien threat — the Brood. Based on the xenomorphs from the Alien franchise (years before Marvel’s parent company Disney bought it), the X-Men are tested to their limits by this savage race, and one member in particular has to dig deep to save the day.

“The Brood Saga” is another example of a story that would take the MCU out of its comfort zone, which is exactly why it should get adapted. Superhero horror is an important part of comic history, and “The Brood Saga” is one of the best examples of it from Marvel. The MCU needs to broaden its horizons, and “The Brood Saga” is exactly the kind of story that could do so. While the MCU may not be able to pull off the more serious X-Men stories, it can easily pull off “The Brood Saga”.

“E is for Extinction”

“E is for Extinction” stands tall among the best X-Men stories of all time. The story relaunched X-Men as New X-Men, courtesy of the revolutionary creative team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The story sets up a new, more mutant-centric direction for the team, with the X-Men eschewing traditional superhero activities to become mutant teachers and rescue workers. However, a new threat rears its ugly head, Cassandra Nova, who wants to destroy everything her brother Professor X loves.

“E is for Extinction” is a great place to start with the X-Men. Sure, it doesn’t have the traditional superhero costumes, but it serves to set up everything else about the team. Cassandra Nova is already known to MCU fans, which is a good thing; the story features Wolverine, which is another feather in its cap – and it’s just a casually brilliant story. Going in this direction would allow the MCU to set up the school status quo, and have a great roster of X-Men, including Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Beast while also introducing Emma Frost to the team. And, hey, if Marvel wants the X-Men in their more traditional costumes for the movie, that’s an easy tweak. New X-Men is the best reboot of a Marvel franchise in the last twenty-five years and would make for an excellent MCU reboot movie.

X-Men films and MCU films are streaming on Disney+.

The post 5 X-Men Stories the MCU Should Adapt appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A villain with a deep history in the Marvel Universe is getting a Wolverine-level upgrade. Wolverine is keeping pretty busy nowadays, with appearances in Uncanny X-Men, Deadpool/Wolverine, his own solo series, and now Weapon X-Men. The series brings together some of the X-Men‘s heavy hitters like Wolverine, Deadpool, Cable, Thunderbird, and Chamber. The first issue is already in stores and the second issue of Weapon X-Men releases this week, but writer Joe Casey is already spilling the beans on his future plans, and how they relate to former Hydra leader Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker.

Joe Casey wrote about creating and leveling up supervillains in a Substack post. After going over the history of creating Zodiack for Marvel’s Dark Reign publishing initiative and his return more than 13 years later in Moon Knight, Casey transitioned to revealing similar plans for Baron Von Strucker in Weapon X-Men.

“Over the subsequent fifty plus years, he’s shown up every so often with new — albeit minor — tweaks to his character but, to me, he’s been stagnant for quite a while,” Casey wrote. “And he didn’t deserve to be. So, when I was finally cleared to use Baron Strucker, I immediately went to work on leveling him up a few notches.”

[RELATED: Marvel Almost Rebooted the Original X-Men With New Names, Costumes (and It Could Have Worked)]

Casey then spoils a bit of Weapon X-Men #2, where readers will meet a new, more dangerous iteration of an LMD (Life Model Decoy), which will be rebranded as Wolverines of Mass Destruction, or WMD. Baron Von Strucker has uploaded his consciousness into the WMD, along with Wolverine’s berserker rage, to turn them into the ultimate killing machine. The end result is Baron Von Strucker taking on a new form and identity.

Weapon X-Men turns Marvel villain Baron Von Strucker into Weapon Exile

“Ultimately, as the result of events that I don’t want to completely spoil here, Strucker’s mind will end up in a single WMD… which will itself further evolve into a unique, autonomous, pure engine of destruction that he alone occupies. He even takes on a brand-new name to mark the occasion — ‘Weapon Exile.'”

Weapon Exile will serve as the ultimate arch-nemesis for Weapon X-Men, akin to how the Avengers have Ultron, the Fantastic Four have Doctor Doom, the X-Men have Magneto (when he isn’t on the team), and the New Teen Titans have Trigon.

“And Weapon Exile is formidable, possessing all the berserker savagery of the WMD’s as well as the cunning mind and ruthless personality of Baron Strucker,” Casey teased. “Not to mention, he’s got Wolverine-style claws and he knows how to use them. And, as a cherry on top, he’s got additional adamantium-based powers unlike any ever seen before in Marvel Comics.

The artwork that Joe Casey shares is of a Life Model Decoy that takes on Wolverine’s design, right down to the pointy ears on its head. It’s robotic in nature, but we know that this LMD (or WMD) is what Baron Von Strucker will eventually become: Weapon Exile. Surprisingly, Casey decided to spill the beans so quickly and not save Weapon Exile as a big reveal, but Marvel may have already given it away in future solicitations for Weapon X-Men.

Weapon Exile’s first appearance comes in April’s Weapon X-Men #3. Let us know what you think about this new development in the comments below!

The post A Classic Marvel Villain Is Getting a Major Upgrade as a Twisted Version of Wolverine appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Ultimate X-Men #13, by Peach Momoko, kicks off the beginning of the X-Men’s second year and the issue definitely brings it in with a bang. The Shadow King was finally able to get the best of Armor, stealing her from her friends and bringing her to the Children of the Atom. This sees her friends, the X-Men of the new Ultimate Universe, come running and what follows is a battle between Dark Armor, the Shadow King, and the Maester, the leader of the Children of the Atom. Ultimate X-Men has so far been a rather different take on the X-Men, one that eschewed the action of the mainline X-Men books or even the ones from the old Ultimate Universe. Ultimate X-Men #13 throwing in a big fight isn’t what fans of the book expected, which is part of what makes this issue yet another example of why Ulimate X-Men is so great.

Peach Momoko’s art might not seem like the best for a big battle between the most powerful mutants in Japan, but there’s something about it that makes the fight work all the better. This is an epic issue, but what truly makes it stand out is the ending, showing readers that not everything is as it seems.

The Ultimate X-Men Give It Their All…

Ultimate X-Men #12 ended with Shadow King and Armor battling. Shadow King is able to use the tragedies of Armor’s past to get into her mind, the two of them melding as the Shadow King tells Armor that they are same. As this was happening, the X-Men felt their friend’s defeat and raced to her side, which brings us to the latest issue. Natsu, Nico Minoru, Mori, and Kanon attack Dark Armor, but right away, something seems off, as Kanon yells that they knew what Armor had done — a reference to her role in her friend’s suicide, which readers just learned about last issue — and the fight begins. Armor uses her powers to shift her energy armor, and the X-Men are able to hold their own against her attacks, even knocking her down. As the fight goes on, it’s revealed that the Shadow King is controlling Armor, so that every time the X-Men beat her down, she’s able to get back up into the fight, her armor shifting forms and making her more powerful, her puppet master pulling her back up.

RELATED: Marvel Introduces a Tragic Version of X-Men’s Cyclops

The Shadow King brings the Maester into the fight, all in order to hurt Natsu, but her optic blasts make short work of him, bringing even more Children of the Atom into the battle. With the X-Men surrounded, Maystorm jumps in, helping the X-Men win their fight. Shadow King tells them that the whole family is together, and this leads to the end of the battle. Armor screams about hating always hearing about mutants, and hating her friends, unleashing her armor’s energies on the team. The X-Men are able to hold their own and fight back, blasting Armor over and over again to no avail. Mori is captured by the Children, the X-Men free her, and than Kanon decides to release her oni to end the battle. Kanon attacks Armor, and the whole time Shadow King smiles behind her. Then readers learn the truth about what’s been happening — or rather what wasn’t happening.

…But None of It Is Real

The issue ends with Shadow King and Armor in a tank being watched by the Maester, talking about how he can use them to control the world. The fight never happened; it was all part of a test by the Maester in order to see how far his control Armor and Shadow King — and perhaps the rest of the team, although there’s clues that they were also part of the simulation. In fact, there were clues that the whole thing was a simulation right from the beginning. The first page of the book matches the page right before the reveal, which is a liquid medium with bubbles floating up. The X-Men know things that there’s no way for them to know; add to that the fact that the Maester and Children of the Atom just appear out of nowhere not once, not twice, but thrice, and it all makes sense.

Ultimate X-Men has been its own book from the beginning, and giving readers a big fight issue could be seen as a concession to the fans who hate the book for it not being standard X-Men fare. However, Momoko finds a way to do what everyone wants her to in her own way, telling the story that she started with the first issue in 2024. Ultimate X-Men #13 is a test and it’s as much for the reader as it for Armor and Shadow King.

Ultimate X-Men #13 is on sale where ever comics are sold.

The post The Ultimate X-Men’s First Fight Is a Fiendish Test appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Mark London’s Underworld universe for Mad Cave Studios has been steadily building to a massive event, and now that seismic event has finally arrived in the form of Endless Night, and we’ve got your exclusive first look. London (Battlecats, Hunt.Kill.Repeat) has teamed with artist Tom Derenick (Justice League), colorist Juancho Velez, and letterer Simon Bowland to bring four of Underworld’s biggest characters together for a story that will shake up this ever-expanding world but also set the stage for more stories to come.

Endless Night #1 will launch with two covers that you can check out below, including Cover A by Chris Weston (The Filth, Judge Dredd) and Cover B by Declan Shalvey (Moon Knight, Bog Bodies). You can check out the first look at both covers in the images below.

Endless Night #1 kicks off as Order of the Nine leader Axel Black sends a force to Exit City to acquire a dangerous artifact, and if he gets his hands on it, it will be apocalyptic in scope. It’s then up to four very different characters to come together and stop that from happening, with favorites Velveteen, McCormick & Miller, and Owen Blackwood joining forces for the first time ever and giving the world some much-needed hope in the process.

“Endless Night, our inaugural crossover piece for the Underworld universe, and it’s where my childhood dreams have taken form,” said Mark London. “It’s where the relentless rhythm of Revolution 9, the eerie whispers of Hour of the Wolf, and the gritty vibes of Exit City converge. These worlds, steeped in action, horror, and noir, are the essence of my creative soul and the foundation upon which Mad Cave Studios was built.”

[RELATED: David Blaine’s Do Not Attempt Embraces the Extreme in Stunning New Comic Posters (Exclusive)]

“Growing up, these narratives fueled my imagination, and now they have become my reality. Through this crossover, I aimed to explore the delicate dance between light and shadow, and how they shape the human experience,” London said. You can find the official description for Endless Night below.

“When Axel Black, an obsessive tech billionaire and head of the sinister Order of Nine, sends his operatives to Exit City in search of a dangerous mystical artifact, only a team of unlikely allies from different corners of the underworld can prevent an apocalyptic catastrophe: Velveteen, the elite rogue assassin hellbent on revenge; McCormick & Miller, two detectives keeping peace in a lawless city; and Owen Blackwood, a monster hunter duty-bound to stop evil. But tensions are mounting, and time is running out!”

Endless Night #1 is now available for pre-order at your local comic store and from Mad Cave Studios, and will launch on June 4th. You can also check out the rest of the Underworld universe in Mad Cave Studios’ Revolution 9, Hour of the Wolf, and Exit City.

Are you excited for the epic new crossover? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Hellboy Meets Something is Killing the Children in Mad Cave’s Underworld Crossover Endless Night (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One World Under Doom #2, by Ryan North and R.B. Silva, is stuffed with big moments. Doom’s hold on the world keeps getting tighter, as the people of the world find their lives better than ever under the rule of Doctor Doom. The Fantastic Four decide to try to make Doom look bad, but are completely outclassed by their longtime foe. Doom outmaneuvers them, and ends the whole affair by using his new Sorcerer Supreme powers to cure the Thing of his powers, transforming him back to Ben Grimm. Meanwhile, the Avengers watch as Doom outsmarts the heroes once again, leading them to make their own plans. Part of this plan involves trying to figure out if Doom has the leaders of the world under mental control of some kind. However, there’s another aspect to their plan, one that teams the Avengers up with a group of enemies that has been trying to destroy them for years — the Masters of Evil.

The Masters of Evil first came together back in the early days of the Silver Age, with Baron Heinrich Zemo bringing together a team that was powerful enough to fight the Avengers. Some of the best Avengers stories of all-time starred the Masters, and the history between the two teams is one of constant conflict. That makes this team-up especially precarious.

The Masters of Evil Have Tried to Destroy the World and Kill the Avengers Numerous Times

The Masters of Evil come from a time when most villains were “villainous opposites”. The Avengers were the ultimate heroes, so the Masters of Evil were the ultimate villains. They were the most dangerous enemies of their day and every time they’d return, there would be new members of the Masters. There was very little loyalty in the Masters of Evil; the team’s leaders — Heinrich and his son Helmut, Ultron, Egghead, Doctor Octopus, Crimson Cowl, Max Fury, Lightmaster, and Madame Masque — basically brought in anyone they thought would help them defeat the Avengers. A list of the Masters of Evil would read like a who’s who of the B and C-list of Marvel’s villains, with A-listers at the head of the team. The Masters of Evil have mostly disappeared in modern comics — for some reason, the evil superteam seems to be a thing of the past, at least in the Marvel Universe — but the group did hand the Avengers their worst loss until Scarlet Witch decided to get mad about her children.

RELATED: Steve Foxe Unravels the Mysteries Behind Doctor Doom’s Superior Avengers (Interview)

The ’80s classic “Under Siege”, by Roger Stern and John Buscema, saw the largest roster of the Masters of Evil brought together by Helmut Zemo. Helmut made the perfect plan and sprung it on the Avengers, with his Masters destroying the Avengers at every turn. They were even able to kick the team out of their headquarters at Avengers Mansion. Cap was taken prisoner, Jarvis was tortured, and Hercules was beaten into a coma. While the Avengers were eventually able to defeat their enemies, the scars of what the Masters of Evils did to them would always be there. The Masters under Zemo would also return a few later, when the Avengers were thought dead, posing as the Thunderbolts. That was basically the last hurrah of the Masters as any kind of force, so their return at the end of One World Under Doom #2 was a big surprise.

Can the Avengers Trust the Masters of Evil?

The Avengers don’t have the best luck with Doom, and Captain Marvel’s two-pronged plan is the group’s best hope to defeat the Latverian monarch. Teaming with the new Masters of Evil — consisting of Doctor Octopus, MODOK, Mysterio, Baron Mordo, Arcade, and Madelyne Pryor — feels like an action motivated by panic, and it’s one that can bite the Avengers if they’re not careful. While this new roster of the Masters doesn’t have anyone who hates the Avengers too much — MODOK is the only one who is technically an Avengers villain — Doom has been able to keep the Avengers and the FF on the back foot. It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine that Doom has already suborned the Masters.

Regardless of what happens, seeing the Avengers and the Masters team together is something that no one ever expected. The closest that ever came to happening was with the Thunderbolts, and even that was after Zemo had been kicked off the team and Hawkeye was leading them. This is a huge moment in Avengers history.

One World Under Doom #2 is on sale where ever comics are sold.

The post The Avengers’ Greatest Foes Returns… To Help Them Fight Doom? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man: India spins a Web-Slinging adventure with the Web-Head of another universe, and it deserves a great deal more recognition. Originally published in 2004 into 2005, Spider-Man: India‘s title is very self-explanatory, with the Wall-Crawler re-imagined as Mumbai teenager Pavitr Prabhakar, who lives with his Uncle Bhim and Auntie Maya while harboring romantic feelings for Meera Jain and craving something more out of life, such as becoming a Bollywood movie star. Pavitr ends up getting his wish when his is granted to powers of the spider and becomes Mumbai’s superhero protector Spider-Man, right as a villainous threat of immense proportions arises.

Spider-Man: India is a classic case of taking an established and popular character and re-working their backstory into something completely fresh, with Pavitr Prabhakar subsequently returning in the Spider-Verse and Spider-Geddon comic book stories. That makes it all the more baffling that Spider-Man: India has never quite broken out as big as other alternate universe Spidey stories. With that said, Pavitr Prabhakar’s big-screen debut in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may have the first step in changing that.

Spider-Man: India Gives The Web-Head (& The Green Goblin) A Supernatural Origin Story

Apart from transporting the Wall-Crawler to India and re-imagining him into Pavitr Prabhakar, Spider-Man: India puts a whole new spin on how both Spidey and the Green Goblin acquire their superhuman powers. In Spider-Man: India, Norman Osborn is re-imagined as Nalin Oberoi, a Mumbai crime boss who comes into possession of an ancient amulet which unleashes a demonic entity and transforms him into the book’s version of the Green Goblin. This is a huge reworking from the sci-fi origins of the Green Goblin’s powers and personality in the comics, and Spidey himself gains his abilities in a similar fashion.

Following Nalin’s transformation, Pavitr is granted the abilities of a spider by a wise yogi, tasking the young Pavitr with stopping Nalin before he unleashes more demons into the world. That’s a major switch from the radioactive spider bite that gave Peter Parker his arachnid powers, but like Nalin’s origin, it perfectly fits the tone established in Spider-Man: India. Deeply rooted in India’s culture of Hinduism and spirituality, Spider-Man: India‘s re-invention of Spidey and the Green Goblin is a wholly captivating one indeed.

RELATED: Spider-Verse Star Has Major Tease for Third Movie (And We’re Worried)

Spider-Man: India Is A Comic Book Visual Feast

Flipping through the pages of Spider-Man: India, one of the graphic novel’s greatest attributes immediately jumps off the page. To put it simply, Spider-Man: India is a visually enthralling, astonishingly captivating comic book. Artist Jeevan Kang and colorists Gotham Studios Asia bring the book’s vision of the vibrant metropolis of Mumbai to life in gorgeous, colorful art bathed in seemingly perpetual sunsets, but they don’t stop there. With supernatural versions of Spider-Man and the Green Goblin on hand and Hindu elements to integrate into the story, Spider-Man: India captures all three with phenomenal and impactful artwork on each page.

Spidey and the Green Goblin’s looks themselves are fittingly re-designed, with the the Green Gobin himself changed into an outright goblin. Spider-Man: India also treats the reader to an unusual abundance of one or two-page action shots of Spidey swooping through the city and battling the Goblin and other villains to stop a demonic invasion. The artwork of comic books is an essential component of comic book storytelling, and here too does Spider-Man: India bring nothing but pure Web-Slinging flair to its re-imaging of Spidey as a teenager in India chosen to become a superhero. Spider-Man: India truly is an instance where a comic book’s artwork alone makes it a worth read and new chapter into Spidey’s Wall-Crawling adventures.

Pavitr Prabhakar Cemented His Legacy in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

With Peter Parker as the mainline Spider-Man and Miles Morales as his 21st century successor, it would be easy to assume that Pavitr Prabhakar wouldn’t be making it to the big-screen any time soon. But, of course, the multiverse – or, more specifically, the Spider-Verse – is the ultimate rebuttal to any such limitations being placed on comic book stories being adapted to movies or TV. 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse took the multiverse story of its 2018 predecessor Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and turned it up to 1000, introducing the Spider-Society consisting of hundreds of Spider-People from throughout the multiverse, including none other than Pavitr Prabhakar.

Voiced by Karan Soni, Across the Spider-Verse‘s Pavitr builds upon his origin story in Spider-Man: India, the teenage Web-Head a fully confidant, skilled superhero who teams up with Miles Morales (Shamiek Moore), Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfled), and Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya) to put a stop to the multiverse-spanning crime spree of The Spot (Jason Schwartzmann). Pavitr’s costume also gets an update in Across the Spider-Verse to reflect his cool persona as his universe’s Spidey, while the visual splendor of the movie is gloriously on par with that of Spider-Man: India.

With Pavitr set to return in the forthcoming Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, he seems to be gradually catching up with Miles and Gwen as non-Peter Parker Web-Heads with an ever growing scale of popularity. While Pavitr seems poised to become more and more of a break-out character in his Spider-Verse adventures, it all began for him the multiverse one-off tale of Spider-Man: India, a visually astounding and narratively engrossing alternate universe tale that every Spider-Man fan should give a read if they haven’t already.

The post Spider-Man: India Needs Way More Love appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The final battle between Logan and his longtime nemesis Sabretooth is about to go down in Wolverine: Revenge. Superstar creators Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo are teaming up on Wolverine: Revenge, an out-of-continuity limited series that swings for the fences. We’ve already seen the deaths of Captain America and the Winter Soldier, along with Wolverine following the title’s name by seeking revenge against his greatest rivals (and one former teammate on the X-Men). Of course, you can’t tell a Wolverine story without Sabretooth. While Victor Creed may not be up to his old fighting form, he still holds a grudge, and Wolverine is ready to bring their feud to a bloody end.

Marvel released a preview of Wolverine: Revenge #5 by Jonathan Hickman, Greg Capullo, Tim Townsend, and Alex Sinclair. One unique part of the limited series is that there has been a time jump in each issue, and the Wolverine and Sabretooth preparing for battle are a lot older than what fans are accustomed to. Wolverine is in his trademark brown costume with a noticeable grey beard seen under his mask. As for Sabretooth, he’s relegated to moving around in Professor Charles Xavier’s gold hoverchair. But Sabretooth isn’t coming to fight Wolverine alone. He’s brought Colossus’ son along with him.

[RELATED: Ultimate Wolverine Reveals the Fate of an MCU Avenger (Exclusive)]

Wolverine has been periodically checking up on Sabretooth and cutting off parts of his body, which is why Sabretooth is left to use the hoverchair to move about. So we have to assume Sabretooth no longer has his legs and lower body. Plus, he’s missing his right eye. Colossus’ son wants payback against Wolverine for killing his father in a previous issue. The boy looks just like Colossus and has Magik’s Soulsword strapped to his back.

Wolverine tries to goad Sabretooth by calling him a coward for having someone else fight his battles for him. The tactic seems to work, cause Sabretooth lets out a vicious howl before telling the boy, “Do it now, kid!” What that is remains a mystery for now, as the preview of Wolverine: Revenge #5 comes to an end.

