Comic Book Television Shows - what to be excited for

I love the summer time. I love everything about it from being outside, going to the beach, the heat and humidity, complaining about the heat and humidity, and especially enjoying a cold beer during a hot day. My favorite thing about summer though has always been the trips to the beach. Not because I liked the ocean (I love the ocean), but because I love to read on the beach. I will pack a backpack full of all the comics, graphic novels, and regular novels that I want to read and bring them all with me. I don't get to them all, but I love the idea that I could. Ever since I was a kid and went on vacation with my family I would do this, and I still do. If I could, I would read all day long on a beach.

The end of summer is bitter sweet for me, because my hot days of reading are done for another year, BUT it also means that my favorite tv shows are back! And this year we have a lot to look forward to.

I'm not much of a fan of network television, but for the last few years DC & Warner Bros. Studios have been killing it on tv. Where they are lacking (a bit) in their movies, their tv universe is very good and very exciting. Let's take a quick look at who's involved and why they are making watching their shows so much fun.

It started with Arrow on the CW network. I enjoyed Arrow's first season, but quickly lost interest in Season 2. I'm not taking anything away from the people that followed the show beyond that, just saying I wasn't a fan. Green Arrow (whom the main character from ARROW is based on) wasn't someone I was particularly interested in to begin with. But the show offered a side entrance into the world of DC comic characters, I'll get more into that in a few.

After Arrow came the Flash, and this is where they started killing it on TV. The Flash tv show looks like it came right off of the pages of a Flash comic book. It introduced meta-humans (super powered beings of the DC Universe) both good and bad, and included some of Flash's iconic Rogue's Gallery like Captain Cold, Heatwave, and The Trickster (with Mark Hamill reprising his role)! The story lines came directly from major comic book issues. Like when Barry Allen meets Jay Garrick (the Flash of Earth 2) and the scene was shot to look almost exactly like the issue of Flash #123 from 1961.

They recreated this for the show! How cool is that!? As a comic book fan stuff like this is what I have always wanted to see! Season 2 just ended with a really fantastic finale and they hype for season 3 is high. The studio is teasing the Flashpoint storyline, which is very exciting. Quick summary of the Flashpoint plot: Flash travels back in time to change a single moment in his past. The fallout from that reverberates to the present day, changing nearly everything Barry Allen is familiar with. The Flashpoint Paradox is a great comic storyline, and I am super excited to see what the show does with it! Also teased is the first appearance of Wally West as Kid Flash, as well as the possible assemblance of the Justice Society of America (that would be the tv universe's version of the Justice League of America)! Lots of great stuff to look forward to here.

Next came Legends of Tomorrow. I have not personally seen this show, but I have been told it's pretty good. Basically this show came on the heels of the popularity of the Arrow/Flash crossover episodes. Arrow introduced us to other heroes like The Atom, while Flash gave us Hawkman and Hawkgirl. CW just brought them all together (without Arrow and Flash as series regulars) plus added a couple more for a series about time travel. Interesting concept, and could possibly lead to a Justice Society show. First season ended in the spring time, I think season 2 comes out this fall.

Then CBS launced Supergirl. I think this show has a lot of potential, especially now that it will be on CW and will in fact share the same universe as Arrow and The Flash. I am looking forward to catching up on season 1 when it's available on Netflix or wherever, but season 2 should be a lot of fun. They've also announced that Superman, yes THE SUPERMAN, will appear on a few episodes in season 2. They've casted him and everything. Don't expect Henry Caville though, he's the movie Superman (tv and movies are completely different universes. Once thought to be a dumb move on DC's part).

There's 1 more thing to consider with these DC comics properties. Now that DC has established a growing TV universe AND a growing movie universe; they are also in position to continue with one of their most well known tropes. The Multiverse. In the comics there have been several major crossover events that deal with multiple universes. It's possible that DC and Warner Bros. could be moving towards a CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS or INFINITE CRISIS situation, so that they can capitalize on  the populartity of their tv shows to help their movies. This is merely speculation, but I love the possibility!

Moving on to Marvel. If you have ever read the comments from comic fans on social media, then you'll know that the majority feels as though Marvel tv shows have been lacking. Really they're just referring to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (AoS) and I can partially agree. AoS is a pretty decent and fun show that helps to expand the MCU by connecting some of the events from the show to events from the movies. For example, after the events of Thor: The Dark World, the Agents were sent to the UK to collect the alien artifacts left behind. Just after Captain America: The Winter Soldier the show revealed what happened to Nick Fury. The show is also responsible for introducing us to the Inhumans, who are supposed to have their own movie around 2019 or 2020. Overall the show is only mediocre, but enjoyable nonetheless. AoS is not the only show that Marvel has to offer.

Netflix gave Marvel the opportunity to showcase some of their most popular and interesting heroes along with the level of violence necessary to tell their stories. Something network television could never do. Because Netflix is subscription based, it works a lot like HBO. They kind of make their own rules. Daredevil was perfectly done! Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock was perfect casting, and the first season introduced us to one of Marvel's greatest heroes and greatest villains: the Kingpin and the Hand. Season 2 gave upped the violence by introducing Frank Castle The Punisher and Elektra the deadly Ninja assassin. This was another show that took images directly from the comics. The scene in season 2 with Frank and Daredevil talking on a rooftop is pretty much word for word the same convo they have in the comic books. One of the best comic book conversations ever.

Next came Jessica Jones, another NYC hero that operated around the same neighborhood as Daredevil. Jessica Jones had the same gritty feel as Daredevil did, but added this layer of pyschological thriller that Daredevil could not. And that was all because of the villain, The Purple Man aka Zebidiah Killgrave. He has the ability to make people do what he wants, by planting suggestions in their brains that they cannot control. In my opinion, he's the best villain the MCU has given us so far and Jessica was the perfect foil for him. While his abilities were mental and pyschological, her's were physical. She's super strong, super tough and can fly a little bit, and we learn quickly that not all of your problems can be solved by throwing someone through a wall.

Jessica Jones also introduced us to the next neighborhood hero that will have their own Netflix series. Luke Cage will debut in September and I can't freaking wait! I love Luke Cage! He operates out of Harlem and cares about his neighborhood immensely. His powers include super human strength and unbreakable skin. If Marvel continues to mirror their shows after their comics, then it's possible to think that Cage could move on from tv to the movies no problem. Here's a possibility that I'm excited about: in the comics, Luke Cage actually becomes the leader of the Avengers for a while. I'd love to see that happen in like Phase 4 or something.

Some teases we got for the future of Marvel tv is Iron Fist (Luke Cage's partner from HEROES FOR HIRE) aka Danny Rand, played by the same dude who played Ser Loras Tyrell in Game of Thrones: Finn Jones. Iron Fist is about a man taught to be an amazing martial artist who controls the mystic power of the Iron Fist. It's Americanized Kung-Fu. very exciting.

Marvel's Netflix series are building toward a team series just like their solo movies built towards the Avengers movie. The team show is called The Defenders, and will team up Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Daredevil and possibly the Punisher. I think the series will possibly tie into the events of the next Avengers movie, tentatively titled Infinity War Part 1.

There are as many as 60 different Marvel projects in various stages of production at Netflix, including The Punisher's own series and a Cloak & Dagger series! Both should be very entertaining. I hope to see a Moon Knight series in the future too!

So who has the better shows? I don't know. That's all personal preference. My favorites are The Flash, Daredevil and Jessica Jones, and I'm super excited for Flash Season 3 and Luke Cage and then Iron Fist! There's just so much to be excited for!

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow is another FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS and I'm still taking requests for characters. I've done Jean Grey vs. Darth Vader and Cyclops vs. Wolverine. Who would you like to see fight it out? Let me know @SuperNerdyNews and be sure to like my Super Nerdy News facebook page so you can stay up to date with my posts, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/supernerdynews/&ved=0ahUKEwi74ZOA0JbOAhXEdj4KHTWGAM8QFggfMAI&usg=AFQjCNHn2EDyr45FDBKPtp76wiZey09-Sg&sig2=zkGHLNunHN1N0Zov_w1EXg

Why Representation in Media Matters By Guest Writer Kelly C. Milnes

Please welcome guest writer, my very smart and talented sister, KELLY C. MILNES!

Why Representation in Media Matters

by Kelly C. Milnes

Some good news out of San Diego Comic Con this weekend was Marvel and DC's (slowly and finally) showcasing more women and people of color in their upcoming tv shows and movies. I am excited about five upcoming projects:

• The Wonder Woman trailer has a Captain America vibe and I'm diggin' it. This movie gets double points because it's also directed by a woman.
• More Luke Cage is always welcome. Hubba hubba
• The talented Brie Larson was announced as Captain Marvel.
• For me, Black Panther was the highlight of Captain America: Civil War. The cast of his standalone movie is top notch. Lupita!
• Feminist writer extraordinaire Roxane Gay, alongside poet Yona Harvey, is writing a Black Panther spinoff. They join certified genius Ta-Nahisi Coates in writing Black Panther. 

