You don't get it, son. This isn't a email service, it's a blog and we're the bloggers! We are the Caped Informers. Here to inform you on all current comic related news.
The biggest chain smoker in comics will not be allowed to smoke on his own show, so says pilot director Neil Marshall. When asked in a recent interview with Collider if John will smoke on the show Marshall responded "No we’re not. It’s the one thing, a compromise I guess. On network it’s the one thing you can’t smoke on network. That’s one of his character traits. We’re working around that. We’re trying to get aspects of it in there as much as possible. We’ll see." Network TV strikes again. John Constantine being forced to wear a nicotine patch is unconstitutional. But no need to fear, I have a solution. E-Cigs! LOOPHOLE! Problem solved. They are not real cigarettes and they are badass.The coolest people on Earth like Leo smoke them, so why can John have some vapor?. Need anymore convincing? Just watch the clip.
Source: Collider
Constantine will air on Fridays on NBC in the Fall.
World's Finest has obtained a copy of DC Animations' newest film Batman: Assault On Arkham. In the special features there is a look at their next animated project Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis. The recent Geoff Johns storyline was hinted at during the after credits scene for the mediocre Justice League: War, but never confirmed. Now we know for sure that Atlantis will face off with the Justice League.
Great to see Aquaman get some time to shine. He was robbed of his spot in Justice League: War and replaced with Shazam. Now it's time for Arthur to kick some Justice League ass.
Deadline is reporting that Scoot McNairy (Argo) has been cast in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice in a top secret role. Just like B V S screenwriter Chris Terrio, McNairy has strong ties to Batman actor Ben Affleck. The more Affleck approved people on this movie the better. Bringing in Terrio to rewrite David "Shithead" Goyer was huge win for this film. So put another check in the plus column because McNairy is a very good supporting actor and will be great in whatever screen time he is given.
So who is McNairy playing? Latino Review's El Mayimbe suspects Richard "Dick" Grayson/Nightwing, but I believe that is a stretch. Scoot is 36 years old and if Dick was to be in this film I would believe he would be played a guy in his 20's. A second insider opinion comes from The Wrap whose sources say McNairy will suit up as the Flash in the movie. I find this rumor much more likely. He has the body type and could handle himself in the role of Barry Allen. My own personal guess though would be that he is playing another villain alongside Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor. I have said from Day 1 that there is no way Lex Luthor is the only villain in this film. There has to be enough villain firepower in this movie for Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman to all fight alongside one another. So I think Scoot could be playing either Metallo or Brainiac to help add more fuel to Lex's villainous fire. Or maybe he is playing a villain with connections to Wonder Woman and that is why she is making her presence known. Whatever the case I believe McNairy will be a baddie in this flick. Who do you want Scoot to play? Sound off in the comments.
Elden Henson (Hunger Games: Mockingjay) will join Netflix's Daredevil as Matt Murdoch's right hand man Foggy Nelson. The Marvel Studios' produced show's cast with the addition of Henson now consists of Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rosario Dawson, and Henson. Daredevil will shoot this summer and will be available to stream sometime in 2015.
Super Smash Brothers
With the new Super Smash Brothers game coming out for both the 3DS and the WiiU in the up coming fall and winter respectively, I thought it was best to do a look back at our favorite games as kids. There's only a few games in this series, but it's a game that everyone loves and cares for and, of course, fights over with friends and family.
A quick synopsis of the series, these games take our favorite video game characters from all our favorite Nintendo games and pits them against each other in either a single player mode or with your friends in a co-op mode. Each character has attacks that are related to them from their other games, such as Pikachu's thunder bolt or Mario's fire ball. And for each game, there are secret characters in the game that can be unlocked meeting certain criteria. Each match is held in an area that matches one of the character's home turf and during these matches, items can fall from the sky that the players can use to aid them in their fight.
Super Smash Bros.
The first game in the series is the self titled Super Smash Bros. It was made for the N64 and was originally only going to be released in Japan. The first game of its type, it has ruined many friendships but it has become one of the best games to still play with friends even today. This game starts off if several characters that we all know from their own games, including Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Pikachu, and Fox as well as the four secret characters; Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, Luigi, and Ness.
In this game, only the main characters (the original eight) have stages that correspond with their games. There are a total of 9 stages, one of which is unlocked during game play. Each stage has different features on them to give the players more to think about when they are playing, but overall they are all around the same size in this game.
The single player in this game had the player fight through a set amount of matches against computer players throughout almost all of the stages. The player can pick from Very Easy to Very Hard difficulty and can pick from 1 to 5 lives. When the player beats all of the computer players, as well as the bonus stages, they go against the Master Hand. He is the final boss throughout the entire series and once the player beats him, they win the chance to unlock a character or the Mushroom Kingdom stage.
