LIVE: Bendis Goes Galactic With "Guardians of the Galaxy"

[RX-78-2]

I'm a huge Guardians of the Galaxy fan, but I admit I'm VERY wary.

Brian Michael Bendis can be amazing when he's in his groove, understands what makes a character tick, and truly giving it his all. But when he's not in his grove, fails to understand the characters, and is distracted by other projects, it's VERY apparent and has produced some of the most banal, out-of-character, pointless stories in the whole Marvel universe. I'm hoping this is a "high" and not a "low" for him. He pays enough lip service to the original Guardians that I haven't exactly lost faith, but the team of DnA did SUCH a marvelous job that any alterations, mistakes, retcons, odd or out-of-character dialogue, or sloppy writing is definitely going to be noticeable to any devout GoTG readers.

And then there's the fact that, well, one of the reasons I LOVED GoTG was it got AWAY from all the nonsense that was going on during Civil War on Earth. I rejoiced when Richard Rider said "screw this" and flew off to save planets in space. I was thrilled to have a great book that wasn't tainted by the excessive editorial meddling of books like Avengers, X-men, and Spider-man, where heroes kept beating each other up, arguing over petty politics, and acting very unheroic. While that nonsense was going on, GoTG was thrilling me with Star Wars-esque adventures in space with animate alien trees, gun-toting raccoons, and psychic talking Cosmonaut dogs. What a breath of fresh air that was.

... So, well, I'm a bit bummed to see Iron Man being involved when he has utterly no business being anywhere near that team (he has a history of RUINING long-running team books), and I'm no fan whatsoever of the highly generic new uniforms that seem ripped straight out of Mass Effect. Seriously, it's so obvious SOMEONE has been playing Mass Effect. I even LIKE that series, but, c'mon, the original outfits were far more colorful, dynamic, and comic book-esque. Star-Lord in particular is a significant step down. They aren't "bad", per se, but I view them as fondly as I viewed Black Canary ditching her trademark fishnet stockings in favor of her reviled 70s makeover or Spider-man's quickly-forgotten "Iron Spider" outfit.

Also, the continued lack of Richard Rider as Nova feels just, well, wrong to me. Even if he was never an "official" member of the team, he had strong ties and friendships to nearly every single character. It just feels empty and weird having him nowhere to be seen. It's like a Batman book that forgot to include Alfred as part of the cast or a Lord of the Rings movie that decided Gimli wasn't all that important anymore so he never shows up in the third film or has his disappearance properly explained.

But, like all things comic, I'm sure the GotG will get off Earth and head back into space soon enough, ditch Iron Man, and get their iconic, fan-loved costumes back sooner or later. My interest may pick up then.

Still, being so Earth-focused makes about as much sense to me as making a John Carter of Mars story take place mostly on Earth.

Totally nailed the costume design. Just added a few lights here and there and removed the N7 off the chest plate annnnnnd done. I liked the other costumes, too, especially Star-Lords helmet, but costumes are the least of my worries. While there's no hope for Nova, at least this can be truly cosmic. As long as they don't stick on earth for too long, it might be promising. Iron Man might be in this, because he might (probably not) be in the movie. Does anybodies non-comic reading friends know GotG? I have friends that read comics and don't know GotG. Having a fimiliar name thrown in makes for better sales. It might be a bad thing, I might be a good thing. I'm not as apprehensive about this as I am with Nova, so I'm gonna try and stay positive about this title for now..

[Blade X]

There is one ninja character that Bendis could have join this team and it would be both appropriate and make perfect sense. The character in question is Midnight Son. He is Shang Chi's adopted African brother and he was turned into a powerful cyborg by the Kree.

[Nomads1]

Have to say, the whole perspective of sticking to Earth does lessen my interest in this, as well as the throwing in of Iron Man (obviously for sales effect). I'd rather be out there exploring the characters and races that make up the landscape of cosmic Marvel than having them team-up with the X-Men and featuring the movie cast as guest stars. I'm still willing to give it a shot, but have to say that recent news and interviews haven't filled me with hope. While the Bendis writing X-Men seems to be the one who wrote Ultimate Spider-Man, more and more, the one handling GotG reminds me of the one who ruined the Avengers. Too bad. I really like the characters. Hope I'm wrong.

Peace

[renne]

I'd rather be out there exploring the characters and races that make up the landscape of cosmic Marvel than having them team-up with the X-Men and featuring the movie cast as guest stars.

unless the phoenix is involved, teaming up with the x-men seems like bendis doing it just cos he can. it's not a crossover that makes logical sense. given bendis was involved in the "no more phoenix" rubbish he knows there IS no more phoenix (unless it's like "haha we meant ~just for now") so yeah. there goes the credible cosmic connection to the original 5.

[TheRicH]

Well, to each his own. It's perfectly understandable that you don't like the premise. I actually wasn't fond of it but considering the great work Bendis has done (and continues to do) I decided to try the book and like most other people have been impressed by how good the book is.

It doesn't have anything to do with hype, its just a good book, pure and simple.

We don't know the end game and that's exactly the reason why people are intrigued by it.

What great work? You speak like the dude is in the same class as Moore, Morrison, Ellis, Claremont, David, Wagner, Miller, Gaiman. He's in the same class as Loeb, Jones, Slott, Austin and Johns. The guys in the first group are LEGENDS that produced work that is considered timeless. The second group will only be talked about when referring to junk.

