Season Four Wrap-Up of Avengers Assemble

Okay, first things first. Life and lassitude hit at the same time, and I ended up leaving you in limbo for quite a while, readers. Thankfully, life has stabilized and the lethargy has been overcome, so this blogger now has time and energy to devote to you once again. Hopefully it will stay this way going forward. 🙂

Second, I would like to apologize for taking so long to write about the last five episodes of Avengers Assemble: Secret Wars season. I didn’t write this post earlier primarily because I wanted to see where season five of Assemble – titled Black Panther’s Quest – would go before I said anything about season four. So this writer waited until the fifth season had played out before speaking her peace.

Black Panther’s Quest was pretty much what I expected. The Avengers hardly showed up, and when they did, they had undergone a radical redesign to make them match their film depiction more closely. Plus, Wakanda was changed to appear more the movie version, which should not have happened. That Wakanda is nothing like the one in the comics, and outside of his appearances in the Avengers films, the T’Challa/Black Panther in the film bearing the same name is not the one Stan Lee and company created.

Because of these alterations, this blogger saw no more than one or two episodes of Assemble’s season five. Based on those viewings, there will be no more reviews of Avengers Assemble here at Thoughts. This is the final word the Mithril Guardian has for the most recent American series focusing on the Avengers. (The new travesty with an almost exclusively female team does not bear or deserve the title of Avengers.) I may write about Avengers: DISK Wars and Marvel’s Future Avengers at some point, but that is it. Marvel’s new Western offerings hold no more interest for me.

The last five episodes of Assemble were problematic and therefore difficult to watch. “Weirdworld,” the installment following “The Vibranium Coast,” was for the most part entertaining. This was due almost entirely to the fact that Black Widow completely ignored Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers. (Honestly, that woman does not know when to stop talking..!) Rather than try to force a friendship between the two based on the trite “we’re-two-women-in-a-man’s-world” trope, the writers made it clear that Natasha barely does more than tolerate the braggart Danvers. It was a refreshing change from the enforced norm in other series and this author appreciated that.

The rest of the show focused on the dichotomy between the Hulk and Bruce Banner. Separated by the Beyonder in “Underworld,” Bruce has been hunting his green, wild half ever since. He’s so desperate to end the Hulk that he has struck a deal with Morgan le Fay to destroy Big Green once and for all. Her patch of Battleworld – dubbed Weirdworld by Bruce – is uniquely adapted to this conflict. Using a variety of strange plant life, he tries again and again to capture the Hulk.

Morgan le Fay

Due to his single-minded pursuit, he misses Morgan le Fay reveal to the heroines that she plans to use the Hulk’s power for herself. Her slip-up is actually believable, since she realizes that Natasha has feelings for both the Hulk and Bruce. Morgan’s miscalculation isn’t made simply to show how evil she is; she’s genuinely trying to hurt someone when she reveals her evil plan. So that part of the episode was well-executed and, added to Black Widow’s clearly non-existent rapport with Captain Marvel, makes “Weirdworld” fairly enjoyable.

As for the rest, I have to say that it is getting tiresome to watch Bruce always trying to kill the Hulk. I understand the history behind it, and done well, it is a good story line. In “Weirdworld,” however, it is not done well at all. I would have been more interested if they had introduced Bruce and the Hulk trying to reconnect with one another, only to be thwarted at every turn by Weirdworld so Morgan le Fay could capture and drain the Hulk of his power. Given the rapport developed between the two halves of the character in earlier seasons, I was actually expecting that turn of events. But the writers went for a cheap retread of an old story rather than an imaginative, new take on the familiar plot.

Unfortunately, this is a problem that repeats itself in the following episodes. “Westland” had some promising themes and moments, but on the whole it rated a “meh” on the scale of entertainment. In search of Doctor Strange, whose magic can help repair and control the Bifrost, Hawkeye, Vision, Wasp, and Loki arrive in an old West town. Only, in this town, they don’t ride horses. They ride dinosaurs.

While an inventive take on the idea, I have to say that the dinosaurs threw me for a loop. It was too jarring a change from the norm that seemed to have little to do with both the characters and the setting. Plus, in Marvel’s original comics, the Avengers did travel to the Old West a couple of times. Hawkeye was particularly comfortable there, finding a great friend in the Wild West vigilante called Two-Gun.

Throughout its run, “Westland” carries overtones of being an homage to this past story arc, with the World’s Greatest Marksman showing enormous interest in and relative familiarity with the time period. The problem is that the installment is less of a pastiche and more of a joke. We get a token bar fight at the beginning following Hawkeye’s very poor attempt to “speak the lingo” to the bar tender. The denizens’ of Westland ignore him and attack the team, considering Vision a threat because he looks like a robot (technically, he’s a synthetic man). The disrespect or disinterest on the writers’ part to Hawkeye’s history with this story line only continues in several later scenes, though it is somewhat mitigated by Clint’s being temporarily blinded.

Blinding him was definitely a good choice on the writers’ part, as it is a fairly rare story line that nevertheless carries a punch whenever it is utilized. Depriving him of his capacity to continue fighting with his sight is a surefire way to bring drama and tension to an Avengers or Hawkeye installment. “Westland,” when it gives attention to this aspect of the tale, all but sings in this area.

The rest of the story, however, is a bit of a mess. Vision ends up in the clutches of Rocket and Groot, who plan to use him as spare parts to fix their ship. Vision breaks out of the sack before they can do this and learns to converse with Groot. We are then treated to meaning several conversations that consist of “I am Vision” and “I am Groot,” which is actually a nice touch. Then Jane Foster arrives and reveals that she is the sheriff of the town, totally undermining the callback to Two-Gun and Hawkeye’s ties with the Old West. Add to this the chip on Wasp’s shoulder and Loki’s grandstanding, and the episode left me feeling unfulfilled and unhappy.

Admittedly, they did try to make Hope a little nicer in this episode. She does her best to support and comfort Hawkeye after his blinding, showing genuine sympathy and concern for him. Her pep talk to get him fighting again was almost good – except for the part where they took Clint’s speech to Wanda in Age of Ultron and had Hope repeat it back to him verbatim. That was unnecessary, out of step with her character, and it showed a complete lack of imagination on the part of the writers.

Jane Foster’s promise to “bring her wrath” down on Loki if he betrayed the Avengers also struck the wrong note with me. She’s a scientist, not a sheriff or a warrior. Instead of coming across as a tough, no nonsense, genuinely feminine character she acted like a woman trying to be a man. It didn’t work. (This will become more relevant the further in we go.)

Next is “The Citadel,” the show which leads up to the season’s two-part finale. The episode begins with a conversation between Cap and Tony about defeating the Beyonder, which is interrupted when Tower is attacked. Both heroes are captured by the Beyonder’s forces and taken to his citadel.

Steve wakes to find himself in a prison cell. While he breaks out of this confinement, the Beyonder tries to tempt Tony into accepting his technology and leaving the path of the hero. Cap arrives in time to snap him out of it, only to be tempted himself. The two begin fighting one another, ostensibly over the Beyonder’s offer of immortality and power.

Eventually, though, it is revealed to be a ruse. Having distracted the alien mastermind long enough to learn his goals, Tony and Steve leave the villains in Beyonder’s service tussling over the forbidden fruit while they make their escape.

Polite words fail me when I even think about this episode, for one simple reason: the presentation of Captain America in this installment borders on the putrid. Rather than show him as the American Galahad, the writers make him appear morally weaker than Tony Stark. While Cap can be tempted, he cannot be enticed in the same manner as others are. He also has a much higher threshold of resistance to sinful offers than practically everyone else in the Marvel Universe(s) does. “The Citadel” not only failed to show this character trait, it reversed his character completely. Cap specifically asks Tony at the end of the episode if he was tempted by the Beyonder’s offer, implying that he wants to know if he was not the only one weak enough to succumb to the alien’s offer.

Additionally, Beyonder’s proposition was geared specifically to appeal to Tony; it should not have even registered on Cap’s psyche as a lure for that reason. The Beyonder appealed to Tony as a fellow scientist and technician. Cap is neither, and for the offer to entice him as in the manner it does Iron Man is absolutely absurd.

Like a number of other items in the final season of “Assemble,” the ruse could have been easily achieved in a way that better respected both characters. Having Cap fight Tony after the latter was momentarily bedazzled by Beyonder’s offer not only makes more sense, it fits Steve’s MO. He will fight for his friends’ lives and souls no matter the cost to himself, and the writers could have turned this into one such instance.

But the writers for Assemble just had to be different. They had to drag Steve down to the “normal” level to prove he is human. They completely ignored all the work that the MCU and Chris Evans put into demonstrating this fact to millions of movie-goers around the world, a move that is not only foolish but downright malicious. On top of everything else they have done to Steve throughout Assemble, this was just too much. It pulled this blogger out of the story and kept her out for the final two episodes. Those would have turned her off of the series, anyway, but the open disregard and malice in “The Citadel” brought the whole house of cards down much, much faster.

So when “The Wastelands” and “All Things Must End” played, I was pretty upset. Knowing some of what was coming next from the tidbits dropped by the writers, this author waited for the final shoe to drop. It did drop – with a mighty splash. In this episode we were presented with an animated version the female Thor. Jane Foster calls Mjolnir to her and becomes goddess of thunder after Thor tried to use the hammer to rescue her.

