Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Someone has to die in the upcoming sequel to Thor, entitled Thor: The Dark World...but who should that be?
First off, you might be thinking "WHY does somebody have to die?" It's because the stakes need to be raised and Thor has far too many peripheral characters NOT for someone to be killed off to do so.
Think about it. We have Thor, Odin, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, Lady Sif, Loki, Frigga, Heimdall, Jane, Dr. Erik Selvig, Darcy Lewis as well as possible influence from S.H.I.E.L.D. and even more potential crossovers. That's far too many, and they didn't even introduce Balder or Beta Ray Bill (though c'mon, if they do the latter, that'd be ridiculous). Speculation has been (for some reason) that Thor will lose his hand in battle, but I prefer to think that a character or two will die...and I'm hoping it's even more than two.
I'd love to see all of the humans die, particularly Erik Selvig. What purpose does he serve, now? I don't want to see him eating up any more screen time like he did with Avengers (which should have been Hank Pym's spot!). Jane Foster can die and give Natalie Portman a way out, or perhaps she can just leave with Darcy and not return in the third film of the franchise. We still have Sif that we can use as a romantic interest and she's more than capable to carry that load, considering their relationship in the comics.
Now, Earth shouldn't be the only ones to lose someone. In fact, if you want to bridge the worlds, making Thor feel like he lost someone on both grounds, someone has to die from Asgard. That person needs to be Frigga, who is essentially pointless. Plus, if Odin were to die, then Thor would need to become king, and that shouldn't happen until the third film's Ragnarok. Loki and Thor can still lose their mother and it would be a huge blow.
I'm not in favor of killing someone for the sake of killing them in every movie, but this is one wherein I think a death needs to happen. There are too many sacrificial lambs, too many opportunities to kill them off, and too much that could be gained by it to ignore.
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, directed by Jay Oliva, written by Geoff Johns, James Krieg, and Andy Kubert. Starring Justin Chambers (The Flash), Michael B. Jordan (Cyborg), Kevin McKidd (Flashpoint Batman), Kevin Conroy (Batman), Sam Daly (Superman), Dana Delany (Lois Lane), Jennifer Hale (Iris West), Ron Perlman (Deathstroke), Nathan Fillion (Green Lantern), Cary Elwes (Aquaman) and C. Thomas Howell (Reverse-Flash).
The latest in the long line of DC animated films follows the trend of keeping Batman or Superman involved, but branches off a bit more to be focused quite a bit more on The Flash instead. For the most part, these movies have been entertaining to me, but I don't consider them particularly great, so how does this one pan out? It's time for another REVIEWPOINT as we break down the action film's hits and misses.
NOTE: SPOILERS BELOW. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE AND DO NOT WANT TO KNOW DETAILS, SKIP THIS AND COME BACK LATER
As always, let's start with the bad news first.
THE MISSES
1. CYBORG
Seriously, why is Cyborg the top priority at DC right now? They're shoving him down everyone's throats. I understand that they want to diversify and I have no problems with that, but come on. It's blatantly obvious how badly they want him to catch on by just how much he's being shoehorned into things. Has there been a single DC venture that hasn't featured Cyborg lately? They're making him a member of the Justice League, he's in every animated film, the Injustice video game, etc. Give me a break. What happened to Steel, Martian Manhunter (I know he's not black, but his human disguise should be), Mr. Terrific, etc?
2. THOMAS WAYNE
Shouldn't he be something like 30 years older than Bruce? You mean to tell me this guy who was a doctor suddenly became Batman, learned how to fight, become a detective, a scientist in other realms, and so forth...and he can do all this when he's something like 60 years old?
3. EXAGGERATED ART STYLE FOR CHARACTERS
Something that DC tends to do in a lot of their animated takes is draw the characters to look out of proportion and with weird features such as giant chins, weird lips, beady little eyes, or bodies that are so oddly shaped and muscular that these top-heavy people would fall over in an instant? Shit, look at Superman here with his bulging body and tiny little head:
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| This is an even uglier design than the one in All Star Superman |
THE HITS
1. THE OLD CREW
Any time you have Kevin Conroy, Tim/Sam Daly (or George Newbern), and Dana Delany back voicing Batman, Superman and Lois Lane, I'll enjoy at least that. Those voices are just so immensely tied to the characters that I can't escape them, and if I hear something else, it just doesn't sound right to me.
