MAPPING the MARVEL MOVIE UNIVERSE Connections

With the newest trailer recently released, fans are eagerly awaiting Captain America: The First Avenger. Along with Spring 2011's Thor, this latest film from Marvel Studios will be the final step towards the movie The Avengers, where Earth's mightiest heroes will join forces to take on a threat no single woman or man can face alone. Many are excited to see if this film will be able to pull of an exciting story while also uniting several different superhero franchises. But the groundwork of this shared universe has been laid out for quite a while now and has continued to grow.

For your enjoyment (and for those of you who may have missed a movie or two), here is a basic map to the many connections of the Marvel Studios movie universe.

#9

 S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENTS ARE EVERYWHERE

In the Marvel Comics universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention/Espionage Logistics Directorate) was an international intelligence and counter-terrorist organization. It existed in a few incarnations before, beginning with the Brotherhood of the Shield, a group of special individuals who formed in Ancient Egypt to protect the Earth from alien forces.

In the Marvel Studios movie universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) is a creation of the U.S. government. In Iron Man, Agent Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) implies that S.H.I.E.L.D. is a brand-new organization, so new that they haven't even figured out a fun acronym yet. But Nick Fury says in Iron Man 2 that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been around for decades and that Howard Stark was a founder of it.

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, such as Agent Coulson appear in Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Coulson is later a major player in the movieThor. Other agents of note are the Black Widow, who shows up in Iron Man 2, and Agent Barton, who appears in Thor. The S.H.I.E.L.D. database is seen and used in The Incredible Hulkand that same film involves the U.S. Army borrowing a sonic cannon from S.H.I.E.L.D. A promotional web-site for Iron Man 2later revealed that this sonic cannon was created by Stark Industries

#8

THE MAN CALLED NICK FURY

In Marvel Comics, Nick Fury was a World War II soldier who led a Rangers team known as the Howlers (nicknamed the "Howling Commandos"). During the war, he fought alongside Captain America and other superheroes of the day. After being treated with the vitality-increasing "Infinity Formula", his aging rate was greatly decreased. After working with the CIA for several years, he was asked to become the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In the Marvel Studios movie universe, Nick Fury first shows up in the after-credits scene of Iron Man, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Fury showed up again in Iron Man 2 to further discuss the Avengers Initiative. In the same film, Fury implied that he was older than he looked. But that's not all. Nick Fury's name is seen on documents that appear in the movie The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton. The document concerned Bruce Banner, the Hulk's alter ego, and said: "Details: Classified. Subject is THREAT LEVEL RED, surveillance only. The Bruce Banner manhunt is still not over."

#7

TONY STARK / IRON MAN

Tony Stark and Stark Industries are the focus of the films Iron Man and Iron Man 2. In The Incredible Hulk, weapons made by Stark Industries are used to combat the green monster. The Iron Man 2 DVD also reveals that Stark Industries constructed the gamma device that was involved in Bruce Banner's mutation into the Hulk. In the film Thor, the Destroyer armor is mistaken for a Stark techno-suit. In the epilogue scene of The Incredible Hulk (which takes place after the events of Iron Man 2), Tony Stark shows up to discuss a team that is still organizing members and allies.

Tony's deceased father Howard Stark also has a big role in the Marvel Universe, beyond his being mentioned quite a bit in both Iron Man films. In Iron Man 2, we learn that he was a founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. Special features on the DVD of that film also indicated that Howard Stark was involved with the Cosmic Cube (which will be discussed later) and Captain America. A young Howard Stark will also appear in Captain America: The First Avenger. The most recent trailer for that film has revealed that Howard actually constructs the Captain's specialized, light-weight body armor, based on some of Steve's own designs (which is not too far off from a scene we saw in one of Captain America's origin issues).

#6

BRUCE BANNER / THE HULK

Dr. Bruce Banner and his green-skinned alter ago the Hulk are the focus of the film The Incredible Hulk. During that film, a news broadcast describes one of the Hulk's battles. In Iron Man 2, Nick Fury is watching this very same broadcast during a meeting with Tony Stark, indicating that The Incredible Hulktakes place simultaneously to that film. As mentioned above, the DVD for Iron Man 2 also shows that the gamma device Banner used on the day he was mutated was constructed by Stark Industries.

