In GREAT LAKES AVENGERS #6—due out March 15—Big Bertha steps out on her own to face Dr. Nod and the Bod Squad, a group of villains who want to use her to sell weight loss supplements.

With this issue serving up a rare Big Bertha solo tale, we spoke with writer Zac Gorman about the character and her role on the team.

Marvel.com: Zac, how do you view Big Bertha’s role within the Great Lakes Avengers?

Zac Gorman: I think Big Bertha is probably the actual best choice for the leader of the Great Lakes Avengers. She’s the most capable and confident member of the team.

Marvel.com: Usually when we see Big Bertha, it’s within the context of the bigger team, but it sounds like in issue #6 you get to shine a spotlight on her. What can we expect from her, in terms of this solo outing?

Zac Gorman: Bertha has been a little one-dimensional in the past, but that always seemed like a shame to me. She’s the only member of the team with a real job outside of fighting crime and saving the world; she’s also a model. In our book, she’s a plus-sized model. She’s sort of merged her hero persona with her civilian one. She even changed her name. She’s found a balance that works for her. I think that’s cool.

Marvel.com: What can you tell us about Dr. Nod and the Bod Squad? What makes them the perfect enemies for Big Bertha to face?

Zac Gorman: Dr. Nod and the Bod Squad are sort of your modern snake oil salesman turned up to 11. In a sense they’re sort of a funhouse mirror version of Bertha. They’re really meant to illustrate the dark side of this body-obsessed, diet supplement industry that would have you risk your health to conform to a certain body type.

Marvel.com: Finally, like you said, Big Bertha’s always seemed like the GLA member who had the most going for her outside of the team, in terms of her modeling career. What do you think keeps her from leaving to pursue it?

Zac Gorman: The Bertha in our story has taken a path that feels more true to herself in becoming a plus-sized model, but there are challenges associated with that that she didn’t face before. Her decision cost her some of the clients that she had before, but it also gained some new ones. In a way, I think her decision to take her career in a new direction also involved some starting over. Sometimes that’s just the price you pay for doing what you really want.

Join Big Bertha’s adventures next week in GREAT LAKES AVENGERS #5, and then on March 15 with GREAT LAKES AVENGERS #6!

U.S.AVENGERS #4 arrives in shops and on stands on March 15, the first part of a…one-part story?

Yes, indeed. Writer Al Ewing and artist Paco Medina will be taking fans back to the old school with a tale so intense, so fast moving it could only be told in a single issue.

To enlighten us on the ancient art of the done in one, Ewing gave us a spot of his time.

Marvel.com: For you, what’s the key to delivering a single issue story that satisfies in general?

Al Ewing: Beginning, middle and end; a powerful opener and a slam-bang finish are obviously important, but every page in between needs to satisfy. Fortunately, by its very nature, the done-in-one story has to be dense. When you’re delivering a full tale in a short space, there’s no room for messing around.

In this case, we’ve got a beginning, a middle, another middle, and an end, because it’s a four-issue crossover in one comic! Short issues, admittedly—five-page chunks, even—but that just makes them all the sweeter!

Marvel.com: Specific to these characters and this book, what makes a strong single issue story?

Al Ewing: I wanted to go solo on Red Hulk; he got some play in [U.S.AVENGERS #1], but since then he’s been stuck in human form waiting for his “hour of power” to come around again, so I figured the readers deserved 20 full pages of smashing Red Hulk action! We get to see his idea of a stealth op when he’s tasked with infiltrating the small and fictional country of Lichtenbad—nestled on the borders of Latveria and Symkaria—to fight a rogue, rabid American Kaiju!

And what’s a crossover without guest stars galore? I hear that Deadpool guy is pretty big these days—he was in a film, as I recall—and he’s one of the few Marvel characters I’ve not actually written yet. Putting Deadpool in issue #4 is the new thing across all my books, as readers of ROCKET will soon come to learn.

