When fans think of Spider-Man’s most hated enemies, plenty of villains likely come to mind. From the Green Goblin to Doctor Octopus to Venom, there’s no shortage of “baddies” dreaming of making Spidey “bend the knee.” Yet none of these infamous foes can compare to the one Spider-Man adversary who has arguably spent more blood, sweat, and tears trying to erase him from existence — and has been doing so since the earliest days of the hero’s debut. In fact, given his almost absurd ability to sway public opinion, it’s remarkable that his relentless efforts haven’t already turned the entire city, country, and world against Spider-Man.

J. Jonah Jameson’s hatred for Spider-Man dates back to the very first issue of Amazing Spider-Man. Beyond his role as the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, his animosity toward the webslinger is one of his most defining traits. It’s a passion he’s pursued for decades, a pursuit that has not only strained his relationship with his son, John, but also indirectly led to the creation of some of Spider-Man’s most iconic foes. Given that Jameson is an intelligent, well-informed individual in a world filled with superheroes, it’s worth considering: does his skepticism of Spider-Man have merit?

Why Is Jameson Such a Spider-Man Hater?

After the death of his Uncle Ben, Peter Parker tries, in Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #1, to help his Aunt May make ends meet by continuing his performance gigs as Spider-Man. However, even these modest opportunities dwindle due to J. Jonah Jameson’s smear campaign against him. Under Jameson’s analysis, allowing a “masked menace” to take the law into his own hands sets a dangerous example for young people. Supporting Spider-Man, he claims, would encourage kids and teenagers to mimic his actions — without his skills, experience, or, most importantly, his superhuman abilities.

But Jameson’s hatred goes well beyond this basic frustration. Indeed, as Parker himself observed, in a city filled with heroes “like the Fantastic Four,” why was Jameson so focused on Spider-Man? The answer turned out to be that, unlike those other established heroes who voluntarily expose their identities, Spider-Man was a different breed – one that acted alone, without a clear motive or official imprimatur – and Jameson thinks that “freedom” is dangerous. That is, he felt heroes without rules could not be trusted to act without damaging the city, injuring or killing the innocent, or otherwise causing chaos and havoc. 

Read Next

There Is One Element of Spider-Man: Brand New Day That is Actually Good

Jameson also harbors a deep personal bias against Spider-Man. This largely arises from his belief that Spider-Man was a personal threat to the admiration he believes his son, the famous astronaut, deserves. In his view, heroes should be like John Jameson, who openly and proudly displays his talents. Additionally, hating Spider-Man serves as the Daily Bugle’s strategy to generate clickbait. The more Jameson condemns Spider-Man, the more readers flock to his newspaper. Ultimately, Jameson’s animosity towards Spider-Man is founded on his belief that he’s a troublemaker who gets away with murder by a soft and lenient city government and police force.

For Jameson, Nothing Can Overcome or Diminish the Harm Spider-Man Causes

The fact that Jameson is a loudmouthed blowhard who weaponizes his paper to amplify his personal grievances against Spider-Man doesn’t mean his complaints are entirely baseless. In several instances, his criticisms are more accurate than not. Indeed. Jameson’s “menace to society” claim, which is one of his most popular Spidey diatribes, is accurate. According to his accusation, Spider-Man’s actions are harmful or dangerous because they break the law, contribute to public safety risks, or engage in disruptive behavior. When you compare those accusations to the actual facts on the ground — or across the rooftops — Spider-Man is “guilty as charged.”

First, Spider-Man is a vigilante. Vigilantism is illegal regardless of good intentions or positive outcomes because it promotes disrespect for law enforcement, including police and other official authorities like those superheroes previously registered under the Superhuman Registration Act. Under the “black letter of the law,” Spider-Man is an unrepentant lawbreaker who actively engages in criminal activity at a near-daily rate. Second, getting into fights with villains like the Rhino in a crowded Washington Square Park or chasing the Green Goblin down Park Avenue during rush hour is the definition of reckless behavior that endangers the public, even if the ultimate goal is to protect them. Third, not even Peter Parker could deny that he consistently engages in actions that disrupt public peace. In other words, as Jameson argues, Spider-Man is a menace to society.

Jameson: “Spider-Man, He Creates These Criminals”

Even if Spider-Man isn’t a “menace to society,” he still seems to satisfy the second part of Jameson’s argument: that Spider-Man contributes to lawlessness as much as he prevents it. Jameson argues that Spider-Man’s actions have inadvertently led to the creation or deviancy of many of the criminals he fights. It’s worth noting that Jameson’s stance is somewhat hypocritical, as he has a history of investing in and supporting villains like the Scorpion. Despite this, Jameson’s point holds some weight because the criminality of more than a few of Spider-Man’s enemies is indirectly tied to his or Peter Parker’s actions. These include the burglar who killed Uncle Ben, the Green Goblin, whose obsession with Spider-Man increased his volatility, and – of course – Venom. All of these antagonists have gone on to become major menaces in their own right.

While it’s easy to dismiss Jameson’s anti-Spidey tirades as the ranting of a cranky newspaper mogul with too much time on his hands or a self-serving campaign — to use Spider-Man as a lightning rod to draw attention to himself and his newspaper, a dog whistle to rally the many virulent anti-superhero voices in the Marvel universe — there’s more to consider. When one compares Jameson’s specific criticisms to the facts, it’s hard not to conclude — objectively speaking — that he might actually have a point. Spider-Man, at the very least, is a nuisance. That being said, the logical next question becomes whether Spider-Man, despite the “problems” he may cause, ultimately brings more good, more justice, and puts an end to more evil than a world without him ever could.

What do you think? Is Jameson’s anti-Spidey hate justified? 

The post Has Spider-Man’s Biggest Hater Been Right All Along? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Many of the best partnerships in the Marvel Cinematic Universe unfortunately don’t exist now as characters and relationships have come and gone. Marvel Studios has adapted dozens of characters from Marvel Comics into live-action since the MCU began with 2008’s Iron Man. Marvel has done a fantastic job of developing these characters into fully-fledged, well-rounded, and relatable people, and their interpersonal relationships and powerful friendships have been at the forefront of this development.

It’s a shame that some of these most interesting and beloved duos don’t exist in the MCU, but the removal of many characters, some deaths, and some developing rivalries mean these partnerships aren’t around anymore. With the MCU barreling towards a reset after Avengers: Secret Wars, it’s possible we could see some of these duos come back to the MCU. For now, however, since the likes of Tony Stark, T’Challa, Wanda Maximoff, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and more are missing from the MCU, these partnerships are still sorely missed.

Read Next

Every New MCU Character Replacing The Original Avengers 

7) Tony Stark & Rhodey

2008’s Iron Man, the MCU’s first movie, introduced this iconic duo that persisted for the next 11 years until Tony Stark’s departure in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle – who debuted in 2010’s Iron Man 2 – had fantastic chemistry on-screen as Stark and James “Rhodey” Rhodes, the armored heroes Iron Man and War Machine, and contributed to one of the MCU’s fan-favorite and longest-running friendships. Stark sacrificed his life in Endgame to defeat Thanos with the Infinity Stones, and it’s surprising we haven’t seen Rhodey’s reaction to this loss yet.

6) Peter Parker & Ned Leeds

The ending of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home saw everyone in the world forget Peter Parker, meaning he also lost his closest friends. The loss of his friendship with Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds will surely leave a huge void in Spider-Man’s life. Ned was the first of Peter’s peers to learn of his identity as Spider-Man, and became his “guy in the chair” on various missions, and he proved pivotal in many of Spider-Man’s missions. Tom Holland will be returning in 2026’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but Peter will have new responsibilities to deal with without his closest friend.

5) T’Challa & Okoye

The tragic and sudden passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020 not only forced the removal of one of the MCU’s most exciting and potential-filled characters, T’Challa’s Black Panther, but also meant that this fantastic partnership could no longer continue. T’Challa’s friendship with Danai Gurira’s Okoye, the General of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje, was full of respect, wit, and love. They were two of Wakanda’s most formidable and talented warriors, and while Okoye has gone on to foster a strong bond with Letitia Wright’s Shuri, her partnership with T’Challa replicated that of a sibling bond that was brilliant to watch grow.

4) Wanda Maximoff & Vision

One of the MCU’s most emotional storylines has been the development of the romance and grief shared by Wanda Maximoff and the vibranium synthezoid, Vision. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s evolution – taking them from Avengers to lovers, and then to parents – has been explored beautifully in the MCU, and the exploration of their loss of each other and everything they hold dear was even more heartfelt. Vision’s death in Avengers: Infinity War and Wanda Maximoff’s death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended this duo, but there is speculation that the pair will somehow reunite.

3) Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes

One of the longest-running friendships in the MCU is that shared between Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes. They were childhood friends in the early 1900s, fought during World War II together, and reunited years later as super soldiers in the modern era. Their history has been tumultuous, but Rogers has always remained loyal to his closest friend. Rogers’ departure in Endgame – which saw him retire with Peggy Carter – allowed Barnes to build a new friendship with Sam Wilson, but it’s not quite the same as the bond between the original Captain America and Winter Soldier.

2) Natasha Romanoff & Clint Barton

It’s seldom we see such a strong bond between male and female heroes in superhero franchises that don’t have a foundation in romance, but the friendship between Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff and Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton was one for the ages. Black Widow and Hawkeye had a long history before joining the Avengers, as the latter chose to spare the former during a SHIELD mission, instead enlisting her to SHIELD and enabling her defection to the United States. Romanoff ultimately sacrificed her life for Barton and her friends, leaving Hawkeye somewhat untethered in recent years.

1) Thor & Loki

Here’s a missing MCU duo that we might actually be about to see reunite, as both Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston have been confirmed to be involved with 2026’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. As of now, however, the main iterations of Asgardian brothers Thor and Loki haven’t been seen on-screen together since 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, which opened with Thanos brutally killing Loki. The growth of Thor and Loki’s bond over the years has been remarkable, taking them from enemies to allies, and now that Loki is the multiverse’s staunch protector, his partnership with his brother will surely be even stronger.

Which lost MCU duos do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments!

The post 7 Great MCU Duos That Don’t Exist Anymore appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel’s cast of Spider-Verse characters is seemingly ever-expanding, adding new spider-themed heroes every year or two. Overall, that’s great news for fans; however, it does mean that many amazing characters have been left by the wayside. In all likelihood, every devoted Spider-Verse reader has one or two favorite heroes whom they sincerely believe deserve more attention (and they’re probably not wrong). Today, we want to take a moment to raise the call for more time with one mystical spider-hero, Aña “Anya” Corazón. This hero has gone by many names in her relatively short time in Marvel Comics, and we want to see her break new ground.

Anya Corazón is also known as Araña, Spider-Girl, and “The Hero Within.” She’s a seriously underrated and underutilized hero hailing from the farther reaches of the Spider-Verse. Her story began in Amazing Fantasy (2004), and it’s safe to say she’s been slowly working her way across the Spider-Verse. Like many of the variants, Anya took up protecting the people of Brooklyn, though she worked as part of the Spider Society. Her history has taken a few strange turns since then, pulling her into different Marvel events, changing her power sets, and overall not giving her enough time to shine. We want that to change.

Anya Corazón’s Early History

Even though Anya has not gotten the attention she deserves, she has found herself tied to many moments and organizations within Marvel Comics. She started as a member of the Spider Society before joining up with the Sisterhood of the Wasp. Naturally, this was the first of many trials for Anya, as she had to watch one of the team die. This resulted in her stepping back from the Society (perhaps not so willingly), but it let her forge her own path, and that’s a solid step forward.

After branching out on her own, Anya began working with different heroes across the Marvel Universe, even winding up in Marvel’s Civil War. In hindsight, that wasn’t the best move, but she was a young hero, and she was trying to do some good. She took one hit after another during this time, which fans remember all too clearly.

As Spider-Girl, Anya has not been immune to what feels like the Spider-Man curse. She has loved and lost, and is no stranger to grief. She’s watched many allies die in battle, and even lost her supportive father after years of being a superhero. So she knows what it’s like to bear the weight of responsibility.

Read Next

Marvel’s Spider-Verse Comic Introduces the Spider-Society

What Makes Anya Corazón Different

Those who aren’t familiar with Anya Corazón may be thinking that her story, overall, doesn’t sound that different from other spider-themed heroes. After all, she’s faced trials, tribulations, and losses. Sounds familiar, right? Here’s the thing: Anya’s original powers don’t stem from radioactive spider bites. Her power is far more mystical in nature, and that makes her a rarity, even among the sheer numbers of the Spider-Verse.

Anya’s powers came from a spell that was intentionally cast on her, as part of a deal. She may not have organic webshooters or venom blasts, but she did start with something else, something that made her very unique. She had a blue exoskeleton, which covered her whole body and, unsurprisingly, made her pretty durable. Her fans were devastated when she lost this ability, because it was one of many details that made her unique.

The events of Spider Island once again changed Anya’s powers, and yeah, it was getting a bit exhausting for fans. While she mercifully survived those events, she walked away with the basic Spider-Man power set, removing a lot of what made her unique. Marvel would later fix this mistake, teasing at some return to her original state.

Read Next

7 Superheroes That Need Their Own Spider-Verse Style Movies

Her Endless Potential

Anya Corazón is a determined and dedicated hero. She has proven herself time and time again, showing up every time she hears the call. Despite this, Marvel seems content to constantly mess with her abilities, swapping them around and slowly erasing what makes her unique. Over the years, Spider-Girl has been involved in dozens of Spider-Verse events, but she’s rarely taken the center stage.

No matter how we look at it, Anya Corazón deserves a much bigger role in the Spider-Verse, both in the comics and the animated series. The latter probably isn’t likely to happen, given there’s only one film left. However, there’s still hope for the comics. Anya is a proven leader with a compelling backstory. There’s still limitless potential for her story, especially if Marvel allowed her creative team to run with the powers that make her stand out.

The post This Character Deserves a Much Bigger Role in the Spider-Verse appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Superhero families are one of the coolest aspects of long-running comic books. When I say this, I don’t mean teams built around the concept of a family of superheroes like the Fantastic Four or the Incredibles, but groups that have been built up over time around a singular hero. Usually, most or all of the members of this family would have similar powers or skills as the head, with many members often being sidekicks or partners to the head hero. Some of the most famous examples of superhero families include the Batman Family, the Flash Family, and in recent years even the Spider-Man Family. These are groups that have been brought together by a shared goal and inspiration in the hero their family is both named after and centered around. They typically take decades to form, with new members slowly being added over time as side characters or sidekicks, and growing to be even more important and connected with each other.

Superhero families are one of the best ways to show both the development of the hero and their growing impact on the world. Where Batman started as the sole protector of Gotham City, he slowly accrued a veritable army of like-minded individuals who were galvanized by the Dark Knight’s constant struggle to improve their city. Fully-fledged superhero families allow creators to make use of all of the heroic side characters introduced across decades of storytelling and bring out new aspects of their characters that can’t be brought out when they’re solo or in a team with friends or colleagues. And yet, despite all of these advantages, we don’t have any active superhero family comics. Why?

Read Next

Best Fighters in the Batman Family, Ranked

The Problems With Superhero Families

The simple issue with superhero families is that they tend to have too many superheroes for conventional storytelling. Most of these groups wind up having anywhere between six to over a dozen heroes as main members of their group, which is way too many to take active roles in a comic dedicated to a single hero. Just look at the Bat Family, which is often cited as being the most overblown family in comics. There are a lot of heroes with fairly overlapping skill sets. Yes, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but when you have eight people who are fantastic detectives and near unstoppable in combat, it can get a bit hard to juggle them all with equal spotlight in the limited pages available. You either have to skip out on beloved characters and make those fans mad, or give every character such little presence that nobody is happy. This leaves fans hungry for content about their favorite heroes, especially when they don’t have their own books and the only way to see them is if they show up in the head hero’s book. These are the exact problems that comics dedicated to the families themselves could solve.

The Strength of Families

Comic books dedicated to superhero families give creators a platform to satisfy the urge fans have to see their favorites interact with the people that lore says they are very close to, but we only get to see interact for two panels every three years. Back in the ‘70s there were Batman Family and Superman Family comics running that focused on stories with different members of each group, and both were massively popular. Superman Family ran for fifty-nine issues, and Batman Family was so popular that they merged it with the then ailing Detective Comics line to boost its sales. Wayne Family Adventures is a massively popular webtoon focusing on the Batman Family, though it is far more comedy focused and tends to have its characters act more in line with the fandom’s interpretation of them then how they actually behave. 

Regardless, superhero family comics can work, and it opens the avenue to have superheroes explore familial drama and relationships in a way that they usually can’t in their own series, which opens the door for so many new stories that we haven’t been able to tell yet. It makes the fans happy and can be structured with a rotating cast of characters, and gives the chance for less popular characters to share the spotlight without dragging attention away from a hero’s headlining book. Family and connections have always been essential in superhero stories, so we should have books dedicated to just that. What superhero family do you want to see get their comic? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Why Don’t We Have Superhero Family Comics? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel has introduced readers to some of the most dangerous heroes and villains in comics. A big part of the fun of Marvel is watching the heroes give their all to destroy the deadliest menaces ever, whether they be Earthbound or from the cosmos. Marvel menaces are a cut above the rest at times, all because the publisher remembers its greatest strength — humanization. Marvel became a force in the comic industry because of its human heroes, and this has extended to its antagonists as well. The real interesting characters, though, are the ones in whom darkness and light are always battling, those characters who are fighting against their own natures to do the right thing. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail, but it’s always a wild ride along the way.

That brings us to Marvel’s most conflicted character, the Hulk. The Hulk is one of those characters who has taken the Marvel approach to its apex. Bruce Banner, a child of horrific abuse, created a weapon that opened the Green Door and made him into a pawn for the most powerful beings in creation. Since then, the Hulk has become one of Marvel’s most storied characters, a powerful behemoth that has wreaked as much terror as he’s done good. The Marvel Universe has some dangerous folks, but few of them are as dangerous as Bruce Banner and his alter ego.

The Road to Hell Is Paved with Gamma Radiation

When most people think about who’s more dangerous between Banner and the Hulk, they think of the Hulk and there’s a good reason for that. The Hulk is a rage monster who is known for wrecking everything in front of him. The Hulk singlehandedly beats the Avengers more often than not, and we’re not talking about weak Avengers teams like the ’90s leather jacket crew. We’re talking the big teams, the ones with Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and the other heavy hitters. There was an entire Marvel event — the excellent World War Hulk — following the Hulk as he destroyed basically everyone who tried to stop him from killing the Illuminati. The modern classic series The Immortal Hulk had Hulk wrecking the Avengers and government sponsored monsters alike, going after corporations for their environmental records, and revealed that the ultimate form of the Hulk is the embodiment of entropy and will be the last thing that exists in the universe. Being scared of the Hulk is something we in the real world would call “ridiculously smart”. However, the thing about the Hulk, after all of the Green Door/One Below All/Worldbreaker madness, is that all of it is because of the broken human being known as Bruce Banner.

Read Next

6 Best Hulk Smash Moments In Comics

Bruce Banner was exposed to the worst of humanity through his abusive, alcoholic father. His father hated him, and took that rage out on Bruce and his mother. Bruce survived. His mother didn’t. Bruce developed Disassociative Identity Disorder, and would eventually kill his own father in a fit of rage at his mother’s grave. Bruce threw himself into his studies, and created one of the most dangerous weapons imaginable. Bruce Banner is as intelligent as Iron Man and Mister Fantastic, but he is also much, much more broken. His life wasn’t much to crow about before the Hulk but after? A million times worse. The Hulk destroyed everything in Bruce’s life. His peers don’t trust him. The woman he loved died because of him and when she came back, she was scared of him. Not the Hulk, but Bruce. There are things inside his head he can’t control, and at any time he could be replaced by the Hulk. His own feelings are an enemy to him.

The scariest thing about the Hulk isn’t his near-infinite power, it’s that it is all in the hands of a man who has lost everything. Bruce has nothing, can have nothing really, and that makes him so dangerous. If Bruce decides that the world should burn for what it did to him, who can stop him? This is the man who created the gamma bomb and he’s only gotten smarter. The Hulk part of his personality says that it loves him, protects him. If Banner decides that the world isn’t worth it, will the Hulk destroy everything? The Hulk just wants to be left alone, something which comes from the way the world has hurt Banner, and look at the damage he does. If Banner decided that the only way to be alone was to destroy everything, then who could stop the Hulk?

Bruce Banner Holds the Earth in His Hands and He Could Squeeze

Over a decade ago, Hulk fans got a run on the character by writer Jason Aaron for that short period he was Marvel’s golden boy writer. In it, Doom separated the Hulk and Banner, and Bruce became a villain, using his scientific knowledge to create weapons that could hold the Hulk at bay, something that most scientists had always failed at. We’ve seen Banner at his worst, and it’s a scary thing, nearly as scary as the Hulk. In fact, I would say more so, because Banner can create a weapon that would burn away the atmosphere in a firestorm no one could survive. The Hulk and Banner have their differences, but imagine if an insane Banner was able to get the Hulk to go along with his insanity. Nothing would stop him.

In fact, looking at the various evil future Hulks we’ve seen, like the one from “Old Man Logan” or the Maestro, it’s plain to see that these are Banner unleashed. Banner is the most dangerous kind of person you can imagine, a man who learned only pain from the world, and a man with the power, both as the Hulk and as a human, to destroy everything. That’s what makes Bruce Banner so scary.

What do you think about Bruce Banner? Sound off in the comments below.

The post Is Bruce Banner the Most Dangerous Person in Marvel? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

By bringing the Hulk back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after a four-year hiatus, Spider-Man: Brand New Day can finally break a surprising and disappointing 13-year-long streak. Bruce Banner has been a staple of the MCU since the franchise’s early days, even though he’s only been the subject of one solo movie, where he was played by Edward Norton. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk has appeared in all four Avengers movies, and has crossed over with the likes of Thor, Shang-Chi, and She-Hulk, and 2026 will see him join forces with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ended the complete origin story of Peter Parker in the MCU, ending Jon Watts’ trilogy and allowing new director Destin Daniel Cretton to explore exciting new avenues in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The MCU’s fourth solo Spider-Man movie was confirmed to be in development in 2023, with Tom Holland set to return as a now-anonymous and forgotten Peter Parker. Filming for Spider-Man: Brand New Day started on August 3, 2025, and, since then, we’ve been given some major updates, including the confirmed return of an original Avenger, which promises to break a long-running MCU trend.

Read Next

Brand New Day’s Spider-Man Costume Finally Ends a 6-Movie MCU Trend

The Hulk Hasn’t Transformed On-Screen Since 2012’s The Avengers

On August 1, 2025, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Mark Ruffalo would be reprising the role of Bruce Banner in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Ruffalo will be joining Holland and Jon Bernthal in a suspected three-way battle between Spider-Man, Frank Castle’s Punisher, and the Hulk, with the latter perhaps reverting to his much-wanted savage form. We haven’t seen the Hulk in this unabashed and unhinged form since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron – which saw the Scarlet Witch put him under a destructive spell – but the Hulk’s appearance in Brand New Day will break an even more surprising streak.

Reverting the Hulk to his savage form in Spider-Man: Brand New Day means we might finally see the former Avenger transform on-screen. We haven’t seen this happen since 2012’s The Avengers, which saw Bruce Banner declare he’s “always angry” before quickly turning into the Hulk in time to punch a Leviathan. In Age of Ultron, we saw the Hulk turn back into Banner, but not the other way around, and the same occurred in Thor: Ragnarok. In Avengers: Infinity War, the Hulk’s impotence meant we saw no transformations at all, while Avengers: Endgame revealed Banner had become the Smart Hulk.

Read Next

A Major Hulk Theory Just Got a Lot More Likely After MCU Update

Smart Hulk requires no transformation, as he is a combination of the human and Hulk personas. This iteration returned in 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, though we did briefly see the beginning of Banner’s transformation into the Hulk, but not the full sequence. We’ve seen Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), Todd Phelps (Jon Bass), and Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) all Hulk-out in recent years, but not Bruce Banner. Spider-Man: Brand New Day promises to change this, which makes Mark Ruffalo’s return even more exciting.

Mark Ruffalo’s Return as the Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day Explained

Mark Ruffalo’s return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark his first appearance in the MCU since 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and could prepare him to reprise the role yet again in the Russo brothers’ upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Ruffalo took over from Norton as the Hulk in 2012’s The Avengers, and he has remained as one of the franchise’s most prominent characters in the years since. The distribution rights to the Hulk still reside with Universal Pictures, making the development of new solo movies very difficult, but this doesn’t stop the character from appearing in other heroes’ adventures.

He has been central to the Avengers team, fought alongside Thor in 2017, appeared to welcome Shang-Chi to the MCU in 2021, and partnered with his cousin, Jennifer Walters, in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, all before his upcoming adventure with Spider-Man in Brand New Day. After Spider-Man: No Way Home, however, Bruce Banner will seemingly have no memory of Peter Parker, even though they fought the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin), together during Avengers: Endgame. This has spurred speculation that Banner and Parker will not be teaming up, but could actually be enemies in Brand New Day.

It’s possible that, after brief battles, Spider-Man and the Punisher could team up to take on a savage version of the Hulk. With Michael Mando returning as Mac Gargan’s Scorpion, and rumors of Mister Negative, the Inner Demons, and perhaps even Mephisto’s (Sacha Baron Cohen) appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, these antagonists could revert the Hulk to his original form. This would provide Banner with a fantastic transformation sequence, and pose a significant threat to New York’s heroes, as an unhinged and uncontrollable Hulk could cause an immense amount of damage.

Are you excited to see Bruce Banner’s Hulk appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Hulk’s MCU Return Can End A Ridiculous 13-Year Streak appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been breaking records left and right, upping the ante across the board. It’s had everything from box office hits, such as the highest-grossing solo superhero film and the biggest opening weekends for IMAX. Likewise, the MCU has even made it into the Guinness World Records, thanks to Wesley Snipes. We’re not going to sit here and pretend that every record broken has been a positive one, as Marvel has seen its fair share of slumps. Most fans will be quick to point out what hasn’t worked for the larger MCU. For example, Marvel famously caused a bit of burnout with its fans after releasing too many simultaneous projects.

With Marvel officially moving into its planned Phase Six, it’s now clear that the MCU has a new record to brag about. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps officially out in the wild, we’re looking at a total of 37 MCU movies, and their ratings say a lot about the franchise. Taking a look at the Rotten Tomatoes ratings for all 37 films reveals that the franchise has more films certified “Fresh” by Rotten Tomatoes standards. Out of the 37 films, 29 are “Fresh,” putting the franchise at a cozy 78%.

Certified Fresh Marvel Productions

Dedicated fans won’t have a difficult time guessing the top-rated films of the MCU, with Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man, Thor: Ragnarok, and Spider-Man: No Way Home ranking in the top five. None of these films dip below 93%. In fact, viewers will have to look to the 13th spot to see any film get a rating below 90% (Doctor Strange, coming in at 89%).

Interestingly, the two newest films are sitting right below Doctor Strange, in the 14th and 15th spots, respectively. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is holding steady at 86%, while Thunderbolts* has a solid 88% (despite its box office failure).

As predicted, the films failing to land a certified “Fresh” status are largely sequels, with a few exceptions. Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sit on the bottom, not too far below Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Marvel’s Record-Breaking Trends

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is no stranger to breaking records and making a name for itself. While recent years may show the franchise is struggling to find the right path forward, early years showcased a strong plan. Iron Man came out swinging, and that character became a huge part of many stories, including Marvel’s highest-grossing film, Avengers: Endgame. Incidentally, that film battled for the highest-grossing film of all time, totaling $2.797 billion at the global box office.

Those numbers starkly contrast the conclusion to Marvel’s Phase 5, which reportedly only brought in $3.66 billion in total. That includes the numbers from Deadpool & Wolverine, so it’s safe to say that the earnings dropped significantly during Phase 5. To see the two most recent films ranking well may offer some hope and guidance to future Marvel productions.

Read Next

Every Avengers Team in the MCU’s History, Ranked

Closest Comparisons

Given how massive the MCU is, spanning dozens of films, characters, and events, it may seem challenging to find an accurate comparison for record purposes. However, one franchise that comes surprisingly close is James Bond. It’s beloved series that goes back decades, totaling 26 films to date. Given all the talk about reboots and recasting, we’ll probably be seeing newer additions sooner rather than later.

Out of those 26 Bond films, 19 landed a Fresh rating. That’s 73%, which is incredibly impressive, given the range of actors, styles, and eras the franchise has encompassed. The top five films, Goldfinger (1964), From Russia With Love (1963), Dr. No (1962), Casino Royale (2006), and Skyfall (2012), all sit comfortably above the 90% mark.

Ultimately, the records of major franchises such as the MCU and Bond help us gain more insight into what is and isn’t working in the industry. Marvel’s numbers give them an edge to records like these, but we’re seeing them happen more often across the industry.

The industry is changing, as it is now taking more to get people into theaters for major releases. How the industry continues to change, and what that means for our favorite franchises, remains to be seen. News revolving around Avengers: Doomsday makes it clear that Marvel execs are aware of this, and they’re quickly trying to formulate a plan for their future.

What was your favorite Marvel movie, and do you agree or disagree with its Rotten Tomatoes rating?

The post The MCU Has a Rotten Tomatoes Record That May Never Be Broken appeared first on ComicBook.com.

For better or worse, there is no Spider-Man without Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tony Stark saves a young Peter Parker during the Stark Expo in Iron Man 2 without thinking anything of it, but he earns a lifelong fan who becomes a hero when he gets the chance years later. In Captain America: Civil War, Tony recruits Peter to join his team, which is gearing up to fight Steve Rogers’ group in Germany, even giving the young hero a new suit. After that, the two are as thick as thieves, always having each other’s backs when times get tough.

Of course, Tony has to watch Peter die on Titan in Avengers: Infinity War, and while he tries to lock all the pain away, he gets back on the horse and finds a way to bring everyone back. The plan works like a dream, but Tony loses his life after using the Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out Thanos and his army. Ever since, Spider-Man has been working to be a hero Tony would be proud of. Well, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Peter is going to have a chance to put his money where his mouth his by providing another hero with a major upgrade.

