Rick Remender and Tony Moore seem to be joined at the hip, taking on Venom in a new ongoing series. Remender is going to beat the hell out of Venom with a new human host in Amazing Spider-Man #654.1
Here’s a first look at the great variant covers:

Our good friend Jerk-Bot passed this along this morning.

He’s seen the Thor trailer and there’s some things in there that have me salivating in a way I can’t even begin to describe.

Without further ado:

Hey guys, I just happened to wander into a theater that was showing both the new Transformers and Thor trailers. I wasn’t nearly as hot as some have been on the Transformers teaser. Maybe I’ve just seen too many Robots-in-Disguise already. But the Thor trailer (which is showing up with the new drama The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale) should get everyone’s tongues wagging. It re-uses some of the same footage we saw earlier in the Comic-Con teaser. The include the war of words between the “vain, greedy, cruel boy” title character (Chris Hemsworth) and his seemingly all-powerful father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), shortly before the latter strips Thor of his powers and his hammer, Mjolnir, a longer version of a scene in which Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg’s character from the Iron Man movies) tells Thor that “You made my men — some of the most highly trained professionals in the world — look like a bunch of minimum-wage mall cops,” and a moment of vulnerability between Thor and human love interest Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman. (Yep, there’s even a smooch between the two.)

But this first, real trailer also shows teases of things that should really have fans of the comics … and fantasy-action fans … excited. Things that many of us were hoping would be in the movie. That includes more, clearer footage of the menacing Destroyer armor, going all “Gort” on his Earthly surroundings, the all-seeing Heimdall (Idris Elba, with glowy eyes), and what appears to be part of the climactic battle between Thor and his evil half-brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). And best of all is a brief sequence in which Thor strikes down a pack of dark elves by throwing Mjolnir at them. And then his mystical Uru hammer returns to his hand (a power also seen when Odin reclaims the weapon).

If anyone had any doubts about whether director Kenneth Branagh had any flair for big-scale action, this should allay them. As always, it’s hard to say whether a trailer can fully reflect a film’s overall quality. This one, however, makes a strong case that the Marvel Comics/Norse mythology action film deserves its early Summer 2011 slot. I’m even more amped about the movie now, which is really saying something.

Also … The Fighter opens Dec. 10 in New York and Los Angeles. And everywhere Dec. 17.

And I just would like to make a quick plug. For all of your movie news, be sure to check out The Big Movie Mouth-Off. And be sure to check out the Big Shiny Robot!/Big Movie Mouth-Off movie industry podcast starting in the next couple of weeks.

UPDATE: Marvel Studios released a new image of Thor on a Poster:

Pretty badass.

MTV spoke with Jon Favreau about the current and future plans of the Iron Man films in relation to the rest of the Marvel films.

“In theory, Iron Man 3 is going to be a sequel or continuation of Thor, Hulk, Captain America, and Avengers.”

With different timlines separating the films Favreau is waiting for Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers movies to be finished before planning Iron Man 3. The big question is will Iron Man 3 wrap up the current movie continuity or leave the door open for more films? It’d be nice to see Spider-Man and the X-men make future apperances, but we’ve already seen so many good Superhero movies, maybe we’re a bit spoiled.

If you’ve read recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man, you may have noticed yet another new goblin on the block. That’s right, there’s a new Hobgoblin ready to strike terror into the hearts of Spidey and his supporting cast, or so it seems. Those of us versed in Spider-Man lore, might have remembered that this particular Goblin has been known to throw a pumpkin bomb or two in the past as well. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, sit back and prepare yourself for the origin of Green Goblin the 4th, Phil Urich!

Oh yeah, did I mention this was published in the 90's?

