Saturday, August 25, 2012

Top 10 Fictional Organizations


There are a ton of made-up organizations in fiction – ranging from associations, to clubs, to guilds, to institutes, to societies, etc.  In picking the ten that interest me most, there are several factors I considered, which includes but not limited to: having many members (because the word “organization” gives me the feeling of necessarily having many members, while the words “team” and “group” just a few); diverseness of members; perks of membership; having a unique and interesting purpose; and should not be a superhero team (since that can be another available category to make a list out of someday).  

10.) A.E.G.I.S.

A.E.G.I.S. or Alien Exterminating Global Intercept System is a secret organization whose purpose is to combat Invaders, alien/interdimensional beings that intend to conquer the world, who are secretly living among the unaware human populace.  The most valuable agents of A.E.G.I.S. are called Gate Keepers, teenagers who has the ability to tap superpowers from another dimension through opening “gates.”   The Gate Keepers’ powers are the only weapons that can permanently neutralize Invaders.  Since the Gate Keepers (of Japan) are teenagers, the agency enrolled them at Tategami High School, which is the front for the headquarters (which is hidden underground it) of the Far East Branch of A.E.G.I.S., and thus, the agency can conveniently contact, summon and send the Gate Keepers on missions.  The best thing I liked about A.E.G.I.S. is their salute of “Roger, Aegis” while doing the motion of putting a fist against the chest, then doing a peace-sign.            

9.) FAIRY TAIL

As the titular guild of the popular Fairy Tail manga/anime, it is the strongest guild in the country of Fiore.  Though, the guild lost this reputation after significantly weakening after their strongest members went on a 7-year hiatus (thought to be dead, but were actually in time suspension).  The guild is slowly gaining their reputation back in the current arc.    

I greatly like how Fairy Tail members treat each other as family, and will protect them with their lives.  They have a strong bond with each other and have great pride for being members of Fairy Tail.  Members are diverse and interesting (former enemies are even recruited), but only the prominent and most powerful members have significant character development, thus, they are the only ones that I grew fond of.  My favorite members (there are other members I like, but these are the ones that I feel strongly for), in order of fondness, are Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, Laxus, Erza, Freed, Mystogan (I hope Jellal would permanently adopt the Mystogan identity), Juvia, Pantherlily, Gildartz, Lucy, Makarov, Elfman, Loki, and Bickslow.       

8.) GREEN LANTERN CORPS

Though there are Green Lanterns who are technically superheroes (those from Earth), the Corps, however, is not a superhero team per se.  Rather, the Green Lanterns Corps is meant to be an intergalactic police force.  There are over 7,200 members policing 3,600 sectors across the galaxies.  The planet Oa is their headquarters, where the Central Power Battery – the energy source they derive their powers from – is located.   

Each Green Lantern is armed with a power ring that has been called “the most powerful weapon in the universe.”  The ring allows it wielder to fly, create force fields, and ability to travel with ease across the hostile environments of space.  But its main power is to project objects that have been imagined by its wielder – its potency only being limited by the wielder’s willpower.  A ring requires to be recharged through a Green Lantern’s personal battery (that looks like an old-fashioned, portable gas-fueled metal lantern) which directly derives power from the Central Power Battery.           

I had considered the Jedi Order as a likely candidate for a spot on this list.  But though Jedis are cool, with their Force mastery and lightsabers (especially this) and all that, I still find the Green Lanterns and their power rings cooler. 

7.) S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for “Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate” (formerly “Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division”) but “Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It is the elite, secret espionage and military organization in the Marvel Comics Universe.    The organization closely deals with matters of global threats, activities of superpowered individuals, major terrorism, and the like.  Agents are mostly normal (but well-trained) humans, but there are also a few superhumans employed.  S.H.I.E.L.D. works closely with superheroes (and even supervillains, on special cases), usually the Avengers, and asks their aid when needed.  The most famous head of S.H.I.E.L.D. is Nick Fury, one of the most badass fictional spooks ever, though, currently in the comics, he no longer is.  What I like most about S.H.I.E.L.D. is its most awesome and iconic asset: the Helicarrier, a flying aircraft carrier.      

6.) IMPOSSIBLE MISSIONS FORCE (IMF)

The IMF is the agency featured in the Mission: Impossible TV shows and movies.  The IMF is an independent espionage agency with the US government as their main client.  With the use of cons and high tech gadgetry, they often successfully accomplish a mission, leaving minimal, if any, trace of them being there.  IMF agents are very multi-talented and multi-skilled, with each member having an expertise in at least one area.  Most agents operate as “part-timers”, who has regular day jobs – models, lawyers, doctors, magicians, acrobats, field experts, etc. – with the skills and/or resources of their vocation usually relevant and invaluable for their missions.  Moreover, most of them are rich, making them very unlikely to bribe.

The briefings of their missions usually start with “Your mission, should you decide to accept it…”, since they can refuse a mission if they think it’s impossible to accomplish or it’s in conflict with their moral codes.  There are some agents, though, who are not allowed to refuse a mission.  Once they accept the mission and if they are compromised, killed, or captured, their clients are free to disown the agents and deny involvement.

No IMF agents made my top 10 spooks list, but, as a whole, they have the most awesome espionage agency in fiction.   

5.) DAMAGE CONTROL

Damage Control is a construction company in the Marvel Comics Universe that specializes in repairing property damage in the aftermath of conflicts among superheroes and supervillains.  Do I need to say more why is this organization extremely interesting?            

4.) GOTEI 13

The Gotei 13 is the military arm of Soul Society.  Gotei 13’s members are called Shinigamis or “death gods.”  In Bleach mythos, Shinigamis are kimono-wearing, samurai-like warriors who serve as guides of souls, protectors of Souls Society, and exterminators of Hollows – corrupted souls of deceased humans after failing to cross over to Soul Society.  A Shinigami’s primary weapon is his Zanpakutō.  Zanpakutōs are sentient souls that take the initial appearance of a katana, with each one having a unique transformation and set of abilities when released by its Shinigami.  Bankai is the ultimate form of the Zanpakutō, and is one of the things that make Bleach interesting.    

The Gotei 13 is made up of 13 divisions.  Each division has slightly over 200 Shinigamis, thus Gotei 13 has a total of about 3,000 soldiers.  In the 200 Shinigamis of a division, the strongest 20 are officers or having “seats”.  The 1st Seat belongs to the Captain, the most powerful and the leader of the division, and, usually, the only one in the division who has a Bankai (but not all the time, because there are at least three non-captains who know Bankai).  The 2nd Seat belongs to the Vice-Captain or Lieutenant, the second strongest and the supervisor of the division’s day-to-day activities.  The rest of the seats – 3rd to 20th – have no established or mentioned military ranks but are analogous to junior officers or non-commissioned officers in real life.  The overall leader of Gotei 13 is the Captain of the first division, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, thus he has the sole title of Captain-Commander.         

