Articles for November, 2016

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Henry Simmons Breaks Down That Major Mack Twist
While the big challenge at hand during tonight's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may have been the desperate attempt to rescue Coulson (Clark Gregg), Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) and Robbie...
Filed under: TV

No Comments Top
Black Panther’s Pride: A Nation Under Our Feet

Read through some of T’Challa’s most thrilling adventures on Marvel Unlimited to mark Black Panther’s 50th anniversary!

Few kings have dealt with as much as T’Challa and remained on the throne. The attacks from Doctor Doom and Namor continued to harm his people while their previous leader, Queen Shuri, died at the hands of the Cabal’s forces. Coming back from the events of Secret Wars, some might have thought that The Black Panther might be able to take a breather, especially after helping to save all of reality in that event.

But that proved to not be the case as seen in the new volume launched by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze earlier this year. In the first issue alone, T’Challa dealt with a mind-controlled mob at the Vibranium mound, a pair of rogue Dora Milaje who stole high-tech armor, and a brewing rebellion stirred up further by Zenzi and Tetu.

Black Panther (2016) #1

Black Panther (2016) #1

What is Marvel Unlimited?

As the arc continues to grow and build, these forces came together with the likes of Ezekiel Stane to create a war that nearly destroyed the life of Queen Mother Ramonda and also threatened to tear the country apart. Always a few steps ahead of the game, T’Challa kept tricks up all his sleeves and even called in some help from Storm, Luke Cage, Misty Knight, and Manifold. But, will all of this be enough to keep him in charge? Only time and the rest of the story will tell!

Secrets of Wakanda

Shuri perished trying to keep Wakanda safe before Secret Wars. In this new volume, T’Challa secretly attempted to bring his sister back through cloning while she repeatedly appeared with a caretaking Griot in a place called the Djalia, otherwise known as the plane of Wakandan ancient memory. While in this realm she—and by extension we—learned more and more about the great history of Wakanda than ever before, some of which will carry over into the new series BLACK PANTHER: WORLD OF WAKANDA co-written by Coates and Roxane Gay.

Thanks for celebrating Black Panther’s 50th anniversary with us. Keep an eye on Marvel.com for more news out of Wakanda.

Filed under: Comics

No Comments Top
The Spells of Doctor Strange: The Doctor is Out

After Doctor Strange gave up the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme and Brother Voodoo took over for a time, the Master of the Mystic Arts appeared in NEW AVENGERS and his own limited series simply titled STRANGE written by Mark Waid and drawn by Emma Rios in 2009.

As this story kicked off, Strange set up a situation where a young woman named Casey Kinmont would help him get to her grandfather, an incredibly rich man who owned a baseball team that sold its souls to the devil decades ago. After passing a few mystical skills on to the surprisingly adept Casey and actually taking part in the baseball game himself, Stephen saved the players and left without saying much else.

Intrigued by Strange’s comments about her being a natural in the ways of magic, Casey continued using her truth-revealing glasses and the vanishing spell he taught her on the fly while trying to dig up more information on the mysterious magic man.

Strange (2009) #1

Strange (2009) #1

  • Published: November 11, 2009
  • Added to Marvel Unlimited: March 16, 2011
  • Rating: Rated T
  • Writer: Mark Waid
  • Penciller: Emma Rios
What is Marvel Unlimited?

It turned out that the vanishing spell itself sent the targets to a realm ruled by a very angry god called Baroshtok. Luckily, the mad deity retained some empathy and accepted that Casey had not known the ramifications of her actions.

While trying to transport away, Strange and Casey wound up in the middle of a confrontation between a pair of soul stealing demons, the nicer one named Laroximus and the reality-threatening one called Virilian. What manner of high-stakes competition might bring about this kind of veracity? Why the Bibb County, George Miss Buttermilk Pageant, of course. Casey attempted to ferret out which stage mom made a deal with that particular devil while Strange and Larry poked around Virilian’s realm to ascertain the true scope of his plans.

Without giving too much away, STRANGE ended with one character selling their soul, huge sacrifices, the return of an old enemy and a victory that saved the world, even if it proved to be a less than happy ending.

