LUKE CAGE vs. WOLVERINE!!! - Friday Night Fights

In honor of Luke Cage's debut in his own Netflix Series today, I've been asked what happens when the unstoppable force meets an immovable object as Wolverine, the Ultimate Killing Machine, faces Luke Cage aka Power Man!

The Fighters:

Luke Cage - Luke has been fighting crime since the 1970's. He's a true neighborhood hero, just like DareDevil, operating out of Harlem in New York City. Cage has been a member of the Avengers (actually the leader), the Defenders, Heroes for Hire (with Iron Fist), the Thunderbolts, Marvel Knights, and even the Fantastic Four for a short time (during a storyline where the Thing lost his powers).

Physically, Cage is very powerful for a City-level Hero, while his early adventures kept him at more of a Street-Level, the more modernized version of his character is definitely City-Level. Cage has unbreakable skin and superhuman strength! His unbreakable skin keeps him immune from the sharpest of blades and even makes him bulletproof! Cage's strength allows him to lift up to 2500 lbs! That's over a ton! The combo of his strength and unbreakable skin make Cage a really tough opponent.

As for his fighting skills, Luke Cage is an expert street fighter. Having spent his entire adult life fighting thugs and protecting his neighborhood/city. His style may not be refined, and he might rely a lot on his strength and durability, but Cage has adapted to this style perfectly.

Wolverine - as I said before, Logan is the perfect killing machine. His original mutant powers gave him heightened animal-like senses, as well as an extremely powerful healing factor. This healing factor allowed his bones to meld with an unbreakable man-made metal called Adamantium (the 2nd strongest metal in the Marvel Universe). The bonding process revealed that Wolverine also had foot long retractable bone claws!

Logan is also a master at hand-to-hand combat, having been trained by the Canadian military, ninjas, samurai, the US military, and the X-Men. Over the years he's become known as being "the best at what he does, and what he does, isn't very nice". Basically it means that he's a killer and he has no problem with that.

Wolverine is short and strong, but also very quick and agile. He's quick and agile enough to keep up with Spider-Man, and resilient and durable enough to stand-up to and fight the Hulk (something he's done a butt-load of times!).

The Tale of the Tape:

This is a typical showdown of big strong guy vs. little quick guy. The difference being that Wolverine has his healing factor, making him nearly unkillable, and his razor sharp adamantium claws; and Cage has his superhuman strength and unbreakable skin. The big question here is...Can Wolverine's claws cut Luke Cage's skin?

The Outcome:

CRASSSSSHHHHHH!!!! Wolverine's body slams into a dumpster, scattering garbage and newspapers all over the alley. Luke Cage follows behind him with fists clenched when suddenly Wolverine explodes from the pile of garbage and dumpsters, a ferocious growl escaping his lips and claws fully extended! He lands on Cage, slashing again and again, except because of Cage's skin, the claws are barely leaving scratches.

Cage grabs Wolverine by the throat, pulls his big arm back and punches Wolverine full on in the face. Once again, Wolverine's body flies into a dumpster. This time, however, Wolverine doesn't reemerge. Cage hesitates for a moment, just in case, and then creeps closer to see if Wolverine is still in there. He picks up and tosses a dumpster, but Wolverine isn't behind that either.

Cage looks further down the alley, and starts slowly walking down, cautious of every corner or of anything Wolverine could be hiding behind. When out of no where, Wolverine lands on his back, wrapping one arm around Cage's neck and slashing at Cage with his claws with the other. Cage spins wildly trying to throw Wolverine off his back, but the Old Canucklehead has got a strong choke hold applied and Cage is starting to feel it. He goes down to a knee, and Wolverine increases the force of his slashes, focusing on Luke's midsection. Cage is really starting to feel it all now, and he's starting to lose consciousness. With one last burst of energy, Cage catches Wolverine with a super strong elbow to the ribs in just the right spot where the rib snaps. The sudden burst and shock of his bone breaking distracts Wolverine enough for Cage to follow through with the momentum of his blow, driving Wolverine into the stonewall of the alley. Cage then twists Wolverine around, throwing him to the ground and forcing his full weight on top of him, immobilizing Wolverine. He holds Logan down with one arm and begins punching the side of Wolverine's head again and again, harder and harder.

After a moment, Cage stops; Wolverine smirks, pops his claws and with all of his might drives them into Cage's abdomen, blood pours down his fist filling the spaces between his fingers.

Cage howls in pain, but almost immediately lands another blow to Wolverine's head and face. The force of the punch makes Wolverine's limbs go limp and Cage makes his move; punching the same spot of Wolverine's skull as hard as he can, again and again and again. Boom. Boom. BOOM. BOOM. BOOOM! Cage's knuckles suddenly make an indentation in Wolverine's head and Wolverine sinks back into the ground completely unconscious.

Cage gets up, holding his side, looking down at his former teammate. Wolverine's chest rises and falls, telling Cage that he hasn't killed his friend. So that means he'll heal, but he's gonna have a dent in his head for the rest of his life. Ha. Serves him right.