2. AQUAMAN VS WONDER WOMAN
While I find these two to be boring and bland for the most part, I liked the idea of having the two worlds feuding with each other as the war. When it comes to the core Justice League (and no, I'm not looking at you, Cyborg), I consider these two to be the two most likely to do something like this. Batman never would, Flash never would, Superman is about 50/50, Green Lantern for the most part doesn't fit the mold unless he's under the Parallax situation, but both Wonder Woman and Aquaman have these attitudes that would fit this scenario.
3. BRUCE CRYING
For some people, they think Batman should be this emotionless psycho who is just on a warpath for crime and completely shuts himself off from the world. To me, it should be the opposite. Batman is the persona he puts on in front of everyone, even himself as often as he can, as a protective shield for his emotions. Bruce finds it hard to let his guard down because he's afraid of being hurt again, as on the inside, he's still fueled by the death of his parents. Having Bruce cry reading the letter from his father is exactly what I was hoping would happen and I'm so glad they added that in there. The comics need to do stuff like that more often and show that instead of just redeeming villains, there's a chance you can redeem heroes as well.
END NOTES
This isn't as bad as Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, All-Star Superman, Superman vs. The Elite, or Superman: Unbound, but it isn't as entertaining as Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Justice League: Doom or Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. It suffers from the same problems as nearly all of the other ones, but hey, I'd rather see them pump these out than to stop, especially considering how they can't seem to get their live action universe going for the life of them.
Would I recommend it? Only for true comic book fans to watch when they're bored as something to do. I'd never recommend it to someone as an actual movie and give them the impression that it's The Godfather or anything.
If you want to check out some more recent Reviewpoint articles: White House Down | The Lone Ranger | Man of Steel
What were your thoughts on the movie? What should the next Reviewpoint be?
Leave us a comment below!
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Monday, July 22, 2013
Now that the Man of Steel sequel has been announced as a Batman / Superman crossover, speculation has begun on everything from "who will play Batman" to "what will the storyline be" and everything in between, so I figured I would throw my ideas around for just how I think this will go.
Obviously, they need to build upon the previous film. Superman is still not gold with the public. Metropolis and Smallville were SEVERELY ruined with Zod's invasion. There needs to be repercussions of this.
Stepping in to clean up a lot of the mess is Lex Luthor, a billionaire mogul who has his hands in every pot from philanthropic ventures to weapons manufacturing deals with the government. In true Luthor format, Lex is also very jealous of Superman. After all, Lex Luthor was the big man on the scene before he came along and now, nobody is talking about him anymore. Suddenly, the top of all mankind is no longer good enough when there's a SUPERman on Earth.
Another person helping to clean things up is Bruce Wayne, a competitor of Luthor's who, obviously, is already established as Batman - though Batman is more of a myth going around at this point. This version of Bruce needs to be more like the Bruce Timm animated series version, wherein not everything is incredibly realistic and gritty. He needs to be more of the Bat-God, in a way: ridiculously awesome physical prowess as well as an intellect that is unmatched by nearly everyone (except possibly Lex Luthor, of course).
Batman will be looking into Superman as well, trying to analyze the threat potential. Can he trust this guy, or is this something he's going to have to take care of?
Something else we need to establish is Kryptonite. Now that Emil Hamilton is dead (WTF, Snyder) we're left to Luthor and Batman as the only two people that should really be examining the stuff. Kryptonite needs to be big in this, for two primary reasons.
The first of which is the supporting villain, Metallo. John Corben can be introduced as a member of the military that was wounded in Zod's invasion and, as expected, has a bit of a grudge against Superman for it. Who steps in to make him Metallo? Why, none other than Lex Luthor - weapons manufacturer that has been working on an attempt to make a legitimate Man of Steel (ahem.....that's why the first movie should have been called Last Son of Krypton, and been about Brainiac instead of Zod...). Kryptonite powers his heart, as we all know. This gives Superman someone to fight who poses a big threat.
