Never Forget..

9/11. The date alone evokes a lot of unpleasant and sad memories. It also makes me remember a certain issue of The Amazing Spider-Man that I have, which served as a remembrance of that day that will be forever remembered as one of the worst attacks by terrorism.

Yes, the simple black cover to this issue said it all. Originally released on December 2001, The Amazing Spider-Man #36 was one of the rare instances a comic book deviated from its ongoing storyline and focused on a situation/event that was as real as it was going to get. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by John Romita Jr., the books serves as a medium for the writer and artist to voice out their feelings regarding what transpired that day, showing Spider-Man wracked with shock and grief like many others, as he looks over and searches for survivors over the remains of what was once the World Trade Center.

The message sent here was simple and clear -  it was a tragedy nobody could ever forget. The damage, fear, and chaos that was a result of those attacks still haunt many who experienced it first hand to this day, and those of us around the world who watched helplessly over various mediums could only feel pain, remorse, and anger over what transpired. My own memories of watching the horrible events unfold in CNN were as clear as yesterday, and even though 10 years have passed, we still remember and honor the memories of those who died and gave their lives bravely to help those in need that day.

Straczynski and Romita Jr. presented one of the most heartfelt tales that reflected the obvious shock people had over this event, as well as the overwhelming guilt and responsibility fictional heroes like Spider-Man felt over a terrible crisis like this. As someone who has fought for the safety of others, the webslinger is grounded and helpless to do anything even with all of his powers at his disposal. Arriving at Ground Zero after the dust clears, he valiantly looks for signs of life, joining his fellow superheroes to work with other rescuers and emergency units in finding as many survivors as they can. It was a heartfelt message of remembrance and heroism at a time when America truly needed those heroes. Even though it's been almost 13 years since this issue hit newsstands, it still resonates with me as one of the clearest and honest reactions to 9/11. We will never forget...

Iron Man 3: Review

Synopsis: Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Review: "Iron Man 3" does what most third entries in movie franchise don't do, turns in a great movie. This holds up very nicely next to the previous 2 installments, and I'd say it's probably better than "Iron Man 2" and about the same as the first movie. Here, Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr.) is haunted by the events of the Avengers and finds himself obsessing over creating and perfecting new suits. He is constantly trying to figure out new way to protect Pepper(Gwyneth Paltrow), and make the suits better and better. Then he placed in the cross hairs of a terrorist called the Mandarin(Ben Kingsley). Going any further than that would be a disservice to anyone who hasn't seen the movie, because there are quite a few surprises and twists, that I didn't see coming at all. Very unconventional super hero movie, which is great because it's a true breathe of fresh air. It's not your typical good guy vs. bad guy movie in a lot of ways. All the performances are great, and it really leaves you with a sense of "how are they gonna do another one?!" Marvel is battling a thousand when it comes to their movies and they continue that streak here. This is the first must see movie of the Summer and a great way to kick off the summer movie season. Also, stay after the credits, it's pretty awesome. 

More X-MEN Veterans Added to DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Cast

The cavalcade of X-Men movie alums appearing in 2014's Days of Future Past keeps getting bigger, with director Bryan Singer tweeting on Saturday that Anna Paquin, Ellen Page and Shawn Ashmore have all joined the cast.

Paquin played Rogue in the first three X-Men movies (the first two were directed by Singer, the third by Brett Ratner), and Ashmore portrayed Iceman in the same films. Page played Kitty Pryde in the third, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, a year and a half before her acclaimed role in Juno.

Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Professor Xavier) and Ian McKellen (Magneto) are also slated to reprise their roles from the original X-Men films, along with X-Men: First Class cast members James McAvoy (younger Xavier), Michael Fassbender (younger Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast).

X-Men: Days of Future Past is scheduled for release on July 18, 2014.

Iron Man No More

As the “Demon” storyline continues this week in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #513, Tony Stark finds himself assaulted on multiple fronts. The Mandarin and Ezekiel Stane have upgraded his old foes, he faces betrayals from friends and colleagues, a negative publicity campaign has been launched against him, and the ramifications of decisions made during his lowest moments in Fear Itself linger.

