• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • DC Guides
    • DC Events
    • DC New 52
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
    • The Sandman Universe
  • Marvel Guides
    • Marvel Events
    • Spider-Man Guide (1963-2018)
    • X-Men Reading Order
  • Indie & Licensed Comics
    • Spawn
    • Star Wars Guide
      • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
      • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
    • Valiant Guides
  • Drag
    • Canada’s Drag Race
    • Drag Race Down Under
    • Drag Race France
    • Drag Race Philippines
    • Dragula
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
  • Archive
  • Contact!

Marvel United: Multiverse enters the Age of Apocalypse! (plus, predicting the 10 most-likely expansion boxes)

January 25, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

Yesterday, CMON’s Marvel United: Multiverse Kickstarter campaign announced a second new expansion box bringing more heroes and villains to the game… and they’re all more mutants! That’s right, CMON has dipped into one of Marvel’s most-popular alternate timelines to announce Marvel United Multiverse Age of Apocalypse box!

There’s no question that Age of Apocalypse is Marvel’s most-popular and well-known excursion into an alternate timeline parallel to 616 other than the expansive Ultimate Universe. Based on that, it’s no surprise to see the box pop up here – especially since it checks off four unique X-characters we were missing.

(See my Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Age of Apocalypse for details on how to read the entire event.)

Am I pleased? Not entirely. I think this box brings both good choices and questionable choices with it.Marvel United Multiverse Age of Apocalypse - Kickstarter Exclusive Box

The good choices are very good choices: we get playable heroes of Nate Grey and Morph, and some seriously scary villains in the form of AOA Apocalypse, Holocaust / Nemesis, and Dark Beast.

That’s five key mutants we were missing from the massive list of possibilities in my prior post on the campaign.

It’s the other pair of choices that I question, plus one conspicuous absence.

As you can see on the cover of the box, this set includes Sabretooth in his familiar AOA costume as well as his sidekick Wild Child. What isn’t obvious from the box art is that the pair of them are a single sculpt with a single set of heroic cards.

This is a bummer, since it means we don’t have a standalone Wild Child sculpt we could homebrew to use with X-Factor and Alpha Flight, nor do we have an independent set of heroic Sabretooth cards (his prior release is a villain, not an anti-hero).

A prior “team-up” pair of Kitty Pryde and Lockheed were sculpted separately from each other, and the War of Kings box has a standalone Lockjaw, so there was precedent for Wild Child to stand on his own as a “pet” on a leash. The odds of getting him as his own solo sculpt seem incredibly low.

Next, there’s the conspicuous absence. This set absolutely should have Sugar Man to complete the original four AOA Refugees who crossed over to 616! Sugar Man is ultra-creepy, his sculpt would look cool, and he’d be much more at-home in the context of this box than as a standalone Stretch Goal. It seems like an odd oversight not to squeeze him in.

Finally, I question the value of an additional Magneto as a hero. He’s in the X-Men core box! I know CMON needed someone major to put in the front of the crowd on the box and I’m happy it’s not another Wolverine, but I’m not sure what AOA Magneto gives us as a distinct character other than the opportunity for CMON to make up a new card mechanic.Marvel United Multiverse Age of Apocalypse - Nate Grey Game Piece Render

Instead of Magneto, CMON could could have picked someone popular who was not in the X-Men core box. Last campaign, people went absolutely wild for Nightcrawler as one of the final stretch goals and AOA Nightcrawler is awesome. AOA Iceman and Sunfire are other terrific choices, since their AOA looks are unique (and in Sunfire’s case, iconic). Heck, AOA even has Kitty using Wolverine’s claws!

There were so many more-interesting multiversal choices that could’ve promoted a previously-seen mutant rather than repeating Magneto, who is still readily available at retail in the core box. To be fair, they did give this version of him a much more interesting card dynamic.

Enough grouching and backseat-board-game-designing. Will I still buy the box? OF COURSE. I’d probably buy it just for Nate Grey and Nemesis / Holocaust. I suspect we’ll see Sugar Man slip in as a stretch goal, and I can always design my own heroic Sabretooth deck.

With this second additional expansion box announced, fans are hotly debating what further boxed expansions are likely to arrive. Based on prior campaigns, it seems likely we could see an additional 3-5 expansion boxes in addition to stretch goals – another 1 before this weekend, 1-2 more next week, and another 1-2 before the campaign ends on February 9th.