In Thor, Dr. Selvig mentions a scientist he knew who had been a leading expert in gamma radiation and then vanished one day. He also mentions that he believes S.H.I.E.L.D. was involved. The scientist he's talking about is Bruce Banner, who had to go underground as a fugitive after his mutation, as he was now hunted by the military and sought after by S.H.I.E.L.D.

#5

THOR

Thor's presence is first felt in Iron Man 2. Agent Caulson tells Tony Stark he has to head to New Mexico because of a strange occurrence there. Tony remarks that Utah is the "land of enchantment", which is the state motto but also foreshadows the presence of Asgard, Thor's home. When Stark meets with Nick Fury later, the S.H.I.E.L.D. director confirms that he's dealing with a situation in the American Southwest. On a monitor nearby, you can see photograph of a crater in New Mexico. In the after-credits scene of Iron Man 2, Agent Caulson arrives at this crater and sees that Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, is lying in the center. This leads directly into the movie Thor.

#4

STEVE ROGERS / CAPTAIN AMERICA

Steve Rogers became Captain America due to Operation: Rebirth, a World War II government project that involved him being injected with a "super-soldier serum" and having his body bombarded with "vita-rays." Steve's presence can be felt throughout various films. In Iron Man, a half-completed replica of Cap's famous, indestructible shield can be seen on Tony Stark's work bench. This replica is seen again in Iron Man 2. In that same film, a foot locker belonging to Howard Stark contains a copy of the comic book Captain America #1. This isn't breaking the fourth wall, since in the Marvel Comics universe it has been shown time and time again that the government wished Captain America to be a public rallying symbol and so many comic books and licensed products were sold based on his likeness and on fictionalized accounts of his adventures.

The biggest nods to Marvel's famous super-soldier were in The Incredible Hulk. In that film, General Ross refers to "bio-tech force enhancement" project that operated during the 1940s to create a "super-soldier", a project that was later "put on ice" (which is both a slang phrase that is accurate and also a funny nod to Steve's fate towards the end of the war). Ross reveals that attempts were made to replicate the success of that initial experiment. Later, he goes to a storage room and removes a chemical that had been used during that project. The chemical's cold storage unit has a label on it that says: PROGRAM: Weapon Plus DEVELOPER: Dr. Reintstein The label also indicates the chemical has received VITA-RAY treatment and that the Cryosync container was made by Stark Industries.

In the comics, "Dr. Reinstein" was the codename of Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist who created the vita-rays and the super-soldier serum that were used in Operation: Rebirth. The Weapon Plus Program began later when the U.S. government decided it might be a good idea to biologically engineer a soldier to be able to fight, contain or kill the rising number of superhumans in the world. Operation: Rebirth was retroactively designated WEAPON I. Decades later, the WEAPON X project split off as an independent organization and experimented on the mutant Logan AKA Wolverine.

Director Louis Letterrier revealed that the chemical Ross removes from the Weapon Plus storage unit was colored bright blue as a deliberate reference to Captain America. In the latest trailer forCaptain America: The First Avenger, we can see that a similarly colored chemical is injected into Steve Rogers.

#3

THE MAPS

At the end of Iron Man 2, Nick Fury meets with Tony Stark and has multiple monitors functioning around him. One (as stated earlier) displays footage seen in The Incredible Hulk. Another monitor has a map of the world, with highlighted areas of concern in: California (where Iron Man lives), New York (where Bruce Banner went to find a cure for the Hulk), New Mexico (where Thor's hammer was just found), the Arctic Circle (where Captain America was discovered and reawakened in the comics), the middle of the Atlantic (Namor and Atlantis?), and a location in Africa, said to be the country Wakanda (the home of the Black Panther).

But there's another map of interest in Iron Man 2. In Howard Stark's footlocker, there is a map of Antarctica. Why? There are a couple of possibilities. In the Marvel Comics universe, Antarctica is the hidden location of the Savage Land, a tropical, savage paradise inhabited by many prehistoric beasts, preserved and maintained by great alien technology. Certain leaders of ancient Atlantis (home to the aquatic hero Namor, the Sub-Mariner) also made Antarctica a base of operations. In recent comics, it's been revealed that Olympia, home of the near-immortal sub-race of humans known as the Eternals, is now located in Antarctica. And this continent is also the only place on Earth, besides the African nation of Wakanda, where vibranium can be found. Typical Wakandan vibranium is an incredible ore that actually absorbs sound and kinetic force and was used to help construct Captain America's indestructible shield. Antarctic vibranium, discovered in 1915, creates vibrations that break apart all other metals, earning it the nickname "anti-metal."

