The Adventures of Captain Otter

Why is there so much news about Thor?  All the stuff about his new movie, and now his comic book.  Well, at least hes getting attention.  Recently, JMS announced he would be taking a step down from writing Thor.  This isn’t a small change.  JMS has been instrumental in bringing Thor back into the spotlight after his brief hiatus.  Thor hasn’t been this good since…. ever.  Giving the God of the Thunder a striking new look and throwing Asgard into Oklahoma, JMS changed around Thor’s life while mainting the roots of the character.  If you’ve the series, you’ll see why its the best Marvel has to offer.

 But why did JMS leave Thor in the first place?  Marvel has big plans for Thor and Asgard, with something called the Siege of Asgard in the works.  JMS felt he simply couldn’t handle a big event so is handing off the series.  Well, I’ve got to respect him for that.  I would have liked him to make some kind of big event himself, but if he feels like he can’t do it, then good for him for reconizing it.  But the Siege of Asgard just sounds like an amazing concept.  What could possibly stand up to the power of Asgard?  Who has the guts to lay siege to a city filled with gods?  And not just any gods, but Norse gods.  These guys live for fighting and killing things.  Someone would have to be pretty crazy to stand up to them.

Of course, what kind of blog would this be if it didn’t give a list of beings crazy/powerful enough to try?  We start our list off with Dr. Doom.  Doom already has a role in Thor’s series, so there is a potential mash up there.  Can’t think of a motive for it, but then again I don’t know how Asgard is going to be filled up again anyway.  We also have Norman Osborn.  If hes still in power at this point, then I’m sure hell have some question about the huge Asgardian fortress stuck in the midwest.  If Loki has started to mess with the Cabal, this could be his retaliation for her betrayal.  This is probably the most plausible fight.  Other powerhouses like Magneto, Namor, or other divine pantheons could be candidates, but I can’t think of reasons for Marvel to bring them in.  Marvel wants this event to happen, so its going to deal with current big players.  Osborn is the most likely considering his current position.  Then again, we have no idea if the Siege of Asgard is happening, or if JMS is talking about something else.  This is just the event name that I’ve heard thrown around recently.

No matter whats going on with the events, Thor needs a writer.  Who could possibly keep this momentum going?  The first name that pops up is Matt Fraction.  He wrote a series of Thor one shots, and certainly has a grasp for the chacters, especially the supporting cast.  I’m not his biggest fan, but I think his skill does lie with more decompressed titles.  I’d like to see what he could do, and wouldn’t be dissappointed with him on the team.  If he continues the plotlines established, I think he could make it work.  And since Fraction is writing Iron Man right now, we could see some well done crossovers and have the two characters start to develop a fuller relationship once more.  Other than that, I’m not well versed enough in specific writers to give a full list.  But hey, I’m on the way.

Stan Lee might just be the coolest man ever.  Not only did he bring us heroes like Spiderman, Iron Man, and the Hulk, but he might just be the most eccentric person alive.  Its kind of hard not to love Stan Lee.  So when news comes of his latest cameo, you take notice.

Stan Lee’s cameo in Iron Man 2 looks like a big one.  He’ll be playing Larry King, who is interviewing Tony Stark over the development of his new black armor.  First of all, its kind of funny that they didn’t just get Larry King himself.  I think he would have been willing to do.  He played himself in Ghostbusters after all.  Then again, they have Stan the Man doing a full blown interview, so Im not complaining.  That scene is going to rock.  Also, black armor?  We knew War Machine was coming in, so this just helps confirm that.  This also hints that Tony will be wearing the War Machine armor before Rhodey does. 