A few things that some people don't know about this game, there were a couple of intended characters for this game that didn't show up but showed up in the other games. These characters include Mewtwo, King DeDeDe, and Bowser, all big power house characters in the later games. It is believed that they weren't added into the game because the movement was harder to make for these characters and it would have taken a longer time to release, but the actual reason is unknown.
Super Smash Bros Melee
The second installment in the series is personally my favorite of all of the games, mainly because it included some of my favorite characters from my favorite series, Roy and Marth from the Fire Emblem series. This game includes all of the characters from the previous game and a few of the stages that can be unlocked during game play. This game was made for the GameCube and became one of the most popular games for this system, aka if you didn't have this game, you shouldn't have a GameCube. It added a lot more stages and characters and a bunch of new single player game play and other extra features.
The game starts with 14 playable characters, already almost double the entire cast of the previous game, and comes with a total of 25 playable characters. All of the characters from the old game are in this one, including a few stages as well. Newly added to this game are Bowser, Peach, Zelda/Sheik, Ice Climbers, Dr. Mario, Young Link, Ganondorf, Falco, Pichu, Mewtwo, Marth, Roy, and Mr. Game & Watch. Even some of the new characters come with their own stages when they are unlocked, such as Mr. Game and Watch and its Flat Zone. The new stages now vary in size and shape from the very large Hyrule Temple to the much smaller Yoshi's Island and come with a few added surprises.
This game includes the same single player mode as the previous game, called Classic Mode, but also includes an Adventure more and an All-Star mode as well. The Adventure Mode takes the player throughout a multitude of stages where the player either walks around to complete the stage, kind of like the original Super Mario Brothers games, or fights an enemy or two. Each stage compliments one of the starters for this game, going through 12 stages and a final boss of Giant Bowser. A bonus boss, unlocked if this mode is beaten under 18 minutes on Normal or harder without using a continue, is Giga Bowser. Giga Bowser is about 3 times harder to kill than Giant Bowser; trust me, I only played against him once but it was the hardest thing I have ever done. The other single player mode is All-Star Mode, This mode is unlocked once the player clears Classic Mode and Adventure Mode with all characters, including the secret characters. This is the hardest mode in the game, where the player goes against every character in the game, finishing off with a team of 25 Mr. Game and Watches, and the damage from each battle is carried over.
Some added features to this game are Trophies, Events, Home-run Contest, Multi-man Melee, and Target testing. Trophies are collectables in the game that are unlocked doing random events/matches. Events are set matches that have certain rules that the player must abide to pass and can lead to unlocking trophies, stages, or even characters. The rest are kind of self explanatory so if you don't understand them, oh well.
Super Smash Bros Brawl
This game was a highly anticipated game for the Wii, due to the success of the earlier games, but in my opinion, it is not as good as Super Smash Bros Melee. A good amount of characters got the cut from Melee, but they were quickly replaced with some new up-and-comers. The characters that got cut were Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, Pichu, Roy, and Young Link. The added characters include Pokemon Trainer (with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard), Diddy Kong, Ike, King Dedede, Lucario, Meta Knight, Olimar, Pit, R.O.B, Snake, Sonic, Toon Link, Wario, and Zero Suit Samus (like Sheik to Zelda, its a transforming character with Samus).
The Classic Mode and All-Star Mode are the same as before, but the Adventure mode was changed to the Subspace Emissary. This new mode has the chance of unlocking every character during one play through. It is a more expansive adventure mode with bosses every so often and the player goes through playing all of the characters. There are a lot more different stages in this game, some can be seen in the Subspace Emissary. These stages are more expansive and some can be systematically destroyed when playing them. The other mode in this game is the online play where the player can play against any other player online at the time through a WiFi connection, which is the first game of the series to be able to do so.
A new concept added in this game was called the 'Final Smash'. It is an item that can unlock a secret move that can instantly defeat an enemy. Each of these move are unique to each character with a few exceptions, like Link and Toon Link. This is one of the cooler features of the game that adds a whole new aspect to the fighting.
Super Smash Bros Wii U and 3DS
These upcoming titles are the games that are expected to bring Nintendo out of it's slump and perhaps save it from having another bad fiscal year. The game for each system is supposed to be exactly the same when it comes to players, but I believe that for online play, 3DS players can only play against other 3DS players and so on. The 3DS version of the game is also expected to be released much earlier than the WiiU version, with the 3DS version out by 10/3/2014 while the Wii U date is during the holidays of 2014.
There are also some exclusive stages for each system with only 3 stages that are found in both consoles. Each of the exclusive stages are mainly made after games found on those systems, such as for the 3DS, Arena Ferox found in Fire Emblem: Awakening and for the Wii U, Skyloft from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The main reason for the different stages for each system is due to the graphics of the consoles, with the Wii U being more advanced in the graphics department.
