Tag Archives: New Avengers

May 6 2014

New Avengers 17

new avengers 17Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing New Avengers 17, originally released April 30th, 2014. 

slim-bannerSpencer:  On the surface, the Great Society and the Illuminati — the two teams at the center of Jonathan Hickman and Rags Morales’ New Avengers 17 — seem to be as different as day and night, but the more we dig into these groups, the more similarities emerge. They may handle the Incursions differently, but deep down, both teams seem to know that they’re only delaying the inevitable: it’s the way they face the end of the world that truly defines these heroes.

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Apr 1 2014

New Avengers 16

new avengers 16Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing New Avengers 16, originally released March 26th, 2014. 

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Spencer: What do you do when a problem has you stumped, when you’ve tried everything you can think of to fix it, but nothing works? Perhaps you ask for help, hoping that a fresh set of eyes will provide a new perspective, or perhaps you examine how others have solved similar problems in hopes of finding an answer. Lately the Illuminati have been taken both approaches in their attempts to end the Incursions. The Mirror has provided them with an endless variety of alternate Earths to observe, but no matter how things differ on the various worlds, so far they have all been recognizable as versions of the Marvel Universe. Not so, though, in Jonathan Hickman and Rags Morales’ New Avengers 16, where we get to see how the heroes of the distinguished competition might handle an Incursion. Continue reading →

Jan 7 2014

New Avengers 13.INH

new avengers 13 INH

Today, Spencer and Ethan are discussing New Avengers 13, originally released December 31st, 2013. 

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Spencer: When you need to fight evil dictators or invading aliens, you call the Avengers, but when you find yourself facing threats a tad more existential, threats that can’t just be punched in the face, you call the Illuminati. Indeed, the Illuminati have spent most of writer Jonathan Hickman’s run on New Avengers trying to solve the Incursion problem, but in this month’s issue they find themselves faced with a threat much more tangible, yet just as overwhelmingly impossible as the Incursions themselves. As Doctor Strange says, the Black Priests are eviler than evil, “darker than dark.” Continue reading →

Dec 3 2013

New Avengers 12

new avengers 12 infinityToday, Spencer and Patrick are discussing New Avengers 12, originally released November 27th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Spencer: Unsurprisingly for a group that claims to rule the world in secret, the Illuminati functions much like a government. Both are made up of various individuals each supposedly dedicated to bettering the world (or their country, whatever), but who are also devoted to personal causes of their own which quite often cause major conflicts of interest. In the past, we’ve worried that these conflicts could tear the Illuminati apart, but New Avengers 12 flips that situation by showing the Illuminati putting aside their differences (if only temporarily); their actions keep the world safe, but do serious damage to their personal lives. Continue reading →

Oct 21 2013

New Avengers 11

new avenger 11 infinityToday, Spencer and Patrick are discussing New Avengers 11, originally released October 16th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Spencer: When Infinity was first announced, we knew very little about it besides the fact that it would be vaguely connected to writer Jonathan Hickman’s two Avengers books and that Thanos was involved; once the first issue dropped, I declared that it was “the story if what happens when two different universe-ending threats hit at the same time, leaving the Earth absolutely helpless.” We’re over two-thirds of the way through the crossover and those words are still mostly holding true, but New Avengers 11 takes this concept to a place I would have never expected when Infinity began — yet a place that makes perfect sense — by tying the space-bound and Earth-bound threats together. Continue reading →

Sep 24 2013

New Avengers 10

new avengers 10 infinityToday, Spencer and Drew are discussing New Avengers 10, originally released September 18th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Spencer: If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading New Avengers, it’s that the Illuminati are not friends. While close bonds or even romance often sprout between teammates in other books, the Illuminati seem to think of each other as resources rather than people. This may just prove to be their greatest weakness; the Illuminati may actually have the ability to take down Thanos, but their secrets, grudges, and disinterest in (or downright hatred for) one another are all building towards some deadly consequences. Continue reading →

Sep 6 2013

Infinity 2

infinity 2-INFINITY

Today, Ethan and Patrick are discussing Infinity 2, originally released September 4th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Ethan: Space operas tend to share a few common traits. The first is that they usually happen in space (surprise!). Next, they make some assumptions about technology, concerning themselves with the adventures that take place between the stars rather than the history of how their characters came to be able to travel across the galaxy. Some involve enormous space battles, and many feature a tightly knit band or bands of characters fighting back against monolithic forces of evil. I’m still trying to decide if the Infinity arc fits the bill of a space opera rather than just a standard sci-fi story, but Infinity #2 certainly provides a lot more evidence towards the former than the previous issue did. The heroic attempt by the galactic alliance of good-guys to halt the Builder onslaught didn’t pan out so well, so now they’re licking their wounds and trying to find a new way to survive.

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Aug 15 2013

Infinity 1

infinity 1-INFINITY

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Infinity 1, originally released August 14th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Spencer: “So…what is Infinity actually about?!” It’s a question that, in one form or another, has been tossed around Retcon Punch quite a bit the past few months. Up until now, my answer has always been, “Um…Thanos?,” and even the Preludes over in Avengers and New Avengers did little to clarify things. Thankfully, now that the first issue has dropped, I can finally give a clear answer: “Infinity is the story of what happens when two different universe-ending threats—each capable of supporting a summer crossover all on their own—hit at the same time, leaving the Earth absolutely helpless.” Pretty cool, huh? Now I only hope that the series can live up to the massive threats it’s spent its first issue establishing.

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Jul 31 2013

New Avengers 8

new avengers 8

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing New Avengers 8, originally released July 24th, 2013. 

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Patrick: “What have you done?” This phrase appears a couple times throughout the issue. It’s a fantastically loaded question, both accusatory and sincerely seeking an answer. With so many balls in the air, and so many mysteriously motivated characters, I find myself asking the same question of our heroes. But rather than being motivated by anger or desperation or any emotion whatsoever, I’m asking for clarification. “Hey, Tony,” I ask, hands sheepishly in my pockets, “what did you do?”

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Jun 26 2013

New Avengers 7

new avengers 7

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing New Avengers 7, originally released June 19th, 2013. 

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Spencer: The more responsibility you have, the harder it is to find time to yourself. I consider myself fortunate to have a job that I can ignore completely on my days off, but if I was, say, a CEO or the president, I just wouldn’t have that luxury; there are no days off when you’re that important. As the self-appointed protectors of our universe, the Illuminati fall firmly into that camp. Even as the threat of the Incursions recedes for the moment, they’ve still got more than their fair share of life-or-death, morally gray decisions to make.

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