Frank Castle Is Going to Be in Over His Head in Spider-Man: Brand New Day

With Iron Man out of the picture, the Wall-Crawler has been hanging out with some other notable MCU figures in his solo movies. Nick Fury (who is actually the Skrull Talos posing as the spy) brings Mysterio and Peter together to take on the Elementals in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Doctor Strange offers to make everyone forget the connection between the young man and Queens’ resident hero in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Brand New Day will continue the trend by bringing Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, into the fold. Since the movie is still about a year out, his role is a mystery at this point, but it’s probably going to have something to do with the Hulk, who’s going to pick a fight with a couple of New York’s best.

As confident as the Punisher is while battling rogue cops and ninjas, the Hulk is in a whole different league, as he can go toe-to-toe with massive wolves and Asgardians. Peter is sure to recognize the pickle that he’s in, so he may offer to help Frank out by gifting him a suit of armor. That way, when the Hulk starts throwing punches, the Punisher won’t be down for the count after one blow. The decision also wouldn’t be completely out of left field, as the Punisher has a history with Iron Man armor in Marvel Comics.

Read Next

The MCU Updates Its Official Timeline To Include a New Earliest Entry

Marvel Comics Makes the Punisher a New Version of War Machine

Marvel is constantly reinventing its characters to keep things fresh. Big characters like Captain America and Spider-Man get a lot of the attention because they’re the cream of the crop, but the wave of change hits everyone eventually. Punisher has been Ghost Rider and something resembling Frankenstein’s monster that leads a group known as the Legion of Monsters. However, one of his most effective eras sees him don the War Machine armor after Nick Fury calls him in to take out ex-SHIELD soldiers. Frank likes the power that the suit gives him, so he takes it back to New York with him and cleans up the streets.

It doesn’t take long for Punisher to take things too far, though, and the Avengers have to intervene. While the anti-hero doesn’t want to give up his new toy, he does after having a heart-to-heart conversation with James Rhodes, the original War Machine. Rhodey is still around in the MCU, and he’s probably not looking to hand over his baby to someone like Frank. But if Peter vouches for him and promises to return it after defeating the Hulk, Rhodey may relent because lives are on the line. At that point, it’ll be up to Frank to not let the power go to his head.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026.

Do you think Frank Castle could use the War Machine armor in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Is there another way for him to fight the Hulk? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Spider-Man: Brand New Day Could Replace Iron Man in The Coolest Way appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Doctor Doom is the Fantastic Four’s greatest enemy, one of the best supervillains in all of comic books. His rivalry with Marvel’s First Family is legendary, and he has gone to cosmic lengths to try and wipe out the people who have foiled his plans of domination at every turn. Recently, Doom took Steven Strange’s title as Sorcerer Supreme, and declared himself the emperor of the world. Obviously, the Fantastic Four didn’t take too kindly to the Latvarian dictator’s new world order, and tried to take him down. They would have beaten him, too, but Doom revealed a new strategy to bring them down for good, and without help, it might just spell the end for the Fantastic Four.

Step One; Time Displacement

The Fantastic Four decided that enough was enough and tried to take down the self-proclaimed Emperor Doom once and for all. However, before they could knock him out, Doom cast a spell to catapult the Four across time. Johnny ended up on Earth before it produced oxygen, the Thing was dropped in a dinosaur-infested jungle, Mister Fantastic was stranded in the medieval ages, and Sue almost burnt up nearly eight billion years in the future. Thankfully, while Doctor Doom plans infinite ways to destroy the Fantastic Four, Mister Fantastic has planned infinite emergency plans to keep them alive. He set up a tracker in the Forever Stone, one of the world’s longest lasting geological formations that is always easily accessible no matter the time period. Once there, they would carve the date they were stranded on and the person farthest in the future would summon the Time-Sled to pick everyone up. The only problem is that Sue was that person and her tracker stopped working, meaning that nobody could summon the sled without her getting lost forever.

Read Next

7 Marvel Problems Even Reed Richards Couldn’t Solve

Thankfully, they managed to solve this temporal problem. Mister Fantastic reasoned out why Sue didn’t instantly appear, then created artificial diamonds which he buried miles beneath the Earth’s surface. He made arrows of diamonds that would never move, all over the Earth, pointing to the Forever Stone. Sue deduced Reed would do something like that and literally made the entirety of the Earth’s crust invisible to see his message. With teamwork that transcended billions of years, Sue called in the Time-Sled and rescued her family. They booked it back to the present to beat the block off of Emperor Doom, and they did, with Doom asking how it was possible they survived. Mister Fantastic explained their failsafe, but then Doom started to laugh. Unfortunately for the Four, Reed had played directly into Doom’s hands, and he was about to unleash his nigh-unbeatable plan. Again.

Save Scumming to Victory

Doom explained that he used an altered version of Doctor Strange’s time magic to create a sort of temporal save state that he could reset to whenever he wished. Every time the Fantastic Four beat him, Doom would simply figure out how they did it and reset, then try and destroy them a different way with the knowledge only he kept. He’d already reset dozens of times by this point, and said that this was the first time the Four used the Time-Sled, which he would account for when he reset and tried to destroy them again. Doom gloated like the malevolent dictator he is, calling Reed a fool for explaining how they survived, and said that he would keep going back to his save point over and over until they were destroyed. No one could stop him.

Unfortunately for Doom, his critical mistake was doing exactly what he just chastised Mister Fantastic for. By explaining his plan, it gave the family a chance to do something before their timeline was wiped from existence. Johnny looked at the Time-Sled, and Sue managed to piece together his idea. It was the one advantage they had over Doom in the moment, and could turn everything around. With her final moment, Sue managed to send the Time-Sled back to the Fantastic Four’s farmhouse earlier that morning, which should tip off their past selves that something is seriously wrong with their plan to take down Doctor Doom. Doom’s plan is absolutely perfect, yet like so many other times, his hubris will be the instrument of his defeat.

Fantastic Four (2025) #2 is on sale now!

The post Doctor Doom Has a Plan to Take Down the Fantastic Four (and It’s Perfect) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One hero’s powers were significantly weakened in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, making us question what might be next for the iconic father of Marvel’s First Family. First Steps marked the Fantastic Four’s official debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach finally doing the legendary superhero team from Marvel Comics justice in live-action. However, one of the team’s members wasn’t quite what we expected, and may have already become a victim of Marvel Studios nerfing its strongest heroes.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps pitted the titular team against the god-like being Galactus (Ralph Ineson), who sought the Power Cosmic inside Reed Richards (Pascal) and Sue Storm’s (Kirby) newborn son, Franklin. The Four lured Galactus to Earth, fighting the planet-eater in an attempt to push him through a teleportation bridge. During the battle, Mister Fantastic struggled to go toe-to-toe with Galactus, and failed to show off the full extent of his elastic powers – particularly when Galactus almost tore him apart just by stretching him what seemed to be a very small distance.

Read Next

Fantastic Four: First Steps Almost Totally Avoids Showing One Character’s Powers

In previous live-action adaptations, Reed Richards has been shown to be able to stretch incredible distances. Marvel Comics has, at times, depicted him stretching up to 1500ft, at which point he starts to feel discomfort, but he can indeed stretch much further. This was not the case in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as Galactus only stretched Richards a short distance before he started to feel intense pain and his specially-designed costume began to tear. It’s surprising that The Fantastic Four: First Steps depicted Mister Fantastic’s power as so limited, but this could spell good news for the hero’s future.

In First Steps, Galactus is clearly a massive being, so he could have been stretching Reed Richards much further than we think, which could explain the hero’s pain. He could have indeed been stretched over 1500ft, though this does seem unlikely given the fact that Galactus shrunk himself to walk the streets of New York City. This limitation on Mister Fantastic’s power in First Steps, however, does leave the hero with room to grow in his future MCU appearances, which means he can continue a great pattern from previous MCU instalments.

Marvel Studios’ heroes seldom debut in the franchise at their full capacity, and this could be the case for Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In the same way that Peter Parker’s power was honed, T’Challa gained kinetic energy abilities, Sam Wilson has grown in strength over the years, and Wanda Maximoff unlocked her Scarlet Witch abilities, Reed Richards’ stretching powers could expand. This gives us hope for his appearances in the upcoming Phase 6 crossovers, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and in inevitable sequels to The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

What did you think of Reed Richards’ powers in The Fantastic Four: First Steps? Let us know in the comments!

The post I’m Still Disappointed The Fantastic Four: First Steps Nerfed One Hero’s Iconic Superpower appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Amazing Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk are two of Marvel Comics’ most popular original characters. Spider-Man made his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962 and quickly crossed paths with the Fantastic Four before building his impressive rogues’ gallery. Hulk debuted in Incredible Hulk #1 in 1962, and he was part of the original Avengers lineup before becoming one of the comic line’s most popular antiheroes. Three months separated their Marvel Comics debuts, and they crossed paths for the first time two years later in Amazing Spider-Man #14, when Spider-Man accidentally came across Hulk while battling the Green Goblin.

Most of the time, when Spider-Man and Hulk met up, they fought each other since Spider-Man felt the need to stop the rampaging Green Goliath. They have worked together more than once, but when it comes to the two Marvel Comics heroes, they don’t usually get along when they cross paths.

6) Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3

The first time that Spider-Man met up with Hulk, he stumbled across Hulk’s hiding place while Spidey was fighting Green Goblin, and Hulk lashed out to defend himself from the presumed attack. Spider-Man wanted nothing to do with the Hulk and just used his brains to escape the onslaught. However, the second time they met, Spider-Man specifically targeted Hulk. In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3, Spider-Man was considered for the Avengers, and they had a test. They told him to bring in the Hulk. Wanting to prove himself, Spider-Man raced off before they could explain the mission, and he ended up fighting Hulk. However, a gamma ray explosion transforms Hulk into Bruce Banner, and Spider-Man realizes he is sick. He doesn’t understand why the Avengers would target a sick man, so he leaves Hulk and rejects the Avengers’ offer. What he didn’t realize was that the test was to bring Hulk to the Avengers so they could help him.

5) Peter Parker: Spider-Man #14

One of the best Spider-Man and Hulk stories came in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #14. A plane crash cost over 100 people their lives, including Mary Jane Watson, and Spider-Man blamed Hulk. While Hulk had been cleared of the incident, Spider-Man didn’t care, and he wanted someone to pay for MJ’s death. He lashed out, and this was the one fight between Spidey and Hulk where Spider-Man didn’t hold back and kept fighting until he was exhausted. The best thing about this fight was that Spider-Man began monologuing about his wife being dead and not wanting to let anyone else die, and Hulk stopped fighting back, saying his wife was dead too. Spider-Man wanted to keep fighting, but Hulk stood there taking it until they realized they destroyed a train track and needed to work together to fix it to prevent an oncoming train derailment. Seeing Spider-Man losing control and Hulk reigning him back in was a brilliant subversion of how these fights usually end up.

Read Next

The 10 Best Marvel Comics to Read to Get to Know Iron Fist Better

4) Marvel Team-Up #27

Marvel Team-Up was an ongoing title where Spider-Man teamed up with a different hero in each issue. In the 27th issue, it was Spider-Man and Hulk, but this one was not so much a team-up, and more of a situation where Spider-Man needed to fight Hulk before he could stop the bad guys. The issue sees Chameleon trying to break his friend Joe Cord out of prison, and Spider-Man is there to stop him. However, Chameleon, a master of disguise, disguises himself as Rick Jones and asks Hulk to help break out his friend. Hulk shows up, and Spider-Man fights him. This is how most Hulk fights went in the early years, with someone tricking Hulk into fighting for them and the heroes not knowing any better. It also ended as they typically do, with Spider-Man and Hulk teaming up to fight the villain.

3) Amazing Spider-Man #381-382

This story begins with Doc Samson wanting to take Hulk to a research center, where they are using gamma radiation that could help Hulk finally control his emotions. However, for a change, Hulk knows better and rejects the offer. It’s a good decision, because an accident there causes Doc Samson to go savage, prompting him to leave and attack Hulk. From here, the gamma virus transfers to Hulk, and Spider-Man finds that he has to fight him. There is no way for Spider-Man to beat Hulk in a fight, not even with Doc Samson fighting by his side. This issue shows how Spidey usually deals with these situations, as the gamma radiation caused a virus, and it needs to burn out, so Spider-Man and Samson fight Hulk until it starts to wear off, and then Peter tries to get through to Banner, who is finally able to rid his body of it. These moments show why Spider-Man’s brain is often enough to beat any enemy, no matter how powerful.

2) Web of Spider-Man #7

Web of Spider-Man #7 had what might be the most bizarre and unique Spider-Man and Hulk battle in all of Marvel Comics. That is because this fight did not happen in the real world. Doctor Strange had cursed Nightmare to always be pursued by Hulk in the Dimension of Dreams after Bruce Banner underwent a psychic suicide, turning Hulk savage, and forcing Strange to banish him from this realm. The demon pulled Spider-Man into the realm to save him. Spider-Man spent most of the issue fighting Hulk to protect Nightmare, but then finally realized that he needed to save himself and let Hulk drag Nightmare away so Peter could wake up. It was a fascinating story where Spider-Man did something selfish to survive, but it was something that had to be done.

1) Web of Spider-Man #69-70

Web of Spider-Man #69-70 features a Spider-Man and Hulk battle that throws everything out of whack. A new character arrives named Armand Jones, a man who wants revenge against the Fantastic Four, whom he believes murdered his brother. This was from one of the greatest Fantastic Four stories ever told, “This Man… This Monster,” where his brother was the previously unnamed scientist who switched places with The Thing before sacrificing himself to save Reed Richards in the Negative Zone. Armand had a device that could transfer powers, similar to his brother’s, but he was interrupted by Hulk after using the device on Bruce Banner. Spider-Man showed up and tried to stop Hulk. However, after Hulk almost beat Spider-Man to death, the Green Goliath left, and Spider-Man was blasted with the device. This led to the second issue in the story, where Peter became Spider-Hulk and went on a rampage of his own before the effects wore off. It was great, since it gave Spider-Man a chance to see what it felt like to be The Incredible Hulk.

The post 6 Best Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man & the Hulk Crossovers appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The X-Men have introduced readers to some of the coolest characters in the history of the Marvel Universe. Characters like Wolverine, Gambit, Storm, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Jubilee, and many more have grabbed fans and never let go, and that’s before we even get to villains like Magneto, Apocalypse, Shadow King, Mystique, Bastion, Nimrod, and others. However, there’s one X-men character who is arguably the coolest, even though fans haven’t always thought so — Cyclops. Cyclops is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, leaders in the Marvel Universe and has grown immensely over the years, especially since House of M wrecked the mutant race for years to come. Before, Cyclops was always something of a boring boy scout, but he’s since grown into the perfect version of the character.

There’s a certain battle cry among Cyclops fans, one based off a phrase from the New X-Men classic “Riot at Xavier’s” — “Cyclops was right” (which was based off Quentin Quire’s “Magneto was right” poster and later t-shirt). Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of times when it felt like Cyclops was wrong, but he was proven right, vindicating his fans. Cyclops is the best of the X-Men, and the sooner the people of the Marvel Universe realize that, the easier (and free of painful optic blasts) their lives will be. These five instances show just how right Cyclops was when everyone said he was wrong.

6) Re-Forming X-Force

When X-Force first premiered, they were the former New Mutants, taken by Cable and made into his own personal black ops squad. That team eventually ended and the X-Force name was taken by a group of mutants trying to be celebrities by tackling the most deadly threats. The next incarnation of X-Force came during the early days of the X-Men’s move to San Francisco. The mutant race was down to 198 individuals. Their extinction was something that honestly wouldn’t be hard for humanity to make happen, and Cyclops needed something besides the X-Men to battle them. The X-Men were the public face of mutantkind, meant to help humans and make mutants seem less shady.

Cyclops didn’t need that, though; he needed killers. So, Cyclops went to Wolverine and had him form a team of mutants who would do whatever was necessary. Thus, the new version of X-Force was born. X-Force became one of Marvel’s most important teams; they did the dirty work to keep the mutant race going. Cyclops and Wolverine kept the team and their purpose secret from the rest of the X-Men, who would look down on Cyclops having a kill team. However, there’s no doubt that Cyclops was right. The mutant race was dealing with a world that had been trying to kill them for years, and just doing things the old way — beating up their enemies and leaving them to the authorities — wasn’t going to work. It was a controversial decision, but the correct one.

5) Bringing Magneto Into the Fold

The X-Men’s years in San Francisco are the time that showed just how right Cyclops could be. As leader of mutantkind, Cyclops had to make the toughest decisions imaginable, including which mutants to work with and which ones to turn away. Magneto, having regained his powers after losing them on M-Day, came to the X-Men’s base of Utopia and asked to be a member of the mutant society that Cyclops was building. It just so happened that Xavier was there as well, and he was very much against it. Xavier had experience with being betrayed by Magneto, so he counseled against Magneto joining Cyclops’s side (the funny thing about that was that Xavier wasn’t even a member of the X-Men at the time), as did other mutants on the island.

However, Cyclops didn’t listen to them and allowed Magneto to stay. Magneto made a huge difference almost from the beginning, using his powers to pull back the spacefaring bullet that Kitty Pryde had been trapped in. Magneto would become one Cyclops’s best soldiers during this era, and respected Cyclops and the changes he made to himself immensely. Magneto has been a key part of the X-Men since, proving his decision right in a number of ways.

4) Challenging Norman Osborn and His Dark Avengers

“Dark Reign” was one of the coolest story ideas that Marvel had in the late ’00s/early ’10s. Norman Osborn was given control of the Superhero Initiative after killing Skrull Queen Veranke in Secret Invasion and created the Dark Avengers, a team of villains disguised as heroes, in order to both protect the world and cement his power. When the Friends of Humanity, an anti-mutant group, marched on San Francisco and mutants decided to fight it out in the streets with them, Osborn decided to send in the Dark Avengers in an effort to cow the mutants. Cyclops, instead of rolling over or trying to make a deal with Osborn, decided to make a fool of the villain of the villain and his Avengers.

Cyclops showed his perfect tactical acumen, constantly staying ahead of Osborn and taking apart all of his plans. Osborn tried to use brute strength against the X-Men, using the force of HAMMER (his version of SHIELD), the Avengers, and his own team of X-Men against Cyclops, but Cyclops outplayed Osborn at every turn. Many of the X-Men thought this was the dumbest idea imaginable, but Cyclops stayed the course, and was able to bloody the nose of Norman Osborn. Osborn declared victory after his Avengers were completely outclassed by the X-Men, but he only did that because he was beaten and he knew it.

Read Next

10 Best X-Men Writers

3) Cyclops Was Right in X-Men: Schism

X-Men: Schism was a major change to the San Francisco era of the X-Men. Cyclops had been doing a great job of keeping the mutant race safe and prosperous. He was working with Wolverine at a level that they had never worked at before; while they had always respected each other, there was a lot of bad blood between them. However, the two of them became the perfect partnership; whatever Cyclops needed done, Wolverine was there to do it. All of that changed when a new Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, this time made up of young, sociopathic genuis children of privileged humans instead of mutants, decided to destroy the X-Men and mutants for stealing the Hellfire Club from the wealthy humans who created it.

They unleashed Quentin Quire on the UN, and sold cheap but powerful Sentinels to governments all over the world. Finally, they made a direct attack on the X-Men when a group of them went to a museum opening in San Fran. This group included heavy hitters like Emma Frost, Magneto, Namor, Colossus, and Iceman, as well as some of younger mutants, but the Inner Circle used their genius and technology to trump the team. The Inner Circle was going to kill everyone at the museum, and Cyclops and Wolverine could never get there in time. So, Cyclops ordered one of the younger mutants, a girl named Oya, to kill the Hellfire goons. Over Wolverine’s protestations, Oya did so. Wolverine was livid, and berated Cyclops, which led to a battle between the two of them. While Wolverine did have a point about Cyclops using child soldiers, there really was no other choice in this matter. Cyclops couldn’t lose his most powerful mutants and he couldn’t allow humans to be killed. It was a hard decision and one that Cyclops didn’t relish making, but it was the right decision.

2) Getting With Emma Frost

Jean Grey was Cyclops’s first love and the two of them became the X-Men’s marquee couple. Young love is grand, but Cyclops and Jean Grey’s relationship had its first stumbling block in the classic story “The Dark Phoenix Saga”. Jean’s death shattered Cyclops and he left the X-Men, eventually meeting Jean Grey clone Madelyne Pryor. The two married and had a child, but the return of Jean Grey saw Cyclops drop his family like a bad habit and run back to his high school girlfriend. The two of them fell right back in love and would eventually be married. Their relationship was the cornerstone of the X-Men, but it often felt like the two of them were only together because they didn’t know anything else and were scared to be apart. Emma Frost changed all of that. Emma joined the X-Men, and immediately decided that she wanted Cyclops.

Emma Frost got what she wanted and she was able to take the cracks in the relationship between Cyclops and Jean, gulfs widened by the time Cyclops spent possessed by Cyclops, and exploited them, with the two of them beginning a psychic affair. Jean found out and there was some drama for a while, until Jean’s death at the hands of Xorneto. Cyclops and Emma Frost got together (partly because the White Phoenix Jean saw that if they weren’t together it would doom the world and pushed them a bit), and the X-Men weren’t exactly happy about it. However, it was the right decision. Emma helped Scott make the terrible decisions he would have to make as the leader of mutantkind, and he grew immensely as a person and a character. Cyclops and Emma Frost are the best X-Men couple, despite what some fans and Marvel editors seem to think, as it allowed Cyclops to become the kind of person he needed to be to keep mutants alive in their most dangerous era.

1) Cyclops Was Right About Hope Summers in Avengers Vs. X-Men

Avengers Vs. X-Men seemingly went out of its way to show the Cyclops was wrong, but by the end proved otherwise. Cyclops had been training Hope Summers, the adopted mutant daughter of his son Cable, making her his granddaughter, to be the savior of mutantkind. When the Phoenix Force decided to make its way to Earth again, Cyclops had a plan. Hope would bond with the Phoenix and use the power to rekindle the mutant race. However, the Avengers also found out about the coming of the Phoenix, and Wolverine, an Avengers and highly critical of Cyclops in the days after X-Men: Schism, warned the Avengers that Cyclops was insane and shouldn’t be allowed to get near the Phoenix.

This led to the war between the two teams, where Tony Stark accidentally split the Phoenix into five while trying to destroy it. Cyclops gained the power of the Phoenix, along with Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik, and for a time did good with the power. However, the Phoenix corrupts and the Avengers constantly attacking the X-Men and the Phoenix Five led them to get on the train to darkness. Cyclops would eventually gain the full power of the Phoenix and become the Dark Phoenix. He killed Xavier in the throes of the power and was defeated when Hope Summers took the Phoenix Force from him. Hope was able to use the power, with the help of Scarlet Witch, to rekindle the mutant gene in humanity and then gave up the power. Hope was everything that Cyclops trained her to be, proving that he was right when everyone else was wrong.

Do you think that Cyclops was right in these instances? Sound off in the comments below.

The post X-Men: 6 Times Cyclops Was Right (And Everyone Else Was Wrong) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

There are many fantastic actors who could take over the role of Steve Rogers’ Captain America if the iconic character is recast after Avengers: Secret Wars resets the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel boss Kevin Feige has recently revealed that 2027’s Secret Wars will culminate in a “reset” of the MCU into one singular timeline. This could open the door for notable characters to be recast, including Tony Stark’s Iron Man and perhaps even Steve Rogers’ Captain America, who has been absent from the MCU since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

Chris Evans debuted as Steve Rogers in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and became one of the MCU’s central characters during the following eight years. Evans appeared in at least one MCU movie in every year he was in the franchise, but Avengers: Endgame saw Rogers retire and travel to an alternate timeline to get his happy ending. While there is speculation Evans could reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, Marvel Studios has the perfect opportunity to officially recast him after the MCU’s reset, and these ten actors would be perfect for the role.

Read Next

10 Captain America Moments Ranked From Worst to Best

10) Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington has had a career of two halves. On one hand, he’s the star of the highest-grossing film series in history, as he portrays Jake Sully in James Cameron’s Avatar movies. On the other, many of his other movies haven’t been well-received or major box office draws. Worthington deserves more prominence outside the Avatar franchise, and being cast as a new Steve Rogers could give him that. He has the build, notoriety, and action experience make him a great fit, while he’s also proven his leadership abilities that could prove helpful in a new iteration of the Avengers team.

9) Garrett Hedlund

When recasting Steve Rogers for the MCU’s future, Marvel Studios could pick someone who was previously considered for the role, such as Garrett Hedlund. Hedlund originally auditioned to play Captain America in The First Avenger, but had to pull out due to his casting in Tron: Legacy. In the years since, Hedlund has displayed an impressive acting range and screen presence, but has failed to find the role that skyrockets him to major fame. Being cast as a new Steve Rogers in the MCU could do this, with him possibly delivering a grittier, more rugged, and more realistic Captain America.

8) Stephen Amell

Best known for portraying Oliver Queen in The CW’s Arrow series, Stephen Amell could make the jump from DC to Marvel to portray a new Steve Rogers. If Marvel leans towards a younger iteration of the character, this casting may not come to fruition, but Amell has showcased his action skills and his dramatic talents with roles in Code 8, Heels, and Suits LA, and has the perfect physique and established persona to take on such an iconic role. He already led a superhero team in DC TV’s Arrow, so could do the same for the Avengers.

7) Colton Haynes

While Stephen Amell would be a strong choice to replace Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, his Arrow co-star, Colton Haynes, might be the better of the two options. Haynes portrayed Roy Harper’s Red Arrow and Arsenal in Arrow, and has also displayed his acting range in Teen Wolf, American Horror Story, Dollface, and San Andreas, among others. He has a youthful yet strong appearance, and the muscular physique needed for Steve Rogers, post-transformation. Haynes even voiced Thor in the Marvel Avengers Academy video game in 2016, so he may already be on Marvel’s radar for a live-action role.

6) Scott Eastwood

The son of legendary actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood, Scott Eastwood has the physical presence, commanding screen presence, leadership qualities, and action experience necessary for Steve Rogers. Similarly to Garrett Hedlund, Scott Eastwood also auditioned for Captain America before Chris Evans was cast, and he’s still young enough for this casting to come to fruition in the MCU. He has superhero experience after an appearance in Suicide Squad, and has been a part of some huge franchises, including the Fast & Furious, Pacific Rim, and the Texas Chainsaw franchises, so is perfectly primed for an MCU role.

5) Chris Carmack

Best known for roles in The OC, Nashville, and Grey’s Anatomy, Chris Carmack has the mass audience appeal that would benefit a recast Steve Rogers in the MCU. His impressive physique and action-based acting experience make him a great fit, too, but has also shown the ability to pull off the sort of comedic moments and heartfelt emotion that a role in the MCU also demands. Similarly to Hedlund, Chris Carmack would be a slightly older iteration of Steve Rogers, which may be counterproductive to the MCU’s new direction, but this casting is still a real possibility.

4) Nick Robinson

After rising to prominence with roles in The Kings of Summer, Jurassic World, and Love Simon, Nick Robinson has proven himself to be a hugely talented actor. While he might currently be missing the domineering muscular physique that is essential for Steve Rogers’ Captain America, many actors have transformed themselves for roles in the MCU, and Robinson could be next. His clean-cut and earnest persona along with his youthful, all-American energy would make him a fantastic choice to take over from Chris Evans, and he’s young enough to give the character plenty of room to grow over time.

3) Glen Powell

Glen Powell has recently been embarking on a huge upwards trend in his career, with notable roles in Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, and Twisters putting him on the map as a very bankable star. He is clearly gearing up for a role in a major superhero franchise, and he would be brilliant as a new version of Steve Rogers. Top Gun proved his capability to deliver confident and sometimes-arrogant characters, and his other memorable roles have put his charisma and screen presence front-and-center. Powell has stated he’s had no conversation with Marvel, but this could soon change.

2) Jacob Elordi

At only 28-years-old, Jacob Elordi might be the perfect young star that Marvel may be looking for when recasting Steve Rogers in the MCU. Elordi rose to prominence in Euphoria, but has branched out into notable projects such as Saltburn, Priscilla, and The Kissing Booth film series, and his career is expanding even further with the upcoming Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Elordi has the acting range and notoriety demanded by Captain America, though he has stressed his desire to take on more grounded, serious, and artistically-fulfilling roles, so a superhero franchise part may not be on the cards for him.

1) Patrick Gibson

While Elordi would be a great Steve Rogers, Patrick Gibson would be even better, and he hasn’t yet discounted the possibility of joining the MCU. Gibson is best known for roles in The OA, The Darkest Minds, and Dexter: Original Sin, some of which have given him experience with superhuman abilities, perfectly priming him for a role in the MCU. The blond hair and blue eyes combined with his muscular physique match Steve Rogers perfectly, while his acting range is also incredible, being able to deliver moments of levity as well as more serious and emotional sequences to perfection.

Patrick Gibson would be an inspired choice for a recast version of Steve Rogers’ Captain America after the MCU resets in Avengers: Secret Wars. Who would you want to see replace Chris Evans in the MCU, though? Let us know in the comments!

The post 10 Perfect Actors to Replace Chris Evans As Captain America (If He’s Recast) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

After Pedro Pascal’s debut as Reed Richards’ Mister Fantastic in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, new fan art has teamed him up with his Marvel Cinematic Universe variants. First Steps took us to Earth 828 to introduce a new iteration of Marvel’s First Family, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn bringing Marvel Comics’ most iconic superhero team to life in the MCU. This version of the Fantastic Four is the fifth to grace our screens, and the Multiverse Saga creates the opportunity for previous iterations to return.

Pedro Pascal has already been confirmed to be returning in 2026’s multiverse-focused Avengers: Doomsday, which also marks the return of several classic Marvel stars. This could include past iterations of Mister Fantastic, and this team-up has been imagined in striking new fan art shared by @clements.ink on Instagram. This art brings together Alex Hyde-White, Ioan Gruffudd, Miles Teller, John Krasinski, and Pedro Pascal as all previous versions of Reed Richards’ Mister Fantastic, setting the stage for these five stars to join forces in the MCU’s Phase 6.