Wolverine: Revenge is one of the titles to get the red band treatment from Marvel. The publisher began releasing red band editions of its comics with the debut of the vampire-centric Blood Hunt, with the individual issues being polybagged and flagged as containing explicit violence and blood. 

“TIME HEALS NOTHING! Not even a mutant healing factor can restore the gouge in WOLVERINE’s soul,” the description of Wolverine: Revenge #5 reads. “Generations later, revenge is served cold, as the unspeakable crimes are paid for. SNIKT, @$#&$s! Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo’s legendary conclusion to their already legendary miniseries!”

Wolverine: Revenge #5 goes on sale Wednesday, March 26th. Let us know what you think of the preview in the comments below.

The post Marvel Teases Wolverine’s Final Showdown With Sabretooth appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel Comics’ super-healing superhero Wolverine has a gruff outward demeanor due to the trauma he’s gone through in his long life-span, but Mark Millar‘s comic book tale Old Man Logan puts Wolverine through his greatest tragedy by far. Logan a.k.a. Wolverine is one of the most popular X-Men and Marvel characters around, with his powers including three deadly claws in each hand along with his famed healing factor, which enables him to survive virtually any injury or disease that would have easily killed a normal human. Wolverine’s healing factor not only regenerates his body to normal, but also slows his aging process to a crawl, enabling Logan to live for centuries. However, this also forces him to not only endure the pain of his many injuries, but witness and experience more tragedy than any other man ever has.

Logan’s extended lifespan and the sheer degree of physical and mental trauma he has endured has contributed to his famously grizzled personality among the X-Men. Even with that being a staple of Wolverine as a character, the Old Man Logan mini-series of 2008 to 2009 gives Logan a level of tragedy to be truly bitter and destroyed about. At the same time, it also sets up Logan’s climb from despair to become a true hero again.

Old Man Logan Shows Wolverine At His Lowest Point

Old Man Logan takes place in a dystopian future on the alternate universe of Earth-807128, in which the Marvel superhero community has long since been defeated by the villains, who have divided the United States into a collection of territories ruled by different villains (with some also overtaken by other villains.) Logan lives with his wife and two children as a farmer in Sacramento, California in the territory known as Hulkland, before he is recruited by the elderly and blind Hawkeye to help him transport a package across the country (later revealed to be a batch of super-soldier serum, which Hawkeye and the surviving heroes hope to use to start a resistance against the ruling villains.)

Old Man Logan makes a point of emphasizing that Logan has not unsheathed his claws in decades, and he eventually reveals the reason why to Hawkeye and the reader. On the night that the villains brought the superhero community down, Wolverine single-handedly defended the X-Mansion from an assault by dozens of villains. However, Wolverine discovered too late that the attack was an illusion created by Mysterio, and that he had instead been slashing and clawing at his fellow X-Men the whole time, all of whom lay dead and strewn across the mansion in a massive pool of blood.

Wracked with trauma and guilt, Logan sought to punish himself by placing his neck on a railroad track in the path of an incoming train. Fully aware that he would not die due to his healing factor, Logan inside wanted to take the pain and bloodshed he inflicted upon his fellow X-Men (however unknowingly) upon himself. Since then, Logan has made a vow to never pop his claws again.

RELATED: 3 Times Wolverine Should Have Died (And His Healing Powers Worked Overtime)

Old Man Logan Tells The Ultimate Wolverine Redemption Story

Obviously, with Wolverine being tricked by Mysterio into slaughtering his fellow X-Men, Old Man Logan is not a redemption story in the sense of Logan going from villain to hero. However, the story’s Western-esque dystopian future setting brings Logan out of hiding for one more mission to re-awaken the hero that has laid dormant inside of him for decades. Logan only takes the job with Hawkeye reluctantly and with the promise that it won’t call upon to do anything but drive them across the country, but Logan nonetheless frequently finds himself forced to help Hawkeye out of tight spots and in fights against villains, including Hawkeye’s own treacherous and newly web-slinging daughter Ashley Barton. Old Man Logan also has a lot of fun with disgraced heroes turned villains Old Man Banner, driven insane by Gamma radiation poisoning, and the Ghost Riders, along with fresh villains like a symbiote-bonded T-Rex.

In the end, after Hawkeye is killed and Logan’s family is murdered by the Hulk Gang, Wolverine finally breaks his vow and pops his claws, fittingly coated in blood after their first unsheathing in decades. Logan was understandably repelled by the thought of inflicting pain or violence on another human being after being tricked into slaughtering the X-Men, but the deaths of Hawkeye and his family don’t just inspire feelings of vengeance within him, but make Logan remember the cost of doing nothing in the face of evil, as well.

In the end, after defeating the Hulk Gang (in quite graphic fashion, with Logan being eaten by Old Man Banner before clawing his way out of him), Logan adopts the infant Bruce Banner Jr. and makes a new vow to bring down the villains ruling over the land. Once destroyed by the tragic demise of the X-Men, Wolverine is re-born in Old Man Logan as a hero with a renewed sense of purpose and justice.

How 2017’s Logan Adapts The Story Of Old Man Logan

James Mangold’s Logan famously drew inspiration from Old Man Logan, though it is hardly a one-to-one adaptation. Like its source material, Logan is set in the future, specifically the year 2029, but the movie’s first big change is that the United States is not ruled over by villains, instead focusing on the fact of no new mutant being born in decades. Hugh Jackman’s Logan works as a limousine driver, tending to the ailing Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Caliban (Stephen Merchant). The older Logan also faces a major problem with his healing factor significantly weaker, and as a result, his adamantium skeleton beginning to cause metal poisoning inside of his body.

Logan and Xavier find themselves on the run from Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and mercenaries employed by Transigen Industries after a young, clawed mutant named Laura (Dafne Keen) comes into their care. It turns out, Laura is the genetically engineered “daughter” of Logan, determined to reach a mysterious safe haven for mutants known as Eden near Canada. In a nutshell, Logan takes the essence of an older Wolverine on one last cross country mission and shapes it into its own story, and it also reworks the tragedy of the X-Men in one major way. In Logan‘s version of events, the aging Professor Xavier experiences seizures that cause telepathic paralysis upon anyone in the immediate area, with one such seizure years ago leading to the tragic death of all of the X-Men save for Logan.

With Logan drawing inspiration from Old Man Logan, both show Wolverine put through extremely tragic circumstances. However, as dark as the backstory of the X-Men’s deaths in Logan is, it is a far greater tragedy for Wolverine himself in Old Man Logan since it all happened by his hand, and helped lead to the downfall of the superhero community and the United States. In the end though, Old Man Logan may put Wolverine through his greatest tragedy, but it also sends him a true hero’s redemption story with his return to finally being Wolverine once more.

The post Old Man Logan Put Wolverine Through His Biggest Tragedy Ever appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Jason Todd is the most unfortunate Robin. It’s pretty common to find people who think Dick Grayson is the best Robin. Tim and Damian both have fans who will fight for them. Even Stephanie Brown has a cadre of shooters ready to stan their queen Robni. However, it’s rare you’ll find anyone saying that Jason is their favorite Robin. Jason was so unpopular as Robin that DC Comics had fans vote to see if they would kill him off. Jason lost, readers got “Death in the Family”, and Jason was relegated to the cemetery of heroes no one loved. However, Jason got a second chance at stardom as Red Hood. Red Hood made Jason hot again, with Red Hood going from villain to anti-hero with his solo book and later a team book, leading a group known as the Outlaws. However, Red Hood’s popularity has fallen precipitously. Red Hood is still important to the Batman mythos, but nowadays he feels surplus to requirements.

Jason Todd needs some kind of shot in the arm. DC has been doing a great job of bringing back old characters and making them popular again, and they need to work their magic on Jason Todd. There are several roads they can take to make Red Hood a big deal again, but there’s one in particular that would make Jason popular again. In fact, it’s the same way they made him popular in the mid ’00s — by making him a villain again.

Jason Todd Hasn’t Felt as Vital as He Did When He Was a Villain

DC could try to make Red Hood work as an antihero again, but let’s be real — the same loss of popularity would happen because Red Hood just isn’t that interesting as a hero. Sure, it’s fun to see him get more violent than the rest of the Bat-Family and sass everyone but that gets really, really old fast. However, DC definitely had a star on their hands when they decided to bring Jason back as a villain. Jason Todd as the villainous Red Hood just makes more sense than Jason Todd as the violent, mouthy Bat-Family member Red Hood.

Jason Todd as Robin was fine, but he was basically just Dick Grayson 2.0. It wasn’t until he was just about to die that he started to become the mouthier Robin we know today, and even that is overstated by creators and fans. There’s a reason that fans chose to kill Jason Todd. While some of it was surely fans gleefully picking death because the whole situation was novel, Jason Todd just didn’t have a lot of fans. He wasn’t a popular character, and much like Barry Allen, was more important dead and as a symbol than he was as an actual character. That’s why “Under the Red Hood” — and technically “Hush”, since it was established after the fact that he was involved, even though the Jason Todd who appeared there was Clayface — was such a great story. It brought back Jason Todd as a villainous character, one out for revenge against Joker, Gotham City, and Batman himself.

RELATED: Is Damian Wayne Becoming the Next Ra’s al Ghul?

It makes sense for Jason Todd to be a traumatized person out for revenge. It makes sense that the would want to kill the Joker and it makes sense for him to blame Batman for it all. Jason Todd now is sort of a boring character; he’s “edgy” and that’s really the extent of who he is as a character as a hero. Him and Damian will bicker, he’ll make fun of Tim, and he’ll sass Dick and Batman. There’s really nowhere new to take the character as a hero, and that’s a big reason why his popularity has fallen so hard. Readers aren’t interested in reading the same violent Red Hood stories where he almost kills but then holds back because he’s a member of the Bat-Family.

For years, Jason Todd was Batman’s biggest failure, which is why it made so much sense for Red Hood to be a villain. Jason is one of the most skilled members of the Bat-Family — after his return, he was trained by Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins. He’s smart and he knows his way around criminal enterprises, having fought them with Batman and having run his own gang after his return to life. Imagine how awesome it would be if a mysterious new force enters Gotham’s underworld. Batman and the Bat-Family have no idea how to counter them, or even find them for that matter, and eventually Red Hood goes to Batman and tells the Dark Knight that he’s found their secret base, leading Batman to them. They get there and suddenly Batman is hit from behind. Jason stands revealed as the newly villainous Red Hood, with a new Scarlet — his sidekick from when he became a more-Batman like vigilante version of himself during Morrison’s Batman and Robin (which is still the best Red Hood has ever been) — by his side, his hatred of Batman and the other members of the Bat-Family exacerbated by the way they treated him like a second-class member of the group. Suddenly, Red Hood is interesting again.

Jason Todd Makes a Much Better Villain than Hero

Jason Todd as a hero is like the Punisher if he only kneecapped his foes. He’s talks a big time, but that’s it. He’s gotten boring the more “respectful” he’s gotten as a hero. That’s the problem with Jason Todd. He’s just not that interesting of a character if his trauma over his own death doesn’t cause him to hate the world around him and try to get revenge.

If DC wants Jason Todd to be successful again, they need to bring him back to being a villain. The Bat-Family has had things too good for a while now. They need to take a loss, and the most entertaining loss they could take is if Jason Todd decided that his hate and revenge was more important than being the ignored middle child of the Bat-Family. Jason Todd is a mediocre hero, but he’s an excellent villain.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

The post DC Needs to Do Something About Jason Todd appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb are no longer keeping Batman Hush 2 under wraps. More than 20 years after Lee and Loeb’s 12-part Batman Hush unraveled the mystery of Bruce Wayne archvillain Tommy Elliot, the bandaged bad guy is back in H2SH: a six-issue sequel that promises a dramatic status quo shakeup for the Dark Knight following the Chip Zdarsky-penned Batman run (which concluded with issue #157 in February).

First announced at New York Comic Con in October and teased in a three-page prelude in Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s Justice League Unlimited #1 in November, H2SH — written by Loeb and penciled by Lee, with inks by Scott Williams and colors by Alex Sinclair — kicks off in Batman #158 on March 26 and runs through Batman #163 in August.

RELATED: Absolute Batman Reveals the Dark Knight’s Next Big Villains In Second Arc

“We’ve talked about coming back doing a follow-up to Hush for a while. For a variety of reasons, the timing was never right,” DC publisher Lee says in this week’s DC Nation Spotlight. “Because we’re doing the All In initiative, where we launched the Absolute line but still wanted crazy things to happen in the core line, it made this return to Hush the right opportunity.”

“For 20 years, everywhere I’ve gone, people have asked me whether or not we’re going to do it again,” adds Loeb, who has penned such seminal Bat-stories as Batman: The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. “My answer was always very honest: When Jim’s ready to go, I’ll be ready to go.”

“The challenge we had was, how do we recapture that excitement, yet to something new? Jeph, to his credit, crafted a story that feels very much like the opposite side of the coin to what he did 20 years ago,” Lee added. “It establishes a new status quo for Batman, new villains, new looks, new locations.”

But there will be old villains as well, including those who had a role to play in the star-studded Hush (which pit Batman against everyone from the Riddler and Clayface to a Poison Ivy-controlled Superman). Besides Hush, DC Comics has teased the Joker in the first issue (titled “The Pawn”) and, according to the cover for Batman #159, Jason Todd/Red Hood.

“My phone rings, and Jim says, ‘I think it’s time for us to revisit these characters and to really come up with something that can not only build on what we did 20 years ago, but take it to the next level,'” Loeb says. “That was the challenge. Certainly artistically, I have no doubt in my mind that Jim, Scott, and Alex outdid themselves.”

Although the band is back together for their 23-years-later sequel, Lee notes that the cast of characters “resemble the iconic versions of themselves, but we changed surface elements — melding the work that was done 20 years ago with the work we’re doing today.”

“We’re trying to do new kinds of shots, new angles, new color schemes,” Lee says. “We’re challenging ourselves across the board, because we know there are high expectations. It’s also a great way to motivate ourselves, to do hopefully our best creative work.”

In the two decades since Batman: Hush, the titular villain has appeared in everything from A.J. Lieberman’s Batman: Gotham Knights run and the Paul Dini-penned Batman: Heart of Hush to the live-action Batwoman series and the Batman: Arkham video games. Now that the mystery surrounding Hush’s identity is long out of the bag, H2SH is more of a revenge story.

“So much of what we did in the first story was to play with, ‘Who is Hush? What does he want? What’s going on?'” Loeb says. “We’ve now established all that, so in many ways, this is a revenge story. He’s learned so much, and one of the great things about the character is that he’s a master manipulator.”

Loeb continues, “He likes the game of it. It’s like moving pieces on a chessboard. You don’t want to always play the same game. You want to take it in a new direction.”

The game begins in Batman #158, on sale March 26 from DC Comics.

The post Batman Hush 2: Jim Lee & Jeph Loeb Tease Status Quo Shakeup, New Villains appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel Comics is rallying its biggest heroes to stand up against bigotry for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month this year. The publisher just announced this year’s pride anthology one-shot — Marvel United: A Pride Special #1, featuring at least five stories about characters from The Avengers and X-Men. The giant-sized issue goes on sale on Wednesday, June 4th, and is available for pre-order now at local comic book shops. It will also be included in the Marvel Unlimited app for digital readers. Read on for a bit about each of these stories and the creative minds driving Marvel’s sixth consecutive Pride Month celebration this year.

Marvel dropped the cover art for Marvel United: A Pride Special by artist Lucas Werneck, but there are four variants coming later this year as well. The artist behind hose are Jan Bazaldua, Ernanda Souza, Luciano Vecchio, and Rickie Yagawa. As for the stories themselves, the first is about Captain America of the Railways, Aaron Fischer, going up against Hate-Monger. It’s written by Al Ewing with art by Kei Zama.

The next story is about Captain America and his ally Arnie Roth fighting against Hydra during World War II, with implications for the Avengers Academy Infinity Comic. The writer behind that seires, Anthony Oliveira, is penning this one-shot along with artist Pablo Collar.

[RELATED: Why Marvel Fans Think She-Hulk Returns in Avengers: Doomsday (Could They Be Right?)]

The third story in the anthology also has a tie-in — it relates to Mystique and Destiny’s marriage in last year’s Pride special, as we will now explore their parenthood journey along with their son, Nightcrawler. The story comes from author Wyatt Kennedy and artist Bayleigh Underwood. In the fourth story, Black Cat is on a heist that goes so wrong, she winds up caught in a battle between the hero Sera and the demon D’Spayre. That one is written by Zoe Tunnell with art by Federica Mancin.

According to Marvel, there are more stories to be announced for this anthology, as well as interviews and essays on the significance of Pride to the comic book fandom. This is already an all-star lineup for this yearly special, so there’s no telling what the publisher is keeping secret.

Marvel’s previous Pride specials are still available in print and digital formats now. The books have been well-received, and are always celebrated as a sign that discrimination has no place in superhero comics. This year’s book, Marvel United: A Pride Special #1, hits shelves and apps on Wednesday, June 4th, 2025.

The post Marvel’s Heroes Unite Against Hatred for New Pride Special appeared first on ComicBook.com.

“And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes were united against a common threat. On that day the Avengers were born — to fight the foes no single hero could withstand.” Foes like the Masters of Evil, a supervillain alliance that Baron Heinrich Zemo first formed to destroy the Avengers with the Black Knight, Melter, and Radioactive Man in 1964’s Avengers #6. Over 60 years, the ever-changing ranks of the Masters of Evil would go on to include the likes of Baron Helmut Zemo, Ultron, Moonstone, the Wrecking Crew, Doctor Octopus, and… the Avengers?!

In this week’s One World Under Doom #2 by writer Ryan North and artist R.B. Silva, the Avengers — Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Captain Marvel — are on the backfoot after Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Doom declared himself the Emperor of the World, decreed all nations provinces of the new United Latveria, and then granted his subjects the gift of open borders.

RELATED: Avengers: Doomsday Villain Doctor Doom Will Lead the Avengers in the Comics

Emperor Doom already killed Baron Helmut Zemo while squashing a Hydra rebellion and magically cured the Fantastic Four’s Thing (leaving Ben Grimm without his powers). Now that the world’s leaders have declared fealty to Doom, Earth’s mightiest heroes are losing.

Captain Marvel mounts the Avengers’ two-pronged attack: while magic users led by Scarlet Witch and espionage experts like Black Widow infiltrate capitals to liberate the world’s leaders from Doom’s influence, another team of heavy-hitters will bring the fight to Doom as a distraction.

“What’s happening here is huge, and it’s global. As such, it transcends many of our old differences,” Captain Marvel tells the heroes. “Which means, Avengers, that we now find ourselves with an unconventional group of allies… all of whom stand ready to assist us in the final battle against Doom.”

They are the Masters of Evil: M.O.D.O.K., Doctor Octopus, Baron Mordo, Mysterio, Madelyne Pyror/Goblin Queen, and Arcade. “Heya, Tony,” M.O.D.O.K. tells Iron Man. “Welcome to the Masters of Evil.”

RELATED: Superior Avengers: Marvel Reveals New Look at New Villain Avengers Team in One World Under Doom

And so came a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes — and villains — were united against a common threat. On that day the new Masters of Evil Avengers were born to fight the foe no single hero — or villain — could withstand. After welcoming the Masters of Evil to their ranks, the Avengers and their enemies-turned-allies will join forces to take on Emperor Doom in One World Under Doom #3 in April. (See preview pages below.)

“It was a ton of fun to write, and even more fun to see drawn when R.B. Silva was done with it,” North said of the third issue (of nine). “And it doesn’t go the way you might think, and actually leads to an even BIGGER fight in the next issue! It’s got some Doom moments I’m super proud of. How could it not, when you’ve got characters like M.O.D.O.K. and Doctor Octopus trying to take down Doom for their own reasons?”

One World Under Doom #3

The Avengers have faced Doom…and they LOST. But Earth still needs avenging – and it’s not just the heroes who dislike having Doom in charge. And so heroes and villains unite against Doom, intent on taking him down once and for all! But that’s not all: A simultaneous magic attack reveals the shocking truth of HOW Doom took over the world – with terrifying implications for how others might – or might not – take it from him. However, Doom’s mind – vast and cool and unsympathetic – is not the only one regarding Earth with envious eyes…

On sale: April 23

One World Under Doom #3 Preview

The post The Masters of Evil Just Joined the Avengers in a New Marvel Comic appeared first on ComicBook.com.

X-Force #9, by Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To, deals with the team battling their new foe La Diabla. However, that’s not all that happens in this issue. It’s also a tie-in to “X-Manhunt”, the X-Men crossover that has seen Xavier escape from Graymalkin Prison, smack around Rogue’s X-Men, and then get to Storm to bring him to San Francisco’s Utopia, all because his daughter Shi’Ar Empress Xandra is attacked. X-Factor #8 showed why Xavier was in San Francisco — to retrieve the last Krakoan resurrection egg. Xavier, pursued by Cyclops’s X-Men and X-Factor, turns to a member of X-Force for help — his longtime ally Sage. Sage is X-Force’s tech support, and she decides to help Xavier instead of keeping an eye on her team.

Sage and Xavier’s history goes back to even before the X-Men even existed. Sage has always trusted and respected Xavier, and the two of them have worked together in the shadows before. Sage betraying X-Force for Xavier is a huge deal, but it definitely plays into Xavier and Sage’s history together.