3.) G.I. JOE

G.I. Joe is based on a line of action figures, but Marvel Comics created an awesome comic book series out of the property (like what they did with Transformers).  And a classic animated TV series was also made out of it during the 80’s.  The perfect description of this organization is from the TV series' intro's narration: "G.I. Joe is the code name for America's daring, highly trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world."  I loved how G.I. Joe is a military organization that is an interesting mix of all Armed Forces-types, ninjas/martial artists, spooks, technical specialists, etc., with most of the members being based on stereotypes of a certain field or vocation – and, sometimes, not even necessarily military-related – and have code names that are puns of those stereotypes.
   
2.) MEN IN BLACK (MIB)

With my first encounter with MIB (through the first movie), the organization captivated me.  I became an avid fan of the movies and animated series (I haven’t encountered the original comicbook it’s based on though).  I remember that as a kid, I even played pretend that I was an MIB agent.  

Aliens are secretly mingling with humans on Earth and MIB is the secret organization that monitors and police alien activity on the planet. They also serve as Earth’s defense against intergalactic threats.  They make use of advanced alien technology and weaponry and other hardware.  

MIB is so secret that even the US government, which had a hand on its foundation, has no knowledge of its existence.  Therefore, MIB doesn’t receive federal funding.  Instead, they get their funding from owning patents of various alien technologies that they have introduced to the human market (like Velcro and liposuction), which have been released once they think humankind is ready for them.  

MIB’s most iconic and coolest gadget is the Neuralizer, which they use to preserve MIB and alien anonymity.  The Neuralizer releases a flash that can heavily hypnotize a target, making them vulnerable to have their memories erased, replaced, manipulated, and/or manufactured.  Thus, the Neuralizer is an invaluable tool to use on human witnesses of both alien and MIB activity.  To protect themselves from the flash, MIB agents put on a pair of sunglasses before activating the Neuralizer.       

MIB is based on the “Men in Black” theme in pop culture and conspiracy theories about government agents in black suits who cover up UFO and paranormal activities.    

1.) HUNTER ASSOCIATION

With the main characters being members of the organization, the manga/anime series Hunter X Hunter greatly revolves around the Hunter Association.  

“Hunters” are considered to be the elite of humanity; being experts on different fields like music, cooking, computers, archeology, combat, survival, hunting down criminals, uncovering and retrieving information, and many more.  To become a Hunter, one most obtain a license by passing the rigorous Hunter Examination, a series of difficult and dangerous tests to determine those that have the appropriate characteristics and skills to become a Hunter.  Hunters, as the name suggests, devote their lives in hunting down things whether people, items, information, places, treasures, or animals.  

All Hunters are required to know Nen, whether before or after the Hunter Exam.  Nen is the manipulation of aura or life energy, which will enable a Nen user to have a unique power or ability.  

There are plenty of perks of being a Hunter.  This is brought to by the ownership of a Hunter License.  It is a highly-valuable item that symbolizes glory and wealth (60 out of the 100 richest people in the world are Hunters).   Owners of the Hunter License have no legal responsibility for murder, are free to travel in all countries, have free access to public services at first-class, and are allowed to access the Hunters Only Website (where one can find and purchase a variety of important and secret intelligence obtained and uploaded by other Hunters).  The Hunter can also use his or her license as collateral for a loan of 100 million jenny (currency in the Hunter X Hunter universe) with a 0% interest rate at any bank, or the Hunter can outrightly sell his license (which is a valuable collector’s item) for enough money for at least 7 generations of luxury.    

Monday, August 20, 2012

Top 10 Vampire Hunters


For me, vampires are the most perfect mythological creature to ever epitomize evil.  They are lustful, murderous, appalling, and menacing, making them fascinating, romantic villains.  Therefore, it takes a special kind of hero to be their adversary.  It is necessary for him or her to be motivated enough and brave enough to stand up against such terrifying and strong villains.  But most importantly, with vampires being seductively interesting, the audience tend to root for them, therefore, these vampire hunters should be charismatic enough to steal the audience’s affection from the simultaneously despicable and appealing vampires.  

10.) CHARLEY BREWSTER

Charley is the main protagonist of Fright Night.  I love both the original and the remake, but the remake being fresher in my mind since it’s the most recent between the two that I’ve seen makes me like the remake’s Charley more as a vampire hunter.  I love the character development of Charley from a skeptic that his new neighbor, Jerry, was a vampire; to a nervous wreck after witnessing that his new neighbor was indeed a vampire; to a man on the run and fighting to survive; and, finally, to a badass vampire hunter who made a brilliant but crazy plan to destroy Jerry (who was actually a very powerful centuries-old vampire and had defeated countless hunters that tried to kill him).  I love how the Charley in the end became a contrast of the shaking, terrified Charley at the start.  My favorite part was when Jerry started making out with Amy, Charley’s girlfriend, who had been turned into a vampire earlier.  Despite this being a depressing and hateful sight for Charley, he maintained his cool, sticking to and proceeding with the set plan that would ultimately destroy Jerry and return Amy to normal.

9.) SIMON BELMONT

 
I’m not really a big Castlevania fan, but I’m familiar with the game.  Simon is probably the most popular protagonist of Castlevania.  What really makes him cool and unique to me is he combats vampires with the use of a whip.  This whip, known as the Vampire Killer Whip (or Magic Whip or Holy Whip), is an heirloom of the Belmont clan, whose eternal duty is to stand against Dracula and his allies.

8.) ROBERT NEVILLE

 
Neville is the protagonist of the epic novel I Am Legend (which was made into a “good-movie-but-inferior-to-the-novel” film starring Will Smith).  What’s interesting about the character is Neville being a vampire hunter because he had to, since he’s the last uninfected human on earth with the rest of humanity becoming vampires already.  In his research, while trying to survive day-by-day in a vampire-infested post-apocalyptic world, Neville learned that the vampiric pandemic was caused by a bacteria that was capable of infecting both living and deceased hosts (making the vampirism in the I Am Legend world as having scientific explanation instead of the usual idea that it’s mystical or supernatural).  Near the end of the story, it was revealed that the vampires are starting to overcome their weaknesses against sunlight and are attempting to rebuild society.  These evolving vampires, however, fear and hate Neville because he had killed some of their people along with the undead-type vampires (the dead that was infected and reanimated by the bacteria) during his vampire hunting trips.  He was captured and set for execution, which he accepted.  He realized their point of view: that in this new world of vampires, he is the “monster”, being the last human, someone that is dangerous and different from the rest of the world.  In his last seconds, he declares: “[I am] a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever.  I am legend.”  

