Jeremy Renner

by Russ Fischer – SlashFilm.com

Jeremy Renner, who was so great in The Hurt Locker and was batted around as a possibility to become the new Mad Max, is saying he may appear as the superhero archer Hawkeye in a couple of Marvel movies. How do you stock a couple of films with multiple minor superheroes and not have them all look silly? By casting people like Renner, who can do a lot with very little material.

The Playlist transcribed some quotes from the UK edition of Empire, in which Renner says he’s been having discussions with Marvel about playing Hawkeye in at least two upcoming Marvel films, then appearing in The Avengers in a full-blown role, rather than a cameo. If the deal did go through, sounds like he’d at least cameo in Thor before  The Avengers hits. At the end of Captain America, perhaps? Seems very late to be shoehorned into Iron Man 2, but anything is possible.

Renner says “Hawkeye could be interesting. They’re going to send me some stuff on it, see what it is. But I think they’re pretty awesome, trying to make superhero movies almost plausible and not just some fantasy thing”.

Amazon Specials

I’m pretty sure Captain America never taught youto dress like that though Rick. At least he’s not wearing the nega-bands, then he’d look really stupid. I suppose I can’t be too harsh he did bang Marlo. From Marvel Comics Presents #52.

Clint Barton, or Hawkeye, has been one of the mainstays of the comic book Avengers. A man with no superpowers but a talent with a bow and arrow. He was inspired to turn hero by seeing Iron Man in action and had a team up with Black Widow, before breaking into Avengers Mansion to join the team.

Like most comic book characters he has died, had amnesia, yadda yadda yadda. Last I heard he was running around the normal Marvel Universe as a character called Ronin (basically all ninja type stuff) and in the Ultimates Universe he was totally bad ass but had his family wiped out and he went all out balls nasty on the bad guys (I’ve used a pic of this version as I think they’ll go the more realistic looking route in the film version).

Okay, hope that brought you up to speed at least a little on the character – Wikipedia have a lot more detail.

Jeremy Renner is the American actor who starred in S.W.A.T., 28 Weeks Later and blew the house down in Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker where he portrayed the lone wolf devil may care SSgt William James who I figure could be a similar kind of character, in some aspects, to Hawkeye.

The reason he could be Hawkeye is that The Playlist spotted an interview with Empire where he said, “Hawkeye could be interesting. They’re going to send me some stuff on it, see what it is. But I think they’re pretty awesome, trying to make superhero movies almost plausible and not just some fantasy thing.”

Looking at the recent Marvel Studio films I reckon Hawkeye could be a cameo in either Thor, Iron Man 2 or Captain America (as Iron Man 2 has finished shooting I doubt it will be that one, unless they are super sneaky) and then we see him more in The Avengers film. Just a theory.

Do you want to see Hawkeye on the big screen? Is Renner the man to play him? How could he appear as a cameo in Thor?

Celebrating once again the cinema of Turkey, the land that copyright infringement laws forgot.

Spend the holiday with friends.

Do you have big plans for the holiday tomorrow? Ours involve a lot of not blogging. We’re going to not blog as hard as we can. But, since traffic here on SBR has grown so much lately we want to re-present the Thanksgiving special we published last year, thereby killing two birds (maybe even turkeys) with one stone.

Yeesh. You can’t really call them “caped crusaders” because they don’t have capes. For that matter, “crusader” may not have the same connotation in Asia Minor. Whatever, the clip is typical of Turkey’s devil-may-care attitude about copyright. YouTube is chock-full of  Turkish riffs on most Western geek culture mainstays, riffs that almost always employ (in a clumsier manner than their American cousins) dizzying amounts of violence, sex, and overwrought soundtracks. Did we mention they’re also really cheap-looking? It bears reiteration. Check out the Turkish Star Trek: 

As the clip shows the Turkish Captain Kirk is much better at walking than most American actors, though the language barrier makes impossible understanding why a peasant hangs out on the bridge and pesters the legitimate crew members.  The bridge set also seems to be in some kind of basement garage, if those metal support posts are any indication.

Still, where there’s Star Trek there has to be its dumber, more exciting cousin Star Wars, right? 1982’s Dunyayi Kurturan Adam (“The Man Who Saves The World”) used bootlegged footage from Star Wars Episode IV as well as stock footage of American and Soviet test rocket flights to tell its weird, garbled saga. The musical score to this clip’s interminable opening credits sounds like public access television music from the 1970s, and it only gets worse from there.

Not content to hit George Lucas up once, Dunyayi Kurturan Adam also pilfers the themes to both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Battlestar Galactica. Eventually achieving cult status by sheer power of  its awfulness, the film spawned a 2006 sequel. In a case of bad art imitating more bad art, just like Lucas’ recent efforts some fans complained the follow-up was a letdown.

Finally, given Marvel Comics’ love for merchandising we’re not entirely sure this next clip is even a bootleg. 3 Dev Adam (“Three Mighty Men”) was a startlingly low-budget, brazenly lurid 1973 abomination depicting an ersatz Captain America’s struggle to stop an evil, pudgy Spider-Man ripoff from running amok through Istanbul. Cap was joined in his efforts, for some reason, by a copy of the legendary Mexican luchadore El Santo. Meanwhile ”Spiderman” and his two girlfriends mostly torture and kill people in depraved ways or have sex in front of puppets. If you’ve never seen a man guinea pigged to death, here’s your chance:

Probably the single most trivial thing you will learn this week: 3 Dev Adam featured Turkish star Aytekin Akkaya, who also appeared in Dunyayi Kurturan Adam.

