Fanboys Anonymous

Death in comics isn't something readers are shocked or worried by anymore. However, Marvel hopes it has a hit on their hands this September with the self-descriptively-titled Death of Wolverine.

"I'm the best there is at what I do. And what I do…is die."

When DC killed Superman off in 1992, kicking off a 22-year fad of dying heroes, they knew they had to make it seem real. They presented a foe who was Superman's equal, but first they spent weeks tuckering Man of Steel out. Years later, they did the same thing when Bane broke Batman's spine. Batman was exhausted from weeks of sleepless nights capturing his entire rogues gallery. Bane attacked and defeated a man on his last legs.

Marvel seems to be taking a similar approach with Death of Wolverine.

The book will release weekly throughout September but will be preceded by this summer's 3 Months to Die, which first robs Wolverine of his healing factor.

“For a long time, no matter who Wolverine was battling, he’s been the eternal victor,” says Michael Marts, executive editor at Marvel. “He almost always comes out on top. Now he finally comes up against an adversary that he cannot win against, he cannot fight. What does that mean for this character who’s been around for hundred years?”

The book will feature an adventure that takes Logan out while reflecting on his past. Readers can expect it to feel like a "remember why you love Wolverine so much" retrospective. The aftermath will be the other heroes of the Marvel Universe reacting to, and moving on from, his death.

As most fans are aware, however, Logan will be back at some point. He already died, anyway, in a story titled "Logan Goes to Hell" where he literally died, went to hell, and clawed (again, literally) his way out. Heck, as I write this, we are experiencing the return of Peter Parker from his death in the Spider-Man books. Not to mention the recent return of X-Men's Nightcrawler.

Here is an early sketch from the upcoming series, showing Logan in pretty rough shape.
Image courtesy of Entertainment Weekly:


So enjoy this story for what it is: a series to highlight what we love about Wolverine, a character who has been on multiple teams for so long that this will ultimately have a lasting effect when he disappears. How will the Avengers carry on without their mad dog? How will X-Force continue without their rogue leader? How soon before they wear dog tags reading "What Would Wolverine Do"?

Death of Wolverine will be written by Charles Soule and drawn by Steve McNiven. Issue #1 hits shelves on September 3rd, with the final issue coming out September 24th.

What do you think? Could we use some time off after decades of Wolverine overkill?

Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular Nation! Check out episode 43 of The Dace Man Show with hosts Dace, Gibby, Frank Ward, Michael Burhan, Aaron, and Travis Goss! We have an exciting adventure in store for you today!

Join the Dace Man and crew this week as they break down the following:

::SPORTS NEWS::

• Current NHL playoff results
• Current MLB standings
• Current NBA playoff results

::WEIRD NEWS WITH GIBBY:: 

• Only one who did research…surprise, surprise

::FRANK'S CORNER::

• Uberfacts…cause he has a mouse in da house

::CELEB NEWS::

• It's melting pot of Hollywood!!

Plus the High Five: Top 5 Musical Artists We Want To See Live and The Douche Bag of The Week! All that and more, only on The Dace Man Show!



Listen live to The Dace Man Show every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on Mega Powers Radio.

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Back in 1982, Steven Spielberg licensed out the use of E.T. for a video game to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Atari took the likeness and created what has been since heralded as one of the single worst video games ever made. In the game, the player took on the role of E.T. and evaded FBI agents while collecting telephone pieces with the ultimate goal of phoning home. Sound exciting? Apparently it wasn’t.

Sadly found in originally shipped condition.

So piss-poor was this game that millions of copies were dumped in a landfill in New Mexico decades ago, never to be seen again—until now.

Fuel Entertainment and LightBox Interactive announced plans to excavate the landfill early 2014 and uncover the cache of cartridges. Why, you (understandably) ask? They plan to film the dig for a documentary to be featured on the Xbox One console. To further interest, the landfill had been a well-known dumping ground since the 1920s until being closed in the ’80s. Folklore has the site as the home of potentially even more video game history as well as who-knows-what from decades before. Fuel and LightBox have offered fans a contest with a chance to win anything that might be unearthed.

The documentary had already begun production with interviews, but the New Mexico Environment Department has put a stop to the excavation after “22 compounds of concern” were discovered on the site. A waste excavation plan was finally approved and then rejected. Now, after months of paperwork, testing and hard work, the potential cache of cartridges has been discovered.

The game of the movie of the guy who just wanted to be left alone.

As of today it has been only one E.T. cartridge and several copies of Centipede, but hopes are high. I recall our local Costco had original Atari consoles on sale for $50 and I didn't pick one up. I'm regretting that. Perhaps I'll hop on Craigslist if I can get a copy of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.

Anyone want to join me for multiplayer?

Episode 73 of the I Got Gameplay radio show is now live. Michael Burhan, Zack Latour, Xander Skullion, and Travis Goss discuss gaming emulation: is it a good thing or just a bad attempt at cashing in on retro culture? The group also discuss the Retron 5 and how the console may be the biggest thing for retro gaming since the Super Nintendo!