I wish I was joking, readers, but that is what happened at the end of this episode. Then the team finally makes their play to put all the pieces back together, saving the worlds that the Beyonder ripped apart for his experiment. In the process, the alien mastermind is sent packing – but not before Dr. Strange is knocked out of commission. Unable to finish what he started, he gives Loki the Eye of Agamotto to fix the Bifrost and bring everyone home. It works like a charm, too.

Except then Loki won’t give the Eye back. What a shocker; the Sorcerer Supreme gives the trickster god the most powerful magical item in the universe, and he then expects it to be returned to him. Yeah, right.

Why did no one see Loki’s betrayal in “All Things Must End” coming? Giving him the benefit of the doubt for the millionth time is one thing. Hope over experience is also a plausible reaction to his apparent reform. Necessity requiring that the Eye be transferred to the god of mischief is understandable and inevitable. But why – why!? – didn’t Strange put some kind of spell on the Eye that would cause Loki’s attempts to use it backfire on him and make him give it back?

More to the point, why would the team actually trust someone they hoped would reform, but whom they knew was probably using them? None of this should have been a revelation to the heroes. In fact, most of the Avengers looked thoroughly unsurprised by Loki’s treachery. Poor Thor wasn’t allowed to see through his adopted brother’s ruse until this point, which is a shame but par for the course for Assemble. The only time they ever treated the characters with even a modicum of respect was in season three.

Combine this “big reveal” with their forcing Jane Foster to play the role of Thor/Thunderstrike, plus the strong women grandstanding done by Wasp, Captain Marvel, and Kamala Khan, and you have an unappealing mess of an ending. The method of stopping Loki doesn’t even matter (or make much sense) because the above factors reduce the episode to a propaganda piece masquerading as a story. For all its faults, Assemble deserved a better ending than this, as did the characters.

This is why I will not be watching any more Marvel fare from Western media outlets. Endgame is the finale to the MCU; everything that comes after cannot hope to match the quality of the first ten years, and most of the original actors/directors have jumped ship while the jumping is good. The nonsense that destroyed the comics has finally spread to the small and big screen, as I knew it would.

If you want to see Marvel’s comic book alterations make it to film, then go ahead and have fun. But as of now, I am done with Marvel Comics, Marvel films, and Marvel TV shows. If I want good, entertaining fare from the company, I know where to find it. It will not be in the latest releases but in the older comics, cartoons, and the first ten years of the MCU. So long, Marvel. It was nice while it lasted.

Rest in peace, Stan Lee. You and your friends earned it. Nothing the new owners of your franchise can do will change that – not for me, and not for the other True Believers out there. ‘Til next time, readers:

Excelsior!

The Mithril Guardian

Season 3 of Avengers Assemble Review

Last year I did a post called “Avengers Assemble Season Three – How Is It So Far?” That post covered the first eight episodes of the third season. Reading it, you will find that I was most pleased with what I had seen at the time.

Now that the “Ultron Revolution” has run its course and “Secret Wars” – hopefully no relation to the lousy 2015 comic book event – are in our viewing future, you might be asking yourselves: what did I think of the rest of season three?

Let’s find out.

Since I wrote individual posts on the episodes “Inhumans Among Us” and “Captain Marvel,” these stories will not be discussed at length herein. If you wish to know what this writer thought of those episodes, use the search engine to find the posts about “Inhumans Among Us” and “Captain Marvel,” readers.

“The Inhuman Condition” was much better than its predecessor, “Inhumans Among Us,” in my book. There was no angst, no fuss, no muss, just cooperation between the Avengers and Black Bolt. Lockjaw giving Cap a few licks was good, too, since it showed that even a dog can recognize how great Steve is. It was wonderful to watch Hawkeye being his usual confident self instead of a doofus. It was also nice to hear Tony actually ask for help for a change, and watching Thor smash Ultron is always fun. Ah, I love the sound of Mjolnir hitting maniacal robots in the morning, don’t you?

Now “The Kids Are Alright” I had some problems with, and there are friends of mine who have issues with it as well. One, for instance, hated that Khan interrupted Cap when he gave the kids a tour of the Tower. Another friend considers Khan to be nothing more than an annoyance during the episode’s run, since she has no purpose in the narrative of the show. She did not demonstrate any depth of character, either; she is just a fangirl who got lucky and ended up with superpowers.

What is this author’s opinion? I am no fan of Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. To me, she is no more entertaining than her namesake. Also, Khan was not allowed by the writers to make any mistakes in combat during this show. She and Inferno had been using their powers for all of, what, a week? And yet she is a better fighter than he is? I am sorry but no, no, no, and no. Rookies do not do that well on the job in their first weeks; it does not happen unless they are extremely talented and/or lucky. Luck I will admit Khan has, but as for talent, it does not take much to imitate Mr. Fantastic – who should at least be mentioned in this series, by the way!

I thought that Inferno got short shrift here, too, being portrayed as the cocky kid who runs into a situation without thinking. I can handle a callow youth or a hothead, but the fact is that these often unwelcome traits do not necessarily add up to stupidity, which is the direction the Marvel writers appeared to be heading with the character in “The Kids Are All Right.” Inferno can do much better, but it does not seem that the writers want him to do better. They ought to bring Dante into “Secret Wars” as part of the Earth-bound Avengers just to give him a better showing than the one he got in season three.

On the bright side, Cap and Hawkeye did well in this show. Cap was his usual charming and encouraging self while Hawkeye got to prove (again) that although he may not be a super genius, this does not mean he is stupid. The sad thing is that they are the only saving graces in an otherwise politically correct, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, feel-good episode. You can tell I was not “feeling the love” from this show, can’t you, readers?

In contrast, I thought that “The Conqueror” and “Into the Future” were much better installments in the series. Bringing Kang into the story sets up a primary villain for season four, and no one can say that Kang is a fifth rate villain. He is no Dr. Doom (despite his mysterious relation to him), nor is he Magneto, but he probably ranks third behind those two masterminds of evil. Having Tony tweak him and get him angry was a good trick for the first episode, and showing Cap best him in the Jurassic period was the highlight of “Into the Future.”

My one problem with “Into the Future” is that none of the male rebels, aside from Thor, got a speaking part. Layla was a good character, and the hint that the red-headed girl who had tried to improve Tony’s Omega suit could be his great-great-great-great-great granddaughter was nice. The nod to Kate Bishop also did not go unnoticed by yours truly. In fact, the whole idea of a rebellion against Kang’s rule was genius, in my opinion. I wish someone had thought of it years ago!   (For all I know they did, but if so, I never heard about it.)

But the fact remains that some of the guys in Thor’s rebellion should have been allowed to say at least one word. Having Thor as their leader and letting him give the speeches was good; along with the rebellion twist, it made a lot of sense. He is Asgardian and immortal – practically speaking, anyway. Of course he would live into the thirtieth century, where he would start a rebellion against Kang’s tyranny, and of course he would end up bald as Odin. But at least ONE of the male rebels in Thor’s band should have been allowed to talk instead of being used as scenery filler.

This is a minor quibble with an otherwise excellent episode, but it is an important one to make. Marvel is trying to feminize its franchise, from Iron Man to Thor to Hawkeye and beyond. I am tired of it. The company already has great female leads; they do not need a bunch of milksop fems strutting across the screen, attempting to be something they are not. If they want to add new characters to help tell new stories, that is fine. But trying to replace the originals with newbies like Khan does not work; to the best of my knowledge, it never has. And when they try to make all their heroes female, the writers make matters worse. Remember, I like Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Thor Odinson, Bruce Banner, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Vision, Quicksilver, and many of the other male leads in Marvel because they are male. And I am not the only one. I wish that Marvel would get this fact through its thick, corporate head already and let me save my breath on this issue.

Now we will go back to business. In “Seeing Double” we watch as Natasha faces off against Black Widow wannabe Yelena Belova. I have read about the character but never seen her, and this episode is a very impressive introduction for her. It fleshed out Natasha’s character in the bargain, and the hint that maybe she did not throw away the thumb drive said to contain her real memories was an unexpected twist. Making the Hulk into a large, green version of the Winter Soldier was something that I did not see coming. My only disappointment is that we never got to see Bucky here or during season three.

Then we have “A Friend in Need,” where Vision is introduced to the team. It was a nice installment, from Thor’s taking him to Asgard and teaching him about friendship to Vision’s nearly permanent sacrifice to save his friends. The three-way training session with Cap, Widow, and Hawkeye was a good bonus point, as was Vision playing video games with Hulk and Thor at the end. Very cute scene!

After this we had “Panther’s Rage,” an episode that presented T’Challa/Black Panther, Wakanda, and the Dora Milaje in an interesting way. Hawkeye’s flirting with Aneka was somewhat irritating, but their resultant friendship had a much better vibe to it. Cap and Thor’s ability to understand Panther and their subsequent friendships with him were believable and fun as well. And watching the pack of them kick Klaue’s fanny was great, as usual. But I am kind of getting tired of T’Challa always showing up on the Avengers’ doorstep angry. How about a little variety next time, Marvel writers?