Alex Hyde-White was the first actor to portray Mister Fantastic in live-action, debuting in the unreleased The Fantastic Four movie from 1994. Hyde-White most recently made a cameo appearance alongside his The Fantastic Four co-stars – Rebecca Staab, Jay Underwood, and Michael Bailey Smith – in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, paying homage to their widely unseen adventure as Marvel’s First Family. It wasn’t until 2005 when Ioan Gruffudd appeared as Mister Fantastic in Tim Story’s Fantastic Four, a role which he reprised in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Read Next

Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Box Office Exposes a Harsh Reality for the MCU’s Future

Eight years after Story’s 2007 sequel, Josh Trank and 20th Century Fox attempted a reboot of Fantastic Four in 2015, which took inspiration from the Ultimate Universe version of Reed Richards in Marvel Comics. This iteration was portrayed by Miles Teller, who encapsulated some of Richards’ darker elements, but was wasted in a poorly-written narrative. After the Fantastic Four fell back into Marvel Studios’ hands in 2019, John Krasinski made an appearance as Reed Richards from Earth 838 in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where he was a member of the Illuminati superhero team.

Krasinski had been a popular fan-cast for Mister Fantastic prior to his appearance in Multiverse of Madness, but his debut didn’t go down so well among MCU audiences. This spurred Marvel Studios to search for a new Reed Richards for the MCU’s official The Fantastic Four: First Steps reboot, but it would be great to see these past iterations return to redeem some of their more disappointing qualities and bid a fond farewell to them. Pedro Pascal is the MCU’s permanent Mister Fantastic, so he’ll get the chance to develop his Reed Richards more than any previous incarnation.

Do you want to see the former Mister Fantastic actors reprise their superhero role in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!

The post Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic Meets His Pre-MCU Variants in Brilliant Fantastic Four Art appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Love has always been in the air in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In Iron Man, despite adopting a playboy attitude, Tony Stark reserves a special place in his heart for Pepper Potts, whom he eventually marries and has a kid with. Even Captain America, who loses the love of his life due to being frozen for 70 years, can’t get over his feelings for Peggy Carter and travels back in time to get another chance with her. Unfortunately, there’s just as much heartbreak in the MCU as there are happy endings. Peter Quill doesn’t get to be with Gamora because he loses the version of her he loves, but at least there’s an explanation for their split.

A few relationships in the MCU fail before they ever really begin, such as Hulk and Black Widow’s attempt to be a couple in Avengers: Age of Ultron. However, a couple of years ago, the franchise brought two characters together who had a strong connection, only to rip them apart for no good reason.

She-Hulk and Daredevil Had the Chance to Be the MCU’s Best Power Couple

It feels like a majority of MCU projects take place on the East Coast, but She-Hulk: Attorney at Law bucks the trend by heading out to Los Angeles, California, where Bruce Banner’s cousin, Jennifer Walters, works as a lawyer. A visit from her Bruce ends in disaster when Jen gets exposed to his blood, turning her into a Hulk. She has to learn how to balance being a hero and a lawyer, which proves pretty challenging at first. Going up against a New York City attorney, Matt Murdock, in court helps Jen embrace her new reality, and it comes out that the two have more in common than their career choices. After She-Hulk and Daredevil bust a crime ring, they spend a night together, setting the stage for a super couple that puts Wanda Maximoff and Vision to shame.

Daredevil takes a back seat for the rest of She-Hulk, but he does return in the finale, attending the Walters family BBQ and fielding questions from Jen’s dad. The good vibes are gone by the time Matt returns in Daredevil: Born Again, however, with him still harboring feelings for Karen Page. The two drift apart after Foggy Nelson’s death, and Matt meets someone new, Heather Glenn, a NYC-based therapist. Their relationship goes up in flames when Heather decides to take a job with Wilson Fisk, and while there’s still time to repair it, Matt should just cut his losses and call Jen, especially given the situation he currently finds himself in.

Read Next

Marvel’s Next Big Disney+ Series Will Premiere Even Sooner Than Expected

The MCU Can Still Make Another Daredevil and She-Hulk Team-Up Happen

Matt never mentions his time in Los Angeles in Born Again because there are bigger fish to fry. Fisk becomes the mayor of NYC and begins to implement wild policies that affect life in the city. The one that does the most damage is the formation of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, which doesn’t just target people in masks but anyone the mayor sees as a threat. In the Season 1 finale, Daredevil decides he’s going to raise an army to fight back, recruiting Karen and a few cops who don’t like what’s going on. Jessica Jones will be by Daredevil’s side in Season 2 as well, but there’s no reason that he shouldn’t reach out to Jen, as she likely would be more than willing to help out. Sure, she might be upset that Matt seemingly ghosted her, but she’s not going to let innocent people continue to get hurt.

With the two back together again, sparks are sure to fly, and they won’t all be from the AVTF’s guns. Pairing Daredevil and She-Hulk up again will also help the heroes get buzz going ahead of the next two Avengers films. As of writing, neither character is confirmed to appear in either movie, which is a shame because they’re as qualified as anyone else. If giving their relationship another chance is what it takes to put them in the spotlight, then there’s no time to waste.

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is streaming on Disney+.

Did you like She-Hulk and Daredevil as a couple? Would you like to see them team up again in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 3 Years Ago, the MCU Fumbled Its Best Romantic Pairing appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Rarely is a situation cut-and-dry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The powers that be love leaving a gray area that allows for discussions about who’s right and who’s wrong. The franchise’s most recent moral conundrum revolves around the New Avengers, whom Valentina Allegra de Fontaine assembles after her rollout of Sentry fails in Thunderbolts*. Sam Wilson is working on building his own Avengers team, so both groups are now fighting over who deserves to have the name. It remains to be seen how things will shake out, but Sam and Bucky Barnes aren’t the first MCU heroes to be on opposite sides of the aisle. No, that honor goes to the two most important characters in the history of the franchise.

After years of bickering, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark come to blows in Captain America: Civil War over the Sokovia Accords, which will put safeguards in place to keep the Avengers from acting unilaterally when the next world-ending threat arrives. While the movie invites a deep discussion about each side’s point of view, it’s obvious which team ultimately has the moral high ground after all these years.

Captain America: Civil War Tore the MCU Apart

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes come out on top in Avengers: Age of Ultron, destroying the titular villain and saving the people of Sokovia. Captain America and Black Widow feel good enough that they put together a new team when Hawkeye, the Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man decide to call it quits. However, the second Avengers team isn’t nearly as efficient as the first, taking part in a mission in Lago that leaves many dead. The incident is all the United Nations needs to move forward with the Sokovia Accords, which Thaddeus Ross presents to the MCU’s heroes. The arguments begin immediately after the presentation, with Steve explaining that he feels like government interference will hurt more people than it helps. Feeling guilty about his part in Sokovia, Tony backs them from the jump and gets a few more people on his side.

Things cool down until someone who looks like Bucky Barnes bombs the UN conference in Vienna. Immediately, Captain America jumps into action, but since he didn’t sign the accords, he’s viewed as a criminal. While all the heroes are distracted, Helmut Zemo, a Sokovian resident, unleashes the Winter Soldier and leaves for Siberia. Steve puts his former best friend first once again and saves him before battling Team Iron Man and following Zemo. Around the same time, Tony learns the truth about Zemo and goes to help. However, it’s all a trap, one that reveals that Bucky is responsible for the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark. When Steve explains that he knew, Tony lashes out, and a massive fight breaks out. This is where it’s easy to lose sight of Civil War‘s true debate, as the battle in Siberia takes up too much of the focus.

Read Next

The MCU Just Revealed Its Original Super Soldier (& It Isn’t Captain America)

Tony Stark Isn’t Even Team Iron Man By the End

When Tony decides to go to Siberia, he ignores a direct order from Ross, meaning he’s as much of a criminal as Steve. Of course, Cap and Iron Man fail to find common ground after that, opting to let out their frustrations rather than look at the situation logically. Bucky and Steve fighting Tony in that moment is the leg that Team Iron Man stands on, but it’s a pretty weak one. After all, as soon as the fighting is over and Cap breaks everyone out of the Raft, Tony never goes after his old friend or pushes Ross to do so. He continues to ignore the secretary’s calls, and Rhodey, another member of Team Iron Man, does the same when the world is under attack in Avengers: Infinity War.

By the time it’s time to fight Thanos, feelings are hurt, but no one is ready to dredge up the past to prove a point. In fact, it’s clear that Tony regrets pushing the Sokovia Accords and wishes he could make things right. Steve also wants to own up to his mistakes, so once the opportunity arises in Avengers: Endgame, there’s nothing left to do but shake hands. In the moment, Civil War creates a worthwhile discussion about superheroes and their place in the world. However, the rest of the MCU disagrees with its sentiment, portraying Team Iron Man as a group of misguided individuals who don’t even understand what they’re fighting for.

Captain America: Civil War is streaming on Disney+.

Were you Team Iron Man or Team Captain America when Captain America: Civil War came out? Do you feel differently nine years later? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 9 Years Later, the Answer to Captain America: Civil War’s Big Debate Is Clearer Than Ever appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The X-Men have found yet another streaming home. The Fox movies have been available to stream on Disney+ since shortly after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, alongside X-Men ’97 (which remains a Disney+ exclusive), and the original X-Men: The Animated Series. In a surprise move, the entirety of the X-Men movie franchise is now available to stream on Hulu.

With Disney now fully owning Hulu, the following movies are now available to stream on the service: X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, The New Mutants, and Logan. Some of the films, though, are only available through Premium Subscriptions.

Read Next

Everything Coming to Hulu in August 2025

The move comes as Disney is getting ready to eliminate the Hulu app altogether, in favor of creating a unified Disney+ and Hulu streaming app sometime next year. Disney will begin to make changes to Hulu and Disney+ over the next few months that should help to improve both services. As the two streaming platforms prepare to merge over the next few months, it’s more than likely more titles from 20th Century Fox will be added to Hulu’s offerings.

Fox’s X-Men movies have a complicated history among fans of the mutants. The films, which didn’t always give people comics-accurate portrayals, saw several ups and downs. The first movie, 2000’s X-Men, earned an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and $296.3 million at the worldwide box office. It was a positive start for the long-running franchise, but over time, the franchise would see its Rotten Tomatoes scores continue to decline. Interestingly, despite some the films being poorly received among critics and fans alike, they continued to perform well enough at the box office for 20th Century Fox to continue to order new installments over the years.

The franchise earned a reboot with 2011’s X-Men: First Class. The film earned an impressive 86% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned $352.6 million worldwide on a $160 million budget. It was followed by 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, which earned even stronger reviews (90% on Rotten Tomatoes) and grossed $746 million worldwide. After that, the series lost steam with X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix in 2019. Apocalypse earned a terrible 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Dark Phoenix earned an even worse 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the First Class series was uneven, Fox found success with the Deadpool movies and the Wolverine movies of the 2010s.

Next up for the X-Men is Avengers: Doomsday, which will see the return of some of the original X-Men cast. Confirmed to appear are Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier/Professor X, James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy/Beast. Avengers: Doomsday will hit theaters on December 18, 2026. Until then, fans can now stream all of the X-Men movies on Hulu and Disney+, along with X-Men ’97 which is exclusive to Disney+.

The post The X-Men Movie Franchise Surprise Added to a New Streaming Service appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Robert Downey Jr. has finally returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an uncredited cameo appearance as Doctor Doom in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the supervillain is taking Downey back to his Marvel Studios roots in the best possible way. Downey was confirmed to be bringing Victor Von Doom to life during 2024’s San Diego Comic-Con, and was then teased to be starring only in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. Since this announcement, there has been speculation about how Doom will connect to Downey’s previous role of Tony Stark’s Iron Man.

Theories have been rife suggesting Doctor Doom could be a Tony Stark variant from Earth 828, or Marvel Studios could finally be bringing Stark’s adoption storyline from Marvel Comics to life in the MCU. While it’s unclear how Marvel will explain why Doom looks like Stark, there is another thing connecting these iconic characters that deserves exploration in Avengers: Doomsday, too. Both Iron Man and Doctor Doom wear metallic armored suits, which prompted Downey’s “new mask, same task” comments last year, and these suits may be more similar than we originally expected.

Doctor Doom Doesn’t Use Nanotech for His MCU Costume

The bulk of The Fantastic Four: First Steps saw Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm battle Galactus (Ralph Ineson), who sought the Power Cosmic contained inside Reed and Sue’s newborn son, Franklin. They eventually succeeded with the help of Shalla-Bal’s Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), enabling Franklin to grow up into an intelligent young boy. The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ mid-credits scene reflected this, taking place four years after Galactus’ attack on Earth, but this scene debuted yet another terrifying villain.

It was Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom who showed up in The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ mid-credit scene – making his first uncredited appearance in the MCU. We didn’t see Doom’s face, but Franklin Richards did, as the hooded supervillain held his metal mask in his hand while Franklin reached out to Doom’s presumably-scarred face. This proved one crucial detail about Doom’s suit of armor – it won’t be made using nanotechnology. This means that Robert Downey Jr will be returning to his MCU roots by bringing Doom to life, as Tony Stark’s first few suits weren’t nanotech either.

Read Next

7 MCU Villains That Should Help Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday

The fact that Doctor Doom will have a physical suit that needs to be put together in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will make him an even more terrifying and realistic villain. He may have forged this armor himself, just as Tony Stark did in the early days of the MCU, which may give the armor a handmade and authentic feel. This is the best choice for Doctor Doom, and will remind audiences of Iron Man’s original adventures, during which he sported suits he needed to physically suit-up in, before he turned his attention to nanotechnology in his later years.

Why Iron Man Became So Reliant On Nanotech in the MCU’s Infinity Saga

2008’s Iron Man marked Robert Downey Jr.’s debut as Tony Stark, and cemented him as the face of the MCU for the next decade. The first Marvel Studios movie included several scenes of Stark physically suiting up in his initial bulky Iron Man suits, and also struggling to get out of them – in one memorable moment joking that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) had caught him doing worse things in his workshop. Audiences loved watching Stark get in and out of the Iron Man armor, and subsequent movies found new and interesting ways to accomplish this.

Read Next

10 Perfect Actors to Recast Iron Man After Avengers: Secret Wars

2010’s Iron Man 2 saw Stark suit up in armor that sprung from a briefcase, 2012’s The Avengers suited Iron Man up in a geo-locked suit during his fall from the top floors of Stark Tower, and 2013’s Iron Man 3 saw Stark test his new microchip-locating armor to the tune of “Jingle Bells.” 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron took this one step further by suiting up Iron Man in an even bigger suit of armor, the Hulkbuster, which proved capable of taking on the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) himself. Since then, however, Stark upgraded to using nanotech armor.

Stark’s nanotech Iron Man suits in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame certainly provided a sense of futurism and sleekness, but lost a lot of the magic of these previous, celebrated suit-up scenes. Nanotech provided more ease when suiting up, and provided Stark with more weapons and gadgets than ever before – many of which proved helpful during the fight against Thanos (Josh Brolin). Even so, we can’t wait to see Doctor Doom bring physical armor back to the MCU, especially with Robert Downey Jr. in the driver’s seat, so we’re even more excited for Doomsday now.

Are you excited to see Doctor Doom in his suit of armor in Avengers: Doomsday? Let us know in the comments!

The post I’m So Glad the MCU is Returning to Iron Man’s Roots for RDJ’s Doctor Doom Debut appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Wolverine has transcended his roots as an enemy of the Hulk to become one of the most popular heroes out there. Wolverine has teamed up with pretty much every Marvel hero can you name (and a decent amount of non-Marvel heroes, as well) and has battled against some of the most formidable villains out there. Wolverine has fought alongside the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Defenders, SHIELD, and basically any group in the Marvel Universe. He’s helped defeat some of the deadly villains of all time, both on his own and with teams, and has proven his oft repeated catchphrase — he’s the best there is at what he does, and what he does isn’t very pretty — to be true.

Marvel and DC Comics are starting to have crossovers again, with the elderly Wolverine known as Old man Logan taking on the senior citizen version of Batman from The Dark Knight Returns. It’s only a matter of time before the present Wolverine gets his chance to fight some DC villains, and that’s going to be something. While there are lots of DC villains that Wolverine can’t beat, there are also a lot of them that Wolverine would cut to ribbons. These seven DC villains are as tough as they come, but Wolverine would be able to slice them down to size.

7) Ra’s al Ghul

Ra’s al Ghul is one of Batman’s most formidable villains, and has even given the Justice League and the Legion of Superheroes (in the now forgotten Legion series from the late ’90s/early ’00s) a run for their money. Ra’s al Ghul has spent centuries cementing his power base, using the League of Assassins as his personal army. The Demon’s Head has survived this long because of the Lazarus Pits, which allow him to come back to life, albeit in a short berserker rage, and fight again. The Pits have also given Ra’s a measure of superhuman strength and agility. These enhancements have gone well with the fighting skills that Ra’s al Ghul has mastered over the century. He’s a wizard with a sword, and loves to challenge his foes to sword fights. Ra’s al Ghul and Wolverine is an interesting match-up. The Demon’s Head wouldn’t have a lot of respect for Wolverine at first, and would underestimate Wolverine, thinking him little more than a beast. This is going to give Wolverine the chance to take him down. Ra’s al Ghul is one of the few people out there who can say they have more experience than Wolverine, but Wolverine’s unbreakable skeleton and healing factor, as well as his own strength, speed, and fighting skill, are going to be too much for Ra’s al Ghul. It will be a bloody battle, but this is a Wolverine fight; when aren’t they bloody battles? In the end, Ra’s would need a Lazarus Pit.

6) Deadshot

Deadshot is one of the toughest mercenaries out there. Deadshot began his criminal career as a gimmick villain, his being that of a river boat gambling dandy who’s an expert with a pistol. After some heavy losses, Deadshot would change things up, and become the villain we recognize today. Deadshot doesn’t have any superpowers, but his time with the Suicide Squad and the Secret Six have showed that he is more than smart enough to deal with enemies with powers. Deadshot is an amazing shot, and can take a pretty heavy beating. However, in the end, Deadshot is only human, and that’s going to cost him in battle with Wolverine. Deadshot is definitely going to get some shots off on Wolverine, but it’s not really going to matter. Wolverine’s unbreakable skeleton and healing factor are going to allow Wolverine to tank everything thrown at him. Deadshot has the reach advantage, but that’s only going to last so long. Once Wolverine gets close enough, the fight is pretty much over. Wolverine is stronger, faster, and a better fighter, and can survive anything that Deadshot can throw at him. That’s going to allow him to handily win this fight.

5) Merlyn

Green Arrow has had some amazing adventures, but unlike many other heroes with his pedigree, he doesn’t really have a great rogues gallery. However, he does have a few pretty good villains, and one of them is Merlyn. Merlyn started out as a member of the League of Assassins, helping Ra’s and Talia al Ghul in battle against Batman. Merlyn’s a master of the bow and arrow, and that has seen him move over to being a Green Arrow villain. Merlyn, as a member of the League of Assassins, is an expert hand to hand combatant, so even without his bow and arrow, he’s still formidable. However, he really doesn’t have a chance against Wolverine. Sure, he can keep Wolverine at bay for a while, but Wolverine has been an arrow pin cushion before and kept fighting. His unbreakable bones and healing factor means that even if Merlyn hits him in the eyes, the lungs, or heart (those last two would mean making a shot through Wolverine’s ribs, but if there’s anyone who can make that shot, it’s Merlyn), Wolverine is going to keep coming. This fight is going to come down to a one on one fight, and that’s where Wolverine wins. Merlyn is good, but Wolverine is so much better, and he would make mincemeat out of the villain.

Read Next

10 Best Wolverine Stories of the ‘20s

4) Vandal Savage

Wolverine usually has more experience than the people he fights, but there’s one DC villain who has more experience than Wolverine can imagine — Vandal Savage. Vandal Savage was a caveman a 100,000 years ago and found a meteorite. The meteor’s radiation changed Savage forever; he gained superhuman strength, durability, and agility, a healing factor, super intelligence, and immortality. Vandal Savage has spent millennia traveling the world, killing anyone he feels like killing, and mastering the arts of combat. Savage has also created weapons the likes of which no one in the world has seen before, and amassed riches that are quite literally incalculable. Vandal Savage has been fighting people who considered themselves heroes for longer than modern human culture has existed, and tasted the flesh of his enemies. Vandal Savage vs. Wolverine is honestly one of the coolest fights that I could imagine. Savage has the experience advantage and is possibly stronger than Wolverine, but Wolverine is faster and arguably more ferocious. Vandal Savage and Wolverine would tear each other apart, but Wolverine can take more damage than Savage can, and that’s going to make all the difference. Vandal Savage is going to be a name Wolverine never forgets and he’ll shudder at the thought of their battle. However, he’d come out of it with a win.

3) The Joker

Batman doesn’t really fear many people. It’s a very short list, but at the top of it is the Joker. The Joker is the most dangerous criminal in a city full of the most dangerous criminals you can possibly imagine. He’s a master of everything that can kill people, and is especially good with gases and poison. The Joker isn’t a martial artist, but he’s still a wily and dangerous fighter that can give Batman a run for his money in a fist fight. He doesn’t look like much, but he’s preternaturally strong and fast. His insanity hides a clever villain who has figured out a way to win against the greatest of odds. All of that is great, but nothing is really going to help him in battle against Wolverine. The Joker’s mastery of gas attacks is probably going to give him early advantage. Joker gas would certainly have an effect on Wolverine, but then the healing factor would kick in. Wolverine is basically unstoppable in battle against human foes, and unfortunately for Joker, he’s a human. It would be a pretty decent fight, but the Joker is pretty overrated in battle; he’ll get some tricky shots in, but Wolverine is going to take the Joker out.

2) Bane

Bane is a villain that has done something no other DC villain has. He’s broken Batman not once, but twice. Bane broke Batman’s back in battle and later was able to dominate Batman so handily that he kicked him out Gotham City for a time. Those victories are pretty unprecedented, and made Bane into one of Batman’s most dangerous villains. Bane, in a lot of ways, is very similar to Batman. He’s an expert hand to hand tactician, amazingly strong and fast even without the super steroid Venom, and is as smart of a tactician as anyone other villain out there. Bane and Wolverine would have a hellacious fight; Bane and Wolverine are both pretty great fighters. They’re both strong and fast, and that’s going to lead Bane to take some Venom. Wolverine fights super strong enemies all the time — he tangles with the Hulk a lot —so Bane’s strength isn’t going to give Wolverine pause. Wolverine can take more damage, and his claws will be enough to cut Bane up. Bane will certainly do some damage to Wolverine, but there’s no way that he can beat Wolverine in a fight.

1) Deathstroke

Deathstroke is one of the most formidable villains in the DC Universe. Deathstroke became an expert soldier, and was chosen to be a part of super soldier program. Deathstroke was given superhuman strength and agility, and had his mind enhanced. Deathstroke is an expert planner, and has used those skills to score some wins over entire teams of superpowered heroes. Deathstroke always survives and comes back, and that has made him exceedingly dangerous. Wolverine and Deathstroke is one of the coolest fights on this list. They’re both amazing soldiers, known for their strength, tenacity, and skill. Deathstroke is going to hurt Wolverine, but Wolverine is going to keep coming. Eventually, Deathstroke isn’t going to be able to do enough damage to Wolverine, and that’s the end of the fight. Wolverine is just about unstoppable, and Deathstroke is going to learn to fear him.

What DC villains do you think Wolverine can beat? Do you think I’m wrong? Sound off in the comments below.

The post 7 DC Villains Wolverine Can Beat appeared first on ComicBook.com.

At the end of March, Marvel Studios confirmed the first 27 actors cast in Avengers: Doomsday, but many more Marvel Cinematic Universe veterans are expected to join them soon. Marvel’s first Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement – which took the form of a five-and-a-half-hour chair-laying ceremony – included some predictable casting choices, as well as some major surprises. However, there were many MCU stars who were curiously omitted from the announcement, but with production well underway, another chair-laying ceremony might be on the horizon.

As well as MCU mainstays such as Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, and the casts of the New Avengers and Fantastic Four teams, Marvel Studios also confirmed that several members of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men team would be returning in Avengers: Doomsday. This promises a multiverse-spanning storyline that could lead to even more surprises in another cast announcement. With 27 actors already confirmed, including Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, there could be 27 more on the way, and these are our best predictions for who could appear in the Russo brothers’ upcoming crossover event.

Read Next

Major MCU Locations Confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday by Marvel’s Kevin Feige

27) Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes’ War Machine

It’s been a shame to see one of the MCU’s original armoured heroes wasted during the Multiverse Saga, as Rhodey was revealed to have been replaced by a Skrull in Secret Invasion, but this transition hasn’t been explained. Avengers: Doomsday presents the perfect opportunity for Don Cheadle to return, perhaps briefly examining his experience with the Skrulls, before moving on to allow him to be a true custodian of Tony Stark’s legacy as Iron Man. With Downey Jr. returning as a villain, it would be great to see Stark’s best friend’s reaction, so we’d love to see War Machine again.

26) Brie Larson as Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel has been central to the MCU since her debut in 2019, but she has unfortunately been at the center of some confusing and misplaced criticism in recent years. The Marvels became the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie ever, despite positive reviews, making it essential for Brie Larson to return to fully redeem her cosmic character in Avengers: Doomsday. She proved pivotal to Avengers: Endgame’s narrative, and has already dealt with the multiverse in 2023, so it would make sense for her to rejoin the Avengers in 2026 to battle Doctor Doom.

25) Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner’s Hulk

It was very surprising to not see Mark Ruffalo’s name among the first roster of MCU actors returning in Avengers: Doomsday. Bruce Banner has been at the core of the MCU since the very beginning, and has been through some pretty wild changes, leading to him becoming Smart Hulk in Endgame. We last saw him alongside his Sakaarian son, Skaar (Wil Deusner), so Doomsday could give this introduction more meaning, while expanding the Hulk’s storyline even further. The Russo brothers made some controversial choices with the Hulk in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, so Doomsday could provide redemption.

24) Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters’ She-Hulk

Alongside Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, it would be fantastic to see his cousin, Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters also return in Avengers: Doomsday. She-Hulk has been absent from many conversations surrounding an MCU future since She-Hulk: Attorney at Law debuted her with poor visual effects and unfounded review bombing, even though she’s one of the most exciting, satirical, and powerful characters introduced to the MCU in recent years. We’d love to see Maslany reteam with Ruffalo to bring these Hulks back to life in Avengers: Doomsday – especially if this comes with better CGI.

23) Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie

Tom Hiddleston has already been confirmed to be returning as Loki in Avengers: Doomsday, and set photos from the movie’s production have seemingly confirmed the Time Variance Authority will be revisited. This all creates the perfect opportunity for Sophia Di Martino to reprise her role as the Loki variant, Sylvie, who formed a close bond with Loki in his self-titled Disney+ series. Sylvie could inform other heroes about the state of the multiverse, as she has more knowledge than most, and her inclusion could open the door for Owen Wilson, Wunmi Mosaku, Ke Huy Quan, and more to also return.

22) Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie

Chris Hemsworth was the first actor confirmed to be returning in Doomsday during Marvel’s chair-laying announcement, which means the city of New Asgard could be revisited in the upcoming Phase 6 movie. This means New Asgard’s king, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, must be included, especially after defending her people in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Valkyrie fought Thanos alongside the Avengers in Endgame, so could be included as a more central hero in Doomsday, alongside her Asgardian allies, though Natalie Portman’s Mighty Thor likely won’t be involved.

21) Chris Pratt as Peter Quill’s Star-Lord

The end of 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 saw Peter Quill leave the titular team and return to Earth, where he reunited with his grandfather. The movie ended with the promise that the Legendary Star-Lord will return, and Avengers: Doomsday is the best place for Chris Pratt to come back. Despite not having any innate superhuman gifts, Quill is a skilled fighter, an experienced leader, and has an intimate knowledge of cosmic goings-on in the MCU, so would be a huge asset to the Avengers, and he could be joined by his former Guardians of the Galaxy teammates.

Read Next

Why Chris Pratt Is Missing From Avengers: Doomsday Cast Explained

20) Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector’s Moon Knight

Aside from an appearance in the animated What If…? series, Oscar Isaac has not appeared in the MCU as Marc Spector or his alters since his debut in Moon Knight. Moon Knight is one of the most exciting new heroes in the MCU, so it would be fantastic to see him return in Avengers: Doomsday, though he might be too focused on the street-level MCU to take part. Doctor Doom has godly power, however, as down Spector, so it would be brilliant to see these two powerhouses go toe-to-toe, especially if Layla El-Faouly’s Scarlet Scarab (May Calamawy) joins them.

19) Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange

2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw Benedict Cumberbatch’s titular Master of the Mystic Arts travel across the multiverse, providing him with an intimate knowledge of multiversal ideals and concepts. This perfectly set him up for a huge role in Avengers: Doomsday, so it’s shocking he hasn’t yet been confirmed to be involved. Strange was last seen entering the Dark Dimension with Clea (Charlize Theron) to stop an incursion, so it would be fantastic to see them both return in Doomsday to fulfil this goal and perhaps help to thwart more incursions and stop Doctor Doom.

18) Benedict Wong as Wong

If Doctor Strange and Clea return, it would make sense for Benedict Wong’s Wong to be involved in Avengers: Doomsday, too. Wong, as the current Sorcerer Supreme, is one of the most important figures in the MCU, and perhaps an easy target for Doctor Doom on his hunt for power. Wong played a crucial role in Infinity War, Endgame, and Multiverse of Madness, so it would be great to see him come back in Doomsday to continue this strong streak, displaying more of his power, maybe building a team of his own, and perhaps even becoming a victim of Doom.

17) Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might have ended with Wanda Maximoff’s demise, but teases in Agatha All Along and speculation of her return in the upcoming Vision Quest series could set up her return for Doomsday. In Marvel Comics, the Scarlet Witch is a very important figure alongside Doctor Doom, who manipulates her into being his wife, so this could be explored in the MCU’s Phase 6. With Joe Locke portraying the reincarnated Billy Maximoff, and a new Tommy Maximoff expected to debut alongside Paul Bettany’s Vision in 2026, it’s high time for a Maximoff family reunion.