U.S.Avengers #4 cover by Paco Medina

Marvel.com: What can you tell fans about American Kaiju? Why, if they haven’t already, are they sure to fall in love with him now?

Al Ewing: American Kaiju is a giant lizard monster with the US flag painted on his face like Nuke. I think that answers both of your questions.

Marvel.com: What elements does Deadpool bring to this book? How does he alter the chemistry amongst the other U.S.Avengers?

Al Ewing: Well, mostly he’s bouncing off General Maverick, but it’s some fun bouncing, although we’ve made the classic error of taking away his power of speech for the bulk of the issue. It’s like I never even saw that movie.

But essentially, he’s there to poke fun at a couple of cherished genre conventions—I’m pretty sure that’s how it generally goes with a Deadpool guest spot—and he’s bringing along a fabulous new/old villain who’s the great-grandson of one of the forgotten heroes of the Marvel Monsterverse! Who could it be? There’s no telling, unless you’ve already read the solicits for this issue!

Marvel.com: From a creative perspective, what made you feel that it was important to deliver such a story at this juncture of the book?

Al Ewing: Well, we’ve just come out of the opening arc, and we’re about to go into an arc that’s even heavier as Secret Empire plays havoc with all our hopes and certainties. I felt like the readers could use a breath of air and maybe even something to put a smile on their faces. This is definitely going to be the lightest-hearted issue so far; and it’s also the most experimental thing I’ve done in a while in terms of format, what with the whole four-comics-in-one thing.

Hopefully readers will enjoy the fun before everything gets darker and gloomier.

Marvel.com: How did Paco Medina’s art aid you in delivering a single issue story that satisfies by itself and as part of the larger series?

Al Ewing: Paco is a genius when it comes to fun and action; he’s got a clear, clean, un-muddled style that pops off the pages, and every single panel just begs for dialogue. His art on this issue in particular inspired me to add in a whole bunch of additional gags that weren’t in the plot, and we’re passing the savings on to you, True Believer!

Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without him on this series at this point; he’s set the tone perfectly on everything we’ve done together since CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS, and I’m pretty sure the readers agree.

Dive into the done-in-one action of U.S.AVENGERS #4 by Al Ewing and Paco Medina on March 15!

President Trump vowed today to crack down on “low-life leakers” who set in motion the events that led to the firing of his national security adviser, Gen. Mike Flynn. The leakers — also known to journalists as sources — disclosed that Flynn had spoken to the Russian ambassador during the Trump transition about easing sanctions that had been imposed by then-President Barack Obama.

Want to waste some money? There's an iPhone on eBay right now that will most certainly help you achieve that. It's an iPhone 4s, the glass on both its front and back are completely shattered, but — and this is apparently the thing that makes it worth its $149,999 asking price — the back panel has been replaced with a totally unlicensed one honoring the late Steve Jobs. The seller insists that any potential buyers "do research before purchase," so let's take their advice and figure out what in the hell is going on here.

The seller's description sheds very little light on why they believe this particular shattered iPhone is worth as much as a high-end sports car, but it's clear it all comes back to that fancy Steve Jobs tribute on the back. The seller boldly claims that the phone is "1 of only 56 phones made to honor the late Steve Jobs."

The back panel of the iPhone reads "Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011" and replaces the official Apple logo with a version using Jobs' likeness as the cutout. That particular logo was designed by Jonathan Mak, a design student in Hong Kong who created it shortly after Jobs' death as a tribute to the tech guru. It quickly went viral and was ripped off for all kinds of unlicensed accessories, from phone cases to posters.

The modified logo was also used by a company called Goldgenie, which has become fairly well known for producing absurdly expensive versions of the iPhone, Apple Watch, and other Apple devices. The company modifies them by adding lots of gold and sometimes gems, and often replaces parts of Apple's devices with gold plated versions. After Jobs passed away in 2011, Goldgenie decided to roll out a special edition iPhone 4s paying tribute to him. The phone had its rear panel replaced with a gold version using Mak's logo, and Goldgenie made only — wait for it — 56 of them.