You can listen to this episode by clicking on the following links:

Libsyn: http://smarkoutmoment.libsyn.com/rss

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/igotgameplay/id570120518

Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/nerdgenious/igotgameplay?amp;refid=stpr

You can subscribe to the podcast's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/IGotGameplay


You can join the discussion by going to our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/igotgameplay.

Join the IGG army in style by purchasing an I Got Gameplay t-shirt from our store. To order yours, just click on the appropriate link below! (UK and EU) http://nerdgenious.spreadshirt.co.uk/i-got-gameplay-retro-t-A25715613/customize/color/348 (US) http://nerdgenioususa.spreadshirt.com/

The t-shirt comes in eight different colors and six different sizes, including Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, and 3XL. Shirts are £16.50 UK and $19.90 US. Grab yours today!

Now's the time to get excited, DC fans: It has now been confirmed. There will definitely be a Justice League movie coming after Batman Vs Superman! Man of Steel's director Zack Snyder is all set to direct them both!

Snyder is currently working on the huge Man of Steel sequel Batman Vs Superman and he's said to have been casting many characters across the DC Universe. It has been suspected for a while now that this is because of the inevitable Justice League movie coming up, and sure enough the president of Warner Bros has recently confirmed our suspicions to the Wall Street Journal:

"It will be a further expansion of this universe, Superman Vs Batman will lead into Justice League."

The upcoming comic book movie is said to feature Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and many other characters that have not yet been announced.

After Man of Steel's success we are certainly expecting big things from Zack Snyder; I mean, he actually made Superman seem cool in comparison with the earlier super cheesy adaptations.

The news doesn't stop there, either. Greg Silverman also mentioned a Wonder Woman spinoff movie:


"With the right script, that could be viable. The world is ready for her."

Believe me, Greg Silverman, I speak on behalf of all DC fans: we're ready.

Batman Vs Superman is set for release in May 2016.

The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) gave us some interesting revelations of Marvel's upcoming story Original Sin. Few of these events have been as impactful as 2006's Civil War in shaping the Marvel Universe, but they seem to have introduced at least a couple of interesting twists this time around.

It should be noted, and obvious, that beyond this point be SPOILERS, so proceed with caution.

Ye have been warned.

Original Sin I:
Angela Is the Sister of Thor and Loki
Created by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane in the pages of Image Comics' Spawn series, Angela has been introduced to the Marvel Universe a regular character in The Guardians of the Galaxy. Her origin during her debut in Marvel's Age of Ultron event was her coming from a parallel universe. Now, she will be forever tied (pending any retcons…let's face it) to Asgardian mythology as the half-sister of Thor and Loki.

Original Sin II:
Peter Parker Wasn't the Only Radioactive Spider–Bite Victim.
Speaking of retcons, Peter not only let the spider that bit him get away but that little bugger was hungry. A second victim will be revealed as a woman called "Silk" and will somehow be Peter's original sin.

Original Sin III:
The Illuminati Will Answer to Steve Rogers.
The Illuminati are a relatively new group of heroes banding together, in secret, so their original sin is a little more recent. It was also already front and center in the comics: wiping Captain America's memories of them. During Original Sin, at some point, Steve Rogers will remember Dr. Strange wiping his memories.


Original Sin IV:
Captain America Let Hiroshima Happen.
The Invaders (Captain America, Namor, and friends) had the chance to end WWII without the nuclear bombs and didn’t take it. They will be forced to deal with the repercussions and, ironically, the idea behind the use of the bomb conveniently ties in with the reason Steve's memory was wiped in by Dr. Strange (above).

Original Sin V:
Tony Stark Helped Create The Hulk.
Tony will be revealed as somehow tied to the gamma bomb explosion that changed Bruce Banner's life forever. This could be Marvel's obvious attempt to mirror the movie universe again since fans are loving the brotherly love of Banner & Stark. This will have smaller ramifications. Tony must have a much more personal relationship with Rick Jones, for example, unless they retcon him out of being the first person to see Banner post-blast.

Original Sin VI+, Parents Edition:
- Nova (Sam Alexander) deals with the truth and revelation that his father is a murderer.
- Deadpool learns about his dead parents.
- Luke Cage's dad is revealed as a '70s superhero.


Original Sin Extras: '=
- We learn why Sister Maggie left Matt Murdock's life.
- The Thing kills (or was responsible for the death of) The Human Torch.

Original Sin seems to be one big sweeping retcon in the guise of a murder mystery. Rather than giving small "One More Day"-style changes (sorry to bring it up), Marvel is smartly causing drama in the same way it did in Civil War. New characters, secrets, plus a whole lotta lies all add up to internal conflict, which Marvel seems to specialize in. These storylines may be hard to swallow at first, but they are ushering in a new age of adventures in every corner of the brand.

What do you think of some of these ideas? Will you be checking out the main story and all its crossovers? The main story on its own? Ignoring it altogether?

Remember that villains trailer Beenox unleashed a while back for their Amazing Spider-Man 2 videogame based on characters and events from the upcoming films? The one that got me excited for Cletus Kasady's (a.k.a. Carnage, Venom's psychotic symbiotic spawn) debut in a film-verse Spider-Man video game? Well if Beenox didn't sell me with that trailer, it just did with the brand-new launch trailer exclusively revealed over at MTV.