Winner: Luke Cage. Now go watch the Netflix series!

Honestly, if this were to happen in the comics, this fight could go on for hours. I think, for the sake of storytelling, Wolverine would eventually be able to penetrate Luke Cage's unbreakable skin, or would even beat him with his superior fighting skills. However, Luke is just that freaking tough that it could just as easily go his way. So, happy end of September and Luke Cage Day! Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

WHAT WOULD BATMAN DO?! - My Wife's Birthday Surprise

These last few weeks have been a special kind of stressful for me. Not like a bad stress, but more like how you feel when you're holding onto a secret that you desperately want to tell someone but can't. Well, that's exactly what happened to me but multiply it by 3. I had 3 BIG secrets that I needed to keep in order to surprise 2 very special people in my life.

2 of the 3 secrets involved my Dad and his birthday. We flew my brother in from across the country to surprise my Dad the day before his birthday party. They haven't seen each other in almost 2 years, so the reunion was beautiful. The other secret was his gift. My brother, my sister, my Mom and I all chipped in for a portrait of my Dad's favorite things. His dogs. We commissioned the portrait from a very talented local artist, and also my uncle, Tom Hedderich (check out his work by clicking here!). My Dad was very happy and we all had a tremendously enjoyable weekend.

My 3rd secret involved my wife. Not to give up many details of our relationship, but we tell each other everything. So hiding something from her was extraordinarily difficult.  Well, for her birthday, her best friend and I secretly planned a surprise visit. The surprise plans for my Dad were made almost a year ago, but the plans to surprise my wife started at the beginning of September. So I've had a few weeks of trying as hard as I can to keep from spoiling 3 big surprises! It was much more difficult than I thought.

That's the back story. Now, after all of the surprises have successfully concluded, let's take a look at how Batman might have handled this.

So plans began almost a year ago. That is plenty of time for Batman to plan. For my Dad's surprises, this is easy. Batman would use Bruce Wayne's billions to fly my brother in on a private jet, where there would be a car waiting for him at the airport. The car would take him to my parent's house, arriving at the perfect moment to surprise my Dad. Since I picked my brother up from the airport, I would also be in the car. To add some flair. Batman would wait until my Dad was sitting on the couch in his living room when suddenly the lights would go out, before Dad got to his feet to check the fuses, the lights would return and my brother would be standing there. BOOM. One surprise handled. Next up is the painting.

We revealed the painting just before dessert was served. Batman would have been more secretive, subtle, and yet much more dramatic at the same time. The party would have kept guests' attention on mingling outside the house, since the weather was perfect this was easy enough. At just the right moment, all the guests including my Dad would have found themselves inside. Somehow the painting would already be mounted on the wall in the exact spot my Dad would have wanted, only with a cloth covering it. When everyone was settled, the cloth would dramatically sweep off to reveal the painting beneath. This simple flair of drama would only increase the impact of the surprise. BOOM. 2 surprises down, no casualties.

Last surprise actually worked out really well for me. Our friend, Amy, who flew in called me with the idea of coming to visit and we planned accordingly. Details you don't know: my wife (Bridget) and I have 1 car, and so we share it. I drive her to work some days, so me using the car for the day isn't unusual. This time it didn't matter, just last week Bridget found out that she had to go out of state for a business trip and would be gone for 2 days. The 2nd day happened to be the day Amy flew in AND she would arrive in the morning! This was perfect to keep the surprise! Bridget didn't make it home until 7pm last night, so Amy and I had multiple hours to organize a great surprise.  We set up decorations on the kitchen table, that doubled with a new microwave I had bought earlier. This was used to get Bridget's attention and tell her that something special was happening. Sure enough, as soon as she walked in the door, she noticed the decorations and microwave. I then casually mentioned how I also decorated the living room so she would turn to look in that direction. She noticed and started to comment when her eyes fell on her best friend Amy. Screaming ensued and then we went out for sushi.

Honestly, I don't know if Batman could have handled that situation any better than that. Hahaha. Simply because only a husband knows his wife well enough to be able to surprise her properly. Even with nearly a month to plan, there is no way that Batman would be able to know my wife better than I do. So for the first time, and probably only time, I get to say that I am better than Batman!

Key moments of the surprise that I feel were Batman-like techniques:

- Using misdirection to keep my wife's focus on certain things before the final reveal. I used the same technique when I proposed to her.

- Planting thought seeds that led up to the surprise. Like telling her before she left for her business trip that, "when you get back, you're going to be SO happy" or small points about how excited I am to celebrate her birthday.

- How quiet Amy and I were about the surprise.

These 3 things, I believe, helped lead to a very successful birthday surprise. Batman would have handled things much differently, but it would not have been as personal. For Bridget's surprise, we were keeping things very low key and so Batman's methods might have been too much. Then again, Batman would know that. He's also not an event coordinator and so wouldn't be bothered with something like this. HA!

Thanks for reading! Do you have any suggestions for WHAT WOULD BATMAN DO? Next week I'll take a case with a little more action involved. Happy Autumn to anyone into that sort of thing.

