Reasons the 90's Almost Killed Comics (Part 2)

Last week we looked at the first of my list of why the 90's are the "Dark Ages" of comics. Here we go with some more:

1. Feral Wolverine

I have to admit that stealing the adamantium from Wolverine by having Magneto rip it from his bones was a pretty cool idea. I give them points for being daring as far as that goes. And letting him have bone claws was pretty cool as well because that meant his claws were actually a part of his mutant abilities and it was a shocker to see them pop out.

And then Marvel got greedy.

For some strange reason the Marvel writers decided to take things to the extreme by having him slowly turn into an animal. The decision to make him an actual wolverine that had mutated apparently raised its ugly head again and they brought him down. He eventually went to wearing a bandana and even a ninja mask before it was all said and done.

2. Jackets and Pouches Everywhere

I can appreciate how comics try to stay relevant to the times with some changes. In the 90's, things went crazy. The X-Men were the epitome of crazy as far as costumes went.

I don't know if Xavier kept it freezing in the mansion or of they were just cold-natured, but for some reason jackets were in style. Gambit wore his well and it was cool. Everyone else just ripped him off.

Dazzler (a hero who shouldn't be in any comic) wore a jacket. Rogue wore a jacket. Jubilee wore a coat. Cyclops had more pouches than Batman's utility belt. But let's not leave out the Avengers, who loved their jackets too.

Black Knight wore one over his armor. Sersi wore one (sleeves pushed up, of course) over her costume. Crystal, the Wasp, Wonder Man, Firestar, Jusice and even Black Widow sported jackets during the 90's. I don't know why it became the norm for Marvel heroes, but they definitely weren't afraid to put them out there.

Eventually jackets phased out for a while and spandex made a return, but the damage had been done. At least Spider-Man never wore a jacket...unless you count the Scarlet Spider's hoodie.

And don't get me started on DC's Vibe. That costume just has no explanation. 

3. Bloodwynd

The 90's gave us a number of weird heroes, but we can't skip Bloodwynd. I'm the first to admit I wasn't a huge Justice League fan, but when I saw him show up in their confrontation with Doomsday (just before he killed Superman) my first thought was "When did Spawn join the JLA?" This character was an unabashed ripoff of Spawn and I have no idea how they avoided a massive lawsuit.

Just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. I don't know that he's made any major impressions in the DC universe in over a decade. As a matter of fact, I doubt he made it through the recent reboot alive.

I have no idea if you should blame the writers for not knowing what to do with the guy, or the character itself, but Bloodwynd was a ripoff that stumbled out of the gate. But hey, at least he wasn't wearing a jacket.

4. Destroying Major Heroes...Then Bringing Them Back

The purpose of a reboot is to give us something new. Maybe sales are flagging on a title and they need to give the old horse a shot in the arm. Maybe new writers come in with new ideas. Or maybe a hero has just outlived their usefulness. For whatever reason, reboots are a hit-and-miss affair.

The 90's were brutal to the major heroes. Last week I talked about how Marvel tried to replace Spider-Man, but DC went ape-crazy in the 90's with wiping out their crew...though most of those deaths were short-lived.

So what did they do in the 90's? Well, they killed Superman (for a few issues). They broke Batman's back and replaced him with Azrael, who eventually went crazy and had to be put down by a healed-up Bruce Wayne. They turned Green Lantern into a crazed homicidal maniac who killed Sinestro with his bare hands...along with several members of the Green Lantern Corps. Then eventually he became Parallax, died saving the universe, became the Spectre, and then came back as Green Lantern again.

Many publishers would stop there, but they didn't. They had Aquaman lose his hand to piranhas and decide getting a harpoon/hook thing in there was a bright idea. They also gave him a new long hair and beard look that was supposed to make him "edgy". He stayed like this for a while, then they gave him a magic "water hand".

They killed Green Arrow with a bomb, until Parallax brought him back just before he died himself. They killed Hawkman and brought him back again thanks to his reincarnation powers. They didn't kill Martian Manhunter, who didn't deserve the pass but they made up for it big time by killing him off in the mid-2000's.