These five projects warrant specific enthusiasm because...frankly, the world is terrifying right now. From the physical and verbal attacks against women and minority groups during this election cycle to the too frequent assaults and murders of these same groups, we need to change how we view and interact with each other. We need to build a sense of community, of belonging, of empathy and of camaraderie toward all people.

As the site suggests, allow me to get super nerdy for a moment. Social Identity Theory is a person's sense of who they are based on their group memberships, e.g. race, gender, family, team, etc. We identify with groups to create a sense of belonging, and this sense of belonging defines the way we see ourselves. To increase our self-image, we elevate our groups and discriminate against other groups, e.g. the Mets are better than the Yankees, Americans are better than Canadians, Christians are better than Muslims (all untrue, especially the Mets over Yankees) . This process of self-identification and need to classify everyone and everything is the basis of prejudice.

Social Identity Theory is reflected in media in various ways. Limited representation of out-groups (i.e. groups that aren't yours) in media conveys to audiences that they don't belong and can't be successful. (The end of this post has a bunch of citations of where you can read more about this research.)

TLDR; Geena Davis conveyed this all very simply when she said, "If she can't see it, she can't be it." 

What message does it send when little kids see that people of color only represent 8.1% of lead roles in scripted broadcast TV and 12.9% of leads in films (but represent 38% of the US population), and see women have only 30% of all speaking roles in movies (but represent 51% of the US population)? Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for Barack Obama and Shonda Rhimes.

They see a world that is very white and very male, which sends the message that powerful people are white and male. That's the message that needs to change. As writer Alice Walker says, "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any."

It's important that girls and kids of color can see themselves in these actors and see themselves in these characters. It's also important for in-group (white and/or male) kids see minorities in positions of power and have the opportunity identify with them - it builds empathy, it builds a sense of belonging that transcends race and sex. Seeing diversity on screen makes people feel more comfortable with themselves and others - this is how we change.

Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Luke Cage are important. We need more of them. We need more Kamala Khans and Miles Moraleses. We need more lady Thors and SpiderGwens. We need to represent everyone.

Improperly Cited References/Resources:

• Tajfel, Henri and Turner, John C. "The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior." in Jost, John T. (Ed); Sidanius, Jim (Ed), (2004). Political psychology: Key readings. Key readings in social psychology., (pp. 276-293). New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, xiii, 497 pp.
• Fryberg, Stephanie and Townsend, Sarah SM. "The psychology of invisibility" in Adams, Glenn (Ed); Biernat, Monica (Ed); Branscombe, Nyla R. (Ed); Crandall, Christian S. (Ed); Wrightsman, Lawrence S. (Ed), (2008). Commemorating Brown: The social psychology of racism and discrimination. Decade of Behavior., (pp. 173-193). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association, xiii, 269 pp. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/11681-010
• Mastro, Dana. ""Racial/Ethnic Stereotyping and the Media" i. Nabi, Robin L, Oliver, Mary Beth, Eds. "The Sage Handbook of Media Processes and Effects." SAGE Publications, Inc. 2008.
• Harwood, Jake and Roy, Abhik. "Social Identity Theory and Mass Communication Research." Intergroup Communication. 2005.
• Crittenden, Jasmine. "Not Just a Barbie Girl: Miss Representation and Objectification in the Media" Screen Education. No. 81. 2016.
• Faimau, Gabriel. "Teaching & Learning Guide for 'The Conflictual Model of Analysis in Studies on the Media Representation of Islam and Muslims." University of Batswana. 2015. Sociology Compass. vol 9. iss 5
• Leavitt, P. A., Covarrubias, R., Perez, Y. A., & Fryberg, S. A. (2015). “Frozen in time”: The impact of Native American media representations on identity and self-understanding. Journal of Social Issues, 71(1), 39-53.  
• Davies, P. G., Spencer, S. J., & Steele, C. M. (2005). Clearing the air: Identity safety moderates the effects of stereotype threat on women's leadership aspirations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 276-287.
• Purdie-Vaughns, Valerie and Eibach, Richard."Intersectional Invisibility: The Distinctivene Advantages and Disadvantages of Multiple Subordinate-Group Identities." Spring Science + Business Media, LCC 2008), 2008

San Diego Comic Con International Highlights Recap

WHAT A WEEK TO BE A FAN OF COMICS! So unless you've been living in a cave last week, then you are at least aware that the annual San Diego Comic Con International (SDCC) happened. What you may not know is that a lot of awesome stuff was revealed! Let's dive right in.

Game of Thrones Fans! The GoT panel was seemed to be a lot of fun. Hosted by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney, the attendees were show writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, director Miguel Spochnik (responisible for the spectacle that was the Battle of the Bastards), actors Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos Seaworth), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Conleth Hill (Varys), Sophie Turner (Sansa), Iwan Rheon (Ramsey Bolton), Faye Marsay (The Waif), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), and Kristian Nain (Hodor).

First topic was of the delay in Season 7's release. Audience was assured that it was only because they wanted to shoot in actual Winter time, since season 7 takes place in Winter. Lots a fun questions were asked liked, "How much of season six was D.B. and David's imagination, and how much was George R.R. Martin's?" Answer was that it was really all Martin's, but they shot it specifically for television, which is why it felt quicker than other seasons. They spoke briefly about what moments in history helped inspire them to shoot the scenes they have. No specifics because that might give something away *wink wink*.

Some other highlights include: Sapochnik won't be back to direct in season 7, but hopes to be back for the 8th and final season. Liam Cunningham (Davos) gave his daughter the wooden stag that Davos had made for Shireen. Told a story about watching Shireen's death scene with his daughter, who was holding the stag and bawling her eyes out! He said he felt like the worst father ever. I laughed, because it was adorable. John Bradley (Sam) gave a theory he had about Sam's death, which is that since Sam loved books so much that he would be killed in the Citadel library when a wall of books fell on him. It was more of joke than a real theory, but you never know! The crowd was told that Sophie Turner made them all take shots of vodka before coming out on stage, so that's why some of them seemed out of sorts. Sophie in particular seemed to be a little drunk, but having a lot of fun. She did say something interesting about how Sansa feels about Jon being named the "King of the North". She said something about how Sansa doesn't think Jon has the knowledge or experience to rule and thinks that it should be a joint effort. So they should rule as King and Queen of the North. Interesting, maybe a look into what happens between them next season?

A heartwarming and heartbreaking moment came when Kristian Nain (Hodor) was introduced. Crowd went nuts for him, and again when he talked about the "overwhelming outpouring of love for his character" that he's experienced since his last episode. Also mentioned that he couldn't believe all of the Hodor door stoppers he's been seeing. Funny.

Final question to the staff was good: "Who do you think should sit on the Iron Throne at the end?" Writers couldn't answer, but everyone else got a shot. Miguel: Hope it's shared between Jon and Dany but knows that won't happen. Davos - quoted Martin saying it will be "bitter sweet", but gave no actual answer. Sam - Jon, out of loyalty. Missandei - says Dany, for the same reason as Sam. Varys - Says he already knows, but is not allowed to say. Ha! Ramsay - says to melt it down and form a democracy. That got a good laugh. The Waif - says Arya. Because... her character's input matters. *sarcasm because I don't know why she was even up there* Bran - says he'd like to see a Stark dream team rule the 7 Kingdoms. Jon on the Throne next to Sansa, Arya guarding them, and Bran sitting alone in the corner. And Hodor had the most sensible answer saying that he doesn't think the Iron Throne will matter by the end. But to give an answer then he would like to see Brienne rule the realm.

Next panel I checked out was for Star War Episode 8. There's not too much to talk about because they didn't talk about much. Which makes complete sense because the movie doesn't come out until December of next year. Rian Johnson (the director) talked a lot about the development of the movie and how it started during production of episode 7. The story was developed while they watched the dailies (scenes shot each day) that came in from the set. He said that Episode 8 picks up right after Episode 7 ends, which is something that has never happened before in a Star Wars movie. I thought this was interesting, as I really wanted to hear that first conversation between Luke Skywalker and Rey who could possibly be his daughter. Johnson talked briefly about how directing Star Wars was surreal, but that he was also aware of the responsibility he had to tell a great story, as well as the cultural signifigance of the series. He says that where episode 7 was an explosion of adventure and new characters. Episode 8 zooms in on those characters, very much like Episode V (The Empire Strikes Back). He finished up by saying that he was very excited to show off what they've been working on, and be back next year for the 40th anniversary of Star Wars!

