Top Five Things To Look Forward To In Thor

Thor is almost here.  I've waited three years for this, and now I have to wait three days.  Now, some of you living outside of America might have already seen this movie.  And I would like you to know that I hate you, with every fiber of my being I hate you.  Petty, childish jealousy aside, I think we need to count down the five things to look forward to the most in Thor.  Anything to make these last nights go faster.

5. Asgard's Supporting Cast
Although he's not the first superhero you think of when it comes to supporting casts, Thor has one of the best in comics.  Odin?  The Warriors Three?  Sif?  Heimdall?  Volstagg!?  Volstagg the Mighty!?  Volstagg the Voluminous!?!  So many Shakespearean tropes are thrown into Norse mythology with wonderful results.  A collection of awesome actors thrown into larger than life roles should be something special, and watching Anthony Hopkins as Odin scares the living hell out of me.  

Oh god, Odin is smiling.  Something terrible is about to happen.

4. The Nine Realms
I usually don't rave over set design, but the work on Thor looks absolutely stellar.  Whether it's the gleaming palace of Asgard or the frost world of Jotunheim, expect out of this world environments.  Everything we've seen so far has been directly inspired by the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby days, where heavy handed sci-fi and ham fisted fantasy walked hand in hand like

3. Universe Building
This is Marvel's first attempt at doing something completely out of this world.  The original Iron Man was still grounded in reality (movie science!), and at least for the Hulk there was kinda science-y.  But Asgard?  A kingdom floating on a cloud with a rainbow bridge?  Gods who are really aliens?  Who speak in Olde English?  If you can get the audience to accept that, you can get them to accept literally any other crap you throw at them.  If audiences buy into Thor, all of the sudden those fantastical characters out in the Marvel Universe feel a bit more possible.  Dr. Strange?  Let's go for it.  Thanos?  We just saw the Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's throne room!  Marvel has some far out stories, and Thor might just be the start of it all.


2. Chris Hemsworth As Thor
You'd expect this to be a given, but in a cast as stacked as this one it's hard to stand out.  But Hemsworth looks like such a perfect fit for the part, I think he'll own the show.  This guy just is Thor, and I think this whole movie will provide the definitive take on the character, and that includes the comics.  Iron Man worked so well because it had such an engaging character at it's core, one that you honestly cared about.  I'm hoping for lightening to strike twice for the Avengers and if anyone can bring it, the God Thunder would be him.

For a God of Thunder of epic levels of violence, he spends alot of time on his hair.

And seriously people, the man freaking looks like a god!


1. Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Loki is my favorite villain, plain and simple. You have to admire the villain who chooses to make his plans so impossibly convoluted no one would expect them because they're just that ludicrous.  The kind of villain who begs to deliver a soliloquy or monologue every single page.  Fiercely intelligent, he's capably of the most rational and orderly plans, yet is ruled by his emotions.  A character full of contradictions, plagued by jealousy, and yet somehow not fully redeemable.  And while Loki could exist as a villain on his own, his rivalry with Thor takes the character to epic heights.  It's arguably impossible to tell a good Thor story without including his treacherous brother, and the trickster could be destined to fight his brother forever.  And then again, somewhere deep down, the two brothers might just truly love one another.  Yup, that's pretty much exactly how brothers work.

He is planning the shit out of something right now.

Based on every interview I've seen, Tom Hiddleston just gets the character.  He understands the mythos, and seems genuinely thrilled to be a part of it.  Alternatively, he hates the fandom and is just doing a brilliant job of hiding it.  Considering he's playing the Lord of Deception, it's a win-win situation.

So there you have it.  Great set designs, every character being perfectly cast, and an epic story.  You better be at that midnight showing.

Superman Renounces American Citizenship

Let's get one thing straight: I really don't care about Superman.  Never have, probably never will.  So when it was revealed that Superman renounced his American citizenship in Action Comics #900, I decided I had no qualms with Superman losing his soul and becoming <gasp> a communist!  But still, it's a fairly big moment for comics and definitely worth discussing.  For the record, I have yet to read this comic, so take my slightly completely unfounded commentary with a few heapings of salt.

Where you going with that flag Supes?  YOU'RE TAKING IT TO RUSSIA AREN'T YOU?!?

Now, at first I never really got Superman's American obession with "The American Way".  I may be as patriotic as they come, but it never felt like Superman was isolated to just one country.  There was much more sci-fi in his origin, and as an alien it felt weird having him being restrained by geography in such a way.  Of course, I then realized the idea of Superman as an immigration story, I slightly bought into it.  But Superman never really stood for America in the same way that Cap did.  It felt like they created a protector for the world and then threw in America as something superfluous.  You could really put Superman in any setting or time period and you would have the same (boring) character.  So, why do I disagree with him no longer being a US citizen?