That’s about all we can stand this week. We’ll be back Monday with our latest edition of Miscellaneous Debris. Have a happy, safe holiday weekend.

- Michael Kabel

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Leonardo Marco & Mahmud Asrar (artists), Bruno Hang (colorist)

The Story: What lies beyond The Fault? It’s an answer Marvel’s cosmic heroes have wanted to know ever since the war between Black Bolt and his Inhumans and the mutant Vulcan came to its tragic conclusion. Quasar, newly resurrected and desperate to prove his worth to his colleagues, has offered to delve into the tear in time and space to find out what lies on the other side, but what he finds there threatens to consume the entire Marvel Universe.

The Good: Readers will know that lately I’ve been taking a long overdue interest in Marvel’s cosmic heroes, and since I’ve missed the previous storylines set in this corner of the Marvel universe, I’ve decided now’s as good a time as any to jump on the rollercoaster and fully experience what so many other critics have been buzzing about for years now. I’m glad I’m starting here, because this issue has set the stage for a truly epic, terrifying story. Abnett and Lanning have masterful control over this little corner of Marvel’s universe, and it shows in the tight, interlocking arcs they are weaving together. From Annihilation right on through War of Kings, each story feels like a natural extension of the one that came before and not just another overly-marketed gimmick. These guys have literally rebuilt the universe from the ground up and it shows with the rich characterization and intricate plots they have developed. Quasar rings true as a devastatingly powerful hero struggling to earn his role as the guardian of the universe right at a time when it is most threatened, and the confidence with which he handles himself on the other side of The Fault reminds us why it remains a role he was born for. As for what lies beyond The Fault, I’m choosing not to comment because I don’t want to spoil the surprise, except to say the eerie combination of Lovecraftian horror and traditional superheroes is a delight and something I sincerely hope to see more of even after this storyline concludes.

The Not So Good: Nothing that won’t spoil your reading experience. This issue is primarily set up and exposition for the storyline proper, but I swear you’ll be so freaked out and have such a good time following Quasar’s journey (and I never thought I’d be saying that about a man named Wendell Vaughn) that you’ll hardly notice, and if anything want just a few more pages to see what happens next.

Conclusion: In a year highlighted by shockingly mediocre storylines, I feel like Marvel may have finally struck gold with Realm of Kings, and I’m really excited to see what happens next.

Grade: A-

-Tony Rakittke

This is a fantastic example of the classic Kirby first page. The opening prologue is punctuated with loads of dramatic Kirby Crackle. And, then, there’s that alien. Oh, the alien. Is it just me, or is that alien just a little too excited?

Best of all, Cap’s sidekick in this issue is … Hendricks. HENDRICKS! I love it. Start the petition now. We want a ”Hendricks: Origin” Limited Series!

LOCAL ANCHOR MAN: What happened today, Mr. Hendricks?

HENDRICKS: Well, suh, I was tending to my fields, bustin’ up some chiffarobes and whatnot, and this great big flyin’ saucer come out of the sky and landed in mah field. I went inside and a big pink alien was tryin’ to make the animal husbandry on Captain America hisself. I just knew, I needed to find a weapon and kill me that alien. So, I done it.

LOCAL ANCHOR MAN: You are a true, American hero, Mr. Hendricks.

Which one is your favourite?

These excellent supercute superheroes are by JSalvador and you can buy them for $20 each over on Etsy.

The annual conference of the Society of Biblical Literature is winding down.  I have had a great time, but I am ready to move on.  In the wee hours of the morning I will fly back to Kansas City and spend some time with my grandchildren before driving down to Arkansas to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with Sonja and her mother.  It seems like it would be more efficient if they would just give me a parachute and drop me off as we fly over.

One of the first sessions I attended featured Robert Jewett, who in addition to writing a book on Captain America is a leading student of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.  He spoke on the wrath of God in Romans 1:18 and concluded that we are all under the wrath of God–and all under his mercy.  God judges us for the way we spurn his will, frustrate his purposes, hurt each other, and damage ourselves–because he loves us.  Professor Jewett said Paul was convinced that ultimately God’s love will win out over his judgment–but not until we respond to his love as he manifested it by sending his Son for us.

That is a brief summary of twenty years of work.

I also attended several sessions dealing with hard-core philology, the study of ancient writings from the laws of Hammurabi to amulets consisting of verses from the Bible that people wore for good luck.

It has been a challenging and rewarding time.  I have enough new ideas to ponder and leads to follow up on to keep me busy for at least the next year.

I also enjoyed meeting some old and new friends from exotic places like Australia, South Africa, London, Germany, Kentucky, and New Orleans itself.

I came a day early and spent some time with my friend Archie England, Professor of OT and Hebrew at New Orleans Baptist Seminary.  Archie and his colleagues survived Katrina and it took a toll on them.  He should me some of the damaged areas that still have not been rebuilt.  Last night I also saw a very moving film about Katrina called Trouble the Water–it was about the world’s neglect and one woman’s faith and work to help herself and others recover.

