The Comic Book Thread (spoilers)

[Boulder]

From what I've heard, Kraven killed the Grim Hunter (I think) and due to something going wrong with how he was brought back he can only die again if Spider-Man kills him (and I'd like for an explanation of how that works; does he regenerate (like Wolverine and several other characters) or pop up alive again later like a Highlander-type Immortal that `died' but didn't have their head cut off?). He's also pissed that he was brought back to life.

(I'm wondering if the `Spider-Man has to kill him for him to die' thing only applies to Peter Parker or to his clones, too? Maybe Kaine could take him out.)

Kaine was the "Spider-Man" who died so Kraven could come back to life in the first place. He switched with the original to trick the Kraven family and so Spider-Man could live.

You need to go back and reread the very last page of ASM 637!

[Johnny Latino Heat]

From what I've heard, Kraven killed the Grim Hunter (I think) and due to something going wrong with how he was brought back he can only die again if Spider-Man kills him (and I'd like for an explanation of how that works; does he regenerate (like Wolverine and several other characters) or pop up alive again later like a Highlander-type Immortal that `died' but didn't have their head cut off?). He's also pissed that he was brought back to life.

(I'm wondering if the `Spider-Man has to kill him for him to die' thing only applies to Peter Parker or to his clones, too? Maybe Kaine could take him out.)

Kaine was the "Spider-Man" who died so Kraven could come back to life in the first place. He switched with the original to trick the Kraven family and so Spider-Man could live.

You need to go back and reread the very last page of ASM 637!

Son of a... The copy I had... acquired () was incomplete and didn't have that last page. Thanks for the heads up!

Edited August 6, 2010 by Johnny Latino Heat

[Gabriel]

I just ordered the Clone Saga, parts 1 and 2, off of Amazon for $46.

Parts 3 and 4 have yet to come out, and I'm not sure if there's a 5th part or not.

I remember the clone saga being one of the more interesting storylines of the 90s for me. I'm not expecting a masterpiece by any means, but I never read it. I saw the action figures, the stuff from the video games and tv show, and it always interested me.

BTW, for anyone who's going to ask the inevitable question... no I'm not selling my shit anymore. I stopped being a bum and got a job to support my lazy ass... and by support, I really mean, so that I can buy movies and comic books.

[the machine]

I just ordered the Clone Saga, parts 1 and 2, off of Amazon for $46.

Parts 3 and 4 have yet to come out, and I'm not sure if there's a 5th part or not.

I remember the clone saga being one of the more interesting storylines of the 90s for me. I'm not expecting a masterpiece by any means, but I never read it. I saw the action figures, the stuff from the video games and tv show, and it always interested me.

My memory of the clone saga is that it started off being pretty decent, but eventually turned into a huge mess. I hated the ending in Spider-Man #75. At the time it was about the vilest Spider-Man story I had ever read. Of course this was before vile Spider-Man stories became par for the course. I wish there could've been a way to keep Ben Reilly around, as his character at the time was a lot more relatable than Peter Parker.

[stokeriño]

Got round to buying/reading Siege last week...

RIP Sentry.

He was one of my favourites in my Post-Avengers-Disassembled readings...

[Timmoru Suzuki]

Read the first volume of Ranma 1/2. Was a bit of fun. Not sure if I can be arsed to read the other 35 volumes mind.... Though the other volumes are dotted around random libraries in town so if I feel like it I could read it for free effectively.

[stokeriño]

Read the first volume of Ranma 1/2. Was a bit of fun. Not sure if I can be arsed to read the other 35 volumes mind.... Though the other volumes are dotted around random libraries in town so if I feel like it I could read it for free effectively.

Do mangas really get discussed in this thread? I thought they would end up in the anime thread...

But yeah. Much like Inu Yasha, if you've read a couple of Ranma volumes you've pretty much read them all. Rumiko Takahashi may be able to churn out popular ideas, but she can't develop (or end) them for shit.

[GoGo Yubari]

Ranma 1/2 is pretty strong as far as series of that nature go for about... maybe the first ten to twelve volumes? Then it starts to lose steam around the point where the vast majority of one volume is seriously dedicated to Anything Goes Martial-Arts Eating. It took me years to finally read the last few volumes, and they really aren't good at all. It's mostly a strong cast of characters, which is why it's a pity Takahashi fails to give 90% of them anything resembling character growth.

[apsham]

In anticipation for the movie, my girlfriend picked up the six Scott Pilgrim books - she plowed through them at work since she is master overseer of a music store, but I've been reading them on my walks to work - on the fourth book now and I love how true to the books they kept the movie, but the books themselves are altogether something else. So... many.. nerd.. references and I love how the characters arch.

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Possible Avengers spoiler, so...

How do you guys feel about the Red Hulk becoming an Avenger? Quite honestly, I think they should have just killed off the character or rendered him powerless. The way he's apparently going to join makes it seem like he'd be more suited to the Thunderbolts than the main Avengers team. Urgh.