So far, the only confirmed returning characters are Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Link, Zelda, Sheik (confirmed being a separate character in this game), Toon Link, Samus, Zero Suit Samus (also confirmed separate), Kirby, King Dedede, Fox, Pikachu, Charizard (confirmed not a part of Pokemon trainer, as he wasn't confirmed), Lucario, Marth, Ike, Pit, Olimar, and Sonic. For newcomers, the following have been confirmed officially from the official site; Rosalina, Greninja, Palutena, Little Mac, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Megaman, you Mii, and Pac-Man.
From the looks of it, the game play on the 3DS does look like it will be a little bit harder, but overall these two games look like they will be the games to get this holiday season. From polygon features in the first game to 3D characters in the last, this game has certainly gone a long way. We can only hope that the financial issues with Nintendo don't hurt the company too much so we can continue to get this series in the future.
This week Blair and Tiffany talk with John Romita Jr. about his new Superman book and get to explore the new Batman Exhibit at the Warner Bros Tour in Burbank.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles doesn't have Jim Henson-made puppet suits, but it does have a rocket skateboard! Check out the latest fun trailer for the upcoming movie featuring the Heroes in the Half-Shell.
The most anticipated movie of 2016 may show it's first clip of footage at San Diego Comic Con '14 according to Latino Review's El Mayimbe. The insider tweeted "HOT #SDCC2014 RUMOR! The DC/Warners panel will show a hot clip from BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. FIND SPOT @ HALL H line NOW!" Hall H went crazy last year when Zack Snyder announced Batman would team up with Superman, but imagine the enormous reaction from the crowd if they saw a clip of the two heroes suited up next to one another. Or even better a quick fight scene? Odds would be against a fight clip appearing, but even if the clip is Superman waiting outside of a bathroom while Batman takes a shit, it's worth seeing. Clip from the reveal at San Diego '13.
Rian Johnson (Brick) will write/direct Star Wars: Episode VIII according to Deadline. That means JJ Abrams, who is currently directing Episode VII, will leave the franchise after finishing his installment. Johnson is best known for his 2012 sci-fi flick Looper and for directing episodes on AMC's Breaking Bad. His credits on BB include the episode "Fly" and the heartbreaking "Ozymandias".
I'm a huge fan of Johnson's work especially Brick. A hardcore sic-fi director who is just an awesome addition to carry the Star Wars legacy. I sense some Empire Strikes Back amazingness from this sequel.
Netflix's Daredevil announced today the addition of Rosario Dawson (Sin City: A Dame To Kill For) to it's cast. Dawson's role is currently unspecified, but according to Marvel's Head of Telvision Jeph Loeb (Smallville) “Her role in the series is absolutely critical to Matt Murdock’s journey to become the hero we know as Daredevil.” Dawson could be playing any number of characters. The most likely suspect in my opinion is Karen Page, Daredevil's longtime girlfriend who is later murdered by Bullseye. Hopefully if I'm right, Bullseye's casting will be right around the corner. Netflix's Daredevil will be available to stream in early 2015. Source: Marvel
Since Marvel Studios' Ant-Man nabbed Peyton Reed (The Break-Up) to direct, not much else in terms of news has come about the film. We still didn't know who the villain of the movie was. That was until yesterday when JoBlo.com reported that Paul Rudd's Scott Lang will most likely be battling villain Darren Cross. The Cross character in the comics has rare heart condition and is the owner of Cross Technological Enterprises, a competitor of Stark Industries and Oscorp in the Marvel Universe. Then today The Wrap's Jeff Sneider tweeted that actor Corey Stoll (House of Cards) will be playing the main baddie which will be Cross and Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) will play Cross's cousin William Cross aka Crossfire. Sneider also clarified that he does not know if Wilson's character will become Crossfire in this film or become him in future installments.
Glad to finally know what villain will be taking on Ant-Man. Let's hope Darren Cross can stack with other evil businessmen like Norman Osborn and Lex Luthor. The evil businessmen game is not for the for the faint of heart. Ant-Man is expected to start shooting soon and is to be in theaters July 2015.
Over in Doctor Strange's camp, Deadline reports that the production is bringing in Prometheus writer Jon Spaihts to rewrite the script. The original draft was penned by Thomas Dean Donnely and Joshua Oppenheimer. Scott Derrickson (Sinister) awaits the new script and will soon cast the role of the Sorcerer Supreme. Deadline then again reaffirmed that Marvel's shortlist for Strange is Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Tom Hardy (Warrior), and Jared Leto (American Psycho). Expect to hear casting soon.
Earlier this week Nikki Finke released a rumored list of future DC projects up until 2018, but surprisingly there was no standalone Batman film on the docket. Now Latino Review's El Mayimbe is reporting that Warner Bros is eyeing 2019 for Batfleck's first solo outing. The supposed movie's working title is The Batman. Mayimbe also states that Affleck may be the director of the film as well. Batman directing a Batman movie, is there anyone more qualified? Batman will next be seen in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice which will be in theaters May 6th 2016.