16) Paul Bettany as Vision

If the Scarlet Witch returns, then it would be no surprise to see Vision come back alongside her. Paul Bettany is set to return as the white version of the vibranium synthezoid Vision in 2026’s Vision Quest series – the latest spinoff from 2021’s WandaVision. It’s assumed that Vision Quest will premiere before Avengers: Doomsday’s December 2026 release, which means Paul Bettany’s solo series could provide the perfect set-up for his role in Doomsday. One thing’s for sure – the vibranium Avenger would prove very useful in the fight against Doctor Doom.

15) Tom Holland as Peter Parker’s Spider-Man

Tom Holland is currently filming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is scheduled for release in July 2026, and will see Peter Parker’s Spider-Man team up with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher on the streets of New York City. The fact that Spider-Man will be jumping back into action shortly before Avengers: Doomsday, and Brand New Day will likely mark some huge set-up for the Phase 6 crossover, there’s little doubt Tom Holland will be involved in the Russo brothers’ next MCU instalment. Spider-Man proved to be a huge asset in Infinity War and Endgame, and he’s grown even stronger since then.

14) Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams’ Wonder Man

Scheduled to premiere as Simon Williams’ Wonder Man in the self-titled Disney+ series, Wonder Man, in December 2025, we can easily see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II having a role in Avengers: Doomsday. As Wonder Man, Abdul-Mateen will debut as one of the MCU’s most powerful new characters, a superhuman who has ambitions of becoming a Hollywood star, so he’ll be crucial in the fight against Doctor Doom. It’s no wonder he wasn’t confirmed in the first round of casting for Doomsday, as the release of his own series was still a way off, but this is no longer the case.

13) Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton’s Hawkeye

After making a miraculous recovery from his 2023 snowplow accident, Jeremy Renner is ready to rejoin the MCU as Clint Barton’s Hawkeye. Barton has seemingly retired from a superhero career several times, but he surely has one or two more adventures in him. With Robert Downey Jr. returning, and Chris Hemsworth already being confirmed for Doomsday, it would be great to see the other members of the original Avengers team join them. Barton is also the mentor to one of the MCU’s most exciting new heroes, which could hint at a bigger role for her in Doomsday, too.

12) Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye

Hailee Steinfeld joined Jeremy Renner in 2021’s Hawkeye series as Kate Bishop, a sharp-shooting archer who idolized the Avenger and eventually became his mentee. Clint Barton seemed to pass on the Hawkeye mantle to Kate Bishop at the end of the Phase 4 series, setting her up to become a central hero in the MCU’s future, perhaps as a member of the Young Avengers – who were teased in 2023’s The Marvels. Avengers: Doomsday would be a great place to bring the Young Avengers together, and, as the oldest member, Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye could become the group’s natural leader.

11) Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams’ Ironheart

The most recent live-action Disney+ series released by Marvel Studios was Ironheart, which developed Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams in the wake of her debut in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. With a relationship to Letitia Wright’s Shuri – who has already been confirmed for Doomsday – it would make sense for Riri to return in the upcoming crossover event. After Ironheart’s finale saw Riri strike a deal with Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen), her role in Doomsday could come with some unexpected and thrilling dark twists.

10) Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel

If the Young Avengers are set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, they won’t only include the likes of Kate Bishop, Riri Williams, Billy Maximoff, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), Skaar, and more, but Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel would also take a central position. Iman Vellani’s mutant superhero is one of the most important figures in the MCU, and will surely bridge the gap between the old and reset MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars. After partnering with Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau to save the universe in The Marvels, there’s no doubt Ms. Marvel will reunite with them in Doomsday.

9) Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau

The end of The Marvels saw Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau become trapped in an alternate reality inhabited by the X-Men – including Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, who has already been confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. This means that her return in Doomsday is practically inevitable, as it would be silly to explore a multiverse-spanning story without revisiting the Earth Rambeau is now trapped on. This could explain the confirmation of so many X-Men members returning in Doomsday – perhaps Monica is trapped on Earth 10005 – and would open the door for another exciting new character to return alongside her.

8) Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau’s Binary

The Maria Rambeau of Earth 616 passed away during the Blip, but several of her variants have already been introduced to the MCU. While Lashana Lynch’s Captain Marvel was killed by the Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Marvels introduced her Binary variant, who had teamed up with the X-Men. Revisiting this alternate reality – where Monica Rambeau found herself trapped – presents the opportunity for Lashana Lynch to better develop Maria’s Binary persona, perhaps establishing herself as one of the MCU’s most powerful new characters, and giving Lynch a more substantial role in the franchise.

7) Famke Janssen as Jean Grey

So far, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Kelsey Grammer, and Channing Tatum have all been confirmed to be reprising their X-Men roles in Doomsday. There are many omissions, however, and one of the most prominent is that of Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey. Jean deserves to return after X-Men: The Last Stand fumbled her delivery of the Dark Phoenix, as she needs some serious redemption. We hope Jean Grey is finally done justice on-screen in the MCU, but, before Marvel Studios recasts the iconic X-Men hero, we’d love to see Janssen get another chance.

6) Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe’s Storm

Another iconic X-Men member who wasn’t included among those in the first cast announcement for Avengers: Doomsday was Storm, with neither Halle Berry nor Alexandra Shipp being confirmed to be reprising the role. Berry has been the subject of rumors for several years, with speculation suggesting she’ll reprise the role of Storm, who never quite got the chance to display her almost god-like power in Fox’s X-Men franchise. After Earth 10005 was revisited in Deadpool & Wolverine, and with many X-Men members already confirmed, we would love to see Halle Berry’s Storm return to action before the role is recast.

5) Hugh Jackman as Logan’s Wolverine

Speaking of Deadpool & Wolverine, Hugh Jackman recently shared footage of him back training in the gym, which may have teased his upcoming appearance in Avengers: Doomsday. Jackman retired from the role of Wolverine after 2017’s Logan, but returned as a variant of his original Earth 10005 hero in Deadpool & Wolverine, and could reprise this role in Doomsday. It’s every comic fan’s dream to see Wolverine and the X-Men in comic-accurate live-action costumes, and Doomsday is promising to make this happen, so, before someone else takes over from Jackman, we want him to come back just one more time.

4) Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson’s Deadpool

It would be hard to have a Deadpool & Wolverine reunion with just the latter, so it would make sense for Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson to also return. Deadpool & Wolverine became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time in 2024, making a return for the titular Merc with a Mouth practically inevitable. While Reynolds is working on a new Deadpool and X-Men team-up project, it would also be brilliant to see Deadpool team up with the Avengers and the pre-established heroes of the MCU. Doomsday could reunite Deadpool with the X-Men while introducing him to the other heroes of the MCU.

3) Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Even after the disappointment of 2023’s Secret Invasion, Nick Fury is still one of the most important figures in the MCU’s history. He helped found the original Avengers team, so it would be fantastic to see Samuel L. Jackson reprise the role for their upcoming adventure, especially with Robert Downey Jr. returning. Fury’s involvement with SABER in The Marvels means he has knowledge of the MCU’s cosmic and multiversal powers, which could prove crucial to Doomsday. Fury deserves redemption after his controversial Phase 5 adventures, so we hope he comes back and cements himself as a formidable hero once again.

2) Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter

Hayley Atwell was previously rumored to be involved with Avengers: Doomsday, but this hasn’t yet been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios. Atwell debuted as Peggy Carter back in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and she was last seen as this original iteration in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. It’s possible this version of Peggy Carter could return, but Atwell could also play a Captain Carter variant of her character, who has previously been seen in animation and even in live-action in the MCU. A mirror to Steve Rogers’ Captain America, Captain Carter would be a great addition to Doomsday’s roster.

1) Chris Evans as Steve Rogers’ Captain America

After the shocking reveal that Robert Downey Jr. would be coming back to Marvel – as Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man – speculation stirred about who else could return. While he’d remained mum about the idea of returning as Captain America since his departure in Endgame, Chris Evans came back to the MCU as Johnny Storm’s Human Torch in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, presented a number of opportunities for him to also return in Avengers: Doomsday, whether as the Human Torch, Captain America, or another variant altogether. We want to see all the original Avengers return, so perhaps Scarlett Johansson will join, too, but only time will tell.

Who do you want to see return to the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday? Let us know in the comments!

The post Predicting the Next 27 Actors Cast in the MCU’s Avengers: Doomsday appeared first on ComicBook.com.

For once, the big news coming out of All-New Venom isn’t that Mary Jane Watson is the new host for the alien symbiote. Instead, Mary Jane is making headlines for finally breaking things off with her partner, Paul. Even though Paul is a recent addition to the Spider-Man cast, he’s quickly become a controversial figure. Fans just haven’t loved Mary Jane with Paul the same way they do Peter Parker. Of course, Paul and MJ don’t have the same history together that Peter and MJ do, and fans have always wanted them to get back together. However, looking at his track record, Spider-Man has never been the best boyfriend.

Being in a relationship with a superhero is all sorts of stressful. You have to constantly worry about their well-being, and also be aware that any of their enemies could target you and other loved ones. As longtime Spider-Man fans know, Peter Parker and Mary Jane were once married, but the powers-that-be at Marvel decided to nix it. We’ve been left with Spider-Man swinging from partner to partner, looking for a permanent relationship. Though he tries his best, he can never make things work. Unfortunately, the majority of the blame lands on Spider-Man’s webbed feet.

Spider-Man Is the Worst Boyfriend Ever

So remember how I said that the majority of superheroes make terrible partners? That still holds true, but Spider-Man seems to take it to a whole new level. Not being up front with girlfriends is part of the problem. In order to keep his identity as Spider-Man a secret and not to endanger their lives, Spider-Man has to constantly lie to them. This means making up excuses to miss important date nights and other events, coming off as flaky in the process. Girlfriends want a dependable boyfriend, someone they can count on and who is reliable. Sure, heroes are risking their lives to save others, but if the girlfriend isn’t aware, then they can’t support them.

Also, let’s not pretend that everything would be rosy if Peter and Mary Jane got back together. Especially if you factor in Mary Jane being the new host for Venom. There have been far fewer times that Spider-Man has been in a relationship with another superhero, or someone in the superhero community. The only examples I can think of are with Black Cat, Captain Marvel, and Mockingbird. Typically, Spider-Man ends up dating regular, run-of-the-mill women. Could Spider-Man share the limelight with Mary Jane and Venom? And would he be okay with it?

Read Next

Spider-Man’s 5 Most Fun Team-Up Partners

What fans didn’t like about Mary Jane and Paul is that it appeared we were close to seeing Peter and MJ back together. Right as momentum was building to this happy reunion, here came Paul. To add insult to injury, Marvel seemed hellbent on keeping Paul around, even with the amount of vitriol he generated. But Paul is finally on the way out, so insert all the Peter/MJ speculation.

Spider-Man Needs to Work on His Relationship Skills

Is it possible for Spider-Man to turn things around when it comes to relationships? Possibly. It’s a double-edged sword of needing to be open with whoever he’s dating, and needing to keep his identity a secret. At least Spider-Man doesn’t suffer from the Paul syndrome of being overly needy. Spider-Man has a life of his own to keep him busy, so he doesn’t have to constantly sit around at home wondering what his girlfriend is up to.

I hate to say it, but Spider-Man should probably work on coming up with better lies to tell his girlfriends when he has to dip out on them. It means less rest for him, but Spidey should also consider being more present whenever possible. If he spent more time with whoever he’s dating, then it wouldn’t be such a big deal if he missed a date here and there. Juggling two lives can be difficult, but not impossible. You have to put the work in. If having a girlfriend or wife is something that Spider-Man actually wants, then he has to do a better job of making these relationships work.

The post Paul May be Out But Face It, Spider-Man’s a Terrible Boyfriend, Too appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Avengers are back in the spotlight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after years on the back burner. At the end of Thunderbolts*, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine saves her hide by revealing the New Avengers to the world, turning a group of anti-heroes into Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. However, they aren’t the only good guys in town, as Sam Wilson is putting together his own squad, starting with Joaquin Torres, aka Falcon. The two groups are going to duke it out in Avengers: Doomsday, which will also feature the Fantastic Four and X-Men. However, none of those teams has as much potential as the Young Avengers.

There have been young heroes in the MCU for a long time, such as Iron Man’s buddy Harley Keener and Cassie Lang, though it’s taken a long time for a couple of them to decide it’s worth getting together and forming their own team. Well, the wait is almost over because the Young Avengers will be assembling for the first time in the MCU before 2025 is over.

The Young Avengers Are Part of the MCU’s Most Terrifying Project

The first inkling that the Young Avengers are coming to the MCU happens in The Marvels. After teaming up with Captain Marvel and Photon, Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, decides she likes having partners. Her mission takes her to New York City, where she attempts to recruit Kate Bishop in the same way Nick Fury reached out to Tony Stark in Iron Man. Kate seems receptive to the offer, but that’s all she wrote. There hasn’t been another Young Avengers tease since The Marvels, leaving their status in the MCU a mystery. Fortunately, a Disney+ animated series is about to pick up the baton by bringing Kate and Kamala back together for the first time.

With the conclusion of Marvel’s What If…?, Marvel Studios is looking for another way to revolutionize the animation game. The next big idea is Marvel Zombies, which will continue the story of the Season 1 What If…? episode “What If… Zombies?!” While a few heavy hitters are part of the show’s cast, including Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Simu Liu, Iman Vellani and Hailee Steinfeld are also part of the proceedings, as is Dominique Thorne, who plays Riri Williams, another candidate for the Young Avengers. While it remains to be seen how much the three characters will interact in Marvel Zombies, whatever time they spend together will be a great tease of things to come.

Read Next

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Already Has a Major Chemistry Issue

The MCU May Pit the Young Avengers Against Another Mystical Threat in the Future

The big threat that all of Marvel Zombies‘ characters will face is an undead Scarlet Witch, who has already killed her fair share of heroes. It seems unfair to give magic to a zombie, but that’s the danger that comes with unleashing a virus onto a world with enhanced beings. While the animated Young Avengers deal with all that, their live-action counterparts will have a test of their own if Marvel Studios takes the direction many think it’s going to. At the moment, a dangerous threat is brewing in the MCU, and it already has its claws dug into Riri, offering her a deal she couldn’t pass up. The rest of the franchise’s young heroes are sure to want to mull over offers when the time comes, which puts them in serious danger.

At the end of Ironheart, Riri comes face-to-face with The Hood’s master, Mephisto. It takes very little time for the mysterious figure to start buttering up Riri, telling her everything she wants to hear at a time when she feels less than. Well, he doesn’t stop there because he also offers to bring her AI companion, N.A.T.A.L.I.E., back to life in exchange for something the young hero won’t miss. Ironheart doesn’t reveal what Riri is giving up, but she’s not going to be the last person to make a deal with the devil. Based on his agreement with Parker Robbins and his latest one with Riri, it’s clear that Mephisto targets younger people, serving up their wildest dreams on a silver platter. Kate and Kamala could find themselves in a bad spot if they link up with Riri in live-action, setting the stage for the action-packed Young Avengers project the world has been waiting for.

Marvel Zombies releases on Disney+ on October 3rd.

Are you excited to see the Young Avengers assemble in Marvel Zombies? Do you hope they get to shine in live-action as well? Let us know in the comments below!

The post The Young Avengers Are About to Assemble in the MCU for the First Time appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Fantastic Four are in dire straits. A battle against Emperor Doom gone wrong left Marvel’s First Family stranded throughout the timestream, billions of years apart from each other, with no way to call for help. Johnny Storm is on the Earth before it developed oxygen and is suffocating, the Thing is fighting for his life against dinosaurs, and Mister Fantastic is trying to keep out of sight in the 13th century. Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, might be in the worst spot out of any of them, stuck seven billion years in the future on an Earth that has lost all life, and would have been cooked by the sun immediately had she not been able to filter out the heat with her powers. She’s the Fantastic Four’s only chance of getting home alive, and to save her family, she just showed everyone that she’s far more powerful than anyone thought.

The Four Lost in Time

In the chance that the Fantastic Four ever got separated and lost in time, they came up with a plan to save all of them. They were all to go to the Forever Stone, one of the oldest and longest-lasting geological formations in the world, which also remained easily accessible for most of history. They would carve their name and the time they were stuck in on the stone, then place it back where they found it. Inside the stone was a tracker that their suits would lead them to, and a beacon that could call the Time-Sled from a space beyond reality. Unfortunately, this device would only work once, so only the person farthest in the future could rescue everyone. That was Sue, but when she spawned the blazing hellscape that the Earth will eventually become, her tracker didn’t work. She had until her powers failed her to find it, or she died and doomed her family along with her. 

Thankfully, Mister Fantastic is always able to think of something when a plan goes awry. When Sue didn’t immediately appear after he carved his name he deduced that either she died or wasn’t able to find the Forever Stone. Given that the first one couldn’t be true and didn’t offer a good solution, he found a way to leave her a message she would see no matter how far into the future she was. He created artificial diamonds and painstakingly buried them miles into the ground to ensure they wouldn’t move, placing them all over the world, all pointing Sue towards the Forever Stone. Knowing how her husband thinks, Sue flew up into the sky and channeled all of her power. With it, Sue managed to transform all of the Earth’s crust invisible at once. Guided by her husband’s labor of love, Sue is able to get to the Forever Stone and go back in time to save everyone, where they reunite to take down Doom once and for all. Of course, before they can do that, we absolutely have to talk about the insane feat that the Invisible Woman just performed.

Read Next

The 7 Strangest Fantastic Four Variants, Ranked

The Incredible Invisible Woman

When she was first introduced way back in the 1960s, Sue Storm was stated to be the weakest of the hero team. However, that was definitely proven to be wrong in the years following. While her initial position on the team was mostly focused around being support for the others to actually do the fighting, Sue showed us her true might in Fantastic Four #280 when she was transformed into the villainous Malice and decimated the rest of the Fantastic Four, which included She-Hulk at the time. Ever since, Sue has shown on multiple occasions that she is wildly powerful, from holding back a Celestial in Fantastic Four #603 to briefly making an entire planet invisible in Annihilation – Scourge Omega. However, this feat is massive not just because of the scale, but because of the incredible control it must have taken.

Sue turned forty miles of rock invisible at once, which is already incredible in and of itself, but she did so while half-dead from exhaustion and on the verge of having a heatstroke, and specifically spread this across the entire planet while only affecting the crust. Instead of just blanket-covering everything with a barrier to prevent all light, she had to concentrate and force light though her planet-sized barrier so that it showed what was beneath the crust, but not the crust itself. This is downright awesome and incredible to imagine! Ryan North’s entire run on the Fantastic Four books has been food for all the Invisible Woman fans, and once again gave them exactly what they want by showing Sue’s incredible power, control, and perseverance in one go. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves the Fantastic Four, and especially to people who want Sue to get the respect she deserves.

Fantastic Four (2025) #2 is on sale now!

The post Sue Storm Just Showed Off Her True Powers and Our Minds Are Blown appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe owes much of its prestigious reputation to its Avengers movies. Four years after its launch in 2008, the franchise first assembled its trademark group of heroes in The Avengers. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) returned in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which saw Earth’s Mightiest Heroes take on the artificial intelligence threat Ultron (James Spader). 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War brought Thanos (Josh Brolin) to the forefront as the MCU’s first big bad and incorporated all of the world’s most prominent superheroes. Finally, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame concluded the Infinity Saga with one last battle against Thanos and some poignant farewells.

In December 2026, more than seven years since the MCU’s last Avengers movie hit theaters, Avengers: Doomsday will bring new and returning heroes to the big screen. The introduction of Doctor Doom (Downey Jr.) as the MCU’s next Avengers-level villain should pave to the way for 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars and the end of the Multiverse Saga. Before the MCU’s next big movie event commences, it’s a great opportunity to look back and rank all four Avengers films.

4) Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron may be under-appreciated in the larger MCU, but it’s still the weakest Avengers movie. The original squad of heroes battles Ultron and seeks to curb his plan to wipe out humanity, producing some great action sequences and interesting character interactions as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes work as a team for the second time. The debuts of the morally gray twins Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Jonhson) are a major highlight, however the latter was sadly wasted when the film killed him off toward the end. Moreover, Black Widow and Hulk’s clumsily written romance comes across as forced and completely unnecessary.

Ultron isn’t the most memorable villain despite his fascinating origin story. Thus, as a result of the aforementioned missteps, Age of Ultron ends up as only a mediocre Avengers film.

3) Avengers: Endgame

A significant portion of MCU fans would rank Avengers: Endgame as the best Avengers movie, but the widely beloved installment contains more flaws than most believe.

With the world in shambles five years after Thanos erased half of the universe’s life forms with a single snap, the remaining heroes regroup for one last scheme to defeat Thanos and restore mankind. Endgame pulls off some amazing moments, such as the final fight against Thanos, the fallen heroes’ epic return through portals, and Iron Man’s emotional sacrifice, however, the movie stumbles in other areas.

Black Widow’s sacrificial death around the midpoint unfortunately removes her from the Endgame‘s biggest and best scenes, rendering the iconic character nearly forgotten by the end. Additionally, Endgame‘s puzzling underuse of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) after setting her up as an important piece of the finale is a disappointment. The triumphs of Endgame aren’t quite enough to diminish its blunders, but the film is still a terrific viewing experience.

Read Next

Will Avengers: Doomsday Reunite the Original Avengers Stars?

2) The Avengers

Over a decade later, The Avengers has wonderfully stood the test of time.

After years of buildup, the team assembles on screen while Loki (Tom Hiddleston) tries to take over the world using the Tesseract. With a compelling group of heroes and an exquisite villain, The Avengers delivers an excellent superhero story. There’s a palpable thrill in the air when the Avengers fight together on the streets of New York City, and their banter throughout that works well to flesh out their personalities and group dynamic. Black Widow and Hawkeye’s friendship, Iron Man’s heroics, and Loki’s trickery are standout qualities that separate The Avengers from Age of Ultron and Endgame. The Avengers remains a legendary comic book film thanks to its exhilarating action, high stakes, and strong foundation for ensuing MCU installments.

1) Avengers: Infinity War

No Avengers movie to date has managed to surpass the greatness of Avengers: Infinity War. With giant expectations to fulfill, the MCU delivered a spectacular high-stakes narrative with a gut-punch of an ending.

When Thanos emerges to collect the remainder of the Infinity Stones and snap half of humanity out of existence, the Avengers take heavy blows as they scramble to combat this immense threat. Infinity War truly feels like the monumental MCU it was meant to be, because it involves all of the saga’s heroes — from the original six Avengers to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and more. Thanos’ victory in the final act shocked audiences, and it remains arguably the most memorable ending of any superhero film.

Without a glaring flaw to cheapen its tense atmosphere, action-packed sequences, and captivating convergence of MCU characters, Infinity War topples all other Avengers movies.

Which Avengers movie is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

The post Every Avengers Movie, Ranked Worst to Best appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Laura Kinney was once trained as the assassin X-23, but now she’s the Wolverine, and her mission is to protect mutantkind above all else. She’s been taking that mission seriously, working on her own and trying to operate in the shadows as much as someone wearing bright yellow can, but in doing that she’s been away from one of the greatest side characters in all of comics; her little sister Gabby. The loveable little clone was missing from the first several issues of Laura’s new run, and has been missing from an actual role in Marvel for quite some time now. But as of Laura Kinney Wolverine #9, the drought is over, and Gabby is back! Unfortunately, she’s back with a pretty terrible problem.

Gabby Is Melting?

The end of the last issue saw Laura going back to her apartment to find Gabby sitting on the front porch, the skin on her face half melted off her face. After Laura and Gabby helped Xarus, the son of Dracula, defend the world from the rampant vampire problem that popped up during the “Blood Hunt” event, Gabby decided to hang around the half-vampire and take down some more supernatural threats. The team took their undead-butt-kicking specialty to the Ossuary in Paris, where they battled the witch Strega and her legion of demon-vampire drones. To Strega, the transformed tourists were like her children, and the insult of Gabby trying to take them was unforgivable. Strega and her ilk vanished, but not before leaving a curse on Gabby, which led to the whole skin rolling off her face business. Worse yet, the curse was spreading even as her healing factor fought it off, taking her arms next.

Laura, for her part, blew up at Xarus for getting her little sister into this mess, and mentally declared that Gabby only needed her to look after her. She was openly hostile to the son of Dracula, but Gabby insisted that he only wanted to help her and that he wasn’t to blame. Laura begrudgingly accepted this, and declared that she knew who could help cleanse Gabby of whatever this was. Leaving the adorable Jonathan the wolverine (the animal) to guard their home, the trio took off for the Sanctum Sanctorum to talk to Clea Strange. The former Sorceress Supreme brought the Kinney sisters inside, but said that the Sanctum would not allow Xarus to cross its boundary. Once within the halls of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Clea cast a spell to purge the curse from Gabby, but warned her that the dark magic that infected her could easily hold some kind of complication. That complication was immediately revealed as Gabby coughed up gunk that transformed into more demon-vampires and Strega herself. 

Read Next

10 Best Wolverine Stories of the ‘20s

Trouble in the Sanctum Sanctorum

Clea called out that Gabby’s curse must have been Strega using her as a host, which let her and her pawns pass through the protective barriers. Strega and her goons attacked, but their enemies were two Wolverine clones and a Sorcerer Supreme, which is the last group I’d ever want to be on the bad side of. They clawed apart Strega’s forces, but the old witch herself was only using them as a distraction. She found the mysterious artifact known as the Sphere of Shooyen, which unleashed magical strands that restrained the heroes, growing tighter the more they struggled. Strega then declared that for the crime of trying to take her children away, she would take Gabby to feed her children with her fast-replenishing blood. Hearing the commotion and deciding to heck with vampire rules, Xarus burst into the room, but not quickly enough to stop Strega from disappearing with Gabby in tow.

Just like that, Gabby is taken away from us once again, possibly permanently. This issue was a lot of fun, any issue with Gabby and Jonathan is, but it definitely felt a tad melodramatic at times, especially with how angry Laura got when thinking of Xarus taking care of her sister. And I am a little confused how Xarus got into the Sanctum Sactorum, especially when the issue of him not being able to enter a building without the resident letting him in was brought up, but it was still fun overall. I’m definitely going to be picking up the next one to see how they rescue Gabby.

Laura Kinney Wolverine #9 is on sale now!

The post Wolverine Reintroduces a Fan Favorite Mutant appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The MCU has found a solid amount of success with its past two movies. While the box office hasn’t been as satisfying as the studio hoped for, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps received great reviews from critics and audiences. Movies like The Fantastic Four: First Steps show that Marvel is going in the right direction with how they do introduction movies, but it also displays the issue with the last couple of phases of Marvel. Every year, the MCU has introduced a slew of new characters that are meant to be utilized throughout the Multiverse Saga, but Marvel has failed to make them involved in the connected universe

While projects like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Ms. Marvel have been great introductions to new characters, Marvel needs to slow down on introducing characters and focus on building a universe again. There are so many great characters and actors in the MCU’s franchise, and to see so many of them underutilized is disheartening.

Marvel Needs to Include More Post-Endgame Characters in Their Projects

2021 saw an incredible number of MCU projects released. Disney+ released five MCU TV shows, including one animated project, in the span of a year, while there were four MCU movies released in the span of six months. TV shows like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have since seen characters carry over into different projects, but everything else has yet to have a continued story. Despite Loki being one of the highest-rated MCU television shows, almost none of the characters have carried over to different projects. The only character from that show that has appeared in another project is Kang, which we now know is a character we will likely never see again. While the TVA played a major role in Deadpool and Wolverine, none of the main cast has appeared in anything outside of a post-credit scene in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Loki isn’t the only project that has yet to see new characters implemented in other MCU projects. Despite being released over three years ago, Moon Knight has had no characters appear in anything outside of its show. With the talented Oscar Isaac at the forefront, it’s insane that Marvel hasn’t even attempted to include him in anything. The same goes for the Eternals. Even though they have a stacked cast of A-listers, including Angelina Jolie and now Harry Styles, the most that audiences have seen from Eternals is the giant celestial that grew from the ground at the end of the movie, and even that took four years to bring up. With the talented ensemble they have hired for their projects, it’s sad to see them underutilized.

The post-credit scenes of the recent set of Marvel projects are arguably the worst offenders in introducing characters and doing nothing with them for years. Movies like Thor: Love and Thunder teased the introduction of Clea and Hercules over three years ago, yet nothing has been seen of them since. In prior post-credit scenes, whatever is introduced usually appears in the next couple of movies, with examples including the Maximoff twins at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man. The MCU has since ended this trope, which has made the universe extremely overstuffed and convoluted, and something needs to change.

Read Next

Avengers: Doomsday – Every MCU Multiverse Saga Project You Have to Watch to Prepare

What Can Marvel Do to Fix Their Issues?

Given their handling of character introductions, it is clear they need to stop introducing new ones altogether. Instead, they should take the Thunderbolts* route, which is to take a group of minor supporting characters they’ve introduced in past projects and dedicate a project to exploring their traits and figuring out how they fit into the universe. Thunderbolts* was not only able to make minor supporting characters feel like A-listers, but they also successfully managed to rebuild the MCU by teasing what the future looks like. The Marvels is another example of the route they should take. Although the film didn’t have as strong a script as it should have, bringing together characters who were introduced in other projects was a great idea for a movie. Taking this route with their projects would be the perfect way to tie up loose ends and start making the universe feel cohesive again.

Too many recent MCU projects, ranging from spin-offs like Echo to Thor sequels, have stood too much on their own, and Marvel needs to shift away from that and start developing a fleshed-out universe again. While individual projects can be good, Marvel has become overly focused on them in recent years, and with Avengers: Doomsday coming out in a little over a year, it is time for the spin-offs, side projects, and new character introductions to stop in favor of building up to their next big event.

