Comic book questions and other ramblings (Possible Spoilers)

[Galactus]

I have an idea of some of this, but I wanted someone to give me their own personal take on a couple of things going on in DC and Marvel?

1. Is Osborn like a Marvel version of Lex Luthor. Apparently he is the ultimate bad guy in 616 now replacing Doom, Magneto, and Skull.

2. So Milestone and Archie heroes are part of the regular DCU. Something Marvel has never done. They have never added all the different properties they own to the regular Marvelverse and DC has always "assimilated" its acquisitions.

3. I think Dick is the new Batman. If that is the case why didn't Tim just become Nightwing instead of Red Robin. I mean is Kingdom Come that popular?

4. Whose stupid idea was it to have a planet of Kryptonians? I can't even imagine how that makes any sense. Did they not watch Lois and Clark?

5. So General Lane is like the guy who is going to take the alien superheroes down?

6. So Steve Rogers is back how? Is Clint Barton a ninja or an archer?

7. Did Marvel just add Dark to all their titles.

8. So is it the Green Lanterns or the Rainbow Lanterns? Maybe they should be the In Touch With Our Inner Feelings Lanterns.

9. What is up with the painted artwork style?

10. Is there a title that an old timer like we would actually like. Doesn't have to be Marvel or DC.

[Nerys Myk]

2. So Milestone and Archie heroes are part of the regular DCU. Something Marvel has never done. They have never added all the different properties they own to the regular Marvelverse and DC has always "assimilated" its acquisitions.

DC used to place aquired properties in other Universes. (Shazam, Freedom Fighters) but since Crisis they been all on one Earth.

Other than Malibu, I cant think of any properties Marvel has bought outright. They did make Godzilla part of the MU when they had the rights. Same for Micronuats and ROM. Conan was part of the MU too for awhile.

[The Lensman]

Not a Marvel reader, but here's my thoughts on some of the DC stuff you mentioned....

1. Archie and Milestone characters....yeah, they really just need to put these characters on different worlds of the restored Multiverse because most of them are useless and less special on Clutter Earth.

When was the last time Captain Marvel really mattered or was special? When he was on Earth-S...because he was that worlds "Superman", for lack of a better description. They've got waaaay to many heroes on one friggin planet, and it's beyond annoying. Why do they have crime again? Or a status quo that benefits a wealthy few?

2. Yes, Dick is the new Batman....Don't know why Tim didn't become Nightwing other than the fact that Bruce will be back at some point.

As for Kingdom Come...who really gives a shit about it anymore? Yes, it was awesome, ten to fifteen years ago. I really don't care about it anymore and it was never meant to be DC's "future". Don't know why they're pushing it other than it's Alex Ross' deal.

3. Planet full of Kryptonians....retarded, and I'm friggin' sick of Superman being drawn like Christopher Reeves and the Fortress of Solitude looking like that cheap crystaline crap from the first movie.

4. Green Lantern....the other Corps wouldn't be so bad if they weren't supposed to be "emotions". Will is not, by any definition or stretch of the word, an emotion. Plus, the current crossover would've have more impact in ten to fifteen years than it does now. The Guardians just came back to the joy of Hal fans, and looky....their at the exact spot they were at the end of Hal's run despite being shown different in Kyle's run.

Wow...how original..ly boring. And the other Corps, while I enjoy them, are just to new for me to care or be awed by any war between them, or when one gets decimated.

5. What painted art style are you referring to? Sometimes it's really cool...other times...it just doesn't work.

6. Title's that I will recommend without really knowing your likes and dislikes:

1. Planetary - Just. Plain. Awesome.

2. Jack Staff - Finally got off my ass and picked this book up and it's the closest thing in decades that feels like the kind of comics I read as a kid in the 70's and 80's. The book isn't so much about Jack Staff, so much as the world he inhabits. There's an entire comic universe in the pages of Jack Staff, that's why I love it. Just good old fashion comic book adventures. I'm loving the hell out of it more than just about anything these days.

3. John Byrne's recent Trek work...if you're a fan of classic Trek, this is the Trek comic for you. It's the only Trek work, in twenty years of reading Trek comics, that actually feels like Trek. The ships and sets are 100% accurate and faithful and have never been captured as good as this.

Off the top of my head, that's about all I can think of right now. If I think of more, I'll post them as well.

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Funny you should mention Jack Staff; I was just reading about him in Previews and was thinking of giving him a try.

Nerys Myk wrote:

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Other than Malibu, I cant think of any properties Marvel has bought outright. They did make Godzilla part of the MU when they had the rights. Same for Micronuats and ROM. Conan was part of the MU too for awhile.

Fu Manchu for a while, too.

[Mike Farley]

RJDiogenes wrote:

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^^ Funny you should mention Jack Staff; I was just reading about him in Previews and was thinking of giving him a try.

Fu Manchu for a while, too.

Also Transformers and King Kull. And Marvel's first run at Star Trek, post-TMP, included a reference to their Tomb of Dracula series.

[Ben Sisko3]

Galactus wrote:

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1. Is Osborn like a Marvel version of Lex Luthor. Apparently he is the ultimate bad guy in 616 now replacing Doom, Magneto, and Skull.

Only through April. After saving the world from a Skrull invasion, he was placed in charge of national security after Tony Stark was deposed.

3. I think Dick is the new Batman. If that is the case why didn't Tim just become Nightwing instead of Red Robin. I mean is Kingdom Come that popular?