This is one of those origins that are told in flashback, so we start with the above image, which is actually kind of menacing looking, to be honest. Anyway we open on the scene of a video store being ransacked by some thuggish looking youths. It turns out the reason they are hitting this particular establishment is that Phil, our “hero”, was recently kicked out of said store. He complained about it to a friend of his, who was one of these thuggish types. He decided to flip the store and sell the videos on the black market or something. That part isn’t all that important. The cops inevitably show up, and while Phil is on the scene, he doesn’t want to get thrown in with criminal types, as he actually is opposed to this revenge scheme or whatever it is. Trying to save his own skin, we see the first bit of young Mr. Urich’s character come to fore.

If Kidd Video is an intentional pop culture gag, way to be obscure.

So yeah, Phil throws the cops off the trail to save his own skin. Because of this, the “mastermind” behind the video heist, Ricko the Sicko (nice!) ends up liking the cut of Phil’s jib, so he gives him a cut of the take, which are VHS cassettes in this case. Phil gets dropped off at his loft, and he tosses the videos in the trash and crashes,

A new day dawns, and we find Phil at his job, interning at the Daily Bugle for his uncle, Ben Urich. Yes, this is another Spider-Origin with an Uncle Ben involved, just go with it. As we go on, Ben assigns Phil the task of researching some property Harry Osborn may have bought under a dummy corporation before he “died” (note: he’s not dead anymore. Comics!). Anyway, the two Urichs talk for a bit obout the Goblin legacy. You see, Ben is writing a book he’s calling ‘Dynasty of Evil’ about the Goblins/Osborns. Phil, ever the plucky (annoying) young lad, chimes in with his assessment:

Foreshadowing!

The next day, Phil returns with his assignment done, and Ben is very happy with it. Phil himself is kind of beside himself for being praised so highly. Ricko the Sicko praised him as well. I’m no psychoanalyst, but Phil may have some, as we say in the biz, “mental issues”. Ben tells Phil now that they know said property was indeed owned by Harry Osborn, he (Ben) must now go and check it out for Gobliny stuff. Phil offers a few words of discouragement, but Ben is determined, so they part ways.

Phil is still kind of high on life as he contemplates going to journalism school and how bright his future is. That train of thought is derailed when he comes across his friend who instigated the whole video store debacle from a couple of days ago. After a brief altercation, Phil brings up the whole Goblin work thing, and his “friends” ears perk up. We cut away to later on in the day, Ben is off to investigate Harry’s warehouse, and Phil gets a call from his thugbuddy and learns that Ricko has been informed about a possible Goblin stash, so they’re about to turn the place upside down. Phil, showing a modicum of backbone, gets his rear in gear and heads off as well, knowing his Uncle Ben may be there at the same time!

He gets there, and Ricko is ecstatic and offers Phil a majot cut of whatever is found. Proving that his moral compass doesn’t point to magnetic north, Phil is considering it, thinking the damage is done already, why not profit from it. Before he can answer, random thug 1 and 2 happen to find Ben Urich on the premises. Before he can be seen by his uncle, Phil ducks behind some crates. He struggles with his flight or fight response, wondering how he could possibly save Ben, when he finds the main circuit breaker! Under cover of darkness and a disguised voice, he tried to lead ben from danger, suggesting they split up. They do so and Phil after some Clouseau-esque bumbling, find something that’ll change his life forever.

He wanted to say "Sweet Christmas" but that line was taken.

Phil is distracted for a sec, checking out the admittedly cool Goblin lair, when all of a sudden he’s startled by rat and crashes himself into the above vat of green ooze. It turns out this is some derivative of the Osborn Goblin formula that gives them their strength. It apparently also causes great pain, as Phil is writhing in agony on the floor. Before he can give in to the sweet blackness of oblivion, he hears through he walls that his Uncle Ben has been caught! He gets the maybe not so bright idea to don the goblin costume to save Ben. As soon as the mask goes on Phil’s head, he’s hit by a massive jolt of electricity. You see, this Goblin outfit is really tricked out with tech and laden with nondescript circuitry. Anyway, Phil manages to make his way to a goblin glider and goes off to save the day.

"Sadly, I left my wit in my other glider."

