Runaways Appreciation 2018

[Beetle]

Hope for crossover rising

[Wiccan]

Hope for crossover rising

This picture makes me feel so many things...

[Personamanx]

Nice, I can't wait to see who they cast as Reginald Mantz.

Also issue #17 is coming out on Wednesday. This short breaks between some issues always throw me off.

[Drops Of Venus]

Hope for crossover rising

I'm not getting my hopes 100% up yet, because I remember we've had a photo shoot between actors of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Netflix big 4, but that didn't lead to any actual crossover. It could be just another symbolic shoot to promote the Marvel Television shows, but yeah, I would love a crossover at some point.

[Personamanx]

Would anyone else like the Runaways to do some actual hero-ing again one day? I've been digging the latest volume, but I also liked it when they were shown actually fighting crimes during the Second, and Third series. Admittedly that was never really the focus, but their fight against the Wrecking Crew is a classic, and I'd be interested in the possibility of more scenes like that.

[Beetle]

Would anyone else like the Runaways to do some actual hero-ing again one day? I've been digging the latest volume, but I also liked it when they were shown actually fighting crimes during the Second, and Third series. Admittedly that was never really the focus, but their fight against the Wrecking Crew is a classic, and I'd be interested in the possibility of more scenes like that.

This volume has been great as a character study, and for developing them and their relationships. But the supervillain fights have been a bit lackluster. They've mostly just been fighting whoever has shown up at their literal doorstep. It's just not as engaging to watch them fight Molly's grandma or a perpetual 13 year old.

I mean I get it, they aren't the Avengers or the Champions, they aren't trying to save the world. But they used to feel responsible for the power vacuum in LA, they protected the city and its people.
I guess that's harder to justify now that there's the West Coast Avengers, but if New York can have dozens of heroes, the Avengers Mansion, the Baxter Building and the Xavier institute in Central Park, LA has room for 2 different teams.

[Snoop Dogg]

Abigail is the best Runaways villain. I demand that she return with a minigun. Plz.

[Fokken]

Would anyone else like the Runaways to do some actual hero-ing again one day? I've been digging the latest volume, but I also liked it when they were shown actually fighting crimes during the Second, and Third series. Admittedly that was never really the focus, but their fight against the Wrecking Crew is a classic, and I'd be interested in the possibility of more scenes like that.

My wish list for the Runaways is LONG. Ridiculously so.

A smidgen of what I hope to see in their (ideally immediate) future includes:

More Action. Yes. Even if its just circumstantial and not outright sought after.
Reunion with some (or all) of the Young Avengers.
(further) Confirmation / revisitation / restoration of XAVIN.
Victor's body looking less like an erector set and more like a body-body.
Molly / Honeybadger ONE SHOT (in the vein of her previous quasi-one shot when she was collard'ed by that weirdo Provost) -- maybe dealing with the resolution to her clone-Mom since Honeybadger (and X-23) are actively tending to excess cloning etc etc.
I would absolutely DIE to have Billy try to help Nico resolve her magic-contract with the Staff of One.
It would be fun to see them interact with the Champions, or some of Nico's former A-Force crew -- particularly She Hulk & Dazzler.
MOAR Doom Bot (but definitely not excessive because the peppering of DB is all part of his charm)

[Sutekh]

I would absolutely DIE to have Billy try to help Nico resolve her magic-contract with the Staff of One.

IMO, one of the annoying parts about the Runaways being primarily a group, and not getting much individual focus, is that Nico particularly has felt like she has never really gotten fleshed out as regards her 'place' in the supernatural side of the Marvel universe. She's got a supremely powerful magical artifact, of the sort that Sorcerer Supreme-sorts like Dr. Strange are *supposed* to be keeping an eye on, or under lock and key, but instead, he's letting a teenager with *no magical training* run around with it. That's just bad precedent. They should have met long ago. Obviously it wouldn't do for him to just take it away from her and throw it in a warded closet somewhere, and the story of her proving that she has what it takes to use it responsibly pretty much writes itself, but has never *been* written.

Plus, logically, she should, at some point, have learned some real magic, of at least a minor 'barely a super-power' sort (so that she'd still be counting on the Staff in extreme situations, no force fields and generic magic zaps, certainly no teleporting, just glamour away a zit, change your clothes, light some candles with a snap of your fingers atmospheric magic). I would very much like for Nico to have at least some rudimentary spellcasting training, *and* some at least peripheral contact with the 'supernatural community' of 616. It wouldn't even have to be a big name like Dr. Strange, but could include less 'important' (or busy!) spellcasters like Salem's Seven or Jennifer Kale or Brother Voodoo or Hellstrom, or one's more her own age, like Sylvie Lushton or Pixie or Billy Kaplan or Sebastian Druid.

An untrained spellcaster / magic-user is, in the words of Tony Stark, 'an ACME dynamite kit with no instructions.' I don't like the lack of responsibility it shows on the part of *everyone else* that she's been allowed to run around untrained, for so long. It's just terribly convenient that she hasn't accidentally drawn the attention of Dormammu or D'Spayre or Nightmare or Mephisto yet, the kind of threats that are just waiting for somebody who has the potential (and lack of training) necessary to open a door or break a seal or speak certain words at the wrong time in the wrong place and end up calling up what they lack the knowledge necessary to put back down.

With Nico, I feel that *her* story has taken a back seat to the relationship drama of the group as a whole. That was fine, for the first year or so, but eventually it's going to go noticed that she's been running around with the arcane equivalent of a nuke all this time, and not even the most rudimentary idea what to do if the thing starts beeping....