He doesn't want to tarnish an established identity, so Red Robin can do things Robin, Nightwing, etc. can't.

4. Whose stupid idea was it to have a planet of Kryptonians? I can't even imagine how that makes any sense. Did they not watch Lois and Clark?

Geoff Johns thinks every idea he has is brilliant, and DC treats his books like they're the damn Franklin Mint. Ugh.

6. So Steve Rogers is back how? Is Clint Barton a ninja or an archer?

Not quite yet. It involves time travel shenanigans, and the Red Skull is in control of Steve's body. Also, Clint is both.

7. Did Marvel just add Dark to all their titles.

Just a couple.

10. Is there a title that an old timer like we would actually like. Doesn't have to be Marvel or DC.

Captain America (Brubaker). Planetary. Y: The Last Man. RASL. Ex Machina. Doktor Sleepless. The Unwritten. The Nobody. Essex Count Trilogy. All-Star Superman. Mighty Avengers (Slott). Fantastic Four (Hickman). Astonishing X-Men (Whedon, then Ellis).

[Ben Sisko3]

Mike Farley wrote:

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Also Transformers and King Kull. And Marvel's first run at Star Trek, post-TMP, included a reference to their Tomb of Dracula series.

The Micronauts should probably be listed here too, but that's a stickier situation.

[Mike Farley]

Nerys Myk mentioned the Micronauts. How would they be a stickier situation? It's just another property that Marvel doesn't have the rights to anymore. And the 'Nauts created for the Marvel comic are still around. Bug is a part of the current Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Ben Sisko3]

Mike Farley wrote:

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Nerys Myk mentioned the Micronauts. How would they be a stickier situation? It's just another property that Marvel doesn't have the rights to anymore. And the 'Nauts created for the Marvel comic are still around. Bug is a part of the current Guardians of the Galaxy.

Didn't notice the earlier mention; glossed over the post too quickly. The stickier situation being they have to resort to vague commentary regarding previous continuity, as is the case with ROM.

[Spaceman Spiff]

RJDiogenes wrote:

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^^ Funny you should mention Jack Staff; I was just reading about him in Previews and was thinking of giving him a try.

You'll like it.

[DarKush]

My take on a few of your questions:

1. Yes, Osborn is sort of the Luthor of the Marvel U. Though I would argue that he's more powerful than Luthor was even when Lex was President. Right now Osborn has his fingers in just about everything. However, there are hints from the upcoming "Seige" storyline that there might be someone more powerful behind the scenes.

2. Milestone is a part of DC universe proper. I'm not sure if Archie is. However, despite a guest spot in the Dwayne McDuffie's closing run on the JLA, and some guest spots in Brave and the Bold, most of the Milestone characters are going to be put back on the shelf, at least for the foreseeable future. The only Milestone character that is going to get some play is Static, and he has been added to the Teen Titans after debuting in Terror Titans. DC is going back and issuing trades of the old Milestone work. I have both the Static and Icon trades. I heard that McDuffie will also get to wrap up the original Icon storyline.

3. Dick is the new Batman. The Nightwing name is now being used by Chris Kent, the adopted son of Superman and Lois Lane in one of the Superman books. They've bought back the team of Flamebird and Nightwing. Along with Mon-El and Supergirl they are watching after Earth while Supes is on New Krypton.

4. There is a New Krypton; the inhabitants were from the bottle city Kandor. Personally I liked the NK arc, it added something different to the Superman universe. It gives Superman a whole new list of problems and divided loyalties to contend with. Plus it opens up the potential for more adversaries.

7. Dark Reign is the big event for Marvel after Secret Invasion. Most of the books with the DR title over them are supposed to be related to the big storyline, though its mainly just a ploy to sell more books IMO. Though some of the sidestories are more interesting than what's happening in Dark Avengers, which I'm assuming is the main DR book.

[Admiral_Young]

Everyone has pretty much answered the questions...as for people hating New Krypton, New Krypton and everything prior to it are leading to a much bigger story arc that will be taking place in the major 2010 Superman arc in the summer time. I started a speculative thread a couple months ago about what might happen.

Dick is indeed Batman...Dick assumed the role of Batman in order to preserve the legacy and mythos of Batman. Tim assumed the role of Red Robin because he didn't want to tarnish the role of Robin (he's got a very negative view on Damien and Jason Todd). He's been off searching for Bruce Wayne in his own book and has made allies of...interesting people.

[Allyn Gibson]

Galactus wrote:

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3. I think Dick is the new Batman. If that is the case why didn't Tim just become Nightwing instead of Red Robin. I mean is Kingdom Come that popular?

Because there's a Nightwing running around the Superman books -- Christopher Kent, Superman's adopted son. So the name's been retired from the Batman books so it can be used in the Superman books, which meant that Tim was going to need a new identity.

If you're reading Red Robin, Tim's use of the identity actually works. Tim's having to go outside his usual channels, and there's no preconceived baggage around the Red Robin identity. This also helps him when his cover gets blown, as the character in question has no idea that Tim isn't anything other than a League of Assassins member in fancy garb.

[RJDiogenes]

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

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You'll like it.

Good enough endorsement for me. I'll add him to my sub list.

[Nerys Myk]

Ben Sisko3 wrote:

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Didn't notice the earlier mention; glossed over the post too quickly. The stickier situation being they have to resort to vague commentary regarding previous continuity, as is the case with ROM.

Marvel had an odd way of looking at licensed properties back in the day. I guess we're lucky that "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" didn't get folded into Marvel Continuity.