For tomorrow: THE RETURN OF FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!!!!! Next week: the COUNTDOWN TO NY COMIC CON!!!

What impact will Melisandre have next season?

Melisandre, the Red Woman, is a truly interesting character and also the most consistent magic user we've seen in the show. She starts off as an advisor, of sorts, to Stannis because she (mistakenly) believes that he is Azor Ahai reborn. The signs she's read in her flames pointed her to Dragonstone, but she confused the clues and thought R'hllor was showing her Stannis when really it was just to put her on a path to find Jon Snow. And for 4 seasons, we watched as her visions came to be true, however a bit sideways then what she initially thought.

Melisandre has proven herself to be a powerful and intriguing character. However, like all strong characters, in the last season Mel has hit a wall (while at the Wall haha). Her faith in the Lord of Light might be restored because of Jon's resurrection, but after being banished from the North by Jon, she is more lost than ever before. So where does such an interesting character go from here? Well, she's definitely going to meet Arya! That's for damn sure! She says as much to Arya when the meet in season 2. A lot of the interesting theories surrounding Melisandre take place in season 2, specifically when she meets with Thoros of Myr and the Brotherhood without Banners. If you go back to my post about Jon's resurrection, you'll see that I developed my theory based on a scene from this very moment. Right after the scene between Thoros and Mel happens, she departs, but not without setting eyes on Arya.

In the scene, Arya calls Mel a witch and Mel turns around to face Arya. Upon meeting her eyes, Melisandre gets a look of shock and surprise and says to Arya, "I see a darkness in you, and in that darkness eyes stare back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes that you'll shut forever. We will meet again."

Later on, and in the books, Mel tells Jon of another vision she's had. That of his sister, sick and injured, riding a mare to the Wall. Jon dispatches riders to find her, but when they find the person Mel had described, we discover that it's not Arya. Another example of how Melisandre misinterprets her visions. Then there's the confrontation between her and Davos in Winterfell that leads to her banishment. So where does she go from here?

Well, we know she's traveling South and we also know that the Brotherhood Without Banners are heading North. Could they cross paths again? We know that R'hllor has influence over his priests and priestesses, and so therefore the possibility of Thoros and Melisandre being put back together are pretty good. But what does that mean? We're not entirely sure of what the Brotherhood's plans are. In the show, Beric Dondarion is still alive and leading them North, for what I assume is to assist the Northerners with the battle against the White Walkers. There is something missing here. In the books, Dondarrion is dead and the Brotherhood is following Lady Stoneheart. What is missing for me in the show, could be a part of what's happening in the books, but I don't think so. The books and the show are way too different at this point. So I think that the missing part of Mel's story is going to be Arya.

We don't know where Arya is headed yet. Last we saw her, she was checking off a few more names off of her kill list. But we don't know where she is heading either. Some think Arya is heading to King's Landing, and could be the reason for Cersei's death, which I am a strong believer in. (See the Valunqar Theory, valunqar is Old Valaryian for "little brother" and most think that means Cersei will be killed by Tyrion or Jamie, but we've also learned that Valaryian is a genderless language, so Valunqar could mean "little sister" and then BOOM! Cersei dies and there's Arya who everyone thought was dead, holding the bloody blade).

Of course, this is all speculation, and from a writer's standpoint, the events of next season will be really cool but also push these characters towards where they need to be for the final battle. Melisandre and Arya will meet again, but where that path leads still needs more clues to be revealed.

I really hope Winds of Winter is published and released soon. I'm starting to go through "new GoT books" withdrawal. For those interested in other stories from within the world of the Song of Ice and Fire, I recommend reading the Dunk and Egg stories (3 separate stories, or the entire collection can be found in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms), Rogues (an anthology collection of short stories), Dangerous Women (another anthology, but this one has the Dance of Dragons short story), and Warriors (another anthology collection).

Thanks for reading. What do you think will happen to Melisandre next season? Will she meet Arya? Is Arya the Valunqar or will she go in a different direction with her list and find the Brotherhood without Banners? What do you think?

THE NICE GUYS Review!!!

We're taking a detour from comic book related stuff today for a couple of reasons.

1. My pre-ordered Captain America: Civil War, which I was planning on watching and reviewing in detail, STILL hasn't arrived despite Amazon telling me it was arriving on Tuesday.

2. I rented the Nice Guys instead and was blown away.

The Nice Guys might be the best movie of the summer! Seriously! Written and directed by Shane Black, the man who has brought us classic action comedies like Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Shane is actually one of my favorite screenwriters. He's written all of the Lethal Weapon movies, Iron Man 3, THE MONSTER SQUAD, and the Last Boy Scout! This dude knows action, but even more importantly, he knows comedy!

The Nice Guys wouldn't work if it were cast like a comedy. Meaning, if a known comedic duo like Will Ferrell and John C. Riley, or Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill were the stars of this movie it would not have been as funny. Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe KILL IT in this movie.

Gosling especially nails his roll, his facial cues say what he's thinking almost better than his mouth does.