Opening the Book of Vishanti

Even though Doctor Strange pledged to save Casey at the end of this limited series, he hasn’t as of this writing. In fact, “Casey Kinmont” only appeared in one issue outside of STRANGE and it turned out to be a fake. A mystic named Adria tracked Stephen down in GIRL COMICS #2 and gave him some problems, especially noting that women like Casey, Clea, Night Nurse, and others tended to enter his life and leave worse for the wear. Ultimately, Stephen defeated this opponent, but her words seemed to ring with at least some truth.

Filed under: Comics

No Comments Top
Lauren Graham Defends the Gilmore Girls Paul Situation
We're left with plenty of lingering questions now that we've all had a chance to watch all four episodes of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, but at a SAG-AFTRA panel on Tuesday, Nov. 29,...
Filed under: TV

No Comments Top
This Is Us Puts 2 Actors On Screen Together for the First Time and Destroys Us In the Process
Mushrooms sure are a hell of a drug. While we weren't loving the presence of Kevin's non-girlfriend's horrible friends as the Pearson siblings took one last trip to their...
Filed under: TV

No Comments Top
Star Wars Spotlight: Showdown on the Smugglers’ Moon

Each week Star Wars Spotlight combs through the digital archives of Marvel Unlimited to showcase one classic story from that distant galaxy filled with Jedi, Sith, princesses, scoundrels and droids.

Instead of taking it easy after the events of the first Jason Aaron-penned arc of STAR WARS, our heroes continued their planet-hopping exploits in issues #812. The first issue of the Stuart Immonen-drawn arc picked right back up with Han and Leia facing down the barrel of a blaster on an unnamed outer rim world the former thought might work as a Rebellion headquarters.

On the other end of that blaster? A woman named Sana claiming to be Han’s wife! After some craziness with a batch of TIE Fighters and the destruction of their ship at the hands of Sana, Han and Leia figured out a way to team up and get out of there.

Meanwhile, Luke decided he needed to get to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. However, as the former Republic capital then served as the seat of the Empire’s power, young Skywalker realized he needed to sneak onto the planet which meant he needed a crew.

Star Wars (2015) #8

Star Wars (2015) #8

  • Published: August 19, 2015
  • Added to Marvel Unlimited: February 22, 2016
  • Rating: Rated T
What is Marvel Unlimited?

Trying to recreate the magic he found at Mos Eisely, Luke and R2-D2 traveled to the Smuggler’s Moon of Nar Shaddaa to put a team together. Instead, he wound up as the latest piece in Grakkus the Hutt’s extensive collection of Jedi memorabilia. Instead of freezing him in carbonite, though, Grakkus sent Luke into his gladiator training program.

Eventually word got back to Mon Mothma and the leaders of the Rebellion about Luke’s capture. Knowing she couldn’t send a large number of soldiers into a place like that, the Rebel leader relied on a pair of hardcases to get the job done: Chewbacca and C-3PO.

While Han, Leia, and Sana made their way to Nar Shadda, Chewie and Threepio faced off against Dengar the bounty hunter and Luke made his gladiatorial debut against Kongo the Disembowler, a tech-enhanced beast that made the Rancor look soft and cuddly by comparison. Thanks to a well-timed bust by some Imperial forces because of an undercover agent in Grakkus’ midst, the good guys joined forces, wielded lightsabers, and fought their way off planet to relative safety!

From the Jedi Temple Archives

Take a close look at the pages of STAR WARS #9, specifically the ones featuring Grakkus’ Jedi collection. In addition to all of the Holocrons and lightsabers, peep the mask that looks like it belonged to a Jedi Temple Guard as seen towards the end of “Star Wars Rebels” season two and beyond. Also, check out the Ahsokka Tano projection from one of aforementioned Holocrons saying, “Whoever is seeing this…it’s up to you now. Don’t let our deaths have been in vain. Don’t let this be the end of the Jedi.”

Next time, we work our way into one of the most dastardly gangsters in the cosmos’ gangs with a series of mid-90’s Jabba one-shots!

Filed under: Comics

No Comments Top
How Did The CW’s DC Superhero Crossover Affect The Flash?
There are still two hours to go in The CW's big DC TV crossover week, as the teams from The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl fight off the alien Dominators who have invaded...
Filed under: TV

No Comments Top
Prowler: Shadows of Morality

From the start of PROWLER, Hobie Brown has been acting a little off and it can be no wonder. Slain by Electro and brought back to life by The Jackal, Prowler has found himself in the debt of someone he had been sent by Spider-Man to investigate. Add to that that Prowler seems to believe in the mission statement of New U while still concealing his allegiances from many and Brown must be one conflicted guy.

