Monthly Archives: November 2013

The CW Orders Pilot for THE FLASH – First Look at Barry Allen

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We already knew that The CW was planning to bring The Flash to the small screen. The original plan was to introduce the character in three episodes of Arrow before giving him his own series. Well now according to Deadline the network has changed that idea up a bit, and they are pushing a pilot episode forward for The Flash, which will star Grant Gustin in the title role.

The Flash would have appeared as Barry Allen in Arrow episodes 8, 9, and 20. The last one would have served as a backdoor pilot, which is being directed by David Nutter. Here’s an explanation of what the network is doing now, “Episodes 8 and 9, in which the superhero is introduced only as his alter ego Barry Allen, have already been shot. But now the CW has opted to film a traditional stand-alone Flash pilot instead of doing a  backdoor pilot as Arrow‘s Episode 20. With Episodes 8 and 9 serving as an origin story, the plan was for The Flash character to make his debut — red costume and all — in Arrow‘s Episode 20. He will now do it in the pilot.”

Apparently The CW is very happy with what they saw of Barry Allen with Episode 8 and 9. Filming a stand-alone Flash pilot would allow them to better “flesh out the superhero’s story and his world on a bigger budget, as pilot budgets are significantly higher than episodic ones.” There’s no word on if The Flash will still appear in episode 20, but it doesn’t sound like it. Maybe they will reference him, though.

Barry Allen will be introduced in Arrow as “a Central City assistant police forensics investigator who arrives in Starling to look into a series of unexplained robberies that may have a connection to a tragedy in his past. A comic book fanboy, Barry is obsessed with the Arrow unaware that working with Oliver and Felicity to solve the crime has brought him right into the dangerous world of the vigilante.”

Arrow has been a great series, and hopefully they can do the same thing with The Flash.arrow_the_scientist_the_flash_20131118_1575675704.jpg

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Oliver Queen Finally Getting a Domino Mask in Arrow

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One of the largest complaints from fans about The CW’s hit series “Arrow” is that Oliver Queen doesn’t wear a mask when running around Starling City. Well good news folks, the “raccoon eyes” are no more! EW has revealed that Ollie’s trademark mask will be making its debut on Arrow this December and we’ve got the photo to prove it. Check it out below!

“Conceptually, it was something we wanted to do because Oliver himself is evolving as the Arrow–  from vigilante to hero, sort of from Arrow to Green Arrow — and we wanted to see that progression in his costume as well,” said executive producer Andrew Kreisberg. “As Oliver is embracing being a hero, being a hero means stepping out of the dark and being more of a symbol, so he has to stake steps to conceal his identity more.”

Kreisberg also added:  “It’s going to allow the Arrow to interact with people who don’t know his identity in a much more organic way than having him constantly keep his head down.”

Set to appear in the December 11th episode of “Arrow,” the mask won’t just appear out of thin air.

 “He doesn’t just put on a mask. It’s actually a big plot point in an episode, and there really is a story behind, not only the need for the mask but also who provides him with it,” Kreiseberg said. “It’s going to be a little bit of a surprise, and once they see how the mask comes into creation, I think people will be really excited about it.”

Casey Jones Will Not Appear in TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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Ever since that godawful script leaked onto the internet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot has had to do a lot to get back into our good graces. We’ve received assurance from both Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (the creators of our favorite heroes in a half shell) that the previous script was thrown out and that they are indeed mutants and not aliens. But things get worse before they get better because the saddening news broke that Megan Fox was cast as April O’Neil. I was still holding out hope, though. After all, William Fichtner was cast as Shredder and even though he isn’t of Japanese descent, I think he’ll be great at playing this sinister role.

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with a source very close to the production, and I asked the one question that had been on my mind since the reboot was announced, will Casey Jones appear in the film? The answer I got, sadly, was a defeating “No.” Instead of Casey Jones (my favorite TMNT character), the film is making Will Arnett‘s role as Vernon Fenwick bigger. Now that isn’t to say we won’t see Casey Jones in the future. William Fichtner recently said that he signed on for 3 films. But I’m still peeved.