And hey, Marvel had their fun too. Besides replacing (and then bringing back) Spider-Man, they went brutal on their guys. Wolverine lost his adamantium through having it ripped from his very pores. The Fantastic Four and the Avengers were thrown to a new universe for a 12 issue "Reborn" reboot. They destroyed the Avengers again and gave us such classic "extreme" teams as "Force Works" (remember them?). Then Marvel had an "extreme fest" by giving us so many X-Men titles to follow that it was impossible to understand where any hero was supposed to be at any time. X-Treme, X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, X-Man, and so many other titles brought to you by the letter "X".

The thing that annoyed me about it in the 90's was how short-lived it all was for the most part. In some cases it lasted for a couple of years, while in others the changes were mere months before you could see things reverting back (Superman was foreshadowed as back in the game almost immediately). On the other hand, it was a good thing those changes were short. Most of them were horrible choices.

Superman Revealed!

So we now have a look at the new Superman from Zack Snyder's reboot:

Check it out! With this one picture we've seen this guy in costume more than we saw Tom Welling in one through 10 seasons of Smallville! Yeah, I went there.

Even though this film is two years away (Summer 2013), I'd say we're off to a good start with this look. No, it's not the Christopher Reeve suit--it leans more toward the "Superman Returns" look, actually--but at least it's not some absolutely crazy variant like the first X-Men film.

Snyder did a killer job with Watchmen and kept it close to the original concept in many ways. I'm confident he'll give us something good here as well. The thing he's got going for him is the fact that the comic book hasn't blown people away in a while (we'll see how it goes after the reboot, but "Grounded"? Not that great), so this may be the thing to jump start interest in the character again.

New Ultimate Spider-Man? Spidey says it best...

Yep, all of us are owed an apology, Spidey!

The new Ultimate Spider-Man was unveiled today by Marvel, as he is revealed in Fallout #4 (hey, a Marvel Crossover event...that's got to be good, right?). Big surprise to everyone:

Wow, I never saw that coming. Unless you count the dozens of times it's already been done with other heroes.

I think the two pictures Marvel put on their websites are the most perfect choices they could have ever come up with purely for the captions of what they're saying.

I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say the new guy probably lives with his grandmother in a bad neighborhood and constantly gets harassed by drug dealers and bullies on the way to school while he takes his younger sister there. I have not read the comic, but given Marvel's past history and treatment of minority characters, that's pretty much how Marvel perceives their world. No teenager in the Marvel universe gets to come from a stable two-parent home. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Reboots are awesome, aren't they? I don't think Marvel could create an original minority character if their lives depended on it. The last one they created was Luke Cage back in the 70's. Since then, it's pretty much been sloppy seconds all around as they find costumes and powers from other established heroes. Need to boost sales? Don't bring in a new, exciting character! No...reboot! Iron Man, Nighthawk, Captain Marvel (later Photon), Giant Man, Ultimate Nick Fury...reboots all around. Originality is neither needed nor rewarded.


For heaven's sakes, Marvel, get some new original writers in there! You desperately need fresh blood in your talent pool!

At these comic book conventions you attend, talk to the readers and let them present ideas! I swear we can create new heroes who deserve a shot and could succeed rather than just starting every brainstorming session with: "Now imagine this: we reboot..."

Remember the originals that rocked: Black Panther, White Tiger, Luke Cage, The Prowler, Storm, Sunfire, and Shang Chi to name a few! These were characters that mattered and made us want to read their stories. Today, we get recycled garbage that excites the folks at Marvel, but never picks up enough readers to keep going past a dozen or so issues.

What do you think? What's the last truly original idea Marvel had for a storyline?

Superman and Lois No More!

In an interview, DC EIC Dan Didio announced that the longtime marriage between Superman and Lois Lane will be experiencing a sort of wipeout with the new reboot. A company's flagship character has his two-decade marriage wiped clean by a reboot...does that sound familiar?

It's a Super One More Day!

