Sunday, October 26, 2008
Cinema: Mother of Tears
Dario Argento's latest movie is his best since 1987's Opera. Unfortunately, that's not saying much because Argento's post-Opera pre-MoT movies range from bland to outright awful. But whatever else MoT is, it's not bland. The apocalyptic conclusion to the Three Mothers trilogy begun with 1976's Suspiria (now indisputably the best movie Argento will ever make) and followed by 1979's Inferno, MoT has more crazy conviction than Argento's shown in a long time. What it lacks is atmosphere and style, two things which used to be Argento's trademarks and which helped compensate for Argento's recurring flaws, namely his inability to direct actors or to come up with a coherent plot. What passes for a story here concerns Argento's usual plucky female protagonist (played by his daughter Asia Argento), trying to stop a coven of witches led by the Mother of Tears (played by the underwhelming Moran Atias) from bringing about the end of the world; in this she's guided by several characters including the ghost of her mother (played by Daria Nicolodi, Asia's real-life mother.) The movie reportedly had the biggest budget of Argento's career, but none of it shows on the screen. Hopes for Argento, who turned 68 this year, of renewing his fans' faith with a late-career comeback are dimmer than ever. And yet I'll still be watching his next offering, despite having the unpromisingly reductive title Giallo (that's the Italian name for a literary and cinematic subgenre of murder mysteries which many of Argento's movies fall under, so calling the film Giallo is like calling a comedy Comedy.)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Comic Book of the Week: Thor: The Truth Of History
I'm an Alan Davis completist, so there was never any question I was going to buy this. I enjoyed it. It seems to me that it's Davis's tribute to the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Tales of Asgard back-up serials in the Silver Age issues of Thor, where Thor and the Warriors Three had adventures in various realms. This time it's ancient Egypt. Davis's art is always a feast for the eyes, even in cases like this one where the coloring is not very good. And Davis writes a great Thor. There's a fine line between a fierce but noble warrior and an outright oaf, and Davis stays on the right side of the line. A simple story, but a good story well told.
Monday, October 20, 2008
FANFIC: The Avengers in "The Legacy of Mar-Vell" Part Three
A considerable distance from where Thor and Minerva had fought, another battle was about to take place. The Kree ship, apparently overwhelmed by the Avengers’ three-pronged attack, was coming in for a landing.
Captain Marvel opened all channels on her communicator. “Avengers, assemble at the ship’s hatch – and be prepared for anything!”
The Black Knight and the She-Hulk exited their land-bound quinjet while Namor landed his quinjet and exited it. The four Avengers stood before the ship, ready for a fight.
And a fight was what they got, but not quite the way they expected. Rather than the rigid militaristic formations the Kree were known for, these Kree – Captain Atlas, Zetazia, Loparr, Verxa, Gurge, and a squad of storm-troopers – came charging out savagely, wielding not only guns but also swords, clubs, maces, axes, and spears. As they mercilessly rushed the Avengers, they lustily chanted one word: “Garero.”
The Avengers didn’t waste time pondering any of this. Captain Marvel turned into a lightning bolt and knocked several storm-troopers off their feet, while the Black Knight engaged Captain Atlas in a swordfight, She-Hulk fought against the double team of the massive, plodding Gurge and the fast, feral Loparr, and Namor dodged both Verxa’s twin blades.
Teamwork quickly turned the tide in the Avengers’ favor. She-Hulk lifted Gurge and threw him at Verxa, while Namor tackled Loparr. The Black Knight disarmed Captain Atlas, who was in turn stunned by Captain Marvel’s shock blasts. Zetazia tried to fire a disruptor gun at Captain Marvel, but the Black Knight’s ebony blade intercepted the disruptor ray, sending it back where it came from and shattering the gun.
Before Captain Marvel could rally the Avengers for the coup de grace, her cosmic awareness went wild, intermingling with the cosmic entity’s rage.
“MINERVA*$$#$$$^%^^APPROACHING*##$%^OPRESSOR*MUST*DIE”
Captain Marvel lost control over her own body as she felt herself take flight under the entity’s will. They made a kamikaze charge at the approaching Minerva.
Thanks to her own newly acquired cosmic awareness, Minerva immediately realized what was going on. “The cosmic bastard is within her,” she sneered, “I should have known!”
