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drive-by readings

Wolverine #1 (Marvel) "Wolverine Goes to Hell, Part One" "Last Stand of the Silver Samurai: Scorched Earth Chapter One" Jason Aaron Renato Guedes/Jason Latour Jose Wilson Magalhaes Matt Wilson/Rico Renzi Cory Petit Jae Lee/June Chung (cover) Steve McNiven/Dexter Vines/Justin Ponsor/Marko Djurdjevic/Art Adams (variant covers)

what we learned: i mistook the hype for this new direction as Daken taking over Wolverine's body while Logan being sent to Hell. but that would've been a cooler premise: its one thing to be reconditioned by the Hand, its another to have switch souls and personalities between two mortal shells. what would the Avengers and X-Men do? kill him? but i digress. some mysterious party (called the Red Right Hand - 'allo, Nick Cave - purported to be the vengeful hand of God) wants Wolverine and his family/friends taken out, and some demon has taken over his body (taking on John Wraith for starters). next up: Logan's current galpal Melita, who's oddly rescued by Mystique. over in Japan, the RRH puts a hit on Kenuichio Harada, and it looks like he doesn't survive the experience.
oh shit moment: you know there's a demon in Wolverine, but that doesn't make it any easier.
what's next: who are these Red Right Handers? kin of people Logan killed over the century?


will.i.am was already goddamned sick of "My Humps".

snaps: Ms. Marvel #50

... where we say goodbye to Carol's almost 4 year series run, by celebrating with a punch up with the original Captain Mar-vell. ok, no its not the original joe, but the 96th one. heh. and ends up with the requisite "where do i go from here" talk with casual date Spider-Man. and she ends up morphing into an exotic Latina/Black chick. hey, is that still Mystique??

shouldn't Mystique be dead by now?



whoa! green puke alert!!



explosions galore and not a costume rip. don't give me that Reed Richards unstable molecule crap.



the only explanation is that Mystique replaced her. gimme my No-Prize!!

sturm und Jerry

funnyordie.com via Cinema Blend

you hit like a girl! #4

in this episode: Marvel's sexiest shapechanger, Mystique.

i suspect that Mystique's reputation as a hardcore villain actually helped her get a 24-issue series, a long tenure for a supporting character. anti-heroes are so popular because there are so many shades of gray in the character that you can explore. plus the public consciousness has the luscious Rebecca Romijn tattooed on it, when asked to associate anything with "Mystique". my only question, is that shapely mother of two her real form? who's to know? who's to say?

the 2-year Mystique run saw her written by heavyweight (non-literally) Brian K. Vaughan and Sean McKeever. it contained action, skullduggery and intrigue, as well as copious amounts of girl-on-girl violence. the creators were clearly channeling the woman in themselves.

in the "Tinker, Tailor, Mutant, Spy" arc, Mystique goes head to head with a mutant girl who can control viruses.

in the stunning conclusion of the series, Mystique finally uncovers the identity of the villain behind the scenes, the Quiet Man (shades of X-Files), only to learn that he's a "she".

of course, Mystique also kicks ass of the opposite sex. like men in uniform ...




or men out of uniform, especially when they get sleazy and creepy ...



or brainwashed musclebound Germanic mutant twins ...


or dodgy chauffeurs.

in keeping with this equal opportunity theme, even quasi-allies like Fantomex and Forge are not spared the occasional slugging.

her former lover Forge, in particular, has to endure both emotional and physical torment from this blue lady. although in retrospect, if i were Mystique, i'd do this too, because Forge just looks real ugly here and he deserves a beatdown for losing his hotness.

Mystique can also do the Indian god thing to double the ass-kicking. although i doubt this can really be effective, because she's a shapeshifter, not a power-mimicker. these soldiers were probably paid to throw this fight.