Speaking of machines, Revenge of the Fallen did some serious work at the box office.  Over five days, it made over 200 million dollars.  Its the second movie to do this, with the first being The Dark Knight.  Wow.  You can say what you want about the movie or Micheal Bay, but the man does bring in the money.  After a weekend like this, I can’t imagine the studio not green lighting Transformers 3 as fast as humanly possible.  The movie hadn’t been well recieved by critics, getting a mere 22% on rotten tomatoes.  I guess people didn’t listen to the reviews and were just too enthralled with the idea of seeing more Optimus Prime.  Now the question is wheter or not the movie will keep on making money.  Some movies get poor word of mouth, and attendance dropped quickly.  That, or everyone who wanted to see the movie went already.  Both are possible options, and if people start talking about the movie it could deter potential viewers.  Transformers 2 is already success, but just how big a success it will be is up for debate.

Right now, the Oscars have a reputation of giving awards to intellectual movies that people don’t go see.  This isn’t always true though.  Recent winners like the Departed and Return of the King are great movies that people love.  Too bad comic book movies havn’t gotten enough respect.  At first, I didn’t blame them.  Movies like Xmen 2 or Spiderman are amazing, but I understand why they didn’t get awards.  The oscars .  Great, I understand that.  Then came The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight was something else.  No wonder it made more than a billion dollars.  Its not only the most successful comic book movies, its one of the most successful movies of all time.  But it was also a smart movie, much more than just action.  It was the first movie with a real chance at the Academy Awards, so when it got shot down fans were furious.  I was one of them.  I admit to being extremely biased, being a huge Batman fan, but when most people saw that this was a huge act of disrespect.  When they even make fun of the Academy dissing TDK in the opening ceremony, you know that someone messed up. 

 I bring all this up because the Academy recently announced that they would up the number of nomination for Best Picture.  Before there were 5, now there are 10.  From a competitive point of view, this doesn’t matter.  They have to pick one winner anyway, and this is just a way to give more praise to more movies.  The only purpose it serves is to make more movies look good, since more movies will get nomination.  It also makes the very act of getting nominated seem less special.  Being in the top 5 is a big deal, but a top 10 is a big list.  So I think it cheapens the award and nomination process.

 Then again, it gives comic book movies a better chance at getting respect.  If there were 10 nominations, I’m confident that TDK would have gotten one of them.  It might be a year too late for the caped crusader, but guys like Green Lantern, Thor, and Iron Man have shots to get nominations down the road.  But if the Academy doesn’t get their act together by the time Batman 3 comes out, then I’m personally going to be leading riots.

Last night I went to see Transformers.  Sure, I did tell you guys I was going to see it earlier, but better late than never.  The movie was more than 2 hours long and boasted some of the best special effects I’ve ever seen.  Sadly, the movie’s plot and treatment of its characters was glaring flaw that made me myself in the head more than once.

 So what worked?  I can’t emphasize enough just how well done the voice acting was.  Peter Cullen was brilliant as ever while voicing Optimus, and never fails to dissappoint.  He delivers even some of the blandest lines with enough authority to make them work.  I was also happy with how they changed Megatron’s voice.  In the first movie, you couldn’t recognize Hugo Weaving’s voice after all the alterations.  Megatron’s voice was a bit clearer this time, and he got a more consistent role in the movie rather than last minutes baddy.  Other highlights include fantastic work for Starscream, Jetfire, and Soundwave.  The Starscream we all love actually talked this time, and Jetfire might be one of my new favorite robots.  A geriatric robot with a British accent and cane?  Yes, he is awesome as he sounds.  Soundwave only had a few lines, but I loved the interpretation of him as a satellite.  Making him a casset player was a bit implausible, but as some kind of evil sattelite was pretty nifty.  Too bad we never saw him transform out of it.  He was also voiced by Frank Welker, who’s probably done more voice acting than any other man alive.  He did the original voice of Soundwave (as well as Megatron and slew of other Decepticons) and was able to reprise his role from the series.  The portrayal of all these characters in terms of design was solid, with the possible exception of Devastator.  The idea of Devastator as a huge monster is cool, but I’m still used to the old cartoon version.  I guess thats just a personal thing.

