Who the french dip is the Suicide Squad

Happy Cinco de Mayo, interweb-slingers! We're about 15 months away from Warner Brothers third DC Cinematic Universe's (DCCU) release; The Suicide Squad!

This is a an ambitious project for Warner Bros.  I say that because so far we have only seen Man of Steel, and we've yet to see the follow up Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (BvS) which is due out March 25, 2016.  It's also ambitious because the movie is about a motley crew of villains that are forced to team up with each other (more on this shortly) AND the cast consists of some very big names in Hollywood! Will Smith! Jared Leto! Margot Robbie!  These are names people know.

Here are the names most people don't know. Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Rick Flagg Jr., Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, Katanna, Enchantress, and Killer Croc.  These are some of the members of the Suicide Squad.  Let's take a deeper look at who the Suicide Squad is.

The premise of the Suicide Squad is an interesting one.  The US Government needs a group of people (some super powered, some not) to go on Black Ops missions in which death is nearly guaranteed.  How do you get someone to volunteer for that? Well, you don't, you force someone to. Amanda Waller is a former Congressional Aide that discovers an old government program that used prisoners as agents in their secret Black Ops missions. She takes elements of the old program and brings her newish idea to the White House.  From there Waller is put in charge of a brand new incarnation of the Suicide Squad.

Waller's ideas still include using criminals, but how do you make bad guys do what you want them to do? The whole idea of super villains and bad guys in general is that they act out of pure selfishness; right? Well these villains are already captured, so the first step is to entice them into signing up.  This is done with an offer of release from imprisonment upon completion of a mission or missions.  Once the bad guy signs up we find out why the team is called the Suicide Squad.  It's not just a reference to the type of missions they'll be sent on, but also a wink at how these villains are controlled.  What's to stop them once they're outside prison? How about a mini-bomb surgically implanted in their head or spine that will explode if they do not comply? I'd say that's one heck of a motivator.

The Squad first debuted in 1959, but didn't get their own solo series until 1987. Since then the team has had many different members.  Today we're only going to look at the members that will appear in next year's movie.  Here's a character breakdown:

Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis): as stated before, she is a former congressional aide who reforms the team with explodable super villains. She's a widow from the projects of Chicago.  She escaped with her remaining family after one of her daughters, one of her sons, and her husband were murdered. Before she became an aide, she received her doctorate in Political Science.

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie): Besides The Joker, Harley Quinn is the most recognizable name on the team. Originally created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm in 1992's Batman: The Animated Series; Harley has grown to be one of the most popular characters in DC comics. Harley is most famous for her romantic interest in The Joker. Yeah, that's right, this chick has got a crush on one of the most psychopathic villains ever created. That's a red flag right there.  Her origins include time spent as a Psycho-Analyst at Arkham Asylum around one of the times the Joker was imprisoned there.  During some of their sessions, Harleen Quinzel (her real name) began to sympathize and eventually grew to love the Joker then became obsessed him. Since then her popularity amongst comic fans have led to a solo series of her own and a membership with the Suicide Squad.

While he's fresh in your brains...The Joker (Jared Leto) is actually not a member of the Suicide Squad.  But because of his connection to Harley Quinn and the DC universe, he will play a role in the film.  Details are still sketchy on whether The Joker will fight alongside the other members or just appear in a few scenes.  So don't get too excited that he's in the movie. He might not get much screen time.

Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman): is a non-powered human with strong loyalty to Amanda Waller and his country.  In the comics there are 3 different Rick Flags; Rick Flag Sr., Rick Flag Jr., and Rick Flag III.  They're all related, with Rick Flag III being just a child.  It is most likely that Rick Flag Jr. will be the one that Joel Kinnaman's performance is based on.  Flag also functions as the field leader for the Squad.

