Here's a Closer Look at The Avengers' Thanos

We may have already gotten a glimpse of Thanos at the very end of Marvel's The Avengers, but thanks to the Blu-ray and DVD's Avengers Initiative: Marvel Second Screen Experience app, fans have been able to capture a few gems, including new closeups of the Mad Titan in all his menacing glory.

Check out the images below for a better look at The Avengers' big bad, as well as some never before seen set photos from the production (via ComicBookMovie):

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

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Secret Avengers #31 Review

Secret Avengers #30 offered readers a nice little swerve by making Taskmaster, rather than Max Fury, become the wielder of the three-piece crown the Shadow Council have been lusting after all this time. Either way, the outcome is bad for the Secret Avengers, as the malignant force known as Abyss is threatening to spread across the globe and consume everything. And only Venom and Ant-Man are left standing in the field. Much like Uncanny X-Force, Rick Remender is a master of pitting his heroes against insurmountable odds.

The Venom/Ant-Man dynamic proves to be one of the highlights of this arc. They're easily the most psychologically damaged of the various team members, and their mutual lack of trust in each other adds a fun edge to their retaliatory attack. The fact that the reader has no idea when Ant-Man might suddenly give up his facade and betray the team adds an extra tinge of drama.

But as has always been the case with this story, it's the pencils of Matteo Scalera that are the main draw. Scalera has really exploded onto the superhero scene with this series. His pencils offer all the gritty darkness one would expect from the seedy underbelly of the Marvel Universe, but he balances that with a sense of style and energy that give the book a distinctly different feel from the past two years' worth of stories.

If there are any complaints to be had with the series right now, it's that it doesn't seem overly interested in functioning as a team book. Many of the Avengers are out of the picture and/or brainwashed, leaving only a handful with any significant screen time. The new Masters of Evil are a disappointment as well. They've become nothing more than recognizable vessels for Abyss to speak through. Still, there's enough drama and intriguing character dynamics, as well as fantastic art, to keep the arc humming along.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following Jesse on Twitter, or on IGN.

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Avengers vs. X-Men #12 Preview

The end is finally here. Marvel's latest huge event is coming to an end in a few weeks, as the Avengers and X-Men finally unite against Cyclops Dark Phoenix, fresh off dealing a death blow to a rather important figurehead.

Written by Jason Aaron with art from Adam Kubert, Avengers vs. X-Men #12 shows all signs of bringing the series out with a bang. Look for it on October 3.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

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Comic Book Reviews for 9/12/12

It was inevitable, really. Death was going to strike Avengers vs. X-Men sooner or later, and so here we are. We won't spoil it here, but head over to our big interview with Brian Bendis if you want to get the scoop on the events of AvX #11. If you want to know if it's any good, well then keep on truckin'.

Also this week: the Bat-family gets a whole bunch of issue zeroes, the Rocketeer continues to amaze, and Uncanny X-Force continues to depress. What a week.

DC COMICS

Batgirl #0

Written by Gail Simone | Art by Ed Benes

"Right off the bat (heh) I can say that Batgirl #0 is chock full of fan-service moments, but I’m pleased to say that it’s not at the expense of the story. You’ll see Dick Grayson as Robin, references to Killing Joke, and even some delicious creeper moments for James Jr., but Gail Simone never once loses site of Babs and her motivations for becoming Batgirl in the first place. She creates a refreshing scenario in which we get to see her birth as a crime fighter, all the while lacing the issue with a strong thematic hook that culminates in one hell of a punchline." -Joey

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

7.5

Batman #0

Written by Scott Snyder | Art by Greg Capullo

"Batman #0 is kind of a strange beast. It seems to serve as a precursor to the upcoming Death of the Family in that it explores the old Red Hood and his gang – where Scott Snyder suggests that this is indeed a pre-chemical bath Joker -- but it ends with a disappointing 'to be continued in 2013' without any resolution. To that end, on its own, Batman #0 doesn’t really feel like a complete story, instead just snippets of some great character moments for Bruce Wayne, Alfred, and Jim Gordon. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in here, but I suspect this issue will read better once the full context is known." -Joey