"WHO WANTS THE GIZZARD?!"

Yep, that was Carnage in all of his bloody glory. 'Scuse me while I hyperventilate in a corner…

They say my jazz hands are a sight to DIE for!

I love the classic Carnage design that the art team chose to go with for the videogame; it's very Mark Baley-esque while incorporating the monstrous feet designs he gave the character later on in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series. Hopefully this design is a foreshadowing of things to come in the Venom spin-off film, in which the Amazing Spider-Man film producers have teased at Carnage's inclusion. Let's just hope that Venom's design from the Amazing Spider-Man 2 mobile game doesn't even make it to the concept board for his film.

Option B, please. I'd rather not have a Spider-Man 3 repeat design.

Also of note is Shocker's recent addition to the excitingly expansive villain roster for the game. Shocker and his alter ego, Herman Shultz, have been getting time in the spotlight over at the film's viral Tumblr site, The Daily Bugle, so perhaps the game too will confirm The Daily Bugle's faux news blogs as canonical to the film-verse.

CARNAGE RULES! Right, guys…? Let me know in the comment section below, and don't forget to follow The Venom Site for all of your symbiote news, reviews, and points of views!

You're probably wondering why Fanboys Anonymous, a website dedicated to entertainment, technology, and geek culture, is featuring a device that is primarily sports related. The answer is simple. When we see something that has the awesome potential to change lives for the better, we like to pass on the good word!

Disclaimer: Doesn't come with electronic Darth Vader sound effects!

To those who know him, Bas Rutten is many things. The Ken and Frank Shamrock–era MMA legend, from Tillburg in the Netherlands, is a former three-time King of Pancrase world champion, UFC heavyweight champion, MMA coach, television personality, and film actor. He is known for Fuel TV's comical self-defense show Punk Payback, as Kevin James's coach in Here Comes The Boom, and as that guy who caused a spleen to explode on Fight Science.

Henry Winkler can't breathe, fetch me "The Official Bas Rutten O2 Trainer!" *wink-wink*

To look back on his career, one wouldn't imagine an unhealthy and heavily asthmatic young bully victim and Bas in the same room. In fact, back in the '70s, Bas Rutten was that kid, but upon sneaking into a viewing of Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, Bas became a fanatic of martial arts and trained his way to become the practical killing machine we know and love today (notably a karate and tae kwon do black belt, and a Muay Thai kickboxer).

Bas kicking a dude in the head.

Ever the creative and energetic personality, Bas has created the O2 Trainer to condition the lungs and promote better respiration and endurance during and after physical training. As a result, this product not only helps you to make the most of your cardiovascular workouts, it simply makes for better all-round breathing. What's more is that testimonials have proved that the Bas Rutten O2 Trainer is already helping proactive people overcome their asthma and giving them the opportunity to live healthy lifestyles they could never have otherwise dreamed of.

So if you're sitting indoors, browsing the Internet, watching movies, and reading comics on a sunny day by no fault of your own, you may consider visiting the official page and seeing if this is for you. I have a feeling that this is going to change a lot of lives. Victory dance?


Sound off, Fanboys! For all the complex-sounding devices and drugs that come and go in the world of sports and online shopping, once in a while there comes something that just makes sense. Maybe spread the word, if you have an unhealthy friend or two, because it may be worth a read to them. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below. You can also visit the official Facebook page here!

Since virtually nothing so far has been officially announced for the upcoming new installment of the Star Wars saga—not even the damn title—fans have had to speculate about everything. Nobody has truly been confirmed for the cast, so we don't even have a solid chance of guessing the characters, which means the storyline is up in the air.

Fans have often assumed that any sequel films would be built around the events in the Expanded Universe, but that has all just been rumor. Absolutely nothing has been put out there that indicates that that is the case. In fact, it would be safe to say that it's doubtful the plot will follow the same path, as the Star Wars Expanded Universe series was not directly controlled by George Lucas himself.

That being said, elements from the Expanded Universe have popped up in other films in the past, so it is not beyond the realm of possibility that things can take shape from a familiar source. Coruscant has its origins in the Expanded Universe but was incorporated into Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and actually became one of the principal aspects of the prequel trilogy. Countless other things have made their way into true canon or had an influence on the films, whether they were important (like the Hutts being an actual race) or somewhat meaningless fun (such as the inclusion of Jedi Master Quinlan Vos in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith).

Until now, the fans have been kept in the dark about the new films and their relationship with the Expanded Universe material. However, Lucasfilm has finally shed some light upon the situation:

For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, all aspects of Star Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected. Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.

"We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon," said Kennedy. "We're set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before."

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.

On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be Star Wars Rebels. In print, the first new books to come from this creative collaboration include novels from Del Rey Books. First to be announced, John Jackson Miller is writing a novel that precedes the events of Star Wars Rebels and offers insight into a key character's backstory, with input directly from executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman.

And this is just the beginning of a creatively aligned program of Star Wars storytelling created by the collaboration of incredibly talented people united by their love of that galaxy far, far away...

