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A battle 5,000 years in the making

Thor: The Dark
World’ review

Steve Cayer, Senior Columnist

a) |

he time has come again for
yet another instalment from
the Marvel universe, this time

with Thor: The Dark World.

The God of Thunder
(Chris Hemsworth) is back to
save the entire universe from
anew villain named Malekith
(Christopher Eccleston). He’s
the ruler of the Dark Elves, with
a passion for vengeance towards
Thor and everyone in Asgard for
defeating the Dark Elves almost
to extinction 5,000 years earlier.

The elves return during an
event called the Convergence,

where all nine realms are in
line at the exact same time,
which only happens every five
millennia.

Of course, there’s an all-
powerful weapon of mass
destruction in the form of a
supernatural liquid called
Aether, which is hidden in
a different realm until Jane
(Natalie Portman) stumbles
through a portal on Earth and
she absorbs the Aether. Thor

then needs to find a way to
save her, defeat Malekith, and
ultimately save all nine realms
at the same time.

Most Marvel movies now
have the same formula: new bad
guy, new power, and everybody
scrambling to save the world—
or, in this case, the universe.

The movie has some bits of
comedy sprinkled in throughout
the chaos—mostly from
Kat Dennings—which were

 

refreshing and funny.

If you have seen every
Marvel movie and are invested,
you need to see this one. The
movie even has a preview for
the next Marvel instalment,
Captain America: The Winter
Soldier. There are also a few
things after the credits that you
don’t want to miss.

 

Marvel goes

Alpha Flight: Waxing
Poetic review

Brittney MacDonald, Contributor

Ipha Flight is a graphic
novel series that follows
the adventures of the Canadian

Canadian with superhero team Alpha Flight’

branch of the X-Men. This series
is definitely a source of Canadian
pride.

It boasts such notable
credentials as producing the
first openly gay superhero,
Northstar, who was the subject of
controversy in recent years when
he married his same-sex partner
in Marvel’s open endorsement of
marriage equality.

The series, now rebooted
by Scott Lobdell, has some great

stories, but Alpha Flight: Waxing
Poetic is a transitional story and
not a stand-alone title.

The plot is a continuation
of the first volume in the series,
Alpha Flight: You Gotta Be Kiddin’
Me, where the seemingly sudden
appearance of the old Alpha
Flight members as they looked 30
years ago presents a mystery.

As Shaman and Nemesis
work magic to fix the apparently
disrupted timeline of the

universe, the team must defeat
Japanese villains and cyborgs,
and aid such Marvel classics as
The Avengers, the X-Men and the
Fantastic Four, all in very short,
episodic battles.

The book is the conclusion
of this particular story but serves
as a prologue for the next story
in the Alpha Flight chronicles,
Omega Flight. Because of this,
many points of interest are left
open so they can be concluded in

later issues of the new title.

The art is done by Clayton
Henry and Dave Ross, who
produce a style that succeeds in
its depiction of female anatomy
but leaves some of the male
characters appearing juvenile
in their expression and facial
features.

Alpha Flight: Waxing Poetic
is a worthy title for fans of the
series or genre but definitely not
for a quick stand-alone read.