But how real does his dedication to New U run? How does he really feel about the man responsible for not only his rebirth but the woman who killed him in the first place? We got in touch with PROWLER writer Sean Ryan to find out.

Marvel.com: Prowler has obviously already had a complicated history with New U given his initial mission to expose them and now his dedication to the company. Has Hobie been as onboard with them right after his resurrection as he appeared or did he view it as a marriage of convenience?

Sean Ryan: I think Hobie was fairly onboard right away. Obviously the being killed wasn’t great, but once he learned about what Jackal was doing and trying to do, he was onboard.

Marvel.com: Despite the complications that have ensued since, it does appear that Brown has a bone deep belief in the goodness of the program. Would that be inaccurate to say?

Sean Ryan: Nope, it’s not inaccurate at all. Prowler really does think what New U is doing is great. The company is promising universal cures and to bring dead loved ones back to life. Now obviously, there is an ethically grey area there, but if it could mean an end to disease and even death…it’s something to pay attention to.

Marvel.com: A large part of that ethically grey area is obviously Electro. More so than anyone else in the book, Prowler seems to have a very antagonistic relationship with her. Why do they activate each other so significantly?

Sean Ryan: The main reason, I’d say, is because she’s killed him already. I think I’d have a tough time getting along with someone who murdered me and seems to have no remorse whatsoever about it.

Electro definitely represents the dark side of New U. The side that does things it needs to do, in order to protect what it’s creating. Prowler isn’t wild about that side, but for Prowler, things aren’t so clear cut, black and white. Just like his character, who has been both hero and villain, Prowler can deal with some moral compromise.

I think Electro loves rubbing it in that she’s already killed Prowler. Electro is a real jerk. She loves hurting people and causing pain. She has a very pure vision. She knows what she is. She can tell Prowler doesn’t know what he is, and she loves calling him out for that.

Marvel.com: Is Electro the only reason Prowler might find his “faith” shifting? If not, what else would factor into it?

Sean Ryan: She definitely is a big part of it. Why would Jackal keep someone like Electro around? It frustrates Prowler.

But he also has his doubts when talking with Julia Carpenter in [issue] #2. She’s on the side that thinks that Jackal is bad and no matter what he’s doing [it’s] bad. This hits Prowler, but then I also think it has the opposite effect at the same time of strengthening his faith. It’s like if you’re into a movie and someone tells you how awful it is just because of some vague reasons; you want to like the movie more.

Marvel.com: On the other side of things, Prowler seems to have a developing connection to The Jackal. How does he feel about his “boss” and what is he willing or not willing to do for Jackal? Is his allegiance only owed to the drug or is there more to it?

Sean Ryan: The drugs are certainly part of it, but I really do think he believes in what Jackal is trying to do. Maybe he doesn’t 100% believe that Jackal is the best man on the planet. But for Prowler, again, it’s not always so clear cut. Prowler knows that Jackal is a flawed and complicated guy, but that doesn’t mean they should destroy what he’s trying to do because of that.

Marvel.com: As the writer, how do you view Brown’s struggle? What are his motivations and how is he living them or compromising them at the moment?

Sean Ryan: Hobie’s had a tough life. He’s bounced around a lot in the Marvel Universe, trying to find his place in it. I think Prowler is someone just desperately searching for something to be a part of. He’s a lonely guy, so he reaches out to people or ideas, thinking that will help him. Whether that will be Silver Sable, Spider-Man, or now, New U. I think what Prowler really needs to do is find himself and figure out who he is and what he wants, instead of always clinging to whatever new thing comes his way.

Hobie Brown continues his ethical tightrope walking on December 7 in PROWLER #3 by Sean Ryan and Jamal Campbell!

Filed under: Comics

No Comments Top
Is There a Future for Ben and Lauren? Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell Weigh In on Season 2
The future of Ben and Lauren seems uncertain, and more ways than one. The first season finale of Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell's Freeform series just aired, which means we're...
Filed under: TV

No Comments Top
The Flash: Enter the Dominators
The Flash: Enter the Dominators This week, the #DCTV Couch Club is doing something a little different. Since the four CW shows are crossing over, we decided to have our club of #DCTV fans cross over as well. Read more
Filed under: Comics

No Comments Top

Back to Top