Now we have one of Marvel’s most-obvious alternate timelines in a box, and CMON has already tipped that a Spider-Geddon box is headed direct-to-retail later this year. What will those 3-5 other boxes be? Let’s set some odds? [Read more…] about Marvel United: Multiverse enters the Age of Apocalypse! (plus, predicting the 10 most-likely expansion boxes)

Filed Under: comic books, games Tagged With: Age of Apocalypse, kickstarter, Marvel United

New for Patrons: Guide to Unstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne

January 24, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

My newest guide for all Patreon supporters of Crushing Krisis is for one of Marvel’s newest characters to hold down her own solo title – two of them, in fact! In my humble opinion, hers are the finest all-ages comics Marvel has produced in their main 616 continuity in the past decade and I absolutely treasure the memories of reading them for the first time with my daughter. She’s not quite the same as her MCU sibling, nor is she quite the hero you might expect her to be. It’s my brand new Guide to Unstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne!

Guide to Unstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne

The Guide to Unstoppable Wasp

Nadia van Dyne was one of many Legacy characters introduced to take up classic heroic mantles in All-New All-Different Marvel in 2016.

At the time, it was obvious that Marvel’s editors wanted to replace the entire Avengers starting line-up with newer versions, even if they weren’t currently Avengers- Sam Wilson as Cap, Jane Foster as Thor, Riri Williams as Ironheart, Scott Lang as Ant-Man, and Amadeus Cho as Hulk (plus Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales as Spider-Man, and Sam Alexander as Nova, for good measure).

There’s only one founding Avenger missing from that line-up – The Wasp!

The tricky thing about that plan is that Marvel had brought back the original Wasp, Janet van Dyne, in the pages of Uncanny Avengers just as they had finished sweeping aside Steve Rogers, Odinson, Tony Stark, Hank Pym, and Bruce Banner to make way for their new cast of Legacy Heroes.

Oh, and one more complication: Marvel had just introduced a Wasp in the MCU, but she was Hank Pym’s & Janet van Dyne’s grown-up daughter. They couldn’t replicate that in the comics… could they?

[Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Unstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne

Filed Under: comic books Tagged With: Gurihiru, Jeremy Whitley, Mark Waid, Marvel Comics, New Comic Book Guide, Unstoppable Wasp, Wasp

Guide to The Champions – now available to the public!

January 23, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

I’m happy to announce that my Guide to The Champions is now available to all CK readers! This guide covers both the 1975 Champions of Los Angeles as well as the 2016 revival of the team as a squad of Marvel’s young characters in the wake of Civil War II This guide exists thanks to the ongoing support of the outstanding Patrons of Crushing Krisis.

Guide to The Champions

When I first covered how to collect the 1975 edition of The Champions they didn’t merit their own guide page. They had 17 issues of their own and then faded into Marvel history while their members scattered to the winds. I relegated them to my Guide to X-Men Ongoings due to the team including Angel and Iceman.

In reality, the problem with reassembling The Champions wasn’t just that Iceman and Beast had been incorporated into The Defenders (visit the Guide to Defenders), and later into X-Factor (visit the newly-updated Guide to X-Factor)

It was also that Marvel lost the ability to publish comics with the “Champions” title! [Read more…] about Guide to The Champions – now available to the public!

Filed Under: comic books Tagged With: Angel, Black Widow, Danny Lore, Ghost Rider, Hercules, Iceman, Ironheart, Jim Zub, Mark Waid, Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, Nova, Sam Alexander, The Champions, Updated Comic Guide, Viv Vision

Dolly told me I’m doing okay

January 22, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

Last night, Dolly Parton reminded me that things come to me easily when I work the hardest. Just like Paul McCartney.

Also, our unconscious brain is the original A.I. engine.

Image by Chen from Pixabay

Except, I guess it’s a paradox to call the human brain artificial intelligence? Also, come to think of it, that first sentence was kind of paradoxical too.

Maybe I should back up a step. Maybe several steps.

I am mystified by people who run. Especially those who enjoy running or who can run quickly. I’ve always hated running and it seems to hate me right back. The process of my body lurching forward into a sprint has never once satisfied me. Every second I am running is a second I’d rather not be running.

Over the past year I’ve done a fair amount of running. More than 150 kilometers, at least – which certainly more-than-doubles my lifetime mileage.

Do you know what happens when you run a lot, even when you hate every single second of doing it? Eventually, it gets easier. I stopped getting as out of breath as I did at the start of the year. I stopped getting side stitches after a few months. After a while, I started getting marginally faster on every 5k route through my neighborhood.

Let me tell you: there is no kind of reward for running that is better than the running being over more quickly.

I look a break from running over the long, soggy New Zealand winter and spring. When I started running again in the past month, I feared I was right back to where I started. I was going to hate being slow and breathless and full of cramps. That was true the first few weeks. Then, something surprising happened. Without really trying, one day I checked my stopwatch at the end of my route and realized I had shattered my personal record by 30 seconds. Nothing about the run had seemed remarkable. I hadn’t even hated it any more than I hate any other run.

Things come to you easily when you work the hardest.