During the course of the battle, Phil suffers through the requisite new hero jitters and discovery of powers, like super strength, and what will be come to be known as his “lunatic laugh”. Ultimately, he does come out on top, but makes a quick getaway when the police arrive. It’s not the most auspicious entry of a new hero ever, but no less effective. we leave this opening tale with a bit of a “Goblin Monologue” if you will.

Why yes, I do like dynamic flying glider shots, why do you ask?

It is decidedly not the end for our Mr. Urich. While he doesn’t get to be the heroic Goblin for long, he does make a bit of a mark, and it turns out the “lunatic laugh” is something purely his own and he retains it to this day. Phil went on to make a support group for young heroes, stole Darkhawk’s (a fellow 90’s hero) amulet, and kind of started to fade into limbo until Dan Slott brought him back to make a heel turn and become the new Hobgoblin last week. At first, I thought the heel turn was kind of out of character for Phil, since I am much more familiar with him from the Spider-Girl mythos where he reclaimed the Goblin mantle with an Osborn’s blessing. Regardless, re-reading old adventures, I can see that there are seeds there from the beginning, and besides Slott is a great writer, so I’m all in. And now you know… the rest of the story!

I’m not sure where to start with this review but let me get one thing out of the way first: I am sad to see this miniseries end.

I’ve never been a huge Captain America fan. I don’t dislike the character, he just never resonated with me in my comic-reading youth. As an adult, it’s taken me a long time to get back into comics and I still don’t know what I’m going to like or not. But what I am finding is that Captain America is awesome. I like reading stories about Steve Rogers and I’m really excited for the movie. Since I’ve also found that I enjoy reading “Bucky Cap” just as much, I decided to read this tale of another Captain America. I figured a four part series is an easy way to learn the character without much commitment if it sucks. Turns out it doesn’t suck at all and I think Jeff Mace (a.k.a. Patriot) might be my favorite Captain America. In a role so defined by Steve Rogers, yet filled by so many, Mace is remarkable for being his patriotic self.

Suffice to say, the Cold War is on and Hoover’s heyday is in full swing. And don’t forget McCarthyism. That dark time in American history is very present and very relevant. As a moderate history buff I have a weird interest in this era and Karl Kesel has captured it very well. The dialogue, the “alien” conspiracy, people defecting to the Soviets, the FBI’s covert operations, distrust between government branches, it’s all present and all remarkably well-written. The writing is so good I had to go back through the book again immediately and remind myself to look at the art.

That’s not to say the art is sub-par. No, no, no. Mitch Breitweiser just kills it with the period style that I love. This looks like 1950’s comic book America. Not dated or retro, but classic.

At first it seems awkward to see Cap fighting purse snatchers instead of super-powered Nazis, but the story puts it into context. It edges a political line, as anything involving this era in American history must, without soapboxing. And, in the end, shows a true patriot believes in his country, not necessarily the people who run it. If you could read the entire Marvel history in in-universe order you could find foreshadowing of Cap’s eventual role in the Civil War.

I strongly recommend this comic (indeed, the whole series) to anyone who loves a good story, classic art, Americana, Captain America (especially his patriotic speeches), and unobtrusive politics. I’m hard-pressed to think of any person who shouldn’t read it – maybe people who only like to see Cap punching lots of mutated commies.

The final chapter in Captain America: Patriot is available December 1, 2010 from Marvel Comics.

The ‘in’ joke with Deadpool is the over saturation of the character across the Marvel Universe and this week a poll was posted to cancel a title.

Deadpool has finally done it! The Merc With a Mouth is now in more monthly comics than the human mind can handle! To rectify that, we went straight to Mr. Wade Wilson himself and told him he has to choose one of his ongoing series for cancelation, either DEADPOOL CORPS or DEADPOOL TEAM-UP.
Alas, Deadpool can’t make this decision alone: He needs your help!
Using the most advanced science Deadpool understands–online fan polls–we’re going to decide which comic to keep and which to kill.

