THE 4 HORSEMEN OF APOCALYPSE

As a kid I always enjoyed making up teams of characters. Whether it was pro wrestlers I liked or super hero action figures or GI Joes or whatever. I would mix and match and make up new teams all of the time.

A few years back, Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis took over the reigns of The Avengers stories. He started with blowing them up. Literally. In Avengers: Disassembled, Bendis literally blows up Avengers mansion on one of the first few pages. By the end, the classic Avengers, as comic fans knew them, were no more. Bendis' next step was introducing the New Avengers which would prove a bit controversial. The new team would consist of Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, The Sentry, The Thing, Dr. Strange, Sider-Woman, Ronin (Hawkeye in a different costume), DareDevil, Iron Fist, Captain Marvel, and Jessica Jones. Readers began to ask, "can anyone be an Avenger?" Well, as a big fan of super hero team-ups, I loved it! Two of my favorite characters became Avengers! Wolverine and Spider-Man.  Anyway, this isn't what today's topic is about.

In June, we're getting a brand new X-Men movie; X-Men: Apocalypse. The character of Apocalypse is quite interesting in himself, but my favorite thing about him is that he would surround himself with 4 elite soldiers he called; The Horsemen of Apocalyspe! The premise was simple enough, each time Apocalyspe would return he would seek out 4 people that would fill the roles of the Horsemen; War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death.

There have been several incarnations of the Horsemen over the years. Since most aren't really worth going into detail about, I will mention the worthy ones before getting to my main topic. Major characters that were chosen as Horsemen:

ARCHANGEL: Formally known as Angel. Warren Worthington III was an original member of the X-Men. He was a blond haired, blue eyed, white dude with wings. That was it. For years! Until Marvel reinvented Angel, had him dewinged and sabotage his own airplane. Instead of doing a kamikaze into a mountain, Angel was taken by Apocalypse who did some comic book sciencey stuff and created Archangel. A much cooler looking character with blue skin and metallic wings. Archangel's appearance as the Horsemen Death was a major shocker in the comics. Great read, great episode of the 90's animated show too.

Hulk: Even the Hulk is susceptible to Apocalypse. For a short time, he was the Horsemen War, before he came to his senses after injuring his friend Rick Jones.

Wolverine: This is probably my favorite Horsemen because it combined two important story lines for me as a fan. It introduced Wolverine as a Horsemen and a bad guy AND gave answer for Wolverine to have adamantium again. At the time, Wolverine was going through some major character changes. In issue #75 he had his adamantium ripped out of him by Magneto. 70 issues later it's revealed that at some point the Wolverine everyone knew had been replaced by a shape-shifting Skrull and the real Wolverine had been captured and brainwashed by Apocalypse to become the latest Horsemen: Death.  Apocalyspe forced Wolverine to fight his long time nemesis, Sabertooth (whom also had an adamantium laced skeleton), with the winner to become Death. Wolverine, being the kind of guy he is, decided that he could at least try to fight off Apocalypse's influence while Sabertooth would embrace it, and so he defeats Sabertooth. Apocalypse then strips Sabertooth of his adamantium and gives it to Wolverine.

Other significant members of the group at one point or another: Spider-Man, Gambit, Psylocke, Banshee, Red Hulk, Scarlet Witch, and Daken (Wolverine's son).

Now, being the kind of guy that I am, I've been thinking of and have always thought of who I would choose as MY 4 Horsemen, but I'm opening it up to ALL of Nerdiverse.  

I'll start with the Marvel universe: Pestilence - Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin, Famine - Spider-Man or Deadpool , War - Cable, The Sentry or The Hulk, Death - Wolverine or Captain Marvel.

DC Universe: Pestilence - Lex Luthor or The Flash, Famine - Sinestro or Black Manta, War - Superman or Doomsday, Death - Wonder Woman or Black Adam.

Entire Nerdiverse (representing the ULTIMATE team up): Pestilence - Skeletor (from the Masters of the Universe universe), Famine - Mumra (from the Thundercats Universe), War - The Silver Surfer (from Marvel) and Death - Superman or Black Adam from DC. I'd even throw Wolverine in as Death again.

But who would face these Horsemen and win? How about the ULTIMATE GOOD GUY TEAM UP: HE-MAN, LION-O, BATMAN, THE HULK, WOLVERINE, SHAZAM, WONDER WOMAN, CAPTAIN MARVEL, and led by CABLE!

Now, who would YOU choose to be your Horsemen?

The Punisher vs. Deathstroke

Originally published on HeroicUniverse.com http://heroicuniverse.com/saturday-night-main-event-deathstroke-vs-the-punisher/

I wrote this awhile back. This was my favorite.

