Gina Rodriguez Is Your Fancastic Choice for Marvel's Miss AmericaChavez in Our Twitter Poll

In Wednesday Comix's recent Fancastic Four Casting Poll, Twitter pollsters overwhelming chose breakout star and lead of the CW's "Jane the Virgin" Gina Rodriguez.

What do you think? Check out the poll results on Twitter @WednesdayComix! https://twitter.com/wednesdaycomix/status/736985442495533056

Who Should Portray Miss America Chavez in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Last summer Marvel apologized for the white-washing (the act by which a character traditionally known as a person of color -including features, ethnicities, distinguishable traits- in visual media is replaced by a white person) of America Chavez aka Miss America in their Lego Marvel's Avengers game. This year, Marvel's Captain America: Civil War demonstrated how diversity in these films not only sells, but convinces already convinced audiences that people of color have rich narratives also and need not to be replaced. Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and a colorful array of people, places and cultures proved that. So for my next Fancastic Four Fan Poll, I ask, "What actress should portray Miss America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?"

Ant-Men Be Good To Your Daughters

Ant-Man is a small movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. Yet, Disney/Marvel does justice to the character, both Scott Lang and Hank Pym.

Good Things Often Come In Small Packages

Ant-Man was a good movie. It wasn't the best movie, but it certainly tugged at my heart as a comic book fan. There's plenty of action, comedy and super-heroics for what it's being called: a heist movie. Paul Rudd as Scott Lang & the titular Ant-Man was the right choice for the role. He's funny, charming & probably the most human of all the heroes to date. 

Father's Rights and Disney-fied Storytelling

I love movies with redemptive themes. As fans of the comics know, Scott Lang is a devoted if not responsible father. He's also the poster-boy for failed fatherhood in the Marvel Universe except for in the eyes of his daughter Cassie. It would have been nice to explore the relationship more, but the writers had a message to send. Men, fathers, often seek second chances. We see this in the movie.

As a child-less husband, I feel for Lang. He wants so much to be a part of his daughter's life. She sees the good in him when others, even Lang himself at times, doubts it. Yet, his new life as the Ant-Man stands to put her and her mom at risk. We also see this tension between Michael Douglass' "Hank Pym" and his daughter "Hope" as portrayed by Evangeline Lilly. Fathers who've messed up & are looking to redeem themselves in the eyes of their children should insist on taking their son or daughter to see this film as one, albeit "small," step in the journey toward reconciliation.

Sometimes Thinking Small is "OK"

I think Ant-Man was what it was supposed to be: a small film in the canon of the MCU that didn't need to be Iron Man, Thor or Captain America. It's the little movie that could because, right now, everything is possible with Marvel Studios. Ironically, the movie is not trying to, which sits in line with the humanity of Hank Pym. Marvel Studios has proven itself, and that means more than box office sales. Ant-Man, like the hero, is tried and true.

Questioning the Pull-List Pt. 4: The Charles Soule Factor

Now that it's been announced that Charles Soule signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, my comics subscription list has gotten a little more crowded.  The writer of DC's Swamp Thing, Red Lanterns and Superman/Wonder Woman (his run ends in October) has surely been busy with both work-for-hire and creator-owned properties.  With Letter 44 over at Oni Press and both She-Hulk and Inhuman at Marvel, he's also penning The Death of Wolverine, which releases tomorrow Wednesday, September 3.  At one point, Soule was writing as many as eight monthlys simultaneously including Thunderbolts.  Many readers of his stuff questioned whether he'd be able to sustain writing this many books or not and still produce quality work while maintaining a regular 9-5 as... wait for it... a lawyer.  Surely this was a feat only Jennifer Walters or Matt Murdock could pull off.  Sure enough, Soule proved that he could handle the juggling act.  His run on Swamp Thing has by far been my favorite Soule food.  Moreover, his stellar run on that book has in my opinion surpassed the already fantastic and critically-praised Scott Snyder run.  Soule has dared to bring diversity and courage in his vision for an expanded mythos.

However, all this brings me back to my pull-list again and what I will call "The Charles Soule Factor."  Many comic book readers have their favorite writers.  Whether it's Ed Brubaker, Gail Simone, Mark Waid or... Charles Soule, fans of excellent writers tend to pick up their books.  Art aside (as is the case many feel about She-Hulk), readers recognize that they are good storytellers.  This is the case for Soule and Swamp Thing.  It's also the case for a surprisingly good series that really caught my attention:  Red Lanterns.

I started reading it for the "Red Daughter of Krypton" story arc that he and Tony Bedard shared alongside Supergirl.  I really enjoyed that cross-over.  So I stayed on Red Lanterns because it was Charles Soule and because I wanted to learn more about these characters.  Rich character development and dialogue had me rooting for the likes of Zox and Skallox.  And there was Guy Gardner.  My Guy Gardner was always the post-Crisis Green Lantern of the Justice League International: self-assured, full of himself, but still lovable.  So who was this man dressed in red with mutton-chops?  I wanted to get to know this man, and Charles Soule re-introduced me to him.