As for the acting, I have mixed feelings.  I still can’t tell you if Megan Fox is a decent actress, since I’m unable to pay attention to what she says.  Shia Lebouf is alright, though he never makes me care about the character.  Strangely enough, the supporting cast was the most entertaining.  John Turturro makes a return, and his character is much less awkward.  I hated him in the first movie, but he serves as a great comic relief in the sequel.  Sam’s roommate also made me laugh, which was a pleasant surprise.  When the character was introduced, I was expecting him to annoy me and take precious screen time away from Optimus.  He turned out to be a great addition to the cast.  Sam’s parents made another apperance, and are good for a few laughs.  The military personel return from the last movie, but don’t do much besides fight and move the plot.  And I can’t believe they used the line “bring the rain” again.  I literally slapped myself when it happened.

As for the action, Bay proves he’s the master at colossal special effects.  There is one scene where Optimus takes on three Decepticons at once.  This was undeniably the best scene in the movie, filled with brutal, hard hitting robot smashing.  Too bad I can’t say the same for the climax of the movie.  When Optimus actually confronts the Fallen in the final fight, it lasts maybe 1 minute.  He tears him apart and makes it look easy.  Even though there was alot of great moments and fights, as a whole there was too much going on in some fights.  Everything became muddled and was just a big mash up.  This also sums up the plot.  The first movie wasn’t known for its flawless plot, but it had a cohesive story with a clear purpose.  Revenge of the Fallen just had so many different things happening it felt like there wans’t a plot at all.  This problem was compounded with the poor use of characters.  The main guys, like Shia Lebouf and Optimus, did get a good amount of screen time.  The villains also got a fair amount of development and were handled appropriately.  It was the secondary characters that were handled poorly.  Ironhide, Ratchet, and Arcee had maybe 6 lines collectively.  Ironhide and Ratchet are two great characters that were replaced by two goofy twin autobots.  Im not one to say this, but those twins were kind of offensive.  The teeth, the big ears, the illiteracy.  They were funny, but I understand why people are upset.  As for the marines from the last movie, they  could have been removed and it wouldn’t have made a difference.  They were there, but didnt serve a purpose.  They needed to be given more substantial roles or taken out altogether.

The movie was also hurt by a number of strange inconsistencies.  For instance, in the first movie, Megatron was incredibly powerful.  He was stronger than Optimus, and physically much bigger.  In the sequel, Optimus is noticeably stronger than his nemesis.  The movie was filled with moments that were just “off”.  I don’t want to spoil anything, but there were alot of moments that just didnt work.

So overall, the movie was enjoyable.  I think the movie could have been alot better if they made the plot simpler, rather than have it jump from one issue to the next.  The Decepticon invasion actually felt suspensful, but was almost immediately forgotten.  They should have dropped the twins and given Ratchet and Ironhide much bigger roles.  If you want to see a fun movie that with some big fight scenes and that might make you laugh, give it a shot.  If you think the poor plot is going to bug you throughout the movie, then stay away.  If you’ve seen Transformers 2, check out X-ray Vision for his thoughts on a possible third installment.

This is the match up you’ve been waiting for.  We’ve seen the Hulk take on the entire Marvel U, but hes never fought a foe quite like Optimus Prime.  In honor of the Transformers sequel, Ive decided to pit these two titans against each other. 

The Hulk is a mean, green, smashing machine.  You all know the back story, and you know that when he comes, you run away.  Hes taken on more then his fair share of robots, and usually with the same result: scrap heaps.  We’re not going to power him up to World Breaker-levels, as this is just unfair.  We’re going to be using standard Hulk strength, so something like what we saw in the Incredible Hulk movie.  Not unstoppable, but still the Hulk.