Sage Was Xavier’s Secret Agent in the Hellfire Club for Years as Tessa

Sage was born Teresia Karisik, living in the Balkans. She would be forced to flee her home village after years of invasions and war, when her mutant powers manifested. Sage’s powers basically made her mind into a computer. She had perfect recall of everything she’s seen or heard in her life and her mind analyzes information like a computer, allowing her to survive the war-torn areas she found herself traveling through. Eventually, like many mutants, Sage found Charles Xavier, although the circumstances of their meeting were quite unique. Sage found Xavier in the Hindu Kush mountain rage, after his legs were crushed in battle with the alien Lucifer. Sage was able to save him and Xavier decided to take Teresia in, training her in the use of her mutant powers.

RELATED: 10 Best X-Men Stories of all Time

This was around the time that the original X-Men formed. The X-Men and Sage were two different sides of Xavier’s dream. The X-Men were the public face of the dream, fighting against threats to humanity and mutantkind, and meant to make humans think that mutants weren’t monsters. Sage was the dark side of Xavier’s dream, working from the shadows with her powers to do what needed to be done. Xavier decided that Sage would be best used as a spy, and sent her into the Hellfire Club, where she became known as Tessa. Tessa became Sebastian Shaw’s assistant, her mutant powers making her indispensable to Shaw, all while feeding information to Xavier. Sage acted as Tessa for years, but eventually joined the X-Men and has since worked with the mutants to protect her people.

Sage and Xavier’s Bond Has Proven Unbreakable

Sage has proved herself many times over the years, including her stint with X-Force in the Krakoa Era, eventually rising to the head of the mutant CIA. The whole time, she was loyal to the team, despite developing a drinking problem, and constantly worked to make Xavier’s plans a reality. Xavier and Sage’s bond comes from the fact that they saved each other; Sage would have died in the mountains eventually if she never left with Xavier and Xavier would have died with his legs crushed if Sage never came along. The two of them have a life debt to each other, which is why Sage drops everything in order to help Xavier.

Sage recruits a powerful teleporter for the job — John Wraith, a former ally and enemy of Wolverine — sending him to San Francisco to grab Xavier and the final Krakoan egg. Sage dropped everything in order to save Xavier, betraying X-Force for the first time since she joined the group back in the Krakoa Era. Xavier knew that she would help him no matter what, and Sage felt that by helping him this time, it paid off all the debts he owed her. Sage and Xavier’s bond has always been as strong as adamantium, and it will be interesting to see how this betrayal affects Sage’s place with X-Force.

X-Force #9 is on sale where ever comics are sold.

The post X-Force Just Suffered a Shocking Betrayal (And You’ll Never Guess From Who) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Kit Fisto is resurfacing in the Star Wars galaxy. The tentacle-tressed Nautolan Jedi Master became a fan-favorite after cracking a smile during the Battle of Geonosis in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, and the amphibious alien was never cooler than when a mission to the aquatic planet Mon Cala revealed his lightsaber worked underwater (in a 2003 episode of the Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series) or when Fisto fought the multi-limbed lightsaber wielder General Grievous (in a 2008 episode of The Clone Wars).

After mostly being relegated to action figures and unspeaking cameos in recent issues of Marvel’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda comics, Kit Fisto is set to star opposite Mace Windu and Shaak Ti in the new Dark Horse Comics miniseries Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories—Tides of Terror.

RELATED: 25 Years Later, the Fates of Two Star Wars Prequels Characters Have Been Revealed

The new four-issue miniseries — from writer George Mann (Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures – The Nameless Terror) and artist Luis Morocho (Marvel’s Voices: Community) — is a standalone story set on the never-before-seen planet Tordus, where Kit Fisto dives into an ocean “full of murky intrigue and ancient abyssal nightmares.”

Here’s the description for Tides of Terror: “Jedi Master Kit Fisto has been sent to the ocean planet Tordus, alongside Mace Windu and Shaak Ti, to investigate a controversial underwater research facility. The facility is in danger of flooding and being crushed into rubble, and if that’s not enough, there are giant monsters circling them. With disaster looming, his diplomatic excursion quickly becomes a rescue mission! Kit Fisto and his fellow Jedi must race against the clock to save innocent lives from the hungry leviathans that fill the depths. Can the Jedi fend off the danger lurking in the ocean’s briny waters?”

“Following the success of The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents, we’re thrilled to see Dark Horse continue with their next Hyperspace Stories mini-series,” said Lucasfilm creative director Michael Siglain. “Tides of Terror is part disaster story, part horror story, and all fun. It’s a race-against-time adventure in which the Jedi will face off against saboteurs and the sea creatures, and readers will learn to beware what lurks in the deep, dark ocean world of Tordus.”

Tides of Terror joins Dark Horse’s Hyperspace Stories comics line, which includes the original graphic novel Qui-Gon, the ongoing five-issue series Ghost Agents (starring the Bad Batch), and the upcoming five-issue series Codebreaker (starring Resistance heroes Poe Dameron and BB-8).

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories—Tides of Terror #1 goes on sale July 16, with covers by Pius Bak (Dark Horse’s Stranger Things) and Edwin Galmon (Dynamite’s The Terminator).

The post Star Wars Bringing Back a Fan-Favorite Jedi (for a Horror Series) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Two central stories in the Batman mythos are getting a new adaptation, allowing fans to experience them all over again in audio drama form, and inviting new fans to check them out for the very first time. DC Comics just announced a new weekly podcast series in collaboration with Realm, adapting the comics Batman: Year One and Batman: The Long Halloween into audio formats. The show launches on April 2nd and drops a new episode every Wednesday after that, and it will be available to stream or download on all major podcast platforms. The podcast is called DC High Volume: Batman.

It’s a brilliant move for comic book publishers to try and get in on the audio medium that has worked so well for audiobooks and podcasts in recent years, and DC has pulled out all the stops for this production. High Volume will begin by adapting Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Year One into a four part audio drama with an A-list cast. That includes Jason Spisak as Batman, Jay Paulson as James Gordon, Adam O’Byrne as Harvey Dent, Mike Starr as Carmine Falcone, Simon Vance as Alfred Pennyworth, and Dan Gill as The Joker.

The second storyline will be The Long Halloween — a limited series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale which is set immediately after Year One. Here, the cast will grow to include Jesse Burch as The Riddler, Michelle Lukes as Poison Ivy, and Kevin Smith as The Penguin. DC didn’t mention how many episode this arc will cover, but the comic consisted of 13 issues, so if they remain a one-to-one ratio, The Long Halloween will last over three months.

[RELATED: The Batman: Zoe Kravitz Read Year One To Prepare For Catwoman Role]

The trailer above gives an idea of the style this show will adopt, for those that haven’t listened to audio dramas before. The practice of adapting comic books this way has been very successful before — Audible’s adaptation of The Sandman, for example, is very well-reviewed and it helped pull in new fans as the TV adaptation was airing. In the same way, The Long Halloween was a major inspiration for The Batman (2022), so this is a great entry point for fans of the films.

First published in 1987, Year One was intended to modernize the Batman origin story and set it in stone, resolving the contradictions that had cropped up in various retellings over the previous decades. It has become a foundational text for all the comics that have followed, even through reboots and timeline-altering events. It has been collected and republished many times, so those interested can find it in hardcover, paperback, or digital formats.

The same is true for The Long Halloween, and both stories have also been adapted into animated films in recent years as well. These movies aren’t available on Max at the time of this writing, but they can be found to rent or purchase on PVOD stores like Prime Video, or on Blu-ray and DVD.

For those interested in the audio experience, DC High Volume: Batman premieres on Wednesday, April 2nd on all major podcast platforms, with new episodes every Wednesday after that. The show will begin with Year One adapted in four episodes, followed by The Long Halloween.

The post Batman’s Best Stories Are Getting the Podcast Treatment (And We’re Excited) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Titans are always the bridesmaid and never the bride. The Titans were once the New Teen Titans and part of the most popular DC books of the early ’80s. However, the team never really reached the heights they could have, despite several really good series under their belt. Titans fans are a long-suffering lot, but all of that seemed ready to change after Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. That book ended with the Titans being declared as the new top team on the planet, taking the place of the Justice League. Titans was given the star treatment, with superstar creators Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott kicking off the comic, and readers were about to get the Titans-fronted event comics Titans: Beast World, a book that seemed to come and go with little fanfare from fans.

Titans: Beast World, by Taylor, Ivan Reis, and Lucas Meyer, is a way better event book than it gets credit for. The six-issue series, and its various tie-ins, did a remarkable job of laying out an action-packed event comic that had consequences for the future of DC. Titans: Beast World isn’t some universe-shaking event, and if anything was just another chapter in the story building up to 2024’s Absolute Power, but it should be ranked among the best DC event comics ever.

Titans: Beast World Sold the Titans as the Kind of Team They’ve Always Had the Potential to Be

Titans: Beast World digs into DC lore a bit to present a great story. The book kicks off with an attack by the Necrostar, a monster from space that is related to Starro the Conqueror. The book sees the Titans take command in the battle against the monster, an exercise in futility until Beast Boy reveals that he can transform into a Starro, which is the only thing that the Necrostar is scared of. Beast Boy succeeds, but Amanda Waller, trying to turn the world against the superheroes, makes a secret attack on Starro-Beast Boy, causing him to explode into small Star Conquerors, which possess the people of the Earth, transforming them into animals. This sets up the rest of the book, which sees Nightwing leading the heroes to revert everyone back to human while also saving Beast Boy, all before Waller can kill millions of humans transformed into wild animals.

Titans: Beast World had everything it needed to be a great event. This wasn’t yet another Crisis event that vowed to change the multiverse, it was just a great superhero story that went to places that other events hadn’t before. It was the story that the Titans needed; Titans was a good book, but it often felt like every other Titans books, taking ideas and villains from New Teen Titans. Titans: Beast World showed the Titans as the leading team of the DC Universe, and it worked very well. Of course, that could be part of the problem with the story’s reception; most fans just weren’t sold on the Titans as the Justice League replacement. However, anyone who ignored the story for that reason — of because of the comic fandom’s strange disdain for Taylor — made a huge mistake.

There are some awesome ideas in this story; Beast Boy becoming a Starro the Conqueror certainly wasn’t on most people’s bingo cards, and getting to watch Nightwing lead heroes like Superman shows off just how great Nightwing is as a leader and hero. Doctor Hate, an evil version of Doctor Fate, is a great idea and adds a nice bit of mystery to the series. Seeing Amanda Waller manipulate the heroes was perfect for the role that had been built for the Wall since Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths ended. Finally, the tie-in issues, especially the Beast World Tour anthology comics, were all stellar. Seeing the different families of heroes deal with the transformed heroes and villains was spectacular, and made for some exciting stories, using Beast World to show off the various corners of the DC Universe.

Now, that’s not to say to Titans: Beast World doesn’t have its problems. The reveal of who Doctor Hate is, and her ultimate destiny in the story, is another callback to New Teen Titans that left a lot of fans cold. However, for the most part, those problems don’t outweigh the story’s strengths. Titans: Beast World had a lot riding against it, but the fact that it was able to succeed in nearly every way shows that the naysayers may have been wrong to not give the story a chance.

Titans: Beast World Broke the Crisis Formula

DC event comics are known for one thing more than anything else — multiversal shenanigans that “change everything forever”, but really just either destroy or recreate the multiverse for the umpteenth time. DC’s various Crises are amazing event books, but the fact that there have been so many of them robs them of their impact. Titans: Beast World doesn’t fit into the normal DC event formula, and that’s a very good thing. In fact, Titans: Beast World feels more like a Marvel event than a DC one.

Titans: Beast World shows off everything great about the DC superhero community while giving readers a story that took things in new directions. Superhero comics aren’t known for their novelty, so the fact that so much of Titans: Beast World revolves around not being like what came before is a much bigger deal than most people realize. Titans: Beast World isn’t a perfect story, but there are few comics that are. However, it does everything rather well, and deserves its flowers.

The post Titans: Beast World is One of DC’s Best Events, Period appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One World Under Doom has seen Doctor Doom succeed in taking over the world, and he’s done it without firing a shot. The leaders of the world have ceded control to Doom, and the world has become a part of the Latverian kingdom. Doom started out rather well, telling countries around the world that they have to give their people healthcare and education, even destroying Hydra. Doom is seemingly serious about helping the world, but the Fantastic Four and the Avengers do not believe that what Doom is doing is in any way altruistic. This leads to One World Under Doom #2, by Ryan North and R.B. Silva, which sees the Fantastic Four trying to figure out a way to show the world that Doom is the monster they know him to be, which leads to them deciding to pull a sneak attack on Doom later.

However, this isn’t the first time that the Fantastic Four and the Avengers have tried to make Doom look bad since he took the throne of the world and Doom is ready for them. He confronts them with a group of civilians who have pledged their lives to protect them, and even lets Invisible Woman know that if she tries to destroy their weapons, the weapons will explode and kill them. The Fantastic Four stand down, but Doom isn’t done yet. He turns his eyes to the Thing and decides to do something that Mr. Fantastic has never been able to do, which feels like the entire point of everything that Doom is currently doing.

Doom Cures the Thing Because Mr. Fantastic Can’t

The Fantastic Four gained their powers from cosmic radiation. Reed, Sue, and Johnny all got powers that made their lies better, but Ben Grimm was transformed into a monster. Reed promised his best friend that he would find a way to cure his friend but he never did. In fact, there have been times where Reed could actually cure his friend, but he chose not to because Ben’s powers and presence as a hero were more important than him having a life as Ben Grimm. The Thing has come to terms with being the Thing, and currently has a life that he only could have dreamed in the old days; he’s married to Alicia Masters and has a loving family. The Thing doesn’t want to go back to his old life. However, Doom doesn’t care because he’s trying to prove a point and cures the Thing of his “curse”.

RELATED: Avengers Directors Tease RDJ’s Take on Doctor Doom (& Claim No One Else Could Do It)

Doom wants the world to know how smart he is, and his actions in One World Under Doom all feel like the actions of someone trying to prove a point. Curing the Thing looks like Doom going back to his favorite pass time, and that’s making Mr. Fantastic look bad. For years, Doom has had to deal with Mr. Fantastic being better than him in every way; even when Doom became God Emperor Doom, he knew that Mr. Fantastic would have done a better job of fixing the multiverse than Doom did — something that Mr. Fantastic proved by rebuilding the multiverse with his family and the Future Foundation. Doom’s actions in One World Under Doom all seem like the actions of someone trying to prove that they’re as great as they think they are. For Doctor Doom, that means trying to show the world that he can do things that Mr. Fantastic can’t, and that includes curing the Thing.

Doom Has Something to Prove

Longtime Marvel fans’ jaws dropped when they read Secret Wars (2015) #9. This was the battle between God Emperor Doom and Reed Richards, where Doom admitted that Richards would have done a better job. No one ever thought they’d see Doom say anything like that. Reed Richards will always have that over Doom. While in the years since Doom has been a bit less villainous than he was before, there’s no way that moment doesn’t stick in his craw. It’s easy to see that Doom would want to do anything to prove that he could do something better than Mr. Fantastic, hence his actions in One World Under Doom.

Look at Doom’s actions, even beyond curing the Thing. All of them are Doom succeeding at things that Mr. Fantastic either has failed at in the past or would never try. Doom wants everyone to know that he is better than Mr. Fantastic in every way and One World Under Doom feels like Doom doing everything he can to erase the memory of him telling Reed Richards that he was better than Doom.

One World Under Doom #2 is on sale every where comics are sold.

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Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee are reuniting for “Hush 2”, a sequel to their Batman classic “Hush“. The original was basically a Batman’s greatest hits album, built around the mystery of who the mysterious Hush was. Back then, it wasn’t exactly difficult to figure out who Hush was, because there was new character introduced in the story — Tommy Elliot, a man who Bruce had grown up with in the days before the death of parents. So, while the story tried to sell the fact that anyone could have been Hush, there was basically only one person it could actually be. However, it was buoyed by Jim Lee just completely destroying it on art, so fans didn’t really mind that the central mystery of the book was so easy to figure out.

“Hush 2” had a teaser released in November, showing off a new costume, his trademark Aristotle quoting, and the seeds of a new plan. The original “Hush” came out over twenty years ago, and newer readers might not get why Hush is such a big deal, since he really hasn’t been around in a very long time. With “Hush 2” about to release, this primer will tell you everything you need to know about Thomas Elliot and his time as Hush.

Hush Quickly Became One of Batman’s Most Popular Villains Before a Precipitous Fall

The Waynes and the Elliots were two of Gotham’s wealthiest families and both families had a son. The Waynes had young Bruce and the Elliots had Thomas. Bruce and Thomas quickly became best friends, going to camp together, and basically being inseparable. However, the Elliot family wasn’t anything like the loving Waynes. Roger Elliot was an abusive alcoholic and his wife Marla came from a poor background, so she took the abuse, and stayed with Roger. Thomas wasn’t spared his father’s terrible attentions, and grew to hate his parents. Marla forced her son to memorize Aristotle and war philosophy, all so he could learn to deal with Roger’s abuse and fight back. He spent as much time as possible with the, to his mind, idyllic Wayne family. Thomas decided to try and kill his parents, cutting their brake lines, and the two were raced to Sacred Heart hospital, where Thomas Wayne worked. Dr. Wayne was able to save Marla but not Roger, something that rankled young Thomas to no end.

After the accident, at camp, Thomas almost told Bruce about what happened with his parents, but stopped himself. Marla came to the camp to get him and everyone but Bruce called him a “mama’s boy”, causing Thomas to lash out violently. Thomas was put into a clinic for the rest of the summer, where he would meet Dr. Jonathan Crane, the future Scarecrow. Crane recognized the boy’s sociopathic tendencies, and would later mentor Thomas as Hush. Thomas became increasingly paranoid while at the clinic, believing that Bruce had somehow conspired with his mother to ruin his summer, and began to hate Bruce and the Waynes with a hatred that he usually reserved for his family. However, after the summer ended, the Waynes had their fateful night in Crime Alley. Bruce became sad and withdrawn, and Thomas was filled with jealousy for his friend, wishing that his parents were as dead as the Waynes. Thomas stayed under his mother’s thumb because she dangled the promise of paying for medical school. Bruce left Gotham, leaving Thomas behind with his controlling mother, who was suffering from cancer.

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Thomas hated his life but eventually met a girl named Peyton, who was a mobster’s daughter. Marla hated Peyton, and eventually wrote Thomas out of the will. However, Peyton was there, so she murdered the lawyer and changed the will back to normal. This was all unbeknownst to Thomas, but he made his own move, smothering his mother with a pillow. The two eventually found out what the other had done, and came up with a story, but their relationship wasn’t to last. Thomas left and began traveling the world, eventually becoming one of the top neurosurgeons in the world. Thomas was the Riddler’s doctor when the villain was diagnosed with brain cancer, but Riddler went to the Lazarus Pits to cure it. Riddler returned and tried to sell Thomas info about the pits, but instead Thomas asked Riddler for help in a revenge scheme against Bruce. Riddler agreed, and revealed something else — that the madness of the Pit gave him clarity and he had figured out that Bruce was Batman. Elliot and Riddler began making their plans and thus Hush was born.

Elliot returned to Gotham and targeted Batman, shooting one of his ropes so Batman fell and broke his skull. Elliot was the surgeon on hand, and saved his friend. Elliot would also fix Harvey Dent’s face, leading to the Two-Face identity to submerge. Hush enlisted multiple villains to fight Batman, but Dent was able to help the Dark Knight defeat the villain. Hush would return several times in the coming years, enlisting the Justice League villain Prometheus — or rather another version of Prometheus who had found the original’s armor but was nowhere near as dangerous — but was constantly beaten by Batman. Eventually Hush just sort of faded away.

Thomas Elliot as Hush Is One of Batman’s Most Clever Villains

Batman has many dangerous villains, but Thomas Elliot quickly became one of the deadliest. While Thomas hated his mother, her forcing him to study war and philosophy gave him the kind of leg-up that he needed to fight Batman, becoming something of a twisted version of the Dark Knight. Hush is known for making grandiose plans, and Batman has only been able to survive by the skin of his teeth.

So far, no one knows what Hush’s new plans are going to be, although the teaser gave readers something of a clue, with Robin and the Joker seeming to be people who he’s concentrating on. “Hush 2” has everyone excited, and Loeb and Lee have their work cut out for them. After their landmark story, other creators fumbled Hush, which is why he’s never reached the level of the Joker or Riddler, where he belongs. Thomas Elliot is a cunning monster, forged by a life of hardships and hatred into Hush.

Batman #158 is part one of “Hush 2” and it’s on sale March 27, 2025.

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Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, changed the comic industry forever. The twelve issue maxiseries took a warts and all look at what superheroes would be like in the real world, one where their very presence completely changed history and the geopolitical situation of the world. Watchmen is considered the greatest comic of all-time, and for good reason. Moore and Gibbons used every trick in their repertoire to craft a story that Time magazine named one of the greatest works of literature in the 20th century, bringing comics into the rarefied air that only “true art” existed in. To this day, every great comic is compared to Watchmen, and its impact on the comic industry led to many of the greatest stories ever, with creators attempting to take the baton of Watchmen and run with it.

Moore is often considered the curmudgeon of the comic industry, his opinions on superhero comics still causing controversy even though he’s left the industry, and those views are an important part of why the story hits so hard — his cynical ideas on superheroes informing the ideas of the book. There’s something about Watchmen that grabbed the comic fandom and never let them go. Think pieces — like this one — are constantly being written about it, and its impact has been debated since the moment the series ended in October of 1987. Everyone has an opinion on it, which begs the question: why are we still obsessed with Watchmen almost forty years later? Why exactly has this comic stayed a part of the zeitgeist?