[GhostMachine]

Possible Avengers spoiler, so...

How do you guys feel about the Red Hulk becoming an Avenger? Quite honestly, I think they should have just killed off the character or rendered him powerless. The way he's apparently going to join makes it seem like he'd be more suited to the Thunderbolts than the main Avengers team. Urgh.

Its definitely a bad idea. Hopefully it will be short term.

Finally, USAgent (aka Asshole America) gets replaced as `worst choice for an Avenger'. Red She-Hulk would be a better choice, but both characters need to be permanently de-powered. (Red Hulk turning out to be Thunderbolt Ross was really stupid)

[the machine]

Possible Avengers spoiler, so...

How do you guys feel about the Red Hulk becoming an Avenger? Quite honestly, I think they should have just killed off the character or rendered him powerless. The way he's apparently going to join makes it seem like he'd be more suited to the Thunderbolts than the main Avengers team. Urgh.

Its definitely a bad idea. Hopefully it will be short term.

Finally, USAgent (aka Asshole America) gets replaced as `worst choice for an Avenger'. Red She-Hulk would be a better choice, but both characters need to be permanently de-powered. (Red Hulk turning out to be Thunderbolt Ross was really stupid)

Hey US Agent rules! There's far worse choices for Avengers. Off the top of my head:

Moon Knight (unreliable powers, less of a team player than Batman, schizophrenic)

The Sentry (unreliable in general, schizophrenically becomes his own arch-nemesis)

The Falcon (why does earth's mightiest heroes include a guy who can... fly? And talk to a bird?)

Lionheart/Captain Britain (Chuck Austen is terrible and all his ideas are terrible, including Captain Britain)

I'm sure there's worse.

Also that spoiler is really depressing. I don't see him actually joining any avengers team long-term. What a terrible character.

[GhostMachine]

Possible Avengers spoiler, so...

How do you guys feel about the Red Hulk becoming an Avenger? Quite honestly, I think they should have just killed off the character or rendered him powerless. The way he's apparently going to join makes it seem like he'd be more suited to the Thunderbolts than the main Avengers team. Urgh.

Its definitely a bad idea. Hopefully it will be short term.

Finally, USAgent (aka Asshole America) gets replaced as `worst choice for an Avenger'. Red She-Hulk would be a better choice, but both characters need to be permanently de-powered. (Red Hulk turning out to be Thunderbolt Ross was really stupid)

Hey US Agent rules! There's far worse choices for Avengers. Off the top of my head:

Moon Knight (unreliable powers, less of a team player than Batman, schizophrenic)

The Sentry (unreliable in general, schizophrenically becomes his own arch-nemesis)

The Falcon (why does earth's mightiest heroes include a guy who can... fly? And talk to a bird?)

Lionheart/Captain Britain (Chuck Austen is terrible and all his ideas are terrible, including Captain Britain)

I'm sure there's worse.

Also that spoiler is really depressing. I don't see him actually joining any avengers team long-term. What a terrible character.

Of the 3 legacy/ripoff characters (Thunderstrike, War Machine and USAgent), USAgent is the one who should have been killed off (Eric Masterson should have just been depowered). The name Asshole America, which is what I usually call him, fits.

And I meant worst choice when it comes to team chemistry, not gimmick or powers (or lack of powers). I agree with all those you listed, but I'd also toss in:

Doctor Druid - Considered a Dr. Strange wannabe despite the fact that he actually pre-dates Dr. Strange (first appearance was in 1961, under the name Dr. Droom that was later retconned to Dr. Druid), has a lame as hell costume, and oh yeah, he went nuts and was killed by Daimon Hellstrom!

Starfox - Do I even have to explain why? He's used his powers to basically commit sexual assault, and last time I checked he's a fugitive. Was almost useless when he was an active Avenger.

D-Man. Super-powered homeless wrestler with one of the lamest costumes ever.

I could keep going, but I'll just mention Deathcry and Silverclaw, then stop.

[the machine]

Of the 3 legacy/ripoff characters (Thunderstrike, War Machine and USAgent), USAgent is the one who should have been killed off (Eric Masterson should have just been depowered). The name Asshole America, which is what I usually call him, fits.

And I meant worst choice when it comes to team chemistry, not gimmick or powers (or lack of powers). I agree with all those you listed, but I'd also toss in:

Doctor Druid - Considered a Dr. Strange wannabe despite the fact that he actually pre-dates Dr. Strange (first appearance was in 1961, under the name Dr. Droom that was later retconned to Dr. Druid), has a lame as hell costume, and oh yeah, he went nuts and was killed by Daimon Hellstrom!

Starfox - Do I even have to explain why? He's used his powers to basically commit sexual assault, and last time I checked he's a fugitive. Was almost useless when he was an active Avenger.

D-Man. Super-powered homeless wrestler with one of the lamest costumes ever.