To be fair, Didio keeps coy about the whole thing, but when he mentions how proud he is to have Grant Morrison on the character it pretty much shows the trouble we're in with the character.

Don't believe me? Then check out the cover for Action Comics #1, with Morrison at the helm with his new vision for the hero:

Blue jeans and a cape? I'm from Alabama and see this often at Wal-Mart, but I never expected anyone to purchase an actual comic book with this as the true costume scheme!

DC is doing this, according to the interview, because comic shops are being filled with "older generations of reader" who grew up with the stories, while this new approach should bring in the younger new readers who go the movies and want to learn more about the heroes without the back-stories. Whatever.

I just think this whole Superman/Lois breakup is a dumb idea. Whether it's by choice or they get Darkseid to wipe out their history with omega beams to Ma Kent won't die, it stinks. Comic writers seem to think that any comic book with a married couple is death on a cracker. Never mind showing how tough a relationship might be when one of the pair is out fighting super-villains all the time, let's just break them up and start all over.

Well, at least we still have Reed and Sue Richards as a married couple making it work...for now.

The Thrill is Gone, Baby

Usually, the highlight of my month is when I sit down on the couch with the latest issue of Previews and slowly go through each page to plan my upcoming months. I read over the synopsis of most interesting-looking comics and decide which is worth buying and which is worth just passing over until the trade paperback comes out and I can get the whole story cheaper. It's usually a ritual for me that I love.

This month was different.

As I sat down this week to put together my comic book order, I realized I was looking at the last DC issues before the reboot comes out. There were several variations on the theme of "...will never be the same after this issue! Things change forever!" but then I realized that nothing happening in these few preceding months' issues will really matter. If I skip the next two months it's all fine because nothing happening will actually have a lasting impact on the title thanks to the reboot. It was such a sad experience for me to realize I could literally stop reading DC comics for a couple of months and not miss a thing.

I can appreciate the need for a jumping-on point for new readers, but an entire line's reboot at once is disheartening. Marvel lost me by taking 20 years of Spider-Man's history and throwing it out the window without so much as a nod to the fans. That was just one title. A whole lineup? Ouch!

Marvel's not doing much better for me. I really try to get into some of their titles, but there's nothing really that grabs me as "must read" anymore. I've tried to get excited about "Fear Itself" but it's just another stupid crossover event for Marvel and to me it's too soon after the last one with the Chaos King stuff.

In the end, my order had exactly 3 comic titles on it...and none of them DC.

What about you? Are you skipping out on the next few months to save money for the reboot titles?

More DC reboot news...good or bad, you decide.

You may wonder why I've flooded the posts this week with all the DC news. Well, this blog is all about the mistakes and successes of the comic industry, and there can be no doubt DC is lining itself up for the biggest of one or the other. No cow is sacred, and everything that's been working for them up to this point is shot.

Today we learned that Secret Six will be ending with issue #36. While never my favorite book, they have had some amazing storylines over the years and I've really loved seeing Catman and Deadshot interact. They have this begrudging friendship and respect that you never see in any other book--mainly because while they're friends you can easily see they'd turn and kill each other in a heartbeat if the situation called for it.

Now the closest we'll get is a new title called Suicide Squad. The series has been in DC's roster twice before with different lineups, and now we see a new face leading the team in a new costume.

Say what you will about reboots, DC has definitely gone for it this time with a newly revamped Harley Quinn. The jester suit and hammer that we've come to love since her introduction almost two decades ago in the Batman:The Animated Series cartoons are gone, replaced by this dominatrix-with-a-knife look.

That doesn't bother me nearly as much as the new look for Deadshot. I've always said he had one of the best costumes out there, and now it appears DC is giving him some sort of cyborg kind of look. I'll reserve judgment until the first issue is out, but I'm not impressed with what I've seen so far.

In happier news, Grifter is getting a solo book. DC has moved the Wildstorm universe to their regular continuity and while Martian Manhunter is joining Stormwatch, Grifter is moving to his own series.

