It's been four years since Marvel Comics decided it was time to kill off Wolverine. The character was becoming amorphous, difficult to define; was he an Avenger or an X-Man, a relentless force of nature or a school headmaster? He was all these things, and more. There was no definitive portrayal, no common thread running through all his many comic book appearances. The brand had suffered as a result, and sales had been declining for years. Marvel realized they needed to give Canucklehead a break, so they killed him off.
It's time for writer Jason Aaron to take charge of Marvel's flagship superhero comic. And, once again, Aaron is clearly playing the long game here, launching what promises to be a tremendous epic.
As the next chapter in Duggan and Kuder's Guardians of the Galaxy, this is a strong issue. As the beginning of an event, however, it's less successful.
While watching Justice League, you get the sense that it brings an end to the first phase of DCEU movies. In 2011, the company kicked things off with Man of Steel and now, at last, we've come to what fans hoped would be the crowning glory of the DCEU - Justice League, the movie in which the comic book titan's greatest heroes unite against the threat of Steppenwolf. Unfortunately, it's proving to be a bit of a disappointment critically, and commercially. Failing to crack even $100 million during its opening weekend, Marvel remains the clear box office frontrunner, but that wasn't always the case.
It's the best time to be a Punisher fan. The hero's profile has never been so high before, courtesy of Netflix's imminent TV series. What's more, Matthew Rosenberg and Guiu Vilanova are launching their new comic book series today and this time round, Marvel has something special planned.
