Ack! Marvel! I can’t keep up with all your Secret Wars news!

Earlier this week, G. Willow Wilson mysteriously tweeted that  “Huge comics-related announcement incoming later this week. Stay tuned.” I immediately almost lost it because I assume every Marvel announcement has to do with the MCU. I jumped to the conclusion, “they cast Captain Marvel, this is it. This is it. I’m not ready. *tears hair out*”

I simmered down, realizing it’s comics-related and brainstormed. Why would Wilson, the writer of the new “Ms. Marvel” series, tweet something about comics–OMG LADY STUFF? What neat lady stuff would Marvel do now?

Backtracking a little bit, we learned that with the Secret Wars event, a new title called “Secret Wars 2099″ under a branding called “Warzones” (the two other brandings are “Battleworld” and “Last Days”) will debut in May, and it’s actually not too tied to the actual event. Seriously, I cannot keep up with whatever is going to be happening on Battleworld this summer. Anyway, in “Secret Wars 2099″ we will see a team led by a female Captain America. While this series takes place 84 years in the future, could it be related to whatever Wilson was mysteriously tweeting about?

Nope. Instead it’s something MUCH cooler. Today, Marvel announced an all-female Avengers team! It will also debut in May to go along with the Secret Wars within the “Warzones” branding (BUT HOW? SOMEONE SEND HELP!). Looking at the released artwork, the A-Force features known ladies like She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Electra, and more. You even find Dazzler and Nico Minoru are in the mix.

The story, written by Wilson and Marguerite K. Bennett features art by Jorge Molina (the artist behind the new “Thor”). For the haters out there saying, “it’s just a group of girls. So?” Women will recognize that getting a group together of that capacity requires much more than extra toilet paper. Relationships and talents must go much deeper. Wilson says they’ve “purposefully assembled a team composed of very different characters-from disparate parts of the Marvel U, with very different power sets, identities and ideologies.” She goes on to say that the women “embody the ideals of what we can each strive to be.” YES. Bring forth unto the world a book for girls to read! With role models to look up to!

Included in these role models is a new heroine named Singularity, who looks mysterious and ethereal. Wilson tweeted about this new character, “Singularity is an interesting character. She’s not a flesh and blood human being, but a cosmological event that gains self-consciousness. So she doesn’t have a natural gender. She isn’t ‘born.’ She doesn’t age. She learns about all these things from us–the human race. I didn’t want to create yet another amazon. If we were going to do all-women, we were going to ask the big questions.”

I still don’t even know what is happening during these Wars of Secret, but I’m glad to have a team like the A-Force introduced to help usher in a new era of Marvel comics.

AGENT CARTER (8 out of 10) Action-drama airing Tuesday evenings on ABC, based on characters from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe; Episode 1.5 written by Jose Molina, directed by Peter Leto; Starring Hayley Atwell, James D’Arcy, Chad Michael Murray, Enver Gjokaj, Lyndsy Fonseca, Bridget Regan, Shea Whigham, Dominic Cooper. Guest stars: Neal McDonough, Richard Short, Leonard Roberts, James Austin Kerr, Ralph Brown.

This week’s episode delivers in a major way. While it felt like the last few episodes since the pilot were a long valley, this punched it back up to the mountain top in a major way.

“The Iron Ceiling” has it all: great action sequences (including the re-introduction of the Howling Commandos), major character development, and it moved the larger story arc forward. Who could ask for anything more?

Let’s talk first about the action. Agent Carter gets to strap on a machine gun again, as she talks her way in to an SSR operation in Eastern Europe to rescue scientists in a Soviet prison camp. Along the way, we get further glimpses into the proto-Black Widow program the Russians are developing. 

I’d complained previously that the other women in Peggy’s  building weren’t getting any real character development– and boy was I wrong. We get it in spades here, specifically as we see some particularly nimble spycraft on the part of Peggy’s neighbor Dottie, or perhaps we should call her “Dottie,” since she also seems to be a product of this spy program. 

As though that wasn’t enough, we also get the first interesting background on Chad Michael Murray’s Agent Jack Thompson. 

This show also continues its reign as the most quotable and chatty program this side of Downton Abbey.

Notable Quotables
“Not bad. . .for a girl.”
“I hate you all.”

“What would Cap say if I left his best girl behind?”
“He’d say listen to Peggy!”

We’ll see you next week with “A Sin to Err.”

This episode features: Tyson, Kiley, Jimmy, Lucas, and Tom, with special guest from the Hello, Sweetie! Podcast, Rebecca Frost!

Topic: Comics/Collectibles

Headlines:

• Kiley’s Grab Bag of Comics
• Marvel ArtFX Figures
• IRL Graphic Novel
• Ready Player One
• Wind Waker Link Figure
• Star Wars Black Figures
• Loot Crate
• New DC/Marvel LEGO sets 2015

As always, thank you for listening! If you like what you hear, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and rate us! Have feedback for the Big Shiny Podcasters? Want to suggest a topic to cover? Want to just give us a shout? Feel free to drop the host of the BSPC, Tyson, an e-mail at tyson@bigshinyrobot.com, or on Twitter, @Arse_bot!