My optimism is lowering for this reboot. Although I heard that the action is over the top greatness, comparable to The Raid… I’ll believe it when I see it.

Christian Bale Tells the Origins of His Infamous ‘Batman Voice’

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We’ve already heard from former Batman Christian Bale once today, but he’s come out with one more tidbit that we can’t help but share. Speaking with MTV, Bale opened up about his infamous “Batman voice” from “The Dark Knight” trilogy that has been relentlessly mocked, criticized and parodied. Here’s what he had to say:

“I got there. They put me in Val Kilmer’s suit. It didn’t even fit properly, and I stood in it and I went ‘I feel like an idiot.’ What kind of guy walks around, dressed like a bat? And is then going to go ‘Hello, how are you? Just ignore that I’m dressed as a bat.’ Of course, he’s meant to be doing this,” Bale said. “If you look at the history of the guy and the pain that he went through. I went ‘I can’t do this in a normal voice. I have to become a beast in order to sell this to myself. I went home that evening, and my wife said, ‘How’d it go?’ I went, ‘I kind of did this.’ And I showed her, and she went, ‘Oh, you f—ed that one up, didn’t you?’ Thank God they went for it.”
He even had one more bit of advice for Ben Affleck in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film, saying:
“[The voice] ain’t for everybody. Ben’s obviously going to have to do his own thing, but it was the only way that I could find how to get into that and to justify wearing the fricking Batsuit. Otherwise, he’s just loopy beyond belief. He’s loopy, but he’s loopy with a method to his madness.”

BatKid!

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By now, you’ve probably heard about Batkid, the story that captured the entire nation on Friday. But in case you’ve been trapped in a rowboat at sea, or had taken a temporary vow of internet celibacy, let me fill you in: “Batkid” is actually 5-year-old Miles Scott of San Francisco, a Make-a-Wish Foundation recipient who has been battling leukemia since he was one year old and has recently gone into remission. On Friday, the city of San Francisco rallied around the little boy, whose wish was to fight crime with Batman, his favorite superhero. The whole city was in on it, with the local news doing a live broadcast alerting “Batkid” that there was trouble in Gotham City, setting off a chain event of crime-fighting for Batkid, who took off with Batman in two donated Lamborghinis dressed up to look like the Batmobile.

 

Over the course of the day, Batman and Batkid saved a woman tied up on the tracks of the iconic San Francisco cable car line, caught the Riddler as he was robbing a bank, and finished the day saving the San Francisco Giants’ mascot from the clutches of the Penguin. He was awarded the key to the city by the mayor and police chief, and was even given a shout-out by President Obama in one of his first ever Vine videos.

It wasn’t just normal folks who were captivated by the story of Batkid, either. Three former actors who have previously played the role of the Caped Crusader and the current actor holding down the fort also offered their support for the newest, pint-sized member of the Bat Family.

First up, Ben Affleck, who already knows Batkid will be a bigger deal than he could ever be:

Ben Affleck

Batkid. Best Batman ever. @SFWish

Original Batman Adam West also shared his thoughts on Twitter:

Adam West 

What a wonderful thing. Relieved that Gotham is safe again thanks to Miles. … http://fb.me/2vrobmfom

While most recent Batman Christian Bale was asked about it in a recent interview with Vulture and was moved:

I looked on the news and I saw this headline and thought, ‘What’s that?’ And I saw all the pictures of him running around and saving people. It’s so touching. What’s his name, Miles. He must have been bewildered! Hopefully, later on, he’ll be able to look back and say, ‘Oh my God, how amazing.’

And TMZ caught up with Michael Keaton, who was equally as charmed:

Somebody sent it to me. It’s the cutest thing in the world. Let’s not talk about Batman. Let’s talk about the kid. That’s such a cool thing. That’s such a sweet idea. I haven’t seen it. Somebody sent me the link, and I’ve got to check it out. I think it’s a cool idea.

(via CBM)

 

It’s pretty amazing to see a city come together for once for a happy reason, rather than a tragedy. Think we can get Batkid to cameo in Batman vs. Superman? Someone, get Warner Bros. on the phone.