“Ant-Man Makes It Big” was a fun episode in which Marvel proved that, despite many changes over the years, they still like to poke fun at themselves from time to time. Thor teaching a snobby actor the reality of life was a plus, as was Hawkeye’s easy acceptance of Scott and his new job. Having Widow angry at Scott for leaving the Avengers was an interesting and compelling development. It is nice to see that they have completely separated her from their original Amazonian stereotype and allowed her to be the character she always has been.

After this came “House of Zemo.” This show is one of my favorites and it had many good points, one of these being the redemption of Cap’s father after the debacle where Marvel tried to make the First Avenger a secret operative of HYDRA in the comics last year. In search of a photo he can use to draw a picture of his father, Cap leaves Avengers Tower on his birthday (July 4^th), in order to clear his head and jog his memory. Hawkeye, who actually had a lousy father in the comics and apparently in Assemble as well, still palpably empathizes with Cap’s desire to remember and draw his father’s face. The rapport between the two is handled with an artist’s touch here and makes this episode an adventure worth remembering. 😉

There was one thing about “House of Zemo,” however, that felt off to me: Helmut Zemo’s “redemption” at the end of the show. It felt forced and tacked on. I agree that he can reform; that is not what bothered me. It is that the writers brought about his change of heart too fast to be believable and satisfactory. They jammed it into an otherwise moving story, as though they thought no one would like an episode where Hawkeye, the fatherless, anchorless Avenger, helped the most grounded member of the team reconnect with his own father.

Maybe they were right, but I doubt it seriously. Of course, perhaps they thought Helmut Zemo could make the leap with ease, since in this series he is in fact a very old man, but he looks and acts young thanks to taking his father’s variant of the Super Soldier Serum. It still feels cheap to me, though, and that is why I make such a fuss about it.

The episodes “U-Foes,” “Building the Perfect Weapon,” and “World War Hulk” were great installments. The U-Foes, I think, would make viable fifth-rate villains in season four, but I do not like Widow’s taking offense when Red Hulk labeled everyone on the team “men” at the end of “World War Hulk.” No, she is not a man, but his use of the term is normal and hardly material for an affront, unless he is addressing a room full of women. This he definitely did not do within the show. I would think any female Avenger would ignore this unimportant phrase and deal with the bigger issue – the fact that Red Hulk thought he was the team’s leader. Who died and made him king?

Another thing which irritated me in these shows was how Cap acquiesced to Hulk wearing the inhibitor collar. His unabashed appreciation of Red Hulk’s military analysis of situations was equally bothersome. Just because Ross was once a U.S. general with a modicum of talent, it does not make him a great guy. I found it irksome that the writers thought Cap should appreciate Red’s ability to tactically assess a base –especially since he showed that this skill did not stretch nearly far enough. Cap is better than that, people. Stop treating him like a cookie-cutter tin soldier. He is no such thing!

One of the things I did enjoy here is that Hulk got to stay on Earth, instead of being tossed off-world and ending up in a gladiatorial arena. Another beautiful touch to the “World War Hulk” episode was the hint of romance between Big Green and Black Widow. Though they have done it before, in this Hulk-centered episode, it had more than its usual impact for viewers.

The romance the writers have developed between Natasha and Hulk in Avengers Assemble is something I have come to like quite a bit. It fits the narrative and it gives me hope that, should the writers bring Mockingbird and/or Sharon Carter on the scene, they will be able to handle a Romance Reel with them and their guys as well as they have managed Natasha and the Hulk’s duet. It also lets me hope that when Cap and Tony meet Peggy Carter in season four, the writers will be able to portray that romance with the same adroit touch they have used for Natasha and Hulk.

The “Civil War” story arc was truly impressive. For one thing, it was really, really, REALLY nice not to have Tony and Cap trying to kill each other here. The pluses continued to mount when the Mighty Avengers were formed as the antagonistic team, with Princess Sparkle Fists (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) at the head of the group. My only regret is that the writers did not hand her off to the Hulk during the battle. At least he would have actually hit her.

The moment when Hawkeye convinced Songbird to leave the Mighty Avengers for the Avengers was superb. I had hoped to see Songbird before season three’s conclusion as part of the Avengers or as the leader of the Thunderbolts. The writers surpassed my wildest dreams in this regard for her, and they outdid themselves on Hawkeye’s characterization in this moment. His general deportment throughout the “Civil War” conflict was perfect. I am really happy with the fact that they have stopped using him as the team pratfall in every episode. 😀

Ant-Man and Falcon fighting while flying was a great nod to the film franchise, as was Vision’s accidentally injuring Cap with Mjolnir. It was also highly satisfying to watch Little Miss Stretch pull one of Iron Man’s moves from Age of Ultron, hitting Hulk when he was not expecting it. Rookie though he is, even Inferno would have known better than to do that.

But the most surprising moment in the season finale came when Ultron hacked Tony’s suit and arc reactor, thereby taking control of both his mind and body. It was the biggest shock of the event. I did not see that coming, which was the entire point. The Marvel writers truly pulled a rabbit out of their hat when they did it. I only hope the team can purge Ultron from Tony’s system during season four’s “Secret Wars.” Otherwise, I am not going to be a happy camper.

To sum up, there are only a few things I have left to say, and they are about the next season of Avengers Assemble. Season three broke new ground for the team by bringing in new players such as Songbird and the Thunderbolts, along with Inferno, Vision, and Black Panther.

The additions of villains such as Yalena Belova, Kang the Conqueror, the U-Foes, Egghead, and others expanded Assemble’s villain cadre nicely. Not every season has to revolve around Ultron, Thanos, and Red Skull, after all. And the Avengers do not have to fight Dracula or MODOK every day, either. It is nice to see old enemies with new schemes fighting our heroes. They should get to fight some B, C, and D rated villains like Egghead every now and then. Save a city instead of the planet – piece of cake. Although I do miss watching the team as they tangle with Dr. Doom and Magneto. Doom has disappeared from Assemble and since Marvel is not interested in mixing mutants into its Avengers cartoons anymore, any chance to see how the team would slap down the Master of Magnetism has evaporated. Rats. I would have liked to view that.

The upgraded characterizations of our favorite heroes righted the problems I noted in posts about the first and second seasons of the show. They were overdue, but better late than never. These changes have made Assemble much stronger as a series than when it began. I hope that, when it comes time to replace Assemble, I will not have to lecture the writers again on the issues which I pointed out in those prior posts. I will not, however, be holding my breath on that hope.

With regard to the original seven Avengers on the team, I would like to ask the Marvel writers to keep up the good work. Leave the stereotypes in the trash, where they belong, and run the characters according to the tried and true formula which you know actually works.

Secondly, I would like to ask the writers to please, please drop Jane Foster/“Thorette” from the line-up for season four!! She will be a DISASTER, people! Do not shoot yourselves in the foot here!

Three, let Inferno grow and learn from the Avengers. And while I applaud the addition of Black Panther, Songbird, Vision, and soon the Wasp to the series, do not stop there. We want Mockingbird, Spectrum, War Machine, the Winter Soldier, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Power Man, and many of the other heroes from the comics to at least get a mention in season four. If we are going to have more than the four seasons, then by all means, add them to the cast list. Just because they are not part of the films and live action TV shows, this should not prevent the writers from adding them to the cartoon series. And Scarlet Witch is, in fact, part of the film franchise. So why have she and Quicksilver been left out of Assemble?!?!? It makes no sense to leave the twins out, Marvel writers!

Last but most important, I wish to remind the writers that we watch the Avengers because we like good stories with great characters, not because we are looking for a lecture on social justice or the latest cause celeb. If we want any of that junk, we will turn on the news or go to a tabloid stand. Since we are coming to you, it means we want to get away from those things for a little while.

Just tell us some good stories, okay? That is all any of us want out of fiction writers. Good stories, well told, with enduring characters. All right?

Avengers – ASSEMBLE!!!

Offended, Insulted, and Not Shutting Up

Hey, readers! We regret that we must interrupt this programming with another little piece of criticism aimed at Marvel’s Hierarchy of Seneschals.

Yes, I just called them that. Until they either wake up or are replaced by people who actually know what they are doing, I am not changing that moniker.

Marvel announced that in the next season of their animated series, Avengers Assemble (to be re-titled Avengers: Secret Wars), Jane Foster will debut as “Thor.” Some of you, certainly, see no problem with this. But several other fans, including me, have had problems with this change since it was made in the comics. See the links below to find out how much we dislike it:

http://comicvine.gamespot.com/thor/4005-2268/forums/i-like-jane-foster-as-thor-but-i-dont-1697781/

http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2014/07/say-it-aint-so-stan-female-thor.html

http://community.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?582-By-the-Gods!-It-s-THOR-Appreciation/page52

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/02/14/female-thor-is-what-happens-when-progressive-hand-wringing-and-misandry-ruin-a-cherished-art-form/

https://voxday.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/men-in-women-suits.html

http://kaimaciel.tumblr.com/post/144803890339/my-honest-opinion-on-jane-foster-as-thor

http://www.comics2film.com/if-she-be-worthy-thor-jane-foster-marvel-101/

While I am not a huge fan of the Prince of Thunder, the fact is that I do like him, and I prefer him as a Prince, that is, a male heir to the throne of Asgard. Jane Foster is an agreeable character, and I would be excited to see her in the TV series. But I would prefer that she debuted as herself: no superhuman powers, no magic hammers, none of the “new” idiocy with which the writers and their handlers have decided to outfit her.