John Boyega was introduced and assured people (without spoiling anything) that Finn was ok and alive in Ep. 8. New young Han Solo and the director of that movie came out, but didn't have much to say. Director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was also on stage, but didn't speak much. Then the crowd went crazy as Mark Hamill and Carrie Fischer were introduced. Neither had much to add to the panel, except for some humorous anecdotes. Carrie Fischer said how much she loves that these movies connect generations and allow families to bond with each other. Overall, there was not much info given, but only because the movie doesn't come out for another year and a half.

Onto the big ones! Marvel and DC were neck and neck for "winning" SDCC this year. After sitting out the Con last year, Marvel really brought the party. There's so much to talk about here, so I will keep it short as best I can.

In no particular order:
Spider-Man: Homecoming panel featured Tom Holland (Peter Parker) and 3 other cast members plus the director (Jon Watts). Watts described the movie as John Hughes-esque, a straight up High School movie. Which honors the Spider-Man character so well! Everyone seems so excited for this movie too. Tom Holland IS Peter Parker. I couldn't see the trailer, but it shows the High School drama that a 15/16 year old boy in 10th grade faces plus the challenge of being Spider-Man at the same time, and then kicks it up a notch when the Vulture attacks! So it's official, Michael Keaton will play the Vulture, and the concept art looks awesome!

Thor: Ragnarok - I got a look at the leaked trailer and wow! This movie could steal the show next year. It showed Bruce Banner on a distant planet, changing into the Hulk, and some battle shots. HULK IN GLADIATOR COSTUME FIGHTING THOR! A teaser of what Hulk and Thor were up to during Civil War was shown too, funny.

Black Panther had some casting announcements at SDCC. Michael B. Jordan will play the villain Killmonger. Danai Guerrera will play Okoye and Lupita N'yango will play Nakia. I gotta start reading up on Black Panter before 2018!

Doctor Strange comes out in November, so the panel showcased a new trailer which looks awesome! The MCU is about to change! Mads Mikkelsen (who plays Kaecilius) talked about what got him interested in the movie. He asked director, Scott Derrickson, if there was any combat in the movie and Derrickson described it as Flying Kung-Fu. Mikkelsen was sold! I am a big fan of the BBC show Sherlock, and especially of Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, so I am super duper excited for BC to be joining the MCU as the Sorcerer Supreme. I will do a post about Doctor Strange closer to the movie's release.

All of this was great, but the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 panel stole the show for me. First of all, I love James Gunn and it seems as though he's been let off the leash with this movie which is the best move Marvel Studios could make. So before the panel attendees were announced, the Ravagers with new leader Taserface (yes, you read that correctly) came out in FULL COSTUME and did a bit. It was hilarious. Here's the link that's totally worth watching, even just the beginning: https://youtu.be/XEF-Fd2fAG4

The biggest news out of this panel was that Kurt Russel would be playing the villain, EGO THE LIVING PLANET (in human form) and who is also STAR LORD'S FATHER! I can't wait to see this movie just to see how this plays out! I am so excited!

To end the MCU panel there was one more huge announcement, Oscar winner Brie Larson is officially the new Captain Marvel! Yes! I love it!

Marvel TV is not to be forgotten though! Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will feature Ghost Rider next season. Cool. I missed season 3 because it wasn't very good, but I'll check out Ghost Rider!

Marvel's Netflix shows look pretty great! There was a teaser for the Defenders! https://youtu.be/wBZtM8q2Z1g

Also a teaser for Iron Fist! https://youtu.be/QCSPda7xQ3s
Both look great!
And of course they showed the trailer for Luke Cage that premieres in September, but the big surprise during the Luke Cage panel was JOHN BERNTHAL (The Punisher) joining them on stage! I can't wait for Luke Cage, that show is going to be so awesome. Here's the link to the trailer which I have seen 20 times now: https://youtu.be/Ymw5uvViqPU

I really enjoyed watching Kevin Feige get excited about all of this stuff. He just seemed to really love sharing all this with the fans. This was great, 2017 is going to be crazy!

DC MOVIES!!!

So Suicide Squad was never something I was very excited to see. It seems intriguing, but after the theatrical release of Batman V. Superman, Suicide Squad didn't seem to look very good. The trailers look ok, the action seems fine, the inclusion of Batman is a positive, but the overall quality of the movie hasn't been sold on me yet. I have my tickets for an advanced showing next week, so we'll see. The panel didn't do anything to get me any more excited. Here's the link:

Wonder Woman however looks like the best thing Warner Brothers and DC have EVER done! The trailer looks absolutley incredible! It is shot beautifully, the action scenes look intense and amazing, Gal Gadot looks great in costume and really pulls off the warrior princess role very well! I thought she wasn't used well enough in BvS, but hoped her solo movie would really step it up and by the looks of the trailer, director Patty Jenkins has done a magnificent job! I'm more excited for Wonder Woman than for anything else in the DC Extended Universe so far. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/5lGoQhFb4NM

Justice League should have been the winner of SDCC, but I felt that the trailer was underwhelming and, if I may be so bold, a little dumb. First of all, Icky Thump by The White Stripes? What? There definitely seemed like there was potential there for a great movie, but I didn't really like the idea of Bruce Wayne publicly confronting Aquaman, it just seemed dumb and out of character. We'll see, I believe Geoff Johns' vision will make everything great, but I am skiddish. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/fIHH5-HVS9o

There was some stuff for DC TV shows like Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, but I haven't seen them yet. So maybe I'll post about them seperately. That's it for my recap for now though! However, the day is not done! I am proud to announce that there will be 2 posts today, the second by a guest writer! So stay tuned!

Ancestral Swords of Westeros - Game of Thrones

In the land of Westeros, there are several major family houses that have a rich history, some can trace their ancestors back to the Andals and the First Men, and even the Children of the Forest. The Children were the first occupants of Westeros, but lost many of their own in their war against the First Men who came to conquer the land. After the First Men came the Andals, another race of men that had stronger weapons and soon took over much of Westeros themselves.

Thousands of years ago, during the Age of Heroes, when there was peace between the First Men and the Children of the Forest, the major houses of Westeros were established. Some of these houses would have swords with "special properties" that would be passed down from one head of household, or Lord, to the next. Let's take a closer look at these swords starting with the ones that we have already seen on the show.

Probably the most well known sword of Game of Thrones is Long Claw, Jon Snow's Valyrian steel sword.

Long Claw originally belonged to House Mormont from Bear Island and was passed down the line to Jeor Mormont (who would later become Lord Commander of the Night's Watch) who passed it to his son Jorah. However, Jorah in order to fund his wife's extravagant lifestyle began selling poachers he caught on his land to slave traders. This is very illegal in the 7 kingdoms, and so Jorah was exiled to Essos, leaving his dishonored famly and his heritage behind. Jeor Mormont soon left for the Wall, taking Long Claw with him but setting it aside until Jon Snow (his steward) saved him from a White Walker attack. Jeor gave the sword to Jon, and had the pommel remade so it displayed a white wolf at the end instead of a bear. Long Claw is still in Jon's possession in both the show and the book.

The Stark's had a Valyrian steel sword as well, not just a sword, but a two-handed GREAT SWORD named ICE. Ned Stark carried it with him, was used it more for ceremonial things than for actual battle. When Ned was accused of treason and beheaded by Ser Illyn Payne (the King's Justice), ICE was the sword Payne used. It would later be taken by Tywin Lannister and melted down.

The Lannisters have an interesting history with Valyrian steel swords. The family once possessed one for themselves called BRIGHT ROAR, wielded by the King of the Rock (referring to the Lannister's home Casterly Rock) Tommen II, but it was lost at sea during Tommen's crusade to Valyria. Tywin Lannister would later attempt to buy a Valyrian steel sword from other houses of Westeros, but no family would part with theirs.

After Ned Stark died, Tywin had ICE melted down and reforged into two swords. Oathkeeper was given to Ser Jamie, then Lord Commander of the King's Guard and Widow's Wail was given to King Joffrey as a wedding gift. After Joffrey died, the sword passed to his brother the young King Tommen. Currently Widow's Wail is still in Lannister possession. Oathkeeper was given to Brienne of Tarth by Ser Jamie to help fill his pledge to Catlyn Stark. Jamie sent Brienne to find Sansa and Arya and to protect them. In the show, Brienne still has Oathkeeper, but in the books she's been captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners and the sword is now being used as evidence against her, suggesting that she betrayed Lady Catlyn and joined the Lannisters. Can't wait to see what happens there in Winds of Winter.

