Kenny Crichton's friendship with Joey Chapman is a strained relationship. So is his relationship with his mother, Lady Jaqueline Falsworth-Crichton. Kenny's sickly, anemic. Joey inherited the mantle that has been in the Falsworth family since World War I - Union Jack! Ken has neither the stamina or the strength to fight crime, evil or vampires like Joey. His mother is still spry in her golden years due to a wartime blood transfusion from Jim Hammond, The Original Human Torch. Yes, she had a blood transfusion from an android. She joined The Invaders as Spitfire! Ken is somewhat bitter toward his mother and somewhat distant to his friend Joey. The only true friend he had is the now late and lamented Christopher Sinclair.
Ben Raab and John Cassaday introduce Union Jack to a new generation and audience in the first issue of a three-issue mini-series. Recapping the Union Jack legacy from war to war, Raab and Cassaday open "Tradition" with Chapman fighting bad guys... that are vampires. They are seemingly defeated by the dawn's early light. It's an action-packed opening that develops into a genuine mystery.
Afterward, he joins Kenny at Christopher's funeral. There, he discovers almost unnoticeable bite marks on Christopher's neck. There's also a mysterious woman showing interest in Ken.
There's another wrinkle. Arthurian legend regarding The Holy Grail. What would vampires have with the legendary cup of Christ, the Savior?
It's interesting that Union Jack has become a vampire hunter. He used to be a war hero.
Colorist Dave Stewart enhances Cassaday's art. Richard Starkings and Comicraft add the "zing!" to the lettering. Raab and Cassaday's pacing is very smooth.
Union Jack 1, "Tradition" earns four stars.
Hey, if you liked this review, you can follow me over on ComicVine. I'm there as AirDave. You can also follow me on Facebook. My page there is Earth-Dave.
I know this is just a little late, but Avengers: Endgame wrapped up a storyline from some twenty or so Marvel films across eleven years. It all started with 2008's Iron Man.
Marvel just announced the next phase of films. I'm excited for the Black Widow origin film and Taiki Waititi's sequel to Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder.
My wife, my friends and co-workers and I are all having a debate over the prospects of Love and Thunder. No one is excited about Natalie Portman's Jane Foster becoming worthy to wield Mjolnir. I stand on the fact that Ragnarok was the most successful film in the first Thor trilogy. I liked the first Thor film. My wife and I saw it for our anniversary. Kind of. The second Thor film was just okay, bordering on "Meh". I usually like Christopher Eccleston. But his character was a vague cipher bent on destroying ALL life. "Hey, there, Sparky... uh, what's next after you destroy ALL life in the universe?" Can't go to Disneyland. Why?! It's gone. See... You. Destroyed. Every. Thang. Waititi may have saved the franchise with Ragnarok. It may have felt silly and campy, with Chris Hemsworth channeling Adam West; it may have been a missed opportunity for Karl Urban's Executioner... Once again, the film put bodies in seats in the theater and made money. If he can do that again, and make Natalie Portman watchable... he will be my hero.
I'm excited for the Black Panther and Doctor Strange sequels, too. I'm not as into those characters as I am Iron Man, Captain America and The Hulk. Honestly, before the films, I thought Thor was pretty lame.
Yes, that's Thor. Played by the actor that went on to play Alan Hale, Jr./The Skipper in Surviving Gilligan's Island and then the dad on Good Luke, Charlie. The Return of The Incredible Hulk could probably have been better if it had featured the Ultimate Marvel version of Thor, like the films have gone with.
I'm glad Marvel and Sony have decided to share Tom Holland.
It looks like The X-Men and Fantastic Four will be part of Phase Five... maybe. I might get to see those films in my retirement years. Heh.
What I would really like to see, other than Robert Downy, Jr. back as Iron Man, is Chris Evans back as Captain America!
Remember that Easter egg in First Avenger, the pan shot of the World's Fair that showed the android? That's Jim Hammond, The Golden-Age Human Torch. I would love to see a fourth Captain America film, set during World War II, featuring his time leading Hammond; Namor, The Sub-Mariner, along with Bucky and Toro.
I would love to see Captain America and The Invaders! Yes, First Avenger told a complete story.
Captain America and The Invaders could tell another story. The Invaders was a '70's comic book written by the legendary Roy Thomas. Thomas had Churchill bring together Captain America, The Human Torch and The Sub-Mariner to defend England. They fought other Nazis besides The Red Skull. One of them was a traitorous vampire named Baron Blood! The trio also attracted colleagues such as Spitfire, The Whizzer and Union Jack. Yeah, Whizzer's kind of a goofy name for a WWII speedster. But The Flash and Quicksilver were already taken.
The only hiccup to this movie actually seeing the light of day is that Universal has the license for Namor, just like it has for The Hulk. There may be a way to include Namor, like The Avengers and Marvel films have included The Hulk - and Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Now that Marvel and Disney have access to the Fantastic Four, they may be able to use a Human Torch.
I'm a Golden-Age fan. I like The Invaders as much as I like the Justice Society; and, Roy Thomas' '80's All-Star Squadron.
