The Forgotten & The Forsaken: Awesome characters sadly unremembered or demoted

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There are some nice elements however, such as interesting revelations relating to the Shroud’s origin at the Temple of Kali, and the story does a good job of creating some good supporting characters for the Shroud—an aged mentor and two associates, named Cat and Mouse.


Thus, the limited series succeeds at what every limited series should—redefining the character in some way or telling a significant part of his or her history.

The Shroud # 1-4, Limited Series, Marvel Comics, Mar. 1994-Jun. 1994

Writer # 1-4: Mike W. Barr

Art # 1: M.C. Wyman (pencils); Malcolm Jones (inker); # 2: Wyman & Jones; # 3: Wyman (pencils); Jones & Koblish (inkers); # 4: A. Williams (pencils); Jones & Koblish (inkers)

Colorist # 1-3: Mike Thomas; # 4: Thomas/Wang/Mendez

Letterer # 1: Joe Rosen; # 2: Rosen/Krol/Crespi, # 3: Higgins; #4: Rosen
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index....y_mike_w_barr/

[Doctor Know]

These characters right here.

Marvel's first family.


A combination of no direction, a string of runs that didn't connect and their roles in the MU being supplanted by other characters.

Tony Stark has replaced Reed as the smartest and go-to guy in the Marvel Universe.

Sue Richards has always gotten the shaft when it came to relevance. Sadly, both her and Jean Grey haven't been given anything to do in decades.

Johnny is running with the Uncanny Inhumans now, but I don't think anyone ever connected with him the way people did/do with Peter Parker or other flash young heroes.

Time for a riddle. What has 20 legs and comes in assorted colors?
Answer that and you'll know why Ben Grimm doesn't matter anymore.


Hickman's FF was the last time in recent memory the FF really made a difference and had direction and before that, Byrne in the last 70s-mid 80s.

[CoolZed]

These characters right here.

Marvel's first family.


A combination of no direction, a string of runs that didn't connect and their roles in the MU being supplanted by other characters.

Tony Stark has replaced Reed as the smartest and go-to guy in the Marvel Universe.

Sue Richards has always gotten the shaft when it came to relevance. Sadly, both her and Jean Grey haven't been given anything to do in decades.

Johnny is running with the Uncanny Inhumans now, but I don't think anyone ever connected with him the way people did/do with Peter Parker or other flash young heroes.

Time for a riddle. What has 20 legs and comes in assorted colors?
Answer that and you'll know why Ben Grimm doesn't matter anymore.


Hickman's FF was the last time in recent memory the FF really made a difference and had direction and before that, Byrne in the last 70s-mid 80s.

Byrne !!!! BYRNE !!!!!

Ok I'm a Byrne fan.

I've got an idea... hire John Byrne and revive the awesome 80's FF run. Nothing topped that in my book. The recent Mark Bagley run almost came close... and finished in a huge explosion of crap.

[Johnny Peril]

Didn't she die? I thought that the original had to step back into the armor.

As far as I know, no, but I did a Wiki search and they have her listed as working for the Mandarin who furnished her with new armor in Iron-Man #513,#516,#522. I read those issues and they never show her face nor does Mandarin supply her with armor so I'm assuming that is a different Dynamo and Galina is just not being used.


Invincible Iron Man (2008) #516

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Teenagers Rory and Pandora want to pull Alan Davis's family of extra-normal outsiders into the world of heroes and villains, little knowing that MODOK and AIM are waiting for them! Centuries-old patriarch Adam Destine knows the disastrous duo has a lot to learn about power and responsibility. http://happybday.to/Alan-Davis

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KILLRAVEN BY ALAN DAVIS

Story/Art: Alan Davis
Inks: Mark Farmer | Colors: Gregory Wright | Letters: Pat Prentice
Assistant Editors: Marc Sumerak & Andy Schmidt | Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada | President: Bill Jemas

I had become a fan of Alan Davis by the time his KILLRAVEN limited series was first published in 2002, but I did not know who or what a "Killraven" was, so I passed on it at the time. But thanks to Marvel Digital Unlimited, I finally took some time to read the six-issue limited series earlier this year. As noted, I was totally unfamiliar with the Killraven character when the series came out, but I had since learned that he debuted in Marvel's adaptation of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. I've still never read another comic with him, though, so I have no idea if Davis's story is a sequel, a reboot, or a reimagining -- but I can confirm that it's a very fun read.

I like post apocalyptic stories about small groups traveling the land in search of something, and that's precisely what this is. When the tale begins, it is the "not-so-distant future" and Earth is enslaved by Martians. Our main characters are Raven (a.k.a. Killraven), M'Shulla, Carmilla, Hawk, and Skull. The former four are gladiators from the Martian slave pens, while Skull, older than the rest, was one of their attendants, who essentially raised and trained them. The group quickly takes on a boy named John, and this group forms the core of the story's cast.

Davis takes the approach of having each issue of the mini-series tell its own story in service to the larger arc. The first issue features Raven's band escaping from Martian controlled New York, detonating a bomb in their wake which destroys the city. Part two introduces a female bounty hunter named Mint Julep -- a green-skinned woman genetically created by the Martians -- who kidnaps our heroes. They escape with the aid of Julep's other prisoner, a pyrokinetic named Volcana -- but Julep manages to hang onto Volcana.

Subsequent issues deal with Raven's quest to rescue Volcana as repayment for her aid in the escape. The group travels to Washington D.C., where in the shadow of the ruins of the White House, they overthrow a human warlord and liberate his people. The next issue see a guide leading Raven's band into a Martian complex, where they rescue Volcana and befriend a lovable Martian genetic experiment named Grok. Issue 5 features the Martians' attempt to recapture Raven for study, due to the fact that he is immune to their telepathic powers. And the final story finds our heroes taking the fight to the Martians.