Both actors play these characters straight, so the humor is perfectly balanced. Add in an interesting private detective story with a constantly unraveling mystery and you've got yourself a great summer movie!

This is also one of those movies that is better the less you know about it. I've found this with a few other movies this year: 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Revanent immediately come to mind. A brief synopsis is all you need before watching, so here's mine:

In the 1970's, Ryan Gosling is a Private Detective who teams up with professional tough guy Russel Crowe to investigate the apparent murder of a porn star.

I'm still watching the movie as I write this and it is constantly making me laugh out loud! I thought Gosling was great in The Big Short, but I think he's even better in this! I've also always enjoyed Russell Crowe, except when he sings, and he fits the tough guy role perfectly.

I'm also a sucker for a good detective story, and this is one of those that just keeps unraveling and unraveling, revealing more and more as the movie goes. Just when you think you've got things figured out, a new plot twist is revealed. And it all works!

Remember LA Confidential? I LOVE that movie. The Nice Guys has a similar feel to it, but it's only because of the setting; LA in the 70's, and because Russell Crowe is in it. He's much older and put on a lot of weight for this role, but he's still a bad ass!

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JUST finished watching. Straight talk. This movie is terrific. It is perfectly written, perfectly directed, and perfectly performed. Now, my favorite movies are the ones that are usually released between the months of March to August. They're the summer blockbusters, and big comedy movies. The Nice Guys is definitely more of a comedy than a blockbuster, but for the overall experience it's simply a terrific movie! I highly recommend watching this, as well as checking out other Shane Black films. Be sure to keep an eye out for his next project...a new PREDATOR movie!!!!! (He actually played Hawkins, the first guy to be killed by the Predator, in the original movie. Also, he was writing the script for the Lethal Weapon at the same time as filming for Predator). A+!

Introducing - WHAT WOULD BATMAN DO??!!

There are moments in every person's life that make us look to another person as a guide to how to deal with the strange situations that life deals us. Some ask themselves "What Would Jesus Do", others model themselves after a historical figure, or pop culture idol, or sometimes even a fictional character. These figures or idols or whatever you want to call them, are examples of how we would like to see ourselves. Depending on your personality and what your personal goals are, this can be very effective and beneficial to yourself as well as others.

So, why am I asking, "What would Batman do?" or "WWBMD?"? Well, I didn't choose Batman, but more like discovered that I made decisions in a similar way that Batman might. Years ago, I worked for a restaurant, specifically in the banquet hall section. My job title contained TEAM LEADER, and so I was often looked at to lead my co-workers through private parties and corporate events. A lot of this involved reviewing the size of the party, what extras were needed (a bar, how many tables with how many settings, entertainment/presentations, special requests, etc...), pre-event set up, post-event clean up, prep work during the party, end of the shift reset (a reset meant that we would set the room up for the next party), and who was working which event. A lot of planning was involved in each shift, and I would find myself developing strategies and tactics in order to ensure a quick and successful event. We all wanted to get home as soon as possible, so a solid plan going into a shift always seemed to make the night easier. I found myself utilizing specific strengths of some team members in areas where others were weaker, while also developing the skills of the new or weaker team members in others.

I know what some might say, that these are just simple leadership and management techniques. Yeah, I know. But I like to think that I am tapping into something special, just like Batman does, OK? It's weird, and a little dumb, but it's also helps to keep up my self confidence and keep me from getting bored.

Also like Batman, I would be confronted with many obstacles in this job. From co-workers who didn't like me to management that didn't pay attention to our day-to-day operations, to guest requests that would keep my plans ever evolving. These obstacles felt like facing a villain who either had ulterior motives, or was simply an agent of chaos out to mess up my day.

I'm so glad I don't work there anymore! Hahahahahahaha!!! But I digress, because of my experiences there, I actively tried to use the same logic in my every day activities. From cleaning the house, to planning a weekend with my wife. In order to have the most productive experience, whether that was work or pleasure, I would think "WHAT WOULD BATMAN DO?"

Obviously, my personality and disposition heavily differs from Batman's, but that doesn't matter. My personal wants in life have a lot to do with how Batman is viewed. He is the "World's Greatest..." detective, martial artists, super hero (arguable). Now, while I'm not looking to be the "World's Greatest..." anything, I do want to be great at things and following how Batman might do something sounds like a good idea to me.

So what's the point of this post? Well, I thought it might be fun to take situations from comic books, movies, TV shows, or real life, and put a spin on it by asking WWBMD?

I've read stories of what Batman would do if he became a vampire. Or if had to come out of retirement and fought Superman. Or if he was chosen as Green Lantern instead of Hal Jordan. Or if Predator came to Gotham. Or if he had to face the Xenomorphs from Alien. Or if he had to face the Xenomorphs from Alien AND Predator! Or if he had to fight Darkseid one on one. Or if the DC Universe suddenly merged with the Marvel Universe. Or if he had to lead a banquet team through a private event with 300+ people eating a 3 course dinner. So there are an infinite amount of situations that Batman could possibly plan for.

