This thread's for talking about the Marvel Comics line, whether the comics are decades old or brand new.
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and some of the other franchises. Sometimes it may be more useful to discuss the comics there rather than here — but they're still on-topic and there's no hard rule.
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So apparently,
they're making a Black Panther movie. Let's hope Hudlin is kept as far away as possible. On a related note, anyone think that the whole 'Super Hero that is also a King/Ruler' is kind of ridiculous? I mean where do heroes like Aquaman and T'Challa find the time to both lead a nation and go gallavanting on the other side of the globe?
Edited by Mrph1 on Sep 1st 2024 at 8:36:28 PM
Isn't Mephisto supposed to be cosmic too? Isn't Odin? Aren't the elder gods in general? Cyttorac? Because if they are I don't see how being affected by the penance stare is Badass Decay.
Like, there are ants that sting. There are ants whose mandibles are as sharp as the sharpest edges ever forged by human civilization, obsidian blade level stuff, out of chitin. These insects cannot kill me, not if I'm alert, healthy and don't develop an allergy to their venom or saliva. A single one of definitely cannot kill me without the rest of its colony, but I still wouldn't want to deal with one of them if I can help it because they can still hurt me. They're annoying. The effort to deal with them is rarely worth the reward. Yet there are creatures who could die if one of these ants bit or stung them once. Creatures who nonetheless hunt and kill them by the dozens on a daily basis because it's worth it to them. Jumping spiders, flies, assassin bugs, mites, centipedes, velvet worms. Many of these creatures can't hurt me as much as a bulldog ant, or a leaf cutter ant, or a driver ant, and many that can aren't going to try, because it's not in their nature to be annoying. The penance stare working on Galactus but a breathing gun working on Ghost Rider and not Galactus isn't a contradiction or "badass decay".
If Mephisto is only significant enough in the Marvel cosmos to make Galactus feel some pain for ignoring him, well Ghost Rider has beaten Mephisto. Chained him up and dragged him behind the motor cycle beaten. Nearly killed him in his own realm where he's at his strongest, taken over Mephisto's splinter, without the penance stare cause doesn't work on splinter realm lords. If elder gods have any significance in the Marvel cosmos, Agamoto is on their level, and demogorges eat them. The penance stare is a worse version of the Eye of Agamotto and has hurt a demogorge. If Odin is still of any cosmic significance, Mephisto has been compared to him. If Cyttorac is of any significance, Doctor Strange was one of five sorcerers who turned back four monsters from beyond the out planes that had Cyttorac fleeing from his own realm with his metaphorical tail between his legs. Strange affecting you with the Eye of Agamotto isn't badass decay. It's more consistent for the penance stare to be able to work on creatures like Galactus then than not, unless Mephisto, Cyttorac, Odin, Agamotto, demogorge and elder gods are all incapable of hurting Galactus too. And just because the penance stare can work on Galactus doesn't mean Galactus can't counter it and stomp on Ghost Rider, so much as I can flick off and stomp on a fire ant. But if I let a fire ant crawl on me and do what it wants? It is going to hurt. Immunity is baloney unless it actually falls under an established reason for immunity. Those days when Ghost Rider struggled with sharks, couldn't properly kill a vampire and was physically weaker than Jessica Drew are long gone. Those days when Ghost Rider was only as strong as Maddie Franklin have left us too. I didn't say Ghost Rider had to be more powerful, Marvel did, and the penance stare was an early part of beefing him up. I'm just going to complain when I catch Marvel getting their own rules wrong. Not being immune to one of Ghost Rider's greatest weapons isn't Badass Decay. Even if it's as simple as Galactus taking his anti penance stare pills that morning, akin to myself applying bug spray before yard work, so I don't spend all my time swatting mosquitoes, something as banal as "Ghost Rider Spay Milky Way Standard 75, never try to eat a blue planet without it" makes more sense than "because Galactus".
I've got nothing against a comic book where Uatu tries to claim "because Galactus" and Blaze keeps telling him "that's bull", tying up Blaze too long to actually do anything though. That's actually in character, Johnny's often portrayed as kind of dumb.
Buldogue's lawyerThere's been a press release
for Death Of The Silver Surfer's new Surfer. I think it'll be a pretty hard sell, not only for how well-liked Norrin is but for Kelly Koh carrying the Jerkass Ball in this and previous issues, and it seems like her attitude will be a big part of her character.
Having read the series, she's not very endearing yeah.
She's an anti-alien bigot who had absolutely no problem harming children and only turns face when he her mother was in danger meaning she only cared to change when she was personally affected by it.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I get the idea of a protagonist that's a piece of garbage, but it might be a bit much for the readers to put up with them long enough for the story to get them anywhere out of the gutter.
