The Joker movie's coming out this week, so it's only right that I put out an appropriate Five Comics theme to celebrate the occasion. THE THEME: Much like how Joker will be the main focus of his movie, I've picked out five comics where a villain is the lead. Simple as that. THE COMICS: ![]() ANNIHILATION: SUPER SKRULL #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Javier Grillo-Marxauch Artist: Gregory Titus - This tie-in to the Annihilation event sees Super-Skrull going against the Annihilation Wave alone. With the rest of his people otherwise indisposed, he turns to some unlikely allies to aid him in his quest to destroy the Annihilation Wave's superweapon. Even with his powers, Super-Skrull is easily outmatched, so I'm curious to see how this story ends. - Comixology link ![]() BULLSEYE: PERFECT GAME #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Charlie Huston Artist: Shawn Martinborough - In this limited series, an unknown baseball player picks apart the psyche of Bullseye, from the nature of his job, some of his more impressive kills, his thirst for a genuine challenge in his assassination contracts, and hints of his past. Bullseye is one of those characters who doesn't have a clear-cut backstory in the comics (he's known to lie about his past, among other things), so this was an interesting read. - Comixology link ![]() DARK NIGHTS: THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS (BATMAN DAY 2019 SPECIAL EDITION) Publisher: DC Comics Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Riley Rossmo - In the DC Multiverse, there are a subset of alternate universes that fall into the Dark Multiverse. These realities, unlike your Earth-1s and Earth-2s, are doomed to be destroyed. In one of these realities, Batman kills the Joker, and the result is disastrous, as Bruce is infected by the Joker venom and becomes the Batman Who Laughs, a twisted version of the Dark Knight with the unhinged violence of the Joker. - FREE on Comixology ![]() KINGPIN (2003–2004) #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Bruce Jones Artist: Sean Phillips - Kingpin isn't quite Kingpin in this solo series yet, as we see him still working on building his crime empire. We see the trademark strategy, manipulation, and ruthlessness Wilson Fisk has become known for, as well as a brief Spider-Man cameo. Kingpin is often seen at the top of his game, so it's cool to actually see how he rises to power. - Comixology link ![]() SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP: MODOK'S 11 #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Fred Van Lente Artists: Francis Portela, Terry Pallot - A bunch of C-list villains are brought together by the mighty MODOK to conduct a heist that rivals that of Danny Ocean. This issue is mostly the setup phase, but the cast they brought together was interesting, and MODOK's mysterious motivations intrigue me. There's also a snippet of MODOK's origin story, which is great for people who don't quite know what he is. - Comixology link As I mentioned in the Punisher episode of Five Comics, these villanous bastards being the leads of the story doesn't necessarily mean that writers are endorsing their behavior. I'm sure that we, as sensible adults, have the capacity to appreciate these stories as they are, maybe even see where these villains are coming from, while also recognizing that what they're doing is unequivocally wrong. For people who may be more impressionable, I feel that our responsibility lies more in helping such folks directly instead of pointing fingers at one thing and calling it a day. Be it shows, movies, heavy metal, or video games, it's never as simple as "x thing corrupts minds", and to me, exploring as many roots of problematic behaviors as possible will do more than oversimplifying the issues into one thing. I know it's a fool's errand to beseech a reasonable, level-headed mindset from people on the Internet, but I wanted to put this sentiment out regardless. Heated "discussion" regarding the Joker movie (a movie that isn't even out yet, but people already have strong opinions on) is already rampant, and online "discourse" in general is becoming more and more exhausting to deal with as time goes on as it is. Let's not add unnecessary fuel to the already sweltering fire. PANEL OF THE WEEK: - end -
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
Derryck
|