The premise is that he's killing creatures only he can see, leading everyone else to believe he's crazy. If this sounds a lot like the storyline from the old Marvel comic series ROM, that's because it is. I'm sure the creatures won't turn out to be Dire Wraiths, but the similarities are undeniable.

Again, I'm giving this book a shot simply because I like the character from years ago. As long as they don't try to turn him into a Deadpool clone they might have a winner with this one.

With all these new titles coming out, DC is definitely setting the internet on fire this week. They are setting the bar tremendously high, and here's hoping they can live up to the hype.

New Batman Storylines in the DC Reboot

According to an article on IGN, DC is planning on bringing to a close all those Batmen running around out there, making Bruce Wayne the one and only Batman again. This pretty much kicks their newer Batman Inc. series in the butt and says "Thanks for nothing".

Along with such stunners as the return of Barbara Gordon to the role of Batgirl (that should get some folks upset or happy) and the ultimate fate of Dick Grayson now that he's no longer needed as Batman, this return for Bruce Wayne to the mantle of Batman in all of the revolving titles is sure to cause some controversy.

I've actually enjoyed being able to read both Bruce and Dick's adventures, as both were decidedly different Batmen while staying true to the central idea of the character. It was cool to see Dick move from Robin, to Nightwing, and eventually taking the place of his mentor. I actually see this one move as a massive step backward for DC, but only time will tell I guess.

What do you think? Four different monthly issues of Bruce Wayne Batman now...will you jump on as they're hoping?

As a side note, I know I'll definitely be picking up Batman #1 and Detective Comics #1 just to be able to say I have those first issues. They may suck, but at least I'll have them.

As for "news that makes me happy", it's the return of Jason Todd to the regular Red Hood look. True, I'd have preferred him as Red Robin, but at least he's gotten rid of the stupid red fishbowl he's been sporting in the "Batman and Robin" series.  He'll be getting his own ongoing series called "Red Hood and the Outlaws". It's another series I'll be jumping on.

And hey, seeing Dick Grayson as Nightwing again will be good. I was worried they'd do something stupid and kill him off, but this is good news. Still, I'll miss him as Batman.

The Replacements (part 3)

This will do it for me in checking out replacements, but let's go out with some cool ones...

Tony Stark replaced by Jim Rhodes

The whole "Demon in a Bottle" storyline was pretty cool. I mean, here was a hero who actually hit the bottom of the barrel and had to give up his suit because of his actions. It was shocking for the time. Unfortunately, I think the "Ultimate" line of Marvel has taken this and made it a caricature of the depth of the story we originally read.

At any rate, Tony lost the armor and Rhodes took it. This is another case of where the replacement never really leaves, as he later became War Machine. Not only that, but he even made it into the second Iron Man movie!

Green Arrow replaced by his son

Oliver Queen was a fairly standard fixture in the DC Universe. When he was killed in an explosion, it seemed like the natural successor to the title would be Roy Harper, a.k.a. Speedy/Arsenal. But DC pulled a fast one on everyone by bringing in Green Arrow's son Connor to take over the role.

Connor was every bit as good an archer as his father, though his hand-to-hand combat skills were marginally better. He also had this whole pacifist-type thing going on, as a direct opposite to Oliver's more aggressive style of heroing. The coolest part of this replacement was when the new Green Arrow teamed with the new Green Lantern, which allowed for a really neat "Together again for the first time!" situation.

Eventually, Oliver came back and now Connor is dead. The more things change...

Blue Beetle replaced by his own scarab

Ted Kord made the best he could of the situation he was in. He was sort of like an uncool version of Batman...up until the point where he took a bullet to the skull from Maxwell Lord. DC made him cool just long enough to kill him (what we will forever call "The Question Syndrome").

When the time comes for there to be another Blue Beetle, what happens? The scarab suddenly decides it can give super-powers to someone and chooses a teenager to do it. If anyone deserved to be ticked off in the afterlife, it's Kord. All these years of doing it himself with nothing more than skill, and then this stupid kid gets super powers that he could have had all along if the scarab had just given them to him? Unfair!

