“Hey Pete, you know a lot about comics! What are your
favourites?”
Said nobody ever.
But I’m not the sort of man to let a little thing like “nobody
caring” get in the way of my own fun.
So here it is; a spoiler-filled run down of my favourite
comic arcs.
You should buy all of these.
5) Green Lantern:
Sinestro Corps War (2007)
I found it somewhat difficult not to list Geoff Johns’
ENTIRE Green Lantern run from Rebirth (the return of Hal Jordan) right the way
through to The End due to its high quality and brilliant character arcs.
I decided on the Sinestro Corps War as the high point
because it was this specific story that allowed Johns to show off his heavily redesigned
cast and setting whilst teasing lots of ominous foreshadowing of the Blackest
Night to come.
Some characters remained the same; Hal Jordan was still a
commitment phobic risk taking hotshot pilot (largely taking cues from Darwin
Cooke’s New Frontier) and Kyle Rayner was still a skirt-chasing dildo who
always takes the time to have a little cry mid-battle.
Other characters, however, received an overhaul. John
Stewart had the “ex-sniper” part of his personality come to the forefront; they
used the destruction of Xanshi (a planet that was destroyed on Stewart’s watch)
to create a fractured veteran who devotes himself to protecting life because he
can’t stand to see any more death. He was the only human Lantern not interested
in showing off; he just wanted to get the job done and save as many lives as
possible. This made him, in my opinion, far more sympathetic than in previous
comic book incarnations.
Guy Gardner had his more lecherous and abhorrent character
traits toned down and elements of his back story altered to include an abusive
father which transformed him from a spoof of Reagan-era leather-clad “heroes”
into a damaged abuse victim who was desperate to prove himself. When I was a
kid, Hal Jordan had been my favourite Lantern but thanks to Geoff Johns, Gardner
quickly took the top spot. He made inappropriate sex jokes, drank too much,
acted without thinking of the consequences and had a deep-seated resentment for
his father; how could I not empathise? During the Sinestro Corps War, Guy got to
shine as a field-commander and readers, both new and old, got to see why the
ring had chosen him in the first place.
Now to the full reason why “Sinestro Corps War” is my
favourite; the man himself. Thaal Sinestro, former Green Lantern of Sector 1417
and future master of the universe. The Sinestro that Geoff Johns resurrected (after
being killed by Hal Jordan in the nineties) was aristocratic, self-assured and
calmly cruel. This new Sinestro made an enemy that could challenge the power of
the Green Lantern Corps; in this arc, Sinestro had surrounded himself with
sadists and murderers in the name of spreading fear throughout the universe.
Why? Because with fear comes order and that’s what Sinestro is all about;
order.
4) Batman: Knightfall
(1993 – 1994)
“I am Bane -- and I could kill you... but death would only
end your agony and silence your shame. Instead, I will simply... BREAK YOU!”
Arkham Asylum cracked wide open.
Batman’s entire rogues’ gallery on the loose.
A shitty film version of this story yet to come.
Knightfall came at a time of change for Batman comics;
desperate to pull away from the current “Bat-family”, the writers needed an arc
that would shatter the status-quo and send readers plummeting into the depths
of a darker Gotham and so Batman was put through his greatest challenge to
date.
The first volume had Batman going up against everyone from
the Joker to Amygdala (look it up, bitches). Each villain put Batman through a
different trial; Zsasz made Batman question his no-killing rule, the Hatter
made him question his own mental strength and so on until Batman was worn-down,
sleep deprived and brimming with MAN-FLU... perhaps his greatest enemy to date.
It was at that point that the South American steroid abuser and criminal genius
known as Bane stepped out of the shadows dressed as a luchador (because DC
comics has always relied on lazy stereotyping *cough* Black Lightning *cough*)
and breaks Batman’s back.
While he recovers, Batman passes his mantle to his long-time
partner, friend and confidant; Dick Grayson...
Oh no... wait... Batman DOESN’T do that. Instead, our dark
knight detective passes the cape and cowl to Jean-Paul Valley, otherwise known
as Azrael, a militant Christian who enjoys decapitating sinners with a flaming
broadsword.
What the shit, Batman?
While Batman recovers, Valley kits himself out in a new
Bat-Suit that looks like a Rob Liefeld designed Transformer; big, metal and
FULL of unnecessary pouches and proceeds to deal with every criminal with the
mission statement “You can’t commit another crime if you’re in a coma!”
Eventually Batman returns and defeats Mecha-Bat by tricking
him into getting naked (no, really). The tale ends with Batman being sure of
his mission once more and the overall tone of book embracing the “dark” of the
Dark Knight.
3) League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999 – ongoing)
Another contender in the list of awesome comic series’ that
have been botched by their film adaptation. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
film managed to change and wreck every character in the book; it is an aberration
that will hopefully, one day, be erased from the timeline like Rory was that
one time in Doctor Who.
WE WILL SPEAK OF IT NO LONGER!
The comic book series, on the other hand, is fantastic. It
collects some of the British Empire’s finest fictional creations and bands them
together into a clandestine team of super-spies, working behind the scenes to
ensure the survival of Queen and country.
The prim and proper Mina Murray (Dracula) is recruited by
the mysterious “M” (Casino Royale) to assemble a team. Their mission? Track
down some missing cavorite (The First Men in the Moon). She soon recruits
Captain Nemo (Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea); a violent, death-worshipping pirate and
Allan Quatermain (King Soloman’s Mines); an opium addled ex-soldier. Along the
way they meet Hawley Griffin (The Invisible Man) and Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); the former hiding in a girl’s sixth form, visiting the
girls as the “Holy Spirit”, getting several of them pregnant and the latter
murdering prostitutes in France.