Translation: we could very well see anything brought into these new films that previously existed in the Expanded Universe—but it may not be exactly the way that it was before. Perhaps the Yuuzhan Vong are the enemies but don't have the same appearance or resistance to The Force. Maybe instead of having twins, Leia and Han Solo only had Jacen, and maybe nobody has turned against the Jedi Order. Maybe Ben Skywalker isn't the name of Luke's son. It's doubtful that we will see any clones of Emperor Palpatine, but we could see a Jedi Knight like Kyle Katarn amongst the cast.

Basically, we have more answers than before, but still no real answers. It appears as though we're in a for a long haul before anything concrete is released about Star Wars: Episode 7. The Fanboy in me is just going to have to grit his teeth and cross his fingers for a little while longer and hope that things don't go the wrong way.

Batman: Arkham Origins releases a new DLC campaign "Cold, Cold Heart" for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on April 22, 2014. Pick this up if you need more original mapping (Wayne Manor) but not if you're looking for anything shocking and new.

The storyline for the campaign follows very close to a Batman: The Animated Series origin episode for Mr. Freeze, "Heart of Ice." If you are extremely familiar with the episode, this story will not introduce anything new to the mythos for you.

There is a new batsuit featured in the video and thermal gauntlets that appear to function the same as the shock gauntlets. Be careful of the new thugs carrying freeze rays, they'll get you if you stand still too long. However, you can use them against one another if you aim and dodge at just the right moment. You also get to play as Bruce Wayne and kick some butt in a suit. Check out the preview here with narration by Eric Holmes and Benoit Richer of Warner Bros. Interactive Montreal.



I wasn't all that impressed with some of the gameplay of Batman: Arkham Origins so I won't be downloading this DLC. The battle seems very similar to what we already went through with Mr. Freeze in Batman: Arkham City. I'm awaiting Batman: Gotham Knight this October, however, it looks like a darker take and use of the Batmobile certainly has my attention!

Was Origins universally disliked, or am I alone on this? Anyone going to grab this DLC?

"Sounds COOL."

The group that changed sketch comedy forever back in the '60s is back for a true farewell tour, "Monty Python Live (Mostly)." The troupe's official statement reads for fans to "Join the crowd live from London’s O2 in a final weepy, hilarious, uproarious, outrageous, farewell to the five remaining Pythons as they head for The Old Jokes Home."

London's O2 (oxygen?) Arena will host Monty Python's five final stage shows July 1–5, 2014. Originally intended for one night only, the troupe added four more shows after the first event sold out in 43.5 seconds.

Each show features all the remaining members of the troupe (John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) together on stage for the first time since 1980's Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Graham Chapman ("Stop that, that's silly") passed away in 1989. His absence is marked in a promotional poster of a gravestone bearing his name. The full artwork, in Terry Gilliam's classic style, reads "One down, five to go" on his tombstone. A definite nod to the troupe's wry humor.

John Cleese confirmed that the reunion shows will consist of new and old material but they want to present it in a unique way. They have always been about surprising their audience.

"People really want to see the old hits, but we don't want to do them in a predictable way," he said. "The main danger we have is that the audience know the scripts better than we do." This is true, as many conversations I had with my father when I was a child were actually just us reciting Monty Python skits.

Even better news for us fans across the pond is that on July 20th, the show will be broadcast to 450 movie theaters across the United Kingdom and about 1,500 others worldwide. Personally, I'll have advance tickets to this show here in Canada as I have been an avid fan since I was just a little Fanboy.

All the remaining members of the troupe have been active on or behind camera since the '80s, and this is their first time together since. They have had a love-hate relationship akin to a family that other comedians (such as myself) can easily relate to. Seeing them together one final time is a gift to the world, as it has been 40 years since their last performance together.

I can't be the only excited about this, any other comedians getting goosebumps in anticipation for this event?

Thrown in with this nostalgic-gumbo to get your blood pumping with flair will be "flashback videos, lasers, and amazing pyrotechnics and special effects." The lucky countries to be visited will include Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Croatia, Netherlands, and more! For all of your news and information you can visit celebrate80s90s.com or watch Hasselhoff's promo below. Tell us what you think; will this shindig rock the house, or are you betting on a drab party?

Fresh off the press is the lengthy new football (soccer to you Americans) promo commercial from sports clothing giant Nike starring some of the biggest names around, and not all of them are football related!

Featuring the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Neymar da Silva Santos Jr, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pronounce that drunk), Nike uses the lengthy commercial to promote its new football gear, such as the 2014 England shirts, which have already caused outrage this year with a hefty price tag of £90. Yup, you read that right. £90 for one shirt.

Most of the way through the video, however, who else appears but none other than the Hulk, as portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers! Not being a football fan myself, it's the best part of the whole thing, except for the guy taking a ball to the face at high velocity. Comedic suffering always gets my vote.


At least now England fans know where their hard-earned money has gone so far. What dedicated fan would begrudge themselves a shirt over a week's wages? Only I'm guessing that, if England doesn't do so well this year, fans will be expecting not just the Hulk, but Cap, Iron Man, and the rest to avenge their wallets.

Sound off, Fanboys! What did you think? Is Nike shamelessly capitalizing here, or maybe it's a matter of ego? Comments below and thanks for reading.

Apple Maps has never had the best reputation but now is being credited with helping to find a creature of mystery that has eluded even the most experienced of monster hunters—until now.