The Replacements (part 2)

We talked about a few of them last week, now here are 5 more hero replacements to consider:

Ray Palmer replaced by Ryan Choi

When the stellar DC miniseries "Identity Crisis" ended, we saw Ray Palmer shrinking down to microscopic size and then disappearing. That was it! Was he dead? Where did he go? Well, for years he was gone and we were never going to find out where he went.

During that time, a college student stepped into his place and ran with the title for a while. Then Ray came back and the world wasn't big enough for 2 Atoms (ha! Get it?). Of all the hero deaths out there he definitely ended up getting the short end of the stick. We never even saw him killed! Instead, he was just quietly replaced.

I have to say that I fully supported DC bringing Ray Palmer back at the Atom. He had such a rich history that they could draw upon, while Ryan always seemed a lot like a whiner. I don't think killing him was necessary, but it did make for an interesting plot point.

Superman replaced by...a bunch of folks

Now this was the first one to really hit the stride and set the mark for major superhero deaths. The "Death of Superman" issue was shipped in a little polybag and I can still remember tearing through the issue of nothing but splash pages. And dude, was I let down by how quickly the fight was over (almost as quickly as it was on "Smallville").

Then the second wave of Supermen showed up. I personally was rooting for the "sunglasses Superman" (the Eradicator, we later found out) to be the real thing, but it wasn't to be. At any rate, it was pretty cool to see some new folks in the red-and-blues for a while. Even the news media knew this was just a temporary gimmick, but it was fun while it lasted, and it gave way to our next change...

Hal Jordan replaced by Kyle Raynor

At the end of the "Death and Return of Superman" storyline, Mongul destroyed Coast City with the help of the cyborg Superman. In the process, Hal Jordan lost the city he loved. This led to him losing his mind and becoming a bad guy, and then a dead guy, for years on end. Eventually, Geoff Johns, giver of all good things DC, brought him back.

But while he was gone, Green Lantern was replaced by a young artist who found himself the last GL out there. His ring was no longer crippled by yellow, and charging it wasn't necessary. It seemed a dream deal!

It didn't last forever, but Kyle did a good job and is still a major player in the DC universe. To be fair, I also need to mention that Hal was replaced earlier (for a short time) by John Stewart and Guy Gardner.

Thor replaced by the Thor clone

Did you think of this one? I was never a big fan of the Thor title so I'm not really sure why he disappeared or what happened to him, but I do know he was gone for a long time. During the "Civil War", we saw him return...so we thought. Instead, we got this unstable clone that ended up killing Giant Man (Bill Foster). That one move was a big surprise to the fans, and to myself, until it was explained away.

Eventually, that clone was destroyed at the hands of Hercules (and his infamous "Thou art no Thor!" rant). But he did show back up again later, only to be taken down by Thor himself.

The Question replaced by Renee Montoya

I can't think of another hero who got the shaft bigger than this one. They bring The Question into the DC universe for "52", turn him into this really cool character using the JLU cartoon series, and then decide to kill him off! Huh?

If you're going to take out a major character, don't make him cool just before you do it! I never really cared that much about the Question until "52"...and then you take him away!

Vic came back for a single issue during the "Blackest Night" run, but I still think they should have brought him back during "Brightest Day". He was a far more interesting character than Montoya.

Holy Moley! You mean there are more??? Yep, next week we finish out with looking at a final batch of replacements. Not even superheros have job security!

See you next year!

The Replacements (part 1)

I was thinking about it the other day and it's funny how every single major superhero has been replaced over the years! And still the gimmick lives on in title after title. I mean, you have the high-profile messes like Spider-Man, but have you noticed how no superhero out there has job security anymore?

Here are the ones I caught...

Peter Parker replaced by Ben Reilly

Ignoring the fiasco of "One More Day", you have to credit this period of Spider-Man's storyline as one of the worst for him. The Clone Saga was highly regarded as the biggest stumble in Marvel's arsenal until OMD, and it's easy to see why. After investing a LOT of time into proving Peter Parker was the clone and Ben was the real thing, we found out at the end of the storyline that it wasn't the case at all.