7.) JACK CROW

 
In John Carpenter’s movie Vampires, James Woods plays Jack Crow, leader of a group of vampire hunters sanctioned by the Vatican (I love their method of dragging vampires into the sunlight).  There’s a lot of James Woods to the Jack Crow character (just as there’s a lot of James Woods in Hades, from Disney’s Hercules) – which is a good thing – especially the smooth badass talking.  Jack Crow is one mean, serious ass-kicker who has no reservations in killing vampires, even if it’s someone he had known.        

6.) BLADE

 
Arguably, Blade is the most popular superhero/vampire hunter from comics.  A vampire attacked Blade’s mother while she was giving birth to him.  This will kill her mother, but vampiric enzymes were passed on to the infant Blade.  Thus, this gave Blade the same enhanced strength, durability, speed, and agility, and healing factor that vampires have.  He would also have the power to sense supernatural creatures and be immune to full vampirism.  When growing up, he would meet Jamal Afari, a vampire hunter, who would train him to become a vampire hunter.  Blade would become an Olympic-level athlete, a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, and an expert in weapons.  He would devote his life in hunting down vampires and his vision is their ultimate annihilation. 

5.) ABRAHAM LINCOLN

 
I really find it interesting and amusing that Seth Grahame-Smith would reinvent a major historical icon like Lincoln into a badass vampire hunter in his book (which was made into a movie recently).  Lincoln’s vampire killing motivation would come in an early age, when vampires killed his mother.  Later in life, Lincoln would be trained to become a highly skilled axe-wielding vampire hunter.  After witnessing a vampire buying slaves for food in a slave auction, Lincoln became an Abolitionist.  After learning of a vampire plot to start a civil war so that they can enslave all America, Lincoln enters politics, which will ultimately lead him into the presidency.  During the early parts of the Civil War, the South started winning because of the Confederate vampires.  However, with Lincoln announcing the Emancipation Proclamation, encouraging slaves to fight slave owners and vampires, the tides of the War turned in the North’s favor.        

4.) ABRAHAM VAN HELSING

 
The name “Van Helsing” has been forever nailed on pop culture consciousness as synonymous to the archenemy of Dracula and vampires.  The first thing that impressed me about Dr. Van Helsing is his rich collection of post-nominal initials of “M.D., D.Ph., D. Litt., etc.”  This shows that Van Helsing is a genius with a variety of interests.  In Bram Stoker’s classic, Dracula, it was under Van Helsing’s leadership – with his great knowledge of vampirism – that allowed the protagonists to combat Dracula, drive him out of England, and ultimately destroy him.  Peter Cushing’s performance is said to be the greatest and most accurate cinematic portrayal of the character. 

3.) D

 
D is a dhampir, meaning his father is a vampire (implied to be Dracula) while his mother is a human.  With his vampire heritage, he possesses most vampiric strengths but only few of the weaknesses.  His supernatural powers are also not limited to the physical aspect, since he also has some magical skills as well.  He rarely uses his magic, only doing so when really needed.  He possesses great fighting skills and grace, and uses the sword as his main weapon. 

D also has a sentient symbiote named “Left Hand” that resides in his left palm, which is capable of independent thought and will, but also aware of most of D’s thoughts.  Left Hand can create a very strong vacuum to suck things with its mouth.  It also has the ability of psychometry, making people sleep, and ability to evaluate other’s strength, power, and health.  Moreover, Left Hand can heal or revive D by creating life force by consuming the elements (fire, earth, water, wind).  Thus, Left Hand is indeed a very invaluable companion to D.  Left Hand likes making wise-cracks to the silent, serious, unemotional, and gloomy D, but only talks when he and D are alone.

D works as a vampire hunter for hire in a far distant future setting (that is an interesting mix of several elements from different pulp genres like sci-fi, fantasy, horror, high fantasy, western, occult science, and Lovecraftian mythology) where vampires, demons, werewolves, mutants, and other monsters share the world with humankind.  D possesses great reputation as a powerful and successful vampire hunter, but is nonetheless despised and feared by both humans and vampires for being a half-breed.       

2.) BUFFY SUMMERS

 
The beloved Slayer is, of course, a part of this list.  In fact, for years prior to encountering the number one of this list, Buffy was my most favorite vampire hunter.   I already discussed Buffy in my top 10 TV characters list (No. 3).      

1.) ALUCARD

 
Alucard is the most powerful and most important agent of the Hellsing Organization (also known as the Holy Order of Protestant Knights), an England-based vampire hunting organization headed by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.  A pair of powerful handguns are his favorite weapons; the “gunslinging vampire hunter” aspect is what made me like the character initially.  Alucard is in fact Dracula (“Alucard” is “Dracula” in reverse) and had decided to serve the Hellsing family after he was defeated by Abraham Van Hellsing (founder of Hellsing Organization and ancestor of Integra).  Alucard only answers to no one except to Integra (though he had also showed humbleness and respect to the Queen of England).              

Being a vampire, Alucard still has darkness and madness in him.  He takes pleasure in killing, and has no reservations in killing whether the opponent is human or vampire.  He delights in causing chaos, mayhem, and destruction.  He’s a ferocious and ruthless fighter.  Being in fact Dracula, Alucard is the most powerful vampire in the world.  Strengthened by the hundreds of thousands (or possibly even millions) that he had killed in the past, Alucard is impossible to kill.  He would only regenerate when he is badly damaged or dismembered.  Being powerful, Alucard fights with arrogance and disregard for his life (since he can’t be killed).  He never fights at full strength at first, and would allow opponents to take their best shot in destroying him.  No matter how powerful his opponents’ attacks are, they aren’t able to completely destroy Alucard since he would only regenerate.  Alucard would then go on to disable and humiliate his opponents before killing them.     
    
Aside from regenerative powers, Alucard also has the usual superhuman strength, speed, and senses attributed to vampires.  With his superior senses, he is able to shoot his guns with great accuracy.  He can phase through walls, stick on vertical surfaces, communicate telepathically, and shapeshift to any form he wants.  One of the forms he morphs to is an amorphous shapeshifting mass of darkness covered with eyes that has chaotic projections of blood, bats, demonic dogs, as well as his human head and limbs, usually his hands with his guns.  However, Alucard’s great power is restrained by a series of seals made by Hellsing.  Alucard can unlock all seals by himself, except for Level 0, the final seal, which only Integra Hellsing can release (but in my opinion, Alucard can release it by himself and just needs Integra’s permission, something he routinely does before performing a task).  Once the final seal is released, Alucard can summon a large army under his control made up of all the souls he had consumed in his life.