[Commander Rogers]

unless the phoenix is involved, teaming up with the x-men seems like bendis doing it just cos he can. it's not a crossover that makes logical sense. given bendis was involved in the "no more phoenix" rubbish he knows there IS no more phoenix (unless it's like "haha we meant ~just for now") so yeah. there goes the credible cosmic connection to the original 5.

There's also and X-men connection to the Shi'ar and the Starjammers.

[PwrdOff]

unless the phoenix is involved, teaming up with the x-men seems like bendis doing it just cos he can. it's not a crossover that makes logical sense. given bendis was involved in the "no more phoenix" rubbish he knows there IS no more phoenix (unless it's like "haha we meant ~just for now") so yeah. there goes the credible cosmic connection to the original 5.

As long as there is a Jean, there is a Phoenix. The X-Men franchise has been a mess for some time now, maybe it's best if Bendis tried to fulfill Claremont's original vision for the Phoenix as a cosmic superhero, and separated her from Cyclops and Wolverine and that entire mutant revolution nonsense altogether. That would certainly put some asses in the seats, though I'm not sure if GotG fans would warm to it.

[renne]

There's also and X-men connection to the Shi'ar and the Starjammers.

good point, i forgot that.

As long as there is a Jean, there is a Phoenix. The X-Men franchise has been a mess for some time now, maybe it's best if Bendis tried to fulfill Claremont's original vision for the Phoenix as a cosmic superhero, and separated her from Cyclops and Wolverine and that entire mutant revolution nonsense altogether. That would certainly put some asses in the seats, though I'm not sure if GotG fans would warm to it.

so that "no more phoenix" farce didn't wipe out jean in the white hot room? because that's the phoenix and jean i want to see. she is the phoenix, the phoenix is her. not this retconned "the phoenix is everyone!!!" rubbish that's come about.

[PwrdOff]

so that "no more phoenix" farce didn't wipe out jean in the white hot room? because that's the phoenix and jean i want to see. she is the phoenix, the phoenix is her. not this retconned "the phoenix is everyone!!!" rubbish that's come about.

Don't ever believe anything that Valeria Kementari says. Well, except for the anti-Cyclops propaganda, that's usually spot on. But yeah, Jean is back and she's the Phoenix like she always has been and always will be. Embrace it.

[Alan Smithee]

I got the munchies reading this.

SW

Don't be a narc, Wack. Not cool. Not cool at all.

[USERNAME TAKEN]

What great work? You speak like the dude is in the same class as Moore, Morrison, Ellis, Claremont, David, Wagner, Miller, Gaiman. He's in the same class as Loeb, Jones, Slott, Austin and Johns. The guys in the first group are LEGENDS that produced work that is considered timeless. The second group will only be talked about when referring to junk.

Great work like Torso, Alias, Daredevil, Powers, Ultimate Spider-man etc.

Not to mention the five Eisner awards he's won and that easily puts him in an elite class.

Bendis work isn't for everyone but his success (critically and commercially) isn't in doubt.

[Mikey Brown]

How is it all new?

It's just a phrase. Morrison's run was called New X-Men but still starred old X-Men. Really you could imagine they used "All New" because they're using the original all new X-Men. Or they could use it because it's an all new X-Men comic.

He pulls a team of X-men from the past to the present which to me is lame writing and a feeble attempt at revising history which he seems to wipe his ass with at every opportunity he gets.

Sure, it had the potential to be a bad idea but so far, it's really been interesting and fun. I don't really see anything lame about it, in fact it's pretty original and kind of ballsy.

What is the end game? A we going to have 2 Angel's, Iceman's, Cyclops's, Beast's and one Jean Grey from now on in continuity? Eventually they have to go back to the past they cant stay in present day since it would muddle everything up.

No idea what the end game is. Nobody knows that except for the creators (in fact, that's kind of an odd question to ask). Obviously it was done to show Scott how much he's changed, but really it's comparing and contrasting the old and the new in a real entertaining way. Really they can stay in the present for as long as they want, there's no real set time travel rules in the Marvel universe.

Six issues in and the book is going nowhere, absolutely nowhere and the next six what then does this past version develop in a different way and if they do that just makes all my back issues of X-men a moot point (I have a complete collection Ha Ha) if the past version of original 5 don't turn into their present counterparts.

Going nowhere? Really? So Beast didn't just mutate and almost die? So being possessed by the Phoenix didn't screw up their powers? So 3 new mutants weren't discovered? You want me to keep going?

If you like bad writing that's cool, Twilight is popular too. Don't tell me that using a time-travel plot hook is knocking it out of the park. It's not, don't be fooled by the hype train.

So TheRicH is the authority on whether books are good or bad. Thanks. I'll be sure to give you the list of what I read so you can tell me what sucks. Jeez.

[Mikey Brown]

There is one ninja character that Bendis could have join this team and it would be both appropriate and make perfect sense. The character in question is Midnight Son. He is Shang Chi's adopted African brother and he was turned into a powerful cyborg by the Kree.

This would be really random and make little sense.

[Mikey Brown]

Great work like Torso, Alias, Daredevil, Powers, Ultimate Spider-man etc.

Not to mention the five Eisner awards he's won and that easily puts him in an elite class.

Bendis work isn't for everyone but his success (critically and commercially) isn't in doubt.

It's funny he mentioned Morrison, especially after reading your sig.

[USERNAME TAKEN]

It's funny he mentioned Morrison, especially after reading your sig.

Yeah....ironic.