It was the first time we realized that following a Spidey tale for several months thinking the title had changed could end up being a big "Gotcha!" at the fan's expense. Quesada would do it all again to us years later.

Bruce Wayne replaced by Jean Paul Valley and Dick Grayson

Batman really hasn't fared as well as you'd think. The first time, Bruce Wayne was crippled by Bane and spent several months in a wheelchair while Jean Paul slowly slipped into madness and turned Batman into an armored psycho. Immediately after he got the cowl back, Bruce gave it to Dick for a little while so he could straighten out some stuff. Dick gave it back, but then picked it back up again after "Final Crisis" and is still Batman today.

I didn't know how it would work to have both Bruce and Dick as Batman at the same time, but I'm really liking it so far. I think it's an interesting dynamic to have Robin as Batman, and have it happening in a real-time storyline.

Bruce Banner replaced by Thunderbolt Ross

This was one that I have to give Marvel credit on. They managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes with the ultimate reveal of who Red Hulk was, and I still think it was cheating a bit to use an LMD at one point to throw Ross out of the contender's list early on, but it worked.

When Banner lost his ability to "Hulk out" at the end of World War Hulk, it seemed the title would take a rest for a while. Wrong. Instead, we got a new colored Hulk who took things to the other end of the spectrum. This Hulk killed the Abomination early on, and showed intelligence and cruelty we hadn't seen before. While Rick Jones might have been the Hulk for a few issues years ago, it was Ross who literally took the Hulk's place while Banner was out of action.

Steve Rogers replaced by Bucky Barnes

This would have to be the highest-profile superhero death in recent years. Superman's death made the news in the 90's, but the shot heard round the world in the 00's was the one that took Captain America down. The tragic thing was that he had finally be reunited with the one sidekick he thought he'd lost forever just before he was killed.

The aftermath of Marvel's "Civil War" took years to clean up, and Cap's death was sort of the end-note to the initial onslaught. While no one believed Steve Rogers would stay dead forever, it was fun to see Bucky step in and take the mantle. He's changed things around, that's for sure. Unfortunately, he's on trial right now for his crimes as Winter Soldier, so his future with the shield is a little iffy, but there can be no doubt this is one replacement that kept the title alive until the original hero could return.

Barry Allen replaced by Wally West

This was the first major superhero death I can remember reading as a kid. I still remember the exact spot on the drugstore floor in front of the magazines I was sitting at as I watched my beloved favorite hero give his life during "Crisis on Infinite Earths". It broke my little heart!

But then at the end of the maxi-series, Wally West stepped in to say he was taking over his mentor's suit and title. And that's the way it stayed for two decades! To an entire generation of comic book readers, Wally West was the Flash, while the rest of us patiently waited for Barry Allen's return. We saw Batman come and go, Superman come and go, Spider-Man come and go, and a dozen others, but Barry Allen showed up only sporadically here and there.

Then Geoff Johns, giver of all good things DC, brought him back. Wally West was the first sidekick to step into his mentor's shoes and I think it was a great way to use the character. A lot of great things happened during Wally's run (ha! Get it?) as the Flash, but I'm still holding out for good things with Barry's return.

This post is so big (and the choices so many!) that we've had to spread it out to a small series! Join us next week as we hit the next five replacements (including one I'll bet you forgot happened!).

Clash of the Titans

Summer 2011 looks like it's shaping up to be an incredible battle for your attention as well as your 3D glasses. With new photos from Captain America and the recent release of the first teaser trailer for Green Lantern my eyes have been glued to my computer screen hoping to see that justice is served to some of the most beloved comic book heroes of all time. Today we're going to look at the big three movies contending for comic glory this summer: Thor, Captain America, and the Green Lantern.

First up to bat, THOR.

The Mighty Son of Odin slams onto the silver screen in May with a toy line promising a battle between the god of thunder and a frost giant! Other than the trailer that came out a few months ago we really haven't heard much from this original member of the Avengers.

