Can any comic fans fill me in on current Marvel continuity?

[Cthulhudrew]

So whats been happening in Marvel since then? X-man, Nate Grey, died right? I heard that Apocalypse came back and restored Wolverine's adamantium? And whats with the whole current House of M storyline?

Can anyone fill me in on whats been going on in Marvel for the past several years?

That's a long gap you're looking to fill in, there. We'll see what we can do, though.

As far as Nate Grey is concerned, in his series, he became a shaman for mutantkind, and in the end he merged his life force with the planet earth or something. Cable (Nathaniel Summers of Earth 616, not the AoA Earth) is still alive and kicking, though he's been somewhat depowered recently. He and Deadpool share a book currently, and (with the exception of the last few issues) is a surprisingly well written and interesting book. (With Cable in it, I wasn't sure what to expect, frankly.)

Apocalypse did restore Wolvie's adamantium, I think prior to the whole Heroes Reborn fiasco. He's since died and reappeared several times (Apocalypse, that is, not Wolverine).

Stevelabney has done a pretty good job explaining House of M(oney) so I won't go into that one.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

House of M is either an Age of Apocalypse story, or will wind up completely changing Marvel continuity. So you might just want to wait till its done to see what happens.

There's a Marvel continuity? Really?

(Sorry, I'm a bitter Marvel Zombie who dislikes the "No Continuity" strategem that has been more or less in place since Quesada took over as EIC. Continuity can be a pain, yes, and it has gotten out of hand at times at Marvel, but there are writers who demonstrate that it can be handled in a very efficient and non-disruptive manner- Dan Slott, Christopher Priest, Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza...)

The Avengers disbanded, Magneto took Wanda off the ruins of Genosha, where he's hanging out with Xavier and Wanda's powers becoming even more uncontrollable are what has led up to House of M #1. Apparently, Magneto is using her to remake the world to his specifications.

To catch up on the Avengers, aside from the "New" Avengers and the Young Avengers (and I'll echo the sentiment that YA is a really good book), the Great Lakes Avengers (remember those guys?) have tried to pick up where the Avengers left off after disbanding, and are currently starring in their own hilarious (and somewhat sad) limited series, written by Dan Slott. Great, funny book. I highly recommend picking it up.

Captain America got his series re-started at #1 again and the series is supposed to be good. I haven't read it yet, but I know that the Red Skull gets killed in #1, and other supporting characters get offed in future issues. The popular theory is that the killer mmight be Bucky. I bet its Toro.

I think it's going to turn out to be Jack "Nomad" Monroe, despite seeming evidence to the contrary.

Thor fulfilled his duty and ended the Ragnarok cycle. Thor, and all the other Asgardians are dead. For now. Dollars to doughnuts he somehow gets reborn in House of M.

His "clone", the often underrated Beta Ray Bill, recently finished his own limited series (Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill), which started out great, then fizzled badly. BRB is currently stuck with a human alter ego on earth (shades of Donald Blake?), and his people the Korbinites have mostly been killed off... again.

Venom is also dead, and the symbiote had attached itself to Scorpion last I checked.

Yeah, Mac Gargan is currently the "new" Venom (why Venom doesn't look like Mac's Scorpion outfit, I don't know. I'd prefer that look to the Secret Wars Spidey costume with massive overbite and tongue look.) I think Eddie Brock is still alive (ie, he hasn't been shown dead on panel), but it's strongly implied that his cancer killed him. There's also a new Scorpion (some teenage girl) running around now.

The FF hung out with a human Galactus for a bit, and swapped Johnny and Sue's powers. But I'm pretty sure the status is back to quo in time for the movie. I havent read the last issue or two.

Yeah, Reed happened to whip up a "power-reversal-frazzamataztic-wonkotron" and fixed things. Also, despite Galactus' "humanizing", he appears to have somehow returned to his World-Eater guise. At least, according to editor Tom Brevoort, who has said that the Stormbreaker limited series (which has Galactus in it, though for no discernable reason) takes place *after* the Galactus/FF story arc. Who knows though; back to my opening statement, continuity at Marvel these days is terrible. The left hand not only seems to not know what the right hand is up to, but it's off having a holiday in Cancun and holding a margarita.

Don't even get me started on what a mess the "reboot/relaunch" of Black Panther has done to the continuity of that character. Sigh, I miss Priest.

Hulk hasn't made any sense for a long time.

It's back to normal, now. Peter David, he of the 12 year Hulk run (and the best incarnation of the Hulk, IMO, the Merged Hulk), is back on the title, for an indefinite period of time. Bruce Jones turned the Hulk into a "David Banner on the run" type of series, and introduced all kinds of wonky continuity issues (the Absorbing Man was possessing people's bodies?!?!?). Peter David jumped back on with his recently completed "Tempus Fugit" arc, in which is was revealed that Nightmare had created a little nightmarish paradise on the waking world, and was manipulating the hearts and minds of the world populace, including the Hulk. The beauty of the arc (aside from it just being an interesting story), was that it allows readers to decide for themselves just how much/little of the recent Hulk runs were and were not legitimate, and which were just nightmares, without outright invalidating any of them.