More than a few comic writers spoke out about this on twitter during the week including artist and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld. Everyone seemed a bit upset that a title was being canceled in a crass way because of the creative team’s behind the books are actual people with families to support.

This issue starts with an hilarious spoof of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and after that? No real surprises. If you’re a Deadpool fan you already know if you want this, and you’ll get exactly what you always get. Matteo Scalera does a competent job on the art and I got a few chuckles from the story by Rob Williams. If you can wait it out Marvel adds Deadpool titles to Marvel DCU frequently. If not this book is on par with what you’ve been enjoying already.

Did Marvel disrespect the creative teams involved by posting a poll to cancel a book? Judging from the reactions I’d have to say yes, but this is DEADPOOL and we all know he don’t give two f@#$S!

Welcome back to the third week of Convention Sketches!

We feature a convention sketch here every week.  We’ve got a whole pile of our own, but we want to see yours, too. Email us convention sketches you want to show off and let us know what website you’d like credited for it.  (bigshinyrobot(at)gmail.com)

This week we have a drawing of the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing from George Perez!

It’s Clobberin’ Time!

Vivid Entertainment, the company that brought us the Batman XXX and the forthcoming Star Wars XXX, released today the cover image and some more info about their pornographic take on The Incredible Hulk.

Obviously this is very Bill Bixby inspired.

From their press release:

LOS ANGELES – (November 15, 2010) – Vivid Entertainment, the world’s leading adult movie studio, is releasing the cover art for its eagerly awaited upcoming production of The Incredible Hulk: A XXX Porn Parody as part of its SuperXXXHeroes series.

The studio has already started production on the project, which will be a send-up of the iconic television series from the 1970s and 80s that was based on the Marvel comic book character of the same name. The movie will be directed by award-winning B. Skow, known for his best-selling Brand New Faces series.

Vivid said veteran adult actor Lee Stone, will play the Hulk character. Dale Dabone, who played the lead in Batman XXX: A Porn Parody, distributed by Vivid, will co-star in the Hulk parody as the lead character’s alter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner.

The SuperXXXHeroes parodies from Vivid spoof some of the world’s most popular comic heroes. Vivid Founder/Co-chairman Steven Hirsch notes, “These projects are moving forward rapidly. Axel Braun has already started pre-production on a parody of Superman. Along with The Incredible Hulk we plan to do parodies of The Green Hornet, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Captain America and Thor as part of the new imprint.”

I think these are hilarious and actually feature better filmmaking than pretty much any porno I’ve ever witnessed.

What do you guys think about all these?

If you read the Spider-Man titles at all, you know that Paul Tobin has re-christened the character of Araña. She is now known as Spider-Girl. This is all well and good, and judging by the first couple stories, it’s a fun, well thought out series. My initial reaction to the name change was very vitriolic, though. The reason for this is that Marvel has (or had, I guess) a character named Spider-Girl for over 10 years! This is a character saved numerous times from cancellation by some truly devoted fans, of which I consider myself in their number. While I have gotten over my initial animosity for the ‘new’ Spider-Girl, and even though it seems like my Spider-Girl is gone for good, I feel it’s my duty to introduce people who may not be familiar with May “Mayday” Parker, the daughter of Spider-Man. Without further introductions, let’s dive right into the Secret Origin of… Spider-Girl!

Our story opens at a high school basketball game, the Midtown High Girls’ Basketball Team is facing a tough match against the Hollis Court Crusaders. All of a sudden, our narrator is telling us how the tides turned. All of a sudden, she is able to jump higher than ever to score a rebound, and as she makes her way down the court, a “strange tingling” seems to be telling her how to instinctively dodge her way to the basket making a truly spectacular, amazing, and maybe even “web of” dunk:

And that life is full of horrid dialog.

From the rafters, a shocked Peter and Mary Jane Parker discuss the repercussions of what has just happened. They ultimately decide to let things go and congratulate their daughter, even though an ominous shadow indicates that they wont being to keep the lid on things for long.