While the Hulk is a rampaging beast at best, Optimus is the epitome of cool.  An experienced leader, Optimus has fought with his autobots through hell and back.  Even without his army of unstoppable robots, Optimus is force to reckoned with. But Optimus has died once before at the hands of his nemesis, Megatron.  Sure, this is partially the fault of one of his own men, but Megatron knows how to exploit a situation like no other.  Im willing to bet the Hulk has probably died at some point, but never on the big screen.

 So who wins the face off?  Id imagine this is how it goes down.  Both contestants are ready to tangle, since its unfair to have Optimus try to reason this out first.  As the Hulk charges in, Optimus whips out his blaster and starts pounding the Hulk from afar.  The first couple of shots look like they do some damage, but the rest just get the Hulk angrier.  The Hulk finally close the distant, and lunges at Optimus.  The two collide.  The fist fight begins.  After a few punches, the two wrestle each other the ground in a battle of strenght.  As the fight intensifies, the Hulk starts cutting loose and begins to crush Optimus before lifting him above his head, and hurling him over the nearest mountain.  The Hulk screams victoriously, and preceeds to do whatever it is Hulk likes doing after a hard fought win.

 This a quick, speedy version of how I think the fight will go down.  I admit I might be a bit biased, but I love both characters and tried to reason it out.  Agree?  Disagree?  Let me hear your guys thoughts on the matter.  Optimus may be down, but hes never out.  Im sure hell be ready for round two in a moments notice.

Alot of my comics fall within two categories.  I have the standard super hero stuff like Iron Man, Spidey, or Thor.  And I have the cosmic super hero stuff like Green Lantern, Nova, or Guardians.  Everything I read can be put into one of those two categories.  This might be one of the reasons I like Secret Warriors so much; it feels like nothing else I’m reading.

For all you SHIELD fans, this is the book you were waiting for.  Sadly enough, SHIELD itself is gone, but theres still plenty of Nick Fury.  Damn, every time I say that name it just sounds more awesome.  If I were an 80’s action hero, my character would have some variation of that name.  After years of service, Nick is reduced to playing babysitter for a bunch of teenage punks.  Some of them have potential, but I havn’t seen enough of them to get attached.  They were pushed aside momentarily in favor on the Howling Commandos, which is probably a smart move in the long run if they are going to be major players.  But in the short run, I would favor some more attention to the kids.  Whats he up against?  HYDRA is back in full throttle, and for the first time in years they actually look like a force to be feared. Issue 2 introduced one of the best cadre of villains Ive seen in a while.  I want to see some good old fashioned Fury vs. Strucker showdowns, and I have a feeling were going to see plenty of them.

What really puts this book over the top is its sense of style.  Its trying to go for a sense of realism with an undeniable comic book twist.  Let me explain.  Many of the characters like Nick, the Howling Commandoes PMC,  and Hammer are made up of ordinary guys.  They fight battles with guns, helicopters and cunning.  Its been mostly recon missions and surprise attacks so far.  We also see characters get beat up pretty bad.  One member of the team has already lost an arm to some kind of insane dark samurai.  That sentence actually sums up the series right now.  We have a sense of realism, but some elements are pretty far out, like ressurecting a dark swordsman named Gorgon.  It actually reminds me alot of Metal Gear Solid 4, which is due in no small part to the current setting in Africa, espionage, PMCs, and guys who like to bring swords to gun fights.

Nick Fury is building up an army.  Hes been outwitted once before, and now has a grudge against just about everyone.  The series isn’t perfect, and has its flaws.  Individual issues can be a bit slow, and the size of the cast is almost too big for its own good at this point.  I’ve also have yet to hear how HYDRA managed to infiltrate SHIELD so deeply in the first place.  In the long run, I see this being one of Marvel’s best titles.  At the very least, check the book out for distinctive art style and Dum Dum Dugan blowing stuff up. 

With all this excitement over Transformers, its easy to forget about the Avengers movie way down the road in 2012.  For most people that is.  Trust me, I havn’t forgotten and more interesting news was released today.  Zak Penn, the writer, had some fascinating news.  He said, quite simply, that the movie could suck.