Deadshot (Will Smith): Floyd Lawton (his real name) is also a non-powered human, an anti-hero in the comics fighting as both a bad guy and good guy.  He's most often seen as a villain of Batman, and referred to as "The World's Greatest Assassin." Deadshot has a reputation of having never missed a shot until he faced the Batman.  He's a master marksman, who has a cybernetic eye which ensures his accuracy and also shows him mission updates and target information.  He's a consummate professional, so as long as he's paid, he will kill anyone put in front of him.  However, if somehow the payment is cancelled or stopped, he won't go through with his mission.  He's an interesting character that's been shown on CW's Arrow TV show.

Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney): aka George "Digger" Harkness is another non-powered human, this time with the ability to throw boomerangs with deadly precision.  He's also known for his arsenal of weaponized boomerangs; bladed, electrified, explosive, and incendiary. Captain Boomerang is primarily a villain of The Flash, but has teamed with the Suicide Squad a number of times.

Enchantress (Cara Delevingne): June Moone is a blond haired free-lance artist who transforms into the black haired and costumed Enchantress upon saying the word, "ENCHANTRESS". Clever huh? Her powers are magic based if you couldn't tell by her name already. She's a villain of Supergirl's, which also says she's not really that popular. I also have no idea who Cara Delevingne is...hang on, looking her up.....She was in Anna Karenina or Annanna Kareninininininina as I like to say, and she'll be in a Peter Pan movie called "Pan" this year as....a mermaid. Hmmm...

Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje): Waylon Jones was born with a form of atavism that gives him traits similar to reptiles. He was originally depicted as a human with basic human proportions, but over the years Croc has evolved into a more bestial form.  Earliest renderings of Killer Croc show a powerfully built man covered entirely in scales. Recently leaked set photos show a weird looking green skinned dude in a hoodie; he looks pretty big though, and I think pretty damn good! He's part of Batman's famous Rogue Gallery.

These are most of the main characters of the movie.  As you can see it's pretty crowded already and there are a buttload of names I haven't mentioned! Right now I am unsure of the level of the other's involvement, but some familiar names include:

Hugo Strange (Ike Barinholtz)

Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)

 and the legendary Dark Knight himself Batman (Ben Affleck)

who was recently spotted in Toronto IN COSTUME!

This movie has a lot of potential to be a major hit, especially if Batman v. Superman does well. Suicide Squad is in a similar position that Ant-Man is in this year. A major blockbuster was released a few months prior, and the excitement from the that movie should wash right into the later movie's release.

Spoiler Free DareDevil Review

Friday April 10th, 2015

At 12am on the West Coast or 3am on the East Coast, Netflix released all 13 episodes of Marvel's DareDevil.

I am now 7 episodes in and I am blown away.  DareDevil starts strong and just gets better and better.  Where do I even start telling you how awesome everything is?

From the story to the action to the acting to the loyalty to the comics; this show does everything right.  Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock (aka DareDevil, if you didn't know already) is superb casting, Elden Henson as Murdock's friend and law partner is a great comic relief, and Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple DareDevil's nurse friend/love interest is really solid.  Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk (aka The Kingpin) is just flat out awesome in this.

Oh..BTW this is NOT a show for children!  It is VERY VIOLENT.  I had a lot of HOLY S&%# moments in every episode!  This is easily the most violent of all of Marvel's current movies and TV shows.

DareDevil brings a new level to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) now though.  Follow me here.

DareDevil is what is known as a "Street Level" hero.  His business is with the criminals you would find in a local neighborhood and DareDevil works out of Hell's Kitchen in NYC.

Spider-Man is a great representation of a "City Level" hero.  He operates and protects New York City and occasionally teams up with "Street Level" heroes like DareDevil or Luke Cage or level up, so to speak, and team with "World Level" Heroes.

"World Level" heroes would be like The Avengers basically.  Characters like Iron Man, Captain America and Thor fight against villains that offer threats to people on a global scale.  So that's why it's a big deal when Spidey or DareDevil team up with the Avengers for whatever reason.