Jane Foster’s strength was once her “mortality,” her humanity. It would not matter to me if she turned up in the cartoon as a nurse or as an astrophysicist, as she is portrayed in the films. She has carried herself well in both those fields of endeavor; as either of these professions and many others suit her character.

Yet Marvel, in its attempts to stay ahead of the latest fads, decided this was not good enough for her. Someone, somewhere, must have complained about the enchantment on Thor’s hammer, which of course read: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall wield the power of Thor.” A lot of people are getting hung up on pronouns such as “he” and “she.” “He” is what they come down against most vehemently nowadays.

To raise Cain (ooh, how gender-specific of me) over such an inconsequential thing is beyond dim-witted. Mjolnir can be wielded by whoever is worthy. That can be a man, a woman, an alien (remember Beta Ray Bill?), or an android (did we all forget Vision that fast?). The inscription is a generic; if a worthy lady had come along and picked up Mjolnir, the only reason Thor would have been astonished was because he is used to lifting the hammer, not sharing it with others.

Thor has been a male character for more than a thousand years, since he was created by the Ancient Norse. And, as others have pointed out, Marvel’s version of Thor has been adored by thousands of girls everywhere right from the get-go. His fan base is not getting any smaller, people, and neither are the crushes on him.

But in an effort to appease the talking heads, Marvel has disregarded the feelings of its fans – you and me – in order to curry favor with the ‘elites.’ Never mind that we are the ones who have supported Marvel all these years, they are determined to continue flogging dead horses in order to receive the praise of people who otherwise sniff condescendingly at them and their medium.

Yes, you read that right. I called this gender-switch for Thor a dead horse. It is a dead horse. It has been a dead horse for decades, but the ‘intelligensia’ is so desperate to keep making money off of it that they insist it is still twitching. People continue to scream about women being oppressed in the United States and Europe because, for instance, they “do not make as much money” as men.

Have a look at these links here, readers, and see if you agree with that assessment:

 

ISIS Burns Caged Women

http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/06/06/19-women-burned-to-death-after-refusing-to-have-sex-with-isis-fighters/

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/06/06/19-yazidi-girls-burned-alive-for-refusing-to-have-sex-with-their-isis-captors.html

http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/isis-burns-19-girls-alive-for-refusing-sex-slavery/

 

Persecution of Christians by ISIS

http://www.wnd.com/2014/12/nun-pleads-for-christians-raped-sold-killed-by-isis/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/425942077231304272/

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/10/05/report-syrian-christians-cry-jesus-isis-mass-beheading/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3261075/ISIS-sliced-12-year-old-Syrian-boy-s-fingertips-father-Christians-failed-bid-convert-Islam-executed-group-victims-shouted-Jesus.html

https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/attacks/christian-attacks.aspx

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-crucifies-children-for-not-fasting-during-ramadan-in-syria-10338215.html

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/07/02/isis-executioners-spare-no-one-killing-74-children-for-crimes-including-not.html

 

Jihadi Brides

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-s-austrian-poster-girl-jihadi-brides-have-changed-their-minds-and-want-to-come-home-9789547.html

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/577347/British-twin-girl-jihadi-brides-want-to-return-to-home

http://nypost.com/2014/10/10/pregnant-teen-girls-who-joined-isis-weve-made-a-huge-mistake/

http://ijr.com/2014/12/220140-150-women-refused-isis-sex-brides-terrorists-responded-heinous-way/

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/08/12/uk-teen-girl-who-went-to-isis-area-syria-reported-killed.html

 

Rape Abroad

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/10/leaked-document-says-2000-men-allegedly-assaulted-1200-german-women-on-new-years-eve/

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/01/21/revealed-full-list-of-1049-victims-crimes-committed-during-cologne-new-years-eve-sex-assaults/

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/636944/Cologne-sex-attacks-list-crimes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3684302/1-200-German-women-sexually-assaulted-New-Year-s-Eve-Cologne-elsewhere.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35231046

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jinamoore/cologne-attacks-on-women?utm_term=.tk5ewAR5Y#.lujLvXlo9

 

Women in the U.S. do not know how good they have it. That is the truth.

Why is Marvel so determined to gender-switch characters like Thor and Iron Man when they have real-life stories like these, which are far more important and only a few minutes from their fingertips, to incorporate into their comics? In the 1940s they lampooned Hitler, and in the 1950s and 60s, they bashed the Communists. But in this brave new world, they are suddenly afraid to so much as mention the beasts that burn women in cages for refusing to be sex slaves? Why would they rather have us watching Captain America be “revealed” to be a secret HYDRA operative, when the real HYDRA (better known as ISIS) is out and about in the world beheading and crucifying children?

Do they really think that we are buffoons with such banal interests that our only care is why the inscription on Mjolnir says “he” instead of “person”? More to the point, readers, is this how you want the people running Marvel to think of you? It is not how I want them to think about me, that is for sure!

But apparently they not only believe we are navel-gazing twits, they are extremely eager to shove that belief down our throats – along with the notion that they “have” to do this because their universe has “too few” super heroines.

That is guff spewed by people who do not know what they are talking about, and I can prove it. Below is a roll call of some female Marvel heroines that regularly see – or have regularly seen – combat in the Marvel Universe:

1. The Invisible Woman/Sue Storm-Richards
2. Wasp/Janet van Dyne
3. Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff
4. Mockingbird/Bobbi Morse
5. Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff
6. Mantis
7. Moondragon
8. Hellcat/Patricia Walker
9. She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters
10. The Blonde Phantom
11. Miss America
12. White Tiger/Ava Ayallah
13. Squirrel Girl
14. Spectrum/Monica Rambeau
15. Carol Danvers
16. Sharon Carter
17. Crystal of the Inhumans
18. Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans
19. Storm/Ororo Munroe
20. Jean Grey
21. Psylocke
22. X-23/Laura Kinney
23. Jubilation Lee
24. Firestar/Angelica Jones
25. Surge
26. Honey Lemmon
27. Go-go Tomago
28. Julia Carpenter
29. Jessica Jones Cage
30. Rescue/Pepper Potts
31. Silver Sable
32. Black Cat/Felicia Hardy
33. Echo/Maya Lopez
34. Firebird/Bonita Juárez
35. Jocasta
36. Dazzler
37. Rogue/Anna Maria
38. Shadowcat/Katherine “Kitty” Pryde
39. Boom-Boom
40. Silverclaw/Maria Santiago
41. Quake/Daisy Johnson
42. Jessica Drew
43. Mirage/Danielle Moonstar
44. Sif
45. Valkyrie/Brunhilde
46. Yellowjacket/Rita DeMara
47. Gamora
48. Lilandra
49. Wolfsbane
50. Elektra
51. Dust
52. Magma
53. Misty Knight
54. Colleen Wheeler
55. Polaris/Lorna Dane
56. Phoenix/Rachel Grey Summers
57. Dagger
58. Torunn
59. Maria Hill
60. Tigra
61. Songbird/Melissa Gold
62. Namora
63. Namorita
64. Darkstar
65. Magick/Ilyana Rasputin
66. Emma Frost
67. Stature/Cassie Lang
68. Siryn/Theresa Cassidy
69. Sasquatch/Snowbird
70. Domino
71. Marrow
72. Blink
73. Kate Bishop

This is by no means a comprehensive list. Still, if this sample inventory has not made your eyes cross, then you should visit this site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_characters:_A. It lists many, if not most, of Marvel’s characters. Scanning through it some years ago, I was left wondering why Marvel seemed to be having so much trouble coming up with new male characters, since they were adding more new females than males!

Now what reasonable critic can look at these catalogs and conclude that Marvel has “too few” heroines? Marvel’s heroines have always stood with their male counterparts to face down evil. But the fact is that some of these ladies have been and remain more popular than others. This is natural, and their male compatriots have suffered the same ebb and flow of fan admiration over the years. Some characters are simply more popular than others. This does not negate the existence of the less well-known male heroes, so why do people seem to think the reverse is true when discussing Marvel’s lesser known heroines?

Marvel has no need to gender-swap its male characters. Avengers Assemble is a perfect platform from which to show their less eminent or forgotten heroines and heroes. They could even use the series as a stage to create new heroines, the way Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends did in the 1980s.

This post was published for two reasons, readers. One, I have had a burning desire to tell off the ignorant critics of Marvel Comics for quite some time. If they want to evaluate Marvel’s characters properly, then they should do their research before they open their big, fat mouths. If they are too lazy or indifferent to do that, then they should sit down and shut up, leaving the people who do know and love Marvel’s characters to enjoy them undisturbed.

Second, I wanted to make clear to Marvel just how deeply offended and insulted I am, underscoring my latest letter to them. (BTW, thanks for all the views, Marvel. It is sooo nice of you to drop by! 😉 ) They believe that to keep my patronage they have to turn their fictional universe upside-down and inside out.

That is a perfect way to lose my money, not keep it. The Mainstream Marvel Universe which Stan Lee, Don Heck, Jim Romita, and all the others created is my favorite Marvel playground. And I want that universe, with all its flaws and foibles, back. This does not mean that I want the characters wearing their original costumes and hairstyles. I do not want them using radio and ‘60s slang. I simply want their histories and identities to stay fixed as they were originally conceived and, if possible, built up for the better.