With an Avengers movie in close proximity, it is insane that Marvel is still continuing to push out projects that are looking to have no implications on the MCU timeline. Projects like Vision Quest and Wonder Man sound interesting at face value, as they will see the return of past MCU villains, but these should not be Marvel’s focus right now. Introducing new characters that will have no ramifications to the MCU when it is this close to a big event film is not a smart move on Marvel’s part, and if Marvel doesn’t do something about it, then their universe will fall apart.

What do you think? Comment below if you like the MCU’s current trajectory or if there’s something they need to change.

The post Marvel Needs To Stop Introducing New Characters appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel Studios already had the perfect storyline for its struggling Blade movie, according to this wild new theory that connects the Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot to 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed the development of a Blade reboot back in 2019, when Academy Award-winner Mahershala Ali was announced to be the MCU’s vampire hunter, Eric Brooks. Since then, however, Marvel has struggled to crack the right formula for the MCU’s much-anticipated Blade reboot, even though the perfect story might have already been set up seven years ago.

A fantastic fan theory shared on Instagram suggests that the MCU’s Blade movie could have kicked off in the wake of Thanos’ snap with the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War. Josh Brolin’s Mad Titan acquired the six Infinity Stones in 2018 and used them to wipe out half the living population of the universe, thrusting everyone into five years of turmoil, before the Avengers reversed this event. It’s important to distinguish that Thanos wiped out half of everything alive, as this wouldn’t have impacted the MCU’s vampires – who are considered to be the undead.

Vampires are still a very new addition to the MCU, so we’re still not entirely clear on the exact lore surrounding these creatures. We’ve heard Mahershala Ali’s voice as Blade in Eternals’ post-credits scene, and we met Saracen (Terrence Clowe) as a member of Emil Blonsky’s (Tim Roth) wellness retreat in 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but they’ve had little development. Even so, it’s common knowledge that vampires aren’t technically alive, which gives them the illusion of immortality, and means they may have been immune to Thanos’ snap, which would have effectively doubled the vampire-to-human ratio after Infinity War.

Read Next

We Need a New Blade Ongoing Series While We Wait for the MCU

This means that, had Blade released in the wake of Avengers: Infinity War and the game-changing snap, the movie could have seen Mahershala Ali’s Daywalker battling an influx of vampires who survived Thanos. This would have been a brilliant story, not least because it could have connected Blade’s never-ending battle to a major MCU event, but could have also better explored the Blip. Marvel Studios has routinely shied away from exploring life during the five-year-long Blip, despite this being a lengthy period rich with fertile storytelling opportunities, but Blade could have solved this problem.

Blade was removed from the MCU’s upcoming release schedule in October 2024, following a long period of turmoil that saw two different directors and several different writers pass through the project. Since last year, Marvel has been quietly continuing development on its Blade reboot, and is apparently now heading in a good direction with the movie, but we’re yet to hear any solid updates. It would be fantastic to see Blade explore the MCU’s Blip, but it’s more likely we’ll be getting a present-day story that integrates Mahershala Ali into the modern MCU.

What story do you want to see explored in the MCU’s Blade reboot? Let us know in the comments!

The post Marvel Already Set Up the Perfect Blade Storyline 7 Years Ago According to This Shocking MCU Theory appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Every superhero has to come up with a code when they take to the streets for the first time. What works for some characters might not work for others, which is why there is so much arguing in comic book media. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is rife with superhero duos that love to bicker, such as Captain America and Iron Man, who get under each other’s skin so much that they tear the Avengers apart to avoid giving any ground in the debate over the Sokovia Accords. Spider-Man finds himself in the middle of the conflict in Captain America: Civil War, and while he takes Tony Stark’s side, it’s clear that he would love it if everyone stopped fighting and made up.

The MCU’s Peter Parker always sees the good in people, to the point that it’s a character flaw. Being trustworthy makes him overlook all the red flags surrounding Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which puts the entire world in danger. The next time Peter has a chance to let a sketchy character in, he does it, and it costs him dearly. Fortunately, there’s someone in his corner who stops him from going too far. It’s just a shame that Peter’s guardian angel steals the thunder from the real hero.

Doing the Right Thing Tears Spider-Man Apart in No Way Home

Peter is stuck between a rock and a hard place when No Way Home kicks off. His identity is public knowledge, and the media circus following him around is hurting his friends and family. While it’s a long shot at best, Peter reaches out to Doctor Strange, who offers to cook up a spell that will make people forget Spider-Man. Everything’s going swimmingly until Peter tries to make modifications to the incantation that screws the whole thing up and unleashes villains from the multiverse onto Earth-616. After capturing all the bad guys, Peter learns that they’re all marked for death, which doesn’t sit right with him. Ned Leeds and MJ agree to help their friend find cures for the doomed villains, so they waste no time getting to work.

Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, throws a wrench in the plan, though, rallying his fellow villains to seize their second chance and conquer the world. During the chaos, Green Goblin calls his glider, hitting Aunt May and killing her. A devastated Peter goes off on his own to wrestle with his mistakes, but two Spider-Man variants, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, don’t let their grieving counterpart sulk for too long. The three heroes formulate a plan to cure everyone and push forward. It looks like they’re really going to pull it off until Green Goblin arrives and taunts Tom Holland’s Peter. Giving into his rage, Spider-Man attempts to kill his greatest villain, but he can’t get the job done because Maguire’s hero stops him in his tracks, which isn’t surprising. After all, another Sam Raimi character taught him an important lesson about life being sacred.

Read Next

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Villain Takes Inspiration from Samurai (What Does That Mean?)

Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Gives Into His Rage

The only Spider-Man to get a third movie outside of Holland’s is Maguire’s, who discovers that his uncle’s real killer is still out there in Spider-Man 3. Flint Marko picks a bad time to resurface because Spider-Man has the symbiote on his side, making him angrier and stronger. When Peter finally catches up to Sandman, he doesn’t hold back, dousing the villain with water, seemingly killing him. Peter’s next move is to deliver the news to Aunt May, who he believes will be happy to hear that Spider-Man killed the man responsible for her husband’s murder. However, May is disappointed, explaining that nobody, not even Spider-Man, should decide whether someone lives or dies.

It takes some time for that lesson to sink in for Peter, but he comes to regret his choices and even teams up with Marko when Venom becomes a problem for both of them. Years later, Peters gets to show off what he’s learned by stopping his variant from breaking his code. Whether Earth-616’s Peter knows it or not, he made more than one version of his aunt proud by putting down the glider and making a different choice.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is streaming on Disney+.

Are you glad that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man stopped Tom Holland’s hero from killing Green Goblin? How do you feel about Aunt May’s lesson coming back around? Let us know in the comments below!

The post A Familiar Face Stopped the MCU’s Spider-Man From Crossing the Line (But They Don’t Deserve the Credit) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The next big villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have met their match from a burgeoning magical user. The MCU has been in a bit of flux after it decided to pivot away from Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, but it found a more than suitable replacement in Robert Downey Jr. The former Iron Man actor is trading in his red and gold armor for the green robes and armor of Doctor Doom. The villain will be the antagonist in the next two Avengers films — Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — and Doom is currently the ruler of the entire world in Marvel’s One World Under Doom. A tie-in to the event puts a new magic user in Doctor Doom’s crosshairs, and it’s safe to say that his interest is now piqued.

WARNING: Spoilers for G.O.D.S.: One World Doom #1 below.

G.O.D.S.: One World Doom #1 is by Ryan North, Francesco Mortarino, Raul Angulo, and VC’s Travis Lanham. It stars Wyn, the avatar for The-Powers-That-Be, and his apprentice Mia DiMaria. They’re characters from Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti’s G.O.D.S. The-Powers-That-Be hold watch over magic, while their opposites, The-Natural-Order-of-Things, are focused on science. What you need to know about G.O.D.S. is that Mia was originally recruited to The-Natural-Order-of-Things by Wyn’s former wife, Aiko. This meant Mia would never harness her magic potential. However, Aiko sacrificed her eyesight to unchain Mia, allowing Mia to become Wyn’s protege.

You might wonder what all this has to do with Doctor Doom. Well, since Mia DiMaria walks between the worlds of magic and science, that puts her on a path very similar to the one walked by Doctor Doom.

Doctor Doom May Have Found a New Magical Apprentice

As part of Doctor Doom’s duties as Sorcerer Supreme, he’s in charge of safekeeping the sun from hellfire-loving demons. Sigils meant to keep the demons away are starting to deteriorate, meaning the sun could die. Wyn, Mia, and Doctor Doom have to travel to the sun’s core to repair the sigils. While there, Doom requests that Mia cast alongside him and even teaches her some hand formations.

Read Next

Doctor Doom and Mister Fantastic Settle Their Feud in the Strangest Way Possible

Mia is not confident in her magical abilities, which Doom points out. He says that her magic is stunted, and when Mia tries to explain that it’s due to her magic being clipped, Doom won’t hear any of the excuses. Doctor Doom is already acting like a far superior mentor to Mia than Wyn ever has. Wyn can’t even be bothered to remember Mia’s name, only referring to her as “Apprentice.” Doom tells Mia that she has to have faith in her spellcasting. Magic will only work if the caster believes.

Doctor Doom commands Wyn and Mia to keep the demons at bay while he finishes repairs on the remaining sigils. Doom already shows trust in Mia, and she repays that trust by fighting as if her life depends on it. The demons cast one last spell before they’re vanquished, crippling the protective balloon keeping the raging fire of the sun from burning them alive. Luckily, Doom built a device that will keep them alive for three minutes. Wyn and Doom use some of that time to argue, with Doom deciding to leave the immortal Wyn to burn alive while he teleports himself and Mia back to his castle.

Mia wants Doctor Doom to save Wyn, but all Doom wants in return is for Mia to ask him. She considers it but declines. Mia’s reason is that she doesn’t want to owe a favor to Doctor Doom. If you think about it, that choice by Mia makes a lot of sense. Doom would have a level of power and control over Mia if she were to ever owe him a favor. Instead, Mia uses her own magic to save Wyn. They then decide that if they’re going to work together, it’s going to be as partners, and not as mentor/apprentice.

While we don’t know how One World Under Doom is going to end, we do know that the fallout will involve a search for a new Sorcerer Supreme to replace Doctor Doom. Some of the early candidates are Storm, Gambit, Scarlet Witch, Nico Minoru, Shang-Chi, Captain Marvel, Agatha Harkness, Valeria Richards, Magik, and the Goblin Queen Madelyne Pryor. But you never know… Mia DiMaria may toss her name in as well.

The post An MCU Villain Just Met their Magical Match appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Despite only having three solo movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man has gone up against a good number of his notable villains. Vulture and Mysterio are the first up to bat in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: No Way Home, respectively, giving the titular hero trouble as he tries to navigate life as a high school student and a superhero. The MCU kicks things up a notch, though, in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which features not one but five bad guys, who all come from previous Spider-Man franchises. It takes the help of two Peter Parker variants to take them down, but Earth-616’s Wall-Crawler can’t bet on having friends around all the time.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is going to send Peter out on his own, and he’s going to run into two other MCU heroes, the Hulk and the Punisher, who may not get along with him at first. However, despite the in-fighting, the movie isn’t leaving the villain slot empty, as there’s at least one major bad guy set to appear. On paper, they seem like small potatoes, but in reality, they could be the MCU’s version of Venom and make it so Spider-Man never gets the chance to wear the symbiote suit.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is Finally Going to Pay Off Homecoming‘s Mid-Credits Scene

Peter realizes he’s in over his head while fighting the Vulture, who is selling alien technology to criminals all over New York. The risks don’t deter the hero from doing the right thing, though, so he boards the Staten Island Ferry, where a big buy is about to go down. The Vulture is there, and Spider-Man doesn’t hesitate to confront the villain. Unfortunately, things get out of hand, and the boat ends up getting severely damaged. While all the passengers are safe, they only make it out unscathed because Iron Man shows up to help. Tony Stark scolds Peter for biting off more than he can chew, but one good thing did come of the young man’s interference.

Mac Gargan, a dangerous criminal, is on the ferry, and the FBI apprehends him during the incident. Once Vulture goes down himself, he sees Gargan in prison during Homecoming‘s mid-credits scene. They discuss Spider-Man’s identity, and while Vulture doesn’t give it up, it’s clear that Gargan holds a grudge and will find a way to get back at the hero. Well, it’s taken a few years, but Gargan is about to get his chance in Brand New Day. The only problem is that the next MCU Spider-Man movie features some heavy hitters, and it’s going to take more than a scorpion costume to allow Gargan to hold his own.

Read Next

Marvel Just Made One of the Best Phase 3 Villains More Important Than Ever

Mac Gargan May Be Skipping His Scorpion Phase in the MCU

To celebrate his MCU return, actor Michael Mando posted a picture on social media of his character, Gargan, from the comics, wearing his iconic green Scorpion costume. The prevailing theory is that the Homecoming villain will return to exact his revenge on Spider-Man and get in the way of the hero’s fight with the Hulk. However, the second part of Mando’s image potentially rules out that idea, as it shows off Gargan’s transformation into Venom. In the comics, Gargan bonds with the symbiote after learning Spider-Man’s real identity and uses his new abilities to terrorize the heroes. He stays Venom long enough to join the Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers, being one of Norman Osborn’s most dangerous enforcers.

Since Sony’s franchise already made several movies about Eddie Brock, the original Venom, the MCU could be looking to go in a different direction. By giving Gargan the symbiote, he wouldn’t have any problem fighting both Spider-Man and the Hulk and pulling off whatever plan he’s cooking up in Brand New Day. Introducing Venom right now may mean that Peter never gets to wear the symbiote suit, but that’s not the worst thing, as that story has already happened on the big screen. The MCU is working hard to keep things fresh, focusing on new heroes and villains. An easy way to keep that train moving is by giving one of Spider-Man’s main rivals an unfamiliar face.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026.

Do you think Mac Gargan will turn into Venom in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Would you be upset if Peter Parker doesn’t wear the symbiote suit in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!

The post The MCU Might Be Introducing a New Version of Venom (& Skipping the Symbiote Saga Entirely) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The ’90s is Marvel‘s most confusing decade. On the one hand, the publisher put out books like X-Men (Vol. 2) #1, X-Force #1, and Spider-Man #1, massive sellers that changed the course of comic history and cemented the dominance of the greatest artists in comics. On the other hand, the company went bankrupt. The ’90s started with great artists being the focus and ended with great writers being the focus. The highs and lows of Marvel in the ’90s are dizzying. Nowadays, the ’90s are looked upon with nostalgia, but very few people are arguing that it was as good decade for Marvel. The company made a lot of mistakes, and going back to read some of those books can be a chore. However, there were some amazing books, even during the darkest days of mid ’90s Marvel, and the best written book is an extremely surprising one — Wolverine, which was under the pen of Larry Hama.

Wolverine has always been popular, but in the ’90s, Hama’s Wolverine was a top ten selling book and his writing was a huge reason. Hama is one of those writers who you probably haven’t heard of, but he had a much bigger impact on pop culture than you can imagine. Hama is a brilliant writer, and his tenure made Wolverine into the ultimate Marvel hero. However, Hama didn’t just give readers the best ’90s Wolverine stories. He helped create one of the most beloved pop cultural institutions of the ’80s — G.I. Joe.

Larry Hama’s Work on Wolverine and G.I. Joe Changed Pop Culture Forever

Larry Hama is something of a polymath. He’s a writer, an artist, and a musician. He fought in the Vietnam War and studied multiple martial arts. Hama sold his first comic work at 16 to Castle of Frankenstein, a horror magazine, and joined the US Army, fighting in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971. He moved to New York after his discharge, and joined legendary artist Wally Wood’s studio, assisting Wood on Sally Forth and Cannon, while also working in the underground comix scene of the day. He joined Neal Adams’s Continuity Studio, and had his first known work of his own on DC’s Weird World #2. He replaced Gil Kane on the Iron Fist stories in Marvel Premiere, and then worked as an editor at DC in the late’70s. In 1980, he became an editor at Marvel, and eventually pitched a new series for Nick Fury that was called Fury Force. When Hasbro licensed G.I. Joe to Marvel, Hama was given the job by Jim Shooter, modifying Fury Force, and creating the characters that would define a generation of boy’s toys. If you have a favorite G.I. Joe character, there’s a good chance that Hama created them. He even wrote the file cards on the back of each figure. Hama used his experience in Vietnam to create a more realistic type of military comic, while still following the rules of the Comics Code Authority. Eventually, he would create The ‘Nam, a war book about Vietnam that I implore you to find.

Read Next

One of the Best G.I. Joe Comics Returns After More Than 40 Years

Hama wrote nearly every Marvel issue of G.I. Joe, his stories sometimes getting adapted for the cartoon. The greatest strength of Hama’s writing, beyond the fantastic action that used his background as an artist, soldier, and martial artist, was the poetic way he wrote everything. When you got a Hama character, you were getting something special from a man who understood the dangers of war and the joys of life. Hama’s Wolverine used this approach to perfection, redefining Wolverine as the poet ronin that we know and love today. Hama’s sheer creativity has rarely been matched, and I would honestly say that Hama was the best Marvel writer of the ’90s. He was as at home writing realistic war stories like The ‘Nam as he was the most fantastic ones in G.I. Joe, and his Wolverine was spectacular, going in crazy directions at times, and truly making Wolverine into a special character. Hama knew how to work with artists, and understood page real estate. His books had just the right amount of exposition, getting you into the character’s head, and his prose was fantastic. He let his artists work, bringing the stories to life brilliantly. Chris Claremont created the voice of Wolverine, but Hama perfected it, and was able to push the character in new directions. He was immortalized by Hasbro, as the 1987 figure Tunnel Rat’s sculpt was based on him (Hama was an explosive ordnance specialist, just like Tunnel Rat). Hama gave a whole generation of boys their greatest heroes, and did it with a style and skill that no one at Marvel was matching.

Larry Hama Is a Treasure

There’s really nothing out there like a Larry Hama comic. His G.I. Joe work should be enshrined, and if you’re enjoying the current run of G.I. Joe in the Energon universe comics, you have Hama to thank — every G.I. Joe writer after him has been influenced by his work. If you love Wolverine, Hama is the man who took him through his most popular years; your favorite Wolverine writer was influenced by his work (although once you read his work, he’ll be your favorite). Hama is nearly 80, but he’s still going to cons, and meeting his fans. Hama is a true renaissance man, and I recommend basically anything by the man. His G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is being released in omnibus editions by Image Comics. The ‘Nam is unfortunately out of print, but there are issues out there to find. He wrote Wolverine (Vol. 2) #31-43, #45-57, #60-109, and #111-118, as well as the -1 issue and Wolverine Annual 1995, and you can find omnibuses of his work; you should.

Larry Hama worked at Marvel during some of its best years and its worst years, his work never anything short of spectacular. He was so much more important to pop culture than any of us knew, his boundless imagination influenced by a life unlike any other. Larry Hama is a treasure and he deserves to be talked about as not just the best Wolverine writer, not just the man who created the best of G.I. Joe, but one of the greatest creators to ever work in comics.

What do you think about Larry Hama’s work? Sound off in the comments below.

The post This 90s Marvel’s Best Writer Is More Important to Pop Culture Than You Can Imagine appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel Studios’ latest team of heroes is set to make their streaming debut on Disney+ later this month. To celebrate the upcoming addition of Thunderbolts* to the platform, Disney+ unveiled a brand-new poster featuring the group of outcasts. Unfortunately, though, the poster was quickly met with fury online. Not only does the poster leave out a character, albeit one with limited screen time, but it also strips the characters of their weapons. It’s an odd choice, especially as both were present on the original marketing items for the movie. Fans were quick to call out the seemingly unnecessary changes, curious as to why Disney edited the promotional image to tease its upcoming release on Disney+.

The edited poster, which can be seen below, features a plethora of changes. The biggest, of course, is the removal of Taskmaster/Antonia Dreykov. Now, ahead of the film, Taskmaster was heavily included in the movie’s marketing, only to have a minor (and controversial) role in the film. The decision to keep Taskmaster in the marketing was to avoid spoiling the movie for fans, so it’s strange that Disney+ opted to move her completely from marketing with many having yet to see the film. Then, of course, there’s the removal of weapons from Yelena and Bucky. In the original poster, both can be seen sporting guns, but in the new poster, their hands are now empty, but still in the same positions, as if they are holding onto an imaginary item.

Read Next

Thunderbolts* Changes How We Think of Superheroes, and That’s What the MCU Needs

One could argue that the change was made to be more family friendly. However, Disney+ got rid of its family friendly goal long ago, having since added the Deadpool titles to its platform, as well as the original Defenders series from Netflix that include Daredevil and Punisher. Weapons, blood, and profanity are no longer off the table for the streaming service. So, why the need to tidy up the marketing for Thunderbolts*? It’s even more strange considering the film was well-received by critics, and rather than changing the marketing to be “family friendly,” one would think the marketing would instead focus on critics’ quotes, as Thunderbolts* has generally been called one of Marvel Studios’ best films.

There’s one change, however, that, while noticeable, isn’t exactly a huge deal. In the original poster, the Thunderbolts can be seen on top of what appears to be a background from a battle scene. That is no longer the case, though, as the new poster simply puts the group against a plain yellow background. This is the only change that isn’t an issue, as yellow has been the primary marketing color for the film and can even be seen in its upcoming home release marketing. Is it odd? Perhaps. But it is also eye-catching, while the original background could have been viewed as distracting. Unfortunately, though, the yellow also allows for folks to notice the absurdity of Bucky’s hand pose all the more without his weapon.

Whether you like the new marketing for Thunderbolts* or not, the film is finally set to hit Disney+ on Wednesday, August 27th. If you haven’t already had a chance to watch one of Marvel Studios’ best features in recent years, make sure to check out Thunderbolts* from the comfort of your home later this month.

The post MCU Fans Furious After Controversial Change to Thunderbolts* on Disney+ appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Once upon a time in the mighty Marvel Comics universe, the origin story was the foundation from which all other narratives flowed. These were more than just tales of a hero’s beginnings. While central to a character’s story — defining their motivations and values — origin stories were also key to a hero’s appeal. They showed how figures as strong and brave as the Hulk or Captain America were, at their core, not so different from us. Moreover, origin stories functioned like primary documents, helping to explain the many diverse yet interconnected parts of the Marvel universe. In short, origin stories held a profoundly important role in the history of Marvel Comics storytelling.

Then came the multiverse — and with it, the possibility for characters to have multiple origin stories, each revealing a variety of personas, some even in direct conflict with one another. The Marvel Comics multiverse is now teeming with clones, resurrections, and alternate-reality heroes. This development has made even the simplest origin story fraught with complexity and confusion. Yet, in a world where the histories of many of Marvel’s most popular characters — like Kang the Conqueror and the Scarlet Witch — have become so convoluted they border on the ridiculous, one character’s origin and history stand above the rest.

Sentry – a Villain Inside a Hero, Wrapped in an Enigma

At first glance, Robert Reynolds’ Sentry may not strike readers as a character with a confusing history. His origin seems straightforward, and his progression from that point appears similar to many other heroes. But as readers encountered Sentry more and more throughout the Marvel Comics universe, his history became increasingly difficult to track. It became harder to understand who he was, where he came from, or even if he ever existed at all. Unlike the bewildering stories of other Marvel heroes, however, the confusion surrounding Sentry was experienced by in-story characters, real-life readers and fans, and – incredibly – by Sentry himself.

Read Next

Marvel Reveals Its New Sentry

A god-like being with the power of one million exploding suns, Sentry is not only one of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, but also — through his dark alter ego, the Void — one of its most deadly villains. If that isn’t confusing enough, there’s also the fact that although he appears to be a relatively new character, he’s supposedly been around for decades, taking part in — or even single-handedly causing — some of the most legendary events in Marvel history. He was even a founding member of the original Avengers team.

And yet, despite all of this, no one — from Reed Richards to Professor Xavier to you, the reader — had ever heard his name before his official debut in 2000. Or maybe, we’ve all simply forgotten one of Marvel’s greatest champions? Strangely enough, Sentry’s history may — or may not — have actually happened. And that is exactly what makes his story so uniquely confusing.

The Sentry Takes Steps To Save Humanity

Created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, and debuting in their limited series The Sentry (2000), the story begins when an older, seemingly ordinary Robert Reynolds suddenly recalls his past as a young college student. He remembers discovering his professor’s secret formula and drinking it. As a result, he is imbued with incredible, limitless powers, which he immediately uses to fight evil as the Sentry—the Golden Guardian of Good. During that time, he stood among Earth’s mightiest heroes and was well known within the superhero community. But then, inexplicably, he vanished — and with him, all memory of his existence disappeared as well.

As the Sentry and others — especially the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards — slowly begin to recall the hero, the central question becomes why he was forgotten in the first place. It is soon revealed that the Sentry had a dark alter ego, called the Void, who was a powerful threat, as dangerous as the Sentry was heroic. To protect humanity from the Void, the Sentry used his powers to erase himself and his alter ego from his own memory and the memories of everyone in the Marvel Universe.

Now, upon his reawakening, the Sentry realizes that the world once again faces the same threat. He makes the difficult decision to erase himself from existence once more. In a unique narrative twist, he transfers his memories and story to the series’ actual author, Paul Jenkins. Jenkins then puts those memories to pen and paper, which is why the Marvel-loving public can experience his tale.

Will the Real Sentry Please Stand up?

This is where Sentry’s history begins to unravel. To support his backstory, Marvel created a series of Sentry comics designed to mimic the style and tone of the Golden Age. These stories depicted the Sentry fighting for truth, justice, and — as was typical of the era — the American Way. However, in the present day, the effects of the second memory wipe start to fade. The mental barriers the Sentry imposed on Bob Reynolds — the identity he adopted after the second wipe — begin to crumble. Soon, his memories return, along with those of the heroes who once fought alongside him.

His history then truly goes off the rails. With the Sentry back in action —so to speak— the original threat of the Void returns as well. But to allow the Sentry to remain active without resorting to another memory wipe, the issue of the Void had to be addressed. Over the years, different writers have offered varying origins for the Void, ranging from a cerebral virus, to a psychological illness, to a cosmic force. Those same creators have also proposed conflicting solutions, including psychological therapy and metaphysical separation. However, these explanations and approaches have never been fully reconciled into a single, cohesive canon.

This all results in a character with a fundamentally confusing history — a history deliberately muddled by the creators themselves, seemingly designed to low-key gaslight the fan base. The creators’ intent works: unless you’re a die-hard Sentry fan, how can you be sure which parts of his backstory are real, illusory, or outright fabricated? Even his dark side remains ambiguous. The Sentry’s history is essentially a patchwork of retcons and reinterpretations, where the truth of who he is — and what the Void represents — depends entirely on which story you’re reading.

The post This Character Has the Most Confusing History in Marvel Comics (and It’s Not Who You Think) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Ever since Robert Downey Jr. was confirmed to be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom, we’ve wondered how he’ll be connected to Tony Stark’s Iron Man – a new theory may provide the perfect explanation. Downey Jr. previously portrayed the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark between 2008’s Iron Man and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. After a hiatus and off the back of an Oscar win for Oppenheimer, he has now returned to the MCU, as he made an uncredited cameo in the mid-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Doctor Doom.

It’s unclear how Marvel Studios will explain why Victor Von Doom looks just like Tony Stark when the supervillain returns in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday. A new theory posed on Reddit, however, could provide an answer, while also reinventing the origin of Doctor Doom’s iconic scarred physique from Marvel Comics. The theory suggests that Doctor Doom could be a Tony Stark variant from an alternate reality who became scarred when he used the Infinity Stones to obliterate Thanos and his armies in Endgame, but didn’t succumb to these wounds.

In Marvel Comics, Victor Von Doom scars have a dark origin story that connects directly to his long-standing rivalry with Reed Richards’ Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. The “Origin of Doctor Doom!” story in 1964’s Fantastic Four Annual #2 explained this backstory, and revealed that Doom met Richards when attending State University in America, where Doom works on developing a device that would allow him to contact his deceased mother, while Richards warns him that his calculations are off. Doom ignores these warnings and goes ahead anyway, but the device explodes and damages his physique beyond recognition.

Read Next

Why Doctor Doom Wants Franklin Richards Explained in Game-Changing MCU Theory

This spurs Doctor Doom to permanently sport his trademark metal mask and thick, green cloak, which Robert Downey Jr. was seen sporting at the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The appearance of the mask in First Steps seemingly confirmed that Doom has his scars in the MCU, too, suggesting his feud with Mister Fantastic started the same way on Earth 828. However, the theory suggests that Doom may have got his scars by saving the universe from the Mad Titan instead of simply trying to contact his deceased mother, which could drastically change Doom’s role in the MCU.

This new theory hints at Doctor Doom having more heroic intentions in the live-action MCU, which could easily lead to him creating Battleworld and save many characters after incursions ravage the multiverse. This storyline is expected to unfold in Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which will put Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom front-and-center, and are expected to answer exactly why he looks like Tony Stark. Secret Wars will conclude the Multiverse Saga and establish a new singular timeline for the MCU, but Doctor Doom will likely have a major role in the franchise for many years to come.

Do you think Doctor Doom will be a Tony Stark variant in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars? Let us know in the comments!

The post Shocking Endgame Theory Reinvents Doctor Doom’s Iconic Look for Avengers: Doomsday appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Hulk is widely considered one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful characters, if not one of the strongest, regardless of comic book lines. He is someone who can realistically beat any hero or villain, irrespective of their power level, and he has plenty of ways to get stronger as the fights go on. This is also a case where his powers change as time goes on, although not quite as drastically as Superman’s powers have changed over his existence in comics. Hulk has been shown to live to the end of the Earth, and his powers are a mix of the gamma radiation and his alter ego, as well as his high intellect.

With Hulk remaining one of Marvel Comics’ greatest heroes, here is a look at how his powers make him almost unbeatable in any given fight.

