X-amining "Onslaught" Tie-Ins Part 2

"Dancing in the Dark" / "Night Neverending" / "The End of the Line" / "Unfinished Business" 

October 1996

In a Nutshell

The Avengers, Fantastic Four and Hulk prepare for the final battle against Onslaught. 

Incredible Hulk #445 by Peter David & Angel Medina

Iron Man #332 by Terry Kavangh & Joe Bennett

Avengers #402 by Mark Waid, Mike Deodato & Tom Palmer

Fantastic Four #416 by Tom DeFalco & Carlos Pacheco

(Please visit the GCD for full credits from each issue)

Plot

Incredible Hulk #445: After rescuing a subway car full of stranded passengers, Hulk, angry with the way Onslaught used him & frustrated by the heroes' lack of action, decides to take the fight to Onslaught. Though Captain America cautions against it, Hulk is joined by Falcon, Hawkeye, Vision & Crystal. Together, Hulk & Crystal dig a tunnel beneath the city & into Onslaught's citadel. They attack, and though his allies are killed, Hulk succeeds in destroying Onslaught, happy to have won despite the losses. Suddenly, he's back in Four Freedoms Plaza, the entire attack a result of a telepathic illusion created by Onslaught and shared amongst the heroes, leaving the group more distrustful of Hulk than ever. 

X-amining Tales of Suspense #49

"The New Iron Man Meets the Angel"
January 1964

In a Nutshell
Iron Man fights Angel

Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Steve Ditko
Inker: Paul Reinman
Letterer: Sam Rosen

Plot
Angel is flying over a Stark facility just as it triggers an atomic explosion as part of a munitions test. The ensuing radiation brings out Angel's dark side, and when he returns to the X-Mansion, he easily bests his teammates before declaring his intent to join the evil mutants and flies off. Hoping to draw their attention, he goes on a rampage, and Professor X reaches out to the Avengers for help. Iron Man is the only one to respond, and he attempts to capture Angel. But Angel manages to evade and outfly Iron Man, so Iron Man resorts to a desperate gamble: depleting his power, sending him plummeting to the ground, in the hope that Angel's better nature will come to the surface. It does, and Angel rescues Iron Man, after which Iron Man meets the X-Men, and Professor Xavier promises to repay Iron Man for his help.

Summer Movie Report Card 2013

No time for a preamble, here's 2013's Summer Movie Report Card! 

Iron Man 3

A huge step above the lackluster previous film in the series and a worthy follow-up to The Avengers, I still would have liked a bit more of Iron Man himself and more nods to the shared universe. Nevertheless, there's no denying this was well-crafted and tremendously fun, largely carried by Robert Downey Jr.'s phenomenal performance.  
A

The Great Gatsby

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow & Don Cheadle
Directed by Shane Black
Written by Drew Pearce & Shane Black
Original Score by Brian Tyler 

After a brief in media res opening (they're all the rage these days) which establishes the story that follows to be a narrative told by Tony Stark to an unseen someone, Iron Man 3 finds Tony Stark struggling to come to terms with the events of The Avengers. He's become more of a celebrity and hero than ever, even while he's having problems sleeping and clearly suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder. What follows from this setup is a surprisingly introspective summer blockbuster. With the country under attack by a terrorist known as the Mandarin, Tony finds himself pulled out of his comfort zone, stripped of his usual resources and forced to once more rebuild himself from the ground up in order to expose the real threat of the Mandarin.

To Better Know a Hero: Iron Man

I was going to do a post on the Mandarin in preparation for Iron Man 3, but time got away from me, laziness, etc., etc., so instead, here's a reformatted and slightly updated version of my original "To Better Know A Hero" post on Iron Man, from back in May of 2008.

Real Name
Anthony "Tony" Stark  

First Appearance 
Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963)

Nicknames and Aliases 
Shellhead, Iron Avenger, the Cool Exec with a Heart of Steel     

Powers and Abilities 
Tony Stark is a mechanical and engineering genius, as well as a wealthy industrialist, able to create and upgrade fantastic technologies, including his ever-evolving Iron Man armor. He’s also been trained in hand-to-hand combat by Captain America, and of late, taken to calling himself a “futurist”, with the ability to scientifically predict future events. It’s unclear if this is a super power or not, and is mainly used as validation for some of his more recent dick-ish actions.