From what I can tell, the reason for this change is that Superman believes himself to be a "citizen of the world" and basically doesn't want to play favorites.  Which is a fair mentality.  If you have the ability to protect the entire world, I don't see why he needs to focus on America any more than everyone else (except for Canada, for obvious reasons).  However, no longer being a US citizen is going a bit too far.  A citizen means you are member of a specific social or political institution, and claim to be a part of that hierarchy (we are not going to be getting any more technical than that on this blog, ever ever ever).  Clark Kent was raised in the states, he lives in the states, and will most likely spend the rest of his life in the states.  Regardless of whether or not he wants to help the rest of the world, as long as Clark Kent has an enduring residency in Metropolis or Smallville, that's enough to count as a citizen in my book.  It's his home.  You have to admit, after 30+ years of living with the Kents and in Metropolis and with literally no recollection of his brief time on Krypton, he's essentially an American.  And that isn't mutually exclusive with being a citizen of the world.  I can be, for example, a part of Doctors Without Borders and frequently volunteer in impoverished reasons and still be a US citizen.  Or Green Peace, or the military, or simply having a job that puts me on the road for an entire year.  That doesn't change the fact that America is my home, and as far as I can tell it's still Superman's.

Heart Breaking Cover To "The Death of Spider-Man"

Despite all the turmoil Marvel's Ultimate Comics have been through, their one constant source of quality storytelling has been their version of Spider-Man.  And with the upcoming "Death of Ultimate Spider-Man", the landscap.  And former Editor Chief Joe Quesada has drawn up this alternate cover, while the standard cover will be hidden in plastic bags for readers to uncover on the day of it's release.  But I can't imagine the cover topping this.

  

Oh my god, thats a damn fine cover.  We see Peter, clearly still just a kid, holding on tight to his Uncle Ben as both walk into the light.  Although the event could never have the same impact as the "real" Spider-Man dying, this cover makes us question that judgment.  This version of Spider-Man is going to be gone for good, and I think I didn't realize how much I'm actually going to miss him.

What About the Avengers?

So it's begun.  Marvel has given us the first teaser for the Avengers, and even though it has almost no real content, it's still exciting as hell.  I mean, just look at it!

All I see are four chairs with names on them and thousands of nerds crying tears of joy.

That just sent tingles down my spine.  I can't imagine how much I'll freak out once we see the team all together.  Marvel also released more information about the cast, and we have final confirmation that Tom Hiddleston will be appearing as Loki.  A year ago fans assumed he would be making life hard for the team, but recent developments had given us more reason to doubt that assumption.  Now we can rest easy knowing out favorite God of Mischief will be wreaking havoc as one of the villains the team will have to face, although he almost certainly won't be "the" villain.  I'm assuming that honor goes to the Skrulls and/or Kree, or some other ugly beast the Hulk can beat into the dust.

But why the Avengers?  Why is this project in particular getting so much interest?  Sure, the media puts more emphasis on Batman 3, but the buzz and anticipation for the Avengers is like nothing I've seen before.  The Justice League and X-Men have always had more mainstream exposure, so how is a team no one really knows about capturing so much awe?


The secret is in the execution.  Think of how many crossovers you've seen in movies.  Alien Vs. Predator comes to mind, and that's about it.  Marvel is combining four separate movie franchises and putting it all into one world.  They're saying each of these characters is big enough to carry their own movie, and trying to turn each of them into superstars.  And after we've been introduced to them and realize how awesome they can be, they're going bend all these genres and concepts into something no one has ever seen before.  In the X-Men trilogy, we got to see how awesome Wolverine was, but characters like Cyclops and Storm were just there for support.  Every member of the Avengers is being treated as an All-Star, and it's hard to imagine that same mentality if the team had come together before they all had solo movies.  And unlike the Justice League, each hero is undeniably distinct.  While each Justice League member has their own rich mythology, most of them are fairly classic superheroes and fully decked out in spandex.  But the Avengers?  You have a rampaging green personification of Id, a WWII super soldier, a billionaire playboy/modern day knight in shining armor, and an actual God of Thunder.  There's some wonderful about how little sense that makes.  It's such a wild mash up that somehow comes together, and is all the better for it.  Marvel's made a huge risk on this project, relying on three completely unknown heroes to win over the public before challenging what I assume to be an unstoppable alien invasion.  And in 2012, we'll be there to see it happen.