A lesser known, but major ancestral sword that was mentioned briefly in season 6 is the sword of House Dayne, DAWN. It is said that DAWN was forged from the metal of the heart of fallen star. The Dayne's are ALL ABOUT THIS SWORD. Their castle is named Starfall, their banner is of a white sword and a falling star AND they don't follow the traditions of Westeros like the other houses. Most houses pass these swords from lord to lord, but the Daynes pass DAWN on to a knight that is deemed worthy enough to wield it and thus named "the Sword of the Morning". For example, DAWN became a focal point in season 6 because of it's possible tie to Jon Snow's prophecy. DAWN, at the time of Jon's birth, was carried by Arthur Dayne. The story goes that Ser Arthur Dayne (a member of King Aerys' King's Guard, and loyal to Prince Rhaegar) fought against Ned Stark and Howland Reed at the Tower of Joy where he was struck down. After Ned left the tower, he journeyed south to Starfall to return DAWN to House Dayne, where it remains until the next Sword of the Morning is named.

Now there are some lesser known Valyrian steel swords attached to some houses in Westeros that have not been talked about in the show or the books. You can find information about them in The World of Ice & Fire book, or through the Tell Tale video game about Game of Thrones. In that game, you meet the Lord of House Forrester Gregor, his heir Rodrik, and Rodrik's squire (and 4th born son of House Forrester) Ryon. The sword doesn't appear to have a name, and is referred to as "The Forrester Greatsword". After the events of the Red Wedding both Gregor and Rodrik are struck down and presumed dead, so the sword passes to the 3rd born son, Ethan, who is later killed by Ramsay Bolton; leaving Ryon Forrester as the sole heir. Depending on the choices you make in the game, Rodrik is revealed to still be alive and takes the sword for himself. It is believed to still be in his possession in Essos.

Another lesser known house and sword is House Corbray's sword LADY FORLORN. The Corbrays descend directly from the Andals and were involved in the Blackfyre rebellions. They followed the Blackfyres in the civil war against the Targaryans. Now it is believed that the sword is still in residence at the Corbray's castle, Heartshome.

The Blackfyres are very interesting. They are actually the bastard line of King Aegon IV, one of the many Targaryan kings. On his deathbed, King Aegon IV legitimized all of his bastard children (which was said to be dozens and dozens), and specifically named his bastard son Daemon as heir to the throne and gave him the sword BLACKFYRE as a way of showing this. In Westeros, bastards are frowned upon for the most part, so Daemon's acension to the thrown was heavily contested and thus the first Blackfyre rebellion began. Many citizens of Westeros saw the passing of the sword as the passing of the true Targaryan heritage and so Daemon had many supporters for his claim to the Iron Throne. He was defeated though, and after the 3rd rebellion, Daemon's son Daeron was killed in battle. The sword was claimed by Blackfyre loyalist Aegon Rivers aka Bittersteel, who fled to Essos, where he would help form the Golden Company, an army of sellswords. It is believed now that BLACKFYRE is kept by Illario Mopatis, the silk merchant of Pentos, possibly hinting at his Targaryan or Blackfyre heritage. (Illario is the dude that makes the deal for Dany to marry Khal Drogo, and gives her the 3 dragon eggs as a wedding present, he definitely has major stakes in who sits on the Iron Throne).

The Targaryans had another famous Valyrian steel sword that has an interesting history. DARK SISTER was believed to be forged for Queen Visenya, wife and sister (gross) of King Aegon the Conqueror. It's supposedly designed for a smaller hand and is overall lighter to use. After Visenya's death, the sword made it's way through her ancestors and finally ended up in the possession of Bryndon Rivers aka Blood Raven. For show watchers, Blood Raven is also the 3 Eyed Raven that helps train Bran Stark when he goes North of the Wall. There is no mention of where the sword could be though. It's possible that Blood Raven brought the sword with him to the Wall when he joined the Knight's Watch or maybe even brought it with him North of the Wall to the weirwood tree in which case it's possible to think maybe Meera Reed picked it up when escaping the White Walker's attack. If not, then it could be anywhere.

I forgot to mention a sword that we saw this last season, and the sword that I think will kick off Sam's quest in season 7! And that's the sword that actually belongs to his own house, House Tarley's Valyrian steel sword, HEARTSBANE! It's Valyrian steel that's been passed down through House Tarley for 500 years. In the books, it's still held by Sam's father, Randyll Tarley, but in the show Sam took it for his own. Can't wait to see what the showrunners are going to do with this! (be sure check out my theory about Sam along with my other season 7 predictions!)

This brings me to my last entry for today, but it's the one with the most specualtion and story behind it. I'm talking about the sword of Azor Ahai, LIGHTBRINGER. The story goes that Azor Ahai forged this sword himself. He toiled for 30 days and nights, and attempted to temper the steel in water, but it shattered. So he went back to work, this time for 50 days. When he was done, he found a lion and thrust the sword through the lion's heart, hoping the strength of the beast would temper the steel, but again it shattered. And again, Azor Ahai went back to work, this time working day and night for 100 days. At the end he called to his wife, Nissa Nissa, whom he loved more than anything in the world; and thrust the sword through her heart, using her warmth, love and loyalty to temper the steel. This time it worked, and the blade ignited in flame and blazed with mighty colors. Azor Ahai would used LIGHTBRINGER in the Battle for the Dawn to fight off the White Walkers and save the world. Prophecy says that Azor Ahai will return and LIGHTBRINGER will be reforged; many believe that Jon is the last hero, and the new Azor Ahai. There could be a very dramatic and awesome moment when Jon stabs someone with LONG CLAW and the blade ignites. But who would he have to kill? Sansa? Melisandre? Daenarys? Damn I hate that we have to wait til next summer for season 7! I certainly hope Winds of Winter comes out soon!

Do you have any ideas about the missing Valyrian steel swords? Do you think the Lannister's BRIGHT ROAR is actually lost or was it taken? Did Meera pick up DARK SISTER by accident when running from the White Walkers? Does Illario Mopatis have BLACKFYRE and plan to give it to whom he believes is actually the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms? Will all of these weapons be collected and used in the upcoming War of the Dawn? I, for one, cannot wait to find out! Let me know what you think.

**Pictures come from awoiaf.westeros.org a great wiki for all things related to A Song of Ice & Fire***

CYCLOPS VS. WOLVERINE - FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

This is a classic rivalry that I have followed for most of my life. When I was reading X-Men comics and watching the animated series in the 90's, I had always wanted to see Wolverine and Cyclops actually throw down! But it never actually happened. Yes, there were times where blows were exchanged and one time during the DARK PHOENIX SAGA, Cyclops nearly took out the entire team of X-Men including Wolverine!

These two have quite a history. They're actually close friends, but also tough rivals. When Wolverine first starting hanging around the X-Mansion, he was the loner, the outsider tough guy that had to earn his spot. Wolverine is a very confident character, and he was certain that he'd make a difference on the team. Cyclops didn't agree with this, and saw Wolverine as insubordinate and outright defiant of his orders, which he was. In the 90's, Cyclops was made to look like the goodie-two-shoes boyscout team leader and teacher's pet to Professor X. Wolverine was like the cool tough guy.

So there was already tension between the two, now add an attractive red head named Jean Grey to the mix and oooooh boy, classic alpha male competitor behavior. Jean Grey and Scott Summers (Cyclops) have quite the romantic history and Wolverine was always stuck in the friendzone.

Don't get me wrong though, this rivalry didn't stop them from working well together. In fact, for most of their time as teammates, these two were really close. They have the utmost respect for one another and know that they are both valuable members of the team. So let's break down each guy indivually.

Wolverine - I could write a dissertation on this guy. I've been reading his comics for almost my entire life. Logan is the best there is at what he does and what he does is not very nice. Basically, he's good at killing people. Like REALLY good at it. He was born in the 1880's, and has led a very difficult life. He really is the toughest SOB in Marvel Comics history. So he's tough as nails, and also has heightened animal-like senses, speed, strength, and agility. He's an expert at hand to hand combat, and has studied martial arts and samurai culture in Japan with actual ninjas and samurai warriors.

He is tough and battle hardened, having been through several wars; working special ops military missions for the Canadian CIA; fighting alongside Alpha Flight (Canada's X-Men, but government sponsored); AND survived having adamantium, the 2nd strongest metal in the Marvel Comics Universe (next to Vibranium, the stuff Cap's shield is made of) grafted to his skeleton. Wolverine also has razor sharp retractable adamantium claws that can cut through almost anything like a hot knife through butter. To top it all off, Wolverine's greatest ability is his healing factor combined with his resistance to pain. "Pain n me are old friends," is one of my favorite Wolverine quotes that I use in my regular life. His healing factor is incredibly strong, only outmatched by Deadpool's healing factor, because Deadpool can actually regenerate lost limbs. Wolverine could have a body part removed, and his healing factor would keep him alive but would just heal up the spot the missing limb came from. In the Ultimate Universe, the Ultimate Wolverine was ripped in half by the Hulk. His legs were thrown two miles away from his top half, and he crawled to them and reattached himself. I don't know if that would be the same in the main Marvel Universe, but it could probably happen.