What situation would you like to see Batman handle? Throw a character at me to face against Batman, or a real life situation or even a favorite movie plot that we can insert Batman into!

I opened the comments up on this blog so that you shouldn't have to sign up for an account to post anything. So post your comment here or on my Facebook page(s) or tweet me @SuperNerdyNews!

Count Dracula!!!!

Last week was spent relaxing, and enjoying some time off. For me, that includes reading the comics that are on my "must read" list. First half of the week was spent reading a story from DC's Multiverse, called Batman - Vampire.

It's a story told in 3 parts: BATMAN & DRACULA: RED RAIN, BLOODSTORM, and CRIMSON MIST. Dracula comes to Gotham City, and starts attacking and infecting the large population of homeless people around the city. Batman, of course, starts to investigate only to find peculiar clues that force him to think in a way he never considered before. He seeks out advice from a woman named Arianne, an expert in the occult, and realizes that Vampires are actually real and are responsible for the attacks in Gotham.

Batman then meets a gang of vigilante Vampires who are hunting Dracula himself. They team up, and the leader of the gang secretly infects Batman so that he has the strength necessary to defeat Dracula. Over time, Batman realizes how much he needs these added abilities. The only problem is his increasing desire for human blood. Through the teachings of this lady Vampire, Batman creates a synthetic blood substitute that keeps his soul pure. We find out that crosses and religious artifacts can hurt Vampires and Dracula because they've killed in order to feed and therefore their souls are no longer pure.

Batman's purity and added strength helps in his fight with Dracula, but before he can beat him, Batman is bitten by Dracula in mid fight. After executing his plan, which includes sacrificing Wayne Manor in order to trap Dracula with sunlight, Batman manages to stake Dracula and decapitate him, ending the Lord of the Vampires' centuries long plague on mankind.

Bloodstorm is about what happens to Batman after he beats Dracula. Red Mist ends with Batman claiming to be a Vampire, but that not all Vampires are evil. Batman continues his crusade against crime and evil in Gotham, but now with the power of Dracula. He leaves the criminals he stops alive, but notices that there are still Vampire attacks happening around the city, telling him that there is still a nest of Vampires that he missed. Meanwhile, this nest of Vampires is leaderless and just killing random people in order to survive. They are found by none other than the Joker. Who convinces them to let him lead them, promising them the richest and best blood in Gotham.

During this story, Batman also starts to notice how his serum has started to be less and less effective. His thirst for real blood is increasing every night, and he knows that sooner, rather than later, he will have to drink real blood or die. Knowing this, Batman orders Alfred and Commissioner Gordon to stake him and cut his head off in case he ever becomes "impure".

At the end of Bloodstorm, Batman beats and kills the Joker, gives in to his thirst and drinks the Joker's blood and then the blood of a rat. He tells Alfred, who stakes Batman through the heart like he was asked to do, but doesn't cut his head off. Gordon and Alfred bury Batman in a coffin beneath the Wayne Brownstone in Gotham City.

Months go by, and without Batman, Gotham starts to fall back into the hands of the bad guys. Batman's Rogues have reemerged to take control of the city's criminal underground. Alfred feels like he has no other choice and removes the stake from Batman's chest, allowing him to be resurrected. This time, though, Batman says he will never allow himself to be killed again and that Alfred has "cursed them all".

Crimson Mist then tells the story of what would happen if Batman was a full-on Vampire. He still goes after bad guys, but instead of locking them up, he drains them of their blood and then cuts their heads off. The entire book is filled with violence, and gore. A true horror comic. I'm not going to spoil anything else, so I'll end the story description there.

The point of the story was just how strong Dracula's influence is. And that's only a portion of Dracula's full power!

Over the last decade or so, the idea of Vampires has changed quite drastically. I blame the Twilight books/movies, and HBO's True Blood for this. I will admit that I enjoyed the first few seasons of True Blood, but in all honesty, it was NOTHING compared to the true horror story that only Dracula can give us.

Dracula is the oldest and most well known supernatural character in literary, film, and comic book history; his history was even spawned from real life historical events! That's where the best stories come from anyway.

In comic books, Dracula has fought against some of the most powerful super heroes of all time! Aside from Batman (numerous times); Dracula has fought Superman, Doctor Strange, the X-Men, the Thing, the Hulk, even Apocalypse and of course is the ultimate nemesis of Blade. One of my favorite stories that include Dracula is WHAT IF...WOLVERINE BECAME LORD OF THE VAMPIRES. In it, the X-Men fight Dracula (like they actually did), but instead of driving him off, Dracula defeats them. He bites them all, and resurrects them as Vampires. Only, Wolverine (because of his healing factor) is able to withstand Dracula's hypnotic influence and fights back exhibiting similar powers to Dracula. They fight, and Wolverine decapitates Dracula, taking his place as Lord of the Vampires. This was my first issue of WHAT IF...? comics, my 2nd or 3rd intro to Wolverine as a character, and my first real look at how powerful Dracula really is.

