FCBD: Secret Empire

[superboyprime]

"One of the guys who got to preview the FCBD while we were on stage started screaming uncontrollably while reading it." - Nick Spencer

Comments

[superboyprime]

So, yeah, definitely an "oh shit" moment. Though it was unfortunately spoiled for me by a bunch of jackasses who DELIBERATELY put spoilers in replies to a tweet from Nick Spencer telling people to watch out for spoilers, as a spiteful, self-righteous "take that" at him and those of us enjoying this story.

One of said jackasses, when describing the spoiler, refers to Jane Foster as "Whor." In the same tweet where they're calling Spencer out for supposedly mistreating characters. Which is telling on so many levels about these knuckleheads.

...Sorry. As someone hugely spoilerphobic, I'm still kinda steamed. Anyway, this was a well-done vignette. A shame about the knuckleheads, though.

[glprime]

refers to Jane Foster as "Whor."

Wow. WOW. Stay classy, Internet.

I'm not always a fan of the required jobbing of heroes so the villains come off with an Empire Strikes Back moment, but if the writers say, 'groundwork was laid, they got out-smarted' I'll run with it for the moment.

Though it gets a bit tiresome how many dang people keep being 'Worthy' when Hydra!Cap certainly doesn't seem like he should be. "What a twist!" pushed a bit far for me.

[ekrolo2]

They've taken it a few notches up by calling for (and I shit you not) the burning of all Secret Empire copies and then posting of videos where they do precisely this.

I knew a sizable contingent of comic book fans were unhealthily fixed about this stuff, but Jesus Satan boxing Christ is this a new low.

[leoboiko]

That last few sentences of narration don't make sense to me. Surely Mjolnir's criteria for assuaging "worthiness" don't boil down to mere "strength?"

[thanekos]

Conviction, though- a conviction that can struggle with doubts in the cause, but ultimately withstand them. A conviction that isn't stubborn " I have to be right, otherwise what am I for? " but " I am right. "

If there's any quality Steve the rewritten champion of HYDRA possesses, it's that.

[commodus]

This art is fantastic. Shame about the story.

[capnduckman]

Yeh, nazis are totally worthy. The fuck?

[glprime]

"HYDRA AREN'T NAZIS, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS." -Marvel

[burkeonthesly]

Unless that's the alt-universe hammer that can only be lifted by the unworth, I'm not okay with this on any level.

[malitia]

Yeah. Me neither. (I could settle for this being a story told by an unreliable narrator, but from the scans that's not the case.)

[reveen]

Oh my fucking god just shoot him already.

Wasn't Miles supposed to decapitate him with his own shield or something? When's he going to get on that?

[starwolf_oakley]

Actually, the vision Ulysses shows just had Miles holding a dead Captain America in front of the Capitol. I'm not even sure the image made it clear Miles was the one who killed him.

[thatnickguy]

Screw Spencer and screw this overhyped nonsense. I'll be glad when it's all over and this mess is relegated to a Buzzfeed article.

"10 Things You'll Never Believe Marvel Did to Captain America!"

[starwolf_oakley]

https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-fdb3ee6de74b3372ee553d6e452d80d2-c

Superman lifted Mjolnir in JLA/Avengers, but that's because Odin put a few caveats on the enchantment. "In case all of reality is about to collapse in on itself, someone wanting to stop that can lift this hammer."

[laughing_tree]

As I recall, Busiek introduced that caveat because he felt too many character had lifted Mjolnir in the past, so worthiness no longer seemed as rare. When Beta Ray Bill first lifted it in the 70s, it was such a huge deal because until then, the assumption was that Thor was literally the only person in existence who was worthy. The caveat was a way of retroactively 'un-worthying' some of the past wielders.

[laughing_tree]

A little surprised so many are taking this at face value. Considering that in the exact same scene Thor literally fades out of existence, my assumption was that some cosmic/magic something-or-other is at work.

[thanekos]

Nothing yet says they have the power to affect a change like that, though- they don't currently have a Cosmic Cube.

They do have Madame Hydra's magical talents and the Darkhold, yes- but Secret Empire #1 shows her apparently having been repeatedly magically frustrated by Doctor Strange while he's inside the darkness-stifled New York.

