Category Archives: Marvel
Falcon to Appear in Captain America Sequel
Casting news for Captain America 2 has revealed that the superhero Falcon will be making an appearance. Much like Iron Man got to team up with War Machine in Iron Man 2, it looks like Cap’s also going to get a sidekick!
Complete with wise-cracking bird sidekick of his own
This is pretty cool news. War Machine was a great addition to Iron Man 2, handled with class and style that made sense for the story. So I’m confident that Marvel Studios will find a good way to introduce the Falcon. It shouldn’t be too hard. Just make him a SHIELD agent assigned to help Steve Rogers adjust to life in the 21st century. We already know that’s going to be a major focus of the movie anyway.
And much like Black Widow appearing in Iron Man 2, the fanboy in me just loves a good superhero guest appearance in the movies.
Actor Anthony has been linked to the Falcon role. I’ve apparently seen a few movies with him in it, but he didn’t leave any kind of impression. Still, more power to him.
The ‘Mack’ Daddy himself
For those who do not know, the Falcon has been a friend and partner to Captain America since 1969. Honestly, it’s one of the weirdest partnerships in comics. What the heck does a guy who dresses like that and calls himself the Falcon have to do with Captain America? His only super-power is the ability to communicate with birds. The wings that make him fly are part of the costume. Falcon can’t fly on his own. He’s like Aquaman of the air. In any other context, he’d be a D-list nobody.
But Falcon was created in the context of the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam, when Stan Lee and company wanted an African-American hero who could be a social figure as well as give Captain America some street cred. It worked, and Falcon has been around ever since. So I think he’d be a great addition to the Captain America sequel.
Though I’d recommend a few changes. First of all, lose the ability to communicate with birds. It adds nothing to the character and could come off as really silly. He can keep his pet falcon Redwing, and maybe be intuitive about Redwing’s calls, but nix the actual power to talk with birds.
And the costume has to change. That bright white and red number has got to go. Having a wing suit isn’t a problem at all. SHIELD in the Marvel Movieverse is already full of codenamed agents with unique abilities, like Black Widow and Hawkeye. So it works out fine if they have a guy named Falcon who has a wing suit. That part is easy. It’s the color scheme that wouldn’t work in the movies. So like they did with Hawkeye, I recommend just going with Falcon’s Ultimate costume for inspiration. Then maybe give it white and red trim.
And guns, lots of guns
Now there’s a movie-ready character!
Punisher Star Makes Punisher Fan Film
Thomas Jane, the star of the detested (by me) Punisher film from 2004, decided to make his own Punisher fan film for kicks and giggles. It’s actually pretty damn good – even if Punisher is a little slow in dealing out punishment.
Thanks to Xavier for the tip. My thoughts after the jump.
Marvel Movie News from Comic-Con
The biggest news to come out of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, in my opinion, were the announcements of Marvel’s next batch of superhero movies. There was a lot of stuff going down at Comic-Con, but I think this was the biggest. WB made some mention of their next Superman movie, but I’m not too impressed. It’s the Marvel stuff that has me excited!
So even though it’s old news at this point, I still want to give my two cents.
First up, the announcement I’ve been waiting for: Ant-Man!
I’ve been following Ant-Man coverage for as long as I’ve had this blog, and to finally get the official announcement that Edgar Wright is going to start directing is exciting! Not to mention finally getting that logo. Plus the minute-long test reel that he filmed last month was shown in its entirety to the crowd. I, of course, haven’t seen it, and it hasn’t made it to Youtube yet. But You can check out some Twitter reactions here.
From what I’ve managed to gather, the Ant-Man suit is black with red fringe, and it looks more like Eric O’Grady’s more modern costume. It’s steampunkish, I guess. Filming is expected to begin next year, and I am very excited.
Ant-Man is quite possibly the movie I am most looking forward to out of all movies in the next 5 or so years. And that includes Avengers 2.
Iron Man 3 actually had a mini-trailer shown at Comic-Con, which is kind of exciting. Who knows when we’ll get to see the first real trailer, but I’m excited that the film is coming along so well. Apparently in the footage people saw the Iron Man armor simply flying across the room to Stark, rather than having him standing in a giant machine that puts the armor on him manually. Now he controls it with his mind – which is the point of the Extremis storyline in the comics, of which the new movie will be based. Although considering that the armor looks like…
I can’t say I’m too pleased. That’s supposed to be his new Iron Man 3 armor, and it looks silly. Who though it would be a good idea to inverse the gold and the red? It looks hideous.
Though we do have confirmation that Ben Kingsley is playing a variation of the Mandarin, which is awesome! Ben Kingsley seems perfect for the role, and I definitely wanted Mandarin in this film. That he won’t be the a negative stereotype Chinese man is fine. PC him up a little. Works for me.