The supernatural element of the character is what makes him so interesting, especially when putting Dracula up against today's modern heroes. For example, Superman is probably the most powerful (and well known) super hero of today. When Superman faces Dracula, they are on equal grounds. Since Dracula's power is based in magic, and Superman has a weakness to magic, Dracula's presence alone acts like some kryptonite does to Supes. His strength decreases exponentially, and his other abilities are much less effective. Dracula is even to pierce Superman's skin with his fangs! Now imagine how much stronger Dracula would be if he drank Kryptonian blood!

The character of Count Dracula has been around for a long time, but I believe his full potential has yet to be seen! I am currently formulating a story that would bring Dracula's influence to a WORLD LEVEL threat! We might even get to see something like that in the current Universal Movie Monster Universe that Universal Studios is currently building. It started with Dracula Untold, continued in Victor Frankenstein, and will add the new Mummy with Tom Cruise next year.

Who is your favorite movie monster? And who would you like to see fight Dracula in the comics?

GoT Mondays! Season 7 Rumors with emphasis on Gendry

Vacation ends way too fast, am i right? Although, even when I try to "unplug" for awhile, I can't help but look out for comic book news and GoT stuff.  Since, GoT is as big as it is and everyone is still reeling from the end of season 6, there's plenty to talk about!

So, by now, any GoT fans probably have heard of the casting news of our favorite HBO show. The biggest name out of the casting news is Angela Lansbury, star of Murder She Wrote. There's been no official announcement on what part she is playing, so we can only speculate. I think her character might be of someone from the past, that we only see via flashbacks. Going off of other casting rumors that I've read, it looks like Rhaegar Targaryan will have a role in next season! Can't wait to meet him! Maybe it's possible that Angela Lansbury will play a Targaryan as well. Maybe Rhaegar's mother, Rhayella Targaryan, sister-wife of the Mad King. There's also been rumors the the Dragonpit will be seen in season 7! This is exciting for me, especially after reading about the Dance of Dragons and the events around the Dragonpit. If Ms. Lansbury is a character from the past, we might even get a flashback to the storming of the Dragonpit from the Dance of Dragons. Where Lansbury, playing Princess Rhaenyra, is spurned by the Iron Throne after usurping her half-brother's thrown and watches her newly won kingdom fall apart in front of her. Season 7 is probably going to have a lot of dragons, and so this is strong possibility. However, not all of this season will be told in flashbacks, thankfully. So, really, it's completely up in the air what part Lansbury will actually play. I do love to speculate though.

The most interesting casting rumors that I've heard recently is that the actor Joe Dempsie, who plays Gendry, was spotted in Belfast where they are filming season 7! IF Gendry is coming back to show, then what is the purpose of this reappearance? Back in season 5 there was a scene with Lady Olenna Tyrell from Highgarden and Petyr Baelish aka Littlefinger in King's Landing, before Littlefinger went North to Winterfell. In this scene Baelish says to Olenna that he "has a gift for here", now this scene was before Cersei's trial by the Faith when she did the shame walk. I originally thought that Gendry was the gift that Littlefinger spoke about, and that Gendry would be used as a chief witness to Cersei's incest relationship with her brother. Now, thinking about it, that would have been a waste of the character, and George R.R. Martin is a much better writer than that. SO...how does Gendry fit into the future of Westeros?

Well, let's see, seeing as he's on the run and (probably) still believes that the Lannisters and Melisandre is chasing him, it's possible that Gendry shows up in Essos rather than Westeros. HOWEVER, after seeing Dany on the ships, I think all focus will be on Westeros in season 7, so placing a character in Essos without any other supporting characters on that continent any more seems unlikely. So what else do we know? We know Gendry is a talented blacksmith, and before he was taken by Melisandre he was going to stay with the Brotherhood Without Banners to smith for them. So it's most likely that Gendry came to shore far enough away from King's Landing and Storm's End, but quiet enough so that he build a life for himself. What if his plan was to go North, like his friend Arya was trying to do? What if Gendry thought that going North to find Arya or get to Winterfell was the only way he would be safe, but couldn't make it at sea in a rowboat for more than a day or so. So on his trek North, he probably realized that he's have to pass by King's Landing, and so would force himself to row beyond Blackwater Bay. It's possible that he made it just past King's Landing, and made it to an island just off of the Crownlands. The island that Daenarys is also heading for. Dragonstone.

I think Gendry is the key to forging Valaryian steel weapons. Dragonstone is home to the largest cache of dragonglass in Westeros, so maybe Gendry came ashore there, finds work as a blacksmith and later meets Tyrion or Dany who recognize his talents and hire him to work for them. This would get Gendry back into the main plot and set him up as a major asset in season 8 when the war against the White Walkers will happen. Take a look at this map of Westeros below, it is TOTALLY POSSIBLE, and quite probable, that Gendry heads North from Storm's End, recognizes Blackwater Bay and continues North, then arrives at Dragonstone (which is at the far north side of Blackwater Bay) exhausted. Once there, he might even be planning on continuing North when an opportunity presents itself.