As soon as Captain Marvel was close enough, Minerva let loose with a powerful right hook that sent Captain Marvel free-falling. The cosmic entity’s rage reached critical mass. Captain Marvel could do nothing to prevent the entity from making another foolhardy attack on Minerva, blasting the villainess with radioactive beams. Minerva was knocked by the beams into the face of a cliff.
Now it was Minerva’s turn to lash out. “Enough games! This ends now!” Hellishly red cosmic beams burst forth from her eyes, hitting Captain Marvel point blank.
There followed a bizarre sight punctuated by unearthly screams. Captain Marvel’s molecules discorporated and then reformed into two separate bodies: Captain Marvel’s and a skinny, hairless, sexless, milky-white-skinned alien. Seemingly drained of her superpowers, Captain Marvel fell to the ground and didn’t move.
Minerva used both hands to grab the alien’s torso. With a sickening sound of flesh rending and bones breaking, she tore the alien in two. The alien’s dying cries echoed through the canyons as its remains burned in cosmic fire as they fell to the ground.
As the battle between the Avengers and the Kree raged on, Minerva hovered above the fray, laughing and laughing.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART IV
Captain Marvel opened all channels on her communicator. “Avengers, assemble at the ship’s hatch – and be prepared for anything!”
The Black Knight and the She-Hulk exited their land-bound quinjet while Namor landed his quinjet and exited it. The four Avengers stood before the ship, ready for a fight.
And a fight was what they got, but not quite the way they expected. Rather than the rigid militaristic formations the Kree were known for, these Kree – Captain Atlas, Zetazia, Loparr, Verxa, Gurge, and a squad of storm-troopers – came charging out savagely, wielding not only guns but also swords, clubs, maces, axes, and spears. As they mercilessly rushed the Avengers, they lustily chanted one word: “Garero.”
The Avengers didn’t waste time pondering any of this. Captain Marvel turned into a lightning bolt and knocked several storm-troopers off their feet, while the Black Knight engaged Captain Atlas in a swordfight, She-Hulk fought against the double team of the massive, plodding Gurge and the fast, feral Loparr, and Namor dodged both Verxa’s twin blades.
Teamwork quickly turned the tide in the Avengers’ favor. She-Hulk lifted Gurge and threw him at Verxa, while Namor tackled Loparr. The Black Knight disarmed Captain Atlas, who was in turn stunned by Captain Marvel’s shock blasts. Zetazia tried to fire a disruptor gun at Captain Marvel, but the Black Knight’s ebony blade intercepted the disruptor ray, sending it back where it came from and shattering the gun.
Before Captain Marvel could rally the Avengers for the coup de grace, her cosmic awareness went wild, intermingling with the cosmic entity’s rage.
“MINERVA*$$#$$$^%^^APPROACHING*##$%^OPRESSOR*MUST*DIE”
Captain Marvel lost control over her own body as she felt herself take flight under the entity’s will. They made a kamikaze charge at the approaching Minerva.
Thanks to her own newly acquired cosmic awareness, Minerva immediately realized what was going on. “The cosmic bastard is within her,” she sneered, “I should have known!”
As soon as Captain Marvel was close enough, Minerva let loose with a powerful right hook that sent Captain Marvel free-falling. The cosmic entity’s rage reached critical mass. Captain Marvel could do nothing to prevent the entity from making another foolhardy attack on Minerva, blasting the villainess with radioactive beams. Minerva was knocked by the beams into the face of a cliff.
Now it was Minerva’s turn to lash out. “Enough games! This ends now!” Hellishly red cosmic beams burst forth from her eyes, hitting Captain Marvel point blank.
There followed a bizarre sight punctuated by unearthly screams. Captain Marvel’s molecules discorporated and then reformed into two separate bodies: Captain Marvel’s and a skinny, hairless, sexless, milky-white-skinned alien. Seemingly drained of her superpowers, Captain Marvel fell to the ground and didn’t move.
Minerva used both hands to grab the alien’s torso. With a sickening sound of flesh rending and bones breaking, she tore the alien in two. The alien’s dying cries echoed through the canyons as its remains burned in cosmic fire as they fell to the ground.