I read Joseph Philip Illidge's brilliant and insightful breakdown on the casting of Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch, Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four film reboot. Apparently, the casting of a black actor to play a white character is creating quite the (wait for it) storm.
I have a couple of opinions about this.
I'm a new dad. I have two sons. They are from India by way of Ukraine. When my wife and I found out that our option to become parents became adoption, one of my best friends pulled me aside and told me not to limit my options. My friend told me not to be hung up on what my kid looked like. When you become a parent, your child is your child. No matter what. It's like any relationship really. You accept all the baggage that comes along with your partner and spouse. You accept your kids. You accept your parents. I love both my boys.
More importantly, I want them to see something of a reflection of themselves around them. Not all heroes look like Harry Potter; or James Bond; or Doctor Who.
Not every villain looks like Darth Vader and has the voice of James Earl Jones.
Idris Elba
Some of them look like actor Idris Elba. He's Heimdall in the Thor films. He was in The Losers, an adaptation of a DC comic book, Prometheus, Pacific Rim and Mandela, among other fine films.
How do you pronounce this guy's name?
Some of them look like Chiwetel Ejiofor, star of Serenity, Salt and Twelve Years A Slave.
Others look like Samuel L. Jackson, not to be confused EVER with Laurence Fishburne.
You don't ever want to confuse Nick Fury with Morpheus.
So, as a dad, I want my kids to see something of themselves in the entertainment they enjoy. Just like when I was a kid, I identified with Peter Parker.
Now, as a comic book fan, it is always cool to see what I enjoy in comic books show up on television or in movies. I know that reading a comic book is a different kind of experience from watching a television show or a movie. It is amazing to look back on the comic books I've enjoyed growing up as a kid, and seeing just how white they are. I'm embarrassed that one issue of Justice League of America pretty much hazes Black Lightning under the guise of recruiting him.
Until the Justice League animated series debuted on Cartoon Network with John Stewart as Green Lantern, the team was pretty much WASPy. But then, so was every other comic book team or character. minorities have always been subordinate.
What Illidge points out, is that Nick Fury was re-imagined as black, and based on Samuel L. Jackson in The Ultimates, and thenSamuel L. Jackson played Nick Fury on film. Remember when David Hasselhoff played Nick Fury. No? No one does, so don't worry.
The Fantastic Four has been re-introduced to new fans a number of times. As Illidge again points out, when Ultimate Nick Fury was introduced as Samuel L. Jackson, Ultimate Fantastic Four introduced yet another white quartet. Fantastic Four was re-introduced previously as "Heroes Reborn"; and twelve months later as "Heroes Return". There have been several all-ages iterations of the team. None of them introduced any diversity to Marvel's First Family.
Why don't we do that here?
As a new dad and a comic book fan, here's what I would like to see:
Corbin Bleu, from Catch That Kid, Jump In and the High School Musical trilogy as the brilliant genius leader Reed Richards. I want my kids to see that intelligence and brains are color-blind. Any one can be the guy that comes in and saves the day with the right gadget he just MacGuyvered. Most of the people responsible for creating comic books were adult white males. So what did they create? "Mary Sues". They created reflections of themselves. The reality is they saw a white world so they created one in comics.
High School Musical trilogy alum Vanessa Hudgens as Reed's girlfriend, and future wife, Sue Storm. She's the glue that holds Reed, Ben and her brother Johnny together. Remember those adult white males that created comic books? Not only did they not see a racially diverse world, they didn't any diversity in gender. There are either characters like Wonder Woman or She-Hulk, or what Sue originally started out as: window dressing. In the early issues of Fantastic Four Sue actually pined for Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Over time she's been developed into more of a working mother, kind of reflective of the real world around her.
I would not cast Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm. Let me tell you why. I can't see the rash, impulsive member of the Fantastic Four as black. To me, that's stereotypical. Let's make the "hothead" black. Either he'll be like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart or Chris Tucker - you get the point, right? Or, he'll be mature, straight forward and serious, which won't work either. I would go Victorious, Rags, and Spectacular actor Avan Jogia. Why? Because Sue and Johnny are siblings. Brother and sister. Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan could work as brother and sister. Mixed race parents. Adoption. Whatever. Avan Jogia and Vanessa Hudgens make sense as family. The Fantastic Four is about family. I know from experience that you can build a family; you can blend a family. That's what the First Family is all about: family.
Ben Grimm is just as important a character as the rest of the Fantastic Four. I liked the chemistry between Chris Evans' Johnny and Michael Chiklis' Ben. I'm not sure a guy like Dave Batista would fit with such a young group, but I do think that Ben needs some bulk; some build. If not Batista, then another WWE figure. Or, some one that can bulk up and put on some guns as Ben, so The Thing isn't such a drastic transformation. I would think that if any thing, Ben Grimm should be white, and Jewish like he is in the comic books. Ben should be the "token" white guy.
James Robinson and Leonard Kirk relaunch Fantastic Four with a new #1 issue on Wednesday. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee originally launched the team with a #1 in November of 1961. A lot has changed in 53 years, and yet, not much. As both a dad and a comic book fan, I think it is time comics reflected some things, like diversity. I want my boys to see that they can become any thing they want. The only way they can see that is if they do see it.