Ominous shadows aside, we'll learn Peter's goatee is the sanest hair choice in the book.

After the game, May is cavorting with her pals, which shows she straddles the line between her father’s introverted high school days and her mother’s outgoing nature. A young lady who can interact with both jocks and nerds? It truly is the future. Soon after, Pete and MJ and taking a moonlit walk, and they recap the untold tale of Spider-Man that culminated in the end of both Spider-Man and the original Green Goblin. It costs the Goblin his life, and Peter lost a leg. Finally realizing that his ultimate responsibility is to his family. Because of this, they thought it was unimportant to tell May about the sordid past. Looks like that will all change soon. Before you know it, May is off with her friend when suddenly, a pumpkin bomb comes out of nowhere! Only May’s newfound reflexes save her and her companions. Their attacker soon reveals himself and gives May an ultimatum:

"We Goblins aren't that creative, you see."

May is oblivious as to why such a villainous guy as the Goblin would want with her dad, She relates the news to MJ and Peter, and there is a the requisite freak out. The initial shock subsides and May is told to make sure her comrades are ok while Pete makes a few calls. Peter finds out that this particular Goblin is most likely Norman “Normie” Osborn, the grandson of the original. Peter and Mary Jane have yet another talk, but don’t take into account that May is eavesdropping. Peter says the “S” word and May’s life is changed forever.

"Does this mean technically, I'm a mutant? Awww, man..."

We leave May with her thoughts and cut to an undisclosed Goblin lair, as Normie pontificates to himself the depths of his hatred for Spider-Man, and by extension the Parker family. He lives for this, his final revenge. Really, it even says so on his chest.

Mock the OzMullet, he dares you.

While Peter explores avenues to protect his family, such as visiting the Fantastic Five and the “Avengers”, May explores her powers in the school gymnasium like a good Spider-Person should.

This isn't necessary to show you, I just love Spidey after-image shots.

Anyway, after this quick interlude, May confronts her mother with the truth and wants to know it all, as she feels she is entitled. Mary Jane takes her to the attic where she tells May about the end of Spider-Man’s career and why they thought it prudent to keep May from the truth. Mother and daughter reconcile, when all of a sudden May finds a different Spider-Man costume than what she’s used to seeing.

And I heard he made awesome rice, as well.

Let me take a step back here and just say I think it’s completely awesome that not only is the clone saga referenced here, it is a very clever way to give May her own “Uncle Ben”. Regardless of how you may or may not feel about Ben Reilly, that is a stroke of genius. Meanwhile, Peter has run out of avenues to pursue assistance, so he arrives at “the bridge” and is promptly attacked by Normie. Normie, who is obviously off his meds, is disappointed that Peter isn’t in his fighting togs. Peter tries to explain that Spider-Man died along with the original Green Goblin, but our young Mr. Osborn is having none of it. He threatens Pete, who is prepared to defend his family at any cost, and reveals he’s packing. Mary Jane arrives on the scene and implores Normie to put Peter down. Norman scoffs and crushes Peter’s gun, so I guess the old Goblin formula is still great at enhancing both strength and madness. Norman grabs MJ and once again gives with the threat until he gets Spider-Man. Then, suddenly, he gets his wish, kind of.

No snark here. This is an awesome splash.

Now the fight begins in earnest. Peter and MJ are forced to watch from the sidelines as Spider-Girl fights for all of their lives. It’s clear she’s pretty inexperienced, and the Goblin seems to have the advantage. During the course of the fight, May web swings for the first time, declaring it to be a bigger rush than basketball, even given the circumstances. May is savvy enough to keep Normie talking throughout the battle. She may not quip like her father, but she does eventually get into Normie’s head until he makes a huge mistake in judgment.

"All part of my plan, Spider-Girl HAHAH... Oh Wait."