At first, this could be seen as depressing news.  The very notion that the holy grail of comic book moives could be anything less than mind blowing is unnerving.  Then again, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this news.  Robert Downey Jr. had previosly stated that if they don’t do this movie perfectly, it just wont work.  And to be honest, I believe every word that comes out of that man’s mouth.  This sentiment is actually completely justified.  Think about it.  Most comic book movies deal with one main character, and arn’t always successful.  Now we have a movie with 4+ main characters and some kind of hugely ambitious way of saving the world.  We havnt seen anything quite like it yet.  Penn did mention that at the very least, the movie is in the right hands.  Fox (who made the Fantastic Four and Xmen movies) was not a fan of interconnecting their movies.  This was justified with those two franchises, since they might not have fit together so well.  Marvel’s policy of interconnecting as much material as possible is going to be key in setting up the Avengers movie.  I hope we see more of this in Iron Man 2 and Thor, with some possible allusions to the future Avengers project in Captain America.  If we see Tony Stark and Thor meet each other in Thor’s movie, and possibly have the Hulk get some references, we won’t have this big awkward scene at the begininng of the Avengers where everyone gets to know each other.  The more the Avengers is set up in earlier movies, the better it will be.

The first thing that needs to be done is to keep the cast small.  Ive seen fan made wish lists for Avengers teams that include the Vision, Scarlett Witch, Antman, the Wasp and Hawkeye in addition to the other guys.  Doing this will get things way out of hand.  Keep the main Avengers maybe, and at most 1 or 2 others.  Have other members like Hank Pym as supporting characters, but keep the story limited to the big 4 who have gotten or will be getting movies.  Actually, the movie should focus more on Captain America than anyone else.  Hes going to be team leader, and hes the one who has found himself in a new decade.  Anyway, Penn’s statement isn’t anything to panic about and isn’t anything huge.  I would have liked to see a bit more confidence, but at least he’s getting work done on it.

Tomorrow the new transformers movie comes out.  At first glance, this movie looks like it has everything.  Megan Fox, Optimus Prime, robot wars, Starscream, evil revenge plots, Devastator, Megan Fox.  How can you mess that up?  At the very least, this movie will be a commercial success and have a huge opening weekend.  Im expecting at least 100 mill, but considering its opening “weekend” is 5 days long that doesnt count in my book.   

Still, the reviews have been mixed so far.  The movie is something like 2 and half hours long, and its alot of the same thing.  For a more mature critic, I can see this being a problem.  But considering Im still a little kid at heart, I can’t see myself getting tired of giant robots beating each other to bits.  I don’t want to go in jaded by reviews, and havnt read into any of them.  Then again, I was never dying to see this movie like I am Iron Man 2 or Batman 3.  Im not seeing the midnight showing, even though this is mainly due to my friends not being able to make it.  The first one was really good, it was missing something.  The autobots didn’t show up until pretty late, and the plot didnt drag me in.  Im not a big Shia Lebouf fan either.  Optimus is what brings me into see the movie, but Shia keeps me from rushing into seeing it.  For the most part, its the main actor that brings me in to see a movie.  I loved Iron Man because Robert Downey Jr is the man, and I enjoyed Star Trek because the main cast was just so likeable.  This isnt the case with the lead role in Transformers.  So as much as I love the Autobots, I just dont care about Shia.  But I hear they are supposed to get much more screen time, so that sounds great.

The other thing Im uneasy about is Micheal Bay.  I have mixed feelings about this guy.  He reminds me about a bit of a 5 year old.  The man can imagine these amazingly epic concepts and bring them to life, but the the dialogue and plot structure can feel weak by comparison.  But I am still going to go with the “sequel rule” as the basis for my expectations.  This basically says the sequel to a franchise is almost always better than the first.  Spiderman 2, X2, the Dark knight.  All better than the first.  I can’t think of a recent franchise sequel that was outshined by its predecessor, with the possible exception of Hellboy 2.  It certainly applies to comic book movies, but will Transformers 2 fit this trend?  Will the Fallen get his revenge?  Will the autobots triumph?  Will Megan Fox continue her reign as the hotest creature in the galaxy?  I can’t answer any of the earlier questions, but I can provide evidence of the last one.