Avengers Assembled

A long time ago I reacted to the news that Marvel had devised a plan to produce separate super hero movies and then...ahem...assemble those super heroes into one blockbuster titled "The Avengers." I expressed both an appreciation of the ambition of this project but also a healthy dose of skepticism that this plan could be executed properly. As much as I wanted this plan to work I saw numerous pitfalls.
Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you know this plan had come to fruition over two weeks ago when The Avengers hit theaters. I saw it opening weekend and there are rumors I may have seen it twice. But the question is, did Marvel Studios' plan work? There were six total movies (so far). Since I'm such a fan of ranking, why don't I rank these movies from worst to best:

6. The Incredible Hulk: I'm not a fan of absolutes so I won't say it's impossible to make a good Hulk movie but, when I think about it, I don't see it happening. The Hulk is supposed to be an unstoppable beast of pure anger and rage. Unfortunately, that sounds more like a villain than a hero. And really, that's the interesting dynamic to The Hulk. But when the Hulk is the star of a movie it means he has to be more the hero and the consequences of Hulk's destruction is kept to a minimum. So what you end up with is a super hero who's indestructible. That tends to be boring.
This movie ended up being better than the 2003 Hulk movie, but that's feint praise. If you don't dive into the psychology and violence of the Hulk you're left with what this movie was, a fairly boring action movie. If you dive too far into the psychology of it all you end up with a boring melodrama. To make a truly good Hulk movie would require a deft and subtle touch that I'm unsure any director who would take on a Hulk movie would have.

To Better Know a Team: The Avengers

Unless you've been living under a pop culture rock lately, it's no secret that tomorrow marks the debut of Marvel's much-hyped, years-in-the-making blockbuster feature film starring the Avengers. In an effort to piggy back on that hype and to enable our readers to nod approvingly at whatever winks to the fans are included in the movie, here's a look at Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and here are links to past "To Better Know a Hero" profiles on the various Avengers appearing in the film: Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk, and Iron Man).  

First Appearance
The Avengers #1, Sept. 1963

Summer Movie Report Card 2010

Days are getting shorter, the temp is getting colder, and the movies are getting less blockbuster-y. Summer is turning into fall, and that means its time to look back at the summer that was, movie-wise.

Two big movies I wanted to see but which fell through the cracks were the acclaimed Toy Story 3 and the 80s-nostalgia, 'roid-filled action extravaganza The Expendables, but I'll hopefully catch those on DVD (or maybe even a theater still).

Anyways, here's what I thought of what I did see.

To Better Know A Hero: Black Widow

Real Name: Natalia Alianovna Romanova

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 52

Nicknames and Aliases: Natasha Romanoff (Anglicized name).

Powers and Abilities: Heightened (but not superhuman) physical abilities, stamina and longevity thanks to an offshoot of Captain America's super solider serum; Black Widow is also an accomplished hand-to-hand combatant, marksman, linguist, acrobat and espionage agent.

A Rainy Sunday at Microcon

Microcon was held a few Sundays ago at its now-usual venue at the State Fair's Progress Center. I'm not sure if the steady rain kept people in or kept them away, but it was a mad house inside, at least for the two hours or so I was there. If the show keeps growing at this rate, it'll soon outgrow the Progress Center. As it was, I have nothing but sympathy for the creators, dealers and volunteers that had to manage the throng of people all day.

In my zeal to get out the door early and pick up my brother, I managed to forget my camera and my want list (which made shopping a little trickier and more memory-based) so no fun pictures. Needless to say, the costumed folk were out in force once again, from MCBA's regular Superman to a full compliment of Star Wars characters, including a neat looking Clone Trooper in and amongst all the Stormtroopers, and an impressive Jango Fett.

Arriving shortly after the doors opened my brother and I, slightly soggy, made a beeline for the Half Price Books table. My brother was looking to pillage their discounted Manga inventory as he had done at Fallcon last year. In moments, he had dropped fifty bucks on $300 worth of Manga. While he ravished the Manga, I picked up this little gem for $3.00:

I have no idea what this comic is about, but the cover features Lex Luthor sucker punching a pre-teen Superman in the back, and that, my friends, is worth three dollars.

While my brother lugged his sack of books to the car, I made a lap of the floor. I wasn't planning on buying any graphic novels, since my local comic shop was having a big sale the following weekend, in which all books would be 50% off, which is about as good a deal as I can find anywhere. However, I caved for one 1/2 off Showcase that I knew my LCS didn't have in stock: Batman and the Outsiders.

