When it comes to the sweet science of super-heroing, there are a few old chestnuts that pretty much tell you all you need to know: Great power, great responsibility yadda yadda. Superstitious and cowardly lot blah blah blah fishcakes. Bald, fat or ugly people will always turn evil, especially if they have a funny or humiliating name. (Please remember: I don’t makes the rules, I just explains ’em.) But the one that has been getting the most mileage in the modern storytelling oeuvre is the theory that ‘the villain is the hero of her own story.’ Indeed, protagonists such as…
Author: Matthew Peterson
Matthew Peterson
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.
Eliza Cameron has finally brought low the menace that has plagued her city, and even saved her friends in the process. What to do when you’ve saved the world? Your Major Spoilers review of Ghost #4 awaits!
As a life-long fan of professional wrestling, I love occasionally dipping into the well of squared-circle history for Major Spoilers purposes, if only to let the cynical snarkers get some meanness out of their system. It reminds me of a discussion I had with a professional sportscaster around the turn of the century, wherein he admitted to enjoying the spectacle and athleticism of the entire affair, but when asked why he wouldn’t cover it in his segments had the perfect response: “I don’t cover movies about football, either.” He also had a theory that a wrassler like The Rock would…
My coworker Chris and I were discussing new comic books the other day, and the subject of X-Factor came up. His assessment: “It’s better than a book starring Quicksilver, Gambit and Polaris should be.” Seems like enough of a testimonial for me… Your Major Spoilers review of All-New X-Factor #9 awaits!
In the wake of the final episode of ‘How I Met Your Mother’, my friend of many, many years, Otter Disaster, remarked on the Twitter (you really should follow the Major Spoilers crew, we are delightful) that I should be happy that Ted Mosby dumped Victoria, otherwise she might have ended up dead at the end of the series. (Also: Spoilers.) Still, though, as much as I hate to admit it, the Otter has a point: I am glad that Victoria didn’t end up with Ted, just as much as I’m glad that Nightwing and Starfire didn’t actually go through…
Back in 1967, the Caped Crusader and the Hornet met on TV, thanks to the powers of synergy and network crossover madness, but now Kevin Smith has brought hero and anti-hero together again for a little pop art camp madness. Your Major Spoilers review of Batman ’66 Meets The Green Hornet #1 awaits!
I’m a sucker for an alternate universe story, especially a classic mirror universe where everything you know is wrong and/or opposite of the things you already know. But how do you invert the happy, shiny world of rainbow ponies without getting too dark and creepy? Your Major Spoilers review of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #19 (with special guest-star) awaits!
During the 1980s, Marvel Comics writers began using a plot device that any Doctor Doom appearance that didn’t fit into their interpretation of the character would be explained away as a Doombot, masquerading as the real deal. I remember thinking how clever the idea was, but little did my 13-year-old self know what horror awaited us on the other side of the Retcon Chasm. These days, writers don’t even have to create their own retcon explanations, as we fans will do it for them, leading to a peculiar situation of scurrlious fandom theories being widely believed to be TRUE. Before…
The Avengers Unity Squad, created in the shadow of the Avengers/X-Men war, hasn’t been particularly unified, and it has led to chaos and death. Now, in a future world that’s coming, the survivors have a desperate plan that hinges on one of the Avengers earliest and worst enemies. Can they save the world, even with the help of Kang? Your Major Spoilers review of Uncanny Avengers #20 awaits!
Having worked in a comic store for more years than I care to consider, I’ve heard the question hundreds of times: What’s a good book to start getting into comics? Often times, I find that the answer has a lot to do with the person asking, but I’m usually pretty confident pointing out Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’, or for superhero enthusiasts, a little of Kurt Busiek’s ‘Astro City.’ But today, after new store employee Alex and I got to discussing comic books she enjoys, I actually got to go to the book that I like to recommend to the appropriate weirdos:…
I sometimes make the assertion that Barry Allen’s death might have been the best thing to happen to DC Comics in the 80s, giving the Justice League a fallen hero to live up to, giving a once-stagnant universe some life-or-death stakes, and (most importantly) elevating Kid Flash Wally West to the major leagues. While Barry ran illogically fast and claimed it was science, Wally actually explored what superhuman speed REALLY meant and what it could really do. Your Major Spoilers (retro) review of Flash #91 awaits!
As a nerd of long-standing, I’m required by contract to never admit to liking or knowing anything about sports. Fortunately my attorney, Miss Van Pelt, informs me that the contract was never notarized, allowing me to pretty much do whatever the heck I feel like, so long as I don’t curse, spit, or pull hair. That lack of rules carries over into many realms of fiction, especially the game of Quidditch, whose rules don’t particularly seem to gel into a real coherent game (but do lend themselves to some pretty spectacular CGI work, so it all balances out.) Here at…
I’m proud to say that, thanks to a mutual love of the many names of David Ryder during the episode ‘Space Mutiny’, my kid has become an aficionado of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. This is a point of pride with me, even after the point where she wondered how they made such realistic robots back in the 1990s (and to be honest, the personalities of Servo and Crow are such that it’s understandable she might make that mistake.) Last night, during ‘The Final Sacrifice’, known also as the finest hour of Zap Rowsdower, we started brainstorming about what sort of…
Last issue, Kamala Khan took control of her powers to save her friend from what looked like a life-threatening situation at her local convenience mart. During a struggle, a gun went off, and now Ms. Marvel gets to find out what a gunshot wound is like… Your Major Spoilers review of Ms. Marvel #4 awaits!