Valkyrie

Valkyrie is one of my favorite Marvel characters, even if she's always been a bit of a B-lister. She's a woman warrior who's never afraid to be aggressive and take what's hers. Indeed, it would be easier just to say that's she's never afraid, period. She's a mainstay of my favorite Marvel team, the Defenders, and she's also probably the only Marvel Asgardian who never stood in Thor's shadow.

The latest issue of EW offers our first official look at the cast of Thor: Rangarok, and it’s certainly different — which actually might be a pretty good thing. The previous two films are widely considered lesser MCU entries, but with Taika Waititi behind the camera and promising a more humorous god of thunder, we’re looking forward to seeing a different side of Thor. That side is definitely present on this magazine cover, which also features Cate Blanchett as the villainous Hela and Tessa Thompson as the warrior Valkyrie.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. The Defenders are often considered the also-rans of Marvel super-teams. They lack the prestige of the Avengers and the popularity of the X-Men, and the Champions have them them for "most ridiculous." But now that they're getting a TV series on Netflix, it's time to give the Defenders a closer look. The lineup of the classic team, which debuted in 1971, was very different from the Netflix version. So with that in mind, we've put together five of the very best members of the original Defenders.

Steve Englehart was born on this day in 1947. By his mid-twenties, he was reshaping the Marvel Universe. At thirty, he was reinventing Batman. Englehart is easily one of the greatest comic book writers of all time, and probably the definitive writer of the 1970s. One of the interesting things about Englehart is that he doesn’t get credit for creating that many interesting characters. In fact, he’s probably most strongly associated with Mantis, a character he introduced in Avengers and held onto (in an incognito form) even when he moved to Justice League of America and beyond. But while Englehart certainly created some peculiar characters, what he was really great at was perfecting characters that already existed.

In the Norse mythological tradition, the term Ragnarök refers to a great series of cataclysmic events through which the slate of Earth may be struck completely, wiped clean, and started anew. It’s like a slightly more optimistic version of the apocalypse, wherein two survivors will begin again in a purer, kinder world. So when Marvel revealed that the third installment in Thor’s solo series of films would be titled Thor: Ragnarok, everyone knew what was up. This is not Thor: Day at the Beach or Thor: Light Picnic. In the parlance of “the streets,” it’s going down.

With Avengers: Age of Ultron just around the corner, interest in these heroes has never been greater, so we’ve decided to pit all the official comic book Avengers against each other in a battle for your affections. Who is the greatest, best, favorite Avenger of all time? Only you can decide. We’ve created voting groups that mix up different eras of Avengers membership. Group L is the final first round group, and our last batch of Avengers includes a Jennifer, two Jessicas, a James, and a Julia. You're picking between two Avenger X-Men, two Avenger FFers, two Spider-Women, and even someone from the New Universe, kinda. So vote wisely, and vote tactically; the top contenders go through to next week's second round of voting.

  I hold Marvel's gay characters in special affection. I love them because they're Marvel characters -- flawed, freaky, forever young. I love them because they're gay characters; they live and love and fear and lust like I do. That's an aspect of fiction that I never got to enjoy when I was a kid. But, reader; I worry. These characters are currently enjoying a moment in the spotlight, but what if

Hasbro's 3.75" Marvel Universe line will welcome scads of new characters featuring numerous new sculpts this Spring. Rhino, Captain America, Mysterio, Elektra, Baron Zemo (now flying solo from last SDCC's Masters of Evil box set), Cloak, Dagger, A-Bomb, a variant Abomination and a Black and White Iron Man will join the growing line...

Italian artist Milo Manara is a true master of the comics form, and has for decades now created enduringly beautiful works like Indian Summer, Click and El Guacho, just to name a few. I love to read his comics because Manara's delicate figures, luscious backgrounds and ultra-crisp layouts demonstrate an uncommonly careful consideration of how every line serves to build immersive worlds, create bel

This week on the War Rocket Ajax podcast, writer Cullen Bunn joins us to talk about his just-announced project with Will Sliney, Fearless Defenders! We discuss why Valkyrie and Misty Knight are awesome and whether his work will be Roy Thomas-approved, and you can hear the whole show right here at ComicsAlliance...