It is heavily implied that Alucard regrets becoming a vampire and consider being a vampire inferior to being human.  He is bored with his immortality and the reason that Alucard greatly lusts for battle, especially with powerful opponents, is because he wants to get himself killed.  However, he would only allow himself to be killed by a human.  “Only a man can truly hope to kill a monster,” he usually declares. 

What’s so awesome about Alucard, making him the most interesting vampire hunter for me, is he ironically hunts down vampires despite being the most powerful vampire ever.  Moreover, he is not at all the type of character who was a former villain, had a change of heart, and now seeks redemption for his sins.  No.  He is merely a villain who happens to be at the side of good.  Having such complex moral ambiguity makes Alucard an extremely exceptional and exciting character.    

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Top 10 Avengers I Want To See In the Next 'Avengers' Movies


I already expressed my thoughts in the past on what would be my fantasy scenario for Marvel Studios’ “Phase 2” and “Phase 3”, and mentioned already the characters I want to be featured.  However, it wasn’t explicit on the degree of preference I have for each character.  So, in this list, let me share the top 10 Avengers I want to be included in the next Avengers movies’ line-ups, in ascending order of how much I want to see them in the next movies.

Take note that when picking my ten, I didn’t put into consideration those heroes that are already likely to become part of the next Avengers movies.  US War Machine is back in Iron Man 3 (why is the character not included in the first Avengers movie when he’s already available?).  Falcon and Winter Soldier are in the next Captain America movie.  And, at this point, the Ant-Man movie (which would likely have the Wasp in it as well) is almost a sure thing to happen. The characters in my list are those that have a 0% to 50% chance of being included.  Some are being rumored to be, though there are still no clear commitments from Marvel Studios yet.  And some are almost impossible to be included, since the characters’ movie rights are owned by other studios like Columbia and Fox.  

10.) BLACK PANTHER
There are already some rumors about plans of a Black Panther movie and there are already elements in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that points out that it’s going to happen (thus, he can become part of the next Avengers line-up).  However, until there’s a clear announcement from Marvel, I wouldn’t consider it a sure thing.  Still, because of these promising factors I’ve mentioned, there’s a very good chance Black Panther will indeed come through.  Thus, Black Panther is only number ten because of the likely possibility of being put on the big screen already. 

Black Panther is someone that has the same strategic genius, athletic combat skills, charisma, and overall badassery of Batman.  And who wouldn’t like a Batman-like character in the next Avengers movie?  It also helps that he’s a king of a country. 

9.) QUICKSILVER

Magneto’s children, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver, are tough to separate.  It’s hard to include one and ignore the other.  But that’s what I’m going to do here.  Yes, I want BOTH to be in the movies.  But there’s only one slot available for one of them in this top 10.  And if there’s also one slot left in the next Avengers movie’s roster and I get to choose between the two, my pick would be Quicksilver – the resident fast guy of the Avengers. 

In the first movie, we saw the Avengers finally finding their team chemistry despite being at odds with each other at the start.   What I like about Quicksilver being added to the next Avengers movie’s roster is to disrupt the team environment again with his hot-headed, arrogant personality that makes him at odds with almost everyone.  In short, since Robert Downey, Jr.’s jerkish Tony Stark is too likable, we need another jerk we’ll love, not because he’s charismatic like Stark, but because he can entertainingly antagonize teammates perfectly. 

Quicksilver joining the Avengers’ movie line-up is highly unlikely though since 20th Century Fox has the movie rights for Marvel’s mutant characters.

8.) DAREDEVIL

 Marvel Studio recently got the rights back for Daredevil, so it’s not impossible to see him in the roster of a future Avengers movie, though I’m not seeing it happening in Avengers 2.  I have no problem with Ben Afleck returning to the role at all.  He still actually looks young and fit for playing Matt Murdock.   

7.) MS. MARVEL CAPTAIN MARVEL

 
Carol Danvers (who has been more popularly known as Ms. Marvel but has recently decided to take the legacy of Captain Marvel by adopting it as her superhero codename) is one of the strongest and most popular female Avengers characters.  It seems that as Ms. Marvel, she was more popular than her male counterpart, Captain Marvel, that Marvel decided to give the “Captain Marvel” name to her instead.  She had been a popular mainstay in the Avengers for years and even had been a leader of an Avengers team.  Still, she is no “Wonder Woman” of the Marvel Universe.  There are several female characters more iconic than her despite her name being similar to the company name.  I have no problem, and in fact like the idea, if Marvel plans to make her the “Wonder Woman” of the Marvel Universe.  And what better way to increase her prominence than by making her shine in an Avengers movie?   

Also, I like it whenever she and Spider-Man team up.  Their chemistry is perfect.  I like them being a pseudo-couple.  However, I don’t like them to become an actual couple (#Pete&MJForever!), but the romantic tension between them is a lot of fun (the only good thing brought by the events of the hated “One More Day” storyline). 

Would love to see such sequences at the side in an Avengers movie (but very very unlikely to happen)

6.) RED HULK
 
As one of the best “villain-to-hero” characters in my book, it would sure give me a lot of delight if he’ll be included in the next Avengers movie.  Red Hulk, unlike the Hulk, has a brilliant calculative mind. I already pointed out before that Red Hulk is a better Avenger asset than the Hulk (and he can even lead the team) because of having military experience and retaining his intelligence in Hulk form.  Thus, he is a dangerous combination of brains and brawns.  Moreover, he has heat emitting powers which increases with his rage, as well as the ability to absorb the powers of others. 

In my article on how I want Marvel Studios to proceed with the next Avengers movies, I want Red Hulk to be the villain in Incredible Hulk 2 and then redeem himself by joining the Avengers in Avengers 2.  Two Hulks fighting together side-by-side, Red Hulk being put into position to play point for the Avengers team, and the gritty Sam Elliot or William Hurt (both are OK, but the former is better) reprising his role as General Thunderbolt Ross – wouldn’t it be awesome to see these things in the big screen?

5.) DR. STRANGE

In a lineup consisting of superheroes that mostly got their abilities from science, it would be fun to have another hero that has powers from magical origins aside from Thor.   And what other choice of such character is more perfect than the Sorcerer Supreme himself?  With the powerful and supernatural Dr. Strange in the roster, the Avengers’ might becomes more diverse and increases significantly.  
 