In close quarters, this fight is over relatively quickly. Wolverine is too good of a scrapper, with deadly weapons at the end of his arms. However, he is vulnerable to range attacks, and Cyclops' optic blast are VERY powerful.

Yeah, Cyclops is a lot stronger than a lot of people realize. First let's look at the man himself. He's been the battlefield leader of the X-Men for (nearly) his entire career. That's really saying something. The X-Men are comparable to the Avengers as far as success rate, and could quite possibly be mightier depending on who you talk to. So as a commander, Cyclops is almost as good as Captain America on the battlefield. And that goes for fighting capabilities as well. Cyclops is excellent at hand to hand combat, being able to handle fighting off multiple aggressors at once.

That's not where he's strongest though. The whole reason Cyclops is called Cyclops is because of his mutant power. He can fire incredibly powerful concussive blasts from his eyes. Cyclops' optic blasts are so strong that the writers at Marvel have said numerous times that we have yet to see just how strong Cyclops is. Iron Man once measured the force of his blasts, which came to be almost 2 gigawatts. Wikipedia describes two gigawatts to be about half of the peak power of the Doel Nuclear Power Plant. To give you a visual idea of how powerful he is, Cyclops can blast through solid rock, has blown the top off of a mountain and once knocked Thor's hammer from his hand. He has pinpoint preciscion and accuracy and can change the size of each blast from small enough to fit through a keyhole to wide enough to cover a football field. As I said before, he almost took out the entire X-Men team during the DARK PHOENIX SAGA with one of his optic blasts and in yet another alternate universe (The Age of Apocalypse), Cyclops blew off Wolverine's hand while Wolverine cut out one of Cyclops' eyes!

The Overview
The fight that I always wanted to see actually happened during the SCHISM storyline in the X-Men comics. Great story! One of the best X-Men stories that I have read in recent years. The fight is intense with no clear victor.

THE FIGHT

After an intense mission that has left most of the X-Men angry with one another, what would have been an ordinarily quick flare up of tempers has turned into a potentially deadly situation. Wolverine's claws popped and Cyclops' visor sparked, and soon enough the men decided to take matters outside. Wolverine led the way into the woods outside Xavier Mansion in Westchester, NY. With a blink of an eye, he disappears into the brush with Cyclops giving chase.

After a few moments, Cyclops stops to search for signs to where Wolverine could be hiding. He glances around, keeping aware of his surrounding.

About 15 yards away, Wolverine crouches on a tree limb, watching Cyclops search the area around him. He could wait here all day, but he won't have to because after a few seconds, Cyclops walks right beneath him. Wolverine silently drops from the tree branch, directly behind Cyclops.

He stands saying, "I could have killed you just now, Bub."

Cyclops spins lighting up his visor, and yells, "Then why didn't you!" And blasts Wolverine in the chest with a strong red burst of energy. Wolverine flys back striking hard against a big tree. "Ooof," he grunts, having the wind knocked out of him. Wolverine sees stars, but shakes his head clearing it quickly.

"That was a big mistake, Summers!" growls Wolverine.

"Stay back, Wolverine, I'm warning you!" Cyclops yells back.

"Give me your best shot!" Wolverine shouts back and springs forward. Cyclops answers with another powerful blast of energy, but narrowly misses Wolverine, who begins leaping forward in diagnal lines to avoid the blasts coming from Cyclops. With one last leap, Wolverine connects with a vicious slash of his claws, ripping open a deep wound in Cyclops' shoulder. Wolverine swipes again, this time Cyclops dodges and blasts Wolverine with such a powerful energy burst that Wolverine crashes through several trees. Instead of letting Wolverine collect himself and heal, Cyclops starts showering Wolvering with energy. Even with all the force, Wolverine pops his claws and crosses his arms in front of himself, covering his face; and starts pushing back against Cyclops' relentless energy beam. The closer Wolverine gets, the harder Cyclops pushes out his energy beam.

The flesh of Wolverine's arms start to melt away revealing the adamantium laced bone underneath but he keeps pushing closer. Cyclops with sweat starting to pour down his face, leans in and intensifies his energy beam even harder than before. Wolverine's face starts to crackle and melt away, with bits of muscle, skull and blood now showing through. With a final push Wolverine hurls himself forward, his claws piercing Cyclops' chest and continuing, his fleshless, smoldering arm gets stuck halfway through at the bicep. With a final death spasm, Cyclops fires a blast so powerful, Wolverine's head blows clean off his shoulders! Both bodies sink to the ground, Wolverine, now headless, still has his arm trapped inside Cyclops' chest.

Winner: Draw.
You can't have a clear winner here. Wolverine is basically an unstoppably killing machine, and Cyclops has no problem with obliterating any obstacle he has in front of him. To much evidence to support either one's victory.

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend Silver Internet Surfers! Come back Monday for another Game of Thrones discussion!

Thanos' Quest - Hopefully the plot of Avengers: Infinity War Part 1

In 2018 Marvel Studios will be releasing the 3rd Avengers movie. The tentative title is being called Infinity War Part 1. If you have been following movies then you know that the Infinity Stones have been slowly introduced. The Tessaract, introduced all the way back in Captain America: The First Avenger, turned out to be the Space Stone. In the Avengers movie, Loki was given a sceptor which we would come to discover in the Avengers: Age of Ultron, is actually the Mind Stone. In Thor: The Dark World, the leader of the Dark Elves, Malekith seeks the Aether, the Reality Stone. And the Guardians of the Galaxy fought Ronan the Accusor to keep the Power Stone out of Thanos' hands.

That's four out of six stones. The remaining two are the Soul Stone and Time Stone. I believe the Doctor Strange movie will introduce one of the two, while Thor: Ragnorak will probably introduce the other, maybe? I remember reading something that James Gunn said not too long ago that Guardians 2 wouldn't have anything Infinity Stone related.

At the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron we saw Thanos open up a vault and put on the Infinity Gauntlet, a glove that can hold all six Infinity Stones. So does that mean that the first Infinity War movie could be similar to the Thanos' Quest plotline in the comics. For those that aren't comic readers, here is a short breakdown of the story.

Thanos, in order to impress Death (whom he is in love with), attempts to kill half of the population of the entire universe. In order to do this, Thanos knew he needed the power of a god. Well not just a god, but THE GOD. Like the being above all else. To do this, Thanos went out into the cosmos to collect the Infinity Stones.

First he sought out the In-Betweener imprisoned within the Nexus of Reality (a plane of existence where chaos an order bond), where he is imprisoned. He frees the In-Betweener and out-smarts him by using the actual Nexus of Realities, to keep the In-Betweener's powers from being functional. Because within the Nexus, there are no dichotomies, and that's how the In-Betweener gets his powers. By defeating the In-Betweener, Thanos is able to claim his first stone; the Soul Stone.

Next on his list is the Power Stone, which is in the possession of CHAMPION of the Universe, an Elder* who lives for combat. Thanos travels to the planet Tamarata, "a strategic world in defense plans of five different warring federations. It is a planet constantly under siege, forever being conquered and reconquered." (Quoted directly from Thanos Quest Part 1). Champion, with the Power Stone, just fights all day long. He faces a different faction every day, always making one faction he's working for the other. For, Champion, this is paradise. Thanos tricks Champion into destroying Tamarata, leaving him stranded in space, and then convinces Champion to hand over his Power Stone in exchange for not floating through space for all eternity. Brilliant.

                            *An Elder, is a member of the Elders of the Universe a group of cosmic power level super villains. Other members include the Architect, the Astronomer, the Caregiver, the Collector, the Contemplator, Ego the living Planet, Explorer, Father Time, the Gardener, the Grandmaster, Judicator, Obliterator, Possessor, Runner, and Trader. All powerful beings with unique abilities giving them enough strength to possess an Infinity Stone.

Now with two stones, Thanos sought out The Gardener, another elder in possession of the Time Stone. He used the stone mainly to tend his garden, where he could manipulate the time around his plants to keep them frozen in peak bloom. Thanos then uses the Power Stone change The Gardener's stone's plant growing abilities to an absurd level that the Gardener had never even thought of, essentially turning Gardener's "greatest gift into the instrument of (his) destruction." Final panel shows a truly gruesome end to the Gardener, someone who Thanos admittedly never intended to harm.

Thanos is now halfway to accomplishing his goal. Next stop is to see The Collector. Another Elder, who keeps a collection of every being ever to exist, always seeking out the most rare species. Thanos offers the Collector a deal. An extremely rare addition to his collection for his Infinity Stone. While for the Collector to accept the deal, Thanos goes after his next target. Another Elder, named Runner, who is just doing exactly that. Running. He has the Space Stone, and just like The Gardener, he is subconciously tapping into it's power. Thanos admits that he has discovered the true power to each stone, and since he already knows how, he uses the Time Stone to age Runner dramatically so that he can take the Space Stone from him. Then he de-ages Runner back to infancy. With four out of six stones now in his possession, Thanos takes baby Runner to see the Collector.