Der äußerst sympathische Ex-Footballer (Miami State), Ex-Wrestler (“Do you smell what the Rock is cooking?”) und nunmehriger Schauspieler (Scorpion King, Walking Tall, Be Cool…) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson möchte brennend gerne mal in ner Comic-Verfilmung mitspielen.

‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson told Moviefone he ‘would love to’ take on the Black Adam role in the upcoming Warner Bros movie ‘Shazam’. He recently spoke at the premiere of new animated movie Planet 51, he said: “We have talked about that for such a long time. I am not quite too sure what is happening with that right now. I am still always excited about that.”

Nachdem sich Joe Quesada ebenfalls sehr positiv gegenüber Johnson äußerste, kamen Gerüchte auf, dass Johnson als demnächst auch Captain America vor der Kamera stehen könnte. Natürlich zeigt sich Rock auch offen für diese Rolle und das, obwohl er eigentlich gar kein Comic Fan ist:

“I was never big into comic books when I was a kid, but I do like comic book movies. I like the way they have gone. The adaptations are generally pretty cool.”

Ich fand Rock in den Filmen die ich von ihm bis jetzt gesehen habe eigentlich immer ziemlich gut und glaube auch, dass er einen fabelhaften Black Adam abgeben würde. Auch als Cap könnte ich ihn mir vorstellen obwohl ihm hier sicher die Puristen im Wege stehen werden die ihren Steve lieber originalgetreu sehen würden. Aber mal sehen wer demnächst noch für die Prestigeträchtige Rolle des Captain America gennant wird…

Marvel Comics Retro 6 by marvelclassics
Browse 4 color T-Shirts

Just seeing this hoodie reminds me of a video I once saw on Youtube with scenes from the old Captain America movies cut together with the theme song from Team America, funny stuff. If you’re a Captain America fan and want people to know Marvel has given you the perfect opportunity to show it with this vintage hoodie.

That’s right, folks. Desiato is back and ready to talk some Marvel.

Spoilers abound for this one.

I’ve done this previously for Dark Reign and War of Kings, and I thought, as the resident Marvel guy lurking in the shadows of a generally DC heavy comic review blog, this is the perfect time to make a triumphant (but most likely short lived) comeback to the world of read/RANT. So let’s talk some Marvel. More specifically, let’s talk SIEGE. Bendis! Coipel! Only four issues! It’s got a strong chance of being pretty awesome. Time to break it down, see where we’ve been and where we’re going, specifically pertaining to the last two months or so of Dark Reign continuity.

As a quick proviso, this article is going to focus on Norman Osborne. To find out what’s going on with the rest of the Cabal, I’m going to be putting up a sort of “Where are they now?” article on my own blog, Musings of the Alpha Primitive. This is partially to be self-serving, and partially because I don’t want this article to be 4,000 words long. That should be posted in a week or so, and I’ll probably update this article with the link when I’ve done it.

By the time folks read this, Dark Avengers #11 will most likely have been released. It comes out on Wednesday. I get my books online through Discount Comic Book Service (the best folks in the planet in many ways), and will not be receiving my copy until the end of the month (which, while lame, is a hell of a lot better than paying cover price).So bear in mind that this Siege preview is being written without the added detail of anything that happened in that issue.

So let’s talk about the most recent pertinent points first. We’ve navigated through just about all of The List. I remember when the list was announced, I was perturbed by the idea of 8 $4 one-shots coming out within a month or two. I wasn’t going to buy them. At the time, I was enjoying, but not totally enamored with Dark Reign. But then I saw the creative teams. Fraction and Davis on X-Men. Bendis and Djurdjevik on Avengers. Remender and JRJR on Punisher. Hickman and Ed McGuinness on Secret Warriors. These are stacked creative teams that are worthy of a $4 purchase (or, in my case, about $2.20 thanks to DCBS). And they were all great. I didn’t read Daredevil and didn’t order Spider-Man because I don’t read those ongoings. But maybe I should have, considering the quality of the other books (and I’m sure I’m going to pick them up during con season on the cheap next year). The List rekindled my interest in Dark Reign.

Add to that the monumental achievement that was World’s Most Wanted, Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca’s world-spanning Iron Man epic that has taken a year to tell (and, honestly, how often do you see twelve issue story arcs these days, especially in ongoing titles?), and Dark Reign has kicked into overdrive. Norman Osborne’s armor is weakening. His hold on the world and his own sanity is slipping. The members of the Cabal are splintering, creating their own alliances against Norman and HAMMER. Everything is coming to a head. Siege is, as some of us know thanks to J Michael Straczynski, at its core the siege of Asgard. We know this, because this is apparently why JMS left the Thor book, because he didn’t want to deal with the crossover. We also know a few other things based on some teaser images that have been released in the past few weeks.