The Problem of Watchmen

Watchmen is often credited with the maturation of the comic medium, but that’s not exactly true. The 1980s were a time of huge change in the comic industry, as fans who grew up reading comics became the people who were making comics. Creators like Alan Moore had grown up with the comics of the Golden and Silver Ages. Unlike the original creators of those comics, these were people who didn’t just see comics as a job; they were their passion, something that had stayed with them throughout their lives. They wanted to create comics that took of the energy of those they grew up with and infuse them with the maturity that they found in other mediums. Reading the comics of the early ’80s, from mainstream superhero books to the comics of the burgeoning indie scene, one can feel something new in the comics. Even something like “The Dark Phoenix Saga” was trying to tell a story more like a Greek tragedy than anything that Stan Lee or Gardner Fox were doing.

So, Watchmen wasn’t the first comic to try to be mature, but it did it best. Moore himself had already started the process of working up to Watchmen with his stellar Swamp Thing comics, using that classic monster horror character to tell stories about humanity. Watchmen was a distillation of all the changes made to the comic industry. Moore is a very well-read writer, escaping the poverty of Northampton’s Burrows neighborhood in the worlds of fiction, and he took everything he had learned and put into Watchmen. Comparing Watchmen to the mature classics of the early ’80 — books like Ronin, The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller’s Daredevil, and Maus — there’s something about Watchmen that stands out. It’s not just a dark, violent story with sex in it; it had something to say about the world of superheroes that no other book had said before. Before Watchmen, superheroes were looked at as perfect paragons of virtue, and Watchmen destroyed that idea. Watchmen showed that heroes were just like you and me, and this idea is what truly makes it standout.

RELATED: James Gunn Addresses Potential for Watchmen Reboot in DCU

It’s this idea that brings up the problem of Watchmen. No one was ready for this type of superhero story back then, and it created a legion of imitators. Some of these imitators — many of whom were brought over from the UK because of creators like Moore and Gibbons — were able to take the lesson of Watchmen and bring it to their books, leading to a renaissance of comics. However, most of the imitators just copied the “mature” themes — the violence, the sex, the darkness of the story — and that led the entire comic industry in a bad direction. Watchmen was a double-edged sword, and the changes it wrought re-created the comic industry in its image.

To my mind, this sea change is why we are still so obsessed with Watchmen. There are very few comics that had the type of impact that Watchmen had. Watchmen exists alongside books like Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27, Showcase #4, Fantastic Four #1, and Amazing Fantasy #15. These books set comics in new directions just like Watchmen did. However, even then, the obsession with Watchmen seems extreme. The main difference between them is that Watchmen made comics into literature. Comics are often considered “low art”, compared to novels or film. Ask an MCU fan if they read comics and you’ll get a look like they just tasted curdled milk. Watchmen was the one thing that comic readers could point to as something that matched the best of other mediums, and it led to other books that would take comics beyond what they once were.

Until Something Tops Watchmen, It Will Always Be a Topic of Conversation

Action Comics #1 introduced superheroes to the world. Showcase #4 started the Silver Age and Fantastic Four #1 gave readers a new take on superheroes. However, no one would say that we’re still obsessed with those books and the reason is simple — better comics have come along. Not to say those are bad comics, but it’s just a simple fact that better comics have come along. The changes they wrought were extremely important, but they basically became a part of the bedrock of comics, buried under the deluge of great books that they inspired. We know they’re there, but we don’t have to talk about them anymore because it goes without saying. However, with Watchmen, there’s nothing that’s come along that’s better.

We’re obsessed with Watchmen because it’s still better in some way than what’s come after it. There have been some amazing comics since the 1987, but none of them have been able to kick Watchmen from the top. Sure, there are times when people will say something is better than Watchmen, but it’s a minority opinion. The majority of people believe that Watchmen is the greatest even if it’s not their favorite, and until that changes, Watchmen is still going to be a topic of conversation. The obsession will end when there is something else to compare amazing comics to.

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Ever since the classic Batman story “Year One”, DC has used the “Year One” label to tell stories of the first year of many heroes’ lives especially those in the Bat-Family. Batgirl, Dick Grayson’s Robin, even the Joker in 2024 got their own “Year One” stories. When we take into account the fact that DC has rebooted its universe multiple times, these kinds of stories are crucial to fans understanding of the characters. DC has announced another “Year One” style story, from a team that has a lot of experience with these types of tales — Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. The writer/artist team is responsible for the 2022 miniseries Robin and Batman, giving a new look at the early years of Batman and Dick Grayson’s early career. Their newest subject is the most controversial Robin — Jason Todd. DC released this solicitation for the upcoming three-issue miniseries Robin and Batman: Jason Todd —

“Batman has a new Robin, Jason Todd. Jason is a rash, impulsive and reckless kid with a troubled past, who Batman was certain could be molded into Gotham’s next protector. But can the Dark Knight save Jason Todd from the darkness within himself? And when a mysterious new villain, shrouded in white cloth and mystery, sets his sights on Jason, Batman realizes that even he has what it takes to train the anger and torment out of his new young ward.”

By now, everyone knows the story of Jason Todd, the unpopular Robin that was voted to die in “Death in the Family”. Todd eventually became a more popular after he was brought back in 2005-2006 story “Under the Red Hood”, and has since become an antihero, starring in multiple series. Todd’s history is one of retcons, and the character has never gotten an actual canon origin, so this upcoming story is one that is desperately needed.

Jason Todd Is the Literal Red-Headed Step-Child of the Batman Mythos

Jason Todd first appeared in 1983’s Batman #357. Dick Grayson had left Batman’s side despite still being Robin years before, and at the time was part of the cast of the most popular book at DC, New Teen Titans. Batman didn’t feel right without a Robin, so DC gave him a new one. Looking at the early days of Jason, it’s easy to see that DC was basically just copy/pasting everything from Dick Grayson onto Jason Todd. So, for example, Todd’s parents were also acrobats in his pre-Crisis origin — inspired by the Flying Graysons, no less — and the Todds were introduced to Bruce Wayne by Dick. The circus they worked for, the Sloan Circus, was being blackmailed by Killer Croc and the Todds volunteered to help Robin find the blackmailer. Unfortunately, they were killed, leaving their young son a orphan. Bruce Wayne stepped up, taking on Jason as his ward.

That’s basically just Dick Grayson’s origin in a lot of ways — a circus being blackmailed leads to the deaths of acrobats whose young son is taken in by Bruce Wayne and Alfred — and the early days of Jason’s time as Robin was basically just him as the same kind of Robin as Dick was before. Alan Moore even had Wonder Woman make a joke about Jason basically just being Dick in the classic story “For the Man Who Has Everything” from Superman Annual #11. The differences between the characters was completely negligible, at best, and that’s one of the reasons he never connected with fans. He was basically, “We have Dick Grayson at home.”

RELATED: Is Damian Wayne Becoming the Next Ra’s al Ghul?

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jason was given a new origin, the familiar stealing the wheels off the Batmobile one, and he was established as the mouthy Robin on a hair trigger. However, since then, DC has been rebooted several times, and every time more and more is added to the character’s background — for example, Morrison saying that Todd was a redhead that Batman forced to dye his hair and Tom Taylor making him a nu-metal fan in a Nightwing Annual — to the extent that most fans don’t really have much idea of what Jason was like as a Robin other than a violent and edgy sidekick.

This is why this new series is so important to Jason Todd. Jason Todd is an important part of the Batman mythos. In fact, when it comes right down to it, Jason is one of the most integral parts of Batman’s history, representing the Caped Crusader’s greatest failure. His death was a major turning point for Batman and his comics, and the fact that there are so many versions of his origin out there, and so many voices adding and subtracting from it, means that he’s needed this treatment for a very long time.

Seeing the Early Days of Jason Todd May Give Fans a New Appreciation for the Character

Jason Todd is a character whose best days are seemingly behind him. There was a time when a Jason Todd series of some sort — whether it be a solo Red Hood book or the team book Red Hood and the Outlaws — was always being printed, but those days are gone. Fans don’t really appreciate Jason Todd anymore, and that’s a problem for a character who is as important as he is. Jason deserves more respect for his time as Robin, and Robin and Batman: Jason Todd could be the series that gives it to him.

DC needs to do something to make Jason work as a character again, and maybe getting to see the young Jason as Robin alongside Batman will do that for fans. Jason Todd has long been the least loved Robin. Honestly, there’s good reason for that to an extent — DC themselves never seemed to have any respect for him as anything other than a Dick Grayson replacement — but it’s also unfair. Any character can be great with the right creative team, and Lemire and Nguyen are that kind of team. Hopefully, they can not only give all the Jason Todd fans what they want from the character, but they can also convince lots of other readers to actually take the character seriously.

What do you think about Jason Todd? Let us know in the comments!

The post Batman’s Most Controversial Robin Is Getting the Year One Treatment (and It’s About Time) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

There are a lot of authors over the years who have disowned cinematic adaptations of their work after the fact, but Alan Moore was against the V for Vendetta (2005) film before it was even released. In a New York Times interview with Moore after the film was released, the timeline was made clear: although studios had insisted Moore was excited to see his legendary graphic novel adapted, Moore had already released statements refuting that idea. Moore might not be the easiest writer to work with, but his main concerns about V for Vendetta as a film make sense: while the original story focused on a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world influenced by real life British Thatcherism, the film updated the concerns to the UK during the War on Terror.

While the update might have made sense to the filmmakers at the time, it ultimately dates the film, and takes away the harshness of the world of the original V for Vendetta. It becomes more of a cartoonish ‘what if’ about the possibility of extreme overreach in an overreaction to Islamic terrorism, instead of how the UK descends into chaos after a nuclear winter, as in the original graphic novel. The UK becomes fascist in an attempt to restore order in a post-apocalyptic setting. The film also defanged V himself; he becomes more of a compassionate renegade freedom fighter than a revolutionary, angry anarchist terrorist.

Alan Moore Was Right about the V for Vendetta Movie

Moore might have summed up his overall complaints best in a now-archived interview with MTV: “Those words, ‘fascism’ and ‘anarchy,’ occur nowhere in the film. It’s been turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country.”

He’s right; there was no real need to completely shift an adaptation about British fascism into a more drained concern about where the world was headed after 9/11 and with America under George W. Bush. Fascism has frequently been a concern in British literature: George Orwell’s 1984 is an early example of those concerns becoming groundbreaking storytelling, and the original V for Vendetta was following in that tradition when it was being published between 1982 and 1985.

[RELATED: Alan Moore’s 7 Best Stories (That Aren’t Watchmen)]

Sometimes, an update of the source material makes sense, but this update ignores the whole point of V for Vendetta: it’s less a cautionary tale and more a philosophical debate about fascism and anarchism, which seem widely contradictory. However, the character of V wasn’t supposed to be a hero; he was supposed to be a conflicting figure for readers, and that’s probably why the true protagonist of the graphic novel (and the film) is Evey Hammond, and why she is his successor in the end… in the graphic novel. Evey in the film is a troubled young career woman; Evey in the graphic novel, is a teenage prostitute who ultimately takes on the mantle of V.

Arguably, the film is the way it is because that’s how it could get made in 2000s Hollywood; it becomes a much broader story, with a lot more sentimentality and less of a hard-liner stance, period. It rewrites contemporary history instead of proposing a terrifying possible future. At this point, the film feels dated and out-of-place; the filmmakers clearly want to make a point about America, but they’re doing it through the lens of UK politics, and it just… doesn’t make sense. It didn’t back then, and it definitely doesn’t now.

V for Vendetta Could Use Another Chance

Hollywood will probably never get Moore back in their good graces, but that’s no reason not to try adapting V for Vendetta again. HBO may have it easier with their ‘remix’ of Watchmen (2019), given that Watchmen is set in the United States, and therefore, it’s easier to ‘graft’ contemporary American concerns onto the original story, as the TV adaptation did. If an adaptation of V for Vendetta was to be undertaken today, it would have to be given to a creator with a steady hand, who refuses to go for broad strokes tying the events of Vendetta to our world today, and sticks to the point of the story: the political-philosophical quandary at the center questioning the role of extremism no matter where you are on the political continuum.

Television would probably be the best place for a new adaptation of V for Vendetta; it would allow for the world to be more fully established at the start, and it would mean the core story wouldn’t be rushed along the way. TV has also become a place for some truly vital political discussions; because TV shows get more time than just a standard movie allows more room to explore viewpoints and challenge audience assumptions. Alan Moore was right about V for Vendetta as a film, and while he may never enjoy an adaptation of his work, V for Vendetta as it was originally written is still a story that means something in our world today.

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The X-Men are in a rather strange place. Marvel’s lack of the X-Men’s film rights meant that they got heavily marginalized in the comics. It wasn’t until Marvel parent company Disney purchased 20th Century Fox that they regained them and everything changed for the X-Men. Marvel got superstar writer Jonathan Hickman to bring together a group of creators to reboot the X-Men and readers got the most inventive X-Men comics ever in what became known as the Krakoa Era. The X-Men were back at the top of the sales charts, but this wasn’t to last, as the departure of Hickman began the fall of the Krakoan status quo. Sales came back down to Earth, and the coming of X-Men ’97 meant that Marvel wanted a status quo that was more familiar to casual fans. Thus came “From the Ashes”, the latest X-Men status quo, led by legendary Marvel editor Tom Brevoort.

“From the Ashes” began with a lot of fanfare, and some big sales successes, but it also came at exact wrong time. DC released their Absolute line and that, along with the successes of the Marvel’s Ultimate line, quickly squeezed the X-Men books out of the top ten, and now they’re mostly back where they were at the end of the Krakoa Era, with several X-Men books getting cancelled already. “From the Ashes” is on the ropes, and it’s time to ask — has this newest status quo failed the X-Men?

“From the Ashes” Borrows From Giants but Rarely Impresses

Let’s start with the pros of “From the Ashes”. This won’t take long, honestly. Uncanny X-Men is phenomenal, Wolverine is doing interesting things with the character’s mythos, and Storm is finally making Storm feel like the goddess she’s always been. That’s basically it. That’s not to say that there aren’t people who like some of the other books — Jed MacKay’s X-Men gets some praise from fans — but there’s a huge problem with much of “From the Ashes” and that problem definitely hurt the comics in the days after the Krakoa Era. “From the Ashes” is basically a Frankenstein’s monster of previous X-Men status quos.

Uncanny X-Men is basically the Claremont book, starring characters made famous during Chris Claremont’s landmark first run on the original Uncanny X-Men and feeling like one of his later status quos where the team was no longer at the X-Mansion. X-Men lifts the Brian Michael Bendis Uncanny X-Men status quo whole cloth — Cyclops leading a militant team of mutants from a base in a frozen tundra that used to belong to the team’s enemies — then combined it with some of the elements of Morrison’s New X-Men, like Cassandra Nova and the U-Men. X-Force and X-Factor, two of the books on the chopping block, are basically just the ’90s status quos of both books with a few different characters. Wolverine takes Wolverine back into the woods, hearkening back to every savage Wolverine status quo since he first got his own solo book. “From the Ashes” brings very little new to the table.

RELATED: 10 Best X-Men Stories of all Time

Now, this sort of thing isn’t rare when it comes to status quo reboots in superhero comics. It’s not even all that rare with the X-Men; for example, Morrison’s New X-Men isn’t remarkably different from what came before, and uses concepts like the Phoenix Force, the Xavier Institute, the Shi’Ar Empire, and Weapon X. However, there’s a feeling that Morrison is taking familiar pieces and using them in new ways, something that never really shines through with “From the Ashes” books. So many of the books reuse ideas in exactly the way they were used before. Plus, it all feels like it’s leading back to the X-Mansion.

See, Marvel does this thing that annoys comic readers to no end. Since the MCU is more popular, Marvel seems to believe that if they change the comics to be more like the movies, then movie fans will start picking up comics. This never works; the amount of bleedthrough from the movies to the comics is infinitesimal at best. “From the Ashes” feels like it’s trying to subtly maneuver the X-Men back to the X-Mansion, with Xavier back as their mentor, for the first time in ages. The reasoning for this is simple — Marvel is definitely going to start the X-Men in the MCU in the classic status quo and the comics have to be brought into line with that. “From the Ashes” doesn’t have any ideas behind it, unlike Morrison’s era or the Utopia era or Krakoa, and it shows through in every comic. So, while there are some decent X-Men stories in the bunch, none of them are going to be remembered in twenty or thirty years.

“From the Ashes” Forgets the Fundamental Rule of Mutation — Change

Looking at the history of the X-Men, there is one constant — change — and when things stop changing is when the stories get stale. This is exactly what happened in the ’90s; the X-Men were the highest selling book, so Marvel basically just let them coast along, never really changing, and the quality of the books suffered immensely. “From the Ashes” has somehow managed to make the line feel stale and it hasn’t been going on for even a year yet. There are some bright spots, but they’re lost in a morass of X-Men cliches that longtime fans of the franchise have seen a million times before.

“From the Ashes” has failed the X-Men books. Now, one could make the argument that if the Absolute and Ultimate books weren’t taking up all the oxygen in the room, then “From the Ashes” would still be at the top of the charts. However, the fact that three of the books are already being cancelled shows this not to be the case. “From the Ashes” just doesn’t have anything to really hook readers; sure, many older reader hated Krakoa and they’ve come back, but a lot of the younger readers, drawn to the energy of the Krakoa Era, have left. The usual suspects — Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, and Wolverine — all sell well (though they’re selling nowhere near what Krakoa Era books were in their first year), but the rest of the line is limping along. Marvel obviously wants the X-Men to be a success, but if they think that “From the Ashes” is going to path to that, they have another thing coming. It feels like 1996 in the X-Men books and that’s a bad thing.

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With the recent success of Creature Commandos on Max and the upcoming release of James Gunn’s Superman, on July 11, the fledgling DC Universe appears to be on the right track. And while the initial Superman trailer drew mixed reactions from viewers, the majority of fans seem cautiously optimistic about James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new and improved DC cinematic universe. If Gunn and Safran play their cards right, the DCU could even replace the MCU one day as Hollywood’s premiere superhero franchise … If they get the right Batman, that is. How hard could selling another iteration of the most popular superhero in the world be? Harder than one would think. Just ask Zack Snyder and the DC Extended Universe — Warner Bros.’ first attempt at a DC cinematic universe.

Snyder created a grizzled, murder-prone Batman for the DCEU — Warner Bros.’ first attempt at a DC cinematic universe — and the results were disastrous. He got the costume right but completely missed the point of Batman as a character. If Gunn and Safran want to succeed where Snyder failed, they’ll need to give the World’s Greatest Detective a sunnier disposition. In other words, the DCU needs a Caped Crusader, not a Dark Knight.

Hollywood Needs to Lighten up When It Comes to Batman

For decades the only Batman that Hollywood has been willing to embrace is the dark, brooding loner. A black armor-clad anti-hero hell-bent on dishing out violent punishment at the drop of a hat. But that’s only one aspect of an 86-year-old character. There’s a rich history of Batman stories dating all the way back to 1939, and yet directors and screenwriters only seem to pull from The Dark Knight Returns. It doesn’t take a hardcore comic nerd to realize that basing a franchise’s flagship character on a single dystopian “What if?” scenario isn’t a great idea.

[RELATED: Forget Catwoman, This Is Batman’s Best Love Interest (And You Can’t Change My Mind)]

Don’t get us wrong, Frank Miller’s 1986 take on a much older, more nihilistic Batman is a classic for a reason, but as the ultimate Bat-tome, it falls a little flat. While it inspired some absolute bangers like Tim Burton’s Batman, it was also the main inspiration for Batman V. Superman, a film many fans consider to be the Dark Knight’s worst. In a world where Batman and Robin exists that’s saying a lot. Even if the DCU manages to avoid pulling from The Dark Knight Returns it will still have to avoid the other trap Batman movies keep falling into, “realism.”

Here’s a hot take: Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is a great crime drama but a terrible Batman story. The films strip Batman of any whimsy while gutting all of the fantastical elements of the character until we’re left with a character who shares a name with a famous comic book vigilante but not much else. More recently, Matt Reeves managed to deliver a slightly less “realistic” take on Gotham City with The Batman, but the film still took an overly serious approach to the Caped Crusader.

In neither movie universe will you hear anyone utter a word as ridiculous as “Batmobile,” or “Batarang.” Nolan and Reeves are fine with a man dressing up as a bat and fighting crime, but their willingness to put up with comic book tomfoolery only goes so far. For instance, both directors chose to give their version of Selina Kyle only the barest hint of cat ears, and god forbid she go by an absurd moniker like Catwoman.

The problem with making Batman gritty and realistic is that it makes the more fantastical elements of the character look silly and out of place. The Dark Knight, in particular, takes such a realistic approach to the Batman mythos that even having the character call himself “Batman” feels out of place. Remember, in his base incarnation — as a comic book character — Batman exists in a world where extraterrestrials, ghosts, and literal magic aren’t just real but known phenomena. In that context, yes, Batman is one of the more grounded heroes in the DC pantheon, but only in that context. Put modern comic book Batman in the real world with a utility belt full of smoke pellets, random pieces of kryptonite, and a pair of “batcuffs,” — not to mention his ability to swing between buildings without breaking his arms — and suddenly, he looks more like Spider-Man than everyman.

Batmen like the ones in The Dark Knight Rises and The Batman only work in a vacuum. Introduce Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne to Superman, and he’s going to turn in his cowl right then and there. On the flip side, if you go all in on the absurdity of a man in tights fighting alongside gods but keep him dark and edgy, you get Snyderverse Batman. A violent curmudgeon who drops F-bombs and promises to murder the Joker someday. So what’s the alternative? Model the DCU Batman after the ’60s Adam West Batman? Good lord, no. That’s how we ended up with Batman and Robin. No, what James Gunn and Peter Safran have to do is simple. Base the DCU Batman on what many fans consider the definitive version of the character: the one from Batman the Animated Series.