Listen to the Big Shiny Podcast! on iTunes

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Daredevil, ol’ Hornhead, the Man Without Fear himself, is coming to Netflix on April 10, 2015 and Marvel was there this morning to unveil the first trailer.

For those unaware, Daredevil is a blind superhero who received both his blindness and superpowers in a freak accident as a child. By day, he’s a lawyer by the name of Matt Murdock, by night he stalks the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, making them safer for those who live there. In this series, he’s being played by Charlie Cox. His nemesis in the comics and on the show is the Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk, played (and briefly glimpsed in the trailer) by Vincent D’Onofrio.

The trailer looks like a very solid adaptation, taking the themes of Catholicism that have been pervasive in the comics for many years and putting them front in center while highlighting his double life. And though we don’t see him in his trademark red costume, we do see him in his early black ninja costume which gives me hope that we’ll see some ninja warriors or assassins as bad guys. 

The series premieres in its entirety on Netflix on April 10.

This morning the Wall Street Journal posted pics and initial details about the long-rumored LEGO Helicarrier. And sweet Moses, it’s amazing. The super short version: 3,000 pieces, 31″ long, five regular minifigures, a dozen “microfigures” — a first, and I’m hoping we see an Atom (DC Comics) and Ant-Man (Marvel) soon using these.  It’s $350 bucks. We’ll see more with pictures from Toy Fair in NYC in February, but for now this is what we’ve got. Holy crap.

To be clear, I don’t actually want to buy this. I’m a bigger DC than Marvel fan, and this doesn’t turn me on quite the same way the huge Star Wars sets (Sandcrawler, Death Star, Super Star Destroyer) have. But damn. It’s sexy. 

Fox dropped the trailer for the new, reimagined “Fantastic Four” quietly in the night and we have embedded it here for your viewing pleasure.

The film is directed by future “Star Wars” helmer Josh Trank and written by “Star Wars” creative and spin-off writer Simon Kinberg. For a long time, doom and gloom has been following this film around. Expectations for many have been extremely low, with people insisting this simply isn’t going to be an actual “Fantastic Four” film without actually seeing a frame of footage.

This is our first look and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m very pleasantly surprised. The “Fantastic Four” are one of my favorite super-teams when they’re done right (see Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo’s run on the book) and, although this trailer gives no hint to the humor and wondrous adventure that is a trademark of the best FF stories, it does give us a solid looking start.

In fact, the shot of the team staring off toward that electrical storm of some sort downright gave me the chills. 

I want to love this movie and am hopeful and optimistic. And I’m watching it twice as carefully and critically as most because this is the team that’s going to give me a new “Star Wars” film.

“Fantastic Four” comes out this August.

AGENT CARTER (6 out of 10) Action-drama airing Tuesday evenings on ABC, based on characters from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe; Episode 1.3 written by Andi Bushell, directed by Scott Winant; Starring Hayley Atwell, James D’Arcy, Chad Michael Murray, Enver Gjokaj, Lyndsy Fonseca, Shea Whigham, Kyle Bornheimer, Dominic Cooper. 

After last week’s action-packed doubleheader episode, unfortunately, “Agent Carter” has almost nowhere to go but down. And unfortunately it does. While not as good as its opening salvo, this is satisying in its own right.

This third episode brings us a lot of exposition, character development, and more of its trademark witty banter, but there is but a single fight/action sequence. I literally fell asleep the first time watching it, though that may have more to do with only having 3 hours of sleep the night before. 

But I had to go back and re-watch it, which was a good idea, because otherwise I would’ve missed a lot. Especially when it comes to exploring the backstory of Jarvis, who gets a lot to do in this episode. Him trying to fake an American accent is one of the best parts of this week’s show.

And to top it all off, the episode ends with a shock. I literally shouted “NO!!!” at the tv when it happened, and I’m not happy with what happened to this particular character, who was fast becoming someone I love to hate.

We shouldn’t complain about an episode full of character development, though. For a show featuring a strong female protagonist and where feminism and equality are basic themes, “Agent Carter” only barely passes the Bechdel Test. I’m hoping in future episodes Peggy Carter’s flatmates, who are currently somewhat drab and underwritten, become more integral to her story, and not just foils off which to deflect “Remember how sexist and parochial everything used to be?” barbs.

But, all told, this was a solid episode of a show I can’t wait to see next week. If you haven’t yet added this to your DVR or weekly rotation, make sure you do.

Next week is “The Blitzkrieg Button” in which we are promised a Stan Lee cameo. Watch it!

The new, very tightly packed, trailer for “Avengers: Age of Ultron’ was premiered tonight during a sportsball game, giving us a more detailed glimpse of the conflict that we’ll be seeing in the film. It feels centered a lot around everyone hating Tony Stark and he and Hulk fighting in about the worst way possible.

Even though it only clocks in at under a minute in a half, this new piece really packs a punch. 

And it brings a smile to my face that they’ve committed to using the uber-eerie “Pinocchio” remix for the trailers. It packs a wallop and I hope the use it in the film. Why not? They’re all a part of Disney, right?

