Venom

Guardians of the Galaxy #16

/ / Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy #16After a couple of depressing issues involving the various members of the Guardians of the Galaxy being captured, sold into slavery, tortured, experimented on, and imprisoned, the tide begins to turn in Guardians of the Galaxy #16. Last seen freefalling to his death after jumping out a skyscraper window, Peter Quill is rescued by Carol Danvers (a character I enjoy but not necessarily in a Guardians comic) and makes an impassioned televised speech turning the public perception of his ragtag band around.

Meanwhile Venom frees himself with the Skrulls‘ attempt to bond with his symbiote, Gamora gets a reprieve with the sudden arrival of Angela, and Drax is offered the fate he’s demanded of Gladiator for the past two issues.

Where the last issue felt very much like filler, Guardians of the Galaxy #16 starts to move the story forward again. Hopefully it continues and we won’t have to wait several more issues to put the band back together. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Guardians of the Galaxy #14

/ / Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy #14To celebrate the 101st issue of the various Guardians of the Galaxy titles over the years, Guardians of the Galaxy #14 offers a new-reader friendly oversized issue. The comic’s main tale involves the Spartoi Empire finally catching up with Peter Quill and his various companions, each of whom run into a spot of trouble. As Quill and Rocket Raccoon are taken prisoner by a Spartoi warship, Gamora is taken down by a bounty hunter and sold to the Badoon, and Drax is similarly captured on Knowhere while better equipping the team’s newest member Venom.

It’s surprising we don’t see the fates of Angela or Groot shown or even referred to here, but not half as surprising as the choice of Venom as the team’s newest member. Although putting Flash Thompson in space means there’s a very real possibility to get answers about just where the symbiote came from, the choice of choosing a Marvel character who could never join the cinematic version of the group, and doesn’t really bring anything new to the comic team, is a bit of a head-scratcher. I’m also not sold on Carol Danvers involvement being teased.

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New Avengers #18

/ / Comics

new-avengers-18-coverNorman Osborne has escaped from prison and united H.Y.D.R.A. and A.I.M. under H.A.M.M.E.R. Next up for Osborne, reforming his Dark Avengers.

Norman’s new team consists of Barney Barton, Gorgon, Skaar, June Covington, the Thor clone Ragnarok, and the Decapitator. Although I’m not sure which is less believable, H.A.M.M.E.R. and A.I.M. agreeing to work together for Osborne or Skaar joining this team, I enjoyed the Dark Avengers the first time around and I’m curious to see how they’re going to be used here.

I have to say I am more than a little disappointed that Moonstone (by far my favorite member of Osborne’s previous team) isn’t re-enlisted to be Ms. Marvel. The unnamed brunette (Superia?) has a lot to live up to.

The issue works well in introducing most of the members of Osborne’s new team (even if it is the second straight issue that fails to give us the promised new team of New Avengers with Daredevil). Without Moonstone, Venom, Bullseye and Daken the team is missing its more amusing characters, but I’m willing to give it a chance.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Spider-Man 3

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Spider-Man 3
  • IMDb: link

The curse of three.  This is where all comic book movie franchises begin to break down.  Though Spider-Man 3 is much better than third installments of other super-hero movie franchises (Batman Forever, X-Men: The Lamest Stand, Superman III) it struggles mightily with an overambitious plot which contains enough storylines for at least three films. Sure, we get the alien symbiote, the Sandman, Gwen Stacy, a wedding proposal, a new Goblin, and Venom, but we get them all at once and all on top of each other.  The film would have been better served if the creators had been a little more selective and told a more in-depth, concise, and fleshed-out story, rather than rushing through a half-dozen tales all at once.

As the film opens Peter Parker’s (Tobey Maguire) life is golden.  He’s got a good job at the Daily Bugle, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) is acting on stage, the city has fallen in love with Spider-Man, and he has decided to ask MJ to marry him.

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