The bomb does indeed ignite and as Normie falls from the sky into the path of an oncoming semi, May does the honorable thing and saves his life, proving her legacy and heroism. And while she’s all honorable and heroic and the whole nine, this guy did just try to slaughter her family, so as he bungees back to her due to web line recoil:

Cool move, but I still hate that line.

After this, Normie is hauled off to jail and all is well and good. We cut to the Parker’s backyard where all traces of the spider legacy are burned, left to live in the past where they belong, or so we think. Even though on the surface May agrees to bury the past, she’s had a taste of destiny and we’re assured that the career of Spider-Girl isn’t over yet!

And that’s the origin. I would normally end my article here, but I wanted to give this origin a bit of a postscript. As you may or may not know, this story was originally published in What If? #105. The response to the story was so overwhelming, that Spider-Girl soon got her own ongoing series. You might think this is unheard of, but the same thing happened to her dad when he appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15. Coincidence?

Anyway, our girl May went on to appear in two ongoing series, a few mini series and a handful of annuals. The trials and tribulations of her publishing history are well documented elsewhere on the web, but let me just say that passionate fans are the best fans. And I am sure sometime in the future one of those fans may well bring Spider-Girl back to slam heat all over again!

This one is a request from BigShinyRobot’s own Swank-mo-tron! Before the likes of Thunderstrike and the like got to wield the power of Thor like it was the flavor of the month, no one was deemed worthy enough to harness the power of mighty Mjolnir! That is until the great Walt Simonson introduced us to today’s featured character, so may I present the Secret Origin of Beta Ray Bill!

Bill’s story is so intertwined with Thor himself, that’s where we start our tale. Thor has been tasked by Nick Fury to investigate an object in space that tore through a S.H.I.E.L.D. probe and seemingly destroyed a star to refuel. (No asparagus people were harmed as far as I know.) Thor catches up with the ship, only to have it outpace him. Thor, being all godlike will have none of it and pours on the speed in pursuit. The ship identifies Thor as similar to the demon breed (we’ll find out what this means later). It opens fire on Thor, and this kind of ticks the God of Thunder off, so he flings his hammer at the ship and then casually tears open the hull like it’s paper.

"Mighty Thor has clipped toenails from a Frost Giant mightier than yon spaceship hold!"

Thor makes his way inside the ship and finds a room with a giant crystal chamber. Before he can really investigate, a klaxon within the ship sounds beckoning the ship’s ultimate defense mechanism. Thor gets a bit too close to the crystal, and his a mighty three-pronged hand crashes through the crystalline chamber and engulfs Thor’s thick Norse head! The battle rages and the shrouded figure is tossing Thor around like a rag doll. Thor wonders to himself who could possibly do this and we get one of the most badass character introductions ever.

A face only Sarah Jessica Parker could love.

Thor now has his bearings and the fight rages on. Bill is fighting because he thinks Thor is a demon, and Thor is fighting because he’s not keen on people just up and attacking him. The battle rages on and it seems the two combatants are pretty evenly matched, which is pretty impressive when you consider for all we know, Bill is simply mortal. During the course of the brawl, Thor is separated from Mjolnir and reverts back to Donald Blake at a pretty inopportune kind and Bill kicks him out with one punch. Meanwhile, Skuttlebutt (that’s Bill’s ship, by the way) is making a crash landing on Earth. Thor did a good amount of damage, after all. Nick Fury is on the scene and since for all anyone knows at this point, Bill is a viable threat he begins to attack. Unfortunately for Bill, he is seriously outgunned at the moment and is looking for anything to even the playing field. He looks for Thor’s hammer, but all he can find is a stick. In his frustration, he bangs it on the side of his ship’s hull and before you know it…

Just add a horn and Marvel could get that young girl demographic.