Avengers Assemble

Today was the first day of filming for the Avengers, and as far I can tell there have been no reports of Joss Whedon dying from a heart attack, so as we can call that a success. Check out Joss' Blog here for his statement, and more proof of how strangely funny that man is.  I really hope he screamed out "Avengers Assemble!" right before filming.  With Thor continuing to garner positive acclaim and public interest, the only piece of the puzzle left is Captain America.  And with the stunning trailer and unbelievable cast, I can't imagine that letting us down (mostly because I don't want to imagine it).  So if you happen to be in the Cleveland area anytime soon, you might be able to get an early glimpse at the project.

Chris Evans has also been talking about his solo Captain America movie, as well as the ensemble project.  Evans confirmed that Cap would be getting a new costume, which I was hoping for.  The one in the movie is perfect for the 1940's time period, but to go alongside Thor and Iron Man he'll need something a bit sleeker.  Speaking of Mr. Stark, Evans also described the dichotomy between Cap and the armored hero.  It's great to see that the script understands the differences between these characters, and how completely irrational it is to put such wildly diverging personalities in one room.  And not only personalities, but backgrounds and origins.  And then, how not in spite of those differences, but because of them, these people work together.  Because for some completely unknown reason, some bizarre intangible, they are a family.  Damn, we have a summer full of epic movies, and I already can't wait for 2012.

Marvel's Going To Disneyland

When Marvel bought Disney, fans from both sides cried out at the prospect of their beloved institutions being sullied by outside influence.  In reality of course, Disney doesn't really care about what is published in the comics and knows Marvel has it's act together with movies and TV shows.  So it's been business as usual for us Marvel fans, and at the only thing noticeably changing is that Disney will be distributing the new movies instead of Paramount.  But I've been dying to see some synergy, to witness such colorful worlds blend in together in friendly environments.  Let the comics stay as is and let the Hulk stay out of the Magic Kingdom parades (he'll just smash the floats), but these are two wonderful, wonderful legacies that deserve to, in some crazy way, meet each other.  At that might happen.  It looks like Marvel could be heading to Disneyland.

For you Disney newbs, Disneyland is out in California while Disney World is in Florida, and is supremely more awesome.  All of Disneyland could fit into the Magic Kingdom parking lot.  It's true.  The Disney monorail told me.  Anyway, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige had an interview in the Disney Fan Club magazine D23 where he said that our favorite Superheroes would be joining the Disney Family sometime soon, and that Imagineers were coming up with ideas for Marvel based attractions.  That.  Sounds.  AWESOME.

Now, Marvel already has a small section at Universal Studios Theme Park (also in Orlando), which boasts some pretty cool roller coasters.  While it's great fun, Universal just isn't nearly as immersive and detailed as Disney.  All the restaurants serve the exact same food, and lacks the depth and, dare I say it, magic of Disney.  So the idea of Disney bringing in Marvel heroes fills me with confidence that it will done right.  I mean, just imagine Asgard come to life, or a tour through the inside of the Baxter Building.  Or a test flight with Iron Man!  While we wait to hear what Disney might have planned, or what Universal has to do with this, I'm going to go ahead and start brainstorming what a Marvel Theme Park should be.

I'm so happy I think I could cry.

Batman 3 Roles Revealed!

We've known for a while now that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would rejoin Christopher Nolan in the new Batman, and also that Marion Cotillard would probably sign on as well.  Despite dozens of unnecessary rumors, we finally have confirmation on who they're playing.  Levitt will play a new character (I think) named John Blake, a beat cop who will work with Commissioner Gordon, and Cotillard will play Miranda Tate, a board member of Wayne Enterprises.  All we need is Leonardo Dicaprio and Ellen Paige and we officially have Inception Part II.

I'm perfectly fine with both these choices.  We don't need legions of larger than life costumed villains filling Gotham, and adding more people to flesh out the story is fine by me.  One of my original theories was that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would play a cop, but I had assumed he would be playing Alberto Falcone after the rumor kept insisting it was true.  Watching him hunt down Batman alongside Gary Oldman should be fun.  As for Marion Cotillard, don't be surprised if there's more than meets the eye.  We know there will be a flashback to a young Ras Al Ghul, and unless Bane had an early encounter with the mastermind (which is entirely possible), this could mean his daughter Talia could play a role.  I wouldn't be shocked to find out "Miranda Tate" is just an alias for Talia.  But until we find out more about her character and role, all we can do is guess right now.

So this should be the final cast.  In addition to it's key stars, there is a very deep supporting cast filled with some amazing talent.  Nolan hasn't done a bad movie yet, so I can't see how this could possibly change that.