Their
next outing is set to the backdrop of the Martian Invasion (War of the Worlds).
Once more called upon, this band of scrappy literary creations acts as the
front line of defence for the world but are betrayed by the Invisible Man who
is then raped to death by Mr. Hyde (Alan Moore has never shied away from just
being plain DARK). Volume Two ends with half the team dead and the other half
disbanded over the use of a biological weapon provided by Dr. Moreau (The
Island of Doctor Moreau) against the Martian horde (the “killed by the common
cold” explanation in the original book is given as the “official” statement).
The team
reassemble at different points to deal with threats like Jimmy Bond (Casino
Royale), Big Brother (1984), Oliver Haddo (The Magician) and his Moonchild (Moonchild)
who ends up being VERY Harry Potter-esque in the end and they recruit allies
like Orlando (Orlando: A Biography) and A.J. Raffles (A Thief in the Night).
2) Nick Fury: Agent
of Nothing (2009 – 2010)
Please note that the Nick Fury featured in this storyline is
the Infinity Formula powered, grumpy, stubbly 616 Fury and NOT the Nick Fury
that has had enough of these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane.
Intrigue? Check.
Norman Osborn getting punched in the face? Check.
Renaissance-era alien technology because reasons? Double
check.
Agent of Nothing came at a time after the disbanding of
S.H.I.E.L.D, in the comics due to incompetence during an alien invasion, and
the installation of H.A.M.M.E.R; its replacement helmed by Norman “Captain
Crazypants” Osborn. The villains were posing as heroes and the heroes were on
the run. Dark times, true believers.
In this time of general silliness, Nick “politeness is for
pussies” Fury assembled a team of new characters that Marvel were keen to push
to the front, and Daisy, the girl from Secret War with the earthquake powers.
Fury set about fighting the remnants of Hydra and the all-powerful H.A.M.M.E.R
because Fury hates injustice and also probably other reasons but DAMN does that
man hate injustice.
The Gorgon comes back to life and teams up with Baron
Wolfgang Von Strucker (Hydra’s leader and Fury’s nemesis since 1964) in order
to unleash the full power of Hydra on the world. Enter Russian terrorist Orion
and his gaggle of generic cretins to fight Hydra AND Fury in order to unleash
THEIR brand of rampant twattery on the world as well.
See what I mean? Silliness.
Cue flashbacks to one time in the 1960’s when Leonardo Da
Vinci (bear with me here) brought Fury, Strucker, Orion and many others together
to capture alien super-science that could be used to create an army of
monsters. Which Orion now has.
After destroying the machine, Fury and Strucker are captured
and the latter gleefully reveals that *gasp* S.H.I.E.L.D had been infested
with, and taking their orders from, Hydra! (yes, I know, you’ve all seen Winter
Soldier by now)
BUT
CINEMA GOING PEOPLE
IN THE COMIC
NICK FURY
NICK “THE KING OF SPIES” FURY
THIS SMOOTH, ONE-EYED STUD REVEALS THAT HE’S KNOWN ABOUT
HYDRA’S INFLUENCE IN S.H.I.E.L.D FOR DECADES AND THE REASON WHY EVERY HYDRA
PLOT ALWAYS FAILS IS BECAUSE, WHILE HYDRA HAVE BEEN GIVING ORDERS TO S.H.I.E.L.D,
FURY HAS BEEN GIVING ORDERS TO HYDRA!
DOES IT MAKE SENSE? NO!
WHO CARES, MAN?
IT’S NICK FURY!
1) Superior
Spider-Man (2013 – 2014)
In 2013, Marvel announced their intention to dump the mind
of Otto Octavius (who was dying) into the body of everyone’s favourite wall-crawling
underachiever; Peter Parker. I, like many others, decried what seemed like an
obvious stunt (and sure enough, they’ve restored Parker in time for the new
film) but what we got in between were 31 issues of, in my opinion, the single
greatest character in comic book history (sorry bats).
I loved Spidey when I was younger; the wise-cracks, the
nerdiness, the spandex but as I got older, I found it harder to relate to
Parker. He was a nerd, sure, but dated a slew of aesthetically perfect
supermodels and was always socially competent enough to charm his way out of
any situation.
Enter Otto in Peter’s body. The self-proclaimed “Superior” Spider-Man
was a wonderful mix of arrogant, kind-hearted, socially incompetent and
endlessly wonderful as he swang round New York making crime-fighting more “efficient”
while, out of the spider suit, he developed a charming and entirely pure love
for Anna-Maria Marconi, a genius scientist who happens to be a dwarf (something
that Otto doesn’t even see because he has no interest in traditional “beauty”)
It was a very limited run that revealed a lot about Otto as
a child, his morals and his ideals as he grew from a selfish man afraid of
death to a self-sacrificing hero, proving once and for all that he is, and ever
shall be, the Superior Spider-Man.
Unlike the other entries on the list, I have kept this entry
pretty spoiler-free because I urge you to go out and buy the first volume and
lose yourself in this wonderful character that Dan Slott built.
I cannot over-state how much I loved reading this run and,
while many will cheer at the return of Peter Parker, I’m left feeling upset
that Superior didn’t run for longer.
