Aquaman Strikes Back

Let the Silver Age revival continue!  Geoff Johns has become both famous (and infamous) for returning Silver Age icons back to popularity, even if it means the occasional resurrection or putting newer characters to the side.  And for the most part, he's managed to make these stories work.  And you can't argue with the sales results: his comics consistently sell and are always among DC's top comics.

Now that Brightest Day is coming to an end, Johns has announced that he will begin writing an Aquaman solo series.  Cool?  Look, I can see why people would be interested in characters like the Flash and Green Lantern, but Aquaman?  He's always been kinda lame.  I don't know if it's the goofy costume, uncompromisingly useless powers or general lack of personality, but I've never seen any appeal in Aquaman.  Several writers have tried to dramatically change the hero, and no take on the character has ever really stuck.  But with Johns, expect all the original, classic interpretations to be out in full force.  No hook arm for this Aquaman!

I can't be too excited for this.  The only time I've ever liked Aquaman was during his guest appearances in the Justice League TV show, where he was kind of a badass.  That, and when it launched Vinnie Chase to stardom on Entourage.  It might not be fair to write this series off completely but hey, it's Aquaman.

Who Is the Avengers Villain?

So it's official.  The Avengers have started filming, which is a terrifying concept.  The project was announced almost three years ago, and it's always been theoretical, something so impossible to create you wondered if it would ever become a reality.  And it's filming.  Please, please don't mess this up Marvel...

The funny thing?  We've heard one casting announcement since SDCC last summer.  To be fair, most of the roster was set in stone and already in place.  That was kind of the point.  But the only new recruit outside of the team itself has been Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill.  The movie doesn't really need any more of a supporting cast considering it has, what, 7 main characters?  But there is one casting choice we have yet to hear.  The villain.

Look at them without at a villain!  Standing around, trying not to look bored.  It's embarrassing.

Let's assume that casting is done, and that the movie is in fact shooting.  This means the villain is someone who already exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or will be done with CGI of some kind.  This rules out some of the more human villains like Baron Zemo, or even guys like Thanos who need actors underneath all that makeup  Who does that leave?  One option is the Loki and the Hulk tag team.  This has been one of those rumors that has been thrown out and rumored about for quite a while, and is also the original story from the comics.  I'm not a huge proponent of this theory, since I think you can't really justify the Hulk as an ongoing threat or force of evil, even with mind control through Loki.  The Hulk will be at odds with the rest of the team, but I still don't like him as the biggest threat for our heroes.  And you can't have Loki be "the" villain, because he's ultimately Thor's arch nemesis and a threat we know the God of Thunder can handle on his own.

The other possibility is the Skrulls (or whatever they call them in the movies).  Considering you don't need to cast any specific Skrull characters and just need a bunch of the aliens themselves, this is still a viable option.  Then again, we need at least some of these damn dirty aliens to talk, and they can't all be part of some faceless alien horde.  So I would have expected there to be at least one Skrull cast, but I could be wrong.  We've heard more than a few rumors about the Skrulls as villains, so this could still be possible.
 

He's just as confused as I am.

I'm really seeing these as the two biggest options at this point.  Between news and rumors, as well as simply plausibility, they make the most sense.  Unless Marvel is being really, really sneaky that is.  And I wouldn't hold it past them.

Sucker Punch and Superman

Zack Snyder made 300.  For that, I will always love him.  That movie kicked so much ass and was so perfectly done he gets a permanent free pass from me for the rest of his career.  And that's good for him, because it looks like he's going to need it.  His sprawling adaptation of Watchmen was just too long and worn out for my taste, and ended up just not working for me (although I understand why some may like it).  And now he brings us Sucker Punch.  I never was too interested in this one.  The whole insane asylum spin doesn't really do anything for me, and the commercial make it seem like one big video game.  And the reviews are coming in.  And they aren't too pretty.

What?  This movie has no plot?  Impossible.

I bring this up because Snyder already has a strong attachment to comic book adaptions and is now working on the of father of heroes himself, Superman.  What does Sucker Punch tell us?  Based on the reviews, we can still count on him to make something visually impressive, so when Superman does finally punch something he'll do it in style.  But all of Sucker Punch's criticism seems to lie on it's weak script (written by Snyder) and jumbled storytelling.  And this trend has been apparent in Snyder's work so far.  With 300, the story was very simple and straightforward, making it easy for Snyder to set up something suitably epic.  You can clearly see that with Watchmen's much more complex plot and characters, the pacing was cramped and left little room for any subtlety.  So where does Superman fit on this spectrum?  This is going to depend on David Goyer's script.  If written well enough, I can see Snyder delivering the Superman movie fans have been dying for.

To sum things up, is Sucker Punch a sign of Doomsday for Superman?  No, not necessarily.  But it sure isn't a good sign either.

Journey Into Spider Island

Big things are on the horizon for Spider-Man.  Kicking off in August is a major story called Spider Island, which somehow involves Spidery's powers being transferred to almost all of Manhattan. 

It's still hard to say what the cause of the catastrophe will be, but my guess is that Doc Ock and the Sinister Six will be behind it somehow.  We know Ock has something planned (something..sinister?!?) for old Webhead, and he's one of the few villains who could pull off such a huge scheme.  Although I don't know how a master criminal makes his life easier by giving the average joe the powers of the guy who beats you up every time you show your face in public.  It would be like Two-Face setting up shop in Krypton.