Amateur monster hunters Andy Dixon and Peter Thain came across an intriguing image that shows "something" in the water. The photo was taken directly from Apple's satellite images, which got off to a rocky start a couple years ago with images like this:

Upon finding the image by chance, Dixon and Thain immediately contacted the Official Loch Ness Monster Club (you heard me).

"Whatever it is, it's just below the surface and heading south, so unless there have been secret submarine trials going on in the loch, the size of the object would make it likely to be Nessie," said Gary Campbell, a club representative.

It appears less like the famous plesiosaur and more like giant catfish, the wake of a passing boat, or just a glitch from an earlier photo capture.

The image has caught headlines worldwide but is finding little in the way of credibility. Currently, there are no plans for further investigation via satellite imagery. Do we want to know more? Dig deeper? Or is this picture clearly of something, anything, else?

DC hasn't finished ramming Cyborg down everyone's throats. A little-known character outside of the comic books and the animated Teen Titans series, he has been one of the most-pushed characters since DC Comic's reboot in 2012. Now he has been added to the growing list of characters in the upcoming Man of Steel 2/Batman vs. Superman project. Ray Fisher (pictured below), a stage actor most recently known for playing Muhammad Ali in Broadway's Fetch Clay, Make Man has been awarded the role. Apparently, the character won't have a huge part in the movie.

Cyborg, as the name implies, is a half-man, half-machine superhero. Although he has been around in some form or another since the 1980s, he has never been an all-star character. Back in 2012, DC rebooted their comic book line and decided that Cyborg would now be a main player on level with Superman and Batman. He was even made a member of the Justice League, despite only being affiliated with the Titans brand since day one.

Admittedly, Cyborg is a character that makes perfect sense for the 21st century. He has a global Internet connection 24/7, can hack into secure databases, and has any number of weapons at his disposal.

However, where Marvel launched Norman Osborn into a top-tier villain by having him end the Secret Invasion with a single gunshot, Cyborg has just been inexplicably thrust upon us without earning it. Fans have cried foul of DC for using him to meet their race quota or to have a unique character to relate to a young audience (he's a walking computer, kids!). Additionally, he has never had a set personality. He's been the trusted friend, angry black guy, mindless computer, and unsure hero. Where we can easily define Green Lantern as the cocky, fearless pilot, Batman as the brooding guy who always wins, and Superman as the big blue Boy Scout, nobody really knows Cyborg even 30 years later. It will be interesting to see what version of him appears, for the first time, on screen.

Oh. The angry one.

Man of Steel already hinted at Cyborg in the first film, as he is most often affiliated with Star Labs (mentioned several times). With this movie already featuring Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, how long before they announce the project as The Justice League?

So, Avril Lavigne's latest video release for "Hello Kitty" has caused all sorts of mixed (mostly degrading) commentary from the anonymous culture that festers the Internet. The video is weird, bizarre, very pseudo-Japanese, and an ode to J-Pop/Otaku culture. Avril Lavigne abandoned rock long ago for more profitable teen-pop with the release of her third album The Best Damn Thing in 2007. So what's terribly new about this?

The same would happen with Britney Spears some time ago. Any release was the object of scorn and mockery from a demographic quite oblivious to the deity-status these artists hold among the average adolescent teenage girl (and, I'm not admitting anything, but some guys appreciate the looks). I suppose it becomes easier to just pick one out and call it a bad seed than to admit the whole basket is rotten.

The negativity that Avril, the dancer/singer (or whatever she might be) received is uncalled for. I'll say it, write it, I really don't care—I stand by it. The video is annoying, the music even more, and I don't like anything about this single. What about the rest of the top 40s? Don't they deserve some backlash?


This episode reminds me of when Rebecca Black released "Friday," her "hit" YouTube single. A flurry of foul-mouthed anecdotes and commentaries best described the video, in short, as "total shit," which is insane. I cannot understand the difference between a Rebecca Black song and a Kesha tune, as it is all the same processed, canned junk food, although one sings of fruity cereal and the other begs for cock.

Avril's Hello Kitty is garbage.. what about stuff like this?

Some will call me elitist, but I can't help it if I grew up in a time when pop music had Michael Jackson, Queen, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey on top of the charts. There was a standard then, and 12-year-old kids were not necessarily the target audience (until The Backstreet Boys came around). Music was still music, not a product to be sold.

What was sad is that although there always were mall-music singles in any given point of pop history, a lot of artists were accused of "selling out." One example I can think of is the Red Hot Chili Peppers when Californication and By the Way found their place in the market in the early 21st century. "Too commercial," fans would say. Don't expect 40-year-olds to jump around and sing about crushing pussy like they used to. Besides, once you sign with a label, it's selling out no matter how you look at it. Trust me, I'm an engineer; the music biz is dirtier than you think.

Fast forward to present day, and I can't even distinguish singers from one another anymore, it's all robotized, "melodyned," "autotuned," and "vocodered" to the point where I have to keep traveling back in time to discover new music, regardless of genre. I know there are some bands out there that deserve recognition, like The Black Keys and such. However, they are a minority when in fact a song like "Hello Kitty" would have been a minority until around 15 years ago.