THE WALKING DEAD Monopoly Game

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What’s your favorite Walking Dead Monopoly piece?! Think Geek has released The Walking Dead Edition of Monopoly, and it’s all kinds of awesome. I haven’t played Monopoly in years, but I like the idea of playing in the world of The Walking Dead!

The last thing you want to do, when the zombies hit the fan (so to speak), is to worry about real estate deals. What you DO want to be doing is making sure the property you own is well protected and ready to withstand the advancing zombie menace. Let this be your mindset when you play The Walking Dead Monopoly.

Despite its post-apocalyptic setting, The Walking Dead Monopoly delivers classic Monopoly wheeling and dealing game play. Players vie for, and then must fortify, the prime real estate and resources that will sustain their lives. There’s only one victor that will outlast the others. This completely customized game features six collectible tokens, optional speed play, and a fight to the finish! The Walking Dead Monopoly – everything you know and loved about Monopoly, but with 100% more zombie flavor. Eww.walkingdeadmonopoly75848 walkingdeadmonopoly7584 14b5_the_walking_dead_monopoly

Terrence Howard Now Blames RDJ for His Dismissal from IRON MAN 2!

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Via: Vulture

Terrence Howard is a great actor, and he has seen much success in his career. However, he just can’t seem to get over the fact that he was not able to continue his role as James “Rhodey” Rhodes in the Marvel movie Universe. Granted, I don’t know what the details are that surrounded his ousting, but if anything he says is true, then he was royally screwed. During an interview in 2008 he said this:

“Apparently, the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they are printed on. And promises aren’t kept. Good faith and negotiations aren’t always held up.”

He went on to vent about it every chance he got. Well, apparently there is some steam left in that kettle. On a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, Howard turned his blame flames onto Robert Downey Jr., saying:

“It turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man, when it was time to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out.

“We did a three-picture deal. That means you did the deal ahead of time — a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second, a certain amount for the third. They came to me with the second and said ‘look, we will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you.’ And I called my friend, that I helped get the first job, and he didn’t call me back for three months.”

Sounds like the wound it still fresh for Mr. Howard. Like I said before, I don’t know what the whole story is, but from what Howard has to say, everyone screwed him over.

Celebrate Star Wars’ Life Day by remembering those who died

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It’s Life Day once again! For those who don’t know, November 17, 1978 was the one and only airing of the (infamous) “The Star Wars Holiday Special.” Now that Star Wars is owned by Disney, a remake with a real script, real budget and real production values might be possible, but I highly doubt it.

To commemorate Life Day this year, I present to you this video. The song is in the style of Jim Carroll’s, “People Who Died.” I wouldn’t call this a parody, per se, but more of an homage. It’s a great recap of Episodes I – III. And I just love the ending – Padmé died, but Jar-Jar’s alive? WHY?! Pure genius!

As always, enjoy!

THE WALKING DEAD Spin-Off Series To Be a Prequel?

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Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and AMC are currently in the process of developing a new spin-off series. There hasn’t been much information on what the series would entail, but thanks to TV Line we’ve learned that it will be a “prequel of sorts, one that would chronicle the early days of the epidemic and the effort to contain it.”

This is interesting, because one of the things about the world Kirkman has created is that he’s never explained how the zombie apocalypse started. That’s one of the things I really like about the series, and I kind of don’t want to lose that mystery. But who knows, the series is still early in development.

In a recent interview with IGN, Kirkman said that the new series will be set in a “different location” and feature “completely different people.” He also said that “It definitely won’t be set in Georgia… It’s important to us that this show exists on its own. The spin-off has to be a show worthy of existing, or else we’ve all sold out.”