DEATHSTROKE VS. THE PUNISHER

OVERVIEW

These two are both highly skilled, killing machines. Deathstroke is more skilled when it comes to hand to hand combat, but Punisher is no slouch. A fist fight between these two would be very entertaining.
Both men are easily able to adapt to their surroundings, and can therefore operate in nearly any enviorment from rooftops of the city to the dense jungle.
This is a great match up, with Deathstroke holding a slight edge. Although Punisher's toughness and drive could be just enough to overcome the Terminator.

ARGUMENT FOR DEATHSTROKE

Deathstroke the Terminator (aka Slade Wilson) is a very highly skilled mercenary who can give Batman a run for his money. He is a master martial artist, as well as a master of his weapons of choice; which are mainly guns, broadswords or katannas, and a bo staff. On occasion, Wilson has been known to carry specialized gadgets as weapons such as grappling guns.
Slade was injected with a serum that gives him regenerative powers, as well as nearly superhuman strength and speed.
Deathstroke would be the aggressor in this fight, hunting the Punisher and use his superior fighting skills to take Castle out.

ARGUMENT FOR THE PUNISHER

Frank Castle has been trained in several disciplines of the military. He's served as a marine, completeing

OUTCOME

a jungle. day.

The sun shines through in patches as Deathstroke walks through the trees. He picks his way over fallen trees and ducks under creeping vines, looking for any clues that a man had been this way. A broken branch and partial bootprint tell him he's headed in the right direction.
Deathstroke arrives at a clearing, when something catches his eye. The shining sun reveals a tripwire attached to a land mine buried nearby. He bends to examine and disarm it. 

Suddenly Deathstroke is stuck in the head, his helmet is knocked off and bounces away.
Deathstroke acts on instinct, diving for cover as several more shots fly by, striking a tree. Behind a log, Deathstroke tries to look out for where the shots are coming from, he's able to spot a flash from the rifle in the far distance just before a bullet hits the log just below his face. He leaps over the log with great agility and speed and runs for cover behind a large rock.

Jumping to avoid a rain of bullets, he lands and rolls behind the rock. As he leans up behind the rock, he hears a high-pitched beeping sound. Deathstroke doesn't wait, he's back on his feet as a proximity bomb explodes behind him, throwing him into the underbrush.
About 3 hundred yards away, the Punisher sees the explosion and starts to move his position. So far his plan is working. He's managed to position Deathstroke right in the middle of an obstacle course of booby-traps. The first mine was a decoy, giving Punisher time to line up a shot to take off Deathstroke's helmet; exposing a weak point.

Punisher knows he can't stay in the same sniper position for too long, so he's on the move, trying to keep an eye on Deathstroke's location at the same time. That's not as easy as it sounds. Deathstroke is on the defensive now and will be trying to gain the advantage any way he can. As Punisher is thinking that, another explosion erupts in the distance, now about 175 yards out.

"Damn he's moving fast," thinks Castle. "Hopefully, he's at least wounded."

Punisher crouches for cover amongst a few fallen trees and rocks, his rifle at the ready for the moment Deathstroke's head comes into view.

As he searches for his hiding foe, he senses movement from above. Punisher looks up just in time to see Deathstroke come leaping at him firing a sub machine gun. Punisher is hit across his chest, luckily he's armored, but he's still knocked back. Deathstroke follows up his attack with a strong kick to Punisher's face. Now it's Punisher being knocked into the underbrush. Castle recovers quickly, though, and pulls a high powered machine gun from over his shoulder, spraying a hail of bullets in Deathstroke's direction, but he's gone.

Punisher is back on the search again, this time checking the trees around him. He moves forward cautiously when he's hit in the shoulder by something. It sticks to him and fires off a grappling line. The other end hits a tree, and Castle is lifted off his feet flying towards the tree. He hits it hard and flips around, his body landing in some bushes.

Deathstroke steps out from behind a tree, and draws his bo staff. He slowly walks up to Punisher crawling out of the bushes.

"You're resilient. I'll give you that." says Slade. "That only makes me want to hurt you more."

WIlson twirls his staff and hits Castle across the back, knocking him to the ground and the wind from his lungs. Punisher rolls over as Deathstroke comes down with his staff again, this time Punisher is able to dodge out of the way; pulling a pistol from a holster on his hip, he fires at Deathstroke, who jumps away.

Punisher empties his clip and reloads as Deathstroke comes flipping at him; Deathstroke swings his staff and knocks Punisher's gun away; then the bo comes at Punisher again. This time Punisher is able to get a hold of the staff. Using Slade's momentum against him, he's able to hurl Deathstroke into a tree, the bo staff disappears amongst the strees.