Not much news came in about Thor 2, other than the fact that they’re not going to call it ‘Thor 2’. I find that fascinating, considering that all of the Iron Man sequels have been numbered. Calling it ‘Thor 2’ just seems obvious. But ‘The Dark World’? Sounds foreboding. I’m hoping he goes to visit the Underworld, otherwise known as ‘Hel’ in the Norse mythos.
It makes a little more sense that the Captain America sequel has a subtitle, since his first film was Captain America: The First Avenger. So at least Captain America: The Winter Soldier is keeping that bit. Again, not much news came out other than the title – but what an exciting title. That is the exact #6 suggestion on my list of 6 Things I Want in the Captain America, Iron Man and Thor sequels. So I’m glad to see that Marvel Studios are reading my blog lists. The Winter Soldier is a badass character with potential for a badass storyline. So I’m excited.
We all knew it was coming, and Marvel has finally confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy will be coming out in 2014. I still think this is a risk on their part. Obviously movies about space heroes have had some success in the past. But I think it’s going to be jarring for the public to be thrown into this space-themed world when they’re expecting the more grounded, realistic Avengers sort of superhero action. And say what you will about The Avengers film, it was definitely grounded in realism. They may have been larger than life heroes fighting an endless army of aliens, but compared to what they could have done, that film was riding on its sense of realism.
I don’t know if Guardians of the Galaxy can do the same thing. Especially not with this cast.
The Avengers in Space!
That’s real, actual concept art from the upcoming film. We’ve got, from left, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, Starlord, Rocket Raccoon and Gamora. Anyone not familiar with this group click here for an earlier write up I wrote on the comic and team. It looks like a fantastic team, and one that sticks very close to the series that came out a few years ago. But again, I just think the non-comics-loving movie audience isn’t going to grasp the Guardians of the Galaxy the same way they did The Avengers.
Though I will always be behind a movie that brings Rocket Raccoon to the masses.
Deadpool Gets a Video Game!
Apparently everybody just got tired of waiting for a Deadpool movie, so video game developer High Moon Studios has decided to just go ahead and make a Deadpool video game. It was announced this weekend at Comic-Con, with a full trailer and everything. It looks like the Merc with a Mouth is going for an action-packed, third-person beat’em-up with a lot of comedy thrown in. The game looks pretty cool. And High Moon Studios is a quality outfit. Plus since this won’t be a tie in game, chances are good that High Moon took their time to make a quality game.
Also, it features a surprise cameo by Psylocke’s boobs!
This game actually looks good, I think. The comedy in the trailer isn’t very funny…but then Deadpool has been wearing thin for me for years. He’s had some good times in the past, but I dunno. Sometimes he can be a little over the top for my tastes. He’s a very easy character for writers to ‘try too hard’ with.
I prefer it when Deadpool is the only comedian in an adventure full of straight men. He fills that role in Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force comic, as well as in that silly Hulk vs. cartoon from a few years ago. I’m hoping the game follows those lines.
But again, Deadpool as the protagonist of his own action game is a brilliant idea. Action games, especially superhero action games, have come a long way in the past few years. This game stands to be very, very good.
He can use chimichangas as power ups!
Review: Scarlet Spider #7
I declare this to be an absolutely perfect issue of Scarlet Spider – though the new artist leaves a bit to be desired. This is a wonderful little comic, full of comedy, action and spontaneity. I was worried that Kaine was going to be stuck in a rut after the past few issues, at least as far as his cast is concerned, but writer Christopher Yost threw me a curveball that I never would have seen coming. And I like what it might mean for the series in the future. We also get a new villainous enterprise to deal with, one with a definite Houston-esque feel to it. And that last page cliffhanger practically screams ‘Texas!’
Scarlet Spider #7
And this issue is funny! Like, laugh-out-loud funny. Kaine isn’t cracking wise and making quips like his Manhattan ‘cousin’, but the writing in this issue is top notch.
Comic rating: 5/5: Great.
The only problem, and it’s not much of a problem, is new artist Khoi Pham. Previous artist, Ryan Stegman, has been promoted to the Fantastic Four series, so I imagine that’s a big step up from something like Scarlet Spider. More power to him. But Pham does not do as good a job with the Scarlet Spider character, his costume, and definitely not the action. Stegman drew fantastic, inventive action scenes that were full of energy. Pham, not so much. But it’s not that big of a deal. The rest of the issue is drawn quite well, and I’ve no doubt that Pham, if he’s sticking around, will get the hang of it.
Best of all, this issue really shines with Kaine and his unique personality. The tagline ‘All of the power, none of the responsibility’ lives up to its bold claim this issue. Kaine is a little wild, he’s a little cruel, and he’s definitely struggling with this whole ‘superhero’ thing. He’s not just a goody-two-shoes like Peter Parker, and it definitely shines through in this issue. I hope Yost really pushes this personality in Kaine, because I think he has the potential to be a really cool protagonist.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
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