Yep, Thanos uses the infant Runner as the gift for the Collector's collection. The Collector accepts the deal with one added condition, that Thanos will issue a "promise of non-interference in (his) existence". Thanos agrees and the deal is made. And now Thanos weilds FIVE Infinity Stones with the addition of the Reality Stone (probably the most powerful stone of them all).

The last stone is held by the Grand Master, the last Elder that we meet. The Grand Master creates a game that he challenges Thanos to. The winner gets all the stones, and the loser...well the loser dies. The Grand Master creates these kinds of games all of the time, and so creates something in which he knows all of the angles and all of the secrets. Cheating basically. He makes one big mistake. He doesn't keep the Mind Stone on his person like some of the others have. If he had, he would have realized that the Thanos facing him at the gaming table is a robot and that Thanos was cheating the whole time. Afterward, Thanos admits that because he held five of the stones already, that he could have taken the Grandmasters' in any of a thousand different ways, but this one was the most enjoyable. Wow.

Thanos is no joke. He's extremely powerful as it is, and now he has ALL SIX INFINITY STONES! The story of what he does with them continues in Infinity Gauntlet, a blog for another day.

So if Thanos had a quest in the comics to collect all of the Infinity Stones for himself. And now, the last Thanos teaser was him saying he was going to do exactly that. Let's take a quick look at where that quest would take him

Well the Power Stone is currently locked up on Xandar at the headquarters of the NOVA Corps. I really hope we get to see Thanos attack and destroy Xandar to get the Power Stone, that would be such an awesome scene!

We know the Space Stone aka the Tessaract, is in Odin's Vault on Asgard. That would be another incredibly awesome scene to see Thanos attack Asgard.

The Reality Stone is in the Collector's possession, being held at Odin's request. We found that out at the end of Thor: The Dark World when Sif and Volstagg ask the Collector to keep it for them because "keeping two Infinity Stones near each other is not a good idea". This would be a really cool scene, and could be very similar to what is done in the comics.

Finally, the Mind Stone. We know it's attached to Vision, but we don't know what it will mean if he's detached from it. Probably the end of Vision. We'll see. I'm almost certain that scene is coming.

So that's the four in the movies so far. The two remaining will most likely be introduced in Doctor Strange and Thor 3. And judging from recent casting news on Thor 3, it looks like the Grandmaster could also be the one that actually has the stone.

Thanos' Quest is one of the top reasons I am a Marvel Comics fan. It's so wonderfully written. I highly reccomend reading it. It comes as an accompanying story at the end of the Silver Surfer graphic novel THE REBIRTH OF THANOS. If anyone is interested, check it out and also the follow up story, THE INFINITY GAUNTLET.

That's all for this time, until next time, keep on reading!

The Villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

We are now fully into the Comic Book Movie (CBM) Era! I hope everyone is enjoying themselves so far, we've still got a while to go. DC Comics and WB Studios are just getting their extended universe started with Man of Steel in 2013, Batman v. Superman this passed March, and now Suicide Squad in August.

Marvel, however, is in what they're calling Phase 3 of their shared universe movies. In total, Marvel Studios has produced 13 movies and 2 Netflix series! They've introduced us to dozens of characters, including the Avengers! I am a huge fan of these movies, and I enjoy every thing about every single one of them, no matter what is said of the quality. One major complaint that I have heard throughout the years is that the villains in the MCU have not been very difficult to defeat. Well today I am going to talk about each one of the villains we've seen in the MCU, and by the end we'll see just how dangerous they all are and who the worst/best is! Let's go!

So we'll start with the solo movies, ok? The obvious place to start here is of course, Iron Man. First Iron Man movie in 2008 was Obadiah Stane played by The Dude. I mean Jeff Bridges. He definitely wasn't The Dude in that movie. No, Obie killed and attempted to kill a lot of people. He was very unDude, if you know what I mean. Anyway, he was a good villain because he was close to the protagonist and the twist was (if you didn't already know who Obadiah Stane was) a good one. He was even a formidable physical opponent to Tony Stark (in an early version of the Iron Man armor) when he highjacked the Iron Monger armor at the end of the movie. B

Iron Man 2 (2010) featured 2 villains Whiplash played by Mickey Rourke and Justin Hammer by Sam Rockwell. Justin Hammer, just like the comics, was the head of a company that was trying to compete with Stark Industries. He was merely the money behind Whiplash, who was the main antagonist in the movie. Whiplash aka Ivan Vanko was a decent opponent to a drunk and poisoned Tony Stark, but once Tony straightend out, cured himself, and teamed up with War Machine; Vanko was quickly defeated with Hammer taken down by Pepper Potts. Iron Man 2 wasn't a great movie, but it had some important character moments as well as some cool action scenes. C-

Iron Man 3 is a very controversial movie as far as Marvel villains go. Tony Stark faces what looks like his most deadly enemy yet in the Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley) while another competitor (Aldrich Killain played by Guy Pierce) comes back from Tony's past to ruin him and all that jazz. The Mandarin was presented as a pretty scary bad guy, by bringing our real world fears of domestic terrorist attacks into a CBM. In the comics the Mandarin is a very powerful villain of Iron Man's with magic based powers, something most comic fans were hoping to see. So when there were no powers from the Mandarin at all AND he turned out NOT to even be in charge of anything, people kind of lost their shit. I mean, I get it, it's usually disapointing when movies don't honor the source material or at least try to. But whatever, I thought it was a decent twist for a pretty good movie. AND Aldrich Killian and his AIM (Killian's company Advanced Idea Mechanics) goons were good solid bad guys. Killian had a good villain scheme, and he almost won, but Tony Stark & his Super Friends proved to be too much for Killian and the Gang to handle. B

Moving on to our next Avenger, Thor God of Thunder! So the Thor movie introduced us to our first "A" level villain. So far we've seen B's, but Loki is definitely an A all the way! First of all he's a classic villain in the sense that his villainous orgins begin with him being taken from his people (the Frost Giants) and raised as something else  (an Asgardian, specifically as Odin's adopted son and Thor's brother). So when Loki finally does turn against his adopted family, it's a pretty big deal. Loki is no joke. He is the God of Mischief and his powers are on par with the Gods of Asgard, he is also incredibly fun to watch on screen. I don't think I need any further evidence here. Solid A.

Thor: The Dark World showcased two levels of villainy. The first level is the introduction of another race of Asgard's enemies, the Dark Elves and their leader Malekith. In the beginning of the movie we see how Malekith is defeated by the forces of Asgard and disappears from some time. The second level of villainy is the addition of what is called the Aether, which turns out to be one of the Infinity Stones, the Reality Gem. While Malekith is aware of only a fraction of the Aether's power, he is still able to wield it. Not something everyone is capable of, and most that are able do not have a clue to the true potential of the stone's abilities. In summation, Malekith and his minions (namely Kurse, the Dark Elf that crushes that glowing thingy and changes into that super strong monster guy that breaks everybody out of jail on Asgard), are formidable villains against Thor and co. They're successfully attack Asgard, kill Frigga, and force Thor to break out Loki and flee his own home. B for that, B+ for wielding the Reality Gem.

Quickie here. Before Iron Man and Thor is an often forgotten movie of the MCU. The Incredible Hulk. Two villains of the Hulk were featured here General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross  played by William Hurt and Emil Blonsky aka the Abomination played by Tim Roth. Ross is a transcendent villain. By that I mean that his villainy goes beyond just the Hulk, but also Captain America and some of the Avengers. Well, you could argue he's more of a menace than a villain in Cap 3. But I also mean that he is a big enough character in the MCU (and in the comics) to move beyond just one movie with one hero in it. In the comics, Thunderbolt Ross actually becomes the Red Hulk and joins the Avengers for awhile. The Abomination is a great Hulk bad guy, and that basically means that his use in other stories would be as a group member who might oppose a good guy group's strong guy. Like if the villains of the MCU teamed up against the Avengers, Abomination wouldn't have his own plotline, he'd have a few lines and then fight the Hulk at the end. He's a good first movie villain. So B for T-Bolt Ross, and B- for the Blonski Abomination.