Kevin Conroy’s Batman was the Definitive Batman, Full Stop

Batman as portrayed by the late, great Kevin Conroy is the perfect version of the Caped Crusader to bring into James Gunn’s new cinematic superhero universe. Batman The Animated Series gave fans a Batman who was serious but never joyless, a Batman who was comfortable switching from swashbuckler to detective at the drop of a hat. This Batman still used violence, but he wasn’t over-reliant on it. His main goal was still to help criminals, to heal them rather than eliminate them altogether. Prehaps most important of all for a character who needs to exist within a larger superhero narrative, Conroy’s Batman played well with others when he had to — first, with his own “batfamily” in Batman the Animated Series and later with a larger roster of DC heroes in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

James Gunn and Peter Safran have a clean slate with the DCU. This is their chance to make superhero history. The duo has a chance to bring a well-rounded version of Batman to the big screen for the first time since Batman Mask of the Phantasm — the sole theatrical outing for Conroy’s Batman. With all signs pointing to Gunn’s Superman abandoning the darker approach Zack Snyder took with the character, there’s a good chance the director will go in a similar direction with Batman. The fact that the DCU’s first Batman project, The Brave and the Bold, is set to feature Robin is already a good sign that Gunn might be going with a more comic-book approach to the character.

Then again, he is using Damian Wayne, the most violent, bloodthirsty, decapitation-happy version of the Boy Wonder ever, so who knows? Do you think the DCU should introduce a more light-hearted Caped Crusader, or do you prefer the Dark Knight to be the ultimate edge lord like Shadow the Hedgehog wearing a fedora? Let us know in the comments!

The post The DCU Batman Needs to be More Caped Crusader and Less Dark Knight appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Catwoman is Batman’s most classic love interest, but their relationship isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Their hero and villain dynamic can be divisive for some people, especially those who want more contrast to their romances. Fortunately, Batman has had multiple love interests over the years, some arguably more fun than the character’s on-again off-again romance with Selina Kyle. He has had many different types of relationships with multiple women over the years, but secretly his best love interest has always been with one of his closest female friends – Zatanna!

Bruce and Zatanna go way back when the former was learning how to be an escape artist under the mentorship of Zatara, Zatanna’s father. Zatanna is probably Batman’s closest superhero friend outside the DC Trinity and Batfamily. They have a closeness and vulnerability not often shared with other heroes. Many fans prefer the relationship between Bruce and Zatanna to stay mostly platonic and the lifelong friends-to-lovers trope isn’t for everyone. However, Zatanna offers an interesting contrast to Batman’s world, shining a ray of levity to Bruce’s world while still fitting in Gotham’s aesthetics. Their friendship is enduring, already making them one of the greatest superhero duos in DC Comics.

Zatanna Adds More Levity to Batman’s World

The problem with the BatCat romance is that both parties can be portrayed as stoic. Selina Kyle isn’t as impassive as Bruce, and she can even be a fun character, especially under Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke’s run with the character. She is meant to represent Batman’s more carefree side. Nonetheless, Selina herself is already too brooding to act as the light to Batman’s darkness. Batman acts as the angel on Selina’s shoulder, yet his stoicism is not a strong contrast to Selina’s angst. While Selina is much more carefree than Bruce, their relationship doesn’t offer much contrast in terms of personality. Even though a romance doesn’t need to be full-on “opposite attracts” to be engaging, Bruce and Selina can be portrayed in certain stories as too similar.

In comparison, what makes Bruce’s and Zatanna’s dynamic fascinating is that Zatanna is so different from Batman. While Zatanna has her angst and internal darkness she has to overcome, she is much more chipper and optimistic than Bruce. Her knowing Bruce so well, probably knowing him better than nearly every other superhero, makes their friendship shine in the comics. Besides Superman and Wonder Woman, Zatanna is the only other superhero who can change Bruce’s mind on certain decisions. Batman rarely trusts anyone, yet somehow a stage magician has earned his deepest faith. That dynamic makes their relationship one of the more fun in the DC Universe.

[RELATED – Why DC Studios Needs to Spotlight the Magic Side of the DCU]

Zatanna’s Friendship with Batman in the Main DC Continuity is Great…

Many fans prefer Zatanna’s relationship with Batman to stay purely platonic. People believe there should be more representation of non-romantic male and female relationships. Sometimes, a dynamic can be ruined if a romantic angle is added. Bruce’s and Zatanna’s relationship works well as is; why ruin that by having them kiss? Their friendship has endured too long for it to get bogged down by romantic subplots, and Catwoman will probably always be viewed as Bruce’s definitive love interest.

But Elseworlds Are Great for the Batman and Zatanna Romance to Soar

However, the beauty of the Multiverse has given a great avenue for a Batman and Zatanna romance to thrive. While a romance between Batman and Zatanna has been played in the main continuity, specifically in a recent arc Batman: Urban Legend, their potential romance works best in elserworld stories. A Batman and Zatanna romance thrives when it doesn’t have to connect with greater DCU mythology, especially if it doesn’t cover Bruce’s other love interests. The Black Label Batman: Full Moon comic gives readers a heartwarming ending between the two that fully takes advantage of its non-canonicity.

Batman and Zatanna have always been a strong pair. Even though fans would prefer it to stay in the realm of platonicity, they have undeniable chemistry. Catwoman will always be Batman’s greatest love in the main canon, and Zatanna probably does work best as Bruce’s close friend rather than girlfriend. But after over 80 years of the BatCat romance, the Zatanna romance offers a new layer to Batman’s personality.

Agree with this hot take, or do you think there are other romantic partners more suitable for Batman? Comment below!

The post Forget Catwoman, This Is Batman’s Best Love Interest (And You Can’t Change My Mind) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Enterprise crew is about to get an adorable mechanical companion! IDW Publishing has revealed plans for an exciting new limited comic series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Destruction, scheduled to launch in August 2025. This five-issue adventure will feature beloved characters from the hit Paramount+ series embarking on a perilous mission to an ice-covered planet harboring terrifying secrets beneath its frozen surface. Among the most intriguing revelations about this upcoming series is the introduction of D6, described as “a new adorable robot sidekick” who will join First Officer Una Chin-Riley, Science Officer Spock, Security Officer La’An Noonien-Singh, and Nurse Christine Chapel on their dangerous expedition. The addition of this mechanical character could bring a fresh dynamic to the Strange New Worlds universe.

The series comes from writer Robbie Thompson, who currently works on the television show’s fourth season, and artist Travis Mercer. Thompson expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating, “As a lifelong fan of Star Trek (TOS forever!), I was absolutely thrilled to get the call from editor extraordinaire Heather Antos to pitch on a Strange New Worlds miniseries. Working on the fourth season of the Paramount+ series has been a dream come true and I’m so excited to play in this sandbox further.”

What makes this announcement particularly interesting is the comic’s promise to deliver “cosmic horrors” and make Strange New Worlds “a lot stranger.” Artist Travis Mercer hinted at the series’ tone by saying, “After reading what Robbie has in store for the Enterprise crew, there was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity! The entire team is bringing you a story that’s about to make Strange New Worlds a lot stranger! Strap in folks!”

[RELATED – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Gets a Big Update (but Where Is Season 3?)]

The Seeds of Destruction series is part of a larger rollout of Star Trek comics from IDW. It will be accompanied by two other five-issue limited series: Star Trek: Red Shirts, focusing on the notoriously ill-fated crew members in red uniforms from The Original Series era (launching July 2025), and Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming, which picks up immediately after the TV series finale as part of Voyager’s 30th anniversary celebration (arriving September 2025).

The addition of D6 follows a long Star Trek tradition of incorporating memorable artificial companions. From Data in The Next Generation to The Doctor in Voyager, these characters often provide both comic relief and insightful commentary on humanity. This new robot sidekick could potentially serve a similar purpose while helping the crew navigate whatever dangers await them beneath the ice.

IDW group editor Heather Antos summarized the ambitious slate of upcoming Star Trek comics: “From celebrating nostalgia with the fan-favorite crew of Voyager, to going boldly to the fearsome depths of a Lovecraftian planet in Strange New Worlds, to taking a decades-long question of ‘if the color of a uniform makes a man’ and spinning it on its head… we’re showing that IDW is not yet done producing the very best STAR TREK comics possible.”

The post Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Is Adding A Cute Robot Sidekick In Seeds of Salvation appeared first on ComicBook.com.

DC Comics created what modern fans would recognize as superheroes way back in 1938 with Action Comics #1. Since then, DC has been one of the leading names in superheroes, creating characters that have grabbed readers and held them for decades. DC’s Absolute Universe is reminding readers why they love DC, but the sales success of the Absolute books actually has been rare for DC in recent years. DC has something of a checkered reputation among fans of superhero comics, and for good reason. DC has a much more cluttered and convoluted continuity than Marvel, and that has made it hard for fans to get into DC. Superhero comics are known for being very complicated, but DC goes so far past complicated that many of its characters and teams have completely lost their popularity because fans just didn’t want to deal with it.

DC brought the multiverse into superhero comics, something which helped define the publisher for years but also made things much more complicated than anyone realized. DC’s long-running love affair with creating, destroying, and re-creating its multiverse can be looked at as a problem, but most DC fans wouldn’t want it any other way. DC can be a mess, but that’s part of why we love it so much.

DC’s Tangled Timeline Gives Fans Unprecedented Freedom and Has Led to Amazing Stories

DC’s mess began in 1956. DC had created an entire universe of heroes and villains in the late ’30s and ’40s, but the sales crater that superhero comics hit after World War II and in the early ’50s made it all go away. Young fans moved on from their favorites in the Justice Society, with only big names like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman staying around. Showcase #4 introduced an all-new Flash, Barry Allen. Fans loved Barry and then it was off to races, with DC rebooting their classic characters like Green Lantern and Hawkman, creating entirely new versions of these characters that were unrelated to what came before. Older fans and writers wanted to see the original versions of the heroes they grew up with come back, though, and DC made one of the mystifying decisions in the history of superhero comics.

Instead of just saying all of their old books happened in the past of the same Earth, readers would get Earth-2 starting in The Flash #121. This led to the Justice Society and the Justice League crossing over with Justice League of America #21 and DC was off to the multiversal races. The DC Multiverse was a great way of showcasing all the Golden Age characters DC had access to, and allowed the publisher to drop cool crossovers comics whenever they wanted. However, as DC’s sales fell, the publisher decided to do away with their multiverse with Crisis on Infinite Earths, starting a cycle of multiversal creation and destruction that would last until this day.

RELATED: With the Absolute Universe Expanding, Where’s Robin?

Trying to convince Marvel readers to get into DC is like pulling teeth, but here’s the thing — the complications of DC continuity is half of the fun. Every longtime DC fan has their own head canon for the DC Multiverse, one that is meticulously built from years of reading comics. While there’s something to be said about Marvel’s method, there’s a freedom to DC’s tangled continuity that most non-DC readers don’t realize. Nothing has to count or everything can count, and constructing the DC timeline in your head is a lot of fun. While DC definitely likes to put out books that give an official timeline, like the upcoming The New History of the DC Universe, fans are the ultimate arbiters of what DC is. The tangles of DC continuity lead down amazing roads, stories that might not “count” but are still worthwhile.

Now obviously, there have been problems with DC continuity. Look at the histories of characters like the Legion of Superheroes or Hawkman, even Batwoman, and it’s easy to see how complicated these characters are. However, without DC’s approach to continuity, we never would have gotten the Legion’s “Five Years Later” or the ’90s reboot or the Threeboot. Without Crisis nuking the history of Hawkman, we never would have gotten “The Return of Hawkman” or the ’20s Hawkman series or the awesomeness that is Kendra Saunders as Hawkgirl. We never would have gotten the current version of Batwoman. We never would have gotten “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”. Some of DC’s best moments never would have gotten published if the publisher had the clean continuity of Marvel. DC can be messy and hard to figure out — did the New 52 actually happen or did just some of it happen? — but if it wasn’t, readers would lose out on the freedom that makes DC such a great superhero publisher.

DC Is a Beautiful Mess

Can DC be a mess? Of course it can, and there have been times when that mess has had a detrimental effect on the comics themselves — go and look at the Hawkgod post-Zero Hour Hawkman status quo — but there’s something about the insanity that is DC history. It’s an extremely rewarding feeling to be able to explain to someone the history of the Justice Society, watching their eyes glaze over. There’s something awesome about the way that DC tries to reboot everything every ten years, and readers have gotten many of the greatest event comics of all time because of that. Reading DC can be frustrating sometimes, watching them reboot stuff you love and replacing it with stuff you don’t, but most DC fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

For every huge mistake like the New 52, there’s an amazing decision like “Dawn of DC”. For every event book that’s aftermath doesn’t hit perfectly, like the weird Bronze Age reboot we got from Infinite Crisis that never really solidified, we get books like Crisis on Infinite Earths that change things for the better. Look at DC’s current “All-In” publishing initiative. Does anyone really know what version of DC they’re using? Is it pre-Crisis or post-Crisis, or some amalgam of the two? It doesn’t matter. That’s the glory of DC’s beautiful mess; as long as the stories are good, fans can live with it. Marvel has a rigid history that can make or break stories. DC is fluid and malleable, and that’s a huge part of the fun.

The post DCs Continuity Is a Mess but That’s Part of Its Charm appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One of the strangest parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after 2019 is how the franchise’s film output has eschewed an emphasis on obscure characters. Once Shang-Chi and Eternals were out of the way, Marvel Studios focused on sequels to pre-existing franchises like Spider-Man and Deadpool. The days of taking risks on characters largely unfamiliar to the general public like Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and even Black Panther have vanished. Instead, Marvel Studios has focused on making fourth installments of decade-old characters like Thor and Captain America.

Inevitably, some of the MCU’s risk and excitement have vanished as a result. The flurry of anticipation over seeing whether or not Guardians of the Galaxy could get launched, for instance, has been replaced with trepidation seeing another Ant-Man movie done in a familiar Avengers style. It’s time for Marvel Studios to take risks again with who headlines its movies, an operation that could intersect with a character that’s been long overdue for the big-screen. It’s frankly shameful Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl hasn’t gone nuts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet.

Who Is Squirrel Girl?

Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 2 #8 in winter 1991. Created by writer Will Murray and artist Steve Ditko, her initial appearance saw her tagging along with Iron Man and unexpectedly defeating Doctor Doom. As her name implies, she has superpowers related to squirrels, such as her ability to communicate with these critters and her gigantic furry tail. Constantly by her side are squirrel sidekicks like Monkey Joe and (in later comics) Tippy-Toe. Initially seeming like a one-off character, Squirrel Girl returned in a mid-2000s Great Lakes Avengers storyline.

Eventually, after a smattering of other comic appearances, she headlined the 2015 comic series The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, which increased her popularity tenfold. Previously, Squirrel Girl had been an offhand punchline character in throwaway Deadpool comic lines or mocking visual gags in Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes. In the mid-2010s, though, Squirrel Girl became a fixture of Marvel media, showing up in animated programs like Marvel Rising and the first two LEGO Marvel video games. Most recently, she’s become a fan-favorite character in the video game Marvel Rivals, which has further broadened her appeal.

[RELATED – 5 Marvel Animated Characters That Should Cameo in Avengers: Doomsday]

It’s not hard to see why Squirrel Girl has quickly become a beloved character. Sometimes you want a dour, weighty hero like Frank Castle/The Punisher. Other times, you want a character like Squirrel Girl, who revels in being a superhero and getting into silly adventures. There’s infectious fun in how Squirrel Girl’s been executed in comics, video games, and animation, with these incarnations making no attempts at “grounding” such a ludicrous crime fighter. This confidence-imbued quality has made her extra irresistible to the general public. Plus, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl’s art style, pioneered by Erica Henderson, was so unique and fun in the realm of Marvel Comics imagery that it helped the character stand out even more.

We Almost Got Squirrel Girl in the MCU

Post-2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has focused largely on grand cosmic adventures and grim meditations on death on the big screen. Such exploits haven’t made room for Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl, which is really to the franchise’s detriment. A fresh burst of fun and excitement like Squirrel Girl on the big screen could really lend a jolt of unique energy into a franchise that’s spent Phases Four and Five trying to recreate the successes of Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It’s extra frustrating that Squirrel Girl hasn’t manifested in the MCU given how she came ever so close to appearing in this saga.

In 2017 and 2018, a New Warriors TV show from Marvel Television (set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) was in development at Freeform. The program would’ve starred Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl leading an ensemble cast of ragtag superheroes. New Warriors got far enough to film an acclaimed pilot episode, but Freeform eventually dropped the show and no other networks would pick up the Marvel property. While glimpses at the show’s Squirrel Girl outfit (and visual effects used to realize Tippy-Toe on-set) have made their way online, New Warriors has otherwise never seen the light of day.

The live-action MCU incarnation of Squirrel Girl was nipped in the bud before it could even hit the airwaves. Vayntrub, though, has gone on to become a go-to voiceover actor for Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl in media like the Marvel Rising shorts, a podcast, and even the Marvel Rivals game. Her ubiquity as this character in the years since New Warriors fizzled out demonstrates Squirrel Girl’s undying appeal, which Marvel Studios desperately needs to tap into. Recent MCU projects like Captain America: Brave New World haven’t resonated with the public despite trying so hard to channel past MCU victories. It’s time to go nuts with somebody new who’s taken over the last decade of Marvel media for a good reason.

Captain America: Brave New World is now playing in theaters.

The post Squirrel Girl Needs to Finally Come to the MCU appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Justice League is the greatest team in the history of the DC Multiverse. The Justice League wasn’t the first superteam of the Silver Age — that was the Legion of Superheroes — but they were the one that showed readers what a superteam could be. The Justice League combined the greatest heroes on Earth, a modification of series creator Gardner Fox’s Golden Age Justice Society of America, and presented them in all the gonzo sci-fi superhero splendor that only Silver Age DC could muster. Justice League of America was the best value for DC readers, bringing in new characters and helping make them into stars. The Justice League defined what a superteam could be in its 64 years of existence, wowing readers with some amazing stories.

The Justice League has had some off years, but there are some amazing Justice League stories out there. There’s something about a superteam that can contend with threats that are universal in scope that makes the Justice League such a treat to read. These ten Justice League stories are some of the best, showing off the promise of the greatest superteam in any universe.

JLA #5

JLA #5, by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter, will be the first of several stories from Morrison and Porter’s JLA run on this list. It’s one that often gets overlooked, but it deserves its flowers as a top ranked Justice League story. This issue revolves around the JLA interviewing heroes to bring in a new member — a nice little window to DC in the late ’90s — leading to them finding the perfect candidate: Tomorrow Woman. However, she’s too good to be true, as she’s an android plant created by Professor Ivo and T.O. Morrow, sent to destroy the Justice League. What follows is a beautiful tale that shows the power of love and friendship. This one issue story is perfect in every way. The writing and art are sensational, and the issue does an amazing job of presenting a meditation on what life means. Issues like this are why Morrison’s JLA is such a killer book.

Formerly Known As the Justice League

The 1980s “Bwa-ha-ha” era of the Justice League is a beautiful subversion of what a Justice League comic could be. J.M. DeMatteis, the late great Keith Giffen, and Kevin Maguire’s work on Justice League International took a team of B and C-list Justice Leaguers and put them in insane adventures, using superheroes as fertile ground for some amazing comedy. There are a lot of great JLI stories to recommend, but the one that boils the era down to its essence is Formerly Known As the Justice League, a six issue miniseries that brought the fan-favorite team — Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Fire, Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, Maxwell Lord, and L-Ron — back together for a crazy superhero for hire scheme that leads to the return of an old foe. This is the perfect book to give to someone who never read this era of the team; if they like it, than they are ready to dig into Justice League International. This story is full of amazing jokes, the best characters you can imagine, and gorgeous art. There’s so much to like that it will make fans of anyone.

“Crisis on Earth-One!/Crisis on Earth-Two!”

Silver Age Justice League of America can often feel like a snapshot from a very different place. There isn’t the snappy patter of Stan Lee Marvel at DC in the Silver Age, but the books have their own merit and its fantastic to see the Justice League in such a “raw” form, watching as they tackled threats that no other team could handle. There’s some brilliant comics from the Gardner Fox — one of comics’ most creative writers and the man mostly responsible for what we know as the DC Multiverse — and Mike Sekowsky’s run on Justice League of America. However, the best for a modern fan looking for pitch perfect Justice League is the one-two punch of “Crisis on Earth-One!/Crisis on Earth-Two” double header from Justice League of America (Vol. 1) #21-22. This was the first crossover between the Justice League and Justice Society, a major moment for fans who had grown up on DC Comics when it dropped. It’s a snapshot of the Justice League in their ascension, and sets the stage for every JLA/JSA crossover that came after it.

JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice

Throughout the ’90s, JLA was DC’s premiere team book, but that changed in the early ’00s. JSA, written by a young Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer of DCEU infamy, became the DC team book of choice and has gone down as one of the greatest team comics ever. There hadn’t been an old school JLA/JSA team-up since Crisis on Infinite Earths, so DC enilsted Johns and Goyer, along with artist Carlos Pacheco, for JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice, a book meant to hearken back to the yearly meetings between the two teams. The JLA and JSA get together to reopen relations, but when the Seven Deadly Sins are released and members of both teams are possessed. While the two groups deal with some of their powerful members under enemy control, they’re pulled into a scheme by two of their most dangerous villains to wreck everything. JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice is a snapshot of a very particular era of DC, combining two amazing teams for one epic story unlike any other.

“World War III”

Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s run on JLA reminded everyone what a JLA comic could be, stealing the show every month with the promise of the Justice League facing off against threats that would destroy any other team. Morrison had pitted the team against White Martians, a host of rebel angels, their greatest foes in the Injustice Gang, Darkseid, and fate itself. In order to cap off their run, Morrison had to go bigger than ever, throwing the team against Mageddon, a primordial destroyer from the wars between the old gods in universes past just as a new Injustice Gang rear their ugly heads in “World War III”. “World War III” takes the epic feel that Morrison did so well and dialed everything up to a billion, as the Justice League vied with an enemy that was far beyond anything they had faced before, a battle that had been built up in subtle ways since the beginning of JLA. “World War III” is the kind of story that feels like a major event, but was just a regular story in the best team book of the ’90s.