This early 80s book featured Batman quitting the Justice League (because they wouldn't help out a colleague of Bruce Wayne, who was being held captive by an enemy country) and reluctantly forming his own team of "outsiders" to help him. I was introduced to the humorous crappiness of the stories and the gorgeous Jim Aparo art by Siskoid's hilarious page-by-page analyses a while back, and have wanted to continue reading the series since.

With my recently-updated want list sitting uselessly on my desk at home I had to rely on my memory to make any comic book purchases, which meant, for the most part, hitting the broad strokes of my collection, things like X-Men and Avengers, for which I know by heart the issues I still need, and avoiding diving into bargain boxes for quarter comics.

I did manage to find a copy of Flash #54 for fifty cents, an issue Dave Campbell raved about way back when that I've kept my eye out for ever since, so I could experience the fun myself.

Then I picked up two issues of Iron Man, #98 and #99, that were old enough that I knew I didn't have them yet.

Usually, I like to methodically work my way backwards through my acquisition of X-Men and Avengers comics, purchasing, for example, issue #95 before #94, and so on. But this time I found plenty of good deals for issues all over the range of my want list that I threw that notion out the window.

To wit, I scored three issues of Avengers in good shape, all for under $5 a piece: #62, #104, #114

Apparently, I've exhausted the stock of my usual dealer for late 70s X-Men comics, as he didn't have any issues I don't already have this year. But I still managed to add two more issues of X-Men to my collection, #74 and #84:

These are all from the "reprint" period of X-Men's publishing history, in which low sales had led the book to being canceled for a time before it was brought back simply as a place to reprint older stories. Despite the lack of original content, at $8 an issue, these were a steal.

And that was the end of a soggy, quick-and-dirty Microcon for me. As usual, more than anything it simply whetted my appetite for Fallcon in October.

200 Posts and Counting...

By blogger's count, this is the 200th post on Gentlemen of Leisure. To celebrate (and to publish some more comic book-related material) here's a look at the 200th issues of some notable comic books.


Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Man confronts the Burglar that killed Uncle Ben.


Avengers: Ms. Marvel's mysterious and speedy pregnancy results in her giving birth to a rapidly aging son, who turns out to be Marcus, son of Immortus, who brought Ms. Marvel to Limbo a few issues previous in order to hypnotize her into having sex with him so he could impregnate her with himself in order to be born back on Earth. In the end, he goes back to Limbo with a seemingly willing Ms. Marvel. The Avengers are okay with all of this this for some reason...


Batman: Awash with fear thanks to the Scarecrow, Batman and Robin recall their origins and rededicate themselves to crime fighting, eventually turning the tables on the fear-mongering rogue.


Captain America: Jack Kirby writes and draws an issue celebrating the bicentennial of Captain America's comic and America's.


Fantastic Four: The Fantastic Four battle Dr. Doom to prevent him from using his Hypno-beam to enslave the United Nations.


Iron Man: Tony Stark dons a new suit of Iron Man armor after a lengthy absence (brought on by the resurgence of his alcholism) to take down his rival Obadiah Stane in a story from which the movie drew partial inspiration.


Justice League of America: The original Justice League members, possessed by aliens, battle the newer recruits in chapters illustrated by character-appropriate artists of the day.


Superman (vol 2): The modern Superman continuity is slightly (and quietly) rebooted as a Supergirl dies and Superman battles Brainiac 12 in the future.


Uncanny X-Men: The X-Men battle Fenris while Magneto goes on trial for crimes against humanity. In the end, he accepts stewardship of the X-Men when Professor X leaves Earth to hang with his alien girlfriend (he claims it's for health reasons...).


Wonder Woman (vol. 2): The "Down to Earth" storyline, which helped define Wonder Woman's role as an Amazonian ambassador of peace, concludes while several backup stories celebrate the character's history.

To Better Know A Hero: Iron Man

In honor of ol' Shellhead's big screen debut this weekend, here's everything you need to know about the Golden Avenger.

Real Name: Tony Stark

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963)

Nicknames and Aliases: Shellhead, Iron Avenger, the Cool Exec with a Heart of Steel

Powers and Abilities: Tony Stark is a mechanical and engineering genius, and a wealthy industrialist, able to create and upgrade fantastic technologies, including his ever-evolving Iron Man armor. He’s also been trained in hand-to-hand combat by Captain America, and of late, taken to calling himself a “futurist” with the ability to scientifically predict future events. It’s unclear if this is a super power or not, and is mainly used as validation for some of his more recent dick-ish actions.