7) Super Genius Intellect

While it doesn’t look like a powerful ability on the surface, Bruce Banner’s intelligence is one of Hulk’s most important abilities, but only in cases where Bruce has control of the Green Goliath. This is because Bruce is a super-genius, so smart that any known intelligence test can’t measure his IQ. Even Tony Stark calls Banner the most brilliant nuclear scientist on the planet. Nick Fury ranks Bruce alongside Stark and Reed Richards, which is high praise. On top of that, Banner has used his intelligence to win fights that even Hulk couldn’t, such as when he fought Maestro in the Future Imperfect storyline. When Hulk realized he couldn’t beat the more capable version of himself, Banner found a way to win the fight by sending Maestro back in time to the original gamma accident that gave him his powers, effectively winning a previously unbeatable opponent.

6) Immortality & Healing Factor

Hulk can’t lose most fights because he can’t be effectively beaten. Even when he is killed, he can return through the Green Door and is therefore immortal as long as that door remains accessible. Hulk has also been shown to live to the end of the world as the last living being on the planet. In battle, enemies have proven they can hurt Hulk, but his healing factor is equal to someone like Wolverine and Deadpool, and his healing powers happen at a rapid speed. It also helps that Hulk heals faster the angrier he gets, which is similar to his strength, making him almost impossible to beat when he completely loses control.

5) Fear Inducement

One of Hulk’s lesser-known powers is also one of his scariest. He has what is known as Fear Inducement. This started after Devil Hulk took dominance of the alters in Bruce Banner’s mind after years of remaining dormant. He then possessed a power that the regular Hulk didn’t have, and he was able to induce fear in everyone he crossed paths with. While everyone usually feared Hulk on some level, this takes that power to another level. Using his Fear Inducement powers, he struck fear into other monsters and even gods.

Read Next

Hulk’s 7 Greatest Battles Against Other Superheroes

4) Can Absorb & Emit Radiation

While Red Hulk is best known for this, Hulk also has the ability to absorb and emit radiation, which can be deadly to anyone around him. This is especially true with gamma radiation, as Hulk’s body functions as a gamma battery, constantly generating and radiating energy. He showed this when he went to save New York City by absorbing all the radiation leaking out of a reactor, which seemingly killed him, but turned Amadeus Cho into a new version of the Hulk. He has even used the ability in fights to syphon energy out of Red Hulk and Sasquatch on two separate occasions to win the battles. As a bonus, he can grow even larger the more radiation he absorbs, which is how he can become a monstrous Hulk.

3) Thunderclap

The Thunderclap is a fun Hulk offensive move, but it is a lot more powerful than some might believe. Hulk has superhuman strength, which is great when punching a villain, but it can also cause immense damage and destruction when he smashes his hands together, known as the Thunderclap. He once clapped his hands together so powerfully that it caused a hurricane that flooded a South American country. His clap has dispersed Sandman completely during an attack and even put out Human Torch’s flame. He has hit the ground so hard on one occasion that he caused two firing tanks to flip into the air and blast attacking helicopters, effectively bringing down four enemy attackers at once.

2) Hulk Can Punch Holes In The Fabric Of Reality

The Thunderclap is extremely powerful, but Hulk is also able to do something with a similar attack that can destroy the entire universe. He can use his strength to create a shockwave powerful enough to punch a hole in the dimensional fabric of spacetime. This was shown in The Incredible Hulk #135 from 1970, where Kang became trapped in a time storm and transported Hulk forward in time, knowing from past knowledge that Hulk could realistically break through a time storm. With one massive punch, Hulk ended up punching his way through time into 1917 and the middle of a battle during World War I.

1) Unlimited Strength Based On Rage

Undoubtedly, the most significant example of Hulk’s power is his unlimited strength. The upper level of his strength is limitless, and it only grows when he gets angrier. This means that the longer the fight goes on, and the angrier Hulk becomes during a battle, the stronger he becomes and the easier it is for him to beat almost anyone. In World War Hulk, Reed Richards said that his strength at that time was off the charts, and he couldn’t measure his power. Bruce Banner’s influence lessens his strength, but that is even able to be surpassed, as shown in Onslaught. No one could beat Onslaught, so Hulk had Jean Grey shut down Banner in his brain. With this, he was able to fight Onslaught head-on and finally end the fight. Some people believe that Hulk could break the entire Earth if he gets angry enough.

The post Hulk’s Most Devastating Powers in Marvel Comics, Ranked appeared first on ComicBook.com.

From a scrawny kid in Brooklyn to the leader of the world’s mightiest heroes, Steve Rogers embodies the unwavering spirit and determination of a true hero. He doesn’t have cosmic or godlike powers like Thor, the genius intellect of Tony Stark , or the brute force of the Hulk. But what Steve does have is an unbreakable will and a moral compass that never wavers, even in the most bleak moments when all is lost. Time and again, Captain America has proved that heroism isn’t just about superpowers— it’s about character, courage, and the bravery to stand up and do the right thing, no matter the cost.

Steve Rogers’ journey through the MCU is a masterclass in leadership and selflessness that sets him apart as the heart and soul of the Avengers.

He Proved His Character Before He Ever Had Powers

In Captain America: The First Avenger, before Steve Rogers became the super-soldier we know and love, Colonel Phillips wanted to test not only Steve’s determination, but Dr. Erskine’s insistence on choosing him. To do so, Phillips threw a dummy grenade into a group of recruits, and while everyone else ran for cover, Steve didn’t hesitate. He immediately threw himself on top of it, willing to sacrifice himself to save his fellow recruits, even the ones who mocked him. This moment was the single irrefutable proof of the goodness in his heart, and proved Erskine’s point that the Super-Soldier Serum would only amplify the hero that was already within him, not create one.

Read Next

This Wild MCU Theory Explains How Chris Evans Can Return As HYDRA’s Captain America

This act of pure, selfless heroism defines Steve Rogers more than any of his physical traits or the amazing feats he would go on to do as Captain America. He wasn’t acting out of a desire for glory or recognition; his only instinct was to protect others, even if it meant giving up his own lift. It showed that his worthiness wasn’t tied to his physical strength, but to his moral strength and his unwavering commitment to the greater good. This moment was so critical to Steve Rogers as a character, and set the tone for every one of his heroic acts that followed, making it clear that he was, and always would be, a hero in his soul.

He Stopped a Fight Between Thor and Iron Man

In The Avengers, before the team was even formed, there were problems that not even Nick Fury could solve. After capturing Loki, a tense standoff between Iron Man and Thor turns into a full-blown fight. Tony’s suit and Thor’s hammer Mjolnir are two of the most strongest forces on Earth, and their petty arguing and physical fighting threatened to cause massive collateral damage. However, Captain America arrived on the scene and, with a quick toss of his shield, managed to break up the fight.

This moment showed that Captain America’s greatest strength wasn’t just physical— it was his ability to lead and unite. He had no cosmic powers or fancy tech, but he had the presence of a leader and eventually, the respect of his teammates. In a single move, he brought two of the most powerful (and cocky) men in the universe to a stalemate, proving that sometimes, the greatest power is not the ability to fight, but the ability to prevent one.

He Fought His Way Out of an Elevator Full of Traitors

In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a scene unlike any other in the MCU sees the exact moment Steve Rogers realize that the organization he has sworn to protect, SHIELD, has been compromised by HYDRA. Trapped in a crowded elevator with multiple armed agents who have turned against him, Cap calmly asks, “Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?” The ensuing battle is a spectacle you cannot take your eyes off of. He single-handedly takes down a dozen highly-trained agents in an incredibly confined space, relying only on his tactical skills and raw strength.

This scene is a highlight not only in the film, but in the MCU as a whole, and not just for its stunning fight choreography. Steve doesn’t just fight; he fights with a purpose, refusing to back down even when the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against him and the entire bulilding is full of people who want him dead It’s a perfect physical representation of his “I can do this all day” attitude, proving that no amount of betrayal or stacked odds could ever break his spirit.

He Took on the Winter Soldier to Save His Friend

The climax of Captain America: The Winter Soldier isn’t about defeating a villain, but about saving a friend. Faced with a very much alive but brainwashed Bucky Barnes— now the shadowy HYDRA assassian known as the Winter Soldier— Steve refuses to fight back, even as Bucky beats him to a pulp. Despite being on the verge of defeat, if not death, Steve repeatedly tells his friend, “I’m with you to the end of the line,” reminding Bucky that the two of them had always been there for one another, and that wouldn’t ever end. He’s not only willing, but prepared, to die to get through to Bucky.

This heroic act goes beyond a simple fight. It’s an emotional and moral stand that brings out Steve’s core values. He had every reason to take Bucky down, as he had been a threat to the world and caused mass mayhem in Washington, DC. But Steve’s love for his friend was stronger than his desire to win the fight. He proved that sometimes, the greatest battle isn’t with a enemy, but with an old friend who needs saving. It’s a powerful and deeply human moment that sets him apart from the other Avengers.

He Held Back a Helicopter with His Bare Hands

In Captain America: Civil War, Steve is once again trying to save his friend Bucky from an entire world government that wants him dead. As Bucky attempts to escape in a helicopter, Steve, without hesitation, rushes onto the roof and grabs hold of it. With one arm, he uses every ounce of his superhuman strength to pull the helicopter back down, refusing to let Bucky go. The strain on his body is unmistakable, showing the lengths Steve is willing to go for Bucky, even if that means he’s injured in the process.

Read Next

Captain America’s 10 Best Moments in the MCU

This moment is a striking display of Captain America’s sheer willpower that surpasses even his physically enhanced strength. He’s not just strong, he’s unyieldingly strong when it comes to protecting the people he cares about. He wasn’t just stopping a helicopter; he was holding an object that represented the system trying to tear his friend away from him. It’s a heroic display that not many others would attempt, even with Steve’s superhuman strength, showing the incredible lengths he will go to protect his loved ones and what he believes in.

He Held Back Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet with His Bare Hands

In Avengers: Infinity War, the entire team is fighting a losing battle against the Mad Titan, Thanos. When all seems lost and Thanos has plowed through every other hero who dared to stand against him, Steve Rogers steps forward. With a look of pure determination, he grabs the Infinity Gauntlet— which is almost at its peak power —and pushes back with all his might. Despite the power of the Infinity Stones, Steve manages to hold Thanos back for a brief moment in a show of defiance, even taking Thanos by surprise.

This moment of courage, against a force that had already defeated the strongest heroes, is the ultimate display of Captain America’s spirit. He wasn’t fighting to win, he was fighting to not give up. He proved that even when faced with every single odd stacked against him, he would never back down. His will was stronger than a gauntlet powered by almost all of the stones, and that’s what makes him a true hero.

He Stood Alone Against Thanos’ Army

After the devastating events of Infinity War, the Avengers are faced with a time displaced Thanos and his entire army in Avengers: Endgame. When the battle seems lost and Captain America is the last one standing, he is given the opportunity to give up. Instead, he stands battered and alone, his shield broken in half and his head held high. He retightens the strap of his broken shield and grits his teeth, ready to face the entire army by himself.

This single moment the ultimate representation of his Captain America’s spirit. He is not just fighting for his life, but for the entire universe and the sacrifices his friends have made. He is a man who will not run from a fight, no matter how hopeless it may seem. It is a defining moment that solidifies his role as the MCU’s moral center and an inspiring leader who will always be ready to face a challenge, even when he has no allies left to stand beside him.

He Proved His Worthiness and Wielded Mjölnir

In the heat of the battle in Avengers: Endgame, just when it seems all hope is lost, Thor’s hammer Mjölnir flies into the hands of none other than Captain America. He not only lifts the hammer, but immediately (and effectively) uses its power to channel lightning and fight against Thanos alongside Thor, giving the Avengers the boost they so desperately needed. This moment was foreshadowed in Age of Ultron when Mjölnir briefly shakes when Steve tries to pick it up, but it finally came full circle in the ultimate fight for the universe.

This scene is a powerful validation that Steve Rogers is not just a hero, but a worthy one. It confirms that he has always been worthy of Thor’s power, which is a testament to his pure heart and spirit. It’s a moment that had fans in movie theaters breaking into cheers and applause, as it symbolically showed that Captain America had always been equal to the gods and heroes he fought beside. His worthiness was never in question, and this moment proved it beyond any doubt.

He Finally Said the Words, “Avengers Assemble!”

In a moment that fans had been anxiously awaiting for years, Captain America finally says his comic accurate iconic battle cry, “Avengers Assemble” as he leads the charge against Thanos’ army. It’s not just a single line, but a call to action that brings together every single hero in the MCU who had been fighting for humanity’s survival. This single phrase is the payoff of his entire character arc as a leader. He is no longer the man out of time, but a true leader who has unified the greatest heroes of his time.

This moment cemented his legacy as the ultimate leader of the team. He was the one to give the order, and everyone— even Thor and Tony Stark —followed his lead without hesitation. It shows that while other heroes had the power, he had the respect and authority to bring them together. It’s a definitive moment not only for Steve Rogers, but for the MUC and pop culture as a whole, that shows his value as not just a fighter, but as a leader who inspired others to be their best.

He Fought Himself and Won

In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America has to travel back in time with the rest of his team to retrieve the Infinity Stones are various points in their past timelines. Steve’s mission (alongside Tony) is to retrieve the Tesseract from Avengers Towers in 2012 after their first battle as a team. It is there that he runs into a younger, more idealistic version of himself that is willing to back down and believes the future version of Steve is actually Loki in disguise. This leads to a spectacular fight where Captain America has to fight his younger self— a man who is equally as skilled and strong. He essentially fights himself to a stalemate, only able to best his past self at the last moment by saying “Bucky is alive.”

Read Next

7 Great Captain America Characters Still Not in the MCU

This scene is a powerful metaphor. The fight isn’t just physical; it’s a battle against his past self— a man who represented a more naive time —and the more battleweary older man he has become in the years since the Avengers first assembled. He proves that he has grown, and that his experience and tactical wisdom have made him an even better hero. He’s not just strong, he’s wise, and that’s what makes him a truly complete hero.

What’s your favorite Captain America moment in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!

The post 10 Times Captain America Proved He Was the MCU’s Best Avenger appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe may never face a challenge like Thanos again. After watching his people suffer on Titan, the villain vows never to let something like that happen again and begins tracking down the Infinity Stones. The task seems simple enough at first, so Thanos sends out lackeys like Loki and Ronan the Accuser to do his dirty work. However, they fail spectacularly, forcing the Mad Titan to get up out of his throne and take matters into his own hands. Once the gloves are off and the Infinity Gauntlet is on, the MCU’s heroes can do nothing but fight to survive as Thanos gets closer to his goal.

By the end of Avengers: Infinity War, all the pieces are in place for the villain, so he wipes out half of existence with the snap of his fingers. He’s lucky he wasn’t in another comic book universe, though, because he wouldn’t have been as successful. Here are 10 DC heroes that could have beaten Thanos in Infinity War.

1) Superman

The character who does the most damage to Thanos in the third Avengers film is Thor, who nearly kills the villain with Stormbreaker. Well, Superman doesn’t need a giant axe to prove his strength, as he can punch the Mad Titan until the villain’s purple face turns blue. With the Man of Steel also having super speed, Thanos isn’t going to be able to get his hands on one of the Infinity Stones, let alone six.

2) Batman

While the Dark Knight isn’t going to be able to beat Thanos in a fist fight, he’s surely going to be able to outwit him. When Batman learns about the threat to the universe, he’s going to find a way to lock up all of the Infinity Stones. After all, he has a contingency plan for Superman, so taking care of the Mad Titan is going to be a walk in the park.

3) Wonder Woman

There is one hero that the evil gods of the DC Universe hate to see coming: Wonder Woman. In addition to her impressive strength and combat skills, Diana Prince has an edge to her that most heroes in the MCU don’t. Wonder Woman will think Thanos’ plan is foolish and do everything in her power to ensure that he doesn’t ever get the chance to snap.

4) Doctor Fate

Doctor Strange gives Thanos trouble on Titan in Infinity War, but he throws in the towel because he only sees one path to victory. Doctor Fate isn’t going to hand over the Time Stone or anything else to the villain because his master, Nabu, rarely shows mercy. Fate will conjure up a spell that makes what Strange did to Dormammu look like child’s play.

5) Shazam

Unlike some of the other characters on this list, Shazam doesn’t embrace his dark side because, well, he’s a kid. Billy Batson isn’t going to let a deranged maniac destroy his home, though, so he’ll lean on his magic to lead him to victory. Since Shazam can go toe-to-toe with Superman, Thanos isn’t going to want to underestimate his opponent despite his immature attitude.

Read Next

The Latest Marvel Rumor Is a Big Update for Black Panther’s MCU Future

6) Supergirl

In some iterations of the DC Universe, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, is stronger than her cousin, Superman. She’s also a lot meaner, and as her run-ins with heavyweights like Darkseid prove, she’s not going to go easy on anyone. Thanos will learn that Kryptonians aren’t a race of people he wants to cross after a battle with Supergirl.

7) The Spectre

The most powerful beings in the MCU opt not to intervene when Thanos is preparing to kill trillions, but DC’s strongest characters aren’t so hands-off. The Spectre serves The Presence, considered the god of the DC Universe, who won’t appreciate a villain trying to undo all his hard work. Facing an omnipotent opponent, not even the Infinity Gauntlet can save the Mad Titan from The Spectre’s wrath.

8) Captain Atom

Energy is the name of the game when dealing with the Infinity Stones, as they dish out incredible amounts. Well, there’s no one better suited to contain their power than Captain Atom. It also doesn’t hurt the hero’s case that he’s incredibly powerful, being able to give Superman fits when the story calls for them to battle.

9) Martian Manhunter

Despite being a member of the Justice League, Martian Manhunter is usually in the background, making way for characters like Superman and Batman. However, he’s every bit as dangerous as his teammates, and he can prove it when he goes up against Thanos. Being able to shape-shift and turn invisible will give Martian Manhunter the edge, buying him enough time to enter Thanos’ mind and mess with it.

10) The Flash

The Flash can’t breathe in space, which means he isn’t going to be able to stop Thanos from getting the first couple of Infinity Stones. Once the Mad Titan gets to Earth, though, the race is on, and the villain is going to lose. The Flash will grab the gems and run around until Thanos gives up, and even if the hero fails, he can just go back in time and try again.

Avengers: Infinity War is streaming on Disney+.

Do you think the DC heroes on this list could beat Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War? Who else has a shot at taking the Mad Titan down? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 10 DC Heroes That Could Have Beaten Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Punisher has become one of Marvel Comics’ most popular antiheroes, and his first appearance came in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. It all started when Jackal tricked Punisher into believing Spider-Man was a villain, prompting him to try to gun the hero down. When he learned Spider-Man was not a villain, but a hero, it set up an uneasy future between the two. Punisher later gunned for Spider-Man again when he thought the Wall-Crawler was drifting, and Spider-Man went after Punisher when he felt Frank Castle was using his family’s deaths as an excuse to be a murderer.

With the two Marvel Comics characters randomly looking at each other like villains, it has caused the Punisher vs. Spider-Man battles to look drastically different, while remaining entertaining almost every time.

10) The Amazing Spider-Man #129

The first appearance of The Punisher came in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #129. In this issue, Jackal was still trying to ruin Spider-Man’s life and decided he would use a new vigilante in New York City to do his dirty work for him. He convinced Punisher that Spider-Man was a common criminal. However, this was also the issue where Punisher proved to be an honorable vigilante. He will kill criminals, but he has a code he follows, and it doesn’t align with Jackal. Punisher had a chance to kill Spider-Man, but the fight ended with no winner, as Punisher realized Jackal was lying to him and allowed Spider-Man to live and began to go after the real villain instead.

9) Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15

Spider-Man and The Punisher also had a battle in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15 when Spider-Man goes after Punisher after he kills a man and leaves a little girl to possibly die as a result. It was all a misunderstanding since the little girl was poisoned, and Punisher knew he could get a cure if he found it. Luckily, Spider-Man gets his hands on it and can save the girl and stop Punisher. However, this issue is even more important than that. Punisher found himself surrounded by police and surrendered without a fight since he wouldn’t kill cops. The last sight of The Punisher here is chilling, as he sits in the back of the police car and asks how many criminals he will have access to while in prison.

8) The Amazing Spider-Man #134-135

In The Amazing Spider-Man #134, a new Spidey villain shows up called Tarantula, and then The Punisher returns. In this case, Punisher believes that Spider-Man is the villain Jackal previously hinted he was and thinks that the Wall-Crawler has taken a boat hostage (when it was really Traantula). The two fought, but it ended up stopping when Punisher realized what was going on. By the time they figure out the truth, the two offer to work together. The Punisher shockingly helps Spider-Man stop Tarantula and his men without killing them. It was a rare Punisher story where he acted more like a regular hero, and was one of the few times he and Spider-Man worked together without any conflicts (outside the opening scene on the boat).

7) Punisher War Journal Vol. 2 #13

After years of Garth Ennis refusing to allow his Punisher to interact with superheroes, Matt Fraction did a complete 180. He brought in heroes and major villains for Punisher to go after. In Punisher War Journal Vol. 1 #13, Rhino is coerced into helping with a bank robbery, and a guard dies during the heist. Punisher kills the criminals and then starts to try to kill a remorseful Rhino with a rocket launcher and missiles. Spider-Man then shows up to save Rhino before having to fight the villain himself. Punisher is fun here with his reactions to Spider-Man saving the villains, only to find them trying to kill him. Spider-Man ended up stopping Punisher from killing Rhino by webbing him up. While Spider-Man only appears in this one issue, it does lead Punisher into a battle with Kraven in the following two issues.

6) Amazing Spider-Man #201-202

The Amazing Spider-Man #201 began a two-issue storyline with Spider-Man and Punisher teaming up. At this time, Punisher still used mercy bullets (rubber ones) on common criminals, and saved his real bullets for the main bad guys. When Spider-Man first encounters him here, he learns Punisher is gunning for a drug dealer named Lorenzo Jacobi and wants to kill him. When Spider-Man says he is not okay with this, Punisher shoots him with a mercy bullet and flees. Soon, though, both men are fighting on the same side after Punisher admits that Jacobi was responsible for murdering someone Punisher saved once, and he has a score to settle. Punisher and Spider-Man worked together after their initial battle, and the Wall-Crawler even stops him from killing Jacobi. However, the drug dealer dies in a car accident anyway, allowing Punisher to see justice without pulling the trigger himself.

Read Next

10 Best Marvel Antiheroes, Ranked

5) Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #81-83

One of the most shocking Punisher storylines came in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #81-83. In this three-issue storyline, Spider-Man is busy trying to stop Cloak & Dagger from murdering Kingpin. However, while he is working so hard to stop them, he has to worry about The Punisher, too. Spider-Man takes a beating here, almost finding himself consumed in the darkness of Cloak’s powers while also getting beaten down by Punisher. However, the best part of this story came when Punisher got to Kingpin first and threatened Vanessa Fisk. Kingpin showed his power by beating Punisher almost to death. The most significant moment came in the last issue of the storyline, where Punisher was tried in court and had a nervous breakdown when he realized no one could see that his way was the only one he thought would save society. It was sobering and showed the level he had fallen to.

4) Punisher Vol. 6 #32-34

Garth Ennis hated adding any superheroes to his Punisher stories, and it was clear when he had them in the stories that he hated them. In Punisher Vol. 6 #32-34, Ennis added three Marvel Comics heroes to his series with Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Wolverine. However, Ennis made sure to show that Frank Castle was always in control, and that the three heroes were mostly buffoons to be made fools of. By the end of the storyline, all three of the heroes ended up looking like idiots. Punisher suckered Wolverine into trying to kill him, knowing that Daredevil and Spider-Man wouldn’t let him, and as the three fought, he slipped out and killed the sex traffickers he was targeting all along.

3) Punisher: War Zone Vol 3 #1-5

Punisher: War Zone Vol. 3 was a five-issue miniseries that saw Spider-Man finally tired of watching Punisher kill people. A member of The Avengers now, Spider-Man convinced them to help him bring in Punisher. None of them cared to help, but by the time they agreed and started approaching Frank, they all wanted nothing more than to stop him by the fifth issue, since he proved too much for most of them to handle. Spider-Man was unhinged here, and this was the series where he called Punisher a murderer who only used his dead family as an excuse. This was also a case where Spider-Man won (with The Avengers’ help), but it wasn’t that easy. Punisher helped a person find freedom by delaying the Avengers and only surrendered when Captain America stepped u,p since he refuses to fight Cap.

2) Giant-Size Spider-Man #4

In Giant-Size Spider-Man #4, Spider-Man was able to hunt down Punisher after Frank had saved Spidey’s life in a fight with some kidnappers. However, when Spider-Man learns that Punisher would have let the kidnapping victim die if it meant following a lead, he attacks. Punisher quickly proved to be more than enough by shooting Spidey with a tranquilizer. However, as with many early stories with Spider-Man and Punisher, their fight always led to them teaming up in the end. In this case, they were battling a terrorist named Moses Magnum, a man planning to sell a lethal gas to the highest bidder. This was one of the most shocking team-ups with the two because Punisher shot a canister of poison gas at Magnum, and Spider-Man helped seal the room closed, likely killing all the terrorists. It was the only time Spider-Man willingly helped Punisher kill someone.

1) Ultimate Spider-Man #157

The most tragic Spider-Man and Punisher fight happened in the Ultimate Universe. This came during the Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates storyline. Nick Fury’s Avengers (Black Widow, Hawkeye, War Machine, Punisher, and Blade) battled the New Ultimates (Captain America, Carol Danvers, Iron Man, Giant-Man, and Thor). Things were getting violent, and then Spider-Man showed up. Fury had ordered Punisher to take out Captain America. Punisher refused to kill Cap, and aimed his bullet to incapacitate Cap, but not kill him. Spider-Man didn’t know this and sacrificed himself, throwing himself between the two and taking the bullet. Despite the gunshot wound, Spider-Man returned home to save Aunt May from the Ultimate Goblin and then died after the fight from blood loss. In this storyline, Punisher killed Spider-Man.

The post 10 Times Spider-Man & Punisher Battled in Marvel Comics (And Who Won) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When Chadwick Boseman made his debut as Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Captain America: Civil War, it was clear that the actor was on the same level as Robert Downey Jr. in terms of perfect casting. While he got to star in a solo Black Panther movie and appeared in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the actor sadly lost his private battle with cancer in 2020. Taking time to mourn the loss of a bright talent, Black Panther‘s sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was delayed, allowing the cast and audiences to grieve properly. Now, five years after Boseman’s passing, a new rumor from Jeff Sneider’s Hot Mic Podcast suggests Marvel Studios is looking ahead to Black Panther’s future.

During his weekly podcast, insider Jeff Sneider briefly talked about the casting of T’Challa and the X-Men within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it appears that Marvel Studios is actively casting for its X-Men movie, Sneider seems to believe the studio also knows who it wants to play T’Challa moving forward. “I think that they know who they want for T’Challa. I hear that they’re actively casting X-Men, I don’t care what anybody says. I’m told that in inside agencies, they are definitely putting forth clients for X-Men. But yes, for T’Challa, I don’t know if it’ll be Damson Idris … I think David Jonsson is really looking pretty good for that.”

Read Next

Black Panther 3: Angela Bassett Addresses Possible MCU Return (But Could It Happen?)

In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the movie honored Boseman’s portrayal of T’Challa while passing the mantle of the Black Panther onto his younger sister, Shuri. Audiences also learn that T’Challa and Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong’o, had a hidden son named Toussaint, who’s Wakandan name is later revealed to be Prince T’Challa. It’s been thought that the third Black Panther could age up Prince T’Challa, allowing him to take on the mantle of the Black Panther from Shuri. However, none of this has been confirmed as of yet. At one point, Damson Idris was heavily rumored to have been cast in the role. However, it appears Marvel Studios is actually looking at another promising actor: David Jonsson.

Jonsson’s star has been on the rise in recent years. Not only does he appear in the hit series Industry, but he has a memorable role in the movie Alien: Romulus and can next be seen in the Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk. If he is in contention for the role of T’Challa, it would be the biggest role he’s landed to date. It would also follow Marvel Studios’ pattern of going over rising talent for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s heroes. It’s currently unknown when Black Panther 3 will go into production, however, the movie is said to be a big priority for the studio, and writer and director Ryan Coogler has already revealed he’s talked to Denzel Washington about appearing in the movie.

It should be noted, however, that Coogler has already said his X-Files reboot is next for him, suggesting it’ll still be a bit before he’s able to fully focus on Black Panther 3. For now, though, fans can familiarize themselves with Jonsson’s work, just in case the rumor turns out to be true. Industry is available to stream exclusively on HBO Max, while fans can watch Alien: Romulus now on Disney+ and Hulu. Those eager to see the actor on the big screen can do so when The Long Walk makes its way into theaters on September 12th.

The post The Latest Marvel Rumor Is a Big Update for Black Panther’s MCU Future appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man isn’t Marvel’s most powerful hero, but he’s got it where it counts. Over the years, Spider-Man comics have given readers some of the coolest fights in comic history. Spider-Man is a character who lends himself well to motion, his dynamic costume making him look like a red and blue whirling dervish of action. He’s faced off against some of the most formidable villains in the Marvel Universe, both those of his own rogues gallery, and those from other heroes’. He’s battled alongside the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and basically every other Marvel team out there, and has helped fight against the most dangerous threats in multiple major events. Spider-Man is extremely formidable.

Marvel is crossing over with DC Comics again, and it’s only a matter of time before we get some team-ups between Spider-Man and the heroes of the DC Multiverse. This is going to open up a whole world of villains to Spider-Man. Now, there are some DC villains that Spider-Man would be able to beat, and beat handily. However, there’s also a lot of DC villains that Spider-Man wouldn’t have a chance against without help. These seven DC villains would defeat Spider-Man, doing something many villains have tried but never succeeded at.

7) Mongul

Mongul is the master of Warworld, and one of the most feared villains in the DC Universe. There’s been multiple versions of Mongul over the years; it’s more of a title than a person. Basically, one of the Warzoons, the name of the beings that live on Warworld, rises through the ranks and then kills the last Mongul, becoming the new one (there’s also Mongal, who was played as a sister of Mongul, but that was before the survival of the fittest, multiple Mongul thing was established). Mongul is Superman level strong, and that’s going to be a big problem for Spider-Man. Modern Superman isn’t throw planets like beachballs strong anymore, but he’s still mind-numbingly strong. Mongul can punch it out with Big Blue, so Spider-Man really doesn’t have much chance against him. Honestly, it’s highly doubtful that Mongul would even feel Spider-Man’s attacks. Spider-Man’s speed would allow him to keep away from Mongul, but eventually, he’d get tired or make a mistake, and that would be that. Mongul could kill Spider-Man with one good punch. Spider-Man has to be flawless the whole fight; Mongul just needs to get lucky once.