Captain America: The First Avenger brought us the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), one of my favorite Marvel bad guys. He was always Cap's nemesis in my favorite issues of Captain America and What If...? comics (What If's...? were a series of comics that would take a specific moment in Marvel Comics history and ask What If something else happened instead of what did). Skull does not disapoint in the first Cap movie either. He's a Nazi, just like in the comics, and also just like in the comics he's not really a Nazi but using the Nazis to further his own plans via HYDRA. His evil plans are really great and classic evil plans too! He researches and finds the Tessaract, which is actually the Space Gem (another Infinity Stone), and along with Dr. Arnim Zola (Toby Jones), they are able to weaponize the power of the Tessaract. Now, Red Skull is also short sighted in regards to the Tessaract and not being able to understand it's true power, but he's still a perfect villain for Cap! It's too bad he disappeared for good at the end of the First Avenger. Or did he? B

Captain America: The Winter Solider is arguably the best movie Marvel Studios has produced. The villains are great! Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is a brainwashed Winter Soldier who used to be Cap's best friend! You don't get much better villain drama then that! Lined up against Rogers, Bucky is a tough opponent. They are very similarly trained, and have similar abilities. Cap with his super soldier serum and shield, Bucky with his...um...robot arm. The other bad guy is played by the great Robert Redford, who plays Alexander Pierce, Nick Fury's boss who is also a high ranking member of HYDRA. If Pierce and Hydra along with the Winter Soldier were successful, we wouldn't be getting a Doctor Strange movie later this year. These guys get a B+.

Captain America: Civil War had a very interesting villain. No, not Iron Man, he wasn't actually the bad guy. It was Zemo, a veteran of Ultron's attack on Secovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron that I will be talking about shortly. Zemo was a great villain because no one saw him coming. We, as an audience, might have known he was up to something, but the final reveal of his true plan was masterful. Although not a physical threat by any means, Zemo's mind games were strong enough to earn him a B grade.

Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is not only the newest movie but also the newest Avenger. In his solo movie Scott Lang teams up with the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) to stop Yellow Jacket aka Darren Cross (Corey Stall). Cross is more of a villain of Hank Pym then of Scott Lang, and is only a bad guy because of his willingness to deal with Hydra and because he's willing to kill to get his way. Yellowjacket is a pretty good first movie villain in that he poses a solid threat to the main protaganist(s) in their first boss battle as a super hero. That final boss battle at the end could have gone either way, if Scott Lange wasn't willing to shrink to the sub atomic level. C, because he was also an irritating character.

Moving on to our first team movie, THE AVENGERS! Once again we have Loki as our main antagonist. He continues to be an A level villain in this movie and kicks it up a notch with having an alien army behind him. The Avengers also teased another bad guy, with cosmic level super powers, Thanos! But I'll talk about him later. We know what happens in the Avengers movie, so because Tom Hiddleston is so damn charming and wonderful as Loki and Loki has the Mind Stone on a sceptor and is leading an army of Chitauri, Loki moves up from an A to an A+

Now, the sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron is up for some debate. Ultron himself is a great villain, and in the comics he is a fantastic nemesis to the Avengers, coming back time and again to plague the heroes in new and interesting ways. The movie Ultron was very interesting to me.  James Spader played Ultron wonderfully, with a casual yet sinister style. Ultron is the product of the Mind Stone integrating with a computer program developed by Tony Stark. The program didn't work out the way Stark wanted, and instead of protecting the world Ultron tries to end it. He was an interesting villain with an interesting endgame, and he was able to comprehend the true power of the Mind Stone. The argument against Ultron is that he made stupid tactical mistakes when engaging the Avengers, like leaving the cradle with a gestating Vision alone for Black Widow to capture. Also taking Black Widow captive and allowing the Avengers to track her location wasn't real smart either. However, the performance by Spader and Ultron's ultimate endgame earn him a score of B+. I hope he isn't gone for good.

Keeping with the team movies now, Guardians of the Galaxy gave us our first look at what cosmic level powers look like in the MCU. Their main villain was a minion of Thanos, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) along with Thanos' daughter Nebula (Karen Gillan). Ronan is a great villain in my opinion. He's a religous zealot who believes that his people, the Kree are eternally at war with the planet Xandar; headquarters of the NOVA CORP, a galactic police force for the Xandarian Empire. He is a brillaint military strategist with superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes, toxic immunity, and is able to adapt to any enviorment. He handles a fist fight with Drax the Destroyer with ease, throwing Drax around like he's a toy. To be fair, the Drax in the movie is not nearly as powerful as the Drax in the comics, but the Drax in the comics was also created specifically to kill Thanos while movie Drax is just an alien named Drax that's as strong as Dave Bautista (the guy who plays Drax, can I say Drax anymore in a sentence? Drax.). More evidence for Ronan is that he is able to completely possess and manipulate the Power Gem. This is a big deal. As the Collector (a kind of cosmic villain himself) teaches the GotG, the power gem "can only be held by beings of extraordinary strength". Even a collective group of beings tried to possess the stone, but were only able to for a few moments. The Guardians themselves were able to wield and use the stone, which is a testament to their attributes, but it also shows how much stronger Ronan is on his own compared to them. They ALL needed to be in contact with each other in order to control the stone, Ronan held it in his hand and contained it in his hammer. Ronan gets an A.

So we're out of movies that have come out, so let's talk about the Netflix series real quick.

Daredevil introduced us to the Kingpin, who proved to be an A+ city level villain. And in season 2 introduced The Hand, who will prove to be world class B level villains. Nothing to sneeze at here, especially when it's usually just Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and maybe one other hero (season 2 it was Elektra) fighting against these guys. City level and world level villains don't quite compare to cosmic level villains as far as abilities and threat levels are concerned. But these guys, the Kingpin and the Hand prove to be enough of a threat to give them both A's.

Now Jessica Jones presents a very interesting situation. Here is a relatively new super hero, that doesn't have that rich of a comic book history, but blew me away with the Netflix series. The show worked so well because of Jessica's arch enemy, Zebidiah Kilgrave aka the Purple Man. In the comics he has purple skin, in the show he wears purple suits. He is played exquisitely by David Tennant. Kilgrave has a very special super power that is a great rival to Jessica's super strength, he can manipulate people's minds by simply suggesting something. For example, one of the most intense scenes of the series was when Kilgrave and Jessica were negotiating and he agreed to leave the house with her. For insurance that he would be kept alive, he told his maid and butler, "if I'm not back in 3 hours, kill yourselves." They watched him leave the house with fearful looks on their faces and guns in their mouths then glued their eyes to the clock on the wall, just waiting and wishing  for him to return in time. A freaking ++!

So that's what we've got so far. So who's the best/worst villain? Well I don't really know, but I say Kilgrave was the most frightening, Ultron was the most deadly, Loki is the most fun and Ronan is the most destructive of all the MCU villains. Who do you think is the best? I really want to know!

We're only in Phase 3 of the MCU, Phase 4 begins after Thor: Ragnorak. So here is a quick look at villains we'll see in upcoming MCU movies.

Next Thor movie we'll see Loki again along with the Grandmaster played by Jeff Goldblum and Skurge played by Karl Urban. I'm excited to see what games the Grandmaster has in store for us. In November we get to meet Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the arch enemy of Doctor Strange (Benebatch Cumberdict, I mean Bendict Cumberbatch); Ulysses Klaw (Andy Serkis) was introduced in Age of Ultron but will return in Black Panther in 2018; next year's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will feature Ego the Living Planet who will probably be played by Sly Stallone (if not, then I think Stallone will be another villain); Spider-Man: Homecoming comes out next year and the rumor is that Michael Keaton will be playing The Vulture; and of course we have 2 more Avengers movies and the biggest Marvel baddie of them all, Thanos (played by Josh Brolin), is set to show us what full powered Inifinity Gauntlet is capable of!

There's a lot to look forward to! Let me know who your favorite Marvel villain is comics, series, or movies!

The Fall of the Wall - Game of Thrones Season 7 predictions

I think Mondays will be my Game of Thrones blog day. There's just so much stuff to talk about when it comes to Westeros. Today I'm going to focus on The Wall and what I think will happen next season. But first a little history.

I have read almost all of the books associated with The Song of Ice & Fire, and all of my information is coming from The World of Ice & Fire written by George R.R. Martin, Elio M. Garcia, and Linda Antonsson. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking it up. It's a wonderful reference book that tells the history of Westeros and Essos as well as deeper stories connected to Game of Thrones. It is written in the point of view of a Maester of the Citadel in Oldtown.

If you are only a show watcher, or even a book reader that hasn't looked any further into the history of Westeros then here is some info about the Wall. I have to start several centuries before it's construction.

Thousands of years before the events of the first book (or first season) of Game of Thrones, there was what was known as the Dawn Age. Before men came to Westeros, it was full of a race of magical creatures called the Children of the Forest. They lived peacefully throughout Westeros, worshipping the Old Gods and Weirwood trees. Then the First Men landed and began to conquer the land. The Children fought back against the First Men for years and years, but they were overpowered by the weapons and strength of men. The Dawn Age ended with The Pact. A peace agreement between the Children and the Men on the Isle of Faces. The Pact simply ended the war and began the Age of Heroes.