As the battle between the Avengers and the Kree raged on, Minerva hovered above the fray, laughing and laughing.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART IV
FANFIC: The Avengers in "The Legacy of Mar-Vell" Part Two
The Kree ship loomed monolithically over the heroes approaching it, Captain Marvel flying in energy mode and Namor piloting a quinjet. Inside the ship, five fearsome Kree warriors stood on the bridge: Verxa, Gurge, Loparr, Zetazia, and their leader, Captain Atlas.
“Look,” Zetazia cackled, “here come the lambs to the slaughter.”
“A nice sentiment, Zetazia, but, remember, we are merely to provide a distraction while Minerva finishes re-activating the Psyche-Magnetron.” Captain Atlas calmly replied.
“Bah!” Loparr growled, “This is not the way of the true warrior! You are going soft, Captain.”
The Captain was unfazed. “Were I not so accustomed to your insubordinations, Loparr, I would waste my breath reprimanding you.”
“Patience, my friend,” said Gurge, rubbing his hands, “for when Minerva’s work is done, we shall all have power undreamed of.”
Captain Marvel’s voice crackled through the bridge’s speakers as she transmitted a message using her ability to generate radio waves. “This is Captain Marvel of the Avengers. You are trespassing on Earth. Pick up your companion on the surface and turn your ship around, or we shall be forced to detain you, by force if necessary.”
Captain Atlas was swift to respond. “Open fire!”
Captain Marvel saw the shots coming and changed to pure light mode so that they would pass through her. In the quinjet, Namor gracefully dodged the rapid fire. He then activated the quinjet’s offensive systems and launched rockets at the ship. Captain Marvel added to the counter-attack with high-intensity radiation beams.
********
On Earth, Thor crept stealthily through the rubble within the cave, following a dim light that most likely led to the lower level where Minerva was. An ominous hum began to ring through the cave – it could only mean that Minerva was activating her machine. Thor picked up the pace.
*********
“Lower shields and prepare for landfall,” commanded Captain Atlas, “we must make them believe they have damaged the ship.”
“And then,” whispered Verxa, “let the bloodletting begin.”
Down below, in a quinjet in land mode, the Black Knight and She-Hulk observed the trajectory of the descending ship. The Black Knight revved up the engines and began following the ship. Spotting a clear shot far from where Captain Marvel or Namor’s quinjet would be in the way, the Black Knight blasted at the ship with the quinjet’s cannon.
********
As Thor advanced further down the slope, the dim light gradually intensified until it would have blinded a mere mortal. Eventually, he was close enough to see Minerva being bathed in rays from the machine. As Thor watched, Minerva grew taller and more muscular, and her drab uniform transformed into a costume reminiscent of that originally worn by Ms. Marvel.
Thor was accustomed to sights such as this, and continued to watch impassively as Minerva used a small device to shrink the machine and place it in a pouch on her belt.
Then, suddenly, Minerva turned around. It appeared that, even from his hiding place, she could sense Thor’s presence thanks to her newly gained super-powers. Thor clutched his mighty hammer, Mjolnir, and prepared for the inevitable clash.
But Thor never expected what happened next. Without moving, Minerva fired cosmic beams from her eyes, hitting Thor squarely in the chest with unimaginable force and sending him flying back up the slope, through the roof of the cave’s upper level, and in a clean arc that ended at the foot of a mountain.
“Od’s Blood!” muttered Thor as pain he had never known coursed through his massive body. Struggling to get up, he saw Minerva burst out of the collapsed cave, completely unharmed, and fly higher until she hovered above him.
She now spoke. “You, godling, are merely sport to me. I seek she who carries on the legacy of the traitor Mar-Vell. Lead me to her, or I shall obliterate you!”
Thor bit down hard and rose to his feet. “Presumptuous Kree demoness, usurper of cosmic powers unworthy of thee, I SAY THEE NAY!” He then let Mjolnir fly straight at Minerva.
To the thunder god’s astonishment, the hammer bounced off Minerva and returned to Thor’s hand. He immediately raised Mjolnir to the sky. “Where blunt force hath failed, let the forces of nature strike down the evil pretender!” And with that, a ferocious bolt of lightning ripped through the sky and headed for Minerva. Before Thor realized what was happening, she absorbed the lightning and transformed it into cosmic energy – cosmic energy which she then fired through her eyes at Thor.