Starting off a new weekly event, I felt it was necessary to begin to look back on some older video games and to see how the titles have progressed throughout the years. Especially with the next gen consoles already out, we can get a good look at how far the video game industry has gone lately and make some predictions on how future games may look. There are some spoilers in this article, you have been warned.
The Batman Franchise
I figured to start things off, we will do a franchise we all know and love, the Batman games. This franchise goes all the way back to the 1980s where it was first seen on the 8-bit consoles such as the Amstrad CPC. From then, there have been over 30 games in which the Caped Crusader has starred in and even more where he has been featured in.
Since there is so many Batman games, I'm only going to cover the first Batman games of each of the video game console generations. These generations, for future reference, go from first gen to the eighth gen; which are the next gen consoles. To start off, first gen has systems that I feel no one has heard about like the Magnavox and Telstar, and go from the 1970s to the 1980s, followed by second gen (Atari 5200 and Intellivision), third gen (NES, Atari 7800, and Sega Mater System), fourth gen (Sega Genesis and SNES), fifth gen (Playstation, N64, and Sega Saturn), sixth gen (Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox), seventh gen (Xbox360, PS3, and Wii), and finally eighth gen (Xbox One, Wii U, and PS4).
Since the first couple of Batman games weren't on consoles, they were on computers, the franchise didn't start on the console until the Third Gen. I will still go over a few of the earlier games as well so we can get a good look at the evolution of this franchise.
Original Games
The first Batman game ever made was a self-titled game for the Amstrad CPC and other 8-bit consoles. In this game the objective was simple, rescue Robin by collecting the parts to Batman's Hovercraft.
As seen from the picture above, there wasn't much to go off of on the game, but it was rated one of the best games of its time in 1986. Video games have surely gone a long distance from these old games.
Third Generation
When entering the 1990s, the Batman games at this point weren't based off of any of the movies, they were just games developed so that the players can play as the Caped Crusader. The first Batman game that was officially based off of a movie was the self-titled Batman: The Video Game for the NES and Sega Genesis and changed a bit for the Gameboy. There were changes from the movie of course, but this five level game was the basis of all Batman games to follow. It featured some well known DC villains, such as The Joker and Deadshot, and had some unique weapons as projectiles; batarangs, a dirk, and a 'bat speargun'.
This game was also followed by a sequel a year later called Batman: The Return of Joker, which had the same game play as the previous game, it was just made more like the Megaman games at the time.
Fourth Generation
The first games on this generation were the reboot of the games in the previous generation made so that the players can continue playing their favorite Batman games at the time. The next original title for the fourth gen consoles was Batman Returns, made for the SNES, NES, and Sega Genesis. This was essentially a 'beat 'em up' game where the only objective was to keep on pummeling the enemy until the player reaches the boss. This game was let down due to its lack of originality, copying games styles from many other games like Final Fight and Double Dragon, but it gained huge praise for its graphics, sound, and controls. These praises were able to win this game the Best Licensed Game of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. Having personally played this game when I was younger, it was one of my favorite games for the SNES and, although I never got too far, I still had fun beating up all the different bad guys that they throw at you.
Fifth Generation
The beginning of this generation gave very little to the franchise. The first game for this generation was Batman Forever: The Arcade Game. Not a very popular game, this one was an arcade style game (go figure) and the player can pick either Batman or Robin and fight against Two-Face or the Riddler and their henchmen. Simple enough of a game, it wasn't all that popular at the time. The next game in this generation was also rated very bad; Batman and Robin, based off the same titled movie. Although this game in particular had a different style of game play; it was a moving around Gotham that included real time events, traffic, etc., it was voted very badly to coincide with the badly rated Batman and Robin movie. If this game wasn't based off of the movie, I feel that it would have done a lot better, those types of video games where the player gets to walk around and do missions are one of my favorite types.
Sixth Generation
This generation begins with one of the better Batman games of the franchise, Batman: Vengeance. This game was featured on all of the major consoles in the sixth gen and was one of the better games for that gen as well. Based off of The New Batman Adventures animated series, it takes place after The New Batman Adventures but before Batman joins The Justice League in the self-titled animated series. It contained the whole voicing cast of the series, including the great Kevin Conroy, as well as having a great story line taking out villains such as the Joker, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and many others. The main criticism for this game was its first person mode, which limited the abilities of the player and made it harder for them to control, but the cinematic parts and the voice acting saved this game from being bad.
This gen also includes many other great titles, such as Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, Batman Begins, and Batman: Dark Tomorrow. Seventh Generation
This generation is the gen we are most familiar with and has some of our favorite titles. The first game for this gen is one of mine and one of Christians favorites, Lego Batman. We are all familiar with the Lego series and all of their games, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. The game play is just like all the other Lego games in the series, where you can switch in between your favorite Lego characters, but also added a feature where you can play the story mode as the Villains. This is one of those games that you can grab a couple of buddies and just chill around and play a few games with.
