Fanboys Anonymous

Greetings, Fanboys and Fangirls! This is Sam Lascio, discussing something that I'm sure must be on most sweaty nerds' minds lately: How does Superman get a new suit in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice?

Give or take the shape of the "S," the style of the shield, or the precise shade of blue and red in his costume, fewer costumes are as iconic as Superman's. When you see that costume, whether you're from America, the UK, China, or the Philippines, whether you're 7 or 70, you know exactly who it is. Superman is one of those heroes who transcends time, even more than Captain America. Superman isn't just an American hero; he's a global protector. So when the first images and trailers dropped for Man of Steel, opinions soared about Superman's "new and improved" costume. His iconic red underwear was missing, the "S" looked strange, he had a textured suit with strange markings on the forearms and sides.

The "ta-da!" moment in Man of Steel (2013)

Man of Steel suit vs. Batman v Superman suit.

1. It actually is a different suit. Just like we have multiple wardrobes in our closets, the Fortress of Solitude contained more than one suit from the House of El. Now, I guess one could argue "Why not just wear the suit he wore in Man of Steel anyway?" Well, do you wear the same clothes each and every day? Oh, you do? Well, uh, moving on then…
2. The costume department for the film didn't care. Now, that's not to say they don't care about continuity. Remember though, some fans were really butt-hurt over the changes presented in Man of Steel. With that in mind, were they just supposed to ignore those complaints and say "No, if we change anything, it'll screw up continuity"? I'm sure some higher ups were listening to fan complaints and decided to make some tweaks to the design, such as the biggest complaint I heard: the colors. More fans were upset about the dull colors than they were about the missing tighty-whiteys (tighty-reddies?). A little reshaping of the belt buckle, lowering the shield down his chest a tad, they probably figured no one would care enough to complain and write an entire article devoted to it. Wait…shit…
3. Money. money. money. So, you've decided to make a cinematic universe around the DC comics superheroes. You've also decided to give the public something they've been awaiting for decades: Batman fighting Superman. Let me say that again: Batman. Fighting. Superman. The two most iconic superheroes of all time FIGHTING! YES! HELL YES! You want to make as much money as possible, right? So what do you do? You want kids to buy your toys, right? You want them to wear your t-shirts, carry your backpacks, run around as these characters during Halloween, etc. What's the best way to do this? Change the costume ever so slightly so that little Jimmy and Susie can look at these toys and see that WHOA! They're like, so totally different than the old toys! Jimmy already has his action figures, t-shirts, and pillow cases from Man of Steel, and Susie still has her backpack, blankets, and pajamas from Man of Steel, so what's going to make them buy new shit? Change that shit. Boom, you just made a ton of money, my friend. Look at Iron Man 1-3 or Captain America 1 and 2. The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, X-Men. The list goes on and on. I think the last notable superhero films that didn't change the costume from the previous film was The Dark Knight Rises or the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy. New costumes means new merchandise means more money.

I say this first: if you don't want to know anything about the plot, potential or otherwise, to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, SPOILERS ABOUND in this article. Tread carefully.

Thoughts? Maybe it's just a fashion statement.

What is up, Dacetacular Nation? As if I didn't have enough shows and segments as is, I went and developed another one. The D-List is a weekly Top 10 countdown with me, The Dace Man, and I'll run down my top 10 picks!

Join me in the fourth episode as I give you my Top 10 Nickelodeon NickToons! I will sound off on the iconic characters that live within the NickToons Universe and have ultimately shaped our childhood. Fanboys and Fangirls jump on board the crazy train as I venture across generations of cartoons. I'll journey through time to bring you some of the classic icons as well as pull from the present to give you the fresh faces of tomorrow!

Did I mention one of your favorite NickToons? Am I watching the right cartoons on Nickelodeon? Lastly, for the fourth week in a row, did I manage to outrage the interwebs? Go grab a drink, maybe some snacks, and kick back and enjoy The D-List  for the week of August 18th!

 

On episode 9 of the Fanboys Anonymous Group Meeting podcast, the panel has a roundtable discussion about the pressures of being famous.