There's also the possibility that Gendry is reunited with Arya before she makes it to Winterfell. I've always believed there was something unfinished between them. We know that Arya has changed a lot since she last saw Gendry, and I think Gendry would be a lot more willing to listen to an Arya that has survived all that she has.

For us, Summer is over and Winter is coming. Once we get a scent of spring, the countdown to season 7 officially begins. Unfortunately, even once Spring arrives, we still have to wait until June for the show to come back. Until then, stick to this blog for your weekly dose of Game of Thrones talk. #GoTMondays!

Is Social Media Killing the Art of Storytelling in Comics?

I'm going to sound like a grumpy old man here, but so be it. I miss the good old days when you could buy comics or go to the movies without worry of having the ending or major plot points spoiled.

That's that social media has given us. If these so called "news" websites don't spoil character reveals or major plot twists in their headlines or on their web pages, then "fans" are doing it in the comments. Publishers are even listening to these people!

Let's take the recent Captain America debacle. A year back, or so, the Captain America that we're all used to, Steve Rogers, was written out of the character. He lost his abilities and started to age dramatically. Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, took over as the new Captain America. I was not a fan of this, but...you know....whatever, I didn't have to read it, so I didn't. Now, just last year, the original Cap came back after Marvel's Comic Universe reboot. In the second issue of Captain America: Steve Rogers it was revealed that Cap was actually an agent of Hydra, and had been the WHOLE TIME.

So right off the bat hearing this I was like, "bullshit. It's a trick." And I'm talking about the character arch. I, because of reading comics for so long, knew that this wasn't going to last. For some reason, a large part of the population had an enormous problem with this! Veterans, survivors of World War 2, and people claiming to have read Cap stories since the 1940's wrote to Marvel and took to the facebooks to voice their concern.

Seriously? Concern? There was so much backlash, that the story arch was edited to reveal the real twist much earlier than intended! Second issue established Cap's betrayal, then the third issue brought him back. WHAT. THE. HELL?  This isn't storytelling! This is pandering to an audience.  But I don't blame Marvel, and I don't blame the movie studios when they take over the production of a movie because of internet oversensitivity. Warner Brothers ordered reshoots for Suicide Squad because of the negative backlash from Batman v. Superman. No, I don't blame them. I blame the people and their stupid opinions.

Don't get me wrong. This sensitivity from publishers and movie studios does serve a purpose. It says that they can hear us. BUT, they're still NOT LISTENING! If a studio feels the need to get involved in a project after production has wrapped because of fan reaction from a different movie, that tells me the studio never had real faith in the project to begin with. Marvel Studios is just as much to blame as Warner Brothers. Joss Whedon wouldn't have had so much to cover in Avengers: Age of Ultron if they studio hadn't insisted that he tease Infinity War, Thor 3, Cap 3, and introduce the Infinity Stones! (there were other issues with Ultron, but that's not what I'm talking about today).

Listen, I'm just getting really sick and tired of reading about how people are crying over every little tidbit of information they get. The latest being Zendaya cast as Mary Jane Watson in the new Spider-Man: Homecoming movie. Race is also a major contentious argument. Zendaya being the latest name in the discussion.

Here's the one that really kills me though. So, Marvel has been making a lot of changes these days. Killing off some of their classic iconic characters, and changing some others (like Captain America). The biggest example is Iron Man. Lately in the comics, Tony Stark has been dealing with some...er...issues we'll say, and is side-stepping the spotlight for awhile. This is not a new concept. A lot of times, publishers will take an established character, like Iron Man, and put someone else behind the mask for a time. This has happened to Batman on numerous occasions, in fact, Batman's whole plan revolves around the SYMBOL that he has created. So, now Tony Stark is stepping aside and a 15 year old black girl (being called the smartest person in the Marvel Comics Universe) is taking over the armor.

The outcry over this has become ridiculous. The first argument is people claiming "they're not racist" but then accuse the writers of changing a favorite character's race and gender purely for "diversity". Then there's the complaints that comic companies can't come up with new and original characters, and the people cry about them "ruining their childhood heroes" by changing them. Well, I don't know about you, but I think a 15 year old black girl who creates her own Iron Man-like armor and calling herself Ironheart sounds like a new and original character. I think killing off the Ultimate Universe's version of Peter Parker and handing the mantle of Spider-Man to Miles Morales was a new and original idea for that character years ago. I thought Bruce Wayne asking Jean Paul Valley (aka Azrael) to take over as Batman while he healed from Bane's attack was a fresh idea, as was Dick Grayson taking over as Batman after Bruce Wayne "died" from Darkseid's Omega Beams in the Final Crisis crossover event.

My point is, this happens all of the time. But because people can take to facebook or twitter and immediately voice their opinion, the story suffers. If you're a consistent reader of this blog, then you know how important story is to me, as it should be for everyone.

It's ok to be outraged over a decision made by a company that has created your favorite character, but we should have faith in the story. I can honestly say that I have not read a major comic book title (written by the top writers of both Marvel and DC) and threw it away in disgust. Yes, a lot of sub par story lines have been released in recent years, but the writers and publishers learned their lesson through sale numbers, not internet meme's and facebook arguments.