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.0

Batman and Robin #0

Written by Peter Tomasi | Art by Patrick Gleason

"Before we begin, let me just say that if you’re focused on figuring out how Damian could be 10 when Batman’s only been operating for 5-6 years, then stop. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Batman and Robin #0 is an endearing look at young Damian’s early days under the tutelage of his mother, leading directly into the events of Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son. It’s not exactly a fresh start for new readers, but longtime fans that hold Morrison’s work close to their heart will get goosebumps hitting this issue’s final page to relive one his run’s best moments." -Joey

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.0

Before Watchmen: Comedian #3

Written by Brian Azzarello | Art by J.G. Jones

"For better or worse, Brain Azzarello seems less interested in replicating the tone and feel of the original Watchmen series with his two Before Watchmen books. But while Before Watchmen: Comedian is less redundant than it might have been, it also isn't managing to provide a compelling narrative or a cohesive look at what makes this dark vigilante tick." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.0

Demon Knights #0

Written by Paul Cornell | Art by Bernard Chang

"Demon Knights #0 is not technically a bad comic book. It's well written and nicely drawn. It boasts a nice flow, with some interesting scenes. Unfortunately, it is also completely and totally unnecessary. It jumps back in time, like most of these DC zero issues, and gives us a glimpse into a time before The Demon Knights story started. This means that the book is devoid of some of the series' best characters and lacks any kind of meaningful story. It feels like an editorial mandate, and that's probably because it no doubt was." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

7.0

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #0

Written by Matt Kindt | Art by Alberto Ponticelli

"Frankenstein is a series I enjoyed as the New 52 relaunch kicked off but eventually fell behind on. Luckily, Matt Kindt's approach to issue #0 is one that welcomes new and lapsed readers. This completely standalone tale focuses on the creation of Victor Frankenstein's monster and the early battles that shaped him into the sword-slinging hero he is today." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.0

Green Lantern Corps #0

Written by Peter Tomasi | Art by Fernando Pasarin

"'I’ve seen more blood and guts and severed heads in the DC Universe in the past year than I have in quite some time.' That’s what my editor Joey Esposito said in his retrospective on DC’s New 52, a sentiment that couldn’t be felt more in Green Lantern Corps and bears exceptional truth in this zero issue. But after the beheadings, impalings, and bisections, Peter J. Tomasi writes one hell of a Guy Gardner origin story." -Joshua

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.0

Grifter #0

Written by Rob Liefeld | Art by Scott Clark

"This book could be made into a four-page short. It also happens to be approximately the same plot of this month’s Superboy #0. In all honesty, the most entertainment that I mined from this book was Rob Liefeld’s hilariously bad cover. For a good laugh, find a copy and check out Grifter’s left thumb, right triceps, right legs, and right hand. Just don’t buy it." -Poet

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

4.0

Legion Lost #0

Written by Tom DeFalco | Art by Pete Woods

"Legion Lost #0 is a pretty standard origin story for the most interesting character in the title, supplying enough action and drama for the title to transition smoothly into its next issue. Timber Wolf receives a solid retelling of his backstory and motivation for his career as a vigilante/Legion member. In the end, Tom DeFalco’s story is enough to justify this issue’s existence, but it’s unlikely to be your favorite book this week." -Poet

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

7.0

The Ravagers #0

Written by Howard Mackie | Art by Ian Churchill

"Ravagers #0 takes the more straightforward approach to the Zero Month concept, flashing back to Beast Boy and Terra's origins as prisoners in the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. program. Howard Mackie aims to reveal how their bond developed in the face of great hardship and suffering. It's a nice idea, but the issue fails to offer any sense of progression. The characters barely encounter each other before Terra is throwing herself in the line of fire to protect Garth. There should have been more focus on the duo and less on Harvest and his minions explaining the nature of Garth and Tara's powers. Generally, Mackie's writing style is best suited to more family-friendly superhero fare. The pointless exposition and the overuse of technical jargon and scientific buzzwords do little to make this feel like a smart, science fiction-oriented superhero book." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

5.0

Resurrection Man #0

Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning | Art by Ramon Bachs & Jesus Saiz

"It's a fair question to ask why Resurrection Man needs a #0 issue when the entire series has been devoted to slowly shedding light on Mitch Shelley's mysterious past and the nature of his powers. But with DC bringing the series to an end this month, Resurrection Man #0 is more a patch designed to tie up all the loose ends as quickly and neatly as possible. Unsurprisingly, that makes for an underwhelming finish to the series." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