This is in honor of the recent passing of the comedic genius Robin Williams, who had struggled with substance abuse problems and depression.

Hosted by Tony Mango, the panel includes Mike Paden, Eddie Siqueira and Caroline Oliveira.


Some topics we address:

• Child stars being raised in the wrong environment
• Predisposition to self-destructive behavior
• The sad importance of drug culture in Hollywood
• The media's fascination with a failing celebrity
• Celebs being hounded by the paparazzi
• and more!

I'm a huge, huge, Spider-Man fan. He's my favorite fictional character of all time. I read the comics when I was a kid and enjoyed most of the animated shows of the past 50 years. Some are good, some are great, others are less than stellar. I even own the short-run live-action TV show from the '70s on DVD. Yep, it's out there and available and not that bad of a show.

The dream is that much closer to reality, Sandman fans!

Studios have been trying to get a Sandman movie off the ground for years. The property has gone through many hands and many false starts, most recently passing to David Goyer and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who both will at least produce. It's thought that Levitt might direct as well, and potentially take a role in the film.

Given the flurry of comic book adaptations in this era of moviemaking, chances are good this version of Sandman will come together sooner or later. It's true also that books from DC's Vertigo imprint, like Sandman, have been consistently adapted to film over the years—A History of Violence, The Losers, V for Vendetta, and Constantine were all Vertigo publications. David Goyer's central role in bringing DC properties to screen also shows a degree of confidence in this project.

Levitt spoke recently about the status of Sandman and mentioned meeting and working closely with Goyer, screenwriter Jack Thorne, and creator Neil Gaiman himself. It's encouraging to know the filmmakers have Gaiman on their side to develop the story for the screen. Also worth noting is that Jack Thorne has experience adapting Gaiman's stories for film, having worked on a treatment and the script for Gaiman's novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Levitt also makes mention of incorporating the Sandman's larger universe into their storytelling, which again sounds like a step in the right direction. The world Gaiman created around Morpheus (or Dream, or the Sandman…) is a rich, vibrant and deep one, and the filmmakers would do themselves a disservice not to use it in some fashion.

This project is also notable for being outside the rest of the DC Comics' films continuity. Gaiman, as a writer, made occasional nods to the more traditional DC publications during his work on Sandman, but the filmmakers may want to keep this universe more closed. I've written about it before, but the power levels involved in the world of the Sandman dwarf any problems that the Justice League might face.

Think Sandman is on the right track? Do you have faith in JGL, or is Goyer gonna sink the ship? Talk about it in the comments; maybe they'll hear you.

There's no stopping Marvel! Yet again they reveal some exciting news for one of their properties. This time it pertains to their hit show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (henceforth AoS) and a new character added to the mix. The Absorbing Man, also known as Crusher Creel, will make an appearance in the season 2 premiere. Marvel had this to say:

One of the glaring absences from the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot was the lack of a core character, Casey Jones. Fans have naturally been speculating that the hockey mask wearing vigilante would make an appearance in the sequel that has been announced. If that is going to happen, who should play the part? Hollywood is packed to the brim with talented guys that could pull it off, but who stands out in our minds? On this edition of FANBOYS CAST, several members of the website discuss who they would like to see take on the role of April O'Neil's love interest—as much as she wouldn't want to admit it.

"Words for Pictures" it doesn't get much clearer than the title of Brian Michael Bendis' new exposition on the art of making comics.

Bendis is a best selling comic book writer and a tour-de-force behind some of Marvels most iconic characters. He is a multi-Eisner award winning author. So when it comes to knowing a little something to the comic business, I feel we can probably trust him on this.Words for Pictures is fulsome of how this master of the craft has cracked the comics business.

This book focuses on a writers is point of view, but is well balanced with the multi-faceted collaborative partners required to make a full comic come to life.

While it isn't a how-to-create-comics like Brian Bendis treatise, Words for Picture does provide valuable insight into how to mould your craft using insider information and lessons learned over a continuous career in the comics industry.