In any case, the Hulk is back in (IMO) good hands, and Peter David is going to be returning to some interesting themes (possibly a reimagining of his Maestro/Future Imperfect concept) with the upcoming House of M tie-in. Plus, the current Hulk, while seemingly not my favorite Merged Hulk, at least isn't the dumb-as-dirt "Hulk Smash" version.

If you have any favorite 2nd string characters, current editorial policy is to treat them like dirt, kill them or ignore them.

Like the Black Panther.

If only they'd ignore more than treat them like dirt or kill them.

A good place to ask questions and catch up is at Alvaro's Comic Boards

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Meanwhile, in Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil's identity got outed by the newspapers - I forget who actually leaked it, but it wasn't the Kingpin or Ben Urich. Matt Murdoch is having a helluva time, but maintains in public that he isn't Daredevil.

It was some disgruntled FBI agent, who learned it from some third rate wannabe Kingpin upstart gang leader.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Thunderbolts is also a good read these days too. Mach IV (Beetle) is now team leader. They went back to the old idea of villains becoming reformed, tossing in a whole new group of B-villains onto the team (but without bothering with new identities this time).

I meant to mention TBolts, but forgot. It is one of the best reads currently in the Marvel universe. It's very old-school superheroics, though with a twist. As you note, all the characters in the book are former villains struggling to redeem themselves, and this time around things look a lot bleaker than in the first series. Fabian Nicieza and Kurt Busiek were both working on the title originally, but it's all Fabian's at the moment (I think he still gets some advice and ideas from Kurt, however). It features some of the most interesting characters and third-rate villains, with some of the best actual character growth and continuity of any other title out there.

The current roster is: Abner Jenkins (Mach IV/The Beetle) as team leader; Erik Josten (Atlas/the villain once known as Goliath/Smuggler/Power Man), Dr. Chen Lu (The Radioactive Man), James Sanders (Speed Demon), Donald "Donny" Gill (Blizzard), Joyce Yanizeski (Joystick), Melissa Gold (Songbird/former Screaming Mimi), Genis-Vell (Photon/formerly Captain Marvel/Legacy), and the newest Swordsman (real identity unknown, though subject to much speculation).

 

[stevelabny]

yes. good catch on me saying "venom is dead" when he's not.
chalk that up to trying to get a bunch of stuff out at once.

i also agree that the current lack of continuity is killer.
as many people as i've seen complain about too much interconnectedness "forcing" them to buy multiple books and causing them to stop reading, the current situation is worse.

Now, continuity exists in some books, but not others. In some story arcs but not others. And there is never an asterisk or editors note to explain.

At least back then, we knew which books to read, or ask our friends/shopkeeper about.
Now? Without the internet, you're completely lost.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Last I read about Marvel was that Captain America quite. What happened?

Wow- talk about old school. That was quite a while ago.

Let's see: Some IRS agent discovered that a Steve Rogers was still receiving a government stipend, despite the fact that he was supposedly dead, and brought it to his superiors. His superiors realized that Captain America was still technically on the government's payroll, and tried to strongarm Cap into working more directly for them. Cap's buddy, Nick Fury, tried to help Cap out of the situation, though doing so would have required Cap work for S.H.I.E.L.D (at that time a UN operation, and not strictly USA, though I think its subsequently gone back to being a US agency).

Cap, after struggling with the idea, realized he couldn't adequately fulfill what he saw as his duties to the nation if he had to work for whatever political regime (with its attendant goals) happened to be in power at any given time, so he resigned his costume and shield and identity.

The government, needing/wanting a Cap, recruited John Walker, a US army veteran who had been given super strength by the Power Broker, and was currently going around the country operating as the Super Patriot, a patriotically themed "superhero" (little more than a sham to make some money). Walker, at heart a real patriot whose idealism had been lost under the promise of easy money, immediately jumped at the offer and abandoned his self-enriching ways. He and a friend of his, Lemar Hoskins, became the new Captain America and Bucky.

Unfortunately, Walker's role as Captain America (under the government) led him to a variety of morally challenging positions, and he quickly learned that being Cap wasn't as easy as simply wearing a costume. His parents were also killed as a direct result of his activities, and he went over the deep end, entering a dark period that he never completely got out of.

In the meanwhile, Steve Rogers was sought out by his good friends, Jack Monroe, Sam Wilson, and Dennis Dunphy, who convinced him that the world still needed his help. He adopted a new costumed identity (simply "The Captain"), and the four of them (with Jack's girlfriend) went around the country fighting the good fight.