From time to time, not only is the entire planet at risk, but also the entire galaxy.  So the Avengers must travel to the cosmos and team with heroes who fight bad guys on a "Cosmic Level".  The Guardians of the Galaxy are solid examples of "Cosmic Level" heroes or Nova (aka Richard Rider) whom is another cosmic hero.

And then the Doctor Strange movie will introduce movie audiences to a "Magic or Tran-Dimensional Level" hero.

Anyway, back to DareDevil. I don't know how many people have realized this, but Matt Murdock is the ONLY secret identity in the MCU!  He's the only hero that wears a mask AND no one knows who's underneath it!  Captain America and Iron Man have their faces masked from the world, but EVERYONE knows who they are.  There's a Smithsonian Exhibit of Steve Roger's life before and after he became Captain America for crying out loud! Tony Stark admitted to the public that he was Iron Man in the first movie! And Spider-Man hasn't been introduced to the MCU yet, so he'd be the 2nd masked hero! This is strange to comic fans, because masks and secret identities have been a part of the comic book world since the beginning.

So go watch the show already! Get a netflix subscription or whatever and go watch a really super well written, solidly performed, action packed, dark and gritty and violent super hero TV show.  It's the best way to do it too, episodic format and commercial free AND EVERY EPISODE IS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW!!!!

So go, stop reading this and go!!! GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Which version of Batman is the best?

This is a question that really can't be answered definitively.  I can't just say, "Michael Keaton's Batman was the best", and that's that; it doesn't work that way.  The answer is completely subjective, but it's fun to think about.  So, today, let's take a closer look at the various versions of Batman through the years.

It was announced earlier today that an animated movie based on the 1966 TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward will be coming out next year (2016).  Great!  I don't know about you, but when I watch reruns of that show on IFC, I'm hit with waves of nostalgia.  I'm instantly taken back to my Grandma's couch with my Uncle watching reruns when I was a little kid (some 20 plus years ago, ugh).

Adam West's Batman was fun and campy and a great show for kids to come home from school and tune in for.  Same Bat time, same Bat channel.  It also worked alongside the comic book version at the time, which was also cartoony.  As much fun as this show was it actually pushed Batman into a rut for some time.  By rut, I mean, the Caped Crusader's depiction in comic books and cartoons remained relatively the same.  He was drawn and shown in the same campy way he was in the 1966 TV show up until the 1980's when new writers joined the staff at DC comics. 

Frank Miller is the man responsible for bringing Batman into the modern era.  In 1986, Miller wrote and co-illustrated what has become known as arguably the greatest graphic novel ever written in The Dark Knight Returns.

This version introduced us to the Batman we know today.  In this miniseries we meet an older and retired Batman who leaves retirement to take back his city from the criminals that now rule.  Miller's Dark Knight faces the Joker for the last time, trains a new female Robin, defeats a younger and stronger gang leader, retrains former gang members for a new army he builds, AND goes toe to toe with Superman!  It is my person favorite Batman story and version of the character.

Because of the success of the Dark Knight Returns, movie studios took notice to the possibilities of the character on the big screen and brought us Tim Burton's 1989 BATMAN starring Michael Keaton.

When this movie premiered, non-comic book fans got a look at the new version of an already beloved character.  Fans went crazy when it was announced that Michael Keaton would take the role; believing that because he was mostly known for comedies, Keaton would be a terrible Batman.  They were wrong, as Michael Keaton is still widely regarded as the BEST LIVE ACTION BATMAN ever.  He would go on to return as Batman in Batman Returns, but that would be his last time in the cape and cowl.

Both Batman and Batman Returns were very successful and led to two more sequels.