1. Asgard is in trouble. One of the teaser images that has been released is the picture of a burning Asgard plummeting to the ground. It’s still in Oklahoma, and the neighboring sleepy town looks to be in trouble (considering that Asgard is landing directly in the center of it). Considering that the whole point of Siege is Norman Osborne storming Asgard, nothing about this should come as a surprise. But let’s keep some things in mind. First, the Asgardians as we know them are not actually in Asgard right now. Loki, Baldur, basically everyone but Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three are currently in Latveria. Secondly, considering the last panel of World’s Most Wanted, featuring Donald Blake in his Oklahoma hotel room alongside Pepper Potts, Captain America (Bucky) and Black Widow, and that Blake has power of attorney in Tony Stark’s living will and is presumably going to get him, there’s a decent chance that the BIG THREE (and I mean big three, as Cap Reborn should be wrapping up to the extent that I fully expect Steve Rogers to be back with the shield by the beginning of Siege) will be using Asgard as their headquarters/staging ground preparing for some kind of attack on Osborne when he brings the heat to Oklahoma. One would assume that the big three will also bring in folks like the Mighty Avengers to join the cause (probably the X-Men too, but I don’t know if the scope of the book is such that they want everyone involved).

2. Norman Osborne has a secret weapon. This goes all the way back to Dark Reign: The Cabal, and the shadowy figure that Norman’s been using to keep the rest of the Cabal in line. There has been much speculation, and now we’ve got two pieces of information to help us narrow some things down. The first is a teaser image of Norman surrounded by seven pictures and a “WHO IS NORMAN OSBORNE’S SECRET WEAPON?” tag line at the top, and the second is the end to Dark Avengers #10. These are obviously linked, considering that three of the characters are in both images. Let’s take a look at who’s on the teaser image first to get a sense of the possibilities.
2a. Thanos. No chance in hell. This is a red herring. One, the fact that they specifically chose an image of Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet is too loaded of an image. Take also into consideration the utter arrogance of Thanos, and that there’s no way he would ever go along with someone like Osborne. Plus, there’s the fact that he’s dead. And Abnett and Lanning would probably be a little annoyed if one of the supreme cosmic characters of the Marvel universe suddenly shows up parading around a crossover on earth. Odds: Eleventy-billion to one
2b. Odin. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m getting the no chance in hells out of the way first. Most of the reasoning behind Thanos can also be attributed to Odin. He’s arrogant, and would be exceedingly unlikely to consider Osborne an equal deserving of his time. He’s also dead, and while he did hold a grudge against Thor for not resurrecting him after the most recent Ragnarok, they reconciled during the two issue Thorsleep arc in JMS’ run. Not gonna happen. Odds: 200,000,000,000 to one
2c. Nate Grey. X-Man, eh? So I’m not reading many of the X books. I’m reading Uncanny, but that’s basically it. Dark X-Men seems to be the book that features the return of X-Man, and while I probably should have bought it considering that Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk are piloting the series. Nate’s an omega level mutant, and he’s one of the many folks in this teaser that can actively alter reality. From my perspective, Nate Grey lacks the punch that would be needed to really make Siege pop. Not enough folks would really get enough out of Nate Grey being the big secret baddie. It’s more plausible than Odin or Thanos, but it’s definitely unlikely. Odds: 999 to one
2d. Mephisto. See, now we’re talking. Mephisto has some definite possibilities. He’s definitely shown that he’ll work with anyone if the price is right. And Norman’s definitely crazy enough to have no compunction to make a deal with the devil. Some folks have been attempting to make a link between Mephisto as Norman’s secret weapon and the events of One More Day as a sort of kill two birds situation. I don’t see that happening. Personally, Mephisto’s up there. He works perfectly well in this situation. He could legitimately keep folks in line. Plus, he’s in the last panel of issue ten of Dark Avengers (for the information of those not in the know, Dark Avengers 10 ends with a double page spread featuring Norman Osborne being confronted by a new Dark Cabal consisting of Enchantress, Zarathos, Mephisto, The Beyonder, and Molecule Man on a throne of skulls). Odds: 10 to one
2e. Molecule Man. Molecule Man has some potential and some problems. Rich Johnston leaked some things about Norman’s secret weapon having the MM initials, which certainly points to Molecule Man, but one would think that if this were the case, you might not necessarily give that away at the end of Dark Avengers. But Molecule Man was certainly in power, especially considering his sitting on a throne of skulls and all, and if he can exert his will to dominate folks like Mephisto and The Beyonder, we should probably watch the hell out. Sure, he’s not necessarily dominating these folks, but he’s definitely in the place of power. Of course, there’s also the fact that Norman is completely insane and could be imagining it all. But, if he is imagining it all, is he doing it for a reason? Is it because he’s worried he could lose control of his secret weapon? Hard to say, but I think Molecule Man is, in a way, a little too good of a fit. He doesn’t have a strong personality, and could easily be convinced by Osborne to be his ace in the hole. Odds: 7 to one
2f. The Beyonder. It seems to be the case that Bendis has been itching to use the Beyonder in some capacity. New Avengers: Illuminati #3 was all about The Beyonder. There was heavy speculation that he was pulling the strings during Secret Invasion. He’s been on the cusp of involvement for a while, and he would absolutely scare the shit out of the other Cabal members (and extra points for having a specific grudge with Doom). Of course, this could easily be Bendis continuing to mess with us by dangling The Beyonder just out of reach; only this time he’s actually appearing on panel. I like The Beyonder as the secret weapon. I think it works well. A mix of the old and the new. Personally, this would be my choice, though I don’t necessarily think it’s the most likely. Odds: 4 to one
2g. Scarlet Witch. When was the last time we saw Bendis and Coipel working together on a big project? House of M. COINCIDENCE?!?!?! The return of Scarlet Witch would bring quite a few things full circle. It would play off Loki’s recent actions in Mighty Avengers. Hawkeye would continue to go nuts, especially considering New Avengers #26. Scarlet Witch, in many ways, started the ball rolling. She’s the most unstable of the reality-alterers in the mix. She would scare anyone into service, because she’s capable of anything. House of M proved that. Much like Molecule Man, this might be too perfect. But Scarlet Witch has been off the table for a long time, and this might be a worthy moment for her return. Odds: 3 to one
2h. Someone else. There are other possibilities. Dormammu, for one, as he does have ties to The Hood, who’s probably been the most on Osborne’s side throughout most of Dark Reign. The Void would manage to not only keep the Cabal in line, but would also act as a safety net to cover The Sentry. Marvelman was a popular guess after Rich Johnston’s MM leak, but I think it’s too soon for Marvelman to hit the main Marvel U. I’d like to believe it’s one of the folks on the teaser, and that it’s not a bait and switch situation.