5.0

Suicide Squad #0

Written by Adam Glass | Art by Fernando Dagnino

"Amanda Waller is certainly getting a lot of attention in the New 52. Though her old Team 7 is making its debut this week as well, Suicide Squad #0 picks up promptly after that team meets its end – something that apparently rubs The Wall the wrong way. While we presumably have quite a while to see the events referenced play out, writer Adam Glass makes it clear that Team 7 didn’t exactly leave Waller in a good place. For its length, Glass does a fair job of establishing the setting of this issue and the relationship of Waller and new character Duren. The book is brisk, but uses careful dialogue to allot for space constraints. However, as solid as the setup might be, the conclusion is lacking." -Joey

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.5

Superboy #0

Written by Tom DeFalco | Art by RB Silva & Rob Lean

"Fans of exposition and recapitulation get ready. This book is chock full of it. If you’ve followed the series, you will learn next to nothing. Superboy #0 is a filler issue if ever there was one. Yes, Tom DeFalco’s script does add a bit of backstory, strange as it is. Sadly, the greater part of the book is a rehash of the first few issues of the series. Worse, there is an epic, grating voiceover/monologue by Harvest that lasts almost the entire issue. It does explain how Harvest fits into the whole convoluted scheme, but it fails to register as interesting." -Poet

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

5.0

Team 7 #0

Written by Justin Jordan | Art by Jesus Merino

"The original Team 7 series is a book I have fond memories of. It's probably not quite as good as I remember it, but it was a cool little series that explored the nasty roots of the Wildstorm Universe. It showed that everything was connected and that many of the characters had darker, more violent pasts than we had previously imagined. The new Team 7 book is nothing like that. It's generic, sluggish, and boring. It really shares only one thing with the original book and that's the title." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

5.0

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Avengers Assemble #7 Review

Avengers Assemble is a solid Cosmic Marvel series but a disappointing Avenegrs series. When you consider how many Avengers books there are on the stands, that's not the worst thing in the world. Issue #7 is easily at its strongest when the Avengers are relegated to the background and the cosmic characters take over. Brian Bendis opens the issue with a cool scene involving Thanos confronting the various cosmic bigwigs of the Marvel Universe. The Thanos in this series takes some getting used to, as he doesn't really seem to reflect any of the changes the character went through during Annihilation and War of Kings. Still, there's a definite appeal in seeing the old power hungry, unstoppable Mad Titan back in action.

Elsewhere, the issue follows the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy in their escalating battle with the Badoon. There's some fun banter to be had involving the Guardians, as their snarky team dynamic is practically tailor-made for Bendis. But with the story reaching this level of scale, the Avengers are doing little more than getting in the way. The same problems with uneven character voices remain. Thor is the primary offender this month, as he seems to hop back and forth between his old-school, faux-Shakespearean speech and a more contemporary dialect.

At least the emphasis is less on dialogue and more on action this month. Bendis writes a fun, mostly silent sequence that sees the Avengers trapped in the vacuum of space. Unfortunately, Mark Bagley doesn't do enough to bring this sequence to life. His pencils continue to appear very loose and rushed, and neither the inks nor the colors do anything to breathe more life into the page.

Bendis would have a potentially much more interesting and enjoyable story on his hands if he were just writing a Guardians of the Galaxy comic. And perhaps one day he will be, and the Avengers will just have been a necessary evil in order to help provide causal readers a stepping stone into the Marvel cosmos. That still doesn't excuse this series for its storytelling shortcomings.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Death Comes for an Icon in Avengers vs. X-Men #11

Warning -- this article contains full spoilers for Avengers vs. X-Men #11!

Most event comics can be broken down into a series of watershed moments. Civil War had the debut of the Superhuman Registration Act, the unmasking of Spider-Man, and the assassination of Captain America. Fear Itself had the breaking of Captain America's shield and the (apparent) deaths of Bucky Barnes and Thor.

And Avengers vs. X-Men has its own watershed moments. There was the original spark that ignited a war between the two teams. There was the pivotal moment when Hope refused the power of the Phoenix Force and it was divided among five of the X-Men. And now, as issue #11 hits the stands and the final battle between the Avengers and the X-Men begins, there's another major development that may come to define the event for many readers.

Last chance -- don't continue if you don't want to be spoiled!!!

