thuvia ptarth

So anyway, that's when Steve Rogers and Tony Stark go out on a double date with Carol Danvers and Jessica Drew:

( Image from Avengers #2 by Jonathan Hickman & Jerome Opeña )

The role of Carol and Jessica's sassy straight best friend is played by Jessica Jones (not seen in this issue).

Also, fyi, Incredible Hulk #2 is all about the relationship between Tony and Bruce. The way the movieverse is percolating through the comicsverse is kind of adorable.

I know I mostly only talk about Steve/Tony here, but I do actually like the Avengers comics for other reasons as well. I like Jonathan Hickman's writing and Jerome Opeña's art, but Hickman strikes me as writer whose work is cooler, emotionally, than Bendis'. Bendis's Avengers appealed to me because of the warmth he brings to his best work, but also because I think he writes Captain America and Iron Man as really, really shippy. I expected the dynamic to read differently in the Hickman era, and I expected to find a lot of enjoyment in it, even if less fertile ground for fanfiction.

This is the first exchange between Steve and Tony in Hickman and Opeña's relaunch, Avengers #1:

( Large images )

Thanks, Jonathan Hickman! You're the best.

So today on Twitter it came up that Marvel comics and movies actually exist in the Marvel universe. Naturally, this involved discussion of the Iron Man TV series, and how Tony Stark is rumored to have slept with the actor who played him, who is now his AA sponsor. (Which is really inappropriate if they actually did sleep together. I know: Tony Stark, inappropriate? Never, you say.)

I thought some of you might like to see the actual references.

( Introducing Henry Hellrung )

Sadly, I could not find the crowd scene where some lady tells Tony Stark she thinks he's much better looking than Robert Downey, Jr. Instead I present to you the most recent bit of Steve/Tony shippery written by Brian Michael Bendis. Because I can.

( There is also that time Spider-man says Steve and Tony are the mom and dad of the Avengers )