If trying to overpower Doctor Strange is something you have to work at, well- that's no knock on your magical talents, but that does suggest directly futzing with Mjolnir is well outside your wheelhouse.

[theflames]

so i guess they managed to take out all the heavy hitters because of the cube? Because it just kind of happens and i have no idea why lmao.

[long_silence]

The Cube is AWOL, it shattered and the shards scattered. They found most of the pieces. Selvig said that given time Kobik would reconstitute herself but Zemo and Steve wanted the Cube immediately in a way that would destroy her sentience. So Selvig safeguarded the shards from Zemo and killed himself.
So right now Kobik is off the table, she'll probably come back later on in Secret Empire to fix everything.

Those heavy hitters all seemed to be taken out in individual ways (Jane disappeared, Wanda possessed and Vision hacked). Furthermore the latter two and Thor Odinson are all on the Hydra Avengers

Right now I'm thinking Wanda's been possessed by Chthon and Vision hacked by Pymtron.

[every_spiegel]

So that's Jane's Mjolnir and Captain America is hydra *and* woman now?

[philippos42]

Jane's Mjolnir has an "or."

[informationgeek]

I like how Scarlet Witch is screwed over yet again in another event and Vision is easily defeated and treated like he's just an easy robot to take control of. And by like I mean, empty and hollow inside.

I do appreciate Andrea Sorrentino getting a chance to shine more in comics though, so there's that.

[mastermahan]

The sad part is that under normal circumstances, I would love to read about an Avengers team that has Vision and Wanda teamed up with Dr. Octopus and Taskmaster.

[joetuss]

Good Lord, can we please stop bringing Wanda, and Vision to things? By now her threat level has to outweigh her usefulness, and it seems to me that the technological marvel that is The Vision, is always about as easy to hack into as a can of soda.

[gnarll]

I've always wondered if Thors Hammer templates its "Worthiness" criteria on the prevailing zeitgeist, staying on top of the latest ethics.

I mean, originally it probably worked of Odins "Håvamål" philosophy in the viking ages. Back in the 60s, Don Blake seemed a bit sexist by todays standards. So maybe it constantly updates to the current standard?

And there is a new standard in town?

[mastermahan]

Okay, my head canon is now that HydraCap swapped out a fake Mjolnir as a psychological ploy. Because he's a fascist intending to take over a nation, dose the population with mind control drugs, and at the moment this happens is mind raping people who called him a friend. Words have no fucking meaning if *that* is Worthy.

[lilacsigil]

That's a good head canon and I think I'm going to adopt it for the sake of my own sanity. HydraCap does know the value of propaganda.

[chrisdv]

Oh sure, Hawkeye chooses now to hesitate before firing.

[bradygirl_12]

I have no words for this.

[zer0man]

I think I have a word.

NO.

[jaxjyls]

When reading this my first thought was "scans-daily is gonna lose it's shit over this"

[super_fly]

Yeah, screaming horribly is a perfectly natural reaction to this garbage.

[outlawpoet]

wow, garbage.

Aside from the problems with him lifting Mjolnir or a credible copy, do they explain how they overpower Iron Man and two Spiders-men? Wanda and Vision are Worfed, as per usual, Thor is erased by editorial mandate to bring back Man!Thor, but the rest should still be a significant problem for Steve and his Nazi pals, they're not actually that powerful, and Steve doesn't even have his vibranium shield anymore. And Hulk doesn't even get a panel square, does he just leave? Even OG Thor would have trouble with him, let alone Nazi!Steve and a Mjolnir knock-off.

[laughing_tree]

While it's not clear from the scans, Cap also has a small army of other supervillains (which includes Graviton) and a small army of Hydra forces with him. Combine that with the greatest tactical mind of the Marvel universe, and victory is plausible enough.

[shadowpsykie]

I don't care if they meant to say that underneath it all, Steve was worthy. If it meant to say that since, in that moment, they were victorious, and hence, worthy, then they don't know the first thing about that hammer. unless magic was involved to confuse it, shear strength does not determine worthiness.

[deh_tommy]

At what point does "I don't like what's happening" become "This is pure, unadulterated filth"? I might not have enjoyed Blackest Night when that was ongoing because I didn't like everyone turning into zombies, but that doesn't mean the book was bad (nowadays, I think that's actually a rather good read).

[thehood]

I've notice these SE threads tend to have the most comments lately.