Alternate universe spin-off comics, TV series, and movies are fun (with the exception of the Ultimate Universe). But they are not the universes I benefited from first. That universe – the 616 universe – is the one I love best and will always enjoy more than any other.

If Marvel thinks they have to ruin that world in order to keep my interest, then they have made a grave error. I understand that it is not easy to continue a series that has survived for fifty plus years. That is not the issue. The issue is Marvel’s desire to play patty-cake with people who despise them while using them as a tool. Once they are done, they will discard Marvel like a hot potato – and then what will become of the heroes we care for and the ideals for which they stand?

I do not want to see Marvel destroyed. I want to be able to share it with many more people over the coming years of my life. But I cannot follow a bunch of lemmings over a cliff into the ocean, nor will I allow them to lead others over said precipice into said sea. Not without a fight.

Whether you agree with this article or not, readers, think about what you read in the links embedded here. Learning is not simply memorizing mathematic formulae or deciding how to identify yourself. Education is supposed to teach you to how to think, not what you are to think. As long as you can think for yourself, the Enemy will have a more difficult time catching you.

I prefer not to be caught, and so I prefer to think. It is a whole lot harder to escape a trap than it is to avoid it in the first place.

So start thinking, Marvel!

Until the next mess,

The Mithril Guardian

Letters to Marvel

Well, readers, as you know I wrote a post some time ago about Marvel Comics’ latest story arc, “Secret Wars.”  That post was called “Stories Matter – Why Marvel Comics’ “Secret Wars” Is Not Marvel-Us.”  I recently found out that Marvel plans to merge its “mainstream Marvel Universe – the universe Stan Lee and his friends established – with its Ultimate Marvel Universe.  This will result in the “All-New, All-Different” Marvel Comics the company promised some time earlier this year.

I am not pleased with this turn of events, as you know, and I just sent two letters to Marvel, listing their storytelling problems and suggesting how they may be repaired. You may read the letters in the rest of this post below.  Be advised, in this format they are rather long.  I had a fair bit to say.

If you are as upset about the proposed merger of the “mainstream” Marvel Universe with the Ultimate Universe as I am, then you may want to try emailing the company yourselves, readers.  I have taken the addresses and instructions straight from the General feedback Page of the Marvel website, marvel.com:

Questions/comments about Marvel comic books 

If you have a question or comment about Marvel’s comic books that you would like to send to our Editorial staff, please direct them to the appropriate department:

1. Spidey office: spideyoffice@marvel.com
2. X office: officex@marvel.com
3. Heroes office: mheroes@marvel.com
4. Hulk, Ultimate & All Ages office: mondomarvel@marvel.com

Please mark your e-mail “OKAY TO PRINT.”

General feedback inquiries 

If you would like to provide us with feedback, please contact onlinesupport@marvel.com or go to http://marvel.com/help/contact and fill out the feedback form.

Thank you for your time, readers.

Excelsior!

The Mithril Guardian

Secret Wars and the “All-New, All-Different” Marvel Line-Up, Part 1 (OKAY TO PRINT)

Dear Marvel Managers/Editors/Writers,

I have recently discovered where you hope to end Secret Wars, fellow writers. You intend to combine the “mainstream” Marvel Universe with the Ultimate Marvel Universe to make “a new universe.” (Thank you for that turn of phrase, Erik Selvig.)

All I have to say to this is no, No, NO, and NO!!!!

Pardon the vehement expression of my feelings, fellow writers, but I think you can hardly blame me. I have enjoyed your “mainstream” Universe since I was first introduced to Marvel. Why would I want to see that universe changed? Why would I want the heroes I have loved in that universe to be destroyed, rewritten, or all around transmogrified?

I think I know why you are doing this. Interest in your Ultimate comics has been soaring, while less attention is being given to the stories you have set in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe, have they not? And instead of asking what you may have been doing wrong with regard to the stories in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe, you have decided to mix and match these two series, keeping Stan Lee’s Marvel Universe and adding your own Ultimate Marvel Universe to it in order to boost interest in the “mainstream” Marvel Comics.

Honestly, fellow writers, this is nothing more than you applying a band aid to a deep, sucking chest wound in order to stem the flow of blood. You have been destroying the “mainstream” Marvel Universe since this millennium began, and now that it is in an almost unrecognizable shambles, you are now trying to keep it afloat.

There is an old fable which might help me make my point, fellow writers. This fable is about a man and his son taking their donkey to market. They pass through a number of towns along the way, and as they go each set of townspeople has their own ideas on how the duo should get to their destination. One set of townspeople chastises the father for making his son walk, so he sets the boy on the donkey’s back. The people in the next town accuse the boy of being a sluggard for letting his father walk while he rides. So the father takes the boy down and rides the donkey himself.

The people in the next town say the man should be ashamed of making his son walk while he rides the donkey in ease. The man then puts his son before him on the donkey and they both ride on to the next town. Here the people have a novel idea: both father and son should truss up the donkey and carry it to market, sparing it the long walk.

So the father and son do just that. They tie up the donkey’s ankles, tie him to a stick, and begin carrying him on the last leg of their journey. But the donkey is unhappy with being carried like a dead game animal and begins to thrash and kick. The father and son lose hold of the animal on a bridge, which the donkey falls off of. On impact with the river bank, the animal dies, and now the two have no donkey to sell at the market.

The point of this fable, fellow writers, is that in trying to please everyone, the father and son satisfied no one, least of all themselves. You have done the exact same thing with the characters Stan Lee and his friends gave you, trying to please the talking heads and other “experts” who say they espouse the ideals of the New Millennium. The fans outside these circles have not been impressed with your stories and have subsequently demonstrated their distaste by ignoring your “mainstream” comics, which have suffered the most under this new regime.

But merging the “mainstream” Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel Universe will not save you from the coming crisis of storytelling. If anything, it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Interest may pick up for a time after you make this merger, but eventually, as you pander to the whims of fads and trends, you will cross a line that will make many of your fans lose interest in your 616 comics completely. I cannot guess what that line would be for the multitude of fans, but merging the “mainstream” Marvel Universe with an alternate Universe of any kind would be a good place to start for me.

As I see things, you have a number of problems with your “mainstream” Marvel Universe which you are trying to rectify through Secret Wars and this “All-New, All-Different” fiasco-in-the-making.   These problems are as follows:

 

1. Constant wars and apocalypses occurring semi-monthly in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe.

I have mentioned this before, fellow writers. You are destroying too much over and over again. Your apocalyptic storylines and superhero wars are merely rehashed ideas with different heroes or villains thrown into the fight. You have, essentially, put Ragnarok, Doomsday, and the Apocalypse on repeat.

And your readers are sick of it.

 

2. Adding new characters that get a great deal of “screen time” at the expense of the original heroes and villains, or adding new heroes who take on the mantles of original heroes.

Sure, fans like Kamala Khan. But giving her the codename Miss Marvel is foolish. For one thing, it makes her appear weak, as though she needs a PR boost from Carol Danvers. You do not seem to think anyone would like Khan if she did not have a famous super heroine name attached to her. Kate Bishop had the same problems; you did not seem to think she could float her own boat until you finally gave her the codename Hawkeye. (Or you were trying to replace the original Master Archer with her. Clint Barton, Kate Bishop – their names are too similar for this not to be your reason for giving her his codename.)

At least Patriot got to be himself, through and through, bad and good both.

Worse, for a girl who seems to be eager to join the Avengers, you instead have Kamala fumbling around and getting picked on by Falcon and the other Avengers. Where the Avengers used to support and encourage new members, you now have them tearing Kamala down for being overeager in a fight.

Also, Falcon is still wearing Steve’s suit and using his shield. Do you even have a Falcon in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe anymore, fellow writers? Or has Sam hung up his wings and title for good? If so, that is a real shame, and it means that the first African-American superhero has fallen on very hard times. He can no longer be respected for himself but only because he wears Steve Rogers’ uniform.

You have been giving the fans castor oil, in these instances, under the guise of giving them wine. We are not amused, fellow writers. Not in the slightest.

 

3. Constant killing of the characters with little to no rest in between.

You killed Hawkeye once in two cascading storylines, fellow writers. You have dismantled the Vision so many times I have lost count; Wanda Maximoff has been killed at least twice; Jean Grey has been killed seemingly hundreds of times in different storylines; Wolverine has died many times, etcetera ad infinitum.

No wonder the heroes go crazy so often, and no wonder your readership for the “mainstream” Marvel Universe has dropped. You cannot, it appears, write a story for it without killing at least one hero in the process of telling the tale. These days, you have also begun killing off entire teams of heroes, not to mention hordes, multitudes, and bucket loads of civilians. Have Marvel’s 616 heroes become so irresponsible that they no longer think to evacuate innocent bystanders? I do not buy that idea at all!

Where is the sanity, reason, or entertainment in all this? You can actually tell a story without killing fifty people and a superhero, fellow writers. If you want, I could write a story for you which would do that. So could several thousand other fans – if you were willing to ask them for ideas, instead of pleading with your desensitized focus groups to tell you “what they want next.” Most of us do not enjoy stories which are “really noir, really dark, and at the end everybody dies – again.”