3. Some flying shadow dude. There’s another teaser image of a shadowed figure flying above New York City as the denizens of the city look on in a mixture of shock, awe, and terror. We all assume that this enshadowed figure is Norman’s secret weapon, though much of that could be because those two teasers were released at the same time. So who is it? The Beyonder with his white disco coat blowing in the wind like a cape? Scarlet Witch? The Void? Sentry? Who knows? What I do know is that I dig the image and it further whets my appetite for some Siege goodness.

Is there more to cover? Yeah, probably. But we’re going on 2,100 plus words now, so I think I’ve done enough damage in my return. If you want the lowdown on Dark Reign and Siege, make sure you’re following Dark Avengers, Invincible Iron Man, Utopia, and The List. That’ll help out the most for the major story points. And once again, keep a look out for my article on the Cabal over at Musings of the Alpha Primitive (yeah, I plugged it again).  You stay classy, read/RANT

It had been a pretty long while since I started expecting the sequel to Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2006) sequel and finally, I have got it and finished the game twice. It is a bit odd, because I had really expected much more from this game and at the end, it kinda feels like a dissapointment. Because of my console, the version I will talk about is the Wii version of the game.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, previously known also as Fusion, basically follows the same path of the original game in terms of gameplay. Up to four players can join during anytime of the game, choosing 4 characters among 26 playable Marvel heroes and villains and overcoming each obstacle on their way. One of the new aspects of the game is the fact that now, thanks to the fusion power the characters are able to combine their powers, realeasing a powerful blast of mixed abilities. This new feature, apart from the story, are the only new attractions of the game, so we can say there’s a bit lack of originality.

The characters have improved in a lot of aspects, specially the visual one, but surely fans of the previous game will be struck by the fact of not having really new superpowers. Indeed, almost all the attacks of the first game have come back, with the exception of few that were changed, into something a little bit better, or something even worse. Teamwork is still the same, and the enemy’s level of intelligence becomesa challenge in some moments of the game, but there’s nothing really splendorous. Expectations about the new characters like Jean Grey, Penance, Psylocke, etc. fade quickly, as you realize some are the obvious replacement of the ones in the first game that didn’t enter in this second round (like Psylocke, who is basically Elektra). Some others continue being as good as they were, and pretty few have become really stronger.

The game’s plot follows the Civil War story, on which the heroes have to choose between accepting the Act of Registration from the Government, or not. Depending on what you choose, some characters will be available or not, and missions will change, according to the story you’re playing. Nevertheless, the way the plot is told becomes sometimes quite boring, and you just skip the info in order to start playing the missions. The S.H.I.E.L.D. blue points, where you save your progress and change your team are now spread in not very useful locations, unlike the previous game, and you can’t change characters who have died in battle anymore. You have to bring them back to life using the Fusion, and in the Wii version, there are no costumes for the characters. 

Bosses have a balanced level, and the locations, although they are not as exotic as in the prequel, are now made with more detail, giving the game a pleasant visual effect. Missions have become shorter in lenght and not very dinamic in some moments. A good improvement from the first Wii version is that the Wii Remote Control is now more enjoyable without being an irritating feature. Attacks are not made by the control’s movement anymore, and isntead, it is required only in specific actions.

So, in general, MUA2 it’s the same game as the first one with some improvements but no really outstanding feature, a story that can be sometimes hateful, and cool characters that still, have something which doesn’t really fit at all. A good avergae game, but the first one is really missed by the player while he plays this one.

So, here’s a list of all the playable Wii characters, with a brief opinion of mine (based on my playing with them), and more images. Leave your comments as you wish!

1.- Captain America: He’s basically the same as in the first game, and his attacks are overpowered by most of all the other characters. A shield is not very useful, really… Grade: Useful in some moments.

2.- Iron Man: With some new improvements, Stark’s armor is not only a reliable backup, but also quite an offensive fighter. He’s not only powerful but also resistant. Grade: Essential for victory!

3.- Thor: The mighty Nordic God might not seem trustful in this game, but hides great power in his hammer. Strong and offensive, clearly a great choice. Grade: Good choice!