Lolz whatever, I'm bored 21st-century style of this ridiculous gossip-jabbering when we should be engaged in an all-out war against mediocrity. I guess I'll leave it to Avril to close this off with her reply to the "Hello Kitty" video being racist. Has anyone criticizing ever seen Japanese pop culture? Like, comment, ばか.

"Glamour and glitter, fashion and fame…"

Jem and her Holograms, in the flesh?

Many girls who were preteens in the mid-1980s (like me; yes I'm old) will remember those lyrics and the line that came after: "Jem! Jem is truly outrageous! Truly, truly, truly outrageous!" Who didn't want to be a part of Jem and the Holograms or their evil nemesis band, The Misfits? I myself had to be Jem since I was named Jenn, after all, and it was close enough for me. I wanted those cool red starburst earrings with the digital connection to Synergy, the computer-based being who helps Jerrica Benton and her friends morph visually into Jem and the Holograms via—you guessed it—hologram technology.

There have been rumors about a Jem movie for a while now, and those were confirmed on March 20. Apparently the success of other toys-turned-films (G.I. Joe, Transformers) has inspired Hasbro to continue the trend, this time with a more female-centric brand. This week we have news that the title character and her band of hot chicks with cool hair have been cast.

The actress in the title role is Aubrey Peeples, who has also appeared in the cinematic classic Sharknado and the television show Nashville. Her bandmates and friends will be played by Stefanie Scott (of Disney's A.N.T. Farm), Aurora Perrineau (from Pretty Little Liars), and Hayley Kiyoko (from Lemonade Mouth). The film is to be directed by Jon M. Chu (who directed G.I. Joe: Retaliation) from a script by Ryan Landels (who hasn't written anything I've heard of). The "cast" photo to the left was released this week.

What do you think? Will Jem's live-action feature bring the kind of "truly outrageous" vibe that the cartoon had for us back in the day? Comment below!

Nothing is official, here yet, but we have a potential first bit of news on the development of Star Trek 3, the upcoming follow up to 2013's Star Trek: Into Darkness. Since JJ Abrams vacated the director's chair in favor of a galaxy far, far away, apparently writer Robert Orci is lobbying hard and is in early talks to direct Star Trek 3.

" 'Sup. "

Orci has been among Hollywood's most prolific writers and busiest producers for a number of years now. A quick look at his IMDb page reveals 28 producer credits and 27 writer credits—along with partner Alex Kurtzman, he's written blockbusters such as the Transformers series and forthcoming installments of the Amazing Spider-Man films. Of course, he's also been instrumental in the development of the Star Trek reboot series since the start.

On the one hand, it might be good to have someone steeped in nu-Trek lore at the helm, filling some of the vacuum Abrams left. It can be tricky to bring new blood into such an important, beloved franchise halfway through its run. You don't want to have to start practically from scratch. On the other hand, Orci's contributions to the franchise haven't all been warmly received by fans, and he himself hasn't always been warm to the fans when questioned about his choices. There's also the fact that he has no feature experience under his belt. He's never directed a film—and certainly nothing as big as Star Trek 3 will undoubtedly be. He's untested, and reportedly that makes Paramount nervous. Orci has Skydance Productions and Abrams himself in his corner, and much has been made recently of his and Kurtzman's decision to split their partnership so each can focus on directing (Kurtzman is set to direct the Venom spinoff for Sony).

Can't do worse than this, right?

Kurtzman is off Star Trek 3, but Orci stayed on to write the script with newcomers Patrick McKay and John D. Payne. This could be a point in his favor to direct Star Trek 3, being so versed in the story, but something to keep in mind is that the 2016 release of the third installment in the series is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. Again, Paramount may not want to gamble on a largely untested filmmaker with legacy stakes like those. It's not as though Orci has never set foot on a film set; he's made himself a long and lucrative career. Yet it's different to direct and be responsible for every decision in crafting a movie rather than to produce or write. It's ambitious on Orci's part to try and make his inaugural splash on one of the highest-profile franchises in recent years.

What do you think? Are you afraid he'll tank the series like Into Darkness' USS Vengeance falling to Earth? Or does Orci have what it takes? Leave your comments and opinions below. I'll note them in my captain's log.

Greetings Fanboys and Fangirls, and welcome to the celebration! What are we celebrating, you ask? Well, who authored this post, and what do I usually write about? That's right, I'm here to talk about the one and only Venom and his twisted family! This May marks the Venom symbiote's—and symbiotes in general—30th anniversary, and to celebrate we at Fanboys Anonymous and a few special guests are sharing our favorite symbiote moments across comic books, television, and film. First, a little perspective.

In May of 1984, a bold new Spider-Man materialized with (a human) Doctor Curt Connors under an arm through an otherworldly portal into New York City's Central Park, sporting a mysterious (and sexy) black and white suit. On that day, the symbiotes—a parasitic life forms boasting incredible powers—were born. That black suit would go on to become one half of one of Spider-Man's greatest and most iconic foes: Venom. I suggest checking out Marvel's special birthday post about the origins of the Venom symbiote to commemorate the occasion, and check out all of my past articles about Venom and symbiotes.