By the time all’s said and done, how will even Iron Man cope with the mounting pressure?

“As we’ll see at the end of ‘Demon,’ General Babbage, [Tony’s] primary antagonist at the Pentagon, and Justine Hammer of HAMMER Industries, present Tony with an ultimatum,” preview INVINCIBLE IRON MAN writer Matt Fraction. “Accepting it is the only way he can remain in control of the Iron Man without losing everything. And Tony very quickly finds that arrangement to be unacceptable. The ramifications of that are what ‘Long Way Down’ is all about.

“So basically…Tony quits.”

And so begins “Long Way Down,” kicking off in May’s INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #516, the story Fraction refers to in regards to his and artist Salvador Larroca’s run on the character as “The third act. The grand finale. The beginning of the end.

“The finale pages of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #513 [are] a double page spread that harkens back to our very first issue—a showcase of the full scope and scale of the rogues we’ll see Iron Man going up against in the next year. Mandarin’s five-year plan is finally bearing fruit.”

However, all might not be so well within the Mandarin’s camp, as one of Iron Man’s newest and most implacable foes looks to rock the boat with likely volatile consequences.

 

“[Ezekiel Stane], as Mandarin’s number one, starts to discover maybe Mandarin isn’t the greatest boss in the world,” Fraction notes. “Yet Mandarin has absolute control over him. So while their alliance makes perfect sense on paper, the reality of it sees the only thing they hate more than Tony Stark is each other. Zeke will have Tony’s head one way or the other, even if that means going through Mandarin to get it somehow.”

While turmoil hits the villainous side of the equation, the mole within Stark Resilient will at last be revealed, with Fraction forecasting dire repercussions:

“People start dying. Bethany Cabe starts earning her paycheck.”

This shows just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to “Long Way Down,” which will also see, among other things, a new Iron Man. Fraction vows that every domino he has set up since he and Larroca launched INVINCIBLE IRON MAN nearly four years ago will be knocked down by the end of this pivotal story.

“All the pots from the very beginning of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN are coming to a boil,” he vows. “Mandarin and Stane’s alliance, the revamped and upgraded rogues gallery, the Hammer girls, Spymaster’s infiltration—‘Long Way Down’ deals with all of it.”

Ultimate Spider-Man Bows April 1, Launching Marvel Universe Block

Disney XD announced today that the somewhat-delayed Ultimate Spider-Man animated series will premiere April 1, forming the centerpiece of a Marvel programming block that seems similar to Cartoon Network’s upcoming DC Nation. Called Marvel Universe, the block also will include new short-form animated series, live-action interstitials and the return of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America will be among the characters featured.
“Iconic Marvel heroes and villains and stories with core values of accomplishment, discovery and growth make Marvel Universe a perfect complement to Disney XD and a destination for parents and kids to experience together,” said Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Worldwide.
Announced in April 2010, Ultimate Spider-Man is inspired by the acclaimed Marvel comic by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, and boasts a creative team that includes Joe Quesada, Paul Dini, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, Steven T. Seagle and Bendis himself.
The voice cast includes Drake Bell (Drake & Josh) as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Chi McBride (Boston Public, Pushing Daisies) as Nick Fury, JK Simmons (Spider-Man) as J. Jonah Jameson, Stan Lee as Stan the Janitor, Clark Gregg (Iron Man, Thor, The Avengers) as Agent Coulson and Steven Weber (Wings) as Norman Osborn.

Marvel’s Next Big Thing: The Amazing Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth

 

As 2012 approaches, so does the 50th Anniversary of Spider-Man, along with Amazing Spider-Man #700. Earlier today, Marvel Comics hosted a press conference with current Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott to let us in on the next big story arc happening in Amazing Spider-Man, which paves the way towards the anniversary celebrations.

