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The award-winning colorist and designer, José Villarrubia, has started an online debate over the difference between comic book homages and plagiarism after he posted on social media about an Amazing Spider-Man comic book variant cover by Tyler Kirkham that he felt went beyond homaging the original cover by John Romita Jr. (colored by Villarrubia), after Villarrubia saw an advertisement online for an upcoming book about Kirkham's Marvel art that used the variant cover to advertise for the book.

Homages, of course, have always existed, but they have become a major part of the comic book industry in more recent years, as the number of variant covers for every issue of any given comic book has exploded, with certain publishers routinely publishing at Least four variant covers for any given comic book, so naturally, with an increased need for cover art ideas, homages have become very popular, with Marvel even...

Warning: Spoilers for Ultimate Spider-Man #12Aunt May is a truly indispensable part of the Parker family in Spider-Man lore, but that idea is being put to the test with a controversial change in the new Ultimate Universe. No matter what trouble Peter goes through, he can almost always rely on his aunt for emotional support. Aunt May is partly responsible for Peter's strong moral core, but everything is different in the Ultimate Universe.

Fans got to see the surprising new family dynamic in Ultimate Spider-Man #12 by Johnathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto. This story takes place in December, and the Parker family has gathered around for Christmas, including Ben Parker, Peter, Mary Jane, Jonah Jameson, Madeline Watson, and Peter's children, May and Richard Parker.

One of the most notable absences is obviously Aunt May, who unfortunately lost her life in a supposed terrorist attack in New York City.

In the Ultimate Universe,...

Hellion, a former Academy X student, is a powerful telekinetic mutant with a turbulent past, and potential for leadership that could be explored further in the X-franchise's upcoming relaunch "From the Ashes" Repeated tragedies, including losing his hands, have left Hellion sidelined after spending time as a prominent X-character; while he has appeared in minor, supporting roles during the Krakoan Era, the creators behind X-Men should consider giving him an important role in the franchise's new paradigm. In a post-Krakoa world, Hellion could be vital to helping the next generation of mutants, as he has a unique understanding of mutant struggles, and should be given the opportunity to rise as a leader for the X-Men.

Even at their lowest points, the X-Men is consistently stacked with powerful mutants. Generations of students have passed through different incarnations of their specialized schools, and while some went on to become team members, others have remained in the background.

Thanks to his healing factor and adamantium-laced skeleton, Wolverine is one of the Marvel Universe’s toughest opponents, and yet Captain America's tactical genius still found a way around his main weapon. When Logan charges into a fight, it's with the intent of using his claws to end it quickly, and yet Steve Rogers was ready for this tactic.

The showdown between Captain America and Wolverine takes place in Wolverine: Origins #4, by Daniel Way, Steve Dillon, Dan Kemp and Randy Gentile. After Logan is drawn into Vietnam by Captain America's dark replacement Nuke, Cap arrives on the scene to get a handle on the situation. But Wolverine winds up matching Cap blow-for-blow, as the two tear into each other with neither one gaining the upper hand. That’s when Cap decides to put his strategic brain to use. After tricking Wolverine into retracting his claws, Captain America squeezes as hard as he can,...

Warning: Spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #31 ahead!The majority of Spider-Man's foes are infamous for drawing upon animals for inspiration, but the debut of Spider-Boy's new nemesis comes with a shocking retcon: it turns out that this new villain, Madame Monstrosity, claims to have been behind Spider-Man's zoo of a rogues' gallery all along.

Madame Monstrosity makes her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #31 in Dan Slott, Paco Medina, and Erick Arciniega's story "The Mother of Invention." Here she is revealed to be an elderly woman whose home is staffed by hybrid "humanimals" of her own creation.

When she sees a newspaper article detailing Spider-Boy's exploits, she accuses her daughter (supervillain Shannon Stillwell) of stealing her work. Madame Monstrosity then goes on to list the terrible fates that befell those who stole from her...revealing that she is responsible for creating the Lizard, Morbius, Rhino, Scorpion, and the Human Fly.

Related:...

Actors with multiple prominent superhero roles -- sometimes in the same franchise -- are becoming more and more common. The biggest example is likely Chris Evans, who played Johnny Storm in a pair of fair-to-middling Fantastic Four movies before rocketing to super-stardom as Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daniel Kaluuya has officially been added to those ranks: stealing the show in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as Spider-Punk after appearing as the treacherous W'Kabi in the original Black Panther. Should Hobie Brown cross over into the MCU, the actor is a cinch for the role. There's even the Multiverse to explain the physical similarities between the two characters, with the McU's Hobie possibly being a variant of W'Kabi.

And the pair aren't so far apart as they may appear. Their appearances in the Marvel comics differ wildly from their onscreen adventures and, in the process, offer a common...