OTOH, Billy Kaplan would not be my first choice for Nico's 'magical study buddy,' if only because there *needs* to be a 'Skrulls stuck on Earth' support group including Teddy, Xavin and Lyja (among others?), and *that* should serve as the connective thread between the Runaways and the Young Avengers.

Plus Billy knows, if anything, even less about 'real magic' than Nico, although it could be amusing to see her take umbrage at his use of the name of her religion for his superhero identity!

[Mike_Murdock]

Thanks for the info.

spoilers:

I'm a little worried that they're gonna go the safe way and just have Xavin be a ''default female'' because it's easier for some people to digest the story that way. I hated when Joss Whedon attempted to do that in the comics and I don't want a rehash in live-action. Let them be genderfluid/non-binary, for gods' sake!

end of spoilers

These threads are going to be virtually unreadable with all the spoiler code, but I suppose that's somewhat inevitable.

spoilers:

Here's what I will say in defense of Joss Whedon here. There were a lot of people complaining that it seemed Xavin was just "pretending" to be female to make Karolina happy. In Skrull form, Xavin defaulted to male appearance and, in other circumstances, did the same thing. Brian K. Vaughan said it would be addressed but he preferred to let his work speak for itself. Soon after, Xavin was shown not really knowing who they were. When Whedon took over, he continued that confusion but essentially had Xavin resolve it by identifying as female. It didn't read to me so much as taking a genderfluid character and making her female as taking a character who wasn't sure how to associate with human gender customs and finally coming to a decision. At least, in my mind, it didn't write out the possibility of exploring this further.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Just looked up and the race actually exists in the comics, but they have nothing to do with Skrull mythology at all. Not even sure if the show knew about this or came up with the same name by chance. http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Xartans

end of spoilers

For what it's worth, there are at least similarities:

spoilers:

Both the Skrulls and the Xartans are Deviants so, while not genetically related, they share a connection via the Celestials. They're also both shapeshifters. I'd have preferred that they went with Skrulls but my guess is the movies have first dibs and they didn't want to do otherwise. That being said, they could have left it ambiguous until next season. I am glad they didn't go with a new race instead but did draw from comics with something that fits.

end of spoilers

Anyway, my thoughts on this season:

spoilers:

I enjoyed it a lot. My only complaint is the cliffhanger. This season was basically one and a half seasons with the first season being seven episodes and the second season not over yet. The first half was more structured, but the second half brought back some of the dynamics of the first season with the kids vs. the parents rather than kids vs. Jonah. Molly was certainly the most fun character but every character was enjoyable. We even got some dynamics you never see much in the comics - Alex and Chase hanging out was really cool. Actually, Chase had good interactions with everyone. I like that they brought the relationships forward but gave them setbacks as well. The reveal towards the end sets up some interesting dynamics going forward. Karolina having a younger brother will provide some good opportunities. Xavin will hopefully rescue some people. Since she's not a Super Skrull in training, she doesn't have any other powers besides shapeshifting. Probably the biggest thing is having another alien inside one of the kids will provide an opportunity for one of them to be a traitor without permanently destroying the team.

end of spoilers

For next season, I'd love to see Victor. It seems like he could be a Robot built by Victor Stein to infiltrate the group. This is assuming they downplay the Ultron connection, although it's always possible to subtly reference it.

[Fokken]

True, Sutekh.
I mean, I did say TRY to help.LOL I didn't say he was an expert. Nico IS prone to terrible ideas after all.
REAL TALK: I just want them (Billy and Nico) to interact in any capacity again. ha ha ha.

[Captain M]

I'd like some kids from avengers arena to guess star in an issue.

[Personamanx]

This volume has been great as a character study, and for developing them and their relationships. But the supervillain fights have been a bit lackluster. They've mostly just been fighting whoever has shown up at their literal doorstep. It's just not as engaging to watch them fight Molly's grandma or a perpetual 13 year old.

I mean I get it, they aren't the Avengers or the Champions, they aren't trying to save the world. But they used to feel responsible for the power vacuum in LA, they protected the city and its people.
I guess that's harder to justify now that there's the West Coast Avengers, but if New York can have dozens of heroes, the Avengers Mansion, the Baxter Building and the Xavier institute in Central Park, LA has room for 2 different teams.

Maybe they feel like they don't owe Los Angeles anything anymore after what they've been through, and some serious wins. But it'd be nice to see it at least acknowledged. Going from routine crime fighting to only dealing with problems as they show up at their door is a fairly big change for them.

I guess California has its fair share of heroes now, more so than back in the early 2000s but all I'm asking for is an arc starring Ana Kravinoff trying to kill Old Lace for reasons.

Molly / Honeybadger ONE SHOT (in the vein of her previous quasi-one shot when she was collard'ed by that weirdo Provost) -- maybe dealing with the resolution to her clone-Mom since Honeybadger (and X-23) are actively tending to excess cloning etc etc.

I'd be all for that. We're still just under the assumption that SHIELD has Alice locked up somewhere, and I'd like to come back to it. Having X-23/Honey Badger how up for a team up only makes sense in that regard. I don't know how Chase/Nico would react to seeing Laura, but I think it could all come together nicely. Tamaki's X-23 series is one of the few monthly comics Rowell has consistently praised on twitter so you never know.

[Fokken]

Beg yer pardon? WHAAAA?

SHIELD has Alice locked up????

[Personamanx]

Beg yer pardon? WHAAAA?

SHIELD has Alice locked up????

Presumably, I mean they agreed to call up SHIELD/The Avengers when they were simmering down in the backyard. I don't know where else both Grandma, and Alice would be.