Wake me up at your own risk.It’s also a hard sell in the modern publishing environment
Not only do you have to trust that an unlikable protagonist is going to grow and change, you have to hope that’s something that can be satisfyingly achieved in like… five issues. Silver Surfer hasn’t had an ongoing in ages. What are the odds that a new legacy character with the name is going to hold a solo for long? Odds seem better that like new Quasar, she gets used as event fodder.
And even if you’re interested in the character, would you want to invest in her if the likeliest outcome is a five issue series that either leaves a bunch hanging or has a rushed conclusion and then a small role in Dormammu Incorporated, a forgettable summer event where Dorammmu has a corporate merger with Roxxon and tries to eat the rain forest?
Forever liveblogging the AvengersFor half a second I thought that was a real event and thought 'At least that sounds interesting'.
The Protomen enhanced my life.![]()
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There's also the issue that from a synergy perspective (the primary reason Kelly is a thing) there's nothing that appeals to movie viewers here.
Kelly is a completely different character from Shalla-Bal with entirely different reasons for becoming the Surfer.
I mean this was never going to bring in movie readers anyway but even then how is this conceptually supposed to appeal to them?
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."The only other Heralds I know about are Frankie Ray, Nova, and Firelord, and the latter two only for a time when Mephisto impersonated Nova and seduced the Surfer and when Spider-Man beat up Firelord.
EDIT: Lol, the Firelord incident happened cause he wanted pizza
!
Edited by lalalei2001 on Sep 26th 2025 at 5:30:17 AM
The Protomen enhanced my life.It feels like there is a mandate for synergy but with the allowance that the author is allowed to tell their own version.
So speculation, Pak was told to make a female Silver Surfer but he was allowed to execute the idea however he wanted with his own character.
Which is pretty a bad idea, even from someone who dislikes synergy. If the character isn't anything like the movie whats the point?
Superior Avengers recently introduced Ava Starr Ghost into comics but unlike the movie where she is a government assassin orphan with powers burning out her body, here she is a single mom from the future trying to avenge her kid. Not even remotely similar beyond having the same name and powers.
Edited by slimcoder on Sep 26th 2025 at 4:44:33 AM
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."Marvel Cinematic Universe synergy isn't always bad. While I wasn't in love with the Carol Danvers push, I didn't hate it either. Another consistent Captain Marvel after Genis is good, even if I wish it were Monica. My personal biases aside, Carol might have been the best choice anyway. She's not inherently overpowered like Monica and doesn't have abilities that require consulting an introduction to junior year physical science text book. She's got some stuff in her history that's best ignored by nothing like killing babies or destroying the universe, as Genis does. The actress doesn't have to die her hair like Phyla. No multivere silliness like with Noh-Varr. The comic books insisting on adopting the half-kree baggage over the perfectly serviceable "got powers from an alien" back story was weird, seeing Doctor Min-Erva's attitude towards Carol do a 180 while remaining destructive influence on her life, and becoming the object of scorn of a shell shocked ten year old girl with anti alien programming was morbidly amusing.
More MCU synergy would have likely done America Chavez some good. Marvel could have still made her a Puerto Rican without taking away things that made her inherently funny, and cool. Just have her move to the island, call 616 Puerto Rico the most wonderful place in the multiverse, and move in with a Puerto Rican family.
I think the X-Books were kind of hurt by a passive aggressive anti synergy. At first it was just the usual synergy wrinkles. Wolverine being drawn to look like Hugh Jackman. Rogue no longer having super strength. Professor X getting to be kindly again for awhile, that was welcome. Making the field suits more like the movie? I could take it or leave it, they've changed so often already, but then that corner of 616 just started getting dumped on for what seemed to be forever. I was welcoming the total erosion of the dream if at least we got more campfires and no more kicking down by other super teams. The Inhumans are getting a TV, gas the X-Men! Couldn't even make it a super villain so the Inhumans could save the X-Men, no the X-Men have to be stopped from trying to stop themselves from being gassed. It's not just promoting the cinematic projects, but like a passive aggressive the subjects of the new show are so much better than those in this comic book that isn't getting one.
Buldogue's lawyerEwing’s Quill made an interesting attempt to bridge the two. But then Grootfall was just stinky and now the guardians haven’t had a book in a while
And for fairness, I imagine the two whole fans that Classic Quill had were a bit put off by dna Quill
Edited by Bocaj on Sep 28th 2025 at 2:39:54 AM
Forever liveblogging the Avengers

Wait until they bring him back and he becomes a punching bag.
Please remember that, ultimately, fictional works of entertainment are just that.