Batman Forever starring Val Kilmer as Batman and Chris O'Donnell as Robin, kept the dark theme of the character, but also brought back a little bit of the 1966 TV show's campiness.  Bright neon colors, over the top villains, another redesigned Batmobile, and dumbed down writing was the new norm for Batman movies now.  Batman Forever was still very successful, so of course, another sequel needed to happen.  Since Batman Forever worked, Joel Schumacher (the director) moved forward with (in my opinion) the worst version of Batman we have ever seen and will ever see!  This:

2 words sum up George Clooney's Batman in 1997's Batman & Robin:  Bat Nipples.  If you thought Adam West's Batman was campy and silly, then check this one out.  Clooney's Batman showed no difference between the Bruce Wayne and Batman personalities (a major difference from previous movies and comic books).  This was the most poorly written, and poorly acted Batman movie yet and is the reason Batman would not return to the big screen until 2005.

Batman Begins starring Christian Bale as the Dark Knight and directed by Christopher Nolan has become arguably the best version of Batman yet.  I say arguably because it has become an argument of generations.  Older fans of the character say Keaton was the best, while younger fans born after 1989 say Bale is the best.

Meanwhile, in between 1989's Batman and 2005's Batman Begins, true fans found another version of Batman that many people say is the best. 

In 1992, Batman: The Animated Series debuted on Fox.  This version of Batman was dark and although it was an animated cartoon, it didn't feel like previous Batman cartoons.  Batman was a very serious character and the voice acting of Kevin Conroy really made the character come to life.  Conroy would go on to voice Batman in award winning video games as well as animated movies.  To this day, fans regard Conroy as the best Batman.

There is one other animated Batman worth mentioning that was not voiced by Conroy.  Diedrich Bader took over the character in yet another version of the Dark Knight in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Adult fans without kids probably aren't familiar with this series.  I have only recently watched it and I have to say, aside from the family friendly feel of the show, it is a solid representation of the character.  Watching episodes made me feel like a kid again.  By the end of the series, the writers made you feel that Batman would always be there to protect you; a feeling that didn't come with previous or future versions of the character.

While the animated Batman can be found in animated movies, or on Netflix these days, we've also been given a more violent version in the video game series.  All of these games are so much fun to play and offer a fantastic version of Batman.  We get the violence of facing the goons working for the big bad guys, the detective work in solving crimes, the ninja skills, and the incredible gritty writing and character protrayal.  Again, voiced by Kevin Conroy, the video games could also be argued for best version of the character.  The video games also offer fans an opportunity to act out their fantasy of being Batman.  With these games you get a level of interaction that is beyond the movies and TV shows.

I think I've covered nearly every popular version of Batman.  Keep in mind that while there were movies and TV shows being produced, the comic books kept coming.  While the overall character of Batman stayed the same, each writer or artist portrayed Batman differently.  A few story lines offered different versions of Batman as well.  For the hardcore fans reading this, I purposely didn't mention John Paul Valley (the guy who took over for Bruce Wayne after Bane broke his back in 1993) or Terry McGinnis (1999's Batman Beyond cartoon show) because they are specifically NOT Bruce Wayne.

There is one more version of Batman that I need to mention.  Since we have nothing to pull facts from yet, I'm going to offer my opinion on the most recent version of the live action Batman.  Ben Affleck.

Affleck will star as Batman in next years Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  I'll admit that when this was first announced I was not happy.  All I could hear was a Batman with a Boston accent and a Christian Bale growl.  Blech.  However, as time went by and new info was released, I thought harder about it and now believe that Affleck could possibly be the BEST BATMAN EVER!  Think about it, Ben Affleck is pretty much already Bruce Wayne (he's rich and actually built himself a batcave year's ago), he's got the physical build of Batman (look at pictures of him now), and he's a huge fan of the character.  The Dawn of Justice Batman is being based on Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns' Batman, so he's older and battle worn.  Everything that I've been reading about this movie lately has made me extremely excited for it and specifically for this new version of Batman.

So, after seeing a deeper look at past versions of Batman, who do you think is best?  There is a solid argument for most of them.  Who do you choose?  Why?  Let me know in the comments.