Bottom line is, everyone needs to just chill the F out and let the creative people do their thing. They got that job for a reason, so let's just see what they can do. If the finished product is something you don't enjoy, that's fine, but it doesn't call for an attempt at public shaming. What happened to Leslie Jones and the cast of the new Ghostbusters is just disgusting. I was against the making of that movie, but Leslie Jones did not deserve the terrible treatment she got.

So what's my point? Well, honestly I severely dislike social media, but it's a necessary evil. It's almost impossible to avoid these days, and people very quickly forget how they make themselves appear to others. Words just can't be read the same way they're meant to be spoken. So go forth and be social. Just try and "be excellent to each other". Have a great day!

Mid Year Comic Book Movie Review

So I'm in between vacations at the moment, and in between recording podcast episodes, so I thought I would do a different kind of post today.

The comic book movies (CBM) of 2016 were highly anticipated, and rightfully so! 2015 ended on a high note, with the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I saw that movie 3 times in the theater, pre-ordered the blu-ray, watch it at least once a month, and now will watch it even more now that it's about to premiere on Starz.

2016 started with a bang too, and surprise bang. DEADPOOL was the highest grossing R Rated movie of all time when it opened in February. For long time fans like myself and my friends, we knew the potential the character had to utterly destroy at the box office. And the movie did not disappoint. Currently, DEADPOOL is ranked #1 best CBM of 2016. Disagree? I would love to hear why!

Then came, what was probably, THE MOST ANTICIPATED CBM of all time! Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, may have gotten comic fans very excited, but it was also the most disappointing movie of the year as well. I remember almost falling asleep in the theater while watching this! I couldn't believe it! I've talked about this movie and it's disappointing points enough, so I'll leave it there. I'm just still in awe about how a movie featuring a fight between Batman and Superman could be as boring and disappointing as it was.

So BvS:DoJ came out in March of 2016, but it was originally slated to premiere in 2015. WB Studios purposefully delayed the release so their movie wouldn't have to directly compete with AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. However, the delay not only started the rumors of how bad BvS:DoJ was going to be, but also made the film compete with CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. Civil War opened in April, and may not have been in direct competition with BvS:DoJ, but was (of course) immediately compared. I would say about 87% of fans had more positive things to say about Civil War. It was a much better movie and introduced some Marvel characters that we couldn't wait to see, like Black Panther, and Spider-Man! My pre-ordered blu-ray arrives next week! I really enjoyed Civil War and can't wait to watch it again, but it only ranks as #3 on my "Best of 2016, So Far" list.

Quick recap: #1 - Deadpool, #3 - Captain America: Civil War, #5 - Batman v. Superman.

The next release was the biggest and most pleasant surprise of the summer for me. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE renewed my faith in the X-Franchise. I haven't liked an X-Men movie since X2, and was really starting to hope for a franchise reboot. However, this latest X-Flick, was just great! I enjoyed every minute of it and really look forward to watching it again and again. Once I do, I'll be sure to post a full review. For now, I'm ranking X-MEN: APOCALYPSE at #2!

Last, but not least, was SUICIDE SQUAD, which it was released most recently in August. Ranked at #4, but if X-Men wasn't as surprising as it was, and Civil War wasn't as much fun as it was, Suicide Squad could have easily placed higher on this list. I enjoyed this movie. I am a big fan of escaping when I go to see a movie, and so unless a movie takes me completely out of the viewing experience (like Batman v. Superman did), I'm going to give it a positive review. Yes, there were a lot of problems with this movie, and at one point did feel like I was watching 2 different movies. BUT, I really did enjoy it. It was a fun summer movie, just not as good as most of the others.

So, the tally is
1. DEADPOOL
2. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
3. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
4. SUICIDE SQUAD
5. BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

How would you rate the CBM of 2016 so far?Let me know in the comments or tweet me @SuperNerdyNews

We've got 2 more CBMs this year. DOCTOR STRANGE is next, releasing in November. Doc Strange could easily be the best CBM of the year, it looks incredible and unlike anything else Marvel has done yet. I'm very excited for this and to see what kind of promotional stuff they'll have at NY Comic Con this year!

Last to release this year is ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. I don't know about you, but I LOVE STAR WARS! I don't claim to be an expert in Star Wars knowledge though, because I haven't read or have watched even half of the stuff that's available. When Disney announced that they had purchased the rights and were releasing the next 3 episodes in the overall saga PLUS spin-off movies, I nearly shit my pants. I love the idea of expanding the Star Wars Universe, and Rogue One is Disney's first venture into that extended universe. So, once again thanks to Star Wars, 2016 should end on quite the high note.

Real quick, here's a glimpse of the movie releases for 2017:
March 3 - WOLVERINE 3
May 5 - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
June 2 - WONDER WOMAN
June 16 - KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
June 23 - TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT
July 7 - SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
November 3 - THOR: RAGNORAK
November 17 - JUSTICE LEAGUE
December 15 - STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII

I think 2017 looks even better than 2016! See ya next time!