The god of thunder was pushed into the face of the mountain. There followed a tremendous avalanche, leaving Thor buried under tons of rock. Minerva waited to see if Thor would emerge. After a minute, she was satisfied. She turned and began flying toward the site where her Kree comrades had led the rest of the Avengers.
“This is only the beginning!” Minerva declared, laughing wickedly.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART III
“Look,” Zetazia cackled, “here come the lambs to the slaughter.”
“A nice sentiment, Zetazia, but, remember, we are merely to provide a distraction while Minerva finishes re-activating the Psyche-Magnetron.” Captain Atlas calmly replied.
“Bah!” Loparr growled, “This is not the way of the true warrior! You are going soft, Captain.”
The Captain was unfazed. “Were I not so accustomed to your insubordinations, Loparr, I would waste my breath reprimanding you.”
“Patience, my friend,” said Gurge, rubbing his hands, “for when Minerva’s work is done, we shall all have power undreamed of.”
Captain Marvel’s voice crackled through the bridge’s speakers as she transmitted a message using her ability to generate radio waves. “This is Captain Marvel of the Avengers. You are trespassing on Earth. Pick up your companion on the surface and turn your ship around, or we shall be forced to detain you, by force if necessary.”
Captain Atlas was swift to respond. “Open fire!”
Captain Marvel saw the shots coming and changed to pure light mode so that they would pass through her. In the quinjet, Namor gracefully dodged the rapid fire. He then activated the quinjet’s offensive systems and launched rockets at the ship. Captain Marvel added to the counter-attack with high-intensity radiation beams.
********
On Earth, Thor crept stealthily through the rubble within the cave, following a dim light that most likely led to the lower level where Minerva was. An ominous hum began to ring through the cave – it could only mean that Minerva was activating her machine. Thor picked up the pace.
*********
“Lower shields and prepare for landfall,” commanded Captain Atlas, “we must make them believe they have damaged the ship.”
“And then,” whispered Verxa, “let the bloodletting begin.”
Down below, in a quinjet in land mode, the Black Knight and She-Hulk observed the trajectory of the descending ship. The Black Knight revved up the engines and began following the ship. Spotting a clear shot far from where Captain Marvel or Namor’s quinjet would be in the way, the Black Knight blasted at the ship with the quinjet’s cannon.
********
As Thor advanced further down the slope, the dim light gradually intensified until it would have blinded a mere mortal. Eventually, he was close enough to see Minerva being bathed in rays from the machine. As Thor watched, Minerva grew taller and more muscular, and her drab uniform transformed into a costume reminiscent of that originally worn by Ms. Marvel.
Thor was accustomed to sights such as this, and continued to watch impassively as Minerva used a small device to shrink the machine and place it in a pouch on her belt.
Then, suddenly, Minerva turned around. It appeared that, even from his hiding place, she could sense Thor’s presence thanks to her newly gained super-powers. Thor clutched his mighty hammer, Mjolnir, and prepared for the inevitable clash.
But Thor never expected what happened next. Without moving, Minerva fired cosmic beams from her eyes, hitting Thor squarely in the chest with unimaginable force and sending him flying back up the slope, through the roof of the cave’s upper level, and in a clean arc that ended at the foot of a mountain.
“Od’s Blood!” muttered Thor as pain he had never known coursed through his massive body. Struggling to get up, he saw Minerva burst out of the collapsed cave, completely unharmed, and fly higher until she hovered above him.
She now spoke. “You, godling, are merely sport to me. I seek she who carries on the legacy of the traitor Mar-Vell. Lead me to her, or I shall obliterate you!”
Thor bit down hard and rose to his feet. “Presumptuous Kree demoness, usurper of cosmic powers unworthy of thee, I SAY THEE NAY!” He then let Mjolnir fly straight at Minerva.
To the thunder god’s astonishment, the hammer bounced off Minerva and returned to Thor’s hand. He immediately raised Mjolnir to the sky. “Where blunt force hath failed, let the forces of nature strike down the evil pretender!” And with that, a ferocious bolt of lightning ripped through the sky and headed for Minerva. Before Thor realized what was happening, she absorbed the lightning and transformed it into cosmic energy – cosmic energy which she then fired through her eyes at Thor.