Batman vs. Darth Vader

So there is a group of youtubers known as Bat in the Sun who produce internet videos for fans of comics, TV, movies and sci fi.  They call these videos Super Power Beatdowns and they are awesome.  The production quality is so good that I wonder who funds them, the acting isn't great but works really well for the 10 minute video.  AND on top of it all, they put our favorite characters that we fans have always loved and put them up against other fan favorites in a live action fight!  For example, click on this link (it's the same as the last 2 links) and you will see videos for Wolverine vs. Predator, Casey Jones (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. Kickass (from comics and now 2 movies), The White Ranger (from the Power Rangers and actually played by the dude who played the Green and White Ranger on the show) vs. Scorpion (from Mortal Kombat the video game), and Captain America vs. Master Chief (from the Halo video games).

These videos are really awesome and are great conversation starters.  The one I want to talk about today is the best video on their site; Batman vs. Darth Vader Alternate Ending.  They actually released this fight some months ago, and were met with outrage over the ending.  You can see the original video here.  So let's get into it with a breakdown of each character.

Batman:  Well we all know and love the Dark Knight, and we are all familiar with him at this point.  Just to refresh everyone:  Batman is human.  He has no super powers, but has become one of the top 3 heroes within the DC universe.  He has faced and beaten the likes of Superman and Darkseid (no easy feat)!  He is the world's greatest detective, a master of all known martial arts, and a master strategist and tactician.  I believe that with enough time to prep, Batman could beat nearly anyone he faces.  Nearly anyone.

Darth Vader:  Who doesn't know of Vader?  He is considered one of the most evil characters in cinema history (#16 according to IMDB) and is in the top 3 most powerful Jedi or Sith lords in the Star Wars universe.  Vader is a master of the Force, is responsible for hunting down and destroying all known Jedi in the galaxy, and also a master swordsman.  He is extraordinarily powerful; to give an example, he once "Force Choked" a member of the Empirical leadership over a teleconference!  Which means, that he was light years away from this dude, and was still able to kill him via The Force!  He is also a cyborg.  After his fight with Obi Wan Kenobi in Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, Vader's body was so badly burned and injured that he had all his limbs replaced and a respirator connected to his chest to help him breathe.

Now back to the topic at hand; the video shows that the DC and Star Wars universes have crossed over and Darth Vader (using a kryptonite powered light saber) has taken Superman captive aboard the Death Star.  Batman, after interrogating Boba Fett for Superman's location, makes his way to the Death Star and finds Superman's location.  Since this is Batman we're talking about, he is already aware of Darth Vader and Vader's strengths and weaknesses.  So first Batman sticks one of his toys to a wall or electrical panel and then makes his way to the armory to steal a light saber.  On his way out, he meets Vader and the duel begins.

Right away we see how overpowered Batman is as Vader uses the force to immobilize him.  Batman attempts to retaliate using his grapnel gun, but Vader, again, uses the force to rip it out of Batman's hands.  Vader catches it, but Batman hits a button and the grapnel gun releases an Electric Magnetic Pulse that shuts down Vader's respirator.  This is a dead on representation of what Batman would do here... until Batman says something that made me wince, "I'll take my science over your magic any day."  Well, yeah, he would believe that, but I don't think he'd say that, nor would he downplay Vader's "magic" in any way.  Although, this could be a tactic Batman uses to make Vader underestimate Batman's intelligence or mask his main mission.

So, with Vader using the force to work his respirator, Batman is able to fight him man to man.  Ok, if you haven't watched the video yet, you need to stop reading this and go watch it because this part is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  Here's the link again  BATMAN VS. DARTH VADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Done?  Not yet? Alright.

...

So how cool was that?!  Batman fighting Darth Vader with a light saber!!!! SO COOL!  Anyway, so THAT happens.  After a bit, Vader gets his respirator working again and sends Batman flying out the window.  Batman ends up in his BatWing and fires 2 missles at Vader that blow off his helmet.  Is that enough to stop him though?  NO WAY!  In the greatest display of his power, Vader "force grabs" the BatWing, shakes it a bit and then rips it in half, then grabs Batman by the throat in mid air.