4.) LUKE CAGE

In the movies I’ve mentioned in the past that I want to be made for Phase 3, Heroes for Hire is one of the most necessary catalysts for another Avengers movie.  The Heroes for Hire line-up can consist of Luke Cage, Iron Fist (preferably played by Jason Statham), Shang-Chi, and Moon Knight (a badass Batman-like character, but literary crazier) who can be used for the final two Avengers movies (New Avengers and Secret Avengers), as per my MCU Phase 3 fantasy.   

But the most important among them is Luke Cage.  If there’s only room enough for just one of the Heroes for Hire heroes, the roster slot should go to Luke Cage.  What is unique about this hero is not his powers (super strength, bullet proof) but by being a realistic hero (he even has no real costume) and the toughening and street smarts brought to him by being the stereotypical black man that grew up in the streets.  

And it is very very imperative (at least, for me) that Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson should play him.  
Just look at him, he’s perfect for the character!

3.) VENOM

As my most favorite former villain-turned-hero, unlikely as it may be, I really, really want him to be in that Secret Avengers film I fantasize about.


 
  
Who wouldn’t want to see this kind of stuff in the big screen?

2.) WOLVERINE

 
Again, this is highly improbable with 20th Century Fox owning the movie rights to Wolverine.  But if Marvel is able to reach some deal with Fox to use Wolverine, and especially Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, that would be a mindblowing coup!!!

But more mindblowing if it’s…

1.) SPIDER-MAN


Fans would go crazy if Sony/Columbia allows Marvel Studios to use Spidey in an Avengers movie.  I, for one, Spidey being my most favorite comic book character, would be more than ecstatic!  The two studios would definitely create tons of money if they decide to feed on each other’s properties.  Everybody wins (except DC) if this happens. 

Nonetheless, it’s still a matter of money.  Sony/Columbia might ask too much.  Marvel Studios might not be ready to give much, considering they know they can replicate the success of The Avengers even without a premium property like Spider-Man (which is a refreshed property, as well, thanks to the successful reboot). 

This happening, as of now, is improbable.  But it’s not impossible.  For now, all I can do is wait… and dream.   

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Top 10 Former Bad Guys Who Are Awesome As Good Guys


Heroes who have been villains at the start are among the deepest and most dynamic fictional characters ever.  Sometimes, there is still some moral ambiguity in them as they still struggle with doing heroic things – something opposite from their former nature.  Sometimes, they still carry some characteristics of their former villain selves that either help or hinder them in their new lives’ duties. Usually, former villains end up as an anti-hero instead of a straight-up hero when they switch allegiance to the good guys’ side, and since anti-heroes usually have more charm than heroes, we are greatly interested with this kind of characters.  Moreover, we find these characters more interesting because we are all suckers for good redemption stories.

There are plenty of such characters.  And it took some time of evaluating before I picked up my ten.  I chose the 10 that used to be significant villains.   Significant enough that it gave a great dramatic impact and delightful shock when they had a change of heart. 
 
10.) THE TERMINATOR

In the year 2029, Machines had already taken over the world after an artificial intelligence network called Skynet was able to become self-aware.  Skynet catered in a nuclear holocaust to wipe out most of mankind.  The remnants of humanity are merely fighting a resistance battle against the reigning Machines.  This is the setting where the Terminators are created.  They are cyborgs – machine in interior, but with a human covering (earlier models mostly have the appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger).   They are programmed to infiltrate the human resistance and commit assassination.  They are highly strong, adaptable and formidable.

In the first Terminator film, the Terminator (T-101 or T-800… I’m confused) was the antagonist.  He was sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor, who was going to be the mother of John Connor, the resistance leader of the future.  A human resistance fighter, Kyle Reese, was sent back in time as well by the human resistance to protect Sarah.  Eventually, Kyle and Sarah, in spite of the extreme difficulty of the task, were able to destroy the Terminator but with the cost of Kyle’s life.  Then in the second Terminator film, in a delightful twist, the Terminator is now the hero.  He was sent back in time to protect a young John Connor from a more advanced Terminator, the T-1000.   

Technically, the Terminator in the second film was different from the first film’s.  The first unit had been destroyed already at the first film.  This second one was of the same model (or if it was not, at least shared the same appearance) as the first but had been reprogrammed to protect young John.  Still, the essence of the character was the same.  And I found it awesome that the same badassery the Terminator exerted in attempting to kill Sarah in the first film, he now exerted in protecting young John and taking down the T-1000.  

Another Terminator – different unit, same model – was also the protector of John as a young adult in the third Terminator film.

As a villain, the Terminator was as emotionless, apathetic, and ruthless as a killing machine should be.  But as a hero, though he remains apathetic and cold, there is some tinge of humanity in him as he demonstrated some human strong will (or stubbornness) and some hint of sympathy for humans. 

9.) DINOBOT

Dinobot was a protagonist for most of Beast Wars.  But he was, at the first episode, part of the bad guys – the Predacons.  One episode might be not too long a time to appreciate a character changing sides, but it was enough for me with Dinobot.  Prior to watching the pilot, there were some promos.  And, from these, one can have some understanding of the basic premise.  Robots with animal disguises.  Mammals were the good guys, while dinosaurs and insects were the bad guys.  But, wait.  There’s a brief scene where a raptor was standing side by side with the good guys!  This made me really, really curious with that particular character.  Thus, jumpstarting my interest with Dinobot, who would become my most favorite Beast Wars character next to Rattrap. 

In the first episode, Dinobot challenges Megatron for leadership of the Predacons, but he was blasted away by Scorponok. Later on, he would find the Maximals’ camp and challenged Optimus Primal in a duel for leadership.  In the duel, Primal lost his footing, giving Dinobot the opportunity to easily defeat him, but he refused to do so because he deemed it dishonorable to win in such way.  From this, we see that though Dinobot had been with the bad guys, he is different from them because he is an honorable warrior.  The Predacons then made a surprise attack, interrupting further developments in the duel.  Optimus Primal would save Dinobot during the ambush, and from then on, Dinobot began fighting alongside the Maximals.

Dinobot proved himself to be a very invaluable comrade to the Maximals with his cunning, strength, battle skills, and knowledge about his former Predacon companions.  He showed throughout the show, that despite having Predacon origins, he is honorable and not treacherous.  Though he still finds himself at odds with the Maximal’s moral code sometimes, being an anti-hero with anti-hero mentality in the midst of heroes with hero mentalities. 

