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#IReadsYou Review: HEROES REBORN #1
HEROES REBORN #1 (OF 7)
MARVEL COMICS
STORY: Jason Aaron
PENCILS: Ed McGuiness
INKS: Mark Morales
COLORS: Matthew Wilson
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Carlos Pacheco and Rafael Ponteriz with Nolan Woodard; Ed McGuiness with Matthew Wilson; George Perez and Al Vey with Morry Hollowell; Iban Coello with Espen Grundetjern; Jeffrey Veregge; John Tyler Christopher; Joshua Cassara with Dean White; Mark Bagley and John Dell with Romulo Fajardo, Jr.; Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
48pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (July 2021)
Rated “T+”
“Whatever Happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?”
Heroes Reborn was a Marvel Comics summer event series and crossover publishing initiative. It was comprised of the seven-issue comic book miniseries, Heroes Reborn, and eleven tie-in comic books. The entire thing was scheduled to be published over seven weeks, from May 5, 2021 to June 23, 2021.
Heroes Reborn is set on an Earth in which the Avengers – Earth's Mightiest Heroes – were never formed, and Blade the Vampire Hunter seems to be the only person who remembers that the world should be different – that it has been “reborn.” The Heroes Reborn miniseries was written by Jason Aaron; drawn by Ed McGuiness (pencils) and Mark Morales (inks); colored by Matthew Wilson; and lettered by Matthew Wilson.
Heroes Reborn #1 (“Whatever Happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?”) opens in East Los Angeles. That is where Blade is looking for answers. Two weeks earlier, he woke up covered in blood in a flophouse of London's East End. The first thing he did was try to contact Avengers Mountain, but it was not there.
Blade discovers that he has awakened in a world that is both familiar and wildly different. In this world the Avengers never existed. The Squadron Supreme of America has always been “Earth's mightiest heroes.” They are Hyperion, Nighthawk, Power Princess, Doctor Spectrum, and Blur.
Phil Coulson is currently the President of the United States. Blade reaches out to the Avengers teammates that he can find, but to no avail. And the Squadron's Nighthawk does not like the “truth” with which Blade has confronted him. Now, Blade must travel to the arctic and find the one man – the one legendary hero – who can fix this wrong Earth.
THE LOWDOWN: First, I must be honest with you, dear readers. With but a few exceptions, I hate big Marvel and DC Comics crossover events. They are generally a mess – the closest thing to a cacophony of actual sound and fury signifying nothing that comic books can get.
Heroes Reborn #1 is one of the exceptions. It is actually a really good first issue; the rest of the miniseries and all the tie-in issues are a mixed bag. Only the first issue is entirely the work of Aaron and McGuiness, who is essentially the back-up artist on issues #2 to #7. Jason Aaron is the writer on the lead stories in those issues, each of which focuses on a member of the Squadron Supreme and/or their activities.
I assume that many readers already know that the Squadron Supreme is Marvel's pastiche version of DC Comics Justice League of America. I don't think that the team has ever been known as the “Squadron Supreme of America,” so it is funny that this is the group's name in Heroes Reborn.
The Heroes Reborn miniseries and its tie-ins are basically an overview of a world in which the Squadron and not the Avengers protects Earth. Some of the changes are quite intriguing, such as the fact that the Squadron is more like DC Comics/Wildstorm Production's The Authority than the Avengers. Some changes are not as good, but could be upon further development. By the end of the one-shot that wraps up this event, Heroes Return #1, I did want to see more of the Heroes Reborn world, even with my reservations.
The series was published a year ago, so I don't believe I should worry about spoilers. The Squadron replaced the Avengers in a plot hatched by Marvel's satanic villain, Mephisto, using the “Pandemonium Cube” (Cosmic Cube), with Phil Coulson as his wickedly evil and ambitious lackey and front man.
All that said: I really liked Heroes Reborn #1. Jason Aaron offers an especially intriguing first issue script with flourishes on conspiracy and mystery. Ed McGuiness' manages to be both stylish and excellent in his storytelling; Mark Morales' sharp inks bring out McGuiness' sparkling design. Matthew Wilson's color, as always, are gorgeous. Letterer Cory Petit is also one of those “of course his work is good” guys, and he is indeed good here.