The god of thunder was pushed into the face of the mountain. There followed a tremendous avalanche, leaving Thor buried under tons of rock. Minerva waited to see if Thor would emerge. After a minute, she was satisfied. She turned and began flying toward the site where her Kree comrades had led the rest of the Avengers.
“This is only the beginning!” Minerva declared, laughing wickedly.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART III
FANFIC: The Avengers in "The Legacy of Mar-Vell" Part One
This is the second in a series of alternate-timeline Avengers fanfics. The timeline diverges after Roger Stern & John Buscema's "Assault on Olympus" arc. To read my first Avengers fanfic, "The Omega Sequence", visit http://www.avengersforever.org/fanfiction/
Thor swept across a bright blue late-summer sky in all his godly glory. His recent victory over the Asgardian death-goddess Hela had resulted in a healthy new body minus the scarred face and brittle bones the old one had acquired. So it was that Thor had disposed of the beard and the armor, neither of which served a purpose anymore. The thunder god’s return to a familiar appearance was greeted with cheers from people on rooftops and at windowsills. Thor might have reveled in the well-wishing, except that he had far more somber things on his mind.
Spotting an Avengers quinjet hovering above the parking lot of a cemetery – conspicuous, yes, but far better than taking away parking space from civilians – Thor fixated on his fellow Avengers (She-Hulk, Black Knight, Sub-Mariner, and team chairwoman Captain Marvel) walking towards a freshly dug grave, and he made a quiet landing beside them. Brief looks and nods were exchanged between Thor and his teammates, but no greetings were spoken.
The Avengers had done their best to provide a good funeral service for their fallen teammate, Dr. Druid. But sometimes even the best comes up short. All calls to Anthony Druid’s relatives had gone unanswered; several priests had turned down the service, due to Druid’s occult practices; and other than the Avengers, the only people now standing at Druid’s grave were a handful of collegiate misfits who knew Druid only as an author of books on the supernatural.
Once the priest had finished his duties, countless minutes passed while none of the Avengers spoke up. Druid had, after all, been aloof, supercilious, self-serving, and insubordinate to his fellow Avengers, so they could be forgiven for not finding a positive word to say.
Finally, Captain Marvel spoke up. “Druid was not a perfect person, but none of us are perfect. It’s a pity that he was taken from us so fast that we never got to see other, more pleasant sides of him. I hope that, wherever he is now, he’s found friendship and happiness. Rest in peace, Avenger.”
“Well said, Captain, well said indeed.” Thor replied.
She-Hulk, who had been particularly hurt by a cruel prank of Druid’s, was the first to turn around and head back to the quinjet. The Black Knight, who had recently started a relationship with She-Hulk, was next, and the others quickly and quietly followed suit.
Suddenly, the Black Knight shivered. His teammates had no way of knowing that, for a split second, he had been overwhelmed by a vision of Druid’s soul being imprisoned and tortured by the Fomor, a team of monstrous-looking Celtic mystics whom the Avengers had opposed some time ago. She-Hulk gently put her arm over one of the Black Knight’s shoulders, while she stroked his other shoulder with equal tenderness.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
He struggled to reply, but quickly gave up. “Nothing…it was nothing.”
She-Hulk held him tighter and said, “I think you’ve really been working too hard.”
That much was true. His constant upgrades to the Avengers’ technology, and the time-space machine in particular, had been turning into an obsession. For the moment, he decided to dismiss his vision as a waking nightmare, and tried to put it out of his mind by thinking of what he and She-Hulk might do together that night.
*********
Much later, Captain Marvel was sound asleep at her home, when suddenly, a sensation she had never experienced before left her wide awake, sitting bolt upright in her bed.
Every wall between her and the secrets of cosmos had been torn down. Red and purple waterfalls of crackling energy tumbled into worlds within worlds, while bits and pieces of the most esoteric knowledge blew every which way like raindrops in a storm.
And the mysterious cosmic entity within her began to talk more clearly. “#^%&##%$&^ INVASION @#$#$#$%^ KREE INVADERS (*(&%%%$%$ MUST BE STOPPED!”
Captain Marvel closed her eyes and gritted her teeth and screamed mentally at the entity. “This is all too much for me at once!”