Deathstroke is up quickly though, and Punisher is staring him down. Punisher reaches down, and pulls out an enormous hunting knife. Deathstroke reaches over his shoulder and unsheaths his katanna sword. They start running at each other, blades colliding and throwing up sparks. Deathstroke comes slashing down with his katanna, forcing Punisher to a knee as he blocks the blow with his knife. Deathstroke is too fast for Punisher's defenses and is able to open up a few deep cuts on Punishers arms along with a big gash across his cheek.

Deathstroke attacks again, Punisher is able to block a few more slashes, but the last two cut deep on his shoulder and chest; Deathstroke follows the barrage up with a devestating punch to Castle's jaw and knocking the knife from his hand.

"You really can take a beating." Deathstroke taunts. "But you're only making things worse for yourself."

He swings his katanna at Punisher's head, but Punisher ducks out of the way, grabbing the fallen knife. He lunges at Deathstroke, who dodges the blade, grabs Punisher by the wrist and drives an elbow into Punisher's forearm; breaking his arm. Punisher yells in pain and looks down at his arm, a sharp arm bone is sticking out of the skin.
Punisher falls against a tree, cradling his arm. Deathstroke twirls his katanna and steps in closer.

"I warned you about this. The longer you fight, the more pain you will suffer." He says as he kneels down next to Castle, their faces inches apart.

"Have you had enough?" Deathstroke asks. "Shall I end it quickly? Or should I just leave you here to bleed out and let the animals have you?"

"How's this for enough?!" grunts Punisher, using a burst of adrenaline; he rips off his arm and stabs Deathstroke in the neck with the pointed end!

Deathstroke staggers back, and grabs at the arm sticking out of his neck. He pulls it out of him with blood spurting out of the wound, he puts his hand over to stop it.

"Ahh You fool!" Deathstroke yells. "No more games!"

And with that, Deathstroke takes Punisher's own arm and stabs him through the top of the head with it.

WINNER: DEATHSTROKE 

Happy 2016!

Hello InterWeb-Slingers! It's been a decent amount of time since I've posted, I know, but some times life gets in the way. Anyway, I've got some things I would like to discuss.

First off, it is 2016 and this year is set up to be the BIGGEST year for super hero movies and media! I am very excited. 2015 ended on a strong high note with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I personally loved it and have a strong theory that I will post at another time. Onto 2016!

So the first offering of the new year was one of my most anticipated: DEADPOOL! And it did not disapoint! This movie was EXACTLY what I hoped it was going to be! Ryan Reynolds is perfectly cast as the Merc with the Mouth, the story is good, the action is great and the humor is perfect! I loved how the X-Men were incorporated into the movie and look forward to the sequel.

Now, the success of Deadpool is actually very important. It was Rated R, which was somewhat of a struggle to get, and was met with resistance all the way up to the release. Parents who don't understand comic book characters could not understand why a super hero movie needed to be R rated. Deadpool definitely needed to be R rated to work. This was a big deal, because if Fox studios (and hopefully other studios) saw that a Comic Book Movie could see box office success with an R rating, then maybe (finally) we would get more R rated films that actually depict comic characters like they are in the comics.  That is essentially what comic fans want out of all of these movies; true depictions of their favorite characters.

The biggest character and franchise to benefit from Deadpool's R rated success (besides Deadpool) is Wolverine. The 3rd installment of the franchise is due out in 2017 and really needs to be good. The last 2 movies have been pitiful attempts at showing the true awesomeness of Wolverine. And now the latest rumors seem to be leading in that direction.  I will believe it when I see it. Wolverine is a huge character and I don't necessarily believe Fox would limit their box office potential with an R rating. BUT, creatively speaking, Wolverine needs an R rating. We need a Wolverine movie with blood and gore! We need to see him ripping and tearing through a pile of bad guys, getting ripped apart himself and barely coming through the other side. THAT's what Wolverine is all about; his unrelenting belief that what he's doing is for the greater good, and no one else can do what he does because he is the best!  We'll have to wait and see how this unfolds.

Moving along, I just want to quickly mention some TV shows. I have heard really great things about Supergirl on CBS. I haven't actually watched any episodes after the pilot, but only because there are so many things to watch these days and I have to choose what to put off for awhile. I will get to it. Supergirl show runners recently released set photos of Supergirl and The Flash crossing over! Which means that they share a universe! This is awesome for a couple of reasons:

          1. The Flash is kiling it and is currently the best Super Hero Show on TV right now. It's fun, light hearted, easy to follow and features a lot of super powers in use. They've introduced Earth 2 and the multiverse of DC and have alluded to major heroes like Superman and Batman a few times as well as the possible formation of the Justice League. (More on this another time).
          2. Flash, Arrow and Supergirl now share a universe. The DCTV universe has grown exponentially, and judging on the success of the Flash and Supergirl, there is nothing but awesome potential for both shows. (I gave up on Arrow in Season 2, kept losing interest).
         3. The Multiverse itself offers so many possibilities including a crossover with the movie universe (Cavill and Affleck's Superman and Batman). To comic fans this could lead to a "Crisis on Infinite Earths" movie event. For non-readers, read it. it is bad ass. Also read Infinite Crisis. (Once again, more on these another time).