Stark recently injected his nervous system with a techno-organic virus called Extremis that allows him to “store” the inner layers of his armor in the hollows of his bones and mentally control it. He can also control the other elements of his armor through “technopathy” allowing him to suit up at will. Extremis has also increased his body’s ability to heal and given him the ability to remotely connect to satellites, cell phones and computers worldwide.

Yeah, it’s overly-complicated and pretty lame.

Weaknesses and Achilles’ Heels: During his early appearances, the chest plate of the Iron Man armor prevented a piece of shrapnel from piercing Tony’s heart; as a result, he had to wear it at all times and worry about it losing power. Eventually, he had a successful surgery to remove it. Afterwards he suffered from various debilitating diseases and handicaps that he eventually overcame (shot in the spine, paralyzed, presumed dead, debilitating nervous disease, Republicanism). Also he’s an alcoholic. And kind of a dick.

Gadgets and Accessories: The Iron Man armor is one big gadget, complete with his offensive repulsor rays, uni-beam, flight capabilities, energy shields, EMP generators, and all kinds of other gizmos and abilities. Once upon a time, Tony carried the (presumably lightweight but still tough) armor in a briefcase for easy access. He has also developed numerous “special purpose” armors over the years, including ones designed for use in deep space or deep waters, stealth, a heavy duty “Hulkbuster” armor designed for combat with the Hulk and another “Thorbuster” armor for facing off against Thor.

Friends and Allies: Harold “Happy” Hogan (his driver/best friend, who’s dead now I think) Virginia “Pepper” Potts (his former secretary and love interest), Jim Rhodes (aka War Machine, his friend, former pilot and occasional substitute Iron Man), the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D, and the many, many attractive ladies he’s bedded through the years, too many to name here.

Foes and Antagonists: The Mandarin, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, M.O.D.O.K, Whiplash, Ultimo, Living Laser, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Justin Hammer, Captain Morgan, Obadiah Stane

One-Sentence Origin: After being fatally wounded while testing weapons in a warzone and captured, Tony Stark used his mechanical genius to create a suit of armor to stay alive and break free, thereafter deciding to use his constantly-upgraded armor to defend the world from evil as Iron Man.

Memorable Moment: Iron Man 128 (November 1979) in which the extent of Tony Stark’s alcoholism is made clear.

Fun Fact: Iron Man's armor isn't made out of much iron, rather it is composed of various complicated steel and titanium alloys, making his name something of a misnomer.

Teebore’s Take: Iron Man always seemed an odd fit at Marvel in the sixties, lacking much of the pathos and grounded-reality of many of the other characters: down-on-his-luck Peter Parker, the persecuted Hulk, Ben Grimm trapped in the form of the monstrous Thing. On the surface, Tony Stark had more in common with DC’s Superman, the character you wanted to be (in Iron Man’s case, a handsome millionaire playboy with access to the coolest toys and tons of babes) instead of the character you related to, like Spider-Man.

The damaged heart and the need to wear/power the chest plate was obviously Stan Lee’s attempt to ground the otherwise happy-go-lucky, wealthy industrialist. It’s also interesting to note that Iron Man origin/motivation isn’t born of personal tragedy. His Uncle Ben didn’t die as result of his actions. Rather, he saw firsthand the effects of the weapons he manufactured, and after being injured by one, designed an even greater weapon to good instead of harm. Even then (these stories taking place at the height of the Cold War) it took some time before Stark International stopped being a munitions company and transitioned to the production of more beneficial technologies.

After the heart injury became too difficult/ludicrous to continue, the new weakness that grounded the character became his alcoholism, and to a larger extent, the issue of an addictive, controlling personality. Even prior to his recent actions in the Marvel Civil War (in which Iron Man sided with the government on the issue of registering all super humans and led the charge against Captain America’s rebels) Iron Man has always been an “ends justify the means kind of guy,” often skirting the line between hero and villain along the way, and coming into conflict with less morally relativistic characters like Captain America, citing a “big picture” view of things to rationalize his actions.

It’s likely that much of the appeal of the character comes from this more complex “gray area” approach to heroism; I particularly enjoy it when Iron Man comes into conflict with someone I more readily agree with, like Captain America. This is also probably why Iron Man continues to draw fans and readers, even though many consider his recent actions as the director of international peacekeeping/espionage force S.H.I.E.L.D and the head of the government’s post-registration 50 State Initiative to be at worst, outright villainy and at best, him being a dick.

Also, he wears a high tech suit of armor that flies and shoots ray beams at stuff, and that’s pretty cool.