Since its creation, the Venom symbiote has been a mainstay in Spider-Man's legacy. It has spawned (directly and indirectly) 11 unique symbiotes within its lineage, including fan favorites Carnage and Toxin and five other named symbiotes from across the Marvel Universe, including relative unknowns such as Krobaa, Dreadface, and Zzxz. Carnage shares three out of four animated television series appearances with Venom, and with the recent addition of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 film as confirmed by an Easter egg in some bootlegged film footage that was quickly taken down by Sony, the Venom symbiote will have had two blockbuster, live-action film debuts. With an official Venom film spinoff in the making, there's no doubt that the mysterious, living black costume from Amazing Spider-Man #252 has had 30 years of resounding success overall, give or take the few roller coaster ups and downs it experienced in the '90s.

So without further ado, I hand this article over to the fans and a comic creator who made the symbiotes what they are today, starting off with my own favorite symbiote moment.

Orion Petitclerc's Favorite Symbiote Moment

I'm a sucker for anything to do with Eddie Brock, the original Venom host after Spider-Man. I especially loved Eddie's evolution from Venom to Anti-Venom. Eddie went through some hard times before this: his cancer was in remission; he lost his faith in the symbiote; and his hatred for Spider-Man became confused and less venomous over time. He was in a crisis and death was approaching fast, but then BANG! He's given new life and a new purpose as the Anti-Venom.

After his rebirth in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, Anti-Venom began his new lease on life first in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #2, which demonstrated nearly perfectly how Eddie had evolved from a villain and part-time lethal protector to a redeemed anti-hero. In this issue, he rescued Jenna Cole—a teenage junkie—from the poisons she put in her body and, in turn, gave her new meaning.

After this issue, she returned in The Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom—New Ways to Live limited series as Anti-Venom's new sidekick, but then she was never seen nor heard from again. (An injustice to the dynamic relationship they shared.) In their first issue together, though, Anti-Venom became a guardian angel for Jenna, and she became the living embodiment of his conscience. That's my favorite symbiote moment and, consequently, Anti-Venom is my favorite symbiote character.

Andrew Baker's Favorite Symbiote Moment

"Planet of the Symbiotes," a high-ranking moment for me, established that the symbiote's extraterrestrial race lived by parasitically attacking the bodies of other life forms. The Venom symbiote was deemed insane and imprisoned by its own species because instead of using up old hosts, it chose to establish a mutually beneficial symbiosis.

My absolute favorite symbiote moment, though, begins after Spider-Man learns of the symbiote's true nature. He happens upon the symbiote's prison module on Battleworld and releases the symbiote onto himself. He's overwhelmed and frightened by its power, so Pete has it analyzed only to learn that the costume is an alien symbiote that permanently fuses to its host. Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch help Spider-Man contain it using sound and fire, but being the sneaky parasite that it is, the symbiote escapes and takes Spider-Man hostage by forcibly bonding itself to him.

Then in the famous bell tower incident, Spider-Man uses the church bells and his sheer willpower to strip the symbiote from his body. Spider-Man and the symbiote are both drained, but, sympathetically, the symbiote gathers the last of its strength to carry Spider-Man's sagging body to safety. Interestingly, it's the same moment that causes the lethal love-hate relationship between the two.

Of all of the Spider-Man symbiotes, Mac Gargan's (originally the Scorpion) Venom is my favorite, but he wouldn't hold a candle to Carnage should Sony lose its conscience and film the R-rated Marvel film incarnation of the violent, deadly symbiote spawn.

Aaron Lanton's Favorite Symbiote Moment

My favorite symbiote character is the Venom symbiote itself. Prior to the Superior Spider-Man debacle, the symbiote was the original version of an outside force taking over Peter Parker's body. Most comic book fans' love of the symbiote was the result of seeing its manipulation of Peter through the seduction of power. Peter realized that his supernatural abilities improved in every measure while using the symbiote. Later, he realized this came at the cost of relinquishing full control of his actions. The symbiote sought to take over Peter's body and nearly would have without some luck on Peter's part. Peter would try all sorts of tactics before learning of its weakness to strong sonic waves.

Future Spider-Man films with the symbiote should consider this approach to the character. Spider-Man 3 did a horrible job of demonstrating why the symbiote was a problem for Peter outside of him becoming a jerk under its influence. Peter was tempted to steal, attack without holding back, and be selfish because of the symbiote's influence. Showing his internal conflict to audiences would captivate movie audiences and bring a nerd tear to the those of us who remember the good ol' days.
Tony Mango's Favorite Symbiote Moment

Whenever someone mentions symbiotes, my mind almost always runs to that same image that started it all for me: the big guy—Eddie Brock—in the church. I've never been one to follow the comic books themselves; rather, I prefer the accompanying films and television series. Because of this, I was not too familiar with Secret Wars and the origins of the symbiotes in general. My first introduction to the character was in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the story arc built around Eddie Brock.

While Peter's time in the church is a physically painful sacrifice of power for the greater good, Brock's time is an emotionally painful request for power for his own selfish needs. It's a visually cool scene that's packed with emotion and greatly alters the fate of two characters in one shot. It also stays true to the running theme of the Spider-Man series as a whole: Peter Parker makes all the sacrifices in the world in the name of responsibility, and this universe just keeps kicking the poor kid when he's down by twisting it and making many of his own worst enemies in the process.

