If you haven’t joined the Major Spoilers forum, you are missing out on some great conversations, and interesting topics, and a sneak peek or two. Creator Josh Ruggles of Ape Entertainment’s upcoming Scarlet Veronica, posted a sneak, and we’re sharing it here as well.
Or – “I Think We Can Be Certain It’s Not Really Final…”
I started to try and write a big clever open, but y’know what?Â
RACCOON WITH A HEAVY MACHINE GUN!!!!!
How am I s’pose to top that?
I mentioned there were a lot of Marvel Sneak Peek’s coming your way today. Next on the list - Sub-Mariner: The Depths #1. It’s the third sneak peek today featuring a $3.99 cover price.
Marvel is sending the sneak peeks our way, as the company drops off a preview of the upcoming return of Japan’s top heroes (at least from a Marvel perspective) – Big Hero Six!
Or – “Robot ROLL CALL!“
The concept of “the bright and shiny future” is the key behind the popularity of the Legion over the years, but what that future entails has changed with each decade. What started as a bunch of squeaky-clean teens in an upturned rocket ship had to evolve with the changing times, as the kids of the Legion and the readership aged. When the Legion was rebooted in the 1990′s, the strange future where everybody was clean-cut and had a nice stable family upbringing had finally been thrown aside, and we got to see the Legionnaires recast in roles that were more like the other heroes of the age. In that vein came today’s entrant, a hero whose powers were oh-so-90′s, the mecha-empath, a technokinetic hero who served as a sort of Swiss army superhero for the Legion’s slicing-dicing-and-even-cutting-tin-cans-with-it hours of need. Though his time with the team was short, he nonetheless was a change of pace for the Legion, and at least his powers (thank Rao) didn’t come from freakin’ nanites. (Bloodshot! I’m lookin’ at you, pally!) This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of I.Z.O.R. of Linsnar… Gear!
Or – “An Old Tradition With A Brand New Face. Well, Actually… NO Face.”
The Legion of Super-Heroes has, through the years, defied the archetypes of superhumans, redefining powers that we’d already seen in new ways. During the early 60′s, when Sue Storm was a preening airhead with an astronaut’s wife’s haircut, Saturn Girl was leading the team. In the 1970′s, the Legion pioneered a number of concepts ahead of their time, with the bodiless energy being known as Wildfire, and the strange and obscure powers of Tyroc and Chemical King presaging weird nebulous characters like Jack Hawksmoor and… well, everyone written by Grant Morrison, really. So, when a winged woman with the ability to exist in space and whose powers included the ability to seek out and find her target across interstellar distances showed up, the Legion was once again ahead of the curve. Years later, during the rebooted Legion, this concept was remixed (with a little alternate dimension thrown in) giving us one of the most unusual and intriguing characters of the Legion’s second run. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of the Kwai known as the Lone Star of the Lost Galaxy… Shikari!
Or – “The Kind Of Heroism That Doesn’t Require Super-Powers.”
During the 5o years of Legion operations, many heroes have come and gone, and a great many of them have had limited tenures with the team… But it should be noted that one of the least tenured Legionnaires, the boy called Ferro Lad, even to this day casts one of the longest shadows. But few Legionnaires have had the deck stacked against them the way today’s Hero History subject has. Even his own team leader had trouble seeing him as anything but a replacement Cosmic Boy, but he did everything in his power to change that assessment, and went through a series of setbacks and trials that forced him to redefine the kind of contribution that he could make. Always upbeat, even in the face of tragedy, he helped to define the rebooted Legion as a separate entity from it’s Pre-Crisis counterpart. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Dirk Magz of Braal… Magno!
Marvel has announced you can read (but not download) the Big Hero 6 Digital Sketchbook for free from the company’s website.
The Big Hero 6 are back! They’re Japan’s toughest heroes defending the honor of the Land of the Rising Sun against some of the worst villains the Marvel Universe has ever seen. Get ready as Hiro, Baymax, Honey Lemon, and Gogo Tomago defend their country and embark on a new adventure as this brand new exciting series unfolds.
Big Hero Six comes to print form in September.
Image Comics has announced Ian Churchill will be providing the cover art to the upcoming Jack Staff #21.
“It’s a bit worrying when you let someone else play with your toys,” said series creator Paul Grist in a prepared statement. “But Ian nailed it . Certainly get’s my vote for best Jack Staff cover of 2008!”
Or – “That’s Right… Sandy Makes The Cut, Atmos Doesn’t. My Rules, I Make ‘Em Up.”
When making my final, official, multi-reality, complete roster of the Legion of Super Heroes, I ran afoul of a few conundrums.  Should I count one-issue plot devices like Command Kid or Dynamo Boy as LSHers? Should I treat the post-reboot Umbra, Leviathan, Alchemist, et al as separate entities from the pre-Crisis Shadow Lass, Colossal Boy, and Element Lad? Could I give the likes of Chemical King or Monstress, with their short tenures, the same kind of gravitas that I hope to impart to Mon-El and Cosmic Boy?? (Your mileage may vary, but I’m trying, Ringo. I’m tryin’ real hard to be the shepherd…) And what about Legionnaires whose tenures have gone undocumented, like those during the 5 Year Gap era of the team? Do they count? The main thrust of my decisions came down to one important question: Does the character in question feel like a Legionnaire? Did he she or it embody that which edifies, elevates, and enlightens? Could Character X honestly stand alongside Bouncing Boy, Matter-Eater Lad and Tyroc, much less Brainiac 5 or WIldfire? I’ve been very open from the beginning about the fact that there will be no history of Atmos or Nemesis Kid (at least as Legionnaires…) I just can’t bring myself to take a character who manipulated his way onto the team and into Nura’s bed by using his “super-roofie” powers, and brought nothing to the Legion save invisible armpits. Same goes for Val’s murderer.  You may argue that each has his moments, and I agree, but so do many supporting Legion characters (Flynt Brojj, Karate Kid’s sensei, R.J. Brande, etc.) who don’t qualify. Call it “personal continuity,” if you need a name. And in that vein, today’s Hero History entrant is an unusual case. She served alongside the team without ever really seeming to belong, and her unpleasantness and snark weren’t the attitude you expected from a member of the LSH. Yet, somehow, she proved herself to the team, and to me, and was allowed to wear the much-vaunted Legion crest and flight ring. This then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of the girl who might be Sandy Anderson of Earth… Inferno!
As part of the Major Spoilers 2nd Birthday Celebration, Major Spoilers presents some of the “lost” conversations that you’ve never heard before.
10 days of daily podcasts that you’ve been asking for!
Recorded on Earth-22:
Matthew, Rodrigo, and Stephen discuss Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. A listener writes in to ask how Legion of Superheroes members are selected for the Major Spoilers Hero History entries. A great behind the scenes look at how Major Spoilers functions (or doesn’t).
Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com
Music from this episode comes from Ookla the Mok. You can visit them on the web at www.ooklathemok.com and purchase their music at the iTunes Music Store.
A big, big, BIG THANKS goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site and forums.
Viper Comics has sent Major Spoilers the cover images and solicitation information for titles arriving in stores September 2008. Josh Howard fans will want to pay attention to the order forms as his new series T-Bird and Throttle arrives.