I could keep going, but I'll just mention Deathcry and Silverclaw, then stop.

It's so sad when I think about how the industry was moving forward before the 90's. New characters like Thunderstrike actually becoming prominent, X-Men becoming adults and moving out of the X-Mansion, but since the mid-90's it's become a big nostalgia fest run by a bunch of writers who grew up reading during the 70's. I mean granted, the near-collapse of the industry to the point that it basically exists as a medium to pitch movie ideas probably didn't help, but it sucks to see how much comics from the big 2 have made negative character progress in the past decade and a half. As much as I'm not naturally a big Morrison fan he's one of the few guys who sets long-term goals to push characters forward.

I agree US Agent is asshole America, he's basically just Guy Gardener only without the dumb haircut, and to my knowledge he was never taken out in one punch, although I know he got in a punch up with Hawkeye. The only other guys that are almost as bad for team chemistry are probably Namor and Quicksilver. Namor because he's a prince who thinks he's better than everybody and doesn't care much about humanity, Quicksilver because he's impatient from waiting around all the time for normal-speed jerks. Plus he's the son of Magneto and is sometimes creepily over-protective of his sister.

And I liked Silverclaw! She had an interesting twist on the shapeshifting power, and she's a POC who doesn't run around calling herself "La Gaucha" or anything lame like that. Plus, I don't think she was ever anything beyond a reserve Avenger, so it's hard to dislike her as much as Dr. Druid, who was the focus of entire awful storylines. But yeah, Deathcry was terrible. You know a character sucks when while taking apart the Avengers team they have to specifically take her to her home planet. Editor's Note: Deathcry died on the way to her home planet. Or at least, she's never been seen since.

[Johnny Latino Heat]

But yeah, Deathcry was terrible. You know a character sucks when while taking apart the Avengers team they have to specifically take her to her home planet. Editor's Note: Deathcry died on the way to her home planet. Or at least, she's never been seen since.

According to her Wiki page, she was in Annihilation and will be in an Avengers special series called "Chaos War", so... Sorry

[TGC]

But yeah, Deathcry was terrible. You know a character sucks when while taking apart the Avengers team they have to specifically take her to her home planet. Editor's Note: Deathcry died on the way to her home planet. Or at least, she's never been seen since.

According to her Wiki page, she was in Annihilation and will be in an Avengers special series called "Chaos War", so... Sorry

She is dead. She will be part of the dead revived heroes in Chaos War along with Dr Druid and Captain Mar-Vell

[Guest The Head]

Deathcry gets my vote for worst Avenger ever, hands down. D-Man was never a full-fledged member, and Silverclaw and Doctor Druid were at least brought in for specific purposes. The Deathcry plot just sorta fizzled out from the beginning, and she was kept around as a warm body until Onslaught.

I've been mostly out of comics the last year or so, but now that the Osborn and Sentry plots have seemingly been finished for good, I might get back into it as the Marvel Universe returns to a more classic phase.

[the machine]

But yeah, Deathcry was terrible. You know a character sucks when while taking apart the Avengers team they have to specifically take her to her home planet. Editor's Note: Deathcry died on the way to her home planet. Or at least, she's never been seen since.

According to her Wiki page, she was in Annihilation and will be in an Avengers special series called "Chaos War", so... Sorry

I may not have been 100% correct that she never appeared again but you seemed to miss what I was going for: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThePoochie

I hate linking to TV Tropes, so realize that I was making a reference to that character who had to go back to their planet. My point is that the character was so awful it wouldn't be enough to just stop writing about her, she had to be put on a plane with a one way ticket to her home planet just so fans would be able to breathe easier knowing she wasn't going to show up at the next Avengers softball game.

Edited August 21, 2010 by the machine

[Johnny Latino Heat]

But yeah, Deathcry was terrible. You know a character sucks when while taking apart the Avengers team they have to specifically take her to her home planet. Editor's Note: Deathcry died on the way to her home planet. Or at least, she's never been seen since.

According to her Wiki page, she was in Annihilation and will be in an Avengers special series called "Chaos War", so... Sorry

I may not have been 100% correct that she never appeared again but you seemed to miss what I was going for: http://tvtropes.org/...Main/ThePoochie

I hate linking to TV Tropes, so realize that I was making a reference to that character who had to go back to their planet. My point is that the character was so awful it wouldn't be enough to just stop writing about her, she had to be put on a plane with a one way ticket to her home planet just so fans would be able to breathe easier knowing she wasn't going to show up at the next Avengers softball game.

Yeah, totally missed the reference. And I watched that Simpsons episode last week, too

Anyway, I had to go look at Deathcry's wiki because I had absolutely no idea who she was. Not really up to par on the Avengers rosters, only started reading it after Disassembled.

[Richie S]

Right gentlemen I am sure you get asked this all the time but I just finished my first Graphic Novel (Civil War) and I want to get four or five more I am looking to get probably JLA or Avengers. Any recommendations?