Hopefully they end up giving us another series that fans are going to love. What do you think about the possibility of the series being a preque

The 10 Worst Changes to Spider-Man in the Comics

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Right out of the gate, we know that a large number of fans of superhero movies such as the “Spider-Man” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” films don’t necessarily keep up with the comic books they are derived from. Not only do we get it, but we aren’t going to sit here and try to persuade you that comics are the greatest thing since foxy boxing (take a hike, sliced bread). In fact, we know they’re not, and we have ten perfectly good examples why. So we’ll try to make this as amusing as possible for you, while keeping nerdy details and inside jokes to a minimum. ‘Nuff said?

 

No. 10 – Organic Web Shooters

Issues: “The Spectacular Spider-Man” (2nd Series) #17-20 (2004)

Don’t get us wrong, it was pretty cool how in the 2000-era “Spider-Man” films, Peter Parker generated his webs from his own body instead of pressurized web-shooters he designed himself and wore. In the comics, however, it had always been the mechanical web-shooters, and for the most part, no one really had a problem with it. So for no real reason, Marvel decided to greenlight the story

“Changes,” in which a new villain by the name of The Queen kisses Spider-Man and makes him slowly transform into a giant spider. (Get it? Spider Man!) Once he fully transforms and The Queen prepares to breed with him (seriously), he dies, but then gives birth to a Peter Parker. This time, however, Peter can make webs organically.

 

No. 9 – Peter Parker Dies (Ultimate Spider-Man)

Issues: “Ultimate Spider-Man” (2nd Series) #155-160 (2011)

For those unfamiliar with comics, there are basically two types in the Marvel Universe: the traditional ones that date back to the beginning (more or less) and the Ultimates. Ultimate comics are essentially a rebooted version of the traditional in a more modern setting. Therefore, they can switch things up however they see fit for a newer generation of readers.

However, new to the comic books scene or not, most know Spider-Man to be Peter Parker. When the Ultimate version of Peter Parker was killed in battle with the Green Goblin, regardless of the story being good or not, it got under a lot of people’s skin that he was replaced by 13-year-old Miles Morales for the foreseeable future. Now, since it was just the Ultimate version, not that big of a deal, right?

No. 8 – Ben Reilly

Issues: “Web of Spider-Man” (1st Series) #117-129, “The Sensational Spider-Man” (1st Series) #0–11, “The Amazing Spider-Man” (1st Series) #394–418, “Spider-Man” #51–75, “The Spectacular Spider-Man” (1st Series) #217–240, “Spider-Man Unlimited” (1st Series) #7–14 (1994-1996)

… try this story on for size. The man on the right in this picture is Peter Parker. The man on the left is Ben Reilly. Both of these men are

indeed Spider-Men. But imagine we told you that Peter was, in fact, a clone of Ben, and that Ben was the true Spider-Man. Now, imagine you’d been reading Spider-Man comics since the ’60s and we sprung this on you out of nowhere. Now, imagine we didn’t tell you this, but Marvel comics did, and they expected you to welcome this “Clone Saga” with open arms. Obviously, such audacity didn’t go over quite so well, and, long story short, Ben was killed off and everything was put back to normal.

No. 7 – Cyborg Parents

Issues: “The Amazing Spider-Man” (1st Series) #386-388 (1994)

Back in issue 365 of this same series, Peter Parker’s parents, who happened to be undercover secret agents his whole life, came back into the series after a long absence and seemed to be there to stay. Then, when Marvel decided they wanted to get rid of them, they decided, “Eh, let’s just make them robots sent by the Chameleon to try and figure out Spider-Man’s secret identity.” Or at least,

we imagine that’s how much thought went into this story. It’s essentially Spider-Man as told by M. Night Shyamalan. You gotta really hang in there until the end to be disappointed.

No. 6 – Fast Cars and Loose Women

Issues: “The Amazing Spider-Man” (1st Series) #130 & 131

Sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? We’ll admit, we just put that as a title to hook you, and because “Aunt May Marries Doctor Octopus While Spider-Man Drives Around in a Wall-Crawling Bug-Mobile” sounds corny. But alas, this is what fans were dealt. So many things about both of these storylines are mind boggling that we’re glad they were short-lived. For instance, how would a giant

“Spider-Mobile” (as it was called) that can somehow drive up walls and shoot webs benefit the agile Spider-Man in traffic-heavy New York City? Why would sweet old Aunt May fall for a certifiably insane Doctor Octopus (who doesn’t even know she’s Spider-Man’s aunt) who is clearly trying to marry her for a uranium mine she randomly just inherited? Why are we still trying to justify to you why these ideas are terrible?