 

4. Mixing and matching romantic couples.

Cyclops and Emma Frost, Wasp and… another guy, Hawkeye’s many different dates – the list is endless, fellow writers, and beyond confusing. Tell me, have you ever read any piece of fiction which had King Arthur married to a woman other than Guinevere? Have you ever heard of Robin Hood loving someone other than Maid Marion? How about Ulysses/Odysseus being married to someone other than Penelope?

No? Good. Then we are on the same page. We, the fans, do not want to see Iron Man dally with the Wasp, Carol Danvers, or She-Hulk. What we want is the continuity of the old romantic pairs we once enjoyed: Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne; Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter; Scott Summers and Jean Grey; Ororo Monroe and T’Challa, Clint Barton and Bobbi Morse, and so on.

We do not want angst, we do not want guilt trips, and we do not want love affairs that run along willy-nilly with no purpose or reason. We are sick, sick, sick, of it; we miss the old Romantic Reels you had running for so long in the comics and which could be relied on to provide markers for your stories. Without these firm tethers, the “mainstream” Marvel Universe has slipped off its axis and has gone spinning off into oblivion.

 

5. Turning “left into right, day into night, wrong into right” until not only the heroes but the readers are thoroughly confused.

So killing a HYDRA agent who is holding a crowd of civilians hostage is bad, but Ultimate Clint Barton’s murder of Ultimate Natasha Romanoff is all right. “Mainstream” Marvel heroes naturally feel bad when they have to take a life while Ultimate Marvel heroes can kill anyone for any reason without losing sleep.

This is foolish and stupid, fellow writers. Cap killed Baron Heinrich Zemo in the original comics – not directly or with intent to get revenge, simply to protect himself and Rick Jones. Understandably, no Marvel hero wants to kill. No one who becomes a soldier truly wants to kill, either. If a soldier or an Avenger does desire that, then something is as wrong with them as it is with Sabertooth.

That does not mean that a hero or a soldier may not have to kill someone in the line of duty. But you have all been chasing your tails down the sewers for so long that you have trammeled your imaginations in these areas. Your stories all transform into nails that you must hammer into place, rather than artifacts which you can chisel and carve in unique, inspiring ways.

This is another major problem you have with the 616 Marvel Universe. Your “no-win” scenarios are recycled over and over again and – no one wins. Yay…???

 

6. Constant rewriting of the heroes’ histories.

So now you have rewritten “mainstream” Pietro and Wanda Maximoff’s history so that they are not Magneto’s children, huh? Just like you revised Sam Wilson’s history so that he had been a gangster in his youth and added another brother to the Summers’ family.

You did not have to do that with any of these characters, fellow writers. You could have left the twins as Magneto’s children, but made a new character, who somehow came to think that he/she might be related to the Master of Magnetism, only to learn he/she is not. This would be a great tactic to use instead of twisting the Maximoffs’ history for a third time.

You could have had Sam mentor someone out of the gang life and into the superhero gig, or given Vulcan a strong, brotherly friendship with Cyclops that eventually ended up like Magneto and Charles Xavier’s friendship.

Instead, you rewrote the characters’ histories and threw everyone a curveball, which leaves fans like me scratching their heads and saying, “Why did the writers do this?” It is sooooo stupid!

 

7. Giving the heroes psychotic “dark sides” they can barely control.

I have had my issues with this for a long time, fellow writers, probably since Professor X’s “dark side” took form in the 1990s. Of course Professor X has a dark side! Everyone has a “dark side,” fellow writers. You do, I do, and the dude up the street has a “dark side”!

That does not make Marvel’s heroes into villains who wear benevolent masks. That makes them better than the villains, because they have chosen to be better than the Dark. Marvel’s heroes know they have darkness in them. They know they have weaknesses in their characters. They accept that. And then they fight their weaknesses, usually at the same time they are fighting the villains who have become one with the Dark inside and outside of themselves.

We fans do not want “heroes” who lose control of themselves at the drop of a hat. We want heroes who keep control of themselves no matter how hard things get, or who redeem themselves when they actually do succumb to their character weaknesses and faults.

–

Look now at the harvest you have reaped: disinterest in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe – the storyline that gave you the multibillion dollar company you are now riding in. You have failed us, the fans, more spectacularly than most other companies would. Do you not realize that you are making your living not with paper and fantasies, fellow writers, but on the hopes and dreams of the fans of the characters you are charged with protecting and strengthening?

The sad fact is that you have not done that part of your job very well of late, fellow writers. Or a great number of you have not. You have pandered to the whims of “popular opinion,” put your imaginations out to pasture in the fields of obliteration, and helped to propagate an urge to destroy in a great many people. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

What do you think the reaction to your misconceived storylines will be?

From where I sit, it does not appear that it will be a pretty reaction. If the 616 Marvel Universe evaporates or is merged with an alternate storyline permanently, then many fans will be greatly displeased and upset. Interest in your comics will plummet, and after that – well, there may not be a Marvel Comics company after a few years.

I suppose this puts me in the position of being a herald sent ahead to give you warning in time for you to change course of your own accord, before the army arrives and you are laid under a mountain of angry letters in your ivory tower.

If that is indeed the case, then as a herald, I have a few suggestions which may help you avoid such a siege before it starts. The customer is not always right, I know. But I do have some ideas which might – might – help you to avoid letting this “donkey” you are leading to market fall off the bridge.

Those, however, will be in my next letter. Until that time – Excelsior!

Yours sincerely,

The Mithril Guardian

Secret Wars and the “All-New, All-Different” Marvel Line-Up, Part 2 (OKAY TO PRINT)

Dear Marvel Managers/Editors/Writers,

In my previous letter, fellow writers, I detailed some of the problems you have made and are making with the stories set in the “mainstream,” or 616, Marvel Universe. In this letter I will list some suggestions which I think may open avenues that may help alleviate this writing crisis you are suffering.

Hopefully, these suggestions of mine will be of use in preventing the merging of the “mainstream” Marvel Universe with your Ultimate Marvel Universe. If I must “get used to disappointment,” then so be it. I am but a humble consumer, so what you do with your products is completely outside of my control. But I will not be consuming in any way, shape, or form, anything related to the “All-New, All-Different, Barf-Inducing” Universe you plan to create. However, my recommendations for future stories in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe are as follows:

Suggestion Number One is that you restore the Marvel Universes to their rightful places. I would say you will profit more from a restored and rejuvenated “mainstream” Marvel Universe rather than a merger of the “mainstream” and Ultimate Marvel Universes. By “restored and rejuvenated” I mean that the Avengers, X-Men, and other Marvel heroes of the 616 realm would be better off if they were returned to their original mission and character parameters.

This does not mean returning to the outlooks, costumes, or technology of the 1960s. What I mean by “restoration” is that the heroes should have restored confidence in themselves and in the values for which they fight. As Tony Stark says in “Avengers’ Worlds” in the Avengers Assemble television series, the Avengers are an ideal as much as they are a team. The same goes for the X-Men and the other Marvel heroes. They are not fighting for themselves, for personal glory, or simply to fight. They are fighting to protect innocent civilians from those who would do them great bodily harm.

As for the “rejuvenation,” it is helpful to remember that you deal with the fantastic, fellow writers. Time passes for us, writers and fans alike, it is true. But time need not have any noticeable effect on Marvel’s heroes and villains. They are, after all, the archetypes of human nature. Good and bad, human nature has not changed in some time, and it will not be changing in the near future.

So, for me, the history of the characters is fine as it is, or at least as it was before the latest rewrites. If people want to complain that Norman Osborn, Doc Ock, and Red Skull should all be pushing up daisies by now, then they have a right to do that. But for myself, I do not care how old any of the heroes or villains are. I only care that they remain the heroes I have always known and loved – or, in the case of the villains, disliked. I think future and current fans will agree with that assessment as well.

Marvel fans do not need our heroes to be made younger every ten or twenty years, as DC rejuvenates its characters. We are, actually, quite content to have our old friends keep us company from youth to age. King Arthur, Odysseus/Ulysses, and Robin Hood have walked with untold generations of people from youth to death without aging a day, as it were. I think Cap, Iron Man, Professor X, and the other Marvel heroes deserve that privilege as well. They have earned it many times over.

Suggestion Number Two would be that you consider turning away from these constant, universe-ending storylines. You can entertain people just as well with stories where the heroes must save a country, a world, or one family alone, fellow writers. Your predecessors did not have Ragnarok occurring every second Thursday for the simple reason that they did not need to. Neither do you need to do it.

It is not because “times were simpler” in the 1960s that Stan Lee and his friends chose to avoid destroying the world/galaxy/universe every weekend. The 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s were as tumultuous and fraught with peril as the world is today. Stakes need to be raised with each story in a series, yes. But there is a vast difference between raising the stakes and embracing anarchy, which is what you have given fans these last twenty years or so.

If you want some ideas for a good story where the world will not end, fellow writers, then I would suggest you read the newspaper or a history book for inspiration. Or you could talk to veterans of a war – any war. Try talking to the survivors of natural disasters, or other such things. Heavens, you can even ask the children in cancer centers and hospitals what stories they might like to read!