I'm a big fan of Dan Slott's recent work on the Amazing Spider-Man, but this story sounds a bit off.  The whole island of Manhattan getting Spidey's powers?  I think when something like that happens, you start calling in the Avengers and Fantastic Four rather than Spider-Man.  I think the hero is at his best when confronting smaller, more contained threats rather than something with this kind of scale.  Because I trust Slott, I'm willing to give this event a chance, but I'm really not that excited by it.  It sounds a bit gimmicky and shallow, and even the title sounds a bit too retro for it's own good.  I think I'll stick with Fear Itself and War of the Green Lanterns for the time being.

Captain America Trailer Released

After weeks of rumors and teasers, it's here.  Captain America enters the fight with this first full length theatrical trailer.




This trailer had the opposite effect on me that I thought it would.  I was hoping for something that would tide me over, giving m.  Instead, I need to see this movie right now.  I'm going to go crazy waiting for it to come out

I have to say it looks pretty great.  Everything is spot on, and the only thing I would like to see a bit more of is the Red Skull.  But it's got some nice humor ("That was penicillin"), wonderful visuals, and the makings of some great action.  Everything is distinctly WWII, but fits in incredibly well with the rest of the Marvel Universe.  This is certainly a world that Thor could exist in as well.  And that reminds me, the appearance of Howard Stark?  You had to guess Marvel would throw that in there.  Chris Evans feels more and more like a right fit for Steve Rogers, although it will be interesting to see how he fits into the Avengers.

So Cap continues to impress, and still has potential of being one of the best superhero movies yet.  That being said, I'm probably looking forward to Thor more at this point.  Still, I'm dying to see both of them.

So Who Will Joseph Gordon Levitt Play in Batman 3?

It's been pretty much confirmed that Joseph Gordon Levitt will be joining Christian Bale and Inception co-star Tom Hardy in the latest Batman movie.  But was hasn't been confirmed is who exactly the actor will be playing.  We've been hearing he might play Alberto Falcone or the Black Mask, with wildly conflicting rumors about which one is true.  So what could his role be?

It's probably a safe bet that whoever Levitt plays will be a supporting player.  Bane is "the" villain, and Catwoman will be another leading role .  The last two movies have both had two villainois characters (one main villain and one secondary) and then assorted underworld types.  I would expect a something similar in The Dark Knight Rises.  And if it is a villainous role, I would expect something very simple and down to earth.  Alberto Falcone coming in as Gotham's latest crime lord is a believable story.  It's not like the mob just disappeared after the Dark Knight.  The character's only real appearance was in the Long Halloween, where he was revealed as the mysterious Holiday Killer (sort of).  I would expect that whole serial killer element to be significantly played down, if present at all, and his appearance would also reassert the presence of the Falcone family.  This choice seems very likely since it fits within Nolan's world very well, and Joseph Gordon Levitt actually looks a bit like the character.

But what about the Black Mask?  Certainly possible.  The villain himself is pretty boring, and he's little more than a crime boss who wears a skull mask.  There isn't too much of a need for another costumed villain, especially one who wears a black spray painted Red Skull mask.  I don't see what the Black Mask could add to the story other than adding another insane costumed villain for the sake of adding an insane costumed villain.  If the Black Mask is present, I would expect a highly modified version somehow involved in whatever Bane has planned for Gotham city.  And even then, he probably wouldn't wear a mask even remotely resembling what he has in comics.

So the running theme of these two rumors is the mob.  Since the mob will certainly have a presence in TDKR, this seems to make the most sense.  Fans are also throwing out rumors that Levitt will be playing Robin/Nightwing, which is a fairly ridiculous idea if you ask me.  Including him as the top assassin Deadshot isn't as ludicrous, but falls into the same trap of adding costumed villains for the sake of adding them.  But no matter who he plays, I'm happy the actor is involved.  He's done nothing but impress me in everything from (500) Days of Summer to Inception, and if we can see more bromance between him Tom Hardy, all the better.

News From C2E2

Plenty of great updates in the world of comics today at the C2E2 convention out in Chicago.  C2E2 has been a great source of info for summer events, and with SDCC becoming more focused on movies and TV we're seeing more and more critical announcements. 

Let's start with Marvel.  The company has promised big changes for Moon Knight, Daredevil and the Punisher, hoping to turn the three traditionally B-List characters into icons.  Now, I understand the need to change things up with Moon Knight, but both the Punisher and Daredevil both have strong followings and legendary runs.  Today Marvel announced the inclusion of Mark Waid on Daredevil and Greg Rucka on the Punisher.  Although I'm not especially excited for the new Daredevil (his comic has been consistently solid for the past few years), the new artwork on the Punisher looks wonderful.

There's also been plenty of updates on Fear Itself, including the introduction of a new Ghost Rider.  Ghost Rider has been on the fringes of the Marvel Universe for years now, and is currently without an ongoing monthly series.  He's a fairly tricky character to write about, although I am curious who will take over the Ghost Rider mantle.  Fear Itself won't be boasting a huge number of tie ins, but the ones described so far seem promising, like one focusing on Namor.  The event feels pretty well planned out, and the prologue issue about the Red Skull was a great start.

DC didn't have too many big announcements, instead keeping Flashpoint shrouded in mystery.  A good move.  It's their summer event, and I don't see any reason to spoil the mystery.  We also heard that the constructs Green Lantern creates in the comics will start to resemble those used in the movies.  This is interesting, since the constructs are pretty perfect as is.  Other minor updates such as Cassandra Cain returning to Batgirl sound fun, but ending the Flash solo series as Flashpoint starts up feels...unnecessary.  DC didn't have too much big news, but then again their major projects are mostly set to go.