It is also noted very early on that the lessons in this book are built on a solid foundation of trial and error. In fact the forward by Joe Quesada is explicit that "if your not falling, your not trying hard enough". However, it is Bendis' early life lessons that come to the fore, as the reason why he has written Words for Pictures. There wasn't anything like this accessible when Bendis was beginning out, so he feels the need to help the next generation of aspirational comic writers here.

To compliment the wonderful guide provided, there are an array of helpful real script pages from various artist known to Bendis. It showcases art in progressive states from pencils to finished product and even a full chapter on the business side of the comics process. This finished product is glossy and extremely easy to read. This makes the appeal much broader as a result.

Brian Michael Bendis

So often in Hollywood, we have bright stars that burn out. They come and go so fast that they can be described much akin to comets, something celestial that passed through our world and was gone before we had a chance to fully appreciate their splendor. James Dean is an example of a film star who had only three starring roles during his brief 24 years on this earth yet has since become an icon.

Bruce Lee is also one of these bright candles that burned bright yet blew out fast. With the exception of some work as a background player in several Chinese films, Lee did very little in the area of film. He only had four completed movies and one that was partially finished when he died at the age of 32 in 1973. He also co-starred in a few TV shows. Most notably of which was The Green Hornet as Kato, Green Hornet's hard fighting sidekick.

Want to know what happened the past few days in nerd culture? WEEK IN GEEK is your quick fix to catch up with the rest of the fanboys out there.

As if The Rock didn't have enough things to be thankful for, here comes another reason for him to be loving life. Not only is he buff and all that and has fans around the world, Johnson is a former world heavyweight champion in wrestling and also is one of the top box office draws in Hollywood right now. As Marvel and DC square off (you like that wrestling reference I threw in?) in the cinematic ring, both studios attempt to pick up as much A-List talent as possible, and now Johnson gets his pick of what role to play in an upcoming film.

Production has started on Marvel's Ant-Man, with principal photography beginning early this week.

Our first taste of the film has come in the form of a new image released, showing Paul Rudd as the protagonist of the movie, Scott Lang.

Peter O'Toole was an absolute beast of an actor. He had something special, a rare combination of looks and deep, affecting screen presence. Richard Burton said this of the late actor:

"He looked like a beautiful, emaciated secretary bird… his voice had a crack like a whip… most important of all you couldn't take your eyes off him… acting is usually regarded as a craft and I claim it to be nothing more except in the hands of the odd few men and women who, once or twice in a lifetime, elevate it into something odd and mystical and deeply disturbing. I believe Peter O'Toole to have this strange quality."

Well, here's a big step for Marvel Studios. Perhaps finally feeling the fatigue experienced by many fans and movie goers, Devin Faraci of Badass Digest revealed Marvel's current plans with the Doctor Strange movie script, reporting that the studio is in the process of moving away from the current standard of setting up every new character's initial movie as an origin story. Instead, writer John Spaihts is working on a totally new script apart from the previous iteration that included Dr. Stephen Strange's transformation from surgeon to Sorcerer Supreme and Baron Mordo as the big bad.

This new, unofficial stance (so far, no one at Marvel Studios has confirmed the changed approach to making new superhero movies) reminds me—as well as many comic fans—of Scarlet Witch's famous quote that fixed the Marvel Universe from its dystopian House of M alternate reality in which mutants were the majority species over humanity: "No more mutants."

This is a really strange one but it has come to my attention that Warner Bros. is attempting to play a little sleight of hand to get people on-board with buying the Blu-Ray or DVD of the upcoming release of the Tom Cruise sci-fi actioner, Edge of Tomorrow. It's almost like they are ashamed of the original title and want to feature the tagline more. The tagline for the film was:

Live.
Die.
Repeat.

The film, by all accounts, was a very well made film and I've been itching to see it. I wanted to catch it in the theaters but it was there and gone so fast that I never had a chance. Didn't get a chance to see it either? Never fear, because the Blu-ray and DVD are coming fast for release, plus a digital download, of course. Some sites are claiming Warner Bros. are kind of changing the title to the above tagline in order to mix it up or…to make people buy it more?