If you haven't seen The Flash or Supergirl yet, that's ok, you've got plenty of time. Supergirl will be entering the 2nd half of the first season and Flash is in the 2nd half of the 2nd season, with the first available of Netflix.

So what's next to look forward to? A whole hell of a lot. Next up is the possibly the most anticipated movie of all time; Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. There is a lot of speculation on whether or not this movie is going to be good, but no matter the quality this movie is historical. It will be the first time Batman and Superman share the big screen together. I'm so excited for this movie. I don't care if it's bad, I will watch this movie so many times.  BvS:DoJ hits theaters March 25, but I will be seeing an advanced screening on the 24th. Come back here for a my spoiler free review!

Also released on March 25th will be the 2nd Season of Marvel's DareDevil on Netflix. So what a weekend this is going to be! Season 2's trailer is worth a look as it introduces a couple of new characters that should make for some awesome tv. First off we have DareDevil in his suit, full time now and he meets one of my favorite comic characters: The Punisher. I can't wait to see what they do with Frank Castle.  The other character is also close to DD and she is just as deadly as the Punisher. Electra makes her debut this season; friend of foe though? We have to wait and see; although the trailer alludes to a past between Matt Murdock and Electra. Can't f'n wait!

So that's March, April brings another HUGE movie event. Marvel's CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR! I've seen all of the trailers, and read all of the rumors and my speculation is that this movie is going to be awesome! Comic fanboys aren't convinced, because the movie differs from their beloved comic story line; however from what I can tell, it doesn't matter! The MCU is much different than the Comic Universe, and this new movie looks great!

Do you know what I'm most excited about though? It's not Cap vs. Iron Man believe it or not, but actually the new characters that we haven't met yet. Black Panther and SPIDER-MAN! I LOVE Spidey and I CANNOT wait to meet the MCU's version of the Wallcrawler. May 6th is the release date for this one.

We're not slowing down though. We've got a little breathing time between BvS:DoJ and Civil War, but after Civil War the next major release is 3 weeks later! X-Men: Apocalypse comes out on May 27th! Now, I haven't really been looking forward to this one much. I kind of liked the last X-Men movie, and First Class was pretty good, but I haven't really been that impressed with the X-Men franchise at all. However, the trailer that was shown during the Super Bowl has changed my mind. I am now pretty pumped to see this one, but I still have some reservations.

After X-Men, we've got some more breathing time before the next Comic Book Movie. But there are a couple blockbusters that people will be excited for including:TMNT 2: Out of the Shadows June 3rd, Warcraft June 10th, Independence Day: Resurgence June 24th, the Ghostbusters reboot (BOOOOOO!) July 15th, Star Trek Beyond July 22nd, and the new Bourne movie July 29th. If you see any of them, I hope you enjoy them. I'll be taking a break. Until August.

August 5th brings us the next installment of the DC extended universe; Suicide Squad. I am the least excited for this one, only because there is a lot of ego in this movie and also of stuff that has to happen for it to make sense. You have a group of bad guys that would ordinarily have their own movie to develop their backgrounds are thrown together into a team. It's an interesting concept, but untested on film. This could be a runaway hit as easily as it could be a total dud. It has potential though, and we're still months away with plenty of marketing opportunity; so I'm going to keep an open mind.

Second to last is another highly anticipated film and Marvel's 2nd release of the year; Dr. Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the good doctor. This movie is being said to open up the MCU in ways never seen before. Basically meaning the introductin of parallel dimensions, as well as magic. Dr. Stephen Strange is Marvel's Sorceror Supreme and is a major player in the comic book universe. He, along with the Black Panther, are very powerful and will have major roles in the upcoming Avengers movies; Infinity War Part 1 & 2. More on Doctor Strange as we get closer to the release date.

Finally we come to December and the last of my most anticiapted movies. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a spinoff movie that tells the story of the rebel squad that steals the plans for the Death Star. Lots of potential for an awesome movie. For those that enjoyed the new blood in The Force Awakens, here is your opportunity to meet new characters in an already established universe. I am very excited for this. December 16th is the official release date.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon to expand on things I touched on earlier. Til then, read some good stuff, watch some good stuff and let me know what you think! Later.

Who the french dip is the Suicide Squad

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hugo Strange (Ike Barinholtz)

Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)

 and the legendary Dark Knight himself Batman (Ben Affleck)

who was recently spotted in Toronto IN COSTUME!

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

Spoiler Free DareDevil Review

Friday April 10th, 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which version of Batman is the best?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Batman vs. Darth Vader

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Done?  Not yet? Alright.

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

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

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