Instantaneously, the bizarre imagery cohered into a vision of a Kree starship orbiting the Earth from a distance where it could not be detected by conventional means, while on the surface of Earth, in a secret Kree base disguised on the outside as just another cave, a dark-haired female Kree labored over a strange-looking machine. When the image focused on the female Kree, the entity within Captain Marvel became agitated. &*&**& MINERVA &**&&* EVIL TORMENTOR *(&*(* MUST DIE!” The imagery became shaky before abruptly disappearing altogether, leaving only the sight of Captain Marvel’s bedroom with the lights out.
Without hesitation, Captain Marvel picked up the miniature communicator on her nightstand, activated it, and turned on all the channels. She then spoke loud and clear. “Avengers assemble!”
********
Once the coordinates were entered into the Avengers’ computer, one monitor showed the deceptively plain cave from the outside, while another showed the Kree starship being scanned and analyzed. The Avengers were lined up together in front of the monitors.
Captain Marvel, now in her super-hero costume, pointed at relevant areas while she outlined her battle plan. “We’ll have one quinjet in air fighter mode, with Namor and Marrina inside, and another quinjet in land fighter mode, with Dane and Jennifer inside, while I can use my speed to hit them both high and low. Thor, not me but Thor, will deal with the lone Kree inside the base, because the thing inside me has a vendetta against her, and that could lead to trouble.”
Namor piped up. “Captain, if I may, I believe that having Marrina in the field is not a wise idea.”
Marrina sulked and slouched, while Captain Marvel fixed Namor with a scowl. “And why not?”
Namor closed his eyes while he found the words. “Because it would lead to the same kind of trouble you mentioned a moment ago.”
Captain Marvel shook her head and sighed. “There’s no time for this. Sorry, Marrina, you’ll be sitting this one out.”
Marrina pouted, then turned around and walked out of the command center.
Captain Marvel shifted to energy mode and turned to face the other Avengers. “We don’t have a minute to lose. Let’s roll.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II
Thor swept across a bright blue late-summer sky in all his godly glory. His recent victory over the Asgardian death-goddess Hela had resulted in a healthy new body minus the scarred face and brittle bones the old one had acquired. So it was that Thor had disposed of the beard and the armor, neither of which served a purpose anymore. The thunder god’s return to a familiar appearance was greeted with cheers from people on rooftops and at windowsills. Thor might have reveled in the well-wishing, except that he had far more somber things on his mind.
Spotting an Avengers quinjet hovering above the parking lot of a cemetery – conspicuous, yes, but far better than taking away parking space from civilians – Thor fixated on his fellow Avengers (She-Hulk, Black Knight, Sub-Mariner, and team chairwoman Captain Marvel) walking towards a freshly dug grave, and he made a quiet landing beside them. Brief looks and nods were exchanged between Thor and his teammates, but no greetings were spoken.
The Avengers had done their best to provide a good funeral service for their fallen teammate, Dr. Druid. But sometimes even the best comes up short. All calls to Anthony Druid’s relatives had gone unanswered; several priests had turned down the service, due to Druid’s occult practices; and other than the Avengers, the only people now standing at Druid’s grave were a handful of collegiate misfits who knew Druid only as an author of books on the supernatural.
Once the priest had finished his duties, countless minutes passed while none of the Avengers spoke up. Druid had, after all, been aloof, supercilious, self-serving, and insubordinate to his fellow Avengers, so they could be forgiven for not finding a positive word to say.
Finally, Captain Marvel spoke up. “Druid was not a perfect person, but none of us are perfect. It’s a pity that he was taken from us so fast that we never got to see other, more pleasant sides of him. I hope that, wherever he is now, he’s found friendship and happiness. Rest in peace, Avenger.”
“Well said, Captain, well said indeed.” Thor replied.
She-Hulk, who had been particularly hurt by a cruel prank of Druid’s, was the first to turn around and head back to the quinjet. The Black Knight, who had recently started a relationship with She-Hulk, was next, and the others quickly and quietly followed suit.
Suddenly, the Black Knight shivered. His teammates had no way of knowing that, for a split second, he had been overwhelmed by a vision of Druid’s soul being imprisoned and tortured by the Fomor, a team of monstrous-looking Celtic mystics whom the Avengers had opposed some time ago. She-Hulk gently put her arm over one of the Black Knight’s shoulders, while she stroked his other shoulder with equal tenderness.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
He struggled to reply, but quickly gave up. “Nothing…it was nothing.”