RELATED: The First DC All In Crossover Has Arrived with “We Are Yesterday”

Infinite Crisis

Infinite Crisis, by Geoff Johns, Phil Jimenez, George Perez, Jerry Ordway, and Ivan Reis, isn’t technically a Justice League story. In fact, a major element of the story is the lack of the Justice League. However, there are few stories out there that show that the Justice League is an indispensable part of the DC Universe like Infinite Crisis does. With threats from inside and without tearing the hero community apart, forgotten heroes return with an audacious scheme to set things right. However, mysterious forces have their own plans to take advantage of the chaos for their own ends, leading to a battle unlike anything readers had seen before. Infinite Crisis is a masterwork of one of best eras. It was the culmination of several years of build-up, and gave readers an event comic that belongs in the pantheon of the best of all-time. This story turns twenty in 2025, but it’s still the best treatise on why the Justice League needs to exist.

Justice League Elite

Writer Joe Kelly doesn’t get enough credit for just how good he was in the late ’90s and early ’00s, and his run on JLA with artist Doug Mahnke often gets left out of consideration for best Justice League stories, with epics like “The Obsidian Age” wowing fans. Kelly also gave readers a best of all-time DC story with his Action Comics classic “Whatever Happened to Truth, Justice, and the American Way?”, which introduced the Elite, a team meant to lampoon the mature and violent superteams of the early ’00s. Justice League Elite, by Kelly and Mahnke, takes elements of their JLA run, adds in the Elite, and goes to town in a twelve issue series that gets insane. Under the leadership of Sister Superior, the Justice League Elite is formed to be a black ops arm of the League, with Leaguers Green Arrow, Manitou Raven, Manitou Dawn, Green Arrow, and Major Disaster teaming up with the Elite. As they battle threats the Justice League usually wouldn’t, an old enemy returns with nothing less than ultimate power as their goal. Justice League Elite is a precursor to all of the “black ops teams” that would become popular in the later years of the 21st century and presents the best possible interpretation of the trope. It’s a brilliant yarn and while it’s definitely hard to locate — it’s been out of print for years and it’s a slog to find it all — it’s definitely worth the effort.

“The Tornado’s Path”

Justice League of America (Vol. 2) was introduced in the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, meant to bring the League back as a force to reckoned and a team to inspire heroes around the world. “The Tornado’s Path”, by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes, collects #0-7 of the new series, which follows various heroes — Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Hal Jordan, Hawkgirl, Speedy, who takes up the name Red Arrow, Black Lightning, Vixen, and Red Tornado — get enmeshed in a scheme by one of the most dangerous beings on the planet, one whose latest circumstances make him more of a threat than ever. “The Tornado’s Path” does an amazing job of laying out a story that hearkens back to the Satellite League days of the team, while also being thoroughly modern. It’s a page-turner of the highest magnitude, pulling readers in, and throwing multiple aspects of DC history at them. This is near perfect modern Justice League, and a thrill for any fans of the team, as Meltzer’s entire twelve issue run — and Dwayne McDuffie’s unfortunately cut short run that followed it — is definitely worth the trouble of tracking down.

JLA #22-23

Most people would put Morrison and Porter’s “New World Order” on this list, but as great as that story is, there are several other Morrison/Porter stories that deserve more credit than they get. JLA #22-23 is one of those stories. This story played off a plot element started in JLA: Secret Files and Origins, which brought back the Justice League’s first villain — Starro the Conqueror. This two issue story saw Daniel, the current Dream, come to the Justice League for help to wake up one very special dreamer as the Earth is attacked by Starro and the Star Conquerors. Morrison and Porter put out some amazing two issue Justice League epics, but this one is easily the best. It has the big stakes action and beautiful art that JLA became known for, while also going in completely different directions from any Starro story that came before it. It’s a story that more fans needs to read and it’s more than earned its place among the greatest Justice League stories of all-time.

“Rock of Ages”

Morrison’s “Rock of Ages” is in a class all its own. It’s the first appearance of the Injustice Gang, as Lex Luthor gathers a group of villains with the goal of destroying the new JLA. However, this time Luthor decides to use corporate principles to destroy the League, along with two secret weapons — the Philosopher’s Stone and a hidden ally. The League is completely gobsmacked by Luthor’s attack, leading them to do their best to take out the Injustice Gang when the chips are down. Meanwhile, Aquaman, Flash, and Green Lantern are pulled away by Metron for another mission, one that revolves around the Philosopher Stone, that will take them to Wonderworld, a world of god-like heroes with a terrible warning for the League. What follows is a trip to a future ruled by Darkseid, one that can only be stopped by allowing the Injustice Gang to win. “Rock of Ages” is the perfect Justice League story. It has amazing superhero action, great art, and deft characterization, gifting readers with a twisty but rewarding narrative that proves the greatness of the Justice League. A true classic.

The post 10 Best Justice League Stories of All Time appeared first on ComicBook.com.

While Tom Hanks has expressed an interest from time to time in playing superheroes like the Flash, mostly this leading man has sat out the comic book movie craze that’s swept American cinema over the last 25 years. While Hanks anchors Best Picture nominees like Elvis and Bridge of Spies, he’s often contemplated publicly about why superhero movies are so popular as well as why he prefers more grounded emotionally tangible roles. Hanks just isn’t into the world of easily-defined morality and VFX-heavy spectacle.

However, that doesn’t mean Hanks has entirely removed himself from works adapted from the big comic book companies. In fact, one of his first 21st-century movies was a star-studded adaptation of a project that hailed from Paradox Press, an imprint of DC Comics. Yes, in 2002, the summer of Spider-Man and Lilo & Stitch, Hanks embraced the gangster life to play the darker lead character of Road to Perdition, a terrific feature anchored by one of the actor’s greatest performances.

What is Road to Perdition?

Starting with 2012’s Skyfall, director Sam Mendes has embraced his status as the emperor of high-profile British cinema, a stature he continued with Spectre, 1917, and Empire of Light. His upcoming quartet of features chronicling each member of The Beatles will only enhance that reputation. However, Mendes began his career casting an eye on the darker side of America through movies like American Beauty and Revolutionary Road. His 2002 film adaptation Road to Perdition certainly continued that thematic motif. In this feature, Hanks played Michael Sullivan, a mob enforcer for the powerful John Rooney (Paul Newman).

Sullivan keeps his home and professional life separate, which means lying about his grisly job to his son Michael Sullivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin). However, after this kid finds out the truth about his father, the pair are forced to go on the lam together. Rooney’s so set on hunting his previously loyal employee down he’s even hired ruthless assassin Harlan Maguire (Jude Law) to track Sullivan and his boy down. In Road to Perdition, “America’s Dad” gets to be a hardened criminal who also yearns to be a good father to his son. Michael Sullivan wants nothing more than for the next generation of his family to leave this gangster life behind. The cycle of bloodshed ends with his dirty palms.

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No wonder Hanks saw more rich material in Road to Perdition than other comic book movie adaptations. This is a fascinatingly complex story morally, and Hanks masterfully plays every nuance of Michael Sullivan. He’s imposing, heartbreaking, loving, and towering again, sometimes all in the same scene. There’s so much to work with here, especially compared to the kinds of comic book movies that dominated multiplexes in the 2020s. To boot, Hanks gets to rub shoulders with a bevy of outstanding actors here, including silver screen legend Paul Newman in his last major live-action film role.

Hanks Isn’t the Only Thing Outstanding in Road to Perdition

Hanks and the other Road to Perdition actors are filtered through some remarkable visuals that don’t just settle for the imagery standards of past gangster movies. Mendes and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall instead embrace tremendously idiosyncratic visuals that help lend further unforgettable personality to the proceedings. An introductory shot of Harlan Maguire perfectly epitomizes this trait, with this image capturing Maguire in a wide shot where the world around him begins to warp and wobble. It’s a disorienting image, a perfect introduction to a man who upends any room he walks into.

Everyone’s in top form in Road to Perdition, even young Hoechlin holding his own against experienced performers like Hanks. The result is a feature that you wouldn’t ever associate with being a normal comic book movie, a reflection of how this subgenre doesn’t reflect the variety of its source material. Comic books can inhabit any genre, style, or tone. Comics can be Fun Home, Maus, Bone, and everything in between. Hollywood’s insistence on big-budget action movies being the norm for comic book movies, though, erases that reality.

Considering Road to Perdition, much like A History of Violence, is rarely thought of as a DC Comics movie adaptation, it’s no wonder this Sam Mendes directorial effort didn’t upend conceptions of what comic book movies could be. However, its artistic virtues endure nonetheless. Most importantly, its outstanding quality makes it clear why Hanks won’t return to the world of comic book movies. Once you’ve already been in one of the high watermarks of this subgenre, why return to inevitably lesser material?

Road to Perdition is now streaming on Paramount+.

The post The Only DC Comics Movie Starring Tom Hanks Is a Masterpiece appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Marvel Legends line has turned so many of Marvel’s biggest and lesser-known characters into action figures, and that roster continues to expand each and every month. Whether you’re huge names like Spider-Man and Thor or cult favorites like Speedball and Maggott, there’s seemingly a place for you in Hasbro’s incredibly popular toy line, at least if you’re not this one Spider-Man villain. That villain is none other than Cardiac, who is a personal favorite, and he’s also a favorite of Valaverse President Bobby Vala. Vala is behind the popular Action Force toy line and is also a former designer for Hasbro, previously working on the Legends line. In his new video, he reveals the real reason why Marvel has never made a Cardiac figure.

Vala has been discussing and spotlighting some of the Marvel Legends waves he previously worked on, and in his new video, Vala focuses on the 2019 Marvel Legends Kingpin Build-A-Figure wave. That wave ended up including Spider-Man (Symbiote Suit), Scarlet Spider, Night Thrasher, Black Cat, Silver Sable, Red Goblin, and Tombstone, but Vala reveals he pushed for Cardiac, both in this wave and the other Spider-Man wave he worked on.

In both cases, Marvel said no to Cardiac, and here’s why. “When you’re picking the stuff, I’ve talked about this before several times on podcasts and stuff about how like you weren’t allowed to do…you know the whole library wasn’t available, the whole Rogues gallery. Some things were like off-limits certain years, and that’s like because Marvel didn’t want to pay certain creators royalties,” Vala said.

“So each year we would get like, know about who was off the no-fly list. The one character…my all-time favorite Spider-Man villain is Cardiac, and I pushed for him every wave, the two waves I did. And we got told no every time, and to this day he’s still a no, they haven’t done Cardiac,” Vala said. “And I think because whoever the creator is, maybe Erik Larsen, they don’t want to pay a royalty to. So that’s why you can’t do Cardiac.”

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Cardiac was co-created by Larsen, David Michelinie, and Randy Emberlin back in 1990, making his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #342. Technically that was his first appearance in civilian form as Dr. Elias Wirtham, but he would make his full costumed debut as Cardiac in Amazing Spider-Man #343, which was released in November of 1990.

Cardiac has been both a villain and an ally to Spider-Man over the years and sports a design that screams ’90s and yet I adore it. The blue and white are instantly recognizable, and he could actually do some damage too thanks to an artificial heart that allows him to control the output of electrical energy through his hands or through a power staff, and the concussive force was able to take down some big targets. Cardiac even worked Vibranium into his suit, so he wasn’t a pushover in the least.

At this point we’ve had so many of Spider-Man’s villains turned into figures, so it’s a shame that we might never get a Cardiac added to the roster. Granted, not every Marvel character has a figure yet, but with deep-cut characters like Kaine and Marrow getting figures in the past few months, Cardiac certainly deserves some shine.

The video also brings some surprising insight into the Kingpin Build-A-Figure, which was initially met with some resistance behind the scenes. It turned out to be incredibly popular, so it all worked out, but it’s still interesting to know some of what goes into bringing some of your favorite characters to the toy aisle. You can check out the full video above.

Do you think we’ll ever get a Cardiac figure, and who is the figure in Marvel Legends that you are still waiting for Marvel to make? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Marvel and action figures with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post The Real Reason Why Marvel Hasn’t Made One Spider-Man Villain Into an Action Figure appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Superman is kicking off the DCU in style, and this is the best idea that DC Studios could have had. Superman is the first superhero, and kicking off a series of DC movies with him feels right. Superman has existed for over 80 years and during that time fans have gotten some brilliant stories with Superman. These stories have laid out who Superman is and how far he’ll go to save the day, and there are lots of stories that would make for excellent movies and animated series. DC Studios wouldn’t go wrong with adapting a lot of Superman stories, bringing the classics of the superhero medium to the big screen.

However, that doesn’t mean that every classic Superman story should be adapted. Not every story can survive the adaptation to live action. These five Superman stories are stone cold classics, yet they wouldn’t be right for the big screen for a variety of reasons.

“The Death of Superman”

“The Death of Superman” has earned its place among the best modern Superman stories. It wasn’t the first time Superman was killed in the comics — for years the “imaginary stories” of the past gave readers stories that dealt with Superman’s death. However, it was the first one in the mainline universe that actually killed Superman and it wasn’t a red herring. The battle between Superman and Doomsday is one of the most exciting, visceral battles in comic history and everyone thinks they want it on the big screen. However, one needs to look no further than Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice to see that it’s not a great idea to adapt “The Death of Superman”. The story and its aftermath depended upon the serial nature of comics to truly make an impact. Beyond that, there’s really no reason to tell the story on the big screen again.

“For the Man Who Has Everything”

Superman Annual #11 gave readers a story that has gone down as one of the greatest Superman stories ever. “For the Man Who Has Everything”, by the Watchmen team of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, sees Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman visiting the Fortress of Solitude for Superman’s birthday. They find their friend in the grips of the Black Mercy, a killer plant that gives its victim their hearts desire, with Mongul there to destroy them all. This is an amazing Superman story, and many would like to see it on the big screen. However, here’s the thing — there’s already been a perfect adaptation of “For the Man Who Has Everything” in the cartoon Justice League Unlimited. This was the only Alan Moore DC adaptation that he ever allowed his name to be on, which means that it’s perfect. There’s no need to bring it to the big screen.

“Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”

Alan Moore’s time at DC gave multiple characters brilliant stories. When Crisis on Infinite Earths was coming out, Moore demanded to write the last two stories of the pre-Crisis Superman, literally threatening DC big wig Paul Levitz to get the gig, which led to “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”. Moore teamed with classic Superman artist Curt Swan and George Perez to tell the story of the final days of Superman. Superman’s villains have become more bloodthirsty than ever, challenging Superman in new ways. This leads to the reveal of his secret identity and Superman taking his loved one to the Fortress of Solitude to protect them. This leads to the ultimate Luthor/Brainiac team-up, a siege that costs the lives of Superman’s best friends, and reveal of a villain that no one ever expected to be this monstrous. “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” is a story that closed out the Superman mythos, saying goodbye to the Man of Steel. It’s a brilliant story, but it doesn’t need to come to the big screen.

RELATED: Absolute Superman’s Jason Aaron Teases Heartbreaking Fate of Krypton, Impact on Kal-El, and More

“Last Son”

“Last Son”, by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, and Adam Kubert, is one of the best modern Superman stories. The story kicks off with a Kryptonian child falling to Earth, which draws out the fathering instincts in Superman. From there, things get insane, as after an attack by Bizarro, the truth behind the child’s origin is revealed — he’s the son of General Zod and Ursa, who they used to escape the Phantom Zone. This leads to Superman battling Zod, Ursa, and Non, a battle he loses. Zod’s actions force Superman to team up with his most dangerous foe, leading to a massive battle of epic proportions. Zod is a great Superman villain but he doesn’t need another big screen appearance — and this story is basically Superman II told exactly as Donner wished it could be, which is another strike against it. Plus, an argument can be made that the story wouldn’t be nearly as good without artist Adam Kubert’s breathtaking visuals. Live action is fine, but sometimes the art on the comic pages is superior and “Last Son” is a perfect example of this.

Superman: Space Age

Superman: Space Age, by Mark Russell and the art team of Mike and Laura Allred, is a retro masterpiece. The story starts at the end of universe in 1985 and then jumps to the 1960s, with Superman coming to Metropolis after leaving Smallville, and retells the story of his life in a three issue masterpiece of comic book storytelling. Superman: Space Age takes elements of the Silver Age DC Multiverse, combines it with ideas from Crisis on Infinite Earths, and gives readers a story that shows how Superman would react to the end of everything. It’s a near perfect story, but it just doesn’t belong on the big screen. Much like “Last Son”, it just wouldn’t look the same without the beautiful pop art styling of the Allreds. They do an amazing job of bringing Russell’s retro Superman story to life, and Superman: Space Age just wouldn’t feel the same without their work.

The post 5 Superman Stories That the DCU Shouldn’t Adapt appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Power Rangers Prime has shaken things up in a major way for the franchise, and one of the most surprising twists was the return of VR Troopers. The VR Troopers are currently at odds with the new Ranger team and are working for the Eltarian empire, but that might be changing with BOOM! Studios’ announcement of a new VR Troopers series, which is the first new series for the team in 30 years, and you can check out the first look below.

VR Troopers will feature a familiar name for Power Rangers fans, as former Mighty Morphin Power Rangers writer Mairghread Scott will be teaming up with artist Sebastián Piriz on the six-issue series. The book’s debut issue will feature a main cover by artist Taurin Clarke (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), as well as variants by artists James Stokoe (Godzilla) and Christian Ward (Invisible Kingdom). VR Troopers #1 will hit this June, and you can check out the official description below.

“The VR Troopers are the most elite of the Eltarian empire’s human heroes on Earth, but what secrets are the Eltarian’s keeping? When VR Ryan tracks down a rogue Skug, he’ll come face-to-face with a foe who will change his understanding of VR—and himself—forever!”

Just like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, VR Troopers was a fellow Saban Entertainment creation, and it also adapted footage from a previous show to bring it to life, though it didn’t pull from the same sources. VR Troopers featured footage from Toei’s Metal Hero Series, which included Uchuu Keiji Shaider, Jikuu Senshi Spielban, and Choujinki Metalder.

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VR Troopers features three main heroes, which include the aforementioned Ryan Steele, JB Reese, and Kaitlin Star. They end up learning the secrets of the VR Dimension from Professor Horatio Hart, and they soon take up the tall task of becoming VR Troopers to stop the evil Grimlord from conquering the VR Realm and the real world.

VR Troopers ran for two seasons and ended in 1996, with a lack of usable footage being a contributing factor to closing out its run. That led to the introduction of the Big Bad Beetleborgs, and with anything possible in the new Power Rangers Prime, you just never know who will end up showing up.

Are you excited for the return of VR Troopers? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Power Rangers and comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post VR Troopers Returns with First New Series in 30 Years appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel has introduced readers to some of the greatest superteams of all time. The Fantastic Four’s super-science/Cold War American exceptionalism welded to a family dynamic showed readers that Marvel wasn’t just DC in different clothes. The Avengers took the idea of the Justice League/Justice Society — combining the greatest heroes of their respective universes — and kicked it to the next level, giving readers great character focused superhero action. Both of these teams aren’t exactly original; the Avengers are a well-worn comic trope and the FF are basically DC’s Challengers of the Unknown, down to co-creator Jack Kirby. However, there is one classic Marvel team that is not only completely original, but also holds one of the most important messages in comics: the X-Men.

The X-Men rose from their humble origins as the teen hero book that barely sold into the most popular team in the history of comics. Their ’90s animated series made them household names, and the 2000 X-Men film was Marvel’s biggest cinematic success and paved the way for every superhero movie that came after it. The X-Men have rose through the ranks, but even if one takes away the plaudits of being the bestselling comic team of all time, the X-Men are easily Marvel’s most important team.

The X-Men Changed the Direction of Comics Multiple Times Over Their History

The X-Men was different from other superhero comics right off the bat because of the team’s mission. The X-Men weren’t just a bunch of heroes out to save the world; they had an important societal message in the ’60s — equality. The whole point of the X-Men is Charles Xavier’s dream of peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants. Mutants were used as a catch-all for racial, and later sexual, minorities. At the time, with the Civil Rights movement heating up, this message was extremely important. Kids read comics and the X-Men taught them that everyone, despite their differences, was equal and deserved respect. This was a lesson that spoke to the core of what superheroes were meant to be, but it was also one that had fallen to the wayside. Comics weren’t a deep medium when it came to social messages by the time the ’60s hit, so having a comic that’s whole premise revolved around one the the most important social issues was a huge deal.

This a big part of what makes the X-Men such an important concept. Looking at the various other superteams in superhero comics, there really wasn’t anything like the X-Men on stands. Most of the time, superhero comics are more about the action and the drama than the message, despite what a legion of anti-fans like to think. There are many who like to use an old Stan Lee quote to prove that the X-Men weren’t “woke”, but there’s no other way to think of the team’s message. Lee had a lot of deficiencies as a writer and a human being, but as a creator, he wanted to talk about the United States as he saw it. Marvel was always much more contemporary than their distinguished competition. Their Silver Age hero line is basically Cold War American Exceptionalism personified, so Lee knew what he was doing when he made the X-Men a civil rights metaphor.