In general, I like Heroes Reborn, and I feel comfortable recommending it to fans of Marvel event series and to fans of the Squadron Supreme. I didn't get as much Blade in this series as I would have liked, but sometimes, I have to take what I can get.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Marvel event series will want to try Heroes Reborn.
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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#IReadsYou: Movie Review: THOR: Love and Thunder
Running time: 119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity
DIRECTOR: Taika Waititi
WRITERS: Taiki Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson; from a story by Taika Waititi (based on the Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS: Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Idoine (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Peter S. Elliot, Tim Roche, Matthew Schmidt, and Jennifer Vecchiarello
COMPOSERS: Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad
SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION and COMEDY/DRAMA
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi (voice) Jaimie Alexander, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Kieron L. Dyer, Idris Elba, Brett Goldstein, and Russell Crowe and Natalie Portman
Thor: Love and Thunder is a 2022 superhero fantasy and action-comedy directed by Taika Waititi and produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth film in Marvel's Thor film series, which began with Thor (2011). Thor is a Marvel Comics character that first appeared in the comic book, Journey into Mystery #83 (cover dated: August 1962), and is based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. In Love and Thunder, Thor reunites with his ex-girlfriend to fight a being who plans to make the gods extinct.
Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth), using his second enchanted hammer, “Stormbreaker,” is fighting the bad guys of the galaxy with the Guardians of the Galaxy: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (voice of Vin Diesel), and Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper). Thor is at a crossroads in his life and is unsure of what to do next.
Back on Earth, Thor's ex-girlfriend, the astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), is battling stage four cancer. Seeking medical treatment, Jane travels to New Asgard. There, she has a strange encounter with Thor's broken hammer, Mjolnir.
Meanwhile, Thor has answered a distress signal from one of Asgard's warriors, Sif (Jaimie Alexander). She warns him of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a being who possesses the god-killing weapon, “the Necrosword.” When Gorr attacks New Asgard, Thor returns to join the battle. Much to his shock, he discovers that Mjolnir has reforged and bonded with Jane Foster, transforming her into another Thor.
Now, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), King of Asgard, and Korg (voice of Taika Waititi), the rocky Kronan warrior, join Thor and Thor on a journey to fight Gorr. But are they enough to fight a being that has already killed many gods?
The last year's worth of Marvel Studios films, five including Thor: Love and Thunder, have been different, even offbeat, much to the chagrin of some critics and fans. People complained that Marvel's films were too much alike, and now that the studio has given us five films that are quite different from the first 11 years of films, they still aren't happy.
Anyway, I want to make it clear that there is plenty of “thunder” in Thor: Love and Thunder. Director Taika Waititi offers some action set pieces that are either unusual or have an unusual angle to them. As Gorr, Christian Bale gives a multi-layered performance full of pathos, humor, and maniacal glee. It is a seemingly effortless performance from one of the best actors of the last quarter-century. So, this superhero movie has a great villain, one who can match both Thors and is genuinely vengeful, a vengeance grounded in love.
Still, Waititi wants Thor to be something really different. The films trades in themes of love, death, and change. Thor Odinson and Jane Foster-Thor are both in crisis. The Odinson is having a sort of mid-life crisis. If he is no longer the rascally young heir to the throne of Asgard or the Avenger's lightning, thunder, and muscle, then, what is he? Jane Foster is facing an existential crisis; her cancer is really terminal. Should she quietly accept her fate or should she go out with a bang and some thunder as Thor, fighting their enemy to death, if need be?
Thor: Love and Thunder is a perfect film for this time. It chooses love over despair. It is a post-breakup movie in which Thor and Jane Foster find their way back to one another. Although death is an end, it can also mean change, and that is what can be in store for Thor and Thor and for King Valkyrie, Korg, and a few other characters.
I love what director Taika Waititi has created in his two Thor films, this and the earlier Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Thor: Love and Thunder finds the humor in every situation, even the dark and dangerous ones, which might put off some of its audience. However, I like that Thor: Love and Thunder is a film made of joy, color, and wonder that travels across the galaxy and into different realms. But no matter where it goes, Thor: Love and Thunder full of thunderous sounds and furious love.
[This film as two scenes that occur during the credits, one in the middle and one at the end.]
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.