Better yet, ask Marvel fans what kind of stories they would like to see, or find and read their fan fiction. I and other fans all have ideas for stories for our favorite Marvel heroes. And there is no law (to the best of my knowledge) which says that these fans cannot help you write stories for their favorite characters. If other franchises are willing to buy “spec scripts” for their series, then I see no reason why you could not encourage Marvel fans to send in ideas or “spec scripts.”

Perhaps you could even set up writing competitions where fans can send in story ideas or “scripts” on a certain set of dates or for one weekend. These “windows of opportunity” for the fans need not last long; you could accept the ideas and stories from fans over the course of a day or two, and then close the event until the same date next month/next year. Doing this would give you the time you need to process the ideas sent in and to ask fans for clarification of their suggestions/stories – or even to ask them if they would like a job at Marvel.

Fellow writers, the truth of the matter is that if you want to know what we desire, then, you simply need to ask us. Not a handful of us, picked from a certain area to make a focus group of twenty to a hundred, but all of us in a controlled environment, such as the writing competition I mentioned above.   In this way we would each get our say – or our letter, as the case may be – and you would have a better idea of what kind of stories we would like to see. It would also help you to avert storyline disasters like this imminent merger of the “mainstream” and Ultimate Marvel Universes.

This brings me to Suggestion Number Three which regards the addition of “modern” characters to the roster of our old favorites – not to mention giving them the codenames of original Marvel characters – in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe.

I would also like to say that, if you truly wish to have a black Captain America, then please do it in an alternate Universe, not in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe. Yes, I know what you have been “secretly” trying to do with Sam Wilson. It is the same thing Henry Peter Gyrich did when he reduced the Avengers’ roster to seven and made them add Falcon to the team. The Avengers would gladly have accepted Falcon on his own merits, but Gyrich wanted them to be politically correct or some other such biased nonsense. So he forced Falcon to join the team.

Sam was understandably angry about that, and he was right to be angry. Because then, as now, forcing someone to do, say, or choose something in order to win political points is wrong. Then as now forcing Sam to be where he does not want to be damages him, it does not help him.

Sam Wilson, in the “mainstream” Marvel Universe, has the honor of being the very first African-American superhero in comic-dom. He deserves to retain that distinction in the 616 Universe, not to be shoehorned into the 616 Captain America uniform and role. What you have done to him is you have stolen his position and pride from him, as much as Gyrich did in the 1970s. This is not only highly unfair and derogatory to the Falcon, fellow writers, but it is also demeaning to his fans (me among them) as well. He and his fans deserve better treatment from you and a great deal more respect than you have shown to him and to us.

Besides which, mixing and matching heroes and their costumes is proven folly. No one liked having Clint Barton or Bucky Barnes in the Captain America uniform. And neither character truly wanted it. They – and we – prefer to have our “mainstream” favorites retain their original identities, characteristics, and suits. We prefer that 616 Steve Rogers remain Captain America and 616 Sam Wilson remain the Falcon. Do what you like with them in alternate Universes (you have already proven that you like to “play” with the heroes there) but leave the 616 Captain America and the 616 Falcon as they are! In fact, please consider leaving all the original 616 characters as they are.

This also goes for new characters like Kamala Khan as well. And I would note that she would do better as a character if she did not have to live up to Carol Danvers’ old codename. She is, from what I have heard, a widely liked character, and she therefore merits the ability to stand on her own two feet – not on Carol Danvers’ shoulders.

Any other new characters you wish to add to the “mainstream” Marvel Universe should also be able to walk the walk and talk the talk as themselves, not as “replacements” for heroes who have “moved on” to other codenames. As you might have noticed, “replacing” original characters with new ones is more likely to anger fans than to entertain them. Also with regard to Kamala, new young heroes would do better if they had more experienced heroes standing with them, encouraging them, and watching their back.

I am not advocating that new Marvel heroes become sidekicks to current Marvel heroes. That is DC Comics’ shtick, and they can have it. But as you know, previous Marvel writers had Storm and Wolverine mentor Kitty Pryde during her early years with the X-Men. Both characters grew and learned as they taught, molded, and guided the twelve year old into her role as an X-Man. It is very sad to me that other new heroes, like Kamala Khan and Kate Bishop, have been denied that chance. This should not be the case, fellow writers, and it would be better if you could rectify this situation.

As to adding new teenage or twenty-odd year old heroes to the X-Men, the Avengers, and Heroes for Hire, et al, you might try adding one or two characters at a time to the team roster.   This is how Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch were introduced to the Avengers, and it is easier for readers to keep track of one or two new characters – three at the most – rather than chasing around after five or six “newbies” throughout a single story. If it worked for your predecessors, then I see nothing preventing you from following through on this idea. Choose established fact over deluded fiction – what a concept!

Suggestion Number Four covers two issues I have: romantic relationships in the Marvel Universe, and the friendship between superheroes and superhero teams.

First and foremost, can you puh-lease stop the romantic rampage around the May Pole some of our heroes have been going through these last twenty years? I can handle Tony having a different girlfriend every other year, or Natasha finding a new boyfriend a year or two after she and her last man decided they could not get along. I can even handle Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff dating, for crying out loud!

But as I said in my previous letter, King Arthur always has Guinevere, Robin Hood always has Maid Marion, and Ulysses/Odysseus always has Penelope. So why can Cyclops not keep Jean Gray; Steve Rogers keep Sharon Carter; Hank Pym keep Janet van Dyne; Clint Barton keep Bobbi Morse, etc., keep their romances together?

It does not make life interesting – for our heroes or for us, fellow writers – if we are always trying to keep straight which boys and girls go together. We fans like stability, and for writers who pride themselves on keeping Marvel’s continuity flowing smoothly from now until Doomsday, you have not held to this coda in the romantic aspect of the 616 Universe at all.

I am curious as to why you have written the 616 X-Men and 616 Avengers as enemies. The “mainstream” Avengers are on good terms with the Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, and SHIELD. For all I know, they may also be friends with superhero teams Alpha Flight, Big Hero 6, and the Winter Guard.

On the other hand, you have had the 616 X-Men retreating from contact with outside teams and people. I see no reason for either this xenophobic exclusion or for any enmity between the ”mainstream” X-Men and Avengers, especially since 616 X-Men Beast, Wolverine, Quicksilver, and Storm have done time wearing an A instead of an X.

I suggest that these two 616 teams should learn to coexist and even rely on each other in times of danger in the future. If the “mainstream” X-Men have a problem and need help, for example, then they could easily contact the 616 Avengers and ask that they lend a hand. What are the Avengers going to do, say no? They have sworn to help everybody who needs or asks for their assistance.

There is no reason I can see why the “mainstream” Avengers would deny aid to the 616 X-Men when they needed help. Members of both teams are good friends with each other in the “mainstream” Universe, despite working for different superhero units/armies. Therefore, it makes sense that the teams would follow the patterns of their members and learn to get along.

Instead of tearing them apart fellow writers, or forcing them to merge (I know about the Unity Squad) you can – and I think you should – allow the “mainstream” X-Men and Avengers to be friends and allies. They are the biggest superhero teams on the planet. It only makes sense that they should learn to coexist with each other. The battles/wars between the teams have led only to the pain and destruction the Avenger and the X-Men have promised to prevent, and it is out of character for them to choose to fight like this, I think.

For Suggestion Number Five, I recommend that you stop having the heroes feel guilty about justly killing an enemy who would not otherwise be stopped. While making this concession to necessity (and reality), the heroes could steadfastly maintain a policy of not committing murder. Should this policy be violated in a major way, they can quite rightly put any hero who breaks that code on parole at the least, behind bars at the most. (Deadpool would certainly qualify as a ‘poster boy’ for the latter category.) Other areas where right and wrong have been “confused” and “made gray” should also be straightened out, fellow writers, if it is at all possible. Your fans will definitely thank you for it!

Suggestion Number Six: As I have said in previous letters, fellow writers, if you feel that you must change the histories of the original characters Stan Lee and his friends introduced to us, then please be kind enough to do so in an alternate Marvel Universe! The “mainstream” Marvel Universe is your primary bread and butter for the simple reason that it is the one fans – old and new – rely on to understand your alternate universes.

If a particular alternate Marvel Universe tickles a fan’s fancy, then he can enjoy that one in addition to or in preference over the original Marvel Universe. Most of your fans, however, have some kind of respect for the “mainstream” Marvel Universe and use it as a touchstone to navigate your other comic book worlds. Take away the platform of the 616 Marvel Universe, and all your alternate universes crumble to dust. I think you are well aware of that, fellow writers, but your current plans mean that this fact bears repeating – again.

Suggestion Number Seven is this: I mentioned at the beginning of this letter. Should you choose to restore and rejuvenate the “mainstream” Marvel Universe rather than merge it with the Ultimate Marvel Universe, fellow writers, I think you would profit greatly if you choose to restore the heroes’ confidence not only in themselves but in the ideals they fight for.

An ideal is not a fiction, fantasy, or anything so intangible. Nor is it an ideology that people will die for. The uniting ideal of the Marvel Heroes is the protection of innocent civilians from aggressors who would otherwise do them mortal harm. For that reason Marvel’s heroes take a great deal of punishment without looking for a reward of any kind for their service. They deserve to fight for that ideal again, with clear consciences and a right understanding of who and what they are.

