Yearly Archives: 2013
For Your Viewing Pleasure: Electro!
San Diego Comic-Con (Or is it Comic-Con International?) has surprised us again with a short, sweet little teaser for the new Electro from Amazing Spider-Man 2. It’s not much, but it’s still neat.
It’s not that great of a look at him, but it’s still something. And knowing Comic-Con, I doubt the actual footage from the presentation will make it online in any quality fashion. I’m still waiting on a quality version of that Ant-Man teaser reel from a few years ago. So for now, just enjoy this tiny little tease of a villain. I’m still think Electro looks good.
Review: X-Factor #259
Hey continuity fans, this issue is for you! Did you ever wonder what happened to Dazzler’s baby from that one brief mention of it’s fate back in 2001? What about the secret history of Longshot and Shatterstar? Are you a scholar of X-Men history so deep and obscure that you’ve been waiting decades for your answers? Peter David and X-Factor have you covered in the latest issue of The End of X-Factor! And it’s mostly good, but also mostly just a quick attempt for PAD to write off a story idea he had in one issue.
X-Factor #259
On the one hand, The End of X-Factor is about tying off each individual character with a bow. On the other hand, like with this issue, PAD might be cramming every story idea he had left into single, one-off issues.
Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.
I’m just not a big fan of Rictor, Shatterstar or Longshot, so maybe the true strength of this issue was lost on me. PAD has been hinting at some sort of connection between the two similar heroes for a while now, and I can definitely say I didn’t see this exact twist coming, but it’s still similar to what I expected. It also only comes up in the last third of the book, which turns into a huge info-dump as PAD just lets it all out. I got the feeling that he had planned something bigger and better for the big reveal, but the comic’s cancellation saw to the end of those plans.
The rest of the issue is fine. It’s mostly about Rictor, and it’s so utterly random. After the events of Hell on Earth War, Rictor wound up in the Mojoverse, of all places. That part doesn’t make much sense, but again, this issue is all about tying off the Longshot/Shatterstar story. PAD does a fine job with it, and might actually appease a few continuity buffs in the audience.
Review: Pacific Rim
Imagine a tank. Now imagine that tank is shaped like a human being. Now imagine that tank is as tall as a skyscraper, and it’s used to beat down giant monsters in the kind of fights that shake the streets, shatter buildings and use oceanliners as baseball bats. That is Pacific Rim, the ultimate ode to giant robots and monster movies of old. And considering my childhood love of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and my own desire to someday pilot a Megazord, I was definitely looking forward to Pacific Rim – and I was not disappointed.
Pacific Rim is the kind of summer spectacle movie that people should be lining up to see. It’s the kind of movie that demands a bigger IMAX screen, because the action is both huge and hugely entertaining. The human characters could have used a little more fleshing out, but the size and scope of the film do not disappoint.
Movie Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
Sadly, the Adam Sandler film Grown Ups 2 somehow captivated audiences more this past weekend than Pacific Rim. This is the world we live in. A crappy, crummy, by-the-numbers, lazy Sandler fart-joke-fest made more money than an original, high-octane movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters. Do I need to repeat that? Giant robots fighting giant monsters. In big, bombastic slugfests! It’s the Megazord fighting Godzilla! It’s every childhood joy of mine coming to fun, exciting life on the big screen. What more could humanity possibly want from its movies?
That little children around the world aren’t bugging their parents for Gipsy Danger toys right now is a crime against humanity.
Take it from a big geek like me, the robot/monster fights in Pacific Rim are exactly what we hoped they would be – though they almost all take place at night…in the rain…and while standing waist-deep in the water. I guess sometimes filmmakers have to do what they can to hide the CGI. But I won’t hold it against them. The fights are big, brutal and highly entertaining. And unlike Man of Steel, the CGI was not just a big mess of explosions and mindless destruction. These were unique, cool-looking beings, and their actions were easy to follow and understand. Pacific Rim is big CGI done right.
If only the human characters were as awesome as the giant, asskicking robots.
Join me after the jump for my full review of Pacific Rim. And beware, there will be some SPOILERS.
The 6 Characters on My Avengers Team
San Diego Comic-Con is this weekend, and to celebrate, I’ve put together a List of Six that may be one of the purest forms of comic book geekery: what is my ideal Avengers lineup? What is my dream team? We’ve played this game several times before with the Sinister Six and X-Force, well now I’m setting my sights on the big guys. The game is simple, and as a comic book geek, I think it’s fantastically fun: if I were hired to write an Avengers comic, and had free reign over what characters to put on the team, who would I pick? Who would you pick?
The Avengers are very different from the Justice League over at DC Comics. I could never do one of these lists for the Justice League, because my ideal lineup for that team is the same as everybody else: use the top 7 classic Justice Leaguers: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. That’s the perfect Justice League, hands down. No need to debate. But the Avengers are very different. The Avengers are not just made up of the top superheroes over at Marvel. The Avengers are their own little family of superheroes, known more for being Avengers than for being solo heroes. And if I were to make a team of Avengers, I definitely wouldn’t put popular characters like Spider-Man or Wolverine on the team just because they sell.
I have my own ideas. And I’m sure you have yours. Join me after the jump for the characters I would put on my Avengers team. And please share your own ideal lineup in the comments!
How Man of Steel Should Have Ended
I expected to see a lot more Internet videos mocking Man of Steel by this point.
Fortunately, the How It Should Have Ended team is picking up the slack with a fun video poking at a major plot hole. It’s good for a few laughs, and those cats are definitely spot on. But then there are a ton of plot holes in Man of Steel. I demand more funny videos mocking Man of Steel!
Henchman-4-Hire 