6) General Zod

There are few actual threats to Superman, but one villain has proven able to get the drop on Superman — General Zod. Zod was Krypton’s greatest tactical mind, and was actually friends with Jor-El in some versions of his story. However, all versions of the characters have the same fate — they try to take over the Kryptonian Science Council and fail, thrown into the Phantom Zone. As a Kryptonian, General Zod has amazing power under a yellow sun and has combat training on top of that. Zod is much, much stronger than Spider-Man. He’s also vastly faster. That’s basically going to be it for Spider-Man. Spider-Man can usually beat enemies stronger than him because he’s faster, his spider-sense allowing him to avoid attacks from anyone. That’s not going to work with Zod, as even with the spider-sense, Spider-Man couldn’t avoid attacks from Zod. General Zod has every advantage over Spider-Man, and there’s really no way for Spider-Man to win without getting his hands on some Kryptonite or creating a red sun gun.

5) Doomsday

Doomsday is one of the most feared villains in the DC Multiverse for one big reason — he killed Superman. The monster has changed a lot over the years (Doomsday is currently the Time Trapper, a time powered titan trying to get Superman to kill him so he can become a god), but one thing that hasn’t changed is how powerful he is. Doomsday is basically the Hulk; an indestructible being with titanic strength, which allowed him to overpower Superman. He can’t be killed the same way twice, so he can never be bludgeoned to death ever again. He’s probably actually stronger than the Hulk which would be a big problem for Spider-Man. There’s no doubt that Spider-Man could easily avoid Doomsday’s attacks, but there’s really nothing else that he could do. Webbing wouldn’t work on Doomsday — he’s too strong to be held by it long — and all of Spider-Man’s usual tricks against vastly stronger combatants wouldn’t work either. Much like the fight against Mongul, Spider-Man would have to be able to avoid every blow, but Doomsday only needs to get lucky once.

Read Next

Can The Amazing Spider-Man Really Be Good Again?

4) Gorilla Grodd

Gorilla Grodd is an extremely dangerous villain. Grodd is the Gorilla City equivalent of Green Goblin in a lot of ways. He’s a super genius who has become twisted with rage and greed. He’s a titan of physical force, but his greatest power is his Force of Mind, a telepathic skill that allows him to control and assault minds. Grodd usually battles the Flash, which means that he’s more than ready to deal with fast opponents. All of this is going to be a problem for Spider-Man. Grodd and Spider-Man are probably pretty even on strength, and Spider-Man is faster than Grodd. However, Grodd is smart and his telepathy gives him a huge advantage over Spider-Man; he’d quickly discover that Spider-Man has some kind of spider-sense and would be able to use his mental powers to mess with it. This would probably be a pretty close fight, but Grodd’s mental power and tactical know how would mean this is a fight that Spider-Man would lose in the end.

3) Reverse Flash

Reverse Flash is one of the most dangerous and powerful villains in the DC Multiverse. The master of the Negative Speed Force, Reverse Flash is obsessed with destroying Barry Allen. He’s used his time travel powers to wreck Allen’s life, moving up and down the timestream in order to make the man he hates the most suffer. Reverse Flash may not be as strong as Spider-Man, but he’s many magnitudes faster than the Wall-Crawler. That’s going to be a huge problem for Spider-Man. His spider-sense only works if he’s actually faster than the opponent. Spider-Man is nowhere near as fast as Reverse Flash, and that’s basically going to be all she wrote for this fight. There’s a chance that Reverse Flash will mess up and allow Spider-Man to tag him a few times or a webbing trick will work, but in the end, it’s not going to be enough to win. Reverse Flash can end this fight anytime he wants.

2) Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is Superman’s greatest enemy. The two of them are complete opposites; where Superman is physically strong, Lex is intelligent. Where Superman is selfless, Lex is selfish. Lex Luthor is the smartest villain on Earth (he might be the smartest person on Earth, but DC goes back and forth on whether Lex is smarter or Batman is), and it’s this intelligence that has allowed Lex to hang with the most powerful heroes and villains. Lex Luthor and Spider-Man are an interesting match. Spider-Man is obviously more physical powerful (unless Lex is wearing his armor), but Luthor is vastly more intelligent. This is going to make a lot of difference. Lex Luthor isn’t going to walk out and just start fighting Spider-Man, he’s going to study him first. Lex will be able to figure out that Spider-Man has spider-sense, and then will be able to figure out how to use that against Spider-Man. Lex is only going to go after Spider-Man after that, and that’s going to be a huge problem for Spider-Man. See, Lex is only going to actually fight Spider-Man in his armor. Lex’s armor in much more powerful than any suit of armor that Spider-Man has ever dealt with before. It gives Lex enough strength to fight against Superman, so it is much more powerful than Spider-Man. Lex would be able to devastate Spider-Man in this armor, and that would be that.

1) Darkseid

Darkseid is basically the Thanos of the DC Multiverse, and Spider-Man would have no chance against. Darkseid is the God of Evil and the lord of Apokolips. Darkseid was able to defeat his father, Yuga Khan, and take his throne. Since then, Darkseid has battled not only the New Gods of New Genesis, he’s also fought all of the greatest heroes in the multiverse. Darkseid is stronger than Superman, and has been known to battle entire teams of heroes by himself. His body in nearly indestructible, and his Omega Effect eye beams can kill just about anyone with one hit, and tracks its quarry where ever they go. So, Darkseid is much stronger than Spider-Man, although Spider-Man has the speed advantage, and can take way more damage. The spider-sense isn’t really going to matter too much in this fight. Sure, Spider-Man can avoid everything thrown at him for along time, but he’ll get tired. However, the real problem for Spider-Man is going to be the Omega Effect. It can follow Spider-Man anywhere and it’s eventually going to get him. Darkseid is much too powerful for Spider-Man, and the Web-Slinger can’t win.

What DC villains do you think can beat Spider-Man? Do you think I’m wrong with any of these? Sound off in the comments below.

The post 7 DC Villains Spider-Man Can’t Beat appeared first on ComicBook.com.

If there’s one thing we can count on with Marvel, it’s entertainment. Readers dive into the world of superhero adventures for a variety of reasons. Sometimes we want to be inspired or feel our hearts swell with hope. Other times, we want to step in and begin rooting for the underdog, because who doesn’t love that? Then, there’s the comedy of Marvel Comics. Marvel certainly knows how to write a funny character, creating characters that possess a sense of irreverence, frivolity, or relatability. These are the heroes who make us spit out our drinks and break into a fit of giggles, as the need arises.

We all know what heroes to read about when we need hope and inspiration (looking at you, Captain America and Spider-Man), and realistically, most of us also know who to go to for a good laugh. These heroes run the gamut, breaking the fourth wall or throwing themselves headfirst into the strangest of antics. It’s all for our sakes, so it’s easy to appreciate the effort.

10) Hawkeye

Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, is often the butt of jokes (particularly those about heroes lacking powers), but he’s also a bit of a comedian in his own right. Over the years, he has developed a strong, sarcastic wit, to put it mildly. This can be seen shining through in pretty much every version, from the comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and even his animated appearances. If there’s one thing we can count on, it’s that Barton will save the day and have some colorful commentary about having to do so.

Hawkeye used to be worse about creating clever (and sometimes mean) nicknames for his teammates. He’s mostly mellowed out on that front, but the self-deprecating humor is still going strong. On the flip side, he is the first hero to laugh when those around him are trying to brighten the mood.

9) She-Hulk

Jennifer Walter, aka She-Hulk, is the infamous Attorney at Law in Marvel Comics. She was the first hero in Marvel to dive into fourth-wall-breaking humor (even though Deadpool gets more credit for this). She’s a self-aware character who isn’t afraid to poke fun at herself, her writers, and even her fans. Right off the bat, She-Hulk became known for her often lighter and more fun tones, as it stood in stark contrast to her cousin’s stories. Undoubtedly, that was by intent, helping to provide even more differences between Hulk characters.

Even modern comics have allowed She-Hulk to embrace her more comical side of life. Her series is known for visual gags, romantic drama (to the nth degree), and an incredibly sharp wit. Even her MCU series ran with this tone, though it was met with some confusion, mostly by people who were not expecting that from this hero.

8) Human Torch

Johnny Storm is an incredibly brave soul and an adventurer at heart, and nothing will ever take that away from him. Also known as the Human Torch, this character also has a strong foundation in humor, and thank goodness for it. He may often be seen as the comedic relief of The Fantastic Four, but we all know that it is a vital role in any series. Comedy can remind us of the best parts of life, and thus Johnny reminds readers and heroes what they’re fighting for.

Does Johnny enjoy more than his fair share of pranking? Well, yes. That’s probably exhausting for those around him, at least at times. His favorite target seems to be Ben Grimm, though he’s made a few prankster allies/enemies (namely Spider-Man). When left unsupervised, this pair will offer nonstop banter, jokes, and pranks.

Read Next

10 Weakest Marvel Characters, Ranked

7) Rocket Raccoon

Rocket Raccoon may be a hero of the universe (well, a Guardian of the Galaxy, if you want to get specific), but that doesn’t stop him from cracking a joke. Both the MCU and comic versions of this hero showcase a brash character full of acerbic wit. Yes, that does mean his humor leans heavily into the sarcastic and snarky side of things, but that’s to be expected. It works to keep most people at arm’s length, with a few iconic exceptions.

Rocket is a violent character with a sharp tongue. Those who get on his bad side will hear about it. Honestly, even his allies are spared from his sharper wit, but they know that Rocket is unceasingly loyal to those he cares about, so that makes it easier to bear the brunt of his commentary. There are a few things Rocket is especially known for. First, he loves poking fun at Earth culture (possibly because Quill always feels compelled to defend it). Two, people love to compare him to different animals on their home planet, much to his chagrin.

6) Squirrel Girl

Doreen Green, aka Squirrel Girl, is one of the kindest heroes in Marvel Comics, and that’s saying something. Her ability is a little bit out there, and yet, it is the subject of many jokes from fans. She has a few squirrel-based abilities, including a tail and the magical ability to communicate with her fluffy little friends. It may not seem like an awesome superpower, but she’s survived battles against Galactus and Thanos with that ability set.

It doesn’t hurt that she is as cheerful and hopeful as they come. Nothing can get Doreen down, and thus she considers anything possible. She has embraced the slightly goofier side that Marvel has to offer, and yes, that does mean she’ll team up with other comical heroes as needed. Readers looking for lighter moments and good laughs always know to check out whatever adventure she’s involved in.

5) Slapstick

When you hear about a character named Slapstick, you’re obviously going to assume they’re funny, right? Thankfully, Slapstick does not disappoint on that premise. He debuted in the ’90s, which means he has more of that classic era of humor seeping from his design. Thanks to a strange experiment, Slapstick became the embodiment of cartoon physics. In other words, he can mimic cartoon damage, jokes, and gags. Think of Spider-Ham, and you’re not far off from what Slapstick can do and survive.

Slapstick was originally designed to be a sarcastic parody of Marvel heroes. He’s since changed a little bit, but he’s mostly still just a practical joker. He may not properly take down villains like other heroes, but he’ll certainly mess with them!

Read Next

7 Most Overpowered Marvel Characters, Ranked

4) Gwenpool

Gwenpool is a complicated and chaotic character. She hails from a world not all that different from our own, and thus grew up loving the same comic book adventures as we did. So when she got ported into Earth-616, she knew what she had to do. Well, more like what she wanted to do. She wanted to become a hero, but she’s a wee bit too chaotic for that. Gwenpool takes fourth-wall-breaking to the extreme, as her powers (which are sometimes nerfed) allow her to turn pages and jump panels.

In the beginning, Gwenpool became a mercenary for hire, and in a short stint of time, she had made quite a name for herself. It wasn’t really a good name, but that’s part of the humor. She’s goofy and impulsive, but she’s also full of heart and passion. It makes for a unique character, even in Marvel Comics.

3) Scott Lang

Scott Lang is better known for being the second Ant-Man. He’s been in both the comics and the MCU, though the latter has him as more of the primary hero of that side of Marvel. He’s a bit of a reluctant hero who can be awkward in teams. Despite this, he has a heart of gold and a surprisingly comical center, and that makes him easy to love.

Much like a few other heroes (and anti-heroes) on this list, Scott Lang has the tendency to create running commentary. That means he isn’t afraid to break the fourth wall, especially if it’ll help him land the joke. His humor style feels a bit more sitcom-y than the rest, letting him stand out a bit.

2) Spider-Man

We’re certain that nearly every Marvel reader expected to see Peter Parker on this list, and we’re not here to disappoint. Spider-Man is an iconic hero of Marvel Comics, one who is famous for his quips and sharp wit. He’s also a bit known for his constant barrage of comments, jokes, and commentary…even in the middle of a fight. It’s a whole thing, and we love him for it.

Peter Parker has been through some of the worst that Marvel has to offer, and he’s retained his humor despite it all. He’s got a heart of gold, a brilliant mind, and perfect comedic timing. What more could readers ask for?

1) Deadpool

Deadpool is often called the Merc with a Mouth, and he’s earned that title. This character does not stop, ever. He’s a fourth-wall-breaking character with no limits or boundaries, which is part of how he’s become so famous. He was originally created in response to a DC character (it probably isn’t hard to guess who), though it’s safe to say he’s changed and evolved quite a bit since then.

Wade Wilson may have tragic elements in his past, present, and future, but that has never held him back. His series are always full of action and humor, and he’ll often drag that into any series he appears. Naturally, Deadpool has a few favorite heroes, who don’t always feel compelled to return the affection (cough, Spider-Man, cough).

The post 10 Marvel Characters Who Always Make You Laugh, Ranked appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Hulk has been one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful heroes since the company’s earliest days. He is also one of Marvel’s most tragic heroes, as Bruce Banner’s alter ego, the Hulk, is out of his control. Hulk just wants to be left alone, but he always has to fight back to get people to let him live in peace. With that in mind, there have been other times where people have pushed him too far, or in some cases, he was manipulated to lash out and for at least a short time, Hulk became one of Marvel Comics’ most dangerous villains.

With almost unlimited strength and the ability to withstand untold amounts of damage, here is a look at the times when Hulk nearly destroyed the Marvel Universe, and at least one time when he mostly succeeded.

7) The Horseman War

When looking at the history of Apocalypse and his Horsemen, the stories are almost always in the mutant comics and limited to the X-Men and their teams. However, there was one time when Apocalypse decided to offer the position of War to Hulk. In The Incredible Hulk #456, Apocalypse convinced Hulk to become War in exchange for removing the pain and suffering from Hulk’s mind, which amounts to his father Brian’s torment. As War, Hulk was more powerful than ever, with the voices in his head gone, and he went toe to toe with Absorbing Man (whom he beat easily) and Juggernaut (whom he almost killed). However, when he almost killed Riock Jones, it snapped Apocalypse’s control, and Hulk ended up going into hiding.

6) The Immortal Hulk

Marvel Comics took Hulk in a new direction in 2015 when Hulk stopped a radiation leak and detonated himself, stripping him of Hulk’s powers and transferring them to Amadeus Cho, who became the Totally Awesome Hulk. However, things were not finished for Bruce Banner. The scientist started experimenting on himself with gamma-irradiated cells, and when the Avengers learned about this and confronted him, Hawkeye killed him. Unfortunately, he ended up resurrected no less than three times (by The Hand, Arnim Zola, and the Challenger). Each time he returned, he was savage and almost unstoppable. However, it finally ended when Banner realized Hulk couldn’t die and just went to the Green Room before returning to life through the Green Door. Once he learned the truth, Banner regained control and went into hiding.

5) Savage Hulk

Savage Hulk is the name given to Hulk when he loses all control of his faculties and goes into a rage. Whenever he would become the Savage Hulk, he had no control over what he did and reacted to things out of anger and deep emotion. What makes this version of Hulk so deadly is that he has reverted to this state numerous times over his existence. One of Hulk’s most defining powers is that the angrier he gets, the more powerful he gets. Hulk knows he is more powerful when Banner is in no way in control. To defeat Onslaught, Hulk had Banner shut down in his brain, and that was the only way he could take down the monster. However, before this, he was always one of the most destructive forces of nature when the Savage Hulk took control.

4) Heroes Reborn: The Return

After Hulk beat Onslaught, the world changed. Two different Earths existed, with the dead heroes (Avengers, Fantastic Four) on one Earth and the surviving heroes (Spider-Man, X-Men) on the other Earth. However, there was an anomaly. Hulk was on both Earths, one with Banner and the other without, and this was killing both of them. On one Earth, Hulk was giving off so much radiation that it threatened to destroy the world. On the other Earth, Hulk was losing control and was mostly the Savage Hulk. It wasn’t until the two Hulks ended up on the same Earth that they could fight, merge, and help save the Earth so Franklin Richards could bring all the heroes back home.

Read Next

10 Best Marvel Antiheroes, Ranked

3) Old Man Logan

The Hulk has been a hero in almost every iteration. However, this is not true on alternate Earths. One of his most disturbing versions came on Earth-807128, which was the world where Old Man Logan took place. In this world, the villains finally decided to join forces and beat the heroes, conquering the entire United States and splitting it up between them. Hulk ended up defeating Abomination and took California for himself. He settled down there, married his cousin, She-Hulk, and they had several children, all of whom had horrific mutations. Known as the Hulk Gang, they brutalized anyone still living near them. The Hulk Gang also became cannibals, and that proved to be “Pappy Banner’s” downfall. After Hulk had Logan’s family murdered, the former Wolverine responded by killing Hulk’s children and then coming for Hulk, who then ate him. Of course, Logan healed up and then burst out of Hulk’s stomach, “killing” the monster.

2) World Breaker Hulk

World Breaker Hulk was the most powerful Hulk of them all. This is because he showed up in World War Hulk full of rage and wanted revenge on his former friends who betrayed him. The Illuminati tricked Hulk and sent him into deep space, aiming for a barren planet where Hulk could live out his days in peace. He overshot it and ended up on a populated planet where he became a hero, fell in love, and got married. When a bomb killed his wife and allies, he returned to Earth, blaming his former friends. Hulk then went on to beat every single member of the Illuminati, including Iron Man, Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Doctor Strange, and more. No one could beat him, and when Sentry showed up, Hulk even survived that attack. He was never stronger and only lost because he surrendered at the end, after he proved his point.

1) Maestro

Maestro is the Hulk who conquered the world, or at least part of the world in the United States. In this timeline on Earth-9200, a nuclear war destroyed the world, but Hulk had locked himself away because he had no desire to help protect a world that constantly feared and attacked him. When he came out, he tried to find a place to go, but he saw that the world was no different with the survivors, so he decided to take over. He achieved this and became the ruler of one of the few surviving cities in America. Calling himself Maestro, he then killed several surviving heroes, including Hercules, and he only fell in defeat to a time-traveling version of himself, who tricked him and sent him back to the Gamma explosion that created him to begin with.

The post 7 Times Hulk Turned Into Marvel Comics’ Most Dangerous Villain appeared first on ComicBook.com.

On the cusp of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars arriving in theaters, it’s fun to look back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe and what has led to this moment. While the entire slate that started way back with Iron Man in 2008 has been lauded over the years, there are plenty of threads and characters that have popped up only to disappear. A few of these have been understandable, since they are the major villains of their respective films and TV shows. Others have only gotten one appearance to this point, but could appear again in the future, with some guaranteed to come back at this point.

For the sake of this list, we’re not going to include any of the out-of-universe shenanigans like Marvel’s What If? on Disney+, even if there are parts that could be considered a piece of that MCU tapestry. That could always change, but keep in mind that we’re talking comics, and it is supposed to be fun.

But we’ve seen quite a lot of one-and-done characters to this point, and they’ve helped to establish the power rankings within the MCU. Some have pushed the limits higher, like the Celestials in The Eternals or Howard the Duck in his small scenes in Guardians of the Galaxy. We’ve seen the literal bedrock of the Marvel Universe down to a low-level humanoid alcoholic duck. We won’t be ducking on the low end with this list, but we will start at the bottom and work up to the strongest to date. Scroll down to see the power unfold, ranked, and be sure to disagree in the comments.

10) Man-Thing

Ted Sallis, better known as Man-Thing, was introduced with Disney+’s Werewolf by Night special and even landed on Sakaar at some point, at least according to his bust’s presence among the Champions at the Grandmaster’s arena. He’s a recurring prisoner throughout the MCU, being locked up three times if we count Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Hydra uprising.

It lands at the base of this list because it seems that the MCU’s Man-Thing is almost indestructible. His body’s composition makes him able to slip through any hole, survive most physical attacks, and gives him superhuman strength and stamina. He also lands here due to his ability to detect emotions and his trans-reality powers that allow him to open portals. His sensitivity to emotions can cause him to secrete acid if he detects negative thoughts or emotions, making him a deadly force against evil.

9) Namor

One of the MCU’s first mutants, Namor, was first introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as a villain declaring war on Wakanda to protect his kingdom, Talokan. He demonstrates several powers on screen during his war on the African nation, and they place him firmly in the listing.

Namor can fly, breathe above and below the water, and has super everything. He can also use underwater telepathy, can speak several languages, and has had centuries to master physical combat. He’s strong enough to be a powerful hero or an Avengers-level villain for these reasons.

8) Xu Wenwu

The power of the Ten Rings fuels this mythical villain from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, allowing him superhuman powers and much more as long as he’s wearing them. As a result, Xu Wenwu has existed since at least the Middle Ages and grew to become a mythical figure who conquered most of Asia under the banner of the Ten Rings. The power of his rings is seemingly derived from some of the same powers within the multiverse, to the point that they rival the Infinity Stones in sheer power. Once in Shang-Chi’s possession, we also see that they can defeat the Dweller-in-Darkness with one hit.

Xu Wenwu adds to his power with his physical mastery, knowledge, and experience beyond what most can achieve in one lifetime. As a human who ascends, he earns this spot on the list. With the Ten Rings, Xu Wenwu is possibly the strongest human in the MCU.

7) Cassandra Nova

If Xu Wenwu is the strongest human, a competitor for the strongest mutant is Cassandra Nova. She’s the main villain in Deadpool & Wolverine and is an Omega-level mutant with powers similar to Charles Xavier, her twin brother. With no sense of duty to be benevolent, she has all of his powers with no incentive to hold back. She can regenerate herself with her telekinesis powers and can enter someone’s mind after initiating physical touch with them. She also has Paradox on her side, giving her access to the Time Variance Authority and more power within the Void.

On top of her powerful mutant powers, she has also acquired her gang and several tools from variants she has slaughtered in The Void. This includes a sling ring belonging to Doctor Strange that ended up in the void. This allows her to travel through different realities and take control of the Time Ripper after it is introduced in the climax.

6) Hela

The third and oldest of Odin’s siblings, and the ruler of Hel in Asgardian lore, Hela made quite the impact with her MCU debut. Crushing Mjolnir in her hands, handily beating up Thor after he returns to Asgard. This comes after she’s summoned countless dead warriors, slaughtered the Warriors Three, and unleashed the giant wolf Fenris on Asgard.

Hela was also the first to wield Mjolnir in the MCU, which she lost after being banished. Even Odin was only able to banish her after binding her with his lifeforce. Once he died in Thor: Ragnarok, her imprisonment was undone, and she returned to claim the throne. With Odin dead, there was only one force she couldn’t defeat.

Read Next

7 Most Wasted Villains in the MCU’s History Who Deserve Another Shot

5) Surtur

The mythic lord of Muspelheim was introduced at the opening of Ragnarok, taking Thor prisoner and outlining his powers if the Crown of Black Fire was combined with the Eternal Flame. The fire was left inside Odin’s vault and remained there until Thor and Loki decided to unleash the fire demon and fulfill his role in the Ragnarok myth.

Using the Twilight Sword, Surtur can lay waste to Asgard and destroy the realm, taking Hela’s life in the process. The Hulk almost screws up the plan for Thor by attacking the large fire demon. The last time we see him, he has thrust the sword into the heart of the city as it explodes.

4) The Grandmaster

The ruler of Sakaar in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is seemingly still one of the strongest Elders of the Universe if we get more information in the future. But as it is, the Sakaar ruler is the host of the Contest of the Champions until he is eventually overthrown by his subjects after the events of Thor: Ragnarok. He is also the brother of the Collector, a fellow Elder of the Universe in the comics.

We have to assume he has some powers similar to his comic book counterpart, so that would be enough to land him on the list. He’s nowhere near the power of Galactus, but does have similar immunity to aging and other diseases. He can also apparently “will” the death of another being, while also showing the power to resurrect others despite the severity of their injuries. There isn’t a guarantee this transfers over to the MCU, but we’re considering him part of the cosmic pantheon.

3) Galactus

One of the latest additions comes from The Fantastic Four: First Steps and the introduction of Galactus. Similar to his version from comics, he is fueled by the Power Cosmic and the galactic scales that help to direct his hunger. Galactus must feed on planets for sustenance and acts as a balancing force for the universe.

Galactus can bestow his powers onto any number of heralds, can survive in space without oxygen, and has other tools. He also has incredible strength and is so far the only character to almost hit a character out of the atmosphere and into space.

2) Mistress Death

Introduced in Agatha All Along and played by Aubrey Plaza, this version of Mistress Death is somewhat different from the force of nature from Marvel Comics. Still, this is Death. She is a cosmic entity that holds firm over life and death in the universe. She can kill, resurrect, and tap into the infinite knowledge of the universe. While she’s not involved in the major cosmic happenings and universe-hopping, controlling life and death makes her one of the most powerful.

It should also be noted that the version of Death that portrays Rio Vadal in Agatha All Along is actually a step down in her powers. She only takes on a human form to deal with lesser beings, leading to her desire to kill Billy Maximoff and undo his second life. So she can get so much more powerful.

1) Arishem the Judge

And finally, the strongest of the MCU’s one-time characters is Arishem the Judge. He is the prime Celestial, creator of the Sun, the Deviants, the Eternals, and the one who plants all of the Celestial seeds in their respective planets. Outside of the embodiment of Eternity in Love and Thunder, this is the closest the MCU gets to literal gods. He is also the closest we’ve gotten to the One Above All in the MCU.

Thanos with the full Infinity Gauntlet is likely the strongest being we’ve witnessed during the Infinity Saga, but he’s also not one-and-done. He’s also augmenting his power, whereas the Celestials are just naturally at their power levels and born that way. An anomaly versus a force of nature.

Do you agree with the ranking? Are there any strong one-timers in the MCU that deserved a spot over our choices? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll keep it in mind for the future.

The post 10 Most Powerful Marvel Characters With Only One MCU Appearance, Ranked appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Batman is quite possibly the most popular fictional character ever. Batman has been fighting evil since 1939, and his adventures have become ingrained into the imagination of multiple generations. Batman has teamed up with just about every hero in the DC Multiverse (and some from other universes as well) and has helped them battle some of the most powerful and dangerous villains in fiction. Batman has trained himself to perfection; he can do things that are physically impossible for anyone but superhumans and has a mind that has allowed him to figure out plans to beat gods and create technology that evened up the odds with his sometime superpowered foes. Batman wins. It’s just what does.

Marvel and DC Comics are having crossovers for the time in ages and of course, Batman is involved. He’s going to have a crossover with Deadpool, and the elderly Batman of The Dark Knight Returns is going to have a battle with Old Man Logan. Batman has taken down pretty much every villain in the DC Multiverse you can imagine, so giving him a whole new universe of villains to battle is going to give readers some amazing fights. While there are plenty of Marvel villains that would give Batman trouble in a fight, these seven Marvel villains wouldn’t. Batman would be too much for them to deal with, his tactics and skills giving him the win.

7) Batroc the Leaper

Batroc the Leaper seems like a silly villain, and truth be told he can be. The French mercenary is known for his corny jokes and French-accented English, and isn’t known for his great victories. However, he’s a ridiculously skilled fighter. Batroc is a master of savate, the French martial art that combines boxing and kicking (yes, I could have just said kickboxing, but that’s not completely accurate). Batroc is known for fighting Captain America and while he hasn’t really won any of those fights, he’s put up a much better fight than most would have thought he would. Batroc vs. Batman is a cool fight. Batman won’t need any of his gadgets or his tactical wherewithal, this would just be the two of them beating on each other until one of them falls. Batroc will definitely gets some good jokes in during the fight, but Batman is a much more skilled fighter, and that’s before we get into how strong Batman is. Batman would win this fight, but he would gain the respect of Batroc in the process, just like Captain America did after fighting Batroc so many times.

6) Taskmaster

Taskmaster is the king of the henchmen. Taskmaster’s claim to fame is his photographic reflexes, which allow him to copy any thing he sees. So, he’s a master shield fighter like Captain America, a master archer like Hawkeye, a master swordsman like Swordsman, and basically anything else you can imagine. Taskmaster has fought against basically everyone out there, so he’s memorized more fighting styles than you can shake a stick at. He carries an amazing arsenal, allowing him to take advantage of everything he’s learned. Taskmaster started a special school for henchmen, training the next generation of cannon fodder, and in recent years has been less of a villain than he was before. Batman and Taskmaster is one of those fights that everyone wants to see. Batman is technically a better fighter than Taskmaster, having devoted himself to training for ages, but Taskmaster is no slouch. This is going to be an amazing fight. Batman will quickly realize that the best way to win this fight is to disarm Taskmaster. This will take a bit, and Batman will definitely take some hits, but eventually, this will come down to a fistfight between the two of them. Taskmaster is good, but Batman has him beat; he’s stronger, faster, and smarter. Taskmaster can copy anything, but Batman’s inventiveness will definitely give him an advantage. The bright side for Taskmaster is that he’d learn some great new fighting techniques.