The Age of Heroes lasted for thousands of years. Many kingdoms rose and fell, and over time the strong houses that would become the 7 Kingdoms arose. During this time names like Bran the Builder, Garth Greenhand, Lann the Clever; and Durran Godsgrief came out and their legends were forged. However, as time tends to do, the actual facts to these legends have become muddled to the point where no one actually knows the real truth to these stories. There is one story that cannot be contested that it actually happened, and that is the story of the Long Night.

During the Age of Heroes, the First Men lived mostly peacefully, with very little to bother them. Then a Winter arrived that lasted an entire generation. By generation I mean, that during this Winter, children were born, grew up and died before it was over. It's during this winter that stories of a hero who fought against the darkness and the cold to win back the dawn were born. The legend began in the East, in Essos in a city called Asshai, where the followers of the Lord of Light R'hllor told the tale of a hero named Azor Ahai and his sword Lightbringer who won the Battle for the Dawn. They would go on to prophesize his return.

So a hero was named that saved the winter? That's it? That's all you are talking about? No. No no no no. As show watchers and book readers you should all know what comes from the darkness and the cold of the Long Night.

The Others. The White Walkers.

According to tales, they came down from the Lands of Always Winter, bringing the snow and cold with them as they tried to extinguish all light and warmth from the world. These same tales claim to have witnessed the Others riding giant Ice Spiders and the horses of the dead resurrected to serve them just as the resurrected corpses rose to fight for them.

The most grand tale that is told of this time is that of the Battle for the Dawn. Which is said to have been the turning point of the war against the White Walkers and the end of the Long Night. The tales tell of a hero that sought help from the Children of the Forest and together with the First Men of the Night's Watch fought back against the White Walkers and sent them fleeing back North to the Land of Always Winter. Now, six thousand years later, or eight thousand depending on who in Westeros you talk to, the Wall is still manned by the sworn brothers of the Night's Watch. And neither the children nor the Others have been seen for centuries.

Now the Wall itself has many tales of it's own. Since the end of the Long Night, the Watchers on the Wall haven't had to defend against the White Walkers or treat with the Children of the Forest for thousands of years. Their new fight has been with the Wildlings or the Free Folk (depending on which side of the Wall you are from), people that live beyond the Wall. So why was the Wall built?

Some believe that was built to keep the Others out of Westeros, and thus protecting the 7 Kingdoms. Other people believe that the Wall was built by the White Walkers themselves, in order to keep themselves safe from men. History seems to favor the construction of the Wall to men and specifically Bran the Builder. From what I have read, it seems as though a peace was made between the Night's Watch, Wildlings, Giants, and the Children of the Forest; who all came together to build a 700 foot wall made of ice, stone, and magic. Some say the foundation is made of stone, but that the Wall is made of mostly ice and bound by very powerful magic spells literally built into the Wall. On the South side of the Wall, the men of the Night's Watch built nineteen strongholds. The greatest and oldest of these strongholds is the Nightfort. And from there we get our next great story.

The 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch is said to be a man of the North. Eithera Flint, or Norrey, or Bolton or possibly even a Stark of Winterfell, although there are no real facts that can back up any claim to a Northern house. He was known as the Night's King, who was said to have fallen in love with a sorceress of the North with blue eyes and had skin as pale as a corpse. For thirteen years the Night's King and his "Corpse Bride" ruled the Wall as if it were their own kingdom. Until the King of Winter Brandon the Breaker (a Stark) teamed up with the then King Beyond the Wall, King Joramun to take down the Night's King. They succeeded and now nearly all memory of the Night's King has been wiped from memory. The tv show has led us to believe that the Night's King and the leader of the White Walkers are the same person and that he was created by the Children of the Forest to be a weapon against the First Men. A weapon that they lost control of.

Since Jon Snow's resurecction, and departure from the Night's Watch. The show has shifted focus from the Wall and has moved a bit South to Winterfell. We can't forget though that Bran is still North of the Wall and that the White Walkers are still coming. The questions are; when will they make it to the Wall? Will it stop them? Will Bran have anything to do with the Others moving South passed the Wall?

Well here are my predictions for Season 7. The whole idea of the Wall (one of several wonders of the world) coming down is far too dramatic to think that it will not happen. Think of the spectacle! I predict that the Wall will fall in one of the last two episodes of season 7. Now, I know you're asking, how will it fall?

Well, I think that may actually have something to do with Samwell Tarley and not Bran. Let me clarify. A lot of people speculate that it will be Bran's fault that the Whites will be able to pass through the Wall. But does that sound like a way the Others would use? We've seen the army of the dead hurl themselves off of cliffs, and climb the walls at Hardhome (towards the end of season 5). If, because Bran was touched and branded by the Night's King, and the army of the dead are able to get through the Wall, why would they use a tunnel like the Wildlings had to do? That doesn't make sense. We've seen them crawling on walls and ceilings, so why would they need to pass through a tunnel? Why not climb the Wall? Besides, the Night's Watch would be trying to fight them off. So an assault on the Wall by the White Walkers is inevitable. So how does Sam become involved especially if he's all the way in Oldtown?

Well, I think as happy as Sam is to be studying to be a Maester. That happiness will be short lived. I believe Sam is about to start his own quest that will focus on weapons that can defeat the White Walkers. He's already taken Heartsbane, the ancestral Valeryian steel sword of his family, and knows that Valeryian steel (or dragonsteel) and dragon glass (obsidian) can kill White Walkers. He'll learn to forge dragonsteel from obsidian and where to find more obsidian in Westeros. This will be the first link on his Maester's chain. Then he'll begin his quest to find the other Valeryian steel swords that are in Westeros. This quest will lead him back North to the front lines in the new War for the Dawn.

But you still haven't said how Sam will be responsible for bringing down the Wall. Well, if you can remember back to season 1, or back to the first book when Sam and Jon went beyond the Wall for their first ranging; while encamped at the Fist of the First Men (a landmark used by the Night's Watch that's located beyond the Wall), Sam, Grenn and Pip found a cache of dragonglass and something else. In the book, Sam and the others show Jon what they've found. Jon knows it's dragonglass and hands out the daggers, spearheads, and arrowheads to his brothers. To Sam he gives the last object. A broken horn, bound in gold with runes written all over the bands. I believe this to be the Horn of Winter.

A brief history on the horn. Also called Joramun's Horn, the Horn of Winter was said to have magical properties. When Joramun first blew the horn, "it woke Giants from the earth". The current claim is that if the horn is blown, it will destroy the Wall. In the books Mance Rayder claims to have found it high up in the Frost Fangs, and uses it to attempt to move the Wildlings South of the Wall by threatening the Night's Watch with the destruction of the Wall. This plan was shortlived when Stannis Baratheon arrived and defeated the Wildling army. Also in the books, the horn that Mance has is huge, made of "old gold that looks more brown then yellow", and Jon believes is made from an aurochs, "the biggest aurochs he's ever seen." Melisandre, however, burns this horn along with Rattleshirt (who she's made to look like Mance). In the show, Mance claims that he never found the horn. So clues point to Sam having it.

But why would Sam blow the horn and bring down the Wall? Wouldn't that make the path to the South easier for the White Walkers? Yes, of course it would. I don't think Sam has any idea what horn he has in his possession. I think that Sam will be overconfident because of the success he has had on his recent personal quest. He'll have successfully found a weapon his brothers can use, and in attempt to unify the forces of men he will blow the horn that he fixed himself and the Wall will fall before their eyes.

Of course I could be partially or even completely wrong here. I just don't know why the producers would go through the trouble of filmming a scene involving a broken horn all the way back in season 1 and it not be important. The entire last season referenced clues that were mentioned in seasons 1 and 2. So I have no doubt that the horn will come up next season. Whether or not it will bring down the Wall is still up for discussion. Maybe it won't destroy the Wall, but do something similar to what's described when Joramun first used it. What if blowing the horn awakens something ancient that is buried in the Wall? Part of the prophesy of Azor Ahai says that "he will return and awaken dragons from stone." So what if there is a dragon buried in the Wall? That's been a theory, supported by the fact that George R.R. Martin wrote an entire book before he began a Song of Ice & Fire called THE ICE DRAGON. It's a long shot, but there's rumors that there was a dragon in the crypts of Winterfell too, and that it was let loose when Theon burned the castle. There is also the possibility that Jon is the reborn Azor Ahai and he blows the horn and awakens the stone dragons at Dragonstone. SO MANY POSSIBILITIES, I LOVE IT!

So, no matter what happens, the probability of the Wall coming down in season 7 is strong. Again I say, think of the spectacle! What a scene that would be!

That's it for this time. Next Monday I'm going get into detail about the ancestral swords of the major houses in Westeros. Like Heartsbane, Ice, and Dawn.

I also added a new weekly feature for Fridays called Friday Night Fights. If you have any hero vs. hero combo you would like to see analyzed with character breakdowns, and a detailed description of the fight, tweet at me @SuperNerdyNews or leave me a comment on the Super Nerdy News blog Facebook page. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!