Now, in the previous ending, Vader just breaks Batman's neck and that's it.  Game over.  If they hadn't changed this ending, I wouldn't have a problem.  So far this had been an incredibly accurate portrayal of both characters and how they would be if they were ever to interact.  However, the alternate ending changes everything and makes this even better?  OF COURSE BATMAN'S MAIN OBJECTIVE WAS REACHED BEFORE HE REVEALED HIMSELF AND FACED VADER!!!!!!  The whole reason Batman engages Darth Vader is to distract him from the little gadget he left on the wall!  As great a fighter as Batman is, he would know that he couldn't last long against someone as powerful as Darth Vader and wouldn't be able to get close enough to Superman's cell to release him directly.  And of course Batman would have a gadget that disabled the kryptonite that was keeping Superman imprisoned.

So what do you think?  Did this end the right way or was the original ending the way to go?  Either way, this was fantastic and so much fun.  Check out the other videos they have here's the link again.

Arguably the best 3 people to send up against a bloodlusting, fully powered Superman!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to assemble a team of 3 heroes (or villains) to take down a BLOODLUSTING, FULLY POWERED Superman!  Who do you choose?

Superman is out of control!  He's killing people by the masses and has never appeared more powerful, what do we do!???!!!  The first person I would go to in this situation is the one man who is prepared for everything.  I'm talking about Batman.  This situation needs brains, power, strategy, and leadership.  Batman is the key to victory here and would be the perfect person to lead a team against a deadly Superman. 

Obviously, a completely out of control Superman is way too much of a physical threat for Batman alone.  No matter what kind of armor or plan he may have, the Caped Crusader is no match for the Last Son of Krypton.  Batman would know this, and he would choose his teammates carefully or, in this case, plan with them carefully.  I bet he'd have some kind of plan involving a physical threat to Superman.  Who would be better to distract Superman than the Incredible Hulk?! 

The Hulk is strong enough, has the stamina and enough indestructibility to face off against Superman for an extended period of time.  He would have to keep Superman busy long enough for Batman to execute whatever plan he makes.  However, as I've said before in an older post, Superman can beat the Hulk and with some ease.  So in order to ensure victory, there would need to be support for both the physical attack and the mental attack.  One name leaps out at me.  Lex Luthor.  That's right, Batman would, without a doubt, team up with Lex Luthor if a situation like this came up.  Who would be better?  Luthor knows how to fight Superman, he's spent millions of dollars developing weapons and methods of killing the Man of Steel for decades.  Of course he's the perfect person to team up with to stop Superman!  Batman would know this and also believe that if they could stop Superman without killing him, he could do it.

I know what you're thinking though.  You're thinking how in the heck can Lex Luthor help fight Superman physically right?  Well, because Lex Luthor is the "greatest criminal mind of all time", Lex built himself a Power Suit.  The suit would allow Luthor to go toe to toe with Superman while attacking him with Kryptonite powered weaponry.  His genius level intellect would be an asset to Batman, and his suit could help out the Hulk if need be.  Luthor is also the CEO of LexCorp.  A multi-billion dollar corporation capable of developing weapons or armor.  Yes, Batman is also a billionaire capable of developing anti-Superman weaponry, but Lex has the manpower to help out.  With simple teleconference with his R&D department, Luthor has a number of options at his disposal.  He could even use a Bizarro clone he has stashed in a tube at LexCorp!

Now, come on, I dare you tell me that Batman, the Hulk, and Lex Luthor couldn't stop a fully powered, bloodlusting Superman!

Who would you pick?  Why?  There's a lot of possibilities!  Here's a couple of other heroes to consider:
DOOMSDAY!

Shazam!