Luthor is the primary villain for Batman, in turn, for the final fight. Earlier on in the movie, you need to have Batman in an confrontation with Superman where Kryptonite comes into play, but at the end of the film, there's a trust built between the two that calls for Superman giving the Kryptonite ring to Bruce. If anyone is going to take down a rogue Superman, it's going to be Batman.
What do you guys think? Do you like this situation or are you up for something else? Is this how you imagine the film will pan out?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
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| Here's hoping they change the logo as this is one ugly Bat Symbol |
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Sunday, July 21, 2013
The title to the Avengers sequel has been revealed as AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON.
My first reaction? Awesome! My second reaction? Wait...what?
Joss Whedon has said that both there won't be Hank Pym in this film and that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will have a big role, which means I'm utterly confused.
First off, when it comes to the Maximoff siblings, I've always thought it was a stupid idea to bring them on board. Granted, I don't know how they're doing this, so they might have a legitimate way to do it, but I'm starting to get the impression that I did when Spider-Man 3 came around.
And before you say it...no...I don't mean "there are too many characters". Spider-Man 3 was a fault NOT because they added Venom into it (as Nolan's films have proven that you can have lots of characters and still do a good job), but more so because Sam Raimi let his inner fanboy out and forced Sandman into it just because he liked him. I'm fearful that Joss Whedon just might be a fan of Pietro and Wanda and shoehorned them into the film for that reason.
What purpose could they possibly have in this movie, particularly if Ultron is the villain? The only connection is a huge stretch, with Vision (Vin Diesel?) being the romantic interest for Scarlet Witch. Surely, we're not going to cram an entire origin story for Ultron AND Vision AND the Maximoffs into one movie that also has Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, potentially the Guardians of the Galaxy, SHIELD, etc?
As far as the Hank Pym situation, I just can't help but feel that they messed up in terms of scheduling. Why is Guardians of the Galaxy a part of Phase 2 if Thanos isn't the villain in Avengers 2, but #3...meanwhile, Ant-Man is in Phase 3, but not 2? Wouldn't it make more sense to include Ant-Man in Phase 2 and build towards Ultron that way, then include Guardians of the Galaxy in Phase 3 to ramp up to Thanos?
My guess is, they're altering the storyline and making it so Tony Stark is the creator of Ultron. After quitting the Iron Man game, he could very well spend his time trying to make a replacement Iron Man for SHIELD using Jarvis as a template.
There has also been talk that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the biggest lynchpin to bringing Avengers: Age of Ultron plot elements to screen, which has me confused as well. Iron Man 3 could theoretically lead to the scenario I mentioned above, but where would the other films? Guardians of the Galaxy has nothing to do with Ultron. The Winter Soldier is a political thriller starring villains that are a mercenary and a brainwashed soldier. Thor: The Dark World is TOTALLY not about Ultron.
Does Marvel really have this all planned out and well? Do they know what they're doing, or are they setting themselves up for failure like when they thought people would love the Mandarin twist? How do you think Ultron is going to fit into this series? What about Pym? Guardians of the Galaxy? Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch??
Tell us your ideas in the comments!
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Saturday, July 20, 2013
That's right Fanboys you are reading the title correctly. A World of WarCraft movie is in the works. Live at the San Diego Comic-Con during the Warner Bros and Legendary panel, a brief clip was shown featuring a knight drawing his sword and picking up a shield from a skeleton. The camera then follows creatures coming over the hills and pans in on an Orc who is picking up speed. Just as the Orc's blade comes down, the clip cuts to to the WORLD OF WARCRAFT logo! Fanboys who have spent days upon days of raiding rejoice...your big screen moment has arrived! Duncan Jones then came out briefly after the clip and alerted fans this was simply a "mood piece" and shooting will begin early next year. Finally, for those of you wondering...yes it is live-action.