Well now it is obviously on, not unlike Donkey Kong. Bill easily decimates the forces of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it looks like the Earth is going to be destroyed by a misunderstanding. Until a literal Dues ex machina happens as Odin recalls who he thinks is Thor back to Asgard on urgent business. Before you know it, Bill is on the rainbow bridge of Asgard with all of its denizens hailing their hero in this, their hour of need. Too bad for them that Bill still thinks everyone is a demon and starts lashing out, demanding where the heck he is. Well, Odin doesn’t really cotton to this, as he’s just realized this isn’t his son. He demands to know where Thor is, and Bill is in no mood for explanations and does something that can only be seen as “rather foolish”:

Not a good idea to tick off a God there, Bill.

Odin recalls Mjolnir and asks again about Thor’s whereabouts again, and Bill says he doesn’t know, but he won the right to wield the power fair and square. Odin senses that Bill is telling the truth, and decides not to obliterate out horse-faced friend but does encase him in a crystal prison even Thor himself would have a hard time breaking out of. While Bill cools his heels, Odin discovers Thor is on Midgard (Earth) and recalls him. Thor is all mopey because his hammer was claimed by someone else, and Odin is ready to get to the bottom of things. He faces Bill and asks for forgiveness for his behavior. Bill is finally starting to get it through his head that maybe these aren’t demons after all.

"Odin demands a group hug!"

Now that everyone’s all lovey-dovey, pleasantries are exchanged, Odin tells Bill of his beginnings and asks Bill to do the same, so here we are 800 words later finally getting to the actual origin, straight from the horse’s mouth, you might say. Bill’s race was decimated when the core of his galaxy exploded, and the planet got so hot that it was uninhabitable, so it was decided the race would emigrate to find another suitable home. Before that task could be accomplished, a defender was needed, and that’s where Bill comes in:

They rebuilt him, stronger, faster, uglier!

The rest of his race left in a plethora of ships, all in suspended animation. As the mass exodus was underway, it seems a bunch of demons emerged from the very core to pursue them. Bill fought valiantly, but some of his charges were killed in the skirmish. Bill managed to lure the demon horde away and then proceeded to speed ahead of his fleet looking for sanctuary, which leads us to the present. He will not give up Thor’s hammer because of the advantage it gives him and by extension, his people. Thor explains that Bill didn’t really win the hammer fairly because he didn’t defeat Thor, he defeated Dr. Donald Blake. Odin explains the whys and wherefores of the Blake identity and goes on to tell both Bill and Thor that the reason Thor was summoned to Asgard was because an unknown power was amassing coincidentally in Bill’s home galaxy. And let me tell you, when Allfather Odin doesn’t know about a power somewhere in the universe, that is big time bad. It’s deemed that the hammer issue is actually the more pressing problem because if Thor has no hammer he’s not going to be as effective. Odin gets both hammer-wielders to agree on a new one-on-one combat. So it’s on again and Thor and Beta Ray Bill have another knock down, drag out fight. I am not going to elaborate on it, because you should all read it firsthand. Anyway, the battle is indeed fierce, but ultimately Bill wins again, due to him being more resistant to the extreme heat in Skartheim, their battlefield. In a rare case of fighting not solving anything (this is a Marvel comic, after all) Both combatants are disappointed with the outcome. Thor feels disgraced and is going to renounce Godhood, while Bill senses a kinship in Thor and even though he’s won the right to use the power in Mjolnir, he can’t bring himself to so this to Thor.

Odin, respects the nobility of Bill and loves his son, Thor so he decides to solve the dilemma once and for all. How does he do that? Well it’s a long and involved process, so I’ll just say if both people are entitled to the same hammer, what’s the easiest solution? If you said “make a new hammer”, you are an avid comic reader! That’s exactly what happens, after a painstaking and lengthy ordeal, Stormbreaker is forged and enchanted! Odin presents it to Bill and you know what that means: Splash Page!

By the way, I love sound effects.

So what happens next? Does Bill save his people? Do we find out what is behind the mysterious power in Bill’s galaxy? If you want to find out (and you should, because it is awesome) might I suggest Thor Visionaries Volume I? It is well worth your time and money to read it. So until next time, may your hammer strike like thunder!