Ive said again and again how much I love Bucky as Captain America.  So with all this news of Steve Rogers coming back, Im worried that he might get brushed to the side or put in a role that doesnt suit him.  When I heard of a new Nomad ongoing, I was terrified.  I hate all this alternate universe Captain America stuff, even more than I hate normal alternate universes.  Nomad just never worked for me.  Look at the hair!  No man can pull that hair off.  So when I hear of a Nomad ongoing series, I was worried that Bucky might take up the mantle.

 This would be traumatizing for me.  A character I love taking on the role of a character I despise?  Say it aint so Marvel!  At least stick evil 50s Cap in the role.  It fits him, as his America is gone.  Well, Marvel went with none of the above and stuck Rikki Barnes as Nomad.  This is great for me.  I dont care what happens to this girl and have zero attachment to her.  So I might check the series out when the time comes, but at least I know Bucky still has a chance of being Cap.

 So what can we expect from this series?  Rikki doesnt have any big attachments to the mainstream marvel U that im aware of, and right now she just wants to meet up with Cap.  My only guess is that shell have a role in Reborn, but whos going to let this girl go out on her own as a hero?  Would Bucky let her just start shooting?  I think any adult would try to offer guidance or at least have her as a sidekick so she wont get herself killed.  As of right now, Im not anxious to see where this is going or how it plays out.  I thought Marvel had gave up on all that Heroes Reborn and Onslaught stuff, but I think we have endure a bit more of it.  Stay strong true believers.

Happy Father’s Day everyone.  What better way to celebrate such a joyous day than to recognize the best dads in comics?  These are the guys who are there for their kids and are known to beat down the occassional supervillain.

The first dad we recognize is Uncle Ben.  Of course, he isn’t actually a father.  The uncle part is a dead giveaway.  But he essentially raised Peter Parker, so he .  Even though he’s never had a steady appearence in comics, his legacy makes him one of the most well known characters in comics.  He gave Peter his moral compass, with the famous line of “with great power comes great responsibility”.  Without Uncle Ben, Peter would just be some guy mooching off his powers.  Instead, hes one of the world’s greatest heroes.  Even in his death, Uncle Ben steered his son in the right direction.

We also have to recognize that Odin is a pretty good dad.  Odin used to be ruler of Asgard until he met his end fighting off the fire demon Surtur.  This alone earns him some respect.  The guy certainly knows how to go out in style.  Sure, hes not perfect, but hes there for his son and his people.  Odin also suscribes to a certain kind of “tough love”.  When Thor was being an arrogant brat, Odin then took it upon himself to lay down the law and teach the boy a lesson.  If it wern’t for Odin, we wouldn’t have the heroic and noble Thor we have today.  Thats good parenting.  But please, please do not try this specific kind of parenting in the real world.  I just cant imagine a 12 year old kid being thrilled with banishment…. 

 The last dad worth mentioning is Ares, the God of War.  Like in Greek methology, Ares likes kiling things.  He also has a son, Alexander.  In the 2006 miniseries, we saw Ares living a pretty peaceful life with his son.  Even with a big war between the Gods, Ares couldnt care less.  But when his son is taken away to get him into the fight, only to be stolen again by the evil god Mikaboshi, Ares finds that enough is enough.  He then proceeds to go all God of War on the enemy forces.  Although hes had some questionable moments (like taking a while to notice his son is working with Nick Fury) and is probably not the nicest person in the world, the man did go on a rampage to save his son.  If thats not fatherly love, I dont know what is.