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” comes out May 1, 2015.

It’s here! Marvel’s Star Wars #1 arrives this Wednesday and we’ve got a spoiler-free joint review of it from Swank-mo-tron and GONK.

Review by Bryan Young (Swank-mo-tron): 

I was beyond curious to see how Marvel would handle the relaunch of the new “Star Wars” comic book series. Dark Horse explored this territory fairly recently with Brian Wood’s take on the series, and it was anyone’s guess how this might or might not sync up with the sort of stories we’ve been getting.

But Jason Aaron takes us right into the thick of things, bringing us classic Star Wars action and drops us right up into middle of a plot we’re not entirely sure of. With the destruction of the first Death Star fresh in their minds, the rebels are looking to make any gains they can in the fight against the Empire.

The storyline is reminiscent of the original plot of “The Empire Strikes Back” by Leigh Brackett, where Han Solo is the only person who can negotiate a trade because of who he is and who his connections are. Unlike that original draft of the screenplay, this is all a ruse that leads to a daring action sequence, highlighting every one of the original core cast. It feels like what the sequel to “A New Hope” would have been had they not jumped ahead so far to the events of “The Empire Strikes Back.”

While it’s fair to say we’re not getting anything new in the grand scheme of “Star Wars” mythology with this first issue, we’re getting a story that feels like its earned its place. It brings us to familiar territory while still feeling fresh.

John Cassaday’s art lends itself well to Aaron’s script, and we’re given a comic that’s easy to recall the voices, sounds, and cadences of the classic “Star Wars” trilogy.

And it ends with a helluva cliffhanger, which means that it’s bringing us the best of the storytelling offered by the comics medium mixed with the things that people like best about “Star Wars.” I find that difficult to complain about.

Now, we can only hope they offer this level of loving care and detail to comics set in the prequel era. Because that is something I want to see.

Review by James Floyd (GONK):

Jason Aaron and John Cassaday deliver the start of the series with a bang! “Star Wars” picks up after “A New Hope” leaves off, with the Rebels fresh from their victory at Yavin, and once again, our heroes are thrown back into harm’s way. I really enjoyed this issue, and hope that it heralds the type of quality that we’ll be getting from Marvel for its “Star Wars” titles. Jason Aaron gives all the main characters a role in the issue, from Han, Luke, and Leia to Chewbacca and the droids, and it’s rare to find a writer who can give Artoo and Threepio hero roles without it feeling forced. 

Probably the best praise I can give this issue is that it feels like Star Wars yet is original. It doesn’t feel like a retread of what we’ve seen in the films, but captures the spirit of the movies – adventure, fun, and with characters we can care about. John Cassaday does a great job with his characters, and are enhanced by Laura Martin’s colors – Luke and Han are spot on, and both Chewie and the main villain look great. Even background characters like various aliens fit well. 

As a big fan of the Dark Horse Comics run on “Star Wars”, I was a little skeptical to see what Marvel could do with the license. With this series going for a million copies, I’m sure the Marvel brass wanted to make sure that this was the best work that they could have to hook fans for the series. Have the “Star Wars” feel without making any major changes at the start (perhaps learning from the Brian Wood series where Leia’s fighter pilot role attracted some grumbling) but also don’t make it a rehash of the movie plots. And here, Aaron delivers – plenty of action, lots of fun, and we get our main characters in familiar yet fresh situations again.

Nothing jaw-dropping plot-wise in this issue, but a great introduction to what hopefully will be a fantastic series. Thumbs-up on Star Wars #1.

In case you’ve been hiding in a fallout shelter for the past year, you probably know that Marvel Comics now has the license to publish Star Wars comics. Next week marks the release of their first title, simply ‘Star Wars’, with issue #1 coming out on January 14, written by Jason Aaron and art by John Cassaday with colors by Laura Martin.

Here’s the official blurb:

“Beginning where Episode IV left off, Luke Skywalker and the ragtag band of rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire are fresh off their biggest victory yet-the destruction of the massive battle station known as the Death Star. But the Empire’s not toppled yet! Join Luke along with Princess Leia, smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, droids C-3PO and R2-D2, and the rest of the Rebel Alliance as they strike out for freedom against the evil forces of Darth Vader and his master, the Emperor. This is the Star Wars saga as only Marvel Comics could make it! “

With over a million copies of issue #1 ordered by comic book stores, this launch will be the largest comic event of the past 20 years, says CBR. Bleeding Cool states that there’s over 100 variant covers of this comic, making it a dream (or nightmare) for collectors. Rebelscum has a list of known variant covers so far.

To celebrate the launch, Midtown Comics in New York City will have writer Jason Aaron and artist John Cassaday on hand for signings at their downtown NYC location on Friday, January 16th in the evening. More details available here, and of course Midtown Comics has their own variant cover by Mark Brooks, which will vertically connect with their variant covers for ‘Darth Vader’ #1 and ‘Princess Leia’ #1. Are there comic launch parties going on at stores near you? Post them in the comments!

And in other big news, Marvel has put the a vast amount of the Dark Horse run of Star Wars comics up on comiXology but Club Jade calls it a bit skeevy.