That’s also true for mental exertion. [Read more…] about Dolly told me I’m doing okay

Filed Under: stories Tagged With: Dolly Parton, dreams, Madonna, Paul McCartney, running, songwriting

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 4 – Snatch Game, Review & Power Ranking

January 21, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the fourth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 – a supersized version of Snatch Game, the Drag Race game show challenge of impersonation, comedy, and quick wit.

I think we had more than one potential Hall of Fame performance in this Snatch Game, which is always exciting to see! The first round of the game was more all-around entertaining, but the second round had had a trio of standouts.

Maybe this solidifies the argument for front-loading the season with Snatch Game as well as a Ball challenge within the first few episodes. We really ought to see a queen make it through these Drag Race fundamentals before she sashays away.

Surprisingly, this episode may have also made an argument in favor of the tight 40-minute edit of this season’s episodes. We never saw Ru’s walkaround where he attempts to undermine the queens’ characters choices, insisting that everyone would be funnier if they did Cher. It doesn’t add anything to the show. I much prefer to watch Snatch Game unfurl without a preview of how Ru might be biased for or against any of their choices.

Of course, Snatch Game is the one Drag Race challenge that has such a straightforward format where you can easily cut minutes out of the process of explaining it and it still turns out the same. Next week we’re due for a design challenge, and I fear that we’ll see very little of each queen as they design and construct their garments.

Did the crowd of strong Season 15 Snatch Game performances shake up my power rankings from last week? We had a major fall and a major lift, but not too much jostling between them.

Readers, start your engines! And, may the best drag queen win! [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 4 – Snatch Game, Review & Power Ranking

Filed Under: teevee Tagged With: drag, Drag Race, Joan Rivers, Power Rankings, RuPaul's Drag Race, RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15, Snatch Game

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 1035
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • Marvel United Multiverse Age of Apocalypse - Kickstarter Exclusive BoxMarvel United: Multiverse enters the Age of Apocalypse! (plus, predicting the 10 most-likely expansion boxes)
    CMON's Marvel United: Multiverse - Age of Apocalypse brings more mutants to the game! What are the 10 next expansions we might see soon? […]
  • The Guide to Unstoppable WaspNew for Patrons: Guide to Unstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne
    Who is The Unstoppable Wasp, and how did an elegant retcon from writer Mark Waid make her a different character than the MCU's Hope van Dyne? […]
  • Champions (2016) #1 variantGuide to The Champions – now available to the public!
    My Guide to The Champions is now available to everyone! Learn why Marvel abandoned this team concept after its 1977 cancellation until 2016. […]
  • Dolly told me I’m doing okay
    Do you know what happens when you run a lot, even when you hate every single second of doing it? Eventually, it gets easier. But, Dolly Parton doesn't always offer you encouragement when you shatter your personal record. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 4 – Snatch Game, Review & Power Ranking
    The double-size Season 15 Snatch Game gave us 14 celebrity impressions and a surprising amount of successes, though queens struggled with their "Beautiful Nightmare" runway prompt. […]
  • Marvel United: Multiverse makes more mutants, plus Inhumans enter the fray with War of Kings!
    The Marvel United: Multiverse campaign debuts a War of Kings box, and I tally a few hundred missing mutants they could add to the campaign. […]
  • Washington Post - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigns ahead of electionA Surprise Farewell to Prime Minister Ardern
    It felt like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was personally keeping my family safe with her decisive actions on gun violence and COVID policy. Now that era is coming to a close. […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Kickstarter Campaign ImageCMON’s Marvel United returns to Kickstarter with Marvel United: Multiverse!
    Board game publisher CMON is back on Kickstarter with a third wave of their delightful Marvel United game - and this time, it's multiversal! Their new campaign is for Marvel United: Multiverse! […]
  • mall-based time travel
    There are many things about New Zealand that delightfully feel retro to me, and that feeling is magnified whenever I visit a shopping mall. […]
  • Caught in the Act by Courtney ActCrushing On: Caught In The Act by Courtney Act (2022)
    Courtney Act's memoir Caught in the Act isn't just for Drag Race super fans. It's for anyone who has struggled to accept their own identity or success. […]
  • Updated: Guide to Cable
    My guide to Marvel's favorite time-hopping, Terminator-inspired mutant is now updated with comics and collections through the end of 2022! […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 3 – “All Queens Go To Heaven” Review & Power Ranking
    The queens vie for RuPaul's most-raucous laughter as they produce a trio of "All Queens Go To Heaven" commercials about the queer afterlife in this rushed episode. […]
  • The D&D Open Gaming License / The Dangers of Playing with Other People’s Toys
    Sometimes it feels like being a fan of anything is an appointment with future disappointment. Playing with other people's toys can be dangerous. […]
  • an excerpt from the cover of X-Factor (1986) #71, covered in the Guide to X-FactorUpdated: Guide to X-Factor
    My revised and expanded Guide to X-Factor is better than ever with new collections, links to buy and read digitally, and recommended starting points! […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.