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An argument can be made that the X-Men’s central metaphor didn’t come to the fore until the legendary run of writer Chris Claremont. Many of the greatest X-Men stories of all-time were written by Claremont and Claremont found new ways to use the premise of the X-Men. Claremont’s writing is heavily queer-coded and Claremont’s work had no problem taking a “warts and all” look at bigotry, something that was very rare in comics at the time. Claremont’s work brought the X-Men to the next level, and also played a much bigger role in the maturation of the comic medium than it gets credit for. One needs look no further than the monumental classic “The Dark Phoenix Saga”. Comics and drama always went together, but there’s a maturity to the story that comes through on every page. “The Dark Phoenix Saga” dug into a vein of tragedy that comics had rarely hit at the time, as Claremont used the story to explore themes of friendship, love, and responsibility in a way that comics never had before. Claremont’s stories were often like this; something like God Loves, Man Kills is a story about bigotry and religion that is still extant to this very day, over forty years after its publication.

Claremont changed the way comics worked forever; his soap opera approach to the X-Men became the rule for comic superteams as time went on, and his focus on social issues made X-Men comics into something unlike everything else on the stands. Claremont wasn’t writing simple morality plays, he was writing about very adult themes in the guise of superhero comics. Uncanny X-Men isn’t usually lumped in the with the classics of the mediums like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, but it definitely deserves to be. The X-Men has been consistently revolutionary, leading into the present day with the X-Men’s Krakoa Era, and easily outstrips its fellow superteams.

No Other Superteam Has Been as Important as the X-Men in Comic History

Looking at the history of superhero comics, there are several superteams that have very important places. The Justice Society was the first time that the top heroes of a universe were brought together, the Legion of Superheroes were the first major teen team. The Fantastic Four kicked off the Marvel Universe proper and the Avengers have become the most popular superteam in the world, the first team to make a billion dollars in one go. However, none of them really compare to the X-Men.

The X-Men have been the home of the best social commentary in superhero comics for decades. They showed that superheroes could do more than save the day from supervillains; they could bring an important message to readers that the world needed to hear. The X-Men have helped young readers come to terms with themselves in a way that no other comics have, and their metaphor has proven quite malleable; just look at the way X-Men books have gone from their original Civil Rights Movement roots to becoming the most queer friendly comic on the stands. The X-Men changed the comic industry in numerous ways over the years. While they may not be as big as the Avengers are today, the X-Men actually mean something.

What do you think? Let us know in the coments!

The post The X-Men Are Marvel’s Most Important Team (And You Can’t Change My Mind) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Deadpool/Wolverine brings the fan favorite duo together under the aegis of creators Benjamin Percy and Joshua Cassara, who handled the characters in X-Force. Deadpool/Wolverine is already a wild ride, as a strangely lucid Deadpool is able to capture Wolverine and bring him to a graveyard in Deadwood, South Dakota, leading him into a secret lab. Down there, Deadpool reveals he’s something called an “X-Cutioner”, a familiar phrase for longtime X-Men fans that leads to the first issue’s major reveal — the return of the evil Cable clone known as Stryfe. The book’s second issue sees Wolverine and Deadpool fight some more as Wolverine tries to figure out what exactly is going on and Stryfe makes preparations for his master plan. Deadpool/Wolverine #3 does a lot more heavy plot lifting, but Deadpool’s X-Cutioner form should give fans pause.

Deadpool is a comedic character, but he’s also one of the most dangerous heroes around. Wade Wilson has been a killer for most of his life, first as a member of special forces, then as the Weapon X-enhanced mercenary Deadpool. Deadpool enjoys joking around, but when he’s serious, there are few that can beat him. Deadpool’s X-Cutioner form, with its cold rationality and brutal use of Deadpool’s skills brings to mind another version of Deadpool, one who cut a bloody swath through the Marvel Universe in his own reality.

A Serious Deadpool Is Extremely Dangerous

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe dropped in 2011, by Cullen Bunn and Dalibor Talijic, It took the funny anti-hero who everyone loves and showed off the darkest side of him. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe is a multiverse story and in this universe, Deadpool was put into the Ravencroft Institute, the Marvel version of Arkham Asylum, but instead of having an actual doctor trying to help him, Deadpool had the mind-controlling Psycho-Man. Psycho-Man was trying to make the inmates into slaves, and as a result took away all of the voices in Deadpool’s head. However, instead of making Deadpool more malleable, this made him a thousand percent worse. Deadpool kills Psycho-Man and then goes on to go after nearly every hero and villain on the planet, using brilliant tactics to kill every one of them.

RELATED: Marvel Teases Wade Wilson’s New Love Interest (And Villain) in Deadpool #350

At this point in Deadpool/Wolverine‘s story, we have no idea how Stryfe has control of Deadpool. It seems like there’s a Weapon X connection, but whatever it is, it gives him somewhat complete control over Deadpool. However, as revealed in Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, trying to mind control Deadpool is definitely one of the worst things that can happen. Deadpool’s madness actually does a lot for him; it keeps him grounded, for lack of a better word, in a more heroic mold. Taking this away from Deadpool is a very dangerous thing. X-Cutioner Deadpool is very close to the Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe version of the character. The X-Cutioner Deadpool has proven to be very dangerous in the past three issues, but the fact that he flips back and forth between Deadpool and X-Cutioner is the only thing that has kept him from being as monstrous as he could be. However, the goals of the X-Cutioner makes this whole plot development even more dangerous not only to Wolverine, but also the world.

X-Cutioner Deadpool’s Purpose Is Human Genocide

Wolverine has been trying to figure out what the point of Deadpool’s X-Cutioner side, leading him to interrogate Deadpool in issue three. Eventually, after fighting and figuring out how to make the X-Cutioner portion of Deadpool’s mind come out, Wolverine finds out exactly what the X-Cutioner is there for and Deadpool’s answer is chilling — the X-Cutioner’s entire mission is to destroy the human race.

Readers have seen how deadly Deadpool can be when the voices in his head are quiet. Right now, Deadpool can still gain control of his body from the X-Cutioner, but what would happen if Stryfe was able to make the X-Cutioner ascendant? Stryfe would have one of the most dangerous and skilled killers on the planet alongside him, and even if his plans fail, he can use Deadpool to commit genocide on a terrible scale.

Deadpool/Wolverine #3 is on sale where ever comics are sold.

The post Is Deadpool Heading Towards Genocide? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

DC’s Absolute Batman closed out its first arc with a number of compelling teases, but there was one in particular one-word tease that got everyone buzzing the most. That would be the tease of Bane’s introduction to the Absolute Universe, and now DC has revealed the first look of the iconic Bat-villain, and the best way to describe him is Swole Bane. You can check out your first look at the even deadlier Bane in the images below.

To be fair, Bane was already intimidating and often depicted as incredibly jacked anyway, but similar to Batman, he’s evolved to be even more massive. As you can see in the images, Bane’s neck alone is the size of like three ordinary people’s necks, and his arms are even bigger than normal.

The cover, which was done by Absolute Batman artist Nick Dragotta, shows Batman in front of Bane, but it’s hard to tell if he’s standing on lower ground or if he’s on the same level, so a direct comparison in stature can’t be made just yet. Batman is a force of nature in the series, and he often stands taller than most of the people he fights, so it will be interesting to see how he looks when compared to Bane as they stand across from one another.

The venom is accounted for, as you can see tubes coming from his head and arms like in the main universe version, but Snyder likely has a twist coming for that as well if we’ve learned anything from the series thus far. Bane is also working for the Joker it seems, and thanks to the official description for Batman #9, we know that Bane is actually a former foe of Alfred’s. You can find that official description below.

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ABSOLUTE BATMAN #9
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover by NICK DRAGOTTA
Variant cover by GERARDO ZAFFINO and TIRSO
1:25 variant cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
1:50 variant cover by DAN HIPP
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 6/11/25
AN ALL NEW ARK (M) STARTS HERE!

The latest development in saving the derelict and despondent of our society is a facility known as ArkM—a fully operational institution that has played a rather sizeable part, on purpose or not, in the creation of evil. And it’s active. So when Bruce tries infiltrate it and distill its secrets, a new villain from Gotham City arrives to deal with the problem…an old adversary of Alfred’s…a man known only as Bane.

What do you think of Bane’s new design? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics and DC with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Absolute Batman Reveals First Look at Swole Bane appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The feud between Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four has reached critical mass. Of course, there’s a good reason for this, and it all has to do with Doctor Doom’s takeover of the Marvel Universe. After stealing the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, Victor Von Doom has somehow made all of the Earth’s leaders bow down to him, which has understandably left Earth’s Mightiest Heroes scrambling to figure out what Doom is up to. The Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom have a long history with and against each other, but what Doom was just able to pull off will leave Marvel’s First Family reeling. WARNING: Spoilers for One World Under Doom #2 below.

One World Under Doom #2 is from the creative team of Ryan North, R.B. Silva, David Curiel, and VC’s Travis Lanham. It features a showdown between the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom at the United Nations. It comes a day after Doom met with his goddaughter, Valeria Richards, the daughter of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. She wanted to hear directly from Doom on what his goals are and why he’s gone down this route. We never learn if Valeria is buying in, but it is a fascinating conversation to be a fly on the wall for.

[RELATED: Marvel Reveals the One Character Worthy of Doctor Doom’s Respect (And It May Surprise You)]

Back to the United Nations, the Fantastic Four make quick work of some Doombots outside, while Doctor Doom whines and dines the dignitaries inside. Once the FF make it inside, a group of waiters point handguns at the heroes in support of Doom. Victor claims they are civilians acting on their own, with no outside influence from him. The Fantastic Four decide not to attack, so Doom extends his mercy even further by doing something Reed Richards has never been able to do.

Doctor Doom turns The Thing back into his human form of Ben Grimm

Doctor Doom taunts his longtime rival Reed Richards with the cold hard truth: Reed has never been able to undo the accident that turned his best friend, Ben Grimm, into the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing. Doom calls it a “staggering failure” by Reed, though Ben tries to play it off. The Thing says he’s come to terms with his condition and holds no animosity towards Reed. However, Doctor Doom won’t let the matter go and says he wants what’s best for everyone — even his most hated enemies.

Doom then casts a spell that engulfs Thing in a circular ball of energy, and once Thing emerges his rock-hard skin is gone, leaving him in his human form of Benjamin J. Grimm. He’s left shocked as the rest of the Fantastic Four tend to him, with Doctor Doom making his escape during the chaos. It’s a pretty big development for the Fantastic Four, and will surely affect how they counter Doctor Doom moving forward in One World Under Doom.

The majority of the fallout of Doctor Doom’s actions will continue in Marvel’s Fantastic Four series as a tie-in to One World Under Doom. Future issues tease the Fantastic Four’s numbers dwindling from four to three to two to one and ending with zero. The solicitation for Fantastic Four #33 teases the team going back to the Big Bang to find a way to defeat Doctor Doom. This also marks the end of this volume of Fantastic Four, with Marvel relaunching the series with a fresh #1 in July just in time for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The post Doctor Doom Fundamentally Changes the Fantastic Four Forever (and It’s Probably for the Best) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

With the possible upcoming release date of Silent Hill f approaching, fans of the horror franchise are celebrating with anything they can get their hands on. From watching the movies to playing the original Silent Hill video game that started it all, there are many ways to immerse yourself in the eerie vibes that the series gives off.  One of the ways that you can feel even closer to the series and explore it more in-depth is to sit down with a good comic book. Yes, that’s right – in 2004, production of multiple Silent Hill comics began, each one with its own unique story with the disturbing setting we all know and love. 

Though some of these comics fell under the radar, others grabbed the attention of Silent Hill fans right off the bat and increased their excitement for upcoming games, movies, and more. From 19th-century chaos to unique perspectives focused on the town’s many monsters, these comics have it all. Check out these five comics that you should definitely read if you’re planning on picking up Silent Hill f upon its release. 

[RELATED: Silent Hill f Reveals New Trailer and Official Synopsis]

Silent Hill: Dying Inside 

Dying Inside was actually the first Silent Hill comic book to be released in 2004, featuring amazingly spine-chilling art by Ben Templesmith (famously known for his work on the 30 Days of Night comics). The story, which was part of a five-issue series, is now available in a single paperback and follows the harrowing tale of Lynn DeAngelis. Lynn, a film student going through some hard times and episodes of delusion, hopes that a visit to Silent Hill will cure her. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worst when she arrives there with her psychiatrist and the two quickly realize that leaving the town and its pull on you isn’t always easy. 

Featuring various twists and turns and a visit from Christabella (who is also the main antagonist in the original Silent Hill film), you’ll feel yourself being pulled right back into the story and its rich character development. 

Silent Hill: Paint It Black 

No, this comic probably won’t have you singing the popular The Rolling Stones song in your head. It will, however, have you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next to Ike Isaacs, an artist who is now homeless and wondering if visiting the ghost town of Silent Hill will help him during this difficult time and help him cope with his artist’s block. This comic’s storyline takes on an incredibly unique arc in the way that the monsters within the town’s walls allow Ike to paint them instead of attack him. 

Things always come with a price in this unsettling town, though. Ike quickly realizes that, though his paintings are doing well, he is unable to leave Silent Hill. In an attempt to escape, he will discover that the monsters living in the town aren’t really his allies, but something far worse. 

Silent Hill: The Grinning Man 

The Grinning Man is actually an entrance into an entire series of Silent Hill comics that are based on the game series, making this an excellent read for those who are interested in getting their hands on Silent Hill f upon its release. It follows State Trooper Robert Tower, who is serving his last day of work in the mist-shrouded town where he has never experienced the horrors of its supposed creatures. Unfortunately, Robert’s day isn’t going to be so easy as a smiling man comes to wreak havoc on the town and its inhabitants. The Grinning Man didn’t have rave reviews when it released but you can see still see for yourself if it deserves a place in your Silent Hill-loving heart. 

Silent Hill: Past Life 

Past Life is a unique take on the franchise that actually takes place in the mid-19th century, unlike all other comic installments under the same name. The story surrounds the life of Jebediah Foster, an outlaw living in 1867 who moves with his pregnant wife to Silent Hill for a new life. Haunted by distressing visions and nightmares, the family starts to regret their decision of moving there in the first place. 

Along the way, you will discover that Jebediah and his past were not too far behind and trailed him to the town where nothing is ever normal. This story received some of the better reviews from critics out of all the installments and we believe that it is one you’ll quickly fall in love with as a Silent Hill fan. 

Silent Hill Downpour: Anne’s Story 

This one is especially vital if you have ever played the eighth Silent Hill video game, Silent Hill: Downpour. The plot focuses on Anne Marie Cunningham and what she experienced alongside Murphy Pendleton, the main protagonist in the game. Anne fights her own demons as she journeys through Silent Hill after falling into a gorge known as Devil’s Pit. Though the story can stand alone without you ever having played the game with the same title, it also serves as a great way to fill in several details if you are familiar with Downpour. 

Though Silent Hill’s comic past has been a rollercoaster ride of negative and positive reviews, there are some great stories out there surrounding the mysterious town and its sinister creatures. What Silent Hill games and comics are you checking out in celebration of the upcoming Silent Hill f release? Comment down below!  

The post 5 Silent Hill Comics You Should Read Before Silent Hill f’s Release  appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Tom King’s Wonder Woman has its critics, but there’s one part of it that nearly everyone loves — the Trinity back-ups, introducing readers to the childhood of Wonder Woman’s daughter. King, working with artist Belen Ortega, gave readers brilliant slice of life superhero stories, and they’re among the best things from King’s Wonder Woman run. DC has already collected the back-ups into their own issues, Trinity Special #1 and Trinity Special: World’s Finest #1, but fans have wanted new stories starring Trinity. Well, DC has good news for everyone — the publisher announced a series reuniting King and Ortega, along with color artist Tamra Bonvillain and letterer Clayton Cowles, for Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman.

The six issue series releases on June 11, 2025, telling an all-new Trinity story co-starring Jon Kent and Damian Wayne. The children of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman made an amazing trio, with Jon and Damian doing their best to keep Trinity out of trouble, trouble that was often the fault of their babysitting methods. This newest installment in the life of Trinity is looking to be the best yet if DC’s solicits for is anything to judge by:

“Back by popular demand and now with her own miniseries…Trinity! It all begins when the daughter of Wonder Woman embarks on her most dangerous adventure yet to enter the timeline to find her father. As the young hero knows, messing with time has its consequences, but that doesn’t mean she learned her lesson the first time. Things are about to get ruff and the Super Sons have gone to the dogs. Prepare for a Crisis of Infinite Corgis!”

DC has also released several preview pages, and they look gorgeous. The team of Damian, Jon, and Trinity are among DC’s best young heroes, and their adventures showed fans an entirely new side of Tom King’s work. DC’s back-up game has been on point for years, and the Trinity back-ups were among the finest.

RELATED: Tom King’s 5 Best DC Comics Ranked (And Number 1 Will Surprise You)

A New World’s Finest Team

Fans have gotten to see the children of superheroes before, but the Trinity back-ups gave us a look at it like we’ve never seen before. Most comics starring the children of superheroes usually jump to their teens, and rarely show the years when children are at their most chaotic and lovable. Trinity’s misadventures with Jon and Damian — the two of them constantly leave Trinity with the kind of technology that would be found in places like the Fortress of Solitude and Bat-Cave — were some of the funniest stories DC has put out.

King was able to pack the stories with heart, and nailed the characterization of Jon and Damian. Each chapter of the back-up showed just how much trouble a smart, precocious child like Trinity could get into. The Trinity back-ups were masterpieces, giving readers a nice chaser after the rather heavy themes of King’s Wonder Woman. Judging from these pages, it looks like Trinity and company are going to get into more time travel trouble — a particularly excellent chapter of the back-ups showcased Trinity accidentally messing with the timeline, forcing Jon and Damian to figure out what she changed and how to fix.

The solicit promised the the new World’s Finest team of Jon, Damian, and Trinity having to deal a crisis of epic proportions, with Trinity not having learned her lesson about time travel. Suddenly, the SuperSons are stuck as Corgis — and perhaps other heroes, since the solicit promises infinite Corgis — leaving multiple version of Trinity from across the timestream to deal with it. This is exactly the kind of story that Trinity fans want, and looks to be another brilliant chapter in the story of Trinity’s life.

Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman #1 drops on June 11, 2025.

Are you excited for what might be the most adorable “Crisis” yet? Let us know in the comments!

The post Wonder Woman’s Daughter Is Getting Her Own Series (And We’re Getting the Most Adorable Crisis Ever) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

With rumors swirling about a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival starring an older Slayer mentoring a new Chosen One, combined with the recent success of the Slayers: A Buffyverse Story podcast reuniting original cast members, the cultural momentum behind Buffy Summers has reached its highest point in years. This renewed interest makes now the perfect moment to discover the extensive comic book continuation of the series that many fans don’t even realize exists. While some devotees might be holding out for the television revival, the truth is that Buffy’s canonical story has already been told across five seasons of comics that pick up directly where the series finale left off – delivering epic storylines that would have been impossible to film on a TV budget and answering questions fans have wondered about for decades.

These comics aren’t just supplementary material or “what if” scenarios – they represent the official continuation of the Buffyverse developed under Joss Whedon’s guidance alongside talented writers like Brian K. Vaughan (Saga, Y: The Last Man) and Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods, Daredevil). Whether you’re interested in discovering how Buffy handled command of a global Slayer army, curious about which main character tragically died, or want to see what happens when all magic disappears from Earth, the comics provide satisfying conclusions to storylines the television series only hinted at exploring.

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Dive In

The timing couldn’t be better for both newcomers and longtime fans to explore the comic continuation. With the franchise poised for a potential screen revival, understanding the expanded universe gives you valuable context for whatever comes next. Many concepts rumored for the revival – like an older mentor, Buffy – have already been explored in comics such as Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer, potentially offering a preview of what to expect.

Additionally, the entire run of Dark Horse’s canonical seasons (8-12) is now complete, meaning you can binge the entire story arc without waiting for new issues. This definitive ending provides satisfying closure to character journeys while the BOOM! Studios reboot offers fresh interpretations for those wanting something new. With both the original continuation and reimagined versions readily available in collected editions, the barrier to entry has never been lower.

The recently launched Slayers podcast has also reignited interest in the original characters, making this the ideal moment to reconnect with them in their comic adventures. Hearing James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter voice their characters again has many fans yearning for more stories featuring the Scooby Gang – stories that have been waiting in comic form all along.

What the Comics Actually Deliver

Season 8 kicks off with a dramatic shift in the Buffyverse status quo – Buffy commands a global network of Slayers from a Scottish castle, with squads deployed worldwide to combat supernatural threats. This organization draws unwanted attention from both government agencies and a mysterious masked villain called Twilight, whose identity rocks Buffy’s world when finally revealed.

The expanded scope allows for developments that would have been impossible on television: Dawn experiences bizarre magical transformations, Willow reaches unprecedented levels of mystical power, and Buffy temporarily gains Superman-like abilities, including flight. The season culminates in a cataclysmic battle that permanently alters the magical framework of the universe – all magic disappears from Earth.

Season 9 follows a more grounded Buffy struggling in San Francisco while dealing with the aftermath. Without magic, newly turned vampires become mindless “zompires,” and Dawn – whose existence depends on mystical energy – begins slowly fading away. As Buffy fights to save her sister and restore magic to the world, we see genuine character growth and evolution that builds on her seven-season television arc.

The subsequent seasons continue raising the stakes in compelling ways. Season 10 puts the gang in charge of writing new rules of magic in Giles’ Vampyr book, Season 11 tackles government regulation of supernatural beings with concentration camps for magical creatures, and Season 12 brings everything full circle by connecting to the future world established in Whedon’s earlier Fray miniseries.

[RELATED – A Guide To Buffy The Vampire Slayer Comics]

Fan Concerns Addressed

For those worried the comics might undermine the television series’ powerful finale, rest assured these stories honor what came before while expanding the mythology in meaningful ways. The writers understand which narrative choices would diminish the emotional impact of the show and generally avoid such pitfalls.