Fighting to protect others is certainly not going to be easy, and it will not always be fun. The heroes will make mistakes, they will have accidents, and they will get hurt. But they will know what they are fighting for. They will recognize that they have darkness in them, weaknesses and faults that they will occasionally have to face head on.

But they will know that they can control the darkness within them, that they can choose to reject it. That they can fight it as they battle their physical adversaries. Once again, they will know that they are heroes. That they can, if they fall and fail, redeem themselves with enough effort and determination. And we, the fans, as well as you, fellow writers, will know and benefit from their insight as well.

These are my suggestions with regard to the direction in which I think you would be better served taking the “mainstream” Marvel Comics. Since these letters will be published on my blog – thoughtsontheedgeofforever.wordpress.com – once I have sent them to you, along with the email addresses of your separate writing departments, others may have better suggestions which augment and/or improve on my own.

As a last note, fellow writers, please take the time to reconsider your current story trajectory. If you take that road, you will fail and fall. A better road might be the one I have taken pains to suggest. Your current plan will end in your comic book empire’s story-telling collapse if you do not turn away from it.

That is not something I want, fellow writers. If I did, or if I was indifferent to the “mainstream” Marvel Universe’s survival – not to mention the survival of Marvel as a company – then I would not have written this letter to you, nor used my precious time and breath to give you my opinion.

Do me at least this one favor, fellow writers: please make these letters worth my time and energy, for your own sakes as well as mine.

Yours sincerely,

The Mithril Guardian

Stories Matter – Why Marvel Comics’ “Secret Wars” Is Not Marvel-Us

‘I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which “Escape” is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?’ (From J. R. R. Tolkien’s On Fairy-Stories, 1939, courtesy of www.interestingliterature.com)

I do not know how or why, but I have always been enchanted by stories. They are, to me, perhaps more than most other physical things in life. Stories are my biggest passion.   There are days I could forego lunch, a trip out of doors, or sleep if it meant a chance to read or see or hear a good story, which sometimes makes me wonder if I am not flaming crazy.

The above quote from J. R. R. Tolkien, taken from a post on Interesting Literature, is something I like to read to remind myself that I am not, in fact, crazy. I just happen to really like stories. Why? Well, why are some people passionate about surfing? Why are some people happiest while they are wood-working? Why are other people almost transported to another world while they are doing math?

We each have our talents, our passions. Stories and their characters are mine.

Escape was a word abused in Tolkien’s day as much as in ours. Then as now stories – whether they were fairy tales or great epics – were sniffed at by those who thought they had no worth.   “Oh, stories are good for little children,” they would – and will – snicker, “but once you are an adult, you don’t need them anymore.”

Uh-huh…. And when I reach adulthood, I can stop eating my veggies, right? I think several dozen fitness experts and dietitians would have an apoplectic fit if I pulled that stunt.

The thing I am trying to say, readers, and I may not be saying it well, is that stories matter. The characters in them matter. They always have and they always will, at least until time ends. Stories are avenues of escape.

But escape from what? Reality? Hardly. I may be addicted to stories, but I can tell you that they have not numbed me to reality in the least.

Stories are ways to escape the prisons forged out of despair, hatred, loneliness, and other evils. There are unfriendly things we have to deal with in this world if we are to survive it and discover our destiny. No one sniffs at the working mother whose husband buys her a ticket to the spa so she can get some down time, or the family that heads out to the park for an afternoon to kick a soccer ball around and enjoy each other’s company.

Yet begin talking about a story you enjoy, and you are suddenly accused of trying to escape reality.

I am no psychiatrist, no scientist, no sort of professional or “expert” whatsoever. But I know stories. I know they matter. I know because they are what make me happy, the same way a surfer is happy when he or she is out there shooting the curl. The same way a carpenter is glad when he planes a piece of wood or finishes a chair. The same way a mathematician receives untold pleasure in figuring out or making new numerical and formulaic puzzles. This is why I post about stories so much.

And this is why I have a problem with the direction the Marvel franchise is headed.

Marvel Comics is currently in the middle of some insane storyline called “Secret Wars.” The many alternate Marvel universes have collided with the “mainstream” – 616 – Marvel Universe which Stan Lee and his fellows created back in the 1960s. 616 Iron Man/Tony Stark and Nick Fury have been transformed into villains and have helped to bring this calamity about. Several characters from all the alternate universes are now struggling to survive alongside the 616 characters. The entire universe is in shambles. To top it off, Marvel is hyping an “All-New, All-Different” Marvel Comics line up for the next year (or more) with the roster for the Avengers completely rearranged – Miles Morales will be Spider-Man, Sam Wilson will still be filling in for Cap, Jane Foster will still be swinging Mjolnir and using the name Thor, and by now I cannot recall the other changes Marvel said were coming out.

I do not know who is alive in the Marvel Universe anymore, who is dead, which characters are wearing which superhero identities. My information is fragmented and despair-filled. The Marvel Comics currently in progress are not the Marvel Comics I enjoyed or, I think, that I could ever enjoy given who and what I am. In an alternate reality, I might. But not in this one, and this reality and the one that follows are the only ones that count.

Marvel knows that they can have all sorts of characters wear, say, Spider-Man’s costume, but the only character fans really want to see in the suit is Peter Parker. They know they can put anyone in the Captain America suit, but the only one who anyone truly wants to see holding the shield and standing up against evil is Steve Rogers. They know what works and they know what does not work. Why they have done what they are doing I cannot say. I only know that it has to stop, before irreparable damage is done to the characters they supposedly love as much as we fans do and, more to the point, which they are charged with protecting and strengthening.

They cannot be allowed to continue down this road, readers. If they do, there will be very little of what is good and right left in Marvel Comics for those who follow us in the near future. The films and cartoons based on their characters will suffer similar fates. For the comics are the roots of these newer forms of the tales and once the roots are poisoned the whole tree will die.

But why do I care about this, when there are so many more important things to think about, so many other calamities hitting the world and society? Well, why did Stan Lee care about this?

Why? Why did Stan Lee care? After the Second World War, all the comic book characters that were churned out for the U.S. soldiers and the kids back home in America were shelved. The comic book companies stopped producing stories for them; they started telling new tales with new characters instead. Though he may have lasted longer than some war-era comic book characters like Prince Namor and the original Human Torch, Cap was eventually put away as well.

Stan Lee saw it all happen. He watched Cap get shelved, along with all the other great characters made during World War II, after he had established his footing in the comic book world. He saw Cap, Bucky, Prince Namor, and others get set up on a high shelf by his bosses, because Cap and the others were “not needed anymore.”

Hah. For someone who is “not needed anymore,” Steve Rogers is awfully popular today, is he not, readers? Where would we (or Marvel, for that matter) be if Stan Lee had left Cap to collect dust on the shelves of Timely Comics, before he owned it and renamed it Marvel Comics?

Stan Lee liked Steve Rogers as much as any of us ever have. He brought Cap back because he knew we were always going to need him. He knew the suit did not make Captain America. Steve Rogers made Captain America. So Stan Lee made sure Steve could go on fighting for the nation he loved, inspiring generations of Marvel fans – outside and inside of the U.S. – to keep on fighting for what is right and true and good in this flawed, chaotic world.

He knew we would always need a rallying point, a character so thoroughly American that he could never consider giving up, not even for a moment. In the Avengers’ fourth issue, Stan Lee reinstated Steve Rogers in the fiction of the world. And we have reaped the benefits not only of Cap’s determination and strength but also of Stan Lee’s foresight and understanding of why we need great stories and great heroes.

And yet we are letting Marvel’s current hierarchy and their writers toss Steve around like a yo-yo.

Marvel knows I am displeased with the way they have taken their stories.  I have made no secret of it, sending them various notes showing my displeasure and suggesting how they might do things better since November/December of 2014.  But I am only one voice. I have no power with them, beyond what I have done.  They can, if they choose, ignore me easily. Odds are good that they will ignore me.

But they cannot ignore more than one voice raised against them in protest of their treatment of their characters.  They cannot ignore fans who tell them, “This stops here, and it stops NOW.”

You want to know something really funny about all this, readers?  Thinking about this post, about how to try and get my point across, I suddenly remembered Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  I recalled Steve Rogers speaking into a SHIELD microphone in the Triskelion, revealing to the World Security Council and the clean SHIELD agents that HYDRA had grown up right under their noses, and was planning to conquer the world through the agency that was supposed to protect humanity.

The part I specifically remembered was Steve saying, “The price of freedom is high.  It always has been.  And it’s a price I’m willing to pay.  And if I’m the only one then so be it.

“But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”

So maybe I am the only one who cares about what Marvel messes with in their comic book universe.  Maybe I am the only one in the world who cares about the characters as they were written and who wants to see that foundation built up, not torn down.  And if I am the only one who cares… then so be it.  I do CARE!!!

But, then again…maybe I’m not the only one.   I do not know.  I cannot know.

The U.S. Marines have a saying, “Is this the hill you want to die on?”  Not particularly. But if it is the hill I am forced to fight on, do not expect me to fight by halves.  A fight is all or nothing.  And if I have to die on this hill, standing beside the river of truth, well, you know – there are much worse hills out there on which to die.

So bring it on, Marvel.  I am willing to fight.

Are you?

The Mithril Guardian