In his most heroic deed later on the show, he would sacrifice his life to protect ancestors of humankind from genocide at the hands of the Predacons.  He would singlehandedly beat them but would receive heavy damage, thus, causing his death.  His touching final words were, “Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence.”

8.) VEGETA

Dragon Ball Z has two interesting “villain-to-hero” characters in Piccolo and Vegeta.   Piccolo was first introduced as a demon (but later on, was revealed to be an alien from Namek) and a villain.  But later on, he would find himself joining Goku and friends in forming the Z Fighters, to fight bigger threats.  He would even become the trainer of Goku’s son, Gohan, and would develop such a strong bond with him that he would even be a greater father figure to him than Goku, the actual father.  He would even sacrifice his life to protect Gohan.  All this done by a “demon”.  Piccolo’s character development is very interesting indeed, but Vegeta’s is better.   

Dragon Ball Z has been around some time before I encountered it.  Thus, it was already established that Vegeta is going to join the Z Fighters.  With this being common knowledge, it lessens – if not totally obliterating – the impact of Vegeta’s transition from a major villain to a hero.  With this as factor, Vegeta is only number 8.  In fact, I even considered skipping Vegeta altogether in this list.  But Vegeta needs to be in this list.  Solely because – despite missing my top 10 favorite anime characters list – he is one of my favorite anime characters.    

Vegeta is extremely arrogant, hotheaded, overconfident, and full of bitterness.   He is very proud of his Saiyan heritage and has a superiority complex because of it.  When he was a villain, he was a ruthless killer and can massacre without batting an eye.  All the heinous things that Vegeta ever did can be traced to his obsession for power and his desire to have revenge on Frieza, who destroyed his homeworld.  He wants to be the most powerful warrior in the universe so he can defeat Frieza.  After suffering defeat at the hands of Frieza, before dying, Vegeta revealed to Goku that he blames Frieza for what he had become, giving him no choice but to be cruel and implied that he would have not been so if not for the bitterness, vengeance, and hate in his heart for Frieza. 

Vegeta would be resurrected by the Dragon Balls (along with other of Frieza’s victims) and from that point on, the character would soften up and would no longer desire conquering the universe, though he still retained his arrogance and obsession for becoming a powerful warrior, especially after he saw Goku turning into a Super Saiyan.  From then on, Vegeta would have some jealousy and animosity for Goku and his obsession would shift to becoming stronger in order to beat Goku (instead of becoming stronger to destroy Frieza and conquer the universe). 

Vegeta would become part of the Z Fighters.  But he remains arrogant and self-centered even when he’s now part of the good guys.  He still obsessed on becoming powerful and beating Goku.  Nonetheless, his change into a better and moral person was gradual.  He started to show signs of humility, fighting for noble reasons instead of for his own pride, and learning to care for others.  He would even start a family with Bulma, though Bulma and Vegeta’s relationship was like Vegeta’s moral journey: gradual and not immediate.        

Vegeta would have his relapse to villainy when he was possessed by Babidi’s Majin mind control power.  Though, he would be able to fight off Babidi’s commands, Vegeta’s desire to fight and defeat Goku is too strong and wanted to try his new powers against him.  He would provoke Goku into fighting him by killing innocent people.  Goku and Majin Vegeta had an evenly-matched, glorious, and brutal combat, while the energy from their fight was being absorbed by Babidi to revive the slumbering Majin Buu.  After realizing that Majin Buu was released, Goku discontinued the fight with Vegeta and convinced him that they should go stop Majin Buu.  Majin Vegeta seemingly agreed, but when Goku turned his back, the former knocked the latter unconscious.  Vegeta wanted to redeem himself from the faults he had in the past by beating Majin Buu alone.  But no matter how much powerful Vegeta’s blows were, Majin Buu stood invincible.  And in a sequence that showed Vegeta finally showing that he had changed, after hugging and leaving final words to his son, Trunks, he decided to create a nuke-like explosion by self-destructing and destroying Majin Buu with him.  This heroic sacrifice, however, fails to completely destroy Buu.  Nonetheless, we finally saw a Vegeta who knows how to care for others and is ready to die for them.  A resurrected Vegeta would mastermind the defeat of Kid Buu later on.     

7.) GAJEEL REDFOX

 
Gajeel was initially a villain on the manga/anime Fairy Tail.  He was a former member of Phantom Lord, and as an S-class mage for it, he spearheaded the war against Fairy Tail.  He was brutal and cruel, and doesn’t care about injuring anybody – regardless of being a female or an ally – if he or she is on his way.

Introduced as a very dark character, one wouldn’t expect Gajeel to become one of the good guys.  But after Phantom Lord was disbanded and Gajeel’s former co-guild member, Juvia, joined Fairy Tail, Makarov (guild master of Fairy Tail) offered Gajeel membership in his desire to guide the latter in the right path.  Gajeel would join Fairy Tail, and, unsurprisingly, he wasn’t welcomed initially by the other members because of the awful things he had done to Fairy Tail as a Phantom Lord member.  Aside from that, it was even implied that Gajeel hadn’t lost his evil ways at all and had only joined Fairy Tail so he can have his revenge on them when it was shown that he was serving as a spy for the dark guild Raven Tail.  Gajeel’s start as a Fairy Tail member had been very rocky indeed.  However, eventually, members would warm up to him as he showed great dedication to Fairy Tail and a sincere desire to have good comradeship with the others (though he said that he doesn’t need friends).  It was also revealed later on that Gajeel was working as a double agent for Makarov and wasn’t really betraying Fairy Tail. 

Gajeel’s character would lighten up after becoming one of the good guys.  He became good natured and showed a humorous side, though still remaining quick-tempered.  He learned to be extremely loyal to Fairy Tail and embraced the guild’s family philosophy.  He became very protective of his guildmates, especially to Levy (who he had attacked and tortured mercilessly when he was still a villain).   

6.), 5.), & 4.) XANXUS, BYAKURAN, and MUKURO ROKUDO

The manga/anime Katekyo! Hitman Reborn has a knack of making former villains become allies of the protagonists.  And it is done in a way as mindblowingly unexpected as possible.  These villains, during their run as antagonists, are portrayed as very villainous – with no hint of friendliness or likability in them – that when they become protagonists, it will definitely give some shock.  Their strong personalities remain, but there is a strong sense of “lightening up” as well as a shedding off of their villainous flavor.