No. 5 – Radioactive Semen

Issues: “Spider-Man: Reign” #1-4 (2006)

You know that scene in the movie “Mallrats” where Brodie meets Stan Lee and starts asking him a bunch of inappropriate questions regarding superhero sex organs? This is kind of like that: an answer to a question that no one is actually really thinking and would more than likely be embarrassed to ask if they were. This mini-series is set in a gritty, distant future where an old Peter Parker is thrown back into action in his sixties, and is all the while

distraught by the death of his lady love, Mary Jane, to cancer. But what caused the cancer, and what makes the entire terrible story even more ludicrous, is the fact that Peter himself caused the cancer from years of pumping MJ full of his radioactive, um, fluids. Luckily, the story isn’t canonical, and thank God. Changes to a character like the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man that are this dark and twisted should be left in the creepy heads of whoever the hell thinks of them.

No. 4 – Gwen Stacey + Green Goblin = Ewwwww

Issues: “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2nd Series) #509-514 (2004 & 2005)

After promising ourselves we’d never, ever start a sentence this way …

Speaking of semen, the “Sins Past” storyline counted on it heavily in order to not only make a story, but simultaneously tarnish the good name of Gwen Stacey, one of the most beloved Spider-Man characters of all time, in the worst possible way. As it turns out, before

being killed by the Green Goblin all those years ago, she was secretly getting doinked and impregnated with fraternal twins by him. Long gone are the days of the Comics Code Authority indeed (only our second nerd reference). Anyway, the twins were then genetically altered to accelerate in age quicker so that they could be adults and go after Spider-Man for killing their mother. Seriously, it makes no sense to continue, because the story ultimately went nowhere and was just another unfortunate misstep of many in the Spider-Man mythos.

No. 3 – Spider-Man Reveals His Secret Identity

Issues: “Civil War” #2 (2006)

Yeah, this sounds like a really smart idea, considering the fact that he’s refrained from doing this for the last, let’s say, his entire career in order to protect the ones closest to him. And wouldn’t you know it, soon after this brilliant plan (more details in the next slide), his dear sweet Aunt May is shot and nearly killed, all setting up the event that rocked the history of Spider-Man as we knew him.

 

No. 2 – Reset Button

Issues: “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2nd Series) #544 & 545, “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” #24, and “The Sensational Spider-Man” #41 (2007 & 2008)

The story was called “One More Day.” It is regarded by many as one of the worst things to happen to Spider-Man in the history of Spider-Man. In a nutshell, the villain known as the Kingpin sends a sniper to pick off Peter Parker after he has revealed his secret identity to the world. The sniper hits Aunt May instead.

Rather than letting the feeble old woman die like she probably should have years ago, Peter and Mary Jane decide to make a deal with Mephisto (the Marvel Universe’s Devil, more or less) to erase their marriage in exchange for Aunt May’s life. This was done basically because Marvel’s editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, never liked Peter Parker being married. So basically, one man’s greed erased years of storytelling. That’s worth ruining things for millions, right?

 

No. 1 – The Superior Doctor Octopus

Issues: “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2nd Series) #698-700, “The Superior Spider-Man” #1-present, “Avenging Spider-Man” #16-present (2013)

You know what, why not just shake up the status quo one more time? It’s not like it exists anymore in the Spider-Man comics, anyway. After 700 issues, Marvel decided that the best way to honor the hero was to not only have a dying Doctor Octopus switch brains with him, but to then kill the Doctor Octopus with Peter

Parker’s brain inside. Therefore, from this point forward, Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis, is Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and Peter is just a ghost inside his head acting as a conscience of sorts. That is, until recently when Peter was abolished completely. Everybody loves a very long, drawn out, often flawed tale where the good guy loses in the end, right? Oh wait, that can’t be.