* Here is an updated list of the Dark Avengers and who they might actually be:
Iron Patriot: Norman Osborne
Dark Spidey: Venom
Dark Ms. Marvel: Moonstone
Dark Wolverine: Draken
Dark Hawkeye: Bullseye
Ares: Ares
Marvel Boy: Marvel Boy
* Norman Osborne also had a secret enforcer that was seen in Dark Reign special, this would be The Sentry/Void.
* Batman R.I.P. is now over and after the Batman Final Crisis tie-ins the world will be left without a Batman. Another person missing from the Batman universe will be writer Grant Morrison. Just like Bruce Wayne though, it looks like Grant will only be away for a limited amount of time. Rumor has it that Morrison will return to Batman in April or May and he's bringing artist Frank Quietly with him. Fans of Morrison's "New X-Men" and "All-Star Superman" should be excited about this. Everyone else should expect the book to come out bi-monthly with someone like Quietly drawing the book.
* Staying with Batman, "Battle for the Cowl" kicks off in March. The solicitations tease that many different people want to pick up the mantle of the bat, but is this really the case? It's expected that people like Batwoman, Catwoman, Wildcat, and Huntress would want to help Gotham, but do you really think any of them want to be Batman? Batman has always been seen as a tragic character. Tim Drake doesn't want to be Batman and I don't think Dick Grayson wants to be Batman either. The only two people who want to be Batman are Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne's son Damien. It's still a safe to place that Dick Grayson will inherit the curse of being Batman.
* Secret Invasion is finally over and now we move in to "Dark Reign". Marvel says that this is not another inter-company crossover, yet there's a checklist for it. There's a lot to speculate about this one. First off we have Mighty Avengers. The rumored line-up of team is all classic members of the Avengers. Heroes like, Ant-Man, Jocasta, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, US Agent, and Hulk. The final line-up of the team is still open to rumor. The big rumor is that Hank Pym wants Scarlet Witch around in hopes that she can somehow resurrect his ex-wife Jan Van Dyne aka The Wasp.
* The Dark Avengers will be Norman Osborne's version of the Avengers. Some of the people are a bit of a mystery right now. It has been promised that we will know who everyone is by the end of the first book, but we can still speculate until then. Iron Patriot will be Norman Osborn, the Spider-Man looking character is Venom, Wolverine's son Draken will be their Wolverine, Moonstone takes up the costume of Ms.Marvel, Ares and Marvel Boy will also be on the team. The only one I don't have a lead on is Hawkeye.
* "The Incredible Hulk" DVD will be coming in October. It is rumored that there is an alternate ending to the film that will be on the DVD. The alternate ending sees Bruce Banner traveling to the Antartic, seeking a place to die. When Banner gets to the his final resting place he finds a frozen Captain America.
* "Secret Invasion" is coming to an end soon and the rumored ending is...the good guys win and skrulls go home, after a giant death toll of humans and skrulls take place. I know it's not all that radical of an ending, but who knows.
* Spinning out of "Secret Invasion" will be new line-ups for the various Avengers team. There is speculation right now that Dr.Strange, Echo, and Iron Fist are leaving the New Avengers. Joining the team will be the new Captain America.
* The Dark Illuminati is set to appear soon. The line-up is rumored to be, Loki, Dr.Doom, Vulcan, Namor, Emma Frost, and Norman Osborn. Others are speculating that Purple Man and or The Hood would be in that group.
* Ultimate Black Panther is Nick Fury.
* The official announcement of the Avengers creative changes came at the Marvel panel. Brian Micheal Bendis will continue to write "New Avengers" and will be the writer on the new "Dark Avengers" series. Dan Slott will be the new writer on "Mighty Avengers" and Chris Gage will be the solo writer for "Avengers: Initiative". Expect roster changes on all the teams after "Secret Invasion". Dan Slott has confirmed that old-school favorite Jocasta will be part of his line-up, along with a founding member of the Avengers. It should also be noted that Dan Slott is not keen on using anyone that already has a monthly title.
* "Spider-Woman: Agent of SWORD" will debut in March of 2009. The creative team will reunite Benis and Alex Maleev who have not worked together since their amazing run on "Daredevil".
* "Black Panter" is getting another relaunch after "secret Invasion" Reggie Hudlin will continue to be the writer.
* "Ultimates 4" is still on tap to happen. Jeff Loeb is currently working on the title with Frank Cho.
* DC announced "Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns". This one-shot will be the introduction of the Red Lanterns. They decide to show up when they hear that Sinestro is going to be executed. Don't get the wrong idea, they're not showing up to save him. They want to do the execution.
* "Super-Man: New Krypton" will deal with newly restored Kandor and what it's like having 100,000 super-powered citizen running around. Here's a hint, some of thee guys are not going to be as helpful as Kal-El. Also expect a new Nightwing, Flamebird, and Super-Woman.