The first major antagonist of the series is Mukuro Rokudo, a very powerful illusionist.  He led his Kokuyo Gang against Tsunayoshi Sawada (the main protagonist) and his friends due to their hatred for the Mafia.  Mukuro’s aim – and he repeatedly claimed it is still his aim even when he became Tsuna’s ally – is to possess the body of Tsuna.   

Mukuro, despite having a playful smile on his face most of the time, is very apathetic and ruthless.  In fact, it seems he doesn’t even care for his subordinates (though, he actually does) since he refer to them as merely “toys” or “tools” to get his goals.  As an illusionist, he can create very realistic illusions that can greatly affect and damage his opponents.  Aside from the generic illusion-creating powers, he also possess a variety of powers initially (he will gain more abilities after becoming Vongola’s Mist Guardian) including mind control, body possession, and summoning deadly animals.    

After getting defeated by Tsuna, Mukuro and his subordinates were captured and imprisoned by the Vindice.   In a jail break from the Vindice Prison, Mukuro sacrificed himself as bait so that his subordinates can escape.  Mukuro, however, was thrown into the unbreakable lowest level cell.  This development showed that Mukuro does care for his comrades.  Later on, Tsuna’s father approached Mukuro and offered Vongola protection for his comrades, and in exchange, Mukuro should become the Mist Guardian for Tsuna’s Mafia Famiglia.  Mukuro agreed.

It was already established before that Mukuro can possess somebody’s body and use it as a vessel to manifest his person.  But it was a surprise to discover that Mukuro can do this while locked up like this:
 
So, far away locked up in prison, he would share the position of Vongola Mist Guardian with Chrome Dokuro (who lacks internal organs and is dependent to Mukuro to create an illusion of internal organs for her), who he will possess and use as vessel when he is needed… or, rather, if he wants to. 

This development greatly blew me away.   That this powerful antagonist would become a subordinate to the main character! (Note: At the present, Mukuro is now free from his Vindice cell.  It’s not yet established if he would remain as Vongola Mist Guardian or Chrome will solely have the position.)

Mukuro maintains that his goals are still the same; however, he (with his gang) remains an ally and is un-hostile (even has some tinge of loyalty) to Tsuna and the Vongola.  

This was the first time that a main antagonist became an ally in Hitman Reborn.  But though this is the most dramatic “enemy-to-ally” development (and my most favorite), this isn’t the last (nor the most surprising). 

The second of such is with Xanxus, the leader of Varia.  Varia is Vongola’s elite independent assassination squad.  They won’t accept any mission that has a 90% chance of success, since they would only take missions that are said to be impossible for humans to accomplish.  Xanxus deemed himself worthy of becoming the 10th boss of Vongola, not Tsuna.  Thus, Xanxus challenged Tsuna for the Vongola throne.  The Varia members were initially more powerful than Tsuna and his Guardians.  But, in the end, they prevailed over Varia.    
  
Xanxus, along with the Varia, was oozing with infamy when he was an antagonist.  He was brutal, arrogant, devious, and ambitious.  His powerful abilities, similar to the 2nd boss of Vongola (Flame of Wrath) and 7th boss of Vongola (X-Guns), are very compatible with his personality.   

After their defeat, I presumed that if ever such a villainous bunch such as Varia comes back, they would remain villains. I was so wrong.  In the next arc they appeared on (Future Arc), they were allies of Tsuna and his Mafia Famiglia.  Xanxus claimed that in spite of internal conflicts within Vongola – between Tsuna’s faction and his – the Vongola Famiglia will be united against outside forces that dare to attack them.  This showed that Xanxus has fierce loyalty for the Vongola.     

From then on, like Mukuro, Xanxus would insist that his goals are still the same (i.e. taking control of Vongola and killing Tsuna) but, like Mukuro and his gang, Xanxus and Varia are currently allied to Tsuna and his Famiglia. The Varia, sans Xanxus, even attended Tsuna’s inheritance ceremony to become the 10th boss of Vongola and seemed to be in friendly terms with them.   

Still, the most surprising “enemy-to-ally” development is that of Byakuran, the villain of the Future Arc (Tsuna and friends were sent 10 years to the future).  Byakuran has a cheerful, playful disposition, but as a villain, he was cunning, cruel, and manipulative.  He managed to be in contact with all the Byakurans across the different parallel universes and he managed to conquer all timelines!  His goal was to possess the Ultimate Power, and part of his plans to achieve it was to exterminate the Vongola Famiglia and its allies and friends.  He also released a special radiation in the atmosphere to kill all Arcobalenos.  Indeed, he is so ruthless that he has no reservations in killing aplenty to get his goals.  Because of these things, it appears that Byakuran is an “ultimate villain” in Katekyo! Hitman Reborn with his schemes and goals in a higher league than what Mukuro and Xanxus ever had.     

After Tsuna (with his friends) was transported to the future, he and his allies would eventually beat Byakuran and his Six Funeral Wreaths (all ended up getting killed).  With Byakuran dead, I never expected his return.  But return he did.  In his first appearance after the Future Arc, he was seen healing Tsuna’s Rain Guardian, Yamamoto.  Later, it was revealed that the present’s Byakuran and his Six Funeral Wreaths are actually all alive, since those that died in the events of the Future Arc belonged in a future alternate timeline.   This was a surprise already.  But more surprising was how Byakuran (after shown to be seemingly being in good terms with Yuni, considering that Byakuran was Yuni’s enemy in the Future Arc) offered to ally himself with Tsuna!  I – along with Tsuna and friends – was verily suspicious of Byakuran since he was an extremely major villain.  But it was established later on that this Byakuran indeed had a sincere change of heart.  Mindblowing!  Mukuro and Xanxus, as villainous as they can be, were never portrayed as being such merciless, mass-killing, evil schemer for world domination as Byakuran.  But here is Byakuran now, like the major antagonists Mukuro and Xanxus before him, being more supportive to the good guys.

These three major antagonists in the past are now currently significant allies of Tsuna.  Not only they answered to Tsuna’s requests, but they are now currently also working together!

Indeed, it’s not unlikely for anime villains becoming allies of the main character/s during its story’s run, but Hitman Reborn expertly presented its arcs’ villains with the appearance of pure evilness that one would never expect they would  ever become part of the good guys.  It was done so well that I was surprised by this “enemy-to-ally” developments three times.  

The precise ranking here is in the order of Xanxus (no. 6), Byakuran (no. 5), and Mukuro (no. 4).      

3.) RED HULK

 
General Thunderbolt Ross has been an iconic Hulk antagonist throughout comic book history.  But he was never really a super villain.  He merely believes he is doing his duty to his country by destroying a major threat like the Hulk.  This is a valid reason, in a way, though misleadingly motivated.  However, his obsession to destroy the Hulk made him blinded by his rage, leading him to use brutal and unethical methods. 