For that matter, as far as I'm concerned, there is only one Venom, and his name is Eddie Brock. Mac Gargan will always be Scorpion to me; Angelo Fortunado is nonexistent for all I care; and Flash Thompson is Peter's bully and eventual friend but no "Agent Venom," and so on.

The Venom Site's Favorite Symbiote Moment

In my first trip ever into a comic book shop, I spied the glorious golden cover of Amazing Spider-Man #375 and knew I must own it! I recognized Spider-Man but had never heard of Venom before. Twelve-year-old me loved everything about this issue, and this classic '90s comic is what brought me into the world of Marvel and comics in general. From that moment on, I was hooked. Venom would be my guy, and I would own all of his stories! I would buy his action figures! I would collect his comic cards!

There is just something about rooting for the bad guy that is so fun. Whether it's because he is pure evil and throwing Spidey around like a rag doll or because he is doing his own kind of justice as a Lethal Protector, Venom's stories always appealed to me.

In Amazing Spider-Man #375, Mark Bagley truly defined Venom's classic look; however, the great thing about the symbiote is that there is no standard look, so artists can take liberties and make each version his or her own. Like Erik Larsen before Bagley and Clayton Crain after him, I enjoy seeing the different visual versions of this character. While I have been enjoying Thompson's run as Agent Venom and I love all of the diversity between the symbiotes in the Marvel Universe, the original Venom with Brock as host will always be my favorite symbiote, and his appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #375 will always be my favorite moment.

Aaron's (@Bizarnage) Favorite Symbiote Moment

I have always been a fan of Spider-Man's evil doppelganger, Venom. I can't exactly explain what my original fascination with this character was, but it was fun reading about Eddie Brock and his symbiote partner getting themselves into daring and crazy adventures, like fighting an army of miniature goblins or having a symbiotic smackdown with Carnage inside the Internet, along with the occasional brooding over Spider-Man, protecting the innocent, and nibbling on brains on the side.

Over the years the symbiotic duo would grow apart: Eddie became the healing Anti-Venom (my favorite symbiote character), and the symbiote would bond with other hosts, the most recent being Peter Parker's old high school bully, Flash Thompson. I had complete disdain for Marvel's new gun-toting Agent Venom and just wished we could have our old lethal protector back.

Then Venom (Vol. 2) #7 dropped during the peak of the "Spider-Island" event: Venom vs. Anti-Venom, Round 2! This time around, we would have a Venom who was trying to be a hero like Eddie and not a villain like Mac Gargan. The battle was epic: spanning from a church to a parallel building, filled with powerful dialogue from Anti-Venom telling Flash that he's no hero while Flash tries to convince himself that he is, and topping it all off with an ending that would make any Venom fan giddy. It may be one of the newer symbiote events, but this monumental clash of old-school meets new-school has become my favorite moment.

Cullen Bunn's Symbiote Contributions

FA: How and when were you first introduced to Marvel's symbiotes? Would you consider yourself a symbiote fan from before or after your work with Marvel?

CB: I guess my introduction to Marvel’s symbiotes was way back before we even knew they were symbiotes! I remember a friend of mine bringing a copy of Amazing Spider-Man 252 to gym class. It blew my mind and, even though I wasn’t a die-hard Spider-Man reader, I started picking up the book to see where Marvel was taking the story.

FA: How did you land your symbiote gig with Marvel, and what was your reaction?

CB: Then Spidey editor Stephen Wacker and I had worked together on Avenging Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Season One. When he called me and asked if I’d be interested in co-writing the "Savage Six" arc of Venom, then taking over the series, I was thrilled.

FA: When you were working with Marvel and the symbiotes, how did you contribute to the legacy? What more (or less) do you wish you could have accomplished during that time?

CB: There were a few things I feel I contributed to the legacy. I feel that I left a couple of interesting things behind. The idea of Crime-Master being part of something bigger, a kind of secret cult of crime, is something that I threw in during the "Savage Six" arc, and I think it could have been really expanded. Given time, I would have circled back to that.

I also think Mania is a character who could find an interesting place in the Marvel Universe. And Eddie Brock as Toxin—I was so happy with how that character came across in the series. Given more time, I would’ve loved to expand any of those storylines. Also…Venom-Mobile? Hail Mary, the Mother Superior of Punishment? Those things were so awesome, I can hardly live with myself!


FA: What is your favorite symbiote moment of all time from comics, film, or TV—regardless of whether it was a moment you or someone else created?

CB: There’s a moment [from The Superior Spider-Man #24] when Mary Jane cowers away from Peter because she thinks he’s Venom. I thought that spoke volumes about how scary the character could be. It was a very chilling moment for me.

FA: Who is your favorite (canon) symbiote character of all time—regardless of whichever universe or continuity he/she/it is from?

CB: Is it cheating if I say Mania? Obviously, I love the character, and I think there’s a lot of story that could be told with that character. I feel similarly about Toxin. I think Eddie deserves his chance to shine with that symbiote.