Eventually, the government was forced to negotiate with Steve Rogers to return to the role of Captain America, due to the instability of Walker. Walker was seemingly killed, and Rogers resumed the role of Captain America, though with no official ties to the US Government.

In the years subsequent to that, Walker was revealed to have had his death faked by the Government, and given a new identity (and some brainwashing) and he took on the name and costume of USAgent. He's maintained that identity (though with different costumes) ever since. He's also regained his memory. He was briefly an Avenger, though his status with that group has always been shaky.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

yes. good catch on me saying "venom is dead" when he's not.
chalk that up to trying to get a bunch of stuff out at once.

No worries. I think that the situation is kind of muddled, anyway. From what I know, there is a strong implication that Brock is dead, but there hasn't ever been a body, and that's generally been the "rule 1" of Marvel deaths- don't believe it unless you see a body. Even then, it might not be a real death.

i also agree that the current lack of continuity is killer.
as many people as i've seen complain about too much interconnectedness "forcing" them to buy multiple books and causing them to stop reading, the current situation is worse.

Absolutely. What amazes me is that's one the main things I always loved about Marvel, was its continuity. In DC books, you never quite got that same feeling. Now, though, the situation is almost completely reversed. Marvel has nothing resembling continuity, but DC has an incredible amount of inter-company continuity. The current "Countdown to Infinity Crisis" storyline has its roots in seemingly unrelated books (namely, "Graduation Day") from years ago- but they have always intended that they tie in, and now it's all coming together. They even recently hired Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns in an editorial capacity as continuity experts to help coordinate all their books continuity-wise. And while there is certainly a strong incentive to buy all the related "Countdown" titles- OMAC, Villains United, Rann/Thanagar War, etc.- it is not at all essential to do so, and yet there is no real issue (as far as I've seen) with feeling like you're missing out if you don't. The closest I've come yet are a couple of recent Teen Titans/Outsiders crossovers where I felt I might have been missing something not picking up Outsiders (which I don't like), but that's all. I've almost completely gone from being a Marvel Zombie to a DC one.

It's not like Marvel couldn't do it, either. They've got at least one in-house editor already who is a wealth of continuity information (Tom Brevoort), and who could easily do a job like Johns/Morrison (though it would, admittedly, be quite a workload).

At least back then, we knew which books to read, or ask our friends/shopkeeper about. Now? Without the internet, you're completely lost.

Even then, you might not be quite sure. There are countless threads on the Comicboards about where exactly the New Thunderbolts storyline fits in with the New Avengers/Post-Avengers Disassembled storyline. NT #1 takes place just after the Avengers disbanded, but features the Purple Man in a recurring villainous role, yet the Purple Man is present in the Raft prison break in New Avengers #1 and 2, and Wolverine features in both books at a time when his "Enemy of the State" arc is going on...

Even the various editors and writers aren't quite clear about where things fit together. You get different answers from different people, and then you get a lot of "don't worry about where it fits, just read them" kinds of answers too.

 

[Alzrius]

Venom is also dead, and the symbiote had attached itself to Scorpion last I checked. It was bouncing around for a while. Carnage got ripped in half by Sentry in space in New Avengers.

NOOOO!!!

What have they done to my favorite symbiotes?! *cries*

Seriously though...symbiote characters were my favorite, and I collected the comics they were in...the last I saw of Venom and Carnage was the four-part Venom/Carnage miniseries from a while back. Can anyone give me issue numbers for when the above happened? I'm specifically interested in everything leading up to the death of Carnage, and specifically when Eddie lost the symbiote (since there's still wiggle room to say he's still alive).

 

[Felon]

If you have any favorite 2nd string characters, current editorial policy is to treat them like dirt, kill them or ignore them. But I can try to answer specifics.

I wouldn't say the policy's terribly different over at DC.

Just ask the Blue Beetle.

 

[stevelabny]

Seriously though...symbiote characters were my favorite, and I collected the comics they were in...the last I saw of Venom and Carnage was the four-part Venom/Carnage miniseries from a while back. Can anyone give me issue numbers for when the above happened? I'm specifically interested in everything leading up to the death of Carnage, and specifically when Eddie lost the symbiote (since there's still wiggle room to say he's still alive).

Carnage: There was a huge prison break out in New Avengers #1, in New Avengers #2 Carnage met his "end"

Venom: Don't recall the exact issue numbers, but it was in Marvel Knights: Spider-man. I THINK it was the second storyling (7-12) where Eddie sold the suit, but some of that might have happened in the first 6 issues. (Eddie said hes dying of cancer, and sold the suit. We haven't seen Eddie since, so it actually is VERY safe to assume he's still alive. The suit has moved on since, eventually winding up on Scorpion. So Venom as you knew him is dead, but he obviously still lives on)