That moment comes when Cyclops finally gives in to the corrupting influence of the Phoenix and kills his former mentor, Professor Xavier. Though the body count in AvX has been zero so far (unless you count the death of the briefly resurrected Captain Marvel), the writers changed that in a big way this week. We were able to sit down with both writer Brian Michael Bendis and Marvel Senior Editor Tom Brevoort to discuss the big death and how it will impact Marvel's post-AvX plans.

Brevoort noted that the decision to kill Xavier came fairly late in the planning process. "We didn't start out looking for someone to kill or having a hit list or anything. In fact, the discussion about killing Xavier went back and forth for a good, long while as we were dealing with the middle point. The five guys who were working on this weren't always of one accord. By the end of it, one writer was still regretful that we ended up going this way. He was just out-voted by the rest of the group." He continued, "It was such a visceral thing. Their relationship was so Shakespearean that it proved, at least in our estimation, that it was the direction the story needed to go."

Brevoort laid much of the credit/blame for the decision on Bendis himself, saying that Bendis and Jason Aaron "did a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of outlining the super-structure of AvX. Brian is sort of the main Avengers guy, and Jason was the guy most currently heavy in the X-Men world. It made sense for them to do a lot of our outline process and run those outlines by the other three writers and have them vetted."

Bendis said, "I was moving into the X-office, and I was surprised how out of the loop Xavier was. He wasn't really a part of the plans or any books going on. It just seemed to me, and maybe it's because I'm a father, but his point of view was one of the most interesting. I kept pushing for it, and they were like, 'Well, he's not in any of these books right now.' And then we started talking about why Xavier had outgrown the X-Men franchise. He wasn't really part of it. I thought that was interesting. Is he more interesting now in death than he was in life? Does the idea of him being sacrificed to all of this make the X-Men as characters that much more interesting? And if so, what kinds of stories can we get out of it? And that's when the serious talks started happening."

Bendis pointed out that the issue leaves room for interpretation as far as whether Xavier willingly allowed himself to perish in battle. "Does he do an Obi-Wan and just close his eyes, or does he fight to the death? I kind of have it up to interpretation. This didn't happen privately – this happened in front of the entire Marvel Universe. So a lot of people are going to have a lot of interpretations about what they saw and what it means. That is certainly something to consider. Even if he fought to the death, does he somehow know that, either way, he might win? Is this the final thing he could give to the X-Men – his final sacrifice?"

Towards the end of Grant Morrison's New X-Men run, Xavier chided Magneto with this speech: "The worst thing you ever did was come back, Erik. Magneto had become a legend in death, an inspiration for change. Now look at you -- just another foolish and self-important old man with outdated thoughts in his head. You have nothing this generation of mutants wants... except your face on a T-shirt."

We asked Brevoort if the same was now true for Xavier, and if he was more important to the mutant race now as a martyr rather than a living, active figure. "Especially with M-Day and with Cyclops coming to prominence as the new general of the X-Men, Xavier, by necessity was sort of forced to take a back seat and be off to the side. There can't be two chiefs... I don't know that I'd reduce Xavier to being better off dead than alive. He's a person with ideals and dreams and hopes and so forth. The power of this moment and what it means for Scott to strike him down, even in a moment of losing his cool, striking down the guy that was essentially his father. Xavier took him from being a guy who was homeless and had these uncontrollable optic blasts and gave him a life to live in and surrounded him with friends and got rid of his loneliness and gave him purpose and a cause to believe in so strongly that Cyclops took it to this point... As a moment or a capstone or the beginning of the end for the journey of Scott Summers, it was a necessary, important beat."

Throughout the latter two acts of this event, the Phoenix Five have fought a losing battle against the influence of the Phoenix Force. The question now is whether Cyclops is wholly responsible for the death of Xavier, or if he had finally been consumed by his newfound power. Though obviously neither Bendis nor Brevoort could definitively reveal whether Cyclops survives the final battle in issue #12, the question of his culpability will be addressed in short order. Bendis said, "I'm getting right into that in my new series, because a lot of people have very specific ideas about just how much he is to blame for what has happened, including himself. That's a question we're going to explore throughout the book, and writing a character in this situation is just about as interesting a challenge as I could have as a writer. This is as big a hole as you can dig for yourself. Let's say the Phoenix was completely responsible and Scott wasn't in his right mind. How do you live with that?"