* Black Adam and Isis will be taking center stage in the next story arc of Justice Society. Guess what? Isis isn't dead! She was hidden by Felix Faust. How's Black Adam going to handle this?
* Terror Titans #4 will feature the first DC appearance of Static, from the Milestone universe. It was previously announced that Static would be joining the Teen Titans soon.
* In Janurary DC will be releasing some specials that feature the worst of worst. Villains getting their own special include, Deathstroke, Solomon Grundy, Kobra, and Prometheus.
* This year's "DC Holiday Special" will feature an 8 page Aquaman story with art by Ian Churchill. Still no word on the previously announced "Young Aquaman" by up and coming writer Evan Stone.
* "Black Lightening: Year One" is slated for a March release.
* Marvel Studios as debunked the Will Smith rumors regarding Captain America. As of right now we still have no leads on who will be playing the Star-Spangled Avenger.
* Phillip Seymour Hoffman as also debunked rumors that he is playing Penguin in the next Batman film. Mr.Hoffman also reminded everyone that the same rumor was going around five years ago after the first Batman film.
* Marvel has announced a new Avengers title that starts after "Secret Invasion". "Dark Avengers" will be written by Brian Micheal Benids. Bendis will be leaving "Mighty Avengers" but staying on "New Avengers". "Dark Avengers" will reflect the status change in the Marvel Universe after "Secret Invasion". All the Marvel books will be labeled with "Dark Reign" after the invasion is over. This adds fuel to the rumor that the Skrulls win control of Earth.
* Chuck Dixon has found a new home at IDW. The former writer of DC titles such as "Robin" and "Booster Gold", will be writing "G.I. Joe" for IDW. You can check out part one of a round table interview with Chuck Dixon, Larry Hama, Andy Schmidt, Chris Ryall, and Mike Costa, HERE.
* Mark Millar made it official that his return to Marvel's Ultimate Universe will be in the new "Ultimate Avengers" series. Millar has promised that every story arc will be an epic event similar to a "Secret Invasion" or "Civil War". The book will feature different line-ups in each book also. No word if this title will be replacing "The Ultimates".
* In January "The Dark Knight" will return to IMAX theaters for a limited release. Warner Bros. is hoping this will help remind the academy when the Oscars roll around. Remember nerds, if Star Wars and LOTR can get nominated, so can Batman.
Check our our friends from across the pond at Biff Bam Pow Comics. They have reviews up for "Avengers: The Initiative" #13, "The incredible Hercules" #117, "Captain Britain and the MI13" #1 and "Giant-Size Incredible Hulk" #1.
Biff Bam Pow Comics
Years of planning by Marvel Comics and award winning writer Brian Bendis (New Avengers, Mighty Avengers) have started to pay off as Secret Invasion issue 1 hit newsstands this past Wednesday. Bendis is once again teamed up with artist Leinil Yu (New Avengers) to bring us eight issues of Skrully goodness.
Here's what you need to know so far. The Skrulls are the shapesfiting aliens of the Marvel Universe. Not to long ago the Skrulls home planet was destroyed. The survivors of this tragedy decided that Earth should be their new home, and for years have been planning a very hostile takeover. In the past Skrulls were identifiable to the heroes of the Marvel Universe, now not so much. Last year the tag line for "Civil War" was "Whose Side Are You On?", this year fans are presented with a new question, "Who Do You Trust?"
Every week we plan on taking a look at what's going in the Marvel Universe as the Secret Invasion goes very public. We will recap who has been outed as a Skrull and how might still be in the green closet. Here are a few of the facts that we know already.
* Elektra was the first hidden Skrull to be found by the New Avengers while in Japan.
* Black Bolt was the second to be outed as a Skrull at the end of World War Hulk.
* During issue one it was revealed that "Dum Dum" Duggan, Jarvis, and Hank Pym have all been skrulls for some time now.
* The prison doors of the Raft and the Cube are now open to cause complete chaos.
* Either Captain Marvel or Captain Marvel Skrull has attacked The Thunderbolts.
* Tony Stark is completely screwed by a virus that has effected everything on Earth.
* A ship has crash landed in the Savage Land. The people who have emerged from the ship seem to be heroes from Marvel's 70's era that include, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Ms.Marvel, Spider-Man, Jean Grey, Beast, Emma Frost, Mockingbird, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and more.
* One last thing to keep in mind. With the people that have been revealed as Skrulls so far we can now state that for some amount of time the Skrulls have led ninja clan known as The Hand. Ruled the Kingdom of the Inhumans. Worked inside S.H.E.I.L.D. as a senior officer. Helped establish The Initiative. And most importantly did the laundry for the Mighty Avengers. The Marvel Universe is so screwed.
More details will be spilling out of the pages of New Avengers and Mighty Avengers in the coming weeks. For speculations and rumors, keep an eye open for "Crazy Ass Rumors" later this week.
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