Of course, this isn't everyones favorite game of this generation. The Batman: Arkham series started in this generation as well. These games added a whole new aspect to the Batman series, starting with Batman: Arkham Asylum. This game allows the player to sneak around Arkham Asylum as Batman like he would in the comics or in the movies and added more skill to the games. In these games, the player goes through Arkham and uses a plethora of gadgets to go around and stop the Joker from taking full control of Arkham. There are many different bosses in this game as well that the player has to beat before reaching the joker, such as Bane, Killer Croc, and many others. This game has the best game play and combat system of all of the Batman games to date and has won the Game of The Year by many different media outlets and has also won a Guinness World Record for Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever. One of the coolest parts of the game is the 'detective mode', shown in the picture below. This mode allows the player to see the enemy and track them or to stay hidden from them or to even fight them in the best combat system to date in the Batman franchise.
Eighth Generation
The only games listed for the majority of the eighth gen consoles are Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and of course the most anticipated game, Batman: Arkham Knight. I did go over the latest from E3 on Arkham Knight so I suggest checking that out for a more in depth look for the game, but it is to be set after Batman: Arkham City and contains a drivable Batmobile and much better combat and mobility systems.
For the 3rd Lego game in the series, this one has the main villain as Brainiac as he goes around the universe collecting planets and galaxies for his collection, sort of like the plot for Superman: Unbound, the animated movie with Superman stopping Brainiac from collecting the capitals of planets and then destroying those said planets.
As you can see, the Batman Franchise has grown a lot since the 1980s, as well as video gaming itself. It has been great to be able to play some of these great titles and we can only hope for the best in the future. Who knows, maybe someday when virtual reality becomes the main thing, we will be able to become the Caped Crusader ourselves and fight the infamous villains with our own hands. Tune in next week for the next installment of Throwback Thursdays, where I will go in depth in even more of our favorite video game franchises.
Hey guys! its Wednesday we all know what that means. Time to crush on some of the ladies in the super hero world.
Actress: Anna Paquin
This week for my crush, I decided to choose Anna Paquin. Paquin is best known for her role as Sookie on True Blood, but I chose her because of her Rogue in the X-Men franchise. Anna is a great actress and through out all the X-Men movies that she was in, I loved the way she portrayed Rogue. I was very pleased to see her return in Days of Future Past after the time line was reset. She has great looks, and is a fantastic actress, and hopefully we can see more of her in the upcoming X-Men Apocalypse reprising her mutant role.
"The first boy I ever kissed ended up in a coma for three weeks. I can still feel him inside my head. The same for you"
-Brady
Character Crush: Barbara Gordon (Batgirl or Oracle)
Barbara Gordon has had quite a journey over the years. She became a capable crime fighter alongside Batman. During that time engaged in an on-again off-again with Dick Grayson. Then the Joker paralyzed her in the famous storyline The Killing Joke. Most people would wallow in sorrow or give up on the vigilante lifestyle for good. Instead Barbara didn't give up. She used her computer skills to reinvent herself as a guide to the Bat-family known as Oracle. For years Oracle was an essential part of the Batman mythos until current continuity had Babs get her legs back and take back the mantle of Batgirl. No matter what future obstacles Barbara may face, she will always come out a greater hero.
Barbara's Batgirl first showed up in Batman: The Animated Series in the episode Shadow of the Bat Pt. 1+2. An amazing two parter with a great score. Give it a watch sometime.
Forget everything I just said! Well maybe not everything. Lex will still have blonde hair, but ComicBook.com is reporting a better description of Luthor's character from a supposed on-set source: "Our source also offered that they felt that Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice’s interpretation of Lex Luthor is much better than it might sound from initial descriptions, describing him as “a slimy businessman we can all despise.” Our source indicated, “You are going to hate this guy. You are going to root for him to be punched by Supes when he weasels his way out of legal trouble. He is cocky and confident because he is THAT good at what he does. He's a billionaire who knows he is more powerful than the Senator and Congressman visiting because he's a billionaire.” Now that is much more like Lex. He should be confident because of his genius intellect and infinite wealth. Fuck Hector Hammond, Lex Luthor is in the house! Stop screaming Hector, you big headed bitch!
In other Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice news, ComicBook.com is also claiming that Tao Okamoto (The Wolverine) will be playing Lex Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves. It was originally reported that Okamoto would be playing an "original" character for the film, but this contradictory report says otherwise. "Our source indicated that Japanese actress Tao Okamoto is playing Lex Luthor’s assistant, who is named “Mercy.” In the comic books and Superman animated series, Mercy Graves is Lex’s personal assistant and body guard, where she is portrayed as highly intelligent and experienced in hand-to-hand combat." I'm all in for Mercy Graves. I'm a big fan of the character that is why I speculated Emily Blunt (Looper) could be Mercy a few weeks back when she was supposedly up for a role in the movie. So even though it isn't Blunt, I would be incredibly pumped to see Tao by Lex's side. Source: ComicBook.com
I need this Harley vs. Mercy fight re-enacted in live action. Make it happen Zack!