4.- Hulk: This new ally it’s powerful by nature. His only “but” is that he requires “rage” for some of his attacks, but it’s a good companion in rooms full of enemies… Grade: Good choice!

5.- Spiderman: The web-head neighbour it’s the master of agility, and along with his spider powers becomes a useful tool whether for running away, or fighting multiple enemies at a time… Grade: Essential for victory!

6.- Mr. Fantastic: Thanks to his elastic powers, he can reach enemies that are not close to him, but his physical power from the last game, went from 5 to 2 so think about it… Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

7.- Invisible Woman: Susan’s powers have increased from 5, to extra 5, becoming quite a good heroine to play with. Not only will she protect her mates using big shields, but also her “fusion” abilities end up with massive destruction! Grade: Essential for victory!

8.- Human Torch: Johnny’s fire power is strong, and used in a proper way, becomes destructive, besides, his combinations with the other heroes always result in total blast, surely, one hell of a flame! Grade: Good choice!

9.- The Thing: Ben’s physical power it’s the same, but unlike the first game, he’s a little bit faster. This allows him to act like a big bull enemies can’t run from!!! Grade: Good choice!

10.- Wolverine: The iconic X-Man, remains the same as in the prequel, but his lack of power is far more visible. It’s not a good idea to use metal claws against metal armors… Grade: Useful in some moments.

11.- Storm: Storm’s lightnings are a good weapon when a lot of enemies surround you, but… apart from that she has nothing really good to add, except (maybe…) her fusion compability… Grade: Useful in some moments.

12.- Cyclops: This new player seems to have a poor gameplay, but his optical powers ban that statement and make him a good mate rivals can’t deal with. Grade: Good choice!

13.- Jean Grey: She’s probably one of the best newcomers to the game. Not only can she revive with her powers, but also ask her Phoenix’s soul for help and play with telekinesis as if she were playing with dolls. Grade: Essential for victory!

14.- Iceman: Basically the same as always, Iceman icy powers are useful for freezing enemies once and for all, trapping them in what can become a massive punching bag. Fast, agile, and a good shooter… what else do you ask? Grade: Good choice!

15.- Gambit: Another newcomer who impresses with her explosive cards. His shooting ability is stunning, and more when his cards fly everywhere without even aiming at an enemy! Grade: Good choice!

16.- Psylocke: This lady’s pink powers are not very realiable and you’d prefer to take Jean instead of her. Her pink blade is probably a good weapon, along her butteflies, but she’s not the latest warrior… Grade: Useful in some moments.

17.- Deadpool: This mercenary is everything but rubbish. He shoots as fast as you blink your eyes, teleports, jumps, throws granades and starts the massive attacks as fast as he says: “Hello!” His resistance and health powers… make him the perfect back-up. Grade: Essential for victory.

18.- Daredevil: Not a very impressive character, Daredevil shows us agile movements and baton-based hits. Nothing really amazing. Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

19.- Songbird: Another newcomer who seems to offer a lot, but at the end is just another normal mutant. Her sonic powers are only impressive when the fusion is made. A bad point: she can’t attack while she flies… Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

20.- Blade: The old vampire hunter was weak and this new version of him… is still weak. Surrounded by all the other mutants, he barely even disappears among them. Some attacks have become stronger, and the gunshot is probbaly his best feature. Grade: Useful in some moments.

21.- Ms. Marvel: We still wonder why did she return. She’s not amazing and her attacks do a damage level of mediocrity. The only plus is that she’s strong, but in that case… better take Hulk or the Thing. Grade: Stay at the base.

22.- Penance: This mysterious guy doens’t seem to be strong or physically impressive, although visually, he is. Has energy attacks based in getting pain, but his really strong point is the “fusion” move, that ends up sometimes in total destruction. Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

23.- Luke Cage: This warrior is anything but spectacular. Maybe his fists against the ground are something but aparte from that… the chain, the punch… just don’t really work. Grade: Stay at the base.

24.- Venom: One of the two villains available, Venom it’s one of the best newcomers. His slow melee moves are compensed by really good attackas using his symbiotic abilites, which are able to drain enemy’s life in less that 1 minute! Grotesque, sometimes is the best… Grade: Essential for victory!

25.- Green Goblin: The explosive pumpkins he throws make up for his lack of physical damage. Basically that’s all he does… oh, did I mention he launches missiles? Grade: Not the best, not the worst.

26.- Nanyte Nick Fury: This android version of Nick Fury is strong, and has some good attacks… but he’s lack of visual compability with the rest of heroes, makes him a little odd. Apart from that… his sniper rifle deserves some views. Grade: Not the best, not thw worst.

We do feel sometimes the need of using Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Moonknight or Colossus right? Hahaha… among all the mentioned, who’s your favorite???

PD: Sorry for writing such a long entrance…

That’s right, Captain Jack Harkness, lover of musical theatre and wannabe Captain America, John Barrowman. Take it away John.

It’s easier to find comic book characters who have “died” at least once than it is to find characters who have never had the chance to flip through the guestbook of their own funeral.  Which, you’d think, would lead the good people of the Marvel U to not take death at face value. Standard protocol for every superhero and supervillain death should involve tests for shapeshifters (Skrull or otherwise), clones, evil twins, interdimensional doubles, and/or robots.  And if there’s not a body? Well, you might as well just keep setting that extra place at dinner.  But had anyone picked up on this in May of 1969?