The comics also resolve limitations that frustrated TV viewers, particularly the artificial separation between the Buffy and Angel series. Due to network constraints, crossovers between the shows were minimal, even during world-ending threats. The comics remedy this by allowing characters from both shows to interact naturally, creating more cohesive storytelling.

For fans bothered by the Potential Slayers storyline in Season 7, the comics address this directly. The number of active Slayers gradually decreases through attrition, and the disappearance of magic prevents any new Slayers from being called, restoring some of the “Chosen One” uniqueness to Buffy’s role.

Fresh Starts and Alternative Takes

If continuing where the show left off doesn’t appeal to you, BOOM! Studios offers compelling alternatives. Their main Buffy title reimagines the series in a contemporary setting with smartphones and updated sensibilities while retaining the core essence of the beloved characters.

BOOM! also publishes intriguing alternate universe titles like The Vampire Slayer, which explores what happens when Willow becomes the Slayer instead of Buffy, and Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer, featuring an aging Buffy in a world overrun by vampires – a concept particularly relevant to the rumored revival show.

How to Get Started

With so many options available, here are the best entry points:

• For continuity purists: Begin with Buffy Season 8 #1 (Dark Horse) by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty, picking up directly after the TV finale.
• For modern reimagining fans: Try BOOM! Studios’ 2019 Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 by Jordie Bellaire.
• For those interested in the revival concept: Check out Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer by Casey Gilly, featuring an older Buffy mentoring a young girl.

All options are readily available in collected editions from your local comic shop, bookstores, or digital platforms.

The Perfect Moment to Return to Sunnydale

As Buffy appears poised for another cultural resurgence, understanding the expanded universe of the comics positions you to fully appreciate whatever comes next. These stories don’t just offer more adventures with beloved characters – they represent the genuine evolution of the Buffyverse beyond what television could accomplish.

For those who believed Buffy’s story ended when she gazed out at the crater formerly known as Sunnydale, the comics reveal her journey was just beginning. They deliver everything fans loved about the show – witty dialogue, complex characters, and metaphor-rich storytelling – while expanding the mythology to new heights. With revival rumors circulating and renewed interest in the franchise, there truly has never been a better time to discover these hidden gems of the Buffyverse.

Will you be checking out the Buffy comics? Let us know in the comment section!

The post Now Is the Perfect Time to Check out the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comics appeared first on ComicBook.com.

DC’s Summer of Superman will officially kick off with the Summer of Superman Special #1, and it will have a host of superstar creators at the helm. Writers Joshua Williamson, Mark Waid, and newest DC addition Dan Slott are teaming up to deliver a three-part story that looks to not just celebrate a grand wedding but also spotlight the connections to the main Superman series as well as move the bigger story of DC’s All In era forward. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Williamson all about creating the Summer of Superman Special with this all-star team, how it all connects to the main series, and yes, even WWE and John Cena.

Williamson recalls when he was trying to get books signed by Waid at conventions, and now they are working together on a Superman story. “I mean, I feel really lucky. It’s like I look back at myself as a kid and being like, I’m sorry to date myself or the other people I’m working with, but I waited in line for Mark Waid’s autograph when I was a kid to have him sign my Flash comics, so it’s like, that is somebody I really looked up to for a really, really, really long time,” Williamson said. “You know, it’s somebody who I’ve always, I kind of go to for guidance and someone I talk to about DC Comics. I don’t think there’s any way that knows DC the way that Mark Waid does, so I go to him and talk about things.”

“Then somebody like Dan Slott, I’ve been a huge fan of Dan Slott for a long time. It’s funny. I remember buying the Ren & Stimpy comic when I was a kid, but obviously he’s done a lot more since then. There was the Arkham Asylum book he did, which is really great, and then you get into, obviously, Spider-Man. I always feel like with Dan Slott and Spider-Man, it’s kind of funny because, you know that joke of, there was that joke in South Park of like the Simpsons already did it, right? I feel like that is Dan Slott sometimes where Dan Slott did it. If you have a conversation about superhero books and plots, there’s a part of me that is like oh, Dan Slott did that in Spider-Man,” Williamson said.

“He did so much in Spider-Man, and you can tell the guy really, really loves superheroes the same way that Mark and I do,” Williamson said. “And so having him come over and play in this World and talking with him about some stuff and seeing, like he has a lot of ideas, a lot of things he wants to do,” Williamson said.

[RELATED: Upper Deck’s First DC Annual Trading Cards Are Finally Here]

The Summer of Superman Special #1 is split into three chapters, and each creator had a unique mission in regards to their part of the story. One mission was to celebrate the wedding of Lana Lang and John Henry Irons, which you can get a first look at below. Williamson had a few missions for his chapter, and one of the things fans will see is how important the main Superman series is going to be in regard to the larger DC story at play.

“I very much live in the current space for Superman right now, with the book I’m writing and the stories that we kind of get into,” Williamson said. “And because Superman as a book, you’re going to see this more and more, and we teased it in #23, like, how important the Superman book is for the bigger All In mystery. Like at the end of issue #23, we had the Darkseid Legion of Superheroes. You know, in some place we’ve called them the Omega Legion, the Absolute Legion, but those Legion superhero characters you saw at the end of the All In special, we showed them again in issue #23 to like tell people Superman is connecting.”

“Waid is doing the first one, and because this has been announced that Waid is doing Superboy in Action Comics, that’s like a little bit of his focus, like a little bit of us teasing sort of what each of us is doing while telling a cohesive story,” Williamson said. “For what Waid is doing, it was a bit more Superboy, while what Dan Slott was doing was a bit more in the moment, a little bit more in the present. I think it was a bit of a preview, like a taste, I guess I would say what he is doing. I mean really the place to really look for what Dan Slott is doing is the free comic book day special and then Unlimited #1. That’s where you’re really going to get Slot’s story.”

“Then with me, my goal was to sort of wrap it up, to do the ending, but also to sort of focus on the future. That’s how I saw my chapter, was a bit more about definitely taking the plot points. Like we have a couple of…Jorge does this really beautiful two-page spread of a wedding. Spoilers, but it’s in the solicit, so it’s not like that much of a spoiler. But we got through this really cool sequence that takes place in the present day. This sort of ties up some plots from the other books that we’ve been reading, but then also kind of like gets to celebrate this moment and kind of celebrate growth and change,” Williamson said.

“Then I get to do a bit more of what the future is of Superman and what is coming down the line. That was sort of how we broke it up, and then it was a lot of Zooms, a lot of conversations, a lot of people working on scripts. Waid and I are pretty close. It was a lot of Waid and I on the phone and texting each other because we were doing the bookends of it. It was like, okay, we’ve got to make sure this all is cohesive, so it was a lot of that, a lot of whiteboards and a lot of Zooms just talking to each other, and then Paul Kaminski, the editor, just trying to make sense of it all, Trying to wrangle everybody together to make it all came together. And then we’ve got Jorge drawing all of it, and Jorge’s awesome,” Williamson said.

Now, we couldn’t leave without talking just a little wrestling, with the recent heel turn of WWE’s John Cena coming up. That was the result of The Rock asking for Cody Rhodes’ soul, and when I asked when Superman is fighting for his soul, it wasn’t too far off base.

“I have to be careful getting into spoilers, because Summer of Superman, it connects to the mega story we’ve been telling, like the big picture story that goes beyond Superman. The idea of the battle for Superman’s soul is definitely something that is on the horizon and like what that actually means,” Williamson said. “And I think some of those pieces, you’ll get to see some of that in the Summer of Superman special, like the teeing up of that. We have some plans so far out on Superman right now. It’s pretty bonkers, and I’m really excited about it.”

The Summer of Superman Special #1 will soar into comic stores on April 16th.

Are you excited for the Summer of Superman, and what do you hope to see next for the Man of Steel? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Joshua Williamson Teases Summer of Superman Special, Ties to DC’s Big All In Mystery, and More (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Dark Horse Comics and YouNeek Studios introduced the world to the graphic novel series Iyanu: Child of Wonder, which has now become a new animated series from Cartoon Network and Max. Now Dark Horse and YouNeek Studios have collected Volume 1 in a stunning new Library Edition, and you can get your exclusive first look at the gorgeous cover in the image below before it hits bookstores and comic shops this August.

Iyanu: Child of Wonder is written and created by Roye Okupe, with Volume 1 featuring art and covers by Godwin Akpan and volume 2 featuring art by Chima Kalu and lettering by Spoof Animation. The series has accrued several awards, and will soon enter the realm of animation, debuting on Max and Cartoon Network on April 5th.

The series follows a teenage orphan named Iyanu who discovers she has powerful abilities that have only been spoken of in folklore, and they are the key to stopping the world’s destruction and ushering in the return of an “age of wonders”. She’ll need all of those abilities and some key allies to take on the corrupt forces that look to destroy humanity, and you can find the official description below.

“In Iyanu: Child of Wonder: Iyanu, a teenage orphan with no recollection of her past, suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities told of in the folklore of her people. These abilities are the key to bringing back an “age of wonders,” as Iyanu begins her journey to save a world on the brink of destruction. The Corrupt—cursed wildlife and strange, divine beasts—are determined to destroy humanity unless Iyanu can stop them. A timeless fantasy quest inspired by Yoruba culture and myths—from the best Nigerian comics talent! “

[RELATED: Iyanu Returns in Dark Horse Books and YouNeek Studios’ Iyanu: Child of Wonder Volume 3 (Exclusive)]

As for the animated series, President of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim Michael Ouweleen said, “It has been a hero’s journey for Roye and the team to bring this ambitious and stunning series to Cartoon Network and Max. This April, we all get to benefit from years of their effort and enter the super unique world they have created, filled with magic, mysterious enemies and divine powers.”

Lion Forge Entertainment CEO and Founder David Steward II shared, “We’ve witnessed the dedication and heart that Roye Okupe and our entire team have poured into this series, and we’re all excited to see it premiere on Cartoon Network and Max this April. IYANU represents a major leap forward in our commitment to telling culturally rich stories that resonate with audiences around the globe and we’re confident audiences will share in our excitement.”

Iyanu: Child of Wonder Library Edition Volume 1 will hit stores in a hardcover format this August, arriving in bookstores on August 19th and in comic stores on August 20th. You can pre-order the Library Edition now from TFAW, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local bookstores and comic stores.

Iyanu: Child of Wonder will hit Cartoon Network and Max on April 5th.

What do you think of Iyanu: Child of Wonder, and will you be picking up the Library Edition? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!

The post Dark Horse’s Hit Series Iyanu: Child of Wonder Reveals Stunning Library Edition (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

While the overwhelming belief is that Damian Wayne will one day go on to follow his father as Batman, what if Robin’s true destiny was to be the next Ra’s al Ghul? It’s something Batman fans have probably pondered a time or two, especially after Damian made his way into Batman’s life in 2006. Damian Wayne has proven himself worthy of the Robin mantle and is a trusty sidekick to Batman. More importantly, Bruce Wayne and Damian have a true father-son relationship. But the presence of Ra’s al Ghul will always loom large over his grandson, whether Damian wants to admit it or not. WARNING: Spoilers for Batman and Robin #19 below.

Batman and Robin #19 comes from the creative team of Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Javi Fernandez, Marcelo Maiolo, and Steve Wands. It’s Part Six of the “Memento” story arc, with the Dynamic Duo on the hunt for the villain to join the Dark Knight’s illustrious rogues gallery. But while our heroes investigate Memento’s killings across Gotham City, something else is bugging Batman, and it has to do with Damian’s relationship with Dr. Bashar.

Damian Wayne wants to quit being Robin and Batman’s sidekick

Batman has broken his trust with Robin by eavesdropping on Damian’s conversations with Dr. Bashar. Oracle has looked into Dr. Bashar on behalf of Batman and learns that Dr. Bashar has ties to Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins. Batman already had a bad feeling about Dr. Bashar, and learning that Bashar is possibly connected to Ra’s is enough evidence he needs to know the doctor is up to no good. The only problem is Dr. Bashar has gained the trust of Damian. So any aggressive moves by Batman toward Dr. Bashar risks alienating Damian.

Batman and Robin #18 ended with Damian telling Batman that he intends to apply for Dr. Bashar’s youth program so he can work in the same hospital as his grandfather, Thomas Wayne. And then after catching Memento, Damian intends to quit being Robin. It’s a lofty and commendable goal since you hardly ever see a hero willingly retire. This is especially true for Damian, who has ties to both the heroic Batman and the villainous Ra’s al Ghul. It shows Damian’s maturation that he realizes this life he leads isn’t a healthy one. So instead of being a hero dressed in a costume, Damian wants to dress in medical clothing and be helpful that way. It definitely doesn’t seem like Damian wants to follow in Ra’s al Ghul’s footsteps. However, we’ve seen this play out in a future timeline before.

Batman Beyond reveals a dark future for Damian Wayne

One of DC’s alternate timelines featured a future where Damian Wayne does become the next Ra’s al Ghul. The Futures End event that ran through Batman Beyond featured an adult Damian Wayne returning to Gotham after Bruce Wayne retired from being Batman. Coincidentally, the League of Assassins attacked Gotham right when Damian was in town, and Damian donned the Batman Beyond suit to fight off the invaders. However, the suit ended up twisting Damian’s mind, which is what Ra’s al Ghul wanted all along.

Damian grew jealous of Terry McGinnis, believing he wasn’t worthy to take his father’s place as the next Batman. So instead, Damian became the new Ra’s al Ghul and leader of the League of Assassins. After fighting Terry, Damian eventually came to his senses and ended his feud with Batman Beyond. Damian remained the head of the League of Assassins to help steer the group to do good.

It’s unclear if the “Memento” storyline in Batman and Robin is leading towards Damian Wayne having to choose between Batman or Ra’s al Ghul, but it is an interesting question. Even if Damian chooses to become Ra’s al Ghul, at least there is a precedent for Damian to continue being a hero.

The post Is Damian Wayne Becoming the Next Ra’s al Ghul? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Batman is an icon. There’s really no other way to look at the character. One night, in Crime Alley, Bruce Wayne closed his eyes as his parents were shot. When he opened his eyes, Batman was the one looking out of them. Batman has decades of stories under his belt, and when people think of the Dark Knight, they think of Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne’s life has made him uniquely suited to being Batman, and helped mold the mantle of Batman into what it is today. Because this is superhero comics, Bruce Wayne hasn’t been the only Batman, with several others taking the mantle, including the first sidekick in the history of comics — Dick Grayson. Grayson actually has had two stints as Batman, but it’s his second one that gets the most attention because it lasted the longest.

Grayson became Batman after the “death” of Batman in Final Crisis. He took to the role immediately and in the nearly three years he wore the cowl, readers got some of the greatest Batman stories of all time, like “The Black Mirror”. Personally, I’ve always had a connection to Dick Grayson and getting to see him on the biggest stage of them all was amazing. Dick Grayson is the superior Batman and I’m tired of pretending otherwise.

Dick Grayson’s Time as Batman Proved Why He Is the Better Batman

Bruce Wayne as Batman is a very particular kind of hero. Batman is the hardcase; he’s the dark cloud of every room he’s in. Batman doesn’t play nice, because the world he usually lives in isn’t nice. Batman is darkness; he’s spent so long in the shadows, battling against the greatest monsters in a city built by monsters that he’s become one. This has given Batman the kind of attitude and reputation that has made it easy for most heroes to dislike him. Sure, Superman and Wonder Woman like Batman, but they know more about the tragedies of Batman than anyone else dos. Batman doesn’t trust easily, and this makes it so it’s hard for anyone to trust him.

Dick Grayson doesn’t have any of these problems. Dick and Bruce’s young lives have a lot of parallels, but the main constant between the two of them is the loss of loving parents. Bruce went inward when his parents were killed, creating an entire persona so he could not only get revenge, but also so that he’d never actually have to deal with the loss. Dick Grayson was given a replacement for his parents almost immediately, taken in by Bruce and Alfred. He never spent years stewing in his pain, using it as fuel for his mission of vengeance. Young Dick grew up with two people that loved him very much, two people who knew how to deal with the kind of tragedy that he had just been put through, two people who gave him outlet for his pain. His new life was built on trust — the trust in Bruce and Alfred and their love — in a way that Bruce never had, even with Alfred. Dick quickly became the light in Batman’s life, but it didn’t stop there.

RELATED: Absolute Batman Brings a Michael Jordan Internet Meme to Life (and We’re Stunned)

Bruce Wayne as Batman didn’t have anyone to talk about his secret life until he met Superman. However, Dick had him and then the Teen Titans, an entire support system that allowed him to become a much better person. Dick had Superman always there, teaching him things about being a hero that Batman wouldn’t and also lessons that Batman could never teach. Dick Grayson grew into a hero as Nightwing that had all of the skills of Batman, but none of the problems. Nightwing trusted people and people trusted him. He never allowed the darkness to bog him down. No one avoided Nightwing when he walked into a room. No one was afraid of Nightwing in the same way as they were Batman.

Dick Grayson becoming Batman allowed Batman to become something that he could never be as Bruce Wayne. He was able to take Damian Wayne, a wild child looking for love, and mold him into something that Bruce never could have. He started his own Justice League, his teammates trusting him in a way that the League never trusted Bruce. Dick Grayson as Batman was able to become Batman in a way Bruce never could, and that feeling was all through every Dick Grayson Batman story. Dick’s Batman stories were still dark — one needs look no further than the aforementioned “The Black Mirror” to see that — but there’s a sense of fun and energy to his stories that is missing when Bruce is wearing the cowl.

Dick Grayson’s Batman Was a Revolutionary View of the Character

I love Bruce Wayne as Batman. Creators can say things about trauma and mental health with Batman that you can’t say with other characters. I have read some amazing Bruce Wayne Batman stories, as have basically every Batman fan ever. However, as much as I enjoy those stories, if you drop “Batman Reborn”, from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s Batman and Robin #1, in my lap, I will thank you profusely. There’s something about Dick Grayson as Batman that has always appealed to me and his stories as Batman felt different from any other Batman stories out there.

Superheroes are an exercise in status quo, something I’ve said several times lately. That’s why anything that can change that status quo has so much novelty. Most of the time, people will like someone else takes up a heroic mantle, then they’ll get tired of it. That wasn’t really the case with Dick Grayson’s Batman. At the time of Bruce’s return, people loved Dick Grayson as Batman, and many were excited with the prospect of Dick and Bruce as separate Batmen until the New 52 ended those hopes. He was a very different kind of Batman, which made seeing him battle Gotham’s greatest threats so fresh, despite having decades of Grayson as Robin fighting alongside Batman. This freshness, this energy, these differences are what makes Dick Grayson the greatest Batman.

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Since the end of Absolute Power, Titans has been going through some changes. With the Justice League back, the Titans are no longer needed to be the premier superhero team on the planet, but that won’t stop them from fighting evil. The Titans have gotten a new leader, and are dealing with villains who have gotten major power upgrades, all in service to a mysterious plan to destroy the team. For the last few issues, the team started to suspect that Raven, who had just been under the control of the Dark-Winged Queen personality and almost destroyed the Earth, had completely lost control of her empathic abilities. As the city of New York basically started to copy her emotions, the Titans had to figure out how to deal with the situation. Titans #21, by John Layman and Pete Wood, reveals the truth of the matter to the team, with the emotion-controlling Psycho-Pirate having played the team all to get his hands on Raven.

The two meld, their powers intensified, and order the Titans to battle each other. The team — on edge lately because of the changes to their lives and mission — tear into each other, completely under control of the composite entity. However, Raven isn’t without resources of her own, which lead to a big change for the Titans’ most powerful member.

One of the Most Dangerous Versions of Raven Saves the Day

Raven is a character who is used to being trapped in her mind, watching herself doing terrible things to her friends. However, Raven is first and foremost a fighter, and she attacks the Psycho-Pirate, trying to overpower him and take back control of her body. Unfortunately for her, her battle with the Dark-Winged Queen did leave her powers in a weakened state, allowing the more powerful Psycho-Pirate to get the better of her and throw her into the recesses of her own mind. Psycho-Pirate believes that he’s won the battle, but is in for a surprise when the most feared aspect of Raven comes calling — Dark Raven, the side of her where she keeps all the darkness in her soul. Dark Raven also holds much of the magical legacy that the daughter of Trigon, and uses that power to kick Psycho-Pirate out of her mind, saving her friends, before retrieving Raven and having a conversation about their separated lives and the ways they’ve both changed.

RELATED: What Happened to the Teen Titans (And Why Is the New Team Less Popular?)

Longtime Titans fan will recognize Dark Raven. Raven has long been one of the most loyal Titans, but has constantly had to battle the worst parts of herself. Dark Raven has always been the side of Raven that frightens her most and her showing up has often spelled a lot of trouble for the team. Dark Raven has smacked around her teammates many times in the past, so her showing up here could have been a very bad thing for everyone. However, during their conversation, Dark Raven reveals that she has been absorbing some of the light of Raven, just like Raven has been absorbing some of the darkness of Dark Raven. After the affair with the Dark-Winged Queen, Raven and Dark Raven agree that they are more powerful together. They meld together for the first time in ages, the light and dark side of her coming together to create a powerful new version of Raven. As the fight between the Titans end, this new Raven appears before them, sporting a snazzy new costume and more power than ever.

The Titans Are Going To Need All the Power They Can Get in the Days to Come

During the battle with Psycho-Pirate in her mind, Raven learns who has been behind all of the shenanigans the team has been going through when Psycho-Pirate lets slip who hired him — Deathstroke has returned and wants the Titans dead. The Titans quickly realize that everything they’d experienced, the battles with Clock King, Shimmer, Killer Frost, and their fight with Psycho-Pirate, are all parts of a fiendish plan to destroy them. Deathstroke is completely and totally prepared for the Titans, and the most dangerous Deathstoke is one with a plan. Raven’s new powers and costume have come at the exact right time, as the Titans are about to face their greatest test.

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