Sounds like Jesse Eisenberg didn't take my advice. Batman-News is reporting that Eisenberg has been spotted on the Batman V Superman set sporting long wavy dirty blonde hair. Lex is apparently now a surfer bro. The site also claims "Eisenberg’s Luthor has spastic mannerisms, like a 20-something guy that pounds energy drinks all day." So the new Lex Luthor will be a blonde haired, energy drinking, Zuckerberg-like douche. Could be interesting take on Lex. Or he might end up being the worst villain in a DC movie since Green Lantern had Hector Hammond and a space shit monster (Parallax). I'm not sure which way to lean, but whatever the outcome of Jesse's Lex what has to happen is he needs to lose his hair. At least have Lex have some semblance of his comic counterpart. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is shooting now and will open in theaters May 2016.
Frank Grillo (Warrior) will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor revealed in a recent interview with ScreenCrush that his Crossbones could show up in any number of future Marvel projects. My best bet of course would be Grillo returning to further beat on Cap and Falcon in Captain America 3, but don't be surprised if Old Crossy was to show up in a cameo role or cut scene in Avengers: Age Of Ultron as well. Personally I really want Falcon vs. Crossbones round two. Those two have unfinished business. Both characters should be costumed up as well. Avengers: AOU is expected in 2015 while Captain America 3 will be released in 2016.
Sex Criminals makes it's triumphant return and Batman nears the end of his quest to retrieve Damian's body in this week's top comics. 1. Sex Criminals #6 (Image)
2. Original Sin #4 (Marvel)
3. Wonder Woman #32 (DC)
4. Daredevil #4 (Marvel)
5. Uncanny X-Men #22 (Marvel)
Christian's Extra Pick : Electra #3 (Marvel) Adam's Extra Pick: Batman and Ra's Al Ghul #32 (DC)
For all your comic updates follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers or follow me @cstrand73.
Henry Cavill is my man crush this week. With the DC movie lineup leaked earlier this weekend, it looks as though we will get to see much more of Henry in the coming years. The first time I saw him was in Immortals where he played a young Thesus who was destined save a kingdom from the evil of Mickey Rourke's face. His character called for him to look as if he was sculpted by the gods and he delivered, and when Man of Steel was released we saw he only got stronger and bigger. I enjoyed Henry's take on The Man of Tomorrow. The bad dialogue aside he played it well and with a new Oscar winning screenwriter I have high hopes for this upcoming picture. I think he played both sides of Superman very well between the farm boy from Kansas or the Red Blue Blur on the streets of Metropolis. I have high hopes for there rest of the DC cinematic Universe especially with Henry leading the pack.
"Krypton had it's chance"
-Adam
Character Crush: Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)
Everyone loves a bad boy. The first Green Goblin Norman Osborn takes the phrase "bad boy" to a whole new level. He is Spiderman's arch nemesis. Now I know some will argue Doc Ock is the greater villain because he was able to "kill" Spiderman, but I still feel Norman has done more damage to Peter's life than any other foe. Most famously being responsible for Gwen Stacy's death, Osborn took it a step further when Peter discovers years later that Normie banged and impregnated Gwen. She gave birth to Norman's twins shortly before her death. Cuckholding Spiderman and then killing his girlfriend is just absolutely vicious. Norman isn't taking Evil 101, he is teaching that shit. Peter Parker's life sucked enough before Norman started dressing for Halloween for 365 days a year, but now Norman does his best to make it suck that much more. Great villains like him are what make iconic heroes' stories like Spiderman so compelling.
For every life you save... there's a million new ways to die!
X-Men: Apocalypse will take place in 1983. Ten years after the events DOFP according to screenwriter Simon Kinberg.1983 is of course the year most remembered for McDonald's introducing the McNugget, but now the X-Men will have their chance leave their mark on that eventful year in US history.
CBM and Tv Line are reposting that the people from Arrow have released four new character descriptions for original characters planning to show up at some point during season 3. Here is the descriptions they have provided with us with.