Apparently not, because we’ve got Captain America #113 – the death of Captain America!  (And you thought he died during Civil War. Bah.)

This comic opens on a news broadcast, informing the audience that Captain America has been killed by agents of Hydra, and his body is still missing in the Hudson River.  We know, however, that he is most definitely completely dead because they’ve found his shirt and mask totally full of bullet holes. Faced with this sort of solid proof, Captain America is for sure 100% dead. Forever and ever and ever.

However, the most startling find is that under the Captain America mask was another mask – this one of Steve Rogers’ face! So, being the geniuses they are, everyone of course assumes this means that Captain America and Steve Rogers are not the same person, Cap was just faking the whole “being Steve Rogers” thing, and now Totally-for-Real-Cap-in-a-Steve Rogers-Mask is dead.

(This is the first page of the comic and my head already hurts. I’m in trouble…)

 
Yeah, that’s exactly what it means, Sherlock…

And of course, Hydra is gloating over their victory. Because if there’s one thing an organization named after a legendarily hard-to-kill creature should know, it’s that if you think you’ve killed someone, then you totally have.  Madame Hydra decides to celebrate by burning Hydra’s files on Captain America. Because who needs to see a body? That dude is so dead!

Madame Hydra then angsts over  how, despite the fact she’s the best Hydra agent ever and totally offed Captain America (for reals, you guys!), she had a crappy childhood and now has an ugly face to show for it. At least under her hair. Half her face is scarred, and now she can never “escape the tyranny” of her mirror. (How we look in a mirror really is the most important concern for all women. Even the badass ones who run international terror syndicates and kill Captain America. Really.)

After Madame Hydra smashes her tyrannical mirror, we move on to the Avengers, who are also pretty upset, though not because they aren’t sexy enough (they totally are).  They’re bummed because clearly, if everyone says Captain America is dead, he is. But still they do at least want all the gruesome details, so they decide to surround and grill a depressed Rick Jones.

 
Wow, way to be sensitive there, dudes.

This makes Rick cry and Thor points at him with his hammer and yells about grief stilling his tongue. (No shit.) Rick does, however, say that they need to call Nick Fury because he’s Cap’s oldest friend, and therefore, the person to give the eulogy. At the funeral they’re holding immediately. With no attempt to make sure Captain America is for real dead. At all.  It’s almost like they really just all want an excuse to start divvying up his stuff. Did Cap have the best record collection or something?

They’re in such a rush to call Cap dead that they decide to bury a fake Captain America. No empty casket, no waiting to see if maybe they can find the body. No, that would be ridiculous! Clearly, the sane thing to do is dress a dummy up in a Cap suit and bury it. As soon as possible.

 
The real dummies are everyone outside the casket…

However, in their rush to get Captain America declared legally dead so they can rent out his room to pay for new leather seats for the quinjet (I’m assuming…), they forget about silly things like security at the memorial service for a superhero. A superhero who’s supposedly just been killed by a crazy terrorist organization hellbent on killing just about everyone in the world. As it turns out, Hydra has booby-trapped the fake Cap stand-in with knockout gas, and soon, everyone who showed up to mourn the loss of Captain America has a coffin of their own. For sleeping.

 
You know, for a guy in a metal suit, Iron Man is surprisingly flexible.

However, too distraught to actually attend the memorial service, Rick Jones managed to miss the knock-out gas incident, and instead finds himself outside a locked-up Avengers Mansion wondering where the hell everyone is. He then notices Hydra loading what he calls “bins” (apparently, Rick Jones can simply not bring himself to say “coffin”) into a car.  This is suspicious, so Rick then follows them. To a cemetery.  Rick susses out that the Avengers could very well be in the “bins,” so he decides he needs to act.  Or at least he would’ve if he wasn’t immediately discovered by Hydra.

But fear not, because before Rick can meet the same fate that Captain America so totally has, this happens:

 
Okay, this is just lazy. Honestly.

I know this is going to come to a shock to everyone, but it turns out Captain America is not really dead. He was alive THE WHOLE TIME! Wow, I just did not see that coming. He then proceeds to beat the hell out of everyone he sees in a green jumpsuit and give a speech about how the ideals of Captain America are unkillable. You cannot destroy a symbol, the “inspiration to liberty lovers everywhere.” Captain America will live forever! (I love how Marvel never, ever recycles ideas or anything. That’s great.)

 
Face-punching! Yay!

Cap then tells Rick to get down, because he’s rigged his cycle with special fuel to make it explode. Which it does. Reminding us again that the whole “heroes don’t kill” rule the Avengers are so big about does not apply to minions. Minions are always good for killin’.

 
Their coffins will also have dummies. Because they’re now in pieces.

With the Hydra agents now in little bits around the cemetery, Cap checks on the Avengers, and finds that yes, they are still alive in their “bins.” Madame Hydra has failed, which means she must, by the Code of Hydra, kill herself. (Really? There’s a rule in Hydra that if you fail, you have to die? How are any of them still alive?!) However, since she isn’t really cool with this, Madame Hydra decides to break out her giant missile launcher and blow Cap up.