Check back regularly to see what The Dace Man is up to and stay tuned for more updates on this year's San Diego Comic-Con.
So for The Few, The Proud, and of course The Dacetacular...grab a beer
(or in this case, your war hammers and yell LERRRRRROOOOOYYYY JENKIIIIINS.)—and check out what's
going on here in the Dace-Sphere. Later Nerds!
Posted by
Anonymous
- Friday, July 19, 2013
As any faithful fighting game fanatic, I owe much of my passion for the genre to Capcom's Street Fighter series. Not only was Street Fighter II the first video game I ever played, it also introduced me to the concept of the competitive aspects of video gaming as a whole while igniting my love for laying the smack down on my friends and relatives. The phenomenon that Street Fighter II started propelled gaming in a brand new direction throughout the 90s, as arcades quickly became the place to be to assert dominance on everyone in your neighborhood.
As the fighting game genre started to become slightly saturated after Street Fighter II showed the world how it was done, Capcom began to consistently update Street Fighter II to appease fans and stay a few steps ahead of the competition, and fans across the world continued emptying their piggy banks and wasting away their time at the arcade as well as plunking down hard earned cash for every single version of the title. I myself had 3 different versions of the game at once including the original for the Super Nintendo, the Championship Edition for the Sega Genesis, and Super Street Fighter II for the Sega Genesis. Luckily back then I wasn't buying these games with my own money.
Nowadays, I like many gamers out there am an adult who has to invest in his own hobbies. Street Fighter has never been taken off my priority list as far as said hobbies go. Being an avid Capcom fan for over a decade, the fact that the company will always update a game before releasing a sequel is more of a concern now considering that if I want to play it, I'm going to have to pay for it myself.
Being the sucker that I am, I bought the original version of Street Fighter IV on launch day back in February 2008. In fact, Street Fighter IV was initially the sole reason why I purchased an Xbox 360 (although I currently am a PlayStation gamer). Of course the "Super" update eventually came and I bought that too along with the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (which Capcom updated a mere six months later) and the subsequent Arcade Edition update to SFIV. I have spent over $100 on Street Fighter IV alone at this point, and that number is just ridiculous to spend on one game. So the news that Capcom will be yet again updating SFIV five years after it's intial release came as a a bittersweet notion.
How dare you, Capcom?! This update is COMPLETELY unnecessary and gratuitous. The new characters are all copy/pasted from Street Fighter X Tekken with the exception of the unannounced fifth character that apparently has never been in a Street Fighter game previously. We have been promised new game play modes, but considering Capcom's track record for actually following through on promises (*coughSTORYMODEINMARVEL3cough*), it's hard for this gamer to believe that said new modes will add anything to the mix even if they exist.
Street Fighter IV has been out for five years now, and Capcom is still tweaking, updating and most importantly taking money from our pockets for it. Personally, I am a freak and a weirdo which means I will purchase it and most likely enjoy the hell out of it but that does not mean I have to be happy about drinking the proverbial Kool Aid once again.
What do you guys think? Leave a comment and keep it at www.fanboysanonymous.com for more fighting game news from yours truly.
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Thursday, July 18, 2013
That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Chris "The Dace Man" Dace here, bringing you some more San Diego Comic-Con news.
Bishop has been officially revealed for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
With Comic-Con just kicking off we've had an exciting day so far!
Though currently not scheduled, look for an X-Men: Days of Future Past panel to take place in Hall H, most likely on Saturday.
With X-Men like Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, and Kitty Pryde revealed to be joining the lineup of the movie, one can only hope that Cable is on the horizon.
Since we see Bishop is now a player in the overall scheme, what other X-Men characters from our beloved comics and cartoons do you think will appear? Forge? Mr. Sinister? APOCALYPSE??!?
Check back regularly to see what The Dace Man is up to and stay tuned for more updates on this year's San Diego Comic-Con.
So for The Few, The Proud, and of course The Dacetacular...grab a beer (or in this case, a time-traveling device built by Forge)—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere.