"The first character they have information on is a man in his 20s, apparently named Daniel however the site believes it may be a throwaway name to prevent spoilers. He is handsome, enigmatic and a highly intelligent enterpreneur who is working on "groundbreaking technology". He will be a major recurring character and a possible love interest for Felicity Smoak. He will be a rival of Oliver both personally and professionally. Dick Grayson anyone? The second character is a well educated criminal named Seth, good with chemicals and has grand ambitions. He is potentially recurring and gains control over enemies by druging them and draining their willpower. He is a physical match for Oliver. An alternate Scarecrow? The site also got their hands on some information about characters in the upcoming Hong Kong flashbacks. The two characters they learned about are Toshi and Akiko, a husband and wife duo. Toshi is Oliver's teacher/handler and will become a friend. He is skilled in weaponary, combat and intelligence gathering. Akiko is his wife who will also serve as a caretaker. She is highly skilled in martial arts." So those are the descriptions. Any ideas of who these characters could be. My thoughts are as follows. The first one could easily be Dick Grayson aka Nightwing or Ted Kord. Now we have been hearing rumors for months now that Nightwing will be appearing on Arrow. Does this add more to these rumors? The next description describes a villain who uses chemicals as his weapon. Could this be an alternate Scarecrow? Seems like a long shot, but considering I am a huge Scarecrow fan, I would not be opposed to seeing him, but again thats a long shot. The last two really got me thinking so I had to think outside the box for these two but I came to this speculation. This could easily be the descriptions of Komodo and Katanna. Komodo would be amazing to see on this show along with Katanna. They are both amazing characters and are incredibly skilled fighters. Just speculations but let us know what you guys think! Stay tuned for more Arrow season 3 news! Source: CBM TV Line
After months of speculation and on the heels of Ryan's fan cast of Black Manta, Hitflix claims that Jason Momoa will indeed play Arthur Curry in the upcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Momoa has denied any involvement in the past, but Hitflix guarantees that are not crying wolf this time. To directly quote the article: HitFix can confirm that he will be playing the part, and that Zack Snyder has already finalized his designs for the character so shooting can take place soon. Khal Drogo as Aquaman. Fucking awesome news. Momoa will not have a major role in the film, but his part will set him up for 2017's Justice League.
With all this talk of a Jason Momoa Aquaman, it is high time we started talking about the potential for Aquaman villains. Admittedly, with no Aquaman-centric film on the horizon, the potential for this is relatively low, but one can dream of a world where the King of Atlantis and Black Manta duke it out on the silver screen.
Enter Djimon Hounsou. He is an incredibly talented actor who is known for his strong supporting characters in movies like Blood Diamond and In America. His ability to portray complicated characters makes him a perfect candidate for Aquaman's arch-nemesis, who usually comes with a tragic childhood backstory. Whether we are talking about the tragic autism origin story, or the incredibly dark sexual abuse origin story, I fully trust that Hounsou would be able to convey the inner turmoil and emotions that make Black Manta the great villain that he is.
Hounsou isn't a stranger to the superhero community either. He will be playing Korath the Pursuer in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie and he has personally expressed interest in portraying Black Panther. I say DC scoops him up quick before Marvel fully capitalizes on this man's talent. Plus, if we get a Black Manta, maybe we can get a certain child of Black Manta? It is all very exciting to think about. Now get pumped about this improbable outcome with some classic Black Manta moments.
Nikki Finke has sources that claim to know Warner's Bro slate of future DC films. The list goes as follows: May 2016 – Batman v Superman July 2016 – Shazam Christmas 2016 – Sandman May 2017 – Justice League July 2017 – Wonder Woman Christmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2 Source: Nikki Finke Wow what list, huh? A Wonder Woman movie and a Green Lantern/Flash Team up are incredible news. So let's hope these movies hold true and are announced at San Diego in July. Until then let's celebrate!!!!!
ComicBookMovie has released a picture of the new Lexcorp facility from the set of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. It's got a real Silicon Valley type feel to it.
So there is Lex Luthor's stopping grounds. I really am liking the new logo. Jesse Eisenberg (Rio) is expected on the set later this week. Cut the curls Jesse and wear a suit. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will be shooting for the entire summer and is expected in theaters in 2016.
Arkham Knight E3 Overview
Before I start getting into the coverage from the E3 gameplay trailer, I would like to start off with a little background information about the series and the game for the people that don't know too much of this game series. Arkham Knight is the fourth installment of the latest batman franchise, which also includes Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Origins. These types of games have a sort of Assassin's Creed like game play and combat system going over a wide, explorable map that is riddled with enemies and secrets. The newest installment, Arkham Knight, is the sequel to the Arkham City game and takes place in Gotham City and is voiced by the almighty Kevin Conroy. The original trailer for this game was released in early March and since then, there have been many speculations on the gameplay and the landscape. The best part from that original trailer was the Batmobile and the fact that the player can now officially drive it around Gotham City. Although the game has been pushed back to 2015, it is still one of the most highly anticipated games for the next gen consoles and with the game play footage being released at E3 this year, everyone can now see it in its glory.
With the game play trailer above, lets begin to pick it apart and see what makes this game one of the best games to come out for the next gen consoles.