He, of course, jumps out of the way at just the right second, and blows up a crypt and Madame Hydra instead. (I’m going to go ahead and assume she’s as “dead” as he was at the beginning of this comic…) However, he must’ve not been able to save Rick, because in this panel, he is clearly some kind of zombie.

 
All he wants to do is eat your brains…

Okay, fine, Rick’s not a zombie. (That would certainly liven this comic right up, though.) He does, however, want to know how the hell Cap is alive. They were going to make a mint auctioning off his stuff! Captain America explains that the whole world knowing he was really Steve Rogers made the people he cares about (like Rick) vulnerable, so he had to make everyone think Steve Rogers and Captain America weren’t really the same person and Steve Rogers is dead. The only way to do this was to carry out this ingenious plan:

 
Maybe having a dummy in the coffin was appropriate after all…

I know I should really learn how to suspend my disbelief better with these things, but Cap honestly put a Steve Rogers mask on a blow-up doll, let it get shot, and now everyone’s just going to believe Steve and Cap aren’t the same person? Just like that? The fact that they found a freaking Steve Rogers mask isn’t going to tip anyone off at all? Because why would Steve Rogers be wearing a Steve Rogers mask? If you have a dead person in a mask, aren’t you going to assume they were someone other than the person who they were pretending to be? I… I can’t. My head is going to explode. I’m just going to assume that everyone who lives in the Marvel U is really, really stupid and accepts everything at face value. Because nothing has done anything to make me believe otherwise.

So now no one knows who Captain America is, his secret identity securely in place once again, and of course, this will never be an issue again. Ever.

Yeah…

…that everyone loves Captain America.

Miss Bugs is the source of some of the most compelling

Street Art….

MORE IMAGES READ ON……

Check out MISS BUGS Website
Thank You Mr.West

This is a review of the (beginning of) the much-beloved Ed Brubaker/Steve Epting run on the Captain America revival. I bought the whole “Winter Soldier” storyline in two trade paperbacks (compiling issues 1-14) on the advice of a friend, and wow, was I not disappointed. In the comic-movie world, Robert Downey’s Tony Stark/Iron Man will probably always be my favorite character, while in (my admittedly short exposure to) comics, Kate Kane’s Batwoman will probably never be unseated. She has some stiff competition in Brubaker’s Captain America now though. God almighty can this man write! But more on that later. For now, lets begin with…

First Impressions: I love the artwork. The dialogue seems a bit thin just flipping through the pages, but we’ll see what happens once we actually start reading. The layout is nice–easy to follow and understand. Also, nothing makes me want to shout “hooah!” like the sight of Steve Rogers in the same Army physical training shirt I wear to PT every day. I love Cap.

Artwork: This is one hell of a beautifully drawn book. Both from my (quite extensive) experience with cartoon animation and (not so extensive) experience with comic book art, I’ve determined that I much, much prefer art that is realistic. That’s not to say I can’t get into or understand stylized books or panels, but generally speaking the less ‘cartoony’ and more photo-real-ish the artwork of a book is, the more I’m going to like it. And wow, is that ever the case here. Just in flipping through the book I can see gorgeous panels that look realistic, are highly evocative, and tell a great deal of the story even without reading the words. That is some damn good art.

The panel layout is pretty classic, it seems; pretty much like a newspaper comics layout. Very serviceable, easy to understand and follow, but certainly nothing like the style that J.H. Williams is experimenting with in the current Detective Comics run (which is also, to be fair, a lot more recent).

I really, really enjoy Epting’s use of color too. Despite this being a rather (make that ‘very’) dark story, it isn’t all just drab grays and blues (although it does have its share of those.) There are plenty of bright colors here used to balance out the dark, in everything from the muzzle flash of a rifle, to the bright colors of Cap’s uniform, to the fires burning in a Russian village during a series of flashbacks. I like artists who know how to mix things up and balance out color use, and Epting handles both issues beautifully here.

Story: As I’ve mentioned before, this is the meat and potatoes of a comic book for me–its what I come to the table for. Give me all the pretty pictures you want, but if you don’t know how to write or tell a story effectively, I’m not buying. Well, no worries here. I can tell right from the start I’m in the hands of a true storytelling master. This is the first Brubaker comic I’ve ever read (although I have of course heard of him by reputation), and even this little taste is enough to make we want to seek out more. (Daredevil Omnibus, anyone?)

This story, literally, has it all: there’s mystery ( a murder-mystery no less!), political intrigue, character history, friendship, betrayal, and plenty of Cap kicking ass, both of the Nazi and non-Nazi variety. There’s even a cameo from two of my other favorite Marvel heroes, Iron Man and Falcon.

On top of just being a rollicking (and at times undeniably heartbreaking) read, the comic is even further elevated (!) by Brubaker’s mastery of prose. He doesn’t just know what to tell, he knows how to tell it.  His language is gritty, realistic and completely believable, while also being quite poetic, and even meditative in places. A brilliant piece of work.

Final thoughts: A masterpiece. Not much more can be said. Epting’s beautiful and evocative images perfectly complement Brubaker’s story and prose, and achieve the kind of gestalt that I imagine is very, very rare in the comic world. An amazing and emotional story, and one I can’t wait to get the next installment of.