All We Have to Fear...

 So, I talked a bit last week about C2E2. One of the more exciting things out of it was some of the details on this year's big crossover event. Yeah, I know. Marvel said they weren't doing those anymore, and frequently any major changes as a result of these things is retconned out of existence within a year or two. I know these things, but the little kid in me that read the original Secret Wars back in 1984 just doesn't give a good god-damn, so these events always get me excited about comics again.

This year, the big thing in Marvel is 'Fear Itself', which focuses, to no one's surprise, on the typically popular heroes in Marvel's bullpen, and highlights the characters with movies opening in the next year or so. This event is cast in the same mold as Civil War, where real-world concerns and yes, fears will be confronted by superheroes, and we'll get to see how having superpowers makes these fears worse, or better.

Picking which one of these to add to the article was tough, I recommend Googling the rest.

Early teaser images focus on two different themes, “Do you fear?” which shows some of the mightiest heroes confronting their own personal demons, and “Who Are The Worthy?” which has various Marvel heroes and villains struggling with each other to reach for these mystical hammers, which will feature heavily into the event. I like both of these campaigns to promote the books, and I'm especially fond of seeing some of the Marvel “B-list” characters right there in the fight with the big names. Marvel's version of Dracula, Grey Gargoyle, and Absorbing Man are right there in the fight... and it looks like one of those three will be a huge featured player.

The “Prologue” to the event is out, and I've read it and enjoyed it a whole lot. Fear Itself: Book of the Skull gives us a look back into a classic World War 2 Captain America/Red Skull story, and lays the groundwork for how the Red Skull's past affects the current events in the Marvel Universe. I've personally always liked the Skull a LOT, he's right behind Dr. Doom as my favorite villain in the Marvel Universe, and way back in the day, I owned the Dr. Doom/Red Skull Super Villain Team-up comic.

Much as I like him, this image is more badass than anything I can remember Red Skull ever doing.

Seeing Red Skull get his due as a major villain again after many years of mistreatment is really, really cool to me. Re-imagined from “ultimate Nazi mastermind” to Communist and later, common criminal gave Skully a few bad years there, but he's back, after a fashion, and his daughter Sin is one of the major villains of the piece, at least until we see the direct influence of who or what-ever the God of Fear turns out to be.

It looks like we're going to see fears from the mundane “state of the world today” variety to “what have I done, or might I do with my powers”, and I look forward to both. I'm sure that there will be criticism from political pundits, just like there was for Civil War, about the manner in which Global Events and their associated politics are presented, but this is to be expected. People's opinions are divided and polarized, and not even comics will be safe from those who want to throw out accusations and arguments.

...and then, there's Deadpool's take on the whole "hammers" thing.

So we've got a story with modern politics/current events, magic hammers a la Thor, The Red Skull and the God of Fear and a massive crossover with characters from all over the Marvel Universe fighting their fears both literally and figuratively. I am so in.