#2

AVENGERS INITIATIVE

In the Marvel Comics universe, the Avengers team formed when Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man and the Wasp were tricked by the evil god Loki into fighting the Hulk. Realizing who the true threat was, the five strange adventurers defeated Loki and decided to become a team, taking the name Avengers. Soon afterward, the group reawakened and recruited Captain America (who had been in suspended animation since 1945), considering him equal to a founder and later regarding him as the leader. Over time, the organization grew and often split off into other groups. Today, the "Avengers Initiative" is a program that allows Steve Rogers to form multiple teams of Avengers with official (but limited) federal authority, as well as to sanction the training of younger and/or inexperienced superhumans at the Avengers Academy. Recently, it has also been revealed that a similar program existed during the 1950s, involving a covert ops team led by Nick Fury.

In the after-credits scene of Iron Man, Nick Fury approaches Tony Stark to discuss "the Avengers Initiative." In Iron Man 2, Fury and Stark discuss it again, with Tony referring to the program as a "super-secret boy band" and implying that it's a special ops team. In the epilogue scene of The Incredible Hulk, Stark approaches General Ross and has now evidently joined the Avengers Initiative. Concerning the problem of fighting and containing the Hulk, Stark asks "What if I told you we're putting together a team?"

#1

THE COSMIC CUBE

In Marvel Comics, the Cosmic Cube is a fantastic product of advanced science that only a few civilizations have been able to create. Whoever holds it can translate thought into tangible reality. Several times over the years, the Red Skull has attempted to use this to warp the world to his liking. The Cosmic Cube was recently featured in the cartoon series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

In the Marvel Studios universe, the first hint of the Cosmic Cube appeared in Iron Man 2. Howard Stark's notes refer to a hyper-cube, also known as a tesseract. Later on, a glowing cube appears in the after-credits scene of Thor. And it is known that, in the film Captain America: The First Avenger, the Red Skull seeks out a cube that he refers to as the "tesseract."

And that wraps it up. Ready for the Captain America movie now? I know I am!

Why Chris Evans Turned Down the Role of 'Captain America'

When Chris Evans was approached to star in a big-budget movie adaptation of one of the most iconic characters in comic book history, he said "No." Repeatedly.

In a profile of the 30-year-old actor in the current GQ Magazine, Evans revealed that when he was offered the title role in this summer's"Captain America: The First Avenger," he turned it down more than once. And what's even more surprising is that he didn't feel bad about it.

Evans told GQ, "I said no a bunch, and every time I said no, I woke up the next morning so happy and content." But the creative team at Marvel Studios kept hounding the actor. Eventually, he did relent to meet with the studio and the director Joe Johnston ("The Rocketeer"), and after they impressed him with their plans for the movie, he realized the source of his hesitation.

"I was scared," Evans said in Entertainment Weekly. He says he felt like the role could be a no-win situation: if the movie failed, he'd be blamed, and if it succeeded, he could be pigeonholed as the star-spangled superhero. Plus, taking the role meant he would be under contract for both the highly-anticipated Marvel team movie "The Avengers" and several potential "Captain America" sequels.

His fears weren't exactly unfounded, either. He had already played another Marvel character, Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) in two "Fantastic Four" movies. And while the films were the biggest financial hits in his career so far, they weren't embraced by either the critics or the hardcore fans of the comics. Last year, Evans also appeared in two movies based on lower-profile graphic novels -- "The Losers" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" -- but neither hit it big at the box office.

Eventually, Evans made a choice to confront his apprehension head on. "I realized my whole decision making process was fear based," he told EW, "and you never want to make a decision out of fear." He signed on to play Steve Rogers, the scrawny but scrappy Army enlistee in World War II who volunteers to be injected with the "Super Soldier Serum" that turns him into the tall, strapping Captain America.Even though "Captain America: The First Avenger" won't hit theaters for another month, Evans is already back at work for "The Avengers" alongside Robert Downey Jr. ("Iron Man"), Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") and Samuel L. Jackson. He told MTV, "When we did 'Captain America,' you're the only superhero on set," but when he saw the other stars in their costumes it was "the first time I really kind of geeked out."

  

Captain America: The First Avenger opens on July 22. Watch the newest trailer below.

20 years of Sonic The Hedgehog

  

It's hard to imagine, but the spiky-headed, speedy-footed, gaming-superstar hedgehog has reached the ripe old age of 20.