 Iron Man!!!

He-Man!!!

Welcome Home Spidey!

Spider-Man is officially back home at Marvel according to an announcement made late Monday night stating that Sony and Marvel had struck a deal that would put our favorite web slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)!!

Throughout today, some details over the deal have surfaced.  Instead of posting them one at a time, I've collected them and will address all at once.  Let's swing on in (see what I did there?).

First question that came to my mind was; "What movie would Spider-Man make his first appearance?"  There is nothing official about where Spidey will make his debut, but during the announcment it was stated that he would appear in another MCU film before getting his own solo movie.  In accordance with the comic books, it would make most sense for Spidey's first appearance to be in Captain America: Civil War.  In the comics (and also rumored for the film) there is legislation put through Congress that would force all super powered beings to reveal their secret identities to the government in order for them to regulate all of the super power activity.  The Super Human Registration Act is supported by Tony Stark (Iron Man) and creates a rift between him and Captain America.  Our heroes are split down the middle with hero vs. hero.  Spider-Man would be the first (and only) hero in the MCU that has and cares to have a secret identity, so it might not be necessary for him to be a part of Cap 3.  However, with production for Civil War set to start in April, it is quite possible that new scenes have been kept secretly ready in case this deal happened.

Marvel went on to announce that they would be pushing back 3 of their titles in order to add a new Spider-Man solo film. “Thor: Ragnarok” will hit theaters November 3, 2017. The following year,  “Black Panther” will make its way to theaters on July 6, 2018, and “Captain Marvel” on November 2, 2018. Finally, “Inhumans” will now debut in theaters July 12, 2019.

 

Variety reports that Andrew Garfield will no longer play Spider-Man and that Marvel is looking for a "much younger" actor.  This could mean a full reboot of the character or they could go in a different direction and introduce a different version of Spidey.  This other version would be from the Ultimates Universe of Marvel Comics.  In this Universe, the characters are very similar to the primary universe with only slight differences like costumes or a few character traits.  This wouldn't be the first time Marvel did this, a lot of the story and costumes of The Avengers is based off of the Ultimate Universe.  Marvel could do something like this again. Instead of Peter Parker, we would see a young man named Miles Morales, who took over as Spider-Man after Peter Parker was killed.  If that is in fact the route they're going, then you'll get a blog post about Miles.  Let's get there first.  In the mean time, we can start discussing who should be the new Spider-Man!

Also reported by Variety is that Sony will still move forward with the Spider-Man spinoff movies; Venom, the Sinister Six and a female Spider-Man character.  Although it is speculated that Marvel's involvement would end with solo films and any MCU shared movie like Captain America 3 or Avengers 3 & 4.  Any spinoff films would be produced and distributed by Sony alone.  That may prove difficult as those spinoffs would still take place within the MCU and I'm sure Marvel would want some control over another studio's use of their created universe.  So that's something to keep an eye on.

SO that's the news!  There might be more details released over the next few days/weeks and I will happily let you know if anything is news worthy!

Jessica Jones character breakdown

Jessica Jones is an interesting character that I have only recently researched.  She was present when Peter Parker was bitten by the radioactive spider that would turn him into Spider-Man.  Jessica actually had a crush on him and was about to talk to him for the first time when he got distracted by the spider bite.  Soon after this major comic event, Jessica was involved in a car accident along with her family.  They collided with a military convoy that was, of course, carrying radioactive materials.  Her family was killed, but Jessica survived although in a coma.  She would awaken to find that the radiation had given her super powers; super strength, limited invulnerability, and flight (which she never managed to master in her entire career).