The next story arc is titled Ends of the Earth, and will be a six issue story arc beginning in Amazing Spider-Man #682 and lasting for 6 issues. Slott will be joined by artist Stefano Caselli, who will be drawing the first two issues, the last two issues and the covers for the story arc. They did not reveal the artist who would handling art duties on the middle 2 issues of the story arc.

Slott revealed that Ends of the Earth is a story that he has been building to since Amazing Spider-Man #600, focusing on Doctor Octopus, who is left with a mere weeks to live and has rallied the Sinister Six again to exact his revenge on the world. We’ve seen Doc Ock appear in the pages of Invincible Iron Man and Avengers Academy, and these appearances have been all according to plan, as Doc Ock prepares for this one, last, big global threat. The Sinister Six that will be at play in this story arc as Slott revealed will be Doctor Octopus, The Rhino, Sandman, Electro, Mysterio and The Chameleon, a very formidable lineup.

One of the aspects of this story arc that has Slott the most excited is the scope. “This story’s focus in on action and adventure,” explained Slott, which is a departure from his usual character based storytelling.  Additionally, the theater of this story goes beyond New York City, as it branches out to be a story that takes place all over the world, as the title Ends of the Earth suggests. In addition to Spider-Man, Slott promises that the Avengers will appear, as well several notable Marvel characters, although the story will take place solely within the pages of Amazing Spider-Man.

To combat this threat, as we’ve seen in past issues, Spider-Man will unveil some new Spider-Tech and a new costume that he’s designed while working at Horizon Labs to help fight the Sinister Six. While Slott wouldn’t reveal the details of the costume, we do get a glimpse of it in the preview art below. Similar to how Spider-Man created a suit to deal with Hydro-Man, Slott says that this costume is designed specifically for the members of the Secret Six. One of the issues of the arc has Slott super excited, as it’s an all villains issue, that centers on the Secret Six, depicting them in all their super villain glory.

With the 50th Anniversary coming up and issue #700 of Amazing Spider-Man, the timing seems primed for the upcoming movie release of The Amazing Spider-Man, set to come out in the summer of 2012.  When asked about any sort of tie ins, Slott revealed that there will be around the time of the movie release, there will be  ”an epic Spider-Man/Lizard battle” which should work nicely with the villain in the movie being the Lizard.  The upcoming Amazing Spider-Man Point One issue that Slott is co-writing with Christos Gage with art by Matthew Clark will feature a tease of this battle.

It’s clear that Slott is a writer made to write Amazing Spider-Man, as his excitement for the character is infectious. Ends of the Earth is an arc that he’s been laying the ground work for throughout his run, and as a reader of Amazing Spider-Man, I can’t wait to see it all unfold.

Ends of the Earth begins in Amazing Spider-Man #682, scheduled to come out in March of 2012.

Check out this preview of Stefano Caselli’s art from the first issue of the arc:

Kirby Estate files appeal in Marvel lawsuit

When I last heard about the ongoing Jack Kirby Estate vs. Disney/Marvel lawsuit, the company had won summary judgements against the estate and appeals were being planned. Today, the estate filed an official notice of appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal.

“We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and intend to appeal this matter to the Second Circuit,” the estate’s lawyer Marc Toberoff told The Hollywood Reporter. “Sometimes you have to lose in order to win.”

With the suit, the Kirby Estate is attempting to terminate early copyright grants of more than 45 characters including Captain America, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Avengers, Iron Man, Hulk, The Silver Surfer and Thor . According to THR, the estate sent notices to Marvel not just Marvel but its licensees Sony (Spider-Man), Fox (X-Men), Universal and others.

“Marvel then sued in New York federal court claiming Kirby’s creations were ‘works for hire’ and thus not subject to termination,” wrote THR. “The two sides filed summary judgment motions, and last month the circuit court sided with Marvel, ruling that Kirby created the characters as works for hire.”

Deadline added, “Normally these kinds of lawsuits are run of the mill for Hollywood. But not when they’re litigated by Toberoff, who is the bane of Big Media studios because he has a winning track record.” Needless to say, a win for the Kirby Estate here could potentially impact the Marvel brand irreparably.