Well, OK, it's his 20th anniversary, Sonic remains, miraculously, 15-years-old.

It's hard to envisage, but it's already been two decades since Sonic emerged on the SEGA Mega Drive.

Since then, he has appeared in more than 65 self-titled video games, as well as success in other areas including comics, toys and even his own television series.

Having already sold 70 million games worldwide, Sonic would be forgiven for putting his feet up and relaxing - but two more of his titles will drop this year.

Here are 20 things you never knew about Sonic, until now:

1. Sonic was launched as a rival to Mario, Nintendo's flagship equivalent, in 1991, but has sold less than half as much as his rival. (The Mario series has 200million sales)

2. That rivalry aside, the two have now come together in various titles.

3. "Project Needlemouse" was the name given to the Sonic project

4. Initially, Sonic's design included fangs - but he soon lost that 'bite'.

5. An estimated 60 million people have played at least one Sonic game.

6. Sonic runs faster than the speed of light and is officially the fastest videogame character of all time. (Guinness Book of Records)

7. Sonic was voted number one video gaming icon of all time.

8. Sonic's shoes were inspired by a combination of Santa Claus and the colour red for speed and fire.

9. Sonic originally had a girlfriend called Madonna and was in a rock band.

10. Sonic's first ever appearance was a humble one - as a toy hanging from the rear-view mirror in the little-known arcade racing game Rad Mobile.

11. Sonic has starred in his own line of comics and in four animated TV series

12. Sega sponsored the Williams Grand Prix team and the team's lead driver, Alain Prost during the 1993 Formula One championship.

13. Sonic was the first video game character to have a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

14. Sonic has made cameos in various games including, The Simpsons Game, The Incredible Hulk, Tom and Jerry: The Movie and he also featured in the Simpsons show.

15. Various songs have been produced for the franchise, some even made release.

16. Dr Eggman has an IQ of 300.

17. Sonic the Hedgehog's personality is a juxtaposition of kindness and ferocity, as on one hand he does all in his power to snuff out evil, but he also can't look away when somebody else is in trouble.

18. Sonic hates boredom and being tied down, so much of his time is spent running towards the next danger or adventure.

19. Sonic's favorite food is chili dogs.

20. Sonic cannot swim.

Film Review: "Green lantern"

Synopsis: In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before.

Review: Simply put, it was a good movie. Critics were so wrong. I loved that every scene was entertaining and further evolved the story into the next part. I do believe it is geared more towards actual fans of the comic. Being a fan, the story was easy to follow and exciting to see the comic come to life. There were more actions sequences than Thor and better special effects than any movie this year. Thor was an awesome movie also but I think you cant compare the two because they were both good for different reasons. The CGI and special effects were awesome. The trailers do not do the final renditions any justice, and I thought the last couple trailers looked great. The story was based solely off of the Secret Origin comic book. A couple things were adjusted but overall it gave the same effect of reading the comic. I was happy to see Green Lantern Hal Jordan just be Green Lantern and use constructs (weapons formed by anything the ring bearers mind can think of) enough times in the movie to satisfy my need for action. The story did seemed a little rushed at times but nothing to make it a terrible movie. Ryan Reynolds did a great job bringing Hal Jordan to life. So many people hate on him and I think he pulled off the role greatly. Peter Sarsgaard showed some amazing acting skills as Hector Hammond. Mark Strong was perfect for Sinestro. And Blake Lively wasnt too bad as Carol Ferris either. Im not going to write a review telling you each scene in the movie but I will say that right from the get go every scene is entertaining to watch. I feel Hal Jordan (Reynolds) as a character is developed well in the sense of understanding where he comes from and why is he the way he is today. The villain Parallax is portrayed differently in the comic and I wasnt too sure how I was gonna like seeing him a giant head and cloud in the movie. But it didnt bother me after all and it worked. The art direction for the movie was beautiful. I enjoyed the way everything was portrayed. Everything from the space sequences, the aliens, the constructs, and the planet Oa. If I could maybe change anything about the film it would be to show some of the other Lanterns fight a bit more. Especially the main Lanterns like Sinestro, Kilowog, and Tomar Re. But I do understand that in the Secret Origin Comic they do not battle as much since the story is all about Hal Jordan. If you are not a fan of the comic I still believe the movie would be very entertaining to watch. If you go to watch Green Lantern then you understand it is a superhero, comic book movie. Go to see some high flying action and let your imagination run free.