From what we can see in the trailer the movie looks like it will take the original story and add a little hollywood twist. In the comics Thor's alter ego (well, more of a host) would take over if he was away from his hammer for an extended period of time. The movie looks like its going more with the ultimates story on this in that he stays Thor at all times but is just less powerful without his Hammer. The story overall looks like it will leave a lot of room for epic battles between multiple mythical beings as well as the guardians of Asgard.

One thing that really seemed out of place was the final scene of the trailer where we see something very closely resembling a Hydra Dreadnought attacking some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. We know that Hydra is the villainous organization set as he antagonists of the Captain America movie (pretty much an evil SHIELD) so is this a hint of a tie-in? Will we see a battle between Marvel's two massive agencies and the ultimate setup for the Avengers movie? On the cast list for the Avengers we do seeTom Hiddleston who is playing Loki in Thor so I wouldn't be surprised if they do try to segway was us to the Avengers at the end of Thor.

One way or another the movie looks like it will be entertaining and worth a watch. I'm personally a Thor fan and will show up opening day captivated from the first lightening bolt…I mean pumped for some frost giant butt-kicing!

Next up, Captain America: The First Avenger

Well we don't have as much to go on with this one.  With no trailer and only a few production shots to clue us in on the details a lot is left to the imagination for Cap. We can see from the pictures that he will appear in both the original WWII costume as well as a revamped modern costume that most closely resembles the ultimate costume.

We've yet to see anything to do with the Red Skull other than a picture of a very evil looking Hugo Weaving in a Hydra costume with a very disgusted look on his face (probably because he caught a glimpse of his hair cut and evil elf edition of the hydra garb).

Not really much is certain about the Captain America movie but it does look like they'll at least try to still close to the comics. I think seeing the success of the Iron Man franchise and how close it was to the comics gave Marvel a revelation. Hopefully they'll keep to this trend with the new Spiderman movie they're working on!

I'm thinking the movie will largely consist of his battles in WWII but will deal with his reanimation after being frozen in the polar ice caps for a few decades and culminate with an epic battle between him and the Red Skull in modern times. If I were doing it I would have Mark Ruffalo (the new Bruce Banner) be the one working on his reanimation like they had it set up in the Ultimates animated movie a few years ago just to re-introduce us to the character with the new actor.

Undoubtedly they'll end it with a huge arrow pointing to the 2012 release of the Avengers and we'll all be sitting and waiting through the credits for a Hawkeye  cameo.


Last but most definitely not least is DC's edition to the party, the Green Lantern!

Okay, I have to be completely honest in saying that when i first saw the Entertainment Weekly Cover featuring the costume for the movie I was extremely worried. He was Solid Green! Green Lantern wasn't Solid Green! But after the release of the new trailer I was reassured.

The Costume looks much better in motion and other Green Lanterns such as Tomar Re and Kilowog having quick cameos giving me a stronger hope for the visual aspects of the movie.

The trailer looks great and actually seeing the Green Lantern fly and use his ring honestly made my heart race. I'm a HUGE GL fan and was very worried about how he would be portrayed on the big screen. So far it looks like we won't disappointed and I for one will probably be waiting in line for a midnight showing decked out in all my GL merch wearing at least one ring and giddily smiling, holding my 3D glasses and hopped up on Starbucks.

Like I said, all the other aliens look fantastic and Hector Hammond is quite scary but the shining light of hope and all things awesome in the whole thing was Sinestro!

That's right, I just called Sinestro a "shining light of hope and all things awesome". I mean, look at him! Other than a few costume changes he looks like he was pulled straight from the pages for an issue of Green Lantern Corps. I literally paused the trailer on this frame and just stared. He looks great.

Overall I think the movie will be great and can't wait to see it….like probably 3 times….maybe 12….okay an even 10 sounds fair, right?


Well that pretty much sums up my first thoughts on the coming summer blockbusters! I hope you enjoyed this little look into my head and my first post as a co-blogger! Feel free to give me your thoughts on any of the movies or on anything I might have missed. Dad will be back next week with your Monday post as I work on something with a little more of a classic comic flair. I leave you now with the Green Lantern trailer and the wishes of a great week!


-Khris