Unfortunately for the eBay seller in question, the phone in the listing is not one of these cherished tributes. Okay, so if it's not one of these limited edition phones, how did it end up with the Steve Jobs treatment? Like I said above, that altered logo made it to all corners of the grey market, and one iPhone replacement parts maker decided to use it to create replacement panels for the iPhone 4s.

You could buy them (on eBay, ironically) for about $10 to $15, and countless were sold in the months following Jobs' death.

What the seller is trying to claim is an extremely limited edition, gold-plated tribute iPhone is really just a busted iPhone 4s with a busted $10 grey market replacement panel on the back. Try not to sprain your wrist as you pull your credit card out at mach speed.

Celebrate Black History Month by delving into the first appearances of Marvel’s most prominent African and African-American characters on Marvel Unlimited!

Misty Knight just might be the best mash-up of popular 70’s film genres in existence. In addition to being an awesomely strong and confident black woman—not unlike many of the characters seen on the big screen in blaxploitation films—she also works as a detective, possesses a deep knowledge of the martial arts and sports a wall-crushing bionic arm!

Though mentioned by Colleen Wing in the previous issue, Misty Knight appeared for the first time in 1975’s MARVEL PREMIERE #21 by Tony Isabella and Arvell Jones. Danny Rand—aka Iron Fist—walked into Dr. Lee Wing’s brownstone only to find seven assassins lying dead on the floor and the Wings missing. The next thing he knew, a woman with impressive martial arts skills leaped out of nowhere to attack him. Iron Fist tried explaining himself, but his assailant continued to attack without listening. To get back on the trail of the Wings’ kidnappers, Danny gave her a nerve pinch that knocked Misty out.

Misty and Danny didn’t cross paths again until IRON FIST #1 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Over the book’s 15 issue run, the pair crossed paths a number of times. In that time, we learned her back story as a cop who threw a bomb out of the way that blew up her arm. She later had it replaced with a cybernetic version that offers additional strength to her already powerful form.

Misty also explained that she and Colleen Wing formed a private detective company called Nightwing Restorations Ltd. Knight has also been a member of the Heroes for Hire, Daughters of the Dragon, and even the Valkyrior in FEARLESS DEFENDERS.

Though she never joined the Avengers, Misty Knight continues to take part in huge storylines. She and Colleen formed a new Heroes for Hire at the request of Tony Stark during Civil War. Their mission revolved around taking down unregistered super people. She and the same team later tried to protect the planet during World War Hulk, even taking on the Jade Giant’s Warbound pals.

These days, Misty and Sam Wilson spend quite a bit of time together in the latter’s self-titled Captain America comic. She’s helped her fellow hero deal with the backlash against his continued use of the name “Captain America,” but also backed him against confrontations with Doctor Malus, the Serpent Squad, and a public that doesn’t trust the new Cap.

History Lesson

While MARVEL PREMIERE #21 stands as the official first appearance of Misty Knight, Claremont and Byrne actually retconned an earlier issue to make it the chronological debut of the character. In MARVEL TEAM-UP #64, Spidey and the Daughters of the Dragon take on The Steel Serpent. At the end of the issue, the Wall-Crawler asks Misty if they’ve met before and she explained that he saved her from some muggers on Christmas eve with “some dude in a flyin’ bathtub.” That’s a nod to MARVEL TEAM-UP #1 when, while chasing Sandman, Spidey and Human Torch stopped to save an unidentified woman from some hoodlums. It’s only a three-page sequence, but it sure must have left an impression on Byrne and Claremont!

Tomorrow we close out the week by examining the origins of the newest character showcased so far: Blue Marvel!

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the commission will take a careful approach towards the merger between AT&T and Time-Warner.

Three suspects lifted the turtle off the ground and hurled it back to the pavement, trying to break its shell.