After seeing Spider-Man fight the Sandman, Jessica was inspired to use her powers for heroic purposes.  As Jewel, Jessica Jones had a pretty uneventful career until she faced off against Daredevil villain Zebadiah Kilgrave aka The Purple Man.  Kilgrave used his mind control powers to telepathically torture and control Jessica.  After 8 months of being tortured and controlled, Kilgrave sent Jessica to kill Daredevil, but misdirected her to the Avengers' Mansion.  There she attacked the first hero she saw, the Scarlet Witch. After a brief fight, the mind control began to wear off and Jessica attempted to flee but was stopped by the Vision (then husband of the Scarlet Witch) and Iron Man.  Once again, Jessica was in a coma, but this time being treated by S.H.I.E.L.D.  When she woke, she remembered the intensely violating nature of her experience with Killgrave, combined with the fact that no one noticed she had been missing for eight months, forced a demoralized Jones to give up being a costumed superhero.

She would go on to open a Private Detective Agency, and despite her desire to leave the super hero life she found herself being pulled back repeatedly.  At this time she would begin dating Luke Cage off and on, as well as Scott Lang (Ant Man).  Long story short, Jessica leaves the detective agency and joins the Daily Bugle, gets pregnant with Luke Cage's baby, marries Cage, works with the Young Avengers for a while, before giving birth and becoming an on again off again Avenger.

Jessica Jones will be played by Krysten Ritter.

I am very excited to see these new shows!  Daredevil comes first in April, followed by aka Jessica Jones sometime in the fall.  Luke Cage will make his first appearance in the Jessica Jones show before his own solo series starts.  And Iron Fist will come after that.  I'm sure each series will feature at least 1 crossover and since they all share this universe and know each other, the possibilities are endless!  The potential for some great TV and storytelling is incredible.  Each character on their own is very interesting, but knowing that we'll get to know each one individually and then see them all team up for a Defenders show!  I haven't even gotten the villains!  There are some great ones in there too.  Next time.  Stay tuned!

Iron Fist Character breakdown!

Iron Fist:  was born Danny Rand, son of Wendall Rand, whom discovered the mystical city of K'un - L'un. While there on expedition, Wendall saved the life of the city's ruler Lord Tuan and was adopted as Tuan's son.  He would later leave the city and return to New York where he became a very successful entrepreneur, married and had Danny.  9 years later, Wendall mounts a new expedition to find the city again.  He takes his wife and son and a trusted partner.  During the trip, Danny's parents are betrayed and killed and Danny gets lost.  He's found by K'un - L'un archers who take him to their ruler.  There Danny expresses his desire for vengeance, and he is sent to apprentice for Lei Kung the Thunderer who teaches him martial arts.  He proves to be the most gifted student Lei Kung has ever had and at age 19 is given the chance to attain the power of the Iron Fist by facing the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying.  During the fight, Danny throws himself onto the scar of Shou-Lao and a dragon shaped tattoo is burned onto his chest.  Having killed the dragon, Danny enters the cave and removes the dragon's heart, thus gaining the powers of the Iron Fist.  It is later revealed that Danny is the last in a long line of other Iron Fists.

Iron Fist would return to New York and faced off against enemies in a solo series for a while until being teamed with Luke Cage in Heroes for Hire.  Many years later, Iron Fist is approached by Matt Murdock concerning a problem with Daredevil.  In this story arch, Matt Murdock is outted as Daredevil and in order to protect his loved ones and his secret identity, Murdock asks Iron Fist to pose as Daredevil until the public believes that Murdock and Daredevil are different people.  This was a great story and led to Iron Fist being asked to join The Avengers.

Along with his mastery of martial arts, Iron Fist has enhanced strength, speed and stamina.  After gaining the power of the Iron Fist, Danny is able to summon his chi (or natural energy) into his hand creating a glow around his fist.  Hence the "Iron Fist" moniker.  This "iron fist" can be used to strike an opponent or surface with superhuman impact while his hand becomes impervious to pain or injury.  This, however, leaves him feeling drained and vulnerable.  In order to perform such a maneuver again requires time; sometimes full days are needed to recover in some instances.

Casting for Iron Fist has not been announced as of now.

Up next:  Jessica Jones!