He only became a straight-up super villain when he became the Red Hulk.  It happens that Ross, despite his hate for the Hulk, is envious of the brute power that the Hulk possesses.  Thus, when offered to become Red Hulk by the Intelligencia, Ross jumped into the opportunity so that he would be able to combat the Hulk head-to-head.  Initially, the identity of the Red Hulk was a secret to the comic book readers and characters.  No one knows who the Red Hulk is for most of his run as a supervillain. 

Red Hulk is one heck of a badass supervillain.  The Hulk and other heroes always had a tough time in fighting him.  Not only does he have the same brutish strength the Hulk has but his intelligence remains when in Red Hulk form, therefore, making him a lethal combination of brains and brawns.  He is also more aggressive and dangerous than the Hulk since the Red Hulk lusts for power and has no problem with taking life.  Aside from that, he also possesses the power to absorb energies and power to enhance his own, and to emit heat energy from his eyes.  Unlike the Hulk, who grows stronger and stronger as he gets angrier, the Red Hulk’s strength level is consistent (thus he is weaker than a very enraged Hulk in terms of physical strength) but the heat energy he emits grows hotter and hotter whenever he gets angrier instead.  This heat can scorch everything the Red Hulk touches and, at high levels, it would appear that the he is covered in flames.  However, the downside to this powerful ability is that the Red Hulk can overheat which causes heat exhaustion.  His energy absorption ability also has a downside since it burns out his ability to return to human form.

Eventually, the Hulk would defeat Red Hulk, leading to his imprisonment.  Once Ross regained his sanity back, Steve Rogers (Captain America), at the request of Bruce Banner (alter-ego of the Hulk), offered him redemption by asking him to join the Avengers.  He accepted, and though his teammates didn’t trust him, they do have great faith in their leader, Captain America, that his membership to the Avengers was not protested. 

The Red Hulk received mixed reception from comic book fans.  Some liked him, some didn’t.  I’m –obviously – part of those that adored the Red Hulk and his character development.  He’s one good piece of redemption story in comic books.  As an Avenger, he proved to be a very invaluable and powerful ally.  In fact, I believe he is a better fit for the Avengers than the Hulk himself.  The Hulk was never a team player.  While the Red Hulk – retaining the intelligence of General Ross – is a calculative, smart, and tactical combatant and leader.   Thus, he is a better team player than the Hulk because of his experience as a soldier.  Moreover, sans Captain America, the Red Hulk is the best man to manage a group of superheroes to execute harmoniously with efficient, calculated military precision:

I am not saying that the Red Hulk is more interesting than the Hulk.  No.  But I believe that the Red Hulk is one of the best characters Marvel created in the 21st century, if not the best.  

2.) MAGNETO

 
There’s no other X-Men villain that is more iconic than Magneto.  Even in the movie, he was the hands down choice to become the main villain.  Magneto, with his unlimited control of all forms of magnetism, is one of the most powerful mutants in the world, making him a very dangerous adversary to the X-Men.  But, nowadays?  He is the right-hand man of Cyclops, leader of a more expanded X-Men. 

Magneto was a firm believer of mutant superiority.  Thus, he aimed to lead mutants to take over the world.  This made him at odds with his former bestfriend, Charles Xavier (Prof. X), who – in contrast with Magneto’s vision – dreams of a peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans.  This is the central reason why Magneto and his followers have been for a long time locked in battle with Prof. X and the X-Men. 

But after the results of M-Day (where most mutants lost their powers, including Magneto, though he was able to regain it), Magneto decided to re-evaluate his methods and make peace and team-up with Cyclops and the X-Men.  He stated that he admires Cyclops for making all mutants stand united, something that he and Prof. X failed to accomplish.  Magneto believed that joining the X-Men is the best way to save mutant kind.  From then on, Magneto seemed to have a change of heart, and became a loyal member to the X-Men.  Despite being more powerful to Cyclops, he readily accepted being his subordinate. 

Really mindblowing how the most prominent X-Men villain would eventually become an X-Man himself.  And I really love seeing Cyclops looking like a swag mafia boss with Magneto and Emma Frost (who, let me point out, I feel strongly as a better, more interesting love interest for Cyclops than Jean Grey) always by his side.  

Also, it’s amusing when this happened before the X-Men started clashing with the Avengers:     
 
All made possible because Magneto is now reformed.

Comic books are like professional wrestling, it isn’t unlikely for characters to switch sides and then switch sides again.  Over and over again.  Magneto had become an ally to the X-Men for several times already in the past, but would always return back to his villainous ways.  But, this time, I’m really hoping Magneto will stay as an X-Man for good. 
   
1.) VENOM

 
Venom is one of my most favorite comic book characters.  When he was bonded with Eddie Brock (and, later, Marc Gargan), he was a premium Spidey supervillain and a murderous vigilante.  I am fond of the character already as it was.  But more so with these recent developments on Venom: he has a cooler look (but can still revert to his monstrous appearance), he has guns, and now an Avenger!!!

Flash Thompson (Peter Parker’s buddy) became the new Venom host when he signed in on Project Rebirth, which intended to use the Venom symbiote (after being taken away from Marc Gargan after his capture) for the government’s black ops missions.  Flash lost both his legs in the war in Iraq, but the Venom symbiote provided legs for him as well as the usual Venom powers (enhanced strength, agility, speed, reflexes, and durability; ability to change form and appearance; limited shape-shifting) which include Spider-Man-copied powers (web-slinging, wall crawling, etc.).  However, Flash can only bind with the symbiote for a maximum of 48 hours, and need to be separated from it after that duration or else the symbiote would completely gain control of him.   Whenever the symbiote takes over, Flash goes berserk, reverting to the original monstrous Venom appearance. 

Captain America, being head of the nation’s security, decided to shut down Project Rebirth and confiscate the symbiote from Flash.  But Flash went AWOL with the Venom symbiote.  He needed the Venum symbiote to do a mission for Jack O’Lantern, or else, he’ll kill Betty (Flash’s girlfriend) and his family.  Red Hulk was sent by Captain America to capture Venom. 

After Venom was brought in, Captain America, aware of Flash’s heroic deeds, decided to allow Flash to continue as Venom under his supervision and made him a member of the Secret Avengers – the Avengers’ black ops team. 

I really, really like this new Venom.  I like him more than the Eddie Brock Venom.  And I wish this present version of Venom would remain as the status quo forever.