The Overview
This game takes place one year after the Arkham City game in the City of Gotham. He is helped by James and his daughter Barbara Gordon, as the Oracle, to help rid the city of the criminals that escaped from Arkham Asylum. The main villain, introduced briefly in the first trailer but more so in this one, Scarecrow, enlists the help of many other super-villains to help take out the Batman once and for all. This game also introduces a new villain to the playing field, The Arkham Knight. This villain is like a militarized version of the Batman that wears a coveted 'A' on his chest to symbolize Arkham. The player will have to take down all the super-villains in Gotham to save its citizens and himself from the Scarecrow.
The Suit
One of the first things that is seen in this trailer is Bruce putting on the bat suit. The detail the game designers went into the suit alone makes this game worth while. It's more robotic than the normal cape and cowl, but it makes it more realistic as an armor to protect his body during fights. And the fact that you can see the suit fitting perfectly to his body adds to the game experience to the new and the old fans. If they can get this type of suit into any of the upcoming Batman movies, I think we would all be very happy.
The Landscape
Starting with the Wayne Tower, you can see the amount of details put into the surrounding area. In a small area like the starting place, seeing that much detail can only speculate what Gotham City is going to look like. At first, I thought that if they put that much detail in a small area, the overall map may not be as well done and thank God (or whatever religious deity you thank, if any) I was wrong. The map of Gotham City spans over 5 times the area of Arkham City and every area has so much detail put into it, it probably wouldn't be physically possible for it to work for the previous console systems, such as the 360 and PS3. When Batman first steps out onto the ledge at 0:42, you can see what I mean by a huge landscape. From what is know, everything that is seen from the view is traversable, giving Arkham Knight one of the biggest maps in video game history.
Not to mention how far he drops as well. The closer he gets to the bottom, the more the map expands and you can see the detail put into every little window and door and light etc. Although I still want to keep my old 360, I am glad that this game is a next gen exclusive, just because of the sheer detail put into the design of the game.
The Batmobile
The most anticipated part of this new game, the fully rideable Batmobile. For it being one of the coolest features in the new game, it comes at a cost. The amount of work and detail put into the batmobile made it use up so much data that it would take up an entire 360. How it looks however, it makes a lot of sense in its memory usage. From shown on the game play trailer, the player can summon the batmobile when Batman is nearing the ground and the fabled batmobile appears. The actual driving of the batmobile looks like any other game with cars in it and looks pretty unwieldy. But unlike other games, the batmobile doesn't crash when it hits a lamp post or a blockade, it completely decimates them, not even slowing down. Now the best part of the batmobile starts at 1:52 of the game play trailer; when it gets ready for combat. My jaw hit the floor when I saw the batmobile getting combat ready and I have to say, it is probably the best feature of this game by far. The wheels widening and being put on a pivot point instead of the axle makes the batmobile more mobile and agile, being able to move side-to-side, diagonally, and front-to-back as easy as it is to drive normally. And when the turrets came out of the top, I was ecstatic. The detail put into these guns are just astounding. From the fighting in the batmobile, it looks like you have a rocket, a lock-on missile, and a gatling gun, which I feel is just enough to have, you definitely don't want to go overboard with the amount of weapons, then it would make the game too easy. The last feature that is shown of the batmobile is the ability to rocket yourself out of the batmobile and be able to glide away easily. This, I feel, will be one of the more useful tricks the batmobile can pull off. It makes it easier to dodge enemies while in the batmobile and it makes it so the player can easily start exploring the skies again.
The Combat and Stealth
The combat in this game is just like the other games in the series, where you can gang up on multiple enemies and start combo-ing the crap out of them. One of the newest features added to the combat is called the "Fear Takedown", which is shown at around 2:55 where in the top left corner of the screen, you can see a "Fear Takedown Meter". From what I can understand, the diamonds underneath the Fear Takedown label are the amount of targets acquired. This move can select up to three targets when undetected and slows down the time to be able to take the enemies out quickly and quietly, and all it takes is to look at the target and press one button, easy enough right? This makes the stealth game and combat game a whole lot easier for the player while still making the combat interesting. Like in all the other games, the stealth makes the player essentially invisible to the enemies in the area. We get a good look at the stealth towards the end at around 3:36. I think its cool having the player be able to traverse underneath the enemy in the vent system and then pop out when close enough to the enemy.
The Ending
When I saw the first game play trailer while watching E3, I thought to myself, 'why would they bring in a broken trailer, I feel like they should have checked it out before launching it'. But when Scarecrow was revealed, it took away my sense of shame for the broken trailer and turned it into acting like a giddy little school girl. His reveal as the main enemy for batman, though known from the first trailer, adds a whole new set of questions, like how will his poison be used? or how will he use the Arkham Knight to beat the Batman? All we know for sure is that Scarecrow is enlisting the help of the Penguin, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, and the Riddler to take down the Batman. All in all, I can see this game being one of the best games for the next gen consoles and has a good chance of being "Game of the Year" with all of these added features and superb graphics and game play. All I can say is, I can't wait for this game to come out and be able to see its glory in person.
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