I Didn't Want . . .

I didn't want to love you, 
but your light 
penetrated all the barriers I erected 
and reached deep inside my heart 
to set my world aglow. 
You inspired bliss like I'd never known 
and made me hear the music again. 
Not a minute escapes me 
without thoughts of you. 
I didn't want to need you, 
but after I saw your face, 
I've never stopped thinking about you, 
and I crave your nearness, 
yearn to wrap you in my arms 
and press your body close to mine. 
I didn't want to need you, 
but imagining life without you 
is unbearable. 
How dark and grim would be the days; 
how long and stark would be the nights. 
Even heaven-sent angels 
would be unable to replenish 
the spark of life 
in my soul. 
I didn't want to desire you, 
yet I hunger for you like the springtime 
blossom hungers for sunshine. 
I need your touch, and I want 
to make love to you 
slowly and passionately 
before the fire. 
Only my fantasies of you, 
wonderfully hot 
yet silky and soft, 
sustain me.

Why don’t I go clubbing? written (03/18/2008)

Why don’t I go clubbing?

Clubbing (in my opinion) is one of the few things that people do on the regular that yields NO return

You figure:

· Put on some ’club clothes’

· Drive to the club (Gas)

· Pay for parking

· Wait in line (For dumb long)

· Pay to get in (Don’t ask if there’s someone performing)

· If it’s cold out? Pay for coat check

· Purchase some expensive-ass watered-down, thimble size drinks.

THEN you have the fun


Men:

· You stand around and look at tits and ass

· Either try and look hard/thugged out or try and look sexy.

· Buy an expensive bottle of champagne that taste like sweaty rat back and front like you have cash like that

(But when a woman uses you for your cash you get burnt and call her a gold digger…go fig.)

· Go out on the floor and try and grind on some chick

· Or (my personal fav) Grab at a womans arms when they walk by and think that they’re going to stop and give you some rhythm.

Women:

· Stand around and look at the ridiculous outfits other women have on

(If you don’t …they’re probably doing it to you)

· Laugh at the guys that’s trying to look hard or trying to look sexy

· Go out on the floor and get molested by some dude dry humpin your leg like a Horny beagle

· Or the obligatory "Arm Grab" followed by ’can I talk to you for a second?"

puhahahhahah!

Basically what it boils down to is:

· An expensive outing with Loud ass music I would never listen to on purpose

· Sweaty stank-ass people bumping into you

(Dont say anything about it or then it’s on)

· People spilling drinks on your ’club clothes’

(Again, keep your mouth shut…might get shot)

· And you just ummm stand around and look around and ummm…yeah

· Then after ’bout 5 hours you go home

· OR you go to IHOP and spend some more money.

…so you figure, end of the night, spent about $100.

Less for women with the: "Ladies get in free before…" and Men trickin’ on drinks

But anyway, it amounts to too damn much…too extra for ole Mr. eclectik here.

Me?

Lemme go shoppin, I’ll get a shirt or a pair of sneakers

…a DVD, some juice, and relax have a slice of Pizza or some take out and watch a movie. Same or less amount of money…much more fun.

But do go out…enjoy,

just not for me.

Silence and I (written 3-8-2007)

If I cried out loud

over sorrows I’ve known

and the secrets I’ve heard

it would ease my mind

someone sharing the load

but I won’t breathe a word

While the children laughed

I was always afraid

of the smile of the clown

so I close my eyes

till I cant see the light

and I hide from the clouds

I can hear the cry

of the leaf on a tree

as it falls to the ground

I can hear the call

of an echoing voice

and there's no one around

We’re two of a kind

silence and I

we need a chance to talk things over

two of a kind silence and I

we'll find way to work it out

X-Men: ReGenesis

In the fallout of Schism, Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen and more split the X-Men into two new series.

The X-Men have fought countless foes from the sewers of New York City to the outer reaches of space, but the challenge that ultimately divides them will come from within. 

After the events of this summer’s X-MEN: SCHISM, mutantkind strikes out in a bold, diverting path as WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN begins in October, followed by the return of UNCANNY X-MEN the following month.

“WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN will have everything I love about the X-Men,” explains series writer Jason Aaron, who will be joined by artist Chris Bachalo. “Big crazy plots, intense character drama, love, sex, anti-mutant hysteria, man-eating aliens, all-new characters, old favorite characters, bizarre space tech, strange transformations, property damage, telepathic shenanigans, Wolverine drinking whiskey, mutants playing baseball. Except perhaps for that last part.” 