Through it all, Davis's art is as beautiful as ever. Again, I don't know how much of this is reimagined from the original WAR OF THE WORLDS series, but whether the designs for the Martians existed before or not, Davis brings his usual flair to the work, drawing a bizarre and occasionally disturbing menagerie of Martians and genetic experiments for Raven to battle. And it wouldn't be a real Alan Davis comic without buxom ladies and skimpy costumes for both genders, so there's plenty of that to be seen as well.

The panel designs are more experimental than anything I think I've seen from Davis in the past, possibly owing to this being a world where, it seems, anything can happen. Panels are jagged and crooked for action sequences, and there are rarely any traditionally structured and guttered grids to be seen. The lettering by Pat Prentice is equally creative, with some very nicely drawn sound effects during the battles.

Early chapters, while dark as you would expect such a world to be, present a sort of swashbuckling atmosphere which I appreciated. The later parts are grimmer, but no less intriguing. Raven is the typical "hero who was trained only to kill but never wants to kill again but is forced to keep killing to protect his loved ones", and while this is a cliched concept, and Davis even takes the expected out in the end of having Raven refuse to kill his final Martian enemies, I didn't mind it much. Is it also a cliche to say that something is a cliche for a reason? Because this sort of characterization is tried and true, and I think people respond to it.

I was a bit surprised, however, to see the Martians escape rather than face justice or die by their own hands or something. They're seen through the entire story as faceless masters who invaded Earth and enslaved humanity "just because". But then, deciding after Raven spares them that perhaps there's more to the human race than the savagery they'd originally seen, they simply free all their slaves and depart to think things over. It's kind of a disappointing ending. Granted, this is but one group of Martians and there are still others entrenched on Earth -- but just the same, the last minute humanization of the enemy, while an unexpected twist, also robs the reader of any sort of satisfying demise for that enemy.

But overall, the "post-apocalyptic nomad on a quest" angle works, the story is strong, the characters are interesting, and the artwork is gorgeous. As a stand-alone limited series, this is pretty good.

[BBally]

Has Faiza Hussein from MI13 made any other appearance since that series ended.

[Captain Wessex]

she appeared in the last X-Force series, by Si Spurrier. Alternate versions of her appeared in an AoU tie in and Secret Wars in the 'Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders' 2-issue mini.

[kaimaciel]

Frigga. I really, really, hate Freyja. She's cold, manipulative, only cares about Thor and is a huge hypocrite (those who read Journey into Mystery, Loki Agent of Asgard and Angela should know).

I don't care if she's a completely different character on The Mighty Thor or how the writers tried to turn her into a feminist martyr, I can't stand her. I wish they brought Frigga back or at least made her like the Frigga from the MCU, the caring yet badass mother who loves all her kids unconditionally.

[Charlie_1981]

I would love to see the same charming Sylvie Lushton from her first appearance not the actual generic loser villain that seems to be right now.

[Cthulhudrew]

There are some nice elements however, such as interesting revelations relating to the Shroud’s origin at the Temple of Kali, and the story does a good job of creating some good supporting characters for the Shroud—an aged mentor and two associates, named Cat and Mouse.

Just as a point of correction, Cat and Mouse weren't introduced during the Shroud's '94 limited series, but had been around since the 80's as part of his supporting cast. For some reason, the artists on that series decided to make them tremendously muscle-bound "action" support, rather than the regular joe characters they'd always been. (Just one of several issues I have with that series.)

I really like the Shroud, but he's one character that has never really worked very well. He was a direct Batman homage character in his original appearance in Marvel Super-Villain Team-Up, and then they later ditched his gadgets and gave him some actual super powers, and gave him a backstory of being a hero masquerading as a villain to take them down from within. An interesting concept, but no Shroud story I've ever read really seems to explore what that means. How exactly does a guy masquerade as a villain without undertaking villainous acts themselves? At some point, wouldn't he either have to get his hands dirty or else risk no one in the villain community taking him seriously? And how often can the people he works with have their plans derailed or go to prison before someone gets wise? It seemed like a concept that no writer really wanted to delve into, and just used as a hook to have a "misunderstood superhero fight and eventual team-up" story.

I'd love to see someone take a real, genuine run at the character and explore that hero masquerading as villain concept, though.

(As an aside, I always felt that they really lost something with the character of Dansen Macabre, who was introduced as an assassin from a rival cult out to kill the Shroud, and then someone- Englehart, I believe- had her suddenly working for the Shroud as a part of the criminal Night Shift, with no explanation and no addressing why she suddenly gave up her mission. Not to mention that she wasn't exactly a criminal before- her only "crime" was trying to kill the Shroud, who was believed to be a criminal.)

[oasis1313]

I'd like to see Gambit out of mothballs.

[Johnny Peril]

Gambit was in the latest issue of Uncanny Avengers and I'm guessing he'll be seen in Civil War ll X-Men.

[Darth Phoenix]

Julia Carpenter was the only Spider-Woman I knew when I was a kid, and she was a compelling character to me. Now, she's barely a peripheral Spider-Man supporting character. Though I have since grown to like Jessica Drew as well, Julia Carpenter will always be Spider-Woman to me.

Every thing u said times 10 for me!!!!!!!

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1983 - The Micronauts by Jackson "Butch" Guice http://www.comicsreporter.com/index....y_butch_guice/