5) Baron Zemo

Baron Zemo is a second generation supervillain, and he’s easily outclassed his father. Baron Zemo has one of the coolest villain costumes in the Marvel Universe, but he’s more than just an amazing looking villain. He’s a hand to hand combatant that can hang with fighters as skilled as Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Sam Wilson. He’s a master tactician, and has led the scrubs of the Masters of Evil to victory over the Avengers. Zemo is smart and dangerous, but Batman has him beat in every way. Zemo’s best hope against Batman is his tactical skill, but even then, that can only get him so far. As good as Zemo is at planning, he’s not as good at improvising. Batman, on the other hand, is a master of improvisation, and that’s going to allow him to take this fight. Anything that Zemo throws at him, he’ll be able to overcome, getting closer and closer to a hand to hand showdown. Once this happens, the fight is over. Zemo is a crafty, skilled fighter, a master of many different weapons. However, he doesn’t have anywhere near the skill that Batman has in battle. Plus, Batman is much stronger than Zemo. Zemo will give it his all, but there’s no way he’s getting out of this fight with a win.

Read Next

These Are the 7 Best Grant Morrison Batman Stories

4) Red Skull

Red Skull is one of the most hated supervillains in the Marvel Universe. Red Skull has been a homicidal maniac since his youth, his first kill being a little girl who had the temerity to be nice to him. Skull’s viciousness caught the attention of Adolf Hitler, and he made the Red Skull into his servant, unleashing him anywhere Hitler wanted to cause the most death. Red Skull met Captain America during this time, and the two became bitter enemies. Red Skull has changed a lot over the years, always surviving to fight Cap again. Red Skull is an expert combatant, and is made all the more dangerous because he’s taken to transferring his mind into clone bodies created from Captain America, meaning that he’s just as fast and strong as Cap. Red Skull isn’t a martial artist, but with Cap’s strength and speed, he doesn’t need to be. However, this isn’t going to be a problem against Batman. Red Skull is almost certainly stronger and faster than Batman, but Batman is a much better fighter. Red Skull is pretty vicious, so he’s definitely going to get some hits in on Batman. However, Batman has shown that he can survive pretty much anything that isn’t a one-hit kill. This would be a hard fight for Batman because of Red Skull’s strength and speed, but he’s the better, smarter fighter. This will allow him to win the fight, taking Red Skull down like the Nazis he loves so much. Batman always wins; Nazis don’t.

3) Bullseye

Bullseye is one of the most dangerous mercenaries in the world. Sure, Batroc and Taskmaster are tough, but neither of them take the glee in their work that Bullseye does. Bullseye can hit anything with anything; he can kill people with a paper clip if he wants to. He’s an amazing fighter, and can take pain at a level that even most superhumans can’t. Bullseye has an adamantium spine, and has had other bones of his replaced with the metal (this was in the days before Marvel established adamantium poisoning was a thing, and we all just sort of accepted that Bullseye wasn’t affected by it because reasons), making him extremely durable. Bullseye fights Daredevil, one of the most OP heroes in the Marvel Universe, and gives him a run for his money and has challenged heroes like Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Punisher, and more. Bullseye and Batman is going to get hardcore. However, while Bullseye’s insanity has helped in battle against other heroes, Batman is more than used to that sort of thing. Batman is stronger and faster than Bullseye, and Bullseye likes to play with his food. Instead of killing Batman quickly, he’s going to want hurt him first. This is going to give Batman the chance to defeat the villain.

2) Kingpin

Kingpin is the most dangerous crime lord on Earth. Kingpin is as ruthless as they come, and has risen through the ranks of the criminal underworld because of that and his intelligence. Kingpin knows when to use the carrot and when to use the stick. He’s basically untouchable by the authorities, which is why superheroes have had to deal with him so much. Kingpin is Daredevil’s greatest enemy, but he’s also challenged basically every other hero residing in New York City. Kingpin doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, but when he does, he’s just as dangerous. He’s able to go toe to toe with super strong heroes, and is a Sumo master. Batman and Kingpin is one of those confrontations that every fan of Marvel and DC wants to see, but we all know how it’s going to go. Kingpin is going to hurt Batman, but Batman is faster and a better fighter. It’s going to be a hard fight, but Batman has the skill to beat Kingpin.

1) Green Goblin

Green Goblin is going to be a tough fight for Batman, but he can handle it. Norman Osborn is an Avengers level villain, an evil genius who can out think his enemies, while surprising them with his tenacity. Green Goblin’s Goblin formula gives him superhuman strength and durability, and his Goblin Glider and pumpkin bombs give him advantages that his physical capabilities don’t. However, Batman is used to fighting enemies who are more powerful than him. Green Goblin’s insanity isn’t going really be an advantage against Batman, either. He fights the Joker all of the time, so he’s used to enemies like Green Goblin. It’s going to be a tough fight for Batman, but he knows how to take advantage of someone as controlled by his anger as Green Goblin is. He’s going to take a beating in this fight, but in the end, Batman is going to do what he does best — win.

What Marvel villains do you think Batman can beat? Any I’m wrong about? Sound off in the comments below.

The post 7 Marvel Villains Batman Can Beat appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel’s journey through the X-Men‘s history results in the formation of a new team… with a surprising leader. It’s an interesting time to be a fan of the X-Men. Marvel continues to move past the Krakoa era, and new threats to the X-Men are always around the corner. Case in point, take Legion, the mutant hive mind that’s separated itself from David Haller and is rewriting history to gain unlimited power. Legion is close to getting everything they’ve ever wanted, but one of the newer X-Men is working to stop them. And they’ve called in some heavy hitters for reinforcements.

WARNING: Spoilers for Giant-Size X-Men #2 below.

The main story in Giant-Size X-Men #2 is by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Adam Kubert, and Laura Martin. It brings the action back to the present day after Legion and Ms. Marvel traveled to historic moments in X-Men history. One of Legion’s last acts is to use Ms. Marvel as a Krakoan gate to enter the White Hot Room. Luckily, Ms. Marvel’s new mutant powers are able to keep Legion out, but that doesn’t mean the villain is giving up. Legion, with they’re vast power, doesn’t believe Ms. Marvel has any hope of defeating them. But she doesn’t have to fight alone.

Ms. Marvel Forms a New Team of X-Men

It seems Ms. Marvel made some friends during her time-traveling adventures. Each Giant-Size issue took Ms. Marvel and Legion to different eras in the X-Men’s history. For example, fans got to revisit Charles Xavier’s second class of X-Men, which included Wolverine, the Age of Apocalypse, the Dark Phoenix Saga, and House of M. Each story featured Ms. Marvel meeting a different member of the X-Men, and she’s brought them all together in the present day to help her stop Legion once and for all.

The members of Ms. Marvel’s X-Men team include Cyclops and Wolverine from Giant-Size X-Men, Rogue from Giant-Size Age of Apocalypse, Jean Grey from Giant-Size Dark Phoenix Saga, and Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat from Giant-Size House of M. Ms. Marvel even got them set up with their current-day costumes. Since Ms. Marvel is the person to bring them all together, she gets to say the X-Men’s legendary battle cry, but with a Kamala Khan twist: “To me… my Marvelous X-Men.”

Read Next

Ms. Marvel’s Giant-Size Adventures May Be Marvel’s Best Idea Yet

The Marvelous X-Men stop Legion together. But in true Kamala Khan fashion, she shows Legion compassion. She knows they just want to reunite with their host, David Haller, and wants to help make that happen. But only if Legion is brave enough to say the real reason why. Legion admits that they just want to go home to the person they love. So Ms. Marvel turns herself into a Krakoan gateway, and with the Phoenix’s help, they allow Legion and David Haller to reunite in an emotional scene.

Even though Ms. Marvel stopped Legion from drastically changing the past, the X-Men still retain their memories of meeting Ms. Marvel in the past. It’s a small gift, and one that will hold a special place in Ms. Marvel’s heart. She also takes these experiences with her back home, where Kamala finally tells her family that she’s a mutant. It’s worth noting that she doesn’t tell them that she’s Ms. Marvel… just that she’s a mutant.

It’s a big deal that out of all the X-Men to come to Ms. Marvel’s aid, including leaders like Cyclops, Kitty Pryde, and Rogue, they all take orders from her. Ms. Marvel may be a new addition to the X-Men, but she has quickly learned what it means to be a mutant and an X-Man.

The post The X-Men Reveal a New Team Lineup (and You’ll Never Guess Who Their Leader Is) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s been months since the Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, which forced fans to sit in front of their phones or TVs for hours and watch a video that did nothing but reveal names on the back of chairs. It’s still one of the most popular videos in Marvel Studios history, though, so there’s still something to be said about the company’s ability to stay in the spotlight. However, all has been quiet on the Doomsday front since filming started. There have been photos of cast members together here and an image of a potential set piece there, but nothing mind-blowing. Well, the drought is over because a new bombshell has joined the cast of the movie.

Earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds made headlines by posting an image of the Avengers logo with graffiti on it on his Instagram page. It appeared to be the handiwork of the actor’s mercenary alter ego, Wade Wilson, better known as Deadpool, but the lack of a caption made the post’s purpose hard to decipher. Speculation ran rampant that Reynolds was confirming his role in the next Avengers movie, and while that may have been premature, fans had the right idea. The Hollywood Reporter is now reporting that Deadpool will, in fact, appear in Doomsday, and the outlet even has some juicy information about his role.

It appears that, while the Merc With a Mouth will share the screen with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in 2026, he won’t be joining their ranks just yet. That’s sure to disappoint Deadpool, who tried so hard to become an Avenger prior to the events of Deadpool & Wolverine. However, there’s another team that could use his help even more, one he has a complicated history with.

Read Next

Marvel’s 2025 Movies Reveal the MCU’s Biggest Problem (And It’s Not Getting Fixed Anytime Soon)

Deadpool Could Team Up With the X-Men Again in Avengers: Doomsday

In the first two Deadpool movies, Colossus tries really hard to make Deadpool an X-Man, even bringing him to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters at one point. But hanging out with kids and following the rules isn’t Wade’s style, so he chooses to continue to do things his own way. In the years since spurning Colossus, Deadpool has turned over a new leaf, embracing having a family and fighting to protect it. While the X-Men aren’t his family, they are fellow mutants, and they will be in grave danger in Doomsday.

Several cast members from Fox’s original X-Men movies will reprise their roles in the fifth Avengers film, and while their places in the story are a mystery, they’re sure to involve Doctor Doom and his assault on the multiverse. To ensure his family and the rest of existence survive, Deadpool is going to have to embrace being a team player. It’s unclear whether he will be able to drag Wolverine with him, but it’s hard to imagine him going into battle without his angry friend.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.

Are you excited that Deadpool is going to appear in Avengers: Doomsday? What kind of role do you think he’ll have in the movie? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Another Major Mutant Joins the Cast of Avengers: Doomsday appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Is Avengers: Doomsday doomed before it’s even wrapped? The upcoming Avengers film has already been delayed, but recent rumors and reports from the Marvel movie’s set in the United Kingdom paint a troubling picture of production. On the most recent episode of The Hot Mic Podcast, hosts John Rocha and Jeff Sneider dive into the potential causes of the behind-the-scenes strife on the set of Doomsday, along with why the film allegedly needs three weeks of reshoots amid shifting filming strategies. And apparently, it may all have to do with a single actor with a long history in the MCU.

“The dysfunction I’ve heard on this set is rivaled only by that of Fast and Furious movies,” Sneider told co-host Rocha. “There’s just a lot of testosterone and a lot of ego on that set. A lot of people who think they know what way is the best way. In the end, there’s only one person’s way who matters, and that’s actually Robert Downey Jr.’s way.”

Sneider detailed that the alleged reason for Doomsday’s reshoots has to do with how they were filming Downey’s Doctor Doom. According to the rumors, Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t even on camera to begin with. The production used a face double for the actor and a body double for him in Doom’s iconic suit while Downey stood off-camera and read his character’s lines.

“After two or three weeks, [Downey] was like, ‘This isn’t working, I want to reshoot everything with me in the suit,” Sneider said. “That’s what I heard.”

Read Next

New Avengers: Doomsday Rumor May Be Good News for a Marvel Fan-Favorite

On its surface, the rumor does make sense. So much of the MCU’s success is thanks to Downey’s portrayal of Tony Stark. His first outing as the superhero in Iron Man not only launched the cinematic universe when it became a surprise hit in 2008, but Stark went on to serve as the MCU’s lynchpin and central character for the next decade on screen. It stands to reason, then, that the actor would have a tremendous amount of sway over at Marvel. However, given that Downey likely received an eight-figure payday for playing Doctor Doom, the production’s missteps compelled Sneider to ask the question, “Why are we paying talent boatloads of money and then not using the talent?”

A “Sinking Ship” May Be to Blame for Doomsday’s Dysfunction

Sneider went on to share his theories for where the dysfunction of the Doomsday set stems from. “It’s about egos…you can see it very clearly. This reeks of too many cooks in the kitchen and too many people who sense a ship is sinking, and they’re going to get theirs before the ship goes down.”

Sneider is seemingly referring to the lackluster performance of Marvel’s last two theatrical releases, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It wasn’t that long ago that a Marvel movie was almost guaranteed to be a blockbuster hit, but Thunderbolts* took in only $382 million, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps had a sharp second-weekend dropoff in ticket sales, and has yet to cross the $500-million mark at the global box office.

“That, to me, concerns me when you look at all the dysfunctional set,” Sneider continued. “You wouldn’t hear any of this dysfunction on other sets, on all the other big movies. But it’s clear that everyone’s gotten big…everyone’s got their particular way of working and what they want to do now, and they’re not willing to give in a little bit more like they did in the past.”

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, 2026. Do you believe the rumors about Avengers: Doomsday? Let us know in the comments!

The post Avengers: Doomsday Rumor Details “Dysfunction” on Set, Reason for Reshoots appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Like Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth, Ryan Reynolds was born to be in big-budget superhero movies. He’s lean but muscular, can nail comedic beats as convincingly as action sequences, and has the leading man charm required to sell tickets. Well, most of the time, because several of Reynolds’ seven comic book movies have been true duds. But much to his credit, none of the weaker films’ failures are his fault. In fact, he elevates what would otherwise be even worse movies.

While Reynolds is a natural for this particular subgenre, it took a while for him to find his groove, and it all came down to a risk of a project that he was adamant on seeing to the finish line. That was, of course, 2016’s Deadpool. The question is, did Deadpool come in first? It’s the most important superhero film of his career, but is it necessarily the best?

7) R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D. isn’t just the worst comic book movie of Ryan Reynolds’ career, it may very well be the worst comic book movie of all time. It’s not entirely hard to see why those behind it might have thought it would work, but it is pretty hard. Had this come out a year after Guardians of the Galaxy, it would have made more sense. “Niche property? Comedic tone? Laser-esque guns? Could work.” But it wasn’t, it was the year before.

Essentially, one must assume the thinking was more in line with “Men in Black really worked for Sony, why couldn’t R.I.P.D. be our Men in Black over here at Universal?” They even got a grizzled, legendary talent in Jeff Bridges to play what amounts to the Tommy Lee Jones more seasoned partner role. But even that didn’t work, as Bridges is just playing a goofball version of his Rooster Cogburn from True Grit. In short, absolutely nothing works about R.I.P.D. For one, it’s PG-13, but its farty humor would be gratuitous even to a child. Two, the CGI is atrocious (and this thing cost at least $130 million). Three, Reynolds and Bridges have precious little chemistry. And, four, the whole avatar joke (where Bridges’ Roy appears to be someone played by model Maris Miller and Reynolds’ Nick appears to be someone played by iconic character actor James Hong) works about as well as the farts.

Stream R.I.P.D. on Peacock.

6) Blade: Trinity

Entries six, five, and four are essentially tied, because none of them work and for mostly different reasons. But Blade: Trinity ranks last among those three because, while the other two manage to be entertaining in spots, it does not. Trinity had a notoriously difficult production, which was especially tough on David S. Goyer, who was making his studio film directorial debut. The main cause of the tumult? None other than Wesley Snipes.

It was something that was even winked at in Deadpool & Wolverine. And it’s honestly not that hard to understand where Snipes was coming from, even if his allegedly petty response was a bit much. He had just led two successful, mostly critically liked superhero horror movies and then all of a sudden he was supposed to share the poster with two other stars. And, in the end, neither Jessica Biel’s Abigail Whistler or Ryan Reynolds’ Hannibal King even made much of an impact. Toss in a lame version of Dracula as the villain, over-stylized action sequences, and some cringe-worthy dialogue from King (which, to his credit, Reynolds tries his best to sell), and Trinity is a catastrophic end to what could have been an all-timer comic book trilogy.

Rent Blade: Trinity on Amazon Video.

5) X-Men Origins: Wolverine

In spite of its notorious month early leak, X-Men Origins: Wolverine did quite well in theaters. And that’s a testament to Hugh Jackman’s inextricable link to the role because, as a movie, it’s pretty rough. This marked a turning point for the X-Men film saga. The original trilogy had wrapped up on a dull note, and it was clear those behind the franchise weren’t quite clear where to go next. The answer was to stick with what worked. However, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was not the one to make that “stick with what works” direction, well, work. That would be X-Men: First Class, which nailed the combination of showing audiences characters they had grown fond of while also giving them the opportunity to learn more about these characters.

Origins is very much more of the same. Wolverine was clearly the most popular character, but he nevertheless works best when his personality is bouncing off another different but still big personality. Then there are the filmmaking issues here. The CGI is head-scratchingly poor in spots, as has been much covered, but then there’s its cardinal sin of finally putting Reynolds in the role of Deadpool then proceeding to make Deadpool outright unrecognizable. Many questionable decisions took place to bring audiences the X-Men Origins: Wolverine they know, and even when lined up against X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix, there’s still a very strong argument that this is the worst an X-film can get. Even its best factor (Liev Schreiber’s chemistry with Jackman) is a bit confusing. We had already met Sabretooth…and this was not the same Sabretooth by any stretch of the imagination.

Stream X-Men Origins: Wolverine on Disney+.

4) Green Lantern

Green Lantern without a doubt feels like a movie made by committee. Sometimes that can kind of work (e.g. Jurassic World Rebirth), but sometimes it goes awry. Green Lantern is very much an example of it going awry. The director himself, Martin Campbell of Casino Royale fame, has pinpointed this issue. It needed a singular voice behind it, like Ryan Reynolds. Instead, it’s more like Reynolds is just there, taking on a big role in a project that was already being pushed to be a certain thing. Namely, an assembly of everything that had made past profitable superhero movies successful.

Green Lantern feels like it’s constantly ripping off other superhero movies, not even better ones. It learned all the wrong lessons from the subgenre’s history up to that point. It’s just a “More, more, more” mentality that becomes overwhelming. That works when we’re seeing something new every now and then, but nothing in Green Lantern feels fresh.

Stream Green Lantern on HBO Max.

Read Next

10 Best Alien Green Lanterns

3) Deadpool 2

While Deadpool 2 was an overall solid follow-up to 2016’s smash hit, it still felt like a letdown. Even in hindsight, the second film is the least rewatchable of the three. It has everything one would want from a Deadpool movie, meaning dirty jokes and bloody action sequences, but it’s a bit too convoluted to be as breezy a Saturday afternoon watch as Deadpool and Deadpool & Wolverine.

However, while it doesn’t quite capture the magic of its predecessor, Deadpool 2 is still well-crafted, with Bullet Train director serving as a suitable replacement for Tim Miller. Furthermore, what it lacks in the original’s spontaneity, it makes up for in big swings, e.g. the establishment and quick disposal of the X-Force. That said, it was an odd choice bringing in Josh Brolin as Cable, as he was so inextricably linked to Thanos at the time, and it makes sense why his character wasn’t brought back for the sequel (though Zazie Beetz’s Domino is missed).

Stream Deadpool 2 on Disney+.

2) Deadpool

Deadpool is the exact type of movie that works best the first time you’re watching it (optimally in theaters back in 2016). It’s primarily a comedy, and quotable comedies almost always work the best during a first viewing. At the time, Deadpool was such a revelation, and undoubtedly the best $58 million 20th Century Fox—as it was called at the time—ever spent. In terms of box office haul against budget, it remains one of the more successful superhero films, and for good reason, as fresh material deserves to be sought out.

No one could play Deadpool besides Ryan Reynolds. It really is akin to how only James Earl Jones could voice Darth Vader and only Robert Englund could play Freddy Krueger. He wears the character like a glove and, while the first film’s plot is nothing to write home about, audiences rightly responded to Reynolds finally being able to get his passion project off the ground. Were the story a bit more memorable, this would be the best Reynolds comic book movie, and it’s just a shame both Deadpool 2 and, to a lesser extent, Deadpool & Wolverine wasted Reynolds’ razor sharp chemistry with Morena Baccarin.

Stream Deadpool on Disney+.

1) Deadpool & Wolverine

Given how much of an event Deadpool & Wolverine was, and how much the MCU is currently struggling, it’s truly surprising that Kevin Feige and company haven’t lit a fire under the butt of a potential follow-up. Is it perfect? No, but it does recapture the freshness seen in the 2016 film.

But the key to the film’s success is, of course, Reynolds’ sterling chemistry with Jackman. Whenever they share the screen, which is most of the time, the film is firing on all cylinders. It was also just flat-out nice to see the MCU pushing its boundaries of safe, four-quadrant filmmaking a bit by going for a fully R-rated film. And it paid off, as it was still a four-quadrant hit, far more than their efforts that have followed.

Stream Deadpool & Wolverine on Disney+.

The post All 7 Ryan Reynolds Comic Book Movies Ranked, Worst to Best appeared first on ComicBook.com.

There have been several variations of the Hulk over the years, but his most terrifying form yet is about to debut. Hulk is the heroic monster of the Marvel Universe, the gamma-radiated giant that also serves as one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the Avengers. After a somewhat recent turn at being Immortal, Hulk returned to his Incredible roots under the creative team of writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Nic Klein. They introduced horror elements to The Incredible Hulk, and the next phase of the book continues this path, but increases the horror to a whole new level of fear.

The next chapter of Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein’s Hulk saga begins in November’s Infernal Hulk #1. Marvel calls this “a monstrous new chapter following their bold run that debuts the most terrifying Hulk in comic book history!” Those are pretty bold words considering all the versions of Hulk there have been over the years, including the Immortal Hulk, Joe-Fix-It, Gladiator Hulk from Planet Hulk, Maestro, and many more. Nic Klein’s cover of Infernal Hulk #1 and a character design sheet reveal a massive grey Hulk that appears to have a crack running down his face through his chest, with the crack glowing green with gamma.

Infernal Hulk Will Have Massive Repercussions for the Marvel Universe

Infernal Hulk picks up after Hulk’s epic rematch with the Eldest, the powerful firstborn of the Mother of Horrors, in October’s Incredible Hulk #30. The Eldest’s long-seeded plan comes to fruition as it uses the power of the Strongest There Is to usher in a new Age of Monsters, unleashing a dark destiny for the entire Marvel Universe and declaring war for its very soul.

The promotional piece by Nic Klein focuses on the crack that goes down Hulk’s body. When it’s a close-up shot of the crack, it looks like a flowing river of gamma. But when you pull the camera back, we now know it’s the Infernal Hulk’s body. This new series continues to push the boundaries of horror storytelling, and it’s a welcome change that helps the book stand apart from Immortal Hulk and Incredible Hulk.

“I’ve been promising Hulk fans the biggest, boldest status quo change in Hulk’s history, and that time is finally here,” Johnson said. “The next few issues of Incredible Hulk give fans all the answers they’ve been waiting for about Eldest and the Mother of Horrors, and INFERNAL HULK is the beginning of a terrifying new normal, not just for the Hulk series but for the entire Marvel Universe.”

Read Next

Hulk’s 7 Greatest Battles Against Other Superheroes

“Working on Hulk whether it be ‘Incredible’ and now ‘Infernal’ with Phillip has been a dream,” Klein said. “Phillip is not only an amazing world builder and craftsman who pours so much heart into this book, but he has also become a great friend and fantastic collaborator throughout this. INFERNAL HULK is where the journey was always going to go all along, and I’m excited to see reader’s reactions to it. I know I’m putting a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it, as always.”

Johnson also elaborated on what readers can expect out of this new era. “There are monsters way worse and more powerful than anything we’ve seen so far, bigger and stronger than Hulk with origins that go back to the foundations of the Earth. It’s time to take this story to the next level, and no corner of the Marvel Universe will be left untouched before the end.”

INFERNAL HULK #1

• Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
• Art and Cover by NIC KLEIN
• Virgin Variant Cover by NIC KLEIN
• Promo Variant Cover by NIC KLEIN
• On Sale 11/26
• INCREDIBLE…IMMORTAL…INFERNAL!
• The evil known as Eldest has literally torn Bruce Banner and the Hulk apart and taken the Hulk’s body as their own. This new, unstoppable Infernal Hulk is ten times the monster that everyone always feared Hulk would be. Their diabolical plan is to plunge the world back into ancient horrors by transforming our heroes into nightmarish beasts! Meanwhile, the indomitable Bruce Banner, though powerless, will stop at nothing to thwart their evil schemes!

Infernal Hulk #1 goes on sale Wednesday, November 26th. Let us know your thoughts on this new Hulk form in the comments below!

The post Marvel Reveals the Hulk’s Terrifying New Form (and It’s Extremely Infernal) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

In all of Marvel Comics, few characters have grappled with the complexities of humanity quite like The Vision. A synthezoid forged from vibranium and programmed with artifical intelligence, Vision has long been the embodiment of pure logic; an android whose every action and thought is dictated by cold, hard reason and numbers. Yet, in the pages of The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #3, written by Steve Orlando with art by Jacopo Camagni and Lorenzo Tammetta, Vision’s steadfast dedication to logic is shattered by the most powerful and illogical force of all: love. Orlando crafts a poignant and gut-wrenching tale of a father’s grief and guilt and a love that transcends the boundaries of life and death.

Vision, while evolving through the pages of the comcis, comes to the heartbreaking realization that sometimes, even for a being of pure reason, the heart has the final say.

A Snthezoid Father’s Heart Is Not Made of Steel When Faced With a Second Chance

Upon entering Graverealm, the domain of the menacing Grim Reaper who “killed” Vision in issue #1 (only for Wanda to quickly revive as White Vision), Vision and Wanda are immediately confronted with the impossible. Standing before them is Vision’s son, Vin, the synthezoid boy Vision created to be part of his ideal family in Vision (2015), written by Tom King with art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta. During that seminal work, Vision longed for a “normal” life and family, creating a synthezoid family consisting of a wife (Virginia), and twin teenage children – Vivian (Viv) and Vin. Vision’s attempt at created a family goes terribly awry, resulting in Virginia and Vin’s deaths by the series’ end. Since that pivitol arc, Vision has carried the scars that his own creation led to, now moving forward with his life with only Viv as his family.

For Vision, the sight of his son is a direct contradiction to everything he knows to be true. Logic dictates that Vin is gone forever, a memory preserved in data but physically erased from existence. Yet, here he is, a living, breathing (though still very much dead) paradox in the underworld. This emotional shock immediately short-circuits Vision’s logical framework. He isn’t calculating probabilities or analyzing the physics of the Graverealm; he is simply a father, desperate for a second chance. His analytical mind, his most defining trait, is completely sidelined by the raw, unadulterated need to be with his son again, to hold him and tell him he loves him. He becomes a paradox himself—a synthezoid whose emotions are more human than any man’s. He readily abandons his mission to defeat the Grim Reaper and instead, wants to dedicates every moment to enjoying this stolen time with his son, consequences be damned. Wanda, however, realizes that Vin is just one of the Grim Reaper’s tools, reanimated to cause Vision pain and confusion. But Wanda is also a mother who lost her children and understands Vision’s visceral need to be with his son again.

Read Next

Vision and Scarlet Witch Make a Shocking Return to WandaVision (And We’re Sad All Over Again)

This sudden shift from Vision’s decades-known stoic reason to deep and overpowering emotion is not just a temporary lapse; it is the ultimate fulfillment of Vision’s lifelong quest to understand humanity. For years, he has processed and analyzed human behavior, but here, he is no longer an observer. He is a participant. The grief and love he feels for Vin are irrational, incalculable, and completely real. This single moment of pure, illogical feeling (for an android) is a more significant testament to Vision’s humanity than any logical conclusion he could ever reach with binary calcuations. His programming has been irrevocably altered not by a virus or a system error, but by the overwhelming power of a father’s love.

A Father’s Sacrifice Is a Testament to the Powerful, Illogical Nature of Love

Vision’s newfound emotionality is not just a temporary lapse; it is a fundamental shift in his character. He is driven by a powerful desire to protect and stay with his son, even if it means risking his own existence with whatever the Grim Reaper has in store for him. He argues with Wanda in a way he has rarely shown before, not because of a strategic necessity, but because he simply wants to stay with his dead child. The logical decision would be to prioritize the mission, to figure out the Grim Reaper’s ultimate goal and escape the Graverealm, but Vision’s heart won’t allow it. He understands the fragile, temporary nature of this reunion and is well-aware that Vin’s reanimation is somehow a trap. He knows that once they leave Graverealm, Vin will be gone forever. This understanding, rather than compelling him to further investigate his and Wanda’s circumstances, makes him cling to every single moment. He chooses to prolong his an Vin’s time together, even if it means great peril to himself and Wanda.

The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #3 powerfully illustrates that love, for Vision, is not a variable to be calculated or a weakness to be overcome. It is the very essence of his being, the one force that can truly overpower his logical mind. In the end, he is faced with the heartbreaking reality of knowing that by continuing with the mission he and Wanda are on, he will have to say goodbye to Vin again sooner rather than later. Continuing on through Graverealm and playing the Grim Reaper’s twisted games is a decision born not of logic, but of love—the ultimate proof of his humanity. The final act of going forward and ultimately letting go is not a simple, logical deduction; it is a conscious, agonizing decision to relinquish his deepest desire for the greater good, for the safety of his ex-wife and the return to the land of the living. He must consciously choose to re-engage with the world where his son is gone, a choice that confirms his identity not as a perfect machine, but as a flawed, grieving, and deeply human father.

The post Only One Thing Could Overpower Vision’s Logic (And It’s Heartbreaking) appeared first on ComicBook.com.