The new status quo puts two teams of X-Men at odds with one another, acting as distinct and separate groups with different agendas, members and headquarters. Writer Kieron Gillen takes the flipside to the new mutant situation, carrying over his current work on UNCANNY into the re-launched #1 this November alongside artists Greg Land and Carlos Pacheco.

“To use a word, it'd be ‘pugnacious,’” says the British writer of his cast. “It's an X-Men team in public, operating on a scale we've never seen them act on before. Traditionally, the X-Men have mainly been about problems coming to mutantkind. They fight against foes who want mutants gone; the problem being [that] those victories just maintain mutantkind.” 

“Over the last few years—mainly in the adjectiveless X-MEN book—we've seen the X-Men try and act more like super heroes. The idea being, we act like super heroes, maybe people will start feeling better about us. And it's worked a bit; they're certainly not hated in San Francisco as much as most of the world, but that's a town. That's region-based heroism. To change the world, they have to act on a world scale. That's what they're trying to do. UNCANNY X-MEN is the team aspiring to be the world's premier super team and everything that goes along with it.”

Although they might be trying to win over the world at large, the rival teams will not be playing nice.

“Bad enough to tear apart old friends, to separate lovers, to forever ruin the chances of there being an intramural X-Men basketball league,” Aaron quips on the state of X-Men relations coming up. “Too bad, because Logan, unlike LeBron, has a pretty sweet post-up game.” 

“To quote the Buzzcocks, it's a different kind of tension,” adds Gillen. “[One] team looks at [the other] in an almost paternalistic manner. ‘Okay, you're going to go and do that? Great. It makes it harder for us, but we're going to look after you too.’ For me, the core of the disagreement is about how much of today you are willing to give up for tomorrow. Generally speaking, they think the other team is being profoundly selfish and self-indulgent in the route they're taking.”

Senior Editor Nick Lowe explains that this split is actually the first step into a wider integration between the X-Men and the Marvel Universe. 

“The X-Men have been a pretty separate corner of the Marvel Universe for a long time and we’ve been working to change that and further integrate with the rest of the line,” he says. “This is another step into that. We work really hard for cohesion, most visibly through the creative summits and such, and synergy like this is the product.”

That synergy will be evident with the artists involved, from veteran Bachalo returning to the X-titles in WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN, to fellow X-alum Pacheco acting as one of two artists on UNCANNY X-MEN. Pacheco recently illustrated the special Point One issue of the series, but his history on the title goes back much further to early in his career during the mid 90’s.

“To be honest, this feels like the real X-Men,” says Pacheco. “It’s really as good as they were in the good old days.”

Joining Pacheco on the all-new UNCANNY X-MEN will be Land, who has a unique take on the schism at the center of these books:

“I guess this makes the X-Men as dysfunctional as some of the 'reality show families.’ I suppose anytime you have two strong alpha males in a group, heads will butt so it actually seems like it would have happened long ago. And since there are so many X-Men these days, it makes sense that they go separate ways with separate agendas.” 

Speaking of separate agendas, the dueling personalities of Cyclops and Wolverine mirror—albeit more civilly—between competing series writers Gillen and Aaron.

“Mutual incomprehension,” describes Gillen. “Taciturn hyper-dry Alabama meets hyper-speed Brit-Midlands mumbler. It can only end badly.

“Honestly, I'm in quiet awe of Jason,” he admits. ”When I first started reading his work over with The Other Side and Scalped, I was in awe because of all the big boy writing he was doing there; understated mastery of structure and character and motivation and things which even excellent writers in other ways stumble with. However, I made myself feel less desperately insecure by filing him as "Crime Writer," which is miles away from what I did. Of course, then he came over to Marvel and has gone on to show that he can write pretty much anything. I am a seething cauldron of jealousy.

“I'm just looking forward to going head to head with him. That's all kinds of fun.”

Aaron has his own appraisal of their working relationship, explaining it as “only moderately more friendly as the one between Scott and Logan in SCHISM.” 

“Actually, Kieron and I work great together. It helps that I'm such a huge fan of his work. Maybe I'm a bit biased but between Kieron's work and Rick Remender's amazing UNCANNY X-FORCE run, along with all the other X-stuff in the works, I think it's an exciting time to be an X-Men fan.”