For Bendis, one of the benefits to launching a new X-Men series after AvX is the opportunity to explore the ramifications of Xavier's death. He said, "I'm coming into the X-books with a lot of notoriety. In a positive or negative way, I don't know. It was weird with House of M, particularly with Wolverine's memories, to put such a giant piece of storytelling out into the world, yet not be the one who takes it to the next step." he continued, "But now, at least with Xavier -- and a lot of this is happening after AvX -- I'll be able to be one of the guys following through on the promises made in the event. And as I've discovered over the years, that's really the best part."

The X-Men franchise entered a new status quo last year in the wake of Jason Aaron's Schism mini-series. Where once the mutant community was split in its support of Xavier or Magneto, now Cyclops and Wolverine became the two opposing figureheads in the struggle for mutant survival. Another common question regarding AvX as been how the event will affect this status quo. With many of the X-Men now united with the Avengers against Cyclops and Emma Frost, is the schism healed? Bendis said, "There's definitely a sense of unity, but if you pay close attention, it's not every X-Man. Only the ones who want to team up are there. And what they witness when they show up is not what they signed up for. They didn't go there to see Xavier be murdered. And how they all react to that and what they do next will be the stuff we deal with afterward. And on top of that, even though some of them agreed to team up for this fight, they may not like how the fight went. They may not like the aftermath and depart soon afterward. So there won't be what you've called a schism or a civil war. There will be lots of characters with different points of view to push forward. And I think the audience is going to gravitate naturally to who they agree with or who's got the most interesting point of view in all of this."

Bendis also elaborated on how Xavier's death will impact the course of All-New X-men, specifically how the five original X-Men respond to the discovery. "I'm certainly excited that this element of the story is finally revealed to the public. One of the big questions since we announced what All-New X-Men is partially going to be about is 'Well, what about Xavier? How does this happen?' With the death of Xavier, people can start to put together 'Oh, that's why they're here.' This is Days of Future Past to the original X-Men. This is a nightmare. Xavier is gone and Scott killed him? This is definitely worth pursuing from the eyes of the original X-Men. Now people can see where we're coming from a little better. Here's the original five. Now imagine you're Cyclops and you're at your most idealistic in the original days of the X-Men, and you come here to find out it all goes to hell. And how do the other four feel? Can Jean possibly still love Scott when she discovers what he's capable of becoming?"

Brevoort directed readers to All-New X-Men and Uncanny Avengers as the two primary books to deal with the fallout of Xavier's death, as well as the AvX: Consequences mini-series. "Xavier's death is going to have a greater impact than just AvX #11. It's going to be a central point in all the material Brian has coming out during Marvel NOW!. It's part of All-New X-Men. It's certainly going to be a central, motivating factor in Uncanny Avengers. Xavier's funeral is going to be in Uncanny Avengers #1, so it's the big kick-off of that. You're going to see it reflected throughout the Marvel line, at least for now."

Avengers vs. X-Men #12 will wrap up the event on October 3rd, while Uncanny Avengers #1 will hit the following week. All-New X-Men #1 is currently scheduled for release on November 7th.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Remender Confirms Exit from Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers

Though it's been suspected since the announcement of Uncanny Avengers, Rick Remender confirmed today via Twitter that he'll be leaving Uncanny X-Force and Secret Avengers. Remender's final issue of X-Force will be the conclusion to Final Execution in issue #35 -- which will also serve as the series finale.

As for Secret Avengers, he'll be wrapping his run with issue #37, but seemed to give no indication that the series itself was ending. Presumably a new team will be revealed soon.

Remender tweeted:

Yes, unfortunately my time on UXF is coming to an end. It's like a friend told me, "Know when to get off the stage."

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

Lots of the UXF story threads I set up are moving to Uncanny Avengers. And the people involved in the series moving forward are ACES.

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

Yes, my SECRET AVENGERS ends at issue 37. But we still have the best to come in the finales of SA and UXF. We're going out loudly on both.

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

Though his tweet mentions that there are people involved in the series after he leaves, I assume he's referencing the rumored X-Force relaunch for Marvel NOW!.

The writer also told CBR in an interview, "Hopefully, I'll be able to stick a nice landing with Final Execution and people will really enjoy it, so the series will never have that part where it tapered and stopped being as good. That's the upshot. You do your best work -- and we all have -- and then you wrap things up and walk away from it."

But hey, it's nice knowing that a lot of the threads will be continuing on into Uncanny Avengers. Until then, strap in for the ride of your life on the road to Uncanny X-Force's end.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

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