She-Hulk held him tighter and said, “I think you’ve really been working too hard.”
That much was true. His constant upgrades to the Avengers’ technology, and the time-space machine in particular, had been turning into an obsession. For the moment, he decided to dismiss his vision as a waking nightmare, and tried to put it out of his mind by thinking of what he and She-Hulk might do together that night.
*********
Much later, Captain Marvel was sound asleep at her home, when suddenly, a sensation she had never experienced before left her wide awake, sitting bolt upright in her bed.
Every wall between her and the secrets of cosmos had been torn down. Red and purple waterfalls of crackling energy tumbled into worlds within worlds, while bits and pieces of the most esoteric knowledge blew every which way like raindrops in a storm.
And the mysterious cosmic entity within her began to talk more clearly. “#^%&##%$&^ INVASION @#$#$#$%^ KREE INVADERS (*(&%%%$%$ MUST BE STOPPED!”
Captain Marvel closed her eyes and gritted her teeth and screamed mentally at the entity. “This is all too much for me at once!”
Instantaneously, the bizarre imagery cohered into a vision of a Kree starship orbiting the Earth from a distance where it could not be detected by conventional means, while on the surface of Earth, in a secret Kree base disguised on the outside as just another cave, a dark-haired female Kree labored over a strange-looking machine. When the image focused on the female Kree, the entity within Captain Marvel became agitated. &*&**& MINERVA &**&&* EVIL TORMENTOR *(&*(* MUST DIE!” The imagery became shaky before abruptly disappearing altogether, leaving only the sight of Captain Marvel’s bedroom with the lights out.
Without hesitation, Captain Marvel picked up the miniature communicator on her nightstand, activated it, and turned on all the channels. She then spoke loud and clear. “Avengers assemble!”
********
Once the coordinates were entered into the Avengers’ computer, one monitor showed the deceptively plain cave from the outside, while another showed the Kree starship being scanned and analyzed. The Avengers were lined up together in front of the monitors.
Captain Marvel, now in her super-hero costume, pointed at relevant areas while she outlined her battle plan. “We’ll have one quinjet in air fighter mode, with Namor and Marrina inside, and another quinjet in land fighter mode, with Dane and Jennifer inside, while I can use my speed to hit them both high and low. Thor, not me but Thor, will deal with the lone Kree inside the base, because the thing inside me has a vendetta against her, and that could lead to trouble.”
Namor piped up. “Captain, if I may, I believe that having Marrina in the field is not a wise idea.”
Marrina sulked and slouched, while Captain Marvel fixed Namor with a scowl. “And why not?”
Namor closed his eyes while he found the words. “Because it would lead to the same kind of trouble you mentioned a moment ago.”
Captain Marvel shook her head and sighed. “There’s no time for this. Sorry, Marrina, you’ll be sitting this one out.”
Marrina pouted, then turned around and walked out of the command center.
Captain Marvel shifted to energy mode and turned to face the other Avengers. “We don’t have a minute to lose. Let’s roll.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Silverhawks Volume 1 DVD
An underrated 80s TV space opera cartoon finally becomes available for old fans and a new generation. Picture and sound quality are excellent, the better to appreciate the painterly color scheme worthy of classic Disney and the superlative score by Swiss composer Bernard Hoffer (who also did the equally excellent music for Silverhawks' sister show, Thundercats.) The one disappointment is the behind-the-scenes feature. It's only ten minutes long, and while Maggie Wheeler gives a fun interview (she considers Melodia to be "the first of my famous annoying characters"), the other surviving cast members, Peter Newman and Larry Kenney, are very much missed, especially considering how good their interviews were on the Thundercats DVD feature. Still a worthy addition to any animation fan's collection. No word yet on if or when there will be a Volume 2 collecting the remaining episodes.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Comic Book of the Week: Green Lantern #35
Geoff Johns wraps up his 7-part Secret Origin arc with an excellent issue. The scenes of Hal Jordan standing up to the Guardians are just the latest reminder of why Hal's fearless decisiveness is so refreshing after nearly two decades of wishy-washiness in pop culture. Hopefully that attitude is where the next decade will be heading. And let's not shortchange penciller Ivan Reis, who has arguably become the best artist at visualizing something as abstract as Hal's decisiveness. This is a great time to be a Green Lantern fan.
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