So, I've been buying this one straight from the shelf at the full $2.99 price.  I was going to take a break from it because of the huge cross-over coming soon with the other Lantern books.  Since Charles Soule will only be writing Swamp Thing and Red Lanterns through March 2015, my eyes will be seeing "red" as well as green.

DC Comics (DCU: Green Lantern)

 Red Lanterns ($2.99, monthly)

Comics Oughta Be Fun Episode 2

In this week's episode of Comics Oughta Be Fun we jump 32 years into the past to a time when two powerhouse publishing companies thought it would be cool to have their properties momentarily share the same universe.  Those companies would be Marvel and DC, and their collaboration would be "Marvel and DC Present #1: The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans."  Creators galore, recognized by now as pillars in comic-dom, would grace this unlikely pairing of superhero team books: Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson, Terry Austin, Louise Jones, Jim Shooter, Len Wein, Glynis Wein and letterer Tom Orzechowski.

What's Fun About This Book

What's fun about this book is the very unlikelihood of the X-Men and the Teen Titans meeting in a shared universe.  "Nuff' said," the old generalisimo might say.  The fact that Wolverine would some day go toe-to-toe with Deathstroke the Terminator was yesterday's foregone conclusion wasn't it?  Wasn't this encounter always inevitable?  Not so today in my opinion.

It's not likely that comic book lovers will have a team-up quite the same way this one was touted to be.  With movie deals and license agreements, legal battles over pay-for-hire and rights to characters, the likelihood of this ever happening again in the near future seems slim.  Today, there are more independent and mainstream publishing houses in addition to self-published and digital works than ever before, which is good for everyone.  But once upon a time when their was simply the Big Two. Their monopoly on comics at the time made books like this one possible as the flux capacitor did for time-travel.  That's what's also fun about this book: it's uniqueness.  It's one-of-a-kind.

The Dark Duo of Darkseid and Dark Phoenix

Yeah.  That's right.  I wrote it.  Darkseid and Dark Phoenix.  The New God seeks to fulfill a dream, which includes conquering the universe (which of course all power hungry, malevolent beings seek to do, but I digress).  To do so he makes a pact with the Mobius Chair-bound, time-jumping Metron (i.e. Professor X in cosplay — just kidding).  He wishes to breach the Wall, a barrier to the Source that even the Promethean Giants were unable to breach.  In exchange Metron gives Darkseid a device that he in turn will use to tap into the minds of the X-Men; his soul purpose: to ferret out any and all memories of the Dark Phoenix of whom he believes holds to key to his quest for dominion.  In essence, Darkseid seeks to lure the X-Men into a trap with the goal of siphoning off any residual, psychic energy that might help him summon the Dark Phoenix to his employ.  He hires Deathstroke the Terminator to assist him in tracking them down.

Meanwhile, Raven of the Teen Titans becomes aware of the nightmarish threat of its eminent return. Her premonition resounds to startling terror, awakening Starfire to come to her aid.  In so doing, the Tamaran princess realizes who the source of the omen is and warns the team of the "end of all things."  This juncture is what also makes this book a fun book.  

Claremont and crew portrayed the cosmic threat of the Dark Phoenix as one that threatened a shared universe.  For example, Starfire shares with a gathered team how it was Lilandra of the Shi'ar Empire who contacted all of the "star-faring races," warning them of the destructive power of the "chaos-bringer."  This was done without a lot of explanation or dimensional rifts or other gimmicks.  This was accomplished before "Crisis on Infinite Earths."  The creative team was given permission to take a risk and simply imagine,"What if these characters existed in the same world?"

What's Not So Fun

What's not to love about a book that features properties from competing companies.  It's like Coke and Pepsi in a duet of effervescent flavor. Though not a quick read, was worth it's weight of $2.00 in 1982.  However, the un-fun thing about a book like this is as I said, "It may never happen again."  This book may be the end-of-the-line for one-shot collaborations between the Big Two in our day and age.  There won't be an animated version of this book.  I would personally love for there to be one.  Warner Bros. Entertainment and Marvel Studios (Disney) would have to come to a monumental agreement to make that happen.  I imagine video game licensing of the likes of "Lego: Marvel and DC Presents."  I can dream can't I?  This is no foregone conclusion.

The Punch-Line

"Marvel and DC Presents: The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans" is a special book that holds a special place in my heart.  I was a book I'd always wanted to get, but could never find or afford at collector's prices 25 years ago.  I remember finding it a few years later for like $10 or $15 dollars some where, and I declared, "Score!"  The wrap-around cover art of Walt Simonson and Terry Austin is beautiful (Dark Phoenix seems to be throwing up gang signs — LOL).  Both Metron and Prof. X could take turns sitting in the Mobius Chair.  Starfire doesn't get enough of kissing Colossus to Kitty Pryde's dismay.  And was that a pre-Crisis, Avengers vs. X-Men Easter egg in the form of a Phoenix-force wielding Cyclops?

FIN